The Sword of Antietam: A Story of the Nation's CrisisAltsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
History
The Sword of Antietam: A Story of the Nation's Crisis
Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Juvenile fiction
The decimated Ohio regiments beyond the creek were gathering themselves
anew for the battle, and so were the men of Colonel Winchester, now
reduced to half their numbers again. Then a great shout arose. A fresh
brigade had come up to their relief, and aided by these new men they
made good the ground upon which they stood.
Another shout arose, telling that Buell was coming, and, two hours after
the combat had opened, he arrived with more troops. But night was now at
hand, and the sun set over a draw like that at Antietam. Forty thousand
men had fought a battle only about three hours long, and eight thousand
of them lay dead or wounded upon the sanguinary field. One half the
Union army never reached the field in time to fight.
As both sides drew off in the darkness, Dick shouted in triumph,
thinking they had won a victory. A bullet fired by some retiring
Southern skirmisher glanced along his head. There was a sudden flash of
fire before him and then darkness. His body fell on a little slope and
rolled among some bushes.
The close hot night came down upon the field, and the battle, the most
sanguinary ever fought on Kentucky soil, had closed. Like so many other
terrible struggles of the Civil War, it had been doubtful, or almost,
so far as the fighting was concerned. The Northern left wing had been
driven back, but the Northern right wing had held firm against every
attack of the enemy.
Pennington, when he lay panting on the ground with the remnant of the
Winchesters, knew little about the result of the combat. He knew that
their own division had suffered terribly. The Ohio recruits had been cut
almost to pieces, and the Winchester regiment had been reduced by half
again. He was so tired that he did not believe he could stir for a long
time. He felt no wound, but every bone ached from weariness, and his
throat and mouth seemed to burn with smoke and dust.
Pennington did not see either Dick or Warner, but as soon as he got a
little strength into his limbs he would look for them. No doubt they
were safe. A special providence always watched over those fellows. It
was true that Warner had been wounded at the Second Manassas, but a
hidden power had guided Dick to him, and he got well so fast that he was
able to fight soon afterward at Antietam.
Pennington lay still, and he heard all around him the deep breathing of
men who, like himself, were so worn that they could scarcely move. The
field in front of him darkened greatly, but he saw lights moving there,
and he knew that they belonged to little parties from either army
looking for the wounded. He began to wonder which side had won the
battle.
“Ohio,” he said to one of the Ohio lads who lay near, “did we lick the
Johnnies, or did the Johnnies lick us?”
“Blessed if I know, and I don't care much, either. Four fellows that I
used to play with at school were killed right beside me. It was my first
battle, and, Oh, I tell you, it was awful!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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