The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1917-03-22
VETERAN RECALLS
WAR TIME INCIDENTS

The following is the third of SER
les of letters being written. for the
Glacier by Thomas Goss, member of
Candy Post, G. ARR
After marching out into the woods
short distance we halted, stacked arms
and made preparation for breakfast,
which consisted of hardtack and bacon.
We had no coffee that morning. We
got water to drink out of little creek
near by. Soon after this we resumed
our march to the front. | afterward
learned that we had been placed in
Critenden's Brigade for the day.
We had not gone far before we saw
two dead men who had been killed the
day before by the explosion of shell.
They were badly mutilated and 1t
made me sick at once. That is the
only time | felt that way at the sight
of dead men. Ask Adj. Blythe about
that. He was near by when it was
done. And there is Newton Clark an
old comrade. He belonged to Co. X,
of the same regiment that | did and
I'll have to be careful how / tell this
story or they will call me down. We
soon found our place in the line at the
front in the woods.
The battle opened some distance to
the right near the Shiloh fields and the
strife came surging up the line and it
was not long until we heard them in
our front, but some distance away.
In our front was thicket of brush
so that we could not see very far, and
while we were listening with all the
hal hn tafn oalIaH
Attention, company! Open ranks and
let this battery pass through, and as
we looked around the battery was
within few rods of US coming as fast
as the horses could gallop. Then we
began to move. We did not wait for
any nice evolution of company drill,
but we tumbled over each other to get
out of the way of the battery. The bat
terry moved to the crest of the hill Just
in our front, about four rods, unlim-
bered the horses from the guns and
caissons and were back again out of
direct rifle range quicker than can
tell it on paper.
We then closed up our ranks. We
were soon ordered up in line with the
battery as support and ordered to fix
bayonets, which we did in hurry to
be ready for the charge that was soon
to come. AS soon as the rebels began
to show in solid column the battery
opened with shell and as they came
nearer, with grape and canister. AS
they came nearer their yell was some
thing terrific. As soon as they got
near enough so that we could see the
brush shake as they were coming
through we were ordered to fire. The
battery was tearing gaps through their
ranks all this time.
Our fire staggered and confused
them their yell died down to a whine
and our charge drove them back to the
rear. But they left good many that
were unable to travel 1t don't look
right now for men to train in the art
of war, for the purpose of killing each
other. 1t was not. intended so in the
beginning. We soon broke their line
when they retreated in confusion and
went clear out of our sight. 1t was not
long until they brought in new line.
We rallied and reformed our line and
pressed forward 1t was not long un.
til we had tosdo the same work over
again. We charged and broke their
lines three times that day. 1t took
some time after each charge to rally
and reform and get ready for action.
Every time we charged the rebels gave
way and fell back, never to recover
that ground again.
In one of our rallies one of the boys
said he was wounded in the leg. He
sat down on log and called for one OF
the boys to pull off his boot, as he
could feel the blood run down his leg
into his boot. He said Hurry, be
quick; be quick or my boot will be full
of blood" The eomrade pulled off his
boot, turned it bottom side up to empty
the blood out, but none came. He
looked in the boot and it was not
there. Examination showed hole in
the leg of his pants and dent in his
boot leg and 3 dark spot on the calf OF