Daniel's Charge
His name was Daniel Sanderson, he was a young soldier in the army of the Confederate States of America, then he became one of 'The Honored Dead'
This is the story of his last battle.
July 3 1863
The division had been waiting in the woods for fifteen minutes now, and Daniel was growing impatient. How long is it going to take? He wondered. The yankees must be nearly gone, how could the city-boys from New York stand all this shellen? As he thought this a shell exploded a short ways down the line, sending metal fragments and wooden splinters whirling through the air. Most of the fragments crashed through the undergrowth, harming no one. Yet a few still met flesh and bone, tearing through them like cloth.
Daniel flinched and turned away from the dead and wounded, clutching his musket. As he waited he double checked his musket, his canteen, his cartridge box, and checked again.
Another shell exploded, this time just outside of the woods, right over a caisson. The horses pulling it stumbled and fell, the driver was thrown free, he was already wounded by the shell, but when he hit the ground Daniel could tell that we would not get up again.
Daniel suddenly felt very thirsty, as he reached for his canteen a third shell blew up, only twenty feet away, a branch in the tree that Daniel was leaning against fell. It landed on Daniel's chest, he threw it off easily, but his canteen fell from his grasp and sloshed on the ground. When Daniel picked it up he noticed he was felling damp on his back as well as were his canteen spilled. As he twisted around he gasped, lying there, on the ground was a severed arm!
As he scrambled to his feet he slipped on his canteen and fell again, spilling more of his water. Daniel cursed and got to his feet again. Another shell burst, this one again in the field ahead, an officer that had been riding along the line was too close, he fell, bleeding profusely from a wound in his shoulder. An aide dismounted hurriedly and rushed to his side, calling for a surgeon.
Another shell detonated, right over the crashed caisson, a huge explosion erupted from the ammunition inside of the wreck, sending fiery debris high into the sky.
The explosions continued, fading in to a frightful blur to Daniel. Finally the order to form up in the field was given, Daniel stood, took one final sip from his recovered canteen and, tightly clutching his musket, walked out of the woods, there with the rest of his regiment he walked into his place in the line.
Soon after Daniel had fixed his bayonet on his musket, the General spoke, it was his usual speech.
"Men, remember your wives, your mothers, your sisters and your sweethearts", then he gave the order to march, fifteen thousand men set off, bound for a clump of trees, one mile distant…
To Be Concluded