Page:Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.djvu/53

 But a lancing sleet cut him who stared

Into the storm. After some vague alarms,

Which left our lads unscared,

Out sallied the enemy at dim of dawn,

With cavalry and artillery, and went

In fury at our environment.

Under cover of shot and shell

Three columns of infantry rolled on,

Vomited out of Donelson—

Rolled down the slopes like rivers of hell,

Surged at our line, and swelled and poured

Like breaking surf. But unsubmerged

Our men stood up, except where roared

The enemy through one gap. We urged

Our all of manhood to the stress,

But still showed shattered in our desperateness.

Back set the tide,

But soon afresh rolled in;

And so it swayed from side to side—

Far batteries joining in the din,

Though sharing in another fray—

Till all became an Indian fight,

Intricate, dusky, stretching far away,

Yet not without spontaneous plan

However tangled showed the plight;

Duels all over 'tween man and man,