Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1929-04-11

forced them to reeross the Rappahannock sew
eral miles above the ford at which Sedgwck's
troops had crossed. The losses In .she fighting
were lG,S45 for the Federas and 2,I63 for The
Confederates.
Lee followed up his advantage by advancing
into Pennsylvania was defeated at Gettysburg
and the two armies returned to Virginia where
they wintered Grant had assumed command Of
the Northern army, Jackson had been killed and
his place In the Southern army taken by Long
street
On May s. year after the battle Of Chance
Iorsyile, Grant crossed the Rappahannock about
fifteen miles above Fredericksburg and started to-
wards the Wilderness. Lee, who had wintered at
Orange, moved east to intercept him.
1t was critical time in the life Of the Union. Not
withstanding Gettysburg the North was dlscour
aged. Her sen commerce badly disrupted,
volunteering, which had begun spontaneously and
with burning enthusiasm, had stopped and she
had been forced to resort to the draft. Political
plotting was rife, demands to end the war were
insistent. Had Lee forced Grant back across the
Rappahannock there would have been cry for
an armistice, backed by Europe
At the, opening In the Wilderness" the two
armies met and began what historians
place among the % decisive battles in the history
of the world. For three days they struggled for
the strategic key to the situation, the Brock road
Tor dTHIl lle NHY W HIHHiOHus iol Lee lnf
means Of blocking the movement and forcing the
Eederals again across the Rappahannock.
The two great arnies swayed and fell back
and advanced In turn One hour the Brock road
appeared to be Lees. again 1t was almost within
Grants grasp. Then, slowly the tide OF gray
began to sweep past the Brock road. Grants
army fell back stubbornly, contesting every ncn
of ground His career threatened, Grant sent re-
Inducements. These, too, gave way before the
slowly advancing rebels But suddenly the Con
federates ceased to move forward. Concentrated
effort was momentarily succeeded by hesitation
and confusion. II
For the second time chance and fate had com
bined against the fortunes Of the South sin
gle bullet fired by one of his own men, had struck
down General Longstreet within less than two
miles from the spot where almost exactly one
year before "Stonewall" Jackson, Longstreets
predecessor also had been killed by his own men
Grant seized the situation and attacked. The
Confederates withdrew to their first lines The
Brock rond was Grants. The next day he began
moving over 1t towards Spotsylvana Courthouse,
on the way to Richmond. Lee to the east of
him, began to cut road through the woods TO
meet him. At the Wilderness the Confederates
had lost 10641 men, and the Federals l7,66S.
The race for Spotsylvana, ten miles away, con
tinued with struggling encounters until the
armies met Mt Bloody Angle where took Thace
the greatest hand-to hand and small arms night
ing that is recorded In history. Here for IL
! hours nearly 6U,0OO men struggled for the pos.
session Of section Of land containing less than
800 acres not larger than the average Virginia
farm.
AT times the ground became cluttered whistle
dead and dying. Lines Of Union troops advanced
to the trenches and fired blank into the faces OF
the Confederates who rose 10 defend them, whole
companies hacked each other 10 pieces with bay
onets tree IL inches In diameter, a portion OF
which IL preserved tn the Smithsonian institute,
wns cut down. hft Try bit, hF musket hallH lie
sYttttietE .tez cared for and ntttiF tff
- eft On tho fetd tn dir unattended. The hahtlR