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THE INDIANA BRIGADE.
TWELVE thousand stanch, undaunted
men, Twelve thousand Hoosiers we
The rifles on our shoulders,
The sabres at our knee.
From Indiana we are come,
Trav'ling mountains o'er;
And the song we sing is, Carry me
back To Old Virginia shore !
Our harvest fields of golden
grain
Are left with those we love ;
We're fighting to maintain for
aye The flag that floats above.
There's many a rebel soldier
knows, When welt'ring in his gore,
The reason why we've tramped so
far To Old Virginia shore.
The gray-haired man his blessing
pours, With tears, as we pass by ;
The red-checked girl her welcome
speaks, With a brightly-sparkling eye.
They're glad we've come ; for
rebels fly, Their
cannon cease to roar,
Their flag to scent the mountain
air That wraps Virginia's shore.
Twelve thousand stanch, undaunted
men—Twelve thousand more to come ;
And many eyes shall never see
The smiles that welcome home.
But hands are firm, and hearts
will dare Brave deeds ne'er heard before
The
stars and stripes shall float
again O'er all Virginia's shore.
NEW ALBANY, July 20.
THE WOUNDED AT THE BATTLE
OF BULL RUN.
ON
page 502 we illustrate
CARRYING IN THE WOUNDED AT THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN, from sketches by our special
artist. The fate of many of the wounded was terrible; they were bayoneted where
they lay by the rebel troops. The following, from the New York Tribune, is one
of many pieces or evidence which have been laid before the public :
Surgeon Barnes, of the New York
Twenty-eighth Volunteers, was in the fight all through, and came out of it in
his shirt sleeves, having lost coat, sash, watch, and all his surgical
instruments, having been charged on by the
Black Horse Cavalry and compelled to
leave the field, being driven from under a tree where he had established his
temporary quarters, and where he was attending to the wounds of about
twenty-five injured men, part of whom were secessionists.
Surgeon Barnes went up to the
battle-field in the rear of the attacking column, and, as soon as our men began
to fall, he took a position with his assistants under a tree, in a little
ravine. The wounded men were brought to him, and he took off his green sash and
hung it on the tree to signify that the place was under the charge of a surgeon.
The injured men were brought in rapidly, and in fifteen minutes he had under his
charge nearly thirty. As fast as possible he attended to their hurts, and in a
short time had been compelled to perform a number of capital operations. He
amputated four legs, three arms, a hand, and a foot, and attended to a number of
minor injuries. By this time the enemy had discovered the place, and the nature
of the men in charge, and began to pour in musket-balls, and projectiles from
rifled cannon. The place became unsafe for the wounded men, and it was seen to
be necessary to remove them. The Surgeon's Assistants and servant had become
separated from him, and he had no one to send for ambulances, and was obliged to
leave the wounded men and go himself. It was no easy matter to procure
ambulances enough, and it was probably thirty minutes before the Surgeon
returned with the necessary assistance. When he returned he found that every one
of those wounded men had been bayoneted or sabred, and was dead. They were
literally cut to pieces.
THE FIRE ZOUAVES AND THE
BLACK HORSE CAVALRY.
WE publish on
page 501 an
illustration of the terrible conflict which took place at the
battle of Bull Run
between the Fire Zouaves and the
Black Horse Cavalry. One of the lieutenants of
the Zouaves thus tells the tale :
The Zouaves rushed out of the
woods only to find themselves the target for another body of infantry beyond,
while the Black Horse Cavalry were seen charging full upon them. Things looked
badly, when, fortunately, the infantry were engaged by another regiment, thus
giving the Zouaves time to prepare for the charge from the horsemen. They formed
hastily in line, kneeling, semi-kneeling, and standing, that, Ellsworth fashion,
they might receive their enemies with successive volleys. On came the Horse—a
full regiment of brave men, splendidly mounted, and as ready for mischief as
those on whom they hoped to fall. To an early discharge from the cavalry the
Zouaves made no response, although several of the men were killed, but waited
patiently until the enemy was almost upon them, when, in quick succession, the
three ranks fired, each man doing his best for the good cause. The shock to the
rebels was great; but they rallied, behaving splendidly, and attempted a renewal
of the charge, for which, however, the excited firemen were prepared, and for
which the Black Horse Cavalry paid most dearly. They were completely shattered,
broken up, and swept away. Not more than a hundred of them rode off, and as they
went their rebellious ears were saluted with "One, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, tigah, Zouave!" and such a "tiger repeat" as one can only appreciate when
he has heard it.
The following account is from a
private letter:
The
New York Zouaves received the
first charge of the famous Black Horse Guard, about which Governor Wise has so
often spoken. It was a splendid corps of cavalry, all the horses of which were
coal black. They came upon the Zouave regiment at a gallop, and were received by
the brave firemen upon their poised bayonets, followed instantly by a volley,
from which they broke and fled, though several of the Zouaves were cut down in
the assault. They quickly returned, with their forces doubled—perhaps six or
seven hundred—and again they dashed with fearful yells upon the excited Zouaves.
This time they bore an American flag, and a part of the Zouaves supposed for an
instant that they were fiends, whom they had originally mistaken. The flag was
quickly thrown down, however, the horses dashed upon the regiment, the ruse was
discovered, and the slaughter commenced. No quarter, no halting, no flinching
now, marked the rapid and death-dealing blows of our men as they closed in upon
the foe, in their madness and desperation. Our brave fellows fell, the ranks
filled up, the sabres, bowie-knives, and bayonets glistened in the sunlight,
horse after horse went down, platoon after platoon disappeared—the rattle of
musketry, the screams of the rebels, the shout of " Remember
Ellsworth!"
from the lungs of the Zouaves,
and the yells of the wounded and crushed belligerents filled the air, and a
terrible carnage succeeded. The gallant Zouaves fought to the death, and were
sadly cut up ; but of those hundreds of
Black Horse Guards not many left that
bloody encounter!
THE RETREAT.
OUR special artist has supplied
us with the sketch which we reproduce on
page 500, representing the
RETREAT FROM
BULL RUN on 21st ult. It shows the stragglers and fugitives well covered by
Colonel Blenker's brigade. The Tribune correspondent thus depicted the movement
:
Stretching far across the road,
long before the hoped-for refuge of
Centreville was reached, was a firm,
unswerving line of men, to whom the sight of the thousands who dashed by them
was only a wonder or a scorn. This was the German rifle regiment; and to see the
manly bearing of their General, and feel the inspiration which his presence gave
at that moment, was like relief to those who perish in a desert. At least, then,
all was not lost ; and we knew that, let our destiny turn that night as it
should, there was one man who would hold and keep the false of the nation
unsullied to the end.
I need not speak much in praise
of the action of Blenker and the officers who served him so well. The events
speak for them. Steady and watchful, he held his line throughout the evening,
advancing his skirmishers at every token of attack, and spreading a sure
protection over the multitudes who fled disordered through the columns. With
three regiments he stood to fight against an outnumbering enemy already flushed
with victory, and eager to complete its triumph. As the darkness increased his
post became more perilous and more honorable. At 11 o'clock the attack came upon
the advance company of Colonel Stahel's Rifles, not in force, but from a body of
cavalry whose successful passage would have been followed by a full force, and
the consequent destruction of our broken host. The rebel cavalry was driven
back, and never returned, and at two in the morning, the great body of our
troops having passed and found their road to safety, the command was given to
retreat in order, and the brigade fell slowly and regularly back, with the same
precision as if on parade, and as thoroughly at the will of their leader as if
no danger had ever come near them. Over and over again Blenker begged permission
to maintain his post, or even to advance. " Retreat !" said he to
McDowell's
messenger; "bring me the word to go on, Sir!" but the command was peremptory,
and he was left no alternative.
CONCERNING FIRE-ARMS.
FIELD ARTILLERY.
SIEGE guns are never made of
wrought iron or bronze, owing to their expensiveness and lack of durability.
Field Artillery comprises the smaller guns and howitzers, including 6 and
12-pound guns and 12 and 24-pound howitzers. All of these are made of bronze,
the superior tenacity of which renders it the best material for light artillery.
The effective range of field artillery is as follows :
12-pounder 1000 yards.
6-pounder 800 yards.
24-pounder (howitzer) 600
yards.
12-pounder (howitzer) 500
yards. Do. do., grape and canister, 300 to 500 yards.
Two guns of modern invention are
worthy of particular description from the notice they have attracted from the
first European nations, as well as from the peculiarities of their
construction—these are the Armstrong and Whitworth guns. Mr. W. G. Armstrong, of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne (now Sir William Armstrong), about the year 1854 constructed
a field-piece upon plans which he had long studied, and which he considered
destined to change the whole system of modern ordnance. The Arm-strong gun is
formed with a steel tube, rifled with thirty or forty grooves, and bound round
on the outside with strips of wrought iron laid on spirally, of course
materially strengthening the gun. The projectile is a pointed cylinder, similar
in shape to a Minie ball, made of cast iron and coated with lead. The gun is
breech-loading, in order to admit of a larger ball, to insure its tilling the
grooves. The ball can be used either as shot or shell ; the latter by filling it
with powder and attaching a detonating fuse at the point. The gun is mounted on
a carriage with pivot-frame, recoil-slide, and screw for elevating and
depressing, and for horizontal movements. The ball acts as a shot before
bursting as a shell; penetrating the object and bursting immediately after. This
gun has an enormous range, twice or three times that of other field guns of the
same calibre, and with remarkable accuracy. It is stated, however, that, owing
to various reasons, it has been condemned by the Horse Guards. Mr. Armstrong has
an immense manufactory, and for the past five years has had the name of having
produced the most effective gun ever invented. Various objections have been
urged against it ; the fact of its being breech-loading and complicated, and the
use of lead on the ball, which was liable to stripping, being the most
important.
The Whitworth rifled cannon
obtains its remarkable power and accuracy by the adoption of a polygonal spiral
bore of uniform pitch, more rapid than could be obtained by grooves. The
12-pounder-one of which was a few days since exhibited in this city—with a bore
of 3.2 inches, has one turn in sixty inches; it is eight feet long and
breech-loading. The projectile is oblong, made of cast iron, and formed to fit
the grooves of the barrel. The breech of the gun is covered with a cap which
screws on, and on being removed swings to one side upon a hinge ; the projectile
is then inserted into the open breech, and followed by a tin cartridge-case
containing the powder, and capped by a cake of wax or other lubricating
composition; the breech-cap is then swung too and screwed on by its handles, a
fuse inserted into the vent, and the gun is discharged. The lubricating matter
being carried out with the ball effectually cleanses the gun, and the deposit is
afterward withdrawn with the cartridge-case. As there is no exhalation of gases
from the breech-cap, one of the worst features of breech-loading guns is
avoided. The range of this gun is said to be greater than the Armstrong gun, and
its accuracy more positive. Guns of the size herein described cost £300 in
England.
OTHER GUNS.
Other new guns and implements of
war have been named ; as " Hotchkiss's Rifled Cannon," "Winans Steam-gun," the "
Centrifugal gun," etc., but these have been fully described in the daily papers
as they have made their appearance. Of course the inventive talent of the
country will now be chiefly directed toward producing those articles which will
become necessary in prosecuting the present war.
PROJECTILES.
It remains only to name and
describe the missiles used in artillery warfare : these are solid shot, shells,
strap-shot, case or canister shot, grape-shot, light and fireballs, carcasses,
grenades, and rockets.
Of the various kinds of solid
shot, we have already described those prepared for rifled cannon, and the rest
are too common and well known to need any careful description. They are made of
cast iron, in sand or iron moulds. Hot shot is used for firing ships or forts,
and other combustible matter ; they are heated in furnaces to a red or white
heat. Shells, bombs, grenades, and hollow shot are made of cast iron, and
usually spherical. They are filled with combustible matter, and fired by means
of a fuse, regulated to explode the projectile at the desired moment. Grenades
are frequently fired from howitzers on the field of battle to dislodge cavalry
or infantry from some important post.
Strap-shot is so called from the
fact that the ball is attached or strapped by bands of tin to the cartridge.
Canister is prepared by filling a tin canister with grape-shot or musket-balls
and attaching it to a cartridge. Light-balls and fire-balls are composed of
combustible material, which lights up very brilliantly, and are fired at night
for the purpose of exposing an enemy's actions or illuminating a camp.
Carcasses, smoke-balls, and suffocating-balls are shells with several fuse
holes, from which horrible fumes, vapors, or flames rush forth, blinding and
suffocating all around. They are used to drive an enemy from mines or galleries,
or to clear a breach in a fortress. Grape-shot are larger than musket-balls, and
are fastened together between plates in the form of a bunch of grapes. Shrapnel
are spherical shells filled with bullets and powder, and fired by a common fuse.
HUMORS OF THE DAY.
EXTRAVAGANCE IN CUPID'S GARDEN.
As down in Cupid's Garden
For pastime I did go,
Considering Fashion's flowers
Which in that garden grow;
Which in that garden grow. I see
a fine young lady,
And unto her did say,
"Beest thee engaged to e'er a
young Swell? Come tell me now, I pray;
Come tell me now, I pray?" "I
ben't engaged to ne'er a young Swell, I'm sorry to declare :
For I cost so much in Crinoline,
And the other things I wear;
And the other things I wear."
ADVICE TO OPERA-GOERS.—Never
volunteer to take any lady to a performance which you are particularly desirous
of hearing, for fear she should be taken ill soon after it has begun, and want
to go home. The observance of this rule will by no means be necessarily mere
selfishness. If you wish to be kind to her, and treat her to an opera, do so,
only wait till you are asked. Then you will find that she will not fall ill at
the theatre, or if she does, so much the better, as far as your entertainment is
concerned; for you will have taken her to hear music which you don't care about,
and from which you will be glad to get away.
Mr. Merryman Lathrop says when he
went on the steamer to California, they kept the chickens in the hatchway, the
beef in the bullworks, near the steerage, and when they ran out of eggs the ship
lay too.
OLD FOGY'S GLEE. OH, the
girls that we have seen All in their time so fair!
Now some are fat, and some are
lean, So much the worse for wear. To think I see my early flame In yonder Mrs.
Grundy! Once I was mad for that old dame! Sic transit gloria mundi!
THE DEAR CREATURES.—When a
certain Oriental potentate wants to ruin one of his principal subjects he makes
him a present of a white elephant, which the poor man is obliged to keep, and by
which, therefore, he is soon financially eaten up. In this country the
fashionable mamma, who contrives to inveigle a soft young man into marriage with
her expensive daughter, saddles him with an incumbrance corresponding exactly to
the white elephant, in very speedily reducing him to ruin, and, as it were,
eating him out of house and home.
A SECRET OUT OF THE
PRISON-HOUSE.—Women, when they get together, talk about themselves, or their
children, their servants, their dresses, their rivals, their conquests, their
pleasures; men, when they get together, talk of nothing but their dear wives !
CENSUS CURIOSITIES.—As one
of the enumerators for the burgh of Brechin was transferring the census papers
he had distributed and collected into his book, he came upon one that had termed
himself "a ten-feet weaver," meaning by this, we suppose, that he "tramped ten
treddles." An Irishman, in Maxwelltown, Dundee, under the column "Deaf, dumb, or
blind," entered opposite his own name, "Not deaf—I wish I was;" while opposite
his spouse he had inserted, "Not dumb—I wish she were." Under the heading,
"Rank, profession, or occupation," for his wife he wrote, " God help her, for
she can do nothing." In one of the numerous streets that branch off from the
Hawkhill, Dundee, resides an old woman and her daughter. Both being, like Jeanie
Deans, "but indifferent pen-women," they requested a neighboring young man to
fill up their census paper. He got on quite satisfactorily until the column
"Age" came to be filled up, when, with the elderly woman. there seemed to be is
shortness of memory. The young man, after waiting a short time, asked what he
should put down. "Oh," said she, "ye may pit doon sixty." The daughter's line
was then commenced to be filled up, but the age again seemed to puzzle the
mother. The young man had once more to ask what he would put down, and the
mother, after a moment's consideration, said, " Ye may ca' her fifty."
An eccentric genius, we believe
in Inverness, who lives in a house which he calls a " castle," gave the
following answers to the queries in the census paper. Under the heading
"Domestic servants, lodgers, and visitors," he wrote
" Plenty of mice, and lots of
rats,
A nice young dog, and two young
cats." Under the head "Age" was written
"I will not swear that I am
fifty,
Though growing wise, and also
thrifty."
His "castle" he describes as
consisting of one room, one window, one door, and thirty air-holes." Happy man!
he is evidently a philosopher as well as a wit.
Sheridan's neglect of letters was
a standing joke against him. He never took the trouble to open any that he did
not expect, and often left sealed many that he was most anxious to read. He once
appeared with his begging face at the bank, humbly asking an advance of twenty
pounds. "Certainly, Sir; would you like any more—fifty or a hundred? said the
smiling clerk. Sherry was overpowered. He would like a hundred. "Two or three?"
asked the scribe. Sherry thought he was joking, but was ready for two, or even
three—he was always ready for more. But he could not conceal his surprise. "Have
you not received our letter?" the clerk asked, perceiving it. Certainly he had
received the epistle, which informed him that his salary as Receiver-General of
Cornwall had been paid in, but he had never opened it.
"If you marry," said a Roman
consul to his son, "let it be to a woman—" "Very proper advice," said Mrs.
Partington, interrupting Ike, who was reading; "but I don't know how he could
have given any other under the circumstance, seeing that Providence foreordained
that it should be so, previously beforehand, though in one sense all the girls
that marry are not women either, because they toil not, neither do they spin,
and know no more about housekeeping than the fifth wheel of a coach."
"But," said Ike, putting in, "you
didn't hear it all. ' If you marry,' said a Roman consul
to his son, 'let it be a woman who has judgement and
industry enough to get a meal of victuals, taste enough to
dress neat, pride enough to wash before breakfast, and
sense enough to hold her tongue.'" " Very good," said the old lady, and she
nodded her head as though the idea were adjusting itself to a satisfactory place
in her mind.
Those who take no account of
their own sins in life may expect to be brought one day to a " dead reckoning."
AN UNWELCOME
RETURN.
THREE MONTHS' VOLUNTEER. "What!
don't you know me—your own husband ?"
DAUGHTER OF COLUMBIA. " Get away!
No husband of mine would be here while the country needs his help."
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