Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne - "Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v10"

Susanna Moodie - "Life in the Clearings versus the Bush"

A. Merritt - "The Metal Monster"

Benjamin Disraeli - "Lothair"

New Philadelphia Book Publisher Highlights Local Talent
Book and Publishing News from Publishers Newswire(tm)

Looking for Child to be on Cover of a New Book, 'The Model Child'
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Philadelphia literary world will celebrate the launch of two new players today, April 10th: Kay Square Press, a new publishing company focused on Philadelphia-area artists, their stories, and their art; and Kay Square's first release, 'With the Rich and Mighty: Emlen Etting of Philadelphia' (ISBN: 978-0-9815129-0-7), a critical biography by Kenneth C. Kaleta.

FlatSigned Press Alleges Don Imus Remarks Damage Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Nathan Yungerberg, an accomplished model scout and professional child photographer is launching a nation-wide casting call to find the cover model for his highly anticipated book release, 'The Model Child: A Parents Guide to the Child Modeling Industry' (ISBN: 978-0-9817018-0-6).

Books: His Sombre Rivals

E >> E. P. Roe >> His Sombre Rivals




"I can give you an idea of what occurred at this point only; but, from
the sounds I heard, there was very heavy fighting elsewhere, which I
fear, however, was too spasmodic and ill-directed to accomplish the
required ends. A heavy, persistent, concentrated attack, a swift push
with the bayonet through the low pines and woods, would have saved the
day. Perhaps our troops were not equal to it; and yet, poor fellows,
they did braver things that were utterly useless.

"I still believe, however, all might have gone well, had it not been
for a horrible mistake. I was not very far from Captain Griffin, and
was watching his cool, effective superintendence of his guns, when
suddenly I noticed a regiment in full view on our right advancing
toward us. Griffin caught sight of it at the same moment, and seemed
amazed. Were they Confederates or National? was the question to be
decided instantly. They might be his own support. Doubtful and yet
exceedingly apprehensive, he ordered his guns to be loaded with
canister and trained upon this dubious force that had come into view
like an apparition; but he still hesitated, restrained, doubtless, by
the fearful thought of annihilating a Union regiment.

"'Captain,' said Major Barry, chief of artillery, 'they are your
battery support.'

"'They are Confederates.' Griffin replied, intensely excited. 'As
certain as the world, they are Confederates.'

"'No,' was the answer, 'I know they are your battery support.'

"I had ridden up within ear-shot, and levelled my glass upon them.
'Don't fire,' cried Griffin, and he spurred forward to satisfy
himself.

"At the same moment the regiment, now within short range, by a sudden
instantaneous act levelled their muskets at us. I saw we were doomed,
and yet by some instinct tightened my rein while I dug my spurs into
my horse. He reared instantly. I saw a line of fire, and then poor
Mayburn fell upon me, quivered, and was dead. The body of a man broke
my fall in such a way that I was not hurt. Indeed, at the moment I was
chiefly conscious of intense anger and disgust. If Griffin had
followed his instinct and destroyed that regiment, as he could have
done by one discharge, the result of the whole battle might have been
different. As it was, both his and Rickett's batteries were
practically annihilated." [Footnote: Since the above was written
Colonel Hasbrouck has given me an account of this crisis in the
battle. He was sufficiently near to hear the conversation found in the
text, and to enable me to supplement it by fuller details. Captain
Griffin emphatically declared that no Union regiment could possibly
come from that quarter, adding, "They are dressed in gray."

Major Barry with equal emphasis asserted that they were National
troops, and unfortunately we had regiments in gray uniforms. Seeing
that Captain Griffin was not convinced, he said peremptorily, "I
command you not to fire on that regiment."

Of course this direct order ended the controversy, and Captain Griffin
directed that his guns be shifted again toward the main body of the
enemy, while he rode forward a little space to reconnoitre.

During all this fatal delay the Confederate regiment was approaching,
marching by the flank, and so passed at one time within pointblank
range of the guns that would scarcely have left a man upon his feet.
The nature of their advance was foolhardy in the extreme, and at the
time that Captain Griffin wished to fire they were practically
helpless. A Virginia worm-fence was in their path, and so frightened,
nervous, and excited were they that, instead of tearing it down, they
began clambering over it until by weight and numbers it was trampled
under foot.

They approached so near that the order to "fire low" was distinctly
heard by our men as the Confederates went into battle-line formation.

The scene following their volley almost defies description. The horses
attached to caissons not only tore down and through the ascending
National battle-line, but Colonel--then Lieutenant--Hasbrouck saw
several teams dash over the knoll toward the Confederate regiment,
that opened ranks to let them pass. So novel were the scenes of war at
that time that the Confederates were as much astonished as the members
of the batteries left alive, and at first did not advance, although it
was evident that there were, at the moment, none to oppose them. The
storm of Rebel bullets had ranged so low that Lieutenant Hasbrouck and
Captain Griffin owed their safety to the fact that they were mounted.
The horses of both officers were wounded. On the way down the northern
slope of the hill, with the few Union survivors, Captain Griffin met
Major Barry, and in his intense anger and grief reproached him
bitterly. The latter gloomily admitted that he had been mistaken.

Captain Ricketts was wounded, and the battle subsequently surged back
and forth over his prostrate form, but eventually he was sent as a
captive to Richmond.]

The major uttered an imprecation.

"I was pinned to the ground by the weight of my horse, but not so
closely but that I could look around. The carnage had been frightful.
But few were on their feet, and they in rapid motion to the rear. The
horses left alive rushed down the hill with the caissons, spreading
dismay, confusion, and disorder through the ascending line of battle.
Our supporting regiment in the rear, that had been lying on their
arms, sprang to their feet and stood like men paralyzed with horror;
meanwhile, the Rebel regiment, re-enforced, was advancing rapidly on
the disabled guns--their defenders lay beneath and around them--firing
as they came. Our support gave them one ineffectual volley, then
turned and fled."

Again the major relieved his mind in his characteristic way.

"But you, Alford?" cried Grace, leaning forward with clasped hands,
while his aunt came and buried her face upon his shoulder. "Are you
keeping your promise to live?" she whispered.

"Am I not here safe and sound?" he replied, cheerily. "Nothing much
happened to me, Grace. When I saw the enemy was near, I merely doubled
myself up under my horse, and was nothing to them but a dead Yankee. I
was only somewhat trodden upon, as I told you, when the Confederates
tried to turn the guns against our forces.

"I fear I am doing a wrong to the ladies by going into these
sanguinary details."

"No," said the major, emphatically; "Mrs. Mayburn would have been a
general had she been a man; and Grace has heard about battles all her
life. It's a great deal better to understand from the start what this
war means."

"I especially wished Hilland to hear the details of this battle as far
as I saw them, for I think they contain lessons that may be of great
service to him. That he would engage in the war was a foregone
conclusion from the first; and with his means and ability he may take
a very important part in it. But of this later.

"As I told you, I made the rather close acquaintance of your kin,
Grace, and can testify that the 'fa' of their feet' was not 'fairy-
like.' Before they could accomplish their purpose of turning the guns
on our lines, I heard the rushing tramp of a multitude, with defiant
shouts and yells. Rebels fell around me. The living left the guns,
sought to form a line, but suddenly gave way in dire confusion, and
fled to the cover from which they came. A moment later a body of our
men surged like an advancing wave over the spot they had occupied.

"Now was my chance; and I reached up and seized the hand of a tall,
burly Irishman. "What the divil du ye want?" he cried, and in his mad
excitement was about to thrust me through for a Confederate.

"'Halt!' I thundered. The familiar word of command restrained him long
enough for me to secure his attention. 'Would you kill a Union man?'"

"'Is it Union ye are? What yez doin' here, thin, widut a uniform?'

"I showed him my badge of correspondent, and explained briefly.

"Strange as it may seem to you, he uttered a loud, jolly laugh. 'Faix,
an' it's a writer ye are. Ye'll be apt to git some memmyrandums the
day that ye'll carry about wid ye till ye die, and that may be in
about a minnit. I'll shtop long enough to give yez a lift, or yez
hoss, rather;' and he seized poor Mayburn by the head. His excitement
seemed to give him the strength of a giant, for in a moment I was
released and stood erect.

"'Give me a musket,' I cried, 'and I'll stand by you.'

"'Bedad, hilp yersilf,' he replied, pushing forward. 'There's plenty
o' fellers lyin' aroun' that has no use for them;' and he was lost in
the confused advance.

"All this took place in less time than it takes to describe it, for
events at that juncture were almost as swift as bullets. Lame as I
was, I hobbled around briskly, and soon secured a good musket with a
supply of cartridges. As with the rest, my blood was up--don't smile,
Hilland: I had been pretty cool until the murderous discharge that
killed my horse--and I was soon in the front line, firing with the
rest.

"Excited as I was, I saw that our position was desperate, for a heavy
force of Confederates was swarming toward us. I looked around and saw
that part of our men were trying to drag off the guns. This seemed the
more important work; and discretion also whispered that with my
bruised foot I should be captured in five minutes unless I was further
to the rear. So I took a pull at a gun; but we had made little
progress before there was another great surging wave from the other
direction, and our forces were swept down the hill again, I along with
the rest. The confusion was fearful; the regiments with which I had
been acting went all to pieces, and had no more organization than if
they had been mixed up by a whirlwind.

"I was becoming too lame to walk, and found myself in a serious
dilemma." "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Hilland. "It was just becoming
serious, eh?"

"Well, I didn't realize my lameness before; and as retreat was soon to
be order of the day, there was little prospect of my doing my share.
As I was trying to extricate myself from the shattered regiments, I
saw a riderless horse plunging toward me. To seize his bridle and
climb into the saddle was the work of a moment; and I felt that,
unlike McDowell, I was still master of the situation. Working my out
of the press and to our right, I saw that another charge for the guns
by fresh troops was in progress. It seemed successful at first. The
guns were retaken, but soon the same old story was repeated, and a
corresponding rush from the other side swept our men back.

"Would you believe it, this capture and recapture occurred several
times. A single regiment even would dash forward, and actually drive
the Rebels back, only to lose a few moments later what they had
gained. Never was there braver fighting, never worse tactics. The
repeated successes of small bodies of troops proved that a compact
battle line could have swept the ridge, and not only retaken the guns,
but made them effective in the conflict. As it was, the two sides
worried and tore each other like great dogs, governed merely by the
impulse and instinct of fight. The batteries were the bone between
them.

"This senseless, wasteful struggle could not go on forever. That it
lasted as long as it did speaks volumes in favor of the material of
which our future soldiers are to be made. As I rode slowly from the
line and scene of actual battle, of which I had had enough, I became
disheartened. We had men in plenty--there were thousands on every
side--but in what condition! There was no appearance of fear among the
men I saw at about four P.M. (I can only guess the time, for my watch
had stopped), but abundant evidence of false confidence and still more
of the indifference of men who feel they have done all that should be
required of them and are utterly fagged out. Multitudes, both officers
and privates, were lying and lounging around waiting for their
comrades to finish the ball.

"For instance, I would ask a man to what regiment he belonged, and he
would tell me.

"'Where is it?'

"'Hanged if I know. Saw a lot of the boys awhile ago.'

"Said an officer in answer to my inquiries, 'No; I don't know where
the colonel is, and I don't care. After one of our charges we all
adjourned like a town meeting. I'm played out; have been on my feet
since one o'clock last night.'

"These instances were characteristic of the state of affairs in
certain parts of the field that I visited. Plucky or conscientious
fellows would join their comrades in the fight without caring what
regiment they acted with; but the majority of the great disorganized
mass did what they pleased, after the manner of a country fair,
crowding in all instances around places where water could be obtained.
Great numbers had thrown away their canteens and provisions, as too
heavy to carry in the heat, or as impediments in action. Officers and
men were mixed up promiscuously, hobnobbing and chaffing in a languid
way, and talking over their experiences, as if they were neighbors at
home. The most wonderful part of it all was that they had no sense of
their danger and of the destruction they were inviting by their
unsoldierly course.

"I tried to impress these dangers on one or two, but the reply was,
'Oh, hang it! The Rebs are as badly used up as we are. Don't you see
things are growing more quiet? Give us a rest!'

"By this time I had worked my way well to my right, and was on a
little eminence watching our line advance, wondering at the spirit
with which the fight was still maintained. Indeed, I grew hopeful once
more as I saw the good work that the regiments still intact were
doing. There was much truth in the remark that the Rebels were used up
also, unless they had reserves of which we knew nothing. At that time
we had no idea that we had been fighting, not only Beauregard, but
also Johnson from the Shenandoah.

"My hope was exceedingly intensified by the appearance of a long line
of troops emerging from the woods on our flank and rear, for I never
dreamed that they could be other than our own re-enforcements.
Suddenly I caught sight of a flag which I had learned to know too
well. The line halted a moment, muskets were levelled, and I found
myself in a perfect storm of bullets. I assure you I made a rapid
change of base, for when our line turned I should be between two
fires. As it was, I was cut twice in this arm while galloping away. In
a few moments a battery also opened upon our flank; and it became as
certain as day that a large Confederate force from some quarter had
been hurled upon the flank and rear of our exhausted forces. The
belief that Johnson's army had arrived spread like wildfire. How
absurd and crude it all seems now! We had been fighting Johnson from
the first.

"All aggressive action on our part now ceased; and as if governed by
one common impulse, the army began its retreat.

"Try to realize it. Our retirement was not ordered. There were
thousands to whom no order could be given unless with a voice like a
thunder peal. Indeed, one may say, the order was given by the thunder
of that battery on our flank. It was heard throughout the field; and
the army, acting as individuals or in detachments, decided to leave.
To show how utterly bereft of guidance, control, and judgment were our
forces, I have merely to say that each man started back by exactly the
same route he had come, just as a horse would do, while right before
them was the Warrenton Pike, a good, straight road direct to
Centerville, which was distant but little over four miles.

"This disorganized, exhausted mob was as truly in just the fatal
condition for the awful contagion we call 'panic' as it would have
been from improper food and other causes, for some other epidemic. The
Greeks, who always had a reason for everything, ascribed the nameless
dread, the sudden and unaccountable fear, which bereaves men of
manhood and reason, to the presence of a god. It is simply a latent
human weakness, which certain conditions rarely fail to develop. They
were all present at the close of that fatal day. I tell you frankly
that I felt something of it myself, and at a time, too, when I knew I
was not in the least immediate danger. To counteract it I turned and
rode deliberately toward the enemy, and the emotion passed. I half
believe, however, that if I had yielded, it would have carried me away
like an attack of the plague. The moral of it all is, that the
conditions of the disease should be guarded against.

"When it became evident that the army was uncontrollable and was
leaving the field, I pressed my way to the vicinity of McDowell to see
what he would do. What could he do? I never saw a man so overwhelmed
with astonishment and anger. Almost to the last I believe he expected
to win the day. He and his officers commanded, stormed, entreated. He
might as well have tried to stop Niagara above the falls as that human
tide. He sent orders in all directions for a general concentration at
Centerville, and then with certain of his staff galloped away. I tried
to follow, but was prevented by the interposing crowd.

"I then joined a detachment of regulars and marines, who marched
quietly in prompt obedience of orders; and we made our way through the
disorder like a steamer through the surging waves. All the treatises
on discipline that were ever written would not have been so convincing
as that little oasis of organization. They marched very slowly, and
often halted to cover the retreat.

"I had now seen enough on the further bank of Bull Run, and resolved
to push ahead as fast as my horse would walk to the eastern side.
Moreover, my leg and wounds were becoming painful, and I was
exceedingly weary. I naturally followed the route taken by Tyler's
command in coming upon and returning from the field, and crossed Bull
Run some distance above the Stone Bridge. The way was so impeded by
fugitives that my progress was slow, but when I at last reached the
Warrenton Turnpike and proceeded toward a wretched little stream
called Cub Run, I witnessed a scene that beggars description.

"Throughout the entire day, and especially in the afternoon, vehicles
of every description--supply wagons, ambulances, and the carriages of
civilians--had been congregating in the Pike vicinity of Stone Bridge.
When the news of the defeat reached this point, and the roar of cannon
and musketry began to approach instead of recede, a general movement
toward Centerville began. This soon degenerated into the wildest
panic, and the road was speedily choked by storming, cursing, terror-
stricken men, who in their furious haste, defeated their own efforts
to escape. It was pitiful, it was shameful, to see ambulances full of
the wounded shoved to one side and left by the cowardly thieves who
had galloped away on the horses. It was one long scene of wreck and
ruin, through which pressed a struggling, sweating, cursing throng.
Horses with their traces cut, and carrying two and even three men,
were urged on and over everybody that could not get out of the way.
Everything was abandoned that would impede progress, and arms and
property of all kinds were left as a rich harvest for the pursuing
Confederates. Their cavalry, hovering near, like hawks eager for the
prey, made dashes here and there, as opportunity offered.

"I picked my way through the woods rather than take my chances in the
road, and so my progress was slow. To make matters tenfold worse, I
found when I reached the road leading to the north through the 'Big
Woods' that the head of the column that had come all the way around by
Sudley's Ford, the route of the morning march, was mingling with the
masses already thronging the Pike. The confusion, the selfish,
remorseless scramble to get ahead, seemed as horrible as it could be;
but imagine the condition of affairs when on reaching the vicinity of
Cub Run we found that a Rebel battery had opened upon the bridge, our
only visible means of crossing. A few moments later, from a little
eminence, I saw a shot take effect on a team of horses; and a heavy
caisson was overturned directly in the centre of the bridge, barring
all advance, while the mass of soldiers, civilians, and nondescript
army followers, thus detained under fire, became perfectly wild with
terror. The caisson was soon removed, and the throng rushed on.

"I had become so heart-sick, disgusted, and weary of the whole thing,
that my one impulse was to reach Centerville, where I supposed we
should make a stand. As I was on the north side of the Pike, I skirted
up the stream with a number of others until we found a place where we
could scramble across, and soon after we passed within a brigade of
our troops that were thrown across the road to check the probable
pursuit of the enemy.

"On reaching Centerville, we found everything in the direst confusion.
Colonel Miles, who commanded the reserves at that point, was unfit for
the position, and had given orders that had imperilled the entire
army. It was said that the troops which had come around by Sudley's
ford had lost all their guns at Cub Run; and the fugitives arriving
were demoralized to the last degree. Indeed, a large part of the army,
without waiting for orders or paying heed to any one, continued their
flight toward Washington. Holding the bridle of my horse, I lay down
near headquarters to rest and to learn what would be done. A council
of war was held, and as the result we were soon on the retreat again.
The retreat, or panic-stricken flight rather, had, in fact, never
ceased on the part of most of those who had been in the main battle.
That they could keep up this desperate tramp was a remarkable example
of human endurance when sustained by excitement, fear, or any strong
emotion. The men who marched or fled on Sunday night had already been
on their feet twenty-four hours, and the greater part of them had
experienced the terrific strain of actual battle.

"My story has already been much too long. From the daily journals you
have learned pretty accurately what occurred after we reached
Centerville. Richardson's and Blenker's brigades made a quiet and
orderly retreat when all danger to the main body was over. The sick
and wounded were left behind with spoils enough to equip a good-sized
Confederate army. I followed the headquarters escort, and eventually
made my way into Washington in the drenching rain of Monday, and found
the city crowded with fugitives to whom the loyal people were
extending unbounded hospitality. I felt ill and feverish, and yielded
to the impulse to reach home; and I never acted more wisely.

"Now you have the history of my first battle; and may I never see one
like it again. And yet I believe the battle of Bull Run will become
one of the most interesting studies of American history and character.
On our side it was not directed by generals, according to the rules of
war. It was fought by Northern men after their own fashion and
according to their native genius; and I shall ever maintain that it
was fought far better than could have been expected of militia who
knew less of the practical science of war than of the philosophy of
Plato.

"The moral of my story, Hilland, scarcely needs pointing; and it
applies to us both. When we go, let us go as soldiers; and if we have
only a corporal's command, let us lead soldiers. The grand Northern
onset of which you have dreamed so long has been made. You have seen
the result. You have the means and ability to equip and command a
regiment. Infuse into it your own spirit; and at the same time make it
a machine that will hold together as long as you have a man left."

"Graham," said Hilland, slowly and deliberately, "there is no
resisting the logic of events. You have convinced me of my error, and
I shall follow your advice."

"And, Grace," concluded Graham, "believe me, by so doing he adds
tenfold to his chances of living to a good old age."

"Yes," she said, looking at him gratefully through tear-dimmed eyes.
"You have convinced me of that also."

"Instead of rushing off to some out-of-the-way place or camp, he must
spend months in recruiting and drilling his men; and you can be with
him."

"Oh, Alford!" she exclaimed, "is that the heavenly logic of your long,
terrible story?"

"It's the rational logic; you could not expect any other kind from
me."

"Well, Graham," ejaculated the major, with a long sigh of relief, "I
wouldn't have missed your account of the battle for a year's pay. And
mark my words, young men, you may not live to see it, or I either, but
the North will win in this fight. That's the fact that I'm convinced
of in spite of the panic."

"The fact that I'm convinced of," said Mrs. Mayburn brusquely, mopping
her eyes meanwhile, "is that Alford needs rest. I'm going to take him
home at once." And the young man seconded her in spite of all
protestations.

"Dear, vigilant old aunty," said Graham, when they were alone, "you
know when I have reached the limit of endurance."

"Ah! Alford, Alford," moaned the poor woman, "I fear you are seeking
death in this war."

He looked at her tenderly for a moment, and then said, "Hereafter I
will try to take no greater risks than a soldier's duties require."