A HOT DAY ON MA RYE’S HEIGHTS.

99

two regiments of his infantry, to reenforce6 men in the sunken road, who were runningort of ammunition, and to take command.

^ _ ce sharp-shooters having got rauge of our em-msures, we began to suffer. Corporal Ruggles1 mortally wounded, and Perry, who seized theb^n 11161 as ^ fr° m Ituggles’s hand, received athe arm. Kodd was holding “ vent,” andj^ a y Went his “crazybone.” In quick successionji, ® re tt, Rossiter, and Kurslieedt were wounded.a couer in passing in rear of the guns was struckmd the ear and fell dead. We were now so01 t-handedthat every one was in the work, officersmen putting their shoulders to the wheels anduning up the guns after each recoil. The frozen°und had given w T ay and was all slush and mud.Ug e Were compelled to call upon the infantry to helpat the guns. Eslileman crossed over from thethe * t0 1 ’ e P 01 ’ t l lis guns nearly out of ammunition;red °^ ler officers reported the same. They were0 , , Uce< l to a few solid shot only. It was now 5Th»° C k’ P ' M ‘> ai ffi there was a lull in the storm.

enemy did not seem inclined to renew his

so our guns were withdrawn one by one,tlle batteries of Woolfolk and Moody were

substituted.

th 16 bttle whitewashed brick-house to the right ofdn / eclou bt we were in was so battered with bulletsat ^ our hours and a half engagement that

d u , 6 dose it was transformed to a bright brick-re d. An old east-iron stove lay against the

house, and as the bullets would strike it it wouldgive forth the sound of “bing! bing!” with dif-ferent tones and variations. During the hottestof the firing old Mr. Florence, our non-combatantfriend, was peering around the end of the house(in which, by the way, our "wounded took refuge),looking out to see if his son, who was at the gun,was all right. A cannon-ball struck the top of thework, scattering dirt all over us and profuselydown our necks, and, striking the end of the house,carried away a cart-load of bricks, just where Mr.Florence had been looking an instant before. Wethought surely he had met his fate, but in a mo-ment we were pleased to see his gray head “bobup serenely,” determined to see “what was the gageof the battle.”

After withdrawing from the hill the commandwas placed in bivouac, and the men threw them-selves upon the ground to take a much-needed rest.We had been under the hottest fire men ever ex-perienced for four hours and a half, and our losshad been three killed and twenty-four wounded.Among them was Sergeant John Wood, onr lead-ing spirit in camp theatricals, who was severelyinjured and never returned to duty. One gun wasslightly disabled, and we had exhausted all of ourcanister, shell and case shot, and nearly every solidshot in our chests. At 5:30 another attack wasmade by the enemy, but it was easily repulsed, andthe battle of Fredericksburg was over, and Burn-side was baffled and defeated.

O'" ..!>■

WINTER SPORT IN A CONFEDERATE CAMP.