. The boys of '61; or, Four years of fighting. Personal observation with the army and navy, from the first battle of Bull run to the fall of Richmond . he movement. The divisions moved past the cemetery, past Roulets house,the left of Frenchs and the right of Richardsons, joining inthe ravine. A few rods beyond the house the Rebel skirmish-ers opened a galling fire. Our own advanced rapidly, drovethem in through the nearest cornfield. They fled to the road,and the field beyond. The road is narrow, and by long usage and heavy rains, hasbecome a trench, a natural rifle-pit about two and a half f
. The boys of '61; or, Four years of fighting. Personal observation with the army and navy, from the first battle of Bull run to the fall of Richmond . he movement. The divisions moved past the cemetery, past Roulets house,the left of Frenchs and the right of Richardsons, joining inthe ravine. A few rods beyond the house the Rebel skirmish-ers opened a galling fire. Our own advanced rapidly, drovethem in through the nearest cornfield. They fled to the road,and the field beyond. The road is narrow, and by long usage and heavy rains, hasbecome a trench, a natural rifle-pit about two and a half feetdeep. The Rebels had thrown off the top rails of the fence infront, and strengthened the position by making them intoabatti, — imitating the example set by General Stark on thenortheastern slope of Bunker Hill, in 1775. The roadway was their first line; their second was in thecorn, five or six rods farther west. The Union troops advanced in front of the road, when uprose the first Rebel line. The fence became a line of flame andsmoke. The cornfield beyond, on higher ground, was a sheetof fire. With a rush and cheer, the men in blue moved up. INVASION OF MARYLAND. 119 to the fence, ploughed through and through by the batteriesabove, cut and gashed by the leaden hail, thrust the muzzles oftheir guns into the faces of the Rebels and fired. The first Rebel line was nearly annihilated, and the deadlying beneath the tasselled corn were almost as many as thegolden ears upon the stalks. Visiting the spot when the con-test was over, I judged from a little counting that a thousandof the enemys dead were in the road and the adjoining field,A shell had thrown seven into one heap, — some on theirfaces, some on their backs, — fallen as a handful of strawswould fall when dropped upon the ground. But not they alonesuffered. The bloody tide which had surged through all themorning between the ridges above, along the right, had flowedover the hill at this noontide hour. The yellow
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Keywords: ., bookauthorcoffinch, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookyear1884
