The boom of artillery fire and the crack of lead bullets being propelled at lethal velocities out of the smooth barrels seventy-five yards away thundered over the sweet sound of Union drums, while the gun smoke obscured the view of salvation; the glorious Union flag. Roger Cutler, alongside his artillery division, was experiencing shell-shock, stunned by the barrage of enemy fire. He laid there, amidst the utter cacophony and violence, fading in and out of consciousness. … “Up!” yelled a large man with a thick southern accent as he jammed the barrel of his rifle into Cutler’s already agonized side. “You too!” he ordered two other men from Cutler’s division, the only two other survivors. The two were James West, a Kansas free-soiler that
I had to order them to move back into line on the right wing. As the attacks and counter attacks of the 15th Alabama and 20th progressed, men became scrambled into smaller groups and attacks from the right wing eventually pushed the left wing of the 20th Maine to higher ground. Intervals of the struggle were seized to gather ammunition from the cartridge boxes of the disabled friend or foe on the field as ammunition ran low. Far to the rear of the 20th Maine, our men and those of the 83rd Pennsylvania and 44th New York Regiments began receiving fire from the right end of the 15th Alabama line at higher ground . It was then that Lieutenant Martin Van Buren Gifford who was sent by Captain Woodward of the 83rd to ask if we had been turned, but I denied and asked for a company to shore up our left wing . Captain Woodward couldn’t spare a company but fortunately, he would pull back the left wing of his regimental line and straighten it to the left, closing the gap between the 83rd, for me to move my right wing to the left. However, continued attacks by the left wing of the 15th Alabama forced companies E, I, K, and D of the 20th Maine to fall back up the slope of Little Round Top . Heavy fire opened from a scrub wood in the valley in two lines in rank by the right, taking us by surprise. By then, ammunition was soon exhausted and our men were
At the Battle of Antietam in 1862, then Captain (CPT) Shaw is the lead of his Union regiment. His regiment walks forward in battle at a steady, orderly pace, and fire their weapons in a sort of cadence, only after CPT Shaw yells the command “fire” over the noise of the Confederate Army’s rifles and cannons. Meanwhile, the Confederate Army is stationary and partially protected behind a ridge. They are firing their weapons rapidly, without ceasing. Both armies are losing men. However, the Union Army’s Soldiers are falling at an alarming rate,
Moreover, during an extensive struggle on the Morris island, a lot of numbers of torpedoes were being used by the rebels in defense of Fort Wagner. In one of the huge explosions, a corporal of the 3rd colored troops was thrown about 25 yards. “the dead soldier landed entirely naked, with arm resting on the plunger of another torpedo.”
“…Longstreet ordered a concentration of Confederate artillery…to soften up the enemy at the point of attack. For almost two hours an artillery dual among nearly 300 guns filled the Pennsylvania countryside… [Then] With parade-ground precision, Pickett’s three brigades moved out… It was a magnificent mile-wide spectacle.”
As the Revolutionary War faded in Gunner’s memory, another image filled his mind. The smell was one they remembered from their adventures during the Revolutionary War. It was gunpowder! “Not another war”, was all Gunner could think. As Gunner looked down, he saw that they were dressed in a Union uniform….
Doing so assisted in a combined fire action with Woodruff’s guns to slow the Union advance long enough to stabilize the situation on Bloody Hill. (George E. Knapp, 1953).
Picture a scene of complete and utter chaos, a scene of terror and fear. Now imagine that you are in the thick of it, except that scene is the Siege of Petersburg. Around you are the sounds of muskets firing, hundreds at a time, their smoke clouding your vision, the smell of burning gunpowder filling the air, and the boom of artillery as it reigns down around you. You are a Confederate soldier hiding behind the fortifications of what remains of Petersburg, vastly outnumbered by the seemingly never-ending supply of Union Yankees. You wonder whether you will make it out with your life, or become yet another rebel casualty to the failing Confederate cause. “When will this end?” you ask yourself. Little do you know, it is far from over…291...291 more days of the brutality that we call war. However horrific, war brings good things as well. In the case of Petersburg, forcing the Confederate surrender.
The fires of “combat frenzy” were quickly doused, however, as the war extended long past expectations and more and more men realized the horrors of combat during that time. Many letters used by McPherson, express soldier’s absolute terror after their first engagement. After “seeing the elephant” for the first time, few men had any desire to see it ever again. However, even with the sentiments of fear of combat, many soldiers stood strong, ready to continue the fight on to victory. Some wavered, but more replaced them as the war prolonged into 1863 and 1864.
Through “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” the soldiers standing, watching as everything goes on around them, are not able to stop what is happening. The soldiers represent the unforgiving nature of war.
With intricate detail the author explains these events as frightening and overwhelmingly difficult to tolerate. Beah, exposed to combat at age 12, was traumatized by battle and portrays details of the horrifying events through imagery. “When the rebels finally came I was cooking... My heart was beating faster than it ever had. Each gunshot seemed to cling to the beat of my heart.”
The Great Chicago Fire was one of the significant devastation that happened in the eighteenth century. Through this tragic event, hundreds of people died and thousands of buildings were completely destroyed in the fire. Before, the city was flourishing as more people traveled and decided to call Chicago their home. After the fire destroyed most of the surrounding area, people began blaming one another for the deaths of all the people. As time passed, Chicago slowly began to rebuild like never before. Although the city of Chicago continued to grow before the fire, after, the city boomed with the abundance of money and people. Moreover, because there was destruction, the people of Chicago, Illinois did not allow a fire to stop them from creating more opportunities for the future. The city has changed from the fire, but because of the help that was received, it was able to get rebuilt, and invite new individuals to explore the wondrous city of Chicago.
“So daily, at eight o’clock, precisely at eight o’clock, [the enemy] targeted us [with mortar and artillery fire], and we would raise the flag. We had good, deep holes right beside the flagpole, and it took about twenty-five seconds [to raise the flag] because we knew the time of flight for the [artillery] round was about twenty-five seconds… We had a bugler, a
The Civil War of America has been discussed as the first modern war of the new industrial age. Army’s of such a large size had yet to meet head on, face to face in the battle field with weapons of such mass destruction and deadly force. America had not yet seen casualties of this magnitude to
Since the beginning of time, humans have sought after power and control. It is human instinct to desire to be the undisputed champion, but when does it become a problem? Warfare has been practiced throughout civilization as a way to justify power. Though the orders come directly from one man, thousands of men and women pay the ultimate sacrifice. In Randall Jerrell’s “The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner”, Jarrell is commenting on the brutality of warfare. Not only does Jarrell address the tragedies of war, he also blames politics, war leaders, and the soldier’s acknowledgement of his duties. (Hill 6) With only five lines of text, his poems allows the reader to understand what a soldier can go through. With the use of Jerrell’s poem, The Vietnam War, and Brian Turner’s “Ameriki Jundee”, the truth of combat will be revealed.
War can destroy a man both in body and mind for the rest of his life. In “The Sniper,” Liam O’Flaherty suggests the horror of war not only by presenting its physical dangers, but also by showing its psychological effects. We are left to wonder which has the longer lasting effect—the visible physical scars or the ones on the inside?