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THE BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN, OR BOONSBORO’.
“ I said: ‘ No, it is my duty to behere with my regiment, but you couldbetter superintend your brigade froma safer position.’
“Just then I was shot in the hip,and as there was no field-officer thenwith the regiment, other than myself, Itold him of my wound, and that itmight disable me, and in that case Twished a field-officer to take my place.He turned and gave some order, whichI have forgotten. In a moment I hearda groan, and looked and found himmortally wounded and writhing inpain. We continued to occupy thisposition for some time, when I sent myadjutant to the right to see what w T asgoing on (as the furious fighting hadceased in that direction). He returnedand reported that the remainder of thebrigade was gone and that the groundwas occupied by the enemy. I thenattempted to go to the left, hoping tocome in contact with some portion ofyour command, but was again con-fronted by the enemy. I next tried toretreat to the rear, but to my dismayfound myself entirely surrounded. Theenemy in front was pressing us, and I saw but one way out, and that was to charge those in myfront, repel them, if possible, and then, before they could recover, make a dash at those in myrear and cut my way out. This plan was successfully executed. I shall never forget the feelingsof relief which I experienced when I first caught sight of you. You rode up to me, and, shakingmy hand, said that you had given us up for lost and did not see how it was possible for us to haveescaped. You then attached us to G. B. Anderson’s brigade, which had come up in the mean-time. ... I remember one remark which you made just after congratulating me uponcutting my way out that surprised me very much. You said that you were greatly gratified tofind that McClellan’s whole army was in your front. As I knew how small your force was, Icould not understand how it could be a source of pleasure to you to find yourself assailed bytwenty times your number. In a moment you made it plain to me by saying that you hadfeared at first that McClellan’s attack upon you was but a feint, and that with liis main armyhe would cross the mountain at some of the lower gaps and would thus cut in between Jack-son’s corps and the forces under Lee.”
A little before this I had seen from the lookout station near the MountainHouse the vast army of McClellan spread out before me. The marching col-umns extended back far as eye could see in the distance; but many of thetroops had already arrived and were in double lines of battle, and thoseadvancing were taking up positions as fast as they arrived. It was a grandand glorious spectacle, and it was impossible to look at it without admira-tion. I had never seen so tremendous an army before, and I did not see onelike it afterward. For though we confronted greater forces at Yorktown,Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and about Richmond under Grant, these wereonly partly seen, at most a corps at a time. But here four corps were in fullview, one of which was on the mountain and almost within rifle-range. The
BRIGADIER-GENERAL SAMUEL GARLAND, JR., C. S. A., KILLEDAT SOUTH MOUNTAIN. FROM A PHOTOGRAPH.