The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 10, July 1906 - April, 1907 Page: 290
ix, 354 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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290
Texas Historical Association Quarterly.
At a gallop he went in the direction of his command, which was
mainly to our left, as I now recall these incidents. A portion of
the troops that were near us had silently moved forward in the
night. Perhaps the whole line moved forward; I do not know,
but I remember we had several hundred yards to ride in the di-
rection we took before we came in sight of the lines now fully
engaged.
Immediately following the opening gun, portions of lines seemed
to me to commence firing by volleys. Then the division to which
we were advancing became engaged all at once; the file-firing
seemed continuous, as if the men were engaged in close and steady
duel. The artillery to right and left of us and in front also had
now awakened to a continual volume of sound-no stop, no inter-
mission. Now, for the first time, I heard the sound of "dread
artillery," for almost immediately the enemy responded with every
available gun, and round shot and shell came through or over the
ranks in a storm. The mists of the morning were heavy, and the
smoke clinging close to the ground made it difficult to see ten paces
in front.
I shall remember the first wounded man I saw as we passed in.
He was half reclining near the foot of an oak tree with an
awful wound in his stomach, made apparently by a fragment of a
shell, a portion of his bowels protruding and partly lying on the
ground. Evidently he had just been wounded, for as General
Johnston stopped to 'talk to him a moment, his eyes were bright
and face animated as he was telling the general how the Yankees
broke and fled at the first fire. General Johnston ordered the sur-
geon who was along with us to stop and give him some attention.
About this time, or perhaps a few yards further on, the general
was notified that part of our line was giving way. Instantly he
quickened to a gallop, with the staff and escort following, and
right into the mele we plunged. Here was my first sight of the
"battle joined." It must have been a part of Hindman's line, for
we saw that officer in one of the most dramatic scenes I witnessed
during the whole war. Mounted on a fine horse, his uniform covered
with an oil poncho which glistened in the light rain that was fall-
ing, he was just behind his line, whooping like a Comanche, with
his horse in a dead run, and from one end of his brigade to the
other he was urging his charging column forward on the enemy,
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 10, July 1906 - April, 1907, periodical, 1907; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101040/m1/322/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.