Under Fire: A Tale of the Shenandoah Valley — page 132: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A STUNNING SURPRISE. 125 formed, the shouting, clamorous foe were upon them. | ‘* Hark to the trump and the drum, And the mournful sound of the barbarous horn, And the flap of the banners that flit as they’re borne; And the neigh of the steed, and the multitude’s hum, And the clash and the shout: ‘They come—they come!’ ”’ Without a moment’s check or hindrance, they swept like a billow up and over the hill and over the breastworks. i Here a partial line for resistance was formed, and here stood Captain Chetwood, with pistol in one hand and sword in the other, rallying his men to meet the unexpected onset. ‘‘Stand, boys, stand, and give them lead!’ shouted the captain. The brave Unionists did stand, holding the post for a brief time, returning the enemy’s fire with a ven- gearice. But the volleys of musket balls were like rain, and the thin line of infantry went down in swathes. Captain Chetwood stood alone, almost, at the front. Grim faces glared at him through fog and smoke. A long line of gray swept forward, with guns and bayonets gleaming, the earth trembling under their tread, the sky rent with their victorious yells. “My soul! must this be?’’ cried Captain Chetwood, as he found himself borne back by the onset. From the breastworks the Unionists were swept, after a five minutes’ stand, as chaff before the wind. On came the billows of gray, on and on, in one ir- resistible, swelling tide. It was grand. T’o see, as the day began to break, those gray col- umns sweeping all before them over the hill, into the ~ valley, and along the turnpike. The Army of ‘West Virginia became a herd of fugi- - Eomicbooks.co