Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1913-07-25
S1 99Rkn
YA
AND WAR -
AWAITING A HORRIBLE DEATH
Chicaaoan Recalls Terrible Battle Of
Fredericksburs-Was Then a Boy
Of Only Sixteen Years.

Chicaaoan Recalls Terrible Battle Of
Observation-Disclosures Then a Boy
Of Only Sixteen Years.
The Of awaiting death for
which preparations were made again
and again, deliberately and in full
view, Is told by H. H. Walton, 1919
East Seventy-tifth street, Chicago
who was a boy of sixteen years at
the time of the battle Of Fredericks-
burg in December, 1862, but who al
ready had more than a year Of mill
tary experience behind him. He was
a member of Company X, Thirty
fourth New York infantry, OF Cor
mans brigade, Sedgwick's division.
The story of his experience before the
stone wall af Fredericksburg Is told
as follows:
Late in the afternoon of Decem-
Der 10 our regiment, with others, was
hurried from within the city of Fred
ericksburg to support the troops
charging up Marye's hill in a vain
endeavor to reach the famous stone
wall. AS l remember it, we had no
more than come to a halt when the
shells from the Confederate cannon
were bursting all about us.
AT this moment, behold! an officer
riding a white horse dashed up to a
Confederate cannon on the hill at u
right. He pointed peremptorily
every movement of the gunners and
we could see the cannon and every
one of us knew what was coming.
We saw the loading Of the piece In
every detail, saw the gunner thumb
the vent, saw the lanyard placed and
then the gun sighted and every man
and boy of us knew that death In
an awful, horrible shape was coming
straight from that cannon mouth
us us.
ut did come. The first shot struck
and burst at the right Of the reg1-
ment, killing and mutilating a full
score. Again we watched the gunners
and waited for death and again 1t
came. This time the shell burst
farther down the line the middle
of the regiment, and another score or
more were either killed or mutilated.
again we watched. Oh, those mo-
gun is %swabbed. The charge 1s
placed and again we see the gunner
with his thumb over the vent. The
shell is rammed home and now the
lanyard is in hand. The man is sight
ing the gun and death again stares
US in the face. Oh, the mockery and
emptiness of words to tell of horrors
like this!
I'm one second u company was
rent and torn like a piece of cloth in
a hurricane. The shell had burst ex-
actly in our midst. 1t took n man
with it as it entered the ground,
bursting, and tore both his legs away;
1t killed five outright and MANNED
and crippled I cannot now remember
how many. 1 believe I never jumped
quicker or so far. I landed right be-
side the captain, and at the same in
slant a bunch of brains as large as a
butternut fell on his sword.
cat this moment we witnessed the
most glorious sight of our lives. A
shell from General Hunts federal
guns an Stafford's heights burst beau
tifully and exactly under the muzzle
of the gun that had wrought US such
destruction. The gun disappeared as
If it had been swallowed up in the
earth.
Andrew Smith, third from me in
the ranks, had one arm and one leg
nearly torn off by the last explosion.
Two of the men were detailed to car
ry him into town to a hospital, and I
was sent with him to help.
We took him to a church already
filled with the wounded. The two
others were sent back to our COM
pany, and 1, being SO young and look
ing it, / suppose, was ordered to stay
and take al Of poor Andrew. There
was no hope for this bright boy. That
is all he was, just a slim, pale faced
boy. l stayed with him and did what
l could for him until about midnight,
When he died.
Where could 1 go then? Every
thing in and about the city was abso-
lutely chaos. One Of the doctors, or
surgeons, told me to stay there until
morning. The body OF the church was
filled with wounded. They were ly-
ing close to each other on the floor
Just as they had been brought from
the battlefield. The wide front vesti.
bule vas the operating room. Two
tables had been i~mprovised. On one
the lacerated and wounded were cared
for. The other was used for amputa-
lions only. l found an empty box
and sat down on 1t in the corner and
watched them amuptate.
THAT was a night to remember.
They cut off legs and arms so fast
n could scarcely believe it was in
Gods own country and that he was
looking on.
~ rL> n>>>