Year: 1869

"WELL," said the stranger, as he loos.
ened his belt and stretched himself in an
easy, recumbent position, I" it is not more
than fair that should throw something
into the stock of common entertainment; !;
but the story l am to tell you is sad one,
and fear will not add to the pleasure of
the evening. AS you desire it, however,
and it comes within the line of the request
that 1 would narrate some personal cpl
sode of the war, l will tell it, and trust
the impression will not be altogether un-
pleasant.


cit was at the battle of Malvern Hill
a battle where the carnage was more
frightful, as it seems to me, than in any
this side of the Alleghanies during the
whole war-that my story must begin. 1
was then serving as Major in the -th
Massachusetts, Regiment-the old -th as
we used to call it-and bloody time the
boys had of it, too. About p. m. we
had been sent out to skirmish along the
edge of the wood in which, as our Gener-
ais suspected, the Rebs lay massing for a
charge across the slope, upon the crest of
which our army was posted. We had
barely entered the underbrush when we
met the heavy formations of Magruder in
the very act of charging. Of course our
thin line of skirmishers was no impedi-
ment to those onrushing. masses. They
were on us and over us before we could
get out of the way. / do not think that
half of those running, screaming masses
of men ever knew that they had passed
over the remnants of as plucky
a regiment as ever came out Of the
old Bay State. But many of the
boys had good reason to remember
that afternoon at the base of Malvern
Hill, and among the number; for when
the last line of Rebs had parsed over me,
was left amid the bushes with the breath
nearly trampled out Of me, and an ugly
bayonet-gash through my thigh; and
mighty little consolation was 1t for me at
that moment to see the fellow who run me
through lying stark dead at my side, with
a bullet-hole in his head, his shock OF
coarse, black hair matted with blood, aud
his stony eyes looking into mine Well,
bandaged up my limb the best might,
and started to crawl away, for our bat.
teries had opened, ana the grape and can
istcr that came hurting down the slone
passed but few feet over nv head. n
was slow and painful work, as Won can
imagine, but at last, by dint of persever
ance, had dragged myself away to the
left of the direct range of the batteries
and creeping to the verge of the wood
looked or over the green slope. under,
stood by the crash and roar of the guns
the yells and cheers of The men, and that
hoarse murmuF which those who have
been in battle know, but which l eannoi
describe in words, that there was hot work
going on out there but never had seen
no, not in that three days desperate melee
at the Wilderness, nor at that terrific re.
pulse we had at Cold Harbor, such abso-
lutte slaughter as / saw that afternoon on
the green slope Of Malvern Hill The
guns Of the entire army were massed on
the crest, and thirty thousand of our in.
fantry lay, musket in hand, in front. FoI
eight hundred yards the hill sank in easy
declension to the wood, and across this
smooth expanre the Rebs must charge h
reach our line. II was nothing short oi
downright insanity TO order men to charge
that hill and so his Generals told Lee
but he would not listen to reason that'dAy
and 80 he sent regiment after regiment
and brigade after brigade, and division
after division, to certain death. Tall
about Grants disregard OF human life, hiI
effort ut Cold Harbor-and ] ought 4