Once more the white church faded in the mists and smoke.
But Hooker and his generals rallied their men and advanced anew. The
ground around the Dunkard church became one of the most sanguinary
places in all America. One side advanced and then the other, and
they continually reeled to and fro. Even the young soldiers knew the
immensity of the stake. This was the open ground, elsewhere the Antietam
separated the fighting armies. But victory here would decide the whole
battle, and the war, too. The Northern troops fought for a triumph that
would end all, and the Southern troops for salvation.
So close and obstinate was the conflict that colonels and generals
themselves were in the thick of it. Starke and Lawton of the South were
both killed. Mansfield, who led one of the Northern army corps fell dead
in the very front line, and the valiant Hooker, caught in the arms of his
soldiers, was borne away so severely wounded that he could no longer give
orders.
Scarcely any generals were left on either side, but the colonels and the
majors and the captains still led the men into the thick of the conflict.
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