Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, September 17, 1868, Image 1
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LEWIfr^22?^' ^ &* Inbfpniknt *;niulu Hmspajjfr: for |)r0iitotion of % f olifoal, Social, jtgritatoral ani) Caimnmial Jnicrtsts of % Son% ^ ^^^.*1if
VOL. 14. YORKYILLE, 8. O., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1868. NO. 38fa
%nOriginal |laurclette. j
Written for the Yorkville Enquirer. 1
VICTOR: I
jscqnel to Jsolttte, t|f Jrmalt jspg.!
BY J. WITHERgPOON ERVIN. 1
CHAPTER X.
The next morning opened beautifully bright and '
clear. With the first peep of dawn, the soldiers,
in the Confederate camp, were aroused from their
slumbers by the reveille, and rose from their beds, '
on the hard earth, to prepare for the dangers and j
duties of the day. The earfy risers, who cast their j
eyes around, were cheered to see that Some tddk don
had been made to their numbers during the 1
night Their deep slumbers had been disturbed, *
in nan. hv the n&ntina of the iron horse and the 1
rolling of heavy car wheels, but a couple of hundred
yards to the rear of the position in which
they bivouacked; but their sense of weariness was
too great, and their sleep too heavy, to permit them
to realize the ceaseless activity of the preparations
for the morrow, which were being made around
tbem. When the morning aroused them from
sleep, and they saw, through the misty atmosphere,
the hundreds of forms to the rear of their line, beginning
to cast aside their blankets lazily, in obedience
to the same summons that called them to
rise, the sight had for them all the charm of a glad
surprise. As they lazily threw off the fetters of
sleep, and lazily yawned over the ~newly kindled
camp fires, or slowly rolled np their blankets in
marching plight, the word passed around, from
group to group, that "Boshrod Johnson's fighting
Brigade," and some five or six regiments from
other brigades^ with one or two' batteries of field
artillery, had 001116 UP to their assistance daring
the night Instead of being a mere handful of six
hundred men, the camp now numbered some three
thousand, and the word went round that additional
reinforcements were on the way and were
hourly looked for. The faces of Colonel Giles* intrepid
heroes brightened, as the joyfol news passed
from mouth to mouth, and the laogh and jest went
freely round.
Among the last to awake on this eventful day,
were those who oomposed the squad of scouts sent
forward to gather information of the enemy, the
evening before. Arriving at their camp but two
or three hours before the dawn of day; they had
turned their prisoner, Walsh, over to the guard,
and sought that repose which their wearied and
exhausted condition rendered so neoessaiy. Spreadin^
their hlankets near together on the hill-side,
where a wide spreading oak gave them shelter from J
the dews of night, they were soon lost in slumber,
and when they first awakened from sleep, the camp
was already astir.
Victor's thoughts, on his first waking, recurred
to the events of the previous night He had, at ,
last, met Nellie alone. The party were retiring
from the old mansion, and Nellie,. moved by the
kindly instincts of her heart, had, come down to
bid the young soldier farewelL The others of the (
pnrtjhm] gone, when Victor frond himself standing
alone with Nellie at the steps of the piazza. ,
Not willing to trust herself to speak, Nellie timidly
held forth her hand for a parting salutation.
Her eye was steady and her face calm, but her
heart was too full for utterance; and there was on
her cheeks a perturbed smile, such as maidens wear
when they would repress and conceal emotions to
which they would not give utterance for the world
"Oh! Nellie, Nellie !" said Victor, giving way
to the impulse of the moment, "I am bnt a stran- ,
ger to you as the world would call me, yet I can
never think of you as a stranger from whtfta I can
turn away with simply friendship and admiration.
No! Nellie, no! I know my presumption?but,
Nellie, I love you with my whole heart It may
be folly in on* to tell you so, who knows that he
may be cold clay to-morrow; but if this be my fate,
I would have you know that I will carry my love
for you to the grave. Will you not let me delude
myself, and make the toilsome and hazardous life
that I lead more happy, by trusting that yon will
think of me as more than a stranger?more than a
mere friend?"
"Trust it, Victor?trust it; not as a delusion,
but as a truth that I have kept buried in my heart
until now."
"Thank you, dear Neflie?I have something to
live for now; one pure woman's love is worth all
the world beside. I prize it more than life itself.''
And bending forward, he kissed the maiden's
cheek, pressed her soft hand, and was gone.
When he first awoke from his slumber in the
bivouac, there were pleasant fancies, undefined and
shadowy, busy at his heart, as when one lies down
. to slumber under the impress of grateful feelings.
The intewiew with Nellie rose to his mind, and
her parting words rang in his ears. He mused
upon them and a gentle calm stole over bis face,
but the next moment a half audible sigh escaped
him as he looked around upon the busy and stirring
scene, and thought of the countless dangers to
be faced before the light, now blushing in the east,
should spread its farewell banners in the westeru
sky. It is so hard to imperil life, when its sweetest
promises are unfolding audits most treasured hopes
are approaching fruition.
There was much of stern seriousness and solemnity
in the camp ; for men who are earnest and
thoughtful, feel that a great battle is a terrible event.
Th\. young and untried soldier may pant for
its excitement, but no man of & healthful mind
who has stood a fierce charge or joined in making
one, and seen the ranks around him thinned by
grape or musketry, will think of entering into one
but with feelings of awe and deep solemnity. It
must be a shrewd jest, indeed, that wiH set the laborers
in a powder mill in a roar. There all may
be blown up in one tremendous explosion ; but in
battle, it is an inevitable event that many must
- ? * n * ,M J J
tall to rise no more; ana ieanai mumauous auu
gaping wounds?that it makes the flesh creep to
look upon?are not mere probabilities, but calamities
beyond all peradventure. Even in battle, as
solemn as such an event is, some ludicrous event
may set the line in a roar, for in the midst of excitement
men may forget?for a moment?their
danger, and the calculation of chances has its hopes
for each soldier of the line.
All the roads leading to the camp had been as
strongly picketed as the small force gathered there
would allow; and those who remained in camp
were suffered to pass their time in such manner as
they desired, while awaiting the call to arms. Here,
some sturdy, systematic old soldier might be seen,
with knapsack on the grass, breaking his fast on
the fragments of his yesterday's luncheon, poor
and scanty at the be'st. Some who were so fortunate
as to have a little wheaten flour, having kneaded
it to a thick paste with cold water, had wound
the dough around their iron ramrods and were
cooking it over the embers. There, again, some
provident and fortunate campaigner, using his tin
cup as a boiler, was drawing him a cup of coffee,
and, with spoon in hand, was bending over the
steaming decoction with a face on which gravity
and complacence were blended together. Prescott
aud Victor, in whom old habits were still in the
ascendant, having rolled up their blankets ready
for strapping on their shoulders, had made their
' way to the spring, at the foot of the hill, to per-,
form their morning ablutions. Stripped to the
must, they were enjoying the luxury of a morning 1
bath and luxuriating in the invigorating influences >
)f cold water, while half way ap the hill, on the <
roots of a huge tree, Giles Shorter sat breaking his
hat and eyeing the employment of the youngsters
with the disdain of an old veteran, who had dis- :
aided, as jnvenile follies, and inconsistent with
the habits of camp Hfe, such thorough ablutions i
is they still persevered in. i
"Just look at them boys, Robin," said Giles to 1
bis companion, who was seated by him, busy, like- 1
rise, with the slender contents of his haversack, i
rhey are green yet, and hain't learned to take <
amp fife by the smooth handle. They want al- i
travn to look as ifthevhad iust steDDed out of the :
band-box, and it's nothing witb them, the livelong
Jay, bat wash, scrub and dross. Soap and water
utd a dean shirt, is their whole life. They are i
like yonng oolts that ain't broke into harness. ,
Ehey haven't been in camp long enough to get tho
srire edge taken off. I never think a fellow is fit '
to serve as asoldier, until he has learned to wear a i
shirt three weeks, and to take the mud and dust
as it opmes, without making a hullaboo about soilid
hands. Now, just look at me?I've learned to
bear such things. I'm, as you may say, broken <
in."
"Yes, Giles," retorted Robin Lassiter. "You
take to dirt kindly. You look like an old clay i
ihimney turned wrong side outwards."
"Well, Robin," saidGiles, apologetically, "what's
the use of trying to keep dean ? It's an onpossibility
in camp, and it's labor thrown away to try it
[t's like washing a hog?the first mud puddle he
somes to will show you what a fool you made of
yourself in throwing soap and labor away. By
aight, just take a look at them boys, and you will
ind that they might as well let all this trouble alone.
It wouldn't surprise meat all, some of these
Jays, to find thenr turning out with ruffled shirts
m J)
Ignorant of this oolloqny, of which they formed
the subject, the young men soon finished their
? .? ?j _?xi. xi v:i
rooming Da to ana umet, ana wnu iue Hiiunnuug
jensations which it inspires, withdrew a space to
m*ke their morning meaL This had scarcely been
sooclnded, when word was passed that Captain Carbeny's
Company was to be thrown oat to the front
)n picket duty; and with the promptnes. of welltrained
soldiers, the line was formed and hurried
forward, as if . there was fierce work ahead awaiting
them. They were deployed on the summit of
i heavily timbered ridge, with a valley behind them,
through which flowed one of those small, clear
brooks, which form almost a net work in this portion
of Virginia. The highway they were guarding,
was the same along which the scouts had
passed the previous evening. The station whioh
they occupied was about a mile from the camp, and
there was only a squad of two or three mounted
men beyond them, to watch the road and give
timely notioe of the approach of the enemy, if his
aolumns should be seen advancing.
Captain Carbeny had orders to fire upoir the enemy's
advanced guards, and, without making any
attempt to hold his position, to fall back gradually
nntil he should meet re-inforcements sent to assist
him. Then, forming a strong line of skirmishers,
they were to retire slowly npon the rail-road, where
the line of bottle would be formed to meet the enemy.
Captain Carberry was no rigid military martinet,
and his men were suffered to lie at rest along the
ridge, and pass the time at their pleasure, until
the moment for action should come. With his
portly form reclined at leDgth by the roadside, and
a group of his men lying around him, they presented
the appearance rather of a camp of free
and easy hunters, whiling away the hours in sociable
companionship, than soldiers who might, in an
hour's time, be engaged in a terrible and bloody
conflict.
Two or three hours passed on and there was still
no news from the front A Sabbath still ness brooded
over the scene, and the soft snnlight of early
Spring stole down npon the forest, just decked out
in green foliage and fresh flowers. The gentle
breezes of May were stealing in soft whispers
through the magnificent oaks overhead, laden with
.? " c t._ J?j a *i.;nQ
me periuuies ui uuus uuu uunua, ?#?**?head
had the deep clear blue of May, and Victor's
eyes?as he lay on the freshly springing grass and
gazed up towards the blue sky, seen, here and
there, in patches through the green foliage?had
the soft and half-saddened expression of one whose
thoughts are far away, musing, perhaps, of white
robed girls in the old school house, with the loveliness
of a May-morn in their faces, and the gladness
of a bright May-day in their laughing ringing
voices.
He heard not the jests that rang out from the
sociable group gathered around their leader; he
noted not how that worthy, with a sober face, put
his follower, Giles Shorter, through all his paces
for the diversion of the crowd. Giles was made
to recount, over and over again, with indignant
emphasis, the wrong done him in mistaking him?
a Southern man, born and bred?a nullifier, a secessionist,
and a soldier to boot?although beyond
the conscript age?for a common cheating, swindling,
yankee peddler. He gave the liquor scene in
the closet with infinite gusto and good nature, and
alternated from wrath to laughing good humor, in
the course of his narrative, by a transition quite
natural, yet quite as ludicrous as natural.
The sun rose high in the heavens, and yet the
quiet of the scene was undisturbed by any other
souuds than those to which we have adverted.
None of the mounted scouts had as yet come in,
and the opinion began to gain ground that the enemy,
having met with so spirited a resistance, had
withdrawn his forces and given up his designs on
Petersburg. On the supposition that he still meditated
an attack, his hesitation and delay were unintelligible.
His only hope Of success was in
moving forward promptly and resolutely, before reinforcements
should be sent forward for the relief
of the city. Under an impression?which every
hour of delay served to strengthen?that the enemy
had retreated, the soldiers began to cast off the
seriousness they had manifested at an earlier hour
of the day, and the expression of anxiety and suspense,
so natural to men in their situation, began
to give place to cheerfulness and hilarity.
It wanted not quite an hour to noon, when some
little stir and excitement was occasioned by the appearance
of three of the mounted scouts coming
down the road at a leisurely pace, but frequently
halting and turning their horses across the road as
if attentively regarding some object behind them.
Captain Carberry was, in a moment, on his feet,
and with a group of soldiers clustered around him,
stood watching the movements of the scouts with
the keenest interest. It might simply be that the
- * ? 1 11 P .?? 1
enemy had thrown torwara a smaii iorce ui vuvun-y
to mask his retreat, and that the Confederate scouts
were retiring before a small squad of these, whom
they were too few to attack. Still, the movements
of the scouts were watched with the deepest interest
and anxiety; for all their motions evidently indicated
that they were watching some force of the
enemy that was approaching. The all-absorbing
interest with which they watched the road, their
air, their manner, their slow, deliberate gait, and
their cautious movements?now checking their
horses and pausing to look back, "with beards upon
their shoulders"?and now again advancing,
with reins gathered up, as men who are on the alert
to betake themselves to flight from a danger
that follows them; all these were indications, exciting
to the last degree, to those who witnessed their
mysterious movements, but who were prevented,
by the windings of the road and the inequalities of
the ground, from obtaining any knowledge of th<
objects which evidently excited so much npprehen
sion and anxiety.
So absorbed were the ncouts in giving heed h
that which was passing in their rear, that the]
failed to notice the group oocupying the road it
their front, until they had approached within i
couple of hundred yards. After a moment's hur
ried conference, one of them, separating himael
from his companions, came forward at an easy gal
lop. Every eye was upon his face to read, if pos
able, by its expression, the magnitude of thcorisL
of which he came to forewarn them. Ho was i
nnam otam Inn tin Or man. With & Tltttlirflllv fltV)
and earnest face, now slightly pale with the excite
ment* of the occasion.
"What Regimentis this ?" he demanded, looking
enquiringly around him as he halted before thi
group.
' 'Captain Carbeny'aXlompany, of the *th Soutl
Carolina, on picket," answered Captain <barberry
stepping forward.
"You will hare to retire rapidly, Captain," sak
the trooper: "the enemy ore almost upon you."
"In what force?" asked thecaptain, with an ai
of gravity far removed from his ordinary levity o
manner.
'Thousands upon thousands," returned the troop
er, laconically. "For three miles across, the coon
try i9 swarming with them like ants. It is tirni
for you to hurry up, if you expect to get out o
their way."
"I was sent here to be in their way," returne<
the Captain, with a smile.
"Very well," replied the-trooper, moring on t<
rrinrt in "You will 6ee for yourself, whet
they oome, that a whole brigade would not b
much in their way." He touched his horse witl
his spur and rode off at a gallop, whik Captaii
Carberry, deploying his company as skirmishers
marched them back to take advantage of the par
tial cover of the shrubbery that skirted the brool
at the foot of the hill. The company wtis divide*
so that about one half was on either side of tb
road, at the place where it crossed the brook. The:
had scarcely taken their position, when the othe
two scouts came clattering down the hill at a brisl
trot They paused,'but for a moment, at the foo
of the hill, to speak a word or two with Captaii
Carberry, and then hastened on at a gallop to tb
top of the hill beyond the brook. They were scaroe
ly well across the brook when an ambulance, pre
ceded by a portly, grey-haired man on horde-back
appeared at the brow of the hill in front descend
ing along the road. The horses were ur,?ed on b
the driver, and the elderly man, who went before
seemed to be pointing out to him the smoothes
path down the hill
"Look yonder, Captain," exclaimed Giles Short
er, pointing to the ambulance when it first appear
ed on the hill. "Durned if theenemy ain't oominj
upon us, rear in front What does he mean b;
sending his ambulance corps ahead."
'That is some wounded countryman, Giles,
suppose, that his friends are trying to hurry out c
the way of theenemy. They will see the very devi
in the next five minutes, unless they aie uncom
monly lucky."
Viotor, who was standing near by, behind aclum;
of alder bushes, thus had his attention directed t
the party. In the grey-haired man on horseback
he recognized Mr. Danvers, of Petersburg, th
brother of Colonel Danvers, whom he had encouc
tered in passing through the city. His heart leape
wildly as, at a glance, he divined the truth. H
was but a few yards from the road, and as the am
bulance came down the hill, at a trot, hs obtaine
a glimpse of the occupants. There sat Nellie, pi)
lowing the head of her father in her lap, while
man of middle age?probably a surgeon irotn tn
city?was kneeling at his side, striving to preven
the wounded man from being incommoded or paine
by the motion of the vehicle. As the ambulanc
was passing, Nellie, ohancingto raise her head, er
countered Victor's gaze. At first her face flushe
up, but the next moment it became dtradly palt
and in grasping at the standard of the vehicle fc
support, a cambric handkerchief escaped from he
hand and fluttered to the ground. Victor spran
forward to restore it to her keeping, but by the tim
he had picked it up, the ambulance had gone sev
eral rods, and it would have been trifling, at a tim
like this, to delay and endanger the whole party fc
a mere bagatelle. When Nellie looked back, Vi<
tor was standing in the road with the snowy can
brie in his hand, liaising his cap, he gallantly fai
tened, it as a keepsake, on the front, and bowing t
Nellie, with a smile, returned to his post.
Great events sometimes depend oh things appj
rently very trivial. The ambulance, with its pr<
cions burden, had scarcely mounted to the summ
of the hill beyond the stream, when the hill in fror
was swarming with the blue coats of the encmj
Their column had scarcely appeared, when it er
countered a concentrated and deadly fire, poured i
upon thein from the cover of the alders and willow
that skirted the stream. Recoiling from the fire, th
column was driven back for a moment, but a stron
line of skirmishers thrown out, on either hand, an
far out flanking Captain Carberry'ssmall force, cam
steadily down the hill-side, firing volley after vo
ley, which, fortunately passing over the heads c
the Confederates, lopped off branches and tore u
the bark of trees above and around them. One'c
two more rounds were delivered by the Confede
rates with fatal effect, when Captain Carberry, re
moving his wounded, retired across the brook; an
posting his men on the top of the hill where the
were sheltered behind the bodies of huge oak.<
prepared to dispute the advance of the enemj
The fire of the Confederates had been delivere
with such fatal accuracy, and bo many of the en(
my had fallen, that some minutes elapsed befoi
they had completed their preparations for advar
cing. When, at length, they appeared, makin
their way across the brook, the Confederates receh
ed them with a most galling fire. Their blood wa
up, and they were now ready to dispute their fui
ther advance, inch by inch. The enemy, not ye
aware of the inconsiderable number of their oppc
nents, advanced with extreme caution, and in th
full belief that the Confederate line of battle wi
Hr?Pnrp them, rendv for the conflict. Several mir
utes were spent in skirmishing, when the fecbh
ness of their fire betraying the weakness of tb
Confederate force that held the hill, a charge wt
ordered on the part of the enemy. As. they wei
making their way up the hill, they received a vo
ley more fatal than any yet given, and when atlai
they gained the summit, the Confederate pickei
had melted away and disappeared like shadow!
Making a stand wherever the nature of the coui
try rendered it safe to do so, Caytain Carberry ai
noyed undharrassed the enemy in his advance, an
so retarded his march, that fully two hours had <
lapsed before the skirmishers of the enemy drov
him in. When he reached the spot where a ba
talion of his own regiment had made so heroic
stand on the previous day, he found a regimei
coming up to his support Here the skirmishei
of the enemy were forced to retire upon their mai
line, and the battle began in earnest The Confe<
erate line faced towards the East, and the fight ha
lasted but half an hour, when, somewhat to tb
north-east of their position, from a wooded hil
which has previously been mentioned, a couple <
guns opened upon them with a heavy fire. Tb
Federal troops having suffered severely, fell bac
under cover of a wood at the foot of the hill, leai
ing it to their artillery to drive back their antag*
nist Sharp-shooters were thrown out to hara/
the gunners and drive them from their post, wit
i indeed, bat little effect; and after a few minutes,
- finding themselves suffering from the fire of the
guns, which their small arms were unable to si)
lence, the line was ordered to fci back to a posir
tion where they would be Altered fVom the deadi
ly shot and shells, by the nature of the ground.
i This morement was soon made, and in a few min
utee the whole line was. sheltered from their fire.
f One of those brief pans? in the fight then took
- place, like a hill which sometimes comes in the
- storm. During this brief space, the soldiers had
s time to look around them and enquire as to the fate
i of their missing oomrades. ;
i At this time, the battery hating driven the line
- back, bad limbered up and was moving to some
more eligible position, whence ha fire would be efj
fective. Previously to this tim% however, at reg3
ular intervals, was heard-the report of a musket
beyond the hill, where tb^Ooaffederate hue bad
i been drawn up. ~ Only a fevfrtfpd this ample cir,
cumstanoe, the attention and ttoughts of all being
ocoupied by the enemy's movements and the fate
1 of those of their comrades who bad disappeared
from their ranks,
r "Where is Giles Shorter," cried one of the men
f of Captain Carberry'a Company, with a face fall
of apprehension. "Can anybody tell what has be
come of Giles?",
"Giles ain't here," said another; "he's gone np
9 the spout this time, certain and sure. Giles don't
f straggle when a fight's on hand, and yon see he
ain'there."
1 Captain Carbeny, who was deeply interested in
the fate of so good a soldier, was making anxious
3 enquiries for the missing man, and it was just ai
greed npon that he must be among the killed and
3 wounded, when, to the surprise and delight of his
i comrades, he was seen leisurely approaching, coma
ing over the hill in front, with his masket on his
, left shoulder, his right band in his breeches pocket,
. and wearing a very grave expression,
t "Are you wounded, Giles?" cried his comrades,
] as he came walking very slowly forward,
e 1 'Wounded ? Why, no 1 What did you all fall
y back for?"
r "We>ere ordered to retreat," answered several
i voices.
t "I didn't hear any such order, and I just kept
a my place and fired into that battery as fast as I
e could, and made the place too hot to hold them. I
h didn't give more'n a dosen rounds when they limh
be red up and left that place like they heard hornets
a buzzing. If I didn't silence that battery,
. all alone by myself, I'm a dutchman I. I made ev7
ery shot tell, and they were durned glad to limber
, up and get out of the way. Did you see how I
^ used 'cm, Cap'n?"
"Do you wish me to mention it in my report,
_ Giles?" asked the Captain, with a laugh.
"That's just as you please, Captain," returned
g Giles, complacently. "If a staff officer gits his
y breeches torn while a fight's going on, it's sure to
go down in somebody's report; but there is no
j chance for a private, do what he will. I don't
f brag on what I've done, Captain, aid don't spejj
cially want it noticed unless you see fit, but this I
h do say, you'll live a long time before you'll hear again
of a battery being silenced by one man, with
only a smooth bore musket"
p Captain Carberry, who was amused at the sober
0 pertinacity with which Giles adhered to his belief
1 that the artillery had beea-driven-from its position
e by his fire, was about to reply, in a jocular vein,
when orders came for the regiment to move at the
double quick, to the left of the line, against which
e overwhelming forces of the enemy were moving,
j In a moment, this gallant regiment was in moI
tion, hurrying on to the point of danger, where a
dreadful carnage was going on, and where the gala
lant 21st South Carolina stood, like a wall of rock,
? with hostile waves beating upon its front and flanks.
it *
d
e CHAPTER XL
l~ The point sgainst whioh the enemy was directd
iag his main attack, was near a bridge on the line
!> of railroad, about a mile from the right of the line,
,r to the defenoe of which, on account of the weak!r
ness of the Confederate force, "but a single regiment
S had been assigned.
e Courier after courier met the regiment on its
way, upbringing tidings of loss and disaster. Hure
tying along the line of railroad, the regiment, to
ir which Victor belonged, scarcely pausing long ey
nough to recover their breath, hastened to bear to
l" their comrades the sucoor they so sorely needed.
Keeping the line of railroad on their right, they
0 were alternately protected from the fire of the enemy
by an enbankment that crossed some small vali
ley, or exposed to it as their way led over eminen
}- ces through which the road was cut To the ngut
it of the road was a range of hills, crowned by the
it enemy's batteries and swarming with his infantry,
from which shot and shell were sent howling
i- through their ranks, on every rising piece of
n ground, where no enbankment afforded a welcome
s protection. Showers of leaden bullets whistled,
e and many a good soldier here sank down to rise no
g more.
d The enemy had already flanked the left of the
e Confederate line, and when Colonel Giles reached
1- the spot, he found the regiment he was sent to as>f
eist, completely enveloped, and attacked at once, jn
p front and flank and rear.
>r We will attempt to describe the spot as accuratei
ly as we may, but we fear we can give but a feeble
i- picture of the locality and scene, so indelibly dad
guerreotyped on the memories of the brave soly
diers, who came suddenly upon it in the midst of
}, a desperate struggle.
r. The region around was hilly and broken; here
d the road passed on a short enbankment, over some
i- depression of ground; and there its way lay through
e some cut in the hills, varying In depth and in
i- length, according to the nature of the eminence
g where its track was traced. The last cut on the
r- left was the deepest and longest of alL For some
is fifty or sixty yards, it formed an admirable trench
r- for the protection of infantry, being from three to
it five feet deep, and then, for a considerable dis>
tance, possibly seventy or eighty yards, it attained
e a depth of from seven to ten feet; then it ran out
is across level ground and a short trestle work which
i- carried the road over an oozy and boggy stream.
Such was the character of the position on the exe
treme left of the Confederate line,
is The stream, which intersected the road at right
e angle, was skirted and covered by a thick growth
1- of brush-wood and trees, which afforded a fine nat5t
ural cover for the concealment of troops,
ts The men in the deep cut had clambered to the
3. top of its eastern face, and opened a fire of musi
ketrv unon the enemv's infantry, who lay, in con
l- siderablc numbers, upon the wooded eminences in
d their front. Between them and the enemy lay an
j- inconsiderable and open valley of no great depth,
e dotted here and there by a clump of trees, over
t- which the enemy could not advanoe to an attack in
a front, without being exposed to a most destructive
it fire. But the hill sides, along the stream, was
rs covered with a dense growth of timber, under covn
er of which the enemy oould advance quite near
1- unperceived, and flanking their position, open a
d most deadly enfilading fire upon them from the
ie neighborhood of the trestle. The enemy soon a1,
vailed themselves of their advantages, and estab)f
Fished themselves on the farther side of the trestle
le and swept the railroad cut with a storm of bullets,
k that galled its defenders severely, and carried them
t- off by scores. Nearly at the same time, a regiment
)- of the enemy having crowed the stream below the
is trestle, passed across the railroad, and again crossh
ing the stream abov*1 the trestle, enveloped them
from the rear, while another regiment began its
charge across the valleyin their front.
Unable to defend themselves successfully from
fees coming upon them at oooe from so many quarters,
thoy, nevertheless, prepared to sell their lives
as dearly as possible. The enemy from the neighborhood
of die trestle were rushing into the deep
out, and those in front and rear, were leaping into
the cat and carrying on a terrible hand to hand
fight. Such was the condition of affairs when Colonel
Giles same upon the field. Forming his regiment
promptly in line, they poured a volley into
those of the enemy who were assaulting the rear of
the position, and at onoe charged down upon them
with the bayonet His men, flushed with excitement,
raised a wild yell and dashed impetnonsly
onward, to complete their work with the bayonet
Throwing away everything that might impede their
flight, some were driven across the stream, while
otherasoaghtsafety from the murderous bayonet, by
leaping into the railroad oat and joining themselves
witli mmwitw ahn ?pm Hlfllggling. PromDfc
ly wheeling his regiment to dislodge this new enemy,
a most horrible conflict onsned. Charging np
to the month of the chasm, the men of his regiment
hurled down rocks and stones upon the enemy,
who fought at a great disadvantage, having
to oontend with men flashed with success, and vigorously
employing against them missiles unknown
to regular warfare, of which they were in no condition
to avail themselves. There was no way of
combatting againstweapons of this character, r.
down upon them with the rapidity of hail-stones.
Some of them were slain outright, while yet larger
numbers were disabled. The Confederates leaped
down, and with the bayonet and the bntt of the
musket, completed their success.
I' It was a short but terrible conflict, and many of
the disabled, owing to the character of the weapons
with whioh they fought, presented a horrible and
ghastly aspect
The regiment of Colonel Giles had now, for the
oeoond time, been brought face to face and foot to
foot with the enemy in the open field, and had acquitted
themselves like veteranf With courage
exalted by success, they had become invincible and
disdainful of the enemy.
After this taste of the horrors of a charge, the
enemy contented himself, the greater part of the
afternoon, with annoying and harrassing the Coni
federate line with the fire of his numerous batteries
' and small arms, from a safe distance. Sharpshoot
. w . .1 - _ xiil
era were detailed to annoy tne enemy s aruueiyI
men, and to pick off all who dared to expose themselves
within range. Muskets were sputtering, and
minnio balls were whizzing by on every side, but
such caution was observed, that it was only now
and then that a wound was inflicted on either side.
The ibrees of the enemy were so greatly superior in
number to those of the Confederates, that the latter
could not venture to assume the offensive. It
wonld have been extremely hazardous, in view of
the great disparity of their forces, for them to have
adopted the offensive until all their reinforcement
should come up, which consummation could not be
reached for some days. In the meantime, there
was the painful prospect before them that they
would be compelled, for some days, to remain on
their guard, confined to such positions as the
movements of the enemy should impose upon them.
Towards the close of the day, Victor found himself
posted, with his company, on the right of the
rogiment, at the entrance of the cut where it was
scarcely two feet in depth. The earth thrown out
on either side, however, formed a breastwork,
which served as a tolerably secure protection against
the missiles of the enemy which were constantly
flying around him. The small arms were
fiercely sputtering all along the line in answer to
the enemy's fire, and shells were bursting above
this portion of the line, or solid shot ploughing up,
each moment, the slight earth-work formed by the
soil thrown out from the excavation.
Preacott was crouched down by Viotor's side,
with that indolent, impurterbable expression upon
his face, lighting up with interest and animation,
only now and then, as he caught the flutter of some
hostile uniform through the foliage on the wooded
hills in front, and levelled his musket eagerly, but
calmly, to diminish the number of his country's
foes. After having been on the qui vice for several
minutes, in the hope of getting a shot that
might tell, the young giant yawned lazily, and turning
deliberately from the breastwork, stretched
himself out upon his back with his head resting against
one of the Btring pieces of the road. His
feet rested against the bottom of the drain, and his
position, to judge from the expression of his face,
was one of superlative enjoyment Victor, too,
wearied with the labors of the last few days, after a
short space, ceased, for awhile, from firing, and
following bis example, stretched himself by his side.
"What are you thinking about, Prescott,'' asked
Victor?you seem to be in a brown study."
"I am thinking about the fine times we had on
James Island," rejoined Prescott, turning on his
side and facing the speaker. "We came off with
a hurrah, anxious to meet the enemy, muzzle to
muzzle, foot to foot, and all that sort of thing.
Well I here we are, and there is the enemy just to
our wish, but I would be glad enough to be back
on the Island, and fight the enemy at long taw
with a mile, or ten miles of marsh between us the
rest of the war. Shelling is right pretty diversion,
when there is a .bomb-proof at hand to-slip
into when the shells come too fast and too near,
but this driving back the enemy .at the point of the
bayonet is plagued ugly work, anywhere except
in the columns of a newspaper. We are going tc
see the elephant before this campaign is over."
"Yes, we have hot work before us, for days to
come," rejoined Victor, thoughtfully. We cannot
drive the enemy with our present force, and to
He here, it may be a week or ten days longer, repelling
one charge after another, will be a drearisome
carnage. Presoott?oneof us may fall here."
"I shouldn't doubt it," answered Presoott, in a
cold matter-of-fact tone.
"I wish you to do me a service, Prescott, if a
stray bullet should chance to reach me," continued
Victor, taking from his pocket a memorandum
book and pencil, and writing down a couple of
names with the address of each. "Here it is,"
said he, tearing out the leaf and handing it to his
companion; "only two letters to tell where and
how I fell."
"One to your mother and one to?why hey!
how is this?" asked Prescott, with a look of surprise?"Miss?"
- . ^ , A. ii
"Hush I Hrescott, saia v ictor, coloring 10 wie
tips of his ears?"Don't breathe her name in a
place like this. If I fall, let her know how it went
with me, and tell her all I ask is, that she will,
when this war is done, plant a rose tree above the
spot where my comrades lay me."
"I hope to write to her in a strain I like a little
better than penning an epistle on so doleful an occasion,"
replied Presoott, thrusting sad thoughts
away. ' 'It shaD run in this style?'Harry Prescott
presents his compliments to Miss D? and will do
himself the pleasure to dance upon the occasion
of her wedding with Victor Garnett' That is a
little more to my fancy than planting flowers, possibly,
by mistake, over the grave of some lousy
Dutoh mercenary, who died for the inspiring consideration
of eleven dollars a month in greenbacks.
A death's head and cross bones for those who like
them, but cakes and ale for me, every time 1 But,
Victor, you are a lucky fellow to have earned a
place in a girl's thoughts before you have been
here twenty-four hours. I don't understand it"
It now became necessary for Victor to enter into
an explanation, which he did with modest reluc
taooe, coloring up, in Ms oonfuaon, and picking
at the tender grass which had sprang up along the *
road-bed It was an m>wontedig>ectacfe?a youth ?
telling his comrade the story of his first love* while ^
bursting shells were ftffing, and flying bullets were &
whistling around them! Sorely the passion must
be a syren that can wean the thoughts away and w
lnQ them in the repose of forgetfulnesB, when dan
ger and death are holding their carnival around. ^
While the thonghts of'Victor andhisoompanion w
were far away, a cry rang along the line? ; st
"Here they come! Look out men?to your m
ggns I" sung ont a chorus of voices, while the fire ^
from the Confederate line ceased to sputter here
and there, and became one continuous roO along w
l ffitt nanlro witfinnf. nanon af iwfawmiuuiraa - Vi/4fO*
and Prescott sprang, up to their places, and look- p<
ing over the slight earthwork before them, saw the w
enemy emerging from the shelter of the woods and
rnshing on to the attack. ^
The lull, from which ihej mui) desuandbft was &
scarcely more than two hundred yards from the is
crest of that through which the railway cut was st
made, and midway between the two was a hollow ai
which, like the hill sides which sloped down to it, w
was destitute of any growth that might shelter the J
enemy in their advance. Here and there, at long w
intervals, stood a clump of small oaks or an old
field pine, but these were too few in number, too d
diminutive, and too scattered, to offer any shelter <*
from the fierce fire of small arms that now biased
along the line of road. The regular dope from the
excavated road-bed, down to the hollow midway ?
the opening, formed, for the most part, a natural t<
glacis, across which the Confederate fire of small d
arms would sweep with terrible effect n
As the enemy came down the slopeof the oppo- ^
site hills, in three columns, the green bin side was ^
dotted quite thickly with their slain and wrihnded, fc
but when, having passed the hollow, they began a
to ascend the slope of the hill to the railroad, they ^
fell no longer at irregular intervals, but whole plat- ^
oons fell under the scathing fire that swept the hill
as with a scythe. m
Had there been but one line to contend with, C
not a man would have been able to reach the sum- ai
mit of the dope alive; but though the foremost fine jf
had been fearfully thinned, the. second, closely fidlowed
by the third, began to mount the slope al- u
most intact It seemed in vain to oontend against p
soch overwhelming odds. u
If they could be staggered but only for a moment
1 If tbey would but quail before the fire and "
stand irresolute, for but a few seconds ere they ^
rushed on, the bullets would have time to tear ^
their broken line into shreds snd patches. Oh I si
the value of time at a moment such as this was. w
Bat twenty seconds of looking to the right and &
left, of skirmishing from the murderoas fire rolling ?
down, and of moditating upon a retreat! aye, even jt
, ten seconds; to suffer one or two more volleys to be f\
hurled into their ranks, and the day will rest w
with those iron-hearted men, pale with excitement? n
not with fear?whose hearts are leaping wildly, ^
fiercely, tumultuously, in their bosoms, as they see $
line after line, that they cannot break with their
fire, rushing on to the assault. They grow despe- ai
rate in their resolution to die on the spot?die
fighting for theirsunny South, without one thought p
of yielding to the fee. They feel thai in a few jj
minutes all will be over for them, and a fine of gory ?
corpses and multilsted forms, too terrible to look
upon, will mark the line where their struggling ft
ranks made a heroic and desperate stand. Each it
one feels that he, too, will form one in that line of fj
gory death or living agony, rooked with tortures ^
that language cannot compass. a
Victor was a brave soldier, and yet the sweat of Q
agony stood on his brow, when volfey after volley k
swept down the hill in vain, and he heard the t
tramp of armed men rushing up, and could dearly ?
1 read their countenances as, with set teeth and pale "
stern faces, they came swarming up in the fhoe of ?
the unintermitting fire that swept the hill in vain. ?
1 There was a slight curve in the line of the raik o
road, and the enemy were now within forty steps of. d
! that portion of the line where his Company stood, .
while the right of their line, having a greater spaoe "
' to pass over, had not yet begun to mount the slope. c
1 Victor felt that before he could run down another Q
cartridge the enemy would be upon him. "Fix o
' bayonets!" was the order that Captain Carberry at *
this moment issued, and Victor promptly prepared jjj
for the shock. He samnothingof what was passing B
behind or on either side of him. All his thoughts
1 were engaged with the enemy in front, whom he g
1 was about to meet in a fierce death grapple. He a
let go all dreams of victory or of life. The enemy c
were too many for the feeble line, of which he 8
formed a part, to oontend with successfully. He
put away the hopes of life and desperatelyresolved t
to die where he stood. There was a wild throb of ti
1 his heart as he thought of his mother and of Nel- 1
lie, and then, with a mighty effort, be put them r
' away from his thoughts, that a vain longing after ?
' things of life might not give a double bitterness to e
death. a
1 At this juncture a calm, quiet, composed voice o
from behind reached his ears, and startled him by *its
very composure. "
"Take care there in front; I am about to open ?
withmyguns!" -- . ' ?
' Victor started, and glanced baek. Scarce twnftty a
feetbehind, mounted upon a handsome charger, and t!
with a small riding whip in his hand, sat the bltie- - eyed
artillery officer directing his guns into posi-1
! Hnn Victor was startled bv the aDnarition. Mo- IV
' Gregor'a face was as calm and serene, as quiet and *
1 composed, as if he were bat taking a pleasant ride d
through the balmy air of May, and felt in his own v
soul, the soothing influences which the green land- D
scape and the fresh flowers and verdure of Spring ,
were calculated to impart. His tranquility was on- ?(
disturbed by the long lines of excited men, rush- ^
ingon to mortal combat with fierce yells, the ground tj
trembling beneath their feet, and'the air lighted up to
by the metallic shimmer of their gleaming muskets
and flashing bayonets. The prayers and impreca- 0
' tions of the wounded, their wails of agony, and the ?
fearful objects, frightfully still,, with which the b
; slopes of the hills befbre him were covered, seemed tJ
mere phantoms conjured up by the excited imagi- *
tions of others which, for him, had no reality?no *
existence?save that his face was beardless and in
the fresh bloom of youth, his sudden appearance u
on the battle-field would have reminded one of le
Neptune's rising from the boisterous waves, d
"Vultu quo fluctua SerenM."
There was but brief time for thought Having
uttered his caution, as the men in the railway cut n
shrank back to the right or left, the muzzles of the oi
terrible field pieces appeared looming over the low .
enbankment behind them and, one after another, fi
with a roar that made the hills quake, breathed b
aiul flamo a?wi rtiano oli/ii ?
tortn & Slumi ul SUIUKC <*uu uauie wuu qib^v cmjvw ^
upon the ranks of the enemy, that withered away I
before the terrible discharge. Owing to the position
of the enemy's line it was an enfilading firri y
' that made a fearful havoc in their ranks. Here K
went up a wild cry of agony from the red field, but ^
along the Confederate line there arose a lond cheer
that told of re-animated hearts. - h
rfhe guns of the battery that hadoomenpon the Ij
field at so opportune a moment, were handled with h
a will, and poured in so rapid a fire that the lines ?
of the enemv faltered and broke. The mo&etiy o
kept np its deadly rolling fire, and in two. inmates' *
time, toe mangled and bleeding cohrmM of the V
enemy, like a wave broken on the rock/or a ser- o
pent struck with a deadly blow, were rolling tack n
to the cover of the wood, shattered, dispirited and
cowed hy the unyielding finnmws that had hnried C
them back, when victory seemed almost within ?
their grasp.
/
"We have been & little too hard far fattier Jonthsn,
thirboat," exottmed ont of tbrarlifleryaaa
he wiped the streaming perspiration fain
oe. "When they don't coma mora than fire
><m$,they axe bound.tobe whipped, and yoacaa
ifeJv swear to that!
Victor ghnoad book towards the speaker, and
asrejoioedtoreeogiriiefahiffifherefMBliiwtifioha*
Brack, who waa attiring; By bmgoodeoodoet,
1 wipe away the stain that rested upoo hifl name,
^ith his dooehed hat poshed faaek noa his heew,
Mi his fc* flashed by h? raottt exertions, he
ood looking triumphsitifr at the scattered mmmteof
the enemy | cotamns disappearing onder
considerate interest in the nmoitanate ftflow.tnd
bo sought to Ratify and strengthen* his self-reject
by a kind and considerate word at eteifwpirtrmity;
'*700 handled year rammer fflce a mad
ho felt what was at Stake. I am greatly pleased
1 see yon so prompt and oook Yon hare done
mrdutywelL" .
a consolation to om and I wnFfayto deserve it "
OL AD I wish is to die like a cum at my gun,
id wine out, with my blood, what oaa never he
called. Some of these days, I wiB hare.my
iah; and then yon can write to poor Neffietbat
le past is Wiped ont, and that she need net bhuh
ith shame ft* her father."
A tew of genuine and hearty repentance trickled
own the cheek of the erring man, and Victor
mid not bat feel how blessed is die hand of Merr
wheq she tarns aside the sword of Jratice from
1- .*11
Victor caught tha firo of HoQiomt, who boftjl
ad smiled, and was about coming toward to apeak
) hiro, when his attention was claimed by an aide-camp,
who delivering him a brief message, htfed
on to bear an order to Colonel Giles.
"Very good; I shall toy to make the oboe too
ot for them, was the response of McGregor <6
le aide, as the latter was nchaar off; and moving
is grins some fifty yards from the spot, ha opened
rapid fire of shot and Ads upon the wooded
ill where the enemy had taken refuge. Inn very
unt time word passed along the fine?a mystort18
whisper at first?that the Confederates were,
i their torn, about to charge the enemy and make
a attempt to drive them from timer position
curlers were passing and repassing akmg the line, ;
od while it was evident that some movement of
portance was about to^be made, it was a matter
bp oonjecture whether the movement would ha a
large or a re treat The muskets were stiffmpsring
along the fines, this point a mere dipping
fire, while at other points the firing freshened
p into a pretty brisk and continuous rasDade.
The sun?the same sun that ot motoring's ? akening
had lighted up so many foes that ware
ow upturned to the evening eky, rigid, paBid and
istorted, with the dry hair clinging around the
ammy brow?was now ranking, after this day of
anghter, behind the green trees that fringed As
est era horizon. It seemed like a terrible aye flout
to withdraw its accusing mt from the awful
sene of rip, and miaery, ana bloodshed, oil which
had looked It hung in the wastern tkj hfce ?
icid hall of fire* no longer sending down its ebeerll
rays upon the earth aofbflofmmnre. It had
ithdrawn its beams from the earth. There was
either sunshine nor shadow on the field of the
ead, but in their place that oold grey tint that
ave equal prominence to every object m the fcatWe
panorama. It was an ominous kind of fight,
lat seemed to cast shadows onfy upon the bans
od spirits of men. . /J'
There waa an. air of suspense and breathtas ezectatioa
on every free. One of those mysterious,
isrincrive promptings?of the nature of whieh ton
now so little Imocmed to tadnam every mansf
)methiuff new sod st&rtiiDg usi st hifid *
Tho battery had been directing itofifc cteaffir
>r near fifteen minutes upon the wood-erowned hill v
i front when, suddenly far away on the extreme
;ght of the line, and faint from its very distance,
here were heard the wild and inspiriting cbeesrof tie
southern boys, rushing to the charge. Nearer
nd clearer rose the sound of the cheering, caught
p by sooce8rive regiments along the line, as with
ladled ardor and impetuosity, they too, rushedjou
a participate in the danger and glory of the daring
augbthrf the inspiriting cheers, andas one man,
rifcfi the confidence of successbeaming from their
ices, dashed forward from their ^DdQT tyd swept
n at the double-quick toperfonn their psnfo toe
a,fa work.
They went down the slope and mounted the hill
9 front, And from the wood, into which thiy disapeared,
was heard the rattle of musketry and the
lash of steel. bat over all?drowning the noise of
rasketry with itsjubilant tones?rose the wild yell
f the. Southron; sweeping the enemy before him
s the storm drives the chaff. The shooting and
be firing-needed ?vs* further and firintly iato the
infjmnwj telling, that the enemy was rooted and one
lore battle won.
MoQm^W^d^^nthe reardTUs
nimatiou. When it became endeot that the
barge was snooessfhl, his face relaxed its severity,
ad ne rave orders to put his battery in motion.
"limber Up boys ana be after them. We may
e needed at the front, and a sore thing it will be
o be wanted and not to be there. We wfil eras
be road yonder." Pointing with his ridnm whip
9 a point where it was practicable to crsn the railMid
track, about a hundred yards to the right of
rhere he stood, he soon had his guns in motion to *
illow np the infantry and support them in ease the
nemy should attempt to make -astand.' Making
detour to the rigfa to cross the road, he again Uiqued
to die left and followed in tne tradtof
iolonel Giles1 regiment There wasa good wagon
y&d through the woods, into which he tett withms
ons as he~was mounting the hill, and along this he
trewa with the fallen ana wounaeaof the eoeifty ad,
here .and there, nraeg T grey, unifbnn tow
aey had not fallen altogether unavenged.
- McGregor rode a few paces in front of his gnns
d examine the road and give directions for avetdig
the obstructions that might be in their my.
le had advanoed into the wood soaroe a hundred
ards, when full in his path lay a Confederate aolier,
who had fallen upon his face. The read was
rorn so deeply at this point that die guns oookl
ottorn aside and avoid crashing the body beneath >\
leir ponderous wheels. Calling forward a couple
f his men, he ordered them to remove the body
i the roadside, .and as they Sited it from oat of
ae way, and deposited it upon the green tarf by
lie road, Be coldly and mechanically turned his foee
5 glance at the Dody.
An expreasaon of intense mental pam passed
ver his features, and be was at onoe upon his feet
nd bending oyer the still warm body wSh all his
eligibilities painfully aroused. Thefioodma still
nbbling forth from a wound in the side, and dyed
he sod upon which it was laid. The cheeks from
rhioh the warm flush had not yet quite gone, and
he full Hps gently dosed as in dumb*, still worn
he expression of life.
"Brack! you most keep watch over this body
til I can return. This poo^feDowmnalWotbe
it for a fatigue party to huddle away insane half
ag grave in an obscure spot If iuaa p?imfcd
om returning, have the body conveyed to the eky
ad deoeutly buried, at aqrexpenaa, in aema church
urdand, mind you, Brack, let the grave be
larked with his name. It is a sad, sad ate, for
Be so young and so promising."
. "I shall ao it for the poor Mow, oheecfyiy and
??' illmol* T .ionfonint. IM wm Mimr
) that most assuredly," answered Brackj Us &m
)ftening into an expression of tender pdy, at he
ent over the yet warm dead. "What name shall
put on his grave, Lieutenant?"
You may fiw$etit, and I will write it down for
on, answered McGregor; and bendir^ upon one
nee hy the side of the body, he wrote the name
pen a card and attached it to the breast of the
Jlen soldier.
. 'Sf6 S&" ** lieutenant, m he rose to
If youbte me, Brack,see htm dooent'
buried in some Aurchyard, end report the spot
>nje. Did my duties alfcw me, I wouM not leave
* body until the last duties were pud it The
Hfi with his name, I have ftatened on his breast"
WJregor took the pusebas hand in his own,
reamait warmly, ana while a sob burst from his
reast turned quickly away, mounted hb horse and
xle on with his batteay.
Brack beat over the card and read?"Ftctor
Tarnett, *th South Caro&na?a tridoto't only ton.
hchitwar r
[TO BX oomnD nxft.impuj