The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1913-08-28

for the United States
Remember the name-Doans-andt take no
other.
Our orders were to ignore the batteries
in our front and to open on the woods at
out left, where the enemy We're reported
to be massing infantry for charge. 1t
did not seem a minute before the air
was full of the pieces from bursting
shell or cracking spherical case shot, or
whistling minies. No one dared to raise
a hand unnecessarily for fear of having
it pierced by the one or the other. The
air was beaten by the sudden and doubly
continuous shocks of the rapid discharges
till it palpitated like the heart Of an
animal too frightened to run away. A
bird would have been beaten about by
those comminglingwav as boat is toss
ed by the whirlpool below Niagara. The
trees in the open were torn into frag
ments The wooden outbuildings were
blown into splinters. The Chancellors-
vile House was set on fire. Men and
horses dropped on either hand like forest
trees before hurricane. Within twenty
minutes the four guns next the woods
were silenced. Then those eighteen guns
in our front and the infantry lurking all
around US poured all their fire unchecked
on the two guns next the house, which
still kept pounding away at the enemy
concealed in the woods, unmindful of
those in the open who were dealing out
death and destruction to them and theirs.
Ghe bullets ratified against the guns. A
chest of ammunition with over forty
pounds OF powder in it exploded close by,
but no one knew it until the eye noted
it's absence. The great house is fast be-
coming mass Of flames. The contest
is far too unequal to last much longer.
The smaller body must soon be annlhilat-
ed. The ground is soft and the guns,
which with their carriages weigh over a
ton, work hard for the few who are left
Ammunition is also becoming scarcer
anu will soon be gone, unless brought
from the distant timbers. There is no
commissioned officer present to issue any
command. Only serge ant and two men
remain at one gun, and the gunner him
self private, and two men at the other.
At this time, while leaning on the wheel
for moments rest while waiting for
one of the men to bring up round of
ammunition, shell passed between my
body and the gun. cutting out two spokes
from the wheel just under my arm, as if
it had been done with a knife. A man at
the other gun steps by the wheel to put
round of ammunition into the mouth Of
the gun, shell strikes it on the lower
part of the muZze, and for the rest of
the war that gun has a deep depression
in its lip. The presentiment of which
spoke proved a true one, in part, at
least, for a shell in the tilst of the fight
burst just beyond my shoulder, and one
of the pieces flying back struck me on
the SIDE, tearing through my clothing
and Whirling me round on my feet. A
hurried examination assured me that a
%evere bruise was all, so far, so | went
on with my work After each of the
two guns left at work has fired about
sixty rounds, there remains one gun with
a battered face and with only the SER
geant left to work it; another with a
broken wheel and only the gunner left
for duty.
All the rest, officers and men, are dead
or wounded, or have been driven back
into the woods. The Two who are left,
out of ammunition, can do no more. The
gunner spikes two of the guns which
seem in danger of immediate capture.
The sergeant, however, succeeds in find
longs and draw the guns back into the
woods. Some years after | met man
who assisted in drawing them back,
though at the cost of his good right arm.
/ After seeing the guns moving back to a
place of safety, bound handkerchief
as tourniquet around the leg of the aid
who had conducted Us into this Balaclava,
and, with the assistance of comrade
who had returned after assisting another
man from the field, helped him back til
we met men with stretchers, who took
him to the hospital; and then, with moth
ing but what had on, my knapsack anc
contents lost; without hat, for that
had gone, had no idea where; sore from
my bruises; tired to exhaustion from the
mental and physical strain-never light
when in action, but rendered trebly hare
at that time on account of the rapidly
diminished number of assistants and the
continuous dowp-pour of the iron hal
and leaden rain which did not let up fol
a moment of the hree-quarters of an, houl
or more we were there, and when the
hot sun and sulphurous clouds, and hea
from the burning building all combined
in inflicting torture-I found my way
back slowly to my comrades. Fully one
half of the men who went beyond tina
belt of woods were killed or wounded
One-tenth lay dead on the field. Anothe
tenth lost limbs. Nearly every hors'
taken beyond the woods dropped in hi
tracks. We also lost five limbers and on
caisson, as all the horses had been killed
and the ground was in the possession o
the enemy before the men who drew gu
guns back could return for those.
"Of course said the professor, "thos
of you who fought it out under those cir
cumstances received suitable recognl
ton; what was it?'
Nothing whatever. 1t is but fair +
remember though that we were not Il
the lines of our own corps, and then
you see, one was but sergeant and tn
other only private" [R. Woodbury..
Suffered Eczema Fifty YedrS..NOW Wei
Seems long time to endure the awfr
burning itching smartinp in-disease know