ar of
heavy cannon. The opposing hills and ridges fairly poured forth flame,
and shells and solid shot crashed upon the whole devoted town. Nor did
this tremendous fire from a hundred and fifty great guns cease for an
instant. The roar and crash were appalling. Harry saw houses crumbling
in Fredericksburg, with flames leaping up from others.

The artillery of Longstreet immediately facing the Union batteries was
too light and weak to reply, and the gunners remained quiet in their
trenches while the storm rained its showers of steel upon the town.
Yet the Mississippians in the rifle pits held fast, their earthen
shelters protecting them. While the bombardment was at its very height
workmen ran out on the bridge for the fourth time to complete it,
and while the shells and solid shot were whistling over their heads,
the rifles of the Mississippians once more swept it clean. Harry
groaned. He could not help it at the sight of men so brave who were cut
down like grass by the scythe. Then his attention turned away from the
bridge to the mighty cannonade which seemed to be growing in volume.
The wind took much of the smoke across the river and it floated in a
great cloud over Fredericksburg, through which shot the flames of the
burning buildings.

But the main army of the South, stretched along a front of six miles,
remained silent. Jackson on the right scarcely moved, but all the while
he attentively watched through his glasses the great cannonade. Nearly
all the soldiers were lying down, and to most of them the earth seemed
to heave with the shock of all those blazing cannon.

Harry and Dalton walked once to the point where the Invincibles lay.
That is, all but Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel
St. Hilaire were lying down. They stood rigidly erect, their eyes on
the great cannonade, and as Harry approached they were exchanging brief
comments with each other.

"What harm does that cannonade do, Hector?" asked Colonel Talbot.

"Much to the town, little to us."

"What a pity we don't have an artillery equal to theirs."

"A great pity, Leonidas."

"They will presently move forward in much greater force to finish the
bridge."

"Undoubtedly, Leonidas. They have shown folly, wasting the lives of
such brave men in small efforts one after another. They will try
something else."

"I see a great many boats against the bank on their side of the river.
I fancy they will use them in their next attemp