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Show TOUCHED BY HYMN'S APPEAL Incident Related by Confederate Veteran Vet-eran Proves the Caliber of the American Soldier. Some years after the Civil war, a gathering of veterans of both sides was exchanging reminiscences at a .ttfB r'rri banquet given by .- . - the board of trade Wt'9 0f New York. ( ) writes Mrs. La B j Salle Corbell Plck- PSq ett In Lippin- -Jlti CPtt's- The pre" """"J '? siding officer was Lt; 'SpC. Co1- J- J- Phillips W-Oh of the Ninth Vir-f Vir-f f B'nia regiment, . Jggfgy.- Pickett's division. He was speaking of night attacks, and recalled one in particular, not because of its startling horrors, but because of a peculiar circumstance, cir-cumstance, almost resulting In the compulsory disobedience of orders the obeying, as it were, of a higher command than that of earth. . "The point of attack had been carefully care-fully selected," said Colonel Phillips, "the awaited dark night had arrived, and my command was to fire when General Pickett should signal the order. or-der. "There was that dread, Indescribable Indescriba-ble stillness, that weird, ominous silence si-lence that always settles over everything every-thing before -a fight. You felt that nowhere no-where In the. universe was there any voice or motion. "Suddenly the awesome silence was broken by the sound of a deep, full voice rolling over the black void like the billows of a great sea, directly In line with our guns. It was singing the old hymn, 'Jesus, Lover of My Soul ' "I have heard that grand old music many times In circumstances which Intensified In-tensified Its impresslveness, but never had It seemed so solemn as when It broke the stillness In which we waited tor the order of fire. Just as It was given there rang through the night the words : , " 'Cover my defenseless head With the shadow of Thy wing.' " 'Ready, aim ! Fire to the left, boys !' I said. "The guns were shifted, the volley that blazed out swerved aside, and that 'defenseless head' was 'covered' with the shadow of His wing." A Federal veteran who had been listening, looked up suddenly and said: "I remember that nighty colonel, and that midnight attack which carried off so many of my comrades. I was the singer." There was a second of silence ; then "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" rang across that banquet board as on that black night In 1864 it had rang across the lines at Bermuda Hundred. |