Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 "We were told it was to be a surprise attack," Henry began. "Tens of thousands of Union troops were to march to a town in Virginia — Fredericksburg. We would attack the rebels, take the town, and then march south to capture Richmond, Virginia's capital." Henry explained that the Union needed a victory badly, that people up north were losing faith in their army and their generals. "It seemed like we were sure to win in Fredericksburg." Except that the rebels knew exactly what the Union was planning. And they were ready.

“我们被告知这是一次突然袭击，”亨利开始说。 成千上万的联邦军队准备向弗吉尼亚州的弗雷德里克斯堡挺进。 我们将攻击叛军，拿下这座城市，然后向南进军，占领弗吉尼亚州的首府里士满。” 亨利解释说，联邦迫切需要一场胜利，北方人民对他们的军队和将军失去了信心。 “看起来我们在弗雷德里克斯堡肯定会赢。” 除了叛军知道联邦政府的计划。 他们准备好了。

Henry said that the rebels had a brilliant commander, the general Robert E. Lee. Somehow he always figured out where the Union army was going to be, and how they planned to attack. Sure enough, he had figured out the Union plan to attack Fredericksburg. "He sent thousands of soldiers into the hills above the town," Henry said. "He also sent dozens of cannons into the hills." Thomas knew that both sides had these mighty weapons, which were so heavy they had to be pulled by horses, and so powerful they needed at least four men to operate them. Some of the big guns shot cannonballs that were even heavier than Thomas. Others shot shells, explosives that were filled with razor-sharp metal strips, nails, and metal balls. Just one exploding shell could kill ten men in seconds. "The rebels had the high ground," Henry explained. "Anyone trying to get near those hills

亨利说叛军有一位杰出的指挥官，罗伯特。 李。不知怎么的，他总能预测联邦军队的动向，以及他们计划如何进攻。 果然，他已经猜到了联邦军进攻弗雷德里克斯堡的计划。 “他派了成千上万的士兵到镇上的山上，”亨利说。 “他还派了几十门大炮到山里去。” 托马斯知道双方都有这些强大的武器，这些武器很重，必须用马拉动，而且威力很大，至少需要四个人来操作。 有些大炮发射的炮弹甚至比托马斯还要重。 其他人发射的是炮弹、炸药，里面装满了锋利的金属条、钉子和金属球。 一枚爆炸的炮弹可以在几秒钟内杀死十个人。 “叛军占据了高地，”亨利解释说。 “任何想靠近那些山的人

was going to get mowed down. And that's exactly what happened." Henry described how the first Union regiment attacked, how lines of soldiers went charging across a field toward the hills. "They didn't even get close," he said. Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom! Rebel cannons thundered hundreds of blasts every minute. And with every blast, Union soldiers fell. Men who managed to survive the artillery blasts were met with a storm of bullets. "Within minutes, there were hundreds of our men lying dead and wounded in the mud," Henry said. But the Union generals wouldn't admit that their plan was a failure. They sent more regiments out to attack. And every time was the same:

都要被割掉了。 事实就是如此。” 亨利描述了联邦第一个团是如何进攻的，一列列士兵是如何穿过田野冲向山丘的。 “他们甚至都没有接近，”他说。 大爆炸!大爆炸!大爆炸!叛军的大炮每分钟轰鸣数百次。 每一次爆炸，联邦士兵都倒下了。 在炮火中幸存下来的人遭到了枪林弹雨的袭击。 亨利说:“几分钟之内，我们的数百名士兵或死或伤躺在泥泞中。” 但是联邦将军们不承认他们的计划失败了。 他们派出更多的团去进攻。 每次都是一样的:

Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom! More soldiers dead or wounded, their bodies bleeding and shattered. "And then it was our turn," Henry said. Henry's regiment lined up and started charging toward the hills. "There was so much smoke, we could barely see," he said. "There were bodies everywhere." Halfway through the charge, Henry's leg seemed to get stuck between two rocks. He pulled, but it wouldn't come loose. As the smoke cleared, he saw that it was a fallen Union soldier who had taken hold of his boot, clutching it with all of his might. Henry thought the man wanted help. "But he didn't," Henry said. "He knew he was dying. He was trying to stop me from running into that death trap." Cannons exploded with their deadly fire.

大爆炸!大爆炸!大爆炸!更多的士兵伤亡，他们的身体流血和破碎。 “然后就轮到我们了，”亨利说。 亨利的部队排好队，开始向山丘冲锋。 “烟雾太大了，我们几乎看不见，”他说。 “到处都是尸体。” 冲锋进行到一半时，亨利的腿似乎卡在了两块岩石之间。 他拉了一下，但绳子就是不松。 当烟雾散去时，他看到是一个倒下的北军士兵抓住了他的靴子，用尽了全身的力气。 亨利认为这个人需要帮助。 “但他没有，”亨利说。 “他知道自己快死了。他试图阻止我掉进那个死亡陷阱。” 大炮发出致命的炮火。

Men fell like stalks of corn cut down by invisible blades. Henry managed to crawl off the field. Other men weren't as lucky. "A hundred and fifty-six of our men died that day," he said. "Over two hundred more were wounded."

人就像被看不见的刀片砍倒的玉米秆。 亨利设法爬出了场地。 其他人就没这么幸运了。 他说:“那天我们有一百五十六人阵亡。 “还有200多人受伤。”

Four more regiments were sent in before the generals finally ordered the Union army to retreat. In all, more than 12,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in Fredericksburg. Henry looked at Thomas now. "Our men are worried," he said. "This is our first fight since Fredericksburg. And we need to win it." All around Thomas, men were lining up to march, their faces grim and scared. Something terrible was coming. Thomas could feel it, too.

在将军们最终命令联邦军队撤退之前，又派出了四个团。 在弗雷德里克斯堡，总共有12000多名士兵伤亡。 亨利现在看着托马斯。 “我们的人很担心，”他说。 “这是我们在弗雷德里克斯堡之后的第一次争吵。 我们需要赢得它。”在托马斯周围，男人们排着队准备游行，他们的脸阴沉而恐惧。 可怕的事情要来了。 托马斯也能感觉到。