;m« 
 
 UBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 DDOnsabTST 
 

t ^ % 
 
 
 ABliAHAM LIXCOl.N 
 
4^' ANECDOTES, 
 
 ;rr 
 
 Poetry and Incidents 
 
 OF THE WAR: 
 
 NORTH ^NT> SOUTH. 
 
 1860-1865. 
 
 COLLECTED AND ARRANGED 
 
 BY FRANK MOORE, 
 
 Editor of "The Rebellion Record," "Diary of the American Revolution," Etc., Etc. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 PUBLICATION OFFICE, BIBLE HOUSE. 
 
 JAMES PORTEUS, GENERAL AGENT. 
 1867. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by Frank Moore, in the Clerk's Office 
 of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 
 ST"EEEOTTPED AT THB 
 
 BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, 
 
 Ho. U Spring Lane. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 In the preparation of this volume, it has been the design of the 
 editor to preserve, as far as possible, the most notable anecdotes and 
 incidents of the late war, and also such songs, ballads, and other pieces 
 of versification, as have been well received, and are considered worthy 
 of perpetuation by the reading public. Of course, many of the bril- 
 liant and heroic adventures that form an important part of the private 
 and personal history of the great conflict, will not be found in these 
 pages, for the simple and very proper reason, that the actors therein 
 alone know them, and as yet they have not made them public. As 
 it is the intention of the editor to prepare and publish a second series 
 at a suitable time, should he find material sufficient for the purpose, 
 it is important that the noble soldiers and sailors who have now 
 returned from the field should forward to him such anecdotes and in- 
 cidents as they may have knowledge of, that are not already included 
 in this work. And should the reader discover any errors of fact in 
 these pages, he will confer an obligation by advising of such errors, 
 that they may be corrected in a future edition. 
 
 R M. 
 
 New York, May, 1866. 
 
u 
 
 ,^ -1.^ 4- 
 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ANECDOTE OF GENERAL GRANT. 
 
 The following was told by an officer of Gen- 
 eral Grant's staff : — 
 
 The hero and veteran, who was citizen, cap- 
 tain, colonel, brigadier and major-general within 
 a space of nine months, though a rigid disciphn- 
 arian, and a perfect Ironsides in the discharge of 
 his official duties, could enjoy a good joke, and 
 is always ready to perpetrate one when an oppor- 
 tunity presents. Indeed, among his acquaint- 
 ances, he is as much renowned for his eccentric 
 humor as he is for his skill and bravery as a com- 
 mander. 
 
 When Grant was a brigadier in South-east 
 Missouri, he commanded an expedition against 
 the rebels under Jeff. Thompson, in North-east 
 Arkansas. The distance from the starting-point 
 of the expedition to the supposed rendezvous of 
 the rebels was about one hundred and ten miles, 
 and the greater portion of the route lay through 
 a howling wilderness. The imaginary suffering 
 that our soldiers endured during the two first 
 days of their march was enormous. It was im- 
 possible to steal or " confiscate " uncultivated real 
 estate, and not a hog, or a chicken, or an ear of 
 com was anywhere to be seen. On the third 
 day, however, affairs looked more hopeful, for a 
 few small specks of ground, in a state of partial 
 cultivation, were here and there visible. On 
 that day, Lieutenant Wickfield, of an Indiana 
 cavalry regiment, commanded the advance-guard, 
 consisting of eight mounted men. About noon he 
 came up to a small farm-house, from the outward 
 appearance of which he judged that there might 
 be something fit to eat inside. He halted his 
 company, dismounted, and with two second lieu- 
 tenants entered the dwelling. He knew that 
 Grant's incipient fame had already gone out 
 through all that country, and it occurred to him 
 that by representing himself to be the general 
 he might obtain the best the house afforded. So, 
 assuming a very imperative demeanor, he ac- 
 costed the Inmates of the house, and told them 
 he must have something for himself and staff 
 to eat. They desired to know who he was, and 
 he told them that he was Brigadier-General 
 Grant. At the sound of that name they flew 
 around with alarming alacrity, and served up 
 about all they had in the house, taking great 
 
 pains all the while to make loud professions of 
 loyalty. The lieutenants ate as much as they 
 could of the not over-sumptuous meal, but which 
 was, nevertheless, good for that country, and de- 
 manded what was to pay. " Nothing." And 
 they went on their way rejoicing. 
 
 In the mean time General Grant, who had 
 halted his army a few miles further back for a 
 brief resting-spell, came in sight of, and was 
 rather favorably impressed with, the appearance 
 of this same house. Riding up to the fence in 
 front of the door, he desired to know if they 
 would cook him a meal. 
 
 " No," said a female in a gruff voice ; " Gen- 
 eral Grant and his staff have just been here and 
 eaten everything in the house except one pump- 
 kin pie." 
 
 "Humph," murmured Grant; "what is your 
 name ? " 
 
 " Selvldge," replied the woman. 
 
 Casting a half-dollar in at the door, he asked 
 If she would keep that pie till he sent an officer 
 for it, to which she replied that she would. 
 
 That evening, after the camping-ground had 
 been selected, the various regiments were noti- 
 fied that there would be a grand parade at half- 
 past six, for orders. Officers would see that their 
 men all turned out, etc. 
 
 In five minutes the camp was in a perfect up- 
 roar, and filled with all sorts of rumors ; some 
 thought the enemy were upon them, it being so 
 unusual to have parades when on a march. 
 
 At half-past six the parade was formed, ten 
 columns deep, and nearly a quarter of a mile in 
 length. 
 
 After the usual routine of ceremonies the Act- 
 ing Assistant Adjutant-General read the follow- 
 ing order : 
 
 HEAD-QUARTERS, ARMY IN THE FIELD. 
 
 SPECiit Order No. • 
 
 Lieutenant Wickfield, of the Indiana cav- 
 alry, having on this day eaten everything in Mrs. 
 Selvldge's house, at the crossing of the Ironton 
 and Pocahontas and Black Elver and Cape Girar- 
 deau roads, except one pumpkin pie. Lieuten- 
 ant Wickfield is hereby ordered to return with 
 an escort of one hundred cavalry and eat that 
 pie also. U. S'. Grant, 
 
 Brigadier-General Comni;uiuic5 
 
 / 
 
ANECDOTES, POETEY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 LITTLE EDDIE THE DRUMMEE-BOY. 
 
 A REMINISCENCE OF WILSON'S CKEEK. 
 
 A FEW days before our regiment received or- 
 ders to join General Lyon, on his march to Wil- 
 son's Creek, the drummer of our company was 
 taken sick and conveyed to the hospital, and on 
 the evening preceding the day that we were to 
 march, a negro was arrested within the lines of 
 the camp, and brought before our captain, who 
 asked him " what business he had within the 
 lines ? " He replied : " I know a drummer that 
 you would like to enhst in your company, and I 
 have come to tell you of it." He was immediate- 
 ly requested to inform the drummer that if he 
 would enlist for our short term of service, he 
 would be allowed extra pay, and to do this, he 
 must be on the ground early in the morning. 
 The negro was then passed beyond the guard. 
 
 On the following morning there appeared be- 
 fore the captain's quarters during the beating of 
 the reueille, a good-looking, middle-aged woman, 
 dressed in deep mourning, leading by the hand 
 a sharp, sprightly-looking boy, apparently about 
 twelve or thirteen years of age. Her story was 
 soon told. She was from East Tennessee, Avhere 
 her husband had been killed by the rebels, and 
 all their property destroyed. She had come to 
 SL Louis in search of her sister, but not finding 
 her, and being destitute of money, she thought if 
 she could procure a situation for her boy as a 
 drummer for the short time that we had to remain 
 in the service, she could find employment for 
 herself, and perhaps find her sister by the time 
 we were discharged. 
 
 During the rehearsal of her story the little fel- 
 low kept his eyes intently fixed upon the counte- 
 nance of the captain, who was about to express 
 a determination not to take so small a boy, when 
 he spoke out: "Don't be afraid, captain, I can 
 drum." This was spoken with so much confidence, 
 that the captain immediately observed, with a 
 smile : " ^Vell, well, sergeant, bring the drum, 
 and order our fifer to come forward." In a few 
 moments the drum was produced, and our fifer, 
 a tall, round-shouldered, good-natured fellow, 
 from the Dubuque mines, who stood, when erect, 
 something over six feet in height, soon made his 
 appearance. 
 
 Upon being introduced to his new comrade, he 
 stooped down, with his hands resting upon his 
 knees, that were thrown forward into an acute 
 angle, and after peering into the little fellow's 
 face a moment, he observed : " My little man, 
 can you drum V " " Yes, sir," he replied, " I 
 drummed for Captain Hill in Tennessee." Our 
 lifer immediately commenced straightening him- 
 self upward until all the angles in his person had 
 disappeared, when he placed his fife at his mouth, 
 and played the " Flowers of Edlnborough," one 
 of the most didlcult things to follow with the drum 
 that could have been selected, and nobly did the 
 little fellow follow him, showing himself to be a 
 master of the drum. When the music ceased, 
 our captain turned to the mother and observed : 
 " Madam, I will take your boy. What is his 
 
 name ? " " Edward Lee," she replied ; then 
 placing her hand upon the captain's arm, she 
 continued, " Captain, if he is not killed " — here 
 her maternal feelings overcame her utterance, 
 and she bent down over her boy and kissed him 
 upon the forehead. As she arose, she observed : 
 " Captain, you will bring him back with you, 
 won't you ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes," he replied, " we will be certain to 
 bring him back with us. We shall be discharged 
 in six weeks." 
 
 In an hour after, our company led the Iowa 
 First out of camp, our drum and fife playing 
 " The girl I left behind me." Eddie, as we call- 
 ed him, soon became a great favorite with all the 
 men in the company. When any of the boys had 
 returned from a horticultural excursion, Eddie's 
 share of the peaches and melons was the first aj)- 
 portloned out. During our heavy and fatiguing 
 march from RoUa to Springfield, It was often 
 amusing to see our long-legged fifer wading 
 through the mud with our little drummer mount- 
 ed upon his back, and always in that position 
 when fording streams. 
 
 During the fight at Wilson's Creek I was sta- 
 tioned with a part of our company on the right of 
 Totten's battery, while the balance of our com- 
 pany, with a part of the Illinois regiment, was 
 ordered down Into a deep ravine upon our left. 
 In which It was known a portion of the enemy 
 was concealed, with whom they were soon en- 
 gaged. The contest In the ravine continuing 
 some time, Totten suddenly wheeled his battery 
 upon the enemy in that quarter, when they soon 
 retreated to the high ground behind their lines. 
 In less than twenty minutes after, Totten had 
 driven the enemy from the ravine, the word pass- 
 ed from man to man throughout the army, " Lyon 
 Is killed ! " and soon after, hostilities having ceased 
 upon both sides, the order came for our main 
 force to fall back upon Springfield, while a part of 
 the Iowa First and two companies of the Missouri 
 regiment were to camp upon the gi'ound and 
 cover the retreat next morning. That night I 
 was detailed for guard duty, my turn of guard 
 closing with the morning call. When I went 
 out with the ofiicer as a reUef, I found that my 
 post was upon a high eminence that overlooked 
 the deep ravine In which our men had engaged 
 the enemy, until Totten's battery came to their 
 assistance. It was a dreary, lonesome beat. The 
 moon had gone down In the early part of the 
 night, while the stai's twinkled dimly through a 
 hazy atmosphere, lighting up Imperfectly the 
 surrounding objects. Occasionally I would place 
 my ear near the ground and listen for the sound 
 of footstejis, but all was silent save the far-off 
 howling of the wolf, that seemed to scent upon 
 the evening air the banquet that we had been 
 preparing for him. The hours passed slowly 
 away, when at length the morning light began 
 to streak along the eastern sky, making surround- 
 ing objects more plainly visible, Presently I 
 heard a drum beat up the morning call. At first 
 I thought It came from the camp of the enemy 
 across the creek ; but as I listened, I found that 
 
AKECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 it came up from the deep ravine ; for a few min- 
 utes it was silent, and then as it became more 
 light I heard it again. I listened — the sound 
 of the drum was familiar to me — and I knew 
 that it was 
 
 Our drummer-boy from Tennessee 
 Beating for help the reveille. 
 
 I was about to desert my post to go to his as- 
 sistance, when I discovered the officer of the 
 guard approaching with two men. We all listen- 
 ed to the sound, and were satisfied that it was 
 Eddie's drum. I asked permission to go to his 
 assistance. The officer hesitated, saying that the 
 orders were to march in twenty minutes. I 
 promised to be back in that time, and he consent- 
 ed. I immediately started down the hill through 
 the thick undergrowth, and upon reaching the 
 valley I followed the sound of the drum, and soon 
 found him seated upon the ground, his back lean- 
 ing against the trunk of a fallen tree, while his 
 drum hung upon a bush In front of him, reaching 
 nearly to the gi-ound. As soon as he discovered 
 me he dropped his drumsticks and exclaimed, 
 " O Coi"poral ! I am so glad to see you. Give me 
 a drink," reaching out his hand for my canteen, 
 which was empty. I immediately turned to bring 
 him some water from the brook that I could hear 
 rippling through the bushes near by, when, think- 
 ing that I was about to leave him, he commenced 
 crying, saying : " Don't leave me. Corporal — I 
 can't walk." I was soon back with the water, 
 when I discovered that both of his feet had been 
 shot away by a cannon-ball. After satisfying his 
 thirst, he looked up into my face and said : " You 
 don't think I wIU die. Corporal, do you ? This 
 man said I would not — he said the surgeon could 
 cure my feet." I now discovered a man lying in 
 the grass near him. By his dress I recognized 
 him as belonging to the enemy. It appeared that 
 he had been shot through the bowels, and fallen 
 near where Eddie lay. Knowing that he could 
 not live, and seeing the condition of the boy, he 
 had crawled to him, taken oflf his buckskin sus- 
 penders, and corded the little fellow's legs below 
 the knee, and then laid down and died. While 
 he was telling me these particulars, I heard the 
 tramp of cavalry coming down the ravine, and 
 in a moment a scout of tlae enemy was upon us, 
 and I was taken piisoner. I requested the officer 
 to take Eddie up in front of him, and he did so, 
 carrying him with great tenderness and care. 
 AVhcu we reached the camp of the enemy the 
 little fellow was dead. 
 
 How TO CROSS A River. — Colonel Weer, at 
 the head of his division, arrived at White River, 
 Arkansas, at night and found the stream impassa- 
 ble. The recent snow had gone off with a rain, 
 raising the water very fast, and the whole army 
 was hurrying by forced marches to cross the 
 river before it rose, as it was so low as to be 
 fordable ; but, with all his haste, his forces were 
 too slow. Colonel Weer ordered Captain Stock- 
 
 ton to cross his battery " as soon as possible." 
 The captain asked, "Where are the boats?" 
 Colonel Weer determined to beat Gens. Schofield 
 and Herron, who marched upon two other roads, 
 repfied : " Make them, sir, the quickest way pos- 
 sible ! " Captain Stockton took two wagon beds 
 of his mule wagons, and covered them with 
 tarpaulins, and making a cable out of prolongs, 
 was crossing his battery within two hours ! The 
 next morning the rope across the stream broke, 
 and all attempts to get across by swinmaing 
 horses and tying it to mules' tails, failed, when 
 Stockton drove a plug into a shell and fii-ed it 
 across ! His lieutenant on the opposite shore, 
 ran and picked it up, and all things went on 
 swimmingly again. A trip with this boat was 
 made and loaded in ten minutes ! The boat was 
 in constant use four days, and not a single acci- 
 dent happened. 
 
 A BRAVE Woman. — Captain Bolghtof Com 
 pany H, Twenty-Third Kentucky Regiment, re- 
 lated the following anecdote of the war. 
 
 During the retreat of the army of Kirby Smith 
 from Cumberland Gap, the regiment to which he 
 belonged was in the van of the Federal army. 
 One morning, when the regiment was about 
 twenty-six miles east of the Wild Cat Moun- 
 tains, they were surprised to see a file of ten 
 men, all of them secesh, marching toward their 
 lines, and a woman marching in their rear with 
 a musket in her hands ; on their coming within 
 the Federal lines she coolly gave them up to the 
 officer commanding as prisoners. In accounting 
 for their capture, she said that her husband had 
 joined a military company in the Federal ser- 
 vice, and had left her alone to take care of the 
 house, which lay between the two ai-mies. Eleven 
 secessionists had come into the house that 
 morning and proceeded to make themselves per- 
 fectly at home, first killing all her chickens, and 
 setting them to roast by the fire. They then 
 proceeded to dispose of the things around the 
 house, taking up the carpets, and constructing 
 horse blankets out of them. 
 
 They next perpetrated other atrocities of a de- 
 structive and objectionable character, which had 
 the effect of making the lady of the house " furi- 
 ously wild," as the captain expressed it, and she 
 determined that such outrageous conduct should 
 not go unpunished. She accordingly carried 
 away their muskets to a place of safety, reserving 
 two for her own use, and then going to the room 
 in which they were regaling themselves on her 
 defunct chickens, she informed them that they 
 were her prisoners. One of them jumped up to 
 seize her, when she levelled her gun at him and 
 fired, causing him to bite the dust, which laj 
 thickly strewed on the carpetless liooi*. Throw- 
 ing away the now useless gun, she took the other 
 in her hand and ordered the remaining ten to 
 march toward the Union camp threatening to 
 shoot the first who attempted to run away. 
 Having a wholesome fear of sharing a similar fate 
 to that of their companion, they went quietly 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCmENTS. 
 
 along, and were accordingly handed over to the 
 military authorities. On being laughed at for 
 being taken prisoner by a woman, they said they 
 had been -wanting to get captured for some time 
 past, and were heartily glad that they were pris- 
 oners at last. They were entirely sick of the 
 war, they said, and did not care how, so that 
 th6y got out of it. 
 
 UNDER THE WASHINGTON ELM. 
 CAMBRIDGE, APRIL 27, 1861. 
 
 BY OLIVER WENRELt. HOLMES. 
 
 Eighty years have passed, and more, 
 
 Since under the brave old tree 
 Our fathers gathered in arms, and swore 
 They would follow the sign their banners bore, 
 
 And fight till the land was free. 
 
 Half of their work was done, 
 
 Half is left to do — 
 Cambridge and Concord and Lexington ! 
 When the battle is fought and won, 
 
 What shall be told of you 1 
 
 Hark ! 'tis the south wind moans — 
 
 Who are tiie martyrs down ? — 
 Ah, the marrow was true in your children's bones, 
 That sprinkled with blood the cursed stones 
 
 Of the murder-haunted town ! 
 
 What if the storm-clouds blow ? 
 
 What if the green leaves fall ? 
 Better the crashing tempest's throe, 
 Than the army of worms that gnawed below ; 
 
 Tiximple them one and all ! 
 
 Then, when the battle is won, 
 
 And the land from traitors free, 
 Our children shall tell of the strife begun 
 When Liberty's second April sun 
 
 Was bright on our brave old tree ! 
 
 Fun on the Rappahannock : — A soldier 
 of the Eighth Ohio regiment, writing from Fal- 
 mouth, makes the following notes on the move- 
 ments in that vicinity : — 
 
 " Everything seemed to be progressing finely 
 until Tuesday night, when the " heavens opened 
 and the flood descended." " Eph " suggested 
 that the flood n;ates must be entirely off their 
 hinges, as his sleeping apartment suddenly be- 
 came a bath house, and his bunk a bathing tub. 
 Indeed our " brown stone front " came near 
 being dissolved, and the " aristocratic " inmates 
 drowned. The storm continued with very little 
 cessation until Friday morning, and as every 
 hour made the " soil " more soft than " sacred," 
 the roads soon became blocked with an indescrib- 
 able mass of artillery wagons, and " pontoons," 
 hopelessly stuck in the mud. It was very evi- 
 dent that this " delay of the pontoons " was not 
 attributable to a lack of energy on the part of Q. 
 M. General Meigs, nor yet on account of a mis- 
 understanding between Messrs. Generals Halleck 
 
 and Bumside. " Eph " thinks a greater General 
 than any of these had something to do with it, 
 and remarked that " it was undoubtedly on ac- 
 count of the same One to whom Victor Hugo as- 
 cribes Napoleon's failure to win the battle of 
 Waterloo.'' 
 
 One thing is certain, the artillery and " pon- 
 toon" could move no more at present. The 
 " meeting " was postponed, and after lying out in 
 the mud and rain for three days and nights, the 
 troops that had moved up the river came back, 
 probably helievmg that it was " all for the best," 
 but on account of the mud that obstructed their 
 vision they failed to " see it." As we were to 
 have crossed the river nearly opposite our camp, 
 we did not leave our quarters, and had a good 
 opportunity to witness the return of the muddy, 
 straggUng mass. The scene was anything but a 
 pleasant one, yet there were many ludicrous in- 
 cidents connected with it. " Eph " and three or 
 four of the " boys" were standing near our man- 
 sion, looking at the floating mass of men, horses, 
 mules, artillery, and wagons, when we observed a 
 conglomeration of blue cloth and mud approach- 
 ing. As it had on a gun, knapsack, haversack 
 and canteen, we concluded it was a '' straggler," 
 and " Eph " hailed him with — 
 
 " Hallo ! Earthen-ware ! what regiment do 
 you belong to ? " 
 
 The figure never paused, but the earth ; visible 
 under the visor of a cap, moved, displaying a cav- 
 ern from which issued the words : — 
 
 " Don't speak to me ! I'm a spared monu- 
 ment ! I've marched in mud, swam mud, drank 
 mud, and slept in mud for three days and nights. 
 My colonel and regiment were all drowned in 
 mud. I'm the only man left, and I'm demoral- 
 ized as " 
 
 "Eph" extracted the leather pontoons he 
 wears from the rich soil in which he was stand- 
 ing, retreated " without loss " to the " sitting 
 room," threw himself into the " easy " chair be- 
 fore the " coal grate," elevated his pontoons to 
 the " mantel-piece," and remained in this position 
 evidently meditating until we came in. After 
 we had requested him to remove his muddy 
 " pontoons" from the " furniture," he said : — 
 
 " That's the first demoralized monument, I ever 
 saw. He was probably a brother of the Fire 
 Zouave we saw over in Fredericksburg the 
 other day, and I am inclined to believe most of 
 his story." At this juncture some one called him 
 out to look at the new balloon Avhich was going 
 up from near General Sumner's headquarters. 
 On his return we asked him " what he supposed 
 the professor saw that attracted him to such a 
 dizzy height so often ? " " Well," said " Ejih," 
 (at the same time setting one of his soiled " pon- 
 toons" down on our boots just pohshed for ''in- 
 spection,") " I guess it ain't what he sees while 
 he's up there so much as it is the five thousand 
 dollars he sees every time he comes down." 
 
 To-day we rode down to the river to look at 
 the enemy's fortifications, see their cannon and 
 ask their pickets the price of cotton. At Fal- 
 mouth we visited the ruins of an old bridge, on 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 the end of which ive had a picket to watch a 
 gray-back " picket who was stationed at the op- 
 posite end, and whose duty was evidently to 
 watch ours. All along the river we found the 
 pickets of the opposing armies within easy hailing 
 distance, and apparently quite friendly, but as 
 conversation was not allowed, we asked no ques- 
 tions. 
 
 The hills back of Fredericksburg looked as 
 though they were in possession of an enterprising 
 oil company who were engaged in boring for 
 " ile," but from the fact that the piles of fresh 
 earth increased daily we suspected they had not 
 " struck a vein." On our return we passed 
 through the little hollow near General Sum- 
 ner's headquarters, where a part of our hos- 
 pitals were located during the battle of the 12th 
 ult., and stopped to read some of the names ap- 
 pearing upon the little headboards that were 
 planted in a regular row on one side. " Eph " 
 made the discovery of several, that read " Pri- 
 vate, Unknown," and one " Lieut., Unknown," 
 whereupon he immediately seated himself upon a 
 log, and crossing his " pontoons " — upon each of 
 which he had strapped a " buzz saw" the two 
 constituting what he calls his " spurs," and 
 said : — 
 
 " Death is a rude customer to meet at any 
 time and at any place ; he is not welcome even 
 at home and among friends — but to think of a 
 fellow dying as it were alone, with not even an 
 old comi-ade or a familiar face near, and upon 
 whose monument — a pine board two by three 
 — appears the inscription ' Private or Lieutenant 
 Unknown,' reminds me that I am not well and 
 ought to be discharged." Here he looked pale, 
 and we began to think he loas unwell, but he 
 continued : " I wonder if the one who wrote 
 those epitaphs had an idea that when the Chief 
 Bugler comes to sound the last 'reveille,' he 
 vx)uld pause to learn whether the ashes that 
 slnmber beneath these pine boards ever wore 
 straps or not?" Here he paused again and 
 looked at his old blouse, shrugged his shoulders, 
 and concluded — 
 
 "When the epauletted general who commands 
 and the soldier without straps who obeys, both 
 stand before One in whose presence all 
 
 * # * .' tinsel of time, 
 
 Must fade and die in the light of that region sublime,' 
 
 I wonder if they will remain Unknown ? " 
 
 " When you is about, we is." — During the 
 passage of the national troops through Missouri, 
 in pursuit of General Price, a crowd of negroes 
 came out from a large house to see them, when 
 the following colloquy took place " Boys, are 
 you all for the Union ? " " Oh ! yes, massa, 
 when you's about we is." " And when Price 
 comes, you are secesh, are you ? " " Lor, yes, 
 massa, we's good secesh then. Can't allow de 
 white folks to git head niggers in dat way." 
 
 Army Spouts. — The following extract is 
 from the letter of a soldier in the army of the 
 
 Potomac : — "I was accidentally a witness of a 
 most interesting scene the other day, which oc- 
 cured close to the camp of the 141st New York 
 regiment. It was a rabbit hunt, in which a 
 whole company participated, and conducted it 
 on strictly military principles. They first de- 
 ployed as skirmishers, and each with a stick in 
 his hand, moved in good order through a piece 
 of land from which most of the wood had been 
 taken ; heaps of branches and limbs scattered 
 here and there, afforded excellent retreats for 
 the game in question. As they marched along, 
 each one beat every bush within reaching dis- 
 tance of his stick, until a rabbit was started. 
 This was announced by a yell, that instantly put 
 every one on the alei't, and the scene that fol- 
 lowed was exciting and ludicrous in the extreme ; 
 the yell was caught up by every soldier, and a 
 chase of the most vigorous description was the 
 rapid result. The flankers sti-ained every nerve 
 to flank or surround the terrified creature, who, 
 bewildered by the tumult on every side, would 
 double at each point where a soldier opposed 
 him, until his retreat was effectually cut off, and 
 he was either caught ahve or felled by a blow of 
 a stick. AVhere the rabbit was an old one, he 
 often escaped by fleeing to the cover, yet un- 
 disturbed by the axe, and the chase would have 
 to be abandoned. I stood on a small hill for 
 more than an hour, watching them, and the 
 shouts of the men, the efforts of the quarry to 
 escape, which was almost always in sight, the 
 agile movements of the soldiers and the roars 
 of laughter which followed when one less 
 cautious or more excited than the others, tripped 
 and fell his length in the bushes, while his com- 
 panions either ran over him or around him, 
 (never stopping) making altogether a most 
 pleasing spectacle. Although ten blows hit a 
 soldier where one hit the rabbit when he 
 was surrounded, still the utmost good hu- 
 mor prevailed, and the fallen ones took the laugh 
 of their comrades without the slightest sign of an- 
 ger or ill feeling. Such little episodes in the life 
 of a soldier are not only invaluable as regards 
 his health and the important part they take in 
 preventing a depressed state of mind, but furnish 
 also a welcome change in the place of " hard 
 tack," and salt beef, which compi-ise the staple 
 articles of the soldier's food, for the company 
 just mentioned caught eleven in less than two 
 hours, which was about one half the number 
 started." 
 
 SKEDADDLE. 
 
 The shades of night were falling fast, 
 As through a Southern village passed 
 A youth, who bore, not over nice, 
 A banner with the gay device. 
 Skedaddle ! 
 
 His hair was red, his toes beneath 
 Peeped, like an acorn from its sheath. 
 While with a frightened voice he sung 
 A burden strange to Yankee tongue. 
 Skedaddle! 
 
10 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 He saw no household fire where he 
 Might warm liis tod or hominy ; 
 Beyond the Cordilleras shone, 
 And from his lips escaped a groan. 
 Skedaddle ! 
 
 " Oh ! stay," a cullered pusson said, 
 " An' on dis bossom res' your hed ! " 
 The octoroon she winked her eye. 
 But still he answered, with a sigh. 
 Skedaddle ! 
 
 " Beware McClellan, Bucli, and Banks, 
 Beware of Halleck's deadly ranks ! " 
 This was the planter's last Good Night ; 
 The chap replied, far out of sight. 
 Skedaddle ! 
 
 At break of day, as several boys 
 From Maine, New York and Illinois 
 Were moving Southward, in the air 
 They heard these accents of despair. 
 Skedaddle ! 
 
 A chap was found and at his side 
 A bottle, showing how he died. 
 Still grasping in his hand of ice 
 That banner with the strange device, 
 Skedaddle ! 
 
 There iii the twilight, thick and gray, 
 Considerably played out he lay ; 
 And through the vapor, gray and thick, 
 A voice fell like a rocket-stick, 
 Skedaddle ! 
 
 An Ixcident. — When the United States 
 vessels were on their way to attack Fernandina, 
 Florida, they picked up a contraband who had 
 ventured to sea in a small boat to notify them 
 that the rebels were deserting the place. While 
 questioning the black, some of the officers of the 
 Alabama remarked that he should have brought 
 them newspapers to let them know what was go- 
 ing on. " 1 thought of dat," replied the contra- 
 band, " and fetched a Charleston paper wid me." 
 With this he put his hand In his bosom and brought 
 forth a paper, and with the air of a man who was 
 rendering an important service, handed It to the 
 circle of Inquirers. They grasped It eagerly, but 
 one glance Induced a general burst of laughter, to 
 the profound astonishment of poor Cuff'ee, who, 
 it seems, could not read, and imagining that one 
 paper was as good as another, had brought one 
 dated 1822. It Is a little odd that this paper, 
 which had floated so long down the stream of 
 time, contained ah article in favor of negro eman- 
 cipation. 
 
 Postal Affairs. — The following is the 
 superscription of a letter that passed through the 
 Louisville, Ky., post-office : 
 
 "Feds and Confeds, let this go free 
 Down to Nashville, Tennessee ; 
 This three-cent stamp will pay the cost 
 Until you find Sopliia Yost. 
 
 " Postmasters North, or even South, 
 May open it and find the truth ; 
 I merely say my wife's got well, 
 And has a baby cross as , you know.* 
 
 Who first answered the President's 
 Call ? — On the morning of the sixteenth of 
 April, 18G1, at nine o'clock, the Logan Guards 
 received orders from Gov. Curtln to proceed Im- 
 mediately to Harrlsburgh, and by nine o'clock 
 that night they were ready to leave for that place 
 with one hundred members. Through some mis- 
 management of the railroad company, they did 
 not get off until the next morning at four o'clock. 
 As a consequence, they arrived In Harrlsburgh 
 about six o'clock on the morning of the seven- 
 teenth, which was, at least one hour before the 
 arrival of any other company. After the other 
 companies arrived, they were all sworn in togeth- 
 er ; and on the morning of the eighteenth the 
 five companies left Harrlsburgh for Washington 
 city. During their passage through Baltimore, 
 and their entrance into Washington, tlie Logan 
 Guards had the right, and were thefrst company 
 to report themselves for duty to the Adjutant Gen- 
 eral. The credit should fall on those who deserve 
 It — the gallant Logan Guards, Capt. John B. 
 Selhelmer, of Lewlston, Mifflin County Pennsyl- 
 vania. 
 
 Touching Farewell Address. — Orpheus 
 C. Kerr thus wrote, about the time General Mc- 
 Clellan was relieved from the command of the 
 army of the Potomac : — 
 
 But the whole body of the Mackerels, sane and 
 insane alike, unite In a feeling of strong anguish 
 blended with enthusiasm, at the removaV of tie 
 beloved General of the Mackerel Brigade. He 
 has been so much a father to them all, that they 
 never expected to get a step farther while he 
 was with them. 
 
 There's a piece of domestic philosophy for tou, 
 my boy. 
 
 When the General heard of his removal, my 
 boy, he said that It Avas like divorcing a husband 
 from a wife who had always supported him, and 
 Immediately let fly the following farewell address : 
 
 Head-quakters of Army of Accomac, ] 
 
 FOOT OF TUE BluE EiDGE. ) 
 
 My Children : An order from the Honest 
 Abe divorces us, and gives the command of all 
 these attached beings to Major General 'Wobert 
 Woblnson. [Heartrending and enlhusiastic 
 cheers.] 
 
 In parting with you I cannot express how 
 much I love your dear bosoms. As an army, you 
 have grown from youth to old age under my care. 
 In you I never found doubt or coldness, nor any- 
 thing else. The victories you have won under 
 my command wIU live In the nation's work of fic- 
 tion. The strategy we have achieved, the graves 
 of many unripe Mackerels, the broken forms of 
 those disabled by the emancipation proclama- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETEY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 11 
 
 tion — the strongest associations that can exist 
 amono- men — still make it advisable that you 
 should vote for me as President of the United 
 States in 1865. Thus we shall ever be comrades 
 in supporting the Constitution, and making the 
 Constitution support us. 
 
 The Genekal of the Mackerel Bbioade. 
 [Green Seal.] 
 
 Adeoit Smuggling : — Some Irish women 
 searched the market for a very large chicken, and 
 on being shown one, asked if it would hold a pint 
 flask. The dealer thought that it would, and the 
 flask being produced, he satisfied them that it 
 would. That was the chicken they wanted. The 
 women finally admitted that they were going to 
 cook the chicken, place the flask, after filling it 
 with brandy, inside of it for stufiing, and send 
 it to camp. 
 
 THERE'S LIFE IN THE OLD LAND YET ! 
 
 BY JAS. E. RANDALL, 
 
 Bt blue Patapsco's billowy dash, 
 
 The tyrant's war-shout comes, 
 Along with the cymbal's fitful clash, 
 
 And the growl of his sullen drums, 
 "We hear it ! we heed it, with vengeful thrills, 
 
 And we shall not forgive or forget ; 
 Tliere's faith in the streams, there's hope in the hills, 
 
 There's life in the old land yet ! 
 
 Minions ! we sleep, but we are not dead ; 
 
 We are crushed, we are scourged, we are scarred ; 
 We crouch — 'tis to welcome the triumph tread 
 
 Of the peerless Beauregard. 
 Then woe to j'our vile, polluting horde 
 
 When the Southern braves are met, 
 There's faitli in the victor's stainless sword, 
 
 There is fife in the old land yet ! 
 
 Bigots ! ye quell not the valiant mind, 
 
 With the clank of an iron chain. 
 The spirit of frecdoni sings in the wind. 
 
 O'er Merri/man, TJiomas, and Kane; 
 And we, though we smite not, and are not thralls. 
 
 We ai'c piling a gory debt ; 
 While down by McHenry's dungeon-walls, 
 
 There's life in the old land yet ! 
 
 Our women have hung their harps away, 
 
 And they scowl on )'Our brutal bands. 
 While the nimble poignard dareS the day. 
 
 In their dear defiant hands. 
 They will strip their tresses to string our bows. 
 
 Ere the Northern sun is set ; 
 There's faith iu their unrelenting woes. 
 
 There's life in the old land yet ! 
 
 There's life, though it throbbeth in silent veins, 
 
 'Tis vocal without noise, 
 It gushed o'er Manassas' solemn plains, 
 
 From the blood of the Maryland Boys ! 
 That blood shall cry aloud, and rise 
 
 With an everlasting tlu'eat, — 
 By the death of the brave, by the God in the skies, 
 
 There's life in tlie old land yet ! 
 
 A Hero Indeed. — Colonel Edward E. 
 Cross, thus described his experience at the bat- 
 tle of Fredericksburg : — "It came near being my 
 last battle. _ As we were advancing to those fatal 
 heights in line of battle, I was near my colors. 
 A twelve-pounder shell, from the Washington 
 battery, burst right in front of me. One frag- 
 ment struck me just below the heart, makings 
 bad wound. Another blew off my hat ; another 
 (small bit) entered my mouth, and broke out 
 three of my best jaw-teeth, while the gravel, bits 
 of frozen earth, and minute fragments of shell 
 covered my face with bruises. 
 
 " I fell insensible, and lay so for some tjme, 
 when another fragment of shell, striking me on 
 the left leg, below the knee, brought me to my 
 senses. My mouth was full of blood, fragments 
 of teeth and gravel, my breast-bone almost bro- 
 ken in, and I lay in mud two inches deep. My 
 brave looys had gone along. I always told them 
 never to stop for me. Dead and wounded lay 
 thick around. One captain of French's division 
 was gasping in death within a foot of my head, 
 his bowels all torn out. The air was full of hiss- 
 ing bullets and bursting shells. Getting on my 
 hands and knees, I looked for my flag. Thank 
 God, there it fluttered right amid the smoke and 
 fire of the front line. I could hear the cheers of 
 my brave men. T^vice the colors dropped, but 
 were up in an instant. 1 tried to crawl along, 
 but a shot came and struck the steel scabbard of 
 my sabre, splitting it open, and knocking me 
 down flat. 
 
 " Dizzy and faint, I had sense enough to lay 
 myself out decently, 'feet to the foe.' Two 
 lines pased over me, but soon they swayed back, 
 trampling on the dead and dying. Halting about 
 thirty yards in the rear, one line laid down and 
 commenced firing. Imagine the situation. Right 
 between two fires of bullets and shell — for our 
 own artillery fire from over the river was mostly 
 too short, and did great damage to our own 
 troops. I lay on the field for "hours, the most 
 awful moments of my life. As the Ijalls from 
 our line hissed over me within a foot of my head, 
 I covered my face with both hands, and counted 
 rapidly from one to one hundred, expecting 
 every moment my brains would spatter the 
 ground. But they didn't. 
 
 " The guardian angels (if there be such person- 
 ages) or my destiny saved me. The end of my 
 days was reserved for another and I hope more 
 fortimate occasion. For if I am to die on the 
 battle-field, I pray that it may be with the cheers 
 of victory in my ears. When it became dark 
 some of my men found me and I was earned to 
 the hospital." 
 
 And the prayer of the brave New Hampshire 
 Colonel was answered, for he did " die with the 
 cheers of victory in his ears," on the ever memo- 
 rable field of Gettysburg. 
 
 ADVENTURES IN EaST TENNESSEE. — A 
 
 rifleman belonging to the Southern army gives 
 
12 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 tl 
 
 the following account of his experiences in the 
 service : — 
 
 In the beginning of the American war I be- 
 longed to a regiment of mounted riflemen, and 
 we were sent into Eastern Tennessee, where 
 there was a good deal of bushwhacking about 
 that time. We were picketed one day in a line 
 about two miles long across countrj', and I was 
 on the extreme left. I took my saddle off, hols- 
 ters and all, and hung it on a branch of a peach- 
 tree, and my carbine on another. We knew 
 there were no Yankees near, and so I was kind 
 o' off guard, eating peaches. By and by I saw a 
 young woman coming down to where I was, on 
 horseback. She wanted to know if there were 
 many of the boys near, and if they would buy 
 some milk of her if she took it down to them. I 
 said I thought they would, and took about a 
 quart myself; and as she hadn't much more, I 
 emptied the water out of my canteen and took 
 the rest. Says she, " If you'll come up to the 
 house yonder, I've got something better than 
 that ; you may have some good peach brandy — 
 some of your fellows might like a little." I said 
 I'd go, and she says, " You needn't take your 
 saddle or carbine, it's just a step, and they are 
 safe enough here — there's nobody about." So I 
 mounted bareback, and she led the way. When 
 we passed the bars where she came in, she says, 
 " You ride on a step, and I'll get down and put 
 up the bars." I went on, and as she came up 
 behind, she says pretty sharp, " Ride a little 
 faster, if you please." I looked round and she 
 had a revolver pointed straight at my head, and 
 I saw that she knew how to use it. I had left 
 everything behind me like a fool, and had to 
 give in and obey orders. " That's the house if 
 you please," she says, and showed me a house in 
 the edge of the woods a quarter of a mile away. 
 We got there, and she told me to get down and 
 eat something, for she was going to give me a long 
 ride — into the Yankee lines, about twenty miles 
 away. Her father came out and abused me like 
 a thief, and told roe that he was going to have 
 me sent into the Federal lines to be hung. It 
 seems he had a son hung the week before by 
 some of the Confederates, and was going to have 
 his revenge out of me. I ate pretty well, for I 
 thought I might need it before I got any more, 
 and then the old fellow began to curse me and 
 abuse me like anything. He said he would shoot 
 me on the spot if it wasn't that he'd rather have 
 me hung ; and instead of giving me my own 
 horse, he took the worst one he had in his stables, 
 and they put me on that with my feet tied 
 together under his belly. Luckily they didn't 
 tie my hands, for they thought I had no arms, and 
 couldn't help myself: but I always carried a 
 small revolver in my shirt-bosom. The girl kept 
 too sharp watch on me for me to use it. She 
 never turned her revolver from me, and I knew 
 that the first suspicious move I made 1 was a 
 dead man. We went about ten miles in this 
 way, when my old crow-bait gave out and 
 wouldn't go any further. She wouldn't trust me 
 afoot, and so had to give up her own horse ; but 
 
 she kept the bridle in her own hands, and 
 walked ahead with one eye turned back on me, 
 and the revolver cocked, with her finger on the 
 trigger, so that I never had a chance to put my 
 hand in my bosom. We finally came to a spring, 
 and she asked me if I wanted to drink. I didn't 
 feel much like drinking, but I said yes, and so 
 she let me down. I put my head down to the 
 water, and at the same time put my hand down 
 to where the revolver was, and pulled it forward 
 where I could put my hand on it easily ; but 
 she was on the watch, and I couldn'L pull it out. 
 I mounted again, and the firet time she was off' 
 her guard a little, I fired and broke the arm she 
 held the pistol in. " Now," says I, " it's my turn ; 
 you'll please get on that horse, and we'll go 
 back." She didn't flinch or say a word, but got 
 on the horse, and I tied her legs as they had mine, 
 and we went back to the house. The old man 
 he heard us come up to the door and looked out 
 of the window. He turned as pale as a sheet 
 and ran for his rifle. I knew what he was after, 
 and pushed the door in before he was loaded. 
 Says I, " You may put that shooting-iron down 
 and come with me." He wasn't as brave as the 
 girl, but it was no use to resist, and he knew it ; 
 so he came along. About half way back we met 
 some of our fellows who had missed me, and 
 come out to look me up. They took them both, 
 and I don't know what they did with them, but 
 I know very well what they would have done 
 with me. 
 
 A KAINY DAY IN CAMP. 
 
 'Tis a cheerless, lonesome evening 
 When the soaking, sodden ground 
 
 Will not echo to the footfall 
 Of the sentinel's dull round. 
 
 God's blue star-spangled banner 
 
 'To-night is not unfurled, 
 Surely He has not deserted 
 
 This weary, warring world. 
 
 I peer into the darkness, 
 
 And the crowding fancies come ; 
 The night wind blowing northward 
 
 Carries all my heart towards home. 
 
 For I 'listed in this army 
 
 Not exactly to my mind ; 
 But my country called for helpers, 
 
 And I could not stay behind. 
 
 Lo, I have had a sight of drilling, 
 And have roughed it many ways. 
 
 And Death has nearly had mc, — 
 Still I think the service pays. 
 
 It's a blessed sort of feeling, 
 
 Whether you live or die, 
 To know you've helped your country, 
 
 And fought right loyally. 
 
 But I can't help thinking, sometimes 
 When a wet day's leisure comes, 
 
 That I hear the old home voices 
 Talking louder than the drums. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS- 
 
 13 
 
 And that far familiar faces 
 
 Press in at the tent door, 
 And the little children's footsteps 
 
 Go pit-pat on the floor- 
 
 I can't help thinking, sometimes, 
 
 Of all the parson reads 
 About that other soldier-life 
 
 Which every true man leads. 
 
 And wife, soft-hearted creature, 
 Seems a saying in mine ear, 
 
 " I'd rather have you in those ranks 
 Than see you Brigadier." 
 
 I call myself a brave one. 
 
 But in my heart I lie ; 
 For my country and her honor 
 
 I'm fiercely free to die, 
 
 But when the Lord who bought me, 
 
 Asks for my service here. 
 To fight the good fight faithfully 
 
 I'm skulking in the rear. 
 
 And yet I know that Captain 
 
 All love and care to be ; 
 He would not get impatient 
 
 With a raw recruit like me. 
 
 And I know He'd not forget me. 
 When the day of peace appears, 
 
 I should share with Him the victory 
 Of all the volunteers. 
 
 And it's kind of cheerful thinking 
 
 Beside the dull tent fire. 
 About that great promotion 
 
 When He says " Come up higher." 
 
 And though 'tis dismal rainy, 
 E'en now with thoughts of Him, 
 
 Camp-life looks extra cheery, 
 And death a deal less grim. 
 
 For I seem to see him waiting 
 Where a gathered Heaven greets 
 
 A great victorious army, 
 
 Surging up the golden streets. 
 
 And I hear him read the roll-call. 
 And my heart is all a flame 
 
 When the dear " Recording Angel " 
 Writes down my happy name. 
 
 But my fire is dead white ashes. 
 And the tent is chilling cold, 
 
 And I'm playing win the battle. 
 When I've never been enrolled. 
 
 Beau Hackett as a Zouave. — Militia 
 companies have always been popular, but never 
 so much so as since the war broke out. Young 
 men with stay-at-home-and-take-care-of-the-wo- 
 men proclivities, are more than ever inclined to 
 join the Home Guards, in consequence of in- 
 creased mortality in the army of the United 
 States, as shown by the newspaper statistics. 
 
 With a laudable ambition to support the Gov- 
 ernment, in any and every emergency, I have re- 
 
 cently become a member of the War Department 
 myself. I joined the Ellsworth Zouaves, a rem- 
 nant of what used to be a troupe of acrobats, who 
 distinguished themselves all the way from Chicago 
 to Washington, by turning double somersaults, 
 with muskets in their mouths and bayonets in 
 their hands. 
 
 There are no members of the Old Zouave bat- 
 talion in the new one, but the new one retains 
 the name of Ellsworth because one of the mem- 
 bers has a brother that once saw a picture of 
 Colonel Ellsworth's grandfather. The names 
 of organizations frequently have a more remote 
 origin than this, and many of them are about as 
 consistent and reasonable as a man claiming 
 relationship to the President of the United States 
 because he was born in Lincolnshire, or suppos- 
 ing he would be Governor if he married a gov- 
 erness, or trying to pass free at a circus as a rep- 
 resentative of the press because he is a cheese- 
 maker. 
 
 I was put through a rigid coui-se of examina- 
 tion before I could be made a Zouave, and I say 
 it with feelings of gratification and self-esteem, 
 that I was remarkably well posted in the cate- 
 chism. My father was a hero of the revolution, 
 having been caught once in a water-wheel, and 
 whirled around rapidly a number of times. 
 Others of the family have also distinguished them- 
 selves as military men at difierent periods, but 
 their deeds of courage are too well known to 
 need repetition. 
 
 The following is a copy verbatim et literatim 
 et wordim of most of the questions propounded 
 to me, and the answers thereto, which my inti- 
 mate acquaintance with the Army Regulations 
 and the report of the Committee on the Conduct 
 of the War enable me to answer readily and 
 accurately. My interrogator was a little man in 
 Federal blue, with gold leaves on his shoulders. 
 They called him Major, but he looked young 
 enough to be a minor. He led oflf with — 
 
 " How old are you, and what are your qualifi- 
 cations ? " 
 " Twenty-two and a strong stomach." 
 Then I requested him to fire his interrogations 
 singly, which he did : 
 
 " What Is the first duty to be learned by a 
 soldier ? " 
 
 " How to draw his rations." 
 " What is the most difficult feat for a soldier 
 to perform ? " 
 
 " Drawing his bounty." 
 
 " If you were in the rear rank of a company 
 during an action, and the man in the front rank 
 before you should be wounded and disabled, what 
 would you do ? " 
 
 " I would despatch myself to the rear for a sur- 
 geon immediately. Some men would step for- 
 ward and take the wounded man's place, but 
 that is unnatural." 
 
 " If you were commanding skirmishers, and 
 saw cavalry advancing in the front and infantry 
 in the rear, which would you meet ? " 
 
 "Neither; I would mass myself for a bold 
 movement, and shove out sideways." 
 
14 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 "If you were captured what line of conduct 
 would you pursue ? " 
 
 " I would treat my captors with the utmost 
 civility." 
 
 " What are the duties of Home Guards ? " 
 
 " Their duty is to see that they have no 
 duties." 
 
 " What will you take ? " 
 
 The latter question may have been answered 
 with too much vehemence, and may have im- 
 pressed listeners with the belief that I am in the 
 habit of jumping at conclusions. Such, however, 
 is not the case. 
 
 I am a Zouave ; I am a Home Guard. I have 
 been through all the manoeuvres, and can right 
 about face ; I can also write about any other 
 part of the body. I can do the hand-springs, 
 and the tumbling, and the lay down and roll- 
 overs, which are done with or without a musket. 
 I have been drilled till the drill has become a 
 bore. I have di'illed in all the marches and 
 leaps and vaults, and in the bayonet exercises, 
 ?md in all the steps, — the common step, the 
 quick step, the very quick step, and the double 
 quick step, and the trot and the run ; also in slow 
 time and long time, which I never learned from 
 my landlady nor my tailor. I can shoulder arms, 
 and bear arms, and carry arms, (if they are not 
 too heavy,) and reverse arms, and support arms, 
 (ordinarily my arms support me,) and I can 
 order arms better than I can pay for them after 
 they are ordered. I can parry and tierce, and I 
 can throw a hand-spring with a sword-bayonet 
 in my hand without breaking the sword-bayonet 
 in more than three pieces, and I can bite off a 
 cartridge without breaking my teeth out. 
 
 Once, when an order was given to sling knap- 
 sacks, I slung mine out of the window, and when 
 the order was given to unsling knapsacks, I went 
 out and slung it back again quicker than any- 
 body else could have done it. I have got a pretty 
 knapsack too — thei-e are letters on it. It is 
 just the thing to sit down on in the time of an 
 action, and is big enough for a breastwork in 
 case of danger from bullets or anything of that 
 sort. It's hea^y, though, and I felt that there 
 was an immense resijonslbility resting on me the 
 first time I shouldered it. I must have felt some- 
 thing like Atlas did the first time he shouldered 
 the world. It was so heavy that, as a piece of 
 masterly strategy, i fell back the first time I 
 strapped it on^ and as a piece of unmasterly 
 strategy I came near breaking my head against 
 the iloor. The Major had promised to put saw- 
 dust, softened with soda-water, on the floor 
 hereafter. 
 
 I have been getting a Major General's uni- 
 form made. There is every opportunity that 
 could be desired for promotion, in our corps, 
 where real merit exists, and a Major General of 
 Home Guards is not to be sneezed at. I may 
 have to keep my uniform a few yeai*s before I 
 will have occasion to wear it, but a Major Gen- 
 eral's toggery is a good thing to have in case of 
 promotion. I trust my friends will give them- 
 selves no uneasiness, as I feel sure of ultimate 
 
 success in the enterprise I have undertaken. I 
 mean to strike the keynote of my campaign 
 soon, and then look out for a sensation in mihtary 
 circles. 
 
 I haven't shaved my upper lip since yesterday 
 afternoon. To-morrow will be the third day. I 
 mean to grow a moustache that will be an object 
 of admiration and envy. Mustachios are indis- 
 pensable to the achievement of a Major Genei'al- 
 ship. Mustachios are absolutely necessary to the 
 achievement of anything that is useful. 
 
 In the event of a war between the United 
 States and the Esquimaux, Chicago my residence 
 will, in all likehhood, be one of the first cities at- 
 tacked by the invading enemy, and every precau- 
 tion should be taken to be fully prepared for 
 them. Should such attack ever be made by the 
 warlike and bloodthirsty Esquimaux, or any 
 other of the great powers of the earth, and should 
 it be my misfortune to be imable personally to 
 command my forces, (for I have often observed 
 that an invasion is productive of sickness,) I shall 
 take care that my second ofiicer is a man of suffi- 
 cient capacity to defend the city as ably as I 
 would do it myself. Should the worst come to 
 to the worst, I stand ready to sacrifice a substi- 
 tute on the altar of my country. 
 
 Bishop Rosecrans. — As Bishop Kosecrans 
 (brother of the General) was at dinner, the con- 
 versation reverted to the war. 
 
 " It would seem to me. Bishop, that you and 
 your brother, the General, are engaged in very 
 different calHngs," remarked a gentleman. 
 
 "Yes, it appears so," returned the Bishop. 
 " And yet," he continued, " we are both fighting 
 men. While the General is wielding the swoi-d 
 of flesh, I trust that I am using the sword of the 
 Spirit. He is fighting the rebels, and I am fight- 
 ing the spirits of darkness. There is this differ- 
 ence in the terms of our service : he is fighting 
 with Price, while I am fighting without price." 
 
 Incident of Fort Pillow. — When Com- 
 mander Davis took possession of Fort Pillow af- 
 ter its evacuation by the Confederates the follow- 
 ing letter was found lying on a table in the offi- 
 cers' quarters : 
 
 " Fort Pillow, Tenn. 
 To the first YanJiee wlio reads tJds : 
 
 I present this table not as a manifestation of 
 friendship, yet I entertain no personal animosity 
 to him, but because I can't transport it. After 
 six weeks' bombardment, without doing us any 
 harm whatever, I know you will exult over the 
 occupation of this place, but our evacuation will 
 hurt you from another point with disastrous effect. 
 Five miUions white men fighting to be reheved 
 from oppression will never be conquered by 
 twenty millions actuated by maUce and pecuni- 
 ary gain, mark that. We have the science, en- 
 ergy and vigor, with the help of God, to extricate 
 ourselves from this horrible and unnatural difii- 
 culty pressed upon us by the North ; the day of 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 15 
 
 retribution is approaching, and will fall upon you 
 deadly as a bolt from heaven ; may your sojourn 
 at this place be of few days and full of trouble." 
 
 Soldier Wit. — The Colonel of an Alabama 
 regiment, was famous for having everything done 
 up in military style. Once, while field officer of 
 the day, and going his tour of inspection, he came 
 on a sentinel from the eleventh Mssissippi regi- 
 ment sitting flat down on his post, with his gun 
 taken entirely to pieces, when the following dia- 
 logue took place : 
 
 Colonel. " Don't you know that a sentinel 
 while on duty, should always keep on his feet ? " 
 
 Sentinel (without looking up). " That's the 
 way we used to do when the war first began ; but 
 that's played out long ago." 
 
 Colonel (beginning to doubt if the man was 
 on duty). Are you the sentinel here ? " 
 
 Sentinel. " Well, I'm a sort of a sentinel." 
 
 Colonel. " Well I'm a sort of officer of the 
 day." 
 
 Sentinel. " Well, if you'll hold on till I sort 
 of git my gun together, I'll give you a sort of sa- 
 lute." 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA GENTLEMAN. 
 Air — The Fine Old English Gentleman. 
 
 Down in a small Palmetto State the curious ones 
 may find, 
 
 A ripping, tearing gentleman of an uncommon kind, 
 
 A staggering, swaggering sort of chap who takes his 
 whiskey straight, 
 
 And frequently condenms his eyes to that ultimate 
 vengeance which a clei^yman of high stand- 
 ing has assured must be a sinner's fate ; 
 
 This South Carolina gentleman, one of the present 
 time. 
 
 You trace his genealogy, and not far back you'll see, 
 A most undoubted Octoroon or mayhap a mustee. 
 And if you note the shaggy locks that cluster on his 
 
 brow. 
 You'll find every other hair is varied with a kink that 
 
 seldom denotes pure Caucasian blood, but on 
 
 the contrary, betrays an admixture with a race 
 
 not particular popular now : 
 This South Carolina gentleman, one of the present 
 
 time. 
 
 He always wears a full dress coat, pre-Adamite in 
 cut. 
 
 With waistcoat of the broadest style, through which 
 his ruflfles jut ; 
 
 Six breast-pins deck his hon-id front, and on his fin- 
 gers shine 
 
 Whole invoices of diamond rings which would hardly 
 pass muster with the original Jacobs in Chat- 
 ham street for jewels gen-u-ine ; 
 
 This South Carolina gentleman, one of the present 
 time. 
 
 He chews tobacco by the pound and spits upon the 
 
 floor, 
 If there is not a box of sand behind the nearest door ; 
 And when he takes his weekly spree, he clears a 
 
 mighty track 
 
 Of everything that beai-s the shape of whiskey-skin, 
 gin and sugar — brandy sour, peach, and 
 honey, irrepressible cocktail, rum and gum, 
 and luscious apple-jack, 
 
 This South Carolina gentleman, one of the present 
 time. 
 
 He takes to euchre kindly, too, and plays an awful 
 hand, 
 
 Especially when those he tricks his style don't under- 
 stand. 
 
 And if he wins, why, then, he stops to pocket all the 
 stakes. 
 
 But if he loses, then he says to the unfortunate 
 stranger who had chanced to win, " It's my 
 opinion you are a cursed Abolitionist, and if 
 you don't leave South Carolina in one hour, 
 you will be hung like a dog;" but no offer 
 to pay his losses he makes. 
 
 This South Carolina gentleman, one of the present 
 time. 
 
 Of course he's all the time in debt to those who 
 
 credit give. 
 Yet manages upon the best the market yields to live. 
 But if a Northern creditor asks him his bill to heed. 
 This honorable gentleman instantly draws his bowie- 
 knives and a pistol, dons a blue cockade, and 
 declares that in consequence of the repeated 
 aggressions of the North, and its gross viola- 
 tions of the Constitution, he feels that it would 
 utterly degrade him to pay any debt whatever, 
 and that in fact he has at last determined to 
 . Secede, 
 This South Carolina gentleman, one of the present 
 time. 
 
 True Soldiers. — The following occurred on 
 board the steamer Canada during her passage 
 from Dubuque to St. Louis. 
 
 In the evening while many of the passengers 
 were engaged in conversation, others whiling away 
 their time at " euchre," while some more rude 
 perhaps, with the ribald jest and nngentlemanly 
 oath, were passing the evening away, a young 
 man seated himself at one of the tables, and en- 
 gaged in reading his Bible. Another, and still 
 another took their places around this temporary 
 altar, until nearly all of that little band of soldiers, 
 numbering about twenty, were reading the Scrip- 
 tures. An aged man took his station in their 
 midst. He had a pious and venerable air, for 
 his hoary locks proclaimed that many a winter 
 had passed over his head. There, those forming 
 boys, with that old man, formed a group, whose 
 actions indeed were worthy of all commendation. 
 The creaking machinery of the boat, the dii-ge- 
 like music of the wind, was loud ; yet, above the 
 clatter, all things else, we know those boys were 
 heard in heaven, and that their prayers will be 
 answered ! Their Bibles, precious gift of home, 
 are sacred with them, and will shield them too, 
 when the glittering mail of yore would fall. Pa- 
 rents and friends of home, fear not for such brave 
 sons, who, relying on Heaven, are not ashamed 
 nor afraid to praise God, and do battle for the 
 Star-Spangled Banner. 
 
 These were soldiers of the regular army enlist- 
 ed in Dubuque, by Captain Washington. 
 
16 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 A SCOUT TO EAST TENNESSEE. 
 
 BY THE LOCHIEL CAVALRY. 
 
 At sunrise, on December 20th, 1862, ten com- 
 panies of the Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry — 460 
 men, under command of Major Russell, and eight 
 companies of the Second Michigan — 300 men, 
 under command of Col. Campbell, marched due 
 east from Nicholasville, Ky., on a secret expedi- 
 tion, for which thirty days were allotted for those 
 who should be so fortunate as to return, _ The 
 orders were to move " light and easy," without 
 tents, baggage or extra clothing ; carry on your 
 horse all you wanted, and two shoes and twenty 
 nails for him. There were ten days' rations is- 
 sued, which each trooper carried. Marching 
 through the farms and by-paths to avoid _ all 
 towns and villages, crossing the Kentucky river 
 at an out of the way ford, and ascending Big 
 Hill south of Richmond, we arrived at M'Kees, 
 county town of Jackson county, Ky., containing 
 six or eight houses, being the first village we had 
 passed through. We were halted here one day, 
 tor a corn and provision train to come up that 
 had pack-saddles in it. There were fifty mules 
 packed here with two days' rations, and the 
 wagons sent back to Lexington with half team 
 force, leaving corn for our return, there being 
 none in Jackson county. 
 
 December 24:th. — The weather had been very 
 fair and beautiful, except this last day, which 
 was rainy and cold, and we marched out in 
 the rain for Goose creek, near its junction 
 with the Red Bird fork of Kentucky river. 
 Halting in the meadow an hour to give the 
 horses a bite of hay (the first they had for four 
 days, and about all they ever got on the march), 
 we were joined by the Seventh Ohio Cav- 
 alry — 240 men — from Winchester, Ky., under 
 command of Major Reany. The whole force now 
 numbered 1,000 men, and was under command 
 of Brig. Gen. Cai-ter, having on his staff Col. 
 Carter, Col. Walker, Col. Garrett, Capt. Watkins, 
 Capt. M'Nish, Capt. Easley and others, all acting 
 as aids, assistants, or guides. We now ascertained 
 we were sent to burn the bridges on the East 
 Tennessee raih-oad, and were expected to foot it 
 half the way over the successive steep and rug- 
 ged mountain ranges of Kentucky, Virginia, and 
 Tennessee, and recommended to cheerfully endure 
 all the hardships and place ourselves on half 
 rations to begin with. I will say for the soldiers 
 that no man cavilled at it, or wanted to turn his 
 back, but all went cheerfully forward, bearing 
 their own burdens as best they might, without 
 sleep, on half rations, food half cooked, and boots 
 worn off their feet by tramping over the rocks to 
 ease their own good horses, and trusting to Provi- 
 dence to keep down the wide and swift rivers that 
 drain these wild mountains. There was to ford, on 
 going and coming, the Cumberland, Powell's 
 river, Wallen's river, the Clinch, North Holston, 
 South Holston and the Watauga, the Holston 
 and Clinch being navigable for steamboats when 
 the waters are up. Providentially they were 
 kept down for us. In three days after our exit 
 
 they were in full flood, so that they could not 
 even have been swum by our horses. From 
 Goose creek we had only bridle-paths, and 
 marched by file across a deep depression in the 
 ridge to the Red Bird, up that and across it 
 scores of times to its topmost spring. 
 
 December 27th. — Crossing the Kentucky 
 Ridge, and down to the waters of the middle 
 fork of Kentucky river, crossing and rising 
 that, we came down to Straight creek and 
 halted for half an hour to breathe, ere breast- 
 ing the pine mountain that appeared to push 
 its rocky side up like the wall of a house to 
 near the clouds then lowering and dripping 
 on our Reads. The zig-zag paths up the face 
 of this mountain turn and return on each other 
 as often as a fox trail, and the toiling men 
 and horses crawling up its side, looked, from 
 the valley, like flies ascending and sticking to a 
 wall. Its sandy eastern front was too steep to 
 ride down, and there were several miles of ardu- 
 ous marching over the Pine Mountain ere we 
 reached the Poor Fork at the Cumberland. 
 Marched up its quicksand shores and beside the 
 horizontal rock ledges that are natural for- 
 tresses, ready made to the hand of the men of 
 Harlan county to defend themselves from inva- 
 sion by way of Cumberland Gap or any other in 
 the mountain range. Fording the Cumberland 
 and Clover Fork and following up Martin's 
 creek, we camped during the rainy night and 
 slept by the fires for the last time for many days 
 until our return into Kentucky again. Marching 
 over a high i-idge, the bold and beautiful Cum- 
 berland mountain rose majestically before us, 
 and extended like a frowning barrier to right 
 and left as far as the eye could reach without a 
 perceptible break in the unifoi'mity of its crest 
 Two-thirds of the way up the mountain was a 
 level shoulder, as it were breaking the uniformity 
 of its side and appearing as if there had been 
 great waves running the length of the moun- 
 tains, and thus arrested and changed to rock 
 while in motion adding greatly to its beauty, 
 while the softened rays of the declining sun shone 
 in contrasted light and shadow on the gray rock 
 waves, the green pines and the bare, brown 
 poplars and oaks. Halting beside the little 
 stream in the pleasant valley, an hour was spent 
 in giving corn to the jaded horses, sending back 
 the whole pack mule train, all inefficient horses 
 and a few sick men to Lexington. At sunset, 
 leading our horses for a two mile march up, and 
 a one mile march down, we cheerfully addressed 
 ourselves to the task of crossing the Cumberland 
 mountain. We reached the summit in two hours, 
 under the light of the full soft moon that silvered 
 and beautified the scene, and passed over into 
 the State of Virginia through Crank Gap, so 
 called from its tortuous break in the horizontal 
 rock crest of the Cumberland, some 200 feet 
 deep and a quarter of a mile in width. This 
 pass is more beautiful and picturesque than any- 
 thing I have ever seen. It arrested the attention 
 of every soldier and according to his tempera- 
 ment he viewed it to ri^ht and left in silent admi- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 17 
 
 ration at the wondei-lTil works of God, or in 
 rapturous comment as the soft moonlijiht silvered 
 o'er and smoothed the ruggedness of each nat- 
 ural " frieze and coign of vantage" that was bro- 
 ken or rounded and carved, and overhung our 
 winding path with all the softness of a summer Ital- 
 ian landscape by Claude Lorraine. Passing the 
 crest we turned to the left and went down an 
 easy grade on a projecting Sierra from the face 
 of the mountain, with a precipice on each side. 
 Reaching the end of that we turned short again 
 to the left with our faces to the mountain and 
 slipped down into chaos, pitching and sliding 
 from rock to rock into a wild gorge. Looking 
 directly up to the Kentucky heights was rock 
 scenery of such savage character over our heads, 
 as would have delighted the heart of Salvator 
 Rosa. It would but have required a camp fire 
 while our troops were filing and plunging down, 
 and his pencil, to more than rival his scenes in 
 the Appenines. The cliffs here were in shadow 
 from the moon, and crested the whole north- 
 eastern face of the mountain in one rude unbro- 
 ken strata, and projected like a threatening arm 
 from Kentucky, raised to chastise any invader. 
 It is not to be wondered that the white man had 
 his superstitions in invading the western home of 
 the Indian while climbing these cliffs from the 
 east. 
 
 This Crank pass has the singular appearance 
 of having fallen two hundred feet into some 
 subterranean gulf, the pass being level for a 
 quarter of a mile in width, winding over the 
 mountains in a curve between the buttressed 
 walls for more than half a mile, with the rocks 
 torn sheer down from both sides, leaving the 
 singular rock walls overhanging. The pass has 
 the same kind of soil and trees on it that cap the 
 rock battlements, and to soften the wild scene, 
 were glassy glades around a dilapidated house, 
 where some mountaineer had once built him a 
 home, now abandoned. Below his house the 
 sounds of falling water greeted our oars as we 
 crossed the sunken pass, through an avenue of 
 hemlocks and gigantic rhododendrons, intermingl- 
 ed with isolated rocks, moss covered by the falling 
 waters, that were of such enormous sizes as 
 would have made dwellings for the Genii or the 
 Titans. 
 
 Turning with a sigh from all this wealth of 
 natural beauty, thinking how nuich it would be 
 endeared to us could the loved ones at home be 
 at our side to appreciate it, and pondering on 
 the thought of how %r distant was the day when 
 we could visit it with smiling peace waving her 
 wing over the land, Ave looked the jiresent toils 
 and dangers fully in the face, and strode man- 
 fully on. Passing north up Poor Valley to avoid 
 alarming Jonesville, we forded Powell's river 
 and crossed Lee county during the night, reach- 
 ing Wallen's Ridge at sunrise, where resting 
 two hours, cooking our coffee and toasting our 
 meat on long sticks or eating it raw (as many 
 preferred), and feeding our horses with the corn 
 we carried over the Cumberland we pushed on 
 for Tennessee, crossing Powell's mountain. At 
 
 sunset we reached the broad and swift Clinch 
 river ; fording it, we halted at a very picturesque 
 spot, where was a large old-time mansion and the 
 only good flouring mill we had seen in our 
 travels, with its very large wheel driven by the 
 tumbling waters at a mountain brook poured on 
 the top of it, glistening like silver in the soft 
 twilight, Avhile the river waters murmured by. 
 Halting here for an hour for coffee, and to give 
 to the horses a good feed of corn, which the mill 
 and farm-house furnished, and was paid for in 
 " greenbacks," though under the confederate iron 
 rule the miller would not dare to use them, we 
 joushed on through the mountain passes at Pur- 
 chase Ridge and Copper Ridge for Estillville. 
 We had captured many small squads of confed- 
 erate soldiers and conscripts on our way, parol- 
 ing them all. We this night captured several, 
 under charge of a lieutenant, who were halting 
 at a farm-house by the road-side. Before start- 
 ing, orders were given that we were to report 
 ourselves to inquirers along the road as confeder- 
 ate Georgia and Tennessee cavalry returning 
 from a secret expedition, and every one along 
 the road was deceived by it, as they thought we 
 were purposely disguised in blue clothes. Pass- 
 ing Estillville, crossing Scott county, Virginia, 
 and fording the north fork of the Holston at 
 night, we reached Blountsville, Tennessee, at 
 eight A. M. The Ninth Pennsylvania and 
 Seventh Ohio were halted here an hour, and the 
 Second Michigan were pressed fbrwaixl six miles 
 to Union Station, where the East Tennessee 
 railroad crosses the south fork of Holston on an 
 expensive bridge 1,000 feet long. Here, as we 
 had understood from our prisoners of last night, 
 were stationed three companies of the Sixty- 
 second Noi'th Carolina confederate troops under 
 Major McDowell. After all our marches, toils 
 and trials, here was to be tested the complete 
 surprise and success of our expedition, or we 
 were to be met by the enemy, repulsed and 
 driven back over the mountains without accom- 
 plishing our object. It was a moment for anxious 
 thought on the part of General Carter, which was. 
 fully shared by each one in the expedition from 
 highest to lowest. As it proved, the Almighty 
 was pleased to bless our cause, for never was 
 surprise more complete. We had outtravelled all 
 certain information, but rumors of a coming host 
 had preceded us like the mutterings of a thunder 
 storm. Within eighty rods of the station Ser- 
 geant Whitemore, Co. A, commanding the Michi- 
 gan VIdettes, met six citizens riding up ; they 
 asking who our troops were, were answered First 
 Georgia Cavalry. They were delighted, shook 
 hands with the Sergeant and said, " The d — d 
 Yankees were in Estillville, fifteen miles off, 
 five thousand strong '' — that " they had raised a 
 hundred men besides the troop, and were going 
 out Into the country to raise more men to defend 
 the post — that the Major was coming along 
 right up and the Sergeant would meet him be- 
 fore he got to the bridge." Col. Carter came up 
 to the citizens at that moment and passed them 
 to the rear. The Sergeant told him he would 
 
18 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 go down to meet the Major. He said, " Yes, do 
 so." The Sergeant moved forward to a sharp 
 curve in the road and saw the Major and two 
 citizens, at sixty rods' distance, talking to the 
 sentinels at the bridge. He came back out of 
 sight, dismounted three men and himself, sent 
 the horses back to the column halted up the road, 
 and secreted his men in a fence coi-ner behind 
 the road curve to await the Major's coming. 
 When the Major and the two citizens came up, 
 conversing about the "Yankees "to within five 
 feet of the ambush, they were appalled by the 
 sight of the bright revolving rifles close to their 
 heads at full cock. The Sergeant said, " You are 
 my prisoners." Involuntarily they halt, wheel 
 their horses to flee, when a sharp halt ! brought 
 them to front face again. The Sergeant 
 moved them up toward the column. Colonel 
 Campbell had come to the point with Colonel 
 Carter. Colonel Campbell addressed the Major, 
 took his hand and told him lie had come to take 
 Ids post, and if he did not surrender uncondi- 
 tionally he loould take it at amj rate ; saying 
 also, " My men are posted to fire on you — 
 you have not a moment to lose to avoid use- 
 less bloodshedding. The Major wrote a note 
 to the Captain in command at the post and 
 advised its surrender. It was sent down with a 
 flag of truce and the place was surrendered at 
 once ; the rifles peering across the Holston from 
 the hill commanding the camp being persuaders 
 too potent to be gainsaid. The telegraph was 
 instantly destroyed before an intimation of our 
 presence could be conveyed and the railroad 
 bridge fired. The two hundred prisoners (who 
 appeared to be rejoiced) were placed under 
 guard, and the Ninth Pennsylvanian and Seventh 
 Ohio ordered forward from the Blountsville road. 
 On their arriving, an expedition was ordered 
 under Colonel Walker and Colonel Carter to 
 capture and burn the bridge nine miles south- 
 west across Watauga river, consisting of compan- 
 ies A, C, and D, the twelve rifles of Co. B, fifteen 
 of Co. F, Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry ; compa- 
 nies A, and F, Second Michigan Cavalry, and two 
 companies of the Seventh Ohio Cavalry. The 
 balance of the troops were kept back by Gen- 
 eral Carter to destroy the county bridge, the 
 turn-table, cars, ammunition, camp and commis- 
 sary stores, and to follow us down to Watauga 
 and defend our rear from the enemy's 800 troops 
 at Bristol, fourteen miles by railway, and Hum- 
 phrey Marshall's force at Abingdon, thirty miles 
 off by railway. At five miles out the "Watauga 
 expedition heard a whistle. The troops were 
 instantly dismounted and ambushed at both ends 
 and besides a deep cut, a rail cut out Avith our 
 axes in front, and men ambushed with orders to 
 cut out a rail in her rear the instant the engine 
 ran into the deep cut — all in less time than it 
 takes me to write It. A locomotive and tender 
 came in sight, ran into the cut, saw the rail out, 
 reversed and backed out instanter, but not be- 
 fore the rail was up In their rear, and they were 
 fully caged on the rifles peering over the bank. 
 We had gotten a prize, having captured Col. 
 
 Love, of the Sixty-second North Carolina, a 
 Major, a Captain and a telegraphic staff coming 
 up to ascertain why the telegraph would not 
 work. Five minutes sufficed to put a guai'd on 
 the locomotive and run her down after us, and 
 we were again on our way and on the alert. It 
 had been raining slowly all day and now came 
 on heavily. Nearing the rebel camp, Col. Car- 
 ter, who knew all the ground, arranged the attack, 
 Col. Walker assisting. Companies A and F, 
 Second Michigan, dismounted on the right ; the 
 twelve rifles of Company A, Ninth Pennsylvania 
 Cavalry, in the centre, and Company D, Seventh 
 Ohio, with their rifles, on the left, were to sur- 
 round the camp, the balance of the rifles being 
 posted as rear guard and on the left of the road, 
 and then it was to be summoned to surrender, 
 to save useless bloodshed. Unfortunately there 
 were some rebel soldiers on the ourtskirts of the 
 camp chopping wood, six of whom were captured 
 as the troops deployed, but two ran in and 
 alarmed the camp. A shot was fired by some 
 one on the left, and the attack became general.. 
 The rebels were under arms and the firing was 
 very heavy on both sides for the numbers en- 
 gaged, for ten minutes, whon the Ninth Pennsyl- 
 vania, followed by the Seventh Ohio, charged 
 on the camp pistol in hand, and the enemy fled. 
 Companies C and D and the balance of Company 
 A, Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry, had been formed 
 in fours around the hill to charge with sabre 
 should there be resistance. ^Vhen the firing 
 slacked they were ordered to charge, and did so, 
 on the camp. Finding it almost abandoned, 
 they galloped over the Watauga. Companies C 
 and D filed left into a ploughed field to head off 
 the retreating enemy. Company A kept the 
 road, and at full charge came on them drawn up 
 in two ranks by the roadside. Capt. Jones 
 ordering them to throw down their arms at thirty 
 paces, the rebels were so startled by the rush of 
 horses and glancing of sabi'cs that they all obeyed 
 the order, but a half dozen, who came near losing 
 their lives by not doing so. There were two 
 lieutenants and seventy-two men who surren- 
 dered and saved much blood-shedding. They 
 were making their way to a log house close at 
 hand — a capital fortress — which we would 
 have been compelled to have stormed at once. 
 Companies C and D went down the road and 
 overhauled sl.xteen more. The short, sharp action 
 cost several lives. One man of Company D, 
 Seventh Ohio, shot dead ; one man of Company 
 A, Second Michigan, mortfily wounded in the 
 abdomen, and two of the twelve men, Company 
 A, Ninth Pennsylvania, Avounded in tiie leg; one 
 had to be amputated and the man left with the 
 rebel Avounded. Of the rebel forces, there Avere 
 tAvo killed and fifteen wounded. Our surgeon 
 assisted In dressing their Avounded, and tAvo of 
 our wounded men were left at the station, Col. 
 Love and Lieut. Hill promising they should have 
 the same care as their oavu men. The two Lieu- 
 tenants, Hill and , of the Sixty-second 
 
 North Carolina, fought their commands AvIth 
 great gallantry. What a pity that it should be 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 19 
 
 exerted in so evil a cause as the disruption of 
 their country. 
 
 Our prisoners were all paroled on the road, 
 and here, amounting to near four hundred and 
 fifty, inclusive of one Colonel, two ]\Iajors, two 
 Captains and five Lieutenants. It was now dark. 
 The telegraph was instantly destroyed, the camp 
 and the bridge fired, the arms broken and put 
 on the locomotive, and after the bridge had fall- 
 en, steam was drawn on the engine and she was 
 run over the abutment on to the burning mass 
 below with a great crash. In our haste to ex- 
 pedite these matters we lost a prize of another 
 locomotive and train that came up in sight at the 
 burning bridge, reversed her wheels and scudded 
 down the road toward Knoxville. Jeff Davis 
 himself might have been on the train. It is the 
 only thing we have to reproach ourselves for dur- 
 ing the expedition as being left undone, or half 
 done. There were two hundred and fifty cav- 
 alry came up after dark to reinforce the infan- 
 try. Hearing of the fight they wheeled about 
 and marched over into North Carolina, report- 
 ing there were thirty thousand of us at the rail- 
 way. Our men were ordered to feed their horses 
 on the rebel corn, and rest for a few hours ; but 
 there was no rest after the excitement of the 
 day and night, and at one o'clock on the night of 
 December 30th, we commenced our retreat, and 
 by strategy to baffle the enemy that oar scouts 
 told us were massing to cut us off' aud pursue us. 
 We felt confident tliey must be great adepts if 
 they could outmanccuvre Gen. and Col. Carter 
 and our guides. Our poor horses were sinking 
 under the severe toil of marching, and it became 
 a matter of prime mihtary necessity to replenish 
 the stock or leave sti-aggling men on our re- 
 treat. Every man having a worn-out horse v^as 
 sent out with a sergeant or corporal to trade 
 off his horse at any farm-house right or left, day 
 and night, leaving his own horse in exchange, it 
 taking only one to make a horse-trade Ilorgan 
 fashion. Some hundreds of horses were thus 
 pressed into the service, but some six unwary 
 men fell behind the column and were captured 
 by the rebel troops that were following us at a 
 safe distance for themseWes in our rear. I find 
 that the Richmond papers give us the credit of 
 doing no marauding, nor injury to private prop- 
 erty. Our scouts informed us that five hours 
 after we left Watauga river the enemy had six- 
 teen hundred infantry and four pieces of artil- 
 lery brought up by railway from Jonesboro or 
 Greenville, and put upon our trail. We laugh- 
 ed at the idea of footmen and field-pieces fol- 
 lowing up the paths we came across the farms 
 and lanes and ravines. Our guides certainly 
 must have been coon-hunting over that coun- 
 try all their lives at dark nights, to have guided 
 us so unerringly. We got so that we left the 
 horses to follow up in the dark, and although it 
 felt sometimes as if both horse and saddle Vere 
 going from under one and we going to perdition, 
 we came out all right on the ravine bottom at 
 last. Humphrey Marshall moved troops from 
 Abingdon to Blountsville on our right, aud troops 
 
 were moved from Kogersville to Kingsport to in- 
 tercept us ; but we passed between " Scylla " on 
 the one hand and " Charybdis " on the other, 
 and came out ahead of them all. While on our 
 rout to Kingsport, a man by the roadside told 
 me that the infantry and artillery stationed there 
 had crossed our route six hours before marching 
 to Blountsville, expecting to intercept us there. 
 While on the high ridge above Kingsport we 
 had a beautiful view of a snowy mountain, illum- 
 ined by the setting sun. At fifty miles distance 
 towered up the black mountain of North Caro- 
 lina, six thousand nine hundred feet in the air, — 
 the highest land in the old United States proper, 
 standing like Saul a full head and shoulders over 
 all his companions. It looked exceedingly rug- 
 ged at that great distance, with its rude con- 
 cave side towai'ds us, seamed and furrowed by 
 tremendous chasms from top to bottom. It had 
 a crest of two or three miles in length, and is 
 crescent-shaped on top, very steep on both ends, 
 and towering so high above all others, seemed 
 not to be a member of any chain of mountains 
 that I could perceive in the distance. For an 
 isolated mountain it was very picturesque in ap- 
 pearance, and was beautified by being covered 
 with snow, Avhile the surrounding landscape was 
 dark. It looked a-rifted, inaccessible, and un- 
 inhabitable as the high Alps of Switzerland. 
 Riding at night down the South Holston at 
 Kingsport, — there a broad and beautiful stream 
 fit for steamboating, — we were fired upon from 
 over the river, the bullets whisthng over our 
 heads and striking the fence between our horses. 
 I got tired at the one-sided arrangement and or- 
 dered some of my lads, who are adepts with then* 
 rifles, to try some long shots in the moonhght — 
 dismounted; they never require a second bid- 
 ding for that kind of work, and the popping from 
 over the river was quickly ended. I cannot tell 
 if there was " anybody hurt," but we came off" 
 clear. After fording the north Holston at its 
 junction with the main stream, we marched on 
 to a very fine and extensive farm, where the 
 horses were fed and the men had their coffee. 
 The night had become unusually nipping, and 
 large fires with fence-rails were a great luxury 
 to benumbed fingers and toes. The enemy would 
 not let us rest in peace to enjoy our coffee, but 
 kept popping at us from the hill-tops occasionally. 
 There was quite a little skirmish back in town. 
 Some of the cavalry following us up had the au- 
 dacity after dark to attack Col. Carter, his orderly 
 and a private, at a hotel in Kingsport, where he 
 was acquainted, and had halted behind the col- 
 umn to appease his hunger. Some twenty or 
 thirty shots were exchanged in the dark. The 
 orderly got a ball through his hand, and our 
 force of three were compelled to beat a retreat 
 to camp across the North Fork. Our pickets 
 dashed into the town, but the enemy had fled 
 and all Avas quiet again. After resting three 
 hours, we were in the saddle again at midnight, 
 understanding there were some two hundred 
 cavalry forward of us whom we desired to cap- 
 ture. Our advance came near their camp near 
 
20 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Clinch river, but they fled and our poor horses 
 were too jaded to pursue them. The "bush- 
 whackers " had quite a busy time, popping at us 
 crossing Clinch river. Rested at night for a few 
 hours on a limestone mountain, and exchanged 
 a few long shots with the enemy to no purpose. 
 Started at daybreak, without brealcfast or horse- 
 feed, on our last long day's march to the Cum- 
 berland mountain, crossing Powell's mountain, 
 river, and valley. The " bushwhackers " here 
 had an unusually busy day at it, even for them, 
 lively as they are. But they are either miser- 
 able shots or have miserable guns, for they have 
 not touched a man since we left tlie railroad, ex- 
 cept Col. Carter's oi'derly, shot in the hand-to- 
 hand fight ; whereas two of the Michigan sharp- 
 shooters "incontinently" rolled two of them 
 down the rocks at about seven hundred yards. 
 While I was fording Powell's river, they were 
 darting in and out among the trees and rocky 
 hill-tops, and throwing down some lead in a very 
 spiteful way, but did no damage. I concluded, 
 after crossing and seeing one fellow blazing away 
 among the rocks, to try and cure him with a 
 little saltpetre, as salt was scarce, and called two 
 of my lads out of the ranks. One of them drew 
 a sight on him, and he cut up some very ludi- 
 crous antics for a sane man. lie ilew round and 
 scrabbled about among the rocks, and then made 
 a dart up the hill, rattling down the stones at an 
 alarming rate ; he bounced about it as if burnt 
 with a hot iron, and not at all pleased with the 
 impression made. 
 
 At Joncsville, Va., the rebels had quite a 
 force. After our column had passed they en- 
 gaged our rear guard of the Seventh Ohio, and 
 we Avere all halted, the General sending back the 
 rifles of Co. B, Ninth Pa. Cavalry, to deploy as 
 skirmishers and engage them in the open field, 
 and Co. D, Ninth Pa., with sabres. It was un- 
 derstood that they expected to engage our at- 
 tention, so long as to enable a force to move 
 around by Poor valley, occupy the mountain 
 pass, engage our front, and have us between two 
 tires. A\'e were crossing at our old gap (only 
 twenty miles from the Cumberland Gap), con- 
 trary to their expectations. There was some 
 little firing on our front, and quite a brisk little 
 skirmish in the rear. As usuiil they kept at too 
 great a distance for their shooting and did no 
 harm, but there were several rebels shot down 
 by our rear guard and skirmishers, among whom 
 were some IMichigan rifles, when they concluded 
 to draw off and let us go on our " winding way," 
 which we did without further molestation. "We 
 had made a very severe day's march, with a 
 little sprinkling of fighting, and nothing to cat 
 since the night before for man or beast, and 
 while we were at Jonesville, there was a very 
 fair prospect of a regular mountain battle for tl^ 
 possession of the pass. I had been giddy from 
 want of food and rest, while marching down to 
 Watauga, but did not feel it much during the ex- 
 citement of the homeward march. I "slept on 
 my horse during the bushwhacking of the day ; 
 and while waiting for the rear to scatter the ene- 
 
 my at Jonesville, one of my men said he was 
 hungry. I had entirely forgotten that I had not 
 eaten for twenty-four hours, and felt no symptoms 
 of hunger, and told him that we might yet have 
 a two days' fight up the clifTs of the Cumberland 
 mountain without coffee, and I felt as if I would 
 be able to stand it for three. We moved on to 
 the foot of the mountain, and now there was the 
 excitement to know whose horse would reach 
 the top and whose would fail. They were all 
 very carefully handled, but many a one of them 
 failed, and the poor cavalryman would be seen 
 breaking up his saddle with a rock and cutting 
 up the leather with a knife to prevent sece^ 
 from using it. The poor horse wanted no 
 quietus ; he generally dropped dead in his efforts 
 to scale a rock, and fell over out of the path, ex- 
 cept one that made a convenient stepiDing-place 
 for his more fortunate fellow horse. There must 
 have been thirty horses fallen dead ascending 
 the Cumberland. The men shouldered their 
 blankets, gave one last look at their steed stiff- 
 ening in the keen frosty night air, and clambered 
 on over the rocks. When I reached the topmost 
 crest I cried, " All hail, Kentucky !" and stretch- 
 ed out my arm as if to grasp and welcome a long 
 lost friend. The excitement was over, and I 
 felt faint and giddy. I scarcely know how I 
 got down; and when I reached the little valley 
 at the foot of the mountain, and had a fire of 
 rails kindled, fatigue overpowered all the animal 
 wants and ailments, and the moment I lay down 
 upon the frozen earth, I was fast asleep, and so 
 continued until well shaken after sunrise. Our 
 horses had corn here, but we were on short ra- 
 tions. The ground was frozen hard, and all the 
 shoes had been put on the horses' feet, and none 
 short of Richmond or NIcholasville. There had 
 been no kegs of shoes brought to McKees with 
 the corn, and the prospects ahead were dark for 
 the men who had limping horses v/hose feet were 
 worn to the quick. I saw them cut up clothes 
 and blankets and tie them on their feet, but it 
 did no good; nothing but iron would answer 
 on the frozen and rocky creek beds and gullies 
 Avhich formed our path. We had been signally 
 favored by Providence with unfrozen roads in 
 the enemy's country, but now they were telling 
 on horse-flesh. Every day a score or more of 
 men were compelled to drop their horses and 
 shoulder their muskets. There was no mur- j 
 muring; nor did I hear a whimper from any r 
 man who marched twenty or thirty miles in a 
 day (all unused to walking as he was), with his 
 boots worn and torn, and his feet on the rocks 
 and frozen ground. Two days after our arrival 
 on Kentucky soil, we encountered a storm, which 
 raised all the Tennessee rivers and made them 
 unfbrdable. Two days after our arrival here at 
 Nicholasville, has come upon us the heaviest 
 snow-storm for many years. I lift my hands 
 in praise when I think of our escape from this 
 storm among the mountains, and shudder at the 
 thought of what would have been the condition 
 of man and beast there without food or forage. 
 We should have been compelled to adopt the | 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AJSTD INCIDENTS. 
 
 21 
 
 plan Duroc proposed to Napoleon at Moscow : 
 to slaughter, salt, and cat his horses to save his 
 men. "Our most arduous and hazardous march 
 of five hundred miles to and fro in twenty days, 
 over an almost impracticable mountain country 
 in mid-winter, has been a complete success. Of 
 one thousand men, there were only two killed, 
 two wounded, and six missing — supposed to be 
 captured. 
 
 I must relate a little incident of the march com- 
 ing down the Red Bird, in a country where 
 " corndodgers " are worth a dime. A part of 
 one I have preserved as a curiosity, for its fos- 
 sil-like appearance, to show what a soldier can 
 subsist on when he is put to it. I think I must 
 have it engraven for Harper or Frank Leslie, with 
 all the finger-marks on it. The " corndodger " 
 is an institution; and he is fitly named, as any 
 one can tell who takes him in hand ; for if he is 
 mixed up as usual with water and no salt, and 
 well baked and thrown at you, if you do noi dodge, 
 and he hits you, his name Avill be i-emcmbered for 
 many a long day, I warrant it. 
 
 In the western counties of Kentucky saw-mills 
 and grist-mills are known to but few inhabitants. 
 The corn is broken into coarse grains with a j^es- 
 tle attached to a spring-pole, or grated on a piece 
 of tin or iron punched out rough with a nail. The 
 country is clear of wind-mills or sieves to clear it 
 of husks ; such superfluities have been played out, 
 or rather they have never been played in ; but 
 hospitality has not been played out. I will relate 
 an incident. The horse of one of my soldiers 
 yielded up his life on the rugged paths this side 
 of the Cumberland mountain. The soldier was 
 making his way in the rear of the column over 
 the rocks of the Red Bii-d, with his pistol at his 
 belt and his trusty rifle, which had done him such 
 good service at Watauga river (his " Betsy Ann," 
 as he cafled it), on one shoulder and his blankets 
 on the other, trudging along at sunset for the 
 camp, miles ahead of him, and " whistling as he 
 went for want of thought," when a native over- 
 took him. " Stranger," said he, " you have a 
 heavy load ; give me your blankets " (and he 
 took them off his shoulder). " You must come 
 and stay with me to-night down to my house at 
 the Big Rocks." So soldier, nothing loth, acqui- 
 esced, and they trudged through mud and over 
 rocks, and in the bed of the creek for some 
 miles, and arrived at his clay-chinked cabin, 
 where wei-e his " household gods " in form of 
 a wife and a host of children, such as are to be 
 found in every poor man's cabin in Kentucky. 
 You will almost see the exact counterpart of the 
 primer-book picture of John Rogers' wife, ex- 
 cepting there v/lU be ten, eleven, or twelve children 
 who can just peep over each others' heads in 
 regular gradation beside " the one at the breast." 
 The host says, " Mary Ann, can you get supper 
 for this tired soldier ? " " Yes," says the wife, 
 " if you pound the corn," and she handed him 
 four ears, which he soon manipulated with his 
 spring pole and pestle in the yard. The supper 
 was soon prepared of the corn mixed with water 
 (no salt, for they had none), and scraps of bacon 
 
 fried, and he ate on the principle of the Indian, 
 " eat much, get strong ! " The tired soldier, who 
 had not seen the inside of a house for months, 
 rested, after six days' march and no sleep, as 
 only such men can rest when they know the 
 pickets are posted and the guard mounted ; he 
 taking the Kentuckian for his guard. At sun- 
 rise he was wakened by the " thud, thud," of the 
 corn-grinding machme, and presently the good 
 dame invited him to sit at the table to the corn- 
 dodgers, the bacon-scraps, and the corn-coffee, 
 innocent of sugar or cream, so as to expedite 
 him on his way before the children were up to 
 have their remnants of clothes put on them. 
 After he had eaten, not before, his host apologized 
 for the lateness of his breakfast, saying that his 
 corn was all eaten over night, and he had to go 
 four miles to borrow some of his near neighbor tor 
 the soldier's breakfast. The soldier donning his 
 load, having received no pay for more than four 
 months, thanked him as he should have been 
 thanked by a man ready and willing to pay, but 
 having no money in his pocket, and with 
 unwonted full stomach went on his way rejoicing 
 to overtake his comrades. 
 
 Where indeed among the rich will such hospi- 
 tality, such a,bnegatIon of self be found ? or 
 where among them the man that will contribute 
 such a mite to his country ? It is like the 
 scriptural widow, who, out of her poverty " gave 
 even all that she had." When we arrived at 
 Big Hill we were met by a wagon train ladened 
 with rations and corn that had been sent for by 
 Gen. Carter's messenger pressed'on before us at 
 Manchester, on our homeward route, to order the 
 train forward to us. When the white-topped 
 wagons were seen by our men, one universal 
 shout went up as a glorification lor the hard 
 bread they knew them to contain. To men who 
 had been roasting lumps of corn meal or of 
 wheat flour In the ashes for daj's, the transition 
 was great indeed, and ere dark the " slow 
 enough " coffee was boihng, the bacon toasting on 
 the sticks, and " there was a great feast of fat 
 things " that night. Resting at Big Hill a few 
 hours, with the cares and perplexities of the 
 march ofi" my shoulders, I had time to look back 
 at the beauties of the place, v/hlch I had not 
 done when we moved forward. Here is a table- 
 land four hundred feet high, which was once the 
 shore of the great lake of which the " blue grass 
 region " is the bottom. The sand-stone strata of 
 seventy feet crowning this table land has been 
 washed into many singular and unique forms, 
 each cliff so unlike the other that each would 
 make a sepai'ate picture. In one place there is 
 a genuine mountain, apart as it were. The wa- 
 ter had washed entirely around it. The soft 
 under strata giving way was only saved by the 
 capping, which, covered with some earth and 
 trees, once formed an island in the lake some 
 distance from shore. Moving along for several 
 miles these sand-stone cap rocks are seen in 
 fantastic array succeeding each other, and you 
 are astonished at the varied forms of them and 
 at the sudden change in the form of each as you 
 
22 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 view it from another point. They are all well 
 worth transferring to canvas, and as they have 
 been somewhat noted in these wars, they should 
 be placed with its illustrations. The quiet " blue 
 grass region " possessed a great charm to our 
 Avorn and anxious minds longing for -rest, and 
 the old walnut-trees near Richmond, covered 
 with mistletoe until they looked like pine-trees, 
 had a charm of still life in them that was very 
 soothing, lulling the mind into dreams of the 
 Druids and of that olden time when rushing, 
 fiery modern wars were unknown. 
 
 THE VOICE OF THE NORTH. 
 
 BY JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 
 Up the hill-side, down the glen, 
 Rouse the sleeping citizen : 
 Summon out the might of men ! 
 
 Like a lion growling low — 
 Like a night-storm rising slow — 
 Like the tread of unseen foe — 
 
 It is coming — it is nigh ! 
 Stand your homes and altars by, 
 On your own free threshold die. 
 
 Clang the bells in all your spires, 
 On the gray hills of your sires 
 Fling to heaven your signal-fires. 
 
 Oh ! for God and duty stand, 
 Heart to heart, and hand to hand, 
 Eound the old graves of the land. 
 
 Whoso shrinks or falters now, 
 Whoso to the yoke would bow, 
 Brand the craven on his brow. 
 
 Freedom's soil has only place 
 For a free and fearless race — 
 None for traitors false and base. 
 
 Perish party — perish clan ; 
 Strike together while you can, 
 Like the strong arm of one man. 
 
 Like the angels' voice sublime, 
 Heard above a world of crime, 
 Crying for the end of Time. 
 
 With one heart and with one mouth, 
 Let the North speak to the South ; 
 Speak the word befitting both. 
 
 Christmas among the Freedmen. — It is 
 •well understood that Christmas was the grand 
 holiday of the slaves on the southern planta- 
 tions. In some parts of the South, the colored 
 people have this year, 1863, celebrated it with 
 unusual zest. A correspondent writes home about 
 one celebration by the soldiers of the Ninth Lou- 
 isiana Regiment, corps d' Afrique, and tells how 
 they met and gave expression to their feelings, on 
 Christmas day — their first free Christmas. After 
 praypr, and speeches were in order, one man, 
 says the correspondent, spoke about as follows : 
 
 " Fellow Soldiers of the Sehenth Regiment : I is 
 mighty glad to enjoy dis portunity for enjoying 
 dis fust free Christmas in dis world what we live 
 in. A year ago, where was we ? We was down 
 in de dark land of slavery. And now where are 
 we ? We are free men, and soldiers of the United 
 States. And what have wc to do ? We have to 
 fight de rebels so dat we never more be slaves. 
 'SVhen de day of battle come what will we do ? 
 I speak for me, and I say for myself, I go and 
 fight de rebels till de last man die. Yes, under 
 de flags what was presented to us from New 
 York, we fight till de last man die ; and if I be 
 de last man, what will I do ? I hold up de flags, 
 and if I die, den I go to my grave consified for 
 doing my duty. De President of de United 
 States is one great man what has done more 
 good dan any oder man what ever was borned. 
 I bless de Lord we fight for so good Commander. 
 I have no more to say now and evermore — 
 Amen." 
 
 Conscript Quakers. — An amusing incident 
 occurred at the Provost Marshal's oflice at Gen. 
 Lee's head-quarters at Orange Court House, Va. 
 Four Quakers were brought in as conscripts from 
 Loudon. They were ordered to fall in the ranks, 
 in order to be marched to the command to which 
 they were to be assigned. They refused, saying, 
 " We win not fill in, but will follow whitherso- 
 ever thou leadest." A few persuasive arguments, 
 however, in the shape of thrusts with bayonets, 
 changed their opinions, and they fell in and 
 marched oft' to camp. 
 
 The Puesidext and the Paymaster. — 
 One of the numerous paymasters at Washington 
 sought an introduction to Mr. Lincoln. He 
 arrived at the White House quite opportunely, 
 and was introduced to the President by the 
 United States Marshal, Avith his blandest smile. 
 While shaking hands with the President the pay- 
 master remarked, " I have no official business 
 with you, Mr. President, I only called to pay my 
 compuments." " I understand," replied " honest 
 Abe," " and from the complaints of the soldiers, I 
 think that is all you do pay." 
 
 An Incident of Yicksburg. — A corre- 
 spondent relates the following : — A wife who 
 dwelt in the West, beyond the lakes, whose hus- 
 band is an oflicer in the army, had not heard 
 from him for some weeks. Two snuiU boys 
 were with him, — their only ones. While she sat 
 at home, reading a paper, her eyes fell upon a 
 notice of the death of her husband. All the 
 tenderness of a mother's love, all the strength of 
 a wife's devotion, nerved her to start immediately 
 for her children, and clasp them to a widowed 
 heart. Day after day passed ; how slowly let a 
 mother tell ; how tedious let a widow speak who 
 knows her idol broken in a distant laud. Two 
 weeks were past ere she reached Yicksburg 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Three days a sand bar ! What torture ! At 
 last she reached the hoped-for city. As the boat 
 neared the wharf one looked at the crowd, and 
 saw her two boys upon ponies, and beside them 
 the fcither ai«d husband. One long, piercing cry 
 of joy filled the air ; the husband flew, rather 
 than ran, and took the lifeless form in his arms. 
 It was too much of joy for a heart overcharged 
 with grief. The strings snapped and reason tot- 
 tered for a time, to fall, in two days, to the sleep 
 of death. 
 
 The Amnes-jy Proclamation. — A few days 
 after the publication of the President's Message 
 and Proclamation, the fact of its promulgation 
 having been made known to the rebel pickets, 
 they manifested great curiosity to hear it ; and 
 one of our men consenting to read it to them, 
 quite a party collected on the opposite bank to 
 listen. While it was reading, the utmost silence 
 and attention were preserved by the listening 
 rebels, and after it was finished one of them 
 called out : " Well, that sounds about right. 
 We '11 go back to camp and tell the boys about 
 it." Papers are frequently exchanged by the 
 pickets, but the rebels tell our men that their 
 officers do not like them to get our papers of late 
 as " there is nothing encourasin«; in them." 
 
 Letters to Soldiers. — The army coire' 
 spondent of the Atalanta " Intelligencer," relates 
 the following incident to show how welcome a let- 
 ter from home was to the soldier, and how de- 
 pressing it was when those at home neglected to 
 write to him : 
 
 " I witnessed an incident yesterday which goes 
 far to show how welcome a letter is to the soldier, 
 and how sad he feels, Avhen those at home neg- 
 lect to write to him. As I was riding to town I 
 heard a man on horseback hail another in a 
 wagon, and, going up, handed him a letter. 
 Another man in the same wagon inquired if 
 there was no letter for him, and the reply was 
 ' none.' It was at that moment I noted the 
 feeling between the two men by their changed 
 countenances. The features of one lit up with 
 pleasure, as he perused the epistle in his hand, — 
 doubtless the letter of some dear wife or mother, 
 — and as he read it, a smile of joy would illumi- 
 nate his weather-beaten face. This was happi- 
 ness. It was an oasis on the desert of his rough 
 life of danger and suffering, and no doubt was 
 welcomed by him as the dearest gift a relative 
 could send. With the other the opposite effect 
 was observed ; as soon as the word ' none ' had 
 passed the lips of the man addressed, the look of 
 anxiety with which the question was put faded 
 away, and an appearance of extreme sorrow 
 could have been seen plainly stamped on his feat- 
 ures, while a feeling of envy at his fortunate com- 
 rade was very apparent. This was unhappiness. 
 The song of hope that had illuminated his heart 
 when he inquired if there was any letter for him 
 had died away, and a feehug of loneliness and re- 
 
 gret at the neglect of those at home took posses- 
 sion of him. Happy are they who have homes 
 and loved ones to hear from*! While it is the 
 cruelest of all neglect not to write to those rela- 
 tives in the army ; if it makes them sad and un- 
 happy, how much more must those feel whose 
 homes are in possession of the enemy, and they 
 cannot hear from their relatives." 
 
 ABOU BEN BUTLER. 
 
 Abou Ben Butler (may his tribe increase !) 
 Awoke one niglit down by the old Belize, 
 And saw, outside the comfort of his room, 
 Making it warmer for tlie gathering gloom, 
 A black man shivering in the winter's cold. 
 Exceeding courage made Ben Butler bold, 
 And to the pi-esencc in the dark he said : 
 " What wantest thou 7 " The figure raised its 
 
 head, 
 And with a look made of all sad accord 
 Answered: " The men who'll serve the purpose 
 
 of the Lord." 
 " And am I one 1 " said Butler. " Nay, not so," 
 Replied the black man. Butler spoke more low, 
 But cheerily still and said : " As lam Ben, 
 You'll not have cause to tell me that again." 
 
 The figure bowed and vanished. The next night 
 It came once more, environed strong in light. 
 And showed the names whom love of freedom 
 
 blessed, 
 And lo ! Ben Butler's name led all the rest. 
 
 Anecdote of General Sumner. — When 
 a young man, he was a stage-driver among the 
 Berkshire hills, in Massachusetts, and this is how 
 he happened to get into the army : At a time in 
 winter when the roads were dangerous, going 
 down a steep hill, the stage slewed and turned 
 over, but the horses kept on. One of the passen- 
 gers pushed out the door on the upper side of the 
 coach and chmbed upon the box, and attempted 
 to take the reins from Sumner's hands. '_' You 
 let the reins alone or I'll throw you off ! " said the 
 driver, with determination. The passenger wise- 
 ly abandoned his attempt at interference, and 
 Sumner guided the team firmly till it was safe to 
 stop them, dragging the overturned coach along, 
 and so saved passengers and team. The passen- 
 ger who attempted to take the reins was General 
 Worth. He was so impressed with young Sum- 
 ner's sterling quaUties that he cultivated his ac- 
 quaintance and induced him to join the army, 
 and the cool and determined driver made an in- 
 trepid commander." 
 
 The Bible on the Battle-field. — 
 Among the dead of one of the battle-fields before 
 Kichmond was a rebel soldier, who lay uuburied 
 several days after the conflict. Already the 
 flesh had been eaten by the worms from his fin- 
 gers, but underneath the skeleton hand lay an 
 open copy of the Bible, and the fingers pressed 
 upon those precious words of the twenty-third 
 Psalm, " Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" 
 
 /% 
 
24 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ENLISTED. 
 
 BY W. A. KENDALL. 
 
 " You've donned the peerless uniform 
 
 Of good old Uncle Sam " — 
 Around my neck her arms she threw, 
 And to her breast my own she drew — 
 
 With tears her fond eyes swam. 
 
 " You're dearer to me than I thought — 
 Since in this steadfast hue 
 Your form was draped, its impress takes 
 A depth such as a hero's makes — 
 All hail, my own true blue ! 
 
 " Prouder am I to see you thus — 
 Though it preludes good-by — 
 Than were you crowned perchance a king, 
 "Whose name in action ne'er did ring. 
 Whose soul gives fame the lie. 
 
 " Your stature seems to gain in height 
 From your high motive's aim ; 
 And to such eminence my heart 
 Is lifted, I am strong to part — 
 Oh ! to reserve were shame ! 
 
 " Go, save our country ! she is first — 
 
 Stand guard until you fall ; 
 Or till the danger overcome 
 Shall resjiite the alarum-di-um — 
 
 I will delay recall. 
 
 " Go, where along the lurid front 
 The Union vanguards tramp ! 
 Do your whole duty, danger spurn. 
 When Freedom's laurelled, then return — 
 These arms shall be your camp ! 
 
 " As I would ask, so you have done — 
 ' God shield you ! ' is my charm : 
 Should you survive, redeem this kiss 
 And should you perish, one will miss 
 From life its sweetest balm. 
 
 " These tears attest the grief I feel — 
 God's and my own true blue ! 
 
 For every one speed thou a shot ; 
 
 When quietus the foe has got, 
 Valor for love may sue." 
 
 So spoke my own brave girl, and fled, 
 
 Fearing her heart's dread pain 
 Would traitor prove unto her will, 
 And rising with rebellious thrill, 
 Persuade me to remain. 
 
 To die for her were sweeter far 
 
 Than loved by less to live ; 
 Such natures wear an aspect grand, 
 As with an unreserving hand 
 
 They answer Duty's " give ! " 
 
 O woman ! how much patriot fire 
 Thy breath has woke to flame ! 
 How many heroes were not such 
 But for thy consecrating touch, 
 None less than God can name ! 
 
 AREMAKKABLE PROPHECY. 
 
 The vision or prophecy of Joseph Hoag, which 
 is published below, is so remarkable yi the accura- 
 cy of some of its details, that were its authenticity 
 not attested by the most respectable and reliable 
 living witnesses, we should hardly credit it. The 
 predicted " civil war," through which we have 
 just passed is not more singular than arc several 
 other features in the vision which have been 
 verified. 
 
 Joseph Hoag was an eminent minister of the 
 Gospel in the Society of Friends. At the date of 
 bis subjoined vision, in 1803, thi? Society was a 
 unit, the division in it not having occurred until 
 1827 After the separation, Hoag afliliatedwith 
 the orthodox branch, in which connection he con- 
 tinued until his death, at the age of forty-five. 
 His ancestors were among the early settlers of 
 New-England, and lived for several generations in 
 the State of New Hampshire, although he was 
 born in Duchess County, New York, but in early 
 life removed to the home of his ancestors. In his 
 services as a minister he travelled extensively 
 throughout the United States, and he is well re- 
 membered by a large number of the old members 
 of the Society of Friends in Philadelphia as a 
 very gifled and spiritual-minded minister. Those 
 who knew him best say that he was a man of 
 great piety and very correct life and conversation 
 from his youth ; also, that his spiritual perceptions 
 were very deep and clear, so much so that he was 
 often favored with a sense of the condition of 
 other people without outward knowledge, and, In 
 many instances, known to persons -still living, 
 foretold circumstances which occurred long after- 
 ward, and of which he could have had no knowl- 
 edge when he predicted them. A journal of his 
 life exists, in which the author says Hoag " was a 
 man of good understanding, retentive memory, 
 and a mind seasoned with grace. His conversation 
 was truly instructive. He appeared most conspic- 
 uous in the gift of the ministry, and the spirit of 
 prophecy." The following is Joseph Hoag's vis- 
 ion as transcribed by his daugliter — who is still 
 living — in the year 1805, since which time many 
 duplicate ms. copies have been made and pre- 
 served by members of the Society, as a curious, 
 interesting, and, as the sequel has shown, an amaz- 
 ingly jjremonitory document : 
 
 "In the year 1803, in the eighth or ninth 
 month, I was one day alone in the field, and ob- 
 served that the sun shone clear, but a mist 
 eclipsed its brightness. 
 
 " As I reflected upon the singularity of the 
 event, my mind was struck into a silence the most 
 solemn I ever remembered to have witnessed, for 
 all my faculties were low, and unusally brought 
 into deep silence. I said to myself: ' What can 
 all this mean ? I do not recollect ever before to 
 have been sensible of such feelings.' 
 
 "And I heard a voice from heaven, saying: 
 ' This which thou scest is a sign of the present 
 coming times. I took the forefathers of this country 
 from a land of oppression ; I planted them here 
 among the people of the forest ; I sustained them and 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 25 
 
 •while they Avere humble I blessed them, and fed 
 them, and they became a numerous people. But 
 they have now become proud, and forgotten me, 
 who nourished them, and protected them in the 
 wilderness, and are running into every abomina- 
 tion and evil practice of which the old countries 
 are guilty, and have taken quietude from the land, 
 and sufl'ered a dividing spirit to come among 
 them — lift up thine eyes and behold.' And I 
 saw them dividing in great heat. The division 
 began in the churches on points of doctrine. It 
 commenced in the Presbyterian Society, and 
 went through the various religious denomina- 
 tions, and in its progress and close, its effects 
 were the same. Those who dissented went off' 
 with high heads and taunting language, and those 
 who kept to their original sentiments appeared 
 exercised and sorrowful. And M'hen the dividing 
 spirit entered the Society of Friends, it raged in 
 as high degree as in any I had noticed or before 
 discovered ; and, as before, those who separated 
 went off" with lofty looks, and taunting, censuring 
 language. Those M'ho kept their ancient princi- 
 ples retired by themselves. It next appeared in 
 the Lodges of the Free Masons ; it broke out in 
 appearance like a volcano, inasmuch as it set the 
 country in an uproar for a time. 
 
 " Then it entered politics throughout the United 
 States, and did not stop until it produced a civil 
 war. An abundance of blood was shed in the 
 course of the combat ; the Southern States lost 
 their power, and slavery was annihilated from 
 their borders. Then a monarchical ])ower sprang 
 up, took the government of the States, established 
 a national religion, and made all societies tribu- 
 tary to support its expenses. I saw them take 
 property from Friends. I was amazed at be- 
 holding all this, and I heard a voice proclaiming : 
 ' This power shall not always stand, but with it I 
 will chastise my Church until -they return to the 
 faithfulness of their forefathers ; thou seest what 
 is coming upon thy native country for their in 
 iquities and the blood of Africa, the remembrance 
 of which has come up before me.' 
 
 " This vision is yet for many days. I had no 
 idea of writing it for many years, until it became 
 such a burden, that, for my own relief, I have 
 written it." 
 
 The True Balance. — Two councilmen of 
 New Orleans were one evening in February, 1861, 
 reeling down to the city hall steps discussing 
 poHtics, as well as their cups and hiccups would 
 permit them. One said solemnly, — 
 
 " The South's true balance must not be over- 
 thrown ; " to which the other replied, — 
 
 " Confound the South's balance ; try to keep 
 your own." 
 
 An Irish Regular. — The following dialogue 
 
 took place between Lieutenant A. C. C d, late 
 
 of the United States Texan army, and Pat Fletch- 
 er, one of the privates of the Second Cavalry, at 
 Carlisle, then near Fort Bliss : — 
 
 Officer. — Well, Pat, ain't you going to follow 
 the General (Twiggs) ? 
 
 Pat. — If Gineral Scott ordhers us to folly him, 
 sir, begor, Toby (Pat's horse) can gallop as well 
 as the best of 'em. 
 
 Officer. — I mean, won't you leave the abolition 
 army, and join the free South? 
 
 Pat. — Begor, I never enlisted in th' abolition 
 army, and never will. I agreed to sarve Uncle 
 Sam for five year, and the divil a pin mark was 
 made in the contract, with my consint, ever since. 
 When my time is up, if the army isn't the same 
 as it is now, I Avon't join it agin. 
 
 Officer. — Pat, the " Second " (Cavalry) was 
 eighteen months old when you and I joined. The 
 man who raised our gallant regiment is now the 
 Southern President ; the man who so lately com- 
 manded it, is now a Southern General. Can you 
 remain in it, when they are gone ? 
 
 Pat. — Well, you see, the fact of the matther 
 is, Lieut. C, I ain't much of a scholar ; I can't 
 argue the question Avith you ; but what Avould ray 
 mother say, if I desarted my colors? Oh, the 
 divil a give-in I'll ever give in, noAV, and that's 
 the ind of it. I tried to run away once, a feAV 
 weeks after enlistin', but a man wouldn't be 
 missed thin. It's quite different now, Lieutenant, 
 and I'm going not to disgrace naither iv my 
 countries. 
 
 Officer. — Do you knoAV that you AA'ill have to 
 fire on green Irish colors, in the Southern ranks ? 
 
 Pat. — And Avon't you have to fire on them 
 colors, (pointing to the flag at Fort Bliss,) that 
 yerself and five of us licked nineteen rangers un- 
 der ? Sure, it isn't a greater shame for an Irish- 
 man to fire on Irish colors, than for an American 
 to fire on American colors. An' th' oath '11 be 
 on my side, you knoAV, Lieutenant. 
 
 Officer. — Confound the man that relies on 
 Paddies, I say. 
 
 Pat. — The same compliments to desarters, 
 your honor. 
 
 Anecdote of Roger A. Pryor. — The fol- 
 lowing occurred during the attack on Fort Sum- 
 ter in 186L Roger A. Pryor, of Virginia, 
 ex-member of Congress, Avas one of the second 
 deputation that Avaited upon INIajor Anderson. 
 Pie Avas the very embodiment of Southern chiv- 
 alry. Literally dressed to kill, bristling with 
 boAvie-knives and revolvers, like a Avalking arse- 
 nal, he appeared to think himself individually 
 capable of capturing the fort, M'ithout any extra- 
 neous assistance. Inside of the fort he seemed 
 to think himself master of every thing — mon- 
 arch of all he surveyed — and, in keeping Avith 
 this pretension, seeing upon the table what ap- 
 peared to be a glass of brandy, drank it Avithout 
 ceremony. Surgeon (afterward General CraAv- 
 ford, Avho had Avitnessed the feat, approached him 
 and said : " Sir, Avhat you have drank is poison 
 — it was the iodide of potassium — you are a 
 dead man ! " The representative of chivalry in- 
 stantly collapsed, boAvie-knives, revolvers and all, 
 and passed into the hands of Surgeon Crawford, 
 
26 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 viho, by purgings, pumpings, and pukings, de- 
 feated his own prophecy in regard to his fate. 
 Mr. Pryor left Fort Sumter a " wiser if not a 
 better man." 
 
 TAKEN BY THE PIRATES. 
 
 The following letter is from a young Scotch- 
 man, who married a wife, and set sail from New 
 York for Cardenas ; the vessel was taken by a 
 rebel piratical craft, and the pai-ty had the pleas- 
 ure of a visit to Charleston, S. C. : — 
 
 Matanzas, Nov. 11, 1801. 
 
 We sailed from New York on board the brig 
 Betsy Ames, on October 5tli. In all we were six 
 passengers, beside Mrs. Bartlett, the wife of the 
 captain. "We were bound for Cardenas, and aU 
 went well until the morning of the I7th ult., 
 when we observed a schooner making right for 
 us. There was nothing suspicious about her at 
 first sight, but about nine A. M. she fired at us, 
 her shot falling short about a quarter of a mile. 
 Captain Bartlett then ordered all sail to be 
 made, but the breeze shortly after died away, 
 and the now suspicious schooner made upon us, 
 and fired another shot, which also fell a little 
 short of our vessel. A third shot was fired, 
 but we could not see in what direction it went. 
 They fired a fourth shot, which passed close 
 alongside our brig. This latter result caused 
 our captain to take in sail and jog along more 
 leisurely, till the schooner made up to us about 
 twelve o'clock, M. Still, we could not tell what 
 the little craft was, as she had no color flying. 
 
 When she came up to us, the captain of the 
 schooner ordered our captain to take one of his 
 boats and come on board with his papers, to 
 which he responded, " My boats are unfit for ser- 
 vice." The captain of the schooner then said, 
 " I will come on board your brig, then," which he 
 immediately did. He came in his own boat, with 
 an officer and four men, when the captain and his 
 officer went down into the cabin with our captain, 
 and took possession of all his papers ; then told 
 him that he was a prisoner of the Confederate 
 States of America. 
 
 While the officers were in the cabin, the men 
 who were left in the boat sprang on deck and 
 into the forehold, from which they took two bar- 
 rels of potatoes, about two dozen cabbages, and 
 a coil of rope, and put them into their boat. 
 
 When the officers came up on deck again, they 
 ordered our crew to the boat, and thence to the 
 privateer, which proved to be the Flying Sally, 
 of Charleston, on board of which there were 
 about sixty men and two pivot-guns. In a short 
 time a prize crew was sent on board, and as our 
 avptain had his wife, they did not transfer him. 
 
 The prize crew were seven in all. The master 
 was an old cooper, named Joseph TuUy, who 
 used to cooper both at Matanzas and Cardenas. 
 He evidently knew nothing of seamanship. 
 
 About two o'clock we parted with the pirate 
 schooner, and nothing particular occurred until 
 the 24th, at daybreak, when we made land, but 
 
 did not know where we were. Some of the crew 
 said we were north of Charleston ; but, as it 
 turned out, we were south of North Edisto, where 
 we ran aground and lost our false keel, but got 
 off again, and went to sea. On the following clay 
 we saw no land, and on the evening of the 27th 
 we made the land of St. Helena, almost the exact 
 place where we were on the 25th. After tacking 
 off and on all night, we were still in the same place. 
 Then we beat up to the North Edisto Inlet. 
 
 While beating up we espied a schooner, which 
 fact caused the crowd to take alarm, and, to a 
 man, they rushed below, armed themselves with 
 their swords, knives, and pistols, bagged their 
 clgthing and a few little valuables, then prepared 
 for the boats, as they intended to beach the brig. 
 They were apprehensive that the vessel sighted 
 was a United States gunboat. When they came 
 on deck, however, and took another observation, 
 they discovered that it was only a little schooner. 
 Then we made the inlet, when a boat's crew, 
 armed to the teeth, came on board, and piloted 
 us up to the anchorage, about forty miles inland. 
 There they discharged their prizes, and the ves- 
 sels were towed up to Charleston by tow-boats. 
 
 We arrived at Charleston at about three o'clock, 
 P. M., on the 27th. Next morning the steamer 
 General Clinch took us on board, with our bag- 
 gage. I may also state, that the steamer Planter 
 towed us up to tliis safe " pu'ates' village ground." 
 
 When we got into Charleston the prize captain 
 took us to a private boarding-house, his agent 
 having closed his office previous to our arrival. 
 
 Next morning we strolled about the city, and 
 called upon the British Consul, who told us, 
 strange as it may seem, that he could render us 
 no assistance, as we had done wrong in taking 
 our passage on board an American vessel, know- 
 ing that the two countries were at war ; therefore, 
 if the owners of the prize had the good feeling to 
 pay our expenses, it was only to be expected from 
 theii' generous character, but they could not be 
 forced to do so. About twelve o'clock we were 
 called upon to go to the marshal's office, and 
 when we got thei'e the marshal told us that we 
 were prisoners. We were then sent to the city 
 jail. The captain's wife, and the other lady of 
 our company, did not accompany us to the jail. 
 We remained in this limbo till half past eight 
 o'clock, P. M., having been released at that time 
 through the exertions of Her British Majesty's 
 Consul, Mr. Bunce, who had been induced to act 
 then only because an old English captain, who 
 saw us in prison, went to him and prevailed upon 
 him to use his influence in our behalf. 
 
 The next day we looked round to see if we 
 could devise any means of getting away. The 
 Spanish Consul informed us that the only schoon- 
 er which was going for some time had been 
 loaded, and had sailed already for Matanzas. 
 However, we had the good fortune to meet Mr. 
 Salas, the owner of two vessels which were ready 
 for sea, and it appeai-ed that Mr. Bunce had been 
 to him to endeavor to procure us a passage ; and 
 as he could not assist us, ^Ir. Salas offered to 
 take us to Matanzas on credit. That arrange- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 27 
 
 ment included the other British passengers, my 
 ■wife, and myself. The other three passengers 
 were Germans, having American passports, and 
 could not be taken on board the schooner Jasper. 
 The crew on board this craft declared her un- 
 seaworthy, after getting their advanced pay, and 
 left. Mr. Salas had therefore to ship another 
 crew, and we got ready for sea. As the bark 
 Eowena was getting her name changed to the St. 
 Helena of Charleston, S. C, having been loaded 
 with a cargo of naval stores, awaiting a favorable 
 opportunity to run the blockade, we waited and 
 went out with her. So, on the night of the 2d 
 inst., she was taken in tow by a steamer, and we 
 followed her as closely as Ave could out past the 
 United States vessels, and in half an hour -were 
 after her, and could see the lights of the United 
 States ships quite distinctly, although none of 
 them seemed to make any movement, and did not 
 observe us. It was about ten o'clock, P. M., 
 when we got clear of their lights. Then we 
 thought ourselves safe on the sea once more. 
 We arrived here safely on the mght of Saturday, 
 the 9th inst. 
 
 And now, when I think of the scenes I have 
 passed through since I left New York, (the scenes 
 of a honeymoon excursion,) what impi'essed me 
 most was the almost death-like solemn appearance 
 of Charleston, and the entire absence of anything 
 like business. It appeared as if a Scotch fast day 
 was being observed. At least one half of the 
 stores have " To Let " posted upon the shut 
 doors, and those which are occupied are all closed 
 at noon every day, and every man has to turn out 
 to drill, or be fined by the jiolice the next day. 
 
 Another thing which struck me was the afmost 
 entire absence of " hard cash." One of my com- 
 panions and I went into a bar-room to have a 
 drink, and the only money we had to offer was 
 Spanish. My friend offered a two dollar piece, 
 but the bar-keeper was bewildered ; he did not 
 know its value, and asked us what it was worth. 
 Being informed that it was worth two dollars 
 twelve and a half cents in Cuba, he offered two 
 dollars twenty-five cents in paper change. Then 
 a crowd gathered around us, staring their eyes 
 out of their heads, almost, at the novelty of the 
 sight of gold, and many of them seemed really 
 anxious to be the possessors. We saw no small 
 cliange except pieces of paper, which certify that 
 they are " good for five cents," " good for ten 
 cents," and so on. 
 
 I must say that men, women, and children in 
 Charleston seem united in the cause of secession. 
 When they found that one of my fellow-passen- 
 gers and myself were Scotchmen, they treated us 
 very respectfully. Though our Consul did not at 
 first seem to sympathize with us, still he exerted 
 himself well on our behalf when he found that 
 we were in prison. All seemed to have great re- 
 spect for him in Charleston. 
 
 ton, has a peculiar interest. The original is in 
 Latin, and bears marks of great antiquity. It is 
 said to have been Avritten by a recluse, some cen- 
 turies since : — 
 
 " Before thirteen united 
 
 Shall be thrice what they are, 
 The eagle shall be blighted 
 By the lightning of war. 
 
 When sixty is ended, 
 
 And one takes its place, 
 Then brothers offended 
 
 Shall deal mutual disgrace. 
 
 If white remain white. 
 And black stiJl be black. 
 
 Once more they'll unite 
 And bring happiness back. 
 
 But whenever the Cross 
 
 Stands aloft 'mong the Stars, 
 
 They shall gain by their loss, 
 And thus end all their wars." 
 
 A Prophecy. — The following, translated a j 
 few years since by a lady, who is an inmate of a [ 
 religious institution in the vicinity of Washing- j 
 
 Occupation of Fort Sumter. — The follow- 
 ing impressive incident occurred at Fort Sumter 
 on Major Anderson taking possession of that 
 place in December, 1860 : It is known that the 
 American flag brought away from Fort Moultrie 
 was raised at Sumter precisely at noon on the 
 27th of that month. It was a scene that will 
 be a memorable reminiscence in the lives of those 
 who witnessed it. A short time before noon. 
 Major Anderson assembled the whole of his little 
 force, with ' the workmen employed on the fort, 
 around the foot of the flag-staff. The national 
 ensign was attached to the cord, and Major An- 
 derson, holding the end of the lines in his hand, 
 knelt reverently down. The oflUcers, soldiers, 
 and men clustered around, many of them on their 
 knees, all deeply impressed with the solemnity 
 of the scene. The chaplain made an earnest 
 prayer — such an appeal for support, encourage- 
 ment, and mercy as one would make who felt 
 that " man's extremity is God's opportunity." As 
 the earnest, solemn words of the speaker ceased, 
 and the men responded Amen with a fervency 
 that perhaps they had never before experienced. 
 Major Anderson drew the " Star-spangled Ban- 
 ner " up to the toji of the staff, the band broke 
 out with the national air of *' Hail, Columbia ! " 
 and loud and exultant cheers, repeated again and 
 again, were given by the officers, soldiers, and 
 workmen. " If," said the narrator, " South Caro- 
 lina had at that moment attacked the fort, there 
 would have been no hesitation upon the part of 
 any man within it about defending the flag." 
 
 Incident of the White House, Va. On 
 the occupation of the White House, Va., by the 
 soldiers of General McLellan, a small piece of 
 ])aper, bearing the following inscription, was 
 found pinned on the casing of an inner door : — 
 
28 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " Northern soldiers, Avho profess to reverence 
 Washington, forbear to desecrate the house of his 
 first married life, the property of his wife, now 
 owned by her descendants. 
 
 " A granddaughter of Mrs. Washington." 
 
 Beneath the inscription was written the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 " Lady : A Northern officer has protected your 
 property in the sight of the enemy, and at the 
 request of your overseer." 
 
 A Fighting Clergyman. — Rev. B. C. Ward, 
 pastor of a Congregational church in the village 
 of Geneseo, Illinois, conceived it to be his duty 
 to forsake the pulpit for the field. He received 
 authority to raise a company of infantry, but 
 proposed to enlist clergymen only. An appeal to 
 his clerical brethren, published over his own sig- 
 nature, called upon " the fighting stock of the 
 church militant" to prove to the world their will- 
 ingness to " seal with their blood what they have 
 talked in their pulpits," and closed with this ex- 
 traordinary passage : 
 
 " ]Much as we have said and done to prove our 
 loyalty, we have not yet resisted unto blood, 
 striving against sin. Shall we now, at the call 
 of Christ, come out from beliind our velvet-cush- 
 ioned barracks, whence we have so often hurled 
 bold, indignant v/ords at the giant iniquity of the 
 age, and meet it face to face with the hot shot of 
 rifled artillery, with the gleaming bayonet, or with 
 clashing: sabres in hand-to-hand encounter ? " 
 
 The Last Man of Beaufokt. — On the day 
 the town of Beaufort, S. C, was entered by the 
 national troops, all the inhabitants were found to 
 have tied, except one white man, who, being too 
 much intoxicated to join his compatriots in flight, 
 had been forced to remain behind. 
 
 " 'Tis the last man at Beaufort 
 
 Left sitting alone ; 
 All his valiant companions- 
 Had ' vamosed ' and gone ; 
 No secesh of his kindred 
 
 To comfort is nigh, 
 And his liquor's expended, 
 
 The bottle is dry ! 
 We'll not leave thee, thou lone one. 
 
 Or harshly condemn — 
 Since your friends have all ' mizzled,' 
 
 You can't sleep with them ; 
 And it's no joking matter 
 
 To sleep with the dead ; 
 So we'll take you back with us — 
 
 Jim, lift up his head ! 
 He muttered some words 
 
 As they bore him away, 
 And the breeze thus repeated 
 
 The words he did say : 
 ' When the liquor's all out, 
 
 And your friends they have flown, 
 O, who would inhabit 
 
 This Beaufort alone ? ' " 
 
 J. ]\L Learned, of Oxfordville, New Hamp- 
 shire, had three twins in the army. Two of 
 them, twenty-three years old, were in the Massa- 
 chusetts Fourteenth. The third, whose mate is 
 a girl, was in the Fifth New Hampshire regiment. 
 
 A Reminiscence of Abraham Lincoln. — 
 AVhen the convention was held in Chicago, which 
 nominated Mr. Lincoln for the Presidency in 
 1860, a respectable gentleman in Massachusetts 
 
 — not of jNIr. Lincoln's party — was induced to 
 take the opportunity, in company with several 
 delegates and others interested in the objects of 
 the convention, to go out to Chicago, and speixd 
 a few days in visiting that section of the country. 
 In a very few minutes after the final balloting 
 was had, and Mr. Lincoln was nominated, it hap- 
 pened that a train of cars started upon the Cen- 
 tral R,ailroad, passing through Springfield, the 
 place of Mr. Lincoln's residence, and Mr. R., the 
 gentleman alluded to, took passage in the same. 
 Arriving at Springfield, he put up at a public 
 house, and loitering upon the front door steps, 
 had the curiosity to inquire of the landlord where 
 ]\Ir. Lincoln lived. A\'^hilst giving the neces- 
 sary directions, the landlord suddenly remarked, 
 " There is Mr. Lincoln now, coming down the 
 sidewalk ; that tall, crooked man, loosely walk- 
 ing this way ; if you wish to see him you will 
 have an opportunity by putting yourself in his 
 track." 
 
 In a few moments the object of his curiosity 
 readied the point our friend occupied, who ad- 
 vancing, ventured to accost him thus : " Is this 
 Mr. Lincoln ? " " That, sir, is my name." " My 
 name is R., from Plymouth county, Massachu- 
 setts, and learning that you have to-day been 
 made the public property of the United States, I 
 have ventured to introduce myself with a view to 
 a brief acquaintance, hoping you will pardon such 
 a patriotic curiosity in a stranger." Mr. Lincoln 
 received his salutations with cordiality, told him 
 no apology was necessary for his introduction, and 
 asked him to accompany him to his residence. 
 He had just come from the telegraph office, where 
 he had learned the fact of his nomination, and 
 was on his return home when our friend met and 
 accompanied him thither. 
 
 Arriving at Mr. Lincoln's residence, he was in- 
 troduced to Mrs. Lincoln and the two boys, and 
 entered into conversation in relation to the Lincoln 
 family of the old colony — the Hinghai^ General 
 Lincoln of the Revolutionary army, and the two 
 Worcester Lincolns, brothers, who were Govern- 
 ors of Massachusetts and Maine at one and the 
 same time. In reply to Mr, R.'s inquiry whether 
 Mr. Lincoln could trace his ancestry to either of 
 those early families of his own name, Mr. Lin- 
 coln, with a characteristic facetiousness, replied 
 that he could not say that he ever had an ancestor 
 older than his father, and therefore had it not in 
 his power to trace his genealogy to so patriotic 
 a source as old General Lincoln of the Revolution 
 
 — though he wished he could. After some fur- 
 
 I 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 29 
 
 ther pleasant conversation, chiefly relating to the 
 early history of the Pilgrim Fathers, with -which 
 he seemed familiar, Mr. R. desired the privilege 
 of writing a letter to be despatched by the next 
 mail. Mr. Lincoln very promptly and kindly pro- 
 vided him with the necessary means. As he be- 
 gan to write, Mr. Lincoln approached, and tap- 
 ping him on the shoulder, expressed the hope 
 that he v/as not a spy Avho had come thus early 
 to report his faults to the ])ublic. " By no means, 
 sir," protested Mr. R. ; "I am writing home to 
 my wife, who, I dare say, will hardly credit the 
 fact that I am writing in your house." " O, sir," 
 exclaimed Mr. Lincoln, " if your wife doubts your 
 word, I will cheerfully indorse it, if you will give 
 me permission ; " and taking the pen from Mr. 
 R., he wrote the following words, in a clear hand, 
 upon the blank page of the letter : 
 
 "I am happy to say that your husband is at the 
 present time a guest in my house, and in due time I 
 trust j'ou will greet his safe return to the bosom of 
 his family. A. LiNCOLX." 
 
 This gave our friend an excellent autograph 
 of Mr. Lincoln, besides bearing witness to his 
 liospitable and cheerful spirit. 
 
 ^Vhilst thus engaged in pleasant conversation, 
 the cars arrived that brought from Chicago the 
 committee of the convention appointed to notify 
 Mr. Lincoln of his nomination. He received 
 them at the door, and conducted them to seats 
 in his parlor. Our friend, who related the inter- 
 view to us, says that on the reception of this 
 committee Mr. Lincoln appeared somewhat em- 
 barrassed, but soon resumed his wonted tran- 
 quillity and cheerfulness. At the proper time the 
 chairman of the committee arose, and, with 'be- 
 coming dignity, informed Mr. Lincoln, that he 
 and his fellows appeared in behalf of the con- 
 vention now in session at Chicago, to inforn him 
 that he had that day been unanimously nomi- 
 nated to the office of President of the United 
 States, and asked his permission to report to that 
 body his acceptance of the nomination. Mr. 
 Lincoln, with becoming modesty, but very hand- 
 somely, replied, that he felt his insufficiency for 
 the vast responsibilities which must devolve upon 
 that office under the impending circumstances 
 of the times, but if God and his country called 
 for his services in that direction, he should shrink 
 fi"om no duty that might be imposed upon him, 
 and therefore he should not decline the nomi- 
 nation. 
 
 After this ceremony had passed, Mr. Lincoln 
 remarked to the company, that as an appropriate 
 conclusion to an interview so important and in- 
 teresting as that Avhich had just transpired, he 
 supposed good manners would require that he 
 should treat the committee with something to 
 drink ; and opening a door that led into a room 
 in the rear, he called out, "Mary! Mary!" A 
 girl res])onded to the call, whom Mr. Lincoln 
 spoke a few words to in an under-tone ; and, closing 
 the door, returned again to converse with his 
 guests. In a few minutes the maiden entered, 
 bearing a large waiter, containing several glass 
 tumblers, and a large pitcher in the midst, and 
 
 placed it upon the centre-table. Mr. Lincoln 
 arose, and gravely addressing the company, said, 
 — " Gentlemen, we must pledge our mutual 
 healths in the most healthy beverage which our 
 God has given to man ; it is the only beverage I 
 have ever used or allowed in my family, and I 
 cannot conscientiously depart from it on the 
 present occasion ; it is pure Adam's ale from the 
 spring ; " and taking a tumbler, he touched it to 
 his lips and pledged them his highest respects in 
 a cup of cold water. Of course, all his guests 
 were constrained to admire his consistency, and 
 to join in his example. 
 
 Mr. R., when he went to Chicago, had but little 
 political sympathy Avith the Republican convpn- 
 tion which nominated Mr. Lincoln ; but when he 
 saw, as he did see for himself, his sturdy adher- 
 ence to a high moral principle, he returned an 
 admirer of the man, and a zealous advocate of 
 his election. 
 
 "ALL WE ASK IS TO BE LET ALONE." 
 
 BY H. H. BKOWNELL. 
 
 As vonce I valked by a dismal swamp, 
 There sot an old cove in the dark and damp, 
 And at everybody as passed that road 
 A stick or a stone this old cove throwed. 
 And venever he flung his stick or his stone, 
 He'd set up a song of " Let me alone." 
 
 ' ' Let me alone, for I loves to shy 
 
 These bits of things at the passers-by ; 
 
 Let me alone, for I've got your tin, 
 
 And lots of other traps snugly in ; 
 
 Let me alone — I am rigging a boat 
 
 To grab votever you've got afloat ; 
 
 In a veek or so I expects to come, 
 
 And turn you out of your ouse and ome ; 
 
 I'm a quiet old cove," says he, with a groan ; 
 
 " All I axes, is. Let me alone." 
 
 Just then came along, on the self same vay, 
 Another old cove, and began for to say : 
 " Let you alone ! That's corain' it strong ! 
 You've be7i let alone — a darned sight too long ! 
 Of all the sarce that ever I heerd ! 
 Put down that stick ! (You may well look skeered. 
 Let go that stone ! If you once show fight, 
 I'll knock you higher than ary kite. 
 
 " You must have a lesson to stop your tricks, 
 And cure you of shying them stones and sticks ; 
 And I'll have my hardware back, and my cash, 
 And knock your scow into tarnal smash ; 
 And if ever I catches you round my ranch, 
 I'll string you up to the nearest branch. 
 The best you can do is to go to bed, 
 And keep a decent tongue in yoiir head ; 
 For I reckon, before you and I are done, 
 You'll wish you had let honest folks alone." 
 
 The old cove stopped, and the other old cove, 
 He sot quite still in his cypress grove, 
 And he looked at his stick, revolvin' slow, 
 Vethcr 'twere safe to shy it or no ; 
 And he grumbled on, in an injured tone, 
 " All that I axed vos. Let me alone." 
 
30 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 The Man who wouldn't be made a Pris- 
 oner. — During the last -week in December, 1861, 
 while about a dozen oyster smacks were on their 
 wajr to the " banks " in Mississippi^ Sound, they 
 were surrounded by a number of launches from 
 the national ships ; all were seized in the name of 
 the Government, and a guard put aboard each 
 to co'hduct them under the guns of the ships of 
 war. One of the smacks thus seized was the 
 " elide," commanded and owned by Capt. King, 
 a man who had resided in New Orleans since 
 boyhood, and who was well known as a brave 
 and determined seaman by all of his acquaint- 
 ances around the New Basin. A sergeant and 
 one soldier were placed aboard the " Glide," with 
 orders to steer for the New London, then 
 some twelve or eighteen miles off. The wind 
 was ahead, and the boat had to beat all the way. 
 The " Glide," somehow, strange to say, worked 
 badly ; all the rest of the smacks were soon sev- 
 eral miles ahead, and still the contrary wind was 
 blowing, and the lazy boat dragging slowly along. 
 So passed the greater part of the day, and at five 
 o'clock in the afternoon the fleet was yet several 
 miles off. The soldiers on board the " Glide " 
 grew hungry, and asked Capt. King if he had 
 anything to eat aboard. He politely told them 
 that there was plenty in the cabin — a sort of lit- 
 tle hold in the after part of the craft, reached by 
 a narrow scuttle and two or three crooked steps. 
 The sergeant volunteered to go down and get the 
 victuals, directing the soldier to keep a sharp 
 watch while he did so. He started down the 
 steps with rifle in hand, Gapt. King standing 
 near, officiously showing the way. As soon as 
 he had got into the cabin, and was about to stoop 
 and go forward, the hitherto polite and kind cap- 
 tain suddenly seized his rifle, and jerking it from 
 his hand, shot him dead on the spot. Not stop- 
 ping to swap jack-knives, Gapt. King jumped for- 
 ward, and seizing the other soldier's gun before 
 he had time to Tecover from his fright and aston- 
 ishment, commanded him to surrender. The 
 soldier saw there was no use to resist, gave up, 
 and was securely tied and laid in the hold. 
 
 Gapt. King then set sail for Fort Pike, and as 
 if understanding the necessity for haste, the little 
 craft recovered from her languor, and sped over 
 the water at raUroad speed. And it was well she 
 did, for the men on the other boats had heard 
 the musket shot, and suspecting something wrong 
 from seeing the " Glide " suddenly change her 
 course, made chase, one and all. The affair then 
 grew exciting, and for a while Gapt. King's chances 
 for safety were rather squally ; but his gallant 
 little craft was in earnest, and rushed on towards 
 the haven of safety as if she understood the whole 
 affair. Night soon came on, and darkness hiding 
 her from the view of her pursuers, enabled her to 
 get safely to Fort Pike, where Ca])t. King recited 
 his adventures, and excited the admiration of the 
 garrison. Leaving the fort the next morning, he 
 arrived in the New Basin with his prisoner and 
 dead sergeant, who were placed in the hands of 
 the military authorities. Besides his prisoner, 
 Gapt. King captured a fine six-oared launch. 
 
 nearly new, one Minie rifle, one musket, three 
 bayonets, one sergeant's sword, and four cartridge 
 boxes fUled with ammunition — quite a good day's 
 work for a simple oysterman. 
 
 Gen. Cheatham's Escape. — The following 
 story was told by Gen. Cheatham of the manner 
 in which he escaped capture at the battle of Bel- 
 mont, Mo. : — 
 
 Just as the opposing armies were approaching 
 one another. Gen. Cheatham discovered a squad- 
 ron of cavalry coming down a road near his 
 position. Uncertain as to which force it belonged, 
 accompanied only by an orderly, he rode up to 
 within a few yards of it, and inquired, — 
 
 " What cavalry is that ? " 
 
 " Illinois cavalry, sir," was the reply. 
 
 " O ! Illinois cavalry. All right ; just stand 
 where you are ! " 
 
 The cavalry obeyed the order, and unmolested 
 by them, who supposed he was one of the Fed- 
 eral officers, the general rode safely back, directly 
 under the guns of another Federal regiment, 
 which had by that time come up, but who, seeing 
 him coming from the direction of the cavalry, 
 also supposed that he was one of them. Some 
 of the national officers remembered the incident, 
 and agreed with the hero of it, that if they had 
 known Avho he was, it was very probable that 
 there would have been one general less that 
 niffht. 
 
 An Incident with a ]Moral. — A chaplain in 
 one of the regiments on the Potomac narrates 
 the case of a sick soldier, which strikingly illus- 
 trates the reasoning of many men in the camp 
 and out of it. Some one had mentioned to the 
 soldier the case of the Vermonter who was sen- 
 tenced to be shot for sleeping on his post. During 
 the evening following, the fever set in violently ; 
 the sick man imagined he was the one sentenced 
 to be shot. The surgeon being called, the fol- 
 lowing conversation ensued : — 
 
 " Doctor, I am to be shot in the morning, and 
 wish you to send for the chaplain. I desire to 
 make all necessary preparations for my end." 
 
 " They shall not shoot you ; I'll take care of 
 you. Whoever comes to take you from here, I 
 shall have them arrested and put under guard." 
 
 " Will you, dear doctor ? Thank you, thank 
 you — well, then, you need not send for the 
 chaplain 'just yet.'" 
 
 THE SPOTTED HAND. 
 
 AX ANECDOTE OF JOHN C. CALHOUN. 
 
 One morning, at the breakfast table, when I, 
 an unobserved spectator, happened to be present, 
 Calhoun was observed to gaze frequently at his 
 right hand, and brush it with his left in a hurried 
 and nervous manner. He did this so often that 
 it excited attention. At length one of the per- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 31 
 
 sons comprising the breakfast party — his name, 
 I think, is Toombs, and he is a member of 
 Congress from Georgia — took upon himself 
 to ask the occasion of Mr. Calhoun's disquie- 
 tude. 
 
 " Does your- hand pain you ? " he asked of Mr. 
 Calhoun. 
 
 To this Mr. Calhoun replied, in rather a hur- 
 ried manner, — 
 
 " Pshaw ! it is nothing but a dream I had 
 last night, and which makes me see perpetually 
 a large black spot, like an ink blotch, upon the 
 back of my right hand ; an optical illusion, I 
 suppose." 
 
 Of course these words excited the curiosity of 
 the company, but no one ventured to beg the de- 
 tails of this singular dream, until ToomSs asked 
 quietly, — 
 
 " What was your dream Kke ? I am not very 
 superstitious about dreams ; but sometimes they 
 have a great deal of truth in them." 
 
 " But this was such a peculiarly absurd dream," 
 said Mr. Calhoun, again brushing the back of his 
 right hand ; *' however, if it does not intrude too 
 much 01], the time of our friends, I will relate it 
 to 3'ou." 
 
 Of course the company were profuse in their 
 expressions of anxiety to know all about the 
 dream, and Mr. Calhoun related it. 
 
 " At a late hour last night, as I was sitting in 
 my room, engaged in writing, I was astonished 
 by the entrance of a visitor, who, without a word, 
 took a seat opposite me at my table. This sur- 
 prised me, as I had given particular orders to 
 the servant that I should on no account be dis- 
 turbed. The manner in which the intruder en- 
 tered, so perfectly self-possessed, taking his seat 
 opposite me without a word, as though my room 
 and all within it belonged to him, excited in me 
 as much surprise as indignation. As I raised 
 my head to look into his features, over the top 
 of my shaded lamp, I discovered that he was 
 wrapped in a thin cloak, Avhich effectually con- 
 cealed his face and features from my view ; and 
 as I raised my head, he spoke : — 
 
 " ' AVhat are you writing, senator from South 
 Carolina ? ' 
 
 " I did not think of his impertinence at first, 
 but answered him voluntarily, — 
 
 " ' I am writing a plan for the dissolution of 
 the American Union.' 
 
 " (You know, gentlemen, that I am expected 
 to produce a plan of dissolution in the event of 
 certain contingencies.) To this the intruder re- 
 plied, in the coolest manner possible, — 
 
 " ' Senator fi-om South CaroHna, will you allow 
 me to look at your hand, your right hand ? ' 
 
 " He rose, the cloak fell, and I beheld his face. 
 Gentlemen, the sight of that face struck me like 
 a thunder-clap. It Avas the face of a dead man, 
 whom extraordinary events had called back to 
 life. The features were those of Gen. George 
 Washington. He was dressed in the Revolu- 
 tionary costume, such as you see in the Patent 
 Office." 
 
 Here Mr. Calhoun paused, apparently agitated. 
 His agitation, I need not tell you, was shared by 
 the company. Toombs at length broke the em- 
 barrassing pause. 
 
 " Well, what was the issue of this scene ? " 
 
 Mr. Calhoun resumed : — 
 
 " The intruder, as I have said, rose and asked 
 to look at my right hand. As though I had not 
 the power to refuse, I extended it. The truth 
 is, I felt a strange thrill pervade me at his touch ; 
 he grasped it, and held it near the light, thus 
 affording full time to examine every feature. It 
 was the face of Washington. After holding my 
 hand for a moment, he looked at me steadily, 
 and said in a quiet way, — 
 
 " ' And with this right hand, senator from 
 South Carolina, you would sign your name to a 
 paper declaring the Union dissolved ? ' 
 
 " I answered in the affirmative. 
 
 " ' Yes,' I said, ' if a certain contingency arises, 
 I will sign my name to the Declaration of Disso- 
 lution.' 
 
 " But at that moment a black blotch appeared 
 on the back of my hand, which I seem to see 
 now. 
 
 " ' What is that ? ' said I, alarmed, I know not 
 why, at the blotch on my hand. 
 
 " ' That,' said he, dropping my hand, ' is the 
 mark by which Benedict Arnold is known in the 
 next world.' 
 
 " He said no more, gentlemen, but drew from 
 beneath his cloak an object which he laid upon 
 the table — laid upon the very paper on which I 
 was writing. This object, gentlemen, was a 
 skeleton. 
 
 " ' There,' said he, ' there are the bones of 
 Isaac Hayne, who was hung at Charleston by the 
 British. He gave his life in order to establish 
 the Union. When you put your name to a Dec- 
 laration of Dissolution, why, you may as well 
 have the bones of Isaac Hayne before you — he 
 Avas a South Carolinian, .and so are you. But 
 there was no blotch on his right hand.' 
 
 " With these words the intruder left the room. 
 I started back from the contact with the dead 
 man's bones, and — awoke. Overcome by labor, 
 I had fallen asleep, and had been dreaming. Was 
 it not a singular dream ? " 
 
 All the company answered in the affirmative, 
 and Toombs muttered, " Singular, very singular," 
 and at the same time looking curiously at the 
 back of his right hand, while Mr. Calhoun placed 
 his head between his hands, and seemed bmied 
 in thought. 
 
 A CONTRABAND REFRAIN, 
 
 MUCH IN VOGUE AT FORTRESS MONKOE. 
 
 Wake up, snakes, pelicans, and Sesh'ners ! 
 Don't yer hear 'um comin' — 
 Comin' on de run ? 
 Wake up, I tell yer ! Git up, Jefferson I 
 Bobolishion's comin' — 
 Bob-o-lish-i-on. 
 
32 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Anecdote of President Lincoln. — The 
 following is one of Mr. Lincoln's stories. These 
 he told often in private conversation, rarely in his 
 speeches. 
 
 *' I once knew a good, sound churchman, whom 
 we'll call Brown, Avho was on a committee to erect 
 a bridge over a very daugerous and rapid river. 
 Architect after architect failed, and at last Brown 
 said he had a friend named Jones, who had built 
 several bridges, and could build this. ' Let's have 
 him in,' said the committee. In came Jones. ' Can 
 you build this bridge, sir ? ' ' Yes,' replied Jones ; 
 ' I could build a bridge to the infernal regions, if 
 necessary.' The sober committee were horrified ; 
 but when Jones retired, Brown thought it but fair 
 to defend his friend. ' I know Jones so well,' said 
 he, ' and he is so honest a man, and so good an 
 architect, that, if he states soberly and positively 
 that he can build a bridge to Hades — why, I be- 
 lieve it. But I have my doubts about the abut- 
 ment on the infernal side.' So," Lincoln added, 
 " when politicians said they could harmonize the 
 Northern and Southern wings of the Democracy, 
 why, I believed them. But I had my doubts 
 about the abutment on the Southern side." 
 
 Mr. Winthrop, one of the Boston Union Com- 
 mittee, called on Senator Mason, in January, 1861, 
 and, referring to his former visit to Massachusetts, 
 remarked in the blandest tones : " I hope, Mr. 
 Mason, we shall see you again at Bunker Hill.". 
 To which the senator stiffly jerked out the re- 
 sponse : " Not unless I come as an ambassador, 
 sir." 
 
 General Rousseau and a Rebel Clergy- 
 man. — Rev. Frederick A. Ross had just been ex- 
 amined on a charge of treason, and convicted['upon 
 his own showing. Under charge of a guard he 
 was about to leave the General's tent. Putting 
 on a particularly sanctimonious expression of 
 countenance, he took up his hat, turned to the 
 General, and said : " Well, General, we must each 
 do as we think best, and I hope we will both meet 
 in heaven." The General replied : " Your getting 
 to heaven, sir, will depend altogether upon your 
 future conduct ; before we can reasonably hope to 
 meet in that region, you and I must become bet- 
 ter men." The effect of this brief rejoinder was 
 irresistible. 
 
 REBELS. 
 
 Rebels ! 'tis a holy name ! 
 
 The name our fathers bore. 
 When battling in the cause of Right, 
 Against the tyrant in his might, 
 
 In the dark days of yore. 
 
 Rebels ! 'tis our family name I 
 
 Our father, Washington, 
 Was the arch-rebel in the tight. 
 And gave the name to us — a right 
 
 Of father nnto son. 
 
 Rebels ! 'tis our given name ! 
 
 Our mother, Liberty, 
 Received the title with her fame, 
 In days of grief, of fear and shame, 
 
 When at her breast were we. 
 
 Rebels! 'tis our scaled name ! 
 
 A baptism of blood ! 
 The war — ay, and the din of strife — 
 The fearful contest, life for life — 
 
 The mingled crimson flood. 
 
 Rebels ! 'tis a patriot's name ! 
 
 In struggles it was given ; 
 We bore it then when tyrants raved, 
 And through their curses 'twas engraved 
 
 On the doomsday book of heaven. 
 
 Rebels ! 'tis our fighting name ! 
 
 For peace ri^es o'er the land, 
 Until they speak of craven woe — 
 Until our rights receive a blow, 
 
 From foe's or brothers' hand. 
 
 Rebels ! 'tis our dying name ! 
 
 For although life is dear, 
 Y'et, freemen born and freemen bred, 
 We'd rather live as freemen dead, 
 
 Than live in slavish fear. 
 
 Then call us Rebels if you will — 
 
 We glory in the name ; 
 For bending under unjust laws, 
 And swearing faith to an unjust cause, 
 
 We count a greater shame. 
 
 An Editor before the Cabinet. — The ed- 
 itor of the Chatauque (N. Y.) Democrat was spend- 
 ing his time in Washington, and w'riting home let- 
 ters for publication. One of them, it was claimed, 
 contained *' contraband news," and the editor (if 
 his statement may be believed) was summoned be-i 
 fore the Cabinet to answer for the heinous oflence.- 
 Here is his account of the affair : — 
 
 " So many weeks had slipped away since my 
 friends in Jamestown commenced sending the 
 Democrat regularly to. the members of the Cabi- 
 net and General McClellan, that the vision of a 
 file of ferocious soldiers had departed from my 
 imagination, when one morning the subscriber re- 
 ceived a gilt-edged, jockey-club-scented note, re- 
 questing his distinguished presence at the White 
 House at a certain hour. I had no doubt but the 
 note was from -Mrs. Lincoln, who, I supposed, 
 wished to apologize for the blunder that she made 
 in my not receiving her invitation to the White 
 House ball. 
 
 " So, giving my boots an extra blacking, and my 
 moustache an extra twist, I wended my way to the 
 President's domicile. After disposing of hat, 
 cane, &c., I was conducted into the room used for 
 Cabinet meetings, and soon found myself in the 
 presence of the President, Messrs. Seward, Stan- 
 ton, and W'^lles. ^Slr. Seward, whom I had met 
 at a duiner-party at General Risley's, in Fredonia, 
 during the campaign of 18G0, recognized me, and 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 33 
 
 at once alluded to the excellence of General Ris- 
 ley's brandy, and proposed to Abe that he should 
 send over to his cellar at the State Department, 
 and get a nice article that he had there. I noticed 
 three copies of the Chatauque Democrat spread 
 out on the table, bearing certain initials, which for 
 the sake of avoiding personalities I ■will not men- 
 lion. I also noticed ominous black lines draAvn 
 around certain passages which I recognized as 
 being part of my letter of several weeks ago. 
 They looked like Mr. Benton's expunged resolu- 
 tions on the Senate Journal. 
 
 Mr. Welles was so deeply engaged in reading 
 a fourth copy, that he did not look up as I went 
 in. It seems that the " mailing clerks " at James- 
 town had neglected to furnish the Navy Depart- 
 ment with a copy, and the Secretary was deeply 
 absorbed in its perusal. Mr. Stanton was busy 
 writing his recent order, thanking God and Gen- 
 eral Halleck for the victory and slaughter at 
 Pittsburgh Landing, and paid no attention to my 
 entrance. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln said : " A Cabinet meeting had been 
 called at the request of General McClellan, to con- 
 sider my offence in writing the letter consiiicuous- 
 ly marked in the Democrat before us, and which 
 had been kindly furnished several of their number 
 by certain patriotic and high-toned gentlemen in 
 Jamestown, N. Y. But they would have to delay 
 a few minutes, to await the arrival of the Commo- 
 dore from Yorktown, with despatches from Gen- 
 eral McClellan, who had telegraphed that the 
 business must not go on till his despatches ar- 
 rived." 
 
 During the interval, me, and Abe, and SeA\ard, 
 sauntered through the rooms, looking at the vari- 
 ous objects of interest. On entering the library, 
 we found that the messenger had returned from 
 Seward's cellar, with some of the Secretary's best 
 Auburn brand. The cork was drawn, and we 
 sampled the fluid. We next visited the ladies' 
 parlor, and were presented to " Mary," who came 
 forward, and shook me cordially by the hand, and 
 desired to know " how I flourished ; " said " she 
 never should forgive me for not attending her 
 ball." She was greatly shocked to hear that there 
 had been a failure to connect, about getting the 
 sard of invitation. 
 
 We were soon summoned to the council ; the 
 Commodore had arrived, bringing seventeen of 
 General McClellan's staff, who had been delegated 
 by him to transmit to the President his copy of 
 the Democrat, which he had received at Fortress 
 Monroe. On opening it, the same ominous ink- 
 marks were drawn around the passages intended 
 to be brought to the especial notice of the Gen- 
 eral. The "'Staff-officers then withdrew, and the 
 President proposed to proceed to business. At 
 this juncture Mr. Welles looked up from the paper 
 he had been so busily perusing, and inquired of 
 the President : " If he had ever heard anything 
 about the fight the Democrat spoke of, between 
 the Monitor and the Merrimac, and the danger 
 there Avas of the latter getting out and coming up 
 the Potomac and bombarding Washington ? " 
 Mr. Lincoln said : " It was a fact." The Secretarv 
 
 seemed greatly surprised, and said : " He must 
 write to his brother-in-law in Ncav York, to send 
 round a vessel to Hampton Roads, to v/atch the 
 Merrimac, and also to send him the Weekly Post, 
 so that he could get the news." He chose the 
 Post, because he had been in the habit, aforetime, 
 of contributing essays for its columns. He also 
 remarked that there was " much valuable and 
 deeply interesting news in the Democrat,'" which 
 was then only some four weeks old. 
 
 Mr. Stanton here proposed that the contraband 
 article should be read, as he had been so busy of 
 late, he had not read the copy sent him by his 
 patriotic correspondents at Jamestown. So Mr. 
 Seward read the article through carefully. When 
 it M'as completed, Mr. Stanton brought his fist 
 down on the table with the energy and vigor for 
 which he is celebrated, and says he : " Them's my 
 
 sentiments, by ." The Secretary, contrary 
 
 to the opinion of many who know him only by 
 his short, pungent, pious, pithy, patriotic, and pe- 
 culiar proclamations, profanes pretty profusely 
 Avhen excited. During the reading he had been 
 fumbhng his vest-pocket. Says he : " What's 
 the price of that paper per annum ? " I informed 
 him that it was furnished to advance paying sub- 
 scribers at one dollar. He handed me a gold dol- 
 lar, and says he : " Send it along." Mr. Welles, 
 who was just then absorbed in reading the account 
 of the "embarkation" of the army from Alexan- 
 dria, looked up and said : " He had thought of sub- 
 scribing himself, but as Mr. Stanton had done so, 
 he would have George send him the Post, and 
 they could exchange." 
 
 The President now called for an opinion from 
 the other members of the Cabinet, Mr. Stanton 
 having voted, as I have before remarked. Mr. 
 Seward, who Avas in a happy frame of mind, said 
 that : " Perhaps it Avas impolitic to have AA'ritten 
 just such an article, as he Avas ahvays opposed to 
 the expression of any decided opinions, but he 
 thought the editor of the Democrat kncAv good 
 liquor Avhen he smelt it, and in vieAV of the fact 
 that he hailed from Old Chatauque, Avhose inhab- 
 itants he remembered AA'ith pride, having once 
 been a resident there, he voted that the article 
 Avas not contraband, but that the Avriter must not 
 do so again." 
 
 Mr. Welles said : " He did not knoAV enough 
 about the subject under consideration to give an 
 opinion. He had been much interested in the 
 perusal of the article, and had found some useful 
 hints in it in regard to the danger to be appre- 
 hended from the Merrimac, Avhich he thought he 
 should act upon by next year — on the Avhole, 
 he thought the good balanced the evil, and he 
 Avas for calling it square." 
 
 It Avas the President's turn, noAv, to decide the 
 matter. He ahvays gets the opinion of his " con- 
 stitutional advisers " all round, and then does 
 as he has a mind to. Abe turned to me Avith a 
 merry tAvinkle in his eye, and his lovely and ex- 
 pressive countenance seemed more seraphic than 
 ever, and says he to me, says he : " Your letter 
 on McClellan reminds me of a story that I heard 
 in the days of John Tyler's Administration. There 
 
34 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 was an editor in Rhode Island, noted for his love 
 of fun — it came to him irresistibly — and he 
 couldn't help saying just what came into his mind. 
 He was appointed Postmaster by Tyler. Some 
 time after Tyler vetoed the Bank Bill, and came 
 into disrepute with the Whigs, a conundrum Ment 
 the rounds of the papers. It was as follows : 
 ' Why is John Tyler like an ass ? ' This editor 
 copied the conundrum, and could not resist the 
 temptation to answer it, which he did as follows : 
 ' Because he is an ass.' This piece of fun cost 
 him his head, but it was a fact. 
 
 " On the whole," said Abe, " here's a dollar ; 
 send me your valuable paper for a year, and be 
 careful in future how you disclose Government 
 secrets that have been published in the Norfolk 
 J )at/ Book only two weeks." 
 
 I promised to be more discreet hereafter, pledg- 
 ing myself not to interfere further with General 
 Thomas •' or any other man " in his exclusive 
 right to give the rebels the earliest information 
 possible ; also pledging myself to the best of my 
 ability to aid the Government in its patriotic ef- 
 forts to promote " loyal ignorance " among the 
 masses of the Northern people. 
 
 "CALL ALL! CALL ALL!" 
 
 BY " GEORGIA." 
 
 Whoop ! the Doodles have broken loose, 
 Roaring round like the very deuce ! 
 Lice of Egypt, a hungry pack ; 
 After 'em, boys, and drive 'em back. 
 
 Bull-dog, terrier, cur and fice, 
 Back to the beggarly land of ice, 
 Worry 'em, bite 'em, scratch and tear 
 Everybody and everywhere. 
 
 Old Kentucky is caved from under, 
 Tennessee is split asunder, 
 Alabama awaits attack, 
 And Georgia bristles up her back. 
 
 Old John Brown is dead and gone ! 
 Still his spirit is marching on, 
 Lantern-jawed, and legs, my boys, 
 Long as an ape's from Illinois ! 
 
 Want a weapon ? Gather a brick ! 
 Club or cudgel, or stone or stick. 
 Anything with a blade or butt ! 
 Anything that can cleave or cut ! 
 
 Anything heavy, or hard, or keen ! 
 Any sort of slaying-machine ! 
 Anything with a willing mind, 
 And the steady arm of a man, behind. 
 
 Want a weapon ? Why, capture one ! 
 Every Doodle has got a gun, 
 Belt and bayonet, bright and new : 
 Kill a Doodle and capture two ! 
 
 Shoulder to shoulder, son and sire ! 
 All, call all ! to the feast of fire ! 
 Mother and maiden, and child and slave 
 A common triumph or a single grave. 
 
 " Ethan Spike " writes, that Hornby has 
 " seceded," and that he consequently resigns his 
 seat in the Maine Legislature. The following 
 resolutions were passed at a public meeting of 
 the new " sovereignty " : 
 
 Resolved, That we are opposed to koertion, 
 except when exercised by ourselves. 
 
 liesolved, That the okepation of the Baldwin 
 lightus, by a State keeper, is a irritatin' circum- 
 stance, an' onless he is withdrawn, aour army be 
 instructed to take possession of the same in the 
 name of the taoun. 
 
 Resolved, That ef aour reasonable demands is 
 not complied to, that we will take possession of, 
 and hold for aour oivn use, the State's prison, 
 and the insane assylum. 
 
 Resolved, That the haybius korpus act, taxes, 
 an' the Main law be an' is suspended. Also an 
 ordnance relating to weights and measures as 
 used in the likker trade. Be it enacted, That 
 henceforth and for ever, in this ere realm, every 
 quart pot shall hold a gallon. 
 
 Ordered, that the forgoin' articles shall be the 
 constitution of this suvrinty. 
 
 To THE Officers of the Navy. — Lieut. 
 Craven, commanding the United States steamer 
 Mohawk, which arrived at New York February 
 7, 1861, from Key West, published the follow- 
 ing letter, addressed to the officers of the navy : 
 
 Basely unprincipled incendiaries have scattered 
 throughout our land doctrines of a revolutionary • 
 character — doctrines calculated to inflame the 
 minds of the excitable and thoughtless multitude 
 — calculated to mislead the weak and wavering, 
 and to lead on and incite to frenzy the needy ad- 
 venturers — those wolves of the human race who 
 rejoice in that anarchy and disorder which loosen 
 the restraints of laAv, and afford them occasion 
 for indulgence in license and rapine. 
 
 Sad indeed in the history of the world will be 
 the day which witnesses the dismemberment of 
 this Confederation — disastrous to the march of 
 human freedom and civilization, the event which 
 blots from the page of history our great and glo- 
 rious nation of self-ruled men. 
 
 The oppressed of the earth, with hopeful hearts, 
 have long regarded us as the exponents of " lib- 
 erty, fraternity, equality." God avert from us 
 the abasing acknowledgment that man is not 
 capable of self-government. What a humiliating 
 reflection, that man, in his passions, can be ruled 
 only by the bayonet, by force — despotic force ; 
 his reasoning faculties gone, he sinks to the level 
 of the brute ; with no principle to guide him, he 
 yields only to force. 
 
 Officers of the navy, be, as ever, loyal, brave, 
 and true ; our beloved country is convulsed with 
 distracting troubles ; our country is in danger ; 
 the great temple of liberty, founded by our ftithers, 
 and dedicated to the use' of the human race, now 
 reels and totters to its base ; destruction threatens 
 it ; the machinations of designing men have 
 brought it to the verge of ruin. . 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 35 
 
 Officers of the navy, our country is in peril, 
 and it behooves us, my friends, to consider well 
 and earnestly what are our duties to the nation 
 which has given us honored places among her 
 sons ; has enrolled us among her defenders ; has 
 " reposed special trust and confidence in our valor, 
 patriotism, and fidelity." 
 
 There is no one among us, my friends, however 
 humble his station, who has not, with laudable 
 pride, enjoyed the honor of being a servant of his 
 country ; one of her defenders on the seas ; one 
 of the fostered sons of the favored arm of national 
 defence. There can be no feeling more ennobling 
 than that of him who bears arms in his country's 
 defence ; let us be slow to throw aside that ar- 
 mor ; slow to abjure all allegiance, and never 
 betray the trust reposed in us. 
 
 We have in a marked manner been the honored 
 and cherished sons of our country ; our country- 
 ■ men have with exalted estimate valued the ex- 
 ploits of our heroic men, whose deeds have shed 
 such lustre on our flag, and carried it in triumph 
 and honor to all parts of the wqrld ; recollect, my 
 friends, that each one of us is a sharer in all the 
 glories won by naval valor ; our great men have 
 passed away, but they have left the honor of the 
 navy, the honor of the flag, in our keeping. 
 Some among us have had the fortune to do battle 
 against our country's foes ; all of us have had 
 each our individual role in the great machinery 
 by which the whole is moved ; the fame of our 
 flag belongs to us, and our duty is to rally to its 
 support. 
 
 We must not forget that our initiation into 
 the service of our coimtry was by taking a solemn 
 oath " to support the Constitution of the United 
 States." That vow, my friends, is recorded on 
 high ; that vow was heard by Him who has said, 
 "Render unto Caesar the things which are 
 Cajsar's." We must beware how we lightly treat 
 so solemn an oath; it cannot be thrown off; we 
 cannot ignore the claims of our country ; we may, 
 it is true, cease to serve, but we cannot, dare not, 
 ofiend the Most High by turning our arms against 
 those laws which we have sworn to sustain ; nor 
 can we be too guarded, lest by any act of ours a 
 single stain is brought upon our bright escut- 
 (.•heon. 
 
 Let us not be deceived by the vain and idle 
 sophistries of those deluded men who would tell 
 us that the United States are only bound together 
 by a weak alliance, to be shaken ofi" at pleasure 
 by any one, without even so much notice of the 
 abrogation as common decency has established 
 ^ . as customary among the civilized nations of the 
 earth. Let us discard from our minds the illu- 
 sions of those who would in fact persuade us that 
 we never had any nationality. If their arguments 
 are correctly based, we have never indeed been 
 one nation. We are mere pretenders, who have, 
 without shadow of right, adopted a national style 
 and law by which to impose upon mankind. 
 
 Let us not listen to the reasoning of those who 
 would seduce us from our allegiance by special 
 pleading and abstract questions of State sover- 
 eignty. " Remember your oath " — " Remem- 
 
 ber ! " What have we to do with States? What 
 indeed have you to do with States, those of you 
 who, by virtue of your national office, are dis- 
 franchised by the laws of the States in which you 
 reside ? 
 
 The Union is our country ; the Union is our 
 State; the Constitution is our law. A great trust 
 devolves on us. Let not the poisonous bane of 
 revolution have any spread among our ranks. 
 Let us show ourselves ever worthy of the confi- 
 dence of our countrymen. ^Ve are not partisans. 
 We must not listen to treason in any shape or 
 form. We cannot abjure our duties without 
 being guilty of treason ; and by no train of rea- 
 soning can acts against the Government be styled 
 by any other name than treason. 
 
 The fame of our proudly-waving flag belongs 
 to us, and Avhatever be the fate of that honored 
 emblem of our country, — that honored badge of 
 our power, — whatever be its fate, my friends, let 
 us beware that it suffer no stain through the navy. 
 T. AuGS. Craven, 
 
 Lieutenant commanding U. S. steamer " Mohawk." 
 
 A Baking Exploit. — During the month of 
 December, 1861, a squad of some half dozen left 
 Col. Shackleford's regiment, at Calhaun, Ky., on 
 Green River, to bring back three soldiers who 
 had gone to Todd County. While on their route, 
 after night, they came upon some rebel cavalry, 
 and our men seeing that resistance would be use- 
 less, took to the woods. One of them, named 
 Wilkins, was separated from his companions, and 
 in winding about through the woods, came sev- 
 eral times in close proximity to rebel squads, but 
 succeeded in eluding them. He at last overtook 
 three of them, and seeing that his chances were 
 desperate, he determined to join them, and pass 
 himself off" as one of their number. By keeping 
 a little in the rear, he watched a favorable oppor- 
 tunity, when he drew his revolver, and firing 
 rapidly, killed one, badly wounded another, and 
 caused the third to take to flight. Wilkins suc- 
 ceeded in making his escape, and returned to 
 camp at Calhoun, where a gentleman arrived the 
 next day from Elkton, and stated that the rebel 
 cavalry reported that the country was overrun 
 with Federal troops, and that they had been 
 forced to retreat before a superior force. The 
 camp at Calhoun contained plenty of such pluck 
 in the regiments under Cols. Shackleford, Jack- 
 son, Hawkins, and Burbridge. 
 
 An incident that carries its own comment is 
 related by a visitor on his way to one of the 
 patriot camps in the Old Dominion. Seated by 
 the roadside was a soldier, his musket in one 
 hand, and a volume in the other, which he was 
 reading witli deep interest. He was clad roughly 
 but comfortably, and bore the evidences of hav- 
 ing seen hard service. As the party approached, 
 he rose to his feet, advanced into the road, and 
 exclaimed, " Halt ! Let me see your pass." After 
 
36 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 carefully inspecting the strangers and their pass, 
 he quietly told them to move on, and resumed 
 his seat and his book. One of the party glanced 
 at the volume, and found that it was a beautiful 
 copy of Tennyson's Poems. 
 
 A Heroinf in Baltimore. — The band of the 
 Sixth Regiment that left Boston in April, 1861, 
 consisted of twenty-four persons, who, together 
 with their musical instruments, occupied a car by 
 themselves from Philadelphia to Baltimore. By 
 some accident, the musicians' car got switched 
 off at the Canton Depot, so that, instead of being 
 the first, it was left in the rear of all the others, 
 and after the attack had been made by the mob 
 upon the soldiers, they came upon the car in 
 which the band was still sitting, wholly unarmed, 
 and incapable of making any defence. The in- 
 furiated demons approached them howling and 
 yelling, and poured in upon them a shower of 
 stones, broken iron, and other missiles, wounding 
 some severely, and demoHshing their instru- 
 ments. Some of the miscreants jumped upon 
 the roof of the car, and Mith a bar of iron beat a 
 hole through it, while others were calling for 
 powder to blow them all up in a heap. Finding 
 that it would be sure destruction to remain longer 
 in the car, the poor fellows jumped out to meet 
 their fiendish assailants hand to hand. They 
 were saluted with a shower of stones, but took 
 to their heels, fighting their way through the 
 crowd, and running at random, M'ithout knowing 
 in what direction to go for assistance or shelter. 
 As they were hurrying along, a rough-looking 
 man suddenly jumped in front of their leader, 
 and exclaimed, " This way, boys ! tliis way ! " It 
 was the first friendly voice they had heard since 
 entering Baltimore, and they stopped to ask no 
 questions, but followed their guide, who took 
 them up a narrow court, where they found an 
 open door, into which they rushed, being met 
 inside by a powerful-looking woman, who grasped 
 each one by the hand, and directed them up- 
 stairs. The last of their band was knocked 
 senseless just as he was entering the door, by a 
 stone, which struck him on the head ; but the 
 woman who had Avelcomed them immediately 
 caught up their fallen comrade, and carried him 
 in her arms up the stairs. 
 
 " You are perfectly safe here, boys," said the 
 Amazon, who directly proceeded to wash and 
 bind up their wounds. 
 
 After having done this, she procured them 
 food, and then told them to strip oft' their uni- 
 forms, and ])ut on the clothes she had brought 
 them, a motley assortment of baize jackets, rag- 
 ged coats, and old trousers. Thus equipped, they 
 were enabled to go out in search of their com- 
 panions, without danger of attack from the Plug 
 Uglies and Blood Tubs, who had given them so 
 rough a reception. 
 
 They tl;ien learned the particulars of the attack 
 upon the soldiers, and of their escape, and saw 
 lying at the station the two men Avho had been 
 
 killed, and the others who had been wounded. 
 One of their own band Avas missing, and he has 
 not jet been found, and it is uncertain whether 
 he was killed or not. On going back to the 
 house where they were so humanely treated, they 
 found that their clothes had been carefully tied 
 up, and with their battered instruments, had 
 been sent to the de])ot of the Philadelphia Rail- 
 road, where they were advised to go themselves. 
 They did not long hesitate, but started in the 
 next train, and arrived at Philadelphia just in 
 time to meet the Eighth Regiment of jNIassachu- 
 setts Volunteers, under the command of Gen. 
 Butler, who told them to hurry back to the Old 
 Bay State to show their battered faces and 
 broken limbs, and that they should yet come 
 back, and play Hail Columbia in the streets of 
 Baltimore, where they had been so inhumanly 
 assaulted. 
 
 The noble-hearted woman who rescued these 
 men is a well-known character in Baltimore, and 
 according to all the usages of Christian society, 
 is an outcast and a polluted being ; but she is a 
 true heroine, nevertheless, and entitled to the 
 grateful consideration of the country. When 
 Gov. Hicks had put himself at the head of the 
 rabble rout of miscreants, and Winter Davis had 
 fled in dismay, and the men of wealth and official 
 dignity had hid themselves in their terror, and 
 the police were powerless to protect the handful 
 of unarmed strangers who were struggling with 
 the infuriated mob, this degraded woman took 
 them under her protection, dressed their wounds, 
 fed them at her own cost, and sent them back in 
 safety to their homes. As she is too notorious 
 in Baltimore not to be perfectly well known by 
 what we have already told of her, it will not be 
 exposing her to any persecution to mention her 
 name. Ann Manley is the name by which she 
 is known in the city of Blood Tubs, and the 
 loyal men of the North, when they march again 
 through its streets, should remember her for her 
 humamty to their countrymen. 
 
 THE MODERN GILPIN. 
 
 A EALLAD OF BULL EUX. 
 
 Will Russell was a writer rare. 
 
 Of genius and renown, 
 A war-trained correspondent he 
 
 From famous London town. 
 
 On Indian and Crimean coasts 
 He wrote of guns and drr;ms, 
 
 And now as through our land he posts, 
 To Washington he comes. 
 
 Will Russell said to chosen friend, 
 "Though four months I have been 
 
 In search of some great Yankee fight, 
 No skrimmage have I seen. 
 
 To-morrow's sun will see a fight 
 On Bull Rim's banks, they say; 
 
 So there, my friend, we'll early go, 
 All in a ttco-'oss shay. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 37 
 
 I'll also take a saddle-horso 
 
 To bear the battle's brunt, 
 Whereon m my Crimean style, 
 
 I'll see the fight in front. 
 
 And I will don the coolest of 
 
 My Himalayan suits — 
 My belt, felt hat, revolver, and 
 
 My old East Lidian boots. 
 
 Fresh stores of pens I'll surely need, 
 
 And foolscap, too, I think ; 
 And in one holster snugly thrust 
 
 A pint of Dovell's ink. 
 
 While in the bottom of the gig 
 
 We'll stow the choice Bordeaux, 
 And eke this bottle of cold tea — 
 
 To cool us off, you know ! 
 
 And for that, in this heathen land, 
 
 The grub is all a sham, 
 I've here wrapped up some sausage, too, 
 
 And sandwiches of 'am. 
 
 Experience on Crimean shores 
 
 Has taiight me how to forage, 
 And how these creature comforts tend 
 
 To keep up martial courage." 
 
 Smack ! went his lips at thought thereof, 
 
 Off rolled the Yankee gig, 
 Before the shouts and rolling whites 
 
 Of starers, small and big ! 
 
 Like clouds of dust his spirits rise. 
 
 While merry cracks the whip ; 
 The led-horse pranced and "bobbed around" 
 
 Like porpoise round a ship. 
 
 The Long Bridge planks jumped up and down 
 
 In sympathetic jig — 
 They little thought he would return 
 
 Minus the " creaking gig." 
 
 That rotten Rubicon is passed. 
 
 And likewise frowning <' Runyon" — 
 
 Its outline marked with many a black 
 Columbiad on its trunnion. 
 
 Past fields where just the day before 
 The harvest-scythe was sweeping, 
 
 They rushed where soon its human sheaves 
 Death's sickle would be reaping ! 
 
 As rise the distant cannon's tones, 
 
 So mounts his martial ardor. 
 His thoughts half on the work " in front " — 
 
 Half on his meagre larder. 
 
 At length he's there at Centreville ! 
 
 In sight and sound of what 
 He came so far to see and sketch. 
 
 Where rained the shell and shot ! 
 
 But ere he ventures, careful soul ! 
 
 To reach that scene of death, 
 He seeks a cool and shady place 
 
 " To give his horses breath." 
 
 Then forth lie draws the precious stores, — 
 
 Cold tea, Bordeaux, and 'am, — 
 'Mid cannon-shots and bottle-pops, 
 
 Enjoys his lunch and dram. 
 
 The dubious issue of the fight 
 
 Contents him with his seat, 
 Until a courier from the field 
 
 Reports the foe's retreat ! 
 
 Up sprang Will Russell from the charms 
 
 Of tea and 'am so vile — 
 His toilet for "the front" prepares 
 
 In his Crimean sty?e. 
 
 " My 'oss ! my 'oss ! quick, bring it me ! 
 
 What would the Thunderer say, 
 If they should end this Bull Run fight, 
 
 AVhile I lunch in my shay?" 
 
 His " Indian " sack hangs down and hides 
 
 Each short and sturdy limb ; 
 His hat o'erhangs his jolly form 
 
 With amplitude of brim. 
 
 Beneath its shade, his round, red face 
 Flames like St. George's banner ; 
 
 AVhile from its rim, in haveloch style, 
 A buff' and red bandanna ! 
 
 In guise like this, he grandly mounts 
 
 And starts in warlike trot, 
 That did not turn to gallop as 
 
 He neared the deadly spot. 
 
 But lo ! a motley frightened crowd 
 
 Before him doth appear, 
 Of such as ever follow camps, 
 
 All hurrying to the rear. 
 
 And pushing through this heaving mass 
 
 Of human breakers, soon 
 He found himself 'mid reeling ranks. 
 
 Battalion and platoon! 
 
 But 'mid that frightened crowd, he says 
 
 He only kept his wits, 
 And puffs, and scolds, and wonders, too, 
 
 What trouble " gave them fits ! " 
 
 " I do declare ! What means all this ? 
 
 What has your vict'ry nipped ? 
 Why run you so ? " — the sole reply 
 
 Was panted forth, " We're whipped !" 
 
 " Dear me ! I fain would get in front ! 
 
 How would the people stare, 
 If Fame should ask my whereabouts. 
 
 And echo say, ' the rear ! ' 
 
 " You cravens, stand ! why do you run? 
 
 Return to the assault ! " 
 Bang ! bang ! — a shell bursts o'er his head ■ 
 
 Will Russell calls a halt ! 
 
 " Aw ! that icas near ! no further need 
 
 For me to make researches — 
 I'll simply book what I have seen. 
 
 Behind yon grove of birches." 
 
 Bang! bang! "Aw! there's another shell ! 
 
 And one that is a screamer ; 
 And, let me think — I must leave now. 
 
 To write by Wednesday's steamer ! 
 
 And though my steed has come to-day 
 
 Full thirty miles and better, 
 Needs must he now to take me back 
 
 To mail my battle-letter." 
 
38 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Ho turns his horse ! both are afloat 
 
 On the retreating wave ! 
 But as he struggles back, he scoffs 
 
 In words — not accents brave. 
 
 To clear the road and let him pass, 
 
 He hails each runaway ; 
 But their respect for rank, alas ! 
 
 Is broke and done away ! 
 
 Wagon and cart, and man and beast. 
 
 All in the turnpike jammed ; 
 Mess pork and hams, and shot and grain, • 
 
 No thoroughfare so dammed ! 
 
 The dainty stores that fed " the staff" 
 Mixed with the private's fare ! 
 
 Sad waste ! •' O, what, my countrymen, 
 A falling off was there ! " 
 
 The teamsters " cut and ran," and left ; 
 
 No traces you could find ; 
 While those afoot from horsemen feared 
 
 A dreadful " cut behind ! " 
 
 " The Cavalry ! " at that dread sound 
 Will's courage was bereft him ; 
 
 Although he tried, by valiant words, 
 To show it had not left him. 
 
 And eke before his mental eye 
 
 The dreadful vision rose. 
 Of that warm suit the Southern press 
 
 Had threatened him for clothes ! 
 
 " That threat ! when 'tis so 'orrid 'ot — 
 Beyond East Indian weather ! 
 
 How my too solid flesh would melt 
 In suit of tar and feather ! " 
 
 His anxious looks, yet valiant words, 
 Make many jeer and hoot him, 
 
 AVhile every random shot he fears 
 Is some attempt to shoot him. 
 
 While thus he trembles for his life, 
 
 By coward taunt and curse, 
 So, to his eye, each ambulance 
 
 Seems an untimely hearse ! 
 
 At each artillery " thud " he hears, 
 
 Up close his legs he tucks. 
 Then down upon his saddle bow 
 
 His anxious visage ducks ! 
 
 And eke behind his Indian sack 
 Swells in balloon-like manner, 
 
 While flaps and flies around his neck 
 The buff and red bandanna ! 
 
 Again he's back at Centreville, 
 In search of friend and gig ; 
 i'hey are not here ! nor 'am, nor tea — 
 They're just the things to prig. 
 
 O for a glass of wine, or slice 
 Of those fine wasted 'ams ! — 
 
 But though there's plenty on the road. 
 They're no longer Uncle Sam's ! 
 
 So now for Washington, my steed ! 
 
 It is no use to whine ; 
 You brought me here to see a fight, 
 
 Now take me back to dine ! " 
 
 A sudden squad of fugitives 
 
 Here through tlic village fled, 
 And Bill's great fancy for the front 
 
 Soon placed him at their head. 
 
 But as he leads the flying herd 
 
 Adown a hill's decline, 
 Behold, across tlie road drawn up 
 
 A regiment in line ! 
 
 " What brings you here ? " the Colonel shouts. 
 
 "Back ! back ! I say : I'll shoot 
 The coward that across my ranks 
 
 Would dare to place his foot ! " 
 
 The herd recoils, save Russell wild, 
 
 Who, fumbling in his vest : 
 "But, sir — you know! — I'm English ! Come! 
 
 You must not me arrest ! 
 
 I have a pass — aw ! here it is ! 
 
 'Tis signed by General Scott — 
 Don't keep me here ! " " Pass this man up ! " 
 
 Replied the Colonel, hot. 
 
 Nor time lost Will, as off he dashed, 
 
 In sudden bolt that snapped 
 A loop of sack and havelock both. 
 
 That now far rearward flapped ! 
 
 At Fairfax Court House next he stops. 
 
 To breathe his horse and sup ; 
 But here his rest by Boniface 
 
 Is quickly broken up. 
 
 Quoth he, " They fear Virginia's horse ? 
 
 AVcU may the)', stranger, when 
 These mountain riders number now 
 
 Full twenty thousand men ! " 
 
 " Good 'eavens ! no ? — but do they though? " 
 
 Our startled hero cries. 
 Then off again, though cruel need. 
 
 To Washington he flics ! 
 
 Night finds him bravely spurring on 
 Past wood, and grove, and thicket, 
 
 With brave words frequent cheering up 
 Each watchful, anxious picket. 
 
 " What news ? What ncAvs ? " they all do shout. 
 
 Says Russell in reply : 
 " It is no rout ! the army's safe ! 
 
 Keep up your heart — don't fly ! " 
 
 " Stop ! stop ! Bill Russell ! tell us why," 
 
 Loud after him they bawl, 
 " If all is safe, you run so fast, 
 
 Or why you run at all ? " 
 
 Yet on Jie flies ; up hill, down dale. 
 
 In very ghost-like manner ; 
 While ever rearward flaps and flies 
 
 The buff and red bandanna ! 
 
 The night wanes on, the moon is up, 
 
 And soon our correspondent, 
 Though near his goal, with ncAv-born fears 
 
 Grew suddenly despondent. 
 
 " The guards are set upon the bridge ; 
 
 Dear me, what fate is mine ! 
 They'll hail me soon, and I may die 
 
 And give no countersign ! " 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 39 
 
 His fears are vain — that yet'ran name 
 
 Is good, as you'll agree, 
 (As has been often said before,) 
 
 To pass him through, IScott free. 
 
 At last he's safe upon the bridge ! 
 
 He sees the lights oft town, 
 Mirrored in broad Potomac's tide, 
 
 Hang brightly dripping down ! 
 
 Then droops his head, then droops his steed, 
 
 In sympathetic manner ; 
 Then droops his sack, then droops also 
 
 The buff and red bandanna ! 
 
 Can this be he that o'er these planks 
 
 At morning dashed so trig r 
 Revisiting beneath the moon 
 
 In such a dismal rig ! 
 
 The bridge is passed ! and he again 
 
 Resumes his martial port, 
 And swells, and puffs, and comforts all 
 
 With words of valiant sort. 
 
 But sudden from the rising clouds 
 
 A vivid lightning flash ! 
 ♦' The foe ! " he cries, and fearful lists 
 
 To hear the cannon's crash ! 
 
 He's off again ! up Fourteenth Street ! 
 
 Once more, like ghostly banner, 
 Behind him dimly flaps and flies 
 
 The buff and red bandanna ! 
 
 His rooms are reached, he bolts his door, 
 
 When lo ! before his eyes, 
 A midnight supper ready spread, 
 
 To which he instant flies. 
 
 No time, by dofiing hat or dress, 
 
 To balk his famished jaws ! 
 But, Cassius-like, he " plunges in, 
 
 Accoutred as he was ! " 
 
 Sausage, and cheese, and 'am again, 
 With draughts of wine between ; 
 
 Down that vast throat of British gauge, 
 In quick procession seen ! 
 
 What grunts of bliss beneath that hat 
 O'er this unlooked-for manna ! 
 
 While as he munched still rose and fell 
 The buff and red bandanna ! 
 
 At last he's full ! but quickly now 
 
 His brain is all astir ; 
 To forge fit bolts of caustic for 
 
 His chief, the Thunderer ! 
 
 His pen is drawn, and o'er his sheet 
 
 Fast its vocation plies. 
 In telling what he thought he saw — 
 
 Wherein his genius lies ! 
 
 But soon the inspiration's o'er ! 
 
 With wine and sausage pressed, 
 His eyelids close, his burly head 
 
 Down drops upon his breast. 
 
 Hark to the thunders of his snore ! 
 
 In deep, bassoon-like manner ! 
 While with each swell still rose and fell 
 
 The buff and red bandanna ! 
 
 Rest, Russell, rest ! thy race is o'er ; 
 
 And well you won it, too ; 
 For no such time was ever made 
 
 Since days of Waterloo ! 
 
 Now let us sing, in jolly ring, 
 Great Russell's martial spree — 
 
 When next he goes to see a fight, 
 ilay he get there to see ! 
 
 Ye poets ! who may sing some day, 
 In strains, rich, racy, full, 
 
 The race from Bull Run, don't forget 
 The run of Mr. Bull. 
 
 Incidents of Bull Run. — At the battle, 
 when the order came from the headquarters for 
 the retreat, word was passed down the line to the 
 NeAV York Zouaves. " Do not ! " exclaimed a 
 score of the " pet lambs " in a breath. " Do 
 not ! " " AVe are ordered to retreat," said the 
 commander. " Wot'u thunder's that ? " respond- 
 ed one of the hard-heads, who evidently did not 
 comprehend the word exactly. "Go back — re- 
 tire," continued the commander. " Go back — 
 where'}" "Leave the field." ''Leave'} AVhy, 
 that ain't what we come for. We're here to fight," 
 insisted the boys. "We came here with 1,040 
 men," said the commander, " There are now 600 
 left. Fall back, boys ! " and the " lambs " sulkily 
 retired, evidently displeased with the order. 
 
 Two of the New Hampshire Second were leav- 
 ing the field, through the woods, when they were 
 suddenly confronted by five rebels, who ordered 
 them to "7<rtZi.' or we fire." The Gi'anite boys 
 saw their dilemma, but the foremost of them pre- 
 sented his musket, and answered, " Halt you, or 
 loe fire ! " and, at the word, both discharged their 
 pieces. The rebel fell, his assailant was unharmed. 
 Seizing his companion's musket, he brought it to 
 his shoulder, and said to the other, " Fii'e ! " 
 Both fired their guns at once, and two more 
 rebels fell. The others fled. The leader's name 
 was Hanford, from Dover, N. H. 
 
 As the Maine troops were leaving the field of bat- 
 tle, a soldier stepped up to one of the officers of the 
 Fifth regiment, and requested him to lend him a 
 knife. The officer took out a common pocket- 
 knife, and handed it to the soldier, who sat down 
 at the side of the road, pulled up the leg of his 
 trousers, and deliberately dug a musket-baU out 
 of his leg, jumped up, and resumed his march. 
 
 When the news of the repulse reached the 
 camp meeting at Desplaines, 111., Rev. Henry 
 Cox, who M-as preaching at the time the intelli- 
 gence was received, remarked, on closing his ser- 
 mon, " Brethren, we had better adjourn this 
 camp meeting, and go home and drill." 
 
 Adventure of a Spy. — I have lately re- 
 turned from the South ; but my exact where- 
 abouts in that region, for obvious reasons, it 
 would not be politic to state. Suspected of being 
 a Northerner, it was often my advantage to court 
 
40 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 obscurity. Known as a spy, a " short shrift " and 
 a I'eady rope would have i)rcvented the blotting 
 of this paper. Hanging, disguised, on the out- 
 skirts of a camp, mixing with its idlers, laughing 
 at their jokes, examining their arms, counting 
 their numbers, endeavoring to discover the plans 
 of their leaders, listening to this party and pur- 
 suing that, joining in the chorus of a rebel song, 
 betting on rebel success, cursing Abolitionism, 
 reviling Lincoln, traducing Scott, extolling Gen. 
 Beauregard, despising Northern fighters, laugh- 
 ing at their tactics and sneering at their Meapons, 
 praising the beauty of Southern belles and de- 
 crying that of Northern, calling New York a den 
 of cutthroats, and New Orleans a paradise of im- 
 maculate chivalry, is but a small portion of the 
 practice of my profession as a spy. This may not 
 seem honorable nor desirable. As to the honor, 
 let the country that benefits by the investigations 
 and warnings of the spy be judge ; and the dan- 
 ger, often incurred, is more serious and personal 
 than that of the battle-field, which may, perhaps, 
 detract from its desirability. 
 
 It was a dark night. Not a star on the glim- 
 mer. I had collected my quotum of intelligence, 
 and was on the move for the Northern lines. I 
 was approaching the banks of a stream whose 
 waters I had to cross, and had then some miles 
 to traverse before I could reach the pickets of our 
 gallant troops. A feeling of uneasiness began to 
 creep over me ; I was on the outskirt of a wood 
 fringing the dark waters at my feet, whose pres- 
 ence could scarcely be detected but for their sul- 
 sen murmurs as they rushed through the gloom. 
 The wind sighed in gentle accordance. I walked 
 forty or fifty yards along the bank. I then crept 
 on all-fours along the ground, and groped with 
 my hands. I paused — I groped again — my 
 breath thickened, perspiration oozed from me at 
 every pore, and I was prostrated with horror ! I 
 had missed my landmark, and knew not where I 
 was. Belov/ or above, beneath the shelter of the 
 hank, lay the skifl' I had hidden ten days before, 
 when I commenced my operations among the fol- 
 lowers of Jeff. J3avis. 
 
 As I stood gasping for breatli, with all the un- 
 mistakable proofs of my calling about me, the sud- 
 den cry of a bird or plui>ging of a fish would act 
 like magnetism on my frame, not wont to shud- 
 der at a shadow. No matter how pressing the 
 danger may be, if a man sees an opportunity for 
 escape, he breathes with freedom. But let him 
 be surrounded by darkness, impenetrable at two 
 yards' distance, within rilie's length of concealed 
 foes, for what knowledge he has to the contrary ; 
 knowing, too, with painful accuracy, the detec- 
 tion of his presence would reward him with a 
 sudden and violent death, and if he breathes no 
 faster, and feels his limbs as free and his spirits 
 as light as when taking a favorite promenade, he 
 is more fitted for a hero than I am. 
 
 In the agony of that moment — in the sudden 
 and utter helplessness I felt to discover my true 
 bearings — I was about to let myself gently into 
 the stream, and breast its current, for life or 
 death. There was no alternative. The Northern 
 
 pickets must be reached in safety before the 
 morning broke, or I should soon swing between 
 heaven and earth, from some green limb of the 
 !)lack forest in which I stood. 
 
 At that moment the low, sullen bay of a blood- 
 hound struck my ear. %The sound was reviving 
 — the fearful stillness broken. The uncertain 
 dread flew before the certain danger. I was 
 standing to my middle in the shallow bed of the 
 river, just beneath the jutting banks. After a 
 pause of a few seconds I began to creep mechani- 
 cally and stealthily down the stream, followed, as 
 I knew from the rustling of the grass and fre- 
 quent breaking of twigs, by the insatiable brute ; 
 although, by certain uneasy growls, I felt assured 
 he was at fault. Something struck against my 
 breast. I could not prevent a slight cry from 
 escaping me, as, stretching out my hand, I grasp- 
 ed the gunwale of a boat moored beneath the 
 bank. Between surprise and joy I felt half 
 choked. In an instant I had scrambled, on board, 
 and began to search for the painter in the bow, 
 in order to cast her from her fastenings. 
 
 Suddenly a bright ray of moonlight — the first 
 gleam of hope in that black night — fell directly 
 on the spot, revealing the silvery stream, my own 
 skifl", (hidden there ten days before,) lighting the 
 deep shadows of the verging wood, and, on the 
 log half buried in the bank, and from which I had 
 that instant cast the line that had bound me to 
 it, the supple form of the crouching bloodhound, 
 his red eyes gleaming in the moonlight, jaws dis- 
 tended, and poising for the spring. With one 
 dart the light skiflf was yards out in the stream, 
 and the savage after it. With an oar I aimed a 
 blow at his head, which, however, he eluded with 
 ease. In the effort thus made the boat careened 
 over towards my antagonist, who made a desper- 
 ate eff"ort to get his forej^aws over the side, at 
 the same time seizing the gunwale with his teeth. 
 
 Now or never was my time to get rid of the 
 accursed brute. I drew my revolver, and placed 
 the muzzle between his eyes, but hesitated to fire, 
 for that one report might bring on me a volley 
 from the shore. Meantime t^e strength of the 
 dog careened the frail craft so much that the 
 water rushed over the side, threatening to swamp 
 her. I changed my tactics, threw my revolver 
 into the bottom of the skift", and grasping my 
 •' bowie," keen as a Malay creese, and glittering, 
 as I released it from the sheath, like a moonbeam 
 on the stream. In an instant I had severed the 
 sinewy throat of the hound, cutting through 
 brawn and muscle to the nape of the neck. The 
 tenacious wretch gave a wild, convulsive leap 
 half out of the water, then sank, and was gone. 
 
 Five minutes' ])ulling landed me on the other 
 side of the river, and in an hour after, without 
 further accident, I was among friends, encom- 
 passed by the Northern lines. That night I re- 
 lated at headquarters the intelligence I had 
 gathered. 
 
 A FlDDLEK. — When Wright's Georgia regi- 
 ment was drawn up in line of battle, to go into 
 its first fight in North Carolina, Wright, (after- 
 
 \ 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 41 
 
 wards a Major-General,) in passing in front of his 
 regiment, observed a tall, gaunt fellow, with a 
 violin case strapped to his back. Wright asked 
 him " what he was going to do with his fiddle ? " 
 The rude soldier had never heard of Mirabeau's 
 dying exclamation, but he almost quoted it when 
 he said, he wanted to " die to the sound of Betsy," 
 this being the term of endearment which he ap- 
 plied to his vioHn. 
 
 After the fight was over, the fiddling soldier did 
 not answer at roll-call. He was found, with a 
 broken leg, at the root of a tree, to which he had 
 crawled, quietly sawing the strings of " Betsy." 
 
 THE STORY OF BALL'S BLUFF. 
 
 BY AN OFFICER WHO TOOK PART IN IT. 
 
 The history of the battle of Ball's Bluff has 
 never been published. No event of the war since 
 the assault upon Fort Sumter created a like sensa- 
 tion ; and the cause of the disaster, the name of the 
 persons culpable, or the plans and purposes of the 
 officers who ordered the movement, have not 
 officially or certainly been made known. The 
 report of General Stone, in command, was not 
 satisfactory to the country, and Congress called 
 upon the War Department for the facts. Major- 
 General McClellan, who, it was known, ordered 
 the movement, refused to furnish the facts. The 
 insulted Congress repeated its demand, and re- 
 ceived a second time the same answer. A joint 
 committee of both Houses of Congress was ap- 
 pointed to inquire into the " conduct of the pres- 
 ent war," especially, as was remarked in the debate, 
 " as regards the battle of Ball's Bluft'." That com- 
 mittee has as yet made no report.* General 
 Stone, by order of the President, was arrested 
 and imprisoned upon several charges involving 
 disloyalty, and " for misconduct at the battle of 
 Ball's Bluff." After a confinement of six months 
 he was discharged without trial, and the cherished 
 expectations of the public for the facts so long 
 withheld were again disappointed. 
 
 Ball's Blufl", so called from Mr. Ball, a farmer 
 living in the vicinity, is a bold embankment, of one 
 hundred feet elevation, on the Virginia shore of 
 the Potomac, three miles from Leesburg north- 
 westerly, and an equal distance from Edwards' 
 Ferry in a southern direction. Poolsville, Md., 
 lies opposite, five miles, and by the road running 
 easterly, Washington is distant thirty-four miles. 
 From the river's edge to the summit, the Bluft' is 
 covered with trees and bushes, which, joining with 
 the woods on either side, enclose above, in the 
 form of a half circle, an open natural clearing of 
 seven acres. In the middle of the Potomac, in 
 front of the Bluff, lies Harrison's Island, a fertile 
 strip of land two hundred yards wide and four 
 
 * This paper ^vas written in July, 1862. The report of 
 the War Committee, published in March, 1863, corrobo- 
 rates all its statements. The late restoration of Gen. 
 Stone to active duty is a vindication and acquittal of 
 misconduct charged upon him, and places the respon- 
 sibility upon another. 
 
 miles long. At a distance of half a mile north of 
 the Bluff is Smoot's Mill, situated upon a gentle 
 slope of the bank ; and near to it a road leads 
 from the river, by an easy ascent, to the Leesburg 
 turnpike, which, running southerly to Drainesville, 
 passes near to Edwards' Ferry. On the day of 
 the battle General McCall, with twenty-four thou- 
 sand men, was in that turnpike, nine miles from 
 Ball's Bluff, and General Gorman, with fourteen 
 hundred men was at Edwards' Ferry, on the 
 Virginia side. The whole distance from Ball's 
 Bluft" to the Maryland side of the Potomac, across 
 Harrison's Island, is not six hundred yards. 
 
 On Sunday night, Oct. 20, 1661, in obedience 
 to orders of General Stone, Colonel Devens, of the 
 Fifteenth Mass. Volunteers, proceeded, with three 
 hundred men, from camp at Poolsville to a point 
 opposite Ball's Bluff and Harrison's Island, and 
 in three small boats crossed to the Virginia shore, 
 arriving at the summit just before daylight. The 
 landing-place was soft and mucky, and the ascent 
 winding and difficult. At the same time four 
 companies of the First INIinnesota Volunteers 
 crossed the river at Edwards' Ferry. No enemy 
 was encountered at either place, and his pickets 
 had not been seen for tM'o days. Whatever 
 knowledge of the tojDography of our country our 
 forces possessed had been acquired by distant 
 observation from Maryland, and no guide accom- 
 panied them. 
 
 At daybreak Colonel Devens led his troops 
 over the open field, and through the woods to- 
 wards and within one mile of Leesburg, where, in 
 scattered small numbers, he descried rebels, and 
 after exchanging several volleys with them at 
 long range, fell back to the woods. Here being 
 attacked, he repulsed the enemy with small loss 
 on both sides, and then retii'cd to the Bluff, where 
 he was joined by the remainder of his regiment, 
 and by Colonel Lee with one hundred men of the 
 Twentieth Mass. Volunteers, making in all seven 
 hundred and twenty Federal troops across the 
 river. The day was fair. 
 
 At the same time, eight o'clock, A. M., Colonel 
 Baker arrived from his camp near Poolsville on 
 the Maryland side, opposite, where he found the 
 first battalion of the California regiment, six 
 hundred and eighty officers and men, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Wistar commanding. He was informed 
 of an order from General Stone, then at Edwards' 
 Ferry, that in the event of heavy firing in front, 
 the California battalion should cross and reinforce 
 Colonel Devens. Upon inquiring as to the means 
 of transportation, and learning tliat they consisted 
 of two frail scows, each capable of carrying twen- 
 ty-five men, and the»river deep and rapid. Col- 
 onel Baker rode in haste to Edwards' Ferry that 
 he might have better assurance of an order so 
 extraordinary. Meanwhile several dead and 
 wounded arrived from the Bluft", where firing was 
 growing more frequent, and three companies of 
 the California regiment crossed to Harrison's Isl- 
 and. Colonel Baker returned from Edwards' 
 Ferry at eleven o'clock, bearing a written oi'der 
 from General Stone to reinforce or retire Colonel 
 Devens, " in his discretion." The returned wounded 
 
42 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 reported the enemy in force, pressing Colonel 
 Devens. How could seven hundred men be 
 safely retired in two small boats under the fire 
 of a bloodthirsty and superior enemy? Shall 
 they be left to their fate, or will he reinforce them 
 and share their peril ? Colonel Baker was not 
 long in determining upon his course of duty. 
 
 A lai'ger scow, discovered in the canal running 
 parallel to the river, was with great labor dragged 
 across the tow-path and launched in the channel. 
 Placing Captain Hitman in charge of the trans- 
 portation of the troops, and directing that they 
 should cross as rapidly as possible, with his staff 
 comix)sed of Assistant Adjutant-General Harvey 
 and Captain Young, Brigade Quartermaster, 
 Colonel Baker embarked for the Island, where, 
 on the western side, he found three hundred men 
 awaiting their chance to go over to the Virginia 
 shore. Impressed with the grave responsibility 
 of his position. Colonel Baker was silently re- 
 marking the two small boats plying with their 
 heavy freight of reinforcements, when his atten- 
 tion was called to an officer of one of the Massa- 
 chusetts regiments standing on the Virginia shore, 
 who cried out, " We can see three regiments of the 
 enemy coming down from Leesburg." Colonel 
 Baker responded, "All right; be of good cheer — 
 there will be the more for us ta whip " — and im- 
 mediately crossed the river. On reaching the 
 summit, and assuming command, he found the 
 Massachusetts troops drawn up on the right of the 
 field in good order, quietly awaiting a nearer at- 
 tack of the enemy, who, though silent, with the ex- 
 ception of occasional shots, Avere known to be in 
 large force in the wootls in the front and on the 
 right. It was three o'clock before all of the Cal- 
 ifornia battalion had crossed and climbed the Bluff, 
 which, joined to two companies of the Tammany 
 regiment, made with the Massachusetts troops, om- 
 whole force seventeen hundred. An order was re- 
 ceived from General Stone advising Colonel Baker 
 that the enemy was four thousand strong, and that 
 he might count upon General Gorman coming to 
 his reinforcement from Edwards' Ferry, on the left. 
 He decided, therefore, not to advance, but await 
 the arrival of the promised aid, formed his line 
 of battle by placing Colonel Devens and his com- 
 mand on the right at the border of the woods, 
 resting upon and making a right angle with the 
 centre, composed of two companies of Twentieth 
 Mass. and two companies of the Tammany regi- 
 ment ; the California battalion forming the left and 
 touching the woods bounding the plateau to the 
 south. The ground, sloping from a point distant 
 thirty yards from the edge of the cliff, afforded a 
 fair cover for men Ij^ng upon their faces, from 
 the increasing fire of the enemy in the woods. 
 At three o'clock Colonel Coggswell of the Tam- 
 many regiment arrived upon the field, and being 
 received by Colonel Baker with much enthusiasm, 
 was placed in command of the artillery, consist- 
 ing of one six-pounder and two mountain howit- 
 zers, then in charge of Lieutenant Bramhall, of the 
 Ninth New York State Militia. The pieces were 
 drawn into the open field, twenty yards in ad- 
 vance of the centre of the line of battle. Colonel 
 
 Baker, with his staff on foot, — there were no 
 mounted officers on the field, — traversed several 
 times the whole line of forces under his command, 
 addressing pleasant words to officers and men, 
 and setting them an example of coolness, courage, 
 and confidence. From the Maryland shore fre- 
 quent shells came flying over the river and bluff, 
 bursting harmlessly far in the rear of the enemy, 
 who seemed patiently to defer his attack until we 
 crossed in greater numbers. 
 
 At precisely four o'clock loud yells preceded 
 a flashing line of fire in the woods, and the report 
 of a thousand rifles announced the opening of the 
 engagement with part of the enemy, several of 
 whom had climbed into the trees, that they might 
 have a better aim at our recumbent men. For 
 nearly an hour showers of bullets and buck-shot 
 continued to pour upon our devoted line ; but 
 considering the nearness of the enemy, the cas- 
 ualties were not very great. On our part the 
 cannon alone for the fii-st half hour responded 
 with thimdering voice, clearly telling General 
 Stone and the Union forces at Edwards' Ferry 
 of the hot engagement near them ; and flying 
 farther, reached the ears of General McCall and 
 his division, which, by order of Major-General 
 McClellan, was returning to its camp at Draines- 
 ville. Six thousand troops had, during the after- 
 noon, assembled at the crossing-place opposite 
 tl>e Bluff, but by reason of the small means of 
 transportation, were obliged to remain there re- 
 garding in helplessness and rage the unequal con- 
 test. A rope had been stretched across the chan- 
 nel to the island, which aided much in the passage 
 of the boats ; but from the Virginia side there Avas 
 no rope, and the solitary leaky scow was poled 
 over and back sloM'ly. By five o'clock nearly 
 two thousand men had ascended the Bluft', and 
 engaged in most part in returning the fire of the 
 enemy. Notwithstanding the discouraging as- 
 pect of matters, our troops generally exhibited 
 good feeling, determined courage, and obedience 
 to command. The wounded and some dead were 
 carried by their comrades dowrw the hill, who, 
 after placing them in the boat, returned to the 
 field. The enemy was several times driven back 
 with great loss by discharges of the cannon, 
 which, after the artillery men had been killed or 
 wounded, was loaded and fired by Colonel Coggs- 
 well, Lieutenant Bramhall, and other officers. A 
 volley of musketry from the thick forest on the 
 left attracted our attention, and Colonel Baker, 
 thinking it came from the expected and promised 
 reinforcement from Edwards' Ferry, ordered a 
 company of the California men to advance cau- 
 tiously, and discover if they were friends or foes. 
 
 The officer commanding the company, having 
 called out, " AVho are you ? " received for answer, 
 " Confederates ! " and another volley following im- 
 mediately, many of our men were killed and wound- 
 ed. Colonel Baker fell dead, struck with three 
 balls. Five or six rebels ran from the woods 
 towards his body, lying ten yards in advance 
 of the line of battle, when Captain Bieral, of 
 the California regiment, with a dozen of his 
 men, dashed forward, and driving the others back, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 rescued the corpse and sword, which were imme- 
 diately carried from the field by Captain Young, 
 who had but a moment before been ordered by 
 Colonel Baker to go to General Stone, and re- 
 port the state of the engagement, and ask for 
 reinforcements. At the same time Lieutenant 
 Colonel Wistar and Lieutenant Bramhall, being 
 seA'erely wounded, were helped down the hill, and 
 with Colonel Baker's body, safely reached the 
 island. At the last discharge of the cannon it 
 recoiled even to the edge of the cliff, and falling 
 over, was inextricably lost in the rock and jungle. 
 Later the two howitzers, wliich had not been fired 
 during the engagement, were thrown over the 
 bank, and they with the cannon were afterwards 
 recovered by the enemy. By seniority Colonel 
 Coggswell assumed command, and regarding the 
 battle as hopelessly lost, and there being no re- 
 treat by the river, he determined to fight his way 
 to Edwards' Ferry. By his order the Fifteenth 
 Massachusetts moved across the field from the 
 right to the left of the line, where the two com- 
 panies of the Tammany regiment had already 
 moved. While making the proper arrangements 
 for retreat, a rebel officer misled our troops by 
 approaching them and giving a command to charge 
 upon a large body of the enemy who now occu- 
 pied our late position on the right. Rushing for- 
 ward en masse, our men received a destructive fire, 
 and the line being broken, general confusion en- 
 sued for a few moments. Re-forming in line, 
 several volleys were exchanged with the enemy, 
 who were now near, in sight, in front, with con- 
 siderable loss on both sides ; but night coming 
 on, and no one knowing the road to Edwards" 
 Ferry, Colonel Coggswell abandoned his plan of 
 retreat to that point, and gave an order to fall 
 back to the river's bank, below the Bluff, leaving 
 two companies above to hold the enemy in check. 
 At this moment, the only boat in the channel was 
 seen to go down, overloaded with wounded and 
 fugitives ; and thus disappeared the only means 
 of escape, except by swimming. The enemy soon 
 occupied the heights, and poured down a fatal 
 fire upon the crowded mass below. Three times 
 bodies of our men climbed to the summit, and 
 after delivering their fire, returned to their help- 
 less comrades below. Throwing their arms and 
 clothing into the river, many swam for the island, 
 while others, aided by the increasing darkness, 
 crept along the bank above and below the Bluff, 
 and on logs, and in a small skiff which by good 
 fortune was found, escaped. 
 
 There was no formal surrender, but a sullen 
 submission to adverse fate. The colors, heavily 
 weighed with stones, were cast into the stream. 
 At eight o'clock all firing and noise had ceased, 
 save the moans of the wounded, and the shrieks 
 of the drowning in their vain attempts to swim 
 to the island. At midnight twenty-two commis- 
 sioned officers and seven hundred and ten men 
 were prisoners of war, on their march to Lees- 
 burg. 
 
 Never was a conquered army less subdued in 
 spirit. Astounded, bewildered, indignant, there 
 was no feeling of shame, for never did soldiers i 
 
 conduct themselves with more courage. Each 
 man felt that something had gone wrong. " Some 
 one had blundered," or may be worse, and silently 
 niarching under the rebel guard, each sought in 
 his own mind, or in whispering voices of his com- 
 panions, for an explanation of the disastei-. 
 
 The enemy's force engaged is not known, but is 
 stated in the report of Colonel Evans, who com- 
 manded them, at twenty-six hundred. It is be- 
 lieved that there were full four thousand. His 
 loss was not less than four hundred, mostly 
 killed. On our side the casualties cannot be pre- 
 cisely stated, as many were missing whose death 
 by drowning or killed on the field could not be 
 ascertained. The total loss was one hundred and 
 fifty killed, two hundred wounded, and seven 
 hundred and ten taken prisoners. 
 
 Such is the narrative of the affair at Ball's Blufi", 
 as told by those who were engaged in it, but had 
 no part in its planning, and are still ignorant of 
 its purpose. As stated, all attempts to discover 
 the object of sending across the Potomac at that 
 point a small force, while Generals McCall and 
 Smith, Avith over twenty thousand men, were 
 already on the Virginia side, within nine miles of 
 Leesburg, have not been successful. In vain is the 
 inquiry repeated, " Why was Ball's Bins' chosen 
 as a crossing-place, while, at a distance of one 
 half mile above it, the land slopes to the river 
 bank, and an easy ascent and open country would 
 have placed our force on equal footing with the 
 enemy ? Why was not transportation provided in 
 advance, adequate for a successful withdrawal of 
 Colonels Devens and Lee and their commands, or 
 for tlu-owing over a large force for their support ? " 
 The movement was not unpremeditated, and there 
 was no want of boats or material for pontoons 
 and bridges in the vicinity of Harrison's Island. 
 An ai'my of ten thousand men had been lying 
 idle at Poolsville for months, expecting at some 
 time to cross the river. The canal leading to 
 Washington offered excellent facilities for furnish- 
 ing the necessary means for crossing, and three 
 frail scows, made of inch plank, and one skiff, 
 were all that our army found there on the day of 
 the battle. 
 
 Why were not the promised reinforcements 
 sent to our aid from Edwards' Ferry ? During 
 the engagement fourteen hundred troops, under 
 the command of General Gorman, awaited on the 
 Virginia shore, at Edwards' Ferry, an order to 
 march to our aid ; and in his report General 
 Gorman says, that at the moment Colonel Baker 
 fell. General Stone sent an order for them to 
 throw up intrenchments ! There was no enemy 
 between Edwards' Ferry and the battle-field, and 
 we may fairly suppose that one hundred men 
 coming up and attacking them on their flank 
 would have changed the fortunes of that day. 
 That night General McClellan, at Washington, 
 having learned of the disastrous result of the ex- 
 pedition he had ordered, despatched an order to 
 General Banks, at Darnstown, Md., twelve miles 
 from Ball's Bluff", to march his division to the 
 Potomac, at the same points, which, during the 
 day, had been occupied by eight thousand of our 
 
44 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 troops, vainly demanding transportation to their 
 commands over the river ! Generals McCall and 
 Smith, at Drainesville, Va., received no orders. 
 Two days afterwards, all of the Federal forces 
 returned to their respective catops ; and thus con- 
 cludes the affair of Ball's Blufi". 
 
 ON THE SHORES OF TENNESSEE. 
 
 " Move my arm-chair, faithful Pompey, 
 
 In the sunshine bright and strong, 
 For this world is fading, Pompey — 
 
 Massa won't be with you long ; 
 And I fain would hear the south wind 
 
 Bring once more the sound to me 
 Of the wavelets softly breaking 
 
 On the shores of Tennessee. 
 
 " ilournful though the ripples murmur, 
 
 As they still the story tell, 
 How no vessels float the banner 
 
 That I've loved so long and well, 
 I shall listen to their music, 
 
 Dreaming that again I see 
 Stars and Stripes on sloop and shallop. 
 
 Sailing up the Tennessee. 
 
 " And, Pompey, while old Massa's waiting 
 
 For death's last despatch to come. 
 If that exiled starry banner 
 
 Should come proudly sailing home. 
 You shall greet it, slave no longer — 
 
 Voice and hand shall both be free 
 That shout and point to Union colors, 
 
 On the waves of Tennessee." 
 
 " Massa's berry kind to Pompey ; 
 
 But ole darky's happy here. 
 Where he's tended corn and cotton 
 
 For 'ese many a long-gone year. 
 Over yonder Missis sleeping — 
 
 No one tends her grave lilie me ; 
 Mebbe she would miss the flowers 
 
 She used to love in Tennessee. 
 
 " 'Pears like she was watching, Massa, 
 
 If Pompey should beside him stay ; 
 Mebbe she'd remember better 
 
 How for him she used to pray ; 
 Telling him that "way up yonder 
 
 AVhite as snow his soul would be, 
 If he served the Lord of heaven 
 
 "While he lived in Tennessee." 
 
 Silently the tears were rolling 
 
 Down the poor old dusky face, 
 As he stepped behind his master, 
 
 In his long-accustomed place. 
 Then a silence fell around them. 
 
 As they gazed on rock and tree, 
 Pictured in the placid waters 
 
 Of the rolling Tennessee; — 
 
 ilaster, dreaming of the battle 
 
 Where he fought by Marion's side, 
 When he bid the haughty Tarleton 
 
 Stoop his lordly crest of pride ; 
 Man, ren embering how yon sleeper 
 
 Once he held upon his knee, 
 Ere she loved the gallant soldier, 
 
 Ralph Vervair, of Tennessee. 
 
 Still the south wind fondly lingers 
 
 'Mid the veteran's silvery hair ; 
 Still the bondman, close beside him, 
 
 Stands behind the old arm-chair. 
 With his dark-hued hand uplifted. 
 
 Shading eyes, he bends to see 
 Where the woodland, boldly jutting, 
 
 Turns aside the Tennessee. 
 
 Thus he watches cloud-born shadows 
 
 Glide from tree to mountain crest, 
 Softly creeping, aye and ever. 
 
 To the river's yielding breast. 
 Ha ! above the foliage yonder 
 
 Something flutters wild and free ! 
 "Massa! Massa! Hallelujah! 
 
 The flag's come back to Tennessee ! " 
 
 ♦' Pompey, hold me on your shoulder, 
 
 Help me stand on foot once more, 
 That I may salute the colors 
 
 As they pass my cabin door. 
 Here's the paper signed that fi-ees you ; 
 
 Give a freeman's shout viith me — 
 ' God and Union ! ' be our watchword 
 
 Evermore in Tennessee." 
 
 Then the trembling voice grew fainter, 
 
 And the limbs refused to stand ; 
 One prayer to Jesus — and the soldier 
 
 Glided to that better land. 
 When the flag went down the river, 
 
 Man and master both were free, 
 While the ring-dove's note was mingled 
 
 With the rippling Tennessee. 
 
 Incidents of Roanoke Island. — Colonel 
 Russell, of the Tenth Connecticut regiment, fell 
 dead from his horse at the head of his regiment, 
 while marching against the enemy. Strange as it 
 may appear, not a scratch was found upon his 
 body Avhen examined, and his death must have 
 come from the wind of a cannon ball, or from ex- 
 citement. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel De Monteil, who volun- 
 teered in the assault upon the rebel battery, 
 received his death wound while heading the 
 advance, and while in the act of shouting : 
 " Come on, boys ! Ave'U show them how to 
 fight ! " 
 
 In the course of the action a shell burst on the 
 United States gunboat Hetzel, and set her maga- 
 zine on fire. Lieutenant FrankHn, her executive 
 officer, ordered the men to the magazine to ex- 
 tinguish the fire ; but seeing that they hesitated, 
 he took the hose in his own hands, and sprang 
 down and extinguished the flames before they 
 reached the powder. 
 
 A similar occurrence took place on board the 
 Ceres, from the bursting of a gun, when Acting- 
 Master Diarmaid sprang into the magazine and 
 extinguished the fire. 
 
 A shell entered the coal-bunks of another of 
 the steamers, setting them on fire. The flames 
 were subdued after much difficulty, -with but little 
 damage to the vessel. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 45 
 
 EXPLOITS OF CAPT. CARPENTER, OF 
 THE "JESSIE SCOUTS." 
 
 The secret history of any military campaign 
 would be of absorbing interest ; much more the 
 secret story of our war. In all camps there are 
 men whose occupation it is to gain for the com- 
 manding general information of the enemy's force, 
 positions, and movements. Much depends on 
 this ; and the most successful generals have al- 
 ways been the best informed. 
 
 In our own service, during the present war, 
 the spy service has been jjerformed by different 
 classes of men. Some of o-ur commanders have 
 had the wit and fortune to secure the services of 
 men whose hearts were full of zeal for the Union 
 and of hatred for the slave aristocracy and their 
 rebellion. Such men, when they have also the 
 activity, presence of mind, ingenuity, and cour- 
 age needed for this office, are the best that can 
 be got. Such, we have reason to know, are the 
 company known as the " Jessie Scouts," who first 
 served under Gen. Fremont in Missouri, after- 
 wards in Tennessee under Grant, McClernand, 
 and others, and again in Vii-ginia under Fremont, 
 Milroy, &c. 
 
 There is another class, hirelings, who serve not 
 for the sake of the cause, but for the sake of the 
 reward. Such men, too, are valuable ; but a 
 great commander seeks rather to use men who, 
 from devotion to a principle, or else by reason of 
 some jiersonal wrong, are animated by enmity to 
 the opposite side. 
 
 Our spy system has not always been well con- 
 ducted, else Stuart's "raids " would not have be- 
 come famous ; else Jackson could not have made 
 his march down the Valley ; else Corinth could 
 not have been secretly evacuated by Beauregard, 
 nor Yorktown by Johnson, nor Winchester before 
 the fii-st battle of Bull Run, by the same officer. 
 If we had an efficient spy service. Gen. McCleUan 
 would have known that after the battle of Fair 
 Oaks, Ilichm<xid lay in his power ; and Patterson 
 would have held Johnson in check, or else fol- 
 lowed him pell-mell into the first battle-field of 
 Pull Run, and saved the day. 
 
 There is a story told of that first campaign in 
 Virginia which does not redound to the credit of 
 our military authorities. Some weeks before Bull 
 Run, Patterson, it is said, sent a man as spy into 
 Winchester. The felloAV rode there, examined 
 thoroughly the rebel camp, works, and forces, 
 and returned with a full report. He was sent to 
 Washington to get his pay, and when he got 
 there, received from the officer under Gen. Scott, 
 who attended to his case, the sum of twenty-five 
 dollars, which did not pay the expenses of his 
 journey. It is added that he swore he would go 
 over to the enemy; probably he did. If spies 
 and scouts were treated thus in our fu'st Virginia 
 campaign, no wonder Johnson got away from 
 Patterson. 
 
 Probably no man in this Avar has lived through 
 as many exciting and desperate adventures as 
 Capt. Carpenter, who was leader of the " Jessie 
 Scouts." He was originally one of " John 
 
 Brown's men," and participated in the attack on 
 Harper's Ferry, where he escaped by crawling 
 through a long culvert, or covered drain, which led 
 from the famous engine-house to the river. The 
 Captain does not love the slave lords ; he has 
 notions about the crime of claiming ownership in 
 men which to some would seem extreme, and he 
 certainly thinks almost anything good enough 
 for a man-selling aristocrat who rebels against 
 the Union. 
 
 The writer of this passed a few quiet hours 
 with Capt. Carpenter lately, while the latter was 
 an invalid from a severe wound received last fall 
 in Western Virginia. Some of the campaigning 
 stories then heard will interest the reader, and 
 will attract the sympathy of all who admire 
 daring, skUl, and invention — especially where, 
 as in this case, all these faculties are sharpened 
 and vivified by a single-hearted and fiery devo- 
 tion to liberty and the Union. Capt. Carpenter 
 boasts, in a quiet way, that no army for which 
 he has scouted has ever suffered from a "raid" 
 in its rear, or has ever been surprised. He has 
 an idea that such things cannot be done where 
 trustworthy and zealous scouts are employed. 
 
 " Did you ever see Price ? " he was asked. 
 
 He replied, " Several times." 
 
 Once he drove a team in Price's army two 
 days, at the end of which time, unluckily, the 
 team and wagon, and a negro who happened to 
 be in it, ran away, " and curiously enough, never 
 stopped till we got into our own lines," said the 
 Captain, with a twinkle in his eye. 
 
 " The black man is working for himself now 
 in Iowa, and I sold the mules to pay my ex- 
 penses." 
 
 Once he rode down to the rebel pickets at 
 Wilson's Creek, dressed as a woman, to deliver 
 a letter to a supposititious brother in Price's 
 army. He bears witness to the politeness of the 
 rebel officer who escorted the lady half back to 
 our lines. This trip was made because " the 
 General " wanted to know precisely the position 
 of a part of the rebel lines. 
 
 " After the surrender of Lexington," said the 
 Captain, " Gen. Fremont suspected that the tele- 
 graph operators between Hannibal and St. Joseph 
 were disloyal, and had given information to the 
 enemy, and I was ordered to make an investiga- 
 tion. The fact was, however, the rebels had 
 ' tapped ' the wire. A woman in St. Louis told 
 me. She asked me if I knew a rebel spy was in 
 town. I asked who he was and what he did ; and 
 she replied that he had a telegraph apparatus on 
 the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, and had 
 told her so. He was to see her and take her to 
 a theatre that evening. 
 
 " I told her I would give her fifty dollars if she 
 would say, when he came, that she was sick, and 
 would not go. She agreed, and I arranged that 
 she should introduce me to him as a rebel spy 
 from Pillow's camp, which she did. I immedi- 
 ately gained his confidence. We drank wine to- 
 gether, and the fool told me everything. Soon 
 he left the city, and I took one of my men with 
 me, and off we stai'ted after him. 
 
46 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " We found him on the Grand River, near the 
 railroatl, just where he had said. He had a hut 
 in the brush, where the telegraphing operations 
 were carried on. There were two men — my 
 man and another. We crept up to them, and on 
 a survey, came to the conclusion that as we might 
 not be able to capture them, the best way was 
 to shoot them. I shot my man, but Hale only 
 wounded his. We rushed up. He made fight. 
 I had to despatch him with my pistol. We got 
 the telegraph instruments, with twenty-two hun- 
 dred feet of silk wire, two horses, blankets, and 
 sixty-five dollars in money. There were also two 
 daguerreotypes. 
 
 " I went into Price's camp when Mulligan was 
 at Lexington. I had a double-barrelled shot-gun 
 with both locks broken, and rode into the camp 
 with numbers of country people who were flock- 
 ing to join Price. I rode around freely, talking 
 secession, and very soon saw how things were 
 going. I could see plainly that Mulligan was in 
 a tight place, and I started off for St. Louis as 
 soon as possible, and gave the information that 
 Mulligan must surrender. Twelve hours after, 
 news came that he had surrendered. 
 
 " Fremont did all he could to help Midligan, 
 but the telegraph ' tapper ' (who was afterwards 
 killed) got a despatch which was sent by Fremont 
 for Sturgis to move across the river to the sup- 
 port of Mulligan ; and the rebels, having posses- 
 sion of our plans, moved against Sturgis, and 
 compelled him to fall back. 
 
 " Henry Hale, one of the best scouts in the 
 country, left Leavenworth, while Mulligan was 
 before Lexington, with despatches. As he rode 
 alon-g, men from every direction were going to 
 join Price. He saw one old secessionist with a 
 little shot-gun, and thought it would be a nice 
 thing to drive off the fellow, and take his horse 
 into Lexington. So he engaged the man in con- 
 versation, and getting an opportunity, put his 
 revolver to the secessionist's head, ordered him 
 to tie his gun to the saddle, to dismount, and 
 finally to skedaddle.' The old man made 
 tracks rapidly, glad to escape with his life. 
 Hale took the horse by the bridle, and rode on 
 whistling ' Yankee Doodle.' He had ridden a 
 mile or two, when at a turn of the road, he was 
 suddenly ordered to halt. The old secessionist 
 had procured another gun, and got ahead of him. 
 The gun was squarely aimed at Hale's head. 
 ' Get off that horse,' cried the secessionist. 
 Hale got down. ' Tie that revolver to the sad- 
 dle.' He obeyed. ' Pull off your pants.' Hale 
 did it. ' Skedaddle ! ' an order which Hale at 
 once carried into effect, merely saying, ' Well, 
 Captain, I thought my shirt would come next — 
 good-bye.' The secessionist went off with the two 
 horses, whistling ' Dixie ; ' while Hale marched 
 seven miles into Lexington, with only his coat 
 and shirt on. His coat contained his despatches. 
 He will never be permitted to forget that seven 
 miles' march. 
 
 "I burned Randolph, Mo. The town was a 
 rebel depot, where their supplies were gathered. 
 The country people came in every day with pro- 
 
 visions, and these provisions and other goods 
 were conveyed to the enemy. I went over with 
 twenty-two men, and routed two hundred and 
 fifty. It was a year ago on the 10th or 12th of 
 September. I divided my men, and had them 
 approach from different directions. I made them 
 all officers, and up we went, every man of us 
 shouting (Out orders as though each had a regi- 
 ment at his back. 
 
 " The rebels were frightened. They ran in all 
 directions, but we killed several of them. One 
 of my men was badly wounded, and I was 
 wounded also. I tackled one fellow with a sabre. 
 He fought savagely, but I killed him after he had 
 given me a thrust over the eye that might havo 
 finished me. He had been a soldier in the regu- 
 lar army, but deserted, and went over to the 
 rebels. He belonged to the Fhst United States 
 Dragoons. We took seventeen prisoners. Of 
 course we could not, with our small force, hold 
 the town ; so we set fire to the rebel stores, and 
 destroyed them, 
 
 " I was captured back of Paducah — Lieutenant 
 Robb and I ; and we were placed under guard, to 
 stay all night. There were thirteen guardsmen 
 in all ; but ten of them went to a party, and got 
 drunk. The othei-s got some whiskey, too. 
 Robb and I concluded to rebel. We managed 
 to seize their revolvers. Robb tapped one, that 
 came at us first, over the head and stunned him, 
 and before the others could come to his assistance 
 we shot them. Then we made off. We went by 
 Fort Donelson, clear across the country, and told 
 Zollicoffer that we Avere spies, and had despatches 
 for Breckinridge. We had forged despatches for 
 the purpose, and thus jiassed. As we had just 
 come from the rebels, we knew enough to deceive 
 the old fellow, who treated us with great kind- 
 ness, told us to be careful of the Yankees, gave 
 us horses thi-ough his lines, and good horses, and 
 in three hours and a half we were inside our lines. 
 
 " At Platte City I made a speech to the rebels 
 in favor of Jeff. Davis, which was very successful ; 
 but in the afternoon a fellow in town recognized 
 me, and had me seized. They put me under 
 guard, in a house ; but the same night I got out, 
 got on a horse which fell in my way, and rode out 
 till I ran in the dark against two rebel videttes. 
 They stopped me ; I explained to them that I was 
 hurrying off to bring up some recruits who were 
 wanted ; but the men were obstinate, and would 
 not let me go without a pass. So I proposed to 
 one to go in with me to headquarters, and I would 
 get him my pass. He consented ; we walked our 
 horses along the road. My case was desperate ; 
 if they caught me they would hang me. I talked 
 to the man in the dark till we were some distance 
 in, then suddenly pulled out my knife, and with 
 one stab slew him. 
 
 " I waited a while, then rode back to where the 
 other vidette remained, and handed him a piece 
 of an old letter, saying, ' There's the pass.' He 
 must go to the smouldering fire in the wood near 
 by to examine it, and as he did so I knocked him 
 over, and rode off. 
 
 " I rode into Jeff. Thompson's camp, half naked, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 47 
 
 as a crazy man, shouting and whooping so that 
 the -whole camp was aroused. No better way 
 to get in occurred to me just then. General 
 Thompson is much of a gentleman. He caused 
 a surgeon to examine me, who reported that I 
 had lost my senses from a blow on the temple, 
 the mark of which was still fresh. He said I was 
 quite harmless, and the General proposed to send 
 me into the Yankee lines, because they could take 
 care of such a poor fellow better than he. 
 
 " I lay down under a wagon, near the General's 
 tent, when it came dark, and listened to hear 
 what I could hear. About midnight a messenger 
 rode in, on a fine horse, and tied it near me. 
 When he got into the tent, and no one was look- 
 ing, I got on the horse, and, having the best road 
 in my mind, rode out as hard as I coilld drive, 
 the pickets firing at me, but without effect ; and 
 I got safely in to make mj' report. 
 
 " I went into Fort Henry two days before the 
 attack on it, and brought General Grant an accu- 
 rate account of the position and number of the 
 rebel forces and defences. I have General Grant's 
 letter certifying to that. 
 
 " Also I went into Fort Donelson, while our 
 troops lay at Fort Henry. I went in there in 
 Confederate uniform ; and I have General McCler- 
 nand's letter to show that I brought him informa- 
 tion which proved to be accurate. On my way 
 out a cavalry force passed me, while I lay by the 
 roadside ; and its commander told one of his men 
 to leave a fine flag, which he feared would be torn 
 on the way. The flag was stuck into the road, 
 that a returning rebel picket might carry it in. 
 But I got it, wrapped it around my body, and 
 rode into Fort Henry with it." 
 
 Southern Mathematics. — General D. H. 
 Hill, who was captured at Roanoke Island, is 
 rather a remarkable character. He has written 
 one or two theological works of some note. He 
 is also a mathematician. The youthful rebels are 
 allowed to regale themselves at school with Hill's 
 Elements of Algebra, a work which is conceived 
 iri the true spirit of a gallant Southron. One 
 would think it rather difficult to give mathemati- 
 cal instruction such a form as to imbue pupils 
 with "contempt and hatred for the North. But 
 Hill has attempted the work, ami has displayed 
 no little ingenuity in the eff"ort. He has framed 
 problems beginning in the following style : 
 
 " A Yankee mixes a certain quantity of wooden 
 nutmegs, which cost him one fourth cent apiece, 
 with a quantity of real nutmegs, worth four cents 
 apiece," etc. 
 
 " A Northern railroad is assessed one hundred 
 and twenty thousand dollars damages for con- 
 tusions and broken limbs caused by a collision 
 of cars." 
 
 " The years in which the Governors of Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut send treasonable mes- 
 sages to their respective legislatures, is expressed 
 by four digits." 
 
 " The field of battle of Buena Vista is six and 
 
 a half miles from Saltillo. Two Indiana volun- 
 teers ran away from the field of battle at the 
 same time." 
 
 A Brave Fellow. — In the Fort Henry gun- 
 boat fight, in the explosion on the Essex, one of 
 the seamen was shockingly scalded. His cloth- 
 ing was at once removed, linseed oil and flour 
 applied to his parboiled flesh, and he was care- 
 fully wrapped in blankets and placed in bed. A 
 few moments after came the news that the rebel 
 flag M'as struck, and the fort surrendered. In 
 his enthusiasm he sprang out of his berth, ran up 
 on deck, and waved his blanket in the air, huz- 
 zaing for the Stars and Stripes. The poor fel- 
 low, after the first excitement was over, was 
 assisted below, and in the night he died, full of 
 rejoicing to the last at the triumph of the old 
 flag. 
 
 A Rebel Song. — The following " song," com- 
 posed by some enthusiastic rebel soldier, was 
 found in Fort Bartow, Roanoke Island. It is 
 Avritten on a half-sheet of foolscap paper : 
 
 Sir William was king georges son to the north 
 the waryers race was run he wore A star all on 
 his breast to show you a sign of the waryers 
 dress, come young ladies will you list and go, 
 come young ladies will you list and go. A new 
 silk dress you shall put on, to follow up the mu- 
 sic fife and drum, the drum shall beat and the fife 
 shall play, the drum shall beat and the fife shall 
 play its A merry lives we'l march away. 
 
 new york.s A pretty place, ; and so is Phila- 
 delphia the streets are lined with doll, bills and 
 pretty girls a plenty. 
 
 Come my love com go with me, for I am a 
 roveing dandy, 1,11 take you home I'll treat you 
 well, 1 11 feed you on sweet candy, where coffee 
 grows on white oak stump and the rivers flow 
 with brandy, and little hills are lin'd with gold 
 and the girls are sweet as candy. 
 
 Religious Music among the Soldiers. — A 
 letter from Hatteras Inlet, N. C, says : The New 
 England troops excel in the musical faculty, and 
 in every regiment from Massachusetts, Connecti- 
 cut, or New Hampshu-e, music teachers or good 
 singers abound, and many an otherwise tedious 
 evening has thus been beguiled by the elevating 
 influence of music. In this respect, no regiment, 
 perhaps, is more favored than the Massachusetts 
 Twenty-third, composed chiefly of Salem, Marble- 
 head, Danvers, and Boston men. Many of the of- 
 ficers were members of the best musical societies, 
 and leaders or pillars in their church choirs at home. 
 Could their friends have looked in upon us on 
 board of the Highlander, during many of the 
 boisterous nights we have been anchored in this 
 Sound, while the storm howled without, they 
 might have heard : 
 
 " Perhaps Dundee's wild, warbling measures rise, 
 Or plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name, 
 Or noble Elgin beat the heavenward flame." 
 
48 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 On board of the Huzza, which carries the left 
 wing rof the Twenty-thii'd, they have their full 
 share of sweet singers, and a very excellent band 
 of music, under the lead of Henry C. Brown, of 
 Boston. In the centre of the fleet, which covers 
 an area of some two miles of the bay, is anchored 
 the S. R. Spaulding, the present flag-ship of Gen. 
 Burnside. From her high deck he can easily 
 survey the entire fleet, and observe all that is 
 going on. On the deck of one or two vessels 
 near us are gathered quiet groups of soldiers, and 
 the sublime strains of " Old Hundred," which 
 float across the waters, human voices mingling 
 with the bands, testify that they are engaged in 
 religious worship. To many of these brave and 
 earnest men it will be, i>erhaps, their last Sabbath 
 on earth. 
 
 Incidents of the Paint ville Battle. — A 
 body of the enemy was posted on a commanding 
 liill, and it became necessary to dislodge them. 
 The Fourteenth Kentucky volunteered for the 
 service, as they knew the nature of the ground. 
 Said Col. Garfield : " Go in, boys ; give them 
 Hail Columbia!" 
 
 The hill was cleared, and soon the reserve of 
 the brigade came in at a double-quick. As 
 soon as he saw them, Col. Garfield pulled off his 
 coat, and flung it up in the air, where it lodged 
 in a tree, out of reach. The men threw up their 
 caps with a wild shout, and rushed at the enemy, 
 Col. Garfield, in his shirt-slcves, leading the way. 
 
 As the Federal troops reached the top of the 
 hill, a rebel officer shouted in surprise : " Why, 
 how many of you are there ? " " Twenty-five 
 
 thousand men, you ! " yelled a Kentucky 
 
 Union officer, rushing at the rebel. In an instant 
 the rebels broke and ran in utter confusion. 
 
 Several instances of personal daring and cool- 
 ness were related. A member of Capt. Bushnell's 
 com^jany, in the Forty-second, was about to bite a 
 cartridge, when a musket-ball struck the cartridge 
 from liis fingers. Coolly facing the direction from 
 which the vshot came, he took out another car- 
 tridge, and exclaimed : " You can't do that again, 
 old fellow." 
 
 MARYLAND. 
 
 BY J. K. KANDALL. 
 
 The despot's heel is on thy shore, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 His torch is at thy temple door, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 Avenge the patriotic gore 
 That flooded the streets of Baltimore, 
 And be the battle queen of yore, 
 
 Maryland ! My ^Maryland ! 
 
 Hark to thy wandering son's appeal, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 My mother State ! to thee I kneel, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 For life and death, for woo and weal, 
 Thy peerless chivalry reveal, 
 And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel, 
 
 Maryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 Thou wilt not cower in. the dust, 
 
 lilaryland ! 
 Thy beaming sword shall never rust, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 Remembei' Carroll's sacred trust, 
 Remember Howard's warlike thrust. 
 And all thy slumberers with the just, 
 
 Maryland ! jNIy Maryland ! 
 
 Come ! 'tis the red dawn of the day, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 Comei with thy panoplied array, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 With Ringgold's spirit for the fray, 
 With Watson's blood at Monterey, 
 With fearless Lowe and dashing ilay, 
 
 Maryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 ComcS ! for thy shield is bright and strong, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 Come ! for thy dalliance does thee wrong, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 Come ! to thine own heroic throng. 
 That stalks with Liberty along. 
 And give a new Keij to thy song, 
 
 Maryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 Dear Mother ! burst the tyrant's chain, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 Virginia should not call in vain, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 She meets her sisters on the plain — 
 " Sic semper," 'tis the proud refrain, 
 That baffles minions back amain, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 Arise in majesty again, 
 
 ^Maryland ! IMy Maryland 5 
 
 I see the blush upon thy cheek, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 But thou wast ever bravely meek, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 But lo ! there surges forth a shriek 
 From hill to hill, from creek to creek — 
 Potomac calls to Chesapeake, 
 
 JIaryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 Thou wilt not yield the Vandal toll, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 Thou wilt not crook to his control, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 Better the fire upon thee roll, 
 Better the blade, the shot, the bowl, 
 Than crucifixion of the soul, 
 
 Maryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 I hear the distant thunder hum, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb — 
 Huzza ! she spurns the Northern scimi ! 
 She breathes — she bums! she'll come ! shell 
 come ! 
 
 Maryland ! ^ly ^Maryland ! 
 
 A Race for Life. — A soldier from Rhode 
 Island, while on picket-guard, was rushed upon 
 by a party of rebel cavalry. He instantly fired 
 his piece at the foremost, and ran. The way be- 
 fore him was an open field, about fifty rods across, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 49 
 
 the other side being hemmed in by an old, rotten, 
 log fence, and, still be3'ond, a sort of chaparral 
 of brier bushes and underbrush. To this retreat 
 the soldier started, on quadruple quick, with half 
 a dozen horsemen after him. Fortunately for the 
 soldier, the rains had made the field quite muddy, 
 and the horses slumped through the turf so badly 
 that they could not lessen the distance between 
 them and the fugitive. All this time the rebels 
 were keeping up a roar of instolry, one of the 
 balls passing through the soldier's hat, and 
 another went clean through his cartridge box and 
 lodged in his coat. Still on ran the hero, and 
 still on splashed the horsemen. The picket at 
 last reached the fence, and with one bound landed 
 on the top, intending to give a long spring ahead ; 
 but the fence was frail, and crumbled beneath his 
 weight. It so chanced that a hog had rooted out 
 a gutter at this place, and was lying snoring 
 therein. At the cracking of the fence, his swine- 
 ship evacuated his hole, and scampered, barking, 
 into the underbrush. As luck would have it, the 
 soldier fell in that hole, muddy as it was, and the 
 fence rattled down upon him. This was no more 
 than fairly done, when up came the horsemen, 
 and, hearing the rustling of leaves, and not 
 doubting it was their prey, dashed through the 
 gap in the fence, and, seeing a path in the brush, 
 they put through it after the hog, and were soon 
 out of sight. When the sound of their footsteps 
 died away, the picket returned to camp and re- 
 ported. The next day one of these rebel horse- 
 men was taken prisoner. When our hero saw 
 him he recognized him at once, and sung out : 
 
 " I say, old fellow, did you catch that hog yes- 
 terday ? " 
 
 " We did that," retorted the prisoner, " hut it 
 wasn't the one ive loere after." 
 
 A Sharp Ride. — A correspondent with Gen- 
 eral Grant's army gives the following amusing ac- 
 count of a cotton broker in the neighborhood of 
 Lagrange, Tennessee. He says: 
 
 The experience of a Mr. Cones, who was cap- 
 tured near Lagrange, was relieved by some flashes 
 of humor which may be an apology for the very 
 emphatic language which was used by the actors. 
 
 Cones, in company with two or three other 
 buyers, had bought some cotton out at Moscow, 
 twelve miles from Lagrange, just before our army 
 marched from the latter place, and as General 
 Quinby's division had just removed from there, 
 they thought the sooner they got the cotton into 
 Lagrange the better ; consequently four of them, 
 besides the drivers of the teams, started out after 
 it. Cones was the only one of the four who was 
 not armed and was not on horseback, he riding 
 in one of the teams. They succeeded in getting 
 the cotton, and hurried back until they came in 
 sight of the Union pickets at Lagrange, and then 
 Cones' three friends, thinking the mules were 
 out of danger, left him, and rode on into town. 
 
 Only two or three minutes after they had left, 
 and as the wagons went down into a hollow, out 
 4 
 
 of sight of the picket-guards, five guerrillas 
 dashed out of the wood and were alongside in an 
 instant. " Halt ! '' Every one of the teams halted 
 as though they had run against a stone wall. 
 The next instant the muzzle of a revolver was at 
 the ear of every one of them, Cones included, who 
 was riding on the cotton. 
 
 "Are you armed?" said the guerrilla, who 
 held his pistol at Cones' head. 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Then get down and unhitch them mules, and 
 turn 'em around devilish quick ! " 
 
 It Avas done in the time specified. 
 
 Guerrilla. — " Have you a match ? I want to 
 touch off this cotton." 
 
 Cones. — " No, sir. I am glad to say I haven't." 
 
 Guerrilla. — " Then git on to that mule, quick." 
 
 In an instant. Cones was mounted on what he 
 says was " a Avonderful sharp-backed mule." 
 
 Guerrilla (giving the mule a terrific slash with 
 the wagon whip). — " Now, lick them mules up'. 
 Make 'em go ! Give 'em thunder ! " 
 
 And away they went at a pace which, to Cones 
 on his razor-back mule, he thought must split 
 him in tAvo before many miles, three guerrillas be- 
 hind lashing the mule at every jump. Five miles 
 or more they went at this pace, and not another 
 word had been spoken by any one, when they 
 turned out of the main road into an old and un- 
 frequented road, that wound its zigzag through one 
 of the densely- wooded creek bottoms. "Halt!" 
 said the guerrilla, and he who gave the command 
 commenced hurriedly to relieve himself of some 
 of his accoutrements, as though he was about to 
 go to work in earnest at some devilish deed. 
 The place was lonely and fitting to such murder- 
 ous intents, and Cones says he felt a cold sort of 
 chill run down the full length of even his long legs. 
 
 Guerrilla (drawing the cork out of his canteen) 
 — " You look a pretty good feller. Let's take a 
 drink ; and for fear you might think it's pizen, I'll 
 drink first!" 
 
 And suiting the action to his words, he placed 
 the canteen to his lips, and turned his face up in 
 the position of one making astronomical observa- 
 tions. After a long pull, he passed the canteen 
 over to Cones, who thought it ' mightn't be pizen,' 
 and imbibed. 
 
 Guerrilla. — " Now, lick up them mules ; give 
 'em thunder ! Hurry up ! " 
 
 At each injunction he emphasized on the rear 
 of the flying mules with his whip. 
 
 They bivouacked in a thicket that night, but 
 early the next morning began their journey at the 
 same pace, and toward evening of that day they 
 galloped into a rude-looking camp, which turned 
 out to be the nest of Richardson and his guerrilla 
 band, within a few miles of Fort Pillow. In a fcAV 
 minutes Cones was marched up before Colonel Rich- 
 ardson. After a number of questions as to what 
 was his business, whether he had served against 
 the Confederate States, &c., Richardson said : 
 
 " Well, sir. I'll parole you." 
 
 At the mention of " parole," the guerrilla who 
 had been the most prominent in the capture, and 
 had invited Cones " to drink," began to remonstrate. 
 
oO 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Querrilla. — "Why, Colonel, you ain't a goin' 
 to parole that infernal cotton-buyer, are you ? " 
 
 Richardson. — " Well, I've got to parole him or 
 shoot him ; and (turning to Cones inquii-ingly) 
 you'd rather be paroled than shot, hadn't you P " 
 
 Cones. — " Yes, but I don't want to take another 
 ride on that mule." 
 
 The parole was soon written, and much to his 
 astonishment, without being robbed of his money 
 and watch, he was told that he was at hberty to 
 walk back to Lagrange, forty miles. In an horn- 
 afterward he started, and soon after leaving the 
 camp he was startled again by the command 
 " Halt ! " He halted, and out started the guerrilla 
 who had been most prominent in his cajjture, and 
 had gone away sulky because the Colonel would 
 not shoot " that infernal cotton-buyer," instead 
 of paroling him. 
 
 Cones was unarmed, and began to have serious 
 apprehensions of what was to follow, when the 
 guerrilla said : " Old feller, let's take a drink ! " 
 Cones' heart felt lighter immediately. So did 
 the canteen. 
 
 During the next three days he footed it back 
 to Lagrange, but he never after looked at a lean, 
 sharp-backed mule without a shuddei*. 
 
 Camp Anecdote. — The Sergeant of the picket- 
 guard being stationed near Pohick Church, Va., 
 had his attention drawn to the tinkling of a cow- 
 bell in the bushes. With visions of new milk 
 running through his head, he examined carefully, 
 and to his intense astonishment made the discov- 
 ery that as he advanced the cow-bell retreated. 
 The Sergeant made a double quick retrograde 
 movement, and immediately reported the aflair to 
 Colonel Hays. The Colonel secreted a squad of 
 men in the Avoods, and the Sergeant again made 
 himself conspicuous. He brushed ^bout among 
 the bushes, and the cow-bell approached. The 
 squad soon had the satisfaction of seeing — not 
 the cow, but a " Secesher " with a cow-bell hung 
 to his neck, and a six shooter in his belt. When 
 he got within easy range, and in sight of the squad, 
 the Sergeant hailed him : 
 
 " I say, old fellow, would you rather go to the 
 devil or to Washington ? " 
 
 The squad at the same time rushed forward. 
 
 " To AVasliington, I reckon," drawled the rebel. 
 " I ain't clothed for a warm climate." 
 
 And he accordingly delivered himself up. 
 
 A Joke on a Rebel Editor. — The editor 
 of the Rebel Banner, published at Murfreesboro' 
 until Bragg's retreat to Shelbyville, and after- 
 wards hailing from the latter town, tells the fol- 
 lowing good story : 
 
 On Wednesday, the 31st of December, 1863, we 
 went to the battle-field in search of glory and items. 
 
 While following up the charge of General Mc- 
 Cown's division, we met a body of prisoners mov- 
 ing to the rear, and at once struck up a conversa- 
 tion with them. Unfortunately, we Avere dressed 
 
 in cerulean habiliments, and, upon attempting to 
 leave, were ordered by the guard to remain where 
 we were. With a smile of ineffable contempt, we 
 drew from our pocket a pass ; but what was our 
 chagrin when we were accosted with, " I say, my 
 boy, none of us can read ; but that thar trick's too 
 old ; and I'll tell you another thing, yer infernal 
 blue-bellied Yankee, if you try any more of them 
 dodges, I'll souse this thing into yer gizzard." 
 
 Think of that, O ye tribe of brother quill- 
 drivers? The editor of this paper, the leading 
 journal of the South, to be called a Yankee, and 
 to be accredited with possessing an azure abdo- 
 men. 
 
 General Rousseau relates the following in- 
 cident of Shiloh : 
 
 Two days after the battle I walked into the 
 hospital tent on the ground where the fiercest 
 contest had taken place, and where many of our 
 men and those of the enemy had fallen. The 
 hospital was exclusively for the wounded rebels, 
 and they were laid thickly around. Many of them 
 were Kentuckians, of Breckinridge's command. 
 As I stepped into the tent, and spoke to some 
 one, I was addressed by a voice, the childish tone 
 of M-hich arrested ray attention : " That's General 
 Rousseau! General, I knew your son Dickey. 
 Where is Dick? I knew him very well." Turn- 
 ing to him, I saw stretched on the ground a hand- 
 some boy about sixteen years of age. His face 
 was a bright one, but the hectic glow and flush 
 on the cheeks, his restless manner, and his grasp- 
 ing and catching his breath as he spoke, alarmed 
 me. I knelt by his side and pressed his fevered 
 brow with my hand, and would have taken the 
 child into my arms, if I could. " And who are 
 you, my son ? " said I. " AVhy, I am Eddy Mc- 
 Fadden, from Louisville," was the reply. "I 
 know you, General, and I know your son Dick. 
 I've played with him. Where is Dick ? " I 
 thought of my own dear boy, of what might have 
 befallen him ; that he, too, deluded by villains, 
 might, like this poor boy, have been mortally 
 wounded, among strangers, and left to die. My 
 heart bled for the poor child ; for he was a child ; 
 my manhood gave way, and burning tears at- f 
 tested, in spite of me, my intense suffering. I : 
 asked him of his father. He had no father. His i 
 mother. He had no mother. Brothers and sis- ; 
 ters. " I have a brother," said he. " I never t 
 knew what soldiering was. I was but a boy, and 
 they got me oft' down here." He was shot through c 
 the shoulder and lungs. I asked him what he 
 needed. He said he was cold and the ground was 
 hard. I had no tent nor blankets ; our baggage c 
 was all in the rear at Savannah. But I sent the r 
 poor boy my saddle-blanket, and returned the 
 next morning with lemons for him and the rest ; ' i 
 but his brother, in the Second Kentucky regiment, 
 had taken him over to his regiment to nurse him. 
 I never saw the child again. He died in a cLay or 
 two. Peace to his ashes. I never think of this 
 incident that I do not fill up as if he were my own \ 
 child. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 51 
 
 THE DEAD DRUMMER BOY. 
 
 'Midst tangled roots that lined the ■wild ravine, 
 Where the fierce fight raged hottest through the 
 day, 
 And where the dead in scattered heaps were seen, 
 Amid the darkling forest's shade and sheen, 
 Speechless in death he lay. 
 
 The setting sun, which glanced athwart the place 
 
 In slanting lines, like amber-tinted rain, 
 Fell sidewise on the drummer's upturned face, 
 "Where Death had left his gory finger's trace 
 In one bright crimson stain. 
 
 The silken fringes of his once bright eye 
 
 Lay like a shadow on his cheek so fair ; 
 His lips were parted by a long-drawn sigh. 
 That with his soul had mounted to the sky 
 On some wild martial air. 
 
 No more his hand the fierce tattoo shall beat, 
 
 The shrill reveille, or the long roll's call, 
 Or sound the charges, when, in smoke and heat 
 Of fiery onset, foe with foe shall meet, 
 And gallant men shall fall. 
 
 Yet may be in some happy home, that one, 
 A mother, reading from the list of dead, 
 Shall chance to view the name of her dead son. 
 And move her lips to say, " God's will be done 1" 
 And bow in grief her head. 
 
 But more than this what tongue shall tell his story ? 
 
 Perhaps his boyish longings were for fame. 
 He lived, he died ; and so tnemento tnori. 
 Enough if on the page of War and Glory 
 Some hand has writ his name. 
 
 The Badge of the Fifteenth Army Corps 
 — The troops from the army of the Potomac, sent 
 to join the army of the Cumberland, carried with 
 them various ornamental habits and customs that 
 were new to the Western soldiers. Among them 
 was the corps badge, which designated the corps 
 to which officers and men were attached. For 
 instance, the badge of the Eleventh Corps is a 
 crescent, that of the Twelfth a star. The badge 
 is made of any material, — gold, silver, or red 
 flannel, — and is worn conspicuously on some 
 part of the clothing. The Western corps had 
 no such badge. How an Irishman explained the 
 matter is thus told : A soldier came by the head- 
 quarters of Gen. Butterfield, — a tired, weather- 
 beaten straggler. He was one of those who 
 made Sherman's march from Memphis to Chat- 
 tanooga, thence to Ivnoxville, and was now re- 
 turning 'in the terrible cold of that returning 
 march, thinly clad, one foot covered with a badly 
 worn army shoe, the other Avith a piece of raw 
 hide bound with strings about a sockless foot — 
 both feet cut and bleeding. " Arms at Avill," he 
 trudged past the headquarters' guard, intent only 
 upon overtaking his regiment. 
 
 " Halt," said a- sentinel with a bright piece, 
 clean uniform, and white gloves. " What do you 
 belong to ? " 
 
 "Eigbth.Misshoory, sure.'*. 
 
 " What division ? " 
 
 " Morgan L. Smith's, av coorse." 
 
 " What brigade ? " 
 
 "Giles Smith's Second Brigade of the Second 
 Division." 
 
 " But what army corps ? " 
 
 " The Fifteenth, you fool. I am one of the 
 heroes of Vicksburg. Anything more, Mr. Sen- 
 tinel ? " 
 
 " Where is your badge ? " 
 
 " My badge, is it ? What is that ? " 
 
 " Do you see this star on my cap ? That is 
 the badge of the Twelfth Corps. That crescent 
 on my partner's caj) is the badge of the Eleventh 
 Corps." 
 
 " I see now. That's how yez Potomick fellers 
 gits home uv dark nights. Ye takes the moon 
 and shtars with ye." 
 
 " But what is the badge of your corps ? " 
 
 Making a round about, and slapping his car- 
 tridge-box, our soldier replied, " D'ye see that ? 
 A cartridge-box, with a U. S. on a brash plate, 
 and forty rounds in the cartiidge-box, and sixty 
 rounds in our pockets. That's the badge of the 
 Fifteenth, that came from Vicksburg to help ye 
 fight Chattanoogy." 
 
 • Slave's Prayer. — A Vii-ginia slave, who had 
 heard of the President's promise concerning the 
 proclamation to be issued on the 1st of January, 
 then only a few days in the future, was heard 
 praying, and with great earnestness and a deeply 
 affected heart, thus : 
 
 " O God Almighty ! keep the engine of the 
 rebellion going till New Year's ! Good Lord ! 
 pray, doii't let off the steam ; Lord, don't reverse 
 the engine ; don't back up ; Lord, don't put on 
 the brakes ! But pray, good Lord, put on more 
 steam ! Make it go a mile a minute ! Yes, 
 Lord, pray make it go sixty miles an hour ! 
 (' Amen ! ' ' Do, good Lord ! ' responded the 
 brethren and sisters.) Lord, don't let the ex- 
 press train of rebellion smash up till the 1st of 
 January! Don't let the rebels back down, but 
 harden their hearts as hard as Pharaoh's, and 
 keep all hands going, till the train reaches the 
 Depot of Emancipation ! " 
 
 How THE Veteran makes Himself Com- 
 fortable. — An army letter gives the following 
 description of the manner in which a veteran 
 soldier makes himself comfortable in camp : 
 
 " It is a trite remark that a man never knows 
 how much he can do without until he tries it, but 
 it is more to my present purpose to say that he 
 never knows with how little he can make himself 
 comfortable until he makes the experiment. No- 
 body possesses this invaluable knowledge so 
 much as a veteran. Put a recruit into a forest 
 of pine trees, with his shelter tent, and if he have 
 nobody but recruits about him, ten to one you 
 ■will find him under his shelter tent tlii'ee weeks 
 from that time. 
 
52 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " Not so with the veteran. If he be camped in 
 the pine forest, give him an old axe, a boot-leg, 
 a mud-puddle, a board or two, and a handful of 
 nails, and he builds him a house, and a house, 
 too, comfortable and commodious, and not want- 
 ing in architectural beauty. First he fells his 
 trees, then cuts and notches his logs, and lays 
 them together to the requii-ed height. His roof 
 he puts on, giving it a great slope, and thatching 
 it with the green of the pine trees. 
 
 " He has been careful to leave window spaces, 
 and tacking pieces of his shelter tent over these, 
 he has provided light, but he keeps out the nip- 
 ping air of winter. Then with his board he makes 
 the door, and the boot-leg supplying the hinges, 
 it soon swings into its place. Then he fills the 
 spaces between the logs with soft earth from his 
 mud-puddle, and his house is done, except the 
 chimney, and the forest and the mud-puddle soon 
 provide that, for his chimney is nothing but a 
 pile of sticks, plentifully plastered without and 
 within with mud. Then with his old axe he man- 
 ufactures out of pine logs a full assortment of 
 furniture, — bedstead, chairs, table, wardrobe, 
 and generally adds a mantel. Then, with a 
 bright fire upon his hearth, he is prepared to 
 laugh at winter, and generally does." 
 
 A Committee of the Louisiana State Conven- 
 tion, appointed to prepare a flag and seal for that 
 State, thus expressed their opinion of that Peli- 
 can which had so long been the cherished emblem 
 of Louisiana : " On consultation, and especially 
 with those descended from the ancient colonists 
 of the country, the Committee found that what 
 has been considered the symbol of Louisiana, 
 commands neither their favor nor their affection. 
 The pelican is in form unsightly, in habits. filthy, 
 in nature cowardly." The Committee also learned 
 from Audubon, to their amazement, that the story 
 of the pelican's feeding its young with its own 
 blood is, in expressive phrase, " gammon." There- 
 fore they did not commend this water-foAvl as a 
 fit subject for their flag, but rather as one of 
 loathing; and contumelv. 
 
 Union in Tennessee. — A traveller, passing 
 through one of the counties of Tennessee on 
 horseback, stopped at a modest cottage on the 
 roadside, and asked for shelter, as it was quite 
 dark and raining. The "head of the family" 
 came to the door, and accosted the traveller 
 with, — 
 
 " What do you want ? " 
 
 " I want to stay all night," was the reply. 
 
 " What are yer ? " 
 
 This interrogatory was not fully understood by 
 the traveller, and he asked an explanation. 
 
 " I mean, what's yer politics ? " rejoined 
 the former. " Air yer fur this Union, or 
 agin it ? " 
 
 This was a poser, as the traveller was not cer- 
 tain whether the '-man of the house" was a 
 Union man or a secessionist, and he Avas anxious 
 
 to " tie up " for the night ; so he made up liis 
 mind, and said, — 
 
 " My friend, I am for the Union." 
 
 " Stranger, you kin kum in." 
 
 TO CANAAN ! 
 A SONG OP THE SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND.* 
 
 BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 
 
 Where are you going, soldiers, 
 With banner, gun, and sword ? 
 We're marching South to Canaiin 
 
 To battle for the Lord ! 
 What Captain leads your armies 
 
 Along the rebel coasts ? 
 The Mighty One of Israel, 
 His name is Lord of Hosts ! 
 To Canatin, to Canaan, 
 
 The Lord has led us forth, 
 To blow before the heathen walls 
 The trumpets of the North ! 
 
 What flag is this you carry 
 Along the sea and shore ? 
 The same our grandsiros lifted up, 
 
 The same our fathers bore ! 
 In many a battle's tempest 
 
 It shed the crimson rain : 
 What God has woven in his loom 
 Let no man rend in twain ! 
 To Canaiin, to Canaiin, 
 
 The Lord has led us forth, 
 
 To plant upon the rebel towers 
 
 The banners of the North ! 
 
 What troop is this that follows. 
 
 All armed with picks and spades ? 
 These are the swarthy bondsmen. 
 
 The iron-skin brigades ! 
 They'll pile up Freedom's breastwork, 
 
 They'll scoop out rebels' graves ; 
 Who then will be their owner. 
 And march them off for slaves ? 
 To Canaiin, to Canarm, 
 
 The Lord has led us forth, 
 To strike upon the cai:)tive's chain 
 The hammers of the North ! 
 
 What song is this you're singing ? 
 
 The same that Israel sung 
 When !Moscs led the mighty choir, 
 
 And iliriam's timbrel rung ! 
 To Canaiin ! to Canaiin ! 
 
 The priests and maidens cried ; 
 To Canaan ! to Canaan ! 
 The people's voice replied. 
 To Canaan, to Canaiin, 
 
 The Lord has led us forth, 
 To thunder through its adder-dens 
 The anthems of the North ! 
 
 When Canaan's hosts are scattered. 
 
 And all her walls lie flat, 
 What follows next in order ? 
 
 The Lord will see to that ! 
 
 * See Num. i. 45, 46. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 53 
 
 » 
 
 AVe'll break the tyrant's sceptre, 
 
 We'll build the people's throne — 
 When half the world is Freedom's, 
 Then all the world's our own ! 
 To Canaan, to Canaan, 
 
 The Lord has led us forth, 
 To sweep the rebel threshing-floors, 
 A whirlwind from the North ! 
 
 THE SECRET SERVICE. 
 
 " General Okdeks No. . — Captain Carter, 
 — th Indiana Volunteers, is hereby relieved from 
 his command indefinitely, and will report at these 
 headquarters immediately. 
 
 By order of Major-General Rosecrans. 
 
 Lieut. Col. C. GoDDARD, A. A. G. 
 
 (Current Series.) " 
 
 The above order was read upon dress parade 
 to the gallant old — th, in January, 1863. The 
 cotton fields and cedar thickets of " Stone River" 
 were as yet scarcely dry from the loyal blood 
 which had there been given up to freedom's cause. 
 The regiment was struck dumb, so to speak, and 
 the captain most of all. What could such an 
 order mean ? Surely, none deserved censure less 
 than Captain Carter. He was the idol of the 
 regiment — a perfect specimen of manly strength ; 
 bold and fearless in battle, perfect master of the 
 " sword " and " gloves," kind and gentle-hearted, 
 always found upon the side of the weak. He had 
 been frequently spoken of by his superiors for his 
 gallantry. These thoughts passed through the 
 minds of some after this order was read, but none 
 could give a sufficient reason why he should be 
 thus relieved ; for, said they, does not the order 
 imply disgrace ? But these mutterings were not 
 heard at headquarters, and were of no avail. The 
 Captain retired to his tent, relieved himself of his 
 accoutrements, called his servant Tom, and set 
 out for headquarters, with none but his sable 
 companion. 
 
 General Rosecrans was quartered in Judge 
 Ready's house, and had a private suit of rooms 
 on the second floor, with windows opening upon 
 a veranda. He was sitting before a bright fire 
 on the evening our story opens, in undress uni- 
 form, Mith nothing but the buttons to betoken 
 rank. An orderly entered and announced Captain 
 Carter. The General arose quickly, and advanced 
 to meet him, with that easy, smiling look, that 
 put the Captain's fears at rest. The General 
 took him by the hand, while his countenance as- 
 sumed a more thoughtful look, or rather settled 
 in repose, and said : 
 
 " This is Captain Carter, of the — thLidiana ? " 
 
 " It is, sir," replied the Captain. 
 
 " You received a peremptory order this evening 
 to report forthwith." 
 
 " I did, sir, and have done so." 
 
 " Yes, yes ; take a seat. Captain. I am in want 
 of a man of some experience, Captain, who has 
 nbt only a ' hand to do and a heart to dare,' but 
 also has judgment to guide and direct both. 
 General Thomas, after quietly looking through 
 
 his command, has picked on you ; and I have 
 such confidence in the ' grizzled old hero ' that I 
 have summoned you here for secret service. Are 
 you willing to undertake it, with all its risks ? " 
 
 " Anything, General, for our country's good." 
 
 " Very well, sir ; you will remain here to-night. 
 Any of your efiects you may need, send for by the 
 orderly at the door. During the night I will in- 
 form you what your duties will be." 
 
 General Bragg's headquarters were at Tulla- 
 homa. The two armies were lying in a semicircle, 
 the rebel right resting on the Cumberland at 
 Hartsville, above Nashville, their left resting at 
 the " shoals " below. 
 
 General Van Dorn commanded the left, with 
 headquarters at Spring Hill. Our right rested 
 at Franklin, which is nearly on a direct line be- 
 tween Spring Hill and Nashville. This much by 
 way of explanation. 
 
 One morning in February, 1863, two persons 
 were making their way on horseback from Shelby- 
 ville to Spring Hill. The fii-st of these was 
 dressed in Quaker garb, and bestrode a light-built, 
 dapple bay stallion, whose small, sinewy limbs, 
 broad chest, and open nostrils betokened both 
 speed and bottom. Horse and rider were ill- 
 matched, but seemed to have a perfect under- 
 standing. 
 
 The other person was a negro, dressed like 
 his master, broad brim, white neck-tie and all, 
 mounted on a stout roadster. They were fast 
 approaching a vidette post ; were shortly halted 
 by a cavalryman ; they drew rein and dismounted, 
 
 " Is thee a man of war ? " asked the Quaker. 
 
 " Don't know ; reckon, tho', I mought be. But 
 what's your business, Quaker ? " 
 
 " Does thee know a Mr. Van Dorn about 
 here ? " 
 
 " Well, I reckon I does ; but he'll mister ye if 
 you call him that." 
 
 " Well, I have business with him, and I desire 
 admittance into thy camps." 
 
 " All right, old fellow ; wait till I call the cor- 
 poral." 
 
 General Van Dorn was examining some maps 
 and charts, when an orderly entered and an- 
 nounced that a Quaker desired to see him. 
 
 " Admit him," said the General. 
 
 " Is thee Mr. Van Dorn, whom carnal men call 
 General ? " 
 
 " What is your business with me, sir ? " asked 
 the General, without answering the question. 
 
 " I am sent, friend Van Dorn, by my society, to 
 administer comforts and consolation to these men 
 of war, and Avould ask permission to bring such 
 things as they may need or my means may 
 supply." 
 
 " Have you any recommendations ? " 
 
 " Yes, verily ; " and the Quaker produced a 
 bundle of papers, and commenced assorting them 
 out. " Here is one from friend Quakenbush, and 
 here — " 
 
 " Never mind," said the General, while the cor- 
 ners of his mouth commenced to jerk ; " here, 
 Mr. — " 
 
 " Thurston," suggested the Quaker. 
 
54 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " Mr. Thurston, here is a pass through the lines 
 at -will for such articles as you may see proper to 
 bring. Tliis is all, sir ? " 
 
 " May I ask, friend, how far it is to those un- 
 godly men who are persecuting our people with 
 tire and sword, whom the carnal men call the 
 Yankees ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. About fourteen miles. See that you 
 give them a wide berth, for they have a curious 
 way of burning men of your persuasion." 
 
 " Yes, verily will I ; " and with this the Quaker 
 retired. 
 
 " Queer character, that," remarked the General 
 ,to himself ; " but it takes all kinds to make a 
 v/orld." 
 
 The Quaker passed out among the camps, 
 meeting a smile here, and a rough jest there ; 
 but they seemed not to ruffle the placidity of his 
 countenance, though the negro's eyes iiashed, 
 who followed a few steps in the rear. The 
 Quaker seemed to have a good supply of tracts 
 and religious papers, which he scattered freely, 
 with a word of gentle admonition to the card- 
 players, and a hint of the world to come to all. 
 He was j^articular in his inquiries for the sick, 
 and even visited all the forts and fortifications, 
 and made particular inquiries in and about them 
 for the sick, writing a letter for one, furnishing 
 a stamp to another ; so that at the close of the 
 day he had visited all, and made a memorandum 
 of what was needed, and was preparing to leave 
 camp when a Lieutenant came and accosted him 
 v/ith, " I say, stranger, haven't we met before ? " 
 
 " Nay, verily," replied the Quaker, " I go not 
 about where carnal men do battle." 
 
 " No ! Well, I must have seen you at some 
 place, but I don't recollect where. Likely I'm 
 mistaken." 
 
 " Very like, friend ; good day to you." 
 
 " Massa, did ye see dat debbil's eyes brighten 
 up towards the last ? Tells ye, sui-e, we'd better 
 be trablin." 
 
 " Yes, Sam, I saw it, and my recollection is 
 better than his, for I took him prisoner at Stone 
 River, though he escaped soon after. We will 
 pass out as soon as possible." 
 
 Not long after, the Quaker and his colored 
 companion were galloping over the smooth pike. 
 As they approached a house, they slackened 
 their speed, but when out of sight, they again 
 increased it. Thus they pushed on till after 
 ' dark, Avhen they came to a by-road, into which 
 they rode some miles, and finally drew rein at a 
 little log-cabin, to which, after reconnoitring a 
 little, the negro advanced, and knocked, and a 
 voice from the inside bade him enter, which he 
 did, followed by his master. 
 
 That night a despatch went to Gen. Bragg, 
 which read : 
 
 " Look out for a Quaker, followed by a nigger. 
 He is a spy. Arrest him. 
 
 " Gen. Van Dorn." 
 
 The next day a negro rode into Murfreesboro', 
 and passed on to Gen. Rosecrans' headquarters, 
 and presenting a pass, was admitted to his pri- 
 
 vate apartments, and handed the General a paper 
 which read : " 2 overcoats and G hats, 37 shirts, 
 3200 tracts, 2000 for the unconverted at Spring 
 Hill." 
 
 Gen. Rosecrans was eagerly looking over the 
 document M'hen Gen. Thomas was announced. 
 The latter was cordially met by Gen. Rosecrans, 
 who immediately handed him the paper he had 
 just received. 
 
 " This is all cipher to me. General," said Gen. 
 Thomas. 
 
 " I suppose so," said the former, who had been 
 writing. " Well, here is something more intelli- 
 gible : * Two forts of six guns each ; thii'ty-seven 
 additional guns ; 3200 troops, 2000 of which are 
 cavalry, at Spring Hill.'" 
 
 " Humph ! Some of Capt. Carter's ingenuity," 
 said Gen. Thomas. 
 
 " Yes, he is doing his work nobly, so far. I 
 only hope no harm may come to him." 
 
 " Well, General," said Thomas, " Col. B , 
 
 of the — th Lidiana, Avas asking me to-day why 
 the Captain was relieved of his command ; of 
 course I knew nothing about it." 
 
 " That was right," said Rosecrans ; " the efifec- 
 tiveness of the ' secret service ' would be greatly 
 impaired by having the names of those engaged 
 in it made known. I enjoined the utmost secrecy 
 upon the Captain, and kept him here that night 
 that he might not be questioned too closely by 
 his comrades. We will hear from him by ten 
 o'clock to-morrow." 
 
 " Where do you reside ? " asked Gen. Bragg. 
 
 " I live near Brandyville, General, and came 
 down to see if something can't bo done to keep 
 these infernal Yankees from our section. They 
 was down there yesterday, and took off over two 
 thousand bushels of corn, and nearly all the 
 wheat in the country." 
 
 The speaker was a middle-aged man of rather 
 good features, but his countenance betokened the 
 too free use of Confederate whiskey. 
 
 " What did you say your name was, Colonel ? " 
 
 " Ashcroft, sir." 
 
 " Yes, yes, I have heard of your family. You 
 have done nobly for our cause, from report." 
 
 " We have tried to do our duty. General, and 
 what little I have left you are welcome to, but I 
 don't want the Yankees to get it. I sent down 
 by Gen. Wheeler's command, the other day, a 
 hundred bushels of meal as a gift." 
 
 " I wish we had more like you," said Bragg. 
 " Let me fill your glass again. Colonel. I wish I 
 had something better to offer you." 
 
 " Permit me. General, to send to my portman- 
 teau for a bottle of wine." 
 
 " Yes, sah." 
 
 " Rare vintage, this. General. It's one of a 
 lot I got North before the war." 
 
 " Excellent," says Bragg. " I would like to 
 have a supply. By the way. Colonel, did you see 
 anything of a Quaker-like personage on the road 
 this morning ? " 
 
 " Riding a bay horse, with a nigger follow- 
 ing ? " 
 
 " The same." 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 55 
 
 " Why, yes. He came to my plantation last 
 night. I insisted on his staying all night, but he 
 was in a hurry, and could not stop." 
 
 " He was a Yankee spy," said Bragg. 
 
 " The devil ! and to think I gave the rascal bis 
 supper ! " _ • 
 
 " Well, well, never mind, Colonel ; we'll pick 
 him up yet. I'm going to make a feint on the 
 enemy's flanks to-morrow with my cavalry, and 
 we'll probably get him. He has information that 
 would be valuable to the enemy. I look for a 
 couple of officers back in a few days, that I sent 
 up to Franklin to find out the enemy's strength. 
 If they bring me a correct report, I'll match Rose- 
 crans, with all his low cunning. Besides this. 
 Colonel, I'm looking for some Georgia and Ala- 
 bama troops up shortly, and if the cowardly 
 Dutchman don't run, I'll make another Stone 
 River for him." 
 
 " Good for you. General. Don't leave even 
 one of the cussed mudsills on our soil. But it's 
 getting late, and I must try and get some sup- 
 plies before I go back. Will you accommodate 
 me with a pass ? " 
 
 " Certainly, and here is a bill of protection for 
 your person and jn'operty. No thanks ; good 
 day to you." 
 
 " Golly, Massa Cap'n, you's bin talkin' to de 
 ole debbil hissef " 
 
 " Hush ! not so loud, Tom. I've got one more 
 to visit, and then we'll be off, and take a straight 
 shoot up Hoover's Gap." 
 
 " Cap'n, Cap'n ! dey's a regiment ob dese dirty 
 rebels just started up de Manchester road, dat's 
 going up from Hoober's Gap, for I heard de 
 Kernel say so." 
 
 " All right, Tom ; we'll take the Shelbyville 
 road, and run the risk of meeting Van Dorn. Go 
 out through the ' abatis,' the same way we came 
 in with the horses, and I'll meet you in half an 
 hour by that old house." 
 
 " Missus, dey's a gentleman dat got a frow off 
 his boss out here, and would like to stop awhile 
 wid ye, if ye please. Missus." 
 
 " Very well ; I'll send a boy out to help him 
 in. — Are you much hurt, sir ? " 
 /' . " No, madam, I think not ; my horse got 
 ''•' frightened at some object in the road, and threw 
 me heavily on my right shoulder. A night's 
 , rest, madam, will enable me to pursue my jour- 
 / *ney, I think." 
 / Our hero found, upon examination, that there 
 were no bones broken, and yet the bruise was 
 severe enough to make him covet a night's rest, 
 in preference to passing it on the saddle. So 
 without more ado, he submitted to his hostess's 
 desire to bathe the bruised shoulder, and prepare 
 him a comfortable bed by the fire. 
 
 During the night he was awakened by the loud 
 clatter of horses' roofs, followed immediately by 
 a loud " hilloa." 
 
 During the conversation which occurred out- 
 side, he heard the name of Van Dorn mentioned, 
 and the thought that they might meet was any- 
 thing but comfortable to him just at that time ; 
 but he resolved to trust to luck, and if that failed, 
 
 he would try what virtue there was in "right 
 angles, horizontals," &c. Presently the door 
 opened, and an officer entered, dressed in the 
 height of Confederate style, — gilt buttons, gold 
 lace, and all, — a glance at wliich showed that he 
 bore the rank of Lieutenant-General. The con- 
 versation that ensued informed our hero that he 
 had the honor of occupying the same room with 
 Gen. Hardee. He had as yet feigned sleep. 
 He heard the General ask the lady if she knew 
 who he was, and her reply was, that she did not. 
 Then followed the story of his getting thrown, 
 and so on. He was anxious to establish his 
 reputation with the General as a sound secesJi, 
 and a little ruse occurred to him, which he re- 
 solved to practise even to the extent of making 
 himself ridiculous, suddenly bawling out, as if 
 asleep, — 
 
 " Run, Tom ; the infernal Yankees are coming; 
 put all the horses in the back pasture ; take 
 away every nigger with you." 
 
 "Ha, ha!" laughed the General; "he's all 
 right. I'll bet on him. But you see, madam, 
 there is a spy in our lines that we are anxious to 
 catch, and he has, so fiir, eluded us, and if we 
 meet a stranger, we are anxious to find out his 
 standing. I'm satisfied with this one, for a man 
 will tell the truth Avhen he's asleep." 
 
 " Your supper's ready, sah." 
 
 " And I'm ready for it," replied the General, 
 and left the room. 
 
 Our hero moved, grunted, and finally turned 
 over, and found his hostess still in the room, and 
 behind her he saw Tom making motions for him 
 to come out. 
 
 The lady asked if he felt comfortable, had he 
 slept well, &c., to all of which he replied in the 
 affirmative ; upon which she left the room, and he 
 followed soon after, and found Tom waiting for him. 
 
 " Massa, dese debbils has ' sprised ' us, and 
 we'd better be a leabin. I'se got a ' nigh shoot ' 
 from de niggahs, dat we can cut across to Man- 
 chester and up fru de gap from heah." 
 
 " All right, Tom ; wliere's the horses ? " 
 
 " I'se got um, Massa, out below here." 
 
 "Here's for them, then, Tom; come on 
 quickly." 
 
 It is' needless to follow them further ;_ suffice it 
 to say they reached our lines the following even- 
 ing, and reported to Gen. Rosecrans. 
 
 The following order explains itself : — 
 
 Special Field Order, No. — . 
 
 Capt. Carter (— th Ind. Vols.) is hereby or- 
 dered to return to his command, and is recom- 
 mended for promotion. By order 
 
 W. S. Rosecrans, Maj.-Gen. 
 Lieut.-Col. C. GoDDARD, A. A. G. 
 
 SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETIES. 
 
 To the quiet nooks of home, 
 To the public halls so wide, 
 
 The women, all loyal, hurrying come, 
 And sit down side by side, 
 
56 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 To fight for their native land, 
 
 With womanly -weapons girt, 
 For dagger a needle, scissors for brand. 
 
 While they sing the song of the shirt. 
 
 O women with sons so dear, 
 
 O tender, loving wives, 
 It is not money you work for now, 
 
 But the saving of precious lives. 
 'Tis roused for the battle we feel — 
 
 O for a thousand experts. 
 Armed with tiny darts of steel. 
 
 To conquer thousands of shirts ! 
 
 Stitch — stitch — stitch 
 
 Under the sheltering roof. 
 Come to the rescue, poor and rich, 
 
 Nor stay from the work aloof; 
 To the men who are shedding their blood, 
 
 To the brave, devoted band, 
 Whose action is honor, whose cause is good, 
 
 We pledge our strong right hand. 
 
 Work — work — work. 
 
 With earnest heart and soul — 
 Work — work — work. 
 
 To keep the Union whole. 
 And 'tis O for the land of the brave. 
 
 Where treason and cowardice lurk. 
 Where there's all to lose or all to save, 
 
 That we're doing this Christian work. 
 
 Brothers are fighting abroad. 
 
 Sisters will help them here. 
 Husbands and wives with one accord 
 
 Serving the cause so dear. 
 Stand by our colors to-day — 
 
 Keep to the Union true — 
 Under our flag while yet we may 
 
 Hurrah for the Red, White, and Blue. 
 
 A Man of Nerve. — A venerable judge re- 
 lated the following anecdote : 
 
 The morning following the battle of Yorktown, 
 I had the curiosity to attend the wounded. 
 Among others whose limbs were so much in- 
 jured as to require amputation, was a musician, 
 who had received a musket ball in his knee. As 
 usual in such a case, preparations wevc made to 
 prevent the possibility of his moving. Says the 
 sufferer, " Now, what would you be at ? " " My 
 lad, I'm going to take off your leg, and it is ne- 
 cessary that you should be lashed down." " I'll 
 consent to no such thing. You may pluck my 
 heart from my bosom, but you'll not confine me. 
 Is there a violin in the camp ? if so, bring it to 
 me." A violin was furnished, and tuning it, he 
 said, " Now, Doctor, begin." And he continued 
 to play until the operation, which lasted about 
 forty minutes, was completed, without missing a 
 note or moving a muscle. 
 
 Adventures of a Despatch Bearer. — The 
 following account of the adventures of Lamar 
 Fontaine, who acted as a despatch bearer for the 
 Southern forces around Vicksburg, was written 
 by the father of young Fontaine : 
 
 Lamar is almost continually in the saddle, and 
 employed in very hazardous enterprises. His 
 last feat of arms was the most daring he has yet 
 performed. 
 
 He left my house, under orders from Gen. 
 Johnston, to bear a verbal despatch to Gen. Pem- 
 berton, in Vicksburg, and to carry a supply of 
 percussion caps to our troops in that besieged 
 city. I parted with him, hardly hoping ever to 
 see him again alive, for I knew that Vicksburg 
 was closely invested on all sides. The enemy's 
 lines of circumvallation extend from Snyder's 
 Bluff, on the Yazoo, to Warrenton, on the Mis- 
 sissippi, and the rivers and their opposite shores 
 are filled and lined with their forces. 
 
 He was well mounted, but was burdened with 
 forty pounds of percussion caps, besides his 
 blanket and crutches. He has no use of his 
 broken leg, and cannot walk a step without a 
 crutch ; and in mounting bis horse he has to lift 
 it over the saddle with his right hand. But he 
 accomplishes this operation with much dexterity, 
 and without assistance. I loaned him a very fine 
 sabre, with wooden scabbard, to prevent rattling, 
 and a very reliable revolver, which has never 
 missed fire when loaded by me. 
 
 The family were called together for prayers, 
 and we prayed fervently that the God of our 
 fathers would shield him from all danger, and en- 
 able him to fulfil his mission to Vicksburg suc- 
 cessfully, and give him a safe return to us all. I 
 then exhorted him to remember that, if it was the 
 will of God for him to live and serve his country, 
 all the Yankees owned by Lincoln could not 
 kill, him ; but if it was the divine will that he 
 should die, he would be in as much danger at 
 home as in Vicksburg, and death would certainly 
 find him, no matter where he might be. I charged 
 him to use his best endeavors to kill every one 
 of the jackals who should attempt to stop his 
 course, or come within reach of his sword or 
 pistol. 
 
 He crossed Big Black River that night, and the 
 next day got between their lines and the division 
 of their army, which was at Mechanicsburg. He 
 hid his horse in a ravine, and ensconced himself 
 in a fallen tree, overlooking the road, during that 
 day. From his hiding-place he witnessed the re- 
 treat of the Yankees, who passed him in consider- 
 able haste and confusion. After their columns had 
 gone by, and the night had made it safe for him 
 to move, he continued his route in the direction 
 of Snyder's BluQ'. As he entered the telegraphic 
 road from Yazoo City to Vicksburg, he was hailed 
 by a picket, but dashed by him. A volley was 
 fired at him by the Y'ankees. He escaped un- 
 hurt ; but a Minie ball wounded his liorse mor- 
 tally. The spirited animal, however, carried him 
 safely to the bank of the Y'azoo River, where he 
 died, and left him afoot. He lost one of his 
 crutches in making his escape. This was jerked 
 from him by the limb of a tree, and he had no 
 time to pick it up. 
 
 With the assistance of one crutch, he carried 
 his baggage, and groped along the Y''azoo, until 
 he providentially discovered a small log canoe, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 57 
 
 tied by a rope, withiii his reach. He pressed 
 this into his service, and paddled down the river, 
 until he met three Yankee gunboats coming up 
 to Yazoo City. He avoided them by running un- 
 der some willows overhanging the water, and 
 lying concealed until they passed. Soon after- 
 wards he floated by Snyder's BluflT, which was 
 illuminated, and alive with Yankees and negroes, 
 participating in the amusement of a grand ball 
 of mixed races. He lay flat in his canoe, which 
 was nothing but a hollow log, and could hardly 
 be distinguished from a piece of drift-wood, and 
 glided safely through the gunboats, transports, 
 and barges of the amalgamationists. He reached 
 the back-water of the Mississippi before day, and 
 in the darkness missed the outlet of the Yazoo, 
 and got into what is called " Old River." After 
 searching in vain for a pass into the Mississippi, 
 day dawned, and he discovered his mistake. He 
 was forced to conceal his boat and himself, and 
 lie by for another day. He had been two days 
 and nights without food, and began to suffer the 
 pangs of hunger. 
 
 At night he paddled back into the Yazoo, and 
 descended it to the Mississippi, passing forty or 
 fifty of the Yankee transports. Only one man 
 hailed him, from the stern of a steamboat, and 
 asked him where he was going. He replied that 
 he was going to his fishing lines. In the bend 
 above Vicksburg, he fioated by the mortar fleet, 
 lying flat in his canoe. The mortars were in full 
 blast, bombarding the city. The next morning 
 he tied a wliite handkerchief to his paddle, raised 
 himself up in the midst of our picket boats at 
 Vicksburg, and gave a loud huzza for Jeff. 
 Davis and the Southern Confederacy, amid the 
 vivas of our sailors, who gave him a joyful re- 
 ception, and assisted him to Gen. Pemiserton's 
 headquarters. 
 
 After resting a day and night in the city, he 
 started out with a despatch from Gen. Pemberton 
 to Gen. Johnston. He- embarked on his same 
 canoe, and soon reached the enemy's fleet below 
 the city. He avoided their picket-boats on both 
 shores, and floated near their gunboats. He 
 passed so near one of these, that through an 
 open port-hole he could see men playing cards, 
 and hear them converse. At Diamond Place he 
 landed, and bade adieu to his faithful " dug-out." 
 After hobbling through the bottom to the hills, 
 he reached the residence of a man wOio had been 
 robbed by the savages of all his mules and horses, 
 except an old worthless gelding and a half-broken 
 colt. He gave him the choice of them, and he 
 mounted the colt, but found that he travelled 
 badly. Providentially he came upon a very fine 
 horse in the bottom, tied by a blind bridle, with- 
 out a saddle. As a basket and old bag were 
 lying near him, he inferred that a negro had left 
 him there, and that a Yankee cam]) was iiot far 
 distant. He exchanged bridles, saddled the horse 
 and moimted him, after turning loose the colt. 
 
 After riding so as to avoid the supposed posi- 
 tion of the Yankees, he encountered one of the 
 thieves, who was returning to it from a success- 
 ful plundering excursion. He was loaded with 
 
 chickens and a bucket of honey. He commenced 
 catechising Lamar in the true Yankee style, who 
 concluded it best to satisfy his curiosity by send- 
 ing him where he could know all that the devil 
 could teach him. With a pistol bullet through his 
 forehead, he left him, with his honey and poultry 
 lying in the path, to excite the conjectures of his 
 fellow-thieves. 
 
 He approached with much caution the next 
 settlement. There he hired a guide, for fifty dol- 
 lars, to pilot him to Hankerson's ferry on Big 
 Black River, which he wished to reach near that 
 point, without following any road. The fellow 
 he hu-ed proved to be a traitor. When he got 
 near the ferry, Lamar sent him ahead to ascertain 
 whether any Yankees were in the vicinity. The 
 conversation and manners of the man had ex- 
 cited his suspicions, and as soon as he left him 
 he concealed himself, but remained where he 
 could watch his return. He remained much long- 
 er than he expected ; but returned and reported 
 that the way was open, and that no Yankees were 
 near the ferry. After paying him, he took the 
 precaution to avoid the ferry, and to approach 
 the river above it, instead of following the guide's 
 directions. By this he flanked a force of the 
 Yankees posted to intercept him ; but as he en- 
 tered the road near the river bank, one of them, 
 who seemed to be on the right flank of a long 
 line of sentinels, suddenly rose up within ten feet 
 of him, and ordered him to halt. He replied with 
 a pistol shot, which killed the sentinel dead, and, 
 wheeling his horse, galloped through the bottom 
 up the river ; but the Yankees sent a shower of 
 balls after him, two of which wounded his right 
 hand, injuring four of his fingers. One grazed 
 his right leg, cutting two holes through his pan- 
 taloons, and another cut through one side of my 
 sword scabbard, spoiling its beauty, but leaving 
 a mark which makes me prize it more highly. 
 Seven bullets struck the horse, which reeled un- 
 der him, but had strength and speed to bear him 
 a mile from his pursuers before he fell and died. 
 Lamar than divided his clothes and arms into 
 packages, and swam Big Black River safely. He 
 did not walk far before a patriotic lady supplied 
 him with the only horse she had — a stray one, 
 which came to her house after the Yankees had 
 carried off' all the animals belonging to the place. 
 On this he reached Raymond at two o'clock in 
 the morning, changed his horse for a fresh one, 
 carried his despatch to Jackson that morning, and 
 rejoiced us all by an unexpected visit the same 
 day. 
 
 A Wedding Party brought to Grief. — 
 A correspondent of a Southern paper, after nar- 
 rating " the outrages committed by Averill and 
 his band," concludes his letter with the following 
 amusing yet unfortunate incident : 
 
 " Few tragedies are Avithout their comic and 
 grotesque interludes. And Averill's devastating 
 march had its farce. On the very top of Price's 
 or Eleven Mile Mountain, as it is sometimes 
 called, dwells a widow woman, with a considera- 
 ble family, including several grandchildren. She 
 
58 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 seems to defy the elements of the most tempestu- 
 ous height I know of. Up to tliis elevated position, 
 where everything may be supposed to be pure and 
 nice from its thorough ventilation, a romantic jus- 
 tice of the peace had carried his affections, and 
 fixed them on a fair daughter of the widow. His 
 aspirations met with the highest favor, and on the 
 very night of Averill's advent their mutual loves 
 culminated in a wedding feast, celebrated amidst 
 the wild 'shrieking and bowlings of the tempest on 
 the mountain. The festivity had progressed to 
 the fourth degree with uncommon energy. The 
 gentler sex were paying their respects to the sup- 
 per table, and some of the more vigorous of the 
 mountaineers were employing their time with a 
 powerful jig. A famous Boniface from the valley 
 below had thrown off coat, jacket, and shoes, and 
 was spreading himself. Indeed, the dance prom- 
 ised to rival that of Tarn O'Shanter, beheld in 
 Kirk Alloway — the locality and surroundings, 
 and the tempest, all favored a scene of no small 
 dramatic effect. But just then — O, untimely 
 event ! — the Yankees obtruded upon the scene, 
 and dissipated all its joys, and terminated for the 
 night all its physical recreations. They ate up all 
 the supper — took some thirty horses, ridden up 
 by the guests from the 'valley below' — and 
 carried off as prisoners the male portion of the 
 guests, including the hero of the dance, and, worst 
 of all, the bridegroom besides ! To the inexpres- 
 sible mortification of the prisoners, they saw one 
 of the ladies of the wedding party kiss a Yankee 
 for a cupful of coffee, -which he had offered to any 
 one of them who would bestow such a mark of 
 favor on him. The prisoners were marched off, 
 and detained a day or two before they were per- 
 mitted to return, on foot." 
 
 Thus ended the comedy of the terrible moun- 
 tain raid of Averill — a warning to wedding par- 
 ties on the border to look out for Yankees. 
 
 The Dead brought to Life again. — The 
 foUoM-ing remarkable incident occurred in Dodge- 
 ville, Wisconsin : 
 
 When the war first broke out, a young man 
 who resided in the above village joined a com- 
 pany commanded by Captain Tom Allen, which 
 was afterwards incorporated in the Second regi- 
 ment of Wisconsin Volunteers, and was present 
 at the terrible and disastrous battle of Bull Run. 
 The intelligence came back to his family at Bodge- 
 ville that he was slain upon the battle-field, and 
 his body left to be cared for by the enemy. The 
 news nearly killed his affectionate mother, and she, 
 with the remainder of those relatives who had 
 been nearly related to him, Avore mourning for 
 him who had poured out his blood and sacrificed 
 his young life for his country. This gnawing 
 grief had preyed upon these loving hearts for 
 many months, until they had learned to view it 
 with a species of resignation. What could then 
 depict their unspeakable astonishment and joy, 
 when he walked into the house, hearty and well ! 
 
 His story is briefly told thus : He had been left 
 severely wounded, with many others, upon the 
 
 battle-field. After the engagement was over, and 
 his friends had retreated in confusion, a company 
 of secessionists came where they were lying, and 
 actually bayoneted his wounded companions be- 
 fore his eyes. They even went so far as to stab 
 the bodies of senseless corpses, lest there be some 
 spark of life left in them ! A man came to where 
 he was lying on the ground, and raised his ensan- 
 guined weapon for the fatal thrust, which he fully 
 expected would end his mortal carreer. He closed 
 his eyes, fairly sick with the horrid emotion, and 
 waited to receive his fate. His enemy hesitated. 
 He lowered his musket, and finally raised him 
 carefully up, and gave him water from his canteen. 
 He was afterwards removed to the hospitals of 
 Richmond, where he received careful treatment, 
 and at last was exchanged and allowed to return 
 home. 
 
 Anecdote of Coadiodore Foote. — He at- 
 tended a Presbyterian church. A large congre- 
 gation was in attendance, but l^ie preacher did not 
 make his appearance. A general impatience be- 
 ginning to manifest itself, the Commodore sought 
 the elder of the church, and urged him to perform 
 the services. The elder refusing, the Commodore, 
 on the impulse of the moment, took the pulpit, 
 read a chapter in the Bible, prayed, and delivered 
 a short discourse from the taxt : " Let not your 
 hearts be troubled. Y'e believe in God: believe 
 also in me." The congregation was delighted. 
 On coming down from the jjulpit, the minister, 
 who had arrived just after the prayer, approached 
 and tendered his thanks ; but the Commodore 
 rebuked him for his tardiness of duty, and re- 
 proached him for his neglect to take the pulpit 
 immediately on his arrival. This incident is illus- 
 trative of the Commodore's energetic, earnest 
 character and sincere piety. 
 
 Negro Patriotism. — I sat in my tent-door 
 thoughtfully, but very thoughtlessly humming 
 " Dixie." 1 had not observed " Charles," a servant, 
 or " contraband," here, who sat just within the tent. 
 
 "We stop a-singin' dat song now, massa!" said 
 he, interrupting me. 
 
 '• Why ? " I inquired. 
 
 Charles Avas confused for a moment, but I 
 pressed the question. 
 
 " Well," he replied hesitatingly, " it don't b'long 
 to my perfession, sir ; dat's all, I s'pose. — I don't 
 wish 1 was in Dixie, I'se sure ! " continued he. 
 " None o' de niggers does ; you may bet your soul 
 o' dat ! " 
 
 "Where is Dixie, Charles?" 
 
 " 'S Norfolk — dafs whar 'tis," was the indig- 
 nant reply. " Kills de niggers in Dixie, jist like 
 sheep, a-working in de batteries ! " 
 
 The idea of our contest is fully appreciated by 
 the colored people. The representations at the 
 North, that the slaves do not understand the cause 
 for which the Federal army are moving upon the 
 South, are utterly false. I have seen here and in 
 Hampton scores of the fugitives, and conversed 
 Avith them ; and I have never foiuid one who did 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 59 
 
 not perfectly understand the issue of the war, and 
 hang with terrible anxiety upon its success or 
 failure. 
 
 I was particularly struck with this at Hampton, 
 when the battle of Great Bethel was progressing. 
 They crowded together in little squads about the 
 streets, listening to the reports of the cannon in 
 the distance, or the accounts of those who came 
 in from the field. Many of them were almost in- 
 sane with anxiety, and expressed themselves ex- 
 travagantly. 
 
 " If the ' Unioners ' get the fight," I said, " what 
 will it do for you ? " 
 
 '^ Den weHl he free!" answered all who stood 
 near me, almost in one breath. 
 
 " But if they lose the battle ? " 
 
 "O, den it be worser for us dan ebber," they 
 said, shaking their heads mournfully, and in their 
 simplicity believing that all the issue of the war 
 hung upon the result of that day. — Letter from 
 Fort Monroe. 
 
 Life in Eastern Tennessee. — A traveller 
 in East Tennessee gives the following graphic 
 pictures of life in that region : 
 
 " In Dry Valley lived the Methodist preacher 
 named Dugan, (of Brownlow notoriety,) weigh- 
 ing some two hundred and fifty pounds, that 
 these devils incarnate arrested for his loyalty to 
 the Government, making him walk some ten 
 milfts through the hot sun, and riding in his buggy 
 themselves. The poor old man fainted time and 
 again on the journey, but there was no relenting 
 with them. They told him they would sweat the 
 Lincoln fever out of him. They robbed him of 
 all he had, and imprisoned him ; but he managed 
 in some way to escape, and is now preaching again 
 at his old stand. What rendered the crime more 
 heinous was the fact that his enemies (some of 
 them) were those with whom he had taken sweet 
 counsel in the house of God, and with whom he 
 had knelt around the altar of prayer. What can 
 be more appropriate to this persecuted class of 
 men than those lines of Captain Grisham, of the 
 10th East Tennessee cavalry : 
 
 < They struggled, fell ; their life-blood stained 
 
 The cruel murderer's hand ; 
 They clasped their country's flag, and cried, 
 
 " God and our native land !" 
 Let angels spread their wings above ; 
 
 Let flowers forever bloom ; 
 Let bays, green bays, spring forth to mark 
 
 The martyr's sacred tomb.' 
 
 " At early dawn we left our kind friend and his 
 famUy, and rode on towards Athens. It was a 
 lonesome ride, resembling very much some of the 
 bluff roads on the Illinois River. We passed only 
 one house the whole distance, and that was' a mis- 
 erable log house situated in a clump of pines. 
 As we rode past the house, we were astonished 
 at the number of tow-head children at the wood- 
 pile — the tallest of whom was not over three 
 feet in height. We commenced counting, two, 
 four, six, eight ; and to the question asked the 
 oldest, ' Are you all here ? ' ' O no,' says he, ' the 
 
 two little ones are in the house.' They hurrahed 
 for Old Abe, and we rode on. We travelled this 
 lonesome road a few miles farther, and came at 
 last to the crest of the hill, some five hundred feet, 
 directly overlooking the valley. There it lay at our 
 feet, extending north as far as the eye could reach, 
 and at least three miles in width — dotted with 
 neat farm-houses, and just below us Mouse Creek 
 Station, with its dozen or more neat white cot- 
 tages, and one large brick mansion. A couplet 
 in that beautiful hj-mn by Heber, as I surveyed 
 this beautiful valley, ran through my head con- 
 tinually : 
 
 'Where every prospect pleases. 
 And only man is vile.' 
 
 " We passed on through this valley, and, night 
 overtaking us nine miles south of Loudon, we 
 called at a fine farm-house, and requested permis- 
 sion to tarry, which was readily granted. To the 
 question, ' Are you Union or rebel ? ' the answer 
 was, ' Both.' ' Well,' says I, ' that is a new state 
 of things, which I do not understand.' This was 
 the house of a widow lady, and her story was a 
 simple statement of facts, which we listened to 
 very attentively. When she had finished her 
 story, she drew one long, deep sigh, and retired. 
 I pitied the poor woman from the bottom of my 
 heart. She said she had two sons in the rebel 
 army, and one in the Union. Her son now at 
 home had fled to the mountains to avoid con- 
 scription. Her two daughters now at home, 
 young ladies, eighteen and twenty years of age, 
 were divided, one Union and one rebel. For 
 herself, she had nothing to say — the divisions in 
 her family had made her prematurely gray, (hold- 
 ing up a lock of hair,) and the only wish she had 
 v,'as, that the war might speedily end in some 
 way ; and when I asked the usual question, the 
 Union girl stepped into the other room, and re- 
 turned with a beautiful silk Union flag. If a 
 rebel officer should stay there next week, the rebel 
 girl, no doubt, would bring out just as neat a 
 rebel flag. Such is life in Eastern Tennessee." 
 
 How Roger A. Prvor was Captured and 
 Escaped. — Brig. Gen. Roger A, Pryor, during 
 the battle between Gen. Pope and the Confeder- 
 ates, near Manasses, in August, 1862, had the 
 misfortune to be taken a prisoner, but the cor- 
 responding good fortune to escape. 
 
 He had'started off" on foot to call up two or 
 three regiments for reenforcements, and on his 
 return found his command moved from the posi- 
 tion in Avhich he had left it. Thinking it had 
 gone ahead, he too went on, wondering all the 
 time where his men were, until he suddenly en- 
 countered two Yankee soldiers, sitting at the 
 foot of a hay-rick. His uniform being covered 
 by a Mexican poncho, they did not observe that 
 he was not one of their own men ; nor was there 
 any mark visible upon his person to indicate that 
 he was an oflicer. 
 
 They accordingly familiarly inquired how every- 
 thing was going on in front. He replied, " Very 
 
60 
 
 ANECDOTES,. ^POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 well," and in the conversation which ensued, 
 learned that he was a mile and a half within the 
 Federal lines. They asked him numerous ques- 
 tions, under some of which he began to quake 
 and grow uneasy, fearing his inability, good 
 lawyer though he is, to coi)e successfully with a 
 cross-examination of such a dangerous charac- 
 ter. He accordingly began to look about him 
 to discover some means of escape. There was 
 apparently none. He observed standing near 
 him, however, the two muskets of the men, one 
 of them with a bayonet, and the other without. 
 
 The colloquy had not proceeded much further 
 before one of them, looking at him keenly, asked 
 him to what regiment, brigade, and division he 
 belonged ; and as Pryor hesitated and stammered 
 out his reply, the Yankee sprang to his feet and 
 exclaimed : " You are a rebel, and my pris- 
 oner." In an instant, the General, who is a pow- 
 erful man and as active as a squirrel, seized the 
 gun Avith the bayonet, and, before his antagonist 
 could turn, ran him through the body twice. The 
 other now jumped to his feet, apparently as if 
 to escape, but he also received from Pryor a 
 lunge that left him helpless on the field. Throw- 
 ing down the musket, the General moved rapidly 
 away in the direction from whence he came, and 
 after dodging Federal stragglers for an hour or 
 two, had the satisfaction of finally regaining his 
 command. 
 
 Anxious to know the fate of the two men 
 whom he had so summarily disposed of, he sent 
 one of his aids the next day to examine the hos- 
 pitals in that neighborhood, and ascertain, if pos- 
 sible, whether any men Avere present wounded 
 Avith a bayonet. The aid returned with the in- 
 formation that he had found one so injured. 
 Whereupon Pryor mounted his horse, and Avent 
 in person to see him. The man Avas asleep AA'hen 
 he entered the hos])ital, but the surgeon aAvoke 
 him, and the General asked if he recognized him. 
 " Yes, sir, I do," Avas the reply. " You 're the man 
 who stuck me." The Avounded man Avas not less 
 surprised Avhen he learned that the author of his 
 misery was the redoubtable Roger A. Pryor. 
 
 James Garrabrant, a member of Co. D., 13th 
 NcAv Jersey regiment, Avhile fighting, at a battle 
 on the Rappahannock, saAv a daguerreotype fall 
 from the pocket of a dead rebel. Impelled by 
 curiosity, he picked it up and placed it in the 
 breast pocket of his blouse. Soon he was struck 
 by a bullet and fell. His brother, Avho Avas near 
 him, picked him up, supposing him to be killed. 
 Upon examination, the ball Avas found to have 
 pierced his clothing, gone through the front of 
 the daguerreotype, shivered the glass, and in- 
 dented deeply the metal plate upon Avhich the 
 likeness Avas, Avhich, hoAvever, it failed to pene- 
 trate, thus saving the young man's life, as it lay 
 right over his heart. The Avooden back of the 
 picture Avas shivered to splinters by the concus- 
 sion. The bullet Avas shoAvn us Avith the picture, 
 fitting neatly into the indentation of the plate. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the force of the 
 
 ball was destroyed by the gradual jdelding of 
 the soft copper plate. Had the material been 
 more rigid, the ball would probably have gone 
 through. The likeness is that of a young and 
 not unattractive looking female ; and it may well 
 be imagined that our gallant soldier prizes the 
 " counterfeit presentment " of the southern dam- 
 sel as the saviour of his life. 
 
 Sketches in the Hospitals. — One evening 
 I found a lately-emptied bed occupied by a large, 
 fair man, with a fine face and the serenest eyes I 
 ever met. One of the earlier comers had often 
 spoken of a friend who had remained behind, 
 that those apparently worse wounded than him- 
 self might reach a shelter first. It seemed a 
 David and Jonathan sort of friendship. The 
 man fretted for his mate, and was never tired of 
 praising John, his courage, sobriety, self-denial, 
 and unfailing kindliness of heart, ahvays Avinding 
 up Avith : " He's an out and out fine feller, ma'am, 
 you see if he ain't." I had some curiosity to be- 
 hold this piece of excellence, and Avhen he came, 
 Avatched him for a night or tAvo before I made 
 friends Avith him ; for, to tell the truth, I Avas 
 afraid of the stately-looking man, whose bed had 
 to be lengthened to accommodate his command- 
 ing stature, Avho seldom spoke, uttered no com- 
 plaint, asked no sympathy, but tranquilly ob- 
 served all that Avent on about him, and as he lay 
 high upon his pillows, no picture of dying states- 
 man or Avarrior Avas ever fuller of real dignity 
 than this Virginia blacksmith. 
 
 A most attractive face he had, framed in broAvn 
 hair and beard, comely-featured and full of vigor, 
 as yet unsubdued by pain, thoughtful and often 
 beautifully mild Avhile Avatching the afflictions of 
 others, as if entirely forgetful of his oAvn. His 
 mouth Avas firm and grave, with plenty of will 
 and courage in its lines, but a smile could make 
 it as sAveet as any woman's ; and his eyes were 
 child's eyes, looking one fairly in the face, Avith a 
 clear, straightforward glance, AAhich promised 
 Avell for such as placed .their faith in him. He 
 seemed to cling to life as if it were rich in duties 
 and delights, and he had learned the secret of 
 content. The only time I saw his composure 
 disturbed Avas when my surgeon brought another 
 to examine John, Avho scrutinized their faces with 
 an anxious look, asking of the elder : " Do you 
 think I shall pull through, sir ? " "I hope so, 
 my man." And as the two passed on, John's 
 eyes foUoAved him Avith an intentness which Avoidd 
 have Avon a clearer ansAver from them, had they 
 seen it. A momentary shadoAV flitted over his 
 fece ; then came the usual serenity, as if, in that 
 brief eclipse, he had acknoAvledgcd the existence 
 of some hard possibility, and, asking nothing, yet 
 hoping all things, left the issue in God's hand, 
 Avith that submission which is of true piety. 
 
 The next night, as I Avent my rounds Avith Dr. 
 
 P , I happened to ask Avhich man in the 
 
 room probably suffered most, and to my great 
 surprise he glanced at John. 
 
 " Every breath he draAvs is like a stab ; for 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 61 
 
 the ball pierced the left lung, broke a rib, and 
 did no end of damage here and there ; so the 
 poor lad can find neither forgetfuhiess nor ease, 
 because he must lie on his wounded back or suf- 
 focate. It will be a hard struggle, and a long 
 one, for he possesses great vitality ; but even his 
 temperate life can't save him. I wish it could." 
 
 "You don't mean he must die, doctor!" 
 
 " Bless you, there is not the slightest hope for 
 him, and you'd better tell him so before long. 
 Women have a way of doing such things com- 
 fortably ; so I leave it to you. He won't last 
 more than a day or two, at flxrthest." 
 
 I could have sat down on the spot and cried 
 heartily if I had not learned the propriety of 
 bottling up one's tears for leisure moments. 
 Such an end seemed very hard for such a man, 
 when half a 'dozen worn-out, worthless bodies 
 round him were gathering up the remnants of 
 wasted lives to linger on for years, perhaps bur- 
 dens to others, daily reproaches to themselves. 
 The army needed men like John, earnest, brave, 
 and faithful, fighting for liberty and justice with 
 both heart and hand, a true soldier of the Lord. 
 I could not give him up so soon, or think with 
 any patience of so excellent a natm-e robbed of 
 its fulfilment, and blundered into eternity by the 
 rashness or stupidity of tliose at whose hands so 
 many lives may be required. It was an easy 
 
 thing for Dr. P to say, " Tell him he must 
 
 die," but a cruel, hard thing to do, and by no 
 means as " comfortable " as he politely suggested. 
 I had not the heart to do it then, and privately 
 indulged the hope that some change for the bet- 
 ter might take place, in spite of gloomy prophe- 
 cies, so rendering my task unnecessary. 
 
 After that night, an hour of each evening that 
 remained to him was devoted to his ease or 
 pleasure. He could not talk much, for breath 
 was precious, and he spoke in whispers, but from 
 occasional conversations I gleaned scraps of pri- 
 vate history which added to the affection and 
 respect I felt for him. Once he asked me to 
 write a letter, and as I settled pen and paper, I 
 said with an irrepressible glimmer of female curi- 
 osity : " Shall it be addressed to mother or wife, 
 John?'; 
 
 " Neither, ma'am ; I've got no wife, and will 
 write to mother myself when I get better. Did 
 you think I was married because of this ? " he 
 asked, touching a plain gold ring which he wore, 
 and often turned thoughtfully on his finger when 
 he lay alone. 
 
 " Partly that, but more from a settled sort of 
 look you have, a look young men seldom get 
 until they marry." 
 
 " I didn't know that, but I'm not so very 
 wrong, ma'am, — thirty in May, — and have been 
 what you might call settled this ten years, for 
 mother's a widow. I'm the oldest child she 
 has, and it wouldn't do for me to marry till Lizzie 
 has a home of her own, and Laurie has learned 
 his trade ; for we're not rich, and I must be 
 father to the children, and husband to the dear 
 old woman, if I can." 
 
 " No doubt you are both, John ; yet how came 
 
 you to go to the war, if you felt so ? Wasn't en- 
 listing as bad as man-jang ? " 
 
 " No, ma'am, not as I see it ; for one is helping 
 my neighbor, the other pleasing myself. I went 
 because I couldn't help it. I didn't want the glory 
 or the paj-. I wanted the right thing done, and 
 the people said the men who were in earnest 
 ought to fight. I was in earnest, the Lord knows, 
 but I held off as long as I could, not knowing 
 which was my duty. Mother saw the case, gave 
 me her ring to keep me steady, and said, ' Go. ' I 
 went." 
 
 A short story and a simple one ; but the man 
 and the mother were portrayed better than pages 
 of fine writing could have done it. 
 
 " Do you ever regret that you came, when you 
 lie here suff'cring so much ? " 
 
 " Never, ma'am. I haven't helped a great 
 deal, but I've shown I was willing to give my 
 life, and perhaps I've got to ; but I don't blame 
 anybody, and if it was to do over again, I'd do it. 
 I'm a little so ry I wasn't wounded in front. It 
 looks cowardly to be hit in the back ; but I obeyed 
 orders, and it don't matter much in the end, I 
 know." 
 
 Poor John ! it did not matter now, except that 
 a shot in front might have spared the long agony 
 in store for him. He seemed to read the thought 
 that troubled me, as he spoke so hopefully when 
 there was no hope, for he suddenly added : 
 
 " This is my first battle — do they think it's 
 going to be my last ? " 
 
 " I'm afraid they do, John." 
 
 It was the hardest question I had ever been 
 called upon to answer ; doubly hard with those 
 clear eyes fixed upon mine, forcing a truthful 
 answer by their own truth. He seemed a little 
 startled at first, pondered over the hateful fact a 
 moment, then shook his head with a glance at 
 the broad chest and muscular limbs stretched out 
 before him. 
 
 " I'm not afraid, but it's difficult to beheve all 
 at once. I'm so strong it does not seem possible 
 for such a little wound to kill me." 
 
 " Shall I write to your mother now ? " I asked, 
 thinking that these sudden tidings might change 
 all plans and purposes ; but they did not ; for the 
 man received the order from the Divine Com- 
 mander to march, with the same unquestioning 
 obedience with which the soldier had received 
 that of the human one, doubtless remembering 
 that the first led him to life, the last to death. 
 
 " No, ma'am : to Laurie, just the same ; he'll 
 break it to her best, and I'll add a line to her my- 
 self, when you get done." 
 
 So I wrote the letter which he dictated, finding 
 it better than any I had sent, for, though here 
 and there a little ungrammatical or inelegant, 
 each sentence came to me briefly worded, but 
 most expressive, full of excellent counsel to the 
 boy, tenderly bequeathing " mother and Lizzie " 
 to his care, and bidding him good by in words 
 the sadder for their simplicity. He added a few 
 lines with steady hand, and, as I sealed it, said, 
 with a patient sort of sigh, " I hope the answer 
 will come in time for me to see it ; " then, turning 
 
62 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 away his face, laid the flowers against his lips, as 
 if he would hide some quiver of emotion at the 
 thought of such a sudden sundering of all the dear 
 home ties. 
 
 These things had happened two days before. 
 Now, John was dying, and the letter had not 
 come. I had been summoned to many death 
 beds in my life, but tc none that made my heart 
 ache as it did then^ since my mother called me to 
 watch the departure of a spirit akin to this, in its 
 gentleness and patient strength. As I went in, 
 John stretched out both hands. 
 
 " I knew you'd come ! I guess I'm mo^^ng on, 
 ma'am." 
 
 He was, and so rapidly, that even while he 
 spoke, over his fece I saw the gray veil falling 
 that no human hand can lift. I sat doM'u by him, 
 wiped the drops from his forehead, stirred the 
 air about him with the slow wave of a fan, and 
 waited to help him die. He stood in sore need 
 of help, and I could do so little ; for, as the doc- 
 tor had foretold, the strong body rebelled against 
 death, and fought every inch of the way, forcing 
 him to draw each breath with a spasm, and clench 
 his hands Avith an imploring look, as if he asked, 
 " How long must I endure this, and be still?" 
 For hours he suffered duQibly, without a mo- 
 ment's respite or a moment's murmuring. His 
 limbs grew cold, his face damp, his lips white, 
 and again and again he tore the covering off" his 
 breast, as if the lightest weight added to his ag- 
 ony ; yet, through it all, his eyes never lost then- 
 perfect serenity, and the man's soul seemed to 
 sit therein, undaunted by the ills that vexed his 
 flesh. 
 
 One by one the men woke, and round the 
 room appeared a circle of pale faces and watchful 
 eyes, full of awe and pity ; for, though a stranger, 
 John was beloved by all. Each man there had 
 wondered at his patience, respected his piety, ad- 
 mired his fortitude, and now lamented his hard 
 death ; for the influence of an vipright nature had 
 made itself deeply felt even in one little week. 
 Presently Jonathan, who so loved this comely 
 David, came creeping from his bed for a last look 
 and word. The kind soul was full of trouble, as 
 the choke in his voice, the grasp of his hand, be- 
 trayed ; but there were no tears, and the fare- 
 well of the friends was the more touching for its 
 brevity. 
 
 " Old boy, how are you ? " faltered the one. 
 
 " Most through, thank Heaven ! " whispered 
 the other. 
 
 " Can I say or do anything for you any- 
 wheres ? " 
 
 " Take my things home, and tell them that I 
 did my best." 
 
 " I will ! I will ! " 
 
 •' Good by, Ned." 
 
 " Good by, John, good by ! " 
 
 They kissed each other tenderly as women, 
 and so parted ; for poor Ned could i>ot stay to 
 see his comrade die. For a Uttle while there was 
 no sound in the room but the drip of water from 
 a pump or two, and John's distressful gasps as 
 he slowly breathed his life away. I thought him 
 
 nearly gone, and had laid down the fan, believ- 
 ing its help no longer needed, when suddenly he 
 rose up in his bed, and cried out with a bitter 
 cry that broke the silence, sharply startling every 
 one with its agonized appeah " For God's sake, 
 give me air ! " 
 
 It was the only cry pain or death had wrung 
 from him, the only boon he had asked, and none 
 of us could grant it, for all the airs that blow 
 were useless now. Dan flung up the window ; 
 the first red streak of dawn was warming the 
 gray east, a herald of the coming sun. John saw 
 it, and with the love of light that lingers in us to 
 the end, seemed to read in it a sign of hope ; for 
 over his whole face broke that mysterious ex- 
 pression, brighter than any smile, which often 
 comes to eyes that look their last. He laid him- 
 self down gently, and stretching out his strong 
 right arm, as if to grasp and bring the blessed 
 air to his lips in fuller flow, lapsed into a merci- 
 ful unconsciousness, which assured us tliat for him 
 suffering was forever past. 
 
 As we stood looking at him, the ward master 
 handed me a letter, sajing it had been forgotten 
 the night before. It was John's letter, come 
 just an hour too late to gladden the eyes that 
 had looked and longed for it so eagerly — yet he 
 had it ; for after I had cut some brown locks for 
 his mother, and taken off" the ring to send her, 
 telling how well the talisman had done its work, 
 I kissed this good son for her sake, and laid the 
 letter in his hand, still folded as when I drew my 
 own away. 
 
 A Baby on the Battle-Field. — At the bat- 
 tle of the Hatchie, when the conflict was waging 
 fiercest, upon advancing, midway between the 
 contending forces, we found — what do you 
 think? Not a masked battery — not an insidi- 
 ous trap, inviting but to destroy — not any terri- 
 ble engine of death — but a sweet little blue- 
 eyed BABY. Sweet little thing, as I saw it there, 
 hugging the cold earth, its only bed — the little 
 tear on its cheek, — 
 
 ♦'That nature bade it weep, turned 
 An ice-drop sparkling in the mornmg beam."-^- 
 
 Unalarmed 'mid the awful confusion of that fear- 
 ful battle, with the missiles of death flying thick 
 about it and crowding close upon its young ex- 
 istence, yet unhurt, it seemed a wonderful verifi- 
 cation of the Divine declaration : " Out of the 
 mouths of babes and sucklings I will ordain wis- 
 dom." That little " child of war," as it lay in its 
 miraculous safety, seemed to say to me these 
 words of profound instruction : " My helpless- 
 ness and innocence appealed to God, and he pre- 
 served me in the midst of this wrecking carnage. 
 If you will make your plaint to Heaven, God 
 will preserve your poor bleeding country." 
 
 Little child of destiny, born 'mid the flash of 
 musketry, the thunder of cannon, and the clash 
 of arms, I will watch your course through life, 
 and witness whether an existence so auspiciously 
 begun will pass by the masses unnoticed, and end 
 without leaving a name " damned to everlasting 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 63 
 
 fame ! " Who would suppose that in the -wild, 
 fierce battle of the Hatchie, when the field was 
 strewn with the dead, and the shrieks of the 
 W'Ounded rent the heavens with agony, a great 
 army would pause in the thickest of the confiict 
 to save a harmless, a helpless child J" Yet the 
 brave Fourteenth, that never yet has quailed in 
 battle, did pause, and an officer of the regiment 
 ordered "our little baby" carried to headquar- 
 ters and tenderly cared for. 
 
 I remember having read, somewhere in Grecian 
 history, a story something like the one I have re- 
 lated. A little child was found on the battle- 
 field, and by an infuriated soldiery trampled in 
 the dust. After the battle the victorious general, 
 in an address to his army, said : " But for the 
 blood of a little child that mars it, our victory 
 would be complete." Thank God, the blood of 
 no little child mars our victory. 
 
 The next day after the battle " our babe " was 
 brought before the Fourteenth, and unanimously 
 adopted " Child of the Regiment." Three or 
 four days later, strange as it may seem, a poor, 
 heart-stricken, poverty-pinched mother came 
 searching the battle-field in quest of her child. 
 My dear reader, imagine if you can the wild ex- 
 clamations of thanksgiving that burst from that 
 poor woman's heart, when informed that her child 
 had been rescued, and with a mother's tender- 
 ness cared for. I saw the mother receive her 
 child, heard her brief prayer for the soldiers who 
 saved it, and, with the blessings of a thousand 
 men following her and hers, she took away 
 
 " Our little baby — 
 Little blue-eyed, laughing baby." 
 
 A New Way to Attack Fort Pickens. — 
 A Southern paper put forth the following j)ropo- 
 sition : 
 
 " Let General Bragg detail a few thousand of 
 his ten thousand to the work of catching snakes, 
 and as soon as they have collected several cart- 
 loads of these interesting reptiles, let tin or sheet- 
 iron shell or canisters be charged with them — 
 the enclosure being cylindrical and of size to fit 
 the largest mortar,, and so made that it will break 
 to pieces, and liberate its contents upon falling 
 within the fort. We would warn those who 
 charge the shells to put only the same species into 
 each, as if the diflerent snakes were mixed they 
 would sting each other to death before having a 
 chance to operate on Billy Wilson's Zouaves. 
 The corners and interstices in each shell might 
 be filled up with a few quarts of tarantulas, scor- 
 pions, centipedes, and lizards, however, to make 
 close Avork, as the snakes would pack loosely." 
 
 on board, but the master managed to procure a 
 piece of timber about five feet long and a foot in 
 diameter, which, with a little paint, he managed 
 so as to make resemble a cannon, covered it 
 with a tarpaulin, and mounted it on a pair of 
 trucks, and, thus armed, prepared to meet the 
 enemy. Arriving at Curlew, they found fifty 
 guerrillas drawn up in line, who incontinently de- 
 manded their surrender. Those on the boat said 
 nothing, but brought up from the hold a number 
 of small pieces of limestone sewed up in canvas 
 bags to represent ammunition, and cai-efuUy laid 
 them alongside the gun. The harmless bit of 
 wood was then turned tOAvards the rascals, and the 
 tarpaulin was about to be removed, when the 
 doughty warriors took to their heels, and ran as 
 if the did Nick was after them. At Battery Rock, 
 on the Illinois shore, another party, numbering 
 about forty, who had crossed over the night pre- 
 vious in an old flatboat, essayed the same un- 
 dertaking ; but these, too, were put to flight by 
 this mighty piece of ordnance. 
 
 A Captain's Strategy. — On the passage of 
 the steamer Fitzhugh up the Mississippi River, 
 her officers were informed that they would proba- 
 bly meet with trouble from a company of guer- 
 rillas stationed at Curlew, Kentucky, and were 
 advised to be on their guard. There was not a gun 
 
 A Union AVo>un. — The following incident 
 is told concerning the independent and success- 
 ful stand taken by a woman in New Orleans, on 
 behalf of the Union. She and her husband — a 
 Mississippi steamboat captain — occupied the 
 middle frcnt room of the lowest range of sleep- 
 ing apartments in the St. Charles Hotel, at the 
 time when the city was to be illuminated in honor 
 of secession. She refused to allow the illumi- 
 nating candles to be fixed in the windows of her 
 room, and the proprietors remonstrated in vain 
 — she finally ordering them to leave the room, of 
 which she claimed, while its occupant, to have 
 entire control. The rest of the story is thus 
 told : 
 
 " Determined not to be outdone in a matter of 
 such grave importance, the captain, who was not 
 in the room during the above proceedings, was 
 next found and appealed to. He heard their 
 case ; said his wife had reported him correctly on 
 the Union question ; nevertheless, he would go 
 with them to the room and see if the matter 
 could be amicably arranged. The captain's dis- 
 position to yield was not to be seconded by his 
 better half. The proprietors next proposed to 
 vacate the best chamber in her favor, in some 
 other part of the house, if that would be satis- 
 factory ; but the lady's ' No ! ' was still as per- 
 emptory as ever. Her point was gained, and 
 the St. Charles was doomed to have a dark front 
 chamber. Pleased with this triumph, Mrs. — — 
 devised the following manoeuvre to make the 
 most of her victorj'. Summoning a servant, 
 she sent him out to procure for her an American 
 flag, which, at dusk, she suspended from her 
 window. When evening came, the streets, ani- 
 mated by a merry throng, were illuminated ; but, 
 alas ! the St. Charles was disfigured by its sombre 
 chamber, when suddenly a succession of lamps, 
 suspended on both sides of the flag, revealing 
 the Stars and Stripes, were lit up, and the ensign 
 of the Union waved from the centre of a hotel 
 
64 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 illuminated in honor of its overthrow ! The ef- 
 fect was, to give the impression that the whole 
 house was thus paying homage to the American 
 flag ; and what is more significant, is the fact 
 that the latter was greeted by the passing crowd 
 with vociferous applause. So much for the firm- 
 ness of a true Union woman." 
 
 Peter Apple, of Oakland, Marion County, 
 Indiana, was recruited for the Eleventh regiment 
 of that State, and took part in the attempt to 
 storm one of the Vicksburg batteries. The 
 rebel fire was so destructive, that the Union 
 forces recoiled. Apple, the "raw recruit," 
 " didn't see " the backward movement, and kept 
 going ahead, until he came right up to one of 
 the rebel guns, caught a gunner by the collar, 
 and brought him within our lines, saying: "Boys, 
 why didn't you come on? Every" fellow might 
 have got one." 
 
 Reminiscences of Shiloh, — An eye-Avitness 
 gives the following pictures of the battle-field of 
 Shiloh : 
 
 " On that peaceful Sunday morning of April 
 6, 1862, the sun was rising with splendor. I had 
 walked out to enjoy the fresh air, and, returning 
 by_my friend Lieut. D's tent, I called upon him. 
 Said he, ' H., take a cup of coflfee ; I have found 
 some milk.' ' Don't care if I do,' said I. ' I always 
 write home on Sunday morning, and like to do 
 it over a good cup of coflee.' ' Yes, I mean to 
 write to my little wife,' said D. ' I expect to re- 
 sign soon. Don't you want a pair of new shoul- 
 der-straps, H., and bran new pair of gauntlets ? ' 
 I told D. I would take them ; and in a moment 
 left his tent, after making him promise to take 
 tea with me. 
 
 "But how were things at tea time? D. was 
 mangled and dead, lying by the roadside, at the 
 hospital by the Landing, with hundreds of oth- 
 ers, and I had passed the most momentous day 
 of my life — had participated (I am since told 
 creditably) in one of the greatest battles, exceed- 
 ing in fury, courage, waste, stupendousness, and 
 gallantry, the Mildest dreams of my youth. 
 Should your happy city, on some bright Sunday 
 morning, be sunk, with all its life, by an earth- 
 quake, and the cold waves rolling over it in eter- 
 nal solitude before night, the change could be no 
 more unexpected, nor could it come upon you 
 with more bewildering and stunning suddenness 
 and awfulness. On the evening of the 5th, the 
 18th "Wisconsin infantry arrived, and were as- 
 signed to General Prentiss's division, on the 
 
 front. Said Colonel , who had preceded 
 
 them, looking for the General's quarters, ' Here 
 they come — the bully boys — they weigh just 
 1G6 ])ounds a])iece. Just left home six days ago.' 
 The ISth Wisconsin cooked theii- first suppers in 
 the field that night at nine o'clock, and wrajjped 
 themselves in their Ijlankets, to be awakened by 
 the roar of I)attle, and receive, thus early, their 
 bloody baptism. Before they had been on the 
 field one day, their magnificent corps was deci- 
 
 mated, most of the ofiicers killed — the proud 
 and exultant Colonel among the dead. 
 
 " I saw an intelligent looking man wiih his 
 whole diaphragm torn off". He was holding up 
 nearly all of his viscera with both hands and 
 arms. Hi^ face expressed a longing for assist- 
 ance and an apprehension of fatality. 
 
 " On going to the field the second day, our 
 regiment strode on in line over wounded, dying, 
 and dead. My office detaching me from the 
 lines, I had an opportunity to notice incidents 
 about the field. The regiment halted amidst a 
 a gory, ghastly scene. I heard a voice calling, 
 ' Ho, friend ! ho ! for God's sake, come here.' 
 I went to a gory pile of dead human forms in ev- 
 ery kind of stiff' contortion ; I saw one arm raised, 
 beckoning me. I found there a rebel, covered 
 with clotted blood, pillowing his head on the 
 dead body of a comrade. Both were red from 
 head to foot. The dead man's brains had gushed 
 out in a reddish and grayish mass over his face. 
 The live one had lain across him all that horrible, 
 long night in the storm. The first thing he said 
 to me was, ' Give me some water. Send me a 
 surgeon — won't you ! O God ! What made 
 you come down here to fight us? We never 
 would have come up there.' And then he affec- 
 tionately put one arm over the form, and laid his 
 bloody face against the cold, clammy, bloody face 
 of his dead friend. I filled his canteen nearly — 
 reserving some for myself — knowing I might be 
 in the same sad condition. I told him we liad no 
 surgeon in our regiment, and that we would have 
 to suff'er, if wounded, the same as he ; that other 
 regiments were coming, and to call on them for a 
 surgeon ; that they were humane. ' Forward ! ' 
 shouted the Colonel ; and ' Forward ! ' was re- 
 peated by the officers. I left him. 
 
 " The above recalls to mind one of the hardest 
 principles in warfare — where your sympathy and 
 humanity are appealed to, and from sense of ex- 
 pediency you are forbidden to exercise it. After 
 our regiment had been nearly annihilated, and 
 were compelled to retreat under a galling fire, a 
 boy was supporting his dying brother on one arm, 
 and trying to drag him from the field and the ad- 
 vancing foe. He looked at me imploringly, and 
 said : ' Captain, help him — toon't you ? Do, Cap- 
 tain ; he'll live.' I said : ' He's shot through the 
 head ; don't you see ? and can't live — he's dying 
 now.' ' O, no, he ain't, Captain. Don't leave 
 me.' I was forced to reply : ' The rebels won't 
 hurt him. Lay him down and come, or both you 
 and I will be lost.'' The rush of bullets and the 
 yells of the approaching demons hurried me 
 away — leaving the young soldier over his dying 
 brother. 
 
 " Nearly every rebel's face turned black imme- 
 diately after death. Union men's faces retained 
 the natural pallor two or three days. 
 
 " I ate my dinner on Monday within six paces 
 of a rebel in four pieces. Both legs were blown 
 off". His pelvis Avas the third piece, and his head 
 and chest were the fourth piece. Those four 
 pieces occupied a space of twelve feet square. I 
 saw five dead rebels in a row. with their heads 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 65 
 
 knocked off by a round shot. Myself and other 
 amateur anatomists, when the I'egiment was rest- 
 ing temporarily on arms, would leave to examine 
 the internal structure of man. We would ex- 
 amine brains, heart, stomach, layers of muscles, 
 structure of bones, &c., for there was every form 
 of mutilation. At home I used to wince at the 
 sight of a wound or of a corpse ; but here, in one 
 day, I learned to be among the scenes I am de- 
 scribing without emotion — as perfectly cool as I 
 
 am now. My friend. Adjutant , and myself, 
 
 on the second night, looking in the dark for a 
 place to lie down, he said, ' Let's lie down 
 here. Here's some fellows sleeping.' We slept 
 in quiet until dawn revealed that we had passed 
 a night among sprawling, stiffened, ghastly 
 corpses. 
 
 *' I saw one of our dead soldiers with his 
 mouth crammed full of cartridges until the 
 cheeks were bulged out. Several protruded from 
 his mouth. This was done by the rebels. 
 
 "On the third day most of our time was em- 
 ployed in burying the dead. Shallow pits were 
 dug, which would soon fill with water. Into 
 these we threw our comrades with a heavy splash, 
 or a dump against solid bottom. Many a hope- 
 ful, promising youth thus indecently ended his 
 career. 
 
 " Some of our boys were disposed to kick the 
 secesh into these pits. One fell in with a heavy 
 dump on his face. The more humane proposed 
 to turn him over. ' O, that'll do,' said a Union 
 Missourian, ' for when he scratches, he'll scratch 
 nearer hell.' This is a hard story, I know, but I 
 want you to see real war. 
 
 " I stood in one place in the woods near the 
 spot of the engagement of the 57th Illinois, and 
 counted eighty-one dead rebels. There I saw one 
 tree, seven inches in diameter, with thirty-one 
 bullet holes. Such had been death's storm. 
 Near the scenes of the last of the fighting, where 
 the rebels precipitately retreated, I saw one grave 
 containing one hundred and thirty-seven dead 
 rebels, and one side of it another grave contain- 
 ing forty-one dead Federals. Several other 
 trenches were in view from that spot. 
 
 "One dead and uniformed officer lay cov- 
 ered with a little housing of rails. On it was a 
 fly-leaf of a memorandum-book with the pencil- 
 writing : ' Federals, respect my father's corpse.'' 
 Many of our boys wanted to cut off his buttons 
 and gold cord ; but our Colonel had the body re- 
 ligiously guarded. 
 
 " Many of our regiments were paid off just pre- 
 viously to the battle, and our dead comrades 
 were robbed of hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
 The rebels were surprised and abashed at the ap- 
 parent wealth of our army. They attired them- 
 selves in our uniforms, and rifled from officers' 
 trunks tens of thousands of dollars worth of fine 
 clothing, toilet articles, and interesting souvenirs 
 of every man's trunk. They made themselves 
 stupid and drunk over om- fine victuals and 
 wines. They seem to have gQne mad with the 
 lust of plunder. 
 
 "To show how complete and successful was 
 5 
 
 the advance of the enemy, their advance guard 
 lay in the woods on the 5th, witnessing our pa- 
 rades and reviews. One of our returned paroled 
 prisoners, a mule-driver, who was captured two 
 days before the battle, has told me that he was 
 taken through their whole army, which was 
 camped three miles from ours, the night before 
 the attack. 
 
 " A resident here told me that on the retreat 
 of the rebel army from Shiloh, it was utterly 
 routed and demoralized. 
 
 " After the battle was over, v/e, formerly citi- 
 zens who had never seen or heard the hiss of 
 bullet, gathered the mangled corpj;es of those we 
 had known at home and joked with the day be- 
 fore — friends who were as full of life, hope, and 
 ambition as ourselves — and buried them in blan- 
 kets, or sent them home in boxes, with as little 
 concern as possible, and went immediately to 
 joking and preparing to fight again. What spirit 
 or principle was it that in one day gave us all 
 the indifference and stoicism of veterans ? 
 
 " Two women, laundresses in the 16th Wis- 
 consin, running to the rear when the attack was 
 commenced, Avere killed. 
 
 " My poor friend Carson, — the scout, — after 
 having fought, and worked, and slaved from the 
 beginning of the Avar, unrequited, comparatively, 
 and after having passed hundreds of hair-breadth 
 escapes, and through this wild battle, Avas killed 
 by almost the last shot. A round shot took oft" 
 his Avhole face and fore part of his head. Poor 
 Carson ! We all remember your patriotism, 
 your courage, your devotion. We will cheer, 
 all we can, the bereaved and dear ones you 
 have left. 
 
 " Surgeons on the field Avould halt officers and 
 order them to strip off their white shirts for 
 bandages. Many an officer, halted on the field, 
 tore off his accoutrements and uniform to pro- 
 vide the necessary bandages." 
 
 General Kelley and a Secession Girl. 
 — When the General Avas in quest of guerrillas in 
 Western Virginia, he captured a young Avoman 
 named Sallie Dusky, tAvo brothers of Avhom Avere 
 Captains in the rebel army. The General, feel- 
 ing confident that the girl knew the hiding-places 
 of the guerrillas, had a private conversation Avith 
 her, and during the intervicAV, having failed to 
 get much satisfaction, he told her, if she would 
 make a clean breast of it, he Avould give her the 
 chances for a husband of all the young officers in 
 his staff. This failed to bring the information, 
 and Sallie Avas taken aAvay in charge of Captain 
 Baggs. As she moved away from the General's 
 presence, she asked the Captain if the General 
 Avas really in earnest in making the last proposi- 
 tion. Baggs assured her that the General was 
 sincere, and that he Avould have lived up to his 
 promise. The girl assumed a kind of thought- 
 ful manner, and after a short time replied : 
 " Well, I believe I'd about as lief have the old 
 man (meaning the General himself) as any of 
 'em." 
 
66 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Origin of "Skedaddle." — A correspond- 
 ent says : The word " skedaddle " is not derived 
 from tlie Greek verb Skedao, to scatter, as has 
 been recently asserted by certain learned etymol- 
 ogists. The root of " Skedaddle" is found in 
 the Gaelic, Celtic, and the ancient British or 
 Welsh language. In Gaelic, " Sgiotadh " is the 
 present participle from the verb " Sglot," and 
 signifies " scattering" the act of scattering. In the 
 Irish, which is, properly speaking, the Gaelic, 
 " Sgadad " signifies *^ flight," and " tfile" or " 01" 
 all, or entirely — " all flight." In the Welsh we 
 have " Ysgudao" or " Ysgudatv," to scud about. 
 So, also, in the Scandinavian languages ; in the 
 Swedish we have " Skuddo," to throw or put out ; 
 " Sccotan" Saxon, to flee or haste away ; in a 
 general sense, to be driven, or to flee with haste. 
 •* Skedaddle " might be derived more naturally 
 from " Skud" or " Scud" and " Daddle" than 
 from the Greek "• Skedao." 
 
 A Touching Incident. — The war has given 
 birth to many gems of poetry, patriotic, humorous, 
 and pathetic, illustrative of the times. The follow- 
 ing was suggested by an aff'ecting scene in one of 
 the army hospitals. A brave lad of sixteen years, 
 belonging to a New England regiment, mortally 
 wounded at Fredericksburg, and sent to the Pa- 
 tent Office Hospital in Washington, Avas anxiously 
 looking for the coming of his mother. As his 
 lart hour approached, and his sight grew dim, he 
 mistook a sympathetic lady who was wiping the 
 cold, clammy perspiration from his forehead, for 
 the expected one, and with a smile of joy lighting 
 up his pale face, he whispered tenderly, " Is that 
 mother ? " " Then," says the writer, " drawing 
 her towards him with all his feeble strength, he 
 nestled his head in her arms like a sleeping in- 
 fant, and thus died Avith the sweet word mother 
 on his quivering lips." 
 
 "IS THAT MOTHER?" 
 
 Is that mother bending o'er me. 
 As she sang my cradle hymn — 
 
 Kneeling there in tears before me ? 
 Say ? — my sight is growing dim. 
 
 Comes she from the old home lowly. 
 Out among the northern hills, 
 
 To her pet boy dying slowly 
 
 Of war's battle wounds and ills ? 
 
 Mother ! O, we bravely battled — 
 Battled till the day was done ; 
 
 While the leaden hail storm rattled — 
 Man to man and gun to gun. 
 
 But we failed — and I'm dying — 
 Dj'ing in my boyhood's years, 
 
 There — no weeping — self-denying, 
 Noble deaths demand no tears. 
 
 Fold your arms again around me ; 
 
 Press again mj' aching head ; 
 Sing the lullaby you sang me — 
 
 Kiss me, mother, ere I'm dead. 
 
 An Incident. — On Sunday, the 29th of July. 
 1SG2, a large number of Union officers attended 
 the Old School Presbyterian Church of the Rev. 
 Dr. W. H. Mitchell, at Florence, xVlabama. So 
 many of them were present that they consti- 
 tuted a majority of the congregation. After 
 the usual opening hymn, the minister asked the 
 congregation to unite in prayer, when, to their 
 utter astonishment, the reverend traitor prayed 
 for Jeff. Davis, for the success of the Confederate 
 arms, and for the attainment of the independence 
 of the Confederate people. The Union men were 
 greatly indignant at this gross insult, but re- 
 mained standing until the prayer was concluded, 
 when they all left the church. After he had com- 
 menced his sermon. Colonel Harlan returned to 
 the church, Avalked up to the pulpit, arrested 
 the preacher, and delivered him, in complifince 
 with the orders of General Thomas, to a detach- 
 ment of cavalry, which immediately conveyed 
 him as a prisoner to Tuscumbia. 
 
 An Old Bible Captured in Battle. — 
 Mr. H. Jallonack, of Syracuse, N. Y., exhibited 
 to the editor of the Journal of that city a valua- 
 ble relic — a Protestant Bible printed in German 
 text two hundred and twenty-five years ago — 
 the imprint bearing date 1637. The book was m ■ 
 in an excellent state of preservation, the printing * ' 
 perfectly legible, the binding sound and substan- 
 tial, and the fastening a brass- clasp. The follow- 
 ing receipt shows how the volume came into Mr. 
 Jallonack's possession : — 
 
 jSTew York, August 21, 1S02. 
 Received of Mr. H. Jallonack one hundred 
 and fifty dollars for a copy of one of the first 
 Protestant Bibles published in the Netherlands, 
 1637, with the Proclamation of the King of the 
 Netherlands. This was taken from a descendant 
 Hollander at the battle before Richmond, in the 
 rebel service, by a private of the Irish Brigade. 
 Joseph Heime, M. D., 4 Houston Street. 
 
 A rebel soldier, after burying a Federal who 
 had been killed during one of those sanguinary 
 engagements which terminated in the retreat of 
 the Union army from before Richmond, fixed a 
 shingle over the grave, bearing this inscription : 
 
 " The Yankee hosts with blood-stained hands 
 Came southward to divide our lands. 
 This narrow and contracted spot 
 Is all that this poor Yankee got ! " 
 
 Incidents of Fort Pickens. — The follow- 
 ing is given by an officer on board the United 
 States steamer Richmond, after the bombard- 
 ment of Fort Pickens : 
 
 I went, by invitation of Lieut. , of the En- 
 gineers, to visit the Fort. Took a circuit first 
 of the covered way, then of the parapet and ram- 
 parts. All around the Fort, inside and out, were 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 67 
 
 marks of the enemy's shot and shell. On the 
 glacis, here and there, are deep grooves, ending 
 in a large hole, where the shot had plumped into 
 it, and where there had been shell which had 
 burst. The hole was a great excavation, into 
 which you could drive an ox-cart. Where the 
 projectiles have struck the standing walls, they 
 have clipped off patches of the brick-work (it is 
 a brick and not a stone fort) perhaps eight or ten 
 feet deep, and, where they struck the corners, 
 larger portions have been removed ; but in no 
 case has any part of the fortifications received an 
 injury tending in the least to weaken it, and this 
 after two days' heavy firing. The only man who 
 was killed outright during the two days' action, 
 was an artilleryman, who was passing into the 
 casemates with some bread from the bake-house. 
 A shell exploded at the other side of the area, 
 and one piece, flying a distance of some two or 
 three hundred feet, passed through his body, 
 under his arms. He walked a few steps and 
 fell dead. There were many almost miraculous 
 escapes. A shell was heard coming towards a 
 gun on the parapet, and the men dodged under 
 their bomb-proofs. The shell hit fair on top of 
 the bomb-proof, went through, and dropped into 
 a pail of water beside the officer, where it ex- 
 ploded. When the men came out again to 
 resume their work, all they saw of the officer 
 was his heels sticking out of a pile of rubbish. 
 After digging him out, they stood amazed to see 
 that he was not even hurt. He rose up, shook 
 the sand from his hair and clothes, and coolly 
 said : " Come, come ! what are you standing 
 there gaping at ? Load that gun there." At it 
 they went again, as if nothing had happened. 
 Another officer, who had charge of a battery of 
 mortars. Bad no less than seventeen shells strike 
 within ten yards of him. I saw the ground 
 l)loughed up in every direction, and yet not a 
 man was hurt. About twenty of the men, who 
 had been relieved from their guns, Avere sitting 
 smoking and watching the firing in a corner pro- 
 tected from shot by the walls, when half of a 
 huge shell struck and buried itself right in the 
 middle of the group, without disturbing them in 
 the least. " What's that ? " asked one. " The 
 devil knows, and he won't tell," indifferently 
 responded another, and went on smoldng. A 
 ten-inch columbiad came rolling towards a groupf' 
 the fuze whizzing and smoking. " Wonder if 
 that'll hit us?" "Guess not; we're too near 
 it ! " Crack went the shell ! flying in every direc- 
 tion, but fortunately injuring none of them. The 
 rebel powder was poor ; as also their shot, ex- 
 cept that portion which they succeeded in stealing 
 before the rebellion broke out. Their practice, 
 however, was said to be good — how could it 
 have been otherwise? Uncle Sam taught them 
 at his unparalleled school at West Point, but with 
 little thought that the teaching would be thus 
 employed. 
 
 planted on an eminence commanding a consid- 
 erable portion of the country, but completely 
 shrouded from view by a dense thicket. Scouts 
 were sent out to discover the exact position of 
 the rebels, and were but a short distance in ad- 
 vance, to give a signal as to the direction to fire, 
 if any were discovered. 
 
 One of the rebel commanders, unaware of the 
 presence of the nationals, called around him a 
 brigade, and commenced addressing them in some- 
 thing like the following strain : 
 
 " Sons of the South : We are here to defend 
 our homes, our wives and daughters, against the 
 horde of Vandals who have come here to possess 
 the first and violate the last. Here upon this 
 sacred soil, we have assembled to drive back the 
 Northern invaders — drive them into the Ten- 
 nessee. Will you follow me ? If we cannot hold 
 this place we can defend no spot of our Confed- 
 eracy. Shall we drive the invaders back, and 
 strike to death the men who would desecrate our 
 homes ? Is there a man so base among those 
 who hear me as to retreat from the contemptible 
 foe before us ? I will never blanch before their 
 fire, nor " 
 
 At this interesting period the signal was given, 
 and six shells fell in the vicinity of the gallant 
 officer and his men, who suddenly forgot their 
 fiery resolves, and fled in confusion to their breast- 
 works. 
 
 Disturbing an Orator. — When the Union 
 lines advanced towards Corinth, a battery was 
 
 The "Home Guards." — Eev.Mr. ,aman 
 
 about six feet four in his stockings, and of pro- 
 portions worthy a grenadier, and whose heart is 
 as stout as his frame, a thorough Union man, and 
 in for the war until all treason is thoroughly 
 crushed out, was recently conducting a religious 
 conference meeting, when a brother arose to 
 speak, Avho, after alluding to his hopes and fears 
 in a religious point of view, branched out in 
 reference to the state of the country, saying that 
 so great was his devotion to the Stars and Stripes, 
 that he had enlisted ; and, after a few further 
 patriotic remarks, begged an interest in the prayers 
 of the church, that he might be protected by Di- 
 vine Providence on the field of battle, and that 
 should he fall a victim to the bullets of the 
 enemy, he might be prepared for the change. 
 
 Such a speech at any time would thrill with 
 patriotic fervor the brave heart of the worthy 
 minister, and he consequently spoke a few words 
 of encouragement to the hero, when the wife of 
 the enlisting brother volunteered her experience, 
 in the course of which, alluding to her husband's 
 enlistment, she expressed a wilhngness to give 
 liim up, even unto death, in the service of his 
 country. 
 
 In a few moments after, the meeting came to 
 an end, when the minister, all anxiety for the 
 welfare of the patriot volunteer, proceeded to 
 make some inquiries in reference to his regiment, 
 commencing with the very natural question as to 
 its name and number, when he received the star- 
 thng reply : 
 
 " I've jined the Home Guards ! " 
 
68 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Old Dick, the Drummer. — Dick, a vener- 
 able darky in uniform, was arrested at Rich- 
 mond for carrying a huge bowie-knife. He was 
 on his return home to Danville from a campaign 
 against the Yankees, and the Mayor discharged 
 him after confiscating the knife. 
 
 lie occupied the position of chief drummer 
 for the Eighteenth Virginia regiment, and was 
 highly esteemed by the regiment, not only as a 
 musician, but as a brave and gallant old man. 
 He is a hero of two wars, and in several instances 
 rendered good service to the country. When 
 the war with Mexico broke out, he enlisted as 
 musician for a South Carolina regiment, and fol- 
 lowed it thj'ough the war, and was present when 
 the glorious Gen. Butler fell. The war being 
 successfully terminated, he returned home to his 
 usual avocations. Upon the breaking out of the 
 rebellion, though old and gray, he was among the 
 first to respond to Virginia's call for volunteers, 
 and was regularly mustered into service with the 
 Eighteenth regiment. 
 
 In the memorable battle of the 21st July, 1861, 
 he deserted his drum, and, with musket in hand, 
 followed the regiment throughout the battle. 
 Several days after the battle, while strolling 
 through the woods, he discovered the hiding- 
 place of what he thought a Yankee, and on re- 
 porting it, went down with several of the regi- 
 ment, and captured three of the enemy — one of 
 them Col. Wood, of the Fourteenth Brooklyn. 
 In every scene of danger or of difficulty. Old 
 Dick accompanied the regiment with bowie-knife 
 by his side and musket in hand. When on 
 ])icket duty at Mason's Hill, in sight of the 
 enemy, he would go beyond the picket lines to 
 get a fair crack at the Yankee pickets. In fine. 
 Old Dick is a gentleman and true patriot, and it 
 is ^\Tong that his knife, around which clung so 
 many proud associations to him, should have 
 l)een taken from him. He valued it above all 
 things except his musket. It is true, the law 
 may have required its confiscation, as setting a 
 bad example to darkies in civil life ; but under 
 the circumstances, it does seem hard to have sub- 
 jected the old man not only to the loss of his 
 bowie-knife, but the mortification attendant on a 
 suspicion of evil designs. 
 
 Joe Parsons, a Maryland Brave. — A cor- 
 respondent, writing from the hospitals of Alex- 
 andria, Va., relates the following anecdote : Joe 
 enlisted in the First Maryland regiment, and was 
 plainly a " rough " originally. As we passed 
 along the hall we first saw him crouched near an 
 open window, lustily singing, " I'am a bold sol- 
 dier boy ; " and observing the broad bandage over 
 his eyes, I said : " What 's your name, my good 
 fellow ? " " Joe, sir," he answered, " Joe Par- 
 sons." "And Avhat is the matter with you?" 
 "Blind, sir, blind as a bat." "In battle?" 
 " Yes, at Antietam ; both eyes shot out at one 
 clip." Poor Joe was in the front, at Antietam 
 Creek, and a Minie ball had passed dii'ectly 
 through his eyes, across his face, destroying his 
 
 sight forever. He was but twenty years old, but 
 he was as happy as a lark ! " It is dreadful," I 
 said. " I 'm very thankful I 'm alive, sir. It 
 might ha' been worse, yer see," he continued. 
 And then he told us his story. 
 
 " I was hit," he said, " and it knocked me 
 down. I lay there ail night, and the next day 
 the fight was renewed. I could stand the pain, 
 yer see, but the balls was flyin' all round, and I 
 wanted to get away. I couldn't see nothin', 
 though. So I Avaited and listened ; and at last 
 I heard a feller groanin' beyond me. ' Hello ! ' 
 says I. ' Hello yourself,' says he. ' Who be 
 yer ? ' says I — 'a rebel ? ' ' You're a Y'ankee,' 
 saj's he. * So I am,' says I; 'what's the mat- 
 ter with yer ? ' ' My leg's smashed,' says he. 
 ' Can't yer walk ? ' ' No.' ' Can yer see ? ' 
 
 * Yes.' ' Well,' says I, ' you're a rebel, but 
 
 will you do me a little favor ? ' 'I will,' says he, 
 ' ef I ken.' Then I says : ' Well, ole butternut, I 
 can't see nothin.' ' My eyes is knocked out ; but 
 I ken walk. Come over yere. Let's git out o' 
 this. You p'int the way, an' I'll tote yer off the 
 field on my back.' 'Bully for you,' says he. 
 And so we managed to git together. We shook 
 hands on it. I took a wink out o' his canteen, 
 and he got on to my shoulders. 
 
 " I did the walkin' for both, an' he did the nav- 
 igatin'. An' ef he didn't make me carry him 
 straight into a rebel colonel's tent, a mile away, 
 I'm a liar ! Hows'ever, the colonel came up, an' 
 says he, ' W^har d'yer come from ? who be yer ? ' 
 I told him. He said I was done for, and 
 couldn't do no more shoot'n ; an' he sent me 
 over to our lines. So, after three days, I came 
 down here with the wounded boys, where we're 
 doin' pretty well, all things considered." " But 
 you will never see the light again, m^ poor fel- 
 low," I suggested, sympathetically. " That's 
 so," he answered, glibly, " but I can't help it, you 
 notice. I did my dooty — got shot, pop in the 
 eye — an' that's my raisfort'n, not my fault — as 
 the old man said of his blind hoss. But — ' I'm 
 a bold soldier boy,' " he continued, cheerily re- 
 newing his song ; and we left him in his singular 
 merriment. Poor, sightless, unlucky, but stout- 
 hearted Joe Parsons ! 
 
 Parting Words to the Yankees. — The fol- 
 lowing document was found in one of the dwell- 
 ings at Yorktown, Va. : 
 
 To the Future Yankee Occupants of this Place ■ 
 
 We have retired to the country for a shoit 
 time to recruit our health. We find that with 
 your two hundred thousand men you are too 
 modest to visit this place, and we give you an 
 opportunity to satisfy your curiosity with regard 
 to our defences, assuring you that we will call 
 upon you soon. 
 
 We hope a few days' residence in a house once 
 occupied by men will induce enough courage in 
 your gallant hearts to enable you to come within 
 at least two miles of white men hereafter. Be 
 sure to have on hand a supply of "pork'n beans" 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 69 
 
 when we return ; also, some codfish and " apple 
 sass." When we learn to relish such diet we 
 may become like you — Puritanical, selfish, 
 thieving, God-forgotten, devil-worshipping, devil- 
 belonging, African-loving, blue-bellied Yankees. 
 Advise father Abraham to keep his Scotch cloak 
 on hand, to keep soberer, and your wise Con- 
 gress to hunt up two thousand five hundred 
 millions of specie to pay the debt you have in- 
 curred in winning the contempt of every live 
 man. We have on hand a few tools whicli we 
 devote to the special duty of loosening the links 
 of your steel shirts. Couldn't you get a few 
 iron-clad men to do your fighting ? Are you not 
 horribly afraid that we will shoot you below the 
 shirts ? When are you coming to Richmond ? 
 Couldn't you go up the river with us ? There is 
 one score which we will yet settle with you to the 
 death. Your fiend-like treatment of old men and 
 helpless women reads you out of the pale of civ- 
 ilized warfare, and if rifles are true and knives 
 keen, we will rid some of you of your beastly 
 inclinations. 
 
 When you arise as high in the scale of cre- 
 ated beings as a Brazilian monkey, we will allow 
 you sometimes to associate with our negroes ; 
 but until then Southern soil will be too hot for 
 the sons of the Pilgrims. The only dealing we 
 wiU have with you is, henceforth, war to the 
 knife. We despise you as heartily as we can 
 whip you easily on any equal field. 
 
 Most heartily at your service, whenever you 
 offer a fight. J. Traviso Scott, 
 
 Company A, Sixth Georgia Volunteers. 
 
 An Elegy. — The following lines were written 
 by a soldier in the hospital at New Haven, Conn., 
 who lost his leg in the battle of Fair Oaks : 
 
 L-E-G ON MY LEG. 
 Good leg, thou wast a faithful friend, 
 
 And truly hast thy duty done ; 
 I thank thee most that to the end 
 
 Thou didst not let this body rim. 
 
 Strange paradox ! that in the fight 
 Where I of thee was thus bereft, 
 
 I lost my left leg for " the Right," 
 
 And yet the right's the one that's left ! 
 
 But while the sturdy stump remains, 
 
 I may be able yet to patch it, 
 For even now I've taken pains 
 
 To make an L-E-G to match it. 
 
 The Rebel Retreat from Mill Spring. 
 — In the course of a notice of Capt. C. C. Spiller, 
 the following particulars of the rebel retreat from 
 Mill Spring occur : 
 
 The Noble Ellis was at Gainsboro' ; three inef- 
 fectual attempts had been made to take her up 
 the river to where our army was. Finally Capt. 
 Spiller was ordered to bring the boat; it was 
 executed. Before the fight, he asked permission 
 to lead his company ; but Gen. Zollicofier or- 
 dered him to remain at the river, in charge of 
 
 operations there. The battle was fought, and our 
 army driven back to the river, where a success- 
 ful and skilful crossing alone could have saved it 
 from utter ruin. Spiller was the man for the post 
 — the v.'orld could not have furnished a better. 
 The crossing began at three o'clock P. M. One 
 of the enemy's batteries opened on the boat, and 
 the fire was incessant until dark. The steamer 
 was run all night. At four o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, when two thousand five hundred men were 
 yet to cross, the captain and pilot left. It was 
 understood that the engineer would leave her the 
 next trip, and Spiller sent for Dick Fields, then 
 one of his cavalry company, but formerly an en- 
 gineer on one of his Tennessee river boats. Spil- 
 ler knew Dick — together they had braved dan- 
 ger before that on the water. Sure enough, the 
 engineer and deck-hands quit the boat, Dick took 
 his place, and the boat was manned from the 
 company. At daylight the work was done, and 
 the last man was over. During the night the 
 enemy had placed a Parrott gun in position, and 
 at the earliest dawn the firing began. The first 
 shell fell short but a few yards ; the third passed 
 through the chimney, and exploded over the 
 wheel, scattering its fragments in every direc- 
 tion. Now that the troops were over, and all the 
 horses that could be saved were saved, the torch 
 was applied to the Noble Ellis. Spiller's com- 
 pany were near by ; they had been ordered to fall 
 back out of range of the enemy's fire, but they 
 would not ; their captain, whom they loved, was 
 at his post, and they would not leave him. As the 
 flames spread over the boat, and told that the army 
 had crossed, and that all chance of pursuit was gone, 
 the gallant Spiller, at the head of his troops, moved 
 away to aid the retreating forces. But three of his 
 men left him. 
 
 A SOUTHERN SCENE. 
 
 " O MAMMY, have you heard the news ? " 
 Thus spake a Southern chUd, 
 As in the nurse's aged face 
 
 She upward glanced and smiled. 
 
 " What news you mean, my little one ? 
 It must be mighty fine. 
 To make ray darlin's face so red, 
 Her smmy blue eyes shine." 
 
 " Why, Abr'am Lincoln, don't you know, 
 The Yankee President, 
 Whose ugly picture once we saw, 
 When up to town we went ? 
 
 " Well, he is goin' to free you all, 
 And make you rich and grand. 
 And you'll be dressed in silk and gold, 
 Like the proudest in the land. 
 
 "A gilded coach shall carry you 
 Where'er you wish to ride ; 
 And, mammy, all your work shall be 
 Forever laid aside." 
 
 The eager speaker paused for breath, 
 
 And then the old nurse said, 
 While closer to her swarthy cheek 
 
 She pressed the golden head : 
 
70 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ' ' My little missus, stop and res* — 
 You' talkin' mighty fas' ; 
 Jes' look up dere, and tell me what 
 You see in yonder glass ? 
 
 " Y'ou sees old mammy's wrinkly face, 
 As black as any coal ; 
 And underneath her handkerchief 
 Whole heaps of knotty wool. 
 
 "My darlin's face is red and white, 
 Her skin is sofF and fine, 
 And on her pretty little head 
 De yallar ringlets shine. 
 
 "My chile, who made dis difference 
 'Twixt mammy and 'twixt you ? 
 Y'ou reads de dear Lord's blessed book, 
 And you can tell me true. 
 
 " De dear Lord said it must be so ; 
 And, honey, I, for one, 
 "Wid tankful heart will always say, 
 His holy will be done. 
 
 " I tanks Mas' Linkum all de same, 
 But when I wants for free, 
 I'll ask de Lord of glory. 
 
 Not poor buckra man like he. 
 
 " And as for gilded carriages, 
 Dey's notin' 'tall to see ; 
 My massa's coach, what carries him. 
 Is good enough for me. 
 
 " And, honey, when your mammy wants 
 To change her homespun dress. 
 She'll pray, like dear old missus, 
 To be clothed with righteousness. 
 
 "My work's been done dis many a day, 
 And now I takes my ease, 
 A waitin' for de Master's call, 
 Jes' when de Master please. 
 
 " And when at las' de time's done come, 
 And poor old mammy dies, 
 Y'our own dear mother's soff white hand 
 Shall close these tired old eyes. 
 
 "De dear Lord Jesus soon will call 
 Old mammy home to him. 
 And he can wash ray guilty soul 
 From ebery sj)Ot of sin. 
 
 " And at his feet I shall lie down. 
 Who died and rose for me ; 
 And den, and not till den, my chile. 
 Your mammy will be free. 
 
 " Come, little missus, say your prayers; 
 Let old Mas' Linkum 'lone ; 
 The debil knows who b'longs to him, 
 And he'll take care of his own." 
 
 The Capture of Smithfield, Va. — The 
 rebels having retired from Norfolk, Virginia, in 
 May, 1S62, General Mansfield sent his Aid-de- 
 Camp, Drake De Kay, to reconnoitre the various 
 rivers and creeks setting in from the James River. 
 
 Captain De Kay started with a sail-boat and 
 eight men, and examined the Nansemond River 
 and Chuckatuck Creek,/ and then proceeded to 
 
 Smithfield Creek. This being narrow and tor- 
 tuous, with high banks, he hoisted the rebel flag, 
 and ran up some five miles to the town of Smith- 
 field. This town is situated on a hill, stretching 
 back from the river, contains some one thousand 
 two hundred inhabitants, is very prettily laid out, 
 has several handsome churches, and fine " old 
 family " homesteads. 
 
 The people are all rank secesh — hardly a 
 man, woman, or child to be seen in the streets 
 who does not scowl at the Yankees. The ne- 
 groes, even, did not speak to us, as their masters 
 had forbidden it, and beaten them severely for do- 
 ing so. The whole negro population would run 
 away, were it not that every boat has been bro- 
 ken up. 
 
 Upon arriving at the towii the rebel flag was 
 pulled down on board the sail-boat, and the 
 United States ensign run up, to the horror of the 
 citizens, Avho had come down to congratulate the 
 (as they supposed) escaped rebel boat. Captain 
 De Kay proceeded on shore with his body-guard, 
 sent for the Mayor and authorities, who called a 
 meeting of the citizens. At this meeting a reso- 
 lution was read setting forth " that the citizens 
 would surrender as the conquered to the con- 
 querors, and that they were and always would 
 remain true and loyal citizens of the Confederate 
 States of America." 
 
 Thereupon Captain De Kay seized'and impris- 
 oned the Mayor, Aldermen, and Committee — no 
 resistance being made by their fellow-citizens, 
 from the fear of a supposed gunboat outside the 
 bar of the creek ! 
 
 The authorities, left to themselves, and wisely 
 removed from all excitement, began now to see 
 the error of their ways. Visions of Fortress 
 Monroe dungeons in the foreground, and hand- 
 somely constructed gallows, with patent drops, in 
 the bacl^round, worked upon their imaginations, 
 so that, one by one, and stoutly contesting point 
 after point, they came down at last to Captain 
 De Kay's simple propositions, which were : 
 
 1. To surrender the town and all public prop- 
 erty to the United States forces unconditionally. 
 
 2. To hoist tlie American flag officially over 
 the Town Hall, and to protect it there. 
 
 3. To, each and all, take the oath of allegiance 
 to the United States of America. 
 
 To this they came at last, and after the oath 
 the Mayor (a bitter secesh) nailed up with his 
 own hand the glorious Stars and Stripes. 
 
 Lying opposite the town was a fine schooner, 
 the Beauregard, with a full cargo of soft coal for 
 theMerrimac. A prize crew (one man) was put 
 on board, and some contrabands to Mork her, 
 and she was sent to Fortress Monroe — the first 
 prize vessel taken on James River. 
 
 Thus Smithfield was captured by eight men. 
 The " supposed gunboat in the oifing " never ap- 
 peared! 
 
 A Pass for a Rebel. — The following in- 
 cident illustrates the character of the secession- 
 ists, and the. vigorous policy pursued by General 
 McCook in Kentucky : 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 71 
 
 A man named Buz Rowe, living near Bacon 
 Creek, was early afflicted with the secession fe- 
 ver, and Avhen the rebels occupied that portion 
 of Kentucky, the sickness assumed a malignant 
 form. It was his practice to lie around a tavern 
 at Bacon Creek Station, drink whiskey, swagger, 
 blow about Southern rights, and insult Union 
 men. When the Union troops advanced to 
 Nevin, and the rebels fell back to Green River, 
 Buz changed his tune. He was not disposed to 
 take up arms in behalf of the cause he repre- 
 sented. In fact, to secure peace and safety at 
 home, he expressed his willingness to " take the 
 oath," 
 
 On being lectured by Union men, he stated 
 that he was only going through the form to pre- 
 vent being troubled at home, and that when he 
 could do good for the rebel cause he would not re- 
 gard the obligation in the least. It M'as some time 
 before Buz could get a Union man to go to the 
 camp with him; but finally, in company with 
 such, he called on General McCook, and asked for 
 the privilege of taking the oath and obtaining a 
 pass. The General knew his man, and addressing 
 the Union man who accompanied him, said : 
 
 " Administer the oath to /tim — a ready traitor 
 to his country ! What regard do you suppose 
 he would have for the solemn obligations of an 
 oath ? A man, sir, who would betray his coun- 
 try has no respect for his oath." 
 
 Buz turned pale. The truth cut him deep, and 
 he began to see that his time had come. 
 
 The General absolutely refused to have the 
 oath administered, or to grant a pass. He could 
 not get out of camj) without some sort of a doc- 
 ument, and he besought the interference of those 
 whom he had so greatly abused when they were 
 without protection. At last General McCook 
 agreed to pass him out of camp, and gave him a 
 document which read something in this way : 
 
 " To the guards and pickets : 
 
 " The bearer is a traitor to his country. Pass 
 him ; but, in doing so, mark him well, and if 
 you see him hereafter prowling about our lines, 
 shoot him at once." 
 
 This pass the brawling rebel had to show to 
 the whole line of guards and pickets, who all 
 marked him. well before they let him pass. 
 
 A Brilliant Exploit. — One of the coolest 
 and most extraordinary exploits of the war is 
 thus described in a letter by Brigadier-General 
 E. B. Brown, dated Springfield, Mo. After a 
 preliminary description of an engagement with 
 the rebels, eighteen miles from Newtonia, Gen- 
 eral Brown proceeds : 
 
 " The General (Schofield) sent Lieutenant 
 Blodgett, attended by an orderly, with orders to 
 Colonel Hall, Fourth Missouri cavalry, to move 
 to the left, and attack in that direction. The 
 route of the Lieutenant was across a point of 
 woods, in which, while passing, he suddenly found 
 himself facing about forty rebels drawn up in ir- 
 regular line Without a moment's hesitation, 
 "he and the orderly drew, their pistols and charged. 
 
 At the same time, tempering bravery with mercy, 
 and not feeling any desire to shed blood need- 
 lessly, he drew out his handkerchief, and waved 
 it in token of his willingness to surround and 
 capture the whole rebel force rather than shoot 
 them down. 
 
 " The cool impudence of the act nonplused 
 the foe, and perha])s thinking there was a large 
 force in the rear, eight of them threw down their 
 arms and surrendered, and the balance ' skedad- 
 dled.' It is difficult to say which I admired most 
 in the Lieutenant, his bravery in making the 
 charge against such odds, wlftn to have hesitated 
 a moment was certain death, or his presence of 
 mind and coolness in ofl'ering them their lives. 
 The Orderly, too, deserves more than a passing 
 notice. His name is Peter Basnett, and he was 
 at one time Sheriff of Brown County, Wis. The 
 Lieutenant and Orderly were well matched — 
 both quiet and determined men. I am glad of 
 having an opportunity of bearing testimony to 
 the bravery and soldierly conduct of Lieutenant 
 Weils H. Blodgett. I hope the Governor will 
 reward him as he deserves." 
 
 An Incident of Mill Spuing. — After the 
 battle, when the Minnesota regiment returned to 
 its quarters at Camp Hamilton, they marched 
 past the Colonel's marquee with banners flying, 
 and their splendid band playing " Hail Colum- 
 bia." Standing in front of the tent were Dr. 
 Cliff, Zollicoffer's Brigade Surgeon, Lieut. Col. 
 Carter, of the Twentieth Tennessee (rebel) regi- 
 ment, and several Union officers. " Hail Colum- 
 bia" affected both the rebel officers to tears — 
 they wept like children — and Carter remarked 
 that, although compelled to fight against the 
 old flag, he loved it still. 
 
 A NATIONAL HYMN. 
 
 BY PARK BENJAMIN. 
 
 Great God ! to whom our nation's woes, 
 Our dire distress, our angry foes. 
 In all their awful gloom are known. 
 We bow to thee, and thee alone. 
 
 We pray thee, mitigate this strife, 
 Attended by such w^aste of life, 
 Such wounds and anguish, groans and tears, 
 That fill our inmost hearts with fears. 
 
 O, darkly now the tempest rolls 
 Wide o'er our desolated souls ; 
 Yet, beaten downward to the dust, 
 In thy forgiveness still wg trust. 
 
 We trust to thy protecting power 
 In this, our coimtry's maddest hour, 
 And pray that thou wilt spread thy shield 
 Above us in the camp and field. 
 
 O God of battles, let thy might 
 Protect our armies in the fight — 
 Till they shall win the victory. 
 And set the hapless bondmen free ; — 
 
72 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Till, guided by thy glorious hand. 
 Those armies reunite the land, 
 And North and South alike shall raise 
 To God their peaceful hymns of praise. 
 
 Incident of the Hospital. — I was con- 
 versing not long since with a returned volunteer. 
 
 I was in the hospital, as nurse, for a long time, 
 said he, and assisted in taking off limbs, and 
 dressing all sorts of wounds ; but the hardest 
 thing I ever did was to take my thumb off a 
 man's leg. 
 
 All ! said I ; how Avas that ? Then he told me. 
 
 It was a young man who had a severe wound 
 in the thigh. The ball passed completely through, 
 and amputation was necessary. The limb was 
 cut oif close up to the body, the arteries taken 
 up, and he seemed to be doing well. Subse- 
 quently one of the small arteries sloughed off. 
 An incision was made, and it was again taken up. 
 " It is well it was not the main artery," said the 
 surgeon, as he performed the operation ; " he 
 might have bled to death before we could have 
 taken it up." But Charley got on finely, and was 
 a favorite with us all. 
 
 I was passing through the wards one night 
 about midnight, when suddenly, as I was passing 
 
 Charley's bed he spoke to me. " 11 , my leg 
 
 is bleeding again." I threw back the clothes, and 
 the blood spirted in the air. The main artery 
 had opened afresh! 
 
 Fortunately, I knew just what to do ; and in an 
 instant I had pressed my thumb on the place, and 
 stopped the bleeding. It was so close to tlie 
 body that there was barely room for my thumb ; 
 Init I succeeded in keeping it there, and rousing 
 one of the convalescents, sent him for the sur- 
 geon, who came in on the run. " I am so thank- 
 ful, H ," said he as he saw me, " that you 
 
 were up and knew what to do, for he must have 
 bled to death before I could have got here." 
 
 But on examination of the case he looked ex- 
 ceedingly serious, and sent out for other surgeons. 
 All came who were within reach, and a consulta- 
 tion was held over the poor fellow. One conclu- 
 sion was reached by all. There was no place to 
 work save the spot where my thumb pressed ; 
 they could not work under my thumb, and if I 
 moved he would bleed to death before the artery 
 could be taken up. There was no way to save his 
 life. 
 
 Poor Charley ! He was very calm when they 
 told him, and requested that his brother, who was 
 in the same hospital, might be called up. He 
 came and sat down by the bedside, and for three 
 hours I stood, and by the pressure of my thumb, 
 kejit up the life in Charley while the brothers 
 had their last conversation on earth. It was a 
 strange place for me to be in, to feel that I held 
 the life of a fellow-mortal in my hands, as it Averc, 
 and stranger yet, to feel that an act of mine must 
 cause that life to depart. Loving the poor fel- 
 low as I did, it was a hard thought, but there 
 was no alternative. 
 
 The last words were spoken. Charley had 
 
 arranged all his business affairs, and sent tender 
 messages to absent ones, who little dreamed how 
 near their loved one stood lo the grave. The 
 tears filled my eyes more than once as I listened 
 to those parting words. All were said, and he 
 
 turned to me. "Now, H , I guess you had 
 
 better take off your thumb." " O Charley ! 
 how can I ? " I said. " But it must be, you 
 know," he replied, cheerfully : " I thank you very 
 much for your kindness, and now good by." 
 
 He turned away his head. I raised my thumb. 
 Once more the crimson life-current gushed forth. 
 In three minutes poor Charley was dead. 
 
 A Home Scene. — A member of one of the 
 Charleston companies, on leave of absence in the 
 city, received a summons to appear at his post 
 on Sullivan's Island on one of the nights when 
 the air was rife with the most startling rumors 
 of the coming of an overwhelming fleet. With 
 cheerful promptitude the brave soldier prepared 
 to obey the imperative call. He was a husband, 
 and the father of a blue-eyed little girl, who had 
 just begun to put words together. After the 
 preparation for the camp bad been made, the 
 soldier nerved himself for the good by. Those 
 present thought that the wife felt the parting 
 less than the husband. Lively words, flowed fast, 
 and her fair face was as bright and calm as a 
 morning in May. Her heart seemed to be full 
 of gladness. 
 
 She cheered him with pleasant earnestness to 
 show himself a man, and ruiming on in a gleeful 
 strain, admonished him not to come back if he 
 were shot in the back. With incredible forti- 
 tude she bade her child tell papa good by, 
 and say to him that she would not own him 
 her father if he proved to be a coward. The 
 echo of the soldier's footfall through the corridor 
 had hardly died away, Avhen a ghastly pallor was 
 seen spreading over the lady's face. In a voice 
 weak and husky she begged a friend to take her 
 child, and before she could be supported she fell 
 from her chair prostrate on the floor. 
 
 By a tremendous effort the noble woman had 
 controlled her feehngs ; but nature could bear no 
 longer, and she fainted. The swoon was deep, 
 and it was some time before consciousness re- 
 turned. At length she opened her eyes lan- 
 guidl}^, and looked around upon the sympathizing 
 group, and in a tremulous tone inquired " if she 
 had fainted before her husband left the room." 
 
 The Feast of Doughnuts. — The ladies of 
 Augusta, Me., distributed over fifty bushels of 
 doughnuts to the Third Volunteer regiment of 
 Maine, previous to their departure for the seat ,| 
 of war in 1861. A procession of ladies, headed i 
 by music, passed between double lines of troops, 
 who presented arms, and were afterwards drawn 
 up in hollow square to receive the Avelcome dough- 
 nation. 
 
 Never before was seen such an aggregate of 
 doughnuts since the world began. The circum- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 73 
 
 ambient air was redolent of doughnuts. Every 
 breeze sighed doughnuts — everybody talked of 
 doughnuts. The display of doughnuts beggared 
 desci'iption. There was the molasses doughnut 
 and the sugar doughnut — the long doughnut and 
 the short doughnut — the round doughnut and 
 the square doughnut — the rectangular dough- 
 nut and the triangular doughnut — the single 
 twisted doughnut and the double twisted dough- 
 nut — the "light riz" doughnut and the hard- 
 kneaded doughnut — the straight solid doughnut 
 and the circular doughnut, Avith a hole in the 
 centre. There were doughnuts of all imaginary 
 kinds, qualities, shapes, and dimensions. It was 
 emphatically a feast of doughnuts, if not a flow 
 of soul. 
 
 Lieut. Greble at Great Bethel. — As soon 
 as the confusion arising from the mistake (the 
 cross firing) was over, Gen. Pierce ordered the 
 troops to advance. No scouts were thrown out, 
 uor were troops aware of the vicinity of the 
 enemy's batteries until they came within their 
 fire. Lieut. Greble was ordered to unlimber his 
 gun. He advanced, fu'ing his gun alternately, 
 until he came within two hundred yards of the 
 masked battery of the rebels. 
 
 Soon after the firing commenced, he was left 
 alone with his original command of eleven men, 
 in an open road, the volunteers having retreated 
 before the telling fire of the rifled cannon. 
 
 He worked his guns until he had silenced all 
 those of the enemy, except one rifled cannon. 
 
 The Zouaves made a demonstration, and only 
 desired permission to storm the fort, but no gen- 
 eral officer was seen from the commencement of 
 the action, and fifteen hundred troops were kept 
 lying on the ground for an hour and forty minutes, 
 waiting for a commander. 
 
 Lieut. Greble stood the brunt of the action for 
 two hours ; he was begged by several officers to 
 retreat, but he refused. Lieut. Butler asked him 
 at least to take the same care of himself that the 
 rest did, and dodge. He replied, " I never dodge, 
 and when I hear the notes of the bugle calling a 
 retreat, I shall retreat, and not before." The 
 enemy made a sortie. Lieut. Greble said to Capt. 
 Bartlett, who was standing alongside of him, 
 " Now, Charley, I have something to fii-e at, just see 
 how I will make them scamper." He immediately 
 loaded with grape, and fired, when the enemy at 
 once retreated behind their intrenchment. 
 
 Seeing himself left entirely alone, with five 
 men at his own gun, he turned to Corporal Peo- 
 ples, and said, " All he could do would be useless 
 — limber up the gun and take it away." At this 
 moment a shot struck him on the left temple. ■ He 
 immediately fell, and his only exclamation was, 
 " O, my gun ! " The same ball went through the 
 body of another man, and took the leg off a third. 
 
 Throughout the firing he had sighted every 
 gun himself, and examined the effect of every 
 shot with his glass. It was remarked by his own 
 men, that every ball was placed in the very spot 
 that he aimed for. The men say that he exhibited 
 the same coolness that he would on parade. 
 
 The enemy did not come out again until the 
 Federal troops had been withdrawn a half hour. 
 
 Lieut. Greble did not spike his gun, but kept 
 it charged in preparing to withdraw his com- 
 mand. The Sergeant spiked it after the Lieu- 
 tenant was killed. 
 
 A Humorous Incident. — One of the Jus- 
 tices of the Police Court, in Boston, Mass., who 
 had seen much service in the Volunteer Militia, 
 was holding court, when a company of Volunteers 
 passed the court-house, marching to the immortal 
 tune of the " Star Spangled Banner." The spec- 
 tators sprang to their feet, responsive to the un- 
 derstood order of " Forward, to the door ! " Run- 
 ning feet shuffled in the entry. Boom! boom! 
 sounded the band. " O, long may it wave I " 
 screamed a patriotic urchin outside the window. 
 "First Regiment, take the witness stand!" 
 thundered the Court, which must have imagined 
 itself on the green field, at the head of its com- 
 mand. 
 
 The other " Abou-Ben-Adhem." — The fol- 
 lowing ingenious and witty parody of a poem 
 universally known, is from a feminine pen. The 
 tart and somewhat malicious allusions to " Rye " 
 refer, we suppose, to President Buchanan's letter 
 to some Western friends, acknowledging, with 
 thanks, the receipt of some excellent rye whis- 
 key : 
 
 James U-TJchanan — may his tribe (decrease — 
 Awoke one night from a strange dream of peace, 
 And saw, within the curtains of his bed. 
 Making his t'other eye to squint with dread — 
 Old Jackson, writing in a book of gold. 
 Exceeding Rye had made Buchanan bold, 
 And to the stern Ex-President he said : 
 " Wha — what writ'st thou?" The spirit shook 
 
 his head. 
 The while he answered, with the voice of old : 
 " The names of those who ne'er their country sold! " 
 " And is mine one ? " asked J. B. " Nary .'" cried 
 The General, with a frown. Buchanan sighed, 
 And groaned, and turned himself upon his bed, 
 And took another "nip" of "rye," then said: 
 " Well, ere thou lay thy record on the shelf, 
 Write me at least as one who sold himself! 
 ' Democs ' and ' Rye ' so long my spirits were, 
 That when the ' Crisis ' came — I wasn't there ! " 
 The General wrote, and vanished ; the next night 
 He came again, in more appalling plight, 
 And showed those names that all true tnen detest, 
 And lo ! Buchanan's name led all the rest ! 
 
 Young Hart the Guide. — Rich Mountain 
 is famous as the scene where the first decisive 
 battle was fought in West Virginia, between Gen. 
 McClellan and Gen. Garnett. _ 
 
 Rich Mountain range, as it is sometimes called, 
 is in Randolph County, sixty miles from Glen- 
 ville, one hundred miles from Parkersburg, and 
 twelve miles from Beverly, the county seat of 
 Randolph County. It is long, narrov.', and high ; 
 and, except the summit, whereon is Mr. Hart's 
 farm, it is covered with timber densely, save a 
 
74 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 narrow strip on one side, which is thickly covered 
 with laurel. The Parkersburg and Staunton 
 Pike winds round the mountain, and passes, by 
 the heads of ravines, directly over its top. The 
 soil is black and rich, differing from that of all 
 adjacent mountains, and it is from this circum- 
 stance that its name is derived. 
 
 The topograpliical formation of the mountain 
 top is admirably adapted for the erection of strong 
 military defences ; and on this account Gen. Gar- 
 nett had selected it as a stronghold for his army. 
 He had erected formidable fortifications, render- 
 ing an attack fatal to the assailing party, on the 
 road leading up the mountain, which was deemed 
 the only route by which the enemy could possibly 
 reach his position. Gen. McClellan was advan- 
 cing with an army of five thousand men from 
 Clarksburg, on the Parkersburg and Staunton 
 Turnpike, intending to attack Garnett early in 
 the morning where his works crossed the road, 
 not deeming any other route up the mountain 
 practicable. Had he carried his plan into execu- 
 tion, subsequent examination showed that no 
 earthly power could have saved him and his army 
 from certain defeat. The mountain was steep in 
 front of the fortifications ; reconnoisance, except 
 in force, was impossible ; and McClellan had de- 
 termined to risk a battle directly on the road, 
 where Garnett, without McClellan's knowledge, 
 had rendered his defences impervious to any pow- 
 er that man could bring against him. 
 
 Mr. Hart, whose farm is on the mountain, was 
 a Union man, knew the ground occupied by Gar- 
 nett, and had carefully examined his fortifica- 
 tions on the road coming up the mountain. Hear- 
 ing that McClellan was advancing, and fearing 
 that he might attempt to scale the works at the 
 road, he sent his little son, Joseph Hart, in the 
 night, to meet McClellan and inform him of the 
 situation of affairs on the mountain. Joseph, be- 
 ing but a boy, got through the rebel lines with- 
 out difficulty, and travelling the rest of the night 
 and part of the following day, reached the ad- 
 vanced guard of the Union army, informed them 
 of the object of his coming, and was taken, under 
 guard, to the General's quarters. Young as he 
 was, the Federal commander looked upon him 
 with suspicion. He questioned him closely. Jo- 
 seph related in simple language aU his father had 
 told him of Garnett's position, the number of his 
 force, the character of his works, and the impos- 
 sibility of successfully attacking him on the 
 mountain in the direction he proposed. The 
 General listened attentively to his simple story, 
 occasionally interrupting him with : " Tell the 
 truth, my boy." At each interruption Joseph 
 earnestly but quietly would reply : " I am tell- 
 ing you the truth. General." " But," says the 
 latter, " do you know, if you are not, you will be 
 shot as a spy ? " "1 am xcilling to be shot if all 
 I say is not true," gently responded Joseph. 
 " WeD," says the General, after being satisfied 
 of the entire honesty of his little visitor, " if I 
 cannot go up the mountain by the road, in what 
 way am I to go up ? " Joseph, who now saw- 
 that he was believed, from the manner of his in- 
 
 terrogator, said there was a way up the otlier 
 side, leaving the turnpike just at the foot, and 
 going round the base to where the laurel was. 
 There was no road there, and the mountain was 
 very steep ; but lie had been up there : there were 
 but few trees standing, and none fallen down to 
 be in the way. The laurel was very thiclc up. the 
 side of the mountain, and the top matted togeth- 
 er so closely that a flian could walk on the tcps. 
 The last statement of Joseph once more awakened 
 a slight suspicion of Gen. iNIcClellan, who said 
 sharply, " Do you say men can walk on the tops 
 of the laurel? " " Yes sir," said Joseph. " Do you 
 think my army can go up the mountain, over the 
 tops of the laurel ? " " No, sir," promptly answered 
 Joseph ; " but / have done so, and a man inirjlit, if 
 he would walk slowly and had nothing to caiTy." 
 " But, my boy, don't you see, I have a great 
 many men, and horses, and cannon to take up, and 
 how do you think we could get up over that lau- 
 rel? " " The trees are small ; they are so small 
 you can cut them down, without making any 
 noise, with knives and hatchets ; and they will not 
 know on the top of the mountain what you are 
 doing or when you are coming," promptly and 
 respectfully answered Joseph, who was now really 
 to be the leader of the little army that was to de- 
 cide the political destiny of "West Vii-ginia. 
 
 The Federal commander was satisfied with 
 this ; and although he had marched all day, and 
 intended that night to take the easy way up the 
 mountain by the road, he immediately changed his 
 ])lan of attack, and suddenly the army of the 
 Union were moving away in the direction pointed 
 out by Joseph Hart. When they came to the foot 
 of the mountain, they left the smooth and easy 
 track of the turnpike, and with difiSiculty wound 
 round the broad base of the mountain, through 
 ravines and ugly gorges, to the point indicated 
 by the little guide. Here the army halted. Mc- 
 Clellan and some of his stafi', with Joseph, ])ro- 
 ceeded to examine the nature of the ground, and 
 the superincumbent laurel covering the mountain 
 from its base to its summit. All was precisely 
 as Joseph had described it in the chiefs tent on ■ 
 the Staunton Pike ; and the quick eye of the hero 
 of Rich Mountain saw at a glance the feasibility 
 of the attack. It was past midnight when the 
 army reached the foot of the mountain. Though 
 floating clouds hid the stars, the night was not 
 entii'ely dark, and more than a thousand knives 
 and hatchets were soon busy clearing away the • 
 marvellous laurel. Silence reigned throughout 
 the b'nes, save the sharp click of the small blades 
 and the rustle of the falling laurel. Before day- 
 break the narrow and precipitous way was 
 cleared, and the work of ascending commenced. 
 The horses were tied at the foot of i!ie mountain. 
 The artillery horses were taken' from the car- 
 riages. One by one the cannon were taken up 
 the rough and steep side of the mountain by 
 hand, and left within a short distance of the 
 top, in such a situation as to be readily moved 
 forward when the moment of attack should ar- 
 rive. The main army then commenced the 
 march up by companies, many falling down, but 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 75 
 
 suddenly recovering their places. The ascent 
 was a slow and tedious one. The way was wind- 
 ing and a full mile. But before daybreak all 
 was ready, and the Yankee cannon were booming 
 upon and over the enemy's works, nearly in his 
 rear, at an unexpected moment, and from an en- 
 tirely unexpected quarter. They were tliunder 
 struck, as well as struck by shell and canister. 
 They did the best they could by a feeble resist- 
 ance, and fled precipitately down the mountain, 
 pursued by the Federals to Cheat River, where 
 the brave Garnett M^as killed. Two hundred fell 
 on the mountain, and are buried by the side of the 
 turnpike, with no other sign of the field of inter- 
 ment than a long indentation made by the sink- 
 ing down of the earth in the line where the bod- 
 ies lie. 
 
 A Courageous Woman. — A good story is 
 told of the courageous conduct of the wife of 
 Capt. McGilvery, master of the ship Mary Goodell, 
 which was captured by a rebel privateer, and sub- 
 sequently released, and arrived at Portland. Mrs. 
 McGilvery was on the voyage with her husband, 
 and when the ship was boarded by the pirates, 
 she was asked by them for a supply of small 
 stores for their use, as they were rather short. 
 She immediately replied that she had nothing 
 but arsenic, and would gladly give them a supply, 
 but that they could have nothing else from her. 
 Seeing the national flag near at hand, they started 
 to secure it, when she sprang forM'ard, and grasp- 
 ing the flag, threw it into a chest, and placing 
 herself over it, declared they should not have it 
 unless they took her with it. Finding the lady 
 rather too spunky for them, they retired without 
 further molestinsr her. 
 
 THE GREAT BELL ROLAND, * 
 
 BY THEODOEE TILTON. 
 
 (Suggested by the President's first call for Volunteers.) 
 
 Toll! Roland, toll! 
 In old St. Eavon's tower, 
 At midnight hour, 
 The great bell Roland spoke ! 
 All souls that slept in Ghent awoke ! 
 What meant the thunder-stroke ? 
 Why trembled wife and maid ? 
 Why caught each man his blade ? 
 Why echoed every street 
 With tramp of thronging feet ? 
 
 All flying to the city's wall I 
 
 It was the warning call 
 That Freedom stood in peril of a foe 1 
 And even timid hearts grew bold 
 Whenever Roland tolled, 
 And every hand a sword could hold 1 
 
 So acted men 
 
 Like patriots then 
 Three hundred years ago 1 
 
 * The famous bell Roland, of Ghent, was an object 
 of great aifection to the people, because it rang to arm 
 them when Liberty was in danger. 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 Bell never yet was hung. 
 Between whose lips there swung 
 So grand a tongue ! 
 
 If men be patriots still. 
 At thy lirst sound 
 True hearts will bound, 
 Great souls will thrill ! 
 Then toll and strike the test 
 Through each man's breast, 
 Till loyal hearts shall stand confest, 
 And may God's wrath smite all the rest ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 Not now in old St. Bavon's tower — 
 Not now at midnight hour — 
 Not now from River Scheldt to Zuyder Zee — ' 
 
 But here, — this side the sea ! — 
 
 Toll here, in broad, bright day ! — 
 
 For not by night awaits 
 
 A noble foe without the gates, 
 But perjured friends within betray. 
 And do the deed at noon ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 Thy sound is not too soon ! 
 To arms ! Ring out the leader's call ! 
 Re-echo it from East to West 
 Till every hero's breast 
 Shall swell beneath a soldier's crest ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 Till cottager from cottage wall 
 Snatch pouch and powder-horn and gun ! 
 The sire bequeathed them to the son 
 When only half their work was done ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 Till swords from scabbards leap ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 What tears can widows weep 
 Less bitter than when brave men fall ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 In shadowed hut and hall 
 Shall lie the soldier's pall. 
 And hearts shall break while graves are filled ! 
 
 Amen ! so God hath willed ! 
 And may His grace anoint us all ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 The Dragon on thy tower 
 Stands sentry to this hour, 
 And Freedom so stands safe in Ghent, 
 And merrier bells now ring. 
 And in the land's serene content, 
 Men shout, " God save the King! " 
 
 Until the skies are rent I 
 So let it be 5 
 A kingly king is he 
 Who keeps his people free ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 Pcing out across the sea 1 
 No longer They, but We, 
 Have now stich need of thee ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 Nor ever may thy throat 
 Keep dumb its warning note, 
 Till Freedom's perils be outbraved! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 
76 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Till Freedom's flag, wherever waved. 
 Shall shadow not a man enslaved ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 From northern lake to southern strand ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 Till friend and foe, at thy command, 
 Once more shall clasp each other's hand, 
 And shout, one- voiced, " God save the land ! 
 And love the land that God hath saved ! 
 
 Toll ! Roland, toll ! 
 
 Horses at Bull Run. — One of the guns of 
 Sherman's battery was rescued from capture by 
 the rebels, and brought ofl' the field by two horses 
 that had been shot through by Minie musket- 
 balls. When the order, " Forward," was given, 
 they resolutely straightened out, and absolutely 
 brought off the gun. 
 
 At the commencement of the battle, Lieut. Has- 
 brouck, of the West Point battery, was riding a 
 little sorrel horse. In a short time he was shot 
 three times, and from loss of blood became too 
 weak for further service. He was stripped of 
 bridle and saddle, and turned loose, as his owner 
 supposed, to die. In the heat of the contest 
 nothing more was thought of the little sorrel, nor 
 was he seen again until the remnant of the bat- 
 tery was far towards Washington on the retreat. 
 It paused at Centreville, and while renting there, 
 Lieut. Hasbrouck was delighted to be joined by 
 his faithful horse, which, by a strong instinct, had 
 obeyed the bugle call to retreat, and had found 
 his true position with the battery, which is more 
 than most of the human mass engaged on the 
 field could boast of doing. He went safely into 
 Washington, recovered of his wounds, ready for 
 another fight. 
 
 In'Cidents of the Peninsula. — At the bat- 
 tle of Hanover Court House, Va., two sergeants 
 met in the woods ; each drew his knife, and the 
 two bodies were found together, each with a 
 knife buried in it to the hilt. Some men had a 
 cool Avay of disposing of prisoners. One, an 
 officer of the Massachusetts Ninth, well known 
 in Boston as a professor of muscular Christianity, 
 better known as " the child of the regiment," 
 while rushing through the woods at the head of 
 his company, came upon a rebel. Seizing the 
 "grayback" by the collar, he threw him over 
 his shoulder, with, " Pick him up, somebody." A 
 little Yankee, marching down by the side of a 
 fence which skirted the woods, came upon a 
 strapping secesh, who attempted to seize and pull 
 him over the rails ; but the little one had too 
 much science. A blow with the butt of a musket 
 levelled secesh to the ground, and made him a 
 prisoner. 
 
 'Cuteness of a Contraband Scout. — A 
 private letter from West Point, Va., narrates an 
 exciting adventure which befell a negro scout in 
 the employ of the Union forces, and his shrewd- 
 ness in escaping from the rebels. His name was 
 Claiborne, and he was a full-blooded African, 
 
 with big lips, flat nose, &c. He lived in the vi- 
 cinity all his life, and was therefore familiar with 
 the country, which rendered him a very valuable 
 scout. On Claiboi-ne's last trip, inside the ene- 
 my's lines, after scouting around as much as he 
 wished, he picked up eight chickens and started 
 for camp. His road led past the house of a secesh 
 doctor named Roberts, who knew him, and who 
 ordered him to stop, which, of course, Claiborne 
 had no idea of doing, and kept on, when the doc- 
 tor fired on him, and gave chase, shouting at the 
 top of his voice. The negro was making good 
 time towards camp, Avhen all at once he was con- 
 fronted by a whole regiment of rebel soldiers, 
 who ordered him to halt. For a moment the 
 scout was dumbfounded, and thought his hour 
 had come ; but the next he sung out : 
 
 " The Yankees are coming ! the Yankees are 
 coming ! " 
 
 " Where ? where ? " inquired the rebels. 
 
 " Just up in front of Dr. Roberts' house, in a 
 piece of woods," returned Sambo. " Dr. R. sent 
 me down to tell you to come up quick, or they'll 
 kill the whole of us." 
 
 " Come in, come into camp," said the sol- 
 diers. 
 
 *' No, no," says the 'cute African, " I have got 
 to go down and tell the cavalry pickets, and can't 
 wait a second." So off he sprang with a bound, 
 running for dear life, the rebs, discovering the 
 ruse, chasing him for three miks, and he running 
 six, when he got safely into camp, but minus his 
 chickens, which he dropped at the first fire. 
 
 An Affecting Incident. — An incident is 
 related which aff"ords a striking but sad illustra- 
 tion of the effects of civil war. The lady in ques- 
 tion has resided with an only daughter for many 
 years in Alexandria. About nine months since, 
 a mutual friend introduced a young gentleman 
 of Richmond to the family. The young people 
 soon became intimately acquainted, and, quite 
 naturally, fell in love. The parents on both sides 
 consenting, the parties were betrothed, and the 
 marriage day was fixed for the 4th of July, In 
 the mean time, however, the Virginians were 
 called upon to decide on which side they would 
 stand. The ladies declared themselves on the 
 side of the Government, but the gentleman joined 
 the forces of his State. No opportunity was af- 
 forded for the interchange of sentiments between 
 the young folks, or anything settled as to their 
 future movements. Matters thus rem.ained till 
 the 4th of July, when, exactly within an hour of 
 the time originally fixed for the marriage, intelli- 
 gence was received at the residence of the ladies 
 that the young man had been shot by a sentry 
 two days before, while attempting to desert and 
 join his bride. His betrothed did not shed a 
 tear, but, standing erect, smiled, and then re- 
 marking to her mother, " I am going to desert 
 too," foil to the floor, while the blood bubbled 
 from her lips, as her soul passed back to Him 
 who gave it. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 77 
 
 A Dkaft at Savannah, Ga. — A correspond- 
 ent at Charleston furnished the foUowmg descrip- 
 tion of the scene Avhich ensued on the occasion 
 of a draft for four hundred men in Savannah, to 
 complete a requisition for troops, the requisite 
 number not having volunteered. Fifteen hundred 
 of the business men and mechanics of the city 
 were drawn up in a hollow square on the parade- 
 ground, all in a high state of excitement, when 
 the following proceedings took place : 
 
 " The Colonel now takes his place in the centre, 
 and from the back of a magnificent horse, in a 
 few well-timed remarks, calls for volunteers. 
 He said it was a shame that a Georgian should 
 submit to be drafted, and dishonorable to a citi- 
 zen of Savannah to be forced into the service of 
 his country. He appealed to their patriotism, 
 their pluck, and theu- — pelf. He told them of 
 good clothes, good living, and fifty dollars bounty ; 
 and on the strength of these considerations, in- 
 vited everybody to walk three paces in front. 
 Nobody did it. An ugly pause ensued, worse 
 than a dead silence between the ticking of a con- 
 versation. The Colonel thought he might not 
 have been heard or understood, and repeated his 
 catalogue of persuasions. At this point one of 
 the sides of the square opened, and in marched 
 a company of about forty stalwart Irishmen, 
 whom their Captain, in a loud and exultant tone, 
 announced as the Mitchell Guards. ' We volunteer. 
 Colonel, in a body.' The Colonel was delighted. 
 He proposed ' three cheers for the Mitchell 
 Guards,' and the crowd indulged not inordinately 
 in the pulmonary exercise. The requisite num- 
 ber did not seem to be forthcoming, however, and 
 the Colonel made another little speech, winding 
 up with an invitation to the black drummer and 
 filer to perambulate the quadrangle and play 
 Dixie ; which they did, but they came as they 
 ■went — solitary and alone ; not the ghost of a 
 volunteer being anywhere visible in the Ethio- 
 pian wake. The Colonel looked as blanlc as if he 
 was getting desperate, and a draft seemed indis- 
 pensable. 
 
 As a dernier resort the Colonel directed all 
 w'ho had excuses to advance to the centre, and 
 submit them for examination. Did you ever see 
 a crowd run away from a falling building at a 
 fire, or towards a dog-fight, or a street-show ? If 
 you have, you can form some idea of the tem- 
 pestuous nature of the wave that swept towards 
 the little table in the centre of the square, around 
 which were gathered the four grave gentlemen 
 who were to examine the documents. It was a 
 scene, which, as an uninterested outsider, one 
 could only hold his sides and laugh at. Hats 
 were crushed, ribs punched, corns smashed, and 
 clothes torn. Every hand held its magical bit 
 of paper, from the begrimed digits of the indi- 
 vidual just from a stable or a foundery, to the 
 dainty gloved extremity of the dry goods clerk, 
 just from his counter. Young and old, rich and 
 poor, neat and nasty, Americans, Englishmen, 
 Irishmen, Germans, Frenchmen, Italians, Israel- 
 ites, and Gentiles, all went to make up the mot- 
 ley mass. What a pretty lot of sick, and disa- 
 
 bled individuals there were, to be sure ! Swelled 
 arms, limping legs, spine diseases, bad eyes, 
 corns, toothaches, constitutional debility in the 
 bread-basket, eruptive diseases, deafness, rheu- 
 matism, not well generally — these, and a thou- 
 sand other complaints, were represented as va- 
 riously and heterogeneously as by any procession 
 of pilgrims that ever visited the Holy Land. 
 
 " And so the day progressed, nearly ten hours 
 being consumed in th» endeavor to secure a 
 draft. This afternoon the absentees were gath- 
 ered together, and the efi'orts renewed, when, 
 strange to say, every man who found the liability 
 imminent of his being forced to enlist, protested 
 that he was just on the point of doing so, and 
 willingly put his name to the roll." 
 
 Southern AVomen. — A gentleman from 
 Charleston says that everything there (Jan. 7, 
 1861,) betokens active preparations for fight. 
 Last Sunday, he says, not a lady was at the 
 church he attended. They were all at home 
 making cartridges and cylinders, and scraping 
 lint. The thousand negroes busy in building 
 batteries, so far from inclining to insurrection, 
 were grinning from ear to ear at the prospect 
 of shooting the Yankees. Extravagant reports 
 were current as to the hostile designs of the 
 Federal Government, such as that the Macedo- 
 nian was on her way with five hundred troops. 
 
 A Model Body-Guakd. — "Brick" Pome- 
 roy, of the La Crosse Wisconsin, on being in- 
 vited to assist in forming a body-guard for Pres- 
 ident Lincoln, after due consideration decided to 
 " go in," provided the following basis could be 
 adopted and rigidly adhered to throughout the 
 war : 
 
 The company shall be entirely composed of 
 colonels, who shall draw pay and rations in 
 advance. 
 
 Every man shall have a commission, two ser- 
 vants, and white kids. 
 
 Each man shall be mounted in a covered bug- 
 gy, drawn by two white stallions. 
 
 Under the seat of each buggy shall be a cup- 
 board, containing cold chicken, pounded ice, and 
 champagne, a la members of Congress and mil- 
 itary officers at Bull Eun. 
 
 Each man shall have plenty of cards and red 
 chips to play poker with. 
 
 The only side-arms to be opera-glasses, cham- 
 pagne glasses, and gold-headed canes. 
 
 The duty of the company shall be to take ob- 
 servations of battle, and on no account shall it 
 be allowed to approach nearer than ten miles to 
 the seat of war. 
 
 Behind each buggy shall be an ambulance, so 
 arranged as to be converted into a first-class 
 boarding-house in the daytime, and a sumptuous 
 sleeping and dressing room at night. 
 
 The regimental band must be composed of 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 pianos and guitars, played by young ladies, who 
 shall never play a quickstep except in case of 
 retreat. 
 
 Reveille shall not be sounded till late break- 
 fast time, and not then if any one of the regiment 
 has a headache. 
 
 In case of a forced march into an enemy's 
 country, two miles a week shall be the maximum, 
 and no marches shall be made except the coun- 
 try abound in game, or if any member of the 
 regiment object. 
 
 Kid gloves, gold toothpicks, cologne, hair- 
 dressing, silk underclothes, cosmetics, and all 
 other rations, to be furnished by the Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Each member of the regiment shall be allowed 
 a reporter for some New York paper, who shall 
 draw a salary of two hundred dollars a week, for 
 puffs, from the incidental fund. 
 
 Every member shall be in command, and when 
 one is promoted, all are to be. 
 
 Commissions never to be revoked. 
 
 The Fight at Big Bethel. — The follow- 
 ing account of the battle of Big Bethel was given 
 by a Confederate soldier, who participated in the 
 defence : " An engagement lasting four hours 
 took place yesterday, June 10, between five regi- 
 ments of the troops from Old Point, and 1100 
 Confederate troops, consisting of Virginians and 
 North Carolinians under Gen. Magruder, at 
 Bethel Church, York County. Before telling you 
 of the battle, I will give you some chcumstances 
 preceding it. About two weeks ago, a party of 
 three hundred Yankees came up from Hampton, 
 and occupied Bethel Church, which position they 
 held a day or two, and then retired, leaving 
 written on the walls of the church several inscrip- 
 tions, such as ' Death to the Traitors,' ' Down 
 with the Rebels,' &c. To nearly all these the 
 names of the writers Avere defiantly signed, and 
 all of the penmen signed themselves as from New 
 York, except one, who was from Boston, Mass., 
 U. S. To these excursions into the interior, of 
 which this was the boldest. Gen. Magruder de- 
 termined to put a stop, and accordingly filled 
 the place, after the Yankees left, with a few com- 
 panies of his own troops. In addition to this, he 
 determined to carry the war into the enemy's 
 country, and on Wednesday last, Stanard's bat- 
 tery of the Howitzer Battalion was ordered down 
 to the church, where it was soon joined by a por- 
 tion of Brown's battery of the same corps. The 
 North Carolina regiment, under Col. Hill, was 
 also there, making in all about 1100 men, 
 and seven howitzer guns. On Saturday last the 
 first excursion of considerable importance was 
 made. A detachment of 200 infantry and a how- 
 itzer gun under Major Randolph, and one of 70 
 infantry and another howitzer under Major Lane, 
 of the Nof th Carolina regiment, started different 
 routes to cut off a party which had left Hampton. 
 The party was seen and fii-ed at by Major Ran- 
 dolph's detachment, but made such fast time that 
 they escaped. The troops under Major Lane 
 
 passed within sight of Hampton, and as they 
 turned up the road to return to Bethel, encoun- 
 tered the Yankees, numbering about 90, who were 
 intrenched behind a fence in the field, protected 
 by a high bank. Our advance guard fired on 
 them, and in another moment the North Caro- 
 linians were dashing over the fence in regular 
 French (not New York) Zouave style, firing at 
 them in real squirrel-hunting style. The Yan- 
 kees fled for their lives after firing for about 
 tlu-ee minutes without effect, leaving behind 
 them three dead and a prisoner. The fellow was 
 a stout, ugly fellow, from Troy, N. Y. He said 
 he had nothing against the South, but somebody 
 must be soldiers, and he thought he had as well 
 enlist. None of our men were hurt. This bold 
 excursion, under the very guns of the enemy, de- 
 termined the authorities at Old Point to put a 
 stop to it, and clear us out from Bethel. This 
 determination was conveyed to us from persons 
 who came from the neighborhood of the enemy. 
 On Monday morning, 600 infantry and two guns, 
 under Gen. Magruder, left the camp and pro- 
 ceeded towards Hampton, but after advancing a 
 mile or two, received information that the Y'an- 
 kees were coming in large force. We then re- 
 tired, and after reaching camp the guns were 
 placed in battery, and the infantry took their 
 places behind their breastwork. Everybody was 
 cool, and all were anxious to give the invaders a 
 good reception. About nine o'clock, the glitter- 
 ing bayonets of the enemy appeared on the hill 
 opposite, and above them waved the Star-span- 
 gled Banner. The moment the head of the col- 
 umn advanced far enough to show one or two 
 companies, the Parrott gun of the Howitzer-Bat- 
 tery opened on them, tlirowing a shell right into 
 their midst. Their ranks broke in confusion, and 
 the column, or as much of it as we could see, re- 
 treated behind two small farm-houses. From 
 their position a fii-e was opened on us, which was 
 replied to by our battery, which commanded the 
 route of their approach. Our firing was excel- 
 lent, and the shells scattered in all directions 
 when they burst. They could hardly approach 
 the guns which they Avere fii'ing for the shells 
 which came from our battery. Witliin our en- 
 campment fell a perfect hail-stoi-m of canister-shot, 
 bullets, and balls. Remarkable to say, not one 
 of our men was killed inside of our encampment. 
 Several horses were slain by the shells and bul- 
 lets. Finding that bombardment would not an- 
 swer, the enemy, about eleven o'clock, tried to 
 carry the position by assault, but met a terrible 
 repulse at the hands of the infantry as he tried to 
 scale the breastworks. The men disregarded 
 sometimes the defences erected for them, and, 
 leaping on the embankment, stood and fired at 
 the Yankees, cutting them down as they came 
 up. One company of the New York 7th Regi- 
 ment, under Capt. Winthrop, attempted to take 
 the redoubt on the left. The marsh they crossed 
 was strewn with their bodies. Their Captain, a 
 fine-looking man, reached the fence, and, leaping 
 on a log, waved his sword, crying, ' Come on, 
 boys ; one charge, and the day is ours ! ' The 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 79 
 
 words were his last, for a Carolina rifle ended 
 his life the next moment, and his men fled in ter- 
 ror back. At the redoubt on the right, a com- 
 pany of about 300 New York Zouaves charged 
 one of our guns, but could not stand the fii'e of 
 the infantry, and retreated precipitately. During 
 these charges the main body of the enemy on the 
 hill were attempting to concentrate for a general 
 assault, but the shells from the Howitzer Bat- 
 tery prevented them. As one regiment would 
 give up the effort, another would be marched to 
 the position, but with no better success, for a 
 shell would scatter them like chaff". The men did 
 not seem able to stand fire at all. About one 
 o'clock their guns were silenced, and a few mo- 
 ments after, their infantry retreated precipitately 
 down the road to Hampton. Our cavalry, num- 
 bering three companies, went in pursuit, and har- 
 assed them down to the edge of Hampton. As 
 they retreated many of the wounded fell along 
 the road and died, and the whole road to Hamp- 
 ton was strewn with haversacks, overcoats, can- 
 teens, muskets, &c., which the men had thrown 
 off" in their retreat. After the battle, I visited 
 the position they held. The houses behind which 
 they had been hid had been burned by our troops. 
 Around the yard were the dead bodies of the men 
 who had been killed by our cannon, mangled in 
 the most frightful manner by the shells. The 
 uniforms on the bodies were very different, and 
 many of them are like those of the Virginia sol- 
 diery. A little farther on we came to the point 
 to which they had carried some of their wounded, 
 who had since died. The gay-looking uniforms 
 of the New York Zouaves contrasted greatly with 
 the pale, fixed faces of their dead owners. Go- 
 ing to the swamp, through which they attempted 
 to pass to assault our lines, presented another 
 bloody scene. Bodies dotted the black morass 
 from one end to the other. I saw one boyish, 
 delicate-looking fellow lying on the mud, with a 
 bullet-hole through his breast. One hand was 
 pressed on the wound, from which his life-blood 
 had poured, and the other was clinched in the 
 grass that grew near him. Lying on the ground 
 was a Testament which had fallen from hi& pock- 
 et, dabbled with blood. On opening the cover, I 
 found the printed inscription : ' Presented to the 
 Defenders of their Country by the Ncav York 
 Bible Society.' A United States flag was also 
 stamped on the title-page. Among the haver- 
 sacks picked up along the route were many let- 
 ters from the Northern States, asking if they 
 liked the Southern farms, and if the Southern 
 barbarians had been whipped out yet. The force 
 of the enemy brought against us was 4000, ac- 
 cording to the statement of the six prisoners we 
 took. Ours was 1100. Their loss in killed and 
 wounded must be nearly 200. Our loss is one 
 killed and three wounded. The fatal case was 
 that of a North Carolinian who volunteered to 
 fke one of the houses behind which they were 
 stationed. He started from the breastwork to 
 accomplish it, but was shot in the head. He 
 died this morning in the hospital. The wounded 
 are Harry Shook, of Richmond^ of Brown's bat- 
 
 tery, shot in the wrist ; John Werth, of Rich- 
 mond, of the same battery, shot in the leg, and 
 Lieut. Hudnall, of the same battery, shot in the 
 foot. None of the wounds are serious. The 
 Louisiana regiment arrived about one hour after 
 the fight was over." 
 
 Incident of War. — One of the most inter- 
 esting incidents of the battle of Bull Run, says a 
 Southern journal, is presented in the case of 
 Willie P. Mangum, Jr., son of Ex-Senator Man- 
 gum, of North Carolina. This young man was 
 attached to Col. Fisher's regiment, and owes the 
 preservation of his life to a copy of the Bible 
 presented him by his sister. He had the good 
 book in his left coat-pocket. It was struck by a 
 ball neair the edge, but the book changed the di- 
 rection of the bullet, and it glanced off, inflicting 
 a severe, but not dangerous flesh wound. The 
 book was saturated with blood, but the advice 
 written on a fly-leaf by the sister who gave it was 
 perfectly legible. 
 
 Old Hannah. — " When I was in Jefferson, in 
 the fall of 1862," said Robert Collyer, " I found 
 the hospitals in the most fearful condition you 
 can imagine. I cannot stop to tell you all the 
 scenes I saw ; it is enough to say that one poor 
 fellow had lain there sick on the boards, and seen 
 five men carried away dead, one after another, 
 from his side. He was worn to a skeleton, worn 
 through, so that great sores were all over his 
 back, and filthy beyond description. 
 
 " One day, a little before my visit, old Hannah, 
 a black woman, who had some washing to do for 
 a doctor, went down the ward to hunt him up. 
 She saw this dying man, and had compassion on 
 him, and said, ' O, doctor, let me bring this man 
 to my bed, to keep him off the floor.' 
 
 " The doctor said, ' The man is dying ; he will 
 be dead to-morrow.' To-morrow came, and- old 
 Hannah could not rest. She went to see the 
 man, and he was still alive. Then she got some 
 help, took her bed, put the man on it, and car- 
 ried him boldly to her shanty ; then she washed 
 him all over, as a woman washes a baby, and fed 
 him with a spoon, and fought death, hand to 
 hand, day and night, and beat him back, and 
 saved the soldier's life. 
 
 " The day before I went to Jefferson, the man 
 had gone on a furlough to his home in Indiana. 
 He besought Hannah to go with him, but she 
 could not spare time ; there was all that washing 
 to do. She went with him to the steamboat, got 
 him flxed just to her mind, and then kissed him, 
 and the man lifted up his voice, as she left, and 
 wept like a child. I say we have grown noble in 
 our suffering." 
 
 A Loyal Pigeon. — The following is a true 
 and singularly remarkable story of a pigeon cap- 
 tured by Mr. Tinker, a teamster of the Forty- 
 second New York Volunteers, while the regiment 
 
80 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 was encamped at Kalorama Heights, Va. Mr. 
 Tinker made a pet of him, and kept him in camp 
 until they started for Poolesville. Strange to 
 say, the pigeon followed on with the train, occa- 
 sionally flynig away at a great distance, but al- 
 ways returning, and, when weary, would alight 
 on some wagon of the train. 
 
 At night he was sure to come home, and, 
 watching his opportunity, would select a posi- 
 tion, and. quietly go to roost in Tinker's wagon. 
 
 Many of the men in the regiment took a fjincy 
 to him, and he soon became a general favorite. 
 From Poolesville he followed to Washington, and 
 down to the dock, where Tinker took him on 
 board the steamer ; so he Avent to Fortress Mon- 
 roe, thence to Yorktown, Avhere he was accus- 
 tomed to make flights over and beyond the ene- 
 my's works, but was always sure to return at 
 evening, to roost and receive his food in Tinker's 
 wagon. From thence he went all through the 
 Peninsular campaign, afterwards to Antietam, 
 and Harper's Ferry, witnessing all the battles 
 fought by his regiment. 
 
 By this time he had gained so much favor, 
 that a friend offered twenty-five dollars to pur- 
 chase him ; but Tinker would not sell him at any 
 price, and soon after sent him home as a present 
 to some friend. It might be interesting to trace 
 the future movements of this remarkable speci- 
 men of the feathered tribe, but none will doubt 
 his instinctive loyalt}^, and attachment to the old 
 Tammany regiment. 
 
 Any of the brave Forty-second boys, who read 
 this history of their favorite, will attest the truth 
 of these statements, and be pleased to see him 
 honored by this history of his wanderings. Such 
 devotion to the Stars and Stripes is a fair illus- 
 tration of the character of the Tammany regi- 
 ment in the field, and worthy of imitation by 
 those who have more than instinct to guide 
 them. 
 
 Southern Ideas of Northern Bravery. 
 — The Chinese and the Yankees are exceedingly 
 alike, and we have always thought that they were 
 much more nearly related than the Japanese and 
 the almond-eyed people of the Flowery King- 
 dom. 
 
 When a Chinaman prepares for war — measur- 
 ing his enemy's courage by his own — he attempts 
 to work upon liis fears. He puts on a hideous 
 mask, arms himself with a huge shield, upon 
 which he paints some unearthly monster; and, 
 when thus accoutred, he goes forth in cold sweat 
 to encounter the enemy. As soon as he be- 
 holds his adversary, he utters a fearful roar, 
 broadsides his shield, and if his opponent does 
 I not at once take to his heels, John Chinaman al- 
 Iways does. 
 
 1 The wars of New England have always been 
 conducted upon the Chinese plan. To hear their 
 orators, and read their newspapers, one would 
 suppose that he was looking at a Chinaman 
 clothed with all the pomp and circumstance of 
 mask, shield, and stink-pot. The Yankee orators 
 are only equalled by the Yankee editors in deeds 
 
 of valor. Let war be breathed, and the first 
 swear to a man that they are ready and anxious 
 to exterminate creation, whilst the latter, not con- 
 tent, like Alexander, to sigh for more worlds to 
 conquer, threaten to destroy the laws of gravity, 
 and lay violent hands upon the whole planetary 
 system. Yet, these war mandarins are all mem- 
 bers of the Peace Society, and would no more 
 think of resenting a blow on the cheek, the se- 
 duction of a wife, or the dishonor of a daugh- 
 ter, than they would of fiying. We have not for- 
 gotten how all Massachusetts collected in Boston 
 Avhen Anthony Burns was to be delivered to his 
 Virginia master, and swore that it should not be 
 done. A single file of soldiers, however, marched 
 the fugitive from State Street to the lower end of 
 Long Wharf, through miles of streets packed with 
 valorous fanatics, who did nothing but sing old 
 Puritan hymns, with a most hideous and barba- 
 rous disregard to metre. — Richmond Examiner. 
 
 Incidents of the Fort Donelson Fight. 
 — Immediately after the surrender, Capt. T. I. 
 Newsham (Gen. Smith's Assistant Adjutant Gen- 
 eral) rode up to the headquarters of Gen. Buck- 
 ner, where he was introduced to the rebel com- 
 mander. Capt. Newsham was mounted on a» 
 splendid white charger. Buckner, noticing the 
 horse, inquired if he was the individual who rode 
 that horse during the battle the day previous. 
 Capt. N. replied yes. " Then," said Buckner, 
 " you certainly bear a charmed life. You at- 
 tracted my attention during the entire day. I 
 ordered and saw our most experienced gunners 
 fu'e at you six times from a six-pounder rifled 
 gun, and noticed other gunners aiming at you 
 also." Capt. Newsham informed me that two 
 rifled ten-pound solid shots passed close by his 
 back, between it and his horse's rump. Several 
 passed above his head, the wind of which was 
 felt by him. Another passed so near to his face 
 that he felt the gust of the concussion of the* 
 air. Several others passed between his body and 
 his horse's head, and a charge of grape passed 
 under his horse without injuring him. The skin 
 of his horse, however, was barked in several 
 jilaces, but the animal was not disabled. 
 
 When Capt. N. was riding into the fort, he 
 discovered a very remarkable looking gun lying 
 near the breastworks. Near by was a rebel who had 
 it in charge. The Captain told the rebel he would 
 take it in charge, when the rebel told him that 
 it was the property of his Captain, named Naugh- 
 ton. Capt. Newsham replied that it would be 
 safer in his hands than in those of the rebels, and 
 giving the rebel his name, and telling him he 
 would be responsible for it, he rode on. The 
 gun refeiTcd to is most remarkable ; it is a 
 Turkish arm, the stock of which is of a peculiar 
 shape, and very bulky. The bands of the piece 
 are of pure silver, inlaid with figured gold and 
 ivory. The barrel is of Damascus steel, three- 
 quarters of an inch bore, and rifled. The gun is 
 said to have cost eleven hundred dollars. The 
 owner of it, Capt. Naughton, upon learning who 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 81 
 
 had possession of it, Capt. Newsham having been 
 described to him, said that Capt. N. was welcome 
 to keep it ; adding, at the same time, that he had 
 taken deliberate aim at him with it eleven times, 
 and had seldom before been known to miss his mark. 
 Quite as much astonishment may be felt at the 
 miraculous escape of General Smith, as he never 
 for a moment screened himself from the contin- 
 uous fire of the rebel cannon and musketry. It 
 is said of him, that he was never seen to dodge 
 a shot during the entire fight, while all the of- 
 ficers around him kept ducking their heads M'hen- 
 ever the enemy's cannon belched forth their fearful 
 messengers, but rode majestically along his lines 
 and among his men, where ball, and shot, and shell 
 fell like showers of hail around him, as though 
 some revelation had given him assurance of safety. 
 
 At one time, while swinging his sword above his 
 head, a ten-pound solid shot passed between his 
 arm and head, another passed in such close prox- 
 imity to his head as to raise his cap, and a spent 
 grapeshot struck him in the stomach. There were 
 fourteen mounted men, his staff, and orderlies, at- 
 tending upon Gen. Smith, and, strange to relate, 
 not one of them was hit, although men were struck 
 down by shot and shell between their horses and 
 on all sides of them. Gen. Smith showed himself a 
 true soldier in sharing the same hardships with his 
 men, as on the night of the battle, and preceding 
 the surrender, he slept by the side of a log, wrapped 
 in his blankets, without any tent to. cover him 
 from the inclemency of the weather, his feet 
 towards his camp-fire, with the cold so intense 
 that his blankets caught fire at his feet and burned 
 into his boots before he felt the heat. 
 
 The following is a statement of a very remark- 
 able and praiseworthy case of a young man at- 
 tached to the Thirty-first regiment of Illinois vol- 
 unteers (Colonel John A. Logan). He received 
 a musket-shot wound in the right thigh, the ball 
 passing through the intervening flesh, and lodg- 
 ing in the left thigh. The boy repaired to the rear, 
 and applied to the doctor to dress his wound. 
 He, however, manifested a peculiar reserve in the 
 matter, requesting the doctor to keep his misfor- 
 tune a secret from his comrades and officers. 
 
 He then asked the surgeon if he would dress his 
 wound at once in order that he might be enabled to 
 return to the fight. The snrgeon told him that 
 he was not in a condition to admit of his return, 
 and that he had better go to the hospital ; but 
 the young brave insisted upon going back, ofter- 
 ing as an argument in favor of it the fact that he 
 had fired twenty-two rounds after receiving his 
 wound, and he was confident he could fire as 
 many more after his wound should be dressed. 
 The surgeon found he could not prevent his re- 
 turning to the field ; so he attended to his wants, 
 andthe young soldier went oft" to rejoin his com- 
 rades in their struggle, and remained, dealing out 
 his ammunition to good account until the day 
 was over, as if nothing had happened to him. 
 Several days after, he returned to the doctor to 
 have his wound re-dressed, and continued to pay 
 him daily visits in his leisure hours, attending to 
 duty in the mean time. 
 
 6 
 
 A case in some particulars not dissimilar to the 
 above is related of a boy about eleven years old, 
 whose father, a volunteer, had been taken pris- 
 oner by the rebels some time before. The boy 
 smuggled himself on board one of the transports 
 at Cincinnati, laden with troops for this point. 
 On the field, the morning of the great fight, he 
 joined the Seventy-tiighth Ohio, and being ques- 
 tioned by one of the ofiicers, he told him of his 
 father having been taken prisoner, and, having 
 no mother, he had no one to care for him, and he 
 wanted to fight his father's captors. The officer 
 tried to get him to turn back, but he was not to 
 be denied. So he succeeded in obtaining a mus- 
 ket, and went into the thickest of the battle. He 
 finally by degrees crept up within a short distance 
 of the rebel intrenchments, and posted himself 
 behind a tree, from which he kept firing as often 
 as he could see a head to fire at. He was soon 
 discovered by the enemy's sharpshooters, who 
 endeavored to drive him away from his position, 
 as he kept picking them off" very frequently. One 
 of the rebels, who was outside of the work, got 
 sight on the boy with his rifie, but before he got 
 his piece oif, the little warrior filled, and down 
 went Mr. Rebel. As the rebel had a fine Minie 
 rifle, the boy ran out and picked it up, taking 
 time to get pouch and balls, together with his 
 knapsack, while the bullets were flying on all 
 sides of him ; and then he retreated to his wooden 
 breastwork, where he renewed his fire, and with a 
 little better success.; and, after being in the fight 
 all day, he returned to the Seventy-eighth at 
 night with his prizes. This story might appear 
 incredible for one so young to be the hero, but it 
 is vouched for by a number of officers and men 
 who saw the boy on the field and in the position 
 mentioned, and many saw him shoot the rebel 
 referred to, besides several others. 
 
 Another case, very similar to the last, is that of 
 one of Birge's sharpshooters, w'hQ succeeded in 
 getting witliin speaking distance of the fort, 
 where he planted himself behind a stump, and by 
 his unerring aim, succeeded in keeping one of 
 their guns silent during the whole day. As fast as 
 the men appeared to man it, they were let down 
 by a shot from his rifle. Every effort was made to 
 dislodge him from his death-dealing position, but 
 without effect. He kept it until the rebels, find- 
 ing it to be certain death to attempt to man the 
 gun, completely abandoned it. This case has 
 been presented to General Grant, and will doubt- 
 less receive, as it should, special mention. 
 
 A surprising case of escape from instantaneous 
 death is presented by one of the surgeons who 
 was on the field during the day. A private in 
 the Eighteenth Illinois regiment was struck in 
 the thigh by a twelve-pound round shell, which 
 buried itself in the thigh, but did not explode. 
 It was cut out on the field by Dr. Davis, sur- 
 geon of the Eighteenth Illinois regiment. The 
 limb was, of course, terribly shattered, rendering 
 amputation necessary. 
 
 An instance of unprecedented endurance and 
 patience occurred at the hospital on the right 
 wing. The columns having been forced back^ 
 
82 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 the hospital, which was a little up from the road, 
 had come within range of the rebels' fire, and was 
 fast becoming an unpleasant position, but no 
 damage was done to it. Just about this time, a 
 poor fellov/ came sauntering leisurely along, with 
 the lower part of his arm dangling from the part 
 above the elbow, it having been struck with a 
 grape-shot. Meeting the surgeon in the house, 
 who was busily attending to other wounded, he 
 inquired how long it would be before he could at- 
 tend to him, and was told, in a few minutes. 
 " All right," said the wounded man, and then 
 walked outside and watched the progress of the 
 battle for a short time, and then returned and 
 waited the surgeon's opportunity to attend to 
 liim. The arm was amputated without a mur- 
 mur from the unfortunate man. After the stump 
 was bound up, the young man put his good hand 
 into his pocket and took out a piece of tobacco, 
 from which he took a chew, then walking over 
 to the fire, he leaned his well arm against the 
 mantel-piece, and rested his head against his arm, 
 and kept squirting tobacco-juice into the fire, 
 whilst his eyes were cast into the flames, all with 
 the most astonishing composure, as though he 
 was indulging in some pleasant reverie. He re- 
 mained in this position for some time, then walked 
 ofi", and went out of sight near where the fighting 
 was going on. 
 
 A young man came strolling down to the trans- 
 port with one arm amputated ; and in the well 
 hand he held three chickens, which he had cap- 
 tured. A steward of one of the boats stepped up 
 to him, and asked him if he wanted to sell the 
 chickens. He looked at the chickens for a little 
 while, and repUed, " Well, no. I had so much 
 trouble in catching the d — d things, I believe I'll 
 eat 'em myself; " and off he went with his fowl 
 prisoners. 
 
 Orderly-Sergeant Charles A. Bedard, Company 
 H. of the immortal Eleventh Illinois, was killed 
 in the morning fight of the 15th inst. He was 
 a brother of Frank W. Bedard, of the St. Charles 
 Hotel, at Cairo. His bravery and coolness on 
 the field during a most terrific fu'e from the 
 enemy are spoken of in the most praiseworthy 
 terms by officers and men. His only attention 
 during the severest of the fight appeared to 
 be in keeping his men in fine, and preventing 
 disorder in the ranks, moving along in the face of 
 the foe, watching with jealous care his men in 
 charge, as on he pushed, loading, firing, and re- 
 loading his piece. 
 
 THE PICKET GUARD. 
 
 BY MRS. HOWLAND. 
 
 " All quiet along the Potomac," they say, 
 " Except now and then a stray picket 
 Is shot, as he walks on his beat to and fro, 
 
 By a rifleman in the thicket. 
 '.Tis nothing — a private or two, now and then, 
 
 "Will not count in the news of the battle ; 
 Not an officer lost — only one of the men. 
 Moaning out, all alone, the death-rattle." 
 
 All quiet along the Potomac to-night, 
 
 "Where the soldiers lie peacefully dreaming ; 
 Their tents, in the rays of the clear autumn moon, 
 
 Or the light of the watch-fires, are gleaming. 
 A tremulous sigh, as the gentle night wind 
 
 Through the forest leaves softly is creeping ; 
 "While stars up above, with their glittering eyes, 
 
 Keep guard — for the army is sleeping. 
 
 There's only the sound of the lone sentry's tread. 
 
 As he tramps from the rock to the fountain. 
 And thinks of the two in the low trundle-bed. 
 
 Far away in the cot on the mountain. 
 His musket falls slack — his face, dark and grim, 
 
 Grows gentle with memories tender. 
 As he mutters a prayer for the children asleep — 
 
 For their mother — may Heaven defend her ! 
 
 The moon seems to shine just as brightly as then, 
 
 That night, when the love yet unspoken 
 Leaped up to his lips — when low, murmured 
 vows 
 
 Were pledged to be ever unbroken. 
 Then drawing his sleeve roughly over his eyes, 
 
 He dashes off tears that are welling, 
 And gathers his gun closer up to its place, 
 
 As if to keep down the heart-swelling. 
 
 He passes the foimtain, the blasted pine tree — 
 
 The footstep is lagging and weary ; 
 . Yet onward he goes, through the broad belt of 
 light. 
 Towards the shades of the forest so dreary. 
 Hark ! was it the night- wind that rustled the 
 leaves ? 
 Was it moonlight so wondrously flashing ? 
 It looked like a rifle — " Ha ! Mary, good-by ! " 
 And the life-blood is ebbing and plashing. 
 
 All quiet along the Potomac to-night — 
 No sound save the rush of the river ; 
 
 While soft falls the dew on the face of the dead — 
 The picket's off duty forever. 
 
 The Tone of Bullets. — A soldier, writing 
 from one of the camps on the Potomac, thus al- 
 luded to the peculiar music made by bullets pass- 
 ing through the air : " It is a very good place to 
 exercise the mind, with the enemy's picket rat- 
 tling close at hand. A musical ear can study 
 the diflerent tones of the bullets as they skim 
 through the air. I caught the pitch of a large- 
 sized Minie yesterday — it was a swell from E 
 flat to F, and as it passed into the distance and 
 lost its velocity, receded to D — a very pretty 
 change. One of the most startling sounds is 
 that produced by the Hotchkiss shell. It comes 
 like the shriek of a demon, and the bravest old 
 soldiers feel like ducking when they hear it. It 
 is no more destructive than some other missiles, 
 but there is a good deal in mere sound to work 
 upon men's fears. i 
 
 " The tremendous scream is caused by a ragged \ 
 edge of lead, which is left on the shell. In fa- 'j 
 vorable positions of light, the phenomenon can , 
 sometimes be seen, as you stand directly behind ] 
 a gun, of the clinging of the air to the ball. The ' 
 ball seems to gather up the atmosphere, and " 
 carry it along, as the earth carries its atmos- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 83 
 
 phere through space. Men are frequently killed 
 by the wind of a cannon-shot. There is a law 
 which causes the atmosphere to cling to the 
 earth, or which presses upon it with a force, at 
 the surface, of fifteen pounds to the square inch ; 
 does the same law, or a modification, pertain to 
 cannon-balls in flight? I do not remember of 
 meeting with a discussion of the subject in any 
 published work. It is certainly an interesting 
 philosophic question." 
 
 An Incident of Romney. — While the Na- 
 tional forces were standing under the enemy's 
 fire, on the day of the battle at Romney, Va., 
 and the shot and shell were flying in every direc- 
 tion around us, a little incideat occurred which is 
 worthy of notice. 
 
 Capt. Butterfield, of the Eighth Ohio regi- 
 ment, (being one of the ranking Captains,) acted 
 as Major upon that occasion, and was obliged to 
 ride an old sorrel horse, which had been used as 
 a team horse, and requh'ed both spurs and whip, 
 which the Captain had provided himself with, the 
 latter cut from a tree, and about five feet long. 
 It was found that our small six-pound guns would 
 not reach the enemy's battery, and Col. Mason 
 ordered Capt. B. to bring forward a brass twelve- 
 pounder, which was in the rear. Ofi' sped the 
 old sorrel and his brave rider, and in a few mo- 
 ments up came the gun. Its position was as- 
 signed, and made ready for the match, but the 
 Cai^tain came dashing back in front of the gun, 
 and the smell of powder, or something else, had 
 made the old sorrel almost unmanageable, for in 
 trying to wheel him from the front of the gun, 
 the more the Captain apphed the whip and spur, 
 the more the old sorrel would not go. This kept 
 the gunners in terrible suspense, for much de- 
 pended on that shot. Finally, the Captain find- 
 ing his efforts to move his steed fruitless, he 
 sang out, at the top of his voice, " Never mind 
 the old horse ; blaze away ; " and, sure enough, 
 they did bla2e away, and it proved a good shot, 
 for it caused the rebels to limber up theu* bat- 
 tery, and take to their heels. At that moment, 
 orders came to charge, and off dashed the old sor- 
 sel, frightened at the discharge of the gun, which 
 had scorched his tail, and mingled in the charge. 
 He was lost to view until he arrived in the town, 
 where he was brought to a halt, and the Captain, 
 standing in his stirrups, with his cap flying, 
 cheered for the glorious victory that had been 
 achieved. 
 
 A dying Soldier prays for the President. 
 — Never, until we stood by the grave of the Green 
 Mountain boy, did we realize how much stranger 
 is truth than fiction. A private was court-mar- 
 tialed for sleeping on his post out near Chain 
 Bridge, on the Upper Potomac. He was con- 
 victed ; his sentence was death ; the finding was 
 approved of by the General, and the day fixed 
 for his execution. He was a youth of more than 
 ordinary intelligence ; he did not beg for pardon, 
 but was willing to meet his fate. 
 
 The time drew near ; the stern necessity of 
 war required that an example should be made of 
 some one ; his was an aggravated case. But the 
 case reached the ears of the President ; he re- 
 solved to save him ; he signed a pardon and sent 
 it out ; the day came. " Suppose," thought the 
 President, "my pardon has not reached him." 
 The telegraph was called into requisition ; an 
 answer did not come promptly. " Bring up my 
 carriage," he ordered. It came ; and soon the 
 important state papers were dropped, and 
 through the hot broiling sun and dusty roads he 
 rode to the camp, about ten miles, and saw that 
 the soldier was saved ! 
 
 He had, doubtless, forgotten the incident, but 
 the soldier did not. When the Third Vermont 
 charged upon the rifle-pits, the enemy poured a 
 volley upon them. The first man who fell, with 
 six bullets in his bodj^, was William Scott, of 
 Company K. His comrades caught him up, and 
 as his life-blood ebbed away, he raised to heaven, 
 amid the din of war, the cries of the dying, and 
 the shouts of the enemy, a prayer for the Presi- 
 dent, and as he died he remarked to his comrade 
 that he had shown he was no coward, and not 
 afraid to die. 
 
 He was interred, in the jjresence of his regi- 
 ment, in a little grove, about two miles to the 
 rear of the rebel fort, in the centre of a group of 
 holly and vines ; a few cherry trees, in full bloom, 
 are scattered around the edge. In digging his 
 grave a skull and bones were found, and metal 
 buttons, showing that the identical spot had been 
 used in the I'evolutionary war for our fathers 
 who fell in the same cause. The chaplain nar- 
 rated the circumstance to the boys, who stood 
 around with uncovered heads. He prayed for 
 the President, and paid the most glowing tribute 
 to his noble heart that we ever heard. The tears 
 started to their eyes as the clods of earth were 
 thrown upon him in his narrow grave, where he 
 lay shrouded in his coat and blanket. 
 
 The men separated ; in a few minutes all were 
 engaged in something around the camp, as though 
 nothing had happened unusual ; but that scene 
 will live upon their memories while life lasts ; the 
 calm look of Scott's face, the seeming look of 
 satisfaction he felt, still lingered ; and could the 
 President have seen him, he would have felt that 
 his act of mercy had been wisely bestowed. 
 
 Adventures of Two Hoosier Soldiers. — 
 A couple of boys, of the Twenty-sixth Indiana 
 regiment, Marshall Storey and WiUiam Waters, 
 were sent with despatches to Independence, Mo., 
 distant from Sedalia ninety miles. They were 
 dressed as citizens, without arms or papers that 
 would detect them if cajitured or examined. The 
 despatches were snugly secreted in their hats and 
 boots. Their route was directly through the 
 country infested by the bands of jayhawkers un- 
 der the famous guerrilla chief Quantrell. The 
 boys made their way without molestation, until 
 within about twenty miles of Independence, when, 
 passing through the brush, they were halted by 
 
84 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 five shot-gun armed rebels, who ordered them off 
 their horses and demanded then- busmess. The 
 boys said they were hunting for a horse wliich 
 had been stolen by some home-guards, and, as 
 they had learned, taken through that part of the 
 country. They protested that they were secesh 
 of the right stripe, and lived six miles north of 
 Booneville. They were, however, searched. Find- 
 ing nothing but a few fishing-hooks, which Marsh 
 had in his vest-pocket, and which the rebels ap- 
 propriated, they were allowed to go on their way. 
 riie boys, thinking all safe now, pushed on ; but 
 in crossing a neck of woods about five miles far- 
 ther on, they were ' again called to a halt by a 
 l)and of seven men, armed in the regular jayhawk- 
 ing style, who were some fifty yards from them. 
 Marsh, Avhose wit is ready on all occasions, whis- 
 pered to his companion that he would " play cra- 
 zy." Waters should be his brother, taking him 
 home from St. Louis. Marsh has a peculiar way 
 of drawing one eye down, which makes him look 
 rather comical. This, with the slobber running 
 d(;wn his dusty whiskers, and his long hair hang- 
 ing over his forehead, enabled him to play the 
 game successfully. As soon as they came near, 
 he jumped off his horse and ran towards them, 
 and Waters yelled out : " Don't mind him ; he's 
 crazy ; he don't know what he's doing." Marsh 
 looked very foolishly at their clothes, guns, 
 horses, &c. He became particularly fond of a 
 pretty black pon}^, which he concluded he must 
 have instead of the poor old horse he had been 
 riding, and even got on the pony and started oft'. 
 Tins tickled all the rebels except the owner of 
 the pony, Avho caught him and jerked him off. 
 Marsh, to carry on the joke, gathered a stick of 
 v/ood and made fight. This caused the others to 
 yell with laughter. Waters came to his rescue, 
 i.nd told them not to provoke him, as it made 
 liim worse. In the mean time, Waters had been 
 searched from head to foot, but with no better 
 success than rewarded the first hand. Waters 
 tried to get Marsh on his horse ; but no, he must 
 have the pony, which he almost fought for. Fi- 
 nally, one of the band came forward and assisted 
 Waters. Marsh very reluctantly left pony and 
 rebels. As soon as they were out of sight, they 
 put spurs to their nags, and reached Indepen- 
 dence, after a ride, including the two stops, of 
 four hours. 
 
 A Patriotic Blacksmith. — Before the de- 
 parture of the 14th New York regiment for the 
 war, a man, who carried on a blacksmith shop in 
 connection with two of his sons, went to the head- 
 ([uarters, and concluded to enlist. He said that 
 liC could leave the blacksmith business in the 
 hands of the boys. He couldn't stand it any 
 longer, and go he must. He was enlisted. 
 
 Next day down comes the oldest of the boys. 
 Tlie blacksmith's business " wasn't very drivin', 
 and he guessed John could take care of it." 
 ■•Well," said the old man, "go it." And the 
 oldest son went it. But the following day John 
 made his appearance. He felt lonesome, and had 
 
 shut up the shop. The father remonstrated, but 
 the boy would enlist, and enlist he did. Now the 
 old gentleman had two more sons, who " worked 
 the farm " near Flushing, Long Island. The mili- 
 tary fever seems to have run in the family ; for no 
 sooner had the father and two older brothers en- 
 listed, than the younger sons came in for a like 
 purpose. The paterfamilias was a man of few 
 words, but he said that he " wouldn't stand this 
 anyhow." The blacksmith business might go to — 
 some other place, but the farm must be looked 
 after. So the boys were sent home. Presently one 
 of them reappeared. They had concluded that one 
 could manage the farm, and had tossed up who 
 should go with the Fourteenth, and he had won 
 the chance. 
 
 This arrangement was finally agreed to. But 
 on the day of departure the last boy of the fam- 
 ily was on hand to join, and on foot for march- 
 ing. The old man was somewhat puzzled to 
 know what arrangement could have been made 
 which would allow all of the family to go : but 
 the explanation of the boy solved the dif- 
 ficulty. " Father," said he, with a confidential 
 chuckle in the old man's ear, " I've let the fai'm 
 on shares ! " The whole family, father and four 
 sons, went with the Fourteenth regiment. 
 
 A Sentimental Young Lady in Northern 
 Georgia indited the following to some of her ad- 
 mhers in the " Ridgeament : " 
 
 " 'Tis hard for youens to sleep in camp; 
 
 'Tis hard for j'ouens to fight ; 
 'Tis hard for youens through snow to tramp ; 
 In snow to sleep at night ; 
 But harder for weans from youens to part, 
 Since youens have stolen weans hearts." 
 
 Incidents in the Battle of Wildcat. 
 — The hill upon which it took place is a round, 
 lofty elevation, a third of a mile from our camp, 
 surrounded by deeply-wooded ravines, and cleared 
 for the space of about two acres on top. To take 
 and hold this, Col. Colx;rn, with half his regi- 
 ment, dashed off through the bushes in a trot 
 from the camp, hke boys starting out on a turkey 
 hunt. In ten minutes they could be seen on the 
 high summit taking places. Very shortly they 
 were fired on ; the fact is, it was a scramble be- 
 tween Coburn's men and ZoUicoffer's which should 
 get on the hill first, approaching from opposite di- 
 rections. When the firing had fairly commenced, 
 at intervals in the roar could be heard, in the 
 camp, the shrill, wild voices of Cobm-n, and Dur- 
 ham, his adjutant, crying out, " Give them hell, 
 boys ! " " Dose them with cold lead! " " Shoot the 
 hounds ! " " Load up, load up, for God's sake ! " 
 " Give it to old Gollywhopper ! " Then the boys 
 would cheer and yell till the glens re-echoed. 
 
 Capt. Dille, during the fight, in rushing around 
 and helping on the cause, ran astride a brier 
 bush, the nethermost part of his unmentionables 
 was torn, and a flag of white cotton was seen 
 flaunting in the air. " One of the boys said, " o'ap- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 85 
 
 tain, it can't be said of you that you never turned 
 tail on the enemy." By the way, the Captain is 
 a heroic fellow, and did, as the boys say, " a big 
 job of fighting." He has a queer old fellow in 
 his company named John INIemherter, a crack 
 marksman, with a big goggle, rolling eye. John 
 would take his tree, fire, and then move on a lit- 
 tle. At one time he was peeping over a stump 
 taking aim, when a ball struck the stump a few 
 inches from the top at the opposite side, which 
 knocked bark and splinters in his eyes. " Bully 
 for Jake ! " says John. This is now a cant phrase 
 ia the camp. " Bully for Jake " can be heard at 
 all hours. 
 
 When Major Ward, of the Seventeenth Ohio, 
 came over the liill with a part of the regiment. 
 Col. Coburn took him down the hillside in front 
 of the Kentuckians in a somewhat exposed 
 place. Some one asked the Colonel why he put 
 him there. " Well," said he, " I eyed him, and 
 he looked like an old bull-dog ; so I put him down 
 where he could wool the hounds." The Major, 
 you know, never before had a compliment paid to 
 his homely, sturdy face, being rather hard-favored. 
 Next day some of the boys got the joke on him 
 by telling him they had heard his beauty com- 
 plimented. He asked for the compliment, got it, 
 and dryly remarked, " that it was rather an equiv- 
 ocal recommendation of his pretty face." 
 
 Almost every officer fought gun in hand, 
 except Cols. Coburn and Woodford, who Avere 
 armed with navies. Capt. Hauser, Adj. Dur- 
 ham, Capt. Dille, Lieuts. Maze and Scott, more 
 than the men themselves, blazed away at the reb- 
 els. What could not men do with such exam- 
 ples set them. When part of the Kentucky boys 
 fled, Capt. Alexander screamed out to the men, 
 "Boys, if you are such damned cowards as to 
 run, I'll stay and die." Instantly a boy scarce 
 sixteen years old turned back, ran up to the Cap- 
 tain's side, saying, " Yes, Cap, and I'll stay and 
 die with you." He did stay, and others followed 
 his example. In the afternoon, when the fighting 
 had ceased. General Schoepff came over to the 
 hill, and taking Cols. Coburn and Woodford by 
 the hand in the presence of the boys, thanked 
 them for saving the hiU, for it saved Camp Wild- 
 cat, and prevented a retreat of our whole force to 
 the other side of the river. Just then a shower 
 of balls Avhizzed around, and one knocking the 
 dirt in his eyes, the General quietly rubbed it 
 out, and looked around as unconcerned as if at 
 dress parade. He is a noble-looking, man, a Hun- 
 garian patriot, one of Gen. Bem's officers, who 
 spent three years in Turkey with him drilling 
 their army. 
 
 Just before the enemy made their charges, there 
 could be seen two regiments in a neighboring 
 field. One of the boys said to Col. Coburn, 
 " We'll have to retreat." Another sturdy little 
 fellow stepped up and swore he was not of the 
 running kind, and he"d stay and fight anyhow. He 
 got three cheers ; so the boys concluded to stay, 
 and did stay about there all that day and night. 
 Such ]3luck makes one man equal to four. Tlie 
 boj-s captured an orderly sergeant's book, love 
 
 letters, a diary, &c., giving details up to the hour 
 of battle. The utmost confidence in victory was 
 expressed. 
 
 Since the battle, some of our boys were out 
 looking at a grave of one of the secesh ; he had 
 not been well buried, and one hand stuck out. 
 "He's reaching for his land warrant," says one. 
 
 When Col. Coburn and Capt. Dille were rally- 
 ing the flying Kentuckians, the former foiyrd a 
 crowd sheltered behind one stump : he cried out, 
 " Pile out, pile out, boys ; it don't take seven- 
 teen men to guard a black stump." It was elec- 
 tric ; they after this fought like men. 
 
 The Irish Wit always Ready. — It is now 
 known that the surrender of Lexington was ren- 
 dered a necessity by the want of ammunition, as 
 well as by the want of water. A few of the 
 companies had one or two rounds left, but the 
 majority had fired their last bullet. After the 
 surrender, an officer Avas detailed by Price to col- 
 lect the ammunition, and place it in safe charge. 
 The officer, addressing Adjutant Cosgrove, asked 
 him to have the ammunition surrendered. Cos- 
 grove called up a dozen men, one after the other, 
 and exhibiting the empty cartridge-boxes, said 
 to the astonished rebel officer, "I believe, sir, 
 M'e gave you all the ammunition we had be- 
 fore we had stopped fighting. Had there been 
 any more, upon my word, you should have had 
 it, sir. But I will inquire, and if by accident 
 there is a cartridge left, I will let you know." 
 The rebel officer turned away, reflecting upon 
 the glorious victory of having captured men who 
 had fired their last shot. 
 
 An Irishman, from Battle Creek, Michigan, was 
 at Bull Run battle, and was somewhat startled 
 when the head of his companion on the left hand 
 was knocked off" by a cannon-ball. A few mo- 
 ments after, however, a spent ball broke the fin- 
 gers of his comrade on the other side. The lat- 
 ter threw down his gun and yelled with pain, 
 Avhen tlie Irishman rushed to him, exclaiming, 
 " Blasht your soul, you ould woman, shtop cryin' ; 
 you make more noise about it than the man that 
 iosht his head ! " 
 
 A Wife on the Battle-Field. — The fol- 
 loM'ing extract from a letter, dated at Corinth, on 
 the 6th of October, 1862, vividly portrays the 
 fearful emotions and anxious thoughts which tor- 
 ture the mind of an observer during the progress 
 of battle, and narrates but one of the many har- 
 roAAing scenes of war : 
 
 " O, my friend ! how can I tell you of the tor- 
 tures that have nearly crazed me, for the last 
 three days? Pen is powerless to trace, words 
 weak to convey one tithe of the misery I have 
 endured. I thought myself_ strong before. I 
 have seen so much of suffering that I thought 
 my nerves had grown steady, and I could bear 
 anything ; but to-day I am weak and trembling, 
 like a frightened child. 
 
 " But do not wonder at it. My dear husband 
 lies besides me, wounded unto death, perhaps. I 
 
86 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 have lost all hope of saving him, though I thank 
 God for the privilege of being this moment be- 
 side him. And, besides this, all around me the 
 sufferers lie moaning in agony. There has been 
 little time to tend them, poor fellows. True, the 
 surgeons are busy all the time, but all the wounded 
 have not yet been brought in, and it seems as if 
 the time will never come when our brave men shall 
 havg been made comfortable as circumstances may 
 permit. It is awful to look around me. I can 
 see every imaginable form of suffering, and yet 
 am helpless to aid them any of consequence. 
 
 " Since night before last I have not left my 
 husband's side for a moment, except to get such 
 tilings as I required, or to hand some poor fel- 
 low a cup of water. Even as I write, my heart 
 throbs achingly to hear the deep groans and 
 
 sharp cries about me. F is sleeping, but I 
 
 dare not close my eyes, lest he should die while 
 I sleep. And it is to keep awalte, and in a man- 
 ner relieve my overburdened heart, that I am 
 now writing you under such sad circumstances. 
 
 " On the morning of the thu'd instant the fight 
 began. The attack was made on Gen. McAr- 
 thur's division, and we could plainly hear the roar 
 of the artillery here, as it is about two miles and 
 a half distant only from this place. O, the 
 fearful agony of that awful, awful day ! I had 
 
 seen F- a moment early in the morning, but 
 
 it was only a moment, when he bade me good- 
 by, saying, hurriedly, as he tore himself away : 
 ' Pray for me, my wife, awd if I fall, God 
 protect you ! ' There was something in his look 
 and tone which struck a chill to my heart, and 
 every moment after I knew the fight had begun, 
 I felt as if he had indeed fallen. I cannot tell 
 how long it was before I heard that Oglesby's 
 brigade was engaged, but it seemed an age to 
 me. After that my agony wjas nearly intolerable. 
 I never had a thought of fear for myself; I was 
 
 thinking only of F . Then I got the word 
 
 that he had been hotly pursued by the rebels, 
 and had fallen back. 
 
 " Late in the afternoon I succeeded in gaining 
 a little intelligible information. Poor Gen. Hack- 
 leman was shot through the neck, while giving 
 a command, and fell mortally wounded. He 
 died between ten and eleven o'clock the same 
 night, I have since learned. Up to the time of 
 receiving the wound he had acted with the great- 
 est bravery and enthusiasm, tempered by a cool- 
 ness that made every action effective. When 
 dusk at last put an end to the first day's conflict, 
 1 learned that Gen. Oglesby had been danger- 
 ously wounded, but could gain no intelligence of 
 my husband. I could not bear the suspense. 
 Dark as it was, and hopeless as it seemed to 
 search for him then, I started out to the battle- 
 field. 
 
 " O, liow shall I describe the search of that 
 night ? It looked like madness. It loas mad- 
 ness. But all night long I staggered amongst 
 bleeding corpses, over dead horses, trampled 
 limbs, shattered artillery — everything that goes 
 to make up the horrors of a battle-field when the 
 conflict is over. They were removing the wounded 
 
 all night. O, think how awful to stumble over 
 the dead, and hear the cries of the wounded and 
 dying, alone, and in the night-time. I had to 
 start off alone, else they would not have let 
 me go. 
 
 " As you may suppose, I could not find him, 
 either amongst the living or the dead. But the 
 next morning, just after sunrise, I came to a lit- 
 tle clump of timbers, where a horse had fallen — 
 his head shot off, and his body half covering a 
 man whom I supposed dead. His face was to 
 the ground ; but, as I stooped to look closer, I 
 perceived a slight movement of the body, then 
 heard a faint moan. I stooped and turned the 
 face upward. The head and face were both cov- 
 ered with blood, but when I turned it to the 
 Hght, I knew it in spite of its disfiguration. O 
 God ! the agony of that moment sickened me 
 almost to sufibcation. With a strength I thought 
 impossible in me, I drew him, crushed and bleed- 
 ing, from beneath the carcass of our poor old 
 horse, whom we had botli so loved and petted, 
 and dipping my handkerchief in a little pool of 
 water amongst the bushes, bathed his face, and 
 pressed some moisture between his parched, 
 swollen lips. He was utterly senseless, and there 
 was a di'eadful wound in his head. Both limbs 
 were crushed hopelessly beneath his horse. He 
 Avas utterly beyond the reach of human skill to 
 save, but as soon as possible I had him conveyed 
 to the hospital. I have nursed him ever since — 
 hopelessly, and with a heart breaking with grief. 
 O, how many wives, how many mothers, are 
 to-day mourning the dead and dying, even as I 
 mourn my dying ! He hus not opened his eyes 
 to look at me, or spoken to me, since he fell. O, 
 could he but speak to me once before he dies, I 
 should give him up with more resignation. But 
 to die thus — without a look or word ! O, my 
 heart is breaking ! " 
 
 THE GUERRILLAS. 
 
 BY S. TEAKLE WALLIS. 
 
 Awake and to horse, my brothers ! 
 
 For the dawn is glimmering gray, 
 And hark ! in the crackling brushwood 
 
 There are feet that tread this way. 
 
 " Who cometh ? " "A friend." " What tidings ? " 
 
 " O God ! I sicken to tell ; 
 For the earth seems earth no longer, 
 
 And its sights are sights of hell ! 
 
 " From the far-off conquered cities 
 
 Comes a voice of stifled wail, 
 And the shrieks and moans of the houseless 
 
 Ring out like a dirge on the gale. 
 
 " I've seen from the smoking village 
 
 Our mothers and daughters fly ; 
 I've seen where the little children 
 
 Sank down in the furrows to die. 
 
 " On the banks of the battle-stained river 
 
 I stood as the moonlight shone, 
 And it glared on the face of my brother 
 
 As the sad wave swept liim on. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 87 
 
 '« Where my home was glad are ashes, 
 And horrors and shame had been there, 
 
 For I found on the fallen lintel 
 This tress of my wife's torn hair ! 
 
 " They are turning the slaves upon us, 
 And with more than the fiend's worst art 
 
 Have uncovered the fire of the savage 
 That slept in his untaught heart ! 
 
 " The ties to our hearths that bound him, 
 They have rent with curses awaj% 
 
 And maddened him, with their madness, 
 To be almost as brutal as they. 
 
 <* With halter, and torch, and Bible, 
 And hymns to the sound of the drum. 
 
 They preach the gospel of murder. 
 And pray for lust's kingdom to come. 
 
 " To saddle ! to saddle ! my brothers ! 
 
 Look up to the rising sun, 
 And ask of the God who shines there 
 
 Whether deeds like these shall be done. 
 
 *' Wherever the Vandal cometh 
 
 Press home to his heart with your steel, 
 
 And when at his bosom you cannot. 
 Like the serpent, go strike at his heel. 
 
 " Through thicket and wood go hunt him, 
 
 Creep up to his camp-fire side. 
 And let ten of his corpses blacken, 
 
 Where one of o.ur brothers hath died. 
 
 < In his fainting foot-sore marches. 
 
 In his flight from the stricken fray, 
 In the snare of the lonely ambush. 
 The debts we owe him pay. 
 
 «' In God's hand alone is vengeance. 
 But he strikes with the hands of men. 
 
 And his blight would wither our manhood 
 If we smite not the smiter again. 
 
 " By the graves where our fathers slumber, 
 By the shrines where our mothers prayed, 
 
 By our homes, and hopes, and freedom, 
 Let every man swear on his blade, 
 
 '• That he will not sheath nor stay it. 
 
 Till from point to hilt it glow 
 With the flush of Almighty vengeance 
 
 In the blood of the fdon foe." 
 
 They swore — and the answering sunlight 
 Leaped red from their lifted swords, 
 
 And the hate in their hearts made echo 
 To the wrath in their burning words. 
 
 There's weeping in all New England, 
 And by Schuylkill's banks a knell, 
 
 And the widows there, and the orphans, 
 How the oath was kept can tell. 
 
 The Spirit of '76. — While the Senate of 
 Maryland were in session in the State House, at 
 Annapolis, a number of soldiers entered the ante- 
 room, and inquired if the Senate Chamber was 
 not the place where Gen. Washington once stood. 
 An employee of the House answered that it was, 
 and showed one of them, as near as he could, the 
 
 spot where Washington stood when he resigned 
 his commission. The young man reverently ap- 
 proached the spot, and standing for several min- 
 utes apparently fixed to the j)Iace, hastily turned 
 and left the chamber, exclaiming, that he could 
 stand U_ no longer, for he " felt his Fourth of 
 July rising too fast." 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE ALABAMA. 
 
 Narrated by uer Officers. 
 
 It was the 13th of August, 1862, that we left 
 Liverpool in the chartered steamer Bahama, to 
 the Western Isles, where we were to meet the 
 Alabama, which had gone out before us to re- 
 ceive her armament, officers, and crew, for ser- 
 vice. Our party consisted chiefly of the former 
 officers of the Sumter — the gallant little vessel 
 which created so much terror amongst the Yankee 
 bottoms on the American coast, and although 
 pm-sued by all the Federal fleet, crossed the At- 
 lantic in winter with safety, and found a harbor 
 refuge under the guns of Gibraltar. There, 
 however, she was blockaded, and was sold on 
 account of the Confederate States Government. 
 She was re-purchased privately, and her hull was 
 taken over to England, where she was to be 
 refitted, and is now, no doubt, afloat again under 
 another name, but still hearing proudly the 
 Southern flag. Her officers followed their cap- 
 tain, ready to obey his orders, for all admired 
 him as a skilful seaman, a good tactician, an 
 excellent diplomatist, and a brave man. They 
 spent a short time in England, when the Alabama, 
 or 290, as she was then named, was pm'chased, 
 and Capt. Semmes at once prepared to take 
 command of her, under commission from Presi- 
 dent Davis, with the object of doing as much 
 damage as possible to the enemy's commerce on 
 the sea. 
 
 At Porta Praya, in the Island of Terceii'a, 
 (Azores,) we found our ship taking in guns, am- 
 munition, &c., which had been brought to this 
 place by chartered vessels. The Alabama pleased 
 us all. She is a fine ship of 1040 tons; the 
 length of keel, 210 feet ; breadth of beam, 32 
 feet ; depth of hold, 1 7 feet 3 inches ; has two 
 engines combined of 300 horse power, and three 
 furnaces, each below the water line ; the diameter 
 of her propeller is 14 feet, with two blades 3 
 feet in width and 2 1 feet pitch ; and is capable of 
 running 14 knots. She mounts eight guns — one 
 rifled 7-inch Blakeley's patent, and one 8-inch 
 shell or solid-shot gun, (pivots,) and six 32- 
 pounders of forty-two hundred weight, (broad- 
 sides.) Her motto is : Aide toi et Dieu faidera. 
 The officers numbered twenty, and the crew at this 
 time only eighty — and the terms which the latter 
 insisted upon on engaginy called forth the remark 
 from Capt. Semmes, that the modern sailor has 
 greatly changed in character ; for he laow stickles 
 for pay like a sharper, and seems to have lost his 
 former love of adventure and recklessness. The 
 ordinary seamen get as much as £4 10 jjcr mouth ; 
 petty officers, £5 to £6 ; firemen, £7. All the 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 officers held commissions from the Confederate 
 States Government, and receive pay according to 
 the regular scale, varying from £100 to £800 
 per annum. 
 
 On the 24th of August, the command of the 
 Alabama was formally handed over by Capt. Bul- 
 lock (who had brought her out from Liverpool) 
 to Capt. Semmes ; and the " Stars and Bars " 
 were flung to the wind amid the cheers of all 
 hands. The Captain called all the crew and ex- 
 plained to them the risks and dangers they would 
 liave to undergo, and the inducement of prize 
 money ; furthermore, he said he did not intend 
 to rush headlong into battle with a whole fleet 
 o£ the enemy, btit that he did not intend to run 
 away if he met with any, and that he Avould give 
 battle to the last, so that he expected every man 
 to do his duty. He did not wish to deceive or 
 entice any one to go, and they were free to judge 
 for themselves, either to stay in the Alabama or 
 return with the Bahama to Liverpool. This 
 speech had a good efl'ect, and was loudly cheered, 
 and very few left with the Bahama, which then 
 parted comi>any with us. 
 
 After leaving Terceira, several days were de- 
 voted to putting our ship in order and drilling 
 the crew, who were mostly good seamen, but un- 
 acquainted with naval discipline. On the 5th 
 September Ave caught our first prize, the Ockmul- 
 gee, off" the Azores, and continued to cruise in 
 that vicinity for about ten days, capturii^g and 
 destroying several ships of the enemy. From 
 the Azores we proceeded to the Banks of New- 
 foundland, and cruised thence in the direction 
 of New York, capturing and destroying several 
 other valuable ships. Among our seizures were 
 the Starlight, on board of which we found some 
 despatches for Secretary Seward ; the Tonawanda, 
 bound fro'm New York to Liverpool, with seventy- 
 five passengers, forty of whom were women ; and 
 the T. B. Wales, from Calcutta, with an Ameri- 
 can consul and his lady on board. We provided 
 for them as well as possible — two of the ward- 
 room officers giving up their rooms for them. 
 The consul, however, got so troublesome and in- 
 termeddling, that Capt. Semmes had to tell him 
 that he was only tolerated there on account of 
 his lady ; but if he again spoke to the men or 
 his crew, he would be put in double irons and 
 tied to the gun rack — which threat had its in- 
 tended effect on the Yankee. The fate of the 
 vessels captured was to be destroyed by fire, and 
 the night effect of this spectacle at sea was some- 
 times very striking. One of the doomed vessels, 
 the Levi Starbuck, was set on fire at six o'clock in 
 the evening, and was one of the grandest sights 
 ever witnessed by us. After the decks took fire, 
 the flame sprang to the rigging, running from yard 
 to yard, until it reached the royal truck, leaving 
 half the canvas-head burnt away, and forming 
 one mass of glittering stars ; in a few minutes 
 afterwards the powder charges exploded, tearing 
 the vessel into a thousand pieces. 
 
 When within about 250 miles of New York, 
 finding we had but four days' coal on board, 
 Capt. Semmes bore ofl" for the island of Mar- 
 
 tinique, where he had ordered a coal ship to ren- 
 dezvous. On the way we captured and destroyed 
 two very valuable shijjs. We reached Martinique 
 on the 18th November, where we were received 
 with enthusiasm by the inhabitants ; but finding 
 that our coal ship had been there a week or ten 
 days, and that the object of her visit was well 
 known, Capt. Semmes sent her out to sea again, 
 appointing a new rendezvous. Jt was well that 
 he did so, for she had not been gone twenty-four 
 hours when the United States frigate San Jacinto 
 arrived. Immediately she was seen, all our hands 
 were called to quarters, ready for action, think- 
 ing the enemy would put his threat into force, 
 of running into us, wherever he found us ; but, 
 as usual, it turned out t-o be tleir mode of gain- 
 ing a victory. The San Jacinto kept moving in 
 and out so long, that the Governor of the island 
 boarded her, and ordered her either to come to 
 anchor or proceed to sea, three miles clear of 
 the land, which she obeyed, and lay to, block- 
 ading the port. Capt. Semmes determined to go 
 out and fight her ; but was advised against this 
 by the French officer, who came on board of us, 
 who said she was too heavy, as she carried twelve 
 eight-inch broadside guns, and two eleven-inch 
 pivots, with a creAv of two hundred and fifty 
 men. The Governor said that if we desired to 
 take in coals, we must get under the guns of his 
 fort, and he would protect us against Admiral 
 "Wilkes and his fleet ; but as' the bark with coals 
 \fh,s sent ofl" the day before, we concluded it was 
 best to go to sea. So at eight o'clock that night 
 we got ready for action, and steamed out of 
 harbor, without any molestation from the en- 
 emy, who was keeping watch and ward a ma- 
 rine league ofi". We coaled at the Island of 
 Blanquille, on the coast of Venezuela, the new 
 rendezvous appointed ; and here we found a 
 United States whaling schooner, but forbore to 
 capture her, because of the claim of Venezuela to 
 the barren little island — a claim as barren as the 
 island, for there Avas no settled population on it, 
 and, of course, no vestige of goA-ernment. There 
 Avere only tAVO or three fishermen's huts on the 
 place ; and we put ashore, Avith the brand of 
 iniiimy, a seaman named Forest, who had de- 
 serted from the Sumter, and Avas captured on 
 board one of our prizes ; he was found guilty 
 of inciting the crew to munity. 
 
 Desiring to strike a blow at the enemy, the 
 Alabama, after coaling, sailed for the east end 
 of Cuba, in the track of the California steam- 
 ers. On our Avay we captured and destroyed a 
 bark from Boston for Aux Cayes ; on the 7th 
 of November, after lying off Cape Maise for sev- 
 eral days, Ave captured the U. S. steamer Ariel 
 — unfortunately outward, instead of homeAvard 
 bouixl. She was brcjught to by a shot Avhich struck 
 her mizzenmast. She had on board $8000 in '■ 
 United States treasury notes, and $1500 in silver ; 
 and as there Avas no certificate or other papers on 
 board claiming it as neutral property, it Avas 
 taken possession of as prize of Avar. There were 
 one hundred and foi'ty marines on board, Avith 
 i six oflicers, all of Avhom were disarmed and pa- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 89 
 
 roled, as was also Commander Saston, U. S. A., 
 who was on board. As this ship had some 
 seven hundred passengers and crew, many of 
 whom were Avomen and children, and it was 
 alike impossible to take her into a neutral port, 
 or to receive the passengers in the Alabama, 
 there was no alternative but to release her under 
 a ransom bond of $250,000 ; and as we parted 
 company, the passengers gave three cheers for 
 Capt. Semmes. 
 
 After this the Alabama hove to on the north 
 side of Jamaica, to repair some damage which 
 had happened to one of our engines, and then 
 set out for the Accas Island, Gulf of Mexico, 
 where we refilled with coal, and calked and re- 
 paired ship. Here some of our men erected on 
 the island an epitaph in black, " To the memory 
 of Abe Lincoln, who died January, 1861, of 
 negro fever of the head," with a card on which 
 was written, in Spanish, instructions to those 
 who visit the island to forward the board to the 
 nearest United States Consul. 
 
 On board the Ariel we found some New York 
 papers containing accounts of an intended ex- 
 pedition by Gen. Banks, which we concluded was 
 destined for Texas, and we presumed would ren- 
 dezvous at Galveston. As it was said that the 
 expedition was to consist of twenty thousand 
 men, we knew a large number of transports 
 would be required : many of these vessels would 
 have to lie outside- the bar, and we determined 
 upon making a night attack upon forty or fifty 
 of them, laden with troops, sink and set on fire 
 many of them, and escape before our vessel could 
 be pursued by a superior force. As it afterwards 
 turned out, we found the expedition of Gen. 
 Banks took another direction, and landed at New 
 Orleans. 
 
 After coaling at Accas, however, the Alabama 
 set sail for Galveston, and arrived there on the 
 11th Januar}', and before nightfall made out the 
 enemy's fleet lying off the bar, consisting of five 
 ships of war. One of their steamers we ob- 
 served to get under weigh, and come in our di- 
 rection. Captain Semmes ordered steam to be 
 got up, but kept sail on our vessel as a decoy, to 
 entice the enemy's ship suflSciently far from the 
 fleet to give battle. We wore ship, and stood 
 away from the bar, permitting the enemy to ap- 
 proach by slow degrees. When she was suffi- 
 ciently near we took in all sail, and wearing 
 short round, ran up within hail. It was now 
 dark, about nine o'clock. The enemy hailed: 
 "What ship is that?" We replied: "Her 
 Majesty's steamer Petrel." The reply was,. " I'll 
 send a boat on board." 
 
 We now hailed in turn, to know what the en- 
 emy was, and when we received the rqply that 
 she was the United States steamer Hatteras, we 
 again hailed and informed him that we were the 
 Confederate steamer Alabama ; and at the same 
 time Capt. Semmes directed the First Lieutenant 
 to open fire on him. This fire was promptly re- 
 turned, and a brisk action ensued, whicli lasted, 
 however, only thirteen minutes, as at the end of 
 that time the enemy fii'ed an oft'-gun, and showed 
 
 a light ; and on being hailed to know if he sur- 
 rendered, he said he did, and was in a sinking 
 condition. We immediately despatched boats to 
 his assistance, and had just time to rescue the 
 cre\y, when the ship went down. The casual- 
 ties were slight on both sides, although the ac- 
 tion was fought at a distance of one hundred 
 and fifty to four hundred yards. Our shot all 
 told on his hull, about the water-line, and hence 
 the small number of killed and wounded on the 
 ])art of tlie enemy — two of the former, and 
 three of the latter. We had none killed, and 
 only one wounded, although the Alabama re- 
 ceived several shot-holes, doing no material 
 damage. The Hatteras mountetl eight guns, and 
 had a crew of eighteen officers and one hundred 
 and eight men. The Alabama had also eight 
 guns, with a small captured piece, (a twenty-four- 
 pounder, too light to be of any service,) and a 
 crew of one hundred and ten men, exclusive of 
 officers. Four of the Hatteras' guns were thirty- 
 two pounders, the same calibre as our broadside 
 guns, but our pivot guns were heavier than 
 theirs. This was the only disparity between the 
 two ships. The U. S. frigate Brooklyn and 
 another steamer came out in pursuit soon after 
 the action commenced, but missed us in the 
 darkness of the night. The Alabama then pro- 
 ceeded to Kingston, Jamaica, where the prison- 
 ers were landed on the 20th January, and Ave 
 repaired damages and coaled, and on the 25th 
 proceed again to sea. 
 
 We touched at the Island of St. Domingo, on 
 the 28th, to land two enemy's creAvs we had cap- 
 tured ; sailed again next day for the Equator, 
 and remained for some days at the Island of Fer- 
 nando de Noronha. From thence we put into 
 Bahia, where Ave landed more prisoners. The 
 Government at this place demanded explanations 
 of our proceedings at Fernando de Noronha, as 
 the American Consul represented that Ave had 
 made captures there in Brazilian Avaters ; but as 
 Ave clearly shoAved that no vessel had been taken 
 within a prescribed distance from the island, the 
 authorities were satisfied, and we Avere alloAved 
 to remain ten days, refitting. MeauAA'hile, the 
 Castor, a coal ship, ostensibly bound for Shanghai, 
 entered the port, and Ave commenced coaling 
 from her. The American Consul again protested, 
 and Avrote to the President of Bahia, stating that 
 the Castor had on board guns and sailors for the 
 Confederates. The President next day forAvarded 
 this complaint to the Enghsh Consul at Bahia, 
 inviting him to accompany the custom-house offi- 
 cers on board the Castor, to see Avhether the com- 
 plaint had any foundation. The Enghsh Consul 
 returned the foUoAving reply : 
 
 " The denunciation of the American Consul is 
 devoid of foundation. The facts he has put for- 
 Avard are quite inexact. The opinion he expresses 
 is entirely illusive. The English Consul has been 
 on board the Castor; has ascertained that she 
 does not carry arms ; that her creAV consists only 
 of the men upon the ship's books ; and that the 
 only real fact of those alleged is her delivery of 
 coal — a proceeding Avhich it is the sole aim of 
 
90 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 the American Consul to prevent. The Consul is 
 ready to be present at the visit proposed by the 
 President. The Captain of the Castor is perfectly 
 willing to permit such visit, but the Consul, in 
 any case, protests against every act assuming the 
 character of the right of search or of requisition 
 by the Consul of the United States. He (the 
 English Consul) entertains grave doubts of the 
 American Consul's right, owing to the mere sup- 
 ply of coal, to raise any claim against an English 
 ship, belonging to a neutral nation, at anchor in 
 the harbor of Bahia, a neutral port. The neu- 
 trality resulting from the independent exercise of 
 its right by a state cannot obstruct commercial 
 relations, and a belligerent power is not entitled 
 to demand their cessation in a neutral port be- 
 tween its opponent and the subjects of a neutral 
 nation. Toleration by the President of the prov- 
 ince of the supply of coal, by an English ship, to 
 the Confederate cruisers in this port, cannot 
 (without infringing common sense and interna- 
 tional law) be considered a hostile act, contrary 
 to the strict neutrality of Brazil." 
 
 The proposed visit on board the Castor took 
 place, accompanied by interrogation of Captain 
 and crew. The result showed no proof whatever 
 of the allegations, although it seemed pretty clear 
 that the cargo of coal had no other original des- 
 tination than the Confederate privateers. The 
 Captain of the Alabama, indeed, admitted the 
 fact, plainly declaring that he had a perfect right 
 to purchase coal in England, and to provide for 
 its discharge taking place out of a neutral ship, 
 within a neutral port. Capt. Semmes, at the same 
 tiine, requested the President's authorization to 
 continue taking in his coal. The President re- 
 plied that the coal must be put on shore and sent 
 to the market, where Capt. Semmes could buy as 
 much as he pleased. He added that his instruc- 
 tions forbade him to allow the delivery of any 
 kind of goods coming direct from another coun- 
 try, where the sale had taken place abroad. Un- 
 der these circumstances. Captain Semmes directed 
 the coal ship to meet him at Saldanha Bay, Cape 
 of Good Hope, — and we left Bahia. On our 
 passage to the Cape, we captured the S. Gilden- 
 sleeve, the Justina, Jabez Snow, Amazonian, 
 Talisman, Conrad, A. F. Schmidt, and Express — 
 all valuable prizes except the Justina, which, be- 
 ing a Baltimore ship, was ransomed, and a num- 
 ber of the crews of the other vessels were trans- 
 ferred to her. The Amazonian attempted to 
 elude us, but we gave chase, and while five miles 
 distant from her, fired our rifle-gun, with a reduced 
 charge of 7 lbs. powder and a 100-pound shot, at 
 an extreme elevation, which crossed her bows, 
 and she soon clewed her courses and hove to. 
 
 The Conrad, which we captured, was a fine 
 bark, and we fitted her out as a tender to the Al- 
 abama. The vessel was named the Tuscaloosa, 
 and commissioned at sea on the 21st June. The 
 command was given to Lieut. Lowe, an excellent 
 officer, with fifteen men ; she was provided with 
 two brass rifled twelve-pounders, pistols, rifles, 
 and ammunition, and having provisions for three 
 months, was ordered to cruise in the direction of 
 
 the Cape. We then made for Saldanha Bay, 
 where we anchored and repaired ship, expecting 
 to meet the coal vessel ; but nothing could be 
 seen of her, and we supposed she must have met 
 with some mishap.* 
 
 From Saldanha Bay we came round to Table 
 Bay, and spied the American bark Sea Bride, 
 standing into port, outside of all headlands, and 
 at a distance from the main land. As we ap- 
 proached her, our officers Avere directed by the 
 Captain to make observation of the distance ; and 
 all agreed that the capture was made from two 
 to three miles outside of the marine league. 
 
 The total number of our captures has been 
 fifty-six ships, by which we estimate the damage 
 to the enemy to be not less than four million dol- 
 lars, to say nothing of the indirect results of the 
 cruise in the way of loss of freights, high war in- 
 surance, and numerous sales of enemy's ships, to 
 put them under neutral flags. In no instance, 
 however, have we destroyed a ship where the 
 proof was complete that the cargo was neutral, 
 though there have been some awkward attempts 
 on the part of unscrupulous merchants to cover 
 property, — but when such were destroyed the 
 proof of the fraud was apparent on the pajiers. 
 
 The following is a complete list of her captures : 
 
 Ockmulgee, 
 
 Starlight, 
 
 Ocean Rover, 
 
 Alert, 
 
 Weathergauge, 
 
 Altamaha, 
 
 Benjamin Tucker, 
 
 Courser, 
 
 Virginia, 
 
 Elisha Dunbar, 
 
 Brilliant, 
 
 Emily Farnum, 
 
 Wave Crest, 
 
 Danquerque, 
 
 Manchester, 
 
 Tonawanda, 
 
 Lamplighter, 
 
 Lafayette, 
 
 Crenshaw, 
 
 Lauretta, 
 
 Baron De Castine, 
 
 Levi Starbuck, 
 
 T. B. Wales, 
 
 Chastalaire, 
 Palmetto, 
 Golden Eagle, 
 Olive Jane, 
 Washington, 
 Betha Thager, 
 J. A. Parker, 
 
 Punjaub, 
 
 Morning Star, 
 
 Kingfisher, 
 
 Charles HiU, 
 
 Nora, 
 
 Louisa Hatch, 
 
 Lafliyette, 
 
 Kate Core}', 
 
 Nye, 
 
 Dorcas Price, 
 
 Lelah, 
 
 Union Jack, 
 
 S. Gildensleeve, 
 
 J. Snow, 
 
 Justina, 
 
 Amazonian, 
 
 * If the Castor was the vessel expected, it is very- 
 probable that some mishap occurred to her; for by 
 late Rio papers we learn that after the Alabama left, 
 the Federal steam frigate Mohican put in at Bahia, 
 and a report was immediately circulated that she in- 
 tended to seize the Castor. The Captain of the Eng- 
 lish vessel attempted to leave the port without having 
 complied with the forms required by the customs. He 
 was brought to by the guns of the forts, and put back, 
 and went through the accustomed formalities prepara- 
 tory to setting sail anew. Before the Castor was out- 
 side the harbor, the Mohican got up steam and went 
 in pursuit. Perceiving himself chased, the Captain 
 of the Castor determined not to leave the port, but to 
 place himself under the protection of Brazilian ships 
 until the arrival of an English man-of-war. There- 
 upon the Mohican left Bahia to look after the Con- 
 federate privateers. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 91 
 
 Martha, Talisman, 
 
 Union, Conrad, 
 
 Ariel, mail steamer, A. F. Schmidt, 
 
 U. S.gunb't Hatteras, Express, 
 
 Golden Rule, Sea Bride. 
 
 The Alabama had the usual quota of wits and 
 fun-makers among her crew. An L-ish fiddler 
 on board is the life of the forecastle. When the 
 men are off duty he sets them dancing to his lighter 
 strains, or, dividing them into Northerners and 
 Southerners, like a true Irishman, he gets up a 
 sham fight to the spirit-stirring strains of a march, 
 in which fight the Northerners are, of course, in- 
 variably beaten. Another sailor, Frank Towns- 
 hend, is no mean poet, as will be seen from the 
 verses wliich here follow. He had sung the ex- 
 ploits of their beloved ship to his messmates in 
 rude and vigorous strains. 
 
 THE FIGHT OF THE "HATTEKAS" AND 
 "ALABAMA." 
 
 Off Galveston, the Yankee fleet secure at anchor 
 lay, 
 
 Preparing for a heavy fight they were to have next 
 day; 
 
 Down came the Alabama, like an eagle o'er the 
 wave, 
 
 And soon their gunboat Hatteras had fovmd a wa- 
 tery grave. 
 
 'Twas in the month of January ; the day was bright 
 
 and clear ; 
 The Alabama she bore down ; no Yankee did we 
 
 fear : 
 Their Commodore he spied us ; to take us long he 
 
 burned ; 
 So he sent the smartest boat he had, but she never 
 
 back returned ! 
 
 The sun had sunk far in the West when down to 
 
 us she came ; 
 Our Captain quickly hailed her, and asked them 
 
 for her name ; 
 Then spoke our Frst Lieutenant, — for her name 
 
 had roused his ire, — 
 " This is the Alabama — now, Alabamas, fire." 
 
 Then flow a rattling broadside, that made her tim- 
 bers shake ; 
 
 And through the holes made in her side the angry 
 waves did break ; 
 
 We then blew up her engine, that she could steam 
 no more — 
 
 They fired a gun to leeward, and so the fight was 
 o'er. 
 
 So thirteen minutes passed away before they gave 
 
 in beat ; 
 A boat had left the Yankee's side, and pulled in for 
 
 their fleet ; 
 The rest we took on board of us, as prisoners to 
 
 stay ; 
 Then stopped and saw their ship go down, and then 
 
 we bore away. 
 
 And now, to give our foes their due, they fought 
 with all their might ; 
 
 But yet they could not conquer us, for God de- 
 fends the right; 
 
 One at a time the ships they have to fight us they 
 
 may come, 
 And rest assured that our good ship from them will 
 
 never run. 
 
 THE " STARS AND BARS." 
 
 See yonder bright flag, as it floats on the breeze ; 
 It is feared by its foes, though young on the seas ; 
 As a bird on the ocean, 'tis met all alone, 
 But a deed of dishonor it never has known. 
 In defending its rights, much blood has been shed ; 
 As an emblem of this, see its borders all red. 
 Then look at the centre, the blue and the white — 
 An assurance our cause is true, just, and right. 
 O, long may it float o'er the ocean's dark breast, 
 Till sun, moon, and stars sink forever to rest ; 
 And its gallant defenders forever prove true ; 
 With this wish, flag of freedom, I'll bid thee adieu ! 
 With this wish, flag of freedom, I'll bid thee adieu ! 
 
 THE SOUTH, BOYS. 
 
 Hark, hark ! there's a sound in the West, 
 
 That's wafted far over the sea ; 
 'Tis the voice of the brave, though oppressed, 
 
 That are struggling hard to be free. 
 Basely wronged they have been by a brother, 
 
 Who sought to oppress in his might ; 
 But the South, boys, the South, boys, forever ! 
 
 'Tis the cause that we all know is right. 
 
 To shake off the yoke of a tyrant, 
 
 Their forefathers fought side by side ; 
 And ere they could claim Freedom's Charter, 
 
 Many hundreds of brave men had died ; 
 But the Eagle, that then soared so proudly, 
 
 Can now scarcely look on the light ; 
 But the South, boys, the South, boys, forever ! 
 
 'Tis the cause that we all know is right. 
 
 A Tableau. — A correspondent describes a 
 tableau, given at Murfreesboro', Tenn., for the 
 benefit of the soldiers, on the 22d of January, 
 1862, as follows : 
 
 " We should not do justice to the tableau, un- 
 less we were to describe the first scene. A 
 young gentleman, representing King Cotton, sat 
 upon a throne resembling a bale of cotton. 
 Down on one side of the throne sat a repre- 
 sentative of the ebon race, with a basket of cot- 
 ton. The king held a cotton cloth as a sceptre, 
 and one of his feet rested on a globe. Around 
 him stood young ladies dressed in white, with 
 scarfs of red and white looped on the shoulder 
 with blue. On their heads they Avore appropri- 
 ate crowns. These represented the Confederate 
 States. Missouri and Kentucky were guarded 
 by armed soldiers. 
 
 " While we were gazing on this picture, a dark- 
 haired maiden, robed in black, with brow encir- 
 cled by a cypress-wreath, and her delicate wrists 
 bound with clanking chains, came on and knelt 
 before his majesty. He extended his sceptre, 
 and she arose. He waved his wand again, and 
 an armed soldier appeared with a scarf and 
 
92 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 crown, like those worn by her sister States. He 
 unchained this gentle girl at the bidding of his 
 monarch, changed her crown of mourning for one 
 of joy and liberty, and threw the Confederate 
 flag across her, raised the flag over her, and led 
 her forward ; then Kentucky advanced, took her 
 by the hand, and led her into the ranks. Need 
 we tell you whom this maiden of sable garments 
 was intended to represent? We leave that 
 to be understood. If your readers cannot di- 
 vine, it is owing to our description, and not 
 to the scene. The ceremony was performed in 
 pantomime. 
 
 " We will gratify the pride of the F. F. V.'s 
 by saying that their representative had inscribed 
 on her crown, ' Mater Herown.' After this at- 
 tempt to praise you, dear Express, you will surely 
 pardon us if we tell j'ou that North Carolina wore 
 on her brow a white crown, on which was the 
 word ' Bethel.' Both of these States were rep- 
 resented by their own daughters." 
 
 A Strange Scene for a Sabbath day is pre- 
 sented to a visitor, who will stand on one of the 
 hills back of Alexandria, and look around him. 
 Thousands of camps dot the hillsides, which are 
 whitened by whole villages of them as far as the 
 eye can extend. Frowning fortifications crown 
 every hill, while innumerable roads and paths 
 cross from one to the other, intersecting at all 
 angles. The valleys are filled with soldiers, who 
 are strolling about for wood, water, and various 
 other purposes. Here and there horsemen are 
 seen galloping from camp to camp. Guards are 
 stationed in every direction, pacing regularly to 
 and fro, and a strange activity, yet military pre- 
 cision, marks the whole. The ruin and desola- 
 tion, as well as the " pomp, pride, and circum- 
 stance of glorious Avar," are the distinguishing 
 features of the whole scene. 
 
 Yonder, amid all this strange sight, is a funeral 
 procession. In front, mounted on a splendid 
 charger, rides the chaplain. He is followed by a 
 full band of music, from which come the sadden- 
 ing, yet thrilling and solemn tones of a dirge, 
 whose reverberations startle many a warrior from 
 h'.s toil, to look on the solemn procession as it 
 passes. Following these is the ambulance with 
 the remains, escorted by a few companions of the 
 deceased. Another soldier has gone to rest, far 
 from home and friends. Who is he ? " Only a 
 private ! " " Henry Sleeper, Company H, 13th 
 New Hampshire, died November 15, 1862," will 
 be the simple record on his regimental rolls, and 
 on the rude board, placed on the sacred soil 
 where sleeps the brave, and then he will be forgot- 
 ten. Fond friends in the distant home will weep 
 for a time, almost broken-hearted, and then he 
 will be remembered only by the wife or mother, 
 who Avill, in after years, tell of the loved one who 
 lost his life in suppressing the great Southern 
 rebellion. Virginia will, indeed, be " sacred soil" 
 to many an aching heart all over our land — sa- 
 cred as the resting-place of the flower of thou- 
 sands of families. — Nov. 1862. 
 
 A Young Patriot. — The following was writ- 
 ten by a young Bostonian, who was engaged in 
 mercantile business at the place from which he 
 dates his letter: 
 
 New York, July 20, 1802. 
 
 My Dear Father and Mother : I wrote you a 
 day or two ago on passing events. Now I write 
 on the subject that lies nearest my heart. The 
 country calls for men, and we must have them ! 
 Recruiting lags, and we are in danger of a draft. 
 It is now useless to say there are enough men 
 without me. It is not the fact. I want to vol- 
 unteer ; and had I a hundred lives I Avould now 
 place them at the disposal of the Government, 
 for it needs all the young men who can be spared, 
 and I am one who can. Let me calmly state the 
 case to you. Fu'st, if the rebellion succeeds, we 
 shall have the disintegration of our country to 
 look upon. We shall not have North and South 
 alone, but after that, State will separate from 
 State, county from county, and then it may be 
 every man for himself. Then will commence a 
 series of wars none of us could see the end of. 
 The stronger State will make war on the weaker, 
 and the successful military commander would as- 
 sume power. We should have military despot- 
 ism and anarchy alternately. If we succeed, all 
 will be peace, and we shall enjoy the freedom of 
 institutions, and the perfect liberty we have hith- 
 erto enjoyed. 
 
 Then you must acknowledge the power to do, 
 or not to do, lies with ourselves. We have the 
 men, but they must come forward. Money we 
 have, and we must use it. The South are terri- 
 bly in earnest. The North are fast asleep, com- 
 pared with them. We are fighting for life, for 
 our old institutions, for nationality, for all we 
 hold most dear. The South are endeavoring to 
 destroy all these, and to prevent them toe must 
 have vien. We must conquer. We can if we 
 use our means. If the South conquer, I don't 
 want to live in this country any longe*i\ Now I 
 acknowledge that a father's and a mother's love 
 is one of the greatest blessings a young man can 
 enjoy, next to the favor of God himself; but that 
 love descends to selfishness when it restrains a 
 young man from his manifest duty. The love 
 for parents, and fear of their displeasure if they 
 disobey them, are what hold many hundi-ed 
 young men from joining our noble army. 
 
 Let all such restrictions be removed, and our 
 ranks will swell with twice the rapidity they are 
 now doing. My duty is to go — yours to let 
 me go. The duties of the country at large are 
 patience, steadfastness, hope, and prayer. A very 
 fine preacher hei"e says : " Pray for your dying 
 son, but pray for your country more than ten 
 thousand sons." The love of money must be put 
 down. What good is money going to do us if 
 we have no country to live in ? I don't want a 
 living if I have not a country. Hoping, pray- 
 ing, trusting, you will accede to my wishes, I 
 await an answer. My name is on the militia rolls ; 
 so I am subject to draft ; and sooner than have 
 me go with drafted men here, I know you will let 
 me go in a Massachusetts regiment. I have writ- 
 
 1 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 93 
 
 ten this letter after weeks of deliberation, and 
 in no sudden burst of enthusiasm. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF A FIGHT AVITH MOSBY. 
 
 Fairfax Court House, June 2, 1863. — The 
 
 sun glistens on a twelve-pound brass howitzer, 
 which, Avith its limber, occupies a position di- 
 rectly in front of Gen. Stahl's headquarters. 
 The story of the gun is this : Made in the year 
 1859, it was used by the Union troops at Ball's 
 Blufi', where it fell into the hands of the rebels, 
 and since that time has done service in the rebel 
 army. After Mosby had been whipped several 
 limes by Stahl's cavalry, this gun was furnished 
 him to redeem his laurels. On Friday night last, 
 Mosby, with about one hundred and seventy-five 
 men and the howitzer, camped at Greenwich. 
 Early on Saturday they made a hurried march 
 toward the Orange and Alexandria Eailroad, 
 which they struck about one and a half miles 
 this side of Catlett's Station. Here they con- 
 cealed themselves in the woods, placed the how- 
 itzer in position, and awaited the arrival of the 
 train from Alexandria, carrying forage and stores 
 to Bealeton. As the cars came opposite the am- 
 buscade, a rail, adi-oitly displaced, caused the lo- 
 comotive to run off the track. At this moment 
 a ball from the gun went through the boiler, and 
 another pierced the smoke-stack. The guard 
 upon the train were scared by hearing artillery, 
 and beat a hasty retreat, lea\dng the train at the 
 disposition of the rebels. Had any resistance 
 been offered, it is believed that the train could 
 have been saved, and all the rebels captured. As 
 it was, the guerrillas destroyed the cars, ten in 
 number, and then, anticipating a visit from Stahl's 
 cavalry, made off in the dii'ection of Auburn. 
 Meanwhile, Col. Mann, of the Seventh Michigan 
 cavalry, who was in command of the portion of 
 Stahl's cavalry at Bristow, hearing the firing, 
 started with portions of the Fifth New York, 
 First Vermont, and Seventh Michigan, to learn 
 the cause. Taking the precaution to send the 
 Fifth New York, Capt. A. H. Hasbrouck com- 
 manding, across the country to Auburn, to inter- 
 cept the retreat, he followed up the railroad until 
 the sight of the burning train told that portion 
 of the story. Leaving the burning train, CoL 
 Mann followed the track of the retreating foe, and 
 soon heard the sound of cannon towards Green- 
 wich, indicating that Capt. Hasbrouck, with the 
 Fifth New York, had either intercepted or come 
 up with the enemy. As it afterwards proved, they 
 had come upon their rear, and had been fired 
 upon from the howitzer. Owing to the nature of 
 the ground, the Fifth New York was unable to 
 deploy, so as to operate effectively, and the en- 
 emy again started on the run, closely followed by 
 Capt. Hasbrouck and his command. Col. Mann 
 pressed on to reach the scene of the firing. 
 Learning the particulars of their escape, he di- 
 vided his force, sending Lieut.-Col. Preston, with 
 part of the First Vermont cavalry, to reenforce 
 the Fifth New York, and with the balance he 
 
 struck across the country, again hoping to inter- 
 cept them. 
 
 Finding themselves so hotly pressed, the en- 
 emy, when near Grapewood Farm, about two 
 miles from Greenwich, took position at the 
 head of a short, narrow lane, with high fences 
 on either side, placing the howitzer so as to 
 command the lane, strongly supported by his 
 whole force. The advance of the Fifth New 
 York, about twenty-five men, under Lieut. Elmer 
 Barker, coming up, the Lieutenant determined to 
 charge the gun, fearing, if he halted, the rebels 
 w^ould again run away. Gallantly riding up the 
 narrow lane, with almost certain death before 
 them, these brave men, bi'avely led by Lieut. 
 Barker, dashed with a yell towards the gun. 
 When within about fifty yards, the rebels opened 
 fire with grape upon them. The result was, three 
 men were killed and seven wounded. The rebels 
 immediately charged, led by Mosby himself. 
 Lieut. Barker, twice wounded in the leg, con- 
 tinued with his handful of men to contest every 
 inch of the ground, and himself crossed sabres 
 with Mosby. But numbers told, and several of 
 the Fifth New York were made prisoners. This 
 gallant fight of Lieut. Barker afforded Col. Pres- 
 ton an opportunity to come up with the First 
 Vermont. Lieut. Hazleton was in advance, with 
 about seventy-five men, and charged bravely up 
 the lane, the few boys of the Fifth New York, 
 who were left, joining the Vermonters. Again 
 and agam the gun dealt destruction through the 
 ranks, but nothing could check their impetuosity, 
 and the brave fellows rode over the gun, sabring 
 the gunners, and captured the piece. Serg. 
 Carey, of the First Vermont, was shot dead by 
 the side of the gun ; his brother, a corporal in 
 the same regiment, although liis arm was shat- 
 tered, struck down the gunner as he applied the 
 match for the last time. Mosby and his men 
 fought desperately to recover the gun, but in 
 vain. 
 
 Meanwhile, Col. Preston had charged across 
 the fields upon their fiank, and the enemy fled in 
 all directions, taking refuge in the thickets, with 
 which they are so familiar. One party attempted 
 to take away the limber, but it was speedily cap- 
 tured and brought in. The long chase in the hot 
 sun, the desperate fight, and the jaded condition 
 of the horses, prevented further pursuit, which, 
 with the enemy so Avidely scattered, and with 
 their knowledge of every by-path and thicket, 
 would have been almost fruitless. Capt. B. S. 
 Haskins, an Englishman, and formerly a Captain 
 in the Forty-Fourth royal infantry, who was 
 with Mosby, was so badly wounded that he has 
 since died. Lieut. Capman, formerly of the reg- 
 ular army, who was in charge of the gun, was 
 also dangerously wounded and paroled on the 
 field, as he could not be removed. Our loss was 
 four killed and fifteen wounded. The rebels had 
 six killed, twenty wounded, and lost ten prison- 
 ers. All the Fifth New York who were taken 
 by the rebels were recaptured. 
 
 The result of this fight is more disastrous to 
 the rebels than the previous engagements. The 
 
94 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Southern Confederacy will not be apt to trust 
 Mr. Mosby with other guns if he cannot "take 
 better care of them than he has of this one. 
 The enemy was beaten by about the same force, 
 in a position chosen by themselves, and defended 
 by a howitzer. Their killed and wounded out- 
 number ours, and the howitzer is ready to be 
 turned against them at the earliest opportunity. 
 The conduct of officers and men is highly com- 
 mended by Col. Mann in his official report to 
 Gen. Stahl, and the gallantry of the charge of 
 the Fifth New York and the First Vermont is de- 
 servins mention. 
 
 SOUTHRONS, HEAR YOUR COUNTRY 
 CALL YOU. 
 
 BY AXBERT PIKE. 
 
 Southrons ! hear your country call you ! 
 Up ! lest worse than death befall you ! 
 
 To arms ! To arms ! To arms, in Dixie ! 
 Lo ! all the beacon-fires are lighted — 
 Let all hearts be now united ! 
 
 To arms ! To arms ! To arms, in Dixie ! 
 Advance the flag of Dixie ! 
 Hurrah ! hurrah ! 
 For Dixie's land we take our stand, 
 And live or die for Dixie ! 
 To arms ! To arms ! 
 And conquer peace for Dixie ! 
 
 To arms ! To arms ! 
 And conquer peace for Dixie ! 
 
 Hear the Northern thunders mutter 1 
 Northern flags in South wind flutter ! 
 To arras ! &c. 
 
 Advance the flag of Dixie ! &c. 
 
 Fear no danger ! Shun no labor ! 
 Lift up rifle, pike, and sabre ! 
 
 To arms ! &c. 
 Shoulder pressing close to shoulder. 
 Let the odds make each heart bolder ! 
 
 To arms! &c. 
 
 Advance the flag of Dixie ! &e. 
 
 How the South's great heart rejoices 
 At your cannons' ringing voices ! 
 
 To arms ! See. 
 For faith betrayed, and pledges broken. 
 Wrongs inflicted, insults spoken, 
 
 To arms ! &c. 
 
 Advance the flag of Dixie ! &c. 
 
 Strong as lions, swift as eagles, 
 
 Back to their kennels hunt these beagles ! 
 
 To arms ! &c. 
 Cut the unequal words asunder ! 
 Let them then each other plimder ! 
 
 To arms ! &c. 
 
 Advance the flag of Dixie ! &c. 
 
 Swear upon your country's altar 
 Never to submit or falter ! 
 
 To arms ! &c. 
 Till the spoilers are defeated, 
 Till the Lord's work is completed, 
 
 To arms ! &c. 
 Advance the flag of Dixie ! &c. 
 
 Halt not, till our Federation 
 
 Secures among earth's powers its station ! 
 
 To arms ! &c. 
 Then at peace, and crowned with glory, 
 Hear your children tell the story ! 
 
 To arms ! &c. 
 
 Advance the flag of Dixie ! &c. 
 
 If the loved ones weep in sadness. 
 Victory soon shall bring them gladness. 
 
 To arms ! &c. 
 Exultant pride soon banish sorrow ; 
 Smiles chase tears away to-morrow. 
 
 To arms ! &c. 
 
 Advance the flag of Dixie ! &c. 
 
 Spaerowgrass' proposition, that the Home 
 Guard should not leave home except in case of 
 invasion, is equal to the old story of the Bung- 
 town Riflemen, an Ohio military company, whose 
 by-laws consisted of two sections, namely : 
 
 " Article First. — This company shall be 
 known as the Bungtown Riflemen. 
 
 "Article Second. — in case of war this com- 
 pany shall immediately disband." 
 
 Incidents of the Wak. — A correspondent 
 relates the following incidents : — 
 
 " The Platte Valley steamer was brought to by 
 the guns of the St. Louis arsenal, with a load of 
 traitors and contrabands. The first shot, a blank 
 cartridge, produced no efiect. The next was a shell, 
 whichwas made to explode a little Ijeyond the boat ; 
 and this also was disregarded. The tliird, a large 
 ball, passed just above her deck, between the chim- 
 neys and the wheel-house, and had the eff'ect to set 
 the bell ringing and the whistle screaming, which 
 signals of acquiescence were continued till the 
 boat reached the landing. * Why, sir,' said the 
 Captain to the gunner, ' did you mean to sink me ? ' 
 ' Certainly,' was the cool reply ; ' I am ordered 
 to fire one harmless shot at least ; I gave you the 
 benefit of two, and aimed a third at your engine,* 
 but the gun was ranged a little too high. I did 
 not want to hit your boilers, and scald you all 
 to death ; but the next time I shall sink you at 
 the second shot ! ' ' For God's sake, don't 
 trouble yourself,' replied the Captain ; ^just send 
 a small boy cloini to tap a drum whenever you 
 want me, and I'll come to at once.' 
 
 " Major RawHngs tells an anecdote, in the same 
 vein, of a prominent lawyer of St. Louis. ' Ma- 
 jor,' said he, lately, ' I'm a choleric man, and I 
 find it won't do. I'm getting to have a profound 
 respect for Minie bullets. Won't you do me 
 the favor to get me one ? and whenever I find my 
 temper rising against the Dutch, I will put my 
 hand in my pocket, and feel a bullet, and that 
 will cool me off"! ' The Major got the bullet for 
 him, and the effect seems to be equal to the ex- 
 pectation. Certainly it is better to have one in 
 the pocket than in the body, if the effect on one's 
 loyalty is just the same. 
 
 " Some one inquired of Col. Boernstein how 
 long he should remain. ' I don't know,' he re- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 95 
 
 plied with a French shrug of the shoulder ; ' per- 
 haps a year ; so long as the Governor chooses to 
 stay away. I am Governor now, you see, till he 
 comes back ! ' His notions of freedom of speech 
 and the press he expressed freely, Uke this : ' All 
 people zall speak vot dey tink, write vot dey 
 pleazhe, and be free to do any tink dey pleazhe 
 — only dey zall speak and write no treaso7i !'" — 
 National Intelligencer. 
 
 ONE OF THE ARMY OF MARTYRS. 
 
 The telegraph announces the death of William 
 Fuller, of Needham, a private in the 18th regi- 
 ment of Massachusetts Volunteers. The tidings 
 afflicted me much. I knew that he joined the 
 army from deliberate convictions of duty, and 
 with the belief that it was to be a war for free- 
 dom ; and I earnestly desired that he should live 
 to see the glorious result he anticipated. He was 
 an ardent republican, and worked zealously for 
 Fremont in the campaign of '56. He was a 
 working man, and the enslavement of working 
 men excited generous indignation in his breast. 
 He was among the first three years' men that 
 joined the army. Late in September, 1861, when 
 he had been some time in Virginia, he wrote to 
 me : "I enlisted purely from principle ; to do 
 what I could to save the free institutions of the 
 country. We are hard at work, making intrench- 
 raents and cutting roads through the woods to 
 Munson's Hill. We have to endure many priva- 
 tions and hardships ; but these I will not dwell 
 upon. I am willing to sacrifice the comforts of 
 home, and even life itself, if the desired end can 
 be accomplished by this war." 
 
 A month later, he wrote: "Before I came 
 here, I was often told that I should not think so 
 badly of slavery, if I had been in the Slave 
 States. But I must say I have not yet seen any 
 beauty in the system. When I do, I will inform 
 you. While on picket duty, I often meet with 
 slaves, and have opportunities of conversing with 
 them. I said to one, who came into camp the 
 other day, ' How have you been treated, Robert ? ' 
 ' Pretty well, sar.' ' Have you been well fed and 
 clothed ? ' ' Pretty well, till dis year. Massa 
 hab no money to spare dis year.' 'Were you 
 contented ? ' ' No, sar.' * You say you were pret- 
 ty well treated, and pretty well supplied with 
 food and clothes ; why wasn't you contented then ? ' 
 ' Cause I wanted to be free, sar.' ' But what could 
 you do to support yourself and your wife and 
 children, if you were all free ? ' His face bright- 
 ened, and you could see his eyes sparkle, as he 
 replied, ' Pd hire a little hut, and hab a little gar- 
 den, and keep a pig and a cow, and I'd work out 
 by the day, and save money. I coidd save money. 
 Pve laid up eight dollars this summer ; but if I 
 couldn't lay up a cent, I should like to be free. I 
 should feel better.' ' Can you read and write ? ' 
 ' No, sar. But massa's mighty fraid to have us 
 touch a paper ; they say Massa Lincoln is going 
 to free all the slaves.' 'Where did you hear 
 that ? ' ' We used to hear massa say so, last fall, 
 
 before Massa Lincoln was President.' ' Did you 
 ever hear of John Brown ? ' ' Yes, indeed, sar. 
 There was great times down here when he come 
 to Harper's Ferry. The folks was all skeered to 
 death. They went from all round here to see 
 him hung.' ' Do you think he was a good man ? ' 
 ' Yes, sar, a mighty fine man.' 
 
 " All the slaves I have met with talk in much 
 the same way. I could fill pages with similar 
 conversations. It is a false notion that slaves are 
 contented if they are not beaten, and have enough 
 to eat. Liberty is just as sweet to them as it is to 
 us. I can say, from the bottom of my heart, may 
 we never come to any terms with the rebels till 
 this blot of slavery is wiped out. I, for one, 
 would be willing to stay here ten years, and en- 
 dure any amount of hardship, if at the end I 
 could see America truly free. If the war could 
 only accomplish this object, it seems as if I could 
 say, ' Now let thy servant depart in peace.' " 
 
 At the close of November, 1861, he wrote : 
 " I have been watching the tide of public opinion, 
 and I rejoice to see that the sentiments of Sum- 
 ner, Wilson, and Fremont are fast gaining 
 ground. Emancipation ! Blessed word ! I have 
 prayed for it; I came here to fight for it ; I am 
 ready to die for it. When I fii'st came here, they 
 said I was as bad as a secessionist ; and when I 
 indorsed all Charles Sumner said at Worcester, 
 they told me if I had such views I ought to have 
 staid at home. But I stood my ground fii-mly, and 
 spoke the honest convictions of my heart ; for I 
 know that Mr. Sumner is right, and that the right 
 will conquer at last. I have sometimes feared it 
 might not be in my day ; but I now feel that the 
 tide is setting strongly in the right direction. A 
 great change has been wrought within a few 
 months. I feel a stronger interest in the subject 
 than ever, since I have seen the poor slaves and 
 talked with them. No one that inquires of them 
 can have a doubt that they are longing for their 
 freedom. I know that they are expecting us to 
 free them, and are ready at a word to help us. 
 We have the power to do it ; why do we delay ? 
 The day will come when the Stars and Stripes will 
 wave over a country truly free ; that it may come 
 soon, is the earnest prayer of a poor soldier." 
 
 In Januaay, 1862, he wrote : " The other day, 
 in going out to the line of our pickets, which is 
 near to the rebels, I passed by a house where a 
 fine-looking colored lad, of seventeen, was hold- 
 ing a horse. He told me his master was in the 
 rebel army. He had taken all his money away 
 with him; but his mistress, who was a Union 
 woman, made heaps of money by selling victuals 
 to the United States soldiers, cooked by his 
 mother, who was one of her slaves. He said that 
 his mistress had a pass to go to the line of oui- 
 pickets whenever she liked, and that she wanted 
 to take him with her, to work for a man near our 
 outposts. I advised him not to go, lest it should 
 prove a trap. When I passed the house a fort- 
 night later, I saw the same lad chopping wood, 
 with a book peeping from his pocket. I asked 
 him what he did with it. He said he wanted 
 very much to learn to read, and that a little boy 
 
96 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 of six years was teaching him. What a picture 
 it would make — that poor slave learning his let- 
 ters of a little child six years old ! I wish I were 
 an artist, that I might paint it. In the course of 
 our short conversation, the lad told me he had 
 found out why his mistress wanted him to go to 
 our outposts to work for a man. She and her 
 husband had agreed upon a meeting near the 
 lines, and he wanted to take this young slave to 
 work for the rebel army. So much for this wo- 
 man's pretended Union sentiments ! The trouble 
 is, too much confidence is placed in the loyal pro- 
 fessions of these people. I am not surprised that 
 you are sometimes despondent concerning the 
 prospects of the country. I am also. O, Avhat a 
 chance is oft'ered us to make this a really free 
 country — a fitting home for the oppressed of all 
 nations ! Will this glorious opportunity be lost ? 
 If so, who will be accountable ? It surely M'ill 
 not be the poor soldiers, who, at their country's 
 call, have left home and families — all that was 
 near and dear to them. I have taken some 
 pains to find out the sentiments of those around 
 me, and, almost to a man, they say we can never 
 have permanent peace till slavery is abolished. 
 Here are two hundred thousand men ready to 
 go forth, at the toord, to victory or death, and I 
 believe they are generally desirous to see. Free- 
 dom to All, inscribed upon their banners. I will 
 not believe that the glorious opportunity is to 
 slip by us. Surely God will not permit it. He 
 hears the prayers of the poor slaves, and of those 
 M'ho have been working and prajing for them for 
 years. I still pray on, and hope on. I want to 
 do much ; but how can I do more than I am do- 
 ing ? I must perform my duty, and wait for the 
 wheels of Government to move. They seem to 
 move so slowly, that I long to put my shoulder 
 to the wheels and push them along. 
 
 " From appearances, I judge we shall have a 
 battle soon. When the time for action comes I 
 shall try to do my duty, God helping me. I have 
 written my views to you fully, that if it should be 
 my lot to fall in battle, you may know with what 
 feelings I go into the conflict. The extermination 
 of slavery, and freedom for all, tlii'ough the whole 
 length and breadth of the land, is the idea that 
 nerves my arm. May God give me strength ! 
 May victory be ours ! And through our efforts 
 may the millions now in bondage be able to pro- 
 claim to the world, ' Once we were Slaves, but 
 now we are all Free Men ! " ' 
 
 The expected battle was indefinitely postponed, 
 as we all know ; and the soldiers waited patiently 
 for the slow wheels to move. The last of July, 
 1862, six months later, after the seven days' bat- 
 tle before Richmond, followed by a retreat of the 
 United States army, Mr. Fuller wrote : " We 
 have been so hurried that I have had no time to 
 collect my thoughts until now. I was at Savage's 
 Station on Saturday, after the fight at Gaines' 
 Mill. All day I assisted in the care of the 
 wounded, some two thousand in number. May 
 I never see such dreadful sights again ! And to 
 think they had to be left to the mercy of the 
 
 rebels ! O, it was too painful ! But they were all 
 patient — not a murmur or complaint. What a 
 ' lesson it taught me ' ! 
 
 " Now we have a little rest ; and as I sit near 
 the banks of James River, my mind is busy with 
 reflections concerning the last five months. *I 
 need not speak of the great sacrifices of life and 
 property, of the recent bloody battles and the 
 defeat of our army : you knov/ it all. The thought 
 ever present to my mind is, AVhat have we accom- 
 plished by all our toil, and hardship, suff'ering, 
 and death ? Is freedom any nearer at hand ? Is 
 the nation even so strong as it was five months 
 ago ? What are our prospects for the future ? 
 The men are disheartened. It must be confessed 
 that something is wrong somewhere. Who is 
 responsible for this defeat? The people ought 
 to knoAV. The poor soldiers ought to know. 
 Let the truth be made known ! 
 
 " It is my firm conviction that if President 
 Lincoln had proclaimed emancipation at the 
 beginning of the war, the end would be much 
 nearer than it now is, and there would have been 
 far less expenditure of blood and treasure. 
 Emancipation is a strong word, but it must come 
 to that before we can have peace. I know I am 
 not competent to advise the President ; but these 
 are my honest convictions, confirmed day by day, 
 the more I see of this accursed system of slavery, 
 which is the cause of all our trouble. I am 
 teaching some slaves in our camp ; that is, they 
 we7'e slaves, but I pray to God they may never be 
 so again." 
 
 The next I heard from Mr. Fuller was that he 
 was wounded in the last battle at Bull Run. In 
 answer to my inquiries, he informed me, by an- 
 other hand, that he had been badly wounded in 
 the shoulder, but was doing well. He added, 
 "My consolation is, that I have done what I 
 could." 
 
 A week afterv.-ards, they told he was dead. I 
 thought of him as I last saw him, a healthy, 
 young man, full of life and hope. He had few 
 advantages for education in his youth, but his 
 remarks evinced good intelligence and a generous 
 heart. He left a wife and young children and 
 went into the army, not from the mere contagion 
 of public excitement, but from convictions of 
 duty, after deliberate reflection. 
 
 He was " only a private ; " his name is un- 
 known to fame ; but I honor his memory, as a 
 brave man, a true patriot, and, better still, a 
 friend to the whole human race, of all nations 
 and colors. It fills • my soul with sadness to 
 think of the last words he wrote to me : " Some- 
 thing is wrong, somewhere. The poor soldiers 
 ought to know." 
 
 Alas, thousands of poor, weary soldiers have 
 doubtless gazed on the rivers and hills of Vir- 
 ginia, while they asked themselves, despondingly, 
 " What has been accomplished by all our priva- 
 tions, toils and sufierings ? " Thousands of brave 
 young souls have passed away Avith heroic patience, 
 saying, " My consolation is, that I have done what 
 I could." L. Maria Child. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 97 
 
 LYON. 
 
 Sing, bird, on green Missouri's plain, 
 
 The saddest song of sorrow ; 
 Drop tears, O clouds, in gentlest rain 
 
 Ye from the winds can borrow; 
 Breathe out, ye winds, your softest sigh, 
 
 Weep, flowers, in dewy splendor, 
 For him who knew well how to die. 
 
 But never to surrender. 
 
 Up rose serene the August sun 
 
 Upon that day of glory ; 
 Up curled from musket and from gun 
 
 The war-cloud gray and hoary ; 
 It gathered like a funeral pall, 
 
 Now broken and now blended. 
 Where rang the buffalo's angry call, 
 
 And rank with rank contended. 
 
 Pour thousand men, as brave and true 
 
 As e'er went forth in daring, 
 Upon the foe that morning threw 
 
 The strength of their despairing. 
 They feared not death — men bless the field 
 
 That patriot soldiers die on — 
 Fair freedom's cause was sword and shield, 
 
 And at their head was Lyon ! 
 
 Their leader's troubled soul looked forth 
 
 From eyes of troubled brightness : 
 Sad soul ! the burden of the North 
 
 Had pressed out all its lightness. 
 He gazed upon the unequal fight, 
 
 His ranks all rent and gory. 
 And felt the shadows close like night 
 
 Round his career of glor3% 
 
 " General, come, lead us ! " loud the cry 
 
 From a brave band was ringing — 
 •' Lead us, and we will stop, or die, 
 
 That battery's awful singing." 
 He spurred to where his heroes stood. 
 
 Twice wounded, — no wound knowing, — 
 The fire of battle in his blood 
 
 And on his forehead glowing. 
 
 O, cursed for aye that traitor's hand, 
 
 And cursed that aim so deadly, 
 Which smote the bravest of the land, 
 
 And dyed his bosom redly ! 
 Serene he lay while past him pressed 
 
 The battle's furious billow. 
 As calmly as a babe may rest 
 
 Upon its mother's pillow. 
 
 So Lyon died ! and well may flowert 
 
 His place of bui'ial cover. 
 For never had this land of ours 
 
 A more devoted lover. 
 Living, his country was his bride ; 
 
 His life he gave her, dying ; 
 Life, fortune, love — he nought denied 
 
 To her and to her sighing. 
 
 Kest, Patriot, in thy hillside grave. 
 
 Beside her form who bore thee ! 
 Long may the land thou diedst to save 
 
 Her bannered stars wave o'er thee ! 
 Upon her history's brightest page, 
 
 And on Fame's glowing porta]> 
 She'll write thy grand, heroic page. 
 
 And grave thy name immortal ! 
 7 
 
 Befoke the Battle of Bethel. — Just as 
 we halted to start to the rear on hearing firing, 
 said Adjutant Stevens of the First Vermont, a 
 rebel scoundrel came out of a house and deliber- 
 ately fired his gun at us. The ball passed so 
 close to me that I heard it whiz — on its waj 
 going through the coat and pants, and just graz- 
 ing the skin of, Orderly Sergeant Sweet, of the 
 Woodstock company. The rascal was secured, 
 and is a prisoner ; and what was done, by way of 
 stern entertainment, to one of the F. F. V.'s, 
 you will hear if I ever live to return. I then, as 
 the firing to the rear had ceased, with revolver 
 in hand, accompanied by Fifer, approached the 
 fellow's house, having some expectation of an 
 ounce of lead being deposited in my tall body 
 without asking my permission. By this time all 
 our troops were out of sight in the woods, by a 
 turn in the road, and I was alone with Fifer, 
 when some negroes came fi'om the house, having 
 less fear of two men than of two thousand. On 
 inquiry, the slaves told me that Adjutant Whiting, 
 whom we had just taken prisoner, was the owner, 
 that he belonged to the secession army, and that 
 no white folks were in the house, all having left. 
 Without the ceremony of ringing, I entered and 
 surveyed the premises, and found a most elegantly 
 furnished house. I took a hasty survey in search 
 of arms, but, finding none, left the house, and 
 started to overtake our column. On reaching 
 the bend in the road, I took a survey of the rear, 
 to " see what I might see," and discovered a 
 single soldier coming towards me, and waited for 
 him to come up. I found it was Clark, of the 
 Bradford company. Before he reached me, I 
 observed a horseman coming at full speed towards 
 me. On reaching the house, he turned in, which 
 induced me to think him a secessionist. I ordered 
 Clark to cover him with his rifle, and revolver in 
 hand, ordered him to dismount and surrender. 
 He cried out, " Who are you ? " Answer, " Ver- 
 mont ! " " Then raise your piece, Vermont ; I 
 am Col. Duryea, of the Zouaves ; " and so it was. 
 His gay-looking red boys'just appeared turning 
 the corner of the road, coming towards us. He 
 asked me the cause of the firing in the rear, and 
 whose premises we were on. I told him he knew 
 the first as well as I did, but as to the last, could 
 give full information ; that the house belonged 
 to one Adjutant Whiting, who, just before, had 
 sent a bullet whizzing by me, and shot one of my 
 boys, and that my greatest pleasure would be to 
 burn the rascal's house in payment. " Your wish 
 will be gratified at once," said the Colonel. " I 
 am ordered by Gen. Butler to burn every house 
 whose occupant or owner fires upon our troops. 
 Burn it." He leaped from his horse, and I upon 
 the steps, and by that time three Zouaves were 
 with me. I ordered them to try the door with 
 the butts of their guns — down Avcnt the door, 
 and in went we. A well-packed travelling bag 
 lay upon a mahogany table. I tore it open with 
 the hopes of finding a revolver, but did not. The 
 first thing I took out was a white linen coat : I 
 laid it on the table, and Col. Duryea put a lighted 
 match to it. Other clothing was added to the 
 
98 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 pile, and soon we had a rousing fire. Before 
 leaving, I went into the large parlor in the right 
 wing of the house — it was perfectly splendid. 
 A large room with a tapestry carpet, a nice piano, 
 a fine library of miscellaneous books, rich sofas, 
 elegant chairs, with superior needle-work wrought 
 bottoms, whatnots in the corners, loaded with 
 articles of luxury, taste, and refinement, and 
 upon a mahogany centre-table laj' a Bible and a 
 lady's portrait. The last two articles I took, and 
 have them now in my possession. I also took a 
 decanter of most excellent old brandy from the 
 sideboard, and left the burning house. By this 
 time the Zouave regiment had come up. I joined 
 them, and in a short time came up with our rear 
 guard, and saw a sight, the like of which I wish 
 never to see again — viz.: nine of Col. Town- 
 send's Albany regiment stretched on the floor of 
 a house, where they had just been carried, and 
 eight of them mortally wounded, by our own men. 
 O, the sight was dreadful. I cried like a boy, 
 and so did many others. I immediately thought 
 of my decanter of brandy, took a tin cup from a 
 soldier and poured into it the brandy, and filled 
 it (the cup) with water from a canteen, and from 
 one poor boy to another I passed and poured into 
 their pale and quivering lips the invigorating 
 fluid, and with my hand wiped the sweat-drops 
 of death from their foreheads. O, how gratefully 
 the poor fellows looked at me as they saw^ by my 
 uniform, that the usually stern officer and com- 
 mander had become to them the kind and tender- 
 hearted woman, by doing for them woman's holy 
 duty. One strong fellow, wounded in the head, 
 and bloody as a butcher's floor, soon rallied, and 
 was able to converse with me. I asked him if he 
 knew the poor fellows around him. He said yes, 
 and pointing to one, he said, " That man stood at 
 my side — he was my section man — I saw his 
 gun fly out of his hands, being struck by a grape 
 shot, and a moment after we both tumbled to the 
 ground together." I went out and picked up an 
 Enfield rifle, nearly cut in two by a ball ; said he, 
 " That is his gun." I saw its owner die, and 
 brought the gun with me back to my camp, and 
 have it in my possession. 
 
 Music of the Port Royal Negroes. — 
 The editor of BioigliVs Journal of Music pub- 
 lished a letter from Miss Lucy McKira, of Phila- 
 delphia, accompanying a specimen of the songs 
 in vogue among the negroes about Port Royal. 
 Miss Mclvim accompanied her father thither on a 
 recent visit, and wrote as follows : 
 
 It is difficult to express the entire character of 
 these negro ballads by mere musical notes and 
 signs. The odd turns made in the throat, and 
 the curious rhythmic effect produced by single 
 voices chiming in at different irregular intervals, 
 seem almost as impossible to place on score as 
 the singing of birds or the tones of an u35olian 
 harp. The airs, however, can be reached. They 
 are too decided not to be easily understood, and 
 their -striking "originality would catch the ear of 
 
 any musician. Besides this, they are valuable as 
 an expression of the character and life of the 
 race which is playing such a conspicuous part in 
 our history. The wild, sad strains tell, as the 
 sufferers themselves never could, of crushed 
 hopes, keen sorrow, and a dull, daily misery 
 which covered them as hopelessly as the fog from 
 the rice-swamps. On the other hand, the words 
 breathe a trusting faith in rest in the future — 
 in " Canaan's fair and happy land," to whicli 
 their eyes seem constantly turned. 
 
 A complaint might be made against these songs 
 on the score of monotony. It is true there is a 
 great deal of repetition of the music, but that is 
 to accommodate the leader, who, if he be a good 
 one, is always an improvisator. For instance, on 
 one occasion, the name of each of our party who 
 was present was dexterously introduced. 
 
 As the same songs are sung at every sort of 
 work, of course the tempo is not always alike. 
 On the water, the oars dip " Poor Rosy " to an 
 even andante ; a stout boy and girl at the hom- 
 iny-mill will make the same " Poor Rosy " fly, to 
 keep up with the whirling stone ; and in the even- 
 ing, after the day's work is done, " Heab'n shall 
 a be my home " peals up slowly and mournfully 
 from the distant quarters. One woman — a re- 
 spectable house-servant, who had lost all but one 
 of her twenty-two children — said to me : 
 
 " Pshaw ! don't har to dese yar chil'en, missis. 
 Dey jest rattles it off; dey don't know how for 
 sing it. I likes ' Poor Rosy ' better dan all de 
 songs, but it can't be sung widout a full heart 
 and a troubled sperrit ! " 
 
 All the songs make good barcarolles. Whit- 
 tier "builded better than he knew," when he 
 wrote his " Song of the Negro Boatman." It 
 seemed wonderfully applicable as we were being 
 rowed across Hilton Head Harbor among United 
 States gunboats — the Wabasli and the Vermont 
 towering on either side. I thought the crew 
 must strike uj) : 
 
 " And massa tink it day ob doom, i 
 And we ob jubilee." 
 
 Perhaps the grandest singing we heard was at 
 the Baptist Church, on St. Helena Island, when a 
 congregation of thr^e hundred men and women 
 joined in a hymn : 
 
 " Roll, Jordan, roll, Jordan ! 
 Roll, Jordan, roll !" 
 
 It swelled forth like a triumphal anthem. That 
 same hymn Avas sung by thousands of negroes on 
 the Fourth of July last, when they marched in 
 procession under the Stars and Stripes, cheering 
 them for the flrst time as the " flag of our coun- 
 try." A friend, writing from there, says that the 
 chorus was indescribably grand — "that the 
 whole woods and world seemed joining in that 
 rolling sound." 
 
 There is much more in this new and curious 
 music of which it is a temptation to Avrite, but 
 I must remember that it can speak for itself 
 better than any one for it. 
 
 il 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 99 
 
 «« STONEWALL JACKSON'S WAY.' 
 
 Come, stack arms, men ! Pile on the rails, 
 
 Stir up the camp-fire bright ; 
 No matter if the canteen fails, 
 
 We'll make a roaring night. 
 Here Shenandoah brawls along, 
 There burly Blue Ridge echoes strong, 
 To swell the brigade's rousing song 
 
 Of »' Stonewall Jackson's way." 
 
 We see him now — the old slouched hat 
 
 Cocked o'er his e5''e askew, 
 The shrewd, dry smile, the speech so pat. 
 
 So calm, so blunt, so true. 
 The "Blue-Light Elder" knows 'em well ; 
 Says he, " That's Banks — he's fond of shell ; 
 Lord save his soul ! we'll give him " — Avell, 
 
 That's " Stonewall Jackson's waj'." 
 
 Silence ! ground arms ! kneel, all ! caps off ! 
 
 Old Blue-Light's going to pray. 
 Strangle the fool that dares to scoff ! 
 
 Attention ! it's his way. 
 Appealing from his native sod. 
 In forma pauperis to God — 
 " Lay bare thine arm, stretch forth thy rod ! 
 
 Amen ! " That's " Stonewall's way." 
 
 He's in the saddle now. Fall in ! 
 
 Steady, the whole brigade ! 
 Hill's at the ford, cut off — we'll win 
 
 His way out, ball and blade ! 
 What matter if our shoes are worn ? 
 What matter if our feet are torn ? 
 " Quick-step ! we're with him before dawn ! " 
 
 That's " Stonewall Jackson's way." 
 
 The sun's bright lances rout the mists 
 
 Of morning, and, by George ! 
 Here's Longstreet struggling in the lists, 
 
 Hemmed in an ugly gorge. 
 Pope and his Yankees, whipped before, 
 " Bay'nets and grape ! " near Stonewall roar ; 
 «« Charge, Stuart ! Pay off Ashby's score!" 
 
 Is " Stonewall Jackson's way." 
 
 Ah, maiden, wait, and watch, and yearn ' 
 For news of Stonewall's band ! ' a 
 
 Ah, widow, read, with eyes that burn, 
 That ring upon thy hand ! 
 
 Ah, wife, sew on, pray on, hope on ! 
 
 Thy life shall not be all forlorn. 
 
 The foe had better ne'er been born 
 That gets in <' Stonewall's way." 
 
 Who eaised the Flag at Yorktown ? — To 
 the Twenty-second Massachusetts regiment, Col. 
 Gove, and to the Twenty-second alone, belongs 
 the glory of first planting the American flag on 
 the works at Yorktown: of the truth of the 
 statement there is and can be no question. The 
 following brief account can be relied upon : 
 
 The day before the evacuation, Saturday, May 
 3d, the Twenty-second regiment received or- 
 ders to march to a position within one thousand 
 yards of the enemy's works. Spades were fur- 
 nished each man. We were then deployed on a 
 line six feet apart, and the order came : " Dig 
 for your lives." Considering that we were com- 
 
 pletely exposed to a direct fire in front, and to a 
 cross-fire from a water-battery stationed on the 
 opposite side of the river, you may readily be- 
 lieve we hastened to obey orders. Fortunately, 
 the enemy did not at once open fii'e, and our boys 
 had a chance to do some little digging before the 
 storm of ball and shell commenced ; but long be- 
 fore the pits were fully completed, their guns 
 were played upon us. Up to twelve o'clock, the 
 enemy had fired one hundred and seventy-five 
 shell and shot, and though none of our regiment 
 were killed or Avounded, there were many narrov/ 
 escapes. 
 
 Lieut. Stiles, commanding second company 
 sharpshooters, in the absence of Capt. Went- 
 worth, barely escaped being struck by a shell. 
 In order to be able to give his men due notice 
 when to dodge at the flash, he bravely and fear- 
 lessly exposed himself. In another case, one of 
 the men was entirely buried by a shell striking 
 the earth in front of the pit, and had actually to 
 be dug out by his comrades. 
 
 During the whole day our boys kept themselves 
 busy, while the sharpshooters took every chance 
 ofiered. When evening came, we were ordered 
 back to camp ; but before we had got fairly set- 
 tled, the rebels commenced shelling us again. A 
 piece of a shell struck the Adjutant's tent, and 
 buried itself a foot and a half in the ground. 
 The Adjutant and one of the surgeons were in 
 the tent at the time. At twelve o'clock our siege 
 guns commenced operations, and the enemy ceased 
 firing. The next morning at five o'clock, the 
 Twenty-second were ordered to go on picket duty 
 in front of the enemy's lines. 
 
 The regiment, having taken their position, soon 
 discovered that the Avorks were evacuated, and 
 at once marched forward and took possession. 
 There being no colors allowed with a regiment 
 on picket duty, Col. Gove immediately sent to 
 his camp for the American flag, and with his 
 own hands planted it on the works at York- 
 town. At this time there were no other regi- 
 ments, or parts of regiments, present under theii- 
 proper ofiicers; there were simply only a few 
 stragglers, who followed after the Twenty-sec- 
 ond. Col. Gove raised the flag, and was within 
 ten feet of the concealed shell, which exploded 
 and wounded seven of our men. 
 
 A Talk with a Rebel Picket in Missis- 
 SIPPL — A private of the Sixth Ohio regiment 
 gave the following lively sketch of campaigning 
 life: 
 
 I must record a little adventure, pleasing and 
 interesting, I had day before yesterday near 
 Corinth. My last spoke about the continued 
 firing between pickets. To such an extent was 
 it carried, so incessant the firing day and night, 
 that nothing short of a battle would alarm the 
 camp, whereas a single gun should be the signal 
 for the long-roll. But within the last three or 
 four days a change for the better has taken place. 
 
 On Monday our regiment was sent to the for- 
 tifications. It is the custom for the various 
 
100 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 battalions to take their turn in staying at the 
 breastworks for twenty-four hours, forming a 
 sort of reserve picket ; and from each regiment 
 so stationed two companies are sent to the out- 
 posts. It fell to our lot to go out. The com- 
 pany we relieved informed us that the rebels were 
 disposed to be friendly ; and with instructions 
 from the field-officer not to fire unless fired upon, 
 or the enemy attempted to advance, we set to 
 work to watch the movements of our neighbors. 
 The enemy's pickets were in the edge of a wood 
 about two hundred yards from us, and my post 
 — one of the best for observation — similarly 
 situated in another wood, with a level between 
 us. For some time we looked closely without 
 being able to see any of them, as they were 
 disposed to be shy. We, on the contrary, exposed 
 ourselves to their view, which had the effect of 
 making them bolder ; and occasionally a rebel 
 passed from one tree to another and levelled a 
 field-glass at us. 
 
 I waved a handkerchief, which was answered 
 from the other side, and tacitly understood to 
 mean no firing. An hour later one of our 
 Southern friends waved a handkerchief and 
 shouted: " Meet me half-way." "All right;" 
 and arming myself with a newspaper profusely 
 illustrated with pictures incidental to the capture 
 of New Orleans, I started out. A rebel surgeon 
 of the Third Tennessee was the individual who 
 met me. He was dressed in a citizen's suit of 
 black, with military buttons, and the rank of 
 captain -designated, not by shoulder-straps, but 
 by marks on the collar. After shaking hands 
 and exchanging the customary salutations, we 
 'proceeded to talk about the war. He was at 
 Fort Donelson, and made his escape the night 
 before the surrender ; spoke of the battle of 
 Shiloh, at which he assisted ; said it was theu" 
 intention to have made the attack on Saturday 
 instead of Sunday, but on account of a misunder- 
 standing between their generals the plan failed. 
 The number of deserters from his side appeared 
 to have a prominent place in his mind, which 
 he vainly endeavored to conceal. " Do you 
 have many deserters from your ranks ? " he com- 
 menced. I told him of only two cases which had 
 come under my notice for more than a year, 
 taking care to add that they ran home. He 
 wanted to know if many of their men came over 
 to us. I answered rather equivocally : " A few." 
 " How many ? " 
 
 Fearful now that if I told him the great number 
 that actually did come to us, the rebel leaders 
 would increase their vigilance, I merely said that I 
 had seen six, the number I had personally beheld. 
 " I guess they go the other way," he rejilied, 
 thereby acknowledging they suff'ered much from 
 desertion. Mr. Tennessee wanted to know why 
 we did not make the attack ; they were anxiously 
 waiting for us, and confident of victorj'. I said 
 that they could not be more eager for the bat- 
 tle, or more sui'e of success, than ourselves ; 
 that to us everything appeared to be ready ; 
 but we were not supposed to know Gen. Hal- 
 leck's plans. 
 
 We talked together some fifteen minutes, both 
 of us very wary about giving contraband infor- 
 mation. He was a gentlemanly, well-educated 
 man, apparently under thirty years of age, and 
 from Maury County, Tennessee. I gave him the 
 pictorial, and asked for a Memphis paper. He 
 had none, but promised to send me over one, 
 if he could procure it during the day. Before 
 parting, I remarked that it would be well to 
 make some agreement about picket firing, and 
 learned that they had received orders precisely 
 like oui's. 
 
 Gen. Garfield, who had the supervision of the 
 outposts, called me in ; so we again shook hands 
 and separated, leaving many things unsaid that 
 we would hke to have spoken about. Garfield 
 questioned me closely as to our conversation, and 
 seemed satisfied that it was all right. However, 
 being fearful that the rebels might learn something 
 from us if such intercourse was allowed, he 
 ordered us not to go out again, but to let any 
 rebel that wished it to come over all the way. 1 
 had reason to regret this very much, as in the 
 afternoon my friend, the doctor, came half way 
 with the promised paper. We gave him to 
 understand that it was against our orders to leave 
 the post, and if he would come all the way we 
 would do him no harm. He said he had a very 
 late paper, but could not be induced to come 
 farther than the neutral ground, and returned, 
 much to our disappointment. 
 
 After the interview of the morning all appre- 
 hension of danger from bullets from either side 
 was at an end, and the sentinels on both sides 
 paced their beats without so much as thinking 
 to seek cover. 
 
 OUR COUNTRY'S CALL. 
 
 BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT, 
 
 Lay down the axe, fling by the spade; 
 
 Leave in its track the toihng plough ; 
 The rifle and the bayonet blade 
 
 For arms like yours were fitter now ; 
 And let the hands that ply the pen 
 
 Quit the light task, and learn to wield 
 The horseman's crooked brand, and rein 
 
 The charger on the battle-field. 
 
 Our country calls ; away ! away ! 
 
 To where the blood-stream blots the green ; 
 Strike to defend the gentlest sway 
 
 That Time in all his course has seen. 
 See, from a thousand coverts — see 
 
 Spring the armed foes that haunt her track ; 
 They rush to smite her down, and we 
 
 ]\Iust beat the banded traitors back. 
 
 Ho ! sturdy as the oaks ye cleave, 
 
 And moved as soon to fear and flight, 
 Men of the glade and forest ! leave 
 
 Your woodcraft for the field of fight. 
 The arms that wield the axe must pour 
 
 An iron tempest on the foe ; 
 His serried ranks shall reel before 
 
 The arm that lays the panther low. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 101 
 
 And ye who breast the mountain storm, 
 
 By grassy steep or highland lake, 
 Conie, for the land ye love to form 
 
 A bulwark that no foe can break. 
 Stand, like your own gray cliflFs that mock 
 
 The whirlwind, stand in her defence : 
 The blast as soon shall move the rock 
 
 As rushing squadrons bear ye thence. 
 
 And ye, whose homes are by her grand, 
 
 Swift rivers, rising far away, 
 Come from the depth of her green land, 
 
 As mighty in your march as they, 
 As terrible as when the rains 
 
 Have swelled them over bank and bourn, 
 With sudden floods to drown the plains 
 
 And sweep along the woods uptorn. 
 
 And ye who throng, beside the deep. 
 
 Her ports and hamlets of the strand, 
 In number like the waves that leap 
 
 On his long, murmuring marge of sand. 
 Come, like that deep, when o'er his brim 
 
 He rises, all his floods to pour. 
 And flings the proudest barks that swim, 
 
 A helpless wreck, against his shore. 
 
 Few, few were they whose swords, of old. 
 
 Won the fair land in which we dwell ; 
 But we are many, we who hold 
 
 The grim resolve to guard it well. 
 Strike, for that broad and goodly land, 
 
 Blow after blow, till men shall see 
 That Might and Right move hand in hand, 
 
 And glorious must their triumph be. 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE FLORIDA. 
 
 Maffit's Account of his Adventures. — 
 Arriving in Brest, by way of Quimper and 
 Chateaulin, the first thing I heard on getting on 
 board the steamer Avhich navigates the picturesque 
 little river Eloi'n from the latter place to Brest, 
 was the arrival of the Confederate States cruiser 
 Florida ; and on crossing the glorious Rade de 
 Brest for the mouth of the harbor, I had no 
 difficulty in making out this uovir celebrated 
 vessel, as she lay at anchor among some of the 
 giants of the French navy — a long, low, black, 
 rakish-looking craft, not over smart in appearance, 
 yet useful, every inch of her — a pygmy among 
 these monsters, and yet a formidable pygmy, even 
 to the unpractised eye, the Palmetto flag flying 
 proudly from her mizzen. We happened to have 
 a French Vice-Admiral, a Russian Vice-x\dmiral, 
 and a Senator of the Empire on board ; and you 
 may imagine there was an infinity of gossip, but 
 no reliable information. 
 
 When we landed at the Cale in the harbor, the 
 crowd which usually assembles to welcome or 
 pester new comers was full of " La Floride " and 
 her doings. " EHe a," cried an enthusiastic 
 commissionaire to me, " die a, Monsieur, je vous 
 assure sur ma parole d'Iionneur,pres deux millions 
 de livres sterling a bord, tout en or, je vous 
 assure." "Eh! mon Dieu! c'est beaucouj)!" 
 cried a smait little mousse from the Turenne. I 
 
 could not help agreeing with the mousse that the 
 sum was certainly a great deal. 
 
 That evening (aided by my fellow-traveller, 
 Mr. Henry Tapper, Vice-Consul of France in 
 Guernsey, and one of the jurats of that island) 
 I found some of the officers of the Florida at the 
 Hotel de Nantes, (Rue d'Aiguillon.) Lieut. 
 Lingard Hoole (a young man, who apparently 
 did not number more than 23 years) received us 
 courteously, and gave us his card to assure us 
 admission on board. He stated, however, that 
 his superior officer, Capt. Maffit, was generally to 
 be found on board his vessel, and would be glad 
 to see us. The frankness, courtesy, and total 
 absence of boasting manifested by this young 
 officer, impressed us most favorably. 
 
 All next day it blew a gale of Mind in the 
 Rade, and we could not find a boat to venture 
 out. To-day, however, the weather was most 
 propitious, and early morning found us alongside 
 of the Florida. AVe sent our cards to Capt. 
 Maffit, and were immediately admitted on board, 
 the captain himself coming to the top of the 
 companion to receive us. Directly Capt. Maffit 
 understood that we were British subjects, he 
 invited us below into his little cabin, and when I 
 told him that there were many people in England 
 who regarded his career with great interest, he 
 entered very freely into a recital of his adventures. 
 
 I will here subjoin a copy of some notes Avhich 
 Capt. Maffit subsequently handed to me, relative 
 to the career of the Florida, promising, at the 
 same time, a continuation, which has not yet 
 arrived. They are as follows : 
 
 " The C. S. steamer Florida, Commander J. N. 
 Maffit. This steamer was built in Liverpool, and 
 sent to Nassau in April, 1862 ; was put in the 
 Admiralty Court ; cleared on the 6th of August, 
 when her present commander took charge with 
 18 men ; went to sea ; met her tender, and re- 
 ceived guns, &c. On the 16th of August the 
 yellow fever appeared on board, and Capt. Maffit 
 had to perform surgeon's duty, until necessity 
 forced the vessel into Cardenas. There she lost 
 nearly all her crew, her paymaster, and third 
 engineer. She ran the blockade off" Havana, in 
 and out, and on the 4th of September appeared 
 off Mobile. The entire blockading fleet put after 
 her. Capt. Maffit was brought up from a bed of 
 sickness (yellow fever) to take her in. For 2 
 hours and 48 minutes she was under a close fire. 
 All the crew were sent below, and the officers 
 only remained on deck, for she had but 1 1 men 
 on duty, and her guns were not furnished with 
 rammers, quoins, beds, or sights ; in fact, she 
 was almost helpless. Three heavy shots struck 
 her hull. One shell struck her amidships, and 
 passed through, killing one man and wounding 
 seven. Her standing rigging was shot away, 
 and some 1500 shi-apnel shot struck her hull 
 and masts." 
 
 So far the notes which Capt. Maffit has as yet 
 found time to send me. Of the Captain himself; 
 I may say that he is a slight, middle-sized, well- 
 knit man, of about forty-two ; a merry-looking 
 man, witli a ready, determined air, full of life 
 
102 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 and business ; apparently the sort of man who is 
 equally ready for a fight or a jollification, and 
 whose preference for the latter would by no means 
 interfere with his creditable conduct of the former. 
 His plainly furnished little state-room looked as 
 business-like as a merchant's office. The round 
 table in the centre was strewn with books and in- 
 numerable manuscripts, and on the shelves were 
 formidable looking rows of account books, charts, 
 &c. I may observe of the cabm, as of every part 
 of the Florida, that none of it appears to have 
 been built for ornament — all for use. " You see," 
 said the Captain, pointing to the heaps of papers, 
 letters on files, account books, &c., which liter- 
 ally littered the table, — " you see I've no sinecure 
 of it. Since my paymaster died, I've had to be 
 my own paymaster. There's a young man named 
 Davis (no relation to our President) who does 
 paymaster's duty ; but he's not yet quite up to 
 the work." 
 
 Capt. Maflit forthwith began an animated re- 
 cital of his career and adventures. He is forty- 
 two years old, and is the oldest officer on board. 
 All the officers were born in the Confederate 
 States, and most of them Avere officers in the 
 United States Navy before the outbreak of the 
 war. The oldest of the officers is not more than 
 twenty-three. The men are more mixed. There 
 are about one hundred able seamen on board the 
 Florida, and about thirteen officers. Four fine 
 fellows are from the neighborhood of Brest. 
 Capt. Maffit says that he has hardly ever taken a 
 prize but what some of the crcM' of the prize have 
 come forward to say, " Should like to serve with 
 you, sir." Generally speaking, he has to refuse ; 
 but sometimes, when he sees a very likely fellow, 
 he takes him on. 
 
 Capt. Maffit was a Lieutenant of the United 
 States Navy before the outbreak, and in that 
 capacity distinguished himself greatly. In 1858, 
 he commanded the brig Dolphin, when he cap- 
 tured the slaver Echo, with four hundred slaves 
 on board, and took her into Charleston. For 
 this feat his health was drank at a public dinner 
 at Liverpool ; and it is a curious fact, for those 
 who maintain that the civil war in America is 
 founded upon the slave question, that the com- 
 mander of this important Confederate cruiser, 
 should be the very man who has distinguished 
 himself actively against the slave trade. In 1859, 
 Capt. Maffit commanded the United States steam- 
 er Crusader, and captured four slavers. 
 
 The Captain had a great deal to say about his 
 successful feat at Mobile. In his opinion, it has 
 been the greatest naval feat of modern times. 
 He dwelt long and warmly upon the incidents of 
 the affair, and pointed proudly to the marks of 
 shrapnel, which are numerous enough, upon the 
 masts and smoke-stacks. The Florida was struck 
 with three heavy shots on the occasion, and one 
 can easily perceive in the side of the ship Avhere 
 the mischief caused by the 1 1-iuch shell has been 
 repaired. The Florida made no endeavor to re- 
 ply tothe fire which she received, the sea running 
 too high to admit of steady aim, and her small 
 crew being too much occupied in the management 
 
 of the ship. The Captain showed us a water- 
 color sketch (very well di'awn by one of the mid- 
 shipmen) of the Florida running the blockade. 
 It would not have disgraced a professional artist. 
 
 The only broadside which the Florida has fired 
 in anger was against the Ericsson, an armed 
 merchantman, which she encountered some forty 
 miles from New York. The Ericsson, a very 
 large vessel, did not reply, but made the best of 
 her way off, and succeeded in escaping. When 
 they ventured within forty miles of New York, 
 they did not know that the arrival of the Tacony, 
 one of their ' outfits,' had put the New Yorkers 
 on their guard, and they soon found that there 
 were about seventy armed vessels out searching 
 for them, and so were glad to retreat. " We 
 never seek a fight," said Capt. Maffit, " and we 
 don't avoid one. You see, we've only two ves- 
 sels against fifteen hundred; so we should stand a 
 poor chance. Our object is merely to destroy 
 their commerce, so as to bring about a peace. We 
 have taken altogether seventy-two prizes, and es- 
 timate the value at about fifteen million dollars. 
 The Jacob Bell alone was worth two million one 
 hundred thousand dollars." The Captain exhib- 
 ited a book in which all the prizes were regularly 
 entered, and all particulars relating thereto. He 
 explained that their mode of procedure was to 
 burn and destroy the property of the Northern 
 States wherever they found it. I asked if they 
 took gold and precious articles, and the reply was, 
 " Pretty quick, when Ave get them." 
 
 The papers of the burned prizes are all kept, 
 and a valuation is made before the destruction 
 of the vessels, in the expectation that when peace 
 is restored, the Confederate Government will make 
 an appropriation of money equivalent to the claims 
 of the cajitors. In consequence of this arrange- 
 ment there is very little actual treasure on board the 
 Florida ; the officers and crew are working mainly 
 on the faith of the future independence and sol- 
 vency of the Confederacy. '* Any way," said 
 Capt. Maffit, " we have cost the Government very 
 little, for we've lived on the enemy ; O, yes, we've 
 served them out beautifully." In reply to some 
 questions as to the method of capture, the Cap- 
 tain said, " We only make war with the United 
 States Government, and Ave respect little prop- 
 erty. We treat prisoners of Avar with the great- 
 est respect. Most of those whom Ave have cap- 
 tured have spoken Avell of us. To be sure, Ave 
 have met Avith some ungrateful rascals ; but you 
 meet Avith those all the Avorld over. The best 
 prize Ave took Avas the Anglo-Saxon, Avhich Ave 
 took in the English Channel, the other day, in 
 mid channel, about sixty miles from Cork. She 
 had coal on board, and Ave burned her. 
 
 " The pilot Avas a saucy fellow, and maintained 
 that he Avas on his piloting ground. He insisted 
 on being landed in an English port ; but Ave could 
 not do that. I brought him and tAventy-four men 
 hei'e, (to Brest,) and sent them to the English 
 Consul. If the pilot has any just claim upon us, 
 it Avill be settled by the Confederate Government. 
 That's not my business. My business is to take 
 care of the ship." 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 103 
 
 When the Florida came into Brest, she had 
 been at sea eight months without spending more 
 than four entire days in port. Before entering 
 the port of Brest, she had not been more than 
 twenty-four hours in any one port, although she 
 had visited Nassau, Bermuda, Pernambuco, and 
 Sierra (Brazil). " Yes, indeed, sii-," said the Cap- 
 tain, " two hundred and forty-five days upon 
 solid junk, without repairs or provisions." During 
 all this time, they have only lost fifteen men, in- 
 cluding those who were killed and wounded at 
 Mobile, the paymaster, (who died of consumption,) 
 and one officer who was accidentally di-owned. 
 They have come into Brest to repair the engines, 
 which are somewhat out of order, the shaft being 
 quite out of line. The Emperor has given orders 
 that the Florida is to be admitted into the port 
 for all necessary repairs, and is to be supplied 
 with everything she may require except munitions 
 of war. 
 
 In the course of conversation, Capt. Maffit gave 
 me an account of what he called the " outfits " 
 of the Florida. These have been three in num- 
 ber. The Clarence was captured oft' Pernambuco 
 on the 5th of May, and Lieut. Reed was put on 
 board with twenty men and one gun. These 
 were afterwards changed to the Tacony, a better 
 vessel, which was captured shor.tly after, and (to 
 borrow Capt. Maffit's expression) " she captured 
 right and left." Finally, she took the revenue 
 cutter off Portland harbor. The other "fit-out" 
 was the Lapwing, on board of which Lieut. Av- 
 rett was put to cruise on the equator. He made 
 several captures, and has now returned to his 
 ship. 
 
 Capt. Maffit showed us over his ship, which 
 was in pretty good order, considering the eight 
 months' almost interrupted cruise, and he pre- 
 sented us both with a photographic picture of 
 her, which was taken at Bermuda. The Florida 
 mounts only eight guns — six 48-pounders of the 
 Blakeley pattern, made at Low Moor, and stern 
 and bow chasers. 
 
 On taking our leave, I asked Capt. Maffit 
 whether he expected to be intercepted on leaving 
 Brest, pointing at the same time to the Goulet, 
 the narrow passage which afi'ords the only ingress 
 and egress to and from the Rade. " AVell," re- 
 plied he, *' I expect there will be seven or eight 
 of them out there before long, but I'm not 
 afraid. I've run eight blockades already, and 
 it'll go hard but I'll run the ninth." 
 
 BATTLE-HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC. 
 
 BY MRS. JULIA WARD HOWE. 
 
 Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the 
 
 Lord: 
 He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes 
 
 of wrath are stored ; 
 He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible 
 
 swift sword : 
 
 His truth is marching on. 
 
 I have seen him in the watch-fires of a hundred cir- 
 cling camps ; 
 
 They have builded him an altar in the evening dews 
 and damps ; 
 
 I have read his righteous sentence by the dim and 
 flaring lamps : 
 
 His day is marching on. 
 
 I have read a fiery gospel wi-it in burnished rows 
 
 of steel : 
 " As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my 
 
 grace shall deal ; 
 Let the Hero, born of Avoman, crush the serpent 
 
 with his heel, 
 
 Since God is marching on." 
 
 He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never 
 call retreat ; 
 
 He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judg- 
 ment seat ; 
 
 O, be swift, my soul, to answer him ! be jubilant, 
 my feet ! 
 
 Our God is marching on. 
 
 In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across 
 
 the sea. 
 With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you 
 
 and me : 
 As he died to make men holy, let us die to make 
 
 men free, 
 
 While God is marching on. 
 
 Incidents of Vicksburg. — In the action 
 which occurred on the twenty-ninth day of De- 
 cember, 1862, but two divisions — those of Mor- 
 gan's and Steele's — were generally and closely 
 engaged. A portion of Smith's division made 
 some advance under a terrible fire, in which the 
 gallant Sixth Missouri were most actively en- 
 gaged. This regiment crossed the levee, which 
 had been occupied by the enemy as an earth- 
 work, and was still, after being crossed, com- 
 manded by the enemy's cannon. It, however, 
 led to an advance upon Smith's line, but Avithout 
 any positive advantage to us. From certain 
 points on the new line thus made, Vicksburg 
 could be seen. Tlie movements of the rebel 
 troops in the city, and some portions of Vicks- 
 burg, were clearly and fairly in view. It was 
 tempting to look straight in upon the beleaguered 
 city, and still know that its occupation was im- 
 probable, if not impossible. But so it was, and 
 the Union troops lay down upon their arms on 
 the night of the twenty-ninth with anxious hearts 
 and high hopes that something might occur to 
 make it practicable. The night of the twenty- 
 ninth passed, and the morning dawned Avithout 
 any new development being made, except that 
 the enemy assumed a threatening position with 
 their artillery. It v,^s evidently his intention to 
 shell the camp. It having rained incessantly 
 during the night, and the men having been ex- 
 posed to it all, it was deemed advisable to place 
 them in such a position that they would not be 
 exposed to the enemy's cannon, and where they 
 could examine their ammunition and clean their 
 rusted arms, preparatory to further operations. 
 
104 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 In the mean time, the front was to be held firmly, 
 and heavier artillery was to be placed in position 
 behind earth-works. The threatening prepara- 
 tions in front deterred the enemy from shelling 
 the camps, and put him on his guard, for offen- 
 sive operations on our part. Wednesday was 
 occupied by both armies, in the presence of each 
 other, throwing up new Avorks, digging new pits, 
 preparing for operations offensive and defensive. 
 During tlie afternoon of Tuesday, the cries of our 
 wounded could be heard, and an impromptu ef- 
 fort was made to recover them by a flag of truce. 
 Being irregular, and perhaps not authorized, and 
 occasional skirmishes still going on, the flag was 
 fired on by the enemy. The wounded and dead 
 of Thayer's and Blair's brigades had to lie there 
 and await the tedious process of oflicial commu- 
 nication. This is one of the most horrible pic- 
 tures which a battle-field presents, but frequently 
 is unavoidable. It seems to have been so in this 
 instance. While a tear here and there was 
 dropped for the dying and the dead, still the great 
 purpose of the expedition was not accomplished, 
 and generally our army looked forward to watch 
 future movements. 
 
 Wednesday morning came, and still no change 
 from Tuesday. _ The front was kept up by Smith's 
 and Morgan's divisions, while Steele's division lay 
 along Chickasaw Bayou, ready to meet the enemy 
 if they should make a deployment in that direc- 
 tioii. Everything was quiet on the line, and this 
 being a favorable opportunity, a flag of truce was 
 sent to the enemy for the purpose of recovering 
 and attending to our dead and wounded. The 
 flag was duly recognized, the message was re- 
 ■ ceived and was answered, allowing us four hours 
 to bury our dead. The cessation of hostilities 
 consequent to the removal of the dead and 
 wounded, gave the sharpshooters and pickets 
 an opportunity to converse with each other. The 
 conversation was opened by our pickets, by ask- 
 ing : " How far is it to Vicksburg ? " 
 
 liebel Picket. — So far that you'll never git 
 thar. 
 Federal. — Hoav many men you got ? 
 Rebel. — Enough to clean you out. 
 One rebel, -who seemed to be somewhat of a 
 stumper, said that "Banks had been whipped 
 out at Port Hudson, that Memphis had been re- 
 taken, and that the Yankees would not take 
 Vicksburg till hell froze over." A thousand 
 questions were asked, and all answered in the 
 same defiant way. 
 
 While this interesting parley was going on, 
 the wounded and dead were removed. In a very 
 short time the field was cleared, and everything 
 was again quiet on the lines. 
 
 The camps were soon astir again ; orderlies 
 and aids were galloping to and from the various 
 division and brigade headquarters; of course it 
 could be interpreted to mean nothing else than 
 further orders. The critical and trying position 
 of our army lent an additional interest to orders. 
 They were important, for Steele's division was 
 ordered to make a night assault on Haines' 
 Bluff, while the other division commanders were 
 
 to hold their fronts firm and advance, if they 
 could, while Steele was storming the enemy's 
 works at Haines' Bluff. The movement prepara- 
 tory to this was, for Steele to mask his division 
 from the enemy's lookouts by marching down 
 Chickasaw Bayou to the river, put his troops on 
 board the transports, and steam quietly up the 
 Yazoo, and before daylight debark his troops un- 
 der the enemy's guns at Haines' Bluff. In this 
 matter the gunboat and mortar fleets were to 
 ])lay an important ])art. The river was lined 
 with torpedoes, and it was necessary to clear it 
 out before the transports could go up. This be- 
 ing accomplished, they were to take a position 
 further up the river from the point of debarka- 
 tion, and engage the batteries, while the troops 
 should advance to the Bluffs. During the day, 
 the boilers of the steamboats designated for the 
 hazardous business were protected by baleg of 
 hay and otherwise. Pilots and river men were 
 shaky, and anxiously inquired what it meant. 
 No information was imparted, as the whole plan 
 was to be kept strictly secret. 
 
 A Brave Drummer-Boy. — Orion P. Howe, 
 
 of Waukegan, Illinois, drummer-boy to the Fif- 
 ty-fifth Volunteers of that State, was appointed 
 to fill a vacancy in the Naval School at Newport. 
 The following extract from a letter, written by 
 Major-General Sherman to Secretary Stanton, 
 detailing an incident which transpired during the 
 assault upon the rebel works at Vicksburg, on 
 May 19th, doubtless secured the boy's promo- 
 tion : 
 
 " When the assault at Vicksburg was at its 
 height on the 19th of May, and I was in front 
 near the road which formed my line of attack, 
 this young lad came up to me wounded and 
 bleeding, with a good, healthy boy's cry : ' Gen. 
 Sherman, send some cartridges to Col. Malm- 
 borg ; the men are nearly all out.' ' What is the 
 matter, my boy ? ' ' They shot me in the leg, sir, 
 but I can go to the hospital. Send the cartridges 
 right away.' Even where we stood, the shot fell 
 thick, and I told him to go to the rear at once, I 
 would attend to the cartridges, and ofl' he limped. 
 Just before he disappeared on the hill, he turned 
 and called as loud as he could : ' Calibre 54.' I 
 have not seen the lad since, and his Colonel, 
 Malmborg, on inquiry, gives me his addi'ess as 
 above, and says he is a bright, intelligent boy, 
 with a fair preliminary education. 
 
 " What ai-rested my attention then was, and 
 what renews my memory of the fact now is, that 
 one so young, carrying a musket-ball wound 
 through his leg, should have found his way to 
 me on that fatal spot, and delivered his message, 
 not forgetting the very important part even of 
 the calibre of his musket, 54, which you know is 
 an unusual one. 
 
 " I'll warrant that the boy has in him the ele- 
 ments of a man, and I commend him to the Gov- 
 ernment as one worthy the fostering care of some 
 one of its national institutions." 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 105 
 
 Col. Ellsworth's last Speech. — " Boys, no 
 doubt you felt surprised on hearing my orders to 
 be in readiness at a moment's notice, but I will 
 explain all as far as I am allowed. Yesterday 
 forenoon I understood that a movement was to 
 be made against Alexandria. Of course, I was 
 on the qui vice. I went to see Gen. Mansfield, 
 the commander at Washington, and told him that 
 I should consider it as a personal aflront if he 
 would not allow us to have the right of the line, 
 which is our due, as the first volunteer regiment 
 sworn in for the war. All that I can tell you is 
 to prepare yourselves for a nice little sail, and, 
 at the end of it, a skirmish. Go to your tents, 
 lie down, and take your rest till two o'clock, when 
 the boat will arrive, and we go forward to victory 
 or death. When we reach the place of destina- 
 tion, act as men ; do nothing to shame the regi- 
 ment; show the enemy that you are men, as well 
 as soldiers, and that 30U will treat them with 
 kindness until they force you to use violence. I 
 want to kill them with kindness. Go to your 
 tents, and do as I tell you." 
 
 Adventukes in the South. — Lieut. F. 
 Perry and private William P. Pugh, of the Third 
 West Tennessee cavalry were out on recruiting 
 service, and were captured on the 7th of Octo- 
 ber, 1863, after a skirmish with Faulkner's and 
 Wilson's partisans, near Como, some sixty miles 
 from Paducah. Mr. Pugh had previously been 
 captured by, and had made his escape from, the 
 same parties ; and being a Tennesseean, was sub- 
 jected to some severities. His captors declared 
 he should not again escape, and exercised unu- 
 sual vigilance in conducting their prisoners south- 
 ward. 
 
 They were forced to walk from the place of 
 capture to Gadsden, Alabama, on the Coosa Riv- 
 er, and were conveyed thence by boat to Rome, 
 Georgia, where they took cars for Atlanta, and, 
 subsequently, for Richmond. Thirty miles east 
 of Raleigh, North Carolina, they jumped from 
 the cars, made their way to AVashington, where 
 they were received inside the Federal lines, and 
 thence sent north to join their comrades, who 
 still supposed them in Libby Prison. 
 
 They suflered great privations on the march 
 from Como to Gadsden, particularly after cross- 
 ing the Tennessee River. In the Tuscumbia Val- 
 ley they were three days without anything to eat, 
 their captors stating that the Yankees had been 
 there and destroyed all supplies. At Decatur 
 they paid twenty-five cents an ear for corn, 
 which was their sole sustenance the greater part 
 of the march. They were compelled to make 
 forced marches by by-roads, and through an un- 
 frequented country, as Sherman was at Tuscum- 
 bia, and the rebels anticipated that he would 
 turn south, and advance in the direction of 
 Gadsden. Several times the prisoners heard his 
 cannon, and fondly hoped for rescue. There was 
 great scarcity of provisions wherever they went, 
 and Confederate money was at an enormous dis- 
 count. At Decatur, a woman offered a chicken- 
 
 pie for sale, for which she wanted one dollar in 
 silver or greenbacks. She refused to sell it for 
 Confederate money, though ten dollars were of- 
 fered. At Gadsden, the prisoners found a con- 
 siderable number of rebel conscripts, who, when- 
 ever their officers and guards were not by, told 
 them they were Union men, and would escape on 
 the fii-st opportunity. They generally manifested 
 their sympathy for the boys by slipping a roll of 
 Confederate bills into their hands, and saying 
 they were sorry there was not more of it. 
 
 Here the prisoners found Confederate Lieu- 
 tenants and other subordinate officers engaged 
 in selling pies to Yankee prisoners. These pies 
 were made of sweet potatoes, without sugar or 
 shortening in the crust, and were peddled in bas- 
 kets, after the fashion we see at railroad stations. 
 A Colonel of an Alabama regiment, at Gadsden, 
 sent a sack of corn, which he tried to sell them 
 for greenbacks. Everywhere there was a de- 
 mand for Uncle Sam's money, which was hoarded 
 as carefully as silver and gold, and kept out of 
 circulation. 
 
 At Rome the prisoners saw a considerable 
 body of Georgia State militia. They were mostly 
 boys under sixteen, and old men over forty-five, 
 badly clothed, and poorly disciplined, but well 
 armed. Mr. Perry, who was placed on his parole 
 of honor, says that at Augusta, Georgia, he saw 
 an immense pile of cotton, covering an area of 
 perhaps one acre, and piled higher than any build- 
 ing in Cincinnati. There were also considerable 
 quantities at Atlanta, but none that he saw at 
 Rome. 
 
 They were detained at Atlanta some ten days, 
 before starting for Richmond. At Columbia, 
 South Carolina, they Jbund that Charleston 
 money was absolutely valueless ; nobody would 
 take it ; the reason being assigned that the city 
 might at any day fall into Federal hands, and 
 then the currency would be worth nothing. Be- 
 tween Atlanta and Raleigh they saw no organ- 
 ized bodies of Confederate troops, and very little 
 material out of which to make them. The re- 
 st)urces of the countrj^, in that respect, seemed to 
 have been thoroughly exhausted. 
 
 When they left Raleigh for Richmond, a plan 
 of escape was arranged between Messrs. Perry, 
 Pugh, and John Carr, of the First ISIissouri Ar- 
 tillery, who was formerly chief clerk, at Corinth, 
 for Gen. Carr. About three o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, being about thirty miles from Ptaleigh, on 
 the Weldon road, the three leaped from the caa-, 
 and plunged into the forest. They made as near 
 south-east as they could, guided by the stars and 
 the course of the clouds, concealing themselves 
 by day. 
 
 They did not venture near any settlement or 
 plantation, till forced to do so by excessive hun- 
 ger, and one night ventured to arouse the in- 
 mates of a negro cabin, who were very inquisitive, 
 and would not commit themselves until satisfied 
 they were real Yankees, which was decided by an 
 old negro, who felt Mr. Perry's cavalry jacket, 
 and declared it was too fine for a rebel's. Then 
 they were treated with great hospitality, and 
 
106 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 feasted on corn bread and " possum," and sub- 
 jected to a great deal of questioning. 
 
 Among other things, the patriarch of the cabin 
 wanted to know whether they "hab seen Mr. 
 Linkum," and under the impression that they 
 had left his presence but a short time, affection- 
 ately inquired after his health. "An' dere's 
 anodder man," said tire darkey, " dey call him 
 Mr. Britain — hab you seen him ? " The Yankees 
 were puzzled. " Ole massa," said the darkey, ex- 
 plaining, "call him Mr. Great Britain, an' says 
 he's on his side, an' some saj's he's on yom-n." 
 The Yankees " took," said they knew him, and 
 that he was Avell ; and having satisfied the curi- 
 osity qf their hospitable entertainers and then.- 
 own hunger, took up their march for Washington, 
 
 They met no Confederate soldiers until within 
 some five miles of Washington, and there they 
 narrowly escaped capture, running into their 
 pickets twice, and being fired on once, at which 
 time they lost sight of Carr, whom they supposed 
 to have been killed or captured, and they heard 
 no more of him. They arrived at Washington al- 
 most naked, foot-sore, and exhausted, having 
 been ten days wandering about the country. 
 
 ON BOARD THE CUMBERLAND. 
 
 March 7, 1862. 
 
 BY GEORGE H. BOKER. 
 
 " Stand to your guns, men ! " Morris cried. 
 
 Small need to pass the word ; 
 Our men at quarters ranged themselves 
 
 Before the drum was heard. 
 
 And then began the sailors' jests : 
 
 " What thmg is that, I say r " 
 "A long-shore meeting-house adrift 
 
 Is standing down the bay ! " 
 
 A frown came over Morris' face ; 
 
 The strange, dark craft he knew ; 
 "That is the iron Merrimac, 
 
 Manned by a rebel crew. 
 
 " So shot your guns, and point them straight ; 
 
 Before this da)-^ goes by, 
 We'll try of what her metal's made." 
 
 A clieer was our reply. 
 
 " Remember, boys, this flag of ours 
 
 Has seldom left its place ; 
 And where it falls, the deck it strikes 
 
 Is covered with disgrace. 
 
 " I ask but this : or sink or swim, 
 
 Or live or nobly die. 
 My last sight upon earth may be 
 
 To see that ensign fly ! " 
 
 Meanwhile, the shapeless iron mass 
 
 Came moving o'er the wave, 
 As gloomy as a passing hearse, 
 
 As silent as the grave. 
 
 Her ports were closed ; from stem to stern 
 
 No sigii of life appeared. 
 We wondered, questioned, strained our eyes, 
 
 Joked — everything but feared. 
 
 She reached our range. Our broadside rang, 
 
 Our heavy pivots roared ; 
 And shot and shell, a fire of hell. 
 
 Against her sides we poured. 
 
 God's mercy ! from her sloping roof 
 
 The iron tempest glanced. 
 As hail bounds from a cottage-thatch, 
 
 And round her leaped and danced. 
 
 Or when against her dusky hull 
 
 We struck a fair, full blow, 
 The mighty, solid iron globes 
 
 Were crumbled up like snow. 
 
 On, on, with fast increasing speed, 
 
 The silent monster came. 
 Though all our starboard battery 
 
 Was one long line of flame. 
 
 She heeded not ; no gun she fired ; 
 
 Straight on our bow she bore ; 
 Through riving plank and crashing frame 
 
 Her furious way she tore. 
 
 Alas ! our beautiful keen bow. 
 
 That in the fiercest blast 
 So gently folded back the seas. 
 
 They hardly felt we passed ! 
 
 Alas ! alas ! my Cumberland, 
 
 That ne'er knew grief before, 
 To be so gored, to feel so deep 
 
 The tusk of that sea-boar ! 
 
 Once more she backward drew a space, 
 
 Once more our side she rent ; 
 Then, in the wantonness of hate, 
 
 Her broadside through us sent. 
 
 The dead and dying round us lay, 
 
 But our foemen lay abeam ; 
 Her open port-holes maddened us ; 
 
 We fired with shout and scream. 
 
 We felt our vessel settling fast, 
 
 We knew our time was brief ; 
 "The pumps ! the pumps ! " But they who 
 pumped, 
 
 And fought not, wept with grief. 
 
 " O, keep us but an hour afloat ! 
 
 O, give us only time 
 To be the instruments of Heaven 
 
 Against the traitors' crime ! " 
 
 From captain down to powder-boy 
 
 No hand was idle then ! 
 Two soldiers, but by chance aboard, 
 
 Fought on like sailor-men. 
 
 And when a gun's crew lost a hand. 
 
 Some bold marine stepped out, 
 And jerked his braided jacket ofl". 
 
 And hauled the gun about. 
 
 Our forward magazine was drowned ; 
 
 And up from the sick bay 
 Crawled out the wounded, red with blood. 
 
 And round us gasping lay. 
 
 Yes, cheering, calling us by name, 
 
 Struggling with failing breath, 
 To keep their shipmates at the post 
 
 Where glory strove with death. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 107 
 
 With decks afloat, and powder gone. 
 
 The last broadside we gave 
 From the guns' heated iron lips 
 
 Burst out beneath the wave. 
 
 So sponges, rammers, and handspikes — 
 
 As men-of-war' s-men should — 
 We placed within their proper racks. 
 
 And at our quarters stood. 
 
 " Up to the spar-deck ! save yourselves ! " 
 Cried Selfridge. " Up, my men ! 
 
 God grant that some of you may live 
 To fight yon ship again ! " 
 
 AVe turned — we did not like to go ; 
 
 Yet staying seemed but vain, 
 Knee-deep in water ; so we left ; 
 
 Some swore, some groaned with pain. 
 
 We reached the deck. There Randall stood : 
 
 " Another turn, men — so ! " 
 Calmly he aimed his pivot-gun : 
 
 " Now, Tenny, let her go ! " 
 
 It did our sore hearts good to hear 
 
 The song our pivot sang. 
 As rushing on, from wave to wave. 
 
 The whirring bomb-shell sprang. 
 
 Brave Randall leaped upon the gun. 
 
 And waved his cap in sport ; 
 •< Well done ! well aimed"! I saw that shell 
 
 Go through an open port." 
 
 It was our last, our deadliest shot ; 
 
 The deck was overflown ; 
 The poor ship staggered, lurched to port. 
 
 And gave a living groan, 
 
 Down, down, as headlong through the waves 
 
 Our gallant vessel rushed, 
 A thousand gurgling watery sounds 
 
 Around my senses gushed. 
 
 Then I remember little more. 
 
 One look to heaven I gave. 
 Where, like an angel's wing, I saw 
 
 Our spotless ensign wave. 
 
 I tried to cheer. I cannot say 
 
 Whether I swam or sank ; 
 A blue mist closed around my eyes, 
 
 And everything was blank. 
 
 When I awoke, a soldier lad, 
 
 All dripping from the sea. 
 With two great tears upon his cheeks, 
 
 Was bending over me. 
 
 I tried to speak. He understood 
 
 The wish I could not speak. 
 He turned me. There, thank God ! the flag 
 
 Still fluttered at the peak ! 
 
 And there, while thread shall hang to thread, 
 
 0, let that ensign fly ! 
 The noblest constellation set 
 
 Against our northern sky. 
 
 A sign that we who live may claim 
 
 The peerage of the brave ; 
 A monument that needs no scroll 
 
 For those beneath the wave ! 
 
 A YANKEE IN DIXIE. 
 
 BY CORPORAL PURDUM. 
 
 I WILL endeavor to give a short account of what 
 I saw and heard while in the hands of the rebels, 
 beginning with my capture when I was first in- 
 troduced to the inside of the great Southern 
 humbug. 
 
 It was on the evening of the 20th of September, 
 1863, that myself, in company with a number of 
 others from the 33d and other regiments, was 
 taken prisoner by a part of Longstreet's corps. 
 We were taken a short distance to the rear of 
 their fii-st line, and camped for the night. The 
 rebs used us very well at first, and were very civil 
 and polite. At daylight on Monday morning we 
 commenced our pilgrimage south in the direction 
 of Ringgold, where we arrived about 2 o'clock 
 P. M., and were brought up in front of the Provost 
 Marshal, surrounded by his numerous clerks, 
 and our names were taken, which business occu- 
 pied about two hours. This being done we were 
 started forward again, bound for Tunnel Hill 
 Station, which place we arrived at about 9 o'clock 
 at night, and were turned into a field to remain 
 the rest of the night. We were very tired and 
 hungry, having marched twenty-two miles and 
 had no rations. We lay down to rest ourselves 
 and get some sleep, but were called up at 2 o'clock 
 to draw some rations, (if it could be called such.) 
 They consisted of a little meal and bacon, which 
 was so strong the boys said it could almost walk 
 alone. After disposing of our meal as best we 
 could, some making mush in tin cups, some ash 
 cakes, and some who were fortunate enough to 
 
 fet ovens, made something resembling bread, 
 'hey then brought us up in line, preparatory to 
 taldng our rubber blankets, knapsacks, and can- 
 teens from us ; but as soon as the boys found out 
 what was to be done, we commenced to tear 
 everything to pieces that we could not sell ; so 
 they got but few things from us ; and by the 
 time they were done the place had the ap- 
 pearance of an old deserted camp, as strips of 
 blankets, knapsacks, and broken canteens were 
 strewn aU over the ground, for we were de- 
 termined that the rebs should not be benefited 
 by them. Here we expected to get on the cars, 
 but were disappointed, and started on foot for 
 Dalton, seven miles distant from Tunnel Hill; 
 and the road being very dusty, and we not being 
 in the best of humor after having our things 
 taken from us, we struck out almostjon a double- 
 quick in order to tire out the guards, and several 
 times we were stopped for them to rest and get 
 to their places. 
 
 On this trip I stopped at a house to get some 
 bread, and had to pay one dollar for three small 
 biscuits; but the money being of but little value, 
 I paid it with a good grace, and went on my way, 
 rejoicing that my lot was not permanently cast 
 in the land of cotton and starvation. On arriving 
 at Dalton we again drew rations of floui- and 
 meat, and after getting our supper — or rather 
 partaking of a mixture of dough, flour, and tainted 
 bacon — we were marched through the town, as 
 
108 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND ESICIDENTS, 
 
 we thought, to get on the cars ; but I guess it was 
 done in order that the citizens might satisfy their 
 curiosity by seeing the " Yankees," as we were 
 taken back to the same place and kept till morn- 
 ing. Then they put us on the cars and started 
 for Atlanta. On the way we were subject to a 
 great many insults, not only from the men, but 
 the women. They came out as we passed, and 
 threw clubs and stones at us, and did everything 
 they could to express their hatred of the " Yan- 
 kees ; " but they soon got tired, for the boys were 
 not in the humor to be outdone by these so-called 
 Southern ladies, and paid them back in their 
 own coin, till they would go back into their houses 
 or silently look on and wonder at the impudence 
 the " Yankees " had to insult them. 
 
 Arriving at Atlanta we were met by crowds of 
 men, women, and children, both white and black, 
 and of all ages, from old grayheaded men and 
 women down to the little urchins that could 
 scarcely walk — all gazing with the greatest 
 eagerness to get a sight of us, to see if we did 
 really look like human beings. Many appeared 
 surprised at seeing us, and I could hear them 
 saying, " Is them Yankees ? " One old woman 
 came running out and asked me if we Avere really 
 Yankees. I told her we were, " but as we had 
 come from the West, and were younger ones 
 than those in the East, our horns had not yet 
 appeared." This answer seemed to satisfy her, 
 for she went off and said no more about Yankees. 
 In every direction we saw the young negroes and 
 white children i-unning about hollowing, " Yanks, 
 Yanks ! " and the scene was quite amusing to 
 behold. 
 
 Leaving the depot we were taken to the rear 
 of the town and put in a lot which had the 
 appearance of having been used for a hog lot, 
 and left to spend the night as best we could, 
 which was none the pleasantest, I can assure you. 
 The next day we were formed into companies of 
 one hundred <each, our names again taken, and 
 we marched into the barracks to spend the night. 
 Here they took our woollen blankets and pocket 
 knives from us, but they got but few of the latter, 
 for we concealed them. There we got five days' 
 rations of hard bread and meat, which was to last 
 us till we got to Richmond. 
 
 After leaving Atlanta we made but few stops 
 till we got to Richmond. We passed through 
 Augusta, formerly the capital of Georgia. It had 
 the appearance of once being a beautiful and 
 prosperous city ; it is situated in a fine country 
 on the west side of the Savannah River, though 
 like all other toMus of the South, it is behind 
 the cities of the North about a half century in 
 CIVILIZATION. The next place of any importance 
 we came to was Columbia, the capital of South 
 Carolina, which is near the centre of the State, 
 but in a very poor country and among hills, so 
 that a person, to view the place, must go through 
 it. Leaving this specimen of Southern cities, we 
 Avent south till we came to Branchville, forty-five 
 miles from Charleston. Here we struck the 
 Raleigh and North Carolina Railroad, and were 
 soon in North Carolina. Arriving at Raleigh, 
 the capital, we went into camp for a while. 
 
 There are a great many Union people in Raleigh, 
 but they have to be very cautious, as they are 
 closely watched by the military authorities. North 
 Carolina is a better country than either South 
 Carolina or Georgia ; it looks more like the 
 North ; but in South Carolina the soil is the 
 poorest that I have seen in any place. In some 
 parts of the State they have tried to raise grain, 
 but it has been almost a complete failure. What 
 little corn I saw was very poor, it being so thin 
 over the field that I could almost count the stalks 
 as we passed in the cars. Their farming imple- 
 ments are of a very poor quality. They break 
 up their ground with a small plough with one 
 horse or mule attached. What grain they raise 
 is not enough for home consumption, let alone to 
 supply an army with bread and meat. The 
 principal timber through the South is pine, which 
 grows in great abundance. On arriving in sight 
 of Richmond, we got off the cars and were taken 
 to Bell Island on the morning of the 31st of 
 September, being just ten days on the way ; the 
 distance we travelled over being 850 miles. The 
 island is situated in James River, at the foot of 
 the falls, and opposite the upper part of the city. 
 That part of the island we were on is a very low 
 sand bar, over which the chilly air comes from 
 the river, and almost every night and morning we 
 were enveloped in a dense fog. Here we were 
 exposed to all kinds of weather, without any 
 shelter from the cold rains and chilly winds. 
 Our rations here consisted of a small piece of 
 bread and a few mouthfuls of meat or soup, over 
 which we Avould hold a consultation to determine 
 what it was made of, and came to the conclusion 
 that it was intended for bean soup, although the 
 greater portion of the ingredients were sand and 
 bugs. But we must eat it or do without anything, 
 and as the bugs were well cooked and the sand well 
 settled to the bottom of the vessel, we man- 
 aged to eat it without any great inconvenience. 
 In this way we lived for five days, when we 
 were taken over into the city, and took up lodgings 
 in a large tobacco warehouse, opposite Libby 
 Prison, and in the lower part of the city. In this 
 building they crowded eleven hundred of us. I 
 was fortunate enough to get up in the third story, 
 and it was much more comfortable than either of 
 the others. We were so crowded that we had 
 scarcely room to lie down without getting on top 
 of each other. Here I remained about forty days. 
 We were not allowed to go out of the house 
 except to get rations. In this way I managed to 
 get out twice Avhile there. When first put in we 
 got about one half rations, which I thought was 
 doing well ; but it soon got less, until we were 
 scarcely able to keep from starving. On the day 
 after we were put in the prison the Provost Mar- 
 shal came in and took our names for the third 
 time since being captured, and told us that if 
 all those who had any greenbacks would give 
 them up to him, he would return them when we 
 went away. All who did not give them up would 
 be searched, and if any money was found it would 
 be confiscated. By this means a great many of 
 the boys were induced to give up their money, 
 thinking that we should go away in a few days, 
 
.ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 109 
 
 and then they would get it back again. But some 
 were not to be fooled in that way, but were 
 determined to keep their money if possible ; so 
 they went to work to conceal it, which was done 
 in various ways, some by sewing it in their clothes, 
 others by putting it in their tobacco, and some 
 would take the buttons of their blouses apart, 
 put a bill in, and tlien fix it together to look as if 
 it had never been touched. In this last-mentioned 
 way I kept ten dollars, and gave two to the 
 Marshal. After getting all they could in this 
 way, they commenced to search us, but finding 
 that they were not getting enough to pay them 
 for the trouble, they soon quit it, and issued us 
 some rations, as we had not had any for thirty- 
 six hours, and were getting pretty hungry ! The 
 guards were strictly forbidden to sell anything 
 to us, but they would do almost anything to get 
 our greenbacks, and at night would smuggle in 
 bread to those who had any money ; and in this 
 way I managed to get bread for four of us for sev- 
 eral days by being economical. For a one dollar 
 greenback we could get eight or ten loaves of 
 bread, but for one of Confederate money, some- 
 times we could get two loaves. Others would not 
 have it at all, said they had their pockets full of 
 it. After Me had been there about two weeks 
 some of the men came so near starving that they 
 would trade off their clothes for bread — their 
 shoes and socks, and some even traded their 
 shirts, and any little thing they could find ; and 
 some days the door Avould present the appearance 
 of a toy shop. There were handkerchiefs, pocket 
 knives, finger rings, combs, buttons, spoons, 
 knives and forks, and everything a soldier could 
 find about his person was offered for bread. 
 "Bj'ead!" ^' Bread!" was the cry, and indeed it 
 was a sorrowful sight to see men of ajl grades of 
 society, from the college professor down to the 
 ignorant and unlettered, all brought to the verge of 
 Starvation by the inhuman barbarity of their cap- 
 tors. In passing around the room I could see men 
 once stout and hearty made helpless as infants, 
 their cheeks of a pale death color, their eyes sun- 
 ken and the light that once sparkled in them gone, 
 and their skeleton-like forms all saying plainly 
 that unless soon aided their time was short for 
 this world. The sight was enough to draw pity 
 from the hardest of hearts, unless they were so 
 steeped in crime that nothing could affect them. 
 The anguish and suffering here endured can never 
 be told. Future history will fail in its endeavors 
 to picture the noble heroism here displayed by 
 men when they were suffering all the misery 
 possible for man to endure, yet true to their 
 country's cause, and would rather die than sacrifice 
 their honor and patriotism, by tm-ning traitor to 
 their country. Almost every day there were 
 from eight to ten taken to the hospital, there to 
 linger on for weeks, and perhaps months, before 
 receiving any benefit by the change, if indeed 
 they ever recovered. 
 
 But there was still another evil to contend 
 against ; and that was the vermin, which got so 
 numerous that we could in no way rid ourselves 
 of them J and when a person once got down and 
 
 was unable to help himself, there was danger of his 
 actually being Jailed hy the lice. It makes me 
 shudder now while I think of it. What a terrible 
 condition we were then in ! but how much worse 
 must it have become by this time, as it has been 
 near six weeks since I left ! But I will not dwell 
 longer on so horrible a scene. After having used 
 what little money I had, and trading my knife 
 and haversack for bread, and seeing v/hat there 
 was in store for me if I remained longer in that 
 place, I resolved to effect my escape or die in the 
 attempt, as it was death any how if I remained 
 there. I mentioned it to my comrades, but they 
 did not approve of it. But not minding what 
 they said, and finding a young fellow from Penn- 
 sylvania who was as anxious to get away as my- 
 self, we went to work to contrive some means of 
 escape, which was no easy job, for we were 
 closely guarded on all sides. The house we 
 were in is a four-story building ; and by going on 
 the upper floor we could get a view of a good 
 part of the city, and there we marked out the 
 course we would pursue if successful in getting out. 
 We were to go directly east for about four or five 
 miles, and then incline more to the south, so as to 
 come to our lines at Williamsburg, Va. We tried 
 several plans, but could not succeed. One was 
 to tear off some plank at the rear of the building 
 where they had been nailed up to the window, 
 then lay them over on to the fence near by, and 
 get into a lot. We worked at it several nights 
 until we were detected, and had to abandon it. 
 But not in the least discouraged we went at 
 something else. After examining the house aU 
 through we could find no place but what was closely 
 guarded. So we came to the conclusion that the 
 only way left Avas to go out at the door past the 
 guard ; and as there had been several of the 
 rebs in cleaning up the house, or rather having 
 it done, we thought it a good time. Without 
 saying anything to the boys as to what m'c were 
 about to undertake for fear we might not be 
 successful, as they had been making sport at our 
 not having succeeded before, we went down to 
 the lower floor to get ready for the trial of our 
 new plan. Whichever got out first was to go to 
 a small hiU, about three squares from the prison, 
 and wait for the other. Just about dusk, I got a 
 rebel suit from one of our boys, without much 
 trouble. My partner had got his a few days be- 
 fore. After rigging ourselves in rebel costume, I 
 told my comrade that we would wait till after the 
 relief came on at seven o'clock before going out, 
 and in the mean time look around for a little 
 sport. 
 
 Well, we walked round through the house, and 
 all the boys took us to be rebels, which was just 
 what we wanted. One of them took me to one side, 
 and M-anted me to try to get him out of the pris- 
 on; he said that he had been conscripted, and 
 did not want to fight against the South, had nev- 
 er been in a battle, nor fired a gun at the South- 
 ern people. I told him that I would see about it, 
 and left him. Some of the boys wanted us to 
 bring them in some bread. I told them that the 
 guard would not let us trade with them, but I 
 
110 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 would try to get some if he would let me bring it 
 in. Seven o'clock came, and I started out, passed 
 the &st guard without saying a word, came to 
 the one on the street ; he halted me, and asked 
 where I belonged ; I told him I was Police vSer- 
 geant, and had been in having the prisoners clean 
 up the house. He did not like to let me pass, 
 but I finally got off, and went directly to the 
 place agreed upon for us to meet. Getting up 
 on the bank, I concealed myself where I could see 
 down the street. 
 
 When my partner started, the guard would not 
 let him pass ; so he had to go back into the house. 
 Eut he was determined on being out, so he got 
 the boys to attract the guard's attention at the 
 window, and he went back to where some boards 
 had been taken off, and where the guard had 
 been stationed, and crawled out and got away 
 safe. He came directly to where I had been wait- 
 ing an hour and a half, and was nearly frozen. I 
 will not attempt to describe our feelings at once 
 more finding ourselves free, at least for the pres- 
 ent. But we still had dangers to encounter, be- 
 ing in a strange country, without a guide, and 
 our enemies all around us. But we were resolved 
 to push ahead as best we could ; so shaping our 
 course in an eastern direction, we struck out, 
 guided by the stars. We crossed the fields and 
 woods till we came to the fortifications, which 
 were not very formidable. These we passed very 
 cautiously. Coming to a house we tried to rouse 
 the inmates, which we supposed to be negroes, 
 but we could not get them to answer us, and we 
 'Started on. We soon came to a road which ran 
 in the right direction, and we followed it till about 
 two o'clock; when we got so tired, and being so 
 weak, that Ave had to stop and rest. Going into 
 an old stable, we lay down ; but it was too cold 
 for us there. So we got up and went to a house 
 close by, and found an old crippled negro by her- 
 self. AV'e went in and warmed, and remained till 
 daylight. Then we found we had travelled ten 
 miles during the night, and were on the right road. 
 This we followed all day, occasionally meeting some 
 citizens and some few soldiers. But being dressed 
 in rebel clothes, they did not molest us. At noon, 
 we stopped at a small cabin to get something to 
 eat, and found a woman whose husband was in the 
 army. Here we got some bread and milk, and 
 learned a great deal about the road. We came 
 to the Chickahominy River, twenty miles from 
 Richmond. This we crossed on some logs where 
 the long bridges had been, but were destroyed at 
 the time McClellan advanced on Richmond. 
 
 Soon after crossing the river we met a man 
 whom at first sight we took to be a rebel soldier ; 
 but we were mistaken. He came up and began 
 to question us pretty closely. He asked where 
 we belonged ; we told him, in Richmond, to the 
 19th Virginia Battalion, which was guarding pris- 
 oners at Richmond. He then wanted to know 
 where we were going. We said, " Home on fur- 
 lough." He looked at us a while, and began to 
 laugh, saying, we need not try to fool him ; that 
 we were escaped prisoners, trying to get to the 
 
 Federal lines. This we stoutly denied. So, find- 
 ing that he could get nothing from us, he told us 
 that we had better turn back to Richmond, that 
 M-e never could get past the pickets. We told 
 him that when our furlough was out we would go 
 back, and not before. So he rode off and left us. 
 We did not stop long to consider what we should 
 do, but started off as fast as we could walk for 
 about five miles, when we found a negro. From 
 him we found out where the pickets were sta- 
 tioned, and how to get around them. He also 
 told us where to find a free negro's house, and 
 as we were pretty tired, we concluded to go and 
 stay all night. He put us in the house that the 
 owner had left in his charge, made us a good fire, 
 and got some corn bread for us to eat. We got 
 a pretty good rest, and daylight found us again 
 on the road. We had gone but a short distance, 
 when, just ahead of us, we saw a squad of cav- 
 alry coming. There was no time to lose ; so, 
 bounding into the woods, we ran as fast as we 
 could for about half a mile ; but finding they were 
 not following us, we ceased running. After that 
 we did not venture on the road, but kept in the 
 woods all the time, occasionally going to a ne- 
 gro cabin to find the way ; and we always found 
 them willing to aid us in any way that they 
 could. Night coming on, and as we could not 
 well travel in the woods after night, we looked 
 around for a place to stop. We found a large 
 house near by, and 'concealing ourselves in the 
 bushes, we watched to see if there were any 
 white folks living in it, but could not see any ; 
 so, after it got dark, we went to it, and found no 
 one but a negro and his family. They gave us 
 some sweet potatoes for supper, and some blan- 
 kets to keep us warm, and Ave did very Avell that 
 night. We Avere out bright and early the next 
 morning. We had to be more cautious noAv, as 
 Ave Avere among the scouts. The negroes showed 
 us by-paths through the Avoods, Avhich we fcjlloAved 
 all day. We saAv several scouts, but managed to 
 evade them. 
 
 Our road was very rough, and Ave made slow 
 progress. We missed our Avay, and travelled 
 about three miles before finding it out, then had 
 to go back and start anew. We bad to go through 
 woods and across SAvamps almost impassable. 
 We finally came to the place Ave had been told to 
 go ; got permission to stay OA-er night, a first rate 
 supper and good bed. Upon inquiry Ave found 
 that Ave AA'ere Avithin seven miles of the Union 
 pickets, and that there was no more danger, so 
 Ave felt at home. In the morning, after partaking 
 of a good breakfast, our host went Avith us about 
 tAvo miles, and set us on the main road. We 
 here thanked him for his assistance, and bade him 
 good bj'. 
 
 We Avent forward with light hearts that morn- 
 ing, thinking that we were soon to be in the 
 midst of friends. We soon came in sight of the 
 pickets posted on a hill. They saw us coming, 
 and came out to meet us, thinking we Avere rebel 
 deserters. We soon told our stoiy, and Avere 
 warmly received and well provided for. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 THE NEW BALLAD OF LORD LOVELL.* 
 
 Loiii> LovELL he sat in St. Charles's Hotel, 
 
 In St. Charles's Hotel sat he, 
 As fine a case of a Southern swell 
 
 As ever you'd wish to see — see — see. 
 As ever you'd wish to see. 
 
 Lord Lovell the town had vowed to defend ; 
 
 A- waving his sword on high, 
 He swore that his last ounce of powder he'd 
 spend, 
 
 And in the last ditch he'd die. 
 
 He swore by black and he swore by blue. 
 
 He swore by the stars and bars, 
 That never he'd fly from a Yankee crew 
 
 While he was a son of Mars. 
 
 He had fiftj-- thousand gallant men, 
 
 Fifty thousand men had he, 
 Who had all sworn with him that they'd never 
 surren- 
 
 Der to any tarnation Yankee. 
 
 He had forts that no Yankee alive could take ; 
 
 He had iron-clad boats a score. 
 And batteries all around the Lake 
 
 And along the river-shore. 
 
 Sir Farragut came with a mighty fleet, 
 
 With a mighty fleet came he, 
 And Lord Lovell instanter began to retreat 
 
 Before the first boat he could see. 
 
 His fifty thousand gallant men 
 
 Dwindled down to thousands six . 
 They heard a distant cannon, and then 
 
 Commenced a-cutting their sticks. 
 
 " O ! tarry, Lord Lovell ! " Sir Farragut cried, 
 " O ! tarry, Lord Lovell ! " said he ; 
 
 " I rather think not," Lord Lovell replied, 
 " For I'm in a great hurry. 
 
 " I like the drinks at St. Charles's Hotel, 
 But I never could bear strong Porter, 
 
 Especially when its served on the shell. 
 Or mixed in an iron mortar." 
 
 " I reckon you're right," Sir Farragut said, 
 
 <<I reckon you're right," said he, 
 «• For if my Porter should fly to your head, 
 
 A terrible smash there'd be." 
 
 O ! a wonder it was to see them run, 
 
 A wonderful thing to see ; 
 And the Yankees sailed up without shooting a gun, 
 
 And captured their great citie. 
 
 Lord Lovell kept running all day and night. 
 
 Lord Lovell a-running kept he, 
 For he swore he couldn't abide the sight 
 
 Of the gim of a live Yankee. 
 
 When Lord Lovell's life was brought to a close 
 By a sharp-shooting Yankee gunner, 
 
 From his head there sprouted a red, red nose. 
 From his feet — a Scarlet Runner. 
 
 * Mansfield Lovell, who commanded the rebel forces 
 at New Orleans, and who, on the approach of the na- 
 tional fleet and army to that place, " led his forces out 
 of the town." 
 
 Capture of New Orleans — What Ju- 
 dith SAW. — Allow me to describe how I spent 
 the day, at the time of the first arrival of the 
 Federal fleet at this city. The first day that the 
 fleet arrived, I and my sister, and a great many 
 others, were wending our way to the levee. On 
 our way we met a gentleman acquaintance of ours, 
 who asked us if we were going to get some sugar. 
 I felt quite indignant ; but as I was in an amiable 
 mood then, I forgave him with all my heart, as I 
 had no wish to be angry only M-ith those hateful 
 secessionists, who were destroying all the sugar 
 and cotton, and burning the ships and steamboats 
 that had been left standing. If I had had the 
 power over those that proposed it, I would have 
 taken them all, women and men, and placed 
 them in the burning ships, and there let them re- 
 main until secession and secessionists were con- 
 sumed by the flames. I would have shown them 
 no mercy. " Be merciful unto him that showeth 
 mercy." The next persons we met were a lady 
 and gentleman — the lady appearing to be quite 
 delighted at the sight of the cotton and ships 
 burning. There were a great many others who 
 had come to see the fleet — some with joyful 
 hearts, once aguin to behold that time-honored 
 flag, as it was unfurled to the breeze ; others 
 came for curiosity, and others with feelings of 
 hate burning in their hearts, because they knew 
 they were conquered, or would be in a short time. 
 They foolishly depended upon some traitors to 
 drive out the enemy when they came ; but the 
 cowards made good their escape when they heard 
 that the fleet had arrived, leaving their dupes to 
 take care of themselves the best way they could, 
 telling them how vain is the help' of man in an 
 unjust cause. We were often stopped in our 
 progress by the burning of the wharves and piles 
 of cotton. We had gone a good distance, when 
 right before us lay piles of cotton burning. We 
 had our choice, either to return back the way we 
 came, or jump across the cotton-piles. At last 
 we came to the conclusion that we would do the 
 jumping ; so we selected a pile that we thought 
 had been well burned out, and my sister made 
 the first leap ; and as soon as she was over she ex- 
 claimed, "O my ! but that Avas hot! " and told me 
 that I had better find some other place to jump ; 
 but I wanted to have some experience in jump- 
 ing cotton-piles ; so over I went. When I was 
 over I exclaimed with my sister — " O my ! 
 but that was hot ! " and looking round to see 
 what could have caused such heat, we saw the 
 piles of cotton that we had jumped across burn- 
 ing. What appeared to have been all ashes to 
 us, we found out by experience was a little 
 too hot to be only ashes. We shook our dresses 
 well, so as to make sure that there were no 
 sparks on them, and went on our way rejoicing ; 
 but we made up our minds that the next time 
 we jumped cotton-piles, we would look before 
 we leaped. 
 
 In looking at the ship burning, there was a 
 young lady standing before us, who seemed quite 
 unconscious about her dress burning, until told 
 by us. Then there was another old lady, who 
 
 y 
 
112 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 was so absorbed in looking at the fleet, that she 
 did not take notice of where she stood ; and, be- 
 ing at the edge of the wharf, where it had been 
 burned, the jjlank gave waj^ and she was precipi- 
 tated into the river. Fortunately, she caught 
 hold of another portion of the wharf, and two 
 men assisted her out. No harm was done, but 
 she was pretty much scared. Nothing of impor- 
 tance happened to us, until we noticed that one 
 of the gunboats was coming towards our side of 
 the river, (for the fleet was in the middle of the 
 river.) I and my sister ran to see where it would 
 land, so that we could get a good view. It land- 
 ed near the St. Mary's Market ; so we took our 
 position before t^he gunboat. As we were running 
 along, three Avoraen, who were behind us, made 
 some remarks, one of which I overheard : she 
 said that all persons who seemed glad to see the 
 Yankees ought to be punished. I turned round 
 and told them if they did not like it, why did they 
 not remain at home. They looked at me, as 
 much as to say I Avas not worth answering, and 
 we passed on. While we were standing before 
 the gunboat, we waved our handkerchiefs towards 
 the men on the boat, when one of the officers 
 lifted his cap and bowed. This attracted the at- 
 tention of the three women, who had come up to 
 us, when the eldest of them touched my sister on 
 the shoulder, and said, " Do you mean to say that 
 you are waving your handkerchief at them ? " 
 pointing to the men on the gunboat. My sister 
 said it was none of her business, and I said : 
 " Certainly." Then she said : " You had better 
 go to them." I said I would if the boat came 
 near enough, so that I could get in. The two 
 younger ones called us rebels, and giving us a 
 disdainful look, passed out of sight. You may 
 be assured I was quite surprised on being ad- 
 dressed so unexpectedly ; but for all that, we 
 were ready to answer them or any other person. 
 While the gunboat was leaving the wharf, we 
 still continued waving our pocket handkerchiefs 
 and bidding them good by. A man said to my 
 sister : " Give me the handkerchief, and I will wave 
 it for you." My sister thanked him, and said she 
 could wave it herself. She knew it was his in- 
 tention to throw it into the river. As we came 
 farther on, we noticed two young girls, one of 
 them waving a small Confederate flag, and calling 
 out to them — " Go back, you dirty Yankee dev- 
 ils ; go back where you came from." I asked, 
 " Where are the dirty (not Yankee, but) seces- 
 sion devils ? " and echo answered, there ; and 
 looking around I saw that it was those two young 
 girls, the one still holding the flag and calling 
 them names, and the other one assisting her. 
 At last we left them, and returned home about 
 six in the evening. We passed through An- 
 nunciation Square, which but a short while ago 
 had been filled with tents and traitors, but 
 now vacant. Only hei'e and there could be seen 
 some poor woman picking up some wood and 
 bottles that were left by the brave defenders 
 of the Confederacy, in their hurry to escape 
 from the conquerors. From thence we passed 
 up home. 
 
 Contraband Negroes. — Gen. Ashley, mem- 
 ber of Congress from Ohio, gave the' follow- 
 ing account of the reception of the " contraband " 
 slaves at Fortress Monroe : 
 
 " You will have heard, by the time this reaches 
 you, of the manner in which Gen. Butler disposed 
 of Col. Mallory, who came into the fort under a 
 flag of truce, to claim three of his loyal slaves, 
 Avho had fled from his kind and hospitable roof, , 
 and taken shelter in Fortress Monroe among 
 strangers. Who will say that Gen. Butler, so far 
 as he went, was not right? This Col. Mallory 
 had met Gen. Butler in the Charleston and Bal- 
 timore Conventions, and with that impudence and 
 assumption characteristic of the oligarchy, he 
 comes into Gen. Butler's camp, and, though en- 
 gaged in open treason against the Government, 
 demands that he shall enforce the Fugitive Slave 
 law upon the soil of Virginia with United States 
 soldiers, and return him his happy and contented 
 slaves. 
 
 "Gen. Butler says, 'You hold that negro 
 slaves are property, and that Virginia is no longer 
 a part of the United States ? ' 
 
 " The Colonel answered, * I do, sir.' 
 
 " Gen. Butler then said, ' You are a lawyer, 
 sir, and I want to know if you claim that the 
 Fugitive Slave act of the United States is binding 
 on a foreign nation ; and if a foreign nation uses 
 this kind of property to destroy the lives and 
 property of citizens of the United States, if that ■ 
 species of property ought not to be regarded as ' 
 contraband ? ' 
 
 " This was too much for the Colonel, and he 
 knocked under and withdrew. 
 
 " This was but the beginning at Fort Monroe, 
 and is but the beginning of a question which 
 this Administration must meet and determine, 
 viz., 'What shall be done with the slaves who 
 refuse to fight against the Government of tiie 
 United States, and escape fi-om the traitors, and 
 come into our camps for protection ? ' If the 
 Administration meets this question as it ought, 
 well ; if not, it will prove its overthrow. It is a 
 question of more magnitude and importance than 
 the rebellion itself; and Avoe to the public man 
 or the party who proves false to the demands of 
 humanity and justice. 
 
 " On Sunday, eight more stout, able-bodied 
 men came in. Gen. Butler said to me, ' As you 
 went to see John Brown hung, and have some 
 claim to control Virginia volunteers, I authorize 
 you to see who and what those colored men 
 are, and decide what is to be done with them.' 
 He added, ' You had better examine them sepa- 
 rately, and take down in writing the material part 
 of tlieir answers.' 
 
 " Before doing so, I went out to the fence 
 where the slaves were standing, surrounded by 
 about two hundred volunteers. I asked the 
 colored men a few questions, and was about to 
 go into the house to call them in separately, 
 as suggested by the General, when one of the slaves 
 said, ' Massa, what's you gwine to do wid us ? ' 
 
 " I told him that I did not know, but that we 
 would not hurt them. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 113 
 
 "'O, we knows dat,' quickly responded an- 
 other? *we knows you's our friends. What we 
 wants to know is, whether j-ou's gwine to send 
 us back.' 
 
 "I answered that I had no authority over 
 them, and no power to do anj'thing, but that my 
 opinion was ' it would be some time before their 
 masters would see them again.' I said this in a 
 low, conversational tone of voice, without noticing 
 that all the volunteers were eagerly listening ; 
 but no sooner had the words fallen from my lips, 
 than a hundred voices shouted, • Good ! good ! ' 
 and some in laughter and some in tears clapped 
 their hands and gave three rousing cheers, Avliich 
 brought out the officers and General, who sup- 
 posed I had been making a speech to the troops. 
 
 " This Uttle incident tells me more plainly 
 than ever, that what I said last winter in the 
 House is true, when I declared that 'the logic 
 of events told me unmistakably that slavery 
 must die.' 
 
 " If I had the time, and you the space, I would 
 give in their own words the material portion of 
 the answers of the most intelligent slaves. There 
 is one thing certain ; every slave in the United 
 States understands this rebellion, its causes and 
 consequences, far better than ever I supposed. 
 I asked one old man, who said he was a Methodist 
 class-leader, to tell me franklj' whether this 
 matter was well understood by all the slaves, and 
 he answered me that it was, and that he had 
 * prayed for it for many, many long years.' 
 
 " He said that their masters and all talked 
 about it, and he added, * Lor' bless you, honey — 
 we don give it up last September dat de North's 
 too much for us ; ' meaning, of course, that Mr. 
 Lincoln's election was conceded even there by 
 the slave masters, and was understood and hoped 
 for by all the slaves. I asked the same man 
 how many more would probably come into the 
 fort. He said, ' A good many ; and if we's 
 not sent back, you'll see 'em 'fore to-morrow 
 night.' 
 
 " I asked why so, and he said, * Dey'll under- 
 stan, if we's not sent back, dat we're 'mong our 
 friends ; for if de slaveholder sees us, we gets 
 sent right back.' And sure enough, on Monday 
 about forty or fifty more, of all ages, colors, and 
 sexes, came into camp, and the guard was bound 
 to arrest them." 
 
 CARTE DE VISITE. 
 
 •' 'TwAs a terrible fight," the soldier said ; 
 
 " Our Colonel was one of the first to fall, 
 ■ Shot dead on the field by a rifle-ball — 
 A braver heart than his never bled." 
 
 A group for the painter's art were they : 
 The soldier with scarred and sunburnt face, 
 A fair-haired girl, full of youth and grace, 
 
 And her aged mother, wrinkled and gray. 
 
 These three in porch, where the simlight came 
 Through the tangled leaves of the jasmine- vine, 
 Spilling itself like a golden wine. 
 
 And flecking the doorAvay with rings of flame. 
 8 
 
 The soldier had stopped to rest by the way, 
 For the air was sultry with summer-heat ; 
 The road was like ashes under the feet, 
 
 And a weary distance before him lay. 
 
 "Yes, a terrible fight ; our ensign was shot 
 As the order to charge was given the men, 
 When one from the ranks seized our colors, and 
 then 
 
 He, too, fell dead on the self-same spot. 
 
 " A handsome boy was this last : his hair 
 Clustered in curls round his noble brow ; 
 I can almost fancy I see him now. 
 
 With the scarlet stain on his face so fair." 
 
 " What was his name ? — have you never heard ? — 
 Where was he from, this youth who fell ? 
 And your regiment, stranger, which was it ? tell !" 
 
 " Our regiment ? It was the Twenty-third." 
 
 The color fled from the young girl's cheek, 
 Leaving it white as the face of the dead ; 
 The mother lifted her eyes and said : 
 
 " Pity my daughter — in mercy speak ! " 
 
 ' • I never knew aught of this gallant youth," 
 The soldier answered; "not even his name. 
 Or from what part of our State he came : 
 
 As God is above, I speak the truth ! 
 
 " But when we buried our dead that night, 
 I took from his breast this picture — see ! 
 It is as like him as like can be : 
 
 Hold it this way, towards the light." 
 
 One glance, and a look, half-sad, half-wild, 
 Passed over her face, which grew more pale, 
 Then a passionate, hopeless, heart-broken wail, 
 
 And the mother bent low o'er the prostrate child. 
 
 EXPEKIENCES OF CaPT. WiLKINS. — Capt. 
 
 Wilkins, of Gen. Williams' staff", who was cap- 
 tured at the battle of Chancellorsville, gave the 
 following account of his experience with the 
 Confederates. At the time the Eleventh corps 
 was routed he was despatched with important 
 orders from his chief : 
 
 " On galloping to convey the orders referred 
 to, Capt. Wilkins found that two regiments had 
 already gained their positions. He communicated 
 the orders to their Colonels, and passed on to 
 convey them also to Gen. Kuger, commanding 
 the Third brigade, who was considerably nearer 
 the enemy. Soon after leaving the embankments 
 he passed a double line of skirmishers, and saw, 
 to his astonishment, that they wore gray coats. 
 Up to this moment he had no idea the enemy were 
 so near. It was now about eight o'clock in the 
 evening, and owing to the darkness and the fact 
 of his riding with such speed directly towards 
 them, the skirmishers evidently mistook hira for 
 one of their own officers, and allowed him to 
 pass. At this moment he saw the distinguishing 
 flag of the First brigade of Williams' division 
 (every brigade in the Army of the Potomac 
 carries a distinguishing flag of bright colors) to 
 the left, and still farther on. He rode towards it, 
 expecting to deliver the orders to the commander 
 
114 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 of the brigade. On reaching it he discovered 
 that it had just been captured by a Georgia regi- 
 ment, and was then in the possession of the 
 enemy, by whom he was surrounded. He threw 
 himself upon the neck of his horse, and endeav- 
 ored to escape by leaping the abatis ; but he 
 found that the rebels were on every side of him. 
 His horse was shot under him, a blow from a 
 musket dislocated his knee, and he was dragged 
 to the ground in a nearly insensible condition. 
 
 He was placed in charge of a guard, Avho took 
 him a short distance to the rear and to the plank 
 road, where he met Gen. Jackson and staff. Jack- 
 son had at this time formed a column of attack 
 on the plank road, Avith the design of flanking 
 our army and obtaining possession of United 
 States Ford. The column consisted of upwards 
 of 15,000 men, massed in columns of sections, 
 having three batteries of artiller}' on the flank. 
 Jackson was sitting on his horse, at the head of 
 the column, surrounded by his staff". He wore a 
 new suit of gray uniform, and Avas a spare man, 
 with a Aveather-beaten face, and a bright, grayish- 
 blue ej^e. He hid a peculiarly sad and gloomy 
 expression of countenance, as though he already 
 saw a premonition of his fate. It Avas but fifteen 
 minutes later that he Avas mortally wounded. As 
 they came into his presence the guard announced, 
 ' A captured Yankee officer.' Capt. Wilkins asked 
 if it was Maj.-Gen. Thomas J. Jackson. On being 
 ansAvered in the affirmative, he raised his hat. 
 Gen. Jackson said : ' A regular army officer, I 
 suppose ; your officers do not usually salute ours.' 
 Capt. Wilkins replied : ' No, I am not ; I salute 
 you out of respect to you as a gallant officer.' 
 He then asked his name and rank. On being 
 told, he further inquired Avhat corps and com- 
 manders were opposed in front. Capt. Wilkins 
 replied that as an officer, he could not return a 
 truthful ansAver to such questions. Jackson then 
 turned to the guard and ordered them to search 
 him. He then had in the breast-pocket of his 
 coat Hooker's confidential orders to corps com- 
 manders, giving a plan in part of the campaign, 
 the countersigns of the field for a Aveek in ad- 
 vance, and the field returns, giving the effective 
 strength of the TAvelfth corps on the preceding 
 day. 
 
 Fortunately, before the guard could carry the 
 orders into execution, a terrific raking fii-e was 
 opened on Jackson's column by twenty pieces of 
 artillery, commanded by Capt. Best, from an 
 eminence on the plank road. The first eight or 
 ten shots flcAv over the heads of the column. 
 The men and gunners dismounted, leaving then- 
 horses and guns. Our artillery soon got the 
 range with more precision, and the shell and 
 round shot ricocheted and i)loughed through 
 this dense mass of the enemy Avith terrific effect. 
 Shells Avere continually bursting, and the screams 
 and groans of the Avounded and dying could be 
 heard on every side. As an instance of the 
 terrible effect of this fire, one of the guard was 
 struck by a solid shot just below the hips, sweep- 
 ing off" both his legs. A battery came dashing 
 up ; but when they gotinto the vortex of the fire, 
 
 the gunners fled, deserting their guns, and could 
 not be made to man them. An officer, splendidly 
 mounted and equipped, attempted in a most 
 gallant manner to rally them. A ball struck him 
 on the neck, completely severing his head from 
 his body, and leaving his spinal column standing. 
 His body rolled to the ground, and the horse 
 galloped to the rear. One of the shells struck a 
 caisson full of artillery ammunition, Avhich, ex- 
 ploding, ascended in a crater of variously colored 
 flame, and shoAvered down on the heads of the 
 men beloAV a mass of fragments of shot and shell. 
 The loss inflicted by this fire must have been 
 terrible, placing considerably over one thousand 
 men liors du combat, and effectually breaking up 
 the contemplated attack of the column. 
 
 An officer of Jackson's staffs subsequently stated 
 that it Avas about fifteen minutes after this that 
 Gen. Jackson Avith staff" advanced to the front to 
 reconnoitre our position, having accomplished 
 which he returned by a different path towards his 
 own men, Avho, mistaking his approach for that 
 of a party of our cavalry, fired upon him, killing 
 and Avounding four of his staff", and Avounding 
 Jackson once in the right arm and tAvicc in the 
 left arm and hand. 
 
 While Capt. Wilkins was being taken to the 
 rear he devoted his attention to disposing of the 
 important papers which he had on his person. He 
 dared not take them from his pocket to attempt 
 to tear them up, but cautiously placed his hand 
 in his pocket, and worked the papers into a ball, 
 and as they Avere passing along, got them into 
 his bosom, and finally into his arm-pit under his 
 arm, Avhere he carried them all that night. The 
 next morning the guard halted to get their 
 breakfasts, and a soldier Avas trying to kindle a 
 fire to cook some coff"ee Avhich they had taken 
 from our men. The Avood Avas damp, and the 
 fire refused to burn. The soldier sAvore at it 
 until his patience gave out, A\'hen Capt. Wilkins 
 asked him if he Avould not like some kindlings, 
 and handed him the important papers. The 
 soldier took them, and, not dreaming of their 
 importance, used them to kindle the fire." 
 
 TRUMPET SONG. 
 
 OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 
 
 The battle-drum's loud rattle is rending the air r 
 The troopers all are mounted, their sabres are bare ; 
 The guns ai-e unlimbered, the bayonets shine ; 
 Hark ! hark ! 'tis the trumpet-call ! Avhcel into 
 line ! 
 
 Ta, ra ! ta, ta, ta I 
 Trum, trum ! tra, ra, ra, ra ! 
 Beat drums and bloAV trumpets ! 
 Hurrah, boys, hurrah ! 
 
 March onAvard, soldiers, onward ; the strife is begun ; 
 Loud bellowing rolls the boom of the black- throated 
 
 gun; 
 The rifles are cracking, the torn banners toss, 
 The sabres are clashing, the bayonets cross, 
 Ta, ra, &c. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 115 
 
 Down with the leaguing liars, the traitors to their 
 
 trust, 
 Who trampled the fair charter of Freedom in dust ; 
 They falter — they waver — they scatter — they 
 
 run — 
 The field is our own, and the battle is won ! 
 Ta, ra, &c. 
 
 God save our mighty people and prosper our cause ! 
 We're fighting for our nation, oiir land, and our 
 
 laws ! 
 Though tyrants may hate us, their threats we defy, 
 And drum-beat and trumpet shall peal our reply ! 
 Ta, ra ! ta, ta, ta ! 
 Beat drums and blow trumpets ! 
 Trum, trum, tra, ra, ra, ra ! 
 Hurrah, boj's, hurrah ! 
 
 Lieut. McNeill's Exploit. — After the sur- 
 prise and capture of New Creek, Va., by Gen. 
 Rosser, Maj.-Gen. Crook, of the Yankee army, 
 was assigned to the command of the department 
 in which that station is embraced. Maj.-Gen. 
 Kelley, who previously commanded the depart- 
 ment, still remained in Cumberland, having his 
 headquarters at one of the hotels in the town. 
 Gen. Crook established his headquarters in the 
 same town, at the other principal hotel. As 
 soon as this state of affairs became known to 
 Lieut. Jesse C. McNeill, upon whom has devolved 
 the command of McNeill's Rangers since the 
 death of his father, the lamented old Captain, he 
 resolved to risk an attempt to surprise and bring 
 off those two Generals. 
 
 Ha\ing posted himself thoroughly in regard to 
 the situation of affairs in and around Cumber- 
 land, the night of Monday, 20th inst., he, with 
 sixty trusty men, crossed Knobby Mountain to 
 the North Branch of the Potomac. Reaching 
 this stream, at a point below the first picket post 
 that overlooked the selected route of ingress into 
 Cumberland, he crossed, and in a few minutes the 
 Yankees on duty were relieved. " Your counter- 
 sign," demanded Lieut. McNeill, to a burly Dutch- 
 man, with such accompaniments as seemed to im- 
 press the fellow with the notion that to divulge 
 it was a matter of self-preservation. " Bool's 
 Kaah," (meaning "Bull's Gap,") was the quick 
 response. 
 
 Then on briskly down the coimty road towards 
 town, near five miles distant, he moved. As the 
 little band struck what is known as the old pike, 
 soon, " Halt ! who comes there ?" rings out on the 
 air. "Friends, with countersign," is the response. 
 " Dismount, one, advance, and give the counter- 
 sign," is the picket's next order to the Lieuten- 
 ant. 
 
 Having lately had his ankle crushed, the Lieu- 
 tenant was not in a condition to obey ; and so 
 urging his horse forward, he quickly heard from 
 the astonished picket, " Don't shoot ; I surren- 
 der." 
 
 On they rushed, and the reserves were gath- 
 ered in. The first picket captured was cavalry, 
 the next infantry. The former were brought 
 along ; the latter were disarmed, their guns 
 
 smashed, and they were paroled to remain where 
 they were until morning ; were told that the town 
 was surrounded, and it would be impossible for 
 them to escape. 
 
 Entering town on the west side, they passed 
 another picket on the right bank of the North 
 Branch. By this picket they were not halted. 
 Crossing Will's Creek, (which flows through the 
 town,) at the Iron Bridge, coolly and deliberately 
 up Baltimore Street they ride, some whistling, 
 some laughing and talking, as if they were Yan- 
 kees, at home among friends. 
 
 To and fro, on the street, by the gas-light, are 
 seen Avalking Yankee guards. " Helloa, boys ! 
 whose command is that ? " "Scouts from Ntiv 
 Creek," is the response. 
 
 Presently here they are, between two and three 
 o'clock in the morning, in front of the St. Nicho- 
 las Hotel, Kelley's headquarters. Down spring, 
 quietly and calmly, the men who, by previous ar- 
 rangement, are to visit Kelley's room. They en- 
 ter the hall, and having procured a light, they 
 enter the General's room. The General, aroused 
 by the knock, resting on one elbow, " You know 
 me. General, I suppose," says Joseph W. Kuy- 
 kendall, who had charge of this party. " I do," 
 
 said the General. " You are ," giving his 
 
 name. " General, you had me once ; it is my 
 honor to have you now. You are a prisoner." 
 " But," says the General, " whom am I surren- 
 dering to ? " " To me, sir," was the emphatic 
 response. " No place or time for ceremony ; so 
 you will dress quickly." The order was obeyed. 
 
 While this was going on at the St. Nicholas, 
 another scene was transpiring at the Revere 
 House. Thither went promptly a portion of the 
 men, as per arrangement, under Lieut. Welton. 
 Reaching it they halt — five men, in charge of 
 Joseph L. Vandiver, dismount, and " Halt ! " is 
 the greeting of the sentinel, standing in front of 
 the entrance. " Friends, with countersign, bear- 
 ing important despatches for Gen. Crook," is 
 Vandiver's answer. " Advance, one," &c. In a 
 moment, Vandiver had the sentinel's gun, and 
 ordered him to stand aside under guard. The 
 door is rapped at — a voice from within asks, 
 " Who is you ? I don't know j-ou." " Open the 
 door ; I must see Gen. Crook." The door is 
 opened, and there stands a small darkey. " Is 
 Gen. Crook in?" "Yes, sir." "Show me his 
 room." " I'm afeerd to ; but I will, if you don't 
 tell on me.''" Crook's room is reached ; a rap 
 given, " Come in." In obedience to the invita- 
 tion, a tall and stalwart form, M'ith light in one 
 hand, and pistol undisplayed in the other, stands 
 erect, cool and deliberate, before the General. 
 " Gen. Crook, I presume," says Vandiver. " I 
 am, sir." " I am Gen. Rosser, sir ; you are in 
 my power ; you have two minutes to dress in." 
 Then the General rubbed his eyes, as if he thought 
 he dreamed. " Come, General, there are your 
 clothes ; you can either put them on, or go as 
 you are." The General quickly arose and dressed 
 
 The prisoner and his captors make theii" exit 
 to their vigilant comrades without. The Gen- 
 eral is made to mount behind Vandiver. Off 
 
116 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 \ 
 
 they start, soon rejoin the St. Nicholas party with 
 their prize, and then they all commence to " evac- 
 uate " the city quietly, coolly, and in good order. 
 Reaching Will's Creek Bridge, they turned to the 
 left, and proceeded down the tow-path. 
 
 On the opposite side of the canal, encamped 
 on the hills around the town, are many of Crook's 
 and Kelley's soldiers, who dream not of the sur- 
 prise the morning shall bring them ; the senti- 
 nels too, as unconscious as their slumbering com- 
 rades of the proximity of a foe. A few are 
 awake, and with curiosity aroused by the sound 
 of horsemen moving, as it were, in midnight re- 
 view before them, inquire, " Whose command ? " 
 " Scouts going out," is the careless response. 
 At length, they are about five miles below the 
 town, where they intend to recross to " Old Vir- 
 ginia." A "Halt" greets the advance. "Friends, 
 with countersign." The picket gives the usual 
 command. " Bull's Gap," says McNeill ; " no 
 time to dismomnt ; are in a hurry ; the enemy 
 are reported close ; we are sent out by Gen. 
 Crook to watch his movements." " Go on, then ; 
 cold night, boys, to be out." " Yes, pretty 
 cold." " Give the Johnnies h^, boys." " O, 
 yes, we are the boys to do that ; " are some of 
 the words interchanged, as McNeill and his boys 
 file past the unsuspecting Yankees. A moment 
 or two more, and McNeill is in Virginia ! 
 
 " McGregor is on his native heath, 
 With McGregor's clan around him." 
 
 On he pushes briskly, Avithout any report of 
 Yankees pursuing in the rear, to which a strict 
 watch is kept. Romney, twenty-seven miles 
 from Cumberland, is reached ; the rear-guard re- 
 port about sixty Yankees in sight, with some of 
 whom they exchanged a few shots, but the Yan- 
 kees exhibited no disposition to push on very 
 fast. At about two o'clock in the day, McNeill 
 is seen near Moorefield, moving up the South 
 Branch of the Potomac, while up the pike, on the 
 opposite side, move the Yankees, about two hun- 
 dred strong, their horses the worse for having gal- 
 loped from New Creek Station, some thirty-five 
 miles off, from which point they started about 
 eight o'clock in the morning, as we afterwards 
 leai-ned. Tuesday night, McNeill camped on the 
 South Fork of the South Branch, with his pris- 
 oners all safe, but, like their captors, all tired. 
 The next morning, five hundred Yankee cavalry 
 entered Moorefield ; a large force was also relia- 
 bly reported to Lieut. McNeill, going up Lost 
 River, to intercept him ; but they didn't, as the 
 Generals reached this city Sunday morning, about 
 two o'clock, in charge of Lieut. J. S. Welton, who 
 rendered prompt, active, and efficient service in 
 effecting the capture. 
 
 It is proper to say, that the entrance into Gen. 
 Kelley's room was through his Adjutant-Gener- 
 al's apartment. An eye was kept to this gentle- 
 man, and he was brought off with four head- 
 quarter colors. His name is Major Melvin. 
 
 To_ have entered Cumberland, a city of eight 
 or nine thousand inhabitants, (a majority of 
 whom ai-e bitterly hostile,) with, according to our 
 
 best information, seven or eight thousand troops 
 encamped in and around, is very strong evidence 
 that Lieut. Jesse C. McNeill is a chip of the old 
 block, a worthy son of his gallant old sire, Capt. 
 John Hanson McNeill, who, and his eldest son, 
 have already laid their lives u])on their country's 
 altar. 
 
 . Gen. Early, immediately on the receipt of the 
 news of his exploit, advanced the gallant young 
 officer to the rank of Captain in McNeill's Ran- 
 gers. 
 
 ROLL CALL. 
 
 BY N. G. SHEPHERD. 
 
 <' Corporal Green ! " the Orderly cried; 
 " Here ! " was the answer, loud and clear, 
 From the lips of a soldier, who stood near ; 
 
 And <' Here ! " was the word the next replied. 
 
 " Cyrus Drew ! " — then a silence fell — 
 This time no answer followed the call ; 
 Only his rear man had seen him fall, 
 
 Killed or wounded, he could not tell. 
 
 There they stood, in the falling light. 
 
 These men of battle, with grave, dark looks, 
 As plain to be read as open books, 
 
 While slowly gathered the shades of night. 
 
 The fern on the hill-sides was splashed with blood, 
 And down in the corn, where the poppies grew, 
 Were redder stains than the poppies knew, 
 
 And crimson-dyed as the river's flood. 
 
 For the foe had crossed from the other side. 
 That day, in the face of a murderous fire, 
 That swept them down in its terrible ire ; 
 
 And their life-blood went to color the tide. 
 
 " Herbert Cline ! " At the call there came 
 Two stalwart soldiers into the line. 
 Bearing between them this Herbert Cline, 
 
 Wounded and bleeding, to answer his name. 
 
 "Ezra Kerr ! " — and a voice answered, " Here ! " 
 "Hiram Kerr! " but no man replied : 
 They were brothers, these two : the sad wind 
 sighed. 
 
 And a shudder crept through the cornfiold near. 
 
 " Ephraim Deane ! " — then a soldier spoke ; 
 " Deane carried our regiment's colors," he said, 
 " When our ensign was shot ; I left him dead. 
 
 Just after the enemy wavered and broke. 
 
 "Close to the road-side his body lies ; 
 
 I paused a moment, and gave him to drmk ; 
 
 He murmured his mother's name, I think. 
 And Death came with it and closed his eyes." 
 
 'Twas a victory — yes ; but it cost us dear ; 
 For that company's roll, when called at night, 
 Of a hundred men who went into the fight. 
 
 Numbered but twenty that answered, " Here! " 
 
 The ScnooLS of Fernandina. — A corre- 
 spondent writing from Fernandina, Fla., says : — 
 The colored schools, which have been in success- 
 ful operation here, closed for a vacation of two 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 117 
 
 months. The progress made by the pupils more 
 than equals the expectations of the most sanguine 
 friends of the race. The children have evinced an 
 aptitude to learn, and a capacity fully equal to 
 white children at the North, and in all the better 
 characteristics they are in no way behind them. 
 .... None who have witnessed the grateful 
 expressions of fathers and mothers, and the daily 
 tributes of flowers, and other evidences of affec- 
 tion of the children for their teachers, will ever 
 question the natural susceptibility of this people 
 to cultivation, and a prompt response to the or- 
 dinary appliances which make mankind respec- 
 table. Corporeal punishment has been so rare 
 that I question whether, during the entire term, 
 among three hundred children, there have been 
 more than half a dozen cases ; and I have never 
 seen uneducated children anywhere exhibit more 
 sensibility to the dishonor of a banishment from 
 school, or other similar infliction, than these chil- 
 dren of slavery. 
 
 Some of the girls ancl boys had committed 
 pieces, which were properly spoken ; and one 
 little ebony, only eight years old, showed extraor- 
 dinary aptness at declamation in a little piece 
 he had learned. True, he was in rags, and his 
 skin was coal-black, but a more intelligent and 
 happy face I never saw. If permitted, that boy 
 will yet shame many a " pale-face " by his supe- 
 rior intellectual power. 
 
 At the close of the exercises, a little book or 
 primer was presented to each scholar as a present 
 for their attendance and good conduct ; and it 
 was pleasing to see with what eagerness and 
 satisfaction each received this first testimonial 
 of scholarship. Nearly three hundred presents 
 were distributed, which were furnished principally 
 through the libei'ality of Hon. Joseph Hoxie, of 
 New York, who had visited the schools a few 
 months since, and whose judicious selections were 
 universally commended, and his generosity fully 
 appreciated. These children will never forget 
 this occasion. 
 
 Among the songs by the school, interspersed 
 throughout the exercises, — and every child sings 
 in these schools, — was the following, which, aside 
 from its intrinsic merit and aff"ecting pathos, was 
 particularly interesting from the fact that just 
 before the rebellion, a congregation of slaves 
 attending a public baptism on Sunday, at Savan- 
 nah, were arrested, imprisoned, and punished 
 with thirty-nine lashes each, for singing the song 
 of spiritual freedom — now a crime, since slavery 
 has become a " divine institution." 
 
 SLAVE SONG. 
 
 My mother ! how long ! Mothers ! how long ! 
 mothers ! how long ! 
 Will sinners suffer here ? 
 Chorus. — It won't be long ! It won't be long ! It 
 won't be long I 
 That sinners '11 suffer here ! 
 
 We'll walk de golden streets ! we'll walk de golden 
 streets ! we'll walk de golden streets ! 
 Where pleasures never die ! 
 Chobus. — It won't be long ! &c. 
 
 My brother ! do sing ! my brother ! do sing ! my 
 brother ! do sing ! 
 De praises ob de Lord ! 
 Chorus. — It won't be long ! &c. 
 
 We'll soon be free ! we'll soon be fi'ee ! we'll soon 
 be free ! 
 De Lord will call us home ! 
 Chorus. — My brother! do sing ! my brother ! do 
 sing ! my brother ! do sing ! 
 De praises ob de Lord I 
 
 And these verses, so expressive and pathetic, 
 are added to almost indefinitely, in the same style, 
 by the interested singers. Now, where this and 
 the hundred kindred songs sung by the slaves 
 came from, or who amidst the darkness of slavery 
 inditeth them, I cannot of course say ; but it is 
 easy to determine the source of the inspiration. 
 In patient faith and enduring hope these " songs 
 of Zion " have been sung by generations of these 
 bondmen, as the only relief for bleeding hearts 
 and lacerated bodies ; and now God comes in 
 judgment to requite the nation for the wrongs in- 
 flicted upon his oppressed and suffering poor. 
 
 Another interesting and significant event con- 
 nected with the people here, occurred on Monday. 
 The women called a meeting at the church, to 
 consider the propriety of presenting Col. Little- 
 field's regiment, now enlisting here, a stand of 
 colors. Like the great dinner and celebration on 
 the Fourth, all was arranged by the colored wo- 
 men, and fifty dollars were contributed on the 
 spot, by these poor fugitives, from the hard earn- 
 ings of their brief freedom — contributed to pur- 
 chase an American flag to be borne by their col- 
 ored brethren — the flag which had been to them 
 till now the emblem of oppression ! They cher- 
 ish no feelings of malignity for the wrongs which 
 have been inflicted, but hail the new era of free- 
 dom with joy, and rally to the country's standard 
 with pride and satisfaction, now that the country 
 is prepared to respect their humanity and protect 
 their rights. Among the contributors was one 
 slave woman, who has five sons and a husband 
 in the army, while she remains at home to care 
 for younger children. 
 
 Ned Simons, an old negro belonging to the 
 Dungenness estate of Gen. Nathan Greene, on 
 Cumberland Island, and who was left by the 
 rebel inheritor. Nightingale, on his evacuation of 
 the place, died here last week, at the house of the 
 lady teachers of the schools, who have kindly 
 cared for him since theii* arrival here. Ned was 
 over one hundred years old, and remembered 
 Gen. Washington well, and was one of the num- 
 ber who assisted in carrying him through the 
 streets of Savannah on his last visit to that j)lace. 
 Old Ned took a lively interest in the affairs of the 
 nation, and rejoiced in the prospect of the free- 
 dom of his race. He was deeply interested in 
 the cause of education, and, though partially 
 blind with age, he desired himself to learn to 
 read. On being asked why he wished to learn, 
 when he could not expect to live much longer, he 
 replied, " As the tree falls, so it will lay ; " his 
 attainments on earth would contribute to higher 
 attainments on high ; and the ladies yielded to 
 
118 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 his request, and during the last months of his 
 life, he, with much labor and effort, acquired a 
 knowledge of his letters and sjUables. Poor old 
 Ned ! After a long life of unrequited toil and 
 slavery, he has " gone where the good negroes 
 go ; " where no slave-driver will ever follow ; 
 where he can sing " de praises ob de Lord " in 
 freedom and safety. 
 
 Incident of Fredericksburg. — While the 
 Union cavalry were on the retreat, one of the 
 men heard tlie clattering of a horse's hoofs close 
 in his rear, and supposing he was pursued by a 
 rebel, put spurs to his horse and increased his 
 pace, without looking behind him. After travel- 
 ling at a rapid rate for some distance, our man 
 turned his head, and discovered that the pursuing 
 horse was riderless. The sudden shock of satis- 
 faction was so great that he fell from his horse, 
 and both horses went cantering over the fields 
 without riders, and the Union cavalryman took 
 possession of his unexpected prize. 
 
 A Spartan Girl. — A young daughter of 
 Baltimore wrote thus to a schoolmate and friend 
 in Charleston : 
 
 Baltuioue, May IC, 1801. 
 
 You must pardon me for intruding upon you 
 an expression of my Southern sentiments. I so 
 often think and speak of you with the rest of j-our 
 friends, and I envy your living in the bosom of a 
 home which we are denied. You cannot see as 
 vrell as we how miserably our happiness, our lib- 
 erty, our homes, have been sold by traitors, who 
 would risk all this to be pampered minions of an 
 Abe Lincoln and his party. 
 
 I can scarcely control myself while I am writ- 
 ing you. I am boiling over Avith indignation. I 
 once prayed for peace ; but now, next to begging 
 the blessing of God, I pray — "Hurrah for Jeff 
 Davis and the Southern Confederacy ! " and, wo- 
 man as I am, if I knew the way, I Avould walk 
 out of Maryland, until my foot rested upon more 
 Southern soil. You are happy indeed, and have 
 nothing to contend with in comparison with us 
 poor Baltimorians, or, I should have said, Mary- 
 landers ; for here there are hearts that beat as 
 warm to the South, as ever throbbed at the guns 
 of Charleston. AVe are not conquered, and never 
 will he ; and God grant that before long the flag 
 of secession may wave over our city and State. 
 Then we can run to the embraces of friends Avhom 
 we love, though we know them not. It is suf- 
 ficient we arc all for the same cause — Southern 
 rights. 
 
 It would amuse you exceedingly if you could 
 hear the women talk. Some ofi'er themselves as 
 escorts to the gentlemen, who find it difficult to 
 get out of the city ; others are almost ready to 
 hang old Hicks, and, but for the men, I believe 
 they would ; others, and I among the number, 
 are ready to shoulder our muskets to defend the 
 just and holy cause of the South, in case the 
 men fail. 
 
 In the event of Maryland doing anything that 
 would seem hostile to the South, do you, and 
 beg your friends to, keep one sympathizing 
 thought for those who are with you in spirit ; for 
 
 " 'Tis home where'er the heart is." 
 
 How I would love to be able to talk to you 
 about old and new times ! 
 
 Incidents of Bull Run. — In the thickest 
 of the contest, a secession Colonel of cavalry was 
 knocked out of his saddle by a ball from one of 
 our riflemen. *' There goes old Baker, of the 
 Georgia First ! " shouted one of our boys, in 
 hearing of his chaplain. " Who ? " queried the 
 parson. " Col. Baker, of the rebel ranks, has 
 just gone to his long home." "Ah, well," re- 
 plied the cliaplain, quietly, " the longer I live, the 
 less cause I have to find fault with the inscruta- 
 ble acts of Divine ProvMence." An unlucky pri- 
 vate in one of the New Y'^ork regiments was 
 wounded in this fight, and his father arrived at 
 the hospital just as the surgeon was removing 
 the ball from the back of his shoulder. The boy 
 lay with his face downwards on the pallet. " Ah, 
 my poor son," said the father, mournfully, " I'm 
 very sorry for you. But it's a bad place to be 
 hit in — thus, in the hack." The sufferer turned 
 over, bared his breast, and pointing to the open- 
 ing above the armpit, exclaimed, " Father, here's 
 where the ball went in ! " 
 
 One of the Zouaves was struck by a cannon 
 shot, which tore through his thigh, close to his 
 body, nearly severing the limb from the trunk. 
 As he fell, he drew his photograph from his 
 breast, and said to his nearest comrade, " Take 
 this to my wife. Tell her I died like a soldier, 
 fi^ithful to my country's cause, and the good old 
 flag. Good by ! " and he died where he fell. 
 
 An artillery-man lay on the ground, nearly ex- 
 hausted from loss of blood, and too wealt to get 
 out of the way of the tramping troops and horses 
 that flitted about him. A mounted horseman came 
 towards him, when he raised the bleeding stumps 
 of both his arms, and cried out, "Don't tread on 
 me, Cap'n ! See! both hands are gone." The 
 trooper leaped over him, a shell broke near by, 
 and the crashing fragments put the sufferer quick- 
 ly out of his misery. 
 
 A rebel — one of the Georgia regiments — lay 
 with a fearful shot-wound in his side, which tore 
 out several of his ribs. The life-blood of the 
 poor fellow was fast oozing out, when one of our 
 troops came dashing forward, from out of the 
 melee, and fell, sharply wounded, close' beside 
 him. The Georgian recognized liis uniform, 
 though he was fatally hurt, and feebly held out 
 his hand. " We came into this battle," he said, 
 " enemies. Let us die friends. Farewell." He 
 spoke no more, but his companion in disas- 
 ter took the extended hand, and escaped to re- 
 late this touching fact. 
 
 One of our riflemen had his piece carried away 
 by a ball, which struck it out of his hands just 
 as his company was in the act of advancing to 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 119 
 
 storm one of the smaller rebel batteries. Un- 
 harmed, he sprang forward, and threw himself 
 down on his face, under the enemy's guns. A 
 Zouave lay there, wounded and bleeding, out of 
 the way of the murderous fire. " Lay close — 
 lay close, old boy," said the latter to the new 
 comer ; " the boys '11 take this old furnace 'n 
 a minute, and then we'll git up an' give the 
 rebels fits ag'in." Three minutes afterwards 
 the battery was carried, and the two soldiers were 
 in the thickest of the fight again. 
 
 A member of the Second Connecticut regiment 
 wrote as follows : 
 
 While at a halt it Avas my lot to witness a very 
 painful scene. I captured a prisoner, (a Ger- 
 man,) belonging to the Eighth South Carolina 
 regiment, and took him to Major Colburn for in- 
 structions as to how to dispose of him. The pris- 
 oner requested one privilege as his last, which 
 the Major very humanely granted. He said his 
 brother lay a short distance off, in a dying condi- 
 tion, and he wished to see him. I bade him lead 
 the way, and I foUoM'ed. 
 
 He took me to an old log hut but a few rods 
 from where our regiment Avas halted. On the 
 north side, in the shade, we found the wounded 
 man. The prisoner spoke to him — he opened 
 his eyes — the film of death had already over- 
 spread them, and the tide of life was fast ebbing. 
 He was covered with blood, and the swarms of 
 flies and mosquitoes, which were fattening upon 
 his lii'e's blood, indicated that he had lain there 
 for some time. They clasped hands together, 
 muttered a fe\^' words in the German language, 
 supplicating the Throne of Grace for their fami- 
 lies at home, kissed, and bade each other a final 
 adieu ; the prisoner remarking, as I took him by 
 the arm to lead him away, for the column was 
 . moving, " Brother, you are dying, and I am a 
 prisoner." The man was shot Avitli a musket ball 
 in the back, just over the hip ; from which fact I 
 inferred that he was on the retreat when the 
 deadly ball overtook him. 
 
 0, gracious God ! not gainless is the loss ; 
 A glorious sunbeam gilds thy sternest frown ; 
 And icJiile his country/ staggers with the cross, 
 He rises icith the crown ! 
 
 JACKSON. 
 
 BY HARRY TLASH. 
 
 Not 'midst the lightning of the stormy fight, 
 Not in the rush upon the Vandal foe, 
 Did kingly Death, with his resistless might. 
 Lay the Great Leader low. 
 
 His warrior soul its earthly shacldes broke 
 hi the full sunshine of a peaceful town ; 
 When all the storm was hushed, the trusty oak 
 That propped our cause went down. 
 
 Though his alone the blood that flecks the ground. 
 Recording all his grand, heroic deeds. 
 Freedom herself is writhing with the wound, 
 And all the country bleeds. 
 
 He entered not the nation's Promised Land 
 At the red belching of the cannon's mouth, 
 But broke the House of Bondage with his hand. 
 The Moses of the South ! 
 
 Incidents of the Battle of Pea-Ridge. 
 — One of the Ninth Missouri was so em-aged, on 
 the second day of the battle, at seeing his brother, 
 a member of the same regiment, horribly butch- 
 ered and scalped, that he swore vengeance against 
 the Indians, and for the remainder of the day de- 
 voted his attention entirely to them, concealing 
 himself behind trees, and fighting in their fash- 
 ion. An excellent marksman, he would often 
 creep along the ground to obtain a better range ; 
 and then Avoe to the savage Avho exposed any 
 part of his body. When he had shot an Indian, 
 he would shout with delicious joy: " There goes 
 
 another red-skin to . Hurrah for the Stars 
 
 and Stripes, and all Indians ! " Though 
 
 ever following the wily foe, and though fii-ed upon 
 again and again, he received not a scratch ; and 
 on his return to camp, after nightfall, bore with 
 him nine scalps of aboriginal warriors, slain by 
 his own hand to avenge his brother's death. 
 
 A German soldier, in the Thirt3'-fifth Illinois, 
 met with two very narroAv escapes in fifteen min- 
 utes, while Gen. Carr's division Avas contending 
 so vigorously against the enemy in Cross-Timber 
 HolloAV. He Avore earrings for the benefit of his 
 eyes, and a musket-ball cut one of them in two, 
 (the broken segments still remaining,) and passed 
 into the shoulder of the Second Lieutenant of the 
 company. Ten minutes after, during a tempo- 
 rary lull in the strife, Avhile the German Avas re- 
 lating the story of his escape, a bullet Avhistled 
 by, carrying the other ring with it, and abrading 
 the skin of his ear, Avithout doing further harm. 
 Such are the vagaries of fate, and the mysteri- 
 ous shiftings on the battle-field between lite and 
 death. 
 
 One of the Texas soldiers Avas advancing Avith 
 his bayonet upon a Lieutenant of the Ninth loAVa, 
 Avhose sword had been broken. The officer saAv 
 his intention, avoided the thrust, fell down at his 
 foeman's feet, caught hold of his legs, threw him 
 heavily to the ground, and before he could rise, 
 drcAV a long knife from his adversary's belt, and 
 buried it in his bosom. The Texan, Avith dying 
 grasp, seized the Lieutenant by the hair, and 
 sank flown lifeless, bathing the brown leaves with 
 his blood. So firm Avas the hold of the nerveless 
 hand, that it Avas necessary to cut the hair from 
 the head of the officer before he could be freed 
 from the corpse of the foe. 
 
 Presentiments on the battle-field often prove 
 prophetic. Here is an instance : While Col. Os- 
 terhaus Avas gallantly attacking the centre of the 
 enemy, on the second day, a Sergeant of the 
 TAvelfth Missouri requested the Captain of his 
 company to send his wife's portrait, wliich he 
 had taken from his bosom, to her address in St. 
 Louis, Avith his dying declaration that he thought 
 of her in his last moments. " What is that for ? " 
 asked the Captain. "You are not Avounded — are 
 
120 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 you?" " No," answered the Sergeant; "but I 
 know I shall be killed to-day. I have been in 
 battle before, but I never felt as I do now. A mo- 
 ment ago I became convinced my time had come ; 
 but how, I cannot tell. Will you gratify my re- 
 quest ? Remember, I speak to you as a dying 
 man." " Certainly, my brave fellow ; but you will 
 live to a good old age with your wife. Do not 
 grow melancholy over a fancy or a dream." " You 
 will see," was the response. The picture changed 
 hands. The Sergeant stepped forward to the 
 front of the column, and the Captain perceived 
 him no more. At the camp-fire that evening the 
 officer inquired for the Sergeant. He was not 
 present. He had been killed three hours before 
 by a grape-shot from one of the enemy's batte- 
 ries. 
 
 While the fight was raging about Miser's farm- 
 house, on the ridge, on Friday morning, a sol- 
 dier, belonging to the Twenty-fifth Missouri, and 
 a member of a Mississippi company, became 
 separated from their commands, and found each 
 other chmbing the same fence. The rebel had 
 one of those long knives made of a file, which 
 the South has so extensively paraded, but so 
 rarely used, and the Missourian had one also, 
 having picked it up on the field. The rebel 
 challenged his enemy to a fair, open combat with 
 the knife, intending to bully him, no doubt ; and 
 the challenge was promptly accepted. The two 
 removed their coats, rolled up their sleeves, and 
 began. The Mississippian had more skill, but 
 his opponent more strength, and consequently 
 the latter could not strike his enemy, while he re- 
 ceived several cuts on the head and breast. 
 
 The blood began trickling down the Unionist's 
 face, and, running into his eyes, almost blinded 
 him. The Union man became desperate, for he 
 saw the secessionist was unhurt. He made a 
 feint ; the rebel leaned forward to arrest the 
 blow, but employing too much energy, he could 
 not recover himself at once. The Missourian 
 perceived his advantage, and knew he could not 
 lose it. In five seconds more it Avould be too 
 late. His enemy, glaring at him like a wild beast, 
 was on the eve of striking again. Another feint ; 
 another dodge on the rebel's part ; and then the 
 blade of the Missourian, hurled through the air, 
 fell with tremendous force upon the Mississippi- 
 an's neck. The blood spirted from the throat, 
 and the head fell over, almost entirely severed 
 from the body. Ghastly sight ! too ghastly even 
 for the doer of the deed ! He fainted at the 
 spectacle, weakened by the loss of his own blood, 
 and was soon after butchered by a Seminole, who 
 saw him sink to the earth. 
 
 On Saturday morning, a body of three or four 
 hundred Indians was discovered on the north side 
 of Sugar Creek, below the curve of a hill, firing 
 from thick clusters of post-oaks into three or four 
 companies of Arkansas soldiers, marching in 
 McCuUoch's division towards the upper part of 
 the ridge. The Major of the battalion, seeing 
 this, hallooed out to them that they were firing 
 upon their own friends, and placed his white hand- 
 kerchief on his sword, and waved it in the air. 
 
 The Indians either did not see, or did not care 
 for, the flag of truce, but poured two volleys into 
 the Arkansans, lulling, among others, the Major 
 himself. The presumption then was, that the 
 Cherokees had turned traitors ; and the secession 
 soldiers were immediately ordered to charge upon 
 them. They did so, and for an hour a terrible 
 fight ensued among the oaks between them and 
 their late savage allies, in which it is stated some 
 two hundred and fifty were killed and wounded 
 on both sides. The Indians suff'ered severely, as 
 they were driven from their hiding-2>laces, and 
 shot and butchered without mercy. A person 
 who witnessed this part of the fight says it was 
 the most bloody and desperate that occui'red on 
 the field, being conducted with the most reckless 
 and brutal energy by the two parties, of whom it 
 would be difficult to say which was the most bar- 
 barous. On the dead savages were found, in 
 some instances, two or three scalps fastened to 
 their belts by thongs of leather. 
 
 An Energetic Woman. — A correspondent 
 writing from Jasper county, Mississippi, gave the 
 following : 
 
 INIrs. Simmons, a widow lady of Jasper county, 
 Mississippi, made, during one year of the war, 
 (1863), 300 bushels of corn, 100 bushels of 
 potatoes, with peas and pinders enough to fatten 
 her hogs. She did the ploughing herself, and 
 did it with an old wind-broken pony. Her two 
 little daughters, aged twelve and fourteen years, 
 did the hoeing. She also made 100 pounds of 
 tobacco. After her crop was finished, she did 
 weaving enough to buy her salt, and a pair of 
 cards, and had some money left. 
 
 Incidents of Bull Run. — A Southern writer, 
 in recounting the incidents of the battle of Bull 
 Run, says : 
 
 Our regiment by this time had come in reach 
 of the enemy's cannon. The balls fell before and 
 behind us, but no damage was done. We now 
 threw our knapsacks away to engage in a hand- 
 to-hand fight. We ran to the point at which the 
 fire seemed to be most severe. Advancing in 
 front of the cannon, we got within musket-shot 
 of our enemy, and fell to the ground, having a 
 slight mound to protect us. Had we been stand- 
 ing, scarcely one would have been left. Twice 
 did the cannon-balls throw dirt upon me, and 
 musket-balls whistled by the hundred within a 
 few inches of my head. Several of our regiment 
 (18th Virginia) were killed, but the exact number 
 I know not. Young Hatchett was wounded, but 
 not seriously, the ball entering his leg. Men 
 would raise their heads a few inches from the 
 ground to peep, and several times wei"e shot in 
 that position. Men fell on my right and left. 
 We remained about ten minutes receiving the 
 enemy's fire, and were not allowed to return fire, 
 The command to fire came at last. We rose and 
 fired with deadly effect upon our foes. We rushed 
 forward to the top of the hill, and fii-ed again ; 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 121 
 
 also a third time. Now, for the first time, the foe 
 began to retire in a run, and in great disorder, I 
 think that a great majority of the regiment upon 
 which we fired were killed. No boasting, — God 
 forbid ! to him all praise is due. At our approach 
 the enemy left an excellent rifled battery, manned 
 by regulars, in our hands. They fought until all 
 their horses were killed, and nearly every man. 
 We were now left victors of the field, and started 
 in pursuit of the foe. We followed them a mile 
 or so, and were then brought back within a mile 
 of Manassas, marching at night a distance of six 
 or seven miles. The fight lasted eight hours — 
 from nine to five. I cannot describe the horrors 
 of the fight. Noise and confusion of many kinds 
 prevailed — the firing of cannon, the discharge 
 of musketry, the whizzing of balls, the bursting 
 of bombs, the roar of artillery, the tramp of 
 horses, the advance of infantry, the shouts of the 
 conquering, the groans of the dying, the shrieks 
 of the wounded, large numbers of the dead lying 
 upon the ground, the carrying of the wounded by 
 scores, and all enveloped in a dark cloud of 
 smoke, — all go to make one vast spectacle of hor- 
 rors such as I never wish to see again, or hear. 
 Many were the dead and wounded over which I 
 was forced to pass, both of our men and of our 
 foes. O, how I wanted to aid them, but could 
 not ! The fight was desperate. The enemy- 
 succeeded in carrying oflF hundreds of their dead, 
 but left many behind. Our cavalry, who pursued 
 them in the direction of Centreville, report the 
 road strewn with dead and wounded. 
 
 Our enemies are not cowards. Many men 
 were found with bayonets in them, some side by 
 side, each with his bayonet in the other. Our 
 enemy is said to have run generally when we 
 advanced with the bayonet. Certainly this was 
 the worst of the fight. Gen. Beauregard, who 
 commanded in person, told us that he would 
 depend principally upon the bayonet. Gen. B. 
 cheered us as we advanced, and our loud cheers in 
 return were said to have frightened the enemy. 
 
 The Boy Soldier. — When the Tenth Indiana 
 was recruited in the fall of 1861, they took for 
 their drummer a little fellow, named Johnny 
 McLaughlin, whose parents reside at Lafayette, 
 Indiana. He was then a little over ten years of 
 age, and beat his tattoo at the head of the regi- 
 ment for several months of active service. 
 
 At Donelson and at Shiloh, when the drum- 
 beats were drowned in the deeper roar of battle, 
 Jonnny laid down his sticks, and taking the mus- 
 ket and cartridge box from a dead soldier, went 
 out to the front, and fought as bravely as the 
 stoutest soldier in the regiment. Escaping unhurt 
 in each of these engagements, he was enamoured 
 of soldier life, and sought a transfer from the 
 infantry to Col. Jacob's Kentucky cavalry. Being 
 favorably impressed with the spirit and zeal of 
 the young warrior. Col. Jacob put him into his 
 best company, and mounted him on a good horse. 
 At the engagement at Richmond, which soon 
 followed, in the summer of 1862, he fought with 
 
 as much coolness and skill as any of his company, 
 handling his sabre, revolver, and revolving rifle 
 with the address of a veteran. 
 
 In October following, he was in another battle, 
 at Perryville, where he received his first wound, 
 a ball passing through the leg above the knee. 
 
 In this engagement Col. Jacob, with a part 
 of his command, was temporarily separated from 
 the greater part of the regiment, and while thus 
 cut off was attacked by a largely superior force 
 of the enemy, led by a Major. Col. Jacob was 
 deliberating for a moment on the demand to sur- 
 render, when the little hero drew his pistol and 
 shot the Major in the mouth, kiUing him instantly. 
 A few moments of confusion and delay followed 
 in the rebel regiment, during which Col. Jacob 
 and his men escaped. 
 
 A few weeks after, he was engaged in a skirmish 
 with some of John Morgan's men, who were 
 raiding through Kentucky, and the fighting was 
 severe. 
 
 Johnny was set upon by a strapping fellow, 
 who gave him a pi'etty severe cut on the leg with 
 his sabre, and knocked him off his horse. A 
 moment after, another rebel seized him by the 
 collar, and exclaimed : " We've got one d — d little 
 Yankee, anyhow." The little Yankee did not see 
 it in that light, however, and quickly drawing his 
 pistol, shot his captor dead, and a moment after 
 the rebels were routed, and he escaped capture. 
 
 As he was going back to Indiana on furlough 
 to give his wound time to heal, he was stopped 
 at one point by a provost guard, and his pass 
 demanded, 
 
 "0," said he, " the Colonel didn't give me one, but 
 just told me to go along with the rest. But," 
 added the little soldier, showing his wound, " here's 
 a pass the rebs gave me ; ain't that good enough for 
 a little fellow like me ? " The guard thought it 
 was. 
 
 His wound proved quite serious, and, much to 
 his surprise, and against his wishes, he received 
 his discharge in consequence of this and his 
 extreme youthfulness. Not relishing civil life as 
 long as the hostilities lasted, he applied at a 
 recruiting office, but the condition of his leg ex- 
 cluded him. 
 
 Nothing daunted, however, he sought ani 
 obtained an interview with the President, who on 
 hearing the story of the boyish veteran, gave a 
 special order for his enlistment. 
 
 He had now made up his mind to follow the 
 life of a soldier, and joined the regiflar army of 
 the United States as a bugler in the cavalry ser- 
 vice, and makes as fine-looking, neat, and obedi- 
 ent a little dragoon as there is in the army. 
 
 Joan of Arc in the West. — At a flag- 
 raising at North Plato, Kane County, Illinois, 
 after the Stars and Stripes had been duly hoisted, 
 the assembly adjourned to the village church, 
 where some speeches were made by patriotic 
 gentlemen, and an opportunity Avas offered for 
 young men to come forward and enlist, the 
 company at Plato not being quite full. Not a 
 
 j..ft»,.^ 
 
122 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 man went up ! This aroused the patriotism as 
 well as the " dander " of the village schoolmis- 
 tress, who, Avith many other ladies, was present, 
 and she walked boldly forward to the secretary's 
 desk, and headed the muster-roll with a name 
 rendered illustrious as having been affixed to the 
 Declaration of Inde])endence, with the prenomen 
 Mary. She was followed by another lady, and 
 lo, and behold ! the Plato company was not long 
 in filling its ranks ! The muster-roll, bearing the 
 names of the spirited young vivandieres, has been 
 sent to headquarters, and the company accepted 
 by the " powers that be." After that day four 
 flag-raisings came ofi" in that portion of Kane 
 county, and "Mary" and "May" — the soldier 
 girls — in uniforms of white, red, and blue, at- 
 tended all of them, at the request of the officers, 
 marching, as pioneers, at the head of their com- 
 pany. The Captain said he could not get along 
 without them ; and after the flag had been sent 
 up, he allowed them to fire each three guns in 
 honor of the Union, the Stars and Stripes. 
 Much of the success of the recruiting service, and 
 the patriotic fire in old Kane, was attributed to 
 the gallant conduct and bright eyes of these 
 young ladies. 
 
 THE CONFEDERATE PRIMER. 
 
 At Nashville's fall 
 We sinned all. 
 
 At Number Ten 
 We sinned again. 
 
 Thy purse to mend, 
 Old Floyd attend. 
 
 Abe Lincoln bold 
 Our ports doth hold. 
 
 Jeff Davis tells a lie, 
 And so must you and I. 
 
 Isham did mourn 
 His case forlorn. 
 
 Brave Pillow's flight 
 Is out of sight. 
 
 Buell doth play 
 ' And after slay. 
 
 Yon oak Avill be the gallows-tree 
 Of Richmond's fallen majesty. 
 
 A Literary Soldier. — Adam Badeau, a lit- 
 erary man and journalist of New York, volun- 
 teered, at Port Pioyal, lo act in any capacity which 
 might prove useful, when Gen. Sherman contem- 
 plated an ad\ance upon Savannah, in Januai-y, 
 1862. He was immediately appointed volunteer 
 Aid on Gen. Sherman's staff, and served in this 
 capacity, without either rank or pay, till Gen. 
 Sherman was relieved. The preparations for the 
 siege of Fort Pulaski having then been com- 
 pleted, he volunteered and served as Aid to Gen. 
 
 Gillmore, who commanded the United States 
 forces during the bombardment of that work. 
 He, with Gen. Gillmore, was the first to enter 
 Fort Pulaski, being sent forward to meet the 
 rebel officer who approached on Gen. Gillmore's 
 landing, after the fiag of the fort Avas struck. 
 The rebel was Capt. Simms, late editor of the 
 Savannah Itepublkan. Capt. Simms' first words 
 were civil : " I trust, sir, you will pardon the de- 
 lay that has occurred in receiving you ; we thought 
 you would land at the other wharf." After this, 
 Capt. Simms Avished to conduct Mr. Badeau to 
 the commandant of the fort, but Badeau requested 
 Simms rather to go to Gen. Gillmore. This was 
 acceded to., and after a few words of parley, the 
 three, accompanied also by Col. Rust of a Elaine 
 regiment, entered the fort; they were received at 
 the portcullis by Col. Olmstead, the commandant, 
 who conducted them first to his quarters, and af- 
 terwards to inspect the works, pointing out the 
 havoc which had been made by the National bat- 
 teries. In an interview of an hour's duration 
 between the two commanders, tiie terms of the 
 capitulation were arranged. Gen. Gillmore and 
 Col. Kust returned to Tybee Island, and Mr. Ba- 
 deau was left to introduce a second party of Na- 
 tional officers sent to receive the swords of the 
 rebels. The ceremony of surrender took place 
 in one of the casemates (used by Col. Olmstead 
 for his own quarters) at about dark. Five Na- 
 tional officers, besides Badeau, Avere present : 
 Maj. Halpine, Adj. -Gen. for Gen. Hunter, Capt. 
 S. H. Pelouze, Capt. Ely, Lieut. O'Eorke, 
 and Lieut. IrAvin of the Wabash. Each rebel, as 
 he laid his SAVord on the table, announced his 
 name and rank. The Colonel said, " I yield my 
 SAVord, but I trust I have not disgraced it ;" oth- 
 ers made remarks less felicitous. After the cer- 
 emony, the National officers Avere invited to 
 supper by these prisoners, and then returned to 
 Tybee Island. Badeau, hoAvever, remained all 
 night in Fort Pulaski, sleeping in the room Avith 
 three rebel officers, and even sharing the bed of 
 one of the hospitable prisoners. No Union troops 
 arrived in the fort until about midnight, so that 
 his sojourn among those Avho had so lately been 
 his enemies, had a dash of romance about it. He 
 Avas treated, hoAvever, Avith the greatest courtesy, 
 the rebels apologizing for the fare he Avas offered 
 by saying : " You see to what you have reduced 
 us." Hominy, molasses, hard bread, and pork 
 Avere served for supper and breakfast ; and for 
 variety, sweet oil Avas used instead of molasses. 
 The conversation was animated, and often touched 
 on politics. 
 
 Immediately afterwards, Mr. Badeau was rec- 
 ommended to the President, by Gen. Hunter, for 
 a captaincj-, and made bearer of despatches to 
 the Government, announcing the fall of Pulaski. 
 He had also the honor of being mentioned in Gen, 
 Gillmore's formal report of the operations. The 
 President accordingly at once aj)pointed him an 
 additional Aid to Maj.-Gen. Halleck, Avith the rank 
 of Captain in the regular army. 
 
 Capt. Badeau was assigned to duly Avith his 
 old chief, Brig.-Gen. Sherman, served under him 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 123 
 
 during the siege of Corinth, and in the subsequent 
 pursuit of Beauregard in Mississippi. He was after- 
 wards ordered to the Department of the Gulf, but 
 now (1865) occupies a position on the staff of 
 Lieut.-Gen. Grant. __^__ 
 
 MiNNESOTIANS AT FREDERICKSBURG. — The 
 following incident in the terrible battle at Fred- 
 ericksburg was related by Col. Morgan : Maj.- 
 Gen. How'ard, who commanded the extreme right, 
 ordered a strong line of pickets to be formed, as 
 a line of battle, by Col. Morgan, in command of 
 heavy detachments from five regiments, with the 
 Minnesota First, as usual, on the extreme right, 
 and most exposed place. The morning dawned 
 — the rebels opened with shot and shell, plough- 
 ing up the ground and covering the line with 
 heaps of earth. It was a very hot place, and 
 three of the regiments broke, and run like sheep. 
 Gens. Howard and Sully (Sully, their old Colonel, 
 whom they loved dearly) were watching them. 
 " There," said Maj.-Gen. Howard, — " there, they 
 don't stand fire — see them run." " Not a bit 
 of it," says Gen. Sully ; " my old Minnesota don't 
 run." Gen. Howard fixed his glass on them. 
 
 " No — no — no, sir ; they — your old regiment 
 don't flinch a hair — they don't run." Sully, rais- 
 ing himself up to his full height, exclaimed, in his 
 
 soft language, " Who in ever supposed they 
 
 would run ? They are not of the running breed." 
 Gen. How'ard complimented them as the most reli- 
 able, the bravest regiment in the division, if not 
 in the army. 
 
 Anecdote of Stonewall Jackson. — At a 
 council of generals early in the wai% one remarked 
 
 that Major was wounded, and would not be 
 
 able to perform a duty that it was proposed to 
 assign him. "Wounded!" said Jackson. "K 
 it really is so, I think it must have been by an 
 accidental discharge of his duty." 
 
 A Soldier with the PcIght Spirit. — Henry 
 W. Camp, Adjutant of the Tenth Connecticut vol- 
 unteers, was made prisoner by the rebels at Morris 
 Island, oft' Charleston, in July, 1863. After ten 
 months' confinement in the jails of Charleston, 
 Columbia, and Ptichmond, he reached his home in 
 Hartford on the 7th of May, being released on 
 parole. In five days the news reached him of 
 his exchange ; and though he had a leave of twenty 
 days, he started at once for his regiment in But- 
 ler's department, above Norfolk, on the James. 
 On reaching Bermuda Hundreds he learned that 
 the Tenth Connecticut had gone to the front, and 
 was then probably engaged with the enemy. 
 Pressing forward as speedUy as possible, he met 
 the retreating column of the Eighteenth corps fall- 
 ing back from the attack of Beauregard. They told 
 him that the road by which he could reach his 
 regiment was already in possession of the en- 
 emy, and that an attempt to proceed under the 
 circumstances would only throw him again into a 
 rebel prison. Nothing daunted, however, he kept 
 on, and about ten o'clock in the morning reached 
 
 his regiment just as it was coming out of one 
 brisk skirmish, and was about advancing to an- 
 other attack. 
 
 Within fifteen minutes he was at his place, un- 
 der fire, and bearing himself gallantly, as always. 
 
 His conduct excited the warmest admiration 
 on the part of* the regiment. Notwithstanding 
 the engrossing excitement of the battle, officers 
 and men hailed his return with cheer upon cheer 
 in the very face of the enemy, and with the Minie 
 balls flying thickly around them. 
 
 Col. Plaisted, comman^ling the brigade, joined 
 in the greeting given to the beloved o'fficer whose 
 conduct was so praiseworthy, and even Gen. Terry, 
 the division commander, swung his hat in the 
 general cheering, and rode forward to welcome in 
 person the returning adjutant to his old command. 
 
 How much richer in true honor and pleasure 
 that manly greeting by the regiment in battle 
 line and under fire, than all the flattery and delight 
 that a prolonged furlough in his native city could 
 have afforded him ! . '\/^ 
 
 Spirit of the Women of Virginia. — A 
 lady of Clarke County, Virginia, whose husband 
 had been during two years in Yankee prisons, and 
 in exile from his home, and whose son (an only 
 child, in his 18th year) was then in some North- 
 ern Bastile, as a prisoner of war, wrote to her 
 husband as follows : " If it were possible, I should 
 like yo.u to be at home ; but I do not want you 
 or O. ever to give up the struggle for liberty and 
 our rights. If your salary fails to pay your 
 board, go at something else for the Confederacy ; 
 I will try and contrive a way to clothe you. I 
 would love to be with you ; but do not expect it 
 now, in these times. I wish O. was at home — 
 I mean in his company ; but I would rather he 
 would be held a. prisoner for the war, than have 
 liim at home dodging his duty, as some do. I 
 am proud to tliink every man in my little family 
 is in the army. If I have but two, they are at 
 their post of duty." 
 
 How Gen. Banks' x\rmy was saved. — 
 Charley H. Greenleaf, of the Fifth N^w York 
 cavalry, made the following statement in a let- 
 ter to his parents : " You have probably heard 
 of the three days' fighting from Strasburg and 
 Front Royal to Martinsburg. Our company 
 and company B were ordered to Front Royal, in 
 the mountains, twelve miles from Strasburg, 
 last Friday, and when we got within two miles 
 of our destination we heard cannonading. The 
 Major ordered the baggage to stop, and our two 
 companies dashed on, and found several com- . 
 panics of our infantry and two pieces of artillery 
 engaged with several thousand of the enemy. ■* 
 Just as t\-e arrived on the field, Col. Parem, who 
 had command of our forces, rode up to me, and 
 ordered me to take one man and the two fastest 
 horses in our company, and ride for dear life to 
 Gen. Banks' headquarters in Strasburg for re- 
 enforcements. The direct road to Strasburg 
 was occupied by the enemy ; so I was obliged to ** 
 ride round by another, seventeen miles. I 
 
 
 itv^ 
 
 
 ii 
 
 r^ '^aav* 
 
 
 fj 
 
 'i ■-N^*^*-^ *»^i 4 
 
 Wife ». P^^*.^^ 
 
124 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCmENTS. 
 
 rode the seventeen miles in fifty-five minutes. 
 Gen. Banks didn't seem to think it very serious, 
 but ordered one regiment of infantry and two 
 pieces of artillery off. I asked Gen. Banks for 
 a fresh horse to rejoin my company, and he gave 
 me the best horse that I ever rode, and I started 
 back. I came out on the Front Royal turnpike, 
 about two miles this side of where I left our 
 men. Saw two men standing in the road, and 
 their horses standing by the fence. I supposed 
 thej' Avere our pickets. They didn't halt me ; so 
 I asked them if they were pickets. They said, 
 "No." Says I, " Who are you ? " " We are part 
 of Gen. Jackson's staff." 1 supposed that they 
 were only joking. I laughed, and asked them 
 where Jackson was. They said he was in the 
 advance. I left them and rode to Front Royal, 
 till I overtook a soldier, and asked him what regi- 
 ment he belonged to. He said he belonged to 
 the Eighth Louisiana. I asked how large a force 
 they had, and the reply was, " Twenty thousand." 
 I turned back and drew my revolver, expecting 
 either a desperate fight or a Southern jail ; but 
 the officers in the road didn't stop me, and I was 
 lucky enough not to meet any of their pickets. 
 But if it was not a narrow escape, then I don't 
 know what is. When I got out of the enemy's 
 lines I rode as fast as the horse could carry me 
 to Gen. Banks, and reported what I had seen 
 and heard. He said I had saved the army. In 
 less than an hour the whole army was in motion 
 towards Winchester. After I left Front Royal 
 to take the first despatch to Strasburg, our two 
 companies of cavalry, who w-ere covering the 
 retreat of infantry and baggage, were attacked 
 on three sides by about 3000 of the enemy's cav- 
 alry. Our boys fought like devils, till nearly 
 half of them Avere killed or wounded, and then 
 retreated to Winchester. Capt. Wliite, William 
 Watson, Henry Appleby, and nine or ten men 
 of our company, are killed or taken. William 
 Marshall is all right, except a slight sabre wound 
 in the shoulder. We had a battle at Winchester, 
 got licked, and retreated. Our company and 
 company E were ordered to cover a Parrott gun 
 battery and bring up the rear. We rode all the 
 way from Winchester to Martinsburg with can- 
 non shot and shell flying around us faster than it 
 did at Bull Run. We crossed the Potomac last 
 night. It Avas so dark that Ave couldn't find the 
 ford, and had to swim our horses across. We 
 have got our batteries in position on this side, 
 and the rear of the army is crossing." (7") 
 
 In St.4tu Quo. — " Joe," said a soldier to a 
 comrade, Avho Avas reading the morning paper, 
 " Avhere the devil 's Statu Quo ? I see this paper 
 says our army 's in Statu Quo." 
 
 " Dunno ! " replied Joe — " reckon she must 
 be the east fork of the Chickamorgy ! " 
 
 Bravery of Capt. W. N. Green. — Among 
 the interesting incidents of the battle of Chan- 
 cellorsviUe, that of the capture of the colors of 
 
 the Twelfth regiment Georgia Volunteers, dur- 
 ing the battle of Sunday, May 3, 1863, by Capt. 
 WilHam N. Green, commanding the color com- 
 pany of the One Hundred and Second regiment 
 N. Y. S. v., is worthy of commemoration. 
 
 After several days' severe fighting betAveen the 
 United States forces, under Gen. Hooker, and the 
 Confederate forces, under Gen. Lee, the morning 
 of Sunday, May 3, 1863, found the One Hun- 
 di-ed and Second regiment N. Y. S. V., forming 
 a portion of the TAvelfth Army Corps, lying in 
 the trenches on the extreme left of the Federal 
 forces. 
 
 The battle commenced at five A. M., and the 
 One Hundred and Second were for several hours 
 subjected to a heavy fire from a battery of the 
 rebels, situated on their right flank ; at ten A. M., 
 the enemy's infantry attacked the brigade of 
 Avhich the One Hundred and Second N. Y. S. V. 
 Avas a ])art, and succeeded in driving the regi- 
 ment, Avhich Avas on the right of the One Hun- 
 dred and Second, away in confusion ; advancing 
 up the 'trenches, the enemy charged the One 
 Hundred and Second, and Avere repulsed. Soon 
 after, the One Huncbed and Second was charged 
 upon by the Twelfth regiment Georgia Volunteers, 
 and immediately the men of each regiment were 
 engaged in hand-to-hand conflicts. 
 
 The company of the One Hundred and Second 
 N. Y. S. v., Avhich Capt. Green commanded, was 
 especially singled out by the enemy for a fierce 
 struggle, as they had charge of the National col- 
 ors ; the Captain commanding the Twelfth regi- 
 ment Georgia Volunteers rushed forAvard at the 
 head of his men, and made a jump right at Capt. 
 Green, calling out to him, " Surrender ! " to Avhich 
 Capt. Green replied, "Not yet ; " then seizing the 
 rebel Captain by the throat Avith his left hand, he 
 fiung him violently to the ground, by tripping 
 him up, and Avrenched his sword from his grasp. 
 Capt. Green Avas then seized from behind by an 
 ambulance-sergeant of the rebels, Avho, putting 
 his knee in the middle of his back, flung him on 
 the ground. Capt. >Green sprung to his feet, and 
 putting both SAVords (liis own and the rebel Cap- 
 tain's) into liis left hand, he knocked the ambu- 
 lance-sergeant doAvn with his right hand. 
 
 Capt. Green then sprang forward some six 
 feet, and grasped Avith his right hand the flag- 
 stafT of the rebel battle-flag, which the color-ser- 
 geant was holding, and said to the color-bearer, 
 " Give me that flag," at the same time pulling 
 the flag-staff aAvay from the Sergeant ; he then 
 tore the flag from the flag-stafl', r>.nd flung the 
 staff over the parapet, putting the flag inside the 
 breast of his fatigue-jacket. Capt. Green then 
 went to two rebel privates, Avho were a feAv feet off", 
 and commanded them to give up their muskets, 
 which they did. Taking the muskets, he gave 
 them to some of his own company to carry off, 
 and taking the equipments of the tAVO privates, 
 he flung them into a puddle of water near by ; 
 then going to the rebel Captain, he pulled him 
 up oft" of the ground, and putting him, together 
 with the ambulance-sergeant, the color-sergeant, 
 and the two privates, under charge of tAVO of hia 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY^ AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 125 
 
 company, sent them to the rear, to be placed in 
 custody under the provost guard. 
 
 Thus, ill the short space of five minutes, Capt. 
 Green disarmed one Captain, one ambulance-ser- 
 geant, and two privates of the Twelfth Georgia 
 volunteers, besides taking their color-sergeant, 
 ■with his colors, and sending the whole of them, 
 five in number, as prisoners, under guard, to the 
 rear. 
 
 The rebel flag was one of the Confederate bat- 
 tle-flags, made of coarse red serge cloth, about 
 four and a half feet square, having a blue 
 Saint Andrew's cross running from each corner ; 
 three white stars were in each limb of the cross, 
 and one star in the centre, making thirteen stars 
 in aU. The flag was sent to Gen. Hooker by his 
 order : the sword was presented to Capt. Green 
 by his brigade commander, for his good conduct 
 dluxingthe battle. 
 
 I 
 
 BATTLE ANTHEM. 
 
 BY JOHN NEAL. 
 
 Up, Christian warrior, up ! I hear 
 The trumpet of the North 
 
 Sounding the charge ! 
 Eathers and sons ! — to horse ! 
 riing the old standard forth, 
 Blazing and large ! 
 
 And now I hear the heavy tramp 
 Of nations on the march. 
 
 Silent as death ! 
 A slowly-gathering host. 
 
 Like clouds o'er yonder arch, 
 Holding their breath ! 
 
 Our great blue sky is overcast ; 
 And stars are dropping out, 
 Through smoke and flame. 
 Hail-stones, and coals of fire ! 
 Now comes the battle-shout ! 
 Jehovah's name ! 
 
 And now the rebel pomp ! To prayer ! 
 Look to your stirrups, men I 
 
 Yonder rides death ! 
 Now with a whirlwind sweep ! 
 Empty their saddles, when 
 Hot comes their breath ! 
 
 As through the midnight forest tears, 
 With trumpeting and fire, 
 
 A thunder-blast. 
 So, reapers ! tear your way 
 Through yonder camp, until you hear, 
 " It is enough ! Put up thy sword I 
 O angel of the Lord ! 
 My wrath is past ! " 
 
 An Incident of the Wildekness. — The 
 following account of the exploits and sufferings 
 of Maj. William B. Darlington, of the Eighteenth 
 Pennsylvania cavalry, gives some idea of the 
 hazards, as weU as the glories, of war : 
 
 On the 5th of May, 1864, the day preced- 
 ing the great engagements of the 6th and 7th, 
 
 there was heavy skirmishing by the cavalry of the 
 two armies, that of the enemy being commanded 
 by Wade Hampton. Maj. Darlington, with his 
 regiment, was ordered to hold a certain position 
 in Gen. Wilson's line, for forty-five minutes, while 
 the remainder of the force was retiring to more 
 advantageous ground. He obeyed the order, 
 with a grace, of five minutes, and then, attempt- 
 ing to retire, found his line of retreat commanded 
 by an entire bi'igade of rebel cavalry commanded 
 by Rosser. The Major drew up his men in the 
 proper formation and charged. 
 
 This was met by a counter-charge on the part 
 of the enemy, and hard fighting followed, the 
 greater part of the Union force, however, accom- 
 plishing their purpose. 
 
 But, when leading the first charge, Maj. Dar- 
 lington received a ball in the right leg, which 
 shattered the thigh bone, and brought him to the 
 ground. Here he lay, the enemy and his own 
 men charging backward and forward over him ; 
 but, strange to say, he received no other injury. 
 
 On that battle-field he lay for three days and 
 nights, without food or attendance of any kind. 
 As this part of the field was left in the temporary 
 possession of the enemy, after the battle which 
 raged on the two following days, he was found and 
 carried to Hampton's headquarters, where the 
 amputation of his leg was performed by the chief 
 surgeon of the division. 
 
 The operation was performed with skill, and 
 he received as good treatment as the limited re- 
 sources of the rebels would permit. He was then 
 conveyed to a farm-house, some three miles from 
 the scene of the action, and there he lay five 
 weeks, slowly recovering. 
 
 When Sheridan made his famous raid, in the 
 latter part of June, Maj. Darlington was found 
 at the farm-house, and being laid in an ambu- 
 lance, kept with the column for eight days, until 
 he reached West Point. Gen. Sheridan and his 
 men showed him the utmost kindness, especially 
 in providing for him palatable and nutritious 
 food, of which he was greatly in need. 
 
 He had been officially reported as killed ; and 
 few constitutions could have survived the loss of 
 blood, the hardship and exposure, followed by 
 amputation, from which he was now rapidly re- 
 covering. 
 
 A Narrow Escape. — An army correspond- 
 ent gives the following narrative of the manner 
 in which a Confederate soldier in Mississippi 
 escaped the clutches of the Yankees: "While 
 dwelling upon the subject of ladies, and the pu- 
 rifying inffuence of ladies' society, I will take oc- 
 casion to mention, for the benefit of the fastidi- 
 ous, an adventure of two nice and accomplished 
 young ladies, together with a young gentleman 
 well versed in gallantry. Not long since, won 
 cher M., of this brigade, while in the vicinity of 
 the Federal encampments, took occasion to put up 
 for the night at the house of an old acquaint- 
 ance, where he had often called to enjoy a pleas- 
 ant repast with the young ladies. During the 
 night, the Federals, learning his whereabouts, ap- 
 
126 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 proached the house, creating a bluster everj'- 
 where, save in our young hero's apartment. He 
 soundly slept, and continued to sleep, as if on 
 ' beds of roses,' unconscious of approaching 
 danger, until the young ladies, panic-stricken on 
 his account, rushed, en dishahille, into his room, 
 and awoke him from his slumbers. 
 
 " But the Federals had advanced too far for him 
 to make his escape in the front, and there was no 
 window or door in the rear. How then was his 
 escape to be cfi'ected ? Reader, the young ladies 
 instituted a plan unprecedented in the history of 
 military operations. When the old lady discov- 
 ered he could not escape by running, she rushed 
 in, crying, ' Girls ! we must do something — the 
 Federals are already in the passage.' No sooner 
 said than done. The young ladies leaped in bed 
 with our young hero, one on each side, completely 
 concealing his liead, and thereby causing the 
 search of the Federals to be fruitless. They 
 looked into every nook, and under every bed in 
 the house, not excepting the one occupied by the 
 hero ; but the young Confederate scout was no- 
 where to be found. How much better than to 
 have sufi'ercd him to be murdered or imprisoned 
 for years in a felon's cell ! So we say ; but the 
 mystery to us is, why they did not think of look- 
 ing in the bed, as well as under it." 
 
 HEROISM OF MISS SCHWARTZ. 
 
 IlEADQUAKTEUS DISTRICT OF CENTRAL MO., ) 
 
 Jefferson City, August 0, 1803. J 
 
 General Orders No. 42, — On the night of 
 the 6th instant, a party of bushwhackers, some 
 three in number, visited the house of a Mr. 
 Schwartz, about twelve miles from Jefferson City, 
 in Cole County, and on demanding admittance 
 they were refused by Miss Schwartz, a young 
 lady of fifteen. They replied they would come 
 in, at the same time trying to break down the 
 door. While this was going on, the other in- 
 mates of the house, namely, Mr. Schwartz, John 
 Wise, Capt. Golden, Government horse-dealer, 
 and a young man in his employ, all left, taking 
 with them (as they supposed) all the arms and 
 ammunition. In their hasty retreat they left be- 
 hind a revolver, which ISIiss Schwartz appropri- 
 ated to her own use. She went to the door, and 
 on opening it presented the pistol to the leader 
 of the gang, telling them to " come on if they 
 wanted to, and that some of them should fall, or 
 she would." They threatened to kill her if -she 
 did not leave the door. She replied : " The 
 first one who takes one step towards this door 
 dies, for this is the home of my parents, and my 
 brothers and sisters, and I am able to and shall 
 defend it." Seeing that she was determined in 
 her purpose, after holding a consultation to- 
 gether, they left. 
 
 Here is an instance of true courage ; a young 
 girl of fifteen years of age, after all the inmates 
 of the house, even her father, had fled, leaving 
 her alone to her fate, with a courage worthy of a 
 Joan of Arc, boldly defended her native home 
 
 against three bloodthirsty and cowardly ruffians, 
 and by her coolness and heroic daring, succeeded 
 in turning them from their hellish designs. 
 
 It is with feelings of no ordinary pride and 
 pleasure the Commanding General announces 
 tills act to the citizens and soldiers in his district. 
 On the other hand, those miserable cowards who 
 deserted this brave gu'l in the hour of danger, 
 flying from the house, leaving her to her fate, are 
 unworthy the name of men, deserve the scorn and 
 contempt of the community at large, and whose 
 society should be shunned by every one who has 
 the least spark of honor or bravery within them. 
 By order of Brig.-Gen. Brown. 
 
 RuFUS Brockway. — A correspondent of a 
 Wisconsin paper had his attention arrested by the 
 appearance of a rather oldish man among a com- 
 pany of recruits for the Seventeenth (Irish) Wis- 
 consin regiment, who were on board the cars, on 
 the- way to camp, who gave his name, as follows : 
 
 " My name is Rufus Brockway, and I am in 
 the seventieth year of my age. I am a Yankee, 
 from the State of New Hampshire ; was a volun- 
 teer in the last war with England for nearly three 
 yeai-s. I have served under Gens. Izard, McNeil, 
 and Macomb, being transferred from one com- 
 mand to another, as the circumstances then re- 
 quired. I was at the battle of Plattsburg, at 
 the battle of French Creek in Canada, and at the 
 battle of Chateaugay, on the 14th day of Octo- 
 ber, 1813, and was present at the surrender of 
 McDonough. 
 
 " I was now a farmer, in the town of Beaver 
 Dam, Dodge County, and, with my son, the owner 
 of three hundred acres of land ; my son was a 
 volunteer in the Federal army at the battle of 
 Bull Run, had his nose badly barked, and his 
 hips broken in, and disabled for life, by a charge 
 of the rebel cavaky, and now I am going to see if 
 the rebels can bark the old man's nose. 
 
 " I tell you," said the old man, " if England 
 pitches in, you'll see a great many old men like 
 me turning out ; but the greatest of my fears is, 
 that I shall not be permitted to take an active part 
 in the present war." 
 
 A Soldier in one of the Union hospitals, who 
 had lost one of his arms, was rejoicing over the 
 fact. Said he : " My grandfather lost a leg in 
 the Revolutionary war, and our family have been 
 bragging over it ever since. That story is an old 
 one, and now I am going to be the hero of the 
 family." 
 
 Incident of Libertytown, Md. — Early in 
 the spring of 1862, four young men of the city of 
 Frederick went to the good old town of Liberty, 
 and while passing the Stai's and Stripes floating 
 from a pole at the west end of the town, took oc- 
 casion to curse that time-honored emblem, and 
 say something about taking it down. Hearing, 
 hoAvever, that they would be called to account for 
 their rebellious acts, they loaded their pistols be- 
 fore leaving the hotel, and said what they would 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 127 
 
 do if attacked. Now comes the " fun." About 
 five o'clock the carriage is seen coming up the 
 hill, and when nearly opposite the flag, two of the 
 citizens walked out into the middle of the street 
 and gave the command, ^^Halt" which was 
 promptly obeyed. The next command was : 
 " Salute that flag." After an excuse or two about 
 a " bad cold," and " how salute it, " they gave a 
 weak " cheer." The answer was : " That won't 
 do : a little louder ! " and the second time their 
 voices were raised considerably ; but, " Louder 
 yet," was commanded ; and the third time they 
 gave a mighty good prbof of strong lungs. They 
 were then ordered to curse secessionism, and they 
 did so ; after which they were allowed to pass on, 
 wiser, if not better men. 
 
 Camp Anecdotes. — A soldier writing home 
 from Fort Slocum, near Washington, gave the 
 foUoAving anecdotes of life in camp : While in 
 Florida we had an Irishman named Murphy, who 
 was very much afflicted with the prevalent camp 
 malady known as " Spring Fever." In order to 
 escape duty, he reported himself to his Orderly 
 Sergeant as sick, and in due time was taken to 
 the doctor. Being asked the nature of his dis- 
 ease, he complained of a very heavy lightness in 
 the head. "Why," replied the doctor, "that is 
 a paradox ; " and giving him a light dose of " ip- 
 ecac," he returned him to duty. Mick left the 
 tent in high dudgeon, exclaiming, " The devil take 
 a doctor who will put a man on duty with a par- 
 adox in his head." 
 
 Another fellow, by the name of G , tried 
 
 to play the " old soldier " on the same doctor, 
 and also got a dose of " ipecac." He did not 
 get far from the tent before he began to " heave 
 Jonah." Cursing the doctor, he went back and 
 said he wanted some other medicine, as the fii-st 
 did not stay on his stomach. The doctor gave 
 him another dose of the same, slightly colored, 
 
 and G- went off perfectly satisfied. He did 
 
 not get far before he realized that he had another 
 Jonah. About this time he " appreciated," and 
 was content to do duty. 
 
 The other evening, one of our bold Lieutenants 
 went up to a " pizen shop " on the hill, and was 
 returning to camp with a little heavier load than 
 the regulations require, when he lost his way, and 
 came through a field but lately cleared. Just as 
 the sentry gave the usual challenge — " Who 
 comes there ? " — Charley struck his shin against 
 a fallen tree, and feeling more expressive than 
 poetical, he cried out lustily, " The devU." <' Cor- 
 poral of the guard, post number six, double- 
 quick," called out the sentry, adding, " Mine Got 
 in Himmel, here comes ter tivel ! " 
 
 Wliile on Staten Island, previous to embarking 
 for the South, one of the captains was severely 
 injured by a block of wood falling from one of 
 the third tier of casemates and striking him on 
 the head. The next morning, a New Jersey 
 Dutchman, one of his company, called to inquire 
 4fter his health. " Good morning. Captain," says 
 the Dutchman ; " how are you getting along ? " 
 
 Being assured that the Captain was out of dan- 
 ger, the Dutchman said : " I heard something 
 droj), and I thought it was a Lieutenant had fallen 
 from the top of the fort, and was knocked all to 
 pieces ; and I didn't think it worth Avhile to pick 
 the pieces up till the coroner came." 
 
 One of our Lieutenants, who boasts of eighteen 
 years' service in the "reg'lar army," has been 
 very much troubled by the privates coming into 
 his quarters. To put a stop to this, he has dis- 
 played a large notice in front of his tent. It is, 
 as near as I can copy it, verbaiim et literatim, as 
 follows : 
 
 Notis 
 
 No 1 aloud in here excep on bisnes, 
 
 By order of 
 
 *Lt. H F 
 
 Ferst leutenant. 
 
 A few days ago one of our boys played a rather 
 small game to get on guard as " supernumerary " 
 — Avho only have to stand on post while any of 
 the men may have to leave for some necessary 
 reason ; at other times he can stay in the guard 
 tents out of the storm. The rest of the boys did 
 not like it much, and agreed among themselves 
 to repay him. As soon, therefore, as their " re- 
 lief" came on, one of them called out, " Corporal 
 of the guard ; post number three wants to be re- 
 lieved," and the supernumerary had to take his 
 place. As soon as number three returned and 
 took his place, number five called to be reheved ; 
 and so they kept the poor fellow travelling from 
 one post to another all night. Since then he has 
 gone by the name of " Supernumerary." 
 
 A SONG. 
 
 BY FITZGKEENE HALLECK. 
 
 Habk ! a bugle's echo comes ; 
 
 Hark ! a fife is singing ; 
 Hark ! the roll of far off drums 
 
 Through the air is ringing ! 
 
 Nearer the bugle's echo comes. 
 
 Nearer the fife is singing, 
 Near and more near the roll of drums 
 
 Through the air is ringing. 
 
 War ! it is thy music proud'. 
 Wakening the brave-hearted ; 
 
 Memories — hopes — a glorious crowd, 
 At its call have started. 
 
 ■ Memories of our sires of old. 
 
 Who, oppression-driven, 
 High their rainbow flag unrolled 
 
 To the sun and sky of heaven. 
 
 Memories of the true and brave. 
 
 Who, at Honor's bidding, 
 Stepped, their country's life to save, 
 
 To war as to their wedding. 
 
 Memories of many a battle plain, 
 Where their life-blood flowing. 
 
 Made green the grass, and gold the grain, 
 Above their grave-mounds growing. 
 
128 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Hopes — that the children of their prayers, 
 
 With them in valor vying, 
 May do as noble deeds as theirs, 
 
 In living and in dying, — 
 
 And make, for children yet to come. 
 
 The land of their bequeathing 
 The imperial and the peerless home 
 
 Of happiest beings breathmg. 
 
 For this the warrior-path we tread. 
 
 The battle-path of duty. 
 And change, for field and forest bed. 
 
 Our bowers of love and beauty. 
 
 Music ! bid thy minstrels play 
 
 No tunes (5f grief or sorrow, 
 Xet them cheer the living brave to-day ; 
 
 They may wail the dead to-morrow. 
 
 A Patriotic Boy. — The following is one of 
 the most remarkable letters we ever read from a 
 boy. The writer was only fifteen years old, and 
 his appeals to his mother for liberty to join the 
 army are most striking. No one, whose whole 
 soul was not fully in the matter, could make 
 such ardent appeals. One sentence M'ill be no- 
 ticed by parents — the one in which he says that 
 nothing, save the dissent of his mother, could 
 keep him away from the field of strife. His 
 mother's assent Avas finally obtained, though she 
 hesitated for some time, as her boy was in a fa- 
 vorable situation, with excellent prospects for the 
 future. He left for the South in the Eighth regi- 
 ment Connecticut volunteers, in the capacity of 
 a drummer boy. Here is his letter : 
 
 TTateubury, May, 1861. 
 
 Dear Mother ; I have not written you for some 
 time, as I have had nothing to write. I want to 
 ask a very important question. May I go to the 
 war ? I do not expect to go as a volunteer, but 
 as an ofiicer's servant. When I say " ofiicer's 
 servant," I don't mean that I shall be at the beck 
 and call of the whole company, but I shall ar- 
 range the tent, and go on errands for the officer, 
 and for him alone. My heart is in the work. If 
 I assist an officer, there can be another man in 
 the ranks. I shall be in little or no danger, be- 
 cause I shall not probably stand in the ranks. 
 But what if I am in danger ? I shall not die un- 
 til my time comes ; and if I am appointed to die 
 in the " service of my country," I shall be there, 
 and no earthly power can keep me away. What 
 if I do die in my country's service ? Who is Jiot 
 willing to die in battle, if, by so doing, he can 
 perpetuate the freedom and liberty of this Na- 
 tion through all time ? Gen. Scott says that more 
 die at home, out of the same number that go to 
 war, than are killed in battle. Be patriotic, 
 mother, and let me go ; don't think that enough 
 will go without me ; no such thing should enter 
 your mind ; but have true patriotism, and be 
 willing to sacrifice all you have, if need be, to let 
 the " Star-spangled Banner in triumph wave 
 o'er the land of the free and the home of the 
 brave." 
 
 Mother, I cannot be happy to stay where I am, 
 at this time of my country's peril. Please write, 
 and tell me I may go, when I can get an oppor- 
 tunity. If you say no, I fear I shall go mad. 
 Mother, I should do that. My heart goes as fast 
 as my pen, and if you should say no ! I should not 
 be worth a cent to anybody. 
 
 I never was so uneasy in my life as at present, 
 and it should be the last thing I should think of 
 — that is, to give up going to war at this " glori- 
 ous period." Mother, don't fear for me iu any 
 way. I shall keep right side up with care, and 
 abstain from the use of all intoxicating liquors, 
 profane language, and tobacco in every form. I 
 will keejD a journal of daily occurrences, and 
 send to you in the form of letters, which please 
 keep with great care. Nothing would, or will, 
 keep me away from war, neither argument, per- 
 suasion, or force, nor anything but a dislike to 
 disobey you. Please don't procrastinate, but say 
 " you will," " it's right," and " go ahead." I 
 ought to be in the garden at Avork, but it has 
 " no charms for me." My mind is so worked up 
 that I'd rather take a flogging that would make me 
 raw all over, than give up the liopes and desires 
 I have so long cherished. It is not for any pe- 
 cuniary benefit which I may derive, for I only 
 spoke of that to let you see I could provide for 
 myself when once installed into the army ; but 
 there is a deeper feeling which stirs up my whole 
 frame, that tells me " go and prosper." I have 
 only six cents in my pocket-book ; it will take 
 thi-ee to pay for this letter, and three to pay for 
 a letter to cousin ; so if you want me to write 
 again, please send a stamp. I do not think it 
 necessary to write any more until I am in the 
 army. Please don't put me off. Write all the 
 news, and don't miss a maU. 
 
 A GOOD Anecdote is told of a lad on one of 
 the Union gunboats. The vessel was just going 
 into action, and our soldier was upon his knees, 
 when an officer sneeringly asked him if he was 
 afraid ? 
 
 " No, I was praying," was the response. 
 
 " Well, what were you praying for ? " 
 
 " Praying," said the soldier, "that the enemy's 
 bullets may be distributed the same way as the 
 prize money is, pi-incipally among the officers." 
 
 Gen. Lander and the Bible. — One day a 
 staff" officer caught him with a Bible in his hand, 
 and said : 
 
 " General, do you ever search the Scriptures ? " 
 Gen. Lander replied: "My mother gave me a 
 Bible, which I have always carried with me. Once 
 in the Rocky Mountains I had only fifteen pounds 
 of flour. We used to collect grasshoppers at four 
 o'clock in the day, to catch some fish for our sup- 
 per at night. It was during the Mormon war, 
 and my men desired to turn back. I was then 
 searching for a route for the wagon road. ' I will 
 turn back if the Bible says so,' said I, ' and we 
 
^ag-^VAHBitctoe 
 
 C OM . J O H N YIO D G E ft S . 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 129 
 
 will take it as an inspiration.' I opened the book 
 at the following passage : 
 
 " ' Go on, and search the mountain, and the 
 gates of the city shall not be shut against you.' " 
 
 All concurred in the definite statement of the 
 passage, and the heroic explorer once more led 
 his men into the wild country of the Indians. 
 
 Incident qf Antietam. — At the battle of 
 Antietam, as one of the regiments was for the 
 second time going into the conflict, a soldier 
 staggered. It was from no wound, but in the 
 group of dying and dead, through which they 
 were passing, he saw his father, of another regi- 
 ment, lying dead. There, too, was a wounded 
 man who knew them both, who pointed to the 
 father's corpse, and then upwards, saying only, 
 "It is all right with him." Onward went the 
 son, by his father's corpse, to do his duty in the 
 line, which, with bayonets fixed, advanced upon 
 the enemy. When the battle was over, he came 
 back, and with other help, buried his father. 
 From his person he took the only thing he had, a 
 Bible, given to the father years before, when he 
 was an apprentice. 
 
 Homesick in the Hospital. — A correspond- 
 ent, writing from the general hospital at Nashville, 
 Tenn., says : " Perhaps the greatest fault military 
 surgeons are apt to fall into, is to be too military 
 in their treatment of their patients. A soldier, 
 when he enters a hospital as a patient, is no 
 longer a soldier, but a patient, and should be 
 treated as such, and not as a soldier. In civil 
 life, we all know how tenderly the sick are treated, 
 and in the great majority of cases, how benefi- 
 cent to them is our medication. And, ordinarily, 
 too, when a man is stricken down, even, Avith a 
 formidable disease, there are good constitutional 
 efforts in his system to carry him through his 
 illness. This is seldom the case with our hospi- 
 tal patients. In their sickness we have gener- 
 ally to contend with a broken-down or exhausted 
 constitution, and often the babe in the cradle is 
 not entitled to more tender and skilful treatment 
 to save its flickering life, than the now sick and 
 broken-down soldier. Through want of a uni- 
 form understanding on the part of our military, 
 and even some of our medical officers on this 
 very point, many lives are sacrificed. There is in 
 this city the ' convalescent camp.' I don't be- 
 lieve our convalescent soldiers have any fear of 
 any more dreadful doom than to be consigned to 
 this place. When they get well of their diseases, 
 they beg hard for some other destination than 
 this camp. They will cheerfully go front, or to 
 their regiments, or any other place, than the 
 dreaded ' convalescent camp.' I think the rea- 
 son for the odium this place has for the convales- 
 cent soldier, is the one above stated. They are 
 treated as soldiers, and not as convalescents. 
 
 " Soon after I got into this hospital, a very sick 
 boy was brought into my ward from the ' conva- 
 lescent camp.' He had been prematurely sent to 
 that place when recovering from pneumonia. It 
 9 
 
 was apprehended that the rebels Avere going to 
 make a raid on Nashville. This boy, with other 
 convalescent soldiers, was put on duty by lying 
 in the trenches for one night. Here was a very 
 feeble patient, with but one healthy lung, to act as 
 soldier. The exposure brought on pneumonia of 
 the well lung. In this critical condition he was 
 brought into my ward. Soon after, a most touch- 
 ing nostalgic delirium set in. He wanted to go 
 home. He taxed his delirious mind in all con- 
 ceivable ways, to consummate the object in view. 
 He begged, coaxed, reasoned, and at times would 
 ■wildly cry out, ' I will go home.' A short time be- 
 fore he died, he sprang out of his bunk, and with a 
 sheet around him, ran through the ward, crying, 
 ' I'll go now, and no power on earth shall stay 
 me.' The attendants put him back in bed, and 
 not many hours after his heavenly Father took 
 his spirit from earth, Ave Avill humbly hope, to 
 that pure and blissful state, ' Avhere the Avicked 
 cease from troubling and the Aveary are at rest.' 
 
 " On one inspection occasion, a Sergeant, Avho 
 had been wounded in the head, Avas pointed out 
 to the surgeon in charge, as being considered 
 Avell enough for the 'convalescent camp.' 'Don't 
 send him,' says the doctor, Avith noble considera- 
 tion for the patient, and, Avith a smile, added, 
 ' They are in the habit there of cutting off almost 
 everything that is Avounded ; if you send the man 
 there, they may conclude to cut his head off'.' To 
 save the gallant soldier's head, it Avas decided not 
 to send him to the ' convalescent camp.' Another 
 case of homesickness I am reminded of. A poor 
 boy, from the front, Avas brought into this Avard, 
 Avith the camp dysentery. A more attenuated 
 living being I had never seen. Home, Avith him, 
 too, Avas the absorbing subject of his thoughts. 
 ' I Avant to see my mother,' Avas his constant ut- 
 terance. Often he wept like a child to go home. 
 I put him off from time to time, endeavoring to 
 feed and stimulate him, to bring him into a condi- 
 tion fit to be sent home. One morning, coming 
 into the Avard, I found his bed empty. ' What ! 
 poor Jimmy dead ? ' I asked of the Avard master. 
 'No,' he ansAvered, ' Jimmy started for home, under 
 the care of our female nurse.' Hei'e Avas a case 
 Avhere a resolute and conscientious Avoman vol- 
 untarily took charge of a helpless boy, to take 
 him to his home, a thousand miles aAvay, solely be- 
 cause she felt that she could thereby save his life. 
 She succeeded in getting him home alive, and we 
 have heard he is now getting along well. 
 
 " Homesickness is one of the most frequent, 
 difficult, and annoying complications Ave have in 
 the treatment of hos'pital patients. When a sol- 
 dier gets sick, he Avishes himself at home. It is 
 well for the surgeon to gratify this feeling, Avhen 
 the patient is in a fit condition to go. And Avhen 
 the case is such that it is not for the patient's 
 benefit to leave the hosi)ital, and he cannot con- 
 trol himself to submit to circumstances, he is, in 
 a medical point of vieAv, exceedingly difficult to 
 manage. It is thus that nostalgia has helped t& 
 send many a lamented soldier to his grave. 
 
 " Great is the variety of Avounds in a military 
 hospital. One remarkable fact connected Avitli 
 
130 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 wounds is, that a man's life is not alway jeopar- 
 dized in proportion to the number of wounds he 
 may have received. One from a sh'ght wound 
 may die. Another may be fearfully mutilated, 
 and yet get well. After the battle of Chicka- 
 mauga, we received two patients in this hospital, 
 who afforded a striking illustration of this. I 
 asked one of them where he was wounded. 'All 
 over,' he answered. I directed the nurse to di- 
 vest him of his clothes, and found his word pretty 
 much verified. This warrior was perforated by 
 more than half a dozen balls, and yet he got 
 well. Another one had a slight wound on the 
 left knee, caused by a buckshot. The little mis- 
 sile Mas extracted, and after he had suffered most 
 severely for two months he died." 
 
 A Faithful Dog. — The widow of Lieut. 
 PhefF, of Illinois, was enabled to find her hus- 
 band's grave, at Pittsburg Landing, by seeing a 
 dog which had accompanied the Lieutenant to 
 the war. The dog approached her with the most 
 intense manifestations of joy, and immediately 
 indicated to her, as Avell as he was able, his de- 
 sire that she should follow him. She did so, and 
 he led the way to a distant part of the field, and 
 stopped before a single grave. She caused it to 
 be opened, and there found the body of her dead 
 husband. It appears from the statements of 
 some of the soldiers, that when Lieut. Pheff fell, 
 his dog was by his side, and thus remained, lick- 
 ing his wounds, until he was taken from the field 
 and buried. He then took his station by the 
 grave, and nothing could induce him to abandon 
 it, but for a sufficient length of time each day 
 to satisfy his hunger, until, by some means, he 
 Avas made aware of the presence of his mistress. 
 Thus he watched for twelve days by the grave of 
 his slain master. 
 
 DECEMBER IN VIRGINIA. 
 Contraband loquitur. 
 
 De leaves hab blown away, 
 
 De trees am black an bare, 
 De day an>cold an damp, 
 
 De rain am in de air. 
 De wailin win's hab struck 
 
 De strings ob Nature's lyre ; 
 De brooks am swollen deep, 
 
 De roads am mud an mire. 
 De horses yank de team, 
 
 De wheels am stiekin thar ; 
 De Yankee massa yell — 
 
 De Lord ! how he do swar ! 
 De oafs dat he do take, 
 
 De nigger disremember ; 
 De Dutch, De Deuce, De Debbil, 
 De — all tings dat am ebil — 
 De-oember 1 
 
 Freedmen's Bureaus. — An ancient colored 
 woman appeared at the office of the Freedmen's 
 Bureau, at Chattanooga, Tenn., and asked if that 
 was the place where they kept the freedmen's 
 
 bureaus. The clerk was momentarily nonplused, 
 but instantly recovering his gravity, blandly re- 
 plied in the affirmative. Dinah, with an air of 
 mystery, and speaking in a confidential M-hisper, 
 said : " I have come for my bureau ; now give me 
 a pretty large one, with a glass top ; I have a 
 wash-stand at home, but it is too small to put my 
 fixins' in." 
 
 A Wonderful Old Soldier. — The Thirtj-- 
 seventh regiment of Iowa, doing duty in St. Louis, 
 in 1862, was a regiment of exempts — few, if 
 any, of its members being under forty-five years 
 of age, and many of them over eighty. " Take 
 them all together," says a correspondent, " they 
 are a band of hardy veterans, whom the exigencies 
 of the situation have fired with a zealous patri- 
 otism well worthy of imitation by younger men. 
 But the most remarkable member of this regi- 
 ment is a private of company H, named Curtis 
 King, whose history and description are truly 
 curious. He is over eighty-one years of age, six 
 feet tv/o inches in height, of brawny and stalwart 
 frame, baring his bosom to the cold winds of win- 
 ter Avithout endangering his health, and moving 
 in his round of duties v.'ith the celerity of a jouth 
 of eighteen. Owing to his great age, and the 
 f.ict of his being blind of an eye, he found great 
 difficulty, when the regiment was forming, in 
 getting permission to enlist, two or three com- 
 panies refusing to take him ; but he was at length 
 successful, and since the regiment has been on 
 duty he has proved one of the most efficient men 
 in it. He is, and has been from his youth, a 
 Democrat of the old Jackson school, and even now 
 indulges industrious invective against the Abo- 
 litionists. He was born in Culpejjper County, 
 Va., and claims to be a lineal descendant of Po- 
 cahontas ; and this statement is verified by his 
 physiognomy, which betrays the characteristics of 
 an Indian. He has been twice married, (first when 
 only nineteen years of age,) and is th'. father of 
 twenty-one children, one of which was, two weeks 
 since, only fifteen months old when it died. He 
 claims to be able to repeat every word of the 
 Bible from the beginning of Genesis to the end 
 of Revelation, and can neither read nor ivrite — 
 a daughter having read the book to him, his 
 wonderful memory allowing him to retain it after 
 committing it to memory. The daughter com- 
 menced her reading to him at five years of age, 
 he being then twenty-six. In 1815 he emigrated 
 to Ohio, resided there some twenty-five years, 
 and then removed to Wapello County, Iowa, 
 where his home now is, and where he enlisted. 
 Mr. King's family is somewhat celebrated for 
 longevity, his mother having lived to the age of 
 103, and one grandfather to lOo years. 
 
 The history of this country is familiar to hira, 
 and his citations of historical points and the con- 
 nection with them of great men who flourished 
 during the latter part of the last century, are 
 wonderfully accurate — remembering, as he does, 
 Washington, Jeflerson, Randolph, and the Ad- 
 amses, &c. He has often seen Washington, and 
 remarked as a characteristic of the " Father of his 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 131 
 
 Country," that he never saw him smile ; that he 
 seemed to have little syinpathj- in the enjoyments 
 of other men. The father of Mr. King was a 
 soldier of the Revolution. 
 
 About twenty of Mr. K.'s grandsons and some 
 four or five great-grandsons are now in the United 
 States service, and the old man indulges a laudable 
 pride in the fact that not one of his family is dis- 
 loyal. Eleven of his grandsons responded to the 
 first call of the President for volunteers. One of 
 his daughters, who resides in Ohio, weighs 325 
 pounds. He himself never took a dose of medi- 
 cine from a doctor, nor did any one of his family 
 while they remained under his control, he being 
 what is called a " root doctor," and having done the 
 phj-sicking for his own people by the use of herb 
 and root teas ; his " practice," too, was successful. 
 
 The opinion of this aged veteran upon the war, 
 though he gives it in a somewhat homely and 
 antique figure of speech, is not to be ignored as 
 devoid of good foundation. When asked his 
 ideas as to the result of the struggle, he replied : 
 " Well, I think the longest pole will knock the 
 persimmon. It may take a long time ; but the 
 North has got the most men and the most money, 
 and it is bound to come out first best in the end. 
 And," he continued, " if the young men will do 
 as I intend to do, the rebellion will be put down, 
 for I am in for the war, or as long as I last." The 
 cheerful and contented disposition of this old 
 man might well be taken for an example by 
 younger soldiers, to say nothing of his strict ob- 
 servance of discipline, or the efficiency and value 
 of such men to the service. 
 
 Negko Schools at Newbern. — "I have 
 just visited a negro school," said a letter writer. 
 " I never had such hard work to control my risibles 
 in my life. There sat along the sides of the 
 room, all in one class, little girls of five years, 
 and men of forty — each equally advanced in 
 their studies. Of course their curiosity was 
 excited to see the stranger. So, occasionally they 
 looked up, which called forth from the old man 
 in charge, the admonition, " Confine yersels to 
 yer buks. Sam, keep yer eyes on yer knowl- 
 edge buks.' Miss Susan, stop dat, or I'll give yer 
 de cowskin 'cross yer legs," and other equally 
 gentle corrections. I heard them read ; and as 
 they were standing up in rows, without regard to 
 height or age, reading in concert, interspersed 
 with the old man's scowls over his big brass 
 spectacles, and his threatenings with the cowskin, 
 I could not resist any involuntary smile." 
 
 TwiXKLEY Twinkle. — A Avar correspondent 
 of a New Orleans paper wrote thus from Jack- 
 son, Tenn. : 
 
 " An officer of my acquaintance, who is inor- 
 dinately fond of ' Iritters,' just dropped into a 
 dweUing at Jackson a day or two since, where 
 this delicacy was smoking hot upon the table, 
 and very politely asked to share the meal with 
 the landlady. She graciously complied, and 
 
 asked him to be seated. ' Will you take the 
 " twinkley twinkle," or on the " dab " ? ' My friend 
 was entirely ignorant of the meaning of these 
 terms, but at a venture chose the former. He 
 was soon enlightened. The ancient female dipped 
 her not over clean fingers into a tumbler of mo- 
 lasses standing beside her, and allowing the 
 drippings to fall on the delicacy, presented it to 
 him as ' twinkley twinkle.' ' On the dab,' was a 
 spoonful of treacle upon the centre of the fritter." 
 
 Gen. Rosecrans indulges occasionally in a 
 vritticism. A lady called upon him for the pur- 
 pose of procuring a pass, which was declined very 
 politely. Tears came to the lady's eyes as she 
 remarked that her uncle was very ill, and might 
 not recover. " Very sorry, indeed, madam," re- 
 plied the General. " My uncle has been indis- 
 posed for some time. As soon as Uncle Sam 
 recovers a little, you shall have a pass to go 
 where you please." 
 
 Anecdote of Gen. Butler. — It will be re- 
 membered that the little Count Mejan once 
 frantically appealed to the Emperor Napoleon to 
 send an armed force to protect the grog-shop- 
 keepers of New Orleans from an " unconstitu- 
 tional " tax Gen. Butler had levied upon them. 
 The Emperor was so puzzled to know what his 
 consul had to do with the American Constitution, 
 and on what principles he made himself the 
 champion of whiskey-venders in an American 
 city, that he called the Count home to explain. 
 
 It will be seen, from what follows, that Gen. 
 Butler's tyranny did not stop at taxing grog- 
 shops. It seems that after the expulsion of the 
 rebels and their allies, the Thugs, from New 
 Orleans, the dead walls of that city were sud- 
 denly covered with conspicuous bills containing 
 the following sentence : 
 
 " Get your shirts at Moody's, 207 Canal Street." 
 
 A planter, a secessionist, came to town some 
 months after Butler had taken the reins in his 
 hands, and marvelled much at the cleanliness and 
 good order he found prevailing ; also he was sur- 
 prised at this notice, which everywhere stared him 
 in the face. 
 
 " Get your shirts at Moody's ? " said he to an 
 acquaintance he met in the street ; " what does 
 this mean? I see it everywhere posted up. 
 AVhat does it mean ? " 
 
 "O," was the reply, "that is another of the 
 outrageous acts of this fellow Butler. This is 
 one of the orders of which you hear so much. 
 Don't you see P he has ordered us to get our 
 shirts at Moody's, and we have to do so. It is, 
 of course, suspected that he is a silent partner in 
 the concern, and pockets the profits." 
 
 The poor planter listened with eyes and mouth 
 open and rejjlied : 
 
 " I don't need any shirts just now, and it's a 
 great piece of tyranny ; but this Butler enforces 
 his orders so savagely that it is better to give in at 
 once," and accordingly he went to "Moody's " and 
 purchased half a dozen shirts, — on compulsion. 
 
132 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 BEYOND THE POTOMAC. 
 
 BY PAUL H. HATNE. 
 
 They slept on the fields which their valor had win, 
 Eut arose with the first early blush of the sun, 
 For they knew that a great deed remained to be done. 
 When they passed o'er tiae River ! 
 
 They rose with the sun, and caught life from his 
 
 light — 
 Those giants of courage, those Anaks in fight — 
 And they laughed out aloud in the joy of their might. 
 Marching swift for the River ! 
 
 On ! on ! like the rushing of storms through the 
 
 hills — 
 On ! on ! with a tramp that is firm as their wills — 
 And the one heart of thousands grows buoyant and 
 
 thrills 
 At the thought of the River ! 
 
 O, the sheen of their swords! the fierce gleam of 
 
 their eyes ! 
 It seemed as on earth a new sunlight would rise, 
 And king-like flash up to the sun in the skies, 
 O'er the path to the River. 
 
 But their banners, shot-scarred, and all darkened 
 
 with gore. 
 On a strong wind of morning streamed wildly before. 
 Like the wings of death-angels swept fast to the 
 
 shors. 
 
 The green shore of the River. 
 
 As they march — from the hill-side, the hamlet, the 
 
 stream — 
 Gaunt throngs, whom the foeman had manacled, 
 
 teem. 
 Like men just aroused from some terrible dream, 
 To pass o'er the River. 
 
 They behold the broad banners, blood-darkened, 
 
 yet fair, 
 And a moment dissolves the last spell of despair. 
 While a peal as of victory swells on the air. 
 Rolling out to the River. 
 
 And that crj', with a thousand strange echoings 
 
 spread, 
 Till the ashes of heroes seemed stirred in their bed. 
 And the deep voice of passion surged up from the 
 
 dead — 
 
 Ay ! press on to the River ! 
 
 On! on! like the rushing ofstorms through the hills, 
 On ! on ! with a tramp that is firm as their wills. 
 And the one heart of thousands grows buoyant and 
 thrills 
 
 As they pause by the River. 
 
 Then the wan face of Maryland, haggard and worn. 
 At that sight lost the touch of its aspect forlorn. 
 And she turned on the foeman, full statured in scorn. 
 Pointing stern to the River. 
 
 And Potomac flowed calm, scarcely heaving her 
 
 breast. 
 With her low-lying billows all bright in the West, 
 For the hand of the Lord lulled the waters to rest 
 Of the fair rolling River. 
 
 Passed ! passed ! the glad thousands march, safe 
 
 through the tide. 
 (Hark, Despot ! and hear the wild knell of your 
 
 pride. 
 Ringing weird-like and wild, pealing up from the 
 
 side 
 
 Of the calm flowing River !) 
 
 'Neath a blow swift and mighty the Tvrant shall 
 
 fall ; 
 Vain ! vain ! to his God swells a desolate call. 
 For his grave has been hollowed, and woven his 
 
 pall, 
 
 Since they passed o'er the River ! 
 
 Value of Free ScnooLS. — Gen. Negley 
 sent out a foraging expedition from Nashville, 
 with orders to the commander to visit every habi- 
 tation, mill, barn, and out-house, and seize upon 
 everything fit for consumption by man and beast. 
 During the expedition a squad made a break for 
 a free school-liouse. 
 
 " Don't disturb anything there ! " cried one of 
 the officers. " If there had been a few more such 
 institutions in the South, there would have been 
 no rebellion." 
 
 Brother against Brother. — A writer in 
 Philadelphia relates the following : " In one of 
 our beautiful suburban cemeteries was employed 
 a venerable man. For a number of yeai's past 
 he has prepared the last resting-place for those 
 called from among us. Though poor, he raised 
 four gallant boys, giving to each of them a mod- 
 erate education and a good trade. The two elder 
 went five years ago to New Orleans, where pros- 
 perity attended their industry. 
 
 The two younger brothers remained with their 
 father. George and Frederick were their names. 
 The latter is but seventeen years of age. When 
 the war broke out, both left their employments 
 and enlisted. The elder brothers had constantly 
 written liome, and frequent presents accompanied 
 their letters. At the battle of Fredericksburg, in 
 the very front of the line, at the church upon the 
 rifle pits at the back of the town, were the two 
 boys Frederick and George. A sortie was made 
 by the rebel riflemen upon the retreating Federals, 
 and among those who dropped were the two boys, 
 the youngest sons of the old gravedigger. A 
 minie ball had pierced the bodies of each. 
 
 The rebel soldiers, whose weapons had done the 
 deed, were clad in rags of linsey. They ran with 
 alacrity to secure the clothing, the canteens, and 
 perhaps the money, of the men whom they had 
 laid low. The foremost one reached the body of 
 his dead enemy, turned it over — for the face was 
 downward — and to his horror beheld the corpse 
 of his youngest brother, his woollen shirt stained 
 with a stream of blood that oozed from a bullet 
 hole above the heart. Our informant, a chaplain 
 of the army, could tell us nothing of the other 
 rebel brother. But this one made his way into 
 the Union lines, and is now in tlie hospital at 
 Alexandria a hopeless maniac. We learn that in 
 their childhood this voungling of the flock had 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 133 
 
 been the especial charge of the eldest brother. 
 When he left for New Orleans it was in the ex- 
 pectation of entering business to which he could 
 bring uj) the boy. That boy he lived to shoot 
 down with his own hands. Unless the remaining 
 rebel brother survive, the family are now extinct. 
 The father died of a broken heart, and was buried 
 last Sunday. This is a simple statement of fact. 
 It is doubtless one of ten thousand never to be 
 written." 
 
 Adventures in Virginia. — A correspon- 
 dent writing from the camp of the Fourth Vir- 
 ginia brigade, on the 11th of November, 1863, 
 relates the following : " Instances of courage 
 and daring on the part of private soldiers in our 
 army are of no rare occurrence, and consequently 
 are often passed by unnoticed and unrewarded. 
 But the bold acts of some will impress themselves 
 upon the notice of the officers in command, and 
 elicit their admiration. Such was the case with four 
 privates who received the credit which they merited 
 for the part they acted in the late affair on the Rap- 
 pahannock. When the enemy had taken our re- 
 doubts beyond the river, orders were given to burn 
 the pontoon bridge ; it was fii-ed, but failed to burn, 
 and before combustible material could be gath- 
 ered to fire it again, the enemy had reached the 
 north side, and placed a heavy guard there to 
 fire upon any party attempting to destroy it. The 
 bridge remained unburned until about 12 o'clock 
 at night, when volunteers were called for to re- 
 new the effort to fire it; at the same time, all 
 were told that the M'ork was a dangerous one, 
 and none were desired to undertake it, except 
 those who were perfectly willing. Four privates 
 of Gen. Pegram's brigade (formerly Gen. Smith's) 
 volunteered, and successfully fired and destroyed 
 the bridge. They were not fired ujjon, but the 
 danger was encountered, and their quiet and cool 
 demeanor was all that jn^evented them from being 
 discovered. Had the enemy heard the least 
 noise, the bridge would have been swept by a 
 volley of musketry. The names of the privates 
 are Peter Berton, company E, 18th Virginia ; 
 Thomas Berton, company E, 18th Virginia ; James 
 F. Fristoe, company G, 49th Virginia ; and San- 
 dy Cooper, company A, 49th Virginia — Lieut. 
 Buck, 18th Virginia, commanding. In connec- 
 tion with the above, I would mention an inci- 
 dent that occurred at Culpepper Court House, 
 in which a lady acted the part of a heroine. In 
 September last, when the Yankee army advanced 
 on that town, it was the scene of quite a brisk 
 fight — especially was the artillery firing heavy. 
 During the fight, one of our wounded heroes, who 
 was between the fire of friend and foe, was seen 
 by a lady, whose tender sympathies were deeply 
 aroused in his behalf; and having resolved to save 
 him, she rushed from her house, regardless of her 
 own safety, between the combatants, amidst shot 
 and shell, raised him, bleeding, from the dust, 
 and had almost succeeded in gaining a place of 
 safety, when (our forces having fallen back) a Yan- 
 kee officer rode up, and being struck by her pat- 
 riotism, dismounted, and assisted her in carrying 
 her wounded countryman into the house. Well 
 
 was it for the suff"ering hero, that his dangerous 
 position was witnessed by Miss Belle Norris, 
 whose courage was equal to her patriotism ; for, 
 in a few moments, being unable to move, he 
 would have been crushed by the enemy's cavalry, 
 charging over the road. Long may she — one of 
 the many patriotic ladies of the town of Culpep- 
 per — live to receive the heartfelt thanks of grate- 
 ful soldiers for the many acts of kindness they 
 have received at her hands. Miles. 
 
 An Exciting Adventure. — Corporals Ham- 
 ilton and Vaneraan, of the 1st Virginia infantry, 
 stationed at North Mountain, on the Baltimore 
 and Ohio Railroad, got permission to visit some 
 friends, in the Virginia regiments encamped about 
 Winchester. They started from Martinsburg in a 
 stage coach. The coach contained five gentlemen 
 and three ladies, among them Gen. Cluseret's 
 Adjutant-General, a Lieutenant on Gen. Mihoy's 
 staff, and a Mr. Greer, from Wheeling. Shortly 
 after leaving Martinsburg, the coach was upset, 
 and the whole party were piled up in a miscel- 
 laneous heap on the road-side. The coach was 
 soon righted, and after proceeding a few miles 
 farther, two of the ladies got out. When near 
 Bunker Hill, the coach was stopped by a gang 
 of rebel cavahy, dressed in the uniform of Fed- 
 eral soldiers. The rebels cursed the occupants 
 of the coach, and told them to get down and 
 surrender, or they would blow out their brains, 
 and of course the passengers surrendered. The 
 rebels ransacked the trunks and valises. They 
 permitted Mr. Greer and the young lady to go 
 unharmed, but ordered the rest to unhitch the 
 coach horses ; and while this was being done, the 
 Lieutenant of Gen. Milroy's staff' crawled in, and 
 concealed himself between the body of the coach 
 and the coupling pole. The rest of the prisoners 
 were hurried off' in the direction of Front Royal. 
 The stage horses, not being " used to much feed," 
 were very thin and angular, and the boys thought 
 it a very severe " rail rido " into Dixie. Upon 
 reaching a small town called Middlebourne, the 
 prisoners and their captors were charged upon by 
 a body of Union cavalry, under command of the 
 Lieutenant who had concealed himself under the 
 coach. The rebels were completely routed. About 
 fifty shots were exchanged. The Major com- 
 manding the rebels was wounded, as was the 
 Lieutenant commanding the rescuing party. Two 
 or three of the rebels were killed, and more than 
 half of them were captured and taken to Win- 
 chester with the released prisoners. 
 
 The Lieutenant. v>-ho had concealed himself un- 
 der the coach, as soon as the rebels were out of 
 sight, borrowed a horse from a farmer, and start- 
 ed post haste for Winchester. Gen. Milroy im- 
 mediately despatched thirty of the 1st New York 
 cavalry towards Middlebourne in command of his 
 Lieutenant, and fifteen to the point of departure 
 from the main pil:e. The detachment sent to Mid- 
 dlebourne. got there before the rebels, and lay in 
 wait for thcui with the above result. The two Cor- 
 porals returned to their regiment at North Moun- 
 tain. 
 
134 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Discovering a Friend. — During the autumn 
 of 1862, a general rally -was made by the -women 
 of Princeton, Iowa, and vicinity, to prepare a 
 large amount of bandages, lint, &c., for the use 
 of wounded soldiers. Among the donations 
 made, were several rolls of bandages pifjppared by 
 Mrs. Field, into -which she placed a card bearing 
 her name and address. A few days ago, she re- 
 ceived a letter from a Lieutenant at Fayetteville, 
 Ark., stating that after the dreadful battle of 
 Prairie Grove, as he -was assisting to dress the 
 wound of Willie F. B. Culbertson, of this place, 
 and who has since died, and Avas unrolling the 
 bandage, a card di-opped out, -which Willie at once 
 recognized, with delight, to be from an acquaint- 
 ance of his o-wn town. It was a strange circum- 
 stance, that a gift, after jjassing so far, and through 
 so many hands, should at last be used on one 
 of the donor's own neighbors ; but it may be only 
 one of the thousands of instances in which the 
 noble women of the North shall see, after this 
 struggle is closed, the fruit of their labors, like 
 " bread cast upon the Avaters," after many days. 
 The kindness that the brave defenders of our 
 nation has and will receive from then* mothers, 
 wives, sisters, and friends at home, is, no doubt, 
 received with grateful hearts while living, and 
 will not be forgotten, though they be, like Willie, 
 " far bej'ond the rolling river," where the strife 
 of battle is never known. 
 
 Sergeant John Murkland. — When the 
 gallant Capt. Simonds, of the Fifteenth INIassa- 
 chusetts regiment, fell at the battle of Antie- 
 tam, Lieul.-Col. Kimball took the dying man's 
 sword off', and, handing to Serg. Murkland, said : 
 " I want you to take this sword, and lead this 
 company; will you do it P " He answered gal- 
 lantly, " I will do so — anywhere you may order." 
 This noble answer, made in the face of death and 
 danger, won for him a Captain's commission. 
 
 Sergeant Plunkett. — In the battle of Fred- 
 ericksburg, the color-bearer of the Twenty-first 
 Massachusetts regiment fell mortally wounded, 
 when Serg. Plunkett seized the standard, bore it 
 to the front, and there held his ground until both 
 arms were shot away by a shell. He was car- 
 ried to the hospital, and subsequently was taken 
 to Washington, the whole regiment turning out 
 to escort him to the station. So brave a man de- 
 served so marked an honor. 
 
 A Mohammedan Colonel. — A well-known 
 Colonel in the Union service, who had been in- 
 jured several times in various actions during the 
 war, received, at the battle of Fort Fisher, a 
 wound v/hich was considered fatal. As usual in 
 such cases, the chaplain approached him, and was 
 about offering words of consolation, when the 
 wounded Colonel interrupted him with, " Pass 
 on. I'm a Mohammedan." 
 
 An Observing Negro. — A fine-looking ne- 
 gro went into the Union lines on the Potomac, 
 and reported himself for work. 
 
 " Where are you from?" asked the officer on 
 duty. 
 
 '• Culpepper Court House, sar." 
 
 " What's the news down there ? " 
 
 " Nothing, massa, 'cept dar's a man down dar 
 lost a mighty good and valuable nigger dis 
 morning, and I reckon ho dun lose more afore 
 niffht." 
 
 General Hayes' Latest Thouguts. — It 
 may be interesting to knov/ the state of Gen. 
 Hayes' thoughts and feelings just before entering 
 upon that desperate conflict in the Wilderness, 
 where he lost his life. In a letter written upon 
 the morning on which the march commenced, he 
 says : 
 
 " This morning was beautiful, for 
 
 'Lightly and brightly shone the sun, 
 As if the morn was a jocund one.' 
 
 " Although we were anticipating to march at 
 eight o'clock, it might have been an appropriate 
 harbinger of the day of the regeneration of 
 mankind ; but it only brought to remembrance, 
 through the throats of many" bugles, that duty 
 enjoined upon each one, perhaps, before the set- 
 ting sun, to lay down a life for his country." 
 
 A soldier in the field f.ent the following ap- 
 peal to the boys to volunt:'cr : 
 
 I've left my home and all my friends. 
 And crpssed the mountains craggy, 
 
 To tight the foe and traitor bands, 
 And left my own dear jMaggic. 
 
 Bvit now old Jeff is doomed to fall ; 
 
 The traitor dogs do yelp ; 
 But why leave us to do it all ? 
 
 Why don't you come and help? 
 
 A Startling Episode. — The following ac- 
 count of a very strange adventure was given by 
 a letter writer under whose observation it oc- 
 curred : 
 
 During the month of August, in 1861, while 
 our Iowa regiment was stationed at Holla, in 
 Missouri, our company was detached from the 
 regiment, and sent to guard the railroad bridge 
 at the Mozeille ^lills, M'hich, it Avas rumored, the 
 guerrillas of that neighborhood Avere ]n-eparing 
 to destroy. 
 
 AVe had been upon the ground but a feAV days, 
 when there appeared in camp, caily one morn- 
 ing, a very old, dccrejiit mule, which made direct 
 for the door of a stable that adjoined the Cap- 
 tain's quarters, from which it appeared he had 
 recently been stolen by a guerrilla and carried 
 aAA'ay, as a pack animal. Upon approaching the 
 mule, a letter Avas discovered, secured to the 
 throat-latch of the bridle, Avliich, being addressed 
 to the Captain, Avas immediately handed into his 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 135 
 
 quarters. Upon opening the letter, its contents 
 (written in the delicate handwriting of a female) 
 consisted of the following singular announce- 
 ment : " The Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed 
 on the first Friday before the full moon." The 
 Captain professed to understand it, and said : 
 " 'Ihe guerrillas will attack the bridge to-night," 
 and immediately ordered the company to be mus- 
 tered, and informed them of the imminence of 
 an attack, which might be looked for at any mo- 
 ment. Ammunition w-as ordered to be distrib- 
 uted, the guards were doubled, pickets thrown 
 out, and every precaution taken to guard against 
 surprise. At the close of the day a drizzling 
 rain set in, which continued until the next morn- 
 ing, causing the night to be intensely dark. 
 
 Three picket stations had been thrown out into 
 the country about half a mile from the opposite 
 end of the bridge, Avhere the main guard was 
 posted behind a pile of railroad ties. It was our 
 lot to be one of the six that composed the mid- 
 night guard at this station. We had been upon 
 our post about an hour, Avhen one of the men ob- 
 served, " I hear footsteps." We listened, and 
 presently heard the footsteps of several persons 
 approaching us, apparently with great caution, 
 through a dense undergrowth that skirted the 
 opposite side of the road. The darkness of the 
 night was so great that w^e could not see them 
 even when they were within forty feet of us ; but 
 we could distinctly hear one of them observe, in 
 a petulant, but suppressed tone, " Jim, hold up 
 that gun of yours ; that's twice you've stuck that 
 bayonet in me." At this moment we opened 
 upon them with all our guns. There w^as no gun 
 fired in return, but we could distinctly hear them 
 for some time rushing with receding steps through 
 the tliicket, in the direction of a cornfield, in 
 which stood a log cabin, occupied by a woman 
 and two children, the husband and father of 
 whom was a Union soldier in one of the Mis- 
 souri regiments. The firing of our guns, which 
 overshot the enemy, had aroused the entire com- 
 mand, and brought in the picket guard, when the 
 log cabin alluded (o was discovered to be on fire. 
 Believing it to be the incendiary work of these 
 guerrillas, the Captain immediately ordered a com- 
 mand of twenty men to double-quick through to 
 the house, and endeavor to rescue the family if 
 in danger. Upon reaching the vicinity of the 
 opening that surrounded the cabin, we discovered 
 that a quantity of hay had been placed against 
 the door and fii'ed ; and near the building a party 
 of eight or nine guerrillas, armed with guns, were 
 grouped together, apparently listening to some 
 speaker. Our party, which had divided at the 
 edge of the cornfield, with the view of surround- 
 ing the cabin, now rushed in upon them, and suc- 
 ceeded in capturing three of their number. 
 
 We had arrived too late to render any assist- 
 ance to the inmates of the cabin, which had al- 
 ready sunk down into a smouldering heap, be- 
 neath which the mother and her children had 
 perished. After securing our prisoners with a 
 portion of a clothes line, hanging from a branch 
 of a tree, they were conducted to camp, where j 
 
 the Captain immediately summoned a drum-head 
 court-martial to try them upon the charge of 
 murder, assuring them that if they were found 
 guilty they would be shot at sunrise, as a warn- 
 ing to their guerrilla comrades. One of the 
 party, a. short, thick fellow, with a bushy head of 
 red hair, and bloated expression of countenance, 
 when asked by the court-martial " if he had any- 
 thing to say," sneeringly turned away, refusing to 
 make any ansAver. The second prisoner, a tall, 
 slender person, of dark complexion, with one eye 
 concealed beneath a handherchief that was tied 
 diagonally around his head, while his face was 
 scratched and scarred with fresh wounds, appar- 
 ently the result of some bacchanalian brawl 
 with his comrades, observed, " This shooting a 
 feller, arter he's a ])risoner, for fighting for the 
 freedom of Missouri, and ag'in the abolitioners, 
 ain't accorden to law." Here a member of the 
 court-martial asked him " if the murdering of a 
 helpless woman and her children, at the midnight 
 hour, by burning them to death while sleeping, 
 was fighting for the freedom of Missouri." The 
 fellow turned away from this question with a de- 
 jected look, muttering that " her husband was a 
 damned abolitioner." The third person was a 
 young man, or boy, apparently about sixteen 
 years old. From his dialect, and the nationality 
 of expression on his countenance, it was easy to 
 discern that he was of Irish descent. He was 
 well dressed, and appeared to be greatly dis- 
 tressed at his situation as a prisoner. He ob- 
 served, with much alarm expressed on his coun- 
 tenance, that he was an Irish boy, and that he 
 had been in the United States but ten weeks, 
 and had taken no part in the war ; that the man 
 who had burned the house had called upon him 
 that evening, and asked him to join them in a 
 coon hunt, and it was not until they were fired 
 upon at the bridge, that he was aware of the char- 
 acter and object of the party. He would have 
 left them then, but the night was dark, and he 
 did not know the way home. 
 
 Here one of the court arose, and informed him 
 that his story partook of the character of all 
 guerrilla pleas of innocence, and that it availed 
 him nothing. He had been caught with others 
 in the very act of committing this cruel and un- 
 feeling murder, and it only remained for him 
 to say that the court found all of them guilty of 
 murder, and sentenced them to be shot at nine 
 o'clock the next morning. 
 
 The prisoners were then ordered to the guard- 
 house — a log dAvelling — and placed in the cel- 
 lar beneath the building. The remainder of the 
 night was devoted to the making of the coffins 
 and the digging of a grave of sufficient dimen- 
 sions to hold them side by side. When the 
 morning returned, the rain had ceased — the 
 clouds had passed away, and soon the sun arose 
 with a warm and genial glow. All nature seemed 
 refreshed with the murky shower of the night — 
 while all around, the blades of grass, the lilac 
 bushes, and forest leaves, drooped u'.ider the 
 sparkling rain-drops that glittered on their folds ; 
 and the birds carolled wild and loud their morn- 
 
136 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ing matins. All felt that it was a day to live, 
 and not to die in. The drum was beat at early 
 dawn, musterini? the company under arms, to 
 witness the punishment ; and a detail of twelve 
 men Avas made, as executioners, under the com- 
 mand of a corporal. As the time drew near for 
 the execution, it was discovered that two of the 
 prisoners had made their escape by forcing a pas- 
 sage through the partition wall of the cellar, into 
 the cellar of an adjoining house. 
 
 The boy, however, was still a prisoner, and all 
 were determined that he should be made an ex- 
 ample of. Accordingly, about eight o'clock, he 
 ■was brought out, to be conducted to the place of 
 execution. Upon seeing the soldiers drawn up 
 to receive him, he commenced wringing his hands, 
 crying and calling to the Captain, saying, " O, 
 Ca])tain, I am not guilty. Do not let them kill 
 me. Don't, Captain; you can save me. I will 
 give yeu my watch — my sister will give you 
 money. O God! O Holy Mother! O Captain, 
 speak to them quick ; they are taking me away ! " 
 With a soldier upon, each side of him, he was 
 now led by the arms towards the place of execu- 
 tion, still calling upon the Captain to save him. 
 When he discovered the colhn and grave that 
 had been prepared for him, he gave a wild, fran- 
 tic scream, and then for the first time seemed to 
 realize that in a few minutes he would be no 
 more among the living ; for in a moment after he 
 became calm, when, turning to the officer of the 
 guard, he requested him to ask the Captain if he 
 would give him time to write to his mother in 
 Ireland. The Captain, who was standing uppn 
 one side of the hollow square of soldiers that sur- 
 rounded the prisoner, hearing his request, imme- 
 diately answered, " Yes ; let him have writing 
 matei'ials," — which were immediately brought, 
 when he kneeled down, placing the paper upon 
 the coffin lid, and as his pendashedoft' the words, 
 " Dear Mother," tears fell upon the paper, Avhich, 
 in brushing away with his coat sleeve, erased the 
 words he had written ; when, springing to his 
 feet, he commenced wringing his hands, saying : 
 " I cannot write, I cannot write ; O soldier, will 
 you write for me ? " addressing the Corporal of 
 the guard. 
 
 At that moment, there arose upon the stillness 
 of the scene the wild, piercing scream of a fe- 
 male, as she burst through the ranks of the sol- 
 diers, and swept out upon the hollow square, in 
 the direction of the prisoner. It was an Irish 
 girl, apparently about eighteen years old, without 
 bonnet or shoes, her dress bespotted with mud, 
 and her long, dark hair streaming in the wind, as 
 she rushed forward with a wild, heart-rending 
 scream, saying, " He is my brother ; he is my 
 brother." In a moment she had crossed the 
 square, and clasping her brother in her arms, she 
 continued, with an agonizing scream, "O soldiers! 
 O Holy Mother ! gentlemen ! for the love of 
 Jesus, do not kill him. He is innocent — he is 
 my brother ! " I never wish to look upon a scene 
 like that again ; and many a hardy hunter, from 
 Iowa's border, while gazing on it, felt the invol- 
 untary tear course down his manly cheek. But 
 
 we were surrounded by murderers and assassins. 
 The hand that had received pay from the soldier 
 for a draught of water had been known to strike 
 him in the back with a dagger as he turned away ; 
 and our officers had determined to make an ex- 
 ample of the first murderer that fell into our 
 hands. The girl at length was ordered to be re- 
 moved. When two soldiers advanced and un- 
 loosed lier grasp upon her brother, her screams, 
 her appeals to all for mercy, -were terrible. They 
 had dragged her but a short distance from him, 
 when, looking back, and seeing a black handker- 
 chief already tied over his eyes, with one wUd, 
 frantic scream, she flung the soldiers from her, 
 and, bounding back to her brother, tore the 
 handkerchief from his eyes, and again enfolded 
 him in her arms. As the soldiers were* again 
 removing her, the coat sleeve of one of them was 
 torn during the struggles, and her eye fell upon 
 a breast-pin that he had fastened upon his shirt 
 sleeve, perhaps for concealment and safety. In 
 an instant all her physical powers were relaxed, 
 and in a calm, subdued, and confident tone of 
 voice, she observed, as she pointed to the pin, 
 " Soldiers, let me make one more effort for my 
 brother." The soldiers, startled at the strange- 
 ness of her manner, unloosed their grasp upon 
 her, and in a moment she bounded away to her 
 brother, shielding his body again with her per- 
 son at the very moment that the guns were de- 
 scending to receive the word " fire." Turning 
 her back to her brother, and facing the file of 
 soldiers, she stood forth a stately woman. There 
 was no scream, no tear, no agonizing expression, 
 but, calm and erect, she swept the field with her 
 eye, and tlien advancing three steps, she gave the 
 grand haiHng signal of the Master Mason. None 
 but Masons among those soldiers observed it, and 
 there were many of them in that command, who 
 now stood mute with astonishment at the strange 
 and mysterious spectacle before them. There was 
 a grouping of the officers for a few minutes, when 
 the Captain came forward, and in a loud voice 
 said, that " owing to the distress and interfer- 
 ence of the young woman, the execution would 
 be postponed until nine o'clock next day." The 
 guard was then ordered to be doubled, and a 
 strict Avatch kept over the prisoner during the 
 night. 
 
 Notwithstanding this precaution, it was dis- 
 covered in tiie morning, that both the boy and 
 his sister had made their escape ; in what way 
 they accomplished it has been a nystery with the 
 company from that time to this. During the 
 early ])art of the evening, there was a meeting of 
 the Masonic members of the company at the Cap- 
 tain's quarters, where the girl was examined, and 
 found to have ])assed all the degrees in Masonry, 
 to that of a Ma.ster Mason. Where or how she 
 had acquired these degrees she declined to say. 
 
 Incident of Foiit Wagner. — A corre- 
 spondent of the Southern Preshyterian, in a nar- 
 rative of the " last days of Battery Wagner," 
 thus writes : 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 137 
 
 In one case, a squad of six men was ordered 
 to repair a parapet, which the enemy had cut 
 down, and were still at work upon. They started 
 out, and almost instantly a shell burst among 
 them, killing one and wounding four; the re- 
 maining man picked up his sand-bag, and walked 
 up to the breach without a moment's hesitation. 
 The next squad was called, and went up to the 
 work in just the same manner. A ten-inch co- 
 lumbiad, loaded, was dismounted by the enemy's 
 shot, fell over, and pointed directly at a maga- 
 zine, its carriage took fire, and the officers who 
 ran up to it, tried in vain to extinguish the fire, 
 by shovelling sand upon it. They called for vol- 
 unteers, but the cannonade was too furious. 
 Many shrank ; it was not a command, but an in- 
 vitation. At last, one gallant fellow rushed up, 
 joined the officers in their work, got the fire un- 
 der, and came down, thank God, in perfect safety. 
 
 The Belgian Muskets. — An Illinois Colo- 
 nel felt it his duty to praise these double-acting 
 arms. Said he, " In platoon firing with the Bel- 
 gian musket, I can tell what I cannot with any 
 other arm, and that is, how many pieces have 
 been fired." 
 
 " How can you tell that? " 
 
 " O, / coimt the men on the ground. It never 
 deceives me. It is ' fire and fall back,' flat. 
 
 " One of these Belgian muskets will kick like 
 a mule, and burst with the greatest facility. Sev- 
 eral soldiers in our Illinois regiments have been 
 killed in this waj-. The bayonet, too, is a nov- 
 elty — a soft-iron affair, apparently designed to coil 
 round the enemy, as it is introduced, thus taking 
 him prisoner." 
 
 Gratitude on the Battle-Field. — In the 
 teiTible engagement at Fort Donelson, an Orderly 
 Sergeant, seeing a rebel point a rifle at the Cap- 
 tam of his company, threw himself before his 
 beloved officer, received the bullet in his breast, 
 and fell dead in the arms of the man he had saved. 
 The brave fellow had been reared and very gen- 
 erously treated by the Captain's father, and had 
 declared, when enlisting, that he would be happy 
 to die to save the life of his benefactor's son. 
 The affection shoMTi each other by Damon and 
 Pythias did not exceed that of this nameless sol- 
 dier. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Moore, of Richmond, Va., de- 
 livered a lecture in that city on the origin and 
 meaning of words, in which many curious facts 
 were developed, among which were that the word 
 Davis means, " God with us," and that Lincoln, 
 when subjected to etymological analysis, means, 
 " On the verge of a precipice." 
 
 Incidents of Ball's Bluff. — A soldier, who 
 was in this battle, relates the following incidents : 
 
 A young man, named Greenhall, of the Cali- 
 fornia regiment, missing, secreted himself, with 
 three comrades, in some underbrush. Greenhall 
 
 was an excellent marksman, and picked off 
 seven of the enemy who had got between him 
 and the river. One of them, he thinks, was an 
 officer. The rest then briefly vacated the spot, 
 and, with his comrades, Greenhall managed to 
 make his way back to our lines. 
 
 The number of those killed while recrossing 
 in the boats must have been quite large. In one 
 of the boats, a Philadelphian, name unknown, 
 and two men of the Tammany regiment, were 
 pulling at the oars. They were compelled to 
 stand upright, and their shoulders were used as 
 rests by their comrades, who kept up a continu- 
 ous fire. Singular to say, the boat had reached 
 the middle of the stream before one of the oars- 
 men was struck. They finally fell simultaneous- 
 ly. Their places were instantly supplied; the 
 boat, however, turned with the current, drifted, 
 as they thought, out of danger. In less than fif- 
 teen minutes, however, a terrific fire was poured 
 into it from the skulking enemy, and, filling 
 slowly, it began to sink. The scene then pre- 
 sented was fearful beyond conception. A shriek 
 of horror M^ent up from the crew. Men clutched 
 each other in despair, and Avent down together. 
 Voices that strove to shout for help were drowned 
 in the rushing waters, and died away in gurgles. 
 
 Among the rebels was one prominent individ- 
 ual, who wore a red handkerchief tied round his 
 head, but was utterly hatless, coatless, and reck- 
 less, standing out in advance of his line. He 
 loaded, and deliberately fired at our men for 
 nearly an hour before he was struck down. He 
 was shot by a member of the Tammany regi- 
 ment, who, almost at the same moment, was 
 pierced by a rebel musket ball. 
 
 Another rebel was observed to be ensconced 
 on the top of a tree, and seldom fired without 
 inflicting a death-wound. Capt. Keff'er, of com- 
 pany K, directed one of his men to shoot him. 
 An instant after, the rebel fell from his perch, 
 and went ci'ashing like a log through branch and 
 foliage. Several other adjacent trees were ob- 
 served to be vacated before much time had 
 elapsed. 
 
 After the battle, one of our men was found 
 stark dead in the hollow of a log ! The manner 
 of his death is supposed to have been as folloAvs : 
 At the commencement of the battle, while a gen- 
 eral confusion prevailed, he probably crept into 
 the log (which lay near the bank) for the pur- 
 pose of " picking ojl the enemy." This sheltei 
 Avas very mucli decayed and Avorm-eaten, and was 
 speedily pierced by a rifle-ball. When dragged 
 out, his musket was found to have been recently 
 discharged. The rifle-ball had entered his breast, 
 and passed through the left lung. 
 
 In the panic that ensued upon the discoA'ery 
 that the rebels had been reenforced, and could 
 not be driven from their cover, many scenes, that 
 might haA'e seemed ludicrous in many other junc- 
 tures, occurred upon the hill-side. It Avas not un- 
 common for frantic men to leap the Avhole dis- 
 tance of the bluff, and plant their feet on their 
 comrades' backs. A lusty loyalist, Avho had 
 pounced upon a prisoner, slipped at the top of 
 
138 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 the bluff, but still keeping a desperate hold upon 
 his prej', the two rolled to the bottom in a firm 
 embrace ! 
 
 There was in tlie California regiment a gray- 
 haired private from our city. He had fought 
 hard all day, and had been twice wounded, the 
 last shot carrying away his trigger-finger. He 
 stood upon the banks of the stream, divesting 
 himself of his surplus clothing, when a burly fel- 
 low, belonging to a New York regiment, leaped 
 upon him, knocking the breath out of the old 
 man's body. In the hurry and excitement conse- 
 quent upon the fight. Unionists and rebels fi-e- 
 quently fell into each other's lines, and began to 
 fire at their own columns. In this way several 
 of our soldiers were captured. 
 
 A man named Stokes, who Avas among the 
 list of prisoners, seeing no chance of escape, lay 
 down in an open field among a number of the 
 dead, as though he were really hors de combat. 
 At length a rebel sharpshooter, stumbling upon 
 his body, selected it as an excellent one for a 
 foot-rest. Poor Stokes was in tribulation, but 
 held his peace. At length, the rebel, having 
 made a very successful shot, sprang up and 
 danced around for joy, well nigh kneading his 
 footstool into a jelly ! " Stop ! for God's sake ! " 
 shouted Stokes. The sharpshooter drew back, 
 perfectly thunderstruck ; then, divining the true 
 state of afi'airs, he shouted out, " You sneaking 
 Yankee cuss, git up here ! " The ejaculation 
 brought a score of rebels to the s^wt, and Stokes, 
 when last seen, was going ofl" under a guaixl, with 
 a very crest-fallen face. 
 
 The most deadly contest of the day occurred 
 between a member of the Massachusetts Fif- 
 teenth and Eighth Virginia regiments. The lat- 
 ter, as is well known, were at the time retreat- 
 ing, with the Fifteenth hotly pursuing. The 
 rebel rear was brought up by a most determined 
 fellow, who turned repeatedly, and discharged his 
 musket in our ranks. Animated by the same 
 personal daring, a Union soldier rushed beyond 
 the head of his column, firing continually. After 
 the pursuit had continued for some distance, it 
 being feared that our men were to be drawn into 
 a trap, they were ordered to retire. The order 
 was obeyed by all save the volunteer, who had 
 led the advance, and before many minutes, he 
 was seen struggling with the laggard Virginian, 
 whose own column had gone ahead. Three bar- 
 rels of a revolver were discharged at the rebel 
 without seeming eff'ect, and the Virginian, rush- 
 ing upon his assailant with a huge knife, was 
 abo . t to stab him. His knee was on the other's 
 breust, and the loyalist had shut his eyes. The 
 knife, however, fell from the other's grasp, and 
 he reeled over, lifeless. All three of the pistol 
 shots had actually taken efi"ect upon him, yet 
 such was his overmastering brute ferocity, that 
 for some instants his Avounds were without effect. 
 It is related of Sewall Randall, of company D, 
 California regiment, that the night before the en- 
 gagement he had a singular dream. Next morn- 
 ing, so vivid was the impression left on his mem- 
 ory, that he related it to a companion, and add- 
 
 ed a belief that it was an unfavorable omen. 
 Neither ridicule nor reason could move him 
 from this strange conviction; and when the ad- 
 vance had been made, he went into action 
 as though he had received his death-warrant. 
 He had crossed the river, but had barely reached 
 the top of the opposite blufi", when he fell, shot 
 through the side. He lingered for some time in 
 great agony, but before death his pain was some- 
 what abated. 
 
 TiiE Dying Soldier. — It was the evening 
 after a great battle. All day long the din of 
 strife had echoed far, and thickly strewn lay the 
 shattered forms of those so lately erect and ex- 
 ultant in the flush and strength of manhood. 
 Among the many who bowed to the conqueror 
 Death that night was a youth in the freshness of 
 mature life. The strong limbs lay listless, and 
 the dark hair was matted with gore on the pale, 
 broad forehead. His eyes were closed. As one 
 who ministered to the suff'erer bent over him, he 
 at first thought him dead ; but the white hps 
 moved, and slowly, m weak tones, he repeated : 
 
 " Now I lay me down to sleep ; 
 I pray the Lord my soul to keep ; 
 If I should die before I wake, 
 I pray the Lord my soul to take ; 
 And this I ask for Jesus' sake." 
 
 As he finished, he opened his eyes, and meet- 
 ing the pitying gaze of a brother soldier, he ex- 
 claimed, " My mother taught me that when I was 
 a little boy, and I have said it every night since 
 I can remember. Before the morning dawns, I 
 believe God will take my soul for ' Jesus' sake ; ' 
 but before I die I want to send a message to my 
 mother." 
 
 He was carried to a temporary hospital, and a 
 letter was written to his mother, which he dic- 
 tated, full of Christian faith and filial love. He 
 was calm and peaceful. Just as the sun arose 
 his spirit went home, his last articulate words 
 being : 
 
 " I pray the Lord my soul to take ; 
 And this I ask for Jesus' sake." 
 
 B- 
 
 So died William 
 setts volunteers. The 
 the prayer of manhood. 
 
 , of the Massachu- 
 
 prayer of childhood was 
 
 He learned it at his 
 mother's knee, in his far distant Northern home, 
 and he whispered it in dying, Avhen his young 
 life ebbed away on a Southern battle-field. It 
 was his nightly petition in life, and the angel who 
 bore his spirit home to heaven, bore the sweet 
 prayer his soul loved so well. 
 
 God bless the saintly words, alike loved and 
 repeated by high and low, rich ami poor, wise 
 and ignorant, old and young, only second to oui ; 
 Lord's prayer in beauty and simplicity. Happy 
 the soul that can repeat it with the holy fervor of 
 our dying soldier. 
 
 Belmont after the Fight. — John Seaton, 
 Captain of company B, in the Twenty-second Il- 
 linois regiment, relates the following incidents : 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 139 
 
 " The day after the battle, Col. Hart was in 
 command of the party that went down with a 
 flag of truce to bury the dead, and take up the 
 wounded that still lay on the battle-field. Of 
 my company, there went Lieut. Morgan, Corpo- 
 ral B. J3. (jould, privates T. C. Young, J. W. 
 Young, and Phil. Sackett. They relate some 
 verj- affecting scenes they witnessed upon the 
 battle-field, one of which was the finding of the 
 body of Lieut.-Col. Wentz by his wife. There 
 lay the corpse on that blood-stained field, ghastly 
 in the embrace of death. She stands gazing at 
 it fixedly, and motionless as though rooted to 
 the spot ; presently her eyes fill with tears, and 
 she breaks out in a low, agonizing cry : ' Poor — 
 poor — soul — is it gone ? ' and falls prostrate 
 upon his body. Then it was that stout and hard- 
 featured men wept. Every rebel ofiicer took out 
 his pocket handkerchief to wipe away the tears 
 that came trickling down their cheeks. One of 
 them remarked, ' I'd give ten thousand dollars to 
 recall that man to life.' And the ' boys ' say they 
 believe he meant it. They found many poor fellows 
 badly wounded that had lain there since the battle. 
 The rebels had been around during the night, and 
 given them water, and other necessaries, and had 
 taken a great many into the hospitals. 
 
 " I believe we did meet the flower of the 
 Southern army, for they fought bravely, and their 
 arms were all superior to ours. Every piece I 
 sa\v was rifled, and had all the latest improve- 
 ments ; and there were a great many Sharp's six- 
 shooting rifies. Their officers' uniforms were 
 splendid and gorgeous, but the men's clothes 
 v.ere nearly all of a brownish gray, coarse, home- 
 spun jeans. In the early part of the fight, two 
 men of company C brought a long, lean jDris- 
 oner to me. He was about six feet two inches, 
 and belonged to the Second Tennessee regiment. 
 He was very much scared. I asked him how 
 many men v.e were fighting ; he raised his hands 
 above his head, and spoke in that peculiar style 
 so much in vogue in the rural districts of Slave 
 States, Avhere they see so much of the ' nigger.' 
 ' To God, stranger, I can't tell ; this ground was 
 jist kivered with men this mornin' ; SM-ar me in, 
 stranger ; I'll take the oath right now ; I'll fight 
 for you ; only please don't kill me." I told him 
 he should not be hurt, if he behaved himself, and 
 tied him, commanding him to lie down and re- 
 main there till I came back, and then left him. 
 I saw him no more that daj', but some one else 
 brought liim along before night. 
 
 The Negeo Sergeant of Paducah. — A 
 negro Sergeant in charge of the fort at Paducah, 
 where the Confederates, under Col. Thompson, 
 tried to'storm it, was conspicuous for his gallantry. 
 He did not always use militaiy terms, but his 
 words answered as well. " Hurry, boys ! load 
 afore the smoke clears," — and before the advanc- 
 ing column of the enemy had gained many steps, 
 a terrific discharge of spherical case or other shot 
 staggered them back, and thus the horrid butchery 
 visited on Fort Pillow Avas averted from Paducah. 
 
 SPRING AT THE CAPITAL. 
 
 EY MRS. PAUL AKERS. 
 
 The poplar drops beside the way 
 Its tasselled plumes of silver gray ; 
 The chestnut pouts its great brown buds, impa- 
 tient for the laggard May. 
 
 The honeysuckles lace the wall ; 
 The hyacinths grow fair and tall ; 
 And mellow sun, and pleasant wind, and odorous 
 bees are over all. 
 
 Down-looking in this snow-w^hite bud, 
 HoAV distant seems the war's red flood I 
 How far remote the streaming wounds, the sicken- 
 ing scent of human blood ! 
 
 Nor Nature does not recognize 
 This strife that rends the earth and skies ; 
 No war-dreams vex the winter sleep of clover-heads 
 and daisy eyes. 
 
 She holds her even way the same, 
 Though navies sink or cities flame ; 
 A snow-drop is a snow-drop still, despite the na- 
 tion's joy or shame. 
 
 When blood her grassy altar -wets, 
 She sends the pitying violets 
 To heal the outrage with their bloom, and cover it 
 with soft regrets. 
 
 O crocuses, with rain- wet eyes, 
 O tender-lipped anemones, 
 What do you know of agony, and death, and blood- 
 won victories ! 
 
 No shudder breaks your sunshine trance, 
 Though near you rolls, with slow advance, 
 Clouding your shining leaves with dust, the an- 
 guish-laden ambulance. 
 
 Yonder a white encampment hums ; 
 The clash of martial music comes ; 
 And now your startled stems are all a-tremble with 
 the jar of drums. 
 
 Whether it lessen or increase, 
 Or whether trumpets shout or cease, 
 Still deep within your tranquil hearts the happy 
 bees are humming, "Peace ! " 
 
 O flowers, the soul that faints or grieves, 
 New comfort from your lips receives ; 
 Sweet confidence and patient faith are hidden in 
 your healing leaves. 
 
 Help us to trust, still on and on, 
 That this dark night will soon be gone, 
 And that these battle-stains are but the blood-red 
 trouble of the dawn — 
 
 Dawn of a broader, whiter day 
 Than ever blessed us with its ray — 
 A dawn beneath whose purer light all guilt and 
 wrong shall fade awa}\ 
 
 "* Then shall our nation break its bands, 
 And silencing the envious lands. 
 Stand in the searching light rmshamed, with spot- 
 less robe, and clean, white hands. 
 
140 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Capt. Reid, of the Fifteenth Iowa regiment, 
 relates the following incident df the march from 
 Vicksburg to Meridian : " An amusing cii'cum- 
 stance occurred at Jackson, which I heard related, 
 but did not witness, but wished, when I heard of 
 it, I had had a dead-head ticket to the show. A 
 house was on fire, and an elderly lady wished to 
 save from the wreck a large old-fashioned mirror, 
 which was up stairs. Being unable to manage it 
 herself, she called upon a soldier, who kindly con- 
 sented to assist her ; and going up, shouldered 
 the mirror, and with it on his back, had nearly 
 reached the bottom of the long flight of stairs, 
 when, seeing a chicken, of which a party were in 
 pursuit, he became so excited, and so far forgot 
 himself and the precious burden with which he 
 was loaded, that he gave one long bound for the 
 chicken, dashing the mirror on the floor, and 
 breaking it into a thousand pieces. The lady 
 stood still, and raising up both hands, gazed at 
 the young scapegrace as he ran in mute wonder 
 and astonishment. Poor woman ! Like the milk- 
 maid in Webster's old spelling book, her castles 
 built in the air vanished like a noonday dream." 
 
 A Shell burst near an L'ishman in the trench- 
 es, when, surveying the fragments, he exclaimed : 
 " Be jabers ! them's the fellows to teckle yer 
 
 ear ! " 
 
 An Incident at Gettysburg. — A surgeon 
 of the Virginia army relates the following inci- 
 dent : " As I was pushing my way through a crowd 
 of idle spectators, at the Second Corps hospital, 
 Gettysburg, one of our wounded, from a North 
 Carolina regiment, called to me in a feeble voice. 
 I went to him, and he said : ' You are a Confed- 
 erate surgeon — are you not ? ' I answered him, 
 ' Yes ; what can I do for you ? ' He caught me 
 nervously by the arm ; and in a manner very strik- 
 ing and very eloquent, he uttered : ' What do 
 you think, doctor ? I am wounded and dying in 
 defence of my country, and these people are tr)-- 
 ing to persuade me to take the oath of allegiance 
 to theirs ! ' 
 
 "The crowd around him scattered as if a bomb 
 had fallen into their midst, whilst I, overcome by 
 the fervent eloquence of his words, could only 
 bow in silence over the gallant fellow, upon whose 
 brow the damp shadow of death was akeady gath- 
 
 Cruelties of the War. — Before the rebel- 
 lion, there resided in Carter County, Tennessee, 
 two families named Hetherley and Tipton, who 
 were on the most intimate and friendly terms. 
 When the troubles came upon the country, the 
 male members of the ITetherley family organ- 
 ized a Federal company for home protection, 
 while the Tipton boys espoused the rebel cause, 
 and joined the Confederate army in Virginia. 
 After an absence of a year, the elder Tipton re- 
 turned to his native county with a Lieutenant's 
 commission, and a squad of soldiers, and imme- 
 diately set to work to clear the neighborhood of 
 
 all the Unionists. Tipton was brutal and unscru- 
 pulous in the course he pursued towards his former 
 friends. Learning that one of the Hetherleys was 
 lurking in the vicinity, and faiHng, after a thorough 
 search, to discover his whereabouts, he took Heth- 
 erley's widowed mother from her house in the 
 night, carried her to an adjoining wood, and put- 
 ting a rope around her neck, threatened that if 
 she did not instantly reveal her son's hiding-i:)lace, 
 he would hang her. This she refused to do, and 
 Tipton, as good as his word, had her suspended 
 to a tree until life Avas nearly extinct. When she 
 came to, he assured her that unless she told 
 where her son was concealed, he would surely 
 kill her. But the old lady v.'as not to be intimi- 
 dated, and again and again was she strung up, 
 when Tipton, convinced that he could not wring 
 her secret from her, left her lying on the ground 
 more dead than alive. Hetherley heard of the 
 outrage perpetrated upon his mother, and sent 
 word to Tipton to look out, for the avenger was 
 on his track. That very night, as Tipton was 
 making preparations to leave the country, he was 
 surprised at his father's house by Hetherley's 
 company, and taken to the mountains. Here he 
 was compelled to pay the penalty of death for his 
 cruelties. Hetherley, maddened at the cruelties 
 inflicted upon his helpless old mother, had him 
 stripped and bound, made him kneel upon a cof- 
 fin and take the oath of allegiance to the Federal 
 Government, and then compelled the negro ser- 
 vant to blow his brains out with a revolver. 
 
 A Girl Worth Haying. — " One of our fair 
 countrywomen," says a correspondent, " the daugh- 
 ter of a rich and independent farmer of Rocking- 
 ham, was married, the other day, to a gentleman 
 who may congratulate himself upon having secured 
 a prize worth having. She was what we should 
 call ' an independent girl,' sure enough. Her bridal 
 outfit was all made with her own hands, from her 
 beautiful straw hat down to the handsome gaiters 
 upon her feet ! Her own delicate hands spmi and 
 wove the material of which her wedding dress 
 and travelling cloak were made ; so that she had 
 nothing upon her person, when she was married, 
 which was not made by herself! Nor was she 
 compelled by necessity or poverty to make this 
 exhibition of her independence. She did it for 
 the purpose of showing to the world how inde- 
 pendent Southern girls are. If this noble girl 
 were not wedded, we should be tempted to pub- 
 lish her name in this connection, so that our 
 bachelor readers might see who of our girls are 
 most to be desired. If she were yet single, and 
 we were to publish her name, her pa's house 
 would be at once thronged with gallant gentlemen 
 seeking the hand of a woman of such priceless 
 value." — Puclimond Sentinel. 
 
 The Captain and the Chapxain. — A cor- 
 respondent with the army of the Cumberland 
 tells the following : — 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 141 
 
 On the morning of our arrival at Strawberry 
 Plains, a Captain on Gen. Sheridan's staff de- 
 scried a man dressed in a semi-military garb, com- 
 mon to sutlers and other army followers, riding 
 leisurely along in a dilapidated carriage, drawn 
 by a span of mules. The most remarkable fea- 
 ture about the individual in the carriage, was a 
 Bardolphian proboscis of magnificent proportions 
 and gorgeous colors, at once suggestive of luscious 
 tods and invigorating cordials. The Captain, 
 fatigued and thirsty, taking his cue from the oth- 
 er's illuminated frontispiece, rode close beside 
 him, and asked, in a confidential tone, if he 
 couldn't give him a " suck." " No, sir," was the 
 reply ; " I am not a wet nurse." " O, but I mean 
 a drink of whiskey ; the fact is, I'm devilish dry." 
 " No, sii", I cannot ; I never use intoxicating bev- 
 erages of any description ; therefore, have none." 
 " But," persisted the Captain, " have you no 
 friends or acquaintances that you could recom- 
 mend me to. I'm hankering mightily after a 
 nip." " No, sir ; I do not frequent the society of 
 intemperate men." " Well," said the Captain, 
 looking hard at him of the fieiy visage and rum- 
 blossomed nose, " perhaps we have both mistaken 
 your calling ; are you not a sutler ? " " Sutler ? 
 no, sir," returned the now exasperated occupant 
 of the carriage. " I am a follower of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ ; the chaplain of the • Ohio cav- 
 alry, and a ." The Captain stopped not to 
 
 hear more, but putting spurs to his horse, left in 
 a twinkling. 
 
 Scouts, and Spies. — There is a description 
 of invaluable service, says Benj. F. Taylor in his 
 entertaining letters, requiring the coolest courage, 
 and the clearest head and the quickest wit of any 
 soldierly duty, but which, from its nature, seldom 
 appears in prmt. I refer, of course, to the achieve- 
 ments of the scout. He passes the enemy's lines, 
 sits at his camp fu'e, penetrates even into the 
 presence of the commanding General; he seems 
 a Tennesseean, a Georgian, an Irishman, a German 
 
 — anything indeed but what he really is ; if he 
 falls, no friendly heart can ever know where ; 
 his grave is nameless. I might name a soldier 
 from Illinois who has thus gained information of 
 the greatest moment, and whose dangers and 
 daring would make a chapter of romance. 
 
 Women not invai'iably any " better than they 
 sliould be " have always been employed to per- 
 suade information out of unsuspecting, but not 
 unsuspected persons, and they bring a degree of 
 tact and shrewdness into play that hirsute hu- 
 man'ty can never hope to equal. Many a wasp has 
 been caught with their honey of hypocrisy. Take 
 an illustration : A subordinate Federal officer in a 
 certain city within this department had been long 
 suspected of disloyalty, but no proof to waiTant 
 his arrest could be obtained, and so, as a dernier 
 resort, a woman was set at him. She smiled her 
 way into his confidence, and became" his " next 
 best friend ; " but finding that ears were of no use, 
 
 — for he could not be induced to say one word of 
 matters pertaining to his office, — she changed her 
 plan of attack, and turned a couple of curious, j 
 
 and, as I am told, beautiful eyes upon him, Nort 
 unfrequently he would ride out of town into the 
 country, be absent three or four hours, and return. 
 For all the hours of the twenty-four, but just 
 these, she could account. Within them, then, lay 
 the mischief, if mischief there was ; and she be- 
 gan to watch if he made any preparations for 
 these excursions. None. He loaded his old- 
 fashioned pistol, drew on his gloves, lighted a 
 cigar, bade her a loving good by — " only that, 
 and nothing more." Was he deep and she dull ? 
 Time would show. At last, she observed that he 
 put an unusual charge into the pistol, one day, 
 and all at once she grew curious in pistols. Would 
 he show her some day how to charge a pistol, 
 how to fire a pistol, how to be a dead shot ? And 
 just at that minute she was athirst, and would he 
 bring her a lemonade ?' She was left toying with the 
 weapon, and he went for the drink as requested. 
 The instant the door closed behind him, she drew 
 the charge, for she knew as much of pistols as he, 
 and substituted another. She was not a minute 
 too soon, for back he came, took the pistol, and 
 rode away. No sooner had he gone than she set 
 about an examination of the charge, and it proved 
 to be plans and details of Federal forces and 
 movements, snugly roUed together. The mis- 
 chief was in the pistol, then, though none but a 
 woman would have thought of it ; and so it was 
 that he carried information to his rebel friends 
 with rural proclivities. The woman's purpose 
 was gained, and when the officer returned, his 
 " next best friend " had vanished like an Arab or a 
 vision, and he had hardly time to turn about before 
 he was under arrest. Admuing the adroitness of 
 the achievement, we cannot help regretting that 
 a woman performed it. The memory of a man's 
 mother is sacred, and he feels that whoever wears 
 her form unworthily, and debases woman's grace- 
 ful gifts, profanes it. 
 
 A Frightened Contraband. — An army cor- 
 respondent on the Rappahannock related the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 An amusing incident occurred in camp a night 
 or two since. A portly young contraband, from 
 Charleston, S. C, who escaped from his rebel 
 master at Antietam, and was for a while quartered 
 subsequently in Washington, was engaged by one 
 of our junior staff officers as his body servant, 
 and brought down here to his quarters to attend 
 him. It chanced that the officer had served his 
 country gallantly at Sharpsburg, where he lost a 
 leg, below the knee, the absence of which had 
 been made up by an artificial limb, which the 
 Captain wore with so easy a grace that few per- 
 sons who met him suspected his misfortune — 
 his sable attendant being among the blissfully 
 ignorant as to the existence of the fact. 
 
 The Captain had been " out to dine," and re- 
 turned in excellent spirits to his tent. Upon 
 retiring, he called his darky servant to assist him 
 in pulling off his riding boots. 
 
 ♦' Now, Jimmy, look sharp," said the Captain. 
 " I'm a little — ic — flimsy, Jimmy, t'night. Look 
 sharp, an' — ic — pull steady." 
 
142 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " Ise allers keerful, Cap'n," says Jimmy, draw- 
 ing off one long, Avet boot, with considerable 
 difficulty, and standing it aside. 
 
 " Now, mind your eye, Jim ! The other — 
 ic — a little tight ; " and black Jimmy chuckled 
 and showed his shining ivories, as he reflected, 
 perhaps, that his master was quite as " tight " as 
 he deemed his boot to be. 
 
 "Easy, now — that's it. Pull away!" con- 
 tinued the Captain, good-naturedly, and enjoying 
 tho prospective joke, while he loosened the straps 
 aljout his waist which held his cork leg up — 
 "noiii you've got it! Yip — there you are! O 
 Lord! O Lord! OLordl" screamed the Cap- 
 tain, as contraband, cork leg, riding boot, and 
 ligatures tumbled across the tent in a heap, and 
 the one-legged officer fell back on his pallet, con- 
 vulsed M'ith spasmodic laughter. At this moment 
 the door opened and a Lieutenant entered. 
 
 " G'way funi me, g'way fum me — lemmy be ! 
 lemmy be ! I ain't done nuffin," yelled the con- 
 traband, lustily, and rushing to the door, really 
 supposing he had jjulled his master's leg clean 
 off. " Lemmy go ! I didn't do nuffin — g'way ! 
 g'way ! " And Jimmy put for the woods in 
 his desjieration, since which he hasn't been seen 
 or heard from, though his Captain has diligently 
 sought for him far and near. 
 
 An Incident. — The following occurred while 
 arrangements for an exchange of prisoners were 
 being completed near the Union lines at Decatur, 
 Ala. : Sergeant Miller of the Ninth Illinois in- 
 fantry, who had been taken prisoner during the 
 fight at Moulton, and who had been exchanged 
 one week before, was along with the squad of 
 national troops who had gone out to effect the 
 exchange. When txken prisoner, a rebel soldier 
 demanded of him his pocket-book and " green- 
 backs." He had, of course, to surrender it. 
 Before he was exchanged, he had made the remark 
 in the presence of several rebels, that he would 
 shoot the man who took his pocket-book the fu'st 
 time he could get his eyes upon him. When we met 
 that soldier was there. He immediately recog- 
 nized Sergeant Miller, took him aside, and gave 
 him his pocket-book and money, with the excep- 
 tion of five dollars, Avhich he had loaned to some 
 one. Tliis he promised to get and send in to him 
 the Irst chance. 
 
 An Escape from Richmomd. -r- John Bray, 
 of the First New Jersey cavalry, thus describes 
 his escape from Richmond captivity: 
 
 " On Sunday morning I made my final attempt 
 to escape. Arranging necessary preliminaries with 
 a comrade, I passed down stairs with the detail 
 sent for provisions, wearing my blanket, and 
 keeping as much as possible under cover of those 
 whom I was about to leave. Reaching the yard, 
 which was filled with rebel soldiers, I suddenly, 
 upon a favorable opportunity, slipped the blanket 
 from my shoulders to those of my chum, ajid 
 stepping quickly into the throng, stood, to all 
 appearance, a rebel, having precisely their uni- 
 
 form, and looking as dirty and ragged as the 
 worst among them. But I was not yet free. 
 The point now was to get out of the yard. To 
 do this it was necessary to pass the sentinels at 
 the gates, all of which were thus guarded. My 
 wits, however, difficult as I knew my enterprise to 
 be, did not desert me. With an air of uncon- 
 cern, whistling the " Bonnie Blue Flag," I saun- 
 tered towards the nearest gate, paused a moment 
 as I neared it to laugh with the rest at some joke 
 of one of the guard ; then, abstractedly, and 
 with deliberate pace, as if passing in and out had 
 been such a customary affair with me as to make 
 any formal recognition of the sentinels unneces- 
 sary, I passed out. That my heart throbbed 
 painfully under my waistcoat, and that I expected 
 every moment to hear the dread summons, 
 " Halt ! " you need not be told. An age of feel- 
 ing was crowded into that moment. But I passed 
 out unchallenged. Whether it was that my non- 
 chalant air put the sentinels off their guard, or 
 that they were for the moment absorbed in the 
 joke at which all the soldiers were laugloing, I 
 cannot tell ; nor does it matter. I was free ; the 
 whole world was before me ; and my whole being 
 was aglow with that thought. I had still dangers, 
 it was true, to encounter, but the worst was past, 
 and I felt equal to any that might lie before." 
 
 Loyal Tennessee Women. — It is a singular 
 and remarkable circumstance that loyal sentiment 
 in the South is found inseparably connected with 
 a broken and mountainous surface. 
 
 The low and fertile bottoms were everywhere 
 committed to slavery, and hence to disunion. 
 Nowhere was this more aptly illustrated than in 
 Tennessee. 
 
 East Tennessee was loyal by an overwhelming 
 majority. There was a strong Union sentiment 
 in Northern Georgia and Northern Alabama. So 
 also in Western Tennessee, as there is a line of 
 high and sharp hills just west of the Tennessee 
 River, there may be found a decided attachment 
 to the old flag. 
 
 Wherever in such communities there is genu- 
 , ine loyalty, its displays have been magnanimous 
 and decided ; and the traditions of those com- 
 munities abound in incidents of fidelity and de- 
 votion, under circumstances where such displays 
 were by no means sentimental or free from danger. 
 
 The following incident will show the devotion 
 and loyalty of two plain women living in an ob- 
 scure county of Tennessee : — 
 
 The Twenty-seventh Iowa regiment had taken 
 cars at Corinth, and were travelling in the dii-ecs- 
 tion of Jackson, It was the summer of 1862, 
 when Jackson contained the headquarters of Gen. 
 Grant. The train started, and was proceeding at 
 a high rate of speed, every square foot where a 
 man could sit or stand being covered with a 
 soldier. 
 
 Just before reaching a railroad bridge the en- 
 gineer saw a couple of lanterns being waved in 
 the distance directly on the track. He stopped 
 the locomotive, and sent men ahead to ascertain 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 143 
 
 the cause of the alarm. They found the lanterns 
 held by two women, who explained how a crew 
 of guerrillas in that vicinity had been informed' 
 that a train thus loaded with Union soldiers was 
 expected, and had fired the bridge at eight o'clock 
 that evening, and allowed the main timbers to 
 burn so that the bridge would break under the 
 weight of the train, and then put out the fire. 
 These noble women had heard of the act, and 
 walked ten miles through the mud at midnight, 
 carrying their lanterns, and taking their station 
 on the track, where they had patiently waited for 
 hours, with the determination of thwarting the 
 dastardly plan of the villains. The officers of the 
 regiment, thus saved from a terrible accident 
 through the heroism of these women, begged of 
 them to accept some present as a proof of their 
 gratitude ; but they would have nothing, saying 
 they did it for their country, and Avanted no pay. 
 A party of soldiers was detailed to escort them 
 to their homes. How far is such conduct above 
 all human praise or the rewards that man can 
 bestow ! 
 
 Incidents of Webb's Cross-Roads. — While 
 the body of Zollicoffer lay upon the ground in 
 front of a Minnesota tent, surrounded by soldiers, 
 an excited officer rode up, exclaiming to the men : 
 " What in h — 1 are you doing here ? Why are 
 you not at the stretchers, bringing in the 
 wounded ? " " This is Zollicoffer," said a sol- 
 dier. " I know that," replied the officer ; " he is 
 dead, and could not have been sent to h — 1 by a 
 better man, for Col. Fr_v shot him j leave him, 
 and go to your work." 
 
 When the two Parrott guns were planted on 
 the hill at Brown's house, overlooking the ene- 
 my's camp, the peculiar whir-r-r of the shells was 
 new to our astonished darky, who, with hat off 
 and eyes protruding, exclaimed to his sable com- 
 panion : " Gosh, mighty, Sam, don't dat go howl- 
 in' trou de wilderness? " 
 
 In nearly a direct line with the course we had 
 marched from the battle-field to the rebel works, 
 is a bold elevation about three fourths of a mile 
 this side of said works, on which one of our bat- 
 teries was immediately planted, and commenced 
 throwing shot and shell into their camp. Several 
 regiments had lain down upon the ground to rest 
 from the fatigue of their march ; and as the rebels 
 answered but feebly with two guns, their shot 
 passed over the heads of our men. As the inter- 
 vals grew longer and longer, watching the shot 
 became a matter of amusement with them. — 
 " Secesh ball ! Secesh ball ! " they would cry out, 
 while half a dozen would start and run after it, 
 others calling out: "Run harder, or you won't 
 overtake it." While this amusement was going 
 on, a rabbit sprang out of a bush between the 
 lines, when the cry, " Secesh ball ! Secesh ball ! " 
 arose, and the boys took after it with better suc- 
 cess, for they caught it. 
 
 Upon the high ground last referred to, the reb- 
 els made a brief stand half an hour before we 
 reached it, but were driven off by a few shots 
 from Stannard's battery. One of these six-pound 
 shots struck a poplar tree, about two feet in diam- 
 
 eter, directly in the centre, and some twenty feet 
 from the General, passing entirely through the 
 tree, tearing off splinters eight or ten feet long, 
 and passing on " trou de wilderness." Another 
 shot struck a tree seven or eight inches in diame- 
 ter, directly beside the other, but lower down, cut- 
 ting it off nearly as square as though it had been 
 done with a saw. 
 
 Being among the first who entered the rebel 
 fortifications, I discovered a barrel, which proved 
 to contain apple-brandy. Pulling out the corn- 
 cob from the bung-hole, I turned it up and filled 
 a canteen. While doing this, one of Bob Mc- 
 Cook's skirmishers came in, and says : " Vat you 
 gets there ? " I replied that it appeared to be 
 pretty fair apple-brandy ; upon which the Dutch- 
 man ran to the door, callftig out, furiously : 
 " Hans ! Heinrich ! schnapps ! See ! come arous ! " 
 Upon which a dozen Dutchmen came in, and the 
 brandy which was not spilled upon the ground 
 was soon transferred to their canteens. I said : 
 " Boys, you had better look out ; this is a doctor's 
 shop, and there may be strychnine in that bran- 
 dy." They paused a moment to look at each 
 other, when one of them exclaimed, " Py Got, 
 Hans, I tells you vat I do ; I trinks some, and if 
 it don't kill me, den you trinks ; " upon which he 
 took a long and hearty pull at his canteen, and 
 smacking his lips a moment, said, "All right, 
 Hans ! go ahead '. " 
 
 DIRGE FOR A SOLDIER. 
 
 IN MEMORY OF GEN. PHILIP KEAKNY. 
 BY GEORGE H. BOKER. 
 
 Close his eyes ; his work is done ! 
 What to him is friend or foeman. 
 Rise of moon, or set of sun, 
 
 Hand of man, or kiss of woman ? 
 Lay him low, lay him low, . 
 In the clover or the snow ! 
 "What cares he ? he cannot know : 
 Lay him low ! 
 
 As man may, he fought his fight. 
 
 Proved his truth by his endeavor ; 
 Let him sleep in solemn night, 
 Sleep forever and forever. 
 
 Lay him low, lay him low. 
 In the clover or the snow ! 
 What cares he ? he cannot know : 
 Lay him low ! 
 
 Fold him in his country's stars, 
 
 Roll the drum and fire the volley ! 
 What to him are all our wars, 
 What but death bemocking folly ? 
 Lay him low, lay him low, 
 In the clover or the snow ! 
 What cares he ? he cannot know : 
 Lay him low ! 
 
 Leave him to God's watching eye, 
 
 Trust him to the hand that made him. 
 Mortal love weeps idly by : 
 
 God alone has power to aid him. 
 Lay him low, lay him low, 
 In the clover or the snow ! 
 What cares he ? he cannot know : 
 Lay him low ! ' 
 
144 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 The Bedford Boy "Alex." — At the bat- 
 tle of Winchester a young soldier was detailed 
 for duty in guarding army property. He stood 
 to his post until about the time his regiment 
 made its famous charge, when he " made a 
 break" for that regiment, joined it, and helped 
 in the two desperate charges that decided the 
 day. The young soldier was brought before a 
 court-martial, and he came up with tears stream- 
 ing down his face, and between sobs said : " You 
 may shoot me if you must, but 'dad' told me, 
 on leaving home, that when there was any fight- 
 ing going on I must be in the thickest, and I 
 was. Now, if you want your * stuff' guarded 
 when there is a fight, somebody besides me must 
 do it." The boy " Alex," of Bedford, was let off 
 on that plea, and sifter ever proved one of the 
 best soldiers in his regiment. 
 
 The Life and Death of a Patriot Sol- 
 dier. — A surgeon in one of the military hos- 
 pitals at Alexandria, writes in a private note : 
 
 "Our wounded men bear their sufferings no- 
 bly ; I have hardly heard a word of complaint 
 from one of them. A soldier from the ' stern 
 and rock-bound coast ' of Maine — a victim of 
 the slaughter at Fredericksburg — lay in this hos- 
 pital, his life ebbing away from a fatal wound. 
 He had a father, brothers, sisters, a wife, a little 
 boy of two or three years of age, on whom his 
 heart seemed set. Half an hour before he ceased 
 to breathe, I stood by his side, holding his hand. 
 He- was in the full exercise of his intellectual 
 faculties, and was aware that he had but a very 
 brief time to live. He was asked if he had any 
 message to leave for his dear ones at home, whom 
 he loved so well. ' Tell them,' said he, ' liow I 
 died — they Jaiow lioio 1 lived I ' " 
 
 Calling on President Lincoln. — An officer 
 under the Government called at the Executive 
 ]\Iansion, accompanied by a clerical friend. " Mr. 
 President," said he, " allow me to present to you 
 
 my friend, the Rev. M. F., of . Mr. F. has 
 
 expressed a desire to see you, and have some 
 conversation with you, and I am happy to be the 
 means of introducing him." The President shook 
 hands with Mr. F., and desiring him to be seated, 
 took a seat himself. Then, — his countenance 
 having assumed aja expression of patient waiting, 
 — he said, " I am now ready to hear Avhat you 
 have to say." " O, bless you, sir," said Mr. F., 
 " I have nothing special to say. I merely called 
 to pay my respects to you, and, as one of the 
 million, to assure you of my hearty sympathy and 
 support." " My dear sir," said the President, 
 rising promptly, his face showing instant relief, 
 and Avith both hands grasping that of his visitor, 
 " I am very glad to see you ; I am very glad to 
 see you, indeed. I thought you had come to 
 preach to me ! " 
 
 A Tennessee Hero. — There are many names 
 in Tennessee, and particularly in the eastern por- 
 
 tion of that State, which the loyal people will not 
 let die. They will be read and thought of in the 
 far future as the present generation look back at 
 the demigods of the Revolution. A letter fi-om 
 Cincinnati, of recent date, gives some account of 
 one of those noble-hearted Tennesseeans ; and as 
 the story came from the lips of a dying man, it is 
 probably truthful. The writer states that among 
 the rebel prisoners at Camp Dennison, Ohio, was 
 one named Neil, who, when asked how he came 
 to be a rebel, stated that the secessionists scared 
 him into it. 
 
 He had been a postmaster in Van Buren Coun- 
 ty, Tennessee, and a Union man. The rebels held 
 three elections in that county, but got hardly a 
 solitary vote in Neil's precinct. Enraged at this, 
 they imported a force of soldiers, and began to 
 lynch unarmed Unionists. This style of proce- 
 dure made some converts, but it was withstood. 
 Among the victims Neil spoke of — and as he 
 knew that he was dying, he reminded his hearers 
 of his obligation to speak the simple truth — 
 was the martyr patriot whose history he thus re- 
 cited : 
 
 There was in Van Buren County an old Meth- 
 odist 2)reacher of a great deal of ability, named 
 Cavender. He was from the first a most deter- 
 mined Union man; and as his influence in the 
 county was great, they determined to make an 
 example of him, and get him out of the way. So 
 they took him out of his house, put a rope around 
 his neck, set him upon a horse, and led him into 
 a forest. They then told him that unless he 
 would publicly renounce his Unionism, they would 
 hang him. Cavender replied, " God gave me my 
 breath to bear witness to his truth ; and when I 
 must turn it to the work of lies and crime, it is 
 well enough to yield it up to Him who gave it." 
 
 They then asked him if he had any parting re- 
 quest. He said " he had no hope that they would 
 attend to anything he might ask." They said 
 they would. He then desired that they would 
 take his body to his daughter, with the request 
 that she would lay it beside the remains of his 
 wife. They then said, " It's time to go to your 
 prayers." He replied, " I am not one of the sort 
 who has to wait until a rope is round his neck to 
 pray." Then they said, " Come, old man, no 
 nonsense ; if you don't swear to stand by the 
 Confederacy, you'll have to hang," at the same 
 time tying the rope to a branch. 
 
 The old man said, " Hang away." One then 
 gave a blow witli a will to the horse upon which 
 Cavender sat ; the horse sjjrang forward, and the 
 faithful servant of God and his country passed 
 into eternity. You will remember that tliey said 
 they would fulfil his last request. Well, they tore 
 the flesh off his bones and threw it to the hogs ; 
 his heart was cut out, and lay in a public place 
 till it rotted. Can it be wondered if few are 
 strong enough to resist their only legitimate argu- 
 ments for rebellion ? 
 
 A Lieutenant was promenading in full uni- 
 form one day, and approaching a volunteer on 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 145 
 
 sentry, who challenged him with, " Halt ! Who 
 comes there ? " The Lieutenant, with contempt 
 in every lineament of his face, expressed his ire 
 with an indignant, " Ass ! " The sentry's reply, 
 apt and quick, came, " Advance, ass, and give the 
 countersign." 
 
 " A Griswold for an Alabama." — There is 
 a beautiful thought in the address of the ladies 
 of England in reply to Mrs. Stowe : " You have 
 sent us the Griswold for the Alabama." Not " a 
 Roland for an Oliver," not tit for tat, but good 
 for evil. Let it pass into a saying in our moth- 
 er tongue, " A Griswold for an Alabama," when 
 good is returned for evil.* 
 
 Emma Sansom of Cherokee. — The follow- 
 ing is the story of her exploit, as related by Gen. 
 FoiTest to a party of his friends at Chattanooga : 
 
 Our readers have doubtless seen one or two 
 short versions of the romantic part played by the 
 above-named indomitable girl, in the great raid 
 of Gen. Forrest from Murfi-eesboro', Tenn., to 
 Rome, Ga., in pursuit of Streight's cavaliy ; but 
 never the story as related by the General himself 
 The romantic and heroic conduct of Miss San- 
 som will long live in the memory of the survivors 
 of this war ; and we are pleased in this connec- 
 tion to add, by late action of the Legislature of 
 our State, she has been granted a valuable dona- 
 tion of land, as a token of appreciation for the 
 undaunted bravery and fearless patriotism she 
 evinced on the occasion referred to. The editor 
 of the Southern Confederacy remembers the sto- 
 ry, as related by Gen. Forrest, shortly after the 
 capture of Streight and his command, and says : 
 
 He had been pursuing the enemy all day, and 
 was close upon their heels, when the pursuit was 
 effectually checked by the destruction, by the en- 
 emy, of a bridge over a deep creek, which, for the 
 time, separated pursuer and pursued. The coun- 
 try was exceedingly wild and rugged, and the 
 banks of the creek too steep for passage on horse- 
 back. Gen. Forrest rode up to a modest little 
 farm-house ou the road-side, and seeing a young 
 maiden standing upon the little stoop in front of 
 the dwelling, he accosted her, and inquired if 
 there was any ford or passage for his men across 
 the creek, above or below the destroyed bridge. 
 The young girl proceeded to direct him with ani- 
 mated gesture, and cheeks flushed with excitement, 
 and almost breathless in her eagerness to aid the 
 noble cause of the gallant Confederate General. 
 
 It was a scene for a painter — the Southern 
 girl, her cheeks glowing, and her bright eyes 
 flashing ; while her mother, attracted by the col- 
 loquy, stood holding the door, and gazing upon 
 the cavalcade over her venerable spectacles, the 
 cavalry chieftain resting his legs carelessly over 
 the saddle pommel, his staff drawn up around 
 him, and his weather-worn veterans scattered in 
 groups about the road, and some of them actually 
 
 * During the war the ship George Grisv.old was 
 sent to England with a cargo for her starving poor. 
 10 
 
 nodding in their saddles from excessive fatigue. 
 After some further inquiry. Gen. Forrest asked 
 the young lady if she would not mount behind 
 him, and show him the way to the ford. She 
 hesitated, and turned her mother an inquiring 
 look. The mother, with a delicacy becoming a 
 prudent parent, rather seemed to object to her 
 going with the soldiers. "Mother," she said, 
 " I am not afraid to trust myself with as brave a 
 man as Gen. Forrest." 
 
 " But, my dear, folks- will talk about you." 
 " Let them talk," responded the heroic girl ; " I 
 must go." And with that she lightly sprang upon 
 the roots of a fallen tree. Forrest drew his met- 
 tled charger near her ; she grasped the hero fear- 
 lessly about the waist, and sprang up behind him ; 
 and away they went — over brake and bramble, 
 through the glade, and on towards the ford. The 
 route was a difficult one, even for as experienced 
 a rider as Forrest ; but his fair young companion 
 and guide held her seat, like an experienced horse- 
 woman, and without the slightest evidence of fear. 
 At length they drew near to the ford. Upon the 
 high ridge above, the quick eye of Forrest de- 
 scried the Yankee sharpshooters, dodging fi'om 
 tree to tree ; and pretty soon an angry minie 
 whistled by his ear. 
 
 " What was that. Gen. Forrest ? " asked the 
 maiden. 
 
 " Bullets," he replied ; " are you afraid ? " She 
 replied in the negative, and they proceeded"on. 
 At length it became necessary, from the density 
 of the undergrowth and snags, to dismount ; and 
 Forrest hitched his horse, and the girl preceded 
 him, leading the way herself — remarking that 
 the Yankees would not fire upon her ; and they 
 might fire, if he went first. To this Forrest ob- 
 jected, not wishing to screen himself behind the 
 brave" girl ; and taking the lead himself, the two 
 proceeded on to the ford, under the fire of the 
 Yankee rear-guard. Having discovered the route, 
 he returned, brought up his axe-men, and cleared 
 out a road, and safely crossed his whole column. 
 
 Upon taking leave of his fair young guide, the 
 General asked if there was anything he might do 
 for her, in return for her invaluable services. 
 She told him that the Yankees on ahead had her 
 brother prisoner, and if Gen. Forrest would only 
 release him, she should be more than repaid. 
 The General took out his watch, and examined 
 it. It was just five minutes to eleven. " To- 
 morrow," he said, " at five minutes to eleven 
 o'clock, your brother shall be returned to you." 
 And so the sequel proved. Streight, with his 
 whole command, was captured at ten the next 
 morning. Young Sansom was released, and de- 
 spatched on the fleetest horse in the command, to 
 return to his heroic sister, whose courage and 
 presence of mind had contributed so much to the 
 success of one of the most remarkable cavalry 
 pursuits and captures known in the world's his- 
 tory. 
 
 Sergeant Carney. — The story of this heroic 
 preserver of the American flag, in the assault on 
 Fort Wagner, in July, 1863, is as follows : 
 
146 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 When the Sergeant arrived to within about one 
 hundred yards of the fort, — he was with the first 
 battalion, which was in the advance of the storm- 
 ing cohnnn, — he received the regimental colors, 
 and pressed forward to the front rank, near the 
 Colonel, who was leading the men over the ditch. 
 He says, as they ascended the wall of the fort, the 
 ranks were full ; but as soon as they reached the 
 top, " they melted away " before the enemy's fire, 
 " almost instantly." He received a severe wound 
 in the thigh, but fell only upon his knee. He 
 planted the flag upon the parapet, lay down on 
 the outer slope, that he might get as much shel- 
 ter as possible, and there remained for over half 
 an hour, till the Second brigade came up. He 
 kept the colors flying until the second conflict 
 was ended. When our forces retired, he fol- 
 lowed, creeping on one knee, still holding up the 
 flag. It was thus that Sergeant Carney came from 
 the field — having held the emblem of liberty 
 over the walls of Fort Wagner during the san- 
 guinary conflict of the two brigades — and hav- 
 ing received two very severe wounds, one in the 
 thigh, and one in the head. Still he refused to 
 give up his sacred trust until he found an oflUcer 
 of his regiment. 
 
 When he entered the field hospital, where his 
 wounded comrades were being brought in, they 
 cheered him and the colors. Though nearly ex- 
 hausted with the loss of blood, he said, " Boys, 
 the old flag never touched the ground." 
 
 A Daring Exploit. — During a scout of the 
 Tenth Michigan cavalry, in Piatt Valley, Tenn., 
 a detachment of the First Tennessee Confeder- 
 ate cavalry was discovered. Having ascertained 
 their number, company D dismounted, and ad- 
 vanced as skirmishers, firing several volleys. 
 The enemy were followed about four miles, when 
 the pursuit was given up. Before the main body 
 of the enemy had been discovered, John M. Gib- 
 son, company A, was acting as one of the ad- 
 vance videttes on foot. A horseman rode into 
 the road, a few rods in advance of him, in our 
 uniform, and, riding up, drew a revolver, and 
 informed John he was a prisoner. " Give up 
 your gun." " Well," says John, " I suppose. I will 
 have to do it," and, in bringing his repeater from 
 his shoulder, he threw a ball into the barrel, 
 cocked his piece, and shot his captor through the 
 heart, took his horse, and saddle, and revolver, 
 and took them to the company. 
 
 A " Pressed " Texan. — A soldier belonging 
 to the army of Gen. Dick Taylor, who was cap- 
 tured after the battle at Pleasant Hill, La., on 
 being carried into the national camp, stated that 
 he was born in Indiana. 
 
 " How did you come to be in a Texas regi- 
 ment ? " 
 
 " Pressed in." 
 
 " AVhy didn't you run away before you were 
 conscripted ? " 
 
 " Tried to, but they caught me. They hunted 
 
 me with dogs, sir. When I was put into the 
 ranks, I told them I M'ould do my common duty, 
 and that I would never kill a Union soldier. Be- 
 fore I was taken to-day, I was sent out to skir- 
 mish on the left, and I know where every ball I 
 fired struck — in the trees, sir — and all the 
 while the Sixteenth Indiana boys, born in my own 
 
 State, were firing at me like . Three of their 
 
 bullets came so near me, that I thought each 
 time I was to be a dead man. But now, I thank 
 the Lord, I'm all right. You couldn't give me a 
 little coff'ee, could you ? " 
 
 Mrs. Browning has immortalized a similar in- 
 cident in verse ; but her young Italian, forced 
 into the Austrian service, A\'as no more of a hero 
 than the homely Hoosier who played his part so 
 well at " Crump's Corner." 
 
 Worship of the Negroes. — A correspond- 
 ent at Port Eoyal, S. C, gives an interesting ac- 
 count of the religious meetings of negroes, in 
 which singing is the favorite exercise. They 
 have a great variety of sacred songs, Avhich they 
 sing and shout at the top of their voices, and 
 never grow weary. A favorite melody is, "Roll, 
 Jordan, roll : " 
 
 " Little children sitting on the tree of life, 
 To hear when Jordan roll ; 
 O, roll, Jordan, roll ; roll, Jordan, roll ; 
 We march the angel marcli ; 0, march the angel 
 
 march ; 
 On ! my soul is rising heavenward, to hear when 
 Jordan roll. 
 O my brother ! sitting on the tree of life, 
 
 To hear when Jordan roll, &c. 
 Sister Mary sitting on the tree of life. 
 To hear when Jordan roll, &c." 
 
 The verses vary only in the recitative. If Mr. 
 Jones is a visitor, he will hear, " Mr. Jones is 
 sitting on the tree of life." All of the persons 
 present are introduced to the tree of life — Nan- 
 cy, James, and Sancho. There is no pause ; be- 
 fore the last roll is ended, the one giving the 
 recitative places another brother or sister on the 
 tree, and then Jordan rolls again. It is a con- 
 tinuous refrain, till all have had their turn upon 
 the tree. 
 
 A weird plantation refrain, in a minor key, is, 
 " Down in the Lonesome Valley." This has also 
 a recitative and chorus : 
 
 " My sister, don't you want to get religion ? 
 Go down in the lonesome valley, 
 Go down in the lonesome valley, 
 Go down in the lonesome valley, my Lord, 
 To meet my Jesus there." 
 
 As the song goes on the enthusiasm rise.s. 
 They sing louder and stronger. The one giving 
 the recitative leads off with more vigor, and the 
 chorus rolls with an increasing volume. They 
 beat time at first with their feet, then with their 
 hands. William cannot sit still. Ho rises, 'be- 
 gins a shuffle with his feet, jerking his arms. 
 Ann, a short, thick-set, pure-blooded black wo- 
 man, wearing a checked gingham dress, and an 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 147 
 
 apron which was once a window curtain, can no 
 longer keep her seat. She claps her hands, makes 
 a short, quick jerk of her body on the unaccented 
 part of the measui-e, keeping exact time. Cath- 
 arine and Sancho catch the inspiration. We 
 push the centre table aside to give them room. 
 They go round in a circle, singing, shuffling, 
 jerking, shouting louder and louder. Those upon 
 the seats respond more vigorously, keeping time 
 with feet and hands. William seems in a trance; 
 his eyes are fixed, yet he goes on into^a double 
 shuffle. Every joint in his body seems to be 
 hung on wires. Feet, legs, arms, head, body, 
 jerk like a dancing dandy Jack. Sancho enters 
 into the praise with his whole heart, clasping his 
 hands, looking upward and outward upon the 
 crowd as if they were his children, and he a pa- 
 triarch. His countenance beams with joy. He 
 is all but carried away with the excitement of the 
 moment. So it goes on till nature is exhausted. 
 When the meeting breaks up, the singers go 
 through the ceremony of shaking hands all round, 
 keeping time to the tune, " There's a meeting 
 here to-night." 
 
 The Battle at Paducaii. — When the re- 
 fusal of Col. Hicks was communicated to Gen. 
 Forrest, a general charge was ordered, and away 
 the whole line dashed upon the works. The fort 
 is a small, low earth-work, surrounded by a shal- 
 low ditch. The fierce onslaught was met by a 
 sheet of flame from the fort, which made many 
 of the assailants bite the dust, but it stayed them 
 not — on they came, yelling like demons, many 
 of them crossing the ditch, and were killed upon 
 the walls of the fort, before, broken and repulsed, 
 the thinned ranks of the enemy sullenly retired. 
 
 The sharpshooters in the houses which com- 
 manded the fort kept up an incsssant fire upon 
 the garrison, while the volleys from the main 
 body were almost continual. Four or five times 
 during the afternoon and evening was the attack 
 renewed, and each time successfully repulsed, 
 until the whole ground between the fort and the 
 town was covered with the slain and wounded. 
 The artillery of the fort was by no means idle 
 during this time, but was dividing its attention 
 between the attacking party and the houses 
 which contained the sharpshooters, whom they 
 finally dislodged, and destroyed the buildings to 
 prevent their again being made hiding-places for 
 rebel soldiers. The final charge was made at 
 seven o'clock, after which Forrest retired beyond 
 gun-shot, and took refuge in the city among the 
 buildings. 
 
 A number of citizens went into the fort, and 
 fought bravely during the whole engagement. 
 One took his family to a place of safety, when he 
 took his place with the soldiers behind the ram- 
 parts. In the early part of the action, a ball se- 
 verely wounded him in the arm, but he refused 
 to give up so long as a rebel was in sight, and 
 continued to fight until the enemy retired. After 
 the second repulse, one of the Kentucky cavalry- 
 men rushed out of the fort, and found the body of 
 his brother, who had been killed in the first chai-ge. 
 
 Many of the citizens could not cross the river 
 before the battle commenced. Of these, several 
 ladies sought refuge under the bluff, out of range 
 of shot. A rebel sharpshooter, knowing that the 
 Federals would not harm the ladies, sought ref- 
 uge in the crowd, and from behind his new-fash- 
 ioned breastwork, opened fire upon one of the 
 gun-boats. This was borne as long as possible, 
 until a shot was sent into the bank a few feet 
 above their heads, when the women ran shriek- 
 ing for other shelter, and Mr. Reb. did the tallest 
 running on record. 
 
 In Broadway, a crowd of women collected ; be- 
 hind them stood a rank of rebels, who kept up 
 an incessant fire upon the boats. Several shells 
 were sent over their heads, but the women stood 
 their ground, protecting the scoundrels behind 
 them. Finally a shot fell in their midst, kill- 
 ing one young woman, and wounding several 
 rebels. 
 
 Little respect was paid to a man's sentiments 
 — sympathizers' stores suffered about equally 
 with Union men's. Immense booty was obtained 
 and carried off — the amount of loss can hardly 
 be estimated. There is one instance, however, 
 which occurred, in which they showed some little 
 regard for a friend — nearly every horse and mule 
 in the city was taken, except a few belonging to 
 the Government — it was believed that those be- 
 longed to a strong rebel sympathizer, and on that 
 account the horses were not taken. 
 
 Fu-ing from the gun-boats and the fort and 
 the rebel artUlery continued at intervals until 
 near midnight on Friday, after which all -became 
 quiet, and scarce a shot was heard till after the 
 retreat of Forrest, which occurred on Saturday, 
 between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. 
 The enemy retired towards Mayfield, tearing up 
 the railroad track in his rear. A large number 
 of houses were set on fire, both by shells and by 
 the rebels. The first destroyed wei'e some build- 
 ings occupied by the Government, — set in flames 
 by the rebels, — others followed in quick succes- 
 sion, until probably fifteen or twenty houses of 
 various descriptions were burned to the ground. 
 
 When the battle was over, it was found that 
 the ammunition, both in the fort and on the gun- 
 boats, was nearly expended. Little or no pro- 
 vision was in the fort, and the men sadly wanted 
 food after their arduous labors. As soon as the 
 news of the battle reached this city, reenforce- 
 ments were despatched to Paducah, as well as 
 ammunition and provisions. When the pro- 
 visions arrived. Col. Hicks sent a full supply to 
 the suffering citizens, and had it distributed 
 among the hungry crowd of women and children 
 on the Illinois shore. 
 
 The rebel Brig.-Gen. Thompson was shot 
 through the head, while on his horse near the 
 fort, during the fight. After falling to the ground, 
 a shell struck him in the abdomen, and blew him 
 to pieces. His spinal column was found several 
 feet from his mangled body. 
 
 Towards evening the ammunition in the fort 
 became well nigh exhausted. A¥hen this was 
 discovered, Col. Hicks ordered that, should am- 
 
148 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 munition run out, the works should be defended 
 with the bayonet as long as a man remained 
 alive. 
 
 Foraging. — A member of a Wisconsin regi- 
 ment related the following : Our boys sometimes 
 come great tricks over the secesh planters for 
 the purpose of securing a prize from their hen- 
 roosts, garden, &c. The biggest tiling of the 
 season, in this line of business, happened a few 
 weeks since. Some of the boys had been roving 
 around the country on a kind of"reconnoissance," 
 and among other matters of interest, they discov- 
 ered, in the garden of a certain farm-house, three 
 or four bee-hives, containing a large amount of 
 most delicious honey. On consultation, it was 
 determined that that honey should be " confis- 
 cated," and contribute to sweeten the sugary 
 teeth of the brave sons of Mars who captured it. 
 Their plans were laid, and the expedition was to 
 come off on a certain night. The night proved 
 favorable to their design — so dark that nothing 
 but a " stack of black cats " could excel it in the 
 intenseness of its darkness. The party of ten or 
 twelve started from camp, and after a number 
 of amusing adventures, reached their destina- 
 tion. But all the danger was yet to come. The 
 house was protected by two guards. To over- 
 come this difficulty, they had to resort to strategy. 
 They placed guards of theu' own at each door, 
 and notified the occupants of the house that they 
 were under arrest on some terrible chai'ge, and 
 at the same time admonished them to keep quiet, 
 and to stay within doors, and that an officer would 
 soon be around to make the search. In the mean 
 time the balance of the party were scampering 
 off with their prizes, — all made secure, — the 
 self-constituted guard withdrew, and it was not 
 till the next morning that the frightened rebels 
 found out the sad havoc that had been made 
 amongst theii* potatoes, hone}> and barn-yard 
 fowls by the " rascally Yankees." 
 
 «EIN PESTE BURG 1ST UNSER GOTT.' 
 (^Luther's Hymn.') 
 
 BY JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 
 We wait beneath the furnace blast 
 
 The pangs of transformation ; 
 Not painlessly doth God recast 
 And mould anew the nation. 
 Hot burns the fire 
 Where wrongs expire ; 
 Nor spares the hand 
 That from the land 
 Uproots the ancient evil. 
 
 The hand-breadth cloud the sages feared 
 
 Its bloody rain is dropping ; 
 The poison plant the fathers spared 
 All else is overtopping. 
 
 East, West, Soufh, North, 
 It curses the earth : 
 All justice dies. 
 And fraud and lies 
 Live only in its shadoAV. 
 
 What gives the wheat field blades of steel ? 
 
 What points the rebel cannon ? 
 What sets the roaring rabble's heel 
 On the old star-spangled pennon ? 
 What breaks the oath 
 Of the men of the South ? 
 What whets the knife 
 For the Union's life ? — 
 Hark to the answer : — Slavery ! 
 
 Then waste no blows on lesser foes. 
 
 In strife unworthy freemen. 
 God lifts to-day the veil, and shows 
 The features of the demon ! 
 O North and South, 
 Its victims both, 
 Can ye not cry, 
 " Let Slavery die ! " 
 And Union find in freedom ? 
 
 What though the cast-out spirit tear 
 
 The nation in his going ? 
 We who have shared the guilt, must share 
 The pang of his o'erthrowing ! 
 Whate'er the loss, 
 Whate'er the cross, 
 Shall they complain 
 Of present pain, 
 Who trust in God's hereafter ? 
 
 For who that leans on His right arm 
 
 Was ever yet forsaken ? 
 What righteous cause can suSer harm, 
 If He its part has taken ? 
 Though Avild and loud, 
 And dark the cloud, 
 Behind its folds 
 His hand upholds 
 The calm sky of to-morrow ! 
 
 Above the maddening cry for blood, 
 
 Above the wild war-drumming. 
 Let Freedom's voice be heard, with good 
 The evil overcoming. 
 
 Give prayer and purse 
 To stay The Curse, 
 Whose wrong we share, 
 Whose shame we bear, 
 Whose end shall gladden heaven ! 
 
 In vain the bells of war shall ring 
 
 Of triumphs and revenges, 
 AVhile still is spared the evil thing 
 That severs and estranges. 
 But blest the ear 
 That yet shall hear 
 The jubilant bell 
 That rings the knell 
 Of Slavery forever ! 
 
 Then let the selfish lip be dumb, 
 
 And hushed the breath of sighing ; 
 Before the joy of peace must come 
 The pains of purifying. 
 God give us grace, 
 Each in his place 
 To bear his lot, 
 And, murmuring not, 
 Endure, and wait, and labor ! 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 149 
 
 The Escape from the Libby. — The follow- 
 ing is the account given by the Union officers, 
 who succeeded in reaching the Federal lines, after 
 their escape from Richmond, in February, 1864 : 
 
 Over two months previous to the consumma- 
 tion of their plan, the officers confined in Libby 
 Prison conceived the idea of effecting their own 
 exchange ; and after the matter had been seri- 
 ously discussed by some seven or eight of them, 
 they undertook to dig for a distance towards a 
 sewer running into the basin. This they proposed 
 ' doing by commencing at a point in the cellar, near 
 a chimney. This cellar was immediately under 
 the hospital, and was the receptacle for refuse 
 straw, thrown from the beds when they were 
 changed, and for other refuse matter. Above the 
 hospital was a room for officers, and above that 
 yet another room. The chimney ran through all 
 these rooms ; and the prisoners who were in the 
 secret, improvised a rope, and night after night 
 let working parties down, who successfully pros- 
 ecuted their excavating operations. 
 
 The dirt was hid under the straw and other 
 refuse matter in the cellar, and it was trampled 
 down so as not to present too great a bulk. 
 When the working party had got to a considera- 
 ble distance under ground, it was found difficult to 
 haul the dirt back by hand, and a spittoon, which 
 had been furnished by the officers in one of the 
 rooms, was made to serve the purpose of a cart. 
 A string was attached to it, and it Avas run in the 
 tunnel, and as soon as filled was drawn out, and 
 the dirt deposited under the straw. But, after 
 hard work, and digging, with finger-nails, knives, 
 and chisels, a number of feet, the working party 
 found themselves stopped by piles driven into the 
 ground. These were at least a foot in diameter. 
 But they were not discouraged. Penknives, or 
 any other articles that would cut, were called for ; 
 and, after chipping, chipping, chipping for a long 
 time, the piles were severed, and the tunnellers 
 commenced again, and in a few moments reached 
 the sewer. 
 
 But here an unexpected obstacle met their far- 
 ther progress. The stench from the sewers and 
 the flow of filthy water was so great that one of 
 the party fainted, and was dragged out more dead 
 than alive, and the project in that direction had to 
 be abandoned. The failure was communicated to 
 a few others besides those who had first thought 
 of escape, and then a party of seventeen, after 
 viewing the premises and surroundings, concluded 
 to tunnel under Carey Street. On the opposite 
 side of this street from the prison was a sort of 
 carriage-house, or out-house, and the project was 
 to dig under the street and emerge from under or 
 near the house. There was a high fence around 
 it, and the guard Avas outside of this fence. The 
 prisoners then commenced to dig at the other side 
 of the cliimney ; and after a few handfuls of dirt 
 had been remdved, they found themselves stopped 
 by a stone wall, which proved afterwards to be 
 three feet thick. The party were by no means 
 daunted, and with penknives and pocket-knives 
 they commenced operations upon the stone and 
 mortar. 
 
 After nineteen days' and nights* hard work, they 
 again struck the earth beyond the wall and pushed 
 their work forward. Here, too, (after they had 
 got some distance under ground,) the friendly 
 spittoon was brought into requisition, and the 
 dirt was hauled out in small quantities. After 
 digging for some days, the question arose wheth- 
 er they had not reached the point aimed at ; and 
 in order, if possible, to test the matter, Capt. Gal- 
 lagher, of the Second Ohio regiment, pretended 
 that he had a box in the carriage-house over the 
 way, and desired to search it out. This carriage- 
 house, it is proper to state, was used as a recep- 
 tacle for boxes and goods sent to prisoners from 
 the North, and the recijjients were often allowed 
 to go, under guard, across the street to secure 
 their property. Capt. Gallagher was granted 
 permission to go there, and as he walked across, 
 under guard, he, as well as he could, paced ofl" 
 the distance, and concluded that the sti-eet was 
 about fifty feet wide. 
 
 On the 6th or 7th of February the working 
 party supposed they had gone a sufficient dis- 
 tance, and commenced to dig upward. When 
 near the surface they heard the rebel guards 
 talking above them, and discovered they Mere 
 some two or three feet yet outside the fence. 
 
 The displacing of a stone made considerable 
 noise, and one of the sentinels called to his com- 
 rade and asked him Avhat the noise meant. The 
 guards, after listening a few minutes, concluded 
 that nothing was wrong, and returned to their 
 beats. This hole Avas stopped up by inserting 
 into the crevice a pair of old pantaloons filled Avith 
 straw, and by bolstering the Avhole up with boards, 
 which they secured from the floors, &c., of the 
 prison. 
 
 The tunnel Avas then continued some six or 
 seven feet more ; and Avhen the Avorking party 
 supposed they Avere about ready to emerge to 
 daylight, others in the prison AA-ere informed that 
 there Avas a Avay noAV open for escape. One hun- 
 dred and nine of the prisoners decided to make 
 the attempt to get aAvay. Others refused, fearing 
 the consequences if they Avere recaptured ; and 
 others yet (among Avhom were Gen. Neal Doav) 
 declined to make the attempt, because (as they 
 said) they did not desire to have their Govern- 
 ment back doAvn from its enunciated policy of 
 exchange. Col. Rose, of NeAV York, Col. Ken- 
 drick, of Tenn., Capt. Jones, Lieut. Bradford, 
 and others, informed Gen. Dow that they could 
 not see hoAv making their escape Avould affect the 
 policy of exchange. Their principle Avas, that it 
 was their personal right to escape if they could, 
 and their duty to their Government to make the 
 attempt. 
 
 About half past eight o'clock on the evening of 
 the 9th, the prisoners started out. Col. Rose, of Xew 
 York, leading the van. Before starting, the pris- 
 oners had divided themselves into squads of two, 
 thi-ee, and four, and each squad Avas to take a 
 difl'erent route, and, after they Avere out, Avere to 
 push for the Union lines as fast as possible. It 
 Avas the understanding that the working party Avas 
 to have an hour's start of the other prisoners, and, 
 
150 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 consequently, the roije ladder in the cellar was 
 dra-\vn out. Before the expiration of the hour, 
 however, the other prisoners became impatient, 
 and ■\vcre let down through the chimney success- 
 fully into the cellar. 
 
 Col. W. P. Kendrick, of West Tennessee, Capt. 
 D. J. Jones, of the First Kentucky cavalry, and 
 Lieut. R. Y. Bradford, of the Second West Ten- 
 nessee, were detailed as a rear-guard, or, rather, 
 to go out last ; and from a window Col. Iv. and 
 his companions could see the fugitives walk out 
 of a gate at the other end of the enclosure of the 
 carriage-house, and fearlessly move off. The ap- 
 erture was so narrow that but one man could get 
 through at a time, and each squad carried with 
 them provisions in a haversack. At midnight a 
 false alarm was created, and the prisoners made 
 considerable noise in getting to their respective 
 quarters. Providentially, however, the guard 
 suspected nothing wrong, and in a few moments 
 the exodus Mas again commenced. Col. Kendrick 
 and his companions looked with some trepidation 
 upon the movements of the fugitives, as some of 
 them, exercising but little discretion, moved bold- 
 ly out on the enclosure into the glare of the gas- 
 light. Many of them were, however, in citizens' 
 dress ; and as all the rebel guards wear the United 
 States luiiform, but little suspicion could be ex- 
 cited, even if the fugitives had been accosted by a 
 guard. 
 
 Between one and two o'clock the lamps were 
 extinguished in the streets, and then the exit was 
 more safely accomplished. There were many 
 officers Avho desired to leave, who were so weak 
 and feeble that they were dragged through the 
 tunnel by main force, and carried to places of 
 safety, until such time as they would be able to 
 move on their journey. At half past two o'clock, 
 Capt. Jones, Col. Kendrick, and Lieut. Bradford 
 passed out in the order in which they are named ; 
 and as Col. K. emerged from the hole, he heard 
 the guard within a few feet of him sing out, " Post 
 No. 7, half past two in the morning, and all's 
 well." Col. K. says he could hardly resist the 
 temptation of saying, " Not so well as you think, 
 except for the Yanks." Lieut. Bradford was in- 
 trusted Avith the provisions for this squad ; and in 
 getting through he was obliged to leave his hav- 
 ersack behind him, as he could not get through 
 with it upon him. 
 
 Once out, they proceeded up the street, keeping 
 in the shade of the buildings, and passed east- 
 wardly through the city. 
 
 A description of tlie route pursued by this par- 
 ty, and of the tribulations through which they 
 passed, will give some idea of the rough time they 
 all had of it. Col. Kendrick had, before leaving 
 the prison, mapped out his course, and concluded 
 that the best route to take was the one towards 
 Norfolk, or Fortress Monroe, as there were fewer 
 rebel pickets in that direction. They therefore 
 kept the York River Railroad to the left, and 
 moved towards the Chickahominy River, They 
 passed through Boar Swamp, and crossed the road 
 leading to Bottom Bridge. Sometimes they waded 
 through mud and water almost up to theii- necks, 
 
 and kept the Bottom Bridge road to their left, 
 although at times they could see and hear the 
 cars travelling over the York River Road. 
 
 While passing through the swamp near the 
 Chickahominy, Col. Kendrick sprained his ankle 
 and fell. Fortunate, too, was that fall for him 
 and his party ; for while he was lying thei'e, one 
 of them chanced to look up, and saw, in a direct 
 Hne M'ith them, a swam]) bridge ; and in the dim 
 outline they could perceive that parties with mus- 
 kets were passing over the bridge. They there- 
 fore moved some distance to the south ; and after 
 passing through more of the swamp, reached the 
 Chickahominy about four miles below Bottom 
 Bridge. Here, now, was a difficulty. The river 
 was only twenty feet wide, but it was very deep, 
 and the refugees were worn out and fatigued. 
 Chancing, however, to look up, Lieut. Bradford 
 saw that two trees had fallen on either side of 
 the river, and that their branches were iuter- 
 lockecL By crawling up one tree and down the 
 other, the fugitives reached the east bank of the 
 Chickahominy ; and Col. Kendrick could not help 
 remarking that he believed Providence was on 
 their side, else they would not have met that nat- 
 ural bridge. 
 
 They subsequently learned from a friendly ne- 
 gro that had they crossed the bridge they had 
 seen, they would assuredly have been recaptured, 
 for Capt. Turner, the keeper of Libby Prison, had 
 been out and posted guards there, and in fact had 
 alarmed the whole country, and got the people up 
 as a vigilance committee to capture the escaped 
 prisoners. 
 
 After crossing over this natural bridge, they 
 lay down on the ground afid slept until sunrise 
 on the morning of the 1 1th, Avhen they continued 
 on their way, keeping eastwardly as near as they 
 could. Up to this time they had had nothing to 
 eat, and were almost famished. About noon of 
 the 1 1th they met several negroes, Avho gave them 
 information as to the whereabouts of the rebel 
 pickets, and furnished them with food. 
 
 Acting under the advice of these friendly ne- 
 groes, they renaained quietly in the woods until 
 darkness had set in, when they were furnished 
 with a comfortable supper by the negroes, and 
 after dark proceeded on their way, the negroes 
 (who everywhere showed their friendship to the 
 fugitives) having first directed them how to avoid 
 the rebel pickets. That night they passed a camj) 
 of rebels, and could plainly see the smoke and 
 camp fires. But their wearied feet gave out, and 
 they were compelled to stop and rest, having only 
 marched five miles that day. 
 
 They started again at daylight on the 13th, and 
 after moving a while through the woods, they saw 
 a negro woman working in a field, and called her 
 to them, and from her received directions, and 
 were told that the rebel pickets had been about 
 there looking for the fugitives from Libby. Here 
 they lay low again, and resumed their journey 
 when darkness set in, and marclied five miles, but 
 halted until the morning of the 14th, when the 
 journey was resumed. 
 
 At one point they met a negro in the field, and 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 151 
 
 she told them that her mistress was a secesh wo- 
 man, and that she had a son in the rebel army. 
 The \yarty, however, were exceedingly hungry, and 
 they determined to secure some food. This they 
 did by boldly approaching the house and inform- 
 ing the mistress that they were fugitives from 
 Norfolk, who had been driven out by Butler ; 
 and the secesh sympathies of the woman were at 
 once aroused, and she gave them of her substance, 
 and started them on their way, with directions 
 how to avoid the Yankee soldiers, who occasionally 
 scouted in that vicinity. This information was 
 exceedingly valuable to the refugees, for lay it they 
 discovered the whereabouts of the Union forces. 
 
 When about fifteen miles from Williamsburg, 
 the party came upon the main road, and found 
 the tracks of a large body of cavalry. A piece of 
 paper found by Capt. Jones, satisfied him that 
 they Avere Union cavalry ; but his companions 
 were suspicious, and avoided the road, and moved 
 forward ; and at the " Burnt Ordinary," (about 
 ten miles from Williamsburg,) awaited the return 
 of the cavalry that had moved up the road ; and 
 from behind a fence corner, where they were se- 
 creted, the fugitives saw the flag of the Union, 
 supported by a squadron of cavalry, which proved 
 to be a detachment of Col. Spear's Eleventh Penn- 
 sylvania regiment, sent out for the purpose of 
 picking up escaped prisoners. Col. Kendrick 
 says his feelings at seeing the old flag were inde- 
 scribable. 
 
 The party rode into Williamsburg with the cav- 
 alry, where they were quartered for the night, and 
 M'here they found eleven others who had escaped 
 safely. 
 
 A Wedding on Horseback. — The following 
 occurred at Battle Creek, on the Chattanooga 
 Railroad, in March, 1864 : A pair- of lovers be- 
 tliought themselves of getting married, and hav- 
 ing procured a license, the)' set out on horseback. 
 They soon came up to a parson " setting " on a 
 fence, — it seems he did something occasionally 
 at farming, — and requested him to " solemnize 
 the sacred rites of matrimony at once." The 
 parson finally assented, and he " setting " on the 
 fence, and they on their horses, the !' sacred 
 rite " Avas " solemnized," after which they went 
 on their way rejoicing. 
 
 A Hero indeed. — A good deal of interest 
 was felt at the time Avhen the Confederate offi- 
 cers, prisoners on board the " Maple Leaf," cap- 
 tured that steamer, and made their escape to 
 Currituck, in North Carolina. A correspondent 
 furnishes the following instances of heroism con- 
 nected with the affair, the hero of which is " a 
 poor old man bowed down with age and poverty." 
 The writer says : 
 
 "A few days after their escape, a squad of Fed- 
 eral cavalry, in scouring the country to arrest 
 them, came upon the subject of this notice — 
 Dempsey Kight by name — in the highway. A 
 small tin bucket, which the old fisherman was 
 carrying in his hand, attracted then- attention. 
 
 They halted, and asked him if he had not been 
 feeding the escaped rebel officers. Too proud to 
 utter a falsehood, he unhesitatingly answered in 
 the affirmative. Whereupon they demanded of 
 him to reveal the place of their concealment, and 
 with threats and blows sought to wrest it from 
 him. But the principle of honor was too strong 
 in the old man's bosom, and to all their impor- 
 tunities he yielded not — their brutality he could 
 not resist. They swore they would have the se- 
 cret, or that he should die. With this intention, 
 they hurried him aboard a gun-boat, and again 
 tendered him the alternatives of death or of 
 compliance with their wishes. He answered 
 that he was convinced that they intended to 
 hang him, but that he was resolved to die before 
 he " would tell where those officers were." Im- 
 mediately they suspended him by the neck until 
 life was nearly extinct. They then cut him down, 
 and after reviving him, they repeated the same 
 question, and received the same answer. Again 
 his body hung in the air, and when his life was 
 far more spent than before, they again unloosed 
 the halter, receiving, as before, the same firm 
 denial. Exasperated to fury, they told him that 
 this Avas his only chance, and that they Avould 
 not cut him down again. Sustained in this hour 
 of sore trial by his sense of honor, which was 
 stronger than his fear of death, the old man re- 
 plied that he was convinced of his approacliing 
 end, yet he deemed death preferable to dishonor, 
 and that he was ready to meet his fate. Again, 
 and for the third time, his aged frame quivered 
 in the agonies of death, and Avhen he had ceased 
 to struggle, they once more released him. Ap- 
 plying powerful stimulants, they succeeded in 
 restoring him, when, with a determination worthy 
 of the elder Brutus, he drew forth a knife, and 
 attempted, by cutting his own throat, to free 
 himself from his persecutors. By violence they 
 forced his knife from him, when, by a mighty 
 effort, he dashed the fiends aside, and plunged 
 into the boiling surf to drown himself. With 
 boat-hooks they fished liim up, and baffled by 
 his unyielding will, they permitted him to go 
 ashore. This is a true statement of this infamous 
 transaction. Dempsey Kight still lives, and plies 
 his humble calling as a fisherman, and that he is 
 one of God's noblemen none will gainsay." 
 
 Incidents of the Fight at Beaufort. — 
 On almost every vessel, after the fight, the men 
 were called aft, and publicly thanked by their 
 respective Captains. On the ship " Bienville," 
 particular mention was made, and special thanks 
 returned, in presence of the ship's company, to 
 William Henry Steele, a boy not fourteen years 
 old, who conducted himself with distinguished 
 bravery. He is a powder boy, and not only 
 never flinched or dodged a shot, but when two 
 men were killed at his gun, he did not turn pale, 
 or cease for an instant his duties, but handed the 
 cartridge he had in hand to the gunner, stepped 
 carefully over the bodies, and hastened below for 
 more ammunition. 
 
152 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 The case of Thomas Jackson, coxswain of the 
 " Wabash," deserves notice. He was struck by 
 a shot, or a splinter, which so nearly cut his leg 
 off as to leave it hanging but by a small portion 
 of the muscle and skin. Partially rising, and 
 leaning painfully against a gun, Jackson glanced 
 at his mangled limb, and in an instant perceived 
 its hopeless condition. Feeling behind his back 
 in his belt, where seamen always carry their 
 knives, he drew his sheath-knife from its leather 
 scabbard, and deliberately began to saw away at 
 his leg ; but the knife was dull, and he could not 
 cut the limb off. As he was borne below by his 
 mates, and afterwards, he asked continually how 
 the fight v.'as going, and kept saying, " I hope 
 we'll win it ; I hope we'll win." In two hours he 
 died, his last words being a wish for our victory 
 in this battle, and a word of thanks that he had 
 been able to do something for the honor of the 
 " dear old flag." 
 
 The entb.usiasm of the soldiers for the blue- 
 jackets, after the action, literally knew no bounds. 
 Whenever a boat's crew of men-of-war's-men 
 came alongside a transport, there was a rush to 
 the side to catch a nearer view of the gallant 
 sailors, and, if possible, to clasp a tarry hand ; 
 and whenever they appeared, the cheers were 
 frantically loud, and long drawn out, and the 
 brave Jacks were as happy and proud as men 
 can be. 
 
 The Typo Warriors. — The typos of the 
 Thirteenth Illinois regiment of volunteers amused 
 themselves at Camp Holla, Mo., by printing a 
 paper entitled " Our Regiment." A correspond- 
 ent thus made his shot : 
 
 IlEADQUARTEItS HeAVY MUD INFANTRY, ) 
 
 Camp Holla, July 17, 1861. \ 
 To the Editor of Our Regiment : 
 
 Heavy? Yes, sir! Bound to shoot rebels. 
 This is the report. Chicago boy, the undersigned. 
 I'm always boasting of Chicago. I'm full of fight. 
 Although fighting is not my forte, I do not think 
 I would stand being knocked down. I joined 
 this August body in April, and avc May March 
 daily, for we are getting stronger weekly. I may 
 say in good season, if we Spring upon the enemy 
 he is sure to Fall, for our Summer-saults will be 
 a dose that will prove " the Winter of his dis- 
 content." lie will have to evacuate. We won't 
 strike light, for the South is no match for us. 
 When the country called all hands to arms, I 
 thought it a proud legacy to leave posterity that 
 I joined a division for the Union. I set my name 
 down, and there it stands. Nice uniform. Had 
 my hair cut with a knife and fork. Red hair, 
 yellow jacket, blue shirt, white hat, plantation 
 shoes, pink trousers, bell buttons on behind, 
 where I never saw them before. Left the city 
 under encouraging circumstances. Toothache, 
 nail in my shoe, forgot my rations, something in 
 mj' eye. Chap in rear file rasping my skins. Got 
 out of step and hurt my instep. While marching, 
 washwoman handed me a bill. Had no money, 
 
 and she had no sense — wanted to know where 
 our quarters were. Asked her who gave the 
 order to charge. Bad boy on sidewalk crying out, 
 "Pay the poor woman." Loaded the little sun- 
 of-a-gun with abuse, and he went off. Arrived 
 at Camp Rolla all right, nobody being left. In- 
 tentions to sleep in tents, but were intense-ly 
 disappointed, as we slept on the grass, which, 
 after all, served as well to all intents and pur- 
 poses. Placed minute-men on watch, who moved 
 all hands every second, until we really thought it 
 time to strike. Took my turn in going round. 
 Shot a cow and calf. " 'Tis meet to be here." 
 Fighting, you see, for the public weal, places our 
 lives at stake. Took the hindquarters into head- 
 quarters. Pork in various shapes for rations 
 heretofore. Not Jew-dishes. Serg. Hinmann 
 would like to have some mutton. Told me to 
 stir up, get a horse and find a saddle. Serg. 
 Hinmann's drilling is a complete bore, and he 
 thinks he augurs well on the whole. Marches 
 us around in a body, until he almost wears out 
 our soles. Makes our squad run so we will be 
 fully able to sail in when we have the enemy at 
 bay. Of course we have our fine times. Had 
 some light reading sent me by a Sexton : " An- 
 nual Report of Rose-Hill," " Ghost Stories," and 
 his business circular, with price list of coffins, &c. 
 I should like to overtake that undertaker. Serg. 
 Hinmann speaks disparagingly of our literary 
 tastes. Says the only thing red in the camp is 
 my nose — my nasal " organ." I mention it be- 
 cause it's a military move to right about face. 
 Music by the band. I must come to a full stop 
 now for a period. Flip flap. 
 
 Yours, jolly and con-tent-ed, 
 
 G. N. L. SCOTTY. 
 
 A Sergeant Halts a Whole Rebel Regi- 
 ment. — Among the beauties of the war in 
 Western Virginia was the "mixed-up" way in 
 which the combatants manoeuvre among the 
 mountains. Here is an instance where a single 
 loyal soldier halted an entire rebel regiment: 
 
 Serg. Carter, of Tippecanoe, Ohio, was upon 
 the post* first attacked by the enemy. The ad- 
 vance-guard of the Second Virginia, (rebel,) con- 
 sisting of twelve men, came suddenly upon him 
 and his three companions. The bright moonlight 
 revealed the flashing bayonets of the advancing 
 regiment. He was surrounded and separated 
 from his reserve. With great presence of mind 
 he stepped out and challenged : " Halt ! Who 
 goes there ? " The advance-guard, supposing 
 they had come upon a scouting party of their 
 own men, answered, " Friends, with the counter- 
 sign." At his order, " Advance, one, and give the 
 countersign," they hesitated. He repeated the 
 order peremptorily, " Advance and give the coun- 
 tersign or I'll blow you through." They answered, 
 without advancing, " Mississippi." " Where do 
 you belong?" he demanded. "To the Second 
 Virginia regiment." " Where arc you going ? " 
 " Along the ridge." They then in turn questioned 
 him, — " Who are you ? " " That's my own busi- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 153 
 
 ness," he answered, and taking deliberate aim, 
 he shot down his questioner. 
 
 He called for his boys to follow him, and 
 sprung down a ledge of rock, while a full volley 
 went over his head. He heard his companions 
 summoned to surrender, and the order given to 
 the Major to advance with the regiment. Several 
 started in pursuit of him. He had to descend 
 the hill on the side towards the enemy's camp. 
 While he eluded his pursuers, he found himself 
 in a new danger. He had got within the enemy's 
 camp pickets ! He had, while running, torn the 
 U. S. from his cartridge box, and covered his belt 
 plate with his cajD box, and torn the strips from 
 his pantaloons. He was challenged by their sen- 
 tinels while making his way out, and answered, 
 giving the countersign, " ' Mississippi,' Second 
 Virginia regiment." They asked him what he 
 was doing there. He said that the boys had gone 
 off on n scout after the Yankees, that he had been 
 detained in camp, and in tiying to find them he 
 had got bewildered. 
 
 As he passed through, to prevent further ques- 
 tioning, he said, " Our boys are up on the ridge ; 
 which is the best way up ? " They answered, 
 "Bear to the left, and you'll find it easier to 
 climb." Soon again his pursuers were after him, 
 as he expressed it, " breaking brush " behind him ; 
 this time' with a hound on his trail. He made 
 his way to a brook, and running down the shallow 
 stream, threw the dog off" the scent, and, as the 
 day was dawning, he suddenly came upon four 
 pickets, who brought their arms to a ready, and 
 challenged him. He gave the countersign, " Mis- 
 sissippi," and claimed to belong to the Second 
 Virginia regiment. His cap box had slipped from 
 his belt plate. They asked him where he got 
 that belt. He told them he had captured it that 
 night from a Yankee. They told him to advance, 
 and, as he approached, he recognized their ac- 
 coutrements, and knew that he was among his 
 own men, a picket guard from the First Kentucky. 
 
 He was taken before Col. Enyart, and dismissed 
 to his regiment. His motive in halting a whole 
 column of the enemy was to give intimation to 
 the reserve of their advance, that they might 
 open upon them on their left flank, and so, per- 
 haps, arrest their progress. 
 
 Surgeon Eat. — We have heard and read a 
 great many stories about the rat ; but in all our 
 experience, we never before had one brought be- 
 fore us in the character of a surgeon. At one 
 of our large hospitals, an operation was success- 
 fully performed upon an invalid soldier, by a com- 
 mon rat ; which the surgeon in charge had him- 
 self delayed for a time, with the hope of causing 
 less sufi'ering to the patient. This patient Avas 
 suffering from the effects of a fracture of the 
 frontal bone of the skull, a piece of which pro- 
 jected outM-ards to some length ; and the healing 
 of the fleshy parts depended upon its removal. 
 The bone was so fii-mly fixed, howevei", as, in the 
 opinion of the surgeon, would cause unnecessary 
 pain in its forcible removal ; and such remedies 
 were applied as would assist nature in eventually 
 
 ejecting it. A soothing poultice was placed upon 
 the part a night or two ago, a hole being made 
 through the application for the insertion of the 
 projecting bone. The patient was soon asleep in 
 his bed, but during the night was aroused by the 
 sting of pain, and awoke, to discover a rat making 
 off with the piece of bone in his mouth He 
 struck at and hit the rat, but did not hurt him. 
 The rat had probably been di-awn to the bed of 
 the soldier by the scent of the poultice, which 
 was pleasant to his olfactories ; but on reaching 
 it, his keen appetite, no doubt, caused him to rel- 
 ish, in a large degree, the juicy bone so convenient 
 to his teeth. He, therefore, seized, and drew it 
 from its position, and was made to scamper off 
 by the patient, whom he had aroused with pain. 
 It was a skilful operation, quickly performed, 
 and will result beneficially to the invalid. — Pe- 
 tersburg Express. 
 
 Experiences with Rebel Prisoners. — 
 " Su-ange as it may seem," says a soldier, " we 
 made some very pleasant acquaintances among 
 the prisoners we were sent to guard, some of 
 whom we had helped to capture, and cared for 
 when wounded on the field. One rebel — Maj. 
 McKnight, of the rebel Gen. Loring's staff — was 
 an especial favorite. He was a poet, musician, 
 and joker, and used to run ' from grave to gay, 
 from lively to severe,' on almost all matters. I 
 append a httle morceau of his, under his %igm de 
 plume of Asa Hartz, entitled 
 
 MY LOVE AND I. 
 
 BY ASA. HARTZ. 
 
 My love reposes on a rosewood frame ; 
 
 A bunk have I ; 
 A couch of feathery down fills up the same ; 
 
 Mine's straw, but dry ; 
 She sinks to rest at night with scarce a sigh ; 
 With waking eyes I watch the hours creep by. 
 
 My love her daily dinner takes in state, 
 
 And so do I ; 
 The richest viands flank her silver plate ; 
 
 Coarse grub have I ; 
 Pure wines she sips at ease, her thirst to slake ; 
 I pump my drink from Erie's limpid lake. 
 
 My love has all the world at will to roam ; 
 
 Three acres I ; 
 She goes abroad, or quiet sits at home ; 
 
 So cannot I. 
 Bright angels watch around her couch at night ; 
 A Yank, with loaded gun, keeps me in sight. 
 
 A thousand weary miles now stretch between 
 
 My love and I. 
 To her this wintry night, cold, calm, serene, 
 
 I waft a sigh, 
 And hope with all my earnestness of soul, 
 To-morrow's mail may bring me my parole. 
 
 There's hope ahead ! we'll one day meet again. 
 
 My love and I. 
 We'll wipe away all tears of sorrow then ; 
 
 Her love-lit eye 
 Will all my many troubles then beguile, 
 And keep this wayward reb from Johnson's Isle. 
 
154 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Advent^uees of a Union Officer. — The 
 experiences of Col. De Villiers, of the Eleventh 
 Ohio regiment, who was captured with others, 
 in Western Virghiia, in 1861, and conveyed to 
 Richmond, and who afterwards made his escape, 
 is thus detailed : 
 
 "Arrived at Richmond, they were taken to a 
 tobacco warehouse, where they found forty other 
 prisoners. In the room there was neither table 
 nor bed. They were kept without food ; no break- 
 fast given them the next morning after their 
 arrival — and when, finally, a little bread was 
 brought them, it Avas thrown upon the floor as to 
 a dog ; and the quantity so small, that every 
 man must make double-quick in grabbing it, or 
 he got none, and was compelled to beg from the 
 others. But there were rich officers, who could 
 buy something to cat ; for if the rebels did not 
 love the Northerners, they loved their gold. But 
 to shorten, he got the brain fever in prison, and 
 was removed to the hospital ; and here the Col- 
 onel took occasion to affirm, that the kindness 
 which had been s]Doken of, as practised by the 
 physicians, was not from rebels, but from our 
 own surgeons. 
 
 " Being by profession a physician. Col. De V., 
 when he had sufficiently recovered, was asked by 
 the hospital doctor to assist, which he consented 
 to do ; and he was thus permitted to enjoy more 
 Ubertj\ By good fortune, one day the command- 
 ing General gave the physicians liberty to go into 
 the city several times. They wore, as a distin- 
 guished body, a red ribbon, or badge, fixed in 
 then- button-hole. When he encountered the 
 sentinel, he was challenged, and forbidden to pass 
 on the gi-ound of being a prisoner ; the order of 
 the General did not include him. Now, as they 
 called him a French Yankee, he thought he Avould 
 play them a Yankee trick ; so he wrote a note 
 stating that he was included. When he returned 
 to the hospital, the rebel physician said he had 
 been practising deceit, and must consequently go 
 back among the prisoners. He was again incar- 
 cerated and put in irons. He soon made up his 
 mind, however, to escape from there, or die. He 
 was asked to take an oath by the rebels ; but, 
 said he, ' I have taken an oath as a naturalized 
 citizen of the United States, and I will never take 
 another to conflict with it.' He had been tempted 
 by the offer of position, but he abhorred the en- 
 emies of this Union, and could never forget that 
 he came here for Liberty's sake. He told Col. 
 Woodruff" of his determination to escape, for his 
 time had come. Col. W. wished him well, and 
 hoped that he would escape. He set about it, 
 and devised a lie, and stole ; for which he felt 
 assured he would be forgiven. He stole the 
 coat and hat of a secession officer, and in that 
 garb passed the guard. 
 
 " Col. De Villiers, while Brigade Inspector at 
 Camp Dennison, Ohio, learned a lesson from the 
 soldiers who wanted to go to Cincinnati. They 
 were in the habit of lying in the bushes to hear 
 the countersign, and having obtained it, passed 
 the guard. Without the countersign he could 
 not get out of the gate, even with his full uniform. 
 
 So he lay for about two hours behind the guard- 
 house, (in the night, as should have been stated,) 
 until he was happy by hearing it. The guard called 
 at his approach, ' Who comes there ? ' 'A friend, 
 with the countersign.' He passed the guard, the 
 gate was opened, and he was once more free. He 
 made his Avay to Manassas Junction, which is 
 nothing but a swamp. About six miles from 
 Richmond, he was encountered by a guard, and 
 to his challenge replied, ' A friend, without the 
 countersign.' [He had the precaution to lay the 
 double-barrel shot gun, which he contrived to get 
 before he escaped from Richmond, down, befoi'e 
 he approached this guard. He had, besides, a 
 revolver and a bowie knife.] 
 
 " Approaching, they asked him v/here he was 
 from and whither he was going. He replied from 
 Richmond to Petersburg. They then asked why 
 he did not take the railroad, and he said he missed 
 the cars. They then took him in custody, and 
 marched one on each side of him upon a narrow 
 bridge crossing a stream near at hand. The sit- 
 uation was desperate, but he was determined 
 never to go back to Richmond alive ; so when he 
 got to about the middle of the bridge, he struck 
 to the right and left, knocking one of the guards 
 on one side and the other on the other side, and 
 giving them both a good swim. Hence he made 
 his way towards Petersburg, subsisting for three 
 days upon nothing but a few raw beans, ' which 
 was not very good for his digestion.' 
 
 " Upon this tramp, for a distance of sixty-five 
 miles, he cai'ried his skiff for crossing rivers (a 
 pine board) vipon his shoulder. During his trav- 
 els he was several times shot at. When he got 
 in the neighborhood of Magruder's forces, his 
 hardest time began. He tried to pass sentinels 
 several times, and at one time was twice shot at 
 in quick succession. He shot too. He did not 
 know whether he hit the two sentinels or not, but 
 they never answered. But the whole brigade was 
 aroused, and he took to the James Puver in what 
 he called his skiff, viz., his pine-board companion. 
 He landed on the other side in a swamp, recross- 
 ing again near Jamestown, where he lost his gun. 
 He had cast away his officer's coat, and what re- 
 mained of his suit was rusty enough. So he 
 took an open course, and resolved to ask for 
 work ; but like the poor men in the South, when 
 they ask for work, they are told to go into the 
 service. Even the ladies do not look upon a 
 young man unless he is in the service ; viewed 
 from this test, there were more patriots in the 
 South than in the North ; they were all soldiers, 
 old and young. 
 
 " He hired with a German blacksmith, at $1.50 
 per week, having concluded to remain a while, 
 and learn something of the condition of the rebel 
 forces. He staid a fortnight, observing all the 
 rebel movements. At the expiration of this time, 
 he got tired of blacksmithing, and wanted to go 
 home. He found a good German Union man, to 
 whom he told his story, without reservation, just 
 as if he was telling it here to-night. This was 
 of great service to him ; he led him for nine days, 
 the Colonel having adopted another Yankee trick, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 155 
 
 and made a blind man of himself ; he couldn't 
 see, and the German was his guide. Dropping 
 the Yankee French, he became a French subject, 
 and wantei to go back to France, because he 
 could not get any work to do here ; and so he 
 told Gen. Huger, when he got into his command. 
 This General promised to send him to Fortress 
 Monroe with a flag of truce. The next flag of 
 truce that was sent he accompanied, blind still, 
 and led by his faithful Geraian Union man. 
 
 " He contrived, unobserved, to tell the Captain 
 of the flag party that he was a prisoner, a Union 
 officer, and had assumed blindness as a disguise, 
 and that he should take him ; but the young of- 
 ficer said he could not understand it, and said he 
 would inform Gen. "Wool. He did so, and Wool, 
 being an old soldier, comprehended the matter at 
 once, immediately sending another boat out to 
 bring him ; but it was too late, for the rebel ofl[i- 
 cer said it w'as not worth while waiting on the 
 Yankees, and hastened off". Having lost his Ger- 
 man guide. Gen. Huger himself led him (the 
 poor old jblind man) with unaffected sympathy, 
 to the hotel, and he assured him that he should 
 go with the next flag of truce which was sent ; 
 and he further took the trouble of writing a spe- 
 cial letter to Gen. Wool about the ' old French 
 blind man who wanted to go home.' Col. De Vil- 
 liers remarked that Gen. Huger evinced true kind- 
 ness towards him. 
 
 " With the flag, there were, besides, a number 
 of ladies, Avho ' left the South for the purpose of 
 going North to do business.' Though he was 
 blind, he could see the glances they exchanged ; 
 and though old and somewhat deaf, he could hear 
 the officers tell the ladies to learn all they could, 
 and come back with the information — wishing 
 them much success. ' It is surprising what fine 
 spies they make ! ' 
 
 " When he got into safe quarters, he threw off" 
 his disguise, his decrepitude — saw and was 
 strong — observing, without surprise himself, the 
 astonishment of the ladies at the change." 
 
 First Experience in Battle. — A Union 
 soldier, who was in the battle of Piketon, Ken- 
 tucky, gives the following graphic description of 
 his sensations during the fight : 
 
 " And now for my share in the battle. I was 
 riding along, somewhat carelessly, when crack ! 
 crack ! crack ! went their rifles, and down fell our 
 men. Crack ! crack ! crack ! they came. Off" I 
 jumped from my horse, when along came the Ma- 
 jor, and gave me his horse to hold ; but I soon 
 hitched them both to a tree down by the river, 
 and sprung again up the bank, when whiz ! went 
 a bullet past my face, about three inches from it, 
 and made me draw back in a hurry, I can assure 
 you. I looked up the hill, but could see no one 
 for the smoke, which was plenty ; so I levelled in 
 the direction of the enemy and fired — loaded 
 again and fired. I got my rifle in readiness 
 again ! Ah ! that ball was pretty close. Here 
 comes another — buzz, buzz — (you can hear their 
 whiz for fully a hundi'ed yards as they come) — 
 
 get out of the way. But where is it to go to ? 
 Whew ! that was close. But, great God ! it has 
 gone through a man's shoulder within a few yards 
 of me ! He falls ! some of his comrades pick 
 him up. 
 
 " Now a horseman comes past in a hurry. He 
 is right opposite me — v.-hen whiz, crack! a ball 
 strikes liis horse in the fore-shoulder. Off" tum- 
 bles the man ; down falls the horse, stiflfencd out 
 and dead. If the bullet had gone through the 
 animal, it would doubtless have struck me. 
 
 " Here come a dozen more. How they whiz 
 as they go past ! ' Load and fire ! ' ' Load and 
 fire ! ' is the order — and load and fire it is. My 
 notice was especially drawn to a very fine-look- 
 ing man, who stood close to me, and he truly 
 acted like a hero — loading and firing just as if 
 he was on parade, when whiz ! whiz ! comes a bul- 
 let. My God, how close ! It almost stunned me. 
 AVhen 1 looked towards my soldier, I saw his 
 comrades lifting him up. He was shot through 
 the breast, and died in less than half an hour. 
 O the horrors of war ! Vengeance on the heads 
 of those who initiate it. 
 
 "I directed my attention up the hill; a little 
 puff' of smoke was dying away. ' Boys,' says I 
 to the squad of his fellows, ' you see that smoke ; 
 aim for it ; a rebel 's in its rear.' I raised my En- 
 field, and glanced through its sights, when I for 
 a moment caught sight of a man through the 
 bushes and smoke there. Crack went our guns, 
 and all was over. 
 
 " We crossed to the place afterwards, and 
 found musket-balls, and one Enfield rifle-ball — 
 mine, as mine was the only rifle-ball fii-ed. They 
 all went through him, either of which would have 
 killed him — mine through his breast. Thank 
 God, I have done my duty for the poor fellow 
 who fell beside me." 
 
 A Gallant Lieutenant. — During the bat- 
 tle near Spottsylvania Court-House, Va., on the 
 14th of May, 1864, Maj.-Gen. Wright's brigade 
 was ordered to charge the Union works. In do- 
 ing so, the Third Georgia regiment passed 
 through a heavy fire of minie balls, losing sev- 
 enty-eight men in killed and wounded. The 
 color-bearer of the regiment, being wounded, 
 planted the colors in the ground, and retired to 
 the rear. At this moment the skirmish line was 
 ordered to halt, which was understood by many 
 as an order for the regiment to halt, which they 
 did. Perceiving that a crisis was at hand, Lieut. 
 R. G. Hyman sprang forward, seized the colors 
 from amid a pile of slain, and waving them in the 
 face of the foe, called upon the old Third to rally 
 to it, which they did, with a yell, and the Yankee 
 breastworks M'ere taken. Lieut. Hyman was at 
 least fifty yards in advance of the regiment all 
 the time. — Folsom's Georgia Becord, 
 
 Capt. Gillingham's Adventure. — On the 
 23d of August, 1863, Captain Ned Gillingham, 
 of the Thirteenth New York cavalry, with an 
 
156 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 escort of eight Sergeants, whilst going from camp, 
 near Centreville, as bearer of despatches to 
 Washington, was met on the road near Allan- 
 dale, about two o'clock P. M., by a detachment 
 of the Second Massachusetts cavalry, the Ser- 
 geant of the latter asking Capt. Gillingham if 
 they need apprehend any danger ; to which Capt. 
 Gillingham replied : " So far, we have not met 
 with any obstruction." Capt. Gillingham had 
 scarcely gone over four hundred yards, when he 
 was met by a party of Mosby's cavalry, consist- 
 ing of about one hundred men, by whom he 
 was ordered, under fire, to halt. Capt. Gilling- 
 ham, taking them for our own troops, (as they 
 were dressed similarly to his own men,) replied: 
 " Hold up firing — you are fools — you are foing 
 on Government troops ; " to which the Captain of 
 said troops replied : " Surrender there, you Yan- 
 kee ." Capt. Gillingham replied he could 
 
 not see the joke. Then, turning to Sergeant 
 Long, Orderly of company B, and to Sergeant 
 Burnham, ordered them to draw their sabres and 
 folloAv him. A general conflict ensued, in Avhich 
 sabres and pistols were freely used, resulting in 
 the Avounding of Orderly Sergeant Long and Ser- 
 geant Zeagle, both of company B, who, with foui" 
 other Sergeants, were all taken prisoners. Capt. 
 Ned Gillingham and Serg. Burnham eff'ected their 
 escape, the former having been wounded in the 
 arm, and the latter in the hip, as well as having 
 their horses shot. Obtaining horses on the road, 
 they reached Wasliington about six o'clock P. M. 
 
 THE WOUNDED SOLDIER. 
 
 The following beautiful and touching lines were 
 written by Lieiit. John McKee, of company K, 74th 
 Ohio regiment, who was accidentally drowned at 
 Cincinnati, on his way home : 
 
 Among the pines that overlook 
 
 Stone River's rocky bed, 
 Ohio knows full many a son 
 
 There numbered with the dead. 
 
 'Tis hard to die 'mid scenes of strife. 
 
 No friend or kindred near, 
 To wipe the death damp from the brow, 
 
 Or shed affection's tear. 
 
 To soothe the sufferer, in his pain, 
 
 With words of holy cheer, 
 Or bend the knee, in earnest prayer, 
 
 For the dying volunteer. 
 
 That day, when all along our lines 
 Rained showers of shot and shell, 
 
 Thus many a brave young soldier died — 
 Thus many a hero fell. 
 
 When night closed o'er this bloody scene. 
 
 Returning o'er the ground, 
 I heard the piteous moans of one 
 
 Laid low by mortal wound. 
 
 'Twas by the ford we crossed that day — 
 The ground so dearly bought — 
 
 Where Miller led his stalwart men, 
 And gallant Moody fought. 
 
 The wounded soldier's cheek was wan, 
 
 And beamless was his eye ; 
 I knew before another morn 
 
 The wounded man must die. 
 
 I built a fire of cedar rails, — 
 The air was cold and damp, — 
 
 And filled his canteen from the spring, 
 Below the river's bank. 
 
 And then I sat me down to ask 
 
 If he would wish to send 
 A last request or parting word 
 
 To mother, sister, friend. 
 
 "I have some word," the boy replied, 
 " My friends Avould love to hear ; 
 
 'Twould fill my sister's soul with joy. 
 My mother's heart would cheer. 
 
 " Tell them I died a soldier's death, 
 
 Upon the battle-field. 
 But lived to know the day was ours, 
 
 And see the rebels yield ; — 
 
 "That ere I died their colors fell. 
 Their columns broke, and then 
 
 I heard the wild, victorious shouts 
 Of Negley's valiant men. 
 
 " But most of all I'd have them know, 
 
 That with my latest breath 
 I spoke of Him I loved in life ; 
 
 'Twas joy and peace in death. 
 
 " Tell sister I have read with care — 
 
 For holy ties endeared — 
 The Bible mother gave to me 
 
 Before I volunteered. 
 
 "I'm very tired with talking now; 
 
 Please raise my head some higher, 
 And fold my blanket closely down. 
 
 And build a larger fire. 
 
 " The air is very cold to-night." 
 I raised his head with care ; 
 
 He closed his eyes as if to sleep. 
 But clasped his hands in prayer. 
 
 In silent converse with his God 
 
 The wounded hero lay ; 
 It seemed to him communion sweet, 
 
 No agony to pray. 
 
 He smiled as does the gentle child 
 When angels whisper near ; 
 
 No anguish worked upon his brow, 
 Nor blanched his cheek with fear. 
 
 I saw that death was coming fast ; 
 
 His mind was all in prayer ; 
 I asked him for his regiment. 
 
 And where his comrades w'ere. 
 
 " My Captain's dead," the boy replied. 
 
 In accents low and mild ; 
 " I've heard my mother speak of him 
 
 When I was but a child." 
 
 I knew his mind was wandering, 
 That he was thinking then 
 
 Of him who gave his life to save 
 His faithful, valiant men. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 157 
 
 And thus he died that stormy night. 
 
 No friend or kindred near 
 To wipe the death damp from his brow, 
 
 Or shed affection's tear. 
 
 Thus I have known the love of God 
 Joy, peace, and comfort yield 
 
 To one who fell with mortal wound 
 On the bloody battle-field. 
 
 And should you wander o'er the ground 
 
 Where fell so many brave, 
 Among the cedars on the hill 
 
 There lies his lonely grave. 
 
 The flowers will soon light up with smiles 
 
 Stone River's rocky shore ; 
 His spirit knows a brighter clime, 
 
 Where flowers bloom evermore. 
 
 And mild-eyed Peace may visit soon 
 
 Stone River's rocky shore. 
 But Murfrees' chiming Sabbath bells 
 
 Will never wake him more. 
 
 Anecdote of Gen. Wyman. — A correspond- 
 ent accompanying the Union forces in their march 
 from Jefl'erson City to Rolla, Mo., in 1861, relates 
 the following : " After leaving camp at Union 
 Hollow, a rugged part of the mountains beyond 
 Springfield, an incident occurred worthy of pres- 
 ervation. Gen. Wyman had issued orders that 
 no man should go in advance of his company. 
 About five miles from camp the General met two 
 of the boys of the Illinois Thirteenth, waiting 
 the approach of their company. Those who know 
 the General, know, when he does not like any- 
 thing, how roughly he can reprimand a soldier. 
 The General addressed the boys in one of his 
 very roughest styles : 
 
 "'Boys, why are you in advance of your 
 
 company this morning ? ' 
 
 " One of the men, taking off his hat, addressed 
 the General in the following style : 
 
 " ' General, about two and a half miles from 
 here are the graves of my mother and sisters, 
 and I thought it was likely this was the last time 
 I should be permitted to visit them, and I got 
 permission of the Captain to go this morning to 
 visit them, and I am here waiting for them to 
 come up.' 
 
 " This was too much for the General. Said 
 he, ' My boy, that was right. I have always 
 loved you, but that makes me love you twice as 
 well as I ever did.' At this point, tears choked 
 the words of the noble soldier, and one might 
 have seen one whole-souled man weeping under 
 the effects of paternal affection. Some time after 
 this, they joined our staff, and rode with us, and 
 while riding with me, he narrated to me the in- 
 cident, and again gave vent to tears. Said he, 
 * I am ttot ashamed of tears under such circum- 
 stances.' " 
 
 A Thrilling Event. — On Thursday, Sept. 10, 
 1863, while General Forrest was at Lafayette, Ga., 
 he was ordered to Ringgold for the purpose of 
 . checking the enemy, reported to be marching in 
 
 large force in that direction. Picking up about 
 four hundred of his command, he marched off 
 with all the promptitude of his ardent and enthu- 
 siastic nature. Here he found Vancleve's corps, 
 consisting of seventeen thousand infantry and 
 cavalry. Skirmishing immediately commenced. 
 General Forrest fighting them at every step, as 
 he slowly fell back. For two days did the un- 
 equal conflict continue, and notwithstanding the 
 disparity of numbers, the loss on either side was 
 about the same. General Forrest retired to 
 Tunnel Hill about four o'clock, and in an hour 
 the enemy was in sight, when one of the most 
 gallant and thrilling incidents of the war occurred. 
 'Ihe enemy's advancing column marched on, — 
 right on, — and the cloud of dust and the huge 
 paraphei'nalia which they displayed made them 
 look indeed " terrible as an army with banners." 
 On reaching the apex of the hill, a short pause 
 was perceptible ; but skirmishers being thrown 
 out on the right and left, on they came. In 
 every ambush, behind every knoll, and house, 
 and tree, could be seen a blue-coat, slyly, cau- 
 tiously sneaking up like a hungry wolf in search 
 of its prey. General Forrest levelled his trusty 
 gun at the nearest one. The smoke from his 
 gun seemed only to exasperate the infuriated 
 foe, and to inspire them v>ith anxiety either to 
 capture or destroy the small but defiant squad 
 of Confederates, and for this purpose a hundred 
 guns opened upon them, while a dozen Yankees 
 rushed across the railroad for the purpose of 
 getting still closer. As they crossed the track. 
 General Forrest looked still farther up, and he 
 saw a couple of Confederate soldiers coming 
 down the road, unaware of the approach of the 
 enemy, and the immediate danger that surrounded 
 them. The impudence of the Yankees that had 
 crossed the railroad, and were seen crawling in 
 the woods, together with the peril that surrounded 
 the two Confederate soldiers approaching, was 
 more than General Forrest could stand. Hastily 
 calling to his side five of his escort, he told them 
 that his imperilled soldiers must be rescued, and 
 that the insolent squad that had crossed the road 
 must be captured. With coolness and self-pos- 
 session, but with a loud and cheering shout, he 
 ordered his little squad to the charge. In the 
 midst of the iron hail that rained upon them, they 
 rushed on. Every man forgot his own danger. 
 The soldier stooped over his musket, or leaned 
 upon his horse, absorbed in the scene. Dressed 
 in a huge duster. General Forrest, as he dashed 
 on in his fierce purpose, looked infernal. There 
 was a sudden pause ; then their heads were cur- 
 tained in by the wreathing smoke of their own 
 guns. The Yankees were seen retreating back 
 across the road, and the Confederate soldiers 
 rescued from death. From the hill-side a volley 
 of musketry was now poured upon the small 
 squad. Having accomplished their purpose, they 
 turned to retreat, but three of the seven were 
 wounded. A ball struck General Forrest near 
 the spine, within an inch of the wound he re- 
 ceived at Shiloh, inflicting a painful but not dan- 
 gerous wound ; while two of his escort were 
 
158 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 wounded — one in the back of the head, the 
 other in the arm. — Marietta Rebel. 
 
 Death of a Young Woman on the Battle- 
 field OF CiiiCKAMAUGA. — The case of a young 
 •woman in Willoughby Street, Brooklyn, brings 
 to mind tlie story of the unfortunate Maid of 
 Orleans, -who was " burnt by Avicked Bedford for 
 a witch." It ■well illustrates the Solomonic proverb 
 that " there is nothing new under the sun." The 
 superstitions of the days of Joan of Arc still 
 flourish. 
 
 Early in 18G3, when disaster everywhere over- 
 took the Union arms, and our gallant sons were 
 falling fast under that marvellous sword of rebel- 
 lion, a young lady, scarce nineteen, just from 
 school, conceived the idea that she was destined 
 by Providence to lead our arms to victory, and 
 our nation through successful war. It was at 
 first thought by her parents that her mind was 
 weakened simply by reading accounts of con- 
 tinued reverses to our arms, and they treated her 
 as they would a sick child. This only had the 
 effect of making her more demonstrative, and her 
 enthusiastic declarations and apparent sincerity 
 
 gave the family great anxiety. Ur. B- was 
 
 consulted, the minister was spoken to, friends 
 advised, family meetings held, intervieM's with 
 the young lady by her former companions in the 
 academy Mere frequent, but nothing could shake 
 the feeling which had possessed her. 
 
 It was liually resolved to take her to Michigan. 
 A maiden aunt accompanied the fair enthusiast, 
 and for a few weeks Ann Arbor became their 
 home. The stern command of her aunt alone 
 prevented her from making her Avay to Wash- 
 ington to solicit an interview with the President 
 for the purpose of getting command of the United 
 States army. Finally it Avas found necessary to 
 restrain her from seeing any but her own family, 
 and her private parlor became her prison. To a 
 high-spirited girl, this Avould be unendurable at 
 any time, but to a young lady filled with such a 
 hallucination, it was worse than death. She re- 
 solved to elude her friends, and succeeded, leav- 
 ing them clandestinely ; and although the most 
 distinguished detectives of the East and the West 
 were employed to find her whereabouts, it M'as un- 
 availing. None could even conjecture the hiding- 
 place. This was in April, 1 SG;]. She was mourned 
 as lost. The habiUments of mourning were donned 
 by her grief-stricken parents, and a suicide's grave 
 was assumed to be hers. But it was not so. 
 The infatuated gul, finding no sj-mpathy with 
 her friends, resolved to enter the army disguised 
 as a drummer boy, dreaming, poor girl, that her 
 destiny Mould be worked out by such a mode. 
 She joined the drum corps of a ■Michigan regi- 
 ment at Detroit, her sex known only to herself, 
 and succeeded in getting Mith her regiment to 
 the army of the Cumberland. Hom' the poor 
 girl survived the hardships of the Kentucky 
 campaign, uhere strong men fell in numbers, 
 must forever remain a mystery. The regiment 
 to which she was attached had a place in the 
 
 division of the gallant Van Cleve, and during the 
 bloody battle of Sunday, the fair girl fell, pierced 
 in the left side by a minie ball ; and Mhen borne 
 to the surgeon's tent, her sex M'as discovered. 
 She M-as told by the surgeon that her M'ound was 
 mortal, and advised to give her name, that her 
 family might be informed of her fate. This she 
 finally, though reluctantly, consented to do, and 
 the Colonel of the regiment, although sufl'ering 
 himself from a painful M-ound, became interested 
 in her behalf, and prevailed upon her to let him 
 send a despatch to her father. This she directed 
 in the folloMing manner : 
 
 " Mr. , No — AVilloughby Street, Brook- 
 
 lyn : Forgive your dying daughter. I have but 
 a fcM' moments to live. My native soil drinks 
 my blood. I expected to deliver my country, but 
 the Fates Mould not have it so. I am content to 
 die. Pray, jia, forgive me. Tell ma to kiss my 
 daguerreotype. Emily. 
 
 " P. S. Give my old M'atch to little Eph." 
 (The youngest brother of the dying girl.) 
 
 The poor girl was buried on the field on which 
 she fell in the service of her country, which she 
 fondly hoped to save. 
 
 THE HERO OF SUGAli PINE. 
 
 ' 0, TELL me, Sergeant of Battery U, 
 
 hero of Sugar Pine, 
 
 Some glorious deed of the battle-field, 
 Some wonderful feat of thine ; — 
 
 ' Some skilful move when the fearful game 
 
 Of battle and life was played 
 On yon grimy field, whose broken squares 
 In scarlet and black are laid." 
 
 ' Ah ! stranger, here at my gun all day 
 
 1 fought till my final round 
 
 Was spent, and I had but powder left. 
 And never a shot to be found. 
 
 ' So I trained my gun on a rebel piece ; 
 
 So true M-as my range and aim, 
 A shot from his cannon entered mine, 
 And finished the load of the same ! " 
 
 ' Enough ! O Sergeant of Battery B, 
 
 O hero of Sugar Pme ! 
 Alas ! I fear that thy cannon's throat 
 
 Can sM-allow much more than mine ! " 
 
 A Thrilling Incident. — A. Z. Reeve, of 
 the loMa army, gives the folloMing in a letter 
 from Germantown, Tenn., March 12, 1863 : 
 
 '' We have been here about six weeks, protect- 
 ing the railroad. Col. Richardson, a rebel guer- 
 rilla, has been hovering in the vicinity for some 
 time, capturing forage parties and tearing up the 
 road M-hencver opportunity offered. When pur- 
 sued, he retreats to the SM'amps, and his command, 
 dispersing in small squads, generally evade all 
 attempts to discover them. To make the matter 
 worse, they frequently dress in Federal uniform. 
 
 On the morning of" the 9th of this month, our 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 159 
 
 regiment and the Fourth Illinois cavalry started 
 out with a guide for the retreat of the guemllas. 
 Before we reached the rebel camp, the Sixth 
 Illinois cavalry, with flying artillery attached, 
 attacked the rebels from the opposite side, killed 
 twenty-five of them, took some prisoners, and 
 burned the camp and garrison equipage. In their 
 headlong stampede, the rebels came well nigh 
 running into our hands. While in hot pursuit, we 
 came to the residence of one Piobert C. Forbes, 
 who, intrenching himself in the house, commenced 
 firing on our flankers as they approached. The 
 flankers then charged on the house, effected an 
 entrance, and discovered that Forbes had taken 
 shelter in an upper chamber. The desperate man 
 was called upon to surrender, but refused. He 
 had already killed one member of the Fourth 
 IlUnois cavalry, and had wounded another. He 
 also had received a wound in the right arm, 
 which disabled him to such an extent that he 
 could not load his gun. His wound was received 
 by a shot fired up through the floor. Still the 
 desperate man refused to yield. As a last resort 
 the house was set on fire. This compelled the 
 man to come down, but he still obstinately refused 
 to sm-render. He was immediately surrounded 
 by the exasperated soldiers, who refrained from 
 shooting him on account of the certainty of 
 shooting their comrades. Meanwhile the old 
 man clubbed his gun, and although his arm was 
 badly lacerated and bleeding, he ferociously kept 
 the soldiers at bay. At length one of the officers 
 ordered the soldiers opposite to him to get away, 
 and give him a chance " to shoot the old secession 
 scoundrel." 
 
 At these words the gun dropped from the old 
 man's hands, and he earnestly inquired : 
 
 " Is it possible ? Have I been fighting Union 
 soldiers all this time ? " 
 
 "Of course we are Union men," replied the 
 officer. 
 
 " My God ! why didn't I know this before ? " 
 said the old man in a voice of agony ; " I am a 
 Union man, too. I thought I was fighting Rich- 
 ardson's guen'illas ! " 
 
 The soldiers did not believe him at first, but in 
 brief time he proved to them beyond all dispute 
 that there was no counteifeit Unionism about 
 him. He had been an incorruptible patriot dur- 
 ing the war. At the outbreak of the rebellion 
 he had been arrested by Confederate authority, 
 and placed in chains. His crime consisted in 
 telling the rebels that they were traitors, and de- 
 served hanging. When Gen. Hurlbut passed 
 through this part of the country, the old man 
 joined him, but came back occasionally to see his 
 family. He was on a brief furlough from the Fed- 
 eral army when the raid was made on his house. 
 Richardson had sworn vengeance against him, 
 and he had resolved never to be taken alive. 
 Owing to the fact that the guerrillas were in the 
 habit of prowling about in Federal uniform, the 
 (Jd man was led to mistake our soldiers for rebels. 
 
 The explanation came too late to save the 
 house. It was consumed with all its contents. 
 There was not a quilt left to defend the mother 
 
 and children from the cold. They had ffed from 
 the burning building just in time to save their 
 lives. It was a sad spectacle. The old man 
 begged to be taken along with us. He told his 
 wife to get to the Federal lines as soon as possible. 
 A braver and a truer man to his country does 
 not exist than Robert C. Forbes. I gave the 
 mother and children ten dollars in greenbacks 
 and my blankets. The other soldiers contributed 
 to relieve the distresses of the family. Many 
 sympathizing tears were shed by us all. I have 
 not witnessed a scene so affecting since my en- 
 listment. 
 
 Yankeeism on the Field. — A correspondent 
 gives the following, which, whether exactly true 
 or not, is a good story : 
 
 At the battle of the Rappahannock Station, 
 after the Fifth Maine had gained possession of 
 the works in their front, and were busy taking a 
 whole brigade of Johnnies to the rear. Col. Ed- 
 wards, who was one of the first to reach the rifle- 
 pits, took a few men from company G, and pressed 
 on in quest of more prisoners, supposing some 
 might be trying to get away in the darkness of 
 the night. Following the line of fortifications 
 do^^^l towards the river, he saw before him a long 
 line of troops in the rifle-pits. Finding that he 
 was in a tight fix, he determined to put on a bold 
 face. 
 
 " Where is the officer in command of these 
 troops ? " demanded the gallant Colonel. 
 
 " Here," answered the Colonel who was com- 
 manding the rebel brigade ; " and who are you, 
 sir?" 
 
 " My name is Col. Edwards, of the Fifth 
 Maine, and I demand of you to surrender your 
 command." 
 
 " I will confer with my oflTicers first," replied 
 the rebel officer. 
 
 '•' Not a moment will I allow, sir," said Col. 
 Edwards. " Don't you see my columns advanc- 
 ing ? " (pointing to a large body of men march- 
 ing over the hill, but who were rebel prisoners 
 being marched to the rear.) " Your forces on 
 the right have all been captured, and your retreat 
 is cut off; " and as the rebel commander hesi- 
 tated, he continued : " Forv.-ard ! Fifth Maine and 
 Twenty-first New York ! " 
 
 " I surrender, sir," said the rebel commander, 
 quickly. "Will you allow me the courtesy of 
 retaining a sword that has never been dishon- 
 ored ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir," replied Col. E._, " but I will take the 
 swords of those officers," pointing to the Colonels 
 by his side. 
 
 They were handed to him. 
 
 " Now order your men to lay down their arms, 
 and pass to the rear with this guard." 
 
 They obeyed, and a whole brigade of Louisi- 
 anians, the famous Fifth and Sixth Tigers being 
 among them, permitted themselves to be disarmed 
 and marched to the rear as prisoners of war, by 
 Col. Edwards and less than a dozen of his regi- 
 ment. 
 
160 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 A Challenge. — The following is a copy of a 
 challenge, which apjiears to have been prepared 
 by a member of the Pillow Guards : — 
 
 Memphis, Texn., June 3. 
 Pilloio Ouards of Memphis to Prentiss Guards 
 of Cairo : 
 
 We have enlisted under the stars and bars of 
 the Confederate States for the purpose of defend- 
 ing Southern rights and vindicating Southern 
 honor. But more especially we have been se- 
 lected and sworn in for the purpose of guarding 
 the person of our gallant Gen. Pillow. Under- 
 standing that you occupy a like position with 
 reference to Prentiss, the commandant at Cairo, 
 we challenge you to meet us at any time, at any 
 place, in any number, and with any arms or equip- 
 ments which you may select. We wish to meet 
 no others till we have met and conquered you and 
 your General. Make your own terms, only let us 
 know when and where, and be certain you will meet 
 the bravest guard the world has ever known. 
 
 The signatures of the challenging party are omit- 
 ted in the copy in possession of your correspondent, 
 but on the back is indorsed the following, viz. : 
 
 June 17, 1861. 
 Prentiss Guards to Pillow Guards : 
 
 We accept no challenge from traitors, but hang 
 them. If we ever meet, you shall suffer the fate 
 of traitors. Joseph D. Walkek, 
 
 Captain Company. 
 
 A Brave Exploit. — During the last year of 
 the war, Kentucky was infested with roving 
 squads of armed men, sometimes calling them- 
 selves Confederate cavalry. But in general they 
 were little better than robbers, Avho took advan- 
 tage of the disorders of the time to ply their ne- 
 farious business ; and when called to account, 
 would demand the treatment usually given to 
 prisoners of war. Many old neighborhood feuds 
 were thus revenged, and numerous deeds of blood 
 and shame, which were attempted to be explained 
 as only the disorders incident to civil war. 
 
 In December, 1864, a small number of Union 
 soldiers were stationed at Caseyville, on the Ohio 
 River, with instructions to ferret out and punish 
 all guerrilla bands infesting the neighborhood. 
 Major Shook commanded the force, and about the 
 loth of December he sent out Capt. Peck with a 
 squad of men to hunt for Lyon, a troublesome 
 guerrilla in that region. Three of his men — 
 Lieut. Bogard, Serg. Richards, and Corp, Dough- 
 tey — rode some two miles in advance of the 
 scouting party, and they saw a group of men in 
 blue overcoats before them in the road. Riding 
 straight up to them, one of the men inquired 
 what command they belonged to. Lieut. B. re- 
 plied, " To Major Shook's command, at. Casey- 
 ville."' Capt. Stedman, in command of the rejjels, 
 then ordered the three men to surrender. 
 
 " That's played out," coolly replied Serg. Rich- 
 ards ; and drawing his pistol shot Stedman, so 
 that he died next morning. Lieut. Bogard and 
 Corp. Doughtey then fired on two other men. 
 
 and brought them both to the gi-ound. As Lieut. 
 B. was wounded, the Union party now feU back a 
 few yards, when the Lieutenant fell from his 
 horse. His companions, instead of continuing 
 the retreat, now turned their horses and charged 
 upon the hostile party, routing them, and bring- 
 ing off the bodies of the three who had fallen, . 
 The other two besides Stedman proved to be 
 George Henry and Capt, Woodfolk. 
 
 Woodfolk and Stedman were both notorious 
 guerrillas and daring men — the latter having 
 once been employed in the office of the Richmond 
 Examiner, and having on his person a large quan- 
 tity of Confederate money. 
 
 Woodfolk bad once before been captured, 
 brought to Louisville, and condemned to be shot, 
 but by some means had made his escape. Besides 
 killing these three, the party captured four horses, 
 seven pistols, two guns, and seven cavalry equip- 
 ments complete. 
 
 Little Johnny Clem. — Of course you re- 
 member the story of Little Johnny Clem, the 
 motherless atom of a drummer boy, " aged ten," 
 who strayed away from Newark, Ohio ; and the 
 first we knew of him, though small enough to live 
 in a drum, was beating the long roll for the 
 Twenty-second Michigan. At Chickamauga he 
 filled the office of " marker," carrying the guidon 
 whereby they form the lines — a duty having its 
 counterpart in the surveyor's more peaceful call- 
 ing ; in the flag-man, who flutters the red signal 
 along the metes and bounds. On the Sunday of 
 the battle, the little felloAv's occupation gone, he 
 picked up a gun that had fallen from some dying 
 hand, provided himself with ammunition, and be- 
 gan putting in the periods quite on his own ac- 
 count, blazing away close to the ground, like a 
 fire-fly in the grass. Late in the waning day, the 
 waif left almost alone in the whirl of the battle, 
 a rebel Colonel dashed up, and looking down at 
 him, ordered him to surrender. "Surrender!" 
 he shouted, " you little d — d son of a — ! " The 
 words were hardly out of his mouth, when John- 
 ny brought his piece to " order arms," and as his 
 hand slipped down to the hammer, he pressed it 
 back, swung up the gun to the position of 
 " charge bayonet ; " and as the officer raised his 
 sabre to strike the piece aside, the glancing bar- 
 rel lifted into range, and the proud Colonel tum- 
 bled from his horse, his lips fresh-stained with 
 the syllable of vile reproach he liad flung on a 
 mother's grave in the hearing of her child ! 
 
 A few swift moments ticked on by musket- 
 shots, and the tiny gunner was svrept up at a 
 rebel swoop, and borne away a prisoner. Sol- 
 diers, bigger but not better, were taken with him, 
 only to be washed back again by a surge of Fed- 
 eral troopers, and the prisoner of tliirty minutes 
 was again John Clem " of ours ; " and Gen. Rose- 
 crans made him a Sergeant, and the stripes of 
 rank covered him all over, like a mouse in a har- 
 ness ; and the daughter of Mr. Secretary Chase 
 presented him a silver medal, appropriately in- 
 scribed, which he worthily wears — a royal order 
 of honor — upon his left breast. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 161 
 
 A Singular Incident. — A soldier, writing 
 from his camp near Fredericksburg, narrated the 
 following, which occurred while he was on picket 
 duty with his company : — 
 
 It Avas Christmas day and after partaking of a 
 Christmas dinner of salt junk and hard tack, our 
 attention was attracted by a rebel picket who 
 hailed us from the opposite side of the river. 
 
 " I say, Yank, if a fellow goes over there, will 
 you let him come back again 'i " 
 
 Receiving an affirmative answer, he proceeded 
 to test the truth of it by paddling himself across 
 the river. He, was decidedly the cleanest speci- 
 men of a rebel I had seen. In answer to a ques- 
 tion, he said he belonged to the Georgia Legion. 
 One of our boys remarked, " I met quite a num- 
 ber of your boys at South Mountain." 
 
 " Yes, I suppose so — if you were there," said 
 the rebel, while his face grew very sad. " AVe 
 left many of our boys there. My brother, poor 
 Will, was killed there. It was a hot place for a 
 while, and we had to leave it in a hurry." 
 
 " That's so, Georgia ,' your fellows fought well 
 there, and had all the advantage, but the old Key- 
 stone boys were pressing you hard. By the way, 
 I have a likeness here (taking it out of his pocket), 
 that I picked up on the battle-field the next morn- 
 ing, and I have carried it ever since." He hand- 
 ed it to the rebel, who, on looking at it pressed it 
 to his lips exclaiming, " My mother ! my mother ! " 
 
 He exhibited considerable emotion at the re- 
 covery of the picture, but on the recovery of his 
 composure he said that his brother had it in his 
 possession, and must have lost it in the fight. He 
 then asked the name of the one to whom he was 
 indebted for the lost likeness of his mother, re- 
 marking, " There may be better times soon, and 
 we may know each other better." 
 
 He had taken from his pocket a small pocket- 
 bible in which to write the address, when Alex 
 
 , who had taken no part in the conversation, 
 
 fairly yelled, " I knov/ that book ; I lost it at Bull 
 Run ! " 
 
 " Thar's whar I got it, Mr. Yank," said the reb- 
 el, and he handed it to Alex. 
 
 " I am much obliged to you, Georgia Legion ; 
 I would not part with it for all the Southern Con- 
 federacy." 
 
 I Avas a little curious to know something fur- 
 ther of the book, so I asked Alex to let me see It. 
 He passed it to me. I opened it, and on the fly- 
 leaf was written in a neat hand, " My Christmas 
 
 Gift, to Alex , Dec. 25th, 1860. Ella." 
 
 " Well, Alex," said I, " it'is not often one has the 
 same gift presented to him a second time." 
 
 " True, Captain ; and if I could but see the 
 giver of that to-day, there's but one other gift I 
 would want." 
 
 " What's that, Alex ? " 
 
 " This rebellion played out, and my discharge 
 in my pocket." 
 
 The boys had all been busy talking to our reb- 
 el friend, who, seeing a horseman approaching in 
 the direction of his post, bid us a hasty good-by, 
 and made a quick trip across the Rappahannock. 
 Night came on, and those not on duty lay down 
 11 
 
 on the frozen ground to dream of other Christmas 
 nights, when we knew not of war. 
 
 An Incident of Antietam. — D'.iring the 
 battle, Corporal William Roach, of Co. K, Eight- 
 ty-first Pennsylvania, shot a color-sergeant, ran 
 forward of the company, took his cap, and, plac- 
 ing it upon the end of his bayonet, twirled it 
 about, and cried out to his companions, " That is 
 the way to do it," but a member of another compa- 
 ny in the meantime had seized the colors and car- 
 ried them off in triumph. This act was done un- 
 der a heavy fire of musketry, in as cool a manner 
 and with as much deliberation, as if the regiment 
 had been on parade. 
 
 Fighting at Close Quarters. — At the 
 battle of Hanover Court-House, Va., two ser- 
 geants met in the woods : each drew his knife, and 
 the two bodies were found together, each with a 
 knife buried in it to the hilt. Some men had a 
 cool way of disposing of prisoners. One, an offi- 
 cer of the Massachusetts Ninth, well known in 
 Boston as a professor of muscular Christianity, 
 better known as " the child of the regiment/' 
 while rushing through tlie woods at the head of 
 his company, came upon a rebel. Seizing the 
 " gray buck " by the collar, he threw him over 
 his shoulder with " Pick him up, somebody." A 
 little Yankee, marching down by the side of a 
 fence which skirted the woods, came upon a strap- 
 ping secesh, who attempted to seize and pull him 
 over the rails, but the little one had too much 
 science. A blow with the butt of a musket lev- 
 elled secesh to the ground and made him a pris- 
 oner. 
 
 Incidents of Morgan's Raid. — The Morgan 
 raid is ended — the great marauder captured and 
 safely quartered in the Ohio Penitentiary ; the 
 brave militia, who responded so nobly to the gov- 
 ernor's call to rally and drive the invaders from 
 our soil, have returned to their homes, and the 
 narration of adventures is now the order. As 
 every incident connected with the raid is of in- 
 terest, I propose to relate my experience with the 
 raiders, how they looked, and what they said.* 
 
 About an hour before the expedition under 
 Colonel Runkle left, I received from Surgeon 
 Scott a peremptory order to report forthwith for 
 duty on his staff. Reported accordingly at the 
 railroad depot, where Dr. Scott was already wait- 
 ing with sundry ominous looking mahogany boxes, 
 baskets of bandages, lint and other articles neces- 
 sary in the care of sick and wounded. For an 
 hour we waited at the depot, while in the dim 
 starlight, companies and regiments of armed men 
 marched and countermarched, forwarded and 
 halted, and at last about midnight, all were safe- 
 ly stowed away in the cars, and the long train 
 moved off amid enthusiastic cheers. 
 
 Arrived at Hamden about two o'clock. From 
 * From the "Sciota Gazette." 
 
162 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 there we could distinctly see the light of the 
 burning depot at Jackson — evidence unmistaka- 
 ble that we were in the vicinity of " the enemy." 
 Our forces, numbering about 2,000, were unload- 
 ed and got in marching order, and about daylight 
 the column began to move toward Berlin, distant 
 six miles, where it was thought the rebels 
 would pass on their way east from Jackson. 
 Reached a position about half a mile from Berlin 
 about six o'clock A. m., when a report was brought 
 in that the rebs were still in Jackson, and would 
 probably soon be in our vicinity. For a short 
 time there was a little excitement along our col- 
 umn, but this soon died away, and it grew dull 
 and tiresome, lying there by the roadside waiting 
 tor something to turn up. An hour passed away, 
 and yet no rebels in sight or hearing ; so, borrow- 
 ing a couple of horses that our men had " pressed " 
 into the service, Dr. J. D. Miller and myself or- 
 ganized ourselves into an independent scouting 
 party and set out to gather what information we 
 could about the enemy. 
 
 The morning was pleasant, the air pure and 
 bracing, and the excitement just sufficient to ren- 
 der the ride delightful. Learning that a number 
 of scouts had gone out on the Jackson road, we 
 decided to strike south from Berlin to the road 
 leading from Jackson to GaUipolis, which we 
 thought it probable the rebels would take. All 
 along the road the houses were apparently de- 
 serted ; the doors were closed, the window-blinds 
 down, and neither man, woman, child nor horse 
 was to be seen. At one house we could see, 
 through a broken window-pane, the breakfast-ta- 
 ble standing with the morning meal apparently 
 imtouched. The family had probably heard the 
 news of Morgan's approach, and without 
 waiting for his appearance had made a precip- 
 itate retreat. At another, where all was quiet 
 and apparently deserted, on looking back after 
 we had passed, we saw a terrified looking face 
 peeping timidly out from behind a window-blind. 
 The people along that road were evidently en- 
 joying a tremendous scare. 
 
 At length we arrived at the little village of 
 Winchester, on the road leading from Jackson to 
 GaUipolis, and eight miles from the former. It is 
 a pretty hard place, and I'll wager an old hat that 
 its voters are pretty nearly unanimous for Vallan- 
 digham. We had the luck to be mistaken here 
 for a couple of Morgan's men, which I can only 
 account for from the fact that my companion, Dr. 
 J. D. M., is an ardent Vallandighammer. I 
 haven't much doubt, however, but that we fared 
 better than if we had been known as Union 
 scouts. We inquired of a mild-looking old man, 
 if he could tell us where we could get something 
 to eat. He directed us up the street to a little 
 eight-by-ten grocery ; we rode up and found the 
 door locked and the windows barred. After sun- 
 dry vigorous knocks, we got an answer from the 
 proprietor inside, who cautiously unlocked the 
 door, when the following colloquy took place : 
 " Have you any bread V " 
 " No, sir." 
 " Any pies ? " 
 
 " No, sir." 
 " Any crackers ? " 
 " Yes, a few." 
 " Any cheese ? " 
 " Not a bit." 
 
 " Well, give us some crackers, then ;" and 
 with trembling hand he weighed out a pound or 
 so, that might have been a part of the stores in 
 Noah's ark. In the meanwhile a crowd of a doz- 
 en or so of rather variegated specimens of hu- 
 manity gathered around, all eager to learn the 
 news. We ate our crackers and departed toward 
 Jackson, distant eight miles, keeping a sharp look- 
 out from every hill-top for the rebels. We met 
 one young man who advised us not to go any fur- 
 ther on that road ; he had been chased by about 
 twenty-five of Morgan's men. 
 
 " How near did tlaey get to you ? " I asked. 
 " Within about two miles." 
 The young man was evidently a little fright- 
 ened. 
 
 We rode on rapidly about a mile further, when 
 leaving the main road we made a circuit of 
 a mile or so through the fields toward the top of 
 a high hill, from which we had been told we could 
 see into Jackson. On the hill-side we tied our 
 horses to a fence where they were, as we thought 
 well concealed by the brier and other bushes. 
 Walking up to the top of the hill, we found a num- 
 ber of citizens there, eagerly watching the move- 
 ments of the rebels, who could be seen from our 
 position riding through the streets of the town, 
 about a mile distant. In a short time they be- 
 gan to move out on the road we had travelled, 
 and which passed within half a mile of our posi- 
 tion on the hill. Securing the services of a young 
 man to carry a dispatch back to Colonel Runkle, 
 I left Dr. J. D. and the citizens on the hill, and 
 went down to a house by the roadside where 1 
 could have a better view of the rebels and see 
 how they were mounted, armed, &c. 
 
 I had been there but a few minutes when two 
 of the raiders, who were about a quarter of a 
 mile in advance of the main body, came along. 
 Riding up to where I was standing, they inquired 
 the distance to GaUipolis ; what was the nearest 
 point to the river ; whether there was any Union 
 troops about there, &c. I answered their ques- 
 tions so as to leave them rather more in the dark 
 than before, and turning questioner asked them 
 how many men they had. 
 
 " How many do you think we have ? " 
 " There are various reports about your num- 
 ber," I rephed. 
 
 " Well, what is your opinion ? " 
 " I don't think you have more than four or five 
 thousand." 
 
 " Yes, we have over twelve thousand," one of 
 them rephed. 
 
 " You haven't half that number," I answered. 
 " Well we have enough any how to ride through 
 your state without any trouble," said they. 
 
 " You're not through yet," I replied as they 
 moved along. 
 
 Shortly the main body came up, and I began 
 to count them. They rode along rather slowlyi 
 
anp:cdotes, poetry, and incidents. 
 
 163 
 
 several of tliem stopping a few minutes to inquire 
 about the road, the nearest route to the river, &c, 
 but I managed to keep an accurate count until 
 about five hundred had passed, while one of them 
 rode up with the request : 
 
 " Will you be so good as to bring me a drink 
 of water ? " 
 
 He was very polite for a rebel and a horse- 
 thief to boot and if it had not been for the 
 company he was in would have passed for a 
 gentleman. I can't say I liked his polite request, 
 but as it was backed by a pair of revolvers and a 
 carbine, I concluded that it might be promotive of 
 my longevity to comply, so without stopping to 
 argue the matter, I merely remarked, 
 
 " Well sir, I don't like to wait on a rebel, but 
 as you are a prettj^ good-looking man, I guess I 
 can get you a drink." 
 
 Next came a man apparently fifty years of age 
 riding in a buggy with a boy not more than four- 
 teen or fifteen. " Will you please give me a cup 
 of water for my sick boy V " he asked. The boy 
 was evidently quite sick. He was leaning heav- 
 ily against his father, who supported him as well 
 as he could with his left arm. I handed him the 
 cup which he took with a trembling hand, thank- 
 ing me very kindly for it, his eyes speaking more 
 thanks than his lips. He was a fine looking boy, but 
 v/hat a training Avas it that he was receiving ! His 
 father I could see felt very anxious about his con- 
 dition, and to my remark that "that was a hard 
 business for a boy, especially a sick one," he re- 
 plied, " Yes, and I wish we were out of it." My 
 conversation with them was cut short by a fellow 
 with a face that ought to have hung him long 
 ago, who rode up to the fence and sung out, 
 " Here, stranger give me a drink." 
 I took another look at his face, and then at 
 the pair of revolvers in his belt, and concluded 
 that I had better get rid of Jdm as soon as pos- 
 sible ; so I gave him a drink and he went on with- 
 out so much as saying " Thank you." 
 
 By this time quite a number had gathered 
 around the place where I was standing, some 
 wanting water, others bread, others pies, or any- 
 thing else they could get to eat ; while others ap- 
 peared more anxious to learn the nearest road 
 to the river. I told them to go to the well and help 
 themselves to water, and a number of them 
 rode in, while others dismounted, tied their horses 
 to the fence and walked in. Their applications 
 for food were not very successful ; all they got 
 was a cold biscuit and two cold potatoes, — the 
 ladies at the house assuring them that they had 
 nothing else pi'epared. One of the ladies was 
 the mother and the other the wife of Lieut. Col. 
 Dove of the Second (Union) Virginia Cavalry. 
 Col. D. had returned home wounded, a few days 
 before ; but, on hearing of the approach of the 
 raiders, had been taken to some place of con- 
 cealment. The ladies, of course, were uncon- 
 ditional Unionists, and not at all disposed to furnish 
 supphes for such a band of rebel marauders. 
 One fellow rode up and inquired of Mrs. D. if 
 
 " I'll see if I can't find one," he said, as he rode 
 over to the barn on the opposite side of the road. 
 He didn't find a saddle, but there was a good 
 buggy in the barn, to which he harnessed his 
 horse, and driving out into the road, took his 
 place in the ranks and went on, apparently very 
 well pleased with the change in his mode of 
 travelling. 
 
 " What do you think of rebels now ? " inquired 
 a rather jolly-looking young man, as they rode by. 
 
 " Rather a hard-looking set," I answered. 
 _ " Well, 1 haven't seen a good-looking Yankee, 
 since I've been north of the river," he rephed ; 
 at Avhicli the squad he was with felt called upon 
 to indulge in a laugh. 
 
 Another stoj^ped and dismounted near where 
 I was standing to arrange something about his 
 saddle. His horse was small, poor and nearly 
 worn out. 
 
 " If I got my horses as you do," I remarked to 
 him, " I'd ride a better one than that." 
 
 " We can't always get such as we want," said 
 he ; " and they don't raise any good horses 
 through here." 
 
 Another came riding up on what had been 
 one of the finest horses they had — a large and 
 elegantly built iron gray — but very much- worn 
 down. The rebel said he had ridden him ever 
 since they crossed the river — said he wanted a 
 fresh horse, and asked if I had one I'd like to 
 trade. Told him I didn't know but I had. 
 " Where ? " 
 " Across there." • 
 " How far ? " 
 
 " About forty or fifty miles." 
 " I guess I'll not go to-day," he said, as he 
 started off. 
 
 I asked another why they didn't go to Chilli- 
 cothe the day before ? 
 
 "' AVere they looking for us there ? " 
 " I believe some people were." 
 " Well, we're going on through two or three 
 more States, and we'll call as we return," he 
 replied. 
 
 " Provided Hobson isn't in your way^ said. 
 " Hobson wont trouble us," "he ansAvei'ed. " All 
 we know about him is what we see in the daily 
 papers." 
 
 I thought, but didn't say, that it was probable 
 they would have the honor of a more intimate 
 acquaintance ere many days. 
 
 But enough of what they said. A few words 
 about how they looked. 
 
 Personally a majority of them would have 
 been fine-looking men, if they had been washed 
 and respectably dressed ; but they were cov- 
 ered with dust and all looked tired and worn 
 down. Many went nodding along half asleep. 
 A hundred or more wore veils, most of which 
 looked new, and I presume had been talcen from 
 the stores in Jackson ; others had handkerchiefs 
 over their faces to shield them from the dust. I 
 noticed an intelligent looking contraband wear 
 
 ing a fine blue veil, which he raised very grace- 
 there was a saddle about the place that he could j fully, as he rode up to a rebel, whom he accosted 
 get. She told him there was not. I as " massa." Scarcely any two were dressed 
 
164 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 alike. Their clothing was made of butternut 
 jeans, tweed, cassimere, linen, cloth, and almost 
 everything ever used for men's wear. A few — 
 perhaps a dozen — wore blue blouses and pants, 
 such as are worn by United States soldiers. 
 
 A large number of them had various articles 
 of dry goods, — bolts of calico and muslin, pieces 
 of silks and satins, cassimeres, and broadcloths, — 
 tied on behind their saddles. Some had two or 
 three pairs of new boots and shoes hanging about 
 them. I don't think the stock of dry goods left 
 in Jackson could have been very large or 
 varied. 
 
 They were not well armed, as has been re- 
 ported. A few had carbines, many had double- 
 barrel shot guns, some muskets, a small number 
 had revolving rifles, and nearly all had revolving 
 pistols. There were not, I think, a dozen sabres 
 in the whole division. They had three pieces of 
 artillery, — brass six-pounders, — but not a single 
 caisson, so that all the ammunition for these must 
 have been carried in the boxes of the gun-carriages, 
 which would have held but a small supply. 
 
 Their only wagon-train consisted of five light 
 two-horse wagons. In four of these they had 
 sick men ; in the other, carpet-sacks, valises, a 
 few trunks, &c, which I took to be the officers' 
 baggage. 
 
 They did not ride in any regular order, but 
 two, three, four and sometimes eight abreast, just 
 as it happened. The officers wore no badges, or 
 an)i;hing that would distinguish them ftom pri- 
 vates. The last two men in the division rode up 
 to where I was standing, and entered into con- 
 versation. One was perhaps twenty years of age, 
 the other about twenty-five, and both appeared 
 to be intelligent and well-informed. I learned 
 from them that their division was under command 
 of Col. Bushrod Johnson ; that John Morgan and 
 Basil Duke were both with the division that took 
 the Berhn road from Jackson (and with which 
 our boys fought the famous " battle of Berlin 
 Heights.") They admitted that they were very 
 tired, but felt confident they could get safely out 
 of the State. I told them, in the course of the con- 
 versation, that I Avas from Chillicothe, when they 
 said they knew some of our citizens, and, naming 
 them, inquired if I was acquainted with them. 
 Answering in the affirmative, they gave me some 
 friendly messages for their Chillicothe friends and 
 rode on. The name of the elder was George 
 Logan, that of the younger, Lloyd Malone. I did 
 not tell them that oncof their friends was a Major 
 in one of our militia regiments, and about that 
 time was up at Berlin engaging their leader, John 
 Morgan. I have since learned that Malone was 
 until recently, a strong Unionist, and it was only 
 after long continued importunity by his father 
 that he was induced to espouse the rebel cause. 
 
 1 think the number of men in that division was 
 about 2,500, and comprised something more than 
 half of Morgan's entire force. 
 
 As soon as they had all passed, I started up 
 the hill, intending to get my horse and ride back 
 to head-quarters as speedily as possible and re- 
 port to Col. llunkle. I had not gone far when I 
 
 met a badly frightened individual making fast 
 time down the hill. I managed to brinjj him to 
 a halt, and learned from him that a stpiad of the 
 rebels had just passed that way and taken our 
 horses, saddles and bridles, leaving in their stead, 
 two of their worn-down horses, and one mule, 
 but no saddle or bridle. They were-bettcr horse- 
 thieves than I gave them credit for being, or they 
 never would have found our horses, av/ay up 
 there among the brier-bushes. Arriving at the 
 top of the hill, I stopped a short time to consider 
 " the situation." My companion, J. D. I\L, after 
 a liberal application of Jackson county free soil 
 to his hands and face, borrowed an old coat and 
 an old hat, and thus disguised, ventured, with the 
 citizens who had collected on the hill, to go out 
 to the roadside at a point half a mile or so be- 
 yond the house to which I had gone. I have 
 heard, but don't vouch for the truth of the report, 
 that the doctor, in oi'der to insure his personal 
 safely and conciliate the rebs, assured a number 
 of them that he was an ardent Vallandighammer. 
 
 I waited a short time for his return to the place 
 we had left our horses, but he did not come, and 
 I started alone on my way back to camp. He 
 soon afterward returned, however, and secured 
 the horses the rebels had left in place of ours, 
 went to Jackson, and there got a conveyance to 
 head-quarters, where he arrived about ten o'clock 
 that night. 
 
 The rebels did not make anything by that 
 trade — the horses they lefl, as soon as they 
 recover from their fatigue, will be worth more 
 than those they took. 
 
 My march back to camp was not a very pleas- 
 ant one. To save distance, I took across hills 
 and fields and through the woods. The mercury 
 must have been about ninety, and those Jackson 
 hills are high and steep and rough. I tried at 
 several farm-houses to " press " a horse into ser- 
 vice, but always found that Morgan's men had 
 been there just before me. I heard, as I neared 
 Berlin, some exciting stories about the terrific 
 " battle of Berlin Heights " — how there had been 
 heavy cannonading all day, and how our gallant 
 militia had " fought like demons." Arrived at 
 head-quarters about four p. m., and made my re- 
 port to Col. Runkle, well satisfied with my day's 
 scoutinor. 
 
 APOCALYPSE. 
 
 " All hail to the Stars and Stripes ! " 
 
 LUTHER C. LADD.* 
 
 Straight to his heart the bullet crushed, 
 Down from his breast the red blood gushed, 
 And o'er his face a glory rushed. 
 
 A sudden spasm rent his frame, 
 
 And in his ear there went and came • 
 
 A sound as of devouring flame. 
 
 Which in a moment ceased, and then 
 The great light clasped his brows again, 
 So that theyshouc like Stephen's, when 
 
 * Killed at Baltimore, Md., April 19, 18C1. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETIiY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 165 
 
 Saul stood apart a little space, 
 
 And shook with shuddering awe to trace 
 
 God's splendors settling o'er his face. 
 
 Thus, like a king, erect in pride, 
 Raising his hands to heaven, he cried, 
 "All hail the Stars and Stripes ! " and died. 
 
 Died grandly ; but before he fell, 
 (O, blessedness ineffable!) 
 Vision apocalyptical 
 
 Was granted to him, and his eyes, 
 All radiant with glad surprise, 
 Looked forward tlirough the centuries, 
 
 And saw the seeds that sages cast 
 In the world's soil in cycles past, 
 Spring up and blossom at the last ; 
 
 Saw how the souls of men had gi'own, 
 And where the scythes of Truth had mown 
 Clear space for Liberty's white throne ; 
 
 Saw how, by Sorrow tried and proved. 
 The last dark stains had been removed 
 Forever from the land he loved ; 
 
 Saw Treason crushed, and freedom crowned, 
 And clamorous faction gagged and bound, 
 Gasping its life out on tlie ground ; 
 
 While over all his country's slopes 
 Walked swarming troops of cheerful hopes. 
 Which evermore to broader scopes 
 
 Inci-eascd with power that comprehends 
 The world's weal in its own, and bends 
 Self-needs to large, unselfish ends. 
 
 Saw how, throughout the vast extents 
 Of earth's most populous continents. 
 She dropped such rare hsart-affluence. 
 
 That, from beyond the farthest seas. 
 The wondering people thronged to seize 
 Her proffered pure benignities ; 
 
 And how of all her trebled host 
 
 Of widening empires, none could boast 
 
 Whose strength or love was uppermost. 
 
 Because they grew so equal there 
 Beneath the flag, which debonnaire, 
 Waved joyous in the golden air : — 
 
 Wherefore the martyr gazing clear 
 
 Beyond the gloomy atmosphere 
 
 Which shuts us in with doubt and fear, — 
 
 He, marking how her high increase 
 Ran greatening in perpetual lease 
 Through balmy years of odorous Peace 
 
 Greeted in one transcendent cry 
 
 Of intense passionate ecstacy. 
 
 The sight that thrilled him utterly, — 
 
 Saluting with most proud disdain 
 Of murder and of mortal pain. 
 The vision whicli shall be again ; 
 
 So, lifted with ]")ro])]ietic pride. 
 
 Raised conquering hands to heaven and cried, 
 
 "AH hail the Stars and Stripes," and died. 
 
 Clakexce Butler. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln's Kind-heartedness, — A 
 
 correspondent referring to the second capture by 
 the rebels of Benjamin Shultz, a member of the 
 eighth New Jersey Eegiment, mentions the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 An incident connected with Mr. Shultz illus- 
 trates the kind-heartedness of Mr. Lincoln. On 
 his return from his former imprisonmenc, on 
 parole, young Shultz was sent to Camp Parole, 
 at Alexandria. Having had no furlough since 
 the war, efforts were made, without success, to get 
 him_ liberty to pay a brief visit to his friends ; but 
 having faith in the warm-heartedness ' of the 
 President, the young soldier's widowed mother 
 wrote to Mr. Lincoln, stating that he had been 
 in nearly every battle fought by the Army of the 
 Potomac, liad never asked a furlough ; was now 
 a paroled prisoner, and in consequence unable to 
 perform active duties ; that two of his brothers 
 had also served in the army, and asking that he 
 be allowed to visit home, that she might see him 
 once more. Her trust in the President was not 
 unfounded. He immediately caused a furlough 
 to be granted to her son, who, shortly before he 
 was exchanged, visited his famUy to their great 
 surprise and joy. 
 
 " The Spirit op '76."— The lad — for he was 
 but a stripling, thougli he had seen hard service — 
 lay stretched out on the seat of the car. Another 
 lad, of less than twenty summers, with his arm 
 in a sling, came and took a seat behind him, gaz- 
 ing upon him with mournful interest. Looking 
 up to me, for I was accompanying the sick boy 
 to his home, he asked : 
 
 " Is he a soldier ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Of what regiment?" 
 
 " The thirteenth Illinois Cavalry. Are you a 
 soldier '? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Where do you belong ? " In the one-hun- 
 dred and fifth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers." 
 
 " The one-hundred and fifth Regiment ! That 
 sounds well. Illinois is doing nobly." 
 
 " I did belong to the eleventh Illinois Infant- 
 ry." 
 
 "Then how came you in the one-hundred and 
 fifth ? " 
 
 "I was wounded at the battle of Fort Don- 
 elson so that I was pronounced unfit for ser- 
 vice and discharged. But I recovered from my 
 wound, and when they commenced raising this 
 regiment in my neighborhood, I again enlisted. 
 
 Hitherto the sick boy had been perfectly 
 still ; now he slowly turned over, looked up with 
 glistening eyes, stretched forth his hand with the 
 slow movement of a sick man to the top of the 
 seat and without saying a word eagerly grasped 
 the hand of the new recruit. The patriotism 
 that glowed in those vt^an features and prompted 
 those slow, tremulous movements, like electricity 
 ran through every heart. The twice-enlistcJ 
 youth, as soon as he saw his intention, delighted 
 at the appreciation and reflection of his own spii-it, 
 
IGG 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 grasped the outstretched hand, exclaiming " Bully 
 for you ! " 
 
 AVords cannot describe the effect upon the pas- 
 sengers as they saw those hands clasped in token 
 of mutual esteem for love of country; a mutual 
 pledge that each was ready to give his life, his 
 al], for that country. They felt that the spirit of 
 '7G still survived. 
 
 Anecdotes of Stonewall Jackson. — A 
 Yankee captain, captured in the battles beyond 
 Kicbmond, was brought to some brigadier's head- 
 quarters. Being fatigued, he laid down under a 
 tree to rest. Pretty soon Gen. Lee and staff 
 rode up. The Yankee asked who he was, and 
 when told, praised his soldierly appearance in ex- 
 travagant terms. Not long after Jackson and 
 his staff rode up. When told that that was Jack- 
 son, the Y''ankee bounced to his feet in great 
 excitement, showing that he was much more 
 anxious to see Old Stonewall than Lee. He 
 gazed at him a long time. " And that's Stone- 
 wall Jackson ? " " Yes." " Waal, I swan he ain't 
 much for looks ; " and with that he laid down and 
 went to sleep. 
 
 During the same battles, a straggler who had 
 built a nice fire in the old field and was enjoying 
 it all to himself, observed what he took to be a 
 a squad of cavalry. The man in front seemed to 
 be reeling in his saddle. The straggler ran out to 
 him and said, " Look here, old fellow, you are 
 mighty happy. Where do you get your liquor 
 from V Give me some, I'm as dry as a powder- 
 horn." Imagine his feelings when he found it was 
 Jackson — the most ungraceful rider in the army, 
 and who naturally sways from side to side. 
 
 The Makriage in Camp. — Six bold rifle- 
 men clad in blue, with scarlet doublets over the 
 left shoulder, bearing blazing torches ; six glitter- 
 ing Zouaves, with brilliant trappings, sparkling 
 in tlic light ; and then the hollow square, where 
 march the bridegroom and bride ; then seven 
 j-ows of six groomsmen in a row, all armed cap-a- 
 pie, with burnished weapons, flashing back the 
 lustre of the Zouave uniform ; and all around 
 the grand regiment darkening the white tent- 
 folds, as their ruddy faces are but half disclosed 
 between the red and yellow glare of the fires, 
 and the soft, silver light of the May-moon. (This 
 is all you will bear in mind, out on the broad, 
 open air. The encampment occupies a conically- 
 shaped hill-top, flanked around the rear crescent 
 by a wood of fan-leaved maples sprinkled with 
 blossoming dogberries, and looking out at the 
 cone upon the river-swards below. The plain is 
 full of mounds and ridges, save where it bulges 
 in the centre to a circular elevation perfectly flat, 
 around which, like fa9ades about a court-yard, 
 are arrayed the spiral tents, illuminated in honor 
 of the coming nuptials.) The bride is the 
 daughter of the regiment ; the to-be-husband a 
 favorite sergeant. Marching thus, preceded by 
 
 two files of sixes, and followed by the glittering 
 rows of groomsmen, the little cortege has moved 
 out of the gi-eat tent on the edge of the circle, 
 and comes slowly, amid the bold strains of the 
 grand " Mid-summer-Night's Dream," towards 
 the regimental chaplain. 
 
 You have seen the colored prints of Jenny 
 Lind on the back of the music of " Vive la 
 France." You have noted the light-flowing hair, 
 the soft Swiss eye, the military bodice, the 
 coquettish red skirt, and the pretty buskined 
 feet and ankles underneath. The print is not 
 unlike the bride. She Avas fair-haii-ed, blue 
 eyed, rosy-cheeked, darkened in their hue by 
 exposure to the sun, in just the dress worn by 
 les Jilles du regiment. She was formed in that 
 athletic mould which distinguishes the Amazon 
 from her opposite extreme of frailty. You could 
 not doubt her capacity to undergo the fatigues 
 and hardships of a campaign, but your mind did 
 not suggest to your eye those grosser and more 
 mascuhne qualities which, whilst girting the 
 woman with strength, disrobe her of the purer, 
 more effeminate traits of body. You saw before 
 you a young gii-1, apparently about eighteen 
 years of age, with clear, courageous eye, quiver- 
 less lip, and soldierly tread, a veritable daughter 
 of the regiment. You have seen Caroline Kich- 
 ings and good old Peter (St. Peter !) march over 
 the stage as the corporal and la Jille. Well, this 
 girl, ban'ing the light flaxen hair, would remind 
 you of the latter drilling a squad of grenadiers. 
 
 The bridegroom was of the same sanguine, 
 Germanic temperament as the bride. As he 
 marched, full six-feet in I'.eight, wilh long, light- 
 colored beard, high cheek-bones, aquiline nose, 
 piercing, deeply-studded blue eye, bread shoul- 
 ders, long arms, sturdy legs, feet and hands of a 
 laborious development, cocked hat with blue 
 plume, dark blue frock, with bright scarlet 
 blanket, tartan fashion over the shoulder, small 
 sword, you would have taken him for a hero df 
 Sir Walter. Faith, had Sir Walter seen him, he 
 himself would have taken him. In default, how- 
 ever, of Sir Walter, I make bold to appropriate 
 him as a hero on the present occasion. Indeed, 
 he was a hero, and looked it, every inch of him, 
 leading that self-sacrificing girl up to the regi- 
 mental chaplain, with his robe, and surplice, and 
 great book, amid the stare of a thousand anxious 
 eyes, to the music of glorious old Mendelssohn, 
 and the beating of a thousand earnest hearts ! 
 
 The music ceased ; a silence as calm as the 
 silent moon held the strange, wild place ; the 
 fires seemed to sparkle less noisily in reverence ; 
 and a little white cloud paused in its course 
 across the sky to look down on the group below ; 
 the clear voice of the preacher sounded above 
 the suppressed breathing of the sjicctators, and 
 the vague burning of the fagot heaps ; a few 
 short words, a few heartfelt prayers, the formal 
 legal ceremonial and the happy " Amen. " It 
 was done. The pair were man and wife. In 
 rain or sunshnie,. joy or sorrow, for weal or woe, 
 bone of one bone, and flesh of one flcsli, forever 
 and ever, amen ! 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 16; 
 
 Splitting the Difference. — As soon as 
 the West Virginia State bill passed Congress, Mr. 
 Cai'lisle, true to his purpose, went at once to the 
 President. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Lincoln," said he, " you must veto 
 that bill." 
 
 " Well, said the honest president, with just the 
 least bit in the world of humor, "I'll tell you 
 what I'll do, I'll split the difference and say noth- 
 ing about it." 
 
 Heroic Conduct of Two Ladies. — The 
 conduct of two young ladies at Danville, on the 
 occasion of the arrival of the rebels at that place 
 was equal to Spartan courage. For many 
 months a beautiful specimen of the national flag 
 had floated from the residence of Mrs. Taylor, 
 an estimable widow lady, and when the rebels 
 took possession of Danville, it was but natural 
 that they should seek to remove the hated em- 
 blem. A squad of half-a-dozen men was sent to 
 Mrs. Taylor's residence, to take possession of the 
 flag, but they were confronted at the door of the 
 residence by Miss Maria and Miss Mattie Taylor, 
 the two accomplished and charming daughters of 
 the patriotic widow, the young ladies announcing 
 their determination to defend the cherished ban- 
 ner. The chivah'ous half-dozen returned to 
 their commander and reported that, it would 
 require a force equal to a full company to cap- 
 ture the flag, and a company was accordingly 
 dispatched to make the capture. Arriving in 
 front of Mrs. Taylor's residence, the commander 
 of the company demanded the surrender of the 
 flag ; but the two young ladies again made their 
 appearance, bearing the flag between them, each 
 armed with a revolver. In response to the de- 
 mand for the flag, the ladies informed their per- 
 secutors that they would never surrender it to 
 rebels, and, drawing their pistols, vowed that 
 they would shoot the first rebel that polluted the 
 sacred emblem with his foul touch. The compa- 
 ny of rebels retired, leaving the ladies in quiet 
 possession of their flag. 
 
 YANKEE VANDALS. 
 
 Air — " Gay and Happy." 
 
 The Northern Abolition vandals, 
 Who have come to free the slave, 
 Will meet their doom la " Old Virginny,' 
 Where they all will get a grave. 
 
 So let the Yankees say what they will, 
 We'll love and fight for Dixie still, 
 Love and fight for, love and fight for, 
 We'll love and fight for Dixie still. 
 
 They started for Manassas Junction, 
 With an army full of fight, 
 But they caught a Southern tartar, 
 And they took a bully flight. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 ' Old Fuss and Feathers " could not save them, 
 All their boasting was in vain, 
 
 Before the Southern steel they cowered, 
 And their bodies strewed the plain. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 The " Maryland Line " was there as ever. 
 With their battle-shout and blade, 
 They shed new lustre on their mother, 
 When that final charge they made. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 Old Abe may make another effort, 
 For to take his onward way. 
 But his legions then as ever, 
 Will be forced to run away. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 Brave Jeff and glorious Beauregard, 
 With dashing Johnston, noble, true. 
 Will meet their hireling hosts again, 
 And scatter them like morning dew. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 When the Hessian horde is driven, 
 O'er Potomac's classic flood, 
 The pulses of a new-born freedom 
 Then will stir old Maryland's blood. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 From the lofty Alleghanies, 
 To old Worcester 's sea-washed shore, 
 Her sons will come to greet the victors, 
 There in good old Baltimore. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 Then with voices light and gladsome, 
 We will swell the choral strain, 
 Telhng that our dear old mother. 
 Glorious Maryland's free again. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 Then we'll crown our warrior chieftains. 
 Who have led us in the fight, 
 And have brought the South in triumph 
 Through dread danger's troubled night. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 And the brave who nobly perished, 
 Struggling in the bloody fray. 
 We'll weave a wreath of fadeless lam'el, 
 For their glorious memory. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 O'er their graves the southern maidens, 
 From sea-shore to mountain grot. 
 Will plant the smiling rose of beauty, 
 And the sweet forget-me-not. 
 So let the Yankees, etc. 
 
 Story of the One- Armed. — A soldier in 
 the general hospital at Fredericksburg, a day or 
 two after the battle in December, 1862, wrote as 
 follows: — Having lost my right arm on last 
 Saturday, on that fatal " inchned plane " in front 
 of Fredericksburg, I am obliged to employ an 
 amanuensis to reUeve my brain, which under the 
 stknulus of some reactionary fever, must find^ 
 legitimate work, or it will go off into all sorts of 
 phantasies, or, perhaps, fall into a melancholy 
 mood not at all productive of " healing by first 
 intention," as the doctors call a speed}- cure. I 
 don't know what I can do better than to set down 
 
168 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 some of my experiences, -which, I doubt not, are 
 unfortunately or fortunately, as the case may be, 
 similar to those of hundreds of my fellow-victims. 
 It matters not to Avhat particular regiment I be- 
 long, seeing that it is a Philadelphia regiment, 
 and not altogether unknown to fame. Strange 
 as it may seem, my recollections of Saturday, 
 until four o'clock in the afternoon, are confused 
 and indistinct . I remember well enough of be- 
 ing roused before dayhght, from a very profound 
 sleep upon the sidewalk in Fredericksburg by the 
 sudden boom of cannon, and that, at short in- 
 tervals, the firing continued till after sunrise, 
 when the crash of small-arms began to betoken 
 close quarters, and the air seemed to groan in 
 unison as in the agony of an elemental dissolu- 
 tion. 
 
 Column after column of marching men went 
 past in all the buoyancy of high hope, courage in 
 their hearts, and determination in every linea- 
 ment of their faces. Following every regiment 
 were the litter-bearers, with their ready stretch- 
 ers jauntily slung upon their shoulders ; and 
 I remember well of calculating in my own mind 
 the chances of each man for an exit from the 
 fi-ont upon one of those humane inventions. 
 
 By and by the litter-bearers returned, burden- 
 ed with mangled, bleeding men, and from the 
 great numbers carried off 1 calculated the stub- 
 bornness of the resistance to our advance to 
 Eichmond. I was not excited ; I was not fear- 
 ful ; I was simply apathetic, while awaiting the 
 order to advance. At last it came — clear 
 and distinct, but not loud, the words came : — 
 " Attention, Battalion ! " Instantly the line closed 
 with a steady straight front, and every man 
 stood erect with suspended breath for the next 
 command. Nor did we wait long. " Battalion 
 right face, forward, quick, march ! " and we were 
 off. 
 
 Forward we went until we cleared the streets 
 of the town and arrived opposite the batteries 
 on the hill on our left, when at the command, 
 " By the left flank, march ! " we changed our 
 direction to the front, and faced the fire before 
 us, advanced to the lines of the brigade that pre- 
 ceded us from' town ; but soon the smoke obscured 
 the view of everything, save the flashes of the 
 batteries before us, and the sparkle of .the mus- 
 ketry in the dim sulphurous twilight of the bat- 
 tle, until the receding lines, in faUing back, pro- 
 duced a mingled mass of retreating and advanc- 
 ing men. " Steady men, — forward ! "' rang out 
 the voice of our commander ; and disentangled 
 from the retreating fugitives, we steadily bore on 
 until we neared the batteries, and with a cheer 
 we sprang forward, but that instant a line of fire 
 leaped out from behind a stone wall close in our 
 front, and — I don't remember anything more 
 about it. My next recollections were of a con- 
 fused and mixed character ; one moment I would 
 seem perfectly conscious of something, the next 
 of nothing. Then I would imagine I was at 
 home, and half asleep, while all the house was 
 astir with some past or anticipated catastrophe 
 with which I was in some wav connected. All 
 
 was dark, and a gi-eat load seemed to press me 
 down and glue me to the ground In spite of all 
 my efforts to rise. 
 
 I could hear voices, but none familiar and but 
 one that seemed spoken by human kind, or had 
 a human chord of sympathy in it. Then I felt 
 something force open my jaws, and some fluid 
 trickle into my throat, which I managed to swal- 
 low to prevent stranghng, and it still trickled 
 down, and I still painfully swallowed, hoping, 
 praying that it would stop ; but It did not until 
 I recognized that it was some strong spirit that I 
 was taking and that I was becoming more able to 
 swallow it. All this time I could hear the kind 
 voice encouraging me, also some cold unsympa- 
 thlzlng voices ; but I could not distinguish what 
 they said. Only by the tone could I tell the 
 sympathetic from the unsympathetic. At last I 
 distinguished the words, in part, of one who said, 
 " It's no use working with him. He's dying 
 now." Quietly, but oh, so earnestly and sym- 
 pathlzingly the kind voice replied, " No, doc- 
 tor, he IS not dying ; he is coming to life ; he 
 will live if we don't give him up ; this hurt 
 of his head wont amount to anjthing if we can 
 get him warmed up ; don't you see he has been 
 nearly frozen to death, while faint fr-om loss of 
 blood;, but he is coming on finely, and by and 
 by you can take off his arm, and the man may 
 get well. Who knows but he has a mother or a 
 sister to love him, and thank you or me some day 
 for a son or brother saved." 
 
 Yes, I was saved ; I understood It all now ; I 
 remembered the battle and my state, its doubt- 
 less consequence, and, for the sake of that dear 
 mother and sister so strangely invoked, with an 
 effort I succeeded in opening my eyes once more 
 to the light of the sun on earth. At first the 
 light confused me, but soon I could distinguish 
 three surgeons beside me, looking at me with 
 some curiosity, if not interest. On the opposite 
 side, as I lay on the ground, in a large tent, kneel- 
 ed a looman, who, with her left hand, supported 
 my head, while with her right she held a spoon, 
 with which, at short intervals, she dipped the 
 warm fluid from a cup held by a mere boy-sol- 
 dier, who seemed her special attendant. 
 
 I tried to speak, but could not, and she merely 
 shook her head to discourage my efforts, and, 
 turning to her attendant, said : — " Now, Johnny, 
 the beef soup," and in a minute the soup was 
 substituted for the toddy, and I gi-adually felt 
 life and the love of it returning. After further 
 eflbrt to look about me, I saw that there was a 
 basin of water beside me, with a sponge in it, 
 and from the blood on the lady's hands, I inferred 
 what I afterwards learned to be the truth, that 
 she had been engaged in washing the blood 
 from my head and face, when she discovered 
 that what had seemed on a superficial view to be 
 a most desperate wound of the head, including 
 the skull, was but a mere scalp Avound, which 
 bled pi'ofusely, and doubtless made a most un- 
 l)romising case for surgery at first view — a view 
 very tiat'ural Indeed, taking into consideration 
 the' state of my stupor. Gradually I i-ecovered 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCmENTS. 
 
 169 
 
 strength, until after sufficient reaction, my shat- 
 tered arm was amputated, and I am doing as 
 ■well as could be expected. I was, it seems, struck 
 both in the head and arm by pieces of the same 
 projectile, whatever it may have been, and lay 
 senseless on the field till late in the night, when 
 I was found by some humane litter-bearers, and 
 carried to the city; and then, before being 
 dressed, was put into an ambulance and carried 
 over here, where, among the hundreds similarly 
 brought, I was necessarily obliged to await my turn 
 and thank God when my turn did come I fell into 
 good hands — a woman's hands at that. In that 
 place even in the roar and din and carnage of 
 battle, was found a woman with a heart to dare 
 danger and sympathize with the battle-struck- 
 en, and sense and skill and experience enough 
 to make her a treasure beyond all price. May the 
 choicest blessings of Heaven be hers in all time 
 to come ! I have since observed her in her ministra- 
 tion s here, and she does indeed, seem gifted in a 
 most wonderful degree for scenes like this, or else a 
 hard school of sufiering has made her the strange 
 womaii she is. To the wounded she is all sym- 
 pathy and kindness, but let any one not a patient 
 attempt familiarity, even in jest, and her black 
 eyes ilash such an indignant rebuke as is hardly 
 equalled by her cool cutting rejoinder. , More 
 than one shoulder-strapped puppy has had oc- 
 casion to rue the time he intruded his remarks 
 upon her. I have learned that she has been in 
 the army ever since the war broke out, nursing 
 the sick and wounded, and " ever in front." Hos- 
 pitals in the rear are no place for her. 
 
 Dr. McDonald, of the Seventy-ninth New 
 York Volunteers, the Surgeon in charge here, has 
 placed her in charge of the supphes and stores, 
 and most efficiently does she deal them out. 
 Many a " poor wounded soldier " would lack his 
 timely stimulant, soup or delicacies, if she did 
 not pass through the tents at all hours of the 
 day and night, for they say she seldom sleeps. Dr. 
 McDonald has known her long as the matron 
 of the One Hundredth Pennsylvania, or as it is 
 better known the Roundhead Regiment which 
 has been in South Carolina with the Seventy- 
 ninth New York Regiment, and is still with it 
 in the same division and he informs me that, on 
 on that fatal day of -Gen. Benham's defeat, on 
 James Island, she performed incredible labors 
 just as she does here. And yet she has never 
 been a ^jaiV/ nurse. She is a member of her 
 regiment," she says, and it is only because it 
 does not require her services that she works for 
 others. 
 
 For all the labors, and privations, and suffer- 
 ings of her campaigning life she receives no pay ; 
 she draws her rations as. a private soldier, and 
 the private soldiers who know her almost wor- 
 ship her. 
 
 I overheard one say to-day, that he would 
 kill, as he would kill a dog, the man who would 
 dare insult her, even in thought ; and I believe it. 
 War produces great developments of character, 
 and Miss Nellie Isl. Chase is a most notable in- 
 stance of it. She is not yet twenty-four years old, 
 
 but in experience as a nurse or hospital matron, on 
 the battle-field, I think she has no living equal. 
 She may not thank me for this notice of her great 
 services : I don't* think she will, for she dislikes 
 notoriety, and never mingles m the " society of the 
 army," nor permits intimacies nor attentions from 
 any but those who have adopted her and protected 
 her. But the world has a right to know its he- 
 roines, as well as its heroes, and hers is a name 
 that must at least be known as widely as that of 
 the veteran regiment of which she is a member. 
 
 But gratitude for life preserved, has led me 
 from my way, and I return to it to state my fur- 
 ther experience of" wounded and in general hos- 
 pital," as the next tri-monthly report of my regi- 
 ment will have me accounted for. We are 
 placed in large " hospital tents," in a secluded 
 valley near Falmouth Station, and receive all 
 the care and attention that such accommodations 
 admit ; but, without doubt a " cold snap " would 
 soon " reduce the number of inmates " to less than 
 a moiety of their j^resent " muster." 
 
 The brain that would work, or do mischief, 
 an hour ago, grows weary now, and I must wait 
 another time to tell the further story of the — 
 
 One-Ahmed. 
 
 THE WOODS OF TENNESSEE. 
 
 The whip-poor-will is calling 
 
 From its perch on splintered lirab, 
 And the plaintive notes are echoin' 
 
 Through the aisles of the forest dim ; 
 The slanting threads of starlight 
 
 Are silvering shrub and tree, 
 And the spot where the loved are sleeping. 
 
 In the woods of Tennessee. 
 
 The leaves are gently rustling, 
 
 But they're stained with a tinge of red - 
 For they proved to many a soldier 
 
 Their last and lonely bed. 
 As they prayed in mortal agony 
 
 To God to set them free, 
 Death touched them with his finger 
 
 la the woods of Tennessee. 
 
 In the list of the killed and wounded, 
 
 Ah, me ! alas ! we saw 
 The name of our noble brother, 
 
 Who went to the Southern war. 
 He fell in the tide of battle 
 
 On the banks of the old " Hatchie," 
 And rests 'neath the Avild grape arbors 
 
 In the woods of Tennessee. 
 
 There's many still forms lying 
 
 In their forgotten graves, 
 On tlie green slope of the hill-sides. 
 
 Along Potomac's waves ; 
 But the memory will be ever sweet 
 
 Of him so dear to me, 
 On his country's altar offered, 
 
 In the woods of Tennessee. 
 
 A Battle in the Air. — During the heat 
 of the battle of Chickamauga, an owl, alarmed at 
 the unusual tempests of sounds, was frightened 
 
170 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 from liis usual haunts. Two or three crows spied 
 him at once, and made pursuit, and a battle en- 
 sued. 
 
 The contest was observed by an Irishman of 
 the Tenth Tennessee, which was at the time hot- 
 ly engaged. Pat ceased firing, dropped the 
 breach of his gun to the ground and exclaimed 
 in astonishment, " Moses, what a country ! The 
 very birds in the air are fighting." 
 
 Reading the Lists. — At the door of the 
 Chronicle Office in Washington was a bulletin 
 board, on which proof-slips of important tele- 
 grams were posted. 
 
 Passing the other day, said a correspondent, 
 I found an old man there alone. Tall, erect, 
 firm of mouth, tender of eye, nervous of nosti-il, 
 of speech quick — he looked fifty or sixty years 
 of age, and like a master mechanic. He stood close 
 to the board slowly rolling a lead pencil down the 
 list of killed and intently following it with his eye. 
 He turned as he heard my step. " Young man, 
 let me use your eyes a minute." " Certainly, 
 sir," I answered. " I've lost my glasses — I've got 
 a boy in the army — we first heard he was wound- 
 ed and then we heard he was killed — help me." 
 He told me the name of the regiment — the twelfth 
 New Jersey. I ran down the half column of 
 " dead." " Not there," I said. " Ah 1 " — sharp and 
 reserved^ but there Avas a long relieving breath 
 thereafter. Then I began the columns of " wound- 
 ed." Down the first one — down the second one 
 — slowly, a little nervously, for I heard the la- 
 bored breathing of the firm-mouthed old man 
 close at my side, and through his dress and bear- 
 ing was looking into his Newark home. Three 
 or four inches down the third column I found the 
 name. He knew I had found it before I took 
 my finger from the paper. " Well ? " — The boy 
 is a hero if he is like his father. " In the arm 
 and in Judiciary Square Hosi^ital," was my 
 answer. I left him at the gate of the square. 
 Next day I called at the hospital. The old man 
 met mo at the door. " All right ; left arm just 
 above the elbow : I've got him a furlough, and 
 we go home to-morrow morning." I shall not 
 soon forget the proud tone in his voice as he said 
 that "allriiiht." 
 
 Man's Life to Himself. —I noticed upon the 
 hurricane-deck, said a letter-writer, an elderly 
 darkey with a very philosophical and retrospec- 
 tive cast of countenance, squatted upon his bundle 
 toasting his shins against the chimney, and appar- 
 rently plunged in a state of deep meditation. 
 Finding upon inquiry that he belonged to the 
 Ninth Illinois, one of the most gallantly behaved 
 and heavily losing regiments at the Fort Donelson 
 battle, and part of which was aboard, I began to 
 interrogate him upon the subject. His philoso- 
 phy was so much in the Falstafiian vein that I 
 will give his views in his own words, as near as 
 my memor>- serves me. 
 
 "Were vou in the fi^ht?" 
 
 " Had a little taste of it, sa." 
 
 " Stood your ground, did you ? " 
 
 " No, sa, I runs." 
 
 " Run at the first fire, did you ?" 
 
 " Yes, — sa, and I would have run soona, had I 
 knoad it war coming." 
 
 " Why, that wasn't very creditable to your 
 courage." 
 
 " Dat isn't in my line, sa -^ cookin's my pro- 
 feshun." 
 
 " Well but have you no regard for your repu- 
 tation ? " 
 
 " Reputation's nofin by the side of life." 
 
 " Do you consider your life worth more than 
 other people's." 
 
 " It's worth more to me sa." 
 
 " Then you must value it very highly ! " 
 
 " Yes, sa, I does — more dan all dis world — 
 more dan a million ob dollas sa, for what would 
 that be wuth to a man with the bref out of him ? 
 Self preserbashum am the first law wid me." 
 
 " But why should you act upon a different rule 
 from other men ? " 
 
 " Because different men set different values 
 upon dar lives — mine is not in the market." 
 
 " But if you lost it, you would have the satis- 
 faction of knowing that you died for your 
 country." 
 
 " What satisfaction would dat be to me when 
 de power of feelin' was gone ? " 
 
 " Then patriotism and honor are nothing to 
 you ? " 
 
 " Nuffin whatever, sa, — I regard them as 
 among de vanities." 
 
 " If our soldiers were like you, traitors might 
 have broken up the government without resist- 
 ance." 
 
 " Yes, sa, dar would have been no help for it. 
 I would'nt put my head in de scale, 'gainst no 
 gobernment dat eber existed, for no gobernment 
 could replace de loss to me." 
 
 " Do you think any of your company would 
 have missed you if you had been killed ? " 
 
 " May be not, sa — a dead white man ain't 
 much to dese sogers, let lone a dead nigga — but 
 I'd a miss myself, and dat was de pint wid me." 
 
 It is safe to say that the dusky corpse of that 
 African will never darken the field of carnage. 
 
 Incident of Antietam. — In a small clump 
 of woods near the battle field, the body of a dead 
 Union soldier in a pai'tially upright position, was 
 found resting against a tree. 
 
 The expression of the man's countenance was 
 perfectly natural — in fact he appeared as if he 
 was only asleep. Alongside of him was an old 
 and worn Bible, which the poor fellow, knowing 
 his time had come, was reading, and in this way, 
 a soldier and Chi'istian he died ; and now, with 
 thousands of others, his grave is unknown. 
 
 Soldier Morals. — General Sherman seemed 
 to understand that a " hungry soldier has no 
 morale or morals ;" for when he caught a lad in 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 171 
 
 blue in his wagon one night abstracting there- 
 i'rom a large sugar-cured ham, he asked him 
 kindly and without show of anger, " Have you 
 no meat ? " " None," said the soldier ; " the regi- 
 ment is one day behind on rations, and the com- 
 missary doesn't want to make extra issues." 
 " Take the ham then," said Sherman as he re- 
 sumed his cigar, " and whenever you need any 
 more come to me and ask for them." 
 
 THE MEETING ON THE BORDEE. 
 
 The civil war had just begun, 
 
 And caused much consternation, 
 "While O. P. Morton governed one 
 
 Great State of this great nation, 
 So it did. 
 
 Magoffin governed old Kentuck, 
 
 And Dennison Ohio ; 
 And no three humans had more pluck 
 
 Than this puissant trio, 
 
 So they hadn't. 
 
 Magoffin was the leading man : 
 
 He telegraphed to Perry, 
 And writ, by post, to Dennison, 
 
 To meet him in a huriy, 
 
 So he did. 
 
 And Dennison and Morton too, 
 
 Believed they had good reason 
 To fear Magoffin sought to do 
 
 Some hellish act of treason. 
 
 So they did. 
 
 But they concluded it was best 
 
 To do as he demanded, 
 So they would have a chance to test 
 
 The question, " Is he candid ? " 
 
 So they did. 
 
 And Morton, with some trusty chaps, 
 
 Went up to see " Megaffin ; " 
 At 6 A. 51. they took their traps. 
 
 And off they went a-puffin'. 
 
 So they did. 
 
 Magoffin 4 a. m. did fix, 
 
 By post and by the wire ; 
 But when the hour had come — why nix 
 
 Comehraus was he — Beriah, 
 
 So he was. 
 
 And then could you have heard them swear ! 
 
 Them chaps along with Perry ; 
 They cussed, and stamped, and pulled their hair, 
 
 For they were angry — very, 
 
 So they were. 
 
 And when they found that they were sold. 
 
 And saw no chance for fighting. 
 They took a train that they controlled. 
 
 And home they went a-kiting. 
 
 So they did. 
 
 At 2 A. M. the scamp did come. 
 
 But didn't let them know it ; 
 And so, at three, they started home, 
 
 And when they start, they "go it," 
 So they do. 
 
 No matter what they find to do, 
 'Tis done with all their power ; 
 
 What other men will do in two. 
 They'll do in just one hour. 
 
 So they will. 
 
 And now if they could mix his " todd," 
 They'd put some pizcn stuff in, 
 
 And serve their country and their God, 
 By kilUng off "Meguffin," 
 
 So they would. 
 
 And serve the devil, too, as well. 
 
 By sending him, a traitor. 
 To roast eternally in hell, 
 
 As Pat would roast a tater. 
 
 So they would. 
 
 Just give them chaps a half a chance — 
 
 Let them but lay a hand on 
 A traitor, and he'll have to dance, 
 
 With atmosphere to stand on, 
 So he will. 
 
 But those who love old Uncle Sam, 
 Thet love and in their greeting 
 
 They show it, and in every palm. 
 You feel the heart a beating. 
 
 So you do. 
 
 For patriots are brothers all — 
 
 Alike our flag they cherish ; 
 With it, aloft, they bear the scroll ; 
 
 " Let every traitor perish," 
 
 So they do. 
 
 Stonewall Jackson. — Thomas Jefferson 
 Jackson was a psychological event. With him it 
 was but one splendid leap from bed to battery, 
 from the stagnations of a sickly fancy to the in- 
 spirations of a robust and exclusive feme. The 
 energies that slept in the sluggish, dull cadet — 
 in the uninteresting, morose professor, — the 
 querulous, tedious hypochondriac — the formal 
 and severe elder — the odd and awkward man — 
 not walking, " only getting along," and talking to 
 himself — awoke with a bound of joy at the call 
 of the trumpets, at the waving of the banners, 
 once more to exult with the bayonets, as at Con- 
 treras; among the batteries, as at Cherubusco 
 and Chepultepec. Nor any the less ready, if the 
 trumpet were the trumpet of the Spirit, and the 
 banner the banner of the Lord. The modern 
 covenanter, who, debating all day, and praying 
 all night, dashed into the smoke of the argument 
 with his loyal father-in-law, to convert him to se- 
 cession, and the inspired rebel, who, praj-ing all 
 night, and fighting all day, repelled, rocklike, 
 the shock of the Union charge at Bull Run, were 
 the same — and both were most like that Richard 
 Cameron, who cried, three times above the din and 
 dust of his last fight, " Lord, spare the green and 
 take the ripe ! " — that Richard Cameron, imder 
 whose head, as placid as John the Baptist's, and as 
 bloody — under whose reeking hands, no more to 
 fight with Bible or with sword, some admiring en- 
 emy had inscribed, " Here hang the remains of 
 one who hved praying and preaching, and died 
 praying and fighting ! " And so of the man, Avho, 
 
172 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 praj'ing, smote Shields at Cross Keys and Port 
 Republic, taking revenge for Winchester; who, 
 praying, drove Banks pell-mell out of the Valley 
 and across the Potomac ; who, praying, stormed 
 Harper's Ferry with a feu d'enfer ; and, still 
 watching and praying, thundered in our rear at 
 Richmond and Bull Run the second, at Freder- 
 icksburg and Chancellorsville. Of this muscular 
 Christian his admiring foes competed in phraseol- 
 ogies of generous praise, " forgetting his fatal er- 
 ror to applaud the greatness of his soul." They 
 recounted with genial iteration the separate vir- 
 tues of the man — his courage, his patience, his 
 sincerity, his devotion, his singleness of purpose, 
 his self-abnegation, his just obedience, and his 
 faith in God ; of the Christian, the simplicity of 
 his every word and act, liis perfect truthfulness, 
 his mildness and his mercy, his religious enthusi- 
 asm, his continual prayerfulness, his almost super- 
 stitious observance of the Sabbath, his iron rule 
 of duty, and " first, last, and all the time," his 
 faith in God ; of the soldier, his intrepidity, his 
 modesty, his magnanimity. Ills fury in the fight, 
 and his generosity in victory, his stable bearing 
 in reverse, his tenderness toward his own wounded 
 and the wounded of the enemy — how he shared 
 the privations of his men, setting them examples of 
 endurance and devotion ; his calmness " among 
 the shrieking shells and the death-lights of the 
 battle ; " the absolute fearlessness of hisdemeanor, 
 as of one who knew what his men hoped, that the 
 Almighty would not sound his recall until his 
 work'was done; of the General — his celerity, 
 his ubiquit)-, his momentum, his forced marches, 
 his " thundering in the rear," his indomitable 
 will,Jthe magic of his personal influence, and " how 
 his cause did hang upon his heart." We have 
 been told (still by his enemies), of his splendid 
 oi-jginality, his military genius, as bold as it was 
 modest. " Every time we have been seriously 
 threatened," writes a loyal chaplain, " he did it 
 — no one else has done it. The first time I saw 
 his face my heart sank within me. His moral 
 brain is grand." 
 
 We have heard on every hand that the men 
 idohzed him, not so much for what he did, as for 
 how he did it. He thought as little of the glory 
 as of the danger, and his impulse sprang less from 
 patriotism than from piety. An eminent North- 
 ern divine, a representative man in the ranks of 
 the rebel enemies, has defined Jackson's motive 
 as a " solemn feeling of obligation to his Maker who 
 he thought had called him to this mission." He 
 was sublimely impersonal — incapable of pride, 
 insensible to praise, unconscious of criticism — 
 " serving God," as he supposed, and going straight 
 on. The applause that took the form of cheers 
 embarrassed him absurdly; and when the cap- 
 tured garrison at Harper's Ferry greeted him with 
 that spontaneous burst with which the heart of 
 the true soldier salutes the soldier of true heart, 
 his confusion was only exceeded by his surprise. 
 He afterward expressed to his prisoners his 
 sense of the extraordinary compUment in the elo- 
 quent language of double rations. 
 
 His religious character, and in equal degree with 
 
 his military qualities, impressed itself upon hig 
 command ; not an officer or private of the old 
 Stonewall Brigade but shut down " the soldier's 
 safety-valve" (as some rough definer has styled 
 hard swearing) within the hearing of his Gen- 
 eral. His supplication before battle to the God 
 of battles, for inspiration and strength — his 
 thanks, when the day was won or lost, for victory 
 or preservation ; his " camp-meetings " among 
 his men ; the almost invariable formula with 
 which he introduced his brief and plain dis- 
 patches, " By the blessing of Almighty God we 
 have had a success," — these were traits not less 
 characteristic of this rebel General Jackson than 
 the famous "By the Eternal!" of his loyal 
 and self-sufficient namesake. So likewise, were 
 the " Very good, very good — it's all right ! " 
 with which he received his death-warrant from 
 the lips of his agonized wife : and, before that, 
 his, " Don't tell the troops I'm wounded." That 
 must have been a touching smile with which in 
 his dying hour he indulged himself for once, in 
 a comrade-like expression of a soldier's satisfac- 
 tion, '' The men who may live through this war 
 will be proud to say, ' I was one of the Stone- 
 wall Brigade ! ' " 
 
 And apropos of " Stonewall." A coiTCspon- 
 dent, over the signature of " Altamont," contrib- 
 uted to The Tribune a sketch of the vigorous 
 rebel, in some respects fresher and fuller than 
 any that had appeared before, and therein his 
 soubriquet was traced back, not to the stone 
 bridge at Bull Run, nor to the " There stands 
 Jackson like a stone wall," of Gen. Bee, or to the 
 stone fences of Winchester Heights ; but to Jack- 
 son's original " Stonewall Brigade," so called be- 
 cause principally recruited in a stone-wall coun- 
 try — the valley counties of Jeflferson, Clarke, 
 Frederick, Page, and Warren ; and the writer 
 showed that the brigade had borne this name be- 
 fore the fii'st battle of Bull Run, and of course 
 before the affair of Winchester Heights, and that 
 the brigade had lent its name to its stout leader, 
 not derived it from him. Since his death this 
 sketch has been reproduced in many papers, but 
 the light it threw on the " Stonewall " question 
 has been everywhere ignored; nevertheless, 
 Stonewall Jackson, in his last hours, was careful 
 to explain to some members of his staff who hung 
 upon his parting words, that the honorable title 
 belonged to his men, not to him ; it was not per- 
 sonal and figurative like " Old Hickory," as the 
 newspapers persist in making it— but the local de- 
 signation of a corps. 
 
 The Rebels say he was a " fearful loss ; " that 
 they would have given Richmond for him, even 
 their victories of Chancellorsville and the AVilder- 
 ness ; but that his woi-k was done. " He helped 
 to build a nation, and all that now remains to do 
 is to dedicate it to God and to honor." So in 
 Richmond he lay in state, wrapped in the new 
 " National flag," that on the morrow was given, for 
 the first time, to the breeze over the " National 
 Capitol." That same flag was afterward present- 
 ed to his wife by the " President of the Confed- 
 erate States of Amei'ica." ' 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 173 
 
 The personal peculiarities of Jackson were all 
 on the side of modesty. We have all heard or 
 read, again and again, how he shunned observa- 
 tion, and how difficult it was for a stranger to sin- 
 gle him out from among his men by his appear- 
 ance or his manner, for his appearance was far 
 from imposing, and his manner that of a plain 
 man minding his own business. On horseback, 
 he by no means looked the hero of a tableau. 
 On his earlier fields and marches he had been 
 blessed with a " charger" that happily resembled 
 its rider—" a plain horse, that went straight 
 ahead, and minded its own business; but one 
 day it got shot under him, and then his friends 
 presented him with a more ornamental beast, a 
 mare that took on airs, and threw him ; so he 
 exchanged her, in disgust, for a less visionary 
 and artistic quadruped — still a horse, but never 
 such a congenial spirit as that original " Ole 
 VIrglnny " of his, that never tired, and whose ev- 
 erlasting long-legged, swinging walk was the very 
 thing to make marches with. " He's in the saddle 
 now," sang those limber rebels, from the song of 
 their corps : 
 
 " He's in the saddle now ! fall in ! 
 
 Steady the whole brigade ! 
 Hill's at the ford, cut off ; we'll win 
 
 His way out, ball and blade. 
 What matter if our shoes are worn ? 
 
 What matter if our feet aro torn 1 
 Quick step ! We're with him before morn ! 
 
 That's Stonewall Jackson's way." 
 
 Jackson had never seen his home since the 
 war broke out ; nor would he, he declared, until 
 it was over — " unless the war itself should take 
 him thither." He firmly declined the luxury of 
 " hospitable mansions " along the line of his march ; 
 nor after his occupation of Winchester could he, 
 without much difficulty, be induced to pass a 
 night in the house of any old friend in Frederick, 
 Clarke, or Jefferson. He preferred to sleep 
 among his men. It was one of these valley 
 friends of his who miscarried so absurdly in an 
 attempt to cajole him out of his Imperturbable reti- 
 cence. The gentleman, at whose house Jackson 
 had been induced to make a brief visit in joass- 
 ing, was eagerly curious to learn what the next 
 movement of the ubiquitous rebel would be; 
 so he boldly claimed his confidence on the score 
 of ancient friendship. After a few minutes of 
 well-affected concern and reflection the grim 
 joker button-holed his bore. " My stanch old 
 friend," said, he with mysterious deliberation, 
 " can — you — keep — a secret V " 
 
 " Ah, General ! " 
 
 " So can I." 
 
 The love and admiration he at all times 
 evinced for Lee resembled the devotion with which 
 Turner Ashby had followed him. Replying to 
 the remarks of a friend about his own peculiar 
 military ideas and habits, and his proneness " to 
 do his marching and fighting his own way," he 
 said " We are blessed with at least one General 
 whom I would cheerfully follow blindfold, whose 
 most dubious strategy I would execute without 
 
 question or hesitation, and that General Is Robert 
 E. Lee." The anecdote is authentic. But 
 Jackson had the sagacity to perceive very early 
 that his military genius was essentially local and 
 partisan — that it was as an executive officer ex- 
 clusively that he was remarkable — and that 
 kaleidoscopic and subtle combinations must be 
 left to the Lees and Johnstons of the Rebel army. 
 When the question of Secession, Union, or 
 " Armed Neutrality, " went before the people of 
 Virginia, Stonewall Jackson voted the Union 
 ticket; but when the State went out he went 
 out with her. From first to last he had no pa- 
 tience (if such a phrase can be true of such a 
 man) with the intemperate expressions of bitter 
 sectional hate that continually affronted his ear ; 
 and he was blunt In his admonition to the women 
 of Winchester — when he again left the checkered 
 fortunes of that town to our advancing troops — 
 " not to forget themselves." " My child, " he 
 would say to some Immoderate rebel in crinoline, 
 " you and I have no right to our hates ; personal 
 rancor is the lowest expression of patriotism and 
 a sin beside. We must leave these things to God." 
 Immediately on the heels of the battle of An- 
 tletam, and almost within gun-shot of McClellan's 
 100,000 men, Stonewall Jackson with a force 
 not exceeding 7,000, destroyed thirty miles of 
 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad track, from seven 
 miles west of Harper's Ferry to the North Moun- 
 tain. He actually obHterated the road, so that 
 when the road-masters with their gangs went to 
 work to restore it, it was only by the charred and 
 twisted debris that the track could be traced. 
 Every tie was burned, every rail bent — nothing 
 remained to be done but to cart off the bare bal- 
 last. The General took off his coat, and, with a 
 cross-tie for a fulcrum and a rail for a lever, 
 helped to demolish the " permanent way ;" and 
 with his own hands he assisted in bending the 
 heated rails around the trunks of trees- 
 All this while McCIellan, with his splendid 
 army, lay all around him, and might, with but a 
 small show of energy, and less of strategy, have 
 brought the guns that were yet warm from An- 
 tietam to bear on the slouched hat of the re- 
 nowned rebel as he was in the act of prying out 
 his first rail ; nor was Jackson at any time more 
 than fifteen miles off from our little Napoleon. 
 
 When we reflect that Gen. McCIellan had 
 been a practical railroad man, that the dust of 
 the track was yet on his boots, and that of all our 
 generals he should have had the most lively 
 appreciation of the vital importance of such a 
 gi-eat military thorough-fare as the Baltimore and 
 Ohio Road to the plans of the Government, and 
 to the operations of his own army ; when we 
 recollect with what force and importunity he had 
 urged these considerations upon the War Depart- 
 ment, we can only wonder why he left Jackson 
 to the undisturbed enjoyment of his railroad ex- 
 ercises. Was it lack of energy merely ? 
 
 Though in no respect a railroad man, neither 
 practically nor theoretically, Jackson's attentions 
 to the Baltimore and Ohio line were unremitting 
 and full of solicitude — so muc»h so, that when, on 
 
m 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 the occasion I have just recalled, the task of rail- 
 stripping and twisting, and the burning was done, 
 he walked over the whole thirty miles of his work 
 to see that it was good. He looked upon that 
 road with the eye of military genius, and the 
 great part it must play in the wai'like machinery 
 of the Government was plain to him ; therefore 
 he took more pains to destroy it once, than Gen. 
 IMcClellan had taken to save it from many as- 
 saults ; and but for the Jacksonian sagacity, and 
 energy that from the beginning of the war has 
 presided over the very life of the road, to guard 
 and guide it, the valor of the rebel must have 
 triumphed. 
 
 An intelligent Union chaplain has said, " if 
 any man whom this war has developed resembles 
 Napoleon, it is Stonewall Jackson." Bating the 
 qualified exaggeration of the remark it is not 
 without reason. Like Napoleon, Jackson had 
 daring originality, and like him he taught his 
 enemy that if they would beat him they must 
 imitate him. I He adopted and adapted in thel 
 liast the whole system of raid which Morgan had! 
 made so redoubtable in the West!;' ami 'iTol only 
 the Stuarts, Mosebys, Imbodens, Jenkinses, Jones- 
 es and Wilders, are of his making, but in a cer- 
 tain sense the Stouemans, Griersons, Kilpatricks, 
 and Davises also. 
 
 Homespun Dress. — The accompanjang 
 song was taken from a letter of a Southern girl 
 to her lover in Lee's army, which letter was obtain- 
 ed fi'om a mail captured on Sherman's march 
 through Northern Alabama. The materials of 
 which the dress alluded to is made are of cotton and 
 wool, and woven on the hand-loom, so commonly 
 seen in the houses at the South. The scrap of a 
 dress, enclosed in the letter as a sample, was of 
 a gray color with a stripe of crimson and green 
 — quite pi-etty and creditable to the lady who 
 made it. 
 
 The lines are not a false indication of the uni- 
 versal sentiment of the women of the South, who 
 by the encouragement they have extended to the 
 soldiers and the sacrifices they have made, have 
 exercised an influence which has proved of the 
 greatest importance to the rebels, and have shown 
 what can be accomplished by united effort on 
 the part of the gentle sex. 
 
 HOMESPUN DRESS. 
 
 Air — " Bonny Blue Flag." 
 
 Oh yes ! I am a Southern girl, and glory in the 
 
 name, 
 And boast it with far greater pride than glittering 
 
 wealth or fame ; 
 I envy not the Northern girl her robes of beauty 
 
 rare, 
 Though diamonds deck her snowy neck and pearls 
 
 bedeck her hair. 
 Chords — Hurrah ! liurrah ! for the Sunny South 
 so dear, 
 Three clicers for the homespun dress the 
 Southern ladies wear. 
 
 This homespun dress is plain, I know, my hat's pal- 
 metto too, 
 
 But then it shows what Southern girls for Southern 
 rights will do — 
 
 We scorn to wear a dress of silk, a bit of Northern 
 lace. 
 
 We make our homespun dresses up and wear them 
 with much grace. 
 
 Chorus — Hurrah ! etc. 
 
 Now Northern goods are out of date, and since Old 
 Abe's blockade. 
 
 We Southern girls are quite content with goods our- 
 selves have made — 
 
 We sent the brave from out our land to battle with 
 the foe, 
 
 And we will lend a helping hand — we love the 
 South you know. 
 
 Chorus — HuiTah! etc. 
 
 Our land it is a glorious land, and ours a glorious 
 
 cause. 
 Then, three cheers for the homespun dress and for 
 
 the Southern boys ; 
 We sent our sweethearts to the war, but, dear girls, 
 
 never mind, 
 The soldier never will forget the girl he left behind. 
 Chorus — Hun-ah ! etc. 
 
 A soldier is the lad for me — a brave heart I adore. 
 
 And when the Sunny South is free, and fighting is 
 no more, 
 
 I then will choose a lover brave from out that glori- 
 ous band, 
 
 The soldier-boy that I love best shall have my heart 
 and hand. 
 
 Chorus — Hurrah ! etc. 
 
 And now, young men, a word to you, if you would 
 
 win the fair. 
 Go to the field where honor calls, and win your ladies 
 
 there ; 
 Remember that our brightest smiles are for the tme 
 
 and brave, 
 And that our tears are for the one that fills a soldier's 
 
 grave. 
 Chorus — Hurrah, etc. 
 
 George Morse, the North Woods Guide. 
 — George Morse, the well known North Woods 
 Guide, was killed in the terrible battle near the 
 James river. Born in the woods, he was never 
 contented out of them. Although friends, who 
 appreciated his good qualities, often tried to in- 
 duce him to change his mode of life, and to ap- 
 ply himself to some of the ordinary pursuits of 
 civilization, he could never long keep away from 
 the woods and waters of our Northern wilderness. 
 He was lost in towns, while he knew every river 
 and mountain and lake of the vast forest reach- 
 ing from the Mohawk to the St. Lawrence. He 
 was our beau ideal of a woodsman — of exhaust- 
 less endurance — with an eye like the eagle's — 
 equally fearless and gentle — proud of his wife 
 and children — temperate in all things and the 
 best shot in the state. As a guide, he was inval- 
 uable — quiet, attentive, unobtrusive and kind- 
 hearted — anticipating every want — always watch- 
 ful and never at fiiult. " We ne'er shall look 
 upon his like again." 
 
 He was an enthusiastic lover of the Union, and 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 175 
 
 joined the Herkimer regiment (the Thirty-fourth); 
 soon after it took the field. His habits of life 
 rendered him invaluable as a scout, and he was 
 employed as such whenever unusual skill was 
 necessary to accomplish the result desired. His 
 adventures while thus employed, would fill a vol- 
 ume. Scores of rebels were made to bite the 
 dust by his trusty rifle. And yet cruelty consti- 
 tuted no part of his composition. As an illustra- 
 tion : While scouting near Ball's Bluff, on the 
 Potomac, he approached to within a few yards of 
 the dwelling of a rebel spy, who, with his wife, 
 was at the moment drinking tea near the open 
 door of the house, which was surrounded by reb- 
 el troops. The capture or death of the spy was 
 an ambition with him. Nothing laid so near his 
 heart; (for he had caused the death of two 
 Union scouts a few days before) and he was 
 buoyant with exultation when he had him thus 
 within short range. But the wife sat in a di- 
 rect line of her husband, and it was impossible 
 to shoot the one without hitting the other. The 
 temptation was very great, but George Morse 
 could not peril the life of a woman even to kill 
 a spy; and, heavy-hearted, he retired, trusting 
 to the chances of another day. 
 
 With the best intentions in the world, he 
 could never tie himself down to camp life or 
 to the soldier's drill. His colonel knew this, 
 and making him a sergeant, allowed him to do 
 as he pleased ; and the whole regiment acqui- 
 esced. As a reward they were often feasted 
 upon rebel spoils, gathered by our lamented 
 friend as an amusement. It was an almost ev- 
 ery-day occurrence to see him marching into 
 camp with eatable burthens, heavy as himself, 
 upon his shoulders ; and when any sick soldier 
 coveted some delicacy unattainable in camp it 
 was only necessary to " tell George Morse " to en- 
 sure it. 
 
 Those who knew him can fancy his effi- 
 ciency in battle. He never fought in the ranks. 
 He was own captain and general. He never 
 wasted powder or ball ; and every other man 
 in the army may have been fatigued, but he 
 was not. We can imagine him in the retreat, 
 leaping or crawling, from tree to ti-ee, within 
 short range of the enemy's advance, loading and 
 firing with the rapidity of lightning, but with 
 the red man's caution, and bringing down his 
 game at every shot. When he fell, one of the 
 most effective men in that entire host of heroes 
 fell ; and tears will be shed in forest huts and 
 in city palaces when it Is announced that George 
 Morse is dead. 
 
 Indian Strategy. — One of the Fourteenth 
 New York Artillery — a Seneca Indian, under- 
 took on a wager, to bring In alive a rebel sharp- 
 shooter who was perched in a tree in front of 
 the Union lines at Petersburg, considerably in 
 advance of his own. His manner of accomplish- 
 ing this was as ingenious as successful. Procuring 
 a quantity of pine boughs, he enveloped himself 
 with them from head to foot, attaching them se- 
 
 curely to a branch, which he lashed lengthwise of 
 his body. When completed, he was indistinguish- 
 able to a casual observer from the surrounding 
 foliage, and resembled a tree as closely as it was 
 possible for his really artistic efforts to render 
 him. Thus prepared, and with musket in hand, 
 concealed likewise, he stole by almost impercep- 
 tible movements to beneath the tree where the 
 sharpshooter was lodged. Here he patiently 
 waited until his prey had emptied his piece at 
 one of our men, when he suddenly brought his 
 musket to bear on the " reb, " giving him no time 
 to reload. The sharpshooter was taken at a dis- 
 advantage. To the demand to come down he 
 readily assented, when the Indian triumphantly 
 marched him a prisoner into camp and won his 
 
 Incident of Stuegis's Expedition. — The 
 main body of Sturgis's command halted at Salem, 
 and a detachment of 300 men were sent out to 
 reconnoitre the road to Kipley, a little town 
 about twenty miles south-west of Corinth, Miss. 
 When within a few miles of that place the ad- 
 vance guard of the detachment came upon and 
 captured a squad of half-a-dozen rebel cavalry 
 without firing a gun. As is customary, the pris- 
 oners were closely examined with a view to elicit- 
 ing such Information of the enemy's whereabouts 
 and intentions as they might be able to give. 
 
 A gaunt, stringy-haired man, who seemed to 
 be the leader of the rebel party, was conducted 
 to the officer in command of our advance. 
 
 " What regiment do you belong to ? " asked 
 the officer. 
 
 "I wont tell," was the pointed reply of the 
 rebel. 
 
 " How far is it to Ripley ? " was the next ques- 
 tion. " 
 
 " Don't know," answered the man, sullenly. 
 
 " Who is your commander ? " 
 
 " Wont tell. " 
 
 " How far offis the command to which you be- 
 long ? " still inquired the persevering Federal, 
 pretending not to notice the crusty demeanor of 
 his prisoner. 
 
 Here the rebel informed him, in terms that 
 would not be altogether comely in print, that he 
 would see him in a much hotter region than 
 Mississippi before he would tell him anything 
 at all. 
 
 "Very well," said the officer, drawing and 
 cocking a revolver ; " I will send you there to 
 wait for me." 
 
 " You may shoot me if you want to, " said the 
 plucky Confederate, " but you will be sorry 
 for it." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " Because there is a hundred men over yonder 
 in the woods, and if they hear you shoot they 
 will come up and murder every man of you." 
 
 " "Well," said the officer, " since you have told 
 me just what I wanted to find out, I guess I 
 won't shoot you ; " and in thirty minutes the 
 whole hundred men were prisoners also. 
 
176 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 An Incident in the Cars. — In a car on 
 a railroad wbich runs into New York, a scene oc- 
 curred ■which will never be forgotten by the wit- 
 nesses of it. A person dressed as a gentleman, 
 speaking to a friend across the car, said, " Well, 
 I hope the war may last six months longer. If it 
 does, I shall have made enough to retire from 
 business. In the last six months I've made a 
 hundred thousand dollars — six months more and 
 I shall have enough." 
 
 A lady sat behind the speaker, and necessa- 
 rily heard his remark ; but when he was done 
 she tapped him on the shoulder, and said to him : 
 " Sir, I had two sons — one was killed at the battle 
 of Fredericksburg, the other was killed at the bat- 
 tle of Murfreesboro." 
 
 She was silent a moment, and so were all 
 around who heard her. Then, overcome by her 
 indignation, she suddenly slapped the speculator, 
 first on one cheek, and then on the other, and 
 before the fellow could say a word, the passengers 
 sitting near, who had witnessed the whole affair, 
 seized him, and pushed him hurriedly out of the 
 car, as one not fit to ride with decent people. 
 
 Capture of the Greyhound. — Pollard, 
 in his observations in the North, gives the follow- 
 ing account of the capture and the events preced- 
 ing it. 
 
 On the night of the 9th of May, 1864, the 
 Greyhound was lying off Fort Fisher, the signal- 
 men blinking at each other with their lights in 
 sliding boxes. It was necessary to get a dispen- 
 sation from the fort for the Greyhound to pass 
 out to sea, as no less than three fugitive conscripts 
 — " stowaways " — had been found aboard of her. 
 Two of them were discovered on searching 
 the vessel at Wilmington. But lower down the 
 stream the vessel is overhauled again, and goes 
 through the process of the fwnigation of her 
 hold to discover improper passengers. In the 
 case of the Greyhound, to the intense disgust of 
 the captain, and execrations of the crew, the 
 process brought to light an unhappy stowaway, 
 who was recognized as a liquor-dealer of Wil- 
 mington, and made no secret of his design to flee 
 the conscription. After the threat, and appar- 
 ently serious preparations, to throw him over- 
 board, the " stowaway " was, no doubt, relieved 
 to find himself taken ashore to the comparative 
 mercies of the enrolling officer. 
 
 At last we are off. The moon is down ; the 
 steward has had orders to kill the geese and .shut 
 up the dog ; the captain has put on a suit of dark 
 clothes ; every light is extinguished, every 
 word spoken in a whisper, and the turn of the 
 propeller of the Greyhound sounds hke the 
 beat of a human heart. There is an excitement 
 in these circumstances. The low, white-gray 
 vessel ghdes furtively through the water, and you 
 catch the whispered commands of the captain : 
 " stead-ey," and then the more intense and ener- 
 getic whisper, "Black smoke, by G— ; cut off 
 your smoke." Every eye is strained into the 
 shadows of the night. But how utterly useless 
 
 did all this precaution and vigilance appear on 
 the Greyhound ; for after two hours of suspense 
 we were out of the blockade lines, and had seen 
 nothing but the caps of the waves. A blockade 
 for blockheads, surely, I thought as I composed 
 myself to sleep, dismissing entirely from my mind 
 all terrors of the Yankee. 
 
 It was about two o'clock the next day, and the 
 Greyhound was about one hundred and fifty 
 miles out at sea, when the lookout reported a 
 steamer astern of us. The day was hazy, and 
 when the vessel was first descried, she could not 
 have been more than five or six miles astern of 
 us. For a few moments there was a sharp sus- 
 pense ; perhaps the steamer had not seen us ; ev- 
 ery one listened with breathless anxiety, as the 
 tall fellow at the mast-head reported the discov- 
 eries he was making, through his glasses, of the 
 suspicious vessel. " He is bearing towards a 
 bark, sir ; " and for a few moments hope mounted 
 in our hearts that we might not have been ob- 
 served, and might yet escape into the misty ob- 
 scurity of the sea. In vain. " He is a side- 
 wheel steamer, and is bearing directly for us, sir." 
 
 " Give her her way," shouted the captain in 
 response ; and there was a tumultuous rush of 
 the crew to the engine-room, and the black 
 smoke curling above the smoke-stack, and the 
 white foam in our wake told plainly enough that 
 the startled Greyhound was making desperate 
 speed. 
 
 But she was evidently no match for the Yan- 
 kee. We were being rapidly overhauled, and in 
 something more than an hour from the beginning 
 of the chase, a shell from the Yankee vessel, the 
 " Connecticut," was whistling over our bows. 
 The crew became unruly ; but captain " Henry," 
 revolver in hand, ordered back the man to the 
 wheel, declaring " he was master of the vessel 
 yet." The mate reported that a very small 
 crew appeared to be aboard the Yankee. " Then 
 we will fight for it," said the spunky captain. 
 But the madness of such a resolution became 
 soon manifest ; for as the Connecticut ovei-hauled 
 us more closely, her decks and wheel-houses were 
 seen to be black with men, and a shell which 
 grazed our engine, warned us that we were at 
 the mercy of the enemy. But for that peculiar 
 nuisance of blockade-runners — women passen- 
 gers — the Greyhound might have been burnt, 
 and the last duty performed in the face of the 
 rapacious enemy. 
 
 Dizzy, and disgusted with sea-sickness ; never 
 supposing that a vessel which had passed out of 
 the as§erted lines of blockade without seeing a 
 blockader, without being pursued from those lines, 
 and already far out on the sacred highway of 
 the ocean, and flying the British ensign, could be 
 the subject of piratical seizure ; never dreaming 
 that a simple confederate passenger could be the 
 victim of kidnapping on the high seas, outside of 
 all mlltary and territorial lines, I had but a dim 
 appreciation of the exciting scenes on the Grey- 
 hound in the chase. Papers, memoranda, pack- 
 ages of Confederate bonds, were ruthlessly tossed 
 into the purser's bag to be consumed by the flames 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 177 
 
 in the engine-room ; the contents of trunks were 
 wildly scattered over the decks ; the white waves 
 danced witli ambrotypes, souvenirs, and the torn 
 fragments of the large package of letters, mis- 
 sives of friendship, records of affection, which 
 had been entrusted to me, and which I at last un- 
 willingly gave to the sea. 
 
 Here, at last, close alongside of us, in the 
 bright day, Avas the black, guilty thing, while 
 from her sides were pushing out boats, with well- 
 dressed «rews in lustrous uniforms, and officers 
 in the picturesqueness of gold and blue — a brave 
 sight for grimy confederates ! The Greyhound 
 was no sooner boarded, than an ensign, who had 
 his hair parted in the middle, and his hands en- 
 cased in lavender-colored kids, came up to me 
 and asked me with a very joyous air how many 
 bales of cotton were on board the vessel. I aftei-- 
 wards understood that, from my disconsolate 
 looks, he had taken me to be the owner of the 
 cotton, and was probably desirous, by his amiable 
 question, to give a sly pinch to my misery. 
 
 HO ! YANKEE BOYS THROUGHOUT 
 THE WEST. 
 
 BY K. TOMPKINS. 
 
 Ho ! Yankee boys throughout the West, 
 
 Hear ye the traitor's shout, 
 " We'll build the Union up again, 
 
 And leave New England out ! " 
 And shall we join the rabble cry, 
 
 At tyranny's command ? 
 Traduce the homes our childhood loved. 
 
 Betray our ftUher land ? 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 And shall we join the rabble cry, 
 
 At tyranny's command 1 
 Traduce the homes our childhood loved, 
 
 Betray our father land 1 
 
 Forget the days we rambled o'er 
 
 Our free New England hills : 
 Forget the joyous liours we passed, 
 
 Beside her shining rills ; 
 Forget the cheerful tires, whose smoke 
 
 Upon her free air curls ? 
 Forget the hearths where cluster round 
 
 New England's peerless girls ? 
 
 Chorus. — Forget the cheerful, &c. 
 
 What ! look with alien eyes upon 
 
 The land where Hancock died, 
 And in a vile and impious tone 
 
 The pilgrims' faith deride ? 
 Shall Lexington and Bunker Hill, 
 
 Be named by us in scorn. 
 Because a revolution there 
 
 In Freedom's name was born 1 
 
 Chorus. — Shall Lexington, &c. 
 
 No ! By the blood of heroes shed 
 
 On Bunker's gory height ; 
 Kg ! by the mem'ry of the dead, 
 
 Who dared old England's might — 
 The flag that floats o'er Plymouth rock 
 
 Shall wave o'er Sumter's wall ; 
 These States shall all together stand, 
 
 Or all together fall. 
 
 Chorus. — The flag, &c. 
 12 
 
 We've met a boasting cavalier — 
 
 Proud lord of whips and chains, 
 Within our nation's council halls 
 
 And conquered him with brains ; 
 And now, if he will have it so, 
 
 We'll make the Southron feel 
 The pilgrims' sons, wherever found. 
 
 Can liandle lead and steel. 
 
 Chorus. — And now, if he, &c. 
 
 The torch that burned at Lexington, 
 
 Lit by our patriot sires. 
 Shall yet illume the southern skies 
 
 With freedom's holy fires ; 
 And Yankee schools shall dot the plains, ' 
 
 And Yankee churches rise, 
 Till truth and light dissolve each chain 
 
 And slavery groans and dies. 
 
 Chorus. — And Yankee schools, &c. 
 
 The Death of General Stevens. — The 
 army was retreating from Centrevillc. The bat- 
 tle was fought against a rebel force that had pen- 
 etrated five miles nearer Washington than our 
 rear and was moving to strike upon the flank. 
 Gen. Stevens' division, the advance of Reno's 
 corps, was on the left of the road taken by the 
 trains, and intercepted the enemy. He saw that 
 the rebels must be beaten back at once, or during 
 the night they would stampede the wagons, and 
 probably so disconcert our retreat that the last 
 divisions Avould fall a prey to tlieir main force. 
 He decided to attack immediately, at the same 
 time sending back for support. Having made his 
 dispositions, he led the attack on foot at the head 
 the Eighty-eighth (Highlanders). Soon meeting 
 a withering fire and the color-sergeant, Sandy 
 Campbell, a grizzled old Scotchman, being 
 Avounded, they faltered. One of the color-guard 
 took up the flag, when the General snatched it 
 from him. The wounded Highlander at his feet 
 cried, " For God's sake, General, don't you take 
 the colors ; they'll shoot you if you do ! " The 
 answer was, " Give me the colors ! If they don't 
 follow now, they never will ; " and he sprang fbi- 
 ward, crying, " We are all Highlanders ; follow, 
 Highlanders ; forward, my Highlanders ! " The 
 Highlanders did follow their Scottish chief, but 
 while sweeping forward a ball struck him on his 
 right temple. He died instantly. An hour af- 
 terwards, when taken up, his hands were atill 
 clinched around the flag-staff. 
 
 A moment after seizing the colors, his aon, 
 Captain Hazzard Stevens, fell wounded, and 
 criod to his father that he was hurt. With but a 
 glance back, that Roman father said: " I cannot 
 attend to you now, Hazzard. Corporal Thon^- 
 son, see to my boy." 
 
 Anecdote of President Lincoln. — Judge 
 Baldwin, of California, an old and highly respec- 
 table and sedate gentleman, called on General 
 Halleck, and, presuming upon a familiar acquain- 
 tance in California a few years since, solicited a 
 pass outside of the lines to see a brother in Vir- 
 ginia, not thinking that he would meet with a re- 
 fusal, cis both his brother and himself were good 
 
178 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETEY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Union men. " Wc have been deceived too often," 
 said General Halleck, " and I regret I can't grant 
 it." Judge B. then went to Stanton, and was very 
 briefly disposed of with the same i-esult. Finally 
 he obtained an interview with JNIr. Lincoln, and 
 stated his case. '' Have you applied to General 
 Halleck V " inquired the President. " And met with 
 a flat refusal," said Judge B. " Then you must 
 see Stanton," continued the President. " I have, 
 and with the same result," was the reply. " Well, 
 then," said the President with a smile of good hu- 
 mor, " I can do nothing, for you must know that I 
 Juxve very little infiuence with this Administration !" 
 
 Sherman's Love of Music. — A correspon- 
 dent with Sherman's army recorded this incident. 
 
 Memorable the music " that mocked the moon " 
 of November of the soil of Georgia ; sometimes a 
 triumphant march, sometimes a glorious waltz, 
 again an old air stirring the heart alike to recol- 
 lection and to hope. Floating out from throats of 
 bi'ass to the ears of soldiers in their blankets and 
 generals within their tents, these tunes hallowed 
 the eves to all who listened. 
 
 Sitting before his tent in the glow of a camp 
 fire one evening, General Sherman let his cigar 
 go out to listen to an air that a distant band was 
 playing. The musicians ceased at last. The gen- 
 eral turned to one of liis officers : 
 
 " Send an orderly to ask that baud to play that 
 tune again." 
 
 A little while, and the band received the word. 
 The tune was " The Blue Juniata," with exquisite 
 variations. The band played it again, even more 
 beautifully than before. Again it ceased, and 
 then, off to the right, nearly a quarter of a mile 
 away, the voices of some soldiers took it up with 
 words. The band, and still another band, played 
 a low accompaniment. Camp after camji began 
 singing ; the music of " The Blue Juniata " be- 
 came, tor a few minutes, the oratorio of half an 
 army. 
 
 An Incident by the Way. — On my last 
 trip toward Huntsville we found the track torn 
 up, and the cross-ties still burning. Nearly half 
 a mile was destroyed — for the iron had been 
 heated till it wa§ bent and useless. Guerrillas 
 were seen at a distance. Pickets were thrown 
 out, and the negroes and white laborers went to 
 work. As it was getting dark, the fences were 
 soon made into huge fires to enable the workmen 
 to see. Suddenly a '' butternut " laborer came 
 running along the line. 
 
 " The rebels ! The rebels ! " 
 
 " How many ? " asked the captain. 
 
 " Oh ! the world is full of them ! " he shouted, 
 without stopping a second. 
 
 " The situation " had quite a serious aspect, — 
 a small party of us, enclosed by woods, with thick 
 undergrowth, great fires to show our position, and 
 no knowledge of the whereabouts of Granger's 
 command. But " the rebels " proved to be our 
 own men — an Indiana cavalry regiment that was 
 hunting a mounted gans of guerrillas. One of 
 
 their men had been tortured and then murdered 
 a few days before, and these boys declared that 
 their rule of action was death to all traitors, and 
 to take no prisoners. 
 
 In a few hours — with really wonderful speed — 
 the break was repaired, and we went slowly on 
 our way. These rapid repairs have caused the 
 Georgians to invent a new military maxim : " The 
 Yankees carry their railroads with them." 
 
 On these car-tops one often hears tales of deeds 
 of heroism by privates that somehow scidom get 
 into print. 
 
 On my last trip down, I was speaking to an 
 officer about the hospitals, A soldier who sat 
 next to me said he had been a steward in one of 
 them several months. I asked him if the soldiere, 
 Avhen they were sick, persisted in the continuous 
 swearing which characterizes the army. 
 
 " No, sir," he said, " they are lilic little chil- 
 dren then ; they return to their father's house. " 
 
 I saw that I had come in contact with a man 
 worth talking to, and had a long convei'sation 
 with him. Only a few scraps of it can be given 
 now : 
 
 " Oh," he said, " they are so grateful for the 
 smallest favors ! I have heard them say so softly, 
 ' thank you, sir,' for every little thing I did for 
 them, that I was almost ashamed. I thought I had 
 seen brave men in battle, but I never knew what 
 bravery was till I went to the hospital. They 
 often told me to fix them out." 
 
 " What is that ? " 
 
 " Well, they would see that the doctor gave 
 them up, and they would ask me about it. I 
 would tell them the truth. I told one man that, 
 and he asked how long V I said, not over twenty 
 minutes. He did not show any fear — they never 
 do. He put up his hand so, and closed his eyes 
 with his own fingers, and then sti-etuhed himself 
 out, and crossed his arms over his breast. ' Noav. 
 fix me,' he said. I pinned the toes of his stock- 
 ings together ; that was the way we laid corpses 
 out; and he died in a few minutes. His faoe 
 looked as pleasant as if he was asleep and smiling. 
 Many's the time the boys have fixed themselves 
 that way before they died." 
 
 I asked him another c^uestion : 
 
 " Yes," he said, " the soldiers when they avc 
 dying almost always speak of some woman. 
 When they are married men, it's oftenest about 
 their wives. If they are not married, it is mostly 
 their mothers and sisters — oftenest a mother." 
 
 I saw that the soldier had a Bible in his pocket. 
 
 "When I left my company," he said, " I thought 
 nothing of the swearing ; but when I came back 
 to it from the hospital, it seemed awful." 
 
 Yet such is the power of the influence of asso- 
 ciation that my good friend — really and not sham 
 pious friend — when I afterward spoke of the in- 
 surgents, got indignant at the contemplation of 
 their conduct, and called them the d — d rebels ! 
 
 Reprieved at last. — A correspondent 
 writing from Norfolk, Va., on the eighteenth of 
 April, 1864 says: A scene of very thrilling intereal 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 179 
 
 transpired here on Wednesday last, in reference 
 to a soldier of the Tenth N. Hampshire who had 
 been condemned to be shot en charge of desertion. 
 The facts were briefly these. The soldier, a young 
 man of 24 years of age, was a native of Virginia. 
 With other young men who had loved the old 
 flag, he had been conscripted and forced into the 
 rebel army. During the siege of Washington, 
 N. C., a year since, he served in the Eighteenth 
 Virginia one of the regiments that attempted to 
 take that town. When, however, the rebel army 
 withdrew without accomplishing its object, he with 
 six other Virginians, and three East Tennesseans, 
 deserted and came into our lines. I remember them 
 distinctly and had a number of conversations with 
 them while they were kept under guard. They 
 all took the oath of allegiance at length, and en- 
 listed in the Union service, except the one named 
 above. He desired to go north and Avas permit- 
 ted to do so. When the last calls for troops were 
 made he found himself at Portsmouth, N. H., and 
 was finally induced, by the large bounty and love 
 of military life, to enlist in the Tenth regiment of 
 that state. The regiment came out here and was 
 stationed some eight or ten miles from this city. 
 He desired, it seems, to visit the city, and fre- 
 quently applied to his captain for a pass, but was 
 as frequently refused. In an evil hour, he re- 
 solved to get a suit of citizen's clothes and come 
 to the city without a pass. A man living on the 
 borders of the camp furnished him the suit, and 
 thus attired he started for the city. He had only 
 just come into the road when he met his Lt. Col. 
 and Captain, and was challenged, disarmed, ar- 
 rested and finally tried by court martial for de- 
 sertion and condemned to be shot. He was ab- 
 sent from camp ouly six hours all told, and al- 
 tirmed to the last that he never dreamed of desert- 
 ing. His sentence was read to him on Tuesday, 
 and on Wednesday at 1 2 o'clock, he was to be 
 shot. He was overwhelmed with amazement 
 and feai", not having once conceived so fatal an 
 issue to his case. From that time till he was led 
 out of his prison to be executed, one or more 
 chaplains were with him a large part of the time, 
 to offer him the spiritual counsel and comfort that 
 he needed. He, in the end, became calm, and 
 looked on death with composure, forgave all who 
 had sought his life, and left messages for his 
 friends. 
 
 In the mean time efforts were made to obtain 
 his reprieve, but up to nine o'clock on Wednes- 
 day morning, nothing had been effected, and the 
 prisoner was taken from his cell, and started for 
 the field, where his coffin and grave, and troops 
 drawn up in hollow around them, awaited his 
 coming. But on the way the hoped-for reprieve, 
 for seven days, overtook him. The train was 
 stopped and the commander of the escort read 
 him the unexpected paper. In a moment he 
 turned deadly pale, and then threw his arms 
 around the neck of the guard, who sat in front of 
 him, and wept aloud. It was a scene I never 
 shall forget. Strong men wept like children, in 
 the great joy that had well-nigh killed the pris- 
 oner. 
 
 An Incident of Bristoe. — A con-espondent 
 of a southern paper writing from Cook's brigade 
 of the Confederate Army, relates the following 
 incident: — "I will now give you an incident 
 in the battle at Bristoe, which I can assure you 
 is strictly true, as the officer who saw it, and told 
 me about it, is a man of undoubted veracity. 
 There was a man of Company A. Twenty-seventh 
 North Carolina troops, named George P. Piner, 
 who went into the fight, with a small Testament 
 in his breast pocket. A ball struck the book, and 
 penetrated as far as the fifth chapter of !Mat- 
 thew, twenty-first and twenty-second verses. 
 It merely blackened that passage, glanced off, 
 and left the man uninjured. The verses read: 
 " Ye have heard that it was said by them of old 
 tune. Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall 
 kill, shall be in danger of the judgment, and 
 whosoever is angry with his brother without 
 cause shall be in danger of judgment." The 
 man said, that Yankee ball was like the devil, — 
 it had to turn its course when met by scriptural 
 opposition. 
 
 There was a man also of the same company 
 and regiment, named J. H. Parker, who discovered 
 a Yankee shai'p-shooter behind an old chimney. 
 He ran up to him, and bayoneted the Yankee 
 through the body, killing him instantly. Parker 
 was killed himself shortly afterwards. 
 
 Teamsters' Conundrums. — Army team- 
 sters are proverbial for the scientific volubility with 
 which they swear. A teamster with the Cum- 
 berland army, not long ago got stuck in the mud 
 and he let fly a stream of profane epithets that 
 would have astonished " our army in Flanders,'\ 
 even. A chaplain passing at the time was 
 greatly shocked. 
 
 " My friend," said he to the teamster, " do you 
 know who died for sinners ? " 
 
 "D n your conundrums. Don't you see 
 
 I'm stuck in the mud ? " 
 
 How TO Clean a Well.— A gentleman 
 in Atlanta, Georgia, whom we will call Mack, had 
 a well pretty much filled up with rubbish and 
 trash of different kinds, which he wanted cleaned 
 out. He spoke to a freedman about the job, and 
 in a very confidential way intimated that there 
 was a treasure hid in that well he was anxious 
 to exhume. He imposed profound secrecy 
 upon his sable help, and sent him off in search 
 of another one of his hue who could be trusted. 
 The upshot of the matter was that about one 
 hundred negroes soon knew that an iron safe be- 
 longing to the express company, and which con- 
 tained almost an invaluable amount of gold, had 
 been precipitated into this well when the city was 
 evacuated. The affair was speedily brought to 
 the ears of the Provost Marshal and Mack on 
 going to see about his well one morning, found 
 it guarded by a strong provost guard, who forbade 
 any one coming on the premises. Mack pro- 
 tested against any such proceeding, and persisted 
 
180 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 that everything on that lot, in the well and out 
 of it, was his individual property. The Assistant 
 Provost Marshal gave him an official wink, and 
 intimated that ' all was right.' Mack thought if 
 it was not, it would be in the end. 
 
 A strong posse of ireedmen was sent down in- 
 to the well to work. Bucketful after bucketful 
 of rubbish and mud was drawn out ; but no treas- 
 ure as yet made its appearance. Occasionally 
 the officer of the guard went down on a pros- 
 pecting tour. In punching about with his bay- 
 onet he hit upon something that had the true 
 metallic sound. They had the treasure now sure. 
 Again the negroes went to work, and after labor- 
 ing some hours succeeded in bringing out the top 
 of an old tin-plate stove. At last the firm bot- 
 tom of the well was reached, but no iron safe. 
 Mack saitl he thought the safe was about ten feet 
 further down. Whatever may have been the 
 provost marshal's opinion on the subject, he con- 
 cluded he had not time to prosecute the search 
 further, and withdrew his Ibrces, leaving Mack 
 in possession of a thoroughly cleansed well, and at 
 liberty to hunt up the safe if he wanted to. Mack 
 didn't want to. 
 
 How Thieves were treated in the 
 Ninth Corps. — Brigadier General Potter, 
 commanding the Ninth Corps, riding along with 
 his orderly in East Tennessee, saw a man run- 
 ning with something in his hand, followed by a 
 woman crying out after him. Stopping him, he 
 found he had stolen some article, and asked him 
 his corps. " Ninth Corps," " Very well," said 
 the General ; and he ordered his orderly to tie him 
 up to a tree, and give him a good strapping, with 
 a stirrup strap. Amid his howls it came out that 
 he belonged to the Fourth Corps. " Very well," 
 said the General. " 1 am commander of the 
 Ninth Corps; if you belong to it, all right; if not 
 you'll know how we treat tellows that steal in the 
 Ninth Corps." 
 
 Waifs and Esticays. — After the retreat 
 of Shelby's force ironi Boonville, Mo. a small 
 bundle of papers was picked up on the street, 
 left there by some systematic and sentimental 
 Confederate in his liasty tlight. First among 
 this bundle was the log-book, containing a 
 succinct diary of events, belonging to a rebel 
 soldier. The leaves of the diary were composed 
 of heavily ruled, coai'se blue tbolscap, and the 
 cover made of wall-paper. It contained a chro- 
 nology of daily events, of which the following is 
 a specimen : 
 
 the 12 came to clinton 
 
 the 13 came to fort hutson and went boord the boat 
 an started up the river. 
 
 14 still going up the river. 
 
 1 5 going up the river. 
 
 16 an-ived at trinity on Black river. 
 
 17 awaiting at trinity for a Boat. 
 
 18 left Trinity. 
 
 19 got to nionro. "^ 
 
 20 crost the anames line. 
 
 21 come to camden. 
 
 A few pages further on was a specimen of 
 keeping accounts : 
 
 G Harden Better 
 
 for work 26 days $26 
 
 for cofoy too Pounds .... $14 
 
 Several pages of correspondence occurred 
 after the writer arrived in Polk county, Missouri. 
 
 The writer Avrote to his friend, that " wee hav 
 plenty of corn bred and pore beefe to eat and 
 sasafrassHee to drink," and concluded, hopefully, 
 thus: 
 
 "come wee will, come I hope wee will come in 
 peace and can enjoy our lives as wee yewst to do bee 
 fore the wore broke out." 
 
 It will be seen by the following, that Pegasus 
 accompanied Shelby in his raid, and was ridden 
 by William H. Landreth : 
 
 HEART-KENDING BOAT BALLAD. 
 
 1 . father father bild Me a Boat 
 
 and pot it on the oason that I may float 
 her father was weltliy he bilt her a Boat 
 
 an pot it on the oason that She ]\Iite float 
 She Stepte on' the Boat She cridc out Goy 
 
 Now II find my sweet salar Boy. 
 
 2. She handent Bin Sailen far on the Main 
 
 She Spide three Ships come in from Spain 
 She hailed each captain as he drew ni 
 An of him She did in quire of her swce Salar 
 Boy. 
 
 3. Capttain Captain tell me trew 
 
 if my sweet william is in your crew 
 II tell you far lady II tell you My Dear 
 your Sweet William is not hear. 
 
 4. At the head of rockeyilent as we past By 
 
 Will was taken Sick an thare did die 
 She stove her boat a gants a rock 
 
 I thaut in my Soal her heart was Break 
 She rong her hand She tear her hair 
 
 Jest like a lady in dis pair. 
 
 5. go bring me a Cher for to set on 
 
 a pen and ink for to set it down 
 at the end or ever line she dropt a tire 
 at the end of ever virs it was o My dire. 
 
 6. go dig my grave booth Wide an deep 
 
 poot a marvel Stone at my head an feet 
 an on my breast you may carv a dove 
 too let the world no that I dide for love. 
 
 Wm. H. Landreth. 
 
 THE new KIVEK SHOOK — A BALLAD. 
 
 1. at the foot of yon Montain wher fountain do flow, 
 there is music to entertain me whar Plesent wind blow ; 
 thare I spide a fair Damsel, a girl I a doar, 
 
 as she was a Walking on the new river Shoar. 
 
 2. I ask her rite kinley could She fancy Me, 
 
 all tho my fourtun is not grat that's noth She She, 
 your Beuty is a nouf and it is you I a doar, 
 an it is you I will Mary on the new river Shoar. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 181 
 
 8. as soon as her old father, this same come too her, 
 he swear he Wood de Prive mee of my Deares Dear. 
 he Sent me a way Wher loud canon do roar, 
 .an left my Dear trulove on the new river shoar. 
 
 4. She rote Me a letter an in this letter these lines, 
 and in this letter these Words you May find : 
 Come Back My dear dewell for it you I a doar, 
 an it is you I Will Mary on the new river Shoar. 
 
 5. I Prused this letter I Pmsed it moast Sad, 
 thare was non in that company culd Make My hart 
 
 glad, 
 I drew out My Brawd Soard an onward did go, 
 to meet My dear tru love on the new river shoar. 
 
 6. as Son as her old father, tis same came to hear, 
 he Swar he wood de Prive Me of my derest der. 
 he rased him a army fooul twenty or Moar, 
 
 to fite a yong Soalger on the new river Shoar. 
 
 7. I Drew out My Brawd Soard an Waverd it round, 
 there is no yous. My little army, that you all kno, 
 to fight a yong Soalg on the new river Shoar. 
 
 8. So hard is the Coquest of all women kind, 
 they all Ways hav ruld, they all Ways confined ; 
 they hav children to Squall an husban to scold, 
 Makes Many yong lases look Wethered and old. 
 
 W. H. L. 
 
 One of the Pictures of War. — A cor- 
 respondent relates the following intervieAv of a 
 Federal forafiiug party ■with a Tennessee farmer: 
 
 At another place we called on the owner, a 
 man of over sixty years, well saved, yet evidently 
 much cast down and disheartened. He was po- 
 lite, and answered all questions studiously. On 
 being asked what he had to spare, he answered, 
 " No"t much ; indeed, nothing." His wife and 
 four children, standing beside him, said not a 
 word, but the countenance of the whole group 
 showed that the old man told the truth. " Indeed, 
 I have nothing," said he ; " what, with one army 
 and another campaigning through this part of 
 Tennessee, they have stripped me of all I could 
 spare and more too." 
 
 " Have yon no horses or nmles ? " asked the 
 officer. 
 
 " Yes," answered the man, " I have one more 
 mule, which is entirely broken d^wn ; it was left 
 by a trooper, who took my last horse in its stead." 
 
 " No beef-cattle ? " was the next question. 
 
 " No, not one," was the answer. 
 
 " Any hogs ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I have four pigs, which I had in- 
 tended for my wintei"'s supply of meat." 
 
 " Any negi'oes ? " asked the officer. 
 
 " No, not one ; my servants all left me two or 
 three months ago. I have not one on the place. 
 I have to chop all my wood, and my wife and 
 daughters do the in-doors, what they can." 
 
 " Any corn or wheat ? " 
 
 " No wheat, and only two or three barrels of 
 corn," was the reply. 
 
 " Let's see your mule," said the officer. It was 
 brought up, and was as the old man said. 
 
 " Show me those pigs," was the next demand. 
 
 When the old man heard this, he could hardly 
 speak; his hopes were almost at an end. He 
 showed the pigs, however ; they were no more 
 than such a family would need, nor as much. 
 
 The officer then kindly said : " You may keep 
 all these things ; they will help you and can be 
 of little good to us," and gave the old man a 
 " safeguard," which might save his property from 
 our troops. Three years before, this man owned 
 a large, well-stocked plantation ; had cattle and 
 hogs in plenty, with servants to come at his call, 
 and corn to sell or keep. Now, he was sincerely 
 thankful, and much moved that we spared him 
 his four little shoats, his pittance of corn, and his 
 old mare-mule with which he hoped to make a 
 small crop next spring. The war has been at his 
 very door ; he had seen it in all relations, and 
 knew that it was vigorously prosecuted. 
 
 The Little Girl's Kindness to the Sol- 
 diers. — " After the battle of Sharpsburg, we 
 passed over a line of railroad in Central Georgia. 
 The disabled soldiers from Gen. Lee's armies were 
 returning to their homes. At every station the 
 wives and daughters of the farmers came on the 
 care, and distributed food and wines and band- 
 ages among the sick and wounded. 
 
 " We shall never forget how very like an angel 
 was a little gu-1, — how blushingly and modestly 
 she went to a great rude, bearded soldier, who 
 had carved a crutch from a rough plank to re- 
 place a lost leg ; how this little girl asked him if 
 he was hungry, — and how he ate like a famished 
 wolf! She asked if his wound was painful, and 
 in a voice of soft, mellow accents, ' Can I do 
 nothing more for you ? I am sorry that you are so 
 badly hurt ; have you a little daughter, and wont 
 she cry when she sees you ? ' 
 
 " The rude soldier's heart was touched, and 
 tears of love and gratitude filled his eyes. He 
 only answered, ' I have three little children ; God 
 grant they may be such angels as you.' 
 
 " With an evident effort he repressed a desire 
 to kiss the fair brow of the pretty little girl. He 
 took her little hand between both his own, and 
 bade her ' good-by, — God bless you ! ' The 
 child will always be a better woman because of 
 these lessons of practical charity stamped inef- 
 faceably upon her young heart." — Southern paper. 
 
 How Brave Men Suffer and Die. -- •' If 
 anybody thinks," says B. F. Taylor, in his ac- 
 count of the battle of Chicamauga, " that when 
 men are stricken upon the field they fill the air 
 with cries and groans, till it shivers with such 
 evidence of agony, he greatly errs. An arm is 
 shattered, a leg carried away, a bullet pierces the 
 breast, and the soldier sinks down silently upon 
 the gi-ound, or creeps away if he can, without a 
 murmur or complaint ; faUs as.the sparrow falls, 
 speechlessly ; and like that sparrow, I earnestly 
 believe, not without a Father. The horse gives 
 out his fearful utterance of almost human suffer- 
 in<T, but the mangled rider is dumb. The crash 
 of musketry, the crack of rifles, the roar of guns, 
 
182 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 the shriek of shells, the rebel whoop, the Federal 
 cheer, and that indescribable undertone of rum- 
 bhng, grinding, splintering sound, make up the 
 voices of the battle-field." 
 
 An Incident op Shiloh. — During the bat- 
 tle of Shiloh an officer hurriedly rode up to an 
 aid and inquired for Grant. " That's him with 
 the field-glass," said the aid. 
 
 "Wheeling his horse about, the officer furiously 
 rode up to the General, and touching his cap, 
 thus addressed him, — 
 
 " Sheneral, I vants to make one report ; 
 Schwartz's battery is took." 
 
 "Ah!" says the General, "how was that?" 
 
 " Veil, you see, Sheneral, de sheshenists come 
 up in front of us, and de sheshenists flanked us, 
 and de sheshenists come in de rear of us, and 
 Schwartz's battery was took." 
 
 " Well, sir," says the General, " you of course 
 spiked the guns." 
 
 " Vat," exclaimed the Dutchman, in astonish- 
 ment, "schpikedem guns, schpike dem new guns ! 
 — no, it would schpoil hem ! " 
 
 " Well," said the General, sharply, " "What did 
 you do ? " 
 
 " Do V vy, we took dem back again ! " 
 
 Coolness on tue Field. — A lad of fif- 
 teen years of age, belonging to the Fifth Wiscon- 
 sin, whose name is Douglas, and resides at Beav- 
 er Dam, was in the battle of Williamsbm-g, and 
 got his gun wet so that it could not fire. During 
 the hottest of the fight, and whilst the regiment 
 was falling back, he deliberately sat down, took 
 out his screw-driver, unscrewed the tube from 
 his gun, dried it out, put it back, capped it, got 
 up and put into the field as if nothing unusual 
 was going on. 
 
 listening to the narration, at once responded, 
 " I'll take the poor fellow up there for nothing. 
 I carried just such a one up last night, but I guess 
 I shant lose nothing." No, thought we, my dear 
 fellow, such true nobility of nature shall not re- 
 sult in loss to you if we can help it, so we de- 
 manded his card, and here it is. 
 
 WILLIAM RYDER, 
 
 Proprietor of Carriages Nos. 28 & 46. 
 
 Stable 96 Lawrence St. 
 
 New York. 
 
 Quaker Guns. — When General Sills's di- 
 vision left Fi-ankibrt, Ky., the last thing they did 
 was to remove the two monster cannon from 
 their position on the hills over South Frankfort. 
 Some Union men of Frankfort, during the night, 
 went over to the spot and planted two empty 
 beer-kegs in the place of the cannon, and cover- 
 ed them with a tarpaulin. All next day a lot of 
 Morgan's cavalry were scouting around the kegs, 
 but dared not enter Frankfort for fear of being 
 charged upon. On Wednesday night " our forc- 
 es " abandoned the kegs, when, as we learn, they 
 made a bold and daring charge on the " tarpau- 
 lin beer-keg battery, " and captured it without 
 the loss of a man. The captain acknowledged 
 that he had been " sold by the Yanks," and it 
 was not until then that they were aware of the 
 fact that Gen. Sills's whole corps had left Frank- 
 fort. Then, as they have always done, they 
 pounced upon an unprotected city. But Gen. 
 Dumont's forces soon let them know that it was 
 not the " battle of the kegs " when they attacked 
 them. It was these men and the two empty 
 beer kegs that kept the rebels from burning all 
 the bridges around Frankfort. 
 
 A Genuine Nobleman. — Returning home 
 from Philadelphia, we had ibr a fellow-passenger 
 a poor, broken, emaciated Massachusetts soldier, 
 too weak to sit erect, and so far gone in physical 
 constitution as to give little hope for aught else 
 than his possible arrival at his home in Boston 
 with the breath of life not extinct. He was ac- 
 companied by a kind matron, who, though no 
 relation of the sufferer, was a Massachusetts 
 woman, and had in the pity of her soul volun- 
 teered to attend his passage home to die. It 
 was a piteous sight, and but a type of many hun- 
 dreds we have seen the past year. Of course an 
 object of such interest awakened the tenderest 
 sympathies of all beholders. We proffered such 
 aid as we could, and on arrival at the wharf in 
 New-York attempted negotiations with various 
 carriers for a passage for the iuvahd up to the 
 New-Haven cars. As the boy was destitute of 
 money, as well as broken down in health, we 
 tried to so far touch the pity of some of the 
 hack-drivers as to get him conveyed at an honest 
 price. While chaffering with the crowd, up 
 stepped a frank and honest-looking driver, who. 
 
 One of the Virginia Eeserves. — Pol- 
 lard, in his observations in the North, relates the 
 following: — 
 
 General Butler followed up his little story by 
 an amusing account of an interview he had had 
 with a certain gentleman of Richmond — one of 
 the " Virginia Reserves " — who had strayed in- 
 to his lines. I must confess his laughter was a 
 little contagious as he gave the details of the in- 
 terview. The unfortunate individual had come 
 into his lines by some mistake, bewildered as to 
 the points of the compass. His appearance was 
 rather unmilitary, as General B. described it ; a 
 suit of black, wet and glued to his skin, a stove- 
 pipe hat, and what seems to have attracted most 
 at headquarters, as a curiosity of Richmond — 
 " a black satin vest." 
 
 " Who are you ?" thundered General Butler. 
 
 " Sir," said the unfortunate individual, with 
 the air of importance in misery, " I am one of the 
 Virginia Reserves." 
 
 " Alluding only to the oddity of his appear- 
 ance, " said General Butler, I remarked : " and 
 how many more are there like you, Mr. 
 M V" 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 18c 
 
 " I will answer aU proper questions," replied 
 the unfortunate individual ; " but, sir, General 
 Butler, do not expect me to inform you as to our 
 military resources I " 
 
 The General seems to have thought the old gen- 
 tleman a little stilted, and explained to me Aat 
 he only wanted to have a little fun out of him. 
 So, with what I can imagine to have been the 
 growl of an ogre, he remarked : " Ah, ha, Mr. 
 Si ; so, so, Mr. M ; we have an- 
 other name than that of soldiers for persons in 
 your dress ; yes, sir, another name : we call them 
 SPIES ! " At the mention of this dreadful word the 
 unlbrtunate proprietor of the satin vest went off 
 into protest — pledging " his honor, " " his sacred 
 honor, " " his honor, which no man. General But- 
 ler, had ever doubted ; " that he was " a soldier." 
 
 THE CUMBERLAND. 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 At anchor in Hampton Roads we lay, 
 
 On board the Cumberland sloop-of-war ; 
 And at times from the fortress across the bay 
 Tlie alarm of drums swept past, 
 Or a bugle blast 
 From the camp on shore. 
 
 Then far away to the south uprose 
 
 A little feather of snow-white smoke, 
 And we knew that the iron ship of our foes 
 Was steadily steering its course. 
 To try the force 
 Of our ribs of oak. 
 
 Down upon us heavily runs 
 
 Silent and sullen, the floating fort j 
 Then comes a puff of smoke from her guns, 
 And leaps the terrible death, 
 With fiery breath, 
 From each open port. 
 
 We are not idle, but send her straight 
 
 Defiance back in a full broadside ! 
 As hail rebounds from a roof of slate. 
 Rebounds our heavier hail 
 From each iron scale 
 Of the monster's hide. 
 
 " Strike your flag ! " the rebel cries. 
 
 In his aiTOgant old plantation strain, 
 ** Never !" our gallant Morris replies ; 
 " It is better to sink than to yield ! " 
 And the whole air pealed 
 With the cheers of our men. 
 
 Then, like a kraken huge and black. 
 
 She crushed our ribs in her iron grasp ! 
 Down went the Cumberland all a wrack. 
 With a sudden shudder of death, 
 And the cannon's breath 
 For her dying gasp. 
 
 Next mora, as the sun rose over the bay, 
 
 Still floated our flag at the mainmast-head, 
 Lord, how beautiful was Thy day I 
 Every waft of the air 
 Was a whisper ofprayer. 
 Or a dirge for the dead. 
 
 Ho ! brave hearts that went down in the seas. 
 
 Ye are at peace in the troubled stream. 
 Ho ! brave land ! with hearts like these, 
 Thy flag that is rent in twain, 
 Shall be one again, 
 And without a seam. 
 
 Captain Williams' Escape. — T. J. Wil- 
 liams, Captain in the Twenty-Third regiment of 
 Kentucky Volunteers gives the following account 
 of his remarkable escape from the prison at Ma- 
 con, Georgia : — I was captured May 27, 1864, at 
 the battle of New Hope Church, or Dallas, 
 Georgia ; June 1st, I arrived at Macon, 
 Georgia, and was placed in the stockade, or 
 " pen '■ where I found twelve or fourteen hun- 
 dred officers, taken at dlfFerent periods of the war. 
 Among them Captain John A. Arthur, Eighth 
 Kentucky Cavalry, and when the war began, 
 connected with the"^ " Daily Times " ; also. Captain 
 Paul and Lieutenant David Locke, of Newport, 
 and Lieutenant Neimyer, of Covington, who 
 were all in good health. The stockade embraced 
 about two acres ; the fence was about twelve teet 
 high, and twelve feet from the outer fence waa 
 another about six feet high, which was called 
 " the dead line," the sentinels having instructions 
 to shoot any one touching this line. Jane 11, an 
 officer, whose name I do not remember, and 
 who was bathing at least fifteen feet from this 
 line, was shot and killed by one of the guard, who 
 received a furlough as a reward for his inhuman- 
 ity. 
 
 On the evening of June 4, 1 escaped from the 
 stockade by getting between the coupling-pole 
 and bed of the sutler's wagon, and in this man- 
 ner rode by the guard, but was detected after get- 
 ting beyond all the guards. For this oilence I was 
 sent to the Macon jail with an order " place him 
 (me) in close confinement," and feed me on corn- 
 bread and water until further orders. The fur- 
 ther orders never came to hand. 
 
 Shortly after being placed in jail I managed 
 to procure the impression of the cell keys on a 
 piece of dough made out of some wheat bread 
 I obtained tor the occasion, and with the assist- 
 ance of a file, I succeeded in manufacturing, out 
 of teaspoons, keys to fit all the locks. 
 
 June 30. — 1 had everything in readiness to 
 release all the prisoners, but Avas betrayed by an 
 inmate of the jail. 
 
 After this attempt I was placed in a cell with 
 Captain Whitlock, Aid to General Logan, Ser- 
 geant Gillespie, First Kentucky Cavalry, and 
 George Manning, Twenty-Fourth JMassachusetts 
 Infantry. 
 
 July 4. — We made a Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, and came near gaining our freedom in 
 the following manner : 
 
 During the day one of our number feigned 
 sickness. At night when the doors were opened 
 for the purpose of changing water, our sick man 
 stole into an empty cell and his place in our cell 
 was filled with a stuffed pair of pants and shirt. The 
 ruse not being detected, the man on the outside 
 
184 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 with the assistance of the teaspoon keys, opened 
 our doors, and by two o'clock in the morn- 
 ing of July 5, we were nearly through the 
 wall ; we were however detected shortly after- 
 ward, and again locked up. The jailer thinking 
 I was the one to blame for the damage done, 
 threatened me with a chain round my neck, and 
 one around each ankle, should I make another 
 attempt to escape. 
 
 July 22. — By another ruse, we again succeed- 
 ed in getting out of our cell. By 2 o'clock we 
 had an opening nearly large enough to pass 
 through. Being in the third story of the jail, we 
 required a rope, with which to reach the ground, 
 and made it by tearing our blankets up for the 
 purpose, and a very strong cable was the result 
 of our labor. Fifteen minutes, and we would be 
 outside of the gloomy walls. But again we were 
 doomed to disappointment, and were again locked 
 up, and after this attempt a guard of soldiers was 
 placed around the jail to make sure of us. 
 
 July 2G. — Captain Whitlock and myself con- 
 cluded to attempt the passage of the guards dis- 
 guised as one of the negro attendants of the jail. 
 Accordingly, we made a fire on the cell floor by 
 splitting some fine kindling of pine wood, burned 
 some cork which we were fortunate in procuring, 
 and by 6 o'clock that evening were ready for the 
 experiment, myself to attempt it first. When 
 the doors were opened for the purpose of chang- 
 ing the water, I placed one bucket on my head 
 and another in my right hand, and passed within 
 two feet of the guard without detection. I was 
 in the act of passing out of the yard-gate when 
 recognized, and the attention of the guard called 
 to me by a deserter from the Army of the Poto- 
 mac. I was again placed in my cell, and passed 
 the night sadly. It appeared to me that I was 
 not to succeed in making my escape, no matter 
 how often I attempted it. But I concluded to 
 " try again." 
 
 July SO. — Our plans were interrupted by 
 being placed in the cars " for Charleston, South 
 Carolina," but Stoneman came to the rescue. 
 The authorities, learning that the road had been 
 cut, removed us from the cars to the stockade. 
 Stoneman fought the rebels all day within our 
 hearing, and toward evening drove the rebels 
 within three-fourths of a mile of the city. His 
 shells struck several buildings in the centre of the 
 city, creating cjuite a panic. Hopes of being i-e- 
 leased by Stoneman created the warmest feehng 
 among our prisoners, but we were doomed to dis- 
 appointment, as our troops were compelled by 
 the overwhelming force brought against them, to 
 fall back, and two days later Stoneman liimself 
 was brought in a prisoner. 
 
 July 31. — Captain Whitlock, myself, and 
 eight others were returned to jail as " dangerous 
 characters." August 3, another plan was con- 
 cocted. Myself and another were to smuggle 
 eurselves into a cell on the outside of the door 
 which closed at the end of the entry, and which 
 it was necessary to open in order to allow the es- 
 cape of all the prisoners. Another prisoner was 
 to remain outside his cell, and co-operate with us 
 
 from the inside. This he failed to do, and for 
 fear of detection next morning, myself and part- 
 ner resolved to escape that night. 
 
 The prisoners of the cell in which we had 
 managed to smuggle oui'selves, not having made 
 any attempt to escape, the jailer was in the habit 
 of only locking the inside door upon them. Any 
 one having a key could open this door from the 
 inside ; I had altered a key to fit it. About nine 
 o'clock, we opened the door, and after passing out 
 closed and locked it again. I was to pass the 
 guard first, get over the fence, and make a signal 
 to my comrade. I stole gently down to the large 
 outer door where I could observe the guard pass- 
 ing and repassing. We had hoped to catch the 
 guard asleep, but after watching until three 
 o'clock in the morning, they were still on the alert. 
 I resolved to attempt the passage when he was 
 pacing his beat with his back toward me, and was 
 in the act of making the leap, when the command 
 " Halt ! who comes there ? " rang out upon the 
 air. I drew back and discovered the relief-guard 
 approaching; the guard was relieved, and five 
 minutes later I gave a leap, and thinking the 
 guard had noticed me, and was about to fire, 
 threw myself upon the ground ; I lay here some 
 ten minutes, the guard passing within twelve feet 
 of me. Finding that he had not noticed me I 
 made my way to the fence and scaled it in safety. 
 I made the signal agi'ced upon, Avaited ixn hour 
 and a half, and thinking my friend would not 
 risk the running of the guard, started on my jour- 
 ney, reaching the city limits just at daylight. 
 
 Sometime before my escape I contrived to get 
 hold of a confederate uniform, ixpon which I 
 sewed two bars which indicated, in the rebel ar- 
 my, a first lieutenant. Five miles from the city 
 I obtained a first-rate breakfast, for which they 
 refused pay, thinking that I was what I represent- 
 ed myself to be, " Lieutenant J. R. Brown, Fourth 
 Louisiana Battalion Volunteer Infantry." Dur- 
 ing the forenoon I lost myself, and at noon found 
 myself only nine miles fi'om JMaeon. I took din- 
 ner at an old planter's ; living at this house wa4< 
 a young man who had been in the army — he 
 proved very inquisitive ; he asked me the names 
 of our otKcers, engagements in which we had 
 taken part, &c., all of Avhich I was able to an- 
 swer correctly, being in possession of the 
 complete history of the regiment, which I ob- 
 tained from a confederate soldier in prison. The 
 old gentleman was not so susi)icious, but on the 
 contrary was very sociable, asking me if I was a 
 married man, and drawing my attention to tlie 
 fact that he had four daughters, all unmarried, 
 &c. Before I left, the young man was satisfied 
 that I was a loyal southerner, and the old gentle- 
 man refused to take any pay from a " soldier." 
 I thanked him, and bade them all good-by. 
 
 That night I had to pay five dollars in Confed- 
 erate money, for supper. I engaged a bed, and 
 had a good sound sleep only twelve miles from 
 Macon. I also learned that two hundred of 
 Wheeler's men were in camp only two miles 
 off. Next morning I started early, and passed 
 about one hundred wounded men on furlough 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 185 
 
 going down to the station to take the cars for 
 home. I approved of the policy of allowing 
 wounded men to go home, &c. They wanted to 
 Jcnow whether I was on furlough or not. I re- 
 plied that I was just out of the hospital, and then 
 en route to see a friend three miles from For- 
 sythe ; I passed on. Near Forsythe I passed a 
 squad of Wheeler's men, in search of the camp of 
 which I had heard the night previous. I gave 
 them directions where to find the camp, after 
 which they asked me what command I belonged 
 to, &c. I gave them the same old tale, which 
 satisfied them and passed on. 
 
 At the edge of Forsythe, I passed three hospit- 
 al camps, and experienced no trouble in doing 
 go. Two miles beyond the town I asked permis- 
 sion from an old planter, who was returning 
 home, to ride with him in his buggy, which he 
 granted. Seven and a-half miles from town, 
 we came to this gentleman's home. I thanked 
 him for his kindness and passed on. 
 
 I learned from a negro the names of parties 
 living on the opposite side of the Omulgee Riv- 
 er, which I had to cross that evening, and meet- 
 ing any one, I generally satisfied their curiosity 
 by telling them that I was just going down to 
 Mr. Bradford's or " any other man's " name that 
 I happened to know in advance. 
 
 At the river I found three cavalrymen (Wheel- 
 er's), on duty, " looking after Yanks." Stone- 
 man's men at this time were scattered all over 
 this part of the country, and made it more diffi- 
 cult to escape than under other circumstances. 
 
 The old ferryman Avas very inquisitive. I think 
 I satisfied him by giving him a larger bill than 
 he could change, and telling him to keep the 
 change until my return on the following day. I 
 asked the guards if they Avere " looking out for 
 Yanks, " to which they replied, " Yes." I told 
 them what command I belonged to, &c., and 
 passed on. Five miles from this place I encoun- 
 tered my hardest customer. He had been an 
 officer in the rebel Eastern army, but resigned 
 early in the war. He suspected me at fu-st sight, 
 and the following dialogue ensued between us : 
 
 Reb. — " What command do you belong to ? " 
 
 Yank. — " Fourth Louisiana Battalion." 
 
 Reb. — '' Give me the names of officers com- 
 manding your regiment, brigade and division." 
 
 Yank. — " Lieut. Colonel John McHenry, for- 
 merly commanded the regiment. He was wound- 
 ed in the arm and thigh at the battle of Resaca, 
 since Avhich time Major Bowie has commanded. 
 Colonel Gibson commands the brigade, and Major 
 General Stewart the division." 
 
 Reb. — " Where is Col. McHenry at now ? " 
 
 Yank. — " He is in the hospital at Columbus, 
 Georgia." 
 
 Reb. — " Have you any papers to vouch for 
 the tnith of your statements ? " 
 
 Yank. — "I have not." 
 
 Reb. — " How is it that you are without pas- 
 ses?" 
 
 Yank. — " It is not necessary for an officer to 
 have papers in going so short a distance." 
 
 Reb. — " You may be all right, but I want to 
 
 be satisfied. I fitted myself out for the purpose 
 of scouting for Yanks, and we are picking them 
 up every day. How far have you come to-day ? " 
 
 Yank. — " From Forsythe. I came over to 
 see my friend Joe Smith, the miller, who lives 
 three miles down the river to the left of the road 
 as you come from Macon. I am now going to 
 Mr. Sanderson IVIiddlebrook's, on private business 
 for a friend in the hospital at Forsythe." 
 
 Reb. — " How long have you been in For- 
 sythe ? " 
 
 Yank. — " Over two months. 1 was wounded 
 at Resaca ; after recovermg from my wound, I 
 was taken with erysipelas." 
 
 Reb. — " You can give the names of citizens 
 of Forsythe if you have been there two months." 
 
 Yank. — " No, sir, I cannot. I suffered se- 
 verely, and was afterward so sick that I did not 
 leave camp, and consequently did not form any 
 acquaintances." 
 
 Reb. — " Describe the camp and buildings sur- 
 rounding it." 
 
 I described quite a number of buildings I had 
 noticed in coming through. 
 
 Reb. — " Can you describe no others ? " 
 
 Yank. — " No, sir." 
 
 Reb. — " You have omitted the most conspicu- 
 ous building in the camp. Can you not de- 
 scribe it ? " 
 
 Yank.— "No, sir." 
 
 Reb. — " Well, sir, I will have to take you to 
 camp at Graball, where there are officers better 
 able to decide the matter." 
 
 Yank. — " My friend, if you do your duty you 
 do well ; but when you go bej-ond that, it is un- 
 bearable. I am a confederate officer, and ex- 
 pect to be treated as such. I have given you 
 enough proof to satisfy any reasonable man ; and 
 if you were an old soldier you would have been 
 satisfied with half the questions answered by 
 me. I have to be in Forsythe on Monday next, 
 in order to go to the front. If I go with you, I 
 will have to come back to-morrow to I\liddle- 
 brook's, and then I cannot reach Forsythe in 
 time." 
 
 Reb. — "Well, come and go back to Mr. 
 Smith's and stay all night." 
 
 Yank. — "I cannot go there, for the same rea- 
 son that I cannot go to camp." 
 
 Reb. — " Well, sir, if you will describe Mr. 
 Smith's house, I will be satisfied that you are all 
 right." 
 
 It struck the rebel that if I was one, I could 
 describe the house. That if I was a Yankee, I 
 had not been to Mr. Smith's, — which was three 
 miles off the road, — and consequently could not 
 describe it. I knew ihat if I did not describe it 
 I would have to go to camp with him, so 1 deter- 
 mined to make the attempt. In order to gain 
 time, I pretended not to understand him. 
 
 I knew that there were no brick buildings in 
 that part of the country, and that it must be ei- 
 ther a frame or a log house. Mr. Smith being a 
 miller, I concluded that it must be a frame. Af- 
 ter asking him what he said, I told him that I 
 could describe it ; and commenced to do so. I 
 
186 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 told him that it was a two-story frame house, of 
 pretty good size. 
 
 He replied that I was right, and that he was 
 thoroughly satisfied ; asked my pardon for de- 
 taining me so long ; shook hands, and we parted. 
 After this I resolved to travel at night, only. 
 
 At Hillsboro I was compelled to lie over 
 three days, until General Iverson's brigade of 
 Wheeler's command, got out of my way — nar- 
 rowly escaping capture, twice, by pickets or 
 scouts of this command. One of Stoneman's 
 raiders was captured at this place, driven into the 
 \YOods, and brutally murdered by his captors. 
 Near Monticello I was chased by blood-hounds, 
 but having procured an article which destroys 
 the scent before leaving Macon, I escaped from 
 them and their savage masters. The dogs hav- 
 ing lost the scent, myself and negro guide — 
 whom I engaged to take me around the town — 
 went into a negro housQ and took supper. While 
 there we were informeil that three Yankees had 
 been caught a short distance from town, and a 
 negi'O, caught with them, had been shot. My 
 guide, upon hearing this, made an excuse to go 
 out, and never returned. Shortly afterward I 
 started on again. There being but one road for 
 me to take, and fearing my pursuers might cross 
 over and lie in wait for me, I concluded to lie 
 over that night. I came to an old cotton-gin in 
 the end of which was a window, but no visible 
 means of getting up. After hunting around 
 awhile, I found a pine pole, which I placed 
 against the end of the building, and, by dint of 
 pretty good climbing reached the window and 
 got in. Here 1 lay all next day, sometimes gaz- 
 ing at the soldiers passing along the road, not 
 more than fifty yards distant, and sometimes 
 sleeping. At night I got down, went back to the 
 negro house of the niglit before and took supper. 
 
 At Madison, three more of Stoneman's caval- 
 ry were captured and murdered in cold blood. 
 
 Near Lawrenceville, hearing that our army 
 had been driven across the Chattahoochie river, 
 and was retiring on Chattanooga, and deeming it 
 best to change my direction, I resolved to enter 
 the house of a rich widow lady, engage supper, 
 and endeavor to obtain sight of a map. 
 
 I got supper, and also saw a map, from which 
 I added some new points on my lead-pencil map. 
 While in the house, the old lady asked me what 
 I thought about the war. I replied that if the peo- 
 ple of other States did as well as those of Geor- 
 gia they would be successful. She replied that 
 she thought they Avere a subjugated people. This 
 was before the fall of Atlanta. While I stayed 
 near Lawrenceville, large numbers of rebels 
 passed by — some going home, others making for 
 the mountains. They said there was no use stay- 
 ing at Atlanta and being killed up ; that they 
 were whipped anyhow. 
 
 The morning of August 25th found me six 
 miles from the Chattahoochie river, and twenty- 
 seven miles from Marietta. 
 
 That night I reached the river at a place 
 know as Mackeyfield's Bridge. I fouM that the 
 bridge had been destroyed by our cavalry in their 
 
 retreat, and I was compelled to swim it, which I 
 did at twelve o'clock at night. I passed through 
 Roswell at daylight, and concluded to ti-avel that 
 day until I reached our lines at Marietta. I met 
 quite a large number of citizens, to whom I rep- 
 resented myself as having been paroled by Stone- 
 man, in front of Macon, with the understanding 
 that I was to send out a Federal Lieutenant in 
 my stead, and that if I failed to do so I was 
 to report at Marietta as prisoner of war. Sever- 
 al of them advised me not to leport, but " I 
 couldn't think of breaking my parole." Five 
 miles from Marietta I took breakfast at an old 
 lady's house ; she told me of the cruel treatment 
 received at the hands of the Yankees, &c. She 
 mentioned one case, I remember, in which she 
 had traded butter and milk for flour and coffee, 
 and afterward the flour and coflee were taken from 
 her by the Yankees. 
 
 I reached our lines at Marietta that day, Au- 
 gust 26th, at ten o'clock, A. m., after a tedious and 
 dangerous journey of twenty-two days, having 
 travelled a distance of one hundred and sixty 
 miles, all but thirteen miles on foot. None but 
 those who have experienced it, can imagine the 
 intense feeling of joy that overwhelms one upon 
 again beholding the old flag, after a period of 
 suffering in Southern dungeons. 
 
 DRAGOON'S SONG. 
 
 Clash, clash goes the sabre against hay steed's side, 
 Kling, kling go the rowels as onward I ride ; 
 And all my bright harness is living and speaks, 
 And under my horse-shoe the frosty grouml creaks ; 
 I wave my buff glove to the girl whom I love, 
 Then join my dark squadron, and forward I move. 
 
 The foe all secure, has laid down by his gun ; 
 
 I'll open his eyelids before the bright sun ; 
 
 I burst on his pickets — they scatter, they fly ; 
 
 Too late they awaken — 'tis only to die. 
 
 Now the torch to their camp ; I'll make it a lamp, 
 
 As back to my quarters so slowly I tramp. 
 
 Kiss, kiss me my darling ; your lover is here, 
 
 Nay, kiss off the smoke-stains ; keep back that bright 
 
 tear; 
 Keep back that bright tear till the day when 1 come, 
 To the low wailing fife and deep muBlcd drum, 
 With a bullet half through the bosom so true. 
 To die, as I ought for my country and you. 
 
 George H. Bokeb. 
 
 H 
 
 Southern Opinions. — At every movement 
 of General Sherman's army, he captured more 
 or less of the confederates, and occasionally a few 
 came forward and voluntarily gave themselves 
 up. One of them being asked what he thought 
 of the Union forces and General Sherman, re- 
 plied in the following rather extravagant but at 
 the same time truthful style : " Sherman gits on a 
 hill, flops his wings and crows; then yells out, 
 ' Attention ! creation ! by kingdoms, riglit wheel ! 
 march ! ' and then we git." 
 
 Some of the prisoners, with an air of curiosity 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 187 
 
 worthy of a ' Yank,' inquire -where the boys get 
 those guns which they load on Sunday and fire 
 all the week. 
 
 The Occupation of Wilmington. — 
 Tlie reception accorded to the soldiers of the Re- 
 public by the inhabitants of Wilmington, N. C. 
 was a great and pleasing surprise to the officers 
 and men. 
 
 The inhabitants, male 'and female, came from 
 their houses into the streets, waving their hats 
 and handkerchiefs as greetings of welcome. 
 " We have been looking for you lor a long time," 
 said one. " You have got here at last," exclaimed 
 anothei". " God bless you." And many like ex- 
 pressions. American flags were brought out and 
 suspended over doors and from windows. One 
 old lady expressed herself very glad to see 
 Gen. Terry and his staff, for, said the aiacient 
 dame, " when I first seed you I thought you were 
 Confederate officers come looking up tobacco." 
 The colored people seemed beside themselves 
 with joy ; they sang and jumped, and shouted 
 for joy. _ 
 
 The sight of the colored troops filled the meas- 
 ure of their ecstatic joy. The men danced in 
 jubilation, the women screamed and went into 
 hysterics, then and there, on the sidewalks. And 
 their sable brethren in arms marched past, proud 
 and erect, singing their " John Brown " hymn, 
 where it was never sung before. Some of the 
 larger houses were closed and abandoned ; the 
 people inhabiting these dwellings were affiliated 
 with treason and rebellion. To their imagina- 
 tion, and their guilty consciences prompted the 
 imaginings, our soldiers wei-e not deliverers, but 
 the avenging agents of the government which 
 they had v/antonly and without cause outraged 
 and insulted. 
 
 Even from some of the finest mansicwis came 
 forth the inmates with smiles of welcome for the 
 defenders of the Union. What houses were 
 closed or abandoned were of the first class. The 
 middle class are nearly all loyal and four years' 
 experience of secession has convinced even many 
 of the slave-holding aristocracy that they com- 
 mitted a grave mistake, as well as a great crime, 
 when tliey attempted to sever the bands of our 
 common Union. 
 
 dress parade, he asked F. why he did that. He 
 replied, " To look as much alike as possible." — 
 The Colonel burst out laughing, and went, after 
 parade, to the store and bought him a pair of 
 shoes with his own money. 
 
 Looking Alike. — The following incident 
 illustrates how desirous the volunteers are to obey 
 orders, and the good result of their efforts : 
 
 I suppose you will see that I have written 
 mother's letter with a pencil, and yours with pen 
 and ink. It is because we have just had a lot of 
 pen-holders and pens given us by the govern- 
 ment. We have also had a box and a half of 
 shoe-blacking given to each man. You will re- 
 member that in my last letter I stated that G. 
 F. , one of the privates, had no shoes. When 
 the Colonel gave us the blacking he said he 
 wanted us to look as much alike as possible. So 
 G. F. went to work and blacked his feet and pol- 
 ished them ; and when the Colonel came along on 
 
 Gen. Haudee and the Straggler. — 
 While on a forced march in some of the army 
 movements in Mississippi, Gen. Hardee came up 
 with a straggler who had fallen some distance in 
 the rear of his command. The General ordered 
 him forward, when the soldier replied that he was 
 weak and broken down, not having had even half 
 rations for several days. ' 
 
 " That's hard," replied the General, " but you 
 must push forward, my good fellow, and join 
 your command, or the provost guard will take 
 you in hand." 
 
 The soldier halted, and, looking up at the Gen- 
 eral, asked : 
 
 " Aint you Gen. Hardee ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied the General. 
 
 " Didn't you write Hardee's Tactics ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Well, General, I've studied them tactics, and 
 know 'em by heart. You've got an order thar 
 to double column at half distance, aint you ? " 
 
 " Well," asked the General, " what has that 
 order to do with your case ? " 
 
 " I'm a good soldier. General, and obey all that 
 is possible to be obeyed : but if you can show 
 me an order in your tactics, or anybody else's 
 tactics, to double distance on half rations, then 
 I'll give in." 
 
 The General, with a hearty laugh, admitted 
 that there were no tactics to meet the case, and 
 putting spurs to his horse, rode forward. 
 
 How a Lieutenant Escaped. — The fol- 
 lowing incident is connected with the flight at 
 Sommerville, during the raid of Forrest through 
 Tennessee: — Lieut. Mclnfryre, Ninth Ilhnois 
 Cavalry, who was sent by Gen. Grierson with 
 dispatches from Newcastle, eight miles east of 
 Sommerville and twelve miles north of the La 
 Grange, finding himself suddenly surrounded, 
 threw away his arms and crawled under a house. 
 From there he crept to a cotton gin near by. In 
 the gin was a large pile of cotton seeds. The 
 lieutenant dug a hole in it, crawled in, pulled a 
 large basket over his head, and was thus com- 
 pletely ensconced, save his legs, over which he 
 drew sufficient to conceal them, some of the seed. 
 No sooner had he hid, than a surgeon of the 
 Seventh Illinois also came rushing into the gin, 
 pursued by ten rebels. He had just time to con- 
 ceal himself between some boards in the loft, 
 when the rebels came rushing up, and began to 
 search for him. They had not seen the lieuten- 
 ant enter the gin, but they were certain the sur- 
 geon was there. They put a guard at every av- 
 enue of escape, at each door and window, and 
 then commenced the search. They went all 
 through the building upstairs, tried upon the 
 
188 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 plank beneath which lay the surgeon, but did 
 not find him. They peeped into every knot-hole* 
 but in vain. 
 
 Not long after it was ascertained that Forrest 
 had returned South, and the various columns of 
 infantry, cavaliy and artillery were accordingly 
 ordered back and went into camp. 
 
 An Incident op Spottsylvania. — Dur- 
 ing the kill in the strife, I rode back to the Sec- 
 ond corps' hospitals to see the wounded. 
 
 " How goes it, boys ? " was the question. 
 
 " All right," said one. 
 
 " Pretty rough," said another. 
 
 " They niver will get through the Second 
 corps," said a Hibernian. 
 
 The lull had become a storm. How fearfully 
 rolled the musketry ! It is utterly useless to at- 
 tempt a description or comparison. It was vol- 
 ley after volley, surge after surge, roll after roll. 
 
 Maurice Collins, of the Twelfth Massachusetts, 
 was brought in with an ugly wound through his 
 shoulder. He was a Catholic, and the priest 
 was showing him the crucifix. 
 
 " Will it be mortal ? " he asked. 
 
 " Perhaps not, if you will lie still and keep 
 quiet ; but you may have to lose your arm." 
 
 " Well, I am willing to give my arm to my 
 country," was the reply of one, who, though born 
 in the ever green isle, while loving the harp and 
 shamrock, adores the stars and stripes of his 
 adopted country. 
 
 THE FLORIDA'S CRUISE. 
 
 BY A FOKETOP-MAN OF THE C. S. S. FLORIDA. 
 
 Air — Red, White, and Blue (Southern edition). 
 
 One evening:, off Mobile, tlie Yanks they all knew 
 That the wind from the north'ard most bitterly blew; 
 They also all knew, and they thought they were sure, 
 They'd block'd in the Florida, safe and secure. 
 
 Huzza ! huzza, for the Florida's crew ! 
 
 We'll rangre with bold Maffitt the world through 
 and through. 
 
 Nine cruisers they had, and they lay off the bar, 
 Their lonp; line to seaward extending so far, 
 And Preble, he said, as he shut his eyes tight : 
 I'm sure they're all hammock'd this bitter cold night. 
 
 Bold Maffitt commanded, a man of great fame. 
 He sail'd in the Dolphin — you've heard of the same ; 
 He call'd us all aft, and these words he did say: 
 I'm bound to run out, boys, up anchor, away ! 
 
 Our hull was well whitewash'd, our sails were all 
 
 stow'd, 
 Our steam was chock up, and the fresh wind it 
 
 blow'd ; 
 As we crawl'd along by them, the Yanks gave a 
 
 shout — 
 Wo dropp'd all our canvas and open'd her out. 
 
 You'd have thou<iht them all mad, if you'd heard 
 
 the curs'd racket 
 They made upon seeing om* flash little packet ; 
 
 Their boatswains did pipe, and the blue lights did 
 
 pi-T'y. 
 
 And the great Drummond light — it turn'd night into 
 day. 
 
 The Cuyler, a boat that's unrival'd for speed, 
 Quick let slip her cables, and quickly indeed 
 She thought for to catch us and keep us in play, 
 Till her larger companions could get under way. 
 
 She chas'd and she chas'd, till at dawnins: of day 
 From her backers she thought she was too far away, 
 So she gave up the chase and reported, no doubt, 
 That she'd sunk us and burnt us somewhere there- 
 about. 
 
 So when we were out, boys, all on the salt sea. 
 We brought the Estelle to, right under our lee, 
 And burnt her and sunk her with all her fine gear, 
 And straight sail'd for Havana the bold privateer. 
 
 'Twas there we recruited and took in some stores. 
 Then kiss'd the senoras and sail'd from their shores, 
 And on leaving their waters, by way of a joke. 
 With two Yankee brigs, boys, we made a great smoke. 
 
 Our hull was well wash'd with the limestone so white. 
 Which sailors all know is not quite Christianlike, 
 So to paint her all ship-shape we went to Green Keys, 
 Where the Sonoma came foaming, the Rebel to seize. 
 
 We put on all sail and up steam right away, 
 And for fort3'-cight hours she made us some plaj', 
 When our coal being dusty and choking the flue, 
 Our steam it slack'd down, and nearer she drew. 
 
 Oh, ho ! cried our captain, I see what's your game ! 
 Clear away the stern pivot, the Bulldog by name. 
 And two smaller dogs to keep him corapanie. 
 For very sharp teeth have these dogs of the sea. 
 
 The Sonoma came up, until nearly in range, 
 When her engines gave out ! — now wasn't that 
 
 strange ? 
 — I don't know the truth, but it's my firm belief 
 She didn't like the looks of the Florida's teeth. 
 
 She gave up the chase and returned to Key West, 
 And told her flag captain that she done her best ; 
 But the story went round, and it grew rather strong, 
 And the public acknowledg'd that something was 
 wrong. 
 
 We went on a cruising and soon did espy 
 A fine, lofty clipper, bound home from Shanghai ; 
 We burnt her and sunk her i' th' midst of the sea, 
 And drank to Old Jeff in the best of Bohea ! 
 
 We next found a ship with a quakerish name : 
 A wolf in sheep's clothing oft pla3-s a deep game, — 
 For the hold of that beautiful, mild, peaceful Star 
 Was full of saltpetre, to make powder for war. 
 
 Of course the best nature could never stand that, 
 
 Saltpetre for Boston's a little too fat. 
 
 So we burnt her and sunk her, she made a great 
 
 blaze. 
 She's a star now gone down, and we've put out her 
 
 rays. 
 
 We next took a schooner well laden with bread ; 
 What the devil got into Old Uncle Abe's head ? 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 189 
 
 To send us such biscuit is such a fine thing, 
 It sets us all laughing, as we sit and sing. 
 
 We next took the Lapwing, right stuff in her hold. 
 And that was blaclc diamonds that people call coal ; 
 With that in our bunkers we'll tell Uncle Sara, 
 That we think his gunboats are not worth a damn. 
 
 The Mary Jane Colcord to Cape Town was bound. 
 We bade iier heave to though and swing her yards 
 
 round, 
 And to Davy Jones' locker without more delay 
 We sent her afire, and so sailed on our way. 
 
 Huzza ! huzza, for the Florida's crew ! 
 
 We'll range with bold Maffitt the world through 
 and throufrh. 
 
 Fkench Delaney. — Near Falls Church, 
 Virginia, there lived before the war a wealthy 
 and highly-respected family of the name of De- 
 laney. When the war broke out one of the 
 sons joined Mosby's band, and a daughter became 
 a volunteer nurse in a rebel hospitah Both be- 
 came celebrated in their way. The son was 
 young, daring and adventurous, the pride of the 
 female sex for thirty miles around the place of his 
 nativity. He was soon the dread of Union sol- 
 diers and Union men of Virginia. 
 
 Not a stray soldier from picket escaped him, 
 not a Union farmer, but ti'embled at his name. 
 The vicinity of Dranesville, Chantilly, Falls 
 Church and Vienna can attest to his notoriety and 
 achievement. The father of a rebellious son and 
 daughter sternly maintained his loyalty and fidel- 
 ity to the Union. At the opening of the war he 
 immediately offered his services to the Federal 
 Government, and was promoted to the rank of 
 colonel in the volunteer service. 
 
 Early one day a scouting party, consisting of 
 detachments from the Thirteenth New York and 
 Second Massachusetts Cavalry, under the com- 
 mand of Lieutenant E. B. Lyell, started from 
 Falls Church in pursuit of guerillas, reported to 
 be in the neighborhood of Chantilly and Herndon 
 station. On the morning following their depart- 
 ure, the troops were quietly drinking their coflee 
 within half a mile of the station, five of the ad- 
 vance guard posted on the road ; suddenly, as if 
 rising from the earth, came galloping at full speed, 
 five men fully armed and equipped. 
 
 A volley from the advanced guard caused a mo- 
 mentary pause ; the next minute the guerillas 
 turned and fled, the advance starting in pursuit, 
 an exciting chase ensuing for half a mile. A sec- 
 ond volley was fired by the pursuers ; but still the 
 rebels kept onward in their course till they arrived 
 near the pine woods, when they dashed in and 
 the men dared not follow. A stray horse was 
 seen to gallop from the woods without a rider ! 
 A man was shot ! AVhere was he V 
 
 The neighborhood was searched, and, in an ad- 
 joining house, stretched on a bed, pale and breath- 
 mg hard, was found a wounded man, a young lady 
 fanning him tenderly. The officer in command 
 asked him, " Do you belong to the regular Con- 
 federate army, and what regiment ? " He replied ; 
 " I belong to Mosby's command." He stated 
 
 that he had always used the Union men well 
 when he had taken them prisoners, and begged 
 that a surgeon be sent ; with which request Lieu- 
 tenant Lyell promptly complied. The surgeon 
 came too late, for two nights afterwards the noto- 
 rious Frenchy Delaney breathed his last, Colo- 
 nel Delaney arriving just in time to take a last 
 farewell. 
 
 Curious to relate, Colonel Delaney was tak- 
 en prisoner to Richmond, and his own son was 
 present at the capture. The news of his fate flew 
 fast ; on arriving at Dranesville, the officer in 
 charge was accosted by the fair damsels of reb- 
 eldom, in terms like this : " Now, have you really 
 shot Frenchy Delaney ? Well, now, that is too 
 bad ; I hope he wont die." " Yes," replied Ly- 
 ell, " and very soon you will have no rebel 
 beaux to many ? you will have to take up with 
 Union men." " We will," was the answer, " but 
 we will convert them." " Perhaps," said the 
 Lieutenant, " we shall convert you." The maid- 
 ens smiled incredulously, and Lyell left for his 
 command. 
 
 Reminiscences of General Sumner. — 
 When the history of this war is faithfully written, 
 Sumner's name will be one of the brightest in 
 that noble army whict has illustrated the disci- 
 pline and valor of Northern troops on so many 
 bloody fields, but which, through a leader infirm 
 of purpose, never yet gathered the ripe fruits of 
 victory. At Fair Oaks and Malvern Hill he de- 
 cided the fate of the day ; and through the whole 
 Peninsular campaign he was in the hottest, dead- 
 liest of the fighting. 
 
 He had the true soldierly temperament. Not 
 only was his whole heart in the war, but if it is 
 possible for any man to love fighting, to ieel what 
 the ancients called " the rapture of the strike," 
 Sumner was that man. He snuffed the battle 
 afar off". He went into it with a boyish enthusi- 
 asm. Our generals usually expose themselves 
 not too little but too much. If they participated 
 less in the peril, they might often economize the 
 lives of their men more and yet achieve the same 
 results. But in this soldiery imprudence Sumner 
 eclipsed them all. The chronic wonder of his 
 friends was that he ever came out of battle 
 alive ; but at last they be^an to believe with him, 
 that he was invincible. He would get bullets in 
 his hat, his coat, his boots, his saddle, his horse, 
 sometimes have his person scratched, but always 
 escaped without serious injury. His soldiers 
 used to tell, with great relish, the story that in the 
 Mexican war a bullet which struck him square in 
 the forehead fell flattened to the ground without 
 breaking the skin, as the hunter's ball glances 
 from the forehead of the buffalo. It was this 
 anecdote which won for him the soubriquet of 
 " Old Bull Sumner." He desired, when his time 
 should come, to fall in battle ; but it illustrates 
 the fortunes of war that the officer who for forty 
 years had thus courted death should at last die 
 peacefully in his bed, surrounded by his family. 
 
 At Fair Oaks, when his troops were stagger- 
 
190 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ing under a pitiless storm of bullets, Sumner 
 came galloping along up and down the advance 
 line, more exposed than any private in the ranks. 
 " What regiment is this ? " he asked. " The fif- 
 teenth Massachusetts," replied a hundred voices. 
 " I, too, am from ^lassachusetts ; three cheers for 
 our old Bay State ! " And,swin^ng his hat, the 
 general led off, and everj' soldier joined in three 
 thmidering cheers. The enemy looked on in won- 
 der at the strange episode, but was driven back 
 by the fierce charge which followed. 
 
 This was no unusual scene ; it was the way 
 Sumner fought his battles. Staff officers will tell 
 you by the hour, how, when the guns began to 
 pound, his mild eye would light up with flashes 
 of fire ; how he would take out his artificial teeth, 
 which became troublesome during the excitement 
 of battle, and place them carefully in his pocket ; 
 raise his spectacles from his eyes and rest them 
 upon the forehead, that he might see clearly ob- 
 jects at a distance ; give his orders to his subor- 
 dinates, and then gallop headlong into the thick 
 of the fight. 
 
 How many soldiers, as they read cind talk of 
 his death, recall the erect form, the snowy hair 
 streaming in the wind, the frank face of that won- 
 derful old man, who, 
 
 " In worst extremes, 
 And on the perilous edge of battle 
 Wlicn it raged," 
 
 would ride along their front lines, when they 
 were falling like grass before the mower, encour- 1 
 aging the fearful, and shouting through the smoke, 
 " Steady, men, steady ! Don't be excited. | 
 When you have been soldiers as long as I, you ; 
 will learn that this is nothing. Stand firm and i 
 do your duty I" j 
 
 For a man of sixty-four, his health was marvel- j 
 lous. His long, temperate life in the pure air of j 
 the great plains and the mountains — a region of | 
 which he was enthusiastically fond — retained in ' 
 his vigorous frame the elasticity of boyhood. Up- 
 on a maixh he usually quite wore out his staff | 
 with hard riding. When he left the field a short j 
 time previous to his death there were few offi- j 
 cers as nimble and agile as he ; few who could ; 
 spring upon a horse more easily, or ride with ' 
 more grace and endurance. 
 
 There was no straining for dramatic effect 
 about Sumner. He never advertised his exploits. 
 He sometimes displayed heroism which would il- , 
 lustrate the brightest pages of history ; but he did I 
 it unostentatiously, unconsciously. It was the 
 act of a soldier quietlv pertbrmiug a soldier's du- 
 
 *>'• . [ . \ 
 
 At Fair Oaks, on Saturday evening, after Ca- 1 
 
 sey and Heintzelman had suffered greatly, and j 
 
 been driven three or four miles, Sumner crossed j 
 
 the Chickahominy at an unexpected point, and | 
 
 attacking the enemy ^-igorously in flank and rear, 
 
 turned the tide of battle. On Sunday morning 
 
 the fight was renewed ; many a gallant officer 
 
 fell. Gen. Howard lost his ann at the head of 
 
 his brigade, and our triumph was gained at a 
 
 heavy cost ; but Sumner held his advantage. 
 
 During a luU in the battle, McClellan crossed the 
 river, remained long enough to write his famous 
 despatch censuring Casey's men, and then suc- 
 ceeded in returning upon a log over the swelling 
 stream. Our bridges were swept away ; our ar- 
 my was thus cut in twain ; and Sumner, with his 
 three shattered corps, was left without hope of 
 reinforcements. The weakened half of our ar- 
 my was at the mercy of the enemy's entire force. 
 
 On that Sunday night, after making his dis- 
 positions to receive an attack, Sumner sent for 
 Gen. Sedgwick, who commanded his Second Di- 
 vision, — one of his special friends and most trust}' 
 soldiers. " Sedgwick," said he, " you perceive the 
 situation. The epemy will probably precipitate 
 himself upon us at daylight. Reinforcements are 
 impossible ; he can overwhelm and destroy us. 
 But at this most critical period the country cannot 
 afford to have us defeated. The enemy may win 
 a victory ; but we must make it a victory that 
 shall ruin him. There is just one thing for us to 
 do : we must stand here and die like men ! Im- 
 press it upon your officers that we must do this 
 to the last man — to the last man ! We may not 
 meet again ; but we will at least die like soldiers." 
 
 And so Sumner wrung the hand of his lieuten- 
 ant and bade him farewell. Morning came ; the 
 rebels failing to discover our perilous condition, 
 did not renew the attack ; in a day or two new 
 bridges were bmlt, aud the sacrifice was averted. 
 But Sumner was the man to carrj- out his resolu- 
 tion to the letter. 
 
 After Fair Oaks, he retained possession of a 
 house on our old Une of battle ; and the head- 
 quarters' tents were brought up and pitched there. 
 They were within range of a rebel battery which 
 awoke the General and his staff every morning, 
 by dropping shot and shell all about them for two 
 or three hours. Sumner implored permission to 
 capture or drive away that batterj-, but was re- 
 fused, on the ground that it might bring on a 
 general engagement. He chafed and stormed : 
 •' It is the most disgraceful thing of my hfe," he 
 said," that this should be permitted ;" but Mc- 
 Clellan, whose prudence never forsook him, was 
 inexorable. Sumner was begged to remove his 
 head-quarters to a safer position, but he persisted 
 in staying there for fourteen days, and at last only 
 withdrew upon a peremptory order from his su- 
 perior. 
 
 The experience of that fortnight shows how 
 much iron and lead may fly about men's ears 
 without harming them. During the whole bom- 
 bardment only two persons at the head-quarters 
 were injured. The surgeon of a Rhode Island 
 battery was slightly wounded in the head by a 
 piece of shell which flew into his tent ; and a pri- 
 vate, who laid down behind a log for protection, 
 was instantly killed by a shell knocking a splinter 
 from the log, which fractured his skull. There 
 were many hairbreadth escapes ; but not another 
 man received a scratch. 
 
 During the artillery fighting, the day before 
 Antietam, Sumner lay upon the grass under the 
 shade trees, in front of the brick house which 
 served for General Head-quarters. A few yardj 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND DsCIDENTS. 
 
 191 
 
 distant, in an open field, a party of staff officers 
 and civilians were suddenly startled by a stray 
 gbell from the enemy, -which dropped about a 
 hundred feet from them. It was followed by 
 another which fell stiU nearer, and the group 
 broke up and scattered with great alacrity. 
 " Why," remarked Sumner, with a peculiar smile, 
 " the shells excite a good deal of commotion 
 among those young gentlemen ! " The idea which 
 seemed to amuse him was that anybody should be 
 disconcerted by shells. 
 
 At Fredericksburg, by the express order of 
 Bumside, Sumner remained on this side of the 
 river during the fighting. The precaution prob- 
 ably saved his life. Had he ridden with his usual 
 rashness out on that fiery front, he had never 
 returned to tell what he saw. Still, he chafed 
 sadly under the restriction. As the sun went 
 down on that day of glorious but fruitless en- 
 deavor, he p^ccd to and fro in front of the Lacey 
 Hous3 with one- arm thrown around the neck of 
 his son, his face haggard with sorrow and anxiety, 
 and his eyes straining eagerly for the arrival of 
 each successive messenger. 
 
 He was a man of high ambition. Once, hearing 
 Gen. Howard remark that he did not aspire to 
 the command of a coi-ps, he exclaimed : " Gen- 
 eral, you surprise me. I would command the 
 world, if I could ! " But it was the ambition of a 
 soldier and a patriot He gave to his superiors 
 not merely lip-service, but zealous, hearty, untir- 
 ing co-operation. It was a point of honor with 
 him, even when he believed them mistaken or in- 
 competent, never to breathe a word to their dis- 
 paragement. 
 
 He was sometimes called arbitrary ; but he had 
 great love for his soldiers, especially his old com- 
 panions in anus. One of his officers tell a laugh- 
 able story of applying to him for a ten days' fur- 
 lough, when the rule against them was impera- 
 tive. Sumner peremptorily refused it. But the 
 officer sat do"ivn beside him, and began to talk 
 about the Peninsula campaign, the battles in 
 whic h he had done his duty, immediately under 
 Sumner' eye ; and it was not many minutes be- 
 fore the General granted his petition. '• If he 
 had only waited," said the narrator, " until I re- 
 minded him of some scenes at Antietam, I am 
 sure he would have given me twenty days instead 
 of ten." 
 
 He possessed great kindness of heart : he was 
 intrinsically a gontleman — an example which 
 some of our Major-Generals might study to ad- 
 vantage. His intercourse with women and chil- 
 dren was characterized by peculiar chivalry and 
 gentleness. There was much about him to revive 
 the old ideal of the soldier — terrible in battle, 
 but with a heart open and tender as a child's. 
 
 To his youngest son — a captain upon his 
 staff — he was bound by ties of unusual affection. 
 " Sammy " was his constant companion ; in private 
 he leaned upon him, caressed him, and consulted 
 him upon the most trivial matters. It was a 
 touching bond which united the gray, war-worn 
 veteran to the child of his old age. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN'S WIFE. 
 
 BY THEODORE TILTOX. 
 
 We gathered roses, Blanche and I, for little Madge, 
 one morning, — ' 
 " I am a soldier's wife," said Blanche, "and dread 
 a soldier's fate ! " — 
 Her voice a little trembled then, as nnder some fore- 
 warning, — 
 A soldier galloped up the lane, and halted at the 
 gate. 
 
 " Which house is Malcolm Blake's 1 " he cried, — " a 
 letter for his sister ! " 
 And when I thanked him, Blanche inquired, "Bat 
 none for me, his wife ? " 
 The soldier played with Madge's carls, and stooping 
 over, kissed her : 
 " Your father was my captain, child ; — I loved 
 him as my life ! " 
 
 Then suddenly he galloped off, and left the rest un- 
 spoken ; 
 I blu-st the seal, and Blanche exclaimed — " What 
 makes you tremble so ? " 
 What answer did I dare to speak ? — how ought the 
 news be broken 1 
 I could not shield her from the stroke, yet tried to 
 ease the blow. 
 
 " A battle in the swamps," I said, — " our men were 
 brave, but lost it ; " 
 And pausing there, — " the note," I said, " is not 
 in Malcolm's hand." 
 And first a flush went through her face, and then a 
 shadow crossed it, — 
 "Read quick, dear May, — read all, I pray, and 
 let me understand ! " 
 
 I did not read it as it stood, but tempered so the 
 phrases 
 As not at first to hint the worst, — held back the 
 fatal word, 
 And half re-told his gallant charge, his shouts, hii 
 comrades' praises, — 
 When, like a statue carved in stone, she neither 
 spoke nor stirred ! 
 
 Oh ! never yet a woman's heart was frozen so com- 
 pletely ! — 
 So unbaptized with helping tears ! — so passionle» 
 and dumb ! 
 Spell-bound she stood, and motionless — till little 
 Madge spoke sweetly : 
 " Dear mother, is the battle done ? — and will mv 
 father come 1 " 
 
 I laid my finger on her lips, and set the child to play- 
 ing ; — 
 Poor Blanche ! the winter in her cheek was snowy, 
 hke her name ! 
 What could she do but kneel and pray ? — and linger 
 at her praying ? 
 O Christ, when other heroes die, moan other wives 
 the same ? 
 
 Mast other "women's hearts yet break, to keep the 
 cause from failing ? 
 God pity our brave lovers then, who face the ba^ 
 tie's blaze ! 
 And pity ^vives in widowhood ! — But is it unavail- 
 ing? 
 O Lord, give Freedom first, then Peace, — and 
 unto Thee be praise I 
 
192 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 An Incident of the Battle Field. — A 
 writer in the " Congregationallst" tells this : — 
 
 Eeturning, we saw a newly opened grave. It 
 was for a Michigan boy of eighteen, who had 
 been shot down "by the side of his father, who 
 was a private in the same company. The father 
 sat beside the grave, carving his boy's name upon 
 a rude head-board. It was his first-born. I took 
 him by the hand, and gave him all my heart ; of- 
 fered a prayer, which brother Holmes followed 
 with appropriate words. There was no coffin, 
 but a few pieces of board were laid in the bottom 
 of the grave, between the body and the bare 
 ground. 
 
 "Wrap him in this blanket," said the father; 
 " it is one his sister sent him. Ah ! me, how will 
 they bear it at home ? What will his poor 
 mother do ? She must have a lock of his hair ! " 
 
 I stooped to cut the lock with my penknife, 
 when a soldier came forward with a pair of scis- 
 sors from his little '• housewife." My heart blessed 
 the Sabbath-school child who had made that 
 timely gift. And so, having rendered the last 
 offices of faith and affection, we laid the brave 
 boy in his gi-ave, while the cannon was still roar- 
 ing the doom of others, young and brave, whom 
 we had just left on the field. 
 
 A Story of General Grant. — A visitor 
 to the army called upon him one morning, and 
 found the General sitting in his tent smoking, and 
 talking to one of his stall-officers. The stranger 
 approached the chieftain, and inquired of him as 
 follows : — 
 
 " General, if you flank Lee, and get between 
 him and Riclimond, will you not ' uncover Wash- 
 ington,' and leave it a prey to the enemy ? " 
 
 General Grant, discharging a cloud of smoke, 
 with a " silver lining," from his mouth, indif- 
 ferently replied, " Yes, I reckon so." 
 
 Stranger, encouraged by the reply he thus re- 
 ceived, propounded question number two, — 
 
 " General, do you not think Lee can detach 
 sufficient force from his army to reinforce Beau- 
 regard and ovei'whelm Butler ? " 
 
 " Not a doubt of it," replied the GeneraL 
 
 Stranger, becoming fortified by his success, 
 propounded question number three, as follows, — 
 
 " General, is there not danger that Johnston 
 may come up and reinforce Lee, so that the lat- 
 ter will swing around and cut your communica- 
 tions and seize your supplies ? " 
 
 " Very likely," was the cool reply of the Gen- 
 oral, as he knocked the ashes fi'om the end of his 
 cigar with his little finger. 
 
 Stranger, horrified at the awful fate about to 
 befall General Grant and the army, made his 
 exit and hastened to Washington to communicate 
 the " news." • 
 
 Reminiscence of Fort Donelson. — On 
 Saturday night before the surrender, a council 
 of war was called. Pillow, Floyd, Buckner, and 
 a number of brigadiers composed this body. 
 
 There was much confusion and exciting debate 
 for a while. Some thought it necessary to sur- 
 render, and some did not. It was midnight, and 
 no definite understanding was come to. General 
 Floyd, seeing this, dismissed the council, request- 
 ing Pillow and Buckner to remain. The three 
 sat down gloomily by the fire to ponder over the 
 sad aspect of affairs. A long silence ensued. 
 
 " Well, gentlemen," said Floyd, " I see you are 
 still divided, and as I have the casting vote, I 
 will settle the matter at once. I favor a surrender 
 myself, provided the duty does not devolve upon 
 me. I cannot surrender, because the United 
 States Government have indicted me for treason, 
 and the probability is that if they w^ere to get mc 
 they would hang me. So you see the thing is 
 impossible. I transfer the command to you. Gen- 
 eral." 
 
 " Well, gentlemen, it remains with us to decide 
 this matter, and we must do it at once. It is now 
 midnight, and if we retreat we haven't got a min- 
 ute to lose." 
 
 " I say retreat," said Pillow. 
 
 " I say surrender ! We have shed enough 
 blood already to no purpose," said Buckner. 
 
 " Well, gentlemen," said Pillow, " I'm in the 
 same fix as yourself. The Yankees have got me 
 indicted for shipping guns and munitions of war 
 to the Confederate Government. So you see I 
 can't surrender either ; they would hang me as 
 quick as they would you, and if you are excusar 
 ble I guess I am too. So I transfer my right of 
 command to you, General Buckner." « 
 
 General Buckner bowed, but said nothing. 
 At that moment a noise was heard without. The 
 door opened, and the courier announced an 
 officer who desired admittance. He was ordered 
 to show him in, and the next moment Colonel 
 Forrest, all splashed with mud and water, with 
 high toj^ped boots and an old slouched hat, made 
 his appearance. He walked to the firej^lace and 
 seated himself without saying a word. After a 
 few moments Floyd said : 
 
 " Well, Colonel, have you anything important 
 to communicate that you come here at this late 
 hour, or has your curiosity led you to pay us this 
 visit in order to find out what we have decided 
 upon ? " 
 
 " Both," rcphed Forrest, dryly ; then rising 
 from his chair, he said : 
 
 "But is it possible, gentlemen, as I have 
 already heard whispered this night, that you 
 intend to surrender V " 
 
 " Yes," was the reply. " We have just arrived 
 at that conclusion." 
 
 " But," said Forrest, " there is no occasion for 
 it, gentlemen ; the whole army can easily escape 
 without the loss of a man ; not an hour ago I 
 crossed the river on my horse where it was not 
 waist deep. I crossed it going on horseback, 
 and waded it coming back. It is free from 
 Yankee pickets also, and there is no danger to be 
 feared." 
 
 " Yes ; but, Colonel," said General Floyd, " my 
 scouts have reconnoitred the entire river, and an 
 officer who arrived not half an hour ago told me 
 
M'VJ/GCN, i{ )[iN SEDGW LCK 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 193 
 
 that he had tested the river everywhere, and no 
 spot had he found that was fordable." 
 
 " I don't care, General, if he did," said Forrest ; 
 "he told.you a d — d lie, as I am ready to swear 
 that I waded the river not half an hour ago, as 
 my wet clothes will testify. And now, gentle- 
 men, as it is getting late, it is high time you should 
 be acting. AVill you take my advice and make 
 your escape ? " 
 
 " No," was the reply, " it is too late." 
 
 " I have one request to make," said Forrest ; 
 " I have a fine regiment of cavalry here, and I 
 want permission to take it out. Grant me this 
 much, and I'm off." 
 
 Genei-al Buckner nodded his head, when For- 
 rest bolted out of the house, took his command, 
 crossed the river, at the aforesaid place, and 
 made his escape without the loss of a man. 
 
 A Good Marksman. — The effectiveness of 
 the batteries is proverbial. While advancing on 
 Resaca, when Sweeney's division was on the 
 right and in reserve, Cajjtain Arndt's Michigan 
 battery was wheeled into position. 
 
 " Do you sec that house ? " said the captain, 
 addressing one of his gunners, and pointing to a 
 building a mile away. 
 
 " I do, captain," was the response. 
 
 " Can you hit it?" 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 The piece was levelled, the lanyard drawn, 
 and the chimney of the house feU with a crash ! 
 
 ~ Amusing Incident. — Charles Gates, a 
 minor son wished to enlist, but his aged parents 
 objected to it. One morning he was sent to 
 drive the cows to pasture, on his way to work, 
 taking his dinner with him. But at night he did 
 not come back, because he had run away and 
 enlisted. He remained through the three years 
 without a furlough, and returned with the regi- 
 ment unharmed by rebel bullets. He arrived in 
 the old pasture at home one night just at " cow- 
 time," and leisurely drove up the same old cows 
 as if he hadn't been away for three years. His 
 "reception" was a joyful one, none the less so 
 because his coming was a complete surprise. 
 
 A Burial at Sea. — A correspondent at 
 Nassau, N. P. wrote as follows: — "A melan- 
 choly incident occurred upon the steamship 
 Fannie, while being chased by a Yankee man-of- 
 war. One of the passengers on board, Cajitain 
 Frank Du BaiTy, late chief of ordnance on Gen. 
 Beauregard's staff, C. S. A., died. Preparations 
 had to be completed for his burial, which took 
 place amid all the excitement of the chase. A 
 burial at sea is a ceremony at all times full of so- 
 lemnity, but it is when coupled with such events 
 as this that war assumes its most repulsive aspect. 
 In that frail little steamer, quivering with her 
 efforts to escape the relentless fate bearing down 
 on her with frowning guns, and the ferocity of a 
 13 
 
 tiger, while every living heart on board was 
 throbbing with anxiety for safety, they were sud- 
 denly called upon to I'ender the last and most 
 solemn rites known to our existence. No time 
 then to stop in mid-ocean, while woi'ds that con- 
 signed " dust to dust," "ashes to ashes," went up 
 in presence of the grim destroyer, but still dash- 
 ing onward through the waves — a short and 
 hurried service, a heavy splash, and a body sank 
 to its eternal resting-place in the broad ocean's 
 bosom, while all that was dear to it in life sped 
 from it on its way like the arrow from the bow." 
 
 The Soldier Bird. — One day in the 
 spring of 1861, Chief Sky, a Chippewa Indian, 
 living in the northern wilds of Wisconsin, cap- 
 tured an eagle's nest. To make sure of his prize 
 he cut the tree down, and caught the eaglets as 
 they were sUding from the nest to run and hide 
 in the grass. One died. He took the other 
 home, and built it a nest in a tree close by his 
 wigwam. The eaglet was as big as a hen, cov- 
 ered with soft brown down. The red children 
 were delighted with their new pet ; and as soon 
 as it got acquainted, it liked to sit down in the 
 grass and see them play with the dogs. But Chief 
 Sky was poor, and he had to sell it to a white 
 man for a bushel of corn. The white man 
 brought it to Eau Claire, a httle village alive with 
 white men going to the war. " Here's a recruit," 
 said the man. " An eagle, an eagle ! " shouted 
 the soldiers, " let him enlist ; " and sure enough, 
 he was sworn into the service with ribbons round 
 his neck, red, white, and blue. 
 
 On a perch surmounted by stars and stripes, 
 the company took him to Madison, the capital of 
 the state. As they marched into camp Randall, 
 with colors flying, drums beating, and the people 
 cheering, the eagle seized the flag in his beak and 
 spread his wings, his bright eye kindling with the 
 spirit of the scene. Shouts rent the air ; " The 
 bird of Columbia ! the eagle of freedom forever ! " 
 The state made him a new perch, the boys named 
 him " Old Abe," and the regiment, the Eighth 
 Wisconsin, was henceforth called " the Eagle reg- 
 iment." h Qp the march it was canned at the head 
 of the on fpany, and everywhere was greeted 
 with deli/ r"- At St. Louis, a gentleman offered 
 five hundr. :1 dollars for it, and another his farm. 
 No, no, tbj boys had no notion of parting with 
 their bird. It was above all price, — an emblem of 
 battle and of victory. Besides it interested then: 
 minds, aud made them think less of hardships and 
 of home. 
 
 I can lot tell you all the droll adventures of the 
 bird thr'ough its three years of service, its flights 
 in the ,iir, its fights with the guinea hens, and its 
 race v^'ith the darkies. When the regiment was 
 in su mmer quarters at Clear Creek in Dixie, it 
 wa? allowed to run at large, and every morning 
 went to the river haffa mile ofi", where it splashed 
 and played in the water to its heart's content, 
 faithfully returning to camp when it had enough. 
 Old Abe's favorite place of resort was the sutler's, 
 tent, where a live chicken found no quarter m 
 
194 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 hia presence. But i-ations got low, and for two 
 days Abe had nothing to eat. Hard-tack he ob- 
 jected to, fasting was disagreeable, and Tom, his 
 bearer, could not get beyond the pickets to a 
 farmyard. At last, pushing his way to the colo- 
 nel's tent, he pleaded for poor Abe. The colonel 
 gave him a pass, and Tom got him an excellent 
 dinner. 
 
 One day a rebel farmer asked Tom to come 
 and show the eagle to his children. Satisfying 
 the curiosity of the family, Tom sat him down in 
 the barnyard. Oh what a screeching and scat- 
 tering among the fowls ; for what should Abe do 
 but pounce upon one and gobble up another, to 
 the great disgust of the farmer, who declared that 
 was not in the bargain. Abe, however, thought 
 there was no harm in confiscating, nor did Tom. 
 
 Abe was in twenty battles, besides many skii'- 
 mishes. He was at the seige of Vicksburg, the 
 storming of Corinth, and marched with Sherman 
 up the lied river. The whiz of bullets and the 
 scream of shells were his delight. As the battle 
 grew hot and hotter, he would flap his wings and 
 mingle his wildest notes with the noise around 
 him. He was very fond of music, especially Yan- 
 kee Doodle and Old John Brown. Upon parade 
 he always gave heed to " Attention." With his 
 eye on the commander, he would listen and 
 obey orders, noting time accurately. After pa- 
 rade he would put off his soldierly air, flap his 
 wings, and make himself at home. The rebels 
 called him " Yankee Buzzard," " Old Owl," and 
 other hard names ; but his eagle nature was quite 
 above noticing it. 
 
 The rebel General Price gave orders to his men 
 to be sure and capture the eagle of the Eighth 
 Wisconsin ; he would rather have it than a dozen 
 battle flags. But for all that he scarcely lost a 
 feather ; only one from his right wing. His tail- 
 feathers were once cropped by a bullet. 
 
 At last the great rebellion came to an end, and 
 the brave Wisconsin Eighth, with their live eagle 
 and torn and riddled flags, were welcomed back 
 to Madison. They went out a thousand strong, 
 and returned a little band, scarred and toil-worn, 
 having fought and won. 
 
 And what of the soldier bird ? In thf .ime of 
 his gallant veterans, Capt. Wolf presfe ^o "lim to 
 the state. Governor Lewis accepted I ^i.'^-istri- 
 ous gift, and ample quarters are provilWa for him 
 in the beautiful State-house grounds, where may 
 he long live to tell us 
 
 " What lieroes from the woodland spring:, 
 When through the fresh awakened 1 md 
 The thrilling cry of freedom rang." 
 
 Nor is the end yet. At the great fair in Chicago 
 an enterprising gentleman, invited " Abe " to at- 
 tend. He had colored photographs of the old 
 hero struck off, and sold $16,700 worth for the 
 benefit of poor and sick soldiers. Has not the 
 American eagle done its part ? k. 
 
 A Story of President Lincoln. — "Mr, 
 President," said a friend to him, "there isn't 
 much left of Hood's army, is there ? " 
 
 " Well, no, Medill ; I think Hood's army is 
 about in the fix of Bill Sykes' dog, down in San- 
 gamon county. Did you ever hear it ? " 
 Of course, the ansAver was, " Never." 
 " Well, Bill Sykes had a long, yaller dog, that 
 was forever getting into the neighbors' meat- 
 houses and chicken-coops. They had tried to 
 kill it a hundred times, but the dog was always 
 too smart for them. Finally, one of them got a 
 bladder of a coon, and filled it up with powder, 
 tying the neck around a piece of punk. When 
 he saw the dog coming he fired this punk, split 
 open a hot biscuit and put the bladder in, then 
 buttered all nicely and threw it out. The dog 
 swallowed it at. a gulp. Pretty soon there was 
 an explosion. The head of the dog lit on the 
 porch, the fore-legs caught astraddle the fence, 
 the hind-legs fell in the ditch, and the rest of the 
 dog lay around loose. Pretty soon Bill Sykes 
 came along, and the neighbor Sciid : ' Bill, I guess 
 there aint much of that dog of your'n left.' 
 ' Well, no,' said Bill ; ' I see plenty of pieces, but 
 I guess that dog, as a dog^ aint of much more ac- 
 count.' Just so, Medill, there may be fragments 
 of Hood's army around, but I guess that dog, as 
 a doQi aint of much more account." 
 
 SHERMAN'S IN SAVANNAH. 
 
 Like the tribes of Israel, 
 
 Fed on quails and manna, 
 Sherman and his glorious band 
 Journeyed through the rebel land, 
 Fed from Heaven's all bounteous hand, 
 
 Marching on Savannah. 
 
 As the moving pillar shone 
 Streamed the starry banner, 
 
 All the day in rosy light, 
 
 Beaming glory all the night, 
 
 Till it swooped in eagle flight 
 Down on doomed Savannah. 
 
 Glory be to God on high ! 
 
 Shout the loud hosanna ! 
 Ti-eason's wilderness is past, 
 Canaan's shore is won at last ; 
 Peal a nation's trumpet-blast, — 
 
 Sherman 's in Savannah ! 
 
 Life in Southern Prisons. — During the 
 expedition of Col. Streight through Georgia in 
 the spring of 1863, Capt. T. M. Anderson of Com- 
 pany D, Fifty-first Regiment, of Indiana, was 
 captured by the confederates and imprisoned at 
 Richmond, from whence he escaped in company 
 with Lieutenant Skelton, of the Seventeenth 
 Iowa Regiment, and, reached the Union lines \n 
 safety, after much suffering. The following is 
 his account of his experiences : — 
 
 I was taken prisoner on the third day of May, 
 1863, near Rome, Ga., with Col. Streight's com- 
 mand. We were all paroled and sent to Rich- 
 mond with the expectation of going through to 
 our lines ; but judge of our surprise when we 
 were thrust into Libby Prison, and our paroles 
 taken from us. We entered Libby on the six-' 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 195 
 
 teenth day of May, and from that day I was not 
 on the ground until I made my escape. 
 
 From the day that I entered until I succeeded 
 in getting away, did I watch my opportunity. I 
 soon became satisfied that to get out of any of the 
 upper rooms was an impossibility, and the only 
 room that there was any prospect of getting out 
 of was the hospital room in the east end of the 
 building, which is as low as the street on the north 
 side, but the second floor on the south side. Well, 
 I had to get into tliis hospital before I could hope 
 to escape ; consequently, I was taken suddenly 
 very sick. Of course I was carried to the hos- 
 pital, where all sick men are taken. I kept my 
 bed three or four days ; was visited by the sur- 
 geon (a mullet-headed fellow, that didn't know 
 beans), regularly, every day- He left me a large 
 dose of medicine, which I found did me a great 
 deal of good, in my vest-pocket. After several 
 days of feigned sickness, I set to work to find a 
 companion to go with me ; and, as fortune favored 
 me, I found the man, Lieut. Skelton, of the Seven- 
 teenth Iowa Regiment, who had long had the same 
 opinion that I had, that he would get away from 
 there if possible. 
 
 We soon commenced our arrangements, and 
 worked very slowly, and everything being ready 
 on the eleventh of this month, we resolved to 
 make the attempt. During the day we went down 
 into the basement story, which is used as a cook- 
 room for the hospital, and cut a small door open 
 into the south-east corner of the room. This we 
 opened with a large beef-cleaver, by drawing the 
 spikes and nails and by cutting off the cross-bars. 
 As we had to work very cautiously and silently, 
 it took us some time to do this, but it was accom- 
 plished ere dark. The hour of ten o'clock was 
 the hour we set to make the break. We pre- 
 pared crackers and dried beef enough to last us 
 through, and then dressed ourselves in citizens' 
 clothes (which we had received from home), and 
 then everything was ready. We watched the 
 sentinels very closely, and just as the hour of ten 
 was called they all turned and walked to the 
 west, and at that moment we opened the door, 
 and like lightning we crossed the guard-line, and 
 when the guards faced about we were walking 
 coolly and briskly down the street. 
 
 We kept down Canal street some two squares, 
 and then turned up Main street. We then thought 
 that the boldest step was safest, so we went through 
 the city on Main street, then through Rockets, a 
 little town adjoining Richmond on the east. After 
 passing through Rockets we came to the Williams- 
 burg road. This we kept for about a mile, when 
 we came in sight of their batteries and Ibrts, and 
 we knew that pickets were on the road ; so, to 
 avoid the batteries and pickets, we took a by-path 
 leading off to the right and down into a deep 
 ravine, and in this Ave passed between their forts 
 out into the country. The night was dark, and 
 consequently it was very diflicult travelling. We 
 made about seven miles that night, and came to 
 the Williamsburg road again just at daybreak. 
 We filed into a thick clump of cedar bushes and 
 lay down for the day. It was raining very hard, 
 
 and it was chilling cold ; hut we were free ; what 
 cared we for cold rains when we were breathing 
 the air of freedom ! All day Satiu-day we were 
 in the bushes. The rebel drums we could plainly 
 hear on all sides of us, guns firing, and soldiers 
 were passing and re-passing ; and at one time five 
 rebs passed so near us that I thought we should 
 surely be discovered, but they did not see us, and 
 we, of course, did not hail them. We had been 
 surmising all day about- our whereabouts, but 
 could not find out our exact locality, so we con- 
 cluded to hail the first darkey that passed. We 
 watched the road closely, and about sundown I 
 heard a wagon coming. Lieutenant Skelton said 
 he would go out and stop it if it was driven by a 
 negro. He crawled close to the road-side and 
 awaited the coming of the wagon, when he jumped 
 out and told the negro-driver to halt. 
 
 The boy stopped his team, and out came a 
 white man to know what he wanted. He instant- 
 ly saw our danger, and being ready for any emer- 
 gency cried out : " Say, Mister, I have lost a 
 black boy, and have tracked him out into this 
 neighborhood, but here I lost him. Have you 
 heard or seen anything of aboy about twenty years 
 old, five feet five and very black ? My name is 
 Calloway and if you hear anything of my boy 
 you will do me a grand kindness by having him 
 put in irons. Good day, sir." The man prom- 
 ised to do his best, and believing eveiy word, 
 drove on. Just at dark we again set forward 
 on the Williamsburg road leading to Bottom's 
 bridge, over the Chickahominy river. There is 
 a force of about 400 men at the bridge. We 
 ti-avelled some three miles, and fearing we would 
 run into their pickets if we went further, we 
 turned into the woods again. It had been rain- 
 ing some time, and consequently was as dark as 
 Egypt in the woods. We could not go any fur- 
 ther, so laid down for the night again. We could 
 not sleep, for we were by this time as wet as if 
 we had been in the river. Day at last dawned, 
 and ere it was quite light we were on our way. 
 We had only left Richmond some ten miles be- 
 hind us up to Sunday morning. We now by the 
 aid of a small pocket compass, laid out our course 
 directly north, and kept it for several hours. 
 We then turned directly east, toward the Chick- 
 ahominy river, and soon found ourselves in one 
 of the most dense swamps that it was ever my 
 fortune to get into, but in this swamp we knew 
 we co^ld travel with safety. On we went through 
 under-brush and bi-iers, through water over our 
 boots several inches, and all of that day did we 
 travel through that miry swamp. 
 
 We crossed the Chickahominy about a half an 
 hour by sun, and again fortune favored vis, for 
 at the very point where we first struck the river 
 there was "a large tree blown across the stream- 
 On this we crossed about three miles north of 
 Bottom's bridge. Being very weary, we did not 
 go more than" a mile from the river where we 
 halted for the night in the woods. We were now 
 close to the main travelled road running from 
 Bottom's bridge, parallel with the river up to 
 Savage's, ancf we could hear cavalry passing 
 
196 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 along this road all night. We did not sleep any, 
 for again it rained and it was a cold night, but 
 almost everything has an ending, and so it was 
 with that Sunday night, but I thought it was 
 forty-eight hours long. After foasting en our 
 dried beef and hard tack we set forward and 
 soon came to this road, and just as we were in 
 the act of crossing the fence we spied a rebel 
 scout coming up the road. He had seen us and 
 we dared not run, for then he would be sure to 
 suspicion us,'>so we stood our ground prepared to 
 ■club him if he said anything. 
 
 He came up and we looked at him boldly and 
 impudently, and without uttering a word. He 
 passed on, never looking back to see where we 
 went. We quickly crossed the road and entered 
 the woods, and if we didn't do some tall walking 
 then for about ten miles, I Avouldn't be here to 
 say so. On we went, keeping our course direct- 
 ly east, allowing nothing to turn us from it but 
 farm-houses, all of which Ave were very careful 
 to go around ; but thi'ough swamps, over hills 
 and hollows we went. About ten o'clock A. M. 
 on Monday, as we were going through the woods 
 we suddenly came in sight of a farm-house, and 
 a negro girl raking leaves close by. I thought 
 likely she could tell us where we were, so I went 
 up and spoke to her. All that she could tell was 
 that we were, in New Kent County. I then 
 asked her whether her master was a secesh, and 
 whether he was at home or not. She said he 
 was both. I then told her that we were Yankees, 
 trying to get home, and that she must not tell 
 her master that she had seen any one all of which 
 she readily promised. 
 
 She said, " I am looking for Mr. Bradley 
 (which was her master's name) every minute, 
 and you had better run." Again we made good 
 time, and soon came to one of the most intricate 
 swamps I ever saw. It was about two hundred 
 yards wide, and as far as we could see to the 
 right or left it was the same. There were little 
 tufts of grass growing up all over it, some three 
 or four feet apart, and out of these there were 
 little sprouts growing. We had to pull ourselves 
 from one of the bunches of grass to another, and 
 I feel justified in saying that the c^uicksand and 
 mire was six feet deep in many places, but in 
 about an hour, and after getting very wet, we 
 succeeded in getting over, and then we turned 
 around, pulled off our hats, and yelled, " Good 
 ]:>}■, Mv. Bradley." During all of our day's travel 
 that was a by- word with us, but on we pushed, 
 exerting ourselves to the utmost to put as many 
 miles between us and Richmond as possible. 
 
 That night we came within three miles of 
 Dyuscuna Creek, and about twenty-two miles 
 ti-om Williamsburg. We were now in a negro 
 settlement, and stopped for the night. We en- 
 gaged a negro guide to conduct us to Dyuscuna 
 Creek bridge the next morning, and an hour be- 
 fore daylight we were on our way, amving at 
 the bridge just at sun-up. We here partook 
 sparingly of our beef and crackers, and then set 
 forward. We had not gone more than a mile 
 before we saw two horsemen coming down the 
 
 road toward us. We thought that it was per- 
 fectly safe to travel the road by daylight then, as 
 we had heard that our troops had been at the 
 bridge late the evening before ; so when these 
 horsemen came in sight we quickly jumped into 
 the bushes to await their coming. I saw they 
 were colored men, and felt no hesitancy in com- 
 ing out to the road and speaking to them. They 
 said, in answer to my inquiries, that there were 
 rebel scouts on that road every day. I then 
 told them that we were Yankee prisoners from 
 Richmond trying to get within our lines. Their 
 faces instantly brightened, and they told us to go 
 back in the woods, and remain there until night 
 or we would be picked up. We knew it to be 
 good advice, so we backed into the bushes 
 again. 
 
 One of the darkies lived only a few miles from 
 us, and the other near Chickahominy Church, 
 some eight miles directly on our route. This 
 darkey told us that he would pass there on his 
 way back home in the evening, and said he would 
 show us the way home if we would wait. We 
 remained in the bushes all that day, which was 
 Tuesday, and true to his promise the darkey 
 made his appearance late in the evening. He 
 instructed us how to get round a large planta- 
 tion that was close by and reach his friend's house. 
 We accordingly set forth, and in about an hour 
 arrived safely at the house. The old darkies gave 
 us our supper, and kept a strict watch for intrud- 
 ers while we were eating. When it became suf- 
 ficiently dark our guide harnessed his horse and 
 put him to his cart, putting on the cover and ty- 
 ing it down very tight all round. 
 
 We then ensconced oui'selves very snugly in 
 the back part of the cart, while the darkey al- 
 most filled the front part, and away we went, 
 driving like the wind sometimes. "When about 
 half way we came to a picket post. Mr. Darkey 
 told us to lay down and be mute, whereupon he 
 gave his horses the reins and whip and we went 
 past that picket like a whirlwind. If there were 
 any pickets there, they saw nothing but the out- ' 
 lines of a cart, for we were out of sight ere they 
 could halt us. We reached the church about 
 nine o'clock, and after giving us another supper 
 the darkey piloted us for three miles on the road '[ 
 to Williamsburg and then left us. We were now ■[ 
 about eight miles from our lines, on a plain road 
 leading to them. We had some fears of meeting ! 
 with some of the rebel scouts on the road, for -I 
 our guide told us they were on the road day and 
 night. So we moved briskly but very cautious- 
 ly. The road was not the mainly-travelled one 
 leading to Williamsburg, but we came into it when 
 within about two miles of the town. 
 
 We thought if we met any scouts at all it would 
 be at the junction of these two roads, so we ap- 
 proached the main road very slowly but found 
 no one there. Then we thought ourselves safe. 
 So on we went toward town, not knowing at 
 what unfortunate moment we might come in 
 contact with a party of rebel scouts, and have -^ 
 all our hopes dashed to the ground. We had 
 gone about two miles and walking very fast, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 197 
 
 ■when suddenly and unexpectedly the stillness of 
 the night was broken by a gruff voice calling out, 
 " Halt." We did not wait for a second challenge, 
 but came to a dead halt instantly, not knowing 
 ■whether we were near our own pickets or a 
 couple of rebs, for we could see tliat there 
 were two. " Who conies there V " was the next 
 challenge. I answered " friends." He then told 
 me to advance and give the coimtersign. Not 
 liking to go up blindly, I asked " To whom I 
 should advance ; " and without answering my ques- 
 tion, he asked " To whom are you friends ? " 
 That vras the hardest question I ever had to 
 answer. I knew not what to say, but in a mo- 
 ment answered. " We are friends to the North." 
 " Come up," said he ; " we are Union pickets." 
 
 I thought those were the sweetest words that I 
 ever heard. We threw up our hats high in the 
 air, and went with such a yell that the sentries 
 thought us crazy. When inside our pickets we 
 turned and said, " Good-by, Mr. Bradley." We 
 soon explained our boisterous conduct to the pick- 
 ets, who were looking on with amazement, and 
 then everything was all right. My pen here 
 fails, dear Tribune, to express our happiness ; but 
 to know and feel that we were under the protec- 
 tion of Uncle Sam, and standing on the gi-ouud 
 over which that dear flag was triumphantly float- 
 ing, under whose folds both of us had fought on 
 many battle-fields, was inexpressible. We were 
 conducted to the quarters of the Lieutenant of 
 the Guard, and there remained until morning. 
 It was at two o'clock, a. m. when we crossed the 
 lines. We had walked nearly seventy-five miles 
 through swamps, woods, and briers, and conse- 
 quently our feet were nearly used up. 
 
 I had cut my boots ofi' my feet the night before, 
 for my teet were wet from the first night of start- 
 ing, and my boots had contracted to my feet and 
 were punishing me severely, so on Wednesday 
 morning Ave were without boots or socks, our 
 feet swollen and bruised, even bleeding, and 
 it was with the utmost difficulty that I could wallc. 
 Yet we were two of the happiest boys, I suppose, 
 in America at that time. What cared we then 
 whether we had any feet at all or not, for we had 
 our liberty. We took breakfast with JNIajor 
 Wheeling of the Fourth N. Y Cavalry, and Pro- 
 vost Marshal of the District. He treated us with 
 the greatest kindness, and after breakfast sent us 
 in his buggy to Col. Fori^est's quarters with a let- 
 ter of introduction to that officer. 
 
 Col. AVest received us kindly, and gave us 
 stockings and shppers, and in the evenmg sent 
 us to Yorktown, where we arrived on the night 
 of the great fire and magazine explosion. We 
 had been ordered to report to Gen. Butler at 
 Fortress Monroe, and at Yorktown were fur- 
 nished transportation by Gen. to the fort, with 
 
 a letter of introduction to Gen. Butler. Imme- 
 diately on our arrival we went to the General's 
 head-quarters and were shown to his room, in 
 rather a sorry plight to be sure — clothes torn in 
 many places by the briers, and slip-shod, with 
 sore feet. The old General eyed us very 
 closely when we entered. Ilis military eye 
 
 ran all over us in a moment. After saluting him, 
 he asked, " Do you wish to see me on business ? " 
 Whereupon we gave him our letter from Col. 
 West. After glancing over it he changed instantly. 
 It was not the rigid General Butler of a moment 
 before, for now he grasped our hands, shaking 
 them warml}^ After asking us many questions 
 concerning our prisoners, he placed us in the care 
 of the gentlemanly Capt. Puffer, one of his A. D. 
 C's. with orders to furnish us with clothing, trans- 
 portation and everything else that we needed, 
 which was all faithfully attended to by that . 
 officer. 
 
 How General McPherson was killed. 
 A soldier v/ho was near the General at the time 
 he was shot gives the following particulars of the 
 occurrence and the actions of the confederates 
 which preceded it : — "I entered the woods to 
 behold a woimded man whose name is George 
 Reynolds, of the Fifteenth Iowa Fourth Division, 
 Seventeenth Army Corps, and a short distance 
 from him lay General James B. McPherson, suf- 
 fering intense agony from a fatal wound, a Minie 
 ball having entered the right breast, passed near 
 the heart, and came out near the left side. 
 
 I then took my position close to his side and 
 requested him to drink a little cold water I had 
 secured a short time before, and asked the priv- 
 ilege to bathe his temples ; to which interroga- 
 tories I could elicit no reply, only a faint nod of 
 the head. Occasionally returning to conscious- 
 ness he would ask me for his hat, which by search 
 I found had been stolen from him, as also his 
 belt. I had not been in this situation over five 
 minutes when a rebel straggler came up, to whom 
 I remarked, " You are a prisoner, are you not ? " 
 To which he replied, " No, sir-ee ! " and then 
 asked me, " Can you walk ? Come along," etc. 
 I gave a negative answer and exhibited a very- 
 sore and bandaged leg, all besmeared with blood, 
 which had troubled me of late, and was thus 
 successful in making him believe I was severely 
 wounded. 
 
 This was the work of a few moments ; when 
 four more rebels came up, and simultaneously 
 two more of our stragglers passed near by. They 
 were taken with the previously mentioned. 
 They then extracted the papers which were in 
 plain view from the General's pocket, took liis 
 watch and marine glass, but did not search the 
 remainder of his pockets, nor ask any questions 
 in reference to whom he was nor did we inform 
 them. They acted with civility, considering it a 
 battle-field. They then ordered the wounded man 
 and myself to follow them. We told them we were 
 not able, and if they took us they Avould have 
 to carry us, etc. ; when to my glad astonishment 
 they absconded with their three prisoners, with 
 the aforementioned articles, leaving their two 
 supposed cripples with the General. All this 
 time the rebel shot and shell were crashing with 
 fearful rapidity all around us, in every direction. 
 Several balls lighted within a few feet of the 
 General, scattering the dirt all over him in a 
 complete shower. While the rebels were taking 
 
198 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 from the General the articles previously men- 
 tioned, he sat up and again asked for his hat, 
 which I beheve, were the last words he spoke, 
 for 1m3 agony was most intense. 
 
 After the rebels had gone, it was agreed that 
 I should go in sparch of an ambulance, while my 
 solitary wounded companion remained with the 
 General. My companion believing that our men 
 were still in front fighting as well as rear, I pro- 
 ceeded in the direction of Atlanta, as near as I 
 can judge, about three-eighths of a mile, when I 
 saw I'ebel skirmishers not far distant in my front, 
 as also their works ; the brush being rather thin, 
 it was difficult to escape ; but by creeping back 
 where the brush was more dense, I then ran as 
 best I could until I got back again to the Gen- 
 eral, Avhen my companion informed me he had 
 just died, but said nothing after I left him. 
 During this interval the woods were thoroughly 
 riddled, and every moment I expected to meet 
 the General's sad fate ; but Providence spared me. 
 A straggler who said he belonged to the Third 
 cr Fourth Division, Pioneer Corps, came up and 
 was requested to act as witness. He, it seems, 
 committed the theft. 
 
 The first thing we examined was the contents 
 of the wallet, and on opening it saw the gold 
 chains and gold piece, or medal ; opening another 
 apartment, we saw a roll of bills, which our new 
 comer instantly grabbed, as he said, to ascertain 
 the contents. Unfolding them, as near as I can 
 recollect, I saw the aforementioned bills, ^s 
 soon as his eye caught sight of the large bills, he 
 separated them from tlie smaller ones, and then 
 made the following diabolical proposition, to wit : 
 — Boys, let us eciually divide the sjjoIIs and say 
 nothing about it. We positively and in the 
 strongest terms refused to be accomplices in such 
 an iniernal scheme, lie then kept possession of 
 all the large bills, leaving only eight dollars, and 
 ran as fast as his legs could carry him in a west- 
 erly course toward the wagon trains. 
 
 I looked upon him as a wretch like Judas of 
 old, and could have wished that in his escape he 
 had met with the same fate as he of whom sacred 
 writ informs us, " He burst asunder and all his 
 bo\\'e!3 gushed out." Leaving the guilty culprit 
 v.'il.h the fruits of his dastardly act, I would re- 
 mark tiiat fearing capture every moment, and the 
 importance of the General's rescue, was the rea- 
 son of our not continuing a critical examination 
 of the remaining contents, and making all speed, 
 we proceeded in the direction I entered the woods 
 an hour or more before. Emerging from the 
 woods we boi-e to the south-west, In which dli-ec- 
 tion we saw wagon-trains and ambulances. 
 
 The first ambulance to which we made known 
 our mission refused to go. Proceeding further, 
 we came to two more, when we requested the 
 foremost one to go with us, and seeing three offi- 
 cers rkhng up toward us, we explained to them 
 our object, when they Informed us they were part 
 of his stair and were very anxious to get him. 
 So taking the first ambulance, we piloted them 
 to the spot, and then a most thrilling scene took 
 place that 1 shall never forget. Looking down 
 
 the woods from the ambulance, I saw the rebel 
 skirmishers steadily advancing, and thinking the 
 staff officers were not fully aware of the danger 
 we Avere all in (as I had intentionall}' refrained 
 from describing the danger to them previously), 
 I jumped from the ambulance, and to my surprise, 
 confronted an armed rebel. 
 
 Seeing we were in desperate circumstances, I 
 rushed to inform the staff officers, who were now 
 carrying his body out of the woods, and I in- 
 formed them that the rebels were now closing in 
 around us, and the necessity of all who had 
 revolvers being ready to use them. I believe 
 they all drew them, and I endeavored as best I 
 could to assist in carrying his body to the ambu- 
 lance. We got him in as best we could, under 
 such exciting circumstances (for I was afraid 
 every moment a cannon ball or shell would crush 
 the ambulance or kill the mules), and whirling 
 swiftly around, we drove off at a perfect gallop, 
 with rebel shot and shell and IVIinle balls hurled 
 In a perfect storm after us. But, fortunately, no 
 one was hurt. 
 
 So great was the danger that we had to drive 
 with fearful rapidity nearly three-fourths of a mile 
 before we could jiroperly and comfortably adjust 
 the General's body. I only remember the name 
 of one of these staff officers, and that Is Lieuten- 
 ant Colonel Strong. There was also a Captain and 
 First Lieutenant. I would remark that the offi- 
 cers acted with determined bravery ; in fact, all 
 did, and the coolness of my wounded companion 
 was really sublime amidst severe suffering from 
 his arm. 
 
 After the rescue we drove to Gen. Sherman's 
 head-f|uarters. The body was taken out and car- 
 ried into the house to be examined. Gen. Sher- 
 man seemed deeply affected by the sight. My 
 wounded companion was then taken to the near- 
 est hospital of the Twenty-third Corps, by order 
 of the Medical Director. He was wounded by a 
 Minle ball through the left arm just above the 
 elbow. He went through all the exciting cir- 
 cumstances from the time he was wounded to the 
 time he was taken to the hospital before he had 
 it dressed, which must have been nearly five 
 hours. The General was wounded about half- 
 past 12 r. M., and rescued from the rebels about 
 3 r. M. He lived about one hour after he was 
 wounded. 
 
 The Mockixg Bird of Kesaca. — A cor- 
 respondent in Georgia, wrote as follows : — I find 
 in an Atlanta paper the following extravaganza 
 upon a mocking bli-d at liesaca. It calls to my 
 mind a fact that I had forgotten. At the first 
 advance upon Resaca, on the 9th of May, I re- 
 member observing at dusk an unusual number of 
 birds, and as night fell, just as the troops were 
 withdrawing, a grand chorus of whip-poor-wills 
 rang through the forest. Perhaps Kesaca has 
 been a favorite home for the songsters of the 
 woods. 
 
 " Waverley," the correspondent, who was an 
 eye-witness and participator in the late battles 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 199 
 
 in North Georgia, relates the following pretty in- 
 cident of the battle of Resaca : 
 
 "In the hottest part of the battle of Sunday, 
 a, shell came screaming through the air from the 
 works in front of our left. It paused above a 
 point where General Johnston and General Polk 
 Avere standing, whistled like a top above them, 
 and before exploding whistled half-a-dozen notes 
 clear as a fife to the drum-like rattle of musketry. 
 The din had scarce died awaj-, and the fragments 
 fallen to the ground, when the attention of the 
 party was directed to one of the upper boughs of 
 a tall pine, where a mocking-bird had begun to 
 imitate the whistle of the shell. Neither the roar 
 of cannon, nor the rain of balls could drive this 
 brave bird from its lofty perch. It sat above the 
 battle-field like a little god of war, its blythe tones 
 warbling over the din of arms — 
 
 " In profuse strains of unpremeditated art," 
 
 and its stout heart as free as though it swelled to 
 the breezy winds of peace in the summer woods. 
 Thou Touchstone of the battle-field, mocking the 
 very air of death and pouring out a cheery can- 
 ticle for the slain, who are happy in dying for the 
 land they love, thou art the true type of the 
 great Confederate heart. Be it like thine, as 
 bold and free. May it swell as it is pressed, and 
 grow strong as it hurls back the vandal and in- 
 vader. May it stand upon its own door-sill, as 
 that gallant bird stood upon the bough of the 
 pine, and trill a chant of defiance in the face of 
 danger, and though despair span its bony fingers 
 about its throat, may its armies take a lesson from 
 thy pluck, thou vaHant mocking-bird, and sing in 
 the breach and shout on the hills, to the music of 
 Minie ball and shrapnell, never doubting, never 
 daunted, defying the power of the world, and 
 obedient only to the God of the universe. For 
 he who dies in the front dies in the love of the 
 Lord, and there is not a sentiment truer for the 
 soldier than that the brave who perish in the 
 cause of liberty are thrice blessed above the lazy 
 sons of peace. 
 
 " Not man nor monarch half so proud, 
 As he whose flag becomes his shroud." 
 
 A Touching Incident of the War. — An 
 
 interesting anecdote is related of Franklin, who, 
 it is alleged, in order to test the parental instinct 
 existing between mother and child, introduced 
 himself as a belated traveller to his mother's house 
 after an absence of many years. Her house be- 
 ing filled with more illustrious guests than the 
 unknown stranger, she refused him shelter, and 
 would have turned him from her door. Hence 
 he concluded that this so-called parental instinct 
 was a pleasant delusive belief, not susceptible of 
 proof. 
 
 The opposite of this occurred in Washington. 
 In one of the fierce engagements with the rebels 
 near Mechanicsville, a young lieutenant of a 
 Rhode Island battery had his right foot so shat- 
 tered by a fragment of shell that, on reaching 
 Washington after one of those horrible ambulance 
 
 rides, and a journey of a week's duration, he was 
 obliged to undergo amputation of the leg. He 
 telegraphed home hundreds of miles away that all 
 was going well, and with a soldier's fortitude 
 composed himself to bear his sufferings alone. 
 
 Unknown to him, however, his mother, one of 
 those dear reserves of the. army, hastened up to 
 join the main force. She reached the city at 
 midnight, and the nurses would have kept her 
 from him until morning. One sat by his side 
 fanning him ^ he slept,' her hand on the feeble 
 fluctuating pulsations which foreboded sad results. 
 But what woman's heart could resist the plead- 
 ings of a mother then ? In the darkness she was 
 finally allowed to glide in and take the place at 
 his side. She touched his pulse as the nurse had ' 
 done ; not a word had been spoken ; but the 
 sleeping boy opened his eyes and said, " That feels 
 like my mother's hand ; who is this beside me ? 
 It is my mother ; turn up the gas and let me see 
 mother ! " 
 
 The two dear faces met in one long, joyful 
 sobbing embrace, and the fondness pent up in 
 each heart sobbed and panted, and wept forth its 
 expression. 
 
 The gallant fellow, j'c«t twenty-one, his leg 
 amputated on the last day of his three years' 
 service, underwent operation after operation, and 
 at last, when death drew nigh, and he was told 
 by tearful friends that it only remained to make 
 him comfortable, said, " he had looked death in 
 the face too many times to be afraid now, " and 
 died as gallantly as did the men of the Cumber- 
 land. 
 
 YE L ON DONNE TIMES CORRESPONDENTE 
 HIS BULLE RUNNE LETTRRE. 
 
 " BuLLE RuNNB, July ye twenty-firste ; 
 
 Welle, here am I, alle righte, ^ 
 
 And just returned from wytnessinge 
 
 Ye famouse Bulle Runne fighte. 
 
 " There was no fighte, there was no Bulle, 
 Unlesse itte mighte bee mee ; 
 And I the onlie manne to runne, 
 At leaste thatte I could see. 
 
 " I satte me on a dystante hylle, 
 FuUe fyfteene myles awaye, 
 Thatte I mighte see ye soldierees kille, 
 life anie came mye waye. 
 
 " I hadde a branne newe telescope. 
 And a bottelle of olde Porte, 
 Wytthe sandewytches, inne case I founde 
 Ye provenderre ranne shorte. 
 
 " Ande soone I sawe a monstrouse crowde 
 Fulle fyfteene myles awaye, 
 ■ And cannones there were roaringe loude, 
 And muskettes inne fulle playe. 
 
 " I satte mee there fromme earlie dawne 
 Untille ye settynge sunne, 
 And thenne I thoughte thatte certaynellie 
 Ye battclle muste bee done. 
 
200 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " I sawe no fighte, butto I muste write 
 As iffe I sawc ittc alle, 
 Thou2:he reallie I do believe, 
 Therre was no fighte atte alle. 
 
 " And thysse itte is mye judgemente, 
 Afterre carefulle studie mayde, 
 Thatte one syde is a cowarde, 
 And ye otherre is afrayde. 
 
 " I wisshe you woulde lette mee come home ■ 
 I'm tyred of alio thysse bustle ; 
 I wysshe no more ye worlde to roame, 
 Youres truly, Billie Russelle." 
 
 Incidents of Kenesaw. — It was an im- 
 posing scene ! A rebel regiment, their bayonets 
 glistening in the slanting rays of the setting sun, 
 were having a dress-parade on the summit of the 
 Kenesaw Mountain. Below were their rifle-pits, 
 and their camarades d'armes occupying them. 
 
 A courier dashed up ; he hands the adjutant a 
 document. It is an order from Johnston, an- 
 nouncing to the troops that Sherman had brought 
 his army so far south that his line of supplies was 
 longer than he could hold ; that he was too far 
 from his base — just whei'e their commanding 
 general wished to get him ; that a part of their 
 army would hold the railroad, thirty miles north 
 of the Etoway, and that the great railroad bridge 
 at Alatoona, had been completely destroyed ; that 
 in a few days Sherman would be out of supplies 
 because he could bring no more trains through 
 by the railroad. They were urged to maintain a 
 bold front, and in a few days the Yankees would 
 be forced to retreat. Breathless silence evinces 
 the attention which every word of the order re- 
 ceives, as the adjutant reads. Cheei-s are about 
 to be given, when hark ! loud whistles from Sher- 
 man's cars, at Big Shanty, interrupt them. The 
 number of whistles increase. Alatoona, Ack- 
 worth, and Big Shanty depots resound with them. 
 Supplies have amved. The effect can easily be 
 imagined. The illustration was so apt — the 
 commentary so appropriate — that it was appre- 
 ciated at the instant. " Bully for the base of sup- 
 plies ! " " Bully for the long line ! " " Three 
 cheers for the big bridge ! " " Here's your Yankee 
 cars ! " " There's Sherman's rations ! " Bedlam 
 was loose along their line for a short time. 
 
 There is a tree in front of General Harrow's 
 Fourth Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, Sher- 
 man's army, which is called the fatal tree. Eight 
 men were shot, one after another, as soon as they 
 advanced to the ill-fated tree to take a secure po- 
 sition behind its huge trunk. Seven men were 
 shot, when a board was placed there with the 
 word " dangerous " chalked upon it. The rebels 
 shot the guide-post into fragments, and a sergeant 
 took his place behind the unsuspecting tree. In 
 less than two minutes two ]\Iinie balls pierced the 
 sergeant's body, and he fell, the eighth martyr 
 beneath the shadow of the tree of death. 
 
 A Fair Division. — One of those biting cold 
 mornings, while the armies of Meade and Lee 
 were staring at each other across the little rivu- 
 let known as Mine Run, when moments appeared 
 to be hours, and hours days, so near at hand 
 seemed the deadly strife, a solitary sheep leisure- 
 ly walked along the run on the rebel side. A 
 rebel vidette fired and killed the sheep, and drop- 
 ing his gun, advanced to remove the prize. In 
 an instant he was covered by a gun in the hands 
 of a Union vidette, who said, " Divide is the 
 word or you are a dead Johnny." This propo- 
 sition was assented to, and there, between the 
 two skirmish lines, Mr. Rebel skinned the sheep, 
 took one half, and moved back to his post, when 
 his challenger, in turn dropping his gun, crossed 
 the run, got the other half of the sheep, and 
 q||ain assumed the duties of his post amid the 
 cheers of his comrades, who expected to heljJ him 
 eat it. Of the hundreds of hostile men arrayed 
 against each other on either bank of that run, 
 not one dared to violate the truce intuitively 
 agreed upon by these two soldiers. 
 
 A Romance of the War. — The following 
 simple and unvarnished story has hardly a paral- 
 lel in the page of fiction. Its strict truth is be- 
 yond question : — 
 
 Near Murfreesboro, June 28, 1864. — The 
 original of the following letter is in my possession. 
 The events so gi-aphically narrated transpired 
 in Overton County, Tennessee. I knew Dr. 
 Sadler from a small boy. The men who mur- 
 dered him wer-e noted guerillas, and killed him 
 for no personal grudge, but on account of his 
 sentiments. I have no personal acquaintance 
 with the young lady ; but have the highest au- 
 thority for stating that she is a pure, high-minded 
 girl, the daughter of a plain farmer in moderate 
 circumstances. It only remains to state that Pe- 
 tcet was killed January 30, and Gordenhire 
 February 4, 1864, so that the vengeance they in- 
 voked has overtaken all three of the murderers 
 of M. G. Sadler. 
 
 John W. Bowen. 
 
 Martin's Creek, April 30, 1864. 
 
 Major Cllft, — According to promise I now at- 
 tempt to give you a statement of the reasons 
 why I killed Turner, and a brief history of the 
 affair. Dr. Sadler had, for two years previous 
 to his death, seemed equally as near and dear to 
 me as a brother, and for several months nearer 
 than any person, — my parents not excepted. If 
 he had not, I never would have done what I did, 
 promise to be his. 
 
 The men who killed him had threatened his 
 life otl:cn because he was a Union man ; they said 
 he should not live ; and after taking the oath they 
 arrested him, but Lieutenant Oakley released 
 him at pa's gate. He stayed at pa's till bed-time, 
 and I warned him of the danger he was in ; told 
 him I had heard his life thi-eatencd that day, and 
 that I felt confident he would be killed if he did 
 
AKECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 201 
 
 not leave the neighborhood, and stay off until 
 these men became reconciled. 
 
 He promised to go ; said he had some business 
 at Carthage, and would leave the neighborhood 
 that night, or by daylight next morning, and we 
 felt assured he had gone. But for some unac- 
 countable reason he did not leave. About 3 o'- 
 clock, p. M., next day, news came to me, at Mr. 
 Johnson's, where I had gone with my brother, 
 that Dr. Sadler was killed. I had met Peteet, 
 Gordenhire, and Turner on the road, and told my 
 brother there that they were searching for Dr. 
 Sadler to kill him. Sure enough they went to 
 the house where he was, and, sti-ange to me, after 
 his warning, he permitted them to come in. They 
 met him apparently perfectly friendly, and said 
 they had come to get some brandy from Mr. 
 Yelton, which they obtained, and immediately 
 after drinking, they all three drew their pistols 
 and commenced firing at Sadler. He drew his, 
 but it was snatched away from him. He then 
 drew his knife, which was also taken from him. 
 He then ran round the house and up a stairway, 
 escaping out of their sight. They followed, how- 
 ever, and searched till they found him, and brought 
 him down and laid him on a bed, mortally wound- 
 ed. He requested some of his people to send for 
 Dr. Dillin to dress his wounds. It is strange to 
 me, why, but Sadler's friends had all left the room, 
 when Turner went up, and put his pistol against 
 his temples, and shot him through the head. They 
 all rejoiced like demons, and stood by till he had 
 made his last strugde. They then pulled his eyes 
 open, and asked him in a loud voice if he was 
 dead. They then took his horse and saddle, and 
 pistols, and robbed him of all his money, and 
 otherwise insulted and abused his remains. 
 
 Now, for this, I resolved to have revenge. Pe- 
 teet and Gordenhire being dead, I determined to 
 kill Turner, and to seek an early opportunity of 
 doing it. But I kept that resolution to myself, 
 knowing that if I did not I would be prevented. 
 I went prepared, but never could get to see him. 
 
 On the Thui'sday before I killed him, I learned 
 he was preparing to leave for Louisiana, and I 
 determined he should not escape if I could pre- 
 vent it. I arose that morning, and fixed my pis- 
 tols so that they would be sure fire, and de- 
 termined to hunt him all that day. Then, sitting 
 down, I wrote a few lines ; so that, if I fell, my 
 friends might know where to look for my remains. 
 I took my knitting, as if I were going to spend the 
 day with a neighbor hving on the road toward 
 Turner's. It rained very severely, making the 
 roads muddy, so that I became fatigued, and con- 
 cluded to go back and ride the next day, on Satur- 
 day. But ma rode my horse on Saturday, and 
 left me to keep house. We had company Sunday 
 p. M., so that I could not leave ; but the company 
 left about noon, and I started again in search of 
 Turner. I went to his house, about two-and-a- 
 half miles from pa's. I found no one at home, 
 and therefore sat down to await his return. After 
 waiting perhaps oue-aud-a-half hours, a man 
 came to see Turner, and not finding him, he said 
 he supposed he and his wife had gone to Mrs. 
 
 Christian's, his sister-in-law, who lived about one- 
 half mile distant. 
 
 I concluded to go there and see, fearing the man 
 would tell him I was waiting for him, and he would 
 escape me. I found him there, and a number of 
 other persons, including his wife, and her father 
 and mother. Most of them left when I entered 
 the house. I asked Mi-s. Christian If Turner was 
 gone. She pointed to him at the gate, just leav- 
 ing. I looked at the clock, and it was 4-30 o'clock, 
 p. M. I then walked out into the yard, and, as 
 Turner was starting, called to him to stop. He 
 turned, and saw I was preparing to shoot him ; he 
 started to run. I fired at the distance of about 
 twelve paces, and missed. I fired again as quick 
 as possible, and hit him in the back of the head, 
 and he fell on his face and knees. I fired again 
 and hit him in the back, and he fell on his right 
 side. I fired twice more, only one of these shots 
 taking eSect. By this time I was within five 
 steps of him, and stood and watched him till he 
 was dead, and then turned round and walked 
 toward the house, and met Mrs. Christian and her 
 sister, his wife, coming out. They asked me what 
 I did that for. My response was, " You know 
 what that man did the 1 3th of December last, — 
 murdered a dear friend of mine. I have been 
 determined to do this deed ever since, and I never 
 shall regret It." They said no more to me, but 
 commenced hallooing and blowing a horn. I got 
 my horse out and started home, where I shall stay 
 or leave when I choose, going where I please, and 
 saying what I please. L. J. W. 
 
 General .Sumner at Antietam. — A sto- 
 ry Is told of the veteran Sumner at the battle ot 
 Antietam. His son, young Captain jSumner, a 
 youth of twenty-one, was on his staff". The old 
 man calmly stood, amidst a storm of shot and 
 shells, and turned to send him through a doubly 
 raging fire, upon a mission of duty. He might 
 never see his boy again, but his country claimed his 
 life, and, as he looked upon his young brow, he 
 grasped his hand, encircled him In his arms, and 
 fondly kissed him. " Good-by, Sammy," " Good- 
 by, father," and the youth, mounting his horse, 
 rode gayly on the message. He returned un- 
 harmed, and again his hand was grasped with a 
 cordial " How d'ye do, Sammy ?" answered by a 
 grasp of equal aiFection. The scene was touch- 
 iua to those around. 
 
 Incident op Lookout Mountain. — It 
 was near sundown when General T. J. Wood, 
 whose conduct all through the three days' battle 
 marked him as one of the ablest leaders of the 
 national ai-mies, rode along the lines of his 
 superb division. Loud shouts of enthusiasm ev^ 
 erywhere greeted his appearance, until at last his 
 feelings, no longer controllable, broke out in a 
 speech : 
 
 " ' Brave men ! ' said he, ' you were ordered to 
 go forward and take the rifle-pits at the foot of 
 these hills ; you did so ; and then, by the Eter- 
 nal ! without orders, you pushed forward and 
 
202 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 took all the enemy's works on top ! Here is a fine 
 chance for having you all court-martialled ! and 
 I myself will appear as the principal witness 
 against you, unless you promise me one thing.' 
 
 " ' What is it ? what is it ? ' laughingly inquired 
 his men. 
 
 " ' It is,' resumed the General, ' that as you are 
 now in possession of these works, you will con- 
 tinue against all opposition of Bragg, Johnston, 
 Jeff. Davis and the devil, steadfastly to hold 
 them ! ' 
 
 " At the conclusion of this speech, the enthu- 
 thusiasm of the soldiers knew no bounds. They 
 left the ranks and crowded round their General. 
 ' We promise ! we jiromise ! ' they cried. And, 
 amid such exclamations as, ' Of course we'll hold 
 them ! ' ' Let any one try to take them from us ! ' 
 * Bully for you ! ' ' Three cheers for old Wood,' 
 the gallant officer rode off the field." 
 
 " I FIGHTS MIT SIGEL ! " 
 
 BY GRANT P. HOBINSON. 
 
 I MET him again, ho was trudging along, 
 
 His knapsack with chickens was swelling ; 
 He'd " Blenkcrcd " these dainties, and thought it no 
 wrong, 
 
 From some secessionist's dwelling. 
 " What regiment's yours 1 and under whose flag 
 
 Do_ you fight ? " said I, touching his shoulder ; 
 Turning slowly around he smilingly said, 
 
 For tlie thouglit made him stronger and bolder ; 
 " I ficjMs mit Sigel." 
 
 The next time I saw him his knapsack was gone, 
 
 His cap and canteen were missing, 
 Shell, shrapnel!, and grape, and the swift rifle-ball 
 
 Around him and o'er him were hissing. 
 How are yon, my friend, and wliere have you been, 
 
 And for what and for whom are you fighting 1 
 He said, as a shell from the enemy's gun 
 
 Sent his arm and his musket a " kiting," 
 " / fights mit Sigel." 
 
 And once more I saw him and knelt by his side, 
 
 His life-blood was rapidly flowing ; 
 I whispered of home, wife, children, and friends, 
 
 The bright land to which he was going ; 
 And have you no word for the dear ones at home, 
 
 The " wee one," the father or mother? 
 " Yaw ! yaw ! " said he, " tell them ! oh ! tell them 
 I fights " — 
 
 Poor fellow ! he thought of no other — 
 " 1 fights mit Sigel." 
 
 We scraped out a grave, and he dreamlessly sleeps 
 
 On tlio banks of the Shenandoah River; 
 His home and his kindred alike arc unknown, 
 
 His reward in the hands of the Giver. 
 We placed a rough board at the head of his grave, 
 
 " And we left him alone in his glory," 
 But on it we marked ere we turned from the spot, 
 
 The little we knew of his story — 
 " 1 flgJits mit Sigel." 
 
 Army Signals. — This most interesting and 
 
 useful arm of the nfilitary service is perhaps, less 
 heard of by the public than any other ; and its 
 
 invaluable labors, as well as its frequent imminent 
 perils, are ahke unrecorded, and, therefore, un- 
 appreciated. The signal officer who would bring 
 late and full news to the commanding General 
 must undergo not a little fatigue and hardship. 
 He must climb high trees to watch the enemy ; 
 he must penetrate through tangled thickets and 
 forests, in search of eligible stations ; he must 
 climb the sides of steep and rugged mountains, 
 and his bright and showy flag never fails to 
 attract the rebel sharpshooter's fire when he 
 is in reach, which he must often be to secure a 
 good post, or observe the enemy. 
 
 When once a station is estabhshed, his flag 
 must never droop by day nor his torch grow dim 
 by night, till he has orders from his chief to 
 abandon his post for a new one. And yet so 
 great is the mystery with which he must enshroud 
 his art, so profoundly secret must he keep the 
 weighty messages and orders confided to him, 
 and so silent are his operations, that the world 
 and even the army know little about him. He 
 alone is proof against the wiles of those " uni- 
 versal walking interrogation-points," the corre- 
 spondents, though he, above all others, is the man 
 whom they would delight to be permitted to " use." 
 But he has his reward for all this. In the clear 
 upper air where he dwells, he sees, as with a 
 hawk's eye, the whole great drama played out be- 
 neath him ; he sees the long lines of men de- 
 ployed through the valleys, and knows where thej' 
 go, and why ; his eyes feast upon the field of bat- 
 tle, where the columns of attack rush impetuously 
 down a wooded slope, across an open field, and 
 up into another piece of wood, and all is clear to 
 him and intelligible, while, to others who must 
 grovel on the ground, there is nothing but an ex- 
 asperating muddle. 
 
 Signal stations are of two kinds ; reflecting sta- 
 tions and stations of observation ; the former for 
 transmitting dispatches, the latter for watching 
 the enemy and communicating the results to the 
 commander. Both are constructed on the same 
 principles, and employ the same instruments. 
 The latter are few and simple. The flag is 
 made of different colors, to contrast with the 
 line of the background, white, black, or red. The 
 one usually employed is but four feet square; 
 for the largest distances it is made six feet square, 
 and mounted on a third joint of staff to give it 
 wider range. The marine glass is used for scan- 
 ning the horizon rapidly, and making general ob- 
 servations ; the telescope for reading signals at a 
 great distance, and observing fixed points minute- 
 ly. Besides these there is a certain mysterious 
 pasteboard disc, stamped with a circle of figures, 
 and a sliding interior one of letters corresponding 
 to each. This is the key and clew of the whole 
 matter, and to the uninitiated is, of course, im- 
 penetrable. 
 
 When a message is about to be sent, the flag- 
 man takes his station upon some elevated object, 
 and " calls " the station with which he desires to 
 communicate by waving the flag or torch slowly 
 to and fro. The operator, seated at tlie glass, 
 watches closelv the distant flag, and as soon as it 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 203 
 
 responds by dipping, lie is ready to send his dis- 
 patch. Holding the written message before him, 
 he calls out to the flagman certain numbers, each 
 figure or combination of figures standing for a let- 
 ter. The flagman indicates each separate figure by 
 an ingenious combination of a few very simple mo- 
 tions. For instance, one stroke of the flag from 
 a perpendicular to a right horizontal, indicates 
 one figure ; a stroke to the left horizontal, indi- 
 cates another ; a stroke executing a half circle, 
 another, &c. After each motion indicating a fig- 
 ure, the flag returns always to a perpendicular. 
 There are a few syllables which are indicated by 
 a single stroke of the flag ; otherwise the word 
 must be spelled out letter by letter. Experienced 
 signal officers, however, employ many abrevia- 
 tions by omitting vowels, &c., so that scarcely a 
 single word, unless a very unused one, is spelled 
 out in full. 
 
 When a message is being received, the operator 
 sits at the glass, with the flagman near to record 
 it. This the operator then interprets, for not 
 even the General himself is in the secret, and by 
 supplying the omitted vowels, &c., makes out an 
 intelligible piece of the king's English. 
 
 The rapidity with which all this is executed by 
 experienced operators is astonishing. The flag 
 is kept in such rapid motion that the eye of the 
 inexpert can scarcely follow, and his wonder is 
 increased by being told that the reader, of whom 
 he cannot see the slightest Indication with his 
 naked eye, is ten or twelve miles away. An or- 
 dinary message of a few lines Is despatched In 
 ten minutes ; a whole page of foolscap occupies 
 about thirty minutes in Its transmission. Officers 
 who have long worked together, and are Intimate- 
 ly acquainted with each other's abbreviations and 
 peculiar expressions, can Improve upon even this 
 speed. 
 
 The distance also through which signals can be 
 transmitted, without an intermediate station, is 
 surprising. Captain Leonard, chief signal officer 
 of the Fourth Corps, sent despatches regularly 
 frona Ringgold to Summerville, on Lookout Moun- 
 tain, a distance of eighteen miles. Lieut. Wil- 
 liam Keynolds, formerly of the Tenth Corps, sig- 
 nalled from the deck of a gunboat twenty miles 
 into Port Royal harbor. N. Daniels was sent by 
 the Secretary of War, to Maryland Heights to 
 give information of the enemy's movements, and 
 he succeeded In sending messages rapidly over 
 the extraordinary distance of twenty-four miles 
 — from the Heights to Sugar-loaf Mountain — 
 four miles from Frederick. But these Instances 
 required remarkably favorable conditions of the 
 atmosphere, locality, &c. Ordinarily, messages 
 were not sent a greater distance than six: or 
 eiprht miles. 
 
 An Anecdote of the Wilderness. — In 
 the battles of the Wilderness, the Twentieth 
 Massachusetts regiment was In the thick of the 
 fight, and one color-bearer after another was shot 
 down almost as fast as the men could be replaced. 
 But such was the eagerness to keep the flag aloft 
 
 that at one time, two men, — Irishmen — caught 
 hold of the standard at once, as it was about to 
 fall, and struggled for it. Just then a shot 
 struck the staff, cutting It In t^yo, and leaving one 
 man with the flag, and the other with the broken 
 stick. " Bedad ! " said the man with the short 
 end of the staff, " the rebels have decided for us 
 this time ! " and went to loading and firing again, 
 as coolly as if nothing had happened. 
 
 An Incident of Rocky Face. — Briga- 
 dier General Morgan related the following Inci- 
 dent that occurred on his line of operations. 
 While his brigade occupied the gap, between Oak 
 Knob and Rocky Face, a corporal of Company I, 
 Sixtieth Illinois, broke from the Une, and under 
 cover of projecting ledges got up within twenty 
 feet of a squad of rebels on the summit. Taking 
 shelter from the sharpshooters, he called out : 
 
 " I say, rebs, don't you want to hear Old Abe's 
 amnesty proclamation read ? " 
 
 " Yes ! yes ! " was the unanimous cry ; " give 
 us the ape's proclamation." 
 
 " Attention ! " commanded the corporal, and 
 in a clear and resonant voice, he read the amnes- 
 ty proclamation to the rebels, beneath the cannon 
 planted by rebel hands to destroy the fabric of 
 government established by our fathers. When 
 he arrived at those passages of the proclamation 
 where the negro was referred to, he was Interrupt- 
 ed bycries of " None of your d — d abolitionism 
 — look out for rocks ! " And down over his hid- 
 ing-place descended a shower of stones and rocks. 
 Having finished the reading, the corporal asked : 
 
 " Well, rebs, how do you like the terms ? Will 
 you hear it again ? " 
 
 "Not to-day, you bloody Yank. Now crawl 
 down in a hurry and we wont fire," was the re- 
 sponse ; and the daring corporal descended and 
 rejoined his command, which had distinctly heard 
 all that passed. 
 
 The Death and Burial of Gen. J. E. B. 
 
 Stuart. — No incident of mortality since the fall 
 of the great Jackson, has occasioned more painful 
 regret than this, said the Richmond Examiner of 
 May 13, 1864. Major J. E. B. Stuart, the model 
 of Virginia cavaliers and dashing chieftain, whose 
 name Avas a terror to the enemy, and familiar as a 
 household word In two continents. Is dead, struck 
 down by a bullet from the dastardly foe, and the 
 whole Confederacy mourns him. He breathed out 
 his gallant spirit resignedly, and In the full posses- 
 sion of all his remarkable faculties of mind and body 
 at twenty-two minutes to eight o'clock, Thursday 
 night, at the residence of Dr. Brewer, a relative, 
 on° Grace street, in the presence of Drs. Brewer, 
 Garnett, Gibson, and Fontaine of the General's 
 staff. Rev. Messrs. Peterkin and Keppler, and a 
 circle of sorrow-stricken comrades and friends. 
 
 We learn from the physicians in attendance 
 upon the General that his condition during the 
 dav was very changeable, with occasional de- 
 lirium, and other unmistakable symptoms of 
 
204 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 speedy dissolution. In the moments of delii-ium 
 the General's miud wandered, and like the im- 
 mortal Jackson, (whose spirit, we trust, his has 
 joined), in the lapse of reason his faculties were 
 busied with the details of his command. He re- 
 viewed, in broken sentences, all his glorious cam- 
 paigns around McCIellan's rear on the Peninsula, 
 beyond the Potomac, and upon the Rapidan, 
 quoting from his orders and issuing new ones to 
 his couriers, with a last injunction to " make haste." 
 
 About noon Thursday, President Davis visited 
 his bedside, and spent some fifteen minutes in the 
 dying chamber of his favorite chieftain. The 
 President, taking his hand, said, " General, how 
 do you feel ? " He repUed, " Easy, but willing 
 to die, if God and my country tliink I have ful- 
 filled my destiny and done my duty." As even- 
 ing approached the General's dehrium increased 
 and his mind again wandered to the battle-fields 
 over which he had fought, then off to wife and 
 children, and off again to the front. A telegraph- 
 ic message had been sent for his wife, who was in 
 the country, with the injunction to make all haste 
 as the General was dangerously wounded. Some 
 thoughtless, but unauthorized jDcrsou, thinking 
 probably to spare his wife pain, altered the dis- 
 patch to " slightly wounded," and it was thus she 
 received it, and did not make that haste which 
 she otherwise would have done to reach his side. 
 
 As evening wore on the paroxysms of pain 
 increased, and mortification set in rapidly. 
 Though sufTering the greatest agony at times, the 
 General was calm, and applied to the wound, 
 with his own hand, the ice intended to relieve 
 the pain. During the evening he asked Dr. 
 Brewer how long he thought he could live, and 
 whether it was possible for him to survive through 
 the night. The doctor, knowing he did not de- 
 sire to be buoyed by false hopes, told liim frankly 
 that death the last enemy, was rapidly approach- 
 ing. The General nodded, and said, " I am re- 
 signed if it be God's will ; but I would hke to 
 live to see my wife. But God's will be done." 
 Several times he roused up and asked if she had 
 come. 
 
 To the doctor, who sat holding his wrist, and 
 counting the fleeting, weakening pulse, he remark- 
 ed, " Doctor, I suppose I am going fast now. It will 
 soon be over. But God's will be done. I hope 
 I have fulfilled my destiny to my country and 
 my duty to my God." 
 
 At half-past seven o'clock it was evident to the 
 physicians that death was setting its clammy seal 
 upon the brave, open brow of the General, and 
 they told him so — asked if he had any last messages 
 to give. The General, with a mind perfectly 
 clear and possessed, then made disposition of his 
 staff and personal effects. To Mrs. General R. 
 E. Lee he directed that the golden spurs be giv- 
 en as a dying memento of his love and esteem of 
 her husband. To his staff officers he gave his 
 horses. So particular was he in small things, 
 even in the dying hour, that he emphatically ex- 
 hibited and illustrated the ruling passion strong 
 in death. To one of his stafl', who was a heavy- 
 built man, he said, " You had better take the 
 
 larger horse ; he will carry you better." Other 
 mementos he disposed of in a similar manner. 
 To his young son, he left his glorious sword. 
 
 His worldly matters closed, the eternal interests 
 of his soul engaged his mind. Turning to the 
 Rev. Mr. Peterkin, of the Episcopal Church, and 
 of which he was an exemplary member, he asked 
 him to sing the hymn commencing : 
 
 " Rock of ages cleft for me, 
 Let me hide myself in thee," 
 
 he joining with all the voice his strength would 
 permit. He then joined in prayer with the min- 
 isters. To the doctor he again said, " I am going 
 fast now ; I am resigned ; God's will be done." 
 Thus died General tJ. E. B. Stuart, 
 
 His wife reached the house of death and 
 mourning about 10 o'clock on Thursday night, 
 one hour and a half after dissolution, and was, of 
 course, plunged into the greatest grief by the an- 
 nouncement that death had intervened between 
 the announcement of the wounding of the Gen- 
 eral and her arrival. 
 
 The funeral services preliminary to the consign- 
 ment to the grave of the remains of General 
 Stuart, were conducted yesterday afternoon in 
 St. James' Episcopal church, corner of Marshall 
 and Fifth streets, Rev. Dr. Peterkin, rector. 
 The cortege reached the church about five o'clock 
 without muste or military escort, the Public 
 Guard being absent on duty. The church was 
 already crowded with citizens. The metallic 
 case, containing the corpse, was borne into the 
 church and up the center aisle to the altar, the 
 organ pealing a solemn funeral dirge and an- 
 them by the choir. 
 
 Among the pall-bearers we noticed Brigadier- 
 General John H. Winder, General George W. 
 Randolph, General Joseph R. Anderson, Brigar 
 dier-General Lawton, and Commodore Forrest. 
 
 Among the congregation appeared President 
 Davis, General Bragg, General Ransom, and 
 other civil and military officials in Richmond. A 
 portion of the funeral services, according td the 
 Episcopal Church, was read by Rev. Di". Peterkin, 
 assisted by other ministers, concluding with sing- 
 ing and prayer. 
 
 The body was then borne forth to the hearse 
 in waiting, decorated with black plumes, and 
 drawn by four white horses. The oi'gan pealed 
 its slow, solemn music as the body was borne to 
 the entrance, and while the cortege was forming, 
 the congregation standing by with heads un- 
 covered. Several carriages in the line were oc- 
 cupied by the members of the deceased General's 
 staff, and relatives. From the church the cortege 
 moved to Hollywood Cemetery, where the re- 
 mains were deposited in a vault ; the concluding 
 portion of the service read by Dr. Minngerode, 
 of St. Paul's Church, — and all that was mortal 
 of the dead hero was shut in from the gaze of men. 
 
 Dr. Brewer, the brother-in-law of Gen. Stuart, 
 has furnished us with some particulars obtained 
 from the General's own hps, of the manner in 
 which he came by his wound. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 205 
 
 He had formed a line of skirmishers near the 
 Yellow Tavern, when, seeing a brigade preparing 
 to charge on his left, Gen. Stuart and his staff 
 dashed down the line to form troops to repel the 
 charge. About this time the Yankees came thun- 
 dering down upon the General and his small 
 escort. Twelve shots were fired at the General 
 at short range, the Yankees evidently recognizing 
 his well-known person. The General wheeled 
 upon them with the natural bravery which had 
 always characterized him, and discharged sik 
 shots at his assailants. The last of the shots 
 fired at him struck the General in the left side of 
 the stomach. He did not fall, knowing he would 
 be captured if he did, and, nerving himself in 
 his seat, wheeled his horse's head and rode for 
 the protection of his lines. Before he reached 
 them his wound overcame him, and he fell, or 
 was helped from his saddle by one of his ever- 
 faithful troopers, and carried to a place of security. 
 Subsequently, he was brought to Richmond in an 
 ambulance. The immediate cause of death was 
 mortification of the stomach, induced by the flow 
 of blood from the kidneys and intestines into the 
 cavity of the stomach. 
 
 General Stuart was about thirty-five years of 
 age. He leaves a widow and two children. His 
 oldest offspring, a sprightly boy, died a year ago 
 while he was battling for his country on the Rap- 
 pahannock. When telegraphed that his child was 
 dying he sent the reply, " I must leave my child 
 in the hands of God ; my country needs me here ; 
 I cannot come." 
 
 Thus has passed away, amid the exciting scenes 
 of this revolution, one of the bravest and most 
 dashing cavaliers that the " Old Dominion " has 
 ever given birth to. Long will her sons recount 
 the story of his achievements, and mourn his un- 
 timely departure. Like the hero of the old song, — 
 
 " Of all our knights he was the flower, 
 Compagnon de la Marjolaine ; 
 Of all our knights he was the flower, 
 Always gay." 
 
 Home Life in the South. — " There are 
 many little things in which our daily life is 
 changed," said the wife of a Confederate officer, 
 — " many luxuries cut off from the table which 
 we have forgotten to miss. Our mode of pro- 
 curing necessaries is very different and far more 
 complicated. The condition of our currency has 
 brought about many curious results ; for instance, 
 I have just procured leather, for our negro-shoes, 
 by exchanging tallow for it, of which we had a 
 quantity from some fine beeves, fattened and 
 killed upon the place. 
 
 " I am now bargaining, with a factory up the 
 country, to exchange pork and lard, with them, 
 for blocks of yarn, to weave negro clothes ; and 
 not only negro-clothing I have woven, I am now 
 dyeing thread to weave homespun for myself and 
 daughters. I am ravelling up, or having ravelled, 
 all the old scraps of fine worsteds and dark silks, 
 to spin thread for gloves, for the General and 
 
 self, which gloves I am to knit. These home-knit 
 gloves and these homespun dresses will look much 
 neater and nicer than you would suppose. My 
 daughters and I being in want of under garments, 
 I sent a quantity of lard to the Macon factory, and 
 received in return fine unbleached calico, — a 
 pound of lard paying for a yard of cloth. They 
 will not sell their cloth for money. This un- 
 bleached calico my daughters and self are now 
 making up for ourselves. You see some foresight 
 is necessary to provide for the necessaries of 
 life. 
 
 " If I were to describe the cutting and altering 
 of old things to make new, which now perpetually 
 go on, I should far outstep the limits of a letter, 
 — perhaps I have done so already, — but I thought 
 this sketch would amuse you, and give you some 
 idea of our Confederate ways and means of living 
 and doing. At Christmas I sent presents to my 
 relations in Savannah, and instead of the elegant 
 trifles I used to give at that season, I bestowed as 
 follows : several bushels of meal, peas, bacon, 
 lard, eggs, sausages, soap (home-made), rope, 
 string, and a coarse basket ! all which articles, I 
 am assured, were most warmly welcomed, and 
 more acceptable than jewels and silks would 
 have been. To all of this we are so familiarized 
 that we laugh at these changes in our ways of 
 life, and keep our regrets for graver things. 
 
 " The photographs of your children I was so 
 happy to see. You would have smiled to have 
 heard my daughters divining the present fashion 
 from the style of dress in the likenesses. You 
 must know that, amid all the woes of the South- 
 ern Confederacy, her women still feel their utter 
 ignorance of the fashions, whenever they have a 
 new dress to make up or an old one to renovate. 
 I imagine that when our intercourse with the rest 
 of mankind is revived we shall present a singu- 
 lar aspect ; but what we shaU have lost in external 
 appearance I trust we shall have gained in subli- 
 mer virtues and more important qualities." 
 
 The Last Words of Colonel Stone. — 
 Much has been said — but not too much — in 
 praise of Col. Newton Stone, late commander of 
 the Vermont Second, who fell in the second day's 
 fight in the Wilderness. He was first wounded 
 in the leg, and conveyed to the rear ; and, after 
 having his wound dressed, requested to be placed 
 upon his horse, which was done ; when he imme- 
 diately rode to the front and took his position at 
 the head of his regiment, amid the cheers of his 
 men, whom he addressed briefly as follows, — 
 
 " Well, boys, this is rough work ; but I have 
 done as I told you 1 wished you to_ do, not to 
 leave for a slight wound, but remain just as long 
 as you could do any good ; I am here to do as 
 long as I can." He then rode along the line, 
 speaking a word of good cheer to every company, 
 and, as he halted to address Company B, a rifle- 
 ball pierced his head, and he fell from his horse 
 a corpse. At that moment, the regiment was 
 forced back and the body of their Colonel was 
 captured, but was immediately re-taken. 
 
200 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 "PICCIOLA." 
 
 It was a sergeant old and gray, 
 
 Well singed and bronzed from siege and pillage, 
 Went tramping in an army's wake, 
 
 Along the turnpike of the village. 
 
 For days and nights the winding host 
 
 Had through the little place been marching, 
 
 And ever loud the rustics cheered, 
 
 Till ev'ry throat was hoarse and parching. 
 
 The squire and farmer, maid and dame, 
 
 All took the sight's electric stirring. 
 And hats were waved, and staves were sung, 
 
 And 'kerchiefs white were countless whirling. 
 
 They onl}' saw a gallant show 
 
 Of heroes stalwart under banners, 
 And in the fierce heroic glow 
 
 'Twas theirs to yield but wild hosannas. 
 
 The sergeant heard the shrill hurrahs, 
 Where he behind in step was keeping ; 
 
 But glancing down beside the road 
 He saw a little maid sit weeping. 
 
 " And how is this ? " he gruffiy said, 
 
 A moment pausing to regard her; 
 " Why wecpest thou, my little chit ? " 
 
 And then she only cried the harder. 
 
 " And how is this my little chit," 
 T*he sturdy trooper straight repeated, 
 
 " When all the A-illage cheers us on. 
 That you, in teai's, apart are seated ? " 
 
 " We march two hundred thousand strong ! 
 
 And that's a sight my baby beauty, 
 To quicken silence into song, 
 
 And glorify the soldier's duty." 
 
 " It's very, very grand, I know," 
 
 The little maid gave soft replying ; 
 " And father, mother, brother, too, 
 
 All say ' hurrah' while I am crying." 
 
 " But think — O, Mr. Soldier, think, 
 
 How many little sisters' brothers 
 Are going all away to fight, 
 
 Who may be killed as well as othere ! " 
 
 "Why, bless thee, child, " the sergeant said. 
 His brawny hand her curls caressing, 
 
 " 'Tis left for little ones like you 
 To find that war's not all a blessing. " 
 
 And, " bless thee ! " once again he cried ; 
 
 Then cleared his throat and looked indignant, 
 And marched away with wrinkled brow 
 
 To stop the straggling tear benignant. 
 
 And still the ringing shouts went up 
 
 From doorway, thatch, and fields of tillage ; 
 
 The pall behind the standard seen 
 By one alone, of all the village. 
 
 The oak and cedar bend and writhe 
 
 When roars the wind througli gap and braken ; 
 But 'tis the tenrterest reed of all 
 
 That tremhles first when earth is shaken. 
 
 The Cruelties of War. — In the month 
 of January, 1863, at Laurel, N. C, near the Ten- 
 nessee border, all the salt was seized for distri- 
 bution by Confederate Commissioners. Salt was 
 selling at seventy-five to one hundred dollars a 
 sack. The Commissioners declared that the 
 " Tories " should have none, and positively re- 
 fused to give Union men their portion of the 
 quantity to be distributed in that vicinity. This 
 palpable injustice roused the Union men, they 
 assembled together and determined to seize their 
 proportion of the salt by force. They did so, 
 taking at Marshall, N. C, what they deemed to 
 be their share, and which had been withheld from 
 them, simply because they adhered with uncon- 
 querable devotion to the government of their 
 fathers. 
 
 Immediately afterward the Sixty-fifth N. C. 
 regiment, under command of Lieut. Col. Jas. 
 Keith, was ordered to Laurel, to arrest the offend- 
 ers. 
 
 L. M. Allen was Colonel of the regiment, but 
 bad been suspended for six months for crime and 
 drunkenness. Many of the men engaged in the 
 salt seizure left their homes. Those who did not 
 participate in it became the sufferers. Among 
 those arrested were Joseph Wood, about sixty 
 years of age ; Day Shelton, sixty ; James Shel- 
 ton, fifty ; Roddy Shelton, forty-five ; Ellison 
 King, forty ; Halen Moore, forty ; Wade Moore, 
 thirty-five ; Isaiah Shelton, fifteen ; Wm. Shelton, 
 twelve ; James Medcalf, ten ; Jasper Channel, 
 fourteen; Sam Shelton, nineteen, and his brother 
 aged seventeen, sons of LIfus Shelton, — In all thir- 
 teen men and boys. Nearly all of them declared 
 they were innocent, and had taken no part in 
 appropriating the salt. They begged for a trial, 
 asserting that they could prove their innocence. 
 
 Col. Allen who was with his troops, but not in 
 command, told them they should have a trial 
 but that they would be taken to Tennessee for 
 that purpose. They bid farewell to their wives, 
 daughters and sisters, directing them to procure 
 the witnesses and bring them to the Court in 
 Tennessee, where they supposed their trial would 
 take place. Alas ! how little they dreamed what 
 a fate awaited them ! The poor fellows had pro- 
 ceeded but a few miles when they were turned 
 from the road Into a gorge in the mountain, and 
 halted. Without any warning of what was to be 
 done with them, five of them were ordered to 
 kneel down. Ten paces in front of these five a 
 file of soldiers were placed with loaded muskets. 
 The terrible reaUty flashed upon the minds of the 
 doomed patriots. 
 
 Old man Wood ( sixty years of age, ) cried 
 out : " For God's sake men, you are not going to 
 shoot us ? If you are going to murder us, give 
 us at least time to pray. " Col. Allen was re- 
 minded of his promise to give them a trial. They 
 were informed that Allen had no authority ; that 
 Keith was in command ; and that there was no 
 time for praying. — The order was given to fire ; 
 the old man and boys put their hands to their 
 faces and rent the air with agonizing cries of de- 
 spair ; the soldiers wavered and hesitated to obey 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 207 
 
 the command. Keith said, if thev did not fire 
 instantly, he would make them change places 
 with the prisoners. — The soldiers raised their 
 guns, the victims shuddered convulsively, the 
 word fire was given and the five men fell pierced 
 with rebel bullets. Old man Wood and Shelton 
 were shot in the head, and their brains scattered 
 upon the ground, and they died, without a 
 struggle. The other three lived only a few 
 minutes. 
 
 Five others were ordered to kneel, among them 
 little Billy Shelton, a mere child, only twelve 
 years old. He implored the men not to shoot 
 him in the face. — " You have killed my father 
 and brothers, " said he, " you have shot my father 
 in the face ; do not shoot me in the face." He 
 covered his face with his hands. The soldiers 
 received the order to fire, and five more fell. 
 Poor little Billy was wounded in both arms. He 
 ran to an. officer, clasped him around the legs, 
 and besought him to spare his life. " You have 
 killed my old father and my three brothers; you 
 have shot me in both arms — I forgive you all 
 this — I can get well. Let me go home to my 
 mother and sisters." What a heart of adamant 
 the man must have had who could disregard such 
 an appeal ! The little boy was dragged back to 
 the place of execution ; again the terrible word, 
 " fire ! " was given, and he fell dead, eight balls 
 having entered his body. The remaining three 
 were murdered in the same manner. Those in 
 whom life was not entirely extinct, the heartless 
 officers dispatched with their pistols. A hole 
 was then dug, and the thirteen bodies were pitched 
 into it. 
 
 The grave was scarcely large enough; some 
 of the bodies lay about the ground. A wretch, 
 named Sergeant N. B. D. Jay,^<«^J£m^ijy^n, 
 Hit nttiiiflhnl fn" 3-:-^n aCssQ e. dgqlfia^^f Jjie 
 Sixt3'-fiftk--'?^T5!tb™OaTolina regiment, juiliped 
 upon the bleeding bodies, and said to some of 
 the men : " Pat Juba for me while I dance the 
 damned scoundrels down to and through hell." 
 The grave was covered lightly with earth, and 
 the next day when the wives and families of 
 the murdered men heard of their fate, searched 
 for, and found their grave, the hogs had rooted 
 up one man's body, and eaten his head off. Oh, 
 heavens ! what must have been the agony of 
 their wives and children on beholding that 
 sight ! — When the awful reahty burst upon them, 
 what great drops of affliction must have oozed 
 from their bleeding hearts ! Yet all this was 
 done in the cause of freedom ! " O Liberty ! 
 what crimes are committed in thy name ! " 
 
 Captain Moorley, in charge of a cavalry force, 
 and Col. Thomas, in command of a number of 
 Indians, accompanied Keith's men. These pro- 
 ceeded to Tennessee; Keith's men returned to 
 Laurel, and were instructed to say that the cav- 
 alry had taken the prisoners with them tobe tried , 
 iu accordance with the pledge of Col. Allen. Li 
 their progress through the country, many Union 
 men were known to have been killed and scalped 
 by the Indians. Upon the return of Keith and 
 his men to Laurel they began systematically to 
 
 torture the women of loyal men, to force them 
 to tell where their fathers and husbands could be 
 found, and what part each had taken in the salt 
 raid. The women refused to divulge anything. 
 They were then whipped with hickory switches — 
 many of them till the blood coursed in sti-eams 
 down their persons to the ground ; and the men 
 who did this were called soldiers ! Mrs. Sarah 
 Shelton, wife of Ezra Shelton, who escaped from 
 the town, and Mrs. Mary Shelton, wife of Lifus 
 Shelton, were wliipped and hung by the neck till 
 they were almost dead ; but would give no infor- 
 mation. Martha White, an idiotic girl, was beaten 
 and tied by the neck all day to a tree. Old 
 Mrs. Unus Kiddle, aged eighty-five years, was 
 whipped, hung, and robbed of a considerable 
 amount of money. Many others were treated 
 with the same barbarity. And the men who did 
 this were called soldiers ! The daughters c^' 
 William Shelton, a man of wealth and highly re- 
 spectable, were requested by some of the officers 
 to play and sing for them. . They played and 
 sang a few National airs. ; Keith learned of it, 
 and ordered that the ladies be placed under ar- 
 rest and sent to the guardhouse, where they re- 
 mained all night, o/^,, -,• ' - , 
 
 Old Mrs. Sallie Moore, seventy years of age, 
 was whipped with hickory rods till the blood ran 
 in streams down her back to the ground ; and the 
 perpetrators of this were clothed in the habili- 
 ments of rebellion, and bore the name of soldiers ! 
 
 One woman, who had an infant five or six 
 weeks old, was tied in the snow to a tree, her 
 child placed in the doorway in her sight, and, as 
 she knew about the seizure of the salt, both her- 
 self and her child were allowed to perish. Ser- 
 geant N. B. D. Jay, of Capt. Reynolds' com- 
 pany, and Lieut. R. M. Deever assisted their 
 men in the execution of the hellish outrages. 
 Houses were burned and torn down. AU kinds 
 of property were destroyed or carried off. All the 
 women and children of the Union men who were 
 shot, and of those who escaped, were ordered to 
 General Alfred E. Jackson's headquarters at 
 Jonesboro,' to be sent through the lines by way 
 of Knoxville. When the first of them arrived at 
 this place, the officer in charge applied to Gen. 
 Donelson (formerly Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives at Nashville) to know by which 
 route they should be sent from there, whether by 
 Cumberland Gap or Nashville. Gen. Donelson 
 immediately directed them to be released and 
 sent home, saying that such a thing was unknown 
 in civilized countries. They were then sent 
 home, and all the ref^gees^m^.t on ih^ road/were 
 also turned back. '-' ' 
 
 On the 13th of February, 1863, a squad of 
 soldiers were sent to conscript James McCoUum, 
 of Green county, Tennessee, a very respectable, 
 industrious man thirty or thirty-five years of age. 
 They found him feeding his cattle. When he 
 saw some of them he ran to the back of his barn, 
 and, without halting or attempting to arrest him, 
 one of them shot him through the neck, killing 
 him instantly. His three little children, who saw 
 it, ran to the house and told their mother ; she 
 
208 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 came out wringing her hands in anguish, and 
 screaming with terror and dismay. 
 
 The soldiers were sitting upon the fence. 
 They laughed at her agony, and said they had 
 only killed "a damned Tory." The murdered 
 man was highly esteemed by his neighbors, and 
 was a firm Union man. 
 
 In April last, two rebel soldiers named Wood 
 and Ignole went to the house of INIrs. Ruth Ann 
 Rhea,"living on the waters of Lick Creek county, 
 to conscript her son. The old lady was pai-- 
 tially deranged ; she commanded the soldiers to 
 leave her house, and raised a stick to strike one 
 of them. He told her if she struck him, he 
 ■would run her through with his bayonet ; she gave 
 the blow, and he shot her through the breast. 
 
 In the same month, Jesse Price, an old man 
 sixty years of age, two sons and two nephews, 
 were arrested in Johnson county, Tennessee, 
 bordering on Virginia, by Col. Fouke's cavalry, 
 composed of Tennessee and North Carolina men. 
 They were taken to Ash county, North Carolina, 
 to be tried for disloyalty to Jefferson Davis & Co. 
 The old man had been previously arrested, taken 
 to Knoxville, tried and acquitted. 
 
 When the five prisoners arrived in Ash coun- 
 ty, a groggery keeper proposed to treat Fouke's 
 men to eight gallons of brandy if they would 
 hang the old man, his sons and nephews, without 
 trial. The bargain was struck, and the five un- 
 fortunate men were hanged without further cere- 
 mony. The brandy was furnished, and some of 
 it drank before the tragedy, — the rest afterward. 
 
 And it is upon the graves of such martyrs, up- 
 on the basis of such damning acts of barbarity, 
 that the independence of a Southern Confedera- 
 cy is to be established ? The blood of these 
 murdered men, women, and children, appeals to 
 heaven against such a consummation. Read this 
 hloody record of inhuman fiendish slaughter, ye 
 snivelling sympathizers, and ask yourselves if the 
 vengeance of a just God must not, sooner or later, 
 blast the hopes and schemes of such enemies of 
 their race. Is it possible that an inexorable idol, 
 demanding such rivers of innocent blood, can be 
 long worshipped in the light of the nineteenth 
 century ? Forbid it "God ! Forbid it, all ye 
 mighty hosts of heaven ! Christianity cries out 
 against it. American honor demands that the mon- 
 strosity be. cast into flames and destroyed forever. 
 
 All the blessed memories of the past ; all the 
 glorious anticipations of the future, call upon the 
 noble patriots of the Union to avenge the blood 
 of these martyrs to the cause of.,fi-eedom a^d na- 
 tionaUty. — Meinphis BuUeiin^J _ /.;,/,} 
 
 \ ft / 
 
 "General Reno's Last Words. — When 
 General Reno fell, Gen Sturges was within a few 
 yards of him. He was in command of the di- 
 vision formerly commanded by Reno, increased 
 by several new regiments, and the men had just 
 distIno;uished themselves in driving the rebels 
 from the summit of the Blue Ridge. These gen- 
 erals were bosom friends; had been classmates 
 at AVest Point, and graduated together. When 
 
 Reno fell, Sturges ran to his assistance, had him 
 picked up, and said : " Jesse, are you badly 
 wounded?" To which he replied, " Yes, Sam, 
 I am a dead man." General Sturges had him 
 placed upon a litter and carried to the rear, 
 where he died in an hour. His last words, before 
 leaving the battle-field were, " Boys, I can be 
 with you no longer in body, but I am with you in 
 spirit." 
 
 THE SOUTHSRN CROSS. 
 
 Fling wide each fold, brave flag um'oUed 
 
 In all thy breadth and length ! 
 Float out unfurled, and show the world 
 
 A new-born nation's strength. 
 Thou dost not wave all bright and brave 
 
 In holiday attire ; 
 'Mid cannon chimes a thousand times 
 
 Baptized in blood and fire. 
 
 No silken toy to flaunt in joy, 
 
 When careless shouts are heard : 
 Where thou art borne all scathed and torn, 
 
 A nation's heart is stirred. 
 Where half-clad groups of toil-worn troops. 
 
 Are marching to the wars, 
 What gi-ateful tears and heartfelt cheers 
 
 Salute thy cross of stars ! 
 
 Thou ne'er hast seen the pomp and sheen, 
 
 The pageant of a court ; 
 Or masquerade of war's parade. 
 
 When fields are fought in sport ; 
 But thou know'st well the battle yell 
 
 From which thy foemen reel, 
 When down the steeps resistless leaps 
 
 A sea of Southern steel. 
 
 Thou know'st the storm of balls that Swarm 
 
 In dense and hurtling fight. 
 When thy crossed bars, a blaze of stars, 
 
 Plunge headloag through the fight ; 
 Where thou'rt unfurled are thickest hurled 
 
 The thtmderbolts of war ; 
 And thou art met with loudest threat 
 
 Of cannon from afar. 
 
 For thee is told the merchant's gold ; 
 
 The planter's harvests fall : 
 Thine is the gain of hand and brain, 
 
 And the heart's wealth of all. 
 For thee each heart has borne to part 
 
 With what it holds most dear ; 
 Through all the land no woman's hand 
 
 Has staid one volunteer. 
 
 Though from thy birth outlawed on earth. 
 
 By older nations spurned, 
 Their full-grown fame may dread the name 
 
 Thy infancy has earned. 
 For thou dost flood the land with blood. 
 
 And sweep the seas with fire ; 
 And all the earth applauds the worth 
 
 Of deeds thou dost inspire ! 
 
 Thy stainless field shall empire wield, 
 
 Supreme from sea to sea, 
 And proudly shine the honored sign 
 
 Of peoples yet to be. 
 When thou shalt grace the hard-won place 
 
 The nations grudge thee now, 
 No land shall show to friend or foe 
 
 A nobler flag than thou. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 209 
 
 Grant and the Politician. — A certain 
 western Colonel in Major-General Grant's army, 
 took advantage of a sick-furlough to canvass for 
 a nominationto Congress. On application for an 
 extension of his furlough, Gen. Grant TYrote on 
 back of it, as folloivs : 
 
 " If Col. is able to travel over his dis- 
 trict to electioneer for Congress, he is able to be 
 with his regiment, and he is hereby ordered to 
 join it immediately, or be dismissed from the ser- 
 vice." 
 
 Abraham Lincoln's First Speech. — 
 President Lincoln made his maiden speech in 
 Sangamon county, at Pappysville (or Kichland) 
 in the year 1832. He was then a Whig, and was 
 a candidate for the legislature of this State. The 
 speech was sharp and sensible. To understand 
 why it was so short, the following facts will show : 
 First, Mr. Lincoln was a young man, say twen- 
 ty-two years of age, and timid. Secondly, his 
 fHends and opponents, in the joint discussion had 
 rolled the sun nearly down. Mr. Lincoln saw 
 that it was not a proper time to discuss the ques- 
 tions fully, and hence he cut his remarks short. 
 Probably the other candidate had wholly exhaust- 
 ed the subjects under discussion. The time, ac- 
 cording to W. H. Herndon's informant — who 
 has kindly fui-nished this valuable reminiscence 
 for us — was 1832, it may have been 1834. The 
 President lived at that time with James A. Hern- 
 don, at Salem, Sangamon county, who heard the 
 speech, talked about it, and knows the report to 
 be correct. The speech which was characteristic 
 of the man, was as follows : 
 
 "Gentlemen, Fellow-citizens: I pre- 
 sume you all know who I am. I am humble 
 Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by 
 many friends to become a candidate for the legis- 
 lature. My polities are short and sweet, like an 
 old woman's dance. I am in favor of a National 
 Bank. I am in favor of the internal improve- 
 ment system, and a high protective tariff. These 
 are my sentiments and political principles. If 
 elected, I shall be thankful ; if not, it will be all 
 the same." 
 
 The Battle-Field of Gettysburg. — I 
 have just returned from a visit to Gettysburg 
 and if you choose to accompany me in a long 
 ramble over the field and hear what a partic- 
 ipant in the battle has to say, well and good. 
 In the main, " I tell the story as 'twas told to 
 me ; " but it is hard to say anything new upon a 
 theme already hackneyed. You newspaper peo- 
 ple have, I know, what most people have, a hor- 
 ror- of — long articles ; therefore, " for fear your 
 readers should grow skittish," you have my full 
 permission to abbreviate, expunge, or omit, at 
 your pleasure. Assuming this article, then, to 
 have escaped the fate of your waste-paper basket, 
 start with me on this fine November morning, out 
 on the Emmettsburg road. For our companion and 
 guide we have Captain. A. F. Cavada, a gallant 
 14 
 
 and accomplished young officer, who served all 
 through, from Yorktown to Petersburg, and for 
 nearly two years on the staff of Major General 
 Humphreys. 
 
 About a mile out we halt. The Captain lo- 
 quitur. " Now I begin to feel at home. Let me 
 take an observation, as these fences were not 
 here^then. All right. I've got it now. Do you 
 see that big walnut on the ridge over there? 
 That was Gen. Humphrey's headquarters on the 
 morning of Thursday, July 2d. Ahnost worn out 
 with hard marching, I was aroused from my weary 
 bivouac at daylight, and ordered to post Col. 
 Tilghman's regiment — the Twenty-sixth Penn- 
 sylvania — on i^icket along here. Later in the 
 the day, right of our division, Carr's brigade, held 
 this brick house. Further down was posted 
 TurnbulFs battery. There, belov/ that barn, 
 stood Lieut. Seeley's and still further toward our 
 left the batteries of Birney's division, under Liv- 
 .ingston, Smith, Randolph, Clark, and Winslow. 
 I mention them all, for never were guns handled 
 more beautifully. All suffered fearfully — See- 
 ley's especially. He had hardly a man or horse 
 left standing, and was himself severely wounded. 
 He was a gallant officer, and had risen from 
 the ranks. Now go with me into that orchard. 
 I want to find a certain apple-tree which served 
 as a rendezvous during the day for us staff 
 officers and our orderlies. At one period, stand- 
 ing under it, with Captains Humphreys and 
 McClellan, a shell exploded in the tree, killing 
 three of our poor orderlies, besides striking my 
 horse." We found the tree — its limbs were 
 shattered, and the top entirely gone. 
 
 " About 2 o'clock the whole Third Corps moved 
 out in line-of-battle over the open ground, and a 
 more magnificent spectacle of ' living valor roll- 
 ing on the foe,' I never witnessed. Away over 
 on that bare spot of rising ground the rebels had 
 planted two batteries, with which they enfiladed 
 our whole line, fairly sweeping it from left to 
 right. Lord ! how they pitched it into us ! 
 Longstreet's infantry debouched from those woods, 
 and in a short time all around where we are 
 standing — to the right, left and in front — along 
 this road, through that peach orclrard, away down 
 toward Round Top, for houi-s the battle raged. 
 General Sickles was wounded near that large 
 barn. How well I remember this spot of ground. 
 It was here, behind that stone-fence, that I had 
 been ordered to post Colonel Burling's brigade. 
 On my way back, I passed the One Hundred and 
 Fourteenth Pennsylvania Regiment, then cocn- 
 manded by my brother, Lieut. Col. F. F. Cava- 
 da. It had just been ordered to an advanced 
 position beyond the road. I rode up and shook 
 hands with him. ' Good-by, Fred, look out for 
 yourself; you are going into a hot place, and are 
 sure to catch it.' So it turned out. The One 
 Hundred and fourteenth, in connection with the 
 Sixty-eighth Pennsylvania, Col. Trippin, had a 
 bloody fight of it, and lost heavily. My brother 
 and his brigade commander, Gen. Graham, were 
 both taken prisoners, the latter severely wounded. . 
 I never saw the rebels fight with such diabolka! ; 
 
210 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 fury. The most murderous fire — canister, 
 shrapnel, and musketry — was poured into their 
 faces as it were, but nothing stopped them. The 
 Third Corps, those heroes of Chancellorsville, 
 and other bloody fields, led by Birney, Hum- 
 phrejs, De Trobriand, Ward, Graham and Carr 
 — never fought more heroically." 
 
 A word of criticism here. At one period of 
 the battle, Birney, being hard pressed called up- 
 on Gen. Sj'kes, in command of the Fifth Corps, 
 for assistance. Sykes had been ordered to sup- 
 port the Third if called upon, but he returned for 
 answer that he " Avould be up in time — that his 
 men were tired and were making coffee!" 
 They did come up in about an hour, and, says 
 Gen. Warren, in his testimony, " the troops un- 
 der General Sykes arrived barely in time to 
 save Bound Top, and they had a very desperate 
 fight to hold it." And again of the operations 
 next day. " When the repulse took place. Gen. 
 Meade intended to move forward and assault 
 the enemy in turn. He ordered an advance of 
 the Fifth Corps, but it was carried on so sloidj/ that 
 it did not amount to much, if anything." Gen. 
 George Sykes is a brave man, but entirely "too 
 slow," so at least Gen. Grant seemed to think, 
 for in the subse;]uent reorganization of the Army 
 of the Potomac, the services of '• Tardy George," 
 No. 2, Avere dispensed with. The Fifth, as a corps, 
 has a gl&rious record, and never failed to fight 
 bravely when properly handled. 
 
 To resume the captain's narrative. " As the 
 afternoon wore on the pressure became great- 
 er and greater, until at last our whole corps, 
 with the exception of Carr's brigade and a few 
 other regiments, was hurled down the slope, 
 broken and discomfited, the rebels following in 
 hot pursuit. Our losses were frightful. In our 
 division, of 5,000 men, our loss was nearly 2,000." 
 "Well, Captain, you saw most of the heavy 
 fighting done by this army, tell me, were you 
 ever in a holler place than this ? " " Never but 
 once — and that reminds me of a little story. 
 In the attack upon the enemy's position at the 
 first Fredericksburg, our division was ordered to 
 storm the heights. As we were preparing to 
 move, Gen. liitmphreys — always a very polite 
 man — turned round to his staff, and in his 
 blandest manner remarked, ' Young gentle- 
 men, I intend to lead this assault, and shall be 
 happy to have the pleasure of your company.' 
 Of course, the invitation was too polite to be de- 
 clined. That was the roughest place I ever was 
 in, and I can't conceive, even to this day, how 
 any of us ever got back alive. Our division 
 lost nearly 1,100 iuen in about fifteen minutes. 
 In this clump of bushes my horse received a sec- 
 ond wound, and fell dead under me. I managed 
 to scramble over the ridge, where our men were 
 being rallied, and soon after the sun went down 
 and the rebels were beaten back beyond the road. 
 " Capt. Chester, of our military family, was 
 seen to go down in the melee and after night-fall 
 a party started out in search of him. We found 
 him near that large flat rock, alive, but grievous- 
 ly wounded. His horse and faithful orderly both 
 
 lay dead beside him, and across his legs a 
 rebel soldier, whom he had killed with his revolv- 
 er, while in the act of plundering him of his 
 Avatch. He was taken up tenderly, and convey- 
 ed to the hospital on Rock Creek where he died 
 next day. 
 
 " With heavy hearts we now set about the task 
 of burying such of our poor fellows as were 
 within reach. Always the saddest of a soldier's 
 duties, it was peculiarly so upon this occasion,^ for 
 all felt that the rising sun would bring with it a 
 repetition of this day's horrors, and that, perhaps, 
 at this hour to-morrow, some comrade might be 
 performing this same sad office for us. 
 
 " 'Few and short were the prayers we said, 
 And wc spoke not a word of sorrow, 
 As we steadfiistly gazed on the face of the dead. 
 And bitterly thought on the morroiu. ' " 
 
 In the course of the day we paid a visit to Mr. 
 •Sherfey's house, where we were most hospitably 
 received. Iliis house stands about the centre of 
 the field and is riddled from garret to basement. 
 Traces of the conflict are to be seen on every 
 side, including the last resting-place of many poor 
 Southerners. Mr. Sherfey's '"barn was burnt dur- 
 ing the fight, and some of the wounded who 
 sought refuge there perished in the flames. 
 " These," saul Mrs. Sherfey, producing some tin 
 cans, " contain peaches that were growing in our 
 orchard over there at the time of the battle. These 
 are vu/ trophies." In the front garden grows the 
 beautiful shrub known as the " burning bush," 
 luxuriant with its crop of bright red berries, ty- 
 pical of the blood shed at its roots. " Take some 
 of the berries with you and plant them," said the 
 kind old lady ; " they will grow anywhere, and 
 will be pleasant mementos of Gettysburg." 
 
 We next made our way to Little Bound Top, 
 where we had the pleasure of meeting Colonel 
 Batchelder. This gentleman is engaged in col- 
 lecting the details of the battle, and will, no 
 doubt^ produce a book of equal interest with his 
 great map. I was sorry to hear him say that he 
 intends designating this as " Weed's Hill," in 
 honor of the general who fell on its top. Honor 
 the memory of the brave man in some other way. 
 Colonel, but don't seek to change this name. As 
 " Little Bound Top," it has already passed into 
 history, and so it will be known forever. There 
 are few finer views of the whole field than from 
 this point, and here took place the closest and 
 most sanguinary fighting of Thursday. In front 
 and to the right the Fifth Corps had a heavy 
 thing of it. "On the height fought two of the 
 noblest soldiers of the army, Vincent and Rice. 
 The former laid down his life here, the latter at 
 Spottsylvania the year after. All the little stone 
 walls thrown up between the huge boulders kre 
 still here. In fact, nothing is changed. Would 
 that this could be said of other parts of the field. 
 Inscriptions upon the rocks mark the spots where 
 Vincent and Hazlett fell. Here, too, at_ the 
 early age of twenty-five, fell that accomplished 
 soldier Col. O'Bourke, of the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth New York. Graduating at the head of 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 211 
 
 his class, two years before, he was at once as- 
 sifi^ned to duty "in the field, and soon became dis- 
 tinf uished for his reckless and impetuous courage. 
 He was struck while mounted upon a rock gal- 
 lantly animating his men. Fortunately, the ex- 
 treme left was held by that splendid regiment 
 the Twentieth Maine, then under the command 
 of Col. Chamberlain, afterwards one of Sheri- 
 dan's heroes of the Five Forks. Firing away 
 their last cartridge, Chamberlain ordered his 
 regiment to charge down the hill, and succeeded 
 in clearing its sides with the bayonet. The re- 
 markable ledge of rocks known as the " Devil's 
 Den," directly opposite Round Top, was oc- 
 cupied by the enemy's sharpshooters, one of 
 whom had a safe position within the cleft and 
 picked oif our men with fatal accuracy. The 
 face of the boulder behind which he lay is cov- 
 ered with marks of the minies sent at him. One 
 even " went for him " clean through the crevice, 
 but missed. He was finally dislodged by a charge 
 and escaped through an opening to the rear. 
 Seven muskets, it is said, were found in his 
 hiding place. There is room enough for ^fty. 
 On the slope in front of his den lie bleach- 
 ing the bones of rebel dead, washed out by the 
 rains. The scene of Crawford's charge, with our 
 superb Pennsylvania Reserves, was to the right 
 and in front of Little Round Top. Brigadier 
 General Zook and Colonel Jeffards — the latter 
 of the Fourth Michigan — were killed in the 
 field beyond. Colonel Jeffards was killed by a 
 bayonet-thrust, while gallantly holding up with 
 his own hands the colors of his regiment. Near 
 that ploughed field, charging at the head of his 
 brave " 13ucktails," fell our Chester county 
 neighbor, Col. Frederick Taylor. No death in 
 the whole army was more sincerely mourned. 
 
 " Many the ways that lead to death, but few 
 Grandly ; and one alone is glory's gate, 
 Standing wherever free men dare their fate, 
 Determined, as thou ivert, to die — or do ! " 
 
 We now proceed along the line held by us on 
 Friday, Colonel B. politely acting as guide. In 
 that little grove, close to our lines, fell the rebel 
 General Barksdale on Thursday. This violent, 
 brawling rebel start-ed in search of" his rights" 
 and this little pile of stones here marks the spot 
 where he is presumed to haye found them^ It is 
 said that he was drunk when he started on the 
 charge, and this may account for his headlong, 
 reckless bravery. True or not, " the story's still 
 extant." Here in the thickest of the fight, ex- 
 
 f)Osing himself like a common soldier, the gal- 
 ant Hancock received his wound. That ad- 
 vanced line of works was held b)' the Vermont 
 brigade. It was commanded by Gen. Stannard, 
 who subsequently gave an arm to the cause on 
 the James. A pile of knapsacks, just as they 
 were unslung, still lie mouldering hei-e, — on one 
 the inscription " Sixteenth Vermont " is still vis- 
 ible. Even now the debris of battle — hats, 
 shoes, cartridge-boxes, bayonet-scabbards, can- 
 teens, &c. — lie scattered all over the field. 
 Next we come to the position held by the " Phil- 
 
 adelphia Brigade," composed of the Sixty-ninth 
 — " Paddy Owens' regulars ; " the Seventy- 
 second, Baxter's Zouaves, and that splendid 
 fighting regiment, the Seventy-first, or California, 
 commanded originally by the lamented Baker, 
 and subsequently by our fellow-townsmen, Col- 
 onels John Markoe and R. Penn Smith. This 
 brigade — veteran fighters, every man of them — 
 was led upon this occasion by a gallant New York- 
 er, Brigadier-General Webb, and nobly was the 
 honor of both cities sustained. Would that I 
 had it in my power to particularize all the or- 
 ganizations conspicuous for courage and conduct 
 in this gi-eat battle, but that would be to mention 
 almost every regiment, battery and squadron en- 
 gaged. From here we have an excellent view 
 of Seminary Ridge, the line of woods whence 
 the rebels issued and the beautiful level fields 
 over which they swept in their grand charge. 
 This certainly is the most magnificent battle-field 
 in the world. The heights of La Belle Alliance 
 and Mont Saint Jean in some respects resem- 
 ble our Cemetery and Seminary Ridges, with the 
 same gentle, undulating valley intervening ; biit 
 at Waterloo the principal road runs at right an- 
 gles, while here, parallel with the position. Speak- 
 ing of the bombardment which preceded the 
 charge, that experienced soldier. General Han- 
 cock, says : " It was the most terrific cannonade 
 I ever witnessed, and the most prolonged." A 
 rebel eye-witness describing it, says : '' I have 
 never yet heard such tremendous artillery firing. 
 The very earth shook beneath our feet, and the 
 hills and rocks seemed to reel like a drunken 
 man. For one hour and a half this most terrific 
 firing was continued, during which time the 
 shrieking of shells, the crash of falling timber, the 
 fragments of rock flying through the air, shatter- 
 ed from the cliffs by solid-shot ; the heavy mut- 
 terings from the valley between the opposing 
 armies, the splash of bursting shrapnel, and the 
 neighing of wounded artillery horses, made the 
 same terribly grand and sublime." After this came 
 the charge. Our eighty guns, planted on the 
 crest from Cemetery Hill to Round Top, " vol- 
 ley'd and thundered," and, when the infantry 
 joined in the choi-us, so terrible was the fire that 
 tore through them that the rebel columns pre- 
 sented the extraordinary spectacle of ten thou- 
 sand men playing at " leap-frog ! " In spite of 
 every eflTort, the flower of Lee's veterans, direct- 
 ed by tried leaders such as Garnett, Armstead, 
 Kemper, Wright, Posey and Mahone, failed in 
 carrying our position, although at one or two 
 points they charged up to, and even over it. 
 '' What other than Southern troops would have 
 made that charge ? " Ay, sir, but what other 
 than Northern would have met and repulsed it ? 
 Northern endurance, upon this occasion was too 
 much for Southern impetuosity and dash. " There 
 swung the pine against the palm." In the bloody 
 ruck ^hundreds of their best officers went down. 
 It was the turning point of the grand drama, and 
 with the sun, on that third day of July, went 
 down the sun of" the Confederacy " forever ! Al- 
 though kno-ivn as " Pickett's charge," Gen. Gra- 
 
212 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ham. whom I met here yesterday, informs me 
 that Pickett himself was not in it. He describes 
 him as a coarse, br0al fellow, and says he treat- 
 ed him with the greatest inhumanity after the 
 battle, whilst wounded, and a prisoner in his 
 hands. The rebel corps commanders either did 
 did not expose themselves as freely as our own, 
 or they had better luck, for none were hit, whilst 
 we lost one, Reynolds, killed ; and two, Hancock 
 and Sickels, wounded. The story told in Black- 
 wood, by Col. Freemantle, of the British army, 
 who was present may help to explain it. He 
 says, that carried away by excitement, he rushed 
 up to Longstreet, who was sitting on a_ fence 
 " quietly whitterling a stick," whilst watching the 
 charge, and said, '' Gen. Longstreet, isn't this 
 splendid ; I wouldn't have missed it for the 
 AYorld ? " " The d— 1 you wouldn't," replied Long- 
 street ; " why, don't you see we are getting lick- 
 ed like h — 1 ! " We now crossed the Balti- 
 more pike, calling on our way at the small 
 frame building, on~the Taneytown road, used as 
 the head-quarters of Gen. Meade on Friday. 
 This will always be a point of great interest. 
 The house is sadly shattered, and the poor 
 widow who .owns it complains bitterly of her 
 losses. " When I comes home, my house was all 
 over blood ; the ' sogers ' took away all my cover- 
 Jits and quilts, two tons of hay, they spiled my 
 spring, my apple-trees and every ding." She 
 says a couple of hundred dollars would be a great 
 help to her, and thinks she should get it from some- 
 veresJ' Sure enough, why shouldn't the _ poor 
 woman get it V In the garden of a cottage in the 
 little village of Waterloo the visitor is shown the 
 monument erected over the Marquis of Angle- 
 sea's leg, and the poor peasant has made quite a 
 little fortune by exhibiting the boot cut from the 
 leg, and the table upon which the amputation 
 was performed. This hint might not be thrown 
 away upon a more enterprising person, but I 
 doubt if this poor, old, frowsy German woman 
 will ever ijrofit by it. To the right of Cemetery 
 Hill was stationed the battery so furiously as- 
 saulted by Hays' brigade of Louisiana^ Tigers. 
 The lunettes and traverses remain undisturbed 
 and grass-grown. 
 
 The little eminence in front was held, and 
 with distinguished honor, by that conscientious 
 and patriotic soldier, Brigadier-Gen. Wadsworth. 
 The works thrown up by our men on Gulp's Hill 
 are still to be seen, except such portion of the 
 timber as is being removed by the owner of the 
 fround. Only think of the meanness of the man 
 who is pulling to pieces these monuments, and 
 converting the timber into fence-rails and cord- 
 wood ! The effect of the furious fire poured upon 
 Ewell's swarming columns is visible enough. 
 Hardly a rock or a tree in front of these works 
 has escaped. Many of the trees are covered and 
 scarred with bullets as high as fifty feet from the 
 ground. There was " wild," as well as deadly 
 shooting here on that fearful Thursday night 
 and early Friday morning. Along this rough, 
 rocky hill fought our own Geary, and that dis- 
 tinguished Rhode Islander, Brigadier Gener- 
 
 al Green. Five months after, at the desperate 
 midnight battle of Wahatchie, in Lookout Val- 
 ley, this indomitable fighting officer only ad- 
 ded to the laurels already gained at Antietam, 
 and Gettysburg. An inscription on a tree close 
 by tells the story of a large mound in the ravine 
 below : " To the right lie buried forty-five rebels ! " 
 From here we struck aci-oss to the scene of the 
 fii'st day's fight. In the following communication 
 to Governor Curtin, General Cutler tells us how 
 the battle opened : " I owe a duty to one of your 
 regiments, the Fifty-sixth, and its brave command- 
 er, Colonel J. W. Hofmann. It was my fortune 
 to be in the advance on the morning of July 1st. 
 The atmosphere being a little thick, I took out 
 my glass to examine the enemy, being a few pac- 
 es in front of Colonel H., he turned to me and 
 inquired, ' Is that the enemy ? ' My reply was 
 ' Yes.' Turning to his men, he commanded, 
 ' Ready — right oblique — aim — fire ! ' and the 
 battle of Gettysburg was opened. The fire Avas 
 followed by other regiments instantly, still, that 
 battle on the soil of Pennsylvania was opened by 
 her own sons, and it is just that it should become 
 a matter of history." Ilere is the ground fought 
 over by our brave cavalrymen, under Pleasanton, 
 Buford, Kilpatrick, Farnsworth, Merrit, Custer 
 and Gregg. Never, in any preceding campaign, 
 had the cavalry of this army rendered such dis- 
 tinguished and invaluable service. To meet the 
 enemy was to ovex-throw them, until, at last, it 
 was only with the greatest difficulty that Stuart 
 could get his men to stand at all. The next 
 point reached was the scene of the bloody, though 
 unavailing struggle of the First and Eleventh 
 Corps. The marks of battle still abound, but the 
 interest centres in the spot where Reynolds was 
 killed. The General was nearly up with the 
 skirmish line — no place, say military men, for a 
 corps commander ; " but that was just like John 
 Reynolds;" and he had just despatched several 
 of his aids, Capts. Baird, Rosengarten and Rid- 
 dle, on some special duties, and was himself 
 watching the deployment of a brigade of Wiscon- 
 sin troops, when the fatal bullet, fired by a sharp- 
 shooter, struck him in the neck and he fell otl" his 
 horse dead. Poor Reynolds ! 
 
 " There have been tears and breaking hearts for 
 
 thee." 
 
 We now stand in the National Cemeter}-, on 
 Cemetery Hill. Who can stand unmoved in this 
 silent city of the dead. Here repose the pre- 
 cious offerings laid upon the altar of the country 
 by the loyal States. Ordinarily the filling up of 
 a cemetery is slow work — the Avork of years. 
 Three days sufficed to Jill this ! And what is the 
 reward of those brave men for their weeks of 
 weary marching, and days and nights of fearful 
 fif^hting ? " Two paces of the vilest earth ! " 
 Here They lie, " those unnamed demi-gods " of 
 the rank and file. " Unknown ! " " unknown ! " 
 the only epitaph of hundreds. Yes, here they 
 lie " massed " with beautiful military precision, 
 rank upon rank, as if awaiting the order to ap- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 213 
 
 pear In review before the Great Commander-in- 
 chief of us all ! 
 
 " Up many a fortress wall 
 Thej' charged — those boys in blue ; 
 'Mid surging smoke and volleying ball 
 The bravest were the first to fall — 
 To fall for me and you ! " 
 
 Who can ever forget those terrible days of 
 July, that period of agonizing suspense ? 
 
 And when the news did come, oh, how that 
 sad catalogue pulled upon the heart-strings ! 
 liej^nolds, Zook, Farnsworth, Card, Weed, Jef- 
 fards, Taylor, Arrowsmith, O'Rourke, Lowery, 
 Cross, Hazlett, Vincent, Devereaux, Willard, 
 Adams, Miller. 
 
 "Period of honor as of woes, 
 What bright careei's 'twas thine to close ! 
 Mark'd on thy roll of blood what names, 
 To Freedom'' s memory, and to Fame's 
 Laid there their last immortal claims ! " 
 
 So ends my story of Gettysburg. 
 
 G. J. Gross. 
 
 Fkanklin W. Smith, a Boston contractor, 
 was tried by court-martial, and found guilty of 
 pocketing a thousand or two dollars out of a con- 
 tract with the Navy department for supplies. 
 The report of the court-martial was sent to Pres- 
 ident Lincoln for his examination, who returned 
 it with this characteristic indorsement : 
 
 " Whereas, Franklin W. Smith, had transac- 
 tions with the United States Navy Department 
 to a million and a quarter of dollars, and had the 
 chance to steal a quarter of a million ; and where- 
 as, he was charged with stealing only ten thou- 
 sand dollars, and from the final revision of the tes- 
 timony it is only claimed that he stole one hun- 
 dred dollars, I don't believe he stole anything at 
 all. 
 
 " Therefore, the records of the court-martial, 
 together with the finding and sentence, are dis- 
 approved, declared null and void, and the defend- 
 ant is fully discharged. 
 
 A. Lincoln." 
 
 THE STARS AND BARS. 
 
 P^ 
 
 'Tis sixty-two ! — and sixty-one, (j**' 
 With the old Union, now is gone. 
 
 Recking with bloody wars — 
 Gone with that ensign, once so prized, 
 The Stars and Stripes, now so despised — 
 
 Struck for the stars and bars. 
 
 The burden once of patriot's song, 
 Now badge of tyranny and wrong. 
 
 For us no more it waves ; 
 We claim the stars — the stiipes we yield, 
 We give them up on every field, 
 
 Wiicre fight the Southern braves. 
 
 Our motto this, " God and our right," 
 For sacred liberty we fight — 
 Not for the lust of power ; 
 
 ;1J^ 
 
 Compelled by wrongs the sword t' unsheath, 
 We'll fight, be free, or cease to breathe — 
 We'll die before we cower. 
 
 By all the blood our fathers shed. 
 We will from tyranny bo freed — 
 
 We will not conquered be ; 
 Like them, no higher power we own 
 But God's — we bow to him alone — 
 We will, we will be free ! 
 
 For homes and altars we contend. 
 Assured that God Avill us defend — 
 
 He makes our cause his own ; 
 Not of our gallant patriot host. 
 Not of brave leaders do we boast — 
 
 We trust in God alone. 
 
 Sumter, and Bethel, and Bull Run 
 Witnessed fierce battles fought and won. 
 
 By aid of Power Divine ; 
 We met the foe, who us defied. 
 In all his pomp, in all his pi-ide, 
 
 Shouting, " Manasseh's mine ! " 
 
 It was not thine, thou boasting foe ! 
 We laid thy vandal legions low — 
 
 We made them bite the sod ; 
 At Lexington the braggart yields, 
 Leesburgh, Belmont, and other fields ;— 
 
 Still help us, mighty God ! 
 
 Thou smiledst on the patriot seven — 
 Thou srailest on the brave eleven 
 
 Free, independent States ; 
 Their number thou wilt soon increase. 
 And bless them with a lasting peace. 
 
 Within their happy gates. 
 
 No more shall violence be heard, 
 AVasting, destruction no moi-e feared 
 
 In all this Southern land ; 
 "Praise," she her gates devoutly calls, 
 "Salvation," her Heaven-guarded walls — 
 
 What shall her power withstand ? 
 
 " The little one," by heavenly aid, 
 
 " A thousand is — the strong one made, 
 
 " A nation — oh ! how strong ! " 
 Jehovah, who the right befriends, 
 Jehovah, who our flag defends. 
 
 Is hastening it along ! 
 
 Incident of the Morgan Raid. — When 
 Gen. John Morgan's band was within four miles 
 of Jasper, Pike county, Ohio, they captured a 
 number of citizens, among them a school-teacher, 
 by the name of Joseph McDougal, aged tbrty- 
 seven. The captured men were marched on the 
 double-quick to the village of Jasper, allowed a 
 few moments' rest, and then double-quicked two 
 and a half miles to Piketon, and there, with others 
 captured, formed into line for parole. 
 
 Before the oath was administered, however, 
 Captain ISIitchell, of one of Morgan's companies, 
 ordered Mr. McDougal to step out of the ranks. 
 Ai'ter a little parley, this Mitchell ordered two 
 
!14 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 soldiers to march McDougal to the Sciota river, a 
 short distance off. Here he was placed in a 
 canoe, facing Mitchell and his two men, and, at a 
 signal from Mitchell, two shots were fired at the 
 prisoner ; one ball taking effect just below the 
 right eye, the other in his left breast, near his 
 heart. Death followed instantaneously. The 
 wretches left their victim in the canoe. Prison- 
 ers who were with Mr. McDougal represent him 
 as a gentle but brave-hearted man, the flag of his 
 
 , country being sacred to him above all earthly 
 
 Wmbols. ^\^ (^.^rt^ ^,, ^ ^ 
 
 ^ S'iP-r— 
 
 Whipped and Demoralized, but not 
 /Scattered. — A soldier of Bates' division of the 
 confederate army, after the command had run two 
 days from Nashville, had thrown away his gun 
 and accoutrements, and alone in the woods, sat 
 down and commenced thinking — the first chance 
 he had for such a thing. Rolling up his sleeves, 
 and looking at his legs and general physique, he 
 thus gave vent to his feehngs. " I am whipped, 
 badly whipped, and somewhat demorahzed, but 
 no man can sav I am scattered." 
 
 Anecdote of General Brooks. — A sol- 
 dier in the Fourth Vermont Regiment relates 
 the following incident of the battle of Sharps- 
 burg : — 
 
 We marched through a cornfield, and the men 
 lay down Avith Ayres's battery, which is connect- 
 ed with our brigade, and took position. The ene- 
 my saw us, and poured in a perfect hurricane of 
 canister, grape, and shell, but did but little dam- 
 age. Then old Ayers opened, and for three hours 
 I could not hear myself think. The air was full 
 of bursting shells and whistling balls, mingled 
 with the roar of artillery and the sharp crack of 
 the sharpshooters' rifles. General Brooks would 
 not lie down as his men did, but stood up in plain 
 sight. I told the boys he would get hit before 
 night, and so he did ; a ball struck him in the 
 cheek and knocked out two teeth, but did no 
 other injury. I have told you before how short 
 and gruff he is. When he was struck, one of the 
 men who was close beside him, asked him if he 
 was wounded. " iVo, sir; had a tooth pulled" 
 said the old man ; and he never left the field 
 until after dark. 
 
 French Notions of American Geogra- 
 phy. — We translate from the " Almanach du 
 Magazin Pittoresque," the following paragraph 
 contained in an abstract of events of the war 
 in the United States : — 
 
 May 23. — The Federal troops assembled at 
 Harper's Ferry, cross the Potomac, and after a 
 first engagement occupy Alexandria. 
 
 May 27. — The Federals commanded by Gen. 
 Banks, experienced a first reverse. They re- 
 cross the Potomac, and fall back upon Williams- 
 burg. 
 
 May 30 and 31. — A great battle is fought near 
 
 Richmond; on the first day the advantage re- 
 mains with the Confederates ; on the second day 
 they experience considerable loss, and abandon 
 Corinth. 
 
 After seven days of bloody fighting near Rich- 
 mond (June 23 to 29), 95,000 Federals, com- 
 manded by McClellan, retire before the Confed- 
 erate army, which, with re-enlbrcements brought 
 by Gens. Beauregard and Jackson, have been in- 
 creased to 185,000 men. They take position on 
 the James River, 17 miles from Charleston, 
 
 On the cover of the book it is stated that " the 
 Central Committee of Primary Instruction in the 
 City of Paris has placed the ' Magazin Pittoresque ' 
 on the list of books proper to be given as prizes 
 in the public schools." 
 
 MARCH ALONG. 
 
 GEOKGE H. BOKEK. 
 
 Soldiers are we from the mountain and valley. 
 Soldiers are we from the hill and the plain ; 
 Under the flag of our fathers we rally ; 
 Death, for its sake, is but living again. 
 Then march along, gay and strong, 
 March to battle with a song 
 March, march along ! 
 
 We have a history told of our nation, 
 
 We have a name that must never go down ; 
 
 Heroes achieved it through toil and privation ; 
 Bear it on, bright with its ancient renown ! 
 Then march along, etc. 
 
 Who that shall dare say the flag waving o'er us. 
 
 Which floated in glory from Texas to Maine, 
 Must fall, where our ancestors bore it before us. 
 
 Writes his own fate on the roll of the slain. 
 Then march along, etc. 
 
 Look at it, traitors, and blush to behold it ! 
 
 Quail as it flashes its stars in the sun ! 
 Think you a hand in the nation will fold it, 
 
 While there's a hand that can level a gun ? 
 Then march along, etc. 
 
 Carry it onward, till victory eai-n it 
 
 The riglits it once owned in the land of the frea ; 
 Then, in God's name, in our fury we'll turn it 
 
 Full on tiie treachery over the sea ! 
 Then march along, etc. 
 
 England shall feel what a vengeance the liar 
 Stores in the bosom he aims to deceive ; 
 
 England shall feel how God's truth can inspire ; 
 England shall feel it, but only to grieve. 
 Then march along, etc. 
 
 Peace shall unite us again and forever, 
 
 Though thousands lie cold in the graves of these 
 wars ; 
 Those who survive them shall never prove, never, 
 False to the flag of the stripes and the stars ! 
 Then march along, gay and strong, 
 March to battle with a song ! 
 March, march along ! 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 215 
 
 Illinois at the Battle of Gettysburg. 
 — The part borne in this terrible struggle by the 
 troops of Illinois, is thus described by Colonel 
 William Gamble, who commanded the Eighth 
 Cavalry from that state : — 
 
 On the afternoon of the 30th of June the first 
 cavalry briijade of Buford's division, commanded 
 by Col. W." Gamble, of the Eighth Illinois caval- 
 ry, arrived at Gettysburg, — the Eighth Illinois 
 cavalry in front. Col. Gamble received orders 
 to pass through the town on the Cashtown road 
 and select the most eligible line of battle beyond 
 the Seminary that could be found, encamp the 
 brigade and send forward one or two squadrons 
 to find the enemy, and remain on picket to watch 
 the movements of the enemy. These orders were 
 promptly carried out. The squadrons for ad- 
 vanced picket duty were taken from the Eighth 
 Illinois cavalry, who advanced three miles fur- 
 ther, found the enemy, remained in front until sev- 
 en o'clock the next morning, when the enemy com- 
 menced advancing in three divisions under Gen. 
 A. P. Hill, and with shell and musketry drove in 
 the squadrons mentioned, and the Eighth Illinois 
 cavalry had the honor of being first fired on by 
 the enemy and of returning their fire. 
 
 The advance of the enemy was immediately 
 reported to General Meade, the infantry advance 
 being eight miles in our rear were ordered up to 
 support the cavalry. 
 
 The cavalry of ]3uford's Division was ordered 
 to fight the enemj-. I dismounted part of the 
 Eighth Illinois, Eighth New York, and Third In- 
 diana cavalry, in all about 900 men, and ordered 
 them to the front to keep back the enemy as long- 
 as possible till our infantry came up to our sup- 
 port. -Uevin's brigade of New York cavalry was 
 on our right and Merrit's brigade of regular cav- 
 alry -was on our left. AVe had to fight the wholci 
 Army Corps of Gen. A. P. Hill, 25,000 strong, 
 for three and a half hours, from 7 till 10^ A. 
 M., to hold the original line of battle selected by 
 me according to previous orders. 
 
 Tidball's horse battery, A, Second U. 8. ar- 
 tillery, was attached to my brigade that day. 
 
 The cavalry above mentioned fought Hill's 
 corps for thi'ce and a half hours, on the morning 
 of the 1st of July, and held the original line of 
 battle selected beyond the Seminary, until our 
 infantry came up, with a loss of one hundred and 
 eleven officer sand men, killed, wounded, and miss- 
 ing, and fifty-six cavalry horses killed, thirteen 
 artillery horses killed, and fifteen artillerymen 
 killed and wounded. Nothing of this is men- 
 tioned in the newspapers or dispatches, but the 
 above are absolute tacts, under my own observa- 
 tion. 
 
 An hour before dark the rebels outflanked our 
 left ; this brigade of cavalry was again ordered to 
 the front, dismounted and fought the rebels on 
 Seminary Eidge, and saved a whole division of 
 our infantry from being surrounded and cap- 
 tured. Nothing of this either is mentioned in the 
 newspapers or dispatches, yet these facts oc- 
 curred, with the loss of some of our best officers 
 and men. 
 
 Whittier ani> the Alabama Planter. — 
 He met with an Alabama planter in Boston, who 
 expressed a desire to converse with him, and an 
 interview took place, during which there was a 
 free interchange of views. The planter frankly 
 acknowledged that there was in the South a 
 strong feeling of hate toward the North and 
 Northern men, and they were determined to 
 fight. He explained how this feeling was fostered 
 by the politicians of the South, and how the 
 feelings of the North were represented there, and 
 stated that almost his sole object in coming to 
 Boston was to ascertain for himself whether the 
 facts were as they had been represented. He 
 was evidently surprised to find the anti-slavery 
 poet " so mild mannered a man," and confessed 
 that, generally, he did not perceive that the feel- 
 ing of the North toward the South was so bitter 
 and unfriendly as he had been led to expect. 
 He had experienced nothing but civility and 
 courtesy, and admitted that Southerners gener- 
 ally received the same treatment. 
 
 Finally, Whittier, after attending him to some 
 of the desirable places of resort, told him that, as 
 he was now here, he might as Avell see the worst 
 of the anti-slavery phase of Northern fanaticism, 
 as the fashionable phrase is, and j^roposed to visit 
 Garrison. The planter consented, and so they 
 turned their steps to the Libcralor office, where 
 they found Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Fred. 
 Douglass, and there they enjoyed a " precious 
 season of conversation." Would it not have been 
 a sight worth seeing — that conclave in the Lib- 
 erator office, with Garrison, Whittier, Phillips, 
 Douglass, and the Alabama planter in the fore- 
 ground V The planter went to his home a wiser, 
 and perhaps a sadder man, than he came, and 
 protested that all he could do, Avhile mourning 
 for the condition of the country, was to pray over 
 it. Would that more of the Southern peopie 
 might come and see for themselves how basely 
 the North had been belied ! 
 
 The Union JNIen of Alakama.- — The fol- 
 lowing account of the condition and persecutions 
 of the Union men of North Alabama, and of the 
 efforts of our troops, particularly the Fifty-first 
 Indiana regiment, commanded by Col. A. D. 
 Streight, to relieve them, is from the pen of the 
 chaplain of that regiment. 
 
 — CiMP, NEAR. Dl-XAIUR^Jjlly. 16* 
 
 The subject on which I wish to write, is the con- 
 dition and suffering of the mountaineers in North- 
 ern and Central Alabama. There is a vast val- 
 ley of rich soil extending from beyond Tuscum- 
 bia west to Huntsville in the east. In this valley 
 the great planters live. Here is their great cot- 
 ton-growing region and the wealth of the state. 
 
 These mountains are peopled with quite anoth- 
 er class of inhabitants, shorn of highfalutin aris- 
 tocracy — a plain, candid, industrious people. 
 Now these ^loor classes, deprived of culture, as 
 they climb the mountains, pass through the gor- 
 ges, and roam over the plains, think for them- 
 selves. 
 
216 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 It came to pass in the course of human events, 
 when Jeff Davis wished these honest-hearted men 
 to assist him in carrying ont his great, grand, and 
 overwhehning scheme of unnatural rebeUion 
 against the government they cherished, they said 
 no. Things Avent on without opposition only as 
 they opposed its course to destruction at the bal- 
 lot-box. Here they met the enemies of their 
 country every time, and almost with a unanimous 
 voice did they declare against secession in every 
 form. When the affairs of the state had assumed 
 a malignant form, and were far on the road to 
 ruin and wild desperation, they only expostu- 
 lated ; but when the abominable, uncivil, anti- 
 republican conscript act passed, and was being 
 enforced by an unfeeling, heartless band of ruf- 
 fians; when confusion, dire confusion, had come 
 upon them, turning brother against brother, and 
 father against son ; when squalid poverty stared 
 them in'the face and desperation was ensuing, 
 caused by their being driven from home to seek a 
 place of safety in the mountains, in caverns, in 
 dens, — they opened their eyes to gaze upon the 
 painful sight of liberty gone, constitution pros- 
 trated, home gone, and with it quietude and hon- 
 or. To escape despotism and these heartless ruf- 
 fians, men left their homes and lied to the moun- 
 tains. Some made for the Union army, coming 
 through the mountain pathways for twenty, for- 
 ty, sixty, and some even ninety miles, having a 
 complete line of friends to help them extending 
 from Decatur to near Montgomery — the best 
 underground railroad ever heard of or ever es- 
 tablished. 
 
 Old men and young men came asking and 
 praying the army to assist them, demanding pro- 
 tection from the old flag, and asking to live and 
 to fight under the old Constitution, declaring they 
 only owed allegiance to the old government, and 
 it was the only one they would fight for. 
 
 Their piteous cries moved our colonel, A. D. 
 Streight, who asked for a leave of absence for 
 four days, that his regiment might visit the moun- 
 tains, pry into the caverns, and ascertain more 
 positively the true condition of those loyal perse- 
 cuted men. Accordingly, early Saturday morn- 
 ing, July 12th, with the Fourteenth Cavalry, and 
 a sufficient number of our Alabamians for pilots, 
 the Fifty-first crossed the river, and set out for 
 the mountain regions. On we moved across the 
 valley, while the sun poured his rays upon us — 
 not an Indiana sun, but the sun away down in 
 Alabama. Now this sun was shining much hot- 
 ter than the sun shines any day in Indiana. Col. 
 Streight steered us for Col. Davis's, who lived 
 twenty-five miles out from Decatur, at a pass in 
 the mountains called Davis's Gap. 
 
 We arrived at Col. Davis's at dark, and merci- 
 ful heavens, what did we there behold ! An 
 elderly lady came to the door, who was between 
 sixty and seventy years old. She was asked 
 does Col. Davis five here? She answered he 
 did. Is he at home ? She answered he is not. 
 
 Said Col. Streight, " we are Union troojw ; 
 have heard of your suffering, and have come to 
 relieve you." She still hesitated. " Do you be- 
 
 lieve me ? " She said she would dislike to dis- 
 pute his word, but a young lady came to the door 
 and asked, " have you any of the Alabama boys 
 with you ? " They were called up from the rear. 
 While coming, the young lady remarked, " We 
 have been so often deceived by guerillas, that 
 we " — The boys came. " Is that you, John ? " 
 Instantly she sprang into his arras, threw her 
 arms around him, while she exclaimed : " Thank 
 God, we are safe." " Now," answered the elder- 
 ly lady, " I can have the old man here in a few 
 minutes." "Where is he?" " Just back in the 
 mountains." W^hat ! an old man of seventy- 
 three years, resident of the same farm for more 
 than forty-four years, known by all men as a 
 quiet peaceable, and pious man — to be driven 
 from his home, to have to seek refuge in the 
 mountains, iu the caverns, and dismal, secluded 
 retreats, where the eyes of only the wild beasts 
 had gazed ! Yes, it is this old gentleman who 
 had been driven from home, simply because he 
 loved his country. 
 
 The night passed away without any strange 
 occurrences and morning came on. We started 
 out, three companies strong, to scour the country 
 round, to, if possible, find the wounded man, but 
 after searching, inquiring after, and tracing him 
 till he abandoned his horse, we came to the con- 
 clusion that further search would be fruitless, 
 fearing the rascals had pursued and murdered 
 him. He may, there is a slight probability he 
 will, come up yet. They stole his horse and ac- 
 coutrements. While this search was going on, 
 companies were sent out in almost every direc- 
 tion to scour the surrounding country. AVhen 
 we all meet, in the evening, some have arrested 
 prominent secessionists, who have saddles, some 
 have pantaloons taken from artillerymen they had 
 previously murdered several miles away, and 
 others horses. Sunday evening found us with 
 over fifty recruits. They came to us all day 
 Monday like doves to the windows. Monday even- 
 ing we had speaking exercises, in which Col. 
 Streight, Adjutant Ramsay, and Chris. Sheets 
 took part. The speeches of the colonel and ad- 
 jutant were such as they should have delivercil, 
 but that of Sheets was a strange tune coming 
 from an Alabamian. Sheets represented Winson 
 county in the Convention when Alabama is said 
 to have seceded. He was prominent among the 
 very few in that Convention wlio would not 
 and did not sign the ordinance of secession. 
 
 Sheets is a young man of fine promise and 
 makes a splendid speech. He declared to his 
 downtrodden countrymen that the time had come 
 for them to act, and act they must, either in an 
 army they had no sympathy with, and in a cause 
 for which they could have no reasonable hope of 
 success — must thus fight an enemy they loved 
 and for a cause they hated ; or, on the other 
 hand, join the army of the United States, fight 
 in a cause they loved, among their friends, con- 
 tend against a foe to God and man, one they hat- 
 ed, and one that must be put down before peace, 
 quietude and pi-osperity could again prevail. 
 He advised them to join that army and be men, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 217 
 
 and fight the Southern Confederacy to hell and 
 back again. Said he, " To-morrow morning I am 
 going to the Union army. I am going to exjjose 
 this fiendish villany before the world. They shall 
 hear from me. I have slept in the mountains, 
 in caves and caverns, till I am become musty ; 
 my health and manhood are failing me. I will 
 stay here no longer till I am enabled to dwell in 
 quiet at home." 
 
 Tuesday morning came — the morning we had 
 set, and were compelled by our time being out 
 to return to camp, thirty-one or thirty-two miles 
 away. At about seven o'clock a company of about 
 twenty men were seen approaching our lines, be- 
 ing led by a woman. They entered amid great 
 applause. She told her story in her peculiar 
 way, with her own peculiar gestures, the tears 
 streaming from her eyes. Said she, " I knew I 
 could pass those guerrillas, and find my husl)and 
 and son," vvho had fled for their lives some thirty- 
 four miles back in the mountains. The lady, not 
 in good health, and fifty-five years old, had rid- 
 den a poor old horse over the mountains, tracing 
 the mountain pathways through the gorges and 
 around the precipices, sixty-four miles, counting 
 the distance to and from her friends, and had 
 made the trip in thirty hours, hunting her friends 
 and cooking their breakfast in the time. These 
 acts (for there are many such) should be known. 
 Such heroines from the mountains have mani- 
 fested more devotion for their country and friends 
 than any of our Revolutionary mothers, whose 
 acts of patriotism are held in everlasting remem- 
 brance. When the historian tells of noble deeds 
 of daring and devotion to country, Anna Camp- 
 bell, of Morgan County, Alabama, should stand 
 first on the scroll of fame. It is no use to talk 
 — when this old lady related her simple tale, 
 there were but few who were not afiected. Ad- 
 jutant Ramsay wept, and it is said that even Colo- 
 nel Streight shed tears. I know I did. I felt 
 it was noble to weep on such occasions. 
 
 I visited an old patriot of eighty-four years. 
 He was blind, so that he had not left his home in 
 seven years — a peaceful, quiet old man, ripen- 
 ing for a better land, for he was devotedly pious. 
 Now, simply because this old gentleman had 
 raised his family well, so that they were all for the 
 Union, and none of them in the Southern army, 
 these fiends incarnate were thii-sting for his blood, 
 and had threatened him with hanging ; for they 
 had taken one of his neighbors not less virtuous, 
 and only ten years younger. 
 
 Time come for us to leave, and our boys, hav- 
 ing divided their rations with the Alabama re- 
 cruits, were on less than half rations. This was 
 the hottest day of the season,, and there were no 
 ambulances in which to carry the weak. But 
 there could be no falling out, for we must pass 
 through a hostile country. The men were formed 
 into a long line, for we had about one hundred 
 and fifty recruits from the mountains. And now 
 comes the most touching scene of the expedition. 
 We had left our families when it was heart-rend- 
 ing to part with the loved ones ; but what was 
 that to the parting here ? We left our wives in 
 
 the bosom of a sympathizing community ; but 
 these poor men must now leave their families in 
 the midst of an unfeeling, heartless set — a com- 
 munity who would turn their wives out, or burn 
 their houses over their heads, or destroy their 
 scanty means of subsistence, and, may be, as 
 they have done several times before, outrage 
 their persons. The wives bade their husbands 
 farewell, bidding them go, and they would take 
 care of themselves as best they could. Mothers 
 wept when they bade their sons good by, with 
 their blessings on them. Forward ! was the 
 command — a wild shriek — and we move from 
 scenes of suffei'ings such as we have never be- 
 fore seen. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln " Good on the Ciior." — Dur- 
 ing one of the last* visits that the martyred Pres- 
 ident made to James River, a short time before 
 the capture of Richmond, he spent some time in 
 Avalking around among the hospitals, and in visit- 
 ing various fatigue parties at work in putting up 
 cabins and other buildings. 
 
 He came upon one squad who were cutting logs 
 for a house ; and, chatting a moment with the 
 hardy woodsmen, asked one of them to let him 
 see his axe. Mr. Lincoln grasped the helve with 
 the easy air of one perfectly familiar with the 
 tool, and remarked that he " used to be good on 
 the chop." 
 
 The President then let in on a big log, making 
 the chips fly, and making as smooth a cut as the 
 best lumberman in Maine could do. 
 
 Meantime the men crowded around to see the 
 work ; and, as he handed back the axe, and 
 walked away with a pleasant joke, the choppers 
 gave him three as hearty cheers as he ever heard 
 in the whole of his political career. 
 
 Baptism of the Big Gun. — Father Mooney, 
 on the occasion of the baptizing of one of the 
 big guns mounted at Fort Corcoran in June, 1861, 
 made the following remarks : 
 
 " Gentlemen : It is with more than ordinary 
 pleasure I come forward to perform a ceremony 
 which is not only pleasing to us all, but highly 
 honorable — I may say, a welcome prerogative to 
 me on this auspicious occasion — and that is, the 
 christening of the noble gun on Fort Corcoran. 
 In the kind providence of God, it has been for me, 
 as a priest, during the last nine years, to baptize 
 many a fine blue-eyed babe; but never had I 
 brought before me such a large, quiet, healthy, 
 and promising fellow as the one now before me. 
 Indeed, I may remark, it has often occurred, when 
 pouring the baptismal water on the child's head, 
 he opened his Httle eyes, and got a little more of 
 the baptismal water than he wished ; but, on this 
 occasion, this noble son of a great father has his 
 mouth open, evidently indicating that he is anx- 
 ious to speak, which I have no doubt he soon 
 will, in a thundering voice, to the joy of his 
 friends and terror of his enemies. I need not 
 tell you that a most appropriate name has been 
 selected by our esteemed Colonel, and one that will 
 
218 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 be welcomed by you all ; and that is the honorable 
 name of the gallant commander of our brigade, 
 Colonel Hunter. Therefore, the great gun shdll 
 hereafter answer to its name — the Hunter Gun. 
 Now, parents anxiously listen to the first lispings 
 of the infant's lips, and the mother's heart swells 
 with joy when she catches the first utterance of 
 her cherished bal^c, in the words, ' mamma, mam- 
 ma ! ' but here I shall guarantee to you that this 
 promising boy will speak for the first time, in 
 loud, clear accents, those endearing words, ' papa, 
 papa, papa! — pairla mia, 2)(itria 7nia!' and, in 
 name as in off'ect, he will hunt traitors from this 
 fort, while the echo of his voice will be as sweet 
 music, inviting the children of Columbia to share 
 the comforts of his father's home ; and thus may 
 he soon speak, to the glory of the Stars and 
 Stripes, honor to the name thai he bears, and last- 
 ing credit to the Sixty-ninth New York," 
 
 Scenes at Vicksbukg. — " As I was riding by 
 a small, religious-looking church, cruciforni in 
 shape — all churches do not look sacred — but 
 this, in a grove of magnolia trees, with a small 
 spire surmounted Vt'ith the emblem of faith, gothic 
 windows, and everything that tends to make it a 
 place of worship, and inspire one with love for 
 Him who holds the wind in the palm of His hand, 
 who careth for the bird and feedeth the young 
 lamlis upon the hills, — 
 
 '' I halted at the gateway, and noticed that the 
 doors were open. After dismounting and climb- 
 ing a hill, I stood upon a level with the church. 
 Could it be ? I could not realize until I walked to 
 the door and looked in. Not a vestige of floor, not 
 a remnant of a pew — altar gone. Even the string- 
 pieces that supported the floor were gone. A few 
 negroes sat in the corners cooking meat, Avhile 
 the smoke arose in reluctant wreaths, as though 
 hesitating at the desecration. A beautiful marble 
 font lay broken upon the ground, while the bowl 
 was used for ordinary ablutions and the washing 
 of dishes. 
 
 " I asked Jiow this had been done. ' Why,' said 
 they, ' rebel cavalry used to camp in it, and they 
 buriied all the seats and the pulpit ; we only 
 burned the floor.' 
 
 " I had a superstitious fear about entering it to 
 look in the small side rooms, one of which had 
 given forth sounds of praise, and in the other the 
 sacred vestments of the priest were kept. The 
 organ had long since vanished ; the vestments 
 were gone. Desecration and desolation sat here 
 in silence — mournful reminder of a curse too 
 deep for words, that Fate had uttered against the 
 people Avho conceived this thing. What a fit com- 
 ment on the rebellion ! Churches desecrated, and 
 graveyards defiled. 
 
 " In a cemetery there are graves opened by cu- 
 rious, impious hands. One grave has the body 
 of a celebrated duellist who was killed in Ar- 
 kansas, opposite INIemphis, embalmed. He looks 
 like one sleeping. There are skulls that seem 
 to laugh at the chaos which perplexes us, and 
 
 fresh faces sleeping under glass that look as 
 though they were in eternal sleep. 
 
 " Infants, with their white caps, looking like 
 cherubs asleep, through the glass of metallic 
 cases, awake not nor arise at the tread of the 
 stranger. 
 
 *' The fences were burned by the rebels, and the 
 passing of hurrying feet and the tread of animals 
 have worn ofi' many of the graves until the occii- 
 pants are exposed." — Letter of Sept. 1863. 
 
 A Battle within a Battle. — An officer 
 of the Second Connecticut regiment, in a letter 
 to his family, says : " The coolest thing I ever 
 heard of happened at the battle of Fair Oaks. 
 Ptight in the hottest of the battle, two of the Sec- 
 ond's boys got at loggerheads with each other, 
 threw down their muskets, and fell to at fisticuff's 
 — had it out, picked up their arms, and pitched 
 into the rebels again. I have heard of a wheel 
 within a wheel ; but a battle within a battle is 
 certainly something new." 
 
 A Young Hero. — A correspondent at Cin- 
 cinnati gives the following touching incident of 
 the hospital : " The eyes of a youth but twenty-one 
 years of age, byname W. N. BuUard, of company 
 A, Eighth Illinois regiment, were closed in death 
 
 yesterday morning, at the Marine Hospital in 
 
 this city, by the tender hands of that noble- 
 hearted and faithful woman, Mrs. Caldwell, who 
 has been unwearied in her personal attention to 
 the sick and wounded since the establishment of 
 the Mai'ine as a military hospital for its present 
 purpose. Young BuUard was shot in the breast 
 at Fort Donelson. The ball, a minie, tore his 
 breast open, and lacerated an artery. He bled 
 internally as well as externally. At every gasp, 
 as his end drew near, the blood spirted from his 
 breast. He expired at nine o'clock. Early in 
 the day, when he became fully aware that he 
 could not live long, he showed that he clung to 
 life, and was loath to leave it ; but he cried : ' If 
 I could only see my mother — if I could only see 
 my mother before I die, I should be better satis- 
 fied.' He was conscious to the last moment, al- 
 most, and after reminding Mrs. Caldwell that 
 there were several letters for his mother in his 
 portfolio, she breathed words of consolation to 
 him : ' You die in a glorious cause — you die for 
 your country.' ' Yes,' replied he, ' I am proud 
 to die for my country.' " 
 
 An Old Woman's Welcome to the Flag. — 
 A correspondent at Monticello, Kentucky, speak- 
 ing of the manner in which the people received 
 the national troops in the advance on that place, 
 says, " One old lady, a mile beyond this place, 
 said, as she saw the columns rushing on after 
 the rebels, 'When I seed that old flag comin', 
 I jist throwed my old bonnet on the ground 
 and stomped it.' " 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 219 
 
 "RICHMUN ON THE JEEMS." 
 
 A SOLDIER, filled with Bourbon, lay puling in the 
 
 street, 
 From battle-field es-ca-ped, with swiftly running 
 
 feet ; 
 He'd fallen from too much " strychnine," and 
 
 drowned all gallant schemes, 
 And got as far as possible from Riehraun on the 
 
 Jeems ! 
 
 And one there lay beside him — his comrade in the 
 
 flight ; 
 They had been boon companions, and frequently 
 
 got tight ; 
 And side by side they lay there, indulging maudlin 
 
 dreams. 
 Far from the Libby Prison and Richmun on the 
 
 Jeems ! 
 
 One said: " Old feller, tell me, what think you of 
 
 this war. 
 Made by the boastin' rebels, our prosperous peace 
 
 to mar ? 
 Are Lee and Stonewall Jackson such thunderation 
 
 teams. 
 As to keep us out of Richmun, ole Richmun on the 
 
 Jeems ? 
 
 "Say, do you think that Hooker — they call him 
 
 ' Fightin' Joe ' — 
 Who 'for the war committee run down McClellan 
 
 so, — 
 Will he cross the Rappyhannick, and carry out his 
 
 schemes, 
 And take us down to Richmun, ui^on the River 
 
 Jeems ? 
 
 " Why, when I left old Kaintuck, just eighteen 
 
 months ago, 
 My mam and sister Ruby both said I shouldn't go ; 
 But I ax'd 'cm both, and Susan, to think of me in 
 
 dreams, — 
 For I'se bound to go to Richmun, old Richmun on 
 
 the Jeems ! 
 
 " You know, through tribulation, we marched on, 
 night and day. 
 
 Through woods, and mud, and dusty roads, and 
 •■ fightin' in the fray ; 
 
 By smoke-houses and chicken-coops, and where the 
 b'iler steems, 
 
 Which coolced our hard-earned rations tow'rd Rich- 
 mun on the Jeems. 
 
 " And now we're going homeward — me and the 
 other scamp — 
 
 Yet far from old Kentucky we are obleeged to 
 tramp ; 
 
 And him who's out of postage stamps, there's no- 
 body esteems. 
 
 E'en though he's been in Richmun, and seed the 
 River Jeems ! 
 
 " To hell with old Phiginny, and all her sacred sile ! 
 She's made a heap of trouble, and kept it up awhile ; 
 And if she's helped herself right much, 'tis like to 
 
 them sunbeams 
 The niggers squeeze from cucumbers, in Richmun 
 
 on the Jeems ! " 
 
 And then his boon companion convulsively turned 
 
 o'er. 
 And, grunting an affirmative, straightway began to 
 
 snore, 
 Oblivious to war's alarms or love's delightful 
 
 themes, 
 Or to the fact that Richmun still stands upon the 
 
 Jeems ! 
 
 Grow on, thou " sour apple-trcc," Avhere JefTy is to 
 
 hang! 
 Rejoice, ye running contrabands, for this is your 
 
 chebang ! 
 No more you'll stem tobacco, thresh wheat, or drive 
 
 the teams 
 Of rebels round the city — old Richmun on the, 
 
 Jeems ! 
 
 Incident of West Point. — James E. Mont- 
 gomery gives the following narrative of his ex- 
 perience at the battle of West Point, Virginia, 
 which was fought in May, 1862 : " My own escape 
 is wonderful, and, indeed, almost miraculous, and 
 I forgot not to thank God for his watchfulness 
 over me. It was about one o'clock P. M. when 
 I received an order from General Newton to go 
 forward into the woods to ascertain Vthether the 
 rebels were falling back, and whether a certain 
 regiment of ours held its position there. I went 
 forward at once, as fast as my well-tried horse 
 could carry me, and upon entering the woods 
 moved cautiously until I reached a barricade, 
 when, hearing voices beside me, I plunged into the 
 woods, thinking, of course, it was one of our regi- 
 ments. Thirty-first New York, and Avas surprised 
 to find that I had gone right into a perfect nest 
 of the Hampton Legion, from South Carolina, 
 who were lying behind trees, standing behind 
 bushes, and kneeling behind stumps, like bees. I 
 at once perceived my mistake, and knew that 
 nothing but the most consummate coolness would 
 save me. I therefore saluted them, and they, 
 taking me for a rebel ofiicer, asked me how far 
 General Hampton was then. I answered with- 
 out hesitation, and with rather more assurance 
 than I thought I possessed, ' I left him about ten 
 rods below here ; ' and added, * Now, boys, the 
 General expects you to do your duty to-day.' I 
 then turned my horse slowly to lull suspicion, and 
 was congratulating myself on the probable success 
 of my ruse, when, seeing the U. S. on my cap, 
 they yelled out, ' That's a d — d Yankee son of a 
 b — ! Give him h — ! ' On hearing tliis, I dashed 
 the spurs into my horse, threw my head over his 
 neck, and made for the road. A perfect volley of 
 minie balls passed over and ai'ound me — killed 
 my horse, who rolled over, carrying me with him, 
 and left me down. Knowing that apparently 
 nothing but time would save me, I lay with my 
 head back in a ditch as I fell, and appeared dead 
 for some ten minutes. I did not move a muscle 
 or a feature, although the scoundrels »erc- swarm- 
 ing around me, and threatening to ' end me.' I 
 remained in this way until they came up to me, 
 took away my pistol, and commenced ger;erai 
 plundering ; and as they fingered away, I could 
 
220 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 not suppress a smile ; and then rising, I said, 
 '•Well, men, I yield as a prisoner of war.' They 
 said, ' You have been shamming, you d — d Yan- 
 kee scoundrel, have you ? ' ' Certainly,' said I ; 
 ' everything is fair in war.' They then commenced 
 to abuse me, as a d — d Y'ankee this, and a d — d 
 Yankee that ; when I turned upon them, and said, 
 ' I have yielded as a prisoner of war ; I demand 
 to be used as such. We in the North know how 
 to treat dogs better than you do men ; now lead 
 me to your commanding officer.' They gave me 
 another volley of abuse, at which I merely smiled, 
 and then a shell, fired by our artillei-y to the place 
 where I was seen to enter, burst like the wind 
 amongst us — skinning my nose, and scattering 
 the rebel rascals like chaff". They seized their 
 muskets, pointed two of them at me, and told me 
 to * come along, you d — d Yankee ! ' I still talked 
 with them to gain time, when another shell burst- 
 ing amongst us, they moved on farther, calling 
 to me to ' come on,' while I said, ' Go ahead, lead 
 the way, quick.' I then saw a favorable moment, 
 and preferring freedom to a Southern prison, I 
 made one bound into the woods, and went back 
 as fast as one leg would carry me. I felt very 
 much exhausted, and was carried to the rear by 
 some men and placed under a tree, Avhen, with 
 whiskey and care, I soon felt stronger, although 
 my leg was stiff'. They wished me to go in an 
 ambulance to hospital, but I politely declined ; 
 and calling for an extra horse, I was lifted on his 
 back, and returned to the field, and reported to 
 General Newton for duty. He kindly told me 
 that I had distinguished myself enough this day, 
 and requested me to keep quiet." 
 
 The Fourteenth Tennessee. — This regi- 
 ment, when the prospects of the Confederacy 
 opened so brilliant in 1861, left Clarksville, Tenn., 
 with nine hundred and sixty men. They were of 
 the best families, and the pride of Montgomery 
 County. Young men, of fine education, sur- 
 rounded witli superior comforts, and who were 
 marked for high positions in civil community, left 
 their homes, pleasant associations, and all the en- 
 dearments of the fireside — left the legal bar, the 
 counting-room, and the hall of princely home on 
 the plantation, to go into the Confederate ranks, 
 and exterminate the cowardly legions of a t3'ran- 
 nical North. Wily statesmen appealed to the 
 chivalry of Southern hearts to break the bonds 
 of Union, throw off" a despotism, and strike for 
 liberty, independence, and the firesides of home. 
 Ambitious fathers pointed to future glories of a 
 Confederacy, and by acts, if not words, urged 
 the son to go in defence of the Southern cause. 
 Mothers kissed the parting boy oft without a 
 tear, and with a burning appeal to die nobly on 
 the battle-field, saw him depart from the child- 
 hood home. x'X.nd girls, just budding into woman- 
 hood, the fairy schoolmates and early friends of 
 the young men, cheered them on to deeds of 
 valor and glory. All was wild enthusiasm. Pop- 
 ular frenzy ruled the hour, and he who refused to 
 volunteer was coldly sneered at, and turned from 
 
 as a coward, and unworthy the name of South- 
 ron. Every household that boasted a son was 
 robbed of its idol. The ranks swelled rap- 
 idly, faces were missed from every corner, and 
 from every home. And as the hurricane sweeps 
 the stately foi*est before it, leaving sad destruc- 
 tion in its track, so were the youth swept from 
 their homes, and wildly cheered on to the bat- 
 tle-fields, a sacrifice to the shrine of Ambition. 
 
 Wildly, enthusiastically, they left their homes 
 without one solid thought as to the true respon- 
 sibilities of the undertaking. Their march to 
 camp was more like going to the transient joys 
 of a ball-room or festival, than to the cold reali- 
 ties of the battle-field. They then thought the 
 war would be of short duration — that the North- 
 ern States would quail before the imposing array 
 of the military and warlike South. They calcu- 
 lated without the cost. They dreamed not that 
 they would be sent from the States to protect the 
 capital of the Confederacy, and participate in the 
 sanguinary battles on the bloody fields of Virginia, 
 while the homes they volunteered to defend, were 
 left unprotected, and occupied by Federal troops. 
 
 Two years and a half have flov.-n. A sad 
 change has come over the prospect of the Con- 
 federacy. The Fourteenth Tennessee has met a 
 terrible fate. Ever thrown into the front, it has 
 fought in all the bloody contests of Yu-ginia. 
 The fickle Goddess of Fortune failed to smile 
 upon the regiment. Each battle thinned their 
 ranks ; and when night closed over each day's 
 fearful fight they counted their numbers, and 
 knew that carnage had reigned with an unsparing 
 hand. Steadily they have met the shock of bat- 
 tle, and O, how many hearts at home have been 
 saddened by the results ! The bright stai; of 
 their destiny has gradually faded ; and at the 
 late fierce battle of Gettysburg, the orb, dimmed 
 in lustre, sank behind the red storm-cloud of 
 battle, on the field of disaster and blood. The 
 regiment went into the fight with sixty men, all 
 told, and in a desperate charge, where Federal 
 cannon and volleys of musketry swept the rug- 
 ged plain, the remaining sixty men of the once 
 nine hundred and sixty were felled to the ground, 
 dead, dying, wounded, and left in the hands of 
 the enemy. We are told that in this charge only 
 three men out of the sixty escaped ; all the rest 
 were killed or wounded. 
 
 Thus the band that once was the pride of the 
 city of Clarksville has fallen. The rugged plains 
 of Virginia are stained with their blood, and 
 every battle-field furnishes a grave for some of 
 the fallen. A gloom rests over the city; the 
 hopes and aff'ections of the peojile were wrapped 
 in the regiment. The idols have fallen, and a 
 void is left within their hearts. Their forms 
 sleep in a common grave, far from the scenes of 
 home. Fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters 
 now realize the terrible sacrifice that has been 
 made ; and to know the victims were cheered on 
 to the destiny, is a fact no less grievous than 
 true. Their pulses are now numbered with sor- 
 row ; and turning to the past, a vivid picture is 
 drawn — a noble boy passing from the threshold 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 221 
 
 )f his home, going to the field of battle with 
 ilmost a smile on his face, passing out into night 
 ind darkness forever ! 
 
 The eai'Iy scenes of childhood and manhood 
 ire treasured, and form a bright past to the pic- 
 :ure ; but eternal night obscures the future. The 
 oride of the household is fallen — fallen in a 
 itrange land, on a field Avhere carnage held high 
 revel. They only know that he is dead — mortal 
 inows not where the form sleeps — the soldier's 
 ' sleep that knows no waking." Strange hands 
 lave gathered the dead, and heaped the bodies 
 together in one rude and common burial. Friends 
 [nay visit the battle-ground in search of the lost 
 loved, but return bewildered with the sickening 
 icene, where a wilderness of trenches form a 
 :;ommon grave for thousands of friend and foe. 
 
 Yes, the sacrifice has been made; the heart 
 is robbed of its idol ; death has claimed the vic- 
 tim, and we know not where the loved one sleeps. 
 He died with a ghastly wound, writhed in pain ; 
 no mother soothed his brow ; no sister held the 
 refreshing draught to his lips — rolled his glassy 
 eyes heavenward ; no father knelt in prayer ; but 
 alone — his ears filled with the roar of cannon, 
 the rattle of musketry and the groans of fellow- 
 wounded — his li])s parted, and parched in death 
 agony ; and death and blood everywhere meet- 
 ing the cold stare of his fading eyesight, the icy 
 cliill steals over his body — one struggle — one 
 ^asp, and the soul is freed from the " prison- 
 house of pain " ! The sacrifice is complete : am- 
 bition is satisfied, and turns to gloat with fiendish 
 delight over new victims. 
 
 Ah ! what a terrible responsibility rests upon 
 those that inaugurated this unholy war, and who 
 have sacrificed so many lives for the accomplish- 
 ment of their desires. May the pale shadows of 
 their victims haunt their day dreams, and appear 
 in ghostly form in all their night visions. May 
 the cold stare of their accusing eyes haunt them 
 continually, stagger their brain with wild fancies, 
 and demons ever howl their guilt in their ears. 
 
 forty of the detachment, being all that were will- 
 ing to go. Arriving on the southern side, they 
 surprised the rebel camp, fired a volley into the 
 sleeping rebels, and created an utter stampede. 
 They captured about twenty rebels, including one 
 ofiicer. Then, destroying the camp, some stores, 
 and four wagons of ammunition, they took all 
 the pontoons over the river, and either burned 
 or cut them to pieces. The balance of the bridge 
 was destroyed, and the party came off M'ithout the 
 loss of a man. Grenewald desired to perform 
 the same tiling at Williamsport, but his party de- 
 clined to back him up. He was one of the most 
 daring and reliable of scouts, and performed 
 great service. 
 
 Sherman's Flank Movements. — General 
 Sherman's strategy in flanking the rebels out of 
 their strong positions puzzled the natives a good 
 deal. A young woman said it was not fair to 
 fight the Southern soldiers " on end." She then 
 went on to say, that the day before General 
 Bragg had formed " hvo streaks of fight " in 
 their door-yard with " ivalking soldiers," and 
 General Wheeler formed " one streak of fight 
 with critter soldiers " — meaning cavalry — be- 
 hind the house, but that Joe Hooker had come 
 up and Jlankcd Bragg, and made him fall back, 
 which he did in such a hurry, that he " upset 
 dad's ash-hopper plant," M'hich cost two dollars 
 and fifty cents in Atlanta ; and " dad was a-goin' 
 to sue Bragg for waste." 
 
 Leonard Grenewald. — The destruction of 
 the pontoon bridge and train at Falling Waters, 
 in July, 1863, was one of the most daring ex- 
 ploits of the war, and the credit of it belongs main- 
 ly to Leonard Grenewald, chief of the Gray Eagle 
 Scouts, and formerly of the Jessie Scouts. Dur- 
 ing previous trips, he had ascertained the strength 
 of the ground and location of the bridge, and 
 finally obtained from General French a detail of 
 two hundred men from the First Vii-ginia and 
 Thirteenth and Fourteenth New York cavalry, 
 under Major Foley and Lieutenant Dawson, to 
 undertake its destruction. They arrived at the 
 Potomac in the morning, just at daylight, and 
 found the character of the bridge to be part tres- 
 tle work, with pontoons in the centre, Avhich were 
 carefully floated out every evening, and taken to 
 the Vu'ginia shore, rendering the bridge useless 
 for the night. Lieutenant Dawson and Grene- 
 wald then swam the river, and brought back sev- 
 eral pontoons, with which they ferried over some 
 
 The Death of General Lytle. — A sol- 
 dier of Chickamauga relates the following : " The 
 noble General died as a soldier loves to die, with 
 his brave men around him, steadily fighting vastly 
 superior numbers. A moment before he received 
 the fatal wound, he said : ' Brave Wisconsin 
 boys, I am proud of you ! ' and with renewed 
 vigor they poured in their fire, though their num- 
 bers were rapidly decreasing. And he was justly 
 proud of them, for I never saw men stand up to 
 their work so steadily and coolly, and I am glad 
 to have the privilege of saying it to you, their 
 old commander. How your heart would have 
 swelled, and your eyes kindled, if you had seen 
 them go in and stay, until unsupported on both 
 flanks they were compelled to fall back, and not 
 I then until poor Lytle had been carried away from 
 i their immediate vicinity, where he had been sit- 
 j ting on his horse, encouraging them by his cheer- 
 1 ing words." 
 
 The Spirit of Kentucky. — The Cleveland 
 Plaindeal errehted the following incident, which 
 transpired in the Kentucky Legislature _: 
 
 " A venerable farmer, from a neighboring coun- 
 ty, one of that kind for whom Kentucky has an 
 instinctive veneration, appeared in the Legisla- 
 tive Hall, uncovered his snowy locks, and sat 
 down. At the first lull in the debate, he rose 
 slowly, and said he had a word to say, but was 
 aware it was out of order for him to speak before 
 the Legislature while in session. His dignified 
 
222 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 and venerable appearance arrested attention, and 
 * Go on,' ' Go on,' from several voices, seemed to 
 keep him on his feet. Again expressing his diffi- 
 dence at speaking, out of , propriety — ' Hear ! 
 hear ! ' resomided generally over the room. The 
 members' curiosity, as well as respect, for the ap- 
 pearance and manner of the man was up, and si- 
 lence followed the ' Hear ! hear ! ' when the old 
 hero delivered the following eloquent, but laconic 
 speech : 
 
 " ' Gentlemen : I am delegated by my county 
 to inform you, that if you hold a secret session 
 here, as you threaten to do, not one stone of this 
 Capitol will rest upon another twenty-four hours 
 after. Good day ! ' and he left." 
 
 Story of a North Carolina Negro. — A 
 slave related this story to a member of the Twen- 
 ty-seventh Massachusetts regiment, while at New- 
 bern : 
 
 "I was owned up the country [the western 
 part of the State] by a man who had a large 
 plantation, and four or five hundred slaves. I 
 was well used, every way, by him, and one day 
 he told me to carry a letter to a man in lialeigh. 
 I knew this man was a speculator in slaves, and I 
 was suspicious that all was not right ; but I could 
 not believe my master would deceive me ; so I 
 started. On my way, I met a free colored man 
 that I was acquainted with, and he could read. I 
 told him where I was going, and fur what. He 
 asked to see the letter. It was not sealed, and 
 he took it out and read it to me. It was a bill of 
 sale, and I was one of the lot ; and we were sold 
 to go to Alabama. My master had taken this 
 way to deliver me, rather than have a ' scene,' as 
 it is termed ; and this speculator Avas to seize me 
 upon my appearance, and send me South. I had 
 rather have died than gone ; so, after thinking it 
 over, and consulting my colored friend, I, with his 
 help, got a couple of knives and a good rifle, a 
 few clothes and some provisions, and took to the 
 bush [woods and swamps], where I could defy 
 pursuit. There I lived and suffered seven years, 
 relying upon my trusty rifle for food, and got so 
 expert that I could kill a coon or bear*at forty 
 rods every time. [Bears are, and were, some'-" 
 what numerous here in the swamp.] 
 
 "I heard when the war broke out, and heard 
 when Burnside took Newbern ; so I made tracks 
 for the Union people, and when I came in here, I 
 went straight to Burnside's headquarters, and 
 told him my story. He told me to take off my 
 coat, which was nothing but rags, and he gave 
 me one of his own coats, and called me a brave 
 fellow." 
 
 Morgan's Escape. — The following incident is 
 connected with the remarkable escape of Morgan 
 from his Northern imprisonment : 
 
 Having made application to two respectable 
 citizens of Clayton, Rabun County, Georgia, Tor 
 a night's lodgings, and been refused because they 
 thought he was an impostor, and recognized him, 
 Mr. N invited him to lus house, where he 
 
 spent the night. Meantime, it had been currently 
 reported in the village and vicinity, that an im- 
 postor, pretending to be John Morgan, was at 
 
 the house of Mr. N . Next morning about 
 
 twenty of the " Home Guards " assembled, and, 
 under the direction of their efficient Captain, 
 arrested him. He quietly submitted, and assured 
 them that, if he failed to prove his identity, he 
 would accompany them to Atlanta. About this 
 time, one or two gentlemen, who had seen him, 
 recognized him, and some facts were developed 
 which satisfied the Home Guards that they had 
 captured the veritable John H. Morgan ! Of 
 course, he was at once released. Before leaving, 
 he addressed the croAvd briefly, commending, in 
 the highest terms, the vigilance they displayed ; 
 advised them to arrest all persons who could not 
 give a satisfactory account of themselves ; and 
 closed with the playful remark that twenty men 
 had accomplislied, in Rabun, what it required forty 
 thousand in Ohio to do ! 
 
 The crowd gave nine cheers for Morgan, and 
 he proceeded on his way to Walhalla. 
 
 Death of a Berdan Sharpshooter. — A cor- 
 respondent of a Southern paper says : 
 
 " A gentleman informs us of the death of one 
 of McClellan's sharpshootei's, on the Peninsula, 
 under circumstances which possess interest suf- 
 ficient to give them to the public. Several of our 
 men, it seems, were killed while going to a spring 
 near by, but by whom no one could imagine. It 
 was at last determined to stop this inhuman game, 
 if possible, even at the cost of killing the hireling 
 himself, who was thus in cold blood butchering 
 our men. So a sharp lookout was kept for this 
 sharpshooter, and the next time he fired the smoke 
 of his rifle revealed the locality of his pit. 
 
 " That night a pit was dug by the Confederate 
 soldiers, commanding the position of the Yankee 
 sharpshooter, and arrangements made to get rid 
 of the annoying creature. For this purpose a 
 young Kentuckian was placed in our pit, with a 
 trusty rifle, and provisions enough to last him 
 until the next night. Next morning early a man 
 was despatched, as usual, Avith two buckets to go 
 to the spring. He had proceeded about two hun- 
 dred yards, when the Yankee marksman elevated 
 himself, and placing his rifle to his shoulder, was 
 about to pull trigger ; but the Kentuckian was too 
 quick for him, for he pulled his trigger first, and 
 simultaneously therewith the Yankee fell. 
 
 " Upon repairing to the spot, which the Ken- 
 tuckian did immediately, he discovered a riflepit, 
 and a sturdy Yankee in it, in the last agonies of 
 expiring nature. The pit was provided with a 
 cushioned chair, pipes and tobacco, liquors and 
 provisions. But the rifle Mhich had been used 
 was really a valuable prize. It was of most su- 
 perb manufacture, and supplied with the latest 
 invention — an improved telescopic sight upon its 
 end. The pit had been dug at night, and its oc- 
 cupant had been provisioned at night ; so, but for 
 a sharp lookout for the smoke of his gun, there is 
 no saving how long this Yankee vandal would 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 223 
 
 have enjoyed the luxury of killing Southern men, 
 without even a chance of losing his own worthless 
 life." 
 
 An Incident of the Battle of the Forts. 
 — Captain Boggs, of the Varuna, tells a story of 
 a brave boy who was on board his vessel, during 
 the bombardment of the forts on the Mississii^pi 
 River. The lad, who answers to the name of 
 Oscar, is but thirteen years of age, but he has an 
 old head on his shoulders, and is alert and ener- 
 getic. During the hottest of the fire he was busily 
 engaged in jiassing ammunition to the gunners, 
 and narrowly escaped death when one of the 
 terrific broadsides of the Varuna's rebel antago- 
 nist was poured in. Covered with dirt, and be- 
 grimed with powder, he was met by Captain Boggs, 
 who asked " where he was going in such a hurry ? " 
 " To get a passing-box, sir ; the other one was 
 smashed by a ball!" And so, throughout the 
 fight, the brave lad held his place and did his 
 duty. 
 
 When the Varuna went doAvn, Captain Boggs 
 missed his boy, and thought he was among the 
 victims of the battle. But a few minutes after- 
 wards he saw the lad swimming gallantly towards 
 the wreck. Clambering on board of Captain 
 Boggs' boat, he threw his hand up to his forehead, 
 giving the usual salute, and uttering only the 
 words, " All right, sir ; I report myself on board," 
 and passed coolly to his station. 
 
 BLACK TOM. 
 
 Hunted by his*ebel master 
 
 Over many a hill and glade, 
 Black Tom, with his wife and children, 
 
 Found his way to our brigade. 
 
 Tom had sense, and truth, and courage, 
 Often tried where danger rose — 
 
 Once our flag his strong arm rescued 
 From the grasp of rebel foes. 
 
 One day Tom was marching with us 
 Through the forest as our guide, 
 
 When a ball from traitor's rifle 
 Broke his arm and pierced his side. 
 
 On a litter white men bcJre him 
 Through the forest drear and damp, 
 
 Laid him, dying, where our banners 
 Brightly fluttered o'er our camp. 
 
 Pointing to his wife and children. 
 While he suffered racking pain. 
 
 Said he to our soldiers round him, 
 " Don't let them be slaves again! " 
 
 " No, by Heaven ! " outspoke a soldier, - 
 And tha^ oath was not profane, — 
 
 " Our brigade will still protect them — 
 They shall ne'er be slaves again." 
 
 Over old Tom's dusky features 
 Came and staid a joyous raj' ; 
 
 And with saddened friends around him, 
 His free spirit passed away. 
 
 Incidents of Chattanooga. — " Captain Har- 
 ris, of the Nineteenth Indiana battery, stood by 
 his guns, after being twice wounded ; and when 
 he became weak from loss of blood, he made his 
 men support him while he sighted the guns. 
 
 " A man, by the name of Brock, in the Eleventh 
 Ohio regiment, was wounded through the neck 
 and lower jaw, at Perryville. He had not been 
 in the engagement over ten minutes, on Sunday, 
 when a ball struck him in the same place, taking 
 the same course with the other, making a horrible 
 wound. 
 
 "George Kizer, of the Seventy-fifth Indiana 
 regiment, company F, was killed on the field. 
 Before he was killed he had requested his mess- 
 mate to send his photograph, with some other 
 things, to his mother, in case he v/as killed ; but 
 there is not often a chance to attend to such 
 things on the field. On Saturday niglit therebels 
 thought we were evacuating the place, and they 
 threw forward their right to attack us. They 
 soon found out their mistake. They were scooped 
 in no time. We took thirty prisoners, and killed 
 and -wounded as many more. On one of the dead 
 rebs the Indiana boys found Kizer's knapsack, 
 with his likeness and all his things, M'hich the 
 boys have now sent to his mother. I saw the 
 lilceness myself, and the boys were positive in 
 the identity. 
 
 " At one of our pickets and posts a shar{> 
 shooter had annoyed the men for some time, and 
 no one could find his whereabouts. At last one 
 of the men thought he saw a small cedar tree 
 move. The boys laughed at him, but he blazed 
 away, and down came the bush. On examina- 
 tion they found that a rebel had stuck cedar 
 boughs in his boots and belt, so that he looked 
 just like a small tree a little way off." — From a » 
 correspondent. 
 
 Diana Smith, the Heroine of the North- 
 west. — She was born and raised in the County 
 of Jackson, Virginia. Her father is a consistent 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 was leading a quiet, peaceful, and useful life, until 
 his country was invaded, when he called his coun- 
 tryman to amis, and raised the first company of 
 guerrillas, which he commanded until last fall, 
 when, by fraud and treachery, he was captured, 
 and ever since has been confined in a loathsome 
 dungeon at Camp Chase, Ohio, without hope of 
 deliveiy, unless our government should interpose 
 and procure his release. 
 
 Diana, his only daughter, a beautiful girl, has 
 been tenderly raised and well educated. She is 
 also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 and has always been regarded as very pious and 
 exemplary. She is descended from a race of un- 
 flinching nerve, and satisfied with nothing less 
 than freedom, as xmrestraiued as the pure air of 
 their mountain home. 
 
 Her devotion to the cause of Southern rights, 
 in which her father had nobly engaged, has caused 
 her, too, to feel the oppressor's power. Although 
 a tender and delicate floAver, upon whose cheek 
 the bloom of sixteen summers yet lingers, she haa 
 
224 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 been five times captured by the Yankees, and 
 marched sometimes on foot, in manacles, a pris- 
 oner — once a considerable distance into Ohio, at 
 which time she made her escape. She was never 
 released, but in each instance managed to escape 
 from her guard. She, too, has seen service ; she 
 uas in several battles in which her father en- 
 gaged the enemj-. She has seen blood flow like 
 water. Her trusty rifle has made more than 
 one of the vile Yankees bite the dust. She left 
 her home in company with the Moccason Ran- 
 gers, Captain Kesler, and came through the ene- 
 my's lines in safety, and is now at the Blue Sul- 
 phur Springs. 
 
 She was accompanied by Miss Duskie, who has 
 also earned the proud distinction of a heroine. 
 On one occasion this fearless girl, surrounded 
 by fifty Yankees and Union men, rushed through 
 their ranks with a daring that struck terror to 
 their craven hearts. With her rifle lashed across 
 her shoulders, she swam the west fork of the 
 Kanawha River, and made her way to the Moun- 
 tain Rangers, preferring to trust her safety to 
 those brave spirits, well knowing that her sex 
 would entitle her to protection from these brave 
 mountaineers. These young ladies have lain in 
 the mountains for months, with no bed but the 
 earth, and no coverhig but the canopy of heaven. 
 They have shared the soldier's rough fare, his dan- 
 gers, his hopes, and his joys. 
 
 The great crime with which these daring young 
 ladies are charged by the enemy, is cooking, wash- 
 ing, mending and making clothes, and buying 
 powder for the soldiers. We are informed that 
 they are both ladies of the first rank at home, and 
 are every way worthy of the highest place in any 
 society Avhere virtue, integrity, and sterlmg prin- 
 ciple give position. — Southern paper. 
 
 Gallantry of Young Siialer. — A corre- 
 spondent gives an account of the gallant conduct 
 of Henry Shaler, of Indianapolis, Indiana, at the 
 battle of Gettysburg, written by a son of Daniel 
 Noble to his mother. Young Shaler more than 
 equalled the mythical performance of the Irish- 
 man who " surrounded " a half dozen of the 
 enemy, and captured them. His parents live on 
 South Alabama Street, in Indianapolis, Indiana. 
 They are Germans. Young Noble says : " Harry 
 is a brick ; he did more, that is, he took more 
 prisoners, in' the battle of Gettysburg, than any 
 other man in the army. He took in all twenty- 
 five men — one lieutenant and eighteen men at 
 one time. He took them by strategy that icas 
 strategy ; he ' surrounded them,' and they had to 
 give up. On the morning of the fourth he went 
 out with his poncho over his shoulders, so that 
 the rebs couldn't see his coat ; so they thought he 
 ■was one of their own men. He went up, and told 
 them to lay down their arms, and come and help 
 carry some wounded off the field. They did so. 
 When he got them away from their arms, be rode 
 up to the lieutenant, and told him to give up 
 his sword. The lieutenant refused at first ; but 
 Harry drew his pepper-box, and, like Crockett's 
 
 coon, the lieutenant came down without a shot 
 Harry then took them all into camp. He took a 
 captain and five men at another time, making 
 twenty-five in all, which is doing pretty well for 
 a little Dutchman ; and he deserves to be remem- 
 bered for it." 
 
 Chickamauga, or the Ria-er of Death. — 
 
 In the spring of 1858, while seeking the benefit 
 of a change of climate and relaxation from labo- 
 rious duties, I met the late Colonel "Whiteside at 
 Chattanooga. Among the many interesting tra- 
 ditions associated with various localities in this 
 beautiful region of country, he related one in ex- 
 planation of the meaning of the word " Chicka- 
 mauga," and how it came to be applied to the 
 two small streams which bear this name. A tribe 
 of Cherokees occupied this region ; and when the 
 small-pox was first communicated to the Indians 
 of this continent, it appeared in this tribe, and 
 made frightful havoc among them. It was the 
 custom of the Indians, at the height of the dis- 
 ease, to go by scores, and jump into the river to 
 allay the tormenting symptoms. This of course 
 increased the mortality, and the name " Chicka- 
 mauga," or " River of Death," was applied t^ 
 the two streams, M'hich they have borne ever 
 since. The remnant of the tribe was also after- 
 wards called the " Chickamauga tribe." We hope- 
 General Bragg will call his great victory the 
 Battle of Chickamauga, and not '•' Peavine Creek," 
 or " Crawfish Springs," as is suggested in Rose- 
 crans' despatch. He has certainly crawfished out 
 of Georgia, but we. prefer "Chickamauga," or 
 " River of Death." — Southern correspondent. 
 
 An Interesting Incident. — In the freshman 
 class at Harvard was a Washington, from Vir- 
 ginia, the nearest relative of the General, bearing 
 the name of George, and born on the 22d of Feb- 
 ruary. He was a youth of excellent principles, a 
 communicant in the Episcopal Church, and re- 
 spected and beloved by his classmates. On the 
 breaking out of difficulties, he left Cambridge, — 
 not for any sj'mpathy with secession, for he was 
 strongly against it in all his feelings, — but be- 
 cause he thought it his duty to be near his mother, 
 a widow, whose estate lay in the threatened por- 
 tion of the border. Soon afterwards others of 
 his class left college to join the Massachusett-s 
 regiments. 
 
 A few days after the battle of Winchester, one 
 of these young men, Lieutenant Crowninshield, 
 of the Massachusetts Second regiment, w^s walk- 
 ing through the wards of the hospital, then filled, 
 with rebel officers and soldiers, and heard his 
 familiar college nickname, " Crowny, Crowny," 
 called by a feeble voice from one of the beds. He 
 went to it, and there — pale, faint, shot through 
 the lungs by a musket ball — lay his classmate, 
 young Washington. It is needless to say, that 
 everything possible was done for him. The moth- 
 er was allowed to take her son home for maternal 
 
ANECDOTES, EOETBY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 225 
 
 CHAUGE OF THE MULE BRIGADE. 
 
 On the night of October 28, 1863, when Gen. 
 Geary's division of the Twelfth corps repulsed 
 the attacking forces of Longstreet at Wauhatchie, 
 Tenn., a number of mules, affrighted by the noise 
 of battle, dashed into the ranks of Hampton's 
 Legion, causing much dismay among the rebels, 
 and compelling many of them to fall back, under 
 a supposed charge of cavalry. 
 
 Capt. Thomas H. Elliott, of Gen. Geary's staff, 
 gives the following rendition of the incident, 
 which he gleaned from an interior contemporary. 
 Its authorship is not known : 
 
 Half a mile, half a mile, 
 
 Half a mile onward, 
 Right towards the Georgia troops. 
 
 Broke the two hundred. 
 " Forward, the Mule Brigade," 
 '« Charge for the Rebs ! " they neighed ; 
 Straight for the Georgia troops 
 
 Broke the two hundred. 
 
 " Forward, the Mule Brigade ! " 
 Was there a mule dismayed ? 
 Not when the long ears felt 
 
 All their ropes sundered ; 
 Theirs not to make reply ; 
 Theirs not to reason why ; 
 Theirs but to make them fly. 
 On ! to the Georgia troops, 
 
 Broke the two hundred. 
 
 Mules to the right of them, 
 Mules to the left of them, 
 Mules behind them, 
 
 Pawed, brayed, and thundered. 
 Breaking their own confines. 
 Breaking through Longstreet'sdines, 
 Into the Georgia troops 
 
 Stormed the two hundred. 
 
 Wild all their eyes did glare, 
 Whisked all their tails in air. 
 Scattering the chivalry there. 
 
 While all the world wondered. 
 Not a mule back bestraddled. 
 Yet how they all skedaddled I 
 
 Fled every Georgian. 
 Unsabred, unsaddled. 
 
 Scattered and sundered, 
 How they were routed there 
 
 By the two hundred ! 
 
 Mules to the right of them, 
 Mules to the left of them, 
 Mules behind them 
 
 ' Pawed, brayed, and thundered ; 
 Followed by hoof and head. 
 Full many a hero fled. 
 Fain in the last ditch dead. 
 Back from an " ass's jaw," 
 All that was left of them. 
 Left by the two hundred. 
 15 
 
 When can their glory fade ? 
 O ! the wild charge they made ! 
 
 All the world Avondered. 
 Honor the charge they made. 
 Honor the Mule Brigade, 
 
 Lon"-eared two hundred. 
 
 An Incident under a Flag of Truce. — 
 Lieut.-Commander H. A. Adams, Jr., United 
 States Navy, arrived at New Orleans, having 
 been relieved of the command of the United 
 States forces in Mississippi Sound by Lieut.- 
 Commander Green. He recently sent his boat 
 on shore, and desii-ed the officer in charge to say 
 that if any military officer received the flag, he 
 M-ould be glad to see him on board to arrange the 
 business of the truce. As the boat returned, he 
 saw an officer, who recognized him, but he could 
 not make out who he was. When the boat came 
 alongside, he went to the gangway to receive the 
 stranger, and even helped him over the rail on 
 deck, when he immediately found himself clasped 
 in the arms of his own brother, one in command 
 of the Confederate forces on shore, the other in 
 command of the United States forces afloat. The 
 meeting, under such circumstances, was, as you 
 may imagine, a very painful one. After the busi- 
 ness was over, and a brotherly chat had, they 
 parted — the Confederate saying, as he got into 
 the boat, " Whatever happens, Hal, recoflect one 
 thing — we will always be brothers." 
 
 General Grant obeys Orders. — General 
 Grant was walking the dock at City Point, ab- 
 sorbed in thought, and with the inevitable cigar 
 in his mouth, when a negro guard touched his 
 arm, saying, " No smoking on the dock, sir." 
 "Are these your orders?" asked the General, 
 looking up. " Yes, sir," replied the negro, cour- 
 teously, but decidedly. "Very good orders," 
 said Grant, throwing his cigar into the water. 
 
 A Juvenile AVarrior of Experience.-— The 
 town of Swanzey, in New Hampshire, is the home 
 of George B. Mattoon, a young man only eigh- 
 teen years old, who served three years in the 
 Union army, had been in forty-three battles and 
 twenty-seven skirmishes, had two horses shot 
 under him, and during the whole time did not re- 
 ceive a single injury, nor was he absent from duty 
 a single day. 
 
 A Contraband. — A soldier gives the follow- 
 ing sketch of the appearance and peculiarities of 
 one of the slaves met with by his regiment while 
 marching South : 
 
 " As I went into the yard I saw standing in the 
 midst of the men an aged contraband, whose 
 woolly pate was profusely mottled with gray, and 
 a gray, woolly fringe ai'ound the base of his 
 ebon face, gaxe him a most singular appearance. 
 His enormous mouth, thick lips, and flattened 
 
226 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 nose of purely African stamp, and retreating fore- 
 head, very low in height, would convey an idea 
 of almost idiotic intellect within. As I ap- 
 proached, his lower jaw slowly moved down- 
 wards, and then upwards, like the first movements 
 of the arm of a ponderous steam engine, and then 
 from the expansive reservoir of his throat came 
 forth a sound, and he began to sing a hymn. 
 There was not much melody in his music, but he 
 seemed to enjoy it as well as an Ole Bull or Pag- 
 anini would their own performance. He was 
 dressed in the cast-off uniform, overcoat, and 
 pants of some rebel soldier ; and the coat half 
 dropping from one shoulder, in a careless style, 
 plainly indicated an innate ' cuffee.' He finished 
 his hymn, and some one asked him if he wouldn't 
 2)ray'. The old man paused for a moment, and 
 then said : 
 
 " ' De good book say dat when we worship God 
 we mus do it Avid de speret and de troof, and I 
 doesn't like for see sich tings treated lightly. 
 Now, if ye'll all be quiet, and not larf, and pay 
 attention, I'll do de bes I ken.' 
 
 " Having promised good behavior, the old man 
 knelt down. As he was kneeling, some one asked 
 him to pray for the war to close. He commenced 
 his ]n-ayer with an eloquence of language and 
 propriety of expression absolutely astonishing, 
 and I could hardly believe that in that apparently 
 demented cranium could be stored an intellect 
 which displayed itself in a manner indicating that 
 nature had given it a power and utterance far 
 above many of those who were looking upon the 
 possessor as they would on a monkey or parrot, or 
 some other natural curiosity. There was an ex- 
 I)ression in his prayer which, in connection with 
 the request to pray for the soldiers, was pecu- 
 liarly noticeable. He prayed : 
 
 " ' O Massa Lord God A'mity ! have mercy on 
 all sogers, an eem's gwine to war. O Lord ! 
 batter all dere big guns inter prowsheers, and 
 dere swords inter prune hooks, and make peace 
 come quick.' 
 
 " This expression seemed an isolated one in his 
 prayer, as having less propriety of expression 
 than any other one. At the close of his prayer, 
 he was asked where his master was, and re- 
 plied : 
 
 " ' O, he's done gone dis four months ; he 
 wouldn't jine Mr. Linkum's company, so he had 
 to leave, and go off way down Souf.' 
 
 " ' 'Twould be a snug chance for him if he was 
 at home here now — wouldn't it ? ' some one 
 asked. 
 
 " * Golly, massa, 'deed 'twould, I reckon,' laughed 
 the sable chattel. ' He'd ben dead an buried up 
 in de grave long time go, if he hadn't run ofi".' 
 
 " He was asked if many soldiers came there, 
 and replied that they came every day, in the 
 morning, and that they had been there that morn- 
 ing on horseback. He was asked what they were, 
 and replied, — 
 
 '"Can't tell, massa, 'deed I can't ; some say't 
 dey's sesessongers, but 'pon my soul an body, 
 massa, I can't tell one from t'other — 'deed I can't. 
 But Fse on Mr. Linknrn's side — 'deed I is,' 
 
 " He was then asked to preach, and finally con- 
 sented, and commenced, taking for his subject 
 the characters of Nicodemus and Hezekiah, and 
 commenced in a manner displaying an astonish- 
 ing depth of knowledge of Scripture history, and 
 drawing logical deductions with a style of lan- 
 guage and beauty of expression that need not be 
 ashamed of as worthy the efforts of many an 
 extemporaneous preacher in the most enlightened 
 portions of civilized community in the free States. 
 
 " As I listened, I thought what, but for the ac- 
 cursed, soul-destroying influence of slavery, which 
 binds its victims in shackles of ignorance, might 
 not this man have been. Possessed of an intel- 
 lect of uncommon wealth and vigor, though 
 clothed in rags, and bound by the rankling shac- 
 kles of an unjust oppression, which forbids it to 
 wish even to rise to seek its own level among 
 humanity, it breaks the bonds with the force 
 which nature alone imparts, and rises, unaided 
 by the acquirements of art, above the common 
 herd around. To what eminence might it not 
 have attained if cultivated and trained by the 
 aids which the times now afford the free man ? " 
 
 THE TAKING- OF POTOSI, MO. 
 
 The Union men of Washington County having 
 been threatened with extermination, and some 
 of them having been driven from Potosi, the 
 county seat, complaint was made to Gen. Lyon, 
 of the St. Louis Arsenal, and that brave and 
 gallant ofticer determined to give the Union men 
 in that section of the country protection. Ac- 
 cordingly an expedition was planned, and put 
 under the command of Capt. Coles, of company 
 A, Fifth regiment cf United States volunteers. 
 At ten o'clock P. M., Tuesday, May 14, 1861, 
 Capt. Cole's command, consisting of some one 
 hundred and fifty men, left the arsenal on a 
 special train for their destination. They arrived 
 at Potosi at three o'clock, A. M., on Wednesday, 
 and immediately threw a chain of sentinels 
 around the entire town. Guards were then sta- 
 tioned around the dwellings of the most promi- 
 nent secessionists, and shortly after daylight, 
 some one hundred and fifty men found themselves 
 prisoners, and were marched off to the Court 
 House. Here the prisoners were formed in line, 
 and by the assistance of a gentleman who had 
 been driven out of Potosi, who knew all the 
 inhabitants of the place, the Union men were 
 recognized, and released, amounting to over half 
 of those taken prisoners. Some fifty of the se- 
 cessionists were also released, on parole of honor, 
 after subscribing to the usual oath not to take up 
 arms against the United States, and nine of the 
 leaders'were marched off to the cars. Tlie guard 
 then made a descent on a secession lead manu- 
 factory, and captured near four hundred pigs of 
 that very useful article in time of war, which be- 
 longed to a man who had been furnishing lead to 
 the Southern rebels. The man's name is John 
 Dean, and he is now a prisoner at the arsenal 
 It appears he was not satisfied to simply sell the 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 227 
 
 lead to the enemy, in defiance of the authoritj'' 
 of the Government, but was engaged with his 
 own team in hauling it to near the Arkansas line, 
 where the traitors could get possession of it 
 without danger. The guard captured several 
 pistols, rifles, shot guns, and a quantity of seces- 
 sion uniforms, most of them unfinished, and some 
 uniform cloth. 
 
 After being furnished with breakfast and din- 
 ner, and very handsomely treated by the Union 
 men of Potosi, and invited to stay a month in 
 that place, at their expense, the command started 
 for home. On their way back, the train made a 
 halt at Dc Soto, in Jefl'erson County, where there 
 was to be a grand secession " love-feast " and 
 flag-raising. Here they found a company of se- 
 cession cavalry drilling for the occasion, which 
 took to their heels as soon as they got a sight 
 of the United States troops. In their flight, the 
 cavalry left some thirty of their horses, which 
 were captured by the troops, and placed luider 
 guard. The pole — one hundred feet high — on 
 which the rebels were going to fly the secession 
 flag was soon graced with the Stars and Stripes, 
 amid the wildest enthusiasm of the Union men 
 and Government troops. The next move was to 
 capture the rebel flag, which was known to be in 
 town J and for this agreeable duty, Captain Cole 
 detailed a guard of six men, under command of 
 Serg. Walker, accompanied by Dr. Franklin, 
 Surgeon of the Fifth Regiment. The guard 
 sun-ounded the house supposed to contain the 
 flag, and Dr. Franklin and Serg. Walker entered. 
 After searching in vain for some time, the Doc- 
 tor thought he observed the lady of the house 
 sitting in rather an uneasy position, and he very 
 politely asked her to rise. At first the lady 
 hesitated, but finding the Doctor's persuasive 
 sauvity irresistible, she rose slowly, and lo ! the 
 blood-red stripe of the rebel ensign appeared 
 below the lady's hoops. The Doctor, bowing a 
 graceful " beg pardon, madam," stooped, and 
 quietly catching hold of the gaudy color, care- 
 fully delivered the lady of a secession flag, thirty 
 feet long, and nine feet wide. The Doctor bore 
 off' his prize in triumph to the^ camp, where the 
 troops greeted him with wild shouts, and charac- 
 terized his feat as the crowning glory of the oc- 
 casion. Here the troops captured another rebel 
 leader, and after placing thirty men, under Lieut. 
 Murphy, to guard the Union flag and the thirty 
 horses, Capt. Cole's command started on their 
 way. At Victoria, the train stopped a moment, 
 when another secessionist came up hurrahing for 
 Jefi" Davis ; and quick as thought the ardent 
 rebel was surrounded by a half dozen bayonets, 
 and marched into the cars a prisoner of war, and 
 the train moved on. They arrived at the arsenal 
 about six and a half o'clock P. M., where a crowd 
 of soldiers and visitors awaited them. The spoils 
 were unloaded, and the prisoners marched to safe 
 and comfortable quarters. Gen. Lyon received 
 them in the spirit of a true soldier, and the 
 troops gave three cheers for Gen. Lyon, three 
 for Col. Blair, and three for the Stars and Stripes, 
 and then caught the secession flag, and tore it 
 into shreds in a twinkling. 
 
 NOT YET. 
 
 BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 
 
 O COUNTRY, marvel of the earth ! 
 
 O realm to sudden greatness grown ! 
 The age that gloried in thy birth, 
 
 Shall it behold thee overthrown ? 
 Shall traitors lay that greatness low ? 
 No ! Land of Hope and Blessing, No ! 
 
 And we who wear thy glorious name, 
 Shall we, like cravens, stand apart. 
 
 When those whom thou hast trusted aim 
 The death-blo-\v at thy generous heart ? 
 
 Forth goes the battle-cry, and lo ! 
 
 Hosts rise in harness, shouting, No ! 
 
 And they who founded in our land 
 The power that rules from sea to sea, 
 
 Bletl they in vain, or vainly planned 
 To leave their country great and free ? 
 
 Their sleeping ashes from below 
 
 Send up the thrilling murmur, No ! 
 
 Knit they the gentle ties which long 
 These sister States were proud to wear, 
 
 And forged the kindly links so strong, 
 For idle hands in sport to tear — 
 
 For scornful hands aside to throw ? 
 
 No ! by our fathers' memory. No ! 
 
 Our humming marts, our iron ways, 
 
 Our wind-tossed woods on mountain crest, 
 
 The hoarse Atlantic, with his bays. 
 The calm, broad Ocean of the West, 
 
 And Mississippi's torrent-flow. 
 
 And loud Niagara, answer, No ! 
 
 Not yet the hour is nigh when they 
 Who deep in Eld's dim twdlight sit. 
 
 Earth's ancient kings, shall rise and say, 
 "Proud country, welcome to the pit ! 
 
 So soon art thou, like us, brought low ! " 
 
 No ! sullen group of shadows, No ! 
 
 For now, behold, the arm that gave 
 The victory in our fathers' day. 
 
 Strong as of old to guard and save, — 
 That mighty arm which none can stay, — 
 
 On clouds above, and fields below, 
 
 Writes, in men's sight, the answer, No ! 
 
 Incidents of Carrick's Ford. — In one of 
 the Indiana regiments that took part in the fight 
 at Carrick's Ford, was a Methodist preacher, said 
 to be one of the very best shots of his regiment. 
 During the battle, he was particularly conspic- 
 uous for the zeal with which he kept up a con- 
 stant fire. The Fourteenth Ohio regiment, in 
 the thick of the fight, fired an average of eleven 
 rounds to every man, but this parson managed 
 to get in a great deal more than that average. 
 He fired carefully, with perfect coolness, and al- 
 ways after a steady aim, and the boys declare 
 that every time, as he took down his gun, after 
 firing, he added, "And may the Lord have mercy 
 on your soul ! " Evidently he thought the hodij 
 not worth praying for after the aim he had so 
 carefully taken. 
 
 Per contra : One of Steedmen's men (in the 
 
228 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Fourteenth Ohio) was from Cheesedom, and 
 didn't like the irreverent tone adopted by the 
 Southern chivah-y in speaking of the " d — d 
 Yankees." He took deliberate aim, but, unlike 
 the parson, after every fire he added the invaria- 
 ble formula, " Blast your secession souls, how do 
 }'ou like the Yankees ? " 
 
 Another, an Englishman, was wounded, 
 man noticed him limping, and called out, 
 are you wounded ? " " Yes, I'm 'it." " 
 are you hit. Jack ? " " 0, I'm 'it in the 'ip, but 
 — (in great anxiety lest Steedman should send 
 him to the hospital) but it don't 'urt me. I'm 
 only 'it in the 'ip ; it don't 'urt me ; " and away 
 he blazed with another load, adding, " Confound 
 you, I guess I paid you off that time." 
 
 Steed- 
 " Jack, 
 Where 
 
 Close Quarters. — At the battle of Charles- 
 ton, Mo., in August, 1861, Lieut.-Col. Ransom, 
 of the Eleventh Illinois regiment, was urging his 
 men to the chai-ge, when a man rode up, and 
 called out, " What do you mean ? You are kill- 
 i]ig our own men." Ransom I'eplied, " I know 
 what I am doing. Who are you?" The reply 
 was, " I am for Jeff Davis." Ransom replied, 
 '• You are the man I am after ; " and instantly 
 two pistols were drawn. The rebel fired first, 
 taking effect in Col. Ransom's arm, near the 
 shoulder. The Colonel fired, killing his antag- 
 onist instantly. 
 
 As Brave as a Lion. — At the fight at Scary- 
 town, Va., the soldier John Haven was wounded. 
 He was a handsome, intelligent young man, as 
 brave as a lion, and the pet of the company. 
 Poor fellow ! his right hip was shot away just as 
 he was passing a ball to his gun. When his 
 Captain saw him fall, he ran and picked him up, 
 and conveyed him in his own arms to a place of 
 safety. " Never mind me, Captain," he cried ; 
 " but don't let that flag go down ! " 
 
 THE MARCH OF TllE SEVENTH REGI- 
 MENT. 
 
 BY FITZ JAMES O'BEIEN. 
 
 The Capitol, Washington, ) 
 Saturday, April 27, 1861. j 
 
 We are here. Those three words sum up as 
 much as Napier's " Peccavi," when he took 
 Scinde, and we all feel somewhat as Mr. Csesar 
 Augustus must have felt when he had crossed the 
 Rubicon. 
 
 It is almost unnecessary for me to detail to you 
 the events of the day on which we left New York. 
 The scene at the armory on Friday was one to 
 he commemorated. For the first time since its 
 formation, the Seventh regiment left its native 
 city on active service. All day long, from an 
 early hour in the morning, young men in uniforms 
 or civilian's di-ess, might have been seen hurry- 
 ing up and down Broadway, with anomalous- 
 looking bundles under their arms. Dandies, who 
 were the pride of club windows, were not above 
 
 brown paper parcels ; military tailors were stormed 
 and taken with considerable loss — to the pocket. 
 Delmonico, calm and serene, superintended sand- 
 wiches which were destined for the canteen. 
 People in the streets looked with a sort of re- 
 gretful admiration at the gray uniforms hurrying 
 by. Hardware stores were ransacked of revolvers. 
 A feverish excitement throbbed through the city 
 — the beating of that big Northern pulse, so 
 slow, so sure, and so steady. 
 
 At three P. M., we mustered at the Armory, 
 against which there beat a surge of human beings 
 likes waves against a rock. Within, all was com- 
 motion. Fitting of belts, wild lamentations over 
 uniforms expected, but not arrived ; hearty ex- 
 changes of comradeships between members of 
 different companies, M'ho felt that they were about 
 to depart on a mission which might end in death. 
 Here and there flickered Spring bonnets, which 
 enclosed charming faces, as the calyx enfolds the 
 flower ; and, let me tell you, that on the faces of 
 many of those dear blossoms there hung di-ops 
 of mournful dew. At last the regiment was 
 formed in companies, and we marched. Was 
 there ever such an ovation ? When Trajan re- 
 turned conqueror, dragging barbaric kings at his 
 chariot- wheels, Rome vomited its people into the 
 streets, and that glorious column, that will be 
 ever immortal, was raised. But what greeted 
 the Emperor at his outset? The marble walls 
 of Broadway were never before rent with such 
 cheers as greeted us when we passed. The faces 
 of the buildings were so thick with people, that 
 it seemed as if an army of black ants were march- 
 ing, after their resistless fashion, throtigh the city, 
 and had scaled the houses. Handkerchiefs flut- 
 tered in the air like myriads of Avhite butterflies. 
 An avenue of brave, honest faces smiled upon 
 us as we passed, and sent a sunshine into our 
 hearts that lives there still. In a prominent po- 
 sition stood Maj. Anderson, who saluted us, and 
 was welcomed as such a man should be welcomed. 
 And so on to the ferry. 
 
 Swift through New Jersey — against wliich no 
 sneer be uttered evermore. All along the track 
 shouting crowds, hoarse and valorous, sent to us, 
 as we passed, their hopes and wishes. When we 
 stopped at the dift'erent stations, rough hands 
 came in through the windows, apparently uncon- 
 nected with any one in particular until j'ou shook 
 them, and then the subtle, magnetic thrill told that 
 there were bold hearts beating at the end. This 
 continued until night closed, and, indeed, until 
 after midnight. 
 
 Within the cars the sight Avas strange. A 
 thousand young men, the flower of the North, in 
 whose welfare a million of friends and relatives 
 were interested, were rushing along to conjectured 
 hostilities with the same smiling faces that they 
 would wear going to a " German " party in Fifth 
 Avenue. It was more like a festivity .than a 
 march. Those fine old songs, the choruses of 
 which were familiar to all, were sung with sweet 
 voice. We were assured many times, in melodi- 
 ous accents, that •' the whiskey bottle was empty 
 on the shelf," and several individuals of that 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 229 
 
 prominent, but not respectable class known as 
 " bummers," were invited to " meet us on Canaan's 
 happy shore." The brave old Harvard song of 
 " Upi dee " was started, and, shameful to say, Mr. 
 Longfellow's " Excelsior " seemed naturally to 
 adapt itself to the tune. I do not think that 
 "the pious monks of St. Bernard" would have 
 been edified, had they heard themselves alluded 
 to in that profane music. 
 
 Our arrival at Philadelphia took place at four 
 o'clock. We slept in the cars, awaiting orders 
 from our Colonel ; but at daylight hunger — and 
 it may be thirst — becoming imperious, we sallied 
 out, and roamed about that cheerless neighbor- 
 hood that surrounds the depot. Close by there 
 was a small wooden shanty — let us say an Irish 
 palace — which was presently filled by arid sol- 
 diers. The prog in the larder of this sumptuous 
 residence was, I regret to say, limited. I did not 
 even see the traditional pig about, although 
 heaven knows he would have been appropriate 
 enough. Finding that we were likely to remain 
 for some time in the city — although under the 
 impression that we were to go straight tlu'ough 
 to Baltimore — M-e wandered away from the 
 Desert of the Depot and descended on civilized 
 quarters. The superintendent of the Deaf and 
 Dumb Asylum was a man for the emergency. 
 He provided a handsome breakfast for all such 
 members of tlie Seventh as chose to partake of 
 it, and we commanded beefsteak on our fingers, 
 and ordered tea by sign-manual. Great numbers 
 of our regiment, being luxurious dogs, went down 
 to the Continental and Girard hotels, where they 
 campaigned on marble floors, and bivouacked on 
 velvet couches. They are such delicate fellows, 
 the Seventh regiment ! Farther on you will see 
 what those delicate hands have done. 
 
 We, of course, were entirely ignorant of our 
 route, or how we were going. The general feel- 
 ing of the regiment Avas in favor of pushing our 
 way coute qui coute straight through Baltimore. 
 Rumors came along that the city was in arms. 
 The Massachusetts troops had to fight their way 
 through, killing eighteen and losing two men. 
 This seemed only to stimulate our boys, and the 
 universal word was Baltimore. But as it turned 
 out afterwards, we were under a wise direction, 
 and the policy of our Colonel, to whom we per- 
 haps are altogether indebted for bringing us safely 
 here, was, I presume, to avoid all unnecessary 
 collision, and bring his regiment intact into 
 Washington. The rails were reported to have 
 been torn up for forty miles about Baltimore, and 
 as we were summoned for the defence of the Cap- 
 ital, it follows, according to reason, that if we 
 could get there without loss we would better fulfil 
 our duty. As it happened afterwards, we had to 
 run through more peril than Baltimore could 
 have offered. 
 
 There s^eemed but little enthusiasm in Phila- 
 delphia. A city that washes every morning with 
 soap and water is not easily roused into excite- 
 ment. The Quaker placidity still prevails, and 
 when you add to this the majestic stolidity of 
 the German element, it is not wonderful that the 
 
 Capital of the Keystone State should not be up- 
 roarious. Still let me do Philadelphia justice. lun- 
 derstand that the people were out in large numbers 
 to see us enter, but our delay disappointed them, 
 and they went home. During our stay a lethar- 
 gic decorum prevailed. The prim beavers of the 
 citizens were glossy and self-possessed. We came 
 and went without a reception or demonstration. 
 
 There was one peculiar diSerence that I noticed 
 existing between the Massachusetts regiments 
 that we met in Philadelphia and our men. The 
 Massachusetts men — to whom all honor be given 
 for the splendid manner in which they afterwards 
 acted in a most trying situation — presented a 
 singular moral contrast to the members of the 
 Seventh. They were earnest, grim, determined. 
 Badly equipped, haggard, unshorn, they yet had 
 a manhood in their look that hardships could not 
 kill. They were evidently thinking all the time 
 of the contest into which they were about to enter. 
 Their gray, eager eyes seemed to be looking for 
 the heights of Virginia. With us it was some- 
 what dilferent. Our men were gay and careless, 
 confident of being at any moment capable of 
 performing, and more than performing, their 
 duty. They looked battle in the face with a 
 smile, and were ready to hob-nob with an enemy, 
 and kill him afterwards. The one was courage 
 in the rough ; the other was courage burnished. 
 The steel was the same- in both, but the last was 
 a little more polished. 
 
 On April 20, at 4 : 20 P. M., we left the Phila- 
 delphia dock, on board the steamer Boston. The 
 regiment was in entire ignorance of its destina- 
 tion. Some said we were going back to New 
 York, at which suggestion there was a howl of 
 indignation. Others presumed that we were going 
 to steam up the Potomac — a course which was 
 not much approved of, inasmuch as we were cooped 
 up in a kind of river steamer that a shot from the 
 fort at Alexandi'ia might sink at any moment. 
 We, however, — to make use of a familiar expres- 
 sion, — " went it blind," and faces did not smile 
 the less because our object was unknown. 
 
 It was on board of this steamer that " Joe " 
 came out. You, of course, don't know who 
 " Joe " is. Well, you may rest contented, be- 
 cause he will always remain " Joe " to you. I 
 may, without transgression, however, give you his 
 typograph. I will put him in position, level the 
 lens, and — here he is. Imagine a well-built young 
 fellow, about twenty-one, with mercury instead 
 of blood in his veins, ever on the move, with a 
 sort of quaint, joyous humor seething from him, 
 as if he was al\>ays at boiling point. Joe's two 
 specialties, like a winnowing machine that I once 
 saw, are work and chaff. During the evening, 
 on board the steamer, he distributed himself 
 generally about, with a merry M-ord and a joke 
 for every one. What immber of bad i)uns he 
 made, or what horrible conundrums he made, my 
 exhausted and horrified memory refuses to recall ; 
 suffice it to say, that laughter and good-humor 
 followed in his wake, as the white foam smiles 
 astern of some sharp little cutter going before the 
 wind. 
 
230 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 The first evening, April 20, on board the Bos- 
 ton, passed delightfully. We were all in fii'st-rate 
 spirits, and the calm, sweet evenings that stole on 
 us as we approached the South, difl'used a soft 
 and gentle influence over us. The scene on board 
 tiie ship was exceedingly picturesque. Fellows 
 fumbling in haversacks for rations, or extracting 
 sandwiches from reluctant canteens ; guards pac- 
 ing up and down with drawn bayonets ; knapsacks 
 piled in corners, bristling heaps of muskets, with 
 sharp, shining teeth, crowded into every available 
 nook : picturesque groups of men lolling on deck, 
 pipe or cigar in mouth, indulging in the dolcefar 
 niente, as if they were on the blue shores of Capri, 
 rather than on their way to battle ; unbuttoned 
 jackets, crossed legs, heads leaning on knapsacks, 
 blue uniforms everywhere, with here and there a 
 glint of oflicer's red lighting up the foreground 
 — all formed a scene that such painters as the 
 English Warren would have revelled in. 
 
 1 regret to say that all was not rose-colored. 
 The steamer that the Colonel chartered had to 
 get ready at three or fom- hours' notice, he having 
 changed his ])lans, in consequence of the tearing 
 up of the rails around Baltimore. The result 
 was, that she was imperfectly provisioned. As 
 the appetites of the men began to develop, the 
 resources of the vessel began to appear. In the 
 first place, she was far too small to accommodate 
 a tliousand men, and we were obliged to sleep in 
 all sorts of impossible attitudes. There is an 
 ingenious device known to carpenters as " dove- 
 tailing ; " and we were so tliick that we had pos- 
 itively to dovetail, only that there was very little 
 of the dove about it ; for when perambulating 
 soldiers stepped on the faces and stomachs of 
 the sleepers, as they lay on deck, the greeting 
 that they received had but little flavor of the 
 olive branch. 
 
 Notwithstanding that we found very soon that 
 the commissariat was in a bad Avay, the men were 
 as jolly as sandboys. I never saw a more good- 
 humored set of men in my life. Fellows who 
 would at Delmonico's have sent back a turban de 
 volaille aux triijD'es, because the truffles were 
 tough, here cheerfully took their places in file 
 between decks, tin plates and tin cups in hand, 
 in order to get an insufficient piece of beef and 
 a vision of coffee. But it was all merrily done. 
 The scant fare was seasoned with hilarity ; and 
 here I say to those people in New York who have 
 sneered at the Seventh regiment as being dandies, 
 and guilty of the unpardonable crimes of cleanli- 
 ness and kid gloves, that they would cease to 
 scoff', and remain to hless, had they beheld the 
 square, honest, genial way in which these mili- 
 tary Brummells roughed it. Farther on, you will 
 see what they did in the way of endurance and 
 activity. 
 
 April 21 M'as Sunday — a glorious, cloudless 
 day. We had steamed all night, and about ten 
 o'clock were in the vicinity of Chesapeake Bay. 
 At eleven o'clock A. M. we had service read by 
 our chaplain, and at one P. M. we were seven 
 miles from the coast. The day was calm and de- 
 licious. In spite of our troubles with regard to 
 
 food — troubles, be it understood, entirely una- 
 voidable — we drank in with delight the serenity 
 of the scene. A hazy tent of blue hung over 
 our heads. On one side the dim thread of shore 
 hemmed in the sea. Flights of loons and ducks 
 skimmed along the ocean, rising lazily, and s])at- 
 tering the waves with their wings, as they flew 
 against the wind, until they rose into air, and, 
 wheeling, swept into calmer feeding grounds. 
 Now and then the calm of the hour was broken 
 with the heavy tramp of men, and the metallic 
 voice of the Cori)oral of the Guard relieving his 
 comrades. At five o'clock P. M. we passed a 
 light-ship, and hailed her, our object being to 
 discover whether any United States vessels were 
 in the neighborhood, waiting to convoy us up the 
 Potomac River, We had heard that the forts at 
 Alexandria were ready to open upon us if we 
 attempted to pass vip, and our steamer was of 
 such a build, that, had a shell or shot struck it, 
 we would have been burned or drowned. It 
 therefore behooved us to be cautious. The an- 
 swers we got from the light-ship and other ves- 
 sels that we hailed in this spot were unsatisfac- 
 tory, and although the feelings of the men were 
 unanimous in wishing to force the Potomac, 
 wiser counsels, as it proved, were behind us, and 
 we kept on. About this time a curious phenom- 
 enon occurred. Some men in the regiment, who 
 have fine voices, — and theii- name is legion, — 
 had been singing, with all that delicious effect 
 that music at sea produces, several of the finest 
 l)salms in our liturgy. The ocean softens, and 
 delicately repeats sound ; and those airs, trem- 
 bling and sliding along the almost unrippled sur- 
 face of the sea, were so melodious, that if the 
 Southern- Cerberi had heard them, they would 
 have slumbered at the gates of their own hell, 
 AVhile we were singing, the moon swung clear 
 into air, and round her white disk was seen three 
 circles, clear and distinct — red, white, and blue! 
 The omen was caught by common instinct, and 
 a thousand cheers went up to that heaven that 
 seemed in its visible signs to manifest its appro- 
 val of the cause in which we were about to fight. 
 All this time we were entu'ely ignorant of where 
 we were going. The officers kept all secret, and 
 our conjectures drifted like a drifting boat. On 
 the morning of the 22d we were in sight of An- 
 napolis, oft' which the Constitution was lying, and 
 there found the Eighth regiment of Massachusetts 
 volunteers on 1)oard the Maryland. They were 
 aground, owing, it is supposed, to the treachery 
 of the Captain, whom they put in irons, and want- 
 ed to hang. I regret to say that they did not do it. 
 During the greater portion of that forenoon we 
 were occupied in trying to get the Maryland oft" 
 the sandbar on which she was grounded. From 
 our decks we could see the men in file trying to 
 rock her, so as to facilitate our tugging. These 
 men were without water and without food, were 
 well conducted and uncomplaining, and behaved, 
 in all respects, like heroes. They were under the 
 command of Col. Butler, and I regret that that 
 gentleman did not care more for the comforts of 
 men whose subsequent pluck proved that nothing 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 231 
 
 was too good for them. During the endeavors 
 to get the Maryland afloat, we had some idle 
 time on our hands, and your humble servant em- 
 ployed some of it in " composing " a Seventh 
 regiment song, which is now in rehearsal by the 
 vocalists of the corps : 
 
 THE SEVENTH. 
 
 AiE — " Gilla Machree." 
 
 OcH ! we're the boys 
 That hearts desthroys 
 
 Wid making love and fighting ; 
 We take a fort, 
 The girls we court, 
 
 But most the last delight in. 
 To fire a gun. 
 Or raise some fun, 
 
 To us is no endeavor ; 
 So let us hear 
 One hearty cheer — 
 
 The Seventh's lads forever ! 
 Chorus. — For we're the boys 
 
 That hearts desthroys, 
 
 Wid making love and fighting ; 
 We take a fort, 
 The girls we court, , 
 
 But most the last delight in. 
 
 There's handsome Joe, 
 
 ■NVhose constant flow 
 Of merriment unfailing, 
 
 Upon the tramp, 
 
 Or in the camp. 
 Will keep our hearts from ailing. 
 
 And B and Chat» 
 
 "SVho might have sat 
 Por Pythias and Damon, 
 
 Och ! whin they get 
 
 Their heavy wet. 
 They get as high as Haman. 
 Choeus. — For we're the boys 
 
 That hearts desthroys, &c. 
 
 Like Jove above, 
 
 We're fond of love. 
 But fonder still of victuals ; 
 
 Wid turtle steaks. 
 
 An' codfish cakes, 
 We always fills our kittles. 
 
 To dhrown aich dish. 
 
 We dhrinks like fish. 
 And Mumm's the word we utther ; 
 
 An' thin we swill 
 
 Our Leoville, 
 That oils our throats like butther. 
 Chorus. — For we're the boys 
 
 That hearts desthroys, Sec. 
 
 We make from hay 
 
 A splindid tay. 
 From beans a gorgeous coffee ; 
 
 Our crame is prime. 
 
 With chalk and lime — 
 la fact, 'tis quite a throphy. 
 
 Our chickens roast, 
 
 Wid butthered toast, 
 I'm sure would timpt St. Pether. 
 
 Now, you'll declare 
 
 Our bill of fare 
 It couldn't be complether. 
 Chorus. — For we're the boys 
 
 That hearts desthroys, &c. 
 
 Now, silence all, 
 
 While I recall 
 A memory sweet and tender ; 
 
 The maids and wives 
 
 That light our lives 
 With deep, enduring splendor — 
 
 We'll give no cheer 
 
 For those so dear, 
 But in our hearts we'll bless them, 
 
 Ajid pray to-night 
 
 That angels bright 
 May watch them and caress them. 
 Chorus, — For we're the boys 
 
 That hearts desthroys, 
 Wid making love and fighting ; 
 
 We take a fort, 
 
 The girls we court, 
 But most the last delight in. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 22d we landed at the 
 Annapolis dock, after having spent hours in try- 
 ing to relieve the Maryland. For the first time 
 in his life, your correspondent was put to work 
 to roll flour-barrels. He was intrusted with the 
 honorable and onerous duty of transporting stores 
 from the steamer to the dock. Later still, he de- 
 scended to the position of mess servant, when, in 
 company with gentlemen well known in Broad- 
 way for immaculate kids, he had the honor of 
 attending on his company with buckets of cooked 
 meat and crackers ; the only difi'erence between 
 him and Co. and the ordinary waiter being, that 
 the former were civil. 
 
 After this, I had the pleasing duty of perform- 
 ing thi'ee hours of guard duty on the dock, with 
 a view to protect the baggage and stores. It 
 was monotonous — being my first guard — but 
 not unpleasant. The moon rose calm and white. 
 A long dock next to the one on which I Avas sta- 
 tioned, stretched away into the bay, resting on 
 its numerous piles, until it looked in the clear 
 moonlight like a centipede. All was still and 
 calm, until at certain periods the guard challenged 
 persons attempting to pass. There was a holy in- 
 fluence in the hour, and somehow the hot fever 
 of anxiety that had been over us for days seemed 
 to pass away under the touch of the magnetic 
 fingers of the night. 
 
 We were quartered in the buildings belonging 
 to the Naval School at Annapolis. I had a bunk- 
 ing-place in what is there called a fort," which is 
 a rickety structure, that a lucifer match would 
 set on fire, but furnished with imposing guns. I 
 suppose it was merely built to practise the cadets, 
 because as a defence it is worthless. The same 
 evening boats Avere sent off from the yard, and to- 
 wards nightfall the Massachusetts men landed, 
 
232 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 fagged, hungry, thirsty, but indomitable. At an 
 early hour there was a universal snore through 
 the Naval School of Annapolis. 
 
 The two days that we remained at Annapolis 
 were welcome. We had been without a fair 
 night's sleep since we left New York, and even 
 the hard quarters we had there were a luxury 
 compared to the dirty decks of the Boston. Be- 
 sides, there were natural attractions. The grounds 
 are very prettily laid out, and in the course of 
 my experience, I never saw a handsomer or bet- 
 ter bred set of young men than the cadets. They 
 
 number about , only twenty having left the 
 
 school owing to political conviction. The re- 
 mainder are sound Union fellows, eager to prove 
 their devotion to the flag. After spending a de- 
 lightful time in the Navy School, resting and 
 amusing ourselves, our repose was disturbed, at 
 nine P. M., April 23, by rockets being thrown up 
 in the bay. The men were scattered all over the 
 grounds ; some in bed, others walking or smoking, 
 all more or less undressed. The rockets being 
 of a suspicious character, it was conjectured that 
 a Southern fleet was outside, and our drummer 
 beat the roll-call to arms. From the stroke of 
 the drum, until the time that every man, fully 
 equipped and in fighting order, was in the ranks, 
 was exactly, bywatch, seven minutes. It is need- 
 less to say anything about such celerity — it 
 speaks for itself. The alarm, however, proved to 
 be false, the vessels in the ofling proving to be 
 laden with the Seventy-fii'st and other New York 
 regiments ; so that, after an unpremeditated trial 
 of our readiness for action, we were permitted to 
 retire to our virtuous couches, which means, per- 
 mit me to say, a blanket on the floor, with a 
 military overcoat over you, and a nasal concert 
 all around you, that in noise and number out- 
 vies Musard's celebrated concerts monstres. 
 
 On the morning of the 24th of April we started 
 on what afterwards proved to be one of the hard- 
 est marches on record. The secessionists of An- 
 napolis and the surrounding district had threat- 
 ened to cut us off in our march, and even went 
 so far as to say that they would attack our quar- 
 ters. This, of course, Avas the drunken Southern 
 ebullition. A civiHan told me that he met in the 
 streets of Annapolis two cavalry soldiers who 
 came to cut our throats without delay, but as 
 each brave warrior was endeavoring to hold the 
 other up, my friend did not apprehend much 
 danger. 
 
 A curious revulsion of feeling took place at 
 Annapolis, and indeed all through ^laryland, af- 
 ter our arrival. 
 
 The admirable good conduct which character- 
 izes the regiment, the open liberality which it 
 displays in all pecuniary transactions, and the 
 courteous demeanor which it exhibits to all classes, 
 took the narrow-minded population of this ex- 
 cessively wretched town by suri:)rise. They were 
 prepared for pillage. They thought we Avere go- 
 ing to sack the place. They found, instead, that 
 we were prepared and willing to pay liberal 
 prices for everything, and that even patriotic pres- 
 entations were steadily refused. While we were 
 
 in the Navy School, of course all sorts of rumors 
 as to our operations were floating about. It sur- 
 prised me that no one suggested that we were to 
 go off' in a balloon ; however, all surmises were 
 put to an end by our receiving orders, the even- 
 ing of the 23d, to assemble in marching order 
 next morning. The da^vn saw us up. Knap- 
 sacks, with our blankets and overcoats strapped 
 on them, were piled on the green. A brief and 
 insufficient breakfast was taken, our canteens filled 
 with vinegar and water, cartridges distributed to 
 each man, and after mustering and loading, we 
 started on our first march through a hostile 
 country. 
 
 Gen. Scott has stated, as I have been informed, 
 that the march that we performed from Annapo- 
 lis to the Junction is one of the most remarkable 
 on record. I know that I felt it the most fa- 
 tiguing, and some of our officers have told me 
 that it was the most perilous. We marched the 
 first eight miles under a burning sun, in heavy 
 marching order, in less than three hours ; and it 
 is well known that, placing all elementary con- 
 siderations out of the way, marching on a rail- 
 road track is the most harassing. We started 
 at about eight o'clock A. M., and for the first time 
 saw the town of Annapolis, which, without any 
 disrespect to that place, I may say, looked very 
 much as if some celestial schoolboy, with a box 
 of toys under his arm, had dropped a few houses 
 and men as he was going home from school, and 
 that the accidental settlement was called Annapo- 
 lis. Through the town we marched, the people 
 unsympathizing, but afraid. They saw the Sev- 
 enth for the first time, and for the first time they 
 realized the men that they had threatened. 
 
 The tracks had been torn up between Annapo- 
 lis and the Junction, and here it was that the 
 wonderful qualities of the Massachusetts Eighth 
 regiment came out. The locomotives had been 
 taken to pieces by the inhabitants, in order to 
 prevent our travel. In steps a Massachusetts 
 volunteer, looks at the piecemeal engine, takes 
 up a flange, and says coolly, "I made this engine, 
 and I can put it together again." Engineers 
 were wanted when the engine was ready. Nine- 
 teen stepped out of the ranks. The rails were 
 torn up. Practical railroad makers out of the 
 regiment laid them again ; and all this, mind 
 you, without care or food. These brave boys, I 
 say, were starving while they were doing this 
 good work. AVhat their Colonel was doing, I 
 can't say. As we marched along the track that 
 they had laid, they greeted us with ranks of 
 smiling but hungry faces. One boy told me, with 
 a laugh on his young lips, that he "had not eaten 
 anything for thirty hours. There was not, thank 
 God, a haversack in our regiment that was not 
 emptied into the hands of these ill-treated heroes, 
 nor a flask that was not at their disposal. I am 
 glad to pay them tribute here, and mentally doff 
 my cap. 
 
 Our march lay through an arid, sandy, tobacco- 
 growing country. The sun poured on our heads 
 like liot lava. The sixth and second companies 
 were sent on for skirmishing duty, under the 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 233 
 
 command of Capts. Clarke and Nevers, the latter 
 commanding as senior officer. A car, on Avhich 
 was placed a howitzer, loaded with grape and 
 canister, headed the column, manned by the en- 
 gineer and artillery corps, commanded by Lieut. 
 Bunting. This was the rallying point of the 
 skirmishing party, on which, in case of difficulty, 
 they could fall back. In the centre of the col- 
 umn came the cars laden with medical stores, and 
 bearing our sick and wounded, while the extreme 
 rear was brought up with a second howitzer, 
 loaded also with grape and canister. The en- 
 gineer corps, of course, had to do the forwarding 
 work. New York dandies, sir — but they built 
 bridges, laid rails, and headed the regiment 
 through that terrible march. After marching 
 about eight miles, during which time several men 
 caved in from exhaustion, and one young gentle- 
 man was sunstruck and sent back to New York, 
 we halted, and instantly, with the Divine instinct 
 which characterizes the hungry soldier, proceeded 
 to forage. The worst of it was, there was no 
 foraging to be done. The only house within reach 
 was inhabited by a lethargic person, who, like 
 most Southern men, had no idea of gaining money 
 by labor. We offered him extravagant prices to 
 get us fresh water, and it was with the utmost 
 reluctance we could get him to obtain us a few 
 pailfuls. Over the mantel-piece of his misei-able 
 shanty I saw — a curious coincidence — the por- 
 trait of Col. Duryea, of our regiment. 
 
 After a brief rest of about an hour, we again 
 commenced our march; a march which lasted 
 until the next morning — a march than which 
 in history, nothing but those marches in which 
 defeated troops have fled from the enemy, can 
 equal. Our Colonel, it seems, determined to 
 march by railroad, in preference to the common 
 road, inasmuch as he had obtained such secret in- 
 formation as led him to suppose that we were 
 waited for on the latter route. Events justified 
 his judgment. There were cavalry troops posted 
 in defiles to cut us off. They could not have 
 done it, of course, but they could have harassed 
 us severely. As we went along the railroad we 
 threw out skirmishing parties from the second 
 and sixth companies, to keep the road clear. I 
 know not if I can describe that night's march. I 
 have dim recollections of deep cuts through 
 which we passed, gloomy and treacherous-looking, 
 with the moon shining full on our muskets, while 
 the banks were wrapped in shade, and we each mo- 
 ment expecting to see the flash and hear the crack 
 of the rifle of the Southern guerrilla. The tree 
 frogs and lizards made mournful music as we 
 passed. The soil on which we travelled was soft 
 and heavy. The sleepers lying at intervals across 
 the track made the march terribly fatiguing. On 
 all sides dark, lonely pine woods stretched away, 
 and high over the hooting of owls or the plain- 
 tive petition of the whip-poor-will rose the bass 
 commands of Halt ! Forward, march ! — and 
 when we came to any ticklish spot, the word 
 would run from the head of the column along the 
 line, <' Holes," " Bridge — pass it along,'* &c. 
 
 As the night wore on, the monotony of the 
 march became oppressive. Owing to our having 
 
 to explore every inch of the way, we did not make 
 more than a mile or a mile and a half an hour. 
 We ran out of stimulants, and almost out of 
 water. Most of us had had no sleep for four 
 nights, and as the night advanced our march was 
 almost a stagger. This was not so much fatigue 
 as want of excitement. Our fellows were spoiling 
 for a fight, and when a dropping shot was heard 
 in the distance, it was wonderful to see how the 
 languid legs straightened, and the column braced 
 itself for action. If we had had even the small- 
 est kind of a skirmish, the men would have been 
 able to walk to Washin^on. As it was, we went 
 sleepily on. I myself fell asleep Avalking in the 
 ranks. Numbers, I find, followed my example ; 
 but never before was there shown such indom- 
 itable pluck and perseverance as the Seventh 
 showed during that march of twenty miles. The 
 country that we passed through seemed to have 
 been entii-ely deserted. The inhabitants, who 
 were going to kill us when they thought we 
 daren't come through, now vamosed their respec- 
 tive ranches, and we saw them not. Houses were 
 empty. The population retired into the interior, 
 burying their money, and carrying their families 
 along with them. They, it seems, were under 
 the impression that we came to ravage and pil- 
 lage, and they fied as the Gauls must have fled 
 when Attila and his Huns came down on them 
 from the north. As we did at Annapolis, we did 
 in Maryland State. We left an impression that 
 cannot be forgotten. Every thing was paid for. 
 No discourtesy was offered J;o any inhabitant, and 
 the sobriety of the regiment should be an example 
 to others. 
 
 Adventure of Captain Strong. — The fol- 
 lowing account of the adventure of Captain W. 
 E. Strong, of the Second regiment of Wisconsin 
 volunteers, was given by that officer in an official 
 report to Maj. Larrabee, dated at Camp Advance, 
 September 7, 1861 : 
 
 " In pursuance of your order of yesterday, I 
 proceeded to examine the woods to the right of 
 our exterior line, for the purpose of satisfying 
 yourself whether the line should be extended. 
 The last picket was stationed about four hundred 
 yards from the river — being our outpost on our 
 right exterior line — leaving a dense thicket of 
 pine undergrowth between it and the river. From 
 my means of observation up to that time, I had 
 concluded that our pickets were not sufficiently 
 advanced in that direction, as this space was 
 wholly unoccupied. At least I thought the 
 ground should be examined ; and in this you 
 were pleased to fully concur. 
 
 " You desired me to make a minute examina- 
 tion of the ground, and be ready to report when 
 you should return, at three o'clock P. ISI. of that 
 day. Accordingly, after dinner I passed along 
 the line until I reached the extreme outpost on 
 the right, which consisted of Lieut. Dodge, Corp. 
 Manderson, and three privates, and then pro- 
 ceeded along over very rough and densely wooded 
 ground to the river. I soon ascertained that these 
 physical obstacles were so great that no body of 
 troops could, in this direction, turn our right 
 
2S4 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 flank, and there was no necessity of extending 
 our pickets. I then concluded to return ; and 
 for the purpose of avoiding the dense under- 
 growth, I turned back on a line about a hundi-ed 
 rods in advance of the direction of our line of 
 pickets. As I was passing through a thicket, I 
 was surrounded by six rebel soldiers — four in- 
 fantry and two cavalry. The footmen were 
 poorly dressed and badly armed. Seeing I was 
 caught, I thought it best to surrender at once. 
 So I said, ' Gentlemen, you have me.' I was 
 asked various questions as to who I was, where I 
 was going, what regimen! I belonged to, &c., all 
 of which I refused to answer. One of the foot- 
 men said, 'Let's hang the d — d Yankee scoun- 
 drel,' and pointed to a convenient limb. Another 
 man said, ' No ; let's take him. to the camp, and 
 then hang him.' One of the cavalrymen, who 
 seemed to be leader, said, 'We'll take hira to 
 camp.' They then mai'ched me through an open 
 place — two in front, two in the rear, and a cav- 
 ab'}Tnan on each side of me. I was armed with 
 two revolvers and my sword. 
 
 " After going some twenty rods, the Sergeant 
 on my right, noticing my pistols, ordered me to 
 give them up, together with my sword. I said, 
 ' Certainly, gentlemen,' and immediately halted. 
 As I stopped, they all filed past me, and of course 
 were in front. We were at this time in an open 
 part of the woods, but about sixty yards to the 
 rear was a thicket of undergrowth. Thus every- 
 thing was in my favor ; I was quick of foot, and 
 a passable shot ; yet the design of escape was not 
 formed until» I brought my pistol pouches round 
 to the front part of my body, and my hands 
 touched the stocks. The grasping of the pistols 
 suggested the thought of cocking them as I drew 
 them out. This I did ; and the moment I got 
 command of them, I shot down two footmen near- 
 est me — about sixty feet off — one with each 
 hand. I immediately turned and ran towai-ds the 
 thicket in the rear. The confusion of my captors 
 was apparently so great, that I had nearly reached 
 cover before shots were fired at me. One ball 
 passed through my left cheek, passing out of 
 my mouth. Another one, a musket-ball, passed 
 through my canteen. Immediately upon this vol- 
 ley the two cavalrymen separated — one on my 
 left and the other on my right — to cut off my 
 retreat. The remaining two footmen charged di- 
 rectly towards me ; I turned, when the horsemen 
 got up, and fired three or four shots, but the balls 
 flew wild. I ran on, got over a small knoll, and 
 nearly regained one of our pickets, when I was 
 headed off by both the mounted men. The Ser- 
 geant called out to me to halt and sun-ender ; I 
 gave no reply, but fired and ran in the opposite 
 direction. He pursued and overtook me ; I turned, 
 took good aim, pulled the trigger, but the cap 
 snapped. At this time his carbine was unslung, 
 and he was holding it with both hands on the left 
 side of his horse. He fired at my breast without 
 raising the piece to his shoulder, and the shot 
 passed from the right side of my coat, through it 
 and my shirt, to the left, just grazing the skin ; 
 the piece was so near as to burn the cloth out the 
 size of one's hand. I was, however, uninjured at 
 
 this time, save the shot through my cheek. I 
 then fired at him again, and brought him to the 
 ground, hanging by his foot in the left stirrup, 
 and the horse galloping towai-ds the camp. I saw 
 no more of the other horseman, nor of the foot- 
 men, but running on soon came to our own pick- 
 ets uninjured, save the shot through my cheek, 
 but otherwise much exhausted from my exer- 
 tions." 
 
 The Power of Slave Labor. — The follow- 
 ing curious passage appears in a sermon preached 
 by Rev. WilHam O. Prentiss, at three different 
 times, twice by request repeated, in South Caro- 
 lina, in 1860 : 
 
 " Three hundred and fifty thousand white men 
 directing the labor of less than four millions of 
 African slaves, have furnished the material, out of 
 which has been reared this colossal fabric, and it 
 begins to topple to its fall at the first bright promise 
 that their sustaining aid shall be withdrawn. If 
 further proof be required that the labor to which 
 I have alluded, has built up these vast, these im- 
 portant interests, consult the statistics of our 
 country ; study figures which no human inge- 
 nuity can torture into the indorsement of a lie. 
 History shows that the country makes no pal- 
 pable improvement until the grand staple of the 
 earth's necessities begins to be reared here, and 
 that its advances are exactly proportioned to 
 the amount and value of the African slave labor 
 employed by us. The whole commerce of the 
 civilized world is based upon this labor ; it feeds 
 the hungr)'^, it clothes the naked, it employs the 
 idler, it supports tottering thrones and starving 
 paupers ; kings in theu" diadems, and beggars 
 in their rags, all cry aloud to the god who feeds 
 them, • Give us this day our daily cotton.' " 
 
 Stonewall Jackson at Bull Run. — A 
 
 Southern correspondent, who was present at the 
 fii'st battle of Bull Run, relates the following : 
 
 " General Jackson's brigade had been lying for 
 hours sustaining with unflinching courage a most 
 terrific fii'e. The general had his horse shot un- 
 der him, and a finger of the left hand shot off; 
 but, cool as a cucumber, he still urged his ' boys ' 
 to be steady ; and steady they were, Avhen they 
 charged and butchered the Fire Zouaves and oth- 
 er regiments right and left. The General has a 
 way of holding his head up very straight ; and 
 his almost invariable response to any remark is, 
 ' Very well,' whilst his chin seems trying to get 
 up towards the top of his head. The writer re- 
 members, in the midst of the fight, to have seen 
 the General rallying his men, while his chin 
 seemed to stick out farther, and his ' Very wells ' 
 seemed to sound more euphoniously than ever ; 
 and when the writer wished to pour a little w-his- 
 key upon the shattered finger, he was told that it 
 was ' of no consequence ;' and away M'ent the Gen- 
 ei'al, with a battery following him, to take posi- 
 tion in some advantageous spot. If any one was 
 ever entitled to a sobriquet, the General certainly 
 deserved that of cooL" 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 235 
 
 Anecdote of Genekal Wadsworth. — The 
 following is one of the most beautiful and pathetic 
 stories of the war : 
 
 Paymaster Rochester, feeling his lips to be un- 
 sealed by the death of General Wadsworth, tells 
 that he always paid him from his entry into the 
 service ; and that when the General called on him 
 for money, on the eve of starting to the Missis- 
 sippi Valley, on a special mission connected with 
 the arming and organization of the slaves of that 
 region, he casually remarked to him, that when 
 he got to New Orleans he would find there Pay- 
 master Vedder, to whom he would recommend 
 him, as a gentlemanly officer, to apply for any 
 moneys he might need. " No, sir," said General 
 Wadsworth ; " I shall not apply to Maj. Vedder. 
 While I am in the service I shall be paid only by 
 you. And ray reason for that is, that I wish my 
 account with the Government to be kept with one 
 paymaster only ; for it is my purpose, at the close 
 of the war, to call on you for an accurate state- 
 ment of all the money I have received from the 
 United States. The amount, whatever it is, I 
 shall give to some permanent institution founded 
 for the relief of disabled soldiers. This is the 
 least invidious way in which I can refuse pay for 
 fighting for my country in her hour of danger." 
 
 General Lyon's Memory. — A soldier of 
 Gen. Herron's division wrote from Springfield, 
 Mo., as follows : 
 
 " Gen. Lyon's memory is cherished by the sol- 
 diers here as something holy. The Union men 
 think that no man ever lived like him. The Third 
 division visited the battle-field of Wilson's Creek 
 on Thanksgiving Day, and each man placed a 
 stone on the spot where Lyon fell, so that there 
 now stands a monument some ten feet high, built 
 by eight thousand soldiers, to point out to the 
 visitor of this classic ground the place where the 
 hero died." 
 
 An Affecting Incident. — The State Milita- 
 ry Agent of Michigan, at Nashville, L. B. Willard, 
 relates the following affecting incident : 
 
 " As I was passing by the post hospital, my 
 attention was arrested by the singing, in a rather 
 loud tone, of 'Rally round the flag, boys,' by 
 one of the patients inside. While listening to the 
 beautiful music of that popular song, I observed 
 to a nurse standing in the doorway, that the per- 
 son singing must be in a very merry mood, and 
 could not be very sick. ' You are mistaken, sir,' 
 said he ; ' the poor fellow engaged in singing that 
 good old song is now grappling with death — has 
 been dying all day. I am his nurse,' he contin- 
 ued, ' and the scene so affected me that I was 
 ibliged to leave the room. He is just about 
 jreathing his last.' I stepped into the ward, and, 
 true enough, the brave man was near his end. 
 His eyes were already fixed in death. He was 
 struggling with all his remaining strength against 
 the grim monster, while at the same time there 
 gushed forth from his patriotic soul, incoherently, 
 the words, ' Rally round the flag, boys,' which 
 
 had so often cheered him through his weary 
 march, and braced him up when entering the 
 field of blood in defence of his country. Finally 
 he sank away into his death-slumber, and joined 
 his Maker's command, that is marching onward 
 to that far-off, better land. The last audible 
 sound that escaped his lips was, ' Rally, boys ; 
 rally once again ! ' As his eyes were closing, 
 some dozen of his comrades joined in a solemn 
 yet beautiful hymn, appropriate to the occasion. 
 Take it altogether, this was one of the most af- 
 fecting scenes I have ever witnessed in a hospital. 
 It drew tears copiously from near one hundred 
 of us. It occurred in the large Avard, which oc- 
 cupies the entire body of the church on Cherry 
 Street. The deceased was an lUinoisan, and had 
 been wounded in one of the recent skirmishes." 
 
 A Remarkable Escape. — Maj. K. V. Whaley, 
 member of Congress from Wayne County, Va., 
 was captui'ed at Guyandotte by H. Clay Pate, at 
 the time of the massacre in that town, and carried 
 to the vicinity of Chapmansville, two days' jour- 
 ney distant. The prisoner and his captors stopped 
 at a house near Chapmansville. Night coming 
 on, Maj. Whaley, after hanging up his coat and 
 hat by the fire to dry, went to bed with Capt. 
 Wicher. In this room there were eight men, one 
 of whom acted as a guard. About three o'clock 
 in the morning Maj. Whaley awoke, and finding 
 the guard nodding in front of the fire, and all the 
 rest in deep slumber, determined to effect an es- 
 cape. Leaving his bed as quietly as possible, he 
 approached the guard, and, ascertaining that he 
 was asleep, took Capt. Wicher's hat, picked up 
 his own shoes, raised the latch of the door, and, 
 seeing all clear outside, ran with all his might 
 about two hundred yards down the Guyandotte 
 River. Here he put on his shoes, and looked 
 about for some drift wood upon which to cross 
 the stream ; but, finding none, concluded to swim 
 the river, which he did with considerable ease. 
 He then proceeded down the river about a mile 
 and a half, and commenced to ascend a mountain, 
 the summit of which he reached just at daybreak, 
 and just as Wicher was firing his guns as a signal 
 of the escape. The firing was answered from all 
 directions. Maj. Whaley, knowing it would be 
 fatal to attempt to travel in daylight, sought a 
 thicket of red oak brush, in which he found a sort 
 of path. To and fro over this path he walked all 
 day. A bleak wind was blowing ; and being wet 
 through, and having no coat, he was compelled 
 to walk rapidly in order to save his life. When 
 night came on he started down the Guyandotte 
 Valley, tracing the foot of the hills, a cUstance of 
 two miles, when he came upon a camp of about 
 one hundred cavalry ; and, knowing it would be 
 folly to attempt to pass, retreated again to the 
 mountains. The next day he took a circuit upon 
 the top of the liills, to try and trace the valley 
 and keep off the river, which he supposed would 
 be guarded. 
 
 At last he came upon Hart's Creek, and sup- 
 posed himself to be in the vicinity of a Union set- 
 
236 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 tlement, at the head of Twelve Pole. He went 
 up Hart's Creek, and inquired of an old lady 
 named Adkins, who, with her son and son-in-law, 
 were in the house, asking her to direct him to 
 Kyer's Creek, which he knew to be one of the 
 branches of Twelve Pole. Young Adkins finally 
 agreed to show him the creek for two dollars ; and 
 when they started, the Major observed that the 
 son-in-law, Thompson, started in another direc- 
 tion. The Major suspected that Thompson knew 
 him, and feared pursuit ; so he hurried young Ad- 
 kins along a good deal faster than that young 
 gentleman desired to move. Arriving at the 
 creek, the Major, having been robbed of all his 
 money at Guyandotte on the night of the fight, 
 could not comply with his contract with Adkins, 
 but gave him twenty-five cents, all the money he 
 had, and a new pair of soldier's shoes, taking in 
 exchange the guide's old moccasons. The Major 
 struck down the creek, along a very narrow road, 
 passing two houses, at one of which he saw a lit- 
 tle girl, but had not gone a great distance before 
 he heard the tramp of the cavalry coming in pur- 
 suit. The Major was about turning a bend in the 
 road, and had barely time to jump over a fence, 
 and lie flat upon his belly, when along dashed a 
 company, led by the fellow Thompson, before 
 mentioned. The Major was lying not six feet 
 from wliere his pursuers passed, and could see 
 their eyes peering anxiously forward in search of 
 him. 
 
 After the pursuers passed, he crawled up a ra- 
 vine, and spent another twelve hours, exposed to 
 the hardest kind of a rain, accompanied by the 
 fiercest lightning and the loudest thunder. 
 
 [The Major afterwards learned that the little 
 girl whom he had seen had informed his pursuers 
 that he had just gone around the bend in the 
 road ; and in their anxiety to gain the bend and 
 capture him, they never thought of looking to 
 the right nor to the left.] 
 
 Being exceedingly weak and feeble, in conse- 
 quence of having gone three days without food, 
 the Major determined to approach a house a short 
 distance ahead, and ask for something to eat. He 
 was answered by the man of the house, a llnion 
 man, who recognized the Major almost attonce, 
 and warned him not to remain a minute if he 
 wanted to escape, as the cavalry had been there 
 hunting for him. The Major ofiered the man five 
 hundred dollars to conduct him to the Queen Set- 
 tlement, and to the house of Absalom Queen. 
 The man, although avowing himself a good Union 
 man, refused the offer, stating that he would be 
 killed by his cannibal neighbors if discovered. 
 He, however, gave the Major a blanket to throw 
 over his shivering shoulders, and directed him to 
 the house of Queen. 
 
 The Major plodded on, and at last reached the 
 Iiouse of Queen, where he found a Home Guard 
 of twenty- five men, who had assembled to keep 
 the rebels from driving off the cattle from the 
 Union settlement. Here was the first place he 
 got anytliing to eat after making his escape. 
 Queen and eleven of his men accompanied the 
 Major, travelling only at night. 
 
 The party reached the mouth of Big Sandy on 
 Sunday at twelve o'clock, and there was great re- 
 joicing all along the Ohio River, firing of can- 
 non, &c. 
 
 Absalom Queen was a brave soldier in the war 
 of 1812, and as true and loyal a man as lives. 
 There were about two hundred Union men in the 
 settlement in which he resided, one hundred of 
 whom, through his individual influence, joined 
 Col. Zeigler's Fifth Virginia regiment. 
 
 KENTUCKY! O KENTUCKY! 
 
 John Morgan's foot is on thy shore, 
 
 Kentucky ! Kentucky ! 
 His hand is on thy stable door, 
 
 Kentucky ! O Kentucky ! 
 You'll see your good gray mare no more ; 
 He'll ride her till her back is sore. 
 And leave her at some stranger's door, 
 
 Kentucky ! O Kentucky ! 
 
 For feeding John j-ou're paying dear, 
 
 Kentucky ! O Kentucky ! 
 His very name now makes you fear, 
 
 Kentucky ! O Kentucky ! 
 In every valley, far and near, 
 He's gobbled every horse and steer ; 
 You'll rue his raids for many a year, 
 
 Kentucky ! O Kentucky ! 
 
 Yet you have many a traitorous fool, 
 
 Kentucky ! O Kentucky ! 
 Who still will be the rebel's tool, 
 
 Kentucky ! O Kentucky ! 
 Tliey'll learn to yield to Abra'm's rule 
 In none but Johnny's costly school, 
 At cost of every animule, 
 
 Kentucky ! O Kentucky ! 
 
 Scenes in the War. — Dick Boughton, of 
 the Second Kansas regiment, in a letter to his 
 sister, gives the following incidents : 
 
 " It would be singular if, in a four or five 
 months' arduous campaign, I should not be occa- 
 sionally in a tight place, as well as the witness of 
 some painful scenes. While the Kansas Second 
 were stopping at St. Joseph, on their way home, 
 in September, two persons were arrested, and 
 placed under guard in one of the hotels in that 
 city. On the evening of their arrest, and the 
 following day, it chanced to be my turn at guard 
 duty ; and I was one of the two placed at the 
 door to guard the prisoners. Our instructions 
 were to keep a sharp lookout, as one of them 
 was a desperate character, arrested under the 
 grave charge of shooting a Union man, and 
 would probably attempt to get away. On the 
 folloMing morning the mother of one of the 
 prisoners, hearing of the arrest of her son, came 
 up to the room in great distress. She told her 
 story amid tears and sobs, persisting in saying 
 that her son was a good Union man ; that he 
 never carried anj" weapons, and had none when 
 arrested, &c., &c. Poor woman ! she was under 
 the impression that her son was about to be 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 237 
 
 strung up to the nearest tree, without ceremony, 
 by the Second Kansas boys, whose ferocity she 
 had heard tell so much about. After her first 
 burst of grief had subsided into comparative 
 silence, I told her that, if what she said were true, 
 she need Irnve no fears for the safety of her son ; 
 and added that, when relieved from my post, I 
 would see our Major, who would inquire into the 
 matter; and I could assure her that he would 
 ask only to know the circumstances of her son's 
 arrest, without stopping to query upon opinions 
 and sentiments. That evening he was honorably 
 released, and I had the satisfaction of taking 
 mother and son by the hand, and receiving their 
 gratulation. 
 
 " The case of the other prisoner was more 
 serious and painful to me ; and I give it, not as 
 one worthy of being singled out as especially 
 sad, but only as one of many circiKiistances of an 
 equally painful nature, with which the soldier in 
 active service in this terrible war has become 
 reluctantly familiar. While still dwelUng pleas- 
 antly upon the consolation my words had given 
 the old lady in the morning, a light footstep was 
 heard on the stairs, and presently a young lady 
 made her appearance in the hall leading to our 
 room. Her countenance was so pale and sad, 
 with traces of tears, that it would have drawn 
 pity from a heart of stone. Her step was so 
 feeble and uncertain that I involuntarily took her 
 by the arm as she approached, and supported 
 her into the presence of her husband. They 
 embraced each other for some moments, the si- 
 lence only broken by convulsive sobs. Presently 
 the wife, making a strong effort to be calm, 
 spoke : 
 
 " ' Our child — our little Willie ! ' 
 
 " The husband knew too well the terrible pur- 
 port of her words. At the time of the arrest, 
 their only child lay ill in its mother's arms, its 
 little spuit hovering upon the verge of another 
 world. When she could sufficiently command 
 her emotions, she added : 
 
 " ' Before he died, he rose in my arms, and 
 called for you, Charles — ^ yes, he called for pa ! 
 O Charles, Charles ! you could not come to us 
 then.' She again sank upon her husband's bosom 
 in uncontrollable anguish. Their tears mingled 
 freely ; and I found the moisture collecting in my 
 own eyes in inconvenient quantities as the ' sec- 
 ond relief stationed themselves at our post, thus 
 relieving us for a time. When we left the city, 
 the prisoner pleaded very hard to be allowed to 
 go with us 5 and I shall not soon forget his look 
 of despair when it became necessary for our 
 Major, despite his pleadings, to deliver him over 
 to the command then stationed at that place. 
 
 "At the hazard of being tedious, dear sister, I 
 will relate a little circumstance which happened 
 while guarding these same prisoners. We had 
 just got fairly settled at our posts after the ar- 
 rest, when the officer of the guard came around, 
 full of importance, and talking loudly, as if he 
 wished to be considered Lord Mogul, Gen. Jack- 
 son, or some other distinguished individual. 
 
 " * See here, guards ; keep an eye on that tall 
 
 fellow there ; he's a d — d secesh. If he under- 
 takes to get away, run your bayonet through 
 him. We'll attend to his case directly ; ' and he 
 took especial care that the prisoner should hear 
 his remarks. I did not wish to conceal my re- 
 sentment at such language upon such an occa- 
 sion ; for I felt that he who used it disgraced the 
 badge of distinction which rested upon his shoul- 
 ders. It so chanced that a young lady, whose 
 husband, a young lawyer, was off to the seces- 
 sion army, often passed by our door in going to 
 and from her room, which was near. She often 
 paused in her vibrations to express her senti- 
 ments on the secession question, which she did 
 with great freedom, and with more unction at 
 times than was compatible Avith her ladyship. I 
 suppose somebody of sensitive nerves must have 
 informed our officer of the guard that the lady 
 was growing troublesome with her much talking. 
 So when he came round again, he addressed 
 himself to me in a voice full of authority, with : 
 
 " ' If that woman comes around here with any 
 more of her gab, just put her in that room there, 
 and lock her in.' Sister, you know I am the 
 coolest boy out, and can retain my linen with a 
 grace under almost any circumstances ; but just 
 at that moment I felt more savage than my 
 words would indicate, as I very coolly returned 
 in substance that I hoped I never should so far 
 disgrace my manhood as to offer violence to a 
 woman for any sentiments she might utter. 
 
 " ' Obey my orders, sir,' was sung out with a 
 pomp and emphasis intended to carry terror 
 along with them, but which aroused in me feel- 
 ings wickedly opposed to anything like fear. 
 ' You'll please excuse me, sir,' I immediately re- 
 sponded, with just enough of tartness and accent 
 to add impudence to disobedience. He then ad- 
 vanced towards me in a rage, saying something 
 about putting me under guard, and reaching out 
 his hand as if to take me by the collar. 
 
 " ' Hands off, if you please,' said I, as I brushed 
 his hand aside Avith a spiteful movement. He 
 passionately seized his pistol hanging at his side. 
 I saw his thumb upon the hammer as he drew it 
 forth, thundering out as he did so : 
 
 " ' I'll shoot you down like — ' 
 
 " I finished the sentence for him, as, springin^^ 
 forward with an activity that astonished myselt, 
 I planted a blow just over his left eye, which sent 
 him reeling backwards towards the stairway ; 
 and he seized the baluster to save himself. His 
 pistol fell from his hand, and rattled down the 
 stairs behind. This en-ded the interesting scene, 
 for he flung up his arms, and crying hke a child, 
 begged me not to strike again. 
 
 " I was now left to the pleasant contemplation 
 of my situation, and the penalty attached to 
 striking an officer ; but my fellow-guard, when 
 questioned, placed the matter in so favorable a 
 light for me that I was not even arrested." 
 
 Attack on the Ironsides. — One of the 
 most daring and gallant naval exploits of the 
 war, distinguished by the greatest coolness, pres- 
 
^^s 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ence of mind, and intrepidity of the brave men 
 associated in the enterprise, was performed Mon- 
 day night, October 6, 1863. This was no less than 
 an attempt to blow up the United States steamer 
 New Ironsides, lying off Morris Island. Though 
 not fully meeting the expectations of those who 
 conceived the plan, and those who carried it into 
 execution, it called forth unbounded admii'ation 
 for the brilliant heroism of the actors in their 
 dangerous but patriotic and self-sacrificing under- 
 taking. 
 
 The torpedo steamer David, with a crew of four 
 volunteers, consisting of Lieut. Wm. T. Glassell, 
 J. H. Toombs, chief engineer, and James Sullivan, 
 fireman of the gunboat Chicora, with J. W. Can- 
 non, assistant pilot of the gunboat Palmetto State, 
 left South Atlantic Wharf between six and seven 
 o'clock in the evening, for the purpose of rmming 
 out to the Ironsides, exploding a torpedo under 
 that vessel near amidships, and if possible blow 
 her up. The weather, being dark and hazy, fa- 
 vored the enterprise. The boat, with its gallant 
 little crew, proceeded down the harbor, skirting 
 along the shoals on the inside of the channel, un- 
 til nearly abreast of their formidable antagonist, 
 the New Ironsides. 
 
 They remained in this position for a short time, 
 circling around on the large shoal near the an- 
 chorage of the object of their visit. Lieut. Glas- 
 sell, with a double-barrelled gun, sat in front of 
 Pilot Cannon, who had charge of the helm. Chief 
 Engineer Toombs was at the engine, with the 
 brave and undaunted Sullivan, the volunteer fire- 
 man, when something like the following conver- 
 sation ensued : 
 
 Lieut. Glassell. " It is now nine o'clock. Shall 
 we strike her ? " 
 
 Pilot Cannon. " That is what we came for. 
 I am ready." 
 
 Engineer Toombs. " Let us go at her then, 
 and do our best." 
 
 Sullivan, fireman. " I am with you all, and 
 waiting. Go ahead." 
 
 The boat was now put bow on, and aimed di- 
 rectly for the Ironsides. As the little steamer 
 darted forward, the lookout on the L'onsides hailed 
 them with : " Take care there ; you will run into 
 us. What steamer is that ? " Lieut. Glassell 
 replied by discharging one barrel at the Yankee 
 sentinel, and tendering' the gun to Pilot Cannon, 
 told him there was another Yankee, pointing to 
 one with his body half over the bulwarks, and 
 asked Cannon to take care of him with the other 
 barrel. 
 
 The next moment they had struck the Iron- 
 sides, and exploded the torpedo about fifteen feet 
 from the keel, on the starboard side. An im- 
 mense volume of water was thrown up, covering 
 the little boat, and going through the smoke-stack, 
 entered the furnace, completely extinguishing the 
 fires. 
 
 In addition to this, pieces of the ballast had 
 fallen into the works of the engine, rendering>it 
 unmanageable at that time. Volley after volley 
 of musketry from the crew of the Ironsides and 
 from the launches began to pour in upon them. 
 
 Lieut. Glassell gave the order to back, but it was 
 found impossible. In this condition, with no 
 shelter, and no hope of escape, they thought it 
 best to surrender, and hailed the enemy to that 
 efiect. The Yankees, however, paid no attention 
 to the call. It was then proposed to put on their 
 life-preservers, jump overboard, and endeavor to 
 swim to the shore. All but Pilot Cannon con- 
 sented. The latter, being unable to swim, said he 
 would stay and take his chances in the boat. 
 Lieut. Glassell, Engineer Toombs, and Sullivan 
 the fireman, left the boat, the first two having 
 on life-preservers, and the latter supporting him- 
 self on one of the hatches thrown to him by the 
 pilot. Engineer Toombs, becoming embarrassed 
 with his clothing in the water, got back to the 
 boat, and was assisted in by Cannon. 
 
 The boat was then rapidly drifting from the 
 Ironsides. He now fortunately found a match, and 
 lighting a torch, crept back to the engine, discov- 
 ered and removed the cause of its not working, 
 and soon got it in order. Engineer Toombs and 
 Cannon reached their wharf in the city about 
 midnight, fatigued, and jn-esenting a worn-out 
 appearance, but rejoicing at their fortunate and 
 narrow escape. 
 
 CAYALRY SONG. 
 
 BY ELBBIDGE JEFFERSON CUTLER. 
 
 The squadron is forming, the war-bugles play. 
 To saddle, brave comrades, stout hearts for a fray ! 
 Our Captain is mounted — strike spurs, and away ! 
 
 No breeze shakes the blossoms or tosses the grain ; 
 But the wind of our speed floats the galloper's mane, 
 As he feels the bold rider's firm hand on the rein. 
 
 Lo ! dim in the starlight their white tents appear ! 
 Ride softly ! ride slowly ! the onset is near ! 
 More slowly ! more softly ! the sentry may hear ! 
 
 Now fall on the rebel — a tempest of flame ! 
 Strike down the false banner whose triumph were 
 
 shame ! 
 Strike, strike for the true flag, for freedom and 
 
 fame! 
 
 Hurrah ! sheathe your swords ! the carnage is done. 
 All red with our valor, we welcome the sun. 
 Up, up with the stars ! we have won ! we have 
 won ! 
 
 The End of the Alabama. — A Confeder- 
 ate soldier gives the following account of the sink- 
 ing of that famous vessel and his subsequent ad- 
 ventures : 
 
 " I was with Semmes everywhere he went, in 
 the naval brigade, and in blockade running, and 
 was on the Alabama all the time he commanded 
 her. I was with him when she sank, and was 
 picked up when he was, by the Deerhound. A 
 sharp fight it was, I assure you, but it wasn't 
 altogether the eleven-inch guns of the Kearsarge 
 that did the business. AVe never had a chance 
 of success, and our men knew it ; and then we 
 had no gunners to compare with the Kearsarge'B. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 239 
 
 " Our gunners fired by routine, and wlien they 
 liad a gun loaded, fired it off blind. They never 
 changed the elevation of their guns all through 
 the fight, and the Kearsarge was working up all 
 the time, taking advantage of every time she 
 was hid by the smoke to work a little nearer, and 
 then her gunners took aim for every shot. "We 
 never tried to board the Kearsarge, but, on the 
 contrary, tried our best to get away, from the time 
 the fight commenced. 
 
 " We knew very well that if we got in range 
 of her Dahlgren howitzers she would sink us in 
 ten minutes. 
 
 " Semmes never supposed he could whip the 
 Kearsarge when he went out to fight her. He 
 was bullied into it, and took good care to leave 
 all his valuables on shore, and had a life-preserver 
 on through the fight. I saw him put it on, and 
 I thought if it was wise in him, it wouldn't be 
 foolish in me to do the same. When Semmes 
 saw that the ship was going down, he told us all 
 to swim who could, and was one of the fu-st to 
 jump into the water, and we all made for the Deer- 
 nound. 
 
 " I was a long way ahead of Semmes, and when 
 I came up to the Deerhound's boat, they asked 
 me if I was Semmes, before they would take me 
 in. They would not take me in till I told them 
 I was an officer on the Alabama, and as soon as 
 they had Semmes aboard they made tracks as 
 fast as they knew how, and left everybody else to 
 be drowned or picked up by the Kearsage." 
 
 Gen. Butler and the " Perfectionists." 
 ^In Norfolk there was a society called "Perfec- 
 tionists," and in their behalf some ten or twelve 
 of them addressed a letter to the Commanding 
 General of that department, setting forth their 
 objections to swearing allegiance to any earthly 
 government. The subject was disposed of by Gen. 
 Butler in the following characteristic manner : 
 
 Hkadquarters of Eighteenth Army Corps, ) 
 Fort Moskoe, Va., January 13, 1864. | 
 
 J. F. Dozier, E. H. Beaseley, and others : 
 
 Gentlemen : I have read your petition to Gen. 
 Barnes, setting forth your objections to swearing 
 allegiance to any earthly government. 
 
 The first reason which you set forth is that 
 " all human governments are a necessary evil, and 
 are continued in existence only by the permission 
 of Jehovah until the time arrives for the estab- 
 lishment of his kingdom, and in the establishment 
 of whichall others will be subdued unto it, thus 
 fulfilling that declaration in the eighth of Daniel, 
 fourteenth verse," &c. 
 
 You therein establish to your own satisfaction 
 three points : 
 
 First. That government, although an evil, is a 
 necessary one. Second. That for a time it is 
 permitted to exist by the wisdom of Jehovah. 
 Thu-d. That the time at which a period is to be 
 put to its existence is not come. 
 
 Therefore you ought to swear allegiance to the 
 government of the United States : 
 
 First. Because, though an evil, you admit it to 
 be necessary. Second. Although an evil, you 
 admit that it is permitted by the wisdom of Je- 
 hovah, and that it is not for his creatures to 
 question the wisdom of his acts. Third. You 
 only claim to be excused when Jehovah's govern- 
 ment is substituted, which period, you admit, has 
 not yet arrived. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Ben J. F. Butler. 
 
 Five Days a Prisoner. — Lieutenant Charles 
 O. Phillips was captured, with his orderly, on the 
 morning of the 3d of April, 1865, during the 
 advance on Richmond, and while under orders 
 from General Weitzel, upon whose staff he was 
 serving. " I was taken to General Geary," said 
 he, " and questioned closely by him ; he finally 
 concluded by telling me I was ' a d — d intelligent 
 staff officer,' because I could not tell him the 
 strength of our corps, who commanded it, nor 
 even what troops were entering the city when I 
 was captured. 
 
 " The first day's march was twenty-eight miles 
 on foot, with nothing to eat. I tried to escape 
 that night, but was caught. The second day we 
 marched twenty-three miles, and the rebels prom- 
 ised to feed us at night, but did not. The third 
 day we marched twenty-six miles, Sheridan after 
 us. He took a train of three hundred wagons, 
 with stores, and destroyed the whole. At night 
 (the third) I found so much fault that they gave 
 me two ears of corn to eat. This night I got 
 permission to go to the river and bathe, my feet 
 being very sore and chafed badly. I made ar- 
 rangements with the guard to desert, but was 
 caught, when the provost marshal told me he 
 would shoot me if I attempted to escape again, 
 at which I suggested whether it might not be as 
 well to shoot me as to starve me to death. 
 
 " The next day we marched twenty-five miles, 
 and at four P. M. Sheridan was very close to us. 
 I was so completely exhausted that I thought life 
 was not worth much ; so down I sat in the road, 
 my orderly doing likewise, determined not to 
 march farther without rest. The Captain threat- 
 ened to shoot me again, and I told him to act his 
 pleasure, as Uncle Sam knew how, and had as 
 many of their men as they had of ours. He 
 finally chose what he thought was his best and 
 most reliable man to leave as guard over myself 
 and orderly, giving him instructions to keep us 
 within their lines at all hazards. Soon I got on 
 the right side of Johnny, and made arrangements 
 to desert with him, whenever an opportunity 
 could be gained. 
 
 " At dusk we found ourselves in a little pine 
 grove with rebels all around us. The bright moon 
 plagued me considerably, and I feared my plan 
 for escape would not result favorably ; but any- 
 thing, I thought, was preferable to my present 
 condition. At a time Avhen no one Avas watching 
 us, I succeeded in concealing myself with my two 
 comrades in a deep ravine, under a large cedar. 
 Soon I heard voices, and looking out carefully, I 
 
240 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 saw a lieutenant and several men pass along. 
 Creeping out, I folloAved them, and saw the officer 
 post his men on picket surrounding the ravine. 
 I then followed him to his reserve, ascertained at 
 the next relief that the positions of the men 
 were not changed each time, and then returned 
 to our hiding-place to communicate the good 
 news to the orderly and the Johnny. The latter 
 began to be a little shaky, and I a little doubtful. 
 It was a long time to wait till the moon went 
 doAvn, and finally the guard fell asleep. He had 
 previously agreed to let us go, and he would re- 
 turn to his company, I demanding that lie should 
 wait till we had started. Seeing him asleep, I 
 changed my tactics, quietly took his rifle, &c., 
 gently shook him by the shoulder, and informed 
 him that during his short nap affairs had changed. 
 He was now my prisoner, and would do precisely 
 as I said, or his brains were worthless. He looked 
 very much surprised, but saw there was no help 
 for him. 
 
 " At half past four A. M. it was a little cloudy, 
 and I quietly informed Johnny that he was to 
 take the lead, on his hands and knees, my orderly 
 would go next, and myself with Johnny's musket 
 in the rear. In this way we escaped through the 
 enemy's picket line, and reached our friends in 
 safety at half past six o'clock on the morning of the 
 seventh. I turned the rebel guard over to Major 
 Stevens, provost marshal of this (Twenty-fifth) 
 corps, and he immediately took the oath, thanking 
 
 Captain Cushing's Exploit. — One pleasant 
 night, Avhile the blockading fleet lay off" Wilming- 
 ton, young Gushing, of the gunboat Monticello, 
 took a first cutter, with fifteen men and two offi- 
 cers (Acting Ensign Jones and Acting Master's 
 Mate Howard), and succeeded in passing the 
 forts of the west bar at Wilmington, and started 
 up the Cape Fear Hiver. After a narrow escape 
 of being run over by one of the rebel steamers 
 plying the river, he passed the second line of bat- 
 teries, and continued his course until Old Bruns- 
 wick was reached, where the rebels had a heavy 
 battery, when he was hailed and fired upon, but 
 succeeded in passing unscathed, by feigning to 
 pass down the river, and crossing to the friendly 
 cover of the opposite bank. He then continued 
 his course up the river. By this artifice the 
 rebels were deceived, and signalized to the forts 
 to intercept him as he came down the river, 
 which they supposed was the direction taken. 
 
 At half past two the next morning the Captain 
 had reached a point seven miles distant from 
 Wilmington, where he caused the boat to be 
 hauled on the banks, and concealed from view by 
 bushes and marsh grass. Day had now dawned, 
 and it became necessary to select a place of con- 
 cealment, which was found in the brush on the 
 banks. 
 
 Soon after daylight, the rebel steamers, block- 
 ade runners, and transports could be seen by the 
 party plying up and doMn the river ; and, in fact, 
 the flagship of the rebel Commodore Lynch 
 
 passed by, pennant flying, the distinguished gen- 
 tleman unconscious of the fact that a rifle in a 
 steady hand could, and would, but for obvious 
 reasons, have given him his quietus. Two block- 
 ade steamers, of the first class, passed up, and 
 one down, during the first twenty-four hours. 
 When night had fairly set in, the Captain pre- 
 pared to launch his boat, when two boats rounded 
 the point ; and, as he supposed, having discovered 
 his position, they designed to attack him ; but it 
 proved to be a returned fishing party. The en- 
 tire party were captured — eight in number. 
 Compelling them to act in the capacity of guides, 
 he proceeded to examine all the fortifications, 
 river obstructions, and other objects of interest 
 within three miles of Wilmington. Here he was 
 compelled to pass through a creek, running 
 through a cypress swamp, for several hours, 
 through grass eight feet high, and immense cy- 
 press trees on each side, whose shadow cast a 
 dark gloom, only exceeded by darkness. 
 
 By two o'clock that morning a road was reach- 
 ed, which proved to be a branch of the main road 
 to Wilmington, and joining it at a point two 
 miles distant. The party were here divided, ten 
 being left to hold this road ; and the Captain, 
 taking the remaining eight men, took position at 
 the junction of the roads, one of which was the 
 main. Several prisoners were here captured, but 
 none of importance. At about eleven o'clock in 
 the morning, the rebel courier, with the mails 
 from Fort Fisher and lower batteries, en route to 
 Wilmington, whose approach was awaited, came 
 duly Mong, and he, with his entire mail, was cap- 
 tured. 
 
 On examination, this proved to be a prize of 
 value, there being upwards of two hundred docu- 
 ments, private and official, and many of great im- 
 portance. The party, having thus far labored suc- 
 cessfully, experienced the necessity for refresh- 
 ment for the inner man, and accordingly Master's 
 Mate Howard garbed himself in the courier's 
 clothes, and mounting the same worthy's horse, 
 proceeded two miles to a store, and purchased a 
 supply of provisions, with wliich he safely re- 
 turned. The prices the mate thought exorbi- 
 tant, but did not feel disposed, in his liberal 
 mood, to haggle or beat down. 
 
 Shortly after, more prisoners were captured, 
 and all that was now required to add to the iclat 
 of the achievement was to capture the com-ier 
 and mail from Wilmington, whose advent was 
 looked for at five P. M. The impatience of the 
 party may be imagined, when it is stated that 
 the mail would contain the day's papers issued 
 at Wilmington at one P. M., and our nomadic 
 friends were anxious to obtain the latest news 
 early. 
 
 The courier arrived slightly in advance of time ; 
 but one of the sailors, having moved incautiously 
 across the road, was seen by him, and taking 
 alarm, he took to his heels at full speed. Capt. 
 Cushing, like Paul Duval No. 2, awaited him on 
 the road, with pistol cocked, put spurs to his 
 horse, and pursued for about three miles. But 
 the courier speeded on like a whirlwind, and the 
 
^ng^iyAttKitcliie- 
 
 MA.J. GE.X.W T,S]lEHMA\v 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 241 
 
 Captain, being rather farther from his base than 
 he thought prudent, took to his line of retreat, 
 and fell back in rapid, but good order. 
 
 The telegraph wire leading to Wilmington M'as 
 then cut for several hundred yards, and the part)', 
 with prisoners and spoils, rejoined the squad left 
 with the boat, and proceeding down the creek, 
 reached the river about dark. The prisoners 
 impeding the speed of the boats, measures were 
 taken to dispose of them by depriving one of the 
 fishing boats of oars and sails, and setting it 
 adrift in the middle of the river, thus rendering 
 it impossible for them to give the alarm until the 
 tide floated them on some friendly bank. But 
 while putting this plan into execution, a steamer 
 approached rapidly, and detection was only avoid- 
 ed by the party leaping into the water, and hold- 
 ing on to the gunwales of the boat. The 
 steamer passing, the prisoners and boat were 
 sent adrift. 
 
 Nothing of interest occurred on the route 
 down the river, until at a point "between the 
 batteries at Brunsvv'ick and Fort Fisher, when a 
 boat was discovered making rapidly towards the 
 shore. After an exciting chase she was over- 
 taken, and her occupants, consisting of six per- 
 sons, four of whom were soldiers, were taken on 
 board, and the boat cut adrift. From them in- 
 formation was obtained that the rebels were on 
 the qui vive, having boats posted at the narrow 
 entrance between the forts to intercept the re- 
 turn. To understand the position of the party, 
 it should be known that they were but three hun- 
 dred yards distant from two forts, and this on 
 a moonlight night. Capt. Gushing, on learning 
 the rebels' designs, resolved to take a desperate 
 chance of fighting his way through, supposing 
 that in case there were but one or two boats, he 
 might, by giving a broadside, escape in the con- 
 fusion. On arriving at the mouth of the harbor, 
 he perceived, as he imagined, one large boat, 
 which, wonderfully prolific, soon gave birth to 
 three more, which were afterwards increased in 
 number by five from the opposite bank. 
 
 This completely blocked up the narrow en- 
 trance to the harbor. The helm was put hard 
 aport to gain distance, and, seeing a large sail- 
 boat filled with troops (seventy-five musketeers), 
 it was decided that the only hope lay in outma- 
 nceuvring them. The rebels, providentially, did 
 not, during this interval, fire a shot, no doubt an- 
 ticipating the certain capture of all. There be- 
 ing another means of entrance into the harbor 
 (the west bar), the only possible hope was in im- 
 pressing the rebels with the opinion that he would 
 attempt that, the only remaining chance of es- 
 cape. Accordingly, apparently making for this 
 point, the rebel boats were drawn together in 
 pursuit, when, rapidly changing his direction, 
 the Captain brought his boat back to the other 
 entrance (the east bar), and, deeply loaded as 
 she was (twenty-six in the boat), forced her into 
 the breakers. The rebels, evidently foiled, dared 
 not venture to follow, and the guns of the bat- 
 teries, which were pointed to rake the channel, 
 were unprepared to inflict damage. 
 16 
 
 Capt. Cushing arrived safely with his jmsoners 
 and the mail, having performed one of the most 
 hazardous and daring feats of the Avar, and ob- 
 tained information of great value to the service. 
 
 A Compliment. — " We have heard of an inci- 
 dent which lately took place at a review of the 
 army of the Potomac," says a correspondent of a 
 Southern paper, " which should send a thrill of 
 pleasure through the breast of every man, wo- 
 man, and child in Florida. At the time when the 
 Florida corps was passing. Gen. Hill turned to 
 Gen. Lee, saying : ' That is the remnant of the 
 gallant Florida brigade.' Gen. Lee immediately 
 took ofl' his hat, and remained uncovered until 
 the Florida brigade passed. It was a compli- 
 ment which we do not remember ever to have 
 seen paid by our gallant commander of the Po- 
 tomac to any other corps. Gen. Lee never pays 
 a compliment to any person or party of men 
 without it is deserved." 
 
 An Editor, announcing that he had been 
 drafted, discoursed as follows : 
 
 " Why should we mourn conscripted friends, 
 Or shake at draft's alarms ? 
 'Tis but the voice that Abr'am sends 
 To make us shoulder arms." 
 
 The Yankee Soldier. — Major Clark Wright 
 obtained considerable prominence as a. scout and 
 soldier. He moved from Ohio to Polk County, 
 Missouri, in 1858, and buying a large amount 
 of prairie, commenced the business of stock rais- 
 ing. He was just before married to a woman of 
 more than ordinary intelligence and determina- 
 tion, who proved herself eminently fitted for the 
 duties which their new life imposed upon them. 
 He prospered greatly, and in a short time had 
 erected a house, furnished in the best style pos- 
 sible, had two young children, an amiable wife, a 
 good home, and was adding rapidly to an original 
 fortune. 
 
 In the winter of 1860, when the roar of seces- 
 sion came up from South Carolina, he heard it in 
 common Avith others of his neighbors ; but while 
 avowing himself in favor of sustaining the Union, 
 he determined to attend strictly to his own busi- 
 ness. He had no hesitation in expressing his 
 sentiments of loyalty to the Government, but he 
 did it quietly, and with a view not to give oflence. 
 Soon after, at a Baptist meeting near his resi- 
 dence, a few of the brethren, after refreshing their 
 spiritual appetites in the sanctuaiy, took his case 
 into consideration, and unanimously determined 
 that he should be made to leave the country, ap- 
 pointing a committee of three to inform him of 
 their decision. 
 
 One of the party, although an ardent seces- 
 sionist, happened to be a personal friend of 
 Wright, and hastening away, informed him of 
 the meeting, and that the committee would wait 
 on him the next day. Wright thanked his kind 
 
242 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 friend, and then, like a dutiful husband, laid the 
 case before his v,ife, and asked her advice. She 
 pondered a few moments, and then asked if he 
 had done anything to warrant such a proceeding. 
 Nothing. " Then let us fight ! " was the reply ; 
 and to fight was the conclusion. Wright was 
 plentifully supplied with revolvers ; he took two, 
 and his wife another, loaded them carefully, and 
 awaited further developments. 
 
 Monday afternoon three men rode up and in- 
 quired for Mr. Wright. He walked out, with the 
 butt of a revolver sticking warily from his pocket, 
 and inquired their wishes. The revolver seemed 
 to upset their ideas. They answered nothing in 
 particular, and proceeded to converse upon every- 
 thing in general, but never alluded to their errand. 
 Finally, after a half hour had passed, and the 
 men still talked on without coming to their mis- 
 sion, AVright grew impatient, and asked if they 
 had any special business ; if not, he had a pressing 
 engagement, and would like to be excused. Well, 
 they had a little business, said one, with consider- 
 able hesitation, as he glanced at the revolver butt. 
 
 " Stop ! " said Wright ; " before you tell it, I 
 •wish to say a word. I Jcnoio your business, and 
 I just promised my wife, on my honor as a man, 
 that I would blow h — 1 out of the first man who 
 told me of it, and by the eternal God I'll do it ! 
 Now tell me your eri-and ! " and as he concluded 
 he pulled out his revolver and cocked it. The 
 fellow glanced a moment at the deadly-looking 
 pistol, and took in the stalwart form of Wright, 
 who was glaring at him with murder in his eye, 
 and concluded to postpone the announcement. 
 The three rode away, and reported the reception 
 to their principals. 
 
 The next Sunday, after another refreshing 
 season, the brethren again met, and took action 
 upon the contumacy of Mr. Wright. The Cap- 
 tain of a company of secessionists was present, 
 and after due deliberation, it was determined 
 that, upon the next Thursday, he should take his 
 command, jn-oceed to Wright's, and summarily 
 eject him from the sacred soil of Missouri. 
 Wright's friend was again present, and he soon 
 communicated the state of afiairs to Mr. AV., with 
 a suggestion that it M'ould save trouble and blood- 
 shed if he got away before the day appointed. 
 
 Wright lived in a portion of the country re- 
 mote from the church and the residence of those 
 who were endeavoring to drive him out, and he 
 determined, if possible, to prepare a surprise for 
 the worthy Captain and his gallant force. To 
 this end he bought a barrel of whiskey, another 
 of crackers, a few cheeses, and some other pro- 
 visions, and then mounting a black boy upon a 
 swift horse, sent him around the country, inviting 
 his friends to- come and see him, and bring their 
 arms. By Wednesday night he had gathered a 
 force of about three hundred men, to whom he 
 communicated the condition of things, and asked 
 their assistance. They promised to back him to 
 the death. The next day they concealed them- 
 selves in a cornfield, back of the house, and 
 awaited the development of events. 
 
 A little after noon, the Captain and some 
 
 eighty men rode up to the place, and inquired 
 for Mr. Wright. That gentleman immediately 
 made his appearance, when the Captain informed 
 him that, being satisfied of his Abolitionism, they 
 had come to eject him from the State. 
 
 " Won't you give me two days to settle up my 
 affairs ? " asked Wright. 
 
 " Two days be ! I'll give you just five 
 
 minutes to pack up your traps and leave ! " 
 
 " But I can't get ready in five minutes ! I 
 have a fine property here, a happy home, and if 
 you drive me oft', you make me a beggar. I have 
 done nothing. If I go, my Avife and children 
 must starve ! " 
 
 " To with your beggars ! You must 
 
 travel ! " 
 
 " Give me two hours ! " 
 
 "I'll give you just five minutes, not a second 
 longer ! If you ain't out by that time (here the 
 gallant soldier swore a most fearful oath), I'll 
 blow out your cm-sed Abolition heart ! " 
 
 " Well, "if I must, I must ! " and Wright tm-ned 
 towards the house, as if in despair, gave a pre- 
 concerted whistle, and almost instantly after, the 
 concealed forces rushed out, and surrounded the 
 astounded Captain and his braves. 
 
 " Ah, Captain ! " said Wright, as he turned 
 imploringly towards him, " won't you grant, me 
 two days, — two,, hours, at least, — my brave 
 friend — only two hours in which to prepare my- 
 self and family for beggary and starvation — now 
 do — Avon't you ? " 
 
 The Captain could give no reply, but sat upon 
 his horse, shaking as if ague-smitten. 
 
 " Don't kill me ! " he at length found voice to 
 say. 
 
 " Kill you ! No, you black-livered coward, I 
 won't dirty my hands with any such filthy Avork. 
 If I kill you, I'll have one of my niggers do it ! 
 Get doAvn from that horse ! " 
 
 The gallant Captain obeyed, imploring only 
 for life. The result of the matter Avas, that the 
 whole company dismounted, laid doAvn their 
 arms, and then, as they filed out, were sworn to 
 preserve their allegiance inviolate to the United 
 States. An hour after, INIr. Wright had organ- 
 ized a force of tvro hundred and forty men for 
 the war, and by acclamation Avas elected Captain. 
 The next Sunday, he started Avith his command 
 to join the national troops under Lyon, stopping 
 long enough on his Avay to surround the Hard- 
 shell Church, at Avhich had been inaugurated all 
 his miseries. After the service Avas over, he ad- 
 ministered the oath of allegiance to every one 
 present, including the Reverend Pecksnin' Avho 
 officiated, and then left them to plot treason 
 and Avorship God in their- OAvn peculiarly pious 
 and harmonious manner. 
 
 He soon after became Maj. Wright, and con- 
 tinued in command of the croAvd he enlisted at 
 the beginning. 
 
 Uj^ion Men at the South. — An Illinois 
 soldier, Avho Avas captured at Shiloh, gives the 
 foUoAving incident of his visit to Memphis, then 
 in the hands of the Confederates : 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 243 
 
 " A little good talking, mixed with the requi- 
 site amount of 'cheek,' secured to Serg. Eddy, 
 well known among the Chicago typos, and my- 
 self, the privilege of a walk around town in com- 
 pany with a couple of German home guards, 
 who carried two of Fremont's ' needle gun ' for 
 our protection. Our first stopping-place was the 
 'Appeal' office, where we found eight or ten 
 ' comps,' and a score or so of ' secesh ' flags — 
 all hands intensely bitter against the North, 
 • secesh ' all over, and every man of them 
 born outside of Dixie. One of them — I for- 
 get his name, but shall never forget the man — 
 asked : 
 
 " ' Do you find as much Union sentiment as 
 you expected ? ' 
 
 " I answered that I felt sure that such senti- 
 ment everywhere existed. 
 
 " ' You are mistaken,' said he ; ' there is not 
 to-day a Union man in Memphis — not one.' 
 
 " Glancing at the guards, I saw evident signs 
 of nervousness and anger, and thinking that per- 
 haps, in the heat of debate, we had said too 
 much, and should have a difficulty with them, 
 my friend and I made prepai'ations to leave. 
 Scarcely had the door closed behind us, when 
 one of the guards brought his piece down with a 
 thump on the iron step, exclaiming : 
 
 " ' Dare ish no Union sentiment here, eh ? O, 
 no ! We are all tamd " secesh " ! You comes 
 mit me, I shows you. We all lay down our lives 
 for dis Suturn Confederacy. O, yes \ We be 
 glad to.' 
 
 " We followed the guard to the outsku-ts of 
 the town, and entered a blacksmith's shop, where, 
 working at the forge, we recognized a couple of 
 Chicago boys — they, too, belonged to the home 
 guard. A sharp lookout was kept at the front 
 and back doors ; presently the coast was an- 
 nounced clear, and then you should have seen us 
 making good time over back fences and through 
 alleys, until we reached the abiding-place o^ ai^r 
 guide — entering, a buxom German girl placed 
 chairs for us to be seated. 
 
 " ' Frau,' said the guard, as soon as he had re- 
 covered sufficient breath to speak. ' Frau, here 
 is a couple of tamd Yankees; you show dem 
 we is good " secesh," eh.' ' Yes, I show dem ; ' 
 and the ' Frau ' placed a table in the centre of 
 the room, and then disappeared. Presently the 
 hissing of the tea-kettle is heard, and in a few 
 minutes coffee which cost one dollar and twenty- 
 five cents per pound, bread made from flour cost- 
 ing twenty dollars per barrel, and sausages from 
 meat proportionately high, were served up to us. 
 Our haversacks were filled, and then ' Frau ' 
 grumbled because we would not accept more. 
 They were poor, and we could not rob them. 
 While we were eating, the guards amused them- 
 selves by taking the main-springs out of then- 
 gun-locks, and burning them in the stove. As 
 we shook hands at our prison-house door, they 
 whispered, ' We are all tam " secesh." ' We 
 made arrangements with these men for a disguise 
 to escape, but before they were again on duty, 
 the * show ' was started for a new place." 
 
 SONG OF THE CROAJiER. 
 
 BY HORATIO ALGEK, JR. 
 
 An old frog lived in a dismal swaijapi 
 
 In a dismal kind of way ; 
 And all that he did, whatever befell, 
 Was to croak the livelong day. 
 Croak, croak, croak, 
 When darkness filled the air, 
 
 And croak, croak, croak. 
 When the skies were bright and fair. 
 
 " Good Master Frog, a battle is fought, 
 And the foeman's power is broke ; " 
 But he only turned a greener hue, 
 And answered with a croak. 
 Croak, croak, croak, 
 When the clouds are dark and dun. 
 
 And croak, croak, croak, 
 In the blaze of the noontide sun. 
 
 " Good Master Frog, the fomeS i^ Right 
 
 Are driving the hosts of Wrong ; " 
 But he gives his head an ominous shake, 
 And croaks out, ^'■Nous v err cms T' 
 Croak, croak, croak, 
 Till the heart is full of gloom, 
 
 And croak, croak, croak, "^-y 
 Till the worS' seems but a tome. 
 
 To poisoii'the cup of life 
 
 By ahvEf'ys dreading the worst, 
 Is to makq of the earth a dungeon damp, 
 And the happiest life accursed. 
 Croak, croak, croak. 
 When the noontide sun rides high, 
 
 And croak, croak, croak. 
 Lest the night come by and by. 
 
 Farewell to the dismal frog : 
 
 Let him croak as loud as he may, 
 He cannot blot the sun from heaven, 
 Nor hinder the march of day. 
 
 Though he croak, croak, croak, 
 Till the heart is full of gloom, 
 
 And croak, croak, croak. 
 Till the world seems but a tomb. 
 
 A Philadelphia Welcome, — A soldier oi 
 the Fourth New Hampshire regiment gives hit 
 experience in Philadelphia a^ follows : 
 
 " We arrived in the city at five o'clock on Sun- 
 day morning, Sept. 29, 1861, and the regiment 
 was welcomed in a manner better appreciated 
 tlian described. Within five or six rods of the 
 ferry are three or four hundred wash-bowls, with 
 pipes of warm and cold water to supply them. 
 Here a scene followed, which reminded me that 
 ' cleanliness is next to godliness.' Then we were 
 marched to a building literally filled with nice 
 bread, hot coffee, cold meats, pickles, cheese, and 
 sour krout, and invited to partake of a Quaker's 
 hospitality. After eating we were informed that 
 stationery and every convenience for writing was 
 at oiu" disposal, and not a few accepted the kind 
 privilege of writing home. No pay would be 
 
244 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 received for postage stamps, -whicli were furnished 
 as freely as -water. 
 
 " As the good old matrons, with their three- 
 cornered handkerchiefs and nicely ironed caps, 
 glided among us, attending to our every want, 
 inquiring after our health, wishing us God speed, 
 S:c., many an eye was moistened, and emotions 
 awakened, which, perhaps, had been sleeping in 
 many for years. And as the Quaker guis shook 
 our hands, and even kissed some of the Yankee 
 boys, I know our New Hampshire girls wdl not 
 be jealous if we say, and truthfully too, that for 
 the time being we forgot them at home. Although 
 it is said that on one or two occasions ' the Qua- 
 kers didn't come out,' it is true they come out to 
 meet every regiment that passes through their 
 city in a manner that no other city can boast of." 
 
 A Daeing Adventcke. — It was late in the 
 summer of 1&64. ■ The veteran and heroic army 
 of Sherman had commenced in May that wonder- 
 ful series of battles and marches Avhich lasted 
 while the rebellion continued, and which were the 
 fatal and finishing blows by which the rebellion 
 was crushed. By (J^grees, and after marking 
 every mountain pass and almost every mile M'ith 
 blood, the rebel army had been pushed back and 
 dislodged from one position after another, till 
 now they had settled sullenly aroujij;! the doomed 
 city of Atlanta. The cautious and^ble Johnson 
 was displaced in favor of the madcap and brain- 
 less fighter. Hood, who, in the lafiguage of the 
 insurgent chief, " was determined to strike one 
 manly blow for Atlanta." While the antagonists 
 lay thus at bay, and Sherman was perfecting the 
 details of that splendid manoeuvre by which the 
 stronghold became ours, a youthful soldier in the 
 Union army, by the name of Ira B. Tuttle, with 
 four of his men, performed a feat of military dar- 
 ing, which equals the exploits of Morgan, or any 
 of the famous raiders of the war. The small vil- 
 lage of Villa Bica lies about twenty-seven miles 
 south by west of Atlanta, and about ten miles 
 south of- Dallas ; near it is another little village, 
 not inappropriately called Dark Corner. 
 
 In this village of Villa Hica the rebel Gen- 
 eral had established a principal magazine of sup- 
 plies. As the greater part of his force lay be- 
 tween that point and the enemy, he regarded the 
 point as entirely safe, and had left no guard on 
 the spot, but only a Lieutenant-Colonel, a Cap- 
 tain, and three issuing Sergeants, to deliver the 
 subsistence stores to the army wagons as they 
 came for them. Rebel camps were, in fact, all 
 around the point, in front and in rear, not more 
 than a mile distant. Tuttle and his four men, in 
 their scouting adventures, had penetrated very 
 near the place, and resolved on making a bold 
 dash upon it, thus running an immense risk ; 
 while, on the other hand, they might inflict on the 
 enemy a great loss, and make good their escape. 
 Putting sjjurs to their horses, they rode directly 
 up to the largest building, where fifty thousand 
 bushels of corn and a large amount of bacon were 
 stored. The ofiicers and enlisted men at the 
 
 magazine were taken wholly by surprise, not even 
 having side arms. Tuttle made them mount their 
 horses, while he and his men fired the buildings, 
 and five wagons loaded with bacon for the army. 
 As soon as the flames Mere well started, he or- . 
 dered his five prisoners to ride on in front, while 
 he with his four men rode behind, with hands on 
 their pistol hilts. 
 
 As they rode away with their prisoners, the 
 smoke of the burning storehouses had been seen 
 at the rebel camp a mile distant, and men were 
 seen rushing to save them, if possible. But it 
 was too late. The material was highly combusti- 
 ble, the weather hot and dry, and water distant. 
 While the astonished rebels Avere running towards 
 the fire, in the vain hope of " saving their bacon," 
 Tuttle and his brave companions, Mho had the 
 fear of Andersonville before their eyes, put spurs 
 to their horses, and drove their five prisoners be- 
 fore them into the Union camp. 
 
 Clara Barton. — The foUoM-ing is an extract 
 of a letter from Brigade Surgeon James L. 
 Dunn : 
 
 " The Sanitary Commission, together with three 
 or four noble, self-sacrificing women, have fur- 
 nished everything that could be required. I mUI 
 tell you of one of these M'omen, a Miss Barton, 
 the daughter of Judge Barton, of Boston, INIass. 
 I first met her at the battle of Cedar Mountain, 
 where she appeared in front of the hospital at 
 tM-elve o'clock at night, with a four mule team 
 loaded with everything needed, and at a time 
 when Ave M'ere entirely out of dressings of every 
 kind ; she supplied us M'ith everything ; and M'hile 
 the shells Mere bursting in every direction, took 
 her course to the hospital on our right, Mhere she 
 found everythmg M-anting again. After doing ev- 
 erything she could on the field, she returned to 
 Culpepper, where she staid dealing out shirts to 
 the*uaked M'ounded, and preparing soup, and see- 
 iflg It prepared, in all the hospitals. I thought 
 tltat night if Heaven ever sent out an angel, 
 she must be one, h^r assistance M'as so timely. 
 Well, Me began our retreat up the Rappahannock. 
 I thought no more of our lady friend, only that 
 she had gone back to Washington. We arrived 
 on the disastrous field of Bull Run ; and Mhile 
 the battle M-as raging the fiercest on Friday, M-ho 
 should drive up in front of our hospital but this 
 same M^oman, M'ith her mules almost dead, having 
 made forced marches from Washington to the ar- 
 my. She M-as again a Melcome visitor to bpth tHe 
 M'ounded and the surgeons. 
 
 " The battle M-as over, our M-ounded removed en 
 Sunday, and M-e M'ere ordered to Fairfax Station ; 
 v>e had hardly got there before the battle of Chan- 
 tilly commenced, and soon the Mounded began to 
 come in. Here M-e had nothing but our instruments 
 — not even a bottle of Mine. When the cars Mhis- 
 tled up to the station, the first person on the plat- 
 form was Miss Barton, to again supply us M'ith 
 bandages, brandy, M'ine, prepared soup, jellies, 
 meal, and every article that could be thought 
 of. She staid there until the last wounded 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 245 
 
 soldier was placed on the cars, and then bade us 
 good by and left. 
 
 " I MTote you at the time how we got to Alex- 
 andria that night and next morning. Our soldiers 
 had no time to rest after reaching Washington, 
 but were ordered to Maryland by forced marches. 
 Several days of hard marching brought us to 
 Frederick, and the battle of South Mountain 
 followed. The next day our army stood face 
 to face with the whole force. The rattle of one 
 hundred and fifty thousand muskets, and the fear- 
 ful thunder of over two hundred cannon, told us 
 that the great battle of Antietam had commenced. 
 I was in a hospital in the afternoon, for it was 
 then only that the wounded began to come in. 
 
 " We had expended every bandage, torn up ev- 
 ery sheet in the house, and e\'er)'thing we could 
 find, when who should drive up but our old friend 
 Miss Barton, with a team loaded down with di'ess- 
 ings of every kind, and everything we could ask 
 for. She distributed her articles to the different 
 hospitals, worked all night making soup, all the 
 next day and night ; and when I left, four days 
 after the battle, I left her there ministering to the 
 wounded and the dying. When I returned to the 
 field hospital last week, she was still at work, sup- 
 plj'ing them with delicacies of every kind, and ad- 
 ministering to their wants — all of which she does 
 out of her own private fortune. Now, what do 
 you think of INIiss Barton? In my feeble estima- 
 tion, Gen. McClellan, with all his laurels, sinks 
 into insignificance beside the true heroine of the 
 age — the anrjel of the battle-field" 
 
 A PRIVATE in battery F, Fourth U. S. artillery, 
 wrote the following epitaph for John B. Floyd : 
 
 Floyd has died, and few have sobbed, 
 
 Since, had he lived, all had been robbed : 
 
 He's paid Dame Nature's debt, 'tis said, 
 
 The only one he ever paid. 
 
 Some doubt that he resigned his breath, 
 
 But vow he has cheated even death. 
 
 K he is buried, O, then, ye dead, beware ! 
 
 Look to your swaddlings, of your shrouds take care. 
 
 Lest Floyd should to your coffins make his way, 
 
 And steal the linen from your mouldering clay. 
 
 Songs upon the Battle-Field. — A brave 
 and godly Captain in "one of our AVestern regi- 
 ments told us his story as we were taking him to 
 the hospital. He was shot through both thighs 
 with a rifle-bullet — a wound from which he could 
 not recover. While lying on the field he suffered 
 intense agony from thirst. He supported his head 
 upon his hand, and the rain from heaven was fall- 
 ing around him. In a little while a little pool of 
 water formed under his elbow, and he thought if 
 he could only get to that puddle he might quench 
 his thii-st. He tried to get into a position to suck 
 up a mouthful of muddy water, but he was unable 
 to reach within a foot of it. Said he, " I never 
 felt so much the loss of any earthly blessing. By 
 and by night fell, and the stars shone out clear 
 and beautiful above the dark field, and I began to 
 
 think of that great God who had given his Son 
 to die a death of agony for me, and that he was 
 up there — up above the scene of suffering, and 
 above those glorious stars ; and I felt that I was 
 going home to meet him, and praise him there; 
 and I felt that I ought to praise God, even 
 wounded and on the battle-field. I could not 
 help singing that beautiful hymn : 
 
 ' When I can read my title clear 
 To mansions in the skies, 
 I'll bid farewell to every fear, 
 And dry my weeping eyes.' 
 
 " And," said he, " there was a Cliristian brother 
 in the brush near me. I could not see him, but 1 
 could hear him. He took up the strain, and be- 
 yond him another and another caught it up, all 
 over the terrible battle-field of Shiloh. That 
 night the echo was resotmding, and we made the 
 field of battle ring with the hymns of praise to 
 God." 
 
 The DrumjIEr Boy of the Rappahannock. 
 — Recently, a bright boy, with dark eyes and 
 ruddy cheeks, gave a brief history of his ad- 
 ventures at the battle of Fredericksburg. He was 
 neatly dressed in a military suit of gray cloth, and 
 carried in his hands a pair of drumsticks ; his 
 drum M'as destroyed by the fragment of a shell 
 immediately after his landing on the river bank, 
 in that hurricane of sulphury fire and iron hail on 
 the 12th of December, 1862. 
 
 The reader will distinctly remember that for 
 several days a curtain of thick fog rose up from 
 the waters of the Rappahannock, completely 
 hiding from view the artillery that crowned the 
 opposite hills, and the infantry that crowded the 
 sheltering ravines; but the preparation for the 
 great" fight, so hopefully commenced, was contin- 
 ued amid the thunder of cannon and the volcanic 
 eruptions of exploding batteries. 
 
 The hazardous work of laying the pontoon 
 bridges was frequently interrupted by the murder- 
 ous fire of rebel sharpshooters, concealed in the 
 stores and dwelling-houses on the bank of the 
 river. To dislodge these men, and drive them out 
 of their hiding-places, seemed an impossible task. 
 At a given signal our batteries opened with a ter- 
 rific fire upon the city, crashing through the walls 
 of houses and public buildings, not sparing even 
 the churches, in which treason had been taught 
 as paramount to Christianity. In this stoi-m of 
 shot and shell, which ploughed the streets and set 
 the buildings on fire, the sharpshooters survived, 
 like salamanders in the flames, and continued to 
 pour a deadly fire upon our engineers and bridge 
 builders. 
 
 In this dilemma it became evident that the 
 bridges could not be laid except by a bold dash. 
 Volunteers were called for to cross in small boats ; 
 forthwith, hundreds stepped forward and oftered 
 their services. One hundred men were chosen, 
 and at once started for the boats. Robert Henry 
 Hendershot, the hero of our sketch, was then a 
 member of the Eighth Michigan, acting as a drum- 
 mer. Seeing a part of the Michigan Seventh 
 
246 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENIS. 
 
 preparing to cross the river, he ran ahead and 
 leaped into the boat. One of the officers ordered 
 him out, saying he would be shot. The boy re- 
 plied that he didn't care, he was willing to die for 
 his country. When he (the boy) found that the 
 Captain would not permit him to remain in the 
 boat, he begged the privilege of pushing the boat 
 off, and the request was granted. Whereupon, 
 instead of remaining on shore, he clung to the 
 stern of the boat, and, submerged to the waist in 
 water, he crossed the Rappahaimock. Soon as he 
 landed, a fragment of a shell struck his old drum 
 and knocked it to pieces. Picking up a musket, 
 he went in search of rebel relics, and obtained a 
 secesh flag, a clock, a knife, and a bone ring. On 
 opening a back door in one of the rebel houses, 
 he found a rebel wounded in the hand, and or- 
 dered him to surrender. He did so, and was 
 taken by the boy soldier to the Seventh Michigan. 
 ^Vhen the drummer boy recrossed the river from 
 Fredericksburg, General Burnside said to him, in 
 the presence of the army, " Boy, I glory in your 
 spunk ; if you keep on this way a few more years, 
 )ou will be in my place." 
 
 At the battle of Murfreesboro', where the 
 Union forces were taken by surprise, before day- 
 light in the morning, after beating the long roll, 
 and pulling the fifer out of bed to assist him, he 
 threw aside his drum, and seizing a gun, fired six- 
 teen rounds at the enemy from the window of the 
 court-house in which his regiment was quartered ; 
 but the nationals were compelled to surrender, 
 and they were all taken prisoners, but were im- 
 mediately paroled, and afterwards sent to Camp 
 Chase, Ohio. 
 
 THE BONNIE BLUE FLAG. 
 
 We are a band of brothers, and natives to the soil. 
 Fighting for the property we gained by honest toil ; 
 And when our rights were threatened, the cry rose 
 
 near and far. 
 Hurrah for the bonnie Blue Flag that bears the 
 
 single star ! 
 
 Hurrah ! hurrah ! for the bonnie Blue Flag 
 Xhat bears the single star. 
 
 As long as the Union was faithful to her trust, 
 Like friends and like brothers, kind were we and 
 
 just ; 
 But now, when Northern treachery attempts our 
 
 rights to mar. 
 We hoist on high the bonnie Blue Flag that bears 
 
 the single star. 
 
 First, gallant South Carolina nobly made the stand; 
 Then came Alabama, who took her by the hand ; 
 Next quickly Mississippi, Georgia and Florida — 
 All raised the flag, the bonnie Blue Flag that bears 
 a single star. 
 
 Ye men of valor, gather round the banner of the 
 
 right ; 
 Texas and fair Louisiana join us in the fight. 
 Davis, our loved President, and Stephens, statesmen 
 
 are; 
 Now rally round the bonnie Blue Flag that bears a 
 
 single star. 
 
 And here's to brave Virginia ! The Old Dominion 
 
 ■ State 
 With the young Confederacy at length has linked 
 
 her fate. 
 Impelled by her example, now other States prepare 
 To hoist on high the bonnie Blue Flag that bears a 
 
 single star. 
 
 Then here's to our Confederacy ; strong we are and 
 
 brave : 
 Like patriots of old we'll fight, our heritage to save ; 
 And rather than submit to shame, to die we would 
 
 prefer ; 
 So cheer for the bomiie Blue Flag that bears a single 
 star. 
 
 Then cheer, boys, cheer ; raise the joyous shout, 
 For Arkansas and North Carolina now have both 
 
 gone out ; 
 And let another rousing cheer for Tennessee be given. 
 The single star of the bonnie Blue Flag has grown 
 
 to be eleven ! 
 
 The Private Soldier. — Under this head 
 the Jackson Mississippi Crisis pays the following 
 tribute to the private soldier : 
 
 Justice has never been done him. His virtu- 
 ous merit and unobtrusive patriotism have never 
 been justly estimated. We do not speak of the 
 regular soldier, who makes the army his trade for 
 twelve dollars per month. We do not include the 
 coward, who skulks ; nor the vulgarian, who can 
 perpetrate acts of meanness ; nor the laggard, 
 who must be forced to fight for his home and 
 country. These are not the subjects of our 
 comment. We speak of the great body of citi- 
 zen soldiery who constitute the provisional army 
 of the Confederacy, and who, at the sound of a 
 trumpet and drum, marched out with rifle or 
 musket to fight — to repel their country's in- 
 vaders, or perish on that soil which their fathers 
 bequeathed, with the glorious boon of civil liberty. 
 These are the gallant men of whom we write, 
 and these have saved the country; these have 
 made a breastwork of their manly bosoms to 
 shield the sacred precinct of altar-place and fii-e- 
 side. Among these private soldiers are to be 
 found men of culture, men of gentle training, 
 men of intellect, men of social position, men of 
 character at home, men endeared to a domestic 
 circle of refinement and elegance, men of wealth, 
 men who gave tone and character to the society 
 in which they moved, and men who for con- 
 science' sake have made a living sacrifice of 
 property, home, comfort, and are ready to add 
 crimson life to the holy oifering. Many of these, 
 if they could have surrendered honor and a sense 
 of independence, could have remained in posses- 
 sion of all these elegances and comforts. But 
 they felt like the Roman who said, " Put honor 
 in one hand and death in the other, and I will 
 look on both indifferently." AVithout rank, with- 
 out title, without anticipated distinction, animated 
 only by the highest and noblest sentiments which 
 can influence our common nature, the private 
 labors, and toils, and marches, and fights ; endures 
 hunger and thirst, and fatigue ; through watchings, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 247 
 
 and weariness, and sleepless nights, and cheerless, 
 laborious days, he holds up before him: the one 
 glorious pi'ize — " Freedom to my country ; " " In- 
 dependence and my home ! " If we can suppose 
 the intervention of less worthy motive, the officer, 
 and not the private, is the man whose merit must 
 commingle such alloy. The officer may become 
 renowned — the private never reckons upon that ; 
 the officer may live in history — the private looks 
 to no such record ; the officer may attract the 
 public gaze — the private does not look for such 
 recognition ; the officer has a salary — the private 
 only a monthly stipend, the amount of which he 
 has been accustomed to pay to some field laborer 
 on his rich domains ; the officer may escape 
 harm in battle by reason of distance — the private 
 must face the storm of death ; the officer moves 
 on horseback — the private on foot; the officer 
 carries a sword, the emblem of authority, and 
 does not fight — the privates carries his musket, 
 and does all the fighting. The battle has been 
 fought — the victory won; and Lee, or Long- 
 Btreet, or others, have achieved a glorious success ; 
 but that success was attained by the private sol- 
 dier, at the cost of patriot blood, of shattered 
 bones, and torn and mangled muscle and nerves ! 
 We do not mean to under-estimate the officer, or 
 disparage his courage, or his patriotism. We 
 draw the parallel for another purpose, and that 
 is, to show, if other than the highest human mo- 
 tive prompts the soldier to action, it is the officer, 
 and not the private, who is not liable to feel its 
 influence. 
 
 We have often felt pained and annoyed at the 
 flippant reference to the privates, while the un- 
 reasoning speaker seemed to regard the officers 
 as the prime and meritorious agents of all that 
 is done. Why, in those ranks is an amount of 
 intellect which Avould instruct and astonish a 
 statesman. In those ranks the merit of every 
 officer and every action is settled unappealably. 
 In those ranks there is public virtue and capacity 
 enough to construct a government, and administer 
 its civil and military offices. The opinion of 
 these men will guide the historian, and fix the 
 merit of generals and statesmen. The opinion 
 of these men will be, and ought to be, omnipotent 
 with the people and government of the Confed- 
 eracy. Heaven bless these brave, heroic men ! 
 Our heart warms to them. Our admiration of 
 their devotion and heroism is without limit. 
 Their devotion to principle amounts to moral 
 subHmitJ^ We feel their sufferings, and share 
 their hopes, and desire to be identified in our 
 day and generation with such a host of spirits, 
 tried and true, who bend the knee to none but 
 God, and render homage only to worth and merit. 
 
 Marked Articles. — Some of the marks 
 which were fastened on the blankets, shirts, &c., 
 sent to the Sanitary Commission for the soldiers, 
 show the thought and feeling at home. Thus — 
 on a home-spun blanket, worn but washed as 
 clean as snow, was pinned a bit of paper, which 
 said : " This blanket was carried by Milly Al- 
 
 di'ich (who is ninety -three years old), down hill 
 and up hill, one and a half miles, to be given to 
 some soldier." 
 
 On a bed-quilt was pinned a card, saying : " My 
 son is in the army. Whoever is made warm by 
 this quilt, which I have 'worked on for six days 
 and most all of six nights, let him remember his 
 own mother's love." 
 
 On another blanket was this : " This blanket was 
 used by a soldier in the war of 1812 — may it keep 
 some soldier warm in this war against traitors." 
 
 On a pillow was written: "This pillow be- 
 longed to my little boy, who died resting on it ; 
 it is a precious treasure to me, but I give it for 
 the soldiers." 
 
 On a pair of woollen socks was written : " These 
 stockings were knit by a little girl five years old, 
 and she is going to knit some more, for mother 
 says it Avill help some poor soldier." 
 
 On a box of beautiful lint was this mark : 
 " Made in a sick room, where the sunlight has 
 not entered for nine years, but M'here God has en- 
 tered, and where two sons have bid their mother 
 good by as they have gone out to the war." 
 
 On a bundle containing bandages was written : 
 " This is a poor gift, but it is all I had ; I have 
 given my husband and my boy, and only wish I 
 had more to give, but I haven't." 
 
 On some eye-shades were marked : " Made by 
 one W'ho is blind. O, how I long to see the dear 
 Old Flag that you are all fighting under ! " 
 
 TO PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 Proudest of all earth's thrones 
 
 Is his who rules by a free people's choice ; 
 Who, 'midst fierce party strife and battle groans, 
 Hears, ever rising in harmonious tones, 
 A grateful people's voice. 
 
 Steadfast in thee we trust, 
 
 Tried as no man was ever tried before ; 
 God made thee merciful — God keep thee just ; 
 Ee true ! — and triumph over all thou must. 
 
 God bless thee evermore ! 
 
 A Soldier's Story. — "Not long since," 
 said a soldier, " a lot of us — I am a H. P., 
 ' high private,' now — were quartered in several 
 wooden tenements, and in the inner room of one 
 lay the corpus of a young secesh officer awaiting 
 burial. The news soon spread to a village not 
 far oft", and down came a sentimental, not bad- 
 looking specimen of a Virginia dame. 
 
 " ' Let me kiss him for his mother ! ' she cried, 
 as I interrupted her progress. ' Do let me kiss 
 him for his mother ! ' 
 
 " ' Kiss whom ? ' 
 
 " 'The dear little Lieutenant, the one who lies 
 dead within. I never saw him, but, O ' 
 
 " I led her through a room in which Lieut. 
 , of Philadelphia, lay stretched out in an up- 
 turned trough, fast asleep. Supposing him to be 
 the article sought for, she rushed up, exclaiming, 
 ' Let me kiss him for his mother,' and approached 
 
248 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 her lips to his forehead. What was her amaze- 
 ment, when the ' corpse ' clasped his arms around 
 her, and exclaimed, ' Never mind the old lady, 
 miss ; go it on your own account. I haven't the 
 slightest objection.' " , 
 
 Experience of a Wounded Soldier. — The 
 folowing extract gives the experience of one shot 
 iu battle : 
 
 " I remember no acute sensation of pain, not 
 even any distinct shot, only an instantaneous 
 consciousness of having been struck; then my 
 breath came hard and labored, with a croup-like 
 sound, and with a dull, aching feeling in my right 
 shoulder ; my arm fell powerless at my side, and 
 the Enfield dropped from my grasp. I threw my 
 left hand up to my throat, and withdrew it cov- 
 ered with the warm, bright-red blood. The end 
 had come at last ! But, thank God, it was death 
 in battle. Only let me get back out of that 
 deathly storm, and breathe away the few minutes 
 that were left me of life in some place of compar- 
 ative rest and security. It all rushed into my 
 mind in an instant. I turned and staggered away 
 to the rear. A comrade brushed by me, shot 
 through the hand, who, a moment before, was 
 firing away close at my side. I saw feeble reen- 
 forcements moving up, and I recollect a thrill of 
 joy even then, as I thought that the tide of battle 
 might yet be turned, and those rebel masses 
 beaten back, broken, foiled, disheartened. 
 
 " But my work Avas done. I was growing faint 
 and weak, although not yet half way out of range 
 of fii'e. A narrow space between two massive 
 bowlders, over which rested lengthwise the trunk 
 of a fallen tree, offered refuge and hope of safety 
 from further danger. I crawled into it, and lay 
 down to die. I counted the minutes before I 
 must bleed to death. I had no more hope of 
 seeing the new year on the morrow than I now 
 have of outliving the next centurj'. Thank God, 
 death did not seem so dreadful, now that it was 
 come. And then the sacrifice was not all in vain, 
 falling thus in God's own holy cause of freedom. 
 But home and friends ! O, the rush of thought 
 then! 
 
 " Let the veil be drawn here. The temple of 
 memory has its holy place, into which only one's 
 own soul may, once in a great season, solemnly 
 enter. 
 
 " And so I lay there, with my head pillowed on 
 my blanket, while the battle swelled again around 
 and over me — bullets glancing from the sides of 
 stone that sheltered me, or sinking into the log 
 above me, and shot and shell crashing through 
 the tree-tops, and falling all about me. Two 
 shells, I remember, struck scarcely ten feet from 
 me, and in their explosion covered me with dirt 
 and splinters ; but that was aU. Still I lived on. 
 I smile now as I think of it, how I kept raising 
 my left hand to see if the finger nails were grow- 
 ing white and purple, as they do when one bleeds 
 to death, and wondering to find them still warm 
 and ruddy. Hemorrhage must have ceased al- 
 most, and the instincts of existence said, ' Live ! ' 
 
 Then came the agony of waiting for removal from 
 the field. How I longed and looked for some fa- 
 miliar face, as our men twice charged up into that 
 wood, directly over me ! But they belonged to 
 another division, and had other work to do than 
 bearing off the wounded." 
 
 Couldn't understand it. — A war-beaten 
 veteran of Longstreet's coi'ps made a funny re- 
 mark to a prominent politician who conversed 
 Avith him v/hile coming in from the front. Said 
 he, " I do not understand this ; Lee has won a 
 big victory over Grant on the Kapidan, and told 
 us so, and that night we retreated. Then he won 
 another in the Wilderness, and told us so, and 
 we retreated to Spottsylvania. Then he won 
 another tre-?/ie?t-jus victory, and I got tuk pris- 
 oner ; but I reckon he has retreated ag'in. Now, 
 when he used to lick them, the Yanks fell back 
 and claimed a victory, and we understood it. 
 Now Lee claims victories, and keeps a fallin' 
 back, and I can't understand it." 
 
 A No-Sider. — A correspondent tells the fol- 
 lowing storj'^ of one of the farmers in the vicinity 
 of Culpepper, Mhose possessions lay in a district 
 where both armies foraged. The old chap, one 
 da}', while surveying ruefully the streaks in the 
 soil where his fences once stood, remarked with 
 much feeling : 
 
 " I hain't took no sides in this yer rebellion, 
 but I'll be dog-gorned if both sides hain't took 
 
 A White House Anecdote. — An old farm- 
 er, from the West, who knew President Lin- 
 coln in days by-gone, called to pay his respects 
 at the Presidential mansion. Slapping the Chief 
 Magistrate upon the back, he exclaimed : " Well, 
 old boss, how are you ? " Old Abe, being thor- 
 oughly democratic in his ideas, and withal relish- 
 ing a joke, responded : " So I'm an old boss — am 
 I ? What kind of a boss, pray ? " " Why, an old 
 draft boss, to be sure," was the rejoinder. 
 
 BAKBARITIES OF THE SIOUX. 
 
 MRS. HUKD's NAHRATIVE. 
 
 On the 2d of June, 1862, Mr. Phineas B. Hurd, 
 with another man, left home, at the north end of 
 Sheteck Lake, Minnesota, on a tri]) to Dacotah 
 Territory, to be absent a month, taking a span of 
 horses and wagon, and such other outfit as would 
 be required upon such an expedition, leaving Mrs. 
 Hurd alone with her two children and a jNIr. 
 Voight, who had ciiarge of the farm. On the 
 morning of the 20th of August, about five o'clock, 
 while Mrs. Hurd was milking, some twenty In- 
 dians rode up to the house and dismounted. Mrs. 
 Hurd discovered among the horses one of their 
 own that was taken away by Mr. Hurd. Mrs. 
 H. got into the house before the Indians, who 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 249 
 
 entered and began smoking, as was their custom. 
 Five of these she knew, one being a half-breed 
 who could speak English. Her children were in 
 bed, and, at the time of the entrance of the In- 
 dians, asleep. The youngest, about a year old, 
 awoke and cried, when Mr. Voight took it up and 
 carried it into the front yard, when one of the In- 
 dians stepped to the door and shot him through 
 the body. He fell dead with the child in his 
 ai-ms. At this signal some ten or fifteen more 
 Indians and squaws rushed into the house, — they 
 having been concealed near by, — and commenced 
 an indiscriminate destruction of everything in the 
 house, breaking open trunks, destroying furni- 
 ture, cutting open feather beds, and scattering the 
 contents about the house and yard. 
 
 Mrs. Hurd, in her uncommon energy and in- 
 dustry as a pioneer housewife, had, with a good 
 stock of cows, begun to make butter and cheese, 
 and had ou hand at the time about two hundred 
 pounds of butter and twenty-three cheeses. These 
 the Indians threw into the yard and destroyed. 
 While this destruction was going on, Mrs. Hurd 
 was told that her life would be spared on the con- 
 dition that she would give no alarm, and leave 
 the settlement by an unfrequented path or trail, 
 leading directly east across the prairie, in the di- 
 rection of New Ulm, and was ordered to take her 
 children and commence her march. Upon plead- 
 ing for her children's clothes, they having on only 
 their night clothes, she was hurried off, being re- 
 fused even her sun-bonnet or shawl. She took 
 the youngest in her arms, and led the other, a 
 little boy of a little over three years, by the hand ; 
 and being escorted by seven Indians on horse- 
 back, she turned her back on her once prosperous 
 and happy home. The distance across the prai- 
 rie, in the direction which she was sent, was sixty 
 or seventy miles to a habitation. The Indians 
 went out with her three miles, and before taking 
 leave of her, repeated the condition of her release, 
 and told her that all the whites were to be killed, 
 but that she might go to her mother. Thus was 
 she left with her two children almost naked, her- 
 self bareheaded, without food or raiment, not 
 even a blanket to shelter herself and children from 
 the cold dews of the night or storm. 
 
 After the Indians left her, three miles from her 
 home, on the prairie, " we took our way," said 
 Mrs. Hurd, "through the unfrequented road or 
 trail into v.hich the Indians had conducted us. It 
 was clear, and the sun shone Avith more than usual 
 brightness. The dew on the grass was 'heavy. 
 My little boy, William Henry, being barefooted 
 and thinly clad, shivered with the cold, and press- 
 ing close to me, entreated me to return to our 
 home. He did not know of the death of Mr. 
 Voight, as I kept him from the sight of the corpse. 
 He did not understand why I insisted upon going 
 on, enduring the pain and cold of so cheerless a 
 walk. He cried pitifully at first, but after a time, 
 pressing my hand, he trudged manfully along by 
 my side. The little one rested in my arms, un- 
 conscious of our situation. Two guns were fired 
 when I was a short distance out, which told the 
 death of my neighbor, Mr. Cook. I knew well 
 
 the fearful meaning. There was death behind, and 
 all the horrors of starvation before me. But 
 there was no alternative. For my children, anj-- 
 thing except death at the hands of the merciless 
 savage ; even starvation on the prairies seemed 
 preferable to this. 
 
 " About ten o'clock in the forenoon a thunder- 
 storm suddenly arose. It was of unusual vio- 
 lence ; the wind was not high, but the lightning, 
 thunder, and rain were most terrible. The vio- 
 lence of the storm was expended in about three 
 hours, but the rain continued to fall slowly until 
 night, and at intervals continued until morning. 
 During the storm I lost the trail, and walked on, 
 not knowing whether I was right or wrong. 
 Water covered the lower portions of the prairie, 
 and it was with difficulty that I could find a place 
 to rest when night came on. At last I came to 
 a sand-hill or knoll ; on the top of this I sat down 
 to rest for the night. I laid my chikben down, 
 and leaned over them to protect them from the 
 rain and chilling blast. Hungry, weary, and wet, 
 William fell asleep, and continued so until morn- 
 ing. The younger one worried much ; the night 
 wore away slowly, and the morning at last came, 
 inviting us to renewed eff'orts. As soon as I 
 could see, I took my little ones and moved on. 
 About seven o'clock I heard guns, and for the 
 first time became conscious that I had lost my 
 way, and was still in the vicinity of the lake. I 
 changed my course, avoiding the direction in which 
 I heard the guns, and pressed on with increased 
 energy. No trail was visible. As for myself, I 
 was not conscious of hunger ; but it was harass- 
 ing to the mother's heart to listen to the cries of 
 my precious boy for his usual beverage of milk, 
 and his constant complaints of hunger. But there 
 was no remedy. The entire day was misty, and 
 the grass wet. Our clothes were not dry during 
 the day. Towards night William grew sick, and 
 vomited, until it seemed impossible for him longer 
 to keep up. The youngest child still nursed, and 
 did not seem to suffer materially. 
 
 " About dark on the second day I struck a road, 
 and knew at once where I was, and to my horror 
 found I was only four miles from home. Thus 
 had two days and one night been passed, travel- 
 ling, probably, in a circle. I felt almost exhausted, 
 and my journey but just begun ; but as discoura- 
 ging as this misfortune might be, as the shades of 
 night again closed around me, the sight of a 
 known object was a pleasure to me. I was no 
 longer lost upon the vast prairies. 
 
 "It was now that I felt for the first time it 
 would be better to die at once ; that it would be 
 a satisfaction to die here, and end our weary jour- 
 ney on this travelled road, over which we had 
 passed in our happier days. I could not bear to 
 He down with my little ones on the unknoAvn and 
 trackless waste over which we had been wander- 
 ing. But this feeling was but for a moment. I 
 took courage and started on the road to New 
 Ulm. When it became quite dark I halted for 
 the night ; that night I passed, as before, without 
 sleep. 
 
 " In the morning early I started on. It wa.s 
 
250 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 foggy, and the grass wet ; the road, being but little 
 travelled, was grown up vnih grass. WiEiam was 
 so sick that morning that he could not walk much 
 of the time ; so I was obliged to carry both. I was 
 now sensibly reduced in strength, and felt ap- 
 proaching hunger. My boy no longer asked for 
 food, but was thirsty, and drank frequently from 
 the pools by the wayside. I could no longer car- 
 ry both my children at the same time, but took 
 one on at a distance of a quarter or half a mile, 
 laid it in the grass, and returned for the other. 
 In this way I travelled twelve miles, to a place 
 called Dutch Charlie's, sixteen miles from Lake 
 Sheteck. I arrived there about sunset, hav- 
 ing been sustained in my weary journey by the 
 sweet hope of relief. My toils seemed almost 
 at an end, as I approached the house, with a heart 
 full of joyous expectations ; but what were my 
 consternation and despair when I found it emp- 
 ty ! Every article of food and clothing was re- 
 moved ! My heart seemed to die within me, and 
 I sank down in despair. The cries of my child 
 aroused me from my almost unconscious state, 
 and I began my search for food. The house had 
 nol been plundered by the Indians, but abandoned 
 by Its owner. I had promised my boy food when 
 we arrived here, and when none could be found 
 he cried most bitterly. But I did not shed a tear, 
 nor am I conscious of having done so during all 
 this journey. I found some green corn, which I 
 endeavored to eat, but my stomach rejected it. I 
 found some carrots and onions growing in the 
 garden, which I ate raw, having no fire. My old- 
 est child continued vomiting. I offered him some 
 carrot, but he could not eat it. 
 
 " That night we staid in a cornfield, and the 
 next morning at daylight I renewed my search 
 for food. To my great joy I found the remains 
 of a spoiled ham. Here, I may say, my good for- 
 tune began. There was no more than a pound 
 of it, and that much^decayed. This I saved for 
 my boy, feeding it to him in very small quanti- 
 ties ; bis vomiting ceased, and he revived rapidly. 
 I gathered more carrots and onions, and with 
 this store of provisions, at about eight o'clock on 
 the morning of the tliird day, I again set forth on 
 my weary road for the residence of Mr. Brown, 
 twenty-five miles distant. This distance I reached 
 in two days. Under the effects of the food I was 
 able to give my boy, he gained strength, and was 
 able to walk all of the last day. When within 
 about three miles of the residence of Mr. Brown, 
 two of our old neighbors, from Lake Sheteck set- 
 tlement, overtook us under the escort of the mail 
 carrier. Both of them had been wounded by the 
 Indians and left for dead in the attack on the set- 
 tlement. Thomas Ireland, one of the party, had 
 been hit with eight balls, and, strange to say, was 
 still able to walk, and had done so most of the 
 way. Mrs. Estleck, the other person under es- 
 cort, was utterly unable to walk, having been 
 shot in the foot, once in the side, and once in the 
 arm. Her husband had been killed, and her son, 
 about ten years old, wounded. The mail carrier 
 had overtaken this party after the fight with the 
 Indians at the Lake, and placing Mrs. Estleck 
 
 in her sulky, he was leading his horse. As the 
 little party came in sight I took them to be Indians, 
 and felt that after all my toil and suffering I must 
 die, with my cliildi-en, by the hands of the savage. 
 I feared to look around, but kept on my way un- 
 til overtaken, when my joy was so great at seeing 
 my friends alive, I sank to the eartii insensible. 
 
 " This was a little before sunset, and we all 
 arrived at the residence of Mr. Brown that week. 
 Ihis house was also deserted and empty, but 
 being fastened up, we thought they might come 
 back. Our company being too weak and desti- 
 tute to proceed, we took possession of the house, 
 and remained ten days. There we found pota- 
 toes and green corn. The mail carrier, accom- 
 panied by Mr. L-eland, lame as he M^as, proceeded 
 on the next morning to New Ulm, where they 
 found there had been a battle with the Indians, 
 and one hundred and ninety-two houses burned. 
 A party of twelve men were immediately sent 
 with a Avagon to our rehef. It was now that we 
 learned the fate of J\Ir. Brown and family — all 
 had been murdered ! We also learned of the 
 general outbreak, and massacre of all the more 
 remote settlements, and the sad, sickening thought 
 was now fully confhmed in my mind, that my 
 husband was dead! my fatherless children and 
 myself made beggars ! " 
 
 Mrs. Hurd had resided at the Lake three 
 years, and was well acquainted with many of the 
 Indians — could speak their language, and had 
 always treated them with much friendship. It is 
 to this fact that she attributed their mercy in 
 saving her life. But who can bring back to her 
 the murdered husband — the beauty, loveliness, 
 and enjoyment that surrouneded her on the 
 morning of the 20th of August, 1S62, or blot 
 from her memory those awful, di'eary nights of 
 watching, alone upon the broad prairie, in the 
 storm and in the tempest, amid thunderings and 
 hghtning ? Or who can contemplate that moth- 
 er's feelings as her sick and helpless child cried 
 for bread, and there was none to give, or as she 
 l)ore the one along the almost trackless waste, 
 and laid it down amid the prahie grass, and then 
 returned for her other offspring ? 
 
 The Mantuan bard has touched a universal 
 chord of human sympathy in his deep-toned de- 
 scription of the flight of his hero from the burn- 
 ing city of Troy, bearing his " good father," An- 
 chises, on his back, and leading " the little 
 Ascanius " by the hand, who, ever and anon fall- 
 ing in the rear, would " follow with unequal step." 
 The heroine of Lake Sheteck bore her two As- 
 canii in her arms, but unequal to the double 
 burden, was compelled to deposit half of her 
 precious cargo in the prairie grass, and returning 
 for the other, to repeat for the third time her 
 painful steps over the same. This process, re- 
 peated at the end of each quarter or half mile, 
 extended the fearful duration of her terrible 
 flight through the lonely and uninhabited prahie. 
 
 The force of nature could go no farther, and 
 maternal love has no stronger exemplification. 
 But for the plentiful showers of refreshing rain, 
 sent by a merciful Providence, these poor wan- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 251 
 
 derers -w-ould have fainted by the way, and the 
 touching story of the heroine of Sheteck Lake 
 would have been forever shrouded in mystery. 
 
 An Incident at Chattanooga. — At one 
 point there was a lull in the battle. At least, it 
 had gone scattering and thundering down the 
 line, and the boys were as much " at ease " as 
 boys can be on whom at any moment the storm 
 may roll back again. To be sure, occasional 
 shots, and now and then a cometary shell, kept 
 them alive ; but one of the boys ran down to a 
 little spring, and to the woods where the enemy 
 lay, for water. He had just stopped and swung 
 down his canteen — " tick," and a minie ball 
 struck it at an angle, and bounded away. He 
 looked around an instant, discovered nobody, 
 thought it was a chance shot — a piece of lead, 
 you know, that goes at a killing rate without 
 malice prepense ; and so, nowise infirm of pur- 
 pose, he bent to get the water. Ping ! a second 
 bullet cut the cord of his canteen, and the boy 
 '•' get the idea " — a sharpshooter was after him, 
 and he went on the right-about, on the double- 
 quick, to the ranks. A soldier from another 
 part of the line made a pilgrimage to the spring, 
 was struck, and fell by its brink. But where 
 was the marksman ? Two or three boys ran out 
 to draw his fire while others watched. Crack 
 went the unseen piece again, and some keen- 
 eyed fellow spied the smoke roll out from a little 
 cedar. This was the spot, then. The reb had 
 made him a hawk's nest, — in choice Indian, a 
 Chattanooga in the tree, — and drawing the 
 green covert around him, was taking a quiet 
 hand at " steeple-shooting " at long range. 
 
 A big blue-eyed German, tall enough to look 
 into the thhd generation, and a sharpshooter 
 withal, volunteered to dislodge him. Dropping 
 into a httle run-way that neared the tree diago- 
 nally, he turned upon his back, and worked him- 
 self cautiously along ; reaching a point perilously 
 close, he whipped over, took aim as he lay, and 
 God and his true right hand " gave him good 
 deliverance." Away flew the bullet, a minute 
 elapsed, the volume of the cedar parted, and 
 " like a big frog," as the boys described it, out 
 leaped a grayback — the hawk's nest was empty, 
 and a dead rebel lay under the tree. It was 
 neatly done by the German. May he live to tell 
 the story a thousand times to his moon-faced 
 grandchildren ! 
 
 A Southern Girl thus wrote to her cousin, 
 who was a prisoner at Camp Morton, Indianapo- 
 lis: 
 
 " I will be for Jeft'davise till the tenisee river 
 freazes over, and then be for him, and scratch on 
 the ice 
 
 Jeffdavise rides a white horse, 
 
 Lincoln rides a mule, 
 Jeffdavise is a gentleman, 
 
 And Lincoln is a fule." 
 
 THE SHARPSHOOTER'S LAMENT ON THE 
 BANKS OF THE POTOMAC. 
 
 "The sunlight is yellow and pleasant ; 
 
 What darkens your spirit, Jem Trty; ? " 
 " Ay, Sergeant, it's bright for the present, 
 
 And I know it looks mean to be blue, 
 Squattin' here, like a draggle-tailed pheasant ; 
 
 But what's a poor fellow to do ? 
 
 "Nary shot since I left the ' peraries,' 
 
 And 'listed in sarch o' big game. 
 It's a rule that must work by contraries, 
 
 That inveigled me on till I came 
 To this ground without even canaries 
 
 Or chippies to warrant an aim. 
 
 "Misfortin' comes crowdin' misfortin', 
 And between 'em old Jem is nigh beat, 
 
 For here comes the news of the sportin' 
 As has come to them chaps on the fleet ; 
 
 And, bless yer, they're greenies for courtin' 
 The shrews of grim death as they'll meet. 
 
 " Why, there isn't one cove in a dozen, 
 For all they're stout as you'll see, 
 
 As distinguishes well 'twi.\t the buzzin' 
 Of a bullet and that of a bee ; 
 
 And among 'em there's Billy, my cousin — 
 He shakes ' on a rest' like a flea. 
 
 " And Toby, though brave as a lion. 
 His intentions his in'ards confound ; 
 
 When to jerkin' the trigger he's nigh on, 
 The vartigo bobs him around ; 
 
 And that bully old sinner, O'Ryan,. 
 
 He's cross-eyed, and shoots at the ground. 
 
 "While here's the old boy as can jingle 
 Any button as shines on a breast. 
 
 With a pill as can operate single 
 
 At eight hundred yards and ' no rest ; ' 
 
 He's left for his cusses to mingle. 
 
 Like a eagle what's glued to his nest. 
 
 " 'Twas only last night, when on duty, 
 A sightin' them pickets o' theirs. 
 That I drew a true bead on a ' beauty,' 
 
 With a greasj' old coon on his ears. 
 < O beautiful varmint ! I'll shoot ye,' 
 I whispered aloud unawares. 
 
 " ' No, you won't,' says my comrade, old Dan'l; 
 
 ' The orders keep pickets from harm.' 
 ' Well, I'll rip up them stripes of red flannel 
 
 What so sarcily shine on his arm/ 
 I pleaded ; but ' No,' says old Dan'l, 
 
 ' The orders keep pickets from harm.* 
 
 " Sech orders my heart's disappointin' — 
 
 'Twasn't sech as inveigled me in 
 To clap my mark down to the writin' 
 
 The recruiter said glories would win. 
 O, when fellers is gathered for fightin', 
 
 Say, why can't the scrimmage begin ? 
 
 " O, I'm sick of this lazy black river, 
 Where forever we're likely to stay. 
 
 Whj', the Capital's saved, if it ever 
 Will be, and it can't run away ! 
 
 Can't we leave it a spell ? are we never 
 To sport in these diggins here -^ say ? 
 
252 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " Must a cove as can ring up his twenty 
 At twelve hundred yards on a ' string,' 
 
 Get his hand out when varmints is plenty, 
 Like a watch-works what hasn't no spring ? 
 
 Must a screamer be mum when he's sent t'ye 
 In voice for his sweetest to sing ? 
 
 •« I cares not for fierce adversaries, 
 If for fighting we wasn't so slow. 
 
 Sergeant ! it's waitin' that varies 
 The misery that hangs on me so. 
 
 1 longs for my darlin' ' peraries,' 
 And that's why my feelin's is low." 
 
 Colonel Willicii's Victory. — Chaplain 
 Ganter, of the Fifteenth Ohio regiment, gives the 
 following account of the fight that took place near 
 Camp George Wood, Kentucky, on the 17th of 
 December, 1861 : 
 
 " The noted Texas Rangers have been for some 
 time dodging, sneaking, dashing about us in a 
 desperate manner. Sunday last we had a skir- 
 mish with them in which Colonel WilJich had 
 two men wounded and one sergeant taken pris- 
 oner. Yesterday (Tuesday, 17th,) Colonel Wil- 
 lich sent over one, or two companies to watch 
 them. About noon the trumpeter came to the 
 bank on the opposite side of the i-iver and blew 
 the signal for reenforcements. Immediately four 
 or five companies (of Colonel Willich's regiment) 
 crossed the river at double-quick (across the 
 bridge which they had just completed). They 
 ran in eagerness to fight, stimulated to rage, to 
 revenge their wounded comrades of Sunday last. 
 When they crossed the river they deployed as 
 skirmishers and double-quicked it over fences, 
 through the woods, v.'hen all at once one of their 
 men cried halt, and seeing a horse in the woods 
 near by, he fired, and the horse fell. Immediately 
 a yell echoed through the woods, and about one 
 hundred and fifty Rangers issued forth, and came 
 within ten feet of the muzzles of the guns of our 
 men. Here they halted, and did not stir or 
 budgs one inch until each one of their number had 
 fired fourteen shots, being armed with a pair of 
 revolvers and double shot gun apiece. But while 
 this was going on our men were not idle. Ran- 
 gers dropped — Rangers yelled, groaned, and 
 cursed — horses Rangerless, riderless, were gal- 
 loping in all tlu-ections. When the Rangers had 
 performed their shooting in a cool, careless way, 
 they just as coolly turned round and retired. 
 They had no sooner disappeared, and our men were 
 once more advancing — than another company 
 of Rangers galloped up, and performed the same 
 remarkable fourteen-shot feat in the same cool, 
 determined manner, and were met by the same 
 sturd}^ brave German square. Once more Ran- 
 gers and Germans mingled dying groans — when 
 atlength, after the Rangers had gone through 
 this exact programme several times, three or four 
 hundred of them made one grand rush, with the 
 evident intention of breaking the German carrere, 
 or square. They came up with the same dash, 
 and fired their shots with the same apparent 
 neglect of life — some were literally lifted from 
 
 their horses on the point of the bayonet — some 
 were knocked ofi" with butts of the guns. It be- 
 came a hand-to-hand fight — Rangers retreating 
 and Germans following up. Lieutenant Saxe at 
 this point of the fight was somewhat in advance. 
 He was surrounded by Rangers ^ they asked him 
 to surrender — but instead of replying he rushed 
 at the man who made this request, but before he 
 reached the object of his attack dropped dead in 
 his tracks, receiving five bullets in the chest and 
 about twenty buckshot in the abdomen. Then the 
 struggle became fiercer and hotter, when all at once 
 the Germans found themselves in a net. On the 
 right came the firing from concealed infantry ; on 
 the left the boom of cannon from a masked battery 
 startled the heroes. Seven hundred cavalry at once 
 came into view in front. We could see the whole af- 
 fair from the high bluS'on this side of Green River. 
 Reenforcements were hurried across — Cotter's 
 batteries opened from our bluff — Germans slowly, 
 but unwillingly, retired to the woods, and just by 
 chance, the merest in the world, escaped from a 
 dreadful slaughter. The Forty -ninth Ohio and 
 Thirty-ninth Indiana formed in line of battle, and 
 double-quicked it over the field ; but the enemy 
 had retired. Now let me give you the results 
 and objects of this fight ; and what I teU you may 
 be relied upon, especially with regard to numbers. 
 Our loss was eleven killed, twenty-one wounded, 
 and five missing (when I say wounded, I mean 
 severely). Among the killed was one officer, 
 Lieutenant Saxe, a Jew, an old country soldier, 
 and a brave man. The loss of the enemy (I am giv- 
 ing you the lowest figures) was thirty- three killed ; 
 wounded we cannot positively tell, for they were 
 all carried off" the field. Colonel Terry, their 
 brave and celebrated Colonel of Rangers, was 
 killed. And now with regard to numbers en- 
 gaged : We had about five huncbed men (all of 
 Colonel AVillich's command) actually engaged at 
 one time or another. They had seven hundred 
 Rangers, one regiment of infantry (six hundred 
 men), and four cannon. The fight: well, you 
 may judge from my description, that there was 
 'no discount' on that from either side. The 
 Germans acknowledge that they never saw ' Reg- 
 ular Cavalry' in the old country wars, surpass 
 the Rangers in daring, bravery, and apparent in- 
 sensibility to danger and death. They describe 
 them as swarthy complexioned, a mixture of Cre- 
 oles, trappers, desperadoes, with long haii* and 
 shaggy whiskers, and even when lying woundsd 
 upon the ground exhibiting the fierceness of a 
 wounded tiger. I visited all the wounded to-day. 
 Number one has his ear shot off", number two is 
 minus the bridge of his nose, four or five wounded 
 in the arms, four or five in the legs, four in the 
 chest, one in the abdomen, anotlier has a quantity 
 of buckshot in his side. I saw the latter gentle- 
 man as the doctor was cutting out the shot. He 
 remarked ' tat dey didn't shoot mit buckshot in 
 de old country,' but he hoped the rebels would 
 ' shoot buckshot all de times.' They all took 
 great pleasure in explaining their wounds, and 
 most of them did not wince under the doctor's 
 dressing. One poor fellow comforted himself 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 253 
 
 •with the reflection that if he had to lose his leg 
 he ■would join the cavah-j'. This morning I went 
 to see the dead ; they -were laid out in the field, 
 neatly dressed ; graves were dug on the top of a 
 knoll, in a semicircle. The regiment formed 
 around them. The Colonel made a speech, and 
 then remarked, * that as their brave comrades 
 had fallen in the struggle for human rights and 
 Hberty, and were now on their journey to immor- 
 tality, they would give them three cheers ; ' and 
 cheer they did, and then the band played the 
 Marseilles Hymn, and the soldiers marched 
 around the graves, each throwing a handful of 
 earth into each of the graves. No salutes Avere 
 fired on account of the close proximity of the 
 hospital." 
 
 A Squad of Indiana volunteers, out scouting, 
 came across a female in a log cabin in the moun- 
 tains. After the usual salutations, one of them 
 asked her, "Well, old lady, are you a secesh?" 
 " No," was the answer. " Are you Union ? " 
 " No." " What are you, then ? " "A Baptist, an' 
 always have been." The Hoosiers let down. 
 
 A SINGULAR Spectacle in Battle. — At the 
 battle of Stone River, while the men were lying 
 behind a crest, waiting, a brace of frantic wild 
 turkeys, so paralyzed with fright that they were 
 incapable of flying, ran between the lines, and en- 
 deavored to hide among the men. But the frenzy 
 among the turkeys was not so touching as the 
 exquisite fright of the birds and rabbits. When 
 the roar of battle rushed through the cedar thick- 
 ets, flocks of little birds fluttered and circled 
 above the field in a state of utter bewilderment, 
 and scores of rabbits fled for protection to the men 
 lying down in line on the left, nestling under 
 their coats, and creeping under tlieir legs in a 
 state of utter distraction. They hoi^ped over the 
 field like toads, and as perfectly tamed by fright 
 as household pets. Many officers witnessed it, 
 remarking it as one of the most curious specta- 
 cles ever seen upon a battle-field. 
 
 Time to Leave. — One of the " contrabands," 
 who found his way to Boston with returning 
 txoops, related his experience on the battle-field 
 as follows : " Ye see, massa, I was drivin' an am- 
 bulance, when a musket-ball come and kill my 
 horse ; and den, pretty soon, the shell come along, 
 and he blow my wagon all to pieces — and den I 
 
 got of!" 
 
 Sol. Meredith. — A pleasant story is told by 
 a correspondent, of Colonel Sol. Meredith, of 
 Wayne County, Indiana, commanding the Nine- 
 teenth Indiana, on the Potomac. 
 
 At the Lewinsville skirmish, the Colonel was 
 at the head of his men, as they were formed in 
 line of battle, under the fire of the enemy. As 
 the shells exploded over them, his boys would in- 
 voluntarily duck their heads. The Colonel saw 
 their motions, and in a pleasant way exhorted 
 
 them, as he rode along the line, to hold up their 
 heads and act like men. He turned to speak to 
 one of his officers, and at that moment an eigh- 
 teen-pounder shell burst within a few yards of him, 
 scattering the fragments in all directions. In- 
 stinctively, he jei'ked his head almost to the sad- 
 dle-bow, while his horse squatted with fear. 
 " Boys," said he, as he raised up and reined his 
 steed, " you may dodge the large ones ! " A 
 laugh ran along the line at his expense, and after 
 that no more was said about the impropriety of 
 dodging shells, 
 
 "Most tear." — During the march of Mc- 
 Clellan's army up the Peninsula, from York- 
 town, a tall Vermont soldier got separated from 
 his regiment, and was trudging along through 
 the mud, endeavoring to overtake it. Finally, 
 coming to a crossing, he was puzzled as to which 
 road he should take ; but on seeing one of the " na- 
 tives," his countenance lighted up at the prospect 
 of obtaining the desired information, and he in- 
 quired, " Where does this road lead to ? " " To 
 hell ! " was the surly answer of the " native." 
 " Well," drawled the Vermonter, "judging by the 
 lay of the land, and the appearance of the inhab- 
 itants, I kalkerlate I'm most thar." 
 
 An Easy Capture. — Captain Wood, of the 
 Fourth Rhode Island regiment, was sailing around 
 alone, a day or two after the occupancy of Caro- 
 lina City, N. C, and seeing a suspicious schooner 
 coming down towards the fort, he sailed along- 
 side, and the following colloquy ensued : 
 
 " What kept you so long ? " queried the Cap- 
 tain. 
 
 " Well, bad weather, &c., &c.," responded the 
 unsuspicious Skipper, adding, " have the Yan- 
 kees got down this way yet ? " 
 
 " O, no ! They're up towards Newbern, I 
 hear." 
 
 The Captain ingratiated himself, and told them 
 his " nice new clothes " were the uniform of 
 Branch's men (rebels), who now were encamped 
 at Carolina City. 
 
 He learned their cargo was salt, &c. : they had 
 a mail, despatches, money, &c., for Colonel 
 White, and finally, under pretext of seeing the 
 '• General " at the depot, got them to make fast 
 to the railroad pier. The Skipper introduced 
 
 Mr. , who piloted lots of vessels through our 
 
 blockade, and two other men. The Captain chat- 
 ted, and drew them unsuspiciously into the depot, 
 where, fortunately. General Parke was, and in- 
 troduced the four to the General. 
 
 " Well ! I'm blowed if that ain't the smartest 
 Yankee trick yet! Well, I'll have to gin in," 
 was the Skipper's ejaculation. 
 
 Beauregard's Advice. — Beauregard, on a 
 visit to the "Response " battalion, after shaking 
 hands with the " boys," addressed them as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " Boys, be patient. The spider is patient ; it 
 
254 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 takes him a long time to weave his web, but he 
 never fails to catch his fly. We must imitate the 
 spider ; our web is nearly complete. In a few 
 days you will have work to do. My advice to 
 you is, to keep cool ; don't be in too great a 
 hurry ; take your time when the fight comes, 
 which I think will be in a few days ; load and 
 shoot slow, and aim low. Follow this, and his- 
 tory will have another victory to record for you." 
 After another warm shake of the hands, and 
 a cordial " God bless you," the General left, 
 amid the wildest applause. 
 
 A Scotch Traveller, on a visit to the United 
 States, furnished the following anecdote of Gen- 
 eral Grant : 
 
 " The day before Grant attacked Fort Donel- 
 son, the troops had had a march of twenty miles, 
 part of it during a bitter cold night. Grant called 
 a council of war, to consider whether they should 
 attack the fort at once, or should give the troops 
 a day or two's rest. The officers were in favor 
 of resting. Grant said nothing till they had all 
 given their opinion ; then he said : ' There is a 
 deserter come in this morning — let us see him, 
 and hear what he has to say.' When he came in, 
 Grant looked into his knapsack. * Where are 
 you from ? ' ' Fort Donelson.' ' Six days' ra- 
 tions in your knapsack, have you not, my man ? ' 
 ' Yes, sir.' ' When were they served out ? ' ' Yes- 
 terday morning.' 'Were the same rations served 
 out to all the troops ? ' ' Yes, sir.' ' Gentlemen,' 
 said Grant, ' troops do not have six days' rations 
 served out to them in a fort if they mean to stay 
 there. These men mean to retreat — not to 
 fight. We will attack at once.' " 
 
 Anecdotes of General Buford. — Major- 
 General Buford, than whom probably no com- 
 mander was so devotedly loved by those around 
 him, was offered a Major-General's commission 
 in the rebel army, when in Utah. He crushed 
 the communication in his hand, and declared that 
 he would live and die under the flag of the Union. 
 A few hours before his death, and while suffering 
 from delirium, he roundly scolded his negro ser- 
 vant ; but, recovering himself temporarily, he 
 called the negro to his bedside, and said to him : 
 " Edwai'd, I hear I have been scolding you. I 
 did not know Avhat I was saymg. You have been 
 a faithful servant, Edward." The poor negro sat 
 down and wept as though his heart was broken. 
 When General Buford received his commission 
 as Major-General, he exclaimed ; " Now I wish 
 that I could live." His last intelligible words, 
 uttered during an attack of delirium, were : " Put 
 guards on all the roads, and don't let the men 
 run back to the rear." This was an illustration 
 of the ruling passion strong in death, for no trait 
 in General Buford's character was more conspicu- 
 ous than his dislike to see men skulking or hang- 
 ing on the rear. 
 
 VERSES. 
 
 Supposed to bo written by General Jolin Morgan, on 
 siirvcyJDg- his solitary abode in liis cell, la the Ohio Peni- 
 tentiary at Columbus. 
 
 I AM monarch of all I survey ; 
 
 My right there is none to dispute ; 
 Naked walls, a stone floor, a tin traj-, 
 
 Iron spoon, checkered pants, and clean suit. 
 
 I am out of Jeff. Davis's reach, 
 I must finish my journey in stone, 
 
 Never hear a big secession speech — 
 I start at the sound of my OAvn. 
 
 O solitude ! strange are the fancies 
 Of those who see charms in thy face ; 
 
 Better dwell in the midst of the Yankees, 
 Than reign in this horrible place. 
 
 Ye steeds that have made me your sport. 
 
 Convey to this desolate cell 
 Some cordial, endearing report 
 
 Of the thefts I have practised so well. 
 
 Horse- stealing, bridge-burning, and fight, 
 
 Divinely bestowed upon man ; 
 0, had I the wings of a kite, 
 
 How soon would I taste you again ! 
 
 My sorrows I then might assuage 
 
 In the work of destruction and raiding ; 
 
 Might laugh at the wisdom of age, 
 Nor feel the least pang of upbraiding. 
 
 • Rebellion ! what music untold 
 Resides in that heavenly word ! 
 It helps me to silver and gold, 
 And all that the earth can afford. 
 
 But the sweet sound of burning and plunder 
 These prison- walls never yet heard, 
 
 Never echoed the chivaby's thmider, 
 Nor mocked at the Union's grand bird. 
 
 How fleet is a glance of the mind 
 
 Compared with the speed of my flight ! 
 
 But Shackelford came up behind, 
 So I found 'tAvas no iise to fight. 
 
 The Buckeyes that gave me a race 
 
 My form with indifference see ; 
 They are so light of foot on the chase, 
 
 Their coolness is shocking to me. 
 
 When I think of my dear native land, 
 
 I confess that I wish I was there ; 
 Confound these hard stone walls at hand, 
 
 And my bald pate, all shaven of hair. 
 
 My friends, do they now and then send 
 
 A wish or a thought after me ? 
 Like Burbeck, that quick-coming friend ? 
 
 For a friend in need truly was he. 
 
 But the sea-fowl is gone to her rest, 
 The beast is laid down in his lair ; 
 
 Y"ct not like John Morgan unblest. 
 As I to my straw-bed repair. 
 
 How Fort Sumter was Provisioned. — The 
 traitor Floyd took great pains to jjut the United 
 States forts in Charleston harbor into the hands 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 255 
 
 of the South Carolinians, -without expense of men 
 or money. For this purpose he refused the con- 
 stant entreaties of Colonel John L. Gardner, the 
 officer in command at Fort INIoultrie, for troops. 
 Just at the time the danger Avas becoming immi- 
 nent, he sent, instead of soldiers for defence, a 
 body of laborers, who, under the direction of an 
 engmeer, were ordered to repair the fort in such 
 a way and at such a time as to render the fort 
 defenceless against the seceders. These labor- 
 ers were to be fed from the supplies at the fort. 
 This made it necessary to purchase provisions in 
 Charleston from week to week, so that, in the 
 event of a siege, the garrison would be starved 
 out in a few days. By desperate efforts the re- 
 pairs were finished in such a way that the forty- 
 five men in the fort could make some defence ; 
 but being dependent on Charleston for food, the 
 South Carolinians and Floyd well knew that the 
 fort was completely in their power whenever they 
 should see fit to cut off supplies from the city. 
 
 In this dilemma Colonel Gardner practised the 
 piece of strategy which finally enabled Anderson 
 to hold the fort and make his defence. Colonel 
 G. wrote to an old friend, the chief of the com- 
 missary department, to send him provisions for 
 one hundred men for six months ; at the same 
 time significantly hinting to him that he could 
 obey this requisition in the ordinary discretionary 
 routine of his duty without consulting with the 
 Secretary of War. He added also the further 
 request that the transport should be ordered ,to 
 land her cargo at Fort Moultrie immediately on 
 her arrival in the harbor, and before she should 
 go to Charleston. The patriotic commissary offi- 
 cer, Colonel Taylor, the brother of the late Presi- 
 dent Taylor, understood the hint conveyed, and 
 the reason for it, and took the responsibiHty of 
 acting on Colonel Gardner's requisition. The 
 provisions were thus safely landed at Fort Moul- 
 trie, the traitor Secretary being not a whit the 
 wiser for the operation. These were the provis- 
 ions wliich were gradually carried over to Fort 
 Sumter in the engineer's boats, and suj^ported 
 Major Anderson and his gallant command during 
 the memorable siege. Floyd, not knowing the 
 ruse that had been played upon him by Colonel 
 Gardner, expected every day that hunger would 
 do the business for the little garrison, which he 
 intended to hand over, bound hand and foot, to 
 the enemy. 
 
 While "these matters were going on, Floyd sent 
 down a young officer to look after the carrying 
 out of his plans, and to represent to Colonel G., 
 by various indirect processes, the Secretary's idea 
 of an officer's duty in command at Fort Moultrie. 
 Colonel Gardner had reported to the Secretary 
 that, though he had but one man for each great 
 gun, he was determined to defend the place to the 
 utmost against Avhatever force should be sent 
 against it. Floyd's spy found Colonel Gardner's 
 men at work day and night adding to the de- 
 fences of the place. He found even the brick 
 quarters within the fort loopholed for a stand with 
 musketry, in case of an escalade by a sudden rush 
 of a lorge number of men. All this was evidently 
 
 directly the opposite of the Secretary's policy, as 
 represented in various indirect ways by the offi- 
 cer whom he had sent. He was shown all the 
 preparations for a desperate defence, which Col- 
 onel Gardner had made, and was told that they 
 would be used against any force which should 
 march from Charleston, as soon as they came 
 within range of the guns. He was, moreover, 
 requested to tell the Secretary all that he had 
 seen and heard. The consequence was, that the 
 commandant, disposed to do his duty too loell, 
 was suspended, and an officer of Kentucky bu'th, 
 who had married in Georgia, was put in command. 
 From Major Anderson's birth and connections 
 Floyd evidently supposed that he had obtained a 
 pliant tool for his purposes. A few days' obser- 
 vation convinced Major Anderson that he had 
 been sent there to sacrifice his honor, and that he 
 could save it only by carrying out the desperate 
 measures of defence already begun by Colonel 
 Gardner. The retreat to Fort Sumter, its repair, 
 its siege, and boml^ardment were the natural se- 
 quel. All these events, so important already in 
 history, turned upon the ruse by which Colonel 
 Gardner's requisition for provisions was met by 
 Colonel Taylor and kept secret from Floyd. This 
 is a scrap of history well worth remembering, and 
 is given on the best of authority. 
 
 Buck Travis' Capture. — In the early days 
 of the rebellion, ere the keen edge of Southern 
 chivalry was blunted by contact with the mudsills 
 of the North, Buck Travis raised a regiment 
 among the young bloods of Henry County, in 
 West Tennessee. The regiment was organized 
 by the election of Travis as Colonel, and the cel- 
 ebrated J. D. C. Atkins as Lieutenant-Colonel. 
 Travis lost no time in putting himself at the head 
 of his gallant band, and " starting forth on mar- 
 tial deeds intent," they approached Union City, 
 Tennessee, just at the time when Pillow was 
 transferring military stores, ordnance, &c., to Co- 
 lumbus, Kentucky. They arrived at the depot 
 simultaneously with a train from the South, bear- 
 ing several pieces of artillery. These, by some 
 strange mistake, were at once seized by Travis 
 as Lincoln guns, and a telegram was immedi- 
 ately sent to Atkins, who had remained behind at 
 Paris, announcing the brilliant achievement. The 
 despatch was handed to him on the Square, sur- 
 rounded by a crowd of citizens. He glanced at 
 its contents, and looked around for the most eli- 
 gible -site for a rostrum. Discovering a pile of 
 boxes on the corner, he made for them, followed 
 by the eager crowd. INIounting the box, he lifted 
 his voice and announced the glorious intelligence. 
 " My countrymen ! " he said, " this is a proud day 
 for Henry County and for the State. I am proud 
 to announce to you that your gallant sons, under 
 the lead of the indomitable Travis, have already 
 wreathed their brows with an imperishable fame. 
 The murderous artillery with which the tyi-ant 
 Lincoln sought to enslave our people, has been 
 wrested from the tyrant's hands, and — " Here 
 another despatch was handed to the speaker, and 
 
256 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 he was heard to remark, with an oath, " Buck al- 
 ways was a d — d fool. Boys, them was our guns, 
 after all." 
 
 Stonewall Jackson administers the Sac- 
 rament. — On the morning of a battle near Har- 
 jjer's Ferry, after a sermon by one of his chaplains, 
 Stonewall Jackson, who was an elder in the Pres- 
 byterian Church, administered the sacrament to 
 the church members in his army. He invited all 
 Christians to participate in the ceremony. A 
 Baptist, the straitest of his sect, thoroughly im- 
 bued with the idea of close communion, was seen 
 to hesitate ; but the occasion, and the man Avho 
 presided, overcame his scruples ; and thus it has 
 happened that the prospect of a fight and the elo- 
 quence of Jackson made a Baptist forget that 
 baptism is the door into the church. In all Jack- 
 son's aimy an oath was rarely uttered. A reli- 
 gious enthusiasm pervaded it, which made every 
 man a hero. Conscious of the justice of his 
 cause, and imbued with the strongest convictions 
 of patriotism, his men -were irresistible. In this 
 incident we have an explanation of General Jack- 
 son's invincibility ; and we are thus enabled to 
 understand why his men were heroes, and why 
 they endured without a murmur the severest 
 hardships to Avhich any troops were subjected 
 during the war. 
 
 ADVENTURES AT BULL RUN. 
 
 BY EDWIN S. BAllRETT. 
 
 This narrative of personal adventures before 
 and at the battle of Bull Pam commences with 
 the night preceding the action : " On Saturday 
 evening, the 20th of July, I heard we were to start 
 at half past two the following morning, and our 
 line was to be in readiness at that early hour. We 
 had occupied the camp at Centreville since Thurs- 
 day night. Wrapping my blanket around me, at 
 ten o'clock I stretched myself upon the bare 
 ground to sleep. The night was cool, and at 
 twelve o'clock I awoke, feeling very cold, and, un- 
 able to sleep more, I anxiously waited to hear the 
 signal to prepare. At two o'clock one drum 
 sounded through the camp, and was repeated 
 through the numerous camps around us, and in 
 half an hour forty thousand men stood ready to 
 battle for the Union. 
 
 " The Fifth Massachusetts regiment, which I 
 accompanied, was in the division under Colonel 
 Heintzelman, acting Major General, and our regi- 
 ment was third in the column. The First Minne- 
 sota, under Colonel Gorman, led, followed by the 
 Massachusetts Eleventh, Colonel Clarke ; then 
 the Fifth, Colonel Lawrence, with the regular cav- 
 alry, and a battery of artillery leading the ad- 
 vance. We waited, in marching order, from half 
 past two o'clock until after six before the order 
 was given to advance, and then we learned that 
 Colonel Hunter, with eight regiments, including 
 Governor Sprague's command, had preceded us, 
 and we M-ere to follow. General McDowell and 
 staff now headed our division. 
 
 " Mounted on a secession horse, which I had cap- 
 tured two days previously, I followed in the rear 
 of the regiment, in company with Quartermaster 
 Billings and Surgeon Hurd. From Centreville 
 we took the extreme northern road, leaving the 
 Warrenton road on our left, which General Tyler 
 had taken with his division. Passing through a 
 forest of heavy oak timber, some three or four 
 miles in length, we emerged into the open coun- 
 try, with a wide intervale on our left, and the 
 Blue Ridge Mountains chstinctly visible on our 
 right. We had heard an occasional cannon shot 
 during the morning, but not until ten o'clock was 
 there any sound of a general engagement. The 
 heavy cannonading on our left and in front caused 
 the march to be hastened, and our men could 
 hardly be restrained, so eager were they for the 
 fight. About a mile and a half before we reached 
 the field, the men began to throw away their 
 blankets, haversacks, and all unnecessary append- 
 ages — the diff'erent regiments trying to throw 
 them into a pile, or as near together as jjossible, 
 without halting. I tied my horse near the hos- 
 pital headquarters, and hastened to the head of 
 the column, which advanced in double-quick time 
 till they came within reach of the enemy's guns. 
 The fight was raging on our left and in front, a.s 
 our division came on to the field. I could see 
 that the enemy's batteries were posted on a long 
 ridge, with woods extending on either flank, and 
 separated from us by a valley. It was now about 
 half past eleven o'clock. General jMcDowell or- 
 dered one brigade, under Colonel FranhJin, con- 
 sisting of the First Minnesota, Eleventh and Fifth 
 Massachusetts, and a Pennsylvania regiment, to 
 advance down the hill and take a position in the 
 vallej', on a slight elevation directly in front of 
 the rebel batteries. I followed on some distance, 
 but the shot rattled about me, and I halted near 
 General McDowell and staff", while the brigade 
 swept past me and down the hill. I watched for 
 some time the colors of the Fifth with intense in- 
 terest. The regiment reached the valley, and de- 
 ploying to the right on to a slight knoll, fell flat 
 on then* faces, while the shot from the rebel bat- 
 teries mostly passed over their heads. A battery 
 swept past me to take a position. I followed it 
 along some distance, when the Major galloped 
 back to me, and called out, ' Friend, tell Captain 
 F. to hurry up my supports.' I did not know 
 Captain F., but hastened back and met an order- 
 ly, of whom I inquired where he was. He pointed 
 him out to me, near a regiment of infantry. I 
 rushed up to him and gave my message. He re- 
 plied, ' They are coming riglit along.' And on 
 double-quick the regiment followed after the bat- 
 tery. The rifle-cannon shot, shells, and bullets, 
 struck all. around me, and men were falling in 
 every direction. Seeing a high persimmon tree 
 standing alone, a short distance down the hill, I 
 determined to climb it. The top of it was dead, 
 and about thii-ty feet from the ground. From this 
 elevation I had an unobstructed view of the whole 
 line, and I could see into the enemy's intrench- 
 ments, where the men looked like so many bees 
 in a hive ; and I could plainly see their officers 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 257 
 
 riding about, and their different columns moving 
 hither and thither. Their batteries on the right 
 and left were masked with trees so completely, 
 that I could not distinguish them except by the 
 flash from their guns ; and a battery in a corn- 
 field, on our extreme left, was so completely 
 concealed by the cornstalks placed so naturally 
 about it, that our men came -suddenly upon it, 
 never dreaming of one so near. The cannon 
 balls struck the ground continually close to the 
 tree, and bounded along for a quarter of a mile to 
 the rear. I felt that I was above the range of 
 these, but the rifle balls whistled about my head, 
 striking the tree in a way anything but pleasant. 
 Just after I had reached the top of the ti'ee, a New 
 Hampshire regiment, close at my left, had suc- 
 ceeded in driving the rebels from the woods in 
 front, and, with three cheers, they fell back into 
 line. AVhen the line was formed, three cheers 
 were given for Colonel Marston, who had fought 
 gallantly and received two severe wounds. Sher- 
 man's battery then commenced firing, on my right, 
 within thirty rods of me, and at the first dis- 
 charge the men cheered, and watched the effect 
 of the shell, which exploded inside the enemy's 
 intrenchments. The men cheered again, to see 
 that they got the range so quickly, and continued 
 to fire with great rapidity, while the enemy re- 
 turned the fire with equal vigor and precision, the 
 cannonading being kept up incessantly for an 
 hour. 
 
 " The shot and shell from this battery must liave 
 done the rebels great damage, as every shot took 
 effect witliin their intrenchments. Still men and 
 horses kept falling near our guns, and the infan- 
 try lines were parted in many places by their can- 
 non balls. The valley for nearly one half a mile 
 in front of the enemy's works was filled with our 
 infantry, extending to some patches of woods 
 on our right. Our batteries were placed on va- 
 rious eminences on the flank and rear, shifting 
 their positions from time to time. The fire from 
 our lines in this valley was terrific, and as they 
 kept slowly advancing, firing, retreating to load, 
 and then advancing again, it was a sight which 
 no words could describe. For thi'ee long hours 
 we poured into their intrenchments this terrible 
 fire, and whenever the enemy showed themselves 
 on the flanks they were driven back with great 
 slaughter. During all this time our men were 
 subjected to a CTOss-fire from the enemy's infan- 
 try stationed in the woods on our left. At one 
 time the ' Stars and Stripes ' were waved in these 
 woods, and men dressed much like our own called 
 out not to fire that way. Our men gradually 
 drew up towards the flag, when immediately the 
 secession flag was thrown out, and the rebels 
 poured a volley into our men so unexpectedly 
 that they were for the time driven back, but we 
 soon regained the ground. 
 
 "General McDowell now ordered a battery for- 
 ward to take a position near a house on our 
 right ; the Fire Zouaves were ordered to support 
 it. The position appeared to me, from my look- 
 out, like a strong one, as it was on a hill on a 
 level with the rebel batteries. Our battery started, 
 17 
 
 the horses running at the top of their speed, and 
 shortly began to ascend the eminence, the Zouaves 
 following closely ; but scarcely had the battery 
 halted and fired, before the enemy opened ui)on 
 them from new masked batteries, and a terrific 
 fire of musketry from the woods, and our artil- 
 lery were driven back, many of their men and 
 horses being killed. The Zouaves stood their 
 ground manfully, firing in lines and then falling 
 on their faces to load. Their ranks were becom- 
 ing dreadfully thinned, yet they would not yield 
 an inch ; when suddenly out dashed the Black 
 Horse Cavalry, and charged furiously, with up- 
 lifted sabres, upon them. The Zouaves gallantly 
 resisted this furious onset without flinching, and 
 after firing their muskets — too sorely pressed to 
 load — would fight furiously with their bayonets, 
 or any weapon they could seize, and in some in- 
 stances di-ag the riders from their saddles, stab- 
 bing them with their knives, and mounting their 
 splendid black horses, gallop over the field. Nev- 
 er, since the famous chai'ge of the Light Brigade, 
 was a cavalry corps more cut to pieces. There 
 is a bitter animosity existing between the Black 
 Horse Cavahy and Ellsworth's Zouaves. A great 
 many of the cavalry are citizens of Alexandria 
 and Fairfax County, and they resolved to kill ev- 
 ery Zouave they could lay their hands upon, to 
 avenge the death of Jackson ; and the Zouaves 
 were equally determined to avenge the murder of 
 Ellsworth ; so no quarter was expected by them. 
 
 " I had now been in the tree some two hours, 
 and all this time a continuous stream of wounded 
 were being carried past me to the rear. The soldiers 
 would cross their muskets, place their wounded 
 companions across, and slowly carry them past ; 
 another soldier would have a wounded man with 
 his arm around his neck, slowly walking back ; and 
 then two men would be bearing a mortally wound- 
 ed comrade in their arms, who was in convulsions 
 and writhing in his last agonies. These were to 
 me the most affecting scenes I witnessed, and I 
 could hardly keep back the tears, while I could 
 look upon the dead unmoved. Picking a couple 
 of persimmons as a remembrance, I descended the 
 tree, startling two soldiers leaning against it, by 
 requesting them to move their guns so that I 
 could get down. They looked up in astonish- 
 ment at hearing a voice, and no doubt their first 
 thought was that I might be a rebel spy ; but the 
 ' U. S.' on my belt, and my anxious inquiries af- 
 ter their regiment, soon reassured them. 
 
 " Leaving the tree, I went along over the field to 
 the left, the bullets whistling about me, and the 
 cannon balls ploughing up the ground in every di- 
 rection, when I came across two of our men with 
 a prisoner, who said he belonged to a South Car- 
 olina regiment. I asked him some questions, but 
 he was dogged and silent, and did not appear to 
 be disposed to reply to my inquiries. The shot 
 fell so thick, and shells bursting around me, I 
 hardly knew which way to turn. A musket ball 
 whizzed past my ear, so near that I felt the heat, 
 and for a moment thought I was hit. The ground 
 was strewed with broken guns, swords, cartridge- 
 boxes, blankets, haversacks, gun-carriages, to- 
 
258 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 J 
 
 gether with all the paraphernalia of warfare, min- 
 gled with the dead and wounded men. I saw 
 here a horse, and his rider under him, both killed 
 by the same cannon ball. Seeing a small white 
 house still towards the left, with a well near it, I 
 started for some water, and getting over a wall, I 
 discovered lying beside it a number of our dead 
 svith their haversacks drawn over their faces. 
 I lifted the cover from then* faces, thinking, per- 
 ha]js, I might come across some of my friends ; 
 but they were all strangers, or so disfigured that 
 I could not recognize them. I went to the well 
 for a drink, and as I drew near the house, I heard 
 loud groans ; and such a scene as was there pre- 
 sented, in that little house of two rooms, and on 
 the grass around it, was enough to appaU the 
 stoutest heart. 
 
 " The rooms were crowded, and I could not get 
 in ; but all around on the gi-ass were men mor- 
 tally wounded. I should think there w'ere at least 
 forty on that greensward within twenty rods of 
 the house, and such wounds — some with both 
 legs shot oft" ; some with a thigh shot away ; 
 some with both legs broken ; others with horrid 
 'flesh wounds made from shells. I saw one man 
 with a wound in his back large enough to put in 
 my fist ; he was fast bleeding to death. They lay 
 so thick around me, that I could hardly step be- 
 tween them, and every step was in blood. As I 
 walked among them, some besought me to kill 
 them, and put an end to their agony ; some were 
 just gasping, and some had died since they had 
 been brought there, and the dying convulsions of 
 these strong men were agonizing in the extreme. 
 Some were calling for the surgeon, but the hos- 
 pital was more than a mile off", and there were but 
 two surgeons here. 
 
 " I left the house, and bore off to the right, 
 towards some low pine woods, about a hundred 
 rods distant, and scattered along were the dead 
 bodies of our men. On reaching the wood, I 
 found the ground Hterally covered with the corpses 
 of the enemy, and I counted, in the space of 
 about ten rods square, forty-seven dead rebels, 
 and ten mortally wounded, and scattered all 
 through the woods, still farther back, were any 
 number more. I talked with several of the 
 wounded, and they told me they belonged to the 
 Eighth Georgia regiment, Colonel Bartow, and 
 had arrived at Manassas, from Winchester, the 
 day before, where they had been with General 
 Johnston. They told me their whole regiment 
 was posted in this pine wood. One young man 
 told me he was from Macon, and that his father 
 was a merchant. I asked another where he was 
 from. He replied, defiantly, ' I am for disunion 
 — opposed to you.' This man had both thighs 
 broken. 
 
 " I heard one of our soldiers ask a wounded 
 Georgian if their orders were to kill our wounded. 
 He answered, ' No.' Our soldiers carried water 
 to these wounded men, and as they lay there 
 writhing in agony, a cup of water was put within 
 their reach. The convulsions of one of these was 
 awful to look upon. He appeared to have been 
 shot in the lungs, as he vomited blood in large 
 
 quantities, and in his struggles for breath, would 
 throw himself clear from the ground. I noticed 
 among this heap of bodies an officer dressed in 
 light blue uniform, with green stripes on his 
 pants, — a fine-looking man, — whom I took to 
 be a captain. I also saw one of our soldiers take 
 sixty dollars from the body of a dead Georgian, 
 and their knives, revolvers, &c., were appropri- 
 ated in the same Avay. This I looked upon as le- 
 gitimate plunder for the soldiers, but as a citizen, 
 I forbore to take anything from the fiald. 
 
 "I think the fight in this wood must have 
 been fiercer than in any part of the field, except 
 it may be on our right, where the Zouaves were. 
 This wood was near the enemy's right, and where 
 the fight commenced in the morning with Hunter's 
 division, and as Heintzelman's division came into 
 action, the rebels were giving way at this point, 
 under the galling fire of Colonel "Marston's regi- 
 ment, while the Rhode Island troops and some 
 New York regiments had driven back their ex- 
 treme right. Passing through these pine woods, 
 I still bore to the right, towards our centre, and 
 crossed a cleared space, and came to some heavy 
 wood, on the edge of which I perceived a num- 
 ber of dead scattered about, and seeing several 
 wounded men, I went up to one of them, and 
 found he was a rebel belonging to an Alabama 
 regiment. He told me he joined the regiment 
 the 13th of April. He pointed to a dead horse 
 close to us, and said, ' There is my Colonel's 
 horse, and I suppose you have taken him pris- 
 oner.' 
 
 " Most of these rebels had gray suits, with 
 black trimmings — very similar to the uniforms 
 of some of our men. Scattered all through this 
 wood were our men and the Alabamians, dead 
 and wounded mingled together. I noticed a 
 splendid bay horse nibbling the leaves from a 
 tree, and was thinking what a fine animal he was, 
 when I saw that one fore leg was shot off, clean 
 as though cut by a knife, and bleeding a stream. 
 Until this time I supposed that everything was 
 being swept before us, as the fire from the bat- 
 teries had been nearly silenced on their right, 
 and only an occasional discharge was heard. On 
 the enemy's left, the firing Avas not nearly as 
 vigorous as half an hour previous. I came out 
 of the woods, and to my utter astonishment, saw 
 our whole body retreating in utter confusion and 
 disorder — no lines, no companies, no regiments, 
 could be distinguished. I stood still a few mo- 
 ments, unable to comprehend the extraordinary 
 spectacle. 
 
 " I heard my name called, and turning round, 
 a Lieutenant of the Massachusetts Fifth came 
 towards me. ' My God, Ed. ! what are you here 
 for ? ' he exclaimed. Without replying, I asked 
 if the Fifth had suffered much. He said it had, 
 and that the Colonel was dangerously wounded. 
 I waited to find others of my friends, but the 
 whole line was drifting back through the valley. 
 I fell in with them, and went slowly uj) the hill, 
 occasionally halting and looking back. 1 stopped 
 on the brow of a hill while the volume drifted 
 by, and I can compare it to nothing more than a 
 
ANECDOTES. POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 259 
 
 drove of cattle, so entirely broken and disorgan- 
 ized were our lines. The enemy had nearly 
 ceased firing from the batteries on their right 
 and centre, but still, on our extreme right, be- 
 yond a patch of woods, the fight was going on, 
 and their cannonading was kept up with vigor. 
 
 " The line where the main battle was fought 
 was a half to three quarters of a mile in length, 
 the ground uneven and broken by knolls and 
 patches of wood. At no time did we have a fair 
 chance at the enemy in the open field. They 
 kept behind their intrenchments, or under cover 
 of the woods. Our comparatively slight loss 
 may be attributed to the fact that the great body 
 of our troops were posted in the valley in front 
 of the enemy's batteries, but by keeping as close 
 to the ground as possible, the enemy's shot passed 
 over their heads, while the cross fire of infantry 
 from their fianks caused us the most damage. 
 
 " I did not leave the hill until the enemy's in- 
 fantry came out from their intrenchments, and 
 slowly moved forward, their guns gHstening in 
 the sun ; but they showed no disposition to 
 charge, and only advanced fi short distance. 
 Had they precipitated their columns upon our 
 panic-stricken army, the slaughter would have 
 been dreadful, for so thorough was the panic, 
 that no power on earth could have stopped the 
 retreat, and made our men turn and fight. They 
 were exhausted with twelve hours' marching and 
 fighting, having had little to eat, their mouths 
 paixhed with thirst, and no water in their canteens 
 — what could be expected of them then ? Our 
 men did fight like heroes, and only retreated 
 when they had no officers to control and com- 
 mand them. 
 
 " I found my horse tied to the tree where I 
 left him in the morning. Mounting him, I rode 
 up to the hospital headquarters, and stopped 
 some time watching the ambulances bringing 
 their loads of wounded, fearing I might discover 
 a friend or acquaintance. As these loads of 
 wounded men were brought up, blood flowed 
 from the ambulances like water from an ice cart, 
 and their mutilated limbs proti'uding from the 
 rear had no semblance of humanity. 
 
 " I left these scenes of blood and carnage, and 
 fell into this reti'eating mass of disorderly and 
 confused soldiery. Then commenced my retreat. 
 None who dragged their weary limbs through 
 the long hours of that night will ever forget it. 
 Officers of regiments placed themselves in front 
 of a body of their men, and besought them to 
 halt and form, for if they did not make a stand, 
 their retreat would be cut off. But they might 
 as well have asked the wind to cease blowing. 
 The men heeded them not, but pressed on in re- 
 treat. The regiments two or three miles to our 
 rear, which had not been in action, exhorted our 
 men to halt, as we drifted by, but all to no pur- 
 pose. No power could stop them. The various 
 regiments tried to collect as many as possible by 
 calling out the number of their regiment and 
 their State. In some instances, they collected 
 together two or three hundred men. 
 
 " At a naiTow place in the road the baggage 
 
 wagons and artillery got jammed together in a 
 dead lock, and in trying to get through I was 
 hemmed in so completely that for fifteen minutes 
 I could not move in either direction, and in this 
 way I became separated from a remnant of the 
 Fifth, and did not see them again till I reached 
 Centreville. I finally extricated myself by break- 
 ing down a rail fence, and driving my horse over 
 it, struck across a large cornfield, thus cutting 
 oflF considerable distance and reaching the road at 
 a point where it entered the oak forest. Shortly 
 after entering the woods the column in front of 
 me suddenly broke and ran into the woods on the 
 left ; the panic spread past me, and soldiers ran 
 pell-mell into the woods, leaving me alone on my 
 horse. I was afraid that in their fright they 
 might shoot me, and I shouted lustily, ' False 
 alarm.' 
 
 " Turning my horse about, not a man could I 
 see ; but soon a soldier thrust his head from behind 
 a large oali. I asked him what the matter was. 
 He replied, * The enemy are in front.' Somewhat 
 provoked at the scare, I made some reflection on 
 his courage, and shouted again still louder, * False 
 alai-m," which was soon taken up along the road, 
 and in five minutes we were going along as be- 
 fore. This was between five and six o'clock in 
 the afternoon. Shortly after I overtook two sol- 
 diers helping along a disabled Lieutenant ; they 
 asked me to take him up behind me, to which I 
 readily assented, although my horse was already 
 encumbered with, a pair of saddle-bags and sev- 
 eral blankets. The poor man groaned as they 
 lifted him up behind me. I was fearful he might 
 fall ofl', and I told him to put both arms around 
 me and hold on tight. Leaning- his head upon 
 my shoulder, we started on. 
 
 " He soon felt better, gave me his name, and 
 informed me that he was a First Lieutenant of 
 the Marines, and belonged in Connecticut. He 
 stated that they had in the fight four companies, 
 of eighty men each, and that Lieutenant Hitch- 
 cock (a very dear friend) was killed by his side. 
 A cavalry officer, with his arm in a sling, came 
 riding along, and drawing up near to me, I asked 
 him if he was much hurt. He replied, that he 
 had received a rifle ball through the fleshy part 
 of his arm. He also told me that during the fight 
 he had two horses shot under him, and the one 
 on which he was then riding he caught on the' 
 field. I questioned him as to the cause of our 
 disaster, and he answered, that our light troops 
 and light batteries could make no headway against 
 the heavy guns of the enemy, strongly intrenched. 
 I asked him how the enemy's works could have 
 been carried ; with characteristic faith in his 
 branch of the service, he replied, 'By allowing 
 the cavalry to charge, supported by infantry.' 
 He also informed me that we had about one 
 thousand cavalry in the field during the battle. 
 
 "As we continued our retreat through the 
 wood, the men, overcome with weariness, dropped 
 by the roadside, and immediately fell asleep: 
 some, completely exhausted, begged to be carried, 
 the wagons being already overloaded with those 
 unableto walk; and some shrewd ones quietly 
 
260 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 bargained with the driver of an ordnance wagon 
 for a seat by his side. Passing out through this 
 wood, we came in sight of the hills of Centreville. 
 I noticed that the column mostly left the road, 
 and bore off through an open field, leaving the 
 bridge we had crossed in the morning some dis- 
 tance on our right. I could not account for this 
 deviation from the morning's course, and I left 
 the main body and continued along some distance 
 farther, determined to keep the main road, as I 
 knew of no other way to cross the creek, except 
 by the bridge we had crossed in the morning ; but 
 coming up to a line of broken-down wagons, it 
 occurred to me that the bridge might be blocked 
 up, as I recollected the passage Avas quite naiTow. 
 I then started off to the left, across a level field, 
 but upon looking back I perceived that the wag- 
 ons still continued on towards the bridge ; in fact, 
 there was no other way for them to cross. I fol- 
 lowed the crowd of soldiers through the field ami 
 into some low woods. 
 
 " Here they scattered in every direction, as 
 there was no path, and each one was compelled 
 to choose his own route. I picked my way among 
 the tangled underbrush till I came to the creek ; 
 the bank down to the water was very steep, and 
 I feared my horse could not carry us both down 
 safely ; so, dismounting, I led him slowly down, 
 and then, mounting, I drove into the stream. 
 The bottom was soft and miry, and my horse sunk 
 in to his belly. I began to think that we should 
 all be soon floundering in the stream ; then urg- 
 ing him to his utmost strength, we reached the 
 opposite bank in safety. Twice my gallant horse 
 started up the banlt and fell back. After cross- 
 ing this creek I came into a cornfield, and soon 
 struck a road leading into CentrevUle, which vil- 
 lage I soon reached, and there my companion 
 met with his captain, and he then dismounted. 
 Never was a man more grateful for a favor than 
 was this Lieutenant. With tears in his eyes, he 
 thanked me a thousand times, and, wringing my 
 hands, walked away with his friends. 
 
 " From Centreville I could see the disordered 
 army winding along for some two miles ; a por- 
 tion of the men, and all the wagons and artillery, 
 took the road over the bridge, while another por- 
 tion came in nearly the direction I had taken. It 
 was now nearly eight o'clock, and as it grew 
 darker, our retreating army kept the main road 
 over the bridge. About two miles from Centre- 
 ville, on the southern road, was a rebel battery, 
 where the fight had taken place the Thursday 
 previous. This battery commanded the bridge 
 above mentioned. Suddenly a cannon shot was 
 fired from the battery and struck our column, 
 crowding across this narrow bridge. The utmost 
 consternation was created by this fire. In their 
 haste, wagons and gun-carriages Avere crowded 
 together and overturned ; the drivers cut their 
 horses loose, who galloped they scarcely knew 
 whither. Our men plunged into the stream, waist 
 deep, and were scattered in every direction, and 
 some who were seen up to this time have not been 
 heard of since. 
 
 " The enemy still firsd from the battery, but 
 
 did not dare to sally out, as they were kept in 
 check by our reserve on the heights of Centre- 
 ville. I reached our camp that we had left in the 
 morning a little after eight o'clock, and found 
 that a few of the Fifth had arrived before me. I1 
 was then expected we should encamp for the 
 night ; but about nine o'clock we received orders 
 to march to Alexandria. We had already trav- 
 elled from ten to twelve miles, and now our weary 
 soldiers were ordered to march twenty-five or 
 thirty miles farther. 
 
 " Slowly the fragment of our regiment fell into 
 line and began this dreadful night march. I took 
 a sick man behind me and followed in the rear 
 of our regiment, and crossing a field to the main 
 road we fell in with the drifting mass. A friend 
 of mine from the Fifth, who could hardly walk, 
 approached me. I offered him my horse if he 
 would hold the sick man who was groaning at 
 every step. To this he readily assented ; so I 
 dismounted. I saw no more of my horse till 
 morning, but trudged along all night without 
 once sitting down to rest, only occasionally stop- 
 ping to get water. 
 
 " I felt comparatively fresh when compared with 
 my companions. The dust was intolerable, and, not 
 having any canteen, I suffered exceedingly from 
 thirst. Men dropped down along the road by 
 scores ; some, completely exhausted, pleaded pit- 
 eously to be helped along ; some took hold of 
 the rear of the wagons, which was considerable 
 support to them, and many a horse had two men 
 on his back, with another helped along by his 
 tail ; in fact, a horse carrying but one was an 
 exception. I assisted one fine fellow along for a 
 long distance, who told me he was taken with 
 bleeding at the lungs while on the field ; he was 
 very weak, and in vain I tried to find an oppor- 
 tunity for him to ride, but he bore up manfully 
 through the night, and I saw him the next day in 
 AVashington. 
 
 " After passing Fairfax Court House some of 
 the regiments, or such a portion as could be col- 
 lected together, bivouacked for the night, but the 
 men Avere so scattered that I doubt if half a regi- 
 ment halted at any one spot. I still walked on, 
 never once resting, fearing if I did I should feel 
 worse when I again started. Towards morning 
 my feet began to be blistered, and the cords of 
 my legs worked like rusty wires, giving me great 
 pain at every step. Gladly did I hail the fu'st 
 faint streak of light in the east. 
 
 " At daylight we were within five miles of Alex- 
 andria. About this time we came to where the 
 Washington road branches off' from the main 
 road to Alexandria, and here our column divided. 
 I continued on towards Alexandria, and in about 
 an hour came in sight of Shuter's hill. I then 
 felt my journey Avas nearly accomplished, but the 
 last tAvo miles seemed endless. 
 
 " I stopped at a small house just back of Fort 
 EllsAVorth, and asked the old negro Avoman for 
 some breakfast. Tavo Zouaves Avere there Avhcn 
 I entered, and soon four more came in. She 
 kncAV them all, as they had paid her frequent vis- 
 its Avhile encamped in that neighborhood. She 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 261 
 
 gladly got us the best she had, and these six 
 Zouaves and myself, nearly famished as we were, 
 sat down to that breakfast of fried pork, hoe 
 cake, and coffee, served to us by this old slave 
 Moman, M'ith greater delight, than ever a king 
 seated himself at a banquet. 
 
 " The Zouaves each had their story of the battle 
 to relate, but the charge of the Black Horse Cav- 
 alry was their especial theme. One of them, 
 pulling a large Colt's pistol from his pocket, said, 
 ' There, I gave that fellow h — 1, and he wasn't the 
 only one either.' I coveted this pistol, and soon 
 bargained for it, and now have it in my posses- 
 sion; one barrel only had been fired. The Zouaves 
 gradually dropped off, and after paying the slave 
 woman for the meal, I started over the hill to the 
 camp of the Fifth, where I arrived about half 
 past eight o'clock, and found that my horse with 
 his riders had arrived, safely some time before." 
 
 A PSALM OF LIFE. 
 
 As chanted bij Gideon J. Pilloto and his boys on re- 
 treating from Lafayette, Georgia, June 24, 1864. 
 
 Tell me not, in boastful twaddle, 
 Yankees five by one " Confed " 
 
 Are unnerved and made skedaddle, 
 With coat-tail as high as head. 
 
 "Feds" will fight — a bold defender 
 Is each member of their ranks ; 
 
 That they readily surrender, 
 
 Can't be spoken of the " Yanks." 
 
 'Twas enjoyment, and not sorrow, 
 That we hoped to reap to-day ; 
 
 Certain that before the morrow 
 We should march the Yanks away. 
 
 Without bloodshed, without battle, 
 
 In their bivouac so nice. 
 We would pen them like dumb cattle, 
 
 'Gobble all up in a trice. 
 
 But their bullets now remind us 
 We should all be making tracks. 
 
 And, departing, leave behind us — 
 Far behind — those deadly " cracks." 
 
 Deadly, and perhaps some other 
 Fell shots may increase our slain ; 
 
 Slany a fallen, war- wrecked brother 
 Never can take aim again. 
 
 'Stride our horses let's be jumping, 
 While our hearts we thought so brave, 
 
 Like unmuffled drums, are thumping, 
 And our knees are like to cave. 
 
 Trust no shelter, howe'er pleasant ! 
 
 Let the Yankees bury our dead ! 
 Run ! run ! in this dreadful present, 
 
 Bullets whizzing overhead ! 
 
 Let us, too, continue going. 
 
 Spur our "plugs " to fastest gait : 
 
 For the bhie-coats are pursuing. 
 And we've had "enough" of late. 
 
 A Brave Irishman. — One of the Indiana 
 regiments was fiercely attacked by a whole bri- 
 gade, in one of the battles in Mississippi. The 
 Indianians, unable to withstand such great odds, 
 were compelled to fall back about thirty or forty 
 yards, losing, to the utter mortification of the offi- 
 cers and men, their flag, which remained in the 
 hands of the enemy. Suddenly, a tall Irishman, 
 a private in the color company, rushed from the 
 ranks across the vacant gi'ound, attacked the 
 squad of rebels who had possession of the con- 
 quered flag, Avith his musket felled several to the 
 ground, snatched the flag from them, and returned 
 safely back to his regiment. The bold fellow was, 
 of course, immediately surrounded by his jubilant 
 comrades, and greatly praised for his gallantry. 
 His Captain appointed him to a sergeantcy on the 
 spot ; but the hero cut everything short by the 
 reply, " 0, never mind, Captain, — say no more 
 about it. I dropped my whiskey flask among the 
 rebels, and fetched that back, and I thought I 
 might just as well bring the flag along ! " 
 
 " It is my Mother ! " — An interesting anec- 
 dote, though of doubtful authenticity, is related 
 of FrankHn, who, it is alleged, in order to test the 
 parental instinct existing between mother and 
 child, introduced himself as a belated traveller to 
 his mother's house after an absence of many years. 
 Her house being filled with more illustrious guests 
 than the unknown stranger, she refused him shel- 
 ter, and M'ould have turned him from her door. 
 Hence, he concluded that this so-called parental 
 instinct was a pleasant delusive belief, not suscep- 
 tible of proof. 
 
 The opposite of this lately occurred in Wash- 
 ington. In one of the fierce engagements with 
 the rebels near Mechanicsville, in May, 1864, a 
 young Lieutenant of a Rhode Island battery had 
 his right foot so shattered by a fragment of shell 
 that, on reaching Washington, after one of those 
 horrible ambulance rides, and a journey of a 
 week's duration, he was obliged to undergo am- 
 putation of the leg. He telegraphed home, hun- 
 dreds of miles away, that all was going well, and 
 with a soldier's fortitude composed himself to 
 bear his sufferings alone. 
 
 Unknown to him, however, his mother, one of 
 those dear reserves of the army, hastened up to 
 join the main force. She reached the city at 
 midnight, and the nurses would have kept her 
 from him until morning. One- sat by his side 
 fanning him as he slept, her hand on the feeble, 
 fluctuating pulsations which foreboded sad re- 
 sults. But what woman's heart could resist the 
 l^leadings of a mother then? In the darkness 
 she was finally allowed to glide in and take the 
 place at his side. She touched his pulse as the 
 nurse had done ; not a word had been spoken, 
 but the sleeping boy opened his eyes and said, 
 " That feels like my mother's hand; who is this 
 beside me ? It is my mother ; turn up the gas 
 and let me see mother ! " 
 
 The two dear faces met in one long, joyful, sob- 
 bing embrace, and the- fondness pent .up in each 
 
2G2 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND I-NXTDENTS. 
 
 heart sobbed and panted, and wept forth its ex- 
 pression. 
 
 The gallant fellow, just twenty-one, liis leg am- 
 putated on the last day of his three years' service, 
 underwent operation after operation 5 and at last, 
 Avhen death drew nigh, and he was told by tearful 
 friends that it only remained to make him com- 
 fortable, said he had " looked death in the face 
 too many times to be afraid now," and died as 
 gallantly as did the men of the Cumberland. 
 
 The Flight from Bull Run. — A corre- 
 spondent gives the following account of the panic 
 and flight at the battle of Bull Eun : " I was near 
 the rear of the movement, with the brave Captain 
 Alexander, who endeavored, by the most gallant 
 but unavailable exertion's, to check the onward 
 tumult. It was difficult to believe in the reality 
 of our sudden reverse. ' What does it all 
 mean ? ' I asked Alexander. ' It means de- 
 feat,' was his reply. ' We are beaten ; it is a 
 shameful, a cowardly retreat ! Hold up, men!' 
 he shouted ; ' don't be such infernal cowards ! ' 
 and he rode backwards and forwards, placing his 
 horse across the road, and vainly trying to rally 
 the running troops. The teams and wagons con- 
 fused and dismembered every corps. We were 
 now cut off from the advance body by the ene- 
 my's infantry, who had rushed on the slope just 
 lei't by us, surrounded the guns and sutlers' wag- 
 ons, and were apparently pressing up against us. 
 ' It's no use, Alexander,' I said ; ' you must leave 
 with the rest.' ' I'll be d — d if 1 will,' was the 
 sullen reply ; and the splendid fellow rode back 
 to make his way as best he could. Meantime, 
 I saw officers with leaves and eagles on their 
 shoulder-straps. Majors and Colonels, who had 
 deserted their commands, pass me, galloping as 
 if for dear life. No enemy pursued just then ; 
 but I suppose all were afraid that his guns would 
 be trained down the long, narrow avenue, and 
 mow the retreating thousands, and batter to 
 pieces army wagons and everything else which 
 crowded it. Only one field-officer, so far as my 
 observation extended, seemed to have remem- 
 bered his duty. Lieutenant-Colonel Speidel, a 
 foreigner, attached to a Connecticut regiment, 
 strove against the current for a league. I posi- 
 tively declare that, with the two exceptions men- 
 tioned, all efforts made to check the panic before 
 Centreville was reached, were confined to civil- 
 ! ms. 1 saw a man in citizen's dress, who had 
 ujTOwn off his coat, seize a musket, and was try- 
 ing to rally the soldiers who came by at the point 
 of the bayonet. In reply to a request for his 
 name, he said it was Washburne, and I learned 
 he was the member by that name from Illinois. 
 Tiie Hon. Mr. Kellogg made a similar effort. 
 Both these Congressmen bravely stood their 
 ground till the last moment, and were servicea- 
 ble at Centreville in assisting the hrdt there ulti- 
 mately made. And other civilians did what they 
 could. 
 
 " But what a scene ! and how terrific the onset 
 of that tumultuous retreat ! For three miles, hosts 
 
 of Federal troops — all detached from then- regi- 
 ments, all mingled in one disorderly rout — were 
 fleeing along the road, but mostly through the 
 lots on either side. Army wagons, sutlers' teams, 
 and private carriages, choked the passage, tum- 
 bling against each other, amid clouds of dust, 
 and sickening sights and sounds. Hacks, con- 
 taining unlucky spectators of the late afiray, 
 were smashed like glass, and the occupants were 
 lost sight of in the debris. Horse-;, fljing wildly 
 from the battle-field, many of them in death ago- 
 ny, galloped at random forward, joining in the 
 stampede. Those on foot, who could catch them, 
 rode them bareback, as much to save themselves 
 from being run over, as to make quicker time. 
 Wounded men, lying along the banks, — the few 
 neither left on the field nor taken to the captured 
 hospitals, — appealed, with raised hands, to those 
 who rode horses, begging to be lifted behind, but 
 few regarded such petitions. Then the artillery 
 — such as was saved — came thundering along, 
 smashing and overpowering evei'ything. The 
 regular cavalry (I record it to their shame) joined 
 in the melee, adding to its terrors, for they rode 
 down footmen without mercy. One of the great 
 guns was overturned, and lay amid the ruins of a 
 caisson. As I passed it, I saw an artilleryman 
 running between the ponderous fore and after 
 wheels of his gun-carriage, hanging on Avith both 
 hands, and vainly striving to jump upon the ord- 
 nance. The drivers were spurring the horses ; 
 he could not cling much longer, and a more ago- 
 nized expression never fixed the features of a 
 drowning man. The carriage bounded from the 
 roughness of a steep hill Leading to a ci-eek ; he 
 lost his hold, fell, and in an mstant the great 
 wheels had crushed the life out of him. Who 
 ever saw such a flight? Could the retreat at 
 Borodino have exceeded it in confusion and tu- 
 mult ? I think not. It did not slack in the 
 least until Centreville was reached. There the 
 sight of the reserve — Miles' brigade — formed 
 in order on the hill, seemed somewhat to reas- 
 sure the van. But still the teams and foot sol- 
 diers pu.shed on, passing their oavu camps, and 
 heading swiftly lor the distant Potomac, until, 
 for ten miles, the road over which the grand 
 army had so lately passed southward, gay with 
 unstained banners, and flushed with surety of 
 strength, was covered with the fragments of its 
 retreating forces, shattered and panic-stricken in 
 a single day. From the branch route, the trains 
 attached to Hunter's division had caught the 
 contagion of the flight, and poured into its al- 
 ready swollen current another turbid freshet of 
 confusion and dismay. AVho ever saw a more 
 shameful abandonment of munitions, gathered at 
 such vast expense? The teamsters, many of 
 them, cut the traces of their horses, and galloped 
 from the wagons. Others threw out their loads 
 to accelerate their flight, and grain, picks, and 
 shovels, and provisions of every kind, lay tram- 
 pled in the dust for leagues. Thousands of mus- 
 kets strewed the route, and when some of us 
 succeeded in rallying a body of fugitives, and form- 
 ing them in a line across the road, hardly one but 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 2G3 
 
 had thrown awaj' his arms. If the enemy had 
 brought up his artillery, and served it upon the 
 retreating train, or had intercepted our progress 
 with five hundred of his cavalry, he might have 
 captured enough supplies for a week's feast of 
 thanksgiving. As it was, enough was left be- 
 hind to tell the story of the panic. The rout of 
 the Federal army seemed complete." 
 
 Incidents op Shiloh. — Early on Monday 
 morning. General Nelson despatched an orderly 
 from a cavalry company to the river with a mes- 
 sage. The General waited in vain for an answer, 
 and the day wore away without heari.ig from the 
 messenger. General Nelson was furious, and 
 directed, the following day, a search to be made 
 for the orderly. He was, after some trouble, 
 found, and taken immediately to headquarters. 
 He was called upon for an account, and said, in 
 a brief, off-hand manner, that when he got to the 
 river, he found several thousand skulkers, and 
 six hundred of these agreed to go into action if 
 they could find a leader. The young cavalryman 
 promptly offered himself, and as promptly led 
 the men into the hottest of the fight. He re- 
 ported to General Crittenden, was assigned a 
 position which he maintained all day, losing from 
 his impromptu command ten men killed and fifty 
 wounded. The General was so well pleased with 
 the young man and his gallant conduct, that he 
 immediately sent his name to General Buell, and 
 instead of being a private, he is now a commis- 
 sioned officer. 
 
 A begrimed individual, face several shades 
 blacker than the ace of spades, and continually 
 deepening in color from a contact with powder, 
 hurriedly ran up to Captain Pick Russell and 
 asked for a few rounds of cartridges. " Give me 
 some, for God's sake. Captain ; right down here 
 I have a bully place, and every time I fu'e, down 
 goes a secesher." He was accommodated, and 
 w^hile the Captain was filling his cartridge-box, 
 the fellow was loading his piece. After being 
 supplied, he dashed to the left and disappeared 
 in the woods. A roar of musketry in the direc- 
 tion he took was kept up all day, but whether he 
 escaped or not has not been ascertained. 
 
 A Gallant Band. — A soldier gives the fol- 
 lowing account of one of the most brilliant exhi- 
 bitions of bravery and daring that occurred during 
 the war : 
 
 " When the advance of the rebel cavalry arrived 
 at Manassas Junction, on the evening of the 26th 
 of August, 1862, about fifty stragglers belonging 
 to different regiments in Pope's and McClellan's 
 commands gathered around the railroad depot, 
 with loaded muskets, uncertain whether to run or 
 stay by and try to defend the place. Among the 
 number was one Samuel Conde, a member of the 
 Eleventh New York battery, who for the previous 
 two months had been on duty at General Pope's 
 headquarters, and was then on his way to Wash- 
 ington. Finding there was no commissioned 
 
 officer to take command, and that the rebels were 
 close upon us, this brave young man seized a 
 musket, and calling upon his comrades to rally 
 and follow him, he posted his little company at a 
 short distance from the railroad, near an old 
 rebel fortification, and awaited Avith fixed bayonets 
 the approach of the enemy. The first that ap- 
 peared was a squadron of cavalry, who dashed up 
 furiously towards the depot. No sooner had they 
 passed us than our little band, led by their new 
 commander, charged with a shout at the enemy, 
 scattering them in all directions. On reaching 
 the depot, we were surrounded by a whole regi- 
 ment of rebel infantrj', who commanded us to 
 surrender. ' Never,' shouted our brave leader, 
 and with the words ' come on, boys,' we dashed 
 through their ranks, only to find ourselves still 
 further surrounded by a large force of cavalry. 
 Here, for a moment, we faltered ; but hearing our 
 leader still urging us on, we pushed forward 
 through a heavy volley of musketry, and soon 
 passed the enemy's lines with the loss of more 
 than half -of our little band, including our brave 
 commander. Finding it folly to remain longer in 
 that vicinity, we took to the woods, and arrived 
 at Fairfax Station early the next morning. It 
 would be impossible for me to give the names of 
 any of this little band, for we were all strangers 
 to each other, and I can only bear testimony to 
 the fearless bravery of our leader, who, I fear, 
 has fallen a victim to a rebel bullet, hoping that, 
 if this ever meets the eye of any of his friends, 
 they may have the gratification of knowing that 
 he died a hero." 
 
 The Clothes-line Telegraph. — In the ear- 
 ly part of 1863, when the Union army was en- 
 camped at Falmouth, and picketing the banks 
 of the Rappahannock, the utmost tact and inge- 
 nuity were displayed, by the scouts and videttes, in 
 gaining a knowledge of contemplated movements 
 on either side ; and here, as at various other 
 times, the shrewdness of the African camp at- 
 tendants was very remarkable. 
 
 One circumstance, in particular shows how 
 quick the race are in learning the art of commu- 
 nicating by signals. 
 
 There came into the Union lines a negro from 
 a farm on the other side of the river, known by 
 the name of Dabney, who was found to possess 
 a remarkably clear knowledge of the topography 
 of the whole region ; and he was employed as 
 cook and body servant at headquarters. When 
 he first saw our system of army telegraphs, the 
 idea interested him intensely, and he begged the 
 operators to explain the signs to him. They did 
 so, and found that he could understand and re- 
 member the meaning of the various movements 
 as well as any of his" brethren of paler hue. 
 
 Not long after, his wife, who had come with him, 
 expressed a great anxiety to be allowed to go over 
 to the other side as servant to a " secesh woman," 
 Avhom General Hooker was about sending over to 
 her friends. The request was granted. Dabney's 
 wife went across the Ptappahannock, and in a few 
 days was duly installed as laundress at the head- 
 
264 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY. AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 quarters of a prominent rebel General. Dabney, 
 her husband, on the north bank, was soon found 
 to be wonderfully well informed as to all the rebel 
 plans. Within an hour of the time that a move- 
 ment of any kind was projected, or even discussed, 
 among the rebel generals. Hooker knew all about 
 it. He knew which corps was moving, or about 
 to move, in what direction, how long they had 
 been on the march, and in what force ; and all 
 this knowledge came through Dabney, and his 
 reports always turned out to be true. 
 
 Yet Dabuey was never absent, and never talked 
 with the scouts, and seemed to be always taken 
 up with his duties as cook and groom about head- 
 quarters. 
 
 How he obtained his information remained for 
 some time a puzzle to the Union officers. At 
 length, upon much solicitation, he unfolded his 
 marvellous secret to one of our officers. 
 
 Taking him to a point where a clear view could 
 be obtained of Fredericksburg, he pointed out a 
 little cabin in the suburbs near the river bank, 
 and asked him if he satv that clothes-line with 
 clothes hanging on it to dry " Well," said he, 
 " that clothes-line tells me in half an hour just 
 what goes on at Lee's headquarters. You see my 
 wife over there ; she washes for the officers, and 
 cooks, and Avaits around, and as soon as she hears 
 about any movement or anything going on, she 
 comes down and moves the clothes on that line 
 so I can understand it in a minute. That there 
 gray shirt is Longstreet ; and when she takes it 
 off, it means he's gone down about Richmond. 
 That white shirt means Hill ; and when she moves 
 it up to the west end of the line. Hill's corps has 
 moved up stream. That red one is Stonewall. 
 He's down on the right now, and if he moves, she 
 will move that red shirt." 
 
 One morning Dabney came in and reported a 
 movement over there. " But," says he, " it don't 
 amount to any thing. They're just making be- 
 lieve." 
 
 An officer went out to look at the clothes line 
 telegraph through his field-glass. There had 
 been quite a shifting over there among the army 
 fiannels. " But how do you know but there is 
 something in it ? " 
 
 "Do you see those two blankets pinned to- 
 gether at the bottom ? " said Dabney. " Yes, 
 but what of it? " said the officer. " Why, that's 
 her way of making a fish-trap ; and when she 
 pins the clothes together that way, it means 
 that Lee is only trying to draw "us into his 
 fish-trap." 
 
 As long as the two armies lay watching each 
 other on opposite banks of the stream, Dabney, 
 with his clothes-line telegraph, continued to be 
 one of the promptest and most reliable of General 
 Hooker's scouts. 
 
 .\rkansas Tactics. — An Arkansas Colonel 
 had the following order for mounting his men : 
 
 First order. — Prepare fer tur git onto yer 
 creeters ! 
 
 Second order. — GiT ! g 
 
 THE OLD SERGEANT. 
 
 BY FORCEYTIIE WILLSON. 
 
 The carrier cannot sing to-day tho ballads 
 
 With which he used to go 
 Ilhyming the grand rounds of the Happy New 
 Y'ears 
 
 That are now beneath the snow ; — 
 
 For the same awful and povtentous shadow- 
 That overcast the earth, 
 
 And smote the land last year with desolation, 
 Still darkens every hearth. 
 
 And the carrier hears Beethoven's mighty dead- 
 march 
 
 Come up from every mart, 
 And he hears and feels it breathing in his bosom, 
 
 And beating in his heart. 
 
 And to-day, like a scarred and weather-beaten vet- 
 eran. 
 
 Again he comes along, 
 To tell the story of the Old Year's struggles, 
 
 111 another New Year's song. 
 
 And the song is his, but not so with the story ; 
 
 For the story, you must know 
 Was told in prose to Assistant- Surgeon Austin, 
 
 By a soldier of Shiloh ; — 
 
 By Robert Burton, who was brought up on the 
 Adams 
 
 With his death-wound in his side. 
 And who told the story to the Assistant- Surgeon 
 
 On the same night that he died. 
 
 But the singer feels it will better suit the ballad, 
 
 If all should deem it right. 
 To sing the story as if what it speaks of 
 
 Had happened but last night. 
 
 "Come a little nearer, Doctor — Thank you! let 
 me take the cup ! 
 
 Draw your chair up! — draw it closer — just an- 
 other little sup ! 
 
 May be you may think I'nl better, but I'm pretty 
 well used up — 
 
 Doctor, you've done all you could do, but I'm just 
 a going up. 
 
 " Feel my pulse, sir, if you want to, but it is no use 
 to try." 
 
 "Never say that," said the Stu-geon, as he smoth- 
 ered down a sigh ; 
 
 "It will never do, old comrade, for a soldier to say 
 die ! " 
 
 " What you say will make no difference, Doctor, 
 when you come to die. 
 
 " Doctor, what has been the matter ? " " Y'ou were 
 
 very faint, they say ; 
 Y'ou must try to get to sleep now." " Doctor, have 
 
 I been away ? " 
 " No, my venerable comrade." " Doctor, will you 
 
 please to stay ? 
 There is something I must tell you, and you n'on't 
 
 have long to stay ! 
 
 " I have got my marching orders, and am ready now 
 
 to go ; 
 Doctor, did you say I fainted ? — but it couldn't 
 
 have been so — 
 
ANECDOTES. POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 265 
 
 For as sure as I'm a Sergeant and was wounded at 
 
 Shiloh, 
 I've this very night been back there — on the old 
 
 field of Shiloh ! 
 
 "You may think it all delusion — all the sickness 
 
 of the brain : 
 If you do, you are mistaken, aftd mistaken to my pain ; 
 For upon my dying honor, as I hope to live again, 
 I have just been back to Shiloh and all over it again ! 
 
 " This is all that I remember ; the last time the 
 
 Lighter came, 
 And the lights had all been lowered, and the noises 
 
 much the same, 
 He had not been gone five minutes before something 
 
 called my name — 
 ' Okderly - Sergeant - Robert - Burton ! ' — just 
 
 that way it called my name. 
 
 " Then I thought, who could have called me so dis- 
 tinctly and so slow — 
 
 It can't be the Lighter, surely ; he could not have 
 spoken so ; 
 
 And I tried to answer, ' Here, sir ! ' but I couldn't 
 make it go, 
 
 For I couldn't move a muscle> and I couldn't make 
 it go! 
 
 " Then I thought it all a nightmare — all a humbug 
 
 and a bore ! 
 It is just another grapevi7ie, and it won't come any 
 
 more; 
 Eut it came, sir, notwithstanding, just the same 
 
 words as before, 
 • Orderly - Sergeant - Robert - Burton ! ' more 
 
 distinctly than before ! 
 
 •' That is all that I remember, till a sudden burst of 
 light, 
 
 And I stood beside the river, where we stood that 
 Sunday night. 
 
 Waiting to be ferried over to the dark blufi's oppo- 
 site. 
 
 When the river seemed perdition, and all hell seemed 
 opposite ! 
 
 " And the same old palpitation came again with all 
 
 its power. 
 And I heard a bugle sounding, as from heaven or a 
 
 tower ; 
 And the same mysterious voice said : ' It is — the 
 
 eleventh hour ! 
 Ordekly-Sergeant — Robert Burton — it is 
 
 the eleventh hour ! ' 
 
 " Dr. Austin ! — what day is this ? " — "It is 
 
 Wednesday night, you know." 
 "Yes ! To-morrow will be New Year's, and a right 
 
 good time below ! 
 What time is it, Dr. Austin ? " — "Nearly twelve." 
 
 — " Then don't you go ! 
 
 Can it be that all this happened — all this — not an 
 hour ago ! 
 
 " There was where the gunboats opened on the dark, 
 
 rebellious host. 
 And where Webster semicircled his last guns upon 
 
 the coast — 
 There were still the two log-houses, just the same, 
 
 or else their ghost — 
 And the same old transport came and took me over 
 
 — or its ghost ! 
 
 "And the whole field lay before me, all deserted far 
 
 and wide — 
 There was where they fell on Prentiss — there 
 
 McClernand met the tide ; 
 There was where stern Sherman rallied, and where 
 
 Hurlbut's heroes died — 
 Lower down, where Wallace charged them, and 
 
 kept charging till he died ! 
 
 "There was where Lew Wallace showed them he 
 
 was of the cannie kin — 
 There was where old Nelson thundered, and where 
 
 Rousseau waded in — 
 There McCook ' sent them to breakfast,' and we aL 
 
 began to win — 
 There was where the grape-shot took me just as we 
 
 began to win. 
 
 " Now a shroud of snow and silence over everything 
 
 was spread ; 
 And but for this old, blue mantle, and the old hat 
 
 on my head, 
 I should not have even doubted, to this moment, I 
 
 was dead ; 
 For my footsteps were as silent as the snow upon 
 
 the dead ! 
 
 " Death and silence ! Death and silence ! starry 
 
 silence overhead ! 
 And behold a mighty tower, as if builded to the 
 
 dead, 
 To the heaven of the heavens lifted up its mighty 
 
 head ! 
 Till the Stars and Stripes of heaven all seemed 
 
 waving from its head ! 
 
 "Round and mighty-based, it towered — up into 
 
 the infinite ! 
 And I knew no mortal mason could have built a 
 
 shaft so bright ; 
 For it shone like solid sunshine; and a winding 
 
 stair of light 
 Wound around it and around it till it wound clear 
 
 out of sight ! 
 
 ' ' And, behold, as I approached it with a rapt and 
 dazzled stare — 
 
 Thinking that I saw old comrades just ascending the 
 great stair — 
 
 Suddenly the solemn challenge broke, of, ' Halt ! ' 
 and ' Who goes there ? ' 
 
 'I'm a friend,' I said, ' if you are.' — 'Then ad- 
 vance, sir, to the stair ! ' 
 
 " I advanced — that sentry. Doctor, was Elijah Bal- 
 
 lantyne — 
 First of all to fall on Monday, after we had formed 
 
 the line ! * 
 
 • Welcome ! my old Sergeant, welcome ! Welcome 
 
 by that countersign ! ' 
 And he pointed to the scar there under this old 
 
 cloak of mme ! 
 
 " As he grasped my hand, I shuddered — thinking 
 
 only of the grave — 
 But he smiled, and pointed upward, with a bright 
 
 and bloodless glaive — 
 ' That's the way, sir, to headquarters.' — • What 
 
 headquarters ? ' — 'Of the brave ! ' 
 ' But the great tower r ' — ' That was builded of the 
 
 great deeds of the brave ! ' 
 
266 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " Then a sudden shame came o'er me at his uniform 
 of light — 
 
 At my own so old and tattered, and at his so new 
 and bright: 
 
 ' Ah ! ' said he, ' you have forgotten the new uni- 
 form to-night ! 
 
 Hurry back, for you must be here at just twelve 
 o'clock to-night ! ' 
 
 " And the next thing I remember, you were sitting 
 there, and I — 
 
 Doctor ! it is hard to leave you — Hark ! God bless 
 you all ! Good by ! 
 
 Doctor! please to give my musket and my knap- 
 sack, when I die, 
 
 To my son — my son that's coming — he won't get 
 here till I die ! 
 
 " Tell hira his old father blessed him as he never 
 
 did before — 
 And to carry that old musket — " Hark ! a knock 
 
 is at the door ! — 
 "Till the Union"— see! it opens! — ''Father! 
 
 father ! speak once more ! " — 
 " Bless you 1 " gasped the old, gray Sergeant, and 
 
 he lay and said no more ! 
 
 When the Surgeon gave the heir-son the old Ser- 
 geant's last advice — 
 
 And his musket and his knapsack — how the fire 
 flashed in his eyes ! — 
 
 He is on the march this morning, and will march 
 on till he dies — 
 
 He will save this bleeding country, or will fight 
 until he dies ! * 
 
 Pbesident Lincoln's Tribute to the Loy- 
 al Women of America. — At the close of the 
 Patent Office Fair in Washington, Mr. Lincoln, 
 in answer to loud and continuous calls, made the 
 following remarks : 
 
 " Ladies and Gentlemen : I appear, to say but 
 a word. This extraordinary war in which we are 
 engaged falls heavily upon all classes of people, 
 but the most heavily upon the soldier. For it has 
 been said, 'AH that a man hath will he give for 
 his life ; ' and while all contribute of their sub- 
 stance, the soldier puts his life at stake, and often 
 yields it up in his country's cause. The highest 
 merit, then, is due to the soldier. 
 
 " In this extraordinary war extraordinary de- 
 velopments have manifested themselves, such a^ 
 have not been seen in former wars ; and among 
 these manifestations nothing has been more re- 
 markable than these Fairs for the relief of suffer- 
 ing soldiers 'and their families. And the chief 
 agents in these Fairs are the women of America. 
 
 " I am not accustomed to the use of language 
 of eulogy ; I have never studied the art of paying 
 compliments to women ; but I must say, that if 
 all that has been said by orators and poets since 
 the creation of the world in praise of woman were 
 applied to the women of America, it would not do 
 them justice for their conduct during this war. I 
 will close by saying, -God bless the women of 
 America." 
 
 * This very remarkable poem was distributed on 
 the first day of the year, 1863, by the carriers of the 
 Louisville Journal. 
 
 The Loyal Virginia Girl, and how She 
 
 SAVED THE WaR MaPS FOR THE UnION ScOUTS. 
 
 — During the winter of 1861-2, when McClel- 
 lan's grand army lay along the Potomac, and be- 
 fore it had been decided to try an advance by 
 the Peninsula, it became a matter of the utmost 
 importance to the Union Generals to obtain ac- 
 curate and thorough maps of all North-eastern 
 Virginia, the region destined to be the theatre 
 of movements so important. 
 
 With that view, a number of intelligent and 
 scientific scouts, armed with minute pocket com- 
 passes and small boxes of drawing materials, 
 fearlessly pushed their way through the lines, 
 and as they were apparently rambling about 
 among the hills and through the woods as non- 
 belligerents and in the dress of citizens, were 
 collecting and tracing down on maps a very 
 complete topographical history of all they saw. 
 
 Southern surveyors and draughtsmen were en- 
 gaged in the same work, and as they had every 
 facility in their operations, and were directed by 
 an engineer no less skilful than Beauregard, 
 their maps were of inestimable value to the Fed- 
 eral officers, and for the service of preserving 
 and delivering them to the Union scouts, we are 
 indebted to the coolness, presence of mind, and 
 loyalty of Miss , a Virginia girl of fourteen. 
 
 The topographical corps sent out by Beaure- 
 gard had established their headquarters at her 
 father's house, and were there busy in ])lotting 
 down their surveys, when this girl, who was 
 watching at the window, gave the alarm, " The 
 blue-coats are coming down the road." Without 
 stopping to save a paper, they all rushed the 
 other way, out at the back door, and hid in the 
 woods adjacent. The little squad of Union 
 scouts rode quickly down the road, but mistrust- 
 ing some mischief, soon turned back, and rode 
 away. 
 
 Meantime this young girl had gathered up all 
 the maps into one great roll, and taken it into 
 the attic, and hid it in a hole in the chimney. 
 
 In time the alarm subsided, and the topogra- 
 phers came cautiously back from the bushes, but, 
 to their great astonishment and chagrin, found 
 not a vestige of their work. 
 
 They inquired of the girl what had become of 
 their maps. 
 
 "0,"said she, "do you think I was stupid 
 enough to let them Yanks get hold of them? 
 No, indeed. When I saw them riding down the 
 road, those maps were going up the chimney ! " 
 
 " Good for you ! " was the reply. " We'll have 
 them all to draw over again, but that's better 
 than for those confounded blue-coats to get 
 them." 
 
 Considering the situation somewhat perilous, 
 they withdrew ,- and a day or two after, a Union 
 scout came in, and found a prompt welcome. 
 
 He requested her to watch at the window for 
 him, while he pulled out a secret roll of paper, 
 and commenced to map out the country through 
 which he had been wandering. 
 
 " So it's maps that you are making too. I 
 think I can give you some that I reckon you 
 never saw before." So saying, she ran up stairs, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS 
 
 267 
 
 and brought down the roll from the hole in the 
 chimney, and told him how she saved them, and 
 how entirely satisfied the other party had been 
 that their maps had gone up the chimney in a 
 very different sense. 
 
 "Didn't see it." — A correspondent gives 
 the following instance of Vermont pluck : " In 
 Kilpatrick's last ' On to Eichmond ' was a soldier 
 boy by the name of Edwin A. Porter, whose 
 mother lives in Wells, Vt. In one of the skir- 
 mishes, he rode up fearlessly to a squad of rebels. 
 The officer demanded of him to surrender. He 
 replied, coolly, ' Don't see it ; ' and suiting his 
 actions to his w^ords, he instantly drew his sabre, 
 with which he cleft the head of the officer, at the 
 same instant wheeling his horse to join his com- 
 pany, the rebels firing a volley at him, of which 
 shower the lad carried off in his person four bul- 
 lets, joining his company, G. He kept his sad- 
 dle for more than one hour, and is now doing 
 weU." 
 
 The American Flag in Nashville. — The 
 following letter, on the joy of seeing the Ameri- 
 can flag in Nashville, was written by a young lady : 
 
 " Rejoice with me, dear grandma ! The glorious 
 Star-spangled Banner of the United States is 
 again floating above us ! O, how we have hoped 
 for, longed for, prayed for this joyous day ! I 
 am wild, crazed almost, with delight. I am still 
 fearful that I shall awake, and find our deliver- 
 ance, our freedom, is aU a dream. I cannot be- 
 lieve that it is a positive fact, it has come upon 
 us so unexpectedly, this successful move of the 
 Union army. Grandma, I cannot write connect- 
 edly at all. Forgive me all faults of composi- 
 tion, for I can see the Stars and Stripes of my 
 ever-loved floating from the State House — the 
 first time my eyes have been gladdened by such 
 a sight for nearly a year. So great is my ecstasy, 
 1 cannot sit still — I cannot keep my eyes on the 
 paper — indeed, I cannot do anything but sing, 
 whistle, or hum ' Yankee Doodle,' ' Hail Colum- 
 bia,' ' The Star-spangled Banner,' and feast my 
 eyes on those victorious colors. 
 
 " O grandma ! you cannot imagine our happi- 
 ness at this sudden change in the aspect of pub- 
 Uc affairs. The morning that Fort Donelson 
 surrendered, there seemed to be such an intense 
 feeling of bitterness here against the Union men ! 
 The papers (how little did they imagine that that 
 would be their last issue !) came out on that Sun- 
 day morning with maledictions and threats the 
 most inhuman against them, saying that if such 
 n fiendish villain remained in our midst, he must 
 •nd should be dealt with instantly as a traitor of 
 ohe deepest dye. 
 
 ".We have had so much to bear since I wrote 
 you ! My father and brother have been taunted, 
 sneered and hissed at, threatened by every one, 
 until endurance was becoming impossible. But 
 nothing (I am so proud to say it, and thank God 
 for it), nothing could make them play the hypo- 
 
 crite. They believed the Federal cause was just 
 and right, and they would, in spite of our prayers 
 and tears, express their opinions openly, and de- 
 nounce secession boldly. We have been warned, 
 since Zollicofier's death, that there was imminent 
 danger here for them ; and the hatred towards 
 Union men was becoming so intense that both 
 ma and I have been in an agony of suspense. 
 We could not leave home, as Ave never did, with- 
 out being insulted. I have had to sit quietly by, 
 and hear my father and brother denounced as 
 traitors. My temper is quick, and the curb that 
 I have been obliged to keep upon it has been a 
 galling one — indeed, sometimes I have thought 
 all that was gentle and womanly in me was turned 
 into bitterness and hate. 
 
 " For my idolized brother I have felt more keen- 
 ly than for anything else. He is naturally sensi- 
 tive, and of such delicacy of feeling that he has 
 suffered deeply. Being drafted, he procured a 
 substitute ; and, though displaying so much moral 
 courage, he has been hissed at as a coward ever 
 since, until he would vow to escape and join the 
 Federal army, and several times endeavored to 
 do so ; but pa, discovering his plans, prevented 
 him from it, by showing him the ruin he would 
 bring upon us all by such a step. The cloud Avas 
 lowering over us, growing darker and darker day 
 by day, and I thought the silver lining never 
 Avould ajjpear; but it is here! — even now beam- 
 ing upon us so brightly that we can scarcely 
 credit the reality. 
 
 " Can you wonder that, in the state of feeling 
 I was in that Sunday morning, dear grandma, 
 when Tom knocked at the door, and called out to 
 me that Fort Donelson was surrendered, and the 
 Federal army would soon be in Nashville, I be- 
 came perfectly frantic with joy ? 
 
 " I ran screaming over the house, knocking 
 down chairs and tables, clapping my hands, and 
 shouting for the ' Union,' until the children were 
 terrified, and ma and pa thought I was delirious ! 
 I rushed into the parlor and thundered ' Yankee 
 Doodle ' on the piano in such a manner as I had 
 never done before. I caught little Johnny up in 
 my arms, and held him over the porch railing up 
 stairs until he hurrahed for the Star-spangfed 
 Banner, Seward, Lincoln, and McClellan ! The 
 little fellow thought his sister was going to kill 
 him, she looked so wild, and would not come near 
 me again for several days. 
 
 " Just in the midst of these rejoicings, intelli- 
 gence came that Johnston's army from Bowling 
 Green had evacuated the place, and Mas even 
 then passing on the turnpike to Nashville. Could 
 it be possible ? Yes, indeed ! There they Avere 
 retreating most valiantly. Grandma, you never 
 saAV such a frightened set of men ! They could 
 not get over the river fast enough ! I never bade 
 the Southern army 'God-speed' but that once, 
 and then- 1 did it Avith my Avhole heart. May their 
 present advance be successful even to the Gulf 
 of Mexico itself! 
 
 " If you could have seen Breckinridge ! the 
 meanest, the most doAvnfallen looking specimen 
 of humanity imaginable. The army did not stop 
 
268 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 in Nashville one day, but went on as swiftly as 
 possible. The citizens here were mortified and 
 exasperated to the quick by this surrender. Floyd 
 remained in Nashville a few days after his brave 
 escape from Fort Donelson. After the army had 
 gone, and the city had sent commissioners to sur- 
 render, he had both bridges destroyed, though he 
 could give no reason for it, and though it was 
 against the prayers and protestations of the citi- 
 zens. He is a Avicked wretch. Is it wrong to 
 wish that he may soon meet the fate he deserves ? 
 
 " It was not until a week after Donelson's fall 
 that the Federals came in. We, whose all de- 
 pended upon theii- speedy ai'rival, had begun to 
 think that they were not coming, after all, and our 
 freedom was not yet at hand ; but on a Sunday 
 afternoon, my brother came in, the picture of hap- 
 piness, with the intelligence that Buell would be 
 here in a few days ; that he had ridden up and 
 met his advanced guard, and that now at last we 
 could rejoice. Buell came in at night. The 
 troops were in perfect discipline, and completely 
 amazed the poor duped people here by their or- 
 derly behavior. For the people believed that the 
 soldiers would not stop till they had murdered the 
 women and eaten the children ; but when it was 
 seen that they took nothing without x>ajj, the 
 people were rejoiced to sell, for money of any 
 kind has long been a marvellous sight here. 
 
 " But O, grandma, I have not told you what did 
 me more good than anything else — the pariic 
 here on the 16th. Away flew the citizens without 
 stopping for anything ! The brave city regiments 
 who on the 15th took their stand on the square 
 with Andrew Ewing at their head, and vowed to 
 die there, fighting even against myriads of the 
 ' barbarians,' should they ever reach Nashville, 
 heard at twelve o'clock on the 16th of the sur- 
 render of Donelson, and at eight o'clock in the 
 evening of that same day, not 07ie of the gallant 
 determined braves was to be found within miles 
 of Nashville. Didn't I clap my hands and shriek 
 for joy when it was told on Monday that not one 
 editor remained in our city! that their wicked 
 threats had been published for the last time here ? 
 
 " The town is almost deserted, so many fami- 
 li(ls have left their homes, and fled, panic-stricken, 
 away. It is so distressing to think of the suff'er- 
 ings they have brought upon themselves so need- 
 lessly. The Federals have interfered with no one 
 whatever, and have behaved much better than 
 the rebel army. The Governor and Legislature 
 left the very day Donelson surrendered. May 
 they never return ! 
 
 " Grandma, you will think me a heartless girl 
 to write thus, and I know it is wrong, but you 
 would excuse me if you knew what we had to 
 contend with. I speak the truth when I say that, 
 notwithstanding our former social position and 
 popularity here, there is not now one family of 
 all our friends who would cross our threshold, 
 or bid us welcome to theirs. My noble uncle is 
 always an exception. He and pa have stood 
 firmly together, enduring the tempest, and noth- 
 ing now should ever divide us. Mr. • , too, 
 
 has never Mtered in his allegiance. When the 
 
 death of his only son was told him, his exclama- 
 tion was, ' Would to God he had died in a nobler 
 cause ! ' 
 
 " But I tremble when I think of the possibility 
 of a reverse — that the Confederates should ever 
 get back here. Then our doom is spoken — either 
 flight — beggary — or, remaining, death. 
 
 " O that the United States troops would push 
 onward rapidly, and make an end to the rebellion 
 while the Confederates are quaking Avith fear and 
 dismay. Give them no time to rally. 
 
 " Now that the railroad and telegraph will soon 
 be opened, we will be again in a civilized country ; 
 and surely we have cause to rejoice, for we have 
 been living in utter darkness a long, weary time. 
 If you could see my father it would do you good. 
 He looks happy again ! The gloomy, sad brow 
 of two weeks ago is once more smoothed Avith 
 content ! Three cheers for the sight of the old 
 banner ! " 
 
 " Dabney," the Colored Scout. — He was 
 emphatically what the old Southern advertise- 
 ments used to call a " smart, likely negro fel- 
 low ; " and after he had left his secesh master, 
 who lived on the south bank of the Rappahan- 
 nock, above Fredericksburg, General Hooker 
 found his minute and reliable knowledge of the 
 country and the character of its inhabitants of 
 great importance to him. 
 
 On one occasion, just before the battle of 
 Chancellorsville, a scouting party had come in, 
 who reported a certain locality entirely free of 
 
 the enemy ; they had talked with Mr, D , a 
 
 farmer, who said there were no Southerners any- 
 where near him, and had not been for several 
 days. Dabney heard the report of the scouts, 
 and warned the General not to believe a word of 
 Avhat they heard Mr. D say. 
 
 "You must take him just conti'ariwise from 
 what he talks," said Dabney. " If he says there 
 are no rebs there, you may be sure there are 
 plenty of them all about, and got their big guns 
 all readj^" 
 
 But considerable faith Avas attached to Avhat 
 the scouts had reported, and a force Avas sent to 
 feel in that neighborhood, and see Avhat there 
 might be there. 
 
 Dabney Avent at the head of the column as 
 pilot, though all the time protesting that, instead 
 of taking that man at his Avord, they should be 
 prepared for the Avorst. Dabney Avas Avell mount- 
 ed, and felt no little pride as he moved along, at 
 the head of a poAverful column, over roads Avhich 
 he had so often trod Avith the dejected air and 
 clouded spirit of a slaA-e. 
 
 " I know that man very aa^cII," he kept saying. 
 " He's my ole mass'r, and he's a man you have 
 to take just contrary to Avhat he says." 
 
 Soon the head of the column a])proached the 
 locality ; and, sure enough, the rebels were there 
 in force, and opened Avith a storm of grape and 
 canister. The Union force soon got guns in po- 
 sition, and a brisk skkmish Avas going on, in the 
 midst of Avhich Dabney's fine horse fell under 
 him, pierced by a grape-shot. But he Avas not to 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 269 
 
 be dismounted as easily as that, and while the 
 fight was quite lively, and his old master was 
 fully occupied with the stirring scene, Dabney 
 slipped down to the river, swam across, went to 
 the stables, and taking the finest horse there, 
 mounted him, dashed down to the river, swam 
 him across, and came back to the Union lines, 
 all the time under fire, saying, as he rode up, " I 
 told you you couldn't depend on what that man 
 said about the rebs not being there ; but never 
 mind, it has given me a chance to 'fiscate a 
 mighty fine horse." 
 
 After that adventure, as he was finely mounted, 
 and his knowledge of the inhabitants was shown 
 to be reliable, he was constantly employed as a 
 pilot to the scouting parties. 
 
 » 
 
 PADDY ON SAMBO AS A SOLDIER. 
 
 BY PRIVATE MILES O'REILLY. 
 
 Air: '■'■The IjnO'Backed Car " 
 
 Some tell us 'tis a burning shame 
 
 To make the naygurs fight, 
 An' that the thrade of bein' kilt 
 
 Belongs but to the white ; 
 But as for me, upon my sowl ! 
 
 So liberal are we here, 
 I'll let Sambo be murdered in place of myself 
 On every day in the year ! 
 On every day in the year, boys, 
 
 And every hour in the day, 
 The right to be kilt I'll divide wid him, 
 An' divil a word I'll say. 
 
 In battle's wild commotion 
 
 I shouldn't at all object 
 If Sambo's body should stop a ball 
 
 That was comin' for me direct ; 
 And the prod of a Southern bagnet, 
 
 So liberal are we here, 
 I'll resign, and let Sambo take it. 
 On every day in the year ! 
 
 On every day in the year, boys. 
 
 And wid none of your nasty pride. 
 All my right in a Southern bagnet prod 
 Wid Sambo I'll divide. 
 
 The men who object to Sair.bo 
 
 Should take his place and fight ; 
 And it's better to have a naygur's hue 
 
 Than a liver that's wake an' white. 
 Though Sambo's black as the ace of spades. 
 
 His finger a thrigger can pull, 
 And his eye runs straight on the barrel-sights 
 From under his thatch of wool ! 
 So hear me all, boys, darlings, — 
 
 Don't think I'm tippin' you chaff, — 
 The right to be kilt I'll divide wid him. 
 And give him the largest half ! 
 
 _ Incidents of Bull Run. — The famous Sixty- 
 ninth Irish regiment, sixteen hundred strong, 
 who had so much of the hard digging to perform, 
 claimed the honor of a share in the hard fighting, 
 and led the van of Tyler's attack, followed by tho 
 Seventy-ninth (Highlanders) and Thirteenth New 
 York and Second Wisconsin. 
 
 It was a brave sight — that rush of the Sixty- 
 ninth into the death-sti-uggle ! With such cheers 
 as those Avhich won the battles in the Peninsula, 
 with a quick step at first, and then a double quick, 
 and at last a run, they dashed forward, and along 
 the edge of the extended forest. Coats and knap- 
 sacks Avere thrown to either side, that nothing 
 might impede their work ; but we knew that no 
 guns would slip from the hands of those deter- 
 mined fellows, even if dying agonies were needed 
 to close them with a firmer grasp. As the line 
 swept along, Meagher galloped towards the head, 
 crying, " Come on, boys ! you've got your chance 
 at last ! " 
 
 Colonel Bartow's horse had been shot from 
 under him. It was observed that the forces with 
 which his movement was to be supported had not 
 come up. But it was enough that he had been 
 ordered to storm the battery ; so, placing himself 
 at the head of the Seventh Regiment, he again 
 led the charge, this time on foot, and gallantly 
 encouraging his men as they rushed on. The first 
 discharge from the enemy's guns killed the regi- 
 mental color-bearer. Bartow immediately seized 
 the flag, and again putting himself in the front, 
 dashed on, flag in hand, his voice ringing clear 
 over the battle-fields, and saying, " On, my boys ! 
 we will die rather than yield or retreat." And on 
 the brave boys did go, and faster flew the enemy's 
 bullets. The fire was awful. Not less than four 
 thousand muskets were pouring their fatal con- 
 tents upon them, while the battery itself was 
 dealing death on every side. 
 
 The gallant Eighth regiment, which had al- 
 ready passed through the distressing ordeal, again 
 rallied, determined to stand by their chivalric 
 Colonel to the last. The more furious the fire, 
 the quicker became the advancing step of the 
 two regiments. At last, and just when they were 
 nearing the goal of their hopes, and almost in 
 the arms of victory, the brave and noble Bartow 
 was shot down, the ball striking him in the left 
 breast, just above the heart. Colonel Bartow died 
 soon after he was borne from the field. His last 
 words, as repeated to me, were : " They have 
 killed me, my brave boys, but never give up the 
 ship — we'll whip them yet." And so we did ! 
 
 The One Hundred and Fifth Rhode Isl- 
 and. — One of the Rhode Island boys out on 
 picket near Yorktown, Va., found himself in close 
 proximity to one of the enemy's pickets, and, 
 after exchanging a few shots without availing 
 anything, they mutually agreed to cease and go 
 to dinner. " What regiment do you belong to ? " 
 asked our inquisitive Yankee friend of his neigh- 
 bor. " The Seventeenth Georgia " was the re- 
 sponse ; " and what regiment do you belong to ? " 
 asked Secesh. " The One Hundred and Fifth 
 Rhode Island," answered our Yankee friend. Se- 
 cesh gave a long, low whistle, and — evaporated. 
 
 Anecdote of Peesident Lincoln. — A lieu- 
 tenant, whom debts compelle J to leave his father- 
 
170 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 land and service, succeeded in being admitted to 
 the late President Lincoln, and, by reason of his 
 commendable and winning deportment and intel- 
 ligent appearance, was promised a lieutenant's 
 commission in a cavalry regiment. He was so 
 enraptured with his success, that he deemed it a 
 duty to inform the President that he belonged 
 to one of the oldest noble houses in Germany. 
 " O, never mind that," said Mr. Lincoln ; " you 
 will not find that to be an obstacle to your ad- 
 vancement." 
 
 Patriotism. — Orpheus C. Kerr says : " Pa- 
 triotism, my boy, is a very beautiful thing. The 
 surgeon of a Western regiment has analyzed a 
 very nice case of it, and says it is peculiar to the 
 hemisphere. He says it first breaks out in the 
 mouth, and from thence extends to the heart, 
 causing the heart to swell. He says it goes on 
 raging until it reaches the pocket, when it sud- 
 denly disappears, leaving the patient very consti- 
 tutional and conservative." 
 
 TO AND FROM LIBBY PRISON. 
 
 BY JOHN F. HILL. 
 
 For the satisfaction of the friends,* I shall 
 give a brief statement of our capture, prison life, 
 and of the escape of three of our members from 
 the Danville prison, with an account of their safe 
 arrival within our Union lines. 
 
 The post my regiment was assigned to, at the 
 great battle of Chickamauga, on the 20th of Sep- 
 tember, 1863, was one which it required great 
 coolness and bravery on our pait to hold against 
 the heavy masses that were from time to time 
 hurled against us. It was past the middle of the 
 day when we Avere brought into action. We had 
 been held back in the forenoon on the reserve, 
 and, when we went into the fight, the original line 
 had become broken, and was falling back in con- 
 siderable confusion. The rebels came charging 
 down upon us, but our boys stood the fii-e nobly. 
 We would be compelled at times to fall back, but 
 we would rally again, and regain the ground we 
 had lost. We had orders to hold the ground to 
 the last possible moment, so as to allow our line 
 of battle to fall back and re-form. For over five 
 hours we kept three times our number at bay, 
 fighting them from behind trees and logs, and 
 lying down on the ground. Our ammunition 
 began to fail at last, and we had to resort to the 
 cartridge-boxes of the slain for more. Half of 
 our men had been killed, wounded, or fallen back 
 to the rear. Darkness was coming on ; still we 
 despaired not. General Granger had been on the 
 ground, and promised to send us reenforcements. 
 
 A column of infantry was seen at our right, 
 coming directly towards us, but it was so dark 
 that we could not discern who they were. At the 
 distance of one hundred yards our men com- 
 menced firing into them, when our Colonel or- 
 
 * Written especially for the Eighty-ninth Ohio regi- 
 ment, and published in the Scioto Gazette. 
 
 dered us to cease firing, for they were friends. 
 At the distance of fifty yards our Colonel hailed 
 them, asking who they were, and they replied, 
 " Friends ; " but in a moment we saw who they 
 were ; for they were rebels coming at charge 
 bayonet. Our Colonel hallooed out, " I know 
 who you are." Their rebel commander demanded 
 with an oath, " Do you never intend to sur- 
 render ? " to which Colonel Carlton asked, " Is 
 there a possibility of an escape ? " to which the 
 rebel commander replied : " None, for we have 
 our lines thrown entirely around you." With- 
 out further ceremony we soon found ourselves 
 divested of guns and cartridge-boxes, and under 
 guard by our victors — the Fifty-Fourth Vir- 
 ginia infantiy. Out of three hundred and thirty 
 of our regiment that went into the fight, only 
 one hundred and seventy were captured, the re- 
 mainder having been either killed, wounded, or 
 straggled back to the rear, early enough in the 
 day to make good their escape. Of commissioned 
 ofl[icers they got a good sprinkle, including Col- 
 onel Carlton, Lieutenant-Colonel Glenn, Captains 
 Day, Barrett, Adams, Gatch, and Glenn ; Lieu- 
 tenants Edmonson, Harrison, Scott, Baird, and 
 Fakfield, and Assistant-Surgeon Purdum. 
 
 We were taken directly to the rear that night, 
 and passed directly over the battle-ground of Sat- 
 urday. Here we noticed that none of the dead 
 had been interred, or even the wounded attended 
 to ; and many a poor fellow cried piteously to us 
 for help. There they had been lying for thirty- 
 six hours, suffering from painful wounds, in a 
 hot sun, parching up for want of water ; and the 
 woods were in several places on fire, threatening 
 them with the most horrible death. 
 
 We found our captors very kind and gentle- 
 manly to us, doing everything in their power to 
 make us feel happy and contented with our lot. 
 We acknowledged to them that they were victors ; 
 but they said they had nothing to boast of, for 
 they had bought us at a dear price of life and 
 blood. 
 
 They hurried us that night to General Buck- 
 ner's headquarters, where we rested about an 
 hour, and then were sent on farther to the rear, 
 and it must have been two o'clock Monday morn- 
 ing, when they permitted us to lie down and 
 sleep till sunrise. We were then marched to 
 Tunnel Hill. There we were robbed of our knap- 
 sacks, gum blankets, and canteens. The next 
 day they marched us to Dalton, where, on the 
 morning of the 23d, we took the cars to Atlanta, 
 Ga. There the authoi'ities and citizens were very 
 saucy and insulting to us, calling us by all kinds 
 of names and asking us : " When is old Rosy 
 coming again to Georgia ? and how we liked 
 Chickamauga." But our boys would give them 
 half-a-dozen for six, and ask them when old Lee 
 was going up into Pennsylvania again, or how 
 they liked Gettysburg, &c. There they robbed 
 us again of our woollen blankets, and also, by an 
 order from Howell Cobb, Provost Marshal, they 
 took all of our penknives, in retaliation, they 
 said, for the way the North had served John Mor- 
 gan and his men. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 271 
 
 There we were put aboard the cars again, and 
 after six days' and nights' travel, found our- 
 selves in the rebel capital, and shortly afterwards 
 inmates of one of the Libby prisons, known as 
 the warehouse of Crew & Pemberton, tobacco- 
 nists. The buUding was a substantial brick, four 
 ;tories high. In this they thrust twenty-one hun- 
 dred of us. There were seven rooms of about 
 forty by one hundred feet, with three hundred 
 men to each room. There, almost crowded to 
 death, commenced a life that will be forever im- 
 pressed ujwn our minds ; and I am fearful that 
 some of us will have the effects of that prison 
 life so imi)ressed into our systems that it will hur- 
 ry us to our graves. The horrors of those pris- 
 ons I will leave for future historians to paint ; 
 but I will attempt, in my plain and simple style, 
 to bring a few items to the public gaze — now 
 while humanity, charity, and Christianity ai-e the 
 boast of the great Southern Confederacy. 
 
 The first day after we had been thrust into this 
 modern bastile, a rebel officer by the name of Cap- 
 tain Turner came in and had us all drawn up into 
 lines, and there we had to stand under guard. 
 He then proceeded to tell us that we had to give 
 up all our greenbacks. He said that he had a 
 book there in which he would enter our names, 
 company, and regiment, and the amount, and 
 that Mhen we left the prison, exchanged or pa- 
 roled, we would have all our money refunded to 
 us ; and moreover, if we refused to give our mon- 
 ey up thus voluntarily, we should be searched, 
 and all moneys and valuables found about us 
 would be confiscated. We saw the dilemma we 
 were in, and concluded that we would take the 
 matter as easy as possible, swearing vengeance 
 would be ours some day. The boys were thus 
 robbed of several thousand dollars, and I have 
 not the least idea that they will ever see one cent 
 of it again. 
 
 We were also robbed of almost everything 
 else we had, save the clothes on our "backs, and 
 they were poor and thin, for we had worn them 
 for the last eight months (not having drawn our 
 winter suits yet). Some had no shirts, others no 
 blouses, some barefooted,- others bareheaded, 
 and our pants all full of holes. With this thin 
 clothing, and no blankets, we were compelled to 
 stretch ourselves upon the hard floor to sleep and 
 rest, and that too in rooms where there was not 
 the least spark of fii'e. You may have some idea 
 of our sufiering at that season of the year ; but 
 your imaginations can never realize the true state 
 of things. To say we slept would only be in 
 imagination, for I am confident of myself that I 
 never enjoyed a nap of over half an hour's du- 
 ration at one time during my whole stay in prison. 
 And wlien we slept, it was nothing but a doze, 
 filled with pleasant dreams of home and friends, 
 of well-spread tables and inviting victuals. I 
 have often awoke, catching myself in the very 
 act of feeling for the bed covering ; and then im- 
 agine my feelings, when I found myself disap- 
 pointed and compelled to lie there shivering. 
 Our bones would become so sore that we were 
 compelled to be turning from side to side the 
 
 whole night long. Through the coldness of the 
 room, and the hardness of the floor, we would 
 often be compelled to get up in the night and 
 walk up and down the room to keep ourselves 
 warm. And I have seen at the hour of midnight 
 one third of the men in the room pacing the 
 floors to and fro, so as to pass off the long, weary 
 hours of the night. How many a poor suS"erer 
 in after life will trace back the cause of his dis- 
 ease to seeds sown in this cold, desolate prison ! 
 
 But the darkest part of my story remains yet 
 to be told. Man may suffer with cold, pass 
 through incredible hardships, endure fatigue, and 
 never murmur — but let hunger prey upon his 
 vitals, and he becomes mad, frantic, and raving. 
 He loses all patience, humanity, and sympathy 
 for others, and will then stoop to acts which he 
 would at other times have shunned with disdain. 
 
 At first, our daUy allowance was one half 
 pound of bread per day, and two ounces of taint- 
 ed beef, and that without salt. I do not remem- 
 ber of our ever getting any fresh meat all the 
 time we were there. It generally was so bad 
 that we could smell it as soon as it was brought 
 into the room. At times we had some bacon is- 
 sued to us, and it was strong, old, and maggot- 
 eaten, looking like a honey-comb, it having been 
 saved and cured with ashes and saltpetre, and the 
 meat then had a slimy look, like soft soap. At 
 last we got some kind of meat we could not fairly 
 account for. It was neither beef, pork, mutton, 
 veal, nor venison. It was a tough, lean, black- 
 looking kind of flesh ; and it was the decided 
 opinion of all that it was mule meat. Hard as it 
 was, we were very thankful to get even that. 
 From off this mingled lot of corrupted flesh they 
 would furnish us a pint of soup. No, I will not 
 class it with that much-favored dish — it was 
 mere dish slop. 
 
 You may ask if we relished this, and that with- 
 out salt. Yes, the crumbs that fall from your ta- 
 ble, and the slop of your swill-tubs, could be 
 eaten there without asking any questions. At 
 last, meat was entirely " played out," and then for 
 two days we got one gill of rice, and then one day 
 we got two sweet potatoes, and then at last had 
 nothing but bread alone, and that from half a pound 
 had been also reduced to a small corn " dodger," 
 about the size of a saucer, and hard enough to 
 knock a negro down, and so strong with alum — 
 instead of salt — as to fairly burn our throats. AVe 
 became so starved at last that we fell upon some 
 bran that we found in a cellar under our prison. 
 Of this we helped ourselves freely. AVe gener- 
 ally managed it so as to keep a good supply of 
 this stuff on hand. We took the di-y bran and 
 put it in our tin cups, and then poured enough 
 water upon it to mix it into a dough, and of this 
 we ate freely ; and to satisfy hunger we thought 
 it answered remarkably well. It looked distress- 
 ing to see us eating this weak diet with our fin- 
 gers, relishing it as if it was food supplied from 
 a king's tabic. 
 
 We were also compelled by starvation to sell 
 the guards all of our jewelry, including our 
 watches, gold pens and holders, finger-rings, and 
 
272 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 pocket-books ; and some even sold the shoes 
 from off their feet, for a small pittance to keep 
 soul and body together. Starvation caused us to 
 resort to a great many means to procure the ne- 
 cessaries of life ; and although we were closely 
 confined, and strictly guarded, we often played 
 off some pretty sharp jokes and tricks on the 
 Southern Confederacy. 
 
 Some of the boys, that had smuggled some 
 money through, would take one-dollar bills 
 (greenbacks), and have them altered to tens. 
 These they would take, after night, and pass off on 
 the guards for bread and tobacco. And I know of 
 one instance where one of our new copper cents 
 was passed off for a two and a half gold dollar 
 piece. This may look too much like roguery ; 
 but w^hat will not a man do before he will starve ? 
 All of our trading had to be done after dark, for 
 the guards v/ere not allowed to speak to us. They 
 even had orders to shoot us, if we even put our 
 heads out of the windows. But after dark, when 
 there was no rebel officer near, we could approach 
 the guard, and trade freely ; but ere this time, 
 their trading times are over, for their resources 
 have long ago failed. 
 
 There is one joke that we played off on the 
 rebel authorities that I must not forget to men- 
 tion. It looks like a gigantic thing, but it can 
 be well vouched for by hundreds of prisoners. 
 It was nothing less than stealing a great quantity 
 of sugar and salt in the rebel capital. We had 
 a large cellar under our prison, and it was strong- 
 ly locked and bolted ; and we soon mistrusted 
 that there might be something under there that 
 we could use to advantage. fSo we went to work 
 and cut a hole through the lower floor, and let 
 ourselves down into the cellar after night. And, 
 io ! there we found it filled with sugar and salt. 
 We made daily draws upon it for a week, until 
 the authorities found it out, when they cut off our 
 supplies by removing their commissariat. You 
 may judge Ave lived upon the " fat of the land " 
 for one week, if Ave did suffer for it afterAvards. 
 The joke was a good one, and the rebels felt 
 completely sold over it. By a statement, shortly 
 afterwards, in the " Dispatch" they called us 
 " gray rats, that had dug a hole into their cellar, 
 and carried off over nine thousand pounds of 
 sugar, and thirty-five hundred pounds of salt." 
 Upon this 1 need add no comments, for every 
 one will say, " Well done." 
 
 We had no regular prison rules, only what we 
 made of our own. We di'CAV rations only once a 
 day ; sometimes that Avould be at nine o'clock 
 A. M., and then sometimes not until eight o'clock 
 at night. That Avas indeed a long time to fast, 
 but Ave had to bear it all with patience. We 
 , would ahvays be so hungry that we would devour 
 it all at one meal, and then be compelled to go 
 twenty-four hours Avithout tasting another mouth- 
 ful of food. 
 
 Amidst all our suffering Ave had also another 
 enemy to contend against — that was the vermin. 
 We soon became so covered Avith these living 
 creatures that it took several hours of our daily 
 life to rid ourselves of them. It Avas to me an 
 
 undesired job, but I had to do it, or be literally 
 eaten up alive. This may look, in some people's 
 eyes, like laziness or negligence on our part to get 
 so, but I Avill defy any person to be put a feAV 
 weeks in prison Avithout getting so infested. 
 
 It always appeared to me that the rebel au- 
 thorities tried to make our sojourn Avith them as 
 miserable as they possibly could. They Avould 
 agree to no terms of a parole or exchange. It 
 appeared as if they intended to keep us there for 
 the purpose of punishing us, and to kill us all 
 inch by inch. We never could receive a civil an- 
 swer from the authorities to any question Ave 
 might ask them. When we avouIcI ask them for 
 bread, they would threaten to give us lead. Ev- 
 ery sentence Avould be accompanied with an ttath 
 and epithets of abuse, calling us invaders, negro 
 stealers, Lincoln hirelings, &c., saying Ave were get- 
 ting better treatment than we deserved. Of the 
 soldiers that guai'ded us, we have no complaint to 
 make. They treated us with a great deal of hu- 
 manity and respect. They would run great risks 
 to try to accommodate us, and often made them- 
 selves liable to the severest punishment in trying 
 to smuggle us in a little bread, tobacco, or some 
 newspapers. 
 
 I talked with a great many of them, Avho said 
 they were tired of the Avar, and that they had not 
 the least hope of success. And a great many told 
 me that they knew they were fighting on the 
 wrong side, and conti'ary to their own principles ; 
 they had not gone voluntarily, having been con- 
 scripted ; and they said if they ever got near 
 enough to some of our armies, they were going 
 across the lines. I can truthfully say, that one 
 third of the soldiers that guarded us were good 
 Union men, but had been dragged into the rebel 
 ranks, and Avere too fearful to make an attempt 
 to escape. They knew their doom, if caught at- 
 tempting to escape to our lines, Avould be death. 
 The guards acknowledged also to us, that they 
 were also in nearly a starving condition. They 
 drew the same quality of rations that Ave did, only 
 a little more. The inhabitants of Richmond 
 showed signs of being in a starving condition. 
 
 In the month of October there Avere tAvo bread 
 riots in the city. The women collected together 
 in masses, and proceeding to the rebel commissa- 
 ries, burst open the doors, and helped themselves. 
 There is no doubt that there are thousands of 
 helpless families in the South in as bad a condi- 
 tion as our OAvn Union prisoners. 
 
 A rebel soldier's pay is only one hundred and 
 thii-ty-two dollars per year ; now on this small 
 sum, hoAV is he to support a family, where every- 
 thing is selling at such extravagant prices ? Flour 
 at one hundred dollars per ban-el, corn ten dol- 
 lars per bushel, pork two dollars per pound, calico 
 tvA-elve dollars per yard, and cotton five dollars, 
 and Avool ten dollars per pound. Imagine, ye 
 Northern sympathizers, the fruits that folloAv a 
 rebellious people, and you Avill soon come to the 
 conclusion that the way of the transgressor is 
 hard. Of the two most horrible prisons in llich- 
 mond, we are so fortunate as to knoAV but little. 
 One is Belle Island, said to be a dreaiy, sandy, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 273 
 
 bleak place. On it are generally put our Eastern 
 troops, whom the rebels have a greater hatred for 
 than Western troops. The suffering on that 
 island it is impossible for me to picture. If you 
 could see some of those miserable prisoners there, 
 in their tattered clothing, and Avith dejected coun- 
 tenances, on a cold, bleak morning in November, 
 hovering over some smouldering embers, it would 
 melt the hardest heart Avith compassion. Castle 
 Thunder is also another prison of considerable 
 note. There they put their own deserters and 
 criminals, and also our own incorrigible " Yan- 
 kees " that they cannot so easily manage in the 
 Libby prisons. The treatment and fare in Castle 
 Thunder are said to be worse than were ever known 
 in any half-civilized nation on the globe. There 
 are said to be men within that prison who have 
 not a particle of clothing, and have for their beds 
 piles of saw-dust, in which they nestle down to- 
 gether like hogs. They are there denied all priv- 
 ileges of comfort — no lights, or water to Avash 
 with, just only a little food, barely to sustain na- 
 ture. 
 
 They had also three large hospitals filled Avith 
 our sick soldiers. These Avere said to be most 
 horrible places. The accommodations and treat- 
 ment Avere nothing better than what Ave received 
 at the prisons. Hundi-eds upon hundreds have 
 died in these filthy pens, who would this day have 
 been living if they had been under the hands of 
 humane nurses, and at a place Avhere they could 
 have received good healthy nourishment and 
 proper remedies. We had a surgeon, Avho made 
 a call once a day at our rooms, would make a 
 short examination of our sick, but would gen- 
 rally go oft" without giving them any medicine, 
 making the excuse that he had none of the proper 
 kind. A man Avould have to get almost helpless 
 before they Avould remove him to the hospital, 
 and probably Avhen he got there he Avould not 
 survive more than a day or so, and then he Avould 
 pass aAvay from his troubles here to his final rest. 
 
 The number of Union prisoners in Richmond, 
 at the date of November 13, Avas about thir- 
 teen thousand ; something near one thousand 
 of these Avere officers, and they Avere confined in 
 what is knoAvn as Old Libby, the same building 
 they used Avhen the rebellion broke out. To 
 Belle Island all of the prisoners from the Poto- 
 mac are sent. They number noAv about five 
 thousand, and some of them have been there ever 
 since the battle of Gettysburg. 
 
 Our Western troops are all put in large tobacco 
 factories, which could be made comfortable if they 
 Avould only give them good clothes and blankets, 
 and furnish them with plenty of fuel. 
 
 At times great excitement Avould prevail in the 
 city. Every time General Meade Avould make a 
 movement toAvards the rebel capital, we would 
 notice it by a great bustle on the streets. And 
 at times I thought they were fearful, also, of the 
 prisoners, for it had more than once been whis- 
 pered around that we were all going to make a 
 general outbreak, fire the city, and make our es- 
 cape. The thing could have been once easily done 
 if we could only have had a little help from outside. 
 18 
 
 There Avere fcAv troops in the city. We were 
 guarded principally by artillerymen from the for- 
 tifications. 
 
 As for the rebel currency, it is nothing but 
 mere trash ; the Avhole country is overfloAving 
 with it. The rich are putting it all off on the 
 poor, buying up their stock and grain at extrav- 
 agant prices ; so that Avhen their rotten Confeder- 
 acy goes doAvn, the poor class Avill have the Avorth- 
 less pictures on hand, and they Avill only be Avorth 
 about tAvo cents per pound (the price of rags), 
 and the rich will have all the produce. But I 
 think they Avill not have their own Avay much 
 longer. Uncle Sam Avill soon go doAvn amongst 
 them ; and 1 judge then the Avhole drama Avill be 
 changed, the oppressed and doAvntrodden Avill 
 arise and shake off their shackles, and be made 
 once more to rejoice under our old banner of 
 freedom. 
 
 Friday, NoA'ember 13. — This morning Ave 
 Avere aroused an hour before daylight, by the 
 guards, with orders to prepare to move immedi- 
 ately. Great hilarity existed among the boys, 
 and W'B Avere making great calculations on a 
 speedy trip around to the North, Avhere Ave Avould 
 get plenty to eat, and meet once again with the 
 loved ones at home. But our bright hopes were 
 soon blasted, and we Avere made to feel more 
 despaii'ing, Avhen Ave learned that our removal 
 Avas to another prison. They issued to us that 
 morning a small loaf of corn bread, weighing 
 about ten ounces. We all considered that it was 
 intended for our breakfast ; so we ate it all, they 
 promising us that they Avere going to take us to 
 a place where we Avould get plenty to eat, and 
 that there would be a supper ready for us on 
 our arrival that evening at Danville, N. C, our 
 destined place. The sun was just peeping up 
 from behind the eastern fortifications of the capi- 
 tal of Rebeldom Avhen Ave bade adieu to the Libby 
 prisons, and soon found ourselves safely stored 
 away in box cars, and rolling along at the speed 
 of elcA'en miles per hour. We arrived safe at 
 Danville that night, by eight o'clock P. M., and 
 were soon incarcerated in another " Tobacco 
 Prison." Danville is south-west of Richmond, 
 distance one hundred and forty miles, and is lo- 
 cated on the south bank of Dan River, a tribu- 
 tary of the Roanoke. It contains about tAvelve 
 or fifteen hundred inhabitants, with some pretty 
 snug buildings, and is in one of the best tobacco 
 regions in the State. It also is the terminus of 
 the Richmond and Danville Railroad. Our prison 
 there Avas another brick building, forty by sixty 
 feet, and three stories high ; and our train load 
 of seven hundred prisoners filled the building full 
 enough to be comfortable. But to our disap- 
 pointment (and not much either, for we had lost 
 all faith in their promises), we had to lie down to 
 sleep without anything to eat. But such things 
 we had got so used to that w'e acquiesced ■with- 
 out a murmur. 
 
 Saturday, November 14. — Daylight came, 
 but nothing to eat. Noon came, but still no 
 food. Night came, and nothing yet. No won- 
 der we looked up some desperate effort to better 
 
274 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 our condition. Thoughts had been in my head, 
 from the time I had been in Libby one week, to 
 make my escape if the thing was in any way pos- 
 sible ; I had even felt sorry that I had let so 
 many opportunities slip, when they were bring- 
 ing us to Richmond, which I could have done a 
 hundred times, from the carelessness of our 
 guards. While in Richmond, it was continually 
 upon my mind, but the thing looked like an im- 
 possibility there. Probably I could have got out 
 of the prison, but I never could get out of the 
 city, and pass their line of pickets and fortifica- 
 tions. We also thought of making the attempt 
 when we run down on the cars to Danville, but 
 before dark set in they came around and locked 
 us all safe up in the cars. The &st thing I did 
 on that morning, when I got up, was to take a 
 general survey of the place, and see what the 
 prospect was for making an escape. I saw things 
 looked pretty favorable ; and I soon found an 
 accomplice in the Sergeant-Major of the Nine- 
 teenth Regulars, a brave and dashing young 
 man. 
 
 We two put our heads together, and laid a 
 scheme for making a general outbreak, by burst- 
 ing open all three of our prison doors, overpow- 
 ering the guards, capturing the town, destroying 
 the railroad bridge across Dan River, cutting the 
 telegraph, destroying all the commissary stores, 
 securing all the arms and horses that we could, and 
 then making all speed for the mountains. The 
 whole thing could have been easily effected, for we 
 were seven hundred strong in the building, and 
 there were seven hundred more expected about 
 eight o'clock that night, and that, then, would make 
 a considerable force. The rebels had not more 
 than one hundred soldiers there, and no more 
 troops nearer than Richmond, and they had only 
 nine on duty at a time. When night cam^, it 
 set in dark and rainy, and guards that were not 
 on duty were rambling about the town. We had 
 selected the time when the cars would come in 
 to make the move. We were to divide into three 
 squads. One was to capture the guards as qui- 
 etly as possible, and then go to their headquar- 
 ters and pick up all there, and then break out 
 into the town, and take and destroy everything 
 valuable. We had assigned for this four hun- 
 dred men. Then two hundred more were to 
 make for the railroad bridge, and burn it, and 
 then one hundred were to go to the telegi'aph office 
 and demolish it. We were then to burn the en- 
 tire train, depot buildings, &c. ; and then, as soon 
 as we could mount and arm seventy-five or one 
 hundred men, we were to start them off to the 
 East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad to cut the 
 telegraph, and destroy the track by burning some 
 bridges at and near Salem, in Roanoke County, a 
 distance of sixty miles, which they could make 
 in twelve hours ; and then for them to go on and 
 notify our forces in Western Virginia to come to 
 our assistance, and meet us in the mountains. 
 
 After having everything completed, we set to 
 work to talk with the men, and to enlist every 
 one in the enterprise. We labored hard and 
 faithfully that day among the men, and could 
 
 only get sixty men out of seven hundred to go 
 into it. They said they would not go out if we 
 threw the doors wide open. They were so weak 
 and feeble from their sufferings for want of clothes 
 and food that they could never reach our lines, 
 and were certain we would be captured ; and then 
 they judged we would all have to fare harder 
 than ever. This might have been the case, but 
 I viewed it in a different light ; for to remain 
 there much longer would be death, and it could 
 not be worse than death to make the attempt. 
 So when we found out that we could not effect a 
 general stampede, we concluded that it would be 
 the best policy to get out as secretly as possible, 
 and get as far away as we could before the au- 
 thorities would find it out. After dark we went 
 to work and cut a hole through the fence. It 
 was a pine board one inch thick and one foot 
 broad ; Ave cut it off about eighteen inches from 
 the ground. It was done with an old table knife 
 that had been broken oft' two inches short. It 
 was not more than the work of half an hour, 
 and all was ready ; but we waited so as to let the 
 people in town settle down. About half past 
 seven o'clock we commenced going out in small 
 squads of three and four men. We had to pass 
 Avithin ten feet of one of their guards, but he did 
 not appear to pay any attention to us. I should 
 judge he was a good Union man, or well bribed, 
 and how it turned out with him I have never 
 learned. A little before eight o'clock three of us, 
 Sergeant Solomon Stookey, Corporal Henry 
 Thompson, and myself, all being members of the 
 same company, started, and in a moment were 
 through the orifice and once more in free air. 
 
 We knew we had undertaken a very hazardous 
 enterprise — but it was life or death. We had 
 not tasted any food for thirty-six hours, and were 
 almost frantic with hunger. As soon as we found 
 ourselves safely out, we made for the banks of 
 the river, distant about fifty yards. By the time 
 we reached the river we heard the guards crying 
 the rounds of the night, and when it came to the 
 guard that we passed, we distinctly heard him 
 halloo out, " Post number nine, eight o'clock, 
 and all's well." I could not help laughing to my- 
 self, and thought, " Old soldier, you did not tell 
 the truth that time." 
 
 We hurried up the river bank on a fast run, 
 but as it was raining and the ground slippery, I 
 fell down almost every rod, being weak and ex- 
 hausted ; but my two comrades would hurry me 
 along. About half a mile from the prison we 
 came to a small meadow, and fomid in it a per- 
 simmon tree ; we pitched into it and ate over 
 one pint of the fruit apiece, and I thought they 
 did us a great deal of good by giving us strength. 
 We could have eaten a great many more, but I 
 urged the boys on, for we were not yet out of 
 sight of the lights of the town. I had been se- 
 lected as the guide, and it was my intention to 
 take a north-west course, as anything between 
 north and west would bring us into our lines at 
 some place in Western Virginia. 
 
 My first object was to get across Dan River as 
 quick as possible, for I knew our escape would he 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 275 
 
 found out, and they would hotly pursue us, and 
 that all ferries would soon be guarded for the 
 purpose of recapturing us. We made up the 
 river as fast as we could tra\Tl, reaching what is 
 known as Wilson's Ferry. There the Danville 
 Pike crosses, going to the Blue Ridge. Thei'e 
 we worked for two hours, trying to break the 
 locks or draAv the staple, but could not effect 
 anything. We felt a great interest in getting the 
 boat loose for the purpose of crossing, and also 
 of setting the ferry boat afloat so as to retard 
 our pursuers. Finding all our efforts fruitless, 
 we abandoned it and moved up the river about 
 three miles, and as it was raining very hard and 
 dark, we became so exhausted that we could not 
 proceed any farther. We lay down in a pine 
 thicket to rest, but there was no rest for us. We 
 were so famished, and the weather so wet and 
 cold, that hope almost fled. There was Dan River 
 we must cross early in the morning if we had to 
 swim. Delay would be dangerous. The whole 
 thing kept my mmd excited so that I could not 
 rest. 
 
 Sunday, November 15. — We felt very blue this 
 morning, but by daylight we were up and off. 
 We proceeded right up the banks of the river, 
 gathering some raw corn and turnips to subsist, 
 on. AVe had not gone very far until we found a 
 canoe tied up to a tree, and half full of water. 
 We went to work and soon had it baled out, and 
 with a piece of a root for a paddle, we managed to 
 get across, the canoe turning around some half 
 a dozen times in the middle of the stream. As 
 soon as we were safely across, we " broke for 
 timber," but had not px'oceeded far, when, as we 
 were going out of a ravine to the top of a hill, 
 we espied three armed men in advance of us. 
 Two of them were on horseback, and they had a 
 Jdnd of an ugly look. We ordei-ed a retreat, 
 and fell back half a mile unobserved by them, 
 hid ourselves in some thick undergrowth, consid- 
 ering that it would not be best to travel in the 
 daylight. We lay by the balance of the day and 
 slept some, and as soon as it began to get dark 
 started again. We took our direction through 
 bush and M-oods and over fields until about nine 
 o'clock, when it became so dark that we could 
 not see how to travel, and as I used the moon 
 and stars for my guide, we were obliged to halt 
 and camp. In doing so we gathered a few leaves 
 into a fence corner ; into this we nestled down 
 and tried to sleep, but no sleep closed our eyelids 
 that night. Everything was wet and cold, and 
 we did nothing but lie there and shiver. God 
 forbid that I should ever pass through such an- 
 other night. Death would then have been a 
 welcome visitor. I then despaired, and told my 
 two partners we never could make it. Here Me 
 were three days without anything to eat, save a 
 little raw corn and turnips, and that was doing us 
 more harm than good. O, ye rich and opulent 
 of the North, when you lie down on downy beds, 
 do you think what the poor soldier has to pass 
 through at times to save your country, your home, 
 and your wealth ? 
 
 Monday, November 16. — We arose this morn- 
 
 ing in despair ; we did not care which way the scale 
 turned. We had lost all energy to push forward, 
 and the only thing that engrossed our mind was 
 something to eat. We looked around and espied 
 a small cabin at a short distance in a small clear- 
 ing. We took it to be a negro hut, and we would 
 make a venture to it, let the consequences be 
 what they would. It was agreed that but one 
 should make the venture, and if all was not safe 
 the other two could escape. It was put upon me 
 to make that venture. I proceeded to the house, 
 caring but little what the consequences might be, 
 so that I got something to eat. When I came to 
 the yard, a white woman came out ; it frightened 
 me a little, but I thought I would go ahead, let 
 Avhat might follow. I told her not to be alarmed, 
 that I was a " Yankee," and had escaped from a 
 Confederate prison, and was making an effort to 
 reach my home in Ohio. She looked suspiciously 
 at me for a while ; but after talking a few mo- 
 ments, she believed my story. I then told her I 
 was famishing for something to eat. She then 
 bade me come in, and said she would do the best 
 she could, although she knew she was running a 
 great risk, for if the rebel authorities should find 
 it out they would severely punish her for harbor- 
 ing and assisting their enemy. I then told her 
 of my two comrades, and she bade me call them in, 
 and said Ave were welcome to the best she had. 
 We enjoyed ourselves around a warm, blazing 
 fire, for it was the first Me had seen or felt for 
 eight Meeks. Mrs. Corban (for that was the good 
 woman's name) went to M'ork and hastily prepared 
 us a good warm breakfast of stewed chicken, but- 
 ter, cabbage, cofiee (Confederate), and corn bread. 
 You need not ask us whether M'e did justice to 
 the smoking dishes befoi-e us. There is one thing 
 certain, we had very grateful hearts. At the ta- 
 ble Mrs. Corban informed us M'ho she was. She 
 said she M'as as good a Union M'oman as M'e ever 
 saw, and that she had a husband, who was in the 
 rebel army at that time, but M'as as good a Union 
 man as M-as ever in Ohio. But he, like thousands 
 more of his unfortunate class, had been con- 
 scripted, but M'as going to cross the lines at the 
 first favorable opportunity. 
 
 After breakfast she took us to a deep forest, 
 M'here a couple of deserters were hid. We found 
 them in their hermit home, and she left us M-ith 
 them there, while she went off to find a good 
 Union man to help us, one Avho had some knowl- 
 edge of the country, so as to get us on safely 
 without falling into the hands of the enemy. She 
 returned late in the evening, bringing with her a 
 nice dinner of beef, potatoes, corn bread, and 
 pumpkin pies, and also the good intelligence that 
 she had found a man by the name of Yates, an 
 overseer on a plantation, who M'as true Union, 
 and Milling to do all in his poM'er to make us 
 comfortable and to assist us on our journey. 
 How devoted and true is a loyal woman to the 
 cause of our country ! Such heroines are not 
 rare, and that, too, in the very heart of the South- 
 ern Confederacy. Noble M'oman ! As M'e Avere 
 parting, she Avent into the house and brought us 
 the best quilt she had, and gave it to us. 
 
276 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETEY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Xow consider one moment : that woman was 
 poor, and she had five helpless children, her hus- 
 band in the rebel ranks ; most of her subsistence 
 she had to draw weekly from the Confederate 
 Government, and you may plainly see Avhy we call 
 her a heroine. Do not such people — lajing 
 aside the great interest of our countiy — demand 
 protection ? Can we not bravely fight for such, 
 and redeem them from the thraldom of tyrants ? 
 After dark the two deserters (who were Union to 
 the core also) piloted us to the house of Mr. Yates. 
 We found him a thorough Union man, who was 
 glad to receive us, and gave us a hearty supper 
 and a warm bed under his hospitable roof. He 
 was one of those bold, dashing men who did not 
 care what he said ; and he remarked to us that 
 the Confederate authorities were more afraid of 
 him than he was of them. Of his being a Union 
 man, almost every man knew it, and yet he re- 
 mained unmolested. About midnight three more 
 of our runaway boys came to his house and craved 
 liis hospitality, which he freely gave by treating 
 them the same as he did us. This is another 
 proof of the loyalty of the downtrodden people 
 of the South. What would have been that man's 
 fate if the rebels had caught us all in his house ? 
 Was there any doubt of true loyalty there ? 
 
 Tuesday, November 17. — Long before daylight 
 we were up and had our breakfasts, and then our 
 good friend advised us that it would not be safe 
 for us to remain at his house that day, for proba- 
 bly the rebel soldiers would be there and search 
 his house for some of us. He then took us to a 
 nice pine thicket adjacent to his house, Avhere we 
 passed the day quietly. At noon his son brought 
 us our dinner, and after dark the old gentleman 
 came, bringing us our supper and one day's ra- 
 tions. Then we learned for the first time that 
 sixty of our men had actually efi"ected their es- 
 cape, and that the whole country was swarming 
 with cavalry in hot pursuit, and that six of our 
 boys had been captured that day in front of his 
 door. I could not pity them much, for they were 
 too foolhardy and careless in attempting to travel 
 in the daylight, and that, too, upon a public high- 
 way ; and moreover to let one man capture the 
 whole of them ! 
 
 We ate our supper, and bade our good friend 
 adieu ; and as the shades of night were closing in, 
 we set out again to the " land of promise," with a 
 determination to go through now or die in the at- 
 tempt. I set out as guide about one hundred 
 yards in advance of my two comrades. On that 
 night, through woods and over fields, and wading 
 one considerable stream, we travelled about twelve 
 miles in a proper direction, when the moon went 
 down and it became dark. We travelled on, but 
 I soon found I was making a circle, as I had lost 
 my way; so after midnight, we raked together 
 some leaves and slept till morning. 
 
 Wednesday, November 18. — We ate our break- 
 fast at a widow woman's by the name of Smith, 
 who was true and loyal. We slept in the woods 
 near by all day, and as soon as it was dark we 
 were off. This night we took through woods and 
 fields again, keeping our course, and by two 
 
 o'clock in the morning were across Avhat is known 
 as Turkey ^Mountain, and entered a poor man's 
 house by the name of Carder, who allowed us to 
 sleep on the floor iir front of the fire. He would 
 not believe we were Yankees, but took us to be 
 rebel detectives, and I could not exactly find him 
 out. 
 
 Thursday, November 19. — Mr. Carder was not 
 able to give us our breakfast ; so we had to go on 
 half a mile to a Mrs. Pteynolds, who was as good a 
 Union woman as any in Old Virginia. She has- 
 tily prepared us a warm meal ; and as she was in 
 the kitchen cooking it, a rebel soldier came into 
 the sitting-room where ^e were. He immediately 
 asked us if we were not runaway Yankee ])rison- 
 ers. We answered in the affirmative. He then 
 said he took us to be such, for he had heard of 
 our escape from Danville, and two of our boys 
 had been along there the day before ; and as they 
 were somewhat astray, he piloted them a couple 
 of miles ; but he had not more than left them be- 
 fore they were recaptured by some rebel cavalry. 
 He then advised us not to attempt to get any far- 
 ther, for it was impossible for us to get through, 
 as the cavalry and citizens had turned out to the 
 number of five hundred, and were ranging the 
 country all around for us. He said it would go 
 easier Avith us if we would voluntarily give our- 
 selves up to him, and he would take us to where 
 we would be well treated and get plenty to eat. 
 We gave him to understand we did not put much 
 faith in his promises, and also we did not intend 
 to surrender ourselves to one man. Here our 
 conversation was interrupted by breakfast being 
 ready. At the table Mrs. Ileynolds informed us 
 that the rebel soldier was her brother, but for us 
 to pay no attention to him, and advised us to go 
 ahead at all hazards. She deeply sympathized 
 with us in our perilous undertaking, but wished 
 us God speed. 
 
 After breakfast, the rebel soldier volunteered 
 his services to pilot us to some secluded spot, 
 where we might rest in safety through the day. 
 I politely thanked him. I had undertaken that 
 job myself, and I did not wish his assistance. I 
 saw what he was fishing after, for there was three 
 thousand dollars reward for each of us, and he 
 was after Confederate legal tender. We left, hnn 
 very unceremoniously, and broke for a cliair. .£ 
 small hills and mountains. That cursed imp jf 
 rebeldom caused me a great amount of imeasi- 
 ness, and we travelled nearly the whole day, so 
 as to get as far away as possible. By sundown 
 we were over another small mountain called Snow 
 Creek, at the foot of which we entered a man's 
 house' and got our supper. He was good Union, 
 although he had a son in the rebel ranks. He in- 
 formed us then that we were in Franklin County, 
 and within fifteen miles of the county seat (Rocky 
 Mound). He said that it was directly on our road 
 to the Blue Ridge, but advised us to leave it to 
 the right or left, as it was not safe for us to go 
 through, as there were two companies of cavalry 
 always stationed there. We thanked him for his 
 information, and proceeded on, crossing another 
 small mountain called Chestnut Ridge, and then 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 277 
 
 for the first time took the road. When we thought 
 we were near Rocky Mound, and had come to a 
 fork in the road, we aimed to take the road that 
 would not take us through that place. But we 
 took the wrong road, and directly we crossed a 
 river on a bridge, and found ourselves right in 
 the heart of a considerable sized town. It was 
 too late to back out ; so we moved on as noise- 
 lessly as cats. We looked every moment for some 
 one to halt us ; but, thank God, we went through 
 undisturbed. We learned next day that we had 
 actually come through Rocky Mound. We trav- 
 elled on that night, crossing Grassy Mountain 
 and Blackwater River, wading it, and turned into 
 a house for breakfast just at daylight. 
 
 Friday, November 20. — We felt very sore, 
 having walked thirty-five or forty miles in the 
 last twenty-four hours, and not having slept any. 
 There was none but a woman and children in the 
 house, and she took us to be rebel deserters, and 
 we said nothing to the contrary'. We ate our 
 breakfast, and then went into a thicket and slept 
 sweetly all daj*. At dark we went to a house 
 near by, where we got our supper. There Ave 
 were taken for rebel deserters again, and the old 
 man let on to be a rebel himself; but I have 
 since thought him to be a good stanch Union 
 man. But he was fearful of us. We were soon 
 off again, and took the main road, and by mid- 
 night reached the Blue Ridge. There we passed 
 some splendid natural scenery ; but we did not 
 waste much time in stopping to admire it. This 
 night we were j)ursued by a wildcat or cata- 
 mount for over three mUes. The mischievous 
 little creature gave us a great deal of uneasiness, 
 for we had no arms to defend ourselves. We 
 then proceeded safely, and about three o'clock it 
 set in to rain, and we were compelled to stop and 
 talie shelter under some pine bushes. 
 
 Saturday, November 21. — It rained all day. 
 This morning we had to go without any thing to 
 eat. All the houses looked too fine for us to 
 make a venture. We got into an old barn, and 
 hid ourselves in some hay, so as to see and not 
 be seen. We noticed through the day several 
 rebel soldiers pass the road, but we felt safe. In 
 the afternoon, as it was raining so hard that there 
 was no travel, we ventured out, and went back 
 from the road a mile, and found a house where 
 we got some bread and beef, and also learned 
 that we were within three miles of the East Ten- 
 nessee Railroad. We proceeded on cautiously 
 through the rain, and got within half a mile of 
 the railroad, and then waited for the shades of 
 night, so as to pursue our way. As soon as it 
 was dark enough, we proceeded on, and every 
 place was a sea of water and pretty cold. We 
 crossed Roanoke River by wading, and the rail- 
 road half a mile south of what is known as Lick 
 Spring Station. We then proceeded up the valley 
 parallel to the railroad, and through one of the 
 finest and the most fertile and well improved sec- 
 tions that I had seen in the Confederacy. The 
 plantations were large, and appeared in the high- 
 est state of cultivation. After going up the valley 
 about eight miles, we were compelled by hunger 
 
 to enter a small cabin for something to eat. We 
 then learned that we were in Roanoke County, 
 within a mile or so of the county seat, Salem ; 
 and were advised to flank the town, as it was not 
 safe for us to pass through, and also to avoid the 
 road over Salem Mountain (a spur of the AUe- 
 ghanies), as it was constantly watched, night and 
 day, to catch rebel deserters who were making 
 for the Union lines. We also learned that Salem 
 was one of the hottest nests of secession in the 
 whole valley, that it was their principal depot for 
 army stores, and that there was at that time on 
 hand an abundance of corn, flour, meat, &c. But 
 since our visit there I have learned that General 
 Averill has been in there and damaged their hive, 
 to their great discomfiture. 
 
 We proceeded on that night, making direct to 
 the mountain. We soon reached its foot, and 
 began our weary ascent, through brush, and over 
 ledges of rocks, and climbing places almost per- 
 pendicular ; and the night was as dark as pitch, 
 besides being wet and cold. Our lot was then a 
 trying one, so much so that we at last became 
 completely bewildered. We called a halt and 
 camped for the night, building a large fire out of 
 dry chestnut, and contrived to dry ourselves, but 
 slept none. 
 
 Sunday, November 22. — As soon as it was 
 light enough, we fell back about half a mile, and 
 found a house in which we had a very welcome 
 breakfast set before us by a good old Quakeress, 
 who appeared as if she could not do enough for 
 us. After eating and thanking the good woman, 
 we made for the top of Salem Mountain, which 
 we reached after a two hours' walk, climbing 
 nearly the whole way by pulling ourselves up by 
 the bushes. We built a fire, and spent the day 
 in returning thanks to Almighty God for his pro- 
 tection in our perilous undertaking. We slept 
 some through the day, but always kept one out 
 on guard while the other two would sleep. From 
 our refuge we could see all around for miles. It 
 was a beautiful sight ; we could see directly down 
 into the rebel town of Salem, and see the people 
 promenading the streets. Little dreamt they that 
 they were watched by Yankees ; but, as for us, 
 we felt secure, for I felt as if a kind Px'ovidence 
 had a hand in our escape. We began our descent 
 an hour before sundown, and dark found us again 
 in the road making pretty good headway for Yan- 
 keedom. 
 
 Our course led about ten miles up that valley 
 (Catawba). This was also very fertile, and, in 
 travelling along the road, we had to pass near 
 some very fine houses. All these we endeavored 
 to avoid by taking across the fields. And, as a 
 general thing, we never went near a house but 
 what a dozen dogs would come baying out after 
 us, and they would keep up their yelping as far 
 as we could hear. I often remarked to my com- 
 rades that I could never have any more friend- 
 ship for the canine creatures. That night a man 
 chased us for nearly two miles with his dogs. 
 We would have stood and given battle, but we 
 did not want to leave any tracks behind. We 
 crossed another small mountain knowa as Ca- 
 
278 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 tawba, and came into Craig Valley. After mid- 
 night it became cloudy, and, as our road led up 
 Craig Creek, and we had to wade it in several 
 places, and it turned cold, and as we were wet 
 and very much fatigued, we began to look around 
 for some place to sleep and rest. But, as every 
 place was wet and muddy, we could do no better 
 than to chase some pigs from their bed, and, for 
 the time being, take military possession of their 
 snug and comfortable quarters — comfortable, if 
 we did rise up covered with creepers. But we 
 were willing to do or pass through anything to 
 regain our freedom. 
 
 Monday, November 23. — We rose feeling 
 pretty well, except our empty stomachs ; but we 
 soon found a nice warm breakfast at the house 
 of a Mrs. Brill hart. While at the table, she in- 
 formed us of a band of deserters which was near 
 by, who, she thought, would do all in their power 
 to aid and assist us in getting through. AVe got 
 the direction, and found their headquarters about 
 noon. Wc wei'e cordially received, and treated 
 with the best they had. The news of our arrival 
 spread fast, and by dark not less than twenty per- 
 sons came in to see us. They thought it was a 
 great curiosity to see " live Yankees " in their 
 midst. We found them all true Union men in 
 principle, and would be so in action, if it was not 
 for the iron rule of tyrants that keeps them down. 
 
 There we found deserters from the rebel ranks 
 who had been there, hid in the mountains, for 
 over eighteen months. We were assigned a room 
 that night in the stable loft, and received visitors 
 until nearly midnight. I was heai'tily glad when 
 they quit coming, for I needed some rest. I 
 slept that night as sweetly, and felt as safe, as if 
 I had been at home. I knew I was among friends, 
 and that not a few. 
 
 Tuesday, November 24. — We arose in great 
 glee. A Squire Somebody had sent us a bottle 
 of home-made liquor, which Ave did not object to, 
 as we thought a little refreshment would not go 
 amiss, if it did cost six dollars a pint. Visitors 
 came flocking in all day, and I was getting fear- 
 ful, lest the thing was getting too public, and 
 might arouse suspicion. We coaxed four de- 
 serters to fix up and go along with us, for we 
 knew they would be excellent pilots, from their 
 knowledge of the country. 
 
 We also found that they had been running de- 
 serters from that place across to our lines. And 
 for doing this, they had established a route with 
 a number of posts on it — a kind of an under- 
 ground railroad. And besides this, they had a 
 secret organization, with its grips, signs, and 
 passwords ; and for a person to be a member, he 
 had to sign an obligation, and take a solemn oath, 
 the punishment for violation of which M'as death. 
 
 Under an old shed near by, we were all three 
 of us initiated into this mystic lodge ; and there- 
 after we could tell our friends at first sight ; and 
 it was a great help to us during the balance of 
 our sojourn in Dixie. We found there men of 
 all ages — from the beai'dless youth to the gray- 
 hcuded old man — praying day and night that the 
 Yankees might come and take possession of their 
 
 country. They had felt the gall and bitterness 
 of secession — they knew its aim — the subjuga- 
 tion of the poor, and to lift up the rich into des- 
 potic chaii-s. O ye butternuts of the North, who 
 voted for exiles, and outlaws, and friends of se- 
 cession, if you could but half feel the fruits of 
 disunion, how soon you would change your prin- 
 ciples ! We spent one happy day in the Confed- 
 eracy. They brought us in great baskets of pro- 
 visions. It appeared as if they could not do enough 
 for us ; and when we went to start, they filled our 
 haversacks to overflowing, and gave us also fifteen 
 doUai's in money (Confederate). Everything 
 being in readiness, and with many adieus and 
 God speed you well, from both men and women, 
 we started ofl', accompanied by the four deserters 
 and about twenty of the citizens, who went with 
 us a couple of miles. Such true types of Union- 
 ism are hardly found here in our midst — cer- 
 tainly no better. 
 
 The deserters went ahead as our guides. Vie 
 were .soon across Craig Mountain, and in the Sink- 
 ing Creek Valley, and were proceeding along, as 
 we thought, in all security. As we were going 
 down a small creek, which led out to a public 
 road, we had not more tlian got out into the road, 
 when all in an instant we heard the words, " Halt, 
 halt, halt! " coming from a sentinel not over twen- 
 ty-five yards in front of us. We then saw, to the 
 right of the road, eight or ten camp fires, and saw 
 in an instant our danger. We made oil' at full 
 speed, and ran on for a mile luitil we were com- 
 pletely exhausted. The sentinel never fired at 
 us, nor made the alarm in camp. 1 have always 
 thought that he did not suspect who we were. It 
 was a narrow escape, and also a lesson of caution. 
 
 After getting over our fright, we made oil again, 
 over fields and through woods, wading Sinking 
 Creek, and then over Sinking Creek Mountain, 
 through the brush ; then across John's Creek Val- 
 ley, and wading John's Creek, which was very 
 deep and cold, and made the top of John's Creek 
 Mountain by daylight. 
 
 Wednesday, November 25. — We took a good 
 day's rest, and were ofl' again at dark, down across 
 a large valley, thence over Peter's Mountain ; the 
 last and highest of the Allcghanies. This night 
 was very cold, and we sufl'ered, for our clothes 
 were so thin, and my shoes were now about gone ; 
 and I was compelled to tear up some of my other 
 clothes to keep my feet safe, for I knew our suc- 
 cess depended upon them. We stopped that night 
 about midnight at the house of a jMr. Smith, at 
 the west foot of Peter's Mountain. This was a 
 post on our route, and as the next one was twen- 
 ty-five miles ahead, Ave wanted to take a whole 
 night for it. Mr. Smith gave us a very hospitable 
 reception, but informed us that it would be im- 
 possible for us to get through, as General Averill 
 had been pitching into the rebels at Lewisburg, 
 and had scattered them all along down the Green- 
 brier country, — and we also had in our pathway 
 the two bushwhacking companies, commanded l)y 
 William and Philip Thurman, who were doing 
 great mischief, taking their spite out on the Union 
 men in the country for their defeat at Lewisburg. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 279 
 
 His tales were so horrible that we could not 
 persuade the rebel deserters to come another foot 
 with us ; they started back immediately that 
 night. Their courage failed them after coming 
 forty miles with us, and we were then within 
 eighty miles of our lines. 
 
 Thursday, November 26. — After a good nap 
 on the floor, and a warm breakfast before day- 
 break, we went into a thicket and lay concealed 
 there all day in perfect security. ^Ir. Smith went 
 ahead that day several miles to learn the true 
 state of things, as to the safety of our going for- 
 ward, and returned at night with the news, that 
 it might be barely possible. At night, after a 
 hearty supper, we set forward to make Greenbrier 
 River before daylight, with a recommendation to 
 a Mr. L. Guinn, our next post. That night's 
 travel took us directly through Monroe County, 
 and our road led through Uniontovvn, the county 
 seat, and as that Avas another hot secesh hold we 
 were told to flank it. We came in sight of the 
 town about ten o'clock. As there were a great 
 many lights there, Ave struck off" to the left, and 
 by so doing got upon the wrong road, but did not 
 find our mistake until we had gone eight miles. 
 We then altered our course, and made Greenbrier 
 a little before daylight. I entered a cabin, and 
 inquired for a man by the name of L. Guinn. 
 I Avas informed that a man by the name of Lay- 
 ton Guinn lived a mile doAvn the river. Without 
 stopping to ask Avhether he was Union or not, Ave 
 started down the river to Mr. Guinn's. We soon 
 came in sight of the house ; and as it Avas Ser- 
 geant Stookey's turn to make the venture, the 
 other two of us lay hid. Sergeant Stookey Avent 
 up to the yard fence, as it Avas breaking day. 
 The folks of the house Avere up. He hallooed, 
 and a man came out. Stookey asked him " if 
 Mr. Guinn lived there," to AS'hich the man replied, 
 that Avas his name, and residence, but he had only 
 got home the night before, for he belonged to one 
 of Thurman's independent companies — a kind 
 of genteel name for busliAvhackers. Stookey soon 
 saw the dilKculty he Avas in, but gathered up 
 courage and played off". He immediately replied 
 that he Avas the very man he " Avanted to find, for 
 he Avanted to enlist in one of them independent 
 companies," and probably now he could get some 
 information hoAV to get to them. This appeared 
 to please the man, and he immediately asked, 
 "Who are you? a deserter? What regiment. 
 Twenty-second, Forty-fifth, or Sixtieth Virginia ? " 
 Stookey ansAvered him that he used to belong to 
 the army, but as his regiment Avas a long Avay off", 
 he thought he Avould try one of his companies for 
 a while. To this Mr. Guinn proceeded to inform 
 him Avhere the two companies Avere. One Avas 
 at such a ferry on Ncav Iliver, and had scouts 
 scattered here and there, &c., the other one AA'as 
 up on Muddy Creek, Avith directions how to go 
 to it, Avhere to cross the river, and Avhat roads to 
 take, &c. Just the very kind of information we 
 so greatly desired. He then invited Stookey to 
 come in and get his breakfast. Stookey politely 
 thanked him, as he had plenty in his haversack ; 
 BO he bade him good morning, and hastily rejoined 
 
 us. After this news, we set our wits to work to 
 make the best of it. We had struck the wrong 
 man, and to make any more ventures Ave thought 
 would not be safe, and Ave must manage to get 
 across Greenbrier the best Ave could. We made 
 immediately for the river, and went doAvn it a 
 mile, to a place Avhere there Avere no houses in 
 sight. There we built a fire. We were com- 
 pelled to do so, for it Avas a very cold night, and 
 I had my feet and fingers partially frost-bitten. 
 After Ave had thaAved out a little, and eaten the 
 last mouthful in our haversacks, Ave began to look 
 for some Avay to cross the river. In a pile of 
 drift-A\"ood there was an old canoe. This Ave got 
 out and launched, and all three of us got into it, 
 and began to paddle over, but Avere not more than 
 one third over when the little, frail thing upset, 
 and thrcAV us into the water. It was a cold bap- 
 tism, and Ave SAvam back, dripping Avith wet and 
 trembling Avith cold. We re])uilt our fire, Avrung 
 and dried our clothes, and in two hours Avere 
 ready to try it again. This time Stookey Avent 
 over in the canoe alone, and Thompson and my- 
 self Avent doAvn about half a mile to a riffle, strip- 
 ped, and Avaded. It Avas a bitter pill, but there 
 Avas no alternative. After being safely over Ave 
 made for the Snell Mountains, Avhose summit we 
 reached a little after dark. A bed was soon made 
 out of some leaves, in Avhich we snugly slept all 
 night. 
 
 Saturday, November 27. — Hunger drove us 
 this morning to a cabin for something to eat. 
 We met, as usual, Avith a good Union man. We 
 Avere noAV aiming for Ncav River, and he advised 
 us to keep along the top of the Snell Mountains, 
 and that they Avould take us there in fourteen 
 miles. We started off, but as it Avas raining and 
 sleeting Ave made poor headAvay, stopping at sev- 
 eral houses, and keeping ourselves Avell posted as 
 to the dangers of the country. 
 
 By the middle of the afternoon Ave had reached 
 the residence of Mr. Thomas Richmond, one of 
 the best Union men in the country, and a man of 
 Avealth. He advised us to go no farther in day- 
 Hght, but told us to stay Avith him until midnight, 
 Avhen he Avould go Avith us as far as Ncav River; 
 then he thought Ave should be safe. We passed 
 our time very much at home at Mr. Richmond's, 
 Avho Avas a Avhole-souled gentleman. He inter- 
 ested us by giving an account of his family and 
 connections, Avhich Avere very numerous, and good 
 Union. But they had suffered severely from the 
 hands of the bushAvhackers. His brother, Avho 
 OAvned a ferry on New River, had been shot dead 
 in his OAvn yard, and his tAvo sons taken thirty 
 miles off" and shot. He also had one brother Avho 
 had been in Castle Thunder for over tAvo years, 
 and he did not knoAV Avhether he was alive or 
 not. Besides, a great many of the family had to 
 flee to the North, leaving all of their possessions 
 behind. It Avould make any one shudder to lis- 
 ten to his tales of the sufTerings of the loyal 
 people. He told me there Avould be a great many 
 old grudges to settle after this Avar Avas over, be- 
 tween them and the treacherous and murderous 
 rebel busliAvhackers of the country. 
 
280 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS* 
 
 Sundaj', November 29. — This was the third Sab- 
 bath we had passed in making our escape from 
 Rebeldom. By three o'clock we were up, had our 
 breakfast, and were off, Mr. Ilichmond acting as 
 our guide. By daylight we were at New River, 
 at what is known as Ilichmond's Ferry. There 
 Mr. liichmond parted with us. We proceeded 
 down on the right hand bank of the river for ten 
 miles, and then got a man to take us across in his 
 canoe, and then down the left bank, travelling 
 pretty briskly until dark, when we stopped with a 
 man by the name of Samuel Kincade, who turned 
 out to be a notorious bushwhacker. When we 
 entered the house he took us to be men of his own 
 order. He proceeded to tell us about the success 
 of the freebooters in that part of the country, &c. 
 He was getting under pretty good headway, when 
 Sergeant Stookey told him he had better be care- 
 fiil how he was talking, for we were Yankees. 
 This put the old fellow " on nettles ; " he was 
 restless all night, and was not very communica- 
 tive thereafter. 
 
 Monday, November 30. — We were up pretty 
 early, and our old rebel host appeared rather cool. 
 He charged us a dollar apiece for our lodging — the 
 first and only man that took a cent from us. They 
 generally Avould rather give us something than 
 take anything from us. If we had had any kind 
 of weapons we would have marched this Mr. Kin- 
 caid into Fayetteville that day. AVe left him 
 deeply absorbed in thought as to who we actually 
 were. 
 
 We walked very rapidly for ten miles down the 
 river, and then took oft' across the country for 
 Fayetteville. The nearer yva got to our lines, the 
 more uneasy I felt, to think, after coming so far, 
 and through so many hardships, and then that we 
 might be " gobbled up " in sight of our haven of 
 rest. We also knew our doom would be death 
 if we fell into the hands of the bushwhackers. At 
 last I thought we could not travel fast enough, I 
 was so impatient to get through. 
 
 About thi-ee o'clock P. M., as we made a bend 
 in the road, we espied off ahead of us a blue over- 
 coat ; it was a picket post. Can I describe our 
 feelings at that time ? I am not capable of the 
 task. I only refer you to the indescribable joy 
 of Pilgrim when he crossed the River Jordan. At 
 the post we met some of the boys from the Nine- 
 ty-first Ohio infantry. After they learned who 
 we were, they were overjoyed to see us. A cou- 
 rier was sent in immediately to Colonel AVhite, 
 commander of the post at Fayetteville. An order 
 was sent out to have us brought in. You may 
 imagine we had not a very prepossessing appear- 
 ance. Our clothes were hanging all in tatters 
 and rags. I was nearly barefooted, and my feet 
 were so bruised and sore that I could but just 
 hobble along. We also looked dirty and mangy, 
 and our countenances had a sallow, haggard look. 
 Indeed, we were hard-looking specimens of hu- 
 manity. Colonel White very hosjjitably received 
 us, and furnished us with new suits of clothes. 
 And the noble and generous boys of the Twelfth 
 Ohio volunteers, shall we ever forget them ? They 
 took us in as strangers, and fed us ; and not sat- 
 
 isfied with doing that, they gave us thirty dollars 
 in money. Brave, generous fellows : may your 
 future be a bright and happy one. We now felt 
 ourselves at home ; we had run the blockade ; we 
 had for once, as common soldiers, out-generalled 
 the rebels, and made good our escape. We were 
 sixteen days and nights making the trip of two 
 hundred and fifty miles, over a dozen mountains, 
 wading streams of all sizes, suff'ering from cold, 
 and all manner of hardships. Always in danger, 
 scarcely saw a moment that we felt safe, making 
 ventures all the time for something to eat. We 
 entered twenty-two houses ; nineteen of them were 
 Union. We ate nineteen meals in houses, and 
 slept three nights in houses. To the good loyal 
 people of the country, and the All-wise Creator, 
 that rules the nations, we owe our success. 
 , We remained at Fayetteville two days, and then 
 proceeded with letters to General Scammon, at 
 Charleston, West Virginia. He very cordially re- 
 ceived us, and sent us on, with passes, through 
 the lines of his department. 
 
 IsHMAEL Day. — This determined old hero 
 gives the following account of the attack on liis 
 flag, at his house in Baltimore Countv, ISIaryland, 
 on Monday, July 11, 1864 : 
 
 " On Sunday evening, the 10th, I heard that 
 Dulaney's Valley was filled with rebels, stealing 
 horses and cattle ; did not believe it, but thought 
 they were Federal troops pressing horses. About 
 sundown, the same day, I heard the rebels were 
 on the Harford Pike, about a mile distant, the 
 people living thereon being much excited. I went 
 to bed, leaving my lamp dimly burning all night, 
 and arose early on Monday morning, and ran up 
 the glorious old Stars and Stripes rather earlier 
 than usual. I then sat down in my front j)orch, 
 and was soon accompanied by Mrs. Day. About 
 six o'clock A. M. my little colored girl told her 
 mistress that she heard soldiers up the road hur- 
 rahing. I still thought they were our troops. In 
 a few minutes my wife said she heard the sound 
 of horses' feet coming down the road ; and look- 
 ing up the road, said, ' There they are,' two of 
 them coming in full tilt. A little while after, they 
 were before the door, and I moved down on the 
 lower step to see if there were any more near; 
 and seeing none, resumed my seat. By this time 
 the foremost one had dismounted, seized hold of 
 the bottom of the flag, jerked it down, and broke 
 the rope, cursing and calling it a ' damned old rag.' 
 I then coolly asked him, ' What do you mean ? 
 What are you about ? ' and, without waiting a 
 reply, ran immediately up stairs, seized one of my 
 two guns, already loaded in my bed-room, and 
 shot the foremost one of them, out of the second 
 story window, which was already up, while he was 
 in the act of folding up the flag for his departure. 
 He then raised his hands and fell back, exclaim- 
 ing, ' I am shot.' I then seized the other gun, 
 ran down stairs, when I was met by Mrs. D. cry- 
 ing, imploring me not to shoot again, or they 
 would kill me. I, however, pressed out into the 
 yard to take a shot at the other; but he was 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 281 
 
 among the missing, having clapped spurs to his 
 horse on the fall of his companion, which I re- 
 gretted very much, as he did not give me an op- 
 portunity of giving him his bitters also ; and see- 
 ing none of the squad at the time, I walked up 
 to the wounded man, and said, ' You rebel rascal, 
 I will now finish you,' and cocked the gun for 
 that purpose, but he asked for mercy, and sur- 
 rendered ; and knowing that he ht^d received the 
 whole charge, I was satisfied that he could not 
 live, and, therefore, did not shoot him again. By 
 this time I heard the whole troop coming down 
 the road ; I returned to my bed-room, got my six- 
 barrelled revolver, and with the loaded gun started 
 for my hiding-place, about two hundred and fifty 
 yards north-east of my house, and hardly had done 
 so before they were all at the house, and fii-ed all 
 my buildings, except a small corn and hen-house. 
 Everything was burnt, including all my personal 
 property, and thirty-five dollars in money, which 
 was either taken by the rebels or consumed by the 
 fire ; after which I went to one of my nearest 
 neighbors to get my breakfast, and went to a sec- 
 ond one to get dinner, and was conveyed to Bal- 
 timore on the same day. On Thursday after, I 
 had my name enrolled in the Company of the Aged 
 Guard of 1862, commanded by Captain Child, for 
 the defence of Baltimore ; and on the same day 
 obtained a guard from headquarters to bring in 
 the wounded rebel, whom I took to West's Hos- 
 pital, where he has since died." 
 
 THE PATRIOT ISHMAEL DAY. 
 
 BY W. II. HAYWARD. 
 
 Come forth, my muse, now don't refuse ; 
 
 Assist me, in this lay. 
 To sing of one — " My Maryland's " son — 
 
 The patriot Ishmael Day. 
 
 One Monday morn, at early dawn, 
 
 The hour when good men pray, 
 A rebel host, with threats and boast, 
 
 Came on to scare old Day. 
 
 He soon had word — the noise he heard 
 
 In the distance far away — 
 That Gilmore's men were coming then 
 
 To capture Ishmael Day. 
 
 •• That's what's the matter — 0, what a clatter I 
 
 I'll keep them awhile at bay, 
 Till I hoist my flag, of which I brag," 
 
 Said the brave old Ishmael Day. 
 
 On rushed the crowd with curses loud, 
 
 Begrimed with dust and gray ; 
 " My flag I'll nail to the garden pale, 
 
 And die by it," said Day. 
 
 The thieving horde came down the road — 
 
 They had no time to stay. 
 " Our flag is here — touch it who dare ! " 
 
 Shouted old Ishmael Day. 
 
 A trooper rushed, with whiskey flushed. 
 
 Swore he'd take that rag away. 
 •' Let any man dare try that plan, 
 
 I'll shoot him," says old Day. 
 
 He feared the cock of his old flint-lock 
 Might miss, so this prayer did say : 
 
 That a load of duck-shot might pepper him hot 
 Bj' the hands of Ishmael Day. 
 
 On the raider came — old Day was game ; 
 
 Reb swore that flag shouldn't stay ; 
 With a curse and a frown, cried, " Down with it, 
 down ! " 
 
 Bang ! blazed away Ishmael Day. 
 
 Flint-lock he could trust, for down in the dust 
 
 The traitorous rebel lay, 
 Crying, <' Spare my life, I'm tired of this strife." 
 
 " So am I," said Ishmael Day. 
 
 Now let each loyal heart in our cause take a part, 
 Do his duty, watch, fight, and pray ; 
 
 Shoulder his gun, stand by, never run. 
 And imitate Ishmael Day. 
 
 Then we boldly say, a few men like Day, 
 
 With guns, ammunition at hand. 
 We need not be afraid of Gilmore's next raid 
 
 On the soil of " My Maryland." 
 
 I now close my song, for fear it's too long ; 
 
 On this subject I could much more say ; 
 Let us all shout hosanna to the Star-spangled 
 Banner, 
 
 And hurrah for brave Ishmael Day. 
 
 Incident of Williamsburg. — During the 
 battle, one of the Louisiana Tigers went up to 
 one of the wounded Union soldiers, who played 
 dead for fear of being bayoneted, and commenced 
 searching his pockets, when a Tennessee soldier 
 came up, and saying to him, " Will you rob a 
 dead man ? " shot him dead on the spot. Another 
 rebel came up to a wounded soldier, and was in 
 the act of bayoneting him, when another rebel 
 came up, and knocked the fellow down with his 
 musket, and gave the soldier a drink from his 
 canteen. In bringing in a boat load of wounded 
 rebels from Williamsburg, a rebel swore that he 
 would kill every Yankee he saw, if he could, and 
 threw a large knife at one of the doctors, injur- 
 ing him slightly, when the doctor drew his re- 
 volver and shot him through the heart. 
 
 The Glory of Philadelphia. — An accom- 
 plished and brilliant woman gives the following 
 account of that noble institution in Philadelphia, 
 the Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, in a letter 
 dated October, 1861 : 
 
 " On Thursday last I spent a day, that, if I live, 
 I hope many a time to describe to my grand- 
 nieces and nephews. Emily and I were sitting 
 knitting by our cheery glass door, through which 
 a warm October sun was pouring a flood of red, 
 and yellow, and pui-ple light, when Me heard two 
 cannons fired. It was a signal that soldiers were 
 to pass through the city. By the same impulse, 
 Emily and I both proposed that we should go 
 down and see them land, and be entertained at 
 the Volunteer Eefreshment Saloon. Off we start- 
 ed, on the spur of the moment, went down to 
 
282 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Helen's a recruiting — got her to join us — took 
 the cars, and soon found ourselves at the corner 
 of Prince and Front Streets, where the Refresh- 
 ment Saloon stands. 
 
 " When we entered, we were met by a dapper, 
 smart little man — a real handsome fellow — 
 
 looking very much like , such beautiful 
 
 features and bright eyes. He belonged to the 
 class of mechanics, but, with our American facili- 
 ty, had picked up most excellent manners and 
 address. We asked Avhether we had properly in- 
 terpreted the signal of firing the cannons, and if 
 a regiment Avere shortly expected. It appeared 
 we had made a mistake, the firing we heard be- 
 ing in another direction, where they were trying 
 the range of a new piece. However, a regiment 
 was expected in the afternoon, and two during the 
 evening. Our dapper friend invited us to look 
 over the estabhshment. But let me stop a min- 
 ute to give you some little accoimt of what the 
 Volunteer Refreshment Saloon is. When the war 
 first broke out, and thousands and tens of thou- 
 sands of soldiers were passing through our city 
 daily, we found there was great deficiency of 
 means of providing an immediate meal for them. 
 Sometimes they would have to wait for hours, 
 sometimes go away hungry. In Southwark, some 
 dozen or so of the women joined heads and 
 purses, and put up a little street corner refresh- 
 ment place, just boards propped up against the 
 sides of the houses, where they served hot coflfee 
 and other things, as they could aff'ord it, free of 
 charge to the soldiers, as they landed at the foot 
 of Prime Street to proceed to the Baltimore de- 
 pot. The thanks and blessings of the weary and 
 hungry soldiers, who went away refreshed, in- 
 cited these patriotic women to renewed efi'orts, 
 and the thing has taken form and system. I will 
 describe it to you as our little friend showed it to 
 us, with many a bow and flourish, last Thursday. 
 We entered a long, low room, rather poor-look- 
 ing, and with marks of partitions having been 
 knocked away to make it. In it were ranged, 
 along the Avhole length, five long tables, about 
 breast high, so that the soldiers might conven- 
 iently stand and eat. These were neatly spread 
 witha white cloth, and set with plates, tin cu]is-, 
 castors, &c. At the upper end of the room were 
 two rather handsomely laid tables for the officers. 
 In this room they make a spread for five hundred 
 at one time. The scrupulous cleanliness and 
 neatness of the whole strike you. From the 
 eating-room we went into the larder and cook- 
 ing-room. In the larder we saw abundance of 
 ham, corned beef, fresh mutton and beef, cheese, 
 pickles, cold slaw, and most beautiful butter and 
 bread, sweet potatoes, tomatoes — in short, all 
 the vegetables of the season. Everything the 
 very best of its kind. Up stairs is a retiring 
 room, where they take any sick or wounded. 
 There are comfortable lounges all around it, and 
 in the middle a table with writing materials, and 
 envelopes all ready stamped, if any one wants to 
 despatch a letter. There is a bed or two, if any 
 become sick and want to be nursed a day or two 
 before rejoining their company. Now, remember 
 
 this thing is wholly the work of the middle class 
 Southivark women. There are now about twenty 
 men and twenty-five women who are actively 
 employed in it. Only one person is a paid em- 
 ployee. All the others' labor is voluntary. The 
 young man, who was our guide, said that he had 
 been at work since three o'clock in the night, and 
 did not expect to get any rest until after mid- 
 night, as they had three thousand men to give 
 supper to. It works on tliis wise : they take 
 turns among themselves for one man and woman 
 to remain all day on the spot. When they re- 
 ceive a despatch that a regiment is coming, a 
 cannon is fired as a signal, and within half an 
 hour every member is bound to make his apj)ear- 
 ance, or send a substitute, never mind what hour 
 of day or night it is. Well ! we were so inter- 
 ested and stirred up by the sight of so much 
 patriotism, that we determined to return in the 
 evening, and see a thousand New Hampshire 
 boys take their supper. When we were going 
 out, I said to our bright and hearty little guide, 
 ' Now you people must remember all you are do- 
 ing, and write it down, for it will make an inter- 
 esting page in history one day.' ' Why, miss, 
 that is just what I'm thinking myself. When 
 one thing or another happens, I say to myself, I'll 
 remember that, and maybe when I'm an old man, 
 and they're making books about it, I can help 
 them to a thing or two.' Then he Avent on to 
 tell two or three incidents of some poor little 
 boys in the neighborhood who set to work pick- 
 ing and selling chips till they had five dollars to 
 give for the soldiers ; and of a little five-yein- old 
 boy, whose mother had given him a ten-cent piece 
 for the Fourth of July. Five he laid out in irre- 
 sistible fire-crackers, the other five he came and 
 offered to feed the soldiers. The committee laid 
 by that five-cent piece, and intend to keep it. 
 
 " In the afternoon. Doctor and Sallic, Matty, 
 Emily, and myself, made a party, and went down 
 there again. What a hive it was, to be sure ! 
 Nice young girls, and plump, hearty materfa- 
 millas bustling about with meat and cheese, and 
 all good things, a real tempting meal. And ! 
 the cofi"ee : the delicious aroma almost brought 
 tears to the eyes of us outsiders, who had to con- 
 tent ourselves with the smell alone. 
 
 " By and by, after a half hour's waiting, a signal 
 gun was fired, and the cry, ' They come ! They 
 come ! ' went forth from mouth to mouth. Sarah, 
 I can't give you any idea of the intense excite- 
 ment and enthusiasm of that moment — the tap- 
 ping of the drum ; the tramp, tramp, tramp ; the 
 ringing order, " Halt ; " and then they began fihng 
 in, company by company, in perfect quiet and 
 order, ranging themselves along the table, till the 
 great room was one dense mass of soldiers ; un- 
 less you were here, and had caught the enthusiasm 
 of our war spirit, you cannot know how the sight 
 of a thousand armed men moves one. I wanted 
 to embrace the whole regiment. I wanted to put 
 my hands on their heads and bleSs tliem. I 
 wanted to beat the drum, and sing, ' Hail Colum- 
 bia.' I wanted to turn myself inside out, gener- 
 ally, and not being able to do any of these things, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 283 
 
 I shed some tears on my bonnet strings, much 
 to then- detriment, and rushed oflF and gave five 
 dollars, that I don't know how I can possibly 
 spare. Sarah, they were a magnificent looking 
 set of men. Never tell me the Yankees are an 
 ugly race, after seeing those five hundred hand- 
 some New Hampshire boys. They Avere mostly 
 farmers, and scarcely a small man among them. 
 You never saw so quiet and orderly a meal ; no in- 
 decent haste or snatching, no raised voice or word 
 of swearing ; perfect courtesy to the women, in 
 most cases turning to thank them before leaving, 
 They were supplied with newspapers, while eat- 
 ing, and it was remarkable to see how many made 
 haste to finish and have a few minutes .to read 
 their papers. I do not believe there was ever 
 such an intelligent army in the world as ours. 
 Our farmers, our mechanics, the very bone and 
 sinew of our nation, are going forth, intelligently 
 and determinedly, to fight the cause of freedom 
 against slavery, liberty against tyranny, civiliza- 
 tion against barbarism. 
 
 " Let me wind up my rather long description by 
 saying that these people have fed one hundi-ed 
 and twenty thousand soldiers, and that it takes 
 one hundred dollars to each thousand, and sup- 
 ported entirely by voluntary subscription. One 
 more remark and I have done. I never wished 
 more heartily than at that blessed moment to be a 
 mother, and then I wished for six big sons, that 
 I might send them all to fight their country's bat- 
 tles. I even gave vent to the sentiment in a way 
 that shocked some of my auditory. I had been 
 looking long and admiringly at a very handsome 
 six-foot youth, an officer. He was very like 
 
 , only even handsomer, with a clear, 
 
 pure, truthful face. He ate with a hearty, 
 manly appetite, and when risen from the table, 
 shook hands with two or three common-looking 
 Southwark dames, in a respectful, courteous way, 
 
 just as gracefully as Avould have done 
 
 it, saying, ' I thank you, ladies ; I thank you for 
 your hospitality.' I could not help exclaiming, 
 ' I wish that boy were my son.' I am glad that 
 I am living history. It is a fine thing to read it, 
 but a far better thing to live history. I am going 
 to do everything I can, and connect myself as 
 much as possible with what I believe to be a 
 great era in our history. I should be disappointed 
 to die before I saw it through. They are going 
 to open the Girard House as a hospital here, and 
 
 if I can possibly get to accede to it, and 
 
 I can make satisfactory arrangements, I shall go 
 as a volunteer nurse. In Baltimore the nurses 
 have a uniform, — a black or brown merino dress, 
 tight sleeves, no hoops, tiny linen collar and cuff's, 
 and a white tarleton cap. Wouldn't that be 
 'cute'? Imagine me flying ai'ound with a little 
 tarleton cap on, reading and doing the sentimen- 
 tal part of the nursing — soothing their brows — 
 and grapes — and jelly — and talking about their 
 mothers, and so on. 
 
 " What do you think ! ; the 
 
 elegant ; of the club, and red mustache, has 
 
 been doing. Forgive me , if I have ever 
 
 done thee any injustice, even in my thoughts. I 
 
 do revere thee now. Seriouslj'-, has been 
 
 doing the work of a hero. You know he has a 
 gem of a little house up in Place, so ele- 
 gantly furnished, where he watches over his little 
 
 children like a mother. Well, could not 
 
 leave his little brood to go to the war; so all 
 summer long he has sought out sick and wounded 
 soldiers, taken them to his house, and there 
 nursed them. All his beds have been filled, and 
 during the summer he has nursed about a hun- 
 dred men. There, who will say that war does not 
 develop fine virtues ? You have heard, of course, 
 that I am taking care of my country's toes, corns, 
 and bunions, in the way of knitting stockings. I 
 have sent ninety pairs to the Quartermaster, four 
 knit by my own fingers. I have one hundred and 
 ten pairs out, in process of being knit. I am 
 going to accomplish four hundred before I begin 
 anything else. Helen is employed in collecting 
 luxuries for the hospitals — jellies, farina, gelatin, 
 (S:c. She will despatch a large box to-morrow, 
 and still expects enough material for another. 
 So you see we are all, according to our ability, 
 spending and being spent for our dear old mother 
 country. 
 
 " One word more for our country, and I have 
 done. We are at our wits' ends for blankets. 
 With five hundi'ed thousand men under arms in 
 the Northern States, it is no easy thing to provide 
 them all v/ith blankets ; and as this is no wool- 
 growing country, there is no store or supply to 
 fall back upon. Government has put forth stir- 
 ring appeals to the loyal women to come to the 
 rescue, and give or sell their hoards of household 
 blankets to the army : you may be sure this was 
 generously responded to ; and yet there is great and 
 pressing need. Many women I know have cut up 
 their drugget and half worn ingrain carpets, bound 
 them, and sent them off". I do believe the gen- 
 erosity of this people, noAV and here, has no par- 
 allel in history. Helen sent two pairs of good 
 bed blankets, and my sisters out at Darley (you 
 know their limited means) sent ten — almost all 
 they possessed. I mean to send some drugget. 
 I can't well send my only two pairs of blankets, 
 as they are old rose rehcs. If the need continues, 
 however, I shall make the sacrifice. You under- 
 stand it is no little economy in Government. It is 
 because there is not enough wool in the country. 
 Money cannot get them ; so they must be got for 
 love. Now, my darling, you can perhaps perceive 
 what my hobby is now. If you were here, you 
 would be death on patriotism too. Dr. Board- 
 man's church is the very head of all good works 
 for the country ; you would find it would cost as 
 much labor and money to keep up with them, as 
 travelling among the Alps does. . . . Do j'ou 
 know, Sarah, it is fashionable here to be traitor- 
 ous ; not exactly to say, I am a secessionist, but 
 to call one's self a ' peace man' — an anti-adminis- 
 tration man — just as in the days of the Revolution 
 it was fashionable to be Tories. It is the legiti- 
 mate ofi"spring of the spirit of trade, whose cry is, 
 ' Give us prosperity ; only give us prosperity in 
 our day, and apres nous le deluge.^ It is willing 
 
284 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 that the South should pull our noses, and that all 
 nations under heaven should spit in our faces for 
 cowards, rather than have wealth and trade, ease 
 and comfort, interfered with. It is only in the 
 great cities, and among the wealthy, that you meet 
 this demoralization. Throughout the country, 
 and among the great middle classes, patriotism is 
 warm and earnest. . . . We had a stirring 
 
 talk last night at , on the times. We 
 
 there all beheved that the North was too back- 
 ward about facing the subject of slavery. We 
 have been in the habit so long of protecting it, 
 and of .so hating the word Abolitionist, that now 
 we are afraid to face the great question that Provi- 
 dence is thrusting upon us. We are willing to 
 kill our white brethren, if need be, burn their cit- 
 ies, and yet are squeamish about their slave jjrop- 
 erty. We acknowledge it to be an evil, and a 
 burden to the land ; and yet, in this time of great 
 uprooting and regeneration, we are afraid to say 
 
 this thing shall be purged away. Mr. said 
 
 he believed there was a special Providence in our 
 panic at Bull Run ; that if we had been victorious, 
 and taken Pdchmond, and patched a hasty peace, 
 we would have shirked the whole question — 
 skinned over the cancer that would have broken 
 out again. W said that he thought Provi- 
 dence had taken the whole matter out of the hands 
 of man, and by showing the world the necessity 
 of growing cotton elsewhere, had given the death- 
 blow to slaverj'. When the American cotton 
 King is deposed, Cufiee is free." 
 
 Colonel Montgomery's Escape. — The fol- 
 lowing story of the escape of Colonel Montgomery 
 from the Confederate authorities at Vicksburg, 
 was given by him at the Union League Rooms at 
 Washington, in April, 18G4 : — 
 
 " One year ago last November I was in jail in 
 Vicksburg, condemned to be shot. I escaped one 
 day ; I ran home to my wife and little ones. It 
 was about noon ; a train would leave the city at 
 three o'clock. I told my wife to pack up our 
 trunks, and we must go. She packed them, and 
 sent them to the depot by a negro, and then fol- 
 lowed with our little girl, and boy, while I went 
 around outside the town, met the train going 
 through a cut, jumped aboard, and all went well 
 till we got to Holly Springs. I must go to Mem- 
 phis, fifty miles, and no railroad, and most of the 
 way through rebel pickets. I must get a pass 
 and a conveyance if I could. I went to the Gen- 
 eral's office ; he was away, but his Adjutant was 
 there, and said it was of no use to ask for a pass ; 
 if I was Jefferson Davis' son, and had my mother 
 with me, I could not be passed in that direction. 
 I talked with him about other things ; I asked 
 him down to take a drink. He drank, and I 
 talked. I told him how many adjutants I had 
 known, and what smart men they were, and that 
 I thought him the smartest of all, and was sure, 
 when his merits were known, he would be at the 
 head of all the adjutants in the Confederacy. The 
 General came at last, and the Adjutant begged 
 him to grant a pass to this very loarticular friend 
 
 of his, to take his wife and children to Memphis 
 and return. I was particular about the return. 
 He gave the pass, but it did not cover a convey- 
 ance, and there was none to be had. Then the 
 telegraph brought news of my escape, and orders 
 to have me sent back to be shot. The Adjutant 
 had the order, and he told me to git. Do you 
 know what git means ? Well, I tell you, in such 
 a case it means to — git! The Adjutant had 
 indorsed me as his friend ; he was afraid he had 
 his foot in, so he wanted me to git, and I did. 
 My wife made a bundle of what clothes the chil- 
 dren must have. I put it on my back, took my 
 little boy by the hand, she took the little girl, and 
 we started on foot for Memphis. It was a day 
 of scorching heat ; the thermometer above 90° ; 
 the burning sand six inches deep ; my little ones 
 both barefooted ; my little boy with no hat ; and 
 my wife with only thin-soled slippers on, worth 
 about forty cents, but for which I paid ten dollars 
 hard cash. There was no getting out of that 
 burning sun and burning sand ; and, as we went 
 on, O my God ! tlie screams of those little chil- 
 dren ! the red, fiery streaks ran up their white 
 ankles ; every step was agony, and every breath. 
 We dragged them on. Every moment we ex- 
 pected to hear the couriers behind, coming for 
 me. My wife and little girl were before me, the 
 little boy was too young to keep up with them. 
 At every rise of ground my wife would turn and 
 look to see if a messenger were coming for me. 
 One time, as she stood so, my little boy reached 
 her, his poor feet all red and blistered, his curls 
 matted to his head with perspiration, with both 
 hands clinging to her dress, and his dusty, tearful 
 face lifted to hers, he cried out, ' O mamma, can't 
 you see our home now 2 ' 
 
 " So we went on all one day. At night we 
 stopped at an overseer's house, where we were 
 permitted to stay. They Avere poor, but kind. A 
 bed was made on the floor for us, but the agony 
 the children suffered was so great they could not 
 sleep, exhausted as they were. We bound their 
 little feet in cloths, and I sat by all night to keep 
 them wet with cold water ; then they could sleep. 
 If in my stupor and exhaustion I chanced to 
 forget myself, their shrieks quickly wakened me 
 again. In the morning we had to start ; thei'e 
 was no staying here. Those poor little feet, 
 burnt all day and soaked all night, looked as if 
 they had been parboiled ; yet blistered as they 
 were, swollen till shapeless, and streaked with red 
 and purple and blue, they must go into that 
 burning sand again. O my God ! my God ! those 
 cries ! will thine avenging angel gather up the 
 tears that bedewed that fiery path, tears from 
 those helpless little ones in their awful agony ! 
 [He covered his face with his hand an instant, 
 and then resumed.] But we dragged them on \ 
 I don't know how it happened that I did not 
 notice when the little hand slipped from mine, 
 but, from whatever distraction of mind I was in, 
 I was startled by a shriek that is ringing in my 
 ears yet, and looking back I saw my little boy 
 lying in the sand in the road behind me. He 
 could not walk another step, and thought I had 
 
ANECDOTES, POETKY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 285 
 
 left him to die, I put my pack over on one 
 shoulder, and laid him across the other with his 
 burning cheek to mine, and his hot breath fan- 
 ning my face. His mother and sister had gone 
 on, and were sitting on the grass under a tree 
 waiting for us. Little Freddy saw them, and 
 said : 
 
 " ' Papa, do mamma and sister see our home 
 now?' 
 
 " I said, ' Yes.' 
 
 •' ' Well,' said he, ' if Ponto sees them, he'll 
 know I'm coming, and he'll ruii past them, and 
 I'll call him, and get on his back, and ride home, 
 and then you won't have to carry me — will you, 
 papa ? ' Ponto was a great dog we had at home. 
 
 " I laid the child down on the grass beside his 
 mother ; she told me then that she could go no 
 farther. There we were. Presently my wife saw 
 a cloud of dust in the distance. I saw it too. 
 
 " ' It is the courier coming for you,' she said. 
 ' He will take you from us ; and what will be- 
 come of you ? what will become of us ? ' 
 
 " I looked and saw that the man was in a small 
 buggy — just room enough for him and me — no 
 
 E revision for my family. My poor wife was on 
 er knees. Her face Avas white as marble, and 
 cold. She was trying to pray, but she only 
 repeated over and over again, ' O my God ! O 
 my God ! ' Not another word would come. I 
 put my hand on her shoulder, and said, ' My 
 dear, there is but one man, and no one man takes 
 me from you to-day ! ' 
 
 " The man in the buggy drove up. He stopped 
 and looked at us. Said he, ' I see you are trav- 
 elling.' ' No, sir,' said I ; ' travelling and I have 
 quit.' 'Well, you don't live hereabouts.' 'No.' 
 ' What is your name ? ' ' Montgomery.' 
 
 " He looked at the feet of my little ones, 
 lying on the grass. ' Have those children got 
 the small pox ? ' • No.' ' The measles ? ' ' No.' 
 ' Well, what have they got ? ' ' My dear sir, they 
 have got just as near nothing as it is possible for 
 a human being to get.' I found he was the 
 rebel mail carrier. I showed him my pass, 
 and asked -what he would charge to take my 
 wife and children through the lines. He said, 
 ' Fifty dollars in gold.' My wife and her mother 
 had saved fifty dollars in gold, and fifty cents 
 in silver, all of which I had, and it Avas all. I 
 put my wife in the seat beside him, the little 
 boy in her lap, the little girl at her feet, my bun- 
 dle under the seat, gave the man the fifty dollars 
 in gold, put the fifty cents in my pocket, and 
 they drove off. I followed. When I came to a 
 picket, I showed my pass, and asked about the 
 buggy. The answer was always, ' Yes ; the mail 
 carrier, with a woman and two children, went by 
 about an hour and a half ago, and reported a man 
 coming with a pass covering the woman and chil- 
 dren. All right.' I went on. At last I asked, 
 ' How many more picket stations are there ? ' 
 'Only one.' 'How far is it?' 'Three miles.' 
 ' That is the last ? ' * Yes.' I had on such boots 
 as the slaves wear. I had paid thirty dollars for 
 them, and I made them earn every cent of the 
 money in that three miles. I came in sight of 
 
 the picket so soon that I was frightened. I 
 thought of the telegraph wires. What might 
 they not have told before this ? Who knew but 
 that man held my life in his hands ? There was 
 no help for it. I walked up to him as he sat on 
 his horse, and handed up my pass, and asked 
 about the buggy. Yes, it had gone by an hour 
 and a half ago. But why did the man not give 
 me back my pass ? Would he never be done 
 reading it ? — or, instead of giving it back, would 
 he level his pistol and shoot me ? There I stood, 
 on the border of Ilebeldom. The United States 
 was before me — the free, glorious United States, 
 and M'ife and little ones ; and what was behind ? 
 
 God ! would the man never be done reading 
 that little scrap of writing? That flag, our flag 
 was before me, and freedom. My heart beat so 
 loud I was afraid the man would hear it. I tried 
 to stir. Was he reaching down his hand to shoot 
 me ? No ; it Avas only to give back the pass, as 
 he said, ' All right ! ' and I was a free man 
 again — free, and in the United States, and un- 
 der the flag of stars ! I was not long in getting 
 to St. Louis Avitli my family. We walked the 
 streets of that city barefooted. There Avas a 
 political meeting that night — a republican one. 
 
 1 happened in. The chances are that something 
 Avas said. The next morning the copperhead pa- 
 per stated that there Avas such a meeting, and 
 that it Avas entertained by the blatant ravings of 
 a southern renegade. That meant me. Since 
 then, I have been in many of your Northern cities 
 and States, and without a pass. Here is the 
 difference : at the South you cannot turu round, 
 cross the street, kiss your wife, or go to market, 
 Avithout a pass. Here, Avhere Abraham Lincoln 
 tj'rannizes like a military despot, — Avhere he 
 usurps all the people's rights and puts them in 
 his pocket, — cA'ery one can go Avhere he pleases, 
 like sheep without a shepherd. Jeff Davis takes 
 better care of the liberties of his people ! 
 
 " NoAV I must say a word about that little Avife 
 of mine. I am going to take her home to die ! 
 [Here the tears almost choked his utterance ; 
 but he crushed them back, and went on. His 
 simple, touching narrative had already brought 
 tears to many eyes, and there Avas scarcely a dry 
 one in that crowded room.] Yes, I am going to 
 take her home to die ! The doctors have told us 
 she cannot Ha'o long, and she Avants to die and be 
 buried among her own people ; so Ave are going. 
 The ladies of one of your Northern cities have 
 given her a beautiful silk flag — a flag Avith all 
 the stripes and all the stars upon it. We will 
 take that Avith us, and if our old home is stand- 
 ing, the flag shall float above it. If it is not 
 standing, then Ave will plant the flag upon its 
 ruins, or over the place where it once Avas ; and 
 as Ave sit beneath its folds, Ave Avill think, Avith 
 tears of gratitude, of all the kindness of these 
 free and happy Northern people to the wandering, 
 homeless refugees." 
 
 A White Soldii;e, at the camp of the Fif- 
 teenth regiment of colored troops, in Nashville, 
 Tenn., Avliile deprecating the employment of ne- 
 
286 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 groes as soldiers, boasted that he could make the 
 grand rounds on the colored boys, and capture a 
 musket or baj-onct. Accordingly, he approached 
 a sable guard, drew him into conversation, and 
 kindly requested to see his musket, which the 
 guard refused. He then wished to look at his 
 bayonet, but the guard stood on his orders. lie 
 then tried intimidation, and, pretending to be 
 insulted, assumed a fighting attitude ; but the 
 guard ordered him to retire or he would shoot. 
 The fooHsh fellow advanced, and was promptly 
 shot, and the loss of an arm was the penalty of 
 his imprudence. 
 
 Humors of the Camp. — A soldier at the 
 headquarters of the artillery brigade of the Fifth 
 corps, at Culpepper, Va., gives the following ac- 
 count of the amusements in camp : 
 
 " Almost the only diversion the soldiers have 
 nowadays, is derived from the new recruits, 
 constantly arriving. They are the butt of all 
 jokes, and the easy prey of all sells and tricks. 
 No class of men enjoy fun more heartily than 
 the soldiers. They squeeze sport out of every- 
 thing, and seem to have acquired the faculty of 
 ascertaining, intuitively, where most of it is to be 
 found. On drill, a new recruit is always sure to 
 get his toes exactly where a ' Vet.' wishes to put 
 the butt of his musket, as he ' orders arms ; ' and 
 if there is a mud-puddle within a yard of him, he 
 is sure to ' dress ' into it. Captain lleynolds, of 
 Battery ' S,' First New York artillery, has got a 
 large number of new recruits, and some of the 
 jokes that the Veterans play on them are very 
 amusing. The recruits are constanjtly sighing 
 over departed luxuries, and are very easily duped 
 into any sell, where the inner man is concerned. 
 A mischievous ' Vet.' got a whole squad of them 
 out in line the other day, when it was raining 
 quite hard, to receive their ration of * warm 
 bread.' One fellow, greener than the rest, was 
 sent to the Captain's quarters for his ' ticket for 
 butter.' Another one went to the Company Clerk 
 with a two-quart pail for his ' three days' ration 
 of maple sugar.' Some of them have very funny 
 ideas of discipline in the army. In a newly ar- 
 rived squad, a few days since, was one of these, 
 who thought he would ingratiate himself with the 
 Captain by making him a call in the evening. 
 Accordingly, he rapped at the door, walked in, 
 took off his hat, made a very low bow, and re- 
 placed his hat on his head. 
 
 "' Well, what do you want?' said the Cap- 
 tain. 
 
 " * O, nothing,' says the fellow, at the same 
 time seating himself in a chair opposite the Cap- 
 tain. ' I thought I would come down and have a 
 little chat with you.' 
 
 " ' O, that's it,' said the Captain. ' Well, that 
 isn't the way they do in the array. When a sol- 
 dier comes into an officer's quarters, he takes off 
 his hat and stands at " attention," with his heels 
 together, his toes at an angle of forty-five de- 
 grees, hands at his side, and eyes to the " front." 
 He does not take a seat unless asked to, and 
 
 when he has done his business, salutes the oflfi- 
 cer, makes an " about face," and — leaves' 
 
 " The fellow did not M'ait for further instruc- 
 tions, but took his departure, having received 
 his first lesson in the ' school of the soldier.' " 
 
 In repartee and fun our soldiers are not be- 
 hind any class of men living, and they have a 
 most keen appreciation of the ludicrous and sar- 
 castic. Chapman tells a good story : 
 
 " A few days ago, two soldiers were sentenced, 
 for some trivial offence, to ten days in the guard- 
 house ; but they were taken out occasionally to 
 do police duty about camp. Doing police duty, 
 you must know, is not in the army what it is in 
 the city ; but consists in going about under guard 
 and cleaning up the camp. These soldiers were 
 put to cleaning away the mud from the front of 
 the Colonel's quarters. They were from a New 
 York city regiment, and to judge from their dia- 
 lect, might have been named Mose and Sykesy. 
 At any rate, I shall call them so in the recital. 
 They had worked well, and finally seated them- 
 selves on a log to await the arrival of the Ser- 
 geant of the Guard to relieve them, when the 
 following conversation took place : 
 
 " Mose — ' Say, Sykesy, what you going to do 
 when yer three years up ? Goin' to be a Vet. ? 
 Say.' 
 
 " Sykesy — ' Not if I know myself, I ain't ; no ! 
 I'm goin' to be a citizen, I am. I'm goin' back 
 to New York, and am goin' to lay oft' and take 
 comfort, bum around the engine-house, and run 
 wid der machine.' 
 
 " Mose — ' Well, I tell yer what I'm agoin' to do. 
 I've jest been thinkin' the matter all over, and got 
 the whole thing fixed. In the first place, I'm 
 goin' home to New York, and as soon as I get 
 my discharge, I'm goin' to take a good bath, and 
 get this Virginia sacred soil off me. Then I'm 
 goin' to have my head shampooed, my hair cut 
 and combed forward and 'iled, and then I'm goin' 
 to some up-town clothing store, and buy me a 
 suit of togs. I'm agoin' to get a gallus suit, too 
 — black breeches, red shirt, black silk choker, 
 stove-pipe hat, with black bombazine around it, 
 and a pair of them shiny butes. Then I'm goin' 
 up to Delmonico's place, and am goin' for to or- 
 der jest the best dinner he can get up. I'm 
 goin' to have all he has on his dinner ticket, you 
 can bet. What ? No ! I guess I won't have a 
 gay old dinner, much ; for I'll be a citizen then, 
 and won't have to break my teeth o^ gnawin' 
 hard tack. After I've had my dinner, I will call 
 for a bottle of wine and a cigar, and all the New 
 York papers, and then- I'll jest set down, perch 
 my feet up on the table, drmk my wine, smoke 
 my cigar, read the news, and wonder why the 
 devil the army of the Potomac don't move.' " 
 
 Scenes in the Hospital. — The editor of 
 The American Wesleyan relates the following as 
 a portion of his experience among the wounded 
 in the hospitals : 
 
 " Not long since I was called to witness the 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 287 
 
 following, which I will call ' The Dying Soldier's 
 Dream of Childhood.' 
 
 "He was brought in mortally wounded, al- 
 though by a false feeling of kindness one or two 
 of the surgeons told him his wound was severe, 
 but not dangerous. I thought it my duty to un- 
 deceive him ; and so, sitting down beside his lowly 
 pallet, and taking his hand in mine while I brushed 
 back the dark curls from his high, open brow, I 
 tried to lead him easily into such a channel of 
 conversation as I desired. I had not conversed 
 long with him when he suddenly inquired what I 
 thought of his prospects of recovery. Rather 
 avoiding for the time giving a direct answer, I 
 inquii-ed how he felt himself in regard to that 
 matter. He answered with considerable hesita- 
 tion, that the surgeons told him he would get 
 along nicely ; but that he himself felt afraid that 
 he would never recover. I noticed, too, that his lips 
 quivered, and he drew a long, deep sigh. Then 
 he turned his youthful, open face full upon me ; 
 he sighed again ; there was a choking, fluttering 
 sensation which told the intensity of his feelings, 
 and he said, ' If I was only at home ! ' Poor 
 boy ! Many a hill, and valley, and mountain 
 gorge, and broad river, lay between him and his 
 home ! And the loving ones there were all un- 
 conscious of his deep distress ; and even before 
 his name would appear in the list of killed and 
 wounded of some daily paper, he would already 
 be ' where the wicked cease from troubling, and 
 the Meary are at rest.' I spoke to him of the 
 tender sympathy of the infinite Father, of the 
 all-sufRcient Savior, who was wounded for our 
 transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, and 
 how that a full and free salvation was ofiered to 
 all through the death and suff'erings of the Lord 
 Jesus. I could not get him to say much, and so, 
 after praying with him, I left him for a time. In 
 a few hours I called to see him again, and in the 
 course of conversation endeavored to press home 
 the momentous truths of salvation. At last he 
 opened his mind freely, told me he thought he 
 was once a Christian, that he sought an interest 
 in Christ when a boy, and felt happy in the belief 
 that he loved the Savior — that his happiest hours 
 were spent in the Sunday school, and that he used to 
 take delight in prayer and reading the Scriptures. 
 ' I remember, too,' said he, ' how my father 
 prayed — O Chaplain ! I had a good father — he's 
 in heaven now — how he prayed for me, that I 
 might always be good. I remember the night 
 that he died — and how happy he was, and how 
 he sung " On Jordan's stormy banks I stand," and 
 how he put his hand on my head and told me to 
 serve God and meet him in heaven. O, if I was 
 as good as my father was, it would be better with 
 me now ! I have forgotten my promises, I have 
 turned my back on Christ. What shall I do ? 
 what shall I do? I'm dying — I know I'm dy- 
 ing, and I am afraid to die ! O Jesus, have mercy 
 on me a sinner ! ' 
 
 " I did not interrupt him till he had given full 
 and free vent to his feelings, and then tried to 
 point him to the all-sufficient Savior. 
 
 " ' Do you think God will have mercy on my 
 
 poor soul?' he exclaimed in' such a piteous tone 
 of voice and Avith such genuine earnestness, that 
 my own feelings nearly overcame me, and I could 
 barely say, ' Yes, dear brother, God is ready now 
 to bless you, to forgive you all j'our sins, and 
 make you happy in the enjoyment of his love.' 
 
 " ' But I have neglected prayer and backslidden 
 from God ; I sinned against light and knowledge ; 
 I knew better. Chaplain, I knew better, for my 
 conscience troubled me ; it was God's Spirit striv- 
 ing with me, — yes, I knew better, for I once 
 loved Jesus, O Jesus, have mercy on a poor 
 sinner ! ' 
 
 " * Hear God's own answer to your question,' 
 said I. " If any man sin, we have an Advocate 
 with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ; and 
 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for 
 ours only, but also for the sins of the whole 
 world." " God so loved the world that He gave 
 His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
 in him might not perish, but have everlasting 
 life." Now, these Avords are as much addressed 
 to you as if there were not another sinner upon 
 earth. Take them as God's own words to your- 
 self, and remember that that dear Savior whom 
 you say that you once served, loves you yet, 
 loves you now, and is yearning over you with 
 the deepest sympathy. He waits to take away 
 the heavy burden from your heart, and give you 
 joy and peace in believing. Just come back as a 
 poor wanderer, weary and helpless ; and remem- 
 ber you are coming to your own God and Savior, 
 who knoAvs just Avhat you need, and how you feel, 
 and is more Avilling to receive you and forgive 
 you than you are to return to him.' 
 
 " ' O, if I was just as happy as I once Avas ! but 
 now I'm here Avounded and dying — and O, this 
 aAvful pain — what Avill I do — Avhat Avill I do — 
 Jesus, Jesus, what Avill I do ! ' he exclaimed in 
 the deepest agony of body and mind. 
 
 " ' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, cast your 
 poor troubled soul upon the Savior, just place 
 yourself as a poor helpless sinner in His hands, 
 and you will be saved,' said I, trying to lead his 
 mind to the one only source of comfort. 
 
 "The agony of this poor boy Avas terrible. 
 His pitiful groans sunk into my very heart, and 
 made me feel as if I Avas entirely poAverless to do 
 him good. 
 
 " Sometimes it Avas difficult to tell Avhether 
 his bodily or mental anguish Avas greater. Fre- 
 quently the deep, agonizing groan of bodily pain 
 would end in a most pathetic cry for mercy, or a 
 child-like petition to be received into the favor of 
 his heavenly Father. Sometimes he turned upon 
 me such a pitiful, helpless look, such a look as a 
 drowning chUd might cast towards its mother ; a 
 look of unutterable meaning, but Avhich plainly 
 said, ' I'm dying, — won't you help me ? ' Seeing 
 that to all appearance he Avas rapidly sinking, I 
 urged him to accept the free offer of reconcilia- 
 tion to God through the atonement of Christ, 
 and after again praying Avith him, I left him for 
 a little time. An hour, perhaps, had elapsed, 
 when I again was beside him. The first words he 
 uttered were ; 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " * I'm trying to come back to God, and I think 
 that he will not cast me off; but I'm afraid.' 
 
 " ' I am going to ask you one question,' said I ; 
 ' but you must not answer it till you thinlv over 
 it. It is this : Do you think that God loves 
 you ? ' 
 
 " He seemed to ponder the question a little, and 
 then answered, — 
 
 " ' I think — I think He does." 
 
 *' * Yes,' I said, ' He loves you dearly, and sym- 
 pathizes with you in your great distress, and is so 
 very anxious for your soul's salvation that He is 
 waiting even now, this moment, to forgive you all 
 your sins and make you happy in His love. Can 
 you not take your own heavenly Father's word, 
 that "Avhosoevcr believeth on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ shall be saved!" Just trust in him; just 
 throw yourself as you are, — a poor, helpless sin- 
 ner, — into His hands, and you will be saved.' 
 
 " ' Is that all I'm to do ? ' said he, musingly ; 
 * and yet what else can I do ? Yes, yes ; I think 
 I see it all ; I have been afraid to trust in the 
 promises of God, I feel myself to be so unwor- 
 thy ; but now, Jesus, Savior, I come to thee, a 
 poor, helpless sinner. 
 
 " Here, Lord, I give myself to thee — 
 'Tis all that I can do." 
 
 Yes, Lord, it is all that I can do ! ' 
 
 " Then followed a scene I shall never forget to 
 my dying day. It was night. The temporary hos- 
 pital was in an old, dark, dingy house. The can- 
 dle burned dimly, and seemed, by its flickering, 
 uncertain light, to make the gloomy surroundings 
 all the more gloomy. The poor mangled soldier 
 boy lay rolling uneasily from side to side. Large 
 drops of cold sweat stood like beads on his open 
 brow. A quivering sensation seemed to pass 
 through every nerve and fibre of his body ; and 
 there was a long, deep, shivering sigh, which told 
 of the very extremity of mortal anguish. His 
 large bright eye grew dim, and seemed as if look- 
 ing up from a great depth ; and that mysterious 
 change of color and feature took place, which tells 
 that the wheels of life are about to stand «till. 
 Suddenly he threw out his arms and clasj^ed. me 
 tightly round the neck as I stooped over him, and 
 exclaimed, ' What shall I do, O Chaplain, what 
 shall I do ? ' 
 
 " * Put your trust in Christ, your own Savior, 
 who died for you,' I replied. 
 
 " ' I do believe in Jesus,' he said, ' and I think 
 He will save me ; yes, He will save me ! But 
 O, what is this ? am I dying now ? Tell me, am 
 I dying?' 
 
 " ' Yes, you are dying, dear brother,' I answered ; 
 ' you will soon be in the spirit world. Is Jesus 
 near you ? Have you peace of mind ? ' 
 
 " ' It's all over now,' he whispered. ' God has, 
 for Christ's sake, forgiven me, a poor sinner ; and 
 he will take me to himself. Good by, Chaplain ; 
 good by.' 
 
 " He fell into a kind of stupor, or what might be 
 called an uneasy slumber, and I sat by his side 
 waiting and watching. He dreamed. He seemed 
 to be again at home, mingling with loved ones, 
 
 for he whisperod the name of mother. Then he 
 seemed to be praying, as if, a child again, he knelt 
 at a parent's knee and repeated his evening 
 prayer. I stooped over him and listened atten- 
 tively to every whisper. At last I caught a few 
 disjointed sentences, as follows: 'Our Father — 
 who art — this night — I lay me — do^vn — O Jesus 
 — my Savior — take me — to heaven. Hallowed' 
 be — thy name — ' There Avas then a pause, and 
 a deep sigh. The angel of death had come ! The 
 golden bowl was broken, and the wheel stood still 
 at the cistern I Poor mangled sufferer ! he had 
 found Christ ; and his dream of childhood's devo- 
 tions gave place, we trust, to the brighter visions 
 of glory and the songs of salvation ! " 
 
 CONFEDERATE SONG OF FREEDOM. 
 
 BY EMILY M. "WASHINGTON. 
 
 March on, ye children of the brave — 
 
 Descendants of the free ! 
 On to the hero's bloody grave, 
 Or glorious liberty ! 
 
 On, on — with clashing sword and drum ; 
 The foe ! — they come ! they come ! — strike 
 home ! 
 For more than safety, or for life, — 
 For more than mother, child, or wife. 
 Strike home for Liberty ! 
 
 Charge, charge ! nor shed the pitying tear ; 
 
 Too long hath mercy plead I 
 Charge, charge ! and share the hero's bier, ^ 
 Or strike the foeman dead ! 
 
 Charge, charge ! for more than vital gains, 
 Strike home, and rend the freeman's chains ; 
 For more than safetj', or for life, — 
 For more than mother, child, or wife, 
 Strike home for Liberty ! 
 
 Draw, draw — by every hope this hour 
 
 That animates the brave ! 
 Draw ! — strike ! — and rend the foeman's power, 
 Or fill the patriot's grave ! 
 
 Strike — die — or conquer with the free ! 
 Strike home, strike home for Liberty ! 
 For more than glory, safety, life, — 
 For more than mother, child, or wife, 
 Strike home for Liberty ! 
 
 Colonel Gillem was one day reprimanding 
 one of his soldiers, who was sHghtly intoxicated 
 at the time. After the Colonel had concluded, 
 the soldier remarked, " Yez wuddint have occasion 
 to talk to me so ef I had a pistol." The Colonel, 
 much astonished, asked, " Well, sir, what would 
 you do if you had a pistol ? " " Why, I'd shoot 
 — myself, sir." 
 
 " Our Rights." — The following conversation 
 occurred at Normandy, Tennessee, between a Con- 
 federate prisoner, captured at Knoxville, and the 
 correspondent of a Northern paper : 
 
 " Are you going to take the oath ? " 
 
 " No ; I'll rot in prison first." 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 289 
 
 " AVhat are you fighting for ? " 
 
 " Our rights." 
 
 " What are your rights ? " 
 
 "Well," — hesitating, and attempting to clear 
 his throat, — " well, 1 can't 'xactly tell yer ; the 
 fact is, I can't read ; but there's them that does 
 know." 
 
 , A Negro's Prayer, — The fcUowing is a prayer 
 offered by a colored man at a funeral, and reported 
 by Dr. Calkins, Surgeon of a Mass. regiment : 
 
 " Massa Jesus, like de people ob de ole time, 
 de Jews, we Aveep by de side ob de ribber, wid de 
 strings ob de harp all broke ; but we sing ob de 
 broken heart, as dem people could not do. Hear 
 us. King, in de present state ob our sorrow. You 
 know. King Jesus, honey, we just got from de Red 
 Sea, and wander in de wilderness, a poor, feeble 
 portion ob de children ob Adam, feeble in body, 
 feeble in mind, and need de help ob de good Al- 
 mighty God. 0, help us, if you please, to homes, 
 for we's got no homes, Massa Jesus, but de shel- 
 ter ob de oak tree in de daytime, and de shelter 
 ob de cotton tent at night. Help us for our own 
 good and de good of God's blessed Union people, 
 dat want all people free, whatsomebber be de 
 color. Massa Jesus, you know de deep tribula- 
 tions ob our hearts, dat sickness is among us, dat 
 our children is dyin' in de camp ; and as we tote 
 'em from one place to tudder, and bury dem in 
 de cold ground, to go in spirit to de God ob de 
 people whar de soul hab no spot nor color. Great 
 King ob Kings, and Doctor ob Doctors, and God 
 ob battles ! help us to be well ; help us to be able 
 to fight wid de Union sogers de battle for de Un- 
 ion ; help us to fight for liberty, fight for de coun- 
 try, fight for our owii homes, and our own free 
 children, and our children's children. Fotch out, 
 God ob battles, de big guns wid de big bustin' 
 shells, and gib dem God-forsaken secesh, dat 
 would carry to shame our wives and daughters. 
 O, mighty Jesus ! if you please, a right smart 
 charge ob grape and canister ; make 'em glad to 
 stop de war and come back to shoes and de fat- 
 ted calf, and de good tings ob de Union. No 
 more murderin' brudder ob de Norf States. No 
 more ragged, bare feet. No more slave-whippers 
 and slave-sellers. No more faders ob yellow skins. 
 No more meaner as meanest niggers."' 
 
 A Classic Soldier. — A Lieutenant in the 
 Twelfth Indiana relates the following : 
 
 Being out on a scout with a squad of his men, 
 and becoming fatigued, they stopped at a house 
 to see if they could get some buttermilk to drink. 
 In their squad Avas a young man who had been 
 highly educated, but who had become dissipated 
 before entering the army, and had the appearance 
 of one very low in life. When they entered the 
 house, there were two young ladies sitting in the 
 room, very busily engaged in reading, and did not 
 seem to take any notice of them whatever. After 
 gettin'g their buttermilk, the young man, supposed 
 to be an ignoramus, walked to one of the ladies, 
 and very politely asked her what' book she was 
 19 
 
 reading. Thinking his question impertinent, she 
 indignantly replied, " You would not know, if I 
 should tell you." " That may be true," says he ; 
 "*till, I would like very much if you would tell 
 me." "Well," says she, "if you must know, I 
 am reading Virgil." " Ah ! Virgil ! And how do 
 you like it ? " " Very well ; but I have come to 
 a hard, knotty sentence here, that I cannot trans- 
 late." " Well, perhaps I can assist you about it, 
 if you will alloM' me." " You assist me ! It is 
 Latin that I am reading ! " " Very well, miss. 
 Will you be so kind as to let me see if I cannot 
 assist you with it? " Somewhat softened by his 
 kind and gentlemanly manner, she handed him the 
 book, when, to her utter astonishment, he trans- 
 lated the difficult sentence with great ease. She 
 now addressed him politely. " Are you an ofB.- 
 cer, sir?" "0, no, miss; I am only a private. 
 If I had had a little better education, I do not 
 know but I might have been an officer in the 
 Federal army." Surprised still more, she re- 
 plied, " I am astonished ! I thought I was a 
 good Latin scholar. Here is a boy in the Fed- 
 eral army who can read Latin better than I can, 
 and yet he says he is not well enough educated 
 to be an officer. Why, sir, what kind of an army 
 have you ? " " Well, miss, we have a very intel- 
 ligent army ; one that knows what they are fight- 
 ing about, and what they are fighting for. We 
 have an army of men who will continue to fight 
 until this wicked rebellion you intelligent South- 
 erners have stirred up is crushed. Good by, miss." 
 
 Capture on Mosby's Horse. — Captain J. S. 
 Graham, of the Twenty-first New York cavalry, 
 detailed the following : 
 
 " One hundred and fifty of the Twenty-first 
 cavalry were sent out from Halltown, Va., on a 
 three days' scout. At night they stopped about 
 five miles above Berryville. Sergeant Wetherbee 
 and Corporals Simpson and Van Antwerp went 
 about a mile from the camp to a house to get sup- 
 per. After eating, they concluded to stay there 
 all night, and so put their horses in the stable. 
 Having safely, as they thought, secured thebi ani- 
 mals, they sat down in the house by the fire to 
 warm their feet and make themselves as comfort- 
 able as possible. Just then the door opened, and 
 three men, with revolvers in hand, marched in 
 and demanded a surrender. There was no alter- 
 native. Having disarmed their prisoners, the 
 guerrillas took them to the stables to get their 
 horses. While in the stable Van Antwerp no- 
 ticed a hole in the floor, into which he dropped 
 and concealed himself. Mosby (for he rras the 
 leader of the party) supposed that Van Antwerp 
 had run away, and gave him no further tkought. 
 He took the other prisoners and hurried them 
 away into the Loudon INIountains to a littlft place 
 called Paris. Stopping at a house, Moslvy dis- 
 mounted, and told his prisoners to do lil.ewise, 
 and follow him into a house. Simpso.i dis- 
 mounted, and while pretending to tie his horse, 
 snatched a pistol from the holster on IS' >sby's 
 saddle, shot the Lieutenant who stood f x the 
 
290 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 other side of the horse, mounted Mosby's horse, 
 fired a shot at Mosby, and away he flew as fast 
 as the horse could carry him. Mosby returned 
 his fire, but without efi'ect, and Simpson rode at 
 full gallop towards the Shenandoah. "W'etherbee, 
 who had not dismounted, took advantage of the 
 occasion to take the same course, and both got 
 safely into the Federal camp, — Simpson with 
 Mosby's famous gray horse." 
 
 The Charge at Port Hudson. — A soldier 
 who participated in the storming of Port Hudson, 
 on the 14th of June, 1863, gives the following 
 account of that unfortunate aff'air : " I have 
 been in many battles, but I never saw, and never 
 wish to see, such a fire as that poured on us on 
 June 14th. It was not terrible — it was hor- 
 rible. 
 
 •' Our division (Second) stormed about a mile 
 from the Mississippi. We left our camp at twelve 
 o'clock, midnight, on the 13th, and proceeded to 
 the left, arriving just at daylight, Avhere the bal- 
 ance of our brigade (Second) awaited us. 
 
 " Colonel Benedict arrived from opposite Port 
 Hudson on the 12th, and our regiment was trans- 
 ferred from the First to the Second brigade, and 
 he placed in command. The movement to the 
 left took all by surprise ; but we got in shape be- 
 hind a piece of woods which concealed the ene- 
 my's works, and rested. The First brigade went 
 in first, and Ave followed — the Third brigade be- 
 ing a reserve. I saw the First brigade file left 
 and move on, but saw no more of it. When the 
 order came to move on, we did so in ' column of 
 company,' at full distance. Ask some good mili- 
 tary man what he thinks of a brigade moving to 
 a chai'ge in that manner. The One Hundred and 
 Sixty-second leading, the One Hundred and Sev- 
 enty-fifth (Bryan's) after us ; then the Forty- 
 eighth Massachusetts, and Twenty-eighth Maine. 
 We were in a road parallel to the enemy's works, 
 and had to change direction to, or file left round 
 the coiuier of the woods, and then started for- 
 ward by a road leading up. The ground rose 
 gradually, and away above, the rebel works were 
 in plain sight. The moment we turned into the 
 road, shot, shell, grape, and canister fell like 
 hail, in, amongst, and around us. But on we 
 went. A little higher, a new gun opened on us. 
 Still farther they had a cross-fire on us — O! 
 such a terrible one; but on we went, bending 
 as, with sickening shrieks, the grape and canister 
 swept over us. Sometimes it fell in and about 
 us ; but I paid no heed to it. 
 
 " After the first, my whole mind was given to 
 the colors, and to keep my men around them ; 
 and they did it well. I wonder now, as I think 
 of it, how I did so. I walked erect, though from 
 the moment I saw how they had us, I was sure I 
 M'ould be killed. I had no "thought (after a short 
 prayer) but for my flag. I talked and shouted. 
 I did all man could do to keep my boys to their 
 ' colors.' I tried to draw their attention from the 
 enemy to it, as I knew we would advance more 
 rapidly. The brave fellows stood by it, as the 
 
 half-score who fell attest. The ' color-bearer ' 
 fell, but the ' flag ' did not. Half the guard fell, 
 but the 'flag' was there. Ask (if I never come 
 home) my Colonel or Lieutenant-Colonel if any one 
 could have done better than I did that day. I do 
 not fear their answer. When about three hun- 
 dred yards from the Avorks, I Avas struck. The 
 pain Avas so intense that I could not go on. I 
 turned to mj' Second Lieutenant, Avho was in com- 
 mand of company C, as he came up to me, and 
 said : ' Never mind me, Jack ; for God's sake, 
 jump to the colors.' I don't recollect any more, 
 till I heard Colonel B. say : ' Up, men, and for- 
 Avard.' I looked, and saAV the rear regiments 
 lying flat to escape the fire, and Colonel B. stand- 
 ing there, the shot striking all about him, and he 
 never flinching. It Avas grand to see him. I Avish 
 I Avas of ' iron nerA^e,' as he is. When I heard 
 him speak, I forgot all else, and, running forward, 
 did not stop till at the very front and near the 
 colors again. There, as did all the rest, I lay 
 doAvn, and soon learned the trouble. Within tAvo 
 hundred yards of the Avorks was a ravine parallel 
 with them, imperceptible till just on the edge of 
 it, completely impassable by the fallen timber in 
 it. Of course Ave could not move on. To stand 
 up Avas certain death ; so Avas retreat. Nought 
 was left but to lie down Avith what scanty cover 
 we could get. So Ave did lie down, in that hot, 
 scorching sun. I fortunately got behind tAvo 
 small logs, Avhich protected me on two sides, and 
 lay there, scarcely daring to turn, for four hours, 
 till my brain reeked and surged, and I thought I 
 should go mad. Death would have been prefera- 
 ble to a continuance of such torture. Lots of 
 poor fellows were shot as they Avere h'ing doAvn, 
 and to lie there and hear them groan and cry Avas 
 aAvful. Just on the other side of the log lay the 
 gallant Colonel Bryan, with both legs broken by 
 shot. He talked of home, but bore it like a 
 patriot. Near him Avas one of my oAvn brave 
 boys, with five balls in him. I dared not stir, 
 my hand ached so, and it Avould have been death 
 also. Well, the Colonel got out of pain sooner 
 than some, for he died after two hours of intense 
 agony. Bullets just grazed me as they passed 
 over, and one entered the ground Avithin an inch 
 of my right eye. I could not go that. Our boys 
 had run back occasionally, but got a volley as 
 they did so from the rebels, who Avould curse 
 them. I Avaited till our cannon fired a round at 
 them, then up and ran across the road, and fell 
 flat behind some low bush or weeds ; and Avell I 
 did. They saAV my sAVord, and fired several vol- 
 leys after me. As my hand was very lame, I 
 craAvled several rods back, then under a big log, 
 got behind it, and, for the first time in five hours, 
 ' sat up. I bathed my hand, and after a Avhile 
 I made my way to the rear, got it dressed, and Avas 
 • on my Avay back, Avhen I learned that the men 
 I Avere to Avork in, by one and tAVOs ; so I staid. 
 I then learned of poor Bryan's fate, and one by 
 one came the tidings of my own men, and Avhen 
 the Avord came of them I cried like a child. 
 Some of theiji passed me on the Avay to have 
 their Avounds dressed, and blessed me as they 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 291 
 
 passed by. "When night came, the troops came 
 in and line was formed, and a small one we had. 
 The Major's body was brought in to be sent 
 home, and my pet favorite. Sergeant Fred. Mitch- 
 ell (who, as a favor to me. Colonel Benedict had 
 made an acting Lieutenant — he was so good a 
 soldier, and handsome and talented), the last 
 I saw of him, was his sword flashing in the sun- 
 light as he urged the men forward ; but he was 
 brought in with half liis head torn off, and it was 
 hard to recognize him. But God bless him ! He 
 Avas true, for his right hand grasped his sword 
 firmly in death. I have it stored to be sent to 
 his friends. Colonel B. and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 B. came out safe. The Lieutenant-Colonel had 
 been sick for some time, and this finished him. 
 So I took command of the regiment, brought it 
 to the mortar batter)-, and bivouacked for the 
 night." 
 
 The true Story about Colonel Dahl- 
 gren's Body. — It was not until the war was 
 over, that all the facts of this somewhat mysteri- 
 ous case could be cleared up ; and now it is aji- 
 pareut that a loyal Virgiliian, living near Rich- 
 mond, rescued his corpse from its obscure and 
 ignominious burial-place, and reinterred it in a 
 place whence it could easily be recovered by his 
 friends. 
 
 After having been stripped and plundered, by 
 the roadside, near Richmond, two men Avere or- 
 dered to take the corpse away and burj' it where 
 none would ever know the spot, or be able to re- 
 cover the remains. But a loyal Virginian, not 
 far from whose house he had been shot, deter- 
 mined to watch their operations, and know the 
 place of the grave. 
 
 It was midnight, and they took him, in the 
 stillness and gloom, across the city, to the other 
 side of the James River, and to the outer cor- 
 ner of an obscure burial-place, in the skirt of the 
 forest, where common soldiers who had died in 
 the hospitals had been interred. He could only 
 observe them at a distance, and was able to rec- 
 ognize only the vicinity of the spot where they 
 buried him. When he went there afterwards, he 
 found three graves all fresh, and Avith no mark 
 of any land to indicate which was Dahlgren's. 
 
 Determined, however, not to abandon his ef- 
 forts, he only waited a favorable time. Pickets 
 were much more numerous and particular at 
 night than during the day ; and he accordingly 
 determined to put a bold front on the enterprise. 
 So, taking a small cart, he drove out in midday, 
 and went directly over to the grave-yard, in the 
 dress, and apparently on the errand, of a laborer. 
 The first body he exhumed had a leg missing, 
 and the hair, and eyes, and figure, answered to 
 the description of Dahlgi'en. Laying him in the 
 cart, he proceeded to dig up and lay over him 
 quite a number of young peach trees, with dirt 
 enough to cover the body, and with this very 
 peaceful-looking and unsuspicious load he passed 
 all the sentries, and through the streets of Rich- 
 mond, without challenge. Arriving home, he 
 dug another grave for his body in the corner of 
 
 his own door-yard, and only a few steps from his 
 door. Here, in silent sympathy, and loyal re- 
 gret at the death of the brave but unfortunate 
 young soldier, his body, mutilated in battle, and 
 msulted by the country's foes, was laid. 
 
 Not long after, a boat, with a flag of truce, 
 went up the James, and requested of the Con- 
 federate authorities to know the place of his 
 burial. A party was sent out to the cemetery 
 where they had buried him, and to their great as- 
 tonishment, the corpse was not there, and his 
 unhappy friends had almost despaired of ever 
 receiving his body back again to give it a Chris- 
 tian and a soldier's burial, when the above facts 
 became known to an officer on General Meade's 
 staff, and they were at once communicated to the 
 Government. 
 
 About the same time, the Union army lines 
 were advanced so near Richmond as to take in 
 the farm of the loyal Virginian who had dis- 
 played such praiseworthy zeal in securing the re- 
 mains from ignominy. 
 
 For a second time he was disinterred, and 
 upon removal to Washington, the third time 
 buried, being finally laid to rest, with full mili- 
 tary honors, among those who loved and admii-ed 
 him in life, and bewailed his premature but glo- 
 rious death. 
 
 The Spirit of Illinois. — Governor Yates, 
 of Illinois, received a letter from a town in the 
 south part of the State, in which the wi'iter com- 
 plained that traitors in his tOAvn had cut down 
 the American flag, and asked what ought to be 
 done in the premises. The Governor promptly 
 Avrote him as follows : " Whenever you raise the 
 flag on your own soil, or on the public property 
 of the State or county, or at any public celebration, 
 from honest love to that flag, and patriotic devo- 
 tion to the country which it symbolizes, and any 
 traitor dares to lay his unhallowed hand upon it 
 to tear it down, then I say, shoot him down as 
 you would a dog, and I will pardon you for the 
 off'ence." 
 
 While Mr. Buchanan was President, the 
 Pottstown Bank came into existence, and out 
 of compliment to him the notes contained his 
 portrait. But during the war, the bank received 
 so many mutilated notes, with the words " traitor," 
 " Judas Iscariot," &c., inscribed under the portrait, 
 that it was resolved to call in all the notes bear- 
 ing the likeness, and re-issue new ones. 
 
 The Doctor know'd what he giv' him. — 
 During the war, one of those lovely ladies, who 
 devoted themselves to relieving the sufiierings of 
 the soldiers, was going through a ward of a 
 crowded hospital. There she found two conva- 
 lescent soldiers sawing and hammering, making 
 such a noise that she felt it necessary to interfere 
 in her gentle way. 
 
 "Why," she said, "what is this.!* — what are 
 you doing ? " 
 
292 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " What we doin' ? ]\Iakin' a coffin — that's 
 what." 
 
 "A coffin? mcleed, and M'hom is it for? " 
 
 "Who for? that feller over there " — pointing 
 behind him. 
 
 The lady looked, and saw a man lying on his 
 ■white bed, yet alive, who seemed to be watching 
 what was being done. 
 
 " Why," she said, in a low voice, " that man 
 isn't dead. He is alive, and perhaps he won't 
 die. You had better not go on." 
 
 " Go on ! Yes, yes, we shall. The doctor he 
 told us. He said, make the coffin ; and I guess 
 he know'd what he giv' him." 
 
 " GREENBACKS." 
 
 The following was written across the back of one of those 
 bills. 
 
 Green be thy back upon thee ! 
 
 Thou pledge of happier days, 
 "When bloody-handed treason 
 
 No more its head shall raise ; 
 But still, from Maine to Texas, 
 
 The Stars and Stripes shall wave 
 O'er the hearts and homes of freemen, 
 
 Nor mock one fettered slave. 
 
 Pledge — of the people's credit, 
 
 To carry on the war. 
 By furnishing the sinews 
 
 In a currency at par ; 
 With cash enough left over. 
 
 When they've cancelled every note. 
 To buy half the thrones of Europe, 
 
 With the crowns tossed in to boot. 
 
 Pledge — to our buried fathers, 
 
 That sons of patriot sires, 
 On Freedom's sacred altars, 
 
 Relight their glorious fires — 
 That fortune, life, and honor 
 
 To our country's cause we give ; 
 Fortune and life may perish. 
 
 Yet the Government shall live. 
 
 Pledge — to our unborn children. 
 
 That, free from blot or stain, 
 The flag hauled down at Sumter 
 
 Shall yet float free again ; 
 And, cleansed from foul dishonor, 
 
 And rebaptized in blood. 
 Wave o'er the land forever, 
 
 To Freedom and to God ! 
 
 Scenes at Fort Donelson. — The following 
 incidents were given in a narrative sermon preached 
 by Rev. Robert Collyer, at Chicago, a few days 
 after the terrible battle at Fort Donelson : 
 
 " After leaving home our great desire was, of 
 course, to get to Fort Donelson and to our work 
 in the shortest possible time ; and I am sure you 
 will not thank me for a full account of Cairo, his- 
 torical and descriptive. I will merely say, when 
 you want to solicit a quiet place of retirement in 
 the summer, do not even go to look at Caho. I 
 assui-e you, it- will not suit. It is notable here 
 
 only for being the first point where we meet with 
 traces of the great conflict. The first I saw were 
 three or four of those long boxes, that hold only 
 and always the same treasure ; these were sheila 
 nailed together by comrades in the camp, 1 sup- 
 pose, to send some brave man home. As I went 
 past one lying on the sidewalk in the dreary rain 
 and mud, I read on a card the name of a gallant 
 officer who had fallen in the fight ; and as I stood 
 for a moment to look at it, the soldier Avho had 
 attended it came up, together with the brother of 
 the dead man, who had been sent for to meet the 
 body. It seemed there was some doubt whether 
 this might not be some other of the half dozen 
 who had been labelled at once, and the coffin 
 must be opened before it was taken away. 
 
 " I glanced at the face of the living brother as 
 he stood and gazed at the face of the dead ; but 
 I must not desecrate that sight by a description. 
 He was his brother beloved, and he was dead ; 
 but he had fallen in a great battle, where treason 
 bit the dust, and he was faithful unto death. He 
 must have died instantly, for the wound was in a 
 mortal place ; and there was not one line or fur- 
 row to tell of a long agony, but a look like a quiet 
 child, which told how the old confidence of He- 
 brew David, ' I shall be satisfied when I wake in 
 thy likeness,' was verified in all the confusion of 
 the battle. God's finger touched him, and he 
 slept; and 
 
 ' The great intelligences fair 
 
 That range above our mortal state, 
 In circle round the blessed gate, 
 Received and gave him welcome there.' 
 
 " One incident I remember, as we were de- 
 tained at Cairo, that gave me a sense of how 
 curiously the laughter and the tears of our lives 
 are blended. I had hardly gone a square from 
 that touching sight, when I came across a group 
 of men gathered round a soldier wounded in the 
 head. Nothing would satisfy them but to see the 
 hurt; and the man, with perfect good nature, re- 
 moved the bandage. It was a bullet wound, very 
 near the centre of the forehead ; and the man de- 
 clared the ball had flattened, and fallen off. ' But,' 
 said a simple man, eagerly, * why didn't the ball 
 go into your head ? ' * Sir,' said the soldier, 
 proudly, ' my head's too hard ; a ball can't get 
 through it ! ' 
 
 " A journey of one hundred and sixty miles up 
 the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers brought us to 
 Fort Donelson, and we got there at sunset. I 
 went at once into the camp, and found there dear 
 friends, who used to sit in these pews, and had 
 stood fast through all the thickest battle. They 
 gave us coffee, which they drank as if it were 
 nectai", and we as if it were senna. 
 
 " A body of men drew up to see us, and de- 
 manded the inevitable ' few remarks ; ' and we 
 told them, through our tears, how proud and 
 thankful they had made us, and what great tides 
 of gladness had risen for them in our city, and 
 wherever the tidings of victory had run ; and 
 how our hands gave but a feeble pressure, our 
 voices but a feeble echo of the mighty spirit that 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 293 
 
 was everywhere reaching out to greet those that 
 were safe, to comfort the suffering, and to sorrow 
 for the dead. 
 
 " The ' own correspondents ' of the new&papers 
 describe Fort Donelson just as if a man should 
 say that water is a fluid, or granite a solid. I 
 have seen no printed description of it that will 
 make a picture in the mind. I think there is a 
 picture graven on some silent soul that will get 
 itself printed some time. But it took years to 
 get a word-picture of Dunbar, and it may take as 
 long to get one of Donelson. If you take a bow 
 and tighten the string until it is very much over- 
 bent, and lay it down on a table, with the string 
 towards you, it will give a faint idea of the breast- 
 works — the river being to them what the cord is 
 to the bow. At the right hand corner, where the 
 bow and cord join, is the famous water battery, 
 commanding a straight reach in the river of about 
 a mile, where the gunboats must come up ; and 
 at the other end of the cord, up the river, lies the 
 town of Dover. 
 
 " It was my good fortune to go over the entire 
 ground with a number of our friends, and to wan- 
 der here and there alone at rare moments besides. 
 The day I spent there was like one of our sweet- 
 est May-days. As I stood in a bit of secluded 
 woodland, in the still morning, the spring birds 
 sang as sweetly, and flitted about as merrilj', as 
 if no tempest of fire, and smoke, and terror had 
 ever di-iven them in mortal haste away. In oi\e 
 place where the battle had raged, I found a little 
 bunch of sweet bergamont, that had just put out 
 its brown-blue leaves, rejoicing in its first resur- 
 rection, and a bed of daffodils, ready to unfold 
 their golden robes to the sun; and the green 
 grass, in sunny j^laces, was fair to see. 15ut 
 where great woods had cast their shadows, the 
 necessities of attack and defence had made one 
 haggard and almost universal ruin — trees cut 
 down into all sorts of wild confusion, torn and 
 splintered by cannon ball, trampled by horses and 
 men, and crushed under the heavy wheels of ar- 
 tillery. One sad wreck covered all. 
 
 " Of course, it was not possible to cover all the 
 ground, or to cut down all the trees. But here 
 and there, where the defenders would sweep a 
 pass, where our brave men must come, all was 
 bared for the work of death ; and where the battle 
 had raged, the wreck was fearful. 
 
 " Our ever-busy mother Nature had already 
 brought down great rains to wash the crimson 
 stains from her bosom ; and it was only in some 
 blanket cast under the bushes, or some loose gar- 
 ment taken from a wounded man, that these most 
 fearful sights were to be seen. But all over 
 the field were strewn the implements of death, 
 with garments, harness, shot and shell, dead 
 horses, and the resting-places of dead men. Al- 
 most a week had passed since the battle, and 
 most of the dead were buried. We heard of twos 
 and threes, and in one case of eleven, still lying 
 where they fell ; and, as we rode down a lonely 
 pass, we came to one waiting to be laid in the 
 dust, and stopped for a moment to note the sad 
 sight. Pray look out from my eyes at him, as he 
 
 lies where he fell. You see by his garb that he 
 is one of the rebel army, and, by the peculiar 
 marks of that class, that he is a city rough. There 
 is little about him to soften the grim picture that 
 rises up before you, as he rests in perfect stillness 
 by that fallen tree ; but there is a shawl, coarse 
 and homely, that must have belonged to some 
 woman; and 
 
 ' His hands are folded on his breast ; 
 There is no other thing expressed, 
 But long disquiet merged in rest.' 
 
 " Will_ you still let me guide you through that 
 scene as it comes up before me ? That long mound, 
 with pieces of board here and there, is a grave ; 
 and sixty-one of our brave fellows rest in it, side by 
 side. Those pieces of board are the gravestones, 
 and the chisel is a black lead pencil. The queer 
 straggling letters tell you that the common sol- 
 dier has done this, to preserve, for a few days at 
 least, the memory of one who used to go out with 
 him on the dangerous picket guard, and sit with 
 him by the camp fire, and whisper to him, as they 
 lay side by side in the tent through the still win- 
 ter niglit, the hope he had before him when the 
 war was over, or the trust in this comrade if he 
 fell. There you see one large board, and in a 
 beautiful flowing hand, ' John Olver, Thirty-first 
 Illinois ; ' and you wonder for a moment whether 
 the man who has so tried to surpass the rest was 
 nursed at the same breast with John Olver, or 
 whether John was a comrade, hearty and trusty 
 beyond all price. 
 
 " And you will ebserve that the dead are buried 
 in companies, every man in his own company, 
 side by side ; that the prisoners are sent out af- 
 ter the battle to bury their own dead ; but that 
 our own men wiU not permit them to bury a fel- 
 low-soldier of the Union, but every man in this 
 sacred cause is held sacred even for the grave. 
 
 " And thus on the crest of a hill is the place 
 where the dwellers in that little town have buried 
 their dead since ever they came to live on the 
 bank of the river. White marble and gray lime- 
 stone, and decayed wooden monuments, tell who 
 rests beneath. There stands a gray stone, cut 
 with these home-made letters, that tell you 
 how William N. Ross died on the 26th day of 
 March, 1814, in the twenty-sixth year of his age; 
 and right alongside are the graves, newly-made, 
 of men who died last week in a strife which no 
 wild imagining of this native man ever conceived 
 possible in that quiet spot. Here, in the midst 
 of the cemetery, the rebel officers have pitched 
 their tents ; for the place is one where a com- 
 mander can see easily the greater part of the 
 camp. Here is a tent where some woman has 
 lived, for she has left a sewing-machine and a 
 small churn ; and not far away you see a hapless 
 kitten shot dead; and everywhere things that 
 make you shudder, and fill you with sadness over 
 the wreck and ruin of war. 
 
 " Here you meet a man who has been in com- 
 mand, and stood fast ; and when you say some 
 simple word of i)raise to him in the name of all 
 who love their country, he blushes and stammers 
 
294 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 like a woman, and tells you he tried to do his 
 best ; and when we get to Mound City, we shall 
 find a man racked with pain, who Avill forget to 
 suffer in telling how this brave man j-ou have just 
 spoken to, not only stood by his own regiment 
 in a fierce storm of shot, but when he saw a regi- 
 ment near his own giving back, because their of- 
 ficers showed the white feather, rode up to the 
 regiment, hurled a mighty curse at those who 
 were giving back, stood fast by the men in the 
 thickest fight, and saved them ; and, says the sick 
 man, with tears in his eyes : ' I would rather be 
 a privijte under him, than a captain under any 
 other man ! ' 
 
 " I noticed one feature in this camp that I 
 never saw before ; the men do not swear and use 
 profane words as they used to do. There is a 
 little touch of seriousness about them. They are 
 cheerful and hearty, and in a few days they will 
 mostly fall back into the old bad habit so painful 
 to hear ; but they have been too near to the tre- 
 mendous verities of hell and heaven on that battle- 
 field, to turn them into small change for every- 
 day use just yet. They have taken the eternal 
 name for common purposes a thousand times ; 
 and we feel as if Ave could say with Paul, ' The 
 times of this ignorance God passed by.' But on 
 that fearful day, when judgment fires were all 
 afiame, a voice said, ' Be still, and know that I 
 am God ; ' and they are still under the shadow of 
 that awful name. 
 
 " Now, friends, I can give you these hints and 
 incidents, and many more if it were needful ; but 
 you must still be left without a picture of the 
 battle-field, and I must hasten to the work we 
 want to do. The little town of Dover was full 
 of sick and wounded ; and they, first of all, com- 
 manded our attention. I have seen too much of 
 the soldier's life to expect much comfort for him ; 
 but Ave found even less than I expected among 
 those Avho were huddled together there. There 
 was no adequate comfort of any kind ; many 
 Avere laid on the floor; mostAvere entirely unpro- 
 vided Avith a change of linen, and not one had 
 any proper nourishment. AVhat Ave carried Avith 
 us Avas Avelcome beyond all price. The policy of 
 our commanders Avas to remove all the Avounded 
 on steamboats to Paducah, Mound City, and other 
 places on the rivers ; and it was a part of my 
 duty, Avith several other gentleman acting as sur- 
 geons and nurses, to attend one hundred and 
 fifty-eight AA'ounded men from Fort Uonelson to 
 Mound City. 
 
 " I may not judge harshly of Avhat should be 
 done in a time of Avar like this in the West ; it is 
 very easy to be unfair. I Avill simply tell you 
 that had it not been for the things sent up by 
 the Sanitary Commission in the Avay of linen, and 
 things sent by our citizens in the Avay of nourish- 
 ment, I see no possibiHty by which those Avounded 
 men could have been lifted out of their blood- 
 stained woollen garments, saturated AA'ith Avet and 
 mud, or could have had any food and drink, except 
 corn-mush, hard bread, and the turbid Avater of 
 the river. 
 
 "That long cabin of the steamboat is packed 
 
 Avith Avounded men, laid on each side, side by 
 side, so close that you can hardly put one foot 
 betvieen the men to give them a drink, or to cool 
 their fearful hurts. Most of us have been hurt 
 badly at some time in our life, and remember 
 Avhat tender and constant care Ave needed, and 
 got. If you will substitute a rather careless and 
 clumsy man for the mother or wife who Avaited 
 on you, and divide his time and attention among 
 perhaps forty patients, you Avill be able to con- 
 ceive something of Avhat had been the condition 
 of these poor travellers, but for the Chicago Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 " Here is one Avho has lost an arm, and there 
 one who has lost a leg. This old man of sixty 
 has been struck by a grape shot, and that boy of 
 eighteen has been shot through the lung. Here 
 a noble-looking man has lived through a fear- 
 ful bullet Avound just over the eye ; and that poor 
 German, Avho could never talk English so as to 
 be readily understood, has been hit in the mouth, 
 and has lost all hope of talking, except by signs. 
 
 " That man with a shattered foot talks in the 
 old dialect I spoke Avhen I Avas a child ; and when 
 I ansAver him in his own tongue, the words touch 
 him like a sovereign medicine. 
 
 " The doctor comes to this young man, and 
 says quietly, ' I think, my boy, I shall have to 
 take your arm off" ; ' and he cries out in a gr-eat 
 agony, ' O dear doctor ! do save my arm ! ' and 
 the doctor tells him he Avill try a little longer, 
 and wlien he has gone, the poor fellow says to 
 me, ' What shall I do if I lose my arm? I haA'e 
 a poor old mother at home, and there is no one 
 to do anything for her but me.' 
 
 " That man Avho has lost his arm is evidently 
 sinking. As I lay Avet linen on the jjoor stump, 
 he tells me hoAv ' he has a Avife and tAvo children 
 at home, and he has alAvays tried to do right, and 
 to live a manly life.' The good, simple heart is 
 clearly trying to balance its accounts, before it 
 faces the great event Avhich it feels to be not far 
 distant. As I go past him, I see the face grow- 
 ing quieter ; and at last good Mr. Williams, who 
 has Avatched him to the end, tells me he put up 
 his one hand, gently closed his OAvn eyes, and 
 then laid the hand across his breast and died. 
 
 " That boy in the corner, alone, suffers agony 
 such as I may not tell. All day long aa'c hear his 
 cries of ])ain through half the length of the boat ; 
 far into the night, the tide of anguish pours over 
 him ; but at last the pain is all gone, and he calls 
 one of our number to him, and says, ' I am going. 
 I Avant you to please Avrite a letter to my father ; 
 tell him I OAve such a man tAvo dollars and a half, 
 and such a man OAves me four dollars ; and he 
 must draAV my pay, and keep it all for himself 
 Then he lay silently a little Avhile, and, as the 
 nurse Avet his lips, said, ' O, I should so like a 
 drink out of my father's Avell ! ' and in a moment 
 he had gone Avhere angels gather immortality 
 
 ' By Life's fair stream, fast by the throne of God.' 
 
 " And so all day long, with cooling water and 
 soft linen, Avith morsels of food and sips of Avine, 
 Avith words of cheer and tender pity to every one, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 295 
 
 and most of all to those that were in the sorest 
 need, we tried to do some small service for those 
 that had done and suffered so much for us. -Some 
 are dead, and more will die, and some will live, 
 and be strong men again ; but I do not believe 
 that one will forget our poor service in that ter- 
 rible pain ; while to us there came such a reward 
 in the work as not one of us ever felt before, and 
 we all felt that it Avas but a small fragment of the 
 debt we owed to the brave men who had given 
 life itself for our sacred cause. 
 
 " Two or three things came out of this jour- 
 ney to the battle-field that gave me some new 
 thoughts and realizations. And first, in all honor, 
 I realized more fully than you can do, that in 
 those victories of which Fort Donelson is the 
 greatest, we have reached not only the turning- 
 point, as we hope, of this dreadful war, but we 
 have plucked the first fruits of our Western civ- 
 ilization. I am not here to question for one 
 moment the spirit and courage of our brothers in 
 the East ; the shade of Winthrop, noblest and 
 knightliest man, the peer of Arthur for truth, of 
 Richard for courage, and of Sidney for gentle- 
 ness, would rise up to rebuke me. Ball's Bluff 
 was worse than Balaklava as a criminal blunder, 
 and equal to it in every quality of steady, hope- 
 less courage. America will never breed a true 
 man who will not weep as he reads the story of 
 those hapless Harvard boys, whose clear eyes 
 looked out at death steadily to the last, and who 
 scorned to flinch. 
 
 " But here on our Western prairies, and in our 
 backwoods, we have been raising a new genera- 
 tion of men, Avhose name we never mentioned, 
 under new influences, whose bearing we did not 
 understand ; and the first time they could get a fair 
 field and no favor, they sprang into the foremost 
 soldiers, in the land. 
 
 " Good elderly New England ministers, of our 
 own faith, have made it a point to speak, in East- 
 ern conventions, of our hopeless struggle with 
 the semi-savagery of these mighty wildernesses. 
 My dear doctor, that boy of eighteen was born 
 in the prairies, and went to meetings where you 
 would have gone crazy with the noise of the 
 mighty prayers and psalms : and he got the con- 
 version which you do not believe in, and was a 
 sort of Methodist or Baptist ; but he stood like 
 one of Napoleon's Old Guard through all the 
 battle ; and when he was shot down, and could 
 fight no longer, his mighty spirit dragged the 
 broken tabernacle into the bushes, and there he 
 prayed with all his might, not for himself, but 
 that the God of battles would give us the victory. 
 That rough-looking man was wounded twice with 
 ghastly hurts, and twice went from the surgeon 
 back to the fight, and only gave up when the third 
 shot crippled him beyond remedy. 
 
 " ' I saw those " Iowa Second " boys come 
 on to charge the breastworks,' said our friend 
 Colonel Webster to us. ' ]\Iore than one regi- 
 ment had been beaten back, and the fortunes 
 of the day began to look very uncertain. They 
 came on steadily, silently, through the storm of 
 shot, closing up as their comrades fell ; and with- 
 
 out stopping to fire a single volley that might 
 thin the ranks of the defenders, and make some 
 gap by which they might pour into the fortress, 
 they M'ent down into the ditch, and clean over 
 the defences, and there they staid in spite of all.' 
 
 " One quiet-looking oflicer saw his company 
 sorely thinned in the beginning of the day ; and 
 that the cause might have one more arm, he 
 took musket and ammunition from one who could 
 use them no more, and fought at the head of his 
 companj', shot for shot, all day long ; and, as a 
 wounded soldier told me this through his pain, 
 he added, ' I tell you, sir, if that man ever runs 
 for an oflice, I'll vote for him, sure.' 
 
 " Secondly, from all these experiences, I have 
 got a fresh conviction of the great mystery of 
 the shedding of blood for salvation. We have 
 been accustomed, especially in Unitarian churches, 
 to consider Paul's ideas about blood-shedding as 
 the fruit of his education under a sacrificial Ju- 
 daism, and that, again, as a twin-sister of bar- 
 barism ; but as I went over this battle-field, and 
 thought on the dead heroes, and of all they died 
 for, I kept repeating over each one, ' He gave his 
 life a ransom for many ; ' and I wondered, Avhen 
 I thought of how we had all gone astray as a 
 people, and how inevitable this Avar had become, 
 in consequence, as the final test of the two great 
 antagonisms, whether it may not be true in our 
 national affairs, as in a more universal sense, 
 ' without the shedding of blood there is no remis- 
 sion of sins.' And so, by consequence, every 
 true hero fallen in this struggle for the right is 
 also a savior to the nation and the race. 
 
 " Finally, I came to feel a more tender pity for 
 the deluded men on the other side, and a more 
 unutterable hatred of that vile thing that has 
 made them what they are. On all sides I found 
 young men with faces as sweet and ingenuous as 
 the faces of our own children, — as open to sym- 
 pathy, and, according to their light, as ready to 
 give all they had for their cause. 
 
 " I felt like weeping to see children of our noble 
 mother so bare, and poor, and sad ; to see their 
 little villages so different from those where the 
 community is not tainted by the curse and pro- 
 scription of human bondage ; and I felt more 
 deeply than ever before how, for the sake of those 
 men, who, in spite of all, are our brothers, this 
 horrible curse and delusion of slavery ought to be 
 routed utterly out of the laud." 
 
 William Reid, an old sailor and man-of-war's- 
 man, who was on board the Owasco, was one of 
 the heroes of the fight at Galveston. During 
 the hottest moments of the battle between the 
 Owasco and the rebel batteries, this man received 
 a severe wound while in the act of loading his 
 rifle. His two forefingers on his left hand were 
 shot away, and the surgeon ordered him below ; 
 but he refused to go, and, tying his pocket hand- 
 kerchief around his fingers, he remained on deck, 
 and did good execution with his rifle. Not more 
 than thirty minutes after, another shot struck 
 him in his right shoulder, and the blood spirted 
 
296 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 out through his shirt. Master's Mate Arbana 
 then ordered him to go below, and have the sur- 
 geon dress his wounds. The brave old fellow 
 said : " No, sir ; as long as there is any fighting 
 to be done, I will stay on deck ! " 
 
 After the engagement was over, the noble- 
 hearted sailor had his wounds dressed and prop- 
 erly attended to. He remained on board the 
 Owasco, and Avhenever they beat to general quar- 
 ters, William Reid was at his post ready for 
 orders. He was told one day by the captain to 
 go below, as he was on the sick list, and his 
 place was in the hospital. He was displeased 
 with this remark, and replied : " No, captain, my 
 eyes are good, and I can pull a lock-string as 
 well as any on 'em." The lock-string is a lanyard 
 connected with the cap that fires the gun. 
 
 John Burns, the Hero of Gettysburg. — 
 The following thi-illing narrative was related by 
 B. D. Beyea, who spent several days on the 
 battle-field in search of the body of Captain C. 
 H. Flagg, who fell in that terrible fight : 
 
 " In the town of Gettysburg live an old couple 
 by the name of Burns. The old man was in the 
 war of 1812, and is now nearly seventy years of 
 age ; yet the frosts of many winters have not 
 chilled his patriotism, nor diminished his love for 
 the old flag under which he fought in his early 
 days. When the rebels invaded the beautiful 
 Cumberland Valley, and were marching on Get- 
 tysburg, old Burns concluded that it was time for 
 every loyal man, young or old, to be up and doing 
 all in his power to beat back the rebel foe, and, if 
 possible, give them a quiet resting-place beneath 
 the sod they were polluting with their unhallowed 
 feet. The old hero took down an old State mus- 
 ket he had in his house, and commenced running 
 bullets. The old lady saw what he was about, 
 and wanted to know what in the world he was 
 going to do. ' Ah,' said Burns, ' I thought some 
 of the boys might want the old gun, and I am 
 getting it ready for them.' The rebels came on. 
 Old Burns kept his ej-e on the lookout until he 
 saw the Stars and Stripes coming in, carried by 
 our brave boys. This was more than the old 
 fellow could stand. His patriotism got the better 
 of his age and infii-mity. Grabbing his musket, 
 he started out. The old lady hallooed to him : 
 ' Burns, where are you going ? ' ' O,' says Burns, 
 ' I am going out to see what is going on.' He im- 
 mediately went to a Wisconsin regiment, and 
 asked them if they would take him in. They told 
 him they would, and gave him three rousing cheers. 
 
 " The old musket was soon thrown aside, and a 
 first-rate rifle given him, and twenty-five rounds 
 of cartridges. 
 
 " The engagement between the two ai'mies soon 
 came on, and the old man fired eighteen of his 
 twenty-five rounds, and says he killed three 
 rebels to his certain knowledge. Our forces 
 were compelled to fall back and leave our dead 
 and wounded on the field ; and Burns, having 
 received three wounds, was left also, not being 
 
 able to get away. There he lay in citizen's dress ; 
 and if the rebs found him in that condition, he 
 knew death was his portion ; so he concluded to 
 try strategy as his only hope. Soon the rebs came 
 up, and approached him, saying : ' Old man, what 
 are you doing here ? ' 'I am lying here wounded, 
 as you see,' he replied. ' Well, but what business 
 have you to be here ? and who wounded you ? 
 our troops, or yours ? ' 'I don't know who 
 wounded me ; but I only know that I am wounded, 
 and in a bad fix.' ' Well, what were you doing 
 here ? — what was your business ? ' 'If you will 
 hear my story, I will tell you. My old woman's 
 health is very poor, and I was over across the 
 country to get a girl to help her ; and, coming 
 back, before I knew where I was, I had got right 
 into this fix, and here I am.' ' Where do you 
 live ? ' inquired the rebels. ' Over in town, in 
 such a small house.' They then picked him up) 
 and carried him home, and left him. But they 
 soon returned, as if suspecting he had been lying 
 to them, and made him answer a gi-eat many 
 questions ; but hestuck to his old story, and they 
 failed to make anything out of old Burns, and 
 then left him for good. 
 
 " He says he shall always feel indebted to some 
 of his neighbors for the last call ; for he believes 
 some one had informed them of him. Soon after 
 they left, a bullet came into his room, and struck 
 in the wall about six inches above where he lay 
 on his sofa ; but he don't know who fii-ed it. His 
 wounds proved to be only flesh wounds, and he 
 is getting well, feels first-rate, and says he would 
 like one more good chance to give them a rip." 
 
 THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 
 
 BY HOWARD GLYNDOK. 
 
 The days of June were nearly done ; 
 The fields, with plenty overrun, 
 Were ripening 'neath the harvest sun, 
 In fruitful Pennsylvania ! 
 
 Sang birds and children, " All is well ! " 
 When, sudden, over hill and dell, 
 The gloom of coming battle fell 
 
 On peaceful Pennsylvania ! 
 
 Through Maryland's historic land, 
 With boastful tongue, and spoiling hand, 
 They burst — a fiei'ce and famished band — 
 Right into Pennsylvania ! 
 
 In Cumberland's romantic vale 
 Was heard the plundered farmer's wail, 
 And every mother's cheek was pale 
 in blooming Pennsylvania ! 
 
 With taunt and jeer, and shout and song. 
 Through rustic towns they passed along — 
 A confident and braggart throng — 
 
 Through frightened Pennsylvania ! 
 
 The tidings startled hill and glen ; 
 Up sprang our hardy Northern men, 
 And there was speedy travel then. 
 All into Pennsylvania ! 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 297 
 
 The foe laughed out in open scorn ; 
 For "Union men were coward-born," 
 And then — they wanted all the corn 
 That grew in Pennsylvania ! 
 
 It was the languid hour of noon, 
 When all the birds were out of tune, 
 And nature in a sultry swoon, 
 
 In pleasant Pennsylvania ! — 
 
 When, sudden o'er the slumbering plain, 
 Red flashed the battle's fiery rain ; 
 The vollej'ing cannon shook again 
 The hills of Pennsylvania ! 
 
 Beneath that curse of iron hail, 
 That threshed the plain with flashing flail. 
 Well might the stoutest soldier quail. 
 In echoing Pennsylvania ! 
 
 Then, like a sudden summer rain. 
 Storm-driven o'er the darkened plain. 
 They burst upon our ranks and main. 
 In startled Pennsylvania t 
 
 We felt the old ancestral thrill. 
 From sire to son transmitted still. 
 And fought for Freedom with a will. 
 In pleasant Pennsylvania ! 
 
 The breathless shock — the maddened toil- 
 The sudden clinch — the shar^j recoil ^- 
 And we were masters of the soil, 
 In bloody Pennsylvania ! 
 
 To westward fell the beaten foe ; 
 The growl of battle, hoarse and low, 
 Was heard anon, but dying slow. 
 
 In ransomed Pennsylvania ! 
 
 Sou' -westward, with the sinking sun, 
 The cloud of battle, dense and dun, 
 Flashed into fire — and all was won 
 In joyful Pennsylvania ! 
 
 But ah ! the heaps of loyal slain ! 
 The bloody toil ! the bitter pain } 
 For those who shall not stand again 
 In pleasant Pennsylvania I 
 
 Back, thi-ough the verdant valley lauds. 
 East fled the foe, in frightened bands. 
 With broken swords, and empty hands. 
 Out of fair Pennsylvania 1 
 
 An Heroic Old* Man. — A soldier of the Con- 
 federate army, writing from Missionary Ridge, in 
 October, 1863, says : " I presume you know Fa- 
 ther Challon, a Catholic priest of Mobile. Well, 
 he has a brother, an old man of, perhaps, sixty 
 years, who is a member of Captain Hurtel's com- 
 pany. This old man was in Kansas when the 
 war broke out ; he immediately turned his steps 
 homeward, and coming across a Louisiana regi- 
 ment, he joined it as a private. General McCul- 
 lough, with whom the regiment was, happening 
 to notice this brave old man, and also seeing how 
 cheerfully he bore the fatigues and dangers of 
 camp and battle, offered him a staff appointment ; 
 but Mr. Challon refused it, preferring to fight as 
 
 a private in the ranks, until he could find some 
 of the Mobile or Alabama troops. This was not 
 effected, however, until he got to Corinth with 
 Price's army. Soon after, he was transferred to 
 the 24th Alabama regiment, company A, com- 
 manded by your fellow-citizen, A. Hurtel, where 
 he has remained ever since, discharging his du- 
 ties faithfully and well, so much so, indeed, that 
 he was noticed by the General of the brigade, 
 and other officers, with whom he was a great fa- 
 vorite ; and many was the time that he might have 
 been noticed sitting around the General's fire, in 
 free conversation with that officer, always eager 
 for news, and when he obtained any that was 
 good, would hurry off to impart it to his regi- 
 ment. But for the incident. 
 
 " It was on the ever-memorable day of the 20th 
 of September (battle of Chickamauga), that Mr. 
 Challon took his place in the front ranks to at- 
 tack the enemy in a strong position on a hill. 
 Gallantly did all act on this occasion ; but con- 
 spicuous among those brave men was the subject 
 of this anecdote. They rushed on, driving the 
 enemy from his breastworks, capturing three 
 pieces of artillery, &c. ; but the enfilade fire from 
 the right and left was so very heavy that we were 
 obliged to fall back. Here Mr. Challon fell with 
 his thigh broken. Lieutenant Higley, passing by, 
 and seeing his condition, tendered him assist- 
 ance ; but the old man waved him off, telling him 
 to go and whip the Yankees, and let him alone ; 
 that he would take care of himself. We moved 
 on, leaving the litter-bearers to take care of the 
 dead and wounded ; but in a few moments the 
 news reached us that the enemy had set fire to 
 the woods by their guns, and that the wounded 
 would all be burned to death. ' 
 
 " Several officers immediately volunteered to 
 take a party, and rescue the sufierers. They has- 
 tened to the' spot, and succeeded in saving all oux' 
 men, but not until some of them had been scorched. 
 Among these latter Avas my old friend, who was 
 manfully battling with this new enemy. He had 
 crawled some distance from the spot where he 
 fell, and many of the surgeons think that he, in 
 these efforts, broke his thigh entirely, that was 
 only fractured in the first instance by the ball. 
 The old man is still alive, and strong hopes are 
 entertained of his recovery, his cheerfulness aid- 
 ing in it. Many of the brigade have visited him. 
 He is always cheerful, and says, ' No matter — the 
 old man can die ; we whipped the rascals.' " 
 
 The Dead at Vicksburg. — They lay in all 
 positions ; some with musket grasped as though 
 still contending ; others with the cartridge in the 
 fingers, just ready to put the deadly charge where 
 it might meet the foe. All ferocity had gone. 
 Noble patriots ! uninhabited tenements ! ye rest 
 here now in security ! Your portals, whence the 
 spirits fled, are as calm and pale as moonlight 
 upon snow — as though no sweet love had ever 
 woven for ye myrtle wreaths, nor death draped 
 your hearts in ivy — as though mirth had never 
 smiled, nor sorrow wept where all is now silent. 
 
298 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 War -with its dangers, earth with its perplexities, 
 neglect and poverty Avith their pangs, slander 
 with its barb, the dear heart-broken ones at 
 home — all fail to call ye back to strife. A dark 
 and fearful shadow has crept over the land, and 
 gathered ye in its gloom. O the tears that will 
 be shed ! O the hearths that will be desolated ! 
 Eyes will look in vain for your return to the 
 hearths that ye once gladdened, while Fame 
 crowns ye with its laurels, and the land of the 
 hereafter Avelcomes ye as " they who saved the 
 land." 
 
 A remarkably sweet and youthful face was that 
 of a rebel boy. Scarce eighteen, and as fair as a 
 maiden, with quite small hands, long hair of the 
 pale, golden hue that auburn changes to Avhen 
 much in the sun, and curling at the ends. He 
 had on a shirt of coarse white cotton, and brown 
 pants, well worn ; while upon his feet were a 
 woman's shoes of about the size known as 
 " fours." Too delicate was his frame for war ; 
 perchance some mother's idol. His left side was 
 torn by a shell, and his left shoulder shattered. 
 Poor misguided boy ! Hyacinth was scarce more 
 delicately beautiful than he. Mayhap he had his 
 Apollo, too. 
 
 Two men, who had caught at a fig tree to as- 
 sist them up a steep embankment, lay dead at its 
 feet, slain, in all probability, by an enfilade fu-e 
 from their right ; the branch at which they caught 
 was still in their grasp. Some could not be rec- 
 ognized by their nearest friends. Several were 
 headless — others were armless ; but the manner 
 of their death was always plain. The minie left 
 its large, rather clear hole ; the shell its horrid 
 rent, the shrapnel and grape their clear, great 
 gashes, as though one had thrust a giant's spear 
 through the tender, quivering flesh. 
 
 In one trench lay two, grasping the same 
 weapon — friend and foe. Across their hands 
 fell a vine, the end upon the breast of the rebel, 
 where it had fallen with them from an elevation 
 above, the roots still damp with the fresh earth ; 
 upon it was a beautiful passion flower in full 
 bloom, and two buds ; the buds were stained 
 with blood — the flower as bright as was the day 
 when the morning stars sang together. On the 
 faces of both was the calm that follows sleep — 
 rather pale, ])erhaps, but seeming like him of 
 old, of whom it was said, " He is not dead, but 
 sleepeth." But ah, the crimson ! All is not 
 well where earth is stained with blood. In some 
 places the dead were piled, literally, like sacks of 
 grain upon the shore. 
 
 It is remarkable with what patience the fatally 
 wounded, they who already stood upon the shore, 
 bore their suff"erings. Some knew that they 
 could not recover, but bore it manfully. Some- 
 times a tear, and a low voice would say, " My 
 sweet wife," or "Darling," "Mother," "God 
 forgive " — a quiver, then all was over. Let us 
 hope that friend and foe alike found favor in His 
 sight where all is well. 
 
 Death is life's mystery — that undiscovered 
 country whence none return — in no place so great 
 and marvellous a study as here. 
 
 One would think that war would develop fero- 
 city in hard natures ; perhaps it does, but it is 
 not shown in the faces of the dead. They enter 
 the silent land with eyes open ; a stare of sur- 
 prise is in them ; the lines of care are softened 
 upon the brow, and the cheek, when untorn, 
 shows determination, as though they slept where 
 doubt is unknown, where all mystery is revealed, 
 where the reason of our creation, to bear the 
 myrtle leaf of joy or the habiliments of mourn- 
 ing, to reap the golden sheaves of content or 
 gather the mildew of misery, is known. 
 
 They have been sent, rather than gone, to the 
 garner where all shall be gathered. 
 
 This is the work of treason ! This it is to 
 unroof the temple of law and order, and let 
 loose the demon of discord. A people more 
 than prosperous have fallen upon evil times. 
 Murder, arson, theft, all kinds of injustice, follow 
 in the footsteps of M'ar. Nor is the end yet. 
 When shall spears and swords be beaten into 
 ploughshares and pruning-hooks ? " How long, 
 OLord?" 
 
 The Escape of the "Planter." — A corre- 
 spondent on board the gunboat Onward, on duty 
 in the port of Charleston, gives the following 
 account of this important event : 
 
 " We have been anchored in the ship channel 
 for some days, and have frequently seen a secesh 
 steamer plying in and around the harbor. Well, 
 this morning, about sunrise, I was awakened by 
 the cry of * AH hands to quarters ; ' and before I 
 could get out, the steward knocked vigorously 
 on my door : ' All hands to quarters, sir ! de ram 
 is a coming, sir ! ' I don't recollect of ever 
 dressing myself any quicker, and got out on deck 
 in a hurry. Sure enough, we could see, through 
 the mist and fog, a great black object moving 
 rapidly, and steadily, right at our port quarter. 
 Notwithstanding ' Merrimacs,^ Iron Rains, Tur- 
 tles, and death and destruction in all shapes, were 
 instantly conjured up in the minds of all, yet 
 every man worked with a determination and will 
 that showed too plainly that be it a Ram, Turtle, 
 or the old boy himself, he would meet with a warm 
 reception. Springs were bent on, and the On- 
 ward was rapidly warping around so as to bring 
 her broadside to bear on the steamer, that was 
 still steadily approaching us ; and when the guns 
 were brought to bear, some of the men looked 
 up at the Stars and Stripes, and then at the 
 steamer, and muttered : ' You ! if you run into 
 us we will go down with colors flying.' Just as 
 No. 3 port gun Avas being elevated, some one 
 cried out, ' 1 see something that looks like a 
 white flag;' and sure enough there was some- 
 thing flying on the steamer that would have 
 been ivhite by an application of soap and water. 
 As she neared us, we looked in vain for the face 
 of a white man. When they discovered that we 
 did not fire on them, there was a rush of contra- 
 bands out on her deck, some dancing, some sing- 
 ing, whistUng, jumping, and others stood look- 
 ing towards Fort Sumter, shaking their fists, and 
 muttering all sorts of maledictions on Fort Sumter 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 299 
 
 and the ' heart of the South ' genen-alhj. As the 
 steamer came under the stern of the Omvard, a 
 very ancient old darky stepped out of the crowd, 
 and taking off his hat, said, ' Good morning, sir ! 
 I'se bi-ought you some of dem old United States 
 guns, sir ! — fi'om Fort Sumter, sir ! ' and all thS 
 others around him set up a yell — ' Hi ! dat's so ! 
 yah ! ' and the antics and capers they cut could 
 only be done by slaves, who, by a bold and suc- 
 cessful move had gained their freedom — run- 
 ning a steamer out of a large city — passing the 
 frowning battlements of Castle Pinckney, Forts 
 Moultrie and Sumter. Had such a feat been 
 performed by a white man, Congress would have 
 passed a vote of thanks, and the public would 
 laave gone into ecstasies, and feted them. But 
 to continue : As soon as she came up, Captain 
 Nichols went alongside of her, and was joyously 
 received on board. They all flocked around hira, 
 and asked eagerly, ' Has you got one of dem old 
 flags, sir ? ' ' We'd like to see him, sir ! ' The boat's 
 flag was hauled up, and bent on the halliards of 
 the steamer, amidst the greatest excitement. The 
 male contrabands again commenced dancing, 
 singing, whistling, and cheering, and in a few 
 moments out came five female contrabands and 
 three children. As soon as the females came out, 
 they commenced shouting — looking up to the 
 old Hag, ' Hi ! yah ! dat's him ! dat's de same 
 old fellow! I know'd him ! ' and one rather good- 
 looking one, with a very young child, elevated 
 her baby over her head, and said, ' Just look up 
 dare, honey ! it'll do you good, I knows it will ; ' 
 and she held the infant close to her breast, and 
 cut the ' pigeon wing,' with a vim, across the 
 deck, and then shook her clothes like a hen in a 
 rain-storm, and settled down the happiest look- 
 ing creature the world ever saAV. 
 
 " We learned from some of the most intelligent 
 that they had been concocting this thing for three 
 weeks. The leader in it was an old darky 
 named Robert Small — they call him the ' Major.' 
 The Major says they Avould have run two weeks 
 ago with a large number of rifle cannon on board, 
 but there was one fellow that they couldn't trust ; 
 so they were compelled to postpone it. They 
 have done very well as it is, for they have 
 brought off four long thirty-two pounders, one 
 one hundred and twenty-eight pounder rifle can- 
 non, and one small mortar, besides minie rifles, 
 ammunition, derricks, and a lot of apparatus used 
 for planting heavy guns in battery. One of the 
 men has been on her for some time, in the capa- 
 city of an engineer, and another as pilot. The 
 whole number on her is si.xteen, viz. : eight men, 
 five women, and three children. 
 
 "The old 'Major' said he thought he'd try it, 
 any way ; for if he staid there he'd get killed, 
 and he couldn't more than get killed in making 
 the attempt, and Avound up by saying, « I tells 
 you what it is, sar ! I was born under the old 
 flag, and I'se gitting old, and I jist feel as 
 though I'd like to die under it, and all we wants 
 of you, gentlemen, is to let us live under de old 
 flag — give us a little to start on, and we will earn 
 our own living. We ain't no poor, lazy niggers.' 
 
 The steamer is now on her way to the Augusta, 
 the flag-ship on this station, and as she passes by 
 the diflereut vessels, the crews man the rigging, 
 and it would do your heart good to hear the 
 hearty and prolonged cheers that greet her as she 
 is passing through the fleet. I have forgotten to 
 tell you that the steamer is the ' Planter.' She 
 is armed with the thirty-twos and a howitzer, and 
 is the same one we have seen so often. The 
 other guns and apparatus were put on board the 
 day before, to be transported to a new battery 
 they are building. " 
 
 Incident of Stone River. — In the rebel 
 charge upon McCook's right, the rebel Third 
 Kentucky was advancing full upon one of the 
 loyal Kentucky regiments. These two regiments 
 were brought from the same county, and conse- 
 quently were old friends and neighbors, and now 
 about to meet for the fii'st time as enemies. As 
 soon as they came near enough for recognition, 
 they mutually ceased firing, and began abusing, 
 an'd cursing, and swearing at each other, calling 
 each other the most outlandish names ; and all this 
 time the battle was roaring around them without 
 much attention from either side. It was hard to 
 tell which regiment would come off" the victor in 
 this wordy battle. As far as I could see, both 
 sides were terrible at swearing; but this could 
 not always last ; by mutual consent they finally 
 ceased cursing, and, grasping their nmskets, 
 charged into each other with the most unearthly 
 yell ever heard on any field of battle. Muskets 
 were clubbed, bayonet met bayonet, and in many 
 instances, when old feuds made the belligerents 
 crazy with passion, the musket was thrown away, 
 and at it they went, pummelling, pulling, and 
 gouging in rough-and-tumble style, and in a 
 manner that any looker-on would consider a free 
 fight. The rebels were getting rather the better 
 of the fight, when the Twenty-third Kentucky 
 succeeded in giving a flanking fire, Avhen they 
 retreated with quite a number of prisoners in 
 their possession. The rebels had got fairly under 
 way, when the Ninth Ohio came up on the 
 double-quick, and charging on their now disor- 
 dered ranks, succeeded in capturing all their pris- 
 oners, besides taking in return a great many 
 of the rebels. As the late belligerents were 
 conducted to the rear, they appeared to have 
 forgotten their late animosity, and were now on 
 the best terms imaginable, laughing, and chatting, 
 and joking, and, as the rebels were well supplied 
 with whiskey, the canteens v.-ere readily handed 
 about from one to the other, until they all became 
 as jolly as possible under the circumstances. 
 
 A Masonic Incident. — The day after the 
 battle of Antietam, the Fifth New Hampshire 
 formed the picket line along the edge of the 
 cornfield where Richardson's division fought. 
 The reserve was in one edge of the corn, and the 
 pickets about middle way of the field concealed 
 in the corn, as the sharpshooters of the enemy 
 fired on all who undertook to walk around on the 
 
300 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 I 
 
 battle-field at that locality. Early in the morning 
 one of the wounded rebels, who lay just outside 
 the pickets, called one of the New Hampshire 
 men, and handed him a little slip of paper, on 
 which he had, evidently with great difficulty, 
 succeeded in making some mystic signs in a 
 circle with a bit of stick wet in blood. The 
 soldier was begged to give it to some Freemason 
 as soon as possible, and he took it to Colonel E. 
 E. Cross, of his regiment. The Colonel was a 
 Master Mason, but could not read the mystic 
 token, it belonging to a higher degree. He 
 therefore sent for Captain J. B. Perry, of the Fifth, 
 who was a membor of the thirty-second degree of 
 Freemasonry, and showed him the letter. Cap- 
 tain Perry at once said there waS' a brother 
 Mason in great peril, and must be rescued. 
 Colonel Cross instantly sent for several brother 
 Masons in the regiment, told the story, and in a 
 few moments four " brothers of the mystic tie" 
 were crawling stealthily through the corn to find 
 the brother in distress. He was found, placed 
 on a blanket, and at great risk drawn out 'of 
 range of the rebel rifles, and then carried to the 
 Fifth New Hampshii-e hospital. He proved to 
 be First Lieutenant Edon of the Alabama volun- 
 teers, badly wounded in the thigh and breast. 
 A few hours and he would have perished. Lieu- 
 tenant Edon informed his brethren of another 
 wounded Mason, who, when brought out, proved 
 to be a Lieutenant Colonel of a Georgia regi- 
 ment. These two wounded rebel officers received 
 the same attention as the wounded officers of the 
 Fifth, and a warm friendship was established 
 between men who a few hours before were in 
 mortal combat. This is one of the thousand 
 instances in which the Masonic bond has proved 
 a blessing to mankind. 
 
 An Agreeable Surprise. — Three fathers 
 went up the Cumberland River in the same boat, 
 with three metallic coffins, to bring away the 
 bodies of their sons who had fallen in the battle 
 of Stone River. As they stepped ashore at 
 Ckrksville they met their boys jolly and hearty, 
 with as little idea of going into burial cases as 
 into a Southern convention. 
 
 Incidents of Curtis' March. — On the 16th 
 of May, 1862, Elijah D. Jenkins, of Henry County, 
 Illinois, was shot at Cotton Plant, Arkansas. The 
 company to which he belonged attempted to take 
 him with them, although in a dying state. Stop- 
 ping at a house by the roadside, they carried him 
 in. He suddenly grew pale, and, staring wildly 
 around, said to his comrades, " Raise me up, 
 boys ; I want to give three cheers for the old 
 flag," and instantly expired. 
 
 The battle of the 7th of July, near " Bayou 
 Cache " — Avon against tremendous odds — re- 
 sulted in the death of over a hundred and ten 
 rebels and the utter demoralization of six Texan 
 regiments. The army under General Curtis was 
 
 encamped at the junction of the Bayou Cache 
 and Cache River, where his progress was delayed 
 by a blockade of fallen timber. A road had been 
 cut through this blockade on the evening of the 
 6th, and early next morning Colonel Hovey of 
 tTie 33d Illinois regiment was ordered by General 
 Steele to open the road on the opposite side of 
 the Cache, make a reconnoissance in front down 
 to the Clarendon road, along which the army 
 were to march, and also to scour the woods thor- 
 oughly. Colonel Hovey detailed for this enter- 
 prise the following force : Colonel Harris of the 
 11th Wisconsin, with parts of four companies of 
 his regiment, viz. : company D, Captain Jesse 
 Miller ; company F, Lieutenant Chesebro ; com- 
 pany H, Captain Christie ; company G, Captain 
 Patridge ; and also parts of four companies of 
 the 33d Illinois, viz. : company E, Captain El- 
 liott ; company K, Captain Nixon ; company F, 
 Captain Lawton ; and company A, Captain Pot- 
 ter, who took charge ; and one small rifled steel 
 gun, belonging to the First Indiana cavalry. The 
 whole force numbered not over three hundred 
 and fifty men. Colonel Hovey started about six 
 A. M., with company D of the Eleventh Wiscon- 
 sin ahead. Skirmishers were thi-own out, and in 
 this way they proceeded to the Hill plantation, at 
 the forks of the road, four miles distant from 
 camp. On the way some pickets were driven in. 
 The main road here leads to Cotton Plant and 
 Clarendon. The road to the left is a neighbor- 
 hood road, while that turning to the side leads 
 across the Cache, four miles distant, and thence 
 to the Des Arc, on the White River. Detach- 
 ments were sent forward on each of these roads 
 to reconnoitre. Colonel Harris, with three com- 
 panies of the Eleventh Wisconsin, and Captain 
 Potter, with the small rifle piece, proceeded rap- 
 idly down the Des Arc road, having no cavalry. 
 They passed a cornfield on the left, entered an 
 open wood, and, reaching a turn in the road, at 
 the same time rising up in elevation, they fell in 
 with two Texan regiments of cavalry, with a regi- 
 ment of conscript infantry drawn up on their 
 right, ready to receive them. The rebels fired a 
 murderous volley as soon as the nationals got 
 into the snare, kiUing five of the men and wound- 
 ing Colonel Harris and Captain Potter. The men 
 returned the fire and fell back, the enemy being 
 too preponderating in numbers to withstand with 
 the little force. Captain Potter, though wounded, 
 gave them a few rounds from his piece, and fell 
 back, firing into the enemy's ranks. The rebels 
 then made a charge, and the retreat became tem- 
 porarily a panic. Colonel Hovey, hearing the 
 firing, and judging the turn aff"airs were taking 
 by the clouds of dust which rose and filled the air 
 above the trees, took the remaining companies 
 of the Thirty-third Illinois, and hastened to the 
 scene of action. Some of the men fii'st fired 
 upon did not stop till they reached Hill's house, 
 rushing past Captain Potter, who would unlimber 
 his gun, fire a round, and then retire ; thus check- 
 ing the advance of the rebels until Colonel Hovey 
 came up. The latter had hardly time to place 
 his men in ambush behind the fence, at the angle 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 301 
 
 of the cornfield, when the rebels, coming furi- 
 ously forward with loud yells, received a well- 
 aimed fire from Colonel Hovey and his men. 
 Twenty-five rebels were killed the first pop. They 
 were checked. The column reeled, and staggered 
 by this murderous fire, broke, and the men fled 
 in confusion. At the same time a heavy column 
 of the enemy was seen moving through the woods 
 between Colonel Hovey's j^osition and the Union 
 camp, " Their intention was to get to the road 
 on our rear," says a correspondent, •' cut us off 
 from our camp, and thus surround om- brave men. 
 But when they reached the road, and seeing the 
 Wisconsin troops, which had fallen back, and, 
 supposing them to be a reenforcement come to 
 our aid, they abandoned their design, and re- 
 turned. Thus what appeared to be disastrous at 
 one time, turned to our advantage." 
 
 Colonel Hovey rallied the above companies, 
 and, advancing one fourth of a mile, to a cotton 
 gin, held the position over an hour. 
 
 At this time (about half past ten), Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Wood came up with the second battalion 
 of the First Indiana cavalry, bringing with him 
 two steel rifled guns. This detachment had been 
 ordered by General Curtis to proceed to the 
 Bayou De Vue — fifteen miles from camp — with 
 orders to save the bridge at that point from being 
 destroyed by the enemy. The arrival of this re- 
 enforcement proved extremely opportune. Colo- 
 nel Hovey was posted about a hundred and fifty 
 yards from Colonel Hill's house on the Des Arc 
 road, and the army was not in view. Coming 
 up at full speed, having heard the firing, the First 
 Indiana were welcomed with enthusiastic cheers 
 from the brave little command of Colonel Hovey. 
 The latter exclaimed, " There comes Colonel 
 Wood ; we are all right now, boys ; " and, ad- 
 vancing to Colonel Wood, he said, " You'll find 
 them (the enemy) down there. Colonel, thick 
 enough ; pitch into 'em." The cavalry, with 
 shouts and yells, then plunged forward at a fu- 
 rious rate towards the rebels. The horses leaped 
 a ditch four feet in width, which crossed their 
 path, the bridge being torn up. One of the 
 horses had a leg broken, and some of the men 
 were pitched to the ground while making the 
 perilous leap. Fortunately, none were seriously 
 hurt. A few rails were piled into the ditch, and 
 the steel rifled guns were passed over. A solitary 
 rebel was now seen advancing to within one hun- 
 dred yards of our front. He wheeled about and 
 fled. The pieces, under charge of Lieutenant 
 Baker, were unlimbered, and the cavalry brought 
 into line of battle. The command was given : 
 " Pieces by hand to the front ; forward march." 
 The cannoneers seized their pieces by hand, and 
 advanced on the enemy ; the latter being now 
 discovered advancing, with extended wings, in 
 the form of a V, the concave side facing towards 
 our men. Their intention, it appeared evident, 
 was to surround us. The rebels were dismounted, 
 no horses being seen. Our pieces were loaded 
 with canister, and, getting within point-blank 
 range — some two hundred yards — we opened 
 upon them with a terrible fire. The enemy halted, 
 
 and replied by a heavy volley from their cross- 
 fii'e on the gunners. Several of the latter were 
 wounded, but not disabled. The steel rifled guns 
 now belched forth a continued round of firing ; 
 when the enemy, finding it too hot, fell back into 
 the Avoods out of sight. The command was given 
 again, " Pieces by hand to the front ; forward 
 march." Colonel Hovey himself caught hold of 
 the trail of one of the guns, and exclaimed, " Let's 
 push them forward, boys." Colonel Wood and 
 Lieutenant Baker also took hold of the drag rope 
 hooks, and assisted in moving the guns forward. 
 On the guns were pushed, the cavalry under Ma-, 
 jor Clendenning following in line of battle, ready 
 for the charge. Our men pressed on with enthu- 
 siastic ardor. Advancing in this way a quarter 
 of a mile, the enemy were descried formed in the 
 same mode as before. We got up to within one 
 hundred yards, when they opened fii'e upon us. 
 We returned the fii'e with canister from the little 
 guns, with occasional carbine and pistol shots 
 from the cannoneers. The fke proving too gall- 
 ing for the enemy, he again retreated, leaving a 
 number of dead strewn on the ground. Thirteen 
 dead rebels were biting the dust from the effects 
 of our canister shots. Bowels and brains were 
 scattered on the ground, and the blood besmeared 
 the bushes in the vicinity. 
 
 The order was given by Colonel Wood to Major 
 Clendenning to draw sabre and charge. Taking 
 companies E and G, the Major shouted, " Come 
 on, boys ; it's our turn now ; " and plunged down 
 the road into the brush, where they were met by 
 a tremendous volley poured in on them by the 
 rebels. At the first fire the Major was wounded 
 severely, receiving a ball through the left lung ; 
 and Captain Sloane, of company E, who was 
 bravely charging in front, was instantly killed by 
 a shot in the head. The Major, unmindful of 
 his wound, still led on his men, and the latter 
 poured in several volleys on the rebels from their 
 carbines and pistols, unhorsing one and killing a 
 number of the enemy. The rebels were staggered, 
 and turning on their heels, fled in confusion. Our 
 artillery followed close up, when the recall was 
 sounded, and the cavalry fell back behind the 
 pieces. Major Clendenning, in returning, fainted 
 and fell from his horse, and was picked up by one 
 of the men, who carried him oft" the field on his 
 shoulders. 
 
 The pieces were then limbered up and pushed 
 forward in pursuit, the cavalry keeping close in 
 the rear. In this way we advanced three fourths 
 of a mile, when smaU parties of the rebels were 
 discovered, stUl retreating. The guns were again 
 unhmbered, and a dozen shells were tlirown after 
 them, killing four, who were found at a long dis- 
 tance ahead in the road, soon afterwards, by the 
 pursuing cavalry. Colonel Hovey now ordered 
 the infantry to the front, intending to deploy them 
 as skirmishers, with an extended front, and follow 
 up the foe. A consultation was held by the offi- 
 cers, and it was decided to hold the ground al- 
 ready won, and wait further developments, as our 
 force was getting too far from succor, in a country 
 with which we were perfectly ignorant. The woods 
 
302 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 were thick, the force of the enemy unknown. AVe 
 had driven the enemy thi-ee miles. After halting 
 there two hours, and no enemy making his ap- 
 pearance, Lieutenant-Colonel AVood returned to 
 the Clarendon road, and went to the Bayou du 
 Vue to carry out his original intention. General 
 Benton came up with his brigade and took com- 
 mand. In camp it was supposed that the fight 
 took place on another road, and, consequently. 
 General Benton's orders were to make a rapid re- 
 connoissance down the Des Arc road. Bowen's 
 howitzers were pushed forward down one road 
 after the enemy. A shot was fii-ed on the rebels 
 and three men killed. Four kegs of powder were 
 found concealed. The houses along the road were 
 filled with rebel wounded, and the porches and 
 door-steps were besmeared v,ith blood from those 
 which they carried away. They abandoned their 
 camp and fled across the Cache River, destroying 
 a bridge they had constructed with boats. The 
 bank on the opposite side was also cut out very 
 steep, so as to prevent pursuit from our cavalry. 
 
 The following incident occurred on the battle- 
 field. At one time four out of six cannoneers 
 serving one of the pieces were wounded at the 
 same time. Sheafner, a German, clapped his hand 
 to his left temple, and exclaimed, " Mine Got, I'm 
 shot ! " Sheppard placed his hand on his back, 
 saying, " O Lord, I'm shot ! " Then Lieutenant 
 Dennaman brought his hand to his eye, saying, 
 " I'm shot, too ! " Charley Barge was hit in the 
 neck. He only said, " I'm burnt." The simul- 
 taneous movement of the hands of the cannoneers 
 to the parts injured, and the accompanying ex- 
 clamations, were a little singular. 
 
 Ptiding leisurely along. General Curtis inqtiked 
 of a contraband, whose broadly-spread mouth in- 
 dicated satisfaction at our approach, " AA^here did 
 those rascals go whom we thrashed up above 
 here ? " 
 
 Contraband inquired, " Dem as what run down 
 dis way yester' night, sah ? O, dem fellers was 
 awful scared. One lot of 'em went down to de 
 bayou, and one lot had done gone out on de Des 
 Arc road, a^d de Colonel dat was wid 'em wanted 
 'em all to go de Des Arc track ; but dem at de 
 bayou told him right out dat dey would not do it ; 
 and just about den dey dat was on de Des Arc 
 road had run up ag'in one ob your Cap'ns, and 
 back all dey come to de bayou, where de oders 
 was ; and jes' as dey all went down in de swamp, 
 up come" your Cap'ns wid dem little guns, and 
 commenced what you call a sheUin' dem ; and 
 dat is de last account." 
 
 The above version was given off rapidly, in a 
 high key, in the regular •' Brudder Bones " style, 
 and was highly applauded. 
 
 Robert Cummings. — The reader will recollect 
 the circumstance of a lad on board the Harriet 
 Lane exhibiting unusual courage in the fight 
 that took place on the deck of that vessel, ending 
 in her capture, on the morning of January 1, 
 1863. Robert was engaged as a " messenger 
 boy" on board the Harriet Lane, and won the 
 
 good will of her officers by Ws pluck, good humor, 
 and vivacity. AA'hen the attack occurred, and 
 the storm of bullets was pouring down upon the 
 overmatched crew from the cotton bulwarks of 
 the Neptune and Bayou City, as our wounded 
 men were carried below, the lad picked up two of 
 their fallen revolvers, and taking his place upon 
 the quarter-deck, blazed away at the invaders, 
 fii'ing off every charge of both weapons, and 
 then hurling them overboard. As the rebels 
 clustered, thick as bees, on the cotton-bales, in 
 the words of our informant, " every shot must 
 have told. " Robert was subsequently wounded 
 in the hand by a musket bullet, when momen- 
 tarily his spu'it gave way. Surrendering with the 
 rest, he shared the fortunes of the paroled offi- 
 cers, naturally becoming a great favorite with 
 them. 
 
 NEGRO SONG OF" MISSION RIDGE. 
 
 Ole massa he come dancin' out, 
 And call de black uns roun*, 
 
 Oh — O! Oh — O! 
 He feel so good he couldn't stan' 
 AVid boff feet on de groun'. 
 
 Oh ! — O — ee ! 
 
 Say ! don't you hear dem 'tillery guns 
 You niggers ? don't you hear ? 
 
 Oh — O ! Oh — ! 
 Ole Gen'ral Bragg's a mowin' down 
 De Yankees ober dar ! 
 
 Oh ! — O — ee ! 
 
 You Pomp, and Pete, and Dinah too. 
 You'll catch it now, I swear. 
 
 Oh— O! Oh — 0! 
 I'll whip you good for mixin' wid 
 Dem Yanks when dey was here. 
 
 Oh ! — O — ee ! 
 
 Here comes our troops ! in crowds on crov\'ds ! 
 I knows dat red and gray. 
 
 Oh — 1 Oh— O! 
 But, Lord ! what makes dem hurry so, 
 And frow dere guns away ? 
 
 Oh! — — ee! 
 
 Ole massa den keep boff feet still, 
 And stared wid boff he eyes. 
 
 Oh — O! Oh— O! 
 Till he seed de blue-coats jes behin', 
 AVhich cotch him wid surprise ! 
 
 Oh! — O — ee! 
 
 Ole massa's busy duckin' 'bout 
 In de swamps up to he knees. 
 
 Oh!— O! Oh — O! 
 AVhile Dinah, Pomp, and Pete, dey look 
 As if dey's mighty pleas'. 
 
 Oh! — O — ee! 
 
 AVasiiing Day in Camp. — " This is • washing 
 day ' with us," Avrites a soldier of the Forty-first 
 Ohio regiment. " AVashing day ! You know at 
 home what a terrible disturber of domestic com- 
 fort it is. My recollections of it are associated 
 with cold feet, damp floors, meagre dinners, cros^ 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 303 
 
 mothers, and birch rods. The servant girls and 
 I used to fight more on washing days than on any- 
 other. Washing is as much a duty as fighting. 
 Woe to the unlucky sloven that appears at Sun- 
 day morning inspection with dirty clothes, dirty 
 hands, long hair, or untrimmed beard. We are ex- 
 pected to bathe all over once or twice a week. 
 This requLrement is one of the soldier's greatest 
 blessings. At first, clothes washing was a diffi- 
 cult and tedious operation ; but now there is not 
 one of us that is not thoroughly initiated into the 
 mysteries of wasliing, rinsing, and wringing. It 
 is genuine satisfaction to see a fastidious youth, 
 who, perhaps, has often found fault with his mother 
 or sister on account of fancied imperfections in his 
 linen, knee deep in water, worrying about some 
 garment, in vain endeavors to wash it. Justice 
 comes round at last. When I was a little brat I 
 frequently used to throw down my bread and but- 
 ter when it was not sugared to suit my whim. 
 My mother would then say, ' You'll see the day, 
 my boy, when you'll be glad to get that crust.' 
 I have realized the truth of her words scores of 
 times within the last year. Washing day with us 
 has its amusements. On one occasion, last sum- 
 mer, while we were stationed at Murfreesboro', a 
 party of about a hundred of us were washing at a 
 large spring on the opposite side of the town from 
 where we were encamped. Buell's army was, at 
 that time, exceedingly short of supplies. But few 
 of us had more than one shirt — some were not 
 even that fortunate. It was a warm, jjleasant day. 
 We had removed our clothes, placed them in ket- 
 tles, built fires, and were boiling them out, busy- 
 ing ourselves, meanwhile, in playing * leap-frog,' 
 ' tag,' ' blackman,' and divers other games, when 
 lo ! a party of rebel cavalry came thundering 
 down upon us in pursuit of a forage train that 
 had been sent out in the morning. What were 
 we to do ? We had no arms with us ; our clothes 
 were in boiling hot water ; the enemy were di-aw- 
 ing near, fearfully near, jumping over the fence, 
 the whole party of us scud right through the 
 town for camp like so many wild Indians, as fast 
 as our legs could carry us. The citizens, suppos- 
 ing we would all be captured, came out in great 
 glee, shouting, ' Run, Yanks ! run Yanks ! ' as we 
 fled through the streets. We reached camp in 
 safety, to the great astonishment and amusement 
 of our comrades. It was a long time before we 
 heard the last of that washing day. I asked one 
 old black woman if she didn't blush when she saw 
 us running through town. She replied, ' Why, 
 de Lord God A'mi'ty bress ye, child — I couldn't 
 blush for laughing.' " 
 
 Adventure with an Alligator. — A soldier 
 writing from Louisiana gives the following inter- 
 esting and exciting personal adventures : 
 
 " You must remember that this whole country 
 is one vast swamp, thickly wooded with gum and 
 cypress trees, and interlaced with bayous, which 
 answer the purpose of roads. After attending to 
 the pickets, I often indulge my spirit of adven- 
 ture, and learn important facts about the country. 
 
 by running up some small bayou on an exploring 
 expedition. I presume you remember the old 
 picture, in the Geography, of the Dismal Swamp : 
 a little strip of water, trees meeting ovei-head ; 
 the fallen tree in the water with a huge alligator 
 on it ; the snakes here and there on bits of float 
 wood ; the pelican and cranes, and many other 
 birds. This is a true picture. It is what I see 
 every day. I do not notice the reptiles, except a 
 large alligator comes within range of my pistol, 
 and then, with almost certain aim, I send a ball 
 whizzing into his eye, the only place where a ball 
 will penetrate. The alligators are not very large, 
 — few of them being over ten feet long. Some 
 of the snakes are very large, measuring over 
 fifteen feet in length ; but the most common 
 snake is the water moccason, usually about five 
 feet long. Its bite is more fatal than the rattle- 
 snake. 
 
 " Now that I am on the alligator chapter, I will 
 tell y^u of an exciting adventure I had with one. 
 I had always been anxious to obtain some portion 
 of an alligator to carry home as a trophy. One 
 day, as I was returning from one of the outposts, 
 I put into Alligator Bayou. An alligator swim- 
 ming shows but little bumps above water, the 
 larger one at his eyes, the other at his nose ; and 
 it requires a marksman of no mean skill to hit it. 
 I soon fell in with a number, and picking out the 
 largest, I fired. He turned on his back, his feet 
 quivered in the air, his jaws opened, and he sank. 
 I paddled to the spot, and brought his lordship 
 to the surface. After a good deal of prying and 
 pulling, I got him into the boat, turning his head 
 to the bow. He had hardly struck the bottom 
 of the boat, when his mouth and eyes opened 
 with a start, and his tail swept from side to side 
 with the force of a sledge hammer. In an instant 
 I comprehended my situation. To jump out and 
 swim for shore was to jump into the jaws of a 
 dozen reptiles, and my only salvation was to keep 
 out of the reach of his tail, the canoe being so 
 narrow that he could not face me. 
 
 " At length, by throwing his head over the side 
 of the boat, he got his head towards me, and made 
 a charge with his jaws wide open. For once 
 in my life I think I was thoroughly frightened. 
 In an instant I plunged my paddle down his 
 throat. His jaws closed on it like a vice, and 
 he was quiet for a moment, and I had time to 
 draw my pistol and send two balls into his head. 
 He now lay quiet, but I saw that he was by no 
 means dead, and I loaded my pistol, preparatory 
 to another attack ; but as he did not seem disposed 
 to renew hostilities, I paddled swiftly down the 
 stream, and landed at the first convenient place. 
 I then paid my last respects to his alligatorship 
 by sending another ball entirely through his 
 head, and 'went on my way rejoicing.' I did 
 not succeed in getting the desired trophy, for 
 alligators are like snakes ; ' their tails do not die 
 until sundown,' and every time I touched him his 
 tail would fly from side to side with such force as 
 to endanger my bones. I think I shall never 
 handle another alligator until his head and tail 
 are cut off"." 
 
304 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, ^ND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Story of President Lincoln. — Apersonal 
 friend said to him : " Mr. President, do you 
 really expect to end this war during your admin- 
 istration ? " 
 
 " Can't say, can't say, sir. " 
 
 " But, Mr. Lincoln, what do j'ou mean to do ? " 
 
 " Peg away, sir ; peg away. Keep pegging 
 away ! " 
 
 Incidents of Alexandria. — On Sunday 
 morning, August 3, 1862, that place was plun- 
 dered by a band of seventy-five rebels. After 
 they had searched and robbed the Union stores 
 of all the arms and ammunition they could find, 
 and destroyed a national flag found in the store 
 of B. J. Kinney, Esq., they magnanimously paid 
 their respects to the only five Union families in 
 the place. The house of Mrs. H. A. Conway, a 
 widow lady, and for years a resident of the place, 
 was proposed to be the first one searched ; but 
 for the well-known reception her two daughters 
 would have given the Vandals, Secesh deemed 
 " discretion the better part of valor," and visited 
 the house of Mr. J. Haller, where, by threats and 
 vile oaths, they forced his daughter Julia to sur- 
 render a Union flag, which she had often been 
 seen Avaving to the boats passing on the Missis- 
 sippi. 
 
 Then mounting their horses, they rode to the 
 houses of other Union families, giving insults, 
 and acting in a manner that would disgrace a civ- 
 ilized people. When passing the residence of 
 one Fitzpatrick, a secesh sympathizer, and in 
 whose house had been made a rebel flag presented 
 them, the drunken rabble, in their frenzy, dropped 
 the captured Union flag, which they had been 
 trailing in the street ; when Miss Banscie Conway, 
 a young lady of seventeen, seeing it fall, ran and 
 picked it up, and safely carried it off, amid the 
 angry oaths of the rebel throng. When command- 
 ed to give it up, " No," she replied, " though you 
 disgrace the name of men, with my life I'll de- 
 fend the Stars and Stripes." On going into the 
 house, she pinned the flag beneath her dress, and 
 then bravely walked down the street, returning it 
 to Miss Haller. 
 
 Adventures of Sergeant Edwards. — In 
 the charge made upon the rebels by company F, 
 of the Seventeenth Indiana regiment, at the 
 fight at Woodbury, Tenn., Sergeant WiUiam B. 
 Edwards was amongst the foremost to dash in 
 the enemy's midst, closely followed by four of his 
 companions. In a moment, however, the Ser- 
 geant, without being aware of it, was separated 
 from the rest, they taking another direction. The 
 rebels were endeavoring, by a free use of the 
 spur, to reach the mouth of a certain lane before 
 they should be intercepted by another party of 
 ours, who were coming from another quarter to 
 cut them off. 
 
 Edwards fired off his gun, and, without knowing 
 he was alone, galloped up to a Texan Ranger, 
 who, with the rest, was in full retreat, and seizing 
 hold of him, endeavored, by main strength, to 
 drag him from the saddle. The rebel, who had 
 
 a revolving rifle, turned fiercely around to shoot 
 his assailant ; but Edwards caught his gun, and, 
 after a desperate struggle, both going at full 
 gallop, succeeded in M'resting it from him. It 
 was then Edwards' turn to endeavor to shoot the 
 Ranger. He elevated tlie piece and snapped it ; 
 but, from some injury the rifle had received, the 
 hammer would not fairly strike the caps, and the 
 gun could not be discharged. All this time 
 Edwards had forgotten his own single-barrelled 
 gun. He now perceived it in the hands of the 
 Ranger. They had exchanged pieces during the 
 scuffle! 
 
 Edwards dashed ahead. The Ranger had 
 drawn his revolver. He fired it after his oppo- 
 nent, and the ball passed through his coat. Not 
 another one of the retreating rebels attempted to 
 molest him for some time. As he galloped by 
 each one, he called upon him to surrender, still 
 supposing that he was closely followed by his 
 four companions, and, a little further back, by his 
 entire party. The frightened rebels seemed to 
 be under the same impression, and those that 
 Edwards called upon immediately halted, waiting 
 for whoever were to take them in charge to come 
 up. This gave them time to look about, and to 
 perceive that none of our soldiers were following. 
 Some of them then climbed the fences and ske- 
 daddled in different directions, while the rest, 
 gnashing their teeth with vexation and rage, 
 dashed after Edwards. 
 
 Above the shouts of all the rest, the Sergeant 
 could now hear behind him the voice of the 
 Ranger with whom he had maintained so des- 
 perate a scuffle : " Shoot him ! shoot him ! why 
 don't you shoot that d — d Yankee ? " Most of 
 the rebels having blue overcoats on, they did not 
 exactly know which was Edwards, and called back 
 to the Ranger to say which one he meant. But 
 the Sergeant had lost his hat in the melee, and 
 the Ranger shouted, " The one without a hat ! " 
 Several bullets were immediately sent whizzing 
 round his ears ; but, fortunately, none of them 
 took effect, and, a number of the rebels surround- 
 ing him, he surrendered, while a dozen revolvers 
 were levelled at his head and heart. But he only 
 gave himself up when he perceived that no other 
 Union soldier was in sight. 
 
 Edwards remained a prisoner in the hands of 
 the rebels four days. They were a portion of 
 Morgan's old regiment. 
 
 All sorts of questions were put to the prisoner 
 by his captors. One asked him if it were time 
 that Lincoln had called out tlii-ee millions of men. 
 Another Avanted to know if he indorsed the procla- 
 mation ; and, on his signifying that he did, an 
 officer pulled out a copy of Vallandigham's speech, 
 thrust it in his face, and asked him how he liked 
 that. He found quite a number of officers who 
 each had a copy of this infamous speech, which 
 they were in the habit of quoting to confuse and 
 confound our poor soldier boys who fell into their 
 hands. The prayer of the patriot, as he grasps 
 his rifle and kneels in the mud, the snow, or the 
 blood of his murdered comrades, is : " Palsied be 
 the tongue that uttered- that accursed harangue ! 
 
-EngiTyA.H.Kit'-to.e^ 
 
 Mz\J . GEN. J. A.LO^T.^N . 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 305 
 
 Anathema upon the head of the wretch who dares 
 put cunning falsehoods in the mouths of our 
 country's enemies, that they may cast them in the 
 teeth of the poor soldier, M'ho has given up all — 
 home, comfort, friends — that he may fight in that 
 country's behalf ! " 
 
 Thej' robbed him of everything — overcoat, 
 blankets, and even a lead pencil which he carried 
 in his pocket. 
 
 Their living was rather scant. Each man drew, 
 for a day's rations, half a pound of rusty bacon 
 and a little corn meal. They did not depend 
 altogether upon this supply, however, but regaled 
 themselves with chickens, &c., stolen from the 
 country people. 
 
 After he had been with them for four days, a 
 corporal and a few men were detached from the 
 principal party, in order to take Edwards and 
 four conscripts, who had been found concealed in 
 the woods, to McMinniville. 
 
 This squad stopped the first night at the house 
 of a widow Beckwith, and partook of a comfort- 
 able supper at her expense. The night M'as rainy 
 and dark, and Edwards determined, if possible, 
 to effect his escape. Making a pretence of going 
 into the back yard of the house, he was accom- 
 panied by the Corporal, gun in hand. After look- 
 ing round a moment, Edwards stepped upon the 
 porch, as if to go back, into the house ; and, 
 while the eye of the reassured Corporal Avas taken 
 off him, he made a leap from the porch into the 
 darkness, and ran with all speed towards the bot- 
 tom of the yard. The astonished Corporal hastily 
 fired his gun, but the ball probably went far wide 
 of the mark, as Edwards did not hear it. Indeed, 
 such was his haste that he scarcely heard the 
 report. 
 
 He could see nothing, so dense- was the dark- 
 ness ; but as he ran he unluckily struck the j^ard 
 fence in such a way that he tumbled sheer over it, 
 and heels over head into a thick patch of briers 
 on the other side. Gathering himself up, and 
 getting out of the briers as best he could, — his 
 head, face, and hands terribly scratched and torn, 
 — he ran hastily on until he became certain that he 
 was not pursued. Then he stopped to rest a while. 
 After this he wandered about for nearly a week, 
 travelling mostly by night, and concealing himself 
 by day, several times passing in and out the rebel 
 picket lines, sometimes within a few }-ardsof them ; 
 he once wholly lost his way, and was put upon the 
 track by a member of a poor Union family, and 
 subsisted almost all this time upon an ear or two 
 of raw corn. At last he came in sight of Union 
 soldiers at the burnt bridge on Stone River, seven 
 miles north of Murfreesboro', where he once more 
 gained his freedom under the old flag. 
 
 Comedy op Battle. — A correspondent tells 
 this incident of the fight at Murfreesboro': 
 
 " A cluster of mangled fellows were huddled 
 about a field hospital waiting surgical attention. 
 A big, brawny trooper, with a bullet in his left leg 
 and another in his right arm, hobbled up, holding 
 his wounded arm in his left hand. ' Doctor,' said 
 20 
 
 he, with much less piety than pain, ' the d — d 
 rebs came pretty near hitting me.' Another fel- 
 low, blowing blood copiously from his nose, — the 
 point of which had been shot off, — as a whale 
 spouts sea-water, interposed, ' The d — d rascals' 
 — sputter — * come d — d near ' — another blow 
 and sputter — * missin^ me.' " 
 
 How General Hooker talked to a Caval- 
 ry Brigadier. — Said he to a Brigadier of cav- 
 alry, " I know the South, and I know the North. 
 In ])oint of skill, of intelligence, and of pluck, the 
 rebels will not compare with our men, if they are 
 equally well led. Our soldiers are a better qual- 
 ity of men. They are better fed, better clothed, 
 better armed, and infinitely better mounted ; for 
 the rebels are fully half mounted on mules, and 
 their animals get but two rations of forage per 
 week, Avhile ours get seven. Now, with such sol- 
 diers, and such a cause as we have behind them — 
 the best cause since the Avorld began — v:e ought 
 to be invincible, and by — , sir, we shall be ! You 
 have got to stop these disgraceful cavalry ' sur- 
 prises.' I'll have no more of them. I give you full 
 power over your officers, to arrest, cashier, shoot — 
 whatever you will — only you must stop these 
 ' surprises.' And, by — , sir, if you don't do jt, I 
 give you fair notice, I will relieve the whole of you, 
 and take the command of the cavalry myself ! " 
 
 The Surrender of Vicksburg. — A corre- 
 spondent gives the following interesting particu- 
 lars of the surrender of the city : 
 
 " As melancholy a sight as ever man witnessed, 
 for brave men conquered and humbled, no matter 
 how vile the cause for which they fight, present 
 always a sorrowful spectacle ; and these foes of 
 ours, traitors and enemies of liberty and civiliza- 
 tion though they be, are brave, as many a hard- 
 fought field can well attest. They marched out 
 of their intrenchments by regiments upon the 
 grassy declivity immediately outside their fort ; 
 they stacked their arms, hung their colors upon 
 the centre, laid off their knapsacks, belts, car- 
 tridge-boxes, and cap-pouches, and thus shorn of 
 the accoutrements of the soldier, returned inside 
 their works, and thence down the Jackson road 
 into the city. The men went through the cere- 
 mony with that downcast look so touching on a 
 soldier's face ; not a word was spoken ; there was 
 none of that gay badinage we are so much ac- 
 customed to hear from the ranks of regiments 
 marching through our streets ; the few words of 
 command necessary were given by their own offi- 
 cers in that low tone of voice we hear used at 
 funerals. Generals McPherson, Logan, and For- 
 ney, attended by their respective staffs, stood on 
 the rebel breastworks overlooking the scene never 
 before witnessed on this continent. The rebel 
 troops, as to clothing, presented that varied ap- 
 pearance so familiar in the North from seeing 
 prisoners, and were from Texas, Alabama, Mis- 
 sissij^pi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Missouri ; the 
 arms were mostly muskets and rifles of superior 
 
306 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 II 
 
 excellence, and I saw but very few shot-guns, or 
 indiscriminate weapons of any kind ; it was plain 
 that Pemberton had a splendidly-appointed army. 
 Their flags were of a kind new to me, all I saw 
 being cut in about the same dimensions as our 
 regimental colors, all of the single color red, with 
 a white cross in the centre. 
 
 " The ceremony of stacking arms occupied a 
 little over an hour upon that part of the lines ; 
 and when it was concluded, the glittering caval- 
 cade of officers, Federal and rebel, mounted and 
 swept cityward on the full gallop, through such 
 clouds of dust as I hope never to ride through 
 again. A few minutes, fortunately, brought us to 
 a halt at a house on the extreme outskirts of the 
 city, built of stone, in the Southern fashion, Avith 
 low roof and wide verandas, and almost hidden 
 from view in an exuberance of tropical trees, and 
 known as Forney's headquarters. 
 
 "And here were gathered all the notables of both 
 armies. In a damask-cushioned armed rocking- 
 chair sat Lieutenant-General Pemberton, the most 
 discontented-looking man I ever saw. Presently 
 there appeared in the midst of the throng a man 
 small in stature, heavily set, stoop-shouldered, a 
 broad face, covered Avith a short, sandy beard, 
 habited in a plain suit of blue flannel, with the 
 two stars upon his shoulder, denoting a Major- 
 Gerteral in the United States army. He ap- 
 proached Pemberton and entered into conversa- 
 tion with him ; there was no vacant chair near, 
 but neither Pemberton nor any of his Generals 
 ofi"ered him a seat; and thus for five minutes the 
 conqueror stood talking to the vanquished seated, 
 when Grant turned away into the house, and left 
 Pemberton alone with his pride or his grief — it 
 was hard to tell which. Grant has the most im- 
 passive of faces, and seldom, if ever, are his feel- 
 ings photographed upon his countenance ; but 
 there Avas then, as he contemplated the result of 
 his labors, the faintest possible trace of inward 
 satisfaction peering out of his cold gray eyes. 
 All this occupied less time than this recital of it ; 
 and meantime officers of both armies were com- 
 mingled, conversing as sociably as if they had not 
 been aiming at each other's lives a few hours be- 
 fore. Generals McPherson and Logan now turned 
 back towards our camps to bring in the latter's 
 division ; and a party, specially detailed, galloped 
 cityward, about a mile distant, for the purpose of 
 hoisting the flag over the court-house. 
 
 " Lieutenant-Colonel William E. Strong, as- 
 sisted by Sergeant B. F. Dugan, fourth company 
 Ohio independent cavalry, and followed by a nu- 
 merous throng of officers, soldiers, and civilians, 
 ascended to the cupola of the court-house ; and 
 at half past eleven o'clock on the Fourth of July, 
 1863, flung out our banner of beauty and glory 
 to the breeze." 
 
 A Gallant Michigan Captain. — During the 
 retreat of the Confederates, after a cavalry skir- 
 mish near Corinth, Captain Botham, of the Third 
 Michigan cavalry, who was finely mounted, pur- 
 sued them ; and with the cry, *' Come on, boys ! " 
 gave his horse rein and spur, and quickly disap- 
 
 peared in the wood, through which their course 
 lay. He was followed by two or three of the cav- 
 alry. Captain Sailor taking the same direction with 
 his company. But Captain Botham, without hat, 
 his face glowing with excitement, his sabre flash- 
 ing aloft, outstripped all save the three men in 
 question, and went flying after the frightened foe, 
 now fairly on the Corinth road. The chivalry ran 
 Avell, but the mudsills gained upon them every 
 instant. The party numbered about fifty strong ; 
 and in the mad race they threw away their blan- 
 kets, haversacks, and, in some instances, their re- 
 volvers, carbines, and sabres. Like all reconnoi- 
 tring parties, they were all armed to the teeth. 
 At the end of the first mile the Captain left both 
 of his companions behind ; and about the time 
 the half of the second mile was accomplished he 
 came up with the rear of the flying column, yell- 
 ing at the top of his voice. By a single blow with 
 his sabre he killed the first man he reached, the 
 good blade cleaving his skull ; but just at this 
 time observing a road that led into a field on the 
 right, in order to avoid a stretch of the highway 
 that was very bad, he dashed into it, and by the 
 manoeuvre headed off" about thirty of the rebels, 
 crying out to them to surrender, or he would cut 
 them all down, at the same time swinging his 
 sabre madly around his head. They drew rein at 
 once, and there he stood alone with them, and in 
 a loud voice bade them throw down their arms 
 and surrender. Meantime, one half of them, Avhen 
 they found themselves headed off", turned down a 
 road to the left. But their captor put a stop to 
 this by swearing that if another man left he would 
 shoot him dead in his saddle. The two cavalry- 
 men who started with Captain Botham now came 
 up and disarmed the prisoners. Upon counting 
 them, the Captain found that he had bagged thir- 
 teen live secesh, single-handed and alone ! Has 
 the feat been beaten during the war ? Thirteen 
 of their cavalry taken by a single mutlsill ! Upon 
 each of the prisoners was cither a loaded pistol, a 
 loaded carbine, or a sabre- They were never more 
 completely panic-stricken. They were all safely 
 brought to camp. Eight or ten others Mere also 
 taken, and four or five killed and wounded. None 
 of the Union men received a scratch, although 
 several of their horses were wounded. 
 
 Mrs. John Haiit. — A soldier, belonging to 
 the One Hundred and Forty-ninth New York 
 regiment, in February, 1863, wrote as follows: 
 " We have a woman in our regiment, who has 
 marched with us through all our tedious and tire- 
 some journeys, and shared all our tribulations 
 without a murmur. Her name is ]\Irs. John 
 Hart, of Syracuse. She is a stout Irish woman, 
 with a good constitution, capable of enduring as 
 much fatigue and labor as any man in the regi- 
 ment, and withal, she is a kind-hearted, virtuous, 
 and estimable lady, who performs many kind of- 
 fices for the men, and is universally esteemed in the 
 regiment. Her husband is a member of company 
 E, and is a good soldier and an intelligent man. 
 She came with the regiment to share his fortunes, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 307 
 
 and in all our troubles and exposures not a 
 whimper of complaint has ever been heard from 
 her lips. 
 
 " For some considerable time she was employed 
 while in camp in mending and washing for the 
 men ; but since the arrival of Colonel Barnum, 
 an oificers' mess has been formed, with Mrs. 
 Hart for cook and hostess; and well does she 
 perform the duties of our camp household. Out 
 of the simplest materials she sets a meal upon 
 our table fit for a prince, and our sharpened ap- 
 petites are abundantly satisfied. Her services in 
 this department are invaluable, and it is difficult 
 for us to understand how we could possibly dis- 
 pense with them. In addition to her other du- 
 ties, she is now acting as nurse for Colonel Bar- 
 num in his illness, and we all hope her motherly 
 care will soon restore hira to health and strength 
 
 Anecdote of Stonewall Jackson. — The 
 night after the battle of Fredericksburg a coun- 
 cil of war was held by General Lee, to Avhich all 
 his Generals of divisions were invited. General 
 Jackson ^ept throughout the proceedings, and 
 upon being waked, and asked for his opinion, 
 curtly said : " Drive 'em in the river ; drive 'em 
 in the river ! " 
 
 Civilities of "War. — A letter from the army 
 of the Potomac, dated February 12, 1863, con- 
 tains the following : 
 
 " The rebels recently rigged up a plank, with a 
 sail and rudder attached, and on top placed a 
 drawer, evidently taken from an old secretary, in 
 which they put two Richmond papers, and on top 
 a half plug of tobacco, with a written request for 
 a New York Herald, and stating that ' they would 
 come over and have a little chat,' if we would 
 pledge faith. But this kind of intercourse is 
 strictly forbidden on our part. The next day, after 
 the Ninth army corps had left, the rebels hailed 
 our pickets, and asked ' where the Ninth army 
 corps had gone.' " 
 
 " I returned this morning from a visit to our 
 pickets. Company I, One Hundred and Thirty- 
 ninth Pennsylvania volunteers, has a very good 
 location for standing post, but the ' Johnny Rebs ' 
 are perfectly docile. Night before last Harry Born, 
 one of our boys, was busily engaged in singing a 
 song entitled ' Fairy Bell,' and when the time 
 came for the chorus, the four rebs on the post 
 opposite struck up, drowning Harry's voice almost 
 entirely." 
 
 Incidents of Helena. — " Yesterday, in com- 
 pany with Captain Sherman, of the Second AN^is- 
 consin cavalry," says a writer in the Milwaukee 
 News, " we rode by the negro grave^'ard in the 
 rear of General Washburn's headquarters. Four 
 darkies had just deposited on the ground a stout 
 negro, dead as a door nail. His woolly head and 
 dirty feet protruded from under the worn-out 
 horse blanket, which served as a winding-sheet. 
 One of the living was slowly digging a trench, 
 the others stood watching. 
 
 " ' Halloo, boys, what's the matter with him ? ' 
 
 " ' He's dun gone dead, massa ! ' and they 
 chuckled to think we could not guess why he was 
 there. 
 
 " ' What's the matter of him ? ' 
 
 " ' Too much hard times, massa ! De niggers 
 can't Stan' everyting.' 
 
 " ' Niggers die pretty easy here — don't they?' 
 
 " ' Yes, massa, dey get shut of theyselves right 
 smart now — dem's hard times for niggers ! ' 
 
 " And so thought we, as they were left behind 
 to conduct their funeral to a termination. In 
 half an hour some thousand-dollar chap will be 
 left to rot, and add richness to the soil, which 
 will hereafter grow larger peaches than ever be- 
 fore. 
 
 " In the house of Dr. Grant, where I board, its 
 an intelligent African girl, about twenty-four 
 years old, owned by the doctor. The other 
 morning, while she was sweeping up the hearth, 
 said I : 
 
 " ' Millie, are you a slave ? ' 
 
 " ' Course I is — why ? ' 
 
 " ' Why don't you run away, and be free ? ' 
 
 " ' Umph — umph! Dis chile is too smart for 
 dat. Dere is no fun in sleepin' in de mud, starv- 
 in' to death, and gittin' no medicine when you 
 are sick.' 
 
 " ' There are lots and lots of niggers in town 
 who have run away — ain't there, Millie ? ' 
 
 " * Umph — umph — right smart lot of 'em.' 
 
 " ' Well, Millie, ain't they better off than be- 
 fore they run away ? ' 
 
 " ' Now, wat's de use of foolin' ? You know 
 better. Would you be better off without clothes, 
 and a bed, and a house to sleep in, and some- 
 body to look out for you, than if you had 'em 
 aU ? De time was here when us niggers had our 
 parties, and heaps of fun — and we had good 
 clo'es, and was jis as good as anybody. Be- 
 fore dis war begun, a wagon-load of niggers 
 didn't dun gone dead every day as dem does 
 now. Dis chile knows somefin' yet, and dat is, 
 to stick to missus.' 
 
 " ' Well, Millie, cannot the niggers take care 
 of themselves ? ' 
 
 " ' Lord help you, no ! About one in a hun- 
 dred is smart enough to live, and de odders 
 would dun gone dead right smart. Wat-wat- 
 wat-wat de niggers know about buyin' stuff, and 
 takin' care of demselves — dey never done 'em ! 
 De massa always buys for de niggers jes like as 
 if dey was his own family, and wen dem is sick, 
 he has 'em doctored up. Umph — umph! de 
 white Yankee folks skin de last chicken out of de 
 nigger 'fore it were hatched, if de nigger took 
 care of demselves ! Deed dey would ! ' 
 
 " ' Well, Millie, you are a very sensible girl ; 
 stick to your home, and you will be better off.' 
 
 " ' Deed I will. We've all dun gone got sick of 
 Yankees long ago. Nebber had such thieves in 
 town afore. Dey beat de niggers stealin', and 
 some of de niggers steal right smart too, I 
 reckon.' 
 
 " ' What do they steal, Millie ? ' 
 
 " ' Golly, dey steal all dey see, if two men don't 
 
308 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 jes watch it all de time. We nebber had white 
 folks in jail here till de army come, and now dey 
 is ill dar all de time.' 
 
 " ' Don't you look on the white folks who come 
 with the army as your friends ? ' 
 . " ' Umph — umph ! Not now ; dey is too wick- 
 ed. Wat-wat-wat-wat dey care for niggers, when 
 dey lets dem die here, and won't give dem noth- 
 in'. Niggers don't know much, but dey learn 
 who am dar friends right smart ! ' 
 
 " And there is a world of truth in her ideas." 
 
 CAPTURE OF ARKANSAS POST. 
 
 ACCOUNT I!Y A IIOOSIEK WHO WAS THERE. 
 
 In storming and taking Arkansas Post the 
 Sixteenth Indiana regiment has realized the ex- 
 ulting sense of being conquerors. Once defeatecV 
 almost annihilated, in Kentucky, a few days before 
 compelled to retreat before the rebel stronghold 
 of Mississipi)i, it knows now M'hat it is, after a 
 desi)erate fight, to charge upon fortifications, in 
 a blinding tornado of shells, grape, canister, and 
 musket balls, to be the first regiment inside of 
 the hilrenchments, and among the smoking ruins, 
 dismantled casemates, and exploded cannon, to 
 plant the glorious old flag on the stronghold of 
 the traitor's fort. 
 
 On Friday, the 9th of January, 18G3, the Mis- 
 sissippi squadron, returning from Vicksburg, 
 sailed up White River, through the cut-off, and 
 forty miles up the Arkansas. Late at night, 
 when the soldiers M'ere sleeping in the steamer's 
 elegantly furnished cabin, the General opened his 
 maps and gave us some idea of the morrow's 
 work. 
 
 On Saturday morning the troops were disem- 
 barked, cannon dragged up the bank, M-agons 
 loaded with provisions, and an occasional feehng 
 shot was fired from tlie gunboats. Messengers 
 were galloping, and Generals with their stafis 
 superintending the movements. There was a 
 putting revolvers in order, donning fatigue suits, 
 leaving hastily written letters behind. 
 
 At twelve o'clock the Sixteenth started. The 
 long voyage, the terrible sixty miles' march in 
 Louisiana in thirty-six hours, when we destroyed 
 their Western Railroad, and the five days in the 
 Chickasaw swamps before the enemy's works at 
 Vicksburg, had sadly thinned their ranks. Many, 
 almost exhausted with fever, dragged themselves 
 into the ranks, determined to go with their regi- 
 ment. Forward rode our General to where at 
 such an hour a leader should be — the front. No 
 doubt his heart thrilled with pride as he glanced 
 along the regiments of his brigade. Young, tall, 
 and handsome, his chivalric bearing and courte- 
 ous manners have won the love of all who know 
 him. A General at thirty, made so for gallant 
 conduct at Shiloh, his after conduct proved that 
 we were not mistaken in deeming him the beau- 
 ideal of a hero. The brigade marched up along 
 the river bank, and rested in an open field for a 
 short time. Steele's division, mud to their knees, 
 after having vainly tried to pass through the 
 
 swamps and bayous, returned and took a new 
 course. 
 
 It is now sunset, and we move forward past the 
 outer rifle pits, from which the rebels had been 
 driven this afternoon, on through the dense 
 woods. Mud was everywhere ; we no longer 
 stopped to avoid deep places, but plunged right 
 through. It is now dark, and the gunboats have 
 opened on the fort, from which the one hundred 
 and twenty-eight pounders are shaking the ground 
 in thundering replies. It is not like looking upon 
 a mountain's quiet grandeur, but rather, only ten- 
 fold more intense, like the lightning crashhig at 
 your feet, rending the oak in splinters. There is 
 a blaze of light from the gunboats. As sight is 
 quicker than sound, a moment's pause before the 
 awful roar and scream of the monstrous missile 
 flying through the air followed by a dull explosion. 
 Seldom can you thus trace the journey of a single 
 shot in the roar of a dozen guns. Now they are 
 shelling the woods. One passes to the right, an- 
 other strikes to the left of our regiment, killing 
 one and wounding four or five in company B. 
 Darkness, with its half-seen horrors, the cannon's 
 awful roar, the screams of shell and crash of 
 falling timber, the blood and -smoke and groans 
 of wounded men, make life seem so intense. In 
 such an hour, into what notiiingness sink com- 
 mon every-day affairs before such awful realities ! 
 The puffing gunboats drop slowly down the river, 
 the fort fires two shells, and all is quiet. 
 
 Silently commands are given and obeyed : the 
 men lie down where they had stood, in line of battle, 
 on bush and in the mud. No fire is allowed. 
 With their sixty rounds of ammunition they have 
 brought but one blanket, which they wrap around 
 them as a feeble ])rotection against the winter 
 cold. From out a broken slumber I am roused 
 by a gun's report. A Corporal, in his sleep, has 
 kicked the hammer of his gun, and his wile and 
 Httle ones will sadly hear of a right hand shot oil'. 
 
 I could stand the cold no longer. In our rear 
 were some huts, upon reaching which, I found 
 men from difi'erent regiments gathered around 
 sickly-looking fires, making cofl'ee. An Eighth 
 ]\Iissouri regiment man was telling how they 
 hustled the rebels through the woods that after- 
 noon ; about sixty of the scam])s had been cap- 
 tured, while a wounded one lay dying in the 
 corner. Slowly the night dragged along, till we 
 almost thought the morrow never would come. 
 
 Steele's division was passing silently, sa\>3 with 
 the hum which always marks the movements of 
 large bodies of men, and the rumbling artillery 
 wagons cutting through ruts. Brigade after bri- 
 gade moves on to join the right. 
 
 With morning comes General Burbridgc, tell- 
 ing us that Sherman would commence the attack 
 on the right, while he intends that his brigade 
 shall be the first to mount the , breastworks on 
 the left. 
 
 We are now within five hundred yards of the 
 fort; we can see the buildings within its walls. 
 The skirmishers who have been thrgwn to the 
 front have stirred up the hornets, who favor uh 
 with a lew shells. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 309 
 
 Some of those able-bodied young men — those 
 contemptible cowards — who are lounging in 
 school-rooms, and smirking behind counters, may 
 think it a very light matter to storm the enemy's 
 intrenchments ; but plain soldiers, who have stood 
 on battle-fields before, and seen the flow of blood 
 as it gushed from fountains in human hearts, 
 deem it no disparagement to then- manhood to 
 think it a serious matter to meet the crashing 
 rounds of grape and canister, and musket balls, 
 as they lead the advance of a storming party. 
 
 The Colonel calls us up around him, and reads 
 the order. Our army, with batteries placed in 
 every available position, and the gunboats on the 
 river, have completely encircled the fort. After 
 the batteries have opened, Sherman is to commence 
 the attack on the right, which is the signal for us 
 to advance. The Sixteenth is to lead the ad- 
 vance, Avith the Sixtieth Indiana and the Eighty- 
 third Ohio on our right and left. The gunboats 
 are moving to the attack, though not a gun has 
 yet been fired from our side. 
 
 The stillness grows irksome. All know full 
 well the awful storm is coming. At length a 
 huge roar from one of the gunboats, followed by 
 a shot from one of the thirty-two pounders on 
 the left, announces that the ball is opened. A 
 shot from the battery on the right tells that Sher- 
 man has commenced. Fiercely the rebel guns 
 answer back. Thicker and faster come the shells 
 and solid shot, crossing in the air in curves from 
 the circle of batteries around the devoted works. 
 Not often could you trace the course of a single 
 shot amid that incessant roar. Old soldiers say it 
 was a cannonading only equalled by Donelson. 
 
 The rebel regiments had retired from our front 
 within the protection of their works. The boys 
 took off overcoats, blankets, haversacks, canteens, 
 drew their coats down, and buckled their belts 
 tightly around their waists. In charge of sick 
 men were left letters, photographs, and articles 
 of value. Officers unbuckled their swords and 
 took guns. The McClellan exercise avc had 
 learned on the Potomnc might be. useful here. 
 Cheering far to the right is heard. It is the sig- 
 nal. Every man was at his post, and blood was 
 throbbing high, as heard and obeyed were the 
 commands, " Attention, battalion — by the right 
 of companies to the front — Forward ! " On 
 coming into the field, " By company into line — 
 guide centre." Lieutenant-Colonel Orr shouted, 
 •' Now, men, fellow me." AVe looked from our 
 own glorious banner to the traitorous red, Avhite, 
 and red, that floated full in view from the gar- 
 rison staff. The mud was over ankle deep, but 
 with Hoosier yells, onward right gallantly they 
 went, like men whose blood was up, though met 
 by a plunging storm of grape, canister, shells, and 
 musket balls. The regiments on either side gave 
 back, or, in the language of the General's report, 
 " My right and left wavered, while my.centre stood 
 firm, though met by a perfect tornado of the en- 
 emy's missiles." We passed the house where 
 two guns were posted, over the fence, into a little 
 peach orchard. An exploding shell sent rails and 
 men flying. 
 
 We are now within a hundred yards of their 
 strongest work, and the order is given to lie 
 down and fire. Many, killed or badly wounded, 
 never discharged their guns the first time. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Orr is severely wounded in 
 the head by a piece of one of the shells that go 
 flying over us, while the fjrape and singing bul- 
 lets made music around our ears not soon 
 forgotten. The huge pivot gun is throwing 
 canister, at least half a bushel at each discharge. 
 One load killed and wounded men in three com- 
 panies. But our men were not idle, and soon 
 their showers of balls silenced the cannon that 
 bore on us. A rebel captain of artillery told us 
 he could not get his men to go near the guns. 
 Still the ceaseless fix-e from our gunboats was 
 vying with the land batteries in raining the iron 
 storm upon the devoted works. 
 
 Here let me relate a little incident of personal 
 experience, to show how the thing works. While 
 Ij'ing on my side loading a gun, whack ! went 
 something ; and I felt lilic the darky who, 
 when shaking a coon off a tree, felt something 
 drop that was not exactly a coon. A bullet had 
 grazed the skin below my shoulder. It stunned 
 me like hitting a man over the head with a club. 
 Almost at the same instant, a piece of shell, 
 hunting for its affinity, as A. Ward, Esq., would 
 say, gently rolled against my leg. 
 
 I retired in good order to the rear, and meet- 
 ing a negro with coffee, I was reenforced and 
 enabled to return. Upon rejoining the company 
 I was very jiroud to find each man at his place, 
 the Lieutenant interlarding an oath after each 
 discharge of his gun, and the Orderly, a dark, 
 stern, resolute man, giving the boys worthy 
 models for imitation. 
 
 The sun had sunk low in the west. The gun- 
 boats were still steadily puffing uj) towards the 
 fort. Many who had fired away then- sixty 
 rounds of ammunition would coolly roll over the 
 dead and wounded to get their cartridges. A 
 Quaker lad came to me saying, very deliberately, 
 " Captain, I am out of ammunition." 
 
 The gunboats sent solid shot through the four 
 feet thickness of oak, and scattered in splinters 
 the railroad iron with which the top was plated. 
 Some shells, which made centre shots, had torn 
 off the muzzles of their monstrous guns as they 
 exploded. 
 
 Many of their guns were dismounted while the 
 circle of our batteries was drawing closer in. 
 
 Among the most unpleasant things were the 
 groans of the wounded. A Corporal in company 
 D lay groaning with the brain oozing out of his 
 head, as though death would never come to his 
 relief. The stifling smell of powder, the cannon's 
 awful roar, the explosion of shells, illuminating 
 the smoke that hung in clouds, made it seem as 
 if we beheld the opening of hell's fiery caverns. 
 
 At last a white flag is seen at the upper end of 
 the breastworks; we rise up and commence 
 cheering, but they pour in a murderous volley 
 from the lower pits, and we drop down. Soon 
 more white flags are seen on bayonets, and a 
 man passes along the lower works waving the 
 
310 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 emblem of defeat, O, how the exulting shout 
 of victory at that maddening hour of triumph 
 rolled along the lines of the Union army. AH 
 start on a foot race for the fort. 
 
 General Burbridge, with a flag around his 
 waist, was followed by Colonel Lucas, who, when 
 Colonel Orr's riderless horse had come through 
 the woods, had left his sick bed and rode out in 
 time to be " in at the death." 
 
 The sullen rebels seemed a little startled as 
 half a score of regiments came rushing pell-mell 
 into their ruined works. After a four hours' 
 light the day was ours. 
 
 General Churchill, who had fought us at Rich- 
 mond, gave his sword to Burbridge. Seven 
 thousand one hundred and some odd prisoners, 
 mostly Texans, besides a vast amount of com- 
 pany stores and arms, were captured. Wagons 
 that once belonged to our regiment, and guns 
 with our boys' names on them, are found here in 
 Arkansas, that had been lost on the far-off Ken- 
 tucky battle-field. It is worth going through a 
 battle to celebrate its victory. Some of their 
 dead, with arms cut off, heads and brains scat- 
 tered, lay in the trenches. At one place a man's 
 shoes were standing with his feet in them, while 
 the body lay a rod away. I saw a pile of flesh 
 and bones, which had lost all semblance of a 
 human being. All distinctions of rank were 
 forgotten ; general and private shook hands ; 
 friends, rejoicing to find each other safe, em- 
 braced ; and from the whole body of troops rang 
 shouts of joy. 
 
 The regiment returned to the point from which 
 the assault was made, and made coffee around 
 blazing fires. Now came the saddest part — the 
 after the battle. The red sun Avas sinking in the 
 west, " like a banner bathed in slaughter." Am- 
 bulances were running to the hospitals, and men 
 were gathering the dead and wounded. Heart- 
 rending were the groans and labored breathing 
 of many of the latter. Horses lay with white 
 foam and blood oozing from their nostrils. 
 Gazing upon such a scene, Ave feel the truth of 
 those beautiful lines : 
 "There is something of pride in the periloiis hour, 
 
 Whate'er be the shape in which Death may 
 loAver ; 
 
 Fame is there to say Avho bleeds, 
 
 And Honor's eye is on daring deeds; 
 
 But Avhen all is past, it is htunbling to tread 
 
 O'er the weltermg field of the tombless dead." 
 
 Leaving to oflficial reports to bestoAV praise 
 upon those Avho hold command, let me mention 
 one from among the humblest, as a name to be 
 remembered — the flag-bearer of the 16th, Dick S. 
 Tenant, a beardless student, fresh from college. 
 He Avas a faithful guardian to his trust amid that 
 blinding hail, and Avas among the first to mount 
 and plant the banner of our fathers upon the con- 
 quered ramparts. 
 
 A Snowball Battle. — A soldier of one of 
 the New Jersey regiments Avrites as follows : 
 
 "You are probably aAvare that the Second 
 brigade of this division consists of four Vermont 
 
 regiments, besides the Twenty-sixth. During the 
 late heavy fall of snoAv, the Vermonters twice 
 made an attack on the encampment of the Twen- 
 ty-sixth, sending a perfect shower of snow balls 
 at the head of every luckless Jerseyman who 
 made his appearance Avithout his tent." The first 
 attack Avas a complete surprise to us ; but we es- 
 sayed a sally from the camp, and drove the attack- 
 ing party back to their reserves. Being heavily 
 reenforced, they charged on us again, and after a 
 desperate resistance Ave Avere driven back into 
 camp, fighting resolutely from the shelter of oui 
 tents until darkness put an end to the contest. 
 Our casualties Avere quite heavy, but those of the 
 enemy, it is thought, exceeded ours. A few days 
 after Avards the attack Avas rencAved, but Ave took 
 up a strong position on a hill in the rear of the 
 camp, and repulsed every assault of the foe. The 
 snoAv Avas crimsoned Avith the blood issuing from 
 the olfactory organs of the Vermonters, and the 
 appearance of the battle-field indicated the fierce 
 nature of the contest. The enemy raised a flag 
 of truce, an armistice of a feAv hours Avas con- 
 cluded, and then ensued that novel spectacle of 
 Avar — men, Avho but afeAV minutes previous Avere 
 engaged in one of the most sanguinary battles 
 of modern times, harmonizing and fraternizing 
 Avith clasped hands. 
 
 " But the matter did not rest here. The night 
 of the 24th had enveloped terra firma Avith its 
 dusky shades. Many a Avaxen nose in the camps 
 of the Second brigade snored sonorously, happily 
 unconscious of its ruby discoloration on the mor- 
 roAV. Many an eye placidly closed in slumber 
 Avas to be violently closed in battle ere the ap- 
 proach of another nightfall. And many a phren- 
 ological bump sjiarsely developed on the night in 
 question Avas to be suddenly brought to an age 
 of puberty on the approaching day. The event- 
 ful morning opened. Colonel Morrison sent a 
 challenge to Colonel Seaver of the Third Vermont 
 to engage in the open field at three o'clock P. M. 
 The challenge was accepted, on the condition that 
 the Fourth Vermont should be included Avith the 
 Third. This was agreed to by the ColoneL Be- 
 fore the appointed time some of our men Avere 
 detailed on fatigue duty, and at the time of the 
 engagement Ave Avere only able to muster some 
 three hundred men. 
 
 " Nothing daunted by the superiority of num- 
 bers, Colonel Morrison ordered Lieutenant Mc- 
 Cleese, of company C (Captain Pemberton being 
 sick), to fortify a small hill on our right, make as 
 much ammunition as possible, and pile the suoaa'- 
 balls in pyramids. This arduous duty was hastily 
 performed. It was a strong position, a SAVollen 
 brook at its base ansAvering the purpose of a 
 moat — too strong, in fiict, for the Vermonters, 
 and they declined to attack us while occupying 
 this miniature Chepultepec. Commissioners Avere 
 appointed, and after a parley, the Twenty-sixth 
 was marched across the brook, and formed in 
 line of battle on the field fronting the Vermonters. 
 The hills Avere covered Avith sjKJctators, and the 
 eag-erness to Avitness the novel contest kneAV no 
 bounds. Companies A and B were thi'OAvn out 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 311 
 
 as skirmishers. Compaii)' E occupied the ri<^ht, 
 C was given the centre, and H rested on the left. 
 The Colonel dashed over the field in all direc- 
 tions, encouraging the men to stand fast, amid 
 the blue wreaths curling from a ' brier wood ' 
 nonchalantly held in liis left hand, and the Adju- 
 tant danced about on a spirited charger, appai*- 
 ently impatiently awaiting the hour of contest, 
 the light of battle dilating within his eyes, and a 
 quid of ' navy plug ' reposing beneath his cheek. 
 Lieutenant Woods, of the ambulance corps, 
 
 and Lieutenant acted as mounted aids to 
 
 the Colonel, while the ' Sergeant' and John K. 
 Shaw, an aspiring Newark youth of eighteen, 
 acted as perambulating aids. The line being 
 formed and everything in readiness for the con- 
 test, a red flag was raised as a signal, and in a 
 breath of time a strong body of the enemy drove 
 in our skirmishers, and fiercely attacked our 
 centre. At the same moment another strong 
 force advanced against our right, but only as a 
 feint ; for they suddenly wheeled to the right, 
 and joined their comrades in a furious charge on 
 our centre. Major Morris ordered up company 
 E from our right, but too late to be of any ad- 
 vantage, and they were completely cut oft' from 
 the main body of our army. Although flanked 
 and pressed in front by overwhelming numbers, 
 our centre heroically contested the advance of the 
 enemy. Animated by the presence of the Colonel, 
 they fought like veterans, and the M'hite snow- 
 balls eddied through the air like popping corn 
 from a frying pan. But the enemy were madly 
 surging upon us in superior force, and it was 
 hardly within the power of human endurance to 
 stand such a perfect feu d^evfer any longer. 
 Gradually the centre fell back inch by inch, the 
 line then wavered to and fro, and finally the men 
 broke in confusion and rolled down the hill fol- 
 lowed by the victorious Vermonters. In vain the 
 Colonel breasted the torrent ; in vain the Major 
 urged the men to stand fast ; in vain did Adju- 
 tant "White, the chivalric De Bayard of the Twenty- 
 sixth, implore the gods for aid. 
 
 " The boys never rallied. Lieutenant Woods 
 made an attempt to rally them and form them in 
 hollow square on the fortified hill to the right, 
 but he was mistaken by the boys for a Vermonter, 
 and unceremoniously pelted from their midst. 
 But the Colonel was not totally deserted by his 
 men. The Vermonters seized his horse by the 
 bridle, and made a desperate attempt to take him 
 prisoner. The fight at this point Avas terrific be- 
 yond description. The men fought hand to hand. 
 Colonel Scaver, the Achilles of the day, dashed 
 through the combatants, seized Colonel Morrison 
 by the shoulder, and called upon him to surren- 
 der. But his demand was choked by the inces- 
 sant patter of snow-balls on his ' physog.' Around 
 the rival chieftains the men struggled fearfully ; 
 there was the auburn-haired Hodge, alias ' Wild 
 Dutchman,' fighting manfully. There was the 
 fierce Teuton Captain of company E, dropping 
 the foe right and left at every swing of his arms ; 
 but all in vain. Amid the wild excitement con- 
 sequent upon the shouting, the rearing, and 
 
 plunging of horses, the Colonel was drawn from 
 his saddle and taken by the enemy. Most of his 
 ' stafl'' followed him as pi-isoners. A desperate 
 attempt was made to rescue him, but it proved 
 of no avail. Major Morris fared no better. Ad- 
 jutant White, however, made a bold attempt to 
 retrieve the fortunes of the day. Dashing into 
 the dense ranks of the foe, he seized the bridle 
 of Colonel Stoughton's Bucephalus, and gallantly 
 attempted the impossibility of capturing the 
 Colonel, who was the acting Brigadier of the at- 
 tacking party. But the Adjutant had ' caught a 
 Tartar,' for the Vermonters rushed around him 
 like the waves beating upon some lone rock in 
 the ocean, and vainly clamored for his surrender. 
 He fought like an Ajax mounted on a ' Black 
 Bass,' retaining his position in the saddle by 
 resting his knee against the pommel. This was 
 at last observed by a shrewd Yankee, who dex- 
 terously slipped between the two horses, detached 
 the supporting knee, and the Adjutant fell from 
 his lofty position like a tornado-stricken oak. 
 This fall disheartened the Twenty-sixth, and only 
 detached parties of a dozen, scattered over the 
 field, persisted in an obstinate resistance. The 
 ' Sergeant ' received a solid shot in the back of 
 the head, and was borne to the rear a captive, 
 and then 
 
 « The bugles sang truce.' 
 
 " Thus ended the great battle of Fairview ; un- 
 equalled in desperateness, and the theme of many 
 a future poet's cogitations. Our loss was very 
 heavy, and we were severely defeated. The spec- 
 tators, acting on the well-known principle of 
 kicking a man when he is down, pitched into us 
 most unmercifully when our centre was broken, 
 and prevented us from re-forming in line of battle. 
 The slaughter of the enemy was fearful, and the 
 prowess of fhe Newark ball players and firemen 
 was displayed on their battered visages. Colonel 
 Stoughton was honored with a black eye, and 
 the gallant Seaver fared but little better. The 
 following is a fair recapitulation of the casualties 
 on both sides : 
 
 " Bloody noses, fifty-three ; bunged peepers, 
 eighty-one ; extraordinary phrenological develop- 
 ments, twenty-nine ; shot in the neck after the en- 
 gagement, unknown. 
 
 " The Vermonters fought with the determined 
 energy characterizing them when engaging Jeff''3 
 myrmidons." 
 
 Coolness in Battle. — In the report of Ma- 
 jor-General Foster, of his expedition to Kins- 
 ton, N. C, in the list of killed and wounded is 
 the name of Ezra Wormouth. Ezra was wound- 
 ed at Whitehall, while serving at one of the guns 
 of Captain Jenny's battery. Third New York ar- 
 tillery. A ball struck his left wrist, shattering 
 the bones, and cutting ofl" his little finger. Am- 
 putation was rendered necessary immediately — 
 so now, all that Ezra has left of his arm is four or 
 five inches below the elbow. The noble fellow 
 says "he has done all he can do to whip the ene- 
 mv and crush the rebellion, and he is not sorry 
 
312 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 he ever enlisted, but is conscious of having done 
 his duty, as all true men should." Does not that, 
 and many other such sentiments which are ut- 
 tered by men who have felt the sad effects of 
 war, show who are true heroes ? 
 
 Not fifteen minutes before Ezra was wounded, 
 Thomas Johnson, of Oswego, N. Y., while serv- 
 ing at the same gun, was severely wounded in 
 the left forearm and hand. Says Captain Jenny 
 to him, " Johnson, you had better go to the rear, 
 and have your wound dressed." Hear the reply : 
 " No, Captain, I am going to work ! " And work 
 he did ; but in a few minutes another ball took 
 his right arm off. Turning to Captain Jenny, 
 said he, " Noav, Captain, I guess I'll quit ! " 
 
 Numbers of such instances can be cited, espe- 
 cially that of a private in Company K (Captain 
 Cole's), Third New York cavalry, who was shot 
 down by a ball passing through his head, making 
 nearly an inch hole. He immediately jumped up, 
 and with true cavalry recklessness exclaimed, 
 " Blast them ! give 'em thunder, boys ! I'll live to 
 fight them yet ! " And, sure enough, he did. 
 
 The " Third Article "^ of War. — A sol- 
 dier correspondent writes the following from the 
 camp of the Ohio volunteers, at Falmouth : 
 
 " Yesterday being Sunday, after the usual 
 guard, picket, and inspection calls, the ensuing 
 hour and a half was spent in hearing the Articles 
 of War read. As Corporal Humphrey, of our 
 company, was reading the aforesaid ' Articles,' Me 
 noticed that ' Eph ' smiled ' out loud ' several 
 times, — attempting each time to disguise it by 
 dryly coughing, — and after the inspection was 
 over, we asked him what made him cough while 
 in the ranks. ' Why,' said he, * when the Corpo- 
 ral read " Article Thuxl," about any non-commis- 
 sioned ofScer or soldier who should «se any pro- 
 fane oath or execration, should forfeit one sixth 
 of a dollar, to be applied for the benefit of the 
 sick soldiers of the command ; and a commis- 
 sioned officer should forfeit and pay, for each 
 such offence, one dollar, to be applied in the same 
 manner, I thought the " Article " was one of " Old 
 Abe's jokes ; " and that the Corporal had got to 
 the place " where the laugh came in." ' We told 
 him that the Articles of War were no 'joke,'' but 
 that they were enacted by Congress for the gov- 
 ernment of all our armies. 
 
 " ' Well,' said "Eph," ' if that is so, my opinion 
 is that the sick soldiers of this army will " fare 
 sumptuously every day," and as banks have what 
 they call a " sinking fund," I think it would be 
 well for Congress to provide the officers with a 
 " swearing fund." ' As he was speaking, ' Ike ' 
 plodded past in charge of the pickets of this di- 
 vision, and ' Eph ' continued : ' Now, tliere goes 
 " Ike " on picket, and he don't swear — only 
 when he thiiJis it a " military necessity " — but 
 I'll bet you a paper of '* Fighting Joe smoking 
 tobacco " that before he arrives at the Lacy 
 House, over those hills and through all that 
 mud. Article Three will get busted more than one 
 hundred dollars Avorth ; and if the members of 
 
 Congress, who framed those Articles, were the 
 picket that is going out with him, it would cost 
 them more pay than they get in one season extra 
 session, mileage and all.' 
 
 " During the day ' Eph ' came into our quar- 
 ters, and, taking from his pocket a little morocco 
 covered book, said he would like to read a few 
 lines from to-day's evening prayer — '22dday' — 
 and accordingly read as follows : 
 
 " . . ' Manassas is mine ; Ephraim also is 
 the strength of my head. . . Who will lead 
 me into the strong city ? . . Hast thou not 
 forsaken me, O God ? and wilt not thou, O God, 
 go forth with our hosts ? O, help us against the 
 enemy, for vain is the help of man. Tlu-ough 
 God we shall do great acts ; it is He that shall 
 tread down our enemies. 
 
 " ' Now,' remarked " Eph," ' my opinion is, Da- 
 vid meant us. We have got Manassas ; took it 
 — " without loss " — over a year ago. But 
 " who will lead us into the strong city " ? Who 
 will bring us into Ptichmond ? " Fighting Joe " 
 is here in command of the army, and " Eph " is 
 here too, and I hope he may have the honor of 
 following " Old Joe " hito Kichmond. I believe 
 God is on our side ; but my opinion is, we had 
 better let those works, the enemy have erected 
 on the other side, alone. The last time I was 
 there I made up my mind General French Avas 
 correct in his opinions. Said he to General 
 Couch, " General, the men can't take those 
 works." Said General Couch, " Brave men can 
 do anything ! " " Brave men can't stop a can- 
 non-ball, ," said old General French, 
 
 at the same time busting Article Three ; but out 
 we went, and tried it all day. I saw over twenty 
 men try to stop one cannon ball — brave men, 
 too — but, poor fellows ! ' French was right ; 
 they could not do it. In fact, the ground was 
 2)iled up with brave men, who looked as though 
 they had tried very hard to stop some of those 
 cannon balls, but were ' wearied out,' and had 
 lain down to rest. Through God, brave men 
 may do many, very many, great things ; but in 
 the providence of God, He has not so constituted 
 man, that even, though he is brave, he can stop 
 a cannon ball." 
 
 THE HOSPITAL. 
 
 Narrow beds by one another — 
 
 White and low ! 
 Through them softly, as in church-aisles, 
 
 Nurses go —; 
 For the hot lips ice-drops bring, 
 
 Cold and clear ; 
 Or white eyelids gently closing. 
 
 For the bier. 
 
 Strong men, in a moment smitten 
 
 Down from strength, 
 Brave men, now in anguish praying — 
 
 Death at length. 
 Burns the night-lamp where the watchera, 
 
 By the bed, 
 Write for many a waiting loved one, 
 
 "He is dead!" 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 313 
 
 One lies there in utter weakness — 
 
 Shattered, faint — 
 But his brow wears calm befitting 
 
 Martyred saint ; 
 And although the lips must quiver, 
 
 They can smile, 
 As he says, "This will be over 
 
 In a while. 
 
 " As the old crusaders, weeping 
 
 In delight, 
 Knelt when Zion's holy city 
 
 Rose in sight, 
 So I fling aside my weapon. 
 
 From the din 
 3!o the quietness of heaven 
 
 Entering in. 
 
 •' Standing in the solemn shadow 
 
 Of God's hand, 
 Love of glory fading from me, 
 
 * Love of land, 
 
 I thank God that he has let me 
 
 Strike one blow 
 For this poor and helpless people. 
 
 Ere I go." 
 
 White and whiter grows the glory 
 
 On his brow ; 
 Does he see the towers of Zion 
 
 Rising now ? 
 Stands the doctor, weary, hurried, 
 
 By his bed : 
 "Here is room for one more wounded- 
 
 He is dead." 
 
 Aemy Discipline. — A writer in the Cincin- 
 nati Commercial relates the following anecdote 
 of General A. J. Smith, who Avas in command of 
 a division of General Grant's army of the Missis- 
 sippi. It shows, characteristically, his style .of 
 treating with delinquent officers, whose shortcom- 
 ings chance tc^ come within his observation : 
 
 " As I, with my small command, was quartered 
 on board the steamer Des Arc, which boat was at 
 that time used as General A. J. Smith's head- 
 quarters, I necessarily became a witness to this 
 (to lookers on) most amusing interlude : 
 
 " On our passage down from Arkansas Post to 
 Young's Point, after our glorious victory at the for- 
 mer place, we had on board with us (for transpor- 
 tation) three companies of the — th Illinois volun- 
 teers. Now it happened that these men had 
 rather neglected to clean their guns, which the 
 sharp eye of the old veteran soon discovered. It 
 was in the morning of our third day out — the 
 wind was blowing terribly, and the weather un- 
 usually cold, rendering it very unpleasant to re- 
 main long on the hurricane roof — that the Gen- 
 eral came rushing into the cabin, where nearly all 
 the officers were comfortably seated around a 
 warm stove. 
 
 " ' Captain,' exclaimed the General, in no very 
 mild tone, addressing himself to the commander 
 of one of the companies aforesaid, '•■have you had 
 an inspection of arms this morning ? ' 
 
 " ' No, General,' timidly replied the Captain, ' I 
 have not.' 
 
 " ' Have you held an inspection of your com- 
 pany at any time since the battle of Arkansas 
 Post ? ' sharply asked the General. 
 
 " 'No, su- ; the weather has been so unpleasant, 
 and I thought I would let my men rest a while,' 
 hesitatingly replied the Captain, already nervous, 
 through fear that something disagreeable was 
 about to turn up. 
 
 " ' You thought you'd let them rest a while ? In- 
 deed ! The d — 1 you did ! Who pays you, sir, 
 for permitting your men to lie and rot" in idle- 
 ness, while such important duties remain unat- 
 tended to ? What kind of condition are your 
 men in, now, to defend this boat, or even the 
 lives of your own men, in case we should be at- 
 tacked by the enemy this moment. What the 
 d — 1 are you in the service for, if you thus neg- 
 lect your most important duty ? ' fairly yelled the 
 old General. And then starting menacingly to- 
 wards the quaking Captain, said he imperatively : 
 'Mount, sir! on that roof this moment, and call 
 your men instantly into line, that I may examine 
 their arms. And you,' resumed he, turning and 
 addressing the lieutenants, who commanded the 
 other companies, ' are fully as delinquent as the 
 Captain. Sirs ! I must see your men into line 
 within ten minutes.' 
 
 " It is scarcely necessary to state that the officers 
 in question made the best of their time in drum- 
 ming up their men, whom they found scattered in 
 all parts of the boat. Finally, however, the com- 
 panies referred to were duly paraded on the ' hur- 
 ricane,' and an abridged form of inspection was 
 gone through with. The General, finding their 
 arms in bad condition, very naturally inflicted 
 some severe talk, threatening condign punishment 
 in case such neglect should be repeated. 
 
 " But during the time in which one of these com- 
 panies was falling in, which operation v/as not 
 executed with that degree of promptness on the 
 part of the rank and file satisfactory to the Lieu- 
 tenant commanding, that officer called out in a 
 most imploring strain — ' Fall in, gentlemen ! 
 Fall in livelj', gentlemen ! ' That application of 
 the word ' gentlemen ' fell upon the ear of Gen- 
 eral Smith, who, turning quickly around, hastily 
 inquired, ' Are you the Lieutenant in command 
 of that company ? ' addressing the individual who 
 had given the command in such a polite manner. 
 
 " ' Yes, sir,' replied the trembling subaltern. 
 
 " 'Then, who the d — 1 are you calling gentle- 
 men ? ' cried the General. ' I am an old soldier,' 
 continued he, approaching and looking more ear- 
 nestly at the Lieutenant, ' but I must confess, sir, 
 that I never before heard of the rank of gentle- 
 men in the army. Soldiers, sir, are all supposed 
 to be gentlemen, of course ; but hereafter, sir, 
 when you address soldiers, remember to say sol- 
 diers, or men ; let us have no more of this " bow- 
 ing and scraping," where it is your duty to " com- 
 mand." ' Then turning upon his heel, his eyes 
 snapping with impatience, the old General gave 
 vent in the following words : ' Gentlemen ! Gen- 
 tlemen, forsooth ! And rusty guns ! Umph ! 
 That's good ! But that is the way it goes in our 
 army nowadays. Each man expects to run for 
 
314 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 some civil office, on his return from the war, and 
 so grfeat is his fear of giving offence to his men, 
 and thus injure his popularity, that he permits 
 them to neglect their most important duties ; and 
 to " trump all," he has to address his command 
 with the word " gentlemen " prefixed in order to 
 be obeyed ! Alas, what militia.'" 
 
 Anecdotes op General Keaent. — "I have 
 never told you how popular the memory of Kearny 
 is with all here," said a soldier — " Jersey Kearny, 
 as some call him. ' What is that patch of red on 
 your hat for ? ' I asked a young fellow one day. 
 ' It is for Kearny, sir,' said he ; and anybody could 
 see he was proud of it. 
 
 " Stories are related by the dozen of the daring 
 of Kearny in action. Among a party of a dozen 
 officers, many of whom had fought under him in 
 the battles on the Peninsula and Manassas, I 
 heard a number of adventures related to which 
 the narrators had been witnesses. In the midst 
 of the most desperate battles, when the whole 
 field was ablaze with fire and smoke, Kearny was 
 in an ecstasy of delight, as he rode along his 
 unbroken columns, cheering where the fight was 
 thickest ! ' You might hear the shrill voice of 
 Kearny,' said Colonel Kiddoo, of a Pennsylvania 
 regiment, ' ringing out, as he rode along the lines, 
 " Gayly, men, gayly ! " I shall hear that voice 
 of Kearny's till I die,' said the Colonel. But the 
 old General's cheering was not always couched in 
 the choicest terms ; for, when a little doubt low- 
 ered over our arms, then Kearny would put on 
 his whole armor, he would sink the rowels of his 
 spurs into that wonderful horse he rode, and, fly- 
 ing along from right to left and from left to right, 
 he would hail the line with, ' We are whipping 
 them like h — 1, like h — 1 we are whipping them ! ' 
 
 " He had lost the left arm, and he would often 
 catch the rein in his teeth ; his sword in his right 
 hand, carried above his head. Nothing was too, 
 daring for him. Once he had cleared an immense 
 log and ditch together, but one of his aids halted 
 when he came to it. Kearny saw him hesitate, 
 and spoke out, ' Jump it, you d — d ass ! jump, I 
 say, you d — d ass !' he often repcEfted. 
 
 " It is said that when Kearny fell, he had 
 ridden furiously, and become suddenly surprised 
 by a force of the enemy in a strip of woods. 
 They had him entrapped, and sang out, ' Sur- 
 render, surrender ! ' ' Never, by G — d ! ' and 
 Kearny, wheeling his horse, received the fatal 
 bullet."- 
 
 How Waterford was saved. — Just before 
 the rebels evacuated the village of Waterford, 
 near Leesbuvg, Virginia, they openly avowed they 
 would burn it to the ground, as it was nothing 
 more than a " cursed Quaker settlement." A 
 noble-hearted Quaker woman, whose husband 
 had been chased from his home by the rebels 
 some months before, besought a gentleman of 
 her faith to hasten over to Colonel Geary's camp, 
 some eight miles away, and ask him to send a 
 force to Waterford to prevent the threatened con- 
 
 flagration. He had a flne horse, but declined the 
 duty, owing to the dangers of getting tlu-ough 
 the rebel pickets. " Lend me thy horse, then," 
 she said. He declined again. " Then I will steal 
 thy horse," she said, " and go myself" She forth- 
 with directed a servant to take the horse to a 
 neighboring wood, to which the owner made no 
 resistance. Another servant took her side-saddle 
 to the horse, Avhen the heroine appeared, and, 
 mounting the animal, rode off in open day right 
 through the pickets, who did not stop her, strange 
 to say. When she got to Geary's camp, she met 
 her husband ; and, being brought into presence 
 of the Colonel, she made known the object of her 
 mission, which was quickly complied with, and 
 she rode back to Waterford at the head of a 
 detachment, which got into the village just in 
 time to see the rebel force leaving the opposite 
 end of the town as fast as their heels could carry 
 them. And thus this pretty little village was 
 saved from conflagration by the resolute con- 
 duct of this Quaker lady. 
 
 THE ESCAPE OF JOHN MORGAN. 
 
 General John Morgan was honored with 
 an ovation on the 7 th of January, 1864, on his 
 arrival at Richmond. The following is an ac- 
 count of his escape from the Ohio Penitentiary, 
 and subsequent adventures : 
 
 " Their bedsteads were small iron stools, 
 fastened to the wall with hinges. They could 
 be hooked up, or allowed to stand on the floor ; 
 and, to prevent any suspicion, for several days 
 before any work was attempted, they made it a 
 habit to let them down, and sit at their doors 
 and read. Captain Hines superintended the 
 work, while General Morgan kept watch to divert 
 the attention of the sentinel, whose duty it was 
 to come round during the day, and observe if 
 anything was gjjing on. One day this fellow 
 came in while Ilpkersmith was down under the 
 floor, boring away, and, missing him, said, ' Where 
 ,rs Hokersmith ? ' The General replied, ' He is 
 in my room sick ; '<ind immediately pulled a docu- 
 ment out of his pocket, and said to him, ' Here is 
 a memorial I have drawn up to forward to the 
 Government at Washington. What do you think 
 of it?' .., 
 
 " The fellow, who, perhap's, could not read, 
 being highly flattered arthe Generqi's condescen- 
 sion, took it, and very gravely looked at it for. 
 several moments before he vouchsafed any reply ; 
 then, handing it back, he , expressed himself 
 highly pleased with it. In the mean time, Hoker- 
 smith had been signalled, and came up, profess- 
 ing to feeL>^ery uuM'ell.' This sentinel was the 
 most difficult and dangerous obstacle in their 
 progress, because there was no telling at what 
 time he would enter during the day, and at night 
 he came regularly every two hours to each cell, 
 and inserted ' a light through the bars of their 
 door, to see that they were quietly sleeping ; and 
 frequently, after he had completed his rounds, he 
 would slip back in the dark, with a iiair of India- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 315 
 
 rubber shoes on, to listen at their cells if anything 
 was going on. The General says that he would 
 almost invariably know of his presence by a cer- 
 tain magnetic shudder which it would produce ; 
 but, for fear that this acute sensibility might 
 sometimes fail him, he broke up small particles 
 of coal every morning, and sprinkled them before 
 the cell-door, which would always announce his 
 coming. 
 
 " Everything was now ready to begin the work ; 
 80, about the latter part of October, they be- 
 gan to bore. All Avere busy, — one making a 
 rope-ladder, by tearing and twisting up strips of 
 bed-ticking, another making bowie-knives, and 
 another tAvisting up towels. They labored perse- 
 veringly for several days, and, after boring 
 through nine inches of cement, and nine thick- 
 nesses of brick placed edgewise, they began to 
 wonder Avhen they should reach the soft earth. 
 Suddenly a brick fell through. AVhat could this 
 mean ? What infernal chamber had they reached ? 
 It was immediately entered ; and, to then* great 
 astonishment and joy, it proved to be an air- 
 chamber extending the whole length of the row 
 of cells. Here was an unexpected interposition 
 in their favor. Hitherto they had been obliged 
 to conceal their rubbish in their bed-tickings, 
 each day burning a proportionate quantity of 
 straw. Now they had room enough for all they 
 could dig. They at once commenced to tunnel at 
 right angles with this air-chamber, to get through 
 the foundation ; and day after day they bored — 
 day after day the blocks of granite were removed 
 — and still the work before them seemed inter- 
 minable. 
 
 " After twenty-three days of unremitting labor, 
 and getting through a granite wall of six feet in 
 thickness, they reached the soil. They tunnelled 
 up for some distance, and light began to shine. 
 How glorious was that light ! It announced the 
 fulfilment of their labors ; and if Providence 
 would only continue its favoivthey \^ould soo 
 morijiVg ofJtJie 
 
 be free. This was the 
 dav of November, 1863. 
 
 The subsequent night 
 
 sooi^kthe 
 26th ^t 
 
 io-lit -«' 
 
 keeper entered with a letter for. Ge'n^al Morgan 
 He opened it, and what was his^^u^i^e.«tFi'jut(i»I 
 may say, wonder — to find jt froni a poor Irish 
 woman of ^his acquaintance7in KJhiucky, com- 
 mencing : ' My dear (j^nrfH*— I feel^certain youn 
 are going to try to git out of prison ; but, for your 
 sake, don't^u .try it^njy d^r Gintal. You will 
 only be taken prisoner again, '^nd made to sufifer 
 more than you do now-l *• 
 
 " THte-kater^jj^weffitSui to^e^Jc of hi^ind- 
 
 ness to the poor when he lived at Lexington, and 
 concluded by again exhorting him to trult in 
 God, and wait his time. What could this mean ? 
 No human being on the outside had been informed 
 of his intention to escape ; and yet, just as all 
 things were ready for him to make tlie attempt, 
 here comes a letter from Winchester, Kentucky, 
 advising him not to ' try it.' This letter had 
 passed through the examining oifice of General 
 Mason, and then through the hands of the lower 
 officials. What if it should excite their suspicion, 
 and cause them to exercise an increased vigi- 
 lance? The situation, however, was desj^erate. 
 Their fote could not be much worse, and they 
 resolved to go. Nothing now remained to be 
 done but for the General and Colonel Dick Mor- 
 gan to change cells. The hour approached for 
 them to be locked up. They changed coats, and 
 each stood at the other's cell door with his back 
 exposed, and pretended to be engaged in making 
 up their beds. As the turnkey entered, they 
 ' turned in,' and pulled their doors shut. 
 
 •' Six, eight, ten o'clock came. How each pulse 
 throbbed as they quietly awaited the approach of 
 twelve ! It came — the sentinel passed his round 
 — all well. After waiting a few moments to see 
 if he intended to slip back, the signal was given. 
 All quietly slipped down into the air-chamber, 
 first stuffing their flannel-shirts, and placing them 
 in bed as they were accustomed to lie. As they 
 moved quietly along through the dark recess to 
 the terminus where they were to emerge from 
 the earth, the General prepared to light a match. 
 As the lurid glare fell upon their countenances, a 
 scene was presented which can never be forgot- 
 ten. There were crouched seven brave men who 
 had resolved to be free. They were armed with 
 bowie-knives made out of case-knives. Life, in 
 their condition, was scarcely to be desired, and 
 the moment for the desperate chance had arrived. 
 Suppose, as they emerged from the ground, that 
 the dog should give the alarm — they could 
 die. \ 
 But f^Ar-moments were spent in this kind of 
 
 at twelve o'clock, was determmed on as the hoiJ^ apprehension. The hour had arrived, and yet 
 at which thejt^'ottttf attempt -tki^ir liberty.-..^ Each.^they I3ame. fortunately — yes, providentially — 
 moment that intervened was filled with di'eadful the night ha#--suddenly grown dark and^ainy, 
 anxiety and suspense>,and each time the guard 
 entered increased»^ieir apprehensions. The Gen- 
 eral says thai he>(|^d prayed for rain ; but the 
 mortiing of the. 2 7u^ijtwned bright' and beauti- 
 ful. The e^^iyig *caml^an,d clouds t^^an to 
 gather. How they prayed for them to increase ! 
 If rain should o^jly begin, their chances of detec- 
 
 the dogs had retired to their kennels, ana the 
 sentinels had taken refuge under shelter. The 
 inner wall, by the aid' 'of the rope-ladder, was 
 soon scaled, and- now the outer one had to be at- 
 tempted. Captain Taj-lor (who, by the way, is a 
 nephew of Old Zach), being a very active man, 
 
 «K ^ ■ ' ° ' bysthe assistance of his comrades reac^ied the 
 
 tion would ^^-^leatly lesseaed.K.'^ile, Ii^sb top of the gate,^f^cl^-as enabled to get the rope 
 thoughts Av^-e passmg through their minds, tM^vOver'the wall, mien' the top was gained, they 
 
 found a rope extending all around, which the 
 G$o^ral imn^e^iately cut, as he suspected that it 
 might lead into't^e Warden's room. This turned 
 out to- be correct. They then entered the sen- 
 try-bo^ on the wall and changed their clothes, 
 and let themselyes down the wall. In sliding 
 down, the General skinned his hand very badly, 
 and all were more or. less bruised. Once down, 
 
 ^ 
 
 \ 
 
 > » 
 
 ^y separated — 
 Hfikersmith, 
 
 
 y\or and Shelton going one 
 jnett, and McGee another. 
 
 >S 
 
316 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 and General Morgan and Captain Hines pro- 
 ceedfng immediately towards the depot. 
 
 " The General had, by paying fifteen dollars in 
 gold, succeeded in obtaining a paper which in- 
 formed him of the schedule time of the different 
 roads. The clock struck one, and he knew, by hur- 
 rying, he could reach the down- train for Cincinn-ati. 
 He got there just as the train was moving off. He 
 at once looked around to see if there were anj^ 
 soldiers on boai'd, and espying a Union officer, he 
 boldly walked up and took a seat beside him. 
 He remarked to him, that ' as the night was 
 damp and chilly, perhaps he would join him in a 
 drink.' He did so, and the party soon became 
 very agreeable to each other. The cars, in cross- 
 ing the Scioto, have to pass within a short dis- 
 tance of the Penitentiary. As they passed, the 
 officer remarked : ' There's the hotel at which 
 Morgan and his officers are spending their lei- 
 sure.' ' Yes,' replied the Greneral, ' and I sincerely 
 hope he will make up liis mind to board there dur- 
 ing the balance of the war, for he is a great nui- 
 sance.' When the train reached Xenia, it was de- 
 tained by some accident more than an hour. Im- 
 agine his anxiety, as soldier after soldier would 
 pass through the ti'ain, for fear that when the sen- 
 tinel passed his round at two o'clock their ab- 
 sence might be discovered. 
 
 " The train was due in Cincinnati at six 
 o'clock. This was the hour at which they were 
 turned out of their cells, and, of course, their 
 escape would be then discovered. In a few mo- 
 ments after it would be known all over the 
 country. The train, having been detained at 
 Xenia, was running very rapidly to make up the 
 time. It was already joast six o'clock. The 
 General said to Captain Hines : ' It's after six 
 o'clock ; if we go to the depot, we are dead 
 men. Now or never.' They went to the rear, 
 and put on the brakes. ' Jump, Hines ! ' Off 
 he went, and fell heels over head in the mud. 
 Another severe turn of the brakes, and the Gen- 
 eral jumped. He was more successful, and 
 lighted on his feet. There were some soldiers 
 near, who remarked, ' What in h — 1 do you 
 mean by jumping off the cars here?' The Gen- 
 eral replied ; ' What in the d — 1 is the use of my 
 going into town when I live here ? and, besides, 
 what business is it of yours ? ' 
 
 " They went immediately to the river. They 
 found a skiff", but no oars. Soon a little boy 
 came over, and appeared to be waiting. ' What 
 are you waiting for ? ' said the General. ' I am 
 'waiting for my load.' 'What is the price of a 
 load ? ' ' Two dollars.' ' Well, as we are tired 
 and hungry, we will give you the two dollars, 
 and you can put us over.' So over he took 
 them. ' Where does Mi|(|^'^^ — — live ? ' ' Just a 
 short distance from here.' ' Will you show me 
 her house ? ' ' Yes, sir.' The house was reached, 
 a fine breakfast was soon obtained, money and a 
 horse furnished, a good woman's prayer bestowed, 
 and off" he went. From there, forward through 
 Kentucky, everybody vied with each other as to 
 who should show him the most attention — even 
 to the negroes ; and young ladies of refinement 
 begged the honor to cook his meals. "*'" 
 
 " He remained in Kentucky some days, feel- 
 ing perfectly safe, and sending into Louisville 
 for many little things he wanted. Went to 
 Bardstown, and found a Federal regiment had 
 just arrived there, looking for him. Remained 
 here and about for three or four daJ^s, and then 
 struck out for Dixie ; sometimes disguising him- 
 self as a Government cattle-contractor, and buy- 
 ing a large lot of cattle ; at other times a Quar- 
 termaster, until he got to the Tennessee River. 
 Here he found all means of transportation de- 
 stroyed, and the bank strongly guarded ; but 
 with the assistance of about thirty others, who 
 had recognized him, and joined him in spite of 
 his remonstrances, he succeeded in making a 
 raft, and he and Captain Hines crossed over. 
 His escort, with heroic self-sacrifice, refused to 
 cross until he was safely over. He then hired a 
 negro to get his horse over, paying him twenty 
 dollars for it. The river was so high that the 
 horse came near drowning, and after more tlian 
 one hour's struggling with the stream, was pulled 
 out so exhausted as scarcely to be able to stand. 
 
 "The General threw a blanket on him and com- 
 menced to walk him, when suddenly, he says, he 
 was seized with a presentiment that he would be 
 attacked, and remarking to Captain Hines, ' AVe 
 shall be attacked in twenty minutes,' commenced 
 saddling his horse. He had hardly tied his girth 
 when ' Bang ! bang ! ' went the minie balls. 
 He bounced his horse, and the noble animal, ap- 
 pearing to be inspired with new vigor, bounded 
 off" like a deer up the mountain. The last he 
 saw of his poor fellows on the opposite side, they 
 were disappearing up the river bank, fired upon 
 by a whole regiment of Yankees. By this time 
 it was dark, and also raining. He knew that a 
 perfect cordon of pickets would surround the 
 foot of the mountain, and if he remained there 
 until morning he would be lost. So he deter- 
 mined to run the gantlet at once, and com- 
 menced to descend. As he neared the foot, lead- 
 ing his horse, he came almost in personal contact 
 with a picket. His first impulse was to kill him, 
 but finding him asleep, he determined to let him 
 sleep on. He made his way to the house of a 
 Union man that he knew lived near there, and 
 went up and passed himself off" as Captain Quarter- 
 master of Hunt's regiment, who was on his way to 
 Athens, Tenn., to procure supplies of sugar and 
 coffee for the Union people of the country. The 
 lady, who appeared to be asleep while this inter- 
 view was taking place with her husband, at the 
 mention of sugar and coffee, jumped out of bod 
 in her night-clothes, and said : ' Thank God for 
 that ; for we ain't seen any rale coffee up here for 
 , God knows how long ! ' She was so delighted at 
 the prospect, that she made up a fire and 
 cooked them a good supper. Supper being over, 
 the General remarked that he understood that 
 some rebels had 'tried to cross the river this 
 afternoon.' ' Yes,' said the woman ' but our 
 men killed some on urn, and di-iv the rest back.' 
 ' Now,' said the General, ' I know that ; but 
 didn't some of them get over?' 'Yes,' was 
 her reply, ' but they are on the mountain, and 
 cannot get down without being killed, as every 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 317 
 
 road is stopped up.' He then said to her : ' It 
 is very important for me to get to Athens by to- 
 morrow night, or I may lose that sugar and 
 coffee ; and I am a&aid to go down any of these 
 roads for fear my own men will kill me.' 
 
 "The fear of losing that sugar and coffee 
 brought her again to an accommodating mood, 
 and she replied : ' Why, Paul, can't you show 
 the Captain through our farm, that road down by 
 the field ? ' The General says : ' Of course, 
 Paul, you can do it ; and as the night is very 
 cold, I will give you ten dollars (in gold) to 
 help you along.' The gold, and the prospect 
 of sugar and coffee, were too much for any 
 poor man's nerves, and he yielded, and getting 
 on a horse, he took them seven miles to the 
 big road. 
 
 " From this time forward he had a series of ad- 
 ventures and escapes, all veiy wonderful, until he 
 got near another river in Tennessee, when he 
 resolved to go up to a house and find the way. 
 Hines went to the house, while the General stood 
 in the road. Hearing a body of cavalry come 
 dashing up behind him, he quietly slipped to one 
 side of the road, and it passed by without ob- 
 serving him. They went travelling after Hines, 
 and, poor fel'ow ! he has not been heard of 
 since. How s,id to think that he should be either 
 capture i or killed after so many brave efforts, not 
 only in Ills own behalf, but also in that of the 
 General; for the General says that it is owing 
 chiefly to Hines's enterprise and skill that they 
 made their escape. 
 
 "When he arrived at the river referred to above, 
 he tried to get over, intending to stop that night 
 with a good Southern man on the other side. 
 He could not get over, and had to stop at the 
 house of a Union man. The next morning he 
 went to the house that he had sought the night 
 previous, and found the track of the Yankees 
 scarcely cold. They had been there all night, 
 expecting that he would come there, and had 
 murdered everybody who had attempted to reach 
 the house, without hailing them. In pursuing 
 this brutal course, they had killed three young 
 men, neighbors of this gentleman, and went 
 away, leaving their dead bodies on the ground. 
 
 "After he had crossed Okey's River, and got 
 down into Middle Tennessee, he found it almost 
 impossible to avoid recognition. At one time he 
 passed some poor women, and one of them com- 
 menced clapping her hands, and said, ' O ! I 
 know who that is ! I know who that is ! ' but, 
 catching herself, she stopped short, and passed 
 on with lier companions. 
 
 "The General says that his escape was made 
 entirely without assistance from any one on the 
 outside, and, so far as he knows, also without 
 their knowledge of his intention ; that the an- 
 nouncement of his arrival in Toronto was one of 
 those fortuitous coincidences that cannot be 
 accounted for; that it assisted him materially, 
 no doubt. In fact, he says that his ' wife's 
 prayers' saved him, and, as this is the most 
 agreeable way of explaining it, he is determined 
 to believe it." 
 
 An Incident. — Among the excuses offered for 
 exemptions, some are extremely ludicrous. In 
 Smyth County, Va., we learn, one man on en- 
 rolling himself wrote opposite his name, " one 
 leg too short." The next man that came in, 
 noticing the excuse, and deeming it pretty good, 
 thought he would make his better, and wrote op- 
 posite his name, " both legs too short " ! 
 
 Wit wokth Preserving. — The committee 
 appointed to collect metal for cannon for Gen- 
 eral Beauregard's army, applied to a planter of 
 Adams County, Miss., for his bell. Not having 
 such an article, he mentioned it to his wife, when 
 she very patriotically offered her brass kettle. 
 The little ones rather demurred to the sacrifice, 
 and one of them, with a sweet tooth, said, " La, 
 pa, what will we do for preserves ?■ " " My 
 daughter," said the wag of a father, " our whole 
 duty now is to preserve our country." The 
 kettle was sent. 
 
 Buell's Strategy. — A soldier who was in the 
 battle of Pittsburg gives the following account 
 of General Buell's strategy in the field : 
 
 " On Monday morning, about ten o'clock, Gen- 
 eral Buell executed a manoeuvre that reflects great 
 credit on him as a commander. The rebels were 
 advancing in great force to turn our left and cap- 
 ture our transports and supplies, when Buell, be- 
 coming aware of their intentions, made prepara- 
 tions to receive them. About half a mile above 
 the lauding are two large ridges, and between 
 them he placed a brigade of infantry. The 
 troops were ordered to lie down. He then 
 ordered a lower battery to fire on the enemy and 
 make a show of retreating in confusion to draw 
 the rebels on. On came the rebels, pell-mell, 
 yelling at the top of their voices, ' Bull's Piun,' 
 ' Bull's Run,' thinking, I suppose, to frighten us. 
 
 "As soon as the rebels came in range, the lower 
 battery, agreeably to orders, opened fire, re- 
 treated, and took a position in rear of the upper 
 battery. The rebels, seeing our men retreating, 
 charged up the hill, and took possession of the 
 battery. The rebels, in the mean time, wei'e not 
 aware of our troops being in the hollow below 
 them. At this moment the signal was sounded, 
 and the whole brigade rose to their feet, and 
 poured a deadly fire of rifle balls into the ranks 
 of the rebels, cutting them down by scores. At 
 this favorable moment, also, the upper battery 
 poured in a perfect storm of grape and canister 
 shot. The rebels reeled and staggered like 
 drunken men, and at last broke and fled in every 
 direction, leaving the ground strewed with dead 
 and dying." 
 
 Inxident of Fort Donelson. — One little 
 incident will show what the rebels expected. 
 Having exhibited such a large force, and com- 
 pletely surrounded the nationals, they thought 
 it was about time for them to surrender, as many 
 others had done ; and they began to be out of 
 patience at the men's foolish tenacity, as they 
 
318 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS 
 
 termed it, and determined to make a charge upon 
 the siege gun, which they hoped to capture and 
 decide the contest. Two rebels, more venture- 
 some than the rest, rode rapidly to the advance 
 of the charging force, and ventured a little advice 
 — yelling out, "You d — d fools you, don't you 
 know when to surrender? Don't you see you 
 are completely surrounded ? " Our gallant little 
 force at this point did not appreciate this admo- 
 nition ; but just then bang went the old gun, 
 blowing Mr. Rebels and horses to atoms, repuls- 
 ing the charge, and saving this point again. The 
 men and horses were about fifteen feet from the 
 gun when it went off, loaded with canister. 
 
 A Case of Affection. — A soldier at La 
 Grange, Tennessee, gives the following: "The 
 women would rather we would take prisoners all 
 the men on the plantation than one blind mule. 
 A case of like filial affection I witnessed one 
 time while our company Mas out picking up 
 scattering members of Faulkner's guerrilla band. 
 Coming up to a house where we had ascertained 
 one of them lived, our Lieutenant inquired of 
 the ' gude woman ' of the house, the whereabouts 
 of her lord. She hurriedly informed him that 
 her husband was not at home. The Lieutenant 
 knew he was, however, and set some of us to search- 
 ing for Mr. Butternut, while others were looking 
 about for anything else contraband. During the 
 search, the woman noticed the boys catching a 
 mule in the lot, and bursting into tears, sobbed 
 piteously, ' O, dear, Mr. Lieutenant, they are 
 taking my poor old mool ! O, Mr. Lieutenant, 
 good Mr. Lieutenant, for the love of God and 
 your mother, if you ever had one, donH let 'em 
 take my poor old mool ! ' To this appeal, Lieu- 
 tenant Watson only asked again where she had 
 concealed her husband. ' O, I'll show you where 
 he is, but for God's sake spare me that poor old 
 mool ! ' Her trembling husband was soon forth- 
 coming, and mounting him upon the mule, we 
 left the woman standing in the door wringing her 
 hands and crying, not for her betrayed husband, 
 but ' my poor old mool ' — doubtless beginning to 
 think this war was not so fine a thing as the country 
 had supposed before it had followed them home to 
 their hearthstones." 
 
 Heroism at Fredericksburg. — Captain 
 James H. Piatt, Jr., of company B, Fourth Ver- 
 mont regiment, having been ordered with his 
 company to the right of the skirmish line, after 
 having once expended nearly all its ammunition 
 and been re-supplied, led his men out in front of 
 a battery within three hundred yards, where they 
 did noble execution till a charge of canister struck 
 down half the company, killing four and wound- 
 ing fourteen, when he ordered them back to re- 
 form, which they did, and retired in good order 
 with the regiment just relieved. Yet not all, for 
 calling some to his side, the humane Captain, a 
 skilful physician, bound up the most dangerous 
 wounds, thus prolonging at least several lives, 
 and with the assistance he had summoned, bore 
 
 away to the hospital, a mde distant, all who were 
 unable to help themselves. This was done amid 
 bullets flying like hail, yet, through a kind Provi- 
 dence, no one was harmed. As the gallant Cap- 
 tain said, " God would not let us suffer while in 
 discharge of such a duty." 
 
 "WfflLE GOD HE LEAVES ME REASON, 
 GOD HE \STLLL LEAVE ME JIM."* 
 
 BY MARY H. C. BOOTH. 
 
 " Soldier, say, did you meet my Jimmy in the 
 
 iaght? 
 You'd know him by his manliness, and by his eyes* 
 
 sweet light." 
 " I fought beside your gallant son — a brave, good 
 
 fellow he ; 
 Alas ! he fell beneath the shot that should have 
 
 taken me." 
 
 " And think you that my Jimmy cared about a 
 
 little fall ? 
 Why make a great ado of what he would not mind 
 
 at all ? 
 When Jimmy was a little boy, and played with 
 
 Bobby Brown, 
 He always played the enemy, and Bob he shot him 
 
 down. 
 
 "I've seen him fall a hundred times, the cvmning 
 
 little sprite ; 
 He can't forget his boyish tricks though in an 
 
 earnest fight. 
 But never mind about the fall ; I want to hear of 
 
 him ; 
 Perhaps you'A^e heard the Captain speak of what he 
 
 thinks of Jim." 
 
 " I've often heard the Captain say Jim was a splen- 
 did lad, 
 
 The bravest and the handsomest of all the boys 
 he had. 
 
 And here's a lock of Jimmy's hair, and here's a 
 golden ring ; 
 
 I found it tied around his neck upon a silken 
 string." 
 
 The mother took the matted tress, she took the 
 
 ring of gold. 
 But shook her head, and laughed aloud at what the 
 
 soldier told. 
 " Soldier," said she, " where is my boy ? where is 
 
 my brave boy, Jim ? 
 I gave the others all to God, but God he left me 
 
 him. 
 
 " Hush, there is Uncle Abraham a-knocking at the 
 
 door ; 
 He calls for other mothers' sons, ' Tliree hundred 
 
 thousand more ! ' 
 Be still, Old Uncle Abraham ; 'twill do no good 
 
 to call ; 
 Y'^ou think my house is full of boys ; ah, Jimmy 
 
 was my all." 
 
 * Words of a soldier's mother, who, on hearing that 
 her only son had fallen in battle, became hopelessly 
 insane, though continually declaring that his having 
 " fallen " was of no consequence. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 319 
 
 A Laughable Adventure. — The following 
 story was related by Lieutenant J, H. Spencer, 
 of the First Minnesota regiment : 
 
 " On the — th we moved towards Madison Court 
 House, and when within two and one half miles 
 of the town we came to Robson River, which 
 was so high, from the recent rains, that we could 
 not cross, there being no bridge. We camped 
 for the night, and remained until the 20th. At 
 three A. M. we crossed the river, and at daybreak 
 the advance guard, which consisted of sixteen 
 men, a guide and myself, chai-ged through the 
 town, and drove the enemy's pickets towards 
 Gordonsville. On the south side of the town we 
 found a horse hitched in front of a house, saddled 
 and bridled, and covered M'ith sweat. Our guide 
 told us that the man who lived there was a strong 
 ' secesh,' and I recognized the horse as one I had 
 seen the day before, through my glass, mounted 
 by a rebel scout. I ordered my men to surround 
 the house, while I quietly knocked at the door. 
 An elderly lady made her appearance. I asked 
 her if Mr. Newton (the man's name) was at home. 
 She said ' no, he had gone to Gordonsville ; had 
 been gone two days.' I asked her whose horse 
 that was at the front gate. She did not know, but 
 thought, perhaps, it belonged to the rebel pickets 
 that had been stationed near the house. I told 
 her that I thought so too, and that I should have 
 to search the house, for I believed that some one 
 was secreted in it. She begged of me not to do 
 so, and assured me that no one was in the house 
 but herself and daughter-in-law ; that her daugh- 
 ter was very sick, and could not be disturbed. I 
 told her that I would not disturb her or interfere 
 with private property, unless in the discharge of 
 my duties. I searched all the rooms but the one 
 in which the sick lady was. I found two Enfield 
 rifles, and one Colt's revolver, all loaded with 
 ball cartridges. The old lady begged of me not 
 to disturb her daughter — she was very sick. My 
 modesty prompted me not to enter the room, but 
 it was my duty to make a thorough search. I 
 quietly opened the door, and looked in. The 
 lady was in the bed, and apparently in great 
 agony. I stepped into the room and looked 
 carefully around into the closet and under the 
 bed, but discovered nothing suspicious. I noticed, 
 with some misgivings, that the lady took up more 
 room in the bed than I thought was necessary, 
 (unless she had on hoops). I turned down the 
 bed clothes, and found — what? The identical 
 soldier, Newton, who had ' been gone to Oordons- 
 ville two days!' He was snugly curled up on 
 the back side of the bed, and it seemed that he 
 had gone to bed in something of a hurry, for he 
 had on all his clothes, even his cap and boots. 
 His wife also seemed to recover very rapidly from 
 her illness. I shall never forget the expression 
 that Avas depicted upon Newton's countenance. 
 I posted my pickets and returned with my pris- 
 oner to camp." 
 
 A Rabbit in Battle. — A full-grown rabbit 
 had hid itself away in the copse of a fence, which 
 separated two fields near the centre and most ex- 
 
 posed portion of the battle-ground. Rabbits are 
 wont to spend the day almost motionless, and in 
 seeming dreamy meditation. This one could have 
 had but little thought — if rabbits think — when 
 choosing its place of retreat at early dawn, that 
 ere it was eventide there would be such an un- 
 wonted and ruthless disturbance. 
 
 During all the preparations for battle made 
 around its lair during the forenoon, it neverthe- 
 less remained quiet. Early, however, in the after- 
 noon, when the rage of battle had fairly begun, 
 and shot and shell Mere falling thick and fast in 
 all directions, a shell chanced to burst so near the 
 rabbit's hiding-place that he evidently considered 
 it unsafe to tarry longer. So, frightened almost 
 to death, out he sprang into the open field, and 
 ran hither and thither, M'ith vain hope of finding 
 a safe retreat. Whichever way it ran, cannons 
 were thundering out their smoke and fire, regi- 
 ments of men were advancing or changing position, 
 horses galloping here and there, shells bursting, 
 and solid shot tearing up the ground. Sometimes 
 it would squat down and lie perfectly still, when 
 some new and sudden danger would again start 
 it into motion. Once more it would stop, and 
 raise itself as high as possible on its hind legs, 
 and look all round for some place of possible 
 retreat. At length that part of the field seemed 
 open which lay in the direction opposite from 
 w'here the battle raged most fiercely. Thither it 
 accordingly ran with all its remaining speed. 
 
 Unobserved by it, however, a regiment was in 
 that direction held in reserve, and, like Welling- 
 ton's at Waterloo, was lying flat on the ground, 
 in order to escape the flying bullets. Ere the 
 rabbit seemed aware, it had jumped into the midst 
 of these men. It could go no farther, but pres- 
 ently nestled down beside a soldier, and tried to 
 hide itself under his arm. As the man spread the 
 skirt of his coat over the trembling fugitive, in 
 order to insure it all the protection in his power 
 to bestow, he no doubt feelingly remembered how 
 much himself then needed some higher protec- 
 tion, under the shadow of whose arm might be 
 hidden his own defenceless head from the fast 
 multiplying missiles of death scattered in all di- 
 rections. • 
 
 It was not long, however, before the regimeigt 
 was ordered up and forward. From the protec- 
 tion and safety granted, the timid creature had 
 evidently acquired confidence in man — as the 
 boys are wont to say, " had been tamed." As the 
 regiment moved forward to the front of the bat- 
 tle, it hopped along, tame, seemingly, as a kitten, 
 close at the feet of the soldier who had bestowed 
 the needed protection. Wherever the regiment 
 went, dming all the remaining part of that bloody 
 day and terrible battle, the rabbit kept close be- 
 side its new friend. When night came on, and 
 the rage of battle had ceased, it finally unmo- 
 lested and quietly hopped away, in order to find 
 some one of its old and familiar haunts. 
 
 An Inisn Gunner. — At the battle of Fredericks- 
 burg a large cannon was located quite a distance 
 
320 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 from the rebels, and so much so that it Avas not 
 being fired. An Irishman came along and wanted 
 to fire, but they told him it would only be a waste 
 of ammunition. " But," said the Irishman, " be 
 d — d if I don't pay for the ammunition if it don't 
 hit 'em." Consent was given, and he loaded his 
 gun, cutting his fuse from his own sense of dis- 
 tance, drawn from his unerring sight. Soon 
 an oiiicer was seen, with another on each side, 
 when Pat sighted his gun, and let go. Down 
 went the officer, smash went the shell, wounding 
 or killing the other tv.'o ; and thus, with equal 
 
 f)recision, he continued to cut his fuse and fii'e as 
 ong as tliey remained on the ground. 
 
 Note from an Officer's Journal. — " Near 
 Chattanooga, Thursday, September 17. — To-day 
 a young lady called with her mother at headquar- 
 ters, and asked to see the ' old flag,' saying for 
 two years they had been denied a sight of it. As 
 it was unrolled before them, they burst into tears. 
 In the door-yard of her home is a grave, and I 
 wUl tell you how it came there — then wonder at 
 her weeping if you will. While the rebels were 
 in this place, and were enforcing the conscription, 
 her father fled to the mountains. Sought out and 
 captured by the rebel fiends, without the knowl- 
 edge of his wife and daughter, by night they 
 brought him to his home and hung him on the 
 tree beneath which he now sleeps. Morning came, 
 and two rebel soldiers called to tell them the hus- 
 band and father was outside, wishing to see them. 
 Going out, expecting to embrace him, what a sight 
 met then- eyes ! Horror-stricken, they appealed 
 to the men to aid them in giving him a decent 
 burial, but to no purpose ; and amid the jeers and 
 brutal insults of the God-forsaken wretches, they 
 themselves were compelled to cut him doM'n, dig 
 his grave, and bury him from their sight forever. 
 What wonder that they wept when they saw the 
 old banner of freedom waving over them ? Is 
 God just, and will he allow such men to triumph ? 
 Little indeed do those at home know of the per- 
 secutions, the tortures, agonies the Union people 
 have endured. Until mine own eyes had seen it, I 
 cftuld not hold such belief against my fellow-man." 
 
 Incidents of Gettysburg. — The following 
 hicidents are taken from the diary of an English 
 officer, who was present at the battle : 
 
 " General Hill told me that in the first battle, 
 near Gettysburg, the Yankees had fought with a 
 determination unusual to them. He pointed out 
 a railway cutting, in which they had made a good 
 stand ; also a field, in the centre of which he had 
 seen a man plant the regimental colors, round 
 which the regiment had fought for some time with 
 much obstinacy ; and when, at last, it was obliged 
 to retreat, the color-bearer retreated last of all, 
 turning around every now and then to shake his 
 fist at the advancing rebels. General Hill said 
 he felt quite sorry when he saw this gallant Yan- 
 kee meet his doom. 
 
 " In the P.rst day's contest the rebels had about 
 
 twenty thousand men in the field. In the second 
 day's fight — 2d of July — General Lee is de- 
 scribed as sitting most of the time ' quite alone 
 on the stump of a tree.' What I especially re- 
 marked was, that during the whole time the firing 
 continued, he only sent one message, and only re-j 
 ceived one report." 
 
 Of the preparations made for the third and de- 
 cisive day's contest, the writer says : 
 
 " Pickett's division, which had just com.e up, 
 was to bear the brunt in Longstreet's attack, to- 
 gether with Hill's, and Pettigrew in Hill's corps. 
 Pickett's division was a weak one — under five 
 thousand — owing to the absence of two brigades." 
 
 After the battle had opened, the writer pro- 
 ceeded to join General Longstreet : 
 
 "And although astonished to meet such vast 
 numbers of wounded, I had not seen enough to 
 give me any real idea of the extent of the mis- 
 chief. When I got close up to General Long- 
 street I saw one of his regiments advancing 
 through the woods in good order ; so, tliinldug I 
 was just in time to see the attack, I remarked to 
 the General that I wouldn't have missed this for 
 anything. Longstreet was seated at the top of a 
 snake fence, and looking perfectly calm and un- 
 perturbed. He replied, laughing, ' The devil you 
 wouldn't! I would like to have missed it very 
 much. We've attached ami been repulsed. Look 
 there ! ' For the first time I then had a view of 
 the open space bctAveen the two positions, and saw 
 it covered with Confederates slowly and sulkily 
 returning towards us, under a heavy fire of ar- 
 tillery. But the fire whei-e we were was not so 
 bad as farther to the rear ; for although the air 
 seemed alive with shell, yet the greater number 
 burst behind us. 
 
 " The General was making the best arrange- 
 ments in his power to resist the threatened ad- 
 vance, by advancing some artillery, rallying the 
 stragglers, &c. I remember seeing a General 
 (Pettigrew, I thinlc it was) come up to him, and 
 report that ' he was unable to bring his men up 
 again.' Longstreet turned upon him and replied, 
 with some sarcasm, 'Very v.'ell ; never mind, then, 
 General ; just let them remain where they are ; 
 the enemy's going to- advance, and will spare you 
 the trouble.' 
 
 " He asked for something to drink ; I gave him 
 some rum out of my sUver flask, which I begged 
 he would keep in remembrance of the occasion ; 
 he smiled, and, to my great satisfaction, accepted 
 the memorial. He then went off to give some 
 orders to McLaw's division. 
 
 " Soon afterwards, I joined General Lee, who 
 had, in the mean while, come to the front, on be- 
 coming aware of the disaster. If Longstreet's 
 conduct was admirable, that of General Lee was 
 perfectly sublime. He was engaged in rallying 
 and encouraging the broken troops, and was rid- 
 ing about a little in front of the wood, quite alone, 
 the whole of his staff being engaged in a similar 
 manner farther to the rear. His face, which is 
 always placid and cheerful, did not show signs of 
 the slightest disappointment, care, or annoyance ; 
 and he was addressing to eveiy soldier he met a 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 321 
 
 few words of encouragement, such as, 'All this 
 will come right in the end ; we'll talk it over af- 
 terwards ; but, in the mean time, all good men 
 must rally. We want all good and true men just 
 now,' <S:c. He spoke to all the wounded men that 
 passed him ; and the slightly wounded he ex- 
 horted ' to bind up their hurts and take up a 
 musket ' in this emergency. Very few failed to 
 answer his appeal ; and I saw many badly wounded 
 men take off their hats and cheer hiifli. 
 
 " He said to me, ' This has been a sad day for 
 us, Colonel — a sad day; but we can't expect al- 
 ways to gain victories.' He was also kind enough 
 to advise me to get into some more sheltered 
 position. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the misfortune which had 
 so suddenly befallen him. General Lee seemed to 
 observe everything, however trivial. When a 
 mounted officer began beating his horse for shying 
 at the bursting of a shell, he called out, ' Don't 
 whip him, Captain — don't whip him ; I've got 
 just such another foolish horse myself, and whip- 
 ping does no good.' 
 
 " I happened to see a man lying flat on his face 
 in a small ditch, and I remarked that I didn't 
 think he seemed dead. This drew General Lee's 
 attention to the man, who commenced groaning 
 dismally. Finding appeals to his patriotism of 
 no avail, General Lee had him ignominiously set 
 on his legs by som^neighboring gunners. 
 
 " I saw General Wilcox (an officer who wears 
 a short round jacket and a battered straw hat) 
 come up to him and explain, almost crying, the 
 state of his brigade. General Lee immediately 
 shook hands with him, and said, cheerfully, ' Nev- 
 er mind, General — all this has been my fault ; it 
 is I that have lost this fight, and you must help 
 me out of it in the best way you can.' 
 
 " In this manner I saw General Lee encourage 
 and reanimate his somewhat dispirited troops, and 
 magnanimously take upon his own shoulders the 
 whole weight of the repulse." 
 
 Loyalty in East Tennessee. — A letter from 
 a soldier in Burnside's army, written from Knox- 
 viUe, says : 
 
 *' i saw an old man from Jefferson County, in 
 this State, who, although seventy-three years of 
 age, came to join the army. He brought, as he 
 terms them, his own crowd, of one hundred men, 
 and another of eighty. He and forty of his com- 
 pany have been bushwhacTiing in the mountains 
 for fourteen months. 
 
 " Seven or eight regiments are under way, sev- 
 eral of which will be full this Aveek. Morristown, 
 Greenville, and Jonesboro' have, I learn, each a 
 regiment nearly full. 
 
 " When we were at Morristown, and getting 
 on the cars for Greenville, an old countr}Tnan 
 from back some twenty miles came- riding into 
 town. As he did not know we were there, he 
 looked at the brigade a while with astonishment. 
 When the state of things began to flash upon 
 him, he asked if we 'weren't the blue-bellied 
 Yankees;' and, as soon as he was satisfied, he 
 21 
 
 went almost crazy, shouting, ' Glory to God, they 
 have come at last ; ' then, sinking his heels into 
 his horse's sides, he went galloping through the 
 town, waving his hat and shouting away, ' Glory 
 to God, they've come at last ! ' 
 
 " It was not long, however, before he was back, 
 and coaxing some of the boys to go home with 
 him. He said ' it weren't only twenty miles ; ' if 
 they would go home with him, « he know'd the old 
 woman would go crazy.' He said she had been 
 ' saving thirteen jars of apple butter ever since 
 last summer, for the Yankees to eat.' When our 
 boys told him there would be a fight at the salt- 
 works, and that that was our destination, he 
 wanted to borrow a gun and go along, saying the 
 rule of the rebels was over now, and his was 
 come, and he was ' arter revenge like a four-year- 
 old.'" 
 
 Whose Father was he ? — After the battle 
 of Gettysburg a Union soldier was found in a 
 secluded spot on the field, Mhere, wounded, he 
 had laid himself down to die. In his hands, 
 tightly clasped, was an ambrotype containing the 
 portraits of three small children, and upon this 
 picture his eyes, set in death, rested. The last 
 object upon which the dying father looked was 
 the image of his children, and, as he silently 
 gazed upon them, his soul passed away. How 
 touching ! how solemn ! AVhat pen can describe 
 the emotions of this patriot father as he gazed 
 upon these children, so soon to be made orphans! 
 Wounded and alone, the din of battle still sound- 
 ing in his €ars, he lies down to die. His last 
 thoughts and prayers are for his family. He has 
 finished his work on earth ; his last battle has 
 been fought ; he has freely given his life to his 
 country ; and now, while his life's blood is ebb- 
 ing, he clasps in his hands the image of his 
 children, and, commending them to the God of 
 the fatherless, rests his last lingering look upon 
 them. 
 
 Fighting by the Day. — At the siege of 
 Lexington, Missouri, an old Texan, dressed in 
 buckskin and armed with a long rifle, used to 
 go up to the works every morning about seven 
 o'clock, carrying his dinner in a tin pail. Taking 
 a good position, he banged away at the Federals 
 till noon, then rested an hour, ate his dinner ; 
 after which he resumed operations till six P. M., 
 when he returned home to supper and a night's 
 sleep. The next day, a little before seven, saw 
 him, dinner and rifle in hand, trudging up street 
 to begin agaiu his regular day's work, — and in 
 this style he continued till the surrender. 
 
 Incident of Linn Creek, Missouri. — Dur- 
 ing the hottest of the conflict, Lieutenant Mont- 
 gomery, son of the captain of that name, found 
 himself without a sabre, having lost it Y.-hen he 
 discharged both of his revolvers, and having 
 nothing with which to reload, and no other 
 weapon of defence, he " pitched in " with his fist. 
 One of the prisoners brought in showed unmis- 
 
322 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCmENTS. 
 
 takable marks of A'iolence from this source. At 
 the close of the fight, Captain Switzler became 
 separated from his company, and soon afterwards 
 found himself set upon by three of the rebels, 
 who, with their guns, Avere intent on taking his 
 life by means of clubbing him, their guns being 
 unloaded. As each approached, the Captain struck 
 him a blow with the side of his sabre, ordering 
 him to surrender. He succeeded in defending 
 himself in this way until young Montgomery 
 came to his assistance, when all three of the 
 rebels were taken prisoners. 
 
 A Thrilling Narrative. — Rev. H. D. Fish- 
 er, a well-known minister of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, gives the following thrilling account 
 of his escape from death during the Lawrence 
 massacre : 
 
 " Many miraculous escapes from the assassin's 
 hand were made : none perhaps more so than in 
 my own case. For the last eighteen months I 
 have been marked by the rebels for death, be- 
 cause I have been ordered by various Generals to 
 provide ' homes for refugees,' and find work for 
 them to do to support themselves and families. 
 Now, three times I have signally escaped their 
 hands. God has saved my life as by fire. When 
 Quantrell and his gang came into our town al- 
 most all Avere yet in their beds. My wife and 
 second boy were up, and I in bed, because I had 
 been sick with the quinsy. The enemy yelled 
 and fired a signal. I sprang out, and my other 
 children and myself clothed ourselves as quick as 
 possible. 
 
 " I took the two oldest boys and started to run 
 for the hill, as we were completely defenceless and 
 unguarded. I ran a short distance, and felt as if 
 I should be killed. I returned to my house, where 
 I had left my wife with Joel, seven years old, and 
 Frank, six months old, and thought to hide in 
 our cellar. I told Willie, twelve years old, and 
 Eddie, ten years old, to run for life, and I would 
 hide. I had scarcely found a spot in which to 
 secrete myself, when four murderers entered my 
 house and demanded of my wife, with horrid 
 oaths, where that husband of hers was, who was 
 hid in the cellar. She replied, * The cellar is 
 open ; you can go and see for yourselves. My 
 husband started over the hill with the children.' 
 They demanded a light to search. My wife gave 
 them a lighted lamp, and they came, light and 
 revolvers in hand, swearing to kill at first sight. 
 They came within eight feet of where I lay, but 
 my wife's self-possession in giving the light had 
 disconcerted them, and they left without seeing 
 me. They fired our house in four places, but my 
 wife, by almost superhuman efforts, and with baby 
 in arms, extinguished the fire. Soon after three 
 others came, and asked for me. But she said, 
 ' Do you think he is such a fool as to stay here ? 
 They have already hunted for him ; but, thank 
 God, they did not find him.' They then com- 
 pleted their work of pillage and robbery, and 
 fired the house in five places, threatening to kill 
 her if she attempted to extinguish it again. One 
 
 stood, revolver in hand, to execute the threat if 
 it was attempted. The fire burned furiously. The 
 roof fell in, then the upper story, and then the 
 lower floor ; but a space about six by twelve feet 
 was by a great eS"ort kept perfectly deluged by 
 water by my wife, to save me from burning alive. 
 I remained thus concealed as long as I could live 
 in such peril. 
 
 "At length, and while the murderers were still 
 at my front^ door and around my lot, watching 
 for their prey, my wife succeeded, thank God, in 
 covering me with an old dress and a piece of car- 
 pet, and thus getting me out into the garden, and 
 to the refuge of a little weeping willow covered 
 with ' morning glory ' vines, where I was secured 
 from their fiendish gaze and saved from their 
 hellish thirst for my blood. I still expected to 
 be discovered and shot dead. But a neighbor 
 woman, who had come to our help, aided my wife 
 in throwing a few things saved from the fire 
 around the little tree where I lay, so as to cover 
 me more securely. Our house and all our clothes 
 — except a few old and broken garments (not a 
 full suit of anything for one of us) and some car- 
 pet — with beds, books, and everything to eat or 
 read, were consumed over us or before our eyes. 
 But what of that ? I live ! Through God's mer- 
 cy I live ! " 
 
 The Twin Brothers. — T^at fact is stranger 
 than fiction, is exemplified in the following true 
 story of two brothers, twins, which occurred 
 during the memorable siege of Port Hudson. 
 Passing, one day, through tlie streets of that little 
 town, we noticed two corpses lying upon the gal- 
 lery of the carpenter's shop, awaiting their turn 
 for the boxes, dignified with the title of coffins, 
 to consign them to their last resting-place. They 
 were bodies of tall stature, stout and well built, 
 betokening the hardy backwoodsmen of the South- 
 west. Over the face of each was thrown a cloth, 
 through which the blood was oozing, showing 
 that they had received their death wounds through 
 the head. It was no uncommon sight, during the 
 siege, to see death in every form, from the body 
 pierced by the single bullet, to the one shattered to 
 atoms by the cannon ball or mortar shell. Yet 
 there was something in the appearance of those 
 bodies which riveted our attention : wo indulged 
 the inquiry as to who they were. A rough, grizzly 
 Confederate soldier was sitting by their side, 
 whose arm, tied up, showed that, for the present, 
 he was unfit for .active service. The tears were 
 trickling down his cheeks as he gazed mournfully 
 upon the dead before him, while his quivering lip 
 told, better than words, that they had been more 
 to him tlian simple comrades of the tent and 
 field. 
 
 He related their story in a few words. '•' They 
 were my sons," said he, " and were twins. One 
 of them joined at the same time I did. We 
 came here with General Beale, and have done our 
 duty to the best of our knowledge, and, I believe, 
 to the satisfaction of our officers. 
 
 " This morning, sir, while at the breastworks, 
 one of my boys, in order to get good aim at the 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 523 
 
 sharpshooters outside, thoughtlessly raised him- 
 self too high, when a rifle ball pierced his brain, 
 and he fell dead at my feet. His brother, seeing 
 him fall, sprang forward to pick him up, but, in 
 so doing, exposed himself above the line of de- 
 fences, when he too received a ball through the 
 brain, and he fell dead upon the still quivering 
 corpse of his brother. As they came into the 
 world, so they went out of it — together. In 
 removing their bodies from the breastworks, I 
 got this wound, which has shattered my arm. 
 Would that I had died with them, sir, for I have 
 no one to love now upon this earth." 
 
 " And their mother — your wife ? " 
 
 " Died, sir, in giving them birth." 
 
 One coffin received the remains of the twins, 
 and, a few days after, while sitting in front of his 
 tent, an exploding shell gave a death wound to 
 their heart-broken father. 
 
 Amenities of Picket Duty. — " Our regi- 
 ment (the First Delaware) was on picket, and 
 confronting the enemy. ' Barney,' our Sergeant- 
 Major, — who, by the way, is quite an institution, 
 — espied a cow, which had just escaped from the 
 rebel lines, with a reb in hot pursuit, both coming 
 towards neutral territory. * Barney,' seizing his 
 sword, rushed towards the scene. Secesh, seeing 
 the advance, halted. Imagine his surprise, when 
 ' Barney ' ran up to the cow, and, waving his 
 sword, gave her a gentle poke with it, and started 
 her towards our lines. The rebel, astonished 
 at the audacity, cried out : ' Halloo, you Yank ! 
 bring that cow back here ! She belongs to us.' 
 'Barnej',' flourishing his sword, stopped, and 
 looked back towards him, and responded : ' Who 
 are you cursing, you darned rebel ? The animal 
 has seceded ! ' Giving the cow another reminder 
 with his sword that she was needed in our bivouac, 
 he brought her in triumphantly, — several of the 
 rebs, who had been drawn out by the colloquy, 
 laughing at the signal discomfiture of their com- 
 panion in arms. 'Barney,' having milked the 
 cow, and obtained about a gallon and a half of 
 the lacteal fluid, — enough to supply the entire 
 picket reserve, — turned her back toAvards the 
 rebel lines, and cried out to the defeated Johnny 
 that he might have the beast now — that he didn't 
 need her any longer. The last seen of her, she 
 was wending her way slowly to the enemy in 
 quest of her calf, which was tied to a tree. This, 
 to say the least, was a handsome piece of strategy ; 
 to say nothing of the milk, it was a con2) de 
 main." 
 
 Scenes in the South-.west. — The follow- 
 ing narrative of a recruiting expedition into Ar- 
 kansas was given by Engineer L. G. Bennett, 
 who left St. Louis in April, 1863, in company 
 with William M. Fishback, who was authorized 
 by General Curtis to raise a regiment among the 
 loyal Arkansians : " The party started for Cass- 
 ville, Missouri, intending to make that place theii- 
 point of departure for the journey to the moun- 
 tains. 
 
 " The road to Cassville is intersected several 
 times by a limpid stream, called Flat Creek. It 
 was very high, from the recent rains. On the 
 road, four ' great strapping girls ' were overtaken, 
 who were footing it from Newton County to Cass- 
 ville. The girls sometimes kept up with, and 
 occasionally outstripped, his ambulance. Occa- 
 sionally the vehicle would get the start on a level 
 stretch of road, and the girls would fall behind. 
 Coming up to a deep ford, the Colonel, with gal- 
 lant intentions, halted his ambulance, until the 
 girls came up, and politely off'ered to convey 
 them to the opposite bank in his ambulance. 
 ' O,. no ; we never ride,' said one ; and they leaped 
 into the boihng current, and, although the creek 
 was ' waist deep,' they soon emerged, dripping, 
 on the opposite bank, leaving the very modest 
 Colonel completely nonplused by the adventur- 
 ous " Amazons. The damsels were soon half a 
 mile in advance, singing: 
 
 " ' O, did you see my sister ? ' 
 
 " On arriving at Cassville, intelligence was re- 
 ceived that Fayetteville, our advanced post in 
 Arkansas, was ordered to be abandoned, and that 
 the Federal troops were on the retrograde march 
 to Missouri. This information put a damper on 
 recruiting prospects in that section, and the jjarty 
 returned to Springfield. 
 
 " It was resolved to penetrate Arkansas by 
 way of Forsyth, on the White River, and a rather 
 formidable company was made up, consisting of 
 a number of Kansas officers, * regular dare-dev- 
 ils,' and a few Arkansas fugitives, numbering 
 eighteen in all — armed to the teeth — under 
 commajid of Colonel Fishback. 
 
 " The White River was reached by the recruit- 
 ing party about a mile above Forsyth. The river 
 was swollen by the recent rains, and the pros- 
 pect of crossing seemed dubious. The region 
 was in possession of the rebels, and infested 
 with secesh sympathizers. It was getting to- 
 Avards night. A butternut individual was discov- 
 ered on the opposite shore. 
 
 " After hailing the stranger, and parleying some 
 time with him, it was agreed that one of the 
 party should cross, and perfect arrangements. 
 ■Kelley, a bold, adroit man, volunteered to go 
 over, and a boy paddled over in a ' dug-out ' to 
 get him. Kelley and the boy started in the ' dug- 
 out ' to cross, but before they reached the other 
 side, three more men appeared on the opposite 
 bank, with muskets and revolvers ready cocked. 
 Their movements were closely watched, and our 
 men rested their rifles across logs, and, with 
 steady aim, intended to blaze away in case any 
 hostile move should be made on Kelley. The 
 latter was allowed to land, and had a long con- 
 ference, in which he represented that his party 
 were bushwhackers, who had been chased by the 
 Federal authorities out of Missouri, and were en 
 their way south. This artful story was credited, 
 and the boat permitted to bring over the balance 
 of the party-— which had to be done one at a 
 time — making some eighteen round trips. It 
 was, consequently, late in the night before all had 
 
324 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 got over. In swimming their horses, four were 
 drowned, 
 
 '• The men who so readily assisted in fenying 
 the party across the river turned out to be among 
 the worst class of bushwhackers in that region. 
 
 " One was Hendrick, who had hung and shot a 
 number of loyal men in Ozark and Stone Coun- 
 ties, Missouri. Another, named Bird, was also a 
 noted desperado, being a horse thief and a mur- 
 derer. He and his gang had ' cleaned out ' every 
 loyal family on Bull and Swan Creeks, in Taney 
 County, Missouri, utterly depopulating that sec- 
 tion for miles around. 
 
 " On taking leave of these desperadoes next 
 morning, the kindest wishes for the success of 
 our party were expressed. A list of rebel leaders 
 was also given, where the party would be wel- 
 comed, and receive assistance in their journey 
 throughout the country. 
 
 '■ Proceeding three miles further, up popped a 
 picket from the side of the road, who, ordering 
 the party to halt, demanded who they were and 
 their destination. The ever-prompt Kelley was 
 sent forward, and, after a brief explanation, made 
 all things satisfactory to the picket. The picket 
 Scwd he was from St. Louis, and was among forty 
 prisoners who escaped from the guard-house at 
 Springfield, one dark and rainy night. He was 
 asked why he was stationed in that out of the 
 way place, and replied that pickets were sta- 
 tioned in these places to kill the ' Mountain Feds,' 
 as they were called, who were in the habit of 
 fleeing from Arkansas to Missouri. He informed 
 the party that ten more pickets were concealed in 
 the brush. His credulity was so far overcome 
 that he gave the party the rebel pass-word. It 
 consisted in whisthng three times like a quail. 
 He said by making that noise they would not be 
 molested when they ran across any of their men. 
 If any one was seen in the act of fii'ing, he said, 
 just whistle the signal as directed, and the fii'e- 
 locks would drop instantly. Kelley soon became 
 a proficient in making the desired signal. 
 
 " The bald tops of the hills were clothed with 
 a light verdure, sprinkled with flowers. They 
 descended from the hill country into a long piece 
 of woods. The last picket had given the locality 
 of the pickets, and in order to avoid a strongly 
 posted picket guard some fourteen miles ahead, 
 the travellers held a council and resolved to leave 
 the main travelled road. By this detour they in- 
 tended to circumvent the picket guard. On leav- 
 ing the main road they got among the hills again, 
 and after travelling a whole day, ascending and 
 descending the hills, they emerged at night on 
 the road and found they had advanced but five 
 miles. 
 
 " The next morning the blankets were tied to 
 the saddles, and the party, mounting their horses, 
 determined to keep the road and run the risk of 
 encountering the pickets. "When they got in 
 sight of the latter, instead of meeting with oppo- 
 sition, the cowardly pickets mounted their steeds 
 and precipitately fled to Carrolton, the county 
 seat of Carrol County, sixteen miles distant. The 
 pickets spread the alarm that the Missouri en- 
 
 rolled militia was coming in full force. They 
 followed the terrified pickets, and camped within 
 eight miles of Carrolton, procuring a few ears of 
 corn, which was parched for supper. 
 
 " In order to avoid the rebel bands, who were 
 patrolling the country, it became necessary, much 
 of the time, to travel in the woods, over moun- 
 tains, and through rocky ravines, away from the 
 ' settlements.' Ignorance of the geography of 
 the country kept the party so long on the way 
 that their scanty supply of hard tack was ex- 
 hausted. Hogs and cattle Avere plenty, and one 
 of the party, a Rocky Mountain hunter, exercised 
 his agility in lassoing a fat steer, without exposing 
 their position by a. shot. 
 
 " The Colonel one day came up to a cabin, and 
 inquired of the butternut owner if he had any 
 corn bread to spare. ' No,' said Butternut, 
 ' don't raise much of nothiu' down yere ; the 
 crap's poor.' Casting a glance over into a small 
 enclosure, bristHng with weeds, the Colonel 
 thought he discovered something resembling on- 
 ions. Inquiry was made of the man if he had 
 onions to spare, and he answered he ' reckoned 
 not.' Presently his barefooted better-half, who 
 had been listening, said, ' Pap, I reckon it's in- 
 juns he's arter.' ' 0,' said Butternut, ' if it's 
 injuns you're arter, I 'low we kin spare you a 
 heap on 'em.' And the Colonel returned to camp 
 with an abundant supply of ' injuns ' to regale 
 his half-famished command. 
 
 " Not far from Carrolton was found one Lewis, 
 a most wicked rebel, who, with an ' oath ' and 
 ' protection papers ' in his pocket, obtained from 
 Colonel Weir, of the Tenth Kansas, boasted that 
 he had all along made it his business to hunt and 
 help to hang and rob Union men, or oblige them 
 to flee from the country. Under the idea that 
 the party were Southern men, he piloted them 
 eight miles on the way, 
 
 " On the top of Gaither Mountain were several 
 droves of horses belonging to the secesh residing 
 on Crooked Creek. Some of the party Avere 
 much better mounted Mhen they left the top of 
 the mountain. 
 
 " Arriving at Jasper, in Newton County, the 
 party considered themselves safe, as the pco])le 
 among the mountains are mostly loyal. Captain 
 Vanderpool, of the First Arkansas infantry, was 
 in the neighborhood, with a number of armed 
 recruits. He had had several encounters with 
 the rebels, and defeated them every time. It 
 was judged best not to confine recruiting opera- 
 tions to one neighborhood. Accordingly a portion 
 went about thirty miles east, in Pope County, on 
 the border of Searcy and Comvay Counties. 
 
 " An expedition was planned to a saltpetre cave 
 in Searcy County, which was being worked by 
 the rebels, who manufactured at the rate of one 
 hundred barrels per day. The ubiquitous Kelley. 
 at the head of twelve men, cautiously approached 
 the cave, surprised and captured tlie guard, de- 
 stroyed all the machinery, kettles, vats, arclies, 
 &c., pertaining to the works, and, with his pris- 
 oners and a number of captured horses, returned 
 without a single misfortune to any of his party. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 325 
 
 This little adventure so won the confidence of the 
 mountaineers, that they thought there was no 
 such man as Kelley and the Kansas jayhawkers. 
 
 " Volunteers came flocking in by the score, and 
 in ten days a company of ninety-six was formed, 
 with "William Brashears, an Arkansian, as Cap- 
 tain, Kelley as First Lieutenant, and Joseph Brown 
 as Second Lieutenant. Other expeditions were 
 planned, many horses, guns, and prisoners taken, 
 and much jn-operty recovered which had been 
 captured from Union men. 
 
 " Word finally came that an expedition of 
 three hundred rebels was coming from Dover, 
 the county seat of Pope County, to break up 
 Brashears' company. The boys retired to a fa- 
 vorable position among the mountains, and for 
 two days awaited their coming. At length word 
 was brought from what was deemed a reliable 
 source that the rebels had returned. 
 
 " Captain Brashears, having business at home, 
 and not suspecting danger, with only four men in 
 his company, was proceeding to the transaction 
 of his business, when suddenly he fell among the 
 entire secesh ' force. They chased him over a 
 mile, wounding him several times, and finally 
 killing him. 
 
 " One of Captain Brashears' companions made 
 his escape, another was killed, and two others, 
 brothers, were captured and hung, after enduring 
 many tortures and fiendish barbarities, disgrace- 
 ful even to savage Indians, and too repulsive to 
 be related. The neighboring women were not 
 even permitted to bury their dead bodies without 
 being threatened and insulted. 
 
 '* Mention has already been made that Captain 
 Vanderpool was recruiting in the neighborhood 
 of Jasper. One morning, the citizens of Jasper 
 were surprised to find a force of two hundred 
 rebels, under Captains Mitchell, Love, and Sisel, 
 in their midst, and four or five of Vanderpool's 
 recruits were captured. The Captain was in the 
 immediate neighborhood, but his men were scat- 
 tered, and it was impossible immediately to col- 
 lect them. Eighteen, however, were near at 
 hand ; with this handful, he did not hesitate to 
 attack them. Approaching the lower part of the 
 town, and covering the men behind rocks, fences, 
 and trees, a hot and destructive fire was poured 
 upon the enemy, and they were glad to seek the 
 cover of the neighboring hills. But Vanderpool's 
 men beginning to collect, a retreat was ordered. 
 At the crossing of Hudson Creek, our boys gave 
 them a few more rounds, scattering them in every 
 direction, and leaving their dead behind. Our 
 party met with no loss, except the prisoners cap- 
 tured early in the morning. 
 
 " An expedition was planned to make a raid in 
 the direction of ClarksvUle and the Arkansas 
 River, and about sixty men were collected for the 
 enterprise. Two of Bennett's recruiting officers 
 resided south of the Arkansas, and aimed to get 
 in their own neighborhoods, where their chances 
 for recruiting were more flattering. In. this scout, 
 Vanderpool promised to aid them to the river, 
 and accordingly all who had not already gone 
 to Pope County joined the expedition. After 
 
 scouting two days among the mountains and 
 deep valleys, which had alternately been devas- 
 tated by the rebels and 'Mountain Feds,' and 
 where nothing but the most abject poverty and 
 wretchedness existed, our parly strvick the valley 
 of Mulberry Creek, in Johnson County, which 
 had not been visited by a military force since the 
 war. Large fields of corn and plenty abounded 
 on every side. The inhabitants were mostly of 
 the rebel persuasion. No armed force was met 
 with. A number of horses, a few guns and am- 
 munition, were captured, and also four prisoners. 
 A large force prevented theiy from going to 
 Clarksville. The two recruiting officers crossed 
 the river, but nothing has been heard from them 
 since. 
 
 " The acquaintance was formed of Captain Sam- 
 uel Farmer, who resides near the head of Mulberry 
 Creek. Some of the party had been but a few 
 minutes at his house, when some of his smaller 
 children went to his hiding-place in the woods, 
 and informed him that a party of Federals was 
 at the house. The Captain soon made his ap- 
 j^earance, and with tears of joy bade them wel- 
 come, saying that anything he had was free. 
 Such demonstrations of friendship deterred the 
 boys from meddling with even his bees, and the 
 old fellow had to take the lead in opening two 
 of his best hives of honey for the boys. Corn 
 bread and bacon were served liberally, and for 
 the first time since the scout the boys got enough 
 to eat. 
 
 " The Captain said he M-as an early settler in Ar- 
 kansas, and for many years had represented John- 
 son County in the State Senate. At the break- 
 ing out of the secession troubles, he had taken 
 an open stand in favor of the Union, and in the 
 elections preliminary to the Convention, had 
 steadily voted against secession. By the action 
 of the Convention (not the people), the State 
 finally drifted with the Southern tide. Military 
 companies were everywhere raised for the South, 
 and, quite early, one in Mr. Farmer's own neigh- 
 borhood. He had served in the Mexican and 
 Florida wars, and more recently in the Indian 
 war in California and Oregon, and his military 
 experience and qualities were well known. At 
 once, every device which rebel ingenuity could 
 invent was brought to bear to force him into the 
 service. Flattery, threats, promises of high po- 
 sitions, and the personal influence of Governor 
 Rector, in a measure overcame his scruples, and 
 he Avas made Major of Hill's Fifteenth Arkansas 
 regiment. The work of drilling and preparing 
 the regiment for duty devolved entirely upon 
 him. 
 
 " During Price's occupation of Springfield, in 
 the winter of 1861-2, his regiment was stationed 
 at Elm Springs, under INIcCulloch. Price's rapid 
 retreat before General Curtis called for help from 
 McCulloch, and he with other forces met the re- 
 treating ]\Iissourian at Sugar Creek, where a stand 
 was resolved upon. All remember the result of 
 that skirmish, in which the Federal cavalry, under 
 Carr, Ellis,, and Bowen, charged so vigorously 
 among the rebel horse, foot, and artillery as to 
 
326 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 again set them in a headlong flight. The impet- 
 uous charge of the Federal squadron of cavalry 
 in a measui-e removed from Farmer's eyes the 
 scales which Lexington, Wilson Creek, and Bull 
 Run had placed over them. He saw that the arm 
 of the national government was not yet palsied, 
 but was capable of dealing to traitors powerful 
 blows. At Cross Hollows, Price, who outranked 
 McCulloch, determined to make a stand. To this 
 the latter was opposed, and so serious was the 
 quarrel between the two leaders that a council of 
 war Avas called the settle the difficulties and adopt 
 a policy. 
 
 "Farmer was the only one of that council who 
 sided with McCulloch. He admitted the strength 
 of the position, provided Curtis was foolish enough 
 to attack in front, but stated that the topography 
 of the country was such that their position could 
 be easily turned, and predicted that the next thing 
 the Federals would be on their (the rebels') flank. 
 Sure enough, the next day Sigel was at Osage 
 Springs, threatening Price's flank and rear ; and 
 nothing was left for them to do but resume the 
 skedaddle to the Boston Mountains, where Mc- 
 Culloch wished to remain and receive Curtis' at- 
 tack. But here Van Dorn assumed the chief com- 
 mand, which soon culminated in the battle of Pea 
 Ridge. At this battle Colonel Hill and his Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel early ran away from the fight, tak- 
 ing a small part of the regiment with them. But 
 Major Farmer kept the remainder in their places, 
 and was drawn up in line but a few rods from the 
 field, and but a few paces from v/here Ben McCul- 
 loch was killed. He was the first man to aid him 
 after he was shot. 
 
 " About ten minutes before McCulloch fell, 
 they were together reconnoitring the Federal posi- 
 tion. The Thirty-sixth Illinois formed in line for 
 a charge j and when the breeze unfolded the Stars 
 and Stripes to view. Major Farmer's old love for 
 the flag returned, and turning to McCulloch, he 
 said that ' this was the last battle and the last 
 time he should ever raise his hand against that 
 flag.' The scene, and such surrounding circum- 
 stances, in the midst of the thunders of a great 
 battle, an expression from one he highly esteemed, 
 aflected even McCulloch, and he asserted that it 
 was a trying ordeal for him to fight against that 
 once-honored flag. He Avas among the last to 
 leave the field at Elkhorn, at the rebels' final 
 retreat. 
 
 *' Farmer, shortly after, tendered his resigna- 
 tion, which, after many delays, was granted, and 
 he returned to his home. Shortly after the con- 
 script law was put in force, and at a public meet- 
 ing in his neighborhood he denounced the meas- 
 ure with all his powers. Though not daring 
 openly to avow himself a Union man, yet he pre- 
 dicted that such arbitrary measures would soon 
 drive the people of Arkansas to rebel against the 
 rebellion. He compared the helpless condition 
 of Arkansas, after the battle of Pea Ridge, to the 
 ' valley of dry bones ; and his conviction that a 
 wind would blow from the North, and that bone 
 would seek its bone, and the whole become a liv- 
 ing mass.' How truly has this come to pass in 
 
 the present uprising of the people of Arkansas, 
 and the development of a Union sentiment there ! 
 ' Bone is seeking its bone ' all over the South. 
 
 " Three of his sons came within reach of the 
 conscription act, and to avoid it they sought 
 safety among the neighboring crags of the moun- 
 tains and woods. They were hunted like wolves, 
 and one of them shot down by the rebel home 
 guard ; and though this occurrence was near a 
 year ago, he was still almost helpless from the 
 effect of the shot. The father and sons, however, 
 by hiding in the woods, had thus fiir escaped the 
 provisions of the act, and hailed us as his dearest 
 friends and benefactors. He stated that there 
 were a large number in the neighboring moun- 
 tains who Mere liunted the same as he. 
 
 " The Captain was advised to form a company, 
 and join the Federal army, and that, if he ever 
 expected Arkansas to be free, and restored to the 
 Union, he must help to do it. He could not ex- 
 pect others to do that which more intimately 
 concerned him. Said he, ' Will the Federals re- 
 ceive me after the part I have taken against them ? ' 
 Having been satisfied in regard to this, he avowed 
 his intention to immediately raise a company. 
 He was given the necessary instructions, and 
 when next heard from, the company numbered 
 over sixty, with himself as captain, with others 
 equally as loyal, as lieutenants. When last heard 
 from, his company numbered one hundred and 
 three men. 
 
 " Nearly every day after the formation of his 
 company, expeditions were planned and executed 
 against the secessionists, f(\r arms, ammunition, 
 and horses, for his men. At one time a few of 
 his boys entered Clarksville, captured a rifle from 
 one Basham, which cost one hundred and fifty 
 dollars ; also a horse, valued at one thousand dol- 
 lars. This Basham was a noted secessionist, and 
 had been a Lieutenant-Governor of the State. 
 On another occasion. Lieutenant Middlcton, with 
 but one companion, came suddenly upon a Cap- 
 tain Birch and three soldiers, and demanded their 
 surrender. Birch, in reply, ordered Middleton to > 
 surrender. Both parties prepared for a fight, but 
 after a long parley. Birch and his men surren- 
 dered. Captain Birch was armed with a splendid 
 Sharp's cavalry rifle, and all were mounted on 
 good horses. Middleton would scarcely take i 
 a thousand dollars for his rifle. 
 
 " One day Captain Farmer was alone at a black- 
 smith's shop, getting his horse shod for the jour- 
 ney, and not dreaming of rebels in many miles 
 of him. He heard a rustling in a neighboring i 
 cornfield, but paid no attention to it, until sud- <■ 
 denly he was fired on by forty men. The bullets 
 cut his clothes, and tore up the gravel all around 
 him, but he was not hurt. He dashed into a 
 neighboring thicket, losing his hat in his flight. 
 Shots were poured after liim, and a number of 
 rebels pursued, among whom was Captain Birch, 
 whom he had kindly treated, and released but a few 
 days before, after promising upon lionor not to ^ 
 molest the Union people again. Captain Farmer I 
 had a rifle and a pistol with him, but the rifle 
 missed fire, but with his pistol he scratched the i 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 327 
 
 Captain in the face, and cut his ear nearly free 
 from his head. 
 
 " Of course, the forty beat a hasty retreat, for- 
 getting even to take off the Captain's horse. 
 They rejoined the other portion of their band, 
 consisting, in all, of one hundred and fifty men. 
 The Captain soon met seven of his boys, and 
 gave the alarm. WJhile he went to coliect the 
 remainder, the seven secreted themselves in a 
 coi'nfield, and fired into the whole secesh crowd 
 as they passed along, killing two and wounding 
 one. The secesh prepared to make a charge into 
 the corn, but another round from their hidden foe 
 put the whole crowd to flight, leaving five dead 
 and two wounded in the road. The seven, 
 among whom were two of Farmer's sons, chased 
 the rebels to Clarksville. 
 
 " The mountainous districts of Arkansas are its 
 loyal portions. Particularly is this so in the Bos- 
 ton range, which extends from near Batesville to 
 an unlimited distance westward. Its gorges, caves, 
 and thickets form a safe retreat from danger, and 
 swarm with loyal men, objects of rebel cruelty and 
 persecution. 
 
 " To cross these mountain ranges, or ascend the 
 isolated peaks, is a most laborious undertaking. 
 With difficulty one clambers up the steep sides, 
 while a loose rock occasionally tumbles with a 
 crash into a chasm below. The summits are often 
 surrounded by a perpendicular wall of rock, with 
 only an occasional opening up the natural steps 
 by which they are attained. 
 
 " From these commanding eminences is had the 
 most singular and romantic view which imagina- 
 tion can paint. To some this rough scenery 
 would be enchantingly sublime. On either side 
 of narrow valleys, mountains piled up almost to 
 the clouds, exhibiting a variegated view of huge 
 rocks, crags, caverns, and peaks, and the whole 
 covered by a thick, almost impenetrable wilder- 
 ness. 
 
 " These are the fortresses of the hardy moun- 
 taineers, from which they bid defiance to the sur- 
 rounding rebel hordes, and often sweep down 
 upon them like an eagle on its prey. 
 
 " Nearly every crag and ravine among the Bos- 
 ton Mountains have echoed the sharp crack of 
 the rifie, used in deadly conflict between the con- 
 tending factions which divide the people of Ar- 
 kansas. The mountains are the fortresses of the 
 Union men, and woe be to the rebel who shows 
 himself in these haunts. The Union man who 
 ventures into the surrounding country is caught 
 and hung to the first limb. A rebel raid was 
 made up the valley of Hudson's Creek ' for the 
 purpose of cleaning out Vanderpool and his cursed 
 Feds,' under the command of Love and Sisel. As 
 they proceeded up the valley, two or three unsus- 
 pecting Federal recruits Mere caught and hung. 
 
 " But Vanderpool was not idle. Hastily collect- 
 ing about sixty or seventy of his men, he made an 
 attack on them at Huston's. The rapid fire of 
 the huntsmen's rifles resounded among the moun- 
 tains, and both parties fought with the determina- 
 tion to conquer or die. But our men found them- 
 Belves between two fires from the barn and house, 
 
 and being largely outnumbered, were obliged to 
 fall back. But Lieutenant Cross was determined 
 not to give up the unequal contest, and collecting 
 a few brave spirits, charged almost among the 
 enemy. He paid for his temerity Avith his life, 
 for he fell pierced with a score of balls. The sur- 
 vivors fled ; but no opportunity was lost to now 
 and then drop a stray shot among the rebels, un- 
 til then- situation became so dangerous that they 
 retreated into Carroll county, burying eight of 
 their dead in a field adjoining the house, and car- 
 rying oflT a large number of wounded. 
 
 " Our loss was one killed and four slightly 
 wounded. But by the death of Lieutenant Cross 
 the mountaineers lost their bravest and best friend. 
 He knew no fear, and his only fault was rashness. 
 None had such influence over the men to prevent 
 them from the same excesses as the rebels, as he. 
 After his death Vanderpool's recruits lost much 
 of the discipline which the Lieutenant had en- 
 forced. His death added another to the large list 
 of widows and orphans who can trace their be- 
 reavement directly to this cruel, heartless war. 
 
 " Mrs. Cross came with the recruiting party to 
 Springfield, for the purpose of getting the pay 
 due him for many months' faithful services ; but 
 met with little success. Many of the heartless 
 officers who have the management of much of 
 the army business, can, and often do, manage to 
 strip the ignorant, but deserving, Arkansas widow 
 or soldier of all or much of their hard earnings — 
 oftentimes costing blood and life. 
 
 "About the 1st of July, it was determined, 
 with the recruits on hand, to flght their way out, 
 if necessary, to the Federal lines ; and all were 
 ordered to rendezvous on Hudson's Creek, about 
 four miles above Jasper. But a bareheaded fe- 
 male express rider, mounted on a bare-backed 
 horse, reeking with sweat, announced that Sisel, 
 with a hundred men, was on Big Creek, eight miles 
 distant, committing depredations on the Union 
 inhabitants. About one hundred of our men 
 were mounted and off" in an instant. It was 
 thought best to go over the mountain, to the 
 head of the creek, and then down it and meet 
 him, as he was reported to be moving up the 
 stream. This required a circuit of twenty miles ; 
 and when we reached the settlement on Big Creek, 
 we found the bird had flown, retracing his course 
 down the creek. We followed on until midnight, 
 when horses and men were completely worn down. 
 They had travelled forty miles since two o'clock. 
 
 " They finally struck the Buffalo Creek, or River, 
 and camped on the farm of one Jackey Adair. 
 'Uncle Jackey' Avas an old man, was quite 
 wealthy, and a most bitter rebel. His hogs and 
 corn-cribs paid the penalty of this ; and, during 
 the two days at his place, man or beast lacked 
 not for something to eat. Here Mr. Bennett had 
 a severe attack of the pleurisy. It became neces- 
 sary for the men to go to other portions of the 
 State, and he was left with ' Uncle Jackey,' who 
 was informed that his life would pay the forfeit for 
 any harm which befell his patient. The old gentle- 
 man promised to do the best he could. 
 
 " Before dayhght the pursuit was resumed, and 
 
328 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 at sunrise the spot was reached where Sisel had 
 camped during the night. Of course he was 
 gone, and out of reach. The jaded steeds were 
 turned in another dhection, to Shinn's tanyard, 
 to get something for man and horse to eat. Here 
 were caught two persons, who said Sisel did not 
 leave his camp for the night until early sunrise. 
 Had it been known they were so close upon him, 
 there would have been either a fight or a foot- 
 race. It was now too late. 
 
 " The next morning, before daylight, the house 
 was surrounded by Sisel's whole gang, and the 
 old man was rudely asked in what room Mr. B. 
 was. Never did man plead for another as ' Uncle 
 Jackey ' pleaded for his patient. He knew he 
 would be killed if he was found, and being a per- 
 sonal friend of Sisel, he finally persuaded him to 
 leave. They did not even take the rifle or revolver. 
 In the mean time, Vanderpool had heard of Sisel's 
 movements, and early in the morning was back 
 at ' Uncle Jackey's.' The way that the rebels 
 had gone being pointed out, a reconnoitring party 
 was sent out, headed by Lieutenant Fesperman, 
 a man as brave and rash as Lieutenant Cross. 
 They had followed the rebel trail about a mile in 
 the woods, when, from an ambush, they were fired 
 upon, and Lieutenant Fesperman and another 
 were dangerously wounded. The remainder fled 
 in confusion. 
 
 " The rebels came from their covert and shot 
 Fesperman, wounded as he was, through the 
 head, killing him instantly. Vanderpool soon 
 came up, and the rebels fled. The burial of Fes- 
 perman, and the care of the Avounded man, occu- 
 pied them until afternoon. After this, the rebels 
 made no more raids among the mountains, and 
 were much afraid of the ' Mountain Feds,' even at 
 their places of resort. It was believed that our 
 own and Vanderpool's men numbered eight hun- 
 dred, and that we had a natural fort in the moun- 
 tains from which no force could drive us. 
 
 " On their return to the Federal lines, the party 
 were not molested until after passing Huntsville. 
 Guerrillas had thi'eatened to fire upon them from 
 every point ; but strong flanking parties on either 
 side prevented this, and the only loss from them 
 was one horse, while several regular soldiers and 
 a few guerrillas were captured. 
 
 " At Fayetteville was found a small party of 
 Federal soldiers, about fifty in number, mostly 
 convalescents from the hospitals, on their way to 
 their commands, with a number of recruiting 
 officers for Phelps' Second Arkansas cavalry. 
 Our party numbered about four hundred, and 
 the column had not all entered the town when a 
 sharp firing was heard in the western suburbs, 
 which was ascertained to be an attack of In- 
 graham, a guerrilla Captain, upon the pickets, 
 who, after exchanging a few shots, were driven 
 in. Receiving orders to conduct the unarmed 
 men (which included near half our number) to a 
 place of safety, Mr. Bennett directed them to 
 march out upon the telegraph road, in the direc- 
 tion of Cassville, until out of danger. The firing 
 coming nearer towards the centre of the town, a 
 sort of panic seized Vanderpool's men, and they 
 
 hastily retreated to the eastern portion of the 
 town. By the exertions of Vanderpool and a 
 few others, a stand was here made, but the rebel 
 shots soon began to whistle around them, and 
 our mountaineers aga^n took to flight. The offi- 
 cers in charge of the detachment of regular sol- 
 diers were somewhat under the influence of 
 liquor, and they, too, participated in the panic 
 and flight, in confusion, up the telegraph road. 
 Lieutenant Kelley had command of the rear 
 guard of our column, but so rapid had been Van- 
 derpool's flight from the town as to leave him 
 alone with a small detachment of his company. 
 He, too, fell back on the telegraph road. 
 
 " By the exertions of Captain Farmer, Kelley, 
 Mr. Bennett, and one or two of the officers in 
 charge of the convalescents, the flight was 
 stopped, order soon restored, and Ivelley prepared 
 to make a charge upon the rebels, who now had 
 entire possession of the town. Hastily collecting 
 about twenty men, he bore down upon the rebel 
 flank just as the last shots were being exchanged 
 with Vanderpool. The rebels, thinking this to be 
 a Federal reeiiforcement, designed to cut off" their 
 retreat, fired one volley, and then hastily fled, 
 thus presenting the novel spectacle of two con- 
 tending parties fleeing from each other. Lieu- 
 tenant Kelley was severely wounded by the last 
 fire of the rebels, a rifle shot entering above the 
 knee, and coming out of his back, Avhich pre- 
 vented his pursuing the flying rebels. 
 
 " They left three of their number dead, and 
 seven so seriously wounded as to be left behind. 
 Others of their number, less dangerously wound- 
 ed, made their escape. Our loss was but two 
 wounded, including Lieutenant Kelley. In num- 
 bers, the rebels were only about eighty, while our 
 armed force was at least near three hundred. Had 
 the rebels known our strength, they would not 
 have made the attack. They supposed there 
 were none to contend with but the small party of 
 convalescents and recruiting otficers, who en- 
 tered the town the evening before. 
 
 " The fight following so closely upon our enter- 
 ing the town, and there being no difference be- 
 tween the dress of the ' Mountain Feds ' and the 
 rebels, led the former to suppose the whole was 
 a rebel scheme to capture them. Hence their 
 rapid flight up tlie telegraph road. But Kelley's 
 daring cliarge undeceived them, and they were 
 no longer afraid of us. About sixty of our own 
 and Vander])oors recruits were so frightened as 
 not to stop their flight until they reached Cass- 
 ville. Vanderpool, M'ith the remainder, after 
 about three hours, came back to the town. It 
 Avas resolved. to hold the place for a time at 
 least, and if the rebels wished to attack us again, 
 to retrieve what had been lost in the first en- 
 counter. 
 
 " The country around Fayetteville had been 
 made desolate by both armies, which had alter- 
 nately occupied it. There was but one small 
 field of corn for many miles from town, and it 
 was difficult subsisting the horses. Bushwhack- 
 I ers swarmed around, firing upon and annoying 
 j the Federal foraging and scouting parties. In a 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 329 
 
 few days, Captains Robb and Worthington, with 
 two companies of the Fu-st Arkansas cavalry, 
 came down from Cassville. Not having orders 
 to hold the place, it was determined to abandon 
 it, after retaining possession only a week. 
 
 '•' Captain Vanderpool, with his recruits for the 
 Fii\st infantry, and the convalescents, about one 
 hundred and seventy-five, went to liis regiment 
 at Fort Gibson, M'hile Captains Robb and Wor- 
 thington, with the recruits and a large number 
 of citizens, who were moving north, took the 
 telegraph road for Cassville. 
 
 " While Mr. Bennett was at Fayetteville, hav- 
 ing some leisure, he wrote the details of his trip 
 in a letter to his wife, which he read to Lieutenant 
 Kelley, at his solicitation, while the Lieutenant 
 was lying sick in bed. A native Arkansian, who 
 was an attentive listener to the narrative, broke out : 
 
 " ' ^lajor, you must have been to school a right 
 smart.' 
 
 " The unsophisticated native was informed that, 
 like all the people of the North, he had enjoyed 
 the advantage of some schooling. 
 
 " ' Wall, you know a heap. That letter to your 
 wife reads just like a book.' 
 
 " It was late in the day before the march north- 
 ward was resumed. Ten miles were made the 
 first day. The next morning Captain Robb's 
 and Lieutenant Kelley's companies (now under 
 Captain Farmer,) numbering near one himdred 
 men, were ordered to proceed to the Elm Spring 
 road, and endeavor to catch some bushwhackers, 
 who, it was reported, infested it, and join the 
 main command at Cross Hollows. 
 
 " At the same time. Lieutenant Odlin, with forty 
 men, were sent to the rear of a mountain on the 
 right of the road in search of guerrillas, this being 
 a favorite haunt of theirs. Captain Worthing- 
 ton with the remainder, now reduced to about 
 fifty armed men, and all our unarmed rabble and 
 women and children, proceeded up the telegraph 
 road. They had proceeded but two or three 
 miles when a heavy volley was poured upon them 
 from the brush. The unarmed crowd fled in 
 every direction, but Captain Worthington, with 
 his men, for a few minutes bravely held the 
 ground and returned the enemy's fire. But the 
 Captain being wounded, and a large number of 
 horses and men being killed and wounded, they, 
 too, finally retreated. 
 
 " Captain Robb's command was nearly four 
 miles away when the firing commenced. ' To the 
 rescue, boys,' was his brief order ; and Mr. Ben- 
 nett's party went flying through the woods in the 
 direction of the firing. The rebels were prepar- 
 ing to charge upon the train and capture the 
 fugitives, when Captain Robb appeared in sight. 
 The clatter of hoofs, the shouts of the men, and 
 the immense cloud of dust we raised, led the 
 enemy to suppose the party were a large and un- 
 looked-for reenforcement coming from an oppo- 
 site direction, and they fled precipitately to the 
 woods. 
 
 " It was ascertained that the rebels numbered 
 four hundred, commanded by Colonel Hunter. 
 Captain Odlin encountered them in their retreat, 
 
 and with his thirty charged among them, killing 
 a few ; but seeing their overwhelming numbers 
 pouring around him, he pmdently retreated with 
 the loss of one prisoner. In this fight we lost 
 three killed and quite a number wounded, besides 
 a number that were missing, that we could not 
 ascertain what had become of them. Twelve 
 dead horses belonging to our men were counted. 
 This was considered a defeat for the Federals. In 
 fact, our men were so separated that victory was 
 impossible. 
 
 *' The most disgraceful part of the whole affair 
 was the leaving of our dead unburied, and three 
 of the wounded behind. The only excuse for 
 this was, that the enemy was expected to either 
 renew the attack there, or make a circuit around 
 and attack the party at Cross Hollows, and it was 
 necessary to proceed as fast as possible. We 
 were left in possession of the battle-field, and 
 there can be no reasonable excuse for this negli- 
 gence on our part. Camped that night in Cross- 
 Timbers Hollow, but a few miles from Iveetsville, 
 being molested no more on the march." 
 
 THE STARS AND STRIPES. 
 
 BY JAMES T. FIELDS. 
 
 Rally round the flag, boys — 
 Give it to the breeze ! 
 
 That's the banner we love 
 On the land and seas. 
 
 Brave hearts are under it ; 
 
 Let the traitors brag ; 
 Gallant lads, fire away ! 
 
 And fight for the flag. 
 
 Their flag is but a rag, ■ — 
 
 Ours is the true one ; 
 Tip with the Stars and Stripes ! 
 
 Down with the new one ! 
 
 Let our colors fly, boys — 
 Guard them day and night ; 
 
 For victory is liberty. 
 
 And God will bless the right. 
 
 A Hospital Incident. — A brother from the 
 Chi'istian Commission, while going the rounds 
 among the wounded, approached the bed of a 
 soldier suffering from a severe wound in the leg. 
 
 " Ah, my dear brother, war is a dreadful thing," 
 said the preacher. 
 
 " If you had my leg, you'd think so ; but I had 
 the satisfaction of "killing a few of them d — d rebe.s 
 before they knocked me doAvn," said the soldier. 
 
 " Yes, but you must remember that the rebels 
 are not our only enemy. Satan is our greatest 
 enemy — he is the enemy of our souls," said the 
 preacher. 
 
 " Satan is a pretty bad fellow, but he can't give 
 us worse than we got at Chickamauga," replied 
 the soldier, writhing under the pain of his wound. 
 
 "We must pray for our souls' salvation, 
 brother." 
 
 " No, I'll pray for my leg's salvation first, till 
 
330 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 I get another crack at them hounds," pointing to 
 Lookout Mountain, " and then I'll pray for my 
 soul," said the soldier. 
 
 The preacher left, convinced that the case was 
 a hopeless one. 
 
 1 ^^ 
 
 I , f A Substitute Wanted. — Chief Engineer 
 
 Dean, of the fire department, called at the office 
 
 where I make shoes for a living, and handed me 
 
 a big white envelope, notifying me that I was 
 
 drafted, and must report myself for examination 
 
 at Lawrence on the 18th day of August. 
 
 Now I consider it the duty of every citizen to 
 give his life, if need be, for the defence of his coun- 
 try ; so, on the morning of the eventful 18th, I put 
 on a clean shirt and my Sunday clothes, and started 
 for Lawrence, to see if I could get exempted. 
 
 Lawrence, as all know, is situated on the Mer- 
 rimac River, and its principal productions are 
 mud, dust, and factory girls. The city proper, 
 at least that part I savv, consisted of a long, nar- 
 row entry, up one flight of stairs, adorned over- 
 head with a frescoing of gas meters, and carpeted 
 with worn-out tobacco quids, and furnished with 
 one chair, two settees, and as many huge, square 
 packing cases, marked " Q. M. J)." Scattered 
 around this palatial entrance-hall were some forty 
 or fifty conscripts, looking very much as if they 
 expected to be exempted by old age before the 
 young man with a ferocious mustache should 
 notify them of their turn. Most of them were 
 doomed to disappointment ; for, while they count- 
 ed the hours of delay, a door would suddenly 
 open, and the tall young man would single out 
 one man, and march him through the open door- 
 way, to be seen no more. 
 
 By and by — that is, after several hours' wait- 
 ing — my turn came. 
 
 " John Smith ! " shouted the doorkeeper. 
 
 "That's me," says I. With' a cheer from the 
 crowd, I entered a large, square room, where two 
 persons sat writing at a table, and the third, evi- 
 dently the surgeon, was examining a man in the 
 last stages of nudity. 
 
 One of the writers at the table, a young man, 
 with curly eyes and blue hair, nodded to me, and 
 dipping his pen in the ink, commenced : 
 
 " John Smith, what's your name ? " 
 
 " John Smith," says L 
 
 " Where was you born ? '* 
 
 " Podunk, Maine." 
 
 "What did your great grandfather die of? " 
 
 " Darned if I know," says L 
 
 " Call it hapentoo," says he ; " and your grand- 
 father, too ? " 
 
 " I don't care what you call it," says I, for I 
 was a little riled by his nonsensical question. 
 
 " Did you ever have boils ! " 
 
 " Not a boll." 
 
 " Or fits ? " 
 
 " Nary fit." 
 
 " Nor delirium tremens ? " 
 
 " No, sir-ee ! " 
 
 " Or rickets ? " 
 
 " I'll ricket you," for I thought he meant some- 
 thing else. 
 
 " Did you ever have the measles ? " says he. 
 
 Here I took off my coat. 
 
 " Or the itch ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir," said I, "that fist" — and I shoved 
 a very large brown one within three inches of his 
 nose — " has been itching for the last ten minutes 
 to knock your pesky head off, you little, mean, 
 low-lived, contemptible whelp, you." 
 
 " My dear sir," said the mild-spoken, gentle- 
 manly Burgeon, laying his hand on my arm; 
 " calm yourself, I pray. Don't let your angry 
 passions rise, but take off your clothes, so I can 
 see what you are made of." 
 
 So I suppressed my anger, and withdrawing to 
 a corner, I hung my clothes upon the floor, and 
 presented myself for examination, clad only with 
 the covering nature had given me, except about 
 a square inch of court plaster on my right shin, 
 where I had fallen over a chair, the night before, 
 feeling for a match. 
 
 " Young man," said the surgeon, looking me 
 straight in the eye, " you have got the myopia." 
 
 " Hey ? " 
 
 " You have got the myopia." 
 
 "Yes, sir," said I, "and a good one, too — a 
 little Bininger, with a drop of Stoughton, makes 
 an excellent eye-opener, of a morning." 
 
 " And there seems to be an amaurotic tendency 
 of the right eye, accompanied with ophthalmia." 
 
 " Pshaw ! " says I. 
 
 " Arid that white spot in the left eye betokens 
 a cataract." 
 
 " I guess you mean in the ear," sa3'S I, " 'cause 
 I went in swimming this morning, and got an 
 all-fired big bubble in my left ear ; " and here I 
 jumped up and down, two or three times, on my 
 left foot, but to no pui-pose. As soon as I 
 stopped, he mounted a chair, and commenced 
 feeling the top of my head. 
 
 " Was your family ever troubled with epi- 
 lepsy?" says he. 
 
 " Only two of the boys," says I ; " and when 
 they catch them, my wife always goes at them 
 Mith a fine tooth comb the first thing." 
 
 Jumping off the chair, he hit me a lick in the 
 ribs that nearly knocked me over ; and before I 
 had time to remonstrate, his arms were around 
 my neck, and his head pressed against my bosom 
 the same way that Sophia Ann does, when she I 
 wants me to buy a new bonnet or dress. J 
 
 " Just what I thought," said he, " tuberculosis 
 and hemoptysis, combined with a defect in the 
 scapular membrane and incipient phthisis." 
 
 " Heaven ! " says I, " what's that? " 
 
 " And cardiac disease." 
 
 " No ? " said I._ 
 
 " And pericarditis! " 
 
 " Thunder ! " said L 
 
 " Stop talking ! Now count afler me — one ! " 
 
 " One ! " said I, more than half dead with fright. 
 
 " Asthma ! Two." 
 
 " Two ! " I yelled. 
 
 " Exostosis of the right fistula ! Thi-ee ! " 
 
 " Three ! " I gasped. 
 
 " Coxalgia ! Four ! " 
 
 "Murder!" said L "Four!" 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 331 
 
 idenum of the right ventricle ! 
 
 ear doctor ! ain't you most 
 int." 
 
 ; not half through. Why, my 
 3X was nothing to your chest. 
 
 a, and gloriosis, and conchol- 
 
 and — " 
 
 •embled so, I leaned against 
 
 " Confii 
 Five ! " 
 
 "O, d. 
 through ? 
 
 " Throu 
 friend. Pa 
 You have 
 ogia, and i 
 
 Here ra- 
 the table f( % 
 
 "And a nt luxation of the anterior 
 
 lobe of the ilanx." 
 
 My only as a deprecatory gesture. 
 
 "And sciuiuiuus aiathesis and omnipoditis." 
 
 I sank to the floor in utter despair. 
 
 " Eluration ! " he yelled, — for he saw I was 
 going fast, — " and maxillarium, and — " 
 
 When I woke to consciousness again, I found 
 myself in a puddle of water, an empty bucket near 
 by, and the surgeon astride my chest, shouting 
 something in my ear, of which, however, I could 
 hear notliing. 
 
 I smiled feebly in acknowledgment of his atten- 
 tions. At a sign from him, two attendants drew 
 near, and having lifted him into a chair, — for he 
 was absolutely black in the face with the violence 
 of his exertions, — they hoisted me to a perpen- 
 dicular, and the examination proceeded. 
 
 But I will not harass your feelings by repeat- 
 ing the heart-rending details. Suffice it to say, 
 that I was afflicted with gastritis, emphysemation, 
 marcidity, empyema, obesity, condyle of the hu- 
 merus, pilicose veins, hernia in both great toes, 
 and hemorrhoids in the left heel, besides lots of 
 other diseases, whose names I cannot remember. 
 Finally, after a rigid examination of my toe-nails 
 in search of eruptive lesions, he arose to his feet, 
 drew a long breath, wiped the perspiration from 
 his face with a stray newspaper, and commenced. 
 
 " Young man," said he, — and his eyes glistened 
 with delight as he spoke, — " you are really the 
 most interesting subject I ever met with. Really 
 a most wonderful case ! I don't know when I 
 have enjoyed a half hour so thoroughly. Why, 
 sir, with the exception of two, or at most three, 
 you have symptoms of every disease in the medi- 
 cal dictionary. Please let me embrace you again, 
 just to see if I can detect exicosis of the viscous 
 membrane. Well, — no," he continued, with a 
 slightly disappointed air, as he released me, "I 
 don't seem to find it, exactly ; but would you mind 
 coming round to my boarding-house, after tea, so 
 that 1 can spend the evening auscultating after 
 it?" 
 
 He was so anxious to find that particular symp- 
 tom, that I was sorry to refuse him ; but 1 had 
 promised Sophia Ann that I would be home to 
 tea, and knew she %vould worry if I staid ; so I 
 was obhged to decline. Seeing there was a lady 
 in..the_case, he very politely excused me — very 
 much to my relief. 
 
 " Well, good by, my friend," said he, as I took 
 my hat to go ; "I wish it was so you could go to 
 the war ; I would have you in my hospital in less 
 than a month, and then I could examine you at 
 
 ray leisure. I am positive a little exposure would 
 bring on those two symptoms I spoke of, and then 
 what a magnificent subject you would be ! How 
 I should like to dissect you ! But then, perhaps 
 you don't like it ; and if you don't, I don't know 
 as I blame you for wishing to preserve your won- 
 derful organization as long as possible ; so you 
 just go into the next room, and Captain Herrick 
 will give you a furlough to go home and provide 
 a substitute, or pay your commutation fee. Boy, 
 call the next on the list." 
 
 " But, sir," said I, aghast at his concluding re- 
 marks, " j'ou don't pretend to accept me as able- 
 bodied ? " 
 
 " Really, my friend," said he, " the fact is, you 
 have so many diseases that I actually don't know 
 which to specify. It won't do to say cranial dis- 
 ease, when it's your heart that's aflTected ; and if 
 I mention your heart, what's the use of your hav- 
 ing the consumption ? But I know Dr. Coggs- 
 well will be glad to get your commutation fee ; or 
 if you will bring up a likely substitute, I shall be 
 delighted to examine him ; and some day, when 
 we are both at Hberty, I shall be most happy to 
 have you call upon me. Hold ! just unbutton 
 your coat, for a moment ; I must find that ex- 
 ico— " 
 
 But here I broke from his grasp, and stopping 
 in the next room only long enough to procure my 
 furlough, I started for the railway station, and 
 never looked behind until I was safe in the arms 
 of Sophia Ann and my dear children. 
 • And now can anybody tell me where I can find 
 a good substitute, warranted diseased in the head, 
 heart, lungs, and legs, or all of them ? To such 
 a man I will give three hundred dollars down ; 
 or, if he prefer, at the rate of five dollars apiece 
 for each symptom ; and I promise him, in behalf 
 of our Uncle Samuel, food and clothing for three 
 years, together with medical attendance in pro- 
 portion to the number and malignity of his dis- 
 
 Capture of a Secession Flag. — The com- 
 mander of Camp Herron, Mo., in November, 
 1861, having learned that a certain very fine se- 
 cession flag, that had waved defiantly from a flag- 
 staff' in the village of Manchester, twenty miles 
 distant, until the successes of the Union forces 
 caused its supporters to conclude that, for the 
 present, " discretion would be the better part of 
 valor," was still being very carefully preserved, its 
 possessors boasting that they would soon be ena- 
 bled to rehoist it, determined upon its capture. 
 
 On the 15th inst., he directed First Lieutenant 
 H. C. Bull, of company C, of the Ninth Iowa 
 regiment, to take charge of the expedition, and 
 to detail fifteen good men for the purpose, which 
 detail the Lieutenant made from company C. 
 
 They left camp by the cars at half past five 
 P. M., landing at Slerrimac, three miles from 
 Manchester, proceeding from thence to Manches- 
 ter on foot, and surrounded the house of Squire 
 B., who had been foremost in the secession move- 
 ment of that strong secession town, and was re- 
 ported to be in possession of the flag. 
 
332 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 The Squire protested against the imputation, 
 declaring that the flag was not in his possession, 
 and that he knew not of its whereabouts. His 
 lady acknowledged that she had for a time kept 
 it secreted in a box in the garden ; but as it was 
 likely to become injured, she took it out, dried it 
 in the sun, when it was taken away by some la- 
 dies, who lived a long distance in the country, 
 
 ' ■ whose names she refused to give. Finally, after 
 
 ,,t ' a thorough but fruitless search of the house, af- 
 
 ^^ rier the Lieutenant had placed her husband under 
 
 V arrest, and he was being started for headquarters, 
 the lady, probably hoping to save her husband, 
 acknowledged that it was taken by a ^Irs. S., 
 who resided a mile and a half in the country, — 
 not such a terrible long distance, after all. Her 
 husband was then sent to Merrimac, escorted by 
 four soldiers, and the remainder, conducted by 
 the galJan^^Lieutenant, started to visit the resi- 
 dence of Mrs. S., in search of the flag. The dis- 
 tance to the lady's residence was soon travelled, 
 the house surrounded, and the flag demanded of 
 Mrs. S., who proved to be a very intelligent lady, 
 and was surrounded by a very interesting fam- 
 ily. The lady replied to the demand that she 
 would like to see the person that stated that she 
 took the flag from Squire B.'s ; that as to its 
 whereabouts she had nothing to say ; that the 
 Lieutenant could search her house, and if he 
 could find anything that looked like a flag, he was 
 welcome to it. Accordingly, a thorough search 
 was made, in which the lady and her daughter 
 aided, but no flag was to be found. The lady 
 then thanked the officer for the gentlemanly man- 
 ner in which the search had been conducted, and 
 added that she trusted he was satisfied. He re- 
 plied he was quite certain that she had the flag, 
 and that it would have been far better for her to 
 have yielded it ; but as she did not, as unpleasant 
 as the task was, he should arrest her and take 
 her to headquarters at Pacific City. Two men 
 were then despatched for a carriage with which 
 to convey the lady to Merrimac, and from thence 
 the lady was informed that she would be sent by 
 raib-oad. She accordingly made preparations to 
 go ; but after about an hour had elapsed in wait- 
 ing for the carriage, the lady again demanded 
 the name of the informants, and when told that it 
 was ]Mrs. B., and that Squire B. was already un- 
 der arrest, she then asked whether any indignity 
 would have been off'ered to her had the flag been 
 found m her possession, to which the courteous 
 Lieutenant replied, " Certainly not, madam ; our 
 object with Squire B. was his arrest, and the cap- 
 ture of the flag ; but with you, our object was the 
 flag." 
 
 '* Will you pledge your honor," said she, " that 
 if I surrender the flag I shall not be arrested, nor 
 my family disturbed ? " When replied to in the 
 affirmative, she added, " I wish you to understand, 
 sii", that no fear of arrest or trouble would ever 
 have made me surrender that flag ; but Squire 
 B.'s family induced me to take that flag to save 
 their family from trouble, saying that it should 
 be a sacred trust, known only to ourselves, and I, 
 consequently, surrender it." 
 
 She then went to a bed that had been fruit- 
 lessly searched, took from it a quilt, and with the 
 aid of her daughters proceeded to open the edges 
 of the quilt, and cut the stitches through the 
 body of it, and pulled off' the top, when, behold ! 
 there lay the mammoth flag next •;o the cotton, 
 being carefully stretched twice and nearly a half 
 across the quilt. When taken out and spread, it 
 proved to be a magnificent flag, over twenty-one 
 feet in length, and nearly nine feet in width, with 
 fifteen stars, to represent the prospective Southern 
 Confederacy. 
 
 " Recollect," said the lady to Lieutenant Bull, 
 " that you did not find it yourself, and when you 
 wish detectives, you had better employ ladies." 
 She also added, that she gave up the flag unwill- 
 ingly. The daughter remarked that she had 
 slept midcr it, and that she loved it, and that fif- 
 teen stars were not so terribly disunion, in her 
 estimation, after all. ■ '' 
 
 THE BATTLE-CRY OF FREEDOM. 
 
 Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys, 
 
 We'll rally once again, 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ; 
 We will rally from the hill-side, 
 
 We will rally from the plain, 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom. 
 
 Chorus. 
 The Union forever ! Hurrah, boys, hurrah ! 
 Down with the traitors, up with the Stars ; 
 While we rally round the flag, boys, 
 
 Rally once again. 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom. 
 
 We are springing to the call 
 
 Of our brothers gone before, 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ; 
 And we'll fill the vacant ranks 
 
 With a million freemen more. 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom. 
 
 The Union forever, &c. 
 
 We will welcome to our number 
 
 The loyal, true, and brave, 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ; 
 And although he may be poor 
 
 He shall never be a slave, 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom. 
 
 The Union forever, &c , 
 
 We are springing to the call, 
 
 From the East and from the West, 
 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ; 
 
 And we'll hurl the rebel crew 
 From the land we love the best, 
 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom. 
 The Union forever, &c. 
 
 We are marching to the field, boys, 
 
 Going to the fight, 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ; 
 And we'll bear the glorious Stars 
 
 Of the Union and the Right, 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom. 
 
 The Union forever, &c. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 333 
 
 We'll meet the rebel host, boys, 
 With fearless hearts and true, 
 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ; 
 
 And we'll show what Uncle Sam. 
 Has for loyal men to do, 
 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom. 
 The Union forever, &c. 
 
 If we fall amid the fray, boys, 
 We will face them to the last, 
 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ; 
 
 And our comrades brave shall hear us, 
 As we are rushing past, 
 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom. 
 The Union forever, &c. 
 
 Yes, for Liberty and Union 
 We are springing to the fight. 
 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ; 
 
 And the victory shall be ours, 
 Forever rising in our might, 
 
 Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom. 
 The Union forever, &e 
 
 BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 
 
 by samuel wiliceson. 
 
 Headquarters Aemy of Potojiac, | 
 Saturday Night, July 4. j 
 
 How can I ^Yl•ite the history of a battle Avhen 
 my eyes are immovably fastened upon a central 
 figure of transcendingly absorbing interest — the 
 dead body of my oldest born son, caused by a 
 shell in a position where the battery he com- 
 manded should never have been sent, and aban- 
 doned to die in a building where surgeons dared 
 not to stay ? 
 
 The battle of Gettysburg ! I am told that it 
 commenced on the 1st of July, a mile north of 
 the town, between two weak brigades of infantry 
 and some doomed artillery and the whole force 
 of the rebel army. Among other costs of this 
 error was the death of Reynolds. Its value was 
 priceless, however, though priceless was the 
 young and the old blood with which it was 
 bought. The error put us on the defensive, and 
 gave us the choice of position. From the mo- 
 ment that our artillery and infantry rolled back 
 through the main street of Gettysburg, and rolled 
 out of the town to the circle of eminences south 
 of it, we were not to attack, but to be attacked. 
 The risks, the difficulties, and the disadvantages 
 of the coming battle were the enemy's. Ours 
 were the heights for artillery; ours the short, 
 inside lines for manoeuvring and reenforcing; 
 ours the cover of stone walls, fences, and the 
 crests of hills. 
 
 The ground upon which we were driven to 
 accept battle was wonderfully favorable to us. 
 A popular description of it would be to say that 
 it was in form an elongated and somewhat 
 sharpened horse-shoe, with the toe to Gettysburg 
 and the heel to the south. 
 
 Lee's plan of battle was simple. He massed 
 his troops upon the east side of this shoe of po- 
 sition, and thundered on it obstinately to break 
 it The shelling of our batteries from the nearest 
 
 overlooking hill, and the unflinching courage and 
 complete discipline of the army of the Potomac, 
 repelled the attack. It was renewed at the point 
 of the shoe — renewed desperately at its south- 
 west heel — renewed on its western side with an 
 effort consecrated to success by Swell's earnest 
 oaths, and on which the fate of the invasion of 
 Pennsj'lvania was fully put at stake. Only a 
 perfect infantry and an artillery educated in the 
 midst of charges of hostile brigades could pos- 
 sibly have sustained this assault. Hancock's 
 corps did sustain it, and has covered itself with 
 immortal honors by its constancy and courage. 
 The total wreck of Cushing's battery — the list 
 of its killed and wounded — the losses of officers, 
 men, and horses Cowen sustained — and the mar- 
 vellous outspread upon the board of death of 
 dead soldiers and dead animals — of dead sol- 
 diers in blue and dead soldiers in gray — more 
 marvellous to me than anything I have ever seen 
 in war — are a ghastly and shocking testimony 
 to the terrible fighting of the Second corps that 
 none will gainsay. That corps Avill ever have the 
 distinction of breaking the pride and power of 
 the rebel invasion. 
 
 For such details as I have the heart for. The 
 battle commenced at daylight, on the east side of 
 the horse-shoe position, exactly opposite to that 
 which Ewell had sworn to crush through. Mus- 
 ketry-firing preceded the rising of the sun. A 
 thick wood veiled this fight, but out of its leafy 
 darkness arose the smoke — and the surging and 
 swelling of the fire, from intermittent to continu- 
 ous and crusliing, told of the wise tactics of the 
 rebels in attacking in force and changing their 
 troops. Seemingly the attack of the day was to 
 be made through that wood. The demonstration 
 was protracted — absolutely it was preparative. 
 There Avas no artillery fire accompanying the 
 musketry, but shrewd officers on our western 
 front mentioned, with the gravity due to the 
 fact, that the rebels had the day before fallen 
 trees at intervals upon the edge of the wood they 
 occupied in face of our position. These were 
 breastworks for the protection of artillerymen. 
 
 Suddenly, and about ten in the forenoon, the 
 firing on the east side, and everywhere about our 
 lines, ceased. A silence as of deep sleep fell 
 upon the field of battle. Our army cooked, ate, 
 and slumbered. The rebel army moved one hun- 
 dred and twenty guns to the west, and massed 
 there Longstreet's corps and Hill's corps, to hurl 
 them upon the really weakest point of our entire 
 position. 
 
 Eleven o'clock — twelve o'clock — one o'clock. 
 In the shadow cast by the tiny farm-house, sixteen 
 by twenty, which Gen. Meade had made his head- 
 quarters, lay wearied staff officers and tired jour- 
 nalists. There was not Avanting to the peaceful- 
 ness of the scene the singing of a bird, which 
 had a nest in a peach tree within the tiny yard 
 of the whitewashed cottage. In the midst of 
 its warbling, a shell screamed over the house, in- 
 stantly followed by another, and another, and in 
 a moment the air was full of the most complete 
 artillery prelude to an infantry battle that was 
 
334 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTo. 
 
 ever exhibited. Every size and form of shell, 
 known to British and to American gunnery, 
 shrieked, whirled, moaned, whistled, and wrath- 
 fully fluttered over our ground. As many as six 
 in a second, constantly two in a second, bursting 
 and screaming over and around the headquar- 
 ters, made a very hell of fire that amazed the 
 oldest officers. They burst in the yard — burst 
 next to the fence on both sides, garnished as 
 usual with the hitched horses of aids and order- 
 lies. The fastened animals reared and plunged 
 with teiTor. Then one fell, then another — six- 
 teen lay dead and mangled before the fire ceased. 
 Still fastened by their halters, which gave the ex- 
 pression of their being wickedly tied up to die 
 painfully, these brute victims of a cruel war 
 touched all hearts. Through the midst of the 
 storm of screaming and exploding shells, an am- 
 bulance, driven by its frenzied conductor at full 
 speed, presented to all of us the marvellous spec- 
 tacle of a horse going rapidly on three legs. A 
 hinder one had been shot off at the hock. A 
 shell tore up the little step of the Headquarters 
 Cottage, and ripped bags of oats as with a knife. 
 Another soon carried off one of its two pillars. 
 Soon a spherical case burst opposite the open 
 door — another ripped through the low garret. 
 The remaining pillar went almost immediately to 
 the howl of a fixed shot that Whitworth must 
 have made. During this fire, the horses at twen- 
 ty and thirty feet distant were receiving their 
 death, and soldiers in Federal blue were torn to 
 pieces in the road, and died with the peculiar 
 yells that blend the extorted cry of pain with 
 horror and despair. Not an orderly — not an 
 ambulance — not a straggler, was to be seen upon 
 the plain swept by this tempest of orchestral 
 death, thirty minutes after it commenced. Were 
 not one hundred and twenty pieces of artillery 
 trying to cut from' the field every battery we had 
 in position to resist their purposed infantry at- 
 tack, and to sweep away the slight defences be- 
 hind which our infantry were waiting? Forty 
 minutes — fifty minutes — counted on watches 
 that ran, O, so languidly ! Shells through the 
 two lower rooms ! A shell into the chimney that 
 fortunately did not explode. Shells in the yard. 
 The air thicker and fuller, and more deafening 
 with the howling and whirling of these infernal 
 missiles. The chief of staff struck. Seth Wil- 
 liams, loved and respected through the army, 
 separated from instant death by two inches of 
 space vertically measured. An aid bored with 
 a fragment of iron thi'ough the bone of the arm. 
 Another cut with an exploded piece of case shot. 
 And the time measured on the sluggish watches 
 was one hour and forty minutes. 
 
 Then there was a lull, and we knew that the 
 rebel infantry was charging. And splendidly they 
 did this work — the highest and severest test of the 
 stuff that soldiers ai-e made of. Hill's division, 
 in line of battle, came first on the double-quick, 
 their muskets at the " right-shoulder-shift." 
 Longstreet's came as the support, at the usual 
 distance, with war cries and a savage insolence, 
 as yet untutored by defeat. They rushed in per- 
 
 fect order across the open field up to the very 
 muzzles of the guns, which tore lanes through 
 them as they came. But they met men who were 
 their equals in spirit, and their superiors in te- 
 nacity. There never was better fighting, sinae 
 Thermopylae, than was done yesterday by our 
 infantry and artillery. The rebels were over our 
 defences. They had cleaned cannoneers and 
 horses from one of the gims, and were whirling 
 it around to use upon us. The bayonet drove 
 them back. But so hard pressed was this brave 
 infantry, that at one time, from the exhaustion of 
 their ammunition, every battery upon the princi- 
 pal crest of attack was silent, except Cowen's. 
 His service of grape and canister was awful. It 
 enabled our line, outnumbered two to one, first 
 to beat back Longstreet, and then to charge upon 
 him, and take a great number of his men and 
 himself prisoners. Strange sight ! So terrible 
 was our musketry and artillery fire, that when 
 Armistead's brigade was checked in its charge, 
 and stood reeling, all of its men dropped their 
 muskets, and crawled on their hands and knees 
 underneath the stream of shot till close to our 
 troops, where they made signs of surrendering. 
 They passed through our ranks scarcely noticed, 
 and slowly went down the slope to the road in 
 the rear. Before they got there, the grand 
 charge of Ewell, solemnly sworn to and care- 
 fully prepared, had failed. 
 
 The rebels retreated to their lines, and opened 
 anew the storm of shell and shot from their one 
 hundred and twenty guns. Those who remained 
 at the riddled headquarters will never forget the 
 crouching, and dodging, and running of the but- 
 ternut-colored captives when they got under this, 
 their friends' fire. It was appalling to as good 
 soldiers even as they were. 
 
 What remains to say of the fight? It strag- 
 gled surlily over the middle of the horse-shoe on 
 the west, grew big and angry on the heel at the 
 south-west, lasted there till eight o'clock in the 
 evening, when the fighting Sixth corps went joy- 
 ously by as a reenforcement thi-ough a wood bright 
 with coffee pots on the fire. 
 
 My pen is heavy. O, you dead, who at Get- 
 tysburg have baptized with your blood the second 
 birth of Freedom in America, how you are to be 
 envied ! I rise from a grave whose wet clay I 
 have passionately kissed, and I look up and see 
 Christ spanning this battle-field with his feet, and 
 reaching fraternal and loving up to heaven. His 
 right hand opens the gates of Paradise, — with 
 his left he sweetly beckons to these mutilated, 
 bloody, swollen forms to ascend. 
 
 Incident of Nashville. — The Sixty-ninth 
 
 Illinois regiment, after marching in column 
 through the principal streets of Nashville, cheer- 
 ing for the Union, came to a halt and in line of 
 battle in front of the St. Cloud Hotel, where Gov- 
 ernor Andy Johnson was stopping, and ofl'ered 
 three cheers for the "Union, the Constitution, 
 and- the enforcement of the laws ; " whereupon 
 Governor Andy Johnson appeared, hat in hand, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 335 
 
 and made a very little -war speech. While these 
 things were going on, a pretty young lady, expen- 
 sively and tastily dressed, promenading the street, 
 was put to the inconvenience of having to pass 
 round the right wing of the battalion, which 
 blocked up two streets. As she swept along, she 
 turned up her pretty nose (as is their custom) at 
 a manly, soldierly appearing Corporal in company 
 D. The Corporal promptly stepped out of ranks, 
 caused three soldiers to do the same, and invited 
 the young lady to pass through the interval. She 
 accepted the invitation, but, in passing through 
 the lines, gave the Corporal a " withering glance," 
 as Reynolds would have it, and said to him, "You 
 had better all of you go home." " O, no," an- 
 swered the Corporal, " we like your country, your 
 climate, your people." " Our people ! " the young 
 lady exclaimed, sucking in a good supply of 
 breath ; " are you not ashamed to drive our poor 
 men from their homes and theii- families ? " " But 
 we don't want to drive them away," said the Cor- 
 poral, " if they will only have any sense — we 
 don't want their niggers — don't want to free 
 them — have too many niggers North now — all 
 we want is to keep together the old government, 
 and to keep up the old flag, and that we are going 
 to do." 
 
 A True Kentucktan. — The Provost Marshal 
 of the Eighth District of Kentucky, having called 
 upon those whom he had enrolled to show cause 
 for exemption, — if cause there were, — was wait- 
 ed on by a large crowd, nearly all of whom were 
 rebels, many of them having served several 
 months in the rebel army, but considered them- 
 selves unfit for the hardships of the tented field. 
 Hereupon, the Provost Marshal was favored with 
 tlae following letter : 
 
 KiCHJioJJD, Ky., December 17, 1863. 
 
 Captain Robert Hays, Provost MarsTial Eighth, 
 District, London, Kentucky : 
 
 Dear Sir: I have seen your advertisement 
 giving the people desiring exemption from the 
 coming draft an opportunity to lay in their com- 
 plaints, &c. Now, sir, I have never had the honor 
 of your acquaintance, but I can refer you, for the 
 truth of what I am about to say, to my worthy 
 friend, James D. Foster, surgeon, and a member 
 of your honorable Board. My complaints are as 
 follows, viz. : 
 
 I have no broken limbs. I have no chronic dis- 
 eases, such as iuflamnvatory rheumatism, chronic 
 inflammation of the stomach, phthisic, white swell- 
 ing, &c. I am not blind in either eye. I am not 
 knock-kneed. I am not bandy shanked. I am 
 not bow-legged. I have no bad teeth, and can bite 
 ofi' a cartridge. I stand straight on my pastern 
 joints. I have never been drilled in the Southern 
 army, and never been so fortunate as to belong 
 to the sympathizing party in Madison. I have no 
 impediment in my speech. I am neither near- 
 sighted nor far-sighted. I can hear well ; I can hear 
 the ring of a musket as well as the ring of a silver 
 dollar. In short, I am sound in wind and limb. 
 
 I am about twenty-eight years old. I am a house- 
 keeper, and have a wife (a good Union woman), 
 and no children living. I am a citizen of Madi- 
 son County, Kentucky, from which you want two 
 hundred and thirty-nine soldiers. I am as brave 
 as any man who is no braver than I am. One of 
 my legs is as long as the other, and both are long 
 enough to run well. I am for the " last man and 
 the last dollar," " nigger or no nigger ; " espe- 
 cially the last man. If you have a good musket 
 marked " U. S.," send it down here, and I am 
 ready to bear it in defence of the Union. I am 
 no foreigner, and claim all the papers that entitle 
 me to " go in." Willard DA\^s. 
 
 At Island Number Ten, Major Corse, In- 
 spector-General on General Pope's stafl", discov- 
 ered a crowd of secessionists in a cornfield. As 
 soon as he was seen by them, they hid themselves 
 amongst the corn, and the Majoi', being alone, 
 naturally feared that he himself would be taken 
 prisoner instead of making them his captives. 
 There was nothing to be done, however, but to 
 put a bold face on the matter ; so he took down 
 the rail fence suiTOunding the field, rode in among 
 them, and ordered them to march into the road, 
 and stack arms there. This order was obeyed, 
 and the Major's feelings were considerably re- 
 lieved when a guard came along with other pris- 
 oners, to whom he very willingly transferred those 
 he had taken, and went on his way rejoicing. 
 Secretary Scott and Adjutant-General Butler 
 found themselves at one time in a similar posi- 
 tion ; they, too, trusting to the justness of their 
 cause, commanded the rebels to surrender. This 
 they did, and thei^ two officers brought into 
 camp one hundred and fifty-three prisoners of 
 their own manufacture. 
 
 The Vermont Brigade. — The following de- 
 scription of this noted brigade was written by "one 
 who did not belong to it, and who never was in 
 Vermont." It will be seen, by the tenor of the 
 article, that the writer is no flatterer, although the 
 relation of the truth constitutes his j'l'oduction 
 complimentary to the gallant " Green Mountain 
 boys : " 
 
 " They were honest farmers turned vagabonds. 
 They were simple countrymen changed into heroes. 
 They were quiet townsmen that had become ro- 
 vers. They stole ancient horses and bony cows 
 on the march. They pillaged moderately in other 
 things. They SM-ept the dairies, and they stripped 
 the orchards for miles where they travelled. They 
 chased rabbits when they M-ent into camp, after 
 long marches, and they yelled like wild Indians 
 when neighboring camps were silent thi'ough fa- 
 tigue. They were ill disciplined and familiar with 
 their officers. They swaggered in a cool, impu- 
 dent way, and looked down with a patronizing 
 Yankee coolness upon all regiments that were 
 better drilled, and upon that part of the army 
 generally that did not belong to the Vermont 
 brigade. They were strangely proud, not of them- 
 
336 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 selves individually, but of the brigade collective- 
 ly ; for they knew perfectly "svell they were the 
 best fighters in the known world. They were 
 long of limb, and could outmarch the army. They 
 were individually self-reliant and skilful in the use 
 of arms ; and they honestly believed that the Ver- 
 mont brigade could not be beaten by all the com- 
 bined armies of the rebellion. 
 
 "They were veterans in fighting qualities al- 
 most from their first skirmish. This was at Lee's 
 Mills. They crossed a narrow dam under a fire, 
 made the attack they were instructed to make, 
 and came back, wading deep in the water, with a 
 steadiness that surprised the army. They were an 
 incorrigible, irregular, noisy set of rascals. They 
 were much sworn at during their four years of 
 service ; yet they were at all times a pet brigade. 
 There were but two things they would do — march 
 and fight ; and these they did in a manner pe- 
 culiarly their own. They had a long, slow, swing- 
 ing stride on the march, which distanced every- 
 thing that followed them. They had a quiet, 
 attentive, earnest, individual way of fighting that 
 made them terrific in battle. Each man knew 
 that his neighbor in the ranks was not going to 
 run away ; and he knew, also, that he himself in- 
 tended to remain where he was. Accordingly none 
 of the attention of the line was directed from the 
 important duty of loading and firing, 'rapidly and 
 carefully. When mo-\ing into action, and while 
 hotly engaged, they made queer, quaint jokes, 
 and enjoyed them greatly. They crowed like 
 cocks, they ba-a-ed like sheep, they neighed like 
 horses, they bellowed like bulls, they barked like 
 dogs, and they counterfeited, with excellent efi"ect, 
 the indescribable music of the mule. When, per- 
 chance, they held a picket linefci a forest, it seemed 
 as if Noah's ark had gone to pieces there. 
 
 " In every engagement in which this-brigade 
 took part, it was complimented for gallant con- 
 duct. One of the most remarkable of its perform- 
 ances, however, has never appeared in print, nor 
 has it been noticed in the reports. After the bat- 
 tle of Gettysburg, when Lee's army was in the 
 vicinity of Hagerstown and the Antietam, the 
 Vermont brigade was deployed as a skirmishing 
 line, covering a point of nearly three miles. The 
 enemy were in force in front, near Beaver Creek. 
 The Sixth corps was held in readiness in rear of 
 the skirmish line, anticipating a general engage- 
 ment. The enemy had evidently determined to 
 attack. At last his line of battle came forward. 
 The batteries opened at once, and the skirmishers 
 delivered their fire. Our troops were on the alert, 
 and stood watching for the skirmishers to come 
 in, and waiting to receive the coming assault. But 
 the skirmishers would not come in ; and when the 
 firing died away, it appeared that the Vermonters 
 thus deployed as a skirmish line had actually re- 
 pulsed a full line of battle attack. Twice after- 
 wards the enemy advanced to carry the po- 
 sition, and were each time again driven back by 
 this perverse skirmish line. The Vermonters, 
 it is true, were strongly posted in a wood, and 
 each man fired from behind a tree. But then 
 everybody knows that the etiquette in such mat- 
 
 ters is for a skirmish line to come in so soon as 
 they ai-e satisfied that the enemy means business. 
 These simple-minded patriots from the Green 
 Mountains, however, adopted a rvde of their own 
 on this occasion ; and the enemy, disgusted with 
 such stupidity, retired across the Beaver Creek, j 
 
 " When the Vermonters led the column on a 
 march, their quick movements had to be regulated 
 from corps or division headquarters, to avoid gaps 
 in the column as it followed them. If a rapid or 
 forced march were required, it was a common 
 thing for Sedgwick to say, with a quiet smile, ' Put 
 the Vermonters at the head of the column to-day, 
 and keep everything well closed up.' 
 
 "After the riots in New York, when it was 
 found necessary to send troops to the city to pre- 
 vent a recurrence of the outbreak, the Vermont 
 brigade was specially named by the War Depart- 
 ment for this duty. Within two hours after the 
 receipt of the despatch, the command was en route 
 for the city. They occupied the public squares 
 here for some time, enjoyed themselves not wisely, 
 nor yet virtuously ; and returned to the army of 
 the Potomac sadly demoralized in all l)ut tlie two 
 great essential qualities of fighting and marching. 
 It was a fortunate thing for the New York mob 
 that it avoided a conflict with the New England 
 troops at that time. 
 
 " Upon the return of the brigade to the field 
 they quietly held on to their old routine of life, 
 and maintained to the close of the war the splen- 
 did reputation they had won at the very outset. 
 
 " There were many regiments equal to the Ver- 
 mont regiments in actual battle, and some that, 
 like the Fifth New York volunteers, not only 
 equalled them in fighting qualities, but greatly 
 surpassed them in drill, discipline, and appearance 
 on parade. As a brigade, however, they were 
 undoubtedly the best brigade in the army of the 
 Potomac, for they not only fought as well as it 
 was possible to fight, but they could outmarch, 
 with the utmost ease, any other organization in 
 the army. 
 
 " It was the intention of the writer only to refer 
 to this brigade, as furnishing the best type of the 
 American soldier ; but this article has grown be- 
 yond its intended limit, and we have, therefore, 
 not the space to examine into the causes of this 
 superiority. Two, however, may be briefly stated. 
 First, that the regiments from Vermont were bri- 
 gaded together. This rule, strange to say, seemed 
 to work well only in regard to the smaller States, 
 like Vermont and New Jersey. Second, the fact 
 that Vermont, during the first year of the war, 
 recruited for her regiments, and kept them full. 
 Regimental and company officers, knowing that 
 their ranks would be filled up, discharged men 
 freely, and thus managed to get rid of their weak 
 and worthless soldiers. For these reasons the 
 Vermonters were good men. They were fortunate, 
 moreover, in having such commanders as General 
 W. F. Smith and General W. T. H. Brooks. It 
 naturally resulted from this combination of cir- 
 cumstances that they became a great power in 
 battle, and earned a reputation of which every 
 man and woman in Vermont may well be proud." 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 337 
 
 Spiritualism at the White House. — A 
 correspondent at Washington, in the spring of 
 1863, naiTated the following story : 
 
 " A few evenings since, Abraham Lincoln, 
 President of tlie United States, was induced to 
 give a spiritual soiree in the crimson room at the 
 AVhite House, to test the wonderful alleged super- 
 natural powers of Mr. Charles E. Shockle. It 
 was my good fortune, as a friend of the medium, to 
 be present, the party consisting of the President, 
 Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. AVelles, Mr. Stanton, IMr. 
 L , of New York, and Mr. F , of Phila- 
 delphia. We took our seats in the circle about 
 eight o'clock, but the President was called away, 
 shortly after the manifestations commenced, and 
 the spirits, which had apparently assembled to 
 convince him of their power, gave visible tokens 
 of their displeasure at the President's absence, 
 by pinching INIr. Stanton's ears, and twitching 
 Mr. Welles' beard. He soon returned, but it was 
 some time before harmony was restored, for the 
 mishaps to the secretaries caused such bursts of 
 laughter that the influence was very unpropitious. 
 For some half hour the demonstrations were of 
 a physical character — tables were moved, and 
 the picture of Henry Clay, which hangs on the 
 Avail, was swayed more than a foot, and two can- 
 delabras, presented by the Dey of Algiers to 
 President Adams, were twice raised nearly to the 
 ceiling. 
 
 " It was nearly nine o'clock before Shockle was 
 fully under spiritual influence ; and so powerful 
 were the subsequent manifestations, that tM'ice, 
 during the evening, restoratives were applied, for 
 he was much weakened ; and though I took no 
 notes, I shall endeavor to give you as faithful an 
 account as possible of what took place. 
 
 " Loud rappings, about nine o'clock, were heard 
 directly beneath the President's feet, and Mi\ 
 Shockle stated that an Indian desired to com- 
 municate. 
 
 " ' Well, sir,' said the President, ' I should be 
 happy to hear what his Indian majesty has to say. 
 We have recently had a visitation from our red 
 brethren, and it was the only delegation, black, 
 white, or blue, which did not volunteer some ad- 
 vice about the conduct of the war.' 
 
 " The medium then called for pencil and paper, 
 and they were laid upon the table in sight of all. 
 A handkerchief was then taken from Mr. Stanton, 
 and the materials were carefully concealed from 
 sight. In less space of time than it has required 
 for me to write this, knocks were heard, and the 
 paper was uncovered. To the surprise of all 
 present, it read as follows : 
 
 " ' Haste makes waste, but delays cause vexa- 
 tions. Give vitality by energy. Use every means 
 to subdue. Proclamations are useless ; make a 
 bold front, and fight the enemy ; leave traitors at 
 home to the care of loyal men. Less note of 
 preparation, less parade and policy talk, and more 
 action. Hbnky Knox.' 
 
 " ' That is not Indian talk, Mr. Shockle,' said 
 the President. ' Who is Henry Knox ? ' 
 " I suggested to the medium to ask who Gen- 
 22 
 
 eral Knox was ; and before the words were from 
 my lips, the medium spoke in a strange voice : 
 ' The first Secretary of War.' 
 
 '"O, yes, General Knox,' said the President, 
 who, turning to the Secretary, said : * Stanton, that 
 message is for you ; it is from your predecessor.' 
 
 " Mr. Stanton made no reply. 
 
 " ' I should like to ask General Knox,' said the 
 President, ' if it is within the scope of his ability, 
 to tell us when this rebellion will be put down.' 
 
 " In the same manner as before, this message 
 was received : 
 
 " * Washington, Lafayette, Franklin, Wilber- 
 force. Napoleon, and myself, have held frequent 
 consultations on this point. There is something 
 which our spiritual eyes cannot detect, which ap- 
 pears well formed. Evil has come at times by 
 removal of men from high positions, and there 
 are those in retirement, whose abilities should be 
 made useful to hasten the end. Napoleon says, 
 concentrate yom* forces upon one point ; Lafay- 
 ette thinks that the rebellion will die of exhaus- 
 tion ; Franklin sees the end approaching, as the 
 South must give up for want of mechanical 
 ability to compete against Northern mechanics. 
 Wilberforce sees hope only in a negro army. 
 
 Knox.' 
 
 " ' Well,' exclaimed the President, ' opinions 
 differ among the saints as well as among the sin- 
 ners. They don't seem to imderstand running 
 the machines among the celestials much better 
 than we do. Their taUi and advice sound very 
 much like the talk of my cabinet — don't you 
 think so, Mr. Welles?' 
 
 " * Well, I don't know — I will think the mat- 
 ter over, and see what conclusion to arrive at.' 
 
 " Heavy raps were heard, and the alphabet was 
 called for, when, ' That's what's the matter,' was 
 spelt out. 
 
 " There Avas a shout of laughter, and Mr. 
 Welles stroked his beard. 
 
 " * That means, Mr. Welles,' said the President, 
 * that you are apt to be long-winded, and think 
 the nearest way home is the longest way round. 
 Short cuts in Avar times. I Avish the spirits could 
 tell us liOAv to catch the Alabama.' 
 
 " The lights, which had been partially lowered, 
 almost instantaneously became so dim that I 
 could not see sufficiently to distinguish the fea- 
 tures of any one in the room, and on the large 
 mirror over the mantel-piece there appeared the 
 most beautiful, though supernatural, picture ever 
 beheld. It represented a sea vieAV, the Alabama 
 with all steam up, flying from the pursuit of 
 another large steamer. Tavo merchantmen, in 
 the distance, Avere seen, partially destroyed by 
 fire. The picture changed, and the Alabama was 
 seen at anchor under the shadow of an English 
 fort — from Avhich an English flag Avas waving. 
 The Alabama Avas floating idly, not a soul on 
 board, and no signs of life visible about her. The 
 picture vanished, and in letters of purple ap- 
 peared : ' The English people demanded this of 
 England's aristocracy.' 
 
 " ' So England is to seize the Alabama, final- 
 
338 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ly,' said the President. ' It may be possible ; but, 
 Mr. Welles, don't let one gunboat or monitor 
 less be built.' 
 
 " The spirits called for the alphabet, and again 
 ' That what's the matter,' was spelt out. 
 
 "'I see, I see,' said the President. ' Mother 
 England thinks that what's sauce for the goose 
 may be sauce for the gander. It may be tit-tat, 
 too, hereafter. But it is not very compliment- 
 ary to our navy, anj-how.' 
 
 " ' We've done our best, Mr. President,' said 
 Mr. Welles. * I'm maturing a plan which, when 
 perfected, I think, if it works well, will be a per- 
 fect trap for the Alabama.' 
 
 " ' Well, Mr. Shockle,' remarked the Presi- 
 dent, 'I have seen strange things, and heard 
 rather odd remarks ; but nothing which con- 
 vinces me, except the pictures, that there is any- 
 thing very heavenly about all this. I should like, 
 if possible, to hear what Judge Douglas says 
 about this war.' 
 
 " ' I'll try to get his spirit,' said Mr. Shockle ; 
 'but it sometimes happens, as it did to-night in 
 the case of the Indian, that though first im- 
 pressed by one spirit, I yield to another more pow- 
 erful. If perfect silence is maintained, I will see 
 if vt'e cannot induce General Knox to send for 
 Mr. Douglas.' 
 
 " Three raps were given, signifying assent to the 
 proposition. Perfect silence was maintained, and 
 after an interval of perhaps three minutes, Mr. 
 Shockle rose quickly from his chair, and stood 
 up behind it, resting his left arm on the back, his 
 right thrust into his bosom. In a voice, such as 
 no one could mistake, who had ever heard Mr. 
 Douglas, he spoke. I shall not pretend to quote 
 the language. It was eloquent and choice. He 
 urged the President to throw aside all advisers 
 who hesitate about the policy to be pursued, and 
 to listen to the wishes of the people, who would 
 sustain him at all points, if his aim was, as he 
 believed it was, to restore the Union. He said 
 there were Burrs and Blennerhassets living, but 
 that they would wither before the popular appro- 
 val which would follow one or two victories, 
 such as he thought must take place ere long. 
 The turning-point in this war will be the proper 
 use of these victories. If wicked men, in the 
 first hours of success, think it time to devote 
 their attention to party, the war will be pro- 
 longed ; but if victory is followed up by ener- 
 getic action, all will be well. 
 
 " 'I believe that,' said the President, ' whether 
 it comes from spirit or human.' 
 
 " Mr. Shockle was much prostrated after this, 
 and at Mrs. Lincoln's request, it was thought 
 best to adjourn the seance." 
 
 Seventy-slx and Sixty-four. — Among a 
 large number of articles sent to the Sanitary 
 Commission was a good and patriotic old lady's 
 last tribute, to be laid on the altar of her country, 
 bearing the following inscription : 
 
 " These socks were spun and knit by Mrs. Ze- 
 ruah Clapp, ninety-six years old, whose hands, 
 
 in youth, were engaged in moulding bullets in 
 the Revolutionary War." — Chestertown, New 
 York. 
 
 GENERAL LEE'S WOOING. 
 " JV/y Maryland! My Maryland ! " 
 
 My Maryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 Among thy hills of blue 
 I wander fsir, I wander wide, 
 
 A lover bold and true; 
 I sound my horn upon the hills, 
 
 I sound it in the vale ; 
 But echo only answers it — 
 
 An echo like a wail. 
 
 5Iy Maryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 I bring thee presents fine — 
 A dazzling sword with jewelled hilt, 
 
 A flask of Bourbon wine ; 
 I bring thee sheets of ghostly white, 
 
 To dress thy bridal bed, 
 With curtains of the purple eve, 
 
 And garlands gory red. 
 
 My Maryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 Sweet land upon the shore. 
 Bring out thy stalwart j'eomanry, 
 
 Make clean the threshmg-floor. 
 My ready wains lie stretching far 
 
 Across the fertile plain, 
 And I among the reapers stand 
 
 To gather in the grain. 
 
 My Maryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 I fondly wait to see 
 Thy banner flaunting in the breeze. 
 
 Beneath the trysting tree ; 
 While all my gallant company 
 
 Of gentlemen, with spurs. 
 Come tramping, tramping o'er the hills, 
 
 And tramping through the furze. 
 
 My Maryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 I feel the leaden rain ! 
 I see the winged messenger 
 
 Come hurling to my brain ! 
 K feathered with thy golden hair, 
 
 'Tis feathered not in vain ; 
 I spurn the hand that loosed the shaft. 
 
 And curse thee in my pain. 
 
 My Maryland ! My Maryland ! 
 
 Alas the ruthless day 
 That sees my gallant buttonwoods 
 
 Ride galloping away ! 
 And ruthless for my chivalry, 
 
 Proud gentlemen, with spurs. 
 Whose bones lie stark upon the hills, 
 
 And stark among the furze. 
 
 An Anecdote of Colonel Hugh ]\IcNeil. — 
 Dui'ing the battle of South Mountain the rebels 
 held a very strong position. They were posted 
 in the mountain pass, and had infantry on the 
 heights on every side. Our men were compelled 
 to carry the place by storm. The position seemed • 
 impregnable ; large craggy rocks protected the 
 enemy on every side, while our men were exposed 
 to a galling fire. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 339 
 
 A band of rebels occupied a ledj^e on the ex- 
 treme right, as the Colonel approached with a few 
 of his men. The unseen force poured upon them 
 a volley. McNeil, on the instant, gave the com- 
 mand : 
 
 " Pour your fire upon those rocks ! " 
 
 The Bucktails hesitated ; it was not an order 
 that they had been accustomed to receive ; they 
 had alw-ays picked their men. 
 
 " Fire ! " thundered the Colonel ; " I tell you to 
 fire at those rocks ! " 
 
 The men obeyed. For some time an irregular 
 fire was kept up, the Bucktails sheltering them- 
 selves, as best they could, behind trees and rocks. 
 On a sudden McNeil caught sight of two rebels 
 peering through an opening in the works to get 
 an aim. The eyes of the men followed their com- 
 mander, and half a dozen rifles were levelled in 
 that direction. 
 
 " Wait a minute," said the Colonel ; " I will try 
 my hand. There is nothing like killing two birds 
 with one stone." 
 
 The two rebels were not in line, but one stood 
 a little distance back of the other, while just in 
 front of the foremost was a slanting rock. Colonel 
 McNeil seized a rifle, raised it, glanced a moment 
 along the polished barrel ; a report followed, and 
 both the rebels disappeared. At that moment a 
 loud cheer a little distance beyond rent the air. 
 
 " All is right now," cried the Colonel ; " charge 
 the rascals." 
 
 The men sprang up among the rocks in an in- 
 stant. The afii'ighted rebels turned to run, but 
 encountered another body of the Bucktails, and 
 were obliged to surrender. Not a man of them 
 escaped. Every one saw the object of the Colo- 
 nel's order to fire at random among the rocks. 
 He had sent the party around to their rear, and 
 meant thus to attract their attention. It was a 
 perfect success. 
 
 The two rebels by the opening in the ledge 
 were found lying there stifi" and cold. Colonel 
 McNeil's bullet had struck the slanting rock in 
 front of them, glanced, and passed through both 
 their heads. There it lay beside them, flattened. 
 The Colonel picked it up, and put it in his 
 pocket. 
 
 Incidents of Shekman's March. — A corre- 
 spondent who accompanied the army of General 
 Sherman gives the following : 
 
 " I entered a house. The hostess was standing 
 in a small room with closed door, looking through 
 a small aperture, and crying : ' O ! don't kill me. 
 I am afeard of you.' I assured her my profound 
 respect for her sex had always, led me to treat 
 them Avith the most tender kindness. ' O, yes,' 
 she said, ' but — but you Yankees have been rec- 
 ommended to us to be a very bad and murder- 
 some set of people ! ' 
 
 " In another hut I saw two women and seven 
 small children, the oldest not more than nine 
 years of age. They looked forlorn and hojieless. 
 It seemed to me that death would be a relief to 
 them all. Though they had not eaten a mouthful 
 for three days, ooth women were smoking. A 
 
 child was lying on the bed. I saw, by its burning 
 cheek, that it was very ill. I said, ' Is your child 
 sick ? ' ' Yes,' she replied, and seemed, by her 
 indiflerence, to have even lost a mother's love. I 
 procured one of our surgeons ; he examined the 
 child, and said, ' Dying of starvation.' Before I 
 left, the doctor had ordered provisions from the 
 Commissary, for Avhich he paid out of his own 
 funds. There are some kind men left yet. The 
 husbands of these women were in the rebel army. 
 The authorities make no provision for the poor. 
 It is hard to see tlie suffering here en<3ured by 
 these harmless, illiterate people. 
 
 " One cause of their sufferings is the necessity 
 of taking something in the way of provisions. 
 If the supplies of forage are not up, the boys \vill 
 take the corn, and other things, too. I saw one 
 fellow attacking a beehive which had been left 
 behind. The bees were worse than rebels. He 
 was repulsed. But, on making the second attack, 
 he ckew a large grain sack over his head and 
 shoulders, donned his buckskin gauntlets, took 
 the enemy, and divided the spoils. It is laugh- 
 able to see the German soldiers out foraging. It 
 is not unfrequently that an ancient hen is seen 
 swinging from the pommel of a saddle, and a 
 brood of young chickens following the horse." 
 
 Bravery of Captain Hess. — On the 19th 
 of May, 1864, at Milford Station, on the Virginia 
 Central Railroad, F. W. Hess, senior Captain of 
 the Third Pennsylvania cavalry, with a detach- 
 ment of the First Pennsylvania cavalry, was or- 
 dered to take some rifle pits defending the ene- 
 my's position, at a bridge over the Matapony 
 River. Dismounting his men, he led them over a 
 field, about three hundi'ed yards, without cover 
 of any kind from the enemy's bullets. The num- 
 ber of men at Captain Hess' disposal was less 
 than one hundred, armed with Sharp's carbines 
 and pistols. The pits were taken in the most gal- 
 lant style ; and in them were captured six officers 
 and fifty enlisted men of the 11th Virginia infan- 
 try. Captain Horton, their commanding officer, 
 as he gave up his sword to Captain Hess, said, 
 " Sir, you are a brave man ! " The loss in this 
 charge was six killed and eight wounded. By 
 the exploit the bridge was uncovered, and the 
 passage of the river secured. Captain Hess and 
 his men were warmly commended for their gal- 
 lantry by General Torbert, and measiu-es have 
 been taken to obtain for the Captain the vacant 
 Majority of his regiment. Captain Hess belonged 
 in McConnellsburg, Fulton County, Penn. 
 
 Capturing a Gun. — There was an old chap 
 in the Berdan Sharpshooters, near Yorktown, 
 known as " Old Seth." He was quite a character, 
 and a crack shot — one of the best shots in the 
 regiment. His "instrument," as he termed it, 
 was one of the heaviest telescopic rifles. One 
 night at roll-call, " Old Seth " was non est. This 
 was somewhat unusual, as the old chap was al- 
 ways up to time. A Sergeant went out to hunt 
 
840 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 him up, he being somewhat fearful that the old 
 man had been hit. After perambulating around 
 in the advance of the picket line, he heard a low 
 "halloo." "Who's there?" inquired the Ser- 
 geant. " It's me," responded Seth, " and I've 
 captured a secesh gun." " Bring it in," said the 
 Sergeant. " Can't do it," exclaimed Seth. 
 
 It soon became apparent to the Sergeant that 
 " Old Seth " had the exact range of one of the 
 enemy's heaviest guns, and they could not load it 
 for fear of being picked off by him. Again the 
 old man shouted : " Fetch me a couple of haver- 
 sacks full of grub, as this is my gun, and the 
 cussed varmints shan't fire it again while the 
 scrimmage lasts." This was done, and the old 
 patriot kept good watch over that gun. In fact 
 it was a " captured gun." 
 
 Amenities of ^YA■^,. — The following extracts 
 from letters written by a general officer in the 
 Union army exhibit some of the pleasures of ac- 
 tive service : 
 
 " Cajip Piebrepoint, Va., December 19, ISOl. 
 
 " My Dear L. : .... 
 
 I' . - Nine P. M. — I had written the fore- 
 gouig before breakfast, when I was interrupted 
 by the return of one of my ' guides,' or scouts, 
 who had just come in from a night ride beyond 
 our lines. 
 
 " He informed me that the enemy had, two 
 days before, thrown forward his pickets to within 
 four or five miles of my advance guard, and had 
 carried off two good Union men living within a 
 mile of the advance, and had threatened others. 
 This party had of course retired as soon as they had 
 completed their work of revenge on such of their 
 fellow-citizens as they suspected of entertaining- 
 feelings favorable to the Union party. Not know- 
 ing whether their rallying point was west or south 
 of the railroad, I at once sent a squadron of the 
 First cavalry, with two guides, who knew the 
 country well, to make an extended circuit, to 
 pick up any small parties prowling near my ad- 
 vanced cavalry picket, and to collect such infor- 
 mation from the natives respecting larger bodies, 
 as they might possess. They have just returned, 
 
 and Major reports having obtained reUable 
 
 information of a strong body of cavalry on the 
 Centreville road below Dranesville, and a rumor 
 of a large force expected to-morrow, with a heavy 
 wagon train, to sweep the country around Dranes- 
 ville of forage. I shall move a brigade in that 
 direction at daylight, to be followed by a second 
 at eight A. M., and I shall, by a rapid ride, join 
 them as soon as the morning business will let 
 me. My watch (near twelve M.) reminds me 
 that I must soon lie down, as I want to get a good 
 sleep before day ; but before I close my letter, I 
 •.iiust tell you of an amusing occurrence of this 
 morning. 
 
 " What think you of being formally called upon 
 tcvgive my name to a new-born son of Mars? 
 
 " But without further prelude let me inform 
 you that about noon, as I was quietly sitting in 
 my office writing on official matters, the orderly . 
 
 in waiting opened the door and reported that a 
 soldier asked to be admitted to speak to me on ur- 
 gent business. The many wants of the private sol- 
 dier were at the moment engrossing my thouglits, 
 and M'ere in fact the purport of my communica- 
 tion then being addressed to general headquar- 
 ters ; therefore I said, ' Let him come in.' A man 
 of middle size, with a beaming smile overspread- 
 ing his whole countenance, approached the table 
 and apologized for interrupting me, saying, ' Gen- 
 eral, I will not detain you a minute ; but I have 
 just received a letter from my Avife ; she tells me 
 she has a son four days old, and I have come to 
 ask permission to name the boy after yourself.' 
 ' What is your oM-n name, my man ? ' I asked. 
 ' Thomas H. Walker ' was the reply. 
 
 " ' You have a very good name ; why not call 
 the child after yourself? ' 
 
 " He replied, a little embarrassed, 'The com- 
 pany won't let me, sir : the men say he must be 
 named after the General ; and I have come to 
 ask you to write your name on a piece of paper, 
 in full, for I mean to give him the whole of it.' 
 
 " Seeing the affair was of a desperate character, 
 I thought the wisest course was to despatch it at 
 once ; so, tearing ofi" a slip of paper, I began to 
 •HTite, when private Walker remarked, ' General, 
 you may, if you please, send a couple of neck- 
 laces — one for the wife, and one for the old 
 woman, her mother ! ' ' O ho ! ' says I to my- 
 self; ' now comes the gist of the matter ; and as 
 I pushed the paper towards him, I said, * Here 
 is the name. Walker ; but where the necklaces 
 are to come from I can't exactly say.' ' Ah ! 
 that's easy enough said,' put in Walker ; ' I can 
 get them at the store across the road, opposite 
 to the General's quarters.' * And what,' I asked, 
 ' are the necklaces to cost ? ' ' Thirty-seven and 
 a half cents apiece,' was the demure reply. 
 
 " Much relieved by this information, fori thought 
 I was in for, at least, twenty dollars, I handed 
 the man a gold dollar. Receiving the money 
 with a low bovr, he again spoke : ' If the orderly 
 would let me pass in again, I should like to show 
 them to the General.' * Then tell the orderly to 
 let you pass,' I said, and resumed my writing. 
 Already the affair had passed from my mind, 
 when the orderly again opened the door, with 
 ' Walker again, sir.' ' Send him in ; ' and in 
 came he, if possible, more beaming than before, 
 and carrying a package about six inches in diam- 
 eter, nicely tied up in brown paper, which he 
 presented to me. It felt very soft, and was se- 
 curely bound. ' WUl the General please to look 
 at them ? ' ' Upon my word. Walker, if I undo 
 them, I shall never be able to do them up again.' 
 ' Never mind, sir ; you undo them, and I'll do 
 them up again.' So, without further parley, I 
 gave the string a jerk ; the knot parted suddenly, 
 and out rolled at full length upon the floor, one 
 end remaining under my hands, not two ' neck- 
 laces,' but two gayly-colored silk and worsted 
 ' nedc-scarfs,^ about six feet long, and six inches 
 wide. The surprise was immense, and an almost 
 irresistible fit of a strong sense of the ludi- 
 crous seized me. I did manage to restrain it, as 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 541 
 
 AValker exclaimed, 'Ain't they beautiful?' I 
 looked at the honest face on the other side of the 
 table, and I could not laugh at him. After a 
 pause, I observed him wipe the palm of his right 
 hand upon the leg of his pantaloons, and then, 
 extending his fingers to their full length, he placed 
 a silver quarter of a dollar upon the centre of 
 the palm, and said: 'Here is the change, sir.' 
 ' And what are you going to do with that, my 
 man ? ' I asked. He replied very seriously, ' I 
 don't know, sir — what do you think, yourself?' 
 After a moment's reflection, I said, ' Suppose you 
 buy a pair of red woollen socks for the boy.' 
 His eyes brightened, and he said, with vehemence, 
 ' I'll do it. General, for I expect he's a buster ; 
 anyhow, General, when the company hears this, 
 they'll have a bust-out, certain ! ' With that, 
 private Walker, who had been in service about 
 three months, and still retained the native hon- 
 esty and simplicity which he had brought from 
 the western wilds of Pennsylvania, gathered up 
 his necklaces, and bowed himself from my pres- 
 ence. 
 " Good night ; it is time for me to lie down. 
 
 " Friday Evening, December 20, 10 o'clock P. M. 
 
 " Dear L. : As I did not close my letter last 
 night, I will add a postscript, to let you know 
 that I met the enemy to-day at Dranesville, and 
 thrashed him soundly. His force was about three 
 thousand, infantry and cavalry, and one battery of 
 artillery; ours about the same — that is, one 
 brigade, the Rifles and Easton's battery, four 
 pieces. 
 
 " General J. E. B. Stuart was in command of 
 the rebel force, and had with him one hundred 
 wagons, which the prisoners I have just examined 
 inform me were sent home, pretty well filled with 
 wounded soldiers, instead of plundered forage. 
 His loss must have been heavy, as he left forty- 
 three killed and severely wounded on the field. 
 The First and Second brigades of my division did 
 not amve on the ground in time to participate in 
 the affair. Our men fought very handsomely, 
 and so, in fact, did the rebels. As I had moved 
 out without special authority from general head- 
 quarters, and had brought with me only the day's 
 rations, I resolved to return to my camp, after 
 collecting the wounded of the enemy, and placing 
 them in the keeping of the people of the town, where 
 they were attended to, and their wounds dressed 
 by our own surgeons. Such as I had ambulances 
 for, in addition to what were required for our 
 own wounded, I brought iik Our loss I cannot yet 
 state accurately ; it will not reach more than sixty, 
 killed and wounded. I reached camp, with all my 
 men in good condition, about one horn* ago. 
 
 " I will write you more particularly to-morrow, 
 if I have the time. 
 
 " Good night, my dear L. ^ j^ -^^ ,, 
 
 Incident of Hagersxown. — A young lady, 
 living near Hagerstown, had an American flag 
 around her body, and a party of rebels appeared, 
 and demanded it. She refused to give it up. 
 
 when the brave Southrons drew pistols, and 
 threatened to shoot her if she did not deliver it 
 up at once. She then took it off, and said, that 
 rather than suff'er violence, she would present it to 
 them, and hoped they would not say they captured 
 it from our soldiers. She also said she hoped they 
 would meet before long, and under difierent cir- 
 circumstances. They took then* departure, and 
 soon after stopped at a hotel, where, it seems, the 
 landlord regaled them bountifully with liquor. 
 On leaving this place, and before proceeding far, 
 they were surprised at being ordered to halt and 
 surrender, by a party of our cavalry, who had got 
 wind of their proceedings, which they did, and were 
 led back to where the young lady lived, from 
 whom they had taken the flag. " Ah ! " said she, 
 " back already ? Why, I did not expect to see you 
 so soon, although I was confident you would pay 
 us a visit before long. Now, I will thank you to 
 return me the flag I presented you, as I am sat- 
 isfied it would become soiled if it remained in 
 your hands." It was handed over without reply, 
 the party feeling as cheap as though they had • 
 been caught at sheep stealing. [p\ "* , 
 
 An Affecting Incident. — The following 
 touching incident occurred in one of the hospi- 
 tals at St. Louis : 
 
 " In another ward I saw a Tennesseean, whose 
 cheek presented the pallor of death. I walked 
 up to his bedside. His hand was trying to grasp 
 some object, that, in his fitful delirium, was pic- 
 tured on his dying imagination. His lips feebly 
 uttered the word ' Catherine.' I took his hand 
 in mine; his eyes, that were rolled upward in 
 their sockets, wandered around until he was able 
 to fix their gaze on me. ' Do you say something ? ' 
 said I, tenderly. He motioned to me to put my 
 ear down, ' O my wife — Catherine — my chil- 
 dren ! ' His breathing was short — his voice very 
 faint. ' How many children have you ? ' said I. 
 He held up his four fingers. ' What is your 
 name ? ' said I. ' William C. Brandon,' replied 
 he. ' Where are you from ? ' I asked. * Dods- 
 ville, Jackson County, Tennessee.' I was revolv- 
 ing in my mind if there would be an opportunity 
 to forward intelligence of him to his family, when 
 he said, ' Will you write to Catherine ? Tell her 
 I — I thought of her and the children ; I — I 
 prayed for them — O God ! O God ! ' I assured 
 him I would endeavor to fulfil his request. I 
 then talked to him about a Redeemer, and 
 after a while he seemed happier. His looks 
 spoke what words could not." 
 
 Endurance of Colored Troops. — General 
 Wistar, commanding at Yorktown, in December, 
 1863, sent one of the colored regiments on a raid 
 through Matthews County, Virginia, accompa- 
 nied by a white cavalry regiment. The black 
 troops marched a distance of sixty miles in 
 forty hours, and endured the fatigues of a 
 tramp considerably easier than the mounted 
 white men. 
 
342 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 CHICKAMAUGA, "THE STREAM OF 
 DEATH ! " 
 
 Chickamauga ! Chickamauga ! 
 
 O'er thy dark and turbid wave 
 Rolls the death-cry of the daring, 
 
 Rings the war-shout of the brave ; 
 Round thy shore the red fires flashing, 
 
 Startling shot and screaming shell — 
 Chickamauga, stream of battle, 
 
 Who thy fearful tale shall tell? 
 
 Olden memories of horror. 
 
 Sown by scourge of deadly plague, 
 Long had clothed thy circling forests 
 
 With a terror vast and vague ; 
 Now to gather fiercer vigor 
 
 Erom the phantoms grim with gore, 
 Hurried by war's wilder carnage 
 
 To their graves on thy lone shore. 
 
 Long, with hearts subdued and saddened, 
 
 As th' oppressor's hosts moved on, 
 EeU the arms of Freedom backward, 
 
 Till our hopes had almost flo^\Ti ; 
 Till outspoke stern Valor's fiat — 
 
 " Here th' invading wave shall stay ; 
 Here shall cease the foe's proud progress ; 
 
 Here be crushed his grand array ! " 
 
 Then, their eager hearts all throbbing 
 
 Backward flashed each battle-flag 
 • Of the veteran corps of Longstreet, 
 
 And the sturdy troops of Bragg ; 
 Fierce upon the foeman turning, 
 
 All their pent-up wrath breaks out 
 In the furious battle-clangor. 
 
 And the frenzied battle- shout. 
 
 Roll thy dark waves, Chickamauga ; 
 
 Trembles all thy ghastly shore, 
 With the rude shock of the onset, 
 
 And the tumult's horrid roar : 
 As the Southern battle-giants 
 
 Hurl their bolts of death along, 
 Breckinridge, the iron-hearted, 
 
 Cheatham, chivalric and strong ; — 
 
 Polk and Preston, gallant Buckner, 
 
 Hill and Hindman, strong in might ; 
 Cleburne, flower of manly valor ; 
 
 Hood, the Ajax of the fight ; 
 Benning, bold and hardy warrior ; 
 
 Fearless, resolute Kershaw, 
 Mingle battle-yell and death-bolt, 
 
 Volley fierce and wild hurrah ! 
 
 At the volleys bleed their bodies, 
 
 At the fierce shout shrink their souls, 
 AVhile their fiery wave of vengeance 
 
 On their quailing column rolls ; 
 And the parched throats of the stricken 
 
 Breathe for air the roaring flame ; 
 Horrors of that hell foretasted. 
 
 Who shall ever dare to name ? 
 
 Borne by those who, stiff and mangled, 
 
 Paid, upon that bloody field, 
 Direful, cringing, awe-struck homage 
 
 To the sword our heroes wield ; 
 And who felt, by fiery trial, 
 
 That the men who will be free. 
 Though in conflict baffled often. 
 
 Ever will unconquered be ! 
 
 Learned, though long unchecked they spoil us,- 
 
 Dealing desolation round. 
 Marking with the tracks of ruin 
 
 Many a rod of Southern ground. 
 Yet, whatever course they follow. 
 
 Somewhere in their pathway flows, 
 Dark and deep, a Chickamauga, 
 
 Stream of death to vandal foes ! 
 
 They have found it darkly flowing 
 
 By Manassas' famous plain, 
 And by rushing Shenandoah 
 
 Met the tide of woe again : 
 Chickahominy ! immortal. 
 
 By the long, ensanguined flight, 
 Rappahannock, glorious river. 
 
 Twice renowned for matchless fight. 
 
 Heed the story, dastard spoilers, 
 
 Mark the tale these waters tell, 
 Ponder well your fearful lesson, 
 
 And the doom that there befell : 
 Learn to shun the Southern vengeance, 
 
 Sworn upon the votive sword, 
 *' Every stream a Chickamauga 
 
 To the vile, invading horde I " 
 
 In August, 1862, Colonel Holcomb of the 
 First Indiana volunteers sent a long letter to 
 General Butler's headquarters at New Orleans, 
 detailing an account of a disturbance in his 
 camp, and stating at the close that he had been 
 obliged to shoot one of the mutineers. General 
 Butler read the paper carefully, indorsed it, 
 " Shoot another," and sent it back to the Colonel. 
 
 "Home, Sweet Home." — War, terrible as it 
 is, has its little stanzas of poetry, its chapters of 
 romance, but lost and forgotten in the heavy 
 thunders and sterner duties of the battle. 
 
 One of those incidents that make their way 
 straight to the heart is related as having oc- 
 curred before- the two days at Pittsburg Landing. 
 
 Thursday evening preceding the battle was as 
 lovely as spi'ing and moonlight could make it. 
 On that night the band of the Lead Mine regi- 
 ment were serenading General McCIernand at 
 his headquarters, within cannon shot of the 
 Landing. And when the band poured out upon 
 the stiUl night the air " Home, Sweet Home," the 
 camps were hushed. In one of them a poor fel- 
 low lay in a tent ill with fever. As the well- 
 remembered tune fell upon his ear, he turned his 
 face with a groan to the canvas wall and died with 
 the dying strain. And so he found " Sweet 
 Home." 
 
 Snow Bird and Owasso. — An Indian tra- 
 dition is thus related by a soldier in camp at the 
 Green Paver Bridge : 
 
 " The site of our camp seems dedicated to 
 blood-shedding from time immemorial. The spot 
 is rife with stories and legends of the noble tribe 
 of ' Harper ' Indians, who once held undisputed 
 possession of the soil. One of their tales runs 
 thus : Their chief, notorious for his cruelty and 
 ungovernable passions, became smitten with a 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 343 
 
 young white lady, -vvhom he had captured some 
 time previous. In the legend she is described as 
 having been surpassingly beautiful. She very 
 naturally did not reciprocate his brutal and un- 
 sought affection, but smiled with favor on a 
 young and handsome warrior, whose deeds of 
 daring and innumerable virtues caused him to be 
 loved by all the tribe, with the single exception 
 of the ' Black Chief.' More than once had his 
 protecting arm shielded ' Snow Bird ' from the 
 wiles of the base-minded chieftain. 
 
 " On a calm, lovely night, while the beautiful girl 
 was paddling slowly up and down the stream, 
 musing with her thoughts, she was startled by 
 the voice of her persecutor calling from the bank. 
 After vainly importuning her to row to the shore 
 and take him in the boat, the enraged chief 
 sprang into the water and struck out for the boat. 
 The frightened maiden seized the oars, plied them 
 swiftly and with a skilful hand ; swiftly the frail 
 vessel darted over the sparkling waters, but not 
 less swiftly did the powerful chief, aroused to 
 renewed strength by his raging passion, follow, 
 till the exhausted girl, wearied with almost super- 
 human exertions, was compelled to drop the oars. 
 With a fiendish smile he grasped the prow of the 
 boat and climbed into it. Gazing calmly on the 
 terrified girl, he complimented her rowing, and 
 ordered her to again take up the oars, and bade 
 her row to a spot still farther from their encamp- 
 ment, still known as the * Black Pool.' Fearing 
 to refuse, with trembling hand and fast-beating 
 heart she obeyed. Arriving at the spot desig- 
 nated, the chief demanded her hand in marriage. 
 After vainly pressing his suit, using entreaties 
 and threats, the enraged villain then attempted 
 force. With strength almost equal to his own 
 did she endeavor to protect what is dearer than 
 life to a woman — her maiden vutue. Drawing 
 a small dagger she had concealed on her person, 
 she furiously struck at him, inflicting a severe 
 wound on his arm, disabling it. The infuriated 
 fiend now seized an oar and struck the agonized 
 girl a furious blow, which threw her from the 
 boat. The helpless maiden seized the side of the 
 boat to keep from drowning, and, with prayers, 
 tears, and entreaties, begged the heartless wretch 
 to spare her Ufe ; but her only answer was 
 another blow from the hands of her enemy. . She 
 loosed her hold and sank, but arose to the sur- 
 face in a moment, Avhen the blood-stained mur- 
 derer again struck her, this time with his toma- 
 hawk, burying it in her brain. She sank, with a 
 shriek fearful to hear in that lonely spot, to rise 
 no more. 
 
 "On the return of the chief to their camp, he 
 met Owasso, the lover of Snow Bird, who had 
 just returned from a protracted hunt. He had 
 searched the entire encampment, also, her favorite 
 haunts, without finding any trace of her, till he 
 at last, becoming alarmed, sought Black Chief, 
 and demanded to know her whereabouts. The 
 chief, with a smile beaming with scorn and hatred, 
 answered : ' Snow Bird sleeps at the bottom of 
 the Black Pool.' ' What ! murdered, and by thy 
 hand?' *Ay! by my hand.' 'Fiend! can it 
 
 be that he, the Great Spirit, is just, and let you 
 live after such a horrid deed ? But Pll not be 
 so merciful.' With these words Owasso sprang 
 upon him. The contest was fierce and deadly. 
 Owasso at length, completely exhausted by the 
 superior strength of his adversary, gathered all 
 his strength, and succeeded in wrenching the 
 knife — having lost his own in the struggle — 
 from the grasp of his foe, and plunged both blade 
 and hilt deep in the throat of his enemy. As 
 soon as he found his foe was dead, he, with great 
 exertion, drew the knife from the chief's thi'oat, 
 and raising himself on his knees, he raised the 
 dripping blade towards heaven and cried out, 
 ' Snow Bird, I have revenged thee, and will now 
 follow thee,' saying which, he rose to his feet and 
 rushed to the cliff overhanging the place where 
 she had been so cruelly murdered. Without a 
 word, merely casting round his head, taking a 
 farewell glance at his once happy home, he 
 plunged forward knife in hand — a splash, a 
 gurgle, and the brave OAvasso was never seen 
 more. 
 
 " Tradition says that Snow Bird and Owasso 
 are often seen in a spirit boat rowing calmly and 
 silently along the river, always disappearing at 
 the fatal spot, the Black Pool, and that the form 
 of Owasso is often seen flitting round the top of 
 the cliff from which he made the fatal leap. 
 
 " Our stockade is built on the point of the cliff. 
 So you see we are camped in a romantic spot. 
 It was built, under the supervision of a 'regular' 
 engineer, during the latter part of 1862, and 
 burned by the notorious horse thief, John H. 
 Morgan, on the 1st of January last. It is need- 
 less to speak of the glorious defence of the place 
 on the 4th of July. It will ever be one of the 
 brightest jewels in the wreath of fame that Michi- 
 gan's brave sons have woven for her since the 
 beginning of this wai\" 
 
 General Porter's Reconnoissance, — "The 
 exciting event of the day," wrote a correspondent 
 on the 11th of April, 1862, "has been a balloon 
 reconnoissance by General Fitz-John Porter on 
 a scale of rather larger magnitude than was in- 
 tended. At five o'clock in the morning General 
 Porter took his place in Professor Lowe's balloon. 
 He supposed the usual number of ropes were at- 
 tached to it, whereas there was only one, and a 
 place in this, as was afterwards ascertained, had 
 been burned by vitriol, used in generating gas. 
 Taking his seat in the car, unaccompanied by 
 any one, the rope was let out to nearly its full 
 length, — the length is about nine hundi-ed yards, 
 — when suddenly snap went the cord, and up 
 went the balloon. This was an unexpected part 
 of the programme. The men below looked up 
 with astonishment, and the General looked down 
 with equal bewilderment. 
 
 " ' Open the valve,' shouted one of the men 
 below. 
 
 " ' I'll manage it,' responded the General. 
 
 " Up went the balloon, higher, higher. It rose 
 with great rapidity ; its huge form lessened as it 
 
344 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 wildly mounted into the regions of the upper aii* ; 
 it became a speck in the sky. The wind was 
 taking it in the direction of the enemy's territory. 
 By this time every staff officer and hundreds of 
 others were looking at the moving speck. It is 
 impossible to describe the anxiety feU and ex- 
 pressed for the fate of him, the central object of 
 thought, in that far away moving speck, every 
 moment becoming less visible. It is seen to move 
 in our direction ; the countenances of our men 
 brighten with hope. It passes over our heads. 
 Soon it begins to descend, but with a rapidity 
 that arouses renewed apprehension. Quickly a 
 squad of cavalry, led by Captain Locke, Lieu- 
 tenant McQuade, of the General's staff, plunge 
 spurs into their horses, and dash away in the 
 direction of the descending balloon. The rest 
 of the story is as I received it from the General's 
 own lips. While the rope was being played out, 
 he adjusted his glass in readiness for his proposed 
 view of the enemy's territory. A sudden bound 
 of the balloon told him in a moment that the 
 rope had given way. He dropped his glass, 
 heard the call, ' Open the valve,' made the re- 
 sponse given above, and set about looking for 
 the valve. He was sensible of being flighty (the 
 General loves a pun as well as the next one), but 
 was not at all nervous. He saw the wind had 
 taken him over the line of the rebel intrench- 
 ments. Having no wish to drop in among them, 
 he let the valve take care of itself, and proceeded 
 to take advantage of his position to note the as- 
 pect of rebel objects below. Crowds of soldiers 
 rushed from the woods, and he heard their shouts 
 chstinctly. Luckily he was above the reach of 
 their bullets ; so he was not afraid on this score. 
 The map of the country was distinctly discernible. 
 He saw Yorktown and its works, York River and 
 its windings, and Norfolk and its smoking chim- 
 neys. A counter current of air struck the balloon, 
 and its course was reversed. Its retreat from 
 over Rebeldom was rapid. He opened the valve, 
 the gas escaped, and down he came. He could 
 not say how fast he came down, but it was with a 
 rapidity he would not care to have repeated. The 
 car struck the top of a shelter tent, — under 
 which, luckily, no one happened to be at the time, 
 — knocked the tent into pi, and left him envel- 
 oped in a mass of collapsed oil silk. He crawled 
 out, and found himself in the middle of a camp, 
 not one hundred rods from General McClellan's 
 headquarters. 
 
 " ' I came mounted, you see,' was his remark 
 to General Burns, who was about the first man 
 by his side. He gave the details of his aerial 
 voyage to General Burns, who, seeing the oppor- 
 tunity of getting off a joke, could not lose the 
 opportunity. 
 
 " ' You are a suspicious character,' remarked 
 Burns. 
 
 " ' How so ? ' asked Porter. 
 
 " ' In the space of half an hour you have been 
 taken up by a balloon, and arrested by a shelter 
 tent.' 
 
 " ' And you have come down safe, I see,' broke 
 in Captain Locke, before the laughter at General 
 
 Burns' duet of puns ; ' I came with this cavalry 
 company to look you up.' 
 
 " ' You ought to have sent flying artillery after 
 me,' rejoined Porter." 
 
 A Woman's Sacrifice. — The following elo- 
 quent and touching tribute to the memory of 
 Miss Cutler, a volunteer army nurse, who died 
 at Newbern, of disease contracted while in the 
 performance of her duties, is from a private let- 
 ter written by T. H. Squire, Surgeon, Eighty- 
 ninth New York volunteers : 
 
 "The daughter of Dr. Cutler, Twenty-first 
 Massachusetts, of which I have spoken in a pre- 
 vious letter, died a few days ago, at Newbern, of 
 typhoid fever. Her remains were brought back 
 to this island, and buried to-day. Who will 
 write her epitaph in befitting verse? She was 
 the friend of the sick and wounded soldiers, edu- 
 cated, accomplished, young, beautiful, affection- 
 ate, patriotic, pious, and self-sacrificing. In her 
 death in the van of the army, a woman pure 
 and lovely has been laid as a victim upon the 
 altar of Liberty. She died away from home : a 
 father, whom she loved, stood by her ; but liis 
 duties to the wounded prevented him from ac- 
 companying her remains to their temporary rest- 
 ing-place on this beautiful island. Sacred be the 
 spot M'here her remains now lie ! Ye winds that 
 whisper in the pines, breathe her a requiem ! Ye 
 grapes and mistletoe that climb upon the trees, 
 and droop from overhanging boughs, bend down 
 and kiss her lonely grave ! Bay, myrtle, and 
 magnolia, distil your fragrance around the tomb ; 
 in life her gentle virtues breathed a like per- 
 fume ! Dear girl, I would that I had power to 
 hand thy name down to all coming time ! " 
 
 Hardee thrown in the Shade. — A well- 
 known Confederate Major-General was stopping 
 for a while in a Georgia village, which circum- 
 stance coming to the knowledge of the " Home 
 Guard " of tliat vicinity, the Captain resolved to 
 give the General an opportunity of witnessing the 
 " revolutions " of his superb corps. In due time. 
 
 Captain 's company, having " fell in," were 
 
 discovered by the General in front of his quai*- 
 ters, in the execution of his command, " In two 
 ranks, git," &c. During the exhibition, by some 
 dexterous double-quick movement only known 
 among militia officers, the Captain, much to his 
 surprise and chagrin, found the company in a 
 " fix," best described, I reckon, as a " soKd cir- 
 cle." In stentorophonic tones he called them 
 to " halt ! " The General became interested, and 
 drew near, in order to sec in what way things 
 would be righted. The Captain, in his confu- 
 sion, turned his head to one side, like a duck 
 when she sees the shadow of a hawk flit past, 
 and seemed to be in the deepest thought. At 
 last an idea seemed to strike him ; a ray of in- 
 telligence mantled his face, and straightening 
 himself up, he turned to the company, and cried 
 out: " Company, disentangle to the front, march." 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 345 
 
 The company was " straightened," and the Gen- 
 eral gave it as his opinion that it was the best 
 command he had ever heard given. 
 
 An Incident by the Wat. — When a love for 
 the old flag does exist in Dixie, it is clear, warm, 
 and earnest. It gushes out sometimes in the 
 most unexpected places, like a spring in a desert; 
 and many a time have Federal prisoners been 
 startled into tears at finding a loyal heart beating 
 close beside them, when they had only looked for 
 taunt and treason. A body of Federal prisoners 
 had reached Rome, en route for Richmond. 
 Weary, famished, thirsting, they were herded like 
 cattle in the street, under the burning sun — a 
 public show. It was a gala day in that modern 
 Rome. The women, magnificently arrayed, came 
 out and pelted them with balls of cotton, and with 
 such sneers and taunts as, " So you have come to 
 Rome — have you, you Yankees ? How do you 
 like your welcome ? " and then more cotton and 
 more words. The crowds and the hours came 
 and went, but the mockery did not intermit, and 
 our poor fellows were half out of heart. 
 
 My informant, Major P., faint and ill, had 
 stepped back a pace or two, and leaned against a 
 post, when he was lightly touched upon the arm. 
 As he looked around, mentally nerving himself 
 for some more ingenious insult, a fine-looking, 
 well-dressed boy of twelve stood at his elbow, his 
 frank face turned up to the Major's. " And he, 
 too ? " thought the ofiicer. 
 
 With a furtive glance at a rebel guard, who 
 stood with his back to them, the lad, pulling the 
 Major's skirt, and catching his breath, boy-fash- 
 ion, said, " Are you from New England ? " "I 
 was born in Massachusetts," was the reply. " So 
 was my mother," returned the boy, brightening 
 up ; " she was a New England gu-1, and she was 
 what you call a * school-ma'am,' up North ; she 
 married my father, and I'm their boy ; but how 
 she does love New England, and the Yankees, and 
 the old United States ! and so do I." 
 
 The Major was touched, as well he might be ; 
 and his heart warmed to the boy as to a young 
 brother; and he took out his knife, severed a 
 button from his coat, and handed it to him for a 
 remembrance. " 0, I've got half a dozen just 
 like it. See here ! " and he took from his pocket a 
 little string of them — gifts of other boys in blue. 
 
 " My mother would like to see you," he added, 
 " and I'll go and tell her." 
 
 " What are you doing here ? " growled the 
 guard, suddenly wheeling round upon him ; and 
 the boy slipped away into the crowd, and was 
 gone. Not more than half an hour elapsed before 
 a lovely lady, accompanied by the little patriot, 
 passed slowly down the sidewalk next to the curb- 
 stone. She did not pause, she did not speak ; if 
 she smiled at all, it was faintly ; but she handed 
 to one and another of the prisoners bank notes 
 as she went. As they neared the Majoi-, the boy 
 gave him a significant look, as much as to say, 
 "That's my New England mother." The eyes 
 of the elegant lady and the poor, weary officer 
 
 met for an instant, and she passed away like a 
 vision, out of sight. Who will not join with me 
 in fervently breathing two beatitudes : God bless 
 the young Georgian, and blessed forever be the 
 Northern schoolma'am ? — B. F. Taylor. 
 
 "Good Shooting." — The color-bearer of the 
 Tenth Tennessee (Ii-ish) having been shot down 
 in the battle of Chickamauga, the Colonel ordered 
 one of the privates to take the colors. Pat, who 
 was loading at the time, replied : " By the holy 
 St. Pati'ick, Colonel, there's so much good 
 shooting here, I haven't a minute's time to 
 waste foolinw with that thing." 
 
 Gaining the Crest of Rocky Face. — After 
 the evacuation of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, by the 
 rebels, the Fourth corps (Howard's) passed to 
 the right of the place, confronting them on Rocky- 
 face Ridge. 
 
 On Sunday, the 8th of May, 1864, a detach- 
 ment of Harker's brigade was ordered on a recon- 
 noissance to the northern extremity of the ridge. 
 The balance of the brigade being held in reserve 
 at the base. Colonel Opdyke, with his five hundred 
 Ohio (One Hundred and Twenty-fifth) Tigers 
 was ordered forward, with a guide, to develop the 
 enemy on the ridge, and, if possible, gain a posi- 
 tion there. Skirmishing commenced at the base, 
 and increased in severity as our men ascended. 
 But up they went, the skirmishers dodging from 
 tree to tree, and from rock to rock, to escape the 
 buUets that were showered upon them from the 
 crest. The sides of the ridge were so steep and 
 rocky that the men were obliged to cling to the 
 trees and jutting clifis to help themselves along. 
 Field officers were obliged to dismount and lead 
 their horses, and even then could only proceed with 
 great difficulty. Twice the men were ordered to 
 lie down and rest, in order to cool themselves, as 
 the day was exceedingly warm, and the exercise 
 severe. 
 
 Simultaneously with the second order to halt, 
 the cry rung out from the rocks above us, " We 
 have gained the crest I — "WE have gained the 
 CREST I ! " The announcement seemed to elec- 
 trify the men, and with a shout that rent the air, 
 they sprang forward like tigers, and in a moment 
 the entire regiment rested on the summit of the 
 ridge. Stopping a moment to breathe, they 
 were again ordered to advance, which they did 
 with a determined bravery that defied the sneak- 
 ing enemy that skulked from rock to rock, im- 
 proving every obstacle to embarrass them. Hav- 
 ing driven the enemy more than half a mile, the 
 men were ordered to throw up stone-works for 
 temporary security, until further orders were 
 received from the rear. The reply came in these 
 words — "You have accomplished all, and more 
 than was expected. Take a strong position and 
 await orders." 
 
 The Sixty-fifth Ohio infantry, and shortly after- 
 wards the remainder of the brigade, came to the 
 support of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth. 
 
346 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Incidents of the Battle of Resaca, Ga. — 
 May 18. — "I have just been over that portion of 
 the battle-field where the Twentieth corps re- 
 pulsed the enemy yesterday, and the sight pre- 
 sented is enough to make the heart of one long 
 accustomed to war ache. The ambulance corps, 
 so complete in all its details, is gathering in the 
 wounded, and the groans of the sufferers are grat- 
 ing to the ear. All the rebel dead and wounded 
 are left in our hands to be cared for. The ground 
 is thickly strewn Avith the victims in about equal 
 proportions, excepting at those places where des- 
 perate charges were made upon our line, when 
 the enemy came out of his breastworks ; there 
 the rebels largely predominate. There, within a 
 few yards of me, a wounded rebel is stopping the 
 blood that endeavors to make its exit through a 
 ghastly grape wound in the leg of a Union sol- 
 dier ; while over yonder, beneath an oak, a 
 wounded Federal is in the act of giving water 
 from his canteen to an enemy who fell beside him, 
 and whose life-blood discolors the garments of 
 both. After the shock of battle has passed, the 
 helpless inhabitants of the rifle pits and trenches 
 are no longer enemies. A common sympathy 
 seems to inspire them, and they are once more 
 friends and brothers — children of one Father. 
 
 " On the field, yesterday, on the left, near Tilton, 
 where our cavalry engaged the enemy, a beauti- 
 ful garden, clothed in all the loveliness that rare 
 plants and southern flowers could give it, at- 
 tracted my attention, and I was drawn to it. The 
 house had been deserted by its owners, and the 
 smiling magnolias and roses seemed to stand 
 guard over the deserted premises. I entered 
 through an open gate, stooped to pluck a rose 
 from the bush, when I discovered one of the 
 enemy's pickets lying partially covered by the 
 grass and bushes — dead. He was a noble-look- 
 ing man, and upon his countenance there seemed 
 to rest the remnant of a smile. The right hand 
 clasped a rose, which he was in the act of sever- 
 ing from its stem when he received the messen- 
 ger of death. In the afternoon the cavalry dug 
 a narrow grave, and, with Federal soldiers for 
 pall-bearers, and the beautiful flowers for mourn- 
 ers, he was laid to rest, the rose still clasped in 
 his stifl'ened hand. Nothing was found to iden- 
 tify him, and in that lonely grave his life's his- 
 tory lies entombed. No sister's tears will baptize 
 the grave among the roses where the dead picket 
 sleeps." 
 
 General Terry and Colonel Olmsted. — 
 Major Gardiner, of the Seventh Connecticut regi- 
 ment, tells this chai'acteristic story of General 
 Terry, the late Colonel of his regiment: 
 
 " After Fort Pulaski had been placed in Gen- 
 eral Terry's charge, and as its rebel commander. 
 Colonel Olmsted, was about to be sent North as a 
 prisoner of war. General Terry, appreciating the 
 embarrassments to which he might be subjected, 
 told him that as it was not probable that he was 
 supplied with current money, and as Confederate 
 money was valueless except as a curiosity, he de- 
 sired that he would accept of a sum that might free 
 
 him from temporary inconvenience, and presented 
 him with fifty dollars in good money. The offer 
 was gratefully accepted, of course, with suitable 
 acknowledgments of the generosity which prompt- 
 ed it. 
 
 An Heroic Sailor. — In the record of the war, 
 not the least interesting features are the heroic 
 deeds of the humble men who compose the rank 
 and file of the army and navy. Instances of in- 
 dividual heroism and self-sacrifice present them- 
 selves in abundance, and furnish a rich harvest 
 of materials for the annalist and historian. One 
 of the most conspicuous of these is the case of 
 the gallant tar, John Davis, whose courage in the 
 attack on Elizabeth City, N. C, is made the sub- 
 ject of special mention by his immediate com- 
 mander and by Commodore Goldsborough, who 
 thus unite to make manifest the bond of time 
 chivalry which binds together all brave men, 
 however widely separated theu' station. The fol- 
 lowing is the story of this brave sailor : 
 
 " Lieutenant J. C. Chapin, commanding United 
 States steamer Valley City, off Roanoke Island, 
 writes to Commodore Goldsborough under date 
 of February 2oth, noticing a magnanimous act 
 of bravery by John Davis, gunner's mate on 
 board his vessel, at the taking of Elizabeth City. 
 He says John Davis was at his station, during the 
 action, in the magazine issuing powder, when a 
 shell from the enemy's battery penetrated into 
 the magazine, and exploded outside of it. He 
 threw himself over a barrel of powder, protecting 
 it with his own body from the fire, while at the 
 same time passing out the powder for the guns. 
 Commodore Goldsborough, in transmitting this 
 letter to the Navy Department, says : ' It affords 
 me infinite pleasure to forward this communica- 
 tion to the Navy Department, to whose especial 
 consideration I beg leave to recommend the gallant 
 and noble sailor alluded to ; ' and he adds in a 
 postscript : ' Davis actually seated himself on the 
 barrel, the top being out, and in this position he 
 remained until the flames were extinguished.' " 
 
 The Navy Department promptly rewarded 
 John Davis, the brave sailor who so courageously 
 protected from the flames a barrel of gunpowder 
 on the steamer Valley City during the attack 
 upon Elizabeth City. He was a gunner's mate, 
 receiving a salary of twenty-five dollars per 
 month, or three hundred dollars per year. The 
 evidence of his bravery was received at the Navy 
 Department on the evening of the 10th instant, 
 and on the next day Secretary Welles sent him 
 the following letter, appointing him a gunner, an 
 office which carries with it a salary of one thou- 
 sand dollars per year, and is a life appointment, 
 the salary increasing by length of service to one 
 thousand four hundred and fifty dollars : 
 
 "Navy Department, March n, 1S62. 
 
 " Sir : Your commanding officer and the Flag- 
 Officer of the Northern Atlantic Blockading 
 Squadron, have brought to the notice of the De- 
 partment your courage and presence of mind, dis- 
 played on the 10th ultimo, in protecting with 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 347 
 
 your person a barrel of gunpowder from the 
 names. 
 
 " As a mark of appreciation of your bravery, 
 you are hereby appointed an acting-gunner in the 
 navy of the United States from this date. 
 
 " Enclosed herewith is a blank oath of oflBce, 
 which, having executed, you will return to the 
 Department, accompanied by your letter of accept- 
 ance. 
 
 " If, after you have served six months at sea, 
 you shall fm-nish the Department with satisfactory 
 testimonials from your commanding officer, a war- 
 rant will be issued to you, bearing the same date 
 of this acting appointment. 
 
 " I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 Gideon Welles." 
 
 A Joan d'Akc. — A maurauding band of reb- 
 els in Kentucky, on their way to Mount Sterling, 
 stopped at the house of a Mr. Oldom, and, he be- 
 ing absent at the time, plundered him of all his 
 horses, and among them a valuable one belonging 
 to his daughter Cornelia. She resisted the out- 
 rage as long as she could, but finding all her ef- 
 forts in vain, she sprang upon another horse, and 
 started post haste towards the town to give the 
 alarm. Her first animal gave out, when she seized 
 another, and meeting the messenger from Mid- 
 dleton, she sent him as fast as his horse could 
 carry him to convey the necessary warning to 
 Mount Sterling, where he arrived most oppor- 
 tunely. Miss Oldom then retraced her way to- 
 wards home, taking with her a double-barrelled 
 shot-gun. She found a pair of saddle-bags on the 
 road, belonging to a rebel officer, which contained 
 a pair of revolvers, and soon she came up with 
 the advancing mam-auders, and ordered them to 
 halt. Perceiving that one of the thieves rode 
 her horse, she ordered him to surrender her 
 horse ; this he refused, and finding that persua- 
 sion would not gain her ends, she levelled the 
 shot-gun at the rider, commanded him, as Damon 
 did the traveller, " down from his horse," and 
 threatened to fii'e if he did not comply. Her in- 
 domitable spu'it at last prevailed, and the robbers, 
 seeing something in her eye that spoke a terrible 
 menace, surrendered her favorite steed. When 
 she had regained his back, and patted him on 
 the neck, he gave a neigh of mingled triumph 
 and recognition, and she turned his head home- 
 ward and cantered off as leisurely as if she were 
 takine her morning exercise. , n \ 
 
 THE BALLAD OF ISHMAEL DAY. 
 
 One summer morning a daring band 
 
 Of rebels rode into Maryland^ 
 Over the prosperous peaceful farms. 
 Sending terror and strange alarms, 
 The clatter of hoofs and the clang of arms. 
 
 Fresh from the South, where the hungry pine, 
 They ate like Pharaoh's starving kine ; 
 They swept the land like devouring surge, 
 And left their path, to its farthest verge, 
 Bare as the track of the locust-scourge. 
 
 " The rebels are coming," far and near 
 Rang the tidings of dread and fear ; » 
 
 Some paled, and cowered, and sought to hide ; 
 
 Some stood erect in their fearless pride ; 
 
 And women shuddered, and children cried. 
 
 But others — vipers in human form. 
 Stinging the bosom that kept them warm — 
 Welcomed with triimiph the thievish band, 
 Hurried to offer the friendly hand. 
 As the rebels rode into IMaryland, — 
 
 Made them merry with food and wine, 
 Clad them in garments rich and fine, — 
 For rags and hunger to make amends, — 
 Flattered them, praised them with selfish ends : 
 " Leave us scathless, for we are friends ! " 
 
 Could traitors trust a traitor ? No ! 
 
 Little they favored friend or foe. 
 
 But gathered the cattle the farms across, 
 
 Flinging back, with a scornful toss — 
 
 " If ye are friends, ye can bear the loss ! " 
 
 Flushed with triumph, and wine, and prey, 
 They neared the dwelling of Ishmael Day, 
 A sturdy veteran, gray and old, 
 With heart of a patriot, firm and bold, 
 Strong and steadfast — unbribed, unsold. 
 
 And Ishmael Day, his brave head bare. 
 His white locks tossed by the morning air, 
 Fearless of danger, or death, or scars, 
 AVent out to raise, by the farm-yard bars. 
 The dear old flag of the Stripes and Stars. 
 
 Proudly, steadily, up it flew. 
 
 Gorgeous with crimson, and white, and blue : 
 His withered hand, as he shook it freer, 
 May have trembled, but not with fear. 
 While, shouting, the rebels drew more near. 
 
 " Halt ! " They had seen the hated sign 
 Floating free from old Ishmael's line — • 
 
 " Lower that rag ! " was their wrathful cry. 
 
 '• Never ! " rung Ishmael Day's reply ; 
 
 " Fire, if it please you — I can but die ! " 
 
 One, with a loud, defiant laugh, 
 
 Left his comrades, and neared the staff. 
 
 " Dotan ! " — came the fearless patriot's cry — 
 " Dare to lower that flag, and die ! 
 One must bleed for it — you or I ! " 
 
 But caring not for the stern command, 
 He drew the halliards with daring hand ; 
 Ping ! went the rifle-ball — down he came- 
 Under the flag he had tried to shame — 
 Old Ishmael Day took careful aim ! 
 
 Seventy winters and three had shed 
 Their snowy glories on Ishmael's head ; 
 
 But though cheeks may wither, and locks grow 
 gray. 
 
 His fame shall be fresh, and young alway — 
 
 Honor be to old Ishmael Day I 
 
 Alienations of War. — The war produced 
 strange alienations. Two Kentuckians, father 
 and son, were on a railroad train in Indiana. The 
 father was a rebel prisoner ; the son was a Fed- 
 
348 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 eral guard on the platform of the car. The old 
 man, seeing his son, presumed to take more lib- 
 erty than the rule allowed, and put his head out- 
 side the door. His son hastily advanced, piece 
 at the shoulder, with a sharp " Get back there, 
 you old rebel ! " 
 
 Incidents of the Peninsula. — During the 
 first day's skirmish near Lee's Mills, two soldiers, 
 one from Maine, the other from Georgia, posted 
 themselves each behind a tree, and indulged in 
 sundry shots, without effect on either side, at the 
 same time keeping up a lively chat. Finally, 
 that getting a little tedious, Georgia calls out to 
 Maine, " Give me a show," meanmg step out, and 
 give an opportunity to hit. Maine, in response, 
 pokes out his head a few inches, and Georgia 
 cracks away, and misses. " Too high," says Maine. 
 " Now give me a show." Georgia pokes out her 
 head, and INIaine blazes away. " Too low," sings 
 Georgia. In this way the two alternated several 
 times, without hitting. Finally, Maine sends a ball 
 so as to graze the tree within an inch or two of the 
 ear of Georgia. " Cease firing," shouts Georgia. 
 " Cease it is," responds Maine. " Look here," 
 says one, " we have carried on this business long 
 enough for one day. 'Spose we adjourn for ra- 
 tions ? " " Agreed," says the other. And so the 
 two marched away in different directions, one 
 whistHng " Yankee Doodle," the other " Dixie." 
 
 " While coming home from a scout," says a 
 soldier at Yorktown, " we called at a house, and 
 found a couple of ladies, quite young, and one as 
 handsome as a Hebe. They were secesh to the 
 ' backbone,' and had each a lover in the rebel 
 army ; one of them was at Yorktown, and only 
 left the day before, to pick his way back along the 
 York River, and carry such information as he 
 had gotten from us. The young lady showed us 
 his photograph, a good-looking Lieutenant, and 
 hoped we should meet him face to face, that he 
 might leave us for dead. ' O,' said she, ' if aU 
 the Yankees were one man, and I had a sword 
 here, I should like to cut his throat ! ' 
 
 " And she said it with a vim, too. We told 
 her we would take good care of young Lieuten- 
 ant White, and see that Miss Florill had an op- 
 portunity to change her name after the battle was 
 over, hoping for an invitation to the wedding ; and 
 as she had called me the ' Divine,* chaplain of 
 the regiment, I proposed to marry them. 
 
 " ' Never,' said she. ' I hope he will come home 
 dead before you shall take Yorktown. I would 
 wade in blood up to my knees to bury his body.' 
 
 " She spoke of poison in a glass of water we 
 drank, but I replied that ' one look of her angel 
 face, one smile from her lovely features, would be 
 an antidote to the rankest poison.' ' Yes,' she 
 replied, ' and to your hatred of the South too ? ' 
 
 " The flirtation nearly made her in favor of 
 Union, and us the more so. But we had not 
 gone far when we observed a company of soldiers 
 approaching, who brought with them the lover a 
 corpse upon a litter, returning to his sweetheart. 
 He had been shot, while trying to avoid the quick 
 eye of our sharpshooters, near a house upon the 
 
 York River shore, where his father had resided, 
 and where a negro informed the soldiers that his 
 mother and sister were at the house where we 
 had been in conversation with the ladies, one of 
 whom was his sister, and our soldiers had, after 
 receiving orders, carried him to be buried. 
 
 " We did not mar the sorrow of the relatives 
 by stopping to witness the reception of the 
 body." 
 
 " Military Necessity." — A knot of news- 
 paper correspondents in the department of the 
 Rappahannock took formal possession of certain 
 rebel premises, and adopted the following declara- 
 tory resolutions : 
 
 " 1. Resolved, That the house belonged to the 
 Federal Government by reason of its owner's se- 
 cession and abandonment, and not to the officers 
 who occupied it. That we were equally children 
 of Uncle Sam, and that, inasmuch as Uncle Sam 
 has repudiated primogeniture from his first start 
 out in life, all his children were entitled to share 
 alike, at present and in prospective, and that the 
 house was ours to use, as much as the officers. 
 That we, therefore, should take possession of any 
 unoccupied portion of it. That the dining-room 
 was unoccupied for the night, and that there we 
 should take up our lodgings. 
 
 " 2. Resolved, Of all the appliances of comfort 
 that we could find unappropriated, ditto. That 
 we should take some wood, enough to keep a 
 roaring fire all night, to warm our feet by. 
 
 " 3. Resolved, Of everything to eat, ditto ; pro- 
 vided that we could get cook's consent, acknowl- 
 edging valid authority over the matter in him, 
 derived from his skill and labor in making it 
 eatable. 
 
 " 4. Resolved, That we do all these things as a 
 military necessity, and in strict conformity to, and 
 most devoted regard for, the constitution of the 
 doers." 
 
 A Brave Pennsylvanian. — At the battle 
 and capture of Port Gibson, Sergeant Charles 
 Bruner, aPennsylvanian, of Northampton County, 
 with a squad of fifty men of the Twent3'-third 
 regiment Wisconsin volunteers, was the first to 
 enter the fort. The flag-sergeant being wounded, 
 Sergeant Bruner seized the colors, and, amid 
 cheers and a rain of bullets, planted the Stars 
 and Stripes upon the ramparts. 
 
 Again, at Champion Hill, the Twenty-third was 
 about breaking, when Sergeant Bruner took the 
 colors in his hand, and cried, " Boys, follow ! 
 don't flinch from j-our duty ! " and on they went, 
 following their brave color-bearer ; and the in- 
 trenchment was taken. 
 
 Again, at the battle of Big Black, company B, 
 of the Twenty-third Wisconsin, got orders from 
 General Grant to plant a cannon, and try to 
 silence a battery, which was bravely done ; when 
 the cannon was dismantled, Captain and First 
 Lieutenant were gone and wounded. Sergeant 
 Bruner again cheered on his men, and in a hand- 
 to-hand fight the enemy were routed. The Ser- 
 geant was made prisoner twice ; but his captors 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 349 
 
 were soon put liors du combat by his brave fol- 
 lowers, who would die for their gallant Sergeant, 
 and now Captain. The rebels were driven back, 
 with lost colors. 
 
 Singular to say. Sergeant Bruner has led on 
 his men in more than thirteen battles, always in 
 front, yet he has never been wounded. He cap- 
 tured with his own hands three rebel flags, which 
 he handed over to General Grant. 
 
 Sergeant Bruner, the only Pennsylvanian in 
 that regiment, does the old Keystone State great 
 honor. 
 
 Bravery at Lee's Mills. — Among the in- 
 cidents of the fight at Lee's Mills, Virginia, on 
 the 16th of April, 1862, was the recovery from a 
 fever of Sergeant Fletcher, of company E, Third 
 Vermont, on the sick list, and excused from duty, 
 and the use he made of his temporary health. He 
 crossed the stream and went through the fight ; 
 then, on his return, was among those who went back 
 and rescued the wounded. On his return to camp, 
 he went into hospital and resumed his fever, with 
 aggravation. 
 
 John Hanington, a beardless orphan boy of 
 seventeen, unarmed, went over and rescued out 
 of the rifle pit a disabled comrade. 
 
 Lieutenant Whittemore commanded company 
 E, which is without a Captain for some reason. 
 This officer, with his revolver, covered Harrington 
 in his hazardous expedition, and killed several 
 rebels who aimed their pieces at the boy. His 
 most intimate friend in the company, private 
 Vance, had been killed in the rifle-pit. Whitte- 
 more, enraged with sorrow, burst into tears, and 
 seizing the dead soldier's musket, stood over him, 
 and threatened death to any who should retreat ; 
 and then stooping down, he took cartridge after 
 cartridge from his friend's box, and killed his man 
 with every fire — raging with a divine fury the 
 while. 
 
 Among the phenomena of the fight was the con- 
 dition of the uniform of Captain Bennett, of com- 
 pany K, of the Third Vermont. It had eight bul- 
 let holes in it — one through the collar of his coat, 
 one through the right coat-sleeve, one through his 
 pantaloons below the left knee, one through both 
 pantaloons and drawers above the right knee, and 
 four through the skirts of his coat. There was 
 not a scratch upon this man's skin. 
 
 ROSECRANS AND THE CONFEDERATE CAPTAIN. 
 
 — The following interview took place, during the 
 progress of the battle of Chickamauga, between 
 General Rosecrans and a Captain Rice, of the 
 First Texas regiment. The Captain was made 
 prisoner on Saturday afternoon, and taken im- 
 mediately to Rosecrans, who was two hundred and 
 fifty yards in the rear of the portion of his army 
 which was engaged by Hood's division. Rose- 
 crans appeared, dressed in black breeches, white 
 vest, and plain blouse, and was surrounded by a 
 gorgeous staff. The General is short and thick- 
 set, with smooth face, rosy cheeks and lips, bril- 
 liant black eyes, and is very handsome. He is 
 
 exceedingly affable and pleasant in conversation. 
 On the approach of Captain R., he dismounted, 
 tapped him familiarly on the shoulder, and said, 
 " Let us step aside and talk a little." Seated on 
 a fallen tree, some thirty yards from the staff, the 
 General, a la genuine Yankee, picked up a stick 
 and commenced whittling, and the following con- 
 versation ensued : 
 
 Rosecrans. Where are your lines ? 
 
 Rice. General, it has cost me a great deal of 
 trouble to find your lines ; if you take the same 
 amount of trouble, you will find ours. 
 
 Rose. (Wincing slightly.) What brigade do 
 you belong to ? 
 
 Rice. Robertson's. 
 
 Rose. What division ? 
 
 Rice. I don't know. 
 
 Rose. What corps ? 
 
 Rice. I don't know. 
 
 Rose. Do you belong to Bragg's army? 
 
 Rice. O, yes, sir. 
 
 Rosecrans looked at him, and smiled at his in- 
 genuous manner, so perfectly open and candid the 
 Captain seemed, then agam commenced, blandly : 
 
 Rose. How many of Longstreet's men got 
 here? 
 
 Rice. About forty-five thousand. 
 
 Rose. Is Longstreet in command ? 
 
 Rice. O, no, sir ! General Bragg is in com- 
 mand. 
 
 Rose. Captain, you don't seem to know much, 
 for a man whose appearance seems to indicate so 
 much intelligence. 
 
 Rice. Well, General, if you are not satisfied 
 with my information, I will volunteer some. We 
 are going to whip you most tremendously in this 
 fight. 
 
 Rose. Why ? 
 
 Rice. Because you are not ready to fight. 
 
 Rose. Were you ready ? 
 
 Rice. Yes ; we were ready. 
 
 Rose. How do you know we were not ready ? 
 
 Rice. You sent a brigade to burn a bridge. 
 General Bragg sent a brigade to drive yours back. 
 You were forced to reenforce ; then General Bragg 
 reenforced, and forced you into an engagement. 
 
 Rose. I find you know more than I thought 
 you did. You can go to the rear. — Southern 
 paper. j 
 
 How AN Amputation is Performed. — Im- 
 agine yourself in the hospital of the Sixth corps 
 after a battle. There lies a soldier, whose thigh 
 has been mangled by a shell ; and, although he 
 may not know it, the limb wiU have to be ampu- 
 tated to save his life. Two Surgeons have akeady 
 pronounced this decision ; but, according to the 
 present formation of a hospital in this camp, no 
 one Surgeon, nor two, can order an amputation, 
 even of a finger. The opinion of five, at least, 
 and sometimes more, including the division Sm-- 
 geon, always a man of superior skill and experi- 
 ence, must first be consulted, and then, if there is 
 an agreement, depend upon it, the operation is 
 necessary. This did not use to be, in the earlier 
 months of the war ; but it is so now. Suppose 
 
350 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 that the amputation has been decided upon ; the 
 man, who is a rebel, and an Irishman, with strong 
 nerve and frame, is approached by one of the Sur- 
 geons, and told that he will now be attended to, 
 and whatever is best will be done for him. They 
 cannot examine his wound thoroughly where he 
 lies, so he is tenderly lifted on to a rough table. 
 A rebel Surgeon is among the number present. 
 The man, as I have said, has strong nerve, and is 
 not reduced by loss of blood. So, then, the de- 
 cision is communicated to him that he must lose 
 his leg. While the operating Surgeon is examin- 
 ing, and they are talking to the poor fellow, chlo- 
 roform is being administered to him through a 
 sponge. The first sensations of this sovereign 
 balm are like those pleasant ones produced by a 
 few glasses of whiskey, and the Irishman begins 
 to think he is on a spree, and throws out his arms 
 and legs, and talks funnily. The inhalation goes 
 on, and the beating of the pulse is watched ; and 
 when it is ascertained that he is totally oblivious 
 to all feeling, the instruments are produced, and 
 the operation commences. Down goes the knife 
 into the flesh, but there is no tremor or indication 
 of pain. The patient is dreaming of the battle 
 out of which he has just come. Hear him, for 
 he's got his rifle pointed over the earthworks at 
 our advancing line of battle : " Arrah, now they 
 come ! Give it to 'em ! Down goes my man ! 
 Load up, load up quick! for there they are again ! 
 Hi ! hi ! hi ! Up they come ! Now for another 
 shot ! " Such are a sample of the exclamations 
 the Celt makes, in his own brogue, while the Sur- 
 geons are cutting, and carving, and sawing away. 
 The leg is off", and carried away ; the arteries are 
 tied up, and the skin is neatly sewed over the 
 stump. The eflect of the chloroform is relaxed ; 
 and when the patient opens his eyes, a short time 
 afterwards, he sees a clean white bandage where 
 his ghastly wound had been, and his lost limb is 
 removed. He feels much easier, and drinks an 
 ounce and a half of good whiskey with gusto. 
 This is a real instance of amputation, and the 
 chief characteristics of the description will answer 
 every one. 
 
 Anecdote of General Sherman. — On the 
 arrival of General Sherman at Savannah, he saw 
 a large number of British flags displayed from 
 buildings, and had a curiosity to know how many 
 British Consuls there were there. He soon ascer- 
 tained that these flags were on buildings where 
 cotton had been stored away, and at once ordered 
 it to be seized. Soon after that, while the Gen- 
 eral was busUy engaged at headquarters, a pom- 
 pous gentleman walked in, apparently in great 
 haste, and inquired if he was General Sherman. 
 Having received an affirmative reply, the pom- 
 pous gentleman remarked, " that when he left his 
 residence. United States troops were engaged in 
 removing his cotton from it, when it was protected 
 by the British flag." 
 
 " Stop, sir ! " said General Sherman ; " not 
 your cotton, sir, but my cotton, — in the name 
 of the United States Government, sir. I have 
 noticed," continued General Sherman, " a great 
 
 many British flags all about here, protecting 
 cotton. I have seized it all, in the name of my 
 Government." 
 
 " But, sir," said the Consul, indignantly, " there 
 is scarcely any cotton in Savannah that does not 
 belong to me." 
 
 " There is not a pound of cotton here, sir, that 
 does not belong to me, for the United States," 
 responded Sherman. 
 
 " Well, sir," said the Consul, swelling himself 
 up with the dignity of his ofliice, and reddening iij 
 the face ; " my Government shall hear of this. I 
 shall report your conduct to my Government, 
 sir ! " 
 
 " Ah ! pray, who are you, sir ? " said the Gen- 
 eral. ; 
 
 " Consul to Her British Majesty, sir ! " i 
 
 " O ! indeed ! " responded the General. " I 
 hope you will report me to your Government, i 
 You will please saj'' to your Government, for me, 
 that I have been fighting the English Government 
 all the way from the Ohio River to Vicksburg, 
 and thence to this point. At every step I have i \i 
 encountered British arms, British munitions of \ r 
 war, and British goods of every description — at , 
 every step — sir. I have met them, su-, in all 
 shapes ; and now, sir, I find you claiming all the 
 cotton, sir. I intend to call upon my Govern- 
 ment to order me to Nassau at once." 
 
 " What do you propose to do there ? " asked 
 the Consul, somewhat taken aback. 
 
 " I would," replied the General, " take with me 
 a quantity of picks and shovels, and throw that 
 cm-sed sand-hill into the sea, sir; and then I 
 would pay for it, sir — if necessary ! Good day, 
 sir." 
 
 One of God's Noblemen. — A flat-boat full 
 of soldiers, a few of whom were African, at- 
 tempted to land at Rodman's Point, on the coast i 
 of North Carolina. '^ 
 
 The rebels were awaiting their approach in ; 
 ambuscade, and reserved their fire till the end of I 
 the boat was resting on the shore, and then opened 
 a deadly fire. Life could only be saved by lying 
 flat on the boat's bottom ; and if they remained 
 inactive long, the whole boat-load would be cap- 
 tured. One of the negro soldiers, who saw the 
 situation, and the vital importance of getting the 
 boat off", as well as the imminent danger of the 
 attempt, said : " Somebody got to die to get us aU 
 out dis 'ere, and it tnouglit jus' as well be me as 
 anybody ! " 
 
 He then deliberately rose up, stepped on shore, 
 and pushed the boat off". As she swung clear, 
 and the men crouching in the bottom were saved, 
 the body of the noble African fell forward into 
 the end of the boat, pierced by five bullets. 
 
 Stories of War. — A Chaplain, on the eve 
 of a battle, bade the soldiers of his corps fight 
 bravely, for those who fell " would sup in heaven," 
 and thereupon himself marched to the rear, re- 
 plying, when called to stop, " that for his part 
 he never took suppers." A kindred anecdote is 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND ESTCIDENTS. 
 
 351 
 
 related of a militia colonel in the last ■war with 
 Great Britain. Addressing his soldiers, on the 
 eve of an engagement, he told them to "press 
 where they saw his white plume wave," adding 
 that, " if by any accident the regiment was over- 
 powered and driven off the field, and should need 
 further orders after the battle, they would find 
 him (the Colonel) behind Simon Norris' barn, in 
 the town of Buxton." 
 
 Half an Hour among the Rebels. — The 
 sun was shining down in a style that would have 
 done honor to the swelteriAg regions of the 
 tropics. Beneath its torrid beams several hun- 
 dred rebels, who had taken the oath of allegiance 
 to their native country, trudged their way from 
 the Delaware Wharf to the depot, in West 
 Philadelphia, where they awaited transportation. 
 Among the motley crowd were a number possess- 
 ing natural intelligence, although uneducated. 
 From the excessive heat, they might have sup- 
 posed they were already in the " Sunny South," 
 and that under such a high temperature it would 
 be impossible for Northerners to be the cold- 
 hearted barbarians they had been represented to 
 be. The repentants presented a varied picture 
 for philosophical contemplation. Some of them 
 were decidedly sullen, and at times exhibited a 
 morose disposition. Others seemed to regard 
 matters and things as they found them, with a 
 degree of philosophy entirely creditable. Num- 
 bers Avere loquacious, and their speech indicated 
 the peculiarities of various localities of our coun- 
 try. Among that crowd was a tall individual, 
 with grayish-blue eyes, sunken cheek, sallow 
 complexion, and long, yellowish hair, dangling 
 down his neck. He seemed possessed of natural 
 intelligence, but was deficient in point of edu- 
 cation. In his speech he was remarkably pro- 
 fane. 
 
 Among the spectators was a gentleman re- 
 markable for the emphatic style in which he 
 enforces argument on the different topics of the 
 day. He eyed the crowd of rebels for some time, 
 mingled among them, and finally singled out 
 the tall, yellow-haired individual, above alluded 
 to, for a little especial conversation. 
 
 " You're a South Carolinian, I suppose ? " said 
 the spectator. 
 
 " That's my native country i" replied the repent- 
 ant rebel. 
 
 " Your native country j were you born there ? " 
 
 "Waal, I was.'* 
 
 " Then the whole country is your native coun- 
 try, and not simply South Carolinai" responded 
 the gentleman. 
 
 " Waal, I don't know about that ar, stranger ; 
 you fellows have licked us like " 
 
 " Don't say that, su", for you are entirely mis- 
 taken," replied the interlocutor. 
 
 " Waal, I don't know what you call a lickin'; 
 if we didn't get it, then I don't know what a lick- 
 in' is ; why, sir, we're tore out, root and branch, 
 and smashed down like Virginny tobacco in a 
 press." 
 
 "Now, let me tell j^ou," responded the dial- 
 ogist, " the North has only brought you fellows 
 back into the Union ; the North did not invade 
 the South merely to thrash you ; the North took 
 the good old flag of the Union there, and asked 
 you to come under its protection ; j'ou refused, 
 and the North went at you, and, after pretty hard 
 fighting, have brought you under that flag again. 
 This is all the North has done. The North said 
 that the Union should not be divided, and this 
 doctrine is fully maintained by American arms 
 and American valor." 
 
 By this time the argument began to increase 
 in interest; other rebels gathered around, and 
 attentively listened ; they looked upon the strange 
 gentleman as though a sort of demigod had paid 
 them a visit, and felt that words of wisdom were 
 dropping from his lips. 
 
 " Guess that are leader must be a Congress- 
 man," said one rebel to another, aside. 
 
 " He's one on 'em, eny how," said another ; 
 " but he don't look like an abolitioner." 
 
 " No, I guess he arn't one on 'em critters, no 
 how," responded a third ; " but he talks pooty." 
 
 " I hke them ar sentiments, and when I get to 
 Red River I'll express 'em as me own," said a 
 rough-looking customer with bushy whiskers. 
 
 " Well," continued the gentleman, " now don't 
 return to your homes with any false notion about 
 the people of the North. They are your friends ; 
 they will assist you if you will only show a dis- 
 position to assist yourselves in industrial pursuits. 
 You must go to work, love the good old flag, 
 and, if necessary, you must fight for it, and not 
 against it." 
 
 " By , stranger, you speak like a man j. we 
 
 never will fight against the old flag." 
 
 " Nor the Union ? " 
 
 " No, sir, never ; we are for the Union against 
 all enemies ; we've been enemies to ourselves." 
 
 " You have been misled by false teachers, and 
 you must guard against them; you must think 
 for yourself; but never array yourself against 
 that good old flag. [Here he pointed to one float- 
 ing from the staff on the- depot.] You must put 
 all your Jeff Davises down under your feet, and 
 not permit them to trample you in the dust." 
 
 " That's so, by ■ ," chimed in several. 
 
 " D Jeff Davis ; if the Government don't 
 
 hang him, we will, if we can only get a chance." 
 
 It really seemed that these men would have 
 instantly hung Jeff Davis, or any admirers of the 
 " stern statesman," had an opportunity been given 
 them. By the time the dialogue was concluded 
 the rebels gave unmistakable evidence of the 
 change that had come over the spirit of their 
 dreams, by actually giving three cheers for the 
 United States, and death to JeS" Davis. 
 
 Speech in the Mississippi Convention of 
 THE " Gentleman from Jones." — "I an^ a 
 mossy-back, sir, and I stand here to-day to repre- 
 sent the county of Jones. People said that the 
 county of Jones seceded from Mississippi. Yes, 
 
352 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 sir, we did secede fi-om the Confederacy, and, sir, 
 ■we fought them like dogs ; we killed them like 
 devils; we buried them like asses! Yea, like 
 asses, sir. My own people down there in the 
 county of Jones did, in their sovereign capacity, 
 secede, and did become mossy-backs. We did 
 fight them like dogs and kill them like hellions 
 — like hellions, I say, sir! But I didn't come 
 here to gas, sir ; and I surrender my rights to 
 the floor, sir, expressing only the one sentiment, 
 that I stand up for the county of Jones in gen- 
 eral. Yes, sir, I am for Jones all the time. In 
 my suffering county the wails of three hundred 
 and eighty widowed women and shirt-tail chil- 
 dren are ascending before the God of right, and 
 appealing in tears to the powers appointed for 
 relief." 
 
 The Lawrence Massacre. — A survivor of 
 the terrible scenes at Lawrence relates the fol- 
 lowing incidents : Early on the morning of the 
 massacre, young Collamore, son of Mayor Colla- 
 more, a youth of eighteen, started from Law- 
 rence for a farm which was owned by his father, 
 to shoot some birds for a sick brother. He had 
 cleared the limits of the city and come to a cross 
 road, when, upon looking up, he saw, within a 
 dozen paces, the advance guard of Quantrel, 
 comprising about twenty or thirty men. He kept 
 on and passed them, when they ordered him to 
 halt. He turned and came towards them, scarcely 
 suspecting that they were foes, when the ruffians 
 aimed at him and fired. Providentially not a 
 ball hit him, although several grazed his person, 
 one of them actually cutting off one of his eye- 
 lashes. Seeing that the young man was un- 
 scathed, one of the ruffians, with a blasphemous 
 denunciation of his comrades for their inex- 
 pertness, rode up to him, and, taking deliberate 
 aim, fired, with the intention of lodging a ball in 
 his abdomen. Young Collamore was cool and 
 collected in this trying moment, and turning 
 himself so as to disturb his assailant's aim, just 
 as the rifle was discharged rolled from his horse, 
 exclaiming — "I am killed!" The shot took 
 effect in the fleshy part of the thigh. The young 
 man was perfectly conscious, but lay entirely 
 still, feigning death. Several others of the band 
 rode up and discharged their pistols or rifles 
 point blank at him, but he never flinched, and 
 fortunately was not again hit. The advance 
 guard passed on, and Collamore then attempted 
 to drag himself to a house in the neighborhood, 
 occupied by an L:ishman, which had been spared 
 through the intercessions of some L-ishmen who 
 were among the guerrillas. While doing this he 
 saw the main body of Quantrel's gang approach- 
 ing. He hastened his steps, using his gun as a 
 crutch, and just reached the house in time to 
 tlirow himself into a cellar window, when some 
 of the gang rode up in full chase. They shot a 
 man who showed himself at a window, but did 
 not discover Collamore, who finally escaped, 
 although he lay for several hours in the cellar 
 before the people in the house could venture to 
 his relief. The young man owes his life to his 
 
 nerve and his presence of mind. He is now with 
 friends in this city. His wound is a severe one, 
 and may cripple him for life, as the ball has not 
 yet been extracted. 
 
 When the band of Quantrel entered the town, 
 but few of the inhabitants had arisen, and their 
 work was the more speedy and certain. Quantrel 
 himself visited the house of Mayor Collamore, 
 against whom the ruffians had a peculiar spite 
 because of his energy in thwarting their* designs 
 of invasion. Mrs. Collamore, aroused by the 
 sound of fire-arms, got up and went to the win- 
 dow, when she saw some of the ruffians chasing 
 an unarmed man in the yard of a house near by. 
 They shot him repeatedly, even after he was 
 mortally wounded. Shocked at this scene, and 
 at once comprehending the danger, she aroused 
 her husband, whose first impulse was to get his 
 pistols and resist. But Mrs. Collamore urged 
 her husband to conceal himself, and suggested a 
 hayrick in the rear of the house. But before he 
 could get out of the house it was surrounded, 
 and the ruffians were thundering at the door. 
 Mrs. Collamore then suggested the weU, and has- 
 tened her husband to the well-room. Mr. Colla- 
 more hesitated before entering the -well, express- 
 ing apprehensions for his wife ; but she implored 
 him to seek his own safety, assuring him that 
 there could be no danger to a defenceless woman. 
 He went into the well, and the boards having 
 been replaced, Mrs. Collamore went to the door. 
 She was confronted by Quantrel himself, who in- 
 quired for her husband. She replied, calmly and 
 composedly looking him in the face, that he had 
 gone east. With a fearful oath, the ruffian 
 strode past her, and went du'ectly to the chamber 
 of Mr. Collamore, being evidently well acquainted 
 with the premises. Disappointed, he instituted a 
 search, though not very thorough, for the cellar 
 was not visited; and not finding the object of his 
 vengeance, he demanded of Mrs. Collamore the 
 money that was in the house. She gave him 
 what she had, but he insisted that there was 
 more. Mrs. Collamore remembering that one of 
 the children had about five dollars in specie, gave 
 that to Quantrel, which seemed to satisfy the 
 ruffian. He rummaged the drawers, but did not 
 touch the silver belonging to Mrs. Collamore, or 
 Mr. CoUamore's signet ring. 
 
 One of the children, eight years old, held up to 
 him a ten cent piece, and said, with child-like sim- 
 plicity, " I will give you that if you won't kill 
 me." ' The ruffian turned on his heel with the 
 exclamation, " Pshaw ! what do you suppose I 
 want of that ? He threatened the life of another 
 of the children, a boy of fifteen ; but Mrs. Col- 
 lamore implored liim to spare him. She remarked, 
 with a presentiment that her oldest boy was killed, 
 " He is my all. You have doubtless killed his 
 brother, who went out gunning this morning, and 
 must have met your band." A smile of fearful ma- 
 lignity passed over the countenance of the ruffian, 
 as he signified his knowledge of the cuxumstance, 
 and turned away. 
 
 After plundering the house, Quantrel set it oa 
 fire, and when Mrs. Collamore attempted to quench 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 353 
 
 the flames, threatened her life. When the ruffians 
 had left, and while the house Avas burning, Mrs. 
 Collamore went to the well and called to her hus- 
 band, who answered " yea " to the inquiry if he was 
 safe. But when the danger was entirely passed, on 
 going to the v*ell he was found to be dead. He is 
 supposed to have been suffocated by the smoke. 
 
 The anguish of the v/ife, bereft of a tender and 
 affectionate husband, and left houseless and home- 
 less, was yet to be intensified by anxiety for the 
 safety of her children. She found a temporary 
 shelter, to which her oldest son was conveyed for 
 medical treatment. Two days subsequent to the 
 massacre an alarm was started at midnight, that 
 Quantrel was returning to complete the work of 
 destruction. The panic-stricken inhabitants fled 
 to the woods, deserting the city and all of their 
 property, many of them having nothing but their 
 night garments. Mrs. Collamore sent her children 
 and theu" nurse to a place of safety, but would not 
 leave her wounded son. With the help of a young 
 minister she procured a buggy, and putting him 
 into it with great difficulty, dragged him Avith su- 
 perhuman strength to the river bank. 
 
 It was dark and rainy ; but the shelterless ex- 
 iles — mostly women and children — scarcely dared 
 to speak above a v/hisper, lest the murderous ruf- 
 fians should be upon them. The terrors of that 
 night of fear and foreboding will never be effaced 
 from the memory of the people of Lawrence. It 
 turned out that there was no truth in the reports 
 of the return of Quantrel. 
 
 The work of the ruffian band was carried on 
 in the most erratic manner. Many buildings 
 were studiously protected. Jim Lane's house 
 was burned down ; but so was the house of Mrs. 
 Jenkins, whose husband, it will be recollected, 
 was murdered by Lane. Many who were known 
 to be opposed to jayhawking were murdered. 
 Governor Robinson's house was spared. It has 
 been said that it was protected by a squad of sol- 
 diers across the river. But other houses were 
 burned, which were nearer to these soldiers, and 
 the ruffians breakfasted in a house which was be- 
 tween Ex-Governor Robinson's and the river. 
 Ex-Governor Shannon's property was spai'ed, and 
 at the request of Mrs. Shannon a guard was fur- 
 nished for his office. 
 
 Some few of the band showed a merciful spirit, 
 but most of them seemed actuated by the most 
 fiendish malice, and thirsted for blood, with which 
 they were certainly sated. They were not con- 
 tent with wounding unarmed men, but shot at 
 them until life vias extinct. No massacre in the 
 history of our country has been more fearful, or 
 attended with incidents more cruel. 
 
 The people of Leavenworth opened their hearts 
 and theu* houses to the sufi"erers, ■who speak in 
 the highest terms of their generosity. Mrs. Col- 
 lamore, particularly, found there many who re- 
 membered and appreciated her noble husband, 
 and warmly expresses her gratitude to them for 
 their kindness to herself and her children. There 
 is much destitution and suflFering among the peo- 
 ple of Lawrence, which only the liberal benevo- 
 lence of the rest can relieve, and we hope that 
 23 
 
 the appeals which have been made in their behalf 
 will meet with a prompt response. 
 
 Thoughts of Home. — " Let mc tell you of a 
 little incident that happened to me this morning," 
 said a soldier in Louisiana. " I had been out all 
 day on the skirmish line ; all was still ; I had not 
 heard the singing of a bullet for some time. I 
 was sitting on the ground, with my rifle across 
 my knees, thinking of home and friends far away 
 — wondering what the future had in store for 
 me, and if I should ever see that home again. 
 As I sat thus, a little bird, called the Baltimore 
 oriole, perched himself on a bush so close to me 
 that I might have touched him with my rifle, and 
 commenced singing. The voice of this bird is 
 much like that of our robin, and he is about the 
 same size, though his color is different, being a 
 dark red. The poor little fellow had been di-iven 
 away through the day by the shower of bullets 
 that visited that quarter, but had returned at 
 night to visit his home, and seemed now to be 
 returning thanks to God for his safe return. And 
 so, thought I, my case may be like the little bird. 
 After this struggle is over, I, too, may return to 
 friends and home. I accepted the omen, thanked 
 God for his watchful care over me, and, with re- 
 newed courage and hope, pressed on." 
 
 An Adventure. — A " Silent Observer" of com- 
 pany B, of the Fourth Pennsylvania regiment, 
 gives the following narrative of an adventure in 
 West Virginia, in the spring of 1864 : — 
 
 " The person I am going to write about is a 
 regular harum-scarum individual, and is never 
 with his regiment except he is on duty ; he is 
 always travelling about the country (or I should 
 say scouting around), and there is little that he 
 does not know, and few places he can't find. But, 
 as regards his duty, I am made to understand 
 that he never shirks anything that is right, though 
 sometimes he growls when he imagines he is im- 
 posed upon, but it is generally soon over : this 
 much I can say, he is a good and I believe brave 
 soldier. I will give you the narrative as I got it 
 from him at New Creek. He said : ' x\fter I got 
 out to our pickets, I thought I would stay there 
 all night, and in the morning go on. I remained 
 there about two hours, when the Fourteenth Vir- 
 ginia infantry came along ; so I concluded to go 
 with them as far as they Avent. I started, and 
 Avent Avith them to Burlington ; here they stopped 
 and camped. I was told by some of the men of 
 another regiment, that our men did no fighting 
 there, but had gone on to Moorsfield ; so I con- 
 cluded to go on after the regiment. The next 
 morning I Avent on with some Avagons as far as 
 the junction of the Romney and Moorsfield road. 
 I staid there until about half past eleven o'clock 
 A. M. AVhile I Avas there, an ambulance came 
 along, and, as I ascertained that it was going 
 near my regiment, I concluded to go with it. I 
 got in, and, on inquiring, I found it belonged to 
 the Second regiment ^Maryland Home Brigade. 
 
354 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " * We had proceeded along the road towards 
 Moorsfield about five miles when I observed five 
 men come out of the mountains about fifty yards 
 ' from the road, and, as they drew near us, I dis- 
 covered them to be rebels. There was no time to 
 jump out, and run away, nor to upe arms ; for 
 they had us surrounded in a jiffy, and it would 
 have been madness anyhow, as there was only 
 one gun between us, and that was not ready for 
 use. Let me state here that the regiment was 
 not more than five or six miles ahead of us, and 
 there were cavalry passing that road all the time. 
 The rebels came on us with pointed pistols, and 
 ordered us to surrender. We had no choice ; so 
 we gave up. They asked us to give them all the 
 arms from the ambulance. I gave them my gun 
 and equipments, and then we were ordered to 
 drive up a by-road about one hundred yards from 
 the main road on the right going to Moorsfield. 
 After they had taken the horses from the ambu- 
 lance, they run it down a hill, and cut some of 
 the spokes. They then took the things which 
 they could carrj-, and mounted us on the horses, 
 and took us up in the mountains to the left of the 
 road about a quarter of a mile. After we got 
 there, they searched us, and took everything that 
 they thought dangerous. My companion's pocket 
 knife and gloves were taken from him, and my 
 canteen and a piece of emery paper I had were 
 taken from me. And they asked us if we had 
 any money, but we had nary red. They told us 
 that they had been sent there to intercept our 
 despatches, and pick up all stragglers. I made 
 very light of being a prisoner, and told them I 
 did not care, as I was under arrest, and expected 
 to get a court-martial for desertion, and perhaps 
 be sent to a fort for one or two years. I laughed, 
 and seemed so contented, that they did not think 
 I would try to escape ; my companion was down- 
 hearted and discontented, and all his energy had 
 left him. 
 
 " ' We had been up there about half an hour, 
 when the lookout reported a cavalryman coming 
 down the road, and as they supposed him to be a 
 despatch-bearer, a reb started down the moun- 
 tain after him. I whispered to my companion to 
 grab the rebel guard, and I would help him. The 
 guard v>-as a very strong man, and I knew if we 
 intended to do anything, we must surprise him, 
 and make quick work of it. The guard was very 
 anxious to see his comrades take a Yankee de- 
 spatch-bearer, and did not pay much attention to 
 us. I suppose he thought it foolishness for us to 
 attempt to escape. He had a short rifle, and no 
 revolver, nor sabre. As my companion was the 
 stoutest, he was to take his gun. The rebel guard 
 then immediately took us in sight of the road, to 
 show us the fun of taking a Yankee. The rebels 
 smTounded the cavalryman before he knew it, 
 and soon disarmed him. I got behind the rebel 
 guard, and my companion on the side his rifle was 
 on, and just as the four rebels with their prison- 
 ers got to the foot of the mountain, my companion 
 grasped the gun, and I grasped the rebel ; I put 
 my hand over his mouth, and threw one arm 
 around his neck, at the same time throwing his 
 
 head back ; my companion wrenched the gun 
 from him, and then gave him a punch in the 
 bread-basket with the muzzle, which made him 
 " holler " blue murder, and I told him to hit him 
 on the head. But he was too slow, and before 
 I could throw him dovar he forced himself away 
 from me, and went stumbling down the mountain 
 tovtards his comrades, who were then within one 
 hundred yards of me. My companion had gone, 
 and was about thirty yards from me : and think- 
 ing it was time for mc to get away, I darted oif ; 
 and after running up and down the mountain for 
 about four miles with my companion, we discov- 
 ered the rebels trying to outflank us. My com- 
 panion threw away the rifle which he had carried 
 until then ; we then separated ; he threw himself 
 down behind a log, and I kept on for about one 
 mile ; then I started for the road. At the time I 
 separated from my companion the rebels were 
 only about fifty yards from him, and one hundred 
 and fifty yards from me ; but the fog prevented 
 them from seeing him, and the bushes them from 
 seeing me. After I got down in the field I saw a 
 man coming through it, and as I knew he was not 
 armed, and as I saw harness on the horse, I de- 
 termined to seek aid from him. I went up to him, 
 and hailed him with, " Hold on there, mister ! " 
 When I had got close to him I said : " Look 
 here, stranger ; 1 want you to tell me the truth ; 
 are you a Union man or a secesh ? " He said : " I 
 am a Union man ! " " Well," said I, " then you 
 must help me." I told Irim I must ride on his 
 horse a little way ; he told me to mount behind 
 him. After doing so he took me across the creek 
 and across the fence about three hundred yards, 
 and then told me which way to go. I foUow^ed 
 his du-ections, and soon came into our lines.' " 
 
 Freedom of Speech. — A letter-writer in Al- 
 abama says : " Om* minister nearly got himself 
 into a scrape the other day ; and whether he is 
 ' a bit of a wag,' or a very careless fellow, or an 
 ' abolition traitor,' is now the topic of discussion 
 with us. At the meeting on Fast Day he gave 
 out Dr. AVatts' hymn, commencing — 
 
 « And are we wretches j-et alive ; 
 
 And do we yet rebel r 
 'Tis wondrous, 'tis amazing grace. 
 That we are out of hell.' " 
 
 " Lym.-^n Beecher Adams." — While the Thir- 
 ty-eighth Ohio regiment was home on furlough, a 
 man hailing from Dayton, but represented as for- 
 merly from Rhode Island, desu-ous of distinguish- 
 ing himself in the field, proposed to be mustered 
 into the service of the United States as a volun- 
 teer in that regiment. Being apparently sound in 
 body and mind, and responding to the name of 
 Lyman Beecher Adams (which bespoke, more 
 than individual assurances, a patriotic ancestry), 
 he was promptly received into the good faith and 
 fellowship of the veterans of the regiment. With 
 such a name, and hailing from the little State of 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 355 
 
 Rhode Island, so fruitful in loyal progress, who 
 coukl demand any further Toucher or guarantee 
 of his genuine character? He underwent the 
 ceremonies attending his initiation into the vol- 
 unteer service, accepted his allotted bounty, and 
 started for the seat of war, sharing, for a season, 
 with his companions in arms many of the fatigues 
 and exposures incident to army life, and, during 
 his passage with us, continually repeated mentally 
 the sentiment of the negro melody : 
 
 "I'm gwine 'long dovm. to Georgia — I haiai't got 
 long to stay." 
 
 Shortly after the amval of the regiment at 
 Einggold, Georgia, it Avas sent out upon picket 
 duty, and Lj-man Beecher Adams was expected 
 to, and did (willingly, of course), enter upon this 
 rather unpleasant branch of the service ; and being 
 a true soldier, did not feign sickness, or attempt 
 to shirk from any duties. Taking advantage of 
 this, his first experience on picket duty, he con- 
 cluded to absent himself from the next roll call, 
 and, with rifle, cartridge-box, and person, catered 
 into the rebel lines. 
 
 A few days thereafter, a party of rebel officers, 
 with a flag of truce, having some communication 
 with General Grant, apjieared before the Union 
 lines, and were met by others from the army. 
 During the interchange of civilities common to 
 such occasions, a rebel officer stated that he was 
 requested by the late Juijman Beeclier Adams to 
 present his compliments to the Thirty-eighth Ohio 
 regiment, and to tender his grateful acknowledg- 
 ments for their kindness in delivering him from the 
 land of his captivity to the bosom of his friends. 
 
 A brief summary of this story is this : Lyman 
 Beecher Adams was a rebel Captain under John 
 Morgan, and having escaped from Johnson's 
 Island, was genorously provided by his enemies 
 with a dead-head ticket to Dixie. The joke is — 
 To be relished exclusively by rebels. The moral 
 — New recruits should sometimes, previous to 
 being accepted, furnish proper credentials. 
 
 An Incident of the Hospitax. — "One of 
 the patients was a mere boy, not more than sev- 
 enteen years old. I think you would have de- 
 scribed him as a little boy, and altogether unfit 
 for military service. But he was brave-hearted, 
 and of a pleasant countenance. He was first sick 
 of the measles, and had been exposed to the cold 
 and rain during our march to Decatur Junction ; 
 now he sufiered under an attack of pneumonia ; 
 his mind wandered, and there was no hope of his 
 recovery. Our hospital steward, a noble, warm- 
 hearted man, whom all the men love, came in, 
 and as he passed along the ward the little sufierer 
 asked, in a plaintive, child-like voice, to be taken 
 in his lap. The steward tenderly raised him in 
 his arms, and began to soothe him with loving 
 words. Such words and acts find their way even 
 to maddened brains. 
 
 " ' Mayn't I kiss you ? I want some one to 
 love,' asked the grateful heart of the jDatient. 
 
 " Consent was given, with a smothered, sobbing 
 
 voice ; the djing boy kissed him lovingly, and 
 then gi'ew tranquil as a babe. No doubt, I 
 thought, he was again, in thought and feeling, at 
 home, enclosed in the arms that had clasped him 
 a thousand times. I don't know, but I think the 
 steward will treasure that kiss in his memory, as 
 worldly men do ancestral jewels, and in the end 
 find it written to his credit in heaven." 
 
 How A Captain was Captuhed. — ^'I was 
 officer of the guard, on as bright a July day as 
 ever dawned on creation ; and though it was op- 
 pressi^ly warm,, as early as guai'd mounting, eight 
 o'clock, yet that interesting ceremony had passed 
 oS" magnificently, and I was preparing to go the 
 grand rounds immediately after the call for the 
 second relief, when Lieutenant H., the old officer 
 of the guard, sent his respects, with an earnest 
 request for me to call on him at his marquee for 
 special consultation. ' H — 1 is brewing at po«t 
 number twelve,' said he, as he took me by the 
 hand, ' and this fellow will tell you what he saAV 
 there ; and you may rely upon trouble there be- 
 fore to-morrow.' ' An' I saw notliing at all, at all, 
 but a ghost, sure,' said the Irish soldier ; ' it came 
 out of the hill forenent the old graveyard, shook 
 its fist at me as it passed, and went into the bush 
 towards the fort.' 
 
 " ' How did it look ? ' inquired H. 
 
 "'Look? indade, how should it look, but like 
 a woman di'aped in white, with eyes of fire ? ' 
 
 "An hour after, I was carefully searching the 
 ground in the vicinity of post number twelve, when 
 my ears were saluted with the well-known cry of, 
 'Buy any pies'n' cakes? — all clean and new; 
 twenty-five cents for the pies, two cakes for a 
 penny.' 
 
 " ' Where is your pass, my good lady, if you are 
 a camp follower ; and why are you here among the 
 rocks and bushes, if you wish to sell your market- 
 ing ? ' said G. 
 
 " ' I am the honest wife of Pat Maloney, of the 
 Fourteenth Maiyland, and sthopped here to rest 
 me weary limbs afther coming five miles dovvn from 
 me home in the hill, your honor ! ' 
 
 "'Very likely,' said I; 'but you will please 
 march down to the camp, and submit to a slight 
 insi^ection of your basket and papers, if you hare 
 any.' 
 
 '"I have no papers, sir; and why should you 
 put a loyal woman, and a wife of a Union soldier, 
 to this trouble, bad luck till ye ? ' 
 
 " ' You will not be harmed, madam. If you are 
 a loyal woman, as you say, you will see the pro- 
 priety of so doing.' 
 
 " Cakes and pics, sure enough, but no papers ; 
 and I began to believe that there was no connec- 
 tion between her and Pat's 'ghost;' but why 
 should she wear a pair of men's boots? 
 
 " ' Och, these were the boots me husband wore 
 before he 'listed, sure ! ' 
 
 " And so the Captain, somewhat given to gallan- 
 try, volunteered to accompany her to her friends, 
 two miles towards her ' home in the hill,' where she 
 was to give positive jjroof that she was ' neither a 
 
356 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 spy nor a ghost.' And away they went, a single 
 soldier only accompanying them, amid the ill- 
 suppressed laughter of the regiment. 
 
 " Noon, one o'clock, two o'clock, and no tidings 
 of the Captain ! What was to be done ? A squad- 
 ron of cavalry was ordered to dash up the hill, 
 reconnoitre, and report. And then time wore 
 heavily away for an hour, when the cavalry charged 
 into camp and up to headquarters, when instantly 
 the long roll was beat, and in five minutes the 
 regiment was under arms in line of battle. A 
 perfect silence ensued, and the Adjutant read the 
 following note : 
 
 " ' Colonel D. : I am willing to exchange the 
 pies, cakes, and basket for the soldier and the 
 d — d fool Captain whom I caught with crinoline. 
 Pedlers and ghosts are at a premium in these 
 parts just now. Yours, in haste, 
 
 " ' Bland, First Lieutenant C. S. A.' 
 
 " The soldier's musket was found four miles 
 from camp, with the note from the ivoman Lieu- 
 tenant sticking on the point of the bayonet ; and 
 so the Captain was captured." 
 
 Anecdote of Philippa. — Among the troops 
 in Western Virginia, stories about the Philippa 
 affair formed a staple of conversation. Here is 
 one of the best : 
 
 A certain Indiana company, almost worn out 
 with marchuig, was straggling along, with very 
 little regard to order. Hurrying up to his men, 
 the Captain shouted, "Close up, boys! D — n 
 you, close up ! If the enemy were to fke on 
 you when you're straggling along that way, they 
 couldn't hit a d — u one of you ! Close up ! " And 
 the boys closed up immediately. 
 
 She Eegeetted It. — In the early part of 
 the war, an elderly lady, who attended a meeting 
 of the Fii'st Vermont regiment, arose, full of en- 
 thusiasm, and said she thanked God that she was 
 able to do something for her country ; her two 
 sons, all she possessed in the world, were in the 
 regiment ; and the only thing she had to regret 
 was, that she could not have known it twenty 
 years ago — she would have fiu'nished more. 
 
 " Broke the Connection." — In the battle of 
 Ciiampion Hills, a Colonel was moimted on a 
 horse which did not like the wliistling of bullets 
 and bursting of shells wliich showered about him. 
 The Colonel, who was one of those officers al- 
 ways found in advance of his regiment, held a 
 different opinion from his horse ; so he called 
 Sam, the negro servant, to take the animal back, 
 and bring the " Morgan," that could stand fii-e. 
 Sam, who was in sympathy with the disgraced 
 charger, gladly obeyed ; but on his way back with 
 the Morgan, a shell dropped in the field right be- 
 fore him, and burst, sending the mud and stones 
 ia every direction. This was too much for Sam, 
 and he broke for the rear, not to be seen again 
 
 for several days. One of the officers, finding 
 him not wholly recovered from his fear, at this 
 time, of his irate master, said : " Why don't you 
 go back to the Colonel ? He was angry, but you 
 may return ; you know he was always friendly tn 
 you." " Dat ar am all berry true," replied Sam, 
 with an inimitable expression of countenance, 
 and a significant gesture of the hand ; " de Colo- 
 nal and I Avere berry good friends, but de fac is, 
 dat ar shell broke de connection." 
 
 Incidents of Knoxville. — " After thirteen 
 days of menace and siege," says a coi'respond- 
 ent, " the enemy gathered his forces, and struck 
 the mighty blow that was to have broken our 
 lines, demolished our defences, and captured 
 Knoxville. It was an utter and disastrous fail- 
 ure. In justice to our enemy, it is conceded by 
 all, that more desperate valor, daring gallantry, 
 or obstinate courage, has not been recorded dur- 
 ing the war. They contended against the impos- 
 sible. The men who opposed them were as brave, 
 as well trained on the same bloody fields of Vir- 
 ginia, as they, and, having as large a stake, had 
 the advantages of an impregnable position. The 
 enterprise Avas a bold one, the plan masterly, and 
 the attempt vigorous. Success would have given 
 the enemy possession of the key to all our works 
 on the west side of the town, if not the t»vvn itself. 
 But Fort Sanders lost, our position in Knoxville 
 would be more precarious. But they failed. We 
 do not know if Longstreet has done his worst ; 
 but it is evident that he expected to have ex- 
 ploited a brilliant and decisive coup de guerre. 
 He was thirteen days deciding upon it. He 
 waited until reenforced by the forces of General 
 Jones, Mudwall Jackson, Carter, and Cerro Gordo 
 Williams. He selected three brigades of picked 
 regiments, and determined upon a night attack, 
 always the most dangerous and bloody, but if 
 successful, the most decisive. It is evident that 
 he played a tremendous odds to insure succes.s, 
 and every man in those doomed brigades ad- 
 vanced to the storming of Fort Sanders with that 
 confident courage that usually commands it. To 
 resist liim were part of the Seventy-ninth Xev,- 
 York in the front, four companies of the One 
 Hundredth Pennsylvania on the right, and four 
 companies of the Second Micliigan on the lei't. 
 No part of the fort is complete. One bastion cii 
 the north-west angle, and a parapet on the we^^, 
 side, only are up. Temi>orary traverses were 
 made by cotton bales, and also two salients from 
 wlaich guns could sweep the ditches on the nortli 
 and west. Spirited sku-mishing commenced on 
 the right of the position at ten o'clock P. M. on 
 Saturday. The vigor and persistence of it evi- 
 dently foreshadowed sometliing more serious be- 
 hind, and such became the feeling of all the im- 
 mense audience withiii our lines, who listened to 
 the continuous and unceasing crash of musketry, 
 hour after hour, to one, two, and three o'clockA. 
 M. Many an anxious heart that night beat high 
 with hope and fear for their rebel friends with- 
 out, and many a tearful and timid prayer went up 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 357 
 
 to the God of battles for the safetj' of friends 
 within. All felt that an eventful moment was at 
 hand, for weal or woe, in the destinies of East 
 Tennessee and her brave defenders. The ene- 
 my dashed upon the left of our position sev- 
 eral times, as if in confident bravado, and finally 
 drove our skirmishers from the advanced rifle 
 pits, and occupied them about daylight Sunday 
 morning. Our men rallied, and as determinedly 
 regained them, driving the rebels back in turn. 
 Suddenly an avalanche of men was hurled upon 
 the disputed rifle pits ; our skirmishers were 
 forced back, and covered by our guns from the 
 fort by our retreating men. Two storming bri- 
 gades were enabled to approach within one hun- 
 dred yards of the bastion. It was their inten- 
 tion, probably, to draw out our boys, and then 
 attempt to return with them and enter the works. 
 In this they were foiled. Our skirmishers fell in 
 on the left, and the rebel storming party ad- 
 vanced directly upon the bastion. Then ensued 
 a scene of carnage and horror which has but few 
 parallels in the annals of warfare. Balaklava was 
 scarcely more terrible. Stunned for a moment 
 by the torrent of canister and lead poured upon 
 them by Buckley's First Rhode battery and our 
 line of musketry, on they came. Again and 
 again the deadly missiles shattered their torn and 
 mangled columns. Their march was over dead 
 and wounded comrades ; yet still they faltered not, 
 but onward, still onward : whole ranks stumbled 
 over wires stretched from stump to stump, and 
 fell amid the dead and dying ; yet still over their 
 prostrate bodies marched the doomed heroes of 
 that forlorn hope. 
 
 " At last the ditch was reached, and the slaugh- 
 ter became butchery, as if on a wager of death 
 against mortality. Benjamin's guns on the 
 salients swept the ditch as the tornado would the 
 corn. The earth was sated with blood — men 
 waded in blood, and struggled up the scarp, and 
 slipping in blood fell back to join their mangled 
 predecessors in the gory mud below. The shouts 
 of the foiled and infuriate rebels, the groans of 
 the dying and shrieks of the wounded, arose 
 above the din of the cannon. Benjamin lighted 
 shell and threw them over the parapet, and artil- 
 lerymen followed his example. One rebel climbed 
 the parapet and planted the flag of the Thirteenth 
 Mississippi regiment on the summit; but the 
 rebel shout that greeted its appearance had scarce 
 left the lips that framed it when man and flag 
 were in the ditch below, pierced by a dozen balls. 
 Another rebel repeated the feat, and joined his 
 comrade. A third essayed to bear oft' the flag, 
 and was cloven with an axe. One man entered 
 an embrasure, and was blown to fragments ; two 
 mere were cut down in another, but not one en- 
 tered the fort. The three veteran regiments of 
 the Ninth army corps stood up to the work be- 
 fore them unflinching and glorious to a man. 
 The heroes of a dozen campaigns from the Poto- 
 mac to Vicksburg, they found themselves for the 
 thii'd time arrayed for trial of courage and endur- 
 ance with the flower of the Southern army, — 
 the picked men of Longstreet's boasted veterans. 
 
 — and saw the sun rise, on that chill Sunday 
 morning in November, on an entire brigade anni- 
 hilated, and two more severely punished. Even 
 the dead outnumbered us, for not more than 
 three hundred of our force participated in the 
 defence of Fort Sanders. Benjamin, of the Third 
 United States artillery, and Buckley, of the 
 First Rhode Island battery, were foremost in acts 
 of daring and gallantry. General Ferraro, who 
 has never left the fort since Longstreet's appear- 
 ance before it, to whose skill and foresight much 
 of the admirable dispositions for defence was 
 due, was in command, and right nobly has he 
 earned his star. His coolness, energy, and skill 
 are subjects of universal encomium. 
 
 " The dead and wounded were left on the field, 
 and the ghastly horrors were rendered sickening 
 by the vain cries of hundreds for water and help. 
 In full view from the embrasures the ground was 
 covered with dead, wounded, and dying. Forty- 
 eight were heaped up in the ditch before the bas- 
 tion; thirteen in another place, almost within 
 reach of those who, though late their foes, would 
 have willingly heeded their anguished shrieks for 
 water ; yet none dared go to their assistance. The 
 humanity of General Burnside was not proof 
 against so direct an appeal, and he at once sent 
 in a flag of truce, off'ering an armistice until five 
 o'clock P. M., for the purpose of burying their 
 dead and caring for their wounded." 
 
 A Revival in Fokt Sumter. — Rev. A. B. 
 Stephens, chaplain of the Eleventh South Caro- 
 lina regiment, wrote in September, 1863 : " We 
 now constitute the garrison of Fort Sumter. On 
 the last fast day I began a meeting which has 
 been going on and increasing in interest all the 
 while, till now God has honored us with a gra- 
 cious revival of religion among the soldiery of 
 this command. A few months ago but two ofli- 
 cers in the regiment were members of the church ; 
 now but few more than that number are not pro- 
 fessors of religion. About two hundred have 
 joined the church, and a larger number have been 
 converted, and are now happy in the love of God. 
 It would do your soul good to visit the old fort, 
 battered and scarred as it is, and hear the sol- 
 diers make the tattered walls ring with the high 
 praise of the living God. No camp-meeting that 
 I have ever attended can come near it." 
 
 Admiration of Stonev^^all Jackson. — "I 
 was much amused," said a correspondent, " at the 
 rebel prisoners' account of Stonewall Jackson's 
 admission into heaven. They were strong ad- 
 mirers of General Jackson, and especially of the 
 great success of his flank movements. ' The day 
 after his death,' said they, * two angels came 
 down from heaven to carry General Jackson 
 back with them. They searched all through the 
 camp, but could not find him. They went to the 
 prayer-meeting, to the hospital, and to every other 
 place where they thought themselves likely to 
 find him, but in vain. Finally they were forced 
 
858 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 to return without him. What was their surprise 
 to find that he had just executed a splendid fiank 
 movement, and got into heaven before them ! ' " 
 
 Incidents of Pittsburg Landing. — One 
 of the soldiers who was in the battle happened 
 to be inordinately fond of card-playing. During 
 the fight he had three of his fingers shot off. 
 Holding up his mangled member, he gazed at it 
 with a look, of inefiable sorrow, and exclaimed, 
 as a big tear stole into the corner of his eye : 
 "I shall never be able to hold a full hand 
 again ! " 
 
 An incident somewhat curious occurred in Gen- 
 eral McClernand's quarters. When the rebels 
 were driven back on Monday, and he regained 
 his position, on entering his tent a figure in rebel 
 costume was sitting in a chair, the head resting 
 en a table, as if its owner was dozing, very much 
 in the style that sleepy clerks do after a hard 
 day's work. A slight shake to waken the appar- 
 ent sleeper", and the body of a corpse fell upon 
 the floor. Wounded in a manner that must have 
 caused him excruciating pain when lying down, 
 he had crawled into the chair and died. 
 
 Private John Ferguson, company K, Sixty-fifth 
 Ohio, who was killed in the second day's battle, 
 was accompanied to camp by a young Newfound- 
 land dog, who had persistently followed him from 
 the time of his enlistment, and from camp to camp, 
 to the moment of his death. Two days after the 
 battle the faithful dog was found lying upon the in- 
 animate breast of his master ; nor would he consent 
 to leave the spot until the remains were buried. 
 
 McCLELLAN'S SOLILOQUY. 
 
 BY A DAUGHTER OF GEORGIA. 
 
 Advance, or not advance ; that is the question ! 
 
 Whether 'tis better in the mind to suffer 
 
 The jeers and bowlings of outrageous Congressmen, 
 
 Or to take arms against a host of rebels, 
 
 And, by opposing, beat them? — To fight — to win — 
 
 No more ; and by a victory, to say we end 
 
 This war, and all the thousand dreadful shocks 
 
 The flesh's exposed to — 'tis a consummation 
 
 Devoutly to be wished. To fight, to win, 
 
 To beat ! perchance be beaten ; — ay, there's the rub ; 
 
 After a great defeat, what would ensue ! 
 
 When we have shuffled off the battle-field, 
 
 J.Iust give us pause; there's the respect 
 
 That makes calamity a great defeat. 
 
 But shall I bear the scorn of all the North, 
 
 The "outward" pressure, and Old Abe's reviling, 
 
 The pangs of being scoffed at for this long delay, 
 
 The turning out of office (ay, perchance, 
 
 When I myself might now my greatness make 
 
 With a great battle) ? I'd not longer bear 
 
 To drill and practise troops -behind intrenchments, 
 
 But that the fear of meeting with the foe 
 
 On dread Manassas, from whose plains 
 
 Few of us would return — puzzles my will, 
 
 And makes me rather bear the evils I have. 
 
 Than fly to others which are greater far. 
 
 These Southerners make cowards of us all. 
 
 Scenes on the Hospital Boat. — " The 
 steamer arrived at our wharf from Pittsburg 
 Landing," says a correspondent, " with hundreds 
 of the sick and wounded. 
 
 " As we first entered the cabin, we were struck 
 by the pallid and ghastly face of one of the poor 
 fellows stretched upon the floor at our feet. As 
 we passed him, he faintly begged for water. He 
 breathed v/ith great labor, and was suffering, as 
 the doctor told us, with some internal injury. 
 Half an hour later we saw him again, the doctor 
 bending over him, and trying to get him to tell 
 his name. It was with great difficulty he articu- 
 lated. 
 
 " ' Tell me now, quietly and slowly ; don't be 
 in a hurry,' said the doctor, in the kindest tones. 
 
 " ' Company — , First Ohio cavalry,' he strug- 
 gled out. 
 
 " ' And what is your name ? ' 
 
 " ' H-i-r-a-m H-e-n-k-e-f-e-r I ' 
 
 " The doctor hurried back to record his name, 
 and as we returned, we were startled to find him 
 dead ! his body straightened by the last throe, 
 and his fixed eyes staring coldly and vacantly up- 
 ward. 
 
 " ' Poor boy ! ' murmured the doctor, as he 
 reached down, and gathering up his blanke^, cast 
 it over his body and face. 
 
 " Limbs are being amputated, and the still- 
 ness of the hour is disturbed by the groans 
 of the suffering victims. Sounds of distress 
 are heard from the upper cabin and from be- 
 low. Estes, of Utica, has had his leg ampu- 
 tated ; he cannot live. Another undergoes tlie 
 same operation. Two men are being trepanned, 
 and instances almost innumerable occur where 
 men are having bullets extracted, and their 
 wounds dressed. The rebel wounded are being 
 as well taken care of as our own. Caseaux, of 
 the Orleans Guard, of Louisiana, has a painful 
 wound in the groin ; he is being cared for by an 
 Ohioan of venerable appearance, named Dodd. 
 The Oceanian's appetite, it seems, is not lost, for 
 he enjoys his wholesome repast Avith apparent 
 reHsh. Next to him is a Mobilian, formerly 
 from Philadelphia, named Davis ; he is badly 
 wounded in two places, but keeps his spirits up 
 remarkably well. The philanthropic Dodd next 
 turns his attention to him. Davis is unable to 
 feed liimsclf ; but Dodd helps him by tablespoon- 
 fuls from a tin can filled with wholesome beef 
 soup. Dodd has evidently said something to 
 Davis that is understood by Caseaux, who says 
 he understands ' very little English,' although a 
 member of the wealthy and highly educated 
 family of Caseaux, of New Orleans, which has 
 already borne a somewhat conspicuous place in 
 the annals of the present war. Caseaux actually 
 laughs. Dodd has said that ' he wished they were 
 feeding beef soup to one' another all over the 
 Union.' In a state-room near by lies young Walk- 
 er, of Mobile, — not he of Nicaragua, — but he who 
 was of the rebel army, who says that liis side was 
 confident of victory at the last battle ; that ' the 
 Federal wounded are well taken care of by the 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 359 
 
 Confederates ; and that in Mobile the ladies even 
 extended to them hospitalities, furnishing them 
 with hats, shoes, and other clothing.' 
 
 ♦' When one of the wounded rebels, a French 
 Creole, was brought on board, in answer to all 
 questions about his position, the battle, the 
 Southern situation, &c., his invariable answer 
 was: ^ Nov, comprends vous, Monsieur. Me no 
 understand Anglaise.' 
 
 " After a few hours had elapsed, and the nurse 
 had been busily engaged in serving hot soup to 
 other wounded soldiers, one of them approached 
 our Frenchman and said, in pure Western patois, 
 ' Hello, mister, won't you have some soup ? ' 
 ' Yes, sir-ee ! by damn ! ' There was no difficulty 
 in making him understand after that." 
 
 Hakdee OtTTDONE. — A militia captain in 
 North Carolina was marching his company " by 
 the front," when he found himself in front of a 
 gate through which he desired to go. Here was 
 a dilemma. The front of the company was much 
 wider than the opening of the gate, and unless 
 some change should be made in the order of 
 march, part of his men would go full tilt against 
 the fence. Our hero belabored his brain for the 
 proper command ; but the words, " By the right 
 flank — file left — march," obstinately refused to 
 come to his help. He extricated himself from 
 the difficulty in a way which showed his posses- 
 sion of the ready wit of an accomplished guerrilla. 
 With a bold voice he shouted, " Company, halt — 
 break ranks — march ; form on the other side 
 of the fence ! " 
 
 GovEKNOR Smith's Tactics. — A Confederate 
 correspondent relates the following at the expense 
 of Governor Smith, of Virginia: "At the fo-st 
 battle of Manassas he rode up to his regiment 
 (he was then a Colonel) at a critical point of the 
 conilict, and, rising in his stirrups, shouted — 
 " Boys, I don't know what orders to give you, but 
 String 'em ! String 'em ! " 
 
 Ple.\sant Dkeams. — A soldier of the Six- 
 teenth New York artillery tells the following : 
 Sometimes the boat does not bring our bread 
 from Yorktown, and some laughable scenes ensue 
 among the men for the want of it. In the next 
 tent to us the following funny scene occurred the 
 other morning. One of the men went to his 
 haversack for a piece of bread he had left there 
 the night before, and found it was missing, and 
 accused the others of stealing it; but they all 
 stoutly denied it except one. " Arrah, drink yer 
 coffee," said he, " and I'll tell ye about a dhreani 
 I had last night." " An' what has your dhrame 
 to do with my loaf?" said the loser of the bread. 
 " Hould on, bedad, till you hear it," cried the 
 other. 
 
 " You see, I dhramed Captain Sheibner bucked 
 and gagged me ; an' put me in the guard-house, 
 the spalpeen, for tweiity-four hours. An' I was 
 very hungry. Well ! a beautiful lady came to me. 
 
 and relased me, an' sint me to my tint. ' You'll 
 find bread in the haversack,' says she. 
 
 " Well ? " said the loser of the bread. " Well," 
 said Pat, " I got up in my sleep an' ate your 
 loaf." The roar of laughter that followed 
 drowned the complaint of the loser, who, to use 
 his own words, " had to dhrink dhry coffee that 
 morning." 
 
 BP.Ai'ERY AT Olustee. — Color-Sergcant James 
 Cox, of the Forty-seventh New York regiment, at 
 the battle of Olustee, Fla., although he had 
 received a ball in the body (hardly an inch from 
 the heart, as it was ascertained), and another in 
 his thigh, never let the fact be known, but re- 
 mained bare-headed, facing the enemy, advancing 
 and then slowly falling back with the colors, as 
 ordered from time to time. Once, when struck, 
 he fell ; but the colors were instantly grasped by 
 Orderly Sergeant Michael Roden, of company B, 
 who likewise conducted himself nobly all through. 
 The enemy never saw Sergeant Cox's back, and 
 he stuck by his flag until we left the field, when 
 Sergeant Koden had the honor of carrying it 
 home. 
 
 A Thrilling Scene. — During the passage 
 of the fleet conveying the Sixteenth army corps 
 to Vicksburg in the winter of 1864, the following 
 scene occurred : " Our transport being in the 
 advance," said a correspondent, " we backed out 
 from Memphis this morning, and steamed south- 
 ward. One after another followed, with their 
 hurricane and boiler decks covered, yea, black- 
 ened with their patriotic human life. Banners 
 were flying, and the air was rent, as cheer after 
 •cheer went up, mingled with the always inspiring 
 fife and drum. Countenances indicated cheerful, 
 hearty, but solemn earnestness. The martial 
 music ceased. I jumped upon the wheel-house, 
 and at the top of my voice called for the ' Battle 
 Cry of Freedom.' Souls and voices unused to 
 song sung this morning. We dropped ])ast Fort 
 Pickering ; the high bluffs Avere lined with colored 
 troops. How they cheered, how they shouted, 
 and waved hats and handkerchiefs ! In the song 
 we poured forth 
 
 'And although he may be poor, he shall never 
 be a slave. 
 Shouting the battle cry of Freedom : ' 
 
 the mnds wafted it on shore, and again and again 
 went up the glad acclaim. ' Coronation ' was called 
 for. 
 
 ' All hail the power of Jesus' name ' 
 
 was never more appropriately sung. The excel- 
 lent Christian Colonel of the One Hundred and 
 Seventeenth was urged to speak. He declined, 
 saying to me, ' Your lungs are adapted to the open 
 air.' ''I could not help add a few words as the 
 historic moments were passing. At the close, 
 with hat in hand, and leading a hatless auditory, 
 v/e reverently approached into the King of kings' 
 audience chamber. Wc thanked and praised 
 Him, and begged of Him to be with our trans- 
 port, the fleet, and expedition." 
 
560 
 
 ANECDOTES. POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. > 
 
 " God Save the South." — This is the title 
 of a national Confederate anthem, composed by 
 Professor C. G. De Coniel, of llichmond ; words 
 by Captain Ernest Halpin, of the C. S. A. The 
 great prolificness of the Southern press in the 
 production of music is one of the best indications 
 that, amidst all the horrors and devastations of 
 this cruel war, the people of the South have re- 
 mained uncontaminated by its demoralizing influ- 
 ence, and still preserve, in all its former purity, 
 their love for " the tine, the beautiful, the 
 good." As a means of civilization, — an element 
 of spiritual life, — it would be difficult to overrate 
 the importance and interest which attach to 
 music. It is the language of the soul ; and its 
 peculiar function is to facilitate the development 
 of the emotional language of our nature, and to 
 call into exercise those sympathies which prepare 
 us for the enjoyment of the higher sphere of hap- 
 piness which our Creator has allotted to us. The 
 vague feelings of inexpressible felicity which music 
 arouses, the indefinite impressions of an un- 
 known ideal life which it calls up, may be con- 
 sidered as prophetic of our future state. The 
 strange capacity which all have for being affected 
 by melody and harmony, may be taken to imply 
 both that it is within the possibilities of our na- 
 ture to realize those intenser delights they dimly 
 suggest, and that they are in some way concerned 
 in the realization of them. 
 
 " 'Tis the golden key 
 That opes the palace of eternity." 
 
 It has long been conceded that a martial strain 
 will urge a man into the front ranks of battle 
 sooner than an argument, and a fine anthem ex- 
 cite his devotion more certainly than a logical 
 discourse. As has been truly said, the sentiment 
 of the age has Avritten itself in music. Its wild 
 intelligence, its keen analysis, its revolutionary 
 spii'it, its restlessness, and its humanity, may be 
 traced in the rich combinations of Rossini, in the 
 grand symphonies of Beethoven, in the pleading 
 tenderness of Bellini, and in the mingled war- 
 notes and sentiment of Verdi. We should, there- 
 fore, hail with delight the active life wliich seems 
 to animate the composers and singers of our 
 country. It is a clear demonstration that the 
 spirit of the people is not broken, notwithstand- 
 ing all the outrages and horrors to which they 
 have been subjected by the remorseless foe. As 
 long as they can tune their voices to the rich mel- 
 ody of song, so long will the spirit of patriotism 
 remain unsubdued in their hearts. 
 
 Among the many good pieces that have been 
 published, we know of none superior, if equal, to the 
 one under consideration, by Professor De Coniel. 
 It is what we have long wished for — a national 
 anthem, breathing a spirit of patriotism and devo- 
 tion suited to our troublous times. The pure and 
 simple religious feeling which pervades the poetry 
 of this piece is beautifully interpreted bj^, and car- 
 ried home to, the heart, in the deep pathos and ma- 
 jestic tones of the music. The sentiments of the 
 anthem are perfectly in accordance with the reli- 
 gious feeling and faith of our people. Our hope of 
 
 success, in this dreadful struggle, has "not been in 
 our own strength, but in the mighty arm of Him 
 " who weigheth the earth in a balance," and " be- 
 fore whom all nations are as nothing." As a na- 
 tional anthem, we know nothing to compare with 
 this in sublimity. The opening stanza is peculiarly 
 grand ; while the minOr key of the words, 
 
 " God be our shield, 
 At home, or on the field ; 
 Stretch thine arm over us, 
 
 Strengthen and save," 
 
 must, we think, send a thrill of deep emotion, and 
 find a responsive chord in the heart of every one 
 not dead to " the concord of sweet sounds." 
 There are several very fine passages in the last 
 two stanzas ; but we do not deem it proper here 
 to enter into a critical review of the pieces, as all 
 who dehght in song will examine and judge for 
 themselves. We had the pleasure of hearing the 
 anthem sung, the other evening, by a fail- friend, 
 whose soul seemed to enter into and realize the 
 beauty and spirit of the music, and can truly say, 
 with the poet, — 
 
 " And when the stream of sound 
 Which overflowed the soul had passed away, 
 A consciousness survived those it had left 
 Dispirited upon the'silcnt shore 
 Of memory, images and gentle thoughts, 
 Which cannot die, and will not be destroyed." 
 
 To sing this anthem properly, requires a voice 
 of great depth, compass, flexibility, and tone ; 
 and those who may have heard it rendered by 
 amateurs deficient in these, were, no doubt, dis- 
 appointed in their expectations as to its merits. 
 One of the most interesting and profitable exer- 
 cises our " fair daughters of song " can engage 
 in, will be the mastery of this anthem. In it 
 they will find ample scope for all of their vocal 
 and artistic talents ; and we confidently believe 
 that when it shall be fully known, it will rival 
 in popidarity the celebrated national anthems of 
 France and England. — Southern paper. 
 
 First American Flag over Richmond. — 
 The crowning event of the rebellion was undoubt- 
 edly the capture of Richmond by the loyal or Fed- 
 eral forces. The most striking incident of this 
 achievement was the reestablishment of the United 
 States or American flag in the rebel capital, over 
 the rebel capitol, in which the rebel Congress 
 met and deliberated, and a traitor convention 
 passed the ordinance of secession, which they 
 vainly hoped would carry Virginia forever out of 
 the Union. The details of this interesting event 
 are as follows : 
 
 The one division of the Twenty-fifth and one 
 of the Twenty-fourth corps com])osing that por- 
 tion of the army of the James which lay on the 
 extreme right of Grant's army of investment, oc- 
 cupied positions within seven mUes of the be- 
 leaguered rebel stronghold. From an adjacent 
 hill Richmond was as plainly to be discerned as 
 Port Ewing from the hills above Barrytown. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 361 
 
 This corps v/as commanded by Major-General 
 Godfrey Weitzel. His chief of the staif was Brig- 
 adier-General George F. Shepley, formerly mili- 
 tary Governor of New Orleans, and lately of Nor- 
 folk. His Aid-de-camp, Lieutenant Johnston L. 
 de Peyster, had been transferred with his cliief 
 to the staff of General Weitzel, and thus became 
 Aid-de-camp to the latter. Lieutenant de Peys- 
 ter belonged to the 13th New York artillery, and 
 was, as is well known, from Tivoli, Red Hook, 
 Dutchess County, New York. 
 
 The night of the 2d and 3d April was one of 
 intense anxiety and expectation in the army of 
 the James. Throughout the previous day they 
 could hear the tremendous roar of the terrible 
 battle in which their comrades were engaged, far 
 away across the river upon the extreme left and 
 around Petersburg, and they knew that the next 
 morning, early, they were to play their dangerous 
 part by assaulting the rebel works in their front 
 in order to capture Richmond itself. 
 
 About two A. M., April 3, Lieutenant de Peys- 
 ter, hearing tremendous explosions, and seeing a 
 vast blaze in the direction of Richmond, mounted 
 the wooden signal tower, about seventy feet high, 
 at General Weitzel's headquarters, and reported 
 that he could discern a great fire towards Rich- 
 mond. He could not decide, however, that the 
 city was burning. Efforts were at once made to 
 capture a rebel picket. About three A. M. they 
 were successful. A prisoner, of the Thirty-seventh 
 Virginia artillery, reported that he neither knew 
 where his general nor his command were. This 
 led General Shepley to believe the rebels were 
 evacuating Richmond. About half past three 
 A. M., a deserter came in and announced that the 
 city was being abandoned. At four A. M. a ne- 
 gro drove into the Federal lines in a buggy, and 
 confii'med the glorious news. Joy and exultation 
 at once absorbed every other feeling, and orders 
 were immediately given for the troops to move. 
 This was about six A. M. Brevet Brigadier-Gen- 
 eral Draper's colored brigade led the advance 
 along a road strewn with all kinds of abandoned 
 munitions of war, and amid the roar of bursting 
 shells, v/hich was terrific. On either side small 
 red fings indicated the position of buried torpe- 
 does between the two lines of abatis in Weitzel's 
 immediate front. These warning indications the 
 rebels had not had time to remove. This fortunate 
 incident preserved many lives, as the space was 
 very narrow between the explosives. 
 
 The rebel defences seemed almost impregnable. 
 Every elevation along the road was defended by 
 fieldworks, and very strong forts. Two lines of 
 abatis and three lines of rifle pits and earth- 
 works, one within the other, defended every av- 
 enue of attack and point of advantage. The first 
 and second lines Avere connected by regular lines 
 of redans and works — the third, near the city 
 and commanding it, disconnected. If our troops 
 should have had to carry the defences by storm, 
 the loss would have been fearful, since the contest 
 would have been constantly renewed, because the 
 rebels, as fast as one line of defences was occu- 
 pied, wouJ4 only have had to fall back into an- 1 
 
 other to recommence the butchery of the assail- 
 ants under every advantage to themselves. 
 
 Brigadier-General Shepley had brought with 
 him, from Norfolk, a storm flag, which had for- 
 merly belonged to the Twelfth Maine volunteers. 
 Of this regiment he had been originally Colonel. 
 This flag had floated triumphantly over the St 
 Charles Hotel at New Orleans. This latter build- 
 ing was the headquarters of General Butler, to 
 whom General Shepley had acted as chief of stafl". 
 Shepley had previously, in sport, made the re- 
 mark that the flag referred to would do to float 
 over Richmond, and that he hoped to see it there. 
 Lieutenant de Peyster, who heard this, asked the 
 General " if he would allow him to raise it for 
 him." Shepley said, " Y'es, if you bring it with 
 you, and take care of it, you shall raise it in Rich- 
 mond." As the Twenty-fifth corps left their lines 
 to advance towards Richmond, the aid asked his 
 General if he recollected his promise about the 
 flag. " Yes, go to my tent and get the flag, and 
 carry it on your saddle; I will send you to raise 
 it if we get in." 
 
 April 3, six A. M., General Weitzel and his 
 staff", together more than thirty officers, each hav- 
 ing an orderly following in the rear, galloped on 
 through the wrecks of the retreating rebels and 
 the columns of the advancing Federals. As soon 
 as they entered the suburbs of the rebel capital, 
 the shouts of welcome broke forth. Meanwhile, 
 several arsenals, stored with shells, were burning. 
 I'he explosions of the missiles mmgled into one 
 continuous roar. Even as they drew near the 
 capitol itself, the populace rushed into the streets 
 to hail their deliverers, or shake hands with them. 
 In fact, their whole line of march within the sub- 
 urbs was thronged with men, women, and boys, 
 colored and white, all shouting vrelcome. The 
 excitement was intense. Old men, gray, and 
 scarred with many battles, acte'd the part of boys, 
 hurrahing and yelling at the top of their voices. 
 Meanwhile, the male negroes were boMing down 
 to the ground, and the sable matrons chorusing 
 with all their strength of lungs, " Bress de Lord ! 
 de year ob jubilee hab come ! " 
 
 When near the foot of Shockoe Hill, the high, 
 abrupt elevation, whose front is crowned by the 
 capitol, Lieutenant de Peyster spurred on through 
 the promiscuous throng up to the capitol itself. 
 This building, the most conspicuous object in 
 Richmond, owes everything to its size and posi- 
 tion, since neither the architecture nor tlie mate- 
 rial corresponds with the site and proportions. 
 The front, with its Ionic colonnade, looked down 
 upon the business part of the city, which v.'as all 
 ablaze. The rear faced the fashionable quarter 
 of Richmond, an elevated plain, considered the 
 most eligible locality for private residences. The 
 capitol had two flag-staifs, one at either end of 
 the roof. Upon the front one an enormous rebel 
 flag had been displaj-ed, which, when not extended 
 by the wind, trailed down to the steps below. 
 This had been torn 'down, and had been partially 
 rent into thousands of pieces, to be preserved as 
 mementoes of the occasion. Upon the staflp in 
 the rear, in full sight of the domiciles of the rebel 
 
362 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 magnates and sympathizers, *' the first real Amer- 
 ican flag " was raised by Lieutenant de Peyster. 
 
 That flag, ^Yhich had been consigned to his 
 care for that very purpose, which he had carried 
 into the city buckled to his saddle, which had 
 floated in like triumph over the Crescent City of 
 the South, the first real American flag hoisted 
 over the rebel capitol, M'as raised by a Dutchess 
 County ofiicer, aged eighteen, in the presence of 
 Captain Langdon, chief of artillery to the stafl' 
 of Major-General Weitzel. As it rose aloft, dis- 
 played itself, and steadily streamed out in the 
 strong gale, wliich was filling the air with fiery 
 flakes from the adjacent conflagration, it was 
 hailed with deafening shouts by the redeemed 
 populace, who swarmed the open space below and 
 around. 
 
 A short time before this real flag-raising, Major 
 Atherton H. Stevens, of the Fourth Massachu- 
 setts cavahy, and Major E. Graves, of General 
 Weitzel's staff, had elevated, or hoisted, two cav- 
 alry guidons, small swallow-tailed flags, with the 
 staffs to which they were attached. These were 
 so small that they \yeve scarcely visible, if visible 
 at all, from the streets below. Moreover, it 
 should be remembered that there is a vast differ- 
 ence, as to honor and possession, between plant- 
 ing these, and hoisting a United States flag, the 
 true emblem and act of occupation and triumph. 
 Therefore, as conceded, to Lieutenant de Peyster 
 belongs the historic glory of being the first to 
 run up " the first real American flag," selected and 
 carried in by him for that very purpose, over the 
 chief building of a city preeminently the strong- 
 hold and seat of life of the rebellion. 
 
 That this hoisting the flag was not attended 
 with great peril, detracts in no manner whatever 
 from tlie merit of the achievement, inasmuch as, 
 when it occurred, a letter dated "iMarch 28, in 
 the Field," had already been received in New York, 
 stating that Lieutenant de Peyster was pledged 
 to his General, if Richmond were taken, " to put a 
 certain flag on the house of Jefferson Davis, or 
 on the rebel capitol, or perish in the attempt." 
 Everything was perfectly prepared for an intended 
 assault when General Shepley and his Aid dis- 
 covered that the works which they were ready to 
 storm had been abandoned. 
 
 Having, amid gale, tumult, and triumph, drank 
 upon the roof to the success of our arms, the 
 young Aid-de-camp went down into the private 
 room of Jeff'erson Davis in the custom-house, at 
 the foot of the hill, and thence wrote a letter 
 describing the entrance of the loyal army, Avhich 
 reached New York the same day (April 6) on 
 which the Commercial Advertiser published a 
 telegram from its own correspondent, stating 
 that " to Lieutenant G. [should be J.] L. Dupey- 
 ster and to General Shepley belongs the honor of 
 hoisting our flag on the capitol" of Richmond. 
 This was corroborated by the correspondent of 
 the New York Herald, dated " Herald Rooms, 
 Richmond, Virginia, April 11, three P. M." Pub- 
 lished 13, A. M. 
 
 Lieutenant de Peyster was subsequently quar- 
 tered in the residence of Jeff'erson Davis. He 
 
 describes the house as a perfect gem, as to inte- 
 rior anrangements, although th'j exterior was 
 altogether unattractive. The furniture was mag- 
 nificent — rosewood the predominant material. 
 Large pier glasses were to be found in every 
 room. Some of the mirrors were enormous. 
 The floors were covered with splendid carpets, 
 so thick that the foot actually sunk into their 
 rich material. All this lavish ex])enditure was 
 made in accordance with the acts of the Rebel or 
 Confederate Congress, while the j)eoplewere naked 
 and starving, and their army in want of shoes. 
 
 At the age of sixteen. Lieutenant de Peyster 
 greatly assisted in raising a company for the regi- 
 ment of Colonel Cowles. Almost all the recruits 
 from the northern district of the town of Red 
 Hook and adjacent, were due to his exertions and 
 the contributions of his relations and connections. 
 
 Although he was actually in command for a 
 few days, it was by some trickery he lost the fruit 
 of his labors. Colonel Cowles expressed a very 
 high opinion of him as an oificer, and regretted 
 that he could not retain him. In the spring of 
 1864 he was mustered into the Thirteenth New 
 York artillery, and appointed Post Adjutant to 
 Major Hassler's Battalion. Thence he was trans- 
 ferred to the staff" of Brigadier-General Shepley, 
 Military Governor of Norfolk, afterwards chief 
 of staff" to General "Weitzel before Richmond, 
 and first loyal Military Governor of the rebel 
 capital. 
 
 On the 28th of June, Lieutenant de Peyster 
 received official notice that His Excellency, Gov- 
 ernor Fenton, in pursuance of the extraordinary 
 power vested in him by the Legislature the last 
 winter, had breveted him a " Lieutenant-Colonel 
 for his meritorious conduct as a "New York volun- 
 teer in the service of the United States, and for 
 raising the first national ensign over the capitol 
 in Richmond, Virginia, after the insurgents were 
 driven therefrom." 
 
 Women of the South. — A letter from Lin- 
 coln County, Tennessee, written in July, 1861, 
 
 " I witnessed many a scene in this rural district, 
 which the gay ladies of our fashionable cities may 
 well ponder on, with the reflection of surprise, of 
 how little they know of the hardships which their 
 sex are forced to undergo to sustain and support 
 their families, while their husbands and brothers 
 are absent fighting the battles of our country. 
 On the small farms throughout this section all is 
 life, activity, and industry. Many a woman, who 
 never before held a plough, is now seen in the 
 cornfield ; many a young girl, who would have 
 blushed at the thought of handling a plough-line, 
 now naturally and unconsciously cries, * Gee up ! ' 
 to Dobbin, to the silvery tones of Avhich the good 
 brute readily responds, as if a pleasure to comply 
 with so gentle a command. Many a Ruth, as of 
 old, is seen to-day binding and gleaning in the 
 wheat-fields ; but, alas ! no Boaz is there to con- 
 sole or to comfort. The picture of the rural sol- 
 dier's home is at this time but a picture of primi- 
 tive life. Throughout the countr}% at every farm- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 363 
 
 house and cottage, the regular sound of the loom, 
 as the shuttle flies to and fro, with the whirl of 
 the spinning-wheel, is heard, telling of home in- 
 dustry. Cotton fabrics, of neat, pretty figures, 
 the production of home manufactory, are now al- 
 most wholly worn in Tennessee, instead of cali- 
 coes. But it is a sad thought, that while these 
 exertions of thrinng industry are being made for 
 the sujjport of the soldier's family, his little cottage 
 home, of which he nightly dreams, is to be aban- 
 doned and left unprotected by the falling back of 
 our troops, and subject to the pillage and plunder 
 of the vandal infidels. Such, at least, I fear will 
 be the case in the Counties of Bedford and Coffee, 
 from which we have fallen back." 
 
 The Attack on the Sewauds. — The follow- 
 ing account of the sensations experienced at the 
 time of their attempted assassination by Payne, 
 was given by Mr. Secretaiy Seward and liis son 
 Fi'ederick : 
 
 " Mr. Frederick Seward said, that on stepping 
 from his bed-room into the passage, and seeing 
 the assassin, he merely wondered what he was 
 doing there, and called him to account. On his 
 resisting the fellow's endeavor to pass into Mr. 
 Seward's room, the assassin dre^v a revolver, which 
 he presented at Mr. Frederick Seward's head. 
 Wliat followed, it must be remembered, took place 
 in a few seconds. Mr. Frederick Seward's first 
 thought was, ' That's a navy revolver.' 
 
 " The man pulled the trigger, but it only snapped; 
 and his intended victim thought, ' That cap missed 
 fire.' 
 
 " His next sensatiozi was that of confusion ; and 
 being upon the floor, resting upon his arm, which, 
 like his father's jaw, was barely recovered from a 
 bad fracture, — the assassin had felled him to the 
 floor with the butt of the pistol, — he put his hand 
 to his head, and finding a hole there, he thought, 
 ' That cap did not miss fire after all.' 
 
 " Then he became insensible, and remained so 
 for two days or more. His first indication of re- 
 turning consciousness was the question, 'Have 
 you not got the ball out ? ' after which he fell off 
 again into a comatose condition, which was of long 
 continuance. 
 
 " On the very afternoon of the day when Mr. 
 Lincoln was assassinated, Mr. Frederick Seward, 
 who was Assistant Secretary of State, had asked 
 his father what preparation should be made for the 
 presentation of Sir Frederick Bruce, which was to 
 take place the next day. Mr. Seward gave him 
 the points of a reply to be made to Sir Fred- 
 erick, and he laid the outline of the speech upon 
 the President's table, and, as I have previously 
 informed my readers, Mr. Lincoln that afternoon 
 WTote out the reply, adopting Mr. Seward's sug- 
 gestions, and thus preparing the reception of the 
 British Minister by President Johnson, which was 
 regarded at the time by the people to whose rep- 
 resentative it was adcbessed as so friendly, and 
 fair, and dignified. 
 
 " Mr. Frederick Sewai'd's first inquiiy, after he 
 came fully to his senses, which was a long time 
 
 after the assassination, was, ' Has Sir Frederick 
 Bruce been presented ? ' He thought that only 
 one night had passed, since he knew not what had 
 happened to him, and his mind took up matters 
 just where it had left them. 
 
 "Mr. Seward's mental experience during his 
 supposed assassination was in its nature so like 
 that of his son, that it raises the question whether 
 this absence of consternation and observation of 
 minute particulars is not common in circumstances 
 of unexpected and not fully apprehended peril. 
 Mr. Sev/ard Avas lying upon his side, close to the 
 edge of the bed, with his head resting in a frame, 
 which had been made to give him ease and pro- 
 tect his broken jaw from pressure. 
 
 "He was trying to keep awake, having been 
 seized upon by a sick man's fancy — it was, if he 
 slept he would wake up with lockjaw. He 
 was brought to full consciousness by the scuffle 
 in the passage-way, followed by the entrance of 
 the assassin, and the cry of Miss Seward, ' O, he 
 will kill my father ! ' But he saw nothing of his 
 assailant until a hand appeared above his face, 
 and then his thought was, ' What handsome cloth 
 that overcoat is made of ! ' The assassin's face then 
 appeared, and the helpless statesman only thought, 
 * What a handsome maa ! ' (Payne was a fine- 
 looking fellow.) 
 
 " Then came a sensation as of rain striking him 
 smartly upon one side of Ms face and neck, then 
 quickly the same upon the other side, but he felt 
 no severe pain. This was the assassin's knife. 
 The blood spouted ; he thought, ' My time has 
 come,' and falling from the bed to the floor, fainted. 
 His first sensation of returning consciousness was, 
 that he was drinking tea, and that it ' tasted good.' 
 Mi'S. Seward was giving him tea with a spoon. 
 He heard low voices around him, asking and re- 
 plying as to whether it would be possible for him 
 to recover. He could not speak, but his eyes 
 showed his consciousness, and that he desired to 
 speak. They brought him a porcelain tablet, on 
 which he managed to write, ' Give me some tea ; 
 I shall get well.' And from that moment he 
 has slowly but steadily recovered his health and 
 strength." 
 
 HisTOKY OF A Torpedo Boat. — General 
 Dabney H. Maury, in his report of the defence 
 of Mobile, narrates the followng eventful history 
 of a toqDedo boat : 
 
 " It was built of boiler iron, was about thirty- 
 five feet long, and was mamied by a crew of nine 
 men, eight of whom worked the propeller by 
 hand. The ninth steered the boat and regulated 
 her movements below the surface of the water. 
 She could be submei'ged at pleasure to any de- 
 sired depth, or could be propelled upon the sur- 
 face. In smooth, still water her movements were 
 exactly controlled, and her speed was about four 
 knots. It was intended that she should approach 
 any vessel lying at anchor, pass under her keel, 
 and di-ag a floating torpedo, which would explode 
 on striking the side or bottom of the ship at- 
 tacked. 
 
364 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND mCIDENTS. 
 
 " She could remain submerged more than half 
 an hour without inconvenience to her crew. 
 
 " Soon after her arrival in Charleston, Lieuten- 
 ant Paj-nc, of the Confederate navy, with eight 
 others, volunteered to attack the Federal fleet 
 with her. While preparing for their expedition, 
 the sv/ell of a passing steamer caused the boat 
 to sink suddenly, and all hands, except Lieutenant 
 Payne, who was standing in the open hatchway, 
 perished. She was soon raised and again made 
 ready for service. Lieutenant Payne again vol- 
 unteered to command her. While lying near 
 Fort Sumter she capsized, and again sunk in deep 
 water, drovvning all hands, except her commander 
 and two otliers. 
 
 " Being again raised and prepared for action, 
 Mr. Aiuiley, one of the constinictors, made an 
 experimental cruise in her in Cooper River. 
 While submerged at great depth, from some un- 
 known cause, she became unmanageable, and re- 
 mained for many days on the bottom of the river 
 with her crew of nine dead men. 
 
 " A fourth time was the boat raised, and Lieu- 
 tenant Dixon, of Mobile, of the Twenty-first 
 volunteers, with eight others, went out of Charles- 
 ton harbor in her, and attacked and sunk the 
 Federal steamer Housatonic. 
 
 " Her mission at last accompHshed, she disap- 
 peared forever with her crew. Nothing is known 
 of their fate, but it is believed they went down 
 with the enemy." 
 
 How I Enlisted. — A soldier of the Second 
 regiment of Ohio cavalry writes : " On New 
 Year's day, 1864, as our regiment was lying in 
 line of battle beyond Mossy Creek, in East Ten- 
 nessee, the proposition to reenlist as veteran vol- 
 unteers was submitted to that grim organization. 
 Peter Longstreet's ragged but plucky sku-mish 
 line was a stone's throw in front, with a forward 
 tendency; snow was on the liills; the Second 
 Ohio cavaliers had drawn no rations from Uncle 
 Sam in fifteen days, and not an average of 
 one eighth ration during the jDreceding four 
 months ; their diapliragms were devoid of bur- 
 den ; they had not ' lived in tents ' for an eighth- 
 month ; the supply of pone and cerulean hog 
 was failing in tliat land, and zero was biting at the 
 noses of the cavaliers. Amid all these favorable 
 surroundings the cavaliers said, * Go to, let us 
 have more of this good thing ; give unto us yet 
 thirty and six moons of this goodly service.' 
 Thus the thing was done. Under such circum- 
 stances our veteran volunteers enlisted. 
 
 *' While the cavaliers were signing their names 
 to the enlistment roll, at the rate of a hundred 
 per hour, a ludicrous memory of a former enlist- 
 ment came to us. Two days after Sumter fell, 
 on a bright April morning, big church full of 
 indignant sovereigns and enthusiastic women ; 
 organ thundered, hand crashed out ' Hail Colum- 
 bia ; ' impromptu banners wagged briskly, and 
 the air was redolent of patriotism. Music ceased. 
 Speeches folloAved. Holl was opened, and vol- 
 unteers called for. Five hundred pau-s of starry 
 eyes waited to illume the path of the first vol- 
 
 unteer. Five hundred pairs of little white hands 
 were nervous to begin clapping at the advent of 
 the fii'st mascub'ne sacrifice. He came, and Em- 
 perors have had poorer receptions. He was 
 apotheosized. More followed. The pressure in- 
 creased. I cowered in my pew, imagining that 
 every woman of sense, and every girl of beauty, 
 was saying to herself, ' Why don't Jie go ? ' I 
 reasoned with myself, but the clapping and wav- 
 ing of white kerchiefs made me dizzy. With a 
 mighty efi"ort, I made a resolution. I mentally 
 bade adieu to all terrestrial matters. I buried 
 from view aU relatives nearer than second cous- 
 ins, drew the veil of forgetfuhiess over the dear 
 form of Julia, and most of my outstanding debts, 
 made up my mind to be shot for my country, and 
 began to stride up the aisle. What a path to a 
 graveyard ! The male audience yelled — the fe- 
 male audience waved kerchiefs with unexampled 
 energ)^, and they were perfumed with divine 
 odors. I saw nothing but a dancing sea of snow- 
 white foam, interspersed with smilmg stars. I 
 heard nothing but an undefined roar — to me an 
 echo from eternity, to which I regarded myself 
 as rapidly going. I scrawled my name on the 
 elongated foolscap, and thus added my two hun- 
 dred pounds to the growing hecatomb. I was a 
 volunteer ! That night I dreamed of battles. 
 Next day, twenty-seven Testaments, thirteen 
 ' housewifes,' eleven pin-cushions, and thirty- 
 eight rolls of bandages, were left at my board- 
 ing-house, each with a touching note from the 
 fair donors. Such was three months' soldiering 
 * in the brave days of old.' Then we were green 
 — how sadly veteran we are now ! " 
 
 The PtiDE OF THE Woins*DED Brigade. — B. 
 F. Taylor, the army correspondent of the Chicago 
 Journal, wrote thus, from the army of the Cum- 
 berland, of a night's ride of the wounded bri- 
 gade, after the battle. of Chickamauga : "They 
 were loaded upon the train ; two platform cars 
 were j^aved •n-ith them, forty on a car. Seven 
 boxes Avere so packed you could not set your 
 foot down among them as they lay. The roofs 
 of the cars were tiled with them ; and away we 
 pounded, all day, all night, into the next morn- 
 ing, and then Nashville. Half of the boys had 
 not a shred of a blanket, and it rained steadily, 
 pitilessly. AVhat do you think of platform cars 
 for a triumjAal procession wherein to bear wound- 
 ed heroes to the tune of * The soldier's return 
 from the war ? ' Well, what I would come at is 
 this : the stores of the Sanitary Commission, and 
 the gifts of such ladies as are now, I believe, 
 making your city a Bethel — a place of angels — 
 kept the boys' hearts up through all those weary, 
 drizzhng hours. It is midnight, and the attend- 
 ants are going through the train with coffee, 
 graced with milk and sugar — think of that ! — 
 two fresh, white, crisp crackers apiece, and a lit- 
 tle taste of fruit. Did your hands prepare it, 
 dear lady ? I hope so, for the little balance in 
 your favor is set down in the ledger of God. 
 
 " But here they come vdih a canteen ; will you 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 365 
 
 go with them ? Climb through that window into 
 a car black as the Hole of Calcutta. But mind 
 where you step ; the floor is one layer deep with 
 wounded soldiers. As you swing the lantern 
 round, bandages show white and ghastly every- 
 where ; bandages, bandages, and now and then 
 a rusty spot of blood. What worn-out, faded 
 faces look up at you ! They rouse like wounded 
 creatures hunted down to their lairs as you come. 
 The tin cups, extended in all sorts of hands but 
 plump, strong ones, tinkle all around you. You 
 are faii-ly gu'dled with a tin-cup horizon. How 
 the dull, faint faces brighten as those cups are 
 filled! On we go, out at one window, in at 
 another, stepping gingerly among mangled limbs. 
 We reach the platform cars, creaking with their 
 drenched, chilled, bruised burdens ; and I must 
 tell you — it's a shame, though — that one poor 
 fellow among them lay with a tattered blanket 
 pinned around him ; he was literally sans cu- 
 lotte ! ' How is this ? ' I said. ' Haven't got my 
 descriptive list — that's what's the matter,' was 
 the reply. 
 
 " Double allowance all around to the occupants 
 of the platforms, and we retrace our steps to the 
 rear of the train. You should have heard the 
 ghost of a cheer that rose and fluttered like a 
 feeble bird, as Ave went back. It was the most 
 touching vote of thanks ever oflfered ; there was 
 a little flash up of talk for a minute, and all sub- 
 sided into silence and darkness again. Wearily 
 wore the hours, and heavily hammered the train. 
 At intervals the guard traversed the roofs of the 
 cars, and pulled in the worn-out boys that had 
 jarred down to the edges — pulled them in to the 
 middle of the cars without waking them ! Occa- 
 sionally one slips over the eaves, I am told, and 
 is miserably crushed. What a homeward march 
 is all this to set a tune to. 
 
 " By some error in apportionment there was not 
 quite cofiee enough for all on deck, and two slips 
 of boys on the roof of the car where I occupied 
 a corner were left without a drop. Whenever we 
 stopped — and that was two hours there and 
 three hours here, waiting for this and for that ; 
 there was no hurry, you know, and the side-door 
 was slid back in its groove — I saw two hungry 
 faces stretched down over the car's edge, and 
 heard two feeble voices crying, ' We have had 
 nothing up here since yesterday noon, we two — 
 there are only us two boys — please give us some- 
 thing. Haven't you got any hard tack ? ' I heard 
 that pitiful appeal to the officers in charge, and 
 saw those faces till they haunted me, and to-day 
 I remember those plaintive tones as if I were 
 hearing a dirge. 
 
 " I felt in my pockets and haversack for a 
 cracker, but found nothing. I really hated my- 
 self for having eaten my dinner, and not saved it 
 for them. A further search was rewarded with 
 six crackers from the Cliicago Mechanical Bakers', 
 and watching my chance when Pete's back was 
 turned, — the cook, and a smutty autocrat was 
 Pete in his way, — I took a sly dip with a basin 
 into the coffee-boiler. As the car gave a lurch in 
 the right direction I called from the window. 
 
 ' Boys ! ' I heard them crawling to the edge, and 
 handed up the midnight supper. 'Bully for 
 you ! ' they said, and I saw them no more. When 
 the train reached Nashville, and I clambered 
 down to solid ground again, I looked up at the 
 roof; it was bare. God grant the boys are with 
 their mothers to-night. And how do you like 
 the Ride of the Wounded Brigade .-"' 
 
 Ohio at Stone Rfver. — On the memorable 
 31st of December, at Stone River, after the right 
 right wing was broken, the centre driven back, 
 and destruction was holding wide its jaws to 
 crush the Union army, to a few regiments of the 
 gallant Crittenden's left wing was reserved the 
 distinguished honor of turning back the- tide of 
 adverse battle. For thi'ee horrible hours, while 
 Bragg was massing his victorious and exultant 
 columns, and hurling them successively upon 
 Crittenden's position with reckless desperation, 
 that in the moment of expected triumph lavishes 
 oceans of blood and ages of life to make the 
 final victory, the 26th Ohio, under Major Squires, 
 held its ground from first to last, and amid the 
 tempest of confusion around, and the deluge of 
 death pouring upon it, completely run over by 
 more than one entire regiment, that had been 
 shivered by the shock on its right and front, itself 
 still firm as a rock, a very breakwater against the 
 tide of ruin, three times saw the solid masses 
 of the enemy stagger, recoil, and break up within 
 short pistol range of its bayonets, and fiee from 
 the horrible slaughter. On this field the 26th 
 Ohio was baptized in blood. When the struggle 
 was over, one third of the command lay dead and 
 bleeding on the ground they fought over." 
 
 " Out Raking Oysteks." — A correspondent 
 at Brandy Station, Va., records the following: 
 " On our late reconnoissance, a new recruit, be- 
 longing to the Third Michigan regiment, and 
 who had not been in any ' forward movement ' 
 before, asked an old soldier, one of his comrades, 
 'Where are we going?' 'Out reconnoitring,' 
 replied the vet. ' Out raking oysters ? ' exclaimed 
 the recruit, with astonishment. ' Good heav- 
 ens! what does the General want to take the 
 whole corps out to rake oysters for ? I should 
 think a brigade could rake all the oysters _ he 
 wanted to eat ! ' I rather guessed at the time 
 that he thought it an awful long distance to where 
 the oysters were. We did not get quite to the 
 spot where the raking was taking place, and 
 believe there were not many found ; but the 
 ' shells ' were around us at one time pretty thick, 
 and our recruit had a; taste of them for the first 
 time." 
 
 Anecdote of President Lincoln. — The 
 President's stories grew better and better as he 
 grew older. One of the best was told to a visitor 
 who congratulated him on the almost certain pur- 
 pose on the part of the people to reelect him for 
 another term of four years. Mr. Lincoln replied 
 
366 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 that he had been told this frequently before, and 
 that when it was fii-st mentioned to him he was 
 reminded of a farmer in Illinois who determined 
 to trj' his own hand at blasting. After success- 
 fully boring and filling in with powder, he failed 
 in his effort to make the powder go off; and afteu 
 discussing with a looker-on the cause for this, 
 and failing to detect anything wrong in the pow- 
 der, the farmer suddenly came to the conclusion 
 that it would not go off because it had been shot 
 before. 
 
 SONG OF THE SOLDIERS. 
 
 BY CHAULES G. HALPINE. 
 
 Air : ^^ Jamie 's on the Stormy Sea." 
 
 CoMKADES known in marches many, 
 Comrades tried in dangers many, 
 Comrades bound by memories many, 
 
 Brothers ever let us be. 
 Wounds or sickness may divide us, 
 Marching orders may divide us. 
 But whatever fate betide us. 
 
 Brothers of the heart are we. 
 
 Comrades known by faith the clearest, 
 Tried when death was near and nearest, 
 Bound we are by ties the dearest. 
 
 Brothers evermore to be : 
 And, if spared, and growing older, 
 Shoulder still in line with shoulder. 
 And with hearts no thrill the colder. 
 
 Brothers ever we shall be. 
 
 By communion of the bamier, . 
 Crimson, white and starry banner, 
 By the baptism of the banner 
 
 Children of one church are we. 
 Creed nor faction can divide us, 
 Race nor language can divide us, 
 Still, whatever fate betide us, 
 
 Children of the flag are we ! 
 
 A Hero at Gettysburg. — First Lieutenant 
 Bayard Wilkeson, son of Samuel AVilkeson of 
 the New York Tribune,* commanding Battery G, 
 Fourth United States artillery, was killed in the 
 extreme front of the first day's battle, while pour- 
 ing grape and canister into Ewell's advancing col- 
 umns. He was but nineteen years old. Before 
 he was eighteen he was recommended for promo- 
 tion as Captain, by General Peck, for gallantry in 
 the battle of the " Deserted House," on the Black- 
 water. His battery was considered the model 
 one of the Eleventh corps, and was assigned the 
 advance in the order of march. He actually 
 fought his battery after his leg was shot off. In 
 his devotion to his command, Avhich was proverb- 
 ial in the army, he ordered the four men who car- 
 ried him a short distance off the field, to leave 
 him and go back to their pieces. This generous 
 heroism insured his loss. Immediately after, the 
 advance was routed and driven in disorder into 
 and through Gettysburg, and the brave artillery 
 
 * See account of the battle of Gettysburg, by Mr. 
 Wilkeson, a7ite. 
 
 oflScer fell into the hands of the rebels and died 
 for want of amputation. 
 
 The CoMiknssiONS. — A soldier correspondent 
 at Stevenson, Alabama, writes : " The Sanitary 
 and Christian Commissions are the means, in 
 God's hand, of accomplishing an infinite amount 
 of good. I know the soldiers are directly bene- 
 fited by the essentials and ' gocdies ' prepared 
 by the devoted mothers and loving sisters of our 
 dear ' dear men in blue.' The trouble is, too 
 many of them want the identical cookie his mother 
 made." 
 
 Bravery at Chickajuuga. — A wi-iter re- 
 lates the following instances of heroic conduct at 
 the battle of Chickamauga : " Commendatory ar- 
 ticles, touching the acts and bearing of different 
 persons and officers in the late -battle of Chicka- 
 mauga, appearing, have led me, for the first time 
 in my life, to volunteer an item or two for the 
 public eye. JNIy notices here are unsolicited and 
 gratuitous, without the knowledge or consent of 
 either of those of whom I design to speak. Dis- 
 interested spectators are generally allowed to be 
 unbiassed. Thus situated, I shall write freely, and 
 leave the consequences to take care of themselves ; 
 naming some three or four, who, occupying subal- 
 tern positions, are almost wholly unnoticed by 
 the paid contributors of the press. Let the rec- 
 ord be made with fidelity, and an enlightened 
 public will give a just verdict. First, I would 
 name the noble Harrison, Colonel of the Thirty- 
 ninth mounted infantry, an Achilles, baptized in 
 blood at Shiloh, and Stone River, with his full 
 regiment of veterans, with a Vulcan's armor (the 
 dreaded sight-shotted Spencer rifles), the only gun 
 known worthy to grace the hands of such sol- 
 diers. Henceforth may our Government give 
 her brave boys no other small arm for the field. 
 Late in the afternoon of Sunday, when the mighty 
 numbers of the enemy were carrying everything 
 before them, and sweeping round to the road 
 leading to Chattanooga, the only outlet to a large 
 portion of our beleaguered army, he met them 
 there. Enthusiastic with success, and confident 
 through superiority of numbers, the foe charged 
 desperately on his steady lines ; a continued sheet 
 of flame burst upon them. Unaccustomed to such 
 swift and fatal volleys, they calculate on a cessa- 
 tion to load, and rush on, only to see their front 
 ranks full almost to the last man, and still the 
 livid lightning was unabated. Mortal man can- 
 not face such sweeping fires. Backward they 
 rush, impetuously, and the ground is held ; the 
 Avay remains o]ien ; the flanking columns were 
 here hurled back upon their centre, resulting in 
 safety to many teams and thousands of our disor- 
 ganized troops. Such was the worth of Thomas 
 J. Harrison, the quiet and noble Americaii officer. 
 
 " Next in order stands the energetic German, 
 General Turchin, whose decisive will saved Gen- 
 eral Reynolds', General Brannan's, and a part of 
 General Palmer's divisions from almost certain 
 capture. Late on Sunday afternoon, when some 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 367 
 
 were talking of a surrender, being almost sur- 
 rounded, General Turchin was called upon to give 
 an opinion as to the best plan of action. ' What, 
 surrender ? ' said he, ' No, sir ; never ! I shoost 
 takes my prigade, and cuts my way right out. 
 When I tells my men to sharge, dey sl^irges right 
 through. I tells, sir, we never surrender ! ' 
 Speaking and acting with increasing vehemence, 
 and a detei-mination as irresistible as it was 
 prompt, silencing all opposition, which was, in- 
 deed, useless, and seemed out of the question, 
 and, true to his promise, he did takfe his ' pri- 
 gade " and burst through the closing lines of the 
 enemy, with an irresistibility equalled only by 
 his energy and indomitable will, amid one of the 
 most ten-ific storms of shot and shell, and whistling 
 bullets, that has, perhaps, ever burst upon amov- 
 ing column of men without checking them. Such 
 was, and is. General Turchin. Though possibly 
 he be not a Ulysses in the council, he is an Ajax 
 in the ' sharge.' When our columns were just 
 put in motion for this desperate charge, the ready 
 thought of a Provost Marshal was most oppor- 
 tune, and its effects perfectly electrical. It was 
 Lieutenant S. Fortner, who, taking off his hat, 
 and waving it, as for a triumph, shouted: 'A 
 cheer, boys, as we take on the double-quick. 
 Huzza for General Thomas and victory!' One 
 long and deafening shout rose above the thunder 
 of the battle, along those dusty lines. How tame 
 is language ! how utterly futile the attempt to 
 tell the thrilling interests of such a scene at such 
 a moment ! There I saw Assistant Dewey, of the 
 One Hundred and First Indiana, on foot, and 
 still with his regiment, the only surgeon of the 
 divisions, then, who remained unflinchingly with 
 his command tlu-ough every storm of those two 
 bloody days, and through the chilly night, where 
 they rested in line of battle, and where he found 
 and relieved, as far as possible, the suffering of 
 spme seventeen or eighteen wounded left in an 
 old house, and lost sight of by their commands. 
 The Twenty-fourth and Thirty-sixth Ohio and 
 Thii-ty-sixth Indiana were represented in this dis- 
 mal hut, moaning and asking for water. Assist- 
 ance is ordered, water procured ; a lonely ride 
 of miles is at once taken to order ambulances for 
 then- removal, a promise extorted for their early 
 appearance on the ground ; returns to the lines ; 
 a sleepless, lingering, frosty night slowly wears 
 away ; ambulances have not come. As daylight 
 approaches, coffee is procured, and the sufferers 
 eagerly partake, v.hile cheering hopes are given 
 that the conveyances will soon come ; all is made 
 safe. The amljulances do come just in time to 
 get off before battle opens — a terrible carnage 
 sweeps that spot — the house is bm-ned away. 
 Who can appreciate services like these, unless they, 
 too, have suffered such necessities ? Some have 
 gone to their long rest, here in the hospital. 
 But to om- subject. Quietly he passes through 
 the terrific storm, halting briefly to bandage a 
 bleeding arm for a comrade, and to give a little 
 water from his canteen to even a pleading enemy, 
 wounded and helpless. On scathless he passes, 
 protected by unseen hands. A Confucius on the 
 
 billows of Mars — a blending of patriotism and 
 philanthropy. The blood-stained laurels of con- 
 quering heroes pale before those which heaven- 
 born charity Avreathes. Such are a few incidents 
 among many as brave and noble, no doubt ; and, 
 in recalling and recording, we do not forget those 
 not here cited, least of all, we do not — we could 
 not — forget the great Agamemnon of the army, 
 our noble commander, General Thomas, the angel 
 of our safety." — Nashville Press. 
 
 A Night Scene at Fredericksburg. — The 
 following graphic story was told by " Carleton," 
 the accomplished correspondent : 
 
 " Fkedericksburg, May 17, 1804. 
 
 " The day is past. The cool night has come, 
 refreshing the fevered cheek, cooling the throb- 
 bing pulse, and soothing the aching wounds of 
 the thousands congregated in this city. I have 
 made it in part a day of observation, visiting the 
 hospitals, and conversing with patients and nurses ; 
 and now, wearied, worn, with nerves unstrung by 
 sickening sights, I make an attempt to sketch the 
 scenes of the day. 
 
 " The city is a vast hospital ; churches, all pub- 
 lic buildings, private dwellings, stores, chambers, 
 attics, basements, — all are occupied by patients, 
 or are attended by medical officers, or by those 
 who have come to take care of the wounded. All 
 day long the trains of ambulances have been ar- 
 riving from the field hospitals. There are but 
 few wounded left at the front, — those only whom 
 to move would be certain death. Those able to 
 bear removal have been sent in, that the army 
 may move on to finish its appointed work. 
 
 " A red flag is flung out at the Sanitary Com- 
 mission rooms — a white one at the rooms of 
 the Christian Commission. There are three hun- 
 dred volunteer nurses in attendance. The Sani- 
 tary Commission have fourteen wagons bringing 
 supplies from Belle Plain. The Christian Com- 
 mission has less transportation facilities, but in 
 devotion, in hard work, in patient efibrt, it is the 
 compeer of its more bountifully supplied neigh- 
 bor. The nurses are divided into details, — some 
 for day service, some for night work. Each State 
 has its relief committee. 
 
 " Governor Smith, of Vermont, is here; Sena- 
 tor Sprague, of Rhode Island ; Senator Sherman, 
 of Ohio ; Senator Pomeroy, of Kansas ; Ex-Mayors 
 Bunton and Smyth, of Manchester, N, H. ; Ex- 
 Mayor Fay, of Chelsea ; Rev. Mr. Means, of 
 Roxbury ; and scores of men, aside from the 
 Commissions' nurses, doing what they can to 
 relieve the necessities, and alleviate the suffer- 
 ings, of the wounded. 
 
 " How patient the brave fellows are ! Not a 
 word of complaint, but thanks for the slightest 
 favor. There has been a lack of crutches. This 
 morning I saw a soldier of a California regiment, 
 an old soldier who fought with the lamented 
 Baker at Ball's Bluff, and who has been in more 
 than twenty battles, and who, till Thursday last, 
 has escaped unharm,ed, hobbling about with the 
 
368 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 arms of a settee nailed to strips of board. His 
 regiment Avent home to-daj-, its three years of 
 service having expired. It was but a score or 
 two of weather-beaten, battle-scarred veterans. 
 The disabled comrade could hardly keep back the 
 tear as he saw them pass down the street. ' Few 
 of us left. The bones of the boys are on every 
 l)attle-field where the army of the Potomac has 
 fought,' said he. 
 
 " There was a sound of the pick and spade in 
 the churchyard, a heaving up of new earth — a 
 digging of trenches, not for defence against the 
 enemy, but the preparation of the last resting- 
 place of departed heroes. There they lie — a 
 dozen of them — each wrapped in his blanket — 
 the last bivouac ! For them there is no more 
 war — no charges into the thick, leaden rain- 
 drops — no more hurrahs — no more cheering 
 of the dear old flag, bearing it onward to victory. 
 They have fallen, but the victory is theirs, theirs 
 the roll of eternal honor. One by one — side by 
 side — men from Massachusetts, and from Penn- 
 sylvania, and from Wisconsin — from all the 
 States, resting in one common grave. Peace to 
 them — blessings on those whom they have left 
 behind ! 
 
 " Go into the hospitals, — armless, legless men, 
 wounds of every description. Men on the hard 
 floor, on the hard seats of church pews, lying in 
 one position all day, unable to stir till the nurse 
 going the rounds comes to their aid. -They must 
 wait till their food comes. Some must be fed 
 with a spoon, as if they were little children. 
 
 " • O that we could get some straw for the 
 brave fellows,' said Rev. Mr. Kimball, of the 
 Christian Commission. He had wandered about 
 town, searching for the article. ' There is none 
 to be had. "We shall have to send to Washing- 
 ton for it.' 
 
 " ' Straw ! I remember two stacks, four miles 
 out on the Spottsylvania road. 1 saw them last 
 night as I galloped in from the front.' 
 
 " Armed with a requisition from the Provost 
 Marshal to seize two stacks of straw, with two 
 wagons driven by intelligent contrabands, four 
 Christian Commission delegates, and away we 
 went across the battle-field of December — ford- 
 ing Hazel Run — gained the heights, and reached 
 the straw stacks, owned by Rev. Mr. Owen. 
 
 " ' By whose authority do you take my prop- 
 erty ? ' 
 
 " ' The Provost Marshal's, sir.' 
 
 " Rev. Mr. Kimball was on the stack pitching it 
 down. I was pitching it in, and the young men 
 were stowing it away. 
 
 " •■ Are you going to pay me for it ? ' 
 
 " ' You must see the Provost Marshal, sir. If 
 you are a loyal man, and will take the oath of 
 allegiance, doubtless you will get your pay.' 
 
 " ' It is pretty hard. My children are just ready 
 to starve. I have nothing for them to eat, and 
 you come to take mv property without paying 
 for it.' 
 
 " ' Yes, sir ; war is hard. You must remember, 
 sir, that there are thousands of wounded men — 
 your wounded as well as ours. If your children 
 
 are on the point of starving, those men are on 
 the point of dying. We must have the straw for 
 them. What we don't take to-night we will get 
 in the morning. Meanwhile, sir, if anybody at- 
 tempts to take it, please say to them that it is 
 for the hospital, and they can't have it.' 
 
 " Thus with wagons stuffed we leave Rev. Mr. 
 Owen, and return to make glad the hearts of 
 several thousand men. O, how they thank us ! 
 
 " ' Did you get it for me ? God bless jou, sir ! ' 
 
 " It is evening. Thousands of soldiers, just ar- 
 rived from Washington, have passed through the 
 town to take their places in the front. The hills 
 all around are while with innumerable tents and 
 thousands of wagons. 
 
 " A band is playing lively airs to cheer the 
 wounded in the hospitals. I have been looking 
 in to see the sufferers. Two or three have gone. 
 They will need no more attention. A surgeon is 
 at Avork upon a ghastly wound, taking up the ar- 
 teries. An attendant is pouring cold water upon 
 a swollen limb. In the Episcopal Church a nurse 
 is bolstering up a wounded officer in the area 
 behind the altar. Men are lying in the pews, on 
 the seats, on the floor, on boards on the top of 
 the pews. 
 
 " Two candles in the spacious building throw 
 their feeble rays into the dark recesses, faintly 
 disclosing the recumbent forms. There is heavy, 
 stifled breathing, as of constant effort to sup- 
 press involuntary cries extorted by acutest pain. 
 Hard it is to see them suffer and not be able to 
 relieve them. 
 
 " Passing into the street, you see a group of 
 Avomen, talking about our wounded — rebel 
 wounded who are receiving their especial atten- 
 tion. The Provost Marshal's patrol is going its 
 rounds to preserve order. 
 
 " Starting down the street, you reach the rooms 
 of the Christian Commission. Some of the men 
 are writing, some eating their rations, some dis- 
 pensing supplies. Passing through their rooms, 
 you gain the grounds in the rear — a beautiful 
 garden once — not unattractive now. The air is 
 redolent with honeysuckle and locust blossoms. 
 The pennifolia is unfolding its delicate milk-white 
 petals — roses are opening their tinted leaves. 
 
 " Fifty men are gathered round a summer-house 
 — wai'm-hearted men — who have been all day 
 in the hospitals. Their hearts have been wrung 
 by the scenes of suffering, in the exercise of 
 Christian charity imitating the example of the 
 Redeemer of men. They have given bread for 
 the body and food for the soul. They have given 
 cups of cold water in the name of Jesus, and 
 prayed with those departing to the silent land. 
 The moonUght shimmers through the leaves of 
 the locust. 
 
 " The little congregation breaks into singing — 
 
 ' Come, thou fount of every blessing.' 
 
 " After the hymn, a chaplain says : ' Brethren, 
 I had service this afternoon in the First division 
 hospital of the Second corps. The surgeon in 
 charge, before prayer, asked all who desired to 
 be prayed for to raise their hands ; and nearly 
 
' \^' 
 
 £-as 
 
 Gl-:\ .r E. B STL AKT. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 369 
 
 every man who had a hand raised it. Let us 
 remember them in our j^rayers to-night.' 
 
 " A man in the summer-house — so far off that 
 I cannot distinguish him in the shadow — says : 
 * There is manifestly a spirit of prayer among 
 the soldiers of the Second division of the Sixth 
 corps hospital. Every man there raised his hand 
 for prayers ! ' 
 
 " Similar remarks are made by others, and then 
 there are earnest prayers offered that God will 
 bless them, relieve their sufferings, give them 
 patience, restore them to health ; that He will 
 remember the widow and fatherless far away — 
 that Jesus may be their Friend. 
 
 " Ah ! this night scene ! There was an allusion, 
 by one who prayed, to the garden scene of Geth- 
 semane — the blood of the Son of God, and in 
 connection to the blood shed for our country. 
 You who are far aAvay can understand but little 
 of the reality of these scenes. Friends, every- 
 where, you have given again and again, but con- 
 tinue to give — you cannot repay these brave de- 
 fenders of our country. Give as God has pros- 
 pered you, and great shall be your reward. — 
 Faint, feelale, tame, lifeless is this attempt to 
 portray the scenes of a day at Fredericksburg. 
 Picture it as you may, and you will fall short of 
 the reality." 
 
 THE EAGLE OF CORINTH.* 
 
 Did you hear of the fight at Corinth, 
 
 How we whipped out Price and Yan Dorn ? 
 
 Ah ! that day we earned our rations 
 
 (Our cause was God's and the Nation's, 
 Or we'd have come out forlorn ! ) — 
 
 A long and a terrible day ! 
 
 And, at last, when night grew gray, 
 
 By the hundred there they lay' 
 
 (Heavy sleepers, you'd say) — 
 That wouldn't wake on the morn. 
 
 Our staff was bare of a flag ; 
 AVe didn't carry a rag 
 
 In those brave marching days : 
 Ah ! no ; but a finer thing ! 
 With never a cord or string, — 
 An eagle, of ruffled whig, 
 
 And an eye of awful gaze ! 
 
 The grape, it rattled like hail ; 
 The minies were dropping like rain. 
 The first of a thunder-shower — 
 
 The wads were blowing like chaff 
 (There was pounding, like floor and flail. 
 All the front of our line ! ) 
 So we stood it, hour after hour — 
 But our eagle, he felt flne ! 
 
 'Twould have made you cheer and laugh, 
 To see, through that iron gale, 
 How the old fellow'd swoop and sail 
 Above the racket and roar — 
 To right and to left he'd soar, 
 But ever came back, without fail, 
 
 And perched on his standard staff. 
 
 * "The finest thing I ever saw was a live American 
 
 eagle, carried by the Eighth Iowa in the place of a flag. 
 
 He would fly off over the enemy during the hottest of 
 
 the fight, then would return and seat himself upon his 
 
 24 
 
 All that day, I tell you true, 
 
 They had pres^d us, steady and fair, 
 Till we fought in street and square 
 
 (The affair, you might think, looked blue) — 
 But we knew -vve had them there ! 
 
 Our works and batteries were few ; 
 
 Every gun, they'd have sworn, they knew — 
 
 But, you see, there was one or two 
 We had fixed for them, unaware. 
 
 They reckon they've got us now ! 
 
 For the next half hour 'twill be warm — 
 Ay, ay, look yonder ! — I vow. 
 If they weren't secesh, how I'd love them ! 
 
 Only see how grandly they form 
 (Our eagle whirling above them). 
 
 To take Robinette by storm ! 
 They're timing ! — it can't be long — 
 Now for the nub of the fight ! 
 
 (You may guess that we held our breath). 
 By the Lord, 'tis a splendid sight ! 
 A column, two thousand strong, 
 Marching square to the death ! 
 
 On they came, in solid column ; 
 
 For once, no whooping nor yell 
 (Ah ! I dare say they felt solemn) — 
 Front and flank — grape and shell 
 Our batteries pounded away ! 
 And the minies hummed to remind 'em 
 They had started on no child's play ! 
 Steady they kept a going. 
 But a grim wake settled behind 'em — 
 From the edge of the abatis 
 
 (Where our dead and dying lay. 
 Under fence and fallen tree), 
 
 Up to Robinette, all the way 
 The dreadful swath kept growing ! 
 'Twas butternut, flecked with gray. 
 
 Now for it, at Robinette ! p. 
 
 Muzzle to muzzle we met fc 
 
 (Not a breath of bluster or brag, |- 
 
 Not a lisp for quarter or favor) — •■* 
 Three times, there, by Robinette, * 
 
 With a rush, their feet they set 
 On the logs of our parapet, - 
 
 And waved their bit of a flag — 
 What could be finer or braver ! 
 
 But our cross-flre stunned them in flank ; 
 They melted, rank after rank — 
 (O'er them, with terrible poise. 
 
 Our bird did circle and wheel ! ) 
 Their whole line began to waver — 
 Now for the bayonet, boys ! 
 
 On them with the cold steel ! 
 
 Ah ! well — you know how it ended — 
 
 We did for them, there and then ; 
 But their pluck throughout was splendid. 
 
 pole, clap his pinions, shake his head, and start again.. 
 Many and hearty were the cheers that arose from our • 
 lines as the old fellow would sail around, first to the- 
 right, then to the left, and always return to his post,., 
 regardless of the storm of leaden hail that was aroundi 
 him. Something seemed to tell us that that battle wa» 
 to result in our favor ; and when the order was givem 
 to charge, every man went at them with fixed bayonets, 
 and the enemy' scattered in all directions, leaving us in 
 possession of the battle-field." — Letter from Chester 
 D. Howe, company E, Twelfth Illinois volunteers. 
 
370 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 (As I said before, I could love them ! ) 
 They stood, to the last, like men — 
 Only a handful of them 
 
 Found the way back again. 
 
 Red as blood o'er the town, 
 The angry sun went down, 
 Firing flag-staff and vane — 
 And our eagle — as for him, 
 There, all ruffled and grim, 
 
 He sat, o'erlooking the slain ! 
 
 Next morning you'd have wondered 
 
 How we had to drive the spade ! 
 There, in great trenches and holes 
 (Ah ! God rest their poor souls ! ) 
 We piled some fifteen hundred, 
 
 Where that last charge was made ! 
 
 Sad enough, I must say ! 
 
 No mother to mourn and search, 
 No priest to bless or to pray — 
 We buried them where they lay, 
 
 Without a rite of the church — 
 But our eagle all that day 
 
 Stood solemn and still on his perch. 
 
 'Tis many a stormy day 
 
 Since, out of the cold, bleak North, 
 Our great war eagle sailed forth 
 To swoop o'er battle and fray. 
 Many and many a day 
 
 O'er charge and storm hath he wheeled — 
 Foray and foughten-field — 
 
 ■Tramp, and volley, and rattle ! — 
 Over crimson trench and turf, 
 Over climbing clouds of surf. 
 Through tempest and cannon-rack, 
 Have his terrible pinions Avhirled — 
 (A thousand fields of battle ! 
 A million leagues of foam ! ) 
 But ovLT bird shall yet come back, 
 
 He shall soar to his eyrie home — 
 And his thunderous wings be furled, 
 In the gaze of a gladdened world. 
 On the nation's loftiest dome. 
 
 H. H. B. 
 
 A Heroic Chaplain. — Rev. F. Denison, the 
 Chaplain of the Third Rhode Island heavy artil- 
 lery, is the hero of the following incident : 
 
 Acting as aid to a commander of cavalry, who 
 was out on a scouting or reconnoitring expedi- 
 tion from Port Royal, the Chaplain, with only his 
 unarmed colored servant, became separated, in the 
 darkness, from his companions, Avhen coming sud- 
 denly upon a' body of six armed rebels, and find- 
 ing escape impossible, with wonderful presence of 
 mind he instantly leaped from his horse directly 
 among them, drew his sword, and ordered them 
 to surrender, threatening them with instant death 
 unless they fired off their guns and submitted un- 
 conditionally to his demand, which, in their mo- 
 ment of surprise, they concluded to do, and were 
 at once marched in triumph to the Union camp, 
 a distance of two miles, by the redoubtable Chap- 
 lain and his colored servant. 
 
 A Raid from Petersburg. — Martin Rei- 
 chenbacher, a Sergeant in the Second artillery, 
 regular troops, in a letter to a friend, relates the 
 following: "Yesterday (December 2, 1864) we 
 returned from one of the most successful raids 
 the cavalry ever made. It was as follows : On 
 the 30th of November, we received orders to 
 be in full marching order, which were most 
 promptly obeyed. On the morning of the 1st 
 of December, about four o'clock, we broke camp, 
 taking what is known as the Lee's Mill road, run- 
 ning in a south-westerly direction from a point 
 on the Norfolk Railroad, where our camp is. 
 The same day, about eleven o'clock, we suddenly 
 found ourselves near the Stony Creek Station, 
 on the Weldon Railroad, where the rebels were 
 known to have large quantities of stores, and 
 much valuable lumber, guarded, as they ima- 
 gined, very well indeed by fortifications and earth- 
 works of various descriptions, with a considera- 
 ble garrison and some heavy guns, they not in 
 the least thinking that we would be so bold as 
 to go twenty-five miles, that being the distance, 
 with cavalry, and attack, whip them handsomely, 
 and carry off and destroy all the property in that 
 vicinity, besides demolishing the depot and saw- 
 mills which were close by. When the harm was 
 done, they must have felt very much ashamed, 
 for, in addition to all I have mentioned, we cap- 
 tured a great number of prisoners — say over 
 two hundred. This,' it will be remembered, was 
 the cavalry force that accomplished this, the bat- 
 tery which I belong to being included, as we took 
 part in the fight. When the rebels saw all their 
 buildings in flames, they formed and made a most 
 desperate charge on our line of battle, our battery 
 occupying a position in the centre. We received 
 them very warmly, in every sense of the word, 
 with fire, shot, and shell, as the cavalrymen 
 say. AVhen asked how the battery fire acts, 
 the reply is generally, ' The ten-pound checks the 
 rebels do not appreciate that you fire from those 
 bull-dogs ; " and true, on most every occasion, a 
 charge is successfully checked by our battery, as • 
 it was this time. When the rebels found us pre- 
 pared, and they handsomely repulsed, our men 
 rent the air with cheers, and our battery received - 
 considerable of a large share of them. I again - 
 commanded a section of ten-pounder rifle guns. • 
 Finally, Ave fell back in good order, and safely ■ 
 arrived in camp with our prisoners, and tropliies ■ 
 of the battle-field, consisting of wagons, horses, '- 
 mules, and many useful articles, too numerous to 
 mention. It is, in our military circles, pronounced 
 a most brilliant success." 
 
 Ho\v THE Officers lost their Boots. — 
 During the winter of 1863-4 a division of Fed- 
 eral cavalry encamped in the vicinity of Hunts- 
 ville, Ala., for the purpose of keeping down 
 guerrillas and encouraging whatever Union senti- 
 ment might happen to generate there under the 
 humane system of General George Crook, w-ho 
 was commander of the division. The railroad 
 was not in running order, and the nearest point 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 371 
 
 from which to procure supplies was nearly a hun- 
 dred miles distant. In consequence of the limited 
 transportation a sufficient quantity of Government 
 stores could not be obtained, and the exigencies 
 of the situation compelled the men to resort to 
 illegitimate means to supply the demand. Among 
 other articles, boots and shoes were decidedly 
 scarce, and when a soldier lay down at night he 
 would sleep with his boots on, if he had any ; for 
 it required a hard exercise of faith to believe that 
 he would find them in the morning if left in a 
 place less secure. Every dwelling and out-house 
 in the town and surrounding country was ran- 
 sacked and compelled to pay tribute to the feet of 
 the Yankee invaders, and even then the supply 
 did not begin to equal the demand. The contra- 
 bands, as they came into our lines, would involun- 
 tarily swap their boots and shoes with our men, 
 and as a general thing would get the worst of the 
 bargain. Picket duty in general is not pleasant, 
 but at that time was very desirable, for the men 
 invariably came into camp better shod than when 
 they went out, though in most cases they had 
 great difficulty in getting their feet into the stir- 
 rups, from the largeness of the brogans lately worn 
 by the negroes. It was not an uncommon occur- 
 rence to see the adopted Union citizens of the 
 place in their stocking feet when they ventured 
 out at night, e:ichanging their boots for the well- 
 ventilated ones of the Federal troopers. 
 
 On the occasion of a review it was noticed by 
 some of the men of the 4th U. S. cavalry that 
 General Crook and staff had little reason to com- 
 plain of the article which they so much needed. 
 On returning to camp a plan was devised to re- 
 lieve the General and his officers of their boots. 
 A young man named Adams procured some fe- 
 male apparel in a negro shanty, and having rub- 
 bed his face slightly with burnt cork, proceeded 
 at night to the hotel where the General and his 
 staff were quartered. Adams, besides his wild 
 and frolicsome disposition, was young, well for- 
 med, and a little under the medium height. It 
 was not his first adventure of the kind ; and in 
 his new guise, he presented the appearance of a 
 tall finely-formed mulatto girl of interesting at- 
 tractions. Proceeding to the officer's room, he 
 inquired if they wanted their boots blacked. 
 Whether they required blacking or not, he had lit- 
 tle difficulty in getting all the boots he could stuff 
 in a corn sack, very considerately numbering each 
 pair to prevent mistakes. He received injunction 
 to hurry up, and in some cases got paid in ad- 
 vance. About the time Adams had returned to 
 camp and divided the spoils among his friends 
 the officers began to suspect that the female boot- 
 black was bestowing unusual pains on their boots, 
 and had they not been confined to their stocking 
 feet, would no doubt have ventured down stairs 
 to look her up. As each officer was unaware of 
 the visit of the fair mulatto to any one else but 
 himself, they individually consoled themselves 
 with the assurance that their boots would be found 
 at the door in the morning. How each one sup- 
 plied himself with another pair is probably un- 
 known to any but himself and the sutlers. But 
 
 Adams and his friends wore their boots quietly, 
 none being suspected of the theft but the vagrant 
 negroes about town, in whose employ the wench 
 Mas supposed to be engaged. — The Citizen. 
 
 THE MEN OF THE CUMBERLAND. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR. OF "THE NEW PRIEST." 
 
 This ship went down on the 0th of March, under 
 liioutcnant Georfjc M. Jlorris, with her flag- flying-, and 
 her guns firing- (wliile the water was closing over them) 
 at the iron monster, Virginia, which had cut two yawning 
 lioles in her side. 
 
 Cheer ! cheer ! for our noble Yankee tars, 
 
 That fought the ship Cumberland ! 
 Not a sigh for these, with their maims and scars, 
 
 Or their dead that lie off the strand ! 
 
 Who whines of the ghastly gash and wound. 
 
 Or the horrible deaths of war ? 
 Where, where should a brave man's death be found, 
 
 And what is a true heart for ? 
 
 Cheer ! cheer ! for these men ! Ah ! they knew 
 when 
 Was the time for true hearts to die ! 
 How their flag sank, apeak, will flush the brave 
 cheek, 
 While this earth shall hang in the sky ! 
 
 In the bubbling waves they fired their last, 
 
 Where sputtered the burning wad ; 
 And fast at their post, as their guns were fast. 
 
 Went a hundred and more before God ! 
 
 Not a man of all but had stood to be shot 
 (So the flag might fly), or to drown ; 
 
 The sea saved some, for it came to their lot, 
 And some with their ship went down ! 
 
 Then cheer for these men ! they want not gold ; 
 
 But give them their ship once more, 
 And the flag that yet hangs in wet and cold 
 
 O'er their dead by that faithless shore. 
 
 Our sunken ship we'll yet weigh up, 
 
 And Ave'll raise our deep-drowned brav^, 
 
 Or we'll drain those Roads till a baby's cup 
 May puddle their last shoal wave. 
 
 And we'll tell in tale, and sing in song, 
 
 How the Cumberland was fought 
 By -men who knew that all else was wrong 
 
 But to die when a sailor ought. 
 
 Passing to the Front. — It so happened in 
 the course of human events, that a goodly num- 
 ber of delegates to the Christian Commission at 
 Chattanooga found themselves landed at Bridge- 
 port without any visible means of further con- 
 veyance. Anxious to make their way through to 
 Chattanooga immediately, they tried all round 
 the tented village for something — anything that 
 would carry them over the mountain, and finally, 
 through the intervention of Providence, succeeded 
 in securing one very diminutive female specimen 
 of the asinine species. Here then was a quan- 
 dary. Who, and how many, should ride ? After 
 some miscellaneous discussion on this point, it 
 
372 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 was finally agreed that the distinguished honor 
 should be conferred on a Bostonian brother alone, 
 the fit of whose boots and quality of whose cloth 
 being, no doubt, taken into consideration ; for be 
 it known that a walk of forty miles on the roads 
 of that country, and slee2:)ing out by the wayside, 
 were calculated to take the nap off of French 
 goods. 
 
 Well, they started, the " hub " man astride of 
 the little personification of injured innocence, and 
 the rest with a Government train. Their journey 
 was without accident or incident worthy of men- 
 tion until they had rounded the top of Wallen's 
 Ridge and were coming down the side — which, 
 by the waj^, is verj' declivous — when, all of a 
 su-:lden, the thing the Eastern delegate was riding 
 got mulish, stopped, and the parson went on — 
 tilted square over its head, his feet unfortunately 
 held tight by the stirrups. As soon as his breth- 
 ren, who were a little way behind, heard of the 
 disaster, they rushed to his relief, and found the 
 position thus : The quadruped was standing stock 
 still, and so was brother A., vai-ying, however, 
 from the usual manner in this, that the end which 
 custom has established as proper for men to have 
 up, when appearing in company, was in his case 
 just the opposite. He was, in fact, standing on 
 bis hands — a slight improvement on the Neb- 
 uchadnezzar style — his feet yet fast in the 
 stirrups, and sticking up either side of the beast's 
 neck, very much after the fashion of a goose 
 yoke ; meanwhile he was earnestly calling for 
 help, but holding still for life. From this undig- 
 nified and no less unpleasant situation his breth- 
 ren very soon relieved him, and all were rejoiced 
 to learn that, with the exception of a few scratches 
 on his hands and a few sjjecks of mud — each 
 the size of a man's hat — on his clothes, he was 
 uninjured. 
 
 But, favorable as it turned out, the mishap did 
 not pass so easily from the mind of the Puritan 
 brother. He went on to Chattanooga, but an un- 
 broken cloud seemed to rest on his countenance, 
 and after a few days, no doubt full of trouble, 
 he bent his steps towards the Monumental Cityj 
 where desperate adventures and hair -breadth es- 
 capes are not looked upon as mere matters of 
 amusement or subjects for joke. 
 
 Among the curiosities of army life is this : 
 Dress eighty or a hundred thousand men pretty 
 nearly alike, and everybody resembles his neigh- 
 bor, and nobody looks like himself. Take those 
 men and sprinkle " a half section," as they say 
 in Illinois, pretty thickly with them, put them 
 under the big umbrellas of the camps, chink a 
 little town full of them till every house swarms 
 like a hive in June, set them all in the usual mo- 
 1 ion of army life, and then begin to look for your 
 " next best friend," and I wish you joy of your 
 journey ; you might better be " Japhet in search 
 of his father." Perhaps you may remember hav- 
 ing passed a familiar friend who was reclining in 
 the chair with his face upturned, as is the fashion 
 of those who come under the barber's hands — 
 
 passed without recognizing him. Of course it 
 was the unwonted position that gave him the look 
 of a stranger ; the shadows fell in new places, 
 and the effect was a new impression. You would 
 be struck with this in looking down upon the 
 faces turned towards heaven after a battle, either 
 on the field or in the hospital ; the light falls 
 squarely down ; no shadows under the brow, no 
 shading beneath the chin, and the whole face so 
 clears up, softens and grows delicate, that you 
 may be looking upon a friend and not know it. 
 Death generally impairs the beauty of women, 
 but it sometimes makes homely men wonderfully 
 handsome. 
 
 A Southern Martyr. — When the secret 
 history of current events at the South is brought 
 to light, there will be revelations of sacrifice and 
 sufl'ering for loyalty to the Union that will show 
 that the age of heroism has not wholly gone by. 
 A letter from a lady in Charleston, of undoubted 
 authenticity, gives an account of a martyr to loy- 
 alty whose name will be honored in the history 
 that is to be written of the great events of this 
 age, though now concealed from motives of pru- 
 dence : 
 
 " Poor F is dead ; before the fall of Sum- 
 ter he exerted all his influence, using both pen 
 and voice against the rebellion, until he was 
 thrown into prison. At first he was treated as 
 an ordinary criminal awaiting trial ; but after the 
 battle of Manassas, the Confederates seemed 
 drunk with triumph at their victory, and mad 
 with rage over the vast number of victims who 
 fell in their ranks. I wrote you with what pomp 
 this city mourned her dead ; amid it all, when the 
 
 Confederate host seemed like to win, F was 
 
 offered freedom and promotion if he would es- 
 pouse the Confederate cause. His military and 
 scientific attainments were considerable, which 
 made them anxious for his services. ' I have 
 sworn allegiance to the Union,' said he, * and am, 
 not one to break my pledge.' When tempted 
 with promotion if he could be prevailed upon to 
 enlist beneath their banner, he said, ' You cannot 
 buy my loyalty. I love Carolina and the South ; 
 but I love my country better'.' Finding him faith- 
 ful to the flag he loved, he was made to feel the 
 power of his enemies. He was cast into a mis- 
 erable, damp, ill-ventilated cell, and fed on coarse 
 fare ; half the time neglected by his drunken 
 keeper. His property was confiscated, and his 
 wife and children beggared. Poor fellow ! he 
 sank beneath his troubles, and was soon removed 
 from the persecution of his oppressors. The day 
 before his death he said to his wife : ' Mary, you 
 are beggared because I Avould not prove disloyal.' 
 ' God be thanked for your fidelity ! ' replied the ' 
 wife. ♦ They have taken your wealth and life, 
 but could not stain your honor, and our children 
 shall boast of an unspotted name. My husband, 
 rejoice in your truth.' She returned to her friends 
 after his death, openly declaring her proudest 
 boast should be, her husband died a martyr to 
 his patriotism. Who shall say the day of hero- 
 ism has passed ? " 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 373 
 
 Pets in the Akmy. — They have the strang- 
 est pets in the army, that nobody would dream 
 of " taking to " at home, and yet they are little 
 touches of the gentler nature that give you so 
 much cordial feeling when you see them. One of 
 the boys has carried a red squu-rel through " thick 
 and thin " over a thousand miles. " Bun " eats 
 hard tack like a veteran, and has the freedom of 
 the tent. Another's affections overflow upon a 
 slow-winking, unspeculative little owl, captured 
 in Arkansas, and bearing a name with a classical 
 smack to it — Minerva. A third gives his heart 
 to a young Cumberland Mountain bear ; but chief 
 among camp pets are dogs. Riding on the sad- 
 dle-bow, tucked into a baggage wagon, mounted 
 on a knapsack, growling under a gun, are dogs 
 brought to a premature end as to ears and tails, 
 and yellow at that; pug-nosed, square-headed 
 brutes, sleek terriers, delicate morsels of spaniels, 
 " Tray, Blanche, Sweetheart, little dogs and all." 
 A dog, like a horse, comes to love the rattle and 
 crash of musket and cannon. There was one in 
 an Illinois regiment, and regarded as belonging 
 to it, though his name might not be on the mus- 
 ter-roll, that chases half-spent shot as a kitten 
 frolics with a ball of worsted. He has been under 
 fire and twice wounded, and left the tip of his 
 tail at the battle of Stone River. Woe to the 
 man that shall wantonly Idll him. But I was 
 especially interested in the fortunes of a little 
 white spaniel that messed with a battery and de- 
 lighted in the name of " Dot." No matter what 
 was up, that fellow's silken coat must be washed 
 every day ; and there was need of it, for when the 
 batteiy was on the march, they just plunged him 
 into the sponge-bucket — not the tidiest chamber 
 imaginable — that swings like its more peaceful 
 cousin, the tar-bucket, under the rear axle of the 
 gun-carriage — plumped him into that, clapped 
 on the cover, and Dot was good for an inside 
 passage. One day the battery crossed a stream 
 and the water came well up to the guns. Nobody 
 thought of Dot, and when all across, a gunner 
 looked into the bucket ; it was full of water, and 
 Dot was as dead as a little dirty door mat. — B. F. 
 Taylor. 
 
 A Curious Story. — The Southern papers 
 told a curious story about a ghostly army that 
 was seen down there. Nobody has pretended to 
 give a solution of the mystery ; but it Avas wisely 
 suggested that it was an optical illusion. Here is 
 the story : 
 
 " A remakable phenomenon was witnessed a 
 few miles west of Lewisburg, Greenbrier County, 
 Va., on the 1st of October, 1863, about three 
 o'clock P. M., by Mr. Moses Dwyer, who hap- 
 pened to be seated in his porch at the time, as 
 well as by others at or near the house. 
 
 " The weather was quite hot and dry ; not a 
 cloud could be seen ; no wind even ruffled the 
 foliage on the surrounding trees. All things be- 
 ing propitious, the grand panorama began to 
 move. Just over and through the tops of the 
 trees on the adjacent hills, to the south, immense 
 r.umbers of rolls, resembling cotton or smoke, ap- 
 
 parently of the size and shape of doors, seemed 
 to be passing rapidly through the air, yet in beau- 
 tiful order and regularity. The rolls seemed to 
 be tinged on the edge with light green, so as to 
 resemble a border of deep fringe. There were ap- 
 parently thousands of them ; they were perhaps an 
 hour in getting by. After they had passed over 
 and out of sight, the scene was changed from the 
 air above to the earth beneath, and became more 
 intensely interesting to the spectators who were 
 witnessing the panorama from different stand- 
 points. 
 
 " In the deep valley beneath, thousands upon 
 thousands of (apparently) human beings (men) 
 came in view, travelling in the same direction as 
 the rolls, marching in good order, some thirty or 
 forty in depth, moving rapidly — ' double-quick ' 
 — and commenced ascending the almost insur- 
 mountable hills opposite, and had the stoop pecu- 
 liar to men ascending a steep mountain. There 
 seemed to be a great variety in the size of the 
 men ; some were very large, wliilst others were 
 quite small. Their arms, legs, and heads could 
 be distinctly seen in motion. They seemed to ob- 
 serve strict military discipline, and there were no 
 stragglers. 
 
 " There was uniformity of dress ; white blouses 
 or shirts, with white pants ; they were without guns, 
 swords, or anything that indicated ' men of war.' 
 On they came through the valley and over the 
 steep road, crossing the road, and finally passing 
 out of sight, in a direction due north from those 
 who were looking on. 
 
 " The gentleman who witnessed this is a man 
 with whom you were once acquainted, Mr. Editor, 
 and as truthful a man as we have in this country, 
 as b'ttle liable to be carried away by 'fanciful spec- 
 ulations ' as any man living. Four others (re- 
 spectable ladies) and a servant girl witnessed this 
 strange phenomenon. 
 
 " On the 14th instant the same scene, almost 
 identical, was seen by eight or ten of the Confed- 
 erate pickets at Runger's Mill, and by many of the 
 citizens in that neighborhood ; this is about four 
 miles east of Percy's. It was about an hour 
 passing." 
 
 The Chickamauga Battle-Field. — A South- 
 ern writer gives the following description : 
 
 " As it grows darker, we observe a bright light 
 about one mile in front of us ; which our guide 
 informs us is the burning of their second line of 
 works, which the Yankees fh-ed 'before leaving. 
 ' You will see some awful sights if you go there,' 
 remarked he. Ere long, 
 
 'The pale moon rose up slowly, and calmly she 
 
 looked down 
 On the red sands of the battle-field with bloody 
 
 corses strewn.' 
 
 " And wending our way among the grand old 
 oaks of the forest, now scarred and withered by 
 the strife enacted beneath them, and picking our 
 Avay among the dead bodies of men and horses, 
 we at length reached the works constructed by 
 the enemy on Saturday night, and defended with 
 
374 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 such obstinacy on Sunday. Notwithstanding I 
 have seen some dozen battle-fields during the 
 war, I have never seen anything to compare with 
 the horrors of the scene presented here. As I 
 stated before, the enemy had set fire to their 
 works when forced to leave them, and the fire had 
 communicated to the forests and lit uj) the scene 
 far and wide. The dead and wounded lay in 
 heaps, literally piled upon each other, and in 
 many instances the fire had burned them to a 
 cinder, and many of the wounded had their clothes 
 burned off", and their bodies were a perfect blister. 
 The cries of these poor, wretched creatures were 
 awful to hear, and many implored us to kill 
 them and put them out of their misery. 
 
 " Upon examining their haversacks, nothing Avas 
 found but corn bread, and several told me that 
 they had been eating that for five days without 
 food or water, and that their leaders did not care 
 for them after they had received a wound. It 
 was a scene long to be remembered — the gi'oups 
 of dead men and horses, and writhing forms of 
 the wounded there in that dreary forest, only seen 
 by the scattered moonbeams as they stole through 
 the branches, and the flickering fire light, as it 
 crept slowly but steadily up to where they lay, 
 and the fearful cries of those who watched its ad- 
 vance, unable to drag their broken limbs beyond 
 the reach of the destroyer : and then the dis- 
 torted and upturned faces of those whose bodies 
 were lying amidst the grim shadows which fell 
 around, conspicuous among which was the shadow 
 of death. AH the pompous pageantry of the 
 scene was gone, and nought remained of all the 
 glory lost and won upon that bloody field save 
 the wretched forms of those who no more will 
 spring forward at the call to arms." 
 
 The Battle of Frederickton. — The vic- 
 tory of the national troops at Fredericktou, next 
 to their own bravery and daring, may be ascribed 
 to the agency of an old negro, Avho informed 
 them of the ambuscade by Jeff Thompson, into 
 vrhich, if they had fallen, a terrible slaughter 
 would have followed. The agency of this negro 
 is described as follows : 
 
 " I saw but two white men in the town as Ave 
 marched through. No one came out to meet our 
 advance. This was a little mysterious and omi- 
 nous. The negroes told us that the troops had 
 left by the south road, indicating the direction by 
 pointing. While Ave were sleeping, a Lieutenant 
 Avas Avalking a little south of the toAvn, accompa- 
 nied by an old darky, Avho said, ' Heap of men, 
 massa, out souf in de timber dar.' ' Guess not ; 
 you are mistaken.' ' No mistake, massa.' The 
 Lieutenant thought enough of the remark to 
 mention it to a Major near by, Avho also remarked, 
 ' It must be a great mistake.' The old darky 
 had foUoAved up, and, hearing the reply, said, 
 ' No mistake, no mistake.' The INIajor thought 
 he Avould go Avith the neAvs to Colonel Carlin, Avho 
 also thought it a mistake ; but, concluding it best 
 not to be fooled, he sent a man to reconnoitre. 
 The timber referred to lies about a mile south of 
 
 the tOAvn, and skirts both sides of the road by 
 Avhich the enemy Avere said to have left. The 
 scout found the timber all alive Avith armed men 
 — infantry and cavalry. Tlie old darky had be- 
 trayed them, and their trick Avas all revealed, viz., 
 to get us into an ambush Avhile following them. 
 
 " Tlie man galloped back Avith the information. 
 The soldiers Avere roused up, ordered into line, 
 and in less than ten minutes our whole brigade 
 Avas ready to march, and most of the regiments 
 AA'ere in motion. The artillerymen had got a 
 twenty-four-pounder out ready to shell the tim- 
 ber ; also a six-pounder AVas placed. The enemy, 
 seeing himself found out, prepared to make the 
 most of it. He had judged Avell Avhere our 
 cannon Avould be placed, and had artillery bearing 
 directly on those points. When I first waked up, 
 I heard the report of a six-pounder. ' Hallo ! 
 guess they're cleaning out their guns.' This 
 roused all, and, before we had got our traps on, 
 several guns had sounded, and noAV they bellowed 
 thick and fast. ' A fight, boys ! They'i'e at it ! ' 
 rung along the line. 
 
 " The enemy had begun the firing, and per- 
 formed well, their second shot haA'ing smashed a 
 Avheel on our six-pounder. Thus the battle began. 
 Not ten minutes had yet elapsed since the time 
 the scout had returned." 
 
 Colonel Mosey Outwitted. — On the 25th 
 of March, 18G4, Captain E. B. Gere, of the Gris- 
 Avold Light Cavalry, Avas sent out from the Union 
 camp, Avith one hundred and tAventy-five men, to 
 the neighborhoods of Berryviile and Winches- 
 ter, Va., on a scout, and encamped at Milhvood, 
 some six or eight miles from the former place. 
 After the men had got their fires built, Sergeant ' 
 Weatherbee, of company B, Corporal Simpson, 
 of company H, and a private, Avent some tAVO 
 miles from camp to get supper at a farm-house, 
 and Avhile waiting for the long-delayed tea, Avere 
 surprised to find several revolvers suddenly ad- 
 vance into the room, behind each pair of Avhich 
 Avas either Colonel Mosby, a rebel Captain, or a 
 Lieutenant, all rather determined men, Avith 
 " shoot in their eyes," who demanded the imme- , 
 diate surrender of the aforesaid Yankees. The ~ 
 aim being Avicked, the three TAventy-firsters saAV ' 
 they Avere " under a cloud," and so quietly gave ; 
 up the contest. 
 
 Colonel Mosby was much elated Avith his good 
 fortune, and required his prisoners to foUoAV him ,^ 
 supperless on his rounds to his headquarters at 
 Paris ; the private, however, Avhile pretending to 
 get his horse, hid himself in the hay and escaped, 
 Mosby not daring to Avait and hunt him up. 
 
 On the Avay to Paris the Colonel amused him-^ 
 self by constantly taunting his prisoners Avith ^ 
 questions. " Were they Avith Major Cole Avhenhe 
 thrashed him at Upperville ? " " AVere they with 
 Major Sullivan, of the First Veterans, Avhen his ■ 
 men ran aAvay and left him ? " " Hoav did they • 
 fancy his gray nag? — he took that from a Yan- 
 kee Lieutenant." " Didn't the Yanks dread him 
 and his men more than they did the regular 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 375 
 
 rebel cavalry ? " " How did they " (the prison- 
 ers) " like his style of fighting ? " and a hundred 
 such remarks, that indicated the man as being 
 more of a vain braggart than a hero. 
 
 He was, in the mean time, engaged in gather- 
 ing his men with the avoAved intention of attack- 
 ing Capt. Gere's force at daylight, and, if possi- 
 ble, of cutting it to pieces. His followers live in 
 the farm-houses of Loudon, Clarke, and Jeffer- 
 son Counties, and are either rebel soldiers or 
 Union citizens, as the case may require. He 
 would ride up to a house, call Joe or Jake, and 
 tell them that he wanted them at such an hour at 
 the us^ial place — to go and tell Jim or Mose. 
 Almost every farm turned out somebody in answer 
 to his call, proving that these men, with the cer- 
 tified oath of allegiance in their pockets, and with 
 passes allowing them to come in and go out of 
 our lines at will, are not only in sympathy with 
 the enemy, but are themselves perjured rebels. 
 
 When they arrived at Paris, Colonel Mosby 
 dismounted and stepped into the house where be 
 had his headquarters, leaving his pistols in the 
 holsters. The Lieutenant, with drawn revolver, 
 watched the prisoners, while the Captain endeav- 
 ored to find an orderly to take the horses. Cor- 
 poral Simpson, who had been marking the road 
 for future use, and had been long looking for it, 
 saw his chance, and pretended to tie his horse, 
 but really putting his foot into the stirrup of 
 Mosby's saddle, and laying hold of one of the 
 overlooked pistols. The Lieutenant, detecting the 
 move, fired at him, when S. shot him through the 
 heart with the weapon he had secured. The 
 Captain turned round and fired, and Colonel 
 Mosby came to the door to see " what all that 
 
 row was about," just in time to hear a bullet 
 
 whiz unpleasantly close to his head, that S. fired 
 at him, "just for luck," as he and his comrade 
 left — yelling back : " Colonel Mosby, hoiv do you 
 like our style of fighting'} We belong to the 
 Twenty first New York." And away they went, 
 leaving Colonel Mosby dismounted, and outwit- 
 ted of his best horse, saddle, pistols, and over- 
 coat, two Yankee prisoners, and with at least one 
 vacancy among his commissioned oificers. Cor- 
 poral Simpson rode twelve miles to the camp, 
 closely followed by the Sergeant, and gave Cap- 
 tain Gere such notice of the enemy's intentions 
 that they thought best not to pitch in at the ap- 
 pointed time. 
 
 Obedience to Orders. — When Stonewall 
 Jackson was ordered from the valley of Western 
 Virginia to take pai't in the operations of General 
 Lee against the national troops threatening Rich- 
 mond, General Whiting's division was sent to 
 join him. Li this division was the celebrated 
 Texas brigade of General Hood. These men had 
 never seen Jackson, and knew him only by repu- 
 tation. As the movement was of the highest im- 
 portance, it was necessary to keep it as secret as 
 possible. Orders were accordingly issued to the 
 men to refuse to give information of any kind to 
 civilians on the route, and to answer all questions 
 with, " I don't know." 
 
 On the second day of the march. General Jack- 
 
 son saw two of Hood's men leave the ranks and 
 start for a cherry tree in the neighboring field. 
 Riding up to them, he demanded, sternly, — 
 
 " Where are you going? " 
 
 " I don't know," replied one of the men, coolly, 
 not knowing to whom he was speaking. 
 
 " What is your name ? " 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " What regiment do you belong to ? " 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " What does this mean ? " asked the General, 
 turning to the other man, who stood by silently. 
 
 "Why, you see," replied the soldier, "Old 
 Stonewall gave orders yesterday that we are not 
 to know anything until after the next fight, and 
 we mean to obey him." 
 
 The General smiled — he rarely laughed — and 
 sent the men back to their regiment. 
 
 AFTER THE FIGHT. 
 
 One of the boys lies dead in hia tent, 
 
 All alone. 
 Soldier, go in, go in, 
 And smooth back his hair. 
 And close the dead eyes. 
 So dreamily blue, 
 That are staring straight through 
 The night, towards the skies. 
 
 Where his soul has gone ! 
 
 Ay, and we made a desperate charge 
 
 Through the smoke. 
 And the terrible roar, for the guns 
 That had growled all day 
 From the rebel right — 
 Rank after rank. 
 On our wearied flank. 
 Had gone down in the fight. 
 
 When those cannons spoke. 
 
 Scorching hot, from their grinning jaws, 
 
 With a shout. 
 Came the whirling shot 
 And the bursting shell. 
 And the air grew gray 
 
 With the drifting smoke. 
 That quivered and broke 
 And heaved and fell. 
 
 When the roar burst out. 
 
 And Death rode over the battle-field, 
 
 Through the storm, 
 Like the withering breath of a curse ; 
 And his voice rang out. 
 With a shrill report. 
 
 When the rifles flashed 
 And the bayonet gashed 
 The quivering heart. 
 
 And the knife struck home. 
 
 Up through the smoke and the driving shot, 
 
 And the strife. 
 Ring the bugle-notes sounding a charge ; 
 And the spurs strike deep. 
 And away we plunge, 
 
 With a deafening shout, 
 And our swords are out, 
 For the ghastly lunge 
 
 At the foeman's life. 
 
376 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Still are the guns for a space, as though 
 
 Without breath ; 
 And our men go gallantly down, 
 With unbroken ranks, 
 And a shout for the " Stars." 
 There's a swift, bright flash 
 From the guns, and a crash, 
 And the red earth jars 
 
 'Neath the thunder of death. 
 
 And many a brave boy fell when that fire 
 
 Burst out. 
 "i et we hurled the foe heavily back, 
 In the fierce, wild fight. 
 And the victory was won ; 
 But the dead lay white 
 In the ghastly light. 
 As the sinking sun 
 
 Looked in on the rout. 
 
 This one came from the fight with a ball 
 
 In his side ; 
 And he sleeps so peacefully now 
 That we'll leave him to rest 
 By our camp on the hill. 
 Yet never will come. 
 To the loved ones at home. 
 Who watch for him still. 
 
 The Soldier who died. 
 
 Thomas' Great Fight. — The following 
 graphic description of the contest at Cliicka- 
 mauga was written by a correspondent of the Cin- 
 cinnati Gazette, on Monday, September 21, 1863, 
 the day after the second day's operations. 
 
 " As soon as the sun was fairly risen, I mounted 
 my horse, intending to ride to the extreme left of 
 our line, and thence proceed from left to right, so 
 as to get as accurate an idea of it as possible be- 
 fore the real work of the day should commence. 
 Riding about a mile, I saw troops coming into 
 the road from the woods to the east of it, and had 
 I not perceived through my glass that they were 
 habited in blue, should have judged from the di- 
 rection whence they came, that they were a por- 
 tion of the rebel army. Suddenly I saw a courier 
 shoot out from the crowd, and coming towards me 
 hatless and with frantic speed. 
 
 "As he came, a dozen rifle cracks from the 
 woods skirting a cornfield along which he was 
 riding, informed me that hostile demonstrations 
 of some kind were being made in our immediate 
 vicinity. I halted until the courier came up. He 
 delivered his despatches to another horseman, who 
 immediately started with them towards the head- 
 quarters of General Thomas. I then asked the 
 hatless courier what troops those were ahead. 
 He informed me they were two brigades (Colonel 
 Mitchell's and Colonel McCook's) of General 
 Gordon's corps, who had been skirmishing the day 
 before in the neighborhood of Koid's Bridge and 
 of Ringgold, as I have already described. They 
 had come to form a junction with the main army, 
 had halted, and were waiting for orders. 
 
 " ' Are you going back to them now ? ' I in- 
 quii-ed of the courier. 
 
 " ' I am,' he replied, ' but it is hazardous busi- 
 
 ness ; for the woods just on the other side of that 
 cornfield are lined with rebel sharpshooters, who 
 fire at any one passing along the road ; just now 
 they fired quite a volley at me as I came through.' 
 
 " As I wished to reach these troops of General 
 Granger's in order to learn from them what they 
 had been doing the day before, this answer was a 
 little discouraging. Nevertheless, my curiosity 
 finally prevailed over my apprehensions, and my- 
 self and the courier started back upon a full gallop. 
 Of course the sharpshooters paid us their re- 
 spects, and more than one bullet whistled uncom- 
 fortably close to our ears while we were running 
 this dangerous gantlet. But fortunately none of 
 them hit either of us, although one cut the hair 
 from my horse's mane. 
 
 " Scarcely had I reached our troops in safety 
 when an order from General Rosecrans, which 
 had reached General Granger by another route, 
 directed the two brigades to fall back at once to 
 Rossville, get a supply of rations for the three 
 days, and hold themselves in readiness to march 
 at a moment's notice. As the close proximity of 
 the rebels rendered it somewhat difficult just then 
 to reach General Bird's men, who were nearest 
 to me on the right, I ' fell back ' with General 
 Granger's troops, and remained in the vicinity of 
 Rossville until the sound of battle in the direction 
 whence I had come attracted my attention. A 
 wild gallop back to the left immediately ensued. 
 I was accompanied in the ride by a member of 
 the Corps of Topographical Engineers, attached 
 to General Rosecrans' headquarters, and a citizen 
 who had accompanied him in the morning on an 
 excursion undertaken for the purpose of gaining 
 knowledge of the surrounding country. 
 
 " All three of us agreed that it was a hazardous 
 experiment to attempt making our way back to 
 the army, the nearest portion of which was distant 
 half a dozen miles. But the citizen wanted to 
 get back, the engineer said he pught to be back, 
 and my own duties in that direction were ab- 
 solutely imperative. So off we started. 
 
 " Here comes a single soldier, covered with dust 
 and sweat. Let us question him. 
 
 "'Where do you belong?' 'To the regular 
 brigade.' 
 
 " ' Has 
 should think it had. 
 
 " ' With what result ? ' 'It was nearly all cut 
 to pieces.' 
 
 " ' What regiment is yours ? ' ' The Sixteenth 
 United States infantry.' 
 
 " 'Did it suffer much ? ' ' Only thirty or forty 
 of its members are left.' 
 
 " Here is a man with an arm roughly bandaged 
 and very bloody. The blood has dried upon it, 
 and hangs to it in great black clots. ' Who are 
 you ? ' ' Private , of the Thirty-eighth In- 
 diana.' 'What news have you?' 'Bad news 
 enough.' ' Has your regiment been in the 
 fight ? ' 'If it has not, no one has.' ' AVith 
 what result?' 'One third of its number are 
 killed and wounded.' 'Were you whipped?' 
 ' Our brigade was loft unsupported, overpowered 
 by numbers, and compelled for a time to give 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 377 
 
 way.' ' Is Colonel Scribner safe ? ' 'So far as 
 I know, he is.' 
 
 " Another with a ghastly wound in the head has 
 upon his jacket the red stripes which show him 
 to be an artilleryman. 'Whose battery do you 
 . belong to ? ' ' Gunither's.' ' Why, that is the 
 regular battery belonging to General King's bri- 
 gade ; what has it been doing ? ' 'It has been 
 taken by the enemy.' ' Can it be possible ? ' 
 ' It is, but I have heai'd since that it was reta- 
 ken.' ' How came it lost ? ' ' The infantry sup- 
 ports gave way, and the horses being nearly all 
 killed, of course, the guns were captured.' 
 
 " The stream grew stronger and stronger. Strag- 
 glers were run over by wagons dashing back 
 towards the rear. Ambulances, filled with wound- 
 ed, came in long procession from towards where 
 the battle was raging. Men with wounds of 
 every imaginable description, not affecting their 
 locomotion, came staggering by on foot, and 
 scores even of those who had been shot in their 
 lower limbs, hobbled slowly on thi'ough blinding 
 masses of dust, which at times concealed every- 
 thing from view. 
 
 " The brigade commanded by Colonel B. F. 
 Scribner, Thirty-eighth Indiana, one of the very 
 first in the army, was left particularly exposed, as 
 its right flank had been somewhat too far ad- 
 vanced where it had taken position in the morn- 
 ing. Almost before its pickets were driven in, 
 it found itself literally surrounded by thi'ice its 
 numbers, who came on with their infernal yells, 
 pouring volley after volley of deadly bullets into 
 the very bosom of this gallant brigade. For a 
 moment it was thrown into confusion, and that 
 moment sufiiced to place the rebels upon its 
 front, flanks, and rear. But it was not destined 
 to surrender. The Second, Thirty-third, and Nine- 
 ty-fourth Ohio, the Thirty-eighth Indiana, the 
 Tenth Wisconsin, and Loomis' battery are com- 
 posed of the best material in their respective States, 
 and their commander, Scribner, had succeeded in 
 infusing into them his own magnanimous and 
 gallant spirit. Gathering together their broken 
 ranks under the infernal fire which every instant 
 mowed them down, and following their heroic 
 leader, they charged the dense legions surround- 
 ing them, and like a whirlwind in a forest, tore 
 their way through. 
 
 " But, alas ! the guns of the immortal First 
 Michigan battery were left behind — those black, 
 stern-looking rifle cannon, each one of which I 
 had come to regard with a feeling of almost rev- 
 erential awe, because upon a dozen battle-fields I 
 had seen them fiinging destruction into the ranks 
 of traitors, and never knew them once turned 
 against a legion of my country's enemies which 
 they did not scatter like leaves before the blast. 
 Even in the opinion of the rebels themselves, 
 Loomis had made these guns invincible. They 
 were commanded now by a young man who, pos- 
 sessing naturally the noblest qualities, had thor- 
 oughly learned the lessons of his teacher, and 
 promised to prove a most worthy successor, even 
 to Loomis himself — Lieutenant Van Pelt. Van 
 Pelt loved his pieces with the same unselfish 
 
 devotion which he manifested for his life. In the 
 desperate conflict which broke around Scribner's 
 brigade, he managed the battery with much dex- 
 terity and coolness, and for some moments rocked 
 the very trees over the heads of the rebels by the 
 fiery blasts from his guns. But his horses were 
 shot down. Many of his artillerists Avere killed 
 or wounded. The infantry supporting him had 
 been compelled to turn and cut their way through 
 the enemy, and a horde of traitors rushed to the 
 muzzles of the now harmless pieces. Van Pelt, 
 almost alone, stationed himself in front of them, 
 and drew his sword. ' Scoundrels,' said he, ' dare 
 not touch these guns ! ' The miserable barba- 
 rians, unable to appreciate true heroism, brutally 
 murdered him where he stood. The history of 
 the war furnishes not an incident more touching, 
 more sublime, than the death of Lieutenant Van 
 Pelt. 
 
 " All the guns of the battery, save one, fell 
 into the enemy's hands. 
 
 " Along the entire line of the left and centre 
 there were simdar instances of heroism, only two 
 or three of which I have time to mention. 
 
 " At one time the guns of the Fourth Indiana 
 battery (Captain Bush) were all in the hands of 
 the enemy, but were retaken subsequently, by a 
 simultaneous charge of the infantry and artillery- 
 men. This battery is attached to General Stark- 
 weather's brigade. 
 
 " During the fierce assault upon the First di- 
 vision, the Second Ohio, being in confusion, was 
 rallied by General Baird in person, and led back 
 to a most efi"ective charge. 
 
 " Major-General J. J. Reynolds, who combines 
 the chivah-ous courage of an olden knight with 
 the cool, calm ability of a Turenne, had time, not 
 only to keep his own division in efiective order, 
 but to give his generous assistance to the forces 
 around him. A tremendous onslaught of the 
 enemy broke General Palmer's lines, and scat- 
 tered several of his. regiments in wild dismay 
 towards the rear. Amongst these was the Sixth 
 Ohio, which, in charge of the fine-spirited Ander- 
 son, had, up to that moment, nobly maintained 
 its ground. General Reynolds, perceiving the 
 danger, quick as lightning threw himself amongst 
 the brave but broken Guthries. 
 
 " ' Boys,' he shouted, ' are you the soldiers of 
 the Sixth Ohio who fought with me at Cheat 
 Mountain ? You never turned your backs upon 
 traitors in Virginia ; will you do it here ? ' 
 
 " ' No, no,' they screamed almost frantically ; 
 ' lead us back, lead us back ! ' 
 
 " From every quarter came rushing up the scat- 
 tered fragments of the regiment ; with magic 
 swiftness they re-formed the ranks ; with General 
 Reynolds at their head, they charged the insolent 
 enemy, and, after a moment's struggle, every 
 rebel in front of them, not killed or wounded, 
 was in confused retreat. 
 
 " The rebels had been manoeuvring all day on 
 Friday about the position at Gordon's Mill, and 
 seeing its great strength, had menaced our left 
 flank, doubtless with the express purpose of com- 
 pelling General Rosecrans to abandon it. As the 
 
378 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 left must be protected at all hazards, their plan 
 partially succeeded, and the immense transfer of 
 Thomas from right to left on Friday night, so far 
 suited their designs. But it rendered our own left 
 so strong that it became impossible for the rebels 
 to turn it, as they had all along hoped and intended 
 to do. The attempt, on our part, to hold Gor- 
 don's Mill after this transfer, perhaps, occasioned 
 too great a lengthening of our lines, and conse- 
 quently too little solidity. True, it seemed every 
 way adapted to prevent the enemy from flanking 
 us upon the right ; but the simple withdrawal of 
 our right wing to Mission Ridge, allowing it to 
 rest there, would have fully secured that flank, 
 enabled us to bid defiance to the rebels in that 
 direction, greatly contracted our front, and re- 
 leased, for immediate service on Saturday, the 
 splendid divisions of Negley and Wood. The 
 entire distance over which the line extended was 
 little short of three and a half miles. 
 
 " It was between ten and eleven when Croton's 
 brigade, of Brannan's division, going down to ford 
 the creek, just opposite their position, encountered 
 the enemy, who was advancing in force, and, after 
 a gallant combat, was driven back. Reenforce- 
 ments immediately coming up from the remainder 
 of Brannan's division, the rebels were, in turn, 
 driven pell-mell towards the ford. Another fierce 
 charge, by a largely increased force of the enemy, 
 pushed back the Avhole of Brannan's division, in- 
 volving General Baird, who at once became 
 fiercely engaged. The regulars, outflanked, after 
 the withdrawal of Brannan's men, fought like 
 tigers, but rolled back and over Scribner's bri- 
 gade (the right of which, being rather too far 
 advanced, was crumpled up, and the brigade liter- 
 ally surrounded), until, by unparalleled gallantry, 
 it cut its way through. The storm, rolling from 
 left to right, fell next upon Johnston, and almost 
 simultaneously upon Reynolds, who both fought 
 with desperate valor, wavering at times, but 
 again regaining their firmness, — giving back a 
 little, but again advancing, — until the troops of 
 Brannan and Baird, rallied by their able leaders, 
 and by the personal exertions of Thomas him- 
 self, whose courage was as conspicuous as his 
 coolness, came up once more to the work. 
 
 " Then the order was issued for the entire line 
 to advance ; and nothing in history exceeds in 
 grandeur the charge of that powerful corps. 
 Longstreet's men from Virginia were directly op- 
 posed to the troops of Thomas ; and although 
 they fought with stubborn determination, they 
 could not for an instant check the slow and state- 
 ly march of our battalions. In vain they rallied 
 and re-rallied ; in vain they formed double lines, 
 which fired simultaneously ; in vain they wheeled 
 their cannons into a score of new positions. 
 Thomas moved resistlessly on. Much of our ar- 
 tillery lost in the morning was recaptured. Seven 
 pieces were taken from the enemy. They had been 
 pushed already three quarters of a mile, and 
 Longstreet was threatened with actual annihila- 
 tion, when a new danger caused Thomas to halt. 
 
 " While our left was so remorselessly driving 
 the rebels, Polk and Hill, collecting theu' chosen 
 
 legions, threw them, with great impetuosity, upon 
 Palmer and Van Cleve, in order to effect a diver- 
 sion in favor of Longstreet. An obstinate con- 
 test ensued, but the overpowering numbers of the 
 enemy speedily broke to pieces large portions of 
 our two divisions, especially Van Cleve's. In fact, 
 the rout of this part of our line Avas becoming as 
 complete as that of the enemy's right, when Davis, 
 who had been marching up as rapidly as possible 
 to intersect with Van Cleve's left, arrived upon 
 the ground, went in most gallantly, and, for a 
 time, restored in that locality the fortunes of the 
 day. But the enemy, knowing that all depended 
 upon his effecting a diversion in favor of the de- 
 feated Longstreet, massed nearly the whole of his 
 available force, hurled it upon Van Cleve, and 
 Davis drove the former to the left and the latter 
 to the right, and entered boldly the opening thus 
 made. It was just at this juncture that Thomas' 
 troops, whose attention had been called to the ex- 
 treme danger of our centre, began to return. 
 Reynolds immediately sent the heroic Wilder to 
 the assistance of Davis, and the celebrated ori- 
 gade of mounted infantry at first scattered the 
 enemy in terror before them. But the persever- 
 ing rebels rallying again, and charging in fresh 
 numbers, even Wilder began to fall slowly back. 
 General Sheridan, who had been following after 
 Davis, now came up, and led Colonel Bradley's 
 brigade into the fight. It held its own nobly, 
 until the rebels, in large force, getting possession 
 of a piece of timber near its flank, opened upon 
 it an enfilading fire, which compelled it to give 
 way. 
 
 " But noAv new actors appeared upon the scene. 
 Wood and Negley, who had gallantly repelled the 
 assaults of the enemy at Owen's Ford (assaults 
 intended as a feint to conceal the design of the 
 rebels against our left), came up to the rescue. 
 Their troops went to work with a will. The prog- 
 ress of the enemy against Davis, Van Cleve, and 
 Sheridan Avas speedily checked. Reynolds, re- 
 turning from the pursuit of Longstreet, assisted 
 in rallying the broken battahons of Palmer. 
 Thousands of our scattered troops reorganized 
 almost of their own accord. Baird, Brannan, and 
 Johnston resumed their places. A consuming fire 
 swept all along our front. The rebels retired ev- 
 erywhere before it ; and before sunset our line was 
 again in battle array upon almost precisely the 
 ground held that morning. 
 
 " The morrow came. No sound of crackb'ng 
 musketry, or roaring cannon, or bursting shell dis- 
 turbed the peacefulness of that Sabbath morning. 
 The Sabbath ! Yes, it was the blessed day of rest 
 — rest given in mercy by kind Heaven to ungrate- ; 
 ful man. Will the battle be renewed to-day? J 
 If so, it will be by the action of the enemy, for .j 
 General Rosecrans does not wilhngly fight on the 
 Sabbath. The first hour after sunrise passed. 
 ' Surely,' said our officers and soldiers, ' there will 
 be no fight, for if the enemy had intended to at- 
 tack us, he would, following his usual tactics, have 
 fallen upon us at daybreak.' 
 
 " Two hours more had gone by, and some drop- 
 ping musketry began to be heard along the various 3 
 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 379 
 
 parts of our lines. Finally, at about ten o'clock 
 there were several fierce volleys, and the loud 
 booming of half a dozen pieces of artillery an- 
 nouncing that the enemy had again, as on the day 
 before, assaulted our left. 
 
 "And now that the battle has begun, let us 
 glance one moment at the contending forces. On 
 one side is our old army which fought at Stone 
 Kiver, reenforced by two divisions (Brannan's 
 and Reynolds' corps,) and Starkweather's brigade 
 of Baird's division. But counterbalancing these 
 to some extent, Post's brigade of Davis' division, 
 and Wagner's of Wood's, were both absent. We 
 might or might not also rely for assistance upon 
 Steadman's division of General Granger's corps. 
 
 " Opposed to these was the old army of the 
 Tennessee, which Bragg had so long commanded, 
 Longstreet's formidable corps from Virginia, one 
 half of Johnston's army from Mississippi, Buck- 
 ner's division from East Tennessee, Dabney Mau- 
 ry's division from Mobile, Brigadier-General Lee's 
 command from Atlanta, and from twelve to fifteen 
 thousand fresh troops in the service of the State 
 of Georgia — in all, amounting to at least seventy- 
 five thousand men. The Union army confronting 
 them was certainly not more than fifty-five thou- 
 sand strong. 
 
 " The fight upon the extreme left commenced 
 by a desperate assault of the enemy upon General 
 John Beatty's brigade of Negley's division. The 
 brigade, as well as its famous leader, stood their 
 ground nobly, but being someAvhat isolated 
 from the remainder of the line, finally retired. 
 It will be remembered that the other brigades of 
 Negley's division were posted much farther to 
 the right. A desire to reunite the two portions 
 of his command induced General Rosecrans to 
 send General Wood to take General Negley's 
 place in line until the latter should efiect the re- 
 union of his brigades. Wood proceeded imme- 
 diately to execute the order, filling up the gap 
 as Negley retired. The rebels, understanding the 
 movement of Negley's to be a retreat, immediately 
 advanced theii* skirmishers, not only here, but all 
 along the left, and the fighting at once became 
 terrific, as I have described. The rebels, howev- 
 er, soon ceased to attack General Wood's front, 
 and for a time appeared to devote their entire 
 attention to General Thomas. I went down to 
 the extreme left of General Wood's position 
 about this time, and looking thence into some 
 cornfields, could see the desperate efforts of the 
 enemy to break the lines of Brannan and Rey- 
 nolds. The soldiers of these two noble divisions 
 were lying behind rude breastworks of logs and 
 rails constructed the night before. Their artillery 
 in the rear fired over their heads, and it really 
 seemed as if that long line of defence was some 
 immense serpent, instinct with hideous Hfe, and 
 breathing continually from his huge, rough sides 
 volumes of smoke and flame. Colonel Vander- 
 veer, Thirty-fifth Ohio, of Brannan's division, 
 was fighting here with a brigade second to but 
 few in the service. The Colonel himself is a true 
 hero, and the command and the commander are 
 worthy of each other. Here also was th e brave 
 
 and able Turchin, with a brigade composed prin- 
 cipally of Ohio troops, who won for themselves 
 and the State that sent them forth immortal 
 honor during the conflicts of that day. 
 
 "Again and again the rebel lines, advancing 
 from the cover of the woods into the open corn- 
 fields, charged with impetuous fury and terrific 
 yells towards the breastworks of logs and rails ; 
 but each time the fiery blasts from our batteries 
 and battalions swept over and around them, and 
 their ranks were crumbled and swept away as a 
 bank of loose clay washed by a rushing flood. 
 But as fast as one line fell off' another appeared, 
 rushing sternly on over the dead and bleeding 
 bodies of their fallen comrades. Longstreet's 
 corps was seeking to regain its lost laurels of yes- 
 terday. D. H. Hill, at the head of Hardee's old 
 corps, was lending them the assistance of a di- 
 vision, and Buckner's troops were throwing their 
 weight into the scale. Thomas fought only with 
 his forces of Saturday weakened by Saturday's 
 heavy losses. It was an unequal contest, and a 
 pang of agony shot through my heart as I saw 
 our exhausted veterans begin to waver. To waver 
 in the face of the charging, shouting, thundering 
 host which confronted them, was to lose all ; and 
 the next moment wave after wave of the rebel 
 sea came surging down towards the breastworks, 
 dashing madly against and over the barrier, and 
 greedily swallowing up its defenders, with all 
 their materiel. Never was resistance more stub- 
 born and determined, but never Avas attack pros- 
 ecuted with more devilish pertinacity. 
 
 " Meantime, as General Reynolds was so sorely 
 pressed. General Wood was ordered to march in- 
 stantly by the left flank, pass Brannan, and go to 
 his relief. Davis and Sheridan were to shift over 
 to the left, and thus close up the fine. As the 
 occasion was urgent, General Wood drew in his 
 skirmishers with considerable haste, and the reb- 
 els, for the second time mistaking a withdrawal 
 for a flight, pressed forward like a torrent, and 
 poured into the ranks of General Wood a storm 
 of musket balls, canister, and grape. Moving 
 upon the double-quick, the men endeavored for 
 a time to keep their files in order, but as that pit- 
 iless storm of lead and iron continued to be 
 hurled against them, the regiments began to 
 spread out like a fan, wider and wider, until final- 
 ly they Avere torn to flinters. This Avas espe- 
 cially the case Avith the brigade commanded by 
 Colonel BueU. The undaunted Wood, Avith Har- 
 ker's brigade,. comparatively intact, passed on to 
 his destination, 
 
 " Here Avas the great turning-point in the bat- 
 tle. Here, indeed, the battle Avas lost. 
 
 " Davis, coming up to fill the vacancy occa- 
 sioned by Wood's withdraAval, Avas caught upon 
 the left flank by the fiery rebel torrent noAv pouring 
 through the opening and pushed off" toAvards the 
 right in utter disorder, Hke a door Avhich is SAvung 
 back upon its hinges, and shattered by the same 
 bloAV. Van Cleve and what remained of Palmer 
 Avere struck upon the other side, and shivered as 
 a sapling by a thunderbolt. Even the personal 
 exertions of Rosecrans himself, Avho, Avith draAvn 
 
380 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 sword, and at the head of his devoted staff, en- 
 deavored to check the rout, were ineffectual. 
 
 " After that fatal break our line of battle was 
 not again re-formed during the day. 
 
 " It was about half past twelve, when, hearing 
 a heavy cannonade open upon the right, I galloped 
 over in that direction to see what it might mean. 
 A longitudinal gap in Mission Ridge admits the 
 Rossville road into Chattanooga valley, and sku-ts 
 along a large cornfield at the mouth of the gap. 
 Looking across the cornfield from the gap, you see 
 thick woods upon the other side. The cornfield 
 itself is a sort of ' cove ' in the ridge ; and here 
 were numbers of all sorts of army vehicles min- 
 gled with the debris of dismantled and discom- 
 fited batteries. Fragments of Davis' flying squad- 
 rons had also lodged in this field. 
 
 " While I stood gazing upon this scene from 
 the summit of the ridge, some rebel skirmishers 
 ajjpeared in the skirts of the woods opposite the 
 gap I have mentioned, and flung perhaps a dozen 
 musket balls into the field. Instantly men, ani- 
 mals, vehicles, became a mass of struggling, curs- 
 ing, shouting, frightened life. Everything and 
 everybody appeared to dash headlong for the nar- 
 row gap, and men, horses, mules, ambulances, 
 baggage wagons, ammunition wagons, artillery 
 carriages, and caissons were rolled and tumbled 
 together in a confused, inextricable, and finally 
 motionless mass, completely blocking up the 
 mouth of the gaps. Nearly all this booty sub- 
 sequently fell into the hands of the enemy. Sick- 
 ened and disgusted by the spectacle, I turned 
 away to watch the operations of General Thom- 
 as' corps, upon which alone depended the safety 
 of the army. 
 
 " General Thomas had withdrawn his men al- 
 most entirely from the valley, and taken up a po- 
 sition on the side of Mission Ridge. His left still 
 rested upon the Lafayette road, and his right upon 
 the ridge near the gap I have already spoken of. 
 Here were collected the shattered remains of 
 the powerful corps which had so long breasted 
 the fierce assaults of the enemy in the forenoon. 
 
 " Not long was the new line of battle permitted 
 to remain idle. Cannon bellowed against it ; 
 missiles of every kind were hurled against it ; 
 shells burst above it; rifle balls went tearing 
 through it ; but still it remained firm. 
 
 " It was certain, however, as truth itself, that 
 unless assistance should reach it from some quar- 
 ter, and that right speedily, it must at length 
 succumb, for the rebel leaders, emboldened by 
 the rout of !McCook and Crittenden, were gather- 
 ing their hosts to hurl them in a last mighty ef- 
 fort against the feeble band that confronted them. 
 Whence should that succor come ? 
 
 " Suddenly a vast cloud of dust was seen to 
 rise above the trees away to the left, and a few 
 minutes afterwards long lines of men emerged 
 from the woods, crossed the Lafayette road, and 
 began advancing towards us over the fields. Their 
 discipline seemed very perfect, and it was an im- 
 posing pageant when, as they came, their banners 
 fluttered above their heads, and their glittering 
 arms flashed back the sunlight through the thick 
 clouds of dust. 
 
 " Captain Johnson, of General Negley's staff, 
 who, on being severed from his own division, had 
 immediately reported to General Thomas for 
 duty, had already, at great personal risk, ascer- 
 tained that the advancing battalions were infan- 
 try ; and now the question arose, was it our own 
 or the enemy's. Hope and fear alternately agi- 
 tated our bosoms, until at last, looking through 
 our glasses, we could clearly distinguish the red 
 and blue, with the Avhite crescent ! It was the 
 battle flag of General Granger, and the troops we 
 saw were two brigades, Mitchell's and Whitaker's, 
 of Steadman's strong division. 
 
 " As soon as General Granger had reported to 
 General Thomas for duty, he was sent by the 
 latter to bring over an ammunition train from 
 the Rossville road. The train had fallen into the 
 hands of the enemy ; but the march in search of 
 it brought Steadman at once into contact with the 
 rebels, and a desperate conflict immediately en- 
 sued. It was now that the brilliant courage of 
 Colonel John G. Mitchell, commanding one 
 of General Steadman's brigades, became con- 
 spicuous. Now General Whitaker had an oppor- 
 tunity of baptizing in glory the star recently placed 
 upon his shoulder ; and now the troops of the 
 reserve corps, comparatively unused to battle, 
 had an opportunity of testing their mettle. 
 Nobly did all pass through the ordeal ; and al- 
 though once thrown into confusion by the con- 
 centrated fire from a score of rebel regiments 
 and half as many batteries, they rallied under 
 the fire, and drove the enemy from a hill almost 
 as formidable as that which formed the key of 
 General Thomas' position. The rebels made 
 one desperate endeavor to retake this jJosition, 
 but were bloodily repulsed ; and almost for the 
 first time since the fight began there was a lull in 
 the fearful storm. 
 
 *' An hour passed by, and it became evident 
 that Bragg would not be foiled in his attempt to 
 annihilate our gallant army without another 
 efi"ort. Polk's corps, assisted by the Georgia 
 State troops, by Dabney Maury's division, and by 
 various detached fragments of the rebel army, 
 were to try their hands upon the heroic band, who, 
 as the forlorn hope of the army, still held the 
 hill. Our feeble ranks were gathered up. The 
 thinned battalions were brought closer together. 
 The dozen pieces of artillery were planted to 
 sweep all approaches to the hill ; and each man, 
 looking at his neighbor, vowed, some mentally 
 and others audibly, to die right there, if it were 
 necessary, for their country, for freedom, and for 
 mankind ! 
 
 " All along the woods skirting the cleared 
 fields at the south-eastern foot of the hill, in the 
 hollows and ravines to the right, and away to the 
 left, upon and beyond the Lafayette road, the 
 rebel legions were seen gathering for the onset. 
 
 " Just before the storm broke, the brave and 
 high-souled Garfield was perceived making his 
 way to the headquarters of General Thomas. He 
 had come to be present at the final contest ; and 
 in order to do so had ridden all the way from 
 Chattanooga, passhig through a fiery ordeal upon 
 the road. His horse was shot under him, and 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 381 
 
 his orderly was killed by his side. Still he had 
 come through, he scarcely knew how ; and here 
 he was, to inspire fresh courage into the hearts of 
 the brave soldiers who were holding the enemy 
 at bay, to bring them words of greeting from 
 General Rosecrans, and to inform them that the 
 latter was reorganizing the scattered troops, and 
 as fast as possible would hurry them forward to 
 their relief. 
 
 " The fight around the hill now raged with 
 terror inexperienced before, even upon this terri- 
 ble day. Our soldiers were formed in two lines, 
 and as each marched up to the crest and fired a 
 deadly volley at the advancing foe, it fell back a 
 little way, the men lay down upon the ground to 
 load their guns, and the second line advanced to 
 take their place. These, too, in their turn, 
 retired; and thus the line kept marching back 
 and forth, and delivering their withering volleys 
 till the very brain grew dizzy as it watched them. 
 And all the time not a man wavered. Every 
 motion was executed with as much precision as 
 though the troops were on a holiday parade, not- 
 withstanding the flower of the rebel army was 
 swarming around the foot of the hill, and a score 
 of cannon was thundering from three sides upon 
 it. Every attempt of the enemy to scale it was 
 repulsed; and the gallant Harker looked with 
 pride upon his lines, standing or lying just where 
 they were when the fight began. 
 
 " But our troops are no longer satisfied with 
 the defensive. General Turchin, at the head of 
 his brigade, charged into the rebel lines, and cut 
 his way out again, bringing with him three hun- 
 dred prisoners. Other portions of this brave 
 band followed Turchin's example, until the legions 
 of the enemy were fairly driven back to the 
 ground they occupied previous to commencing 
 the last fight. Thus did twelve or fifteen thou- 
 sand men, animated by heroic impulses and in- 
 spired by worthy leaders, save from destruction 
 the army of the Cumberland. Let the nation 
 honor them as they deserve ! 
 
 " At night General Thomas fell back to Ross- 
 ville, four miles from Chattanooga, around and 
 in which city the army lies to-night. 
 
 " Our losses have been most severe, and can 
 scarcely fall short of one thousand seven hundred 
 killed, and eight thousand wounded. Colonel 
 Barnett tells me that our loss in artillery will not 
 fall short of fifty pieces. Our deficiency in trans- 
 portation and baggage cannot now be estimated." 
 
 THE BRIER-WOOD PIPE. 
 
 BY CHARLES DAWSON SHANLY. 
 
 Ha ! Bully for me, again, when my turn for picket 
 is over ; 
 
 And now for a smoke, as I lie, with the moonlight, 
 out in the clover. 
 
 My pipe, it's only a knot from the root of the brier- 
 wood tree ; 
 
 But it turns my heart to the northward — Harry 
 gave it to me. 
 
 And I'm but a rough, at best — bred up to the row 
 and the riot ; 
 
 But a softness comes over my heart when all are 
 asleep and quiet. 
 
 For many a time in the night strange things appear 
 to my eye. 
 
 As the breath from my brier- wood pipe sails up be- 
 tween me and the sky. 
 
 Last night a beautiful spirit arose with the wisping 
 smoke ; 
 
 0, I shook, but my heart felt good as it spread out 
 its hands and spoke. 
 
 Saying, " I am the soul of the brier ; we grew at the 
 root of a tree 
 
 Where lovers would come in the twilight, two ever, 
 for company ; 
 
 Where lovers would come in the morning, ever but 
 two, together, 
 
 When the flowers were full in their blow, the birds 
 in their song and feather ; 
 
 Where lovers would come in the noon-time, loiter- 
 ing, never but two. 
 
 Looking in each other's eyes, like the pigeons that 
 kiss and coo. 
 
 And O, the honeyed words that came when the lips 
 were parted. 
 
 And the passion that glowed in eyes, and the light- 
 ning looks that darted. 
 
 Enough : love dwells in the pipe, so ever it glows 
 with fire ! 
 
 I am the soul of the bush, and spirits call me ' sweet- 
 brier.' " 
 
 That's what the brier-wood said, as nigh as my 
 tongue can tell ; 
 
 And the words went straight to my heart, like the 
 stroke of the fire bell ! 
 
 To-night I lie in the clover watching the blossoray 
 smoke ; 
 
 I'm glad the boys are asleep, for I ain't in the hu- 
 mor to joke. 
 
 I lie in the hefty clover : between me and the moon 
 
 The smoke from my pipe arises : my heart will be 
 quiet soon. 
 
 My thoughts are back in the city. I'm everything 
 I've been. 
 
 I hear the bell from the tower, I run with the swift 
 machine. 
 
 I see the red shirts crowding around the engine- 
 house door ; 
 
 The foreman's hail through the trumpet comes with 
 a sullen roar. 
 
 The reel in the Bowery dance-house, the row in the 
 beer saloon. 
 
 Where I put in my licks at Big Paul, come between 
 me and the moon. 
 
 I hear the drum and the bugle, the tramp of the 
 cowskin boots ; 
 
 We are marching to the capital, the Fire Zouave re- 
 cruits ! 
 
 White handkerchiefs move before me : O, but the 
 sight is pretty ! 
 
 On the white marble steps, as we march through 
 the heart of the city. 
 
 Bright eyes and clasping arms, and lips that bid us 
 good hap, 
 
 And the splendid lady who gave me the Havelock 
 for my cap. 
 
 O, up from my pipe-cloud rises, between me and 
 the moon, 
 
 A beautiful white-robed lady: my heart will be 
 quiet soon. 
 
382 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 The lovely golden-haired lady ever in dreams I see, 
 Who gave me the snow-white Havelock — but what 
 
 does she care for me ? 
 Look at my grimy features : mountains between us 
 
 stand — 
 I with my sledge-hammer knuckles, she with her 
 
 jewelled hand ! 
 What care I ? The day that's dawning may see me, 
 
 when all is over. 
 With the red stream of my life-blood staining the 
 
 hefty clover. 
 Hai k ! the reveille sounding out on the morning 
 
 air ! 
 Devils are we for the battle — will there be angels 
 
 there ? 
 Kiss me again, sweet-brier ! The touch of your lips 
 
 to mine 
 Brings back the white-robed lady, with hair like the 
 
 golden wine ! 
 
 A month had hardly passed before hundreds 
 who saw the phenomenon were wondering whether 
 the tragedy of April had not been dimly pre- 
 figured in the flying clouds of that fitful day in 
 March. 
 
 President Lincoln's Inauguration, March 
 4, 1865. — The days of omens and presages are 
 past. The Roman warriors and sages were fre- 
 quently influenced, in the most important acts, by 
 the feeding of the sacred chickens, the flight of 
 a flock of birds, or the quivering of the flesh of a 
 victim. 
 
 The appearances of nature which take place at 
 the time of great historical events are often long 
 remembered, and subsequent occurrences reflect 
 upon them a striking and painful emphasis. 
 
 This is true of the following incident, which 
 was witnessed, at the second inauguration of 
 President Lincoln, by the editor of this volume. 
 The 4th of March, 1865, as commonly happens 
 in the latitude of Washington, was one of those 
 fitful March days when cloud and sunshine chase 
 each other, in vivid alternation, across the land- 
 scape. The editor was standing, with Hon. S. B. 
 Colby, Register of the Treasury, on the Senate 
 portico of the Capitol, in the midst of the vast 
 and expectant throng, who were awaiting, with 
 suppressed enthusiasm, the stepping out of that 
 tall, familiar figure that had for four years moved 
 at the head of our public affairs. He who now 
 sits in the Executive chair had just made that 
 famous speech in which the plebeian extraction 
 of a great number of the prominent men of 
 America was so distinctly brought forward. All 
 eyes were now turned in one direction^ and at 
 this instant the gaunt figure, surmounted by the 
 kindly face, was seen moving forward to the 
 place where the Chief Justice of the United 
 States was waiting to administer the sacred oath 
 of office. 
 
 At this moment a bar of bright sunlight, burst- 
 ing through the rifts of a flying cloud, rested for 
 a moment upon the head of Lincoln, and sur- 
 rounded it as with a halo, which was greeted with 
 murmurs of admiration, and exclamations of de- 
 light, from thousands of lips. It lasted but an 
 instant. The deep shadow of a storm-cloud 
 swept across the Capitol, and the vast crowd by 
 which it was surrounded ; and that head, which 
 a moment before had been bright with an un- 
 natural lustre, was shrouded now in gloom. 
 
 Incident of the Southern Service. — Von 
 Borcke, chief of staff to General J. E. B. Stuart, 
 in his reminiscences of the war, relates the follow- 
 ing incident : 
 
 " During the night, there came a telegram for 
 General Stuart, which I opened, with his other 
 despatches, and found to contain the most pain- 
 ful intelligence. It announced the death of little 
 Flora, our chiefs lovely and dearly-loved daugh- 
 ter, five years of age — the favorite of her father 
 and of his military family. This sweet child had 
 been dangerously ill for some time, and more 
 than once had Mrs. Stuart summoned her husband 
 to Flora's bedside ; but she received only the re- 
 sponse of the true soldier : ' My duty to • my 
 country must be performed before I can give way 
 to the feelings of a father.' I went at once to 
 acquaint my General with the terrible tidings ; 
 and. when I had awakened him, perceiving, from 
 the grave expression of my features, that some- 
 thing had gone wrong, he said, ' What is it. Ma- 
 jor? Are the Yankees advancing?' I handed 
 him the telegram without a word. He read it, 
 and, the tenderness of the father's heai-t over- 
 coming the firmness of the warrior, he threw his 
 arms around my neck, and wept bitter tears upon 
 my breast. My dear General never recovered 
 from this cruel blow. Many a time afterwards, 
 during our rides together, he would speak to me 
 of his lost child. Light blue flowers recalled her 
 to him. In the glancing sunbeams he caught the 
 golden tinge of her hair j and whenever he saw a 
 child with such eyes and hair, he could not help 
 tenderly embracing it. He thought of her even 
 on his death-bed, when, drawing me towards him, 
 he whispered, ' My dear friend, I shall soon be 
 with little Flora again ! ' " 
 
 Incidents of Gettysburg. — A soldier who 
 participated in the battle relates the following : 
 " Let me mention something which is, after all, 
 the real occasion for the Avriting of this letter. 
 I have a Bible taken from the knapsack of a dead 
 rebel which has a history. On the first cover of 
 the Bible (which fastens with a clasp) is the name 
 of ' Miss Almira Alice Wilson, Presqu'lsle, Au- 
 gust 18, '52 or '62 ' — I cannot clearly see which. 
 On the first leaf is the name of ' Moses C. Ames, 
 or Amors.' Upon the opposite page is the name 
 of ' Wm. M. Nichols, company F, 21st regiment, 
 Georgia V. L, May 27, 1863.' Upon the last leaf 
 and cover is written, ' William Martin Nichols' 
 Book ; picked up on the battle-field near Chan- 
 cellorsville. May 31, 1863.' To which I have 
 added, ' Taken from the knapsack of a dead rebel 
 at Warehouse Hospital, Gettysburg, July, 1863.' 
 My theory is this : Miss Wilson gave the Bible to 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 383 
 
 Moses Ames ; Ames, like a loyal son of Maine, 
 enlisted and fought at Chancellorsville. Either 
 killed, wounded, or a prisoner, his knapsack was 
 rifled by a Georgian named Nichols. Nichols in 
 turn was wounded and captured at Gettysburg, 
 where he dies, and the Bible falls into the hands 
 of a nurse from Maine, who is anxious to restore 
 it to the original owner. 
 
 " Among the wounded in the battle were sev- 
 eral Germans, from a German regiment, and when 
 one of them died the boys proposed the German 
 chaplain should officiate at the funeral. Accord- 
 ingly a grave was dug, and the body, attended 
 by many comrades, was borne to its last resting- 
 place. Arriving there the German chaplain be- 
 gan : 
 
 " ' Mine frens, dis ish de first time dis man 
 has diedJ Observing a titter among his au- 
 dience, he began again in a tone of Christian 
 severity : 
 
 " ' Mine frens, I say, dis ish de first time dis 
 man has died.' Human nature could bear no 
 more, and the boys shouted. Indignant at the 
 disrespect shown him as a minister, the chaplain 
 turned round, pointed to the open grave, and 
 simply saying, ' Stick him in,' marched away. 
 Remember I do not vouch for the story, but I 
 laughed over it till I cried when I heard it told." 
 
 A March in Tennessee. — J. P. Glezen, in 
 the story of a march from Montgomery to Lon- 
 don, Tennessee, relates the following incidents : 
 " A tramp in these mountains at this time (Octo- 
 ber, 1863) affords few things calculated to cheer 
 the hearts of soldiers. The ravages of war have 
 made desolation more desolate, and rendered the 
 poor inhabitants more destitute. In some neigh- 
 borhoods we occasionally passed houses that were 
 tenanted and fields that were cultivated. Some- 
 times, however, we would march all day without 
 seeing a field or even a garden, in cultivation, or 
 a house that was occupied. Unoccupied cabins 
 and uncultivated fields are the unmistakable evi- 
 dences of the fideUty and patriotism of their for- 
 mer occupants and owners. The doors and Avin- 
 dows of dwellings have been broken in, fences 
 have been burned, and ragweeds and briers have 
 taken the place of corn and grain. Now and then 
 the stacks of chimneys and the charred ruins of 
 some dwelling mark the spot where there once 
 lived a man who revered the flag of the Union, 
 and honored the government of our fathers ; and 
 for this his dwelling has been consumed by the 
 torch of some merciless incendiary, and his fam- 
 ily have been driven from a comfortable home, to 
 seek refuge in a lonely cavern among the rocks. 
 The inhabitants themselves, who ventured out to 
 the road from the difterent by-paths to see us 
 pass, looked as poor as the country they live in, 
 and a majority of them appeared nearly as desti- 
 tute of intelligence as their country is of forage. 
 At one place three Avomen came to the road to 
 get a peep at the ' Yanks.' They were all bare- 
 footed, and each had a pipe in her mouth, a baby 
 
 in her arms, and a sharp-nosed dog following her. 
 But they generally appear to be clever people, 
 and they will, no doubt, feel sorry when they re- 
 ceive the painful intelligence of the death of An- 
 drew Jackson. We occasionally fell in with brave 
 mountaineers, armed and mounted, who, being 
 animated with the love of liberty that character- 
 ized the early inhabitants of the mountains of 
 Switzerland and the Highlands of Scotland, have 
 formed confederate bands to punish their tormen- 
 tors and strike down their cruel invaders. 
 
 " Near the town of Montgomery is an extensive 
 cave in the movmtains, called Beatty's Cave. In 
 that rich valley, Beatty, the leader of those moun- 
 tain patriots, is intrenched and fortified, and 
 thousands of acres are there cultivated in corn 
 and other gi-ain for their subsistence. 
 
 " Before the late advance of our army, Beatty 
 kept pickets constantly posted to warn him of 
 the approach of the enemy, and whenever a rebel 
 force was discovered in the vicinity, the sound of 
 Beatty's horn, the signal of alarm, was simulta- 
 neously responded to by a hundred other horns 
 amongst the neighboring hills, when the mem- 
 bers of the Union League would start for Beatty's 
 cave for safety and defence. At one time the 
 rebel cavalry, fifteen hundred strong, made an 
 assault on Beatty at this cave, whom he repulsed 
 with desperate slaughter. When the pen of the 
 historian shall have faithfully recorded the chiv- 
 alrous deeds of ' Tinker Beatty,' he will be re- 
 garded by his countrymen as the ' William Tell ' 
 of the Cumberland Mountains." 
 
 Rip Van Winkle in Virginia. — When the 
 Union troops under McClellan and Rosecrans, in 
 the summer of 1861, were penetrating the moun- 
 tain region of West Virginia, as they marched 
 through a quiet nook on the side of Laurel Ridge, 
 they saw a venerable matron standing in the door 
 of a log cabin. 
 
 One of the men fell into conversation with her, 
 and found her views on the issues of the day were 
 not very well defined. At length he said : 
 
 " You'll not refuse to hurrah for Old Abe, will 
 you, old lady ? " 
 
 " Who's Old Abe ? " asked the dame, growing 
 more astonished every minute. 
 
 " Abraham "Lincoln, President of the United 
 States." 
 
 " Why, hain't Genrul Washington President ? " 
 
 "No! he's been dead for more than sixty 
 years." 
 
 " Genrul Washington dead ? " she repeated in 
 blank amazement. 
 
 Then, rushing into the cabin, she called, " Yeou, 
 Sam! — " 
 
 "Well, what is it, mother ? " said a voice within. 
 
 In a moment she reappeared with a boy of 
 fifty, whom the men afterwards learned was 
 her son. 
 
 " Only to think, Sam," she cried excitedly, 
 " Genrul Washington's dead. Sakes alive ! I 
 wonder what's going to happen next." 
 
884 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 THE SLEEPING SENTINEL. 
 
 BY FRANCIS DE HAES JANVIER, 
 
 [The incidents woven into the following beautiful 
 verses relate to William Scott, a young soldier from 
 Vermont, who, while on duty as a sentinel at night, fell 
 asleep, and, having been condemned to die, was pardoned 
 by the President. They form a brief record of his life at 
 home and in the field, and of his glorious death in de- 
 fence of the Union.] 
 
 'TwAs in the sultry summer-time, as war's red rec- 
 ords show, 
 
 "When patriot armies rose to meet a fratricidal 
 foe; 
 
 When from the North, and East, and West, like 
 the upheaving sea. 
 
 Swept forth Columbia's sons, to make our cotmtry 
 truly free. 
 
 Within a prison's dismal walls, where shadows 
 
 veiled decay. 
 In fetters, on a heap of straw, a youthful soldier 
 
 lay ; 
 Heart-broken, hopeless, and forlorn, with short and 
 
 feverish breath. 
 He waited but th' appointed hour to die a culprit's 
 
 death. 
 
 Yet, but a few brief weeks before, untroubled with 
 a care. 
 
 He roamed at will, and freely drew his native moun- 
 tain air — 
 
 Where sparkling streams leap mossy rocks, from 
 many a woodland font, 
 
 And waving elms and grassy slopes give beauty 
 to Vermont ; _ — 
 
 Where, dwelling in a humble cot, a tiller of the 
 
 soil, 
 Encircled by a mother's love, he shared a father's 
 
 toil — 
 Till, borne upon the wailing winds, his suffering 
 
 country's cry 
 Fired his young heart with fervent zeal, for her to 
 
 live or die. 
 
 Then left he all : — a feAV fond tears, by firmness 
 half concealed, 
 
 A blessing, and a parting prayer, and he was in the 
 field — 
 
 The field of strife, whose dews are blood, whose 
 breezes war's hot breath. 
 
 Whose fruits are garnered in the grave, whose hus- 
 bandman is death ! 
 
 Without a murmur he endured a service new and 
 hard ; 
 
 But, wearied with a toilsome march, it chanced one 
 night, on guard, 
 
 He sank, exhausted, at his post, and the gray morn- 
 ing found 
 
 His prostrate form — a sentinel asleep upon the 
 ground ! 
 
 So, in the silence of the night, aweary on the sod, 
 Sank the disciples, watching near the suffering Son 
 
 of God ; 
 Yet Jesus, with compassion moved, beheld their 
 
 heavy eyes. 
 And, though betrayed to ruthless foes, forgiving, 
 
 bade them rise ! 
 
 But God is love — and finite minds can faintly com- 
 prehend 
 
 How gentle Mercy, in His rule, may with stern 
 Justice blend ; 
 
 And this poor soldier, seized and bound, found 
 none to justify. 
 
 While war's inexorable law decreed that he must 
 die. 
 
 'Twas night. — In a secluded room, with measured 
 
 tread and slow, 
 A statesman of commanding mien paced gravely 
 
 to and fro. 
 Oppressed, he pondered on a land by civil discord 
 
 rent; 
 On brothers armed in deadly strife : — it was the 
 
 President ! 
 
 The woes of thirty millions filled his burdened 
 heart with grief; 
 
 Embattled hosts, on land and sea, acknowledged 
 him their chief; 
 
 And yet, amid the din of war, he heard the plain- 
 tive cry 
 
 Of that poor soldier, as he lay in prison, doomed 
 to die ! 
 
 'Twas morning. — On a tented field, and through 
 the heated haze. 
 
 Flashed back, from lines of burnished arms, the 
 sun's effulgent blaze ; 
 
 While, from a sombre prison-house, seen slowly to 
 emerge, 
 
 A sad procession, o'er the sward, moved to a muf- 
 fled dirge. 
 
 And in th^ midst, with faltering step, and pale and 
 
 anxious face. 
 In manacles, between two guards, a soldier had his 
 
 place. 
 A youth — led out to die ; — and yet it was not 
 
 death, but shame. 
 That smote his gallant heart with dread, and shook 
 
 his manly frame ! 
 
 Still on, before the marshalled ranks, the train pur- 
 sued its way 
 
 Up to the designated spot, whereon a cofiin lay — 
 
 His coffin ! And, with reeling brain, despairing, 
 desolate — 
 
 He took his station by its side, abandoned to his 
 fate! 
 
 Then came across his wavering sight strange pic- 
 tures in the air : 
 
 He saw his distant mountain home ; he saw his 
 parents there ; 
 
 He saw them bowed Avith hopeless grief, through 
 fast declining years ; 
 
 He saw a nameless grave ; and then, the vision 
 closed — in tears ! 
 
 Yet once again. In double file, advancing, then, 
 he saw 
 
 Twelve comrades, sternly set apart to execute the 
 law — 
 
 But saw no more : — his senses swam — deep dark- 
 ness settled round — 
 
 And, shuddering, he awaited now the fatal volley's 
 sotmd ! 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 38r> 
 
 Then suddenly was heard the noise of steeds and 
 
 ■wheels approach, — 
 And, rolling through a cloud of dust, appeared a 
 
 stately coach. 
 On, past the guards, and through the field, its rapid 
 
 course was bent. 
 Till, halting, 'mid the lines was seen the nation's 
 
 President ! 
 
 He came to save that stricken soul, now waking 
 from despair; 
 
 And from a thousand voices rose a shout which 
 rent the air ! 
 
 The pardoned soldier understood the tones of ju- 
 bilee, 
 
 And, bounding from his fetters, blessed the hand 
 that made him free ! 
 
 'Twas Spring. — Within a verdant vale, where 
 Warwick's crystal tide 
 
 Reflected, o'er its peaceful breast, fair fields On 
 either side : 
 
 Where birds and flowers combined to cheer a syl- 
 van solitude, 
 
 Two threatening armies, face to face, in fierce defi- 
 ance stood! 
 
 Two threatening armies ! One invoked by injured 
 Liberty — 
 
 Which bore above its patriot ranks the symbol of 
 the Free ; 
 
 And one, a rebel horde, beneath a flaunting flag of 
 
 bars, 
 
 ^ A fragment, torn by traitorous hands from Free- 
 dom's Stripes and Stars ! 
 
 A sudden burst of smoke and flame, from many a 
 thundering gun. 
 
 Proclaimed, along the echoing hills, the conflict had 
 begun ; 
 
 While shot and shell athwart the stream with fiend- 
 ish fury sped, 
 
 To strew among the living lines the dying and the 
 dead ! 
 
 Then, louder than the roaring storm, pealed forth 
 the stern command, 
 
 " Charge ! soldiers, charge ! " and, at the word, 
 with shouts, a fearless band. 
 
 Two hundred heroes from Vermont, rushed on- 
 ward, through the flood, 
 
 And upward, o'er the rising ground, they marked 
 their way in blood ! 
 
 The smitten foe before them fled, in terror, from 
 his post — 
 
 While, unsustained, two hundred stood, to battle 
 with a host ! 
 
 Then, tiirning, as the rallying ranks, with murder- 
 ous fire replied. 
 
 They bore the fallen o'er the field, and through 
 the purple tide ! 
 
 The fallen ! And the first who fell in that unequal 
 strife 
 
 Was he whom Mercy sped to save when Justice 
 claimed his life — 
 
 The pardoned soldier ! And, while yet the con- 
 flict raged around — 
 
 While yet his life-blood ebbed away through every 
 gaping wound — 
 
 25 
 
 While yet his voice grew tremulous, and death be- 
 
 dimmed his eye — 
 He called his comrades to attest he had not feared 
 
 to die ! 
 And, in his last expiring breath, a praj'er to heaven 
 
 was sent, 
 That God, with his unfailing grace, would bless 
 
 our President I 
 
 On the Battle-Field. — A correspondent 
 of a Southern paper gives the following descrip- 
 tion of the feelings of a soldier for the first time 
 on a battle-field : 
 
 " No person who was not upon the ground, 
 and an eye-witness of the stirring scenes which 
 there transpired, can begin to comprehend from 
 a description the terrible realities of a battle ; 
 and even those who participated are competent 
 to speak only of their own personal experience. 
 Where friends and foes are falling by scores, and 
 every species of missile is flying through the air, 
 threatening each instant to send one into eterni- 
 ty, little time is afforded for more observation or 
 reflection than is required for personal safety. 
 
 " The scene is one of the most exciting and 
 exhilarating that can be conceived. Imagine & 
 regiment passing you at ' double-quick,' the men 
 cheering with enthusiasm, their teeth set, their eyes 
 flashing, and the whole in a frenzy of resolution. 
 You accompany them to the field. They halt. 
 And aid-de-camp passes to or from the command- 
 ing General. The clear voices of officers ring 
 along the line in tones of passionate eloquence, 
 their words hot, thrilling, and elastic. The word 
 is given to march, and the body moves into 
 action. For the first time in your life you listen 
 to the whizzing of iron. Grape and canister fly 
 into the ranks, bombshells burst overhead, and 
 the fragments fly all around you. A friend falls ; 
 perhaps a dozen or twenty of your comrades lie 
 wounded or dying at your feet ; a strange, invol- 
 untary shrinking steals over you, which it is im- 
 possible to resist. You feel inclined neither to 
 advance nor recede, but are spell-bound by the 
 contending emotions of the moral and physical 
 man. The cheek blanches, the lip quivers, and 
 the eye almost hesitates to look upon the scene. 
 
 " In this attitude you may, perhaps, be ordered 
 to stand an hour inactive, havoc meanwhile mark- 
 ing its footsteps with blood on every side. Finally 
 the order is given to advance, to fire, or to charge. 
 And now, what a metamorphosis ! With your 
 first shot you become a new man. Personal 
 safety is your least concern. Fear has no exist- 
 ence in your bosom. Hesitation gives way to an 
 uncontrollable desire to rush into the thickest 
 of the fight. The dead and dying around you, 
 if they receive a passing thought, only serve to 
 stimulate you to revenge. You become cool and 
 deliberate, and watch the effect of bullets, the 
 shower of bursting shells, the passage of cannon- 
 balls as they rake their murderous channels 
 through your ranks, the plunging of wounded 
 horses, the agonies of the dj-ing, and the clash 
 of contending arms, which follows the dashing 
 
386 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 charge with a feeling so calloused by surrounding 
 circumstances that your soul seems dead to every 
 sympathizing and selfish thought. 
 
 " Such is the spirit which carries the soldier 
 through the field of battle. But when the excite- 
 ment has passed, when the roll of musketry has 
 ceased, the noisy voices of the cannons are stilled, 
 the dusky pall of sulphurous smoke has risen 
 from the field, and you stroll over the theatre of 
 carnage, hearing the groans of the wounded, dis- 
 covering here, shattered almost beyond recogni- 
 tion, the form of some dear friend whom only an 
 hour before you met in the full flush of life and 
 happiness, there another perforated by a bullet, 
 a third with a limb shot away, a fourth with his 
 face disfigured, a fifth almost torn to fragments, 
 a sixth a headless corpse, the ground ploughed 
 up and stained with blood, human brains splashed 
 around, limbs without bodies and bodies without 
 limbs scattered here and there, and the same pic- 
 ture duplicated scores of times, — then you begin 
 to realize the horrors of war, and experience a 
 reaction of nature. The heart opens its flood- 
 gates, humanity asserts herself again, and you 
 begin to feel. 
 
 " Friend and foe alike now receive your kindest 
 miiiisterings. The enemy, whom, but a short time 
 before, full of hate, you were doing all in your 
 power to kill, you now endeavor to save. You 
 supply him with water to quench his thirst, with 
 food to sustain his strength, and with sympathiz- 
 ing words to soothe his troubled mind. All that 
 is human or charitable in your nature now rises 
 to the surface, and you are animated by that 
 spirit of mercy ' which blesseth him that gives 
 and him that takes.' A battle-field is eminently 
 a place that tries men's souls." 
 
 The Fight at Kelley's Island. — Colonel 
 Wallace had been accustomed to send his mount- 
 ed scouts to diff"erent posts along the several 
 approaches to Cumberland. There were only 
 thii'teen of the scouts ; but they were picked men, 
 who, from such practice, had become accustomed 
 to their peculiar duty. The following are their 
 names and companies : 
 
 Company A — D. B. Hay, E. H. Backer. Com- 
 pany B — Ed. Burkett, J. C. Hollenback. Compa- 
 ny C — Tim. Grover, James Hollowell. Company 
 D — Thos. Brazier. Company E — Geo. W. Hue- 
 bargar. Company F — Lewis Farley. Company 
 H — Frank Harrison. Company I — P. M. Dun- 
 lap. Company K — Robt. Dunlap, E. P. Thomas. 
 
 On the 27th of June, 1861, the Colonel 
 found it impossible to get reliable information 
 of the enemy. Uniting the scouts in a body, he 
 gave them in charge of Corporal D. B. Hay, with 
 directions to proceed to a httle town on the pike 
 from Cumberland to Romney, named Frankfort, 
 and ascertain if rebel troops were there. 
 
 Hay was sharp, cunning, and bold — the very 
 man for the business. Filling their canteens and 
 haversacks, the brave men strapped their rifles 
 on their backs, and started on their mission. 
 Their horses were of the class now known as 
 
 condemned. Hay's was the only good one. He 
 had some reputation as a racer, and went by the 
 name of " Silverheels. " His rider had captured 
 him in a scuffle a few days before, and prized 
 him highly as a trophy. All the rest had been 
 impressed into the service, and now made sad 
 profert of their ribs by way of protest against 
 then." usage. 
 
 A rumor passed through the camp that morn- 
 ing that Hay was going to fight before he re- 
 turned. His procedure was certainly that of a 
 man in search of one. He took the turnpike to 
 Romney, and never drew rein, until, from a little 
 eminence, he looked down into the straggling 
 village of Frankfort. The street was full of in- 
 fantry. The horses picketed about indicated a 
 large body of cavalry. Most men would have 
 been anxious, after that sight, to return to camp 
 as quickly as possible. Not so Hay and his com- 
 rades. Sitting on their horses, they coolly made 
 up their estimate of the enemy's number, and 
 when they were perfectly agreed on the point, 
 turned about, and rode leisurely away. On the 
 return, they took another road veiy much broken, 
 and which, threading among the hills, after many 
 devious windings, finally brought up to the track 
 of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The taking 
 of this road was a mere freak of fancy. It was 
 by no means the shortest to camp, nor was its 
 exploration of any probable use ; yet it led to a 
 fight ; and if the scouts had known that before- 
 hand, it is not likely they would have changed 
 their course. Three or four miles from Frank- 
 fort, while descending a mountain side, after tui'n- 
 ing a sharp elbow in the road, the men came 
 suddenly upon a party of rebel cavalry. Each 
 instinctively drew his bridle rein, and for an 
 instant halted. Rapidly they commenced count- 
 ing. 
 
 " Forty-one of them, boys ! " cried Hay, turn- 
 ing in his saddle. "What do you say? Will 
 you stand by me ? " 
 
 " Go in, Dave," was the unanimous vote. 
 
 It took but a moment to unsling their rifles. 
 
 " Are you ready ? " asked Hay. 
 
 " All ready," they replied. 
 
 " Come on, then," shouted the leader. " The 
 best horse gets the first man ! " 
 
 With the last word they were ofi". 
 
 It happened the rebels themselves were going 
 in the same direction. They were also somewhat 
 below them in the descent of the road. With his 
 usual shrewdness, and quick as thought. Hay 
 grasped his advantage of position. An abrupt 
 declivity on the left of the narrow road made it 
 impossible for the enemy to form line. Neither 
 could the rebels turn and charge up hill. They 
 must go on to escape. If they stopped, " Silver- 
 heels " would go through like a thunderbolt. 
 
 The rebels heard the shout, and, in surprise, 
 halted and took a look. The sight, under or- 
 dinary circumstances, would have been interest- 
 ing to them. Not seventy-five yards behind, 
 they saw Hay and his party galloping down the 
 decline at break-neck speed ; their glance rested 
 briefly on the little jackets, and big gray breeches, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 387 
 
 on the short, brown rifles shaken menacingly 
 over the scarlet-tipped caps, and on the straining 
 horses ; their ears recognized the yell of pursuit ; 
 and then they staid not on their order of going. 
 What they said, and whether they counted the 
 assailants, we know not ; but they began a retreat 
 that soon took the form of a promiscuous fox 
 chase, except that the shouts, which momentarily 
 neared them, had little likeness to the joyous 
 halloo of hunters. 
 
 Hay led the pursuit ; Farley was next ; the 
 others followed as best they could ; not one hung 
 back. It is to be doubted whether in his best 
 days " Silverheels " had made better time. A 
 short distance from the foot of the hill he over- 
 took the rebels. Just before the collision, Hay 
 rose in his stirrups, and fired his rifle into the 
 party. He was so close that to miss would have 
 been an accident. SM'inging the w'eapon round 
 his head, he hurled it at the nearest man, and the 
 next moment, with drawn pistol, plunged furi- 
 ously amidst them. They closed around him. 
 The pistol shooting became sharp and quick. 
 Hay received one wound, and then another, but 
 for each one he killed a man. When his revolver 
 was empty, he drew his sabre bayonet. The rebel 
 Captain gave him from behind a heavy cut on the 
 head. Still he sat on his horse, and, though 
 weakened by the blow, and half blind with blood, 
 he laid out right and left. He fared illy enough, 
 but it would have been worse, had not Farley 
 then come up, and pitched loyally into the miUe. 
 Close at his heels, but singly or doubly, according 
 to the speed of their horses, rode all the rest. 
 The rebel Captain was shot before he could re- 
 peat his sabre blow. Farley w^as dismounted by 
 the shock of the collision. He clinched a foe- 
 man in like situation ; a struggle ensued ; he 
 was thrown, but his antagonist was knocked 
 down by young HoUowell before he could use 
 his victory. Farley caught another horse. The 
 eager onset relieved Hay, and again started the 
 rebels, who, in their flight, took to the raih-oad. 
 Not a moment was allowed them to turn upon 
 their pursuers. Over the track helter-skelter 
 they went. Suddenly they came to a burnt cul- 
 vert. It was too late to dodge it : over or into 
 it they had to go. Eight men were killed in the 
 attempt to cross it. Hay, in close pursuit, saw 
 the leap just as it was unavoidable. " Silver- 
 heels " in his turn cleared the culvert, but fell 
 dead a few yards beyond. The chase ended there. 
 When his comrades crossed over, they found Hay 
 sitting by his horse crying like a child, on ac- 
 count of his death. 
 
 The scouts then proceeded to collect the spoils. 
 When they were all in, the net proceeds of the 
 victory were seventeen horses, with their equip- 
 ments, and eleven dead rebels — three on the 
 hill-side and eight in the culvert. Hay remounted 
 himself, and started with the party for Cumber- 
 land. It may be imagined with what satisfaction 
 the brave victors pictured to each other their 
 triumphal entry into camp. After going a few 
 miles Hay became so faint from loss of blood that 
 he had to be taken out of his saddle. The dilem- 
 
 ma in which they found themselves was settled 
 by sending two of their number to a farm-house 
 for a wagon ; meantime they laid their leader in the 
 shade, and brought water for him from the river. 
 While they were thus nursing him back to 
 strength, a fire was suddenly opened upon them 
 from a hill on the left. This was a surprise, but 
 their coolness did not desert them. Hay bade 
 thenyiut him on a horse, and leave him to take care 
 of himself. They complied : clinging painfully to 
 the saddle, he forded the Potomac and was safe. 
 The others could probably have saved themselves, 
 but in a foolish effort to save their horses, they 
 lost the opportunity. Farley then became leader. 
 
 " Let the horses go, and give the rebels thun- 
 der," was his simple, emphatic order. 
 
 The fire thickening on thefn was then returned. 
 Years before Farley had lost one of his eyes ; 
 the sound one, however, Avas now admirably used. 
 He saw the rebels were trying to surround the 
 party, and would succeed if better cover was not 
 soon found. Behind them ran Patterson's Creek. 
 The ground on its opposite shore was scarcely 
 higher than that which they occupied, but it was 
 covered with rocks washed naked by the flowing 
 stream. Farley saw that to get there would be a 
 good exchange. 
 
 " It's a pretty slim chance, boys," he coolly said, 
 " but it won't do to give in or stay here. Let's 
 make a rush for the big rocks yonder, and get 
 the creek between them and us." 
 
 The rush was made ; under a sharp fire they 
 crossed the creek, and took shelter behind the 
 boulders. Ten of them were there, but, to use 
 their own language, they were all " sound as new 
 fifty-cent pieces, and not whipped by a long 
 sight." 
 
 Peeping over the rocks, they counted over sev- 
 enty rebels on foot making at full speed for the 
 creek, evidently with the intention of crossing it. 
 Each one felt that the trial had come. 
 
 •' Look out now^, and don't waste a cartridge. 
 Recollect they are scarce," said Thomas. 
 
 "Yes, and recollect Buena Vista," said Hol- 
 lowell. 
 
 The first rebel entered the creek before a gun 
 was fy'ed, so perfectly calm were those ten men. 
 Then crack, crack, in quick succession, went the 
 rifles, scarcely a bullet failing in its mark. The 
 assailants recoiletl, ran back, and finding cover as 
 best they could, began the exciting play of sharp- 
 shooters. This practice continued for more than 
 an hour. The sun went down on it. About that 
 time, a small party of horsemen galloped down 
 the road, and hitching their horses, joined the 
 enemy. One of the new comers made himself 
 conspicuous by refusing to take to the ground. 
 Walking about, as if in contempt of the minies 
 which were sent whistling round him, he gave 
 directions which resulted in another sudden dash 
 for the creek. Again the rifle went crack, crack, 
 in quick succession, and M'ith the same fatal con- 
 sequence : but this time the rebels had a leader ; 
 men were seen to fall in the water, but there was 
 no second recoil ; tlie obstructions were cleared in 
 the face of the rifles, and with much cursing and 
 
388 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 shouting the attacking party closed in upon the 
 Zouaves. 
 
 The fight was hand-to-hand. No amount of 
 courage could be effective against the great odds 
 at such close quarters. Nevertheless, all that 
 was possible was done. Night was rapidly closing 
 upon the scene ; over the rocks, and through the 
 tangled thicket, and in the fading twilight, the 
 struggle for revenge and life went on. There 
 was heroism on both sides ; that of the Zouaves 
 was matchless, because it was in no small degree 
 the prompting of despair. 
 
 Farley found himself again engaged Avith the 
 leader of the rebels, a man of as much strength 
 as courage. Hollowell saved his life at the cost 
 of his rifle, but snatching the dead man's pistols, 
 he resumed the fight. The pistols were brought 
 into camp, and next morning presented to the 
 young hero by the Colonel. 
 
 Thomas killed two by rifle shots ; while loading 
 a third time, he was struck by a pistol ball on 
 the side of the temple, and fell senseless. A man 
 in the act of striking him with a sabre was shot 
 through by Grover, and died on Thomas. It was 
 dark when Thomas recovered. Hearing no sound 
 of fighting, he pushed the dead body from him, 
 secured his rifle, and hid himself in vines and 
 bushes. In a little while the rebels came to re- 
 move the dead. He saw them carry thirteen 
 bodies across the creek. In searching the island 
 they found Hollenback, who had been shot 
 through the body. Thomas heard the exclama- 
 tion announcing tlie discovery. 
 
 " Here's a Yankee ! " was the shout. 
 
 *' Kill him, kill him ! " arose on all sides. 
 
 " Come, get out of this ! " said a strong voice. 
 
 " I can't, I'm shot," feebly protested Hollen- 
 back. 
 
 Yet they made him rise, and wade the creek. 
 When all was still, Thomas escaped by wading 
 and swimming the Potomac. 
 
 Baker and Dunlap, of company I, the men 
 sent for the wagon, hearing the second engage- 
 ment, galloped with all speed to camp, and re- 
 ported. The regiment was on drill when they 
 arrived. Fifty men, under Major Robinson, were 
 instantly detailed to go to the rescue. When 
 t!ie detachment reached the edge of the town it 
 was swelled to two hundred : the guards found it 
 impossible to keep the Zouaves in the lines. The 
 relief travelled fast, but arrived too late. The 
 i-rland was deserted. Pistols, broken guns, dead 
 horses, and rocks stained with blood, told the 
 story. 
 
 The detail returned late in the night. Early 
 next morning, two companies, under Major Rob- 
 inson, were sent down to search for some of the 
 missing men and property, and bury such dead 
 as they might find. In the afternoon the Major 
 came back with some trophies, eight horses, and 
 ]>oor Hollenback. He had found Hollenback ly- 
 i;ig on a farmer's porch, dead, but warm and 
 bleeding, with a bullet hole and a bayonet thrust 
 through his body. The woman of the house 
 tiild Major Robinson how he died. 
 
 " The man wasn't dead when they brought him 
 
 here," she said ; " but a little while ago, when 
 they heard you coming, they set him on a horse 
 to take him off with them ; but he fainted : he 
 couldn't stand it. A man then stuck a bayonet 
 into his back." 
 
 The Major glanced at the porch, and observed 
 blood on the floor. 
 
 " Did they bring anybody else here, madam ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " O, yes ! I reckon they did. Me and my man 
 came out while they were at work, and we count- 
 ed twenty-three men laid out, side by side, on 
 the porch there. Two or three of them were 
 wounded. I heard some one say that they had 
 brought some of the dead men down the railroad. 
 Ashby was one of the wounded." 
 
 The Ashby alluded to was a brother of the 
 Colonel Ashby of Black Horse Cavalry renown. 
 He afterwards died of his Avounds. 
 
 By five o'clock the day after the fight the scouts 
 were all in camp. They straggled in one by one. 
 Citizens and soldiers turned out to receive them. 
 Never did returning heroes have more sympa- 
 thizing and admiring audiences. Thomas showed 
 the kiss of the bullet on his temple. Baker wore 
 the cap of a rebel — his own had been shot ofl' 
 his head. Dunlop had three bullet holes through 
 his shirt. Hollowell exhibited his captured pis- 
 tols and broken rifle. Farley yet retained the 
 handle of his sabre bayonet, shivered in the fray. 
 Several of the men testified to his killing six 
 enemies with his own hand. Not a man but had 
 some proofs of the engagement, such as torn 
 clothes and bruised body. But Hay was the 
 hero. Three ghastly wounds entitled him to the 
 honor. 
 
 The final escape of each had been in the same 
 manner. Finding themselves overpowered and 
 separated, each one, at the first opportunity, had 
 abandoned the battle ground, which proved to be 
 Kelley's Island, at the mouth of Patterson's 
 Creek, and plunging into the river, succeeded in 
 crossing it. The enemy followed to the canal, on 
 the northern side. 
 
 Hollenback Avas buried in the cemetery. A 
 more solemn funeral never took place in the old 
 town. The sorrow was universal. Loyal men 
 thought : 
 
 ' ' To every man upon this earth 
 Death cometh soon or late ; 
 And where can man die better 
 Than facing fearful odds, 
 For the ashes of his fathers. 
 And the temples of his Gods ! " 
 
 Indiana's Roll of Honor. 
 
 Incidext of Chickamauga. — On the fu-st 
 day of the engagement, Captain Ogan, of com- 
 pany K, Fourteenth Ohio regiment, was taken 
 prisoner by the rebels. As they were approach- 
 ing their lines, the idea of practising a little 
 finesse, or military stratagem, suggested itself; 
 so, pretending to be highly gratified with the 
 idea of being a prisoner, he told his captors that 
 this was what he wanted — that he had long been 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 389 
 
 anxious to get out of the war, and was well sat- 
 isfied with that mode of getting out. " But," 
 said he, " you are taking me right back into the 
 Federal lines." They, supposing they had be- 
 come confused in the heat and hurry of the 
 movement, turned around, and carried him back 
 within the Federal lines, Avhen it became his turn 
 to reciprocate by capturing his captors, and com- 
 manding them to deliver up their arms, which 
 they did in a very gracious manner, taking their 
 places among the rebel prisoners. 
 
 General Steedman won great praise for his gal- 
 lantry on the field. His horse was shot from un- 
 der him, and in the fall his hand became seri- 
 ously injured. Upon rising, he discovered some 
 of his men straggling from his division, when he 
 commenced pelting them with stones, driving 
 them back to their work — concluding that if 
 words would not do, he would try the virtues of 
 harder material. For a long time he held the 
 Union colors in his own hand, in the heat of the 
 conflict. 
 
 Colonel P. P. Baldwin, of the Sixth Indiana, 
 commanding a brigade, fell from his horse 
 in the earlier part of the engagement, badly 
 wounded. He had seized a flag, which had fallen 
 from the hands of one of his slain Color-Ser- 
 geants, and, waving it aloft, amid the confusion, 
 shot, and shell of the enemy, was gallantly lead- 
 ing his brigade to meet a charge of the enemy, 
 when he fell, wounded, between the two lines. 
 
 THE LITTLE DRUMMER. 
 A soldier's story. 
 
 BY K. H. STODDARD. 
 
 'Tis of a little drummer, 
 
 The story I shall tell. 
 Of how he marched to battle, 
 
 And all that there befell. 
 Out in the West with Lyon 
 
 (For once the name was true). 
 For whom the little drummer beat 
 
 His rat-tat-too. 
 
 Our army rose at midnight. 
 
 Ten thousand men as one. 
 Each slinging on his knapsack. 
 
 And snatching up his gun : 
 " Foncard ! " and off they started, 
 
 As all good soldiers do. 
 When the little drummer beats for them 
 
 The rat-tat-too. 
 
 Across a rolling country. 
 
 Where the mist began to rise, 
 Past many a blackened farm-house, 
 
 Till the sun was in the skies, 
 Then we met the rebel pickets. 
 
 Who skirmished and withdrew, 
 AVhile the little drummer beat and beat 
 
 The rat-tat-too. 
 
 Along the wooded hollows 
 
 The line of battle ran ; 
 Our centre poured a volley. 
 
 And the fight at once began ; 
 For the rebels answered shouting, 
 
 And a shower of bullets flew ; 
 But still the little drummer beat 
 
 His rat-tat-too. 
 
 He stood among his comrades. 
 
 As they quickly formed the line. 
 And when they raised their muskets 
 
 He watched the barrels shine ! 
 When the volley rang, he started ! 
 
 For war to him was new ; 
 But still the little drummer beat 
 
 His rat-tat-too. 
 
 It was a sight to see them. 
 
 That early autumn day. 
 Our soldiers in their blue coats. 
 
 And the rebel ranks in gray : 
 The smoke that rolled between them. 
 
 The balls that whistled through. 
 And the little drummer as he beat 
 
 His rat-tat-too ! 
 
 His comrades dropped around him — 
 
 By fives and tens they fell, 
 Some pierced by minie bullets. 
 
 Some torn by shot and shell ; 
 They played against our cannon. 
 
 And a caisson's splinters flew ; 
 But still the little drummer beat 
 
 His rat-tat-too ! 
 
 The right, the left, the centre — 
 
 The fight was everywhere : 
 They pushed us here — we wavered - 
 
 We drove and broke them there. 
 The gray-backs fixed their bayonets. 
 
 And charged the coats of blue, 
 But still the little drummer beat 
 
 His rat-tat-too ! 
 
 " Where is our little drummer ? " 
 
 His nearest comrades say. 
 When the dreadful fight is over. 
 
 And the smoke has cleared away. 
 As the rebel corps was scattering 
 
 He urged them to pursue, 
 So furiously he beat and beat 
 
 The rat-tat-too ! 
 
 He stood no more among them. 
 
 For a bxillet, as it sped. 
 Had glanced and struck his ankle. 
 
 And stretched him with the dead ! 
 He crawled behind a cannon. 
 
 And pale and paler grew : 
 But still the little drummer beat 
 
 His rat-tat-too ! 
 
390 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 They bore him to tlie surgeon ; 
 
 A busy man was he ; 
 "A drummer boy — what ails him ? ' 
 
 His comrades answered, " See ! " 
 As they took him from the stretcher, 
 
 A heavy breath he drew, 
 And his little fingers strove to beat 
 
 The rat-tat-too ! 
 
 The ball had spent its fury : 
 
 " A scratch," the surgeon said, 
 As he wound the snowy bandage 
 
 Which the lint was staining red ! 
 " I must leave you now, old fellow." 
 
 «< O, take me back with you, 
 For I know the men are missing me, 
 
 And the rat-tat-too! " 
 
 Upon his comrade's shoulder 
 
 They lifted him so grand, 
 With his dusty drum before him, 
 
 And his drumsticks in his hand ! 
 To the fiery front of battle, 
 
 That nearer, nearer drew — 
 And evermore he beat and beat 
 
 His rat-tat-too ! 
 
 The wounded as he passed them 
 
 Looked up and gave a cheer : 
 And one in dying blessed him, 
 
 Between a smile and tear ! 
 And the gray-backs — they are flying 
 
 Before the coats of blue. 
 For whom the little drummer beats 
 
 His rat-tat-too ! 
 
 When the west was red with sunset. 
 
 The last pursuit was o'er, 
 Brave Lyon rode the foremost, 
 
 And looked the name he bore ! 
 And before him on his saddle. 
 
 As a weary child would do, 
 Sat the little drummer fast asleep, 
 
 With his rat-tat-too. 
 
 Southern Snowballing. — The author of 
 " Memoirs of the Confederate AVar," Van Borcke, 
 gives the following account of a snowball en- 
 gagement in General Lee's army : " We were 
 enlivened by snowball fights, which commenced 
 as skirmishes near our headquarters, but extend- 
 ed over the neighboring camps, and assumed the 
 aspect of general engagements. In front of our 
 headquarters, beyond an open field of about half a 
 mile square, Hood's division lay encamped in a 
 piece of wood ; in our immediate rear stretched 
 the tents and huts of a part of M'Law's division. 
 Betweeen these two bodies of troops animated 
 little skirmishes frequently occurred whenever 
 there was snow enough on the ground to furnish 
 the ammunition ; but on the morning of the 4th, an 
 extensive expedition having been undertaken by 
 
 several hundred of M'Law's men against Hood's 
 encampments, and the occupants of those finding 
 themselves considerably disturbed thereby, sud- 
 denly the wliole of the division advanced in line 
 of battle, with flying colors, the officers leading 
 the men, as if in real action, to avenge the insult. 
 The assailants fell back rapidly before this over- 
 whelming host, but only to secure a strong posi- 
 tion, from which, with reenforcements, they might 
 resume the offensive. The alarm of their first 
 repulse having been borne M'ith the swiftness of 
 the wind to their comrades, sharpshooters in 
 large numbers were posted behind the cedar 
 bushes that skirt the Telegraph Road, and hun- 
 dreds of hands were actively employed in erect* 
 ing a long and high snow wall in front of theii 
 extended lines. The struggle had now the ap- 
 pearance of a regular battle, with its charges 
 and counter-charges ; the wild enthusiasm of the 
 men and the noble emulation of the officers find- 
 ing expression in loud commands and yet louder 
 cheering, while the air was darkened with the 
 snowballs as the current of the fight moved to 
 and fro over the well-contested field. Nearer and 
 nearer it came towards our headquarters, and it was 
 soon evident to us that the hottest part of the en- 
 gagement would take place on our neutral terri- 
 tory. Fruitless were the eftbrts of Stuart and 
 myself to assert and maintain the neutrality of 
 our camp, utterly idle the hoisting of a white 
 flag : the advancing columns pressed forward in 
 complete disregard of our signs and our outspo- 
 ken remonstrances. Clouds of snowballs passed 
 across the face of the sun, and ere long the over- 
 whelming Avave of the cu;itlict rolled pitilessly 
 over us. Yielding to the unavoidable necessity 
 which forbade our keeping aloof from the con- 
 test, Stuart and I had taken position, in order to 
 obtain a view over the field of battle, on a big 
 box, containing ordnance stores, in frout of the 
 General's tent, where we soon became so much 
 interested in tlie result, and so carried away by 
 the excitement of the moment, that we found 
 ourselves calling out to tlje men to hold their 
 ground, and urging them again and again to 
 the attack, while many a stray snowball, and 
 many a well-directed one, took effect upon our 
 exposed persons. But all the gallant resis- 
 tance of M'Law's men was unavailing. Hood's 
 lines pressed resistlessly forward, carrying everj'- 
 thing before them, taking the formidable fortifi- 
 cations, and driving INI'Law's division out of the 
 encampments. Suddenly, at this juncture, we 
 heard loud shouting on the I'ight, Avhere two of 
 Anderson's brigades had come up as reenforce- 
 ments. The men of M'Law's division, acquiring 
 new confidence from this support, rallied, and in 
 tiu-n drove, by a united charge, the victorious foe 
 in headlong flight back to their own camps and 
 woods. Thus ended the battle for the day, un- 
 happily with serious results to some of the com- 
 batants, for one of Hood's men had his leg bro- 
 ken, one of M'Law's men lost an eye, and there 
 were other chance wounds on both sides. This 
 sham-fight gave ample proof of the excellent 
 spirits of our troops, who, in the wet, wintry 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 391 
 
 weather, many of them without blankets, some 
 without shoes, regardless of their exposure and 
 of the scarcity of provisions, still maintained 
 their good humor, and were ever ready for any 
 sort of sport or fun that offered itself to them." 
 
 " The Gallant Sixty-Ninth." — Two gallant 
 sons of Erin, being just discharged from the ser- 
 vice, were rejoicing over the event with a " wee 
 taste of the cratur'," when one, who felt all the 
 glory of his own noble race, suddenly raised his 
 glass above, and said, " Arrah, Mike, here's to the 
 gallant ould Sixty-ninth : The last in the field and 
 the first to leave ! " " Tut, tut, man," said Mike, 
 "you don't mane that." "Don't mane it, is it? 
 Then what do I mane ? " " You mane," said Mike, 
 and he raised his glass high, and looked lovingly 
 at it, "Here's to the gallant ould Sixty-ninth — 
 equal to none ! " And so they drank. 
 
 The Death of Colonel Ellsworth. — On 
 the evening of the 23d of May> 1861, there was 
 a feverish flush and ill-suppressed anxiety among 
 the political and military circles of the Federal 
 capital. It was generally understood, though not 
 announced, that some very important military 
 movement was on foot, and that an " enterprise " 
 of great pith and moment would in a few hours, 
 perhaps, agitate the whole American people. 
 
 Yet, as the night advanced, the excitement wore 
 away, and the city of magnificent distances fell 
 into its usual tranquillity. 
 
 Not so, however, at the camp along the Po- 
 tomac, and especially at the quarters of the Fire 
 Zouaves. 
 
 This splendid and dashing regiment had come 
 out from New York a month before, and had 
 electrified that city and the less excitable citizens 
 of Washington by the splendor of their costume, 
 the perfection of their drill, and the fine figure and 
 well-known martial qualities of their leader, Col- 
 onel Ellsworth. Their brethren of the fire com- 
 panies in New York had turned out en masse to 
 escort them to the steamer, and after twenty days 
 in Washington, they had now received marching 
 orders, and their quiet camp was to-night to real- 
 ize all that poets ever wrote of the wild and ro- 
 mantic scenery of war. 
 
 The night was uncommonly still and clear, and 
 the moon was so bright that the line of white 
 cones marking their camp could be distinctly seen 
 from the other side of the broad Potomac. 
 
 As the visitor ajiproached, sounds of bustle 
 filled the air, and the rustle of arms and the tramp 
 of the men on drill were now and then drowned 
 in the powerful chorus of manly voices rolling out 
 upon the night air the great national songs of Co- 
 lumbia. 
 
 It was felt by all that the hour of bloodshed 
 was now come. Aside from the four men killed 
 by the explosion of a gun at Sumter, and the kill- 
 ing of Ladd and Whitney by the Baltimore mob, 
 no lives had as yet been ofiered up ; the crimson 
 current had not begun to flow» 
 
 Yet all felt that some one must be the first vic- 
 tim — that ere many days, or hours perhaps, the 
 sacred soil of Virginia would be wet with the 
 blood of the first contestants in the mighty strug- 
 gle. Yet who could have foreseen that the fine, 
 youthful, vigorous, manly figure of the Colonel, 
 whorn we now see moving about among the men 
 that idolized him, would be the first to be pierced 
 by rebel balls — that he was to be the proto- 
 martyr of the holy cause. 
 
 It is midnight now, and the men that were a 
 little while ago singing " Columbia, the gem of 
 the ocean," with all the fervor they could bring to 
 it, are still in their tents. The knapsacks are 
 packed. The guns are oiled and polished. Am- 
 munition is in the cartridge boxes and cooked 
 rations in the haversacks. They are ready to start 
 at a drum tap. 
 
 Though it is past midnight. Colonel Ellsworth 
 is still at his table, in his tent, completing the 
 official arrangements that remained, and carefully 
 instructing his subordinates as to the line of con- 
 duct proper in this or that emergency. 
 
 An hour later, and he is done, and not now 
 occupied with the rough plans of brave exploits. 
 A sadder and a tenderer task occupies the young 
 soldier's pen. He writes those last words to his 
 parents : " To-night, thinking over the probabil- 
 ities of the morrow, and the occurrences of the 
 past, I am perfectly content to accept whatever 
 my fortune may be, confident that He who noteth 
 even the fall of a sparrow will have some pur- 
 pose even in the fate of one like me. My dar- 
 ling and ever-loved parents, good by ! " Other, 
 and perhaps still more tender and touching adieus 
 are clashed off" with rapid pen and full heart ere the 
 young figure leaves the table, and wraps his army 
 blanket around him for an hour of sleep. 
 
 x\ little after two o'clock, the encampment be- 
 gan to show signs of activity again. Captain 
 Dahlgren, the commander of the navy yard, came 
 to announce that all was ready for transportation. 
 The men mai'ched forward in line, and were drawn 
 up by companies along the beach. 
 
 The night air along the water side is chill, and 
 some of the men were Avrapjied from head to foot 
 in great red blankets. Most were clad in their 
 gray jackets and trowsers, and embroidered caps. 
 These vivid costumes of the men — the lines of 
 tents, glowing from the lights within like huge 
 lanterns — the glittering rows of bayonets and 
 gun-barrels — the woods and hills in the dis- 
 tance — the placid river in front — and, to add 
 historic significance, the dome of the Capitol 
 towering sublime and calm in the still moonlight, 
 — all these combined to form a picture which Avas 
 not effaced from the memory of those who saw it 
 by the long succession of darker and bloodier 
 scenes which followed. 
 
 The embarkation was rapidly conducted, and, 
 just as dawn light began to break over hill and 
 river, the last of the regiment was aboard, and 
 the boats steamed slowly down the river. 
 
 Armed resistance to any invasion of the " sa- 
 cred soil " of Virginia was confidently expected. 
 So much ferocious talk had poured from the Rich.- 
 
392 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 mond press that it was fair to suppose that every 
 wharf would have its Leonidas, and every street- 
 crossing be defended by a Horatius Codes. 
 
 But the rebel strategy was different. John- 
 son's head was cool, and his judgment sound. 
 He saw that Alexandiia was no point for serious 
 resistance, and when the Pa\vnefi..seftt a...yawl 
 filled with ai'med marines," and proposed terms 
 
 >V ^'f'f submission, the Confederates had consented 
 ^ tfii.yacate withiii a, specified time. 
 
 '•'^ About five o'clock the Zouaves landed, and 
 
 Colonel Ellsworth gave rapid directions for tear- 
 ing up some of the rails at the railroad station, 
 and then turned his attention to the means of 
 destroying all communication southward by the 
 telegraph — a step which he regarded as very 
 important. 
 
 As he started away to execute this duty in per- 
 son, with the dash and enthusiasm peculiar to his 
 youth and his ardent nature, he took as his 
 guard but a small squad of men from the first 
 company, with Sergeant Brownell at their head. 
 Mr. Wisner, the Military Secretary of the regi- 
 ment, Mr. Dodge, the Chaplain, and a journalist 
 of the New York Tribune, went with him. 
 
 The little group, amounting to about ten men 
 in all, walked rapidly through the quiet streets, 
 and were about turning a corner to go in the di- 
 rection of the telegraph office, when the Colonel 
 saw flaunting from the top of a hotel a reb&l flag, 
 
 a^Xaa which had long been visible from the balcpjiies 
 Qj^^^vijf jhe.President's house in Washington. 
 
 Ijjjk He immediately sent back the Sergeant with 
 
 '^'^"*\ an order for the first company of the regiment 
 to advance and join him. 
 
 Here was the fii'st instance of the rashness of 
 youthful enthusiasm on the part of Colonel Ells- 
 worth. He did not wait for the arrival of the 
 company, but passed rapidly on to the tavern, 
 which he entered, and accosted the fii'st man he 
 saw with the question — " What sort of a flag is 
 that hanging over the roof of this house ? " The 
 man seemed a good deal alarmed, and said he 
 knew nothing about it, as he was only a boarder 
 there. Without calling for the proprietor of the 
 house, or making any demand for the removal of 
 the obnoxious emblem. Colonel Ellsworth ran up 
 stairs, and reached the topmost story, where by 
 means of a ladder he clambered to the roof, and 
 borrowing Mr. Wisner's knife, cut the small rope, 
 and pulled the flag away from the mast from 
 which it floated. 
 
 This was the work of but a few moments, and 
 the iJarty now turned to descend from the roof. 
 Brownell went first, and Colonel Ellsworth close be- 
 hind him carrying the flag. As Brownell reached 
 the first landing-place or entry after a descent 
 of a dozen or more steps, a man stepped quickly 
 out from a dimly-lighted passage, and \s-ithout 
 noticing the private levelled a double-barelled 
 shot-gun full at Colonel Ellsworth's breast. Brow- 
 nell made a quick pass to throw up the muzzle 
 of the piece, but the fellow's hand was fii'm, and 
 his aim was not diverted. 
 
 Another second and the load of one barrel, 
 either slugs or buckshot, went crashing through 
 
 the vitals of Colonel Ellsworth, and killed him 
 instantly. He was on the third step from the 
 bottom when he received the shot, and fell for- 
 ward with that horrible, headlong weight and 
 heavy thud upon the floor of the passage which 
 mi"ht have been expected from death so sudden. 
 
 The assailant now turned like a flash, and 
 brought the other barrel to bear on Brownell. 
 But the Zouave was this time too quick for him, 
 and struck the piece so the load passed over his 
 head and through a door behind him. The next 
 instant the contents of his own rifle were dis- 
 charged full in Jackson's face, and following up 
 the ball with the bayonet, he lunged it through 
 his body, and pushed" it down the second flight of 
 steps. 
 
 The three reports followed each other with as 
 much rapidity as the successive loads of a revol- 
 ver can be discharged, and the frightful conse- 
 quences were seen in the bodies of two men, 
 Ellsworth and Jackson, who lay each at the foot 
 of a flight of stairs, dead and weltering in a pool 
 of blood. 
 
 The body of Colonel Ellsworth was taken up 
 and laid on a bed in an adjoining room. The 
 blood was wiped from his clammy and marble but 
 manly features, and the rebel flag, on account of 
 which two men had so suddenly passed into eter- 
 nity, lay soiled with blood acr9ss his feet. 
 
 In a few moments Jackson's wife came out 
 from a room on the second floor, and saw the 
 body of her husband lying dead in the passage 
 in a pool of blood. She flung her arms into the 
 air, cried wildly, and seemed utterly abandoned 
 to desolation and agony. She offered no re- 
 proaches, nor seemed conscious of the crowd of 
 strange soldiers around. No one could witness 
 such agonizing grief and horror without emotion. 
 
 The only remark which seemed for a moment 
 to arrest her attention was an assurance on the 
 pai't of some of the Union soldiers that her chil- 
 dren should not be molested. 
 
 The dead body of the Colonel of the Zouaves 
 was now carried sadly away on a litter of muskets, 
 and the thrilling story of that morning's bloody 
 work went over the wires in all directions. Col- 
 onel Ellsworth throughout one section, being la- 
 mented as the first costly sacrifice laid on the 
 altar of loyalty, and Jackson as much praised 
 throughout the Soutli for the prompt audacity 
 with which he had avenged the first insult to 
 rebel bunting. 
 
 Heroism of the " M. D's." — The mule dri- 
 ver of the army abolishes the step between the 
 sublime and ridiculous by making the ridiculous 
 sublime. There, for mstance, emerging from the 
 leafy curtain of woods on the thither side of 
 the creek, comes mule team No. 1, thundering 
 with locked wheels — " quadrupedante sonitii," — 
 down the abrupt declivity. The treacherous cause- 
 ways of brush and mud give way under the 
 weight ; the ponderous wagon, blocked l)y the 
 log corduroy, careens on the sinking wheels, and 
 to'pples quivering on the brink of a disastrous up- 
 set into the Stygian creek, where the water is deep 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 393 
 
 and the mud fathomless. Not Hercules could 
 lift the embedded -wain from the engorging rut. 
 The spectators, gathered in the leafy galleries of 
 the surrounding bluffs, and in the muddy pit of 
 the river bank, shriek at the imminent catastrophe. 
 All but the imperturbable M. D. are appalled 
 at the impending overthrow. .For M. D., seated 
 on his stalwart wheeler, like a king upon his 
 throne, a quiet glance behind and before suffices 
 to reveal the nature of the exigency. There is a 
 majestic repose in his features, and a placid con- 
 fidence in his own powers, as he urgently waves 
 away the proffered help, which stamps him the 
 master of the situation. In that moment, grim 
 and dingy though he be, the M. D. is sublime ; 
 he rises to the classic grandeur of the calm he- 
 roic, like the famous " statue on the gates of 
 Altorf." 
 
 A hush of thrilled and awful expectation 
 falls upon the audience. The M. D. speaks one 
 low cabalistic word. The single guiding line in 
 his left hand throbs like a nerve with the electric 
 quiver of his potent will, and flaps the flanks of 
 his leaders. In that single word and motion of 
 the guiding rein he has organized and concen- 
 trated the sextuple power of his muscular mo- 
 tives in one simultaneous impulse. There is a 
 zigzag tug and twist to the right and left, and al- 
 most before you know it the enormous wagon is 
 lifted from the abysmal mud, and is rolling tri- 
 umphantly over the shaking bridge. Already the 
 mighty hybrids are clambering and straining up 
 the steep ascent. 
 
 This is the real crisis of the play. To go back 
 is to go to the devil ; but the M. D., rising to the 
 magnitude of the emergency, unfolds new and 
 awful powers. The hero becomes a fury. His 
 placid eye flashes with a fierce and wrathful fire. 
 From the statuesque calm of his severe but dirty 
 visage bursts a terrific storm of stunning curses. 
 His huge whip, till now unused, writhes and cracks 
 like a thunderbolt over the backs of his imper- 
 turbable mules. They go on. They falter and 
 pause half way up the steep ascent. The wheels 
 go back, and all seems lost. Ajax and Tela- 
 mon, and all the Titans, spring to the wheels, 
 to avert the threatened retrogression down to 
 Styx. 
 
 But ordinary human agencies avail nothing, till 
 the deus ex machina appears on the off side, in the 
 person of the wagon master, with a monstrous and 
 horrific thong. There is another, wilder, louder, 
 fiercer tempest of imprecations on the heads, 
 eyes, hearts of the dumb beasts, and a double 
 crash of lashing thunderbolts from front to rear. 
 Onward and upward rolls the wagon up and over 
 the hills ; the miracle is achieved, and the mules 
 are browsing on the level plain above as if noth- 
 ing uncommon had happened. This, a hundred 
 times repeated with a hundred variations, such as 
 the idiosyncrasy of the actor or the circumstances 
 inspire, with an occasional breakdown and upset, 
 and all the comic by-play of comment and jest, 
 stands, for the day, in place of politics and war 
 — of Charleston and Chattanooga. — St. Paul 
 Fress. 
 
 THE MAUL. 
 
 BY MARY E. NEALY. 
 
 1 SAW a boy in a black-jack wood. 
 
 With a tall, lank, awkward " figger," 
 Striking away with his heavy maul, 
 
 By the side of a young slave " nigger." 
 And he said to himself, "I'll maul away. 
 
 And cleave a path before me ; 
 I'll hew all ' black-jacks ' out of my way, 
 
 'Till the Star of Fame shines o'er me." 
 
 I saw him again on a broad swift stream ; 
 
 But the maul this time was a paddle, 
 And I watched the tiny rainbow's gleam. 
 
 As he made the waves skedaddle. 
 And he said, " I'll paddle away, away. 
 
 Till space shall flee before me ; 
 And I yet shall live to see the day 
 
 When the Star of Fame shines o'er me." 
 
 I saw him again, with his musty books, 
 
 A-pondering Coke and Story ; 
 And little there was in his homely looks 
 
 To tell of his future glory. 
 But he said, •' I'll master, I know I will, 
 
 The difficult task before me ; 
 I'll maul my way through the hard world still, 
 
 Till the Star of Fame shines o'er me." 
 
 I saw him again, when he rose to cope, 
 
 Hand to hand, with the " Western Giant ;" 
 His eye lit up with a beam of hope, 
 
 On his sinewy strength reliant. 
 <' I'll fight him," he said, " with the maul of Truth, 
 
 Till he shrink and quail before me, 
 Till he stand abashed in astonished ruth. 
 
 While the Star of Fame shines o'er me." 
 
 I saw him again in the White House chair, 
 
 A- writing the Proclamation ; 
 And the pen he used was the he-aviest maul 
 
 In this rail-mauling nation. 
 And he said, " 'Tis the only way to make 
 
 The traitors flee before us ; 
 While the light it sheds will leave a wake 
 
 That will shine when the sod grows o'er us." 
 
 I saw him again but the other night. 
 
 And he shook my hand in greeting ; 
 And little he thought how soon I'd write. 
 
 And tell the world of our meeting. 
 The hand I clasped has swung the maul, 
 
 And my own has written its story. 
 But never, I ween, could any hand 
 
 Write half of its toil and glory. 
 
 DRAiiE De Kay's Exploit. — This dashing 
 soldier was one day out on James River, doing 
 some corsair work in one of the Cumberland's 
 launches. 
 
 Some distance to leeward he saw his persistent 
 foe, the Teaser, but kept on his course with " a 
 wet sheet and a flowing sea." But all at once 
 she whirled, and getting into the blaze of the af- 
 ternoon sun, steamed down on Drake. 
 
 As quickly, Drake had his helm hard up, and 
 soon his five oars were out, and the launch head 
 on for shore. Bang! went the Teaser'a bow rifled 
 
594 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 gun. De Kaj' shouted back in derision, and 
 fired his revolver. The chase now assumed a 
 desperate interest. At every puff of smoke from 
 the Teaser's bow, De Kay put down his helm a 
 little, and threw the launch out of range. Nice 
 seamanship, a quick eye, and a cool head, car- 
 ried him through, though shot and shell from the 
 Teaser were screaming and splashing all around 
 him. But Drake was irrepressible, and kept up 
 an audacious pantomime of defiance, till his 
 launch touched the river bank. 
 
 He was not many seconds in pulling out the 
 plug from the boat's bottom, tumbling out his 
 five men, the oars, mast, and sail, and ordering 
 them to run for the bluff. Nor was the Teaser 
 any longer in dropping a launch, getting a dozen 
 men and as many muskets into her, and pushing 
 off in pursuit. 
 
 Drake saw the approaching danger, and planned 
 his defence. 
 
 Running to a picket fence close by, he tore off 
 six pickets, and gave one to each of the men, 
 who drew up in formidable order on the edge of 
 the bluff, and had their launch apparently cov- 
 ered by an array of six deadly gun-barrels. 
 
 The launch of the Teaser passed, viewed the 
 situation through a double-barrelled sea-glass, 
 and, thinking discretion the better part of valor, 
 turned, and De Kay's launch was saved by the 
 formidable bristle of the pickets' battery. 
 
 Shelling, and how Shells are Dodged. 
 — A correspondent, writing from Morris Island, 
 says : " At night we can see the path of a shell 
 thi'ough its journey, lighted as it is by a burn- 
 ing fuse. When the range is two miles, the 
 track of a shell from a mortar describes very near 
 half the arc of a circle. On leaving the mortar, 
 it gracefully moves on, climbing up and up into 
 the heavens till it is nearly or quite a mile above 
 the earth, and then it gHdes along for a moment, 
 apparently in a horizontal line ; but quickly you 
 see that the little fiery orb is on the home stretch, 
 describing the other segment of the circle. 
 
 "A shell from a Parrott rifle-gun, in going 
 two and a half miles, deviates from a straight 
 line not quite as much as a shell from a mor- 
 tar. But in passing over this space, considerable 
 time is required. The report travels much faster 
 than the shot. A shell from a mortar makes the 
 distance of two miles in about thirty seconds, 
 and from a Parrott gun in about half that time. 
 The flash of a gun at night, and the white smoke 
 by day, indicate the moment of discharge, and 
 fifteen or twenty seconds give an abundance of 
 time to find a cover in a splinter proof, behind 
 a trench, or somithing else. It is wise and sol- 
 dierly to do so, but many pay no attention to 
 those hissing, screaming, flying, in the day-time 
 invisible devils, except to crack jokes at their ex- 
 pense ; and occasionally one pays with his life for 
 this foolhardiness." 
 
 A Scene in Wae, — Chaplain Quint relates the 
 following painful episode in war : 
 
 " It was a military execution. The person thus 
 punished belonged to the Third Maryland. His 
 crime was desertion. It was his second offence. 
 For the first he had been sentenced only to three 
 months' labor and loss of pay ; for the second, 
 death ! 
 
 " While the army was passing through Fred- 
 erick, Maryland, he had got out of camp, ilis 
 regiment passed on, and he went to Baltimore. 
 Arrested there, he was returned to the army, was 
 convicted, and was sentenced. 
 
 " On Tuesday his sentence was formally read to 
 him. He was to be shot to death with musketry 
 on the next Friday, between the hours of noon 
 and four P. M. But he had learned the decision 
 on the Sunday before. 
 
 " There is no Chaplain to the Third Maryland 
 regiment. But Chaplain Welsh, of the Fifth Con- 
 necticut, in the same brigade, ministered to him 
 in spiritual matters faithfully, and like himself, 
 day by day. At last it fell to me to see him, and 
 to be with him during most of his remaining 
 hours. But what could be done, in the way of 
 instruction, had been done by Mr. Welsh, and for 
 it the man was grateful. 
 
 " The day of his execution was wet and gloomy. 
 I found him in the morning in the midst of the 
 provost guard. He was sitting on a bag of grain, 
 leaning against a tree, while a sentry, with fixed 
 bayonet, stood behind, never turning away from 
 him, and never to turn away, save as another took 
 his place, until the end. Useless seemed the watch, 
 for arms and feet had been secured, though not 
 painfully, since the sentence was read. 
 
 " The captain of the guard had humanely done 
 all he could, and it was partly by his request that 
 I was there. A Chaplain could minister where 
 others could not be allowed. 
 
 " The rain fell silently on him. The hours of 
 his life were numbered — even the minutes. He 
 was to meet death, not in the shock and excite- 
 ment of battle ; not as a martyr for his country ; 
 not in disease ; but in full health, and as a 
 criminal. 
 
 " I have seen many a man die, and have tried 
 to perform the sacred duties of my station. I 
 have never had so painful a task as that, because 
 of these circumstances. Willingly, gladly, he con- 
 versed, heard, and answered. What he said is, 
 of course, not a matter for publicity ; for the in- 
 terviews of a minister with the one with Avhom he 
 has official relations are sacred everywhere. Yet, 
 while painful is such a work, it has its bright side, 
 because of the ' exceeding great and precious 
 promises ' it is one's privilege to tell. 
 
 " When the time came for removal to the place 
 of execution, he entered an ambulance, a Chap- 
 lain accompanying him. Next, in another ambu- 
 lance, was the coffin. Before, behind, and on 
 either side, a guard. Half a mile of this sad 
 journey brought him to within a short distance 
 of the spot. Then leaving the ambulance, he 
 walked to the place selected. The rain had 
 stopped. The sun was shining on the dark lines 
 of the whole division drawn up on three sides of 
 a hollow square. With guard in front and rear, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 395 
 
 he passed with steady step through an opening 
 left in the head of the square, still with the Chap- 
 lain, and to the open side. There was a grave 
 just dug, and in front of it was his coffin placed. 
 He sat upon his coffin ; his feet were re-confined, 
 to allow of which he lifted them voluntai-ily, and 
 his eyes were bandaged. 
 
 " In front of him, the firing party, of two from 
 each regiment, were then di'awn up, — half held 
 as reserve, — during which there was still a little 
 time for words with his Chaplain. The General 
 stood by, and the Provost Marshal read the sen- 
 tence, and shook hands with the condemned. 
 Then a prayer was ofi'ered, amid uncovered heads 
 and solemn faces. A last hand-shake with the 
 Chaplain, which he had twice requested ; a few 
 words from him to the Chaplain, ; a lingering 
 pressure by the hand of the condemned ; his lips 
 moving with a prayer-sentence which he had been 
 taught, and on which his thoughts had dwelt be- 
 fore, and he was left alone. 
 
 " The word of command was immediately given. 
 He fell over instantly, unconscious. A record of 
 wounds was made by the Surgeons. The troops 
 filed by his grave on the banks of the swollen 
 stream, and then passed ofl", under cover of the 
 woods, as they had come, to avoid being seen by 
 the enemy. And so, twenty years old, and with 
 only a mother and sister, he was left there. The 
 sun was soon covered with clouds, and the rain 
 poured down on his solitary grave." 
 
 I.NXIDENTS IN TENNESSEE. — The scenes during 
 the march of General Burnside into Tennessee 
 were myriad and peculiarly aff'ecting. " We had 
 not extended our march far into the State," wrote 
 a soldier, " before we had evidence of the preva- 
 lence of the most intense loyalty, and, in conse- 
 quence, the most severe sufiering. We had pre- 
 viously seen nothing like it. It is unconditional, 
 and without regard to any of those questions of 
 policy which have been so damaging to the unity 
 of the Union men in Kentucky, and of which the 
 masses here are bUssfuUy ignorant. They kindle 
 into rapture at the sight of our advancing col- 
 umns, and are moved to tears at the sight of the 
 Stars and Stripes, that ' banner of beauty and 
 glory,' which symbolizes the institutions of our 
 country. We were hailed with tears of joy and 
 with shouts of rapture as their deliverers and 
 defenders. Notwithstanding the many vacant, de- 
 serted houses, the many exiles from their homes, 
 which have resulted in so extensive a depletion of 
 population, there were groups of men, women, 
 and children at every turn to greet us with ex- 
 pressions of joy and gratitude, and to tell of 
 Avrongs and sufferings which were calculated to 
 touch the hardest heart and to make the ear to 
 tingle. 
 
 " Never, perhaps, have patriotism and wrath 
 been so combined, gratitude and vengeance so 
 commingled in expression, as by this loyal, down- 
 trodden, and long-suffering people. It would 
 be impossible to narrate the numerous incidents 
 of interest in this connection of which we were | 
 
 witnesses. One or two may serve as illusti-ations 
 of their unrestrained and rustic manner in the 
 expression of their feelings. 
 
 " On the day we left Montgomerj', the head of 
 our column was startled by the voice of an aged 
 woman, shouting * Glory to God in the highest ! ' 
 whilst, with streaming eyes, she expressed her 
 gratitude that she had lived to see the deliverers 
 of her State, and, with clasped hands, as she 
 pursued our advancing commands, she prayed 
 most fervently that the God of battles would be 
 with us, to prosper, and defend, and preserve us. 
 Her petitions were ever and anon interrupted by 
 the narration of her suffering, which was made 
 only the more telling by the presence of her hus- 
 band, who limped behind her, as he leaned with 
 one hand upon a staff, whilst the other rested upon 
 the thigh of his wounded leg, which was made to 
 support more than its wonted share of his body, 
 he having been severely wounded in the other 
 leg by some dastardly, prowling rebel, by which 
 he was made a cripple for life. She would appeal 
 to him for the confirmation of the truth of her 
 statements in regard to their sufferings, and then 
 point him to om- soldiery as those who would 
 avenge his wrongs and be his future security and 
 defence. At one time, being near Major-General 
 Hartsuff, whom she readily recognized as chief 
 in command, she made him the subject of her 
 petition, which he acknowledged by respectfully 
 lifting his hat from his head and holding it in his 
 hand the while. Taking the scene altogether, it 
 was an interesting and moving exhibition of pa- 
 triotism, gratitude, and keen sense of wrongs 
 endured, which, in her esteem, called for ven- 
 geance. 
 
 " A scene somewhat similar occurred the same 
 day, by another family and group of friends, who, 
 amid shouts of welcome to the ' Yankees,' ex- 
 tended the warm hand of friendly greeting to the 
 soldiers, as they passed, until the eyes of an old 
 lady rested upon a prisoner in our custody, whom 
 she recognized as the despoiler of her peace and 
 home. She told him of the wrongs she and hers 
 had suffered at his hands ; how he had driven 
 her husband and herself from theii* home ; how 
 he had hunted her son like a wild animal through 
 the mountains, until he was driven from the 
 State. She upbraided him with his thefts and 
 murders, imploring us in the name of everything 
 sacred not to release him. 
 
 " Our entree into Knoxville was a grand ova- 
 tion. The people of the surrounding country 
 flocked in crowds to welcome us, and the city 
 presented very much the appearance of an Inde- 
 pendence Day. No pen can do justice to the 
 scene, and my heart melts as I call it to mind. 
 Old, gray-haired men and women, the middle- 
 aged, and even little prattling children were per- 
 fectly frantic with joy. We had a large number 
 of men from this section in our army, who had 
 been away from then* homes for two years ; and 
 to see the re-union of these brave fellows with 
 those they love better than life would melt the 
 hardest heart. 
 
396 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " I saw one woman, with two little girls, stand- 
 ing on the sidewalk, and watching intently as the 
 column passed. Presently a browned and weath- 
 er-beaten soldier rode out from the ranks, and 
 the scene that followed more than paid me for the 
 two years of toil and hardship that I have passed 
 in the armj'. It was his wife and little ones, 
 whom he had not seen, and from whom he had 
 not heard but once, for twenty-eight months. 
 This was but one of many similar instances. It 
 was a common thing, after we got into tliis vicinity, 
 to see numbers of soldiers riding along in the 
 ranks with one, two, and sometimes three little 
 boys and girls on the horse with them. 
 
 " One of the most thrilling scenes I ever had 
 the pleasure to witness occurred on our arrival 
 here. Generals Bumside, Carter, and Shaclde- 
 ford took up their quarters at the fine house of 
 a noted rebel who had left the place, and were 
 followed there by an immense concourse of citi- 
 zens clamorous for a speech. General Carter was 
 first called out, he being an East Tennesseean. 
 He was followed by Generals Bumside and 
 Shackleford, and the excitement and enthusiasm 
 of the crowd gained with every word. Mean- 
 while I had taken my way around to the rear of 
 the house, and had got upon the roof of the bal- 
 cony, and as General Shackleford finished his 
 speech I unfurled our large garrison flag, and 
 threw it over the balcony. It was caught by the 
 breeze, and as its beautiful folds streamed out 
 upon the air, the people could no longer contain 
 themselves. Shout after shout rent the air. Old 
 men and gray-haired matrons took each other by 
 the hand, and laughed, shook, and cried, all at 
 the same time. Young men and maidens were 
 uproarious, and little ciiildren were ' clean gone 
 crazy.' I looked into the house and saw Generals 
 Burnside, Carter, and Shackleford shaking hands, 
 while tears rolled down their cheeks as if they 
 ' couldn't help it.' Some one sang out — ' Get 
 under it, get under it' — and it seemed as if 
 the crowd would trample each other under foot 
 in their wild endeavors to do so. I never saw 
 anything like it in my life, and felt some as I 
 imagine the old Patriarch must have felt when he 
 wanted to 'depart in peace.' You may think 
 from the way I write there are no rebels here. 
 There are a few, probably one tenth of the pop- 
 ulation, but they look as if they ' enjoyed very 
 poor health.' " 
 
 How Breckinridge Escaped. — After John- 
 ston's surrender, the rebel Secretary of War and 
 Ex-Vice-President of the United States made his 
 way to Florida, and with a few companions se- 
 cured a little launch, in which they coasted down 
 towards the Cedar Keys, and eventually got across 
 to Cuba. 
 
 From the mouth of Indian Inlet they had 
 worked down the coast some fifty or sixty miles, 
 when they beached their boat to hunt for turtle 
 eggs and other provisions. 
 
 At this time a United States war vessel was 
 running down south between the shore and the 
 Florida lleef, when the commander observed the 
 
 party, and despatched a boat to ascertain who they 
 were and what they were doing there. 
 
 The approach of the boat, filled with the boys 
 in blue, made some stir among the egg-hunters ; 
 but " Breck," as the papers familiarly called him 
 in 1856, is quite a strategist in his way, and de- 
 cided to put a bold front on the affair and play 
 a bluff game. Taylor Wood, a grandson of old 
 " Rough and Ready," took two men, and, the 
 others having retired to the cover of the palmet- 
 toes, launched the boat, and went out to meet the 
 advancing party. As he approached, an ofl&cer in 
 the stern seat of the gig, revolver in hand, chal- 
 lenged him, and put the usual marine questions. 
 
 Taylor was at once the roughest long-shore 
 wrecker and fisherman that ever lived in Florida. 
 " His men were all paroled soldiers ; they had to 
 live somehow, and till they could find something 
 better, were glad to get turtle's eggs, and shell-fish 
 driven on shore; they thought they might get 
 down to Indian Key or Key West ; had a boat- 
 load of papers, if he wanted to see them." 
 
 The ready boys pulled out their parole papers, 
 which were found all right. "The folks on shore 
 Avere all of the same sort, had the same papers, 
 and were trying to cook dinner if they could find 
 some eggs or clams. Pr'aps the cap'n would like 
 to go ashore ; he would be perfectly welcome to 
 the best they had, and their papers too." After 
 a little more good-natured talk, the officer pro- 
 nounced that satisfactory dictum " all right," told 
 his oarsmen to " give to," and away shot the gig 
 to the steamer, greatly to the relief of the distin- 
 guished fugitive, who was anxiously watching the 
 interview from behind a shellbark. 
 
 That evening the party left the shore Avith a 
 few dozen eggs, a little bread, and a few small 
 clams. In thirty-six hours they reached the banks, 
 having spoken one ship and obtained a supply of 
 fresh water. On the morning of the ninth day, 
 after leaving the coast of Florida, they reached 
 Cardenas, where they were received by the people 
 and the authorities with great kindness. 
 
 The Zouave and the Mule. — A soldier in 
 the army of the Potomac relates the following : 
 I was riding from Brandy Station to Stevens- 
 burg in company with Colonel A., of the Michi- 
 gan regiment, and had reached a pomt 
 
 opposite General P.'s headquarters, when we 
 were overtaken by a couple of soldiers mounted 
 on two decidedly un-Rarey-fied mules. The boys 
 had evidently been up to the sutler's, for they 
 were a trifle topheavy. The road crosses a con- 
 siderable creek, which the mules seemed to hold 
 in strong aversion. Nevertheless, through the 
 persuasive eloquence of two heavy sticks, they 
 were urged on to the middle of the stream, and 
 then they flatly refused to advance. The boys 
 tried all the expedients at hand, but it was " no 
 go ; " and when, at length, one of them caught 
 the tail of the other's mule in his hand, and at- 
 tempted to twist a forward movement out of him, 
 the refractory animal reared, whirled to one side, 
 kicked and snorted, and depositing his rider in 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 397 
 
 the dirty drink, he started on a keen run back 
 towards the con-al. Zouave gathered himself up, 
 and seeing that he could not overtake his fright- 
 ened steed, he only followed with sundry exple- 
 tives and imprecations not found in the West- 
 minster Catechism. Colonel A., by the way, is 
 a very pious man, and he took it upon himself 
 to chide the exasperated and unfortunate " vet " 
 for using such unchristian-like language ; but the 
 soldier would have his joke : so, shaking what 
 water he could out of his red pants, he waded to 
 a dry spot on shore, and muttered that it was 
 " damned hard if a feller couldn't cuss a mule." 
 But soon appreciating the ludicrousness of his 
 condition, he turned to the Colonel, and offered to 
 lay a bet that that was the first time he ever saw 
 a mule tear (muleteer) shed. It was some time 
 before either the Colonel or myself was able to 
 see the jiungency of the joke ; but it came to us 
 after a while, and it helped amazingly to dry up 
 the mud between there and Strasburg." 
 
 An Incident of the Great Bethel Fight. 
 — Orderly Sergeant Goodfellow, of Colonel Al- 
 len's regiment, was mortally wounded in the 
 breast. He handed his musket to a comrade, 
 and several flocked around him. " O," said he, 
 " I guess I've got to go ; " and he placed his hand 
 upon the wound. " O, don't mind me, boys," 
 he continued ; " go on with the fight ; don't stop 
 for me ! " and pressing away those who attempted 
 to support him, he sank down upon the gronnd. 
 Just at that instant his Colonel passed ; and look- 
 ing up to him, he gasped, " Good by. Colonel! " 
 Colonel Allen turned ghastly white as he observed 
 it. He bit his lips, too much moved to speak, 
 and rushed on to avenge his death. 
 
 Incidents of Chickajiauga. — A division 
 Surgeon relates the following: He was riding 
 across a field where the battle had raged fiercely, 
 but just swept on, and was making his way slowly 
 among the drifts of friends and foes, — the blue 
 and the gray together, — when a wounded Fed- 
 eral soldier asked for water. The Surgeon gave him 
 the draught, when a voice from a gray heap near 
 by said, " Won't you give me one too, Doctor ? " 
 " Certainly I will ; " and he was just raising the 
 rebel, and bringing round the canteen slung under 
 his arm to put it to his lips, when a cannon shot 
 from a rebel battery struck the earth on one side ; 
 a second bounded by on the other. The man 
 looked up in the Surgeon's face with a smile, " I'm 
 afraid they mean us, Doctor." At that instant, a 
 third shot hit the target, and a headless trunk fell 
 from the supjiorting arm. There was another 
 dead rebel. Of truth they did " mean us," and 
 the Surgeon hastened away. 
 
 Shells ai-e queerly behaved things, often harm- 
 less against all probabilities, and when you think 
 they must be deadly, only patching thunder. If 
 a shell passes you by only a few feet before it 
 bursts, you are pretty sure to be good for the 
 next one that comes, since each fragment takes 
 
 away its share of the motion and flies on. If a 
 shell shows symptoms of " making a landing" just 
 in front of you, your best route would seem to be 
 towards and past the shell ; but how rapidly one 
 could run in that direction I have no means of 
 knowing, having never seen the man that tried 
 it. A solid shot is the most deceptive of projec- 
 tiles. It may seem to move lazily, to be almost 
 dead ; but so long as it moves at all, beware of 
 it._ Just^ before the battle an artilleryman re- 
 ceived his discharge for disability ; but delaying 
 for some reason his northward journey, he was 
 yet with his battery on the eve of the engage- 
 ment, and true to his instincts, took his old place 
 beside his horse, and was just preparing to mount, 
 when a solid shot came ricocheting across the 
 field, bounded up and struck him in the lower 
 part of the body. Crying out, " I've got the first 
 ticket, boys ! " he sank down, and only added, 
 with that strange dread of a little hurt a terribly 
 wounded man almost always seems to feel, " lay 
 me down by a tree where they won't run over me." 
 They complied with his request, hastened into 
 position, and saw him no more. The poor fellow's 
 discharge was confirmed by Heaven. Now, that 
 fatal ball, having finished its work there, leaped 
 lazily on, and pushed out the skirt of the ar- 
 tillerist's coat, as a hand would move a curtain, 
 without rending it I 
 
 THE SOUTHERN WAGON. 
 
 Come, all ye sons of freedom, and join our Southern 
 
 band ; 
 We're going to fight the enemy, and drive them 
 
 from our land. 
 Justice is our motto, Providence our guide ; • 
 
 So jump in the wagon, and Ave'll all take a ride. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 0, wait for the wagon. 
 
 The dissolution ; 
 The South is our wagon, 
 
 And we'll all take a ride. 
 
 Secession is our watchword ; our rights we all de- 
 mand ; 
 
 And to defend our firesides we pledge our hearts 
 and hand. 
 
 Jeff Davis is our President, with Stephens by his 
 side ; 
 
 Brave Beauregard, our General, will join us in the 
 ride. 
 
 Our wagon is plenty big enough, the running-gear 
 
 It's stuffed around with cotton, and made of South- 
 ern wood ; 
 
 Carolina is our driver, with Georgia by her side ; 
 
 Virginia wiU hold her flag up, and we'll all take a 
 ride. 
 
 There are Tennessee and Texas also in the ring ; 
 They .wouldn't have a government where cotton 
 
 wasn't king. 
 Alabama and Florida have long ago replied ; 
 Mississippi and Louisiana are anxious for the ride.. 
 
398 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 Missouri, North Carolina, and Arkansas are slow ; 
 They must hurry, or we'll leave them, and then 
 
 what will they do ? 
 There's Old Kentucky and Maryland won't make 
 
 up their mind ; 
 So I reckon, after all, we'll take them up behind. 
 
 The Tennessee boys are in the field, eager for the 
 
 fray; 
 They can whip the Yankee boys three to one, they 
 
 say; 
 And when they get in conflict, with Davis by their 
 
 side. 
 They'll pitch into the Yankee boys, and then you'll 
 
 see them slide. 
 
 Our cause is just and holy, our men are brave and 
 
 true ; 
 We'll whip the Lincoln cutthroats, is all we have 
 
 to do. 
 God bless our noble army ; in him we all confide ; 
 So jump into the wagon, and we'll all take a ride. 
 
 The First Union Volunteer. — Two days 
 after the fall of Sumter, the Governor of Penn- 
 sylvania called for three companies of militia from 
 the Counties of Mifflin, Schuylkill, and Berks. 
 On the 16th April, John T. Hunter, of Philadel- 
 phia, telegraphed his application, and was enlisted 
 for thi-ee months with the Logan Guard, of Lew- 
 iston, Mifflin County, and was afterwards a mem- 
 ber of the Nineteenth Pennsylvania volunteers. 
 
 Adventures of a Spy. — Dan. R. Cole, a Ser- 
 geant in company D, Third Indiana cavalry, was 
 sent by General Hooker, on the 1st of March, 
 1863, to Fredericksburg, as a spy. 
 
 He crossed the Rappahannock below the Fed- 
 eral lines, and went into Fredericksburg, looking 
 for work, as a mechanic, in the shops. He found 
 them mostly closed, and obtained from General 
 Lee a pass to go to Richmond, where he went in 
 company with some rebel citizens, and remained 
 several days, obtaining much important informa- 
 tion. 
 
 But when he wished to leave, he met with diffi- 
 culty in getting a pass, but fell in with a company 
 of political prisoners, who were leaving at night, 
 and passing as one of them, was conducted to 
 Washington under guard. Here he ran from the 
 guards, and reported at the war office with his 
 information. 
 
 A Yankee Sailor resorts to Strategy. — 
 The United States brig " Bohio " was cruising in 
 the Gulf of Mexico in the spring of 1862, when 
 the crew saw a schooner in the horizon, and hoisted 
 the Spanish ensign. But Avhen she changed it for 
 the Stars and Stripes, the schooner took alarm 
 and stood off. The brig put on sail and chased 
 her, but she was a smart sailer, and kept out of 
 the way. The Bohio then run out her guns and 
 fired two shots at the schooner, of which she took 
 no notice. 
 
 The captain then ordered the sails to be wet 
 
 down, and then began to come up with her. At 
 last he resorted to strategy, and rigged a " smoke- 
 stack " amidships, and built a fiye, and had " steam 
 on." 
 
 As soon as the schooner saw this she gave it 
 up, thinking she was chased by a steamer, and 
 must be overtaken. The captain of the Boliio 
 now boarded her, and found her a blockade-run- 
 ner, with a cargo of coffee and soap worth fifty 
 thousand dollars. He took her in at the South- 
 west Pass, and she became a prize, her officers 
 having learned, by a forcible example, that ap- 
 pearances are sometimes deceptive. 
 
 The First Fatal Shot. — However indiffer- 
 ent men -become to human life, they have the most 
 vivid and minute remembrance of the first man 
 they brought down with a deliberate aim. 
 
 In the instant of time preceding the fatal shot, 
 the fashion of features, color of eyes and hair, and 
 even the expression of face, are all painted, by the 
 vivid sympathies of the instant, in a picture that 
 remains forever photographed on the brain. 
 
 " My first man," said an artilleryman, " I saw 
 but twenty seconds ; but I shall remember him 
 forever. I was standing by ray gun, when a rebel 
 infantry soldier rushed up and made a lunge with 
 his bayonet at one of the horses. I whipped out 
 my revolver, and took him through the breast. 
 He tossed up his arms, gave me the strangest 
 look in the world, and fell forward upon his face. 
 He had blue eyes, brown, curling hair, a dark 
 mustache, and a handsome face. I thought, the 
 instant I shot, that I should have loved that man 
 if I had known him. I tell you what, this war 
 is terrible business ! " 
 
 South Carolina vs. North Carolina. — 
 Sisterly affection between these two adjacent 
 sovereignties does not appear to be very warm, 
 nor have the events of the civil war done much to 
 draw them together, judging from the following 
 journal of a North Carolina traveller, written in 
 the fall of 1863 : 
 
 " After spending a day or two in the neat and 
 quiet village of Franklin, I went directly to Wal- 
 halla, South Carolina, through Rayburn County, 
 Georgia. At Walhalla I took the train to Co- 
 lumbia, South Carolina, where I arrived at six 
 o'clock P. M. I procured an omnibus to carry 
 me to the Congaree House ; on arriving at which, 
 I said to the negro who canned me uj) from the 
 depot, ' What's the fare, boy ? ' ' One dollar, sah.' 
 I pulled out a one dollar North Carolina treasuiy 
 note, and presented it to the negro; on taking 
 which, he exclaimed, *0, dis no good — no good, 
 sah ; dis is North Ca'liner money ; North Ca'liner 
 money no good here, sah ! ' I paid the negro in 
 other money. 
 
 " I thought but little of the circumstance, until 
 I saw, the same evening, a North Carolina soldier 
 attempt to purchase some bread with North Car- 
 olina money, which he could not do. This was 
 the first time I learned that North Carolina sol- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 399 
 
 diers could not buy something to eat with North 
 Carolina money, however hungry they may be, 
 while passing through the State of South Caro- 
 lina. I do not know whether this disposition to 
 receive North Carolina in this dashing State is 
 general, or not. If it is, it is the duty of the 
 people of North CaroUna to refuse South Caro- 
 lina treasury notes — keep their shins out of our 
 State. 
 
 " After spending one night in Columbia, I left 
 for Augusta. On the way down, three South 
 Carolina gentlemen occupied the seats immedi- 
 ately opposite me. I overheard one of them, 
 whom the other gentleman called Major : * I 
 really think North Carolina is the tail end of the 
 Confederacy, and Tennessee is but little behind 
 her — both these States are rotten to the core — 
 neither of them is possessed of any national 
 pride." The other two South CaroUna gentle- 
 men concurred in the opinion. I felt indignant 
 at the remark, and as the gentlemen presented 
 the appearance of respectability, I felt inclined 
 to resent the insult offered to my native State — 
 so, after apologizing to^ the gentlemen for inter- 
 rupting their conversation, I answered their maj- 
 esties : 
 
 " ' Sir, what are your reasons for making such 
 a remark about North Carolina ? ' 
 
 " ' Well, I have a reason for thinking so.' 
 
 " ' Sir, I claim at least the privilege of asking 
 what that reason is.' 
 
 " ' Why do you claim such a right ? ' 
 
 " ' Because, sir, I am a North Carolinian, to the 
 manor horn, and feel insulted at your opprobrious 
 remark.' 
 
 " The South Carolina Major coughed, spit, 
 cleared his throat, and repeated the operation; 
 and, after a rather lengthy pause, during which his 
 accomplices seemed not a little confused, at length 
 said: 
 
 " ' Your State is for reconstruction ! ' 
 
 " I felt still more indignant, and rather tartly 
 replied : ' I ask your pardon, sir ; but that is 
 positively false. There is not one man in North 
 Carolina who is in favor of reconstruction. I feel 
 confident you have a greater proportion of recon- 
 structionists in South Carolina than we have.' 
 
 " My antagonist seemed a little confused, but 
 gathered courage and retorted: 'North Carolina 
 has never furnished the proportion of troops, nor 
 have her troops won the distinction on the battle- 
 field that South Carolina troops have.' 
 
 " In reply to this very ungenerous charge, I 
 referred the Palmetto worshippers to the fact 
 that it was a North Carolinian who fii-ed the first 
 gun of the war ; that a North Carolina regiment 
 won the first victory (at Bethel) ; that a North 
 Carolina regiment (Colonel Fisher's) captm'ed the 
 first Yankee battery ; that North CaroHna troops 
 had won distinguished laurels at Manassas, at the 
 Seven Pines, during the ' Seven Days' Fight ' 
 before Pdchmond (in which they lost half as 
 many troops as all the other States together), at 
 the second battle of Manassas, at ' Sharpsburg, 
 Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, — 
 indeed, wherever her troops have been called into 
 action. This gentleman only replied that he was 
 
 not familiar with what North Carolina had done. 
 I told him I hoped he would never again be guilty 
 of making such an ungenerous remark about a 
 State and a people of which he was so ignorant." 
 
 SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 
 
 BY T. BUCHANAN BEAD. 
 
 Up from the South, at break of day, 
 
 Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay, 
 
 The affrighted air with a shudder bore, 
 
 Like a herald in haste, to the chieftain's door, 
 
 The terrible grumble and rumble and roar, 
 
 Telling the battle was on once more. 
 
 And Sheridan twenty miles away. 
 
 And wider still those billows of war 
 
 Thundered along the horizon's bar, 
 
 And louder yet into Winchester rolled 
 
 The roar of that red sea, uncontrolled, 
 
 Making the blood of the listener cold 
 
 As he thought of the stake in that fiery fray, 
 
 And Sheridan twenty miles away. • 
 
 But there is a road to Winchester town, 
 
 A good, broad highway, leading down ; 
 
 And there, through the flush of the morning light, 
 
 A steed, as black as the steeds of night, 
 
 Was seen to pass as with eagle flight : 
 
 As if he knew the terrible need. 
 
 He stretched away with his utmost speed. 
 
 Hill rose and fell ; but his heart was gay, 
 
 With Sheridan fifteen miles away. 
 
 Still sprung from those swift hoofs, thundering 
 
 south, 
 The dust, like the smoke from the cannon's mouth. 
 Or the trail of a comet, sweeping faster and faster, 
 Foreboding to traitors the doom of disaster ; 
 The heart of the steed, and the heart of the master 
 Were beating, like prisoners assaulting their walls, 
 Im,patient to be where the battle-field calls. 
 Every nerve of the charger was strained to full 
 
 play, 
 With Sheridan only ten miles away. 
 
 Under his spurning feet the road 
 
 Like an arrowy Alpine river flowed ; 
 
 And the landscape sped away behind 
 
 Like an ocean flying before the wind ; 
 
 And the steed, like a bark fed with furnace ire. 
 
 Swept on with his wild eyes full of fire. 
 
 But lo ! he is nearing his heart's desire ; 
 
 He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray, 
 
 With Sheridan only five miles away. 
 
 The first that the General saw were the groups 
 Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops. 
 What was done — what to do — a glance told him 
 
 both; 
 Then, striking his spurs, with a terrible oath, 
 He dashed down the line 'mid a storm of huzzas. 
 And the wave of retreat checked its course there, 
 
 because 
 The sight of the master compelled it to pause. 
 With foam and with dust the black charger was 
 
 gray. 
 By the flash of his eye, and his red nostrils' play, 
 He seemed to the whole great army to say : 
 "I have brovight you Sheridan, all the way 
 From Winchester down, to save you the day ! " 
 
400 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, for Sheridan ! 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, for horse and man ! 
 
 And -when their statues are placed on high, 
 
 Under the dome of the Union sky — 
 
 The American soldiers' Temple of Fame, — 
 
 There, with the glorious General's name, 
 
 E3 it said, in letters both bold and bright : 
 
 "Here is the steed that saved the day 
 By carrying Sheridan into the fight, 
 
 From Winchester, twenty miles away ! " 
 
 Incidents of Cavalry Sekvice. — When, 
 on the 30th of June, 1863, the rear of General 
 Kilpatrick's cavalry division was attacked in the 
 town of Hanover, Pennsylvania, the first charge 
 fell upon a remnant of the Eighteenth Pennsyl- 
 vania cavalry. This command was somewhat 
 scattered, and the rebels, passing through it, came 
 upon the private ambulance of Dr. Wood, chief 
 Surgeon of the division. Two soldiers, named 
 Spaulding and Forsyth, occupied this vehicle — 
 both hospital attendants. As the enemy ap- 
 proached, they made a vigorous attack upon the 
 covering of the wagon with their swords — cut- 
 ting a dozen or more holes in the top — when 
 Spaulding, who was sick, suggested to Forsyth, 
 who was driving, that he (Spaulding) should 
 drive, and the other drive off the assailants with 
 a six-shooter one of the party had. This arrange- 
 ment was carried into effect ; the enemy were 
 driven away, and the Avorthy Surgeon's traps were 
 saved to the service. 
 
 In the same battle, Folger, a private in company 
 H, Fifth New York cavalry, performed an act of 
 great coolness and daring. He got mixed up 
 some way in the charge upon the Eighteenth 
 Pennsylvania cavalry. Not having time to reload 
 his carbine, he jjicked up a loaded one some per- 
 son had dropped, shot a horse upon which the 
 rebel Colonel Payne was riding, the rider falling 
 into a tan-vat, and it was with difficulty Folger 
 saved him from drowning. Just at the moment 
 the Colonel was safely out of the vat, his orderly 
 rode up, and, presenting a pistol to Folger, ordered 
 him to surrender. Folger hesitated, but looking 
 up the street and seeing the advance of the Fifth 
 in the celebrated charge made at that time, sud- 
 denly seized upon his unloaded carbine, and 
 aimjjig it at Mr. Orderly, in no very complimentary 
 terms, ordered him to surrender or he would blow 
 his brains out. The orderly, completely taken 
 by surprise at this turn of affairs, surrendered 
 without making any resistance, so that young 
 Folger, by the display of a little coolness and 
 daring in extremes, not only saved himself from 
 capture, but captured a Colonel and a private from 
 the ranks of the enemy during the heat of battle. 
 
 A Flag-Raising in Kentucky. — In the fall 
 of 1861, just before Grant made those masterly 
 movements by which the upper end of the Mis- 
 sissippi Valley was open to the Union arms, some 
 of his troops were quartered at Camp McAulay, 
 near Paducah, Kentucky. They were command- 
 ed by Brigadier-General Smith. Some of his 
 troops, particularly the Eleventh Indiana regi- 
 
 ment, did not agree Avith him in his toleration of 
 the emblems and expressions of disunion. 
 
 A family named Woolfolk, living near the 
 camp, had not only feiled to exhibit any Union 
 flag, but on several occasions had waved a little 
 rebel flag from the chamber window, greatly to the 
 disgust of the loyal boys of the Eleventh Indiana. 
 One afternoon, therefore, a party of officers procur- 
 ed a beautiful flag, bearing the " Stars and Stripes," 
 and headed by Adjutant Macauley, waited on the 
 aforesaid family, reminded them of their late 
 " suspicious " doings, and politely, but firmly, 
 stated their intention of " placing the American 
 flag upon their house." The lady requested them 
 to wait until her husband (he being then absent) 
 returned. To this they consented, not wishing 
 to violate the domestic sanctity of any citizen. 
 In the mean time one of the ladies wended her way 
 over to Brigadier-General Smith's headquarters, 
 and asked him to protect them from the " sacri- 
 legious (?) outrage that was about to be committed 
 upon their premises." In a few moments, and 
 just as the husband of the lady returned, here 
 came Brigadier-General Charles F. Smith bear- 
 ing down, and in thundering tones demanded " by 
 whose authority this was being done." Adjutant 
 Macauley respectfully informed him " that it was 
 being done by no constituted authority; but it 
 was the wish of the Indiana Eleventh that the 
 flag should be raised." General Smith replied, 
 " I cai'e not what the Indiana Eleventh wants ; 
 I'm commander of this post, by — . Disperse to 
 your quarters ! " The officers then came back, 
 and their non-success was soon known all through 
 the regiment. General Smith's conduct was re- 
 garded with indignation by the Zouaves, and from 
 a murmur of indignation there soon arose a 
 mighty hurricane. The idea that our flag should 
 not be permitted to wave from any place occu- 
 pied by us was more than they could tolerate. 
 Soon the excitement became too intense to be 
 easily quelled. AVith one thought and one mind 
 the men all declared that that flag should be 
 raised upon that traitor's house, General Smith's 
 orders to the contrary notwithstanding ; " and 
 woe to the man, no matter who, that should dare 
 to pull it down." The flag was again brought 
 forth, and headed by the band, the whole regi- 
 ment " broke guard," marched to the aforesaid 
 rebel's premises, and there distinctly informed 
 him that " the Stars and Stripes must be imme- 
 diately planted over his house." 
 
 The man Woolfolk made his appearance, and 
 tried to smooth matters over by making a set speech. 
 " He was loyal to the State of Kentucky, and so 
 long as the State was loyal to the Union, that long 
 was he also a loyal citizen. A secession flag had 
 not been in his house since the advent of our 
 troops. As to my private sentiments, I am an- 
 swerable to my God." 
 
 Adjutant Macauley answered him — " That as 
 Kentucky was loyal to the Union, and as the flag 
 was emblematical of the Union, he should have 
 no objection to its floating from the roof." 
 
 " You have the power and the means ; you can 
 do it then," was the reply. 
 
ANECDOTES, TOETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 401 
 
 The roof was scaled, and the flag was waved 
 from it. Three times three cheers and several 
 "tigers" were given. The band played all the 
 national " hims," and warmly were they greeted, 
 we assm'e you. 
 
 General Wallace, who had entered the crowd 
 unobserved, here mounted a stand. 
 
 " Boys, the flag is there ; your work is done ; 
 go home ! " was all he said. That v;as sufficient. 
 
 Chapl.vins. — The graphic correspondent, B. 
 F. Taylor, in a letter from the army of the Cum- 
 berland, gives the following : 
 
 " ' But how about the Chaplains ? ' you ask ; and 
 though an ungrateful business, I will be frank to 
 tell you. I have met three dozen men, whose 
 symbol is the cross, and of that number, two 
 should have been in the ranks, two in the rear, 
 one keeping the temperance pledge, one obeying 
 the third commandment — to be brief about it, 
 five repenting, and eight getting common sense. 
 The rest were efiicient, faithful men. Not one 
 Chaplain in fifty, perhaps, lacks the paving-stones 
 of good intentions, but the complex complaint 
 that carries ofl" the greatest number is ignorance 
 of human nature, and want of common sense. 
 Four cardinal questions, I think, will exhaust the 
 qualifications for a chaplaincy : Is he religiously 
 fit ? Is he physically fit ? Is he acquainted with 
 the animal, ' man ? ' Does he possess honest 
 horse sense ? Let me give two or three illustra- 
 tive pictures from life. Chaplain A has a, putter- 
 ing demon ; he is forever not letting things 
 alone. Passing a group of boys, he hears one 
 oath, stops sliort in his boots, hurls a command- 
 ment at the author, hears another and reproves 
 it, receives a whole volley, and retreats, pained 
 and discomfited. Now, Mr. A is a good man, 
 anxious to do his duty ; but that habit of his, that 
 darting about camp like a ' devil's darning nee- 
 dle,' with a stereotype reproof in his eye, and a 
 pellet of rebuke on the tip of his tongue, bolts 
 every heart against him. Chaplain B preaches a 
 sermon — regular army fare, too — on Sunday, 
 buttons his coat up snugly under his chin all the 
 other days of the week, draws a thousand dol- 
 lars, and is content. Chaplain C never forgets 
 that he is C ' with the rank of Captain,' per- 
 fumes like a civet cat, never saw the inside of a 
 dog-tent, never quite considered the rank and 
 file fellow-beings. Of the three, the boys hate 
 the first, despise the second, and d — n the third. 
 
 " * Demoralize ' has become about as common 
 a thing in the army as a bayonet, though the 
 boys do not always get the word right. One of 
 them — ' one of 'em,' in a couple of senses — 
 was talking of himself one night. ' Maybe you 
 wouldn't think it, but I used to be a regular, 
 straight-laced sort of a fellow ; but since I joined 
 the army I have got damnably decomposed!' 
 Now, a drunken General and a 'decomposed' 
 Chaplain are about as useless lumber as can cum- 
 ber an army. 
 
 "There is Chaplain D, well equipped with 
 heart, but with no head ' to speak of,' and with 
 26 
 
 the purest intentions, a perfect provocative to 
 evil. It was next to impossible for a man to put 
 the best side out when he was by ; a curious two- 
 footed diachylum plaster, he drew everybody's 
 infirmities to the surface. I think the regiment 
 grew daily worse and worse, and M'hcre he was, 
 words Avcre sure to be the dirtiest, jokes the 
 coarsest, deeds the most unseemly. Tlie day be- 
 fore the battle of Chickaraauga, the regiment had 
 signed, almost to a man, a paper inviting him 
 to resign ; but on the days of the battle he thrcAV 
 ofl" his coat, and carried water to the men all day. 
 In the hottest places there was Chaplain D, wa- 
 ter here, water there, assisting the wounded, aid- 
 ing the Surgeons, a very minister of mercy. I 
 need not add that the 'invitation' lighted 
 the fire under somebody's coff"ee-kettle on Mon- 
 day night. The Chaplain had struck the right 
 vein at last; the boys had found something 
 to respect and to love in him, and the clergy- 
 man's future usefulness was insured. The bond 
 between Chaplain and men was sealed on that 
 field with honest blood, and will hold good until 
 doomsday. 
 
 " One noble Illinois Chaplain, who died in the 
 harness, used to go out at night, lantern in hand, 
 among the blended heaps of the battle-field, and 
 as he went, you could hear his clear, kind voice, 
 ' Any wounded here ? ' and so he made the terri- 
 ble rounds. That man was idolized in life and 
 bewailed in death. Old Jacob Trout, a Chaplain 
 of the Revolution, and who preached, if I re- 
 member right, a five minute sermon before the 
 battle of Brandpvine, was the type of the man 
 that soldiers love to honor. His faith was in 
 ' the sword of the Lord and of Gideon,' but his 
 Avork was with the musket of Jacob Trout. I do 
 not mean to say that the Chaplain should step 
 out from the little group of non-combatants that 
 belong to a regiment, but I do say, that he must 
 establish one point of contact, quicken one throb 
 of kindred feeling between the men and himself, 
 or his vocation is as empty of all blessings and 
 honor as the old wine flasks of Herculaneum. 
 No man can honestly misunderstand Vrhat I have 
 Avritten. The Chaplaincy, at best, is an office 
 difficult and thankless. It demands the best 
 men you have to fill it well and worthily — men 
 whose very presence and bearing put soldiers 
 ' upon their honor ; " and it is safe to say that he 
 who is fit to be a Chaplain is fit to rule a people. 
 How nobly many of them have labored in the 
 army of the Cumberland, I need not testify;. 
 ministers of mercy, right-hand men of the Sur- 
 geons, and the Nightingales, bearers of- the cup of 
 cold water and the word of good cheer ; the strong 
 regiment may be the Colonel s, but the wounded 
 brigade is the Chaplain's. To mingle with the 
 men, and share in their frolics, as well as their 
 sorrows, without losing self-respect ; to be with 
 them, and yet not of them ; to get at their hearts 
 without letting them know it, — these are indeed 
 tasks most delicate and difficult, requiring a tact 
 a man must be born M'ith, and a good, honest 
 sense that can never be derived from Gill's 
 'Body of Divinity.' How do you like Chaplain 
 
402 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 S., I asked of a group of Illinois boys, one day. 
 ' We'll freeze to him, every time,' was the char- 
 acteristic reply ; and not unanticipated, for I had 
 seen him dressing a wound, helping out a blun- 
 dering boy, whose fingers M'ere all thumbs, with 
 his letter to ' the girl he left behind him,' play- 
 ing ball, running a race, as well as heard him 
 making a prayer and preaching a sermon. The 
 Surgeon and the Chaplain are co-workers. I 
 said the former should report to the women, and 
 I half believe that the Chaplain should do like- 
 wise." 
 
 A Noble Richmond Girl. — Early in the 
 war, S. R. McCullough entered the ranks of the 
 First Wisconsin regiment, and soon after became 
 its hospital steward. At the disastrous battle of 
 Chickamauga, in company with three thousand 
 others, he was taken prisoner, and passed through 
 Atlanta, on his way to Richmond. Here, he says, 
 the loyalty of a great number of the Southei'n 
 Avomen was distinctly proved ; more than a hun- 
 dred came to the cars where the prisoners were 
 confined, and handed them blankets and other 
 clothing, M'ithin which were rolled greenbacks, 
 varying in amount from tv/o to ten dollars. Simi- 
 lar demonstrations took place at various other 
 points along the route ; and at R,ichmond he 
 found a friend indeed in a pretty looking young 
 ladj', to whose agency he and a comrade owe 
 their escape. She did the planning, and part of 
 the execution ; they the remainder. This young 
 lady met young McCullough, and sent to the hos- 
 pital for him a pretty bag, containing about a 
 pound of tobacco. It occurred to McCullough 
 that there might be something besides tobacco in 
 it ; and sure enough, at the bottom of the bag was 
 a slip of paper, containing substantially these 
 words : " Would you be free ? Then be prepared 
 to act — meet me to-morrow at ." The meet- 
 ing took place. In a few hasty words her plan 
 was unfolded ; a day for its attempt was agreed 
 upon, and the parties separated without attract- 
 ing the attention of the guard. 
 
 A subsequent note, conveyed in like manner, 
 told him he might arrange for a single comrade ; 
 that necessary clothes would be provided, and 
 gave short, but specific directions for the future. 
 The to him important day approaches ; he can 
 think of no way to pass the guard but to feign 
 sickness and death. It is adopted, and on the 
 day four of his fellow-prisoners carry him between 
 lilankets to tlie " dead house " beyond the guard, 
 but within the high fenced enclosure, where he 
 lies, " dead as a nit," from midday till dusk, 
 all the time fearing that some troublesome guard 
 might peep in, or a real dead one be brought, 
 and his deception disclosed ; but neither hap- 
 pened. At length he raised up and listened ; 
 then made a short reconnoissance barefooted, and 
 finding all right, returned, put on his traps, and 
 sallied forth. Meanwhile, a sham fight was got- 
 ten up in another part of the enclosure among a 
 lot of prisoners, to quell which drew the guard 
 fi'om their legitimate line, during which the com- 
 rade passed beyond to a designated negro hut, 
 
 where he was safely stowed away till little pebble 
 stones thrown against it by ^IcCuUough told him 
 to come forth. The two proceeded to scale the 
 high fence by one clambering upon the shoulders 
 of the other, thus reaching the top, then draM'ing 
 up his comrade. After a while they reached the 
 place appointed by the lady (not far distant), and 
 had been there but a few moments when she joined 
 them, directed that they follow her at such a dis- 
 tance only as to be able to keep in view a white 
 handkerchief which she carried in her hand. They 
 did follow her for twenty-five blocks, when she led 
 them into a house, which proved to be that of her 
 father. Up to this time her father did not know a 
 word of her doings ; but still he received the res- 
 cued men cordially, and at once set to work to 
 get them safely oft". He procured two passes for 
 them, for which he paid twenty-five hundred dol- 
 lars in Confederate currency. In a few days, dis- 
 encumbered of everything that could by possi- 
 bility expose them if examined, the good man 
 furnished them a carriage ; and with his blessing 
 and that of his family, they set forth for the Fed- 
 eral lines, which they reached on the 23d of De- 
 cember, 1863. Once, on the road, they were 
 stopped and examined by Confederate detectives, 
 but there being no apparent reasons for their de- 
 tention, vrere allowed to proceed. 
 
 Anecdotes of Judge Chase. — Durmg the 
 visit of Chief Justice Chase to New Orleans he 
 received many elegant attentions. 
 
 An evening party was given him by a relative 
 in Jackson Street, where Miss Chase, his accom- 
 plished daughter, was the cynosure of all eyes. 
 The Chief Justice, Avho has very little official 
 stiffness, indulged during the evening in many 
 a delightful anecdote, some of whicli were far 
 more interesting than reports of the Supreme 
 Court. 
 
 " While at Key West," said the Chief Justice, 
 " I fell in with an intelligent contraband, who, 
 after eying me intently for a wliile, approached 
 me Avith a broad grin, and said : 
 
 " ' Ise — Ise seen you somewhere, massa.' 
 
 " Thinking this smiling recognition worth some- 
 thing, I pulled out a greenback, which the negro 
 recognized better than your humble servant, and 
 with a still broader grin, sputtered out : 
 
 '"0, I know you now, massa, I know you 
 now ; you'se Old Greenbacks.' " Whereupon the 
 Chief Justice also smiled with a smile of satis- 
 faction, and told another. 
 
 " One summer, during my administration, when 
 the Treasury was more than usually low, I had 
 occasion to visit a body of troops that had not 
 been paid off for a long time. Among the men 
 was one with whom I had some acquaintance, but 
 who did not seem to recognize me, whereupon I 
 introduced myself. 
 
 " ' O, yes, Mr. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury. 
 I recollect,' he said ; ' but it is so long since we 
 have seen your picture that I had almost forgot- 
 ten you." 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 403 
 
 THE KENTUCKY PARTISAN. 
 
 BY PAUL H. HAYNE. 
 
 Hath the wily Swamp Fox 
 
 Come again to earth ? 
 Hath the soul of Sumter 
 
 Owned a second birth ? 
 From the Western hill- slopes 
 
 Starts a hero-form, 
 Stalwart, like the oak tree, 
 
 Tameless, like the storm ! 
 His an eye of lightnjng ! 
 
 His a heart of steel ! 
 Flashing deadly vengeance, 
 
 Thrilled with fiery zeal ! 
 Hound him down, ye minions ! 
 
 Seize him — if ye can ; 
 But woe worth the hireling knave 
 Who meets him, man to man ! 
 
 Well done, gallant Morgan ! 
 
 Strike with might and main, 
 Till the fair fields redden 
 
 With a gory rain ; 
 Smite them by the roadside. 
 
 Smite them in the wood, 
 By the lonely valley, 
 
 And the purpling flood ; 
 'Neath the mystic starlight, 
 
 'Neath the glare of day, 
 Harass, sting, affright them, 
 
 Scatter them, and slay ; — 
 Beard, who durst, our chieftain ! 
 
 Blind him — if ye can, — 
 But woe worth the Hessian thief 
 Who meets him, man to man ! 
 
 There's a lurid purpose 
 
 Brooding in his breast, 
 Born of solemn passion 
 
 And a deep unrest : 
 For our ruined homesteads 
 
 And our ravaged land. 
 For our women outraged 
 
 By the dastard hand, 
 For our thousand sorrows 
 
 And oiir untold shame, 
 For our blighted harvests. 
 
 For our towns aflame — 
 He has sworn, (and recks not 
 
 Who may cross his path) — 
 That the foe shall feel him 
 
 In his torrid wrath — 
 That, while will and spirit 
 
 Hold one spark of life, 
 Blood shall stain his broadsword, 
 
 Blood shall wet his knife : — 
 On ! ye Hessian horsemen ! 
 
 Crush him — if ye can ! 
 But woe worth your stanchest slave 
 Who meets him, man to man ! 
 
 'Tis no time for pleasure ! 
 
 Doff the silken vest ! 
 Up, my men, and follow 
 
 Marion of the West ! 
 Strike with hira for freedom } 
 
 Strike with main and might, 
 'Neath the noonday splendor, 
 
 'Neath the gloom of night ; 
 
 Strike by rock and roadside, 
 Strike in wold and wood ; 
 By the shadowy valley. 
 
 By the purpling flood ; 
 On ! where Morgan's war-horse 
 Thunders in the van ! 
 God ! who would not gladly die 
 Beside that glorious man ? 
 
 Hath the wily Swamp Fox 
 
 Come again to earth ? 
 Hath the soul of Sumter 
 
 Owned a second birth ? 
 From the Western hill-slopes 
 
 Starts a hero-form. 
 Stalwart, like an oak tree. 
 
 Restless, like the storm ! 
 His an eye of lightning ! 
 
 His a heart of steel ! 
 Flashing deadly vengeance. 
 
 Thrilled with fiery zeal ! 
 Hound him down, ye robbers ! 
 
 Slay him — if ye can ! 
 But woe worth the hireling knave 
 Who meets him, man to man ! 
 
 The Execution of a Spy, — When a man 
 meets death with true courage, our sympathies 
 are drawn towards him, no matter what may have 
 been his crimes. And no military duty is more 
 painful _ than the execution of a spy, especially 
 when his bearing is manly, and he displays senti- 
 ments of honor and magnanimity at the foot of 
 the scaffold. 
 
 The following account gives the particulars of 
 an event of this character which took place at 
 Pulaski, about eighty miles south of Nashville, 
 Tennessee, in December, 1863. 
 
 On Friday the citizens and soldiers of Pulaski 
 witnessed one of those painful executions of stern 
 justice which makes war so terrible, and, though 
 sanctioned by the usages of war, is no more than 
 men in the service of their country expose them- 
 selves to every day. 
 
 Samuel Davis, of General Coleman's scouts, 
 having been found within the Federal lines Avith 
 despatches and mails destined for the enemy, 
 was tried on the charge of being a spy, and, be- 
 ing found guilty, was condemned to be hung be- 
 tween the hours of ten o'clock A. M. and six 
 o'clock P_. M., on Friday, November 27, 1863. 
 
 The prisoner was apprised of his sentence b\ 
 Captain Armstrong, local Provost Marshal, an'd 
 though somewhat surprised at the sentence of 
 death, did not manifest any outward signs of agi- 
 tation. Chaplain Young, of the Eighty-first Ohio 
 infantry, visited the prisoner, and administered 
 spiritual consolation. 
 
 The prisoner expressed himself resigned to hi8 
 fate and perfectly prepared to die. He exhibited 
 a firmness unusual for one of his age, and up to 
 the last showed a lively interest in the news of 
 the day, expressing regret when told of the de- 
 feat of Bragg. The scaffold for the execution of 
 the prisoner was built upon the ridge east of the 
 town, near the seminary — a position which could 
 be seen from any part of the town. A^ precisely 
 
404 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ten o'clock A. jSI., the p-isoner was taken from 
 his cell, his hands tied behind him, and, accom- 
 panied by the Chaplain of the Eighty-first Ohio, 
 was placed in a wagon, seated upon his coffin, 
 and conveyed to the scaffold. Provost Marshal 
 Armstrong conducted the proceedings. At pre- 
 cisely five minutes past ten o'clock the wagon 
 containing the prisoner and the guards entered 
 the hollow square formed by the troops, in the 
 centre of which was the scaffold. The prisoner 
 then stepped from the wagon, and seated him- 
 self upon a bench at the foot of the scafi'old. 
 He displayed great firmness, glancing casually 
 at his coffin as it was taken from the wagon. 
 Turning to Captain Armstrong, he inquired how 
 long he had to live, and was told he had just fif- 
 teen minutes ; he then remarked, " We would 
 have to fight the rest of .the battles alone." 
 
 Captain Armstrong — "I am sorry to be com- 
 pelled to perform this painful duty." 
 
 Prisoner, with a smile — " It does not hurt 
 me. Captain. I am innocent, though I am pre- 
 ])ared to die, and do not think hard of it." 
 
 Captain Chickasaw then asked the prisoner if it 
 would not have been better for him to have ac- 
 cepted the ofier of life upon the disclosm-e of 
 facts in his possession; when the prisoner an- 
 swered, with much indignation : 
 
 " Do you suppose I would betray a friend? 
 No, sir ! I would die a thousand times first ! " 
 
 He was then questioned upon other matters, 
 but refused to give any information which could 
 be of service. 
 
 The prisoner then mounted the scaffold, accom- 
 panied by the Chaplain, James Young, whom he 
 requested to pray with him at his execution. 
 
 The prisoner then ste])j)ed upon the trap, the 
 rope was adjusted about his neck, and the cap 
 drawn over his head. In a moment the trap was 
 sprung, and the prisoner fell suspended in the 
 air. Por a few moments he struggled with his 
 hands and feet. This was succeeded by a shght 
 quivering of the body, v.iiich ceased at three and 
 a half minutes from the time he-felh After be- 
 ing suspended seventeen and a half minutes, 
 the officiating Surgeon (D. W. Vayles, Sixty- 
 sLxth Indiana) pronounced the prisoner dead, and 
 he was cut down and placed in his coffin. It was 
 supposed, from the protracted animation which 
 the prisoner exhibited, that the fall had not bro- 
 ken his neck, and that he died by strangulation ; 
 but upon subsequent examination his neck was 
 found to be completely broken. 
 
 So fell one whom tlie fate of war cut down in 
 early youth, and who exhibited traits of charac- 
 ter which, under other circumstances, might have 
 made him a valuable friend and member of soci- 
 ety. 
 
 The Fight in Hampton Roads. — On Sat- 
 urday, the 8th March, 1862, about noon, the 
 United States frigate Cumberland lay off in the 
 roads at Newport News, about three hundred 
 yards from shore, the Congress being two hun- 
 dred yards south of her. The morning was mild 
 and pleasant, and the day had opened without 
 any noteworthy incident. 
 
 Soon after eleven o'clock a dark-looking object 
 was seen coming round Craney Island through 
 Norfolk Channel, and making straight for the 
 two Union war vessels. It was instantly recog- 
 nized as the Merrimac. The officers of the Cum- 
 berland and of the Congress had been on the 
 lookout for her for some time, and were as well 
 prepared for the impending fight as wooden ves- 
 sels could be. 
 
 As the strange-looking craft came ploughing 
 through the water right onward towards the port 
 bow of the Cumberland, she resembled a huge, 
 half submerged crocodile. Her sides seemed of 
 solid ii'on, except where the guns pointed from 
 the narrow ports, and rose slantingly from the 
 water like the roof of a house, or the arched back 
 of a tortoise. Probably the entire height of the 
 apex from the water's edge was ten perpendicular 
 feet. At her prow could be seen the iron ram 
 projecting straight forward somewhat above the 
 water's edge, and apparently a mass of iron. 
 Small boats were slung or fastened to her sides, 
 and the rebel flag from one staff, and a pennant 
 to another at the stern. There was a smoke- 
 stack near her middle ; but no side-wheels or 
 machinery was visible, and all exposed parts of 
 the formidable craft were heavily coated with 
 iron. 
 
 Immediately on the appearing of the Merrimac, 
 both Union vessels made ready for action. All 
 hands were ordered to places, and the Cumber- 
 land was swung across the channel, so her broad- 
 side would bear on the hostile craft. The arma- 
 ment she could use against the Merrimac was 
 about eleven nine and ten-inch Dahlgren guns, 
 and two pivot guns of the same make. The 
 enemy came on at the rate of four or five knots 
 an hour. When within a mile, the Cumberland 
 opened on her with her pivot guns, and soon 
 after with broadsides. Still she came on, the 
 balls bounding from her sides like India rubber, 
 making apparently no unpression except to cut 
 away the flag-stafl'. 
 
 The INIerrimac passed the Congress, dischar- 
 ging a broadside at her, one shell from which 
 killed and disabled every man at Gun No. 10 
 but one, and made directly for the Cumberland, 
 which she struck on the port bow just starboard 
 of the main chains, knocking a hole in the side 
 near the water line as large as the head of a 
 hogshead, and driving the vessel back upon her 
 anchors with great force. The water at once 
 commenced pouring into the hold, and rose so 
 rapidly as to reach in five minutes the sick-bay 
 on the berth-deck. Almost at the moment of the 
 collision the jSIerrimac discharged from her for- 
 ward gun an eleven-inch shell. This shell raked 
 the whole gun-deck, killing ten men at Gun No. 1, 
 among whom was Master Mate John Harrington, 
 and cutting oft" both arms and legs of Quarter- 
 Gunner Wood. The water rushed in from tlie 
 hole made below, and in five minutes the ship 
 began to sink by the head. Shell and solid shot 
 from the Cumberland were rained on tlie Merri- 
 mac as she passed ahead, but the most glanced 
 harmlessly from the incUne of her iron-plated 
 bomb-roof. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 405 
 
 As the Merrimac rounded to and came up, she 
 again raked the Cumberland with heavy fire. At 
 this fire sixteen men at Gun No. 10 were killed 
 or wounded, and were all subsequently carried 
 down in the sinking ship. 
 
 Advancing with increased momentum, the Mer- 
 rimac struck the Cumberland on the starboard 
 side, smashing her upper works and cutting an- 
 other hole below the water-line. 
 
 The ship now began rapidly to settle, and the 
 scene became most horrible. The cockpit was 
 filled with the wounded, whom it was impossible 
 to bring up. The forward magazine was under 
 water, but powder was still supplied from the 
 after magazine, and the firing kept steadily up by 
 men who knew that the ship was sinking under 
 them. They worked desperately and unremit- 
 tingly, and amid the din and horror of the con- 
 flict gave cheers for their flag and the Union, 
 which were joined in by the wounded. The decks 
 were slippery with blood, and arms and legs and 
 chunks of flesh were strewed about. The Merri- 
 mac lay off at easy point-blank range, dischar- 
 ging her broadsides alternately at the Cumberland 
 and the Congress. The M'ater by this time had 
 reached the after magazine of the Cumberland. 
 The men, however, kept at work, and several 
 cases of powder were passed up, and the guns 
 kept in play. Several men in the after shell-room 
 lingered there too long in their eagerness to pass 
 up shell, and were drowned. 
 
 The water had at this time reached the berth 
 or main gun-deck, and it was felt hopeless and 
 useless to continue the fight longer. The word 
 was given for each man to save himself; but after 
 this order Gun No. 7 was fired, when the adjoin- 
 ing Gun, No. G, was actually under water. This 
 last shot was fired by an active little fellow named 
 Matthew Tenney, whose courage had been con- 
 spicuous throughout the action. As his port was 
 left open by the recoil of the gun, he jumped to 
 scramble out ; but the water rushed in with so 
 much force that he was washed back and drowned. 
 When the order was given to cease firing, and to 
 look out for then* safety in the best way possible, 
 numbers scampered through the port-holes, whilst 
 others reached the spar-deck by the companion- 
 ways. Some were unable to get out by either of 
 these means, and were carried down by the'rapidly 
 sinking ship. Of those who reached the upper 
 deck, some swam off to the tugs that came out 
 from Newport News. 
 
 The Cumberland sank in water nearly to her 
 cross-trees. She went down with her flag still 
 flying — a memento of the bravest, most daring, 
 and yet most hopeless defence that has ever been 
 made by any vessel belonging to any navy in the 
 world. The men fought with a courage that could 
 not be excelled. There was no flinching, no 
 thought of surrender. 
 
 The whole number lost of the Cumberland's 
 crew was one hundred and twenty. 
 
 The Cumberland being thoroughly demolished, 
 the Merrimac left her — not, to the credit of the 
 rebels it ought to be stated, firing either at the 
 men clinging to the rigging, or at the small boats 
 
 on the propeller Whildin, which were busily em- 
 ployed rescuing the survivors of her crew — and 
 proceeded to attack the Congress. The officers 
 of the Congress, seeing the fate of the Cumber- 
 land, and aware that she also would be sunk if 
 she remained within reach of the iron beak of the 
 Merriniac, had got all sail on the ship, Mith the 
 intention of running her ashore. The tug-boat 
 Zouave also came out and made fast to the Cum- 
 berland, and assisted in towing her ashore. 
 
 The Merrimac then surged up, gave the Con- 
 gress a broadside, receiving one in return, and 
 getting astern, raked the ship fore and aft. This 
 fli'e was terribly destructive, a shell killing every 
 man at one of the guns except one. Coming 
 again broadside to the Congress, the Merrimac 
 ranged slowly backward and forward, at less than 
 one hundred yards distant, and fired broadside 
 after broadside into the Congress. The latter 
 vessel repHed manfully and obstinately, every gun 
 that could be brought to bear being discharged 
 rapidly, but with little eflect upon the iron mon- 
 ster. Some of the balls caused splinters of iron 
 to fly from her mailed roof, and one shot, enter- 
 ing a port-hole, dismounted a gun. The guns of 
 the Merrimac appeared to be specially trained on 
 the after magazine of the Congress, and shot 
 after shot entered that part of the ship. 
 
 Thus slowly drifting down with the current and 
 again steaming up, the ^Merrimac continued for an 
 hour to fu'e into her opponent. Several times the 
 Congress was on fire, but the flames were kept 
 down. Finally the ship was on fire in so many 
 places, and the flames gathering such force, that 
 it was hopeless and suicidal to keep up the de- 
 fence any longer. The national flag was sorrow- 
 fully hauled down, and a white flag hoisted at the 
 peak. 
 
 After it was hoisted the Merrimac continued to 
 fire, perhaps not discovering the white flag, but 
 soon after ceased firing. 
 
 A small rebel tug that had followed the Mer- 
 rimac out of Norfolk, then came alongside the 
 Congress, and a young officer gained the gun- 
 deck through a port-hole, announced that he 
 came on board to take command, and ordered the 
 officers on board the tug. 
 
 The officers of the Congress refused to go on 
 board, hoping from the nearness to the shore that 
 they would be able to reach it, and unwilling to 
 become prisoners whilst the least chance of es- 
 cape remained. Some of the men, supposed to 
 number about fortj^, thinking the tug was one of 
 our vessels, rushed on board. At this moment 
 the members of an Indiana regiment, at Newport 
 News, brought a Parrott gun down to the beach 
 and opened fire upon the rebel tug. The tug 
 hastily put off, and the Merrimac again opened 
 fire upon the Congress. The fire not being re- 
 turned from the ship, the Merrimac commenced 
 shelling the woods and camps at Newport News, 
 fortunately, however, without doing much dam- 
 age, only one or two casualties occurring. 
 
 By the time all were ashore, it was seven o'clock 
 in the evening, and the Congress was in a bright 
 sheet of flame, fore and aft. She continued to 
 
406 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 burn until twelve o'clock at night, her guns, which 
 •were loaded and trained, going off as they became 
 heated. A shell from one struck a sloop at New- 
 port News, and blew her up. At twelve o'clock 
 the fire reached her magazines, and with a tre- 
 mendous concussion her charred remains blew up. 
 There were some five tons of gunpowder in her 
 magazine. 
 
 After sinking the Cumberland and filing the 
 Congress, the Merrimac, with the Yorktown and 
 Jamestown, stood off in the direction of the steam- 
 frigate ^linnesota, which had been for some hours 
 aground, about three miles below Newport Ncavs. 
 This was about five o'clock on Saturday evening. 
 The rebel commander of the Merrimac, either 
 fearing the greater strength of the Minnesota, or 
 wishing, as it afterwards appeared, to capture this 
 splendid ship without doing serious damage to 
 her, did not attempt to run the Minnesota clown, 
 as he had run down the Cumberland, He stood 
 off about a mile distant, and with the Yorktown 
 and Jamestown threw shell and shot at the frigate. 
 The Minnesota, though, from being aground, un- 
 able to manoeuvre, or bring all her guns to bear, 
 was fought splendidly. She threw a shell at the 
 Y'orktown, which set her on fire, and she was 
 towed off by her consort, the Jamestown. From 
 the reappearance of the Yorktown next day, the 
 fire must have been suppressed without serious 
 damage. The after cabins of the Minnesota were 
 torn away, in order to bring two of her large guns 
 to bear from her stern ports, the position in Avhich 
 she was lying enabling the rebels to attack her 
 there with impunity. She received two serious 
 shots : one, an eleven-inch shell, entered near the 
 waist, passed through the chief engineer's room, 
 knocking both rooms into ruins, and wounding 
 several men. Another shot went clear through 
 the chain plate, and another passed through the 
 mainmast. Six of the crew were killed outright 
 on board the Minnesota, and nineteen wounded. 
 The men, though fighting at great disadvantage, 
 stuck manfully to tlieir guns, and exhibited a 
 spirit that would have enabled them to compete 
 successfully with any ordinary vessel. 
 
 About nightfall, the Merrimac, satisfied with 
 her afternoon's work of death and destruction, 
 steamed in under Sewall's Point. The day thus 
 closed most dismally for the Union side, and with 
 tlie most gloomy apprehensions of Avhat would 
 occur the next day. The Minnesota was at the 
 mercy of the Merrimac ; and there appeared no 
 reason why the iron monster might not clear the 
 Roads of the fleet, destroy all the stores and 
 warehouses on the beach, drive the troops into the 
 Fortress, and command Hampton Roads against 
 any number of wooden vessels the Government 
 might send there. Saturday was a terribly dis- 
 mal night at Fortress Monroe. 
 
 About nine o'clock, Ericsson's battery, the Mon- 
 itor, arri-ved at the Roads ; and upon her perform- 
 ance was felt that the safety of their position in a 
 great measure depended. Never was a greater 
 hope placed upon apparently more insignificant 
 means ; but never was a great hope more tri- 
 umphantly fulfilled. The Monitor was the reverse 
 
 of formidable, lying low on the water, with a plain 
 structure amidships, a small pilot-house forward, a 
 diminutive smoke-pipe aft: at a mile's distance she 
 might be taken for a raft, with an army ambulance 
 amidships. ^ 
 
 When Lieutenant Worden was informed of what 
 had occurred, though his crew were suffering from 
 exposure and loss of rest from a stormy voyage 
 around from New York, he at once made prepara- 
 tions for taking part in whatever might occur next 
 day. 
 
 Before daylight on Sunday morning, the Mon- 
 itor moved up, and took a position alongside the 
 ^Minnesota, lying between the latter ship and the 
 Fortress, where she could not be seen by the reb- 
 els, but was ready, with steam up, to shp out. 
 
 Up to this time, on Sunday, the rebels gave no 
 indication of what were their further designs. 
 The ]\Ierrimac lay up towards Craney Island, in 
 view, but motionless. At one o'clock she was ob- 
 served in motion, and came out, followed by the 
 Yorktown and Jamestown, both crowded with 
 troops. The object of the leniency towards the 
 Minnesota on the previous evening thus became 
 evident. It was the hope of the rebels to bring 
 the ships aboard the Minnesota, overpower her 
 crew by the force of numbers, and capture botli 
 vessel and men. 
 
 As the rebel flotilla came out from Sewall's 
 Point, the Monitor stood out boldly towards them. 
 It is doubtful if the rebels knew what to make of 
 the strange-looking battery, or if they despised it. 
 Even the Yorktown kept on approaching, until a 
 thirteen-inch shell from the Monitor sent her to 
 the right about. The Merrimac and the Monitor 
 kept on approaching each other, the latter Avail- 
 ing until she would choose her distance, and the 
 former apparently not knowing what to make of 
 her funny-looking antagonist. The first shot from 
 the Monitor was fired when about one hundi'ed 
 yards distant from the Merrimac, and this distance 
 was subsequently reduced to fifty yai'ds, and at no 
 time during the furious cannonading that ensued 
 were the vessels more than two hundred yards 
 apart. 
 
 It is impossible to reproduce the animated de- 
 scriptions given of this grand contest between two 
 vessels of such formidable offensive and defensive 
 powers. The scene was in plain view from For- 
 tress Monroe, and in the main facts all the spec- 
 tators agree. At first the fight was very furious, 
 and the guns of the ^Monitor were fired rapidly. 
 As she carried but two guns, whilst the Merrimac 
 had eight, of course she received two or three 
 shots for every one she gave. Finding that her 
 antagonist was much more formidable than she 
 looked, the Merrimac attempted to run her down. 
 The superior speed and quicker turning qualities 
 of the Monitor enabled her to avoid these shocks, 
 and to give the jSIerriniac, as she passed, a shot. 
 Once the Merrimac struck her near amidships, 
 but only to prove that the battery could not be 
 run down nor shot down. She spun round like 
 a top ; and as she got her bearing again, sent one 
 of her formidable missiles into her huge opponent. 
 
 The officers of the Monitor, at this time, had 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 40: 
 
 gained such confidence in the impregnabiHty of 
 theii* battery, that they no longer fired at random, 
 nor hastily. The fight then assumed its most in- 
 teresting aspects. The Monitor ran round the 
 Merrimac repeatedly, probing her sides, seeking 
 for weak points, and reserving her fire with cool- 
 ness, until she had the right spot and the exact 
 range, and made her experiments accordingly. In 
 this way the Merrimac received three shots, which 
 seriously damaged her. Neither of these shots 
 rebounded at all, but cut their Avay clear through 
 iron and wood into the ship. Soon after receiving 
 the third shot, the Merrimac turned towards Sew- 
 all's Pomt, and made oft" at full speed. 
 
 The Monitor followed the INIerrimac until she 
 got well inside Sewall's Point, and then returned 
 to the Minnesota. 
 
 The Merrimac then took the Patrick Henry 
 and Jamestown in tow, and proceeded to Norfolk. 
 In making the plunge at the Monitor, she had 
 lost her enormous iron beak and damaged her 
 machinery, and vvas leaking considerably. 
 
 Thus ended the most terrific naval engagement 
 of the war. The havoc made by the Merrimac 
 among the wooden vessels of the Federal navy 
 was appalling ; but the providential arrival of the 
 Monitor robbed the rebel craft of its terrors, and 
 the destruction of that one Saturday afternoon in 
 March was the last serious mischief she ever did. 
 
 A Square Meal. — One of the Wisconsin 
 boys, on the reception at the return of the Fifth 
 regiment of that State, said : " This is the first 
 square meal I've had since I left home." Being 
 asked what a square meal was, he replied, " Four 
 cups of cofi'ee, all the ham I can eat, with bread, 
 butter, pies, cakes, pickles, and cheese in propor- 
 tion, with ladies smiling to inspire the appetite." 
 
 Anecdote of President Lincoln. — It will 
 be remembered that an extra session of Con- 
 gress was called in July following Mr. Lincoln's in- 
 auguration. In the message then sent in, speaking 
 of secession, and the measures taken by the 
 Southern leaders to bring it about, there occurs 
 the following remark : " With rebellion thus 
 sugar-coated, they have been drugging the public 
 mind of their section for more than thirty years, 
 until at length they have brought many good men 
 to a willingness to take up arms against the 
 Government," &c. Mr. Defries, the Government 
 printer, told me that, when the message was being 
 printed, he was a good deal disturbed by the use 
 of the term " sugar-coated," and finally went to 
 the President about it. Their relations to each 
 other being of the most intimate character, he 
 told Mr. Lincoln frankly that he ought to remem- 
 ber that a message to Congress was a diff'erent 
 afl"air from a speech at a mass meeting in Illinois ; 
 that the message became a part of history, and 
 should be written accordingly. 
 
 "What is the matter now?" inquired the 
 President. 
 
 "Why," said Mr. Defrees, "you have used an 
 undignified expression in the message ; " and 
 then, reading the paragraph aloud, he added, " I 
 would alter the structure of that, if I were you." 
 
 " Defrees," replied Mr. Lincoln, " that word ex- 
 presses precisely my idea, and I am not going to 
 change it. The time will never come, in this 
 country, vvhen the people won't know exactly 
 w^hat sugar-coated means ! " 
 
 THE COMMON SOLDIER. 
 
 Nobody cared, when he went to war, 
 
 But the woman who cried on his shoulder ; 
 
 Nobody decked him with immortelles : 
 He was only a common soldier. 
 
 Nobody packed in a dainty trunk 
 
 Folded raiment and ofRcer's fare : 
 A knapsack held all the new recruit 
 
 Might own, or love, or eat, or wear. 
 
 Nobody gave him a good-by fete. 
 
 With sparkling jest and flower-crowned wine : 
 Two or three friends on the sidewalk stood 
 
 AVatching for Jones, the fourth in line. 
 
 Nobody cared how the battle went 
 
 With the man who fought till the bullet sped 
 Through the coat undecked with leaf or star 
 
 On a common soldier left for dead. 
 
 \ 
 The cool rain bathed the fevered wound, 
 
 And the kind clouds wept the livelong night : 
 A pitying lotion Nature gave, 
 
 Till help might come with morning light — 
 
 Such help as the knife of the surgeon gives, 
 Cleaving the gallant arm from shoulder ; 
 
 And another name swells the pension-list 
 For the meagre pay of a common soldier. 
 
 See, over yonder all day he stands — 
 An empty sleeve in the soft wind swaj's. 
 
 As he holds his lonely left hand out 
 For charity at the crossing ways. 
 
 And this is how, with bitter shame. 
 He begs his bread and hardly lives ; 
 
 So wearily ekes out the sum 
 
 A proud and grateful country gives. 
 
 What matter how he served the guns 
 
 When plume and sash were over yonder ? 
 
 What matter though he bore the flag 
 
 Through bhnding smoke and battle thunder ? 
 
 What matter that a wife and child 
 Cry softly for that good arm rent ? 
 
 And wonder why that random shot 
 To him, their own beloved, was sent ? 
 
 O patriot hearts, wipe out this stain ; 
 
 Give jewelled cup and sword no more ; 
 But let no common soldier blush 
 
 To own the loyal blue he wore. 
 
 Shout long and loud for victory won 
 By chi&f and leader stanch and true ; 
 
 But don't forget the boys that fought — 
 Shout for the common soldier too. 
 
408 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 An Incident of tbe "Wilderness. — During 
 one of the battles on the left of Grant's army, in 
 1865, a soil in one of the New York regiments 
 met his father in one of the rebel regiments, and 
 took him prisoner. It was an actual occurrence, 
 vouched for upon good authority, and the manner 
 of it was this. Just before the war commenced, 
 the son left his home, and went to the State of 
 New Yorii ; he enlisted in the Federal service, 
 and went down into General Grant's army, and 
 for gallantry in action was promoted to a Lieu- 
 tenancy. The father was in the ranks yet. On 
 the day of the battle, while charging the rebel 
 works on the left, this son, by some curious hap- 
 pening of providence, came directly upon his 
 father on the other side. " Hold ! " he cried, 
 hastily, as he noticed his father was levelling his 
 gun upon him ; " don't you know whom you are 
 filing at? " During the four years of his service, 
 this son had grown so much that the father did 
 not know him. " Well," says he, " I am your 
 son, and you ai'e my prisoner." The father looked 
 up, came quickly to a recognition of his offspring, 
 and went to the rear. The head of the family 
 was once a shoemaker in the city of Petersburg. 
 
 A Patriotic Artist. — A correspondent who 
 visited the studio of Powers, at Florence, says : 
 
 " Though courted and petted by the English, 
 wrto have been among his best patrons, Powers has 
 always been true to his country — loyal to the core. 
 I was reminded of a little incident which occurred 
 a few months before, when he was in his studio, 
 and an English lady, or some one of secession 
 proclivities, asked him if he had ever executed a 
 bust of Jefferson Davis. * No, madam,' said he, 
 his bright eye flashing with fire, ' I hope that be- 
 fore long, an artist of another profession than 
 mine maj- have the pleasure of executing him.' 
 We spoke of the readiness of the English to be 
 on our side, now that success had crowned our 
 arms, ' Ah,' said he, ' I know not which is the 
 more annoying, when you are trying to get a 
 heavy load up hill, to have some one hitch on his 
 horse behind and pull you back, or when you are 
 going down hill, to have him put on his horses 
 before, and dash away with all fury, to the risk of 
 upsetting your load and breaking your neck.' " 
 
 A Night in Missouri. — Until I began to 
 follow the camp, I had never known, save by 
 auricular evidence, of those unpoetical insects 
 known as fleas ; but one night in Syracuse, Mo., 
 " our mess " experienced the cruelty and savage- 
 ness of tlie diminutive foes of man, to our bodies' 
 extremest dissatisfaction. We were all lounging 
 in the tent, reading, undi'eaming of enemies of 
 any kind, when we all became restless, and the 
 interest of our books began seriously to dimin- 
 ish. There were various manual applications to 
 various parts of the body, multifarious shiftings 
 of position, accompanied with emphatic expletives 
 that sounded marvellously like oaths. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " was asked by one of 
 us to the other. " What renders you so uneasy? " 
 
 " Heaven knows," was the answer ; " but I 
 itch like Satan." 
 
 " My body is on fire," observed one. 
 
 " I wonder," said another, " if I have contracted 
 a loathsome disease." 
 
 " Confound it ! what ails me ? " 
 
 *' And me ? " " And me ? " " And me ? " was 
 echoed from my companions. 
 
 One hand became insufficient to allay the irri- 
 tation of our corporeality. Both hands became 
 requisite to the task, and our volumes were ne- 
 cessarily laid aside. No one yet appeared aware 
 of the cause of his suffering. If we were not all 
 in Tophet, no one could deny we had gone to the 
 old Scratch. We seemed to be laboring under 
 an uncontrollable nervous complaint. We threw 
 our hands about wildly. We seized our flesh 
 rudely, and rubbed our clothes until they nearly 
 ignited from friction. One of the quartet could 
 stand it no longer. He threw off his coat and 
 vest spasmodically, and even his undergarments, 
 and solemnly exclaimed : 
 
 " Flee from the wrath to come ! " 
 
 The mystery was explained, the enigma solved. 
 
 The martyr's person was covered with small 
 black spots, that disappeared and reappeared in 
 the same instant. 
 
 To be practically expressive, he was covered 
 with fleas. 
 
 The rest of us followed his example, and con- 
 verted ourselves into model artists. 
 
 We M'ere all covered Avith fleas. 
 
 Fleas were everywhere. Tent, straw, books, 
 blankets, valises, saddles, swarmed with them. 
 
 The air scintillated Avith their blackness. 
 
 We rushed out of the tent. 
 
 They were there in myriads. 
 
 The moonlight fell in checkered beams through 
 their innumerable skippings. 
 
 They made a terrible charge, as of a forlorn 
 hope, and drove us back. 
 
 We roared with anger and with pain, and 
 loud curses made the atmosphere assume a vio- 
 let hue. 
 
 Three of the flea-besieged caught up canteens 
 of whiskey and brandy, and poured the contents 
 over their persons and down their throats ; 
 scratching meanwhile like a thousand cals of the 
 Thomas persuasion, and leaping about like dan- 
 cing dervishes. The more the fleas bit, the more 
 the victims drank ; and I, having no taste for 
 liquor, began to envy them, as, in thcAr increas- 
 ing intoxication, they seemed to enjoy themselves 
 after a sardonic fashion. The fleas redoubled 
 their ferocity on me, and I surrendered at discre- 
 tion, and at last became resigned to their at- 
 tacks, until, a few minutes after, a storm that 
 had been gathering burst with fierce lightJiing, 
 heavy thunder, and torrents of rain. 
 
 A happy idea seized me. 
 
 I caught up my saddle and bridle, and placed 
 them on my sable steed, " Festus," Avhich stood 
 neighing to the tempest, a few feet from the 
 camp. I mounted the fleet-footed horse, and, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 409 
 
 nude as the Apollo Belvedere, cried, " Go," to the 
 restive animal ; and off we sped, to the amaze- 
 ment of the sentinels, through the darkness and 
 the storm. Every few moments the lightning 
 blazed around us with a lurid sheen, as we 
 went like the wind through the tempestuous 
 night. 
 
 " Festus " enjoyed it, as did his rider ; and sk 
 swift-speeding miles were passed ere I drew the 
 rein upon the neck of the panting beast, covered 
 with white Hecks of foam. 
 
 I paused, and felt that the fleas had been left be- 
 hind. The pelting rain and rushing blast had been 
 too much for them, while the exercise had made 
 my attireless body glow into a pleasant warmth. 
 " Festus " galloped back, and soon I was in the 
 tent, rolled so closely in the blanket that no new 
 attack of the fleas could reach me. My com- 
 panions, overcome with their exertions, suffer- 
 ings, and potations, had lain down ; but the fleas 
 were still upon them, and they rolled and tossed 
 more than a rural tragedian in the tent scene of 
 "Richard the Third." They were asleep, and yet 
 they moaned pitcously, and scratched with de- 
 moniac violence. In spite of my pity for the poor 
 fellows, I could not refrain from laughing. 
 
 With the earliest dawn I awoke, and the tent 
 was vacant. 
 
 Horrid thought ! 
 
 Had the fleas carried them off? 
 
 I went out to search for them, and, after dili- 
 gent quest, found them still in Nature's garb, 
 distributed miscellaneously about the encamp- 
 ment. In their physical torture they had uncon- 
 sciously rolled out of the tent. One lay in an 
 adjacent ditch, a second under an artillery wag- 
 on, and the third was convulsively grasping the 
 earth, as if lie were endeavoring to dig his own 
 grave ; believing, no doubt, that in the tomb 
 neither Fortune nor fleas could ever harm him 
 more. The unfortunate' two were covered with 
 crimson spots, and looked^ as if recovering from 
 the small-pox. I pulled them, still stupid from 
 their spiritual excess, into the tent again, and 
 covered them with blankets, though they swore 
 incoherently as I did so, evidently believing 
 that some giant flea was dragging them to per- 
 dition. 
 
 When they were fully aroused, they fell to 
 scratching again most violently, but knew not 
 what had occurred until they had recalled the 
 events of the previous night. They then blas- 
 phemed afresh, and unanimously consigned the 
 entire race of fleas to the bottomless pit. The 
 fleas still tried to bite, but could find no new 
 places, and my companions had grown accus- 
 tomed to them. 
 
 They felt no uneasiness for the coming night ; 
 they were av/are that the new fleas would retire 
 from a field so completely occupied, and that the 
 domesticated creatures were in sufficient force to 
 rout all invaders. 
 
 So ended that memorable Noche Triste, an ex- 
 emplification of the scriptural declaration : 
 
 " The wicked flee when no man pursueth," 
 
 Servile Insurkections. — In the first year 
 of the war the people of the South in many 
 places felt that they were standing over a smoul- 
 dering volcano. It was feared, and by many be- 
 lieved, that a general servile insurrection would 
 take place simultaneously with the advance of 
 the Union forces, and that Southern society would 
 be crushed to pieces by the combined action of 
 hostile pressure from without and terrible com- 
 motions within. 
 
 In fact, disturbances of this kind did take place 
 in vai'ious parts of the South, and when they 
 were quieted and the mutineers M-ere arrested 
 there followed scenes of horrid torture and sick- 
 ening executions which have had no equal on the 
 continent, except in the Indian wars. The fol- 
 lowing account of an insurrection in South Caro- 
 lina and the executions that followed it is from a 
 private letter written from Charleston in the fall 
 of 1861: 
 
 " No general insurrection has taken place, 
 though several revolts have been attempted ; 
 two quite recently, and in these cases ivliole fam- 
 ilies loere murdered before the slaves iccre subdued. 
 Then came retaliation of the most fearful char- 
 acter. At any time where servants assail or 
 murder white persons, speedy and severe punish- 
 ment is administered ; but now they do not Avait 
 for the action of the law. Lynch law prevails. 
 In these revolts, which occurred in the interior 
 of the State, most of the servants who partici- 
 pated were either shot in the conflict or as soon 
 as captured, and two of them were burned to 
 death. 
 
 "To say they were burned to death seems a 
 simple sentence, devoid of any special horror; 
 but the scene, as described to me by a witness, 
 was too dreadful for mortal eyes. Imagine the 
 poor wretches, red with the blood of their mas- 
 ters, cowering in the hands of those from whom 
 they need not look for pity ; not even for time 
 to repent of deeds which exclude them from hope 
 hereafter. They are dogged and defiant towards 
 then- captors, until their doom is pronounced — a 
 fate of which they have a special horror. Dragged 
 to the place of execution, within sight of their 
 own houses, surrounded by their fellow-servants, 
 who are compelled to witness the sight, they are 
 bound to strong trees, with great heaps of' pine 
 knots piled close around their persons. Directly 
 the torch is applied, and the inflammable pine 
 bursts into a vivid flame. When the blaze reaches 
 the bodies, and the sensitive flesh peels and 
 crackles, their cries are too fearfid to be heard by 
 human ears. Nor is the torment soon over. The 
 flames scorch the upper part of the bodies, pro- 
 ducing exquisite agony, but slowly burn into the 
 vitals, until the wretched sufferers go to judg- 
 ment with all their crimes upon their heads. 
 
 " I undertook to say the apprehension of ser- 
 vile insurrection lost its power when, as time 
 passed, all seemed peaceful; so we easily fell 
 back into dreams of security until these events 
 aroused us to watchfulness. This news is sup- 
 pressed as far as possible, and kept entirely from 
 the papers, for the negroes hear what is published, 
 
410 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 if they do not read it, and such examples might 
 produce disastrous consequences." 
 
 A Sailor's Story. — On the 10th of April, 
 18G2, a month after the great naval fight in 
 Hampton Roads, there was a grand reception in 
 New York of the surviving heroes of the Con- 
 gress and the Cumberland. 
 
 In the course of the evening Mr. Willard, one 
 of the sailors on the Congress, gave, in his vigor- 
 ous waj', an account of the action, as follows : 
 
 " Gentlemen and ladies : I am not acquainted 
 Avith this kind of speaking. I am not used to it. 
 I have been too long in a man-of-war. I enlisted 
 in a man-of-war when I was thirteen years of 
 age. (I am nov/ forty.) I have been in one ever 
 since. We had been a long time in the Congress, 
 waiting for the Merrimac, with the Cumberland. 
 I claim a timber-head in both ships. I belonged 
 to the Cumberland in the destroying of the navy 
 yard and the ships at Norfolk. On the 8th of 
 March, when the Merrimac came out, we were as 
 tickled as a boy would be with his father coming 
 home with a new kite for him. [Loud laughter 
 and applause.] She fired a gun at us. It went 
 clean through the ship, and killed nobody. The 
 next one was a shell. It came in at a port-hole, 
 killed six men, and exploded and killed nine more. 
 The next one killed ten. Then she went down to 
 the Cumberland. She had an old grudge against 
 her, and she took her hog-fashion, as I should 
 say. [Great laughter.] The Cumberland fought 
 her as long as she could. She fired her spar-deck 
 guns at her after her gun-deck was under water ; 
 but the shot had no more eflect than peas. She 
 sunk the Cumberland in about seven fathoms of 
 water. You know what a fathom is — six feet. 
 We lay in nine fathoms ; and it would not do to 
 sink in that. We slipped our cable, and ran into 
 shallower water to get our broadside on the Mer- 
 rimac, but we got her bows on. That gave them 
 a chance to rake us as they did. The com- 
 mander opened a little port-hole and said : 
 ' Smith, will you surrender the ship ? ' Says he, 
 ' No, not as long as I have got a gun, or a man 
 to man it.' They fired a broadside. The men 
 moved the dead bodies away, and manned the 
 guns again. They fired another broadside, and 
 dismounted both the guns, and killed the crews. 
 When they first went by us, they set us afire by 
 a shell exploding near the magazine. (I know 
 where the magazine is — you folks don't.) Last 
 broadside she killed our commander, Mr. Smith, 
 our saihng-master, and the pilot. We had no 
 chance at all. We were on the spar-deck — most 
 of us — the other steamers firing at us, and we 
 dodging the shot. No chance to dodge down 
 below, because you could not see the shot till 
 they were inside of the ship. We had no chance, 
 and we surrendered. The rebel officers — we 
 knowed 'em all — all old playmates, shipmates — 
 came home in the Germantown with them — all 
 old playmates, but rascals now. She left us, and 
 she went toward Norfolk to get out of the way. 
 She returned in the morning to have what I'd call 
 
 a ' fandango ' with the Minnesota ; and tlie first 
 thing she knowed, the little bumble-bee, the 
 Monitor, was there, and she went back. I have 
 no more to say, people ; but there is the flag that 
 the fathers of our country left us, and, by the 
 powers of God above us, we'll — " 
 
 The brave sailor's closing sentence was broken 
 off" by long and repeated cheers from the audi- 
 ence. 
 
 Anecdote of President Lincoln. — Presi- 
 dent Lincoln, having been applied to to pardon a 
 repentant slave-trader who had been sentenced to 
 prison, answered the applicant : '■ My friend, if 
 this man had been guilty of the worst murder 
 that can be conceived of, I might, perhaps, have 
 pardoned him. You know the weakness of my 
 nature — always open to the appeals of repent- 
 ance or of grief ; and with such a touching letter, 
 and such recommendations, I could not resist. 
 But any man who would go to Africa and snatch 
 from a mother her children, to sell them into in- 
 terminable bondage, merely for the salie of pecu- 
 niary gain, shall never receive pardon from me." 
 
 Taking the Oath. — A very shrewd, sensible 
 man in Maury County, Tennessee, who had been 
 a strong Union man until the Yankees got there, 
 but who, after that, became equally as strong a 
 Southerner, went to Columbia one day, and was 
 brought before General Negley. " Well," said 
 General Negley, " Mr. B., you must take the 
 oath before you go home." 
 
 "Very well," said B. ; "just have it boxed up. 
 General, and I'll take it out." 
 
 " O," said General Negley, " you don't un- 
 derstand me ; you must take the oath to support 
 the Government of the United States." 
 
 " Why, General," said friend B., " I have a 
 wife and several children, and it's as much as I 
 can do to support them. I am a poor man, and 
 I can't think of supporting the ivliole United 
 States — that's rather too much." 
 
 By this time Negley became rather impatient. 
 " Here," said he, handing B. the printed oath, 
 " read it for yourself." 
 
 " I can't read," said B. 
 
 " Well, then," said Negley, turning to the Pro- 
 vost ]\Iarshal, " give him a pass anyhow ; he has 
 no sense." 
 
 And thus he went home without taking the 
 oath, and the Yankee General was outwitted. 
 
 Get off that Stump. — Among the paroled 
 rebel soldiers who were sent to Cairo was a man 
 a little over seven and a half feet in height. He 
 started out with the Missouri troops at the com- 
 mencement of the war, and stuck to them until 
 the " dog was dead," and never received a scratch. 
 Soon after he was mustered into the rebel ser- 
 vice, the regiment to which he belonged ap;;eared 
 before the Colonel on dress parade, and the Col- 
 onel, who prided himself on the fine appearance 
 and good size of his men, cast his eyes along the 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 411 
 
 line with a smile of self-satisfaction, until they 
 rested on the towering form of the tall Missourian, 
 when he knit his brows, and called out fiercely in 
 thunder tones, ') Get off that stump, you imperti-i 
 ^nent scoundrel, or I'll order you under arrest."! 
 The soldiers looked at each other, wondering Avhat 
 the Colonel meant, but no one moved. Finding 
 his authority treated with disrespect, he fairly 
 boiled with rage, and advancing to the soldier, 
 he exclaimed, " What in the devil are you stand- 
 ing on ? " The soldier respectfully replied, " On 
 my feet. Colonel." The Colonel was completely 
 taken back, as he surveyed this tall specimen of 
 humanity from head to foot in blank amazement ; 
 he mumbled an apology for his rude remarks, and 
 hastened away, leaving his men convulsed with 
 laughter. " Get off that stump " became a by- 
 word with the Missouri rebels, and it will, no 
 doubt, live as long as the long Missourian. 
 
 The Captuke of Jefferson Davis. — An 
 officer who accompanied Davis in his flight from 
 Richmond, and who was present at his capture, 
 gives the following account of that affair : 
 
 " Davis ran his risks and took his chances, fully 
 conscious of imminent danger, yet powerless, fi-om 
 physical weariness, to do all he designed doing 
 against the danger. When the musketry firing 
 was heard in the morning, at ' dim gray dawn,' it 
 was supposed to be between the rebel marauders 
 and Mr. Davis' few camp defenders. Under this 
 impression he hurriedly put on his boots, and 
 prepared to go out for the purpose of interpos- 
 ing, saying : _ 
 
 " ' They will at least as yet respect me.' 
 
 "As he got to the tent door thus hastily 
 equipped, and with this good intention of pre- 
 venting an effusion of blood by an appeal in the 
 name of a fading, but not Avholly faded authority, 
 he saw a few cavalry ride up the road and de- 
 ploy in front. 
 
 " ' Ha, Federals ! ' was his exclamation. 
 
 " ' Then you are captured,' cried Mrs. Davis, 
 with emotion. 
 
 " In a moment she caught an idea — a woman's 
 idea — and as quickly as Avomen in an emergency 
 execute their designs, it was done. He slept in 
 a wrapper — a loose one. It Avas yet around him. 
 This she fastened ere he was aware of it, and then, 
 bidding him adieu, urged him to go to the spring, 
 a short distance off, where his horses and arms 
 were. Strange as it may seem, there was not even 
 a pistol in the tent. Davis felt that his only course 
 was to reach his horse and arms, and complied. 
 As he was leaving the door, followed by a servant 
 with a water-bucket, Miss Howell flung a shawl 
 over his head. There Avas no time to remove it 
 without exposure and embarrassment, and as he 
 had not far to go, he ran the chance exactly as 
 it Avas devised for him. In these tAVO articles con- 
 sisted the Avoman's attire of Avhich so much non- 
 sense has been spoken and written, and under 
 these circumstances, and in this Avay, was Jeffer- 
 son Davis going forth to perfect his escape. 
 
 " But it Avas too late for any effort to reach his 
 
 horses, and the Confederate President Avas at last 
 a prisoner in the hands of the United States." 
 
 Bob, the " Bully Boy." — Among the sharp 
 boys in Sherman's army, on the grand march, 
 Avas a graduate of the common schools of North- 
 ern Ohio — the only son of a widowed mother. 
 The fond mother had no word from her son from 
 the time the army left Chattanooga till it reached 
 Atlanta. She Avaited for tidings Avith much anx- 
 iety, Avatching daily the neAVS])aper reports. At 
 length, several days after the taking of Atlanta 
 had been announced, a letter Avas brought her, 
 which read as follows : 
 
 " Atlanta. 
 
 " Dear Mother : Bully boy all rigljt. 
 
 " Bob." 
 
 In due time, Sherman marched from Atlanta 
 to Savannah. There Avas a fight behind Savan- 
 nah. The AvidoAved mother read in the newspa- 
 pers that the company to which her boy belonged 
 Avas in that fight. With almost sleepless anxiety 
 she waited for ncAvs from him. One day she re- 
 ceived a note which read thus : 
 
 " Saaovnnaii. 
 " Dear Mother : Bully boy got a hole in his 
 hide — not bad. Bob." 
 
 In the march of events, Sherman's men reached 
 Washington, Avere mustered out, and the com- 
 pany to Avhich " Bob " belonged Avent to the cap- 
 ital of Ohio. Here "Bob" had his final, honor- 
 able discharge, and when he had made it "all 
 right " Avith the paymaster, and Avas again a citi- 
 zen, he sent the following telegram : 
 
 " C0LUM3U3. 
 
 " Dear Mother : Bully boy home to-morrow. 
 
 " Bob." 
 
 When asked by a friend, to Avhom the infre- 
 quency and brevity of his epistles home had been 
 mentioned, Avhy he did not Avrite oftener, and at 
 greater length, he ansAvered : 
 
 " Bully boy's got his haversack full. Keep it 
 all to tell by Avord of mouth. Won't he have a 
 good time talking up the old lady ? " 
 
 The First Rebel Admiral. — Harry Maury 
 was a dashing young Southron, a nephew of the 
 Lieutenant of National Observatory memory. 
 He had been educated for the navy, and Avas 
 only thoroughly alive in scenes of adventure and 
 peril. He rushed into Walker's Nicaragua ex- 
 pedition as if it had been a schoolboy frolic ; and 
 his escapade of capturing the revenue cutter Su- 
 san, Avith all on board, oflBcers and men, and run- 
 ning her off to the West Indies, Avithout compass 
 or pilot, and making his Avay back by the corks 
 he left in his Avake, are yet fresh in the memory. 
 
 In January, 1861, this young " Harry " mount- 
 ed one six-pound gun upon his bit of a pleasure 
 yacht, laid in three hams and five barrels of 
 
412 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 whiskey for stores, anchored off Fort ^Morgan, in 
 Mobile Bay, trained a pump-log against the for- 
 tress, took observations with a table-leg, sent a 
 summons to surrender, and thus inaugurated the 
 Confederate navy. 
 
 Subsequently he led an Alabama regiment, was 
 badly vrounded, captured, and exchanged, and 
 now, disabled either for mischief or for frolic, 
 lingers out a painful life somewhere in Dixie. 
 
 So much for the first Admiral of the rebel Ar- 
 mada. — B. F. Taylor. 
 
 Wanted to " get out." — The following 
 story was told by a correspondent, at the depot 
 of Prisoners of "War, at Johnson's Island : 
 
 " Last night, a number of prisoners made a fu- 
 tile attempt to escape by digging under the fence. 
 They commenced a mine under the floor of a 
 building next to the wall, and four succeeded in 
 getting through, making their exit on the side of 
 the fence. But fortunately the fifth was a size 
 larger than he imagined himself to be, and stuck 
 in the mud, as the boys say. He succeeded in 
 getting his head through, but somehow got his 
 arms in such a position that he could not move, 
 being evidently under much excitement, and anx- 
 ious to make his escape with all possible speed. 
 
 " In the mean time, his comrades, who had made 
 their escape, were anxious that he should accom- 
 pany them on their imaginary journey South ; 
 and after undergoing a severe operation of hair- 
 pulling — as that was the only hold they could 
 get — he declined going any farther at that time. 
 And after bidding his more fortunate comrades 
 to take a lock of his extricated hair with them 
 to his sweetheart in Dixie, he bade them fare- 
 well ; and they left him in this ludicrous position, 
 perfectly disgusted. 
 
 " But now arose the second difficulty : his 
 friends on the inside thought that he was intrud- 
 ing upon their rights, and informed him that if 
 he did not intend to go any farther it was very 
 impolite to stop up the hole with his precious 
 self, and keep them from going too. After much 
 persuading, by way of pulling at his legs, and 
 again pushing, of no avail, they, too, abandoned 
 the enterprise of extricating the poor, miserable 
 wretch. But what this unlucky being lacked in 
 the organ of size he made up in the organ of en- 
 durance, for he actually remained in this tight 
 place from nine o'clock in the evening until half 
 past five in the morning. It was raining nearly 
 the Mhole night, and was uncomfortably cold. 
 The first that was discovered of him was by the 
 sentinel, who heard a suppressed voice, saying : 
 
 " ' I want to get out o' this.' 
 
 " Sentinel — ' Where are you ? ' 
 
 " Rebel — ' Here, under the fence. I want to 
 get out ! ' 
 
 " Sentinel — ' Well, get out, or I'll shoot you.' 
 
 " Rebel — ' I am fast ! Don't shoot ! I am 
 fast ! ' 
 
 " The Corporal of the guard was called, who 
 brought a light, and, sure enough, there was a 
 rebel planted, with his head protruding out of 
 the solid earth. 
 
 " It was agreed among the boys, that with the 
 addition of a head-board, with his name inscribed 
 on it, ' Captain Pole, who stuck in the hole,' he 
 would be buried decently enough. But after 
 consulting the officer of the guard they concluded 
 to dig him out. The ludicrous appearance he 
 presented created great merriment ; muddy, drip- 
 ping, half foundered, forth he came, wringing 
 himself as he went, ' with the look of a " wet- 
 down " rooster in a fall rain storm.' He said he 
 was the first who attempted to escape, but no re- 
 liance was placed on his statement, and pickets 
 were sent out, and those prisoners who were out 
 were discovered in the back part of the island 
 building a raft, and were brought in and se- 
 cured." ^ 
 
 An Incident of Fair Oaks. — On the dark 
 nights that followed the firet and the disastrous 
 day at Fair Oaks, hundreds of soldiers remember 
 with what fierce enthusiasm Meagher and his Irish 
 brigade pressed forward over the dead and dying. 
 Then early the following morning there came the 
 wild shout, the rush, the clash, the dead stillness, 
 and then the yell of victorious Erin. 
 
 In the midst of that red battle scene there oc- 
 curred one of those touching incidents in Avhich 
 this unhappy civil war has abounded. 
 
 Among General Meagher's men was one O'Neill, 
 a soldierly appearing fellow, aged, perhaps, thirty, 
 dark complexioned, robust, and undfiubtedly full 
 of pluck. On that terrible Sabbath morning a 
 portion of the Irish brigade swept over the rail- 
 road and into an adjacent swamp, full of dead hor- 
 rors, for there was one scene of the previous day's 
 struggle. A rebel Lieutenant, at the head of those 
 who remained of his company, dashed madly on 
 the Irish line of steel, which stood firm as the rock 
 of Cashel ; and the impotent, insurrectionary wave 
 was repelled with a reactionary shock that scat- 
 tered it like spray. Forty rebels lay dead and 
 wounded ; and foremost among them all the young 
 Lieutenant, a bullet having shattered his left knee. 
 Of course he fell into our hands a prisoner, and 
 with his companions was thereafter soon carried 
 to the rear. This young man — long hair, dark 
 eyes, straight and soldierly — was admired for his 
 bearing, which was that of a proud foe, foiled, but 
 not vanquished. There was a halt near the station, 
 where the O'Neill alluded to above then \f as, as a 
 temporary guard over some other prisoners. As 
 he gazed at the wounded rebel officer, a visible 
 change overspread his features. He asked one 
 of his superiors if he might speak to the Lieuten- 
 ant. His joy knew no bounds Avhen he learned 
 that this was Phil O'Neill, C. S. A., a younger 
 brother, of whom the family had had no tidings 
 for fifteen years. He had lived as a clerk in Sa- 
 vannah, had enlisted as a private, for good con- 
 duct had been promoted, and was at length a 
 prisoner. The young Confederate, when fully 
 aware of this interesting discovery, again wept 
 tears of joy, and the scene was one never to be 
 forgotten. The romantic circumstance was made 
 known to General Meagher, to Avhom the Lieu- 
 tenant was introduced, a-iid for whom the General 
 did everything in his power. Though the cap- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 413 
 
 tured ofi&cer would not fight on our side, he would 
 not be exchanged, and went North, where, in a 
 brief period, he took the oath of allegiance. His 
 brother was killed while butting under Burnside 
 against the stone wall at Fredericksburg, and his 
 evergreen sprig teas nearest to the enemy. 
 
 Speech of Mrs. Booth. — On the 3d of 
 April, 1864, the widow of Major Booth, who was 
 killed in the barbarous attack on Fort Pillow, 
 arrived at Fort Pickering, below Memphis, Ten- 
 nessee. Colonel Jackson, of the Sixth United 
 States heavy artillery, had his regiment formed 
 into line for her reception. In front of its centre 
 stood fourteen men, as fine, brave fellows as tread 
 the earth. They were the remnant of the first 
 battalion of the regiment now drawn up — all 
 who had escaped the fiendish scenes of Fort 
 Pillow — scenes that have stamped the deepest 
 blackness on the infamous brow of treason. 
 
 Mrs. Booth came forward. In her hand she 
 bore a flag, red and clotted Avith human blood. 
 She took a position in front of the fourteen he- 
 roes, so lately under her deceased hu.sband's com- 
 mand. 
 
 The ranks before her observed a silence that 
 was full of solemnity. Many a hardy face showed 
 by twitching lids and humid eyes how the sight 
 of the bereaved lady touched bosoms that could 
 meet steel, and drew on the fountain of tears that 
 had remained dry even amid the piteous sights 
 witnessed on the battle-field after a fierce action. 
 
 Turning to the men before her, she said: 
 
 " Boys, I have just come from a visit to the 
 hospital of Mound City. There I saw your com- 
 rades, wounded at the bloody struggle in Fort 
 Pillow. There I found this flag — you recognize 
 it. One of your comrades saved it from the in- 
 sulting touch of traitors at Fort Pillow ! 
 
 "I have given to my country all I had to give 
 — my husband — such a gift ! Yet I have freely 
 given him for freedom and my country. 
 
 "After my husband's cold remains, the next 
 dearest object left me in the world is this flag — 
 the flag that waved in proud defiance over the 
 works of Fort Pillow ! 
 
 " Soldiers : this flag I give to you, knowing 
 that you will ever remember the last words of 
 my noble husband: 'Never surrender the flag 
 to traitors.' " 
 
 Colonel Jackson then received from her hand, 
 on behalf of his command, the blood-stained flag. 
 He called upon the regiment to receive it as such 
 a gift ought to be received. At that call he and 
 every man of the regiment fell upon their knees, 
 and, solemnly appealing to the God of battles, 
 each one sAvore to avenge their brave and fallen 
 comrades, and never — never to surrender the 
 flag to traitors ! 
 
 The scene was one never surpassed in emotional 
 incident. Beside the swift-rolling waters of the 
 Mississippi — within the enclosure that bristled 
 with the death-dealing cannon — knelt these 
 rough soldiers, whose bosoms were heaving with 
 emotion, and on many of whose cheeks quivered 
 
 a tear they tried to hide, though it did honor to 
 their manly natures. Beside them stood in her 
 grief the widow of the loved officer they had 
 lost, and above them was held the bloody flag — 
 that eloquent record of crime which has capped 
 the climax of rebellion, and which will bring a 
 reckoning so fearful. 
 
 In a few pointed words. Colonel Alexander 
 pledged himself and his command to discharge 
 to the uttermost the solemn obligation of jus- 
 tice they had that day taken. 
 
 Colonel Kappan followed him, expressing him- 
 self in favor of such retaliatory acts of justice 
 as the laws of warfare required, in a case of such 
 fiendish and wicked cruelty. 
 
 Adventure of a Long Isl.\nd Girl. — A 
 Western journalist relates this story of a young 
 woman's adventures : " Miss Fanny Wilson is 
 a native of Williamsburg, Long Island. About 
 four years ago, or one year prior to the war, she 
 came West, visiting a relative who resided at La 
 Fayette, Indiana. While here her leisure mo- 
 ments were frequently employed in communicat- 
 ing, by afi"ectionate epistles, with one to whom 
 her heart had been given, and her hand had been 
 promised, before leaving her native city — a 
 young man from New Jersey. After a residence 
 of about one year with her Western relative, and 
 just as the war was beginning to prove a reality, 
 Fanny, in company with a certain Miss Nelly 
 Graves, who had also come from the East, and 
 there left a lover, set out upon her return to her 
 home and familj'. While on their way thither, 
 the two young ladies concocted a scheme, the ro- 
 mantic nature of which was doubtless its most 
 attractive feature. 
 
 " The call for troops having been issued, and 
 the several States coming quickly forward with 
 their fia'st brave boys, it so happened that those 
 two youths whose hearts had been exchanged for 
 those of the pair Avho now were on their happy 
 way towards them, enlisted in a certain and the 
 same regiment. Having obtained cognizance of 
 this fact, Fanny and her companion conceived 
 the idea of assuming the uniform, enlisting in the 
 service, and following their lovers to the field. 
 Soon their plans were matured and carried into 
 eS'ect. A sufficient change having been made in 
 their personal appearance, their hair having been 
 cut, and themselves reclothed to suit their wish, 
 they sought the locality of the chosen regiment, 
 ofi'ered their services, were accepted, and mus- 
 tered in. In another company from their town, 
 of the same regiment (the Twenty-fourth New- 
 Jersey), were their patriotic lovers, ' known, 
 though all unknowing.' On parade, in the drill, 
 they were together — they obeyed the same com- 
 mand. In the quick evolutions of the field, thfy 
 came as close as they had in other days, even on 
 the floor of the dancing-school ; and yet — so 
 says Fanny — the facts of the case were not 
 made known. 
 
 " But the Twenty-fourth, by the fate of war, 
 was ordered before Vicksburg, having already 
 
414 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 served through the first campaign in Western 
 Virginia ; and here, alas for Fanny ! she was to 
 suffer by one blow. Here her brave lover was 
 wounded. She sought his cot, watched over him, 
 and half revealed her true nature in her devotion 
 and gentleness. She nursed him faithfully and 
 long, Isut he died. Next after this, by the reverse 
 of fortune, Fanny herself and her companion 
 were both thrown upon their hospital cots, ex- 
 hausted, sick. With others, both wounded and 
 debilitated, they were sent to Cairo. Their at- 
 tendants v/ere more constant and more scrutiniz- 
 ing. Suspicion was first had ; the discovery of 
 Fanny's and Nelly's true sex was made. Of 
 course, the next event in their romantic history 
 was a dismissal from the service. But not until 
 her health had improved sufficiently, was Fanny 
 dismissed from the sick-ward of the hospital. 
 This happened, however, a week or two after her 
 sex had become known. Nelly, who up to this 
 time had shared the fate of her companion, was 
 now no longer allowed to do so ; her illness be- 
 came serious, she was detained in the hospital, 
 and Fanny and she parted — their histories no 
 longer being linked. Nelly we can tell no fur- 
 ther of ; but Fanny, having again entered society 
 in her true position, what became of her ? 
 
 " We now see her on the stage of a theatre at 
 Cairo, Illinois, serving an engagement as ballet 
 girl. But this lasts but a few nights. She turns 
 up in Memphis, even as a soldier again. But she 
 has changed her branch of the service ; Fanny 
 has now become a private in the Third Illinois 
 cavalry. Only two Aveeks has she been enlisted, 
 when, to her surprise, while riding through the 
 street vrith a fellow-soldier, she is stopped by a 
 guard, and arrested for being ' a woman in men's 
 clothing.' She is taken to the office of the detec- 
 tive police, and questioned until no doubt can 
 remain as to her identity — not proving herself, 
 as suspected, a rebel spy, but a Federal soldier. 
 An appropriate wardrobe is procured her, and 
 her word is given that she will not again attempt 
 a disguise. And here we leave her. Fanny is a 
 young lady of about nineteen years ; of a fair 
 face, though somewhat tanned ; of a rather mas- 
 culine voice, and a mind sprightly and somewhat 
 educated — being very easily able to pass herself 
 off for a boy of about seventeen or eighteen." 
 
 COTTON-DOODLE. 
 
 Written by a lady on hearing that Yankee Doodle had 
 been hissed in New Orleans. 
 
 IIurhah for brave King Cotton ! 
 
 The Southerners are singing ; 
 From Carolina to the Gulf 
 
 The echo's loudly ringing ; 
 In every heart a feeling stirs 
 t 'Gainst Northern abolition ! 
 Something is heard of compromise, 
 
 But nothing of submission. 
 
 Cotton-doodle, boys, hurrah ! 
 
 We've sent old Yankee hissing; 
 And when we get our Southern rights, 
 
 I guess he'll turn up missuig ! 
 
 His poet, Lowell, is singing 
 
 'Gainst " sacred compromises; " 
 Prays, " God confound the dastard word," 
 
 At which his " gall arises." 
 No wonder that he hates it, 
 
 He surely has good reason ; 
 He broke the faith of Seventy-six, 
 
 And it proclaims his treason. 
 
 Cotton-doodle, boys, hurrah ! 
 
 He does not love the negro ; 
 
 That's but a pretext hollow 
 To hide his greedy longing 
 
 For the " almighty dollar." 
 Where was his tender conscience, 
 
 When for " blood-stained gold " 
 His Narraganset captives 
 
 Were into slavery sold ? 
 
 Cotton-doodle, boys, hurrah ! 
 
 'Gainst nullifying tariffs 
 
 He raised a mighty din. 
 And loudly talked in Thirty-two 
 
 Of Carolina's sin ; 
 But now appeals from Congress 
 
 To the " higher law " of Heaven ! 
 'Twas horrible in one, you know, 
 
 But God-like in eleven ! 
 
 Cotton-doodle, boys, hurrah ! 
 
 Thank God, his day is passing ! 
 
 He can no longer vex us ; 
 For, State by State, we'll firmly stand, 
 
 From Maryland to Texas. 
 King Cotton is a monarch 
 
 Who'll conquer abolition, 
 And set his foot upon the neck 
 Of treason and sedition. 
 
 Cotton-doodle, boys, hurrah ! 
 
 We've sent old Yankee hissing ; 
 And when we get our Southern rights, 
 I guess he'll turn up missing ! 
 
 " Alex. Hayes." — A soldier of Gettysburg, a 
 few days after the battle, wrote : 
 
 " I wish you could have seen a picture, just at 
 the close of last Friday's battle, on the left of our 
 centre, of which his splendid figure formed a 
 prominent part. Our little brigade, which had 
 been lying on Cemetery Hill, was ordered over 
 to the position that was so valiantly but unsuc- 
 cessfully charged by Pickett's rebel division. We 
 hurried there through a storm of shot and shell, 
 but only arrived in time to see the grand finale, 
 the tableaux vivanis, and, alas, mourants, at the 
 close of the drama. The enemy's batteries were 
 still playing briskly, and their sharpshooters kept 
 up a lively fire, but their infantry, slain and 
 wounded and routed, were pouring into our lines 
 throughout their whole extent. Then enter Alex. 
 Hayes, Brigadier-General United States Army, 
 the brave American soldier. Six feet or more in 
 height, and as many inches the length of his 
 mighty mustache, erect and smiHng, lightly hold- 
 ing well in hand his horse — the third within a 
 half hour, a noble animal, his flanks be spattered 
 with blood, tietl to his streaming tail a rebel flag 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 415 
 
 that drags igiiominiously in the mud — he dashes 
 along our lines, now rushing out into the open 
 field, a mark for a hundred sharpshooters, but 
 never touched, now quietly cantering back to our 
 lines to be welcomed with a storm of cheers. I 
 reckon him the grandest view of my life. I bar 
 not Niagara. It was the arch spirit of glo- 
 rious Victory wildly triumphing over the fallen 
 foe. 
 
 " The night after, I met General Hayes again. 
 After the fight of Friday afternoon, we held the 
 battle-field, our skirmishers forming a line on the 
 outer edge of it. This field was strewn with 
 rebel wounded. It was impossible for us to 
 bring them in Friday night ; every apology for 
 a hospital being crowded, our own wounded, in 
 many cases, Ijing out all night. But Saturday 
 morning bandsmen were sent out with litters to 
 bring in the poor fellows, and were fired vpon hy 
 the rebel sliarpsliooters so briskly that it teas im- 
 possible to help them. Stories similar to this I 
 had often heard, but never believed. This came 
 under my own observation. So all day Saturday 
 the poor fellows lay there, praying for death. 
 When night fell, another officer of my regiment 
 and myself got a few volunteers to go out with 
 us, thinking there might be some Avho could 
 creep into our lines, supported, on either side, by 
 one of us. May God preserve me from such a 
 position again ! We could do almost nothing, 
 Of a thousand wounded men, we found one whom 
 four of us carried into our lines in a blanket. 
 Other poor souls would think they might accom- 
 plish it, but, at the slightest change of position, 
 would fall back, screaming in awful agony. Lit- 
 ters we had none. Then appeared General Alex. 
 Hayes in another light, less of the bravado, per- 
 haps, not less of the hero. He sent out two com- 
 panies, who cleared the rebel sharpshooters from 
 a position they held in a ruined building, busied 
 himself in procuring litters and bearers, and be- 
 fore morning many of the poor fellows were safe 
 within our lines. It is not my good fortune to 
 be personally acquainted with this General Alex. 
 Hayes ; but I wish every one, as far as I can 
 effect it, to honor him as the bravest of soldiers, 
 and love him as the best-hearted of men. A 
 true chevalier he must be, sans peur et sans 
 reproche." 
 
 THE FALL OF LEXINGTON, MO. 
 
 CoLOXEL Mulligan's own Stoky. 
 
 "On the 10th of September, 1861," said Col- 
 onel Mulligan, in his speech at Detroit, "a letter 
 arrived from Colonel Peabody, saying that he was 
 retreating from Warrensbm-g, twenty-five miles 
 distant, and that Price was pursuing him with ten 
 thousand men. A few hours afterwards. Colonel 
 Peabody, with the Thirteenth Missouri, entered 
 Lexington. We then had two thousand seven 
 hundred and eighty men in ganuson, and forty 
 rounds of cartridges. At noon of the 11th we 
 commenced throwing up our first intrenchments. 
 In six hours afterwards, the enemy opened then* 
 fire. Colonel Peabody was ordered out to meet 
 
 them. The camp then presented a lively scene ; 
 ofiicers were hurrying hither and thither, drawing 
 the troops in line and giving orders, and the 
 commander was riding with his staff to the bridge 
 to encourage his men and to plant his artillery. 
 Two six-pounders were planted to oppose the 
 enemy, and placed in charge of Captain Dan 
 Quirk, who remained at his post till daybreak. 
 It was a night of fearful anxiety. None knew at 
 what moment the enemy would be upon the little 
 band, and the hours passed in silence and anxious 
 waiting. So it continued until morning, when 
 the Chaplain rushed into headquarters, saying 
 that the enemy were pushing forward. Two 
 companies of the Missouri Thirteenth were or- 
 dered out, and the Colonel, with the aid of his 
 glass, saw General Price urging his men to the 
 fight. They were met by Company K, of the 
 Irish brigade, under Captain Quirk, who held 
 them in check until Captain Dillon's company, of 
 the Missouri Thirteenth, drove them back, and 
 burned the bridge. That closed our work before 
 breakfast. Immediately six companies of the 
 Missouri Thirteenth and two companies of Illinois 
 cavalry were despatched in search of the retreating 
 enemy. They engaged them in a cornfield, fought 
 with them gallantly, and harassed them to such 
 an extent as to delay their progress, in order to 
 give time for constructing intrenchments around 
 the camp on College Hill. This had the desired 
 effect, and we succeeded in throwing up earth- 
 works three or four feet in height. This con- 
 sumed the night, and was continued during the 
 next day, the outposts still opposing the enemy, 
 and keeping them back as far as possible. 
 
 " At three o'clock in the afternoon of the 12th, 
 the engagement opened with artillery. A volley 
 of grape shot was thrown among the ofiicers, who 
 stood in front of the breastworks. The guns 
 within the intrenchments immediately replied 
 with a vigor which converted the scene into one 
 of the wildest description. The gunners were 
 inexpei'ienced, and the firing M-as bad. We had 
 five six-pounders, and the musketry was firing at 
 every angle. Those who were not shooting at 
 the moon were shooting above it. The men were 
 ordered to cease firing, and they were arranged in 
 ranks, kneeling, the front rank shooting and the 
 others loading. The artillery was served Mith 
 more care, and within an hour a shot from one of 
 our guns dismounted their largest piece, a twelve- 
 pounder, and exploded a powder caisson. This 
 achievement was received with shouts of exulta- 
 tion by the beleaguered garrison. The enemy 
 retired a distance of three miles. At seven 
 o'clock the engagement had ceased, and Lexing- 
 ton was ours again. 
 
 " Next morning General Parsons, with ten 
 thousand men at his back, sent in a flag of truce 
 to a little garrison of two thousand seven hunch-ed 
 men, asking permission to enter the town and 
 bmy his dead, claiming that when the noble Lyon 
 went down, his corpse had fallen into his hands, 
 and he had granted every privilege to the Federal 
 officers sent after it. It was not necessary to 
 adduce this as a reason why he should be per- 
 mitted to perform an act which humanity woul^ 
 
416 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 dictate. The request was willingly granted, and 
 we cheerfuUj' assisted in burying the fallen foe. 
 
 " On Friday the work of throwing up intrench- 
 ments went on. It rained all day, and the men 
 stood knee deep in the mud, building them. 
 Troops wore sent out for forage, and returned 
 with large quantities of provisions and fodder. 
 On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we stole seven 
 days' provisions for two thousand seven hundred 
 men. We had found no provisions at Lexington, 
 and were compelled to get our rations as best we 
 could. A quantity of powder was obtained, and 
 then large cisterns were filled with water. The 
 men made cartridges in the cellar of the college 
 building, and cast one hundred and fifty rounds 
 of shot for the guns, at the founderies of Lexing- 
 ton. During the little respite the evening gave 
 us, we cast our shot, made our cartridges, and 
 stole our own provisions. We had stacks of 
 forage, plenty of hams, bacon, &c., and felt that 
 good times were in store for us. All this time, 
 our pickets were constantly engaged with the 
 enemy, and we were well aware that ten thousand 
 men were threatening us, and knew that the 
 struggle was to he a desperate one. Earthworks 
 had been raised breast-high, enclosing an area of 
 fifteen to eighteen acres, and surrounded by a 
 ditch. Outside of this was a circle of twenty-one 
 mines, and still farther down were pits to em- 
 barrass the progress of the enemy. 
 
 " During the night of the 17th, we were getting 
 ready for the defence, and heard the sounds of 
 preparation in the camp of the enemy for the 
 attack on the morrow. Father Butler went 
 around among the men and blessed them, and 
 they reverently uncovered their heads and re- 
 ceived his benediction. At nine o'clock on the 
 morning of the 18th, the drums beat to arms, and 
 the terrible struggle commenced. The enemy's 
 force had been increased to twenty-eight thousand 
 men and thirteen pieces of artillery. They came 
 as one dark, moving mass — men armed to the 
 teeth ; as far as the eye could reach, men, men, 
 men, were visible. They planted two batteries 
 in front, one on the left, one on the right, and one 
 in the rear, and opened with a terrible fire, which 
 was answered with the utmost bravery and deter- 
 mination. Our spies had informed us that the 
 rebels intended to make one grand rout, and 
 bury us in the trenches of Lexington. The 
 batteries opened at nine o'clock, and for three 
 days they never ceased to pour deadly shot upon 
 us. About noon the hospital was taken. It was 
 situated on the left, outside of the intrenchments. 
 I had taken for granted that it was not neces- 
 sary to build fortifications around the sick man's 
 couch. I had thought that, among civilized 
 nations, the soldier sickened and wounded in the 
 service of his country, would, at least, be sacred. 
 ]3ut I Mas inexperienced, and had yet to learn 
 that such was not the case with the rebels. They 
 besieged the hospital, took it, and from the bal- 
 cony and roof their sharpshooters poured a 
 deadly fire Avithin our intrenchments. It con- 
 tained our chaplain and surgeon, and one hundred 
 and twenty M'ounded men. It could not be 
 allowed to remain in the possession of the enemy. 
 
 A company of the Missouri Thirteenth was or- 
 dered forward to retake the hospital. They 
 started on their errand, but stopped at the breast- 
 works, ' going not out because it was bad to go 
 out.' A company of the Missouri Fourteenth 
 Avas sent forward, but it also shrank from the 
 task, and refused to move outside the intrench- 
 ments. The Montgomery Guards, Captain Glea- 
 son, of the Irish brigade, were then brought out. 
 The commander admonished them that the others 
 had filled, and with a brief exhortation to uphold 
 the name they bore, gave the word to ' charge.' 
 The distance was eight hundred yards. They 
 started out from the inti-enchment, first quick, 
 then double-quick, then on a run, then faster. 
 The enemy poured a deadly shower of bullets 
 upon them ; but on they went, a wild line of steel, 
 and what is better than steel, human will. They 
 stormed up the slope to the hospital door, and 
 with irresistible bravery drove the enemy before 
 them, and hurled them far down the hill beyond. 
 At the head of those brave fellows, pale as marble, 
 but not pale from fear, stood the gallant officer. 
 Captain Gleason. He said, ' Come on, my brave 
 boys,' and in they rushed. But when their brave 
 captain returned, it was with a shot through the 
 cheek and another through the arm, and with but 
 fifty of the eighty he had led furth. Tlie hospi- 
 tal was in their possession. This charge was one 
 of the most brilliant and reekless in all history, 
 and to Captain Gleason belongs tlie glory. Each 
 side felt, after this charge, that a clever thing had 
 been done ; and the fire of the enemy lagged. 
 We were in a terrible situation. Towards night 
 the fire increased, and in the evening word came 
 from the rebels that if the garrison did not sur- 
 render before the next day, they would hoist the 
 black flag at their cannon and give us no quarter. 
 Word was sent back that ' when we asked for 
 quarter it Avould be time to settle that.' It was a 
 terrible thing to see those brave fellows mangled, 
 and with no skilful hands to bind their gaping 
 wounds. Our surgeon was held with the enemy, 
 against all rules of war, and that, too, when we 
 had released a surgeon of theirs on his mere 
 pledge that he wa.s such. Captain Moriarty went 
 into the hospital, and with nothing but a razor, 
 acted the part of a surgeon. We could not be 
 without a chaplain or a surgeon any longer. 
 There was in our ranks a Lieutenant Hickey, a 
 rollicking, jolly fellow, who was despatched from 
 the hospital with orders to procure the surgeon 
 and chaplain at all hazards. Forty minutes later 
 and the brave lieutenant was borne by severely 
 wounded. As he Avas borne past I heard him ex- 
 claim, ' God have mercy on my little ones ! ' And 
 God did hear his prayers, for the gay Lieutenant 
 is up, as rollicking as ever, and is now forming 
 his brigade to return to the field. 
 
 "On the morning of the 19th the firing was re- 
 sumed, and continued all day. We recovered our 
 surgeon and chaplain. The day was signalized 
 by a fierce bayonet charge upon a regiment of the 
 enemy, which served to show them that our men 
 Avere not yet completely worried out. The ofii- 
 cers had told them to hold out until the 19 th, 
 when they would certainly be reenforced. Through 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 417 
 
 that clay our little garrison stood with straining 
 eyes, Avatching to see if some friendly 'flag was 
 bearing aid to them — with straining ear, awaiting 
 the sound of a friendly cannonade. But no recin- 
 forcements appeared, and, with the energy of 
 despair, they determined to do their duty at all 
 hazards. The 19th was a horrid day. Our water 
 cisterns had been drained, and we dared not leave 
 the crown of the hill, and make our intrench- 
 ments on the bank of the river, for the enemy 
 could have planted his cannon on the hill and 
 buried us. The day was burning hot, and the 
 men bit their cartridges ; their lips were parched 
 and blistered. But not a w^ord of murmuring. 
 The night of the 19th two wells were ordered to 
 be dug. We took a ravine, and expected to reach 
 water in about thirty hours. During the night, I 
 passed around the field, smoothed back the clot- 
 ted hair, and by the light of the moon, shining 
 through the trees, recognized here and there the 
 countenances of my brave men who had fallen. 
 Some were my favorites in days gone past, who 
 had stood by me in these hours of terror, and had 
 fallen on the hard fought field. Sadly we buried 
 them in the trenches. 
 
 " The morning of the 20th broke ; but no reen- 
 forcements appeared, and still the men fought on. 
 The rebels had constructed movable breastworks 
 of hemp bales, rolled them up the hill, and ad- 
 vanced their batteries in a manner to command 
 the fortification. Heated shot were fired at them, 
 but they had taken the jn-ecaution to soak the 
 bales in the Missouri. The attack was urged 
 with renewed vigor, and, during the forenoon, the 
 outer breastworks were taken by a charge of the 
 rebels in force. The whole line was broken, and 
 the enemy rushed in upon us. Captain Fitz- 
 gerald, whom I had known in my younger days, 
 and whom we had been accustomed to call by the 
 familiar name of ' Saxy,' was then ordered to op- 
 pose his company to the assailants. As I gave 
 the order, ' Saxy, go in,' the gallant Fitzgerald, 
 at the head of company I, with a wild yell rushed 
 in upon the enemy. The commander sent for a 
 company on which he could rely ; the firing sud- 
 denly ceased, and when the smoke rose from the 
 field, I observed the Michigan company, under 
 their gallant young commander. Captain Patrick 
 McDermott, charging the enemy and driving them 
 back. Many of our good fellows were lying 
 dead, our cartridges had failed, and it was evident 
 that the fight would soon cease. It was now 
 three o'clock, and all on a sudden an orderly 
 came, saying that the enemy had sent a flag of 
 truce. With the flag came the following note 
 from General Price : 
 
 " ' Colonel : What has caused the cessation of 
 the fight?' 
 
 "The Colonel returned it with the following 
 reply written on the back : — 
 
 " ' General : I hardly know, unless you have 
 surrendered.' 
 
 " He took pains to assure me, however, that 
 
 such was not the case. I learned soon after that 
 
 the Home Guard had hoisted the white flag. The 
 
 Lieutenant who had thus hoisted the Avhite flag 
 
 27 
 
 was threatened with instant death unless he 
 pulled it down. The men all said, ' We have no 
 cartridges, and a vast horde of the enemy is about 
 us.' They were told to go to the line and stand 
 there, and use the charge at the muzzle of their 
 guns, or perish there. They grasped their weap- 
 ons the fiercer, turned calmly about, and stood 
 firmly at their posts. And there they stood with- 
 out a nuu-mui-, praying, as they never prayed be- 
 fore, that the rebel horde would show themselves 
 at the earthworks. An officer remarked, ' This is 
 butchery.' The conviction became general, and a 
 council of war was held. And when, finally, the 
 white flag was raised, Adjutant Cosgrove, of your 
 city, shed bitter tears. The place was given up, 
 upon what conditions, to this day I hardly know 
 or care. The enemy came pouring in. One fop- 
 pish officer, dressed in the gaudiest uniform of 
 his rank, strutted up and down through the camp, 
 stopped before our men, took out a pair of hand- 
 cuff's, and holding them up, said, ' Do you know 
 what these are for ? ' We were placed in file, and 
 a figure on horseback, looking much like ' Death 
 on the pale horse,' led us through the streets of 
 Lexington. As we passed, the secession ladies 
 of Lexington came from their houses, and from 
 the fence tops jeered at us. We were then taken 
 to a hotel with no rations and no proprietor. 
 After we had boarded there for some time, we 
 started with General Price, on the morning o( the 
 30th, for ' the land of Dixie.' " 
 
 THE RIVER EIGHT. 
 
 BY H. H. BROWNELL. 
 
 Do you know of the dreary land, 
 
 If land such region may seem, 
 Where 'tis neither sea nor strand, 
 Ocean nor good dry land, 
 
 But the nightmare marsh of a dream ? 
 Where the ^Mighty River his death-road takes, 
 'ilid pools and windings that coil like snakes, 
 A hundred leagues of bayous and lakes, 
 
 To die in the great Gulf Stream ? 
 
 No coast-line clear and true, 
 Granite and deep-sea blue, 
 
 On that dismal shore you pass, 
 Surf-worn boulder or sandy beach, — 
 But ooze-flats as far as the eye can reach, 
 
 With shallows of water-grass ; 
 Reedy savannas, vast and dun, 
 Lying dead in the dim March sun ; 
 Huge rotting trunks and roots that lie 
 Like the blackened bones of shapes gone by, 
 
 And miles of sunken morass. 
 
 No lovely, delicate thing 
 
 Of life o'er the waste is seen ; 
 But the cayman, couched by his weedy spring, 
 
 And the pelican, bird unclean, 
 Or the buzzard, flapping with heavy wing, 
 
 Like an evil ghost o'er the desolate scene. 
 
 Ah ! many a weary day 
 With our leader there we lay, 
 
 In the sultry haze qnd smoke, 
 Tugging our ships o'er the bar, 
 Till the spring was wasted far, 
 
418 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Till his brave heart almost broke. 
 For the sullen river seemed 
 As if our intent he dreamed, — 
 
 All his sallow mouths did spew and choke. 
 
 But ere April fully passed, 
 All ground over at last, 
 And wc knew the die "was cast — 
 Knew the day drew nigh 
 \ To dare to the end one stormy deed. 
 Might save the land at her sorest need, 
 Or on the old deck to die ! 
 
 Anchored we lay, — and a morn the more, 
 To his captains and all his men 
 
 Thus wrote our old Commodore — 
 (He wasn't Admiral then) : 
 
 "GENERAL ORDERS. 
 
 " Send your to'gallant-masts down, 
 
 Rig in each flying jib-boom ! ■ 
 
 Clear all ahead for the loom 
 Of traitor fortress and town. 
 Or traitor fleet bearing down. 
 
 " In with your canvas high ; 
 
 We shall want no sail to fly ! 
 Topsail, foresail, spanker, and jib 
 (With the heart of oak in the oaken rib), 
 
 Shall serve us to win or die ! 
 
 " Trim every sail by the head, 
 
 (So shall you spare the lead,) 
 Lest, if vshe ground, your ship swing round. 
 
 Bows in shore, for a wreck. 
 See your grapnels all clear with pains, 
 And a solid kedge in your port main-chains. 
 
 With a whip to the main yard : 
 
 Drop it heavy and hard 
 
 When you grapple a traitor deck ! 
 
 " On forecastle and on poop 
 ]Mount guns, as best you may deem. 
 
 If possible, rouse them up 
 
 (For still you must bow the stream). 
 
 Also hoist and secure with stops 
 
 Howitzers firmly in your tops, 
 To fire on the foe a-beam. 
 
 " Look well to your pumps and hose ; 
 
 Have water-tubs fore and aft. 
 
 For quenching flame in your craft, 
 And the gun- crews' fiery thirst. 
 See planks with felt fitted close, 
 
 To plug every shot-hole tight. 
 Stand ready to meet the worst ! 
 
 For, if I have reckoned aright. 
 They will serve us shot, both cold and hot. 
 
 Freely enough to-night. 
 
 " Mark well each signal I make 
 (Our life-long service at stake. 
 
 And honor that must not lag) — 
 Whato'er the peril and awe, 
 In the battle's fieriest flaw. 
 Let never one ship withdraw 
 
 Till the orders come from the flasr ! " 
 
 AVould you hear of the River Fight ? 
 It was two of a soft spring night ; 
 God's stars looked down on all ; 
 And all was clear and bright 
 
 But t^e low fog's clinging breath : 
 Up the River of Death 
 Sailed the Great Admiral. 
 
 On our high poop-deck he stood. 
 
 And round him ranged the men 
 Who have made their birthright good 
 
 Of manhood once and again — 
 Lords of helm and of sail. 
 Tried in tempest and gale, 
 
 Bronzed in battle and wreck. 
 Bell and Bailey grandly led 
 Each his line of the Blue and Red ; 
 Wainwright stood by our starboard rail ; 
 
 Thornton fought the deck. 
 
 And I mind me of more than they, 
 Of the youthful, steadfast ones, 
 That have shown them worthy sons 
 
 Of the seamen passed away. 
 
 Tyson conned our helm that day ; 
 Watson stood by his guns. 
 
 What thought our Admiral then, 
 Looking down on his men ? 
 
 Since the terrible day 
 
 (Day of renown and tears). 
 
 When at anchor the Essex lay. 
 
 Holding her foes at bay, — 
 When a boy bj' Porter's side he stood. 
 Till deck and plank-shear were dyed with blood : 
 'Tis half a hundred years, — 
 
 Half a hundred years to a day ! 
 
 Who could fail with him ? 
 Who reckon of life or limb ? 
 
 Not a pulse but beat the higher ! 
 There had you seen, by the starlight dim. 
 Five hundred faces strong and grim : 
 
 The Flag is going under fire ! 
 Right up by the fort, with her helm hard a-port, 
 
 The Hartford is going under fire ! 
 
 The way to our work was plain. 
 Caldwell had broken the chain, 
 (Two hulks swung down amain 
 
 Soon as 'twas sundered). 
 Under the night's dark blue. 
 Steering steady and true. 
 Ship after ship went through, 
 Till, as we hove in view, 
 
 "Jackson" out-thundered. 
 
 Back echoed " Philip ! " Ah ! then 
 Could you have seen our men, 
 
 IIow they sprung, in the dim night haze. 
 To their work of toil and of clamor ! 
 How the boarders, with sponge and rammer. 
 And their captains, with cord and hammer, 
 
 Kejat every muzzle ablaze. 
 How the guns, as with cheer and shout 
 Our tackle-men hurled them out. 
 
 Brought up on the Avater-ways ! 
 
 First, as we fired at their flash, 
 
 'Twas lightning and black eclipse. 
 With a bellowing roll and crash. 
 But soon, upon either bow, 
 
 AVhat with forts, and fire-rafts, and ships 
 (The whole fleet was hard at it, now). 
 All pounding away ! — and Porter 
 Still thundering with shell and mortar — 
 
 'Twas the mighty sound and form ! 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 419 
 
 (Such you see in the far South, 
 After long heat and drought, 
 
 As day draws nigh to even. 
 Arching from north to south. 
 
 Blinding the tropic sun, 
 
 The great black bow comes on> 
 Till the thunder- veil is riven — 
 When all is crash and levin, 
 And the cannonade of heaven 
 
 KoUs down the Amazon !) 
 
 But, as we worked along higher, 
 
 Just where the river enlarges, 
 Down came a pyramid of fire — 
 
 It was one of your long coal barges. 
 
 (We had often had the like before.) 
 'Twas coming down on us to larboard, 
 
 Well in with the eastern shore ; 
 
 And our pilot, to let it pass round, 
 
 (You may guess we never stopped to sound), 
 Giving us a rank sheer to starboard, 
 
 Han the flag hard and fast aground ! 
 
 'Twas nigh abreast of the Upper Fort ; 
 
 And straightway a rascal Ram 
 
 (She was shaped like the Devil's dam) 
 Puifed away for us, with a snort, 
 
 And shoved it, with spiteful strength. 
 Right alongside of us to port. 
 
 It was all of our ship's length — 
 A huge crackling Cradle of the Pit ! 
 
 Pitch-pine knots to the brim. 
 
 Belching flame red and grim — 
 What a roar came up from it ! 
 
 Well, for a little it looked bad : 
 
 But these things are, somehow, shorter 
 In the acting than in the telling ; 
 There was no singing out or yelling, 
 Or any fussing and fretting. 
 
 No stampede, in short ; 
 But there we were, my lad. 
 
 All afire on our port quarter 
 Hammocks ablaze in the netting, 
 
 Flame spouting in at every port. 
 Our Fourth Cutter burning at the davit 
 (No chance to lower away and save it). 
 
 In a twinkling, the flames had risen 
 Half way to main-top and mizzen. 
 
 Darting up the shrouds like snakes ! 
 
 Ah, how we clanked at the brakes. 
 
 And the deep steaming-pumps throbbed under. 
 
 Sending a ceaseless flow ! 
 Our top-men, a dauntless crowd. 
 Swarmed in rigging and shroud : 
 
 There ('twas a wonder !) 
 The bui'ning ratlines and strands 
 They quenched with their bare hard hands ; 
 
 But the great guns below 
 
 Never silenced their thunder ! 
 
 At last, by backing and sounding. 
 When we were clear of grounding, 
 
 And under headway once more, 
 Tlie whole rebel fleet came rounding 
 
 The point. If we had it hot before, 
 
 'Twas now, from shore to shore. 
 
 One long, loud thundering roar, — 
 Such crashing, splintering, and pounding. 
 
 And smashing as you never heard before ! 
 
 But that we fought foul wrong to wreck, 
 And to save the land we loved so well, 
 
 You might have deemed our long gun-deck 
 Two hundred feet of hell ! 
 
 For above all was battle, 
 Broadside, and blaze, and rattle, 
 
 Smoke and thunder alone. 
 (But, down in the sick-bay. 
 Where our wounded and dying lay. 
 
 There was scarce a sob or a moan.) 
 And at last, when the dim day broke, 
 And the sullen sun awoke. 
 
 Drearily blinking 
 O'er the haze and the cannon smoke. 
 That ever such morning dulls, — 
 There were thirteen traitor hulls 
 
 On fire and sinking ! 
 
 Now, up the river ! — through mad Chalmette 
 
 Sputters a vain resistance yet. 
 
 Small helm we gave her, our course to steer, — 
 
 'Twas nicer work than you well would dream, 
 With cant and sheer to keep her clear 
 
 Of the burning wrecks that cumbered the stream. 
 
 The Louisiana, hurled on high. 
 
 Mounts in thunder to meet the sky ! 
 
 Then down to the depths of the turbid flood, — 
 
 Fifty fathom of rebel mud ! 
 
 The Mississippi comes floating down 
 
 A mighty bonfire, from off tlae town ; 
 
 And along the river, on stocks and ways, 
 
 A half-hatched devil's brood is ablaze, — 
 
 The great Anglo-Norman is all in flames 
 
 (Hark to the roar of her tumbling frames). 
 
 And the smaller fry that Treason would spawn 
 
 Are lighting Algiers like an angry dawn ! 
 
 From stem to stern, how the pirates burn, 
 Fired by the furious hands that built ! 
 
 So to ashes forever turn 
 The suicide wrecks of wrong and guilt ! 
 
 But as we neared the city, 
 
 By field and vast plantation, 
 
 (Ah, millstone of our nation !) 
 With wonder and with pity, 
 
 What crowds we there espied 
 Of dark and wistful faces, 
 Mute in their toiling places. 
 
 Strangely and sadly eyed ! 
 
 Haply, 'mid doubt and fear. 
 
 Deeming deliverance near. 
 
 (One gave the ghost of a cheer !) 
 
 And on that dolorous strand. 
 
 To greet the victor brave 
 
 One flag did welcome wave, — 
 Raised, ah me ! by a wretched hand, 
 All outworn on our cruel land, — 
 
 The withered hand of a slave ! 
 
 But all along the Levee, 
 
 In a dark and drenching rain, 
 (By this 'twas pouring heavy), 
 
 Stood a fierce and sullen train. 
 A strange and frenzied time ! 
 
 There were scowling rage and pain, 
 Curses, howls, and hisses. 
 Out of Hate's black abysses, — 
 Their courage and their crime 
 
 All in vain — all in vain ! 
 
420 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 For, from the hour that the Rebel Stream, 
 With the Crescent City lying abeam, 
 
 Shuddered under our keel, 
 Smit to the heart with self-struck sting, 
 Slavery died in her scorpion-ring. 
 
 And Murder fell on his steel ! 
 'Tis well to do and dare ; , 
 
 But ever may grateful prayer 
 Follow, as aye it ought. 
 When the good fight is fought. 
 
 When the true deed is done ! 
 Aloft in heaven's pure light 
 (Deep azure crossed on white), 
 Our fair Church pennant waves 
 O'er a thousand thankful braves, 
 
 Bareheaded in God's bright sun ! 
 
 Lord of mercy and frown, 
 
 Ruling o'er sea and shore, 
 
 Send us such scene once more ! 
 All in line of battle, 
 When the black ships bear down 
 On tyrant fort and town, 
 
 'Mid cannon cloud and rattle ;. 
 
 And the great guns once more 
 
 Thunder back the roar 
 
 Of the traitor walls ashore, 
 And the traitor flags come down ! 
 
 NOTES FROM THE SADDLE. 
 
 FROM THE " COURIER." * 
 
 Still pushing on ! Still watching the warm, 
 white clouds, and the fields, green with the win- 
 ter grain. Still weaving of way-side flowdrs a 
 simple garland to fling in through the open gates 
 of Janus, while our fancies wander homeward, as 
 the youth of the Roman Republic loved to do in 
 those early days of struggle and victory. The 
 birds chatter in great flocks among the trees, and 
 say, mockingly, " Go South with us." The hoarse 
 brooks, intoxicated with the dissipation of plenty, 
 go roaring along, tumbling over the stones, and 
 making crooked paths over the meadow. Alas ! 
 how poor ! for yesterday they were covered with 
 the first and oldest resource of leaves, dark as 
 Tempe, but now quite stripped bai'e, are driven 
 along, tormented and complaining, out of the 
 gardens into the Avaste. Only the wild flowers 
 along the ravines hold their beauty, peeping out 
 timidly between the gnarled roots of the leaning 
 chestnuts, or smiling under some broad fern, like 
 an Eastern lady behind her fan. To be sure, a 
 few vines hang gracefully over gray limbs, and 
 trail tenderly, as if to hide the poor bushes, 
 whicli once called their foliage their own, and 
 would not own how much they depended on the 
 frail stem that clung to them for ]n-otection. 
 
 But refinement is not weakness, and pride is 
 not strength, and storm brings the judgment. 
 Then we look over the swelling river with its tur- 
 bid current, into Virginia, where t!ie masses of 
 trees, and the clumps of shrubbery, and the open 
 glades, reveal, after these same summer experi- 
 ences, their own individuality. Golden and leaden, 
 
 * Boston Courier, November 23, 18G1. 
 
 purple and silver, with here and there a flash of 
 green across the softer shades, as if the glorious 
 clouds, just at sunset, heavy with quiet, chastened 
 grief, had drooped too lov/, and could not sail 
 away M'hen the sun crept dov/n behind the hills. 
 And we Aveave our garland, conqueror of times 
 and seasons, v.-hile the wind scatters the treasures 
 of the forest about, and throws the leaves before 
 our horses' feet, gilded with the golden sky and 
 soft sun of the India-n summer until musing of 
 changing scenes, of the fate of those who wander 
 along life's way, and the city of unfading rest, we 
 find that the leaves have fallen even from our gar- 
 land, and like one of old, weeping in the midst cf 
 triumph, only the thorns remain to us ! 
 
 But this is- not so very sad, if, as a friend re- 
 marks quietly, we are ourselves to leave so soon. 
 Seaward and Southward is now the cry, and we 
 long for our orders. On every hill, by every way, 
 are the deserted camps of those who have moved 
 before us. It is a singular feeling which creeps 
 over you, as you sit and look into these same 
 camping grounds. If it is sad to do anything 
 for the last time, how much more to stand where 
 there has been so much activity for the last time. 
 Here are the streets laid out in order, where your 
 feet seem to intrude, the trenches still full of 
 water ; the outlines and walls of tents and rude 
 coverings of trees ; the posts still waiting for the 
 horse ; the ovens, which, weary of their weight, 
 have fallen ; the broken jars and bones which are 
 the skeletons of past feasts ! Here was the place 
 called " home," here the guard tent, and there the 
 place of s])ort, and beyond the scene of worship. 
 It is Pompeii over again, vath its pavements and 
 houses, its walls and posts, Avith dwellings and 
 theatres and temples ! A deserted city, or, if you 
 wish to believe it, a city whose inhabitants may 
 return at any moment to ask Avhy you have taken 
 such liberty in your inquisitiveness. The fire- 
 places are full of water. The wood lies cut beside 
 the cold embers. The grain still waits under the 
 trees for the horses, or springs up in a carpet of 
 green, to show you that nothing is lost ; and even 
 the fruit of opportunities Avhich we throw aside, 
 others may reap when we are gone. The fashion- 
 able line of trees, and the arbors, where everyone 
 sat under the pine and fir tree, lean away from the 
 last storm. It is easy to see by the worn ground 
 over what hills the sentry marched, or by Avhat 
 trees the way towards the spring passed. But now 
 only the crows sail away before you, and shout 
 from the tree tops their inhospitable complaints. 
 
 By this stake a rope passed to another, not 
 twenty feet away, that the cavalry horses might 
 be fastened. Just beyond stood some stafl" horse, 
 and there a wagon. Pieces of torn caps, and 
 boxes, and knapsacks, and broad shoes broken out 
 at the sides, which I venture to say Cinderella 
 could not have worn — and little rubber blankets, 
 which served as coverings of miniature tents in 
 this deserted village, under which Evangeline 
 never could have plied the distaff, and fragments 
 of envelopes, lie scattered about. But all this 
 desolation may have happened long ago. The 
 leaf retains the marks of its fibres, along which 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 421 
 
 poured the tide of life, long after it is dead. 
 Does not the print of the fiice remain on the M'alls 
 of the theatre of Herculaneum, though the actor 
 passed away at the first part, when the fiery del- 
 uge surprised the attendants and drowned the 
 applauses of the audience, and caught him just 
 fleeing, unhappy man ! So this forsaken camp, 
 with its impress of the mind, our fancy tells us, 
 may have been peopled by a host of olden time, 
 and haunted for three generations. And as we 
 ride on in the moonlight, the old oaks throw their 
 shadow over the straw and trenches, sighing like 
 the tempest, and urging us on, as it did the poor 
 Wandering Jew. 
 
 They " found the man by the way ;" so they 
 told me, with a tone which said, " He is only a 
 stranger." The horses were feeding by the road- 
 side, with their harness still on, and the reins 
 fallen under their feet. From the top of the 
 heavy army wagon the white canvas had been 
 pushed slightly back, and two empty bags lay 
 within. Upon these was an old man. His un- 
 combed beard was gray, and his long, tangled 
 hair hung in masses on his shoulders. His fea- 
 tures were sharp with poverty, and his thin, bony 
 hands were hard with labor. By his words we 
 knew that he was from the West ; but we could 
 tell nothing more. He was past the years of 
 service, but of an ii'on constitution, which never 
 gives way to such accidents as years until it is 
 broken. He Avas very meanly di'essed, quite in 
 rags, with a soiled cap and dirty flannel shirt. 
 His hands were thrown wildly over his head, and 
 his eyes rolled with unnatural brightness. AVe 
 spoke to him, but he did not reply — only kept 
 driving his horses, who, unused to the strange 
 ^one, were still at work on the green grass which 
 sprang up under the wooden fence. He had evi- 
 dently staid in his seat until overcome with the 
 fever, and then, unknown and uncared for, had 
 fallen backward into the wagon. They carried 
 him to the hospital. Two days he grew thinner 
 and more Aveak. Sometimes the light of intelli- 
 gence seemed to rekindle ; but it was the light- 
 ning in the tempest, a moment bright, only to 
 leave the clouds more dark. It was late at night 
 when I last saw him. A storm was raging 
 through the trees, and shaking the thin canvas 
 of the tent. By a single candle two men were 
 busy over some vials in one corner, and at the op- 
 posite end the two rows of silent forms, wrapped 
 in coarse blankets, with faces which looked sallow 
 and ghostly, seemed like some tomb. They sent 
 for me because they thought he showed signs of 
 reai'jon, and his mind grew more steady as the 
 bark of life touched on the shores of eternitj'. It 
 was too late. As he had lived, so he must die, 
 by himself, without a man who knew him. At 
 once I saw it was too late ; yet I leaned breath- 
 lessly forward to listen to his answer, as one man 
 kneeled by the bedside of the dying man. 
 
 " Have you friends ? " Said he, " My money 
 is not paid — what will they do ? " " Have you 
 a wife P " He looked up a moment, and then be- 
 gan to talk about his pay. " What is your 
 name ? " He gave no answer. Whether he had 
 
 friends or a family we could not tell. His very 
 name was unknown, and he was dying. His 
 long limbs trembled. His voice grew less strong. 
 A group of pale faces, half seen in the flickering 
 light about. There was a prayer, an awful si- 
 lence. _ The old man grew qui'et, and only one 
 trembling voice wrestled with the pattering of the 
 rain and the moaning of the trees overhead. He 
 hardly breathed. It M-as almost midnight. The 
 next morning I heard that another had fallen by 
 the way in the onward march of the army. He 
 had nothing to leave. No one ever heard of 
 his home or friends. In the broad West are 
 doubtless some that think of him. How slowly 
 will they believe that he is lost — hoping against 
 hope, in silence taking comfort ! There are 
 strange unwritten histories in camp, there are 
 patient, unseen offerings, and they consecrate the 
 cause by their silent tenderness. 
 
 We happened in the town of Rockville on 
 election day. Little boys strutted about with 
 white tickets in their breasts, full of secession. 
 Here and there a blue Union vote could be seen, 
 as it was slyly slipped from pocket to pocket. A 
 Httle electioneering was done by the more influ- 
 ential ; but the most contented themselves with 
 clinching their fists behind their backs and talk- 
 ing in gusts, which died away and rose again, 
 like the fitful storm. The Court House is of 
 brick, of two stories height, and quite imposing 
 for this miserable place. It is situated in the 
 centre of the town, on a green lawn, which is 
 enclosed by a neat iron fence. The soldiers were 
 stationed opposite, and the sentries kept a quiet 
 lookout across the street. Three men stood in 
 the window to receive the votes, white and blue. 
 From every street they came pouring in, — some 
 on " hunters," some on " cobs." A father is held 
 on by his boy, who sits behind. A great wagon, 
 with votes and whiskey, stops the throng, and 
 sends them on their way rejoicing. An old 
 farmer mounts his ample plough-horse, and goes 
 trotting on, his brains quite lost in a sombre 
 black hat of unknown date, and a coat with 
 bright buttons, that might have served his ances- 
 tor at a fourth remove. There is a motley throng 
 of long-haired, sallow, misanthropic beings, eager 
 to save their feelings or their country, as the case 
 may be. Everything moves quietly, despite some 
 long-limbed boys with tanned faces and black eyes. 
 Evidently they have grown too fast. Their short 
 pants, and sharp voices, and restless gestures, 
 seem to demand a quarrel. They are walking 
 about, as if to say, " Who dares to blow this 
 straw of a vote oft' my shoulder ? " but in the 
 spirit of the dignified Government whose cause is 
 at stake, the better educated representatives of 
 liberty say, " It is but hollow, and very light. We 
 will keep you quiet. The wind will take care of 
 the straw." 
 
 Close by the way stands the jail. The little 
 jailer, grown thin and old, approaches the gate 
 with the importance of St. Peter, moving his 
 keys and admiring his lock, whose only value is 
 its antiquity. It turns with a gloomy sound. On 
 the right hang a few slave fetters, and within, 
 
422 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 another door opens into a 3'avtl. It is not thirty 
 paces long, or twenty wide. The pile of wet 
 wood in the comer mocks comfort, and the rain, 
 grown stained and dirty, gathers timidly in the 
 corner, trying to escape. A door opens from the 
 yard into a passage lighted by two grated win- 
 dows on the right. Our eyes grow familiar with 
 darkness, as from the two cells opposite — long, 
 and wide, and quite dark, only as a fire kindling 
 in the great chimney lights it — come a dozen 
 he avy hearts. They are all manacled — some by 
 the hands, some by the feet. Some are even 
 chained to the floor. The iron, as they move, 
 sounds gloomy enough. Their faces look like 
 despair. They are slaves who liked their free- 
 dom. "Let them be quiet for a while — their 
 time is coming !" said my friend to the jailer; 
 and I heard their hands clasped in joy as they 
 l)ent down over the floor. It was a wild scene. 
 The flames danced over the wooden walls and 
 polished floor, making the whitewashed chimney 
 gleam with a mockery of neatness. A few rags 
 were on the floor, and moving about were these 
 dark shadows, clanking their chains, and moving 
 their great e5-es in wonder. They had been taken 
 without free papers, and are supposed to be fugi- 
 tives. None care to claim them, or perhaps they 
 do not know where they are ; and so they stay 
 and drag along the hours, as if they too w^ere 
 chained, and sit in the sullen sun, which gleams 
 as if it had lost its spirit as it came through the 
 bars. How fresh and free seemed everything as 
 ve came out again into the street ! 
 
 Like all the other roads, the Avay from Wash- 
 ington is terribly rough. In the centre is the 
 most stony road imaginable. On either side is 
 the most muddy, and full of holes, ever conceived 
 of. It begins to rain, and to get inside is a mat- 
 ter of necessit}% Every stone shakes the car- 
 riage. It is impossible to sit upright. On one 
 side and the other, on trunks and mail-bags and 
 wooden partitions, on stools and saddles and 
 tables, roll our poor head and arms and body. 
 There is no relief. Four hours in the rain under 
 torture. How faint and hungry the violent exer- 
 cise makes one ! How chilly, too ! And now 
 the horses stop. We are fording a stream. The 
 driver shouts, then the lash descends. It is use- 
 less. The driver will not get out of the carriage, 
 nor wUl they get out of the brook. Some one 
 comes to our relief. With a spring they clear 
 the brook, and begin to climb the hill. Again 
 they stop. Whip and reins are alike useless. 
 The front leader turns, and the tall pole horse, a 
 foot higher than his little mate, shakes his head. 
 Urge him, and he stands on his feet and looks 
 over the hill for some Hercules to assist. It is a 
 '• no go." The driver, in despair, gets three men 
 10 assist. They pull the wagon, but not the 
 horses. " Try waiting." And three clouds, drop 
 hy drop, roll down the manes of the horses. 
 " Fury ! " and the men, out of patience, jump out 
 humming the ditty, " If I had a donkey," &c. 
 Now the rails are broken, sticks are stripped and 
 worn out, whips are like oat straws. Go ? Of 
 course not. Here is a final eff'ort. All shout 
 
 and pound together. I put my face up to the 
 little hole in front, and shout lustily ; I who had 
 frightened so many by my noise. The wagon 
 runs back ; out plunges the passenger into the 
 mud and rain, through the side, fearful of going 
 over. " Once more it has started," says the 
 mocking wagoner ; and that tall, large-boned 
 horse rears, and then sits down on the pole. 
 There is a smash, and we are fixed. All are in 
 despair. Night is coming on. Six hours find us 
 eighteen miles from Washington ! Another wagon 
 is sent for. We must wait. 
 
 Fortunately a little ruined cottage is left stand- 
 ing beside the road. Shivering and wet, the coarse 
 shelter seems delightful. I always sigh as I enter 
 a deserted building. There are so many sad and 
 pleasant things which must have been done there, 
 yet no one cares for it. Now I draw back. A 
 few rough men are seated on a wooden bench 
 playing cards. They are not soldiers ; who can 
 they be ? A little fire flickers in an enormous 
 chimney, which seems ready to fall. Out beyond 
 are rooms stripped of their roof and sides. The 
 wind and rain drive me nearer. A few guns are 
 hung upon the wall, and a great bed of straw is 
 pushed into one corner. There are boxes to sit 
 upon, and by the fire is a kettle boiling, the only 
 sign of comfort. I cannot understand what the 
 men were talking about, but by their gestures 
 they seemed very angry. At any rate, through 
 the chimney I looked up and saw the heavy clouds 
 with despair. I pity the very rat who looks out 
 through the broken chimney at me. How lonely 
 a place ! Pieces of board were nailed over the 
 window, and the light came in through the door, 
 which certainly would not swing many times 
 more. A broken door step, a green lawn reacljr 
 ing awaj' to a large stream, a ruined house, and 
 an intensely disagreeable road are all I see. The 
 dingy rafters at least keep off the rain, and the 
 floor is dry, but it is not pleasant to spend the 
 night in such company. It is growing dark. 
 
 At length a wagon with five mules waits for 
 me — an army wagon, a heavy, tough wagon, 
 without the slightest suspicion of springs. It 
 starts furiously. I only remember, in the dark- 
 ness, a battery of artillery go by, a camp fire, and 
 then stopping to arrange the harness. The ter- 
 rible noise of the wagon drowns the cracking of 
 whips, and the shouts of the drivers who rode the 
 mules. I thought I should not survive the ter- 
 rible jar ; it was a torment. Had I not a coach 
 and five, outriders, a carriage for thirty, four led 
 horses ? What was left to desire for a Bourbon ? 
 
 The mules stopped at length ; and, tired as I 
 was, I felt happy to plod through the deep mud, 
 and wade the pools, amid the darkness of the for- 
 est and a furious storm. I had quiet, at least, 
 though the sound still rang in my ears, and the 
 feverish flush of the terrible exercise remained on 
 the cheeks. 
 
 Have we not been long enough on the way ? 
 The sun does not always shine, and it is not per- 
 petual summer in camp. Doubtless, when we 
 look back on the campaign, there will be more 
 lights than shadows ; and under the direction of a 
 
AJ^ECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 423 
 
 hand more skilful than our own, a beautiful pat- 
 tern will be wrought of the many-colored threads, 
 which we maj' look upon in the halls of our mem- 
 ory, as one looks upon the tapestries of the Vati- 
 can — once a mystery and rarity to the artisan, 
 but a simple unity to the mind of Raphael, who 
 walked with him by the way. 
 
 Yankees — Hyenas. — "Justinian," a corre- 
 spondent of the Sguthern Literary Messenger, 
 sends the following to that periodical : 
 
 " The comparison so well made by President 
 Davis, in his recent speech, of Yankees to Hyenas, 
 had been frequently suggested to my mind, not only 
 from the fiendish and felonious character of both 
 animals, but from having referred to the deriva- 
 tion of the term Yankee, or Yanhee, as given in 
 ' Aubury's Travels in America,' in the year 1791, 
 That author asserts that Yankee, or Yanhe, is de- 
 rived from the Cherokee word Eanke, or Eanhe, 
 which signifies, in that language, coward, and was 
 applied by the Vu-ginians to the people of the 
 North for not arming and joining them to resist 
 the assaults of the Cherokees in the year 1780. 
 If, then, the true orthography of the word Yankee 
 be Yanhe, it may be assimilated to the word Hy- 
 ena, by the simple rule of transposition, as fol- 
 lows : In the term Yanhe, the letters are the 
 same — the y in hyena being the second, the a 
 being fifth, the n being the fourth, the h being the 
 first, and the e being the third. I therefore think 
 that we are fully authorized in denominating the 
 Yankees as Hyenas." 
 
 Female Bushwhackers. — The women of the 
 South are the goads that prick the men to action. 
 I should have said first that there are female as 
 well as male bushwhackers. When a woman 
 takes one of these creatures to her home or heart, 
 as the case may be, she becomes a partner to his 
 guilt, according to the common law. She thus 
 recognizes his vocation, and applauds him in his 
 robberies. She is the receiver, and the receiver 
 is as bad as the thief. All the country is infested 
 by these guerrillas and bushwhackers ; they have 
 certain haunts, where they make their headquar- 
 ters and store away then- plunder. These haunts 
 are invariably presided over by that creature (God 
 help her, after all) of modern growth, and the 
 ofi'spring of the miseries of war — the " war wid- 
 ow." They are, without exception, bitter and in- 
 veterate secesh. Usually, indeed in all cases, 
 ignorant and wholly uneducated, they are en- 
 tirely controlled by passion. Being in destitute 
 circumstances, and lonely, they gladly become the 
 accomplices of the herd of robbers proM'ling about. 
 I am not to be understood as saying that all the 
 women of the South who unfortunately have lost 
 their husbands in this war, are of the class known 
 as " Avar widows." Far be it from me. I have 
 found many such women as intelligent, refined, 
 and pure as any I have ever known. But every- 
 body knows, or is supposed to know, what the 
 real " war widow " is, and it is of her I write. She 
 
 makes a good home bushwhacker ; aids and abets 
 freely and voluntarily in all the depredations of 
 her warring accomplice. She feeds and clothes 
 him, secretes him when hunted down, encourages 
 him in his bad work, and does all she can (and 
 women are all-powerful for good or evil) to make 
 him a reckless and depraved outlaw. There is a 
 certain sort of superstitious poetry of innocence 
 attached to woman's being, which has been handed 
 down to us from the time Adam beheld the beau- 
 tiful image of Eve in the clear, crystal water. 
 While I Avould regret to despoil woman of any of 
 the romance of her nature, I must say that, as far 
 as regards women bushwhackers, there is nothing 
 in theii- natures except poetical depravity — a 
 license in hcentious liberty, which mars and black- 
 ens her nature. As liars, they cannot be excelled 
 in the universe. Actually, they would lie any- 
 thing or anybody out of existence. And they do 
 it with such brazen impudence — such a shame- 
 less air of innocence. Their little hearts are aw- 
 fully corrupt. While out with scouting parties, 1 
 have repeatedly asked for various kinds of infor- 
 mation from these frail creatures, and, looking 
 into my face as innocent as an unwooed maiden, 
 they have told lie upon lie, yes, mountains of 
 them. Their moral perception of right and wrong 
 is very blunt, while their perceptive faculties are 
 quite acute in judging of the relative value of a 
 ring, a blanket, a watch, or other article brought 
 them by their bushwhacking lords. — " Dr. Ado- 
 nis" in the Louisville Journal. 
 
 The Battle of Dunksbukg. — The follow- 
 ing amusing account of a battle that occurred in 
 the wilds of Missouri has not yet taken its ap- 
 propriate place in the history of the rebellion : 
 
 " The village of Dunksburg is situated in the 
 north-east corner of Pettis County, Missouri, and 
 very near the stream known as the Black Water. 
 In the south-east part of Lafayette County, and 
 immediately in the neighborhood of Dunksburg, 
 there is a large German settlement. From the 
 very commencement of the present troubles in 
 Missouri, the Germans have been loyal to the 
 Government, and as they were the first against 
 whom the vengeance of the secessionists was di- 
 rected, they were the first to take up arms in the 
 defence of their adopted country, and a small 
 company of some forty or fifty banded them- 
 selves together for the purposes of self-defence, 
 making the church at Dunksburg their temporary 
 headquarters. Late one afternoon they were no- 
 tified of the approach of a considerable body of 
 rebels from Pettis and Saline Counties, and they 
 prudently determined to retreat from the position 
 they held in the church, behoving that they would 
 be unable to defend it against greatly superior 
 numbers. 
 
 " The attacking party, not aware that the Ger- 
 mans had retreated, advanced cautiously, under 
 cover of night, and by a dexterous movement 
 succeeded in surrounchng the church, and at a 
 signal agreed on, immediately commenced a 
 heavy fire upon the building, which being only 
 
424 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 weather-boarded with thin pine or poplar plank, 
 offered scarcely any resistance to the bullets 
 which were rapidly discharged from rifles and 
 shot guns, and which, passing through and 
 thi'ough the house, killed and wounded many of 
 the assailants. Unprepared for what they mis- 
 took for a vigorous defence on the part of the 
 Germans, after considerable loss in killed and 
 wounded, they retreated to their camp a short 
 distance off ; but dissatisfied with the result, and 
 believing it entirely in their power to capture the 
 small force which had peppered them so severely, 
 they determined to return to the charge, and to 
 carry the church at the point of the bayonet. 
 
 " The same precaution was used in making 
 their advances for the second attack, and they 
 completely surrounded the buUding before the 
 word was given to fire. Greatly to their aston- 
 ishment, at the first volley many of their men 
 were killed, and being in close proximity to the 
 l3uilding, several were seriously wounded by 
 splinters, which were scattered in every direction 
 by the balls passing through the house. The 
 fire was so destructive that no time Avas lost in 
 forcing the doors of the building, with the pur- 
 pose of making a finish of all the Dutch inside ; 
 but greatly to their disappointment and mortifi- 
 cation, they discovered that there was not a sin- 
 gle Dutchman anywhere about the house, and 
 that they had been guilty of the extreme folly of 
 shooting each other. Thus ended the battle of 
 Dunksburg — an event long to be remembered 
 by the peaceful inhabitants of that quiet village, 
 which has thus become famous among the bloody 
 localities of Missouri." 
 
 THE OLD RIFLEMAN. 
 
 BY FRANK TICKNOK, M. D, 
 
 Now, bring me out my buckskin suit, 
 
 My pouch and powder too ; 
 "We'll see if seventy-si.x can shoot 
 
 As sixteen used to do. 
 
 Old Bess, we've kept our barrels bright, 
 Our triggers quick and true — 
 
 As far, if not &s,fine a sight, 
 As long ago we drew. 
 
 And pick me out a trusty flint — 
 
 A real Avhite and blue ; 
 Perhaps 'twill win the other tint 
 
 Before the hunt is through. 
 
 Give boys your brass percussion caps ; 
 
 Old " shut-pan " suits as well : 
 There's something in the sparks, — perhaps 
 
 •There's something in the smell. 
 
 We've seen the red-coat Briton bleed ; 
 
 The red-skin Indian too ; 
 We never thought to draw a bead 
 
 On Yankce-doodle-doo. 
 
 But, Bessie, bless your dear old heart, 
 
 Those days are mostly done ; 
 And now Ave must revive the art 
 
 Of shooting on the run. 
 
 If Doodle must be meddling, why, 
 
 There's only this to do — 
 Select the black spot in his eye. 
 
 And let the daylight through. 
 
 And if he doesn't like the way 
 
 That Bess presents the view. 
 He'll, may be, change his mind, and stay 
 
 Where the good Doodles do, — 
 
 Where Lincoln lives — the man, you knovr, 
 
 Who kissed the Testament; 
 To keep the Constitution ? No, 
 
 To keep the Government ! 
 
 We'll hunt for Lincoln, Bess, old tool, 
 
 And take him half and half ; 
 We'll aim to hit him, if a fool. 
 
 And miss him, if a calf. 
 
 We'll teach these shot-gun boys the tricks 
 
 By which a war is won ; 
 Especially, how Seventy-six 
 
 ■Took Tories on the run. 
 
 The DRtJ]VEv[ER-BoY of the Eighth Michi- 
 gan. — Charles Howard Gardner was a school- 
 boy thirteen and a half years old, in the city of 
 Flint, Michigan, when the Avar commenced. His 
 father Avas connected Avitir a military organization 
 of long standing, and under the first call for sev- 
 enty-five thousand troops, immediately left for 
 the defence of the national capital. Soon there 
 came a second call for three hundred thousand 
 more, Avhen Charlie's teacher, S. C. Guild, a most 
 exemplary young man, soon to enter the ministry, 
 joined the army. Between Charlie and him 
 there existed a very ardent attachment, and Cap- 
 tain Guild seconded Charlie's earnest entreaties 
 that he might go Avith him as a drummer. He 
 had been famous from his babj^hood for his mu- 
 sical ability, and had acquired a good deal of 
 merited notoriety for his skilful handling of the 
 drumsticks. " If I can go to the war Avith my 
 drum, and thus take the ])lace of a man who can 
 handle a musket," Avas Charlie's persistent plea, 
 " I think it is my duty to go, especially as you, 
 mother, do not greatly need me at home." So, 
 reluctantly, the poor mother, Avho had surrendered 
 her husband, consented that her boy should join 
 the Eighth Michigan infantry. 
 
 The regiment was ordered to Port Royal, and 
 on their Avay thither, Charlie met his father in 
 Washington. As they Avere returning from the 
 navy yard, Avhere they had been for their arms, 
 he saAv his father a little Avay ofl', and forgetting 
 mihtary rule, he broke from the ranks, and Avith 
 child-like joy ran to his father's arms. It Avas 
 their last earthly meeting, as the November fol- 
 lowing Mr. Gardner died of typhoid fever at Al- 
 exandria. Charlie's letters to liis mother after 
 this bereavement, Avritten from Port Iloyal, are 
 exceedingly touching, and remarkably thoughtful 
 for a boy not yet fourteen. " I am near broken- 
 hearted," he Avrites : " I try to be cheerful, but it 
 is of no use ; my mind continually runs in the 
 direction of home, a fresh gush of tears comes to 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 425 
 
 my eyes, and I have to weep. But, mother, if 
 this is so hai'd for me, what must it be for you ? 
 Don't take it too much to heart, for remember 
 that you have me left, and I will do my best to 
 help you. I shall send you all my money here- 
 after, for I do not really need money here." 
 
 This promise he fulfilled to the letter. Al- 
 ways cheerful, he was a great favorite with the 
 officers and men, for whom he never did a favor 
 but they would compel him to receive some small 
 compensation in return. These small gains he 
 carefully husbanded, and increased them by ped- 
 dling papers and periodicals, making enough for 
 his little extra expenses, and invariably, on ev- 
 ery pay-day, he sent his money to his widowed 
 mother. None of the vices of the camp clung 
 to him, and amid the profane, and drunken, 
 and vulgar, he moved, without assoiling the 
 whiteness of his young soul. His teacher and 
 Captain guarded him like a father ; he shared his 
 bed and board with Charlie, and the two loved 
 one another with an affection so unusual that it 
 was everywhere the subject of comment. 
 
 By and by we hear of the fearless little fellow, 
 small beyond his years, on the battle-field with 
 the surgeon, where the grape and canister were 
 falling like hail around them, pressing forward to 
 the front, during an engagement, with the hospi- 
 tal flag in his hand, to aid in the care of the 
 wounded. Only a peremptory order from a su- 
 perior officer was able to turn him back to the 
 rear ; and there, when the wounded were brought 
 in, he Avorked all night and the next day, carry- 
 ing water, and bandages, and lint,' and lighting up 
 the sorrowfulness of the hour by his boyish but 
 unfailing kindness. Never was he more service- 
 able than during a battle. At the terrible battle 
 of James' Island, in an assault on the fort, his 
 beloved Captain, always foremost in the fight, 
 had climbed to the parapet of the fort, when a 
 shot struck him, and he fell backward, and Avas 
 seen no more. Now was Charlie indeed bereaved 
 — his teacher, captain, friend, father, lover, dead 
 on the battle-field, and even the poor satisfaction 
 denied his friends of burying his remains. His 
 letters, after this event, are one long wail of sor- 
 row — he could not be comforted ; and yet, al- 
 ways thoughtful for others, he writes : " 0, how 
 I pity liis poor mother !" 
 
 Months passed, and the Eighth Michigan was 
 ordered to Vicksburg, to reenforce Grant, who 
 had beleaguered that doomed city. Battle after 
 battle ensued — nineteen of them — in all of 
 which Charlie more or less participated, often es- 
 caping death as by a mh-acle. Something of the 
 fierce life led by this regiment may be inferred 
 from the fact that one thousand six hundred and 
 fifty-three men have enlisted in it since it fii-st 
 took the field ; of these, only four hundred sur- 
 \\\e to-day, all but eight of whom have just re- 
 enlisted. Tlu'ough all battles, all marches, all 
 reconnoissances, all campaigns, Charlie kept with 
 the regiment, crossing the mountains with them 
 to Knoxville, in Burnside's corps, on rations of 
 three ears of corn per day, and then for weeks 
 shut up in that city, besieged by Longstreet's 
 
 force, and subsisting on quarter rations. Yet not 
 one word of complaint ever came from the pa- 
 triot boy, not one word of regret, only an earnest 
 desire to remain in the service till the end of the 
 war. 
 
 At last there came a letter from the surgeon. 
 During the siege of Knoxville, Charlie had been 
 wounded for the first time. A chance shot, that 
 passed through the window of the house in which 
 he was, struck him on the shoulder, and entered 
 the lung. " He has been in a very dangerous 
 condition," wrote the surgeon, " but he is now 
 fast recovering. He is a universal pet, and is 
 well cared for in the officers' quarters." The next 
 tidings were more joyful. The regiment were on 
 their way to Detroit, on a thirty days' furlough, 
 and would remain to recruit. Now the telegraph 
 notified those interested that they were in Louis- 
 ville — then in Indianapolis — in Michigan City 
 — at last in Detroit. 
 
 With a happy heart the good mother tele- 
 graphed to have her boy sent to Chicago as 
 soon as possible ; and then she watched the arri- 
 val of the trains. " He will be here to-night — 
 he will be here to-morrow," she said; and ev- 
 ery summons to the door she was sure was her 
 Charlie. Everything was in readiness for the 
 darling — his room — his clothes — the supper- 
 table set with the luxuries he loved — and there 
 sat mother, sister, and brother, waiting for him. 
 A knock at the door — all start — all rush — 'tis 
 CharHe ! No, only a telegram. God help the poor 
 broken hearts, as they read it — " The regiment 
 has arrived, hut Charlie is dead ! " And this 
 was all. 
 
 A Shell on Board Ship. — A shell from a 
 rifled cannon must be a very nice visitor to " drop 
 in " to a small party, if Ave may judge from the 
 exploits of one Avhich struck the United States 
 steamer Massachusetts, off' Ship Island, and which 
 a writer Avho Avas on board describes as foUoAvs : 
 
 "During the action I think Ave hit hei", the 
 Florida, fom* times, and I knoAv she hit us once 
 with a sixty-eight pound rifle shell (that is the 
 Avay Ave got the exact size of her rifled gun). The 
 shell entered on our starboard quarter, just above 
 the iron part of the hull ; it came through the 
 side angling aft (as Ave were a little abaft her beam 
 Avhen it struck us), and took the deck in the pas- 
 sage Avay between tAvo state-rooms, and com- 
 pletely cut off" eighteen of the deck planks, and 
 then struck a beam, Avhicfa canted it up a little, so 
 that it took the steam-heating pipes under our 
 dining-table, cutting off" five of them, and tearing 
 our dining-table all to pieces — then went through 
 the state-room, bulkhead, and ceiling of the ship 
 on the opposite side, and struck one of the outside 
 timbers, and broke every plank abreast of it short 
 ofi", from the spar to the gun deck : it then fell 
 doAvn on to the cabin deck and exploded, knock- 
 ing four state-rooms into one, breaking all the 
 glass and crockery Avare, shattering the cabin very 
 badly, breaking up the furniture, and setting fire 
 to the ship ; but Ave had three streams of Avater 
 upon the fire at very short notice, and put it out 
 
426 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 before it did any damage — keeping up our chase 
 as though nothing had happened." 
 
 A letter from the Surgeon of the Massachu- 
 setts, Dr. John H. Mackie, gives information that 
 he Avas the only person wounded by this destruc- 
 tive visitor. He was struck by a splinter on the 
 shin. ______ 
 
 A Colored Hero. — During the thickest of 
 the fight at Belmont, the body servant of General 
 McClernand, a mulatto named William Stains, 
 exhibited conspicuous courage.. He was close by 
 the General during the whole engagement, cheer- 
 ing the soldiers, and swearing that he would shoot 
 the first man that showed the white feather. 
 Many of the soldiers laughed heartily at the 
 fighting negro, while the bullets flew about like 
 hail. 
 
 In the course of the fight a captain of one of 
 the companies was struck by a spent ball, which 
 disabled him from walking. The mulatto boy, 
 who was mounted, rode up to him, and shouted 
 out, " Captain, if j-ou can fight any longer for the 
 old Stars and Stripes, take my horse and lead 
 your men." He then dismounted and helped the 
 wounded officer into his saddle, and as he was 
 walking away, a rebel di-agoon rushed forw^ard at 
 the officer to take him prisoner. The negro drew 
 his revolver, and put a ball through the rebel's 
 head, scattering his brains over the horse's neck. 
 
 Passing the Battekies. — The world knows 
 how Vicksburg was taken. After four months of 
 ineffectual but constant labor to flank it on the 
 north, and to cut a canal across the bend so as to 
 divert the river from its course. Grant suddenly 
 projected a new and brilliant line of strategy, 
 which was croM'ned with success. 
 
 That was to march his armj' down past the 
 stronghold, on the Louisiana shore, run six or 
 eight boats by the batteries and take them down 
 twenty-five miles to Bruiusburg, just beloAv Jefi' 
 Davis' Plantation, and act as ferry-boats in taking 
 the army across. Then his problem w-as to 
 march north, cut the roads between Vicksburg 
 and Jackson, and establish a base of supplies on 
 the Yazoo Paver, and forcing the army of Pem- 
 berton back into the " Gibraltar of the South," 
 surround it, and either storm or starve it into sur- 
 render. This was the plan that succeeded. 
 
 But the most hazardous part of this enterprise 
 was to run the batteries. Volunteers, however, for 
 this dangerous service, were numerous, and among 
 others three army correspondents of leading New 
 York papers were on board — Mr. Richardson of 
 the Tribune, ]Mr. Browne of the Herald, and Mr. 
 Colburn of the World. 
 
 These knights-errant of the quill have each 
 given to the world their story. But the narrative 
 of Mr. Colburn, especially what relates to the 
 passing of the batteries, is not surpassed by either 
 of the others in thrilling interest. 
 
 " It was ten o'clock on a beautiful moonlight 
 night," says Mr. C, " even for those latitudes, 
 when we cast loose at Milliken's Bend, and our 
 
 little tug snorted down the river accompanied by 
 the transport A. D. Hine. 
 
 " Our adieus said, we quietly chatted, and fin- 
 ished a solitary bottle of dry Catawba which some 
 good friends had sent on board for our comfort. 
 We had on board, as a guard, fifteen sharp- 
 shooters from the Forty-seventh Ohio, under 
 Captain Ward, Surgeon Davidson, the tug's crew 
 of eight, four persons on their way to join their 
 regiments, and our party of three, all volunteers. 
 
 " I should here mention, as illustrating the tem- 
 per of that army, that when fourteen volunteers 
 were called for, the whole regiment stepped for- 
 ward. Company A was selected, and still there 
 was a squabble to go. Fourteen were then marked 
 off; a fifteenth begged permission of the Colonel, 
 and one actually paid a premium of five dollars to 
 his comrade for the privilege of going on this haz- 
 ardous service. The barges were covered with 
 tiers of hay in order to protect the tug, but the 
 hay was deemed almost unnecessary, and so put 
 on quite loosely, and the ends of the boat were 
 quite exposed. 
 
 " At midnight we came in sight of Vicksburg. 
 At half past twelve, as we were steaming across 
 the upper side of the point, the rebel pickets on 
 the Louisiana shore began to fire upon us ; their 
 shots, however, did no damage. 
 
 " At quarter before one a rocket shot up fi'om 
 the upper batteries. There was no need of such 
 a warning, for the boats might be seen almost as 
 clearly as by sunlight, and the loud puff of our 
 exhaust pipe gave ample warning when we were 
 three miles distant. 
 
 "At five minutes past one the first shot was fired, 
 and struck so near as to leave us in doubt whether 
 the barges were hit. A lull of a few minutes, 
 then another, closely followed by a round. It 
 kept up in this way as we were rounding the 
 bend, the shots all seeming to come very near to 
 us, but few striking, as we could perceive by the 
 momentary throb of the hull when struck. 
 
 " With the exception of Captain Ward, the 
 pilots, engineers, and firemen, the rest of us were 
 posted along the barges, on the alert for an at- 
 tempt at boarding. 
 
 " By reference to a map of the locality, it will be 
 seen that the river forms a kind of loop in front 
 of Vicksburg ; so that we had to run a portion 
 of the distance by, and then turn under fire, and 
 run the whole line back again. In this way we 
 were exposed to a fu-e from the stai-board side, 
 then from the bow, and, when fairly in front of 
 the batteries, from all three directions to a con- 
 centrated fire. 
 
 " At first there were efforts to peer from behind 
 the rampart of hay bales and duck on peixeiving 
 the flash of the rebel guns ; but soon the shots 
 were so rapid, and from points so widely apart, 
 that that exciting amusement was drojjped. The 
 screaming of the shells as they went over us, the 
 splashing and spray, were for a time subjects of 
 jesting and imitation, when a shell burst three 
 feet over our heads with a stunning report. 
 
 " Twenty minutes (long minutes those) under 
 fire, and nobody hurt ! 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 427 
 
 " The barges still floating, and the little propeller 
 making eight miles an hour. We had already 
 passed the upper batteries, and were congratu- 
 lating ourselves on our good luck, the guns pour- 
 ing broadsides at us with amazing noise, as we 
 were but four hundred yards from the guns, and 
 it seemed in the clear air as if we were right in 
 front of the muzzles. Several shots struck the 
 barges very heavily ; still there was no stoppage. 
 It must have been about a quarter before two, 
 when all the roar of the guns was drowned in 
 one terrific report, as if a magazine had burst 
 under us. 
 
 " My first thought was that the powder had been 
 stowed on the barges, and had ignited ; but, on 
 clambering up among smoke and flames, I could 
 see indeed nothing like a tug. She had exploded, 
 and the wliite hot cinders Avere thrown up in a 
 spouting shower, while steam and smoke envel- 
 oped the barges like a pall. 
 
 " Almost at the same minute the batteries com- 
 menced a vengeful, and, as it seemed to me, a 
 savage fii'e upon us, faster and faster. The shells 
 burst all round and above us for a few moments 
 with a stunning and blinding efi'ect. The coals 
 had set fire to the hay bales in several places ; the 
 bursting shells had aided in the work. In vain 
 did we trample upon them, and throw them over- 
 board, burning our hands, feet, and clothing in 
 the efibrt. No buckets were to be found. They 
 had been blown away. On looking down between 
 the barges, there hung the fragments of the tug 
 by the tow ropes. The little craft, being nearly 
 all boiler, had been shattered to atoms, as we 
 learned afterwards, by a ten-inch shell. 
 
 " The rebels then set up a hideous yell from the 
 blufTs, as if in mockery at our crippled condition. 
 The batteries kept on firing, the blazing hay light- 
 ing up the river. We were then slowly di-ifting 
 with the current past the front of the city. Our 
 disaster happened right abreast of the court- 
 house, when we had passed more than half the 
 batteries, and under the fire of them all. 
 
 " As soon as we could clearly see through the 
 blinding smoke, we found Mr. Browne standing 
 bareheaded on the topmost bale, as if he were a 
 defiant target for the rebel gunners. Captain 
 Ward had been blown forward thirty feet from 
 the tug into the river, and two of his men were 
 engaged in fishing him up. The wounded and 
 scalded men were crying for help, answered only 
 by an occasional shell or malicious cheer. 
 
 " After a few moments of hasty and rather in- 
 formal consultation, it was deemed best to quit 
 the barges, as the flames were crowding us very 
 closely. Bales of hay were then tumbled off into 
 the river, and the wounded placed upon them. 
 
 " The heat now became intense. Mr. Browne and 
 myself remained till all were off", and then, with 
 but one bale for the two, stripped for the plunge. 
 Just as we were ready, a solid shot whistled be- 
 tween us, and ploughed into the water under Mr. 
 Richardson's feet, overturning him from his bale, 
 and producing a fountain of spray where he had 
 sunk. 
 
 " Our eyes were gladdened at his return to the 
 surface unhurt. 
 
 " We leaped into the muddy flood and buf- 
 feted the waves for some minutes — with a sense 
 of relief from the insupportable heat. Junius 
 followed, and together we commenced swimming 
 for the Louisiana shore, supposing that our pick- 
 ets occupied it. 
 
 " We had been in the water for half an hour 
 perhaps, when the sound of the stroke of oars 
 reached us, and presently a yawl pulled round 
 the barges. Our first emotions were pleasant 
 enough, but they were all destroyed when we saw 
 the gray clothing of the boatmen. They scooped 
 us in by the time we had drifted two miles below 
 the city, and with some roughness impressed upon 
 us the fact that we were prisoners. Dripping 
 and shivering, we were marched up to the city 
 and taken before the Provost Marshal and regis- 
 tered." 
 
 Willie Johnson, thirteen years old, of St. 
 Johnsbury, a drummer boy in company D, Third 
 Vermont regiment, received a medal for his he- 
 roic conduct in the seven days' fight before Rich- 
 mond. On the retreat, when strong men threw 
 away their guns, knapsacks, and blankets, that 
 they might have less weight to carry, this little 
 fellow kept his di'ura, and brought it safely to 
 Harrison's Landing, where he had the honor of 
 drumming for division parade, being the only 
 drummer who brought his drum from the field. 
 When these facts were reported to the War De- 
 partment by the division commander, Willie was 
 presented with the star medal of honor by Secre- 
 tary Stanton in person. 
 
 Story of the Draft. — The enrolling officer 
 
 of district, was very active and thorough 
 
 in the performance of his duties. One day he 
 went to the house of a countryman, and finding 
 none of the male members at home, he made in- 
 quiry of an old woman about the name and age 
 of the " males " of the family. After naming 
 several, the old lady stopped. "Is there any 
 more ? " asked the officei*. " No," replied the 
 woman, " none except Billy Bray." " Billy Bray ? 
 Where is he ? " '•' He was at the barn a moment 
 ago," said the old lady. Out went the officer, but 
 he could not find the man. Coming back, the 
 worthy officer questioned the old lady as to the 
 age of Billy, and went away, after enrolling his 
 name among those to be drafted. The time of 
 drafting came, and among those on whom the 
 draft fell was Billy Bray. No one knew him. 
 Where did he live ? The officer who enrolled 
 him was called upon to produce the conscript: 
 and lo and behold, Billy Bray was a jackass ! 
 and stands now on the list of drafted men as 
 forming one of the quota of Maryland. 
 
 A Beautiful Incident. — A Washington 
 correspondent mentions the following incident as 
 showing the kindness of heart of President Lin- 
 coln : 
 
428 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETEY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 At the reception this afternoon, at the Presi- 
 dent's house, many persons present noticed three i 
 little girls, poorly dressed, the children of some 
 mechanic or laboring man, who had followed the 
 visitors into the house to gratify their curiosity. 
 They passed round from room to room, and were 
 hastening through the reception room with some 
 trepidation, when the President called to them, 
 " Little girls! are you going to pass me without 
 shaking hands ? " Then he bent his tall, awk- 
 ward form down, and shook each little girl warmly 
 by the hand. Everybody in the apartment Avas 
 spell-bound by the incident, so simple in itself, 
 yet revealing so much of Mr. Lincoln's chax-acter. 
 His heart overflows with kindness, he possesses 
 deep anti-slavery convictions, and he never takes 
 a backward step, even if he does sometimes hesi- 
 tate long before taking one in advance. 
 
 " That Dear Old Flag." — Perhaps no man, 
 since the days of Falstaff and the Merry Wives 
 of Windsor was ever more tormented by women 
 than was General Butler, after the issue of his 
 famous " Order, No. 28," du-ected to the women 
 of New Orleans. The secesh crinoline from that 
 time forward delighted to tease, vex, and iritate 
 him. Numberless were the pretexts they would 
 get up to go and call on him, and extract impa- 
 tient or angry retorts from him, which they would 
 retail to their friends afterwards, with the great- 
 est gusto. " To take the oath," was with them 
 the height of infamy ; nevertheless, there were 
 found men, who not willingly only, but gladly re- 
 newed their fealty to the tfnited States Govern- 
 ment. Of these, one man, who had always been 
 known as a Union man, but whose wife was in- 
 tensely Southern in her views and feelings, 
 promptly came forward and " took the oath." It 
 was not long before she became acquainted with 
 the hideous fact, and she determined upon some 
 sort of revenge. A magnificent looking woman 
 she was, and of elegant and commanding man- 
 ner. Attiring herself in the most elaborate and 
 becoming style and costume, she Avaited upon the 
 General, gave her husband's name, and was re- 
 ceived with eminent distinction and courtesy. 
 After exchanging a few elegant and gracious 
 compliments with the General and his staff, and 
 attracting the attention of every one in the 
 room, she proceeded to unfold the object of 
 her visit. 
 
 " General," said she, " some of my friends have 
 taken the oath ; my husband has taken the oath ; " 
 and clasping her hands upon her breast, and roll- 
 ing her eyes heavenward, she exclaimed in tones 
 that Mrs. Siddons, even, might have envied, " I 
 have come down to swear allegiance to that dear 
 flag." The denouement was as irresistible as 
 it was unexpected. Bursts of laughter rung 
 through tlie presence-chamber, and Butler, seeing 
 that he Avas sold, retorted angrily, " We don't 
 want your oath, madam ; go home and take care 
 of your house and your family ; that's the proper 
 place for Avomen." 
 
 A Loud Outcry. — General Sherman, before 
 starting on that great campaign, passed some part 
 of the winter of 1863-4 in Hunts ville, Alabama. 
 
 As this community had been from the first in- 
 tensely and bitterly disloyal, he did not regard 
 them as entitled to any special leniency or pro- 
 tection. Houses A^acated by fugitive reiaels Avere 
 generally taken for quarters by his officers, and 
 the expression of open and defiant disloyalty Avas 
 checked by the bayonet. This natural result of 
 the success of the Union arms is commented on 
 and described in the following terms by a Hunts- 
 ville correspondent of a Southern paper, signing 
 himself " Exile :" 
 
 " It is but a short time since I left Huntsville, 
 Alabama. The iron hand of despotism is upon 
 the people ; not perhaps as roughly, nor as gross- 
 ly, as two years ago, when the impotent Mitchel 
 commanded there ; nevertheless, the hand is iron, 
 and thumb-screws are in it, Avhich daily are tight- 
 ened, sloAvly, but surely, a little more and a little 
 more. The people, as a body, are true to our 
 cause, and the principles involved in it ; yet there 
 are a feAv, four or five at the most, Avho are not 
 only untrue, but vilely and fetidly dishonorable 
 in their conduct towards men who are honorable, 
 and Avhose degradation to their unholy level is a 
 jjrime object in their movement. It would do no 
 good to name them ; the absentees, refugees, and 
 exiles from Hunts\'ille know them ; but per- 
 sonal wrongs inflicted by these men tempt strong- 
 ly to name, and hold the Avretches up to a just 
 and blasting reprobation. A few days ago, a 
 body of gentlemen, unexceptionable in character, 
 and conservative by age, were exiled upon a four- 
 teen hours' order to leave, because they refused 
 to take an oath of allegiance to a Government 
 they abhor in their inner souls. The promptness 
 and alacrity with Avhich they obeyed the order 
 appeared to chagrin the domestic traitors, and 
 rather exasperate the enemy in possession of the 
 place. This is evidenced by a change of policy 
 after the departure of the gentlemen alluded to, 
 because the grace Avith Avhich they left, indicated 
 that it Avas no trial at all to their faith or spirit 
 of martyrdom, if you choose so to call it. They 
 — the officers in charge — have determined not 
 to make any more exiles, by sending the recu- 
 sants of the oath South ; they will, henceforth, be 
 ordered North, and buried in Northern bastiles. 
 Already they haA'e immured one heroic old soul, 
 Wilham McDoAvell, in the penitentiary in Nash- 
 ville. They intend to murder him, and in this 
 Avay — but, thank Heaven, they have elected one, 
 Avho, God willing, Avill be up to the emergencj'. 
 If his country calls on him for the sacrifice, I 
 knoAV no man (and I know him Avell) Avho Avill 
 more cheerfully, more heroically, make it. As 
 another indication of Yankee barbarism, brutali- 
 ty, cruel and relentless, I will mention an inci- 
 dent, all the more cruel because it involved not 
 Avounds of the body, not torture of the nerve and 
 flesh, but terrific convulsions of the soul itself, 
 and the more painful because that soul, or rather 
 those souls, are up to the highest standard of 
 moral perfection, and susceptible of keenest tor- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 429 
 
 ture. The venerable Ex-Governor Chapman re- 
 ceived an order, on the 19th of January, to leave 
 his house and family at nine o'clock A. M. on the 
 20th ; and when in the arms of his family, bid- 
 ding adieu to the loved ones, on "whom the winds 
 of heaven had never blown roughly, — at that 
 painful moment, as if to sound the depths of 
 their own depravity, and the unknown depths of 
 sensitive souls, a Yankee order was thrust into 
 his hands, requiring wife and daughters to vacate 
 their premises by two o'clock P. M. the same 
 day, not allowing any article to be removed ; and 
 a guard was placed to carry out the order. The 
 circumstances, with the fortitude manifested, pre- 
 sented to me a spectacle of moral grandeur oc- 
 casionally read of — rarely witnessed. Whilst 
 speaking of the heroism of the old Governor, I 
 will mention an incident that occurred in an in- 
 terview between him and the Yankee Colonel 
 commanding the post. The Governor, knowing 
 he would be compelled to leave in a day or so, 
 to secure some of the commonest claims of hu- 
 manity towards his family during his absence, ap- 
 proached the Colonel, who replied: 'Governor 
 Chapman — I believe that is your name.' ' Yes, 
 sir.' ' Did you not, in a public speech, in Hunts- 
 ville, say, that to secure secession, you Avould 
 sacrifice your property and your life ? ' After a 
 moment's hesitation, the venerable man replied, 
 with emphasis, ' No, sir. To the best of my rec- 
 ollection, Colonel, I have made no public speech 
 since the revolution commenced. I was in Europe 
 at the time. You know my principles. Colonel, 
 from the conversations I have had with you ; and 
 though I do not recollect any such " speech," or 
 expression, my principles, as you very well know, 
 lead in that direction. And, lest you might 
 suppose I would desire to evade consequences 
 and responsibilities attachable to such princi- 
 ples,' rising to the full height of person and dig- 
 nity, ' I will say it noic, and more — not only will 
 I sacrifice myself and property, but, sir, wife and 
 children, to the preservation of our holy cause.' 
 The statement of these honorable incidents runs 
 out this to great length ; but I will state a fact or 
 two : * Greenbacks ' are two and a half for one in 
 gold in Huntsville and Nashville; and though 
 the money quotations in Northern papers place 
 them one hundred and fifty-nine td one hundred 
 and sixty, the truth is, two months ago, in New 
 York, in Wall Street, no ' operation ' could be per- 
 formed at less rate than two for one. The Yankee 
 troops in Huntsville, whose term of service has 
 expired, are converting their ' greenbacks ' into 
 Confederate currency to take home. I state this 
 for an incontrovertibleyacf. Not in one instance 
 only, but I witnessed several of the same. The 
 streets are becoming foul ; the groves and wood- 
 land around the town being swept away, all the 
 lesser houses about the town are being torn down 
 to floor and weather-board winter quarters for 
 them. Every house in the city has been surveyed 
 for occupation by them — not in a desultory man- 
 ner, but regularly and systematically. It is the 
 duty of an officei', one Lieutenant Cliff, to assign 
 these quarters ; thus, according to rank or per- 
 
 sonal standing (if any) at home, are they i)laced 
 in palaces of average respectability in appear- 
 ance. Colonel G. P. Birney's mansion is assigned 
 as headquarters for General Sherman & Co. A 
 regular system of operating is thus instituted, 
 and as an entering wedge to confiscation, this is 
 the object of this procedure. But, through all, 
 the people are true and devoted. I would men- 
 tion more, but already I have written at too much 
 length. You may rely on the women — God 
 bless them — in North Alabama. I do know, how- 
 ever, one or two disgraceful and unpatriotic ex- 
 ceptions." 
 
 The House that Jeff Built. — The Hart- 
 ford Post published the following history of the 
 celebrated edifice erected by J. Davis, Esq., as 
 authentic. It was written for the purpose of giv- 
 ing infant politicians a clear, concise, and truthful 
 description of the habitation, and the fortunes and 
 misfortunes, and doings of the inmates : 
 
 " I. The Southern Confedeeacy. — This is 
 the house that Jeff built. 
 
 " II. The Ethiopian. — This is the malt that 
 lay in the house that Jeff built. 
 
 "III. The Undergkound PvAIlroad. — This 
 is the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house 
 that Jeff built. 
 
 "IV. The Fugitive Slave Lav\^ — This is 
 the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that 
 lay in the house that Jeff built. 
 
 "V. The Personal Liberty Bill. — This 
 is the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat 
 that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jeff 
 built. 
 
 " VI. Chief Justice Taney. — This is the 
 cow with crumpled horn that tossed the dog that 
 worried the cat that killed the rat that ate the 
 malt that lay in the house that Jeff built. 
 
 " VII. James Buchanan. — This is the maiden 
 all forlorn that milked the cow with crumpled horn 
 that tossed the dog that worried the cat that killed 
 the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that 
 Jeff built. 
 
 " VIIL C. Cesh. -— This is the man all tattered 
 and torn that married the maiden all forlorn that 
 milked the cow with crumpled horn that tossed 
 the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat 
 that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jeff 
 built. 
 
 " IX. Plunder. — This is the priest all shaven 
 and shorn that mamed the man all tattered and 
 torn to the maiden all forlorn that milked the cow 
 with crumpled horn that tossed the dog that wor- 
 ried the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt 
 that lay in the house that Jeff built.'* 
 
 EPIGKAIM. 
 
 Whilst Butler plays his silly pranks, 
 And closes up New Orleans' banks, 
 Our Stonewall Jackson, with more cimning, 
 Keeps Yankee Banks forever running. 
 
430 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Feiends tx Scotland. — When the news of 
 the fall of Vicksburg and General Lee's retreat 
 reached the village of Bankfoot, inPerthshLre, the 
 friends of the North got quite jubilant. A banner 
 was hastily painted with the motto on one side, 
 " Vicksburg is taken ; " on the reverse, " God 
 speed the North." A floral device on a large 
 scale was also extemporized, and at eight o'clock a 
 procession set out through the village, accom- 
 "^)anied by the music band. At the close of the 
 procession the political lions of the place and the 
 members of the band repaired to the inn, where 
 President Lincoln and his successful Generals' 
 healths were drunk with rounds of cheers, and 
 then all went peaceably and gladly to their homes. 
 
 AT PORT ROYAL. 
 
 BY JOHN GK.EENLEAF 'WHITTIEB. 
 
 The tent-lights glimmer on the land, 
 
 The ship-lights on the sea ; 
 The night- wind smooths with drifting sand 
 
 Our track on lone Tybee. 
 
 At last our grating keels outslide. 
 Our good boats forward swing ; 
 
 And while we ride the land-locked tide, 
 Our negroes row and smg. 
 
 For dear the bondman holds his gifts 
 
 Of music and of song — 
 The gold that kindly Nature sifts 
 
 Among his sands of wrong ;" — 
 
 The power to make his toiling days 
 And poor home-comforts please ; 
 
 The quaint relief of mirth that plaj'S 
 With sorrow's minor keys. 
 
 Another glow than sunset's fire 
 Has micd the West with light, 
 
 Where field and garner, barn and bjTe 
 Are blazing through the night. 
 
 The land is wild with fear and hate ; 
 
 The rout runs mad and fast ; 
 From hand to hand, from gate to gate, 
 
 The flaming brand is passed. 
 
 The lurid glow falls strong across 
 Dark faces broad with smiles : 
 
 Not theirs the terror, hate, and loss 
 That fire yon blazing piles. 
 
 With oar-strokcs timing to their song, 
 
 They weave in simple lays 
 The pathos of remembered wrong, 
 
 The hope of better days ; — 
 
 The triumph-note that Miriam sung, 
 
 The joy of uncaged birds : 
 Softening with Afric's mellow tongue 
 
 Their broken Saxon words. 
 
 SONG OF THE NEGRO BOATMEN. 
 O, praise an' tanks ! De Lord he come 
 
 To set de people free ; 
 An' massa tink it day ob doom, 
 
 An' we ob jubilee. 
 
 De Lord, dat heap de Red Sea waves. 
 
 He jus' as 'trong as den ; 
 He say de word : we las' night slaves, 
 To-day de Lord's free men ! 
 
 De yam will grow, de cotton blow, 
 
 We'll hab de rice and corn ; 
 nebber you fear, if nebber you hear 
 De driver blow his horn ! 
 
 Ole massa on he trabbles gone ; 
 
 He leaf de land behind : 
 De Lord's brefi' blow him furder on. 
 
 Like corn shuck in de wind. 
 We own do hoe, we own de i)lough, 
 
 We owm de hands dat hold ; 
 We sell de pig, we sell de cow. 
 But nebber chile be sold. 
 
 De yam will grow, de cotton blovr, 
 
 We'll hab de rice an' corn ; 
 nebber you fear, if nebber you hear 
 De driver blow his horn ! 
 
 We pray de Lord ; he gib us signs 
 
 Dat some day we be free ; 
 De norf wind tell it to de pines, 
 
 De wild- duck to de sea ; 
 We tink it when de church-bell ring. 
 
 We dream it in de dream ; 
 De rice-bird mean it when he sing, 
 De eagle when he scream. 
 
 De yam will grow, de cotton blow. 
 
 We'll hab de rice an' corn ; 
 O nebber you fear, if nebber you hear 
 De driver blow his horn ! 
 
 We know de promise nebber fail. 
 
 An' nebber lie de word ; 
 So, like de 'postles in de jail, 
 
 We waited for de Lord ; 
 An' now he open ebery door, 
 
 An' trow away de key ; 
 He tink we lub him so before. 
 We lub him better free. 
 
 Do yam Avill grow, de cotton blow, 
 
 He'll gib do rice an' corn ; 
 O nebber you fear, if nebber you hear 
 De driver blow his horn ! 
 
 So sing our dusky gondoliers ; 
 
 And with a secret pain, 
 And smiles that seem akin to tears, 
 
 AVe hear the wild refrain. 
 
 We dare not share the negro's trust, 
 
 Nor yet his hope deny ; 
 We only know that Grod is just. 
 
 And every wrong shall die. 
 
 Rude seems the song ; each swarthy face. 
 
 Flame-lighted, ruder still ; 
 We start to think that hapless race 
 
 Must shape our good or ill ; — 
 
 That laws of changeless justice bind 
 
 Oppressor with oppressed ; 
 And close as sin and suff"ering joined, 
 
 We march to fate abreast. 
 
 Sing on, poor hearts ! your chant shall be 
 Our sign of blight or bloom, — 
 
 The Vala-song of Liberty, 
 Or death- rune of our doom ! 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 431 
 
 Incident of Lookout Valley. — "An un- 
 recorded incident of the midnight fight between 
 Hooker's and Longstreet's forces in Lookout 
 Vallej-, ten days ago, has come to my knowledge, 
 and deserves to have a place on the record," says 
 a corresi^ondent. "A short time subsequent to 
 this magnificent charge on the enemy in their 
 breastworks by General Geary's brigade. General 
 HoM'ard, taking with liim a small escort of cav- 
 alry, started for that part of the field where Gen- 
 eral Geary was supposed to be. He had not gone 
 far when he came up with a body of infantry. 
 ' What cavalry is that ? ' was the hail. ' All right,' 
 responded General Howard, at the same time 
 calling out, ' What men are those ? ' ' Long- 
 street's,' was the reply. ' All right ; come here,' 
 said General Howard. The men approached. 
 * Have we whipped those fellows ? ' asked General 
 Howard, in a manner to keep up the deception. 
 ' No, d — n them ; they were too much for us, and 
 drove us from our rifle pits like devils. We're 
 whipped ourselves.' By this time the rebels had 
 gathered nearer. 'Lay down your arms,' de- 
 manded General Howard in a stern voice. The 
 men surrendered. Taking his prisoners in charge, 
 General HoAvard proceeded on his way. He had 
 not gone far before another party of rebel infantry 
 called out, ' What cavalry is that ? ' ' All right,' 
 was the response again of General Howard, as 
 he proceeded. On approaching the position oc- 
 cupied by Geary, that officer had observed the 
 advancing horsemen and infantry, as he supposed 
 the prisoners to be, and supposing them to be 
 rebels, he had ordered his guns to be loaded with 
 canister, and in a moment more would have given 
 the intrepid Howard and his little forces the ben- 
 efit of it. But the General who had successfully 
 deceived the enemy found a way to make himself 
 known to friends, and so escaped a reception of 
 that kind." 
 
 A Raid. — A correspondent at Washington 
 wrote : " Owing to Mosby's depredations, the 
 word ' raid ' is worked into almost every expres- 
 sion. I have in my employ a contraband, of 
 double-dyed blackness, called John. I went out 
 to my barn one morning, and, noticing that his 
 face was wet with perspiration, remarked that he 
 ' looked pretty warm.' * Yes, massa,' Avas his re- 
 ply, ' Ise had a pretty big raid on my muscle dis 
 mornin', an' Ise mos' done gone.' " 
 
 Feminine Wrath. — In the fall of 1863, after 
 the great national successes at Vicksburg, Chat- 
 tanooga, and Gettysburg, the President of the 
 United States appointed a day of Thanksgiving 
 to God for the victories that had crowned the 
 national arms. 
 
 The Bulletin, a Union paper published in Mem- 
 phis, Tennessee, made a simple announcement of 
 tlie fact, and remarked that there were many, no 
 doubt, in that city who would heartily join in 
 celebrating the day. This suggestion drew upon 
 the editor's l^ead the following glowing and defiant 
 
 philippic from the pen of one of the fair citizens 
 of Memphis : 
 
 " Editor Bulletin : You call attention to Lin- 
 coln's appointment of a day of Thanksgiving for 
 the successes which have blessed our cause, and 
 you hope the day will be properly observed. By 
 ' our cause ' you mean the Union cause. I won- 
 der how you think the people of Memphis can 
 thank God for the successes of the Union Aboli- 
 tion cause. _ You pretend to think that a great 
 Union sentiment has sprung up in Memphis, be- 
 cause you say that upwards of eleven thousand 
 persons have taken the oath of allegiance. Let 
 me tell you, if they have taken it, they did not 
 do it of their own free will, and they don't feel 
 bound by it ; they had to take it under a military 
 despotism, and don't feel bound to regard any 
 oath forced upon them in that way. Do you be- 
 lieve that any preacher in Memphis will appoint 
 services in his church at Lincoln's dictation ? Let 
 one dare to try it, and see how his congregation 
 will stand it. They know better. They know 
 full well that the people of Memphis give thanks 
 over Union disasters with sincere hearts, but don't 
 rejoice at Union victories, as they call them. 
 The women of Memphis will stick to the Confed- 
 erate cause, like Ruth clung to her mother-in- 
 law, and say to it, ' Where thou goest I will go, 
 where thou livest I will live, where thou diest I 
 will die, and there will I be buried.' But where 
 are your great successes ? Your own papers say 
 that Lee brought off a train of captured spoils 
 twelve miles long, and that Morgan destroyed 
 seven or eight millions of dollars' worth, before 
 all Ohio and Indiana could stop him. Pretty 
 dear success, this. Still I won't rejoice over it at 
 Lincoln's dictation. But wait till President Da- 
 vis' day comes round. Perhaps by that time 
 Meade may get another whipping, and if you 
 don't see rejoicing and thanksgiving then, you 
 may well believe that you and your officious local 
 fail to see half that exists in Memphis. Now 
 you won't jjublish this, perhaps, because it don't 
 suit you. You can say the reason is, because I 
 don't put my real name to it. You can do as you 
 please about it. I choose to sign it. 
 
 Mary Lee Thorn e. 
 
 Relentless Conscription. — The rebel con- 
 script act, which was enforced on and after the 
 20th April, 1862, brought dismay to thousands 
 of Southern families. A large portion of the 
 rebel army, at that time, was composed of men 
 who had enlisted for twelve and three months, and 
 whose time would ex])ire in I\Iay, when their re- 
 turn Avas eagerly and anxiously anticipated by 
 their families, for many of whom no pecuniary 
 provision had been made after the exjiiration of 
 the time enlisted for. One of the regiments un- 
 der Bragg's command at this time was composed 
 of men from East Tennessee, most of them poor, 
 and leaving at home small provision for their 
 Avives and children. Of this regiment, one com- 
 pany, at the expiration of the twelve months of 
 their enlistment, laid down their arms, and de- 
 
432 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 manded permission to return to their families. 
 By threat and argument, most of them -were in- 
 duced to return to duty ; but three or four held 
 out, declaring that they would insist on their 
 right to go home ; but all these, save one, Avere 
 at last convinced that there was no alternative 
 but death or obedience, and, at whatever sacrifice 
 of feeling, concluded to shoulder arms again, and 
 return to duty. One man, however, firmer than 
 the rest, and who was continually haunted by the 
 memory of his destitute family at home, steadily 
 refused obedience to the new and terrible law. 
 He said he had fought faithfully and willingly for 
 his country, but his time had expired, and he de- 
 manded, as a right, t]iat he should go home and 
 make proper provision for the support of his family, 
 when he promised to return and become a voluntary 
 conscript. Argument, persuasion, threat, impris- 
 onment Avere powerless to move him from this 
 position. At last he was tried by court-martial 
 for mutiny, and sentenced to be shot on the fol- 
 lowing day. He received his sentence with per- 
 fect coolness, declaring that he was right, and if 
 they chose to shoot him, they might do so. His 
 case elicited universal sympathy, and Bragg was 
 persuaded, by the entreaties of some of his offi- 
 cers, to extend the condemned man three days of 
 grace. He was allowed the liberty of the camp, 
 and every argument used to persuade him to get 
 away, which he could easily do. " No," he replied 
 to all such suggestions ; he had done nothing 
 wrong, and he would not sneak away, as though 
 he were guilty. He wished nothing unjust or 
 wrong ; his family at home wei'e starving ; his 
 first duty was to provide for them. The three 
 days passed ; and the Crescent regiment, which 
 was enlisted for three months, and which was, 
 perhaps, as anxious to return home as any other 
 in the field, was detailed to complete the tragedy. 
 The army was drawn up, enclosing the Crescent 
 regiment, for fear, it Avas said, they should refuse 
 to obey orders. The doomed man was brought 
 out, and marched, with a firm step, to his stand 
 beside the coffin prepared to receive his dead 
 body. At the appointed moment he bared his 
 bi-east, gave the signal to fire, and fell, in the same 
 moment, upon his coffin, a lifeless corpse. A 
 squad of men were immediately detailed to bury 
 him, and the army was marched back to camp. 
 The unfortunate regiment, which was chosen as 
 the instrument of this terrible despotism, was 
 sickened by the sight, as though there had been 
 administered to them the most powerful emetic ; 
 and from that time on, upon the name of Braxton 
 Bragg Avere heaped curses, both loud and deep ; 
 but open mutiny was effectually suppressed. 
 
 Recollections of John B. Floyd. — A 
 " Soldier " of the South contributed the following 
 story to a Confederate journal: 
 
 Having recently read a notice of the death of 
 General Floyd, my thoughts went back to the 
 days of Fort Donelson, and the period imme- 
 diately following that disaster to our arms. Hav- 
 ing taken a humble part in those afiairs, and 
 
 having been an eye-witness to the part acted in 
 it by General Floyd, it has suggested itself that 
 a few thoughts thereon would not be inappro- 
 priate. I first saw General Floyd, at Nashville, 
 in January, 1862. He was then on his May to 
 join General A. S. Johnston, whose headquarters 
 were at Bowling Green, on Green liiver, Ken- 
 tucky. General Floyd had his command with 
 him, the same that served with him in West Vir- 
 ginia. It was then supposed that the great bat- 
 tle of, the war would take place at or near Bow- 
 ling ^^ Green, which would decide the question 
 whether Kentucky was ours or belonged to the 
 Federals. General Buell commanded the Fed- 
 eral forces, which occupied the line of Green Riv- 
 er, and his army was rapidly reenforced, until, on 
 the 1st of February, 1862, it numbered one hun- 
 dred thousand men. It was given out that Gen- 
 eral Johnston's army was also one hundred thou- 
 sand strong, and that the line of Green River 
 would be held. A line of defence had been drawn 
 from Bowling Green westward to Columbus, on 
 the Mississippi, embracing Forts Henry, on the 
 Tennessee River, and Donelson, on the Cumber- 
 land. The latter place was selected by Governor 
 Harris, of Tennessee, on account of the natural 
 strength of the position, and because it was the 
 key of Nashville. This point was strongly forti- 
 fied. Most of the heavy guns were mounted un- 
 der the supervision of General Buckner, who took 
 command of the post in January, 1862. Thus, 
 on the 1st of February, 1862, the people who 
 were south of this military line felt perfectly se- 
 cure from the horrors of invasion, fully confident 
 that the tide of war would roll towards the Ohio, 
 instead of south, on the Cumberland and Ten- 
 nessee. "With the accomplished Sidney Johnston, 
 commanding an army one hundred thousand 
 strong, in Central Kentucky, and the people of 
 that gallant State rising in arms, it was believed 
 that the enemy would be beaten, and his flying 
 cohorts driven out of the State. Such was the 
 feeling of the people of Tennessee and Southern 
 Kentucky on the 1st of February, 1862. Fatal 
 security ! It lost us an empire, not yet recovered. 
 Early in February General Gideon J. PilloAV 
 assumed command of the forces at Fort Donelson. 
 He was the universal choice of the people of 
 Tennessee for that position. On arriving at the 
 fort he commenced work with his usual energj'. 
 It was under his direction that the rifle pits were 
 dug, earthworks thrown up, timber and under- 
 growth cut down, and guns mounted, to prepare 
 for a land attack from the enemy. His presence 
 seemed to inspire every man with confidence, 
 and he infused new energy into every laggard. 
 I think it was on the 12th of February that Gen- 
 eral Floyd arrived at the fort, from Bowling 
 Green, and assumed command of all the forces. 
 He immediately examined the earthworks and 
 defences, and pronounced everything that had 
 been done ♦' good." For a day or two previous 
 the gunboats of the enemy had been seen hover-" 
 ing about the point below, and everything was in 
 preparation to give them a warm reception. The 
 scouts brought in word that the enejny was land- 
 
-og J t-pAH Ritchie. 
 
 MaJ- GkxlH. 11 STIP: I^IDAN. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 433 
 
 ing a large force below the point, and it then 
 became appai'ent that the ditching and digging 
 were not labor lost. Our entire force, all told, 
 amounted to thirteen thousand men. The fight 
 was commenced by the enemy's gunboats on 
 Thursday, the I3th, and continued through three 
 days. From prisoners, which were taken on Fri- 
 day, we learned that the enemy's land force was 
 thirty thousand strong, and that they were being 
 daily reenforced Avith fresh troops. The history 
 of the three days' fight is well known. I do not 
 desire to enter into an account of each day's fight ; 
 suffice it to say that the enemy was repulsed at all 
 points with great slaughter, and that he gained 
 no material advantage until Saturday evening, 
 when, by the loss of a battery, our line was 
 bent back, and we stood in great danger of being 
 flanked. During the three days' fight" the gun- 
 boats had made no impression on the fort, while 
 the fort had disabled two of the gunboats, and 
 injured, to some extent, a thu'd. No boat could 
 stand a fire from heavy guns mounted on a bluff 
 one hundred feet above the river. The terrible 
 plunging fire of solid shot was certain destruction 
 to all below. In Saturday's fight we were so over- 
 whelmed by numbers that we were forced to give 
 back. 
 
 Our line of defence once lost, we were then at 
 a great disadvantage. The weather was terrible. 
 It had been sleeting and snowing for two days and 
 nights, and was bitter cold. Several of the men 
 had frozen to death in the trenches. The rifle pits 
 were knee-deep in water and ice. Many of the 
 men had not tasted food for two daj's. Some 
 were physically exhausted from hunger, loss of 
 sleep, and cold. More than three fourths of the 
 whole command were raw troops, and had never 
 faced an enemy before. Some murmuring was 
 heard among the men, such as, " We can't fight 
 forever ; if Johnston don't send us reenforcements 
 we ought to leave here." In this state of affairs 
 a council of war was held late on Saturday even- 
 ing. It was admitted that the place could not 
 be held without reenforcements. General Pillow 
 believed that reenforcements would yet arrive, and 
 he was in favor of commencing a vigorous attack 
 on the enemy next morning (Sunday), to regain 
 our former line, and hold that position at all 
 hazards until help came. He said that he had 
 promised Governor Harris that he would hold 
 that place at all hazards and defend the capital, 
 and he was in favor of holding it. General Floyd 
 said that no more aid would come ; that he had 
 brought the last available man that General 
 Johnston could spare ; that he had but twenty- 
 five thousand men left ; and that he thought it 
 best to make a vigorous attack on the enemy 
 next morning, and, under cover of the attack, to 
 retire the whole command. To this General 
 Buckner made some objection, but finally he as- 
 sented to it. It was admitted by all that the 
 place could not be longer held Avithout reenforce- 
 ments, and after General Floyd's statement it 
 was seen that it was impossible to be reenforced. 
 The plan of General Floyd was assented to by 
 Generals Buckner and Pillow, and it was deter- 
 28 
 
 mined to commence the attack on Sunday morn- 
 ing at daylight. 
 
 Some time later in the night another meeting 
 of general officers was held, I understood at the 
 request of General Buckner, at which he stated 
 that the men were physically worn out and inca- 
 pable of fighting any more, and that he Avas in 
 favor of surrendering; that they were entirely 
 surrounded by the enemy, and that even if they 
 succeeded in cutting their way out, that there was 
 not sufficient river transportation to convey the 
 troops to Nashville ; that an attack next morning- 
 would end only in a wanton destruction of life, and 
 that he could not see any benefit that would result 
 from it. General Pillow s^wke in favor of the 
 attack next morning. He thought the men capa- 
 ble of another efibrt, and he spoke eloquently 
 against a surrender, which would dim all the 
 glory that had been achieved. He eulogized the 
 troops ; said they were not lacking in strength or 
 spirit ; that they were capable of one more effort, 
 and that effort should be made ; that he would 
 never surrender to the enemy. General Floyd 
 said he was opposed to surrendering; that he 
 could not and would not surrender ; that he knew 
 the men were worn out, yet he thought almost the 
 entire command could be saved by a vigorous 
 attack next morning. General Buckner replied 
 that the men were exhausted, and could fight no 
 more, and that he would stay with his men. 
 General Floyd said, " I cannot surrender ; I pass 
 the command over to you. General Pillow." 
 General Pillow said, " Nor can I surrender ; I 
 pass the command to General Buckner." General 
 Buckner said, " I accept the command." On 
 these facts becoming known to the men, all was 
 commotion. Many prepared to leave at once. 
 It was given out that all that wanted to could 
 now leave, as the way to Nashville was open. 
 Many crossed the river, and v\-ent on foot on to 
 Nashville. Colonel Forrest, of the Tennessee cav- 
 alry, now General Forrest, said that he would 
 form a rear guard of his command, and protect all 
 who would come out. Many availed themselves 
 of this offer, and Colonel Forrest kept his word. 
 General Floyd brought out almost his entire com- 
 mand, which had come with him from Virginia. 
 General Pillow was instrumental in bringing 
 several of the men out. He made personal appeals 
 to many of the officers commanding Tennessee 
 troops not to remain, which was responded to. 
 It is my opinion that the entire command could 
 have been saved had General Floyd's plan been 
 adopted. As it was, more than four thousand 
 men left the fort and the trenches on that night, 
 and arrived safe at Nashville. All left who chose 
 to, and those who remained chose to remain. 
 Indeed, many left the fort after it had been sur- 
 rendered, on Sunday, and walked all the way to 
 Nashville. Eleven members of a Texas regimen\ 
 came into camp at Murfreesboro', thirteen dayi 
 after the surrender, having left the fort on Mon 
 day morning after the surrender. The report tha:. 
 the fort was surrounded by the enemy was a mis- 
 take. It was not even invested on Sunday even- 
 ing, as our men were continually leaving iha 
 
434 
 
 ANECDOTES, TOETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 fort from morning until night on that day. About 
 six thousand men remained with General Buck- 
 ner, and he surrendered these Avith the fort on 
 Sunday, the 16th of February. Our loss in killed, 
 wounded, and missing was not more than one 
 thousand. The loss of the enemy was immense ; 
 it could not have been less than six thousand in 
 killed and wounded. The ground on the slope in 
 front of the rifle pits was literally covered with 
 his dead and dying. Never were troops handled 
 better than ours were at Fort Donelson. Never 
 did men fight with greater resolution. The force 
 brought against them was immensely superior in 
 men and munitions of war, and for three days they 
 held out, fighting each day fresh troops, and re- 
 pulsing them with terrible slaughter. That the 
 victory was not ours is not the fault of those who 
 fought on that ensanguined field. Had five 
 thousand fresh troops arrived on Satm^day even- 
 ing the victory M'ould have been ours. 
 
 I now desire to state a few facts in relation to 
 the surrender, not for the purpose of doing any 
 injustice to the living, but to do justice to the 
 dead. In stating these facts I do not wish to 
 draw any invidious distinction between the troops 
 from the difFei-ent States who fought at Fort 
 Donelson. They all fought well, and they all de- 
 serve well of their country. As long as success 
 seemed ^wssible, the different State troops vied 
 with each other in bravery and gallantry. When 
 success seemed impossible, then murmurs were 
 heard, and there was dissatisfaction expressed at 
 the non-arrival of reenforcements. When the 
 question was mooted, whether the garrison " fall 
 back " or surrender, loud disclaimers were heard 
 against the former. It was said, " Are we to leave 
 our homes and families, and fall back fighting for 
 other States ? No ; we have fought enough ; Me 
 will surrender and go home." 
 
 The troops that fought at Fort Donelson Avere 
 volunteers, many of them " home guards," who 
 had left their homes, as they thought, to fight at 
 Fort Donelson, and then go home. They had no 
 idea, if unsuccessful there, to " fall back " and 
 fight indefinitely. These men fought bravely as 
 long as there was a show of victory ; but when 
 the dark hour came, and the question was surren- 
 der or fall back, they preferred the former. There 
 were many such at Fort Donelson. It was said 
 that these men had some weight in influencing 
 General Buckner to remain. If true, it is no ar- 
 gument against his humanity, honor, or patriotism. 
 On the contrary, he desferves credit for remaining 
 with his men, to share their fortunes, good or 
 evil. There was another class of men at Fort 
 Donelson, who were not from any particular State, 
 but from all the States there represented, who 
 had determined never to surrender — who pre- 
 ferred death to surrender. The head and front 
 of this class was General Floyd. AVhen he said, 
 " I cannot surrender," there Avas a deep meaning 
 in it. He had been Secretary of War under the 
 Buchanan administration. He had sent the arms 
 belonging to the Government South, and the 
 whole North howled like demons over it. He 
 had been denounced by the whole abolition tribe, 
 
 from Seward to Garrison. They all, from Lincoln 
 to the lowest minion, hated, with a venomous ha- 
 tred, John B. Floyd. Therefore he could not sur- 
 render. To that noble old man it would have 
 been too deep a humiliation. Had he surren- 
 dered, the vile Northern rabble would have hooted 
 and howled at his heels, from the Ohio to the St. 
 Lawrence. He would have been hawked at by 
 the Yankee owls in every city and village through 
 which he passed. Therefore General Floyd 
 " could not surrender." Did he do wrong, then, 
 in leaving Fort Donelson, and saving all that he 
 could of the garrison ? I think not. He did 
 right in saving a part, if he could not save the 
 Avhole. He was Avilling to make the eff"ort to 
 save all, but in this he was opposed ; he then did 
 the next best thing, — he saved all he could. It 
 was said by one high in authority, that he could 
 not understand how seven thousand men could 
 surrender Avith arms in their hands. Hoav, then, 
 could it be conceived that twelve thousand men 
 could surrender with arms in their hands, Avhich 
 Avould have been the case had General Floyd re- 
 mained at Fort Donelson. 
 
 When it Avas knoAvn on the march from Mur- 
 freesboro' to Decatur that the President had sus- 
 pended General Floyd for the part he took at 
 Fort Donelson, a feeling of regret pervaded the 
 army. ItAvas supposed that his suspension Avould 
 be of short duration. Men of common sense 
 could not see Avherein he had done Avrong. He 
 had the sympathies of the Avhole army, and all 
 hoped that he Avould soon be reinstated by the 
 President. But he never was. He was too proud 
 
 " To boAV the svipple hinges of the knee 
 . That thrift might foUoAV fawning," 
 
 and he Avent doAvn to the grave Avith the censure 
 of the President upon him. What a pity it could 
 not have been otherAvise ! General Buckner Avas 
 promoted for the part he acted at Fort Donelson, 
 and he deserved it. General Pillow Avas rein- 
 stated in his command, but General Floyd Avas 
 left to go doAvn to the grave Avith this foul censure 
 clinging to him to the last. Why Avas this ? Did 
 the good of the cause require that it should be 
 so ? Let us suppose that, in refusing to surren- 
 der at Fort Donelson, he committed a Avrong. 
 Did the good of the country require that he 
 should never be forgiven ? If General Floyd 
 committed a Avrong, General PilloAV Avas guilty of 
 a like off'ence. General PilloAv Avas reinstated in 
 his command. Why AA'as not the same justice 
 rendered tOAvards General Floyd ? The writer of 
 this is a friend and ardent admirer of President 
 Davis. He has full confidence in his patriotism, 
 integrity, and ability ; but he is constrained to say 
 that the old patriot, Avho has gone doAvn to his 
 grave, was wronged at his hands. A more patri- 
 otic man than John B. Floyd did not live in the 
 limits of this Confederacy. He Avas brave and 
 able, honest and sagacious, kind and courteous 
 to those under him, and one of the truest men I 
 ever kncAV. Those who served under him at Fort 
 Donelson, who saw him sharing the dangers and 
 perils of his men, his face and breast bared to the 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 435 
 
 pitiless storm, with the icicles hanging to his gray 
 beard; those who heard his words of cheer and 
 comfort to the doubtful and desponding will 
 never forget him. And again at Nashville^ after 
 the fall of Donelson, restoring order out of 
 chaos, quieting the fears of the timid, putting 
 down the lawlessness of the rabble, and saving the 
 propertj^ of the Government. Before the arrival 
 of the Federals at Nashville he had removed to 
 a place of safety more than a million dollars 
 worth of Government stores, which would other- 
 wise have been destroyed in the general panic. 
 He also saved the State of Tennessee many hun- 
 dreds of thousands of dollars by his timely ar- 
 rival at the capital. 
 
 Such was John B. Floyd. This imperfect, but 
 impartial sketch is but a poor tribute to the man. 
 The future historian will do him justice. He was 
 a noble, chivalrous, patriotic Virginian ; but his 
 heart was large enough to hold his whole coun- 
 try. It can be said of him — 
 
 " This was the noblest Roman of them all 1 
 
 The elements 
 So mixed in him that Nature might stand up 
 And say to all the world, This was a. man." 
 
 A Dinner Party broken up. — In April, 
 1863, the 17th of the month, a party of some- 
 what crestfallen but defiant rebel officers were 
 dining at the plantation of a great slave-owner 
 on the Mississippi River, about half way between 
 Vicksburg and Port Hudson. There was a com- 
 missary captain, a surgeon, the governor of rebel 
 Louisiana, and others of greater or less rank in 
 secession circles. 
 
 The planter's wines had been long ago con- 
 sumed, but he had a demijohn of Louisiana rum, 
 to which his guests were welcome, and every- 
 thing which the large and admirably cultivated 
 plantation garden could supply graced the table. 
 
 Strong opinions were expressed that no boat 
 on the Mississippi could live ten minutes under 
 the fii"e of the Vicksburg batteries — that yellow 
 fever would soon appear in Grant's army at Mil- 
 liken's Bend, that the South would hold that 
 portion of the Mississippi Valley against all op- 
 position ; and fearful accounts were related of 
 Yankee cowai'dice, Yankee barbarism and atrocity, 
 with strong determinations " never to submit or 
 yield." 
 
 In the midst of all this bravery one of the 
 gentlemen was summoned to the door by a cou- 
 rier, who had an important communication from 
 the General commanding at Vicksburg, and also 
 another from the commander at Port Hudson. 
 
 One telegram read, " Five gunboats passed 
 last night : notify all boats and river batteries." 
 The other, from below, was, " Hartford and two 
 others coming up : look out." He stepped back 
 and read them to the company. 
 
 If a ten-inch shell had exploded, the change 
 would not have been greater. First there was a 
 blank pause. Then one said, " It's all up with 
 tis, gentlemen ; if five have passed, twenty wiU 
 
 pas^i, and the Valley is gone." — " Colonel, will you 
 order my horse ? " " Colonel, I will have mine 
 at the same time." 
 
 In ten minutes the party had broken up, and 
 were scattering in every direction, some for 
 Shreveport, others for Mobile ; and the boom 
 of the guns on the Hartford as she came sweep- 
 ing around_ the bend of the river was the knell 
 of all their high-blown hopes and sanguine 
 boasts. 
 
 SHERIDAN'S EARLY ORDERS. 
 
 Phil Sheridan down in the valley made 
 
 A rule the " rebs " to soften : 
 'Twas — " Out with the blade, 
 Away with the spade ; 
 Fight Early, and fight often ! " 
 
 But " often " was not quite often enough 
 To have things done up rarely ; 
 
 So he wrote, and said, 
 
 " Have this order read : " 
 'TAvas, "Boys, fight late and Early." 
 
 But *' late " and " often " give too many rests 
 
 To clear the valley fairly ; 
 " They are not bad tests," 
 Thought Phil— " but the best's 
 
 To whip the enemy. Early." 
 
 So he says, " No matter for hour or date : 
 
 To use the foe up squarely, 
 Fight him early, late — 
 When we thrash him straight, 
 
 They'll admit we whipp'd him, Early." 
 
 Anecdote of President Lincoln. — A 
 gentleman called on the President, and solicited 
 a pass for Richmond. " Well," said the Presi- 
 dent, " I would be very happy to oblige you, if 
 my passes were respected ; but the fact is, sir, I 
 have, within the last two years, given passes to 
 two hundred and fifty thousand men to go to 
 Richmond, and not one has got there yet." 
 
 General Rosser on the Border. — In the 
 winter of 1863-4, the two opposing armies in 
 Virginia lay on the upper branches of the Rap- 
 idan, not far from Culpepper and Brandy Station, 
 sixty miles south of the Potomac. As General 
 Meade had all his supplies to bring in wagons 
 from Alexandria, the possible plunder that might 
 reward an enterprising raid in the country be- 
 tween the Union army and the Potomac was a 
 strong bait to Southern enterprise. There were, 
 consequently, two or three of these expeditions 
 during the Minter, of which the most successful 
 in the way of plunder was that of the rebel Gen- 
 eral Rosser, who, next to Stuart and Forrest, won 
 the greatest rtame among the Confederates as a 
 
 ^■^ 
 
436 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 cavalry officer. The folIo-vvin» story of liis ex- 
 ploit that whiter was prepared by a correspondent 
 of a Richmond pa])er : 
 
 " The foray made by Early, Fitz Lee, and Rosser, 
 about the 1st of January, proving }-ather unsuc- 
 cessful, it was ordered that General Early, with 
 one brigade of infantry (General Thomas'), Ros- 
 ser's brigade of cavalry, and McCallahan's battery, 
 should make another effort towards relieving the 
 border of its Yankees and cattle. Information 
 had been received that a large supply train would 
 start from New Creek to Petersburg on a certain 
 day ; and, moreover, it Avas necessary that v/e 
 should hold Petersburg in order to make our 
 search for cattle successful. The plan of opera- 
 tion having been decided upon, General Early, 
 with Thomas' brigade of infantry, crossed by 
 Orkney Springs, General Rosser's brigade, with 
 McCallahan's battery, at Brook's Gap, forming a 
 junction at Mathias' on the 31st, and entering 
 Moorefield on the 1st of February. That night 
 our picket on the Petersburg road, through neg- 
 ligence, was captured by a scouting party of the 
 enemy that advanced within half a mile of Gen- 
 eral Eai'ly's headquarters without becoming aware 
 of our presence. General Rosser, in order to pre- 
 vent communication between Petersburg and the 
 expected train, sent out Baylor's squadi'on of the 
 Twelfth Virginia cavalry, with a guide, to inter- 
 cept couriers passing from one point to another. 
 The brigade moved off about ten A. M. on the 
 road crossing the mountain, and intersecting the 
 Petersburg and New Creek road about five miles 
 above Williamsport. 
 
 •' As we were approaching'the top of the moun- 
 tiin, our advance guard was checked by an in- 
 fantry picket of the enemy, about two hundred 
 strong, which had been engaged in obstructing 
 the road. They moved off rapidly and safely ; 
 for pursuit was impracticable, in consequence of 
 the thorough blockade the enemy had constructed 
 by throwing heavy timber across the road for a 
 distance of three miles, and digging away the 
 road itself for some distance. These obstacles, 
 l;y means of axes and picks in the hands of eager 
 and determined men, were speedily removed, and 
 in a few moments the Yankees were again in 
 sight, in rapid rout for the Petersburg road. The 
 Twelfth, moving down on them, speedily checked 
 them up, but Avas unable to inflict any injury on 
 account of the enemy's position, who had lost no 
 time in ensconcing himself in the thick growth 
 on the side of the mountain. At this crisis, how- 
 ever, Baylor's squadron, misled, through the igno- 
 rance of their guide, came up in the rear of the 
 enemy, and speedily dislodged him. General 
 llosser, following with his cavalry and battery, 
 turned towards Williamsport, and came up within 
 sight of the enemy about two miles below, just 
 as the Yankee picket met their main column. 
 i'he Yankees were eleven hundred strong, under 
 Colonel Snyder. Confident of easy victory, they 
 bad parked their train, and were prepared to re- 
 ceive us. General Rosser, dismounting detach- 
 ments from the Eleventh, Seventh, Twelfth, and 
 White's battalion, in all about three hundred 
 
 guns, placing his battery in position, and throw- 
 ing forward the remaining squadron of the Seventh 
 under Major Myers, to charge the enemy when 
 an opportunity offered, sent Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Massie, with the rest of the Twelfth Virginia, to 
 make a demonstration in the enemy's rear, inter- 
 cept communication, and blockade the road, and 
 commenced tlie attack. Here was presented a 
 sight novel and suggestive — dismounted cav- 
 alry, with short-range guns, attacking more than 
 three times their number of infantry, prepared 
 both by time and position to receive them. Here 
 the genius that has placed General Rosser, at 
 twenty-five, in a position unsurpassed in our 
 military annals, the genius that has won the 
 admiration of his men, and is rapidly filling, in 
 their hearts, the place left void by the death of 
 Ashby, was fully manifested. Pressing rapidly 
 upon the enemy, he drove them from one posi- 
 tion to another, until, having fairly uncovered 
 their train, the appearance of our cavalry in their 
 rear excited an agitation in their ranks wliich the 
 effective charge of Major Myers quickly fomented 
 into a panic ; the enemy sought safety in the neigh- 
 boring mountain. Meantime General Early was 
 moving on Petersburg, and, in order to cooperate 
 with him, the pursuit was abandoned, and atten- 
 tion turned to the captured train — ninety-four 
 wagons, four hundred and fifty mules, flour, 
 bacon, salt, molasses, sugar, coffee, beans, rice, 
 overcoats, and blankets, with three or four sut- 
 lers' wagons, loaded with all manner of eatables 
 and wearables. 
 
 " ' Quod nunc describere longum est,' were the 
 fruits of victory ! Moving back towards Peters- 
 burg, we encamped for the night about ten miles 
 from that place. Oysters, sardines, canned fruits, 
 brandy peaches, cheese, crackers, &c., comprised 
 our ' homely fare.' AVe learned next day, while 
 on the march, that Colonel Thorburn, command- 
 ing at Petersburg, had ' vamosed the ranche ' 
 during the night, and was then on his way to- 
 wards New Creek. On reaching Petersburg we 
 found the camps deserted, but the huts and tents 
 still standing, and apparently but few things had 
 been burned. Everything bore marks of haste, 
 confusion, and flight ; large quantities of clothing, 
 blankets, overcoats, and provisions were secured, 
 and two large sutlers' establishments unearthed 
 and promptly despatched. In a short time Gen- 
 eral Early, with Thomas' brigade, came up, chagrin 
 and disappointed depicted in their visages, de- 
 prived of their exi>ected glory by Y''ankee pru- 
 dence, and of their anticipated plunder by cavalry 
 promptness. As the only means of relieving their 
 furore and assuaging their grief, they were gen- 
 erously permitted to burn the Yankee quarters 
 and dig down their earthworks. After a confer- 
 ence with General Early, General Rosser moved 
 again towards Burlington, and reached there next 
 day by twelve M., driving in and bagging the 
 Yankee picket. Halting here, we threatened, by 
 our position, both New Creek and Cumberland ; 
 and information received during the day showed 
 that at the former place we were painfully ex- 
 pected. We moved that night five miles below, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 437 
 
 in the direction of Cumberland, and encamped for 
 the night on the farm of the Hon. James Kars- 
 caddan, senator, from that district, in the august 
 council of ' West Virginia.' Passing through 
 Frankfort next day, we struck the Baltimore and 
 Ohio Railroad at Patterson's Creek Station. Lieu- 
 lenant-Colonel White, ■\vith his memorable battal- 
 ion, being in front, charged the cam]), riding over 
 the infentry picket; he surprised the guard of 
 forty men, killed and wounded several, and cap- 
 tured the rest. Here we destroyed effectually two 
 large railroad bridges, two canal locks and bridges, 
 besides destroying the railroad houses and tele- 
 graph wires, and relieving a large Yankee store- 
 liouse of its contents. I neglected to mention 
 that Colonel Marshall, with the Seventh, had been 
 previously sent to hold the Mechanicsburg Gap, 
 three miles from Romney, and that Colonel Mas- 
 sie, with the Twelfth, had been left at Frankfort 
 to collect cattle. It was important that he should 
 return the same day. Leaving the raikoad, he 
 reached Frankfort, and learned that Averill was 
 in Romney, and had started to Springfield, and 
 was, consequently, apprised of our whereabouts. 
 At the same time we received information from 
 Colonel Marshall that he had been compelled to 
 abandon the Gap near Romney. Things certainly 
 did wear a sombre hue. But General Rosser, 
 with a sagacity amounting almost to intuition, 
 divined their schemes, and prepared to thwart 
 them. Pushing on with Ms command, cattle, and 
 prisoners, he reached Sheetz's Mills about ten 
 A. M., and took the road that intersects the 
 north-western grade, between Burlington and 
 Romney, the enemy holding both places. Mov- 
 ing towards ]Moorefield, he encamped about twen- 
 ty miles from there, reaching there next morning, 
 the enemy occupying our camps shortly after we 
 left. 
 
 " Everything was ready for an early start home- 
 ward next day. But lo! Averill, mystified by 
 our movements, and tlu'own completely off the 
 scent, appeared next morning before our camps, 
 and threatened immolation. With the Christian 
 fortitude that characterizes true martyrs, v/e 
 awaited our fate — awaited long and patiently, 
 but waited in vain. Yankee Generals rode to the 
 front, flourished their flags, and retired ; Yankee 
 reconnoitrers rode up on high hills, reconnoitred, 
 and rode down again ; Yankee skirmishers ex- 
 pended much private strategy in securing safe 
 positions, and desperately held them. Wearied 
 with -waiting, we moved off, and as we reached 
 the summit of the mountain, looking back down 
 the valley, we saw, with such emotions as Gul- 
 liver experienced when the Lilliputian army 
 marched between his legs, these valiant defend- 
 ers of the Constitution drawn up in formidable 
 lines, determined ' to do or fly.' We reached 
 camp on the 6th, with twelve hundred cattle, and 
 the captures already enumerated. Our casualties 
 are, Lieutenant Howell, Seventh, lost an arm; 
 Captain Richardson, Eleventh, shot through the 
 leg; the gallant Lieutenant Baylor, slightly in 
 the arm ; Mr. John H. Buck, of the brigade staff, 
 iu the leg." 
 
 THE PRESENT CRISIS. 
 
 BY JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 
 When a deed is done for Freedom, through the 
 
 broad earth's aching breast 
 Runs a thrill of joy prophetic, trembling on from 
 
 east to west ; 
 And the slave, where'er he cowers, feels the soul 
 
 within him climb 
 To the awful verge of manhood, as the energy sub- 
 lime 
 Of a century bursts full-blossomed on the thorny 
 
 stem of Time. 
 
 Through the walls of hut and palace shoots the in- 
 stantaneous throe. 
 
 When the travail of the Ages wrings earth's sys- 
 tems to and fro ; 
 
 At the birth of each new Era, with a recognizing 
 start. 
 
 Nation wildly looks on nation, standing with mute 
 lips apart, 
 
 And glad Truth's yet mightier man-child leaps be- 
 neath the Future's heart. 
 
 For mankind are one in spirit, and an instinct 
 
 bears along. 
 Round the earth's electric circle, the swift flash of 
 
 right or wrong ; 
 Whether conscious or unconscious, yet humanity's 
 
 vast frame. 
 Through its ocean- sundered fibres, feels the gush 
 
 of joy or shame ; 
 In the gain or loss of one race, all the rest have 
 
 equal claim. 
 
 Once, to every man and nation, comes the moment 
 
 to decide, 
 In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good 
 
 or evil side ; 
 Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each 
 
 the bloom or blight. 
 Parts the goats tipon the left hand, and the sheep 
 
 upon the right, 
 And the choice goes by forever 'tvvixt that darkness 
 
 and that light. 
 
 Hast thou chosen, O my people, on whose party 
 
 thou shalt stand, 
 Ere the Doom from its worn sandals shakes the 
 
 dust against our land ? 
 Though the cause of Evil prosper, yet 'tis Truth 
 
 alone is strong ; 
 And albeit she wander outcast now, I see around 
 
 her throng 
 Troops of beautiful, tall angels, to enshield her 
 
 from all wrong. 
 
 We see dimly, in the Present, what is small and 
 
 what is great ; 
 Slow of faith, how weak an arm may turn the iron 
 
 helm of Fate ; 
 But the soul is still oracular — amid the market's 
 
 ■ din, 
 List the ominous stern whisper from the Delphic 
 
 cave within : 
 " They enslave their children's children who make 
 
 compromise with Sin ! " 
 
438 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Slavery, the earth-born Cj-clops, fellest of the 
 
 giant brood, 
 Sons of brutish Force and Darkness, who have 
 
 drenched the earth -vvith blood. 
 Famished in his self-made desert, blinded by our 
 
 purer day, 
 Gropes in yet unblasted regions for his miserable 
 
 prey : 
 Shall %ve guide his gory fingers where our helpless 
 
 children play r 
 
 'Tis as easy to be heroes, as to sit the idle slaves 
 Oi a legendary vu-tue carved upon our fathers' 
 
 graves : 
 Worshippers of light ancestral make the present light 
 
 a crime. 
 Was the Mayflower launched by cowards ? — 
 
 steered by men behind their time ? 
 Turn those tracks towards Past, or Future, that 
 
 make Plymouth Rock sublime ? 
 
 T/iey were men of present valor — stalwart old 
 iconoclasts ; 
 
 Unconvinced by axe or gibbet that all virtue was 
 the Past's ; 
 
 But we make their truth our falsehood, thinking 
 that has made us free. 
 
 Hoarding it in movildy parchments, while our ten- 
 der spirits flee 
 
 The rude grasp of that great Impulse which drove 
 them across the sea. 
 
 New occasions teach new duties ! Time makes an- 
 cient good uncouth ; 
 
 They must upward still, and onward, who would 
 keep abreast of Truth ; 
 
 Lo, before us gleam her camp fires ! we ourselves 
 must Pilgrims be, 
 
 Launch our Mayflower, and steer boldly through 
 the desperate winter sea. 
 
 Nor attempt the Future's portal with the Past's 
 blood-rusted key. 
 
 A Sight ox the Battle-Field. — A sol- 
 dier who fought on the bloody field of Shiloh, 
 ill describing the sights of that Golgotha, says 
 that no spectacle was more appalling than one he 
 witnessed just as the defeated array of Beaui-e- 
 gard commenced its retreat upon Corinth. 
 
 The enclosures of that country are all the old 
 Virginia snake fence, in the angle of which a 
 jerson may sit and be supported on each side. 
 In such an angle, and with his feet braced against 
 a little tree, sat a man apparently in middle life, 
 bolt upright, and gazing at a locket in his hand. 
 
 Approaching nearer he was shocked to find 
 him stone dead and rigid ; his stiffened feet so 
 braced against the tree that he could not fall for- 
 ward, and the fence supporting each side of the 
 corpse. 
 
 The dead man's eyes were open, and fixed, with 
 a liorrible stony stare, on the dagueri-eotype, 
 M'hich was clinched in both hands. 
 
 In a hasty glance over his shoulder the soldier 
 saw the figures of a woman, and a child standing 
 beside her ; the wife and daughter, no doubt, 
 of the dead man, upon which the eyes of the 
 husband and father had not, even in death, ceased 
 to gaze. 
 
 A Wau Picture. — Chickamauga was fought 
 the 20th September, 1863, and Lookout Moun- 
 tain a little more than a month after. Diu'ing 
 that interval the two antagonist armies lay with- 
 in cannon shot of each other — the Union force 
 in Chattanooga, the rebel on Lookout Mountain 
 and Missionary Ridge. 
 
 The panorama presented from the top of Look- 
 out Mountain, aside from its rare beauty as a 
 landscape, combined more of the wild and roman- 
 tic scenery of war than any other combination of 
 picturesque elements made during the whole war. 
 
 A correspondent of the Ptichmond Sentinel 
 wrote the following admirable sketch of what he 
 saw from the mountain top, and in the rebel camp 
 and hospitals : 
 
 " When setting out for the West from your 
 city a few weeks ago, a friend said to me at part- 
 ing, ' If you write from the West, be sure and 
 give us the truth.' Having been accustomed to 
 look upon 'News from the West' with the same 
 suspicion, I promised to exercise due caution. 
 
 " Judge of my chagrin when the first message I 
 sent by telegraph, on getting to Atlanta, turned 
 out to be false. Arriving a few days after the 
 fight, a rumor that Chattanooga had been evacu- 
 ated by the Yankees, was very current. I did 
 not believe it. It happened, however, during the 
 day, that I was introduced to a gentleman of high 
 position among the railroad men of the town, 
 and, on inquiry, I was informed that the report 
 was true ; that General Bragg had telegraphed 
 for a train to leave next morning for that point, 
 via Cleveland, and that the train would certainly 
 go. These data even my cautious friend in 
 your city would have regarded as satisfactory. I 
 have no doubt but that such a message was 
 received, and the General, for the second time, 
 at least, in his life, telegraphed too soon. 
 
 " I have seen about fifteen hundred of our 
 wounded, and have also been to the battle-field. 
 The wounded I saw were among the worst cases. 
 They had been sent down to the (then) terminus 
 of tiie railroad, on Chickamauga River, — many 
 of them after being operated upon, and many 
 others where further attempts •would be made to 
 save the limb. Some of these poor fellows were 
 terribly hurt. Many were wounded in two and 
 three places — sometimes by the same ball. 
 Though suff'ering much for food and attention, 
 they were in remarkably good spirits. It would 
 sicken many of your readers were I to describe 
 minutely the sufferings of these men — exposed, 
 first, for four days upon the field, and in the field 
 hospitals ; then hauled in heavy army wagons 
 over a rocky road for twelve miles, and after- 
 wards to lie upon straw ; some in the open air, 
 and others under sheds, for two and three days 
 more, with but one blanket to cover with, and 
 none to lie upon. Nothing that I have seen since 
 the war began has so deeply impressed me with 
 the horrors of this strife as frequent visits to this 
 hospital at Chickamauga. God forbid that such 
 a spectacle may be witnessed again in this Con- 
 federacy ! I did not visit the entire battle-field, 
 but only that part of it where the strife was most 
 i deadly. It being a week after the fight, I saw 
 
ANECDOTES, POETllY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 439 
 
 only about fifteen unburied Yankees and two 
 Confederates, and about twenty dead horses — 
 nine lying upon a space thirty feet square. They 
 had belonged to one of our batteries Avhich at- 
 tempted to go into action within one hundred and 
 twenty yards of a Yankee battery — the latter 
 being masked. The chief evidences of a severe 
 engagement were the number of bullet marks on 
 the trees. The ground on which this severe con- 
 flict took place was a beautiful wood, with but 
 little undergrowth. 
 
 " I never saw a more beautiful place for skir- 
 mishing, and I have understood from men in the 
 fight that the Yankees favored this mode of war- 
 fare greatly, the men taking to the trees. But 
 our boys dashed upon them and drove them from 
 this cover. I had heard that the battle-ground 
 was like that of Seven Pines, but that part I 
 visited had no such resemblance. It was open 
 and gently undulating. Here and- there you 
 would find a small, cleared field. Very little ar- 
 tillery was used, though some correspondents say 
 the ' roar was deafening.' It has been also said 
 that the enemy were driven from behind ' strong 
 breastworks ' on Sunday, The works I saw -were 
 mean, consisting of old logs, badly thrown to- 
 gether. I saw in one collection thirty-three pieces 
 of captured artillery, and nineteen thousand mus- 
 kets, in very good order. These latter will be of 
 great service in arming the exchanged Vicksburg 
 prisoners. But before closing I must tell you of a 
 little aff'air in which Longstreet's artillery took a 
 part. Chattanooga, as you kno-w, lies in a deep 
 fold of the Tennessee River. In front of the 
 town, and thi-ee miles east of it. Missionary Ridge 
 runs from north to south, completely investing 
 the town in this dii'ection. On the west of the 
 town Lookout Mountain, with its immense rocky 
 'lookout' peak, approaches within three miles, 
 and rests upon the river, which winds beneath its 
 base. The Yankee line (the right wdng of it) 
 rests about three fourths of a mile from the base 
 of the mountain. Our pickets occupy the base. 
 The river makes a second fold just here, and in 
 it is ' Moccason Ridge,' on the opposite side, 
 where the Yankees have several casemated bat- 
 teries, which guard their right flank. When on 
 the mountain this ridge is just beneath you, say 
 twelve hundred yards, but separated by the river. 
 From this mountain you have one of the grandest 
 view's, at present, I ever beheld. You see the 
 river far beneath you in six separate and distinct 
 places, like six lakes. You see the mountains of 
 Alabama and Georgia and Tennessee in the dis- 
 tance, and just at yoirr feet you see Chattanooga 
 and the Yankee army, and in front of it you see 
 the ' Star' fort, and also two formidable forts on 
 the left wing, north of the town. You see then- 
 whole line of rifle pits, from north to south. 
 Along the base of Missionary Ridge the Confed- 
 erate tents are seen forming a beautiful crescent ; 
 and perched high upon the top of this ridge, 
 overlooking this grand basin, you see four or five 
 white tents, where General Bragg has his head- 
 quarters. Our army is strongly fortified upon 
 the rising ground along the base of the ridge. I 
 
 have ridden three miles along these fortifications, 
 and think they are the best of the kind I ever 
 saw. Now for the little aff'air I spoke of. Colonel 
 E. P. Alexander, General Longstreet's active and 
 skilful Chief of Artillery, hoped he might be 
 able to shell Chattanooga, or the enemy's camps, 
 from this mountain, and three nights ago twenty 
 long-ranged rifle pieces were brought up, after 
 great difficulty. It was necessary to bring them 
 up at night, because the mountain road is in 
 many places commanded by the batteries on 
 Moccason Ridge. We used mules in getting ou; 
 heaviest pieces up. They pull with more steadi- 
 ness than horses. Every gun was located behind 
 some huge rock, so as to protect the cannoneers 
 from the cross-fire of the ' Ridge.' The firing 
 was begun by some guns upon the right in Gen- 
 eral Polk's corps. Only one gun in that quarter 
 (twenty-four pound rifle gun) could reach the 
 enemy's lines. At one P. M., order was given to 
 open the rifles from the mountain. Parker's bat- 
 tery, being highest up the mountain, opened first, 
 and then down among the rocky soils of the 
 mountain. Jordan's, Woolfolk's, and other bat- 
 teries spoke out in thunder tones. The reverber- 
 ations were ti-uly grand. Old Moccason turned 
 loose upon us with great fury ; but ' munitions 
 of rocks ' secured us. All their guns being se- 
 curely casemated, we could do them little or no 
 injury ; so we paid little or no attention to them. 
 Colonel Alexander, with his glass and signal flag, 
 took position higher up in the mountain, and 
 Avatched the shots. Most of our fuses (nine tenths 
 of them, indeed) were of no account, and hence 
 there was great difficulty to see where our shot 
 struck, only a few exploding. The Yankees in 
 their rifle pits made themselves remarkably small. 
 They swarmed before the firing began, but soon 
 disappeared fi-om sight. We fii'ed slowly, every 
 cannoneer mounting the rocks and watching the 
 shot. After sinking the trail of the guns, so as 
 to give an elevation of twenty-one degrees, the 
 shots continued to fall short of the camps and the 
 principal works of the enemy, and the order was 
 given to cease firing. It has been reported we 
 killed and wounded a few men in the advanced 
 works. Last night at nine, four shots, at regular 
 intervals and for special reasons, were fired at the 
 town, and it w'as amusing to see the fires in the 
 camps go out. The pickets, poor fellows, were 
 the first to extinguish their little lights, which, 
 like a thread of bright beads, encircled the great 
 breast of the army. We have spent two nights 
 upon the mountain. It is hard to say which is 
 the most beautiful — the scene by night, when 
 thousands of camp fires show the diff"erent lines 
 of both armies with a dark, broad band between 
 them, called ' neutral ground,' and when the pick- 
 et by his little fire looks suspiciously into this 
 dark terra incognita the livelong night, or the 
 view after sunrise before the fog risQs, when the 
 valley northward and eastward as far as the eye 
 can reach looks like one great ocean. The tops 
 of the trees of Missionary Ridge, in the east, are 
 seen above the great waste of waters, and here 
 and there in the great distance some mountain 
 
440 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 peak rears its head. I have seen celebrated pic- 
 tures of Noah's deluge, but nothing comparable 
 to this. 
 
 " The view by clear daylight is also very grand 
 and beautiful. The Yankees and their lines are 
 seen with great distinctness, and appear so near 
 that you think you could almost throw a stone 
 into their camps. You see every wagon that 
 moves, and every horse carried to water. What 
 will be done next I would not tell if I knew. 
 Something decisive can and ought to be done, 
 and done soon too. Bragg has a fine army, and 
 is able to whip Rosecrans in a fair field. Long- 
 street's men say these Western Yankees do not 
 fight like the Eastern Yankees. There is no dif- 
 ference of oiiinion on this subject, I find. May 
 God give Avisdom, and soon crown our efforts 
 with great and complete success." 
 
 Anecdote of President Lincoln. — Mr. 
 Lincoln's practical shrewdness is exemplified in 
 the following anecdote, which is sufficiently char- 
 acteristic : 
 
 In the purlieus of the Capitol at Washington, 
 the story goes that, after the death of Chief Jus- 
 tice Taney, and before the appointment of Mr. 
 Chase in his stead, a committee of citizens from 
 the Philadelphia Union League, with a distin- 
 guished journalist at their head as chairman, pro- 
 ceeded to Washington, for the purpose of laying 
 before the President the reason why, in their 
 opinion, Mr. Chase should be appointed to the 
 vacancy on the bench. They took with them a 
 memorial addi-essed to the President, which was 
 read to him by one of the committee. After lis- 
 tening to the memorial, the President said to 
 them, in a very deliberate manner : " Will you 
 do me the favor to leave that paper with me ? I 
 want it in order that, if I appoint Mr. Chase, I 
 may show the friends of the other persons for 
 v.hom the office is soHcited, by how powerful an 
 influence, and by what strong personal recom- 
 mendations, the claims of Mr. Chase were sup- 
 ported." 
 
 The committee listened with great satisfaction, 
 and were about to depart, thinking that Mr. Chase 
 was sure of the appointment, when they per- 
 ceived that Mr. Lincoln had not finished what he 
 intended to say. " And I Avant the paper, also," 
 continued he, after a pause, " in order that, if I 
 should appoint any other person, I may show his 
 friends how powerful an influence, and what 
 strong recommendations, I was obliged to disre- 
 gard in appointing him." The committee de- 
 parted as wise as they came. 
 
 A Good PtUSE. — While the rebels were near 
 Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1862, a resident of 
 Lexington jjut on secesh clothes and rode to the 
 house of Mrs. Johnston, widow of the late " Pro- 
 visional Governor," and when at the gate met a 
 little son of John C. Breckinridge, who said : 
 \/| Yes, I a mjCham j) Fergusonj ,!l__ 
 "Tou are~one oOiorean's men." 
 
 " Well, let me call aunt (Mrs. Johnston) ; she 
 will do anything she can for you." 
 
 In a moment Mrs. Johnston appeared. 
 
 " You are the celebrated Mr. Ferguson ; wel- 
 come here." 
 
 A dinner was prepared, of which the individual 
 partook with great relish. When he was about 
 to remount, Mrs. Johnston said : 
 
 "Your horse is jaded; I'll give you a better 
 one to drive the Yankee's from the State." 
 
 A contraband was called, and one of the finest 
 horses brought out, on which the pretended se- 
 cesh returned to Lexington rejoicing. 
 
 THE DOG OF THE REGIMENT. 
 
 " If I were a poet, like you, my friend," 
 
 Said a bronzed old Sergeant, speaking to me, 
 " I would make a rhyme on this mastiff here ; 
 
 For a right good Union dog is he, 
 Although he was born on ' secesh ' soil, 
 
 And his master fought in the rebel ranks. 
 If you'll do it, I'll tell you his history, 
 
 And give you in pay, why — a soldier's thanks. 
 
 "Well, the way we came across him was this: 
 
 We were on the march, and 'twas getting late 
 When w^e reached a farm-house, deserted by all 
 
 Save this mastiff here, who stood at the gate. 
 Thin and gaunt as a wolf was he, 
 
 And a piteous whine he gave 'twixt the bars; 
 But, bless you ! if he didn't jump for joy 
 
 ^^'hen he saw our flag with the Stripes and Stars. 
 
 "Next day, when we started again on the march. 
 
 With us went Jack, M'ithout word or call, 
 Stopping for rest at the order to ' halt,' 
 
 And taking his rations along with us all. 
 Never straggling, but keeping his place in line, 
 
 Far to the right, and close beside me ; 
 And I don't care where the other is found. 
 
 There never was better drilled dog than he. 
 
 "He always went with us into the fight. 
 
 And the thicker the bullets fell around, 
 And the louder the rattling musketry rolled, 
 
 Louder and fiercer his bark would sound ; 
 And once, when wounded, and left for dead, 
 
 After a bloody and desperate fight, 
 Poor Jack, as faithful as friend can be, 
 
 Lay by my side on the field all night. 
 
 "And so, when our regiment home returned, 
 
 AVe brought him along with us, as you see ; 
 And Jack and I being much attached. 
 
 The boys seemed to think he belonged to me. 
 And here he has lived with me ever since ; 
 
 Plight pleased with his quarters, too, he seems. 
 There are no more battles for brave old Jack, 
 
 And no more marches except in dreams. 
 
 "But the best of all times for the old dog is 
 
 When the thunder mutters along the sky, 
 Then he wakes the echoes around with his bark. 
 
 Thinking the enemy surely is nigh. 
 Now I've told you his history, write him a rhyme, 
 
 Some day poor Jack in his grave must rest, — 
 And of all the rhymes of this cruel war 
 
 Which j'our brain has ma<.le, let his be the best." 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Ul 
 
 A Providential Deliverance. — It is well 
 known that Major Anderson was an earnest sup- 
 pliant for divine guidance in all the perplexities 
 of his position in Charleston harbor. He recog- 
 nizes many instances of direct answers to his 
 prayers during the long and anxious weeks in 
 which he upheld the honor of his country's flag. 
 The following incident is narrated by a contributor 
 to the Christian Intelligencer : 
 
 " Permit me to give an unpublished fact in re- 
 spect to the hero of Fort Sumter. It was nar- 
 rated by the General himself, in the following 
 words. Said he : 'A remarkable circumstance 
 occm-red at the surrender of Fort Sumter, which 
 I can only attribute to a kind Providence. On 
 abandoning Fort Moultrie, we, of course, took 
 what ammunition we could with us. Sumter was 
 a ncAV and unfinished fort. It had two magazines, 
 but neither was completed. A Lieutenant came 
 to me for orders as to which he should put the 
 ammunition into. Thinking there was no choice, 
 or, perhaps, not having any special reason, I as- 
 signed the one to be occupied. I afterwards 
 discovered that the one so taken was the most 
 exposed. In a word, it was a moral certainty, 
 that if I had first examined the two, I should not 
 have ordered the occupancy of the one I did. In 
 the bombardment, hot shot was freely used. 
 Judge of our feelings at the surrender, when it 
 was found that a red-hot cannon ball was lying at 
 the bottom of the unused magazine. So that, 
 had I selected that one, the entire garrison must 
 have been blown into eternity ! ' It would be well 
 if our public men generally observed the precept : 
 In all thy ways acknowledge Him." 
 
 The Star Brigade at Chickamauga. — The 
 Southern war-writers have said much of the cour- 
 age and prowess displayed by their arms in the 
 last great battle won by the Confederates, and, 
 no doubt, the praises bestowed upon McNair's 
 brigade, of Hood's division, were Avon by the 
 most gallant and soldierly qualities on that hard- 
 fought field. 
 
 The war correspondent of one of the Mont- 
 gomery papers has given a vivid description of 
 the part they bore in the two days' battles. 
 
 " The band of heroes," he writes, " composing this 
 brigade, consists of the First, Second, and Fourth 
 Arkansas dismounted cavalry, the Twenty-first 
 and Thirty-first Arkansas infantry, the Fourth Ar- 
 kansas battalion, and the Thirty-ninth North Caro- 
 lina, under Colonel Coleman. In the command 
 the North Carolinians were better known as the 
 ' Tar heels,' perhaps from their tenacity of purpose 
 as well as their having been enlisted in the piny 
 woods of the old North State. 
 
 " On Saturday, the first day of the battle of 
 Chickamauga, at noon, this brigade was ordered 
 to support General Gregg's command, then sorely 
 pressed, on the left of Hood's division. Gregg 
 was holding his position with great difficulty 
 against tremendous odds. When ordered to ad- 
 vance, McNair's brigade rushed over Gregg's 
 
 column, the Thirty-ninth North Carolina and the 
 Twenty-fifth Arkansas being led by Colonel Cole- 
 man. The Yankees gave way, but in good order, 
 and were driven not less than three fourths of a 
 mile. General Gregg pronounced this charge one 
 of the most brilliant achievements of the day. 
 A Yankee regiment, which encountered the Thir- 
 ty-ninth North Carolina and Twenty-fifth Arkan- 
 sas, was almost annihilated. These two skeleton 
 regiments halted once to await support ; but not 
 receiving it, they advanced through the woods 
 into the open country, where their own Aveakness 
 and the strength of the Federal lines became 
 apparent. Coleman's command, having exhausted 
 their ammunition, withdrew to Gregg's line of 
 battle, and encamped for the night. 
 
 " In the great battle of Sunday, INIcNair's bri- 
 gade were on the left, next to Hood's division. 
 At half past nine they were lying behind an im- 
 perfect breastwork of fallen trees. A strong col- 
 umn of the enemy advanced upon them. They 
 were received with a desti'uctive fire, and falling 
 back, were charged by McNair's brigade, and 
 driven in confusion over two lines of breastworks 
 into the open fields. On an eminence, two lines 
 of Yankee batteries commanded the open space. 
 Just before his men entered this broad field, Gen- 
 eral McNair was wounded. The gallant Colonel 
 Harper, of the First Arkansas, M'as killed, and 
 the command of the brigade devolved upon Col- 
 onel Coleman. The brigade now diverged to the 
 right, and, under the leadership of the gallant 
 North Carolinian, captured both the batteries. 
 Eight of the pieces were at once taken to the 
 rear, and two others were afterwards removed. 
 General Bragg gave Colonel Coleman an order 
 for three of these guns to attach to his command. 
 
 " These batteries were supported by a very 
 strong Federal force ; — but McNair's brigade 
 charged so rapidly, loading and firing as they 
 went, that the Yankees were surprised and 
 routed. The assault was ferocious, and the vic- 
 tory complete. 
 
 " The Federal artillerists fought infinitely better 
 than their infantry supports, actually throwing 
 shell and shot with their hands into the faces of 
 our men when they could no longer load their 
 pieces. The two batteries captured were about 
 one hundred yards apart, and when the guns 
 were captured, our men were compelled to move 
 off" with the utmost rapidity. 
 
 " Colonel Coleman was the first to place his 
 hand upon a Federal field piece, and the banner 
 of the Thirty-ninth North Carolina was the first 
 unfurled above them, cheer after cheer announcing 
 the triumph of our gallant men ; and then came 
 the hurried withdrawal of the guns from their 
 place in the Federal lines. 
 
 " Lieutenant-Colonel Reynolds and Adjutant 
 J. D. Hardin were just behind Colonel Coleman 
 when he reached the Federal guns. Hardin was 
 shot through the neck in the afternoon. When the 
 brigade again fell back to our lines, and had ob- 
 tained supplies and ammunition, it was again or- 
 dered forward to a height on the left, to support 
 Robinson's battery on the Lookout Valley road. 
 
442 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 With Johnson's brigade and Hindman's division 
 on the right, and Manigault's on the left, Colonel 
 Coleman advanced to the closing fight of the day. 
 
 " By successive charges the enemy were driven 
 slowly, but steadily, from the chain of hills which 
 formed his position, and the battle closed. Two 
 hours more of daylight, and this portion of Rose- 
 crans' army would have been annihilated. 
 
 " Captain Culpepper, belonging to this brigade, 
 displayed great skill and heroism. The loss of 
 the brigade in killed and wounded was about forty 
 per cent. The Thirty-ninth North Carolina en- 
 tered the fight with two hundred and thirty-eight 
 men, and lost over one hundred. Of the whole 
 brigade there are left about eight hundred men. 
 Colonel Coleman's coat was pierced by a ball, but 
 he is unharmed. 
 
 " The gallant Captain Moore was killed, and 
 Colonel Huff'shedler, of the Twenty-fifth Arkansas, 
 was pierced by five balls, yet not killed." 
 
 Orders his own Execution. — During the 
 siege at Yorktown, a correspondent, who was 
 watching its progress, related the following inci- 
 dent : " Last night an officer was shot by one of 
 his own men. The officer, Captain A. R. Wood, 
 had posted his last picket and left him with this 
 order : ' Shoot the first man who approaches from 
 the direction of the rebels, without waiting to ask 
 for the countersign.' It was quite dark, and the 
 officer left the picket and lost his way, wandering 
 from our ' lines ' instead of to them. He soon 
 discovered his mistake, and turned back. He 
 approached the soldier to whom he had given the 
 decisive order. In the shadow the faithful and 
 quick-sighted private saw the dark figure stealing 
 towards him : in an instant he raised his piece, 
 and shot his own Captain through the side. The 
 wound was mortal ; and thus it turned out that 
 the officer had given the orders for his own exe- 
 cution. Such are the chances of war. Picket 
 service here is most perilous ; and, considering 
 that the safety of the whole army depends on the 
 faithfulness with which this duty is performed, 
 one cannot wonder that those detailed for it are 
 so ready to execute the commands of their supe- 
 riors." 
 
 Let us Love our Flag. — "As I sat by the 
 bed of a sick soldier, I saw on his arm what ap- 
 peared to me to be our national flag. 
 
 " ' You have the American flag on your arm ? ' 
 I said to him, inquiringly. 
 
 " ' Yes, ma'am,' he replied, and began to pull 
 up his shirt sleeve that I might see it more dis- 
 tinctly. ' That was put in when I was nine years 
 old ; I fainted several times while it was being 
 done, but I would have it there.' 
 
 " I looked at his arm. There was the Goddess 
 of Liberty, bearing in her hand our Star-spangled 
 Banner. The red stripes had been put on in ver- 
 milion. 
 
 " ' That is a mark the rebels would not like,' I 
 remarked to him. 
 
 " I always supposed if I should be taken pris- 
 
 oner I should be murdered, because of this mark ; 
 but I was determined to fight for the flag that 
 protected me. It protected me when I came to 
 this country, seven years old, and under it I have 
 had mv living ever since. I want to die under its 
 folds.' 
 
 " ' You die for your country just as truly as if 
 you died on the battle-field, and I thank you for 
 what you have done for us,' I said to the poor fel- 
 low, who was suffering from heart disease and 
 dropsy, and who is liable every moment to be 
 taken from this fighting world. 
 
 " ' Do you ever regret that you volunteered ? ' 
 
 " ' Never. I have done what I could, and am 
 willing to die in this way.' 
 
 " The young Irishman seemed to have a true 
 attachment to the flag of his adopted country. 
 He has given his life for it. How is it with our- 
 selves ? Do we really love it, and prize it as we 
 should ? Is it the symbol of progress, of political 
 and religious freedom ? We should cherish it as 
 we cherish God's best gifts to us, and we should 
 be willing, if need be, to die for it. We must 
 teach our children to love it, to consider its safety 
 superior to their own, and to be willing to make 
 any sacrifice which it requires. We must pray 
 for it, and teach our children to pray for it. Let 
 us not be too much tried by the self-denials and 
 privations that war is bringing upon us. Let us 
 bear it nobly and uncomplainingly, with hearts full 
 of steadfast faith and trust in God, and let us 
 grow strong in patriotism, as were our grand- 
 mothers before us. They left us a precious legacy. 
 Shall we leave one of less value to our children ? " 
 
 The Charge at Springfield, Mo. — This 
 brilliant exploit of Fremont's Body Guard, under 
 the leadership of Major Zagonyi, and the 
 " Prairie Scouts " of Major Frank Ward, forms 
 one of the most interesting chapters in the history 
 of the war. 
 
 " The foe were advised of the intended attack. 
 When Major Wright was brought into theii' camp, 
 they were prepai-ing to defend their position. As 
 appears from the confession of prisoners, they 
 had twenty-two hundred men, of whom four 
 hundred were cavalry, the rest being infantry, 
 armed with shot guns, American rifles, and re- 
 volvers. Twelve hundred of their foot were 
 posted along the edge of the wood upon the crest 
 of the hill. The cavalry was stationed upon the ex- 
 treme left, on top of a spur of the hill, and in front 
 of a patch of timber. Sharpshooters were concealed 
 behind the trees close to the fence alongside the 
 lane, and a small number in some underbrush 
 near the foot of the hill. Another detachment 
 guarded their train, holding possession cf tlie 
 county fair ground, which was surrounded by a 
 high board fence. 
 
 " This position was unassailable by cavalry 
 from the road, the only point of attack being 
 down the lane on the right ; and the enemy were 
 so disposed as to command this approach perfectly. 
 The lane was a bhnd one, being closed, after 
 passing the brook, by fences and ploughed land ; 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 443 
 
 it was in fact a cul-de-sac. If the infantry should 
 stand, nothing could save the rash assailants. 
 There are horsemen sufficient to sweep the little 
 band before them, as helplessly as the withered 
 forest-leaves in the grasp of the autumn winds ; 
 there are deadly marksmen lying behind the trees 
 upon the heights, and lurking in the long grass 
 upon the lowlands ; while a long line of foot 
 stand upon the summit of the slope, who, only 
 stepping a few paces back into the forest, may 
 defy the boldest riders. Yet down this narrow 
 lane, leading into the very jaws of death, came the 
 three hundred. 
 
 " On the prairie, at the edge of the woodland, 
 in which he knew his wily foe lay hidden, Zagonyi 
 halted his command. He spurred along the line. 
 With eager glance he scanned each horse and 
 rider. To his officers he gave the simple oi'der, 
 ' Follow me ! do as I do ! ' and then, drawing up 
 in front of his men, with a voice tremulous and 
 sluill with emotion, he spoke : 
 
 " ' Fellow-soldiers, comrades, brothers ! This 
 is your first battle. For our three hundred, the 
 enemy are two thousand. If any of you are sick, 
 or tired by the long march, or if any think the 
 number is too great, now is the time to turn 
 back.' He paused — no one was sick or tired. 
 * We must not retreat. Our honor, the honor of 
 our General and our country, tell us to go on. I 
 will lead you. We have been called holiday 
 soldiers for the pavements of St. Louis ; to-day 
 we will show that we are soldiers for the battle. 
 Your watchword shall be — ''The Union and 
 Fremont ! " Draw sabre ! By the right tlank — 
 quick trot — march ! ' 
 
 " Bright swords flashed in the sunshine, a pas-' 
 sionate shout burst from every lip, and v.'ith one 
 accord, the trot passing into a gallop, the compact 
 column swept on in its deadly purpose. Most of 
 them were boys. A few weeks before, they had 
 left their homes. Those who were cool enough 
 to note it say that ruddy cheeks grew pale, and 
 fiery eyes were dimmed with tears. Who shall 
 tell what thoughts, what visions of peaceful cot- 
 tages nestling among the groves of Kentucky, or 
 shining upon the banks of the Ohio and the Illi- 
 nois — what sad recollections of tearful farewells, 
 of tender, loving faces, filled their minds during 
 those fearful moments of suspense ? No word 
 was spoken. With lips compressed, firmly 
 clinching their sword-hilts, with quick tramp of 
 hoofs and clang of steel, honor leading and glory 
 awaiting them, the young soldiers flew forAvard, 
 each brave rider and each straining steed mem- 
 bers of one huge creature, enormous, terrible, 
 irresistible. 
 
 ' 'Twere worth ten years of peaceful life, 
 One glance at their array.' 
 
 " They pass the fau* ground. They are at the 
 corner of the lane Avhere the wood begins. It 
 runs close to the fence on their left for a hundred 
 yards, and beyond it they see white tents gleam- 
 ing. They are half way past the forest, when, 
 sharp and loud, a volley of musketry bursts upon 
 the head of the column ; horses stagger, riders 
 
 reel and fall, but the troop presses forward un- 
 dismayed. The farther corner of the wood is 
 reached, and Zagonyi beholds the terrible array. 
 Amazed, he involuntarily checks his horse. The 
 rebels are not surprised. There to his left they 
 stand crowning the height, foot and horse ready 
 to ingulf him, if he shall be rash enough to go 
 on. The road he is following declines rapidly. 
 There is but one thing to do — run the gantlet, 
 gain the cover of the hill, and charge up the steep. 
 These thoughts pass quicker than they can be told. 
 He waves his sabre over his head, and shouting, 
 ' Forward ! follow me ! quick trot ! gallop ! ' he 
 dashes headlong down the stony road. The fii'st 
 company, and most of the second, follow. From 
 the left a thousand muzzles belch forth a hissing 
 flood of bullets ; the poor fellows clutch wildly at 
 the air and fall from their saddles, and maddened 
 horses throw themselves against the fences. Their 
 speed is not for an instant checked ; farther down 
 the hill they fly, like wasps driven by the leaden 
 storm. Sharp volleys pour out of the underbrush 
 at the left, clearing wide gaps through their ranks. 
 They leap the brook, take down the fence, and 
 di'aw up under shelter of the hill. Zagonyi looks 
 around him, and to his horror sees that only a 
 fourth of his men are with him. He cries, ' They 
 do not come — we are lost ! ' and frantically 
 waves his sabre. 
 
 " He has not long to wait. The delay of the 
 rest of the Guard was not from hesitation. When 
 Captain Foley reached the lower corner of the 
 wood, and saw the enemy's line, he thought a 
 flank attack might be advantageously made. He 
 ordered some men to dismount, and take down 
 the fence. This was done under a severe fire. 
 Several men fell, and he found the wood so dense 
 that it could not be penetrated. Looking down 
 the hill, he saw the flash of Zagonyi's sabre, and 
 at once gave the order, ' Forward ! ' At the 
 same time. Lieutenant Kennedy, a stalwart Ken- 
 tuckian, shouted, ' Come on, boys ! remember 
 Old Kentucky ! ' and the third company of the 
 Guard, fire on every side of them — from behind 
 trees, from under the fences — with thundering 
 strides and loud cheers, poured down the slope, 
 and rushed to the side of Zagonyi. They have 
 lost seventy dead and wounded men, and the car- 
 casses of horses are strewn along the lane. Ken- 
 nedy is wounded in the arm, and lies upon the 
 stones, his faithful charger standing motionless 
 beside him. Lieutenant Goff received a wound 
 in the thigh ; he kept his seat, and cried out, 
 'The devils have hit me, but I will give it to 
 them yet ! ' 
 
 " The remnant of the Guard are now in the 
 field under the hill, and from the shape of the 
 ground the rebel fire sweeps with the roar of a 
 whirlwind over their heads. Here we will leave 
 them for a moment, and trace the fortunes of the 
 Prairie Scouts. 
 
 " When Foley brought his troop to a halt, Cap- 
 tain Fairbanks, at the head of the first company 
 of Scouts, was at the point where the first vol- 
 ley of musketry had been received. The narrow 
 lane was crowded by a dense mass of struggling 
 
444 
 
 ANECDOTES, TOETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 horses, and -filled with the tumult of battle. Cap- 
 tain Fairbanks says, — and he is corroborated by 
 several of his men who were near, — that at this 
 moment an officer of the Guard rode up to him, 
 and said, ' They are flying ; take your men down 
 that lane, and cut off their retreat ' — pointing to 
 the lane at the left. Captain Fairbanks was not 
 able to identify the person who gave this order. 
 It certainly did not come from Zagonyi, who was 
 several hundred yards farther on. Captain Fair- 
 banks executed the order, followed by the second 
 company of Prairie Scouts, under Captain Ke- 
 hoe. When this movement was made. Captain 
 Naughton, with the Third Irish dragoons, had 
 not reached the corner of the lane. He came up 
 at a gallop, and was about to follow Fairbanks, 
 when he saw a Guardsman who pointed in the 
 direction in which Zagonyi had gone. He took 
 this for an order, and obeyed it. When he 
 reached the gap in the fence, made by Foley, not 
 seeing anything of the Guard, he supposed they 
 had passed through at that place, and gallantly 
 attempted to follow. Thirteen men fell in a few 
 minutes. He was shot in the arm, and dis- 
 mounted. Lieutenant Connolly spurred into the 
 underbrush, and received two balls through the 
 lungs, and one in the left shoulder. The dra- 
 goons, at the outset not more than fifty strong, 
 were broken, and, dispirited by the loss of their 
 oflicers, retired. A Sergeant rallied a few, and 
 brought them up to the gap again, and they 
 were again driven back. Five of the boldest 
 passed down the hill, joined Zagonyi, and were 
 conspicuous for their valor during the rest of 
 the day. Fairbanks and Kehoe, having gained 
 the rear and left of the enemy's position, made 
 two or three assaults upon detached parties of 
 the foe, but did not join in the main attack. 
 
 " I now return to the Guard. It is forming 
 under the shelter of the hill. In front, with a 
 gentle inclination, rises a grassy slope, broken by 
 occasional tree-stumps. A line of fire upon the 
 summit marks the position of the rebel infantry, 
 and nearer, and on the top of a lower eminence 
 to the right, stand their horse. Up to this time 
 no Guardsman has struck a blow ; but blue-coats 
 and bay horses lie thick along the bloody lane. 
 Their time has come. Lieutenant Maythenyi, 
 with thirty men, is ordered to attack the cavalry. 
 With sabres flashing over their heads, the little 
 band of heroes spring towards their tremendous 
 foe. Plight upon the centre they charge. The 
 dense mass o])ens, the blue-coats force their way 
 in, and the Avhole rebel squadron scatter in dis- 
 graceful ilight through the cornfields in the rear. 
 I'he bays follow them, sabring the fugitives. 
 Days after, the enemy's horses lay thick among 
 the uncut corn. 
 
 " Zagonyi holds his main body until May- 
 thenyi disappears in the cloud of rebel cavalry; 
 then his voice rises through the air : ' In open 
 order — charge ! ' The line opens out to give 
 play to their sword-arm. Steeds respond to the 
 ardor of their riders, and quick as thought, with 
 thrilling cheers, the noble hearts rush into the 
 leaden torrent which pours down the incline. 
 
 With unabated fire the gallant fellows press 
 through. Their fierce onset is not even checked. 
 The foe do not wait for them — they waver, 
 break, and fly. The Guardsmen spur into the 
 midst of the rout, and their fast-falling swords 
 work a terrible revenge. Some of the boldest 
 of the Southrons retreat into the woods, and 
 continue a murderous fire from behind trees and 
 thickets. Seven Guard horses fall upon a space 
 not more than twenty feet square. As his steed 
 sinks under him, one of the officers is caught 
 around the shoulders by a grape-vine, and hangs 
 dangling in the air until he is cut down by liis 
 friends. 
 
 " The rebel foot are flying in furious haste from 
 the field. Some take refuge in the fair ground, 
 some hurry into the cornfields, but the greater 
 part run along the edge of the wood, swarm over 
 the fence into the road, and hasten to the village. 
 The Guardsmen folloAV. Zagonyi leads them. 
 Over the loudest roar of battle rings his clarion 
 voice — ' Come on. Old Kentuck ! I'm with you ! ' 
 And the flash of his sword-blade tells his men 
 where to go. As Ife approaches a barn, a man 
 steps from behind the door and lowers his rifle ; 
 but before it has reached a level, Zagonyi's sabre 
 point descends upon his head, and his life-blood 
 leaps to the very top of the huge barn-door. 
 
 " The conflict now raged through the village — 
 in the public square, and along the streets. Up 
 and down the Guards ride in squads of three or 
 four, and wherever they see a group of the ene- 
 my, charge upon and scatter them. It is hand- 
 to-hand. No one but has a share in the fray. 
 
 " There was at least one soldier in the South- 
 ern ranks. A young ofl[icer, superbly mounted, 
 charges alone upon a large body of the Guard. 
 He passes through the line unscathed, killing one 
 man. He wheels, chai-ges back, and again breaks 
 through, killing another man. A third time he 
 rushes upon the Federal line ; a score of sabre- 
 points confronts him; clouds of bullets fly around 
 him ; but he pushes on until he reaches Zagonyi : 
 he presses his pistol so close to the Major's side, 
 that he feels it, and draws convulsively back ; the 
 bullet passes through the front of Zagonyi's coat, 
 who, at the instant, runs the daring rebel through 
 the body ; he falls, and the men, thinking their 
 commander hurt, kill him with a dozen wounds. 
 
 " ' He was a brave man,' said Zagonyi after- 
 wards, ' and I did wish to make him prisoner.' 
 
 " Meanwhile it has grown dark. The foe have 
 left the village, and the battle has ceased. The 
 assembly is sounded, and the Guard gathers in 
 the Plaza. Not more than eighty mounted men 
 appear; the rest are killed, wounded, or un- 
 horsed. At this time one of the. most character- 
 istic incidents of the affair took place. 
 
 " Just before the charge, Zagonyi directed one 
 of his buglers, a Frenchman, to sound a signal. 
 The bugler did not seem to ])ay any attention to 
 the order, but darted off with Lieutenant Maythen- 
 yi. A few moments afterwards he was observed 
 in another part of the field vigorously pursuing 
 the flying infantry. His active form was al- 
 Avays seen in the thickest of the fight. When 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 445 
 
 the line was formed in the Plaza, Zagonj'i no- 
 ticed the bugler, and approaching him, said : ' In 
 the midst of battle you disobeyed my order. 
 You are unworthy to be a member of the Guard. 
 I dismiss you.' The bugler showed his bugle to 
 his indignant commander — the mouth-piece of 
 the instrument was shot away. He said : ' The 
 mouth was shoot off. I could not bugle viz mon 
 bugle, and so I bugle viz mon pistol and sabre.' 
 It is unnecessary to add, the brave Frenchman 
 was not dismissed. 
 
 " I must not forget to mention Sergeant Hun- 
 ter, of the Kentucky company. His soldierly 
 figure never failed to attract the eye in the ranks 
 of the Guard. He had served in the regular 
 cavalry, and the Body Guard had profited greatly 
 from his skill as a jdrill-master. He lost three 
 horses in the fight. As soon as one was killed, 
 he caught another from the rebels ; the third 
 horse taken by him in this way he rode into St. 
 Louis. 
 
 " The Sergeant slew five men. ' I won't speak 
 of those I shot,' said he ; ' another may have hit 
 them ; but those I touched with my sabre I am 
 sure of, because I felt them.' 
 
 " At the beginning of the charge, he came to 
 the extreme right, and took position next to Za- 
 gonyi, whom he followed closely through the bat- 
 tle. The Major, seeing him, said : 
 
 " ' Why are you here. Sergeant Hunter ? Your 
 place is Avith your company on the left.' ' I kind 
 o' wanted to be in the front,' was the answer. 
 
 " ' What could I say to such a man ? ' exclaimed 
 Zagonyi, speaking of the matter afterwards. 
 
 " There was hardly a horse or rider among the 
 survivors that did not bring away some mark of 
 the fray. I saw one animal with no less than 
 seven wounds, none of them serious. Scabbards 
 were bent, clothes and caps pierced, pistols in- 
 jured. I saw one pistol from which the sight had 
 been cut as neatly as it could have been done by 
 machinery. A piece of board a few inches long 
 was cut from a fence on the field, in which there 
 were thirty-one shot-holes. 
 
 " It was now nine o'clock. The wounded had 
 been carried to the hospital. The dismounted 
 troopers were placed in charge of them — in the 
 double capacity of nurses and guards. Zagonyi 
 expected the foe to return every minute. It 
 seemed like madness to try and hold the town 
 with his small force, exhausted by the long march 
 and desperate fight. He therefore left Spring- 
 field, and retired before morning twenty-five miles 
 on the Bolivar road. 
 
 " Captain Fairbanks did not see his commander 
 after leaving the column in the lane, at the com- 
 mencement of the engagement. About dusk he 
 repaired to the prairie, and remained there within 
 a mile of the village until midnight, when he 
 followed Zagonyi, rejoining him in the morning. 
 
 " I will now return to Major White. During 
 the conflict upon the hill, he was in the forest, 
 near the front of the rebel line. Here his horse 
 was shot under him. Captain Wroton kept care- 
 ful watch over him. When the flight began he 
 hurried White away, and, accompanied by a 
 
 squad of eleven men, took him ten miles into the 
 country. They stopped at a farm-house for the 
 night. White discovered that their host was a 
 Union man. His parole having expired, he took 
 advantage of the momentary absence of his cap- 
 tor to speak to the farmer, telling him who he 
 was, and asking him to send for assistance. 
 
 " The countryman mounted his son upon his 
 swiftest horse, and sent him for succor. The 
 party lay down by the fire, AVhite being placed in 
 the midst. The rebels were soon asleep, but there 
 was no sleep for the Major. He hstened anxiously 
 for the footsteps of his rescuers. After long, 
 weary hours, he heard the tramp of horses. He 
 arose, and walking on tiptoe, cautiously stepping 
 over his sleeping guard, he reached the door, and 
 silently unfastened it. The Union men rushed 
 into the room, and took the astonished Wroton 
 and his followers prisoners. At daybreak White 
 rode into Springfield, at the head of his captives 
 and a motley band of Home Guard. He found 
 the Federals still in possession of the place. As 
 the officer of highest rank, he took command. 
 His garrison consisted of twenty-four men. He 
 stationed twenty-two of them as pickets in the 
 outskirts of the village, and held the other two 
 as a reserve. At noon the enemy sent a flag of 
 truce, and asked permission to bury their dead. 
 Major White received the flag with proper cere- 
 mony, but said that General Siegel was in com- 
 mand, and the request would have to be referred 
 to him. Siegel was then forty miles away. In a 
 short time, a written communication, purporting 
 to come from General Siegel, saying that the reb- 
 els might send a party, under certain restric- 
 tions, to bury their dead. White drcAV in some 
 of his pickets, stationed them about the field, and 
 under their surveillance, the Southern dead were 
 buried. 
 
 " The loss of the enemy, as reported by some of 
 their working party, was one hundred and sixteen 
 killed. The number of wounded could not be 
 ascertained. After the confiict had drifted away 
 from the hill-side, some of the foe had returned to 
 the field, taken away their wounded, and robbed 
 our dead. The loss of the Guard was fifty-three, 
 out of one hundred and forty-eight actually en- 
 gaged, twelve men having been left by Zagonyi 
 in charge of his train. The Prairie Scouts re- 
 ported a loss of thirty-one out of one hundred 
 and thirty : half of these belonged to the Irish 
 Dragoons. In a neighboring field an Irishman 
 was found stark and stiff, still clinging to the hilt 
 of his sword, which was thrust through the body 
 of a rebel who lay beside him. Within a few feet 
 a second rebel lay, shot through the head. — Ma- 
 jor Dorsheimer. 
 
 Letters from Soldiers. — One of the agents 
 of the Sanitary Commission in Washington said : 
 "As an evidence of the literary capacity of our 
 soldiers, I may mention that our boys are to-day 
 stamping over ten thousand letters I brought up 
 from the front, from soldiers wounded but slightly, 
 or not at all, telling their friends of their condi- 
 tion after the fights." 
 
446 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 THE DEAD CAVALIER — GENERAL J. E. 
 B. STUART. 
 
 BY J. MARSHALL HANNA. 
 
 The drums came back muffled, that, beating aloud, 
 Went out in the morning all thrill to the fight. 
 
 For the hero lies dead in his battle-flag shroud. 
 And his steed is led groomed without rider to- 
 night. 
 
 Then beat the drums muffled, and play the fife low, 
 And march on the cortige to cadences slow. 
 
 Who saw him that morning as gayly he rode 
 At the front of his troopers, who filed proudly af- 
 ter him. 
 Thought to look on to-night the visage that showed 
 The pale death relapse, and the eye sunk and 
 dim ? 
 Then toll the bell sadly, solemnly toll ; 
 A hero is passing to glory's last goal. 
 
 Come, stand by the corpse, look down on that face, 
 Mark where the bullet burst its way through. 
 
 See where the death-pang left its last trace 
 
 As the lead messenger struck, unerring and true. 
 
 Then, hushed, gather round ; let our tears be like 
 rain ; 
 A truer cavalier we shall ne'er see again. 
 
 Ah ! the story he wrote with the point of his sword, 
 How it thrilled through the cities, how it stirred 
 up the land ! 
 Who can forget how the hireling horde 
 
 Ran blating for mercy when he did command ? 
 At the North though they mock, and rejoice at his 
 fall. 
 With grief-laden flowers will we cover his pall, 
 
 O, how like the besom of fate in their rear 
 
 Came the wave of his plume and the flash of his 
 blade, 
 When, bursting from covert, to his troopers' wild 
 cheer. 
 The bugle it sounded the charge in the raid. 
 Now his plume is at rest, his sword in its sheath, 
 And the hand that should grasp it is nerveless 
 in death. 
 
 Make his grave where he fought, nigh the field 
 where he fell, 
 In blossoming Hollywood, under the hill, 
 In sight of the hearth-stones he defended so well, 
 
 That his spirit may be guardian sentinel still. 
 And there let a finger of marble disclose 
 
 The spot where he lies — point the skies where 
 he rose. 
 
 Experience on a Gunboat. — A pilot on the 
 gunboat Louisiana, the most formidable and ef- 
 fective of any which Farragut encountered in his 
 battle at the forts below New Orleans, came 
 stealthily creeping into the city two or three days 
 after its occupation by Butler. 
 
 He was covered with mud from head to foot. 
 His clothes were hanging in tatters ; his face and 
 hands swollen by the poison of mosquitoes and 
 blistered by the fierce rays of an almost trojiical 
 Bun, and he had eaten nothing for three days and 
 
 nights but a few green benies, which he found in 
 
 the swamps. 
 
 Only a week before he had left New Orleans 
 on that gunboat in perfect health, and hoping for 
 a speedy and easy victory over the Federal fleet. 
 
 He described his three days' experience on the 
 vessel before she was blown up as the nearest ap- 
 proach to a sojourn in the infernal regions of 
 anj'thing he had ever experienced or thought pos- 
 sible in this world. , 
 
 Shut up in a stifling atmosphere of hot gun- 
 powder smoke, with the incessant clatter and 
 thunder and hiss of shells and round shot just 
 over his head, pounding against the plating of 
 railroad iron, with the tide of battle turning 
 against them, and the chances for success, and 
 finally for escape with life, growing less and less 
 every hour, it is not strange that in referring to 
 it he exclaimed, " I thought I was in hell." 
 
 When all hope of victory was gone, and the 
 Admiral had passed the forts, the commanding 
 officer of the Louisiana determined to blow her 
 up rather than to allow her to fall into the hands 
 of the Federals. She was run ashore on the 
 right bank, about fifty miles below the city. The 
 officers and crew, escaping to the shore, betook 
 themselves to the swamp for concealment. 
 
 Here they waded, sometimes up to their necks 
 in water, sometimes coming in Avhere the land 
 was higher, and then striking out into deep swamp 
 again. At Chalmette, Jackson's old battle-ground, 
 they went far into the swamp in order to flank 
 the fortifications there erected ; and finally most 
 of them reached the city in the miserable plight 
 above described. 
 
 The pilot was among the earliest of those who 
 professed themselves ready to take the oath. 
 
 A Literal Translation, — As the Twenty- 
 fourth Massachusetts regiment was about leaving 
 Washington, N. C, in 1862, an incident occurred 
 which reflected credit upon the acumen of one of 
 its officers. A pretty mulatto slave girl, belong- 
 ing to a citizen of the town, had been acting as 
 house servant to Lieutenant Turner, and when 
 marching orders were received, expressed great 
 anxiety to go with the regiment to Newbern, and 
 escape bondage. She took refuge on board one 
 of the steamers on Avhich the Twenty-fourth had 
 embarked ; but just before the time for starting, 
 her owner appeared with an order, which read as 
 follows : 
 
 " John Doe has permission to search for his 
 slave girl Henrietta, and will be protected in so 
 doing." 
 
 This he i)resented to Quartermaster William 
 V. Hutchings, and demanded the girl. Mr. Hutch- 
 ings, seeing the trepidation and anxiety mani- 
 fested in the countenance of Henrietta, asked her, 
 "Are you Avilling to return to your master?" 
 " O, no, sir ! " she said ; please don't give me 
 up to him ! " " Let me see that order, sir," said 
 he to the Owner; and reading it aloud, he re- 
 marked, " This gives you authority to search for 
 your gh'l ; you have searched for her, and there 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 447 
 
 she is. You are to be protected in making your 
 search ; you have been protected. This gives you 
 no authority to take her against her will. She 
 does not wish to return to you, and you can't take 
 her. And now, the sooner you get off this boat, 
 the better it will be for your skin." As he said 
 this with the determination of a man who was 
 not to be trifled with, the discomfited owner beat 
 a precipitate retreat, amid the jeers and shouts 
 of the bystanders. 
 
 The Pkesident's Choice. — During a conver- 
 sation on the approaching election, in 1864, a 
 gentleman remarked to President Lincoln that 
 nothing could defeat him but Grant's capture of 
 Richmond, to be followed by his nomination at 
 Chicago and acceptance. " Well," said the Pres- 
 ident, " I feel very much like the man who said he 
 didn't want to die particularly, but if he hf^ got 
 to die, that was precisely the disease he would 
 like to die of." 
 
 The Traitor's " Coat-of-Arms." — Joseph 
 Schofield — an Englishman by birth, but an 
 adopted citizen of the United States, residing in 
 Iowa, who justly boasted of having two sons in 
 the army, one of whom had reenlisted to fight for 
 the fiag of his country — sent his annual subscrip- 
 tion to the Scientific American, for another year, 
 and closed his letter with the following pungent 
 remarks : 
 
 " The traitor's ' coat-of-arms ' consists of a flea, 
 a fly, a magpie, and a side of bacon. Explana- 
 tion : A flea will bite either the quick or the dead ; 
 so will a traitor. A fly • blows,' corrupts, and con- 
 taminates, all it comes in contact with ; so will a 
 iraitor. A magpie is always chattering, talking, 
 and lying; so is a traitor. A side of bacon is 
 never ' cured ' till it is hung ; neither is a traitor." 
 
 Whiskey in Camp. — When the war first 
 broke out, Bragg was in command of about ten 
 thousand troops, stationed at Pensacola. He re- 
 mained there for more than a year, until Grant 
 drew all eyes away from the Southern border by 
 his vigorous and successful campaign in the upper 
 Mississippi Valley. 
 
 Bragg made the long semicircular shore bris- 
 tle with sand batteries, that bore upon the defi- 
 ant and loyal Fort Pickens, but his infantry had 
 nothing to do. Month after month passed, and 
 they neither attacked nor were attacked. The 
 true point of strategy and of interest was else- 
 where. Bragg soon found scope for his peculiar 
 genius in keeping up the morals of his army. 
 
 The war has not developed a more vigilant police 
 oflicer than Braxton Bragg: yet his abilities in that 
 line were taxed to their utmost to check the gross 
 drunkenness that prevailed in his camp ; for " Sa- 
 tan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do," 
 and the soldiers employed their time and talents in 
 circumventing his strict general order excluding 
 intoxicating drinks from the camp, or any place 
 within the distance of ten miles in every direction. 
 
 About a mile back of his main force, in the 
 
 woods, lay a long, narrow lake. It would take a 
 soldier seven or eight hours to walk around to 
 the other side, but a good swimmer could reach 
 it in twenty minutes' time. 
 
 During the hot months of that long, dull sum- 
 mer the men discovered a commendable zeal for 
 personal cleanliness. Every evening the lake 
 was alive with swimmers, for in the South swim- 
 ming and horsemanship are accomplishments 
 equally necessary and universal. Yet Bragg's in- 
 spectors found some mysterious and constant 
 connection between swimming and intoxication. 
 The best swimmers were often quarrelsome and 
 noisy, and found their way into the guard-house 
 for drunkenness. But with all his vigilance, the 
 mystery was no nearer solution than at first — 
 how the men got their whiskey. 
 
 There was a puzzle, too, among the butchers. 
 There arose an astonishing demand for bladders 
 among the soldiers. Whenever a beef was killed, 
 half a dozen eager fellows stood by and bid 
 against each other for this part of the animal. 
 Bragg heard of this, but he could see no con- 
 nection between it and the solution of the whis- 
 key question ; and he never learned the secret 
 till the army had left Pensacola, and the disclo- 
 sure could do no harm. 
 
 A poor, inoff'ensive fisherman lived on the op- 
 posite side of the lake. Some of the men swam 
 across, made his acquaintance, and persuaded him 
 to open an accoiuit with a liquor dealer in Mo- 
 bile, saying he would lose nothing by the operation, 
 and might make a great deal. He accordingly 
 kept himself well supplied with the genuine arti- 
 cle, and had the satisfaction every evening of see- 
 ing platoons of naked customers come swimming 
 across the lake, with bladders around their necks, 
 which they filled from his barrel, and paid for in 
 hard money, wliich they brought over in their 
 mouths. 
 
 Emboldened by their success in smuggling by 
 the bladder full, they managed at length to get a 
 barrel of the coveted liquor across the lake. But 
 they were like the man who bought the elejjhant. 
 They did not know what to do with it. At length 
 a genius brighter than the rest hit upon a happy 
 expedient. The spring where most of their drink- 
 ing water was obtained, rose from a sandy soil, in 
 which a pit could be easily excavated. In the 
 darkness of a rainy night this was done, and the 
 barrel buried close to the spring. Of course, 
 nothing could be more natural than that soldiers 
 in the month of August, and in that latitude, 
 should go often to the spring. But the water 
 seemed to have a strange effect upon them. 
 After leaning over to quaff" from the cooling foun- 
 tain, they grew chatty, then boisterous, noisy, and 
 quarrelsome, and ended the day in the guard- 
 house. 
 
 There was no solving the myster_v, till, at last, 
 just as they all left Pensacola, they told Bragg's 
 orderly how the whiskey barrel was buried close 
 by the spring, and they kept a straw convenient, 
 so that when they seemed to be drinking from 
 the spring, they were, in fact, sucking from the 
 whiskey barrel. 
 
U8 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 THE ANCIENT ]\IARINER. 
 
 It was an ancient mariner, 
 
 And thus he spake to me : 
 "Twice twenty year or more I've sailed 
 
 Upon the salt, salt sea." 
 
 More stronger of salt the sea must be 
 
 Than XX all of malt, 
 When such an ancient sailor-man 
 
 Must call it doubly salt. 
 
 "Twice twenty year I've sailed," he said, 
 
 "Upon the salt, salt sea. 
 And many strange and fearful things 
 
 Have happened unto me." 
 
 " Avast, thou ancient mariner ! 
 
 Thou smellest much of tar ; 
 Besides, I've got a telegram, 
 
 With good news from the war." 
 
 "Twice twenty year I've sailed," he said, 
 
 " Upon the salt, salt sea ; 
 The knowledge I have gained, my boy. 
 
 Were worth a mint to thee." 
 
 " Hands off, thou ancient mariner ! 
 
 And let my flipper drop ; 
 We've glorious news from Grant to-day. 
 
 And stocks are rushing up. 
 
 " The hour is now, the Board has met, 
 
 And I am ' in the ring ; ' 
 Erie is flying like a kite. 
 
 And I may hold the string. 
 
 " I must be off, thou ancient man, 
 
 To call on Jones & Tuttle ; " 
 " I knew Jack Bunsby well," quoth he, 
 
 "And sailed with Cap'n Cuttle." 
 
 He placed his chair beside my own, 
 
 That ancient marinere ; 
 And then he called for brandy neat, 
 
 And I for lager beer. 
 
 He gave to me for my repast 
 
 Salt-horse and pine-wood cracker ; 
 
 And rammed into his starboard cheek 
 Some stuff he called terbacker. 
 
 Then thrice he winked his larboard eye 
 
 Right solemnly at me. 
 And thus commenced his wondrous tale : 
 
 "There was a man," quoth he — 
 
 "Twice twenty year, or more, I've sailed, 
 
 Upon the salt, salt sea ; 
 But never have I chanced to meet 
 
 With such a man as he. 
 
 " He's older than the hills, they say. 
 
 This old, old marinere ; 
 Or just about the age of Airth — 
 
 Say seven thousand year. 
 
 "He's older than Methusalcr, 
 
 Or any man before ; 
 They say he piloted the craft 
 
 That carried Father Noar. 
 
 " Our great Rail-splitter dug him up — 
 
 He split the solid stone, 
 And there he found this ancient man 
 
 A sittink all alone. 
 
 " Our Uncle Abe is fond, you know, 
 
 Of jolly jokes and sells, 
 But never cracked a harder joke. 
 
 Than this same Gidyun Welles. 
 
 " Quoth Abraham, ' From rebel ram 
 Here's just the man to save ye.' 
 
 And so he made old Daddy Welles 
 The ruler of our navy. 
 
 " From Richmond town the ram came down, 
 
 To Hampton Roads it crept. 
 And still old Daddy Gidyun 
 
 He slept, and slept, and slept. 
 
 "It stove our splendid frigates' sides, 
 
 ^nd slew our gallant tars. 
 While Welles was dreamink ancient di'eams 
 Of masts, and ropes, and spars. 
 
 " Old England sent a steamer out — 
 
 A clipper-ship, and new, sir ; 
 A pirate ship some called the craft, 
 
 And some a rebel cruiser. 
 
 " She burned and sank our merchant-ships 
 
 All o'er the ocean wide. 
 And Daddy Welles's *♦ creeping things ' 
 
 Owdaciously defied. 
 
 " That boat had such a jolly time, 
 That England scoffed and laughed, 
 
 And sent upon the briny deep 
 Some more swift-sailing craft. 
 
 " Our flag was driven from the sea, 
 Our commerce, sir, was floored, 
 
 And still old Daddy Welles he slept, 
 And snored, and snored, and snored." 
 
 " Avast, thou sailor-man ! " I said, 
 
 " For all athirst am I ; 
 So salty is this throat of mine. 
 
 That I shall surely die." 
 
 " Come hither, then, thou waiter-boy," 
 
 The mariner he said. 
 " Bring us some beer and brandy neat, 
 
 Before I punch thy head." 
 
 The cups were set, our lips were wet. 
 
 And then again began 
 To tell his mournful, bitter tale. 
 
 That ancient sailor-man. 
 
 " In vain the people raved and swore, 
 
 In vain the merchants wailed : 
 Old Welles sent out his ♦ creeping things,' 
 
 But still the pirates sailed. 
 
 " The ' creeping things ' beset the coast 
 
 Of all the rebel land ; 
 But nightly still the boats slipped in. 
 
 With goods called contraband. 
 
 " Another man this ancient man 
 
 Employed to do his talks ; 
 A sly, and slippery, cunning chap — 
 
 I think, they called him Fox, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 449 
 
 •• So, while this ancient man slept well, 
 
 His head upon a hawser ; 
 This sly and slippery cunning chap 
 
 Was mate, all hands, and boss, sir. 
 
 '•And while our ships were burned and sunk, 
 
 And commerce went to pot, 
 He squandered millions of our cash — 
 
 I want to know for what. 
 
 " Thou knowest, broker of the stocks, 
 
 How great has been the cost ; 
 Thou knowest well what wondrous wealth 
 
 Beneath the sea is lost. 
 
 *' At times the thunder of our guns 
 
 Awakes this ancient bore ; 
 He claims the credit of the work, 
 
 And falls asleep once more." 
 
 " I know, thou antique sailor-man," 
 
 I said, " of Welles and Fox ; 
 But what has that to do with me, 
 
 Or.with the price of stocks ?" 
 
 «• That Old Man of the Sea," he said, 
 
 " About our necks has himg. 
 And though we sought to shake him off, 
 
 Has clung, and clung, and clung. 
 
 " Must we be bothered four more years 
 
 By dozes and by dreams ? 
 And can't we swop such horses off, 
 
 Even in crossing streams ? " 
 
 " O, think, thou broker of the stocks. 
 
 What fate must yet be ours, 
 K we must still be swayed and spoiled 
 
 By dull and drowsy powers I " 
 
 I left that ancient mariner, 
 
 Swift to the Board I ran ; 
 But stocks were down, and I was then 
 
 A wiser, poorer man. 
 
 Anthracite Hill (of the Board of Brokers). 
 
 Incident of Corinth. — A correspondent 
 who visited Corinth after the evacuation in 1862 
 writes as follows : 
 
 " Among the few inhabitants found in Corinth 
 was an elderly female, decidedly rebellious in 
 her disposition, having all the prominent facial 
 symptoms of the most abhorrent freak of nature 
 — an ill-tempered woman. An Illinois soldier 
 advanced towards her as she stood on the 
 doorstep of her residence, and addressed her 
 thus: 
 
 " ' Well, misses, them ere fellers got away, eh ? 
 Wish we'd caught 'em. We'd gin 'em the wust 
 whippin' they ever got. Which way did the d — d 
 hounds go, anyhow ? ' 
 
 "Lady (indignant) — 'I reckon you don't 
 know who you're talking to. I've got a son in 
 the Southern army, and he ain't no d — d hound. 
 He's a gentleman, sir.' 
 
 " Soldier — ' Well, I've heard a good deal about 
 secesh gentlemen, but I never saw one. Gen- 
 29 
 
 tlemen don't steal, as a general thing ; but these 
 fellers live by stealin'. ' 
 
 " Lady (whose nose takes an upward tendency) 
 — ' They never stole nothin' from you, I guess. 
 What did you ever lose by them, I'd like to 
 know ? ' 
 
 " Soldier — ' Lose ! why the cussed thieves 
 stole three undershirts and two pair of drawers 
 from me at Pittsburg. They stole all our sutler's 
 goods, and all the officers' clothes in our regi- 
 ment. I'll know my shirts, and if I catch 'em 
 on any butternut, I'll finish him, sure. But you 
 see, misses, I don't want to talk saucy to a wo- 
 man. I just called to ask you if you had any 
 fresh bread to sell.' 
 
 " Lady — ' No, hain't. I ain't no baker, and 
 don't keep no bake shop, neither. I guess you'll 
 have to go North for fresh bread.' 
 
 " Soldier — ' Well, it's no use gittin' mad about it. 
 I've got money to pay for what I buy. I intend to 
 go North, after a while, when we whip these run- 
 away fellers, but not before. If they hadn't run 
 off, secesh would have been played out in a week. 
 I guess it's played out anyhow, eh ? ' 
 
 " Exit lady unceremoniously, slamming the 
 door, through which she disappears." 
 
 Rough Sketch of President Lincoln. — 
 Senator Sherman of Ohio, in a speech at San- 
 dusky in the fall of 1864, drew this rough but 
 accurate outline of the lamented President's 
 character : 
 
 " I know Old Abe ; and I tell you there is not, 
 at this hour, a more patriotic, or a truer man 
 living than that man, Abraham Lincoln. Some 
 say he is an imbecile ; but he not only held his own 
 in his debates with Douglas, Avhose power is ad- 
 mitted, and whom I considered the ablest intel- 
 lect in the United States Senate, but got a little 
 the better of him. He has been deliberate and 
 slow, but when he puts his foot down, it is with 
 the determination and certainty with which our 
 generals take their steps ; and, like them, when 
 he takes a city he never gives it up. This firm 
 old man is noble and kind-hearted. He is a 
 child of the people. Go to him with a story of 
 woe, and he will weep like a child. This man, 
 so condemned, works more hours than any other 
 President that ever occupied the chair. His 
 solicitude for the public welfare is never-ceasing. 
 I differed from him at first myself, but at last 
 felt and beheved that he was right, and shall vote 
 for this brave, true, patriotic, kind-hearted man. 
 All his faults and mistakes you have seen. All 
 his virtues you never can know. His patience in 
 labor is wonderful. He works far harder than 
 any man in Erie County. At the head of this 
 great nation — look at it ! He has all the bills 
 to sign passed by Congress. No one can be ap- 
 pointed to any office without his approval. No 
 one can be punished without the judgment re- 
 ceives his signature, and no one pardoned with- 
 out his hand. This man — always right, always 
 just — we propose to reelect now to the Presi- 
 dency.'* 
 
450 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Letter of General Sedgwick. — The fol- 
 lowin.2: letter from Major-General John Sedgwick 
 to Adjutant-General E. D. Townsend, is charac- 
 teristic of the brave and honorable soldier who 
 wrote it. It was written in December, 1863, at 
 the time it was proposed to change and consoli- 
 date the army of the Potomac. 
 
 •' My Dear Townsend : There is a change 
 proposed in the organization of this army — re- 
 ducing the number of corps to three. Whether I 
 am to be retained as one of the commanders, I 
 do not know ; but I write this to ask you, when 
 the matter is brought up in Washington, to retain 
 the number of this corps — the Sixth. It is en- 
 tirely harmonious, and a great deal of esprit du 
 corps is in it. I do not believe there is a regi- 
 ment in it that would leave Avillingly. Another 
 reason is — since its organization there has never 
 been a regiment added or detached. This is not 
 the case with the other corps. The Third has 
 been made up of the odds and ends from several 
 armies, and this is partly true of the First ; and 
 every corps (the Sixth excepted) has had several 
 regiments assigned to it, from time to time. 
 
 " I am afraid the First, Second, and Third will 
 be retained, when I should like to see the Second, 
 Third, and Sixth. 
 
 " I am sure you will assist me in this matter, 
 if in your power ; at all events, I rely upon you 
 in letting me know when the subject comes up." 
 
 THE WOOD OF CHANCELLORSVILLE. 
 
 BY DELIA R. GERMAN. 
 
 The ripe red berries of the wintergreen 
 Lure me to pause a while 
 
 In this deep, tangled wood. I stop and lean 
 Down where these wild flowers smile, 
 And rest me in this shade ; for many a mile, 
 
 Through lane and dusty street, 
 
 I've M-alkcd Avith w-eary, weary feet ; 
 
 And now I tarry 'mid this woodland scene, 
 
 'Mong ferns and mosses sweet. 
 
 Here all around me blows 
 
 The pale primrose. 
 
 I wonder if the gentle blossom knows 
 
 The feeling at my heart — the solemn grief 
 
 So -whelming and so deep 
 That it disdains relief, 
 
 And will not let mo weep. 
 I wonder that the woodbine thrives and grows, 
 And is indifferent to the nation's woes. 
 For while these mornings shine, these blossoms 
 
 bloom, 
 Impious rebellion wraps the land in gloom. 
 
 Nature, thou art unkind, 
 
 Unsympathizing, blind ! 
 
 Yon lichen, clinging to th' o'erhanging rock, 
 
 Is happy, and each blade of grass. 
 
 O'er which unconsciously I pass. 
 Smiles in my face, and seems to mock 
 
 Me with its joy. Alas ! I cannot find 
 
 One charm in bounteous nature, while the wind 
 That blows upon my cheek bears on each gust 
 The groans of my poor country, bleeding in the 
 dust. 
 
 The air is musical with notes 
 
 That gush from winged warblers' throats. 
 
 And in the leafy trees 
 
 I hear the drowsy himi of bees. 
 
 Prone from the blinding sky 
 
 Dance rainbow-tinted sunbeams, thick with 
 motes. 
 
 Daisies are shining, and the butterfly 
 Wavers from flower to flower ; yet in this wood 
 The ruthless foeman stood, 
 And every turf is drenched with human blood. 
 
 O heartless flowers ! 
 
 O trees, clad in j'our robes of glistering sheen, 
 Put off this canopy of gorgeous green I 
 
 These are the hours 
 
 For mournmg, not for gladness. While this smart 
 
 Of treason dire gashes the Nation's heart. 
 
 Let birds refuse to sing, 
 
 And flowers to bloom upon the lap of spring. 
 
 Let Nature's face itself with tears o'erflow, 
 
 In deepest anguish for a people's woe. 
 
 While rank rebellion stands 
 
 With blood of martyrs on his impious hands ; 
 
 While slavery, and chains. 
 
 And cruelty, and direst hate. 
 
 Uplift their heads within th' afflicted state, 
 And freeze the blood in every patriot's yeins, — 
 Let the-e old woodlands fair 
 
 Grow black with gloom, and from its thunder-lair 
 Let lightning leap, and scorch th' accursed air, 
 Until the suffering earth. 
 Of treason sick, shall spew the monster forth. 
 And each regenerate sod 
 Be consecrate anew to Freedom and to God ! 
 
 Forrest on Fort Pillow. — A letter written 
 by Bryan McAllister at Meridian, Mississippi, on 
 the 13th of May, 1865, contains the following: 
 
 " Before the large chimney-place of a small 
 cabin-room, surrounded by a group of Confed- 
 erate officers and men, the room dimly lighted 
 by a small tallow candle, I first saw Lieutenant- 
 General N. B. Forrest, commanding a corps of 
 cavalry in the rebel army. Forrest is a man of 
 fine appearance, about six feet in height, having 
 dark, piercing hazel eyes, carefully trimmed 
 mustache, and chin-whiskers dark as night, fine- 
 ly cut-features, and iron-gray hair. His form is 
 lithe, plainly indicating great physical ])owcr and 
 activity. He was neatly dressed in citizen's 
 clothes of some gray mixture — the only indica- 
 tion of military service being the usual number 
 of small stafi'-buttons on his vest. I should have 
 marked him as a prominent man had I seen him 
 on Broadway ; and when I was told that he was 
 the ' Forrest of Fort Pillow,' I devoted my whole 
 attention to him, and give you the result of our 
 conversation. ]\Iy first impression of the man 
 was rather favorable than otherwise. Except a 
 guard of some hundred Federal soldiers, more 
 than half a mile away, I was, with the exception 
 of another person, the only Yankee in the room, 
 and, being dressed in citizen's clothes, was never 
 suspected, except by the landlord. 
 
 ♦' ' General,' said I, ' I little expected to be 
 seated by this fire with you.' 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 451 
 
 " ' Why so ? ' 
 
 " * Well, because your name has been in the 
 mouth of nearly every person for a long time.' 
 
 " ' Yes,' said he, displaying the finest set of 
 teeth that I think I have ever seen ; ' I have 
 waked up the Yankees eveiywhere, lately.' 
 
 " ' Now that you have time, General, do you 
 think you will ever put upon paper the true ac- 
 count of the Fort Pillow affair? ' 
 
 " ' Well,' said he, * the Yankees ought to know. 
 They sent down their best men to investigate the 
 affair.' 
 
 " * But are we to believe their report. General? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, if we are to believe anything a nigger 
 says. AVhen I went into the war, I meant to 
 fight. Fighting means killing. I have lost twen- 
 ty-nine horses in the war, and have killed a man 
 each time. The other day I was a horse ahead ; 
 but at Selma they surrounded me, and I killed 
 two, jumped my horse over a one-horse wagon, 
 and got away.' 
 
 " I began to think I had some idea of the man 
 at last. He continued : 
 
 " * My Provost-Marshal's book Avill show that 
 I have taken thirtj'-one thousand piisoners during 
 the Avar. At Fort Pillow I sent in a flag of truce, 
 and demanded an unconditional surrender, or I 
 would not answer for my men. This they refused. 
 I sent them another note, giving them one hour 
 to determine. This they refused. I could see, 
 on the river, bpats loaded with troops. They 
 sent back, asking for an hour more. I gave them 
 twenty minutes. I sat on my horse during- the 
 whole time. . 
 
 " ' The fort was filled with niggers and deserters 
 from our army — men who lived side by side with 
 my men. I waited five minutes after the time, and 
 then blew my bugle for the charge. In twenty 
 minutes my men were over the works, and the fir- 
 ing had ceased. The citizens and Yankees had bro- 
 ken in the heads of whiskey and lager-beer barrels, 
 and were all drunk. They kept up firing all the 
 time, as they went down the hill. Hundreds of 
 them rushed to the riverf and tried to swim to the 
 gunboats, and my men' shot theni doM'n. The 
 Mississippi River Avas red with their blood for 
 three hundred yards. During all this, their flag 
 was still flying, and I rushed over the works and 
 cut the halyards, and let it dov/n, and stopped 
 the fight. Many of the Yankees were in tents 
 in front, and they were in their Avay, as they con- 
 cealed my men, and some of them set them on 
 fire. If any Avere burned to death, it Avas in those 
 tents. 
 
 " * They have a living witness in Captain Young, 
 their Quartermaster, who is still alive ; and I Avill 
 leave it to any prisoner I have ever taken if I have 
 not treated them aa'cU.' ' You have made some 
 rapid marches. General,' said I. ' Yes,' said he, 
 ' I haA'e five thousand men that can Avhip any ten 
 thousand in the Avorld. Sturgis came out to Avhip 
 me once, and Avas ten thousand strong. I marched 
 off as if I was going to Georgia, and fell upon the 
 head of his column Avhen he least expected me, 
 and,Avith two thousand three hundred men, killed 
 over three thousand, captui'ed as many more, with 
 
 all the trains and mules, and drove him back. I 
 meant to kill every man in Federal uniform, un- 
 less he gave up.' He spoke of capturing a fort 
 from Colonel Crawford, in Athens, Alabama, gar- 
 risoned by one thousand five hundred men. Said 
 he : 'I took him out and shoAved him my forces, — 
 some brigades tAvo or three times, — and one bat- 
 tery I kept marching around all the time. My 
 men dismounted, leaving every fourth man to hold 
 the horses, and formed the rest in front as infan- 
 try ; and the darn fool gave up Avithout firing a 
 shot.' 
 
 " Speaking of Streight's capture, he said it Avas 
 almost a shame. ' My men rode among them and 
 shot them down Hke cattle. They Avere mounted 
 on sharp-edged saddles, and were Avorn out, and 
 I killed several of them myself. Didn't hardly 
 knoAV what to do with them.' But the heart sick- 
 ens at the infamous conduct of this butcher. He 
 is one of the fcAv men that are general ' blowers,' 
 and yet will fight. Forrest is a thorough bravo — 
 a desperate man in every respect. He Avas a ne- 
 gro-trader before the war, and in ' personal affairs,' 
 as he calls them, had killed several men. 
 
 " He had a body guard of one hundred and 
 fifty picked men. These he placed in the rear, 
 Avith orders to shoot any one that turned back. I 
 have spoken to numbers of Confederate officers, 
 and they speak of him Avith disgust, though all 
 admit his bravery and fitness for the cavalry ser- 
 vice. He has two brothers living, one of whom 
 is spoken of as being a greater butcher than the 
 Lieutenant-General. He is a man Avithout edu- 
 cation or refinement, married, I belieA^e, to a very 
 pretty Avife. Any one would call him handsome. 
 
 "Any one hearing him talk Avould call him a 
 braggadocio. As for myself, I Avould believe one 
 half he said, and only dispute Avith him with my 
 finger upon the trigger of my pistol. When I 
 told him I Avas a Yankee, and late upon a promi- 
 nent General's staff, he looked about him, and 
 among his staff, for corroborative proof. Volleys 
 of this, ready prepared, poured forth upon his 
 order. My not being a short-hand TVTiter neces- 
 sai'ily dejn-ived me of the pleasure of a further 
 contribution to this true story. 
 
 " Two young Iventuckians Avere Avalking along 
 the road, Avhen Forrest came up ; he called them 
 deserters, and deliberately shot them. It appears 
 that these young men Avere upon legitimate duty, 
 and one of them under military age. The fathers 
 of these youths are upon Forrest's track, sworn 
 to kill him. Poetic justice requires that he should 
 meet Avith a violent death. Probably one hun- 
 dred men have fallen by his hand. He says ' the 
 war is played out ; ' that, Avhere he lives, there are 
 plenty of fish ; and that he is going to take a tent 
 along, and don't Avant to see any one for twelve 
 months." 
 
 A Romantic Incident. — Governor Curtin, 
 of Pennsylvania, Avhile sojourning in Philadelphia, 
 Avas called upon by a young Avoman, Avho, Avhen 
 she Avas introduced, expressed her great joy at 
 seeing the Governor, at the same time imprint- 
 ing a kiss upon his forehead. 
 
452 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " Madam," said he, " to -whom am I indebted 
 for this unexpected salutation ? " 
 
 " Sir, do you not know me ? " 
 
 " Take a chair," said the Governor, at the same 
 time extending one of the handsomest in the par- 
 lor. 
 
 " Shortly after the battle of Antietam, you 
 were upon that bloody field," said she to the Gov- 
 ernor. 
 
 " I was," replied the Governor. 
 
 " You administered to the wants of the 
 Mounded and the dying." 
 
 " It was my duty as a feeling man." 
 
 " You did your duty well. Heaven alone 
 will reward you, sir, for in this life there is no 
 reward adequately expressive of your deserts. 
 You, sir, imparted consolation and revived the 
 hopes of a dying soldier of the Twenty-eighth 
 Ohio. He was badly wounded in the arm ; you 
 lifted him into an ambulance, and the blood 
 dripping from him stained your hands and your 
 clothing. That soldier was as dear to me as life 
 itself. 
 
 " A husband ? " said the Governor. " No, sir." 
 
 « A brother perhaps ? " " No, sir." 
 
 "A father?" " No, sir." 
 
 " A son ? " " No, sir." 
 
 "A lover?" "No, sir." 
 
 " If not a husband, father, brother, son, or 
 lover, who, then, could it be ? " said the Gov- 
 ernor, at length breaking the silence : ' this is an 
 enigma to me. Please explain more about the 
 gallant soldier of Ohio." 
 
 "Well, sir, that soldier gave you a ring. C. 
 E. D. were the letters engraved on the interior. 
 That is the ring now upon your little finger. He 
 told you to wear it, and carefully have you done 
 so." 
 
 The Governor pulled the ring off, and sure 
 enough the letters were there. 
 
 " The finger that used to wear that ring will 
 never wear it any more. The hand is dead, but 
 the soldier still lives." 
 
 The Governor was now more interested than 
 ever. 
 
 " Well, madam," said he, " tell me all about 
 it. Is this ring yours ? Was it given to you by 
 a soldier whom you loved ? " 
 
 " I loved him as I loved my life ; but he never 
 returned that love. He had more love for his 
 country than for me ; I honor him for it. That 
 soldier who placed that little ring upon your fin- 
 ger stands before you." So saying the strange 
 lady arose from her chair, and stood before the 
 Governor. 
 
 The scene that now ensued we leave to the 
 imagination of the reader. A happy hour passed. 
 The girl who had thus introduced herself was 
 Catharine E. Davidson, of Sheffield, Ohio. She 
 was engaged to be married, but her future hus- 
 band responded to the call of the President, and 
 she followed him by joining another regiment. 
 He was killed in the same battle where she fell 
 wounded. She is alone in the world, her father 
 and mother having departed this life years ago. 
 She was the soldier of the Twenty-eighth Ohio 
 
 who had placed the ring upon the finger of Gov- 
 ernor Curtin, for the kind attention given her 
 upon the bloody field of Antietam. 
 
 Incidents of Leesburg. — A Southern let- 
 ter writer gives the following incidents of the 
 battle of Ball's Bluff, called by the Confederates 
 the battle of Leesburg : 
 
 " One personal encounter is worthy of record. 
 As Captain Jones, of company B, Seventeenth 
 Mississippi, was passing tlirough the woods at 
 the head of his men, he met another party headed 
 by an officer. The two halting instantly upon 
 discovering their close proximity, Jones ex- 
 claimed, " For God Almighty's sake, tell me 
 quick — friends or enemies — who are you ? ' 
 The other reph'ed, ' We are friends,' and at the 
 same time advanced. A little boy named Joseph 
 Ware, who was behind the Mississippian, in- 
 stantly cried out, ' Captain, they are not friends ; 
 don't you see they have not guns like ours. 
 They are Yankees : let me shoot.' Again Jones 
 exclaimed, ' Who are you ? Speak quick, for I 
 can't keep my men from firing.' ' I'll let you 
 
 know who we are, you d d rebel,' said the 
 
 Yankee officer, — for such he was, — and suiting 
 the action to the word, he sprang upon and seized 
 Captain Jones by the collar. For a second or 
 two a scuffle ensued between the officers, when 
 the latter broke loose. At the same instant one 
 of the Mississippians dashed out the Yankee's 
 brains with the butt of his musket.' 
 
 " Frequently the ladies are in the habit of vis- 
 iting the prisoners, but oftener from curiosity 
 than sympathy. Another incident is told of 
 an encounter between several of them and an 
 Irishman. 
 
 " It had become a matter of habit with the 
 fair ones to open conversation with the very nat- 
 ural inquiry, ' Where are you wounded ? ' and 
 accordingly, when a party of three or four, the 
 other day, approached our cell, they launched out 
 in the usual way. Paddy made believe that he 
 didn't hear distinctly, and replied, ' Pretty well, 
 I thank yez.' ' Where were you wounded ? ' 
 again fired away one of the ladies. ' Faith, I'm 
 not badly hurt, at all. I'll be thravelling to Kich- 
 mond jn a wake,' replied Pat, with a peculiarly 
 distressing look, as if he was in a tight place. 
 Thinking that he was deaf, one of the old ladies 
 in the background put her mouth down to his 
 ear, and shouted again, ' We want to know wliere 
 you are hurt.' 
 
 "Pat, evidently finding that if the bombard- 
 ment continued much longer he would have to 
 strike his flag anyhow, concluded to do so at 
 once, and accordingly, with a face as rosy as a 
 boiled lobster, and with an angry kind of energy, 
 he replied : ' Sure, leddies, it's not dafe that I am ; 
 but, since you are determined to know where I 
 have been wound6d, it's on my sate. The bullet 
 entered behind ov me breeches. Plase to excuse 
 me feelings and ax me no more questions.' 
 
 " I leave it to you to imagine the blushing con- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 45a 
 
 sternation of the inquisitors and sudden locomo- 
 tion of the crinoline out of the front door." 
 
 Anecdote of President Lincoln. — The 
 following transpired at the Executive Mansion in 
 Washington. Its moral will he appreciated by 
 all thoughtful men. Some gentlemen were present 
 from the West, excited and troubled about the 
 commissions or omissions of the Administration. 
 The President heard them patiently, and then re- 
 plied : " Gentlemen, suppose all the property you 
 were worth was in gold, and you had put it in 
 the hands of Blondin to carry across the Niagara 
 River on a rope ; would you shake the cable, or 
 keep shouting out to him — Blondin, stand up a 
 little straighter — Blondin, stoop a little more — 
 go a little faster — lean a little more to the north 
 — lean a little more to the south ? No, you would 
 hold your breath as well as your tongue, and 
 keep your hands off until he was safe over. The 
 Government are canying an immense weight. 
 Untold treasures are in their hands. They are 
 doing the very best they can. Don't badger 
 them. Keep silence, and we'll get you safe 
 across." This simple illustration answered the 
 complaints of half an hour, and not only silenced 
 but channed the audience. 
 
 An Incident. — As the fleet of transports of 
 the great expedition for the reduction of the forts 
 at Hilton Head was passing down the Chesapeake 
 Bay on that beautiful day in October, 1861, a 
 Vlarge bald eagle came sweeping out from the 
 sHpre of Maryland, and, soaring high in air over 
 th^eet, finally ahghted on the masthead of the 
 Atlaktic, the headquarters of the army. In an 
 instant all eyes *?ere on him, and conjecture was 
 busy as to whether he were a loyal bird come to 
 give his blessing at parting, or a secession rooster, 
 intent on spying out the nation's strength. " We 
 gave the bu-d the benefit of the doubt," said one 
 present ; " an officer peremptorily stayed the 
 hand of a soldier who would have shot him, and 
 we accepted the omen as auguring the full suc- 
 cess of our enterprise." 
 
 The Fight at Brandy Station. — " We were 
 lying at Warrenton Junction, making ourselves 
 as comfortable as possible after the raid, when, 
 on the morning of the 8th of June, 1863, the 
 whole division was ordered out in the very lightest 
 marching order. That night we lay close to Kel- 
 ly's Ford in column of battaUons, the men hold- 
 ing their horses as they slept, and no fires being 
 lighted. 
 
 " At four o'clock on the morning of the 9th we 
 were again in motion, and got across the ford 
 without interruption or discovery. Yorke, with 
 the third squadron, was in advance, and as we 
 moved he managed so well that he bagged every 
 picket on the road. Thus we had got almost 
 upon the rebel camp before we w'ere discovered. 
 >We rode right into Jones' brigade, the First New 
 
 Jersey and First Pennsylvania charging together ; 
 and before they had recovered from the alarm we 
 had a hundred and fifty prisoners. The rebels 
 were then forming upon the hill-side by the sta- 
 tion, and they had a battery playing upon us like 
 fun, Martin's New York battery, on our side, 
 galloped into position, and began to answer them. 
 Then Wyndham formed his whole brigade for a 
 charge, except a squadi-on of the First Maryland, 
 left to support the battery. Our boys went in 
 splendidly, keeping well together, and making 
 straight for the rebel battery on the hill behind 
 the station. Wyndham himself rode on the 
 right, and Broderick charged more towards the 
 left, and with a yell we were on them. We were 
 only two hundred and eighty strong, and in fi'ont 
 of us was White's battalion of five hundred. No 
 matter for that. Wyndham and Broderick were 
 leading, and they were not accustomed to count 
 odds. As we dashed fiercely into them, sabre in 
 hand, they broke like a wave on the bows of a 
 ship, and over and through them we rode, sabring 
 as we went. We could not stop to take prison- 
 ers, for there in front of us was the Twelfth Vir- 
 ginia, six hundred men, riding down to support 
 White. By Jove, sir, that was a charge ! 
 
 " They came up splendidly, looking steadier than 
 we did ourselves after the shock of the fu'st 
 charge. I do not know whether Wyndham was 
 still with us, or if he had gone to another regi- 
 ment ; but there Avas Broderick, looking full of 
 fight, his blue eyes in a blaze, and his sabre 
 clinched, riding well in front. At them we went 
 again, and some of them this time met us fairly. 
 I saw Broderick's sabre go through a man, and 
 the rebel gave a convulsive leap out of his sad- 
 dle, falling senseless to the ground. It seemed 
 but an instant before the rebels were scattered in 
 every direction, trying now and then to rally in 
 small parties, but never daring to await our ap- 
 proach. Now there were the guns plain before 
 us, the drivers yelling at their horses, and trying 
 to limber up. We caught one gun before they 
 could move it, and were dashing after the others, 
 when I heard Broderick shouting in a stormy 
 voice. I teU you, it was a startling sight. The 
 fragments of White's battalion had gathered to- 
 gether towards the left of the field, and were 
 charging in our rear. The First Maryland was 
 there, and Broderick was shouting at them, in 
 what their Colonel considered a 'very ungen- 
 tlemanly manner,' to move forward to the charge. 
 At the same time two fresh regiments, the Elev- 
 enth Virginia and another, were coming down on 
 our front. Instead of dashing at White's men, 
 the First Maryland wavered and broke, and then 
 we were charged at the same time front and rear. 
 We had to let the guns go, and gather together 
 as well as possible to cut om-selves out. Gallantly 
 our fellows met the attack. We were broken, of 
 course, by the mere weight of the attacking force ; 
 but, breaking them up too, the whole field was 
 covered with small squads of fighting men. I 
 saw Broderick ride in with a cheer and open a 
 way for the men. His horse went down in the 
 melee; but little Wood, the bugler of company 
 
454 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 G, sprang down and gave him his animal, setting 
 off himself to catch another. 
 
 " A rebel rode at the bugler, and succeeded in 
 getting a^vay his arms before help came. As 
 Wood still went after a horse another fellow rode 
 at him. The boy happened at that moment to see 
 a carbine where it had been dropped after firing. 
 He picked up the empty weapon, aimed it at the 
 horseman, made him dismount, give up his arms, 
 and start for the rear. Then he went in again. 
 Lucas, Hobensack, Brooks, and Beekman charged 
 with twelve men into White's battalion. Fight- 
 ing hand to hand, they cut their way through, but 
 left nine of the men on the ground behind them. 
 Hughes was left almost alone in a crowd, but 
 brought himself and the men with Irim safe 
 through. Major Shelmire was last seen lying 
 across the dead body of a rebel cavalryman. 
 None of us thought anything of two to one odds, 
 as long as we had a chance to ride at them. It 
 was only when we got so entangled that we had to 
 fight hand to hand that their numbers told heav- 
 ily. It was in such a place that I lost sight of 
 Broderick. The troop of horse that he was rid- 
 ing was not strong enough to ride through a knot 
 cf men, so that he had to fight them. He struck 
 one so heavily that he was stunned by the blow, 
 but his horse was still in the way ; swerving to 
 one side, he escaped a blow from another, and, 
 warding off the thrust of a third, managed to 
 take him with his point across the forehead. Just 
 as he did so, however, his sabre, getting tangled 
 with the rebel's, was jerked from his hand. Draw- 
 ing his pistol, he fired into the crowd, and put 
 spurs to his horse. The bullet hit a horse in front 
 cf him, which fell. His own charger rode at it, 
 but stumbled, and as it did Broderick himself fell, 
 from a shot fired Avithin arm's length of liim and 
 a sabre stroke upon his side. 
 
 " I saw all this as a man sees things at such 
 times, and am not positive even that it all oc- 
 curred as I thought I saw it ; for I was in the 
 midst of confusion, and only caught tilings 
 around by passing glimpses. You see I was my- 
 self having as much as I could do. The crowd 
 »vith whom Broderick was engaged was a little 
 distance from me ; and I had just wheeled to ride 
 up to his help when two fellows put at me. The 
 first one fired at me and missed. Before he could 
 again cock, his revolver I succeeded in closing with 
 him. My sabre took him just in the neck, and 
 must have cut the jugular. The blood gushed 
 cut in a black-looking stream ; he gave a horri- 
 ble yell and fell over the side of his horse, which 
 galloped away. Then I gathered up my reins, 
 spurred my horse, and went at the other one. I 
 was riding that old black horse that used to be- 
 long to the signal sergeant, and it was in fine con- 
 dition. As I drove in the spurs it gave a leap 
 high in the air. That plunge saved my life. The 
 rebel had a steady aim at me ; but the ball went 
 through the black horse's brain. His feet never 
 touched ground again. With a terrible convul- 
 sive contraction of all his muscles, the black 
 turned over in the air, and fell on his head and 
 side stone dead, pitching me twenty feet. I 
 
 alighted on my pistol, the butt forcing itself far 
 into my side ; my sabre sprung out of my hand, 
 and I lay with arms and legs all abroad, stretched 
 out like a dead man. Everybody had something 
 else to do than to attend to me, and there I lay 
 where I had fallen. 
 
 " It seemed to me to have been an age before 
 I began painfully to come to myself; but it could 
 not have been many minutes. Every nerve was 
 shaking ; there Avas a terrible pain in my head, 
 and a numbness in my side, Avhich was even Avorse. 
 Fightmg Avas still going on around me, and my 
 first impulse Avas to get hold of my SAVord. I 
 craAvled to it, and sank doAvn as I grasped it once 
 more. That Avas only for a moment, for a rebel 
 soldier, seeing me move, rode at me. The pres-' 
 ence of danger roused me, and I managed to get 
 to my horse, behind Avhich I sank, resting my pis- 
 tol on the saddle, and so contriving to get an aim. 
 As soon as the man saAV that, he turned off Avith- 
 out attacking me. I Avas uoav able to stand and 
 walk ; so, holding my pistol in one hand and my 
 sabre in the other, I made my Avay across the 
 fields to Avhere our battery Avas posted, scaring 
 some Avith my pistol and shooting others. Xo- 
 body managed to hit me through the Avhole fight. 
 When I got up to the battery I found Wood 
 there. He sang out to me to Avait and he Avould 
 get me a horse, n 
 
 " One of the men, who had just taken one, 
 was going past ; so Wood stopped him and got it 
 for me. Just at that moment White's battalion 
 and some other troops came charging at the bat- 
 tery. The squadron of the First Maryland, Avho 
 Avere supporting it, met the charge Avell as far as 
 their numbers Avent, but Avere,"of course, flanked 
 on both sides by the heavy odds. All of our men 
 Avho Avere free came SAvarming up the hill, and the 
 cavalry Avere fighting over and around the guns. 
 In spite of the confusion, and even Avhile their 
 comrades at the same piece Avere being sabred, 
 the men at that battery kept to their duty. They 
 did not even look up or around, but kept up 
 their fire Avith uuAvavering steadiness. There 
 was one rebel, on a splendid horse, who sabred 
 three gunners Avhile I Avas chasing him. He 
 Avhecled in and out — Avould dart aAvay and then 
 come SAveeping back and cut doAvn another man 
 in a manner that seemed almost supernatural. We 
 at last succeeded in driving him away, but we 
 could not catch or shoot him, and he got off Avith- 
 out a scratch. 
 
 " In the^mean time the fight Avas going on else- 
 Avhere. Kilpatrick's brigade charged on our 
 right. The Second Ncav York, did not behave as 
 Avell as it has sometimes done since, and the loss 
 of it Aveakened us a great deal. The Tenth Xcav 
 York, though, Avent in well, and the First Maine 
 did splendidly, -as it always does. In spite of 
 their superior numbers (Stuart had a day or tAvo 
 before reviewed thirty thousand cavalry at Cul- 
 pepper, according to the accounts of rebel offi- 
 cers) Ave beat them heavily, and avouUI have routed 
 them completely if Duifie's brigade had come 
 up. He, hoAvever, Avas engaged Avith two or 
 three hundred men on the left; the aid-de-camp 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 455 
 
 sent to him with orders was wounded and ta- 
 ken prisoner, and he is not the sort of man to 
 find out the critical. point in a fight of his own 
 accord. 
 
 " So now, they bringing up still more reserves, 
 and a whole division of theirs coming on the 
 field, we began to fall back. "We had used them 
 up so severely that they could not press us very 
 close, except in the neighborhood of where the 
 Second New York charged. There some of our 
 men had as much as they could do to get out, and 
 the battery had to leave three of its guns. We 
 formed in the woods between a quarter and half 
 a mile of the field ; another moved back to cover 
 the left of Buford, who Avas in retreat towards 
 Beverly Ford. Hart andWynkoop tried hard to 
 cover the guns that were lost ; but they had too 
 few men, and so had to leave them. The rebels 
 were tei-ribly punished. By their own confession 
 they lost three times as many as we did. In our 
 regiment almost every soldier must have settled 
 his man. Sergeant Craig, of company K, I be- 
 lieve, killed three. Slate, of the above com- 
 panj% also went above the average. But Ave lost 
 terribly. Sixty enlisted men of the First New 
 Jersey were killed, wounded, or missing. Col- 
 onel Wyndham was Avouuded, but kept his sad- 
 dle ; Lieutenant-Colonel Broderick and Major 
 Shelmire Avere killed ; Lieutenant Brooks was 
 wounded ; Captain SaAvyer and Lieutenant Crocker 
 were taken j^risoners ; and I, as you see, have had 
 to come in at last and refit." 
 
 THE C.WALRY CHAHGE. 
 
 liY EDMUND C. STEDMAN. 
 
 Oim good steeds snuiF the evening air, 
 Our pulses Avith their purpose tingle ; 
 The foeman's fires are tAvinkling there ; 
 He leaps to hear our sabres jingle ! 
 
 Halt! 
 Each carbine sent its Avhizzing ball : 
 NoAv, cling ! clang ! Forward, all, 
 Into the fight ! 
 
 Dash on beneath the smoking dome : 
 
 Through level lightnings gallop nearer ! 
 One look to Heaven ! No thovights of home 
 The guidons that Ave bear are dearer. 
 
 Charge ! 
 Cling ! clang ! Forward, all ! 
 Heaven help those Avhosc horses fall — 
 Cut left and right ! 
 
 They flee before our fierce attack ! 
 
 They fall ! they spread in broken surges. 
 NoAV, comrades, bear our Avounded back, 
 And leave the foeman to his dirges. 
 
 AVhcel ! 
 The bugles sound the swift recall : 
 Cling ! clang ! EackAvard, all ! 
 Home, and good-night ! 
 
 Fkeedoji of Speecu. — An editor of a West- 
 ern journal narrates the following: " At D 
 
 dwells a rabid secessionist, Ave are sorry to say, 
 
 for the honor of the town. This man, it seems, is 
 a person of substance, having considerable means 
 invested in Southern State stocks. He has a 
 dog ' Shep,' as intelligent and obedient as his 
 master is bigoted and dunder-headed. 'Tis some- 
 times said the master is only tolerated on the 
 dog's account, as the quadruped is much the 
 more respected of the tAvo. 
 
 " One day Mr. Secesh Avas holding forth on the 
 right of speech, the freedom of the press, and all 
 that kind of thing, averring that every man had a 
 right to say Avhat he pleased, where he pleased, 
 and Avhen he pleased, and no one had a right to 
 molest him or make him afraid. Just then a big 
 bull dog walked past the door. He Avas a tre- 
 mendously savage dog, the terror of all the 
 canines in toAvn, and able to clean out and chaw 
 up fourteen dozen such dogs as ' Shep.' A 
 young fellow, Avho had listened to the nian's stuff 
 long enough, determined to give him a practical 
 illustration of his oaa'u doctrine : so he sprang 
 toAvards the door, and pointing towards the big 
 dog, said, ' Lick him, Shep ! Seize him, Shep ! 
 Pitch into him, and lick him. Seize him, Shep ! ' 
 Obedient to the lightest command, the faithful 
 dog started as he Avas bidden, and but for his 
 master's interference Avould have been badly 
 torn. 
 
 " Full of wrath, he turned to the young man Avho 
 had incited his dog to fight the bull dog, and said, 
 ' What did you do that for, you rascal ? Set 
 Shep on to a dog that Avould tear him to pieces ? ' 
 
 " ' O, I was only exercising your freedom of 
 speech. It's nobody's business Avhat I say to any 
 dog.' The Avay the thing Avas done created an 
 immense laugh, and effectually dried up the rebel 
 gentleman. He hadn't a Avord to say." 
 
 CONSERVATIVE CHORUS. 
 
 Abraham, spare the South, 
 
 Touch not a single slave ; 
 Nor e'en by A\-ord of mouth 
 
 Disturb the thing, Ave craA^e. 
 'TAvas our forefathers' hand 
 
 That Slavery begot ; 
 There, Abraham, let it stand; 
 
 Thine acts shall harm it not. 
 
 Incidents of Belmont. — Major Bledsoe 
 Harmon, of the Confederate army, relates the fol- 
 loAving incidents of the battle at Belmont : 
 
 " During the battle many incidents occurred, 
 many acts of heroism Avere performed, that Avill he 
 told only Avhen the Avar shall have ended, and 
 AA-hen the patriot has returned to his home to en- 
 joy the fruits of the independence his valor has 
 helped to win. Then, beside the hearth-stone, 
 tales of chivalry and daring Avill be told, and 
 handed doAvn from father to son to the remotest 
 generations. 
 
 " Among the many acts of heroism told of those 
 engaged, is that of a mere youth, a little boy who 
 was attached to Tappan's Arkansas regiment, 
 and carried two mimic flags, one in each hand. 
 
456 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 The regiment was driven to the water's edge, and 
 the enemy poured in a terrific volley, killing 
 many of them, who fell into the river, and such as 
 were not instantly killed met a watery grave. 
 Among those struck was the little boy who bore 
 the flags. Giving one last hurrah, which was 
 cut short by the ebbing flood of his young life, he 
 waved the flags over his head, tottered into the 
 river, and was seen no more. The incident was 
 witnessed by a whole regiment that was crossing 
 the river at the time, and not one member of it 
 but shed a tear at the sight. 
 
 "When General Pillow's brigade first discovered 
 the enemy. Colonel Pickett's regiment was ordered 
 to charge. They commenced it at double-quick, 
 when they were met by a withering volley, which 
 prostrated about forty of the men. Of those 
 wounded was Lieutenant Jesse Tate, who was 
 struck in the knee, and fell. Colonel Pickett's 
 horse was shot in three different places, and 
 killed under him. Major J. C. Cole's horse was 
 shot dead. Lieutenant Hiram Tilman, although 
 a prominent mark and in the thickest of the 
 fight, encouraging on his men, escaped unhurt. 
 Colonel Pickett acted like a veteran. Cool and 
 undismayed, he saw his men fall beside him ; but 
 the carnage seemed to inspire him to greater 
 deeds. In fact, the utmost gallantry was dis- 
 played by all the field and commissioned oflacers 
 and men in the regiment. 
 
 " Perhaps the most unflinching determination 
 and courage upon the part of the men in Colonel 
 Pickett's regiment was displayed by Captain J. 
 D. Layton, of the Liberty Guards. Li the first 
 charge, M'hile standing in front of his men, who 
 were loading and firing as fast as possible, he re- 
 ceived a severe wound just beneath his left arm, 
 the ball lodging in his body. His sword fell from 
 his grasp, but he quickly recovered it, and, not- 
 withstanding the severity of his hurt, fought the 
 battle tlu'ough ; nor did he leave his men until he 
 saw that his wounded were properly cared for at 
 night. Such acts entitle a man to the name of 
 hero. 
 
 " The gallant conduct of Captain Frazier, also of 
 Pickett's regiment, is highly spoken of. We 
 must not omit Captain Dashiell, whose praises are 
 sounded by all. James B. Hatcher, a not very 
 old nor remarkably large young gentleman, who 
 was in the battle as an amateur fighter, succeeded 
 in 'surrounding' a Lincolnite twice- his size, and 
 disarmed him of his gun and knife, besides one 
 of the Roman sabres he had captured from one 
 of our men in Watson's battery. The last-named 
 weapon he carried home with him, but was not 
 permitted to take away the rest. 
 
 " Captain J. Welby Armstrong was struck full 
 in the breast by two six-pounder canister shots, 
 and of course death was instantaneous. 
 
 *' From Columbus the fight could be witnessed 
 with ease. As our men retked to the river for 
 ammunition, gallantly contesting every inch of 
 ground, the Federals in pursuit could be seen 
 bayoneting the wounded left upon the field. 
 Not only this, they set fire to the tents used as 
 hospitals, and many of the poor fellows confined 
 
 in them were consumed by the flames. These 
 acts of barbarity did not lessen the already 
 awakened vengeance of our men, and we hear it 
 stated that the most ample retaliation was 
 made." 
 
 A Belligerent Woman. — At Branchville, 
 S. C, in the days when the Confederate rule was 
 strictest, a lady presented herself at the platform 
 of a passenger car going to Charleston, where a 
 guard with fixed bayonet was standing, and de- 
 sired to enter. 
 
 The guard told her it was contrary to orders, 
 and raised his piece in a position that indicated 
 clearly that he meant to obey instructions. She 
 ordered him to lower his musket. He refused. 
 
 She then drew a revolver, and pointing it at 
 him, threatened to shoot if he did not let her 
 pass. With some surprise he demanded : " Are 
 you a man in woman's clothes ? " " No," was the 
 reply, " I am a woman." " Then come in," said 
 the sentinel, " for hang me if I fight a woman, or 
 be killed by one. You can't be classed Avith non- 
 combatants, and they are the only persons I am 
 ordered to keep out of this car." So she was 
 classed as a " beUigerent power," and allowed to 
 pass. 
 
 The March to Nashville. — A soldier- 
 writer, on the march to Nashville, in the autumn 
 of 1862, narrates the following : " I engaged in a 
 pleasant two hours' chat with General Rousseau, 
 and found him 'an agreeable and entertaining 
 conversationist. There is no compromise in him, 
 except in the Union. He holds that a rebel has 
 no rights under our Constitution. Eight or ten 
 of the gentry called on him near Mitchellville, 
 and commenced using treasonable language. The 
 General peremptorily ordered them to cease, as 
 he had heard all he wanted of such talk. 
 
 " * Well, but. General, I understand you are a 
 Kentuckian ; you don't go in for any abolition 
 document like Lincoln has just issued, do you ? ' 
 
 " ' No matter, sir, what I like ; you have no 
 right to complain.' 
 
 " ' Why, you don't approve of their stealing 
 our negroes, do you ? ' 
 
 " ' I approve, sir, of anything my Government 
 does to put down the rebellion ; and anything 
 you love I hate.' 
 
 " ' Well, why don't you take our houses and 
 lands ? ' 
 
 " ' Wei], sir, if we wanted them, I go in for 
 that, too ; take everything you have, and drive 
 you to the dominions of Jeff" Davis, whom you 
 love so much ; and, so far as lies in my power, I 
 will di-ive every one of you beyond our lines, ac- 
 cording to- all rules of war, where you cannot do 
 us injury as spies. Yes, sir, I would send you all 
 to Jeff" Davis, or hell.' 
 
 " Soon after the above, a tattered specimen of 
 gawky ignorance entered the General's tent. 
 
 " ' Well, su-,' said the General, 'what will you 
 have ? ' 
 
 " ' I kern over here for pertection.' 
 
 " ' Are you a Union man ? However,' contin- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 457 
 
 ued he, * you are all Union men now ; it is 
 scarcely worth asking the question.' 
 
 " * Well, General,' said the Tennesseean, ' I'm 
 not an aberlitionist ; I don't go in for — ' 
 
 " ' O, go to my Adjutant, Captain Pohi'man. 
 I'm tired of such evasions. If you deserve pro- 
 tection, you shall have it ; if not, you must ac- 
 cept the consequences of the calamity you have 
 aided in bringing upon your own head.' 
 
 " I heard a good story told of a joke played 
 off by a secession wag, a short time since, upon 
 General Negley. A whiskey-drinking, facetious 
 joker, residing in the town of Gooletsville, a 
 strong secesh hole, in which there never was but 
 one Union man, and he died. Well, this wag 
 wagered a gallon of whiskey that he could go 
 into Nashville, and go all over the city, notwith- 
 standing the strictness of General Negley's or- 
 ders ; further, that he would see Negley person- 
 ally, and talk with him. The bet was taken, and 
 this fellow, whose name is Paul, well known 
 in Nashville as a violent secessionist, the next 
 day took a flag of truce, rode into the city, saw 
 crowds of his friends, rode up to the headquar- 
 ters of General Negley, and demanded the sur- 
 render of the city, stating that he was Assistant 
 Adjutant Paul, and that there was an immense 
 quantity of troops ready to enforce the demand. 
 General Negley refused to entertain the thought 
 of a surrender, and Paul returned to Goolets- 
 ville, having icon Jiis bet. 
 
 " General Negley found it out when too late. 
 It wouldn't do to try that game again in Nash- 
 ville." 
 
 Anecdote of President Lincoln. — Some 
 one was smoking in the presence of the President, 
 and complimented him on having no vices, neither 
 drinking nor smoking. " That is a doubtful com- 
 pliment," answered the President. " I recollect 
 once being outside a stage in Illinois, and a man 
 sitting by me offered me a cigar. I told him I 
 had no vices. He said nothing, smoked for some 
 time, and then grunted out, " It's my experience 
 that folks who have no vices have plaguy few 
 virtues." 
 
 A Soldier's Last Letter. — John Moseley, 
 a youth who fell at Gettysburg on the Southern 
 side, wrote the following touching but manly let- 
 ter, from his death-bed, to his parents in Ala- 
 bama: 
 
 "Battle-Field, GETTYSBuno, July 4, 1803. 
 
 " Dear Mother : I am here a prisoner of 
 war, and mortally wounded. I can live but 
 a few hours, at farthest. I was shot fifty yards 
 from the enemy's line. They have been exceed- 
 ingly kind to me. I have no doubt as to the final 
 result of this battle, and I hope I may live long 
 enough to hear the shouts of victory before I 
 die. I am very weak. Do not mourn my loss. 
 I had hoped to have been spared ; but a righteous 
 God has ordered it otherwise, and I feel prepared 
 to trust my case in his hands. Farewell to you 
 all! Pray that God may receive my soul. 
 
 " Your unfortunate son, John." 
 
 An Incident of Antietam. — One of the cor- 
 respondents who was with the division of Gen- 
 eral Sturgis at the battle of Antietam gives the 
 following account of the part taken by that di- 
 vision in the contest : 
 
 " Our division, under General Sturgis, were on 
 the extreme left, and were not placed in line until 
 about five o'clock P. M., when a double-quick 
 movement took place, and the whole division 
 started like Bengal tigers let loose for prey. 
 They ran through a galling fire of shot and shell 
 until they were within reach of the enemy's 
 musketry, when a heavy fire opened on us, which 
 General Nagle (commanding our brigade) saw at 
 once would decimate the brigade, and so the 
 order came to charge bayonets. Promptly the 
 glistening steel was placed in position ; and here 
 one of the most brilliant bayonet charges took 
 place that has been seen during the war. The 
 brigade had to charge up hill, over stone walls 
 and other obstructions, and met the enemy at 
 great disadvantage. The Massachusetts Thirty- 
 fifth regiment was put in order of battle, and did 
 great execution at the fii'st onset. In General 
 Nagle's brigade and Sturgis' division was also 
 the Ninth regiment New Hampshire volunteers, 
 Colonel Fellows, one of the most experienced 
 Colonels in the army. It was a handsome sight 
 to see him put his regiment into action. When 
 the clear, sonorous order came from Colonel Fel- 
 lows, * Charge bayonets ! ' every eye gleamed in 
 the * Bloody Ninth,' as the brigade now call the 
 regiment. Every man threw away his knapsack, 
 blanket, and haversack, and leaped over a stone 
 wall six feet high with a yell that fairly sent terror 
 through the rebel ranks opposite. With eyes 
 gleaming with joy and determination, and every 
 bayonet fixed, they charged up the hill and 
 through the cornfield at double-quick M'ith a yell 
 of perfect triumph. Colonel Fellows and Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Titus astonished the old veterans 
 in the service by the manner in which they 
 brought the Ninth New Hampshire volunteers 
 into the action. It was a grand and magnificent 
 sight, and one seldom seen in battle. The rebels 
 fled before them, and every rebel regiment broke 
 and ran. General Keno fell beside the Ninth 
 New Hampshire volunteers and the Thirty-fifth 
 Massachusetts about dark, just in the moment 
 of victory." 
 
 An Impressive Scene. — A most interesting 
 and eloquent episode occurred at Trinity Church, 
 Wasliington, in May, 1861. The rector, Rev. Dr. 
 Butler, began his sermon with the remark that 
 the discourse he was about to deliver was preached 
 by himself here twelve years ago, and he should 
 repeat it verbatim. It was a lucid and efi"ective ar- 
 gument to prove that the popular idea of govern- 
 ment among us is held in a too loose and secular 
 estimation ; while the fact is, that, however care- 
 lessly we may regard it, as merely a contract with 
 ministerial agents, and however inadequate our 
 respect for law and constituted authorities, it is a 
 divine institution. 
 
 The peroration was powerful. Said the rever- 
 
458 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 end gentleman : " Twelve years ago, after I had 
 finished this course, I met the lamented Daniel 
 Webster just outside the church. He said to me, 
 ' Sir, you are right ; it is the true doctrine.' In 
 this view, my brethren, I see in the awakened 
 strength of the Government the glittering sword 
 of almighty vengeance susjjended over its ene- 
 mies. In this view alone do I descry the only 
 hope for my glorious, my beloved country ; " and, 
 at these words, the tears streaming down the 
 preacher's face, in a voice choked with inexpres- 
 sible emotion, he raised his eyes towards Heaven, 
 and, hesitating to receive utterance, he concluded, 
 in faltering, though articulate, tones, " Esto per- 
 petua." The efl'cct was electrical ; all eyes were 
 suffused with tears, and the quiet of the sanctuary 
 was broken dnly by sobs and weeping. 
 
 Incidents of Beaufoet. — A soldier, who was 
 present at the capture of Beaufort, South Caro- 
 lina, relates the following : 
 
 " A black fellow was reported to our Colonel, 
 and taken to general headquarters. He was very 
 communicative. ' Massa,' he inquired, ' is Abe 
 Lincoln here ? ' He seemed at fault when in- 
 formed he had not come. It seems he was pres- 
 ent during the bombardment, and nearer than he 
 liked to be. ' What did it look like ? ' asked Col- 
 onel L. ' It looked as if de fire and brimstone 
 was comin' down, and de yearth was agwine up.' 
 The sand that fiew as every discharge came down 
 filled the description ])erfectly. 
 
 " One of these negroes reports that when Major 
 Lee, the Confederate commander, finished the 
 fort, he said, profanely, ' The devil couldn't take 
 it — God Almighty himself couldn't take it.' On 
 the day of the battle, when his black body servant 
 got out his horse for him, and saw him mounted, 
 and they both ran together for their lives to get 
 out of range of the merciless storm of shot and 
 shell falHng around them, the negro said, ' O mas- 
 sa, God Almighty come, and de Yankees come 
 wid him,' — seeming to imply that such a union 
 of forces had not been contemplated when his 
 master had concluded upon the impregnability of 
 his fortifications." 
 
 A Brave Woman. — INIrs. John F. Phelps is 
 the wife of the Colonel of a loyal Missouri regi- 
 ment, and resided at a point about one mile and 
 a half from Springfield. On the afternoon after 
 the battle of Wilson's Creek, it was noised that 
 the rebels had determined to cut out the heart of 
 General Lyon, and preserve it as a trophy over 
 the United States army. Mrs. Phelps, learning 
 of this outrage on the slain General, armed her- 
 self, as she was accustomed to do for some time, 
 in order to preserve licr life and the lives of her 
 family from the murderous assaults of the se- 
 cessionists. Thus armed, she drove to Price's 
 camp by nightfall, and there, all alone, guarded 
 the body of General Lyon. When ordered by 
 the rebels to give up the body, she positively re- 
 fused, and declared they must cut out her heart 
 
 before they could get the heart of the General. 
 There, all alone, she stood guard during the whole 
 night, with her arms in readiness to defend her 
 charge, regardless of her own life, — thus fear- 
 lessly passing the dreary night amidst the associ- 
 ations of the dead, the wounded, and the blood- 
 thirsty men who were awaiting an opportunity to 
 obtain the coveted heart of the noble Lyon. 
 
 After daylight, having made arrangements in 
 reference to her precious charge, she repaired to 
 her home, and sent a colored servant with a wagon 
 and two horses to bring the remains of General 
 Lyon to her residence, in order to burial in her 
 garden or on her farm, with all the respect in 
 her power towards the commander of the Icyal 
 army. But as the wagon had not returned in due 
 time, she drove again to Price's camp, found 
 her wagon had been seized for the use of the 
 rebel army, and her servant confined in it and 
 gagged. As the horses had been unhitched from 
 the wagon, with her own hands she again hitched 
 them. When resistance was again offered to her 
 course she fearlessly declared she would deal 
 death with her revolver to any one who molested 
 her. About the time she had released the ser- 
 vant, and got her precious treasure in the wagon, 
 resistance was again threatened. She then pressed 
 her way to the presence of General Price, who, 
 at her pressing instance, ordered her to have the 
 body of the slain General, without further inter- 
 ruption. 
 
 Having thus obtained her cherished object, 
 more dear to her than life, she accompanied it to 
 her residence, and there interred it in the best 
 manner she could. And all this v;as done in the 
 absence of her loyal husband, who, in consequence 
 of his duties as Colonel, could not be present to 
 accompany his noble wife in performing this work 
 of loyalty and humanity. 
 
 A Contraband's Description. — A letter 
 from a soldier at Newport News relates the fol- 
 lowing incident, giving a slave woraan'3 account 
 of the capture of the rebel batteries on General 
 McCleilan's advance upon Yorktown : '• The at- 
 tack on the batteries cannot be better described 
 than in the words of an old contraband whom I 
 fell in with, Avhile on a scout to Young's IMills, 
 the day after its capture. She was secesh, and 
 took us to belong to the same race. On asking 
 her if there was much fighting at tlie battery, she 
 replied : ' Why, lordy, you won't blebe me, massa, 
 but de Yankee he fu-e jes one round, den com- 
 mence hollering like de debbel, and frew rite ober 
 de breastworks ; but dey couldn't lietch our folks 
 (secesh), dey run so fast.' The nii^ger explained 
 in thirty-seven words what a * special correspond- 
 ent' would have found impossible, probably, in 
 half a column." 
 
 Secession Catechised. — Colonel Tom Ford, 
 of the Thirty-second Ohio regiment, while at New 
 Creek, Virginia, in June, 1862, cj.gaged in conver- 
 sation with an old resident, who had taken a seat 
 on the bench beside him. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 459 
 
 " Have you lived long about here ? " iuquired 
 the Colonel. 
 
 " Yes," said the old man, " I have lived in this 
 (Hampshire) county all my life." 
 
 " I suppose, then," said the Colonel, " you know 
 all about how secession commenced here, .who 
 commenced it, and how it has been carried on." 
 
 " Yes," again said the old man, " and I will tell 
 you how I tried to expose it at the start to the 
 people. My opinion did not pass for much 
 at the time, as I owned no big farm nor any 
 niggers, but I think it would pass for something 
 now." 
 
 " Well, how was it? " inquired the Colonel. 
 
 " Colonel Parsons Avas one of the main getters 
 up of it. He advertised to make a speech over 
 in Romney, after the ordinance jsassed, and I and 
 several of my neighbors went over to hear him 
 speak. Just as he was about to commence, I took 
 the liberty, as I was an old acquaintance of the 
 Colonel's, to ask him a question. So I said : ' Col- 
 onel Parsons, we have come over here to-night to 
 hear you make your speech in favor of secession ; 
 and before you begin, I want you to tell me and 
 my friends here one thing.' ' What is it ? ' said 
 the Colonel. ' Why, I want you to make a speech 
 to-night, without ever mentioning the nigger once. 
 Me and my friends, who own no niggers, want to 
 know why we should be secessionists. Will you 
 please tell us. Colonel, why men who own no nig- 
 gers should be secessionists ? ' 
 
 " Well, what did Colonel Parsons say?" asked 
 Colonel Ford of the old man. 
 
 "Why, he came the nearest to saying noth- 
 ing that ever I saw," said the old man. " At 
 last he said that he wouldn't speak on such 
 terms ; that he was going to speak on the whole 
 subject." 
 
 " Well, what did you say then ? " asked Colonel 
 Ford. 
 
 " I said," continued the old man, " ' Now, Col- 
 onel Parsons, you know that aside from the nig- 
 ger there is nothing in this secession; and you 
 ought to know that all the slaves that now live in 
 the country, live in the slave States, and that you 
 will not increase their number a single one by se- 
 cession, but on the contrary that you will bring 
 about the escape of hundreds of them, before 
 you get through with the job you are under- 
 taking ! ' " 
 
 " Well, how did Colonel Parsons take your 
 talk ? " asked Colonel Ford. 
 
 " Why," said he, " he got mad, like all the se- 
 cessionists did in those days, when Union men 
 opposed them — told me 1 was an aboHtionist, 
 and that the South was going to have her rights. 
 And now, hasn't it come out as I told Colonel 
 Parsons ? '" asked the old man. " Hasn't the South 
 lost more niggers since this war commenced than 
 she ever lest in the whole time before ? and isn't 
 she in a fair way to lose them all ? And here," 
 said he, " we jieople who have always lived by our 
 own work have had to bear the ruin that these 
 pride-swelled nigger aristocrats have brought upon 
 us. I have had to bear it, and my Union friends 
 M'ho were with me that nisht have had to bear it. 
 
 And all for what ? AVhy, because these nigger- 
 owners wanted to break up a government in which 
 people like me, who owned no niggers, and had to 
 work for a living, were on an equality with them. 
 I tell you," continued the old man, " I owe 
 them nothing but curses and war, and they are 
 getting plenty of the first now, from hundreds of 
 their miserable dupes around here, and plenty of 
 the other from the Federal Government." 
 
 Colonel Ford, getting up and taking the old 
 man by the hand, said that he had to acknowledge 
 that much as he had heard against secession, he 
 had never heard it as completely and strongly ex- 
 pressed in so few words before. 
 
 Picket Conveksation. — In the summer of 
 1862, the national pickets at the Mechanicsville 
 Bridge, Virginia, had a conversation with the rebel 
 pickets, and under a newspaper flag of truce, ex- 
 changed the Baltimore Clipper for the Richmond 
 Examiner. The colloquy was substantially as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 Eebel. (Waving his hat.) Three cheers for 
 General Jackson ! 
 
 Union Soldier. (Also waving his hat.) Tln-ee 
 cheers for Burnside ! 
 
 [It had been ascertained that the rebels were 
 North Carolinians.] 
 
 Behel. Have you any Baltimore Clippers? 
 
 Union. Ye-as ; do you wish to swap ? 
 
 Rebel. How'll yer trade fur the Examiner ? 
 
 Union. Even, and you do the toting. 
 
 Eebel. Come over yer, all on yer ! 
 
 Union. I'll come half way. 
 
 [Meanwhile both parties had dropped their 
 guns, and with papers waving, passed down to 
 the bridge.] 
 
 Union. How do you like soldiering? 
 
 Rebel. We've enHsted for life. 
 
 Union. Then you don't expect to live long ? 
 
 Rebel. You whipped us at Hanover, but yer 
 wouldn't if O'Brien Branch wasn't drunk. We 
 give you just the best flogging yer ever had tha' 
 at Fair Oaks. Tuk one hundred yer guns, all yer 
 amnition, and everything, and two thousand pris- 
 oners. 
 
 Union. And we drove you back to Paclnnond, 
 and had to bury your dead. We whipped you 
 awfully. 
 
 Rebel. And General McClellan v.as wounded, 
 and two of yer Generals killed. Yer all going 
 back to Yorktown, ain't yer ? We are coming 
 over your side to-morrow. 
 
 Union. How many troops you got over there ? 
 
 Rebel. Fifty thousand right yerabouts ! 
 
 Union. How many had you at Fair Oaks ? 
 
 Rebel. Yer had near two hundred thousand, 
 and we but sixty thousand, but M'c whipped yer. 
 
 The Unionist was less communicative than iir- 
 qmsitive, but thinking it hardly proper to con- 
 tinue the conversation, bade the rebel good day, 
 and retraced his steps. But the rebel still kept his 
 place, notwithstanding he M'as requested to face 
 back, until a bullet and a flash, and quick report, 
 suddenly hastened his steps. 
 
460 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 BROTHER JONATHAN'S LAMENT FOR 
 SISTER CAROLINE.* 
 
 BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 
 
 She has gone, — she has left us in passion and 
 
 pride, — 
 Our stormy-browed sister, so long at our side ! 
 She has torn her own star from our firmament's 
 
 glow. 
 And turned on her brother the face of a foe ! 
 
 O Caroline, Caroline, child of the sun, 
 
 We can never forget that our hearts have been 
 
 one, — 
 Our foreheads both sprinkled in Liberty's name, 
 From the foimtain of blood with the finger of flame ! 
 
 You were always too ready to fire at a touch ; 
 
 But we said, " She is hasty, — she does not mean 
 much." 
 
 We have scowled when you uttered some turbulent 
 threat ; 
 
 But Friendship still whispered, "Forgive and for- 
 get ! " 
 
 Has our love all died out ? Have its altars grown 
 cold? 
 
 Has the curse come at last which the fathers fore- 
 told? 
 
 Then Nature must teach us the strength of the chain 
 
 That her petulant children would sever in vain. 
 
 They may fight till the buzzards are gorged with 
 
 their spoil, 
 Till the harvest grows black as it rots in the soil, 
 Till the wolves and the catamounts troop from their 
 
 caves, 
 And the shark tracks the pirate, the lord of the 
 
 waves. 
 
 In vain is the strife ! When its fury is past, 
 Their fortimes must flow in one channel at last, 
 As the torrents that rush from the mountains of 
 
 snow 
 Roll mingled in peace through the valleys below. 
 
 Our Union is river, lake, ocean, and sky : 
 
 Man breaks not the medal when God cuts the die ! 
 
 Though darkened with sulphur, though cloven with 
 
 steel. 
 The blue arch will brighten, the waters will heal ! 
 
 O Caroline, Caroline, child of the sun, 
 There are battles with Fate that can never be won ! 
 The star-flowering banner must never be furled, 
 For its blossoms of light are the hope of the world ! 
 
 Go, then, our rash sister ! afar and aloof, — 
 Run wild in the sunshine, away fi-om our roof; 
 But when j'our heart aches and your feet have 
 
 grown sore, 
 Remember the pathway that leads to our door ! 
 
 Hekoism of a Boy. — The following very in- 
 teresting incident is related in connection with 
 the attack by the United States gunboat Galena 
 
 * Written upon the announcement of the passage 
 of the " Ordinance of Secession," on the 20th of De- 
 cember, 18G0, by the Convention of South Carolina, 
 the first State which attempted to secede. 
 
 upon Fort Darling : A youth, about thirteen j-ears 
 old, who was in the service of Lieutenant Nau- 
 man, as a messenger boy, seeing one of the pow- 
 der boys wounded, immediately volunteered to 
 take his place. The services of the young vol- 
 unteer were accepted, and he set to work with a 
 spirit to fill his new position, rendering great as- 
 sistance to the officers and crew. The poor little 
 fellow's career of glory was destined to be short- 
 lived. Only a few hours later, while engaged in 
 carrying a quantity of powder, a shell came tear- 
 ing along, burst right over the boy, and killei 
 him in an instant. The poor little fellow's suffer- 
 ings were soon over ; but the sight was too much 
 for many of the rough Jack Tars, down whose 
 bronzed cheeks the big tears rolled in abundance. 
 The boy's name was James Weber. 
 
 Colonel Riker, of the Anderson Zouaves, 
 was killed at the battle of Fair Oaks. He was 
 shot in the right side, while turning around to 
 cheer on his men, the ball coming out in front. 
 Riker rode upon a white horse, and was a prom- 
 inent figure for the enemy's marksmen. He had, 
 previous to going into action, a presentiment that 
 he was to meet his death. He gave to Lieutenant 
 Bradley, his aid, some tokens of love for the 
 friends at home, and went bravely into the fight. 
 When the fatal shot was fired, he had just turned 
 around to the Zouaves, who were hemmed in, and 
 cried out, " Boys, we are sun-ounded — give them 
 cold steel now." Suddenly dropping from his 
 horse, the gallant spirit had fled foi-ever. 
 
 An Incident op Mobile. — A letter writer re- 
 lates the following recollections of the wounded at 
 Mobile : " They all bore their* sufl'erings with the 
 most unexampled heroism. One, a Captain from 
 Wisconsin, shot through the back so that he could 
 not be turned, and scarcely taken up on his bed, 
 breathed only as he could catch a breath, while 
 an attendant fanned him. I awoke during the 
 night, and found the attendant, Aveary, had fallen 
 asleep. I took the fan and sat by him. ' Thank 
 you, you are kind ; it is so hot ; ' and he looked 
 up, so heroic in his agony, and not one word of 
 complaint. Arrived at New Orleans, where he 
 could and would have been carefully and kindly 
 cared for, he died, and his last words were : ' Tell 
 the boys not to shrink, not to flinch. Fight on 
 — it will soon be over.' Poor fellow ; young and 
 brave, it is too soon over with thee ! 
 
 " Another. Passing along through the cabin, 
 the wounded stretched on each side of me, on mat- 
 tresses ranged in rows on the floor, I saw — will 
 you believe it ? — one man who had had his leg 
 amputated but three days before, braced up 
 with pillows and playing a violin, while a com- 
 rade, with one of his arms shot off, was playing 
 the castanets with the other. There's pluck for 
 you." 
 
 A Catholic Priest's War Speech. — The 
 Sunday after President Lincoln's proclamation 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 461 
 
 calling for seventy-five thousand troops, Father 
 Creedon, the priest of the Catholic Church at 
 Auburn, New York, preached a war sermon, as 
 did other clergymen in Auburn. The other ser- 
 mons were said to be up to the times, but Father 
 Creedon's was conceded to be the most pertinent. 
 He said, substantially : 
 
 " I wish every man who can leave his family to 
 enlist. This is the first country the Irishman ever 
 had that he could call his own country. The flag 
 of the Stars and Stripes is the only flag he can 
 fight under and defend as his own flag. Now, 
 in the time of the nation's peril, let every Irish- 
 man show that he is worthy to be part of this 
 great and glorious nation. Now, when the Amer- 
 ican flag is bombarded and struck down by trai- 
 tors, let every Irishman show that he is true to 
 the flag which always protects him. I wish every 
 Irishman Avho hears me to enlist if he can. There 
 are two classes whom I most despise — cowards 
 and traitors ; and those who can enlist, and do 
 not, are either one or the other." 
 
 The Charge at Antietam Bridge. — There 
 have been many deeds of heroism recounted of 
 the troops engaged in the battle of Antietam ; 
 but those of the Second Maryland infantry have 
 been overlooked, though equal to any achieved 
 by theu' fathers in the Revolution. 
 
 The Second Maryland was the heroic regi- 
 ment of that bloody field, so prolific in heroes. 
 It belonged to the corps of the gallant Burnside, 
 had been with them at Newbern, and now the 
 duty of storming the Ute du pont, at Antietam 
 Creek, had devolved upon it ; and never did vet- 
 erans move forward with steadier step to a more 
 perilous enterprise, or one in which the chances of 
 surviving it were so fearfully few. All the bluster, 
 bravado, and recklessness, supposed to be the 
 distinguishing characteristics of Venfant ]yerdu 
 of Baltimore had given place to a sober and sol- 
 emn gravity, in keei)ing with the awful struggle 
 that was impending. There was no noise, no 
 cheering in the ranks ; but, on the other hand, 
 there was no wavering or faltering, as they moved 
 sternly and silently forward into the conflict. The 
 measured and heavy tread of the battalion, fall- 
 ing in dull cadence on the ear, was the only 
 sound audible as it entered the head of the bridge. 
 Suddenly the enemy's cannon opened at short 
 range, pouring upon it a tempest of round shot 
 and shell, sweeping away whole files, and plough- 
 ing bloody furrows through the ranks. But it 
 faltered not. At the sharp, short order of the 
 officers, " Close up, boys," the bloody gaps were 
 filled, and the heroic battalion pressed on. Stan- 
 dard-bearer after standard-bearer went down be- 
 fore the iron hurricane ; hut scarcely was he down 
 when the standard, wrenched from his dying grasp, 
 was borne aloft by his nearest comrade in the 
 strife. 
 
 The way over the bridge was filled with 
 corpses. Most of the officers had fallen. Cap- 
 tain Wilson, of a family that had sent five broth- 
 ers to the war, for the moment commanding the 
 
 regiment, had gone down, pierced through the 
 middle of his forehead by a minie ball. Captain 
 Martin, succeeding him, fell mortally wounded ; 
 but there was no check, no faltering or sign of 
 confusion or hesitation. With their heads bent, 
 their shoulders a little forward, at the charge 
 step, they moved steadily on, until the bridge 
 was cleared, and the way opened to the regiments 
 in the rear. It was only when the bridge was 
 won, and room obtained to deploy the column, 
 that the old, lusty Maryland cheer which more 
 than eighty years before had been heard at Bran- 
 dywine, at Guilford and Eutaw, rang out on the 
 sulphureous air of that dread September day, 
 attesting that those who sent it were the legiti- 
 mate sons of sires who had fought for freedom, 
 and won immortal fame under Howard and Wil- 
 liams. They are no more forever the despised 
 " Plug Uglies " of Baltimore, but a *' new Mary- 
 land line," indomitable as the " old," baptized 
 anew in fire and blood, which has washed away 
 all former transgressions. 
 
 A great thing had been done by these daring 
 men — a second bridge of Lodi had been carried ; 
 but no Napoleon was there to take advantage of 
 the brave and glorious deed. It will, neverthe- 
 less, live in history as a deed of pride and glory, 
 achieved by the soldiers of noble old Maryland, 
 in a war to put down treason, in which every art 
 had been used by the traitors to induce her to 
 take a part. 
 
 War Spirit of a Soldier. — It was imme- 
 diately after the battle of the Hatchie. The dead 
 in that terrible conflict had been laid beneath the 
 mould, while the wounded had been brought to the 
 church-building, or placed in the spacious apart- 
 ments of wealthy disloyalists of Bolivar. Among 
 the number of unfortunates was William C. Now- 
 lon, a Sergeant in company G, of the Third Iowa 
 infantry. His leg has been so badly shattered 
 and torn by a musket shot as to render an ampu- 
 tation unavoidable. He was informed of such a 
 necessity ; but not a murmur or word of com- 
 plaint escaped his lips ; nor did the intelligence 
 seem to cast over his face the least perceptible 
 shade of seriousness. The table was prepared — 
 the instruments were placed conveniently, and 
 everything was put in readiness for the opera- 
 tion. He was brought out upon the veranda, 
 and placed upon the table — his poor, shattered, 
 torn, and half fleshless leg dangling around as if 
 only an extraneous and senseless appendage. 
 There was no sighing, no flinching, no drawing 
 back or holding in. There was not a simple feel- 
 ing of dumb resignation, nor yet of brute indif- 
 ference, but a soldierly submission — an heroic 
 submission, without a question or a si^h. He in- 
 dulged freely in conversation respecting the op- 
 eration, until the chloroform was applied. From 
 the waking and rational state he glided into the 
 anaesthetic without the convulsive motion of a 
 single muscle, and without the utterance of a 
 single incoherent sentence, but glided into it as 
 the innocent and weary child glides into the sweet 
 embrace of a healthful and restoring sleep. The 
 
462 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 operation was perfoi-med ; the arteries all liga- 
 tured, the stump cleansed, and the last suture 
 just in that instant applied. During the entire 
 operation he had scarcely moved a muscle. 
 Just at this time the large body of prisoners taken 
 in the engagement were marched up the street, 
 and were neariug the house where the maimed 
 and bleeding soldier lay. The streets were all 
 thronged by soldiery, and hundreds of them 
 rushed to get a near sight of the vanquished, 
 while they i-ent the heavens with their loud huz- 
 zas. A full regiment preceded the column of 
 prisoners ; and when just opposite, the band 
 struck up in force the inspiring air of " Hail Co- 
 lumbia." In a moment, u])on the very instant, 
 the color mounted to his face ! He opened his 
 eyes half wonderingly, and raised his head from 
 , the pillow with the steadiness and dignity of a 
 god! The scenes of the conflict came back to 
 him, and he thought that his noble regiment Avas 
 again breasting towards the enemy through a 
 shower of shot and shell. His brave comrades, 
 he deemed. Mere falling one by one around him, 
 just as tliey had done in that dreadful hour of 
 fratricide and carnage. The spirit of the time 
 came over him, and his features assumed an air 
 of bold, fierce, fiery, and unyielding determina- 
 tion, and he broke forth into exclamations the 
 most terrible and appalling I had ever listened to 
 in all my life. 
 
 " Louder with the music ! louder ! louder ! 
 louder ! Burst the heavens with your strains ! 
 Sweeter ! softer ! sweeter ! Charm the blessed 
 angels from the very courts of heaven ! Victory ! 
 victory ! Onward ! onward ! No flagging ! no 
 flinching ! No faltermg ! Fill up ! fill up ! Step 
 forward! press forward! Your comrades' graves! 
 The fresh graves of your slain ! Remember the 
 graves of your comrades ! Blue Mills ! Blue 
 Mills! Shelbina! Shelbina! Hager Wood! 
 Sliiloh ! Shiloh ! For God's sake, onward ! On- 
 ward, in heaven's name ! onward ! onward ! on- 
 ward ! See the devils waver! See them run! 
 See ! see ! see them fly ! fly ! fly ! " 
 
 During the outburst of passion, his countenance 
 kindled and grew purple, till his look seemed 
 that of diabolism ! Such a furj' marked his linea- 
 ments that I instinctively drew back. But there 
 was " method In his madness." He only erred 
 in mistaking time, and in misplacing himself, and 
 in misplacing his position ; facts which the martial 
 music and the •' pomp and circumstance of war," 
 in the public streets, would have a natural ten- 
 dency towards producing. In the very middle 
 of his fury he seemed suddenly to comprehend 
 his mistake. He ceased abruptly, his whole 
 frame in a tremor of emotion. He looked around 
 upon the faces i)rescnt, and without a word, qui- 
 etly laid dov/n his head. He grew meditative as 
 he seemed to realize a full sense of his imhappy 
 situation. At length his eyes gradually filled with 
 tears, and hi.s lips grew slightly tremulous. He 
 quietly remarked, " Well, boys, good ])y, good by ; 
 I should do but sorry fighting on a wooden leg." 
 He again relapsed into silence, and was shortly 
 afterwards carried away to his room. 
 
 Heroism of the Maine Seventh. — At the 
 battle of Antietam, Captain J. AV. Walcott, of the 
 First Maryland regiment, was stationed on a 
 ridge near the bridge over the river. In front of 
 him some hundred yards rose another ridge, 
 along which ran a stone wall parallel with his po- 
 sition. His pieces were trained obliquely, firing 
 at objects ofl" one side from the last-named ridge. 
 Meantime the enemy's sharpshooters crept up to 
 the stone wall and opened fire on his gunners ; 
 in a very few minutes one of his pieces was be- 
 reft of all his men, and the regularity of the ser- 
 vice of the others much impeded. Still he held 
 his ground with the obstinacy that characterized 
 all our troops on that eventful day. 
 
 Just then, when he Avas thinking on the neces- 
 sity for changing his line of fire, he saAV a battal- 
 ion of some two hundred men, bearing regimental 
 colors and the Stars and Stripes, moving laterally 
 along the hollow intervening between him and 
 the foe. 
 
 They deployed rapidly, and went up the oppo- 
 site hill, towards the stone wall, at a charge, with 
 wild hurrahs. Suddenly the stone wall became 
 alive with rebels ; it seemed as if a thousand trai- 
 tors sprang from behind the cover of the wall, antl 
 poured a devouring, deadly discharge full into 
 the bosoms of the charging Union battalion. 
 Half of the battalion fell on the spot, and the 
 rest hurriedly retired before the pursuing rebels. 
 
 Meantime Captain Walcott had turned his 
 whole battery in that direction, and the single 
 gun that had lost its men he manned with team- 
 sters and others, and liimself took charge of it, 
 aiming and firing. From all his pieces he now 
 poured grape, canister, and shell Into the rebel 
 column, while the enemy's sharpshooters from 
 the stone wall still sent their messengers of death 
 at his battery ; but under the fire from his pieces 
 the enemy's column wavered ; it halted, it broke 
 and fled. The shattered Union battalion in the 
 valley had formed again, and now, with scarcely 
 a hundred men, swept up the hill once more, 
 drove the lingering foe from the stone wall, and 
 sent volley after volley after the rebels, while the 
 shells from Walcott's guns swept far beyond the 
 ridge into the groves among which the traitors 
 were retreating. 
 
 The little Union battalion that thus so daringly 
 mounted the hill a second time under cover of 
 Walcott's fire, was the remnant of Colonel Mason's 
 Seventh Maine regiment. 
 
 The First Massachusetts Man in the 
 War. — Colonel Edward W. Hinks, in a letter 
 to the Editor of the Boston Journal, Novem- 
 ber 17, 1865, malies the following statement : 
 " The ])articulars given in the article headed ' The 
 first Massachusetts man in the war,' which was 
 copied from the Newburyport Herald into the 
 Journal of this morning, are not strictly in ac- 
 cordance with the focts ; and with your indulgence 
 I will attempt — without detracting from the no- 
 ble record of Captain Bartlett, who for a time 
 served with credit under my command, and who 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 463 
 
 gallantly yielded up his young life upon the 
 bloody field of Antietam — to vindicate the truth 
 of history. 
 
 " On Monday, April 15, 1861, at quarter past 
 two o'clock, in reply to an offer of my services 
 made in the morning of that day, I received 
 from Governor Andrew a verbal command to 
 summon the companies of the Eighth regiment, 
 by his authority, to rendezvous at Faneuil Hall 
 at the earliest possible hour. Leaving Boston on 
 the half past two o'clock train, I proceeded to Lynn, 
 and personally notified the commanding officers of 
 the two companies in that city, and from thence 
 telegraphed to Captain Bartlett, at Newburyport, 
 and Captain Centre, of Gloucester, and then 
 drove to Beverly, and supimoned the company 
 there, and from thence hastened to Marblehead, 
 where I personally notified the commanding offi- 
 cers of the three Marblehead companies. I found 
 Captain Martin in his slaughter-house with the 
 carcass of a hog just killed and in readiness for 
 the ' scald.' On communicating to the Captain 
 my orders, I advised him to immediately cause 
 the bells of the town to be rung, and to get all 
 the recruits he could. Taking his coat from a 
 peg, he seemed for a moment to hesitate about 
 leaving his business unfinished, and then turning 
 to me, and exclaiming, ' Dom the hog,' put the 
 garment on, with his arms yet stained with blood 
 and his shirt sleeves but half rolled down, and 
 with me left the premises to rally his company. 
 
 " On Tuesday, April 16, I was directed to re- 
 main on duty at Faneuil Hall, and during the 
 forenoon the following named companies arrived 
 there, and reported for duty, to wit : 
 
 " 1. Companies C, Eighth regiment, forty 
 muskets, Captain Knott V. Martin, and H, 
 Eighth regiment, twenty-six guns. Captain 
 Francis Boardman, both of Marblehead, which 
 place they left at half past seven o'clock A. M., 
 and arrived in Boston at about nine o'clock. 
 
 " 2. Company D, Fourth regiment, thirty-two 
 muskets. Sergeant H. F. Wales, of Randolph, 
 left home at nine o'clock, and arrived at about 
 ten A. M. 
 
 " 3. Company B, Eighth regiment, forty mus- 
 kets, Captain Richard Phillips, of Marblehead, left 
 home at nine o'clock, and arrived in Faneuil Hall 
 about eleven A. M. 
 
 "4. Companies D, Eighth regiment, sixty-five 
 muskets. Captain George F. NeM'hall, and F, 
 Eighth regiment, seventy muskets. Captain James 
 Hudson, both of Lynn, left home at quarter ])ast 
 nine o'clock, and reached Faneuil Hall a little 
 after eleven o'clock, accompanied by Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Timothy Monroe, subsequently Colonel 
 of the Eighth regiment. 
 
 " At about twelve o'clock several companies, 
 belonging to different regiments, arrived, at Fan-, 
 euil Hall ; and among them was Company A, 
 Eighth regiment, nineteen muskets. Captain A. 
 W. Bartlett, of Newburyport, which company, as 
 I then understood, and have since been informed, 
 left Newburyport at about nine o'clock A. M., 
 and I think that Company E, Eighth regiment. 
 Captain Porter, of Beverly, arrived at about the 
 
 same time, and tliat Company G, Captain Centre, 
 of Gloucester, also arrived early in the afternoon 
 of the same day. 
 
 " The several companies of the Eighth regi- 
 ment were recruited during Tuesday and "Wednes- 
 day, April 16 and 17, to an average of about eighty 
 men. 
 
 " The above is substantially a true record, as 
 will appear by reference to the files of the Jour- 
 nal of that date, and is prompted only by a de- 
 sire to do justice to Captain Martin and the 
 patriotic men of Marblehead, who, on the out- 
 break of the rebellion. Mere the first to leave 
 home, the first to arrive in Boston, and subse- 
 quently, under my command, the first to leave 
 the yard of the Naval Academy of Annapolis, to 
 seize the depot and railroad, and to repair and 
 relay the track in the march through Maryland 
 to reheve the beleaguered capital of the nation." 
 
 The Hero of Corinth. — Private Orrin B. 
 Gould, of company G, Twenty-seventh Ohio, was 
 the hero of the battle of Corinth. The following 
 letter to Governor Tod, from Colonel John W. 
 Fuller, commanding the Oliio Brigade, embodies 
 a history of young Gould's resplendent conduct. 
 
 llE.VDQUARTERS, FlUST BllIGADK, SECOND 
 
 Divisiox, Army ok the Missi.ssi 
 Near Eipi.ey, Miss., Oct 
 
 ?ii'Pi, S 
 . 9, lb6.?. > 
 
 To the Governor of Ohio : 
 
 Sir : I have the honor of forwarding to your 
 Excellency the "Battle-Flag" of the Ninth Texas 
 regiment, which was captured by a private of the 
 Twenty- Seventh Ohio infantry, at the battle of 
 Corinth, Oct. 4, 1862. 
 
 The rebels, in four close columns, were press- 
 ing with gallantry, amounting to recklessness, 
 upon the Ohio brigade, with the evident intention 
 of breaking our lines, M'hen the terrible and in- 
 cessant fire of our men drove them back in the 
 utmost confusion. 
 
 The Sixth Texas bore down upon the left cen- 
 tre of the 27th Ohio, with this flag at the head 
 of their column, and advanced to within six or 
 eight yards of our lines, when Orrin B. Gould, a 
 private of company G, shot down the color- 
 bearer, and rushed forward for the rebel flag. A 
 rebel officer shouted to his men to " save the col- 
 ors," and at the same moment put a bullet into 
 the breast of Gould ; but the young hero was not 
 to be intimidated. With the flagstaff in his 
 hand and the bullet in his breast, he returned to 
 his regiment, waving the former defiantly in the 
 faces of the enemj^ 
 
 After the battle, when visiting the hospitals, I 
 found young Gould stretched upon a cot, evident- 
 ly in great pain. Upon seeing me, his pale face 
 was instantly radiant with smiles, and pointmg 
 to his Avound, he said, " Colonel, 1 don't care for 
 this, since I got their flag." 
 
 I have the honor to be, your Excellency's obe- 
 dient servant, John W. Fuller. 
 
 Colonel Twenty-seventh Ohio, commanding 
 First Brigade, Second Division. 
 
 Hon. David Tod, Governor of Ohio. 
 
464 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Ambiguity. — As the Seventeenth regiment 
 of Massachusetts was marching through Acco- 
 mac County, Va., with the Stars and Stripes float- 
 ing above them, a wayside looker-on was heard to 
 say — " I hope it will rain everywhere it goes." 
 There was an instantaneous wish to immolate the 
 author of so inclement an aspiration. They im- 
 mediately took him to account for it, calling him 
 a " secesh." "Thunder! no, I ain't," said he. 
 " Didn't you say you hoped it might rain wher- 
 ever it went ? " he was asked. " Yes, and so I 
 do ; I want it to rule everywhere." They imme- 
 diately let him go, as the fault was in the diction- 
 ary, that made two words to sound alike. 
 
 Anecdote of a Contraband. — A Captain in 
 one of the jNIaine regiments at Port Royal had a 
 colored servant named Tally, who talked very 
 bravely when spoken to about joining the colored 
 brigade. To test his courage, the Captain told 
 him that he was about to visit the main land, and 
 asked Tally if he would go with him and help 
 fight the rebels. Tally, after scratching his head 
 and rubbing his shins u few moments, replied, 
 " Dun knovv^ 'bout dat, boss ; I'se ober on de main 
 a short spell ago, an' trus' de Lord ter get me 
 ober here, an' he dun it ; but I dun dare risk him 
 again, boss." 
 
 Brownlow passed a high eulogy on General 
 Zollicoffer. Brownlow, who knew him intimately 
 for twenty-five years, says : " He was a man who 
 never wronged an individual out of a cent in his 
 life ; never told a lie in his life ; as brave a man 
 personally as Andrew Jackson ever was ; and the 
 only mean thing I ever knew him to do was to 
 join the Southern Confederacy." 
 
 Worthy of Record. — A letter from an offi- 
 cer who was with Burnside's expedition at the 
 battle of Camden, North Carolina, says : 
 
 " I met Colonel Robie, of Binghamton, dur- 
 ing the battle, with his cap stuck on the back part 
 of his head, looking the happiest man I ever saw. 
 I remember meeting him as he was leading the 
 centre of the regiment over a heavy ditch, with 
 sword drawn, and hearing him speak to and en- 
 courage the boys on. Just then a tremendous 
 volley was poui'ed into the rebel nest. ' That's 
 it ! — a good one ! ' he cried. They returned a 
 perfect shower of grape and canister, tearing 
 through and over us. Colonel Robie's counte- 
 nance was beaming, and turning to the men, he 
 called out, * Come on, my children, I'll die Avith 
 you ! Press on, my boys ! Now is the time to 
 show yourselves ! ' And as a rifled shell goes 
 singing by his head, he cries, in his joy, * Ye 
 gods ! isn't this a handsome fight ? ' " 
 
 The Dying Patriot. — A correspondent men- 
 tions the following incident of the bombardment 
 of Fort Henry : 
 
 " Of course the Essex was thenceforth unman- 
 
 ageable, and slowly drifted down the main chan- 
 nel, and was soon after met by a steamer, which 
 towed her down to the place occupied by the 
 boats before starting. The last ball took effect 
 in the Essex about fifteen minutes before the rebel 
 flag came down, and, consequently, she failed to 
 be in at the death. One of the scalded men, 
 being told by the physician, as they were drifting 
 down, that he could not live, asked how the fight 
 went on. ' They have surrendered,' was the re- 
 ply. ' Glory to God ! ' said he, in a feeble voice, 
 and at the same time trying to wave his hand. 
 ' Glory to God ! ' he rejieated ; * I can die now, 
 and don't care ! ' In a few moments he was dead." 
 
 An Incident of Kirksville. — When Col- 
 onel McNeil's forces approached within cannon 
 shot of the place, it was apparently deserted. 
 Not a soul could be seen in the streets or about 
 the place. This fact, together with the previous 
 information received, that Porter had drawn up 
 his men west of the town, convinced Colonel Mc- 
 Neil that a trap had been set for him. He in- 
 quired of Lieutenant-Colonel Shafl'er, of Merrill's 
 itorse, if he would furnish a squad of ten volun- 
 teers from his detachment to reconnoitre the 
 town. The number at once came forward, and 
 under command of a Lieutenant they approached 
 the place, — at first at a moderate pace ; then, in- 
 creasing in speed, they dashed boldly and directly 
 into the town. No sooner had they come into 
 musket range, than from every door and window, 
 and from behind every fence, chimney, and build- 
 ing upon the route, poured a fearful tornado of 
 bullets. The leaden messengers of death whizzed 
 around the heroic ten like falling hail. But on 
 they went. Death had no ten-ors for them. In 
 breathless anxiety the whole army gazed after 
 them as they rapidly receded from sight, accom- 
 panied by an incessant roar of guns. On they 
 dashed through the principal streets of the town, 
 straight through, coming out on the open ground 
 on the west side ! 
 
 Here they were beyond the range of the rebel 
 rifles ; they were now, however, between the reb- 
 els in the town and the rebels on the west. To 
 return in safety, they must execute a wide circuit 
 to the north or south. But did they choose this 
 method? Nay. But turning southward one 
 street, they plunged once more into the deadly 
 storm — this time in a new street, where the rifles 
 had not been unloaded during their first passage. 
 Forward they went, following their brave leader, 
 fearless and undaunted, straight through the 
 street, back to the army. 
 
 One killed, one wounded, and one horse killed, 
 were the only injuries sustained. Nothing short 
 of an almost direct interposition of Providence 
 prevented the death of every rider and horse. A 
 feat of more brilliant, heroic, and sublime daring 
 has not marked the history of the war. 
 
 Good for the Ague. — A Southern paper gave 
 the following novel treatment for curing chills : 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 4C5 
 
 " It is stated that a soldier of a Mississippi regi- 
 ment at Pensacola went to his tent and blankets, 
 the other day, to fight through an ague. A bottle 
 of hot water to his feet not being convenient, 
 some of his comrades went out and picked up one 
 of the numerous shells Colonel Brown sent over 
 during the bombardment, heated it at the fire, 
 and put it to bed with the sick man's feet. Un- 
 happily, the shell had lost its cap, but had not 
 exploded. The heat of the camp fire accomplished 
 Avhat Lincoln pyrotechny had failed in, to wit, 
 an explosion. The tent was blown to pieces, and 
 some of the men a little hurt and greatly 
 astonished." 
 
 Discipline. — A captain, in one of the 
 
 regiments, who had been drinking quite freely, 
 met a private of his company in the same condi- 
 tion. The captain ordered him to " halt," and 
 endeavoring in vain to assume a firm position on 
 his feet, and to talk with dignified severity, ex- 
 claimed, " Private Smith, I'll give you t'l (hie) 
 four o'clock to gissober in." " Cap'n," replied 
 the soldier, " as you're (hie) — sight drunkerniam, 
 I'll give you t'l five o'clock, to gissober in." 
 
 A Beautiful Ixcident. — There are bright 
 spots in the darkness of war. Deeds of mercy 
 by an enemy shed lustre on our common hu- 
 manity. They have been commemorated in the 
 heroic song of Homer, and have been eagerly 
 caught and honored in every age by the human 
 heart. 
 
 The following was wTitten by a lady of Stock- 
 bridge, Massachusetts, and commemorates an 
 incident very touching and beautiful, which rests 
 upon the best authority, and which ought to be 
 known : 
 
 " Colonel Mulligan refused his parole at Lex- 
 ington, and his wife resolved to share his captivity. 
 Accordingly she left her infant, fourteen months 
 old, in the care of one of the strongest secession- 
 ist women in the town. That woman assumed 
 the charge of the little child, and dressed it in the 
 captured American flag." 
 
 Beauregard's Bells. — At East Boston, 
 Massachusetts, on the 29th of July, 1862, four 
 hundred and eighteen bells, sent to that place 
 by Major-General Butler, were sold at public auc- 
 tion. These bells were sent in to New Orleans 
 by Southerners, in response to Beauregard's call 
 for brass with which to fabricate cannon for use 
 against Union men. When Butler captured New 
 Orleans, these fell into his hands, and Boston be- 
 came the recipient of the trophies. 
 
 There were bells from church spires that had 
 called the lords of the manor to Sabbath prayers; 
 bells from plantation sheds that once summoned 
 the sable bondmen to unrequited labor ; school 
 bells, and steamboat bells, and factory bells, large 
 and small ; many of them in the best order and 
 of the finest tones. 
 
 These four hundred bells bore upon them a 
 30 
 
 Southern tribute to Northern labor. There were 
 no ancient bells, no bells of historic Avorth, no old 
 Spanish or French relics — those the Southerners 
 had kept, and contributed instead the products of 
 Northern skill. With only a dozen exceptions, 
 the bells had upon their rims or tops the names 
 of Northern makers — of the Buckeye Works of 
 Cincinnati, the Allaire Works of New York, of 
 Fulton Foundery, Pittsburg, and of the founders 
 of Troy, of Louisville, and other places. How 
 suggestive is all this, and what an added interest 
 it gives to the ])oet's words ! 
 
 (), swing them merrily to and fro ; 
 They'll not boom with a traitorous blow. 
 
 Shaped into cannon, not one — they lie 
 Eloquent tokens of victory. 
 
 Sing out, O bells, on the summer wind ; 
 Farragut's name with thy music twined. 
 
 The Crescent slips from the serpent's hold, 
 Though bound in many an angry fold. 
 
 Oft ye have pealed for the bridal morn. 
 Tolled for souls into mystery born, 
 
 Roused, on plantation, master and slave ; 
 Yet, ye were doomed, till won by \he Brave. 
 
 O, ring ere long for the shout of peace ; 
 Jubilant ring when this strife shall cease. 
 
 Ring out Rebellion, dark as a pall ; 
 
 Ring for Stars and Stripes floating o'er all. 
 
 Laugh out on the Northern winds, I pray ; 
 Peal out, for this is your marriage day. 
 
 Wedded to Freedom, 'mid hills and dells, 
 * Ye are no longer Beauregard's bells. 
 
 Previous to the sale, i\Ir. N. A. Thompson, the 
 auctioneer, made a most eloquent and patriotic 
 speech, which was warmly applauded, showing 
 how deeply in earnest the South were in this war, 
 as was instanced in the bells before us, and calling 
 for an equal earnestness on our part, if we would 
 hope to preserve our country in its integrity. 
 
 Christmas with the Slaves. — A letter 
 writer at Port Royal, South Carolina, gives the 
 following account of the M'ay in which the slaves 
 kept the first Christmas after the Proclamation 
 of Emancipation : 
 
 " Christmas Eve was celebrated by the colored 
 people at General Drayton's plantation. About 
 half past eleven o'clock a bell was rung, and pre- 
 cisely at twelve a pine fire was kindled in front 
 of the cabin where the meeting was to be held. 
 They called the festival a serenade to Jesus. One 
 of the leaders, of which there were three, was 
 dressed in a red coat with brass buttons, wearing 
 white gloves. The females Avore tuAans made- of 
 cotton handkerchiefs. All ages wei'e represented, 
 from the child of one year to the old man of 
 ninety. 
 
 " The first exercise consisted in singing hymns 
 
466 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 and spii-itual songs, among which were those be- 
 ginning, ' Salvation ! O, the joyful sound ; ' ' The 
 voice of free grace ; ' ' Come, humble sinner, in 
 whose breast ; ' ' O, poor sinner, can't stand de 
 fire, can't stand de fire in dat great day ; ' and a 
 Christmas song containing a medley of everything 
 the fruitful mind of the leader could suggest, with 
 the refrain, ' We'll wait till Jesus comes.' One of 
 the leaders lined the hymns, and though none of 
 them could read, it Avas remarkable with what 
 correctness they gave the words. Their Scripture 
 quotations were also correct and apjn'opriate, not 
 only having the exact words, but naming the chap- 
 ter and verse where they could be found. 
 
 " After singing for some time, a prayer-meeting 
 was held. The prayers were fervent and power- 
 ful, and when an allusion would be made to the 
 soldiers who had come from their distant homes, 
 in the North country, to ' help and save de poor 
 slave, and, like Jesus, bring dem good tidings of 
 great joy,' a shout went up that sent its notes on 
 the still night air to the distant pickets in the sur- 
 rounding pines. When asked, as they could not 
 read, how they could quote the Scriptures, they 
 replied : * We have ears, massa, and when de 
 preacher give out his texts, den we remembers 
 and says dem over and over till we never forgets 
 dem ; dat's de way, massa, we poor people learns 
 de Word of God.' 
 
 " The next exercise consisted of speaking and 
 singing, at intervals. While one was speaking, 
 another would take a blazing pine torch from the 
 fire, and hold it up, so that all might see the 
 speaker. At two o'clock, a recess was had, and 
 all were invited to partake of coffee, which luxury 
 they can now purchase Avithout any difficulty, as 
 they have plenty of money, obtained of the sol- 
 diers for vegetables and poultry. 
 
 " After this came what they called the shout- 
 ing exercise. It was introduced by the beating of 
 time by three or four, with the feet. Soon the whole 
 company formed into a circle, and commenced 
 jumping and singing to the time and tune of 
 
 ' Say, brothers, will you meet me. 
 
 Say, brothers, will you meet me. 
 
 Say, brothers, will you meet me, 
 
 On Canaan's happy shore ? ' 
 
 This was continued until the most fertile imagi- 
 nation was exhausted, embracing an invitation to 
 sisters, soldiers, preachers, &c., to meet them on 
 Canaan's happy shore. 
 
 " Never did these poor slaves celebrate a Christ- 
 mas Eve under such circumstances before. What- 
 ever may be their future, they are now, ' to all 
 intents, purposes, and constructions whatever,' 
 free ; that they may ' choose it rather ' is beyond 
 question more certain." 
 
 Fighting Ministers. — The editor of a re- 
 ligious newspaper says that a Louisiana clergy- 
 man, writing over his own name, remarks : 
 
 " 1 am one of five ministers, of three diff"erent 
 denominations, in a single company, armed for the 
 defence of our rights and liberties, three of whom 
 
 are between fifty and sixty years old. And I tell 
 you in candor, and in the fear of God, that if you 
 or any of the brethren who have urged on this 
 diabolical war, come on with the invading army, 
 I would slay you with as hearty a good-will, and 
 Avith as clear a conscience, as I would the mid- 
 night assassin. 
 
 " In the name of God, I conjure you, let us 
 alone. I speak the spontaneous sentiment of 
 every Southern heart — man, woman, and child. 
 We will never submit. We will shed the last drop 
 of blood in defence of our rights. You are my 
 enemy, and I am yours." 
 
 Incidents of Fort Donelson. — "On the 
 two battle-grounds the scenes were fearful. The 
 snow was so thoroughly saturated with blood, 
 that it seemed like red mud as you walked around 
 in it. Men writhing in agony, with their feet, 
 arms, or legs torn off, many begging to be killed, 
 and one poor fellow was delirious, who laughed 
 hideously as he pointed to a mutilated stump, 
 which an hour ago had been his arm. One old 
 man, dressed in homespun, with hair white as 
 snow, Avas sitting, moaning feebly, against a wall. 
 A fragment of shell had struck him upon the 
 head, bruising off his scalp as if detached from 
 the skull by a knife, and causing it to hang sus- 
 pended from the forehead over his face. In- 
 stances of suffering were on every hand, and added 
 to the revolting horrors of the two fields. A 
 young Southern officer, Avho gave his name as 
 Charles C. Seymour, of Memphis, Avas found on 
 the side of a ravine. A ball had passed through 
 his breast, and he had a finger upon the Avound, 
 vainly endeavoring to stop the life which Avas 
 issuing out. He gaA'e to one of us a little square 
 block of dark Avood, set in a frame of gold, and 
 requested it to be sent to his mother in Memphis. 
 Some event long past, a hidden history perhaps, 
 was connected Avith the strange memento." 
 
 A Union Man. — During the combined expe- 
 dition of General Sherman and Admiral Porter, 
 up the SunfloAver River, Steele's Bayou, and the 
 Black Bayou, Avhich failed in its purpose, Admiral 
 Porter's guide was a negro, the same Avho caiTied 
 the despatch to General Sherman thi-ough the 
 rebel lines. When the national forces arrived in 
 the midst of the rebel lines, a scouting party 
 came suddenly upon a house Avhich belonged to 
 the sheriff of the county from Avhom the negro 
 had escaped. He ordered his old servant to get 
 his horse, as the Yankees Avere coming. " Couldn't 
 tink of it — Avouldn't do it for a tousand dollars. 
 Ise a Union man, noAv, massa." The horse Avas 
 not got, but the sheriff' was. 
 
 The Missiles at Antietam. — Broken rail- 
 road iron and blacksmiths' tools, hammers, chis- 
 els, &c., Avere fired from rebel cannon. Some of 
 these missiles made a peculiar noise, resembling 
 "Avhich away, which away," by Avhich the na- 
 
 ■ \ 
 
ANECDOTES, TOETllY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 467 
 
 tional troops came to distinguish them from the 
 regular shot and shell, and as they heard them 
 approaching, would cry, " Turkey ! turkey com- 
 ing ! " and fall flat to avoid them. An artille- 
 rist, a German, when he saw the tools falling 
 around him, exclaimed, " My Got ! we shall have 
 the blacksmith's shop to come next ! " 
 
 DIRGE 
 
 FOE, ONE WHO FELL IN BATTLE. 
 
 Room for a soldier ! lay him in the clover ; 
 
 He loved the fields, and they shall be his cover ; 
 
 Make his mound with hers who called him once her 
 lover ; 
 Where the rain may rain upon it, 
 Where the sun may shine upon it, 
 Where the lamb hath lain upon it, 
 And the bee will dine upon it. 
 
 Bear him to no dismal tomb under city churches ; 
 Take him to the fragrant fields, by the silver 
 
 birches, 
 ^Vhere the whip-poor-will will mourn, where the 
 oriole perches ; 
 Make his mound with sunshine on it, 
 Where the bee will dine upon it. 
 Where the lamb hath lain upon it, 
 And the rain will rain upon it. 
 
 Busy as the busy bee, his rest should be the clover ; 
 Gentle as the lamb was he, and the fern should be 
 
 his cover ; 
 Fern and rosemary shall grow my soldier's pillow 
 over ; 
 Where the rain may rain upon it, 
 Where the sun may shine upon it, 
 Where the lamb hath lain upon it. 
 And the bee will dine upon it. 
 
 Sunshine in his heart, the rain would come full 
 
 often 
 Out of those tender eyes which ever more did 
 
 soften ; 
 He never could look cold till we saw him in his 
 cofiin. 
 Make his mound with sunshine on it, 
 Where the wind may sigh upon it, 
 Where the moon may stream upon it, 
 And memory shall dream upon it. 
 
 " Captain," or <' Colonel," — whatever invocation 
 Suit our hymn the best, no matter for thy station, — 
 On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a 
 mightjr nation ! 
 Long as the sun doth shine upon it 
 Shall grow the goodly pine upon it, 
 Long as the stars do gleam upon it 
 Shall memory come to dream upon it. 
 
 Incident of Deanesyille. — During a skir- 
 mish near Dranesville, Virginia, Colonel Jackson, 
 of the Ninth Pennsylvania regiment, left his negro 
 servant in charge of his horse, while he advanced 
 towards the enemy. Seeing two rebels, Avho had 
 discharged thtir mtcsiiets, approaching him, the 
 
 Ijoy drew his carbine and threatened to shoot them 
 if they did not surrender at once. This they did, 
 and marched before him to the camp. 
 
 A Contraband Incident. — A correspond- 
 ent, writing from Munfordville, Kentucky, gives 
 the following : 
 
 " While on the other side of the river my at- 
 tention was attracted to a quiet group coming 
 up the hill. First were two intelligent-looking 
 contrabands, next a little ' go-cart,' drawn by a 
 mule, in which was a female slave and about a 
 dozen_ little negroes, carefully wrapped in sundry 
 and divers coats. An Uncle Tom sort of a chap, 
 with a Miss Dinah, brought up the rear. As 
 they came by I addressed Tom : 
 
 " ' Well, Uncle, where did your party come 
 from ? ' 
 
 " ' We's from de town, dar, sah.' 
 
 " ' And where are you going ? ' 
 
 " ' Gwine home, sah.' 
 
 " ' Then you do not live in the village ? ' 
 
 '" No ; we lib right ober yonder, 'bout a mile ; 
 de secesh druv us from home.' 
 
 " ' Ah ! well, now stop a minute, and tell me 
 all about it.' 
 
 " ' Dat I do, sure, massa. Jim [to the leader 
 of the mule cart], you go on wid de wagon, an' 
 I kotch you fore you gits home. Now, I tells you, 
 massa, all about 'um. My massa am Union, an' 
 so is all de niggers. Yesterday, massa wor 
 away in de town, an' de firs' 'ting we know, 'long 
 come two or free hundred ob dem seceshers, on 
 horses, an' lookin' like cutfroats. Golly, but de 
 gals wor scared. Jus' right back ob us wor de 
 Union soldiers — God bless [reverentially], for 
 dey keep de secesh from killin' nigger. De gals 
 know dat, an' when dey see de secesh comin' dey 
 pitch de little nigger in de go-cart, an' den we all 
 broke for de Union soldiers.' 
 
 " ' So you are not afraid of the Union sol- 
 diers ? ' 
 
 " ' God bless you, massa, nebber. Nigger gets 
 ahind dem Union soldiers, secesh nebber gets 
 'um. Secesh steal nigger — Union man nebber 
 steal 'um. Dat's a fac', massa.' 
 
 "And, with a smile on his face, the clever old 
 darky bade me good morning, and trotted on af- 
 ter the go-cart." 
 
 BoKDEE, Scouts. — Among the most active 
 and daring of the Union scouts in the South- 
 west were tour young men, known as the Nor- 
 rises and Breedins. Acquainted with every cross- 
 road and by-way, they scoured the country for a 
 radius of seventy-nliles south and east of Fort 
 Scott. Their very names were a terror to se- 
 cession, and every plan that ingenuity could de- 
 vise was resorted to to effect their destruction. 
 At one time the younger Norris was wounded in 
 a skii'mish, near Shanghai, in which six, out of a 
 party of twelve, under Lieutentant Lewis, met 
 with a similar fete while contending against tre- 
 ble their number of the enemy. He was soon in 
 
468 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 the saddle again, however, and ready for the 
 field. These men formerly lived in Golden 
 Grove, Missouri, fifteen miles beyond Lamar, in 
 the direction of Greenfield. The elder Breedin 
 had a •wife and family living there ; and being 
 anxious to visit them, he took with him a party 
 of six well-armed and determined men, and went 
 down. Their arrival in the settlement became 
 known to some of his secession neighbors, and 
 a plan was instantly set on foot to " take them 
 in." On the third night, being apprehensive of 
 an attack, they assembled at a house in the set- 
 tlement, where, after making all necessary prepa- 
 rations, they betook themselves to sleep. About 
 two o'clock they were awakened by the approach 
 cf the enemy, and quietly took their places be- 
 hind the fence surrounding the house, ready to 
 give the foe a warm reception. The secession 
 force approached to within thirty yards, halted, 
 and most of them dismounted for the attack. 
 '• Now," said the Captain, " creep up cautiously, 
 and when I fire the signal gun, make a rush for 
 the house and surround it." Breedin and his 
 comrades lay quietly in their corners until the 
 enemy were within a few yards of them, when 
 they delivered their fire with terrible effect, just 
 as the secesh Captain was about to fire his " sig- 
 nal gun." A prisoner, whom the attacking party 
 had with them, shouted as he heard the discharge, 
 " Gentlemen, there's a good many signal guns 
 there." For a few minutes the skirmish was a 
 hot one, when four of the men, having emptied 
 all their rifles and pistols, and fearing that they 
 might be surrounded, retired past the house into 
 the timber, and made their way to Fort Scott, on 
 foot, leaving Breedin, Carpenter, and Jones still 
 at the fence fighting. Jones had nothing but a 
 musket, but he made every shot tell. Carpen- 
 ter, a boy of eighteen or nineteen years, had left 
 his revolver in the house. After firing his 
 Sharpe's rifle, he threw it down, ran into the 
 house, got his revolver, and coolly closing the 
 door after him, returned to his post at the fence. 
 Astonished at the telling and rapid fii-e from the 
 fence, the enemy became panic-stricken, and 
 rushing to their horses with loud cries of " We're 
 whipped," " We can't stand the minies," &c., fled 
 in utter confusion on the Greenfield road, leaving 
 two dead and six Avounded — two of whom after- 
 wards died on the field. They continued their 
 tiight about three miles, when the Captain suc- 
 ceeded in stopping a few of them ; but the bark- 
 ing of some dogs started them again, and no 
 more halts were made until they reached Green- 
 field. A messenger was immediately sent to 
 Price for a regiment of troops to come and 
 drive Breedin out of the country. 
 
 Eight horses were left by the enemy in their 
 flight ; these Avere captured by Breedin and his 
 companions, and after scouring the country two 
 iliiys longer, they returned to Fort Scott, bring- 
 ing two prisoners, the eight secession horses, and 
 the horses left by their own party. The distance 
 is about seventy miles. The secession party, by 
 their own account, numbered not less than one 
 hundred and thirty men. 
 
 WHAT ARE TRUMPS? 
 
 BY JAMES R. UANDALl.* 
 
 Not Diamonds ! treason breaks bedight 
 Beyond their leprosy of light, 
 And all that's chivalric and fair 
 Is gorgoned by their stony glare. 
 Not Diamonds ! for the glut of gain 
 Is but the Diamond's frosty brain. 
 Bespread in golden beads of rain. 
 Kentucky feels the golden g-ust enow ; 
 It galleth her bewildered brow. 
 !My Maryland ! ah, where art thou ? 
 No ! Freedom is not won with them. 
 Dow7i, Diamond ! down, perfidious gem ! 
 
 Not Hearts ! — let's keep our Hearts at home ; 
 
 They'll wreck us 'mid the battle-foam. 
 
 We want no Hearts to marshal forth 
 
 Against the Vikings of the North. 
 
 No ! we will make reA'erberate 
 
 The death- dirge of the fools of Fate. 
 
 Hearts, ye have ever thugged and swirled 
 
 The hurly-burlies of the world ! 
 
 If Sherman comes to cut our throats, 
 
 AVhat then ? Whj', send his horses oats ! 
 
 Pooh, pooh ! he did not couch the blow 
 
 Which laid poor Beaufort sacked below. 
 
 The darkies did it all ; just so ! 
 
 If Grant swoops down o'er Belmont plain, 
 
 And cumbers bluff and wood with slain, — 
 
 Good fellow ! Swill him with champagne ! 
 
 Hearts, ye would gild the robber's bier I 
 
 Down ! down ! ye are betrayers here ! 
 
 Not Spades ! we are but too expert 
 
 In technicalities of dirt. 
 
 Scarp, redan, bastion, and lunette 
 
 But make our native valor fret. 
 
 If Courage imps an eyrie pitch, 
 
 Dear Courage, you must dig a ditch. 
 
 With bloody signs the welkin's big — 
 
 Portentous symbols ! we must dig ! 
 
 Sangrado, M. D., famed in Seville, 
 
 Dosed generations to the Devil. 
 
 He killed, like any Pottowatomie, 
 
 With tepid water and phlebotomy. 
 
 He knew his shocking thaumaturgy 
 
 Was death to laj'men and to clergy. 
 
 But then the Doctor wrote, with travail, 
 
 A tome, to prove, above all cavil, 
 
 That his curriculum — his plan — 
 
 Was Gilead's balm to damaged man ; 
 
 And not by any hook or crook 
 
 Would old Sangrado snub his book. 
 
 O, " burn the books," and down mud-lumps ! 
 
 We scoop our graves when Spades are trumps ! 
 
 * Mr. Randall's poetry is too curiously phrased to 
 please the lover of plain, pure English ; but his tribute 
 to the King of Trumps — nay, the very Ace of all the 
 Face Cards in the Pack of War — is so well-timed, and 
 so full of sensible suggestions to the dirt-diggers, 
 dillj'-dalliers, delayers, defensive policists, and do- 
 nothing-ites of the West Point school, that we are glad 
 to insert it in our Table. Price may be snubbed by 
 tlie powers that be ; but the poets will immortalize him. 
 He may be defeated ; but the people will love him, ex- 
 alt him, honor him, and wear him forever in their 
 heart of hearts, because he dared to do. — Southern 
 paper. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 469 
 
 Yes, Clubs ! One's inspiration jumps, 
 And cuts a caper ! Clubs and trumps ! 
 Di'monds will not appease the dead 
 That shake beneath the brigand's tread, 
 Under the sands of Hilton Head. 
 Lo ! Carolina is ablaze ! 
 Bold beauty ! loveliest of our days ! 
 Her fruitful fields one scorching pyre — 
 She's shrined the very Queen of Fire ! 
 Hearts ! would ye give invaders tears ? 
 Clubs are the Hearts for buccaneers. 
 Spades ! would j'e nest them in the earth. 
 Rotting the spring's emblossomed birth ? 
 No ! let the buzzard kiss his kind, 
 As they bloat in the nostrils of the wind ; 
 Each corpse "a black flag," mightier far 
 Than the rags that token the hell of war ! 
 
 Lo ! for a trump to beat them all — 
 A trump beyond a system's thrall. 
 Advance, thou worthiest and best — 
 Our grim old Scipio of the West ! 
 Thou wast not suckled in the schools ; 
 But thou canst conquer in spite of rules. 
 'Gainst thee Red-Tape is all aglow ; 
 But mark his legions ! how thej' go, 
 Hounding the haunches of the foe ! 
 With havoc still the clouds are dun 
 That crouched o'er fallen Lexington ; 
 Yet cleaves his ever-sheathless blade 
 'Y"ond Osage and the Gasconade, 
 Soon will the thunder of his bands 
 Boom through the lusty prairie lands, 
 Thick with the lightning of their brands. 
 On, hero ! for the Southern heart 
 Knows thee and loves thee as thou art ! 
 Thou Trump of Trumps ! anointed thrice ! 
 Our Sword and Buckler — Sterling Price! 
 
 THE STORY OF ANTIETAM. 
 
 By George W. Smalley. 
 
 Battle-Field of Antietam, \ 
 ■Wednesday Evening, Sept. 17, 18(52. i 
 
 Fierce and desperate battle between two hun- 
 dred thousand men has raged since daylight, yet 
 night closes on an uncertain field. It is the 
 greatest fight since Waterloo, all over the field 
 contested with an obstinacy equal even to W.jter- 
 loo. If not wholly a victory to-night, I believe 
 it is the prelude to a victory to-morrow. But 
 what can be foretold of the future of a fight in 
 which from five in the morning till seven at night 
 tlie best troops of the continent have fought with- 
 out decisive result.'* 
 
 After the brilliant victory near Middletown, 
 General McClellan pushed forward his army rap- 
 idly, and reached Keedysville with three corps on 
 Monday night. That march has already been de- 
 scribed. On the day following the two armies 
 faced each other idly until night. Artillery was 
 busy at intervals, once in the morning opening 
 with spirit, and continuing for half an hour with 
 vigor, till the rebel battery, as usual, was si- 
 lenced. 
 
 McClellan was on the hill where Benjamin's 
 battery was stationed, and found himself sudden- 
 ly under a rather heavy fire. It was still uncer- 
 
 tain whether the rebels were retreating or reen- 
 forcing. Their batteries would remain in posi- 
 tion in either case ; and as they had withdrawn 
 nearly all their troops from view, there was only 
 the doubtful indication of columns of dust to the 
 rear. •* 
 
 On the evening of Tuesday, Hooker was or- 
 dered to cross the Antietam Creek with his corps, 
 and, feeling the left of the enemy, to be ready to 
 attack next morning. During the day of api)ar- 
 ent inactivity, McClellan, it may be supposed, 
 had been maturing his plan of battle, of which 
 Hooker's movement was one development. 
 
 The position on either side was peculiar. 
 When Richardson advanced on Monday, he found 
 the enemy deployed and displayed in force on a 
 crescent-shaped ridge, the outline of which fol- 
 lowed more or less exactly the course of Antie- 
 tam Creek. Their lines Avere then forming, and 
 the revelation of force in front of the ground 
 which they really intended to hold, was probably 
 meant to delay our attack until their arrange- 
 ments to receive it were complete. 
 
 During that day they kept their troops exposed, 
 and did not move them even to avoid the artil- 
 lery-fire, which must have been occasionally annoy- 
 ing. Next morning the lines and columns which 
 had darkened cornfields and hill-crests had been 
 withdrawn. Broken and Avooded ground behind 
 the sheltering hills concealed the rebel masses. 
 What from our front looked like only a narrow 
 summit fringed with Avoods was a broad table- 
 land of forest and ravine ; cover for troops every- 
 Avhere, noAvhere easy access for an enemy. The 
 smoothly sloping surface in front and the sweep- 
 ing crescent of sloAvly mingling lines Avas all a 
 delusion. It Avas all a rebel stronghold beyond. 
 
 Under the base of these hills runs the deep 
 stream called Antietam Creek, fordable only at 
 distant points. Three bridges cross it ; one on 
 the HagerstoAvn road, one on the Sharpsburg 
 pike, one to the left in a deep recess of steeply- 
 falling hills. Hooker passed the first to reach 
 the ford by Avhich he crossed, and it w"as held by 
 Pleasanton Avith a reserve of cavalry during the 
 battle. The second was close under the rebel 
 centre, and no Avay important to yesterday's fight. 
 At the third Burnside attacked, and finally crossed. 
 Between the first and thii'd lay most of the battle- 
 lines. They stretched four miles from right to 
 left. 
 
 Unaided attack in front was impossible. Mc- 
 Clellan's forces lay behind low, disconnected 
 ridges in front of the rebel summits, all, or nearly 
 all, unwooded. They gave some cover for artil- 
 leiy, and guns Avere therefore massed on the cen- 
 tre. The enemy had the ShepherdstOAvn road, and 
 the HagerstoAvn and Williampsort road, both 
 open to him in rear for retreat. Along one or 
 the other, if beaten, he must fly. This, among 
 other reasons, determined, perhaps, the plan of 
 battle Avhich McClellan finally resolved upon. 
 
 The plan Avas generally as follows : Hooker 
 Avas to cross on the right, establish himself on the 
 enemy's left if possible, flanking his position, and 
 to open the fight. Sumner, Franklin, and Mans- 
 
470 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 field were to send their forces also to the right, co- 
 operating witli and sustaining Hooker's attack, 
 ■while advancing also nearer tlie centre. The 
 heavy work in the centre was left mostly to the 
 batteries, Porter massing his infantry supports in 
 the hdllows. On the left, Burnside vras to carry 
 the bridge already referred to, advancing then by 
 a road which enters the pike at Sharpsburg, turn- 
 ing at once the rebel Hank, and destroying his 
 line of retreat. Porter and Sykes were held in 
 reserve. It is obvious that the complete success 
 of a plan contemplating widely divergent move- 
 ments of separate corps, must largely depend on 
 accurate timing — that the attacks should be sim- 
 vdtaneous, and not successive. 
 
 Hooker moved Tuesday afternoon at four, cross- 
 ing the creek at a ford above the bridge and well 
 to the right, without opposition. Fronting south- 
 west, his hne advanced not quite on the rebel 
 flank, but overlapping and threatening it. Turn- 
 ing off from the road after passing the stream, he 
 sent forward cavalry skirmishers straight into the 
 woods and over the fields beyond. Rebel pick- 
 ets withdrew slowly before them, firing scattering 
 and harmless shots. Turning again to the left, 
 the cavah-y went down on the rebel flank, coming 
 suddenly close to a battery which met them Avith 
 unexpected grape and canister. It being the na- 
 ture of cavalry to retire before batteries, this com- 
 pany loyally followed the law of its being, and 
 came swiftly back, without pursuit. 
 
 Artillery was sent to the front, infantry was 
 rapidly deployed, and skirmishers went out in 
 front and on either flank. The corps moved for- 
 ward compactly. Hooker, as usual, reconnoitring 
 in person. They came at last to an open grass- 
 sown field enclosed on two sides Avith woods, pro- 
 tected on the right by a hill, and entered through 
 a cornfield in the rear. Skirmishers penetrating 
 these woods were instantly met by rebel shots, 
 but held their ground, and, as soon as supported, 
 advanced and cleared the timber. Beyond, on 
 the left and in front, volleys of musketry opened 
 heavily, and a battle seemed to have begun a 
 little sooner than it was expected. 
 
 General Hooker formed his hues Avith precision 
 and without hesitation. Rickett's division went 
 into the woods on the left in force. Meade, with 
 the Pennsylvania reserves, formed in the centre. 
 Doubleday was sent out on the right, planting 
 his guns on the hill, and opening at once on a 
 rebel battery that began to enfilade the central 
 line. It was already dark, and the rebel position 
 could only be discovered by the flashes of their 
 guns. They pushed forward boldly on the right, 
 after losing ground on the other flank, but made 
 no attempt to regain their hold on the woods. 
 The fight flashed, and glimmered, and faded, and 
 finally went out in the dark. 
 
 Hooker had found out what he wanted to know. 
 Vv'hen the firing ceased, the hostile lines lay close 
 to each other — their pickets so near that six 
 rebels were captured during the night. It was 
 inevitable that the fight should recommence at 
 daylight. Neither side had suffered considerable 
 loss ; it was a skirmish, not a battle. " We are 
 
 through for to-night, gentlemen," remarked the 
 General ; " but to-morrow we fight the battle that 
 will decide the fate of the republic." 
 
 Not long after the firing ceased, it sprang up 
 again on the left. General Hooker, who had 
 taken his headquarters in a barn, which had 
 been nearly the focus of the rebel artillery, was 
 out at once. First came rapid and unusually 
 frequent picket-shots, then several heavy volleys. 
 The General listened a moment, and smiled grim- 
 ly. " We have no troops there. The rebels are 
 shooting each other. It is Fair Oaks over again.'' 
 So everybody lay down again, but all the night 
 through there were frequent alarms. 
 
 McClellan had been informed of the night's 
 work, and of the certainties awaiting the dawn. 
 Sumner Avas ordered to move his corps at once, 
 and Avas expected to be on the ground at daylight. 
 From the extent of the rebel lines developed in 
 the evening, it was plain that they had gathered 
 their Avhole army behind the heights, and were 
 waiting for the shock. 
 
 The battle began Avith the dawn. Morning 
 found both armies just as they had slept, almost 
 close enough to look into each other's eyes. The 
 left of Meade's reserves and the right of Ricketts' 
 line became engaged at nearly the same moment, 
 one Avith artillery, the other Avith infantry. A 
 battery AA-as almost immediately pushed forAvard 
 beyond the central Avoods, over a ploughed field, 
 near the top of the slope where the cornfield be- 
 gan. On this open field, in the corn beyond, and 
 in the Avoods, which stretched forA\'ard into the 
 broad fields, like a promontory into the ocean, 
 v.cre the hardest and deadliest struggles of the 
 day. 
 
 For half an hour after the battle had groA\'n to 
 its full strength, the line of fire SAvayed neither 
 Avay. Hooker's men Avere fully up to their Avork. 
 They saAV their General everyAvhere in front, never 
 aAvay from the fire ; and all the troops believed in 
 their commander, and fought with a Avill. Tavo 
 thirds of them Avere the same men who, under 
 McDoAvell, had broken at Manassas. 
 
 The half hour passed ; the rebels began to give 
 way a little — only a little ; but at the first indi- 
 cation of a receding fire. Forward, was the Avord, 
 and on Avent the line Avith a cheer and a rush. 
 Back across the cornfield, leaving dead and 
 Avounded behind them, over the fence, and across 
 the road, and then back again into the dark woods, 
 Avhich closed around them, went the retreating 
 rebels. 
 
 Meade and his Pennsylvanians folIoAved hard 
 and fast — folloAved till they came Avithin easy 
 range of the Avoods, among Avhich they saw their 
 beaten enemy disappearing — foUoAved still, Avith 
 another cheer, and flung themselves against the 
 cover. 
 
 But out of those gloomy woods came suddenly 
 and heavily terrible volleys — volleys which smote, 
 and bent, and broke in a moment that eager front, 
 and hurled them SAviftly back for half the distance 
 they had Avon. Not SAviftly, nor in panic, any far- 
 ther. Closing up their shattered lines, they came 
 slowly aAvay ; a regiment Avhere a brigade had 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 471 
 
 been ; hardly a brigade where a whole division 
 had been victorious. They had met at the woods 
 the first volleys of musketry from fresh troops — 
 had met them and returned them till their line 
 had yielded and gone down before the weight of 
 fire, and till their ammunition was exhausted. 
 
 In ten minutes the fortune of the day seemed 
 to have changed ; it was the rebels now who were 
 advancing, pouring out of the woods in endless 
 lines, sweeping thi'ough the cornfield from which 
 their comrades had just fled. Hooker sent in his 
 nearest brigade to meet them, but it could not do 
 the work. He called for another. There was 
 nothing close enough, unless he took it from his 
 right. His right might be in danger if it Mas 
 weakened ; but his centre was already threatened 
 with annihilation. Not hesitating one moment, 
 he sent to Doubleday, " Give me your best bri- 
 gade instantly." 
 
 The best brigade came down the hill to the 
 right on the run, Avent llu'ough the timber in 
 front, through a storm of shot and bursting shell, 
 and crashing limbs, over the open field beyond, 
 and straight into the cornfield, passing, as they 
 went, the fragments of three brigades shattered by 
 the rebel fire, and streaming to the rear. They 
 passed by Hooker, whose eyes lighted as he saw 
 these veteran troops, led by a soldier whom he 
 knew he could trust. " I think they Avill hold 
 it," he said. 
 
 General Hartsufi" took his troops very steadily, 
 but, now that they were under fire, not hurriedly, 
 up the hill from which the cornfield begins to de- 
 scend, and formed them on the crest. Not a man 
 who was not in full view — not one who bent be- 
 fore the storm. Firing at first in volleys, they 
 fired then at will with wonderful rapidity and 
 effect. The whole line crowned the hill, and 
 stood out darkly against the sky, but lighted and 
 shrouded ever in flame and smoke. They were 
 the Twelfth and Thirteenth Massachusetts, and 
 another regiment which I cannot remember — old 
 troops all of them. 
 
 There for half an hour they held the ridge, 
 unyielding in purpose, exhaustless in courage. 
 There were gaps in the line, but it nowhere bent. 
 Their General was severely wounded early in the 
 fight, but they fought on. Their supports did not 
 come — they determined to win without them. 
 They began to go down the hill and into the corn ; 
 they did not stop to think that their ammunition 
 was nearly gone ; they were there to win that 
 field, and they won it. The rebel line for the 
 second time fled through the corn and into the 
 woods. I cannot tell how few of Hartsufi" 's bri- 
 gade were left when the work was done ; but it 
 was done. There was no more gallant, deter- 
 mined, heroic fighting in all this desperate day. 
 General Hartsuff is very severely wounded ; but 
 I do not believe he counts his success too dearly 
 purchased. 
 
 The crisis of the fight at this point had arrived. 
 Ricketts' division, vainly endeavoring to advance, 
 and exhausted by the eflbrt, had fallen back. 
 Part of Mansfield's corps was ordered in to their 
 relief; but Mansfield's troops came back again 
 
 and their General was mortally wounded. The 
 left nevertheless was too extended to be turned, 
 and too strong to be broken. Ricketts sent word 
 he could not advance, but could hold his ground. 
 Doul)leday had kept his guns at work on the 
 right, and had finally silenced a rebel battery 
 that for half an hour had poured in a galling en- 
 filading fire along Hooker's central line. There 
 were woods in front of Doubleday's hill which 
 the rebels held, but so long as those guns pointed 
 towards them they did not care to attack. 
 
 With his left, then, able to take care of itself, 
 with his right impregnable, with two brigades of 
 Mansfield still fresh and coming rapidly up, and 
 with his centre a second time victorious. General 
 Hooker determined to advance. Orders were 
 sent to Crawford and Gordon — the two ^Nlans- 
 field brigades — to move forward at once, the bat- 
 teries in the centre were ordered to advance ; the 
 whole line was called on, and the General himself 
 went forward. 
 
 To the right of the cornfield and beyond it 
 was a point of woods. Once carried aijd firmly 
 held, it was the key of the position. Hooker de- 
 termined to take it. He rode out in front of his 
 farthest troops on a hill to examine the ground 
 for a battery. At the top he dismounted and 
 went forward on foot, completed his reconnois- 
 sance, returned, and remounted. The musketry 
 fire from the point of woods was all the while 
 extremely hot. As he put his foot in the stirrup 
 a fresh volley of rifle bullets came whizzing by. 
 The tall, soldierly figure of the General, the white 
 horse Avhich he rode, the elevated place where he 
 was, all made him a most dangerously conspic- 
 uous mark. So he had been all day, riding often 
 withoiifc^ staff officer or an orderly near him, — 
 all sent off on urgent duty, — visible everywhere on 
 the field. The rebel bullets had followed him all 
 day, but they had not hit him, and he w^ould not 
 regard them. 
 
 Remounting on this hill, he had not ridden 
 five steps when he was struck in the foot by a 
 ball. Three men were shot down at the same 
 moment by his side. The air was alive with 
 bullets. He kept on his horse a few minutes, 
 though the wound was severe and excessively 
 painful, and would not dismount till he had given 
 his last order to advance. He was himself in the 
 very front. Swaying unsteadily on his horse, he 
 turned in his seat to look about him. " There is 
 a regiment to the right. Order it forward ! Craw- 
 ford and Gordon are coming up. Tell them to 
 carry those woods and hold them — and it is our 
 fight ! " 
 
 It was found that the bullet had passed com- 
 pletely through his foot. The surgeon, who ex- 
 amined it on the spot, could give no opinion 
 whether bones were broken ; but it was afterwards 
 ascertained that though grazed they were not 
 fractured. Of course the severity of the wound 
 made it impossible for him to keep the field, 
 which he believed already Avon, so far as it be- 
 longed to him to Avin it. It Avas nine o'clock. 
 The fight had been furious since five. A large 
 part of his command was broken, but with his 
 
472 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 righi still untouched, and with Crawford's and 
 Gordon's brigades just up, above all, with the 
 advance of the whole central line, which the men 
 had heard ordered with cheers, and with a regi- 
 ment already on the edge of the woods he wanted, 
 he might well leave the field, thinking the battle 
 was won — that 7iis battle was won, for I am 
 writing only about the attack on the rebel left. 
 
 I see no reason why I should disguise my ad- 
 miration of General Hooker's bravery and sol- 
 dierly ability. Remaining nearly all the morning 
 on the right, I could not help seeing the sagacity 
 and promptness of his movements, how com- 
 pletely his troops were kept in hand, how devot- 
 edly they trusted him, how keen was his insight 
 into the battle, how every opportunity was seized, 
 and every reverse was checked and turned into 
 another success. I say this the more unreservedly, 
 because I have no personal relation whatever with 
 him, never saw liim till the day before the fight, 
 and don't like his politics or opinions in general. 
 But what are politics in such a battle ? 
 
 Sumner arrived just as Hooker was leaving, 
 and assumed command. Crawford and Gordon 
 had gone into the woods, and were holding them 
 stoutly against heavy odds. As I rode over 
 towards the left I met Sumner at the head of his 
 column, advancing rapidly through the timber, 
 opposite where Crawford was fighting. The vet- 
 eran General was riding alone in the forest, far 
 ahead of his leading brigade, his hat ofl', his gray 
 hair, and beard, and mustache strangely con- 
 trasting with the fire in his eyes and his mar- 
 tial air, as he hurried on to where the bullets were 
 thickest. 
 
 Sedgwick's division was in advance, moving 
 forward to support Crawford and Gordon.- Rebel 
 reenforcements were approaching also, and the 
 struggle for the roads was again to be renewed. 
 Sumner sent forward two divisions — Richardson 
 and French — on the left. Sedgwick, moving in 
 column of divisions through the woods in reai', 
 deployed and advanced in line over the cornfield. 
 There was a broad interval between him and the 
 nearest division, and he saw that if the rebel line 
 were complete, his own division was in immediate 
 danger of being flanked. But his orders were to 
 advance, and those are the orders which a soldier 
 — and Sedgwick is every inch a soldier — loves 
 best to hear. 
 
 To extend his own front as far as possible, he 
 ordered the Thirty-fourth New York to move by 
 the left flank. The manreuvre was attempted un- 
 der a fire of the greatest intensity, and the regi- 
 ment broke. At the same moment, the enemy, 
 ])orceiving their advantage, came round on that 
 flank. Crawford was obliged to give way on the 
 right, and iiis troops, pouring in confusion through 
 the ranks of Sedgwick's advance brigade, threw 
 it into disorder, and back on the second and third 
 lines. The enemy advanced, their fire increasing. 
 
 General Sedgwick was three times wounded, in 
 the shoulder, leg, and wrist, but he persisted in 
 remaining on the field so long as there was a 
 chance of saving it. His yVdjutant-General, Major 
 Sedgwick, bravely rallying and trying to re-form 
 
 the troops, was shot through the body, the bullet 
 lodging in the spine, and fell from his horse. Se- 
 vere as the wound is, it is probably not mortal. 
 Lieutenant Howe, of General Sedgwick's staff, 
 endeavored vainly to rally the Thirty-fourth New 
 York. They were badly cut up, and would not 
 stand. Half their officers were killed or wounded, 
 their colors shot to pieces, the color-sergeant killed, 
 every one of the color-guard wounded. . Only 
 thirty-two were afterwards got together. 
 
 The Fifteenth Massachusetts went into action 
 v\'ith seventeen officers and nearly six hundred 
 men. Nine officers were killed or wounded, and 
 some of the latter are prisoners. Captain Simons, 
 Ca])tain Saunders of the sharpshooters. Lieuten- 
 ant Derby, and Lieutenant Berry are killed. 
 Captain Bartlett and Captain Jocelyn, Lieuten- 
 ant Spurr, Lieutenant Gale, and Lieutenant Brad- 
 ley are wounded. One hundred and thirty-four 
 men were the only remains that could be collected 
 of this splendid regiment. 
 
 General Dana was wounded. General How- 
 ard, who took command of the division after 
 General Sedgwick was disabled, exerted himself 
 to restore order ; but it could not be done there. 
 General Sumner ordered the line to be re-formed. 
 The test was too severe for volunteer troops under 
 such a fire. Sumner himself attempted to arrest 
 the disorder, but to little purpose. Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Revere and Captain Audenried, of his 
 staff', were wounded severely, but not dangerously. 
 It was impossible to hold the position. General 
 Sumner withdrew the divisiou to the rear, and 
 once more the cornfield was abandoned to the 
 enemy. 
 
 French sent word he could hold his ground. 
 Richardson, while gallantly leading a regiment 
 under a heavy fire, was severely wounded in the 
 shoulder. General Meagher was wounded at the 
 head of his brigade. The loss in general officers 
 was becoming frightful. 
 
 At one o'clock affairs on the right had a gloomy 
 look. Hooker's troops were greatly exhausted, 
 and their General away from the field. Mans- 
 field's were no better. Sumner's command had 
 lost heavily, but two of his divisions were still 
 comparatively fresh. Artillery was yet plaj-ing 
 vigorously in front, though the ammunition of 
 many of the batteries was entirely exhausted, 
 and they had been compelled to retire. 
 
 Doubleday held the right inflexibly. Sumner's 
 headquarters Avere now in the narrow field where, 
 the night before. Hooker had begun the fight. 
 All that had been gained in front had been lost. 
 The enemy's batteries, which, if advanced and 
 served vigorously, might have made sad work 
 M'ith the closely-massed troops, were fortunately 
 either partially disabled or short of ammunition. 
 Sumner was confident that he could hold his 
 own, but another advance was out of the ques- 
 tion. Tiie enemy, on the other hand, seemed to 
 be too much exhausted to attack. 
 
 At this crisis Franklin came up with fresh troops 
 and formed on the left. Slocum, commanding one 
 division of the corps, was sent forward along the 
 slopes lying under the first ranges of the rebel 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 473 
 
 hills, while Smith, with the other division, Avas or- 
 dered to retake the cornfields and woods which 
 all day had heen so hotly contested. It was done 
 in the handsomest styk. His Maine and Vermont 
 regiments, and the rest, went forward on the run, 
 and cheering as they went, swept like an ava- 
 lanche through the cornfields, fell upon the woods, 
 cleared them in ten minutes, and held them. 
 They were not again retaken. 
 
 The field and its ghastly harvest which the 
 Reaper had gathered in those fatal hours re- 
 mained finally with us. Four times it had been 
 lost and won. The dead are strewn so thickly 
 that as you ride over it you cannot guide your 
 horse's steps too carefully. Pale and bloody faces 
 are everywhere upturned. They are sad and ter- 
 rible ; but there is nothing which makes one's 
 heart beat so quickly as the imploring look of 
 sorely wounded men, who beckon wearily for help 
 which you cannot stay to give. 
 
 General Smith's attack was so sudden that his 
 success Avas accomplished with no great loss. He 
 had gained a point, however, Avhich compelled 
 him to expect every moment an attack, and to 
 hold Avhich, if the enemy again brought up re- 
 serves, Avould task his best energies and best 
 troops. But the long strife, the heavy losses, in- 
 cessant fighting over the same ground repeatedly 
 lost and Avon inch by inch, and more than all, per- 
 haps, the fear of Burnside on the left and Porter 
 in front, held the enemy in check. For two or 
 three hours there was a lull even in the cannon- 
 ade on the right, which hitherto had been inces- 
 sant. McClellan had been over on the field after 
 Sumner's repulse, but had speedily returned to 
 his headquarters. Sumner again sent word that 
 he was able to hold his position, but could not 
 advance Avith his oAvn corps. 
 
 Meantime where Avas Burnside, and Avhat Avas 
 he doing ? On the right, Avhere I had spent the 
 day until two o'clock, little Avas knoAvn of the 
 general fortunes of the field. We had heai-d Por- 
 ter's guns in the centre, but nothing from Burn- 
 side on the left. The distance Avas, perhaps, too 
 great to distinguish the sound of his artillery 
 from Porter's. There was no immediate prospect 
 of more fighting on the right, and I left the field 
 which all day long had seen the most obstinate 
 contest of the Avar, and rode over to McClellan's 
 headquarters. The different battle-fields Avere 
 shut out from each other's vicAV, but all partially 
 visible from the central hill, Avhich General Mc- 
 Clellan had occupied during the day. But I Avas 
 more than ever impressed, on returning, Avith the 
 completely deceitful appearance of the ground 
 the rebels had chosen, Avhen viewed from the 
 front. 
 
 Hooker's and Sumner's struggle had been car- 
 ried on over an uneven and Avooded surface, 
 their own line of battle extending in a semicir- 
 cle not less than a mile and a half. Perhaps a 
 better notion of their p.osition can be got by con- 
 sidering their right, centre, and left as forming 
 three sides of a square. So long, therefore, as 
 either Aving Avas driven back, the centre became 
 exposed to a very dangerous enfilading fire, and 
 
 the farther the centre Avas advanced the worse 
 off it Avas, unless the lines on its side and rear 
 were firmly held. This formation resulted origi- 
 nally from the efiPorts of the enemy to turn both 
 flanks. Hooker at the very outset thrcAV his 
 column so far into the heart of the rebel Hues 
 that they were compelled to threaten him on the 
 flank to secure their OAvn centre. 
 
 _ Nothing of all this Avas perceptible from the 
 hills in front. Some directions of the rebel Hues 
 had been disclosed by the smoke of their guns, 
 but the whole interior formation of the country 
 beyond the hills Avas completely concealed. 
 When McClellan arranged his order of battle, it 
 must have been upon information, or have been 
 left to his corps and division commanders to dis- 
 cover for themselves. 
 
 Up to three o'clock Burnside had made little 
 progress. His attack on the bridge had been 
 successful, but the delay had been so great that 
 to the observer it appeared as if McClellan's plans 
 must have been seriously disarranged. It is im- 
 possible not to suppose that the attacks on right 
 and left were meant in a measure to correspond, 
 for otherAvise the enemy had only to repel Hooker 
 on the one hand, then transfer his troops, and 
 push them against Burnside. 
 
 Here was the difference betAveen Smith and 
 Burnside. The former did his Avork at once, and 
 lost all his men at once — that is, all whom he 
 lost at all ; Burnside seems to have attacked cau- 
 tiously in order to save his men, and sending 
 successively insufficient forces against a position 
 of strength, distributed his loss over a great- 
 er period of time, but yet lost none the less in 
 the end. 
 
 Finally, at four o'clock, McClellan sent simul- 
 taneous orders to Burnside and Franklin — to 
 the former to advance and carry the batteries in 
 his front at all hazards and at any cost ; to the 
 latter to carry the woods next in front of him to 
 the left, Avhich the rebels still held. The order 
 to Franklin, however, was practically counter- 
 manded, in consequence of a message from Gen- 
 eral Sumner that, if FrankUn went on and Avas 
 repulsed, his own corps Avas not yet sufficiently 
 reorganized to be depended on as a reserve. 
 Franklin, thereupon, Avas directed to run no risk 
 of losing his present position, and, instead of 
 sending his infantry into the A\'Oods, contented 
 himself Avith advancing his batteries over the 
 breadth of the fields in front, supporting them 
 Avith heavy columns of infantry, and attacking 
 with energy the rebel batteries immediately op- 
 posed to him. His movement Avas a success, so 
 far as it Avent, the batteries maintaining their new 
 ground, and sensibly affecting the steadiness of 
 the rebel fire. That being once accomplished, 
 and all hazard of the right being again forced 
 back having been dispelled, the movement of 
 Burnside became at once the turning-point of 
 success, and the fate of the day depended on 
 him. 
 
 HoAv extraordinary the situation Avas may be 
 judged from a moment's consideration of the 
 facts. It is understood that from the outset 
 
474 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Burnside's attack was expected to be decisive, as 
 it certainly must have been if things Avent well 
 elsewhere, and if he succeeded in establishing 
 himself on the Sharpsburg road in the rebel rear. 
 Yet Hooker and Sumner and Franklin and Mans- 
 field were all sent to the right three miles awaj', 
 while Porter seems to have done double duty 
 with his single corps in front, both supporting the 
 batteries and holding himself in reserve. With 
 all this immense force on the right, but sixteen 
 thousand men were given to Burnside for the 
 decisive movement of the day. 
 
 Still more unfortunate in its results was the 
 total failure of these separate attacks on the right 
 and left to sustain, or in any manner cooperate 
 with, each other. Burnside hesitated for hours 
 in front of the bridge, which should have been 
 carried at once by a conp de main. Meantime 
 Hooker had been fighting for four hours, with 
 various fortune, but final success. Sumner had 
 come up too late to join in the decisive attack 
 which his earlier arrival would probably have 
 converted into a complete success ; and Franklin 
 reached the scene only when Sumner had been 
 repulsed. Probably before his arrival the rebels 
 had transferred a considerable number of troops 
 to their right to meet the attack of Burnside, the 
 direction of which was then suspected or devel- 
 oped. 
 
 Attacking first with one regiment, then with 
 two, and delaying both for artillery, Burnside was 
 not over the bridge before two o'clock — perhaps 
 not till three. He advanced slowly up the slopes 
 in his front, his batteries in rear covering, to 
 some extent, the movements of the infantry. A 
 desperate fight was going on in a deep ravine on 
 his right ; the rebel batteries were in full play, 
 and apparently very annoying and destructive, 
 while heavy columns of rebel troops were plainly 
 visible, advancing, as if careless of concealment, 
 along the road and over the hills in the du-ection 
 of Burnside's forces. It was at this point of 
 time that McClellan sent him the order above 
 given. 
 
 Burnside obeyed it most gallantly. Getting 
 his troops well in hand, and sending a portion of 
 his artillery to the front, he advanced with rapid- 
 ity and the most determined vigor straight up the 
 hill in front, on top of which the rebels had main- 
 tained their most dangerous battery. The move- 
 ment was in plain view of McClellan's position ; 
 and as Franklin, on the other side, sent his bat- 
 teries into the field about the same time, the bat- 
 tle seemed to open in all directions with greater 
 activity than ever. 
 
 The fight in the ravine Avas in full progress, the 
 batteries in the centre were firing with new vigor, 
 Franklin Avas blazing aAvay on the right, and 
 every hill-top, ridge, and Avoods along the Avhole 
 line Avas crested and veiled Avith white clouds of 
 smoke. All day had been clear and bright since 
 the early cloudy morning ; and noAV this Avhole 
 magnificent, unequalled scene shone Avith the 
 splendor of an afternoon September sun. Four 
 miles of battle, its glory all visible, its horrors 
 all hidden, the fate of the republic hanging on 
 
 the hour — could any one be insensible of its 
 grandeur ? 
 
 There are tAvo hills on the left of the road, the 
 farthest the lowest. The rebels have batteries on 
 both. Burnside is ordered to carry the nearest 
 to him, which is the farthest from the road. His 
 guns, opening first from this new position in front, 
 soon entirely controlled and silenced the enemy's 
 artillery. The infantry came on at once, advan- 
 cing rapidly and steadily, their long, dark lines 
 and broad masses plainly visible Avithout a glass 
 as they moved over the green hill-side. 
 
 The next moment the road in which the rebel 
 battery Avas planted Avas canopied Avith clouds of 
 dust SAviftly descending into the valley. Under- 
 neath Avas a tumult of Avagons, guns, horses, and 
 men, flying at speed down the road. Blue flashes 
 of smoke burst now and then among them ; a 
 horse or a man, or half a dozen, Avent doAvn, and 
 then the Avhirlwind SAvept on. 
 
 The hill was carried ; but could it be held ? The 
 rebel columns, before seen moving to the left, in- 
 crease their pace. The guns on the hill above 
 send an angry tempest of shell doAvn among 
 Burnside's guns and men. He has formed his 
 columns apparently in the near angles of two 
 fields bordering the road — high ground about 
 them evervAvhere except in rear. 
 
 In another moment a rebel battle-line appears 
 on the broAV of the ridge above them, moves 
 SAviftly down in the most perfect order, and 
 though met by incessant discharges of musketry, 
 of Avhich Ave plainly see the flashes, does not fire 
 a gun. White spaces show Avhere men are fall- 
 ing, but they close up instantly, and still the line 
 advances. The brigades of Burnside are in 
 heaA'y column ; they Avill not give Avay before a 
 bayonet charge in line, and the rebels think twice 
 before they dash into those hostile masses. 
 
 There is a halt ; the rebel left gives way, and 
 scatters over the field ; the rest stand fast and fire. 
 More infantry comes up ; Burnside is outnum- 
 bered, flanked, compelled to yield the hill he took 
 so bravely. His position is no longer one of at- 
 tack ; he defends himself Avith unfaltering firm- 
 ness, but he sends to McClellan for help. 
 
 McClellan's glass for the last half hour has sel- 
 dom been turned aAvay from the left. He sees 
 clearly enough that Burnside is pressed — needs 
 no messenger to tell him that. His face groAvs 
 darker with anxious thought. Looking down 
 into the valley Avhere fifteen thousand troops are 
 lying, he turns a half-questioning look on Fitz- 
 John Porter, Avho stands by his side, gravely 
 scanning the field. They are Porter's troops be- 
 loAv, are fresh, and only impatient to share in this 
 fight. But Porter sloAvly shakes his head, and 
 one may believe that the same thought is passing 
 through the minds of both generals. " They are 
 the only reserves of the army ; they cannot be 
 spared." 
 
 McClellan remounts his horse, and with Porter 
 and a dozen officers of his staff rides away to the 
 left in Burnside's direction. Sykes meets them 
 on the road — a good soldier, Avhose opinion is 
 Avorth taking. The three Generals talk briefly 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 475 
 
 together. It is easy to see that the moment has 
 come when everything may turn on one order 
 given or withheld, when the history of the battle 
 is only to be written in thoughts and purposes 
 and words of the General. 
 
 Burnside's messenger rides up. Jlis message 
 is : "I want troops and guns. If you do not 
 send them, I cannot hold my position half an 
 hour." McClellan's only answer for the moment 
 is a glance at the western sky. Then he turns 
 and speaks very slowly : " Tell General Burnside 
 this is the battle of the war. He must hold his 
 gi-ound till dark at any cost, I will send him 
 Miller's battery. I can do nothing more. I have 
 no infantry." Then, as the messenger was riding 
 away, he called him back. " Tell him if he can- 
 not hold his ground, then the bridge, to the last 
 man ! — always the bridge ! If the bridge is lost, 
 all is lost." 
 
 The sun is abeady down ; not half an hour of 
 daylight is left. Till Burnside's message came it 
 had seemed plain to every one that the battle 
 could not be finished to-day. None suspected 
 how near was the peril of defeat, of sudden attack 
 on exhausted forces — how vital to the safety of 
 the army and the nation Avere those fifteen thou- 
 sand waiting troops of Fitz-John Porter in the 
 hollow. But the rebels halted instead of push- 
 ing on ; their vindictive cannonade died away as 
 the light faded. Before it was quite dark the 
 battle was over. Only a solitary gun of Burn- 
 side's thundered against the enemy, and presently 
 this also ceased, and the field was still. 
 
 The peril came very near ; but it has passed, 
 and in spite of the peril, at the close the day 
 v,"as partly a success ; not a victory, but an ad- 
 vantage, had been gained. Hooker, Sumner, and 
 Franklin held all the ground they had gained, 
 and Burnside still held the bridge and his posi- 
 tion beyond. Everything was favorable for a re- 
 newal of the fight in the morning. 
 
 The Bible in War, — At the meeting of the 
 Christian Commission in Philadelphia, January 
 28, 1864, the following occurred in the address 
 of the Rev, Dr. Taylor : 
 
 " Nothing has more touched my soul than when 
 I heard of that poor rebel dying, stretched out 
 upon one of the battle-fields of the Peninsula, 
 with the Bible open beneath his hand, and his 
 skeleton fingers pi-essed upon the words, ' Yea, 
 though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
 of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me ; 
 Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.' Often- 
 times, sir, this Bible has been the only grave- 
 stone that has marked the resting-place of many 
 an unknown soldier. Many could be known in 
 no other way than by their Testaments in their 
 pockets, saturated with their patriot blood ; and 
 sometimes the story of domestic grief has been 
 uttered first in the solemn, silent sentences of 
 that precious Word. I coukl tell you of an offi- 
 cer's wife from New England receiving a box 
 from her husband in the army South, and when 
 she came to open it, there was nothing there to 
 
 tell why it was sent. There were the clothes, 
 and the sword, and many Httle relics he had car- 
 ried in his bosom. There was no letter there to 
 tell the story ; but there was the Bible ! When 
 it was opened, there were found, heavily under- 
 scored, simply these words : ' Woman, why weep- 
 est thou ? ' and, ' Why should it be thought an 
 incredible thing with you that God should raise 
 the dead ? ' That was all ; but it was enough. It 
 was the story of death ! — it was the note of 
 resurrection ! " 
 
 «»E PLURIBUS UNUM," 
 
 BY JOHN PIERPONT. 
 I. 
 
 The harp of the minstrel with melody rmgs 
 
 When the Muses have taught him to touch and 
 to tune it ; 
 But though it may have a full octave of strings, 
 To both maker and minstrel the harp is a unit. 
 So the power that creates 
 Our republic of States, 
 Into harmony brings them at different dates ; 
 And the thirteen or thirty, the Union once done. 
 Are " E Pluribus Unum" — of many made one. 
 
 The science that weighs in her balance the spheres, 
 And has watched them since first the Chaldean 
 began it. 
 Now and then, as she counts them and measures 
 their years. 
 Brings into our system and names a new planet. 
 Yet the old and new stars — 
 Venus, Neptune, and Mars, 
 As they drive round the sun their invisible cars, 
 Whether faster or slower their races they run — 
 Are " E Pluribus TJnum " — of many made one. 
 
 Of that system of spheres should but one fly the 
 track. 
 Or with others conspire for a general dispersion, 
 By the great central orb they would all be brought 
 
 back, 
 And held each in her place by a wholesome co- 
 ercion. 
 
 Should one daughter of light 
 Be indulged in her flight, 
 They would all be ingulfed by old Chaos and 
 Night : 
 So must none of our sisters be suffered to run, 
 For, " E Pluribus Unum," we all go if one. 
 
 Let the demon of discord our melody mar, 
 
 Or treason's red hand rend our Union lasunder, 
 Break one string from our harp, or extinguish one 
 star. 
 The whole system's ablaze with its lightning and 
 thunder. 
 
 Let the discord be hushed ! 
 Let the traitors be crushed, 
 Though "Legion" their name, all with victory 
 flushed ! 
 For aye must our motto stand, fronting the sun : 
 " E Pluribus Unum " — though many were one. 
 
476 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Adventures of an Iowa Boy. — Among the 
 most remarkable adventures perpetrated during 
 the war, is that related of Charles H. Smith, a 
 private of the Fourth Iowa cavalry, which is as 
 follows : 
 
 He started with his regiment on Colonel Wins- 
 low's expedition to prenada, and was captured 
 by the rebels at that place. He remained their 
 prisoner for four days, walking in that time a dis- 
 tance of eighty miles in a state of semi-starvation. 
 One evening they halted about sundown, and put 
 up for the night in an old school-house, situated 
 ten miles west of West Point, on the road lead- 
 ing from West Point to Grenada. The school- 
 house had a door on each side, a chimney in one 
 end, and a window without frame or shutter in 
 the other. They barricaded the window with a 
 desk convenient, barred the eastern door, and 
 stationed a guard in the other. 
 
 When it had come sleeping time the Yankees 
 — six in all — were allotted that portion next the 
 chimney, Avhile the Butternuts — twenty in num- 
 ber — occupied the other end ; a line was desig- 
 nated across which no one must pass. Charlie 
 lay down without removing any of his clothes, in- 
 tending to lie awake and watch for an oppor- 
 tunity to escape, but weariness of body overcame 
 the resolution, and he fell asleep. But he awa- 
 kened between one and two o'clock, and saw the 
 guard sitting in the door smoking his pipe and 
 conversing with the corporal of the guard, who 
 was sitting by the fire outside. Slipping off his 
 boots, and gathering his hat, haversack, and can- 
 teen, he crept over the sleeping " chivalry " up on 
 to the desk, and let himself quietly down and out 
 at the window, reaching terra Jirma in safety. 
 A splendid horse was tied to a tree at the end of 
 the house, six or seven feet from where his 
 doughty master and several companions were 
 sleeping. A saddle and bridle were found on the 
 window after considerable fcehng around, which 
 a few moments sufficed to put in their place, 
 a moment more to lead the horse thirty yards and 
 mount him. Six days sufficed to place him in- 
 side the Yankee lines at Lagrange, Tennessee, 
 nearly two hundred miles being travelled in that 
 time. In passing through the Confederacy he 
 avoided all towns and stations at which troops 
 were quartered, though with all his precaution he 
 Bt;veral times came near runnuig into their camps, 
 only escaping by the greatest good fortune. He 
 met small squads of shot-gun gentlemen nearly 
 every day. To these and to the citizens he 
 passed himself off for a paroled prisoner belong- 
 ing to McCuUoch's command (Second Missouri), 
 and going home to see his old mother for the first 
 time since the war broke out. Charlie considered 
 the capture of the horse a capital joke. Its pro- 
 prietor belonged to the Fifteenth Mississippi regi- 
 ment, and was home on a furlough. 
 
 Burn SIDE at the Bridge. — An eye-witness 
 gives the following account of the fight at An- 
 tietam Bridge : 
 
 "The bridge across Antietam Creek, which 
 
 General Burnside was ordered to take, and which 
 was so stubbornly held by the rebels, is situ- 
 ated in a deep ravine. The face of the hill on the 
 opposite side of the bridge is too steep to be 
 ascended by a horse, and must be literally climbed 
 to be surmounted by man. The roadway from 
 the bridge turns abruptly to the right and left, 
 and rises the hill along its side very gradually. 
 The rebel infantry at first occupied the bridge 
 itself, and the bank of the creek on our side, and 
 a rebel battery was posted on the opposite hill 
 directly above the bridge, so as to play upon our 
 infantry as it approached the bridge, either from 
 directly before it or from our right of the bridge. 
 Some trees intervened on our left of the bridge 
 immediately down upon the creek, but the ap- 
 proach down the hill on our side was bare in all 
 directions, and exposed to the view of the enemy's 
 gunners. The bridge is a stone arched and stone 
 parapeted structure, a strong, rough, country 
 bridge. 
 
 " The rebel prisoners state the number sta- 
 tioned to hold the bridge against us at from one 
 hundred and fifty to three hundred infantry. It 
 is hardly credible that a point to which any im- 
 portance was attached on either side should be 
 intrusted to so small a force ; and the incredi- 
 bility is heightened by the havoc that was made 
 among at least four of our regiments ; yet I am 
 inclined to believe that a not much higher figure 
 than the last would cover the actual number. I 
 think there was not more than one regiment as- 
 signed to that duty ; and as regiments go in ar- 
 mies that have been over a year in service, it did 
 not probably number more than five hundred 
 men ; the chance is less. I notice that both our 
 officers and men engaged in that contest are to- 
 tally wanting in their usual claim of superior 
 numbers against them — a claim commonly 
 enough true whenever they have found much 
 difficulty in making head against the foe, and, in 
 fact, seem to concur in repeating what the rebels 
 state, and there significantly letting the matter 
 drop. On our part, Burnside had a couple of 
 batteries on a hill on our left of the bridge at 
 something less than a right angle with it, and a 
 very little to our right of the bridge was another 
 battery on another point of the same range of 
 hills, just opposite to the enemy's battery. The 
 parapets formed excellent breastworks against our 
 batteries on either hand, and were protection 
 against our small arms from the same direction. 
 The creek was fordable hereabout — it has rained 
 since — in several places ; some of them, how- 
 ever, necessitating waist-deep wading. It was at- 
 tempted to cross in this manner, as well as by the 
 bridge. The Second Indiana, who was first or- 
 dered to the attack, did not get down to the 
 water. That regiment and the Sixth New Hamp- 
 shire were repulsed, but not until they had made 
 some impression on the rebel defence, and left it 
 weaker against succeeding regiments. The Fifty- 
 first Pennsylvania was the first to cross. The 
 Fifty-first New York supported its Pennsylvani' 
 namesake, or numbersake, and was close with it, 
 but a little less forward. The bridge itself was 
 
 <l 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 477 
 
 not the only part of the creek defended against 
 our attempt to cross. Our left was resisted all 
 along its banks for many rods above and below. 
 The enemy selected this as the front of this part 
 of his line for its strong natural defences, and also 
 having reference to the line of woods a mOe or so 
 in his rear for a hiding-place and an intrenchment, 
 in case he was driven back in spite of his best 
 bona fide efforts to stand firm ; or having refer- 
 ence to the woods as his real battle-line, into 
 which he hoped to decoy us in pursuit of what- 
 ever success we might obtain, either in spite of 
 him or in pursuance of his strategy. The bridge 
 is no more noticeable than any other portion of 
 the ci'eek on our left wing, excepting that its stone 
 parapets added so much artificial defence to the 
 natural defence of the abrupt and rough line of 
 hm and wood along the stream. The movement 
 for the capture of this line of position was com- 
 menced between ten and eleven in the morning, 
 and it was not crowned with success, throughout, 
 until between three and four in the afternoon ; but 
 the wonder is that it was taken at all. It was 
 while crossing this creek, up to his waist in water, 
 that Captain Griswold received his death-wound. 
 His regiment (Connecticut Eleventh) was one of 
 the regiments under General liodman that at- 
 tempted to, and finally succeeded after several 
 hours' fighting, in crossing, half a mile or so be- 
 low the bridge. Our cannonading on our left so 
 far exceeded the anticipations of our Generals in 
 rapidity and duration (it will do now to say), that 
 General Burnside exhausted all his ammunition 
 for some of his guns before the day was fairly 
 done. As for the rebels, they probably could not 
 have fought a general battle at all, and would not 
 have made a stand, but for their immense acquisi- 
 tions at Harper's Ferry. Whatever of mourning 
 this battle has caused in the hundreds and thou- 
 sands of families in the land for those who may 
 never return to them ; whatever of discomfort 
 they may sufi'er from the death or disabled condi- 
 tion often thousand husbands and fathers; what- 
 ever of these, and a train of evils, may flow from 
 this greatest and bloodiest of the battles of this 
 unparalleled, preposterous revolution, it is all im- 
 mediately chargeable to the surrender of Harper's 
 Ferry. _ 
 
 " It is strange what a difference there is in the 
 composition of human bodies, with reference to 
 the rapidity that change goes on after death. 
 Several bodies of rebels strewed the ground on 
 the bank, in the vicinity of the bridge. They 
 fought behind trees, and fence-rail and stone-heap 
 barricades, as many a bullet mark in all these de- 
 fences amply attested ; but all that availed not to 
 avert death from these poor creatures. They had 
 been dead at least forty-eight hours when I 
 looked at them. Almost all of them had become 
 discolored in the face and much swollen ; but 
 there was one young man M"ith his face so life- 
 like, and even his eye so bright, it seemed almost 
 impossible that he could be dead. It was the 
 loveliest looking corpse I ever beheld. He was a 
 young man, not twenty-five, the soft, unshaved, 
 brown beard hardly asserting yet the fulness of 
 
 its owner's manhood. The features were too 
 small, and the character of the face of too small 
 and delicate an order, to answer the requirements 
 of masculine beauty. In death his eye Avas the 
 clearest blue, and would not part with its sur- 
 passingly gentle, amiable, good, and charming 
 expression. The face was like a piece of wax, only 
 that it surpassed any piece of wax-work. 
 
 "One other young man, beardless, yet but of a 
 brawnier type, furnished another example of slow 
 decomposition. His face was not quite as iife- 
 lilce ; still one could easily fancy him alive to see 
 him anywhere else than on the field of carnage ; 
 and strange, his face wore an expression of mirth, 
 as if he had just witnessed something amusing. 
 A painful sight especially was the body of a rebel 
 who had evidently died of his wounds, after lin- 
 gering long enough at least to apply a handker- 
 chief to his thigh himself, as a tourniquet to stop 
 the bleeding. His comrades were obliged to 
 leave him, and our surgeons and men had so 
 much else to do that they could not attend to him 
 in time. Perhaps nothing would have saved him ; 
 but perhaps, again, a little surgical aid was all 
 he needed. How long he dragged out his lessen- 
 ing pulse in pain no one can tell. 
 
 " Subsequently, I visited the ground interven- 
 ing between our pickets and the pickets of the 
 enemy, after the fight was done. It was the 
 ground over which our troops had driven the 
 enemy, but which they failed to hold ; and it had 
 since been jealously watched by both parties, 
 each prohibiting the other from entering upon it 
 even to care for his wounded or to bury his dead, 
 if the skirmishing sharpshooters of either could 
 prevent it. Numerous shots were exchanged 
 yesterday between them in this spirit ; but to-day 
 the rebel skirmishers had left ours sole occupants 
 of the field, and we civilians even felt free and 
 safe to wander over the entire battle-ground 
 without restriction. Our men have been engaged 
 to-day in looking up their dead comrades, and 
 possibly here and there a surviving wounded one, 
 over this inhibited district, and this afternoon 
 your correspondent visited it himself. Had I 
 seen it before jotting down my observations just 
 concluded, it is questionable whether I should 
 have had the spirit of charity enough to mention 
 the rebels, living or dead, for anything but male- 
 diction. 
 
 " One field especially was thickly strewn with 
 our dead, in which the Hawkins Zouaves (Ninth 
 New York volunteers) were largely represented. 
 Several members of the One Hundred and Third 
 New York lay there also. Away across the 
 fields, for a mile within the enemy's battle-line, 
 our gallant soldiers had charged and chased the 
 chivalry, but afterward had been obliged to retire 
 before the enemy's batteries, leaving their fallen 
 comrades on the ground. Every dead man's feet 
 I saw Avere robbed of their shoes, and there were 
 instances of our heroic boys being stripped of 
 their pantaloons. Their arms and accoutrements 
 were invariably taken, of course. On the other 
 hand — I record it with a sense of relief from 
 disgust at my kind — the enemy's dead within 
 
478 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 our reach lay just as they fell, untouched, except- 
 ing as their "names might be sought after on their 
 clothes, or the buttons might be cut off by the 
 soldiers for trophies or remembrancers of the 
 field. God only knows what some of our poor 
 men have suffered before they died. It is to be 
 hoped that none, or few, at worst, died lingering 
 deaths. 
 
 " Some of the rebel missiles are military curiosi- 
 ties. One of the Hawkins Zouaves showed me a 
 great big striped white marble that had hit him 
 after it was spent from a cannon. Another sol- 
 dier, a cultivated young man, known to literary 
 friends of mine, told me of a comrade picking up 
 the sheet-iron plate of a door-lock, all rolled up, 
 ke)"hole perfect in it, no mistake, which had fallen 
 near him from a rebel cannon. The key had 
 probably been sent in another direction. 
 
 " A nervous, big-headed, little-bodied, amiable- 
 faced rebel lay in the same barn with Dr. Bowen 
 and the others named. He told me his name, but 
 I reserve it. He said he was worn out and sick, 
 and when his army moved to retire across the 
 Potomac he fell out, on a natural pretext enough, 
 and lay down to rest. His own regiment passed 
 on and left him. He then moved farther out of 
 sight, and lay down in some straw, and finally 
 went into that barn, when our troops had ad- 
 vanced far enough to protect him. He hoped 
 he should not be exchanged. He wanted to be 
 paroled, so that he could not fight any more. He 
 said he would not continue with the army another 
 four months for ten thousand dollars. He joined 
 it by conscription in North Carolina, where he 
 resides." 
 
 Compensations of War. — In the address of 
 the Rev. Dr. Eddy, at the meeting of the Chris- 
 tian Commission, in January, 18G4, the following 
 passages occur : 
 
 " This hour has its compensations. It has origi- 
 nated some of the noblest, grandest charities. It 
 has inspired the purest patriotism that earth has 
 ever seen ; and it has developed piety in many 
 places, resplendent as the noonday sun. I re- 
 member hearing of the interview you [addressing 
 Mr. George H. Stuart, the president] had with a 
 patriotic woman of the city of Philadelphia, on 
 whom you called to make known the work of the 
 Christian Commission. Her grandson, wrapped 
 in the Stars and Stripes as his shroud, had just 
 been brought to her, and as the clergyman en- 
 deavored to offer to her the consolations of reli- 
 gion, did she mourn in bitterness the loss of that 
 child ? did she mourn because he had done and 
 suffered so much for his country ? O, no ! 'I 
 have given,' she says, ' two sons. Commodore EUet, 
 of the Navy, and Brigadier-General EUet, of the 
 Marine Brigade, and four grandsons, to the coun- 
 try.' And was this all ? No ; but, ' If I had twenty 
 sons, I'd give them all for my country and theirs, 
 for it must be preserved ; (applause) and if I was 
 twenty years younger, I would go myself, woman 
 though I am ! ' (Protracted applause.) 
 
 "Out of this war comes piety as well as patri- 
 otism. We have not been accustomed to look to 
 
 the camp and the battle-field for religion ; but, 
 strange as it may seem, we are to-day turning 
 from our cities to the camps and battle-fields for 
 revivals of religion, and for the noblest forms of 
 gospel evangelization. Never, since the Star of 
 Bethlehem went marching up the skies, has a 
 nobler, grander, holier sight been seen than that 
 at Shiloh, so often quoted. When that terrible 
 day was done, and the sun had gone to rest, and 
 the two armies had rolled back to prepare for 
 another bloody struggle, all was still and silent, 
 save the moans of the wounded and the groans 
 of the dying. By and by there peered through 
 a rift in the clouds a single, solitary star, and it 
 caught the eye of a dying soldier. It awakened 
 the holiest memories of his heart, and he began 
 to sing, — 
 
 ' When, marshalled on the nightly plain. 
 The glittering hosts bestud the sky, 
 One star alone, of all the train, 
 Can fix a dying soldier's eye,' — 
 
 and ere he had reached the end of the fii'st verse, 
 another voice had taken up the strain, and another, 
 and another, and another, until that gory field re- 
 sounded with salvation's holiest notes, and that 
 solitary star that had shone alone, was joined by 
 all the glittering sisterhood of heaven, and the 
 countless constellations of the skies sent back 
 the melody of that bleeding soldier's song ! " 
 
 Unacquainted with the Ropes. — Western 
 officers were proverbial for shocking bad uni- 
 forms, and, in a majority of instances, it was 
 rather difficult to distinguish them from the pri- 
 vates. Among this class was a brigadier-general 
 named James Morgan, who looked more like a 
 wagon-master than a soldier. On a certain occa- 
 sion, a new recruit had just arrived in camp, lost 
 a few articles, and was inquiring around among 
 the " Vets " in hopes of finding them. An old 
 soldier, fond of his sport, told the recruit the only 
 thief in the brigade was in Jim INIorgan's tent. 
 The recruit immediately started for " Jim's " quar- 
 ters, and poking his head in, asked : 
 
 " Does Jim Morgan live here ? " 
 
 " Yes," was the replj', " my name is James 
 Morgan." 
 
 " Then I want you to hand over those books 
 you stole from me ! " 
 
 " I have none of your books, my man." 
 
 " It's an infernal Ue," indignantly exclaimed 
 the recruit. " The boys say you are the only 
 thief in the camp ; turn out them books, or I'll 
 grind your carcass into apple sass." 
 
 The General relished the joke much, but ob- 
 serving the sinewy recruit peeling off his coat, in- 
 formed him of his relations to the brigade, and 
 the recruit walked off, merely remarking : " Wall, 
 blast me if I'd take you for a Brigadier. Excuse 
 me. General, I don't know the ropes yet." 
 
 Generosity. — A sick soldier on his way to 
 his home in Georgia, while passing through the 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 479 
 
 streets of Selma, Alabama, weary with his long 
 march, seated himself beside the pavement to rest. 
 His pale face and emaciated frame elicited much 
 sympathy from the passers by, and a proposition 
 was started to raise a purse for his benefit. But 
 before there was time to carry it into efiiect, a 
 gentleman stepped up to the poor sick soldier, and 
 with the remark, " I will give him something to 
 help him along," handed him a one hundred dol- 
 lar note. Such acts are as certainly applauded 
 by men as they are approved of Heaven. — 
 Southern paper. 
 
 JEFF DAVIS ON HIS ELECTION AS PRES- 
 IDENT FOR SIX YEARS.* 
 
 BY LUCIUS MANLIUS SAKGENT. 
 
 Satan was chained a thousand years. 
 
 We learn from Revelation, 
 That he might not, as it appears, 
 
 Longer " deceive the nation." 
 'Tis hard to say, between the two, 
 
 Which is the greater evil. 
 Six years of liberty for you — 
 
 A thousand for the devil ! 
 'Tis passing strange if you've no fears 
 Of being hanged within six years ! 
 
 A hundred thousand rebels' ears 
 
 Would not one half repay 
 The widows' and the orphans' tears 
 
 Shed for the slain to-day : 
 The blood of all those gallant braves. 
 
 Whom Southern traitors slew, 
 Cries sternly, from their loyal graves. 
 
 For vengeance upon you ; 
 And if you're not prepared to die 
 The death of TIaraan, fly, Jeff, fly ! 
 
 Fly, traitor, to some lonely niche, 
 
 Far, far beyond the billow ; 
 Thy grave an ill-constructed ditch, 
 
 Thy sexton General Pillow. 
 There may you turn to rottenness, 
 
 By mortal unannoyed, 
 Your ashes undisturbed, unless 
 
 Your grave is known by Floyd. 
 He'll surely trouble your repose, 
 And come to steal your burial-clothes. 
 
 EPITAPH. 
 
 Pause for an instant, loyal reader. 
 Here lies Jeff, the great seceder. 
 Above, he always lied, you know. 
 And now the traitor lies below. 
 His bow was furnished with two strings : 
 He flattered crowds, and fawned on kings ; 
 Repaid his country's care with evil. 
 And prayed to God, and served the devil. 
 The South could whip the Yankee nation. 
 So he proposed humiliation ! 
 Their blessings were so everlasting, 
 'Twas just the time for prayer and fasting ! 
 The record may be searched in vain, 
 From West Point Benedict to Cain, 
 To find a more atrocious knave. 
 Unless in Crcsar Borgia's grave. 
 
 * November 9, 1861. 
 
 The Story of Ulric Dahlgren. — The 
 month of March, 1864, is memorable in Rich- 
 mond for one of the grandest Union raids that, 
 up to that time, had menaced the Confederate cap- 
 ital — a raid which was the immediate precursor 
 of General Grant's famous campaign from the 
 Wilderness to James River. 
 
 The history of this raid is too famihar to the 
 minds of all our readers to make necessary any 
 recapitulation of it, even if it comported with 
 our space. It is known that Colonel Dahlgren, 
 after the attack on Richmond on Tuesday, the 1st 
 of March, did not succeed in forming a junc- 
 tion with General Kilpatrick, and while pushing 
 through King and Queen County, towards Glou- 
 cester Point, was killed on the night of Wednes- 
 day, March 2, near Walkerton. It is also known 
 that his body Avas brought to Richmond ; but 
 what disposition was made of it by the Confed- 
 erate authorities was kept a mystery at the time, 
 and the facts, even to this day, have never been 
 published. We purpose to give them to the pub- 
 lic for the first time, vouching for their entire 
 authenticity.* 
 
 When intelligence was received in Richmond 
 of the death of Colonel Dahlgren, messengers 
 were despatched to bring the remains to the city 
 for identification. They reached the city on Mon- 
 day, March 7, by the York River Railroad, and 
 lay, during that day at the depot, where they 
 were examined by large numbers of persons. 
 His death had been caused by a gun-shot wound 
 in the head. The little finger of one hand had 
 been cut off on the field where he fell by some 
 one anxious to secure, with the least trouble, a 
 valuable diamond ring. That night the body 
 was carried to General Elzy's office, in Belvin's 
 block ; and the next day, having been placed in 
 a common pine coffin, of the kind then used for 
 the burial of soldiers, — which, in turn, was placed 
 in a box, — was transferred to Oakwood Ceme- 
 tery, a mile east of the city. The hearse used on 
 this occasion was a four-mule street wagon, and 
 the attendants consisted of a Confederate officer 
 of inferior rank and two soldiers. Arriving at 
 Oakwood, which was the burial-place of all sol- 
 diers who died at Chimborazo, Howard's Grove, 
 and other hospitals in the eastern portion of the 
 city and suburbs, the negro grave-diggers and 
 other attendants about the cemetery Mere driven 
 off and ordered to absent themselves until noti- 
 fied that they might return. One of the negroes, 
 now living in the city, having his curiosity excited, 
 secreted himself in the woods near by, determined 
 to see what was to be done. The two soldiers 
 dug a grave, placed the box in it, and covered it 
 up. They then shouted to recall the attendants 
 of the cemetery, and, getting into the wagon, 
 returned to the city. 
 
 The only circumstance in the proceedings that 
 struck the negro as unusual, was the mystery 
 observed, and the circumstance of the box, — no 
 corpse ever having been brought there before, 
 except in a pine coffin ; but, there having been a 
 great deal of talk as to what was to be done 
 
 * See page 291, ante. 
 
480 
 
 ANECDOTES, POE'TRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 with the body of Colonel Dahlgren, he at once 
 decided that this could be no other than the 
 corpse of that officer. He, however, kept his 
 opinion to himself at the time. 
 
 The question. What has been done with the 
 body of Dahlgren ? was the subject of inquiry and 
 conversation for many days in Richmond, to be 
 revived from time to time up to the day of 
 the evacuation. And there were many stories 
 on the subject — that it had been burnt, sunk 
 in the river, &c. A city paper of that day 
 announced, with a solemn and knowing air, that 
 it would never be found until the trump of doom 
 should sound. A number of Union men of the 
 city, believing it possible that it might be recov- 
 ered, were anxious to secure and preserve it for 
 the family of the deceased. Prominent among 
 them was Mr. F. W. E. Lohman, a grocer, doing 
 business near the New Market. Mr. Lohman at 
 at once began his inquiries and investigations, — 
 which, in the then state of popular feeling, it was 
 necessary to conduct with great caution, — and 
 determined, at whatever cost and risk, to ascer- 
 tain its fate. After nearly a month's patient and 
 untiring inquiry, he, with the assistance of Mr. 
 Martin Meredith Lipscomb, whose business it Avas 
 to attend the interment of all the Union prison- 
 ers who died at this post, made the acquaint- 
 ance of the negro grave-digger, whom we have 
 mentioned as being the sole spectator of the 
 burial of Colonel Dahlgren. • They found him at 
 Oakwood, pursuing his regular business. When 
 first approached on the subject, the negro was 
 very much alarmed, and protested he would have 
 nothing to do with the matter. But after re- 
 peated assurance by Mr. Lipscomb, whom he 
 knew well, that he might rely upon Mr. Lohman, 
 and that no harm should befall him, he consented, 
 on Mr. Lohman's giving him a hundred dollar 
 note, to point out the grave. This he did by walk- 
 ing near and casting a stone upon it, while Loh- 
 man and Lipscomb stood at a distance. He was 
 afraid to employ any other method, lest he might 
 excite the suspicion of the superintendent of the 
 cemetery, or some of the attendants. The grave 
 lay among thousands of those of Confederate sol- 
 diers. Subsequently, after a great deal of per- 
 suasion, and the promise of a liberal reward, the 
 negro agreed to meet Mr. Lohman at the ceme- 
 tery on the night of the 6th April, at ten o'clock, 
 and exhume the body. 
 
 The appointed night having arrived, Mr. Loh- 
 man, his brother, John A. Lohman, and Mr. 
 Lipscomb, started for the cemetery "in a cart 
 drawn by a mule. The night was dark and 
 stoimy, and well suited to conceal their move- 
 ments. The party left the city at nine o'clock, 
 and reached their destination about ten, and there 
 found waiting for them the grave-digger and two 
 assistants. The negroes, being assured that all 
 was right, began their work of exhumation, the 
 three white men remaining with the cart outside 
 the enclosure of tlie cemetery. The heavens were 
 hung with their deepest black ; no object ten feet 
 distant could be distinguished, and no sounds 
 broke upon the loneliness of the place, save the 
 
 howling of the winds and the chopping of the 
 resurrectionist's spade. Once the mule, snuffing 
 the tainted air of the city of the dead, attempted 
 to break away, but was quickly quieted by a firm 
 hand. 
 
 In twenty minutes from the time the negroes 
 began their work they approached the cart, bear- 
 ing between them the coffin, which, being badly 
 made, fell to pieces as they rested it on the 
 ground. It was then discovered that the body 
 had not decomposed in any perceptible degree. 
 Mr. Lohman satisfied himself of the identity of 
 the corpse by passing his hand over it. The little 
 finger, torn ofi' to secure the jewel it bore, and the 
 leg, lost in battle, were missing. He paid the negro 
 with whom he had contracted fifteen hundred dol- 
 lars, and placing the body in the .cart, the party 
 started on their return. The mule, alarmed as 
 animals frequently are when drawing a dead body 
 for the first time, became difficult of manage- 
 ment, and, with the darkness of the night, made 
 the first part of the expedition one of no little 
 peril. More than one hour was spent in reach- 
 ing the gas lights of the city on Church HiU. It 
 was part of the plan to convey the body to the 
 house of William S. Rowlett, a Union man, liv- 
 ing on Chelsea Hill, a half mile north-east of the 
 city, there to remain until a metallic case could be 
 procured for it. From Church Hill, Mr. Lohman 
 drove down Broad Street to Seventeenth Street, 
 thence up Seventeenth Street to its northern ter- 
 minus, and thence up the hill to Mr. Hewlett's, 
 reaching the last place at two o'clock on the 
 morning of the 7th of April. Here the body was 
 wrapped in a blanket, and Mr. Lohman came to 
 the city in search of a coffin, which he obtained 
 by the aid of Mr. Lipscomb. On his Avay into 
 the city from Rowlett's, Lohman notified a num- 
 ber of persons of Union sentiments, among whom 
 were several ladies, where the body had been 
 placed, and they hurried out to see it. Several 
 of these persons had seen Colonel Dahlgren while 
 he was exposed at the York River Railroad depot, 
 and immediately recognized the body as his. The 
 metallic coffin having been procured, and the body 
 placed in it, the two Lohmans, at noon on the 
 7th, set out with it, concealed in a wagon loaded 
 with young fruit trees, for the farm of Robert 
 Orricks, s. Union man, living in Henrico, two 
 miles from Hungary Station. 
 
 At four o'clock that evening they reached Or- 
 ricks', and buried the body under an apple tree, 
 in a field, avoiding the graveyard for fear of ex- 
 citing inquiry, which might lead to discovery. 
 
 The rest of this story may be told in a few 
 words. Orricks, some months after the second 
 burial of Colonel Dahlgren, succeeded in getting 
 through the Confederate lines, and, seeking an 
 interview with Commodore Dahlgren, informed 
 him of what had been done to secure the body 
 of his son. The corpse of the soldier lay in this 
 its second grave until the evacuation of Rich- 
 mond, when, an order having been sent for it by 
 the War Department, it was again disinterred by 
 the two Lohmans, and sent to Washington. 
 
 It has been our object to lift the veil of mys- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 481 
 
 tery from an obscure and interesting event. In 
 doing so, M-e have confined ourselves to facts 
 strictly relative to the secret fate of Colonel Dahl- 
 gren's body from the time of its arrival in Rich- 
 mond, which, until after the capture of the city, 
 remained, to all except the few individuals named 
 by us in the course of our narrative, one of the 
 most impenetrable mysteries of the war. Many 
 Confederate officials knew that the body had been 
 deposited at Oakwood, but they were ignorant to 
 the last that it had ever been removed. It has at 
 length found its last earthly resting-place. — Rich- 
 mond Republic. 
 
 An Even Chance. — " Travelling in the County 
 of Sevier, Arkansas," says an editor, " the stage 
 was stopped on some trifling business at a house 
 where lived one of the merriest and prettiest of 
 the beautiful damsels of that highly favored coun- 
 try. She came out to the stage looking as fresh 
 as Hebe, and we, having known her before, and 
 presuming on the privileges of a paterfamilias, 
 asked her if it were possible she had not married 
 yet? 
 
 " ' No, sir,' she answered ; ' and Avhat's more 
 than that, I don't intend to, until the very last 
 one of the volunteers gets back. I mean to wait, 
 and let them have an even chance.' " 
 
 PRICE'S APPEAL TO ISUSSOURI. 
 
 BY M. JEFF. THOMPSON. 
 
 Missouni ! Missouri ! Awake from thy shmibers : 
 Canst thou not hear the hammer that rivets thy 
 chains ? 
 Can't the death-shriek of fathers, the wail of thy 
 mothers, 
 The tears of thy daughters, arouse thee again ? 
 Come ! rise in thy might, shake the dewdrops of 
 morning 
 From thy limbs, and walk forth as a lion to war, 
 For fanatics are forging bonds stronger than iron, 
 To bind thee forever to a conqueror's car. 
 
 Can thy slumbering senses be so callous and dead 
 That even in dreams thou canst hear not nor see 
 That the chains they are striking from Afric's black 
 sons 
 Are being welded again to be placed upon thee ? 
 Canst thou not see through the world the finger of 
 scorn 
 Is pointed at those who submissively stand 
 Beneath the foul yoke, Avhile their brothers are 
 striking 
 For the freedom and glory of our dearly loved 
 land ? 
 
 O, rise in thy might ; drive the " Huns" from thy 
 borders. 
 And stand by thy Southern sons in the fight ; 
 Pour forth all thy men to help them to battle 
 
 For Freedom, for Glory, for Justice, for Eight ! 
 Let thy watch-fires glow, and thy bugles blast high 
 O'er thy mountains and valleys, o'er woodland 
 and lea. 
 Then the glad shout shall ring o'er thy prairies and 
 streams, 
 «• Hail ! brothers, hail ! Missouri is free ! " 
 31 
 
 A Negro from Williamsburg, who went into 
 Fortress Monroe in compan^y with one of the 
 Union chaplains, says that, before the national 
 troops left Williamsburg, the slaves in that vicin- 
 ity were told to beware of the " horrible Yankees, 
 Avho had very small bodies, but great large heads, 
 with front teeth like horses, and were known to 
 eat human flesh." Upon being asked whether the 
 slaves believed this, he replied : " Dun'no ; reckon 
 not, massa. Dem Yankees has got no horns, but 
 fights like de debble ! " 
 
 Major Winthrop, killed at Great Bethel, was 
 shot by a negro. The writer says : " I have it 
 from a member of the Wythe Rifles, of Hampton, 
 Virginia, who was present at the fight, and saw 
 Winthrop fall, that he was shot by a negro at the 
 suggestion and command of the Captain of the 
 Rities, who said to him substantially : ' These 
 Yankees will take you to Cuba, and sell you. If 
 j'Ou wish to stay with your wife and children, 
 drive them out of Virginia.' The negro fired, 
 and, unconsciously to him, there fell one of the 
 earliest and best friends of the race to which he 
 belonged." 
 
 The Escape of J. P. Benjamin. — A corre- 
 spondent at Havana relates the following story of 
 the escape of the Confederate Secretary of State, 
 Judah P. Benjamin : 
 
 Early in May he separated from the President 
 (Davis) near Washington, Georgia, for the pur- 
 pose of making his way to Nassau and Havana 
 from some point on the Florida coast. He was 
 to attend to some public business at these ports, 
 and then to rejoin the President in the trans- 
 Mississippi via Matamoras and Texas. He trav- 
 elled directly south, through Georgia and Florida, 
 on horseback, disguised as a farmer in search of 
 lands on which to settle, and passed through the 
 country without exciting suspicion or attracting 
 attention, until he reached the lower side of the 
 Peninsula of Florida. He was informed that no 
 boats were to be found on the eastern coast, and 
 went thence to the Gulf shore, vhere after a 
 month's delay he succeeded in getting a ship's 
 yawl-boat and two men who were willing to risk 
 their lives upon the sea in it. The open boat was 
 about fifteen feet in length, in which they coasted 
 the Peninsula until they reached one of the keys 
 of the Florida Reef, where they succeeded in pro- 
 curing a boat somewhat larger, but still an open 
 boat, in which they put to sea to cross the Gulf 
 Stream, and fortunately reached the Bimines upon 
 the Banks, after a passage of sixty hours. On 
 Monday, the 10th of July, after an unsuccessful 
 attempt to reach Nassau, in which he was bafiied 
 by head winds and heavy weather, he put back to 
 the Bimines. On the 13th he took passage from 
 the Bimines for Nassau in a small sloop of nine 
 tons burden, loaded Avith sponges, and on Friday, 
 the 14th, this sloop foundered at sea, when thirty 
 miles distant from the nearest land. The vessel 
 went down so rapidly that he, with the colored 
 men who formed the crew, had barely time to 
 
482 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 jump into a skiff in tow of the sloop before she 
 sank. In this boat, with a light mast, sails, and 
 compass, and their only provisions a pot of boiled 
 rice, which the negroes had cooked for their 
 breakfast, — in this leaky and overloaded boat, 
 and having but one oar, they made for land, and, 
 as the weather was calm and a vessel in sight, by 
 dint of energetic sculling, they reached the light- 
 house vessel at five P. M., and were cordially re- 
 ceived, by Captain Stewart, on board the Georgia, 
 Her Eritannic Majesty's light-house yacht, and 
 were warmly and most cordially entertained. 
 This vessel was on an official tour of light -house 
 inspection upon the banks, and at the request of 
 Mr. Benjamin, returned him once more to the 
 Bimines. There Mr. Benjamin chartered another 
 vessel on the 25th of July, and arrived at Nassau, 
 Friday, the 21st. On Saturday, the 22d, he sailed 
 on board the good schooner Britannia, and ar- 
 rived at Havana on the 25th, safe and sound. 
 
 His whole trip occupied the best part of three 
 months, out of wliich thirty days were passed at 
 sea in miserable open boats ; at least, twenty-two 
 days in the smallest crafts that float. 
 
 An Incident at Chattanooga. — Stepping 
 to my door one evening, to take a view of the 
 varied life of Market Street, I saw a refreshing 
 spectacle. Coming down the centre of that broad 
 thoroughfare, with musket at right shoulder shift, 
 head bent slightly forward, and the step and air 
 of a veteran, was a negro boy of about twenty 
 years, wearing the army blue. Following behind, 
 crowding close up around^ and in a Hne extending 
 far behind him, were about two hundred officers 
 and soldiers of the so-called Confederate States 
 army. On passed the colored Sergeant — such 
 was his rank — and onward crowded a!id fol- 
 lowed the late Southern warriors. Not another 
 guard about them, not another menacing bayo- 
 net in sight. The gleam of the negro's bayonet 
 told them of rations and quarters ahead, and of 
 danger behind. I saw him pass on with his 
 charge, never looking behind him, yet losing 
 none, until he handed them over to the authori- 
 ties at the military prison, from which they were 
 next day paroled. — Letter from a Soldier. 
 
 General Logan and the Ieishman. — Just 
 lieforc the capture of Savannah, General Logan, 
 with two or three of his staff, entered the depot 
 at Chicago one fine morning, to take the cars east, 
 on his way to rejoin his command. The General, 
 being a short distance in advance of the others, 
 stepped upon the platform of a car, and was about 
 to enter it, but was stopped by an Irishman with : 
 
 " Ye'U not be goin' in there." 
 
 " Why not, sir ? " asked the General. 
 
 " Because them's a Icddies' caer, and no gentle- 
 man'Il be goin' in there without a leddy. There's 
 wan sate m tnat caer o\er there, cf yees want it," 
 at the same time pointing to it. 
 
 " Yes," replied the General, " I see there is one 
 seat, but what shall I do with my staff? " 
 
 " O, bother yer staff ! " was the petulant re- 
 ply. " Go you and take the sate, and stick yer 
 staff out of the windy." 
 
 Taking the Oath. — At Richmond, Virginia, 
 a modest young country girl, on applying for ra- 
 tions to one of the relief agents, was asked if she 
 had ever taken the oath. " No, indeed, sir," was 
 her terrified reply ; " I never swore in all my 
 life." " But you must take the oath, my good 
 girl," said the agent, " or I cannot give you the ra- 
 tions." " No, indeed, I can't, sir," said the girl ; 
 " mother always taught me never to swear." The 
 agent mildly persisted, and the maiden as perti- 
 naciously refused all attempts at persuasion, until, 
 overcome at last by the dreadful conflict between 
 necessity and her liigh sense of moral duty, she 
 stammered out with downcast lids, " Well, sir, if 
 you will make me do such a horrid, wicked thing, 
 then d — n the Yankees ! " 
 
 PiEMIN^SCENCES OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. — 
 
 " It was not our good fortune to know much, 
 personally, of the late President," says the editor 
 of the Lowell Citizen. " In fact, the only time 
 we ever saw him was on the occasion of a busi- 
 ness visit to Washington, in the last days of 
 March, just before the fall of Richmond. Our 
 special errand related to an unfinished matter al- 
 ready in his hands, and, a moment's attention to 
 it being all that was required, we made our way 
 to the White House, fully resolved not to be in- 
 trusive, nor to worry him with impertinent mat- 
 ters, of which he had already more than enough. 
 Our card was passed in, and we awaited our 
 chances in the anteroom, with a dozen comers, 
 perhaps, among whom were recognized senators 
 and members of the ' popular branch.' One of 
 the latter, coming from the President's own State, 
 gave us a hint that this waiting for ' an audience ' 
 was a decided uncertainty, often resulting in hope 
 deferred. Our friend added that he had been him- 
 self Avaiting and watching for his chance nearly 
 three weeks. His case was simply that of a wid- 
 ow's son, who had deserted, and who was there- 
 fore liable to be shot. 
 
 " The mother was half distracted with grief, and 
 her petition for pardon was to be urged. Pres- 
 ently walked in, with nimble step, a middle-sized, 
 well-built, stern-visaged man, with his budget of 
 papers, and who, as if at home, Mas immediately 
 ushered into the President's room. That was Sec- 
 retary Stanton. The waiting gentlemen, who rec- 
 ognized the Secretary of War, here gave know- 
 ing winks of discouragement, as much as to say, 
 ' It's an all-night business ; Stanton has impor- 
 tant despatches from the front.' But a half hour 
 sufficed, and, when the Secretary passed out, the 
 gray -haired messenger, whose open, pleasant Irish 
 countenance has been familiar to callers at the 
 White House since it was occupied by President 
 Jackson, notified the gentlemen in waiting — the 
 Illinois member was now, unluckily, not among 
 them — that the President would now see them 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 483 
 
 all at once ; and all were ushered in. This was 
 our first and only view of Abraham Lincoln face 
 to face. His countenance bore that open, benig- 
 nant outline we had expected; but what struck 
 us especially was its cheerful, wide-awake ex- 
 pressiveness, which we had never met with in the 
 pictures of our beloved chief. The secret of this 
 may have been that he had just been hearing 
 good news from Grant — for such was the fact. 
 
 " But our chief purpose in this sketch is to 
 describe, in brief, the bearing of the President in 
 this short interview. After saluting his little 
 circle of callers, they were seated, and attended 
 to in turn. First in order was a citizen of Wash- 
 ington, praying for pardon in the case of a de- 
 serting soldier. 
 
 " ' AVell,' said the President, after carefully read- 
 ing the paper, ' it is only natural for one to want 
 pardon ; but I must in such a case have a respon- 
 sible name that I knoto. I don't know you. Do 
 you live in the city ? ' * Yes.' ' Do you know 
 the Mayor ? ' ' Yes.' ' Well, bring me his name, 
 and I'll let the boy off.' The soldier was pardoned. 
 
 " Next came a well-developed man of French 
 accent, from New Orleans. He was evidently a 
 diffident person, not knowing precisely how to 
 state his case ; but the burden of it was, that he 
 was a real-estate holder in New Orleans, and since 
 the advent of military rulers there, he could not 
 collect his rents, which were his living. * Your 
 case, my friend,' said the President, ' may be a 
 hard one, but it might have been worse. If, with 
 your musket, you had taken your chance with 
 our boys before Richmond, you might have found 
 your bed before now. But the point is, what would 
 you have me do for you ? I have much to do, 
 and the courts have been opened to relieve me in 
 this regard.' The applicant, still embarrassed, 
 said, ' I am not in the habit of appearing before 
 big men.' ' And for that matter,' it was quickly 
 responded, ' you have no need to change your 
 habit, for you are not before very big men now ; ' 
 playfully adding, ' I can't go into the collection 
 business.' The New Orleans man was finally sat- 
 isfied that a President cannot do everything that 
 ought to be done to redress individual grievances. 
 These instances, though not specially remarkable 
 in themselves, serve to set off in a strong light 
 those traits of character which shed such a radi- 
 ance over the life of Mr. Lincoln. He studied 
 intently the grievances of the humblest. There 
 was no appearance of affected dignity on account 
 of the high post which he filled. He had a fel- 
 low-feeling for his countrymen — a love for jus- 
 tice — above all, a true fear of God — a sacred 
 regard for the rights of all. These were our first- 
 sight impressions of Abraham Lincoln. They are 
 likely to be lasting." 
 
 A Verse of Welcome. — A clergyman in Il- 
 linois wrote an ode of welcome for a returning 
 regiment. The first verse ran thus : 
 
 "And O, come home, thou wondrous man, 
 
 Who never said. ' I can't ' — 
 We wait, we look, we long for you : 
 Come back, Ulysses Grant 1 " 
 
 THE SOUTHEEN CROSS. 
 
 BY ST. GEORGE TUCKER. 
 
 O, SAY, can you see, through the gloom and the 
 storm, 
 More bright for the darkness, that pure constel- 
 lation ? 
 
 Like the symbol of love and redemption its form, 
 As it points to the haven of hope for the nation. 
 
 How radiant each star ! as they beacon afar, 
 
 Giving promise of peace, or assurance in war ; 
 
 'Tis the Cross of the South, which shall ever re- 
 main 
 
 To light us to Freedom and Glory again. 
 
 How peaceful and blest was America's soil, 
 
 Till betrayed by the guile of the Puritan demon, 
 Which lurks under Virtue, and springs from its 
 coil. 
 To fasten its fangs in the life-blood of freemen ! 
 Then loudly appeal to each heart that can feel, 
 And crush the foul viper 'neath Liberty's heel ; 
 And the Cross of the South shall forever remain 
 To light us to Freedom and Glory again. 
 
 'Tis the emblem of peace, 'tis the day-star of hope, 
 Like the sacred Labarum, which guided the Ro- 
 man : 
 From the shores of the Gulf to the Delaware's 
 slope, 
 'Tis the trust of the free, and the terror of foemen. 
 Fling its folds to the air, while we boldly declare 
 The rights we demand, or the deeds that we dare ; 
 And the Cross of the South shall forever remain 
 To light us to Freedom and Glory again. 
 
 But, if peace should be hopeless, and justice de- 
 nied, 
 And war's bloody vulture should flap his black 
 pinions, 
 
 Then gladly to arms ! while we hurl, in our pride, 
 Defiance to tyrants, and death to their minions, 
 
 With our front to the field, swearing never to yield. 
 
 Or return like the Spartan in death on our shield ; 
 
 And the Cross of the South shall triumphantly 
 wave 
 
 As the flag of the free, or the pall of the brave. 
 
 A Patriotic Family. — John Fon Rodd is a 
 German, and a son of William Henry Fon Rodd, 
 Esq., of Butztown, Pa. The father is eighty-nine 
 years of age, and has lost nine sons in the war for 
 the Union. Eight of these were killed in battle, 
 and the other died of starvation in the rebel pens 
 at Salisbury. While a prisoner, the son last re- 
 ferred to actually ate his right hand, so great was 
 his hunger. John, from whom we have obtained 
 our information, is the tenth and youngest of the 
 brothers, and he bears the scars of eight icounds 
 received in battle. He, too, was for a time a 
 prisoner at Salisbury, and was only released at 
 the close of the war. His recital of the treat- 
 ment of the starving prisoners fully confirms all 
 the accounts that have heretofore been published 
 of the Southern barbarism under which our men 
 sufi"ered. Upon inquiry, we learn from other 
 sources, that Henry William Fon Rodd, the 
 father of the ten heroes, has for many years been 
 
484 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 one of the most highly respected citizens of Butz- 
 town. Is there another man in the world who 
 has sacrificed more sons upon the altar of our 
 country than this aged German ? — Hamshurg 
 Telegnvpli. 
 
 Faithful unto Death. — In the year 1861, 
 when the first call for troops was made, James 
 Hendrick, a young man of eighteen, resolved to 
 leave his father's roof, in Wisconsin, and go forth 
 to battle for the flag. At the time mentioned he 
 was attached to a young girl of nearly the same 
 age as himself, whose parents were rated among 
 the " rich ones " in that section of the country. 
 Her name was Ellen Goodridge. Previous to 
 leaving for the seat of war he informed her of 
 his intentions, promising to return in a few 
 months. After the first battle of Bull Run his 
 regiment was ordered to "Washington, and receiv- 
 ing a Lieutenant's commission, Hendrick resolved 
 to enter the service for three years, and wrote to 
 his parents and sweetheart to that effect. The 
 news was received by the girl with foreboding, 
 and she resolved to accompany him. She imme- 
 diately acquainted her parents with her resolve, 
 who, in reply, turned her from the house, and 
 bade her never come back. 
 
 She Avent, and finding out her lover's regiment, 
 obtained permission to do the cooking at the Col- 
 onel's headquarters. She followed the regiment 
 through the battles of Gettysburg, Antietam, 
 Fredericksburg, the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, 
 Petersburg, and Richmond, and in the interven- 
 ing time went out with young Hendrick in many 
 skirmishes and raids, in one of which she was 
 wounded in the arm, the ball making a very bad 
 flesh wound. After Lee surrendered, the object 
 of her choice was taken deathly sick, and was 
 forwarded in an ambulance to Washington, where 
 he was placed in the hospital. Here, again, her 
 noble heart showed itself. She watched over 
 him, bathed his fevered brow, read to him, wrote 
 home letters for him, and finally, Avith a broken 
 heart, closed his eyes in death. The day before 
 his death an Episcopal minister joined the two 
 in marriage — he dying with a painful disease, 
 and she nearly crazed with the thought that, after 
 four long years of suff"ering, he for whom she had 
 given up home, friends, e\ erything dear on earth, 
 and for whom she had braved every danger, was 
 going to another world. 
 
 GovEBNOR Andrew as a Wag and a Pa- 
 triot. — Military necessity prevented two young 
 lovers from joining hands in marriage. The sol- 
 dier was four times prevented from getting his 
 leave of absence. The War Department did not 
 find it consistent with its duty to ]iermit the lady 
 and her brother to go to the distant front to have 
 the rite duly solemnized, so that the wife might 
 share the lot of the husband. 
 
 At last an appeal was made to the heart of 
 His Excellency the Governor of Massachusetts, 
 and with the success that attends such an appeal 
 when oflicial obligation allows the indulgence of 
 
 his kindly sensibilities and gentle sympathies. 
 The letter of his fair correspondent moved the 
 Executive and the man, and he at once forwarded 
 it to Washmgton with the following indorsement, 
 which succeeded in smoothing the course of true 
 love, and melting INIars to tenderness. This was 
 not the first or only instance in which the Gov- 
 ernor brought about other unions, in the midst 
 of his endeavors to preserve the Union of the 
 States. 
 
 " To the Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of 
 War : 
 
 " This case appeals to all our sympathies as 
 patriots and as gentlemen, and I appeal to the 
 chivalry of the Department of War, which pre- 
 sides over more heroes than Homer ever dreamed 
 of, and better and braver than his Muse ever 
 sung — I pray you to grant this request of my 
 fair correspondent, and generations will rise up 
 and call us blessed. J. A. A." 
 
 Uncle Sam Everyavhere. — A soldier of a 
 Pennsylvania regiment, who was wounded at the 
 battle of Chancellorsville, and left on the field, 
 afterwards related his adventures to the Colonel. 
 When the tide of battle had swept past the spot 
 where he la)^ a rebel soldier came to him, and 
 took away his canteen, haversack, musket, and 
 accoutrements, and finally demanded his coat and 
 shoes. At this the Pennsylvanian at first de- 
 murred, but was forced to submit. Thereupon 
 ensued a conversation : 
 
 " Where do you belong ? " asked the rebel. 
 
 " To Pennsylvania," was the reply. 
 
 " And what are you doing down here in Vir- 
 ginia ? " 
 
 " Veil, I comes down here to fight," said the 
 unlucky Buck County man. 
 
 " To fight, eh ? " said the Virginian ; " why 
 don't you fight in your own State, if you want 
 to fight : what business have you here in Vir- 
 ginia ? " 
 
 The question might have been a poser for 
 some, but the brave Dutchman replied : 
 
 " Vel, I fights mit Uncle Sam, and Uncle Sam 
 he goes efryvere." 
 
 General Grant's War Horse. — The Gen • 
 eral was peculiarly proud of his stud, but partic- 
 ularly so of his war charger. To the few friends 
 to whom he unbjends he took great delight in ex- 
 hibiting his horses. A friend was with Grant one 
 day, and the conversation turned upon horses. 
 " Perhaps," said the General, " you Avould like to 
 see the horse I have ridden during all the cam- 
 paigns that I have commanded." The General 
 ordered his horse to be brought out. To the sur- 
 prise of the gentleman, the animal seemed no 
 more than a lady's palfrey. Small, slender, with 
 agile limbs, black as a coal, an eye like a hawk, 
 intelligent, but mild, with the unmistakable "lick" 
 on each side of the mane, not unlike the " cow- 
 lick " on a boy's head, looking, for all the world, 
 like a family pet for women and children. The 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 485 
 
 visitor uttered his astonishment by saying: 
 " Beautiful, but no endurance." " Endurance !" 
 said General Grant ; " this animal exceeds any 
 horse Hesh I ever saAv for endurance. 1 have 
 taken this horse out at daylight, and kept 
 in the saddle till dark, and he came in as fresh 
 when I returned as when I saddled him in the 
 morning. Gold could not buy him. He was im- 
 ported from a rare breed by Jeff Davis himself. 
 He was taken from Jeff Davis' plantation." This 
 conversation was held just before Davis was 
 caught. " I suppose," said the visitor, " you 
 would exchange this horse for Jeff Davis?" 
 " You have said it," said the General. " I would 
 exchange it for the rebel chief, but for nothing 
 else under heaven." 
 
 The President and an Ohio Boy. — A cor- 
 respondent, describing the throng of visitors 
 who crowded President Johnson's office, said : 
 
 " Among those favored with an interview was 
 high private G. Van Zant, of the Seventy-ninth 
 Ohio, thirteen years old, a clean-faced and bright- 
 eyed youth, who has made the entire campaign 
 from Atlanta with the regiment, acting part of 
 the time as drummer-boy, and part as Orderly 
 to General Ward. ' Well, my son,' said the 
 President, ' what do you want ? A Brevet, I 
 suppose. Brevet Corporal ? how will that do ?' 
 ' No, sir, I don't care for rank. I have a pony 
 brought all the way through, and they are going 
 to take him from me, and I want to take him 
 home and keep him.' ' You shall have him ' — 
 and writing an order for transportation, directed 
 the officers to let him have the pony. ' Now I 
 am all right again ; ' and with a ' Thank you,' he 
 left the President." 
 
 Wanderers. — A large number of Ex-Con- 
 federate officers and soldiers were wandering 
 about the Northern cities in a disconsolate sort of 
 way, their " occupation gone." 
 
 A gentleman met one of them in the street. 
 They had known each other in the old days, and 
 the following conversation ensued : 
 
 Confederate Colonel — "Halloa, Jones! how 
 are you ? " 
 
 Union Gentleman — "Is that you, Harry? 
 What are you doing here ? You've no business 
 here ; I'll have you arrested." 
 
 Confederate — (throwing his arms wildly in 
 the air) — " Great heavens ! where am I to go ? 
 There's no North, no South, no East, no West, 
 for me ; where am I to go ? I'm subjugated, 
 whipped, conquered — anything you please. I'm 
 a deuced sight better Union man than you. I'm 
 for Andy Johnson, Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phil- 
 lips ; am jn favor of the abolition of slavery, and 
 that sort of thing." 
 
 Union — " Well ! I'll have you an-ested, any- 
 how. You're a rebel ! " 
 
 Confederate — " Arrested ! Look a here — 
 (pulling out a package of papers) — there's 
 twenty oaths I've taken, besides being paroled. 
 
 Why, I've sworn myself into another Tophet to 
 get out of that infernal Confederacy. Here's my 
 brother, who has always been a Union man, and 
 now furnishes me with the funds for speculation 
 South. I am going down to Savannah to see if 
 I can't buy my farm back again. Good by ! " 
 
 Incidents of Antietam. — My confrere and 
 myself were within a few yards of Hooker. It 
 Avas a very hot place. AVe could not distinguish 
 the " ping " of the individual bullets, but their 
 combined and mingled hum was like the din of a 
 great Lowell factory. Solid shot and shell came 
 shrieking through the aii', but over our heads, as 
 we were on the extreme front. 
 
 Hooker — commonplace before — the moment 
 he heard the guns, loomed up into gigantic stat- 
 ure. His eye gleamed with the grand anger of 
 battle. He seemed to know exactly what to do, 
 to feel that he was master of the situation, and 
 to impress every one else with the fact. Turning 
 to one of his staff, and pointing to a spot near 
 us, he said : 
 
 " Go, and tell Captain to bring his bat- 
 tery and plant it there at once ! " 
 
 The Lieutenant rode away. After giving one 
 or two further orders with great clearness, rapid- 
 ity, and precision, Hooker's eye turned again to 
 that mass of rebel infantry in the woods, and he 
 said to another officer, with great emphasis : 
 
 " Go, and tell Captain to bring his bat- 
 tery here instantly ! " 
 
 Sending more messages to the various divisions 
 and batteries, only a single member of the staff 
 remained. Once more scanning the woods with 
 his eager eye. Hooker dkected the aid : 
 
 " Go, and tell Captain to bring that bat- 
 tery here without one second's delay. Whj', my 
 God, how he can pour it into their infantry ! " 
 
 By this time several of the body-guard had 
 fallen from their saddles. Our horses plunged 
 wildly. A shell ploughed the ground under my 
 rearing steed, and another exploded near Mr. 
 Smalley, throwing great clouds of dust over both 
 of us. Hooker leaped his white horse over a 
 low fence into an adjacent orchard, whither we 
 gladly followed. Though we did not move more 
 than thirty yards, it took us comparatively out 
 of range. 
 
 The desired battery, stimulated by three suc- 
 cessive messages, came up, with smoking horses, 
 at a full run, was unlimbered in the twinkling of 
 an eye, and began to pour shots into the enemy, 
 who were also suffering severely from our infan- 
 try discharges. It was not many seconds before 
 they began to waver. Through the rifting smoke, 
 we could see their line sway to and fro ; then it 
 broke like a thaw in a great river. Hooker rose 
 up in his saddle, and, in a voice of suppressed 
 thunder, exclaimed : 
 
 » There they go, . . . Forward ! " 
 
 Our whole line moved on. It was now nearly 
 dark. Having shared the experience of " Fight- 
 ing Joe Hooker" quite long enough, I tm-ned 
 towards the rear. Fresh troops were pressing 
 
486 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 forward, and stragglers Avere ranged in long lines 
 behind rocks and trees. 
 
 Riding slowly along a grassy slope, as I sup- 
 posed quite out of range, my meditations were 
 disturbed by a cannon ball, Avhose rush of air 
 fanned my face, and made my horse shrink and 
 rear almost upright. The next moment came 
 another behind me, and by the great blaze of a 
 fii-e of rails, which the soldiers had built, I saw it 
 ricochei down the slope, like a foot-ball, and pass 
 right tl rough a column of our troops in blue, who 
 were marching steadily forward. The gap which 
 it made was immediately closed up. 
 
 Men with litters were groping through the dark- 
 ness, bearing the wounded back to the ambu- 
 lances. 
 
 At nine o'clock I wandered to a farm-house 
 occupied by some of our pickets. We dared not 
 light candles, as it was within range of the enemy. 
 The family had left. I tied my horse to an apple 
 tree, and lay down upon the parlor floor, with my 
 saddle for a pillow. At intervals during the 
 night, we heard the popping of musketry, and at 
 the first glimpse of dawn the picket officer shook 
 me by the arm. 
 
 " My friend," said he, " you had better go away 
 as soon as you can ; this place is getting rather 
 hot for civilians." 
 
 I rode around through the field, for shot and 
 shell were already screaming up the nai'row lane. 
 
 Thus commenced the long, hotly-contested bat- 
 tle of Antietam. Our line was three miles in 
 length, with Hooker on the right, Burnside on 
 the left, and a great gap in the middle, occupied 
 only by artillery ; while Fitz-John Porter, with 
 his fine corps, was held in reserve. From dawn 
 until nearly dark, the two great armies wrestled 
 like athletes, straining every muscle, losing here, 
 gaining there, and at many points fighting the 
 same ground over and over again. It was a fierce, 
 sturdy, indecisive conflict. 
 
 Five thousand spectators viewed the struggle 
 from a hill comparatively out of range. Not more 
 than three persons were struck there during the 
 day. McClellau and his stafi" occupied another 
 ridge half a mile in the rear. 
 
 " By Heaven ! it was a goodly sight to see, 
 For one who had no friend or brother there." 
 
 No one who looked upon that wonderful pan- 
 orama can describe or forget it. Every hill and 
 valley, every cornfield, grove, and cluster of trees, 
 was fiercely fought for. 
 
 The artillery was unceasing ; we could often 
 count more than sixty guns to the minute. It 
 was like thunder ; and the musketry sounded 
 like the patter of rain-drops in an April shower. 
 On the great field were riderless horses and scat- 
 tering men, clouds of dirt from solid shot and 
 exploding shells, long, dark lines of infantry swaj-- 
 ing to and fro, with columns of smoke rising from 
 their muskets, red flashes and white puff's from 
 the batteries — with the sun shining brightly on 
 ad this scene of tumult, and beyond it, upon the 
 dark, rich woods, and the clear blue mountains 
 south of the Potomac. — A. D. Blcliardson. 
 
 A Spunky Prisoner. — A Captain of one of 
 the New York companies said he was exceed- 
 ingly anxious to be exchanged and return home ; 
 but if he thought such exchange would enure to 
 the benefit of the Confederate States, and lead to 
 their recognition by foreign powers, he would re- 
 fuse it. He preferred rather that both sides 
 should shoot or hang all the prisoners that should 
 be taken, and he would willingly stand his chance 
 with the rest. — Southern paper. 
 
 At the Front. — On the day of President 
 Lincoln's funeral, a bronzed and weather-beaten 
 soldier, anxious to obtain a better view of the 
 procession, happened to step before a party of 
 ladies and gentlemen. One of the gentlemen 
 nudged him on the elbow, at the same time ob- 
 serving, " Excuse me, sir, but you are right in 
 front of us." Bowing handsomely in return, the 
 soldier replied, " That is nothing remarkable for 
 me, sir; I have been in front of you for three 
 years." So these iron men, marching with the 
 nonchalance of veterans, are the men who have 
 stood in " front of us for three years." 
 
 Noble Southern Women. — Much has been 
 written about Spartan women of old, — much 
 about the noble Roman matron, — much about 
 our excellent " foremothers of the Revolution ; " 
 but it has been reserved for the women of our 
 Sunny South to blend the virtues of these hero- 
 ines all in one, and present to the world the 
 brightest example of fii-mness, courage, and pa- 
 triotism. Look at the hundreds of Avomen all 
 over our land — delicate ones, who have been 
 reared in the lap of luxury ; who have heretofore 
 been shielded from every rough blast ; women 
 who, a year ago, were lingering over the ivory 
 keys of theu* pianos, or discussing with their 
 dressmakers the shade of silk which became their 
 complexion best ; and see how they have risen, 
 Avithout a dissenting voice, to meet the exigencies 
 of the times. "What shall I wear? "is now a 
 question seldom asked. The only attention that 
 dress demands is the consideration, " Will it be 
 a piece of economy to purchase this or that ? " 
 and daily we hear the remark, " I want homespun 
 dresses, — they are the best for us now." In- 
 stead of finding our women at the piano, or on 
 the fashionable promenade, we find them busy at 
 their looms, busy at their wheels, busy making 
 soldiers' unifonns, busy making bandages, busy 
 in hospitals, busy girding up their sops, their hus- 
 bands, and their fathers for the battle-field. Tell 
 me, are thej' not a noble race ? Luxury has not 
 enervated them ; adversity has not depressed 
 them. There was once a French queen, who, sur- 
 rounding herself by her maids of honor,^wi'ought, 
 day after day, on delicate tapestry, with which the 
 churches in her realm were afterwards hung. It 
 was thought to be an act of great virtue in her. 
 The fact was registered upon the page of history ; 
 and she has been held up to her sex as a " shin- 
 ing example." But she did not, as the wife of 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 48: 
 
 our Governor has clone, set herself down to sew 
 on heavy woollen goods for soldiers ; she did not 
 throw aside the silken robe and the golden chain, 
 and apply herself, day after day, with unwearied 
 assiduity, over stiff fabrics, which make the shoul- 
 ders and the fingers alike ache. Nearly all the 
 bandages that were used on the bloody field of 
 Manassas, between the 21st and 23d of July, 1861, 
 were made and forwarded by two Georgia women, 
 Mrs. Robert Hardaway and her sister, who reside 
 near Columbus. Southern matrons are indeed 
 the jewels of our land. — Southern Field and 
 Fireside. 
 
 UNITED STATES NATIONAL ANTHEM. 
 
 BY AVILLIAM BOSS ■WALLACE. 
 
 God of the Free ! upon Thy breath 
 Our Flag is for the Right unrolled 
 
 As broad and brave as when its Stars 
 First lit the hallowed time of old. 
 
 For Duty still its folds shall fly, 
 For Honor still its glories burn, 
 
 Where Truth, Religion, Valor, guard 
 The patriot's sword and martyr's urn. 
 
 No tyrant's impious step is ours; 
 
 No lust of power on nations rolled : 
 Our Flag — for friends, a starry sky ; 
 
 For traitors, storm in every fold. 
 
 O, thus we'll keep our Nation's life, 
 Nor fear the bolt by despots hurled ; 
 
 The blood of all the world is here, 
 
 And they who strike us strike the world ! 
 
 God of the Free ! our Nation bless 
 In its strong manhood as its birth, 
 
 And make its life a Star of Hope 
 For all the struggling of the earth. 
 
 Then shout beside thine Oak, O North ! 
 
 O South, wave answer with thy Palm ! 
 And in our Union's heritage 
 
 Together sing the Nation's Psalm ! 
 
 The Colored School at Danville. — A 
 coi-respondent relates the following in a letter 
 from Danville, North Carolina : A negro school 
 had been established here in one of the hospital 
 buildings for the benefit of the junior portionof 
 the colored population. This morning I paid it a 
 visit, and found that it numbered some two hun- 
 dred and fifty scholars, and that there has been, 
 until recently, a night school, with an attendance 
 of about two hundred and sixty. The present 
 teacher is a member of the Eighth Pennsylvania 
 cavalry, who has been detailed for the duty. I 
 could not help feeling amused at his _ style of 
 teaching. An orthography class, consisting of 
 two mcnnbcrs, was reciting as I entered. The 
 teacher was seated behind a square pme table. 
 The pupils were in front of it, reclining on it with 
 their elbows, and leaning half way across. One 
 of them was a tall, listless-looking girl of about 
 thirteen ; her wool was gathered into sections and 
 twisted into " pig tails," two of which were tied 
 
 under the chin, while the seams that marked the 
 several partings looked like rivers winding 
 through a cane-brake. In her hand she held a 
 peach-tree switch, one end of which she chewed 
 with commendable assiduity. "Goat," shouted 
 the teacher. " Dat's not de word," said the girl ; 
 " I jest done spelled dat." " AVell, boat, tlien ; 
 spell that. Say, you boys on those back benches, 
 are you going to keep quiet there, hey ? Look 
 at your hoolcs, now, and don't stare at me. Sit 
 up there, you ! ' Moat, mo-o-a-t, moat.' Say, 
 you, there, better raise yourselves up on them 
 seats, else you'll r/it raised purty soon. Stop 
 that noise, there, you boys, or I'll give you a dose 
 of hickory oil." 
 
 The next recitation M'as by a class of small 
 children, spelling on cards. " Where's that pint- 
 er of mine ? " demands the teacher. " It's done 
 broke, sah," shouted half a dozen piccaninnies. 
 "Who broke it?" (in a stentorian voice.) Si- 
 lence is the only response. " Can none on you 
 tell me who broke it ? It'll be a dear break for 
 them, if I find 'em out ; I'll try how this hickory 
 will break over their backs." 
 
 These illustrations are sufiicient to show that 
 the colored school at Danville is conducted in a 
 style now nearly obsolete in more favored locali- 
 ties. 
 
 Lucky and Unlucky. — A young man from 
 Worcester, Massachusetts, a private in the Fifty- 
 seventh regiment, in the battle of Cold Harbor, 
 was hit by a ball in the chin, which badly frac- 
 tured the bone, and tore out several teeth. An- 
 other ball hit the right shoulder, fractured the 
 shoulder-blade, and remains undiscovered. The 
 third ball passed through his abdomen, and 
 brought him to the ground. His companions 
 d"ragged him to a hole, where his bodyand head 
 could not be seen by the enemy ; but his legs be- 
 ing exposed, one ball passed through the calf of 
 his leg, another cut a deep groove through his 
 shin, another cut through the top of the 
 instep, and another carried away the next to the 
 o-reat toe. He lay in the hole all day, and was 
 then taken prisoner, and starved for several 
 months ; yet this young man returned to Worces- 
 ter erect and in good health, and not perceptibly 
 lame. His name is E. P. Rockwood. 
 
 Incidents of the South. — "A Southerner" 
 relates the following amusing affairs : 
 
 " A certain General of brigade, who was mor- 
 tally wounded at Gettysburg, and who died 
 within our Hues, was rather fond of the good 
 whiskey for which the Old Dominion is tlimous 
 He rarely appeared on parade without being well 
 fortified with a fair jiotion of it. As soon as the 
 business of the parade was ended, it was his cus- 
 tom to dismount, and proceed to the front of the 
 line, and dare any officer or man who thought he 
 could whip him, to come out and fight him, ac- 
 companying his challenge with a volley of drunk- 
 en abuse of the whole command. After keeping 
 up this display for some time, without finding 
 
488 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 any one willing to accept his invitation, he would 
 dismiss the parade, and return to his quarters 
 very well pleased with the proceeding. 
 
 " With a favorite General the men took many 
 liberties, and this very popularity seemed to de- 
 stroy the deference usually paid to such high offi- 
 cers. A laughable occurrence of this kind took 
 place during the retreat of the Confederates from 
 Yorktown, in 1862. 
 
 " Just after the battle of Williamsburg, General 
 Magruder and his staff stopped at the house of a 
 widow lady on the road, and engaged dinner. 
 Soon after their arrival a Louisiana soldier came 
 up, and accosted the landlady with : 
 
 " ' INIadam, can I get dinner ? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, sir,' Avas the reply ; ' but as I am pre- 
 paring dinner for General Magruder and staff, 
 and have not room at my table for more, you will 
 have to wait for a second table.' 
 
 " ' Very well, ma'am. Thank you,' said the 
 soldier, taking his seat in a position to command 
 a view of the dining-room. AVatching the move- 
 ments of the servants, he waited until the feast 
 was on the table, and while his hostess proceeded 
 to the parlor to announce dinner to her distin- 
 guished guests, he entered the dining-room, and, 
 seating himself at the table, awaited further de- 
 velopments, trusting to his impudence to get him 
 out of the scrape. 
 
 " Upon the entrance of the party of officers, 
 there was found to be seats for all but one, and 
 one politely returned to the parlor to wait. The 
 General took a seat next to the soldier, and, after 
 the fo'st course was finished, turned to him, and 
 asked : 
 
 " ' Sir, have you any idea with whom you are 
 dining ? ' 
 
 " * No,' coolly replied the soldier ; ' I used to be 
 very particular on that score ; but since I turned 
 soldier, I don't care whom I eat with, so that the 
 victuals are clean.' 
 
 " The joke was so good that Magruder laughed 
 heartily at it, and even paid for the soldier's din- 
 ner, and sent him on his way." 
 
 Amoxg the Rebels. — Camp Dennison, about 
 twenty miles from Cincinnati, Ohio, says a corre- 
 spondent writing in the summer of 1862, was the 
 first in that State, and very soon after the begin- 
 ning of the war assumed the proportions of a 
 military city. Of late it has been used only for 
 the sick and wounded, a few regiments being un- 
 der instructions there. Since, however, the new 
 call for troops, it has been again full of activity 
 and interest. 
 
 Among those who have been devoting much 
 labor to both the physical and spiritual wants of 
 the sufferers there, the Reverend Mr. Clayton, an 
 earnest Methodist, formerly of the Bethel in this 
 city, has been prominent. All the sufferers there 
 have learned to look for his visits with anxiety. 
 In the language of the Dutch doctor there, the 
 general opinion is, " If preacher Clayton ain't 
 a Christian, then t'ain't vort a tam to be a 
 Christian." 
 
 Few things are more interesting than the re- 
 sults of his visits through the various wards, but 
 I shall confine myself to some notes I have of con- 
 versations of his with wounded rebels, of whom 
 we have thirty-four there. They are all from 
 somewhere in the south-west, and have all applied 
 to the Government for permission to take the oath, 
 and be released thereon. 
 
 One of the most interesting cases was a youth, 
 whose heart was evidently busy doing poetic jus- 
 tice to the Yankees he had been taught to hate, 
 though he still was anxious about Southern rights. 
 Mr. Clayton talked to him for some time concern- 
 ing religious matters, and the young man at last 
 broke in by saying, " We've talked about religion 
 long enough ; now let's talk politics." There was 
 a peculiar Southernism about his look and tone 
 that excited a smile all around. " Well," repHed 
 Mr. Clayton, " I'm not much on poHtics ; I'd 
 rather not talk about them ; tell me how you felt 
 when you were wounded." " Thought it would 
 be a sharp pain, sir, but it wasn't ; I was wounded 
 in the legs, and it was just like being knocked 
 off my pins by a strong blow from a log of wood. 
 Fell flat on my belly, and my knees drew them- 
 selves up under my chin. Made sure I was dead, 
 but thought it didn't make much difference, for I 
 saw our men retreating, and knew the Yankees 
 would get ine and kill me sure ; always told, sir, 
 the Yankees had horns. Well, there I lay ; and 
 up came a Colonel leading his men — he was in 
 front, sir ; he jumped down from his horse, and 
 ran to me, drawing something from his belt ; so I 
 gave up ; but it wasn't a pistol, sir " — and here 
 the boy's eyes moistened — " it was a canteen ! 
 He put it to my lips. I drank. He jumped on his 
 horse again, and said, ' Charge, boys ; they're flee- 
 ing ! ' Then some soldiers on foot came towards 
 me, and I thought they were not all like that offi- 
 cer, and I gave up again. But, sir, they said, ' Com- 
 rade, get up.' They lifted me up, and said, ' Put 
 your arms around our necks, and we'll lead you 
 away from these bullets; ' and these were the 
 ' damned Yankees ! ' I tell you, sir, no man ever 
 hugged his sweetheart more friendly than I 
 hugged these Yankees' necks." 
 
 After a few more remarks the youth showed a 
 determination to " talk politics," and asked Mr. 
 Clayton, " What are you fighting for ? " Mr. Clay- 
 ton calmly, and in good humor, gave him his ideas 
 of the issue, and in ending asked him what they 
 were fighting for. " To hold property, sir," re- 
 plied the youth — " our slave property." " How 
 many slaves did you have ? " " None." "And 
 you ? " to the next. " None." He then went 
 around to all the thirty-four rebels, and but one 
 was found who had owned a slave. " Now," said 
 Mr. Clayton, " where are the men Avho have these 
 slaves which they are so afraid of losing ? " Here 
 a man named McClellan, who has since died, 
 rose up on his cot, and stretching out his thin 
 hand, said, in a sepulchral voice, " They are at 
 home enjoying themselves, and have sent us to 
 die for them and theu-s." And to this the echoes 
 around the room were, " That's so ; that's God's 
 truth." 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 489 
 
 Lying near this one is an Irishman. " Well, 
 sir," says the genial Mr. Clayton, " what's the 
 matter with you ? " " Wounded, sir ; slight wound 
 in the groin — worse one in the heel." " Where 
 were you wounded ? " " Pittsburg Landing, sir." 
 " What part of the battle ? " " Second fire of the 
 last round, sir." " What, Monday ? Why, it 
 was rather hard, wasn't it, to fight two days and 
 then get hurt at the very last?" "Devil a two 
 days did I fight at all, sir." " Why, how was 
 that ? " " "^Vhy, you see, sir, I didn't know what 
 I was fighting for, and I didn't want to blow a fel- 
 low-creature's brains out without knowing what I 
 was blowing 'em out for — d'j'e see ? No more did 
 I want a fellow-creature to blow my brains out 
 without knowing what they was blown out for ; 
 so, sir, I just snaked away, sir*. But on Monday 
 they found me, sir, and drummed me in." He 
 was from Texas. 
 
 The only man among these who has held slaves 
 is a man named, if I remember, Staten ; he is not 
 only very anxious to take the oath, but prays fer- 
 vently that our Government will bring peace by 
 taking away the negroes from the Southerners. 
 " I'm willing never to see mine again," said he, 
 " and rely on it, it is the only way to bring peace, 
 the only way." 
 
 WHAT SHALL WE DO FOR JEFF DAVIS? 
 
 Weave him a mantle of burning shame ! 
 Stamp on his forehead that dreadful name 
 Which deeds like his inscribe in blood — 
 A Traitor to man ! a Traitor to God ! 
 
 Plait him a crown of the flower that comes 
 In the ashes that lie o'er buried homes ! 
 Let his sceptre be the smoking brand 
 Which his fiat sent throughout the land ! 
 
 Let his pajans be the bitter cries 
 From millions of anguished hearts that rise, 
 Both day and night, to that listening ear 
 Which ever stoops their plaints to hear. 
 
 'Mid the ruin dire his hands have wrought, 
 Let hira find the Throne he long has sought, 
 While starving crowds, in hoarse notes ring, 
 Not Cotton, but grim old Death is king ! 
 
 Qualities of President Lincoln. — The 
 most marked characteristic of Mr. Lincoln's 
 manner was his sim|;licity and artlessness. This 
 immediately impressed itself upon the observa- 
 tion of those who met him for the first time, and 
 each successive interview deepened the impres- 
 sion. People seemed delighted to find in the 
 ruler of the nation freedom from pomposity and 
 afiiectation, mingled with a certain simple dignity 
 that never forsook him. Though pressed with 
 the weight of resjionsiibility resting upon him as 
 President of the United States, he shrank from 
 assuming any of the honors, or even titles, of the 
 position. After years of intimate acquaintance 
 with IMr. Lincoln, the writer cannot now recall a 
 single instance in -which he spoke of himself as 
 
 President, or used that title of himself, except 
 when acting in an official capacity. He always 
 spoke of his position and office vaguely, as " this 
 place," " here," or other modest phrases. Once, 
 speaking of the room in tlie Capitol used by the 
 Presidents of the United States during the close 
 of a session of Congress, he said, " That room, 
 you know, that they call " — dropping his voice 
 and hesitating — " the President's room." To an 
 intimate friend who addressed him always by his 
 own proper title, he said, " Now call meLincoln, 
 and I'll promise not to tell of the breach of eti- 
 quette — if you won't — and I shall have a rest- 
 ing spell from Mister Lincoln." 
 
 With all his simplicity and unacquaintance with 
 courtly manners, his native dignity never forsook 
 him in the presence of critical or polished stran- 
 gers ; but mixed with his angularities and bon- 
 homie was something which spoke the fine fibre 
 of the man ; and, while his sovereign disregard of 
 courtly conventionalities was somewhat ludicrous, 
 his native sweetness and straightforwardness of 
 manner served to disarm criticism, and impress 
 the visitor that he was before a man pure, self- 
 poised, collected, and strong in unconscious 
 strength. Of him an accomjjlished foreigner, 
 whose knowledge of the courts was more perfect 
 than that of the English language, said, " He 
 seems to me one grand gmtilhonime in disguise." 
 
 Three Weeks at Gettysburg. — This elo- 
 quent and earnest sketch was written by an 
 accomplished lady of New York, to whom the 
 entire loyal people of the country are personally 
 indebted for her devotion in her labors for the 
 Sanitary Commission during the war : 
 
 "What we did at Gettysburg, for the thi-ee 
 weeks we were there, you will want to know. 
 
 ' We ' are Mrs. and myself, who, hap])ening 
 
 to be on hand at the riglit moment, gladly fell 
 in with the proposition to do what we could at 
 the Sanitary Commission Lodge after the battle. 
 There were, of course, the agents of the Commis- 
 sion, already on the field, distributing supplies to 
 the hospitals, and working night and day among 
 the wounded. I cannot preter.d to tell you what 
 was done by all the big wheels of the concern, 
 but only how two of the smallest ones Avent 
 round, and what turned uj) in the going. 
 
 " Twenty-four hours we were in making the 
 journey between Baltimore and Gettysburg, places 
 only four hours apart in ordinary running time ; 
 and this will give you some idea of the difficulty 
 there was of bringing up supplies when the fight- 
 ing was over, and the delays in transporting 
 Avounded. Coming towards the town at this 
 crawling rate, we passed some fields where the 
 fences were down, and the ground slightly tossed 
 up. ' That's where Kilpatrick's cavalrymen fought 
 the rebels,' some one saitl ; ' and close by that ^ 
 barn a rebel soldier was found day before yester- 
 day, sitting dead ; ' no one to help, poor soul, 
 ' near the whole city full.' The raih-oad bridge, 
 broken up by the enemy. Government had not 
 rebuilt as yet, and we stopped two miles from the 
 
490 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 town, to find that, as usual, just where the Gov- 
 ernment had left off, the Commission had come in. 
 There stood their temporary lodge and kitchen, 
 and here, hobbling out of their tents, came the 
 wounded men who had made their way down 
 from the corps hospital, expecting to leave at 
 once in the return cars, 
 
 " This is the way the thing was managed at 
 first : The surgeons, left in care of the wounded 
 three or four miles out from the town, went up 
 and down among the men in the morning, and 
 said, ' Any of you boys who can make your way 
 to the cars, can go to Baltimore.' So off start all 
 who think they feel well enough, anything being 
 better than the ' hospitals,' so called, for the first 
 few days after a battle. Once the men have the 
 surgeon's permission to go, they are off; and 
 there may be an interval of a day, or two days, 
 should any of them be too weak to reach the 
 train in time, during which these poor fellows 
 belong to no one, the hospital at one end, the 
 railroad at the other, v/ith far more than chance 
 of falling through between the two. The Sani- 
 tary Commission knew this would be so of ne- 
 cessity, and, coming in, made a connecting link 
 between these tv.o ends. 
 
 " For the first few days the worst cases only 
 came down in ambulances from the hospitals ; 
 hundreds of fellows hobbled along as best they 
 could, in heat and dust, for hours, slowly toiling, 
 and many hired farmers' wagons, as hard as the 
 farmers' fists themselves, and were jolted down 
 to the railroad, at three or four dollars the man. 
 Think of the disappointment of a soldier, sick, 
 body and heart, to find, at the end of this miser- 
 able journey, that his eft'ort to get away, into 
 which he had put all his remaining stock of 
 strength, was useless ; that ' the cars had gone,' 
 or ' the cars were full ; ' that while he was com- 
 ing others had stepj)ed down before him, and that 
 he must turn all the weary way back again, or 
 sleep on the roadside till the next train ' to-mor- 
 row.' Tliink what this would have been, and 
 you are ready to appreciate the relief and comfort 
 that was. No men were turned back. You fed 
 and you sheltered them just when no one else 
 could have done so ; and out of the boxes and 
 barrels of good and nourishing things, which you, 
 people at home, had supplied, we took all that 
 was needed. Some of you sent a stove (that is, 
 the money to get it), some of you the beef stock, 
 some of you the milk and fresh bread ; and all 
 of you would have been thankful that you had 
 done so, could you have seen the refreshment 
 and comfort received through these things. 
 
 " As soon as the men hobbled up to the tents, 
 good hot soup was given all round ; and that over, 
 their wounds Mere dressed, — for the gentlemen 
 of the Commission are cooks, or surgeons as oc- 
 casion demands, — and, finally, with their blan- 
 kets spread over the straw, the men stretched 
 themselves out, and M-ere happy and contented till 
 morning, and the next train. 
 
 " On the day tliat the raiboad bridge was re- 
 paired we moved up to the depot, close by the 
 town, and had things in perfect order ; a first- 
 rate camping ground, in a large field directly by 
 
 the track, Avith unlimited supply of delicious, cool 
 water. Here Ave set up two stoves, with four 
 large boilers, always kept full of soup and coffee, 
 watched by four or five black men, Avho did the 
 cooking under our direction, and sang (not under 
 our direction) at the tops of their voices all day, 
 
 ' O darkies, hab you seen my massa.' 
 
 ' When this cruel war is over.' 
 
 Then we had three large hospital tents, holding 
 about thirty-five each, a large camp-meeting sup- 
 ply tent, Avhere ban-els of goods were stored, and 
 our own smaller tent fitted up vv'ith tables, where 
 jelly-pots and bottles of all kinds of good sirups, 
 blackberry and black currant, stood in rows. 
 Barrels were ranged round the tent walls ; shirts, 
 drawers, di"essing-gowns, socks, and slippers (1 
 wish Ave had had more of the latter), rags and 
 bandages, each in its OAvn place on one side ; on 
 the other, boxes of tea, cofi'eo, soft crackers, tama- 
 rinds, cherry brandy, &c. Ovei- the kitchen, and 
 OA-er this small supply tent, Ave Avomen rather 
 reigned, and filled up our Avants by requisitions 
 on the Commission's depot. By this time there 
 had arrived a ' delegation' of just the right kind 
 from Canandaigua, New York, Avith surgeon, 
 dressers, and attendants, bringing a first-rate sup- 
 ply of necessaries and comforts for the v,'ounded, 
 which they handed over to the Commission. 
 
 "Twice a day the trains left for Baltimore or Har- 
 risburg, and tAvice a day Ave fed all the Avounded Avho 
 arrived for them. Things Avere systematized noAV, 
 and the men came down in long ambulance trains 
 to the cars ; baggage cars they Avere, fitted Avith 
 straAvfor the Avounded to lie on, and broken open 
 at either end to let in the air. A Government 
 surgeon Avas ahvays present to attend to the care- 
 ful lifting of the soldiers from ambulance to car. 
 ]Many of the men could get along very nicely, 
 holding one foot up, and taking great jumps o'n 
 their crutches. The latter Avere a great comfort ; 
 Ave had a nice supply at the Lodge, and they trav- 
 elled up and doAvn from the tents to the cars 
 daily. Only occasionally did we dare let a pair 
 go on with some very lame soldier, Avho begged 
 for them ; we needed them to help the new ar- 
 rivals each day, and trusted to the men being 
 supphed at the hospitals at the journey's end. 
 Pads and crutches are a standing AA-ant — pads 
 particularly. We manufactured them out of the 
 rags Ave had, stuffed AA-ith sawdust from brandy 
 boxes ; and Avith half a sheet, and some soft straAV, 
 
 Mrs. made a poor dying boy as easy as his 
 
 sufferings Avould permit. Poor young felloAV ! he 
 Avas so grateful to her for washing, and feeding, 
 and comforting him ! He was too ill to bear the 
 journey, and Avent from our tent to the church 
 hospital, and from the church to his grave, Avhich 
 would have been coffinless but for the care of 
 
 , for the Quartermaster's Department Avaa 
 
 overtaxed, and for many days our dead were sim- 
 ply Avrapped in their blankets and put into the 
 earth. It is a soldierly way, after all, of lying 
 Avrapped in the old Avai'-Avorn blanket, — the little 
 dust returned to dust. 
 
 " When the surgeons had the AVOunded all 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 491 
 
 placed, with as much comfort as seemed possi- 
 ble under the circumstances, on board the train, 
 our detail of men would go from car to car, with 
 soup made of beef-stock or fresh meat, full of 
 potatoes, turnips, cabbage, and rice, with fresh 
 bread and coffee, and, when stimulants were 
 needed, with ale, milk punch, or brandy. Water 
 pails were in great demand for use in the cars on 
 the journey, and also empty bottles, to take the 
 place of canteens. All our whiskey and brandy 
 bottles were washed and filled up at the spring, 
 and the boys went off, carefully hugging their 
 extemporized canteens, from which they would 
 ■wet their wounds, or refresh themselves, till the 
 journey ended. I do not think that a man of 
 the sixteen thousand, who were transported dur- 
 ing our stay, went from Gettysburg without a 
 good meal — rebels and Unionists together, they 
 all had it — and were pleased and satisfied. 
 ' Have you friends in the army, madam ? ' a rebel 
 soldier, lying on the floor of the car, said to me, 
 as I gave him some milk. 'Yes; my brother 
 
 is on 's staff'.' ' I thought so, ma'am. You 
 
 can always tell ; when people are good to soldiers 
 they are sure to have friends in the army.' ' We 
 are rebels, you know, ma'am,' another said ; ' do 
 you treat rebels so ? ' It was strange to see the 
 Igood brotherly feeling come over the soldiers — 
 our own and the rebels, when side by side they 
 lay in our tents. ' Hallo, boys ! this is the pleas- 
 antest way to meet, — isn't it ? We are better 
 friends when we are as close as this, than a little 
 farther off'.' And then they would go over the 
 battles together — ' We were here,' and ' You 
 were there,' in the friendliest way. 
 
 " After each train of cars, daily, for the three 
 weeks we were in Gettysburg, trains of ambu- 
 lances arrived too late — men who must spend the 
 day with us until the five P. M. cars Avent, and 
 men too late for the five P. M. train, who must 
 spend the night till the ten A. M. cars went. All 
 the men who came in this way, under our own 
 immediate and particular attention, were given 
 the best we had of care and food. The surgeon 
 in charge of our camp, Avith liis most faithful 
 dresser and attendants, looked after all their 
 wounds, which were often in a most shocking 
 state, particularly among the rebels. Every even- 
 ing and morning they were dressed. Often the 
 men would say, ' That feels good. I haven't had 
 my Avound so well dressed since I was hurt.' 
 Something cool to drink is the first thing asked 
 for, after the long, dusty drive, and pailfuls of tam- 
 arinds and water — ' a beautiful drink,' the men 
 used to say — disappeared rapidly among them. 
 
 "After the men's Avounds Avere attended to, 
 we went round giving them clean clothes ; had 
 basins and soap and towels ; and folloAved these 
 with socks, slippers, shirts, drawers, and those 
 coveted dressing-goAvns. Such pride as they felt 
 in them — comparing colors, and smiling all over 
 as they lay in clean and comfortable rows ready 
 for supper, ' on dress parade,' they used to say. 
 And then the milk, particularly if it Avere boiled 
 and had a little Avhiskey and sugar, and the bread, 
 with butter on it, and jelly on the butter — hoAv 
 
 good it all Avas, and how lucky we felt ourselves 
 in having the immense satisfaction of distributing 
 these things, Avhich all of you, hard at work in 
 villages and cities, Avere getting ready and send- 
 ing oft', in faith. 
 
 " Canandaigua sent cologne Avith its other sup- 
 plies, Avhich Avent right to the noses and hearts of 
 the men. ' That is good, noAv ; ' ' I'll take some 
 of that;' 'Avorth a penny a sniff;' 'that kinder 
 gives one life ; ' and so on, all round the tents, as 
 Ave tipped the bottles up on the clean iiandker- 
 chiefs some one had sent, and Avhen they Avere 
 gone, over squares of cotton, on Avhich the per- 
 fume took the place of hem, — ' just as good, 
 ma'am.' We varied our dinners Avith custard and 
 baked rice puddings, scrambled eggs, codfish 
 hash, corn starch, and ahvays as much soft bread, 
 tea, coff'ee, or milk as they Avanted. Tavo Massa- 
 chusetts boys I especially remember, for the sat- 
 isfaction Avith Avhich they ate their pudding. I 
 carried a second plateful up to the cars, after they 
 had been put in, and fed one of them till he Avas 
 sure he had had enough. Young felloAvs they 
 Avere, lying side by side, one Avith a right and one 
 Avith a left arm gone. 
 
 " The Gettysburg Avomen Avere kind and faithful 
 to the Avounded and their friends, and the toAvn 
 Avas full to overfloAving of both. The first day, 
 when Mrs. and I reached the place, Ave lit- 
 erally begged our bread from door to door ; but 
 the kind Avoman Avho at last gave us dinner Avould 
 take no pay for it. ' No, ma'am, I shouldn't Avish 
 to have that sin on my soul when the Avar is over.' 
 She, as Avell as others, had fed the strangers 
 flocking into town daily ; sometimes over fifty of 
 them for each meal, and all for love, and nothing 
 for rcAvard ; and one night Ave forced a reluctant 
 confession from our hostess that she Avas meaning 
 to sleep on the floor that we might have a bed — 
 her whole house being full. Of course we couldn't 
 alloAV this self-sacrifice, and hunted up some other 
 place to stay in. We did her no good, however, 
 for we afterAvards found that the bed Avas given 
 up that night to some other stranger Avho arrived 
 late and tired : ' An old lady, you know, and I 
 couldn't let an old lady sleep on the floor.' Such 
 acts of kindness and self-denial were almost en- 
 tirely confined to the women. 
 
 " FeAV good things can be said of the Gettysburg 
 farmers, and I only use Scripture language in 
 calling them 'evil beasts.' One of this kind 
 came creeping into our camp three weeks after 
 the battle. He lived five miles only from the 
 toAA-n, and had ' never seen a rebel.' He heard 
 we had some of them, and came doAvn to see 
 them. 'Boys,' Ave said, marching him into the 
 tent, Avhich" happened to be full of rebels that 
 day Avaiting for the train, ' boys, here's a man 
 Avho .never saAv a rebel in his life, and Avants to 
 look at you ; ' and there he stood Avith his mouth 
 Avide open, and there they lay in roAvs, laugh- 
 ing at him, stupid old Dutchman. 'And why 
 
 haven't you seen a rebel ? ' Mrs. said ; ' Avhy 
 
 didn't you take your gun and help to drive them 
 out of your town ? ' 'A feller might'er got hit ' 
 — which reply was quite too much for the rebels; 
 
492 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 they roared -with laughter at him, up and doM'n 
 the tent. One woman we saw, who was by no 
 means Dutch, and whose pluck helped to redeem 
 the other sex. She lived in alittle house close up 
 by the field where the hardest fighting was done, 
 a red-cheeked, strong, country girl. ' Were you 
 frightened when the shells began flying ? ' ' Well, 
 no ; you see we was all a baking bread round here 
 for the soldiers, and had our dough* a rising. 
 The neighbors they ran into their cellars, but I 
 couldn't leave my bread. When the first shell 
 came in at the window, and crashed through the 
 room, an officer came and said, " You had better 
 get out of this," but I told him I could not leave 
 my bread, and I stood working it till the third 
 shell came through, and then I went down cellar, 
 but (triumphantly) I left my bread in the oven.' 
 ' And why didn't you go before ? ' '0, you 
 see, if I had, the rebels would have come in and 
 daubed the dough all over the place.' And here 
 she had stood, at the risk of unwelcome plums 
 in her loaves, while great holes, which we saw, 
 were made by shot and shell through and through 
 the room in which she was working. 
 
 " The streets of Gettysburg were filled with the 
 battle. People thought and talked of nothing 
 else ; even the children showed their little spites 
 by calling to each other, ' Here, you rebel ! ' and 
 mere scraps of boys amused themselves with per- 
 cussion caps and hammers. Hundreds of old 
 muskets were piled on the pavements, the men 
 who shouldered them a week before lying under 
 ground now, or helping to fill the long trains of 
 ambulances on their way from the field. The pri- 
 vate houses of the town were, many of them, 
 hospitals ; the little red flags hung from the up- 
 per windows. 
 
 "Besides our own men at the Lodge, we all had 
 soldiers scattered about whom we could help 
 from our supplies ; and nice little puddings and 
 jellies, or an occasional chicken, were a great 
 treat to men condemned by their Avounds to stay 
 in Gettysburg, and obliged to live on what the 
 empty town could provide. There was a Colonel 
 in a shoe shop, a Captain just up the street, and 
 a private round the corner (whose young sister 
 had possessed herself of him, overcoming the 
 military rules in some way, and carrying him off 
 to a little room, all by himself, Avhere I found her 
 doing her best with very little). She came after- 
 wards to our tent, and got for him clean clothes 
 and good food, and all he wanted, and was per- 
 fectly happy in being his cook, washerwoman, 
 medical cadet, and nurse. Besides such as these, 
 we occasionally carried from our supplies some- 
 thing to the churches, which were filled with sick 
 and wounded, and where men were dying, — men 
 whose strong patience it was very hard to bear, — 
 dying with thoughts of the old home far away, 
 saying, as last words for the woman watching 
 there, and waiting with a patience equal in its 
 strengtli, ' Tell her I love her ! ' 
 
 " Late one afternoon — too late for the cars — a 
 train of ambulances arrived at our lodge with 
 over one hundred wounded rebels to be cared for 
 through the night. Only one among them seemed 
 
 too weak and faint to take anything. He was 
 badly hurt and failing. I went to him after his 
 wound was dressed, and found him lying on his 
 blanket, stretched over the straw — a fair-haired, 
 blue-eyed young Lieutenant — a face innocent 
 enough for one of our own New England boys. I 
 could not think of him as a rebel. He was too 
 near heaven for that. He wanted nothing — had 
 not been willing to eat for days, his comrades 
 said — but I coaxed him to try a little milk gruel, 
 flavored nicely with lemon and brandy ;• and one 
 of the satisfactions of our three weeks is the 
 remembrance of the empty cup I took away 
 afterwards, and his perfect enjoyment of that 
 supper. ' It was so good — the best thing he 
 had had since he was wounded ; ' and he thanked 
 me so much, and talked about his ' good supper' 
 for hours. Poor creature ! he had had no care, 
 and it was a surprise and pleasure to find himself 
 thought of; so, in a pleased, child-like way, he 
 talked about it till midnight, the attendant told 
 me, — as long as he spoke of anything ; for at 
 midnight the change came, and from that time he 
 only thought of the old days before he was a sol- 
 dier, when he sang hymns in his father's church. 
 He sang them now again, in a clear, sweet voice : 
 ' Lord, have mercy upon me ; ' and then songs 
 without words — a sort of low intoning. His 
 father was a Lutheran clergyman in South Caro- 
 lina, one of the rebels told us in the morning, 
 when we Avent into the tent to find him sliding 
 out of our care. All day long we watched him — 
 sometimes fighting his battles over — oftener 
 singing his Lutheran chants — till in at the tent 
 door, close to which he lay, looked a rebel soldier, 
 just arrived with other prisoners. He started 
 when he saw the Lieutenant, and, quickly kneel- 
 ing down by him, called, ' Henry ! Henry ! ' — 
 but Henry was looking at some one a great way 
 off", and could not hear him. 
 
 '* ' Do you know this soldier? ' we said. 
 
 " ' O, yes, ma'am ! and his brother is wounded, 
 and a prisoner, too, in the cars now.' 
 
 " Two or thi-ee men started after him, found him, 
 and half carried him from the cars to our tent. 
 ' Henry' did not know him, though, and he 
 threw himself down by his side on the straw, and 
 for the rest of the day lay in a sort of apathy, 
 without speaking, except to assure himseli' that 
 he could stay with his brother without the risk 
 of being separated from his fellow-prisoners. 
 
 " And there the brothers lay, and there we, 
 strangers, sat watching, and listening to the 
 strong, clear voice, singing, ' Lord, have mercy 
 upon me.' The Lord had mercy, and at sunset I 
 put my hand on the Lieutenant's heart to find it 
 still ! 
 
 " All night the brother lay close against the 
 coffin, and in the morning he went away with his 
 comrades, leaving us to bury Henry, having ' con- 
 fidence,' but first thanking us for what we had 
 done, and giving us all that he had to show his 
 gratitude — the palmetto ornament from his 
 brother's cap, and a button from his coat. 
 
 " Dr. W. read the burial service that morning at 
 the grave, and wrote his name on the little 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 493 
 
 head-board : ' Lieutenant Ranch, Fourteenth Re- 
 giment South Carolina Volunteers.' 
 
 " In the field where we buried him, a number of 
 colored freedmen, working for Government, on 
 the railroad, had their camp, and every night 
 they took their recreation, after the heavy work 
 of the day was over, in prayer meetings. Such 
 an ' inferior race,' you know ! We went over 
 one night and listened for an hour, while they 
 sang, collected under the fly of a tent, a table in 
 the middle, where the leader sat, and benches 
 all round the sides for the congregation, — men 
 only, — all very black and very earnest. They 
 prayed with all their souls, as only Hlack men and 
 slaves can, for themselves and for the dear white 
 people, who had come over to the meeting, and 
 for ' Massa Lincoln,' for whom they seemed to 
 have a reverential affection, some of them a sort 
 of worship, which confused Father Abraham and 
 Massa Abraham in one general call for blessings. 
 Whatever else they asked for, they must have 
 strength and comfort and blessing for ' Massa 
 Lincoln.' Very little care was taken of these 
 poor men. Those who were ill, during our stay, 
 were looked after by one of the officers of the 
 Commission. They were grateful for every little 
 
 thing. Mrs. went into the town and hunted 
 
 up several dozen bright handkerchiefs, hemmed 
 them, and sent them over to be distributed the 
 next night after meeting. They were put on the 
 table in the tent, and one by one the men came 
 up to get them. Purple, and blue, and yellow, 
 the handkerchiefs were, and the desire of every 
 man's heart fastened itself on a yellow one ; 
 they politely made way for each other, one 
 man standing back to let another pass up first, 
 although he ran the risk of seeing the particular 
 pumpkin color that riveted his eyes taken from 
 before them. When the distribution was over, 
 each man tied his head up in his handkerchief 
 and sang one more hymn, keeping time all round, 
 with blue and purple and yellow nods, and thank- 
 ing and blessing the white people, in * their bas- 
 ket and in their store,' as much as if the cotton 
 handkerchiefs had all been gold leaf. One man 
 came over to our tent next day to say : ' Missus, 
 was it you who sent me that present ? I never 
 had anythng so beautiful in all my life before ; ' 
 and he only had a blue one, too. 
 
 " Among our wounded soldiers, one night, came 
 an elderly man, sick, wounded, and crazy, singing 
 and talking about home. We did what Ave could 
 for him, and pleased him greatly with a present 
 of a red flannel shirt, drawers, and red calico 
 dressing-gown, all of which he needed, and in 
 which he dressed himself up, and then wrote a 
 letter to his wife, made it into a little book with 
 gingham covers, and gave it to one of the gentle- 
 men to mail for him. The next morning he was 
 sent on with the company from the Lodge, and 
 that evening two tired women came into our 
 camp — his wife and sister, who hurried on from 
 their home to meet him, arriving just too late. 
 Fortunately we had the queer little gingham book 
 to identify him by, and when some one said, ' It 
 is the man, you know, who screamed so,' the poor 
 
 wife was certain about him. He had been crazy 
 before the war, but not for two years, now, she 
 said. He had been fretting for home since he 
 was hurt, and when the doctor told him there was 
 no chance of being sent there, he lost heart, ancli 
 wrote to his wife to come and carry him away. 
 It seemed almost hopeless for two lone women, 
 who had never been out of their own little town, 
 to succeed in finding a soldier among so many, 
 sent in so many difl'erent directions ; but Me helped 
 them as we could, and started them on their jour- 
 ney the next morning, back on their track, to use 
 their common sense and Yankee privilege of 
 questioning. 
 
 " A week after, Mrs. had a letter, full of 
 
 gratitude, and saying that the husband was found 
 and secured for home. That same night we had 
 in our tents two fathers, with their wounded sons, 
 and a nice old German mother with her boy. She 
 had come in from Wisconsin, and brought with 
 her a ])atch-work bed-quilt for her son, thinking 
 he might have lost his blanket ; and there he lay, 
 all covered up in his quilt, looking so home-like, 
 and feeling so too, no doubt, with his good old 
 mother close at his side. She seemed bright and 
 happy — had three sons in the army, one had 
 been killed, this one wounded — yet she was so 
 pleased with the tents, and the care she saw taken 
 there of the soldiers, that while taking her tea 
 from a barrel-head as table, she said, ' Indeed, 
 if she was a man, she'd be a soldier too, 
 right off".' 
 
 " For this temporary sheltering and feeding of 
 all these wounded men. Government could make 
 no provision. There was nothing for them, if 
 too late for the cars, except the open field and 
 hunger, in preparation for their ^tiguing journey. 
 It is expected, when the cars are ready, that the 
 men will be promptly sent to meet them ; and 
 Government cannot provide for mistakes and de- 
 lays ; so that, but for the Sanitary Commission's 
 Lodge and comfortable supplies, for which the 
 wounded are indebted to the hard workers at 
 home, men badly hurt must have suffered night 
 and day while waiting for the • next train.' We 
 had, on an average, sixty of such men each night, 
 for three weeks, under our care ; sometimes one 
 hundred, sometimes only thirty; and with the 
 'delegation,' and the help of other gentlemen 
 volunteers, who all worked devotedly for the men, 
 the whole thing was a great success ; and you, and 
 all of us, can't help being thankful that we had a 
 share, however small, in making it so. Sixteen 
 thousand good meals were given ; hundreds of men 
 kept through the day, and twelve hundred shel- 
 tered at night, their wounds dressed, their supper 
 and breakfast secured, rebels and all. You will 
 not, I am sure, regret that these most wretched 
 men, these 'enemies,' 'sick, and in prison,' 
 were helped and cared for, through your supplies, 
 though certainly they were not in your minds 
 when you packed your barrels and boxes. The 
 clothing we reserved for our own men, excejjt, 
 now and then, when a shivering rebel needed it ; 
 but in feeding them, we could make no distinc- 
 tion. It was curious to see, among our workers 
 
t94 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 at the Lodge, the disgust and horror felt for reb- 
 els giving place to the kindest feeling for wounded 
 men. 
 
 " Our three weeks were coming to an end ; the 
 work of transporting the wounded was nearly 
 over ; tM'ice daily we had filled and emptied our 
 tents, and twice fed the trains before the long 
 journey. The men came in slowly at the last, a 
 Lieutenant, all the way from Oregon, being among 
 the very latest. He came down from the corps 
 hospitals (now greatly improved), having lost one 
 foot, poor fellow, dressed in a full suit of the 
 Commission's cotton clothes, just as bright and 
 as cheerful as the first man, and all the men that 
 we received, had been. We never heard a com- 
 plaint. ' Would he like a little nice soup ? ' 
 ' Well, no, thank you, ma'am ; ' hesitating and 
 polite. 'You have a long ride before you, and 
 had better take a little ; I'll just bring it, and 
 you can try.' So the good thick soup came. He 
 took a very little in the spoon to please me, and 
 afterwards the whole cupful to ])lease himself. 
 He ' did not think it was this kind of soup I 
 meant. He had some in camp, and did not think 
 he cared for any more ; his " cook " was a very 
 small boy, though, who just put some meat in a 
 little water, and stirred it round.' ' Would you 
 like a handkerchief ? ' and I produced our last one, 
 with a hem and cologne too. ' O, yes ; that is 
 what I need ; I have lost mine, and was just bor- 
 rowing this gentleman's.' So the Lieutenant, the 
 last man, was made comfortable, thanks to all of 
 you, though he had but one foot to carry him on 
 his long journey home. 
 
 " Four thousand soldiers, too badly hurt to be 
 moved, were still left in Gettysburg, cared for 
 kindly and well at the large new Government hos- 
 pital, with a Sanitary Commission attachment. 
 Our work was over, our tents were struck, and 
 we came away after a flourish of trumpets from 
 two military bands, who filed down to our door, 
 and gave us a farewell — ' lied, white, and blue.' " 
 
 FAREWELL TO BROTHER JONATHAN.* 
 
 BY CAllOLIKE. 
 
 Fakewei.l ! we must part ; we have turned from 
 
 the land 
 Of our cold-hearted brother with tyrannous hand, 
 Who assumed all our rights as a favor to grant, 
 And whose smile ever covered the sting of a taunt ; 
 
 Who breathed on the fixme he was bound to de- 
 fend, — 
 
 Still the craftiest foe, 'neath the guise of a friend, — 
 
 Who believed that our bosoms Avould bleed at a 
 touch, 
 
 Yet could never believe he could goad them too 
 much ; 
 
 Whoso conscience affects to be seared with our sin, 
 Y'ct is plastic to take all its benefits in ; 
 The mote in our eye so enormous has grown, 
 That he never perceives there's a beam in his own, 
 
 * A reply to "Brother Jonathan's Farewell to Sis- 
 ter Caroline." See ante. 
 
 0, Jonathan, Jonathan ! vassal of pelf. 
 Self-righteous, self-glorious, yes, every inch self, 
 Your loyalty nov/ is all bluster and boast, 
 But was dumb when the foemen invaded our coast. 
 
 In vain did your country appeal to you then ; 
 You coldly refused her your money and men ; 
 Y''our trade interrupted, you slunk from her Avars, 
 And preferred British gold to the Stripes and the 
 Stars ! 
 
 Then our generous blood was as water poured 
 
 forth. 
 And the sons of the South v.-ere the shields of the 
 
 North ; 
 Nor oiir patriot ardor one moment gave o'er, 
 Till the foe you had fed we had driven from the 
 
 shore ! 
 
 Long years we have suffered opprobrium and 
 
 wrong. 
 But we clung to your side with affection so strong, 
 That at last, in mere wanton aggression, you broke 
 All the ties of our hearts with one murderous 
 
 stroke. 
 
 We are tired of contest for what is our own ; 
 We are sick of a strife that could never be done ; 
 Thus our love has died out, and its altars are dark, 
 Not Prometheus' self could rekindle the spark. 
 
 0, Jonathan, Jonathan ! deadly the sin 
 Of your tigerish thirst for the blood of your kin ; 
 And shameful the spirit that gloats over wives 
 And maidens despoiled of their honor and lives ! 
 
 Your palaces rise from the fruits of our toil ; 
 Y^our millions are fed from the wealth of our soil ; 
 The balm of our air brings the health to your 
 
 cheek, 
 And our hearts are aglow with the welcome we 
 
 speak. 
 
 O brother ! beware how you seek us again, 
 
 Lest you brand on your forehead the signet of 
 
 Cain ; 
 That blood and that crime on your conscience must 
 
 sit: 
 We may fall — we may perish — but never submit ! 
 
 The pathway that leads to the Pharisee's door 
 We remember, indeed, but we tread it no more ; 
 Preferring to turn, with the Publican's faith. 
 To the path through the valley and shadow of 
 death ! 
 
 A Sanitary Incident. — A member of one of 
 the Hospital Aid Societies called upon an elderly 
 widow lady, and, stating the object of her mission, 
 was responded to in the following words : " It is 
 but little I can do for you, but I have an old 
 sheet that has been used but very little, although 
 it was woven with my own hands more than sixty 
 years ago, which, if torn up properly, will make 
 excellent bandages. The amount of the gift is 
 not much, but it is my desire that this relic of 
 my earlier days shall be used for that purpose." 
 Although the day of the spinning-wheel and 
 hand-loom has vanished, yet how clearly on 3 is 
 reminded of old revolutionary times, when our 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 495 
 
 mothers part with some trivial article which they 
 have so loni," treasured, that it may bind up the 
 bleeding wounds of our brave comrades in battle. 
 
 The Chkistian Soldier. — After the battle 
 of Gettysburg, a soldier lay in a house by the 
 roadside, dying. A Major-General drove up to 
 the door. His orderly took his horse. He got 
 off, went in, and sat down by the dying man's 
 side. Taking out a little book, he read from it, 
 " Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in 
 God, believe also in me : in my Father's house are 
 many mansions." He then knelt down and 
 offered up a prayer to God for that dying soldier. 
 Arising from his knees, he bent over and kissed 
 him, and said, with loving accents, " Captain G — , 
 •we shall meet in heaven." He then rode off. 
 That General was Major-General Howard, of 
 Maine ! 
 
 A Letter from Florida. — The following 
 letter from a gentleman of high standing, and de- 
 cidedly the most able lawyer in Florida, humor- 
 ous and unguarded as it is, casts much light on 
 the state of feeling and condition of things in the 
 South in the latter part of the year 1861 : 
 
 "Jacksonville, Fla., Oct. 10, 18G1. 
 
 " Most High, Most Mighty, and Most Puis- 
 sant Antipods : Sometimes a vessel manages 
 to run over from Savannah or elsewhere to Nas- 
 sau, New Providence, and Avith the expectation 
 that one will be going from thence in a few days, 
 I think proper to try and report myself. If there- 
 fore this should ever reach you, be pleased to 
 understand that I and all my household are well. 
 Notwithstanding the whole South seems to be 
 turned into a military camp, I have been of late, 
 and still am, ranch occupied in professional mat- 
 ters, and I write this under the influence of whip 
 .and spur, for I am to be off to-morrow morning 
 to St. Augustine to attend the Confederate court, 
 where divers cases and questions of prize, seques- 
 tration, &c., must be discussed and disposed of; 
 and as there is now not a solitary lawyer re- 
 maining there, no, not even , there is no libra- 
 ry, and I must select my books and authorities, 
 and lug them along, for in these days of distrust 
 and conceit, no court is going to believe the law 
 is so and so, merely because I say so. It must 
 be read from a book, printed paper, bound in 
 sheep or calf, manufactured by asses ; becomes an 
 oracle, and reason, principle, and common sense 
 are silenced and laughed out of countenance. 
 Well, I am in a hurry, but I write you a line to 
 
 say God bless you. I hope you and Mrs. 
 
 are well, and I want to propose to you, if this d — d 
 war continues, to go out to Nassau this winter to 
 avoid the cold ; and if you will, I will promise 
 positively to go over from hei-e and visit you. 
 Now do it. The British steamers, you know, be- 
 tween Havana and New York, stop at Nassau 
 twice a month ; and I need not tell you how much 
 more comfortable they are in every way than an 
 
 American steamer. Pray take my advice for 
 once ; and do another thing ; write me when you 
 get this, and as often as you may find time, and 
 
 enclose your letter for me to Mrs. , Nassau, 
 
 New Providence. She, Mrs. , with all her 
 
 family, removed there last winter ; and she will 
 always know when any vessel is leaving there for 
 any part of the Southern coast, especially Florida, 
 and will forward any letters to me. 
 
 " The last I heard from you was yours of the 
 16th July, enclosed to Mr. Reed, How many 
 times, and lolien, I wrote you I have no recollec- 
 tion, and whether any of them got through no- 
 body knows. Your kind solicitude for me moved 
 me greatly j but it should not, for it was only the 
 expression of a warm and generous friendship 
 which I knew you entertained for me as well be- 
 fore as then. Alas ! I have nothing to offer you. 
 All that I could, at any time, was, indifferent ac- 
 commodations, with a better climate than you 
 had at home. Fate, Providence, or the devil, in- 
 terfered last year, and retained you in arctic 
 quarters. Now take my advice : take the reins 
 
 into your own hands, or let Mrs. have them, 
 
 which is, perhaps, still better, and pack up early, 
 and go out to Nassau. I don't know much about 
 the place ; but I do know the climate is warm 
 there ; and, moreover, it is English, and accord- 
 ing to my experience it is more safe, comfortable, 
 respectable, and quiet among the English, lolier- 
 ever they govern, than with any other people on 
 the earth. And, although that is a matter of 
 little consequence, I presume living in Nassau is 
 cheap. I should like to live there a while, how- 
 ever, just for economy's sake. Pray, have you 
 any idea of our prices here ? Pork fifty dollars 
 per barrel ; butter fifty cents per pound ; lard forty 
 cents. I have paid these prices this day. Soap 
 also thirty-five cents per pound ; and, in short, 
 pretty much everything else in the same ratio, 
 except, perhaps, flour. But we don't seem to 
 mind it — except that it seems to me it makes 
 us hungry, for I can swear we eat more than we 
 ever did in peaceable times. We have raised 
 this season abundant crops of all kinds of pro- 
 visions in the South. This is attributed to 
 Providence ; but I understand He Lis done the 
 same thing for our enemies. His position, there- 
 fore, is not very well defined. Although I am 
 well satisfied, if the real truth could be got at. 
 He is on our side, still I am inclined to think 
 that the making of our crop for this year He left 
 pretty much to our niggers. I mean to say, that 
 if it hadn't been for the niggers, I don't think 
 much of a crop would have been made. 
 
 " Well, I cannot tell you how much I wash that 
 you and Mrs. could come and pass the win- 
 ter with us. We could go boating (when there 
 was no wind). We could go down to the bar, or 
 to Indian River, or to Cedar Keys, and eat oys- 
 ters, and do, in fact, whatever we pleased. As 
 it is, I don't believe this war can last till spring ; 
 now mark my Avord. It can't last, and there is 
 no reason on earth why it should. No matter — 
 you and I cannot now discuss it ; but the fact is, 
 it cannot in my judgment last." 
 
496 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 BARBARA FRITCHIE.* 
 
 BY JOUN G. "WHITTIER. 
 
 Up from the meadows rich with corn, 
 Clear in the cool September morn, 
 
 The clustered spires of Frederick stand 
 Green-walled by the hills of Maryland. 
 
 Round about them orchards sweep, 
 Apple and peach tree fruited deep. 
 
 Fair as the garden of the Lord, 
 
 To the eyes of the famished rebel horde. 
 
 On that pleasant morn of the early fall 
 When Lee marched over the mountain wall. 
 
 Over the mountains winding down, 
 Horse and foot, into Frederick town. 
 
 Forty flags with their silver stars. 
 Forty flags with their crimson bars. 
 
 Flapped in the morning wind : the sun 
 Of noon looked down and saw not one. 
 
 Up rose Barbara Fritchie then, 
 
 Bowed with her fourscore years and ten ; 
 
 Bravest of all in Frederick town, 
 
 She took up the flag the men hauled down ; 
 
 In her attic-window the staff' she set. 
 To show that one heart was loyal yet. 
 
 Up the street came the rebel tread, 
 Stonewall Jackson riding ahead. 
 
 Under his slouched hat left and right 
 He glanced : the old flag met his sight. 
 
 " Halt ! " — the dust-brown ranks stood fast. 
 "Fire ! '* — out blazed the rifle-blast. 
 
 It shivered the window, pane, and sash ; 
 It rent the banner with scam and gash. 
 
 Quick, as it fell, from the broken staff 
 Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf; 
 
 She leaned far out on the window sill, 
 And shook it forth with a royal will. 
 
 " Shoot, if you must, this old gray head, 
 But spare your country's flag," she said. 
 
 A shade of sadness, a blush of shame, 
 Over the face of the leader came ; 
 
 The nobler nature within him stirred 
 To life at that woman's deed and word : 
 
 " Who touches a hair of yon gray head 
 Dies like a dog ! March on ! " he said.. 
 
 All day long through Frederick street 
 Sounded the tread of marching feet. 
 
 All daj' long that free flag tost 
 Over the heads of the rebel host. 
 
 * The incident upon which this ballad is founded 
 took place literally as it is told by the poet upon the 
 occupation of Frederick, in Maryland, on the second 
 march northward of the insurgent forces. 
 
 Ever its torn folds rose and fell 
 
 On the loyal winds that loved it well ; 
 
 And through the hill-gaps sunset light 
 Shone over it with a warm good night. 
 
 Barbara Fritchie's work is o'er. 
 
 And the rebel rides on his raids no more. 
 
 Honor to her ! and let a tear 
 
 Fall for her sake on Stonewall's bier. 
 
 Over Barbara Fritchie's grave. 
 Flag of Freedom and Union, wave ! 
 
 Peace and order and beauty draw 
 Round thy symbol of light and law ; 
 
 And ever the stars above look down 
 On thy stars below in Frederick town ! 
 
 Incident of Sherman's March. — General 
 Howard, in a speech at the celebration of the 
 Christian Commission, related the following little 
 occurrence after the battle of Chattanooga. " My 
 corps, with Sherman's," said he, " had been in 
 pursuit of the enemy three days. We had 
 marched nearly one hundred and twenty miles, 
 and then marched back again. The result of it 
 was, that our clothes and our shoes were worn 
 out ; the men had scarcely any blankets to cover 
 them, or pants to wear. They were toiling along 
 on their journey home. Just as we had passed 
 through the mountain ridge, the division com- 
 mander, thinking that the men had marched far 
 enough for one day, put them comfortably into 
 camp, told them to make their coffee, and then 
 sent word to me to know if they had permission 
 to remain there during the night. It was raining 
 hard, very hard. It was a severe storm. But I 
 knew the position was an improper one. It was 
 not the fulfilment of my orders. I sent back 
 word, ' No ; march forward to Tungston's Sta- 
 tion. March ! ' It was dark — it was cold — it 
 was stormy. The poor men had to be turned out 
 once more, to march. Notwithstanding their 
 labor, notwithstanding their toil and fatigue, they 
 marched. ' What did they do ? how did they 
 take it ? ' do you ask ? They took it as I hope 
 you will take my speech. They went singing, 
 singing, singing along the route — noble, patient 
 fellows ! — without a complaining word." 
 
 Put it in Gold Letters. — A few days af- 
 ter the fight at Skerry, near Charleston, Kanaw- 
 ha, Virginia, two or three Yankee officers visited 
 the house of a Mr. Fry, who had been driven 
 from his home by the enemy. A daughter of 
 Mr. Fry saw them approaching through the gate, 
 and confronted them in the porch, with a demand 
 to know their business. They stated they were 
 looking for secession flags, and heard there were 
 some there. 
 
 " Brave men," said she in scorn, " take flags 
 on the field of battle — cowards only hunt them 
 at the houses of defenceless women. Mine is in 
 the hands of our brave volunteers ; go and take 
 it from them." — Southern paper. 
 
I 
 
 '^X * ;;v .V H.l\iic^i't«- 
 
 .'Vl)MlliAl_, 1)_ ( ;. I ■ARR_A(;iJT 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 49^ 
 
 A TRUE EXPERIENCE. 
 
 BY FRANK CAHILL. 
 
 I HAD thoroughly made up my mind to enlist. 
 The bounty may have temjjted me ; my young 
 affections may have been blighted ; or, which is 
 ths most likely case, a friend of mine, then a 
 Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding a regiment, may 
 have written me to come out, as promotion was 
 speedy and sure. 
 
 I knew if I told any of my friends of my de- 
 termination to enlist, they would endeavor to 
 persuade me from it ; so I kept it a profound 
 secret from all — at least all save two ; and 
 how I came to tell them will be explained in 
 due time. 
 
 I had a just appreciation of glory, and knew 
 exactly what it meant, viz., hard fare, much dis- 
 comfort, and the chances of being shot. So I 
 shivered on the brink of Uncle Sam's servitude, 
 hesitating to take the final plunge. 
 
 Visiting one of my friends at his place of busi- 
 ness, I told him in the most mysterious manner 
 that I wanted to talk to him on a most important 
 matter. 
 
 " Hold on a few minutes," said he. "I shall 
 be through directly." 
 
 I thought those few minutes were the longest 
 I had ever experienced, so anxious was I to make 
 known my intention of enlisting. At last I heard 
 the sharp click of the clasps of his ledger, which 
 he placed in the safe, turned the key, put that in 
 his pocket, changed his coat, — his hat was al- 
 ready on, — and said he was ready. 
 
 I mentally determined to defer telling him till 
 later in the evening. 
 
 Talking of almost everything but soldiering, 
 we walked about the streets for hours, occasion- 
 ally stopping at a wayside inn to refresh. 
 
 At last Smith — for that was my friend's name 
 — said : " What do you want to see me about ? I 
 must be going ; my wife is expecting me." 
 
 " O, nothing," I replied ; " I just wanted to 
 see you, and have a little talk ; that was all." 
 
 But Smith knew better. He could tell by my 
 face that this was not all ; so we continued our 
 perambulations, and occasional halts for refresh- 
 ments. 
 
 Ten o'clock came, and I was no nearer telling 
 him my intention. I was so sure he would dis- 
 suade me from it. Smith said he must really go ; 
 it was getting so late. He shook me by the 
 liand, at the corner of his block, and left me. 
 
 " Smith," I cried, calling after him ; " one mo- 
 ment. I may not see you again. I'm — I'm 
 going to enlist." 
 
 " Are you ? " was all he said, not at all startled 
 by my announcement. " I should have done the 
 same thing myself long ago, if I were not mar- 
 ried." 
 
 " My county bounty," I continued, " I will send 
 to you." 
 
 " All right ; I'll take care of it." 
 
 " And if anything happens to me — " here my 
 voice became somewhat emotional — " give it to 
 32 
 
 your little girl, and tell her to sometimes think 
 of me." 
 
 " There'll be no occasion to tell her that. 
 You'll come back safe enough. Write often, and 
 let me know how you are getting along." 
 
 " I will do so. Good by ; " and I held out my 
 hand. 
 
 " Good by," he responded, shaking it. " I 
 wish I was single, so I could accompany you." 
 
 " Don't tell anybody where I have gone." 
 
 " Of course not, if you wish me not to ; " and 
 he was away. 
 
 The next morning I proceeded to the recruit- 
 ing office in the City Hall Park, New York, for 
 the express purpose of enlisting. But somehow 
 or other the bustle and confusion in Mr. Orison 
 Blunt's recruiting ofiice unnerved me, and I 
 thought a little walk would do me good. 
 
 My little walk meant a tramp to Central I*ark 
 and back, and occupied some three or four hours. 
 When I returned it was past three : much to my 
 regret, the oflSce was closed, and I had to wait 
 till the following morning. 
 
 This annoyed me exceedingly ; when I found 
 it was impossible to be enlisted that day, I was 
 the more anxious to become a ■wearer of the army 
 blue, and left highly irate at the policy that closed 
 a recruiting station at such an early hour in the 
 day, thus preventing any number of Ijrave de- 
 fenders rushing to the protection of their country. 
 
 " It is an outrage upon the nation," I said, 
 " and I will write to the papers about the mat- 
 ter." 
 
 But I didn't. 
 
 Having left my boarding-house a day or two 
 before, that night I slept at Tammany Hall, and 
 had serious thoughts of lying on the floor, in- 
 stead of on the bed, so as to accustom myself 
 to the hard.ships of the tented field. After try- 
 ing the floor for a few minutes I concluded that 
 the bed was the more comfortable ; so into it I 
 turned. 
 
 At the time I enlisted, fifteen dollars hand 
 money was given to all who brought a recruit. 
 Laboring under the impression I should prefer 
 a friend receiving the money, rather than a 
 stranger, I hunted one up, and told him I wished 
 to put fifteen dollars in his pocket. 
 
 " You're just the man I wanted to see," said 
 he; "but how?" 
 
 " I am going to enlist." 
 
 " You don't tell me ! My gracious ! " exclaimed 
 Jim, opening his eyes with astonishment. " Let 
 us have a drink." 
 
 « What I want you to do, is to take me over to 
 the recruiting office and receive fifteen dollars 
 hand money." 
 
 " I can't do that, old fellow." 
 
 • " Why not ? " 
 
 " Well, you may get killed," asserted Jim, in 
 the most matter-of-fact way. 
 
 " That's true," I somewhat ruefully agreed. 
 " If you were to, and I had taken any money for 
 your enlistment, I should never forgive myself. 
 It would be like receiving compensation for yom- 
 death." 
 
498 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " But some one Avill have to get it." 
 " That some one will not he me. So it's no 
 use talking any more about it." 
 
 I tried to reason him into it ; but it was of no 
 use. Jim was determined. So, after enjoining 
 him to secrecy, we shook hands and parted, he 
 much the sadder man of the two. 
 
 Immediately on leaving Jim, I went to the re- 
 ci-uiting office, and made known my desire to en- 
 list. "But," said I, "I have no one to receive 
 the hand money. As I have brought mj-self, I 
 suppose it will be paid to me." 
 
 "No. You can't enhst yourself; you'll have 
 to get somebody to bring you here." 
 
 " But I haven't any one to bring me." 
 
 " We can't help that ; vou can't be enlisted, 
 then." 
 
 " That appears to me to be a strange proceed- 
 ing. The Government Avants soldiers ; I offer 
 myself, and you won't accept me." 
 
 The officer beckoned to a policeman, who at 
 once advanced, and requested me to move on. I 
 did so. 
 
 As I was leaving the building, a clean-shaven, 
 mild-sjwken, gentlemanly-looking man approached 
 me, and asked if I wanted to enlist. 
 
 I answered in the affinnative. 
 
 " Then I'll make out your papers, and put you 
 through in no time." 
 
 He was as good as his word. In a few min- 
 utes he had recorded my age, height, occujmtion, 
 and personal description, handing me over to tlie 
 examining Surgeon when he had done so. 
 
 This last-named personage told me to strip my- 
 self, which I speedily did. He then put me 
 through my paces, as though I were a horse he 
 wished to purchase. First, he went to the farther 
 end of the room, and taking up a pack of playing 
 cards, selected one. Holding it up, he asked, — 
 
 " AVhat card is this ? " 
 
 " The nine of clubs." 
 
 " And this ? " 
 
 " The ten of hearts." 
 
 " llight. Now come here." 
 
 I went to him, and he pounded me on the chest 
 and bade me cough; he made me run, walk, 
 stretch my legs as far apart as I possibly could, 
 put roy hands as high above my head as they 
 could reach, and strike out in the most approved 
 shoulder-hitting fashion. 
 
 Just as he was about to pass me, he espied a 
 small varicose vein in my left leg ; so he hesitated. 
 
 " That's nothing," said the clean-shaven, mild- 
 spoken gentleman, who was interested in me to 
 the extent of fifteen dollars. 
 
 " I don't know about that. Wait a moment ; 
 and he left the room, but quickly returned, fol- 
 lowed by another Surgeon, who pronounced my 
 varicose vein as nothing ; so I passed. 
 
 He then led the way to the muster-in officer, 
 who told me to place my left hand on a Bible that 
 lay upon the table, and lioid up my right hand. 
 He then recited something, which was just as in- 
 telligible to me as, 
 
 " INIumble, mumble, mumble, mumble. So help 
 you God." 
 
 I nodded. That nod made me a soldier for 
 three years or during the war. 
 
 . Having been paid my county bounty of three hun- 
 dred dollars, I was placed on a sort of revolving 
 niche and turned into another room, where some 
 twenty-five or thirty other recruits, who had pre- 
 ceded me, were in waiting. Many of them were 
 engaged playing cards, already gambling away the 
 bounty they had just received. 
 
 I was taken in charge by a couple of men, who 
 furnished me with a uniform, a knapsack, a hav- 
 ersack, a tin plate and cup, and knife, fork, and 
 spoon. Bringing me in debtor to the United 
 States Government to the amount of twenty-seven 
 dollars and twenty-six cents. 
 
 About four o'clock a detachment of men be- 
 longing to the Invalid corps came to escort us to 
 the Provost Marshal's office, situated on Broad- 
 way, between Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh 
 Streets. 
 
 Arriving there, — forty-two of us in all, — we 
 were placed in a filthily bare room on the third 
 floor, measuring about seventeen feet long and 
 fourteen feet wide. The windows were barred, 
 and the invalid soldier who kept guard over us, 
 with a cocked navy revolver in his hand, sternly 
 forbade any one approaching them. One man, a 
 little intoxicated, who insisted on looking out, he 
 threatened to shoot. 
 
 "We were kept confined in this room until near- 
 ly three o'clock the following day. There were 
 no seats ; neither was there sufficient room to lie 
 down. Sleep was out of the question. Though, 
 it is true, I did once drop into a fitful doze, in 
 which I was strangely mixed up with the hold of 
 a slave ship and the Black Hole of Calcutta. 
 
 Coffee, bread, and meat, wholesome and good, 
 were given the men, which they threw at one 
 another and trampled under foot. They had too 
 much money in their pockets to eat such plebeian 
 food as beef. So they bribed the Sergeant of the 
 guard to procure them ham and eggs, and such 
 like delicacies, from a neighboring restaurant. 
 
 Whiskey, too, was in great request. The de- 
 mand far exceeded the supijly, for the risk to 
 procure it was great, and the price high — ten, 
 fifteen, even twenty dollai-s being paid for a 
 bottle. 
 
 Much to my relief, we were at last driven out 
 of this room like so many wild beasts, and con- 
 veyed to Riker's Island. 
 
 When I enlisted, Hart's Island, with its com- 
 modious and clean baiTacks, was not the rendez- 
 vous for troops. 
 
 I was kept on Hiker's Island for six weeks, i— 
 though I made several appeals to be sent to my 
 regiment, — doing nothing, eating the bread of 
 idleness, not even being taught the common rudi- 
 ments of drill, subjected to the mean and petty 
 extortions of the non-commissioned officers, and 
 treated, as a rule, like an ill-bred dog. 
 
 Twenty-three of us were the occupants of one 
 Sibley tent ; the necessary caloric was provided 
 through the means of a small stove — value thix>o 
 doUai's. This stove was the property of the Gov- 
 ernment. The sergeant who had our street in 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 499 
 
 charge came one day, and took it away. We re- 
 monstrated ; he told us we could get it back by 
 paying a dollar each — total, twenty-three dollars. 
 As it was bitter cold weather, we were only too 
 glad to do so. Such swindling was commonly 
 practised, 
 
 " The men belonging to the army of the Cum- 
 berland leave the day after to-morrow." 
 
 This announcement, while it elated, also de- 
 pressed me. I had been wire-pulling for a pass 
 to visit the city ; now I was ordered away with- 
 out that wish being consummated. 
 
 However, as luck would have it, my pass was 
 handed to me that same morning ; so by the first 
 boat I returned to the city. 
 
 On my departure this time, I took leave of all 
 my friends. One of them, as I kissed her good 
 by, gave symptoms of a tear or two ; but chan- 
 ging her mind, she gave a little laugh, and looking 
 up in my face, said : 
 
 " O, you'll come back. You're too homely to 
 get shot." 
 
 This remark may have been truthful ; it was 
 anything but flattering. 
 
 Sympathies. — An impromptu toast given in 
 a saloon in New York, in June, 1861, by a loyal 
 Canadian — present several Americans and Nova 
 Scotians : 
 
 " May the Rose of England never blow, 
 The Thistle of Scotland never grow, 
 May the Harp of Ireland never play. 
 Till the Stars and Stripes have won the day.' ' 
 
 During the battle of Tranter's Creek, N. C, 
 Lieutenant Avery, of the Marine Artillery, thought 
 he discovered rifle shots coming from the leafy 
 boughs of a tall elm, not very far distant from 
 the field of battle. He accordingly filled his 
 howitzer with grape, and elevated it M'ith a very 
 satisfactory result, tumbling half a score of the 
 rebels to the ground. 
 
 An Incident of Dranesville. — After the 
 prisoners were taken into the cavalry camp of 
 the nationals, an inquisitive young man, a mem- 
 ber of a Wisconsin regiment, who wished to get 
 a glimpse of them, went to the guard-house in 
 which they were confined, where he immediately 
 laid eyes on an overcoat which looked familiar to 
 him.' He walked up to the prisoner, turned up 
 the collar, and found the name of his brother 
 sewed in the cloth. The young man became so 
 enraged, that he would have immediately taken 
 the life of the prisoner, had not the guards been 
 there to prevent him. It appeared that his brother 
 was in the fight at Bull Run, where he Avas killed, 
 and this miserable secessionist had robbed him of 
 his clothing. The bullet-hole in the coat had 
 been sewed up so as to prevent it from tearing 
 any further. 
 
 AT GETTYSBURG. 
 
 Like a furnace of fire blazed the midsummer sun 
 
 When to saddle we leaped at the order, 
 Spurred on by the boom of the deep-throated gun, 
 
 That told of the foe on our border. 
 A mist in our rear lay Antietam's dark plain. 
 
 And thoughts of its carnage came o'er us ; 
 But smiling before us surged fields of ripe grain. 
 
 And we swore none should reap it before us. 
 
 That night, with the Ensign who rode by my side. 
 
 On the camp's dreary edge I stood picket ; 
 Our ears intent, lest every wind-rustle should hide 
 
 A spy's stealthy tread in the thicket ; 
 And there, while we watched the first arrows of 
 dawn 
 
 Through the veil of the rising mist's quiver, 
 He told how the foeman had closed in upon 
 
 His home by the Tennessee River. 
 
 He spoke of a sire in his weakness cut down, 
 
 With last breath the traitor flag scorning 
 (And his brow at the memory grew dark with a 
 frown 
 
 That paled the red light of the morning) . 
 For days he had followed the cowardly band ; 
 
 And when one lagged to forage or trifle. 
 Had seared in his forehead the deep minie brand, 
 
 And scored a fresh notch on his rifle. 
 
 " But 07ie of the rangers had cheated his fate — 
 
 For him he would search the world over." 
 Such cool-plotting passion, such keenness of hate, 
 
 Ne'er saw I in woman-scorned lover. 
 O, who would have thought that beneath those dark 
 curls 
 
 Lurked vengeance as sure as death-rattle ? 
 Or fancied those dreamy eyes — soft as a girl's — 
 
 Could light with the fury of battle ? 
 
 To horse ! pealed the bugle, while grape-shot and 
 shell 
 
 Overhead through the forest were crashing. 
 A cheer for the flag ! and the summer light fell 
 
 On the blades from a thousand sheaths flashiog. 
 As mad ocean waves to the storm-revel flock. 
 
 So on we dashed, heedless of dangers ; 
 A moment our long line surged back at the shock 
 
 Then swept through the ranks of the Rangers. 
 
 I looked for our Ensign : ahead of his troop, 
 
 Pressing on through the conflict infernal, 
 His torn flag furled round him in festoon and loop. 
 
 He spurred to the side of his Colonel. 
 And his clear voice rang out, as I saw his bright 
 sword 
 
 Through shako and gaudy plume shiver, 
 AVith, "This for the last of the murderous horde! " 
 
 And, " This for the home by the river! " 
 
 At evening, returned from pursuit of the foe. 
 
 By a shell-shattered caisson we found him ; 
 And we buried him there in the sunset glow, 
 
 With the dear old flag knotted around him. 
 Y^et how could we mourn, when every proud 
 strain 
 
 Told of foemen hurled back in disorder ! 
 When we knew that the North reaped her rich har- 
 vest grain 
 
 Unharmed by a foe on her border I 
 
500 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 A Steange Incident. — Nine or ten years 
 ago, a citizen of one of the towns in the eastern 
 part of Massachusetts was unjustly suspected of a 
 crime which the statute cannot easily reach, but 
 which deservedly brings upon him guilty of it 
 the indignation of upright men. There were 
 circumstances which gave color to the suspicion, 
 and the unfortunate gentleman suffered the mis- 
 ery of loss of friends, business, and reputation. 
 His sensitive nature could not face these trials, 
 and he fell into a condition of body and mind 
 which alarmed his family. At length, having in- 
 vested his property where it could be easily man- 
 aged by his wife, he suddenly disappeared, leav- 
 ing her a comfortable home and the care of two 
 boys, ten and t>velve years old. The first fear 
 that he had sought a violent death was partly 
 dispelled by the orderly arrangement of his af- 
 fairs, and the discovery that a daguerreotype of 
 the family group was missing from the parlor 
 table. Not much effort was made to trace the 
 fugitive. When, afterwards, facts were developed 
 which established his innocence of the crime 
 charged, it was found impossible to communicate 
 with him ; and as the publication of the story in 
 the columns of several widely-circulated journals 
 failed to recall him, he was generally supposed 
 to be dead. 
 
 At the outbreak of the present civil war, his 
 eldest son, now a young man, Avas induced by a 
 friend, a captain in a Western regiment, to enlist 
 in his company. He carried himself well through 
 campaigns in Missouri and Tennessee, and after 
 the capture of Fort Donelson was rewarded with 
 a First Lieutenant's commission. At the battles 
 of Murfreesboro' he was wounded in the left arm, 
 but so slightly that he was still able to take 
 charge of a squad of wounded prisoners. While 
 performing this duty, he became aware that one 
 of them, a middle-aged man, with a full, heavy 
 beard, was looking at him with fixed attention. 
 The day after the fight, as the officer Avas passing, 
 the soldier gave the military salute, and said : 
 
 " A word with you, if you please, sir. You 
 remind me of an old friend. Are you from New 
 England ? " 
 
 " I am." 
 
 " From Massachusetts ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And your name ? " 
 
 The young Lieutenant told his name, and why 
 lie came to serve in a Western regiment. 
 
 " I thought so," said the other, and turning 
 away, he was silent. Although his curiosity was 
 much excited by the soldier's manner, the officer 
 forbore to question him, and withdrew. But in 
 tlie afternoon he took occasion to renew the con- 
 versation, and expi-essed the interest awakened 
 in him by the incident of the morning. 
 
 " I knew your father," said the prisoner. " Is 
 he well ? " 
 
 " We have not seen him for years. We think 
 he is dead." 
 
 Then followed such an explanation of the cir- 
 cumstances of his disappearance as the young 
 man could give. He had never known the pre- 
 
 cise nature of the charges against his father, but 
 was able to make it quite clear that his innocence 
 had been established. 
 
 " I knew your mother, also," continued the 
 soldier. " I was in love Avith her when she mar- 
 ried your father." 
 
 " I have a letter from her, dated ten days ago. 
 My brother is a nine months' man at New Or- 
 leans." 
 
 After a little desultory conversation the sol- 
 dier took from under his coat a leather wallet, 
 and disclosed a daguerreotype case. The hasp 
 was gone, and the corners were rounded by wear. 
 
 " Will you oblige me," he said, " by looking 
 at this alone in your tent ? " Agitated almost 
 beyond control, the young officer took the case 
 and hurried away. He had seen the picture be- 
 fore ! It represented a man and a woman, sitting 
 side by side, with a boy at the knee of each. 
 
 The romantic story moved the commander of 
 the division to grant the youth a furlough ; and 
 both father and son reached home soon after. 
 
 The Little Flag-Bearer. — Among the 
 many acts of heroism told of those engaged in 
 the "fight up the Arkansas River is that of a 
 mere youth, a little boy, who was attached to 
 Tappan's Arkansas regiment, and carried two 
 mimic flags, one in each hand. The regiment 
 was driven to the Avater's edge, and the enemy 
 poured in a terrific volley, killing many of them, 
 Avho fell into the river ; and such as Avere not in- 
 stantly killed met a Avatery grave. Among those 
 struck Avas the little boy, Avho bore the flags. 
 Giving one last hurrah, Avhich Avas cut short by 
 the ebbing flood of his young life, he waved the 
 flags over his head, tottered into the river, and 
 Avas seen no more. The incident, says the nar- 
 rator, Avas Avitnessed by a Avhole regiment that 
 Avas crossing the riA'cr at thetime, and not one 
 member of it but shed a tear at the sight. 
 
 Coffee for the Southerners. — " The time 
 is coming when every woman should do her duty 
 in this struggle for our country's independence," 
 said a " Avife and mother " in Richmond, in May, 
 1861. " There are many things her hands can 
 do Avhich will as materially aid our cause as if she 
 were a soldier Avith musket in hand. The battle 
 Avill be brought right to our doors. Let every 
 Avoman, then, in this city, Avho possesses the abil- 
 ity, prepare coffee, bread, and Avhatever else she 
 may have to give, for our dear loved ones, wlfo 
 offer their precious bodies a Avail of defence for 
 our homes. 
 
 " One third pure coffee, the rest wheat or rye, 
 rightly prepared, Avill furnish a strengthening 
 dr.nk Avhich Avill add greatly to their comfort. 
 Let the coffee be broAvned a little, then add the 
 Avheat or rye, toasting them together. In this 
 Avay the taste of the coffee is imparted to the 
 grain. Grind or pound well. To one measure 
 of coffee add eight of boiling Avater. Let it boil 
 Avell, stirring it doAvn until the entire mass disap- 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 501 
 
 pears, when it will look clear. Add a little cold 
 water, let it stand until it settles, and you have 
 quite nice coffee. 
 
 " Now, will not every woman at once toast her 
 coffee, grind it, and have it ready for use P Surely 
 all the milk carts, molasses barrels on carts, and 
 any conveyance one may think of, can carry it to 
 some places designated ; Avhen some persons, 
 whose business it shall be, may portion it out. If 
 a regiment were detailed for this business it would 
 do good service. Let no one begrudge her little 
 mite of coffee. There are some persons who have 
 not the material, but who would gladly prepare it. 
 Bfet, then, her more fortunate neighbor, who can 
 spare of her little, pass it over to willing hands, 
 longing to do something for our noble cause. 
 Bid the men go — * be courageous and fear not.' " 
 
 The Feat of the "Arkansas." — A corre- 
 spondent states that after the ram Arkansas had 
 successfully run the blockade of the national ves- 
 sels and arrived off Vicksburg, she was boarded 
 by General Van Dorn, who approached her com- 
 mander, Captain Brown, and the following con- 
 versation was had : 
 
 General — " Captain Brown, allow me to con- 
 gratulate you on your success in reaching us." 
 
 Captain Brown — " Thank you. General ; it was 
 a desperate undertaking ; but I knew what ray 
 vessel was made of." 
 
 General — "I hardly expected that you would 
 come through them without making them more 
 conscious of your superiority. It seems to me 
 you might have sunk or disabled half a dozen of 
 them. Why under heaven didn't you try it on? " 
 
 Captain Brown — " General Van Dorn, I have 
 accomplished what no naval officer in the Confed- 
 erate service would have dared attempt, and what 
 no one conversant with naval warfare would have 
 supposed possible. The bare achievement of get- 
 ting this vessel through that fleet is glory enough 
 for one day." 
 
 General — " Fie ! fie ! Captain, that's all very 
 well ; you've clone well, but might have clone bet- 
 ter. Get up steam again, and run up and try 
 them a turn. When you have sunk six or eight 
 of their turtles, you can come back and let the 
 people cheer you." 
 
 Captain Brown — " Su', I know what I have 
 done. Nor do I propose to risk the reputation 
 I've won by encountering that fleet again, espe- 
 cially now that they have all got steam up and 
 are prepared to meet me. I shall not risk my 
 laurels by renewing the contest to-day." 
 
 General — "I can see no reason why you should 
 not go out again. They'll hardly expect you now ; 
 and if they do, you know your vessel is a match 
 for them. You hear my orders to go." 
 
 Captain Brown — "General Van Dorn, this 
 boat is without a commander. I shall forward 
 my resignation to Richmond immediately. In 
 the mean time please consider the vessel in your 
 possession. You are at liberty to send her out 
 under any commander you can find here to take 
 her out, or you may take her out yourself." 
 
 The General turned away chagrined and mor- 
 tified. Captain Brown also left the boat almost 
 immediately, and, although urgently requested 
 to withdraw his resignation, obstinately refused 
 to do so. Lieutenant Stevens was left in com- 
 mand, and it was under his direction that the 
 second and last chapter in her career was enacted. 
 
 Reading in the Army. — George H. Stuart, 
 the President of the Christian Commission, in a 
 speech at the anniversary of that noble institu- 
 tion related the following interesting incident : 
 " There is a very large distribution of reading 
 matter. The question sometimes arises, ' Is it all 
 read ? ' You cannot, my friends, have any concep- 
 tion of the avidity with which these publications 
 are received and read, and treasured up. Thou- 
 sands of them are sent back, after being well 
 worn, to their homes, the soldier writing his 
 name upon them, thus marking them with the 
 evidence of his value of the possession. I have 
 visited many of the hospitals, and some of the 
 camps, and distributed many of these religious 
 books, and I can testify that from the beginning 
 until now I have never met a man who refused 
 my books, save only one, and he was from my 
 own city of Philadelphia. I do not believe in 
 being conquered. I do not give up anything if 
 it is practicable, and can be effected. But here was 
 a case for me. The man told me that he was an 
 infidel, that he did not believe in my books, that 
 he did not need them. Said he, ' I am from Phil- 
 adelphia ; I live at such a number Callowhill 
 Street; if you will go there you will find out my 
 character, and that I am as good a man as you 
 are.' ' I trust a great deal better,' said I. But 
 the case did seem a difficult one. ' Stuart,' said 
 a friend to whom I related the incident, 'you 
 are beaten for once.' ' No,' I replied, ' I am not 
 done with that man yet.' I approached him a 
 short time afterwards, and he said to me, ' What 
 is the book you wanted to give me ? ' It was a 
 selection from the Scriptures called Cromwell's 
 Bible. ' O,' said he, ' I don't want your Bible ; I've 
 no need of it ; I'm a good enough man without 
 it ; ' and with a motion of supreme indifference he 
 turned his head. Said I, ' My friend, I'm from 
 Philadelphia, too; I know where you live, can find 
 the exact house. On next Sunday evening, if 
 God spares my life, I expect to speak for the 
 Christian Commission in the Church of _ the 
 Epiphany.' He looked at me with an inquisitive 
 air — ' And what are you going to say ? ' _ 'I am 
 going to tell the people that I had been distribut- 
 ing tracts all day all through the hospitals and 
 camps I had visUed, and that I found but one 
 man who refused to take them, and he was from 
 Philadelphia.' < Well, what more are you going 
 to say ? ' the man asked with a steady gaze, ap- 
 parently defying my attempts to move him. 
 ' Well, I'll tell them that I commenced my tract 
 distribution this morning at the White House, in 
 Washington, and the first gentleman I offered 
 one of these little books to was one Abraham 
 Lincoln ; that he rose from his chair, read the title, 
 
502 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 expressed great pleasure in receiving it, and 
 promised to read it ; but that I came to one of 
 his cooks, here in these quarters, and he was so 
 exceedingly good that he didn't need a copy of 
 the Word of God, and wouldn't have one ! ' 
 ' Well,' said the man, completely conquered, ' if 
 the President can take one I suppose 1 can,' as he 
 reached out his hand and received it." 
 
 Incident of F.^ir Oaks. — Edmund Q.An- 
 drews, of the Fortieth New York regiment, was 
 wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks, while in the 
 act of taking aim at a rebel soldier. The ball 
 entered the left side, striking a daguerreotype 
 (on iron) of his wife, which he carried in his vest 
 pocket, completely demolishing the picture, and 
 cutting off the top of the bowl of a wooden pipe, 
 which was also in his pocket. The ball then con- 
 tinued its course, entered the fiesh, and, passing 
 across the pit of his stomach, came out of his side. 
 
 The sudden and strong concussion of the ball 
 doubled him up, and it was a long time before he 
 was able to regain his breath. As soon as he 
 again found himself capable of standing on his 
 feet, he raised his musket, and fired at the man 
 who had shot him, when he once more fell upon 
 the ground from pain and exhaustion. 
 
 Soon after, he discovered that the enemy were 
 approaching him, when he managed to crawl off 
 the field on his hands and knees. He remarked 
 that he "thought he made good time, considering 
 he was not used to walking; on all fours." 
 
 A THOUGHT. 
 
 Falling leaves and falling men ! 
 
 When the snows of winter fall. 
 And the winds of winter blow, 
 
 Will be woven Nature's pall. 
 
 Let us, then, forsake our dead ; 
 
 For the dead will surely wait 
 While we rush upon the foe, 
 
 Eager for the hero's fate. 
 
 Leaves will come upon the trees ; 
 
 Spring will show the happy race ; 
 Mothers will give birth to sons — 
 
 Loyal souls to fill our place. 
 
 Wherefore should we rest and rush ? 
 
 Soldiers, we must fight and save 
 Freedom now, and give our foes 
 
 All their countrv should — a ffrave ! 
 
 Things about General Grant. — Rev. J. L. 
 
 Crane, the chaplain of the regiment of which 
 Lieutenant-General Grant was Colonel, gives the 
 following interesting reminiscences of his private 
 and military character : 
 
 " Grant," he says, " is about five feet ten inches 
 in height, and will weigh one hundred and forty 
 or forty-five pounds. He has a countenance in- 
 dicative of reserve, and an indomitable will, and 
 persistent purpose. 
 
 " In dress he is indifferent and careless, making 
 no pretensions to style or fashionable military 
 display. Had he continued Colonel till now, I 
 think his uniform would have lasted till this day ; 
 for he never used it except on dress parade, and 
 then seemed to regard it a good deal as David 
 did Saul's armor. 
 
 " ' His body is a vial of intense existence ; ' and 
 yet when a stranger would see him in a crowd he 
 would never think of asking his name. He is no 
 dissembler. He is a sincere, thinking, real man. 
 
 " He is always cheerful. No toil, cold, heat, 
 hunger, fatigue, or want of money depresses him. 
 He does his work at the time, and he requires ail 
 under his command to be equally prompt. I was 
 walking over the camp with him one morning 
 after breakfast. It was usual for each company 
 to call the roll at a given hour. It was now prob- 
 ably a half hour after the time for that duty. The 
 Colonel was quietly smoking his old meerschaum, 
 and talking and walking along, when he noticed 
 a company drawn up in line and the roll being 
 called. He instantly drew his pipe from his 
 mouth and exclaimed, ' Captain, this is no time 
 for calling the roll. Order your men to their 
 quarters immediately.' The command was in- 
 stantly obeyed, and the Colonel resumed his smok- 
 ing and walked on, conversing as quietly as if 
 nothing had happened. For this violation of 
 discipline those men went without rations that 
 day, except what thej' gathered up privately from 
 among their friends of other companies. Such 
 a breach of order was never witnessed in the regi- 
 ment afterwards while he was its Colonel. This 
 promptness is one of Grant's characteristics, and 
 it is one of the secrets of his success. 
 
 " On one of our marches, when passing through 
 one of these small towns where the grocery is 
 the principal establishment, some of the lovers 
 of intoxication had broken away from our lines 
 and filled their canteens with whiskey, and were 
 soon reeling and ungovernable under its influ- 
 ence. While apparently stopping the regiment 
 for rest, Grant passed quietly along and took each 
 canteen, and wherever he detected the fatal odor, 
 emptied the liquor on the ground with as much 
 nonchalance as he would empty his pipe, and had 
 the offenders tied behind the baggage wagons till 
 they had sobered into soldierly propriety. On this 
 point his orders were imperative : no whiskey nor 
 intoxicating beverages were allowed in his camp. 
 
 " In the afternoon of a very hot day in July, 
 1861, while the regiment was stationed in the 
 town of Mexico, Missouri, I had gone to the cars 
 as they were passing, and procured the daily 
 paper, and seated myself in the shadow of my 
 tent to read the news. In the telegraphic column 
 I soon came to the announcement that Grant, 
 with several others, was made Brigadier-General. 
 In a few minutes he came walking that way, and 
 I called to him : 
 
 " ' Colonel, I have some news here that will in- 
 terest you.' 
 
 '"What have you. Chaplain ? ' 
 
 " ' I see that you are made Brigadier-General.' 
 
 " He seated himself by ray side and remarked : 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 503 
 
 " ' Well, sir, I had no suspicion of it. It never 
 came from any request of mine. That's some of 
 Washburne's work. I knew Washburne in Galena. 
 He was a strong Republican, and I was a Demo- 
 crat, and I thought from tliat he never liked me 
 very well. Hence Ave never had more than a 
 business or street acquaintance. But when the 
 war broke out I found he had induced Governor 
 Yates to appoint me mustering officer of the 
 Illinois volunteers, and after that had something 
 to do in having me commissioned Colonel of the 
 Twenty-first regiment ; and I suppose this is some 
 of his work.' 
 
 " And he very leisurely rose up and pulled his 
 black felt hat a little nearer his eyes, and made a 
 few extra passes at his whiskers, and walked 
 aAvay with as much apparent unconcern as if some 
 one had merely told him that his new suit of 
 clothes was finished. 
 
 " Grant belongs to no church, yet he entertains 
 and expresses the highest esteem for all the en- 
 terprises that tend to promote religion. When 
 at home he generally attended the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. While he was Colonel of 
 the Twenty-first regiment, he gave every encour- 
 agement and facility for securing a prompt and 
 uniform observance of religious services, and was 
 generally found in the audience listening to 
 preaching. 
 
 " Shortly after I came into the regiment our 
 mess were one day taking their usual seats 
 around the dinner table, when he remarked : 
 
 " ' Chaplain, when I was at home, and ministers 
 were stopping at my house, I always invited them 
 to ask a blessing at the table. I suppose a 
 blessing is as much needed here as at home ; and 
 if it is agreeable with your views, I should be 
 glad to have you ask a blessing every time we sit 
 down to eat.' " 
 
 A GENTLEMAN, about whose Teutonic origin 
 there could be but one opinion, was passing 
 along the street, when he came to a halt before 
 one of the huge posters, announcing the coming 
 of the Panorama o^ Paradise Lost. He read 
 this line, "A Rebellion in Heaven," when he 
 broke forth as follows : " A Rebellion in Heaven : 
 mine Got ! that lasts not long now — Onkel Abe 
 ish tare." 
 
 Adventures of an Irishman. — Sitting in a 
 rainy tent at Centreville, I overheard the follow- 
 ing "fragment of a conversation between a party 
 of Irish soldiers, which, for richness and raciness, 
 Charles Lever would have immortalized himself 
 by frescoing in one of his inimitable stories. The 
 company were detailing their experiences, " hair- 
 breadth escapes by flood and field," spinning Mun- 
 chausian yarns and cracking wonderful jokes, 
 when one Pat INIullooney, a genuine son of the 
 sod, broke in with an account of his adventures 
 during the battle of Bull Run. I give you the 
 ebullition entire, though half its fun and force 
 are lost by its transfer to paper : 
 
 "Ye see, gintlemin," said Pat ("God forgeve 
 me for calling such spalpeens out uv yer names "), 
 
 " that time whin the ould Major came down like 
 a flyin' divil on his chisnut mare with his illigant 
 sword, that, be jabers, is like a scythe blade, a 
 wavin' about his hid, and yelled to us to come 
 on, and charge the bloody Yankees, be gorra, it 
 was to Wasliington we thought we were goin' all 
 the way, and the divil a time we were to stop at 
 all, at all, on the road, not aven for a dhrap of 
 wather. 
 
 " Well, sure enough, the ould feller wint in him- 
 self, and I after him, not thinking about anything 
 at all, but jist goin' on. I jum])ed over a mite of 
 a fence as tight as a toad, and took to the wather 
 [Bull Run] like a duck ; and whin I got to the 
 middle of the strame I looked around, and the 
 divil resave the one uv yez near me, I was alone 
 intirely sure. Thin I thought, big fools as ye all 
 are, that I was a bigger wan for not sthaying in 
 the woods, like the rist of yez, and waiting for 
 the spalpeens to come over. But as I was out 
 there, I thought to meself, I'll take a look at how 
 things is, how things is beyant, and p'raps I'll 
 have a crack o' me goon. But divil uv a thing 
 could I say. Jist as I was makin' up me mind 
 to return to ye all, a big Yankee, who looked as 
 if he was seventeen feet high, livilled his musket 
 at me and fired. The bullet whistled by me ear 
 wid a shrake worse than Tim Flangan's fife. 
 
 " ' Bad luck to ye, ye thafe o' the wurrld,' says 
 I, ' what are ye tlivying to shoot me fur ? sure I 
 niver done nothing to yez ; ' and thin I aimed 
 shtraight betwane his eyes, and fired at him ; but 
 the murtherin' ball didn't tuch a hnir uv his head 
 that I mist. 'Be gorra,' sez I to meself, ' now I'll take 
 ye a prisoner, anyhow ; ' and I put meself across 
 the river as hard as iver I could. I joomped up 
 the bank, and lookin' mighty fierce at 'im, I sed, 
 ' Surrender, ye divil, or I'll blow yer brains out.' 
 The fun uv it was, I'd forgot, in me charge upon 
 the spalpeen, to load me goon at all, at all, and 
 the bloody tlaafe must av knew it, for he made at 
 me wid his bay'net, like a two-legged locomotive. 
 By the powers but I was frightened. As he was 
 coming down, lapin' several fate at a time, says 
 I to meself, ' Pat, me boy, mind yer eye ; now's 
 yer time to kape wide awake, or you'll have a 
 gimlet hole through yer valuable bow'lls, and 
 Biddy Mullooney will be a widder.' Bad luck to 
 the drillin', sure it's meself forgot to come to the 
 charge. So I tuk me goon by the middle, just as 
 ye wud hould a good ould-fashioned black-thorn 
 shillaly, and balanced meself fur 'im. As he come 
 down,"the divil take me if I knew how to git that 
 bay'net point out o' the way. I twirled me mus- 
 ket aroun' me head till me fingers ached ; but 
 ' suddenly, bliss all the Hooly Saints fur it, a root 
 tuk the fut uv the bloody-minded rascal, and he 
 went a sprawlin' on the turf, lookin' as jn-etty a 
 lether X as ye iver signed to yer name ; at the 
 same time that his bay'net shtruck a fut in the 
 ground, I gin a yell, and was on him before a 
 pig could grunt, and put me fut on his neck. 
 ' Surrender, ye divil,' said I ; but the divil a word 
 did he spake. 
 
 " I thought I had his throat too tight, an' I let 
 him go, to give him a fair chance to utther his 
 
504 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 sentiments. What d'j-e think the spalpeen thried 
 to do ? Sure it was to git his musket out uv the 
 ground an' shtruck me wid it agin. But shtill I 
 didn't want to hurt the baste ; so I jist hit 'im a 
 little crack in the head wid the butt o' me goon, 
 an' broke his jaw. Then he became quiet, an' I 
 made 'im take his musket and cross the crake, 
 when I druv 'im to the hospital, an' the divil uv 
 a daccnter, betther-behaved feller ye niver saw 
 afther that. He laid in bed six wakes, and didn't 
 spake nary word. That's what I did at Bull Run. 
 Who'll give me a poteen o' whiskey ? " 
 
 CAMP LIFE. 
 
 DESCKIBED BY A SOLDIER. 
 
 Few can realize the real character of camp life, 
 until they have tried its stern reaHties, until they 
 forsake theii" brick and wooden walls for those of 
 cotton. At home, where men only hear the roar 
 of the storm, as its tones are muffled by the com- 
 fortable protections around them, and know of 
 the rain only as it patters on the window panes, 
 they can realize very little what it is to have the 
 walls and roof of their dwellings shake, and quiv- 
 er, and crack like the report of musketry, and 
 not only hear the cold blast without, but feel it 
 creeping in at many openings it is quite impossi- 
 ble to close. At home, locks and bars keep away 
 intruders, and we lie down and sleep in stillness 
 and safety. In camp, our locks are made of 
 rope, and no other means are needed to open our 
 doors than to untie a knot. Here, wake at Vihat 
 hour you may, and you hear the dull tread of the 
 sentry, or are startled by the sharp challenge 
 which he gives to some luckless wight, whose ne- 
 cessities have called him abroad at an unsea- 
 sonable hour. At home, the wakeful cock, or 
 speaking bell from the neighboring steeple, tells 
 j'ou of the early dawn, and that the time has come 
 to begin the duties of the rising day. Here, the 
 sharp twang and roil of the martial drum start 
 you into wakefulness, and make you feel the full 
 reality of the strange and awfid scenes which have 
 been pressed upon the land by this most unnat- 
 ural rebellion. At our fireside we hear only the 
 peaceful hum of agriculture, or the arts ; but here 
 none of those things are seen or heard ; their 
 place is taken by the shrill tones of the fife, the 
 stirring notes of the bugle, as its blasts reverber- 
 ate among the hills, the almost constant roll of 
 the drum, the firing of musketry, and the roar of 
 cannon. These, with the long ranks of martial 
 men passing from point to point, the tread of 
 horsemen, and the sharp, quick voice of those in 
 command, are scenes all new and strange to our 
 land of peace and thriftful enterprise. All these 
 are scenes most intimately connected with camp 
 life. 
 
 Every plain is covered with tents, nearly every 
 eminence with fortifications, bristling with cannon. 
 An evening or two since, we saw several regi- 
 ments on their respective grounds, at M-hat is 
 fctyled " dress parade ; " the day had been cloudy ; 
 
 just at this moment the sun looked brightly 
 through a rift in the clouds, and threw a flood of 
 brightness over the scene. Each regiment was 
 formed in two lines, drawn with military precis- 
 ion. As the light fell upon their thousand glit- 
 tering bayonets, they presented above their head.-; 
 a line of the most spotless white ; then, as they 
 changed the position of the weapon to a charge, 
 the line changed from above the dark mass of 
 men to their front, the rays of the sun, in the 
 mean time, glancing from each weapon, and quiv- 
 ering in the quarter of a circle formed in the 
 movement, untd it settled again into one long, 
 bright line of spotless white, the Avhole forming 
 one of the most fairy scenes on which the eye 
 could rest. One finds it hard to believe that such 
 a scene, so much like the moving of the wing of 
 that angel Avho is clothed in light, is really the 
 solemn waving of the wing of the angel of death. 
 
 When leaving home, some of our friends said 
 to us, " Tell us of the camp, and how you live 
 there." There is some difficulty in doing this. 
 If our friends were at our elboM', asking us ques- 
 tions about what they were cvu-ious to know, then 
 we could answer them ; as it is, we will do the 
 best we can to meet their wishes. 
 
 Every camp should have a parade ground. This 
 forms the front. Beginning with this, and going 
 backwards, you have the tents of the men, each 
 company having their tents arranged in line? 
 facing on a street where the company forms, pre- 
 paratory to marching on to the parade ground, 
 and where they also meet foi* roll call, which oc- 
 curs three times each day — at sunrise, at sunset. 
 and at eight in the evening. Next, after the tents 
 of the men, come those of the commissioned offi- 
 cers of the companies. These face on a street 
 which runs at right angles with the company 
 streets. In this broad aisle the men do their 
 cooking and have their company fires. Hero they 
 meet of evenings to smoke, and talk, and sing. 
 Still back of these are the tents of the Colonel 
 and staff. This is composed of the Colonel, Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel, Major, Adjutant, Quartermaster, 
 Chaplain, and Surgeons, the tent of the Colonel 
 forming the centre. The llag-stafl" is at the edge 
 of the j)arade ground, immediately in front of the 
 Colonel's tent. In the rear of the whole may be 
 found the Quartermaster, Commissary, and Sut- 
 ler's departments. 
 
 When the ground has been marked off, the men 
 proceed to pitch their tents, whicli, when raised 
 and spread, are fastened to their places by cords 
 and stakes ; then a shallow trench is usually dug 
 around each, to carry away the water which may 
 drip from the roof. The dirt from this trench is 
 sometimes thrown into the middle of the tent to 
 raise the ground, thus avoiding the collection of 
 water under the cloth. When this is done, the 
 occupant gets some boards for a floor, if he can ; 
 if this cannot be, he uses the ground. He makes 
 his bed by putting some stakes in the ground, on 
 which he makes a platform, spreads it over with 
 some boughs of evergreen or straAv, rolls himself 
 in his blanket, and sleeps sweetly, dreaming, it 
 may be, of home and glory. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 505 
 
 The soldier generally cooks his rations in the 
 open air. Then sitting in his tent, or under the 
 shade of some neighboring tree, with his plate 
 upon his lap, he enjoj's, with a soldier's zest, his 
 frugal meal. 
 
 The signal for retiring is given by the drum — 
 the ever-present drum. And when the morning 
 breaks, again the roll of the stirring drum shakes 
 sleep from his drowsy eyelids, and calls him 
 forth, with his musket and his belt, to duty and 
 to drill. 
 
 Each day the Colonel selects an officer, who is 
 styled the officer of the day. He is known by his 
 wearing his sash over his shoulder, the ordinary 
 way of wearing it being around the waist. He 
 has charge of the guard and the police of the 
 camp. The guard is detailed for twenty-four 
 hours by the Adjutant, each sentry being changed 
 once in two hours. The guard entirely surrounds 
 the camp, so that no one can leave, or come on 
 the ground, M'ithout their notice and permission. 
 Then when you retire to rest, you may be assured 
 that these men are encamped round about you, 
 and that they will be faithful ; for if found asleep 
 on his post, the sentry may be shot, or such other 
 penalty as the court martial may inflict. 
 
 Such is the camp life of our noble soldiery. 
 Near half a million of our fellow-citizens are daily 
 meeting these fatigues for the weal of our nation. 
 Let the whole church pray for them. 
 
 THE FREEDMAN'S SONG. 
 
 De Lord He make us free indeed 
 
 In His own time an' way ; 
 We plant dc rice an' cotton seed, 
 
 An' see de sprout some day ; 
 Wc know it come, but not de why — 
 
 De Lord know more dan we ; 
 We 'spected freedom by an' by, 
 
 An' now we all are free. 
 
 Praise de Lord ! Praise de Lord ! 
 For now we all are^free. 
 
 De Norf is on de side ob right, 
 
 An' full of men, dey say ; 
 An' derc, when poor man work, at night 
 
 Ho sure to get his pay ; 
 De Lord, He glad dey are so good. 
 
 An' make dem bery strong ; 
 An' when dey called to gib deir blood, 
 
 Dey all come right along. 
 
 Praise de Lord ! Praise de Lord ! 
 Dey all come right along. 
 
 Deir blue coats cover all de groim', 
 
 An' make it like de sky ; 
 An' cbery grayback loafin' roun', 
 
 Ho tink it time to fly ; 
 We not afraid ; we bring de child. 
 
 An' Stan' beside de door ; 
 An' O, we hug it bery wild. 
 
 An' keep it ebermoro. 
 
 Praise de Lord ! Praise de Lord ! 
 We keep it ebermore. 
 
 De massa's come back from his tramp ; 
 
 'Pears he is broken quite ; 
 He takes de basket to de camp 
 
 For rations ebery night ; 
 
 Dey fought him when he loud an' strong, 
 
 Dey feed him when he low ; 
 Dey say dey will forgive de wrong, 
 An' bid him 'pent an' go. 
 
 Praise de Lord ! Praise de Lord ! 
 Dey bid him 'pent an' go. 
 
 De rice is higher far dis year, 
 
 De cotton taller grow ; 
 De lowest corn-silk on de ear 
 
 Is higher dan de hoe ; 
 De Lord He lift up eberyting 
 
 'Cept rebel in his grabe ; 
 De negro bress de Lord an' sing 
 
 He is no longer slabe. 
 
 Praise de Lord ! Praise de Lord ! 
 De ne£tro no more slabe. 
 
 THE STORY OF PRAHIIE GROVE. 
 
 Early in the month of December, General 
 Blunt, commanding the Union forces in Arkansas, 
 was encamped at Cane Hill, in the north-western 
 part of the State, not far from Van Buren, and a 
 few miles north of the Boston Mountain. 
 
 Across that mount^n, twenty days before, he 
 had driven Marmaduke, who commanded all the 
 irregular and roving bands of horsemen that in- 
 fested that part of the State. 
 
 His own force was about ten thousand strong. 
 One hundi-ed and twenty miles north of him, in 
 Missouri, General Herron was encamped with a 
 force about six thousand strong. On the 3d of 
 December, he learned that all the rebel force in 
 Arkansas had been assembled on the south side 
 of the Mountain, and amounted to some twenty 
 or twenty-five thousand, commanded by Hind- 
 man, a prominent rebel politician, who had now 
 become a prominent rebel General. The position, 
 numbers, and commanders of the Union armies 
 were well known to him, and his plan of opera- 
 tions was obvious, and apparently very dangerous 
 to the Union cause in Arkansas. If he should 
 advance at once across Boston IMountain, fall 
 upon Blunt with double his force, there was a 
 flattering probability that he would crush him. 
 Then continuing his march north, lie proposed to 
 launch his flushed columns at Herron, and wiping 
 him out, leave no organized and adequate force 
 between him and St. Louis. Flushed with these 
 anticipations, and confident by a few days' fight- 
 ing to make himself the hero" of the Trans-Mis- 
 sissippi Department, he advanced with confidence 
 against Blunt, and crossed Boston Moimtain. 
 Blunt saw his whole danger, and grasped his ene- 
 my's plan. Couriers were at once despatched to 
 Herron to come with all haste to his relief, as the 
 enemy, with numbers double his own, was advan- 
 cing upon him from the South. Nobly and with 
 the promptitude of a true soldier did Herron re- 
 spond to the summons. The annals of the war 
 hardly furnish an instance of swifter movement. 
 On the noon of AVednesday, the 3d, he broke 
 camp at Springfield, Missouri, and headed his 
 column for the Arkansas line. 
 
 In three days he had marched one hundred and 
 ten miles, and was in the vicinity of Fayetteville, 
 
506 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 and near the enemy. Hindman had in some 
 manner contrived to steal a march on Blunt, and 
 had passed him on his left flank, and Avas making 
 for Herron as rapidly as possible. This startling 
 intelligence reached Blunt about ten o'clock on 
 the morning of the 7th, and he of course 
 made his movements with the utmost rapidity 
 to meet this new phase of affairs. Herron mean- 
 while, pushing on south as rapidly as possible, 
 expected to form a junction with Blunt, and had 
 no idea that he should be the first to engage the 
 enemy. He was about eight miles south of Fay- 
 etteville, when his cavalry came dashing back in 
 great disorder, having met the enemy advancing 
 in great numbers. He rallied them and led them 
 on against the foe, at the same time hurrying 
 forward his artillery and his infantrj'. By ten 
 o'clock he found himself on the north bank of 
 Illinois Creek, the enemy on the other side 
 strongly posted on a long ridge with magnificent 
 positions for his batteries. 
 
 From a prisoner he learned that Hindman was 
 on the ridge with his whole force, and expected to 
 whip him out before Blunt, who was ten miles 
 distant, could come up. There were but two 
 courses for Herron. One ivas to retreat at once, 
 give up his trains to the enemj'^, and abandon 
 Blunt to his fate, without the power to assist him. 
 The other was to move promptly across the creek, 
 engage the enemy, and hope that Blunt, hearing 
 the cannon, would make all haste to his relief. 
 He was too good a soldier to hesitate as to which 
 horn of this dilemma to take, and riding forward 
 to view the ground, decided at once on a plan of 
 operations. 
 
 Under a steady artillery fire from the enemy 
 he crossed the creek, got all his guns in position, 
 and thrcAV out his infantry in line of battle. Find- 
 ing his batteries were telling upon the enemy's 
 lir.e, he moved up the infantry, and in a few min- 
 utes the whole of his left wing was engaged. 
 The battle, commencing thus on the part of Gen- 
 eral Herron, lasted some three hours, till the 
 middle of the afternoon, his force holding their 
 original position, but suffering terribly under the 
 galling fire and frequent charges of the enemy, 
 who made two vigorous efforts to turn his left by 
 massing his forces on that wing. 
 
 It was now past three o'clock, and nothing 
 from Blunt. All of Herron's force had been en- 
 gaged, and some of his regiments were l^adly cut 
 up. He told all his officers they must hold out 
 till night ; and there was no thought of anything 
 else, though the case seemed a tough one. At 
 four o'clock a battery opened on his extreme 
 right. The shell came over and fell among liis 
 skirmish line. What could it mean ? The fire 
 soon grew hotter, and presently the ground was 
 trembling with the heavy cannonade of seventy 
 pieces, all actively worked. The roar of the first 
 discharge had hardly died away, Avhen a thrilling 
 cheer went up from the whole of Herron's line. 
 Relief had come at last. It was Blunt's guns 
 thundering on the right. He had heard the sound 
 of the battle, and his men, leaving the main road, 
 had taken a straight shoot through fields of thorn 
 
 brush, and over fences and ditches, until Blunt 
 found himself coming directly upon the enemy's 
 left v>ing. Halting only to place his batteries, he 
 at once opened fire, and from four o'clock till dark 
 the battle raged along the whole of the now ex- 
 tended line, fi-om Herron's left to Blunt's right. 
 It was one of the loveliest days that ever beamed 
 on a field of blood. In that mellow climate De- 
 cember often gives a day as clear and warm as 
 the loveliest of an Indian summer. 
 
 As Hindman saw his plan had failed, he fought 
 with desperation. 
 
 His line was covered with a small growth of 
 timber, and occupied a moderate elevation, which 
 commanded an open country in front, called 
 Prairie Grove. 
 
 He had the advantage in position, as well as 
 numbers. Again and again the Union infantry 
 would charge into the woods, and drive the reb- 
 els ; and then, again, they would rally and charge, 
 driving the Union force back into tlie open prai- 
 rie. Thus back and forth the battle vv'avered, till 
 the sun set through lurid smoke, and darkness 
 settled upon the scene. Blunt then ordered his 
 forces to withdraw in good order. 
 
 Hindman, considering this a repulse, ordered a 
 general charge all along the line. Expecting this. 
 Blunt had stationed his artillery, and the pieces 
 were loaded with grape and canister. The rebel 
 line advanced to within sixty yards when the fifty 
 Federal cannon opened all along the line — a fire 
 before Avhich nothing human could stand. 
 
 A few desperate regiments rallied after the first 
 discharge, and rushed almost to the cannon's 
 mouth ; but a second discharge tore the bleeding 
 lines into flying fragments, and they ran howling 
 into the cover of the forest from which they had 
 emerged. 
 
 This closed the day. The Federal army biv- 
 ouacked on their arms, expecting a renewal of the 
 contest at daylight. But Hindman now thought 
 discretion was the better part of valor, and taking 
 his men's blankets to muffle his artillery wheels, 
 he stole away so quietly, under cover of night, 
 that by morning he had placed Boston Mountain 
 between Blunt and the greater part of his force. 
 
 Never was a reverse more complete. On the 
 morning of the 7th, he had tlie Union force 
 divided, and was confident that he could whip 
 each division separately. As some of his officers 
 expressed it in the elegant vernacular of the 
 South-west, " He would chaw up Herron for his 
 breakfast, and then turn and gobble up Blunt at 
 dinner." He had not calculated upon such ob- 
 stinate resistance from one, nor such swift march- 
 ing from the other. 
 
 Midnight saw his defeated and bleeding col- 
 umn, stealthily, and with muffled cannon wheels, 
 moving away through the gorges of Boston 
 Mountain. 
 
 Desolations of War. — A Federal cavalry- 
 man, Avriting from the vicinity of Fredericksburg, 
 where Burnside was encamped in December, J 862, 
 gives the following account of the utter desola- 
 tion that overtook so many of the old Virginia 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 507 
 
 families, and the promptness with which even the 
 kindest slaveholders were deserted by the negroes 
 upon the advent of the Union armies : 
 
 " While on a scout after my breakfast on Satur- 
 day morning last, I galloped up to a fine-looking 
 house, and as no one appeared, I shouted loudly 
 for some one to come forth. I knew by the smoke 
 from the chimney that it had an occupant ; and 
 directly an aged lady made her appearance, and 
 I was invited to dismount and enter the house, 
 which invitation I gladly accepted, and visions of 
 hot corn cake, bacon and eggs, flitted before my 
 fancy. These are no trifles to a hungry soldier, 
 though of little interest to you, or your readers, 
 perhaps. Not a soul was in sight or hearing but 
 this poor old lady, every slave, out of one hun- 
 dred and sixty-five, having left her. Though the 
 owner of thirty-five hundred acres of beautiful 
 cleared land, she was, she said, ' the most un- 
 happy wretch on earth.' Of all her slaves, not 
 one could be induced to remain with her. Even 
 those she loved as her own children, and reared 
 as tenderly, were the first to desert her, though 
 ofiered their fi-eedom and liberal wages. The 
 tears trickled down her furrowed cheeks, and her 
 gray head was bowed in anguish, as she told me 
 the story of her last year's experience ; and I shed 
 a sympathizing tear with her, and with a saddened 
 heart mounted my horse and rode away, my 
 appetite for hot corn cake and fried bacon having 
 failed me. So it is with hundreds of others ; but 
 of all the tales I have listened to, this afiiected me 
 most." 
 
 Exploits of a Foraging Party. — A soldier 
 in the Fifty-sixth New York volunteers was en- 
 gaged in one of those excursions — partly mili- 
 tary and partly predatory — which characterized 
 the earlier j-ears of the war. Just after his first 
 exploits in that line in the winter of 18G2, he 
 wrote home to his father the following account 
 from Yorktown, Virginia : 
 
 " In order to make my promise good to you, 
 I will now endeavor to pen you a short sketch of 
 our expedition to Gloucester Court House. 
 
 " On the morning of the 1 1th of December, 
 our regiment was drawn up in line at daylight, 
 and a few minutes after, we started towards the 
 fort. There was but little said by any of us as 
 we marched along, keeping step to the beat of 
 the drum. Every man's mind was busy; for 
 none of us knew where we were to go. Some 
 thought Ave were going to join Burnside's army ; 
 others, that we were going to Richmond direct ; 
 and none liked the idea of leaving our cheerful 
 quarters for the fierce and bloody fight, and the 
 hardships of a winter campaign. 
 
 " Well, we trudged along, entered the fort, 
 and went down to the river, where we found a 
 boat waiting to take us over to Gloucester Point. 
 We found out, soon after crossing the river, that 
 we Avere to go to Gloucester Court House to drive 
 out some rebels, Avho, it Avas said, were fortifying 
 themselves there. AVe started a little after s6ven, 
 and one hour later, had passed the outer pickets, 
 and were fairly in Secessia. The people Avere 
 
 surprised at the display Ave made. There had 
 never been any soldiers through there before us. 
 The darkies were overjoyed at our coming, and 
 kindly gave us all the eggs, milk, and hoe-cake 
 Ave Avanted. The country Ave passed through Avas 
 a rich one. No army had been there to destroy 
 their crops and cattle, and they possessed abun- 
 dance. 
 
 "At three P. M. Ave entered the town. Our 
 cavalry had driven off a fcAV stray rebels, and Ave 
 took ]3eaceable possession. There was no visible 
 evidence of the rebels' intending to fortify the 
 tOAvn. Not knoAving but that Ave might be 
 attacked during the night, General Naglee had 
 the battery planted in a good position, a strong- 
 picket posted, and issued orders to have every 
 man ready to fall in at a minute's notice. 
 
 " Our regiment lay on their arms all night on 
 the roadside. We suffered some from cold. The 
 boys could not stand that ; so they commenced 
 pi'owling about the place for plunder. There was 
 soon a great uproar among the foAvls. Chickens 
 cackled, geese and ducks quacked, and turkeys 
 gobbled; but 'tAvas no use. It Avas too near 
 Christmas to give them a chance for their lives. 
 Consequently they lost their heads and feathers, 
 and soon found themselves boiling in the camp- 
 kettles. 
 
 " A good old Secesh dominie, living in the up- 
 per part of the toAvn, heard a great racket in the 
 neighborhood of his hennery. He poked his 
 head out of the window to see Avhat Avas going 
 on. He saAV three or four blue-jackets. One 
 Avas lugging off a skip of honey. 
 
 " ' Stop ! stop ! I command you ! ' roared out 
 the old felloAv. 
 
 " His Avife (who, no doubt, had been in Rich- 
 mond, and learned the military) told him to call, 
 ' Corporal of the guard.' He did so, when a fel- 
 low jumped into the yard, saying he Avas a Cor- 
 poral, and Avanted to knoAV what Avas the matter. 
 Dominie told him hoAv he had been robbed, and 
 asked him to take care of his honey. 
 
 " ' To be sure I Avill,' says the Avilling Corporal ; 
 and he picks up a skip, and starts ofi' Avith it. 
 
 " ' But Avhere are you going Avith that skip ? ' 
 says dominie. 
 
 '" ' O, I am going to take care of it for you,' says 
 Bogus ; and off he goes. 
 
 '' The dominie hauls in his head, and the boys 
 limil in the rest of his honey and foAvls. 
 
 "At noon Ave pitched our camp in a gentle- 
 man's door-yard. We did nothing more to-day, 
 and had a bully night's rest. Next morning the 
 General gave orders for the Fifty-sixth to go out 
 foraging. Captain Smith headed' the party, num- 
 bering forty or fifty. We started for the planta- 
 tion of a Mr. Field, a strong secessionist. On 
 arriving at his house the Captain halted and 
 fronted us, and then Avent up to Field and told 
 him that Ave Avanted some of his stock for Govern- 
 ment use. He told the Captain to help himself 
 to Avhat he Avanted. The Captain then divided 
 the squad into tAVO equal parts, one to capture 
 and bring in stock, the other party to act as re- 
 serve and guard. Well, this fun lasted about an 
 
508 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCmENTS. 
 
 hour, and I caught but one old setting hen, and 
 my sides ached with laughter. The ground was 
 thickly strewn with dead poultry, for the boys 
 soon learned to kill their birds, and they now set 
 about picking them up. The Captain started 
 twenty men back to camp with the plunder. The 
 rest of us went to another house, but luckily for 
 somebody, it Avas deserted. Farther on was to 
 be seen another house. The first glance, on ar- 
 riving at the place, told us that these folks were 
 poor. Captain went to speak to an old woman, 
 who came to the door. I went to the negro 
 quarters, and found by inquiry, that the old ^ady 
 had long been a widow, that she was very poor, 
 and had three sons in the rebel army. One had 
 been killed in the battle before Richmond. The 
 boys now commenced a war on the poultry, and 
 I was determined that all the fowls should be 
 spared to the old lady. There she stood in the 
 door with clasped hands, her gray hair looking 
 out from underneath the wide border of her cap. 
 A pretty little girl of five or six years (a grand- 
 child), with golden hair in curls, stood near, cling- 
 ing to the old lady's skirt, and trying to get her 
 in and shut the door. The boys were bent on 
 having the poultry, and as Captain Smith had not 
 forbidden it, they took everything. Here I did 
 one of the meanest acts that I ever did in all my 
 life. It was this : after trying to save the old 
 lady's property, I caught a duck and wrung its 
 neck before her eyes. Never shall I forget the 
 look she gave me. She thought me to be her 
 only friend before this ; but now I, too, had proved 
 an enemy. O, how her heart sunk within her ! 
 She sank down into a chair, and gave herself up 
 to the loudest lamentations. I can reconcile my- 
 self to take property from rich secessionists for 
 the Government, but now I am down on robbing 
 poor people's hen-roosts.'* 
 
 Obeying Orders. — While in front of Peters- 
 burg, General Butler received information that 
 his favorite horse, " Almond Eye," had been ac- 
 cidentally killed by falling into a ravine. Upon 
 the departure of his informant, he ordered an 
 Irishman to go and skin him. 
 
 " What ! Is Almond Eye dead ? " asked Pat. 
 
 " What's that to you ? Do as I bid you, and 
 ask no questions." 
 
 Pat went about his business, and in an hour or 
 two returned. 
 
 "Well, Pat, where have you been all this 
 time ? " 
 
 " Skinning the horse, yer honor." 
 
 " Docs it take nearly two hours to perform 
 such an operation ? " 
 
 " No, yer honor ; but then, you see, it tuck 
 'bout half an hour to catch him." 
 
 "Catch him! Fire and furies ! Was he alive?" 
 
 " Yes, yer honor ; and you know I could not 
 skin him alive." 
 
 " Skin him alive ! Did you kill him ? " 
 
 " To be sure I did. You know I must obey 
 orders, without asking any questions." 
 
 General Butler eyed his servant with such a 
 
 malicious look, that Pat thought he meditated 
 skinning an Irishman, in revenge for the death 
 of his horse. 
 
 Incidents of the Christian Commission. 
 
 — At the meeting of this noble institution, at 
 Washington, in February, 1864, the Rev. Rob- 
 ert J. Parvin, in stating the practical operations 
 of the Commission on the battle-fields and in the 
 hospitals, said : 
 
 " At Gettysburg, in the Fifth Corps Hospital, 
 of which I had charge in the Christian Commis- 
 sion's work for a few weeks, I had many such 
 home links fastened to the last hours of dying 
 soldiers. I remember well a Captain of your own 
 State, sir [addressing Mr. George H. Stuart, the 
 President], of the 20th Maine volunteers, who 
 was brought into that old barn, where were six- 
 ty-five of the worst' cases in the whole corps. O, 
 they were all sadly wounded. The brave fellow 
 had some of his own men lying on the floor not 
 far from him. He loved them with a father's 
 love. As one after another they died around 
 him, it worked so upon his mind, that he became 
 a raving maniac, until it took four or five to hold 
 him. With great difficulty we got him away 
 from his men who were dying, — in a room by 
 himself, — and he rallied, became a little better. 
 The Surgeon went in to see him. He came out, and 
 I passed in. The Surgeon had told me he could 
 not live. If he had had a primary amputation, 
 
 — an amputation, that is, on the field, — he might 
 have recovered, but he could not now. I took 
 him by the hand. His first words were, ' Chap- 
 lain' (for such they call us), ' what did the Sur- 
 geon say ? ' ' Why, Captain, you are in a criti- 
 cal case.' ' I know that. Chaplain, but does the 
 Surgeon think I can live ? ' ' He thinks it is 
 hardly possible that you will live. Captain.' ' My 
 wife. Chaplain — have you heard from her since 
 your message yesterday ? ' ' No, we have re- 
 ceived no answer. The lines are in the hands of 
 the Government, who needs them ; perhaps that 
 is the reason we cannot get an answer at once. 
 We hope she will be here.' ' Does the Surgeon 
 say I cannot live long, Chaplain ? ' ' Yes ; but 
 you are a Christian man. Captain Billings ? ' 
 ' Yes, Chaplain, I have no fears. I left my place 
 in the Sabbath school for my place in the army. 
 My hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. I have 
 tried to serve him in the army, and he will not 
 forsake me now. I would like to see my wife,' 
 he continued, as his thoughts recurred to that 
 dear one. ' Well, Captain, if you have anything 
 to say, will you give the message to me ? ' He 
 asked me to give her his knapsack and sword, 
 and other little things that he mentioned ; and if 
 she came, the message he wished me to deliver ; 
 and then he seemed to dismiss all these things 
 from his mind, as he lay there calm, peaceful, 
 a dying man, as well as a dying soldier, and, 
 above all, a dying Christian. ' Now,' said he at 
 length, ' don't stay longer with me. Go and min- 
 ister' to the boys, and run in here as you can to 
 read a few words of Scripture to me, and kneel 
 down and pray Avith me.' After I had prayed 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 509 
 
 with him, he said to me, ' Could you have my 
 body embalmed and sent home ? I lost my money 
 on the field.' ' Certainly, Captain, it shall be 
 done ; give yourself no further thought about 
 that.' Not another time did he refer to it, but he 
 passed away a dying Christian, triumphing over 
 all the horrors of war, over all the sad circum- 
 stances surrounding him. It was in the morning 
 at eleven o'clock that he passed away. At five 
 o'clock that afternoon his body Avas sent to the 
 embalmers. At ten o'clock that night, as I was 
 busy writing letters from memoranda taken 
 through the day, a knock was heard at my door. 
 ' Walk in,' I responded. In stepped a man, in- 
 quiring, ' Is Captain BilHngs, of the 20th Maine, 
 here ? ' What a question for us to meet ! But 
 I thought of the home-link. * Who are you ? ' I 
 asked. 'I am Jiis brother. I haveliis icife loith 
 me. I have buoyed her tip this long %vay loith 
 the hope that roe ivould find the Captain in good 
 condition. Where is he, sir ? ' ' You have 
 not brought the Captain's wife out here with you 
 to-night ? ' The corps hospital was four miles 
 from Gettysburg. * No ; I left her in town for 
 to-night.' ' O, it is well ; the body of your 
 brother was sent to the embalmers at five o'clock 
 this afternoon ! ' ' O ! O ! ' said he, * I cannot 
 tell her ! I cannot tell her ! I cannot trust my- 
 self to tell her, or even to see her again, to- 
 night ! ' The poor man seemed overcome. ' I 
 cannot see her,' he continued ; ' I have brought 
 her on all the way to Gettysburg, and now you 
 must, yoic must tell her all.' And so our duty 
 was to see the wife, and deliver to her the mes- 
 sages and the tokens of the dying love of her 
 husband, and speak to her words of comfort in 
 the name of the Lord ! His body was carried on 
 to the State of Maine, to repose with those of his 
 kindi"ed there." 
 
 Female Patriotism. — A Southern officer re- 
 lates the following: " Let me now tell the story 
 of a Kentucky lady. It was related to me by one 
 in whom implicit confidence can be placed. Some 
 time ago the hirelings of Lincoln went to Cyn- 
 thiana, Ky., in search of ' arms ' and ' secession- 
 ists.' A gentleman whom I will call Smith was 
 a strong Southern man, and feeling that he would 
 be among the first to be arrested, hastened away 
 at dead of night. He was a man of wealth and in- 
 fluence ; but such was the precipitancy with which 
 Ife left his home and his all, that he could carry 
 nothing with him. He hurriedly escaped in his 
 shirt sleeves to a widow's house in the neighbor- 
 hood, with whom he was well acquainted, and 
 stated his condition. The lady, who was herself 
 wealthy, instantly and intuitively conceived a 
 plan to relieve him. And what does the reader 
 suppose that plan was ? She ordered a horse to 
 be saddled, took a servant behind her, went to 
 Cynthiana, six miles distant, procured money for 
 her friend, bought cloth, returned home, had the 
 cloth cut and made into garments by the next 
 morning, and started Smith off bright and early !" 
 
 Here is another : General Marshall sent his 
 (Quartermaster here for the artillery destined for 
 
 his command. There was not a sufficient number 
 of horses to be bought in the ordinary way, and 
 the Quartermaster was empowered to impress. 
 He met with a lady on a splendid gray horse. 
 She was visiting some of her friends during the 
 Christmas, and Avas twenty miles from home. 
 She was asked the price at which she would sell 
 her horse. She replied it was the only horse she 
 had, and she had refused two hundred dollars for 
 him frequently. The Quartermaster informed 
 her that one hundred and fifty was as much as 
 the Government could give, and he thought that 
 the horse was necessary to aid in the defence of 
 the country. Her reply was characteristic of the 
 ladies in this country. " Kentuckian, take him." 
 
 JOHN BROWN'S SONG. 
 
 John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave ; 
 John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave; 
 John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave; 
 His soul is marching on 1 
 
 CHOBUS. 
 
 Glory, halle — hallelujah ! 
 Glory, halle — hallelujah ! 
 Glorj^, halle — hallelujah ! 
 
 His soul is marching on ! 
 
 He's gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord ! 
 He's gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord ! 
 He's gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord ! 
 His soul is marching on ! 
 Glory, halle — hallelujah! &c. 
 
 John Brown's knapsack is strapped upon his back! 
 John Brown's knapsack is strapped upon his back ! 
 John Brown's knapsack is strapped upon his back! 
 His soul is marching on ! 
 Glory, halle — hallelujah ! &c. 
 
 The pet lambs and angels will meet him on the way, 
 The pet lambs and angels will meet him on the way. 
 The pet lambs and angels will meet him on the way, 
 As they go marching on ! 
 Glory, halle — hallelujah ! &c. 
 
 We'll hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple-tree ! 
 We'll hang Jeff DaA-is to a sour apple-tree ! 
 We'll hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple-tree ! 
 As we go marching on ! 
 Glory, halle — hallelujah ! &c. 
 
 Now, three rousing cheers for the Union ! 
 Now, three rousing cheers for the Union ! 
 Now, three rousing cheers for the Union ! 
 
 As we are marching on ! 
 Glory, halle — hallelujah ! &c. 
 
 Hip, hip, hip, hip, hurrah ! 
 
 Incidents of Fredericksburg. — The fol- 
 lowing are from letters of soldiers written soon 
 after the repulse of Burnside : " One man showed 
 himself a hero. On the top of a house, apparently 
 undismayed by the shells and bullets crashing 
 around, "above, and below him, stood a signal 
 officer all day long ; he calmly looked through his 
 
510 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 glass, and signalled with his flags. Fortunately 
 he escaped unhurt." 
 
 A Lieutenant tells the following : " On passing 
 through a street of the town, while in the heat 
 of the engagement, my horse suddenly reared, 
 and I could distinctly hear the shell whizzing 
 either directly in front or under his fore feet. 
 Looking down, I sav/ an artillery driver, of whom 
 I was just asking a question, picking himself out 
 of the mud, the shell having passed through both 
 of his horses : fortunately he was unhurt. 
 
 " ' Ee jabers, Liftinant, but that was a close 
 call for you and me,' said he. 
 
 " I replied, * Are you hurt ? ' 
 
 " ' No, sir ; I b'lieve Ise only scared.' " 
 
 President Lincoln and the Farmer. — 
 A Western farmer sought the President day after 
 day until he procured the much desired audience. 
 He had a plan for the successful prosecution of 
 the war, to which Mr. Lincoln listened as patiently 
 as he could. When he Avas through, he asked 
 the opinion of the President upon his plan. 
 " Well," said Mr. Lincoln, " I'll answer by telling 
 you a story. You have heard of Mr, Blank, of 
 Chicago ? He was an immense loafer in his way 
 — in lact, never did anything in his life. One 
 day he got crazy over a great rise in the price of 
 wheat, upon which many wheat speculators gained- 
 large fortunes. Blank started off one morning 
 to one of the most successful of the wheat spec- 
 ulators, and with much enthusiasm laid before 
 hira a plan by which he (the said Blank) was cei'- 
 tain of becoming independently rich. When he 
 had finished, he asked the opinion of his hearer 
 upon his plan of operations. The reply came as 
 follows : ' My advice is that you stick to your 
 business.' ' But,' asked Blank, ' what is my 
 business ? ' • I don't know, I am sure, what it is,' 
 says the merchant ; ' but whatever it is, I advise 
 j'ou to stick to it.' And now," said Mr. Lincoln, 
 " I mean nothing offensive, for I know you mean 
 well, but I think you had better stick to your 
 business, and leave the war to those who have 
 the responsibility of managing it." 
 
 Uncle Sam in Virginia. — In the early part 
 of the war, some four or five of the Union cavalry 
 were out towards the Blackwater, on a scout. 
 They called at a large, nice-looking farm-house, 
 and asked the matron to get them some dinner. 
 While they were eating, the old lady asked them 
 if they knew a man in Suffolk called " Uncle Sam- 
 uel." They told her they did, they were very 
 well acquainted with him. She then said, " I 
 did not know but they had played a Yankee 
 trick on me. Some of your men came here a 
 few days ago, and bought all my turkeys and 
 chickens ; and when they had them all put up, 
 ready to take away, they told me to come down 
 to Suffolk, and Uncle Sam would pay for them." 
 The old lady said she had lived within ten miles 
 of Suffolk all her life, and had never heard of 
 
 that man before. She asked if he was a North- 
 ern man, and belonged to the Northern army. 
 The cavalry told her that he was a very generous 
 old gentleman, and if she would come down to 
 Suffolk, he would not only pay her for her poultry, 
 but pay her for their dinner beside. 
 
 A Colonel on Guard. — A Lieutenant in one 
 of the Ohio regiments was making a detail of 
 men to guard a lot of army stores captured from 
 the enemy. He approached a crowd of men all 
 wearing overcoats such as Uncle Sam gives his 
 boys, and selected four or five for special duty. 
 It ha]ipened that Lieutenant-Colonel Gazley, of 
 the Thirty-seventh Indiana, was in the crowd, 
 and was selected by the Lieutenant. This was fun 
 for the Colonel, and without a word he shouldered 
 his gun and went to his post of duty. Not long 
 afterwards, the Lieutenant, going his rounds, dis- 
 covered by the firelight the bugle upon Gazley's 
 cap. He rather authoritatively inquired where he 
 got that bugle. The Colonel said he " must 
 have picked up an officer's cap somewhere," and 
 the Lieutenant passed on. 
 
 The Colonel stood his turn all night long, and 
 was found in the morning walking his post. Hav- 
 ing laid off his overcoat, his shoulder-straps ap- 
 peared very conspicuously in connection with the 
 musket on his shoulder. As soon as the Lieuten- 
 ant discovered a Colonel on guard, he approached 
 him, and courteously inquired how he came to be 
 there upon guard ? " Well, sir, you placed me 
 here." With no little agitation the Lieutenant 
 inquired who he was. "My name is Carter 
 Gazley, and I am Lieutenant-Colonel of the 
 Thirty-seventh Indiana regiment." The Colonel 
 was speedily " released," but the Lieutenant was 
 not yet relieved from his embarrassment. 
 
 Incidents of Grierson's Paid. — While sev- 
 eral of the Union scouts were feeding their horses 
 at the stables of a wealthy planter of secession 
 proclivities, the proprietor looking on, apparently 
 deeply interested in the proceeding, suddenly 
 burst out with : " Well, boys, I can't say I have 
 anything against you. I don't know but that, on 
 the whole, I rather like you. You have not taken 
 anything of mine except a little corn for your 
 horses, and that you are welcome to, I have 
 heard of you all over the country. You are 
 doing the boldest thing ever done. But you'll be 
 trapped, though ; you'll be trapped, mark me." 
 
 At another place, where the men thought it 
 advisable to represent themselves as Jackson's 
 cavalry, a whole company was very graciously 
 entertained by a strong secession lady, who in- 
 sisted on Avhipping a negro because he did not 
 bring the hoe-cakes fast enough. 
 
 On one occasion, seven of Colonel Grierson's 
 scouts stopped at the house of a wealthy planter 
 to feed their jaded horses. Upon ascertaining 
 that he had been doing a little guerrilla business 
 on his own account, our men encouraged him to 
 the belief that, as they were the invincible Van 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 511 
 
 Dorn cavalrj', they would soon catch the Yankees. 
 The secession gentleman heartily approved of 
 what he supposed to be their intentions, and en- 
 joined upon them the necessity of making as 
 rapid marches as possible. As the men had 
 discovered t'.vo splendid carriage horses in the 
 planter's stable, they thought, under the circum- 
 stances, they would be justified in making an 
 exchange, which they accordingly proceeded to 
 do. As they were taking the saddles from their 
 own tired steeds, and placing them on the backs 
 cf the v/ealthy guerrilla's horses, the proprietor 
 discovered them, and at once objected. He was 
 met with the reply that, as he was anxious the 
 Yankees should be speedily overtaken, those after 
 them should have good horses. " All right, gen- 
 tlemen," said the planter ; " I will keep your ani- 
 mals until you return. I suppose you'll be back 
 in two or three days, at the farthest. When you 
 return, you'll find they have been well cared for." 
 The soldiers were sometimes asked Avhere they 
 got their blue coats. They always replied, if they 
 were travelling under the name of Van Dorn's 
 cavalry, that they took them at Holly Springs of 
 the Yankees. This always excited great laughter 
 among the secessionists. The scouts, however, 
 usually wore the regular " secesh " uniforms. 
 
 A SouTHERx Conundrum. — Which action 
 of the Confederates was the most liberal towards 
 the Yankees, but which they disliked the most ? 
 
 The battle of ]\Ianassas, where they received a 
 Confederate clieck, on which they made a run on 
 the Bull Run banks, and drew more metallic cur- 
 rency than they wanted. 
 
 DRIVING HOME THE COWS. 
 
 Out of the clover and blue-eyed grass, 
 He turned them into the river-lane ; 
 
 One after another he let them pass. 
 Then fastened the meadow bars again. 
 
 Under the willo-ws and over the hill, 
 He patiently followed their sober pace ; 
 
 The merry whistle for once was still, 
 
 And something shadowed the sunnj' face. 
 
 Only a boy ! and his father had said 
 He never could let his youngest go : 
 
 Two ali'eady were lying dead 
 
 Under the feet of the trampling foe. 
 
 But after the evening work was done. 
 
 And the frogs were loud in the meadow-swamp. 
 Over his shoulder he slung his gun. 
 
 And stealthily followed the foot-path damp, — 
 
 Across the clover and through the wheat, 
 With resolute heart and purpose grim. 
 
 Though cold was the dew on his hurrying. feet, 
 And the blind bats flitting startled him. 
 
 Thrice since then had the lanes been white, 
 And the orchards sweet with apple-bloom ; 
 
 And now, when the cows came back at night, 
 The feeble father drove them home. 
 
 For news had come to the lonely farm 
 
 That three were lying where tv.-o had lain ; 
 
 And the old man's tremulous, palsied arm 
 Could never lean on a son's again. 
 
 The summer day grew cool and late ; 
 
 He went for the cows when the Avork was done; 
 But down the lane, as ho opened the gate, 
 
 He saw them coming, one by one, — 
 
 Brindle, Ebony, Speckle, and Bess, 
 
 Shaking their horns in the evening wind, 
 
 Cropping the buttercups out of the grass — 
 But who was it following close behind ? 
 
 Loosely swang in the idle air 
 
 The empty sleeve of army blue ; 
 And worn and pale, from the crisping hair. 
 
 Looked out a face that the father knew ; — 
 
 For Southern prisons will sometimes yawn, 
 And yield their dead unto life again ; * 
 
 And the day that comes with a cloudy dawn 
 In golden glory at last may wane. 
 
 The great tears sprang to their meeting eyes ; 
 
 For the heart must speak when the lips are dumb. 
 And under the silent evening skies 
 
 Together they followed the cattle home. 
 
 The Christian Commission. — The Rev. 
 George J. Mingins, in an address delivered at the 
 great meeting of the Christian Commission at 
 Washington, on the 2d day of February, 1864, 
 spoke as follows : 
 
 "When, in 1861, in the month of November, 
 the various representatives of the Young Men's 
 Christian Associations of the loyal North met to- 
 gether to organize this United States Christian 
 Commission, they asked and answei'ed one simple 
 question. It was this : AVhat can Ave, Avho are 
 at home, surrounded by home comforts, the recip- 
 ients of every blessing, living in peace Avith each 
 other, who have the liberty of Avorshipping God 
 beneath our own vine and fig tree, — what can Ave 
 do for those brave men Avho have left their homes 
 and all that is near and dear to them, to sacrifice 
 and suffer, that Ave may be blessed Avith the bless- 
 ings of peace and safety ? This AA'as the simple 
 question. For this these meetings have been 
 held. For this we are gathered to-night, that 
 you may understand precisely the simple, practi- 
 cal Avorkings of this Commission. They are held 
 that the loyal people of the North may be aroused 
 to a due sense of their oAvn responsibility in this 
 matter. We desii-e that every man and every 
 woman belonging to the loyal North may look at 
 this matter aright, and be prepared to do their 
 duty, so that our national existence may be sus- 
 tained, and Ave may go on, a brighter, grander, 
 
 * Yet there are tAA-elve thousand nine hundred and 
 nineteen graves of Union soldiers at tlie one rebel 
 prison-pen of Andersonvillc ; while from the comfort- 
 able quarters in which the rebel prisoners were kept, 
 there went back into the rebel armies some of ** the 
 finest fighting material " the rebel Commissioner of 
 Exchange ever saAv. 
 
512 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 nobler, truer nation in the future than ^ve have 
 been in the past. 
 
 " I have not the honor to be ' native to this 
 manor born.' I first saw the light in good old 
 Scotland. Her sunlight first slanted adown the 
 liill-side into the valley where my mother's cot 
 was nestled ; and I am ready to confess, sir, that 
 when this great and gigantic Avar burst over our 
 land, I used to look on coldly, not understanding 
 thoroughly the great principle which prompted 
 men to leave their homes and carry their lives in 
 their hands, that they might save the land of 
 Washington ; and when I used to see soldiers 
 going to the war, I used to indulge in a sort of 
 vain philosophy, that I know a great many men 
 indulge in to-day. I used to say, ' Now, these 
 men like to fight: I don't. Therefore they are 
 right in going to fight, and I am right in staying 
 at home.' Or I used to say, ' Now, these men 
 want fame, they want a name, they v/ant position. 
 I am perfectly satisfied with what I have and 
 what I am. It is right for them to battle for 
 fame ; it is right for me to live quietly in all hu- 
 mility.' And I used to fling around my shoulder 
 the philosopher's robe, and stand unmoved, as I 
 saw men passing before me, going to battle and 
 to death, and quiet my conscience with this mis- 
 erable philosophy, that will never stand before 
 the intelligent, the great, and the noble, and that 
 the very devil despises ! 
 
 " A touching little incident, Mr. President, con- 
 verted me from the error of my way ; and if you 
 will permit me, I will relate it, for, I confess, it 
 was a great turning-point in my life ; I feel it so 
 now. I happened to be in attendance on a meet- 
 ing or Synod in the city of Easton, at the time 
 when our honorable Chief Magistrate called out 
 seventy-five thousand men to beat back the foe that 
 was plunging onward to desecrate this holy tem- 
 ple. I stood in the street, one day, and heard the 
 sound of martial music. I saw the men march- 
 ing down. I knew who they were the moment I 
 saw them — sturdy yeomen, who had left the hills 
 of Pennsylvania and poured along her valleys ; 
 who had left their fields, and looms, and benches, 
 their wives and little ones, their homes, and all 
 that they held dear, to stand in front of the foe 
 that had risen up against us. AVhen I saw them 
 my old philosophy came up, because I must have 
 something to comfort me, you know. 
 
 " Just then I saw a little girl standing on the 
 doorstep. She was ten or twelve years of age, I 
 should judge. As I looked in her face my atten- 
 tion was arrested. I thought I saw a deep cloud 
 of sorrov/ come pver and rest upon that little 
 brow. She stood with her little hands clasped 
 tightly, and her little face seemed pinched with 
 very agony. And I thought, AVell, now, what 
 can be the matter with the child ? I determined 
 to watch her ; so I took my stand near by. The 
 sound of the music drew nearer and nearer. By 
 and by the lieavy tramp of men was heard. As 
 they drew near to us, I saw that little form be- 
 coming more fixed and rigid ; the little hands 
 began to quiver, her neck was stretched out with 
 eager intensity, and she stood with eyes fairly 
 
 riveted upon the men as they came marching 
 slowly by the door. At last I was startled with 
 the penetrating little voice, as it cried out, ' 0, 
 that's hira ! that's him ! It's pa ! it's pa ! He's go- 
 ing ! he's going ! He's gone ! ' and with loud sob- 
 bing she turned away and entered into the house. 
 " Now conscience, just at that time, asked me 
 one or two very ugly questions. One question that 
 it asked me was, * Well, what was the matter with 
 the child?' The answer was at hand. I knew 
 that that man who had marched to defend the 
 Union was her father ; that he was her all ; that 
 he was her comfort, her joy, her support, her sus- 
 tenance ; and when that little one had given up 
 that, she had given up the very sunlight of her 
 little existence, literally her all. And then con- 
 science asked me another question. It said, ' Well, 
 sir, wliat have you done for your country 7' I 
 whispered, ' AVell — but — but I don't rea^Z^/ be- 
 long to the country ! ' ' Don't belong to the 
 country ? ' said conscience ; ' don't belong to the 
 country ? — then, you infernal scamp, get out of 
 it ! Get out, of it ! This is not the country for 
 men who belong nowhere — it's somewhere else ! 
 Don't belong to it ? ' and then memory carried 
 me iDack many a year, when I first landed upon 
 these hospitable shores, a poor, unknown lad, 
 when year after year I struggled, and at every 
 step I took I met sunlight, and warm hearts, and 
 generous natures ; and all the high road to an 
 honest and a true ambition opened uj) before me. 
 And ' not belong to the country ? Then quit it ! 
 and give up all you have received from it and 
 have in it ! ' ' Well, but,' conscience interposed, 
 ' you got a wife here.' ' Yes ; and I Avould not 
 give hor up for a great deal.' I thought, * No, I 
 cannot quit it ; ' and then the blush of very 
 shame mantled my cheek ; and standing in that 
 street in Easton, as I looked back at the silent, 
 dumb door that had closed upon that brave and 
 God-like little patriot, I determined that, though 
 not * native to the manor born,' I would allow no 
 man living here to outdo me, so far as I had the 
 ability, in upholding, and sustaining, and defend- 
 ing the nation that had been my generous and my 
 noble benefactor. 
 
 " But conscience was not done with me yet. 
 I walked down the street. I saw the same com- 
 pany of men drawn up in line. I saw an old 
 woman who was pulling a tliin shawl about her. 
 Ah, she was one of the poor of the earth. She 
 hurried on, eagerly, anxiously scanning the faces 
 of the men as she came. At last she stopped be- 
 fore a great, tall, raw-boned fellow who was jok- 
 ing with his companions. * Well, boys,' he said, 
 'we're going oft' — ar'n't we?' And they said, 
 ' Yes, we are.' He had a little bundle, tied up 
 with a red handkerchief, in his arm. ' AVhen we 
 get down there, maybe we won't give them fits, 
 eh ? ' They said, ' Maybe we won't.' They seemed 
 to be making the same mistake with some of us 
 just about that time, for we none of us had an 
 idea that such a terrible desolating shadow was 
 rising up in our midst. 
 
 " Just then the old woman pushed her way 
 through the crowd, and stood before this man. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 513 
 
 His eyes dropped in a moment, and his face was 
 covered with a flush, and as he turned his head 
 he lifted his finger to his eyes, and shook it with 
 a twirl — ' Now, mother, mother ! You promised 
 me that you wouldn't come out, didn't ye ? Now 
 you promised me. When I said " good by " to 
 ye, mother, I told ye I didn't want you to come 
 out here and unman me ; and here you've done it ! 
 Now I wish you hadn't ! ' The old woman lifted 
 her hands up, and putting them on the great 
 high shoulders of her son, as the tears streamed 
 down her furrowed cheeks, she said, ' O Jack, 
 don't scold me ; don't scold your poor old mother. 
 Jack : you know ye're all I have, Jack ; and I 
 didn't come out to unman ye, I didn't come out 
 to unman ye — I have come to say, God bless ye. 
 Jack, God bless ye ! ' and folding the thin shawl 
 over her bosom she went away. The big fellow 
 drew the sleeve over his face, and bringing down 
 his arm with a sort of vexed emphasis, as if to 
 defy the emotion he could not control, turning to 
 the men, he said, ' Hang it, boys, she's mother, 
 you know ! ' There, I felt, will be a brave man in 
 the field. He's a noble, a true fellow. Men who 
 have a right and true appreciation of their coun- 
 try's cause are lovers of their home and of their 
 mother. It is unnecessary to say that conscience 
 had done its work faithfully with me that time ! 
 
 " And now, when I heard, Mr. Chairman, that 
 the Christian Commission designed to follow these 
 men wherever they go, with their homes and the 
 influences of the loved ones there, that it was to 
 be, as you have heard, a home-link of the war, I 
 could not but admire and support it. When 
 this Christian Commission was organized, many 
 said, * Now I hope you will stick to your legiti- 
 mate business.' Well, we say, ' Pray what is 
 the legitimate business of the Christian Commis- 
 sion ? ' ' Well, it is the giving of tracts, and 
 prayer-books, and Testaments, and all sorts of 
 good books ; it is preaching, and praying, and 
 talking with the men, and it is not anything else.' 
 Now, I was sent out by the worthy Chairman of 
 this Christian Commission in May, 1861, to see 
 if there was anything to do for an organization 
 like this within the lines of the army ; and in the 
 second place, if there was, to see how Me could do 
 it. We found there was plenty to do ; and I 
 found that there was only one way of doing it, 
 and that was by following the example set us by 
 the Master. Now, I have not the slightest re- 
 spect for, nor the slightest faith in, that Chris- 
 tianity that goes into the deepest cellar or into the 
 highest garret, and beholds the poor, wretched 
 beings there, dressed in rags, and shivering in the 
 cold, and pitches a sermon at the poor things' 
 heads. It is not the religion of my Lord and 
 Master that does this. For I remember that 
 when he stood upon the earth, his hands were al- 
 ways busy, and his great heart was always drawn 
 out in sympathy for the poor and lowly ; and he 
 ministered to their bodies as well as to then- 
 souls. When the poor leper came to him, say- 
 ing, ' Lord, if thou wilt thou canst make me 
 clean,' he first healed the man's body, and then 
 talked to him of his soul's welfare. However, in 
 33 
 
 this work in the army we soon find out from the 
 soldier himself the kind of religion he wants. 
 The soldier is the best judge, after all, of this. 
 One of our delegates, in the early history of the 
 Commission, approached a soldier who seemed 
 very tired and worn, and holding in his hand a 
 tract, he said, extending it to him, 'My good 
 friend, will you have a tract ?' ' No, but I'll have 
 a cracker ! ' was the quick reply ; and the delegate 
 said, ' Pardon me, I did not know you were hun- 
 gry, my good fellow, or I would not have offered 
 you the tract first ; ' and putting his hand in his 
 satchel, he pulled out a nice Boston cracker, and 
 said, ' Take this ; end if that is not sufficient, if 
 you will wait ten minutes, till I run over to the 
 Christian Commission's tent, I will bring you as 
 much as you want.' The fellow's eyes bright- 
 ened ; he was moved; and he said, ' Well, stranger, 
 excuse me ; I didn't want to be impertinent, but I 
 tell you I was hungry, that's a fact ; and when you 
 offered me that tract, I thought I would much 
 rather have a cracker, and I said so. But give 
 me the tract, too, stranger; give it to me. I 
 promise you I will read it, and keep it ; for if this 
 is the kind of religion you men of the Christian 
 Commission bring down to the soldiers in the 
 army, it's just what they want.' And from the 
 first time that its delegates have set out for the 
 lines of the army, up to this present time, the uni- 
 versal testimony — 1 say it boldly — of every man 
 who has come in contact with the Christian Com- 
 mission, has been, 'til\t it's just the very 
 
 THING FOR THE ARMY.' 
 
 " The Eev. Mr. Parvin has given you some idea 
 as to how the Commission's delegate goes to 
 work. Out of these twelve hundred delegates 
 every man has acted upon the simple principle 
 of the organization, that it is the duty of every 
 man to do something for his country. I suppose 
 I have what you may consider a curious definition 
 of patriotism. I believe that the word ' patriot ' 
 means ' one who is willing to inake sacrijices for 
 his country.' But you know there are ' many 
 men of different minds,' and I have met some 
 who would come down to the breakfast table at 
 the hotel, with the luxuries of life spread out be- 
 fore them, and with their newspapers in hand, 
 very complacently lean back, and with pompous 
 air bolt out an oath from their unclean throats, 
 ' By George, I told you so ; the Government is 
 going to smash ; it is a wreck already ! ' and 
 they would grumble and growl, and yet think 
 tiieinselves true patriots ; indeed, if you doubted 
 their patriotism they would become excessively 
 angry ! I may be mistaken, but the only patri- 
 otism it is right to acknowledge, in my opinion, 
 in presenting this cause before the people of the 
 North, is this : that whether this war be right or 
 wrong, every man is bound to do what he can 
 to relieve the sufferings of those men who are 
 fighting for him, to bind up their broken bodies, 
 and pour the oil of soothing upon the weak and 
 weary wounded soldiers. 
 
 " You may ask me. How are these ministrations 
 of delegates received by the soldiers? I have 
 been out several times as delegate, and I testify 
 
514 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 that I have always been received most kindly by 
 them. I hiet with but one exception. He was 
 an Irishman. I do not say this to cast any re- 
 flection upon our Irish fellow-citizens ; for I re- 
 member well when I stood at the battle-field of 
 Antietam, that I was pointed out a ditch which 
 lay full of the rebel dead, and when I asked, 
 ' Whose work is this ? ' I was answered, ' The 
 Irish brigade, sir ! ' and I said then, ' God bless 
 them ! ' and so I say noAv, if that is the way they 
 do ! (Applause.) And I say, God bless all whom 
 America has received from foreign countries, and 
 made them sons ; and may he confound all who, 
 ■walking and living in the sunlight of its prosper- 
 ity, defile her with curses and trample upon the 
 bosom that has nourished them. 
 
 " Well, notwithstanding that, this was a very 
 tough old Irishman, I assure you. It was at "a 
 time when a great many were sick, at Yorktown, 
 with the typhoid fever and chronic ch'sentery — 
 men who had marched, and marched, and dug 
 and delved, and marched again, until they were 
 completely broken down. A great many of them 
 had no clean shirts on — for they had worn them 
 long. I had got a large supply, and was going 
 through the tent, giving thera to the poor fellows. 
 And here let me illustrate the Commission's pro- 
 ceeding in such cases. When word came that the 
 men wanted shirts, we did not go back to the tent 
 and hold a council of war over it. One did not 
 rise and say, ' Now, do you think that man has a 
 shirt ? Do you really think it ? ' And after con- 
 sidering a while, and discussing the point, they 
 conclude he has not. ' Well, do you think we 
 had better give him one ? ' is asked ; and it is 
 agreed that it would be advisable to do so. ' I 
 propose, then, that we give him a shirt,' says one. 
 ' Is it seconded ?' 'It is.' ' It is moved and sec- 
 onded that this man have a shirt. All in favor, 
 say ay.' They say ay, and the shirt is procured. 
 ' But,' says one, ' how long have you been here, 
 my friend ? ' ' Seven weeks.' ' O, then, you must 
 give the man the shirt, because you are the senior 
 officer here ! ' And at last the poor man gets the 
 needed garment. 
 
 " No, no ; it is nothing like this that the Com- 
 mission goes to work. I had gone to the needy 
 men and distributed what I had. I came to this 
 Irishman. ' My dear friend,' said I, ' how are you ? 
 You seem to be an old man.' ' Shure and I am 
 an ould mon, sir ! ' ' Well, how came you here, 
 in the army, old as you are ? ' ' Och, sir, I'm not 
 only an ould mon, but an ould soldier, too, I'd 
 have ye know.' He had been twenty years in the 
 British service in the East Indies, and had fought 
 America's foes in Mexico. ' Yes, sir,' he contin- 
 ued, ' I'm ould, and I know it ; but I'm not too ould 
 to shoulder a musket and hit a rap for the ould 
 flag yet ! ' (Applause.) ' You're a brave fellow,' 
 said I, 'and I've brought these things to make 
 you comfortable,' as I held out to him a shirt and 
 drawers. He looked at me. Said he, 'What, 
 thi7n things ? ' ' Yes, I want to give them to you 
 to wear.' ' Well, I don't want them ! ' ' You do 
 want them.' ' Well, I don't ! ' and he looked at 
 me and then at the goods, and said somewhat 
 
 sharply as I urged them again, ' Niver mind, sir, 
 I don't want them, and I tell ye, I won't have 
 them ! ' ' Why ? ' ' Shure,' said he, ' do ye take 
 me for an object of charity ? ' That was "a kind 
 of poser. I looked at him. ' No, sir,' said I, ♦ I 
 do not take you for an object of charity, and I 
 don't want you to look upon me as a dispenser 
 of charity, either, for I am not.' ' Well, what are 
 you, tliin ? ' ' I am a delegate of the United States 
 Christian Commission. I have left my home and 
 my church, and I have come down here to serve 
 the brave fellows. I have washed their feet, and 
 have dressed them, and done everything that a 
 nurse could do, for the sick and suffering men 
 here. I came as a delegate from the loyal North, 
 bearing the thank-offerings of mothers, and wives, 
 and sisters, to you, brave defenders of the Stars 
 and Stripes.' And I thought, surely, after such 
 a speech as that, I would get hold of the old fel- 
 low's heart. But he looked at me and said, ' Any 
 hoic, I won't have thim ! ' (Laughter.) I felt 
 really wounded. I did not at all like it. I have 
 told you he v/as an Irishman, and I happened to 
 be a Scotchman, and somehow you scarcely ever 
 see an Irishman and Scotchman meet without 
 there is a row. I couldn't help it, but it is so, 
 that I didn't like the idea of that old Irishman's 
 bluffing me oft' so, I was determined not to be 
 conquered. I meant to try further ; and when a 
 Scotchman means to try a thing, he will comf very 
 near doing it. (Laughter.) I didn't forget my 
 obligations, however, the cause I was serving, and 
 that I was a Christian man. I didn't talk any fur- 
 ther then, but determined to prove by my acts, 
 my deeds, that I had come down to do this old 
 man and his fellows good. So day after day I 
 went about my work, nursing, giving medicines, 
 cleaning up the tent, and doing anything and 
 everything that I could. 
 
 " One day, as I went in, a soldier said, ' There's 
 good news to-day, chaplain.' ' Ah, what is it ? ' 
 ' The paymaster 's come.' ' Well, that is good 
 ncM's.' ' Yes, but not to me, chaplain.' ' How is 
 that? ' ' I've not got my descriptive list, and if 
 a fellow's not got that, the paymaster may conte 
 and go, and he's none the better off for it.' ' "Well, 
 why don't you get it ? ' 'I can't write, chaplain ; 
 I am suffering from chronic rheumatism.' ' Shall 
 I write for you ? ' 'If you only would, chaplain I ' 
 I hauled out paper and pencil, asked the luimber 
 of his regiment, name of his Captain, his company, 
 &c., and sent a simple request that the descriptive 
 list might bo remitted to that point. When I had 
 done this I found a good many who wanted their 
 lists, and I went on writing them until I came tu 
 the cot next to the old Irishman's, It was occu- 
 pied by another Irishman. I said to him, ' ^ly 
 friend, have you your descriptive list?' 'No.' 
 ' Shall I write to your Captain for it ? ' ' If you 
 please ; ' and I began to write. I noticed the old 
 Irishman stretching over, all attention, listening 
 to what I was saying. I spoke now and then a 
 word meant for him, though I affected not to no- 
 tice him. After I had written the request, I said 
 to the young man, ' Shall I read it to you ? ' 'If 
 you please, sir ;' and I read aloud the simple note. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 515 
 
 When I ha;l done the old Irishman broke out 
 with, ' Upon my sowl, sir, you -write the natest 
 letther for a descriptive list that I ever heard in 
 my life! Shure, and a man would think ye had 
 been a soldier all your days, you do write so nate a 
 letther for a descriptive list ! ' I turned around 
 and said, ' Have you got yours ? ' ' An' I haven't, 
 sir.' ' Do you want it ? ' * To be shure I do,' 
 he said, flaring up ; ' an' that's a queer question 
 to ax a man, does he want his descriptive list, 
 does he Avant his pay to buy some little delicacies 
 to send home to the ould woman and the childer ! 
 I do want it, an' if you will lend us the shtroke 
 of your pen, chaplain, you'll oblige us.' I sat 
 down and wrote the letter, and when I had done, 
 said, * Now, boys, give me your letters, and I'll 
 have them post-paid and sent for you.' 
 
 " When I returned sad work awaited me, for a 
 delegate meets shadows as well as sunshine in 
 his work. In that tent were several of the brave 
 sons of New England. One of Massachusetts' 
 sons lay there dying. You could tell it by the 
 pale face, the sunken eye, and the pale, quiveTing 
 lip. Then came the delegate's work as the min- 
 ister of Christ. Tliis Christian Commission, Mr. 
 Chairman, believes that men are immortal, and 
 that all the patriotism on God's earth will not 
 open the gates of eternal glory to any soul unless 
 it be saved by the great mercy of God, through 
 Jesi s Christ, our Lord ; and then trembling, re- 
 menibering the terrible responsibility that rests 
 upon the living minister standing by a dying 
 man, we try to preach the gospel to him. 
 
 " I spoke to the dying boy of mother, of Jesus, 
 of home, of heaven. O, mothers who are here 
 to-night, let me say to you that whatever else a 
 soldier forgets, he never, never, never forgets 
 his mother. And I will tell you, my friends, that 
 is one of the things I have noticed in an Ameri- 
 can army that I believe is a great characteristic 
 of the American heart, that it clings to home and 
 mother. I have stood by the cot of a dying sol- 
 dier, and stooping down to catch his last breath, 
 have heard him whisper ' mother.' I remember 
 passing over a battle-field and seeing a man just 
 dying. His mind was wandering. His spirit was 
 no longer on that bloody field ; it was at his home, 
 far away. I stood and looked upon the poor fel- 
 low. A smile passed over his face — a smile, O, 
 of so much sweetness, as, looking up, he said, ' O 
 mother, O mother ! I am so glad you have 
 come.' And he seemed as if she was there by 
 his side. By and by he said again, ' Mother, it's 
 cold, it's cold ; won't you pull the blanket over 
 me ? ' I stooped dov/n and pulled the poor fel- 
 low's ragged blanket closer to his shivering form. 
 And he smiled again. ' That will do, mother, that 
 will do ! ' and he turned over and passed sweetly 
 to his rest, and he was borne up to the presence 
 of God on the wings of a pious mother's prayers. 
 
 " But to come to the case in the tent. After I 
 had done all I could for the Massachusetts boy, 
 and had shook his hand in parting, I turned to 
 leave the tent, when just as I was going out of 
 the door I happened to see the old Irishman. 
 He looked very queerly. There was certainly 
 
 something the matter with him. He was rubbing 
 his hands through his hair, pulling his beard, 
 and acting otherwise very strangely ; but I didn't 
 take much notice of him, as I had been so sol- 
 emnly engaged. Then he came up to me, and 
 clasping my hands, he said, ' Be me sowl, sir, you 
 are no humbug, anyhow ! ' ' What do you mean ? ' 
 I said. ' O,' said he, ' haven't I watched you as 
 day by day ye've been going through the tent 
 caring for the boys ? Why, ye've been like a 
 mother to iv'ry one of them. Thanks to ye, chap- 
 lain, thanks to ye, an' may God bless ye,' he re- 
 peated, as he again wrung my hand. ' And,' said 
 he, ' ye do this all for nothing ; the boys have 
 been telling me about ye.' ' 0,' said I, ' that's a 
 mistake.' ' Well, now, how's that ? They been 
 tellin' me that ye were a Presbyterian minister, 
 and that ye came away from yer home, down 
 here, for the love ye had for the boys. But ye 
 don't do it for nothing, eh ? AVho, thin, pays ye ? 
 the Government ? ' ' No. If it means to pay 
 me, it would take a great deal more money than 
 it can spare. I would not sell my experience to- 
 day for any price.' ' Well, does the Commission 
 pay ye ? ' ' No.' ' Well, thin, if the Government 
 doesn't pay ye, and the Commission doesn't, who 
 does pay ye ? ' I looked the man straight in the 
 face, and I said, ' That honest, hearty grasp of the 
 hand, and that hearty " God bless ye," is ample 
 reward for all that I have done for you. Remem- 
 ber, my brave fellow, that you have sufi'ered and 
 sacrificed for me, and I couldn't do less for you 
 now.' He was broken down. He bowed his 
 head and wept, and then, taking me by the hand 
 again, said, ' Shure, an' if that's the pay ye take, 
 why, God bless ye, God bless ye, God bless ye ! 
 Ye'll be rich of the coin of me heart all your 
 days.' And after a few moments' pause, he said, 
 ' And noio, cJiaplain, if ye toill just give us the 
 shirt and the drawers, Til icear them till there's 
 not a thread of thejn left ! ' (Cheers and laugh- 
 ter.) 
 
 " This incident will illustrate how we approach 
 the soldier, what we try to do for him, and how- 
 it is received by him. I have already occupied 
 my full time ; "but if you will permit me, Mr. 
 Chairman, I want to say a word as to the great 
 work of the Commission, after all. It sends its 
 stores and cares for the bodies of men because 
 it is Christ-like to do it, and because it gives it the 
 key to the men's hearts ; and this is its grand 
 aim, to benefit and save the soul — to teach the 
 men that it is * not all of life to live, nor all of 
 death to die.' 
 
 " Let me say, first, that the soldiers are accessible 
 to this work. A great many seem to believe that 
 the moment they put on the uniform of their 
 country, they are left at once free of all moral 
 obligations ; and I tell you that I have seen in 
 this city of Washington more wretched wicked- 
 ness amongst our soldiers than I ever saw down 
 in the lines of the army. The men there will 
 come out to hear the gospel. _ I have preached 
 nio-ht after night, within four milesof this city, to 
 soTdier audiences larger, I am safe in saying, than 
 I ever saw a minister of the gospel address on 
 
516 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 any special religious subject in any church in this 
 country. And these men came voluntarily to- 
 gether. The Christian Commission have a chapel 
 capable of holding a thousand men, within four 
 miles of this city, and it is better attended, far 
 better, I do not hesitate to say, than the majority 
 of the churches here. And let me also say, 
 though do not let it startle you when I tell you, 
 that the soldiers are not only more accessible to 
 the gospel than the young men are at home, but 
 that there are more brought to Christ, more are 
 converted to God, in our armies, than there are 
 at home ! I will say even more — that, humanly 
 speaking, there is more likelihood of your son's 
 becoming a soldier of the cross down in the lines 
 of the army than there is at home. ' How do 
 you make it out? ' some may ask. I answer, be- 
 cause the prayers of the people of the North are 
 centring on that mighty and majestic host ; be- 
 cause there is no mother in the land who does 
 not lift up holy hands unto God, and beseech that 
 victory may perch upon the banner of this nation, 
 and that her son may return to her home a child 
 of the eternal God ; because there is not a wife 
 or a sister in the land but who asks that the shad- 
 ow of the Almighty's wings may be flung over 
 their loved ones who have left them. 
 
 "I know, Mr. Chairman, that we have all suf- 
 fered in this war ; but it seems to me that those 
 who suffer most are the Christian fathers and 
 mothers of the soldiers. In conclusion, just let 
 me give you an instance of a mother's keen and 
 deep-felt anxiety about the welfare of her boy. 
 Over a year ago, I saw a scene in an out hospital, 
 near my own, as I was looking through the veran- 
 da, which I shall never forget. On a couch lay 
 a young man of twenty or twenty-two years, just 
 hovering between time and eternity. 
 
 " Bending over his couch in an attitude of ago- 
 ny, O, how intense ! stood a woman. Her pale 
 face has seemed to haunt me ever since. Her 
 eye was fixed upon her dying boy before her. 
 Ever and anon she would stoop down, and her 
 lip would quiver as she whispered over that dull 
 ear ; and then she would noiselessly slip away 
 from his side to get him some little delicacy, and 
 swiftly coming back, would gently, gently steal her 
 arm under his head, and minister to him. Then 
 she would lay the head softly back again upon the 
 pillow, and folding her hands, would watch, watch, 
 watch, O, how long ! how anxiously ! 
 
 " I entered the room. She motioned to me. I 
 approached and told her who I Mas ; that I was a 
 delegate of the Christian Commission. 
 
 *' ' What is it you do, sir ? ' 
 
 " ' I came down here as a minister of the as- 
 cended Jesus, to speak to sinners of the Lamb of 
 God, that taketh away the sins of the world ; to 
 tell the living and the dying soldier that there is 
 a holier, a brighter, better home above.' 
 
 " She put her hand in mine in a moment. ' O 
 sir,' said she, ' I am so glad to see you ! ' and 
 ])ointing to the cot, she said, ' Do you see that ? 
 do YOU see him, sir ? ' 
 
 "'Yes, I do.' 
 
 *' ' Well, that is Joseph. O, that is my Joseph 
 
 — all I have, sir — all that God ever gave me, 
 sir — my comfort, my joy, my support! — and 
 lie's dying, sir! — he's dying!' 
 
 " ' O, my dear friend, it may not be so bad as 
 you think. He may get better.' 
 
 " ' Ah,' she replied, ' I wish you could comfort 
 me; but the doctors, who have been so kind to 
 me, tell me that he must die. Why, sir, a bullet 
 went crashing through his lung. If you will 
 come, I will show you, sir.' 
 
 " ' No, I do not want to see it.' 
 
 "After a moment, she said, as if to herself. 
 ' It's hard ; isn't it ? You know he's all I've got. 
 I know that we must sacrifice for this war, and I 
 know that many have given one son, and more ; 
 but they had somebody left behind to love them. 
 But O ! my Joseph I my Joseph ! O sir, he 
 came to me and said, " I must go, mother. My 
 friends are going, and I cannot stay behind ! " 
 And he put his arms around my neck, and begged 
 me so. "I will come back again, mother — O, 
 j^es, I will — all safe; and you will be proud of 
 me, mother, and glad you let me go." .A.nd I 
 said, " Well, go, Joseph, my son ; and Go I bless 
 you ! " And ever since that day, I've been asking 
 God to shield the widow's son, sir. But, sir. He 
 has done what seemed well in His sight, and it is 
 all well.' 
 
 " And she paused a moment. I could but wit- 
 ness that sacred grief in silence. She then turned 
 to me with even deeper grief, as she said : ' And 
 that is only half the sacrifice.' Ah, I knew what 
 was coming — I feared it. ' O sir, if his country 
 only asked his body, I could give it. Yes, I could 
 give it ; for I could take his poor, cold body home, 
 and lay it to rest with his father ; but O ! ' — and 
 with a look of unutterable woe she said it — ' O 
 my God ! I cannot give up his soul ! 0, save his 
 soul for Christ's sake ! ' 
 
 " Then, turning more composedly to me, she 
 continued: 'Joseph is not a Christian, sir. Won't 
 you come and speak to him of Jesus ? ' — and she 
 brought me to the bedside. I spoke to Joseph. 
 He was conscious. I found that he was like hun- 
 dreds and thousands of others who had gone up 
 from their mothers' knees to war — had been 
 tossed about by temptation, and at last had fallen 
 into grievous sin. He said, ' Chaplain, I have 
 been a wicked fellow. Is there any use in my 
 hoping ? ' 
 
 " 2'hen came the grand mission of the cross of 
 Jesus. Ah ! I sat in this gallery yesterday, and 
 in the gallery of the Senate-house, and I heard 
 the men of the nation standing up pleading for 
 their country's good ; and I was proud of them, 
 and I thought, ' O that I could have such a posi- 
 tion!' — when something whispered, 'Hush! thou 
 hast a higher and a holier one ! ' and I felt it ; 
 and I felt, ' May God give me strength to fill it 
 faithfully.' (Amen ! amen !) O, how glorious was 
 my commission to that dying man, that seeking 
 soul ! To tell him that Jesus was ready to save 
 to the uttermost — that God had no pleasure in 
 the death of him that dieth. I delivered my mes- 
 1 sage. ' Will you pray for me, chaplain ? ' the 
 I dying boy asked. We knelt down, I on one side, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 517 
 
 and his mother on the other, and he stretched out 
 his thin hand, and took one hand of mine, and 
 one hand of his mother's, and I prayed for him. 
 When I had done, he let go my hand, and took 
 both his mother's in one hand, and covered them 
 with the other, and looked up into her face as the 
 tears streamed down, and said, ' Mother, mother 
 dear ! ' 
 
 " ' Well, Joseph, what is it ? ' 
 
 " ' O mother, you know you will never take 
 me home alive. Noio I think, mother, of what 
 you used to tell me long ago, when I was at 
 home. Mother, this man says that God loves us 
 all, that Jesus is willing to receive us all, that I 
 need not be cast out, mother, that I may see you 
 again. Mother, I am going to try to love Jesus ; 
 I am going to trust him.' 
 
 " I had never seen a tear upon that mother's 
 face until Joseph uttered that sentence, and then 
 the fountains of her soul seemed to be broken up. 
 The tears rolled down her cheeks, as she clasped 
 her hands, and said, ' Thank God ! Thank God \ 
 Thank God! Now, Joseph, I can give you up. 
 You are dying in the cause of your country, Jo- 
 seph, and you're going home to Jesus. Thank 
 God ! Thank God ! ' And murmuring, ' Thank 
 God ! ' as she kissed him, she pillowed her face 
 upon his bosom heaving in death. 
 
 " Now, my friends, we owe a man in this Chris- 
 tian country two things. We owe our brave sol- 
 diers two things. We owe them food for the 
 body and sympathy for the heart, and food for 
 the soul. We owe them the message of Christ 
 and him crucified, that they may be led to live 
 godly and sober lives, to the honor and glory of 
 God. To my mind, Mr. President, this war hath 
 been conducted by the Great Jehovah. He hath 
 unsheathed the sword of his might, and he hath 
 been stripping off from us our hideous sins that 
 have made us deformed and hateful in his sight, 
 and he hath stood us upon the platform of the 
 great truth of equal liberty to all his creatures ! 
 (Long and loud cheers and applause.) In my 
 mind he is crying out from the hill-tops, and the 
 mighty voice is resounding from one hill-top to 
 the other, ' Ye are my people, and they who fol- 
 low in my paths, and care for my words, shall 
 never be destroyed, for the Word of the Lord 
 hath declared it!'" 
 
 Rather Funny. — A company of some thirty 
 or forty Union men were trying to make their 
 escape to Kentucky, to join the Northern army. 
 They came to a creek which they were compelled 
 to wade. Not wishing to get their clothes wet, 
 they shelled off all to their shirts, and while in this 
 condition they were surprised by a company of 
 Jeff's cavalry boys, who were in hot pursuit of 
 them. Being somewhat frightened, they fled in 
 double-quick, making a " straight shirt sail "up hill 
 and down hill, leaving their clothing in the pos- 
 session of our boys, who, of course, took posses- 
 sion and appropriated the same. What became 
 of the tories we are unable to say, but rather 
 suppose they are in a poor condition for the cold 
 weather. 
 
 THE HEART OF THE WAR. 
 
 Peace in the clover-scented air, 
 
 And stars within the dome. 
 And underneath, in dim repose, 
 
 A plain New England home. 
 Within, a murmur of low tones 
 
 And sighs from hearts oppressed, 
 Merging in prayer at last, that brings 
 
 The balm of silent rest. 
 
 I've closed a hard day's work, Marty — 
 
 The evening chores are done ; 
 And you are weary with the house. 
 
 And with the little one. 
 But he is sleeping sweetly now, 
 
 With all our pretty brood ; 
 So come and sit upon my knee. 
 
 And it will do me good. 
 
 Marty ! I must tell you all 
 The trouble in my heart. 
 
 And you must do the best you can 
 
 To take and bear your part. 
 You've seen the shadow on my face, 
 
 You've felt it day and night ; 
 For it has filled our little home, 
 
 And banished all its light. 
 
 1 did not mean it should be so. 
 And yet I might have known 
 
 That hearts that live as close as ours 
 
 Can never keep their own. 
 But we are fallen on evil times, 
 
 And, do whate'er I may. 
 My heart grows sad about the war, 
 
 And sadder every day. 
 
 I think about it when I work, 
 
 And when I try to rest, 
 And never more than when your head 
 
 Is pillowed on my breast ; 
 For then I see the camp-fires blaze, 
 
 And sleeping men around, 
 Who turn their faces towards their homes, 
 
 And dream upon the ground. 
 
 I think about the dear, brave boys. 
 
 My mates in other years, 
 Who pine for home and those they love, 
 
 Till I am choked with tears. 
 With shouts and cheers they marched away 
 
 On glory's shining track, 
 But, ah ! how long, how long they stay ! 
 
 How few of them come back ! 
 
 One sleeps beside the Tennessee, 
 
 And one beside the James, 
 And one fought on a gallant ship, 
 
 And perished in its flames. 
 And some, struck down by fell disease, 
 
 Are breathing out their life ; 
 And others, maimed by cruel wounds, 
 
 Have left the deadly strife. 
 
 Ah, Marty ! Marty ! only think 
 
 Of all the boys have done 
 And suffered in this weary war I 
 
 Brave heroes, every one ! 
 0, often, often in the night, 
 
 I hear their voices call : 
 " Come on and help its ! Is it right 
 
 That ice should bear it allt" 
 
518 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 And when I kneel and try to pray, 
 
 My thoughts are never free. 
 But cling to those who toil and fight 
 
 And die for you and me. 
 And when I pray for victory, 
 
 It seems almost a sin 
 To fold my hands and ask for what 
 
 I will not help to win. 
 
 O, do not cling to me and crj", 
 
 For it will break my heart ; 
 I'm sure you'd rather have me die 
 
 Than not to bear my part. 
 You think that some should stay at home 
 
 To care for those away ; 
 But still I'm hel^jless to decide 
 
 If I should go or stay. 
 
 For, Marty, all the soldiers love. 
 
 And all are loved again ; 
 And I am loved, and love, perhaps. 
 
 No more than other men. 
 I cannot tell — I do not know — 
 
 Which way my duty lies, 
 Or where the Lord would have me build 
 
 My fire of sacrifice. 
 
 I feel — I know — I am not mean ; 
 
 And though I seem to boast, 
 I'm sure that I would give my life 
 
 To those who need it most. 
 Perhaps the Spirit will reveal 
 
 That which is fair and right ; 
 So, Marty, let us humbly kneel 
 
 And pray to Heaven for light. 
 
 Peace in the clover- scented air, 
 
 And stars within the dome ; 
 And, underneath, in dim repose, 
 
 A plain New England home. 
 Within, a widow in her weeds, 
 
 From whom all joy is flown, 
 AVho kneels among her sleeping babes, 
 
 And weeps and praj's alone ! 
 
 Scouting Adventures. — The following sto- 
 ry of hair-breadth 'scapes along the border is 
 told by a Federal cavalryman, who was scouting 
 ill the winter of 1862 : 
 
 " We had a scout, on Monday last, towards the 
 Isle of Wight, and an exciting one it was. Four 
 companies of our regiment were detailed to carry 
 ballot-boxes to Smitlifield, about twenty-two 
 miles south of this place ; and on our return to 
 camp we were almost entrapped by a large force 
 of rebels, who had crossed the Blackwater on a 
 foraging expedition ; but we escaped after a des- 
 perate chase of five miles, and a little hard fight- 
 ing. Your correspondent, in company with a 
 friend, came near taking their Christmas dinners 
 in Puchmond ; but, thanks to the pluck of friend 
 llogers, and the speed of our noble horses, we 
 escaped. We had become hungry from long 
 fasting, and, mounting our chargers, we slipped 
 out of our camping-grounds to look for a warm 
 breakfast, and feed for our jaded horses. After 
 riding two or three miles we came to a comforta- 
 ble-looking farm-house, and requested the fright- 
 
 ened hostess to provide us with the Virginian's 
 favorite breakfast — corn-cake, bacon, and fried 
 eggs. In a few minutes we were discussing these 
 delicious dishes, forgetting, for the time, that we 
 were in the heart of Rebeldom, and only three 
 miles from the famous Black\vater, where a large 
 force of rebel cavalry was known to be posted 
 the day previous. We had finished our break- 
 fast, and were quietly Avending our way to the 
 stable, where our horses had been taken, when 
 our attention was drawn to the fair hostess, who 
 appeared to be telegraphing to some unseen ob- 
 ject in the pine swamp in the rear of the house. 
 Not liking to be inquisitive yet desiring to know 
 the meaning of these strange movements, we kept 
 our eyes upon the thicket, and we soon had the 
 sequel. Two forms were there, each signalling 
 in opposite directions ; and soon five rebels stepped 
 out from the shaded grove, and came slowly and 
 cautiously towards the house. But v,e were not 
 idle. With quickened steps we went towards the 
 stable, and reached it just in the nick .of time. 
 We had barely entered, Avhen our ears Avere sa- 
 luted by the crack of a rifle, and a: yell that made 
 even our horses shudder. One moment more, 
 and we were in the saddle, bounding over fences, 
 fallen trees, and deep trenches, while the speed 
 of our noble horses was accelerated by an occa- 
 sional shot from our pursuers ; but not a hair 
 was injured, and M'ith a defiant shout we were 
 about to leap the fence that separated us from the 
 main road, when two rebels darted from behind 
 the fence, and shouted to us : ' Surrender, you 
 
 Yankee sons of ' But Rogers' fight was up, 
 
 and quickly drawing his sabre, he made a dasii 
 at the foremost of the two, and wounded him in 
 the shoulder, while your correspondent unslung 
 his trusty carbine, and as the rebel was in the act 
 of discharging his rifle, took deliberate aim, and 
 lifted his hat into the air. But we were not yet 
 out of danger, for we had barely recovered our 
 composure, ere we had a new danger to contend 
 with. At least twenty rebels were in pursuit of 
 us ; and putting spurs to our horses, we dashed 
 away towards our picket at full speed, and reached 
 it fifty yards ahead of our pursuers, who, think- 
 ing ' discretion the better part of valor,' in their 
 turn took to flight, and were soon hidden by the 
 pine forest. We slipped into camp as quietly as 
 we had left ; but our foaming horses betrayed us, 
 and the Colonel demanded an explanation, which 
 we Avere compelled to give. He, thinking our po- 
 sition rather a dangerous one, ordered an imme- 
 diate move towards camp, on a different road 
 from that on which we had been riding ; but we 
 had not proceeded three miles before an attack 
 Avas made on our advance guard, and learning 
 from a prisoner we had taken that the rebels Avere 
 in large force, the order to retreat Avas given ; but 
 we had gone but a short distance, Avhen the whole 
 rebel force of cavalry, nine hundred strong, came 
 up Avith our rear, and attacked it. But they Avere 
 kept at bay until the main body got out of range, 
 of their guns, and Ave returned to camp at a much 
 more rapid pace than Ave left it, Avith only tAVo 
 slightly Avounded ; Avhile the enemy's loss is 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTkS. 
 
 519 
 
 known to be eight killed and as many wo.unded. 
 This was the first ' skedaddle ' I ever witnessed, 
 and I sincerely hope it may be the last." 
 
 Suddenly waked up. — " Some time ago there 
 was published in this paper," says the Puchmond 
 Dispatch, " a revolutionary reminiscence, wherein 
 allusion was made to the sufferings of General 
 Greene's army, in the early struggle for indepen- 
 dence, for the want of suitable clothing, which 
 in many instances rendered the men unfit for ser- 
 vice. It chanced that a copy of the paper fell 
 into the hands of a wealthy citizen of Alabama, 
 who had previously resisted all the appeals of 
 patriotism to his purse. We don't know how it 
 happened that he put such a novel interpretation 
 upon the revolutionary article, but after he got 
 through he exclaimed, 'By Jove ! that will never 
 do in the world ! * So he collected together a 
 considerable quantity of clothing and other arti- 
 cles requisite for the comfort of the soldier, and 
 packing the whole securely, directed the box to 
 ' General Greene, of the Confederate army,' and 
 started it off to Richmond. It arrived here in 
 due season, and as a matter of course the depot 
 agent was puzzled to find ' General Greene ; ' but 
 it was finally turned over to the military authori- 
 ties, who distributed the contents where they 
 were needed. Whether the Alabamian had been 
 asleep ever since the revolutionary war or not, we 
 don't undertake to say; but we give him credit 
 for doing a good thing, even though we could not 
 help laughing when we heard the story." 
 
 Incidents of the Battle of Belmont. — 
 A correspondent, giving an account of the burial 
 of the Union dead upon the field of battle at Bel- 
 mont, by a party which returned, after the battle, 
 .with a flag of truce, relates the following incidents : 
 
 " Our dead were mostly lying upon their backs, 
 and everything taken from their bodies that could 
 be of value to the enemy. The countenances of 
 the dead were mostly expressive of rage. One 
 or two features were expressive of fear. One 
 poor fellow, after he was wounded, bethought 
 himself to take a smoke. He was found in a 
 sitting position, against a tree, dead, with his 
 pipe in one hand, his knife in the other, and his 
 tobacco on his breast. 
 
 " A young lad about sixteen was found lying 
 across a log, just as he fell, grasping his musket 
 in both hands. 
 
 " A wounded man, with both legs nearly shot 
 off, was found in the woods, singing the Star- 
 spangled Banner ; but for this circumstance the 
 surgeons say they would not have discovered him. 
 
 " A Captain of one of the regiments was look- 
 ing at the prisoners captured at Belmont, and 
 recognized one as his own brother." 
 
 Ax Eloquent Peroration. — Governor John 
 A. Andrew, in his address to the Legislature of 
 Massachusetts, Jan. 8, 1864, concluded as follows : 
 
 " The heart swells with unwonted emotion when 
 we remember our sons and brothers, whose con- 
 stant valor has sustained on the field, during 
 nearly three years of war, the cause of our coun- 
 try, of civilization, and liberty. Our volunteers 
 have represented Massachusetts, during the year 
 just ended, on almost every field, and in every 
 department of the army where our flag has 
 been unfurled. At Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, 
 Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and Fort Wagner; at 
 Chickamauga, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, under 
 Hooker, and Meade, and Banks, and Gillmore, 
 and Rosecrans, and Burnside, and Grant; in 
 every scene of danger and of duty, — along the 
 Atlantic, and the Gulf;- on the Tennessee, the 
 Cumberland, the Mississippi, and the Rio Grande, 
 under Du Pont, and Dahlgren, and Foote, and 
 Farragut, and Porter, — the sons of Massachu- 
 setts have borne their part, and paid the debt of 
 patriotism and valor. Ubiquitous as the stock 
 they descend from, national in their opinions, and 
 universal in their sympathies, they have fought, 
 shoulder to shoulder, Avith men of all sections and 
 of every extraction. On the ocean, on the rivers, 
 on the land, on the heights where they thundered 
 down from the clouds of Lookout Mountain the 
 defiance of the skies, they have graven with theii 
 swords a record imperishable. 
 
 "The Muse herself demands the lapse of silent 
 years to soften, by the influence of time, her too 
 keen and poignant realization of the scenes of 
 war — the pathos, the heroism, the fierce joy, the 
 grief of battle. But dui'ing ages to come she 
 will brood over their memory, and into the hearts 
 of her consecrated priests will breathe the inspi- 
 rations of lofty and undying beauty, sublimity 
 and truth, in all the glowing forms of speech, of 
 literature, and plastic art. By the homely tra- 
 ditions of the fireside, by the head-stones in the 
 churchyard consecrated to those whose forms re- 
 pose far off" in rude graves by the Rappahannock 
 or sleep beneath the sea, embalmed in the memo- 
 ries of succeeding generations of parents and chil- 
 dren, the heroic clead Avill live on in immortal 
 youth. By their names, their character, theii 
 service, their fate, their glory, they cannot fail : 
 
 ' They never fail who die 
 In a great cause. The block may soak their gore ; 
 Their heads may sodden in the sun, their limbs 
 Be strung to city gates and castle walls ; 
 But still their spirit walks abroad. Tlwugh years 
 Elapse, and others share as dark a doom, 
 They but augment the deep and sweeping thoughts 
 Which overpower all others, and conduct 
 The world at last to freedom.' 
 
 " Tlie edict of Nantes, maintaining the religious 
 liberty of the Huguenots, gave lustre to the fame 
 of Henry the Great, whose name will gild the 
 pages of philosophic history after mankind may 
 have forgotten the martial prowess and the_ white 
 plume of Navarre. The great proclamation of 
 liberty will lift the ruler who uttered it, our na- 
 tion and our age, above all vulgar destiny. 
 
 " The bell which rang out the Declaration of In- 
 dependence has found at last a voice articulate, to 
 ' proclaim liberty throughout all the land and to 
 
520 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 all the inhabitants thereof.' It has been heard 
 across oceans, and has modified the sentiments 
 of cabinets and kings. The people of the old 
 world have heard it, and their hearts stop to 
 catch fhe last whisper of its echoes. The poor 
 slave has heard it; and with bomiding joy, tem- 
 pered by the mystery of religion, he worships and 
 adores. The waiting continent has heard it, and 
 already foresees the fulfilled prophecy, when she 
 will sit ' redeemed, regenerated, and clisinthralled 
 by the genius of universal emancipation.' " 
 
 THE SONG OF THE SOUTH. 
 
 BY CAPTAIN E. JI. ANDERSON.* 
 
 Another star arisen, another flag unfurled ; 
 Another name inscribed among the nations of the 
 
 world ; 
 Another mighty struggle 'gainst a tyrant's fell decree, 
 And again a burdened people have uprisen, and 
 
 are free. 
 
 The spirit of the fathers in the children liveth 
 
 yet, — 
 Liveth still the olden blood that hath dimmed the 
 
 bayonet ; 
 And the fathers fought for freedom, and the sons 
 
 for freedom fight ; 
 Their God Avas with their fathers, and is still the 
 
 God of right. 
 
 Behold, the skies are darkened ! a gloomy cloud 
 hath lowered ! 
 
 Shall it break in happy peacefulness, or spread its 
 rage abroad ? 
 
 Shall we have the smiles of friendship, or feel the 
 fierce, foul blow, 
 
 And bare the red right hand of Avar to meet an in- 
 sulting foe ? 
 
 In peacefulness we wish to live, but not in slavish 
 
 fear ; 
 In peacefulness we dare not die, dishonored on our 
 
 bier ; 
 To our allies of the Northern land we offer heart 
 
 and hand ; 
 But if they scorn our friendship, then the banner 
 
 and the brand. 
 
 Honor to the new-born nation ! honor to the brave ! 
 
 A country freed from thraldom, or a soldier's hon- 
 ored grave ! 
 
 Every rock shall be a tombstone, every rivulet run 
 red. 
 
 And the invader, should he conquer, find the con- 
 quered in the dead. 
 
 But victorj' shall follow where the sons of freedom 
 
 go. 
 And the signal for the onset be the death-knell of 
 
 the foe ; 
 And hallowed be the sacred spot where they have 
 
 bravely met. 
 And the star that rises yonder shall never, never set. 
 
 * Captain R. M. Anderson, of Louisville, Kentucky, 
 offered his whole command, consisting of ninety rifles, 
 to the Governor of South Carolina, stipulating that 
 they would bear their own expenses in going to 
 Charleston and returning to Kentucky. — Southern 
 Literary Messenger. 
 
 The Rebels over the Boeder. — On the 
 16th of June, 1863, it was first known in Cham- 
 bersburg. Pa., that Milroy had been defeated at 
 Winchester, and that the rebel General E,hoads 
 was advancing across the Potomac, and approach- 
 ing the Pennsylvania line. 
 
 On the morning of Monday, June 17, the 
 flood of rumors from the Potomac fully con- 
 firmed the advance of the rebels ; and the citi- 
 zens of Chambersburg and vicinity, feeling unable 
 to resist the rebel columns, commenced to make 
 prompt preparation for the movement of stealable 
 property. Nearly every horse, good, bad, and in- 
 different, was started for the mountains as early 
 on Monday as possible, and the negroes dark- 
 ened the different roads northward for hours, 
 loaded Avith household effects, sable babies, &c., 
 and horses and wagons and cattle croAvded every 
 avenue to places of safety. About nine o'clock 
 in the morning, the advance of Milroy's I'etreat- 
 ing Avagon train dashed into town, attended by a 
 few cavalry, and several afl'righted Avagon-mas- 
 ters, all of Avhom declared that the rebels Avere in 
 hot pursuit ; that a large portion of the train was 
 captured, and that the enemy Avas about to enter 
 Chambersburg. This startling information, com- 
 ing from men in uniform, who had fought val- 
 iantly until the enemy had got nearly within sight 
 of them, naturally gave a fresh impetus to the 
 citi«ens, and the skedaddle commenced in magnifi- 
 cent earnestness and exquisite confusion. Men, 
 women, and children, Avho seemed to think the 
 rebels so many cannibals, rushed out on the turn- 
 pike, and generally kept on the leading thorough- 
 fares, as if they Avere determined to be captured, 
 if the rebels Avere anywhere Avithin range and 
 Avanted them. The motley cavalcade rushed 
 along for a few hours, Avhen it seems to have oc- 
 curred to some one to inquire Avhether the rebels 
 Avere not some distance in the rear ; and a fcAv 
 moments of reflection and dispassionate inquii'y 
 satisfied the people that the enemy could not be 
 upon them for several hours at least. The rail- 
 road men Avere prompt and systematic in their 
 efforts to prepare for anotlier fire ; and by noon 
 all the portable property of the company Avas 
 safely under control, to be hauled and moved at 
 pleasure. The more thoughtful portion of the 
 people, who felt it a duty to keep out of rebel 
 hands, remained until the cutting of telegraph 
 communication south, and the rejjorts of reliable 
 scouts rendered it advisable to give Avay to the 
 guerrilla army of plunderers. 
 
 Greencastle, being but five miles north of the 
 Maryland line, and in the dnect route of the reb- 
 els, Avas naturally enough in the highest state of 
 excitement on Sunday night and Monday morning. 
 Exaggerated rumors had of course flooded them, 
 and every half hour a stampede Avas made before 
 the imagined rebel columns. Hon. John Rowe 
 at last determined to reconnoitre; and he mounted 
 a horse, and started out toAvards HagerstoAvn. 
 A little distance beyond, he Avas captured by a 
 squad of rebels, and held until tlie rebel cavah-y 
 leader, General Jenkins, came up. Jenkins asked 
 Rowe his name, and was answered correctly. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 521 
 
 He subsequently asked Mr. , who was with 
 
 Rowe, what Rom'c's name was, and upon being 
 told that the name had been given to him cor- 
 rectly, he insisted that the Major had been an 
 
 ofHcer in the United States service. Mr. 
 
 assured Jenkins that the Major had never been 
 iu the service, and he was satisfied. (Jenkins 
 had evidently confounded Major Rowe with his 
 son, the gallant Lieutenant-Colonel Rowe, of the 
 One Hundred and Twenty-sixth.) Jenkins then 
 
 asked Mr. whom he had voted for at the 
 
 last Presidential election. He answered that he 
 had voted for Lincoln. To which Jenkins gave 
 the following chaste and classic reply — " Get off 
 that horse, you d — d Abolitionist." The horse 
 was surrendered, and the same question was pro- 
 pounded to Major Rowe, who answered that he 
 had voted for Douglas, and had scratched every 
 Breckinridge man off his ticket. Jenkins an- 
 swered — "You can ride your horse as long as 
 you like — I voted for Douglas myself." He 
 then demanded to know what forces were in 
 Greencastle, and what fortifications. Major Rowe 
 told him that the town was defenceless ; but Jen- 
 kins seemed to be cautious lest he might be 
 caught in a trap. He advanced cautiously, re- 
 connoitred all suspicious buildings, and finally, 
 being fully satisfied that there was not a gun in 
 position, and not a man under arms, he resolved 
 upon capturing the town by a brilliant charge of 
 cavalry. He accordingly divided his forces into 
 two columns, charged upon the vacated streets, 
 and reached the centre of the town without the 
 loss of a man ! 
 
 The rebels were evidently under the impression 
 that forces would be thrown in their way at an 
 early hour, and they pushed forward for Cham- 
 bersburg. About eleven o'clock, on Monday 
 night, they arrived at the southern end of the 
 town, and the same intensely strategic move- 
 ments exhibited at Gi'eencastle were displayed 
 here. Several Avere thrown forward cautiously 
 to reconnoitre, and a few of the Union boys cap- 
 tured them and took their horses. This taste of 
 war whetted the appetite of Jenkins, and he re- 
 solved to capture the town by a briUiant dash, 
 without so much as a demand for surrender. He 
 divided his forces into several columns — about 
 two hundred in advance as a forlorn hope, to 
 whom was assigned the desperate task of char- 
 ging upon the empty and undefended streets, 
 store-boxes, mortar-beds, <S:c., of the ancient vil- 
 lage of Chambersburg. 
 
 Every precaution that strategy could invent 
 was taken to prevent failure. Men were detailed 
 to ride along the columns before the charge was 
 made, bawling out as loudly as possible to plant 
 artillery at different points, although the redoubt- 
 able Jenkins had not so much as a swivel in his 
 army. The women and children having been suf- 
 ficiently frightened by the threatened booming of 
 artillery, and all things being in readiness, the 
 forlorn" hope advanced, and the most desperate 
 charge ever known in the history of war — in 
 Chambersburg at least — was made. Down the 
 street came the iron clatter of hoofs like the tem- 
 
 pest with a thousand thtmderbolts ; but t'he great 
 planhad failed in one particular, and the column 
 recoiled before it reached the Diamond. A mor- 
 tar-bed_ on the street, in front of Mr. White's 
 new building, had not been observed in the re- 
 connoitring of the town, nor had wilKng sjmpa- 
 thizers advised him of it. His force was hurled 
 against it ; down went some men, and bang went 
 a gun. To strike a mortar-bed and have a gun 
 fired at the same time, was more than the strategy 
 of Jenkins had bargained for ; and the charge 
 was broken and fell back. A few moments of 
 fearful suspense, and the mortar-bed was carefully 
 reconnoitred, and the musket report was found to 
 be an accidental discharge of a gun in the hands 
 of one of his own men who had fallen. With 
 a boldness and dash worthy of Jenkins, it was 
 resolved to renew the attack without even the 
 formality of a council of war. Again the steeds 
 of war thundered down the street, and there be- 
 ing nothing in the way, overcame all opposition, 
 and the borough of Chambersburg was under the 
 rule of Jenkins. Having Avon it by the most de- 
 termined and brilliant jn'owess, Jenkins resolved 
 that he would be magnanimous, and would allow 
 nothing to be taken from the people — excepting 
 such articles as he and his men wanted. 
 
 Jenkins had doubtless read the papers in his 
 day, and knew that there were green fields in the 
 " Green Spot ; " and what is rather remarkable, 
 at midnight he could start for a forty-acre clover 
 patch belonging to the editor of the Repository 
 without so much as stopping to ask where the 
 gate might be found. Not even a halt was called 
 to find it ; but the march was continued until the 
 gate was reached, when the order, " File right " 
 was given, and Jenkins was in clover. Happy fel- 
 low, thus to find luxuriant and extensive clover as 
 if by instinct ! By way of giving the devil his 
 due, it must be said that, although there were 
 over sixty acres of wheat, and eighty acres of 
 corn and oats, in the same field, he protected it 
 most carefully, and picketed his horses so that it 
 could not be injured. And equal care was taken 
 of all other property about the ]3lace, excepting 
 half a dozen of the fattest Cotswold sheep, which 
 were necessary, it seems, to furnish chops, &c,, 
 for his men. No fences were wantonly destroyed ; 
 poultry was not disturbed, nor did he compli- 
 ment the blooded cattle so much as to test the 
 quality of their steak and roasts. Some of his 
 men cast a wistful eye upon the glistening trout 
 in the spring ; but they were protected by volun- 
 tary order, and save a few quarts of delicious 
 strawberries gathered with every care, after first 
 asking permission, nothing in the gardens or 
 about the grounds was taken. 
 
 However earnest an enemy Jenkins may be, he 
 don't seem to keep spite, but is capable of being_ 
 very jolly and sociable when he is treated hospi-' 
 tably. For prudential reasons, the editor was not 
 at home to do the honors at his own table ; but 
 Jenkins was not particular, nor was his appetite 
 impaired thereby. He called upon the ladies of 
 the house, shared their hospitality, behaved in all 
 respects like a gentleman, and expressed very 
 
522 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 earnest regrets that he had not been able to make 
 the personal acquaintance of the editor. We beg 
 to say that v,e reciprocate the wish of the Gen- 
 eral, and shall be glad to make his acquaintance 
 personally — " when this cruel war is over." Col- 
 onel French and Surgeon Bee spent much of their 
 time with Mrs. McClure, and the former showed 
 his appreciation of her hospitality by taking her 
 revolver from her when he left. An order having 
 been made for the citizens to surrender all the 
 guns ar d pistols they had, Colonel French took 
 the pistol of his hostess. 
 
 Horses seemed to be considered contraband of 
 war, and were taken without the pretence of com- 
 pensation : but other articles wei'e deemed legiti- 
 mate subjects of commerce even between ene- 
 mies, and they were generally paid for after a 
 fashion. True, the system of Jenkins would be 
 considered a little informal in business circles ; 
 but it's his way, and the people agreed to it, per- 
 haps to some extent because of the novelty, but 
 mainly because of the necessity of the thing. But 
 Jenkins was liberal — eminently liberal. He 
 didn't stop to higgle about a few odd pennies in 
 making a bargain. For instance, he took the 
 drugs of Messrs. Miller, Spangler, Nixon, and 
 Heyser, and told them to make out a bill, or, if 
 they could not do that, to guess at the amount, 
 and the bills were paid. Doubtless merchants 
 and druggists would have preferred " green- 
 backs " to Confederate scrip that is never payable, 
 and is worth just its Aveiglit in old paper ; but 
 Jenkins hadn't " greenbacks," and he had con- 
 federate scrip, and such as he had he gave unto 
 them. Thus he dealt laj-gely. To avoid the 
 jealousies growing out of rivalry in business, he 
 patronized all the merchants, and bought pretty 
 much everything he could conveniently use and 
 carry. Some people, with the antiquated ideas 
 of business, might call it stealing, to take goods 
 and pay for them in bogus money ; but Jenkins 
 calls it business, and for the time being what Jen- 
 kins called business, was business. In this way 
 he robbed all the stores, drug shops, &c., more 
 or less, and supplied himself with many articles 
 of great value. 
 
 Jenkins, like most doctors, don't seem to have 
 relished his own prescriptions. Several horses 
 had been captured by some of the Union boys, 
 and notice was given by the General commanding 
 that they must be surrendered or the town would 
 be destroyed. The city fathers, commonly known 
 as the town council, were appealed to in order to 
 avert the impending fate threatened. One of 
 the horses, and some of the equipments, were 
 found and returned, but there was still a balance 
 in favor of Jenkins. It was finally adjusted by 
 the council appropriating the sum of nine hun- 
 dred dollars to pay the claim. Doubtless Jen- 
 kins hoped for nine hundred dollars in " green- 
 backs," but he had flooded the town with Confed- 
 erate scrip, pronouncing it better than United 
 States currency, and tlie council evidently be- 
 lieved him, and desiring to be accommodating with 
 a conqueror, decided to favor him by the pay- 
 ment of his bill in Confederate scrip. It was so 
 
 done, and Jenkins got just nine hundred dollars 
 worth of nothing for tis trouble. He took it, 
 however, without a murmur, and doubtless con- 
 sidered it a clever joke. 
 
 Sore was the disappointment of Jenkins at the 
 general exodus of horses. It limited his booty 
 immensely. Fully five hundred had been taken 
 from Chambersburg and vicinity to the moun- 
 tains, and Jenkins' j^lunder was thus made just 
 so much less. But he determined to make up 
 for it by stealing all the arms in the tovtn. He 
 therefore issued an order requiring the citizens to 
 bring him all the arms they had, public, or pri- 
 vate, within two hours ; and search and terrible 
 vengeance were threatened in case of disobe- 
 dience. Marty of the citizens complied with the 
 order, and a committee was appointed to take a 
 list of the persons pi-esenting arms. Of course 
 very many did not comply ; but enough did so to 
 avoid a general search, and probable sacking of 
 the town. The arms were assorted — the indif- 
 ferent destroyed, and the good taken along. 
 
 On the following day, a few of Milroy's cavalry, 
 escaping from Martinsburg, were seen by the re- 
 doubtable Jenkins hovering in his front. Al- 
 though but thirteen in number, and without the 
 least appetite for a battle with his two thousand 
 men, he took on a fright of huge proportions, and 
 prepared to sell his command as dearly as possi- 
 ble. Like a prudent general, however, he pro- 
 vided fully for his retreat. The shrill blast of the 
 bugle brought his men to arms with the utmost 
 possible alacrity : his pickets were called in to 
 swell the ranks ; the horses and baggage, con- 
 sisting principally of stolen goods, were sent to 
 the rear, south of the town ; the surgeon took 
 forcible possession of aU the buildings, houses, 
 barns, sheds, &c., to be used as hospitals, and 
 especially requested that their wounded should be 
 humanely treated in case of their sudden retreat 
 without being able to take them along. 
 
 The hero of two brilliant cavalry charges upon 
 undefended towns was agitated beyond endur- 
 ance at the prospect of a battle ; and instead of 
 charging upon a little squad of men, who were 
 me-rely observing the course of his robberies, he 
 stood trembling in battle array to receive the 
 shock. No foe was nearer than the State capital, 
 over fifty miles distant, and there the same scene 
 was being presented. Jenkins in Chambersburg, 
 and the militia at Harrisburg, were each momen- 
 tarily expecting to be cut to pieces by the other. 
 But these armies, alike terrible in their heroism, 
 were spared the deadly clash of arms, inasmuch 
 as even the most improved ordnance is not 
 deemed fatal at a range of fifty miles. Both 
 armies, as the usual reports go, " having accom- 
 plished their purpose, retired in good order." 
 
 As a rule, private houses Avere not sacked by 
 Jenkins' forces ; but there were some exceptions. 
 The residences of Messrs. Dengler and Gipe, near 
 Chambersburg, were both entered (the families 
 being absent), and plundered of clothing, kettles, 
 and other articles. Bureaus and cupboards were 
 all emptied of their contents, and such articles as 
 they wanted were taken. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 523 
 
 A very few of the citizens exhibited the spirit 
 of the genuine " sympathizers ; " but Jenkins and 
 his men in no instance treated them even with 
 courtesy. That they made use of some such 
 creatures to obtain information, cannot be doubt- 
 ed ; but they spurned all attempts to claim their 
 respect because of professed sympathy with their 
 cause. To one who desked to make fair weather 
 with Jenkins, by ardent professions of sympathy 
 ■with the South, he answered : " Well, if you be- 
 lieve we are right, take your gun and join our 
 ranks ! " It is needless to say that the cowardly 
 traitor did not obey. To another he said — " If 
 we had such men as you in the South we would 
 hang them ! " They say, on all occasions, that 
 there are but two modes of peace; — disunion or 
 subjugation, — and they stoutly deny that the lat- 
 ter is possible. 
 
 General Jenkins was fully informed as to the 
 nrovements of one of the prominent citizens of 
 Chambersburg, and described the horse he rode, 
 and added that there were people in Chambers- 
 burg sufficiently cowardly and treacherous to 
 give such information of their neighbors. When 
 it was suggested that such people should be sent 
 within the rebel lines, he insisted that the South 
 should not be made a Botany Bay for Northern 
 scoundrels. 
 
 Quite a number of negroes, free and slave, — 
 men, women, and childi'en, — were captured by 
 Jenkins, and started South to be sold into bon- 
 dage. Many escaped in various ways, and the 
 people of Greencastle captured the guard of one 
 negro train, and discharged the negroes ; but, 
 perhaps, full fifty were got off to slavery. One 
 negro effected his escape by shooting and seriously 
 wounding his rebel guard. He forced the gun 
 from the rebel and fired, wounding him in the 
 head, and then skedaddled. Some of the men 
 were bound with ropes, and the children were 
 mounted in front or behind the rebels on their 
 horses. By great exertions of several citizens, 
 some of the negroes were discharged. 
 
 The southern border of the county was literally 
 plundered of everything in the stock line, except- 
 ing such as could be secreted. But it was diffi- 
 cult to secrete stock, as the rebels spent a full 
 week in the county, and leisurely hunted out 
 horses and cattle without molestation. Among 
 many unfortunate, perhaps the greatest sufferer 
 was Ex-Sheriff Taylor, from whom the rebels cap- 
 tured a drove of fat cattle in Fulton County. 
 
 The route of Jenkins was through the most 
 densely jjopulated and wealthiest portion of the 
 county. From this point he fell back to Green- 
 castle and south of it ; thence he proceeded to 
 Mercersburg, from where a detachment crossed 
 the Cove Mountain to McConnellsburg, and struck 
 down the valley from there. The main body, 
 however, was divided into plundering parties, and 
 scoured the whole southern portion of the county, 
 spending several days in and about Greencastle, 
 and Waynesboro', and giving Welsh Run a pretty 
 intimate visitation. 
 
 The rebels seemed omnipresent, according to 
 reports. They m ere, on several occasions, after 
 
 their departure, just about to reenter, and the 
 panic-stricken made a corresponding exit at the 
 other side. On Thursday, the 18th, they Avere 
 reported within two miles in large force, and a 
 general skedaddle took place ; and again on Sun- 
 day, the 21st, they were reported coming with 
 reenforcements. A few ran off, but most of the 
 people, knowing that there was a military force to 
 fall back upon between Chambersburg and Scot- 
 land, shouldered their guns and fell into ranks to 
 give battle. Prominent among these was Rev. 
 Mr. Niccolls, whose people missed a sermon in 
 his determination to pop a few rebels. 
 
 One of the first acts done by the rebels was to 
 march down to the railroad bridge at Scotland, 
 and burn it. The warehouse of Mr. Criswell, and 
 several cars, were spared upon satisfactory assur- 
 ance that they were private property. As soon 
 as the rebels fell back, the Railroad Company 
 commenced to rebuild the bridge, and on Sunday 
 evening, the 21st, trains passed over it again. 
 The only other instance of fh'ing property was the 
 warehouse of Oaks & Linn. It was fired just as 
 they left the town ; but the citizens extinguished 
 it. 
 
 General Jenkins received his education at 
 Jefferson College, in Pennsylvania, in the same 
 class with J. McDowell Sharpe, Esq., and gave 
 promise of future usefulness and greatness. His 
 downward career commenced when, in an evil hour, 
 he became a member of Congress from Western 
 Virginia, and from thence may be dated his de- 
 cline and fall. From Congress he naturally 
 enough turned fire-eater, secessionist, and guer- 
 rilla. He is of medium size, has a flat but good 
 head, light brown hair, blue eyes, immense flow- 
 ing beard of a sandy hue, and rather a pleasant 
 face. He professes to cherish the utmost regard 
 for the humanity of war,and seemed sensitive onthe 
 subject of his reputation as a humane military lead- 
 er. He pointed to the raids of Union troops, who 
 left, in many instances, wide-spread and total deso- 
 lation on their tracks, and expressed the hope that 
 henceforth the Union raids would do no more 
 damage to citizens than he does. He takes 
 horses, cattle, and articles necessary for the army, 
 as both sides treat them as contraband of war, 
 and help themselves on every occasion offered. 
 He pointed with bitter triumph at the raid of 
 Montgomery in South Carolina, and at the de- 
 struction of' Jacksonville, Fla., and Jackson, Mis- 
 sissippi, by the national troops, and reminded 
 the people that his actions were in accordance 
 with civilized warfare, while those referred to 
 of the Union troops were barbarous. 
 
 On Sunday, 28th, the Eighth New York militia 
 arrived at Chambersburg, having marched from 
 Shippensburg, and they were received with the 
 wildest enthusiasm. Considering that they were 
 onthe border in advance of any Pennsylvania 
 regiments, they merit, as they will receive, the 
 lasting gratitude of every man in the border. 
 
 The old men of the town organized a company, 
 headed by Hon. George Chambers, for the de- 
 fence of the town. None were admitted under 
 forty-five. On >Ionday every man capable of 
 
524 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 bearing arms had his gun, and was in some or- 
 ganization to resist the rebels. 
 
 The ladies of Chambersburg gave the rebels 
 rather a jolly time while they were there. They 
 did not imitate the wives and daughters of the 
 chivalry by spitting in the faces of soldiers, poi- 
 soning their meat and drink, flaunting flags in 
 their faces, and unsexing themselves generally ; 
 but they did give them rather an unwelcome taste 
 of their heroism and strategy. One lady took 
 her chickens from the rebels after they had killed 
 them, and dined sumptuously at home at least 
 one day under rebel rule. Another arrested Dr. 
 Todd in his insolence by informing him, in rather 
 an earnest manner, that further searches in her 
 house would result in the splitting of his head 
 with her hatchet. The valiant doctor subsided. 
 Another amused herself by running rebel desert- 
 ers out of the lines dressed in hoops and calico : 
 and generally the ladies resented the arrogance 
 of the rebel hosts with such spirit and determi- 
 nation as to astound them. In many instances 
 the ladies prevented the boldest thieving by res- 
 olutely resisting, and shaming the rebels out of 
 their purpose. Those who were so fortunate as 
 to return to Virginia must carry with them the 
 liveliest appreciation of the heroism and intelli- 
 gence of Pennsylvania ladies. 
 
 Some of the border State, and most of the 
 more Southern rebels, had rather peculiar concep- 
 tions of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Quite a num- 
 ber Avere astonished to find the people speaking 
 English, as they supposed that the prevalent lan- 
 guage was the German. At first, when they at- 
 tempted derisive remarks, they would imitate the 
 broken English of the Germans ; and judging 
 from Ewell's demand for twenty-five barrels of 
 sourkrout at a season when it is unknown in any 
 country, even the commanding officers must have 
 considered the Chambersburg people as profound- 
 ly Dutch. It would require an intensely Dutch 
 community to supply sourkrout in July. The 
 farm buildings, and especially the large and fine 
 barns all through the valley, at once excited their 
 astonishment and admiration. Quite a number 
 of ofiicers visited the barn of the editor as a 
 matter of curiosity, although there are many in 
 the valley much larger and quite as well finished. 
 The private soldiers generally concluded that it 
 must be the church of some very large denomi- 
 nation in this community ; and the out-buildings 
 about it, such as chicken-house, hog-pen, carriage- 
 house, &c., were generally supposed to be ser- 
 vants' houses, and very neat ones ! 
 
 Clean as General Lee has kept his record by 
 his humane orders, his army did the most gigan- 
 tic and systematic stealing. They stole every- 
 thing they could possibly use, or hope to use ; 
 and when their little remnant of shame compelled 
 them to oft'er some apology for it, they invariably 
 answered that the Union troops had done so, and 
 much more, in their country. Every rebel who 
 wanted to steal a chicken, or a hat, or a watch, 
 insisted that he was a most generous and humane 
 conqueror — that his home had been burned 
 down over the heads of his family by the Yan- 
 
 kees, while he generously spared their homes 
 from the torch. 
 
 Never was an army more confident and jubi- 
 lant than were the rebels while in Chambersburg, 
 and the oflScers evidently appreciated the neces- 
 sity of keeping their hopes up to the highest 
 point. The Richmond papers were received al- 
 most daily during their stay, and the men were 
 inspired by the sensation lies published represent- 
 ing rebel success in almost every portion of the 
 South ; and the universal demand made by the 
 rebel press for a general devastation of the North 
 induced the soldiers to believe that as soon as 
 their lodgment was made safe, they Avould be at 
 liberty to occupy or sack houses at pleasure. 
 One edition of the Richmond papers received at 
 Chambersburg announced that General Johnson 
 had defeated General Grant and raised the siege 
 of Vicksburg. It was read to the army when on 
 parade, and they cheered themselves hoarse over 
 their imaginary triumph. They were inspired 
 by every conceivable falsehood. Not a rebel in 
 the ranks doubted that Lee had from a hundred 
 and twenty-five thousand to a hundi'ed and fifty 
 thousand men, while he had not over eighty 
 thousand, all told ; and they were all firmly con- 
 vinced that they had eluded General Meade's 
 army, and that it was in search of them in the 
 valley of Shenandoah, while nothing but the mi- 
 litia stood between them and Harrisburg, Balti- 
 more, and Washington. Their rather sudden re- 
 treat from York and Carlisle threw a shadow of 
 doubt over their high expectations, and their con- 
 fidence was not strengthened any by the defiant 
 and jubilant tone of the Pennsylvania people, 
 who confronted them at every step Avith the as- 
 surance that they were marching to defeat, and 
 many to death. 
 
 The only private property destroyed by the 
 order of an officer in the Cumberland Valley was 
 the extensive iron works of Hon. Thaddeus Ste- 
 vens, ten miles east of Chambersburg. They 
 consisted of a large charcoal furnace, forge, roll- 
 ing-mill, coal-house, shops, &c. On Tuesday, 
 the 23d, a portion of Jenkins' cavalry came upon 
 the works by an unfrequented mountain road 
 from Hughes' works, and demanded the horses, 
 and especially the two riding horses, which they 
 described. They threatened that they would de- 
 stroy the buildings if the horses were not given 
 up. Mr. Sweene)', Avho had charge of the works, 
 agreed to deliver up the riding horses if the prop- 
 erty should be protected. This they agreed to ; 
 but on going for the riding horses, they met the 
 teamsters, and compelled them to produce all the 
 horses and mules, nearly forty in all, with gears, 
 harness, &c. They had evidently been minutely 
 informed of the whereabouts of Mr. Stevens' 
 horses, as they described them, and knew exactly 
 where to go after them. The day after, General 
 Early rode up to the works, accompanied by his 
 staff', and avowed his intention to destroy them. 
 Mr. SAveeney reminded him that he Avould inflict 
 a much more serious injury upon some hundred 
 poor laborers Avho worked there than upon Mr. 
 Stevens. General Early replied that Mr. Stevens 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 525 
 
 ■was " an enemy of the South, in favor of confis- 
 cating their property, and arming their negroes, 
 and the property must be destroyed." He then 
 placed a guard around it, and gave special in- 
 structions that it should not be destroyed until 
 he gave the order. He seemed exceedingly 
 fearKil that he might miss the delightful spec- 
 tacle of Mr. Stevens' works in flames. He 
 then returned to Greenwood, where he had his 
 headquarters, but returned the next day, and per- 
 sonally detailed Colonel French, of Jenkins' guer- 
 rillas, with his command, to illustrate Southern 
 chivalry and humanity by applying the torch to 
 the private property of Mr. Stevens because he 
 was guUty of the crime of defending the Repub- 
 lic. The work of destruction was well done, and 
 soon all the works were in ashes. The houses oc- 
 cupied by families were not fired. Some three 
 thousand dollars worth of charcoal was destroyed, 
 seven thousand pounds of bacon stolen, leaving 
 the families of the laborers without food, in spite 
 of the earnest representations made by Mr. Swee- 
 ney as to their necessitous condition. 
 
 When the rebel horde first entered the State, 
 flushed with the hope of easy victories on the 
 field, and boundless plunder in Harrisburg, Phil- 
 adelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, they would 
 yell insolently at every man or woman they met : 
 •' Well, Yank, how far to Harrisburg ? " " How 
 far to Baltimore ? " "What's the charge at the 
 Continental ? " " How do you like our return to 
 the Union ? " " Which is the way to Washing- 
 ton ? " " How do you like Lincoln's Devils ? " 
 These and similar inquiries were made with a de- 
 gree of arrogance and confidence that clearly be- 
 tokened their expectations to see, as conquerors, 
 all the cities named during their stay. When, 
 however, their shattered and bleeding columns 
 commenced their retreat on Saturday, after bat- 
 tle, there was but one inquiry made, alike by ofii- 
 cers and men : ■*' Hoio far to the Potomac ? " 
 " Hoio far to the Potomac^" And thus their 
 broken, decimated ranks straggled along the 
 mountain passes, grasping for the last hope left 
 them — the Potomac ! 
 
 The only engagement, beyond the skirmishing 
 of scouts in the Cumberland Valley, was at Car- 
 lisle. General Lee had recalled his troops from 
 York, Carlisle, and other points north, to join 
 him at Gettysburg. General Fitzhugh Lee, with 
 his division of cavalry, had crossed from Hano- 
 ver Station to join General Rhodes at Carlisle; 
 but when he reached that point, he found General 
 Smith in the town Avith several thousand Union 
 troops. Lee was evidently disconcerted ; and in 
 order to lead General Smith to suppose that he 
 had purposely advanced to engage him, and thus 
 enable him to make his escape should Smith's 
 force be very large, he at once demanded an im- 
 mediate surrender of the town. This General 
 Smith emphatically refused ; and when a second 
 demand for his surrender was sent him, he noti- 
 fied Lee that he would receive no more such com- 
 munications from him. Twenty minutes were 
 generously allowed by the son of the rebel Com- 
 mander-in-Chief for women and children to get 
 
 out of the town. Of course but few got away, 
 as it Avas after night, and the chivaLric Lee opened 
 his guns upon the town. He threw nearly two 
 hundred shells, most of which did not explode, 
 and but little damage was done. Several houses 
 were penetrated, but none of the citizens were in- 
 jured. Lee then retreated to witness his father's 
 Waterloo at Gettysburg. — Franklin Repository. 
 
 THE SONG OF THE CAMPS. 
 
 BY J. R. M. 
 
 Far away in the piny woods, 
 
 Where the dews fall heavy and damp, 
 
 A soldier sat by the smouldering fire, 
 And sang the song of the camp. 
 
 " It is not to be weary and worn. 
 
 It is not to feel hunger and thirst, 
 It is not the forced march, nor the terrible fight, 
 
 That seems to the soldier the worst ; 
 
 " But to sit through the comfortless hours, — 
 The lonely, dull hours that will come, — 
 
 With his head in his hands, and his eyes on the fire, 
 And his thoughts on visions of home ; 
 
 " To wonder how fares it with those 
 Who mingled so late with his life, — 
 
 Is it well with ray little children three ? 
 Is it well with my sickly wife ? 
 
 " This night-air is chill, to be sure. 
 
 But logs lie in plenty around ; 
 How is it with them where wood is so dear, 
 
 And the cash for it hard to be found ? 
 
 " O, that north air cuts bitterly keen. 
 And the ground is hard as a stone ; 
 
 It would comfort me just to know that they sit 
 By a tire as warm as my own. 
 
 " And have they enough to eat ? 
 
 May lads are growing boys. 
 And my girl is a little tender thing. 
 
 With her mother's smile and voice, 
 
 " My wife she should have her tea, 
 
 Or maybe a sup of beer ; 
 It went to my heart to look on her face, 
 
 So white, with a smile and a tear. 
 
 " Her form it is weak and thin, — 
 
 She would gladly work if she could, — 
 
 But how can a woman have daily strength 
 Who wants for daily food ? 
 
 " My oldest boy he can cut wood. 
 
 And Johnny can carry it in ; 
 But then, how frozen their feet must be 
 
 If their shoes are worn and thin ! 
 
 " I hope they don't cry with the cold — 
 Are there tears in my little girl's eyes ? 
 
 O God ! say i^eace ! to these choking fears, 
 These fears in my heart that rise. 
 
 «' Many rich folks are round them, I know, 
 And their hearts are not hard nor cold ; 
 
 They would give to my wife if they only knew, 
 And my little one three years old. 
 
526 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " They would go, like God's angels fair, 
 
 And enter the lowly door, 
 And make the sorrowful glad with gifts 
 
 From their abundant store. 
 
 " In this blessed Christmas-time, 
 
 When the great gift came to men, 
 They would show, by their gentle and generous 
 
 deeds, 
 How He cometh in hearts again. 
 
 " And my sickly, patient wife, 
 
 And my little children three. 
 Would be kindly warmed and fed and clothed 
 
 As part of Christ's family. 
 
 " Well, I leave it all with God, 
 
 For my sight is short and dim ; 
 He cares for the falling sparrow ; 
 
 My dear ones are safe with Him." 
 
 So the soldier watched through the night, 
 Through the dew-fall, heavy and damp ; 
 
 And as he sat by the smouldering fire. 
 He sang the song of the camp. 
 
 How "Pat" entrapped an Officer. — The 
 Confederate pickets had stationed themselves on 
 the road from AVarrington, Virginia, through New 
 Baltimore, a mile or two beyond the latter point. 
 Seeing a mounted soldier approaching from be- 
 low, they supposed him to be an enemy, and sent 
 forward one of their number, an Irish boy, newly 
 recruited, to blarney him within reach. Patrick 
 sauntered along on his mission, and when met by 
 the Federal soldier was asked to what service he 
 belonged. " And it's Mister Linkin, sure," an- 
 swered Pat, " for it's a good Union boy I am." 
 The other responded that he was the same. 
 " Come wid me, then," says Pat, " and PU take ye 
 to the camp and show you to the boys, and ye 
 shall have something to eat." On they moved, till 
 the Federalist came near enough to see the home- 
 spun uniform of one of our men. This opened 
 his eyes. He stopped, and said he had forgotten 
 his pipe, and would go back for it. " Niver mind 
 the pipe, man," said Pat ; " sure and we'll give you 
 a pipe." The Yankee, however, insisted that he 
 must go back, and started to execute his pur- 
 pose. " You are my prisoner ! " said Pat, " and if 
 you move a foot I'll kill ye ! " The Yankee, how- 
 ever, resolved to take the chances of running the 
 blockade, and had already gained some rods, when 
 young Ireland fired upon him, killing him in- 
 stantly. On examining the papers upon his per- 
 son, he proved to be a Sergeant of a New York 
 company. Accompanying the Sergeant rode a 
 negro, who also led a third horse. All the horses 
 were secured, but the negro escaped. 
 
 Farragut and his Son. — They were on the 
 Mississippi, and Farragut's fleet was about to pass 
 Port Hudson, which was then held by the Con- 
 federates. Farragut's son, a lad of about twelve, 
 had been importuning his father that he might 
 be sent to West Point, where the military cadets 
 
 are educated. Old Farragut said : " I don't know 
 how that would do ; I am not sure whether you 
 would stand fire." " O, yes, father, I could do 
 that." " Very well, my boy, we'll try ; come up 
 with me here." The Admiral and his son M'ent 
 up together into the maintop ; the old man had 
 himself and the boy lashed to it, and in this way 
 they passed Port Hudson. The boy never flinched, 
 while th% shot and shell were flying past him. 
 " Very well, mv boy, that will do ; you shall go 
 to West Point!" " 
 
 An Incident. — On the evening jn-evious to 
 the battle of Sunday, at Bull Run, two of the 
 Minnesota boys took it into their heads to for- 
 age a little, for amusement as well as eatables. 
 Striking out from their encam.pment into the 
 forest, they followed a narrow road some distance, 
 until, turning a bend, five secession pickets 
 appeared not fifty yards distant. The parties 
 discovered each other simultaneously, and at 
 once levelled their rifles and fired. Two of the 
 Confederates fell dead, and one of the Minneso- 
 tians, the other also falling, however, but with the 
 design of trapping the other three, who at once came 
 up, as they said, to " examine the d — d Yankees." 
 Drawing his revolver, the Minnesotian found he 
 had but two barrels loaded, and Avith these he 
 shot two of the pickets. Springing to his feet, and 
 snatching his sabre bayonet from his rifle, he 
 lunged at the survivor, who proved to be a stal- 
 wart Lieutenant, armed only with a heavy sword. 
 The superior skill of the Southerner Avas taxed 
 to the utmost in parrying the vigorous thrusts 
 and lunges of the brawny lumberman, and for 
 several minutes the contest waged in silence, 
 broken only by the rustle of the long grass by 
 the roadside, and the clash of their Aveapons. 
 Feigning fatigue, the Minnesotian fell back a few 
 steps, and as his adversary closed upon him Avith 
 a cat-like spring, he let his sabre come down on 
 the head of his antagonist, and the game Avas up. 
 Collecting the arms of the secessionists, he re- 
 turned to the camp, where he obtained assistance, 
 and buried the bodies of his companions and his 
 foes in one grave. 
 
 Picture of Robert E. Lee — " General Lee is, 
 almost Avithout exception, the handsomest man of 
 his age I ever saw," says an English Avriter, who 
 passed some time with him in the field. " He is 
 fifty- six years old, tall, broad-shouldered, ^-ery 
 Avell made, Avell set up — a thorough soldier in 
 appearance ; and his manners are most courteous, 
 and full of dignity. He is a perfect gentleman 
 in every respect. I imagine no man has so few 
 enemies, or is so universally esteemed. Througli- 
 out the South, all agree in pronouncing him to 
 be as near perfection as a man can be. He has 
 none of the small vices, such as smoking, drink- 
 ing, cheAving, or SAvearing ; and his bitterest ene- 
 my never accused him of any of the greater ones. 
 He generally wears a well-Avorn long gray jacket, 
 a high black felt hat, and blue trousers tucked 
 into his Wellington boots. I never saAv him 
 carry arms, and the only mark of his military 
 
AKECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 527 
 
 rank are the three stars on his collar. He rides 
 a handsome horse, which is extremely well 
 groomed. He himself is very neat in his dress 
 and person, and in the most arduous marches he 
 always looks smart and clean. 
 
 " In the old army he was always considered one 
 of its best oificers, and at the outbreak of these 
 troubles he was Lieutenant-Colonel of the Second 
 cavalry. He was a rich man, but his fine estate 
 was one of the first to fall into the enemy's hands. 
 I believe he has not slept in a house since he has 
 commanded the Virginian army, and he invariably 
 declines all offers of hospitality, for fear the per- 
 son ofi'ering it may afterwards get into trouble 
 for having sheltered the rebel General. The rela- 
 tions between him and Longstreet are quite 
 touching. They are almost always together. 
 Longstreet's corps complain of this sometimes, 
 as, they say, they seldom get a chance of detached 
 service, which falls to the lot of Ewell. It is 
 impossible to please Longstreet more than by 
 praising Lee. I believe these two Generalsto be 
 as little ambitious, and as thoroughly unselfish, as 
 any men in the world. Both long for a success- 
 ful termination of the war, in order that they 
 may retire into obscurity. Stonewall Jackson 
 (until his death the third in command of their army) 
 was just such another simple-minded servant of 
 his countrj'. It is understood that General Lee 
 is a religious man, though not as demonstrative 
 in that respect as Jackson ; and, unlike his late 
 brother in arms, he is a member of the Church 
 of England. His only faults, so far as I can learn, 
 arise fcom his excessive amiability." 
 
 MARCfflNG ALONG. 
 
 BY WILLIAM B. BRADBURY. 
 
 The army is gathering from near and from far ; 
 The trumpet is soimding the call for the war ; 
 For Grant is our leader — he's gallant and strong ; 
 We'll gird on our armor and be marchmg along ! 
 
 Marching along, we are marching along, 
 Gird on the armor and be marching along ; 
 For Grant is our leader — he's gallant and strong ; 
 For God and our country we arc marching along ! 
 
 The foe is before us in battle array, 
 But let us not waver, nor turn from the way ! 
 The Lord is our strength, and the Union's our song ; 
 With courage and faith we arc marching along ! 
 Marching along, &c. 
 
 Our Avives and our children we leave in your care ; 
 We feel you will help them with sorrow to bear ; 
 'Tis hard" thus to part, but we hope 'twon't be long ; 
 We'll keep up our hearts as we're marching along ! 
 ilarching along, &c. 
 
 We sigh for our country — we mourn for our dead ! 
 For them, now, our last drop of blood we will shed ! 
 Our cause is the right one — our foe's is the wrong ; 
 Then gladly we'll sing as we're marching along. 
 Marching along, &c. 
 
 The flag of our country is floating on high; 
 We'll stand by that flag till we conquer or die ! 
 For Grant is our leader — he's gallant and strong 
 We'll gird on our armor and be marching along ! 
 ilarching along, &c. 
 
 Incident of Pkairie Grove. — The following 
 is related by Lieutenant William S. Brooks, of 
 the Nineteenth Iowa regiment : " The fight was 
 most determined, and the slaughter immense. I 
 was struck at four o'clock P. M., while we were 
 being driven back from a too far advanced 
 position. We were outflanked, and had to run 
 three hundred yards over open ground, and ex- 
 posed to a murderous fire from the right, left, 
 and centre, or rear. Here we lost our Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel McFarlaiid. We lost one half our 
 regiment, and in company D more than half our 
 effective men. I was hit at the commencement 
 of the retreat, and was near being captured, as I 
 could not run. When more than half way to our 
 battery, our color-sergeant fell, and I received the 
 colors. The pursuing rebel Colonel shouted: 
 ' Blast them, take their colors ! ' This enraged 
 me, and I hallooed back, ' You can't do it.' The 
 cowardly scoundrels did not dare to close on me, 
 but let go a volley, which left nine holes in the 
 flag, and eighteen in my clothes. Four bullets 
 passed through the cuff of my sliirt sleeve, but 
 they could not M'ound the hand that held tl:ie 
 'Old Flag.'" 
 
 A Southern Anecdote. — An English officer, 
 who passed some time with the army of General 
 Lee, writes the following, in the pages of Black- 
 wood : 
 
 " As we were riding back to Hagerstown, we 
 fell in with Colonel Wickham, who commands a 
 brigade of Stuart's cavalry, in connection with 
 whom the following story Avas told me : — 
 
 " It will be remembered that Virginia was one 
 of the last States to secede, and did not do so 
 until she had exhausted every eflbrt to effect a 
 compromise ; and when she did so, the few 
 Southern States that were still hesitating followed 
 her example, and the war became inevitable. 
 
 "Matters were coming to a crisis, when the 
 leading men of Virginia sent a deputation of three 
 of their number to wait on the President, Mr. 
 Lincoln. They tried to impress him with a sense 
 of the gravity of the situation, and urgently en- 
 treated that he would do something to calm the 
 excitement amongst the people, whose irritation 
 at the threats of the Administration, and of the 
 Northern States, was getting beyond control. 
 
 " It was just after the taking of Fort Sumter, 
 and Lincoln's having called out seventy-five 
 thousand men to coerce the South. 
 
 " ' But what would you have me do ? ' said Mr. 
 Lincoln. 
 
 " ' Mr. President,' replied one of the deputation, 
 'I would beg you to lend me your finger and 
 thumb for five minutes ' — meaning, of course, 
 that he wished to write something that should 
 allay the prevailing excitement. 
 
528 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 "But Mr. Lincoln did not choose to under- 
 stand him. ' I\Iy finger and thumb ! ' he repeated, 
 ' My finger and thumb ! What -would you do 
 with them ? Blow your nose ? ' 
 
 " The deputation retired in disgust, and Vir- 
 ginia seceded!" 
 
 Camp Jewelry. — " ' Jewelry,' you think and 
 wonder, and perhaps it may be worth an explana- 
 tion," says B. F. Taylor, in one of his inimitable 
 letters from the army of the Cumberland. " The 
 Tennessee and Stone Rivers are strewn with 
 shells of rare beauty and exquisite coloring ; 
 blue, green, pink, and pure, clear pearl. If you 
 look in any boy's knapsack you will be quite 
 sure to find a shell in it. Of these queer, broken, 
 little chests of former life, the soldiers make rings, 
 pins, hearts, arrows, chains, crosses ; and to see 
 the rough tools they use, and then note the ele- 
 gance of form and finish in the things they make, 
 would set the means and the results incredibly 
 apart. With a flat stone for a polishing table, 
 they grind down the shells, and then with knife 
 and file shape little fancies that would not be 
 out of place on a jeweller's velvet, and beautiful 
 souvenii-s of fields of battle. Every ring and 
 heart has a bit of a story the maker is not reluc- 
 tant to tell. This little touch of fine arts gives to 
 camps a pleasant, home-like look ; and I have 
 seen many a soldier putting the final polish to a 
 pearl trinket by the light of his inch of candle 
 flaring from a bayonet, as earnest over his work 
 as if the shell possessed the charm of Aladdin's 
 lamp, and rubbing it would summon spirits po- 
 tent if not gray." 
 
 A Soldier's Adventure. — William M. Heck- 
 er, a soldier belonging to one of the Indiana regi- 
 ments, gives the following account of his adven- 
 tures in returning from the expedition to Grenada, 
 Mississippi, which destroyed such an immense 
 quantity of Southern railroad stock, from which 
 will be gathered a better understanding of what 
 the soldiers had often to endure in service of which 
 no mention is ever made, than from the elaborate 
 lamentations of elegant writers. After the dash 
 upon Grenada, and the destruction of the railroad 
 track, he, with seventeen other men, under Lieu- 
 tenant Shaddock, was sent out to gather up 
 mules. Here his adventures begin, and he thus 
 tells them : 
 
 " We gathered up a lot of mules, and when we 
 got back to the road we were four hours behind 
 the column, with about two hundred rebels be- 
 tween us. We had arrived to within six miles 
 of Cold Water Springs before we knew of this. 
 Here the rebels had a skirmish with the rear of 
 our advance column, and we took a side road, 
 intending to go around them and cross the 
 river at another place. When we reached there, 
 however, the bridge had been burned, the river 
 was full of snags, very deep, and about five rods 
 wide, with a few rebels on each side to guard it. 
 We did not ofl'er to hurt them ; neither did they 
 propose to molest us. I swam my horse across 
 
 could not get their horses across, and called to 
 me to help them. Charles Keatch and myself 
 stripped ofi" and ' went in,' and all the horses but 
 one were soon over, and the men crossed on logs, 
 about fifteen yards below. I swam back after 
 the horse still remaining, but it would not come. 
 As I was returning, about one hundred rebels 
 charged up the other side, and fired at the boys 
 on the side I was going to. They didn't see me 
 until I attempted to climb up the bank. They 
 then began yelling at a desperate rate, and fired 
 twenty or thirty shots at me, the balls striking 
 all around. I was an excellent mark for them. 
 I got upon the bank, but could not get to my 
 clothing or arms. I, however, saw a rifle lying 
 near, and picked it up, and ran back about two 
 rods, and stopped. The other bojs had taken 
 cover behind trees, and the Lieutenant ordered 
 me to do the same. I told him I would not do 
 it until I got my clothes ; but the rebel bullets 
 came so thick and fast that I was glad to get out 
 of the way the best I could. I fired three good 
 shots at them. Some of them went up and others 
 down the river, until they got into such shape as 
 to cross-fire on us. I Avas only about three steps 
 from Hardu when he was shot in the breast. I 
 started to go to him, but the balls came so thick 
 I couldn't. 
 
 " The rest of the boys had got back about 
 twenty rods by this time, and called to me to 
 come in ; so I shouldered my rifle and followed, 
 and ran about a mile before I stopped. Here we 
 were fired into, and ran another mile, and hid in 
 some canebrakes, Keatch and I being stark naked. 
 I left my horse and all my equipments, my arms, 
 consisting of a five-shooting revolving rifle and a 
 Colt's revolver, every bit of my clothing and big 
 boots. One of the boys loaned me a pair of 
 drawers, and another a blouse, and I tied a hand- 
 kerchief over my head. We lay until dark, and 
 then took a northerly course, directed by the 
 stars. We ran within a quarter of a mile of a 
 rebel camp, and had to back out ; went through 
 the woods, over blufi"s, s>vamps, brier patches, 
 and of all the times you ever heard of, this beat 
 them. One time we got to a blufi" where it was 
 about twenty-five feet perpendicularly down. We 
 let ourselves over by the grubs, and travelled 
 nearly all night in the woods. About an hour 
 before day we got within four miles of Hernando, 
 having travelled eight miles, and lay down till 
 daylight. There were now only ten of us to- 
 gether ; some had anus, and some hadii't. 
 
 " After daylight the Lieutenant and I went out 
 to find a road, so as to get the right start. We 
 got separated from the rest of the boys, and, after 
 hunting about an hour, gave up. We then lay 
 down again (it was foggy). Then we took a due 
 north course through the woods, and travelled 
 until noon, when we became so weak that we 
 could hardly go farther, as we had not eaten 
 anything since the morning before. The Lieu- 
 tenant here lay in the bushes, and I went up to 
 an old log house, and told the old man there that 
 I had been taken prisoner by the Yankees at 
 
 fii-st, being the best swimmer. Many of the boys | Grenada, and had escaped from them the night 
 
I 
 
 
 Gex. jos_ e. johxstow 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 52& 
 
 before. He took pity on me, and a good meal 
 was i}rovided, which I ate with a good deal of 
 satisfaction. I had a long talk with him, and 
 cursed the Yankees up and down at a great rate. 
 I was furnished with a quantity of food to eat on 
 the road, which I gave to the Lieutenant, and 
 also a hat to keep the sun from burning me. 
 Boots and shoes he Avas mLnus of. We kept in 
 the swamps all day. 
 
 " About sundown we arrived within eighteen 
 miles of Germantown, and were entirely ' used 
 up.' We stopped at the house of a half-way 
 Union man, and got supper, and revived so as 
 to go on eight miles farther. Here we gave out 
 entirely, and lay down and rested until morning, 
 and then started, and went M'ithin two miles of 
 camp, and I gave out again. The Lieutenant 
 made out to get in, and sent men and a horse 
 out after me. I reached there a little before 
 noon, my feet swollen nearly as big as half 
 bushels, and all cut to pieces. I was so sore 
 the next morning that I couldn't stir, but felt 
 well every other way. 
 
 " The boys had all given us up, and, when I 
 went in, said I was the hardest looking sight they 
 ever beheld. They did everything they could for 
 my comfort. Some c^f the boys said they were 
 so glad of our safe arrival, they did not know 
 whether to laugh or cry." 
 
 NEW ORLEANS WON BACK. 
 
 A LAY FOR OUR SAILORS. 
 BY KOBEET LOWELL. 
 
 [The opening words of the burden are a scrap of an old 
 song caught up.] 
 
 Catch. O, up in the morning, up in the morning, 
 Up in the morning early ! 
 There lay the town that our guns looked 
 down, 
 With its streets all dark and surly. 
 
 God made three youths to walk unscathed 
 
 In the furnace seven times hot ; 
 And when smoky flames our squadron bathed, 
 
 Amid horrors of shell and shot, 
 Then, too, it was God that brought them through 
 
 That death-crowded thoroughfare : 
 So now, at six bells, the church pennons flew, 
 
 And the crews went all to prayer. 
 Thank God ! thank God ! our men won the fight. 
 
 Against forts, and fleets, and flame : 
 Thank God ! they have given our flag its right, 
 In a town that brought it shame. 
 
 O, up in the morning, up in the morning, 
 
 Up in the morning early ! 
 Our flag hung there, in the fresh, still air. 
 With smoke floating soft and curly. 
 
 Ten days for the deep ships at the bar ; 
 
 Six days for the mortar-fleet. 
 That battered the great forts from afar ; 
 
 And then, to that deadly street ! 
 A flash ! Our strong ships snapped the boom 
 
 To the fire-rafts and the forts, 
 34 
 
 To crush and crash, and flash and gloom, 
 
 And iron beaks fumbling their ports. 
 From the dark came the raft, in flame and smoke ; 
 
 In the dark came the iron beak ; 
 But our sailors' hearts were stouter than oak, 
 And the false foe's iron Aveak. 
 
 O, up in the morning, up in the morning. 
 
 Up in the morning early ! 
 Before they knew, they had burst safe 
 through. 
 And left the forts grim and burly. 
 
 Though it be brute's work, not man's, to tear 
 
 Live limbs like shivered wood, 
 Yet, to dare, and to stand, and to take death for 
 share, 
 Are as much as the angels could. 
 Our men towed the blazing rafts ashore ; 
 
 They battered the great rams down ; 
 Scarce a wreck floated Avhere was a fleet before, 
 
 When our ships came up to the town. 
 There were miles of batteries yet to be dared. 
 
 But they quenched these all, as in play ; 
 Then with their yards squared, their guns' mouths 
 bared, 
 They held the great town at bay. 
 
 O, up in the morning, up in the morning, 
 
 Up in the morning early ! 
 Our stout ships came through shell, shot, 
 and flame. 
 But the town will not always be surly ; 
 
 For this Crescent City takes to its breast 
 
 The Father of Waters' tide ; 
 And here shall the wealth of our world, in the 
 West, 
 Meet wealth of the world beside : 
 Here the date-palm and the olive find 
 
 A near and equal sun ; 
 And a hundred broad, deep rivers wind 
 
 To the summer-sea in one : 
 Here the Fall steals all old Winter's ice, 
 
 And the Spring steals all his snow ; 
 While he but smiles at their artifice, 
 And like his own nature go. 
 
 O, up in the morning, up in the morning, 
 
 Up in the morning early ! 
 May that flag float here till the earth's last 
 year, 
 AVith the lake mists fair and pearly. 
 
 Letters from Home. — Occupation is a 
 grand thing, and quite as important to the tone 
 and heart of an army as hard bread and bacon. 
 The monster against which Dr. Kane fought so 
 successfully in the Arctic night, with theatre and 
 frolic, wanders listlessly up and down our camps. 
 Would you believe — and yet it is true — that 
 many a "poor fellow in this army of the _ Cum- 
 berland has literally died to go home ; d\eA of 
 the terrible, unsatisfied longing, homesickness? 
 that it lies at the heart of many a disease bearing 
 a learned name? It is languor, debility, lo\v 
 fever, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, death ; and 
 yet, through all, it is only that sad thing they call 
 Nostalgia. Who shall dare to say that the boy 
 who " lays him down and dies," a-hungered and 
 starving for home, does not fall as well and truly 
 
530 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 for his country's sake as if a rebel bullet had found 
 his heart out ? Against it the Surgeon combats 
 in vain, for " M'ho can minister to a mind dis- 
 eased ? " 
 
 The loved ones at home have something to an- 
 swer for in this business, and it pains me to think 
 that more than one man has let his life slip out 
 of a grasp too weak to hold it, just because his 
 dearest friends did not send him a prescription 
 once a week — price three cents — a letter from 
 home. Is some poor fellow sinking at heart be- 
 cause you do not write him ? If there is, lay my 
 letter down at once and write your own, and may 
 He who sent a messenger all the way from 
 Heaven to earth with glad tidings, forgive you 
 for deferring a hope to some soldier boy. You 
 would not wonder at my warmth had you seen 
 that boy waiting and waiting, as I have, for one 
 little word from somebody. Too proud to own, 
 and yet too sincere to quite conceal it, he tries to 
 strangle the thought of home, and goes into the 
 battle, whence he never comes forth. Let me 
 relate one incident. An Indiana soldier was 
 struck in the breast at Chickamauga and fell. 
 The bullet's errand was about done when it 
 reached him ; it pierced coat and underclothing, 
 and there was force enough left in it to wound, 
 if not to kill him ; it had to work its way through 
 a precious package of nine letters, indited by one 
 dear heart, and traced by one dear hand ; that 
 done, the bullet's power expended, there it lay 
 asleep against the soldier's breast ! Have you 
 been making such a shield, dear lady, for any- 
 body ? Take care that it does not lack one letter 
 of being bullet-proof. — B. F. Taylor. 
 
 Incidents of Chickamauga. — Colonel John 
 T. Wilder, of Indiana, who participated in the 
 battle of Chickamauga, relates these incidents : 
 " There was fearful slaughter of Longstreet's men 
 at the time they were driving back the left wing 
 of the nationals. This celebrated corps, as des- 
 perate soldiers as ever lived, attacking two divis- 
 ions. Van Cleve's and Davis', to the right and a 
 little in front of Wilder, separated them and 
 pushed on through the open space, yelping — the 
 rebel shout is a yelp, instead of a civilized hur- 
 rah — and confident of victory. A portion of 
 them had to cross a small field, behind which, in 
 the bordering woods. Wilder lay, and through 
 which ran a ditch five or six feet deep, to carry 
 off" the water of an adjacent stream or swamp. 
 
 " As the rebels entered this field, in heavy 
 masses, fully exposed, the mounted infantry, with 
 their seven-shooting rifles, kejit up a continuous 
 blast of fire upon them, while Lilly, with his In- 
 diana battery, hurled through them double-shot- 
 ted canister from his ten-pounder rifles, at less 
 than five hundred yards. The eft'cct was awful. 
 Every shot seemed to tell. The head of the 
 column, as it was pushed on by those behind, ap- 
 peared to melt away, or sink into the earth, for 
 though continually moving it got no nearer. It 
 broke at last, and fell back in great disorder. It 
 was rallied and came on again, and with a des- 
 perate resolution pushed through the solid fire to 
 
 the ditch. Here all who could get in took shel- 
 ter. Instantly Lilly wheeled two of his guns and 
 poured right down the whole length of the ditch 
 his horrible double canister. Hardly a man got 
 out of it alive. ' At this point,' said Wilder, ' it ac- 
 tually seemed a pity to kill them so. They fell 
 in heaps, and I had it in my heart to order the 
 firing to cease, to end the awful sight.' But 
 the merciless seven-shooters and canister would 
 not stop, and again the boasted flower of Lee's 
 army was crushed into a disorderly mob and 
 driven off". 
 
 " When the firing ceased, one could have walked 
 for two hundred yards down that ditch on dead 
 rebels, without ever touching the ground." 
 
 Army Discipline. — A soldier of the Second 
 regiment of Rhode Island, writing from Brandy 
 Station, Virginia, says : " Military discipline, 
 though neither novel nor intei'esting in the army, 
 would present many scenes and incidents of cu- 
 rious interest to the uninitiated. Let us take a 
 short Avalk through the regimental guard-houses 
 of this brigade. At the first, which is that of the 
 Second Rhode Island, we see one with his knap- 
 sack strapped on his back, and a stick of wood 
 weighing, say forty pounds, on his shoulder. 
 With these he walks a beat of twenty paces for 
 ten hours. Crime, absent from duty without 
 leave and without reasonable excuse. Another 
 walks a similar beat, with knapsack and musket. 
 He was corporal of guard, but was reduced to the 
 position of private, and sentenced to walk his 
 beat twelve hours, for sending a private to post 
 his guard while he slept. We pass to another 
 guard-house. Here we find a man bucked and 
 gagged. Crime, drunkenness. The operation 
 consists of putting a stick in the mouth, with a 
 string passed from each end around the back of 
 the head. The bucking process consists of tying 
 the hands together securely, placing them over 
 the knees, and running a stick through under the 
 knees and over the arms. Still another has his 
 hands tied together and fastened as far up a tree 
 as he can conveniently reach. He also is gagged. 
 These have three hours on, and one off" for twelve 
 hours. We pass to a thii-d guard-house. Here 
 is one who has skulked from dut}'. He has a 
 large pile of stone to move some twenty feet, a 
 task many times as arduous as the fatigue duty 
 he shirked. Near by is a grave fresh dug and 
 rounded up, with a head sticking out at one end. 
 At his head stands a board prepared and marked 
 in large letters : 
 
 HERE LIES 
 THE BODY OF 
 
 GEORGE MARS, 
 
 WHO FELL 
 
 DEAD (DRUNK) 
 
 Nov. nth, 1863. 
 
 " Doubtless the good friends at home would 
 think this severe, but it is deemed necessary for 
 the discipline of the army, by military command- 
 ers at least." 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 531 
 
 The Fight at Port Hudson. — A citizen of 
 New Orleans, -who was on board the Richmond 
 when she attempted, with the rest of Farragut's 
 fleet, to pass the batteries at Port Hudson, fur- 
 nishes the following interesting account of the 
 fight: 
 
 "A minute after, ^2:2; went a rocket from the 
 opposite (west) bank of the river, and shot away 
 up into the air, while another seemed to rush 
 across the river. It was a signal that we were 
 discovered ; and in a few moments a sudden flash 
 appeared on the dark shore, a little ahead of us, 
 and bang went the first gun. Then another and 
 another, in quick succession. It was now just 
 twenty-two minutes past eleven. 
 
 "All at once the Hartford revealed herself just 
 ahead of us, a flood of flame leaping from her side, 
 and a great cloud of white smoke rolling up, fol- 
 lowed by a roar like the loudest and sharpest 
 thunder, which went rolling and echoing down 
 the river. From that time her broadsides con- 
 tinued in quick succession. The mortar schoon- 
 ers, too, opened from their station below — a sul- 
 len bellow, and then a shooting star traversing 
 the sky in a vast curve, and dropping on the bluff 
 with a loud explosion. 
 
 " All was quiet and silent with us ; but now 
 shot and shell began to whiz overhead; and it 
 was plain that we, too, Avere aimed at in the rapid 
 fire of the enemy. Mr. Cummings said, with a 
 firm, quiet voice, 'Point your guns two points 
 forward of the beam ; aim at every flash, and give 
 them grape and canister as fast as you can. Fire 
 coolly, and don't hurry. Now, give them the bow 
 guns. Now, the whole broadside.' The blaze, 
 and concussion, and crash of this last were terrific. 
 It took me some minutes to comprehend that our 
 fire, which was most startling to eye and ear, was 
 friendly, and to enjoy and exult in it. 
 
 *' The real teiTors were those swift flashes on 
 the shore, and the missiles that went crashing and 
 hissing over and around us. The fii'st effective 
 shot that I saw was a shell, which burst in the 
 side near me, and set it on fii'e ; but this was soon 
 extinguished. A twenty-pounder Parrott shot 
 had, however, already entered near the after gun, 
 worked by marines, killed two men, and knocked 
 down, though Avith slight injuries, some twelve 
 men — in fact, demolished a whole gun's crew. 
 Showers of splinters from the rigging fell all 
 over us. Our tremendous fire, however, seemed 
 to silence the lower batteries, until our own smoke 
 enwrapped the ship so that we could not see half 
 its length, and had to cease firing to let the smoke 
 clear away, for fear we should go ashore. This 
 was done several times. 
 
 " Meanwhile we were slowly ranging up, within 
 a hundred yards of the batteries (some think less), 
 as I could plainly see by the flashes, and also by 
 fires which the enemy had kindled on the bluff. 
 The Hartford, revealed at times by her blazing 
 guns ; the ships following, pouring in their fire ; the 
 rapid and deadly fire from the shore ; the cool- 
 ness and yet ardor of all our people, oflScers and 
 men, — all this is more than I can describe. At 
 this time I went, at the Captain's request, to carry 
 
 the word from Mr. Terry (second Lieutenant), 
 who, with heroic coolness and great skill, was on 
 the lookout forward, to the men at the wheel. 
 Two or three minutes after I left there, a round 
 shot took off Mr. Cummings' left leg, just above 
 the ankle, knocking him off the bridge to the 
 deck, and he was carried below. Captain Alden 
 was also thrown down, but not hurt. 
 
 " We were now abreast of the upper batterv, 
 and nearly 'jmst Port Hudson.' I called out, 
 ' There is the low land above the bluff,' as I caught 
 a glimpse of it, from the forecastle, by the flash 
 of a gun. We were just heading around to turn 
 the point, and go up the other reach out of fire, 
 when a loud and sharp ' sh-h-h-h ' was heard 
 amidships, and a cloud of steam came pouring out 
 of the steam-pipe, and up from the engine-room. 
 The sight and sound of this evidently guided the 
 enemy's fire, for it was concentrated upon us, and 
 with redoubled rapidity. We were evidently also 
 no longer making progress against the mighty 
 current which sweeps around there, and were 
 therefore a stationaiy target, within short musket 
 range of their biggest guns. Besides, we could 
 scarcely hear or see anything on the deck for the 
 steam. A moment more, and we might have 
 di'ifted ashore, and been torn to pieces by shot 
 and shell ; surrender, I am satisfied, we never 
 should have done. 
 
 " ' Starboard ! ' shouted Captain Alden, and we 
 went about rapidly; and with the steerage-way 
 which the Genesee was able to give us, we went 
 swiftly down, passing all the batteries, under this 
 terrific fii'e, and brought up at our old anchorage 
 ground. The last I saw of the Hartford was by 
 one of her own illuminations, as she sailed rap- 
 idly up the reach above Port Hudson, looking as 
 stanch and stately as ever, from her water-line 
 to her trucks, and with her cloak of battle-smoke 
 thrown around her fighting side. 
 
 "It was only after we were disabled that I 
 learned of Mr. Cummings' misfortune, and then 
 from Captain Alden, who was greatly affected by 
 it, more even than by his great disappointment. 
 At his request I went below to see Mr. Cummings. 
 and to carry him a most affectionate message. 
 The mangled hero, awaiting amputation, asked 
 me what we were doing ; and when I told him 
 we were nearly out of danger, having been dis- 
 abled in our steam and compelled to drop back, 
 he uttered a cry of disappointment. 'O,' said 
 he, ' I would have given my other leg to have 
 gone by.' A noble tar lying there, terribly 
 wounded, and who died soon after, said, 'Mr. 
 Cummings, don't give up the ship.' ' No, How- 
 ard,' said he, ' we won't give up the ship.' All 
 the officers and men were greatly grieved at Mr. 
 Cummings' wound. 
 
 " We had hardly let go the anchor when a light 
 began to show above, increasing rapidly. We 
 feared it was one of om- consort ships, all of which 
 we had hoped had passed up successfully. Con- 
 jectures were divided between the flag-ship, the 
 Monongahela, and the Mississippi. Soon after a 
 boat's crew of the Mississippi came on board, and 
 reported her hopelessly aground and abandoned. 
 
532 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 We still feared that the fire might be on another 
 ship. But soon the flames got such headway that 
 they. revealed the form of that stanch and valiant 
 old ship ; and we also learned that the Mononga- 
 hela had returned to her anchorage, while the 
 flag-ship was doubtless safe above. After a while 
 the Mississippi swung off, headed down stream, 
 and sailed right towards us, blazing to the top of 
 her masts, a glorious but mournful and even ter- 
 rible sight, for we could not get out of her way. 
 She soon, however, sheered off to our port, and 
 swept down past, firing oft' her port guns only a 
 little before she passed us ; and so, amid ex- 
 ploding shells, she passed down the river out 
 of sight, and blew up, away below, about five 
 o'clock. 
 
 " It was half past one when we let go our an- 
 chor, so that we had been nearly two hours under 
 fire ; and it was some time before any one could 
 compose himself to sleep, though I did get some 
 three hours' rest. The next morning was de- 
 voted to cleaning up the soiled and blood-stained 
 decks, taking care of the wounded, receiving our 
 unlucky comrades of the Mississippi, a noble set 
 of officers and men, with the heroic Captain Smith 
 at their head, all worthy to be the shipmates of 
 the ' Richmonds ' (I could not say more), prepar- 
 ing the deck for burial, and writing home. A 
 heavy rain delayed some of these things. 
 
 " The next morning (Monday), having sent off 
 to the city our guests of the Mississippi, with Mr. 
 Cummings (whose valuable life seemed about to 
 be spared to us, to his family, to his country), the 
 crew was mustered at nine. Captain Alden made 
 a pithy speech to them of praise for their cool- 
 ness, bravery, and fidelity, and then prayers were 
 offered by the acting Chaplain, and thanksgiving 
 for our deliverance. It was a most solemn and 
 beautiful termination to these transactions. The 
 dead being buried with all solemnity, repairs were 
 at once commenced, and by the next day we 
 had steam up, and were * ready for any ordinary 
 . seryice.' " 
 
 REBEL ATTEMPT TO TAKE A TRAIN, 
 AND HOW IT CAME OUT.* 
 
 BT DANIEL D. STEEL, COMPANY G, SEVENTY-EIGHTH 
 NEW Y'ORK STATE VETERAN VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 Attention to these verses, 
 
 And I will tell no lies : 
 'Tis how the rebels came to take 
 
 The Yankees by surprise. 
 They came with empty haversacks, 
 
 A victory for to gain ; 
 They said they would chaw our rations 
 
 When they took our wagon train. 
 
 * About midnight of October 28, 1863, the rebels 
 came off from Lookout Mountain into Lookout Valley, 
 at "VVauhatchie, Tennessee, to capture the Eleventh 
 corps supply train ; but, to their mortification and 
 chagrin, it proved to be a part of the White Star 
 division (Second division, Twelfth corps), who gave 
 them a sound thrashing, and they fled back, helter- 
 skelter, in dismay, into their lines, with considera- 
 ble loss. 
 
 They came so close upon us, 
 
 So slyly they did creep, 
 They thought they had surely caught 
 
 The Yankee boys asleep. 
 They fired in upon us ; 
 
 They don't deny this tale ; 
 But when they saw the " White Star," 
 
 Their appetites did fail. 
 
 They said they never saw the like 
 
 Since ever they were born ; 
 Before they would fight the White Star, 
 
 They would g(j and live on corn. 
 Away they went on double-quick, 
 
 Saying, " If we come again, 
 We will take our rations with us, 
 
 For fear we will miss the train." 
 
 It was on the road these graybacks 
 
 Their comrades they did meet ; 
 Some wanted Yankee hard tack. 
 
 While others wanted meat. 
 The Yankees would not give it up, 
 
 As sure as we are born ; 
 Methinks we heard the General say, 
 
 AVe would have to live upon corn. 
 
 Had we have known what we know now, 
 
 We would never went so far ; 
 We never thought the Yankee train 
 
 Was guarded by the Star. 
 Where is the rest of our boys ? 
 
 Why did they not come back ? 
 They were taken sick upon the field. 
 
 By receiving Y'ankee tack. 
 
 Now Geary says, " If that's their game, 
 
 We'll go and drive them back ; 
 We'U go and take their wagon train. 
 
 And dine upon rebel tack. 
 We'll charge up Lookout Mountain, boys, 
 
 Where they have made a stand to fight ; 
 We'll take them when they are wide awake, 
 
 And not go at night. 
 
 On November, the twenty-fourth, 
 
 General Geary took in hand 
 To drive them off the mountain, 
 
 Where they have made a stand. 
 He took with him a little force. 
 
 Advanced upon the hill ; 
 Said he, " My boys, we'll go and see 
 
 How Hardee likes his drill." 
 
 They looked upon our little force, 
 
 As it was drawing nigh ; 
 They said, "I wonder if the Yanks 
 
 Are coming up to die ? " 
 They then got in their breastworks. 
 
 They said they would have some fun ; 
 For up the mountain they were sure 
 
 The Yankees could not come. 
 
 They laid there in their breastworks, 
 
 But little did they fear, 
 Until they saw the White Star 
 
 Advancing m their rear ; 
 It came so close upon them, 
 
 It glittered like the gold. 
 Which sent a terror to their hearts, 
 
 And made their blood run cold. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 533 
 
 " Our breastworks are not made aright," 
 
 The Johnny Rebs did cry ; 
 While on every side they heard the word, 
 
 ♦' Surrender, Rebs, or die ! " 
 They left their shoes and stockings, 
 
 Through bushes they did creep, 
 While stones and briers plenty 
 
 Came in contact with their feet. 
 
 On Missionary Ridge they got, 
 
 Determined not to run ; 
 The Stars followed after them, 
 
 And captured all their guns. 
 Now Johnny Rebs, they felt so bad. 
 
 They knew not what to do ; 
 They turned around to look for Bragg, 
 
 But he had skedaddled too. 
 
 Now Johnny Rebs have gone so far. 
 
 We cannot see their flag ; 
 Jeff Davis says he'll have revenge, 
 
 And lays it all to Bragg. 
 But when he comes he'll find the Star ; 
 
 We'll meet him hand to hand, 
 Determined they will not be whipped 
 
 By any such a man. 
 
 Here's health to brave General Geary, boys, 
 
 Likewise to General Green ; 
 Success to the Veteran Volunteers, 
 
 And Colonel Hamerstine. 
 We have showed the R.ebs a Yankee trick, 
 
 And will do the same again 
 When they come to catch us Yanks asleep. 
 
 And take our wagon train. 
 
 One of a Hundred. — A rural conscript ap- 
 peared before a Board of Enrolment, and desired 
 to be exempted forthwith, that he might return 
 to his country home. " What are your claims ? " 
 demanded the Doctor. " Fm entirely dependent 
 upon my mother for support" was the innocent 
 reply. Whereupon, thus the Doctor, while a smile 
 faintly illumined the face of the Board : " I am 
 happy to assure you, my honest-hearted friend, 
 that the government is prepared at once to re- 
 lieve your mother of so unsuitable a burden, and 
 assume your entire charge and expense during 
 the next three years, without the slightest re- 
 course to the maternal fount for support or suc- 
 cor." The young draftee appeared a little bewil- 
 dered, and referred to the papers to ascertain 
 what was the matter. 
 
 An Affectionate Horse. — Many instances 
 have been given by travellers of the affection 
 shown by the Arabian horses towards their mas- 
 ters ; and so much, also, has been written to 
 prove their sagacity, as to make one believe, at 
 times, that they must be endowed with an instinct 
 which approaches nearly, if not quite, to the rea- 
 soning faculty of a human being. We very much 
 doubt if among the feats narrated of the horses 
 of the East any can be found that exceeds in af- 
 fectionate devotion the following incident, which 
 was told by the soldier to whom it occurred. 
 
 The narrator, a young Irishman, like many 
 others of his nation, joined, shortly after his ar- 
 rival in America, Sheridan's brigade. It was in 
 one of those forced marches when they had driven 
 back the enemy, and had been in the saddle sev- 
 eral consecutive days and nights, that this trooper 
 availed himself of a temporary halt to slip from 
 his saddle and stretch himself upon the turf — 
 his horse, meanwhile, browsing in the immediate 
 vicinity. He had slept for some little time, when 
 he was suddenly awakened by the frantic pawing 
 of his horse at his side. Fatigued by his long 
 ride, he did not rouse at once, but lay in that 
 partially conscious state which so frequently at- 
 tends great physical prostration. Soon, however, 
 the faithful animal, perceiving that its efforts had 
 failed to accomplish their object, licked his face, 
 and placing its mouth close to his ear, uttered a 
 loud snort. Now thoroughly awake, he sprang 
 up, and as the horse turned for him to mount, he 
 saw, for the first time, that his comrades had all 
 disappeared, and that the enemy were coming 
 down upon him at full gallop. Once mounted, 
 the faithful beast bore him with the speed of the 
 wind safely from the danger, and soon placed 
 him among his companions. " Thus," he added, 
 with emotion, " the noble fellow saved me from 
 captivity, and perhaps from death." 
 
 Story of the " Albemarle." — On the night 
 of the 27th of October, 1864, a small steam 
 launch left Albemarle Sound, on the coast of 
 North Carolina, and entered the mouth of the 
 Roanoke River. 
 
 So small that she looked more like a yawl than 
 a war vessel, and with no signs of armament, 
 there was nothing about her to excite suspicion 
 or to awaken hope. Yet she had been prepared 
 and fitted up, manned by a picked crew of vol- 
 unteers, and furnished with a terrible engine of 
 destruction, for the sole purpose of fighting ^nd 
 sinking the most formidable war-vessel, after the 
 Merrimac, that rebel skill had been able to launch 
 upon the Southern waters. 
 
 The Albemarle had come out from the recesses 
 of Roanoke River in April, and for six months 
 had been the champion of the Southern waters, 
 and the terror of the North Carolina squadron. 
 
 TAvice she had fought long pitched battles with 
 some of the best war-vessels in the United States 
 navy, and had come out almost unscathed from a 
 fierce storm of hundred pound Parrotts, nine- 
 inch solid shot, percussion shell, shrapnel, and all 
 the formidable enginery of modern naval war- 
 fare. 
 
 Torpedoes had been sunk for her, and men had 
 swum the river at midnight in the hope of bring- 
 ing some secret and sufficiently destructive agent 
 to bear upon her mailed sides. But she had so 
 far escaped all open attacks, and all secret tor- 
 pedo plots. 
 
 The little steam launch that was now stealing 
 up to attack the iron-clad giant was commanded 
 by Lieutenant Cushing, an ofiicer who brought to 
 naval adventure the headlong dash of the play- 
 
534 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ground, combined with the coolness and skill of 
 an admiral. 
 
 Of an age and appearance that seemed to in- 
 dicate an enthusiast in boat-racing, rather than 
 in fighting iron-clads, he had associated liis name 
 with some of the most brilliant exploits, and the 
 most fearless and dashing adventures of the war. 
 
 Having on previous occasions gained the ad- 
 miration of the department by his daring and 
 adventurous heroism, he had been selected to 
 command this picket-boat, and use her in apply- 
 ing to the Albemarle a torpedo of extraordinary 
 power, which had been invented by chief engi- 
 neer W. W. Wood, and whose arrangements and 
 aijplication were suggested by Rear- Admiral Greg- 
 ory and his able assistants. During the summer 
 of 1864, the gallant young officer had gone on to 
 New York. Admiral Gregory had explained and 
 illustrated the best manner of conducting this 
 novel but formidable mode of attack, but the 
 details had been left wholly to Lieutenant 
 Gushing. 
 
 No service could be more fraught with danger. 
 One discharge from the Whitworth guns of the 
 Albemarle would shatter and pierce the little 
 picket-boat, as certainly as a minie ball shot at an 
 egg-shell. And the torpedo was an invention 
 whose recoil might prove as fatal to the vessel 
 which carried it as to that to which it Avas to be 
 applied. 
 
 The distance from the mouth of the river to 
 where the ram was moored was about eight miles. 
 The stream was on an average two hundred yards 
 wide, and lined with the enemy's pickets. 
 
 The launch succeeded in passing the pickets, 
 and even the wreck of the Southfield, within 
 twenty yards, without discovery, and the Lieu- 
 tenant was not challenged till within hail of the 
 lookout on the Albemarle. 
 
 One of the Shamrock's cutters, which he had 
 in tow, was then cast off by Lieutenant Gushing, 
 and ordered back down the river, while under a 
 full head of steam he made directly for the 
 enemy. 
 
 The rebels sprang their rattles, rang the bell, 
 and commenced firing. The light of a fire burn- 
 ing on the shore showed the iron-clad made fast 
 to the wharf, with a j)en of logs around her about 
 thirty feet from her side. 
 
 Passing close by hei-, the launch made a com- 
 plete circle, and turning so as to strike her fairly, 
 went into her, bows on. By this time the enemy's 
 fire was very severe ; but. the Lieutenant returned 
 it vigorously with grape. An instant more, and 
 the launch had struck against the logs of the 
 stockade, behind which her enemy Mas ensconced, 
 breasting them in some feet, and her bows rest- 
 ing on them. A storm of bullets now swept the 
 decks of the launch. Three pierced the clothing 
 of Lieutenant Gushing, and one struck Frank 
 Swan, an officer of the Otsego, who Avas standing 
 close beside the commander, wounding him se- 
 verely, and rendering his escape impossible. 
 
 Now, or not at all, must the torpedo be ap- 
 plied. The boom to which it was attached was 
 lowered, and by a vigorous pull the deadly engine 
 
 was swung under the overhang of the ram, and 
 brought close beneath her mailed side. 
 
 Simultaneously with its explosion came a 
 crashing bolt from one of the big guns of the 
 Albemarle. An immense wave from the bursting 
 of the torpedo came surging over the little launch, 
 and in an instant she was filled with water and 
 wholly disabled. 
 
 The enemy continued their fire at fifteen feet 
 range, and twice demanded surrender. This was 
 refused, and Gushing ordered his men to save 
 themselves as best they could, while he, throw- 
 ing off his coat and shoes, sprang overboard. 
 
 Frank Swan was too much hurt to follow him, 
 and soon became a prisoner in the hands of the 
 enemy. 
 
 Most of the party, of thirteen officers and men, 
 were captured ; some were drowned, and only 
 one besides the Lieutenant made his escape. 
 Gushing swam ashore, crept exhausted into the 
 swamp, and the next day succeeded in capturing 
 a skiff" from the rebel pickets, in which he made 
 his way to the Valley City. 
 
 On the 30th he commenced his report to Ad- 
 miral Porter, with this proud sentence : " Sir, I 
 have the honor to report that the rebel iron-clad 
 Albemarle is at the bottom of the Roanoke River." 
 
 Reminiscences of President Lincoln. — A 
 correspondent, writing from Springfield, gives the 
 following incidents in the early career of Mr. 
 Lincoln, obtained from his law partner, Mr. Hern- 
 don : 
 
 " Mr. Lincoln came to Sangamon Gounty in 
 183L He cut the timber for a canoe at the 
 mouth of Spring Greek, on which he floated down 
 to Sangamon town, seven miles north-west of 
 Springfield. In April of that year he went to 
 New Orleans on a flat-boat, and returned the fol- 
 lowing August. He was at this time fine and 
 noble-looking, Aveighed two hundred and ten 
 pounds, was six feet three or four inches in 
 height, and of florid complexion. Going to the 
 town of New Salem, the judges of election being 
 minus one clerk, and impressed with the good 
 appearance of the young man, chose him as the 
 clerk of election. 
 
 " Mr. Herndon said that Mr. Lincoln approached 
 more nearly the angelic nature than any person 
 he ever saw, women not excepted. He had, he 
 said, more of the angel-looking eye and face than 
 he had ever seen. Yet he was not without pas- 
 sions. These in Lincoln were powerful ; but 
 they were held under control by a giant will. 
 He was, said Mr. Herndon, a great animal, but a 
 great angel Avas ingrafted upon it. He had a 
 towering ambition, but that ambition was directed 
 to the attainment of power Avith Avhich to elevate 
 man. 
 
 " He seems to have retained very vivid impres- 
 sions of his mother's virtues, and a tender sense 
 of his obligations to her. Familiarly he once 
 said to his partner, ' Billy, all that I am I owe to 
 my blessed mother.' 
 
 " Because of his transparent honesty, he was 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 535 
 
 taken as a clerk in a store by a man named OfFutt. 
 This OfFutt reposed all confidence in him, and in 
 no point was he deceived. 
 
 " He obtained the name of ' Honest Abe ' as 
 follows : A lady came to pay him fur a dress she 
 had purchasepl of him; and in computing the 
 amount, he made it come to two dollars and thir- 
 ty-seven and a half cents ; whereas it Avas six and 
 a half cents too much. In the evening, after 
 business hours were over, he took the six cents 
 to the woman and corrected the mistake. At 
 another time, a lady came to buy a pound of tea. 
 By mistake a half pound weight was placed in the 
 scale. After Lincoln discovered the error, he 
 closed the store about sunset, and took the half 
 pound of tea with him to the lady. 
 
 " In addition to this business integrity, he was 
 extremely humorous, sociable, and agreeable, be- 
 coming everybody's friend and nobody's enemy. 
 By these qualities people came to know him 
 thoroughly. He was taken into every man's 
 house as one of his own household. From his 
 nature, honesty, purity, &c., people termed him 
 ' Honest Abe.' 
 
 " When he first came to Springfield, he was 
 extremely poor, having not a shilling in his pocket, 
 and with but a very scanty wardrobe. He would 
 stop a while with one, and then with another, go- 
 ing from neighbor to neighbor, all esteeming it a 
 favor to have him in their houses. At that time 
 he had read well and thoroughly everything he 
 had touched, including the Bible and Shakspeare, 
 which were his leading books at the time of his 
 death. He was, said Mr. Herndon, a good bib- 
 lical scholar. When he was tAventy-three years 
 of age, he had read history and biography con- 
 siderably, and he had mastered Burns when he 
 was twenty-five. 
 
 " He never, while engaged in his profession, 
 accumulated much property. He seemed not to 
 have had much care to gather wealth. When he 
 did a service professionally, he would charge 
 accordingly as he estimated the value of the work 
 done, and not according to the standard of other 
 men's fees. If he regarded a service worth a 
 dollar, he charged only that, although other men 
 might charge twenty dollars for doing the same 
 thing. 
 
 " His strict fidelity to principle was illustrated 
 by his partner by the following incident : He said, 
 when Mr. Lincoln collected any money belonging 
 to the firm, he Avould always take half the amount 
 received, and fold up the other half, write upon it 
 the word ' Billy ' (the name he familiarly called 
 his partner), and lay it away in his pocket-book. 
 One time Mr. Herndon said to him : 
 
 " ' Why do you do that ? Why not take the 
 whole of the money, and use it ? ' 
 
 " ' Because,' said Lincoln, ' I promised my 
 mother never to use anybody's money. Should 
 anything happen to me, that money would be 
 known to be yours.' 
 
 " Mr. Herndon took me into the law office 
 where Mr. Lincoln used to sit and toil. It is 
 plain and unpretending. Indeed, everything about 
 the man was indicative of the simplicity of his 
 
 character. And yet, though so transparent and 
 unassuming, he was sagacious. His friend told 
 me that he was a man of profound policy. His 
 neighbor, to whom I have referred, said he was a 
 great thinker — that he was accustomed to think 
 much on the affairs of the nation. Sometimes he 
 would pass his friends on the street without a 
 sign of recognition — lost in his deep musings. 
 Again, as a neighbor approached him, he M'ould 
 cast up his eye, smile, and remark, ' I've been 
 thinking,' and then proceed to unfold the subject 
 of his thoughts. 
 
 " Assassination cast its shadow on the hearts 
 of his friends as early as the Presidential election 
 of 1860. Mr. Herndon told me that himself and 
 two other friends guarded Mr. Lincoln to the polls 
 in Springfield on that day to prevent a stiletto 
 from being aimed at his heart. At length he fell, 
 but not until his great work was done, and he 
 was enthroned among the chiefest of the illus- 
 trious benefactors of humanity." 
 
 A YEAR AGO. 
 
 The grass was wet with glistening dew, 
 
 In the clear blue sky the stars were glowing, 
 
 Mournfully cried the whip-poor-will, 
 Softly the mild south wind was blowing. 
 
 He kissed me once, he kissed me thrice ; 
 
 " Sweet," said my love, " time fast is flowing ; 
 My troopers wait — we will meet again, 
 
 When the perfumed rose of June is blowing." 
 
 Sharply his sabre rang as he rode, 
 In the still night-air loud echoes waking ; 
 
 And oft he turned to wave adieu 
 
 Where I stood with a heart that was well nigh 
 breaking. 
 
 The watch-dog howled and clashed his chain ; 
 
 " Come back," I cried, in terror springing ; — 
 Alas ! I coidd but faintly hear, 
 
 Ear down the road, his horse-hoofs ringing. 
 
 The roses of June are withered and dead — 
 Their shrivelled leaves on his grave are lying ; 
 
 Once more cries sadly the whip-poor-will, 
 And softly the mild south wind is sighing. 
 
 Wolve7-i7ie. 
 
 THE SIEGE OF CINCINNATI. 
 
 BY T. BUCHANAN READ.* 
 
 The live man of the old Revolution, the daring 
 Hotspur of those troublous days, was Anthony 
 Wayne. The living man to-day of the great 
 North-west is Lewis Wallace. With all the chi- 
 vah-ic dash of the stormer of Stony Point, he has 
 a cooler head, with a capacity for larger plans, 
 and the steady nerve to execute whatever he con- 
 ceives. When a difficulty rises in his path, the 
 difficulty, no matter what its proportions, moves 
 aside ; he does not. When a river, like the Ohio 
 at Cincinnati, intervenes between him and his 
 field of operations, there is a sudden sound of 
 
 * Written in January, 1863. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 saws and hammers at sunset, and the next morn- 
 ing beholds the magic spectacle of a great pon- 
 toon-bridge stretching between the shores of 
 Freedom and Slavery, its planks resounding to 
 the heavy tread of almost endless regiments and 
 army wagons. Is a city like CiDcinnati menaced 
 by a hungry foe, striding on by forced marches ? 
 — that foe sees his path suddenly blocked by ten 
 miles of fortifications, thoroughly manned and 
 armed, and he finds it prudent, even with his 
 twenty thousand veterans, to retreat faster than 
 he came, strewing the road with whatever arti- 
 cles impede his haste. Some few incidents in the 
 career of such a man, since he has taken the field, 
 ought not to be uninteresting to those for whom 
 he has fought so bravely ; and we believe his ser- 
 vices, when known, will be appreciated ; other- 
 wise we will come under the old ban against re- 
 publics, that they are ungrateful. 
 
 While returning from New York, at the expi- 
 ration of a short leave of absence, the first asked 
 for since the beginning of the war, General Wal- 
 lace was persuaded by Governor Morton to stump 
 the State of Indiana in favor of voluntary en- 
 listments, which at that time were progressing 
 slowly. Wallace went to work in all earnest- 
 ness. His idea was to obtain command of the 
 new levies, drill them, and take them to the field ; 
 and this idea was circulated throughout the State. 
 The result was, enlisting increased rapidly ; the 
 ardor for it rose shortly into a fever, and has not 
 yet abated. Regiments are still forming, shed- 
 ding additional lustre upon the name of patriotic 
 Indiana. 
 
 General Wallace was thus engaged when the 
 news was received from Morgan of the invasion 
 of Kentucky by Kirby Smith. All eyes turned 
 at once to Governor Morton, many of whose regi- 
 ments were now ready to take the field, if they 
 only had officers to lead them. Wallace came 
 promptly to the Governor's assistance, and of- 
 fered to take command of a regiment for the 
 crisis. His offer was accepted, and he was sent 
 to New Albany, where the Sixty-sixth Indiana 
 was in camp. In twelve hours he mustered it, 
 paid its bounty money, clothed and armed it, and 
 marched it to Louisville. Brigadier-General 
 Boyle was in command of Kentucky. Wallace, 
 who is a Major-General, reported to him at the 
 above-named city, and a peculiar scene occurred. 
 
 " General Boyle," said Wallace, " I report to 
 you the Sixty-sixth Indiana regiment." 
 
 " Who commands it ? " asked the General. 
 
 " I have that honor, sir," was the reply. 
 
 " You want orders, I suppose." 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " It is a difficult matter for me," said Boyle. 
 " I have no right to order you." 
 
 " That difficulty is easily solved," Wallace re- 
 plied, with characteristic promptness. " I come 
 to report to you as a Colonel. I come to take 
 orders as such." 
 
 General Boyle consulted with his Adjutant- 
 General, and the result was a request that Gen- 
 eral Wallace would proceed to Lexington with 
 his command. Here was exhibited the ready. 
 
 self-sacrificing spirit of a true patriot ; he did not 
 stand and wait until he could find the position to 
 which his high rank entitled him, but stepped into 
 the place where he could best and quickest serve 
 his country in her hour of peril. 
 
 While Wallace was still at the railway station, 
 he received an order from General Boyle, putting 
 him in command of all the forces in Lexington. 
 Here was a golden opportunity for our young 
 commander. What higher honor could be cov- 
 eted than to relieve the brave Morgan, pent up 
 as he was with his little army in the mountain 
 gorges of the Cumberland? The idea fired the 
 soul of Wallace, and he pushed on to Lexington. 
 But here he was sadly disappointed. He found 
 the forces waiting there inadequate to the task. 
 Instead of an army, there were only three regi- 
 ments. He telegraphed for more troops. In- 
 diana and Ohio responded promptly and nobly. 
 In three days he received and brigaded nine regi- 
 ments, and started them towards the Gap. 
 
 No one but an experienced soldier, one who 
 has indeed tried it, can conceive of the labor in- 
 volved in such an undertaking. The material in 
 his hands was, to say the best of it, magnificently 
 raw. Officers, from Colonels to Corporals, brave 
 though they might be as lions, knew literally 
 nothing of military affairs. The men had not 
 learned even to load their guns. Companies had 
 to be led, like little children, by the hand, as it 
 were, into their places in line of battle. There 
 was no cavalry, no artillery. It happened, how- 
 ever, that guns, horses, and supplies, intended for 
 Morgan at the Gap, were in depot at Lexing- 
 ton. Then Wallace began to catch a glimpse of 
 dawn through the dark tangle of the wilderness. 
 Some kind of order, prompt and immediate, must 
 be forced out of this chaos ; and it came, for the 
 master spirit was there to arrange and compel. 
 He mounted several hundred men, giving them 
 rifies instead of sabres. He manned new guns, 
 procuring harness and ammunition for them from 
 Louisville. Where there were no caissons, he 
 supplied wagons. But his regiments were not his 
 sole reliance ; he is a believer in rifiemen, a fight- 
 ing class of which Kentucky was full. These he 
 summoned to his assistance, and was met by a 
 ready and hearty response ; they came trooping 
 to him by hundreds. Among others. Garret Da- 
 vis, United States Senator, led a company of 
 Home Guards to Lexington. In this way. Gen- 
 eral Wallace composed, or rather improvised, a 
 little army, and all Avithout help, his staff being 
 absent, mostly in Memphis. 
 
 " Kentucky has not been herself in this war," 
 exclaimed General Wallace ; " she must btr 
 aroused ; and I propose to do it thoroughly." 
 
 "How will you do it? " asked a sceptic. 
 
 " Easily enough, sir. Kentucky has a host of 
 great names. Kentuckians believe in great 
 names. It is to this tune that the traitors 
 have carried them to the field against us. I will 
 take with me to the field all the men living, old 
 and young, who have made those names great. 
 Buckner took the young Crittendens and Clays 5 
 by Heaven, I'll take their fathers ! " 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 537 
 
 " But they can't march." 
 
 " I'll haul them, then." 
 
 " They can be of no service in that way." 
 
 "But the magic of their names!" exclaimed 
 Wallace. " What will the young Iventuckians 
 say, when they hear John J. Crittenden, Leslie 
 Coombs, Robert Breckinridge, Tom Clay, Garrett 
 Davis, Judge Goodloe, and fathers of that kind, 
 are going down to battle with me ? " 
 
 The sceptics held their peace. 
 
 General Wallace now constituted a volunteer 
 staff. Wads worth, M. C. from Maysville dis- 
 trict, was his Adjutant-General. Brand, Gratz, 
 Goodloe, and young Tom Clay were his Aids. 
 Old Tom Clay, John J. Crittenden, Leslie Coombs, 
 Judge Goodloe, Garrett Davis, were all prepared 
 and going, when General Wallace was suddenly 
 relieved of his command by General Nelson. 
 
 Without instituting any comparison between 
 these two Generals, it is enough to say that the 
 supersedure of Wallace by Nelson at that mo- 
 ment was most unfortunate and untimely, as the 
 sequel proved, fraught, as it was, with disas- 
 trous consequences. The circumstances were 
 these : 
 
 Scott's rebel cavalry had whipped Metcalf's 
 regiment of loyalists at Big Hill, some twelve or 
 fifteen miles from Richmond, Kentucky, and fol- 
 lowed to within four mileA of that town, where 
 they were stopped by Lenck's brigade of infantry. 
 The affair was reported to Wallace, with the 
 number and situation of the enemy. He at once 
 took prompt measures to meet the exigence of 
 the situation. He covdd throw Lenck's and Clay's 
 brigades upon the rebel front; the brigade at 
 Nicholasville could take them in flank by cross- 
 ing the Kentucky River at Tait's Ford ; while, 
 by uniting Clay Smith's command with that of 
 Jacob, then en route for Nicholasville, he could 
 plant seventeen hundred cavalry in their rear be- 
 tween Big Hill and Mount Vernon. 
 
 The enemy at this time were at least twenty 
 miles in advance of their supports, and a night's 
 march would have readily placed the several 
 forces mentioned in position to attack them by 
 daylight. This was Wallace's plan — simple, fea- 
 sible, and soldier-like. All his orders were given. 
 A supply train, with extra ammunition and 
 abundant rations, was in line on the road to 
 Richmond. Clay's brigade was drawn up ready 
 to move, and General Wallace's horse was sad- 
 dled. He was writing a last order in reference 
 to the city of Lexington in his absence, and di- 
 recting the ofhcer left in charge to forward regi- 
 ments to him at Richmond as fast as they should 
 arrive, when General Nelson came, and instantly 
 took the command. Fifteen minutes more, and 
 General Wallace would have been on the road to 
 Richmond, to superintend the execution of his 
 plan of attack. The supersedure was, of course, 
 a bitter disappointment ; yet he never grumbled 
 or demurred in the least, but, like a true soldier 
 who knows his duty, offered that evening to serve 
 his successor in any capacity, a generosity which 
 General Nelson declined. The well-conceived 
 plan which Wallace had matured failed for the 
 
 simple reason, that, instead of marching to exe- 
 cute it that night, as common sense would seem 
 to have dictated, Nelson did not leave Lexington 
 until the next day at one o'clock ; and at day- 
 light, when the attack was to have been made, 
 the rebel leader, Scott, discovered his danger, 
 and wisely retreated, finding nobody in his rear. 
 The result was. Nelson went to Richmond, and 
 was defeated. It is possible that the same result 
 might have followed Wallace ; but by those com- 
 petent to judge, it is thought otherwise. 
 
 He had a plan adapted to the troops he was 
 leading, who, although very raw, would have beCn 
 invincible behind breastworks, as American troops 
 have always shown themselves to be. Wallace 
 never intended arraying these inex])erienced men 
 in the open field against the veteran troops of 
 the rebels. Neither did he intend they should 
 dig. He had collected large quantities of in- 
 trenching tools, and Avas rapidly assembling a 
 corps of negroes, nearly five hundred of whom 
 he had already in M'aiting in Morgan's facto- 
 ry, all prepared to follow his column, armed 
 with spades and picks. In Madison County he 
 intended getting at least five hundred more. " I 
 will march," he said, " like Ctesar in Gaul, and 
 intrench my camp every night. If I am attacked 
 at any time in too great numbers, I can drop 
 back to my nearest works, and wait for reen- 
 forcements." Such was his plan ; and those who 
 know him believe firmly that he could have been 
 at Cumberland Gap in time not only to succor 
 our little army there, but to have prevented the 
 destruction and evacuation of that very impor- 
 tant post. 
 
 Wallace, finding himself thus suddenly super- 
 seded, his plans ignored, and his voluntary ser- 
 vices bluffly refused, left Lexington for Cincinnati. 
 While there, the battle of Richmond was fought, 
 the disastrous results of which are still too fresh 
 in the public mind to require repeating. Nelson, 
 who did not arrive upon the field until the day 
 was about lost, and only in time to use his sword 
 against his own men in a fruitless endeavor to 
 rally them, received a flesh wound, and hastened 
 back the same night to Cincinnati, leaving many 
 dead and wounded on the field, and thousands of 
 our brave boys prisoners, to be paroled by the 
 rebels. These are simple matters of record, and 
 are not here set down in any spirit of preju- 
 dice, or to throw a shadow upon the memory 
 of the misguided, unfortunate, but courageous 
 Nelson. 
 
 At this juncture. General Wallace Avas again 
 ordered to Lexington, this time by General 
 Wright, a General whose gentlemanly bearing 
 in all capacities makes him an ornament to the 
 American army. Wallace was ordered thither to 
 resume command of the forces ; but on arriving 
 at Paris, the order was countermanded, and he 
 was sent back to take charge of the city of Cin- 
 cinnati. Shrewdly suspecting that our forces 
 would evacuate Lexington, he hastened to his 
 new post. General AVright was at that time in 
 Louisville. On his way back, Wallace was asked 
 by one of his aids : / 
 
538 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " Do you believe the enemy will come to Cin- 
 cinnati ? " 
 
 " Yes," was the reply. " Kirby Smith will 
 first go to Frankfort. He must have that place, 
 if possible, for the political effect it will have. If 
 he gets it, he will surely come to Cincinnati. He 
 is an idiot if he does not. Here is the material 
 of war, — goods, groceries, salt, supplies, ma- 
 chinery, &c., — enough to re-stock the whole bo- 
 gus Confederacy." 
 
 " What are you going to do ? You have noth- 
 ing to defend the city with." 
 
 " I will show you," was the reply. 
 
 Within the first half hour after his arrival in 
 Cincinnati, General Wallace wrote and sent to 
 the daily papers the following proclamation, which 
 fully and clearly develops his whole plan : 
 
 " PROCLAMATION. 
 
 " The undersigned, by order of ISIajor-General 
 AVright, assumes command of Cincinnati, Coving- 
 ton, and Newport. 
 
 " It is but fair to inform the citizens, that an 
 active, daring, and powerful enemy threatens 
 them with every consequence of war ; yet the 
 cities must be defended, and their inhabitants 
 must assist in the preparation. 
 
 " Patriotism, duty, honor, self-preservation, call 
 them to the labor, and it must be performed 
 equally by all classes. 
 
 " First. All business must be suspended at 
 nine o'clock to-day. Every business house must 
 be closed. 
 
 " Second. Under the direction of the Mayor, 
 the citizens must, within an hour after the sus- 
 pension of business (ten o'clock, A. M.), assem- 
 ble in convenient public places, ready for orders. 
 As soon as possible, they will then be assigned to 
 their work. 
 
 " This labor ought to be that of love, and the 
 undersigned trusts and believes it will be so. 
 Anyhow, it must be done. 
 
 " The willing shall be properly credited ; the 
 unwilling promptly visited. The ])rinciple adopt- 
 ed is : Citizens for the labor, soldiers for the 
 battle. 
 
 " Third. The ferry-boats will cease plying the 
 river after four o'clock A, M-., until further or- 
 ders. 
 
 " Martial law is hereby proclaimed in the three 
 cities ; but until they can be relieved by the mili- 
 tary, the injunctions of this proclamation will be 
 executed by the police. 
 
 " Leavis Wallace, 
 " Major-General commanding." 
 
 Could anything be bolder, and more to the 
 purpose? It placed Cincinnati under martial 
 law. It totally suspended business, and sent every 
 citizen, without distinction, to the ranks or into 
 the trenches. " Citizens for labor, soldiers for 
 battle," was the principle underlying the whole 
 plan — a motto by which he reached every able- 
 bodied man in the metropolis, and united the en- 
 ergies of forty thousand people — a motto origi- 
 nal with himself, and for which he should have 
 the credit. 
 
 Imagine the astonishment that seized the citj', i , 
 when, in the morning, this bold proclamation was i 
 read — a city unused to the din of war and its 
 impediments. As yet there was no word of an 
 advance of the enemy in the direction of Cincin- 
 nati. It was a question whether they would 
 come or not. Thousands did not believe in the 
 impending danger; yet the proclamation was 
 obeyed to the letter, and this, too, when there 
 was not a regiment to enforce it. The secret is 
 easy of comprehension ; it was the universal con- 
 fidence reposed in the man who issued the order ; 
 and he was equally confident, not only in his own 
 judgment, but in the people with whom he had 
 to deal. 
 
 " If the enemy should not come after all this 
 fuss," said one of the General's friends, " you 
 will be ruined," 
 
 " Very well," he replied ; " but they will come. 
 And if they do not, it will be because this same 
 fuss has caused them to think better of it." 
 
 The ten days ensuing will be forever memora- 
 ble in the annals of the city of Cincinnati. The 
 cheerful alacrity with which the people rose en 
 masse to swell the ranks and crowd into the 
 trenches was a sight worth seeing, and being 
 seen, could not readily be forgotten. 
 
 Here were the representatives of all nations 
 and classes. The sturdy German, the lithe and 
 gay-hearted Irishman, went shoulder to shoulder 
 in defence of their adopted country. The man 
 of money, the man of law, the merchant, the 
 artist, and the artisan, swelled the lines hasten- 
 ing to the scene of action, armed either with 
 musket, pick, or spade. Added to these was 
 seen Dickson's long and dusky brigade of colored 
 men, cheerfully wending their way to labor on 
 the fortifications, evidently holding it their espe- 
 cial right to put whatever impediments they could 
 in the northward path of those whom they con- 
 sidered their own peculiar foe. But the pleasant- 
 est and most picturesque sight of those remarka- 
 ble days was the almost endless stream of sturdy 
 men who rushed to the rescue from the rural dis- 
 tricts of the State. These were known as the 
 " Squirrel Hunters." They came in files number- 
 ing thousands upon thousands, in all kinds of 
 costumes, and armed with all kinds of fire-arms, 
 but chiefly the deadly rifle, which they knew so 
 well how to use. Old men, middle-aged men, 
 young men, and often mere boys, like the " min- 
 ute-men" of the old Revolution, they left the 
 plough in the furrow, the flail on the half-threshed 
 sheaves, the unfinished iron upon the anvil — in 
 short, dropped all their peculiar avocations, and 
 with their leathern pouches full of bullets, and 
 their ox-horns full of powder, poured into the 
 city by every highway and by-way in such num- 
 bers that it seemed as if the Avhole State of Ohio 
 were peopled only with hunters, and that the 
 spirit of Daniel Boone stood upon the hills op- 
 posite the town beckoning them into Kentucky. 
 The pontoon bridge, which had been begun and 
 completed between sundown and sundown, 
 groaned day and night with the ])erpctiial stream 
 of life all setting southward. In tliice days there 
 Avere ten miles of intrenchments lining the hiUs, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 539 
 
 making a semicircle from the river above the 
 city to the banks of the river below ; and these 
 were thickly manned from end to end, and 
 made terrible to the astonished enemy by black 
 and frowning cannon. General Heath, with his 
 twenty thousand rebel veterans, flushed with 
 their late success at Richmond, drew up before 
 these formidable preparations, and deemed it 
 prudent to take the matter into serious consider- 
 ation before making the attack. 
 
 Our men were eagerly awaiting their approach, 
 thousands in rifle pits, and tens of thousands 
 along the Avhole line of the fortifications, while 
 our scouts and pickets Avere sl^rmishing with 
 their outposts in the plains in front. Should the 
 foe make a sudden dash, and carry any point of 
 our lines, it was thought by some that nothing 
 would prevent them from entering Cincinnati. 
 
 But for this, also, provision was made. The 
 river about the city, above and below, was well 
 protected by a flotilla of gunboats, improvised 
 from the swarm of steamers which lay at the 
 wharves. A storm of shot and shell, such as 
 they had not dreamed of, would have played upon 
 their advancing column, while our regiments, 
 pouring down from the fortifications, would have 
 fallen upon their rear. The shrewd leaders of 
 the rebel army were probably kept well posted 
 by traitors within our own lines in regard to the 
 reception prepared for them, and, taking advan- 
 tage of the darkness of night, and the violence 
 of a thunder-storm, made a hasty and ruinous 
 retreat. Wallace was anxious to follow them, 
 and was confident of success, but was overruled 
 by those higher in authority. 
 
 The address which he now published to the 
 citizens of Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport, 
 was manly and well-deserved. He says : 
 
 "For the present, at least, the enemy has 
 fallen back, and your cities are safe. It is the 
 time for acknowledgments. I beg leave to make 
 you mine. When I assumed command, there was 
 nothing to defend you with, except a few haU- 
 finished works and some dismounted guns ; yet I 
 was confident. The energies of a great city are 
 boundless ; they have only to be aroused, united, 
 and directed. You were appealed to. The an- 
 swer will never be forgotten. Paris may have 
 seen something like it in her revolutionary days, 
 but the cities of America never did. Be proud 
 that you have given them an example so splen- 
 did. The most commercial of people, you sub- 
 mitted to a total suspension of business, and 
 without a murmur adopted my principle, ' Citi- 
 zens for labor, soldiers for battle.' In coming 
 time, strangers, viewing the works on the hills of 
 Newport and Covington, will ask, 'Who built 
 these intrenchments ? ' You can answer, ' We 
 built them.' If they ask, ' Who guarded them ? ' 
 you can reply, ' We helped in thousands.' If 
 they inquii-e the result, your answer will be, ' The 
 enemy came and looked at them, and stole away 
 in the night.' You have won much honor. Keep 
 your organization ready to win more. Hereafter 
 be always prepared to defend yourselves. 
 
 " Lewis Wallace, Major-General." 
 
 It can safely be claimed for our young Gen- 
 eral, that he was the moving spirit which inspired 
 and directed the people, and thereby saved Cin- 
 cinnati and the surrounding cities, and, in the 
 very face of Heath and his victorious hordes 
 from Pdchmond, organized a new and formida- 
 ble army. That the citizens fully indorsed this, 
 was well exemplified on the occasion of his lead- 
 ing back into the metropolis a number of her vol- 
 unteer regiments when the danger was over. 
 They lined the streets, crowded the doors and 
 windows, and filled the air with shouts of ap- 
 plause in honor of the great work he had done. 
 
 In writing this notice of Wallace and the 
 siege, we have had no intention to overlook the 
 services of his co-laborers, especially those ren- 
 dered to the AVest by the gallant Wright, who 
 holds command of the department. The writer 
 has attempted to give what came directly under 
 his own observation, and what he believes to be 
 the core of the matter, and consequently most 
 interesting to the public. 
 
 CAPTAIN SEMMES, C. S. A. N. 
 
 June 19, 1864. 
 
 Out of Cherbourg harbor, one clear 
 Sunday morning, the cavalier, 
 Captain Semmes, with his cap a-cock, 
 Sailed from the friendly Frenchman's dock. 
 Gayly along the rebel came. 
 Under the flag of the cross of shame ; 
 Knight of the handcuff and bloody lash, 
 He twirled the point of his red mustache, 
 And swore, in English not over nice, 
 To sink our Yankee scum in a trice, 
 Or burn our ship, as the thing might be, 
 Where the eyes of Cherbourg all should see. 
 
 '< Heigh-ho ! you don't say so ! " 
 Whispered his friend, little Jean Crapeau. 
 
 Semmes has been a wolf of the deep 
 
 For many a day to harmless sheep ; 
 
 Ships he scuttled, and robbed, and burned, 
 
 Watches pilfered, and pockets turned ; 
 
 And all his plunder, bonds, and gold, 
 
 He left for his Gallic friend to hold. 
 
 A little over-prudent was be, 
 
 For a cavalier of high degree ; 
 
 And Raphael Semmes don't sound, indeed, 
 
 As if it came of the purple seed ; 
 
 But all the blood in his veins was blue, 
 
 And his clay was porcelain through and through. 
 
 Heigh-ho ! the Lord doth know 
 We are but dirt, and our blood's so-so. 
 
 What will the doughty Captain do 
 With his British ship, his British crew, 
 His gunners, trained in the <' Excellent," 
 The guns his cousin Blakeley sent, 
 His shot and shell at Woolwich made, — 
 What will he do with the whole parade ? 
 Up to the top of his cliffs Crapeau 
 Had clambered to see the Sunday show ; 
 And his brother Bull, in his fancy yacht, 
 Stood off and on towards the fated spot ; 
 And right across the bold Captain's way 
 The Kearsarge steamed in her war array. 
 
 " Heigh-ho ! " said Semmes. " Let's blow 
 That craft to splinters before we go." 
 
540 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Semmes had heard, with his lip a-curl. 
 
 In Cherbourg, that some Northern churl, 
 
 Backed by a gang of onion-eaters. 
 
 Waited the noble negro-beaters. 
 
 Shop-keeping, peddling, vulgar knaves, 
 
 To stick their heads into open graves ! 
 
 " 'Sdeath ! 'Swounds! 'Ods bodikins ! Ha ! what 
 
 then ? 
 Will they dare to fight with gentlemen ? 
 O, had I my lance, and shield, and things, 
 With which I tilted at Sulphur Springs ! 
 Or a troop of horse marines ! Of course, 
 A knight is nothing without his horse." 
 
 Hcigh-ho ! this seemed to show 
 Our hero's spirits were running low. 
 
 Straight out to sea the Kearsarge drew. 
 
 And Semmes, who followed all that flew, 
 
 Followed, perhaps by some mistake. 
 
 Close in his foeman's frothing wake ; 
 
 But when three leagues were gained from shore, 
 
 Slowly and grimly the Yankee wore ; 
 
 And our starry ensign leaped above. 
 
 Round which the wind, like a fluttering dove, 
 
 Cooed low, and the sunshine of God's day 
 
 Like an open blessing on it lay ; 
 
 So we felt our friendless ship would fight 
 
 Full under the great Disposer's sight. 
 
 ^Heigh-ho ! 'tis well to know 
 Wno looks on the deeds done here below. 
 
 Semmes led the waltz, and struck the tune : 
 
 Shots at the sea and at the moon 
 
 The swashing, wasteful cavalier 
 
 Scattered around him, far and near. 
 
 The saving Yankees squandered not 
 
 An ounce of powder or pound of shot. 
 
 They held their peace till the guns would tell, 
 
 Then out they burst like the mouths of hell. 
 
 Terrible, horrible ! how they tore 
 
 The Alabama, until the gore 
 
 From her bursting scuppers smoked and streamed. 
 
 The dying groaned, and the wounded screamed. 
 
 " Heigh-ho ! " said Semmes ; "let's show 
 The Yankees the heels we boast of so." 
 
 Seven times in that deadly round 
 Sped the ships to the cannon's sound. 
 The vulture, through the smoke and din, 
 Saw the eagle's circles narrowing in ; 
 And every time her pivots roared 
 The fatal bomb-shells came straight aboard. 
 His helm was useless, his engine failed. 
 His powder was wet, his Britons quailed ; 
 And in his course, like a warning hand. 
 Stretched forth the flag of his outraged land. 
 In vain he hoisted his sails to flee ; 
 For each foot he sailed, his foe sailed three. 
 
 Heigh-ho ! " Why, here's a blow," 
 Said Semmes, as he hauled his flag below. 
 
 Well was it for the cavalier. 
 
 That brother Bull was lying near. 
 
 His vessel with a haughty curl 
 
 Turned up her nose, and in the whirl 
 
 Of the white sea, stern foremost, tore 
 
 As if in scorn of the crew she bore. 
 
 Then the thrifty Briton laimched his boat, 
 
 To pick up aught that might be afloat. 
 
 And, amongst other less precious spoil. 
 
 Fished swordless Semmes from his watery coil ! 
 
 " Hide me ! " the gallant cried in affright ; 
 " Cover me up from the Yankee's sight." 
 
 Heigh-ho ! they laid him low. 
 With a bit of sail to hide his woe. 
 
 Safely they bore the chief aboard. 
 Leaving behind his fame and sword ; 
 And then the Deerhound stole away. 
 Lest Winslow's guns might have 3^ say ; 
 Landed him in Southampton town, 
 AVhcre heroes like him have hand renown, 
 Ever since Lawrence, Perry, and Hull, 
 Took hold of the horns of great John Bull. 
 Had I been Winslow, I say to you. 
 As the sea is green, the sky is blue. 
 Through the Deerhound I'd have sent a shot, 
 And John might have liked the thing or not ! 
 
 Heigh-ho ! come soon or slow. 
 In the end we are bound to have a blow. 
 
 What said the Frenchman from his hill, 
 
 After the cannon shots were still ? 
 
 What said the Briton from his deck, 
 
 Gazing down on the sunken wreck ? 
 
 Something was said of guns like mortars, 
 
 And something of smooth-bores at close quarters 
 
 Chain armor furnished a word or two. 
 
 But the end of all was, both looked blue. 
 
 They sighed again o'er the " Great Contention," 
 
 But never hinted at "Intervention." 
 
 One thing they wished, which they dared not say- 
 
 " If the fight had but gone the other way ! 
 
 Heigh-ho ! I told you so ! 
 O, Semmes was a sorry fool to go ! " 
 
 George II. Boker. 
 
 Brave Officers make a Brave Army. — A 
 correspondent, writing of the battle of Chicka- 
 mauga, says : " The rebel forces from the East 
 fought with a gallantry allied to desperation, and 
 I do not wonder that our boys were proud to say, 
 when asked to whom they were opposed, * Long- 
 street's men.' The rebel fashion of coming out to 
 battle is peculiar. Had you seen them streaming 
 out of the woods, in long, gray lines, into the open 
 field, you could have likened them to nothing bet- 
 ter than to streams of turbid water pouring through 
 a sieve. And writing of valor, let me say that 
 the difiference among regiments consists not more 
 in the material of the rank and file than it does in 
 the coolness, judgment, and bravery of the officers, 
 and the faith the soldiers repose in them. That 
 faith has a magic in it that tones men up, and 
 makes more and nobler of them than there was 
 before. It is the principle recognized by the 
 great Frederick when he addressed his General — 
 ' I send you against the enemy with sixty thou- 
 sand men.' ' But, sire,' said the officer, ' there are 
 only fifty thousand.' ' Ah, I counted you as ten 
 thousand,' was the monarch's wise and quick re- 
 ply. I have a splendid illustration of this in an 
 incident which occurred on the Sunday at Chick- 
 amauga. It was near four o'clock on that blazing 
 afternoon, when a part of General Steedman's 
 division of the Reserve corps bowed their heads 
 to the hurtling storm of lead, as if it had been 
 rain, and betrayed signs of breaking. The line 
 
ANECDOTES, POETllY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 541 
 
 wavered like a great flag in a breath of wind. 
 They were as splendid material as ever shouldered 
 a musket ; but then what could they do in such a 
 blinding tempest ! General Steedman rode up — 
 a great, hearty man, broad-breasted, broad-shoul- 
 dered, a face written all over with sturdy sense 
 and stout courage ; no lady's man, to make bou- 
 quets for snowy fingers, and sing, ' Meet me by 
 moonlight alone,' like some Generals I could name, 
 but realizing the ideal of ray boyhood, Avhen I 
 read of the stout old Morgan of the Kevolution. 
 Well, up rode Steedman, took the flag from the 
 color-bearer, glanced along the wavering front, 
 and with that voice of his that could talk against 
 a small rattle of musketry, cried out, ' Go back, 
 boys, go back ; but the flag can't go with you,' — 
 grasped the stafi", Avheeled his horse, and rode on. 
 Must I tell you that the column closed up, and 
 grew firm, and moved resistlessly on like a great 
 strong river, and swept down upon the foe, and 
 made a record that shall live when their graves 
 are as empty as the cave of Machpelah ? They 
 were, in a sense nobler than Shakspeare's, they 
 Tvere tliemselves again." 
 
 A New KNiGur of the Garter. — Wliile 
 the Seventh regiment of New York was passing 
 through Philadelphia, a fine old Quaker lady, ob- 
 serving that one of the band was in a state of 
 great embarrassment for the lack pf a string with 
 which to secure the mouth of his bag of provis- 
 ions, observed quietly, " Friend, I would not give 
 thee an implement of war, but thee shall have a 
 string to preserve thy food." Then she turned 
 partly away for an instant, and stooped down, to 
 tie her shoe, apparently ; but when she rose up 
 she handed to the blushing blower of brass a neat 
 green band, that a moment before had been doing 
 duty as a — a — a — well, garter. 
 
 Force of Habit. — A Captain, who had been 
 a railroad conductor before the war, was drilling 
 a squad, and while marching them by flank, turned 
 to speak to a friend for a moment. On looking 
 again towards his squad, he saw they were in the 
 act of "butting up " against a fence. In his hur- 
 ry to halt them, he cried out, "Down brakes! 
 Down brakes ! " 
 
 A lover's letter picked up at Laurel Hill 
 Camp, Va., runs as follows : " I say agen deer 
 Melindy weer fltin for our liburtis to dew gest as 
 we pleas, and we wil fite fur them so long as 
 goddlemity give us breth." 
 
 A Practical Joke. — A gallant volunteer of- 
 ficer was searching the houses of citizens for arms, 
 with a squad of men, and on arriving at the resi- 
 dence of an old gentleman named Hayes, M'as met 
 in the hall by his daughter, — a beautiful, black- 
 eyed girl of eighteen, — who appeared deeply agi- 
 tated, and imi)lored the Captain not to search 
 the house. The officer was sternly immovable. 
 
 resolved to do his duty, and the more bent upon 
 searching from the apparent dismay of the fair 
 girl. "Indeed — indeed," she exclaimed, "we 
 have only three guns in the house." 
 
 The Captain smiled incredulously. " Fetch 
 them to me," said he, remembering the fate of 
 poor Ellsworth. The young lady hurried up 
 stairs, and returned with an old, rusty, double- 
 barrelled shot gun that no prudent man would have 
 ventured to load and discharge. " The others — 
 the other two ! " demanded the officer. " sir, 
 my brothers !" sobbed the girl. " I cannot take 
 them from them ! " 
 
 The Captain pushed her on one side. " Forward, 
 men ! " he shouted, falling into the rear himself. 
 As the file of soldiers hastily mounted the stairs, 
 the young lady clung to the skirts of the officer, 
 who was the last to ascend, exclaiming wildly : 
 
 "But — but, sir, my brothers — you will not 
 harm my brothers ? " 
 
 The Captain shook her off" somewhat ungal- 
 lantly, and rushed up after the soldiers, who, by 
 this time, reached the closed door of a chamber. 
 After a pause, the men pushed open the door, and 
 rushed in with bayonets fixed, when two juvenile 
 Zouaves, of the ages of eight and ten years, fully 
 armed and equipped with wooden guns, appeared 
 drawn up in line before them. At the same mo- 
 ment the silvery laugh of tlie black-eyed beauty 
 was heard on the stairs, echoed by a couple of 
 chambermaids, who were peeping over the balus- 
 ters from above. The officer beat a hasty retreat, 
 without making a seizure of the two remaining 
 guns. 
 
 Love, Hate, and Piety on the Battle- 
 field. — A Rhode Island soldier, utterly ex- 
 hausted, stepped aside to rest a few moments 
 under the shade. There he found a gasping and 
 dying Southern soldier, and put his almost ex- 
 hausted canteen to his parched lips. The dying 
 soldier — an enthusiast in his cause — with high 
 excitement gasped out : " Why do you come to 
 fight us ? We shall utterly annihilate you. We 
 have ninety thousand men. You can never sub- 
 jugate us. We have a series of batteries beyond 
 which will destroy all the armies you can bring." 
 The Rhode Island soldier proceeded to state — 
 and how strange and how tremendously real the 
 discussion then and so ! — that the object of the 
 war was not the subjugation of the South, but 
 the preservation of the Union. " And now," said 
 the manly fellow, " I have given you water from 
 my canteen, when its drops are more precious 
 than diamonds. If you had found me in this 
 state, what would you have done ? " The eyes 
 of the dying man gleamed, as the soldier said, 
 like those of a basilisk, and he replied, " I would 
 have put my bayonet to your heart." In a few 
 moments he went into eternity, and the Rhode 
 Islander resumed his place on the battle-field. 
 
 But there were also instances of Christian feel- 
 ing exhibited on the battle-field, one of which is 
 very afi"ecting. A wounded Federal soldier was 
 hastily carried to a wood, and placed by the side 
 of a dying Georgian. The Georgian, evidently 
 
542 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 a gentleman, said to him, as they lay bleeding 
 side by side, "We came on this field enemies — 
 let us part friends ; " and extended to him his 
 hand, which the other grasped with the reciprocal 
 expression of friendly feeling. They were both 
 Christian men, and they lay with clasped hands 
 on that bloody field, until the hand of the noble 
 Georgian was cold in death. How beautiful that 
 scene, amid the horrors of the battle-field ! Who 
 shall say, in ^iew of it, that because of this strife 
 between therforth and South, they can never 
 again clasp hands in mutual friendship and es- 
 teem? Who shall say that the time shall not 
 come, when, on some well-fought field, they who 
 met as enemies shall part as friends, and peace 
 and restoration and mutual esteem ensue ? 
 
 Another incident was sublime, and shows how 
 close Christ Jesus is to his people, wherever they 
 may be. A strong, tall man from Maine received 
 a minie ball directly in his breast ; and with the 
 outstretched arms and the upward leap which is 
 said often to mark such a death, he exclaimed, 
 " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 
 
 To THE Women of the South. — The Mem- 
 phis Appeal of April 21, 1861, contains the an- 
 nexed communication : 
 
 " While the men in every part of the coimtry 
 are arming themselves and mustering in squadrons 
 to resist the invasion and oppression threatening 
 our beloved land, let us emulate the enthusiasm 
 of our husbands, sons, and friends in the cause. 
 Many of our daughters are already active in the 
 service with their needles. Let the matrons of 
 every city, village, and hamlet form themselves 
 into societies, called by some appropriate name, 
 pledged to take care of the sick and wounded 
 soldiers of the Confederate army, whenever the 
 changing drama of war shall bring them in their 
 neighborhood ; to take them, if necessary and 
 practicable, to their own homes. Let the organ- 
 izations be commenced at once, with officers ap- 
 pointed and known, to whom the ofliicers of the 
 military companies may communicate the wants 
 of the soldiers, and call upon for aid when the 
 time for action shall come ; and Baltimore has 
 taught us how soon it may come. I offer myself 
 for the work. Will not some matron Avith more 
 time take the lead, and allow me to serve in a 
 subordinate capacity ? Let the women of the 
 entire South join and spread the organization 
 till not a spot within the Southern borders shall 
 be without its band of sisters, pledged to the 
 work and ready for it ; and thus shall every mother 
 feel assured, in sending her sons to the field, that 
 in time of need they shall have the tender care 
 of some other mother, whose loved ones are in 
 the patriot ranks at other points, and our soldiers 
 feel sure that true hearts are near them wherever 
 they may be. ]\Iary E. Pope." 
 
 Juvenile Patriotism. — Li Manchester, New 
 Hamp.shire, a little fellow just past his first de- 
 cade stepped into his father's office, and said to 
 
 one of the clerks, " I shall get my company full 
 pretty soon; I have sworn in three to-day." 
 " Sworn in," said the clerk ; " how did you do it ? " 
 " I made them hold up their hands and say, ' Glory 
 to God,' " said the incipient Captain. 
 
 The following is a counterpart for the above 
 story. A six-year old Boston boy, who had be- 
 come deeply imbued with the martial spirit, un- 
 dertook to act as commander of a diminutive 
 company in a New Hampshire town, where he 
 was spending his vacation. He somewhat " as- 
 tonished the natives " by the following order, 
 given in a very excited tone : " Company ! Ene- 
 my's coming ! Forward, march ! A7nen ! " 
 
 THE JAGUAR HUNT. 
 
 BY J. T. TROWBRIDGE. 
 
 The dark jaguar was abroad in the land ; 
 
 His strength and his fierceness what foe could with- 
 stand ? 
 
 The breath of his anger was hot on the air, 
 
 And the white lamb of peace he had dragged to his 
 lair. 
 
 Then up rose the farmer ; he summoned his sons : 
 " Now saddle your horses, now look to your 
 
 guns ! " 
 And he called to his hound, as he sprang from the 
 
 ground 
 To the back of his black pawing steed with a 
 
 bound. 
 
 O, their hearts, at the word, how they tingled and 
 
 stirred ! 
 They followed, all belted, and booted, and spurred. 
 " Buckle tight, boys! " said he, " for who gallops 
 
 with me, 
 Such a himt as was never before shall he see. 
 
 "This traitor, we know him! for when he was 
 yoimger, 
 
 We flattered him, patted him, fed his fierce hun- 
 ger : 
 
 But now far too long we have borne with the 
 wrong, 
 
 For each morsel we tossed makes him savage and 
 strong." 
 
 Then said one, " He must die ! " And they took 
 up the cry, 
 
 " For this last crime of his he must die ! he must 
 die ! " 
 
 But the slow eldest-born sauntered sad and forlorn, 
 
 For his heart was at home on that fair hunting- 
 morn. 
 
 "I remember," he said, "how this fine cub we 
 
 track 
 Has carried me many a time on his back ! " 
 And he called to his brothers, " Fight gently ! be 
 
 kind ! " 
 And he kept the dread hound, Retribution, behind. 
 
 The dark jaguar, on a bough in the brake, 
 Crouched, silent and wilj, and lithe as a snake : 
 They spied not their game, but, as onward they 
 
 came, 
 Through the dense leafage gleamed two red eyeballa 
 
 of flame. 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 543 
 
 Black-spotted, and mottled, and whiskered, and 
 
 grim, 
 White-bellied, and j^ellow, he lay on the limb. 
 And so still that you saw but one tawny paw 
 Lightly reach through the leaves, and as softly 
 
 withdraw. 
 
 Then shrilled his fierce cry, as the riders drew 
 
 nigh. 
 And he shot from the bough like a bolt from the sky : 
 In the foremost he fastened his fangs as he fell, 
 Wliile all the black jungle re-echoed his yell. 
 
 O, then there was carnage by field and by flood ! 
 The green sod was crimsoned, the rivers ran blood, 
 The cornfields were trampled, and all in their track 
 The beautiful valley lay blasted and black. 
 
 Now the din of the conflict swells deadly and loud, 
 And the diist of the tumult rolls up like a cloud : 
 Then afar down the slope of the Southland recedes 
 The wild rapid clatter of galloping steeds. 
 
 With wide nostrils smoking, and flanks dripping 
 
 gore, 
 The black stallion bore his bold rider before, 
 As onward they thundered through forest and glen, 
 A-hunting the stark jaguar to his den. 
 
 In April, sweet April, the chase was begun ; 
 It was April again when the hunting was done ; 
 The snows of four winters and four summers green 
 Lay red-streaked and trodden, and blighted be- 
 tween » 
 
 Then the monster stretched all his grim length on 
 
 the groimd ; 
 His life-blood was wasting from many a wound ; 
 Ferocious and gory, and snarlmg he lay, 
 Amid heaps of the whitening bones of his prey. 
 
 Then up spoke the slow eldest son, and he said, 
 " All he needs now is just to be fostered and fed ! 
 Give over the strife ! Brothers, put up the knife ! 
 We will tame him, reclaim him, but not take his 
 life 1 " 
 
 But the farmer flung back the false words in his 
 
 face : 
 " He is none of my race who gives counsel so base ! 
 Now let loose the hound 1 " And the hound was 
 
 unbound, 
 And like lightning the heart of the traitor lie foimd. 
 
 " So rapine and treason forever shall cease ! " 
 And the)"- wash the stained fleece of the pale lamb 
 
 of peace ; 
 When, lo ! a strong angel stands winged and white 
 In a wondering raiment of ravishing light ! 
 
 Peace is raised from the dead ! In the radiance 
 
 shed 
 By the halo of glory that shines round her head. 
 Fair gardens shall bloom where the black jungle 
 
 grew, 
 And all the glad vallev shall blossom anew ! 
 
 A Patriotic Maryland Lady. — In making 
 the surveys for the intrenchments to be made 
 on the northern and eastern sides of the city of 
 Washington, the engineer officers came to a 
 lovely spot near Bladensburg. A pretty cottage 
 
 stood on the brow of the hill, surrounded on all 
 
 sides by shrubbery, grapevines, orchards, shade 
 trees, a superb lawn, a beautiful flower garden, 
 &c. It was, indeed, a little paradise. It was the 
 residence of a lady and her daughters, whose 
 husband was now away fighting in the service of 
 his country. The line of the intrenchments, as 
 surveyed, passed directly over this spot. The hill 
 commands the surrounding country for miles, and 
 therefore is the proper spot for a battery. But 
 the officers saw at a glance that if a battery was 
 erected there, it would be necessary to cut down 
 every tree in the orchard, to clear away all the 
 shrubbery, and to make the ditch for the par- 
 apet in the flower garden. In a word, the mili- 
 tary works would completely demolish the place, 
 and render it a desert. The officers made sev- 
 eral surveys, in hopes of finding some way in 
 which to avoid the necessity of occupying this 
 property at all. But in vain. There was no 
 other hill in the neighborhood that possessed the 
 necessary military qualifications. Calling upon 
 the lady, therefore, the offi.cers explained, in the 
 most delicate manner, the object of their visit, 
 and the military necessity which doomed her 
 beautiful grounds to destruction. The lady lis- 
 tened in silence. Tears rose to her eyes. She 
 arose, walked to the open window, looked for a 
 moment upon the lovely scene, and then, turning 
 to the officers, said : " If it must be so, take it 
 freely. I hoped to live here in peace and quiet, 
 and never to leave this sweet spot, which my hus- 
 band has beautified for years past. But if my 
 country demands it, take it freely. You have my 
 consent." Then offering refreshments to the offi- 
 cers, she said no more on the subject. In the 
 war of the revolution, in 1777, a lady of South 
 Carolina brought to General Marion the arrows 
 with which to set fire to her own house. But 
 surely the devoted patriotism of this Maryland 
 lady is deserving of no less praise. — Washing- 
 ton Letter. 
 
 VlLLUM AND HIS Havelock, — The members 
 of the Mackerel Brigade, says the inimitable 
 Orpheus C. Kerr, now stationed on Arlington 
 Heights, to watch the movements of the_ Poto- 
 mac, which is expected to rise shortly, desire me 
 to thank the ladies of America for supplies^ of 
 havelocks and other delicacies of the season just 
 received. The havelocks, my boy, are rather 
 roomy, and we took them for shirts at first ; and 
 the shirts are so narrow-minded that we topk 
 them for havelocks. If the women of America 
 could manage to get a little less linen into the col- 
 lars of the latter, and a little more into the other 
 department of the graceful "garmint," there 
 would be fewer colds in this division of the 
 Grand Ai-my. The havelocks, as I have said be- 
 fore, are roomy — - very roomy, my boy. YilUara 
 Brown, of company G, put one on last night 
 when he went on sentry duty, and looked like a 
 broomstick in a pillow-case, for all the world. 
 When the officer came round, and caught sight 
 of Villiam in his havelock, he was struck dumb with 
 admiration for a moment. Then he ejaculated : 
 
544 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 " What a splendid moonbeam ! " 
 
 Villiam made a movement, and the Sergeant 
 came up. 
 
 " What's that white object ? " says the officer 
 to the Sergeant. " Thunder ! " roared the offi- 
 cer ; " tell him to go to his tent, and take off that 
 nightgown." 
 
 •' You're mistaken," says the Sergeant ; " the 
 sentry is Villiam Brown, in his havelock, which 
 was made by the women of America." 
 
 The officer was so justly exasperated at his 
 mistake, that he went immediately to his head- 
 quarters and. took the oath three times running, 
 with a little sugar. 
 
 The oath is very popular, my boy, and comes 
 in bottles. I take it medicinally myself. 
 
 The shirts made by the ladies of America are 
 noble articles, as far down as the collar, but 
 would not do to use as an only garment. Cap- 
 tain Mortimer de Montague, of the skirmish 
 squad, put one on when he went to the Presi- 
 dent's reception, and the collar stood up so high 
 that he couldn't put his cap on, while the other 
 department didn't reach quite to his waist. His 
 appearance at the White House was picturesque 
 and interesting, and as he entered the drawing- 
 room. General Scott remarked very feelingly : 
 
 " Ah ! here comes one of the wounded he- 
 roes." 
 
 " He's not wounded, General," remarked an 
 officer standing by. 
 
 " Then why is his head bandaged up so ? " 
 asked the venerable veteran. 
 
 " O," says the officer, " that's only one of the 
 shirts made by the patriotic women of America." 
 
 In about five minutes after this conversation I 
 saw the venerable veteran and the wounded hero 
 at the office taking the oath together. 
 
 A Rebel killed by a AVoman. A Union 
 man by the name of Glover, residing in one of 
 the counties west of Quincy, Illinois, owning a 
 number of valuable horses, and having fear of 
 their appropriation to rebel uses, concluded to 
 place them in the hands of a company of Home 
 Guards in the neighborhood for safe keeping. A 
 day or two afterwards, while Glover was absent 
 from home, a rebel called at his house to inquire 
 for him. His wife was in the garden adjoining 
 a cornfield, some distance from the house, when 
 the rebel approached her, and made several in- 
 quiries, to which she gave no very satisfactory 
 answers. He then insisted on being informed 
 where Glover was, and, with revolver in hand, 
 threatened instant death if not told. He also de- 
 manded of her to deliver up a valuable gun 
 owned by Glover. The two started for the house 
 through tlie cornfield, and on the way, Mrs. 
 Glover succeeded, without being observed, in get- 
 ting possession of a large corn knife that had been 
 left in the field, and M'atching the opportunity, 
 took a favorable moment for striking a blow, 
 which she did most effectually, the knife severing 
 the skull, and killing the rebel instantl)'. Mrs. 
 Glover had a small child with her in the gar- 
 
 den, which she left when starting for the house, 
 intending to return for it immediately. Having 
 despatched the rebel, she returned to the gar- 
 den, when she discovered several other rebels in 
 ambush, a short distance from her. She took her 
 child, and being yet unperceived by them, sought 
 a place of concealment until they should retire. 
 They soon emerged from their hidiiig-jilace, and 
 searching for their companion, they found his 
 lifeless Ijody where he had been stricken down, 
 and bore it off, greatly to the relief of Mrs. 
 Glover. 
 
 " Confiscate de Ole 'oman ! " — One of the 
 Pike County boys at Louisiana (Missouri) found 
 an old negro in the woods who had heard that 
 secession property was to be confiscated, and 
 therefore commenced by executing the order upon 
 himself. He surrendered to the invader, and 
 gave a history of himself, concluding by saying : 
 " Gorry, massa ! I'll brack your boots, brush your 
 close, bring your water — do anything you want 
 me, if you'll only confiscate de ole 'oman ! " 
 
 A Touching Incident. — Just before the ad- 
 vance of the national army toAvards Piichmond, 
 General Sherman's brigade, consisting of the 
 Thirteenth, Sixty-ninth, and Seventy-ninth New 
 York, and the Second Wisconsin regiments, was 
 encamped near Ball's Cross-Roads, not far from 
 a church known as Ball's Church. In the church- 
 yard is the grave of a little child belonging to a 
 Union family by the name of Osborne. The 
 grave is surrounded by a picket fence, upon 
 which there was no inscription. This being ob- 
 served by Captain Haggerty, of the Sixty-ninth, 
 he went to the trouble of placing upon it a board 
 bearing the age and name of the little one. In 
 a few days the brigade marched for the fatal field 
 of Bull Run, where the gallant Haggerty met a 
 soldier's fate, while acting as Lieutenant-Colonel 
 of his regiment. After the return of the troops 
 to the Potomac, Ball's Cross-Roads and the 
 Church were used as outposts, and quite a num- 
 ber of soldiers who were from time to time sta- 
 tioned in the neighborhood, placed additional in- 
 scriptions upon the fence commemorative of the 
 departed officer. One of these read as follows : 
 
 "Bull Run was where Haggerty was lulled. 
 Will they do as much for him as he did for this 
 poor child ? " 
 
 The incident was related by private B. F. Mor- 
 gan, of company A, Tliirteenth regiment. Mr. M. 
 visited the spot afterwards, in company with the 
 mother of the child, as her escort. She was 
 greatly affected on seeing what had been done. 
 
 Rattlesnakes vs. Rebels. — The best piece 
 of satire upon the leniency observed by the au- 
 thorities, in the early part of the war, in reference 
 to rebels found committing depredations, is con- 
 tained in the following story : Some of the sol- 
 diers belonging to General Cox's army, stationed 
 in Kanawha, Virginia, caught a large rattlesnake, 
 
ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 545 
 
 which manifested a most mischievous disposition, 
 snapping and thrusting out its forked tongue at 
 all who came near it. The boys at last got tii-ed 
 of the reptile, and as nobody wanted such a dan- 
 gerous companion, the question arose, "What 
 shall we do with him ? " This question was pro- 
 pounded several times without an answer, when 
 a half-drunken soldier, who was lying near, upon 
 his back, rolled upon his side, and relieved his 
 companions by quietly remarking: "D — n it! 
 swear him, and let him go ! " 
 
 ONLY ONE. 
 
 •' There is no cloud in all the sky "; 
 
 I hear the distant bugles play ; 
 You tremble, sister — so do I. 
 
 Our soldiers both come home to-day." 
 
 " One cloud there is, Maud, on the blue ; 
 
 'Tis but a rustic horn you hear. 
 I tremble ? — nay ! or if I do. 
 
 It is not for myself I fear." 
 
 "Not for j-ourself? For whom, then, pray ? 
 
 For Avhom can you have cause to feel ? 
 Those are the bugles, Anne, I say. 
 
 And — ha ! I see the flash of steel ! " 
 
 The sabres glitter in the sun ; 
 
 The war-worn ranks ride slowly past ; 
 One soldier halts, — ah ! only one ! — 
 
 And cries, "At last, beloved — at last ! " 
 
 His steed stands, wistful-eyed, apart, 
 And looks upon the ripening grain ; 
 
 But who is to the rider's heart 
 Thus pressed — again, and yet again ? 
 
 Alas ! one cloud still spans the sky ; 
 
 And still the distant bugles play. 
 Poor Maud ! the ranks have long passed by ; 
 
 But only One came home to-day ! 
 
 Peactical Patkiotism. — In the early part 
 of the war, when patriotic merchants and manu- 
 facturers were sending their clerks and workmen 
 to the field, with a promise to provide for the 
 wants of their families, as well as to continue 
 their salaries during their absence, a very en- 
 thusiastic landlady of New York offered to 
 allow her boarders' bills to run on, as usual, 
 should any of them desire to go for the defence 
 of the nation. 
 
 A Cosmopolitan Hibernian. — A son of the 
 Emerald Isle, but not himself green, was taken 
 up (for he was at the time down) near a rebel en- 
 campment, not far from Manassas Junction. In 
 a word, Pat was taking a quiet nap in the shade, 
 and was roused from his slumber by a scouting 
 party. He wore no special uniform of either 
 army, but looked more like a spy than an alliga- 
 tor, and on this was arrested. 
 
 " Who are you ? " " What is your name ? " 
 and " Where are you from ? " were the first 
 questions put to him by the armed party. 
 35 
 
 Pat rubbed his eyes, scratched his head, and 
 answered : 
 
 "Be me faith, gentlemen, them is ugly ques- 
 tions to answer, anyhow ; an' before I answer 
 any o' them, I'd be afther axin'ye, by yer lave, the 
 same thing." 
 
 " Well," said the leader, "we are of Scott's 
 army, and belong to Washington." 
 
 " All right," said Pat ; " I know'd ye was gin- 
 tlemen, for I am that same. Long life to Gen- 
 eral Scott." 
 
 " Aha ! " replied the scout, " now, you rascal, 
 you are our prisoner," and seized him by the 
 shoulder. 
 
 " How is that," inquired Pat ; " are we not 
 friends ? " 
 
 " No," was the answer. " We belong to Gen- 
 eral Beauregard's army." 
 
 " Then ye tould me a lie, me boys ; and think- 
 in' it might be so, I tould you another. And 
 now tell me the truth, an' I'll tell the truth, too." 
 
 " Well, we belong to the State of South Caro- 
 lina." 
 
 " So do I," promptly responded Pat, " and to 
 all the other States uv the country, too ; and there, 
 I'm thinkin', I bate the whole uv ye. Do ye 
 think I would come all the way from Ireland to 
 belong to one State, when I had a right to be- 
 long to the whole uv 'em? " 
 
 This logic was rather a stumper ; but they took 
 him up, as before said, and carried him for fur- 
 ther examination. 
 
 Incidents of Yorktown. — The following 
 stories by an officer show the temper and spirit 
 with which the advent of the Yankees was looked 
 for by the negroes. A couple of officers were 
 advancing some distance apart from their men, 
 when they were hailed by an old negro woman 
 standing in the door of her rude cabin. " Bless 
 de Lord, bless de Lord," she exclaimed as loud 
 as she could, " yer's come at last, yer's come 
 at last ! I've looked for yer these many 
 years, and now yer's come. Bless de Lord." 
 Nothing could exceed the old woman's de- 
 light at seeing the Yankees. This means 
 something, and how much ! In the childish de- 
 light of that old woman what a history is 
 suggested. Long years she had waited to see 
 this deliverance. Slave she was, and the slow 
 years dragged their weary lengths past her youth, 
 and still hope whispered that the hour would 
 come when the bondage woidd be broken. At 
 last it comes, when the spring of hfe is gone, and 
 yet her aged lips are eloquent with joy. 
 # # ♦ * # * 
 
 The battery of which I spoke is in charge of 
 the First Connecticut artillery, and is built in 
 front of a large and stately brick mansion, which 
 is surrounded by peach orchards. It is the prop- 
 erty of Mrs. Fan-enholt, whose son and husband 
 are in the rebel army. 
 
 Mrs. Farrenholt is a lady somewhat advanced 
 in years, very secesh in opinion, who has re- 
 mained on her estate ; but she is now dwelling 
 in a small house removed from the danger result- 
 
546 
 
 ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 ing from the guns of her own friends. The other 
 day an officer belonging to the artillery corps had 
 some little conversation with the lady, to the fol- 
 lowing effect : 
 
 Federal Officer. — Madam, good morning ; I 
 desire to purchase a horse from you. 
 -- SecesJi Lady. — I require what horses I have 
 to plough ; I cannot spare one. 
 
 F. 0. — (Referring to the shells from the ene- 
 my.) That will be quite unnecessary ; your peo- 
 ple are ploughing up your ground for you. 
 
 8. L. — Are they planting also ? 
 
 F. 0. — They haven't planted any of us yet. 
 But as they have not concluded their work yet, I 
 cannot tell you what they will do. 
 
 8. L. — Ah ! well, if they plant any of your 
 blue-coated comrades, I hope they wont sprout. 
 Good morning. 
 
 The officer withdrew. Evidently the secesh 
 lady thought Uncle Sam's sprouts were quite 
 thick enough on her estate. 
 
 The Effect of Music. — A correspondent, 
 writing from the army of the Potomac, in June, 
 1862, says : " Speaking of the spirit of the men 
 reminds me of an incident, both grand and beau- 
 tiful, which took place in Butterfield's brigade. 
 For months there has been a standing order 
 against the playing of bands in camp, and in not 
 one instance of the numerous late battles have 
 our splendid bands been allowed to inspire the 
 heart of the brave soldier by the strains of patri- 
 otic music. A great mistake, all will say. Dur- 
 ing the fight yesterday afternoon, an order came 
 
 for Morell's division to repair to the hill near 
 where the battle was going on, and act as a sup- 
 port for the reserve artillery. The men obeyed 
 the order to fall in promptly, though the weather 
 was scorching hot, and they had been four days 
 without rest or sleep. 
 
 " A happy thought struck Captain Thomas J. 
 Hoyt, of General Butterfield's staff, who saw that 
 the men looked weary and exhausted. He im- 
 mediately gathered all the regimental bands, 
 placed them at the head of the brigade, and or- 
 dered them to i^lay. Th^ started the ' Star- 
 spangled Banner ; ' and the first note had hardly 
 been struck when the men caught the spirit, and 
 cheer after cheer arose from regiment after 
 regimenf, and was borne away upon the bosom 
 of the placid river. The band continued to 
 play, and other regiments and other brigades 
 caught the spirit, and the air resounded with tu- 
 multuous applause at the happy hit, until all the 
 columns on that vast plain«were vying with each 
 other to do homage to the inspiriting strains of 
 the band. After several tunes, Major Welch, of 
 the Sixteenth Michigan, in a brief speech, pro- 
 posed three cheers for the hero of the command, 
 General Daniel Butterfield, which were given in 
 magnificent style. To add to the enthusiasm; 
 General McClellan happened to ride through tht 
 field just then, and was received w'ith an out- 
 burst that fairly astonished him. 
 
 " The scene was continued, the brigade moved 
 off with the band playing, and had there bfeen a 
 fight in the next field, the men would have gone 
 into action on the double-quick to the tune of 
 Yankee Doodle, if every one had known that 
 death would be his fate. " 
 
IliTDEX. 
 
 " A Baptist, an' allers was," an anecdote, 253 
 
 A battle within a battle, a scene at Fair Oaks , ... 218 
 A beautiful incident of the surrender of Lexington, 465 
 A belligerent woman at Branchville, S. C, .... 450 
 
 Abou Ben Adhem, the other one, 73 
 
 Abou Ben Butler, a poem, 23 
 
 A case of affection, the old woman and her mule, . . 318 
 A challenge from the Pillow Guards to the Pren- 
 tiss Guards, 160 
 
 A classic soldier, 289 
 
 A contraband refrain, 31 
 
 Adams, H. A., Lieutenant Commander, incident un- 
 der a flag of truce, 225 
 
 Adams, Lyman Beecher, an anecdote, 354 
 
 A dinner party broken up, an incident of Vicks- 
 
 burg, 435 
 
 " Advance, ass, and give the countersign," .... 145 
 
 Adventure with an alligator, 303 
 
 Adventures of a despatch-bearer, 56 
 
 Adventures in the South, 105 
 
 Adventures in Virginia, 133 
 
 Adventures of a spy, Dan. K. Cole, 308 
 
 Adventures of an Iowa boy, 4r0 
 
 A frightened contraband, 141 
 
 After the fight, a poem, 375 
 
 A good ruse, an anecdote of Kentucky, 440 
 
 " A Griswold for an Alabama," 145 
 
 Ague, a Southern cure for, 404 
 
 A heroic chaplain, 370 
 
 A hospital incident, " legs versus souls," 329 
 
 A humorous incident of a Boston court 73 
 
 A Joan d'Arc, account of Miss Oldora, 347 
 
 Akers, Paul, Mrs., poem by, 139 
 
 A laughable adventure, by J. H. Spencer, 319 
 
 "Alabama," the cruise of the, 87 
 
 " Alabama," the end of the, described by a Confed- 
 erate, 238 
 
 " Alabama," the destruction of the, a poem, .... 539 
 
 Alabama, the Union men of, described, 215 
 
 Alabama, an instance of the freedom of speech in, 354 
 Albemarle, story of the destruction of the, . < . . 533 
 
 Aldrich, T. B, poems by, 9 
 
 " Alex," how he got his pocket Bible, IGO 
 
 Alexandria, Mo., incidents of, 304 
 
 Alger, Horatio, Jr., poem, by, 243 
 
 Alienations of war, father and son, 347 
 
 Allen, Tom, Captain, the dead brought to life, . . 58 
 
 Alligator, a soldier's adventure with an, 303 
 
 "All we ask i.i to be let alone." by H. H. Brow- 
 nell 29 
 
 A lover's letter, curious specimen, 541 
 
 A man of nerve, 56 
 
 A Masonic incident, 134 
 
 Ambiguity, an anecdote, 404 
 
 Amenities of war, incidents of General McCall's 
 
 experience, 340 
 
 American geography, French notions of, 214 
 
 A military execution in the army of the Potomac, 394 
 
 Amnesty proclamation, how received by the rebels, 23 
 
 A Mohammedan Colonel, 134 
 
 Amongthe rebels at Camp Dennison, 488 
 
 Amputation, how it is performed, 349 
 
 An affecting incident of the hospital, 341 
 
 An agreeable surprise ; none of them dead, .... 300 
 
 A narrow escape, 125 
 
 A national hymn, by Park Benjamin, 71 
 
 Anderson, Robert, General, at Fort Sumter, .... 27 
 Anderson, Robert, General, the providential deliv- 
 erance of, 441 
 
 Anderson, R. M, song by, 520 
 
 Anderson, T. M., his account of his capture and es- 
 cape, , 194 
 
 Andrew, John A., anecdote of, 484 
 
 Andrew, John A., eloquent peroration of, 519 
 
 An editor before the cabinet, 32 
 
 A negro's prayer, 2S9 
 
 A new Knight of the Garter, 541 
 
 An epitaph by a rebel, 06 
 
 A night in Missouri with the fleas, 408 
 
 An incident of the great South Carolina expedition, 453 
 
 Antietam, incidents of 129 
 
 Antietam, Corporal Roach's incident of, 101 
 
 Antietam, the dead at, 170 
 
 Antietam, a Masonic incident of, 299 
 
 Antietam, a young woman at the battle of, 451 
 
 Antietam, heroism of General Sturgis' division at, . 457 
 
 Antietam, the charge at, 401 
 
 Antietam, the Seventh Maine at, 462 
 
 Antietam, the missiles used at, 466 
 
 Antietam, the story of, by George W. Smalley, . . 409 
 
 Antietam, Burnside at the bridge of, 470 
 
 Antietam, Richardson's incidents of, 485 
 
 A patriotic artist, anecdote of Powers, the sculptor, 408 
 
 A patriotic Maryland lady, 543 
 
 Apocalypse, " All hail to the stars and stripes," by 
 
 Clarence Butler, 164 
 
 Appeal to volunteers, 134 
 
 Apple, Peter, how he caught a rebel, 04 
 
 A practical joke, 541 
 
 At Port Royal, by John G. AVhittier, rf30 
 
 A psalm of life, as chanted by Gideon J. Pillow and 
 his boys on retreating from Lafayette, Georgia, 
 
 June 24, 1804 261 
 
548 
 
 INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 A race for life, "the pig they didn't waut," .... 49 
 
 A raid by a negro, 431 
 
 A raiuy day in camp, 12 
 
 Ardnt's Michigan battery, wonderful precision of 
 
 the firing of, 103 
 
 A rebel Icilled by a woman, . 544 
 
 A rebellion in heaven, 503 
 
 " Arkansas," some account of the ram, 501 
 
 Arkansas tactics, 2G1 
 
 Arkansas Post, a Hoosier's account of thecapture of, 307 
 
 Army discipline, some account of, 312 
 
 Army discipline, curious incidents of, 530 
 
 Army signals, their efficacy and value, 202 
 
 A romantic incident, in which Governor Curtin takes 
 
 part, 451 
 
 "Arter revenge like a four year old," ....... 321 
 
 Articles of war, the third article, . 312 
 
 A sanitary incident, 494 
 
 A sharp ride, experience of Mr. Cones, 49 
 
 A singular incident, how Alex got his pocket Bible, 101 
 
 A snowball battle, 389 
 
 A soldier's last letter, an incident of Gettysburg, . 457 
 
 A song, by Fitzgreene Halleck, 127 
 
 A Southern martyr, nameless, 572 
 
 A Southern scene, a poem, 09 
 
 A Spartan girl, 118 
 
 A spunky prisoner from the South, 4S6 
 
 A square meal, description of, 407 
 
 A strange incident, 500 
 
 A substitute wanted, 330 
 
 At Gettysburg, a poem, 499 
 
 Atkins, J. D. C, Lieutenant-Colonel, his speech on 
 
 the capture of " Lincoln guns," 255 
 
 A touching incident of the war, 199, 544 
 
 A true experience, by Frank Cahill, 497 
 
 A true Kentuekian, Willard Davis, 335 
 
 At the front, an incident of Tresident Lincoln's fu- 
 neral,' 48S 
 
 Averill, W. W., General, one of his " outrages," . 57 
 
 A verse of welcome, 433 
 
 A war picture of Chickamauga, by a Southerner, . . 438 
 A Yankee in Dixie, by Corporal Purdum, 107 
 
 B 
 
 Baby on the battle-field, C2 
 
 Badeau, Adam, the literary soldier, 122 
 
 Baker, Colonel, at Ball's Blufl", 41 
 
 Baldwin, P. P., Colonel Sixth Indiana, bravery of, at 
 
 Chickamauga 389 
 
 Balloon reconnoissance of Fitz-John Porter, . . . 343 
 
 Ball's Bluff, the story of, 41 
 
 Ball's Bluff, Greenhall's reminiscences of, 137 
 
 Ball's Bluff. See Leesburg, 452 
 
 Baltimore, the heroine of, 3G 
 
 Banks, N. P., General, how his army was saved in 
 
 the Valley of Virginia, 123 
 
 Barbara Fritchie, by John G. Whittier, 496 
 
 Barton, Clara, " the angel of the battle-field," ... 244 
 
 Bartow, Colonel, bravery of, at Bull Run, 209 
 
 Basnett, Peter, exploit of, 71 
 
 Battle anthem, by John Neal, 125 
 
 Battle cry of freedom, a song, 332 
 
 Battle-field, feelings on the, 385 
 
 Battle hymn of the republic, by Julia Ward Howe, 103 
 
 Battle in the air, a, 169 
 
 Beaufort, S. C, incidents of the fight at, 151 
 
 Beaufort, S. C, incidents of the capture of, related 
 
 by a negro, 458 
 
 Beauregard, P. G. General, his advice, 253 
 
 Beauregard, anecdote of his bells, 317 
 
 Beauregard's bells, sale of, at Boston, 465 
 
 Beau Hackett as a Zouave, 13 
 
 Bedard, Charles A., heroism of, 82 
 
 Bedford boy " Alex," the, 144 
 
 Belgian muskets, kill at both ends, 137 
 
 Belmont, after the fight, incidents related by John 
 
 Seaton, 133 
 
 Belmont, the colored hero of, 426 
 
 Belmont, Major Bledsoe Harmon's incidents of, . 455 
 
 Belmont, the dead at, 519 
 
 Benedict, Lewis, Colonel, at Port Hudson, .... 290 
 Benjamin, Judah P., narrative of the escape of, . . 481 
 
 Benjamin, Park, hymn by, 71 
 
 Bennett, L. G., engineer, narrative of a tour through 
 
 the South-west, 323 
 
 Berdan sharpshooters, death of one of the, .... 222 
 Berdan sharpshooters, " Old Seth " of the, account 
 
 of, 339 
 
 Berton, Peter, his adventure in Virginia, 133 
 
 Bethel, before the battle of, 97 
 
 Beyond the Potomac, by Paul H. Hayne, 132 
 
 Bible on the battle-field, the, 23 
 
 Bible captured in battle, 66 
 
 Bible anecdote of General Lander, 12S 
 
 Bible Incident of Antietam, 129 
 
 Big Bethel, a Confederate story of, 73 
 
 Billy Bray, a story of the draft, 427 
 
 Birds in battle, 253 
 
 Blacksmith, a patriotic, of the 14th New York State 
 
 Volunteers, 84 
 
 Black Tom, a poem, 223 
 
 Bob, the " bully boy," one of Sherman's men, ... 411 
 
 Body guard, description of a model, . . • 77 
 
 Boggs, Commodore, his account of the boy hero 
 
 " Oscar," 223 
 
 " Bohio," strategy of the captain of, 39S 
 
 Boight, Captain, 23d Kentucky regiment, 7 
 
 Boker, George H., poems by, . . . 100, 143, ISO, 214, 539 
 Booth, Major, speech of the widow of, at Fort Pick- 
 ering, 413 
 
 Booth, Mary H.C., poem by, 31S 
 
 Border scouts, the Breedins and Norrises, 467 
 
 Boston, humorous incident in a court in, 73 
 
 Botham, Captain, of Michigan, gallantry of, . • . . 306 
 
 Both legs too short, an incident, 317 
 
 Boughton, Dick, his incidents and scenes in the war, 236 
 
 Bowen, John W., a romance of the war, 200 
 
 Bradbury, William B., song by, 527 
 
 Bragg, Braxton, General, how he was deceived about 
 
 the whiskey, 447 
 
 Brandon, William C, an incident of the hospital, . 341 
 
 Brandy Station, story of the fight at, 453 
 
 Brashears, William, a Union volunteer in Arkansas, .325 
 
 Brave oflicers make a brave army, 540 
 
 Bray, John, account of his escape from Richmond, 142 
 Breckinridge, John C, how he escaped from the 
 
 country, 396 
 
 Breedin, the border scout 467 
 
 Bristoc, Virginia, an incident of, 179 
 
 Brockway, Rufus, some account of, 120 
 
 " Broke the connection," an incident of Champion 
 
 Hills, 350 
 
 Brooks, W. T. H., General, 330 
 
 Brooks, W. T. H., General, anecdote of, 214 
 
 Brother against brother, 132 • 
 
 Brother Jonathan's lament for sister Caroline, by 
 
 O. W. Holmes, 400 -- 
 
 Brown, E. B., General, a brilliant exploit, 71 
 
INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 549 
 
 Brown, E.B., General, order on the heroism of Miss 
 
 Schwartz, , 126 
 
 Brown, Henry C. See Religious Music, 48 
 
 Brownlow, W. G., (Parson,), his opinion of ZoUi- 
 
 coffer, .■ . . . 464 
 
 Brownell, H. H., poems by, 29, 417 
 
 Bruner, Charles, a brave Pennsylvanian, 348 
 
 Bryant, William Cullen, poems by, 100, 227 
 
 Buchanan, James, the other Abou Ben Adhem, . . 73 
 Buchanan, James, and the Pottstown, Pennsylvania, 
 
 bank bills, 291 
 
 Buell, D. C, General, his strategy at Pittsburg Land- 
 ing, 317 
 
 Buford, General, an anecdote of, 254 
 
 Bull, H. C, Lieutenant, captures a secession flag, . 331 
 
 BuUard, W. N., the story of, 218 
 
 Bullets, the tone of, and the songs they sing, ... 82 
 Bullets, the touch of, a cure for treason, . ..... 94 
 
 Bullets, praying for an equal distribution of, ... . 128 
 
 Bull Run, the modern Gilpin, a ballad of, 36 
 
 Bull Run, incidents of, 39 
 
 Bull Run, horses at, 76 
 
 Bull Run, incidents of, 118, 120, 269 
 
 Bull Run, Stonewall Jackson at, 234 
 
 Bull Run, Edwin S. Barrett's adventures at, . . . -256 
 
 Bull Run, story of the flight from, 262 
 
 Bums, Anthony, the rendition of, 80 
 
 Burns, John, the hero of Gettysburg, story of, . . 296 
 Burnside, Ambrose E., General, at Knoxville, . . . 357 
 Burnside, General, scenes on the march of, in Ten- 
 nessee, 895 
 
 Burnside at the bridge, an incident of Antietam, . . 476 
 
 'Bushwhackers, female, at the South, 423 
 
 Butler, B. F., General, anecdote of, " Get your shirts 
 
 at Moody's," 131 
 
 Butler, General, and one of the Virginia reserves, . 182 
 Butler, General, his correspondence with the Nor- 
 folk Perfectionists, 239 
 
 Butler, General, anecdote of, " Shoot another," . . 342 
 Butler, General, anecdote of, " That dear old flag," 428 
 
 Butler, General, epigram on, 429 
 
 Butler, Gteneral, sells Beauregard's bells, 465 
 
 Butler, General, anecdote of, " Almond eye," ... 508 
 Butler, Rev. Dr., impressive scene at the church of, 457 
 
 Butterfield, General, 51 
 
 Butterfield, Captain, Eighth Ohio ; incident of 
 Romney, S3 
 
 o 
 
 Cahill, Frank, a true experience by, 497 
 
 Calhoun, John C, the spotted hand, an anecdote of, 30 
 
 Call all ! Call all ! a poem, 34 
 
 Camp anecdotes, 127 
 
 Camp, Henry W., a soldier with the right spirit, . 123 
 
 Camp jewelry, a description of, 528 
 
 Camp life, described by a soldier, 504 
 
 Canadian sympathy, a verse, 499 
 
 Captain and the chaplain, 140 
 
 Capturing a gun, how " Old Seth " did it, 339 
 
 Card-playing, inorduiate love of, 358 
 
 Carney, Sergeant, the bravery of, at Fort Wagner, 145 
 
 Carpenter, Captain, of the Jessie scouts, 45 
 
 Carrick's Ford, incidents of, 227 
 
 Carte-de-visite, a poem, 113 
 
 Carter, Captain, his scouting, 53 
 
 Carter, Sergeant, halts a whole rebel regiment, . . 152 
 
 Cascaux, , of New Orleans, 358 
 
 Cavalry service, incidents of the, 400 
 
 Cavalry song, by E. G. Cutler, 238 
 
 Cavender, , sufferings of, the Tennessee hero, . 144 
 
 Challon, Father, a hero of Chickamauga, 297 
 
 Chambcrsburg, Pennsylvania, story of the inva- 
 sion of, 520 
 
 Champion Hills, an incident of, 356 
 
 Chaplain and the Captain, 140 
 
 Chaplains, who and what they are, 401 
 
 Charge of the Mule Brigade, the, by Thomas H. 
 
 Elliott, 225 
 
 Chase, S. P., Chief Justice, anecdotes of, 402 
 
 Chattanooga, incidents of, 223, 251, 482 
 
 Cheatham, B. F., General, the escape of, 30- 
 
 Chickamauga, death of a young woman on the 
 
 battle-field of, 158 
 
 Chickamauga, father Challon a hero of, 297 
 
 Chickamauga, battle of owls and crows at, 169 
 
 Chickamauga, or the river of death, description of, . 224 
 
 Chickamauga, the battle-field of, described, .... 373 
 
 Chickamauga, the stream of death, a poei(> .... 342 
 
 Chickamauga, good shooting at, 345 
 
 Chickamauga, Thomas's great fight at, 376 
 
 Chickamauga, heroic conduct of officers at, .... 366 
 
 Chickamauga, story of Captain Ogan at, 388 
 
 Chickamauga, " a little hurt " at, 397 
 
 Chickamauga, a war picture, 438 
 
 Chickamauga, Ihe star brigade at, 341 
 
 Chickamauga, Colonel Wilder's incidents of, ... 530 
 
 Child, L. Maria-, her sketch of William Fuller, ... 95 
 
 Christian Commission, what it does, 366 
 
 Christian Commission, incidents of the, 501 
 
 Christian Commission, Rev. Robert J. Parvin's in- 
 cidents of the, 508 
 
 Christian Commission, Rev. George J. Mingin's ad- 
 dress, 511 
 
 Christmas among the freedmen, 22 
 
 Christmas with the slave, 465 
 
 Cincinnati, the siege of, by T. B. Reed, 536 
 
 Civilities of war, 307 
 
 Claiborne, the contraband, how he escaped, .... 76 
 
 Clapp, Zeruah, Mrs., anecdote of, 338 
 
 Clayton, Rev. Mr., his kindness at Camp Dennison, 488 
 
 Clem, Johnny, the drummer-boy, 160 
 
 Close quarters, fighting at, 161 
 
 " Close up," an anecdote of Philippa, 356 
 
 Coffee for the Southerners, 500 
 
 Cole, Daniel R., adventures of a spy, 398 
 
 Coleman, General, 403 
 
 Collins, Maurice, his heroism at Spottsylvania, . . 188 
 CoUyer, Robert, Rev., his narrative sermon on the 
 
 battle at Fort Donclson, 292 
 
 CoUyer, Robert, his account of Old Hannah, the 
 
 nurse, "^ 
 
 Comedy of battle, 305 
 
 Conde, Samuel, bravery of, ou Pope's retreat, ... 263 
 
 Cones, Mr., the ride of, 49 
 
 Confederate song of freedom, by Emily M. Wash- 
 ington, 288 
 
 " Confiscate de ole 'oman," 544 
 
 Connecticut, a patriotic boy of, 128 
 
 Conscription, relentless at the South, 431 
 
 Conservative chorus, a verse, 455 
 
 Contraband, a talk with a, 225 
 
 Conundrums, one of a teamster, 1'9 
 
 Conundrums, a Southern .one, 511 
 
 Conway, H. A., incidents of Alexandria, Mo., ... 304 
 
 Coolness in battle, anecdote of, 311 
 
 Coolness ou the field, an instance of, 1S2 
 
 Cooper, Sandy, his adventure in Virginia, 133 
 
 Corinth, an orator disturbed at, 07 
 
550 
 
 INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 Corinth, a wife on the battle-field of, 85 
 
 Corinth, an incident of, 449 
 
 Corinth, the hero of, 4C3 
 
 Corse, Major, his exploit at Island Number Ten, . 335 
 
 Cotton-doodle, by a lady of the South, 414 
 
 Cotton is king, " Give us this day our daily 
 
 cotton," 234 
 
 Cox, James, Sergeant, his bravery at Olustee, . . . 359 
 ~"^rane, J. L., Rev., his remarks concerning General 
 
 Grant, 502 
 
 Crnven, T. Augustus, address to the officers of the 
 
 navy, 34 
 
 Crawford, General, 25 
 
 Creedon, Father, speech of, the Sunday after Pi-esi- 
 
 dent Lincoln's first call for troops, 400 
 
 Crook, George, General, how he lost his boots, . . . 370 
 Cross, Edward E., heroism of, at Fredericksburg, . 11 
 
 Cross, E. E., Colonel, at Antictam, 300 
 
 Crowninshield, Lieutenant, noticed, 224 
 
 Cruelties of w*r, the, 140 
 
 Culbertson, Willie F. B., an incident of home, . . . 134 
 — Culpepper, the farmer of, who took no sides in the 
 
 rebellion, 248 
 
 Cumberland, Sailor Willard's story of the destruc- 
 tion of the, 410 
 
 Cummings, Kobert, a hero boy of the Harriet Lane, 302 
 
 Curiosities of army life, 372 
 
 Curtis, General, incidents of his march, 300 
 
 Gushing, Captain, the exploit of, in Cape Fear River, 240 
 Gushing Lieutenant, his exploit with the Albemarle, 533 
 
 Cutler, Elbridge Gerry, song by, 238 
 
 Cutler, Miss, tribute to the memory of, 343 
 
 D 
 
 Dabney, the colored scout, 207 
 
 Dahlgrcn, Ulric, the story of, 291 
 
 Dahlgren, Ulric, another story of, 470 
 
 Danville, the colored school at, described, 487 
 
 Darlington, W. B. Major, adventures of, ..... 125 
 
 Davis, John, the heroic sailor of the Valley City, . 346 
 
 Davis, what the name means, 137 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, a Southern girl's lines to, .... 251 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, story of tlie capture of, 411 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, on his election as president, . . . 479 
 
 Davis, Willard, a true Kentuckian, 335 
 
 Day, Ishmael, the story of, 280 
 
 Day, Ishmael, poem to, 281 
 
 Day, Ishmael, the ballad of, 347 
 
 Dead brought to life, 58 
 
 December in Virginia, a poem, 130 
 
 ■"Defrees, John D., anecdote of, 407 
 
 De Kay, Drake, how he captured Smithfield, Va., 70 
 
 De Kay, Drake, exploit of, on the James River, . . 393 
 
 Delaney, Frenchy, the story of, 189 
 
 De Montieii, Colonel 44 
 
 Demoralized, but not scattered, 214 
 
 "Dennison, F., Rev., a heroic chaplain, 370 
 
 De Peystcr, J. L., Lieutenant, 360 
 
 Desolations of war, 508 
 
 Devil, to the, or Washington, 50 
 
 De Villiers, Colonel, Eleventh Ohio, adventures of, 154 
 
 Dick, the drummer, C8 
 
 Dirge for a soldier, in memory of General Philip 
 
 Kearney, 143 
 
 Dirge for one who fell in battle, 467 
 
 Discipline, time to get sober in, 465 
 
 Discovering a friend, 134 
 
 Dodging shells, when to do it, 253 
 
 Dog, a faithful, at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, 120 
 Dog, faithfulness of John Ferguson's, at the battle 
 
 of Pittsburg Landing, 35*! 
 
 Dogs, anecdote of " Shep," 455 
 
 Dorsheimcr, Major, story of Zagonyi's charge at 
 
 Springfield, 442 
 
 Doughnuts, a feast of, in 3Iaine, 72 
 
 Dow, Neal, General, in Libby Prison, 149 
 
 Draft, operations of the, at Savannah, 77 
 
 Draft, an editor's lines on the, 241 
 
 Draft, Billy Bray, a story of the, 427 
 
 Draft, one of a hundred, an incident of, 533 
 
 Dragoon's song, by George H. Boker, 180 
 
 Dranesville, negro captures rebels at, 4G7 
 
 Drancsville, incident of, 499 
 
 Dreams, the pleasant ones of the soldiers, 359 
 
 Driving home the cows, a poem 511 
 
 Du Barry, Frank, his burial at sea, 193 
 
 Dugan, sufferings of, in East Tennessee, 69 
 
 Dunksburg, Mo., amusing account of a battle at, . 423 
 
 Dunn, James L., Dr.,his description of Clara Barton, 244- 
 
 Duryea, General, at the battle of Bethel, 97 
 
 Duskie, Miss, a Southern heroine, 224 
 
 E 
 
 East Tennessee, a scout to, by the Lochiel cavalry, . 16 
 
 East Tennessee, life in, 59 
 
 East Tennessee, loyalty manifested in, 321 
 
 Educiition in the army, 2S9 
 
 Edwards, William B., Sergeant, story of the adven- 
 tures of, 304 
 
 Effective Recognition, 142 
 
 " Ein Feste Burg 1st Unser Gott," by John G. 
 
 Whittier, 14S 
 
 Elegy on my leg, 09 
 
 Elliott, Thomas H., poem by, 225 
 
 Ellsworth, Elmer E., Colonel, story of the death of, .391— 
 Ellsworth, Elmer E., Colonel, his last speech, . . . 105 
 
 Enlisted, by W. A. Kendall, 24 
 
 " E Pluribus Unum," a poem, by John Pierpont, . 475 
 
 Essex gunboat, heroism on the, 47 
 
 Ethan Spike, account of the secession of Hornby, 
 
 Slaine, 34 
 
 Everybody resembles his neighbor in the army, . , 372 
 
 Execution of a spy at Pulaski, 403 
 
 Experience on a gunboat, an incident of Southern 
 
 sea service, 440 
 
 Exploits of a foraging party, 507 
 
 F 
 
 Fair Oaks, General Heintzleman at, 190 
 
 Fair Oaks, experience of Edmund Q. Andrews at 
 
 the battle of, 502 
 
 Fair Oaks, an incident of, 412 
 
 Faithful unto death, a story of the war, 4S4^ 
 
 Falling Waters, the destruction of the pontoons at, 22! 
 Farewell to Brother Jonathan, by Caroline, .... 494 
 
 Farmer, Samuel, Captain, of Arkansas, 32.") 
 
 Farragut, D.G., Admiral, anecdote of, 52(1 
 
 Feminine wrath, an instance of, 131 
 
 Ferguson John, faithfulness of his dog, 3,')> 
 
 Fernandina, Florida, an incident of the attack on, . 10 
 Fernandina, Florida, the colored schools of, . ... 1 10 
 
 Fever and ague, a Southern cure for, 404 
 
 Fiddler, the rebel " Betsey," 40 
 
 Fields, James T., poem, by 329 
 
INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 551 
 
 Fifteenth army corps, the badge of the, 51 
 
 " Fighting- by the day," an anecdote of Lexington, 321 
 
 •Fighting ministers, some account of, 460 
 
 First experience in battle, 155 
 
 -First fiital shot, the, 39S 
 
 Fishback, \Vilham M., scenes in the South-west, . . 323 
 risher, II. D., Rev., narrative of the massacre at 
 
 Lawrence, 322 
 
 Five days a prisoner, the experiences of Charles O. 
 
 Phillips, 239 
 
 Flag, love for the, an incident of the hospital, .... 442 
 
 Fleas, a night in the army with, 40S 
 
 Fletcher, Sergeant, Third Vermont, bravery of, at 
 
 Lee's Mills, 349 
 
 Fletcher, Pat, the Irish regular, 25 
 
 — - Florida, the troops of, complimented by General II. 
 
 E. Lee, 241 
 
 Florida, a curious letter from, 495 
 
 " Florida," the cruise of the, 101 
 
 '■'"^ Floyd, John B., an epitaph for, by a soldier, .... 245 
 -■ Floyd, John B., recollections of, by a Soutliern sol- 
 dier, 432 
 
 Fon Rodd, John, the patriotic family of, 483 
 
 Fontaine, Lamar, adventures of, 50 
 
 Foote, A. II., Commodore, anecdote of, 58 
 
 Foraging, some account of, 507 
 
 Foraging, the way it was done by a Wisconsin regi- 
 ment, 148 
 
 Force of habit, in a railroad Captain, 541 
 
 Ford, Tom, Colonel 32d Ohio, how he catechised 
 
 secession, 458 
 
 Forrest, N. B., General, how he acted at Tunnel Hill, 357 
 
 Forrest, how Lieut. Mclntire escaped from him, . . 187 
 
 Forrest, remarks on Fort Pillow, 450 
 
 Fort Corcoran, baptism of the big gun at, 217 
 
 Fort Donelson, incidents of the fight at, SO 
 
 Fort Donelson, the spirit of '70, an incident .... 105 
 
 Fort Donelson, reminiscence of the surrender of, . 192 
 
 • Fort Donelson, Rev. Robert Collyer's incidents of, 292 
 
 Fort Donelson, incidents of, 317, 400 
 
 Fort Pickens, letter to a Yankee, found In, 14 
 
 Fort Pickens, one of the modes of attacking, ... 03 
 
 Fort Pillow, incidents of, 00 
 
 Fort Pillow, Mrs. Booth's speech on the atrocities 
 
 at, 413 
 
 Fort Pillow, General Forrest's conversation on the 
 
 affair at, 450 
 
 Fort Sumter, the occupation of, 27 
 
 Fort Sumter, a revival in, 357 
 
 Fort Sumter, a providential deliverance at, .... 441 
 Fort Sumter. See Sumter. 
 
 Fort Wagner, an incident of, 130 
 
 Fredericton, Mo., the oldnegro of, 374 
 
 Fredericksburg, incidents of, 118 
 
 Fredericksburg, the Minnesotians at, 123 
 
 Fredericksburg, heroism of James H. Piatt at, . . 318 
 
 Fredericksburg, a night scene at, 300 
 
 Fredericksburg, incidents of the first battle at, . . 509 
 
 Freedmen, Christmas among the, 22 
 
 Frcedmen's bureau, anecdote of the negro woman, 1.30 
 
 Freedman's song, the, 505 
 
 Freedom of speech in Alabama, 354 
 
 Freedom of speech, an anecdote of " Shop," the 
 
 dog, 455 
 
 Free schools, the value of, 132 
 
 French notions of American geography, 214 
 
 Fristoc, James, his adventure in Virginia, 133 
 
 Fuller, John W., Colonel Twenty-seventh Ohio, . . 403 
 
 Fuller, William, one of the army of martyrs, ... 95 
 
 Fun on the Rappahannock, 8 
 
 a 
 
 Galveston, incident of the fight at, 295 
 
 Ganter, chaplain, his account of Willieh's victory, 252 
 Gardner, Charles Howard, the drummer-boy of the 
 
 Eighth Michigan, 424 
 
 Garfield, General, heroism at Paiutsville, 48 
 
 Garfield, General, notice of, lOO 
 
 Garrabrant, James, narrow escape of, 60 
 
 Gates, Charles, an amusing incident, 193 
 
 Gazley, Lieutenant-Colonel, anecdote of, 510 
 
 Geary, John W., bravery of, 632 
 
 Geary, General, at Lookout, 431 
 
 Gere, E. B., Captain, anecdote of, 374 
 
 General Lee's wooing, a poem, 3.38— 
 
 Generosity, an anecdote of, 478 
 
 " Gentleman from Jones," his speech, 351 
 
 German, Delia R., a poem by, 450 
 
 " Get off that stump '. " an anecdote of the long Mis- 
 
 sourian, 410 
 
 Gettysburg, an incident of, 140 
 
 Gettysburg, scenes on the battle field of, 209 
 
 Gettysburg, Illinois at the battle of, 215 
 
 Gettysburg, the battle of, by Howard Glyndon, . . 290 
 
 Gettysburg, the battle of, by Samuel Wilkeson, . . 333 
 Gettysburg, an English oflieer's anecdotes of the 
 
 battle of, 320 
 
 Gettysburg, "Whose father was he .'" an incident 
 
 of, 321 
 
 Gettysburg, Lieutenant Bayard Wilkeson a hero of, 300 
 
 Gettysburg, Bible found at 382 
 
 Gettysburg, German chaplain at, 383 
 
 Gettysburg, how John Mosely died at, 457 
 
 Gettysburg, three weeks at, 489 
 
 Gibson, John M., thrilling adventure of, 140 
 
 Gillem, Colonel, and the soldier, 288 
 
 Gillingham, Ned, adventure of, 155 
 
 Glassell, W. T. See " Ironsides," 2.37 
 
 Glezen, J. P., incidents of a march by, 383 
 
 " God save the South," the Confederate anthem re- 
 viewed, SCO 
 
 Goddard, C, Lieutenant-Colonel, 55 
 
 Good for evil, a synonym, H5 
 
 Goodridge, Ellen, faithful unto death, 484 
 
 Good shooting at Chickamauga, 345 
 
 Gordonhire. See Romance of the war, 200 
 
 Gould, Orrin B., the hero of Corinth, 403 . 
 
 Graham, J. S., Captain, story of the capture of 
 
 Mosby's horse, 289 
 
 Grant, Ulysses S., Lieutenant-General, pumpkin-pie 
 
 anecdote of, •'5 
 
 Grant, noticed, 81 
 
 Grant and the Dutchman at Shiloh, 1S2 
 
 Grant, a story of, about taking Richmond, 192 
 
 Grant, how he treated a politician, 20<> 
 
 Grant obeys orders in camp, • • • 225 
 
 Grant, a Scotch anecdote of, 254 
 
 Grant at the battle of the Big Black, 348 
 
 Grant, an incident of the Wilderness, 408 
 
 Grant, a verse of welcome to, 48:) 
 
 Grant, account of his war horse and his love of 
 
 horses, • • *^^ 
 
 Grant, some things concerning, 502 
 
 Gratitude on the battle-field, an incident of Fort 
 
 Donelson, 13'' 
 
 Great Bethel, Sergeant Goodfellow's bravery at, . . 397 
 
 Greble, Lieutenant, at Great Bethel, 73 
 
 Green, WilUara N., Captain, the bravery of, ... . 124 
 
 Greenbacks, a poem, 292 
 
552 
 
 INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS, 
 
 Greenleaf, Charles H., his account of the saving of 
 
 Banks's army, 123 
 
 Grenewald, Leonard, bold exploit of, 221 
 
 Greyhound, Pollard's story of the capture of, . . . 1~0 
 
 Gri£«"son, General, 187 
 
 Grierson's raid, incident of, CIO 
 
 Gross, G. J., his story of Gettysburg, 209 
 
 Guerrillas, how they were scared at Curlew, Ky., . 63 
 
 H 
 
 Hagerstown, incident of, 341 
 
 Hale, Henry, the scout of the West, 46 
 
 Half an hour among the rebels in Philadelphia, . . 351 
 
 Halleek, Fitz- Greene, a song by, 127 
 
 Halpine, Charles G., " Paddy on Sambo," by, . . . 269 
 
 Halpiae, Charles J., song by, 300 
 
 Hamilton, Corporal, adventure of, 133 
 
 Hampton, Wade, Major, 125 
 
 Hanna, J., Marshall, poem by, 44G 
 
 Hannah, the old nurse, 79 
 
 Hanover court-house, incidents of the battle at, . . 76 
 Hardaway, Kobert, Mrs., a noble woman of the 
 
 South, 486 
 
 Hardee, General, and the straggler, 187 
 
 Hardee, his " tactics " thrown in the shade, .... 344 
 
 Hardee outdone as a tactician, 359 
 
 Harker, General, his brigade at Eocky Face, .... 345 
 
 Harlan, Colonel, and the Presbyterian minister, . . 00 
 
 Harmon, Bledsoe, Major, incidents of Belmont, . . 455 
 
 " Harriet Lane," Kobert Cummings, the hero of the, 302 
 
 Harrington, John, bravery of, at Lee's Mills, . . . 349 
 
 "Harry Flash," poem by, 119 
 
 Hart, John, Mrs., heroism of, 300 
 
 Hart, Joseph, the guide of West Virginia, 73 
 
 ■Hartz, Asa, song by, 153 
 
 Hasbrouck, A. H., Captain, 93 
 
 Hatchie, a baby found on the battle-field of, ... . 62 
 
 Hayes, Alex., General, his latest thoughts, .... 134 
 
 Hayes, Alex., his bravery at Gettysburg, 414 
 
 Hayne, Paul H., poem by, 132 
 
 Hayne, the Kentucky partisan, by, 403 
 
 Haven, John, the bravery of, at Scarytown, Va., . 228 
 
 " Hawkins Zouaves " at the bridge at Antietam, . . 477 
 
 Heart-rending boat ballad, the, 180 
 
 Heatherly, cruelties of war, 140 
 
 Hecker, William M., adventures of, 528 
 
 Helena, incidents of, 307 
 
 Hendershot, Robert Henry, the drummer-boy of 
 
 the Rappahannock, 245 
 
 Hendrick, James, faithful unto death, 484 
 
 Henkefer, Hiram, an incident of the hospital, . . . 358 
 
 Ilerndon, W. II. See Lincoln, 209 
 
 Herndon, liis reminiscences of President Lincoln, . 538 
 
 Heroism under suffering, . , 50 
 
 Heroism of a boy on board the gunboat Galena, . . 460 
 
 Hess, F. W., Captain, bravery of, 339 
 
 Hill, D. H., General, his algebra, 47 
 
 Hill, John F., to and from Libby Prison, by, . . . 270 
 Hines, Captain, how he escaped with General Mor- 
 gan, 314 
 
 Hinks, Edward W., Colonel, the first Massachusetts 
 
 man iu the war, 402 
 
 Hoag, Joseph, a remarkable prophecy of, 24 
 
 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, poems by, . . . 8,52,114,460 
 
 Home Guards, " Iv'e jined' em," 67 
 
 Home Guards, Sparrowgrass on the, 94 
 
 Home life in the South, a description of, 205 
 
 Home scene in the South, 72 
 
 Homesickness in the hospital, 129 
 
 Homespun dress, a Southern song, 174 
 
 "Home, sweet home," an incident of the camp, . . 342 
 Hooker, Joseph, General, how he talked to a cav- 
 alry brigadier 305 
 
 Hooker, General, at Lookout, 431 
 
 Horrors of the war 320 
 
 Horse, an affectionate one, 533 
 
 Horses at Bull Run, account of some, 70 
 
 Hospitals, sketches in the, 00 
 
 Hospitals, incidents of the, 358 
 
 " Housatonic," the torpedo boat that sunk the, . . 303 
 
 "Housewife," the value of a, 192 
 
 How a captain was captured, .355 
 
 Howard, O. O., the Christian soldier, 495 
 
 Howard, O. O., his incident of Sherman's march, . 490 
 
 How brave men suffer and die, by B. F. Taylor , . . 181 
 
 How I enlisted, a story of the war .364 
 
 How Pat entrapped an officer, 526 
 
 How the baby was named, 340 
 
 How to clean a well, 179 
 
 How to preserve your country, an anecdote, .... 317 
 
 How to cross a river 7 
 
 Howe, Julia Ward, poem by, 103 
 
 Howe, Orion P., the drummer-boy, 104 
 
 Howland, Mrs., poem by 82 
 
 Iloxic, Joseph, his liberality, 117 
 
 Ho ! Yankee boys throughout the West, by R. Tomp- 
 kins, 177 
 
 Humors of the camp, 2SG 
 
 Hunter, John T., the first Union volunteer, .... 398 
 Ilurd, Phincas B., Mrs., her sufferings with the 
 
 Sioux Indians, 248 
 
 Ilutchings, W. V., how he used a slave hunter, . . 446 
 Hyman, R. G., Lieutenant, gallantry of, at Spottsyl- 
 
 vania, 155 
 
 " I fights mit Sigel," by Grant P. Robinson, ... 202 
 
 Illinois at the battle of Gettysburg, 215 
 
 Illinois, the spirit of, 291 
 
 Incident by the way 178 
 
 Incident in the cars, 170 
 
 Incidentof the hospital, the affection of a boy, . . 355 
 
 Incident of the hospital, how Charlie died, 72 
 
 Incident of the battle-field, the value of the little 
 
 " housewife," 192 
 
 Incident of the South, 488 
 
 Incident that carries its own comment, 35 
 
 Incident with a moral 30 
 
 Indiana, Eleventh regiment of, at a flag-raising in 
 
 Kentucky, 400 
 
 Indiana's roll of honor, 388 
 
 Indian strategy at Petersburg, 175 
 
 Inheriting wounds, an anecdote of the hospital, . . 120 
 
 "In statu qtco," an incident, 124 
 
 Irishman, a brave, goes for his whiskey flask on the 
 
 field of battle, 201 
 
 Irishman, adventures of an, at Bull Run, 503 
 
 Irishman, his view of a shell, 140 
 
 Irishman, how Pat entrapped' an officer, 520 
 
 Irishman, a cesmopolitan, 545 
 
 Irish gunner, account of one, at Fredericksburg, . . 319 
 
 Irish, regular, anecdote of the, 25 
 
 Irish wit always ready, 85 
 
 " Ironsides," a Southern account of the attack on 
 
 the, 2.37 
 
INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 553 
 
 Island No. Ten, an Incident of, 335 
 
 " Is tbat mother.'" a touching incident 66 
 
 Jackson, T. J., (Stonewall,) anecdotes of, 123 
 
 ""■• 'Jackson, T. J., some account of his peculiarities, . 171 
 
 Jackson, T. J., administers the sacrament, .... 256 
 
 Jackson, T. J., soldiers' admiration of, 357 
 
 Jackson, T. J., obedience to orders sustained by, . 375 
 
 Jackson, T. J., anecdote of " drive 'em in the river," 307 
 
 Jackson, T. J., how he acted at Bull Run, 234 
 
 Jackson, T. J., a notice of, 166 
 
 " Jackson, by Harry Flash," 119 
 
 Jackson, Thomas, heroism of, at Beaufort, .... 152 
 Jallonack, H., captures an old Bible on the battle- 
 field, 60 
 
 Janvier, F. d'Haes, poem by, 3S4 
 
 Jenkins, Elijah D., heroism of, 300 
 
 "Jessie scouts," exploits of the, 45 
 
 Joanof Arc in the West, how she recruited, . ... 121 
 
 Joe Parsons, a Maryland brave, 08 
 
 John Brown's song, 509 
 
 Johnson, Andrew, an incident of Nashville, .... 334 
 
 Johnson, Andrew, and the Ohio boy, 485 
 
 Johnson, Willie, the drummer-boy of the Third Ver- 
 mont, 427 
 
 Johnson's Island, a story of, 412 
 
 Joke on a rebel editor, 50 
 
 Juvenile patriotism, cases of, 542 
 
 K 
 
 Kearny, Philip, General, anecdotes of, 314 
 
 Kelley, General, and the secession girl, 65 
 
 Kelley'slsland, story of the fight at, 386 
 
 Kendall, W. A., poem by, 24 
 
 Kenesaw, incidents of, 200 
 
 Kentucky, spirit of a farmer in the legislature of, . 221 
 
 Kentucky, partisan rangers in, 160 
 
 Kentucky, a flag-raising in, 400 
 
 " Kentucky ! O Kentucky '. " a poem, 236 
 
 Kerr, Orpheus C, farewell address to the mackerel 
 
 brigade, 10 
 
 Kight, Dempsey, a hero indeed, 151 
 
 King, Captain, the man who would not be taken a 
 
 prisoner, 30 
 
 King Cotton, in a tableau, 91 
 
 King, Curtis, the wonderful old soldier, 130 
 
 Kinney, B. J., incidents of Alexandria, Missouri, . 304 
 Kirksville, Missouri, an incident of the battle of, . 464 
 Knoxville, Tennessee, incidents of the siege of, . . 356 
 Knoxville, Tennessee, scenes on the entry of Burn- 
 side's army into, 395 
 
 Ladd, Luther C, apocalypse, 164 
 
 Lander, General, and the Bible, 128 
 
 Landreth, William 11., his poems, 180 
 
 Lawrence, account of the massacre at, 322, 352 
 
 Learned, J. M., patriotism of his family, 28 
 
 Lee, Robert E., General, compliments the Florida 
 
 troops, 241 
 
 Lee, General, at Gettysburg, 320 
 
 Lee, General, an English picture of, 526 
 
 Lee's Mills, Virginia, instances of bravery at, . . . 349 
 
 Leesburg, Southern incidents of the battle at, . . . 452 
 
 L. E. G. on my leg, 59 
 
 " Let me kiss him for his mother," an incident, . . 247 
 " Let us love our flag," an incident of the hospital, 442 
 
 Letters from home, their value in the army, . . . 529 
 
 Letters from soldiers, how many were written, . . 445 
 
 Letters to the soldiers, 03 
 
 Lewinsville, an incident of, 253 
 
 Lexington, Missouri, Colonel Mulligan's story of 
 
 the fall of, 415 
 
 Libby Prison, the escape from, in February, 1864, • 149 
 
 Libby Prison, to and from the, by John F. Hill, . . 270 
 
 Libertytown, Maryland, incident of, 126 
 
 Life and death of a patriot soldier, 144 
 
 Lincoln Abraham, and the paymaster, 22 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, reminiscences of, 28' 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, abutment anecdote of, 32 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham. See an editor before the cabinet, 32 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, a dying soldier prays for, ... 83 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, what the name means, 137 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, account of a visit to, 144 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, kindheartedness of, I66 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, splitting the diflerence, .... 167 
 Lincoln, Abraham, had very little influence with the 
 
 administration, 177 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, story of Bill Sykcs's dog, ... 194 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, his first speech, 209 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, his indorsement of the report of 
 
 F. W. Smith's court-martial, 213 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, " good on the chop," 217 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, lines to, 247 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, draft-horse anecdote, 248 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, his tribute to the women of 
 
 America, 266 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, story of the German Lieutenant, 269 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, " peg away," story of, 304 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, anecdote of " blasting," .... 365 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, the last inauguration of, ... . 382 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, " sugar-coated," anecdote of, . 407 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, anecdote of the slaveholder, . . 410 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, a beautiful anecdote of, .... 427 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, his pass to Richmond of no eflect, 435 
 Lincoln, Abraham, anecdote of the nomination of 
 
 Judge Chase, 440 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, anecdote of his choice, "an 
 
 election or Richmond," 447 
 
 Liacoln, Abraham, Senator Sherman's sketch of, . 449 
 Lincoln, Abraham, the Blondin anecdote of, ... . 453 
 Lincoln, Abraham, " no vices and few virtues," . . 457 
 Lincoln, Abraham, reminiscences of the Presiden- 
 tial life of, 482 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, characteristics of, 489 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, his interview with the Western 
 
 farmer, 510 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, a Southern anecdote of, ... . 527 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, Mr. Herndon's reminiscences of, 534 
 
 Linn Creek, Missouri, an incident of, 321 
 
 Lipscomb, Martin 3Ieredith, the story of Colonel 
 
 Dahlgren, 480 ■ 
 
 Little Eddie, the drummer-boy, 6 
 
 Little John Clem, the drummer-boy, 160 
 
 Lochiel cavalry, a scout to East Tennessee by the, . 16 
 
 Logan, John A., General, anecdote of, 482 
 
 Logan guards, the, 10 
 
 Lohman, F.W. E., the story of Ulric Dahlgren, . . 480 
 
 Longfellow, Henry W., the Cumberland, by, . . . 183 
 
 Longstreet, General, at Gettysburg, 320 
 
 Lougstreet, at Lookout, 431 
 
 Looking alike, or how to polish ragged shoes, ... 187 
 
 Lookout Mountain, an incident of, ... 201 
 
554 
 
 INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Lookout Valley, incident of the, 431 
 
 Louisiana, the pelican of, a dirty bird, 52 
 
 Love for the Qag, au incident by the way, 3-15 
 
 Love, hate, and piety on the battle-field, 541 
 
 Lovell, Mansfield, song about, Ill 
 
 Lowell, J. Kussell, 437 
 
 Lowell, Kobcrt, a poem by, 529 
 
 Lucky and unlucky, an incident of Cold Harbor, . , 487 
 
 " Lymau Eeecher Adams," an incident of the war, 354 
 Lyon, Kathaniel, General, at the taking of Potosi, 
 
 Missouri, 226 
 
 Lyon, Kathaniel, his memory cherished by the sol- 
 diers, 235 
 
 Lyon, Kathaniel, how his body was saved by Mrs, 
 
 Phelps, 458 
 
 "Lyon," a poem, 97 
 
 Lytic, General, the death of, 221 
 
 M 
 
 Mackie, John H., Dr., 425 
 
 MagoflBn, Beriah, Governor, 171 
 
 Magruder, J. B., General, anecdote of, 4SS 
 
 Maine, Seventh regiment of, heroism at Antietam, 462 
 
 Manchester, Jlissouri, capture of a secession flag at, 331 
 
 Mangum, \yillie P., Jr., how his life was saved . . 79 
 
 Manly, Ann, the heroine of Baltimore, 36 
 
 March along, by George H. Boker, 214 
 
 Marching along, a song, by W. B. Bradbury, . . . 627 
 
 Blarriage in camp, a, 1C6 
 
 " Maryland," a song, by James K. Randall, .... 48 
 
 Maryland, the 2d regiment of, at Antietam, .... 4G1 
 
 Massachusetts, first man from iu the war, 462 
 
 Massachusetts, patriotism of, 519 
 
 Masonic incident of Antietam 299 
 
 Mattoon, George B.,' a juvenile warrior of experi- 
 ence, 225 
 
 Maury, Harry, the first Southern Admiral, .... 411 
 McAllister, Bryan, account of an interview with 
 
 Forrest at Fort Pillow, 450 
 
 McCall, George A., General, 340 
 
 McClellan, George B., General, how he was helped 
 
 in West Virginia, 73 
 
 McClellan at Antietam, 409 
 
 McClellan's soliloquy, by a daughter of Georgia, . 358 
 
 McClernand, General, his heroic servant, 425 
 
 McCook, General, his pass for a rebel, 70 
 
 •McCullough, S. K., account of a noble Southern 
 
 girl, 402 
 
 McDougal, Joseph, how he was raptured by John 
 
 Morgan, 213 
 
 McFadden, Eddy, an incident, 50 
 
 McGilvery, Mrs., her exploit, 75 
 
 Mclntyre, Lieutenant, how he escaped from Forrest, 187 
 
 McKee, John, Lieutenant, poem by, • 156 
 
 McKim, Lucy, Miss, 98 
 
 McKnight, Major of General Loring's staff.poem by, 153 
 
 McLaughlin, John, the boy soldier, 121 
 
 McKcil, Colonel, at Kirksville battle, 464 
 
 McKcil, Hugh, Colonel, anecdote of South Moun- 
 tain, 338 
 
 McKcill, Jesse, Lieutenant, his exploit, 115 
 
 McPherson, James B., General, how he was killed, 197 
 
 " M. D.'s," heroism of the mule drivers, 392 
 
 Meagher, Thomas Fi-ancis, at Bull Itun, 269 
 
 Meagher, Thomas Francis, an incident of Fair Oaks, 412 
 
 Meredith, Sol., Colonel, anecdote of, 253 
 
 " Merrill's horse," the bravery of, at Kirksville, . . 464 
 
 Merrimac and Monitor, the fight in Hampton Boads, 404 
 
 Military necessity, resolves of the correspondents, 348 
 
 Mill Spring, incidents of the retreat from, m 
 
 Mill Spring, an incident of, 71 
 
 Milroy, General, 153 
 
 Mingins, George J., Rev., his address before the 
 
 Christian Commission, 51t- 
 
 Minnesotians at Bull Run, 520 
 
 Mirrors vs. chickens, an incident, 140 
 
 Mission Ridge, negro song of, .302 - 
 
 Mississippi, speech of the gentleman from Jones in 
 
 the convention of, .351 
 
 Mississippi River, a thrilling scene on the, 359 
 
 Mitchell, W. H., Rev., prayer for JeiT. Davis. . . . 0G-.„_^^ 
 
 Mobile, incidents of the wounded at, 460 
 
 Montgomery, Colonel, narrative of his escape from 
 
 the Confederates, 284 
 
 Montgomery, James E., his experience at the battle 
 
 of West Point, 219 
 
 Moouey, Father, baptizes the big gun at Fort Cor- 
 coran, 217 — 
 
 Morse, Rev. Dr., on etymology, 137 
 
 Morgan, James, Brigadier General, anecdote of, . . 478 
 Morgan, James, Brigadier General, his incident of 
 
 Rocky Face, 203 
 
 Morgan, John, General, incidents of his raid, . 161, 213 
 Morgan, John, General, how he escaped the Rabun 
 
 Home Guards, 222 
 
 Morgan, John, General, verses supposed to have 
 
 been written by, on surveying his solitary abode 
 
 in his cell in the Ohio penitentiary, 254 
 
 Morgan John, General, narrative of the escape of, 314 -— 
 
 Morse, George, the Korth AVoods guide, 174 
 
 Morton, O. P., Governor, 171 
 
 Mosby, incidents of a fight with, 93 
 
 Mosby, the capture of his horse, 289 
 
 Mosby, outwitted by the Yankees, 374 
 
 Mosely, John, how he died at Gettysburg, .... 457 
 
 " Most thar," anecdote of a Vermontcr, 253 
 
 Mule, how an old woman loved her, 318 
 
 Mule, story of the Zouave, -396 
 
 Mule-drivers, heroism of the, 392 
 
 Mulligan, William, Colonel, his account of the fall 
 
 of Lexington, 415 
 
 Mulligan, Vrilliam, Colonel, a beautiful incident of 
 
 Lexington, 465 
 
 MuUooney, Patrick, his adventures in the service, • 503 
 
 Murkland, John, Sergeant, bravery of, at Antietam, 134 
 
 Music among the soldiers, 47 
 
 Music of the Port Royal negroes, 98 
 
 Music, Sherman's love of, 178 
 
 Music, songs upon the battle-field, 245 
 
 Music, the efi'ect of, 546 
 
 My love and I, a song by Asa Hartz, 153 
 
 N 
 
 Kashville, Tennessee, the American flag in, ... . 267 
 
 Kashville, an incident of, 3.34 
 
 Keal, John, battle anthem by, 125 
 
 Kealy, Mary E., the '• Maul," by, 393 
 
 Kcglcy, General, on free schools, 132 
 
 Kcgloy, General, anecdote of taking the oath, ... 410 
 Kegley, General, and the whiskey drinker " of 
 
 Gooletsville," '^57 
 
 Kegro, speech of a, on Christmas, 22 
 
 Kegro, Claiborne the Contraband, 70 
 
 Kegro, a frightened Contraband, 141 
 
 Kegro, music of the Port Royal, 98 
 
INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 555 
 
 Negro, the colored schools at Fernandina, 116 
 
 Neg^o, patriotism of a, 58 
 
 Negro schools at Newbern, 131 
 
 Negro Sergeant of Paducah, 139 
 
 Negro, the worship of the, 146 
 
 Negro, an observing, 134 
 
 Negro, his life to himself, 170 
 
 Negro, the story of a North Carolina, 222 
 
 Negro, how one got off, 253 
 
 Negro, the clothes-line telegraph of a, 2G3 
 
 Negro, Dabney, the negro scout, 267 
 
 Negro, danger of attempting to run guard of a, . . 286 
 
 Negro, the prayer of a, 289 
 
 Uegro, Robert Small, the hero of the " Planter," . 298 
 
 Negro, song of Mission Ridge, 302 
 
 Negro, Millie of Helena, 307 
 
 Negro, endurance of colored troops, 341 
 
 Negro, " one of God's noblemen," 350 
 
 Negro, the old man of Fredericton, 374 
 
 Negro, servile insurrection in the South, 409 
 
 Negro, William Stains, the hero of Belmont, . . . 426 
 
 Negro, a raid by a, 431 
 
 Negro, incidents of Beaufort, related by a, .... 458 
 Negro, anecdote of a negro who did not dare to 
 
 " trus' de Lord twice," 4G4 
 
 Negro, Christmas with the slaves, 465 
 
 Negro, account of Commodore Porter's guide, . . 466 
 
 Negro, what one captured at Dranesvillc, 467 
 
 Negro, an incident of Chattanooga, 482 
 
 Negro, the colored school at Danville, 487 
 
 Negro, how tliey deserted their masters, 507 
 
 New Orleans, Louisiana, a Union woman at, ... . 63 
 New Orleans, Louisiana, Judith's account of the 
 
 capture of, Ill 
 
 " New Orleans won back," a lay for our soldiers, 
 
 by Robert Lowell, 529 
 
 Newsham, T. J., noticed, 80 
 
 Newspaper correspondents, the resolves of the, . . 348 
 New York fireman, what he intended to do after his 
 
 time was up, 286 
 
 New York Sixty-ninth regiment, anecdote of the, . 391 
 
 Ninth army corps, how thieves were treated in the, 180 
 
 Norris, the border scout, 467 
 
 North Carolina, the cruelties of war in, 206 
 
 North Carolina vs. South Carolina, 398 
 
 Northern bravery. Southern ideas of, 80 
 
 Notes from an officer's journal, 320 
 
 Notes from the saddle, by the " Courier," 420 
 
 Not yet, by William CuUen Bryant, 227 
 
 Nowlan, William C, spirit of, at the battle of the 
 
 Hatchie 461 
 
 o 
 
 Obedience to orders, an anecdote of Stonewall 
 
 Jackson, 375 
 
 Obeying orders, an anecdote of General Butler, . . 508 
 
 O'Brien, Fitz-Jamcs, poem by, 231 
 
 October,.a thought, 502 
 
 Ogan, Captain, Fourteenth Ohio regiment, at Chick- 
 
 amauga, 388 
 
 Ohio at Stone River, . : 305 
 
 " Old Abe," the soldier bird, 193 
 
 Old Dick, the drummer, 68 
 
 « Old Greenbacks, I know yc," 402 
 
 Old Hannah, the nurse, 79 
 
 " Old Seth," the sharpshooter, .339 
 
 Old woman's welcome to the flag, 218 
 
 Oldom, Cornelia, the exploit of, 347 
 
 Olustee, Sergeant Cox's bravery at, 359 
 
 On board the Cumberland, by George H. Boker, . . 106 
 
 One-armed, the story of the, 167 
 
 One of a hundred, an incident of the enrolment, . . 533 
 
 O'Neill, Phil, an incident of Fair Oaks, 412 
 
 Only a private, a strange scene, 92 
 
 On the shores of Tennessee, a poem, 44 
 
 Orator, disturbing an, 67 
 
 Orpheus C. Kerr, his definition of patriotism, ... 270 
 
 Oscar, the boy-hero of the Varuna, 223 
 
 Osterhaus, P. J., General, at Pea Ridge, 119 
 
 Our country's call, by William CuUcn Bryant, ... 100 
 
 " Our rights," a Southern anecdote, 288- 
 
 " Out raking oysters," an anecdote of a raw recruit, 365 
 
 Owls and crows, fight at Chickamauga, 169 
 
 Paddy on Sambo as a soldier, by Private Miles 
 
 O'Reilly, 269 
 
 Paducah, Tennessee, the negro Sergeant of, ... . 139 
 
 Paducah, tlie story of, 147 
 
 Paintsville, incidents of the battle of, 48 
 
 Parsons, Joe, heroism of, 68 
 
 Parting words to the Yankees, 08 
 
 Parvin, Robert J., his account of the Christian Com- 
 mission, 508 
 
 Pass for a rebel, a, how General McCook gave one, 70^ 
 Passing to the front, an incident of the Christian 
 
 Commission 37^^. 
 
 Patience under suffering, 50 
 
 Patriotism of a Boston boy, 92 
 
 Patriotism of a Norfolk negro, 58 
 
 Patriotism, Orpheus C. Kerr's definition of, ... . 270 
 
 Pea Ridge, incidents of the battle of, 119 
 
 Peninsular, Virginia, incidents of the, 348 
 
 Pennsylvania Bucktails, the, at South Mountain, . 338 
 
 Perry, F., his adventures in the South, 105 
 
 Perry, J. B., Captain, at Antietam, 200 
 
 Petect. See Romance of the war, 200 
 
 Petersburg, Virginia, narrative of a rfiid from, . . . 370 
 
 Pets in the army, 373 
 
 Phelps, John F., heroism of the wife of, 458 
 
 Phenomena, a remarkable, 373 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa., a welcome in, 243 
 
 Philadelphia, the glory of, volunteer refreshment- 
 room, 281 
 
 Philadelphia, half an hour among the rebels in, . . 351 
 Philadelphia vohinteer refreshment-room described 
 
 by a lady, 281 
 
 Philips, Charles O., Lieutenant, his experiences as 
 
 a prisoner, 239 
 
 Phillippa, an anecdote of, I'r.G 
 
 Picciola, a poem, 200 
 
 Picket conversation, an account of a, 459 
 
 Picket duty, the amenities of, 323 
 
 Pictures of war, one of the, ISl 
 
 Pierpont, John, poem by, 475 
 
 Pigeon, account of a loyal, 79 
 
 Pike, Albert, poem by, !H 
 
 Pikcton, incident of the battle of, 155 
 
 Pillow, Gideon J., General, his "psalm of life," . . 261 
 
 Pillow Guards, a challenge from them, 160- 
 
 Pincr, George B., anecdote of, 179 
 
 Pirates, taken by, 20 
 
 Pittsburg Landing, anecdote of a dog at 130 
 
 Pittsburg Landing, incidents of, 358 
 
 Pittsburg Landing, Buell's strategy at, 317 
 
 " Planter," story of the escape of the, 20& 
 
556 
 
 INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Piatt, James H. J., heroism of, at Fredericksburg, 318 
 
 Platte Valley steamer, how she was brought to, . . 94 
 
 Pleasant dreams, an anecdote, 359 
 
 Pleasant Hill, La., an incident of, 14G 
 
 Plunkett, Sergeant, heroism of, 134 
 
 -Pope, Mary E., a Southern woman, 542 
 
 Porter, Edwin A., story of his bravery, 267 
 
 -Porter, Fitz-John, General, the balloon recomiois- 
 
 eancc of, 343 
 
 Port Hudson, the charge at, 290 
 
 Port Hudson, the twin brothers at, 322 
 
 Port Hudson, an incident of the passage of, by the 
 
 fleet, 526 
 
 Port Hudson, story of the fight at, 531 
 
 Postal affairs, curious superscription, 10 
 
 Potosi, Mo., story of the capture of, 226 
 
 Potter, K. B., Brigadier-General, how he treated a 
 
 thief, 180 
 
 Powers, Hiram, anecdote of the sculptor, 408 
 
 Prairie Grove, the story of, 505 
 
 Prairie Grove, bravery of Lieutenant W. S. Brooks 
 
 at the battle of, 527 
 
 Prentiss, William O., Kev., his apostrophe to cot- 
 ton, 2.34 
 
 Prentiss Guards, a challenge to the, 160 
 
 " Price's appeal to Missouri," by M. Jeff. Thompson, 481 
 
 Private soldier, a tribute to the, 246 
 
 Prize money and bullets to be equally distributed, . 128 
 
 Prophecy, Joseph Hoag's, 24 
 
 Prophecy, a woman's, 27 
 
 Pryor, Eoger A., his feat at Fort Sumter, 25 
 
 Pryor, Roger A., how he was captured and how he 
 
 escaped, 59 
 
 Pugh, William P., his adventures in the South, . . 105 
 
 Purdum, Corporal, a Yankee in Dixie, 107 
 
 j'JPut it in gold letters," an anecdote of the South, 496 
 
 Q 
 
 Quakers, conscript at the South, 22 
 
 Quaker, a patriotic woman 314 
 
 Quaker guns at Frankfort, Ky 182 
 
 R 
 
 Rabbits, hunting of, in the army, 9 
 
 Rabbits, account of one in battle, 319 
 
 Ragged shoes, how to polish them, 187 
 
 " Rally round the flag, boys," an incident of the 
 
 hospital, 235 
 
 Randall, James R., poems by, 11, 48, 468 
 
 Ransom, Lieutenant-Colonel, Eleventh Illinois reg- 
 iment, bravery at Charleston, Mo., 228 
 
 Rat, a surgeon, 153 
 
 Rattlesnakes vs. rebels, 544 
 
 Read, T. Buchanan, Sheridan's ride, a poem by, . . 399 
 
 Reading in the army, 501 
 
 Reading the lists 170 
 
 Rebel attempt to take a train, and how it came out, 
 
 by Daniel D. Steele, 532 
 
 Rebels, a poem, 32 
 
 Rebel song, found at Fort Bartow, 47 
 
 Reeve, A. Z., incidents of his experience in Tennes- 
 see 158 
 
 Reichcnbachcr, JIartin, account of a raid from Pe- 
 tersburg, .370 
 
 Rcid, William, a hero of the Owasco, 295 
 
 Religion, true soldiers, 15 
 
 Religious music among the soldiers, 47 
 
 Reno, General, his last moments, 208 
 
 Reprieved at last, 178 
 
 Eesaca, Georgia, the mocking-bird of, 198 
 
 Resaca, Georgia, incidents of the battle of, .... 346 
 Rhode Island, the One Hundred and Fifth regiment 
 
 of, 269 
 
 Richmond, Virginia, the first American flag over, , 3G0 
 
 Eichmun' on the Jeems, a song, 219 
 
 Riker, Lafayette, Colonel, the last moments of, . . 460 
 
 Rip Van Winkle, in West Virginia, 383 
 
 Roach, William, Corporal| incident of Antietam, . 161 
 
 Roanoke Island, incidents of, 44, 47 
 
 Robie, Colonel, the bravery of, 464 
 
 Robinson, Grant P., poem by, 202 
 
 Rockingham, Virginia, a girl of, 140 
 
 Rockwood, E. P., his experience at Cold Harbor, . 487 
 
 Rocky Face, Georgia, an incident of, 203 
 
 Rocky Face, Georgia, gaining the crest of, 345 
 
 Roll Call, by N. G. Shepherd, 116 
 
 Romance of the war, a, 200 
 
 Romney, Virginia, an incident of, 83 
 
 Rosecrans, Bishop, anecdote of, 14 
 
 Rosecrans, AV. S., General, secret service of, ... . 53 
 
 Rosecrans, General, anecdote of, 131 
 
 Rosecrans, General, conversation with the Confed- 
 erate Captain, .349 
 
 Ross, Frederick A., Rev., anecdote of, 32 
 
 Rosseau, LoveU H., General, and the rebel clergy- 
 man, 32 
 
 Rosseau, General, his incidents of Shiloh, 50 
 
 Rosseau, General, incidents of, on the march to 
 
 Nashville, ■ 456 
 
 Rosser, General, his oper.itions on the border, . . 4.35 
 
 Russell, Colonel, Tenth Connecticut volunteers, . . 44 
 
 Russell, W. JI., ye Londonne Times correspondente, 199 
 
 Ryder, William, a genuine nobleman, 182 
 
 S 
 
 Salute, " a kind of a," 15 
 
 Sanitary Commission, the " marked articles " of, . 247 
 
 Sanitary Commission, '76 and '64, an incident, . . . 338 
 
 Sanitary Commission, what it docs, 366 
 
 Sans culotte, an incident, 517 
 
 Sansom, Emma, of Cherokee, account of, 145 
 
 Sargent, Lucius Manlius, " Sigma," poem by, . . . 479 
 
 Satan or the rebels, 329 
 
 Savannah, amusing account of drafting at, 77 
 
 Scenes in the hospital, 286 
 
 Schofield, Joseph, traitor's coat-of-arms described 
 
 by, 447 
 
 Schwartz, Miss, heroism of, 126 
 
 Scotland, friends to America in, 420 
 
 Scott, J. Traviso, his parting words to the Yankees, 69 
 Scott, William, the dying soldier who prayed for 
 
 the President, 82 
 
 Scott, William, the sleeping sentinel 384 
 
 Scouts and spies, the value of, 141 
 
 Scouts, the story of Wallace's, 386 
 
 Scouting adventures, as told by a cavalryman, • . . 518' 
 
 Soaton, John, incidents of Belmont, by, 138 
 
 Secession catechised, 458 
 
 Sclheimer, John B., Capt.ain, 10 
 
 Semmcs, Captain, of the Alabama, 539^ 
 
 Servile insurrections at the South, 409 
 
 Seventh regiment N. Y. S. M., the march of the, by 
 
 Fitz-James O'Brien, 228 
 
 Seward, William H., attack on, by Payne, 363 
 
INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 557 
 
 Seymour, Charles C, his death at Memphis, .... 466 
 
 Shackleford, Colonel, exploit of his regiment, ... 35 
 
 Shaler, Henry, gallantry of, at Gettysburg, .... 224 
 
 Shanly, Charles Dawson, poem by, 381 
 
 Sharpsburg, incidents of, 181 
 
 Shells, and how they are dodged, 394 
 
 Shell on board ship, what it did, "; 425 
 
 Shepherd, N. G., poem by, 116 
 
 Sheridan, Philip, General, 125 
 
 Sheridan's early orders, a poem, 435 
 
 Sheridan's ride, by T. Buchanan Read, 399 
 
 Sherman, John, Senator, sketch of President Lin- 
 coln, 449 
 
 Sherman, W. T., General, his letter on Orion P. 
 
 Howe, 104 
 
 Sherman, General, his love of music, 178 
 
 Sherman, General, incidents of his march, . 170, 339, 496 
 Sherman, General, Southern opinion of the army 
 
 of, 186 
 
 , Sherman, General, his flank movements described by 
 
 a Southern woman, 221 
 
 Sherman, General, how he treated the British consul 
 
 at Savannah, 350 
 
 Sherman, General, his reign at HuntsviUe described 
 
 by a Southerner, 428 
 
 " Sherman's in Savannah," a poem, 194 
 
 Shiloh Mills, incidents of, 50 
 
 Shiloh, reminiscence of the battle-field of, 64 
 
 Shiloh, an incident of, spiking guns at, 182 
 
 Shiloh, thrilling incidents of, 263 
 
 Sights on the battle-field, a story of Shiloh, .... 438 
 " Silent Observer," the adventure of a, in Western 
 
 Virginia, 353 
 
 Sill, General, his quaker guns at Frankfort, Ken- 
 tucky, 182 
 
 Simmons, Mrs., of Jasper county, Mississippi, en- 
 ergy of 120 
 
 Simons, Ned, the old negro, 117 
 
 Sioux Indians, Mrs. Hurd's narrative of her suiTer- 
 
 ings among the, 248 
 
 Sixteenth Army Corps, incidents of its passage 
 
 down the Mississippi, 359 
 
 Skedaddle, a poem by T. B. Aldrich, 9 
 
 Skedaddle, origin of the word, C6 
 
 Slave labor, Eev, W. O. Prentiss on the power of, . 234 
 
 Slave song of Fernandina, 117 
 
 Slave's prayer, a, 51 
 
 Sleeper, Henry, a strange scene, 92 
 
 Small, Robert, the hero of the " Planter," 298 
 
 Smalley, George W., the story of Antietam, by, . . 409 
 
 Smith, A. J., General, his discipline in the army, . 313 
 Smith, C. F., General, incidents of a flag-raising in 
 
 Kentucky, 400 
 
 Smith, Charles H., Fourth Iowa cavalry, adven- 
 tures of, 475 
 
 Smith, Diana, the heroine of the North-west, . . . 223 
 Smith, Franklin W., Abraham Lincoln's indorse- 
 ment of, 213 
 
 Smith, Morgan L., General 51 
 
 Smith, W. F., General 336 
 
 Smith (Extra Billy), Governor, his tactics, 359 
 
 Smithfield, Virginia, how it was captured by Drake 
 
 De Kay 70 
 
 Smuggling in camp, the Irishwoman and her 
 
 chicken, 11 
 
 Snowballing in the army, 310 
 
 Snowballing in the Soutliern army, 389 
 
 Snow-Bird and O was so, a tradition, 342 
 
 Soldier Morals, an incident of Sherman's march, . 170 
 
 Soldiers' Aid Societies, a poem 55 
 
 Song of the croaker, by Horatio Alger, Jr., .... 243 
 Song of the negro boatmen, by John G. Whittier, . 430 
 Song of the soldiers, by Charles G. Halpino, . ... 360 
 
 Songs upon the battle-field, 245 
 
 " South Carolina Gentleman," a poem, 15 
 
 South Carolina vs. North Carolina, 393- 
 
 Southern ideas of Northern bravery, so 
 
 Southern mathematics, D. H. Hill's algebra, .... 47 
 
 Southern prisons, life in, 194 
 
 Southern rights, an anecdote, 283 
 
 Southern victories, "couldn't understand them," . 243. 
 " Southrons, hear your country call you," by Albert 
 
 Pike, 94 
 
 South's true balance, the 05 
 
 Sparrowgrass' proposition for tho Home Guards, . 94 
 
 Spencer, J. H., anecdote related by, 319 
 
 Spies, the value of, 141 
 
 Spiller, C.C, Captain, incidents of the retreat from 
 
 Mill Spring, •■. 09 
 
 Spiritualism at the White House, 3.57 
 
 Sports in the army, 9 
 
 Spottsylvania Court House, gallantry of Lieutenant 
 
 Hyman at, 155 
 
 Spottsylvania Court House, incidents of, 188 
 
 Spring at the Capital, by Mrs. Paul Akcrs, 139 
 
 Springfield, Zagonyi's charge at, 442 
 
 Spy, adventure of a, 39 
 
 Spy, execution of a, at Pulaski, Tennessee, 403 
 
 Squire, T. H. Surgeon, his tribute to Miss Cutler, . 344 
 Stains, WiUiam, the colored hero of Belmont, . . . 420 
 Stedman, Edmund C, the cavalry charge by, ... 455 
 
 Steedman, General, at Chickamauga, 389 
 
 Steele, Daniel D., poem by, 532 
 
 Steele, William Henry, heroism ofj at Beaufort, . . 151 
 Stevens, A. B., Rev., the revivalin Fort Sumter, . 357 
 
 Stevens, Hazzard, Captain, 177 
 
 Stevens, General, the death of, 177 
 
 Stoddard, R, H., poem by, 389 
 
 Stone, Newton, Colonel, the last words of, 205 
 
 Stone River, an incident of, 299 
 
 Stone River, Ohioans at, 365 
 
 Stonewall Jackson's way, a poem, 99 
 
 Storey, Marshall, his adventure, 83 
 
 Story of the one-armed, 167 
 
 Strategy, a Captain's, on the Mississippi, 63 
 
 Streight, A. D., Colonel, his raid through the South, 194 
 
 Strong, W. E., adventure of, 233 
 
 Stuart, George H., his incidents of the Christian 
 
 Commission, 501 
 
 Stuart, J. E. B., General, an anecdote of the death 
 
 of his child 382- 
 
 Stuart, J. E. B., General, the death and burial of, . 203 - 
 Sturgis, General, incidents of his expedition, ... 175 
 
 " Substitute wanted," a, 330 
 
 Suddenly awakened, a confused idea of history, . . 519 
 
 Sumner, E. V., General, as a stage driver, 23 
 
 Sumnerat Antietam, an incident, 201 
 
 Sumner, General, reminiscences of, 189 
 
 Sumter, Fort, how it was provisioned 254 
 
 " Supping in heaven," a soldier's story, 350 
 
 " Surgeon Rat," an incident of the hospital, .... 153 
 
 Swan, Frank H., paymaster, anecdote of, 533 
 
 Sykes, Bill, President Lincoln's story of his dog, . 194 
 " Sykesy," what ho would do after the war, .... 286 
 
 T 
 
 Tableau, exhibition, at Murfreesboro', 91 
 
 Taken by pirates, a story, 26 
 
558 
 
 INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Taking the oath, how a young woman did in Rich- 
 mond, 482 
 
 Taking the oath in Tennessee, an incident, .... 410 
 
 Talk with a rebel picket in Mississippi, 99 
 
 Taylor, 15. P., 181 
 
 Taylor, Maria, lieroism of, 1G7 
 
 Teamster's conundrums, 179 
 
 Telegraph, the clothes-line, 2fi3 
 
 Tenant, Dick S., at Arkansas Post, 310 
 
 ■ Tennessee, a rebel's adventures In, 11 
 
 Tennessee, Union in, an anecdote, 52 
 
 Tennessee, the story of the Fourteenth regiment of, 220 
 Tennessee, J. P. Glezen's incidents of tlie march in, 383 
 .S'ee East Tennessee. 
 
 Tennyson's poems read in the army, 35 
 
 Terry, Alfred, General, and Colonel Olmstead, an 
 
 anecdote, 340 
 
 Texan, a " pressed," an incident of Pleasant Hill, . 140 
 
 The ancient mariner, by Anthracite Hill 418 
 
 " The angol of the battle-field," 244 
 
 The ballad of Ishmael Day, 347 
 
 The battle-cry of freedom, a song 332 
 
 The battle of Gettysburg, by Howard Glyndon, . . 290 
 
 The bonnie blue flag, a Southern song, 240 
 
 The brier-wood pipe, by Charles Dawson Shanly, . 381 
 
 The captain's wife, by Theodore Tiltou, 191 
 
 The cavalry charge, by E. C. Stcdrnan, 455 
 
 The common soldier, a poem, 407 
 
 The Confederate primer, 122 
 
 The Cumberland, by Henry W. Longfellow, . ... 183 
 The dead cavalier, J. E. 1$. Stuart, by J. Jlarshall 
 
 Ilanna, 440 
 
 The dead drummer-boy, a poem, 51 
 
 " The doctor know'd what hegiv' him," an incident 
 
 of the hospital, 201 
 
 The dog of the regiment, a poem, 440 
 
 The drumtner-boy of the Eighth Michigan, .... 424 
 
 The drummer-boy of the Third Vermont, 427 
 
 The dying patriot, a story of the Essex, 404 
 
 The dying soldier, 138 
 
 The dying soldier's dream of childhood, 2S0 
 
 The eagle of Corinth, a poem, 309 
 
 The fight of tlic Hatteras and Alabama, a song, . . 91 
 
 The first fatal shot, 398 
 
 The first rebel admiral, . 411 
 
 The Florida's cruise, by a foretop-man of the C. S. 
 
 S. Florida, n song, 188 
 
 The freedman's song, 505 
 
 The gallant Sixty-ninth, an Irish toast, 391 
 
 The great bell lioland, by Theodore Tilton, .... 75 
 
 The guerrillas, by S. Teukle Wallis, 80 
 
 The heart of tlic war, a poem, 517 
 
 The hero of Sugar Pine, 158 
 
 The hospital, a poem, . 312 
 
 " The house that Jeff built," a recitation, 429 
 
 The Jaguar hunt, by J. T. Trowbridge, 542 
 
 The Kentucky partisan, by Paul H. llayne, .... 403 
 
 The last man of Beaufort, 28 
 
 The little drummer, by It. H. Stoddard, 389 
 
 The little fl.ig bearer, an incident of Arkansas, . . 500 
 
 The Maul, by Mary E. Nealy, 393 
 
 The meeting on the border, 171 
 
 The men of the Cumberland, a poem, 371 
 
 The mocking-bird of llesaca 198 
 
 The modern Gilpin, a ballad of Bull Run, 30 
 
 The new ballad of Lord Lovell, Ill 
 
 The new river shore, a ballad, by AV. H. Landrith, 180 
 The old rifleman, by Frank Ticknor, M. D., .... 424 
 
 The old Sergeant, liy Forecythc Willson, 204 
 
 The patriot Ishmael Day, by W. H. Hayward, . . 281 
 
 The picket guard, by Mrs. Howland, 82 
 
 The present crisis, by James Russell Lowell, ... 437 
 The rebels on the border, a story of the invasion of 
 
 Pennsylvania 520 
 
 Tlie ride of the wounded brigade, 304 
 
 The river fight, by H. H. IJrownell 417 
 
 The secret service. Carter's exploits, 53 
 
 The Seventh, a song by Fitz-James O'Brien, .... 231 
 The sharpshooter's lament on the banks of the Po- 
 tomac, 251 
 
 The sleeping sentinel, by F. d'llaes Janvier, . . . 384 
 
 The song of the camps, by J. R. M., 525 
 
 The song of the South, by R. M. Anderson, .... 520 
 
 The South boys, a song, 91 
 
 The Southern Cross, by St. George Tucker, .... 483 
 
 The Southern Cross, a song, 208 
 
 The Southern wagon, a song, 397 
 
 The spotted hand, an anecdote of John C. Calhoun, 30 
 
 The spirit of '70, an anecdote, 87 
 
 Tlie stars and bars, a Southern song, 213 
 
 The stars and bars, a canzonet, 91 
 
 The stars and stripes, by James T. Fields, .... 329 
 
 Tlie traitor's coat of arms, described, 447 
 
 The twin brothers, an incident of Port Hudson, . . 322 - 
 
 The voice of the North, by John G. Whitticr, ... 22 
 
 The wood of Chancellorsville, by Delia R. German, 450 
 
 The woods of Tennessee, 169 
 
 The wounded soldier, by Lieutenant John McKee, 150 
 " There's life in the old land yet," by James R. 
 
 Randall, 11 
 
 Third article of war, the, 312 
 
 Thomas, George H., General, his fight at Chicka- 
 
 mauga, 370 
 
 Thompson, M, Jeff., General, a poem by, 481 
 
 Thompson, N. A., sells Beauregard's bells at Bos- 
 ton, 405 
 
 Thoughts of home, 353 
 
 Thorne, Mary Lee, the wrath of, 431 
 
 Three weeks at Gettysburg, a journal, 489 
 
 Ticknor, Frank, the old rifleman, a poem, by, . . . 424 
 
 Tilton, Theodore, poems by, 75, 191 
 
 Time to leave, or how the negro got off, 253 
 
 Tipton, cruelties of war, 140 
 
 To Canaan, by O. W. Holmes, 52 
 
 Tod, David, Governor of Ohio 403 
 
 Tomkins, R., poem by 177 
 
 To President Lincoln, a poem, 247 
 
 To the women of the South, 542 
 
 Torpedo boat, the history of the one that sunk the 
 
 Housatonic, 363 
 
 Tranter's Creek, incident of, 499 
 
 Travis, Buck, his capture of " Lincoln guns," . . . 255 
 
 Treason, how it should be treated, 95 
 
 Trout, Jacob, a chaplain of the Revolution, .... 401 
 
 Trowbridge, J. T., poem by, 542 
 
 Trumpet song, by O. W. Holmes, 114 
 
 Tucker, St. George, poem by 483 
 
 Tuttle, Ira B., his daring adventure in the South, . 244 
 
 " Twinkly twinkle," or how they dressed fritters, 131 
 
 Tyler, John, why he is like an ass, 34 
 
 Typo warriors, some account of the, 152 
 
 u 
 
 Unacquainted with the ropes, 478 
 
 Uncle Sam in Virginia, 510 
 
 Uncle Sam everywhere, an anecdote of a wounded 
 
 Dutchman, 484 
 
 Uncle Tom at Mumfordsville, 407 
 
INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 559 
 
 Under the Washington elm, by O. W. Holmes, . . 8 
 
 Union men at the South, 215, 242 
 
 United States national anthem, by William Koss 
 
 Wallace, 437 
 
 Value of life, as estimated by a negro, 170 
 
 Van Cleve, General, 158 
 
 Vaneman, Corporal, adventure of, 133 
 
 Van Zant, G., and President Johnson, 485 
 
 Vermont brigade, the, described, 335 
 
 Vermonter, one wlio was " most thar," 253 
 
 Veterans, how made comfortable, 51 
 
 Vicksburg, Mississippi, incidents of the siege of, . 103 
 
 Vicksburg, the church and cemetery at, 218 
 
 Vicksburg, the dead at, . . .• 297 
 
 Vicksburg, story of the surrender of, 305 
 
 Vicksburg, passing the batteries of, 42G 
 
 " Villiam and his havelock," by Orpheus C. Kerr, . 542 
 
 , Virginia Reserves, one of the, 182 
 
 ^yiVirginia, spirit of the women of, 123 
 
 Virginia, the loyal girl of, 266 
 
 w 
 
 Wads worth, James S., General, the patriotism of, 235 
 
 Waifs and cstra3'^s, 180 
 
 Walker, Joseph D. See Prentiss Guards, 160 
 
 Walker, Thomas H., how he named his baby, . . . 340 
 
 Wallace, William Ross, poem by, 487 
 
 Wallace's mounted scouts, a story of, 386 
 
 Wallis, S. Teakle, poem by, 86 
 
 Wanderers at the North, 4S6 
 
 Wanted to " get out," a story of Johnson's Isl- 
 and 412 
 
 Ward, B. C, the fighting clergyman, 28 
 
 Ward, Frank, story of his charge at Springfield, . . 442 
 
 War spirit of a soldier, 461 
 
 Washburn, C. C, General, 307 
 
 Washburne, Elihu B.,hi8 bravery at Bull Run, . . 262 
 
 Washing-day in camp, 302 
 
 -Washington, D. C, impressive scene in Dr. Butler's 
 
 church at 457 
 
 Washington, George, the granddaughter of, ... . 28 
 Washington, George, an incident of the death of a 
 
 member of the family of, 224 
 
 Washington, George, General, the death of, ascer- 
 tained in West Virginia, 383 
 
 Washington, Emily M., poem by, 288 
 
 Waterbury, Connecticut, a patriotic boy of, ... . 128 
 
 Waterford, Virginia, how it was saved, 314 
 
 Waters, William, hia adventure, &3 
 
 Webb's Cross feoads, incidents of, 143 
 
 Weber, James, the boy-hero of the Galena, .... 400 
 Weljster, Daniel, an impressive scene at Washing- 
 ton, 458 
 
 Wedding on horseback, a, 151 
 
 Wedding party brought to grief, 57 
 
 Weer, Colonel, how he crossed a river, 7 
 
 Welles, Gideon. ,Sce John Davis 346 
 
 Western Virginia, adventures of a " silent obser- 
 ver," in, 353 
 
 West Virginia, General Washington dead in, ... 383 
 Whaley, K. V., narrative of the remarkable escape 
 
 of, 235 
 
 What are trumps ? by James R. Randall, 407 
 
 What shall we do for Jeff Davis ? a poem, 489 
 
 " When you is about, we is," 9 
 
 " While God he leaves me reason, God he will leave 
 
 me Jim," a poem, 313 
 
 Whiskey in camp, or how General Bragg was de- 
 ceived 447 
 
 White House, Virginia, incident of, 27 
 
 Whittier, John G., poems by, 22, 148, 430, 496 
 
 Whittier, John G., his conversation with the Ala- 
 bama planter, 215" 
 
 Who first answered the President's call ? 10 
 
 " Whose father was he?" an incident of Gettys- 
 burg, 321 
 
 Wife on the battle-field, a, &) 
 
 Wife, the devotion of a, an incident of Vicksburg, . 22 
 
 Wild Cat, incidents of the battle at, 84 
 
 Wilder, John T., Colonel, his incidents of Cliicka- 
 
 mauga, 530 
 
 Wilderness, Virginia, incidents of the, 125,408 
 
 Wilderness, an anecdote of the, 203 
 
 Wilkeson, Bayard, Lieutenant, a hero of Gettys- 
 burg, 3GC 
 
 Wilkeson, Samuel, account of the battle of Gettys- 
 burg, 33:j 
 
 Wilkins, Captain, experiences of, after his capture 
 
 at Chancellorsville n.*; 
 
 Willard, L. B., an affecting incident related by, . . 235 
 
 Willard, , sailor of the Cumberland, his story 
 
 of her destruction, 410 
 
 Williams, T. J., Captain, account of the esc^e of, ia3 
 
 Williamsburg, Virginia, an incident of, 281 
 
 Willich, Colonel, story of his victory, 252 
 
 Willson, Forceythe, poem by, 264 
 
 Wilmington, Korth Carolina, story of the occupa- 
 tion of, 187 
 
 Wilson, Fanny, the adventures of, 413 
 
 Winthrop, R. C, his interview with Senator 3Ia- 
 
 son 32 
 
 Winthrop, Theodore, Major, how lie was killed, . . 481 
 AVoman, a brave one, captures secessionists, ... 7 
 
 Women, heroism of, in Tennessee, 59 
 
 Woman, a Union, at New Orleans, 63 
 
 Women. General Kelley and the secession girl, . 65 
 Women. Mrs. McGilvery's exploit, ....... 75 
 
 Woman, how one died at Alexandria, 76- 
 
 Women, heroism of the Southern, 77 
 
 Women. A wife on the battle-field, 85 
 
 Women. A Spartan girl in Baltimore, 118 
 
 Women. Mrs. Simmons of Mississippi, 120 
 
 Women, spirit of the, in Virginia, 123 
 
 Women. A girl worth having, 140 
 
 Women, loyal, of Termessee, 142 
 
 Women. Emma Sansom, of Cherokee, 145 
 
 Woman, death of a young, on the field of Chicka- 
 
 mauga, 158 
 
 Women. The little girl's kindness to the sol- 
 diers ISl 
 
 Women. An old woman's welcome to the flag, . . 218 
 Woman, a Southern, describes Sherman's flank 
 
 movements, 221' 
 
 Women. Diana Smith, the heroine of the North- 
 west, 223 
 
 Women, President Lincoln's tribute to American, . 266 
 Women, how a loyal girl saved the war maps, . . . 266 . 
 Women. A young woman's description of the re- 
 ception of the American flag in Nashville, ... 207 
 Women, Miss Cornelia Oldom, bravery of, .... 347 
 
 Women. " She regretted it," 350 
 
 Women, how they .appeared in Tennessee, 383 
 
 Women. A noble Richmond girl 402 
 
560 
 
 INDEX TO ANECDOTES, POETRY, AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 Women. Female bushwhackers at the South, . . . 423 
 
 Women. " That dear old flag," 423 
 
 Women. The wrath of Mary Lee Thome, ,431 
 
 Women. How Mrs. Johnston was deceived, , . . 440 
 Woman. A negro woman's description of the re- 
 treat from Yorktown, 458 
 
 Women. An incident of Corinth, 449 
 
 Woman, a, at the battle of Antietam, 451 
 
 Woman, a belligerent one, at Branchville, South 
 
 Carolina, 450 
 
 Woman. How Mrs. Phelps saved the dead body of 
 
 General Lyon, 458 
 
 Woman. An even chance, a story, 481 
 
 Woman, how a young, took the oath in Kichmond, 482 
 
 Women. Noble ones at the South, 486 
 
 Women. Female patriotism at the South, . '. . . 509 
 Woman's sacrifice, a tribute to Miss Cutler, .... 344 
 
 Women of the South, industry of the, 360 
 
 Wood, A. E., Colonel, orders his own execution, . 442 
 Wood, Captain, Fourth Rhode Island, how he cap- 
 tured a schooner, 253 
 
 Wood, T. J., General, at Lookout Mountain, ... 201 
 
 Wormouth, Ezra, his coolness in battle, 310 
 
 Wounded soldier, the experiences of a, 248 
 
 Wright, Clark, the Yankee soldier, a graphic ac- 
 count of him, 241 
 
 Wyman, General, anecdote of, 157 
 
 Yankees "got no horns," an incident of Williams- 
 burg, 4S1 
 
 Yankees vs. Hyenas, Justinian's comparison, . . . 423 
 
 Yankee kindness, instances of, 488 
 
 Yankee strategy on board the Bohio, 398 
 
 Yankee Vandals, a song, . . , 167 
 
 Yankeeism on the field, 159 
 
 Yates, Richard, the spirit of, 291 
 
 " Ye Londonne Times correspondente, his BuUe 
 
 Runne Lettere," 199 
 
 Yorktown, "Virginia, who raised the flag at, ... . 99 
 Yorktown, a contraband's description of the retreat 
 
 from, 453 
 
 Yorktown, incidents of, 545 
 
 " Youeas and Weans," 84 
 
 Zagonyi, Colonel, story of his charge at Spring- 
 field, 442 
 
 ZollicoflFer, Felix R., General, at Wild Cat, .... 84 
 ZoUicoffer, General, Parson Brownlow's opinion of, 464 
 
 Zollicofi'er, General, the death of, 143 
 
 Zouave and the mule, the, 390 
 
"THE CYCLOPEDIA OF THE WAR." 
 
 'The embodiment of all that is valuable, and the only HISTORY of 
 the "War that can be relied on." 
 
 THE 
 
 REBELLION RECORD, 
 
 EDITED BT ; 
 
 "A work which every intelligent man needs and should have." 
 D. VAN" NOSTRAND, PulDUsher, 
 
 New-York. 
 
""Without question, the moat valuable contempoiary History ever prepared, is Frank Mo„. 
 Eebellion Becord."- ABRAHAM! UNCOLIf. 
 
 THE EEBELLION KECOED, 
 
 EDITED BT 
 
 FEAl^K MOOEE. 
 
 Publishing in parts, at Sixty Cents, each part Illustrated with Two Portraits 
 
 engraved on steel. 
 
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 CLOTH . $6 00 per Voluma. 
 
 SHEEP. 6 00 « 
 
 HALF CALF, or HALF MOROCCO 6 50 " 
 
 There are very few men of ordinary intelligence, and possessing an ordi 
 nary share of interest in tlie war which for a long period so entirely en- 
 grossed the public attention, who have not very often desired to fix the date of 
 some important battle, some change of commanders, or the issue of some not^ 
 worthy proclamation. There are fewer still who would not feel an interest in re- 
 curring to the vivid description of some important engagement by sea or land, in 
 which mayhap a kinsman or friend participated. They read it at the time in the 
 newspaper, and thought they would preserve it, nay, perhaps, supposed they had ; 
 but newspapers, especially in these days when paper stock is so high, have a way 
 of taking themselves off; and in all probability Bridget or the Chiffonier had 
 taken possession of it within an hour after it was carefully put away in some cup- 
 board or drawer, and when next sought for re-perusal or reference, it was not to 
 be found. 
 
 Incidents of the war, and war poetry, too, are things we all like to treasure 
 up, and yet we are perpetually finding that at the very time we want them to 
 show to a friend or to refresb our own memories, they are missing, and after a 
 long and fruitless search we are at last compelled, greatly to our vexation, to 
 give them up. 
 
 These are wants which all feel ; annoyances confined to no particular class, 
 sex, or age of readers ; grievances which are occurring a thousand times everv 
 day, and alike in city or country. 
 
^ There are otlier annoyances in reference to the facts and incidents of the war 
 which affect particular classes. The clergyman who wishes to introduce into hia 
 discourse some pertinent reference to or illustration from the conflict, or who desires 
 to commemorate some of the great epochs in its history, finds himself uncertain 
 about the date or the parties engaged, or some other equally important fact ; he 
 ransacks with ill-disguised impatience his file of newspapers, but the very one 
 wanted is not there, and his hearers either lose a vivid illustration or a stirring ap- 
 peal, or it is introduced with an uncertainty in regard to facts and dates which robs 
 it of half its power. The lawyer engaged to try an important cause, having rela- 
 tions to some one of the many phases of the war, finds some fact of which he has 
 an imperfect recollection absolutely indispensable to the successful presentation ot 
 his case, and yet, after hours of unavailing search, can not find it. 
 
 The editor, in the midst of one of his most brilliant and forcible leaders, desires 
 to recur to the date or circumstances of a battle, to the text of an important pro- 
 clamation, diplomatic communication, ofiS.cial report, or other document, the lan- 
 guage or facts of which, if quoted at all, must be quoted accurately — ^but, alas 1 a 
 hurried reconnoissance of his files fails to bring it to light, and he must rely on an 
 imperfect recollection or abandon the leader which begun so hopefully. 
 
 The public orator with whom the events of the rebellion, its great battles, the 
 deeds of its generals, the reports of ofl&cers and government officials, and the pro- 
 clamations which it has called forth, constitute his capital, will be sorely troubled 
 for the material from which to weave his harangues, if he is compelled to hunt 
 through files of daily papers, and often fruitlessly, for the facts and documents 
 he needs. 
 
 The statistician, seeking for facts and figures on which to base his deductions 
 respecting the cost of armies, the expenditure of human life, the proportions of 
 the sick and wounded, the strength of fortifications and of vessels of war, and the 
 thousand other topics now coming under the domain of statistical science, accumu- 
 lates his store of papers, books, and pamphlets on the war, only to find, to his dis- 
 may, that important data, the keystones, so to speak, of the structure he is rearing, 
 are yet wanting. 
 
 The historian, greedily gathering for future use the treasures of this history- 
 making epoch, and storing away most carefully the various documents which re- 
 cord its great movements, still finds himself unsupplied with some books for the 
 continuous narrative he hppes by-and-by to prepare of the rise and fall of the 
 great rebellion. 
 
 Now to all these classes, as well as many more, the Eebellion Eecord is 
 the very work needed ; the indispensable book to complement and supplement 
 what they may have culled from other sources. Gathering its material from a 
 wider range of sources than are to be found elsewhere, comparing them critically 
 and repeatedly, so as to sifc out the errors of a strictly contemporaneous record, and 
 then weaving them into a daily record, presenting in its order every official report 
 or document, and in connection with these, gathering up the incidents and rumora 
 which exhibit so strikingly the temper and spirit of the time, it forms a photo- 
 
grapli of each day of the eventful period. This will be more clearly seen when 
 we describe the 
 
 PLAN OF THE WORK. 
 
 The editor having had a previous training in the preparation of his admirable 
 Diary of the American Revolution^ decided, in the commencement of this work, upon 
 a plan which all subsequent experience has proved the best possible for the pur- 
 pose designed. 
 
 It contains Three Divisions, namely : 
 
 1st. A diary of verified occurrences, giving, in chronological order, the import- 
 ant events of each day in all parts of the country, and with a delay sufficient to 
 establish their accuracy. 
 
 2d. Official Documents, careful and well-prepared Narratives of Battles, etc. ; 
 Proclamations of the President, and General Orders of leading Generals ; Speeches 
 and Essays of men of mark on matters pertaining to the Eebellion ; Legal De- 
 cisions and Opinions on questions of Governmental Policy connected with it, etc 
 
 3d. Poetry, Incidents, Anecdotes, Narratives of Particular Events, etc. 
 
 These, like the documents, are drawn impartially from both sides, and give 
 the coloring of each. The rumors which produce a temporary excitement on one 
 side or the other, are also inserted here. It adds greatly to the value of this work, 
 as a record of the materials for history, that it has from the beginning presented 
 every ofl&cial document and every clear and distinct narrative from the Southern 
 side, and placed them in juxtaposition with the documents and narratives of the 
 Union side, referring to the same events. These documents and narratives have 
 in many instances b.een prepared and corrected by their authors, especially for the 
 Rebellion Eecord, and many of them appear for the first time in its pages. 
 
 The Rebellion Record has, as we believe, a claim to a very wide circulation 
 in England as well as in this country, on the following grounds : its accuracy, its 
 impartiality, its completeness, its preservation of all the materials for a future his- 
 tory of the struggle now in progress, its connected diary, its valuable documents, 
 its interesting collection of incidents, its garnering up the poetry called out by the 
 war, and its unique character, as the only work of its kind. We might enlarge on 
 these points, but we prefer to give from our abundant stores the testimony of 
 others on these points. In order to convey to the mind of the reader an idea of 
 the general scope of this work, we append a list of the newspaper authorities con- 
 sulted and used in its preparation, and firom which every thing of importance, oi 
 historical value, bearing directly upon principles and acts involved in the great 
 struggle, is taken. 
 
History is distilled N'e wspapers." — Oarlyle. 
 " The Rebellion Eecord is the Leart of the newspaper press." 
 
 NEWSPAPEES USED IN THE PBEPARATION OF THE KEBELLION- EECOBD. 
 
 Maine. 
 
 Portland Advertiser, 
 " Eastern Argus, 
 •' Transcript, 
 
 Augusta Age, 
 
 St. Croix Herald, 
 
 Eastport Sentinel, 
 
 Bath Eastern Times, 
 
 Belfast Journal. 
 
 Ne w-Hampsliire . 
 
 Concord Democratic Standard, 
 " Independent Democrat, 
 " Patriot, 
 •' Statesman, 
 
 Exeter News-Letter, 
 
 Portsmouth Morning Chronicle, 
 " Journal, 
 
 Manchester American, 
 
 Keene Sentinel, 
 
 Dover Inquirer, 
 
 Lancaster Republican. 
 
 Vermont. 
 
 Burlington Times, 
 
 " Free Press, 
 
 Green Mountain Freeman, 
 
 Montpelier State Gazette, 
 " Daily Journal, 
 
 Rutland Herald. 
 
 Massacliusetts. 
 
 Boston Transcript, 
 
 « Post, 
 
 " Advertiser, 
 
 " Courier, 
 
 " Journal, 
 
 " Christian Register, 
 
 " Saturday Evening Express, 
 
 " Ch'n Watchman and Reflector, 
 
 " Traveller, 
 
 " Christian Witness, 
 
 •' Congregationalist, 
 Barre Gazette, 
 New-Bedford Mercury, 
 " Standard, 
 
 Lowell Journal, 
 
 " Citizen, 
 Fall River News, 
 Old Colony Memorial, 
 Newburyport Herald, 
 Salem Gazette, 
 
 " Advertiser, 
 Taunton Democrat, 
 
 " Gazette, 
 Springfield Republican, 
 Worcester Spy, 
 
 " Transcript, 
 Nantucket Enquirer. 
 
 Rbode Island. 
 
 Providence Journal, 
 
 " Post, 
 
 •' Press, 
 Woonsocket Patriot, 
 Newport News. 
 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Bridgeport Advertber, 
 Ntw-Uaren Courier, 
 «* Palladium, 
 
 New-Haven News, 
 
 " Register, 
 Hartford Couraut, 
 
 " Press, 
 
 " Post, 
 Norwalk Gazette. 
 
 NeTT-Yorlc. 
 
 N. T. City Tribune, 
 
 " Times, 
 
 " Herald, 
 
 «' World, 
 
 " Evening Post, 
 
 *' Commercial, 
 
 " Express, 
 
 " Journal of Commerce, 
 
 " Christian Inquirer, 
 
 " " Advocate, 
 
 " Examiner, 
 
 " Observer, 
 
 " Home Journal, 
 
 " Vanity Fair, 
 
 " Wilkes' Spirit of the Times, 
 
 '« New- York Hlustrated News, 
 Buffalo Courier, 
 " Express, 
 Brooklyn Eagle, 
 Albany Argus, 
 " Standard, 
 " Journal, 
 Elmira Advertiser, 
 Delaware Gazette, 
 Canandaigua Times, 
 BLingston Courier, 
 Long Island Democrat, 
 Newburgh News, 
 Chenango Telegraph, 
 Ogdensburgh Sentinel, 
 Mount Morris Union, 
 Poughkeepsie Press, 
 Syracuse Courier, 
 
 " Journal, 
 Oswego Palladium, 
 
 '• Times, 
 Troy Budget, 
 " Times, 
 Rome Sentinel, 
 Schenectady Times, 
 Port Byron Star, 
 Yonkers Examiner. 
 
 Ne^T-Jersey. 
 
 Newark Advertiser, 
 
 " Mercury, 
 Jersey City Courier, 
 Princeton Standard, 
 New-Brunswick News, • 
 
 " Times, 
 
 Cape Island Ocean Wave, 
 Paterson Guardian, 
 Trenton State Gazette, 
 Woodbury Constitution. 
 
 Dela^vare. 
 
 Wilmington Gazette, 
 
 " State Journal, 
 
 " Republican, 
 
 Dover Delawarean. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Philadelphia Press, 
 " Inquirer, 
 
 " North-American, 
 
 " Bulletin, 
 
 PhiladelpUa Ledger, 
 
 " News, 
 
 " Pennsylvanian, 
 
 Conneautville Advertiser, 
 Alleghany Register, 
 Chambersburgh Times, 
 Harriaburgh Patriot, 
 
 " Telegraph, 
 
 Easton Argus, 
 Lancaster Inquirer, 
 " Express, 
 Doylestown Intelligencer, 
 Erie City Express, 
 " Gazette, 
 Lebanon Courier, 
 Pittsburgh Chronicle, 
 
 " Free Press, 
 
 " Gazette, 
 Westchester Herald, 
 Reading Press, 
 " Post, 
 Norristown Free Press. 
 
 Maryland. 
 
 Baltimore American, 
 
 " Sun, 
 
 " Clipper, 
 Frederick Herald, 
 
 " Banner of Liberty. 
 
 Virginia. 
 
 Norfolk Herald, 
 Petersburgh Express, 
 Fredericksburgh Recorder, 
 Richmond Dispatch, 
 
 " Examiner, 
 Winchester Republican, 
 Lynchburgh Virginian, 
 Wheeling Intelligencer, 
 
 " Democrat, 
 
 ■' Times. 
 
 Pfortli-Carolina. 
 
 Beaufort Journal, 
 Newbern Progress, 
 Raleigh Press, 
 
 " Standard, 
 Wilmington Times. 
 
 South-Carolina. 
 
 Charleston Mercury, 
 
 " News, 
 
 " Courier, 
 
 Camden Journal, 
 Sumter Spartan, 
 Columbia Guardian, 
 
 " South-Carolinian. 
 
 Georgia. 
 
 Columbus Sun, 
 Atlanta American, 
 
 " Confederacy, 
 Savannah Republican, 
 West-Point Citizen, 
 Augusta Constitutionalist, 
 MllledgevlUe Reo« ■ Jcr. 
 
 Florida. 
 
 Fernandina News, 
 Pensacola Times, 
 Key West New Era, 
 TallatiuMe Floridiaa 
 
G 
 
 Alabama. 
 
 Rufitta Express, 
 Decatur Alabamian, 
 Gainesville Independent, 
 Mobile Advertiser, 
 
 " News, 
 
 " Register, 
 Montgomery Blail, 
 
 " Advertiser, 
 
 " Confederation, 
 
 Selma Reporter, 
 Wedowee Democrat. 
 
 Mississippi. 
 
 Grenada Conservative, 
 Coffeeville Intelligencer, 
 Columbus Democrat, 
 
 " News, 
 
 " Press, 
 Jackson Mississippian, 
 Natchez Courier, 
 Vicksbui-gh Whig, 
 
 " Sentinel, 
 Yazoo Banner. 
 
 lionisiana. 
 
 New-Orleans Delta, 
 
 " Picayune, 
 
 " Crescent, 
 
 " True Delta, 
 
 " Bee, 
 
 Baton Rouge Advocate, 
 " Planter, 
 
 Donaldsonville Coast Journal, 
 
 Monroe Register, 
 
 Opelousas Courier, 
 
 Shreveport Gazette, 
 
 Plaquemlne Gazette, 
 
 Winfield Sentinel. 
 
 Texas. 
 
 Galveston News, 
 " Civilian, 
 
 Austin Intelligencer, 
 Brownsville Flag, 
 Houston Telegraph, 
 San Antonio Herald, 
 Nacogdoches Chronicle, 
 Liberty Gazette, 
 San Augustine Texan, 
 Rusk Sentinel. 
 
 Arkansas. 
 
 Brownsville Democrat, 
 Helena Shield, 
 Napoleon Planter, 
 Fayetteville Arkansian, 
 Fort Smith Times and Herald, 
 Little Rock Democrat, 
 Searcy Eagle, 
 Jacksonport Democrat 
 
 Tennessee. 
 
 Mempliis Avalanche, 
 
 " Bulletin, 
 
 " Argus, 
 Knoxville Bulletin, 
 Chattanooga Advertiser, 
 Nashville Gazette, 
 
 " News, 
 
 " Union and American, 
 Clarksville Chronicle, 
 Shelbyville Expositor, 
 Purdy Argus. 
 
 Kcntncky. 
 
 Louisville Democrat, 
 " Journal, 
 " Courier, 
 Covington Journal, 
 Lexington Statesman 
 
 MaysvLle Eagle, 
 Paducah Herald, 
 Shelby News, 
 Mount Sterling Whig, 
 Frankfort Commonwealth, 
 Bowling Green Gazette, 
 Catlettsburgh Advocate, 
 Hickman Argus, 
 Owensboro Democrat, 
 EuaselviUe Herald. 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 Cincinnati Gazette, 
 " Times, 
 " Commercial, 
 " Enquirer, 
 
 Ashtabula Telegraph, 
 
 ChiUicothe Advertiser, 
 
 Circleville Herald, 
 
 Findlay Courier, 
 
 Dayton Gazette, 
 " Empire, 
 
 Coshocton Democrat, 
 
 Cleveland Herald, 
 " Plaindealer, 
 
 Ohio Statesman. 
 
 Hillsboro' Gazette, 
 
 Lancaster Democrat, 
 
 Ironton Register, 
 
 Marietta Democrat, 
 
 Portsmouth Correspondent, 
 
 Maumee Weekly, 
 
 Penn Yan Chronicle, 
 
 Ravenna Democrat, 
 
 Sandusky Register, 
 
 Springfield Republican, 
 
 Tiffin Tribune, 
 
 Vinton Journal, 
 
 Toledo Blade, 
 " Herald, 
 
 Steubenville Herald, 
 
 Xenia Torch-Light, 
 
 Zanesville Courier, 
 
 West-Liberty Banner, 
 
 Columbus Democrat, 
 
 Akron Beacon, 
 
 Cambridge Sentinel, 
 
 Bellefontaine Gazette. 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 Indianapolis Gazette, 
 " Democrat, 
 
 " State Journal, 
 
 " Sentinel, 
 
 Auburn Democrat, 
 Evansville Inquirer, 
 " Journal, 
 Laporte Herald, 
 
 " Union, 
 Crawfordsville Journal, 
 Edinburgh Republican, 
 Leavenworth Journal, 
 Monticello Democrat, 
 New- Alb any Ledger, 
 Terre Haute Express, 
 " Journal, 
 
 Vincennes Gazette, 
 " Patriot, 
 
 South-Bend Register, 
 Lebanon Expositor, 
 Portland Democrat, 
 Logansport Journal, 
 Albion Democrat, 
 JeffersonvUle Democrat 
 
 Illinois. 
 
 Galena Advertiser, 
 
 " Courier, 
 Alton Democrat, 
 
 " Courier, 
 Galesburgh Democrat, 
 Belleville Advocate, 
 Chicago Tribune, 
 
 " Times, 
 
 " Christian Times, 
 
 " Evening Journal, 
 Kankakee Democrat, 
 Grayville Advocate, 
 
 Centralla Republic, 
 Jacksonville Argus, 
 Oquawka Plaindealer, 
 Rock Island Argus, 
 
 " Register, 
 
 Peoria Democrat, 
 
 " Transcript, 
 Quincy News, 
 
 " Whig, 
 
 " Standard, 
 Shelbyville Banner, 
 Springfield Democrat, 
 
 " State Journal, 
 
 Rockford Register, 
 Urbana Clarion, 
 Warsaw Bulletin, 
 Waukeegan Citizen. 
 
 Mlcliigan 
 
 Coldwater Republican, 
 Adrian Expositor, 
 Wolverine Citizen, 
 Flint Democrat, 
 Detroit Free Press, 
 
 " Tribune, 
 
 " Christian Herald, 
 Battle Creek Journal, 
 Hillsdale Democrat, 
 Grand Rapids Eagle, 
 Lapeer Republican, 
 Saginaw Enterprise, 
 Pontiao Gazette, 
 Ypsilanti Chronicle. 
 
 Minnesota. 
 
 Blinneapolis Plaindealer, 
 St. Paul Times, 
 
 " Minnesotian, 
 
 " Republican, 
 Manketo Independent, 
 St. Anthony's Falls Express. 
 Minesota City Sentinel, 
 Austin Mirror, 
 Winona Republican, 
 St. Peter Press, 
 Rochester Press. 
 
 Missouri. 
 
 Jefferson City Examiner, 
 Independence Herald, 
 Cape Girardeau Eagle, 
 Ironton Farmer, 
 Gallatin Register, 
 Boonville Patriot, 
 Fredericktown Journal, 
 Kansas City Republic, 
 Missouri Democrat, 
 
 " Republican, 
 St. Louis Bulletin, 
 Louisiana Herald, 
 Platte City Argus, 
 St. Joseph Gazette, 
 Palmyra Courier, 
 Warrensburgh Missourian, 
 MaysvUle Recorder. 
 
 lOTra. 
 
 Burlington Gazette, 
 Columbus City Enterprise, 
 Anamosa Gazette, 
 Dubuque Herald, 
 " Times, 
 Muscatine Enquirer, 
 Keokuk Gate City, 
 
 " Journal, 
 Davenport News, 
 
 " Gazette. 
 Sioux City Eagle, 
 Des Moines Journal, 
 
 " Statesman, 
 
 Mount Pleasant Farmer, 
 Wapello Gazette, 
 Oskaloosa Herald, 
 Council Bluffs Union, 
 Vinton Eagle. 
 
Wisconsin. 
 
 UlhrAukee "Wisconsin, 
 " News, 
 " Democrat, 
 
 Cheboygan Advocate, 
 " News, 
 
 Green Bay Advocate, 
 
 Fond du Lac Commonwealtli 
 
 Beloit Herald, 
 
 Port Atkinson Standard, 
 
 Madison Argus, 
 
 " State Journal, 
 
 Kenosha Times, 
 
 Racine Advocate, 
 
 Sauk City Pioneer, 
 
 La Crosse Democrat, 
 
 Portage Record, 
 
 Waukesha Democrat. 
 
 California. 
 
 Nevada Democrat, 
 Sacramento Times, 
 Los Angeles Star, 
 San Diego Herald, 
 Alta Califomian, 
 San Francisco Times. 
 
 7 
 
 Oregon. 
 
 Portland Times, 
 Oregon Statesman, 
 Salem Statesman. 
 
 Kansas. 
 
 Atchison Union, 
 Lawrence Republican, 
 Leavenworth Conservative, 
 
 " Dispatch, 
 
 " Herald, 
 
 Olathe Herald, 
 Oskaloosa Independent. 
 
 Washington City, 
 
 National Intelligencer, 
 Evening Star, 
 Congressional Globe. 
 
 Nebraslca, 
 
 Brownsville Advertiser, 
 Denver Herald. 
 
 ArlJEona. 
 
 Tucson Weekly. 
 
 New-Mexico. 
 
 Santa Fe Gazette. 
 
 England. 
 
 London Times, 
 
 " Daily News, 
 
 " Herald, 
 
 " Saturday Press, 
 
 " Spectator, 
 
 " Punch, 
 Manchester Guardian, 
 Liverpool Times. 
 
 France. 
 
 Paris, Le Jloniteur 
 Le Pays, 
 La Press, 
 La Patrie. 
 
 Prom the New- York Journal of Commerce. 
 
 In former times the history of wars was made by 
 those who controlled the great sources of public in- 
 formation. Kings gave such inclination to history as 
 seemed best to serve their purposes. The materials 
 for subsequent historical writings were of the most 
 meagre sort. The general's report, the conversation 
 of courtiers, here and there a manuscript from some 
 private individual, these alone survived to be the 
 small basis on which to build historical structures. 
 We may well hesitate to accept the stories of Herod- 
 otus, gathered from such scant sources of informa- 
 tion, and Xenophon himself must remain uncontra- 
 dicted only for the reason that he was the maker of 
 the history he wrote, and no one could require that 
 he make or wi'ite it truly. 
 
 So even at as late a period as the American Revolu- 
 tion the materials for history are very few, and the 
 suspicion has been again and again suggested that the 
 scarcity of material had enabled some writers of his- 
 tory to suppress contemporary manuscripts which were 
 the only existing proofs of the carelessness or the pre- 
 judice which had led to mistakes in the historian. The 
 Rebellion Record of Mr. Frank Moore is therefore 
 one of the most remarkable literary works of any 
 age, for it ensures the fact that the war will go down 
 to the future ages without possibility of concealment 
 as to facts, motives or policies pursued by the con- 
 testants. 
 
 Examining it in this view, we are more and more 
 astonished at the impartiality with which the editor 
 pursues his labors, and the invaluable results for the 
 benefit of the country and the world wliich he is 
 bringing out of them. As the war goes on it daguer- 
 reotypes itself on the pages of the Record, every 
 feature standing out clear and distinct. All the move- 
 ments of those who stand behind the scenes and di- 
 rect the drama are visible to the eye, from the remark- 
 able collocation which is effected in these pages. 
 Causes and effects are brought close together, and 
 none can be so blind as not to see the connection. 
 
 Aside from the great historical value of the work, 
 it is also to be noted that in a war like this, where 
 millions are directly and indirectly interested in the 
 various events, scarcely a man, woman or child in the 
 land fails to find in the Record some passage of deep 
 personal interest. The battle in which a brother, 
 lather, tiusband or son perhaps fell, must always 
 
 possess the deepest interest to the family The song 
 that a stranger has written about that battle has a 
 music or a pathos of peculiar significance. 
 
 Hence such a record is of special interest in Ameri- 
 can homes, and in this regard the work must be con- 
 sidered as wholly unrivalled by any former publication 
 of a historic or descriptive character. It is a constant 
 and unfailing book of reference. It furnishes the 
 orator with all the history of the times ; it answers 
 the questions which men discuss, and about which 
 they differ in every village, town and city ; the courts 
 refer to it for the decision of important points, and 
 editors are relieved of the labors of hours of almost 
 hopeless searching for authorities by tlie index, which 
 presents the matter before them at a glance. 
 
 The plan of the work is peculiar and happy. It con- 
 tains three divisions: (1) A diary of events, giving 
 from day to day the occurrences of the war in all 
 parts of the country ; (2) OfBcial documents, and in 
 this department the work is peculiarly valuable, from 
 the accurate revised reports which it furnishes, and 
 which are elsewhere inaccessible ; (3) Poetry, incidents, 
 anecdotes, etc. This last feature has a historic value 
 hitherto unappreciated. When one wished to write 
 the songs of a nation in order to control its character, 
 he but expressed the great fact that its character is 
 visible in its favorite songs. 
 
 So, too, a vast amount of history, the finishing 
 tints, the character-lines of the historical portraiture, 
 are to be derived from the anecdotes, the facetice, the 
 common jokes of a people. 
 
 We have given more than usual notice to the Rebel- 
 lion Record, because it is becoming one of the institu- 
 tions of the country during the war, is a novelty in 
 literature, and an illustration of the advance of the 
 arts and sciences in this age of the world. 
 
 If we had such a record of tlie days of Miltiades, 
 of the stormy times of Julius Caesar, of the cam- 
 paigns of the great Charles, and of the times of Na- 
 poleon, we should be able to appreciate with tremen- 
 dous force the truth that God has made all men of one 
 blood, and that human passions, arguments, hopet«, 
 fears, employments, and ways of doing and thinking 
 bear close resemblance to each other in all ages. Ah 
 it is, we must be content to go down to posterity on 
 the pages of the Record, to be an example or a wam- 
 in" to the remotest generations of mankind. 
 
From Commodore CADWAIiADEB BlNGQOIiD. U.8.N. 
 
 March 10, 1863. 
 Mt Dear Sir: 
 
 Having occasion recently to use professionally the various proclamations promulgated 
 by the European Powers, touching the " Rights of Neutrals," etc., in my search for copies I could 
 not find them until I was directed to the numbers of your valuable work, the Rebellion Record. 
 I have frequently referred to this memoir and history of the events of the great struggle our 
 country is engaged in, but while recently at sea the opporttmity more carefully to examine several 
 numbers was afforded me. I find them replete with information useful to the officers and men of 
 the navy. 
 
 Our seamen are generally intelligent, and much more so of late, owing to the introduction 
 into our navy of many of our enterprising and well-educated young men, in their desire to serve 
 the country. Our people all read much, and take great interest in our national honor and con- 
 cerns, and no class of citizens more so than our hardy tars. 
 
 If, therefore, copies of your valuable work were freely circulated on board our public ships, 
 I am satisfied the happiness of the crews would be increased and encouragement given to a de- 
 votion to duty. To make honorable mention of acts of heroism and merit by our seamen or 
 soldiers would be appreciated by their having the advantage of a perusal of its pages, and would 
 have the effect to stimulate them to emulation. 
 
 Hoping to see a wide circulation and encouragement given to your excellent production, 
 
 I am very truly yours, 
 
 CADWALADER RINGGOLD, 
 ■ Commodore U.S.N. 
 
 Headquarters Inspector of Artillery, U.S.A., 
 Washington, March 2, 1863. 
 Pbavk Moobb, Esq.: 
 
 My Dear Sir: It gives me great pleasure to inform you that I consider the Rebellion 
 Record a most valuable publication. As a depository of the documents and statistics of the 
 rebellion, official and unofficial, arranged and indexed as they are in so systematic a manner, it is 
 not only of great present service, but must prove of incalculable benefit to the future historian. 
 
 The Record has on more than one occasion supplied me with statistical information not other- 
 wise to be procured. 
 
 I am, dear sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 WILLIAM F. BARRY, 
 Bbioasikb-Gehbral, Inspbctob of Abtilxkbt, U.S.A. 
 
 " The events of no former war were ever so fully and promptly embodied 
 ill a single work as arc those of our great contest in " The Rebellion Record," 
 wliicli must prove the generous fountain whence all future historians of our 
 country may draw at will." — Horace Greeley, m his Preface to the " Ameri- 
 can Conflict.'''' 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 Its Aocuraoy. 
 
 "During the trial in the United States Circuit Court, 
 which terminated yesterday in the conviction of Wil- 
 liam Smith for piracy, as one of the crew of the Jeff 
 Davis, a great deal of documentary evidence to show 
 the reality of secession was offered in evidence by the 
 counsel for defence — avowedly taken from Frank 
 Moore's Rebellion Record, and received by Judges Grier 
 and Cadwallader who presided. This is a remarkable 
 compliment to the work in question, but not higher than 
 it merits from the fulness and fairness of its varied in- 
 formation respecting the origin and progress of the 
 Rebellion. It is the first time in legal and literary 
 history, thai a book not yet completed has been so stamp- 
 ed with authenticity, as to be admitted as evidence in a 
 court of law, and on a trial for a capital offence." — 
 Phil. Press, Oct. 26, 1861. 
 
 " The great essayist, Carlyle, calls history ' distilled 
 newspapers.' The Rebellion Record, then, is a model 
 history, for it subjects the journals of the day, with all 
 their telegrams, (a word which has become an emphatic 
 synonym for falsehood,) their rumors, and their re- 
 ports, to the crucible of time, and whatever endures 
 that fiery test, it classifies and puts into convenient 
 form for preservation and reference." 
 
 " By far the most valuable periodical connected with 
 the war is the Rebellion Record. It is destined to be- 
 come the standard authority of the war. To any one 
 desirous of preserving a record of the conflict as it 
 progresses, it is invaluable." — Indianapolis Journal. 
 
 "The Rebellion Record, giving, as it does, every pro- 
 clamation, message or paper that is of real import- 
 ance, and narrating concisely, yet clearly, all that either 
 side has accomplished, becomes an invaluable work to 
 all who desire to keep clearly in mind the exact status 
 of affairs in our country." — Portsmouth {If. H.) 
 Chronicle. 
 
 " This will be the great treasury from which the 
 future historian will draw his facts, when the proper 
 time shall come to write a history of the great rebel- 
 lion." — Christian Instructor, Philadelphia. 
 
 " To those who wish to preserve a complete and 
 authentic history of the great struggle, from the effects 
 of which our country is now upheaved from centre to 
 circumference, this work will commend itself. We 
 regard it as the most valuable work that visits our 
 table." — Hancock Conner, Ohio. 
 
 " The work is considered the standard authority of 
 the war, and a complete reference-book in relation to 
 the history of the rebellion.^'' — Steubenville (0.) Daily 
 Herald. 
 
 " The contents of this work, sifted from a variety of 
 sources, constitute the very best memoires pour servir 
 a Vhistoire, out of which the future Bancrofts, Macau- 
 lays, and Prescotts will draw their best materials." — 
 Racine {Wis.) Weekly Journal. 
 
 " The details of the Record are not hastily gathered 
 from the newspapers of the day, but are chosen out 
 with deliberation after theii value has become known, 
 
 and whenever it is practicable, ofiBcial copies are secur- 
 ed. In this way a vast mass of material is being col- 
 lected, which in after-times will illustrate the rebellion, 
 its causes, incidents and progress, with a fulness and 
 accuracy which no similar era of natural history can 
 rival."— PAi^. Bulletin. 
 
 "A good evidence of the value of the Rebellion 
 Record is the fact that it has been introduced into the 
 courts and cited as authority. This was done in Phil- 
 adelphia a short time since, as it has also been in this 
 city." — N. Y. Commercial Advertiser. 
 
 " The courts, the departments, and the press con- 
 tinually quote the Rebellion Record ; historical students 
 appropriate it for permanent use ; while every citizen, 
 however little of a reader, finds it as useful as a dic- 
 tionary, gazetteer or blue-book." — Boston Transcript. 
 
 " It is an easy matter to attain, without really de- 
 serving it, a fair reputation for truthfulness and general 
 accuracy; but the reputation which the Rebellion 
 Record has acquired is not of this superficial charac- 
 ter ; it has been subjected to the ordeal of the closest 
 criticism and comparison with official and other 
 authorities, and in every case has come out triumph- 
 ant. It has been our own duty, during a few months 
 past, to collate every important fact given in its pages 
 with other collections of material of ample extent, and 
 mainly official in character, and we have yet to find 
 the first important error." — N. Y. Examiner. 
 
 Its Impartiality. 
 
 " Every document bearing upon the great crisis, 
 whether emanating from the North or South, is given 
 in whole or in part. Every important event, from the 
 first unfurling of the rebel flag at Charleston, is re- 
 corded, with the date and the comments which it elicit- 
 ed from the press. Most of the poetry which the 
 conflict has inspired is published." — Albany Evening 
 Journal. 
 
 " Its contents have been collected from a vast num- 
 ber of sources, from rebel as well as from loyal ac- 
 counts, so as fairly to exhibit all views of the ques- 
 tion." — Philadelphia Press. 
 
 " It is a compilation of strictly truthful narrations 
 and expressions of opinion, taken chiefly from the daily 
 newspapers of all parts of the Union." — Washington 
 
 Globe. 
 
 " In his selections, Mr. Moore has given every au- 
 thentic document and narrative from the Southern 
 side, as well as those of a loyal character, in all cases 
 giving his authority," — Providence Press. 
 
 " It is a periodical of great value and permanent 
 interest. Communicating statements from both sides 
 on all the questions and occurrences of the war, it is 
 an acceptable work at the present time, while to the 
 future historian it will prove invaluable."— CeMys&urgrA 
 {Pa.) Evang. Review. 
 
 "It is as remarkable for the industry displayed in 
 its compilation as for its perfect impartiality."— ioww- 
 viUe Journal. 
 
10 
 
 " Commencing with the outbreak of our national 
 troubles, the editor, whose reputation for accuracy, 
 industry and research is universal, has here gathered 
 up every thing in the shape of official documents, 
 speeches of public men, letters of newspaper corre- 
 spondents, narratives of officers and soldiers, emanating 
 from both parties in the war; poetry written by 
 secessionists and loyalists, etc., which can possibly 
 throw light upon the series of tremendous events 
 through which we are passing." — Flag of our Union, 
 Boston. 
 
 "Had the government from its contingent fund, or 
 Congress at its last session, sent to England for distri- 
 bution, through our Minister and Consuls, to the lead- 
 ing presses of Great Britain, and to its public libra- 
 ries and reading-rooms, a supply of this work, with its 
 daily narrative of facts, its documents and accounts of 
 battles from the best authorities on both sides, the 
 Saturday Review, Blackwood, and the London Times 
 would have been forced to desist from palming off 
 upon the public their monstrous perversions and false- 
 hoods, and those who are really our friends in that 
 country would have been furnished with an armory of 
 facts which would have enabled them to advocate our 
 cause with greater success and confidence." — iV. Y. 
 Commercial Advertiser. 
 
 " The Record is eminently just and conservative ; 
 there is neither exaggeration, extenuation nor malice. 
 In the future it will have an increased value as a cor- 
 rect arbiter in all important questions concerning our 
 great past." — Phil. Inquirer. 
 
 "It will furnish a standard reference on matters 
 touching the great rebellion in all coming time." — 
 Dubuque (loica) Times. 
 
 " It will preserve a living transcript of popular feel- 
 ings and movements, of every day-phases and incidents, 
 as well as of public measures and events." — JV. Y. In- 
 dependent. 
 
 " What American readers want is a book of refer- 
 ence in regard to the war on which they can safely 
 rely. Such a book is the Rebellion Record.^' — Ohio 
 Btaiesma?!. 
 
 " It gives the official reports of both parties in the 
 contest ; picturesque narratives of eye-witnesses, copi- 
 ous extracts from Union, Secession and British jour- 
 nals, with anecdotes and poetry of widely varying 
 tone." — Springfield {Mass.) Republican. 
 
 " It has met with well-deserved success and praise 
 from all who have taken the pains to read carefully its 
 pages." — iV. Y. Observer. 
 
 " It contains all the proclamations, messages, let- 
 ters, speeches, reports, etc., etc., emanating from both 
 sides, their leaders, officers and speakers." — Adrian 
 (Mich.) Expositor. 
 
 *' The documents, verified occurrences, rumors, in- 
 cidents, poetry, anecdotes, etc., are transcribed with a 
 faithful pen, and as the editor has aimed at entire im- 
 partiality, these have been gathered from every quar- 
 ter. The views of leading minds North and South are 
 here grouped together without alteration or comment. 
 Every individual who has spoken or written with 
 effect on either side, or ' in the fence,' has been placed 
 ' on record,' and his utterances have been electrotyped 
 for the benefit of future generations." — Chore's Rural 
 y^ew- Yorker. 
 
 " To every fair mind statements from both sides on 
 all questions and occurrences of this war, will be ac- 
 
 ceptable now, while to the future historian thnj wUI 
 be invaluable for comparison." — Phil. Inquirer. 
 
 " It must have been a difficult task for an editor aa 
 truly patriotic as Mr. Moore, to give with such strict 
 impartiality the narratives and statements of the se- 
 cessionists, where there was every reason to believe 
 them exaggerated or false, but the truth of history re- 
 quires the statements of all sides in a contest, and the 
 editor of the Record has maintained an unswervbg im- 
 partiality which will be fully appreciated in the future, 
 if it is not now." — Cor. Indiana Witness. 
 
 " It is a clear and full history of all movements of 
 the war, which are well authenticated, to which is add- 
 ed comments of the press, North and South, incidents, 
 songs and anecdotes, growing out of the war." — Indian- 
 apolis Journal. 
 
 " The Rebellion Record is invaluable to statesmen 
 of every country. I find in its pages important facta 
 and documents, that I look in vain for in the national 
 archives." — Letter of the late Senator Bingha>n. 
 
 Its Completeness. 
 
 " The longer and more complicated the war becomes, 
 the more important is it to have a work like this, so 
 comprehensive in its plan, so full in its details, and so 
 thoroughly arranged and convenient for reference." — 
 Sunday- School Tunes. 
 
 "As a faithful and complete documentary history 
 of the war, this work is vastly superior to any thing 
 else published." — Congregaiionalist, (Boston.) 
 
 " The documents and narratives are well selected, 
 and comprise every really important public paper con- 
 nected with the conduct of the war for crushing the 
 rebellion.' ' — Boston Transcript. 
 
 "All the official reports of the various battles, by 
 the general officers engaged, the official reports of kill- 
 ed, etc., together with extracts from the best news- 
 paper accounts, and every anecdote, incident, and 
 story calculated to throw light upon and bring out 
 into relief the true history of this infamous war, are 
 here carefully collected." 
 
 "A complete register of all matters and events con- 
 nected with the rebellion as they transpire, embracing 
 official documents, statistics, description of battles, 
 military reports, etc." — Ypsilantl {Mich.) Times. 
 
 " It is a complete reference-book on the great ee- 
 BELLiON ; a book which must be needed while the re- 
 bellion is remembered — and that can be forgotten only 
 when free governments become obsolete, and human 
 liberty nothing worth." — Portland (Me.) Christian 
 Mirror. 
 
 •' The Record is the most complete chronicle of the 
 events of the war which has been issued." — Philadel- 
 phia Sunday Dispatch. 
 
 " It is the standard authority of the war, and a 
 complete reference-book as to the history of the re- 
 bellion." — Duhique {loica) Daily Times. 
 
 " It has more than fulfilled all that it promised at 
 the outset, and constitutes a full, complete, and reli- 
 able history of the rebellion." — Galesbiirgh {111.) Free 
 Democrat. 
 
 "No one should be without this publication, as it 
 will be a complete history of the rebellion, and may be 
 relied on as correct." — Lansing {Mich.) Republican. 
 
11 
 
 " "W hen completed — as it will be when the war is 
 closed — it will be set down as the only standard, every- 
 day history of tne civil war in existence." — Daven- 
 port {Iowa) Democrat and News. 
 
 " As a storehouse of reliable facta relating to our 
 great civil war ; as a repository of valuable documents 
 relating to the same subject ; and as an interesting and 
 amusing casket of narrative and poetry to which the 
 war has given rise, the Rebellion Record is unsurpass- 
 ed." — Ohio Staietman. 
 
 " The compilation of documents, official or authen- 
 ticated, is very perfect, while the diary of events, in- 
 cidents, poetry, etc., afford a complete and interesting 
 history of the times." — Albany Statesman. 
 
 " With such a Record as this, there is no need of 
 another Hildreth or Bancroft." — N. Y. World. 
 
 " The patient labor that thus collects, arranges, and 
 indexes documents, is of incalculable value. Every 
 American citizen should possess a copy of the Rebel- 
 lion Record." — jY. Y. Illustrated News. 
 
 '■^ The^ Rebellion Record cova'^W&il .... with 
 such thoroughness and care, will do for posterity 
 what its editor has so laboriously accomplished for his 
 own generation with respect to the war of the revo- 
 lution ; and it will be preserved in households for con- 
 stant and familiar reference." — -A^. Y. Independent. 
 
 " It preserves every thing of importance connected 
 with the rebellion." — Boston Journal. 
 
 " It will form in itself a history more authentic and 
 valuable than any ever written." — N. Y. Sunday 
 Mercury. 
 
 " It mamtams the high position which marked its 
 advent as a historical record." — Providence Journal. , 
 
 " With each new number we are more and more 
 impressed with the value of this work as a reliable 
 and complete history of the war." — Boston Congrega- 
 tionalist. 
 
 "It should be in the library of every one who de- 
 sires to possess a complete memorial of this strange 
 and wonr'rous episode of our history." — Pkiladdphia 
 Inquirer. 
 
 " We know of no work which, in its fulness and 
 completeness, compares with the Rebellion Record.''^ — 
 Sandusky [Ohio) Register. 
 
 "We must bear witness to the faithfulness of the 
 editor's labor and patience in compiling this full, reli- 
 able, and complete record." — Missouri Republican. 
 
 " It is the only complete and authentic record of 
 the rebellion, and the future historian will hardly need 
 to go beyond its pages for the materials of his vol- 
 ume." — Cincinnati Gazette. 
 
 " It gives every thing that can be needed to form a 
 complete record of the rebellion." — Hampshire {Mass.) 
 Gazette. 
 
 " It is incomparably the fullest and completest ex- 
 position of the great rebellion that has appeared or 
 probably will appear." — Albany Evening Journal. 
 
 Its Variety. 
 
 "One department presents the poetical and pictur- 
 eeque aspect, another the notable and characteristic 
 incidents, and a third all the important official and 
 unofficial documents." — N. Y. Observer. 
 
 "Aside from the well-authenticated facts and docth 
 ments relating to the present difficulties contained in 
 It, the incidents, poetry, and anecdotes in each volume 
 are worth the price of the yiov'k."— Hendricks Co. 
 '{Bid.) Bedger. 
 
 " The sadness and gloom of the general theme ara 
 relieved by a collection of poetry, anecdotes, personal 
 mcidents and gossip, in which the editor picks up 
 many a waif which one would not willingly let perish." 
 — Philadelphia Inquirer. 
 
 " It contains accounts of all the important events 
 which have transpired from the commencement of the 
 war to the present time, all the rhymes, good or in- 
 different, which have been perpetrated bv poets on 
 both sides of ' Dixie's line,' and all the incidents and 
 anecdotes which have found their way into the news- 
 papers of either section." — Home Journal. 
 
 " One department is assigned to a diary of current 
 events, concise and reliable; another contains the 
 documents, important speeches, and long official pa- 
 pers of the campaign ; while a third, more entertain- 
 ing, is devoted to the poetry which has been elicited 
 by the events of the contest, with anecdotes and a 
 narrative of incidents." — Phila. Sunday Dispatch^ 
 
 "There is a peculiar charm about a work of this 
 kind, written while the contest is still going on ; 
 word-photographs, taken on the spot as it were, which 
 an after-history can never attain." — Keiihsbnrgh Ob 
 server. 
 
 " It is not simply a dry, statistical print — though 
 merely this would render it very valuable — but it hke- 
 wise contains documents, which materially enhance 
 its worth. It also presents numerous incidents, some 
 that open the floodgates of the heart ; others that, in 
 spite of one's self, will call forth the hearty, gushing 
 laugh." — Waukegan {III.) Gazette. 
 
 "A feature of this publication is the appendix, con- 
 taining the poetical effusions and humorous and af- 
 fecting anecdotes to which the war has given birth. 
 Some of the poetry which our national conflict baa 
 evoked is worthy the reputation of any of our poets 
 and the best specimens have been preserved from 
 newspaper-corners and ephemeral publications in the 
 Rebellion Record." — N. Y. Evening Post. 
 
 "As the monthly issue of the documentary history 
 of the war, this work is invaluable ; but when we add 
 to this claim its authentic biographical material — the 
 sermons and sonnets — the anecdotes and the poems — 
 the facts and the fancies, gleaned, collated, arranged, 
 and embodied for reference, preservation, and com- 
 parison, we know of no publishing enterprise so sea- 
 sonable, thorough, and valuable." — Boston Tran- 
 script. 
 
 " It embraces not only every thing of positive im- 
 portance, such as facts and documents, even to the 
 most remote and minor, but all that incidentally il- 
 lustrates and lights up the history of such a period — 
 all its anecdotes, humorisms, and practical inspira- 
 tions." — Buffalo Express. 
 
 " The design of the work embraces every thing con 
 nected with the civil conflict, even down to the poetry, 
 songs, and anecdotes of the day." — Missouri Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 " The Diary, in brief though concise and accurate 
 language, describes the daily warlike and political 
 events ; the documents and narratives officially illus- 
 trate the transactions of the same period ; the poetry, 
 
12 
 
 rumors, and incidents, emblazon the fervor of the in- 
 tellectual patriotism, and collect strange anecdotes to 
 which personal daring and sufiFering give birth." — 
 Philadelphia Sunday Bispatch. 
 
 "A living transcript of popular feelings and move- 
 ments, of every-day phases and incidents, as well as 
 of public measures and events." — N. Y. Independent. 
 
 " The selections of anecdotes and poetry are good 
 and characteristic, and curiously set forth some of the 
 lighter and brighter phases of the thousand-sided 
 American mind." — Adrian {Mich.) Expositor. 
 
 Its Preservation of the Materials for Future 
 History. 
 
 " It is a complete library of facts, occurrences, bat- 
 tles, documents, speeches, etc., from the first breaking 
 out of the great rebellion." — Ohio Statesman. 
 
 " From no other source can such important inform- 
 ation of the causes and conduct of the present war 
 be obtained for future reference." — Lansing {Mich.) 
 Republican. 
 
 " Thanks to Mr. Moore's industry in collecting, and 
 judgment in selecting from all reliable sources, he is 
 here putting aside the best materials for the future his- 
 torian." — Burlington, i,^^-) Press. 
 
 " To the lover of history, it becomes one of the 
 most prized of modern publications." — N. Y. Journal 
 of Commerce. 
 
 " It will constitute such a historic treasury as has 
 
 never been collected before Even to us 
 
 of the present time such a record must seem of ines- 
 timable worth ; but it will remain for the future his- 
 torian to fully appreciate its vast importance and 
 Talue." — Buffalo Express. , 
 
 " To any one desirous of preserving a record of the 
 conflict as it progresses it ia invaluable." — Indianapolis 
 Journal. 
 
 "None should be without this valuable work, for it 
 comprises information not to be obtained from any 
 other source." — Yonkers Exajniner. 
 
 " Those who wish to preserve a succinct history of 
 the second war of independence will do well to pro- 
 cure it for preservation." — J^^. Y. Christian Inquirer. 
 
 " It contains the events of the day, carefully digest- 
 ed, presenting, in succinct form, what voluminous files 
 of newspapers could alone otherwise enable the reader 
 to preserve." — iV. Y. Times. 
 
 " This Record is an invaluable work for preserva- 
 tion, embracing as it does all the important documents 
 relating to the history of the war, and may form, we 
 hope, the nucleus of a permanent annual register." — 
 X. Y. Evening Post. 
 
 ''This is a most valuable work, embodying in a 
 form for preservation such matter as will be much 
 Bought after by all who will hereafter desire a history 
 of this, the most unprovoked and deep-laid rebellion 
 •which the world has ever known." — Sandusky {Ohio) 
 Register. 
 
 " This is by preeminence the time to collect and 
 preserve valuable records for the future historian. 
 Kever has such a task been so well performed for 
 former history as now for our own by the volume call- 
 ed the Rebellion Record." — Philadelphia Iforth-Amer- 
 ^c^m and Gazette. 
 
 " There can be nothing better and more complete 
 for the reference of the historical student and general 
 writer." — BurlingtoJi (Fit.) Times. 
 
 " It will preserve to the future historian an immense 
 mass of authentic facts in a convenient form." — New- 
 ark {N. J.) Advertiser. 
 
 " Our readers, if desirous to possess the most com- 
 plete collection of documents, and memoires pour 
 servir, for present and future reference, can supply 
 themselves with no other work at all approaching this 
 in historical completeness, accuracy and value." — Pitts- 
 burgh Gazette. 
 
 " No other publication possesses such value as a 
 work of reference in regard to the history of the 
 present time as this." — Home Journal. 
 
 " Historical students appropriate it for permanent 
 use." — Boston Transcript. 
 
 " The matter contained in it cannot be obtained any 
 where else without an amount of labor and research 
 altogether disproportionate to the cost of the Record." 
 — Eva7isville {Ind.) Daily Journal. 
 
 " The materials preserved in the Record will be of 
 immense importance to the future historian." — Lin- 
 coln {III.) Herald. 
 
 "It forms an immense repository of papers, scenes, 
 and incidents, which will afford material for future 
 historians aa well as meet the wants of present read- 
 ers." — Philadelphia Christian Instructor. 
 
 " Teeming with history that each year of the future 
 will invest with a historic value." — Waushara Co. 
 { Wis.) Argus. 
 
 " Never has a war been so accurately and volumi- 
 nously reported in all its phases as the present in the 
 Rebellion Record." — Liberator, Boston. 
 
 " There is hardly a day in these eventful times 
 when the facts and principles of the war are under 
 constant discussion, in which these volumes will not 
 be found important for reference." — Lutheran Mis- 
 sionary, Philadelphia. 
 
 "Full of interest to the reader of to-day, and ines- 
 timable to the historian and annalist." — Home Mission 
 Record. 
 
 Indispensable to all Classes of Readers. 
 
 "The facts, incidents, and humor are a palatable 
 dish for all tastes." — Boston Post. 
 
 "Public libraries, at all events, and private libraries 
 which contain any works relating to the present war, 
 should have the Rebellion Record." — Portsmouth 
 {N. H.) Chronicle. 
 
 "It should be in the library of every one who de- 
 sires to possess a complete memorial of this strangp 
 and wondrous episode in our history." — Philadelphia 
 Inquirer. 
 
 *' Whoever deprives himself of the Rebellion Rec- 
 ord now, will regret it all his life." — Sandusky { Ohio) 
 Register. 
 
 " Every citizen should procure one copy or moro 
 for his own use, and for a safe guide to those who 
 may represent him in the future of our country's his- 
 tory." — Ohio Statesman. 
 
 " No American library will be complete without it." 
 — Maquoketa {Iowa) Excelsior. 
 
13 
 
 " "We do not see how any one who wishes to keep 
 correctly posted upon the rebellion can do without the 
 Rebellion Record^ — Monmouth (111.) Atlas. 
 
 " It is an invaluable work, and all peraons who wish 
 to preserve a history of this horrible war should pur- 
 chase it." — Rock Island {III.) Argus. 
 
 "No one can afford to do without it." — Milwaukee 
 {Wis.) News. 
 
 " It is a work which no intelligent American can be 
 without ; and its low price puts it within the reach of 
 nearly all." — Kalamazoo {Mich.) Gazette. 
 
 " The Rebellion Record is a publication invaluable to 
 every one who desires to keep fuUy and accurately in- 
 formed in relation to the history which we are now 
 making."— PAiZ. Sunday Dispatch. 
 
 " All who wish to be well posted in the history and 
 progress of this extraordinary war, should take the 
 work." — Dubuque {Iowa) Daily Times. 
 
 " It supplies a want which every intelligent observ- 
 er of current events must feel."— ^^osto?i Journal. 
 
 " This is a work which every one needs and should 
 have." — loioa Transcript. 
 
 *' No estimate can be put upon this invaluable record 
 of the war. Who would be without it?" — Medical 
 Dial. 
 
 " Those who have not already subscribed, should 
 do so without delay, for every family ought to be in- 
 terested in procuring a copy of so valuable a publica- 
 tion as the Rebellion Record.^^ — Keitlisburg {111.) Ob- 
 server. 
 
 " We cannot too strongly urge our friends to pro- 
 'ure it." — Davenport {Iowa) Democrat and News. 
 
 " The Record is a standard work, and an absolutely 
 necessary book of reference in relation to the current 
 history of our country." — New-Yorker, N. Y. 
 
 " It is a work that should be possessed by every one 
 desirous of a complete and authentic history of the 
 great struggle in which we are now engaged." — Han- 
 cock {Ohio) Courier. 
 
 " Every family should possess it, as a means of in- 
 struction in the all-absorbing history of the moment- 
 ous present." — Philadelphia Inquirer. 
 
 " It is quite indispensable to every private and 
 public library." — Ohio Statesman. 
 
 "No one who desires to be thoroughly posted in 
 the current events of the civil war should be without 
 this record of the rebellion." — Louisville Journal. 
 
 " This publication should be in the hands of every 
 one who desires to have a full history of the war in an 
 accessible form." — Buffalo Courier. 
 
 " The Record is indispensable to every public writer, 
 and to every intelligent citizen." — Albany Statesman. 
 
 " No one should be without this publication, as it 
 will be a complete history of the rebelUon." — Lansing 
 {Mich.) Republican. 
 
 " The Record is the most valuable publication issued 
 in America." — Erie {Pa.) Observer. 
 
 " Every American citizen should possess a copy of 
 the Rebellion Record." — N. Y. Illustrated News. 
 
 •'We commend the Record to every one of our 
 readers." — N. Y. Sunday Mercury. 
 
 " Every man should take and preserve this Recor^ 
 for his own instruction and the information of hia 
 children." — Boston Journal. 
 
 " We are more and more persuaded of its perma- 
 nent value for every person." — Phila. Christian In- 
 structor. 
 
 "Every one who wishes to keep pace with the 
 march of events should have it." — Fitzgerald's City 
 Item, Phila. 
 
 " The Rebellion Record should and will obtain a 
 welcome place in every library and household on thia 
 continent." — Wolverine Citizen. 
 
 " We advise such of our readers as wish to preserve 
 a record of the men and doings of this great chapter 
 of our American history, to take this invaluable pe- 
 riodical as it is issued." — Burlington { Vermont) Senti- 
 nel. 
 
 " No professional man, nor in fact any family, should 
 be without the Record.'''' — Miners' Journal. 
 
 " It should be in the hands of every one, being a 
 complete diary of events as they take place, and con- 
 taining aU the important documents, messages, pro- 
 clamations, etc." — Brookville {Ind.) Nat'ional Defender. 
 
 " This publication is a most valuable one, and 
 should bo very generally taken by the reading pub- 
 lic." — Winona {Minn.) Republican. 
 
 " Every family should procure a copy and preserve 
 it for future reference." — Genesee Democrat. 
 
 " We commend it to every man who wishes to keep 
 posted in the events of his times." — Northern Christ- 
 ian Advocate. 
 
 " Every body should take and preserve the Rebellion 
 Record.^' — Wdkcsbarre {Pa.) Record of the Times. 
 
 " A copy of this truly national work will be indis- 
 pensable to a complete library." — Albany Evening 
 Journal. 
 
 " No cheaper or better history of the war can be 
 found any where." — Alton {III.) Observer. 
 
 " The Record is a work of which every individual 
 should own a copy." — Burlington { 'Vt.) Press. 
 
 "A publication which no one who desires to be 
 posted can do viith.ovX:''— Philadelphia Dupatch. 
 
 " To any one desirous of preserving a record of the 
 conflict as it progresses, it is invaluable."— /nd/aHo- 
 polis Journal. 
 
 " No one who purchases it, and has it bound, would 
 afterwards part with it for a dozen times its cost."— 
 Burlington {Vt.) Times. 
 
 "It is a duty which young men, especially, owe to 
 themselves, to obtain a complete set of the Record for 
 future reference."— PorfemoM^A {N.H.) Chronicle. 
 
 "Every American should have a copy, that he and 
 his children may in after years peruse the record of 
 the Great Rebellion of \^n."— Hancock {III.) Cour- 
 
 "To all who wish a full and impartial history of 
 the present war, the Record is invaluable. '—Car- 
 thage {111.) Republican. 
 
 "We advise aU who desire a continuous and com- 
 plete record of the events that are now transp.r.ng, 
 to procure this important eenal."—GeUysburgh {Pa. 
 Evangelical Review. 
 
T] 
 
 Save already ap2yearecl in the ''Record." 
 
 Major-Gen. ROBERT ANDERSOlSr, 
 Governor JOHN" A. ANDREW, 
 Major-Gen, C. C. AUGUR, 
 Major-Gen, W. W. AVERILL, 
 Major-Gen. B. P. BUTLER, 
 General P, T. G. BEAUREGARD, 
 Major-Gen. K". P. BANKS, 
 Brig.-Gen. LOUIS BLENKER, 
 Major-Gen. A. E. BURNSIDE, 
 Rev. HENRY W. BELLOWS, 
 Colonel E. D. BAKER, 
 General BRAXTON BRAGG, 
 Com. THEODORUS BAILEY, 
 Commander CHARLES BOGGS, 
 Brig.-Gen. D. B. BIRNEY, 
 Brig.-Gen. D, BUTTERFIELD, 
 Major-Gen. J. G, BARNARD, 
 Brig.-Gen. H. J. BERRY, 
 General J. G. BLUNT, 
 Colonel LEWIS BENEDICT, 
 Hon. JOHN BRIGHT, M.P., 
 Hon. S. CAMERON, 
 Hon. SALMON P. CHASE, 
 Colonel MICHAEL CORCORAN, 
 Major-Gen. E. R. S. CANBY, 
 Major-Gen. D. N. COUCH, 
 Brig.-Gen. A. CUSTER, 
 Brig.-Gen. S. W. CRAW^FORD, 
 Hon. RICHARD COBDEN, M.P., 
 JEFFERSON DAVIS, 
 Major-Gen. JOHN A. DIX, 
 Commander S. F. DU PONT, 
 Admiral C. H. DAVIS, 
 Hon. EDWARD EVERETT, 
 Major-Gen. R. S. EWELL, 
 Colonel E. E. ELLSWORTH, 
 Major-Gen. J. C. FREMONT, 
 Commodore A. H. POOTE, 
 Admiral D. G. FARRAGUT, 
 Major-Gen. J. G. FOSTER, 
 Major NOAH H. FERRY, 
 Major-Gen. Q. A. GILLMORE, 
 Lieut.-Gen. U. S. GRANT, 
 Lieut. J. T. GREBLE, 
 Major-Gen. H. W. HALLECK, 
 Major-Gen. DAVID HUNTER, 
 Major-Gen. S. P HEINTZELMAN, 
 Major-Gen. JOSEPH HOOKER, 
 Major-Gen. E. A. HITCHCOCK, 
 Major-Gen. W. S. HANCOCK, 
 Major-Gen. O. O. HOWARD, 
 Major-Gen. ALBION P. HOWE, 
 Major-Gen. HENRY J. HUNT, 
 Major-Gen. W. B. HAZEN, 
 Hon. JOSEPH HOLT. 
 Lieut. H. B. HIDDEN, 
 General A. P. HILL, 
 General STONEWALL JACKSONT, 
 General J. E. JOHNSTON, 
 General R. W. JOHNSTON, 
 Major-Gen, P, KEARNY. 
 
 Major-Gen, E. D. KEYS, 
 Major-Gen. JOHN A, LOGAN, 
 Brig.-Gen. NATHANIEL LYON, 
 President LINCOLN, 
 Brig.-Gen. F. W. LANDER, 
 General ROBERT E. LEE, 
 General JAMES LONGSTREET, 
 Major-Gen. G. B. McCLELLAN, 
 General J. K. F. MANSFIELD, 
 Major-Gen. IRWIN McDOWELL, 
 General G. A. McCALL, 
 General BEN. McCULLOCH, 
 Major-Gen. O. M. MITCHEL, 
 Major-Gen. ROBERT MILROY, 
 Major-Gen. G. G. MEADE, 
 General A, McCOOK, 
 General J. S. NEGLEY, 
 Major-Gen. R. J. OGLESBY, 
 Rt. Rev. LEONIDAS POLK, 
 Lieut. WILLIAM L. PUTNAM, 
 Major-Gen. JOHN POPE, 
 Commander W. D. PORTER, 
 Admiral D. D. PORTER, 
 Judge J. L, PETIGRU, 
 Major-Gen, W. S. ROSBCRANS, 
 Commander JOHN RODGERS, 
 General L. H. ROUSSEAU, 
 General BALDY SMITH, 
 Major-Gen, P. H, SHERIDAN, 
 Adjutant F, A, STEARNS, 
 Lieut.-Gen. WINFIELD SCOTT, 
 Governor WILLIAM SPRAGUE, 
 Com. S. H. STRINGHAM, 
 Major-Gen. FRANZ SIGEL, 
 Major-Gen, HENRY W. SLOCUM. 
 Hon. E. M. STANTON, 
 Major-Gen. JOHN SEDGWICK, 
 Brig.-Gen. J. W^. SILL, 
 Major-Gen. GEORGE STONEMAN. 
 General J, E, B. STUART, 
 Major-Gen, W. T, SHERMAN, 
 Major-Gen, D. E. SICKLES, 
 General J, C. STARKWEATHER, 
 Eon. CHARLES SUMNER, 
 Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 
 Hon. A. H. STEPHENS, 
 Major-Gen. G. H. THOMAS, 
 Chief-Justice R. B. TANEY, 
 General E. D. TOWNSEND, 
 Major-Gen. J. E. WOOL, 
 Hon. GIDEON W^ELLES, 
 Major THEODORE WINTHROP, 
 Commander CHARLES WILKES, 
 Governor H. A, WISE, 
 Brig,-Gen. J. S. WADSW^ORTH, 
 Major-Gen. L. WALLACE, 
 Brig.-Gen. G, WEITZEL, 
 Major-Gen, C. C. WASHBURAIE, 
 Major-Gen, O, B. WILCOX 
 General A. WILLICH, 
 General S, R, ZOOK. 
 
"Without question, the most valuible coatCTnpoM./ History ever prepared, is Frank Moore's 
 Rebellion Record." — Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 The embodiment of all that Is valuable, ard the only HISTORY OF THE WAR 
 
 that can be relied on." 
 
 THE 
 
 REBELLION RECORD, 
 
 A Diary of American Events. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 FRANK MOORE. 
 
 Publishing in parts, at 60 cents, each part Illustrated with two 
 
 Portraits engraved on steel. 
 
 Nine Volumes are Now Ready, 
 
 AT ANNEXED PRICES. 
 
 Cloth, $5.00 a vol, I Sheep, $6.00 a voL 
 
 Half Calf, or Half Morocco, . . . $6.50 a vol 
 
 The Rebellion Record 
 
 IS INDISPENSABLE TO EVERY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIBRARY. 
 
 THE EIGHT VOLUMES CONTAIN: 
 
 L 
 
 A FULL AND CONCISE DIARY OF EVENTS, from the Meeting of the South-Carolin» 
 Convention in December, 1860, to the present time. 
 
 n. 
 OVER THREE THOUSAND OFFICIAL REPORTS AND NARRATIVES of all the Battles 
 and Skirmishes that have occurred during the War. 
 
 m. 
 OVER ELEVEN HUNDRED SONGS AND BALLADS, both Loyal and Rebel 
 
 IT. 
 
 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR PORTRAITS, engraved on steel, of the most 
 celebrated men of the time, and Numerous Maps and Plans of Battles. 
 
 v. 
 f;VER SEVEN THOUSAND Incidents and Anecdotes of Personal Daring and Bravery. 
 
 "THE GREAT LIVING HISTORY." 
 
 Jt^ -WORK FOR OONSTA.lsrT RKFKRKNCK. 
 
 D. VAN NOSTRAND, Publisher, 
 
 192 BROAJD^WAY. 
 
 Thi Record will be continued in parts, at 60 cents a part, each part illustrated with Two 
 Portraits. Seven parts to a volume. 
 
 N.B.— Letters relating to the Editorial Department of the " Record" should be addressed 
 V) Frank Moore, 45 Bible House, New-York. All matters relating to the business of the 
 "Record" should be addressed to D. Van Nostrand, the Publisher 192 Broadway, New-York. 
 
D. VAN NOSTKAND, 
 
 No. 192 BROADWAY, 
 
 HA-S RKCKNTLY I> TJ B H. I S H K D ; 
 
 EISTOBY OF WEST-POINT, And Us Military Importance daring the American Revolution; and the Origin and Propws of tk 
 United States Military Academy. By Oaptaln Edward 0. Bonrrotf, A. M., Adjutant of the Military Academy. With nnmeroa 
 Ma{)B and Engravings. 1 toI., octavo. Blue cloth, $8; half mor., $7.50; full mor., $10. 
 
 '* Aside from Its value as an historical record, the volume under notice Is an entertaining guide-book to the Military Academy and lU 
 sarroundlnga. We have full details of Cadet life from the day of entrance to that of graduation, together with descriptions of the build- 
 ings, grounds, and monuments. To the multitude of those who have enjoyed at West-Point the combined attractions, this book will give, 
 In its descriptive and illustrated portion, especial pleasure." — New-York Evening Post. 
 
 " The second part of the book gives the history of the Military Academy from its foundation in 1803, a description of the academla 
 buildings, and the appearance to-day of this always beautiful spot, with the manner of appointment of the cadets, course of study, pay 
 time of service, and much other Information yearly becoming of greater value, for West-Point has not yet reached Its palmiest days."— 
 Dally Advertiser. 
 
 OILLMOBrE'S FOET 8TTMTEB. Official Report of Operations against the Defences of Charleston Harbor, i868. Comprising th* 
 Descent upon Morris Island, the Demolition of Port Sumter, and the Siege and Reduction of Porta Wagner and Gregg. By Mi^oi^ 
 General Q. A. Gilluorb, U. S. Volunteers, and Major U. S. Corps of Engineers. With 76 Lithographic Plates, Views, Maps, Ac. \ 
 vol., 8vo, cloth, $10. 
 
 HOLLEY'S TEEATISE ON ORDNANCE AND ABlilOB ; Embracing Descriptions, Discussions, and Professional Oplnloni 
 concerning the Material, Fabrication, Requirements, Capabilities, and Endurance of European and American Guna for ftTaval, Be& 
 Coast, and Iron-Clad Warfare, and their Rifling, Projectiles, and Breech-Loading ; also, Results of Experiments against Armor, froa 
 Official Records. With an Appendix, referring to Gun-Cotton, Hooped Guna, etc., etc. By A. L. Hollbt, B. P. With 498 Illnstra- 
 tlons. 1 vol., 8vo, 948 pages. Half roan, $10 ; half Russia, $12.60. 
 
 HATTFT'S MILITABY BBID(JES, For the Passage of Infantry, Artillery, and Baggage-Trains; with suggestions of many new 
 expedients and constructions for crossing streams and chasms ; designed to utilize the resources ordinarily at command, and reduce 
 the amount and cost of array transportation. Including, also, designs for Trestle and Truss Bridges for Military Railroads, adapted 
 especially to the wants of the Service of the United States. By Hermak Haopt, Brigadier-General In charge of the construction and 
 operation of the United States Military Railways, Author of " General Theory of Bridge Construction," 4o. Illastrated by sixty- 
 nine Lithographic Engravings. Octavo, cloth, $6.50 ; half Russia, $8.50. 
 
 " This elaborate and carefully prepared, though thoroughly practical and simple work, la peculiarly adapted to the military eerviof 
 of the United States. Mr. Haupt has added very much to the ordinary facilities for crossing streams and chasms, by the instructloni 
 afforded In this work."— Boston Courier. 
 
 CULLTJM'S SYSTEMS OF MILITARY BBIDGES, In Use by the United States Army; those adopted by the Great European 
 Powers ; and such as are employed in British India. With Directions for the Preservation, Destruction, and ReSstabllshment o! 
 Bridges. By Brig.-General Georqr W. Cullcm, Lleut-Col. Corps of Engineers, United States army. 1 vol., 8vo, cloth, With numerous 
 lUustrations. $3.50. 
 
 " It is a trite remark that of all the operations of war, none is more difficult and hazardous than the passage of a large river, in the pres- 
 ence of a bold and active enemy. The Importance to this country of such a work as the present, when our armies have to pass so many 
 treat rivers, cannot be over-estimated. We have no man more competent to prepare such a work than Brigadier-General CuUum, who 
 Bad the almost exclusive supervision, devising, building, and preparing for service of the various bridge-trains sent to our armies In 
 Mexico during our war with that country. The treatise before us is very complete, and has evidently been prepared with scrupulong 
 care. The descriptions of the various systems of military bridges adopted by nearly all civilized nations are very interesting, even t« 
 the non-professional reader, and to those specially Interested in such subjects must be very Instructive, for they are evidently the work 
 of a master of the art of military bridge-building." — Washington Chronicle. 
 
 I 
 BENET'S MILITABY LAW. a Treatise on Military Law and the Practice of Oourta-Martial. By Capt. S. V. Bknkt. Ordnanca 
 Department, U. 8. A., late Assistant Professor of Ethics, Law, etc., Military Academy, West-Point. 1 vol., 8vo, law sheep. $4.60 
 
 "This book is manifestly well timed just at this particular period, and it is. without doubt, quite as happily adapted to the purpose 
 fbr which it was written. It is arranged with admirable method, and written with such perspicuity and in a style so easy and graceful, 
 as to engage the attention of every reader who may be so fortunate as to open its pages. This treatise will make a valuable addition to 
 the library of the lawyer or the civilian ; while to the military man it seems to be indispensable." — Philadelphia Evening Journal. 
 
 DITFABCQ'S ELEMENTS OF MILITABY ABT AND HISTOEY. By Edward db la Barrb Dcpabq, Chef de Batalllon of 
 Engineers in the Army of Prance ; and Professor of the Military Art in the Imperial School of St. Oyr. Translated by Brigadier- 
 Sen. GtORaa W. CtJULCM, U. S. A., OUef of the Staff of Major-Gen. H. W. Halleok, General-In-Chlef U. S. Army, 1 vol., 8vo, cloth, $0. 
 " I read the original a few years since, and considered it the very best work I had seen upon the subject. General CuUum's ability 
 
 and tamillarity with the technical language of French military writers, are a sufficient guarantee of the correctness of his translation." 
 
 H. W. HALLECK, Major-General U. S. A. 
 
 BOEMER'S CAVALBY, ITS HISTOEY, MANAGEMENT, AND USES IN WAE. By J. Rokmkb, LL.D., late an OfBoer 
 of Cavalry In the service of the Netherlands. Elegantly illustrated with one hundred and twenty-seven fine Wood Engravings. In 
 one large octavo volume, beautlftilly printed on tinted paper. Cloth, $6 ; half calf, $7.50. 
 " I am exceedingly pleased with It, and regard it as a very valuable addition to our military literature. It will certainly be regard od 
 
 u a standard work ; and I know of none so valuable to our cavalry officers." Geobob B. MoOlbli.ak, Major-General U. S. A. 
 
 ABMY OFFICEBS' POCKET COMPANION. Principally designed for Staff Officers in the Field. Partly translated from the 
 Rench of M. Di RocrvRa,Jiieutenant-Oolonel of the French Staff Corps, with Aditions from Standard American French, and English 
 Authorities. By Wm. P. Craiqhill, First Lieutenant D. S. Corps of Engineers, Assist. Prot of Kagfcjserltog at the U. 8. Military 
 Academy, West-Point. 1 voL, 18mo, full roan. $2, 
 
 OBBON'S HA1SD-B00K OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY. Being a compilation of aU of the principal events In the history 
 of every vessel of the United States Navy, from April, 1861, to May, 1861 Compiled and arranged by B. B. Osboh. 1 vol., 12mo, 
 blue cloth. $2.50. 
 " As a condensed and compact history, as well as a work containing a vast amoont of Information, tbia work cannot be Btirpa8M4." 
 
 —Alston Traveller. 
 
 * inj of th* above works sent free by mail on receipt of prioa.