I told him it was.
He asked me the second time if it was Maney's brigade that was falling
back. I told him it was. I heard him call out, "Attention, forward!"
One solid sheet of leaden hail was falling around me. I heard General
Preston Smith's brigade open. It seemed to be platoons of artillery.
The earth jarred and trembled like an earthquake. Deadly missiles were
flying in every direction. It was the very incarnation of death itself.
I could almost hear the shriek of the death angel passing over the scene.
General Smith was killed in ten minutes after I saw him. Bob Stout and
myself stopped. Said I, "Bob, you wern't killed, as you expected."
He did not reply, for at that very moment a solid shot from the Federal
guns struck him between the waist and the hip, tearing off one leg and
scattering his bowels all over the ground. I heard him shriek out, "O, O,
God!" His spirit had flown before his body struck the ground. Farewell,
friend; we will meet over yonder.
When the cannon ball struck Billy Webster, tearing his arm out of the
socket, he did not die immediately, but as we were advancing to the
attack, we left him and the others lying where they fell upon the
battlefield; but when we fell back to the place where we had left our
knapsacks, Billy's arm had been dressed by Dr.
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