|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 31
About eight o'clock P.M. a council of war was held among the
principal generals, and the plan of battle arranged. In an open
space, with a dim fire in the midst, and a drum on which to write,
you could see grouped around their "little Napoleon," as Beauregard
was sometimes fondly called, ten or twelve generals, the flickering
light playing over their eager faces, while they listened to his
plans and made suggestions as to the conduct of the fight. He soon
warmed with his subject, and throwing off his cloak to give free
play to his arms, he walked about in the group, gesticulating
rapidly, and jerking out his sentences with a strong French accent.
All listened attentively, and the dim light just revealing their
countenances showed their different emotions of confidence or
distrust in his plans. General Sidney Johnson stood apart from the
rest, with his tall straight form standing out like a specter
against the dim sky, and the illusion was fully sustained by the
light-gray military cloak which he folded around him. His face was
pale, but wore a determined expression, and at times he drew nearer
the center of the ring and said a few words, which were listened to
with great attention. It may be he had some foreboding of the fate
he was to meet on the morrow, for he did not seem to take much part
in the discussion. General Breckenridge lay stretched out on a
blanket near the fire, and occasionally sat upright and added a few
words of counsel. General Bragg spoke frequently and with
earnestness. General Polk sat on a camp-stool at the outside of the
circle, and held his head between his hands, seeming buried in
thought. Others reclined or sat in various positions. What a grand
study for a Rembrandt was this, to see these men, who held the lives
of many thousands in their power, planning how best to invoke the
angel Azrael to hurl his darts with the breaking of morning light.
For two hours the council lasted, and as it broke up, and the
generals were ready to return to their respective commands, I heard
General Beauregard say,--raising his hand and pointing in the
direction of the Federal camps, whose drums we could plainly
hear,--"Gentlemen, we sleep in the enemy's camp to-morrow night."
The Confederate generals had minute information of General Grant's
position and numbers. This knowledge was obtained through spies and
informers, some of whom had lived in that part of the country and
knew every foot of the ground.
Yet that was a dreary night to prepare for the dreadful battle of
to-morrow. The men were already weary, hungry, and cold. No fires
were allowed, except in holes in the ground, over which the soldiers
bent with their blankets round their shoulders, striving to catch
and concentrate the little heat that struggled up through the bleak
April air. Many a poor fellow wrote his last sentence in his
note-book that night by the dim light of these smothered fires, and
sat and talked in undertones of home, wife, and mother, sister or
sweetheart. Promises were made to take care of each other, if
wounded, or send word home, if slain; keepsakes were looked at again
for the last time, and silent prayers were offered by men unused to
look above. What an awful thing is war! Here lay, almost within
cannon-shot of one another, eighty or ninety thousand men--brothers
of the same race and nation, many of them blood relations;
thousands of them believing in the same Saviour, and worshiping the
same God, their prayers meeting that night at the throne of Heavenly
Grace;--yet waiting for the light of the holy Sabbath that they may
see how most surely to destroy one another! And yet the masses of
these have no ill feeling. It is human butchery, at the bidding of
arch-conspirators. Upon them be all the blood shed! A fearful guilt
is theirs!
What sleep the men could get on the cold, damp ground, with little
protection or fire, they secured during the early part of Saturday
night. On Sunday morning, the 6th of April, we were under arms and
ready to move by three o'clock.
General Hardee, one of the bravest men in the Confederate service,
led the advance and center, and made the attack. Had I not been
called to staff duty, I should have been in the advance with my
company. Glad was I that I was not called to fire upon the
unsuspecting soldiers of my Northern home. As the day dawned we
could hear the musketry, first in dropping shots, then volley after
volley, as the battle grew hotter. A little after daylight we
passed General Beauregard and staff, who were then over a mile in
rear of the troops engaged. He addressed each brigade as it passed,
assuring them of a glorious victory, telling them to fight with
perfect confidence, as he had 80,000 men available, who should come
into action as fast as needed; and wherever reinforcements were
wanted, Beauregard would be there. This boast of 80,000 men the
officers knew to be false, as he had not a man over 45,000; but as
he expected 30,000 under Price and Van Dorn he counted them in, and
added 10,000 more to strengthen confidence. But neither he nor any
other Confederate general asks any defence for such statements.
"Military necessity" will justify any course they choose to take in
advancing their cause. After we passed Beauregard, a few minutes of
"double quick" brought our division to Grant's advance pickets, who
had been surprised and cut down by Hardee's cavalry. This was the
first time many of the soldiers had seen men killed in battle, and
they stepped carefully around the dead bodies, and seemed to
shudder at the sight. General Breckenridge observing it, said
quickly, "Never mind this, boys; press on!" Before night, those who
remained walked over dead bodies in heaps without a shudder. We soon
reached an open field, about eighty rods wide, on the further side
of which we could see the camps, and the smoke of battle just
beyond. We here made a sharp _d�tour_ to the right, and ascended a
broken range of hills, pressing on for nearly a mile. Here we took
position just in front of General Albert Sidney Johnson and staff,
and awaited orders. General Breckenridge rode up to General Johnson,
and after conversing in a low tone for a few minutes, Johnson said,
so that many heard it, "I will lead _your_ brigade into the fight
to-day; for I intend to show these Tennesseans and Kentuckians that
I am no coward." Poor general! you were not allowed the privilege.
We then advanced in line of battle, and General Statham's brigade
was engaged first. "Boys," said Breckenridge, "we must take that
battery which is shelling Statham. Will you do it?" A wild shout of
"Ay, ay, sir," and "Forward to take that battery," was the word;
but before we reached the ground it was withdrawn. We now advanced,
cautiously, and soon entered the camp of the Seventy-first Ohio
Volunteers. By this time, ten o'clock A.M., the battle seemed to be
raging along the whole line.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|