True, Petersburg, like Richmond, had her day of feverish8 excitement, known in Confederate history as "Pawnee Sunday," when both cities had been menaced by an ironclad. Early in the morning a telegraph operator had relieved a dull hour by interviewing his colleague at City Point, "Any danger from the Pawnee?" receiving as answer, "The 271 Pawnee is coming up the Appomattox." The town was wild. Everything valuable was hidden away, and the militia9 was drawn10 up, the lads of twelve and fourteen loading their hunting pieces and rallying to the town hall. Time having been allowed for any reasonable, well-conducted man-of-war to steam twelve miles, the telegraph operator, sorely pressed by questions, again interrogated11 his City Point friend. "What's become of the Pawnee? She isn't here yet." The irate12 answer spun13 over the line: "You—fool! I said the Pawnee is not coming up the river." Everything fell flat at once. There was an avowed14 sense of disappointment at the loss of an opportunity which might not come again. The dear women—the best I have ever known in any land—resumed their gentle ministrations, working much for the hospitals, and supplementing with culinary skill many deficiencies in material. But the men chafed15. The veterans had felt the blood leap in their veins16 with the fire of youth; the boys longed for the fray17; the physician, tied to his humdrum18 routine, yearned19 for the larger sphere in the field. "The dearest sacrifice a man can make to his country is his ambition."
The Pawnee incident was a fortunate one for the city, for it awakened20 the authorities to the necessity of preparing against surprise. The old, exempt21 citizens were formed into companies for home defence, and a breastwork was prepared commanding a road, "particularly interesting," says one of the survivors22, "because it opened to deserving Petersburgers the beatific23 vision of Sussex hams and Southampton 272 whiskey;" for at that moment the dreaded24 foe26 was the wolf already at the door, rather than the possible thunderbolt.
When General Butler, in June, 1864, commenced his advance against Richmond, which was intended as a co?perative movement with General Grant to accomplish what was done the following spring, he sent General Kautz on June 9 to make a cavalry27 attack on Petersburg, twenty miles below Richmond. The city, as I have said, was almost defenceless. There had been much strategy,—marching and countermarching,—too long a story to tell here; but one thing at least was accomplished28, as one of the Confederate colonels pithily29 remarked, "Whatever blunders were made, the citizens and militia had been trotted30 out in the direction of the enemy at least." Kautz's superb cavalry appeared suddenly, was met by the old men and boys of Petersburg, and was repulsed32. Colonel Fletcher Archer33 commanded the militiamen. Forewarned only a few minutes before the charge, he hastily formed his men into line. He says: "And what a line! In number scarcely more than sufficient to constitute a single company, in dress nothing to distinguish them from citizens pursuing the ordinary avocations34 of life, in age many of them silvered over with the frosts of advancing years, while others could scarcely boast of the down upon the cheek of youth; in arms and accoutrements such as an impoverished37 government could afford them. But there was that in their situation which lifted them above the ordinary rules of criticism. They stood there, not as mercenaries who, 273 having enlisted on account of profit, required the strong arm of military law to keep them to their post, nor as devotees of ambition craving38 a place in the delusive39 pages of history, but they stood as a band of patriots40 whose homes were imperilled and whose loved ones were in danger of falling into the hands of an untried foe. As they stood in line before me I could see them glancing back at their own dwellings42 under the sun of a lovely June morning. When I addressed them in a few words of encouragement, they listened with gravity and a full appreciation44 of their situation. There was no excitement, no shout, only calm resolution."
Thus their commander. What did the men themselves feel? One of them wrote: "We had not long to wait. A cloud of dust in our front told of the hurried advance of cavalry, and the next moment the glitter of spur and scabbard revealed a long line of horsemen half a mile in front of us. Oh, how we missed our cannon46! Our venerable muskets47 were not worth a tinker's imprecation at longer range than a hundred yards, and we were compelled perforce to watch the preparations for our slaughter49, much after the fashion that a rational turtle may be presumed to contemplate50 the preliminaries of an aldermanic dinner."
These were the men who saved the city. It was in honor of them that the women and children marched through dust and heat on June 9, 1866, to lay garlands of flowers upon their humble51 graves, and by their pious52 action to inaugurate the beautiful custom, which is now observed all over the country, 274 of honoring the dead who fell in the Civil War. No lovelier day ever dawned than June 9, 1864. The magnolia grandiflora was in full flower, bee-haunted honey-locusts perfumed the warm air, almost extinguishing the peachy odor of the microphylla roses, graceful53 garlands of jessamine hung over the trellised front porches. Almost the first intimation that the town received of its great peril41 was the impetuous dash through the streets of the Confederate artillery54. The morning was so sweet and bright that the women and little children were abroad in the streets, on their way to market, or on errands to the shops, or to visit with fruit and flowers the old and sick among their friends. Lossie Hill, the daintiest of dainty maidens, was picking her leisurely55 way in the dusty street, going to spend the morning with old Mrs. Mertens, when she heard the frantic56 shout: "Get out of the way! Damn the women! Run over them if they won't get out of the way." This was the morning greeting of the politest of gentlemen,—Captain Graham,—whose guns were thundering down the street to the rescue of the slender line at the front. As fast as the dread25 news reached the men exempt from duty, who were engaged in their various professions and vocations36, every one dropped his business and rushed to the firing line. The oldest men were as ardent57 as the youngest. One man, a druggist, began, while pulling on his accoutrements, to give directions to a venerable clerk whom he expected to dispense58 drugs in his absence. "Now," said the old man, "if you want anything done at home you must talk to somebody 275 else! I am going to the front! I'm just like General Lee. I should be glad if these fellows would go back to their homes and let us alone, but if they won't they must be made to, that's all." With their arms around their father, pretty Molly and Gussie Banister implored59 him not to go forth60. He was president of the bank, he was frail61 and not young. "The duty of every man lies yonder," said he, pointing to the puffs62 of smoke at the gates of the town, and shouldering his musket48 he marched away.
Mr. William C. Banister was a cultivated, Christian64 gentleman, one of Petersburg's most esteemed65 and beloved citizens. His widow and sweet daughters received him—dead—on the evening of the battle. Molly Banister, one of the dear girls who blessed my life in those anxious days, has told the story of her martyred father's patriotic66 fervor:—
"My father had been on duty out on the lines on previous occasions, always against the entreaty67 of the members of his family. We thought his infirmity, deafness, ought to excuse him. Besides this, he was a bank officer and over military age. When the court-house bell, on the morning of the 9th of June, sounded the alarm, he was at his place of business, in the old Exchange Bank, and we hoped he would not hear it. He got information, however, of the condition of things, came at once home, and informed us of his purpose to go out to the lines. My mother and I besought68 him not to go, urging that he could not hear the orders.
"'If I can't hear,' he said, 'I can fight—I can fire a gun. This is no time for any one to stand back. 276 Every man that can shoulder a musket must fight. The enemy are now right upon us.'
"Bidding us good-by he left the house. On the street, near our gate, was a man, just from the lines. Addressing him, my father said, pointing to the lines:—
"'My friend, you are needed in this direction.'
"'I am absent on leave,' said the man.
"'No leave,' replied my father, 'should keep you on such an occasion as this. Every man should fight now!'
"I have been informed that as he came up from the bank he urged in the same way all whom he met, capable, as he thought, of bearing arms."
Patty Hardee's father, another man past age for military service, was one of the first to report for duty, and among the first to be borne, dead, to his daughter.
Robert Martin, also exempt, and the father of an adoring family, immediately joined the ranks. Almost totally deaf, he could hear no orders, and continued to load his gun after the order to cease firing was given and the company had begun to move off. A comrade ran up, put his lips to his ear, and remonstrated69. "Stop firing!" exclaimed the veteran with disgust. "Orders? I haven't heard any orders to stop firing," and he continued to advance. As Nelson at Copenhagen, who, when told that he had been signalled to stop fighting, turned his blind eye to the station, exclaiming, "I see no signal!"
These are but a few of the many incidents which illustrate70 the courage of these stout-hearted veterans 277 and the spirit behind their small force which inspired that courage and compelled success. They fought—one hundred and twenty-five men, badly armed and untrained—behind their frail defence; one hundred and twenty-five against twenty-three hundred of the enemy, holding them at bay for two hours! General Butler was greatly chagrined71 at the failure of this move upon Petersburg. He sent a characteristic letter of reproof72 to his general officer north of the Appomattox. After detailing all the mistakes that had led to the humiliating repulse31, he adds testily73: "You have endeavored to state in your report what my orders to General Kautz were. That was no part of your report. I know what my orders were without any information from that source," adding, "certain it is that forty-five hundred of my best troops have been kept at bay by some fifteen hundred men, six hundred only of which were Confederate troops and the rest old men and boys, the cradle and the grave being robbed of about equal proportions to compose the force opposed to you."
"The cradle and the grave!" Alas74, yes! There was no triumph on the evening of that day. Half the gallant2 company was gone. There was wailing75 within the city gates that night. "The hand of the reaper76" had taken "the ears that were hoary," and the daughters wept for the good, gray head gone forward to the "eternal camping ground" after a long life of peace. For these gallant gentlemen the white rose which shaded my door yielded all its pure blossoms. Well was it for the sake of 278 my own devotion that this was an ever blooming rose! I had watered and nourished it with care, unconscious of its high vocation35, to bud and blossom and lie on the noble heart of more than one soldier. My own husband was in the fight, and sent the first news of the repulse of the enemy and the safety of his boyhood's home.
Immediately after the battle on the line, June 9, we observed unusual activity in our streets. Great army wagons77 passed continually, pausing often at a well before my door to water their horses. Clouds of dust filled the city. Evidently something unusual was going on. "We are only re-enforcing our defences," we said, and comforted ourselves in the thought.
One day my father came in unexpectedly. The army corps78 to which he was attached had camped near Petersburg!
"I've just met General Lee in the street," he said.
I uttered an exclamation79 of alarm. "Oh, is he going to fight here?"
"My dear," said my father, sternly, "you surprise me! The safest place for you is in the rear of General Lee's army, and that happens to be just where you are! The lines are established just here, and filled with Lee's veterans."
This was startling news, but more was to follow. One Sunday afternoon,—the next, I think,—the Presbyterian minister had gathered his flock of women and children for service in the church opposite my home, and had just uttered the first sentence 279 of his opening prayer, "Almighty80 Father, we are assembled to worship Thee in the presence of our enemies," when an awful, serpentlike hiss81 filled the church, and a shell burst through the wall.
In a moment the church was empty, and Dr. Miller82, the pastor83, was telling me that his congregation had dismissed itself without a benediction84!
"And the shell?" I inquired.
"It lies upon the table in the church," said the doctor; "nobody dares remove it."
This was the first shell that entered our part of the town. From that moment we were shelled at intervals85, and very severely86. There were no soldiers in the city. Women were killed on the lower streets, and an exodus87 from the shelled districts commenced at once.
As soon as the enemy brought up their siege guns of heavy artillery, they opened on the city with shell without the slightest notice, or without giving opportunity for the removal of non-combatants, the sick, the wounded, or the women and children. The fire was at first directed toward the Old Market, presumably because of the railroad depot88 situated89 there, about which soldiers might be supposed to collect. But the guns soon enlarged their operations, sweeping90 all the streets in the business part of the city, and then invading the residential91 region. The steeples of the churches seemed to afford targets for their fire, all of them coming in finally for a share of the compliment.
To persons unfamiliar92 with the infernal noise made by the screaming, ricocheting, and bursting 280 of shells, it is impossible to describe the terror and demoralization which ensued. Some families who could not leave the besieged93 city dug holes in the ground, five or six feet deep, covered with heavy timbers banked over with earth, the entrance facing opposite the batteries from which the shells were fired. They made these bomb-proofs safe, at least, and thither94 the family repaired when heavy shelling commenced. General Lee seemed to recognize that no part of the city was safe, for he immediately ordered the removal of all the hospitals, under the care of Petersburg's esteemed physician, Dr. John Herbert Claiborne. There were three thousand sick and wounded, many of them too ill to be moved. A long, never-ending line of wagons, carts, everything that could run on wheels, passed my door, until there were no more to pass. We soon learned the peculiar95, deep boom of the one great gun which bore directly upon us. The boys named it "Long Tom." Sometimes for several weeks "Long Tom" rested or slept—and would then make up for lost time. And yet we yielded to no panic. The children seemed to understand that it would be cowardly to complain. One little girl cried out with fright at an explosion; but her aunt, Mrs. Gibson, took her in her arms, and said: "My dear, you cannot make it harder for other people! If you feel very much afraid, come to me, and I will clasp you close, but you mustn't cry."
Charles Campbell, the historian, lived near us, at the Anderson Seminary. He cleared out the large coal cellar, which was fortunately dry, spread rugs 281 on the floor, and furnished it with lounges and chairs. There we took refuge when the firing was unbearable96. Some of our neighbors piled bags of sand around their houses, and thus made them bomb-proof.
The Rev45. Dr. Hoge, who had come South from the Brick Church, New York, of which he had been pastor, was lying ill and dying a few miles from Petersburg, and my friend Mrs. Bland7 invited me to accompany her to visit him. She had borrowed an ambulance from General Bushrod Johnson.
We made our call upon our sick friend, and were on our return when we were suddenly startled by heavy firing. The ambulance driver was much excited, and began to pour forth in broken English a torrent97 of abuse of the Confederacy. As we were near home, we kept silence, thinking that, if he grew more offensive, we could leave him and walk. Mrs. Bland undertook to reason with him.
"What is your grievance98?" she inquired. "Perhaps we might see the colonel and arrange a better place for you—some transfer, perhaps."
"Nevare! nevare!" said our man, "I transfare to my own koontree! I make what you call—'desairt.' Mon Dieu! dey now tell me I fight for neeger! Frenshman nevare fight for neeger."
All this time the guns were booming away, and clouds of smoke were drifting toward us. We were glad to arrive at my door.
It was closed. There was not a soul in the house. One of the chimneys had been knocked down, and the bricks lay in a heap on the grass. I thought of 282 Mr. Campbell's bomb-proof cellar; there we found my children, and there we remained until the paroxysmal shelling ceased.
One night, after a long, hot day, we were so tired we slept soundly. I was awakened by Eliza Page, standing99 trembling beside me. She pulled me out of bed and hurriedly turned to throw blankets around the children. The furies were let loose! The house was literally100 shaking with the concussion101 from the heavy guns. We were in the street, on our way to our bomb-proof cellar, when a shell burst not more than fifty feet before us. Fire and fragments rose like a fountain in the air and fell in a shower around us. Not one of my little family was hurt.
Another time a shell fell in our own yard and buried itself in the earth. My baby was not far away, in her nurse's arms. The little creature was fascinated by the shells. The first word she ever uttered was an attempt to imitate them. "Yonder comes that bird with the broken wing," the servants would say. The shells made a fluttering sound as they traversed the air, descending102 with a frightful103 hiss, to explode or be buried in the earth. When they exploded in midair by day, a puff63 of smoke, white as an angel's wing, would drift away, and the particles would patter down like hail. At night, the track of the shell and its explosion were precisely104 similar in sound, although not in degree, to our Fourth of July rockets, except that they were fired, not upward, but in a slanting105 direction. I never felt afraid of them! I was brought up to believe in predestination. Courage, after all, is much 283 a matter of nerves. My neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Gibson and Mrs. Meade, agreed with me, and we calmly elected to remain in town. There was no place of safety accessible to us. Mr. Branch removed his family, and, as far as I knew, none other of my friends remained throughout the summer.
Not far from the door ran a sunken street, with a hill, through which it was cut, rising each side of it. Into this hill the negroes burrowed106, hollowing out a small space, where they sat all day on mats, knitting, and selling small cakes made of sorghum107 and flour, and little round meat pies. I might have been tempted108 to invest in the latter except for a slight circumstance. I saw a dead mule109 lying on the common, and out of its side had been cut a very neat, square chunk110 of flesh!
With all our starvation we never ate rats, mice, or mule-meat. We managed to exist on peas, bread, and sorghum. We could buy a little milk, and we mixed it with a drink made from roasted and ground corn. The latter, in the grain, was scarce. Mr. Campbell's children picked up the grains wherever the army horses were fed.
My little boys never complained, but Theo, who had insisted upon returning to me from his uncle's safe home in the country, said one day: "Mamma, I have a queer feeling in my stomach! Oh, no! it doesn't ache the least bit, but it feels like a nutmeg grater."
Poor little laddie! His machinery111 needed oiling. And pretty soon his small brother fell ill with fever. 284 My blessed Dr. Withers112 obtained a permit for me to get a pint113 of soup every day from the hospital, and one day there was a joyful114 discovery. In the soup was a drumstick of chicken!
"I cert'nly hope I'll not get well," the little man shocked me by saying.
"Oh, is it as bad as that?" I sighed.
"Why," he replied, "my soup will be stopped if I get better!"
Just at this juncture115, when things were as bad as could be, my husband brought home to tea the Hon. Pierre Soulé, General D. H. Hill, and General Longstreet. I had bread and a little tea, the latter served in a yellow pitcher116 without a handle. Mrs. Campbell, hearing of my necessity, sent me a small piece of bacon.
When we assembled around the table, I lifted my hot pitcher by means of a napkin, and offered my tea, pure and simple, allowing the guests to use their discretion117 in regard to a spoonful or two of very dark brown sugar.
"This is a great luxury, Madam," said Mr. Soulé, with one of his gracious bows, "a good cup of tea."
We talked that night of all that was going wrong with our country, of the good men who were constantly relieved of their commands, of all the mistakes we were making.
"Mistakes!" said General Hill, bringing his clenched118 fist down upon the table, "I could forgive mistakes! I cannot forgive lies! I could get along if we could only, only ever learn the truth, the real truth." But he was very personal and used much stronger words than these. 285
They talked and talked, these veterans and the charming, accomplished diplomat119, until one of them inquired the hour. I raised a curtain.
"Gentlemen," I said, "the sun is rising. You must now breakfast with us." They declined. They had supped!
I had the misfortune early in June to fall ill, with one of the sudden, violent fevers which cannot be arrested, but must "run its course" for a certain number of days. I was delirious120 from this fever, and wild with the idea that a battle was raging within hearing. I fancied I could hear the ring of the musket as it was loaded! Possibly my quickened senses had really heard, for a fierce battle was going on at Port Walthall, a station on the Richmond and Petersburg railroad, six miles distant. General Butler had landed at Bermuda Hundred and had been sent by General Grant to lead a column against Richmond on the south side of the James and to co?perate with forces from the Wilderness121. Butler had reached Swift Creek122, there to be met by General Johnson, and repulsed as far as Walthall Junction123 on the railroad. The following day there was a hotly contested battle at close quarters, continued on the next, when our men, although greatly outnumbered by Butler's forces, drove these back to their base on the James River. All this time my excited visions were of battle and soldiers, culminating at last by the presence of one soldier, leaning wearily on his sabre in my own room. I did not recognize the soldier, but memory still holds his attitude of grief as he looked 286 at me, and the sound of his voice as he answered my question, "Where have you been all this time?" with, "In more peril than in all my life before."
But the fever crisis was passing even then, and I was soon well enough to learn more. This was another of the well-planned schemes for taking Richmond, another of the failures which drew from Lincoln the gravely humorous reply, when application was made to him for a pass to go to Richmond:—
"I don't know about that; I have given passes to about two hundred and fifty thousand men to go there during the last two or three years, and not one of them has got there yet."
Dr. Claiborne went out to this Walthall battle-field to help the wounded, taking with him surgeons and ambulances. A dreadful sight awaited him. Bodies of dead men, Federal and Confederate, lay piled together in heaps. On removing some of these to discover if any one of them might be still alive, a paper dropped from the pocket of a young lieutenant124, written in German to a lady in Bremen. Upon reading it, Dr. Claiborne found it was addressed to his betrothed125. He told her that his term of service having expired, he would soon leave for New York City, and he gave her the street and number where she should meet him on her arrival in this country. This was his last fight, into which he went no doubt voluntarily, as he was about to leave the army. Doubtless the blue-eyed M?dchen looked long for him on the banks of the Weser! The doctor indorsed the sad news on the letter, and sent it 287 through the lines. Perhaps it reached her, or perhaps she is telling her story this day to other blue eyes on the Weser, eyes that look up and wonder she could ever have been young, lovely, and the promised bride of a gallant union officer.
The Confederate government utterly126 neglected the praise and distinction so freely awarded by other nations in time of war, for deeds of gallantry and valor127. Says Major Stiles: "Not only did I never see or hear of a promotion128 on the field, but I do not believe such a thing ever occurred in any army of the Confederacy from the beginning to the end of the war. Indeed, I am confident it never did; for, incredible as it may appear, even Lee himself did not have the power to make such promotion. I never saw or heard of a medal or a ribbon being pinned on a man's jacket, or even so much as a man's name being read out publicly in orders of gallantry in battle."[18]
Hanging in my husband's library, among other war relics129, is a heavy silver medal, representing in high relief a soldier charging a cannon. On the obverse side is a laurel wreath, space for a name, and the words, "Distinguished130 for courage: U. S. Colored Troops." No such medal was ever given by our government to its hardly used, poorly paid private soldiers. Some of them fought through the war. They starved and froze in the trenches131 during that last dreadful winter, but no precious star or ribbon was awarded, to be hung with the sabre or musket and venerated132 by generations yet to come. 288 Among my few preserved papers I have two in faded ink. One is signed Bushrod Johnson, the other D. H. Hill. The latter says: "The victory at Walthall Junction was greatly due to General Roger A. Pryor. But for him it is probable we might have been surprised and defeated." The other from General Johnson runs at length: "At the most critical juncture General Roger A. Pryor rendered me most valuable service, displaying great zeal133, energy, and gallantry in reconnoitring the positions of the enemy, arranging my line of battle, and rendering134 successful the operations and movements of the conflict." At General Johnson's request my husband served with him during the midsummer. Such letters I have in lieu of medal or ribbon,—a part only of much of similar nature; but less was given to many a man who as fitly deserved recognition.
My General, who had been in active service in all the events around Petersburg, was now requested by General Lee to take with him a small squad135 of men, and learn something of the movements of the enemy.
"Grant knows all about me," he said, "and I know too little about Grant. You were a schoolboy here, General, and have hunted in all the bypaths around Petersburg. Knowing the country better than any of us, you are the best man for this important duty."
Accordingly, armed with a pass from General Lee, my husband set forth on his perilous136 scouting137 expedition, sometimes being absent a week at a time. One morning, very early, he entered my room.
"I am dead for want of sleep," he said. "I was 289 obliged to take some prisoners. They are coming in under guard, and you must give them a good breakfast." As he walked out of the room to find a quiet corner, he called back, "Be sure, now! Feed my prisoners, if all the rest of us lose our breakfast."
He had suggested the only way in which he could be obeyed.
Five forlorn blue-coated soldiers soon appeared, and lay down under the trees. Presently they were all asleep. I called my little family together. We had only a small pail of meal. Would they be willing to give it to these poor prisoners?
They were willing, never fear; but I had trouble with John. He grew very sullen138 when I ordered him to bake the bread for Yankee prisoners in five small loaves. I promised to send out for more provisions later, and finally he yielded, but with an ill grace. When the hot loaves were on the table, flanked by sweetened corn-coffee, I deputed Paterson Gibson, my neighbor's kindly139 young son, to waken my guests. This was no easy matter.
"Come, now, Yank," said Pat, "get up and eat your breakfast. Come now! Cheer up! We'll send you home pretty soon."
We left them alone at their repast. It occurred to me they might try to escape, and I heartily140 wished they would. But after an hour they were marched away, we knew not whither.
On July 30th occurred the dreadful explosion of the mine which the enemy had tunnelled under our line of fortifications.
A little after four in the morning the city was 290 roused by the most awful thunder—like nothing I can imagine, except, perhaps, the sudden eruption141 of a volcano. This was the explosion of a mine tunnelled by General Grant under our works. Instantly the unhappy residents of the town poured into the street and out on the road, anywhere to escape what we supposed to be an earthquake. No words can adequately describe this horror! We lost a part of our line. Colonel Paul, a member of Beauregard's staff, was sent to inform General Lee of the disaster, and bore back his orders that the line must be at once recaptured. As the colonel passed his father's house, he ran in and found the old gentleman's hand on the bell-rope to summon his household to family prayers.
"Stay, my son, and join us at prayers," said the old man. "Get some breakfast with your mother and me." The colonel could not pause. He must leave this peaceful home, and bear his part in protecting it.
When the veterans meet to-day for their camp-fire talk, it is of the "battle of the Crater142," the shocking incidents of which cannot be told to gentle ears, that they speak most frequently. The fountain of fire that shot up to heaven bore with it the dismembered bodies of man made in God's own image. Then infuriated men, black and white, leaped into the chasm143 and mingled144 in an orgy of carnage. No one has ever built on that field. Nature smooths its scars with her gentle hand, but no dwelling43 of man will ever rest there while this tragedy is remembered.
On May 3d, 1887, Federal and Confederate veterans 291 met on this spot and clasped hands together. Since then the Confederates have met there again and again. Each one has some story to tell of heroism145, of devotion, and the stories are not always tragic146. Some of them have been gleaned147 from the experiences of the boys in blue.
Lieutenant Bowley of the Northern army delivered an address before the California commandery of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and quotes from the address of a negro preacher to his fellows just before the explosion of the crater. He was sergeant148 of a company of negroes, and thus exhorted149 them:—
"Now, men, dis is gwine to be a gret fight, de gretest we seen yit; gret things is 'pending150 on dis fight; if we takes Petersburg, mos' likely we'll take Richmond an' 'stroy Lee's army an' close de wah. Eb'ry man had orter liff up his soul in pra'r for a strong heart. Oh! 'member de pore colored people ober dere in bondage151. Oh! 'member dat Gin'ral Grant an' Gin'ral Burnside an' Gin'ral Meade an' all de gret gin'rals is right ober yander a watchin' ye; an' 'member I'se a watchin' ye an 'any skulker152 is a gwine ter git a prod153 ob dis ba'net—you heah me!"
Words than which, except for the closing sentence, I know none more pathetic.
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enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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gallant
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gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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serene
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bland
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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9
militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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10
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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12
irate
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| adj.发怒的，生气 | |
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13
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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14
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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15
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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16
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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17
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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18
humdrum
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| adj.单调的，乏味的 | |
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19
yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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21
exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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22
survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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23
beatific
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| adj.快乐的，有福的 | |
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24
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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25
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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26
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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27
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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28
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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29
pithily
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| adv.有力地，简洁地 | |
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30
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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31
repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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32
repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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33
archer
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| n.射手，弓箭手 | |
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34
avocations
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| n.业余爱好，嗜好( avocation的名词复数 )；职业 | |
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35
vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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36
vocations
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| n.（认为特别适合自己的）职业( vocation的名词复数 )；使命；神召；（认为某种工作或生活方式特别适合自己的）信心 | |
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37
impoverished
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| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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38
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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39
delusive
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| adj.欺骗的，妄想的 | |
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40
patriots
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| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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41
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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42
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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43
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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44
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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45
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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46
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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47
muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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48
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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49
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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50
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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51
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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52
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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53
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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54
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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55
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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56
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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57
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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58
dispense
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| vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施 | |
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59
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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61
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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62
puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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63
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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64
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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65
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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66
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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67
entreaty
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| n.恳求，哀求 | |
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68
besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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69
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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70
illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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71
chagrined
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| adj.懊恼的，苦恼的v.使懊恼，使懊丧，使悔恨( chagrin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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73
testily
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| adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地 | |
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74
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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75
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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76
reaper
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| n.收割者，收割机 | |
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77
wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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78
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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79
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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80
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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81
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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82
miller
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| n.磨坊主 | |
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83
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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84
benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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85
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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86
severely
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|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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87
exodus
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| v.大批离去，成群外出 | |
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88
depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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89
situated
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|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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90
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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91
residential
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| adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的 | |
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92
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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93
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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94
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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95
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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96
unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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97
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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98
grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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99
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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100
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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101
concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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102
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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103
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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104
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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105
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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106
burrowed
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| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻 | |
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107
sorghum
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| n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西 | |
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108
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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109
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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110
chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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111
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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112
withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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113
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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114
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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115
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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116
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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117
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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118
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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119
diplomat
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| n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人 | |
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120
delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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121
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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122
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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123
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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124
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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125
betrothed
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| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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126
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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127
valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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128
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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129
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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130
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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131
trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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132
venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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134
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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135
squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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136
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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137
scouting
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| 守候活动，童子军的活动 | |
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138
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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139
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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140
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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141
eruption
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| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
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142
crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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143
chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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144
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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145
heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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146
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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147
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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148
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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149
exhorted
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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150
pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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151
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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152
skulker
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| n.偷偷隐躲起来的人，偷懒的人 | |
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153
prod
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| vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励 | |
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