The Washington times., 1913-09-13
81 ERIAL STORY
e Story of Lee and the Lost Hope

, on the works would fire until they were
shot down. Bayonets crossed, sabers
/ were rammed through crevices and
openings in the breastwerks, and the
men were as mad. The redoubt smoked
like a volcano. writhed like serpent,
bled like heart And over All the
rains fell and fell In the whole history
!! Of warfare there never was such pro-
longed. desperate battle period of fierce
hand-to-hand fighting since the world
began.
Neither side would give way. Officers
and men fought side by side; organiza-
tion was lost 1t was not needed. Each
man was soldier and captain at once;
and the sole need WIS TO fight. to fight
with parched lips and, .sobbing breast,
until merciful death stayed the hand.
The rifle and musketry .fire was Of
such herceness and intensity that the
air was filled with sheets Of lead and
sound dominated the ,held-the song Of
the rife bullet, the aeolian harp Of
death A large tree back Of the lines
| was cut down by musket nre and fell.
Gun after gun was put out Of action
because everything wooden about 1t was
destroyed by the smail-arm bullets. The
headlogs on the 7breastworks were sbiv-
cred into paint brushes. The reeds. and
! rushes and weeds and underbrush were
cut down as cleanly as though they
had been moved.
Tho heroism on both sides was %
great that the battle, In spite Of Its
horrors. was an epic Of -magnihcence.
Every soldier on that dead line that
lived from hour to hour because It was
constantly renamed with fresh victims,
was q hero or a demon. With faces
ghastly white from fatigue. with mouths
powder -bla ckened from biting cart
ridges. with bodies covered with mud
from the Eunstocks until they could not
tell blue from gray in the rain. the
The Union troops were not withdrawn
while there was a hope Of driving the
Confederates away. for II they were
forced back from the lines again the
Army of. Northern Virginia would be
lost. The Confederates would not he
hurled from their position. for their
salvation depended upon keeping the
Union troops at bay until the lines in
the rear could be completed. So the
best troops of both armies were con-
centrated in either side ~ those lines In
a struggle which needs the pen OF
Homer or the brush Of verestchagin to
describe It.
Meanwhile, far back Of the salient.
toiled frantically the wounded. the
sick, the teamsters, the camp fol-
lowers, every one who could handle q
spade, or an axe, or even shovel the
earth with a tn cup Lees personal
humble toilers. He rode from place
to place, from fighting line to work
ing line, encouraging all, filling his
men with unconquerable determine
ton, with an ardor that nothing
come night came on, the terrible
wrestle ended in a victory for them.
The first success Of the Federals
had been nullihed by the sacrifice Of
the confederates: The battle grad
in possession Of the face Of the angle
It had fought for. About 8 o'clock in
the morning humanity could stand no
more. There was silence on the field.
What remained alive Of the Confed-
retreated from the bloody angle and
occupied the new breastworks that
had been built across the base Of the
salient. leaving to the Federals the
now useless works. The battle was
over. the Confederacy was saved-bnt
at terrible cost.
Grafton had distinguished himself
on that fatal field. He had received
permission from Lee to go forward
to the angle with one of the reinforc-
he had fought with them until the
withdrawal that night. By one Of
those condolences which so often oc-
CURED in battle, both lines had made
simultaneous attempt to swarm
over the crest just at dust. Grafton
crossed swords in the smoke and ex-
element with a Union officer. Their
blades rang viciously together, and
then a flash Of recognition leaped
into the faces Of both men.
Kirkwood!" gasped one.
Grafton. answered the other
Neither could hear a word in tummuit.
but their lips framed the words They |
lowered their weapons. but the next
moment maddened man who had been
fighting by Grafton's side thrust his
bayonet into Kirkwood's breast. A shell
burst on the breastworks. from which
side no one could tell. and when the
smoke cleared away Grafton was alone.
He emptied his pistol into the Federal
ranks immediately below him. A hum
6red muskets were fired at him and
bullets sang around him until friendly
hands reached up and dragged him |
back to the Confederate side He had
been grazed in half dozen places, but