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THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE WILMER COLLECTION 
 
 OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 RICHARD H. WILMER, JR. 
 
■feMttftCXiaECTJON 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2009 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/jedboysadventureOOgoss 
 
Smash 'em, smash 'em, boys ! " — Page 401. 
 
JED 
 
 A BOY'S ADYENTUEES IIT THE 
 AEMY OF '61-^65 
 
 A STOBY OF BATTLE AND PBISON, OF PEBIL 
 AND ESCAPE 
 
 WARREN LEE GOSS 
 
 Author of "The Soldier's Story of His Captivity at Ander- 
 son ville and Other Prisons," "The Recollections of 
 A Private," in the Century War Series, etc. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 
 
 13 AsTOR Place 
 
Copyright, 1889, by 
 Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. 
 
 C. J. PETERS & SON, 
 
 Typographers and Electrotypers, 
 
 145 High Street, Boston. 
 
TO THE 
 
 Sons and Daughters of My Comrades 
 
 OF THE 
 
 " GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC." 
 
 602930 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 TN this story the author has aimed to furnish 
 true pictures of scenes in the great civil war, 
 and not to produce sensational effects. The inci- 
 dents of the book are real ones, di'awn in part from 
 the writer's personal experiences and observations, 
 as a soldier of the Union, during that war. He is 
 also indebted to many comrades for reminiscences 
 of battle and prison life. The perilous escape of 
 Jed and Dick, from Andersonville down the Flint 
 and Appalachicola Rivers, to the Gulf of Mexico, is 
 in substance the narrative of a comrade whom the 
 writer knew at Andersonville, and afterwards met 
 when the war had closed. The descriptions of the 
 prison are especially truthful, for in them the au- 
 thor briefly tells what he himself saw. 
 
 There is not a description of battle or camp scene 
 in the book that is not as faithful to the reality as 
 the author can make it, and he believes that these 
 sketches will be recognized as true, by the veterans 
 
 1 
 
2 PREFACE. 
 
 of the war who may chance to read them to their 
 boys and girls. 
 
 If it be objected that boys of the age of Jed 
 and Dick were too young for soldiers, the writer 
 will say, that few realize how young were the men 
 who fought the battles of the Republic. In many 
 i-egiments the average age of those in the ranks 
 was less than twenty-one years, and it was not un- 
 usual to see boys of fifteen and sixteen carrying 
 muskets, enduring the hardships, and bearing the 
 scars of battle. 
 
 The writer has attempted to portray a soldier's 
 life as boy soldiers saw it; and if he has failed 
 therein, lie has failed in his purpose of conveying 
 to the youth of to-day a reflection of that patriotic 
 and self-sacrificing spirit which restored to us the 
 blessings of peace, " one country and one flag." 
 
 W. L. G. 
 Norwich, Conn., May, 1889. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Jumping from the Frying-Pan into the 
 
 Fire 5 
 
 II. A Change of Scene 18 
 
 III. In the Guard-House 26 
 
 lY. Charleston on the Eve of the Rebel- 
 lion 33 
 
 V. The Curtain of War Rises 42 
 
 VI. Home Once More 57 
 
 VII. Making Ready 63 
 
 VIII. Volunteers in Washington 75 
 
 IX. On the Peninsula 83 
 
 X. Before Yorktown 95 
 
 XL Pursuit and Battle 106 
 
 XII. Marching on 117 
 
 XIII. In the Saddle 125 
 
 XIV. Retreat to the James River .... 138 
 XV. A Prisoner 150 
 
 XVI. Jed's Story . 162 
 
 XVII. A Convalescent's Glimpse of Belle 
 
 Isle in 1862 175 
 
 XVIII. In the Parole Camp 190 
 
 XIX. On Furlough at Home 206 
 
 XX. In the Battle of Chancellorsville . 222 
 
 XXL Marching on to Battle 239 
 
 3 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XXII. On the Battle-field of Gettysburg . 248 
 
 XXIII. After Battle 262 
 
 XXIV. Grant takes Command 272 
 
 XXV. Andersonville Prison 287 
 
 XXVI. Life and Death in Prison 298 
 
 XXVII. In the Jaws of Death 314 
 
 XXVIII. Tunnelling Out 329 
 
 XXIX. To THE KiVER 338 
 
 XXX. Down the River 347 
 
 XXXI. A Nest in the Cypress 362 
 
 XXXII. On the Appalachicola Bay 376 
 
 XXXIII. Under the old Flag Again 391 
 
 XXXIV. The Last Days of the War 397 
 
JED 
 
 A BOY^S ADVENTURES IN THE ARMY 
 OF '61 AND '65. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 JUMPING FROM THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE. 
 
 BEFORE the war began I had enlisted. In 
 the year 1855 I was a boy twelve years of 
 age, and even more wilful, intractable, and head- 
 strong than boys of that age usually are. My 
 mother having died before I was old enough to 
 comprehend the full meaning of her loss, I lived 
 alone with my father, a hard-working mechanic, 
 who had always provided a good home for his 
 family until the hard times following a financial 
 panic had thrown him out of work. This, together 
 with the death of my mother, had caused him to 
 wander away in search of work or adventure, 
 leaving me to the care of a maiden aunt about 
 twenty-five years of age, who lived in the small 
 village of Centerboro, thirty miles from Boston. 
 
 She was known to the villagers as " Miss Tempy," 
 an abbreviation of the name of Temperance. She 
 was a kind-hearted woman, and devoted to the 
 
 5 
 
6 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 interests of my father, who was her only brother. 
 Like many childless people, she had a weakness in 
 imagining she knew all about the management of 
 children. Whether this conceit was founded on 
 fact or fancy is immaterial to this narrative, it being 
 sufficient to say that her notions of a boy's capa- 
 city for obedience did not exactly coincide with 
 mine. She was not largely endowed with this 
 world's goods, but was in the main generous and 
 motherly ; and, when not possessed by an excruci- 
 ating and peculiar sense of duty towards me, her 
 evident fondness for me made me love her as much 
 as I was capable of loving anything except play 
 and mischief. 
 
 Upon the subject of obedience, which included 
 keeping myself and my clothing clean and whole, 
 her views and my own widely diverged. The 
 blaze of an irrepressible conflict, if smothered at 
 times in my own breast from motives of prudence, 
 flamed out constantly towards me, and created a 
 corresponding resistance on my part. But I have 
 long seen my own errors and faults, and in maturer 
 years have repented with many bitter regrets of my 
 course of life at that period. I cannot but believe 
 that the mistake of those who have charge of boys 
 often consists in attempting to govern them too 
 much, rather than too little. To be met at every 
 turn by some inflexible rule is too much for the 
 best of boys, and often results in the reverse of good 
 to them. The attempts to govern on the part of 
 
FROM FRYING-PAN INTO FIRE. 7 
 
 my aunt were fitful and violent, and were a con- 
 stant source of irritation to me. 
 
 My aunt had at first received letters and money 
 from my father after his arrival in a far-off West- 
 ern settlement, where he had taken up government 
 land ; and then, for some reason I never understood, 
 all communications and remittances ceased. From 
 this time he dropped out of my life, until, long 
 years afterwards, the threads of his life were again 
 interwoven with mine by the shuttle-like events of 
 the great civil war. 
 
 I was then at the age when a boy begins to think 
 himself capable of self-government, and therefore 
 is often in rebellion against all control. My aunt, 
 as I have already hinted, had spasms of strict gov- 
 ernment, sandwiched with occasional humoring and 
 petting ; and I, on my part, had seasons of genuine 
 repentance, as well as of rebellion. 
 
 A boy, if not brought up under restraining fam- 
 ily influences, especially at the age mentioned, is at 
 best but an untamed animal, whose repulsion to 
 soap and water and discipline is in constant con- 
 flict with rules made for his restriction. If a boy 
 at that age cannot be governed by love and reason, 
 he might better not be governed at all ; though it 
 must be confessed it is sometimes hard to deter- 
 mine where a boy's love or reason has an existence. 
 
 My aunt's nervous irritability increased, while 
 my love for mischief and adventure set at defiance 
 her authority. To make me attend church or school 
 
8 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 regularly, when she was too ill to accompany me, 
 was finally beyond her power. I had passed my 
 thirteenth birthday when, one summer day, I not 
 only failed to go to school, but got into the quag- 
 mire of a swamp I was exploring. A new suit of 
 clothes was wet and covered with mud by being 
 submerged with me, and my aunt's temper and 
 endurance failed her when I brought home with me 
 the same afternoon a ragamuffin of the neighbor- 
 hood, known as Jed, whom I loved and admired just 
 in proportion as his life and clothing and conduct 
 were at variance with my aunt's ideas of propriety. 
 Hence it was that my Aunt Tempy's patience 
 gave out, and my endurance reached a climax, that 
 afternoon, when, in a rage, she shut Jed and myself 
 and his dog, which had accompanied us, into a back 
 room without supper, and then brought out a long- 
 threatened stick from its hiding-place, and ener- 
 getically scored her displeasure upon both Jed and 
 myself. It was the worst wliipping she had ever 
 given me, but it would have been still worse had 
 her strength equalled her rage. It may be amus- 
 ing to remember now the dance she gave myself 
 and poor Jed and his terrified dog, but there was 
 anything but fun in it at the time of its occur- 
 rence. It was exasperating. I could have for- 
 given the injury inflicted on myself, but to bring 
 honest, loving Jed to an entertainment so dispro- 
 portioned to what I considered his deserts, was more 
 than I could endure. 
 
PROM FRYING-PAN INTO FIRE. § 
 
 Jed, with a few finishing touches from my aunt's 
 tongue and stick, was dismissed by the back door, 
 while I was put to bed and locked into my room. 
 
 The next morning neither my aunt nor myself 
 was in a repentant mood. The sight of Jed's face, 
 swollen with undeserved marks of my aunt's dis- 
 pleasure, exasperated me with even a greater sense 
 of injustice than the condition of my own cuticle. 
 Jed, however, was as calm as a philosopher. He 
 was polishing a pair of boots attached to the feet 
 of our village lawyer. When, after his task was 
 finished, he remarked, " Jingo ! didn't the old lady 
 make us dance, though?" I told Jed that I had 
 determined to run away from home, cut the whole 
 connection, and declare myself a free and indepen- 
 dent person. It is due to Jed to say that he en- 
 deavored to dissuade me from such a course, but 
 he finally concluded to accompany me to Boston, 
 where I purposed to seek my fortune. 
 
 The same afternoon I smuggled a satchel filled 
 with a change of clothing to a railway station 
 about three miles from the village, and got it 
 checked for Boston, preliminary to my own depar- 
 ture. I had in my pocket a jack-knife and one dollar 
 and forty-two cents, while Jed was the possessor of 
 seventy-five cents. The next morning, accompa- 
 nied by Jed, I began my journey to Boston by line 
 of railway; not by steam, but afoot. For the first 
 ten miles I am afraid I did not have as keen a 
 sense of my own discomfort as I did of satisfaction 
 
10 JEi)'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 at the retributive pain I was inflicting on my aunt 
 by thus absconding without notice from her pro- 
 tection. 
 
 Anything that breaks up the ordinary routine 
 of a boy's life is usually welcome, so natural is his 
 thirst for adventure, and his desire to penetrate 
 the, to him, little known paths of real life. 
 
 During the day we had bought some food in a 
 shoe-manufacturing town on our route ; and, as we 
 could not afford to pay for a night's lodging at a 
 hotel, we slept in a haystack in a neighboring vil- 
 lage, half-way between the point of our departure 
 and our destination. The next morning I was 
 foot-sore and lame, and but for Jed's good nature, 
 and a certain stubborn pride of my own, I believe 
 I should have turned back and sought the for- 
 giveness of my aunt. 
 
 Nightfall again came and found us about eight 
 miles from Boston, and nowhere to sleep. At last 
 we came to a decked boat lying on the shore of a 
 creek, and with the dog we crept, shivering with 
 cold, repentantly to rest in the ridged interior of 
 the boat. 
 
 About midnight we were awakened by a man of 
 unsavory garments crawling into the boat. Upon 
 encountering us he revealed his true character by 
 exclaiming, "Hallo. Are you on the tramp?" 
 
 In a few minutes the tramp was snoring, as Jed 
 expressed it, "like a house a-fire," and we crept 
 from the boat to get clear from so unwelcome a 
 
FROM FRYING-PAN INTO FIRE. 11 
 
 guest. "We were fairly discouraged as we renewed 
 our line of march, and so cold that we shivered as if 
 with the ague. Even Mink, the dog, whined and 
 crept behind us with his tail dejectedly depressed. 
 We cautiously crossed a long railroad bridge in 
 the suburbs of Boston, and seeing a crate half filled 
 with straw, crept into it and slept the sleep of 
 tired boys. 
 
 We were awakened by some one roughly jolting 
 the crate and exclaiming, "I'll be blamed if here 
 isn't a whole nest of boys ! " And, as I awoke, the 
 good-natured laughing face of a boy some years 
 older than ourselves greeted us. 
 
 There is a sort of Freemasonry among youngsters, 
 and we soon made him understand that we were 
 seeking our fortunes. 
 
 Not to enter at length into this stage of our ad- 
 ventures, he took us into the kitchen of his father's 
 house and fed us royally, and listened with open- 
 eyed wonder while we told him our adventures. 
 He pronounced them "jolly," and if we were not 
 of his mind, we were at least willing that so gen- 
 erous an entertainer should hold to his opinion. 
 
 The reader can imagine the forlorn condition of 
 two inexperienced country boys, without money in 
 a city like Boston, thirty years ago. 
 
 For days the condition of Jed, myself, and the 
 dog, was one of chronic hunger. We were fortu- 
 nate if we made money enough by polishing boots 
 (for Jed had brought with him his boot-blacking 
 
12 Ji:D'S ADVENTURE^. 
 
 equipments) to give us two very economical meals 
 a day. 
 
 It is not my purpose to depict tliis kind of life. 
 It is sufficient to say that we were so hungry as 
 to regard with favor any kind of employment 
 which gave us enough to eat. I believe I should 
 have returned to my aunt and have submitted to 
 what I considered her iron rule forever, but for 
 Jed's unfailing good humor and courage. 
 
 As it was I wrote her a letter, but before I could 
 get the money for a stamp to mail it, incidents 
 occurred which interrupted the whole course of 
 my vagabond life. 
 
 I had taken a great dislike to the art of boot- 
 blacking. Perhaps its dirt brought out the latent 
 results of my aunt's instructions in cleanliness, and 
 gave me a curious repulsion to the business which 
 I had previously considered quite charming. 
 
 We had tried to ship on board of several vessels 
 as cabin boys, but the captains usually said two 
 cabin boys were too many, or asked us inquisitive 
 questions about our mothers. 
 
 Such was our condition when, two weeks after 
 our arrival in Boston, while engaged in blacking 
 boots, a sergeant of the United States regular 
 artillery stopped in response to my "Black yer 
 boots, sir?" 
 
 While giving him a shine, with sidelong glances, 
 I admired his resplendent uniform of blue with 
 its red stripes, bright buttons and brasses. 
 
^ 
 
 Do you know any boys who wish to enlist as drummers ? 
 — Page 13. 
 
FROM FRYING-PAN INTO FIRE. 13 
 
 "Boys," said the sergeant, while paying for the 
 sliine, " do you know any boys who wish to enlist 
 as di'ummers ? " 
 
 Without entering into details of the conver- 
 sation, we soon gave him to understand that the 
 joy of our hearts would be consummated if we 
 could be one of those glittering personages. 
 
 How it was managed, I do not know ; or who 
 stood our god-fathers in pla*ce of our own parents ; 
 but the next day at noon we were enlisted into the 
 service of the regular army, with the supposed 
 consent of our parents. 
 
 The afternoon after our enlistment we were 
 sent to a fort in Boston Harbor, then garrisoned 
 by a company of the — th United States Artillery. 
 Upon our arrival with other recruits we were re- 
 ceived at the landing by a soldier in uniform, 
 whom I believed to be no less than a general, but 
 who proved to be a corporal of the guard. 
 
 His first salutation to us was a sharp " Fall in ! " 
 Military language was so foreign to our ears that 
 neither Jed nor I understood. We innocently 
 looked around us to see, as Jed afterwards quaintly 
 remarked, " who was going to fall into what." 
 
 *' Fall in ! " again came the somewhat explosive 
 command. 
 
 We still stood dazed and stupid, whereupon the 
 corporal seized me by the shoulder and exclaiming 
 roughly, " Why don't you fall in? " soon made me 
 understand without a dictionary the meaning of the 
 
14 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 command. Upon entering the fort we were assigned 
 quarters with a squad in charge of a corporal named 
 O'Keif. Blankets were issued to us, and a bunk 
 pointed out for us to sleep in. 
 
 We were busy getting acquainted with our new 
 quarters, when we heard a great thumping of 
 drums, and again the order came to " Fall in ! " 
 We understood the order this time. 
 
 With other recruits and soldiers we were marched 
 to a large hall or room in the barracks. Here we 
 were soon seated at a pine table (extending the 
 whole length of the room) on which there was a 
 long array of bright tin plates, knives and forks, and 
 drinking-cups. Each plate contained a piece of 
 salt junk, two or three boiled potatoes, and a slice 
 of wheat bread. The cups each contained nearly a 
 quart of coffee, sweetened but without milk, while 
 the bread did not have its familiar accompaniment 
 of butter ; neither of these luxuries being issued 
 to the army. 
 
 The next day Jed and myself received our 
 clothing, and were nicely fitted by the garrison 
 tailor to drummers' suits, with their usual allotment 
 of buttons and stripes. 
 
 After donning our new suits we were for a few 
 hours very proud of them, but soon discovered that 
 their possession entailed duties with which we 
 were unfamiliar. As we were laughing, whistling, 
 and sauntering across the parade ground, with 
 Mink following at our heels, we encountered an 
 
FROM FRYING-PAN INTO FIRE. 15 
 
 officer whom we carelessly passed. He looked at 
 us with that cast-iron-like expression common to 
 regular army officers, and said sharply, — 
 
 "Do you belong to tliis post? " 
 
 We replied that we had just arrived. 
 
 "Has no one taught you your duties yet? " 
 
 Whatever our reply was, he soon understood 
 we were raw recruits. 
 
 "Whose dog is that?" 
 
 " That's my dog," Jed replied. 
 
 " There are no dogs in the army ; they are not 
 allowed in the quarters," said the officer sharply. 
 
 Poor Jed's lip quivered (for he dearly loved his 
 dog) as he replied, "I tell you, mister, he's an 
 awful nice dog ; just see here," and Jed proceeded 
 to put Mink through a series of cunning tricks 
 which he had taught him. The officer's face re- 
 laxed into something like a smile, as he patted the 
 dog, and calling to a passing orderly, in a grave 
 undertotie said, " Take these boys to the barracks, 
 and send Corporal O'Keif to headquarters." 
 
 O' Keif's face fell upon receiving this order, and 
 he growled out, " It's something about these kids, 
 or an order to kill that confounded pup." 
 
 O'Keif soon returned smiling, while poor Jed, 
 with quivering lip, pleaded, — 
 
 " Let me keep Mink ; I'll do anything if you 
 will let me keep my dog." 
 
 " That's all right," said the corporal pleasantly. 
 "Captain Doughty says 'Never mind the dog.' 
 
16 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 You must learn your duties, though; you must 
 salute your superior officers properly, and keep 
 your face and hands clean. Now go and black 
 your shoes ; ' shine up ' them brasses and but- 
 tons." 
 
 Some of the enlisted men instructed us in bright- 
 ening our buttons, and in the salute to officers, by 
 what Jed called the "windmill business" of "one 
 time and three motions." It Avas some time before 
 we learned to recognize the difference between the 
 commissioned and the non-commissioned officers. 
 But as salutes to privates, corporals, and drum- 
 majors did not offend them, this did not give us 
 much trouble. 
 
 The Sunday morning after our arrival we were 
 informed that there would be an inspection, and, 
 under the instruction of the corporal, we were re- 
 quired not only to scrub our faces and hands, and 
 to comb our hair, but to have every article on our 
 persons and in our knapsacks, in an exquisite 
 condition of neatness. The most minute care as to 
 cleanliness was observed in everything. Muskets 
 were cleansed and brightened inside and out, with 
 a thoroughness almost incomprehensible to Jed 
 and myself ; while the barracks were scrubbed and 
 washed, and actually shone with cleanliness. 
 
 The sun shone on the burnished arms of the 
 men drawn up in bright array. The command 
 was given " Order arms ; " and as the inspecting 
 officer passed down the line, each man threw up 
 
FROM FRYING-PAN INTO FIRE. 17 
 
 his musket for inspection. From the musket of 
 one man a slight smut adhered to the officer's 
 white glove. The man was sharply reprimanded, 
 and, although he had just come from guard duty, 
 he made no explanation. 
 
 " Why," asked I of the man afterwards, " didn't 
 you tell him ? " 
 
 " No back talk to officers is allowed in the army," 
 was his response. 
 
 The guns on the fort, and everything else, were 
 critically examined. Men who appeared to us spot- 
 lessly clean were sternly reprimanded for some little 
 omission ; and I came in for a share of censure for 
 not having the heels of my shoes properly blacked. 
 The contents of each knapsack were closely exam- 
 ined, and while the men stood in line the quarters 
 were examined with the same minute thoroughness. 
 
 After inspection was over, and we were marched 
 to our quarters, Jed, with eyes protruding from his 
 head, asked one of the privates, — 
 
 " Who washes yer clothes here ? " 
 
 " Every man does his own washing in the army," 
 was the crisp reply. Whereupon Jed looked at 
 me, and gave his opinion of the whole proceed- 
 ings in a low whistle, which the reader can inter- 
 pret for himself. 
 
 If I had run away from home and gone into the 
 army to avoid soap and water, rules and restraints, 
 I had, as Jed said, " Jumped from the frying-pan 
 into the fire." 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 A CHANGE OF SCENE. 
 
 A FEW months after the events narrated in the 
 •^-^ foregoing chapter, an order came for our 
 company to be ready to move at a moment's notice. 
 The polishing of buttons, cleaning of equipments, 
 rolling up of blankets and overcoats, and packing 
 of haversacks and knapsacks, occupied the most of 
 the morning hours. 
 
 My own knapsack was entirely, disproportioned 
 to my size. When it was strapped upon my back, 
 with my other equipments of drum, haversack, etc., 
 I could hardly identify myself amid the multitude 
 of straps. Jed declared that he felt like a corn- 
 stalk pith with lead in the end, liable to be sud- 
 denly reversed and stood on his head by the weight 
 of his knapsack. 
 
 In the afternoon we were marched tlu-ough the 
 lower streets of Boston to the depot, and after two 
 hours' ride were embarked on a steamer for New 
 York. It was at this time that I discovered, as one 
 of the peculiarities of army life, that the command- 
 ing officer does not consider it worth while, either 
 on the march or from day to day, to communicate 
 his intentions either to non-commissioned officers, 
 privates, or even to drummers. 
 
 18 
 
A CHANGE OF SCENE, 19 
 
 We had no more conception of where we were 
 going than the spectators who idly thronged the 
 streets. The next morning we arrived in New 
 York, and viewed with boyish curiosity its crowded, 
 busy streets, and listened to its Babel-like confusion 
 of street-calls. The haste of its life so impressed 
 Jed that he said, '^ I haven't seen a feller in this 
 town who acts as if he had time to breathe or have 
 his boots shined." After being quartered for a day 
 or so at Governor's Island, we were embarked on 
 another steamer, en route we knew not where. 
 
 The weather was pleasant, and the air grew more 
 and more mild as the steamer, with its freight of 
 passengers, throbbed its way along the coast, and 
 finally landed our party of recruits amid the sands 
 of old Point Comfort, at Fort Monroe. This fort- 
 ress, with its great guns and gray granite walls, 
 impressed us with wonder. For a few days all our 
 spare time, when not under the rigorous drill to 
 which we were presently subjected, was spent in 
 investigating our surroundings. 
 
 When we left Boston snow was on the ground, 
 and the weather was cold ; while here the grass was 
 green beneath our feet, and the buds were unrolling 
 into leaves for the dress-parade of spring. The 
 widespreading bay of the Chesapeake, with Nor- 
 folk dimly seen in the distance, and all our sur- 
 roundings, had that charm of novelty so enchanting 
 to boys. 
 
 One of the prominent characters of the fort at 
 
4- 
 20 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 this time was Sergeant Gruff. He was a short, 
 red-faced son of Germany, who had grown gray in 
 the service. Years before, it was said, he had en- 
 listed as a musician, and had been in the Mexican 
 war. His complexion and face were as rough as 
 his manners, voice, and temper. In the estimation 
 of the garrison, as well as in the circumference 
 described by his belt, he was a great man. 
 
 So thoroughly was he imbued with military 
 methods, that Jed declared that he ate in one time 
 and three motions (as if practising a sort of manual 
 of arms), and saluted himself with his knife and 
 fork after eating. He was a martinet, and insisted 
 upon the letter, as weU as the spirit, of all military 
 performances. In justice to this old veteran, it 
 must be said that he commanded the respect of the 
 officers of the garrison, and was a man of education 
 and an excellent soldier. 
 
 Jed had made a belt and equipments for Mink, 
 and taught him to hold a miniature musket while 
 " sitting up." A week or so after our arrival Jed 
 was exercising his dog in his favorite tricks to an ad- 
 miring audience of soldiers. Even a lieutenant had 
 condescended to become an amused spectator of 
 the performance. 
 
 Up to this time there had been no objection made 
 to Mink's presence in the quarters, but, as luck 
 would have it, some of the soldiers suggested a 
 resemblance between Mink and Sergeant Gruff, and 
 the conceit was so amusing that they addressed the 
 
A CHANGE OF SCENE. 21 
 
 dog by the old sergeant's name. The sergeant, in 
 passing, overheard the comparison, and angrily 
 roared out his displeasure, dispersed the crowd, and 
 ordered poor Mink from the garrison quarters. 
 
 Jed begged and pleaded, but it wJ? useless ; the 
 sergeant Avas inexorable. For a time Mink skulked 
 outside the fort, repulsed by guard and garrison. 
 Easy-going Jed was much disgusted with army 
 life, — a sentiment which was at that time strongly 
 indorsed by my own feelings. 
 
 A soldier's life may be enchanting when seen in 
 occasional glimpses on dress-parade or review, but 
 often is the reverse when it becomes a part of one's 
 daily life. 
 
 There is in all garrisons and regiments a wink- 
 ing at the employment of soldiers as menials, for 
 wliich there is no warrant in army regulations. A 
 private soldier, perhaps, to gain a few extra dollars 
 each month, acts as a barber. A sergeant or cor- 
 poral often is mean enough to exact tliis service 
 from a private without pay. There is no reason 
 why the subordinate should perform these duties 
 other than to win the favor of his immediate supe- 
 rior, that he may thereby escape some more real 
 duty. 
 
 Jed and I at times attempted to earn a little 
 extra money by blacking the shoes of the soldiers, 
 whereupon Corporal O'Keif, of our squad, began to 
 exact this service from us as his due, without pay- 
 ing for it. I had never fancied blacking shoes since 
 
22 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 my Boston experience in that line, and only on rare 
 occasions blacked any one's shoes but my own. I 
 had just come from duty at the guard quarters one 
 morning when Corporal O'Keif, as imperiously as 
 a king of Pri#sia, ordered me to clean and black a 
 pair of muddy shoes for him. I refused. The cor- 
 poral had been drinking, and was in unusually bad 
 temper that morning, whether because a bottle of 
 old rye had given out, or because of his supreme 
 pleasure, I do not know. 
 
 " What in blazes did you come into the army for ? 
 to be a gentleman ? " he angrily roared. 
 
 " Not to black an Irish blackguard's boots," was 
 my equall}^ angry reply. 
 
 The corporal attempted to chastise me, but I was 
 a better runner than he, and, though pursued furi- 
 ously, I kept far enough in advance to tantalize and 
 lead him on. The race drew together quite an 
 audience, who applauded me and gibed at the cor- 
 poral. The corporal was almost blind with anger 
 and whiskey, when Jed suddenly stepped out in 
 front of him with the corporal's shoes, well blacked, 
 in his hand. Before Corporal O'Keif could halt he 
 had tumbled on to Jed, and began to beat him. 
 
 When Jed at last escaped from the corporal's 
 embrace, with well-assumed humility he said, ''I 
 don't see what you want to run after me and beat 
 me for. I ain't done nothin' but shine your shoes." 
 
 The corporal could hardly believe his senses when 
 Jed held his well-blacked shoes toward him. 
 
A CHANGE OF SCENE. 23 
 
 " And sure are yez the bye I have been chasing? " 
 said he. 
 
 " Yes, and pounding too, corporal," said Jed. 
 
 " Be jimminy ! how did yez get toime to black 
 them shoes when I was chasing yez ? " 
 
 "Dick likes to run, and he was running some 
 too, so as to give me time," was Jed's rather lame 
 explanation, but which I have no doubt would have 
 satisfied the corporal, but for the jeers and roars of 
 laughter from the spectators. 
 
 These caused the Irish corporal to walk away 
 with his shoes, meditatively using in an undertone 
 misplaced theological words. 
 
 I had seen by this time enough of soldier's life 
 in garrison to understand that it was not enough 
 for one simply to do his duty to obtain favor. He 
 must make as many friends as possible. 
 
 Shortly after the scene narrated, while Jed and I 
 were on pass at the village of Hampton, we made 
 a friend of Sergeant Gruff. 
 
 The worst vice of the soldier is drunkenness, and 
 the sergeant had either been unfortunate in his 
 selection of liquors, or had forgotten to keep score 
 with liis usual circumspection, and was drunk. His 
 person, ordinarily the model of neatness, was soiled, 
 his garments muddy, and generally the old soldier 
 was in poor plight for dress-parade, or even ordinary 
 duty. 
 
 No one knew tliis better than the old veteran 
 himself. He said " his het vas sober, if his legs ver 
 
24 JED'S ADVENTURES, 
 
 trunk." Jed was full of compassion for the old 
 sergeant, and remarked that he reminded him so 
 much of his own dad as to almost make him cry. 
 
 "See here, sergeant," said Jed, "you can't get 
 into port without a pilot, and Dick and I will help 
 you." 
 
 The sergeant looked unsteadily at us for a mo- 
 ment, and then, with the ejaculation, " Go aheat, 
 poys," surrendered himself to our direction. 
 
 We helped him into a neighboring house, cleaned 
 his clothes, and I pumped water on his head while 
 Jed rubbed it hard and wiped it dry. Under 
 this process (to which he submitted with surprising 
 docility) he gradually straightened up, saying, 
 " Smart poys, smart poys. Make shenerals pefore 
 you die." 
 
 We finally succeeded in getting him to his quar- 
 ters without any one suspecting his condition, and 
 the old sergeant thenceforward became our firm 
 friend. Mink was admitted to the garrison, and 
 was sometimes to be seen asleep on the sergeant's 
 lap. 
 
 Sergeant Gruff was a man of superior education, 
 having, it was said, been educated in one of the 
 great German universities for the priesthood. He 
 often invited Jed and myself into his quarters, and 
 instructed us in the higher duties of a soldier, gave 
 us lessons in bayonet drill, sword exercise, and 
 directed us in the study of the infantry and artil- 
 lery text-book. He also advised us in the selection 
 
A CHANGE Of scene. 25 
 
 of books to read from the well-stocked garrison 
 library. He had the true spirit of a teacher, for he 
 made us desire to know more than he taught us. 
 It was his judicious instruction and intelligent ob- 
 servations that gave me, for the first time, a real 
 love for military life, and which in time made both 
 Jed and myself good subordinates, imbued with 
 that spirit of discipline which alone can make one 
 fit for higher positions. For one must learn to 
 obey before they can command; or, as Sergeant 
 Gruff said, " Know how to do a ting right pefore 
 you try to make some vone else do it right." 
 
 Another of the veteran's maxims was, " Keeps 
 your temper alvays. If you gets mat, get mat mit 
 your equal, not mit your superior officer. That 
 will be so vorse for you as dunder." This was good 
 advice, which, if I had taken, would have saved me 
 much trouble, as the sequel will show. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 IN THE GUAHD-HOUSE. 
 
 T HAD been on guard duty one day when O'Keif 
 -'- was corporal of the guard. This Irish "non 
 com " had not forgiven me for refusing to polish 
 his shoes, or for making him ridiculous by playing 
 tricks on him, as he insisted on calling the per- 
 formance narrated in a former chapter. 
 
 Since that time he had shown his resentment in 
 various ways, and never ceased to find fault with me 
 when I was on duty under him. That morning, 
 after being reUeved from guard duty, the corporal 
 told me I did not know how to drum, and had not 
 beaten the reveille correctly. In this the corporal 
 had more conceit than knowledge ; and in any case, 
 it was not his duty to instruct me, or mine to receive 
 his instruction in drumming. When, therefore, he 
 attempted to take the drum-sticks from my hands, 
 I resisted. In the squabble which followed, while 
 I was backing away from him, his foot tripped, and 
 at the same time I " fended off " with the drum, 
 through which his head crashed (with a little of 
 my assistance), leaving the drum resting on his 
 shoulders like some patent substitute for his own 
 head. Had the affair ended here it would have been 
 
 20 
 
I "fended off" with the drum, through which his head 
 crashed. — Page 26. 
 
IN THE GUARD-HOUSE. 27 
 
 fortunate for me ; but Mink, fancying that I was 
 being abused, had been snapping at O'Keif s heels 
 and had noAV seized the broadest part of liis trousers. 
 The fun of the situation was too much for me, and 
 bestriding the corporal's shoulders, I began beating 
 the sick call on the drum. This, with the barking 
 of Mink, and the howls of anger from O'Keif, di-ew 
 together a crowd to witness the humorous tableau. 
 Even the officers came to the scene, and among 
 them was the commandant. 
 
 O'Keif had now got to his feet, and was pulling 
 the drum from his head, and filling the air with 
 exclamations, when the commandant cried out, — 
 
 " Here, here ! what does this mean ? " 
 
 '' This blackguard of a bye has been beating me 
 head with the drum, and is the devil with his 
 thricks," was the confused response. The com- 
 mandant walked away without comment, but later 
 in the day I was sent to the guard-quarters under 
 arrest. 
 
 My offence from a military standpoint was a 
 serious one, which few who are not conversant with 
 military exactions will understand. I was guilty 
 not only of insubordination, but of striking my 
 military superior. I cannot say, however, that I 
 took a very serious view of the affair. 
 
 Among the prisoners at the guard-house was 
 the fifer, O'Meara. He was about forty-five years 
 of age and had been in the service twenty years. 
 He was an intelligent man, but was intemperate, 
 
28 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 and the offence for which he was in durance was 
 getting drunk and overstaying his pass. 
 
 "Yez in a scrape, and no mistake, youngster," 
 said he. 
 
 " Why ? " asked I, not having a proper sense of 
 my offence. 
 
 " Why now, me bye, don't you see, a court-mar- 
 tial is convened to convict, and considers the cul- 
 prit guilty until he's proved to be innocent. The 
 only chance is that they may drop ye like a hot 
 potato without a trial." 
 
 " How do you mean ? " said I. 
 
 " Why, after keeping yez here a while, they may 
 put yez on duty again without a word, and yez'd 
 be a lucky bye if they do." 
 
 " What shall I do ? " I inquired. 
 
 " Say nothing, but saw wood," was the sage ad- 
 vice of the fifer, drawn doubtless from long ex- 
 perience. 
 
 I soon found that being a prisoner under guard 
 meant doing the servile work of the garrison, such 
 as cleaning rusty muskets, sweeping the parade 
 ground, and washing out the officers' quarters. 
 
 In the eyes of the soldiers whom I met, there 
 did not appear to be any particular disgrace attached 
 to being in the guard-house. I spread my blanket 
 on the sloping shelf-like boards which formed its 
 sleeping accommodations, and soon felt as much 
 at home there as anywhere. 
 
 The ''don't know" and "don't care" qualities 
 
IN THE GUARD-HOUSE. 29 
 
 of youngsters, which spring from ignorance and in- 
 experience, often stand them in as good stead as 
 the philosophy of their eklers. To them, trouble 
 in prospective exists simply in name. Youth lives 
 in the present, and borrows no trouble from the 
 future. This is well, for trouble comes soon enough 
 in reality without borrowing it by anticipation. 
 
 Another of the prisoners at this time was a 
 young man named Walker who had joined the 
 army some months before as a recruit. His of- 
 fence had been in trying to force the guard. He 
 had been intercepted while attempting to " run the 
 guard," had wrested a musket from one of them, 
 and had nearly effected his escape when he was 
 overpowered. He had an intelligent but imperious 
 face, was educated, and his person as well as man- 
 ners and conversation showed intelligence and re- 
 finement. He was of magnificent physique, tall, 
 straight, and graceful. Of his parentage, home, 
 and real name we knew nothing, and could learn 
 notliing except that Walker was an assumed name. 
 He had learned the drill as if by intuition, while 
 his military bearing made him a prominent figure 
 in the ranks on the parade ground. It was sur- 
 mised that he had run away from school or college. 
 Just before he was to have been summoned before 
 the court-martial, he was visited by a well-known 
 gentleman of the vicinity, who held a private con- 
 versation with him, and later was closeted with the 
 commanding officer. A few evenings after this 
 
30 • JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 while out under guard, it was said that Walker 
 wrested a musket from the guard and escaped. 
 He was never heard from in the garrison again. 
 
 The wise ones among the garrison soldiers shook 
 their heads sagely, as if there were more in the 
 affair than appeared on the surface. It AA^as not 
 until the AVar of the Rebellion was in progress that 
 I saw him again, and the matter was in part made 
 clear. 
 
 During my imprisonment I was constantly 
 visited by Jed and his dog. It was remarked 
 that my guard-house life wore on Jed worse 
 than on me. Sergeant Gruff one morning came 
 to the guard-quarters, and, after some informal talk 
 with the officer of the day, said, " Veil, youngster, 
 you've prought your pigs to a fine market," and 
 talked to me A\dth great severity about my military 
 misdeeds. At his request I gave him a full, and, 
 in the main, correct account of the affair from my 
 own standpoint. It seems that my version Avas 
 fully sustained by others, to whom I referred the 
 old sergeant. 
 
 The court-martial was convened, and the trials 
 began. I had thought it possible that the influence 
 of Sergeant Gruff might stand me in good stead, 
 but Avas not prepared for what foUoAved, Avhen, one 
 morning I Avas released, and unceremoniously placed 
 on duty. 
 
 The experience of nearly a month in the guard- 
 house had a salutary effect upon me. It made me 
 
IN THE GUARD-HOUSE. 81 
 
 see the folly of giving way to temper, or of yielding 
 to my propensity for mischievous fun. Though 
 with maturer years I have never lost my sense of 
 humor, I have managed to hold it subject to the 
 rules of common sense, sufficiently at least to re- 
 strain me from beating the sick call on my superior's 
 head. 
 
 Sergeant Gruff having been instrumental in ob- 
 taining my release, took me under his especial 
 protection. Jed liad already been installed in the 
 sergeant's affections. When asked why he exerted 
 himself in my behalf, he is said to have replied, 
 " Zat poy Jed, he vas so pale and goot for notting 
 at all, until dat youngster vas let out of the guard- 
 house." 
 
 Jed had now lost the look of premature age no- 
 ticeable on his face when we first knew him. Ser- 
 geant Gruff visited boon companions and the lager- 
 beer kegs less than formerly, as if he had taken a 
 new interest in life with the concern he had for 
 his ''poys." It was my delight to read aloud to 
 the old sergeant until his pipe dropped from his 
 mouth, and he fell asleep in his garrison chair. 
 On such occasions the dog would noiselessly get 
 down from his knees, and Jed would give him a 
 little shake and help him to bed. Sometimes the 
 sergeant would sleepily say, " Such a poy as dot 
 Jed never vas pefore." 
 
 The lives of those around us were a standing 
 commentary on the evils of drunkenness ; and, hap- 
 
32 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 pily for both Jed and myself, we profited by their 
 example, and shunned strong drink. The advice 
 of Sergeant Gruff was also in favor of sobriety. 
 " Poys, I should have pen a sheneral if I hat not 
 pen such a trunkard," was an often repeated saying 
 of his. Again he would say, " Trink makes a hog 
 of a man." I have since believed that it is the 
 association of boys with genteel drinkers that makes 
 drunkards of them, rather than companionship with 
 the vice in its more beastly forms. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CHARLESTON ON THE EVE OF THE REBELLION. 
 
 ""^TEARLY four years had elapsed since the 
 -^^ scene of our last chapter. We were now 
 almost men. Jed was eighteen years old, tall, 
 straight, and with a fine physique and manly bear- 
 ing. Study under Sergeant Gruff had given a 
 thoughtful cast to his face; while the wholesome 
 diet and methodical habits of military life had 
 formed both his body and mind in a vigorous 
 mould. At this time I was slight in form, yet in 
 robust health. 
 
 As a new love will sometimes kill out an old 
 one, so the veteran had in part been reformed from 
 drink in the new direction given to his life by his 
 love for his " two poys." 
 
 In the summer of 1860, we formed a part of the 
 garrison of Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island, 
 at the entrance of Charleston Harbor. This 
 island is three miles long and not over a quarter 
 of a mile broad, and is separated from the main- 
 land by a scarcely perceptible creek which oozes 
 through a marsh and is hidden by beds of reeds. 
 The island is composed of little else than sea sand, 
 overgrown with masses of sweet myrtle, and re- 
 
 33 
 
84 JED'S AtoVJENTUnns. 
 
 lieved by a stunted growth of bristly palmetto, ris- 
 ing above its margin of hard white beach. 
 
 Fort Moultrie was situated at the eastern ex- 
 tremity of this sandy island. 
 
 Near the Fort there were a summer hotel and a 
 collection of frame buildings, forming a little vil- 
 lage known as Moultrieville. The garrison con- 
 sisted of two companies of United States Artillery, 
 then commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John L. 
 Gardner. 
 
 In my frequent visits to Charleston I had a good 
 opportunity to observe the prevalent feeling in 
 that city during the excitement preceding the 
 election of Mr. Lincoln. 
 
 At this time the bitterness then existing against 
 the North and Northern men can scarcely be under- 
 stood. 
 
 The great topic of conversation on every side 
 was politics, and of what Carolina proposed to do 
 in the event of the election of the " abolition " can- 
 didate, as they called Mr. Lincoln. 
 
 " Abolitionists," " black Republicans," " nigger 
 lovers," were epithets applied indiscriminately to 
 Northern men. 
 
 One of the great men of Charleston at this time 
 was Robert Barnwell Rhett, of whom I once heard 
 some one seriously affirm that if Rhett's full appel- 
 lation were abridged by the omission of a single 
 syllable or letter, he would make it an affair of 
 honor, and insist upon a personal meeting with the 
 one who thus curtailed it. 
 
EVE OF THE REBELLION: 35 
 
 My humble position did not admit of the acquaint- 
 ance of such gentlemen, and I speak only from 
 hearsay. 
 
 In the groceries, markets, and lounging rooms, 
 during August, threats of secession, in case Mr. 
 Lincoln was elected, were as common as oaths. 
 After the election was made, the people were wild 
 with excitement, and the military situation at Fort 
 Moultrie became serious. The entire garrison con- 
 sisted of but sixty-three enlisted men, with thir- 
 teen musicians. The walls of Fort ^loultrie were 
 not over twelve feet high, while its masonry was 
 in such a cracked and crumbling condition that I 
 had often climbed it. 
 
 On the shore side of the fort, looking toward 
 Fort Sumter, there was a large sand-bank almost 
 on a level with its walls. jNlinor sand-hills in the 
 vicinity would have sheltered sharpshooters, or have 
 proved excellent positions for artillery in an attack 
 on the fort. 
 
 One morning after Mr. Lincoln's election. Cor- 
 poral O'Keif, with a piece of chalk and a board, 
 was explaining the military situation and its 
 needs. 
 
 "You see, byes," said he, "we need some of them 
 sticks tied together they call ' fascines,' and some 
 of them baskets without a bottom they call 'ga- 
 bions.' The difficulty is, we've got nothing to 
 make 'em of but palmetto, and they'd tear the hands 
 off a steam-engine." 
 
36 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 Sergeant Gruff, who had been a sneering listener 
 to these exphmations, kicked away the board on 
 which O'Keif was demonstrating the military prob- 
 lem, saying, " Dunder, man ! vat you dinks ? Cows 
 can vrun right over dese walls. Vat we want is to 
 find out how ve gets out of dis trap, and not how to 
 stays here." 
 
 The correctness of the bluff sergeant's views was 
 afterward demonstrated. 
 
 The sentiment of Charleston, and even Moultrie- 
 ville, meanwhile, became each day more and more 
 defiant. " Carolina don't want soldiers in old 
 Moultrie, sah. If 'the Lincoln government don't 
 clar them out, we do it for them, sah." 
 
 I heard a person in Charleston holding forth one 
 day on what was evidently his favorite subject ; 
 namely, the cowardice of the Yankees. 
 
 " The Yankees won't fight. You can't kick them 
 into a fight. When the South goes out of the Union, 
 the North will beg like dogs to come with us, sah. 
 Like dogs, sah." 
 
 The re-opening of the slave-trade, as one of the 
 accompaniments of secession, was also much dis- 
 cussed. I heard one man affirm that if Carolina 
 seceded, the slave-trade would be re-opened, and 
 then poor whites could buy negroes " dirt cheap." 
 " At ten dollars apiece, sah. Every white man can 
 be a gentleman, sah." 
 
 It was not believed at that time that the govern- 
 ment at Washington would re-enforce Moultrie. 
 
EVE OF THE REBELLtOJV. S7 
 
 The opinion was freely expressed that the men of 
 the garrison were fools to stay in the fort and resist 
 an attack. Most of the officers had family connec- 
 tions in the South, and were therefore affected to a 
 great degree by the social atmosphere of Charles- 
 ton. It was natural that they should not relish 
 the thought of fighting against people with whom 
 they had hitherto associated on most amiable and 
 friendly terms. 
 
 After Major Anderson's arrival, which was about 
 the 24th of September, it was generally understood 
 among us that, though he was Southern in his 
 sympathies, he would allow no one to coax or coerce 
 him into an attitude dishonorable to our govern- 
 ment. Like most good soldiers, however, he pre- 
 ferred peace to war. 
 
 It was some time in September, also, that our 
 little garrison w^as excited by the arrival of Captain 
 John G. Foster as engineer, with Lieutenants 
 Snyder and Mead as assistants,- to repair and 
 strengthen Fort Moultrie. 
 
 While these repairs were going on, and the sand 
 heaps were being removed from around its walls, 
 we heard loud threats, on every side, of an attack 
 on the fort. 
 
 A party which was sent in boats to obtain ammu- 
 nition at the Arsenal on the south side, found, upon 
 their arrival, a mob of Charleston people in posses- 
 sion, and returned without accomplishing their ob- 
 ject. When Sergeant Gruff was interrogated as to 
 
38 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 Major Anderson's probable designs he replied, " I 
 pelieve the major means to fight." 
 
 On the 11th of September, it will be remembered, 
 a bill was passed by the South Carolina Legislature 
 to arm the militia, and on the 20th, South Carolina 
 passed the ordinance of secession ; or, as I heard a 
 boastful citizen declare, " Carolina became a free 
 and independent nation." The same citizen de- 
 clared in my hearing, " If you all don't want to be 
 killed, you'd better get out of hyer." Another per- 
 son expressed pleasure that the fort was being re- 
 paired, as it '^ saved South Carolina the expense of 
 doing it." 
 
 Judge Petigru, of South Carolina, paid our offi- 
 cers a visit about this time. He was an exception 
 to the great mass of South Carolina people in being 
 a pronounced Union man. He is said to have re- 
 plied to the question of what he thought of secession 
 by saying, '' South Carolina, sir, is not big enough 
 for a nation, and is too big for an insane asylum." 
 
 It was rather tryino^ to human nature to be con- 
 stantly abused, as every one representing the Fed- 
 eral Government was at this time, by the people 
 around us. The citizens of Charleston were, how- 
 ever, generally kind to us as individuals, though 
 they were abusive to us as a class. In my associa- 
 tion with Southern men and women I have often 
 found this to be the case. 
 
 The worst abuse of the Lincoln party an^ of 
 Northern men that I heard at this time was from 
 
EVE OP nm RE BELLI ON. S() 
 
 the citizen workmen of Charleston and the masons 
 from Baltimore engaged on the repairs of Moultrie. 
 
 While bargaining for some pies with an old negro 
 at Moultrie one day, I casually mentioned that I 
 was a Yankee. After glancing around him he said, 
 while his attention was apparently riveted on a pie, 
 " My old massa say Linkum gwine to set all the 
 colored men free." 
 
 Under the superintendence of Captain Foster the 
 sand was dug away from the shore side of Fort 
 Moultrie, and the ditches and masonry repaired. 
 Had a resolute attack been made while the repairs 
 were going on, it is safe to say there could have 
 been but little resistance made. The guns had 
 been dismounted, but by the middle of November 
 they were again in position, and thenceforth the 
 garrison was drilled in artillery practice. Shell or 
 torpedoes were arranged around the fort in such a 
 manner as to explode when a board connected with 
 them was trodden upon. 
 
 At our target practice and torpedo experiments 
 there was commonly a crowd of talkative, observ- 
 ant citizens. They were apparently much im- 
 pressed with the destructiveness of our artillery, 
 as well as by the possibilities of the torpedoes. 
 
 I overheard one of them remark that '' the tor- 
 pedoes around that fort would blow up an army." 
 Afterwards, however, when similar explosives were 
 encountered by the Union army at Yorktown, they 
 did not prove to be so terrible. 
 
40 JED'S AbVENWRns. 
 
 Among those who occasionally visited the fort 
 was Captain Northrup, an officer in the United 
 States Army, on sick leave and full pay, who subse- 
 quently became Commissary-General of the Confed- 
 eracy. He was afterward accused of speculating 
 on the rations of both Union prisoners of war and 
 of Confederate soldiers. 
 
 Our garrison was too small for efficient guard 
 duty, there being only five or six men, for one 
 hour each, stationed on guard as a precaution 
 against a surprise. 
 
 At last an unexpected climax came. Just after 
 dress-parade, on the evening of the 26th of Decem- 
 ber, before either officers or men had had their 
 supper, the order came, " Get ready to move at a 
 moment's notice." 
 
 Threats of an attack on Fort Moultrie had fur- 
 nished the commander with a plausible pretext for 
 the removal of the garrison families to some dilapi- 
 dated government buildings at Fort Johnson, on 
 the west side of the harbor. The schooners, char- 
 tered ostensibly for carrying the families, were also 
 secretly loaded with stores, with instructions to 
 the quartermaster to land the provisions at Fort 
 Sumter. 
 
 In the twilight we silently marched out of the 
 Fort and embarked on board of boats which for 
 this purpose had been concealed behind an old sea 
 wall. One of our officers, with five men, was left 
 behind to man the guns, with orders to sink the 
 
EVE OF THE REBELLION. 41 
 
 Charleston guard-boats, which at this time were 
 patrolling the harbor, if they fired upon us. 
 
 In crossing the channel we were ordered to take 
 off our coats and throAV them over the muskets. 
 
 It may have been OAving to this that although 
 one of the little steamers patrolling the harbor 
 came very near our boats they did not notice the 
 character of its passengers. They doubtless sup- 
 posed us to be a party of workmen from Fort 
 Sumter, returning to that fort. 
 
 Upon the landing of the first boat the actual 
 laborers had rushed out of the fort to oppose the 
 landing of troops, but without much opposition 
 (beyond the clamor of tongues) our men took pos- 
 session. That night we ate our supper in Fort 
 Sumter, and the next morning there was great ex- 
 citement in Charleston over the intelligence that 
 Fort Sumter had, in some mysterious way, been 
 garrisoned. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CURTAIN OF WAR RISES. 
 
 ri ^HE removal of the garrison from Moultrie to 
 -^ Sumter had been conducted with so much 
 secrecy that even the people of INIoultrieville were 
 not aware of the evacuation until late the following 
 forenoon. 
 
 Captain Foster, of the Engineers, visited the 
 Fort on that morning with a detachment for guard, 
 and finding it deserted, after removing stores and 
 war munitions, set fire to the gun carriages and 
 such stores as could not be removed. 
 
 Our officers and men were elated at having stolen 
 so successful a march upon those who thought they 
 were to have everything their own way. 
 
 It is even said that the Charleston people were 
 angry at our want of politeness in making so im- 
 portant a move without consulting them. Illustra- 
 tive of this, that very afternoon two officers from 
 town in full uniform w^aited upon Major Anderson, 
 and politely but sternly requested him to return 
 with his command to Fort Moultrie. The insur- 
 gents are said to have considered it an additional 
 affront and grievance that our commander did not 
 comply with this modest request. 
 
 42 
 
LI J 
 
 *fe§ 
 
 ^ >> ,>J ^ y^\, 
 
 
 ilittiiiir 
 
 "Eaisini? the fla"- at Sumter." — Pajje 45. 
 
THE CURTAIN OF WAR RISES. 43 
 
 Early in the morning after our arrival, Jed and 
 I went over the fort to view our new quarters. 
 It was what Jed called a two-story fort ; that is, 
 arranged for an upper and loAver tier of guns. 
 
 It was constructed of brick and stone, and was 
 five-sided or pentagonal in form, but was as yet in 
 an unfinished condition. Sergeant Gruff pointed 
 out to us that the fort had no flanking defences, 
 and was so incomplete that it would require weeks 
 of labor to put it in a proper defensive condition. 
 
 The ujDper tier of embrasures or openings for 
 guns, were simply irregular holes, roughly boarded 
 up, while on the gate side only a few guns were as 
 yet mounted. The interior of the fort was ob- 
 structed with the rubbish of masonry, and had no 
 fii-e-proof quarters for officers or men, unless the 
 chambers in the ramparts or casemates might be so 
 considered. 
 
 Fort Sumter stands mid^vay at the mouth of 
 Charleston Harbor ; while Castle Pinckney is on the 
 right of and near the city, at the mouth of the 
 Cooper River. 
 
 Jed and I, while on the ramparts facing Charles- 
 ton, could hear the sound of church bells in the 
 city, a little over three miles distant, and see its 
 spires and houses distinctly. While the men of 
 the garrison were on the ramparts, one of the little 
 steamers patrolling the bay came near the fort. 
 There was evidently great excitement on board at 
 eight of pur crowded ramparts, 
 
44 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 This steamer conveyed to Charleston, it is said, 
 the first intelligence that the fort had been myste- 
 riously garrisoned during the night. 
 
 On our right was Fort iMoultrie, about a mile 
 away ; Fort Johnson on our left, a little over the 
 same distance ; while Cumming's Point was less 
 than a mile on our left rear. 
 
 It was from tliis last-named fort, under easy 
 reach of our guns, that formidable batteries cov- 
 ered with railroad iron were erected, and from 
 which the fii'st gun was afterwards fired upon 
 Sumter. 
 
 At all these points, with the exception of Charles- 
 ton, the insurgents began erecting, without inter- 
 ference from us, the batteries which afterwards 
 opened their encircling fire upon Sumter. 
 
 For days and weeks succeeding our arrival, 
 steamers and vessels laden with material for the 
 construction of these works passed under the very 
 muzzles of our guns, and old hulks were being sunk 
 in the ship channel to obstruct navigation. 
 
 In view of the forbearance which refrained from 
 disturbing these treasonable preparations, it is not 
 to be wondered at that a rebel officer (Captain G. 
 V. Fox, formerly of tlie United States Navy) inti- 
 mated that he would like permission of the oificers 
 at Sumter to anchor his iron-clad floating battery 
 near the main gate. 
 
 This illustrates how little the United States 
 Government did to bring on the conflict which 
 
THE CURTAIN OF WAR RISES. 45 
 
 followed. It has been asserted, and I believe it to 
 be true, that at this time a single ship of war 
 could have sailed up Charleston Harbor to its 
 wharves and have nipped the rebellion in the bud. 
 
 At noon on the first day of our occupation, an 
 impressive service took place. The men were 
 formed in the fort under arms ; and after a prayer 
 by the chaplain, and while the band played, they 
 presented arms as the stars and stripes were raised 
 over the fort. 
 
 The work of putting the fort in a condition of 
 defence began at once. Guns were mounted, sand 
 bags filled and piled up, and the rubbish cleared 
 away. A mine was constructed at the end of the 
 wharf ; while the walls, which at that point were 
 quite thin, were strengthened by a new wall of 
 masonry, and onl}^ an entrance large enough for a 
 single man left. This entrance was commanded by 
 a howitzer loaded with canister. The ragged em- 
 brasures were also properly finished. 
 
 On the same day that we raised the National 
 flag over Sumter, the Charleston people raised 
 the flag of revolt over Castle Pinckney. Men of 
 the detachment who had accompanied Captain 
 Foster to Moultrie, on returning, saw the insur- 
 gents going over to this fort in their boats. 
 
 The castle had been garrisoned by Ordnance Ser- 
 geant Skillen. That his daughter was worthy to 
 be a soldier's daughter, is shown by her subsequent 
 conduct. When the Charleston insurgents took 
 
46 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 possession it is said they found her crying. One 
 of the gallant invaders, thinking to comfort her 
 said, " My dear young lady, no one will hurt you ; 
 don't cry." 
 
 With flashing eyes, Miss Kate replied, " I am not 
 crying because I am afraid, but because that miser- 
 able rag [pointing to the palmetto flag] is wheie the 
 stars and stripes belong. If I had a dozen women 
 here with brooms I'd drive you out of the fort." 
 
 Her father was said to have made several inef- 
 fectual applications for more men and munitions, 
 in order that he might turn the guns of Fort Pinck- 
 ney upon Charleston. 
 
 The spirit of both officers and men at this crisis 
 was right, but was subordinated to the desire of 
 placing the insurgents in the wrong. 
 
 The Charleston people seized Castle Pinckney 
 and Fort Moultrie, and also the United States rev- 
 enue cutter in the harbor, without the formality of 
 even a declaration of war. This "last act was 
 clearly one of piracy. 
 
 It was exasperating to see this revenue vessel 
 of the United States thereafter anchored near 
 Sumter, overhauling our mails, and everything 
 which came to us. 
 
 Sergeant Gruff, who despised civilians, said it 
 showed what fools politics made of men. '' Sol- 
 diers," said he, '' should not have anything to do 
 mit politics, poys ; it makes fools mit eferybody 
 dot mixes mit it," 
 
THE CURTAIN OF WAR RISES. 47 
 
 While we do not indorse the okl sergeant's 
 sweeping axiom, yet had it been afterwards gen- 
 erally adopted by officers in high command, it 
 would have saved them from many humiliations. 
 
 To understand our situation more clearly, it is 
 needful to say that the laborers found here upon 
 our arrival, had mostly been detained to work on 
 the fort, and that the wives and children of the 
 soldiers now joined the garrison at Sumter. These 
 additional mouths used up our rations very fast. 
 In a few weeks we were out of sugar, and had no 
 candles by which to light our quarters. In a little 
 lighthouse inside the fort, a small quantity of oil 
 had been found which was used for this purpose. 
 The garrison was also out of soap for AMishing 
 clothes, and fuel for heating the quarters, although 
 there was enough for cooking the food. 
 
 Sometimes we were allowed to purchase supplies 
 in Charleston, and again were refused the privilege. 
 The market-men at times refused to sell us food, 
 and had, as Jed said, '' spasms, both in their prices 
 and their disposition to sell." 
 
 The wives of Captains Doubleday and Seymour 
 both came to the fort soon after our occupation, 
 but for some reason returned to Charleston. When 
 they endeavored to obtain board in that city it is 
 said they were referred to Mr. Rhett, editor of the 
 Mercury^ for permission to do so. 
 
 The sentiment against Federal officers and their 
 wives was so strong that these ladies were finally 
 
48 JED'S ADVENTURES, 
 
 sent North; and in February the wives and chil- 
 dren of the soldiers were also sent, in the steamer 
 Marion^ to Fort Hamilton in New York Harbor. 
 
 The days dragged monotonously along, relieved 
 by occasional visits of outsiders, who roamed at 
 will over the fort. Among our visitors was a Major 
 Anderson, the owner of the Tredegar Iron Works 
 at Richmond, who came to Charleston to bring 
 heavy guns and munitions of war to the insur- 
 gents. 
 
 A photographer also came to photograph the 
 officers and men of the garrison. At another time 
 Mr. Lamon, said to have been a former law-partner 
 of Mr. Lincoln, came with Colonel Duryea of 
 Charleston. 
 
 One morning in February (the 9th, I tliink it 
 was), Jed and myself, who slept together, were 
 awakened and ordered to beat the long roll, calling 
 the men to their positions at the guns. We heard 
 heavy firing from several directions, and when at 
 liberty saAv, from one of the embrasures of the fort, 
 a ship with the stars and stripes at her fore peak in 
 the main ship channel, off Morris Island. 
 
 The batteries, both at Camming's Point and at 
 Fort Moultrie, were firing upon her. She had 
 quickly passed from under the range of the guns 
 at Cumming's Point, but, receiving no sign from 
 Sumter, finally turned and sailed doAvn the chan- 
 nel again, and out into the ocean. It was the Star 
 of the West^ with men and supplies for Sumter, 
 
THE CURTAIN OF WAR RISES. 49 
 
 The forbearance of our military representatives at 
 this time is again shown in the fact that all around 
 us, in plain sight, were to be seen gangs of workmen 
 building batteries and mounting guns, before which 
 our defences were to prove as impotent as if built 
 of cardboard. 
 
 In March, after the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln 
 and the establishment of the Confederacy, when a 
 practice shot from one of the enemy's guns at Cum- 
 ming's Point struck near our wharf, we expected the 
 fight to begin. Corporal O'Keif growled because 
 the men were not called to their guns to return 
 this fire, as by this time severe guard duty, short 
 rations, and anger at many vexatious humilia- 
 tions, made the men anxious to begin the fight 
 before they became weaker and the insurgents 
 stronger. 
 
 By the 1st of April our guns were in position, 
 and many of the workmen were shortly afterwards 
 sent to Charleston. Our fuel, which had for some 
 time consisted of the wooden sheds of the fort, had 
 been entirely consumed, while for rations we had 
 only pork and water. 
 
 A schooner which attempted to enter Charleston 
 Harbor on the 3d, with the stars and stripes flying 
 at her mast-head, was fired upon by the Confede- 
 rates, and the men were ordered again to the guns, 
 but did not return the fire. 
 
 On the 10th some houses opposite us at Moul- 
 trieville were torn down, disclosing a formidable 
 
50 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 battery, coniinanding our heaviest guns. The same 
 afternoon Major Anderson received a demand for 
 the surrender of Fort Sumter ; and preparations on 
 ever}^ side pointed to the speedy opening of a con- 
 flict wliich should roll back the curtain of peace, 
 disclosino' a terrible civil war. 
 
 On the night of Thursday, the 10th of April, I 
 was drummer of the guard. During the day I had 
 asked Sergeant Gruff if he thought we should really 
 have a fight. '' Fight, poy I Wliy, vat they digs 
 all dese earthworks round us for? They mean 
 pizness, poy, pizness." And then the old sergeant 
 added, with a groan, '^ Politics, politics, politics," as 
 if this word was a key to the madness and passion 
 of the hour, and the conflict which was about to 
 burst upon us. 
 
 " Byes," said Corporal OTveif at guard-quarters, 
 " the ribels have already fired on the American flag, 
 and bedad I it seemed to like the sinsation." 
 
 The reseiwe of the guard, about four o'clock next 
 morning, was awakened by a shot from the enemy. 
 It was their signal fi'un from Fort Johnson for the 
 opening of the battle. Before I could reach the 
 ramparts a shot from the battery at Cumming's 
 Point crashed through the walls on the side nearest 
 the gate of Sumter. When I reached the parapet, 
 the flash of guns all around us, and the roar of artil- 
 lery, together with crasliing shot on our crumbling 
 walls, showed that the conflict had begun. 
 
 Several otflcers and men were already on the 
 
THE CURTAIN OF WAR RISES. 51 
 
 parapets. One of them said jestingly, "You see, 
 they have begun their entertainment," 
 
 " Those who open the ball don't always dance 
 with the last set, though," said an Irish private 
 near me. 
 
 The men were ordered from the parapet by the 
 officers for fear of casualties, and sent to their quar- 
 ters. 
 
 " Get all the sleep you can, you'll need it," said 
 one of them. But there was no longer any sleep 
 for the garrison at Sumter. 
 
 " Just as if any one could sleep w^ith the brick 
 tumbling down like that," growled 0"Keif, as a 
 shot struck the upper walls, and flakes of masonry 
 fell around us. 
 
 The shell from the mortar batteries of the enemy, 
 sailing through the air, came down vertically inside 
 the walls, and, exploding, shook the fort with the 
 concussion. For an hour the shell fell into Sumter, 
 and the shot went crashing through its walls w^ith- 
 out a reply from the garrison. We had no means 
 of lighting the fort, and had to wait for daylight. 
 When at last it was broad day, and the garrison 
 had eaten a meagre meal of pork and water, the 
 men were ordered to the guns. The interval seemed 
 a day, instead of an hour. 
 
 " The fellers on t'other side save us the trouble 
 of beating a very long roll," said Jed jestingly, as 
 we began to rattle off the call to summon the gar- 
 rison. 
 
52 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 Tlie first detachment, under Captain Abner 
 Doubleday, from tlie southeast side of the fort, 
 began firing on tlie battery at Cumming's Point. 
 Tlie shot struck its slanting, iron-clad roof, and 
 rebounded like rubber balls when thrown on top of 
 a shed. Nineteen batteries of the enemy were now 
 throwing shot and shell into Sumter. 
 
 In view of the small number of men in the gar- 
 rison, the major commanding did not think it pru- 
 dent to man the upper tier of guns. Those in the 
 upper tier, however, were our heaviest metal, best 
 commanded the guns of the enemy, and could have 
 been brought to bear on the foe where those of the 
 kiwer tier could not. These guns were fired only 
 once during the tight, and then without orders, by 
 an Irish sergeant, who could not resist the tempta- 
 tion to lire guns loaded and pointed at an enemy. 
 
 Our men found some hinderances. There were 
 no breach sights to the guns, but this was remedied 
 by notched sticks in phice of them. 
 
 Under the heavy cannonade the upper walls were 
 soon in ruins, ahuost every shot of the enemy which 
 struck them bringing down masses of masonry 
 both outside and inside the fort. At one time a 
 shot struck the ventilator of the magazine, and an 
 explosion seemed imminent. 
 
 About ten in the morning a fleet of United States 
 frigates and transports were sighted off the bar. 
 We afterwards learned that they were the Pawnee^ 
 PocaJiontas^ and the Powhatan, with the transport 
 
THE CURTAIN OF WAR RISES. 53 
 
 Baltic, containing provisions and two hundred and 
 fifty recruits for tlie fort. They had arrived, how- 
 ever, too late to succor us in our need. 
 
 Notwithstanding the terril^le bomhardment of 
 Sumter, only one man received any injuiy in the 
 fort that day. 
 
 There were thirty-three laborers, two cooks, and 
 seven employees of the Engineers' Department in 
 the fort, besides the garrison. Most of the remain- 
 ing laborers were Irishmen from Baltimore, who 
 were not called upon to take any part in a fight. 
 The excitement was, however, too much for Irish 
 nature, and they soon enthusiastically began serv- 
 ing a gun, cheering and laughing at every suc- 
 cessful shot. 
 
 As night came on we ceased to work our guns, 
 but the enemy continued filing at intervals during 
 the night. There was anticipation in Sumter that 
 the squadron we had seen off the bar might try to 
 re-enforce and provision us during the night, by 
 using the boats. 
 
 The enemy opened fire early the next morning, 
 causing Sergeant Gruff to say, " Poys, they seem 
 to be in a good deal of a hurry." After our meagre 
 breakfast the long roll was beaten, summoning the 
 men to the guns. A shower fell soon after, and the 
 enemy for nearly an hour slackened fire, as if, as 
 Sergeant Gruff said, they were afraid of getting 
 wet. After the rain was over the gentlemen of 
 Charleston resumed pelting us with shot and shell, 
 
54 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 and one of the latter set fire to the officers' quar- 
 ters, inside the grounds. The fire was soon extin- 
 guished, hut as the block had a wooden roof, floors, 
 and partitions, the hot shot from Fort Moultrie en- 
 dangered it every moment. 
 
 Soon after this a mortar shell burst inside these 
 quarters, and the flames broke out again. The 
 officers began to cut away the woodwork, while 
 the men rolled the powder from the magazine to 
 the casemate, fearing that the hundreds of barrels 
 of powder therein would be ignited by the fire. 
 As fast as we placed them in sheltered positions 
 the barrels were covered with wet blankets. We 
 had removed only about a hundred barrels when 
 the door of the magazine was struck by a shot, 
 and so bent that it could not be opened. 
 
 The rebels, meanwhile, apparently seeing the 
 smoke of the conflagration inside the fort, now fired 
 with redoubled iwry. It seemed little less than a 
 miracle that the magazine was not exploded by a 
 spark of the fire dropping through the ventilator 
 among the loose powder. 
 
 Let the reader imagine the scene at this hour, 
 amid the suffocating, blinding smoke, and the crash 
 of shot and shell. 
 
 At last we abandoned all attempts to work, and 
 soon left the interior and sought the embrasures of 
 the fort. Even here the smoke choked and blinded 
 us. The scene in the interior, revealed by occa- 
 sional glimpses, meanwhile was terrible. Great 
 
THE CURTAIN OF WAR RISES. 55 
 
 tongues of flame whirled and roared and licked up 
 the woodwork of the interior; while black masses 
 of smoke were sucked by the wind into the case- 
 mates. Our own shells were exploding in the 
 interior, and the enemy's shells besides. 
 
 A change of wind (or perhaps the conflagration 
 was spent) now gave us a little relief. The men 
 once more manned the guns, and hurled a last defi- 
 ant cannonade at the enemy. It was about noon, 
 and the garrison flag which had been flying up to 
 this time was now shot away : it was nailed to a 
 spar, and raised on the ramparts again. 
 
 There was now little left in the interior but 
 blackened walls and smouldering timbers ; even 
 the massive wooden gate studded with iron nails 
 had been consumed, and a blackened hole was in 
 its place. The new wall protecting the entrance 
 had crumbled ; the towers were battered down ; 
 the cast-iron cisterns were smashed, while the 
 sally port and the embrasures were simply black 
 and irregular openings. 
 
 Iwas standing in an embrasure about two o'clock 
 that day when I heard a conversation between one 
 of the men and some one apparently outside. 
 
 "What are you doing here?" asked the soldier 
 roughly. 
 
 " I wish to see Major Anderson," meekly replied 
 the outsider. 
 
 " Surrender, and pass your side arms in here," 
 replied the soldier. 
 
56 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 This done, an officer was called. 
 
 Our visitor proved to be Senator Wigfall, who 
 mistook the shooting away of the flag for a token 
 of the surrender of the garrison. Later, Roger A. 
 Pryor and ten or twelve other officers came over 
 and settled the terms of our capitulation. 
 
 The first battle of the rebellion was over, and the 
 flag of the Republic was down. 
 
 That night we slept in the fort, and the next 
 morning, which was Sunday, marched out with 
 the honors of war. A parting salute to the garri- 
 son flag was fired. This proved more destructive 
 to our men than the ten thousand shots poured into 
 Sumter by the guns of the enemy. In this salute 
 the premature discharge of a gun killed a private 
 soldier, and the fire dropping from the same gun 
 ignited a shell Avhich exploded and killed five men. 
 
 The American flag was lowered from the fortress, 
 and a silken Confederate flag, made by the women 
 of Charleston, raised in its place ; also beside it the 
 palmetto flag of South Carolina. 
 
 As we embarked on the steamer Baltic we found 
 the bay filled with steamers, sailing vessels, boats, 
 and crafts of all kinds, crowded by people who 
 had come down the harbor to witness the humilia- 
 tion of United States soldiers and the National flag. 
 
CHAPTER YI. 
 
 HOME OXCE MORE. 
 
 /^\UR passage to New York was uneventful. 
 ^-^ We were received with enthusiasm bj the 
 soldiers and sailors on board the Baltic^ who had 
 witnessed the battle from afar off. 
 
 Mink accompanied Jed and myself. He had 
 grown lean and dejected from life in Sumter. The 
 noise and excitement of the bombardment had ap- 
 parently confused and discouraged him. Even a 
 dog gets out of patience after a while with too 
 much noise, the nature of which is incomprehen- 
 sible to him ; although Mink was ordinarily as brave 
 a dog as ever hung liis tail half-mast at the sound 
 of a gun. 
 
 Upon our arrival in New York, the garrison, to 
 their surjDrise, were regarded as heroes. Musicians 
 and privates, as well as officers, were interviewed 
 by New York reporters. Most of the latter could 
 describe the fight little better than Corporal O'Keif, 
 who, after talking about everything else, confined 
 his description of the fight to the assertion that it 
 was " a bothering bit of nyse." 
 
 The officers, when recognized in the streets of 
 New York, were in danger of seeing themselves 
 
 57 
 
58 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 made ludicrous by being carried on men's shoulders. 
 However much elation may be experienced by the 
 performers, the chief personage in such an elevation 
 usually feels cheap and out of place. 
 
 The enthusiasm evoked by the stubborn resist- 
 ance of Sumter, was but the beginning of a Na- 
 tional war spirit Avhich in spite of many discourage- 
 ments grew stronger and stronger until the war 
 closed in the triumph of our arms. 
 
 The two months succeeding the fall of Sumter, 
 though so eventful to the nation, were the reverse 
 to Jed and myself. The little garrison, after ar- 
 riving in New York, was soon depleted by fur- 
 loughs, discharges, orders for detached service, and 
 also promotion. The term of my service, and also 
 Jed's, was about to expire. Sergeant Gruff had 
 made application to be put on detached duty, the 
 details of which he kept secret from us. 
 
 JNIost soldiers are anxious for a discharge from 
 the army from the time they enlist until the term 
 of enlistment expires, and yet, with singular incon- 
 sistency, when they are discharged soon tire of citi- 
 zen freedom, and go back to military life. 
 
 Serofeant Gruff had tried to settle down as a citi- 
 zen several times, but army routine and habits had 
 become almost a necessity of his existence, and he 
 was always glad to get back to it. Hence he divided 
 the world into two classes, soldiers and citizens, 
 and greatly to the discredit of the latter. 
 
 When we asked him once why he didn't leave the 
 
HOME ONCE MORE. 59 
 
 army he replied, " Poys, I've peen made too long 
 to pe mate over." 
 
 One evening, while discussing our prosj^ective 
 citizenship, the old sergeant said, " Yat vill you do 
 mit yourselves after you gets a discharge? " 
 
 '^ Go home," answered both Jed and myself in a 
 breath. 
 
 " Vat vill you do there ? " 
 
 I replied, " I shall go to school." 
 
 Jed said, '^ I shall get me a little store, and sell 
 candy and peanuts and such stuff." 
 
 " Humph I a sutler," growled Sergeant Gruff with 
 a sneer. '' You'd petter come pack and enlist mit 
 your company again." 
 
 We finally drew our pay, were mustered out of 
 the service, and were " free and independent " once 
 more. 
 
 On the morning in which we were packed and 
 ready for home. Sergeant Gruff made his appear- 
 ance on the dock, in light marching order, and em- 
 barked on the little steamer, en roiLte for the city 
 with us. He explained his conduct by saying he 
 had been assigned to recruiting duty in Boston. 
 " My poys," said he, '' I keeps my eyes on you, to 
 see dot you ton't fool yourself mit mischief." 
 
 Upon our arrival in Boston we were accompanied 
 to the Old Colony depot by Sergeant Gruff, who 
 bade us an affectionate good-by, saying, — 
 
 "I come to see you some dime, youngsters. Now 
 ton't go into mischief too far," 
 
60 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 As we alighted from the cars at the little village 
 of Centerboro, it was apparently unchanged, as if 
 we had left it but yesterday. We recognized 
 familiar faces in the streets on every side, but no 
 one recognized us. 
 
 Jed, accompanied by Mink, went in search of a 
 sister living on another road, while I made my way 
 across the fields to Aunt Temperance's home. I 
 knocked, when she came to the door looking not 
 one day older than when I left her protection. It 
 was some time before she could understand that the 
 strapping young man at her door was the perverse 
 boy who had revolted at her discipline four years 
 before. 
 
 Her welcome was as unfeigned and hearty as 
 anything I've ever known. A choking sensation 
 pervaded her speech, and tears came to the eyes of 
 the little woman with the vigorous hugging she 
 gave me. She confided to me that during my ab- 
 sence she had had all sorts of good luck, not the 
 least of which was that a relative had left us, by 
 bequest, several hundred dollars. 
 
 That afternoon Jed called at the cottage. When 
 my aunt came to the door and Mink heard her 
 voice he gave one dazed and frightened look, and 
 with a pathetic, reproachful glance over his shoulder 
 at Jed, scampered away Avith his tail between his 
 legs, as if he would say, " I guess I'll be excused 
 from visiting her again." It was some time before 
 he could be coaxed into the house, so vivid an im- 
 
HOME ONCE MORE. 61 
 
 pression had his last visit there made on him. 
 Aunt Tempy was as much chagrined at this as we 
 were amused. 
 
 "You see, ma'am," said Jed respectfully, but 
 with a humorous twinkle in his eye, " Ave've never 
 talked over coming home with Mink, for fear he 
 would not appreciate its advantages, and he is taken 
 by surprise ; besides, he ain't much used to women." 
 
 My aunt expressed herself as very much surprised 
 at Jed's manly ways and improved looks, and de- 
 clared she never knew any one so much benefited 
 by travel, as she termed it. 
 
 Jed had not been able to find any of his relatives 
 or friends, and therefore my aunt insisted upon his 
 making his home with us. Her kindness extended 
 even to Mink. A happier woman than Aunt Tempy 
 at her prodigal's return Avas not to be found in that 
 town. 
 
 When it was learned in the neighborhood that we 
 had returned, and had participated in the affair at 
 Sumter, the little house fairly swarmed with visitors. 
 
 My aunt fully sympathized with my desire to 
 gain a better education, and tried to persuade Jed, 
 who had steadily grown in her favor, also to take 
 a term at school. 
 
 We made arrangements to attend the village 
 academy, and my aunt soon became very proud of 
 the two young men who accompanied her to church, 
 sat in her pew, and whom she introduced to the 
 minister. 
 
62 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 Politics and war Avere at this time the staple of 
 conversation; and Jed and I talked so constantly 
 about Sergeant Gruff, that my aunt asked us to 
 invite him to come to visit us. Hence it soon 
 became the habit of the old sergeant to come Sat- 
 urday night and stay over Sunday with his " poys." 
 The old soldier admired my aunt very much. 
 
 " Py Shorge, poj^s," he would say, " vat a cap- 
 tain she vould have mate if she had been porn a 
 man ! " The neatness of her house and its sur- 
 roundings, and glimpses of her good sense in man- 
 agement, gave him an exalted opinion of her 
 qualities. 
 
 " And dot leetle voman vipped you two strapping 
 poys and a tog, so jovl vrunned away ! " he would 
 say, while he laughed until he was out of breath 
 and tears came to his eyes. 
 
 We were studjdng hard in school when an unex- 
 pected event, which we shall chronicle in another 
 chapter, gave a new direction to our thoughts and 
 life. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 IVIAKING READY. 
 
 ^T^HE defeat of the Union army at Bull Run, on 
 -L the 21st of July, 1861, had an effect on the 
 North like the uj^heaval of an earthquake. The 
 result of the news in our little village was in part 
 grotesque. The whole town, or at least the male 
 portion of it, discussed the battle. On the corners 
 of the streets, over garden walls, and in the mowing 
 field, it was again fought over with a vigor out of 
 proportion to the military knowledge of those who 
 discussed it. It was perhaps well for the country 
 1ft that these village tacticians and strategists mostly 
 found it inconvenient to bring their knowledge to 
 a more bloody field. 
 
 " What are we going to du with them seseshers 
 down on the Pot-a-mack?" said Silas Eaton, the 
 shoemaker, to John Warren, a sensible and solid 
 farmer, who was waiting while a pair of shoes were 
 being mended. 
 
 " Uncle John," as he was called, was a magnifi- 
 cent old man, and very deliberate of speech. He 
 replied, — 
 
 " It appears to me, neighbor Silas, that the first 
 thing for us to do, is to learn this dreadful trade of 
 
64 JED'S ADVEXTUBES. 
 
 war, so as to know it better than tlie people wlio 
 would destroy this great Union." 
 
 The old man spoke earnesth% and there was a 
 beautiful flush on liis grand old face, as if he were 
 inclined, notwithstanding his burden of threescore 
 years, to learn the trade. 
 
 " Nonsense ! " said. Silas. '' If that old fellow, 
 General McDowell, hadn't been a right-down traitor, 
 we should have whipped them rebels. Our men 
 fit and fit and fit, and our folks had the best of it 
 tu, until the rebels brought up some new men, and 
 that old McDowell let um do it, tu ! " . 
 
 " There may have been fault," responded Uncle 
 John, "but I find it hard to manage a few men on 
 my farm, so that they will do the work according 
 to my plans. Perhaps General McDoAvell experi- 
 enced some such inconvenience with men not 
 learned in the ways of war I " 
 
 Silas stopped short with his work, and began with 
 a piece of chalk on a side of sole leather to demon- 
 strate the grand strategy which should have won 
 the battle. He had been reading a popular history 
 of Napoleon, and was full of martial absurchties. 
 
 " You see," said Silas, " McDowell should have 
 formed in hollow squares and received 'em on the 
 pints of their bayonets." 
 
 " Suppose they didn't want to git on to the ends 
 of them bayonets ? " said another inquiringly. 
 
 "Plague take you," said Silas angrily. "You 
 throw cold water on to most everything ! " 
 
MAKING REAbt, 65 
 
 Silas's manner was provokingly confident, as 
 Uncle John stood towering above him, waiting for 
 his shoes. At first Uncle John looked vexed, and 
 then, as if struck with the ludicrousness of the 
 scene, his eyes twinkled humorously as he inquired, 
 '' How long did it take you, Silas, to learn your 
 trade ? " 
 
 ''Three years," said Silas, resuming liis work, 
 "and I've been learninor it ever since and hain't crot 
 it learned yet/' 
 
 "Well," said Uncle John, "it would probably 
 take you as long to learn to fight battles as it did 
 to make and mend shoes." 
 
 " I believe my senses. Uncle John, you are a rebel 
 sympatliizer ! " exclaimed Silas, now thoroughly 
 angry. 
 
 This was not an uncommon way, at that time, of 
 meeting arguments wliich tended to make apparent 
 the fact that the war mio-ht be a loner one. 
 
 Sergeant Gruff, in his occasional visits, was 
 closely questioned by our townspeople. The old 
 soldier was polite, but it was evident to those who 
 knew him well, that liis contempt of citizens grew 
 with each interview. 
 
 " Dese beople," said the old sergeant, " dink 
 dot solchers are porn, not mate by study and dis- 
 cipline and di'ill." 
 
 The presence of the sergeant at the groceiy 
 gatherings repressed in part the disposition of 
 those there congregated to discuss noisily the mill- 
 
ee mb's adventures. 
 
 tary situation, but it did not prevent their ques- 
 tioning him. "How long will the war last?" 
 "Why was General McDowell defeated ? " and like 
 questions were rapidly propounded. 
 
 "I don't know/' responded Sergeant Gruff to 
 the last question, "but I dink the men marched 
 too far, and fought too long, for new troops. If 
 they had had a goot reserve to have prought up, 
 they vould not have been opliged to have vrun 
 away." 
 
 "Why can't we whip these fellers, the same as 
 General Scott did the Mexicans?" they asked. 
 
 "Vy," said the sergeant crisply, "pecause the 
 men dot fight us are shust as goot men as ve are ! " 
 
 Thus the discussion went on ; the habit of na- 
 tional glorification on one hand met the disposition 
 to be practical on the other, and, like two ocean cur- 
 rents meeting, threw the placid waters of ordinary 
 village life into commotion. " Thinking bayonets," 
 "intelligent soldiers," were expressions much in 
 vogue at that time. Citizens did not realize that 
 the superiority of an army to a mob was not in its 
 uniforms and feathers, but in discipline, and the 
 subordination of the many individual wills to one. 
 
 The North responded grandly to the call to arms, 
 and " War meetings " and " Flag raisings " were 
 the common means of attesting their patriotism ; 
 and whatever may be said against the North, it 
 must always be conceded that it was stimulated 
 more by its defeats than by its victories. 
 
MAKING READY, 67 
 
 A great people, absorbed in industrial enterprise, 
 interrupted in the pursuits of peace, was impatient 
 that the obstructions of war should be speedily 
 brushed away. 
 
 "They are going to raise a company in this 
 town to go to the war," said William Jones, the 
 blacksmith, into whose shop we had dropped on 
 our way from school, " and I'm going to enlist." 
 
 A war meeting was called, and speeches were 
 made by the lawyer, the schoolmaster, and the 
 minister. Sergeant Gruff was in the audience, and 
 was called on for a speech. The old sergeant, in 
 his parade coat and polished brasses, looked every 
 inch a soldier, as he faced the audience, and in his 
 broken English said a few earnest, impressive 
 words. 
 
 " I have fought for this free government already 
 through one war : war is no pastime ; it is hard, 
 bloody, earnest and self-sacrificing work, for one's 
 country. This government is tlueatened with dis- 
 memberment by misguided men, and the nation 
 calls upon her sons to defend her, and restore the 
 Union of States. We must all die once, and it 
 matters not so much when we die, as how we die, 
 and for what we die. We can make this war short 
 only by united action as a people, and by consent- 
 ing patiently to learn the discipline of soldiers ; 
 for discipline is the moral force by which an army 
 exists, and is able to conquer. Discipline gives 
 direction to patriotism and bravery and noble en- 
 
68 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 thusiasm, and without the power gained thereby, 
 all is wasted." 
 
 This speech, the substance of which we give, 
 made a good impression ; and, after a few eloquent 
 but less practical speeches, there was a call for vol- 
 unteers. A score of men responded by soberly 
 dedicating themselves to their country's service. 
 
 The resolution of myself and Jed not to enlist 
 at that time was severely tried, for though we had 
 a natural desire to add our names to' those already 
 enrolled, we had promised Sergeant Gruff to con- 
 sult him before we enlisted. My Aunt Tempy was 
 very patriotic where other people's relations were 
 concerned, but she did not express an equally fer- 
 vent desire to have me die a soldier's death. So 
 Jed and myself still remained at the Academy. 
 
 The day of our enlistment was not to be long 
 postponed. Sergeant Gruff, whose term of service 
 in the regular army had now expired, was mustered 
 out, and, at the very earnest solicitation of the 
 colonel of the regiment being formed, was made 
 captain of a company raised in our village. 
 
 As it was common at this stage of the war, to 
 promote men to military positions for their marked 
 popularity rather than their military ability, and 
 as officers often occupied positions which they did 
 not fill, but simply rattled around in, there was a 
 certain flavor of unpopularity in the appointment 
 of Gruff. The service often suffered from similar 
 causes in the months following. 
 
MAKING READY. 69 
 
 Charles Weston, the son of our village lawyer, 
 had been an applicant for this captaincy; and, 
 although he had neither military knowledge nor 
 experience, he was sore because he had failed in 
 his ambition. 
 
 During our stay in camp he was, however, very 
 popular, having the talents of an actor in an emi- 
 nent degree. He could imitate the gestures, voice, 
 and manner of any village character to perfection, 
 and had also acquired the talent of making-uj), to 
 use a theatre phrase, and took, therefore, a promi- 
 nent part in the camp theatricals with which we 
 occasionally amused ourselves. 
 
 The defeat at Bull Run had led to a more careful 
 selection of officers ; for that battle proved that, 
 though a man may be a good fellow, he may at the 
 same time prove to be a very poor officer. Besides 
 this, the colonel, who had some military training, 
 had faith in Sergeant Gruff's ability to make good 
 some of his own deficiencies in military knowledge, 
 and thus urged his promotion. The sergeant was 
 far from knowing these facts, or he would not have 
 accepted the position. 
 
 It was a wise choice, however, and Sergeant Gruff 
 began at once the thankless work of making soldiers 
 from citizens. 
 
 Human nature does not readily adjust itself to 
 the unnatural grooves of military life, and men long 
 accustomed to self-direction do not quickly submit 
 with unquestioning obedience to military exactions. 
 
70 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 He, however, soon taught his commissioned and 
 under officers the necessity of forming strict mill 
 tary habits, and inspired them with a pride to excel 
 in the manual of arms and in company evolutions. 
 
 As he experienced great difficulty in finding among 
 the volunteers, men fit to teach properly the rudi- 
 ments, such as the manual of arms and the facings, 
 and as he could not attend personally to the task, 
 he constantly called Jed and myself to his assist- 
 ance as drill-masters of squads, — duties for which 
 we were very well qualified. 
 
 We soon became favorites among the young men 
 of the company, and as the consequence of this asso- 
 ciation felt a great desire to belong to that par- 
 ticular company. So, notwithstanding my aunt's 
 entreaty and Captain Gruff's earnest remonstrance, 
 which was prompted more by a desire to please the 
 "lee tie voman" than from any real desire to thwart 
 us, we soon enlisted. 
 
 The captain comforted my aunt by saying, " Veil, 
 Miss Tempy, I can take petter care of dem poys 
 dan any von else, and so dey had j)etter go mit 
 me." As it was evident to her that she could not 
 keep me long at home, and as she had no other 
 motive in influencing Jed than to influence me, she 
 reluctantly consented, saying that she preferred 
 having me go with a good man like Mr. Gruff 
 than with any other. At this compliment Captain 
 Gruff winked, as if my aunt were deluded in re- 
 gard to his goodness, but that he was Avilling to 
 
"It was a fine sight to see the old soldier dreamily smoking 
 liis pipe." — Page 71. 
 
MAKING READY. 71 
 
 suffer her favorable opinions rather than contradict 
 her. 
 
 The old sergeant was noticeably improved. He 
 spent many of his evenings at my aunt's ; sometimes 
 reading from a favorite book, but more often regard- 
 ing Miss TemjDy's deft housekeeping with silent 
 admiration. He attended church with us regularly, 
 and sometimes the weekly prayer-meeting, and 
 completely shunned bar-room associations. It was 
 a fine sight to see the old soldier dreamily smoking 
 his pipe in the afternoon, while Mink lay on his 
 knees asleep, and Jed read the newspaper, and my 
 aunt, in her trim dress and white apron, spread the 
 supper table under the honeysuckles of the wide 
 veranda. 
 
 " I tell you," said the old soldier to Jed one even- 
 ing, on his way to the post-office, " if I vas a younger 
 man and a petter von, and der vas no war, and Miss 
 Temperance was still a single voman " — and here 
 the old soldier blushed to the tip of his nose, and 
 left his conclusion unfinished. 
 
 Squire Weston was a neighbor, and a member of 
 the same church we attended. Since my aunt had 
 come into possession of some money, he had advised 
 her regarding its investment, and sometimes visited 
 at the house when Captain Gruff was present. As 
 my aunt was still a young woman and the squire 
 was a widower, the gossip among the neighbors was 
 that the squire would not be adverse to making her 
 Mrs. Weston. Though I doubt if Miss Tempy 
 
7^ JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 ever heard the gossip, or cast a thought in this di- 
 rection, yet the squire's interest in her material and 
 spiritual welfare seemed constantly on the increase. 
 
 The squire was what the villagers termed " fore- 
 handed," and one who kept a bright lookout ahead 
 for his worldly chances. Though rumor said he 
 had foreclosed morto-ao^es under circumstances that 
 might be called sharj), yet he was generally esteemed 
 honest, and also a good citizen. 
 
 Whether the squire liked to hear himself talk 
 better than the soldier, or whether he disapproved 
 of his conversation, I do not laiow; but it was ob- 
 servable that when Captain Gruff was holding forth, 
 as he did sometimes, on the duty of able-bodied men 
 to serve their country in her hour of need, the squire 
 would get up and go out, while my aunt was often 
 so intent upon listening to Captain Gruff that a half 
 hour would sometimes elapse before she would no- 
 tice his absence. The squire said nothing against 
 Captain Gruff, but he said much against the habits 
 of smoking and drinking, and observed that men 
 were seldom of good Christian conduct who had 
 been trained in the army. 
 
 My aunt, who regarded Captain Gruff as a model 
 of goodness, and never seemed to think that this 
 talk had a bearing on the old soldier's character, had, 
 previous to my enlistment, used the deacon's ideas 
 to dissuade me from again entering the service. 
 
 Once, when she hinted to the old soldier that he 
 might resign and let some younger man take his 
 
MAKING READY. 73 
 
 place, the captain's cheek flushed as he replied, 
 " Dis country is my country, and neets men of ex- 
 perience to tirect and teach young men to fight its 
 patties. I have not always been a goot man, but 
 it vould not be prave nor manly to desert my coun- 
 try at dis dime." The old sergeant, who had begun 
 harshly and in anger, now softened his voice as he 
 said, — 
 
 " I do not vish you to tink me so mean a man as 
 to serve in dimes of peace, and stays at home ven 
 de war comes and my country neets me. Ah I Miss 
 Tempy, if I vas a petter man " — here he turned 
 away, and left some brooding thought or emotion 
 unuttered. What my aunt's thoughts were I know 
 not, but after this she treated Captain Gruff Avith 
 even more deference and respect than before. 
 
 In a few wrecks the regimental organization was 
 completed, and every evening the villagers gathered 
 to see the dress-parade at the encampment near the 
 toAvn. 
 
 A few Sundays before the regiment was to leave 
 for the front, our company was invited to attend 
 religious services at the church. The sermon was 
 an eloquent one, and discoursed of the duties of 
 citizens to God and the State. On many this left 
 a good impression, but on none was it so lasting as 
 on Jed, with whom it was destined to be followed by 
 still deeper experiences, which influenced his whole 
 character, and made him a sincere, though not de- 
 monstrative, Christian. 
 
74 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 After inspection and drill and dress-parade had 
 worn threadbare the thin patience of these early 
 volunteers, they were at last summoned to the 
 front. It was a singular contradiction in human 
 nature, that those most impatient to be called to 
 the front were soon among those most eager to get 
 home again. 
 
 All was bustle and confusion when the regiment 
 got its marching orders. There were tears on old 
 faces and young. Mothers said good-by to beard- 
 less boys ; wives to husbands ; sisters to brothers ; 
 and the bright, sunny faces of unthinking or of un- 
 heeding youth were for the moment clouded and 
 wet with tears, as they said parting words, marched 
 to the cars, and were off to the war. 
 
 Many of these young men never returned to their 
 homes, but fell in defence of the nation to wliich 
 they unselfishly dedicated their lives. Some went 
 down in the front of battle, some died on the march, 
 others in hospitals or in prison. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 VOLXnSTTEERS IN WASHINGTON. 
 
 /^N our route to Washington we received many 
 ^^ flattering attentions. Men, women, and 
 children were gathered at the raih^oad stations, 
 and upon our arrival, as well as departure, we were 
 greeted with cheers, waving of handkerchiefs, and 
 other patriotic demonstrations. Had we eaten all 
 the food pressed upon us we should have never 
 reached Washington alive, but have died of a sur- 
 feit or of indigestion, such was the disposition to 
 feast us. 
 
 We had taken the boat at New London, en route 
 for New York, when I met with an encounter that 
 reads like an invention. I had selected a sleeping- 
 berth, and was fairly in possession and composing 
 myself to sleep, when the curtain was rudely pushed 
 aside, and a familiar voice exclaimed, '' And moight 
 I ask who is so koind as to be occupying me berth ? " 
 
 I astonished the intruder in turn by snatching his 
 hat from his head and exclaiming, " If you don't 
 keep out of here. Corporal O'Keif, I'll di'um a tattoo 
 on your head." 
 
 '' And be George ! I never had anything this 
 youngster didn't manage to get into," exclaimed 
 
 15 
 
76 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 the corporal, with an evident relish of the situation. 
 At this instant Jed stuck his head out of the 
 berth below mine, and, catching the corporal by 
 the leg, with a shrill wliistle, peculiar to himself 
 and familiar to the corporal, exclaimed in droll imi- 
 tation of O'Keif's tones, "And sure, here's them 
 plaguy byes again ! " 
 
 The climax was reached when Captain Gruff, 
 awakened by the noise, protruded his head from a 
 neighboring berth, and recognizing the voice of his 
 former subordinate, and forgetting his surroundings, 
 cried out in his sternest tones, — 
 
 " O'Keif, go to your quarters, and don't keep dis 
 garrison avake all night mit yer fooling." 
 
 The doughty corporal, though surprised at this 
 encounter, was glad to see us again, as we were to 
 meet liim in this odd manner. 
 
 O'Keif, with many original Irish flourishes, told 
 us that he and others of the 1st Artillery had been 
 campaigning with Patterson's command, in the 
 Shenandoah Yalle}^ ; and that, as his time of service 
 had expired a month previous, he had been making 
 use of his liberty to visit friends in Connecticut, 
 but was now returning to his old command with 
 the purpose of again re-enlisting. Before we 
 reached New York he was, however, persuaded to 
 take a first sergeant's position in another company 
 of our regiment. Thus were brought together once 
 more some of the dramatis per 807ice of this narrative. 
 
 Upon our arrival in New York we marched 
 
VOLUNTEERS IN WASHINGTON. 77 
 
 through its crowded streets, our measured tread 
 and swaying bodies keeping time to the new and 
 stirring lyric, '' John Brown's body lies a moulder- 
 ing." Enthusiastic cheers, waving flags, and shouts 
 of congratulation and greeting were heard on every 
 side. 
 
 " If every man here doesn't feel himself a hero, 
 it isn't because they don't treat him as if he 
 were," said Jed, who "touched elbows" with me. 
 
 When arrived at Philadelphia we were feasted 
 at the Cooper Shop Restaurant, and waited on by 
 young ladies who were so attentive to our wants, 
 and so beautiful in their enthusiasm, that we left 
 that hosi^itable and patriotic city with regret. 
 Though several of our regiment stimulaterl their 
 enthusiasm artificially, the majority arrived in 
 Washington in good order, notwithstanding the 
 natural and unnatural heat of their patriotism. 
 
 We were assigned on our arrival to the cramped 
 and somewhat dirty barracks of the "Soldiers' Re- 
 treat," near the Baltimore and Ohio depot. 
 
 The city of Washington, at this time in its his- 
 tory, was one of surprising contrasts. The beauty 
 of its public buildings was in striking contrast to 
 the tumble-down, shanty-like appearance of most 
 of its private edifices, and the dirtiness of its side- 
 walks and streets. 
 
 The numerous hogs on duty as scavengers wore 
 a grieved and hopeless look on their elongated 
 faces, as if their duties were too much for them. 
 
78 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 A few mornings after this we went into camp 
 near Washington. Here the process of making 
 soldiers from citizens began in earnest. Men ac- 
 customed to self-direction did not readily submit 
 to being made over in the military image. Accus- 
 tomed to working each day for some definite and 
 immediate result, the constant drill and never-end- 
 ing round of camp duties, so essential to the forma- 
 tion of military habits, seemed to them intolerable 
 foolishness. The necessity of being punctual in 
 all duties was but little appreciated by these raw 
 volunteer soldiers of 1861. 
 
 Roll call was at six o'clock, and punishment was 
 meted out for delays. This was followed by the 
 breakfast call a half hour later, where the men were 
 required to form in line with their tin plates and 
 drinking-cups, or, failing therein, go without their 
 breakfast. Why not happen into the cook-house at 
 their own convenience ? Tliis seemed a cruel and 
 needless exaction. 
 
 If a pass Avere granted a soldier, he must return 
 before its expiration or be punished. For small 
 offences he did penance in the guard-house, where 
 he sawed wood ; or he swept the parade ground 
 under direction of the guard. Our colonel at first 
 punished men by placing them on barrels, Avhere 
 they stood for hours like groups of statuary. At 
 other camps men were to be seen withdogs chained 
 to them for breach of discipline. Captain Gruff 
 had remonstrated against such punishments as 
 
VOLUNTEERS IN WASHINGTON. 79 
 
 unmilitary, and the}^ were abandoned in our regi- 
 ment. 
 
 Passes to visit Washington proved demoralizing, 
 and at Captain Gruff's suggestion were no longer 
 granted to members of our company. This made 
 the captain very unpopular. Disorderly men who 
 had broken rules, and had been punished with in- 
 flexible rigor, wrote home heaping abuse on Captain 
 Gruff. Among the loudest of these growlers was 
 Sergeant Weston. He did not take either kindly or 
 naturally to discipline or drill, and though he had 
 been indebted to Captain Gruff for direction and 
 suggestion in the performance of his military duties, 
 yet he did not hate him less, but more, for these 
 favors. The result was that Captain Gruff, like 
 many other strict military men of this j>eriod, be- 
 came unpopular in camp and at home. 
 
 As the winter months came on we began to get 
 ready for winter quarters. The sides of our 
 huts were built of logs with A tents for roofs. 
 The cliimneys were of sticks cemented with mud, 
 though a flour or pork barrel often in part took 
 the place of the stick chimney. The floor was of 
 clay, pounded level and hard. Two bunks raised 
 from the ground on either side, with a rough table 
 and a few seats, made very comfortable Avinter 
 quarters. During the construction of these huts, 
 drill and guard duty were omitted. 
 
 The diill and discipline of the army at this time 
 were not thrown away as many suppose, but were 
 
80 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 the welding force which afterwards enabled the 
 Army of the Potomac to sustain the continued shock 
 of battle, and preserve its morale and efficiency in 
 defeat. It takes time to make an army. 
 
 It will be remembered that the newspapers and 
 citizens did not think these preparations needful, 
 and grew impatient at our delay to move on the 
 enemy and end the war ! 
 
 They inquired impatiently, " Why don't the 
 army move ? " 
 
 If these interrogating growlers of 1861 and '62 
 had been marched with a moderate allowance of 
 personal baggage from Washington to Hall's Hill 
 or Fairfax Court-House, they would have speedily 
 got an answer in the glue-like tenacity with which 
 their feet clung to the mud, and the mud clung to 
 their feet. This gulf of Virginia mud between us 
 and the enemy proved a Jericho of strength more 
 effective than all the wooden guns of the in- 
 trenchments of Manassas, and which all the rams' 
 horns of the public press and opinion were impotent 
 to overthrow. 
 
 O'Keif was a man who had been thoroughly 
 drilled in the regular service, and had acted as 
 drill master therein ; yet he fell in the esteem of 
 the company because he was, as they termed it, so 
 fussy ; he was constantly adjusting the position of 
 their hands on the muskets, and of their feet, and 
 the position of each man on drill. This unpopu- 
 larity found echoes at home. One day I received 
 
VOLUNTEERS IN WASHINGTON. 81 
 
 a letter from my aunt, and as letters similar in 
 spirit were constantly written to men in the army 
 I give herewith a copy. 
 
 My dear Dick : — The letters you send to me are grate- 
 fully received, and also tlie money, which I put in the bank 
 for you, my dear boy ; I would like to see you so much. 
 Squire Weston has advised me to invest the money 1 have in 
 Western railroad bonds, though I have not placed it in his 
 hands. He has also advised me to mortgage my little place 
 and putthemoney in these bonds. It seems a good invest- 
 ment. What do you think about it ? It seems to me safe, for 
 the Squire is such a good man, and is certainly a safe ad- 
 viser. Give my love to Jed and my regards to Captain Gruff. 
 I have sent you a box of good things to eat, and IMary 
 Weston has put in a needle-book and a Testament for Jed. 
 Your aftectionate aunt, 
 
 Temperance Xickerson. 
 
 p. S. — Please tell Lieutenant Weston that his Aunt Lydia 
 says get some campliire for his headaches and stomach. I 
 hope you get enough to eat. Is it true that Captain Gruff 
 drinks lager beer, as they say he does here ? 
 
 T. N. 
 
 P. S. — I hope it is not true that Captain Gruff swears at 
 the men of his company, or that he is very hard and tyranni- 
 cal with them, as it is rumored here he is. 
 
 Your aunt, 
 
 T.N. 
 
 P. S. — Why don't the army go over to Richmond and 
 
 take the rebels prisoners and end the war ? Don't eat the 
 
 cheese all up at one time. I have put into the box some 
 
 tobacco for Captain GrufTs pipe. I hope it won't get into 
 
 the butter or the frosted cake, 
 
 Y'ours, 
 
 T. X. 
 
82 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 Mary Weston of whom my aunt wrote was the 
 belle of the village, and both Jed and I had paid 
 her some attention while at home. I read this let- 
 ter of my aunt's to Captain Gruff, and he turned 
 red with rage and exclaimed, — 
 
 " Dot leetle voman vill lose all her money, foolin' 
 it into the hands of that bald-heated old squire. 
 I shall writes her some tings myself." What he 
 wrote I did not know, but suspect he told her 
 bluntly his suspicions ; and he must have spoken 
 very plainly, as Gruff had a soldier's directness, and 
 was never inclined to mince matters. 
 
 My aunt did not answer liis letter, which was her 
 way of saying nothing she needed to mend, and at 
 the same time showing her displeasure. 
 
 The army encamped around Washington in the 
 winter and spring of 1862 Avas now about to move. 
 General Banks had crossed the Potomac into Vir- 
 ginia by the way of Harper's Ferry. And the 
 Army of the Potomac had boldly marched through 
 thick and thin of mud to Manassas ; and then, find- 
 ing the enemy had abandoned his defences there, 
 marched back to Washington again, covered with 
 more mud than glory. 
 
<9 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ON THE PENINSULA. 
 
 rj^HE Army of the Potomac was at last ready to 
 -*- make a decisive movement against the enemy. 
 Huge steamers, tugs, and sailing vessels, barges, 
 and even canal boats, thronged the adjacent waters 
 of Washington and Alexandria. Marching orders 
 came at last, and, leaving our comfortable winter 
 quarters regretfully, we marched through Washing- 
 ton and embarked on a steamer. We dropped down 
 the Potomac, and the spires and domes of Wash- 
 ington and Alexandria soon faded away in the blue 
 haze of the early morning light. 
 
 The little steamer throbbed its way down the 
 river into Chesapeake Bay, and on the afternoon of 
 the second day our regiment landed at Fort Mon- 
 roe, on old Point Comfort, at the western point of 
 that peninsula formed by the York and James 
 rivers. This was the first step of the army in what 
 is called the Peninsula campaign, and its convey- 
 ance by water to this place, over two hundred miles 
 from Washington, was an enterprise of such colos- 
 sal magnitude that a foreign critic has called it 
 " the step of a giant." 
 
 This vast army and its material can scarcely be 
 83 
 
84 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 conceived of by the boys of this generation, for an 
 army is composed not only of its fighting men, but 
 of thousands of others. There are orderlies, offi- 
 cers' servants, cooks, drivers of baggage wagons 
 and trains, besides telegraph mechanics and appa- 
 ratus, blacksmiths, saddlers, farriers, and pontoon- 
 iers or bridge-builders, and engineers. Hundreds 
 of tons of gunpowder, shot, shell, and cartridges, 
 as well as huge siege guns, trains of forty-four bat- 
 teries, trains of ambulances, telegraph trains, bridge 
 trains, baggage trains, and, above all, trains of food 
 for the subsistence of the army. The animals alone 
 for this army were nearly fifteen thousand in num- 
 ber, which shows something of its magnitude, and 
 the enormous equipage required by it. 
 
 A military writer says that an army, like a serpent, 
 moves only on its belly. This is but a quaint way 
 of saying that an army can exist and advance upon 
 an enemy only as it has the means of feeding itself. 
 Whatever, therefore, stops or delays this food sup- 
 ply endangers or destroys an army. Hence to keep 
 open its base of supplies in protecting the road to 
 it, so the enemy cannot reach it, complicates all its 
 operations. An army, cut off by the enemy from 
 its base of supplies, is like a man trying to eat while 
 his throat is in the grip of an enemy. 
 
 Such was the condition of Lee's armj^ before Rich- 
 mond, when Grant seized the last railroad communi- 
 cating with its supplies, and such was the condition 
 of the army under Lord Cornwallis when it sur- 
 
ON THE PENINSULA. 85 
 
 rendered at Yorktown, on the same peninsula which 
 we were about to invade. 
 
 Keeping open its lines of communication for the 
 feeding of an army while operating before an enemy 
 is, therefore, an all-important consideration for its 
 commander. 
 
 It was the material and food for the Army of 
 the Potomac which was being landed at Old Point 
 Comfort, the western terminus of that peninsula, 
 fifty miles in length, wliich this vast army was to 
 travel. 
 
 It was a scene of seeming confusion, but of real 
 order, and every movement was planned by a mas- 
 ter-hand. Our company crossed a bridge near 
 where this landing was taking place, and then, 
 passing the chimney stacks and blackened remains 
 of the village of Hampton, took up its quarters in 
 an open field beyond. 
 
 Our first procedure was to pitch our tents. 
 This was done b}' buttoning together four or more 
 squares of canvas about a yard and a half wide, 
 one of which was carried by each infantry soldier. 
 This canvas shanty was often used as a roof over 
 side walls of sod or cla}^, or, as at this time, pieces 
 of rails, with mud plastered over the crevices, and 
 earth heaped against the outside. Here four or 
 five, according to the number who contributed 
 each a square of this tent, made their abiding- 
 place in the field. This was distinguished from 
 the A tent used by soldiers at more permanent 
 
86 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 camping-places by being sarcastically called a dog- 
 tent. At first the soldiers felt as if they were 
 treated like dogs in having to use them, but their 
 convenience proved so great as to cause them to 
 be put into general use in future campaigns. 
 
 When this part of our work had been attended 
 to, we proceeded to cook breakfast. Our haver- 
 sacks, made of canvas, were shaped like large 
 letter envelopes, about sixteen inches square, and 
 were suspended from the shoulders by a band. 
 At tliis time mine contained a tin plate, a knife 
 and fork, a piece of pork, about twenty squares of 
 hard bread, some sugar and ground coffee mixed 
 together ; also a little salt and pepper in a paper. 
 On the outside of the haversack was fastened, by 
 its strap, a tin quart cup used for drinking or for 
 cooking coffee. Occasionally a canteen would be 
 used for carrying molasses, but this was usually 
 the receptacle for coffee or water. From these 
 haversacks were taken the ingredients for a break- 
 fast. Osgood (the company cook when in more 
 permanent camps), Sutherland, a young fellow of 
 seventeen, Jed, and myself, formed our squares 
 into a tent, and then proceeded to cook breakfast. 
 First, making a &e of fence -rails, without trou- 
 bling ourselves to cut them, we soaked our hard 
 bread in water, and then, frying our pork in a 
 small frying-pan, put the soaked hard bread into 
 this pan, and added a little molasses to give it a 
 flavor, as Osgood said. This concoction was called 
 
ON THE PENINSULA. 87 
 
 by some "son of a gun," and by others a name 
 more sulphureous. 
 
 While this was being done, our coffee was put 
 in position to be cooked. The long-extending mils 
 with which our fire was made, resembled a grand- 
 father-long-legs (with the fire and frying-pan for 
 his body). This extension of material caused us 
 a mishap which nearly cost us our breakfast. 
 
 Jed was bringing fuel, when some one shouted, 
 '' Jed, Jed I " whereupon he turned, and his rails, 
 coming in contact with several heads, levelled 
 them to the ground. One of these victims, in 
 dodging further damages, stumbled against the 
 ends of the burning rails, overturned our cof- 
 fee, and seriously disturbed our frying-pan and 
 fire. 
 
 The breakfast beinor cooked it was distributed in 
 our four tin plates, and was eaten while we were 
 seated on our rubber blankets. It is almost need- 
 less to say, many more pretentious meals are eaten 
 with less relish than was ours. Hundreds of men 
 around us were similarly engaged. Here one, more 
 hungry than particular, held slices of pork over 
 the fire, on a sharpened stick or the rammer of 
 his gun, until the pork was shrivelled and black- 
 ened, and then ate it with his hard-tack and 
 coffee. Others made a still more simple morning 
 meal of hard-tack, between two squares of which 
 was a slice of raw pork, perhaps deluged with 
 molasses. 
 
88 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 After breakfast came guard mounting, and the 
 consequent grumbling of men assigned to that 
 duty ; in the evening dress parade, rather informal 
 (at which white gloves were superfluous) ; and roll 
 call. The parade was formed and dismissed. Taps ; 
 and all sounds in camp were suppressed, and the 
 army of over a hundred thousand men slept to the 
 measured tread of its sentinels, the call of its 
 grand I'ounds, and the angry protest of its miles 
 of hungry mules. 
 
 On the morrow we begin the march up the Pe- 
 ninsula, with green grass beneath our feet, the sky 
 clear, and the balm of spring in the air. The 
 march of an army is apparently an inextricable 
 confusion. The order is route step, and the arms 
 are carried at will. The baggage wagons, pontoon 
 trains, and artillery seem thorouglily mixed with 
 the infantry and mud. 
 
 We had not marched far before the hitherto 
 cloudless sky was overspread with clouds, the 
 rain began to fall, the soil became more and more 
 like hasty-pudding in its consistency, and worry- 
 ing in its suction and stickiness. The marching 
 soldiers Avere drenched with rain, and wearily 
 trod Virginia mud, with, as Jed expressed it, 
 more prospect of reaching bottom than of reaching 
 their destination. 
 
 At last the huge army was brought to a halt before 
 a cordon of earthworks formed across the Penin- 
 sula. Our camp was pitched on a plateau of the 
 
ON THE PENINSULA. 89 
 
 York River, with a little creek in our front. The 
 enemy's Avorks at Gloucester Point were on the 
 opposite side of the river, and the Yorktown bat- 
 teries fronted us. This same spot was the scene 
 of CoruAvallis's surrender, Oct. 19, 1781. 
 
 A group had gathered around our fire of rails, 
 in the mud back of a little hillock, near a peach 
 orchard. Several little fires were added together 
 in the unit of a bivouac. A party was sent 
 with pack-mules to Shipping Point for rations, 
 of which we were nearly destitute. The group 
 was lit up by the ruddy fire framed by the outside 
 darkness. Jed was extended at full length on his 
 rubber blanket, face down, with elbows resting on 
 the ground and hands supporting his face. Captain 
 Gruff, who was a casual visitor, occupied the seat of 
 honor on our only cracker-box, the contents of 
 which had been eaten for breakfast. He was smok- 
 ing his pipe with great gravity and deliberation. 
 His huge mustache was twisted and pointed with 
 unusual severity, and there was a shadow on his 
 face beyond that which was cast by his overhang- 
 ing rugged brows. 
 
 "Are Ave going to liaA^e a fight, Captain Gruff?" 
 inquired young Sutherland. 
 
 The captain smoked his pipe reflectiA^ely, and 
 then, taking the long stem from his mouth, made a 
 gesture towards the enemy's works Avith it and said, 
 "Ah, dot Magruter is a sly tog. I serA^ed unter 
 him vonce, and he had a great vay of pouncing 
 
90 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 upon us at grand vrounts. A sly tog. Ve can't 
 tell vat Magruter vill do." Resuming his pipe he 
 shook his head ominously ; while, gazing into the fire 
 in an abstracted manner, he occasionally glanced 
 at Jed. 
 
 While the boys chatted and laughed, the old sol- 
 dier sat in the same absent manner, with clouds 
 of gloom gathering deeper and deeper on his brow. 
 Finally, rising and knocking the ashes from his 
 pipe, he said, touching Jed on the shoulder, and 
 with a look of something like tenderness which 
 alwaj^s came to his face when he addressed him, 
 '' Jed, my poy, I have some vords mit you. 
 Come." Jed arose from his place by the fire, and, 
 arm in arm, the old man Avith the boy whom he 
 loved walked to the captain's quarters. 
 
 " I wonder what the old captain wants of Jed," 
 said Sutherland. 
 
 I replied that I thought Gruff had the blues, and 
 as he was very fond of Jed he Avanted his company 
 to drive them away. 
 
 In a few minutes a step was heard, and Jed re- 
 sumed his place in the circle. 
 
 " What did the captain want? " 
 
 ''Oh," said Jed laughingly, "he gave me this 
 pair of stockings, and told me not to go to sleep 
 on the wind'ard side of a fire, and all that, you 
 knoAV." 
 
 Lights Avere ordered out (for drums were not 
 alloAved to be beaten Avbile Ave Avere before York- 
 
ON THE PENINSULA. 91 
 
 town), and, lying under our frail shelter-tents, we 
 were soon sound asleep. 
 
 Here let me digress, to say that one characteristic 
 of the army was its mules, and that of the fifteen 
 thousand animals of the army at least twelve thou- 
 sand were these raw, unsubdued hybrids, on whom 
 military life had left no further impress than 
 slightly to break them to harness. 
 
 The mule, perhaps, illustrates the principle of 
 natural selection, for no other animal has liis dogged 
 persistency of life and endurance of hardship. 
 While he was considered a valuable factor in 
 the Union army, he Avas not an agreeable one ; for 
 when he was expected to go he would stop, and 
 when his feet should have been on the firm earth 
 they were often found in lively conflict with the 
 air, describing, with the help of his tail (which 
 often took the character of an aerial paint-brush), 
 his surplus of waywardness. 
 
 , If there is one who reads these pages who has 
 never heard the hungry hallelujah of an army 
 mule at midnight, he has missed the most won- 
 derful violation of musical rules that exists in 
 nature. It was this sound that had awakened me 
 during the night. A mule had set up his hungry 
 plaint, and then a line of two or three miles of his 
 comrades were seemingly convulsed in an effort 
 to surpass his performance. My first thought 
 on awakening was that the roof of the sky had 
 been kicked out, or that the stars were shattered 
 
92 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 and a portion of the 'universe was falling tlirougK 
 space. 
 
 " What an awful noise those mules make. Jed ! 
 I say, Jed I listen to those mules." 
 
 No answer. 
 
 Again I called, " I say, Jed ! " when Osgood and 
 Sutherland hoth awoke. 
 
 ''Where IS Jed?" 
 
 " Don't know,'' sleepily replied Osgood, with a 
 yawn, while Sutherland said quizzically, " What's 
 the matter Avith them ar mules ? " 
 
 " Guess the knots in the pontoon boats they're 
 eating don't agree with them," replied Osgood, 
 with another yaAvn. 
 
 While awaiting Jed's return I fell asleep, and 
 was aroused by the morning sun shining in my 
 face. 
 
 "Where is Jed? " I again inquired. 
 
 " I haven't seen him this morning. Hallo ! 
 neither his musket, knapsack, nor haversack is 
 here," said Sutherland. 
 
 At roll call Jed did not answer to his name. 
 " Private Jedediah Hoskins, absent without leave," 
 was put upon the morning report of the company. 
 I approached the old captain and said, " What has 
 become of Jed ? " 
 
 The old man shook his head, and, without reply, 
 walked off with a deeper gloom on his face than I 
 had ever seen there before. 
 
 The day passed, and Jed did not report for duty, 
 
ON THE PENINSULA. 93 
 
 nor return to explain his mysterious absence. 
 Then rumor, attempting to fill in the blank of mys- 
 tery, said he had deserted. 
 
 I went again to Captain Gruff's quarters. He 
 was writing up his reports, with two cracker-boxes 
 for a desk. 
 
 " They say in the company that Jed has deserted, 
 captain." 
 
 The old man's red weatherbeaten face turned lit- 
 erally white, his goatee worked convulsively for a 
 moment, but he made no reply. Looking up after 
 a moment he said, sharply, as if in defiance, — 
 
 " Corporal Nickerson, vat you vish to say ? " 
 
 " I wish to know where Private Hoskins is," I 
 replied, assuming the position of attention, and the 
 tone of a subordinate before his superior. 
 
 The old soldier, with more kindness in his tones, 
 replied, " Don't vorry, my poy, about Jed. I don't 
 dink he has teserted." And then, with a tremor 
 in his voice, added, " His absence gives me much 
 pain. I can't say vare he is. Go to your quarters, 
 my poy ; go to your quarters." 
 
 In spite of his self-control and sternness, a fugi- 
 tive tear rolled down the old man's nose, and 
 splashed the paper on which he was writing. He 
 was apparently much troubled. Did he believe 
 Jed had deserted ? 
 
 Jed's absence was for a few days the talk of the 
 camp. The theory that he had deserted gained 
 credence in the absence of any other reasonable one, 
 
94 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 but, knowing his stanch patriotism, I could not 
 beUeve it. 
 
 " Used to 'sociate with them rebs too much down 
 in South Carolina, I guess," said one. Still, with 
 all the gossip and guesses, the mystery remained 
 unsolved. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 BEFORE YORKTOWN. 
 
 "H^HERE'S a hole big enough to bmy two or 
 
 -^ three of ye," said a joker, belonging to a 
 party that we relieved in the work of digging rifle- 
 pits shortly after our arrival. 
 
 " What made that ? " curiously inquired one of 
 our number. 
 
 " Oh, a visitor who came from over there," re- 
 plied the joker, pointing towards the enemy's works. 
 
 Just then a flash and a puff of smoke were seen 
 on the mud heaps, as we called the enemy's works. 
 After a short interval, the sound of a heavy gun 
 was heard (as light travels faster than sound), and 
 then, hoarsely sputtering and hissing, yurn-y urn- 
 chug came a shell, making a similar hole in the earth, 
 and spattering the soil over us. Our boys called the 
 missile a nail-keg, then a camp-kettle. It ivas 
 about the size of these objects, but much more solid. 
 We soon became accustomed to them, and found 
 that, by watching, we could see them in the air, 
 and that the noise they made was often more ter- 
 rible than the execution they did. 
 
 Over a hundred thousand men of the Union 
 Army were now encamped before the enemy'g 
 
 95 
 
96 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 works at Yorktown. Here, where a skirmish or a 
 sortie might at any hour bring on a battle, the 
 children of the same men that conquered Cornwallis 
 were arrayed in deadly enmity against each other. 
 
 The land here rises from the York River 
 in a bluff, and forms a level plain in front of York- 
 town. The enemy's works before us consisted of 
 high earthworks, with wide deep ditches, the whole 
 surmounted by cannon. From our position we 
 could see them, in what ajDpeared to be a continuous 
 ridge of yellow earth, stretching along our front. 
 In reality they consisted of an intricate network of 
 forts, connected by breastworks, and built under 
 the supervision of accomplished engineers. 
 
 It rained almost continuously, and the miry, 
 sticky soil in our front was but little adapted for 
 the rapid movements of artillery or troops, so es- 
 sential to an assault. 
 
 A number of small streams ran across our front, 
 between us and the enemy. These were soon 
 bridged, and roads leading to them built, through 
 gulfs of mud, with trees cut the width of the road- 
 ways laid closely together. This had to be done ; 
 for, otherwise, there seemed no bottom to the 
 mud. This was called corduroying the roads ; a 
 labor the Army of the Potomac assumed wherever 
 it advanced in Virginia, and this in part was a com- 
 pensation to the country for the fences Ave burned. 
 
 The fires of an army will eat up an astonishing 
 number of rails, and the soldiers thought themselves 
 
MPORE YORKfOWN. 97 
 
 fortunate in the fact that Southerners had made 
 such lavish use of them in building their fences. 
 
 All along our front our men were seen marching 
 through the rain with shovels and picks, to dig in- 
 trenchments. Heaps of mud were soon piled up 
 in our front, under the supervision of the engineers. 
 During the day, zigzag earthworks, in places ex- 
 posed to the fire from the enemy, were advanced 
 towards them in such a way that the soldiers 
 at work would not be exposed to danger. At 
 night these were connected by lines of mud heaps 
 running parallel with the enemy's works. 
 
 To one not acquainted with the nature of 
 their work, they would appear to be digging wide 
 and shallow ditches rather than breastworks. In 
 this manner rifle-pits four or five feet deep, and ex- 
 tending miles in length, rose on our front and grad- 
 ually approached to the enemy's works. 
 
 In this task we sometimes unearthed corroded 
 shot, lodged here eighty years before, during the 
 Revolution. 
 
 Our rifle-pits farthest in advance were less intri- 
 cate than those just in the rear of them, whereon 
 were mounted our heavy artillery, and where mag- 
 azines and bomb-proofs and traverses were con- 
 structed. The first were intended to shield in- 
 fantry formed for assault ; while from the second, 
 cannonades were to silence the enemy's guns, and 
 drive them if possible from their works. 
 
 Whatever may be said of the failure of the com- 
 
98 mi)'S ADVEMTmES. 
 
 manding general to attack at this time, before these 
 offensive works were erected, it must be acknowl- 
 edged that similar attacks on fortified positions, 
 without such precautions, had been failures, and 
 often resulted disastrously to those making 
 them. 
 
 In these operations our company bore a conspicu- 
 ous part, as Captain Gruff was an accomplished 
 engineer, and had the confidence of the general 
 commanding the corps. 
 
 Jed's absence still remained a mystery, and the 
 old captain, when questioned, simply shook his head 
 and replied, '' Dere's a great many curious tings in 
 var, my poy." 
 
 During this time the enemy kept up an occasional 
 fh^e with their heavy guns, principally directed at 
 our working squads, the gunboats on the river, or 
 our canal boats at the mouth of the creek. Some- 
 times they attempted to fire at the balloon which 
 was sent up for the purpose of reconnoitring their 
 lines, and which was usually kept in a little depres- 
 sion of ground, in front of our camp. An annoying 
 fire came also at times from their sharpshooters 
 and pickets. 
 
 • We took our turn at picket duty, and most sol- 
 diers liked this, notwithstanding its greater dangers, 
 better than work with pickaxe and spade. Our 
 pickets were established just beyond a wood, in 
 an open field, where we had thrown up a slight 
 line of soil not over three feet high, behind which 
 
BEFORE YORKTOWN. 99 
 
 we lay during the day, watching a similar line of 
 mud near us, in our front. 
 
 One night it Avas raining, and the advance pick- 
 ets were very uncomfortable. 
 
 " It rains all the time in this infernal country," 
 growled one of our men. 
 
 "Well, I'm going to have a smoke, anyway," 
 said Osgood, lighting a match on the dry part of 
 his trousers. 
 
 He was just applying the match to his pipe when 
 " crack," went a rifle from the enemy near us, and 
 the bowl and stem of his pipe were shivered in his 
 hand. 
 
 ''Great gracious! where's that fellow?" said 
 Osgood. 
 
 " I saw the flash of that musket way up there," 
 said another soldier, pointing towards the sky. 
 
 "He must be precious near us," growled Osgood 
 from behind the mud heap, where he had taken 
 shelter. 
 
 The experiment of lighting another match was 
 tried, when "crack," came another report, and a 
 bullet hissed unpleasantly near us. In the morn- 
 ing the mystery was solved. Near our line, per- 
 haps fifty yards distant, was the chimney-stack of a 
 ruined house. A rebel sharpshooter had climbed 
 up this chimney, and, knocking out a brick for a 
 loophole, had begun making us uncomfortable in a 
 very persevering manner. 
 
 One of our men was wounded while getting to 
 
100 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 his feet from the ground, and as we lay hugging 
 the earth before the low ridge of soil used for pro- 
 tection, we debated what was best to do. 
 
 Every time we showed any part of our persons 
 above this ridge, '-^ping !'' came a bullet near our 
 heads. If we fired at the chimney-stack, the sharp 
 report of that rebel rifle, and a thin line of blue 
 smoke, warned us to be careful. 
 
 " He's got the start of us, and no mistake," said 
 " Long John Haskell," our orderly sergeant. 
 
 " We've got to wait here till night, or two or 
 three of us will be shot, and I've got only two hard- 
 tack for rations," said another. 
 
 Captain Gruff, who was with us, viewed the sit- 
 uation at first with his usual phlegmatic compla- 
 cency, but finally got angry, for he could not lie 
 very flat, and this didn't agree with his ideas of 
 military dignity. His face was settling down into 
 an ominous frown, when it suddenly lit up, as if a 
 happy solution of our difficulty had occurred to 
 him. 
 
 " Mens, now mind vat I say. Dick," addressing 
 me, " stick your cap on your ramvrod, shust so, 
 and stick it up a leetle vays." (Here he illus- 
 trated by holding his cap a little above the para- 
 pet, and ^'-ping !'' came a minie bullet through it.) 
 '' Dere, Dick ; and ven dot rebel shoots next dime 
 all you mens runs to that schimney shust as fast 
 as you can, and surround it." 
 
 All being ready, the cap was stuck up on a ram- 
 
imrwiiii 
 
 lill 
 
 <n 
 
 ;¥aa;!!i!iiiiiiaii;iii:iBsi!;,.,;;;ffli' 
 
BEFORE YORKTOWN' 101 
 
 rod, the rebel fired, and we made a rush upon the 
 chimney-stack. We were then too near for him 
 to fii^e down upon us. We called upon him to sur- 
 render, to which the only reply was a surly refusal. 
 Shot after shot was fired up the chimney, until down 
 tumbled the sharpshooter, dead, with a shot which 
 had struck the lower jaw and passed through the 
 head upwards. We were relieved from picket 
 shortly afterwards, and the incident became the talk 
 of the army. 
 
 Just as we reached the woods skirting the plain 
 on which the scene took place, we met one of our 
 sharpshooters, a Californian, with a heavy telescopic 
 rifle, and to him we told the occurrence. 
 
 " What kind of a rifle did that reb have ? " he 
 inquired. 
 
 One of the men had brought the rifle along with 
 us, and my attention was now directed to it for the 
 first time. 
 
 '' It's one of our improved Springfield rifles, and 
 no mistake," said the Californian. 
 
 Captain Gruff and myself had discovered another 
 surprising fact. It was Jed's rifle. His initials 
 were marked in ink on the but. That night my 
 heart was heavy at the thought of Jed's possible 
 fate. 
 
 In the morning I met Captain Gruff, and said, 
 " That was Jed's rifle we captured yesterday." 
 
 " Yes," assented the old man. 
 
 " I rubbed his initials off with my coat," said I. 
 
10^ JED S ADVENTURES, 
 
 With a steadfast gaze into my face, he said, " I 
 dells you something, my poy : " and then, laying his 
 hand kindly on my shoulder, added, "Jed is all 
 vright.*' Then, hesitating a moment, as if afraid to 
 trust himself to speak further, he abruptly walked 
 away. 
 
 The finding of the rifle in the possession of 
 the rebel sharpshooter had not cleared up the mys- 
 tery of Jed's absence. There was constant refer- 
 ence made in the company to his disappearance. 
 Sergeant Weston, who did not like Jed, and took 
 every occasion to prejudice his comrades against 
 him, said one afternoon, while we were eating our 
 badly cooked rice and pork, " I knew Hoskins 
 would turn out badly. It's in the breed. His 
 father was as straight as a string, and belonged 
 to the church, at one time. Then he took to 
 drink "~ 
 
 Here a hand on Weston's throat caused him to 
 stop and gasp. It was Captain Gruff, who had 
 come upon the group, and thus emphasized his 
 disapproval. As he relaxed his grasp around the 
 sergeant's throat he said, with an angry frown, 
 " You ton't know vat you are talking about, you 
 fool, you ! " 
 
 Meanwhile, the working details still labored in 
 the trenches, until we drew so near the enemy that 
 there was but a very short distance between our 
 pickets. By a tacit understanding, at least at our 
 part of the picket line, firing had in part ceased. 
 
ni^PORE YORKTOWN. lOB 
 
 We were lying behind our mud heap, keeping 
 watch over a similar earthwork, when a voice from 
 '' a string of mud " said, — 
 
 "I say, Yanks!" 
 
 " What is it, Johnnie? " inquired v/e. 
 
 " I'll allow we'd like to stretch our legs over this 
 side, and if you'll give us a chance we'll give you 
 one." 
 
 " All right, rebs ! Fair play now ! No shooting ! " 
 and so we got to our feet, and began stretching 
 our legs, to get the cramp and rheumatism out of 
 them and our backs. 
 
 " Got any coffee to trade for backer, Yanks ? " 
 queried a reb. 
 
 " No, we are all out," we replied. 
 
 " I thought you Yanks had a powerful lot 
 of it. 
 
 A fellow came over here two weeks ago, toting 
 all his traps with liim, and he had a right smart of 
 coffee." 
 
 *' Deserted? " asked we. 
 
 " Yes, he knew a heap of South Carolina people." 
 
 " What regiment ? " we asked. 
 
 " Well, I reckon he belonged to your regiment ; 
 said he was tired and sick of yer dogoned onerary 
 army, an3^way. He was a riglit peart fellow ; said 
 his captain hadn't been good to him." 
 
 Here Captain Gruff came up with another officer, 
 who proved to be of Ingher rank. 
 
 Our men eagerly related the conversation. 
 
104 jilD'!^ ADvSNTunn^, 
 
 " Do you think it was Private Hoskins ? " in- 
 quired one. 
 
 " No," said Captain Gruff : " that poy lofes me, 
 and lofes his country ; he vould nefer say I hadn't 
 been goot to him." 
 
 After arriving in camp I went to the captain 
 again, as I had a suspicion that he could set my 
 fears at rest regarding Jed. 
 
 " Vat you wish to say?" was his crisp interro- 
 gation. 
 
 " I wish to learn if you know where Private 
 Hoskins is ? " I replied, assuming the attitude and 
 language of a subordinate addi-essing a superior 
 ofBcer. 
 
 The old soldier, with more kindness in his tones 
 than was usual, replied, " I can't say vare he is, my 
 
 But in spite of his self-control he was evidently 
 much troubled. Had Jed then really deserted ? 
 
 The theory of his desertion was talked over, 
 but no definite conclusion was arrived at, and the 
 query "AVhere is Jed?" remained far a time unan- 
 swered, and to some suspicious souls the matter 
 was never satisfactorily explained. 
 
 It was now the first of May. We were on engi- 
 neer detail, and during the day the enemy had been 
 unusually active. They had fired their artillery 
 often, and our hundred-pound guns, near the York 
 River, had replied for the first time that day. 
 
 All our guns were now ready to open an encir- 
 
BEFORE YORKTOWN. 105 
 
 cling and destructive fire on the Confederate 
 works. 
 
 During the night a fire seemed to liave broken 
 out inside the rebel lines. Before daylight they 
 began rapidly firing from their heavy guns. At 
 sunrise the picket on our front reported that the 
 pickets of the enemy had been withdrawn, and a 
 shout went up all along the ranks at the intelligence. 
 Men were hurried into line and were soon on the 
 march after the retreating enemy. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PURSUIT AKD BATTLE. 
 
 "TT was the 7th of May, when the Army of the 
 -*- Potomac moved out in pursuit of the foe. 
 The eagerness of huntsmen shone in their faces, 
 for many in our ranks believed that they had their 
 enemy " on the run " and were about to end the 
 war with one sharp and decisive conflict. 
 
 There was much apparent confusion. Back near 
 their old camping-ground, artillery men were try- 
 ing to move heavy siege guns over the miry roads. 
 These were at last abandoned, Avith their huge 
 muzzles pointing skyward like telescopes as if ex- 
 ploring in that direction for firmer roads. 
 
 Drivers of mules and horses attached to artillery, 
 baggage trains, ambulances, and pontoons, were 
 shouting and flourishing whips, and with fierce im- 
 precations urging forward their unwilling beasts. 
 Mules with feet braced firmly in the direction oppo- 
 site that in which they were required to advance, 
 maintained a masterly passiveness. 
 
 Contradictory orders had halted a division in the 
 road, over which another had orders to advance. 
 Torpedoes buried in front of the enemy's works 
 were exploded by marching columns, killing sev- 
 
 106 
 
PURSUIT AND BATTLE. 107 
 
 eral horses and men. In consequence of these 
 explosions, exclamations of warning were heard 
 on every side. '' Do you see that stick ? " " Don't 
 touch that hat, there's a string tied to it with a 
 torpedo on the end I " Our brigade led the ad- 
 vance, marching at route step, and carrying their 
 arms at will. We were frequently halted for rest. 
 Clouds began to overspread the sky with the dark- 
 ness of an approaching storm. We had advanced 
 over our route three or four miles when we were 
 met by hatless and dismounted cavalrymen. 
 
 ''Haiti where are you going?" cried Captain 
 Gruff. 
 
 " For re-enforcements ; the rebs are thicker than 
 hornets four or five miles back there." 
 
 " Veil, vat did you comes pack for, den ? " said 
 Captain Gruff sternly. 
 
 " Why, we rode right in among them before we 
 knew it ! It was j^'^Pi V^P-, pop., and then we lost 
 our horses and skedaddled ; there wan't anything 
 to stay for. Guess Ave'll go back with yer and see 
 the fun, though." 
 
 The spokesman was a six-footer who proved to 
 be an ex-lumberman from Maine, Avhom his com- 
 rades, in derision of his size, called " Sonny." The 
 squad, after a few minutes' conversation with our 
 captain, fell in line and marched forward with our 
 command. 
 
 Overcome with fatigue, we were halted late that 
 night near the roadside, and lay dowu in our blan- 
 
108 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 kets to sleep. A heavy rain came on during the 
 night to increase our discomfort. The rain had 
 also increased the weight of our clothing and knap- 
 sacks, and cooled our ardor for the chase. 
 
 The road over which we now advanced had been 
 cut through a dense wood which deepened the 
 gloom. " The rebs are just ahead there," said the 
 tall cavalryman, who acted as guide. As we closed 
 up our column and advanced without encountering 
 them, we began to say, " Guess they won't wait.'* 
 "Got business in Richmond." "They are like 
 the bird that wouldn't wait while the paralyzing 
 salt was put on its tail," when the quick crach, 
 crack of musketry ahead showed that our skir- 
 mishers had already encountered those of the 
 enemy. Cooks, sutlers, chaplains, and officers' 
 horses were speedily sent to the rear, and the bri- 
 gade was drawn up in line of battle. 
 
 There was a mass of felled timber encumbering 
 an open plain half a mile wide on our front. Be- 
 yond this we could distinguish dimly through the 
 pouring rain, the yellow mud heaps of the enemy's 
 earthworks. The rain ceased for a while, and we 
 could plainly see Fort Magruder before us. 
 
 " There's a white flag on that fort," said one of 
 our men. Captain Gruff gravely examined it 
 through his field-glass and said, — 
 
 " Dot is a faded out flag, not a vite flag of 
 truce." 
 
 " In other words, their colors run," jocosely said 
 
PURSUIT AND BATTLE, 109 
 
 the colonel, who had also been examining them 
 through his glass. 
 
 The enemy's heavy guns opened fire on our lines, 
 and their shot ploughed up the ground and crashed 
 among the fallen trees in our front, and cut away 
 the branches of the trees in the wood, on the edge 
 of which we were aligned. We were deployed 
 near the Hampton road commanded by the guns 
 of Fort Magruder. The mist and rain prevented 
 the Confederate artillery from getting our position 
 for a while, when the rattle of a battery's wheels 
 gave them our range. Whiz ! hang ! chug ! came 
 shot and shell with deadly precision, striking the 
 guns, killing some of the gunners, and driving 
 others from their places. Volunteers soon manned 
 these pieces again, and the guns of the fort were 
 for a time silenced. 
 
 While here in line, during an ominous silence, 
 we could see large bodies of the enemy's infantry 
 stealthily advancing through the ravines which 
 traversed the plain on our front. Our lines were 
 weakened by sending a large part of our force to 
 support our left, menaced by this movement of the 
 enemy. 
 
 The Confederates shortl}^ after made an attack, 
 and four pieces of our artillery which were without 
 infantiy support were captured. The Confeder- 
 ates, with the long-di*awn-out " Yi^ yi,, y-i-i-ir were 
 advancing I Captain Gruff, whom the men had 
 always thought needlessly fussy, right dressed our 
 
110 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 company amid the yell of the enemy and the hum 
 of bullets, with the same minute care as if on drill 
 or dress parade. 
 
 '' By heavens I " said one of our men admiringly, 
 "the old captain don't mind bullets." 
 
 " He seems to like 'em," said a second. 
 
 We were advanced in line while the enemy came 
 on, and shot began to strike around us like the pat- 
 tering of raindrops among forest leaves. The 
 sharp ping and zip of the round and minie bullets 
 whispered death to our ranks. If anything will 
 take the military starch out of a man, it is rain and 
 mud during a fight. 
 
 Near me, as we advanced, was the tall cavalry- 
 man I've mentioned as " Sonny," and following 
 beliind him, trailing his musket, was a little tliin 
 fellow not over eighteen years old, loudly crying. 
 
 '•' What are you crying about ? " gruffly asked 
 Sonny, in tones so deep that they seemed to come 
 from his coat-tails. 
 
 " My knees are weak, and I'm scared," was an- 
 swered, in a piping treble voice. 
 
 "Who in thunder ain't? " said Sonny, in his most 
 tremendous bass. 
 
 Our boys laughed full as loudly as they would 
 had they not recognized the truth of the assumption. 
 
 We were halted again, right dressed, and opened 
 fire ; the rattle of ramrods in muskets, and the 
 steady roll of musketry, had a curious sound when 
 combined. Our men began to fall. One of our 
 
PURSUIT AND BATTLE. Ill 
 
 men who was shot, before falling, sighted and fired 
 his musket, then fell dead at our feet. 
 
 Above the din was heard the voice of Captain 
 Gruff from his place in the rear, saying, " Steady, 
 mens I Steady I " Wounded men fell out of the 
 line, or were carried away. We were outnumbered, 
 and began to give ground. The colonel and adju- 
 tant were wounded, and Captain Gruff, in virtue 
 of seniority of rank, assumed command. He halted 
 and aligned the men, and coolly walked in front 
 of them while the rebels came on. 
 
 We were out of ammunition, and a squad had 
 been detailed to take it from the cartridge-boxes 
 of our dead and wounded. 
 
 Bayonets were fixed to repel a possible charge. 
 Many of our officers were killed and wounded in 
 the brigade, and the men were getting disheartened 
 and began to fall back. Captain Gruff was re- 
 forming them, when an officer on a white horse 
 stopped in their midst, and said, in an indescribable 
 tone of command and coolness, " Men, you must 
 hold your ground." 
 
 The men recognized their commander, General 
 Hooker, and with a cheer faced towards the enemy, 
 while Captain Gruff aligned them once more. 
 The general watched this proceeding under a heavy 
 fire from musketry and artillery, then, nodding to- 
 wards Captain Gruff, said to an aid, '' Thaf s a cool 
 old soldier," and rode away down the left of the 
 line. 
 
112 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 There now succeeded a lull in the conflict. 
 
 " Hist ! there's a line of men moving near us," 
 said Orderly John in a whisper. Through an open- 
 ing in the branches near we could see a party of 
 men stealthily moving parallel to our own force, 
 trailing their arms. Our men instinctively brought 
 their muskets to an aim. '^ Don't fire. They've 
 got on blue overcoats. They are some of our own 
 men." 
 
 " Ready ! Don't you see their gray hats ? " said 
 Captain Gruff, in an undertone. 
 
 " There's a white flag," said a lieutenant ; and he 
 sprang forward with hand extended to receive it, 
 when he was shot dead. 
 
 " Fire I " came the command, and a line of fire 
 sprang from the muzzles of our muskets with deadly 
 effect. In an instant, before the blue smoke of this 
 volley had drifted away, an exclamation of " See that 
 man on horseback ! " was heard. I looked, and saw 
 the man in the gray uniform of a Confederate officer, 
 not half a dozen yards from us, riding towards our 
 line with a white handkerchief on a sword. There 
 was something indescribably familiar in his form 
 and manner. A dozen muskets were brought to a 
 deadly aim, when Captain Gruff beat down their 
 muskets with his sword, and then, turning, ad- 
 vanced to meet the horseman. An exclamation of 
 astonishment broke from his lips as the officer 
 handed him a packet, spoke a few words in an 
 undertone, and rode away towards the enemy again. 
 
"General Hooker was sitting on his horse in the rain. 
 — Page 113. 
 
PURSUIT AND BATTLE. 113 
 
 "Corporal Nickerson," cried the captain, with 
 apparent agitation. 
 
 " Here, sir," I responded, stepping out from the 
 line. 
 
 '^ Take this packet at once to General Hooker, 
 down the left. It's very important." 
 
 A horse was brought up, which I mounted, and 
 rode down the left of the line. I found General 
 Hooker, and as I handed him the packet I glanced 
 at the writing on it. It was Jed's handwriting. 
 At once there came to me the conviction that the 
 officer who rode to our lines in the face of so much 
 danger was Jed. 
 
 General Hooker was sitting on his horse in the 
 rain. He hastily scanned the contents of the 
 packet, thrust one of the papers into his pocket, 
 wrote a few words on one of the folded papers, 
 and, glancing at me, said, " I have no orderly or 
 staff officer present that I can spare. Please take 
 these papers to General McClellan." 
 
 I was about to start w^hen he said, " Wait," then, 
 scrawling a few lines, handed me a pass. It read, 
 " Pass bearer with important despatches to Gene- 
 ral McClellan's Hd. Qurs. — Jos. Hooker, Brig.- 
 Gen." 
 
 At last, after an hour's ride over the muddy road 
 and through the rain, I found General McClellan's 
 headquarters. I saluted a young-looking man, 
 undersized, with a reddish beard and sandy hair, 
 seated at a pine table. It was McClellan. He 
 
114 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 took the package from my hand, and was soon pro- 
 foundly absorbed in its contents. I could see that 
 some of the papers were maps or plans. He fin- 
 ished reading them, then looked up and began 
 questioning me as to how they came to be in my 
 possession. I described the scene I have already 
 given to the reader. " Well done ! " he ejaculated. 
 Just then a thin old man of foreign aspect came 
 in, whom I recognized as the Prince cle Joinville, 
 at that time on McClellan's staff. He conversed 
 in French with the general a few minutes, then, 
 turning to the table, wrote me a pass and said, 
 "Return to General Hooker, and, with my com- 
 pliments, give him this letter. Wait a moment; " 
 then, calling to an orderly, said, " Give this man 
 some hot coffee." 
 
 I was soon ready for the saddle, and the strong 
 horse I rode took me speedily to the front. I was 
 conducted to General Hooker. The general looked 
 over the note, and turning to a one-armed officer 
 at his side said impatiently, " General McClellan 
 can't understand that we are fighting a battle and 
 not a skirmish." Then wheeling his horse, and 
 saying to the one-armed officer, " There comes the 
 head of your column," rode down the line, — the 
 manliest and most soldierly figure I ever saw on a 
 field of battle. 
 
 I reported to Captain Gruff again, and found the 
 regiment just retiring to the woods behind a line 
 of fresh men which had arrived as re-enforcements. 
 
PURSUIT AND BATTLE, 115 
 
 In a moment there was a continuous roar of 
 musketry, and the heavy boom of cannon in our 
 front. " Just listen to that," exclaimed Sutherland, 
 " Kearney's men are going in I " In a few moments 
 we heard a cheer which showed that the enemy 
 were falling back and that the Union advance was 
 successful. 
 
 After the fighting was over, the bands came up 
 and began playing patriotic airs. Hancock had 
 meanwhile flanked the enemy's position, and the 
 Confederates had no choice but to retreat. 
 
 Our men were soon cooking their coffee and 
 commenting on the occurrences of the day. Cap- 
 tain Gruff, who before the fight had not be en much 
 liked by the men, was now very popular. 
 
 " Did you ever see anything like our old captain, 
 squinting along the ranks to see if there was a but- 
 ton out of line during the fight ? " 
 
 " He's a brick ! " said Orderly John, the color of 
 whose hair would better justify the cognomen he 
 applied to Captain Gruff. 
 
 " Yes, gilt-edged," said Osgood the cook, who 
 was liberal with slang. 
 
 " I call him an hout and houter," said an English 
 soldier. 
 
 The old soldier had proved his ability and brave- 
 ry; and thenceforward his men were willing to 
 follow him to the death, because they believed that 
 he " knew his business,'' as they expressed it, and 
 wasn't afraid. 
 
116 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 The next morning the sun shone brightly on the 
 ensanguined field. The enemy had abandoned the 
 works on our front during the night, and had 
 retreated. 
 
 The first battle of the Peninsular Campaign had 
 been fought with a loss of 1,575 men of our division 
 and of these 338 were killed. Detachments were 
 sent out to bury the dead, and the abatis of fallen 
 trees was, for sanitary reasons, set on fire and con- 
 sumed. 
 
 The plain on our front, as we marched on to 
 Williamsburg, was plentifully sprinkled with Union 
 and Confederate graves. 
 
 As we passed through the town, we found the 
 yellow flags of the Confederate hospitals still float- 
 ing over "William and Mary's" College, while the 
 marble slabs in a graveyard were yet red with 
 blood where they had been used as amputating 
 tables by the Confederates. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MARCHING ON. 
 
 AS we resumed our march the soldiers talked 
 over the incidents of the battle just fought. 
 It is doubtful, however, if the battle was so con- 
 stant a topic of conversation in our ranks as it was 
 around the home firesides. Neither did our men, 
 even then, discuss it with the avidity they did 
 other topics, such as how to cook the pigs (if they 
 could be caught), which they with grave humor 
 declared were hindering the march of the army. 
 
 Give a soldier plenty to eat and a good camping- 
 place and rest and he will soon forget the hardship 
 and perils of battle. 
 
 The value of rebel fractional currency, which 
 we received in change for greenbacks from the 
 people of that region, was also an interesting 
 theme for discussion and conjecture. It was seri- 
 ously believed by some (and questioned by others), 
 that it could be used as money upon reaching 
 Richmond. 
 
 The weather soon became very warm, and the 
 roads were always either muddy or dusty. In all 
 my campaigning in Virginia, between these two 
 extremes there seemed no pleasant medium. The 
 
 117 
 
118 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 wonderful ability of a Virginia road to yield the 
 stickiest of mud that ever adhered to an army 
 shoe one day, and blinding dust the next, was one 
 of the constant miracles of the country. 
 
 With light hearts and high hopes of speedily 
 overtaking and "gobbling" the rebel hosts, the 
 army marched on, skirmishing with the pigs which 
 ran at large, and converting the leaf tobacco found 
 in barns and sheds to its own use. 
 
 Later on, we better understood the fleetness of 
 foot, both of the enemy and of wandering Virginia 
 pigs, and were less sanguine of success while in 
 pursuit of either. Our marches up the Peninsula 
 were short, but long enough when measured by the 
 depth of the mud and length of the roads to cause 
 the then comparatively raw soldiers of the army to 
 cast away their clothing, until blankets, boots, over- 
 coats, and soldiers' garments of every description 
 actually littered the roads and fields. 
 
 We discussed the subjects usual to the same 
 number of men at home ; and while our views di- 
 verged as to what should be done with the Con- 
 federacy when we " bagged " it, yet there was little 
 doubt among us that the Confederate army would 
 soon be ours. 
 
 We arrived at " White House Landing," May 
 22, 1862. The evening of our arrival was dark 
 and stormy, but when morning dawned the sky 
 was lit up with the rosy hues of the coming sun, 
 promising a beautiful day. 
 
MARCHING ON. 119 
 
 That morning, on arousing myself, I beheld the 
 novel sight of a slumbering army compactly en- 
 camped. A green and level plain half a mile or 
 more broad, whitened with tents and baggage 
 wagons, and set in a fringe of surrounding green 
 woods, lay between our encampment and the Pa- 
 munky River, where transports with supplies for 
 the army had arrived. Soon the encampment be- 
 gan to show signs of awakening life. The smoke 
 from numerous cooking fires curled up from among 
 the tents, and drifted lightly away ; the confused 
 hum of voices began to be heard, the sharp tones 
 of command, the roll call and its responses. 
 
 Ere long tents were struck ; blue lines of infan- 
 try were aligned in martial order, and with bur- 
 nished arms flashing in the sunlight, the long 
 columns began their march once more. Then were 
 heard the rattle of the wheels of army vehicles, 
 the sharp crack of the mule driver's whip, and the 
 defiant hee-haw of the mules, as if in reply. 
 
 The roads were now filled with marching col- 
 umns, trains of artillery and pontoons and white- 
 topped baggage wagons, with an occasional group 
 of ambulances. There was no pride of display ; the 
 serviceable qualities of getting through the treacle- 
 like mud, for the time seemed only uppermost. Yet 
 it was the largest and best disciplined army which 
 up to that time had trodden the soil of America ; as 
 great in all its trials and reverses, as when, at last, 
 it overthrew its brave and martial antagonist. 
 
120 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 In less than another week, the army was brought 
 to a halt on the banks of the narrow, swamj)-fringed 
 Chickahominy. This river is a sluggish milL 
 stream which here describes a quarter circle, around 
 and within eight to ten miles of Richmond. The 
 corps of Porter and Franklin were held on the 
 east of this river, while Keyes and Heintzelman 
 were established upon its right banks. Our divi- 
 sion went into camp on the Williamsburg road 
 guarding the approaches to White Oak Swamp. 
 
 Shortly after going into camp at this place, I was 
 ordered to report to the colonel of my regiment. As 
 I entered his quarters, I found that Captain Gruff 
 had preceded me. He took no notice of me — a 
 common habit with him — and I saluted the colonel 
 and stood at '' attention " to receive his orders. 
 
 '' I have received an order to detail a man to 
 serve as a mounted orderly at Hooker's headquar- 
 ters. Would you like the detail. Corporal Nick- 
 erson ? " asked the colonel. 
 
 I glanced at Captain Gruff, l^ut his face Avore 
 what one of our company boys called a '' cast-iron 
 expression," or rather lack of expression, and a 
 stranger seeing him would not have imagined he 
 had the slightest interest in the matter proposed. 
 
 This assumed want of interest on the part of my 
 captain nettled me into replying, '' Am I obliged 
 to accept this detail ? " 
 
 "There is no compulsion," re^^lied the colonel 
 with military conciseness. 
 
MARCHING ON. 121 
 
 " Then I will remain with my company, and do 
 my duty as a soldier," I replied respectfully. 
 
 Captain Gruff's face began to lose its stolidity, 
 and he stroked and twisted his goatee nervously, 
 as if (as Jed was accustomed to say) he was milk- 
 ing for ideas. 
 
 " Don't pe a fool, Dick ! " he exclaimed explo- 
 sively. "My company is the vorst place in the 
 army for you ! " 
 
 " Why so? " I inquired. 
 
 " If I promotes you, the rest of mine regiment 
 pe jealous and say, ' Oh veil, dot fellow he knew 
 the captain pefore the war, and of course he recom- 
 mends him for promotion ! He's vone of the cap- 
 tain's pets.' You'd petter take this chance, Dick," 
 said the old soldier, rising and persuasively laying 
 his hand on my shoulder. 
 
 I still hesitated when Colonel Baker said, " The 
 captain is right, promotion goes by favor as well 
 as merit, and if you gain General Hooker's favor he 
 may promote you in this or some other regiment." 
 
 " When Jed comes back to the regiment I want 
 to be with Jed," I persisted. 
 
 " Don't bodder your head mit Jed's affairs ; Jed 
 is doing veil enough " — here the captain hesitated 
 as if he had said too much. 
 
 As I had been secretly angry with Captain Gruff 
 because of my suspicion that he was the cause of 
 Jed's absence, I answered, looking him steadily 
 and respectfully in the face, — ■ 
 
122 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 " I am afraid Jed is 7iot well enough, but is in a 
 dangerous service, and that you have been the 
 cause of his being in that service." 
 
 The shot told! The captain's face, relaxing 
 from its usual immovability, turned first red and 
 then to a deadly pallor. He looked towards the 
 colonel, who meanwhile had lit a cigar, and with 
 his wounded arm on the camp table was com- 
 placently smoking. Finally the old soldier sat 
 down ; began hurriedly to fill his pij)e, while his 
 eyes assumed a look of abstraction. 
 
 '•'• What are you going to say to that, captain ? " 
 said Colonel Baker quizzically. 
 
 Thus addressed, with his face relaxed from its 
 grim rigidity, he replied, addressing me rather than 
 his superior, — 
 
 " Dick ! you know ! No ! no one knows but Got 
 how I lofes Jed. I lofes him — better than mine 
 life — but the place for a brave man to pe, is where 
 he can pest serve his country." 
 
 The husky, broken tones of my captain, more 
 than his words, showed his deep emotion. 
 
 "You had better accept. Corporal Nickerson. 
 Positions such as I have offered you don't go a-beg- 
 ging. They are usually given to cavalrymen, not 
 to infantry soldiers. I trust you will report to 
 General Hooker for duty at once," said Colonel 
 Baker. 
 
 I bowed my assent, and thanked him for his 
 interest. Captain Gruff's face resumed its compos- 
 
MARCHING ON. 123 
 
 ure as he lit his pipe, and with one eye on that, 
 glancing occasionally at me, said between whiffs in 
 his gruffest tones, " Do your tuty, Dick, and if I 
 hears from Jed, I lets you know." 
 
 One of my earliest passions was a love for horses, 
 and I had never neglected an opportunity for rid- 
 ing or driving one. I was a good rider, and it was 
 a vicious animal indeed that I could not manage. 
 
 Upon arriving at General Hooker's headquarters 
 I was assigned to duty, and a cream-colored ^Nlexi- 
 can pony was given me for a saddle-horse. When 
 I first mounted her there was an exchange of glances 
 around headquarters which made me suspicious 
 that she had some qualities that were not pleasant 
 ones. I mounted, gave her the spur, and she went 
 like the wind, and I thought her the easiest-going 
 horse I had ever ridden. I had almost concluded 
 that the little mustang was perfect, when, with 
 wonderful quickness, she suddenly ploughed her 
 fore-feet into the dust and threw up her heels so as 
 almost to stand on her head. I clung tenaciously 
 to her mane, and was luckily not dismounted. I 
 then urged her on with spur and whip, fully deter- 
 mined to conquer her. For a half-hour she tried 
 every expedient known to a vicious horse, includ- 
 ing bucking, to dismount me, without success ; and 
 then, as if satisfied with her endeavors, placidly re- 
 signed herself to my direction, and thenceforward 
 I had no trouble with her. A more intelligent, 
 docile creature I never knew. She would come at 
 
124 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 my whistle like a dog, and follow me at the snap 
 of my thumb and finger. I afterwards learned it 
 had been a standing joke at headquarters to loan 
 her to olhcers and others visiting the camp, and 
 that in most cases she had dismounted those who 
 had tried to ride her. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 IN THE SADDLE. 
 
 WE arrived on the line of the Chickahominy 
 about the 20th of May, and it was on the 
 25th that I began my duties as a mounted orderly. 
 Thenceforward I was riding with communications 
 and orders to various parts of the line, and was 
 twice at McClellan's headquarters during the 
 week succeeding. The Chickahominy (or that por- 
 tion whose banks were occupied by the Union army) 
 flows through a belt of swamp land, forming, in 
 places, two or more streams, with border-lands so 
 level arid low that a rise of the stream by a few 
 inches causes the overflow of a large area of its 
 margin. 
 
 On these occasional visits to the west side of the 
 river I had observed the engineers throwing out 
 bridges, in order to afford easy communication be- 
 tween the divided wings of the army. At one 
 place I observed a bridge built on canvas boats, 
 wliile near the centre of the line a bridge of ordi- 
 nary pontoons or scows spanned the narrow stream. 
 This was called Duane's bridge, and was near Mc- 
 Clellan's headquarters at Gaines' Mills. At still 
 another place a bridge of logs, lashed to stumps 
 
 125 
 
126 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 and suspended from the overhanging limbs of 
 trees, Avas being constructed. This was afterwards 
 known as Sumner's bridge. 
 
 On the night of the 30th of May there occurred 
 a terrific tempest, during which the thunder re- 
 sembled an artillery engagement. The fall of rain 
 was so prodigious that it was like a supplementary 
 deluge, and the soldiers facetiously declared that 
 the commanding general was about to add swim- 
 ming lessons and evolutions on stilts to their regu- 
 lar drill. 
 
 Early on the morning following, while it was 
 still raining, I was sent with communications to 
 the west side of the Chickahominy. Upon my arri- 
 val at the river I found the banks overflowed in 
 every direction. Sumner's lower bridge, where I 
 had intended to make a crossing, had been swept 
 away by the freshet, and but fragments of it re- 
 mained. 
 
 As it was impossible to cross here; I rode to the 
 upper bridge, where, though its corduroy approaches 
 were in part submerged, and only held in position 
 by being tied to the stumps of trees, the portion 
 overhanging the stream was still in place, though 
 of doubtful stanchness. Here I finally crossed, 
 and, riding to the right centre of the line, delivered 
 my message. 
 
 At the Duane bridge, near the commanding gen- 
 eral's headquarters, the narrow, sluggish stream of 
 yesterday was wide and rapid, and the bridge of 
 
IN THE SADDLE. 127 
 
 boats swung midway in the rushing current. The 
 river was still rising. 
 
 It was a little after ten o'clock that morning, 
 while on my way back, that I heard the heavy boom 
 of cannon in the direction of Fair Oaks. 
 
 A few words here are needed in explanation. 
 The division of McClellan's army on a treacherous 
 stream was in part a necessity of its position. Its 
 line of manoeuvre against Richmond was broken 
 by the Chickahominy, which therefore had to be 
 crossed. A heavy force was hence necessary to 
 protect its communications with its base of opera- 
 tions on the Pamunky River. 
 
 The position of the army (with a line of commu- 
 nication almost in prolongation of its front of ope- 
 rations) made inaction perilous, as it was exposed 
 to attack in detail ; that is, one part was in danger 
 of being overwhelmed before the other could come 
 to its assistance. 
 
 The able Confederate general who commanded 
 the opposing army was not a man to neglect such 
 an opportunity. 
 
 At this time Casey's division was near Fair Oaks, 
 with the position nearest the enemy strengthened 
 by a redoubt and rifle pits. This was held by 
 Nagle's brigade, supported by a brigade from Gen- 
 eral Couch's division. 
 
 Nagle's men, with their arms stacked, were work- 
 ing in the rain and mud, strengthening these de- 
 fences, On this exposed force fell the first fury 
 
128 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 of the attack, a little after ten o'clock that morn- 
 ing. The sharp, quick " Crack! snap ! crack!'' of 
 rifles in their front first told that the picket line 
 was attacked. The men engaged in tlie work of 
 intrenching, thus warned, sprang to their arms, 
 none too soon. The videttes were quickly driven 
 back to the rifle pits and redoubts. 
 
 A heavy force of Confederates made an attack 
 in front, while another gained their flank, and with 
 a galling fire enfiladed their line. Its defenders 
 fell back disorganized, and the redoubt was cap- 
 tured. Our men now slowly retreated (stub- 
 bornly contesting each step) on General Couch's 
 position at Seven Pines. 
 
 It was the artillery firing of this fight which I had 
 heard Avhile riding forward on my return from the 
 Chickahominy. After my return I was allowed 
 but a short interval of rest, when I was ordered to 
 carry a message to General Casey. As I rode to- 
 wards Richmond I began to hear with greater dis- 
 tinctness the quick, sharp crackling, and the long, 
 continuous roar of musketry. 
 
 As I rode forward on the muddy Williamsburg 
 road the sound of battle came nearer and nearer, 
 as if the contest was drifting southwards, towards 
 Couch's position. I had now taken a road leading 
 to the right from the Williamsburg road, and soon 
 began to meet the chaff of the fight (its skulkers 
 and cowards and disheartened ones), which is 
 blown to the rear of a fight by the fierce Avhisper 
 
m THE SADDLE. m 
 
 of bullets. With tlie chaff also came some of that 
 better element, its wounded. Many others had ap- 
 parently escaped from their duties at the front 
 under pretence of caring for injured comrades. 
 These wounded ones, hurt often by the rough 
 hurry of their conductors, were groaning or cry- 
 ing out piteously. The heads and limbs of some 
 were bandaged with blood-stained handkerchiefs or 
 fragments of garments. 
 
 " Don't go up there," called out a wounded man 
 to me. " Our boys are cut all to j)ieces. The rebs 
 are giving them Jessie." 
 
 " The whole army is skedaddling," said another. 
 
 I returned some careless answer to these peoj^le, 
 and rode on, as there did not seem any immediate 
 danger ; and, besides, I had an official envelope in 
 my belt for delivery. 
 
 I began now to meet more and more evidences of 
 a conflict close at hand. Wounded men predomi- 
 nated in the current of humanity drifting past me. 
 Here and there galloped a wounded, riderless horse, 
 and in one instance a frantic wounded one was 
 dragging fragments of an artillery carriage. 
 
 Before me a dense bank of smoke clung close to 
 the ground, and from it there came the sounds of 
 musketry, like bunches of Chinese crackers magni- 
 fied hundreds of times ; the hoarse spluttering and 
 shrieking of shells, and jarring detonations of 
 artillery. 
 
 " Where shall I find General Casey ? " I inquired 
 
130 JED'S AbVENTUM^. 
 
 of a wounded and liatless artilleryman, begrimed 
 with powder. 
 
 " Don't know. If lie's up to snuff, guess the old 
 man is taking his nooning somewhere in the woods," 
 was the saucy and jocose reply. 
 
 Some of the wounded were carried in blankets, 
 which, with use of muskets, were converted into 
 stretchers. Others, with characteristic ingenuity, 
 had extemporized crutches. One of them limped 
 towards me with a reversed musket for a crutch, 
 into the muzzle of which he had fixed a round stick 
 to bring it to the required length. He was a tall, 
 rusty fellow in a cavalryman's suit, and so be- 
 grimed with powder, dirt, and blood that I did not 
 recognize him until he spoke, in a howl of bass so 
 deep as to startle me. It was my quondam acquaint- 
 ance, "Sonny," of Williamsburg. 
 
 "You're in bad luck. Sonny. Are you hurt 
 much ? " I inquired. 
 
 " GoU darn it, yes ! lost my horse again, and 
 am bleeding like a pig. And see here," removing 
 his hat, and showing a furrow ploughed by a bullet 
 across his scalp. 
 
 I dismounted, bandaged his wounds, and advised 
 him to get to the rear for surgical aid before they 
 stiffened. 
 
 Prompted by information I had just received 
 from " Sonny," I turned off on a road leading farther 
 to the left to find General Casey and deliver my 
 message. Here I was riding near the railroad, and 
 
m THE SADDLE. 131 
 
 encountered fewer wounded men than before. Per- 
 ceiving a party of men behind a fence along which 
 grew a line of bushes and trees, I was just about 
 to inquire for General Casey's headquarters, when 
 there came the order, " Halt ! " As I reined in my 
 horse I saw my mistake. It was a group of Con- 
 federate infantry, and only one mounted man in 
 the party. I had not much time for reflection, but 
 at such a moment thought travels quickly. 
 
 "Who comes there?" 
 
 " An orderly with despatches," I re^^lied. 
 
 " For whom? " came the inquiry. 
 
 " General Magruder," I replied, mentioning the 
 name of the only Confederate general that occurred 
 to me at that instant. 
 
 " Let me see your despatches ! " said the officer. 
 
 With my left hand I held towards him the long 
 official envelope. One of them climbed the fence, 
 when with my right hand I drew my revolver, 
 fired, wheeled, and lying close to the neck of my 
 horse, whistled and gave her free rein, then swung 
 myself over on the other side from my foes, clinging 
 to her with feet and hands, when, as I had antici- 
 pated, crack ! crack ! came the sharp report of 
 muskets and zip ! ping ! the bullets whispered 
 around my ears. Near me was a field which was 
 on the verge of a wood. My chance of escaping 
 depended on my reaching this shelter. ^ly horse 
 seemed to understand this, for she kept on without 
 my guidance. I gave one glance behind ; a man 
 
132 JED'S ADVENfUkE^. 
 
 mounted on a powerful gray horse was following- 
 after me. I was nearing the fence over which I 
 must go to reach the protecting shelter. I assumed 
 an erect attitude, and put my horse directly at the 
 fence, for my safety depended on her ability to 
 clear it. If she failed, I must fight it out with the 
 " Johnnie " who was following. She cleared the 
 fence ! I was near the woods, — and I looked back. 
 The rebel's horse refused the fence and I was saved. 
 He fired at me from too great a distance, and I 
 could hear him swearing at his horse. I wheeled, 
 and shouted, " Holloa, Johnnie ! " 
 
 Reaching the protection of the woods I dis- 
 mounted, examined my mare, and to my great sat- 
 isfaction found her unharmed. I led her throuofh 
 the tangled undergrowth until we reached a path 
 which led beyond danger. This done, I took new 
 directions and was soon again near the uproar of 
 the battle and in the vicinity of the Union lines. I 
 met a mounted officer. 
 
 '•'- Where is General Casey ? " I inquired. 
 
 " Right over there," he replied. 
 
 In a stump lot where the smoke of battle hung 
 near the ground, I found a group of officers, and 
 among these one with the stars of a general on his 
 shoulder-straps. 
 
 " I'm an orderly with a letter for General Casey," 
 I said, as I approached the group. 
 
 "I am General Casey," said the gray-headed 
 officer with the stars. 
 
tN THE SADDLE, ISS 
 
 I handed him the sealed envelope. He read it 
 and began to write an answer, when zip^ zm^ bang ! 
 the enemy began dropping shell over the group, 
 and so near as to produce a stampede. 
 
 " They've got our range ; drive a little to the 
 left," said an officer. 
 
 While the group was re-assembling, the smoke, 
 the shouts and cheers, and firing of musketry broke 
 out with great fury on our front. 
 
 " They are driving us again ! " remarked an 
 officer. 
 
 " Is your horse fresh ? " inquired the general of 
 me. I explained that I had been on the road since 
 six o'clock in the morning. 
 
 "We have already sent a message to General 
 Heintzelman," said General Casey, dismissing me. 
 " You can rest your horse before returning." 
 
 General Casey, on whom the attack had thus far 
 fallen, finding himself hard pushed had sent to Gen- 
 eral Heintzelman, who commanded the left wing 
 of the army, for aid. 
 
 The troops had now been rallied, and at the time 
 I arrived. Couch's troops and the wreck of Casey's 
 division were struggling against great odds to 
 hold their own. 
 
 It was past four o'clock, and I was just mounted 
 to return, when a loud cheer came from a column 
 marching to the scene of conffict. It came from a 
 brigade of Kearney's men, commanded by Berry. 
 This brigade went into the woods on the left, where 
 
134 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 their rifles commanded a part of the works aban- 
 doned % Casey. 
 
 " We can hold them now," said an officer confi- 
 dently when Berry's men arrived. 
 
 It will be remembered that Sumner, on hearing 
 the firing, had crossed the frail bridge Avhich I have 
 elsewhere mentioned, and had marched through 
 rain and mud to the scene of the conflict. He 
 arrived at an opportune moment. As Moreau 
 chained victory to the standards of the French by 
 flying to the assistance of Napoleon when hard 
 pressed by the Austrians, so brave Sumner, by this 
 act of duty, brought victory to the Union army 
 struggling at Seven Pines against outnumbering 
 foes. 
 
 On his arrival, five of his regiments charged on 
 the enemy in the woods and drove them back in 
 confusion. The lost ground was recovered, and 
 the shattered divisions took up their old positions 
 at Fair Oaks on the following day. 
 
 I was returning to the Williamsburg road when 
 I came upon a group of wounded men cooking in a 
 ravine. A camp-kettle of beans, held by a cross- 
 piece resting on two sticks' set in the ground, was 
 jubilantly bubbling over a fire. Two tin drinking- 
 cups, in which coffee was being made, were on the 
 coals. One soldier was frying some bacon, while 
 another was engaged in preparing a lean chicken 
 which he had " procured," as he termed it, the 
 day before the fight. 
 
IN THE SADDLE. 135 
 
 '' What men are you? " I inquired. 
 
 " I belong to Company K, — tli Mass.," said the 
 one who seemed to be chief cook and chief 
 growler. 
 
 "Quite a fight goin' on," drawled the soldier 
 with the chicken. His trousers-leg was half gone, 
 and the bloody bandages around his limbs showed 
 the nature of his Avounds. 
 
 " That ain't agoin' to spoil my appetite," said 
 the chief growler, whose wound was in his head, 
 and whose ears stood out combatively. 
 
 " If the rebs come on to us they'll catch it, if I 
 have to throw this 'bean hod * at 'em." 
 
 " Have some coffee ? " said another, a little fellow, 
 wounded in the hand. 
 
 I was very hungry, and the idea of dining with 
 the party did not strike me unfavorably. I dis- 
 mounted, and was drinking some coffee, and munch- 
 ing hard-tack with a piece of fried bacon for a sand- 
 wich, when an upioar of musketry broke out in 
 some scrub-oaks on the right of the ravine. The 
 chief cook and growler crept on all-fours to the 
 summit of the little knoll (behind which we were 
 sheltered) to view the situation. 
 
 " What do yer see up there? " inquired my com- 
 rade of the chicken. 
 
 His answer was a howl from the chief cook, who 
 came rolling over and over down the hill, with a 
 bleeding ear. Zip! zip! ping! piny! came the 
 bullets. 
 
136 JED'S ADVEl^fUkn^. 
 
 " Darn it ! can't some of ye go up thar and pep- 
 per 'em out of it?" said the chief cook, with tears 
 in his eyes. 
 
 No one accepted the offer. The soldier with the 
 chicken took but little notice apparently of these 
 circumstances, but, with the forepiece of his forage 
 cap pointing skyward at right angles, was intently 
 occupied with his chicken. 
 
 The cook had seized a musket to " pepper " the 
 intruders, when a bullet from a concealed enemy 
 tapped the camp-kettle just below the water line. 
 The chief cook, forgetting his kindly intentions 
 towards the enemy in the scrub-oaks, exclaiming, 
 " Let us scoot ! " seized his pet kettle of beans, and 
 fled, followed with more or less celerity by the 
 soldiers with the coffee, the soldier with the 
 hen, the soldier with the frying-pan, and, not 
 last, the soldier with the horse. In fact the 
 whole line ''advanced backwards," as the chief 
 cook and growler afterwards said in describing 
 the retreat. 
 
 Starting out once more from a base of safety, 
 accompanied by my comrade with the hen, mounted 
 on the horse, which T led, I once more reported at 
 headquarters. I was surprised to find General 
 Grover, with his brigade, holding the position ; while 
 General Hooker, with the 2d and 3d brigades, had 
 marched to the battle-field, leaving with General 
 Grover these characteristic instructions: "Hold 
 your position at all hazards." 
 
IN THE SADDLE. 137 
 
 After having procured surgical aid for my young 
 friend with the hen, who proved to be Henry Grace, 
 a soldier of my own division, I lay down, listening 
 to the dull reverberation of the conflict, which 
 gradually died away as darkness came on. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ! 
 
 RETREAT TO THE JAMES RIVER. 
 
 IDEFORE leaving camp the next morning, I 
 -^— ^ visited Henry Grace, whose coolness the day 
 previous had greatly impressed me. 
 
 I found the surgeon with him, probing for a 
 bullet. Grace was half reclining, watching the op- 
 eration as if a mere spectator instead of a patient. 
 The probing must have been painful, but his almost 
 girlish face gave no indication of it. As I came to 
 him, his face lit up with a half-humorous expres- 
 sion, as he said in his high-pitched nasal drawl, — 
 
 " The doctor has got more curiosity about this 
 bullet's track than I have" — and just then his 
 face grew a trifle paler, as if the doctor had touched 
 a tender spot. 
 
 " There ! " said the doctor, triumphantly holding 
 up a flattened bullet as a result of his researches. 
 
 "Is that all ? " inquired Grace. 
 
 " Well, just a bandage and cold water dressing 
 will do for a time. Here, Quinn," addressing his 
 attendant, " put a bandage on this leg," and then 
 gathering up a formidable array of instruments, 
 including saws, the surgeon withdrew. 
 
 ^' Ye's lucky, me bye I " said the Irish helper to 
 1?.6 
 
RETREAT TO THE JAMES RIVER. 139 
 
 Grace, " sure some of thim gintlemen of the pur- 
 farsion would a sawed the leg off of ye instead of 
 probing it ! " 
 
 "You surely don't think they'd cut a leg off 
 needlessly, Pat? " I inquired. 
 
 "Sure it's not for me to criticise," replied Quinn, 
 " but it's the divil's own habit these gintlemen are 
 getting of cutting off legs instead of curing thim. 
 It was sax good legs I threw into a trench yes- 
 terday." 
 
 " Stop that blathering and don't wind the band- 
 age so tight ! " interrupted Grace, in a tone that 
 was cutting in its iciness, and showed he could 
 repel familiarity, notwithstanding his easy-going 
 good-natured manner. 
 
 After a few moments' conversation with Grace, 
 I took my leave. 
 
 On my arrival at Fair Oaks again I found our 
 brigade occupying an advanced position. The rebel 
 army had mostly withdrawn to the defence of Rich- 
 mond, and General Johnson, its commander, had 
 been wounded during the battle. 
 
 As I rode up, heavy skirmisliing was going on 
 with their rearguard, which in withdivawing had 
 accidentally become entangled with a portion of 
 Sumner's line. 
 
 The next day our army re-occupied its old posi- 
 tion, only our division had exchanged places ^Yii\\ 
 that previously occupied by Casey's men. In these 
 intrenchments, and around the two-storied, square, 
 
140 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 box-like " twin houses," where the battle had surged, 
 there were vivid reminders of the fight. 
 
 The dead were not yet all buried. Battery horses 
 encumbered the field, while the trees, fences, tents, 
 camp-kettles, and cracker-boxes showed the marks 
 of the bullets. Scattered over the ground were 
 pieces of harness, broken muskets, and all the debris 
 of a battle-Avrecked camp. The enemy's dead in 
 the surrounding swamps, where they could not be 
 reached, were already defiling the air. 
 
 The process of clearing the battle-field began at 
 once. Rails and brush were heaped over the dead 
 horses and set on fii'e, the dead were buried, and 
 once more the field resumed its ordinary appear- 
 ance, and the army its regular routine of duties. 
 
 For several days succeeding, it rained as though 
 a deluge was impending, and a period of suffocat- 
 ing heat ensued. The swamj)s and stagnant pools 
 threw off exhalations of miasma, prolific of disease 
 and death. 
 
 Constant skirmishes, meanwhile, occurred on our 
 outposts. A general conflict at times seemed so 
 imminent that on one day the call to fall in was 
 sounded eight times at headquarters, and men were 
 kept in line for hours, in readiness for battle. 
 
 On the 25th of June, while carrying orders, I 
 visited my regiment, which had that day been 
 advanced through swamps, thickets, and brier- 
 entangled woods, and had captured two rebel 
 sharpshooters, perched in the trees, 
 
RETREAT TO THE JAMES RIVER. 141 
 
 Captain Gruff was coming out of his tent to meet 
 me, when a shot from the enemy passed through 
 his tent and struck the ground a dozen paces in his 
 rear. 
 
 " Glat to see you, Dick," said my captain ; and 
 then, with a look of disgust, and pointing with his 
 thumb over his shoulder, said, referring to the shot 
 just fired, " Dit you effer see such foolishness as 
 dot?" 
 
 "Do you have much of this foolishness here ? " 
 I inquired. 
 
 '' Shust all the time. They is cutting oup, march- 
 ing, countermarching, and shooting like mat. Dem 
 sharpshooters I shust sent to Sheneral Hooker says 
 dot Magruder is in command, and they is oup to 
 mischief somevare." 
 
 "Do you think they will attack us here?" I 
 inquired. 
 
 " No : they plays mit us here, but strikes some- 
 vare else," was the shrewd reply of the old soldier. 
 
 And so it proved. Stonewall Jackson, marching 
 up the Shenandoah Valley, and alarming the ad- 
 ministration for the safety of Washington, had 
 slipped between his pursuers, sent out to bag him, 
 and was even then within striking distance of our 
 right wing at Mechanics ville. 
 
 On the morning of the 27th, while riding to the 
 different encampments, I heard the dull reverbera- 
 tions of distant cannonading. 
 
 It was the attack of sixty thousand men, under 
 
142 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 General Lee at Gaines' Mill, on Fitz John Porter 
 with thirty thousand. 
 
 Magruder, meanwhile, was holding the lines in 
 our front before Richmond with twenty-five thou- 
 sand. 
 
 McClellan had now planned to extricate his army 
 from its false position by a retreat to a safer base 
 on the James River. 
 
 It was a judicious and safe plan, though forced 
 upon him, instead of being a matter of his choice. 
 
 On arriving at Captain Gruff's quarters I found 
 him, as usual, in the SAveltering heat, with his coat 
 buttoned tight at the neck, puffing away at his pipe 
 with a far away, thoughtful look in his eyes. 
 
 " What's the matter, captain ? " I inquired. " Are 
 the people on the other side acting foolishly again ? " 
 
 " They shust acts like mat all der time," was his 
 response, working liis goatee excitedly over his 
 nose like the rammer of a musket in the act of 
 loadino-. 
 
 The enemy made feints upon our entire line. 
 On the 28th our advanced positions, taken on the 
 25tli, were abandoned. 
 
 Marcliing orders came with the morning. As I 
 rode to the different encampments, men on every 
 side were engaged in destroying clothing, provisions, 
 and ammunition. Shot and shell were thrown into 
 pools and brooks, tents and clothing were cut into 
 shreds, canteens and camjD-kettles were punched 
 with bayonets, barrels of sugar, whiskey, and vine- 
 
RETREAT TO THE JAMES RIVER. 143 
 
 gar were overturned on the ground. No fires were 
 allowed in this work of destruction, because they 
 would excite suspicion. On my return to head- 
 quarters in the morning I found General Hooker 
 superintending the destruction of his personal 
 baggage. 
 
 Everything betokened that this army, which 
 had been thundering at the gates of Richmond, was 
 about to turn back in retreat. The rank and file 
 could only imperfectly surmise the position of 
 affairs, most of them professing to believe in a 
 strategic move on Richmond. 
 
 The march soon began. Baggage wagons, herds 
 of cattle, marching columns enveloped in dust, were 
 seen on all the roads converging at Savage Sta- 
 tion. Here a line of battle was formed in the edge 
 of the woods, extending a mile to the right, with 
 batteries planted in the clearing in front. 
 
 Toward the Chickahominy was now seen the 
 smoke of burning bridges, stores, and munitions of 
 war. 
 
 At the hospital camp of five thousand sick and 
 wounded men there was much excitement on 
 account of tliis unwonted activity. 
 
 Near this point I again encountered Sonny, the 
 cavalryman, whose wounds were almost healed, but 
 who was in his usual demoralized condition. He 
 was covered with dust, and without blanket, jacket, 
 or knapsack, but in perfect good humor, notwith- 
 standing such trifles. 
 
144 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 Learning that my acquaintance, Henry Grace, 
 was at the hospital, I went, accompanied by Sonny, 
 to look liim up, and advise him to get away if 
 possible. 
 
 The hospital camj) was established on a hillside, 
 on which grew a few stunted peach-trees, and con- 
 sisted of tents and one house, Avith its surrounding 
 negro quarters. 
 
 The inmates presented a pitiful sight. Many, 
 victims of the swamp fever, were mere skeletons, 
 and high-pitched, piteous tones of complaint, en- 
 treaty, or inquiry were heard on every side. 
 
 The air was quivering with heat, the earth baked 
 and barren, and the air filled with the offensive ef- 
 fluvium peculiar to a crowded hospital. For a time 
 I could find no trace of my friend, and I was about 
 to abandon further search when the attitude of a 
 soldier sitting under a tree some distance from me 
 arrested my attention. The visor of his cap pointed 
 upward at a defiant angle, while his collected, " go 
 as you please " manner told me it was Grace. He 
 was eating diminutive green peaches, and, as we 
 approached, greeted me with " Hallo ! orderly, 
 what's up ? " 
 
 " Well, we may take Richmond or take to the 
 James River," said Sonny, without waiting for my 
 reply. 
 
 " Whew ! whose steeple are you ? " said Grace 
 sarcastically, looking upward at tlie towering foria 
 of Sonny. 
 
RETREAT TO THE JAMES RIVER. 145 
 
 " Me ? " replied Sonny, nothing abashed, " I'm a 
 dismounted cavahyman in search of a horse. Say, 
 you ; ain't you afraid you'll hurt your Latin inter- 
 nal parts with them air cholera bullets you are 
 tucking away there ? " 
 
 Grace paid no heed to this reply, but pursued 
 the " tucking-aAvay " process as he resumed the 
 broken thread of our conversation. 
 
 " What's the army up to ? " interrogated Grace. 
 In answer I pointed to the clouds of black smoke 
 which rose at different points along the railroad, 
 marking the destruction of stores. 
 
 On the hill opposite to the camp was a heap of 
 blue uniforms, boxes and barrels of clotliino- and 
 provisions, piled up for destruction. 
 
 " I need a pair of trousers and a coat. Guess I'll 
 go over and get some," said Sonny. In a few 
 moments he came back very angry. 
 
 " What's the matter. Sonny?" I inquired. 
 "That lunk-headed officer wouldn't give me a 
 thing. Said he'd been ordered to destroy the stuff, 
 and couldn't account for the property if men were 
 supplied from the stores." 
 
 " That's red tape with a vengeance," said Grace, . 
 sympathetically. 
 
 That afternoon Grace, mindful of my advice, 
 hobbled into line and joined the exodus, rather 
 than take his chances staying at the hospital camp. 
 Sonny insisted that the movement was not a retreat, 
 only a flank movement on Richmond. 
 
146 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 As I have elsewhere intimated, there were many 
 of his opinion at the time. The army pushed on, 
 crowding the narrow defile that crosses White Oak 
 Swamp. It had at least the compensating advan- 
 tage that, while moving in that direction, it was 
 preserved from a flank attack. 
 
 About five o'clock we heard the roar of battle in 
 our rear, where brave Sumner was engaging the 
 enemy at Savage's Station, and where he beat 
 them in the encounter. That night he obeyed 
 orders and retreated, in order that he might not be 
 cut off from the main army, leaving the hospital 
 camp of five thousand miserables in the hands of 
 the enemy. 
 
 The next day, the 30th of June, our division had 
 halted near the church at Glendale; and active 
 cannonading at White Oak bridge, which had been 
 destroyed, showed that Jackson was following 
 closely on the heels of the retreating army. The 
 army of Lee had, meanwhile, learned of our move- 
 ments, and had sent a large force around through 
 Richmond to intercept our retreat. 
 
 Our position at Glendale was the key point where 
 they hoped to break through our lines, divide the 
 army, capture its trains, and overwhelm it in dis- 
 astrous defeat. Here we waited all the forenoon, 
 while our train wagons, herds of cattle, and troops 
 passed over the hot and dusty road. 
 
 Longs treet and Hill attacked by the Newmarket 
 road in the afternoon. McCall's division of Penn- 
 
RETREAT TO THE JAMES RIVER. 147 
 
 sylvanians, stretched at right angles across the 
 Newmarket road, and parallel and in front of the 
 Quaker road, was first assailed about thi^ee o'clock. 
 The batteries in front of this line were also fiercely 
 charged, and the cannoneers driven from their guns. 
 
 Our left, held b}^ Seymour's brigade, was mean- 
 while doubled up by a fierce attack and driven in 
 between Sumner on the left and the position we 
 were holding. 
 
 Our line was soon ordered to advance, and went 
 in on the double-quick to regain the lost ground. 
 I saw my regiment with the rest ; Captain Gruff 
 A\dth drawn sword, and with the grim composure on 
 his red face, common to him in times of danger. 
 
 Some of McCall's men came rushing from the 
 front calling out, — 
 
 " We're whipped I we're whipped ! " 
 
 "My men are all cut to pieces," exclaimed an 
 excited officer. 
 
 " Dry up, you old fool," said some one from our 
 ranks. 
 
 "Sure we don't need any cavalry to keep us 
 from running away," shouted a voice that I rec- 
 ognized as that of my old friend O'Keif, who was 
 now a lieutenant. 
 
 Then the din of musketry, the cannonade, the 
 long yell of the Confederates, and the hurrah of 
 the Union soldiers, showed that our lines were 
 fiercely engaged with the enemy. Another voice 
 of battle was also soon heard : the boom of the 
 
148 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 heavy guns on our gunboats on the James River. 
 Their shells struck the ranks of our enemy on the 
 left, and, we afterwards learned, produced great 
 consternation. 
 
 When nearly dark I found my old regiment 
 holding the road the enemy had entered that after- 
 noon. Captain Gruff was engaged in stationing 
 pickets on all the paths leading from the adjacent 
 swamps and woods. 
 
 " Dis swamp is full of ' rebs,' and ef we keeps 
 still we gobbles dem," said the captain, with a 
 wise nod, when I asked him what was going on. 
 
 As it grew darker we could hear those who were 
 separated from their commands, and who were 
 wandering around in the swamps, calling out the 
 name of their regiments and companies. 
 
 Our men, instructed by Captain Gruff, an- 
 swered them as if from their friends, directing 
 them into the Union lines, where they were cap- 
 tured. 
 
 A large number of prisoners, in this way, were 
 brought into our lines. Most of them were poorly 
 clad in butternut and gray homespun, with strips 
 of carpet for blankets. Few had knapsacks, but 
 wore their blankets over their shoulders with the 
 ends tied together under the left arm. 
 
 One of these prisoners was a captain, and accosted 
 Captain Gruff Avith extended hand, — 
 
 " Hullo, sergeant ! Don't you remember me ? " 
 
 The captain did not remember him, but I at once 
 
RETREAT TO THE JAMES RIVER. 149 
 
 recognized him as Walker, the man who had es- 
 caped from the guard Avhile under court-martial at 
 Fort Monroe. He afterwards informed us that 
 his father was a prominent Virginian, and that his 
 escape had been connived at by the officers at the 
 time it occurred. 
 
 The next morning our troops took possession of 
 Malvern Hill, where the Confederates made a suc- 
 cession of daring attacks and met with bloody 
 repulses. This was the last of the seven days' 
 battle and retreat, during which the Union army 
 inflicted a loss of twenty thousand men on the 
 Confederacy, while sust^-ining a loss of only fif- 
 teen thousand. 
 
 The physical results were in our favor, but the 
 moral results were with the Confederates, who had 
 raised the siege of Richmond, and had caused the 
 Union army to retreat from its position. I did not 
 witness the arrival of the army on the James River, 
 as will be seen in the following chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A PRISONER. 
 
 "TT was twilight when I began my return from 
 -*- Captain Gruff's. As I rode along the darkling 
 woods, I thought over the events of the campaign ; 
 wondering whero Jed was ; and was soon in that 
 half-dreamy condition of mind in which one acts 
 mechanically, while his thoughts are far away from 
 liis surroundings. 
 
 In the midst of these reveries I was brought to 
 myself by the restive conduct of my horse, which 
 was nervously jerking at the bit, as if to attract my 
 attention. I spoke to her sharply, when, — 
 
 " Halt ! Who goes there ? " came a sharp per- 
 emptory challenge. 
 
 In the gathering darkness I could not distinguish 
 my challenger, but I replied, — 
 
 "An orderly with orders. What troops are 
 those?" 
 
 " The 60th North Carolinas," came the reply. 
 
 " I see that I am on the wrong road," I said, 
 now recovering my presence of mind, for I at once 
 perceived that I must get away quickly if I did not 
 wish to go to Richmond sooner than the army did. 
 
 At the same instant I wheeled, and clinging to 
 
 150 
 
A PRISONER. 151 
 
 my horse with my face to her neck urged her for- 
 ward. 
 
 The report of muskets and the ping of bullets 
 around my ears showed that I had acted none too 
 soon. 
 
 I had not gone more than five hundred yards, 
 when I heard the measured tread of a marching 
 column approaching me from the opposite direction. 
 As I listened I could distinguish the sharp though 
 suppressed tones of command, and was satisfied 
 that a regiment was marching down the road. 
 Were they friends, or foes? 
 
 I drew my horse into the edge of the wood 
 which skirted the road, and, as if understanding 
 my purpose, she stood as still as if made of bronze 
 or stone. The least motion must have betrayed 
 us, the road was so narrow. 
 
 I was still uncertain whether the column was 
 Federal or Confederate when the word " Yanks " 
 from some one in the passing column satisfied me 
 that they were enemies. 
 
 It seemed an hour when the last file of men 
 passed, and I drew a long breath of relief. I did 
 not realize until then what a tension had been put 
 upon my nerves. 
 
 I was now quite confident that there were no 
 enemies on my route. My horse, however, soon 
 began to act as if she suspected danger. 
 
 Thus warned, I walked her slowly doAvn the 
 road, until some one cried out '' Halt ! Halt I " ac- 
 
152 JED'S ADVENTURES, 
 
 companied by the ominous click of cocking mus- 
 kets, and at the same time my bridle was seized. 
 
 "What troops are these?" I inquired. 
 
 " Third Alabama," was the response. 
 
 " I have just come from the 60tli Carolina, and 
 am in a hurry ; let go my bridle ! " I exclaimed, 
 trying to turn my horse. 
 
 " That card don't take the trick, Yank," said a 
 voice. 
 
 Trusting to the darkness I fired my revolver at 
 the man holding my horse, and at the same time 
 urged the horse forward. It was a failure. My 
 revolver missed its aim. 
 
 I was now roughly pulled from my horse and 
 was a prisoner. 
 
 " If you have any papers, hand them over here," 
 was sharply commanded. 
 
 A lantern was procured, and I was searched, and 
 then marched up the road under guard. We soon 
 came to a fire, around which were grouped several 
 officers. Here an officer with three stars on his 
 collar sharply questioned me. I was not very care- 
 ful to answer his questions correctly, for I knew 
 enough of military usage to know that by correct 
 answers I might give very important information 
 to the enemy. 
 
 " This man," said the officer, " either knows too 
 much or too little for our purpose." 
 
 As I was led from this unsought conference, I 
 asked my guard, " What officer is that ? " 
 
A PRISONER. 153 
 
 " That is General Longstreet : he's our general, 
 and I reckon he's 'bout the best general we uns 
 have got, except Uncle Robert." 
 
 "Who's Uncle Robert?" I queried. 
 
 " Why, General Lee. We uns will be in Wash- 
 ington next week, and I reckon the whole durned 
 Yankee nation will know Uncle Robert by that 
 time." 
 
 I lay by a fire under guard all night, not sleeping 
 much, but going over and over with the scenes of 
 the evening which I have here briefly recounted. 
 When morning came, I, with about twenty other 
 prisoners, was hurried on to Richmond. 
 
 As we arrived at the spot where I had been 
 questioned the previous evening, I saw a keen- 
 eyed mounted officer, very straight and dignified, 
 talking with General Longstreet. 
 
 " What officer is that ? " I inquired of the 
 guard. 
 
 " That's General Lee," was the reply. 
 
 As we were halted near this spot, I saw my 
 horse led out and mounted by a young officer. 
 
 " If you will watch that horse and officer," said 
 I to the talkative sergeant of the guard, " you'll 
 see some fun." 
 
 The officer mounted, took the bridle carelessly, 
 and rode off at a canter ; when, quick as a flash, the 
 little horse ploughed her front feet into the dust, 
 and threw up her heels with a flourish of those 
 members, as if she intended to kick out the sky. 
 
154 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 The officer, taken unawares, was pitched over her 
 head. 
 
 The whole squad laughed, but the dismounted 
 officer did not. He attempted to catch her, but 
 she evaded him as nimbly as a dog. After several 
 trials had been made, I said to an officer near, — 
 
 " I Avill catch her, if you wish me to ? " 
 
 The officer assented. I gave a peculiar whistle, 
 and she came to me as if overjoyed at once more 
 seeing me. 
 
 " This is my blanket strapped to her," I said to 
 the officer whom I had previously addressed. 
 
 " No, sir, it's mine," said the officer snappishly. 
 
 Before they could take her bridle from my hands, 
 I gave her a signal and off she pranced again, kick- 
 ing at everything she passed, and all attempts to 
 catch her proved unavailing. 
 
 The officer who had first mounted her came up, 
 and after speaking a few words to the officer with 
 whom I had been speaking, said to me, — 
 
 " Catch that horse, and you shall have your 
 blanket." 
 
 I again called her, and, neighing and capering, 
 she came in response to my call, and rubbed her 
 nose against my arm. 
 
 My heart sank, and I almost cried at the thought 
 of parting with her. The young officer loosened 
 my blanket and handed it to me, saying, — 
 
 " She's a beautiful creature, and I am sorry that 
 you must lose her, but it is the fortune of war," 
 
A PRISONER. 155 
 
 I replied, " If you treat her firmly but kindly, 
 she will behave well. Don't strike her." 
 
 The officer replied politely, " I thank you, sir I 
 I love a horse and will treat her well." 
 
 As we marched away, I again saw my little horse 
 prancing over fences and ditches in the direction 
 of Richmond, a23parently defying every effort to 
 catch her. 
 
 A two hours' march now brought us to the rebel 
 capital. There were no vehicles in its streets. 
 Here and there groups of women on the sidewalks 
 anxiously interrogated our guards. I was told 
 that almost every house was being prepared for a 
 hospital. The prisoners were allowed to go into 
 the shops to buy bread. In one of the shops an 
 Irishwoman treated me to raspberry wine, and 
 gave me a loaf of bread. 
 
 "Do you think McClellan will get into Rich- 
 mond with his army ? " inquired the woman. 
 
 '' Yes," I repHed, " the Yankee army will be here 
 in a week." 
 
 '^ And sure I hope they will," said she, with a 
 sigh : " we don't dare say our soul's our own, and 
 I'm agin this government, anpvay." 
 
 We were marched along by the side of the canal 
 on Carey Street, where several naked boys, bathing, 
 shook their tiny clinched fists at us, shouting in 
 tones of threat and derision. 
 
 We were soon halted before an isolated three- 
 story block, near and in line of the canal, on one 
 
156 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 corner of which was displayed the sign, "Libby 
 and Son, Ship Chandlers and Grocers." Here we 
 were conducted up a steep and filthy staircase to a 
 large room, in which there was an ordinary heating 
 stove, and in one corner of the room was a large 
 round tank supplied with James River water. 
 
 The building had just been cleared of prisoners, 
 and the air was reeking with the effluvium of 
 wounds and sickness. The stench was so terrible 
 that one instinctivel}^ field his breath. 
 
 From this room we were taken to the third story, 
 next the roof, where the air was still worse, and 
 where we found about a hundred other prisoners. 
 No food was given us that day. 
 
 In a few days more, the wounded prisoners from 
 Savage's Station were added to our numbers, 
 some with amputated limbs, others with unhealed, 
 festering wounds, and all suffering from heat and 
 fatigue. Here they were marshalled, regardless of 
 their sufferings, jostling against each other's hurts 
 as they staggered in. The room was soon filled 
 to suffocation with inmates ; there was scarcely 
 room to lie down. 
 
 The cracks and crevices swarmed with vermin. 
 The hot sun beat on the low roof above us until 
 the heat became so unendurable that men were 
 constantly crowding to the windows and exclaim- 
 ing, " I shall die unless I get fresh air." 
 
 When rations were issued, men struggled with 
 each other for the contents of the buckets of soup 
 
A PRISONER. 157 
 
 and the meagre pieces of bread. The prisoners 
 fought with each other for a fair division, while 
 those who distributed the food were more intent 
 on finishing their duties quickly, than in doing 
 them properly. 
 
 For several weeks previous to my capture I had 
 had symptoms of swamp fever. I became weak 
 and nervous, and in attempting to rise one day, 
 fell unconscious. 
 
 " Got a fever, old chap, I guess," said a fellow- 
 prisoner in kindly tones. 
 
 " How does a fever begin ? " I inquired. 
 
 " You are cold and shivering one moment, and 
 the next you are burning up," was the laconic an- 
 swer. 
 
 " I guess that's what's the matter, for that's a de- 
 scriptive list of my feelings," I replied. 
 
 That night I could not sleep, and the next morn- 
 ing was weak and trembling, and hardly able to 
 stand. 
 
 "Any one got any quinine?" asked a gruff and 
 familiar voice. 
 
 I turned to the questioner, but could not recog- 
 nize the face, which was turned from the light. 
 
 " Isn't it Sonny ? " I inquired. 
 
 " By gosh, that's what they give me in place of 
 a name, sometimes, but who on earth air you? 
 Jerusalem! if it isn't the little orderly;" for 
 though I was by no means little, thus Sonny always 
 designated me. 
 
158 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 " You look all beat out, and ' powerful ' far gone, 
 as the rebs say." 
 
 " How did they get you? " I inquired. 
 
 " Well," he replied, " I was with a lot of other 
 fellows coming across White Oak swamp; they 
 were a sick and wounded crowd, and I was the 
 only one of 'em with a musket. The rebs began 
 to tag close to our heels, so I said, sez I, ' You fel- 
 lers make tracks as fa,st as you can, and I'll cover 
 your retreat.' They got away, and the rebs got 
 me." 
 
 About nine o'clock that morning a Confederate 
 officer came into our room, saying, — 
 
 '' All you Yanks, who want to get out of this 
 hole and go to Belle Isle, where there is good air 
 and running water and trees, get your traps to- 
 gether lively and tumble out here." 
 
 To me at the time, fresh air and plenty of water 
 seemed the most desirable things on earth. I suc- 
 ceeded in getting into line with a crowd of strug- 
 gling sick and hungry miserables to go to Belle Isle. 
 
 The name of this place itself seemed to speak of 
 shade and comfort, and had not then become a 
 synonym of suffering and imprisonment. As I fell 
 into line, I saw a man near me who looked so much 
 like Jed that I called out, " Jed ! Jed ! don't you 
 know me, Jed ? " 
 
 The man stood still, without one look or motion 
 of recognition, and soon moved away, I was mis- 
 taken, and yet it seemed impossible. 
 
A PRISONER, 159 
 
 Was the guard right when, looking at me com- 
 passionately, he said, — 
 
 " I reckon ye'd better not go down to Belle Isle ; 
 it's a right hard place, old hoss, and ye ain't quite 
 right here," tapping his forehead significantly. 
 
 However, I persisted. There did not seem to be 
 any place worse than the one I was leaving, and I 
 might get into one that was better. This kindly 
 Virginian carried my blanket and haversack, and 
 helped me along as best he could. 
 
 The sun was very hot during the first part of 
 our march, but soon the sky became overcast with 
 signs of an approaching storm. Many of those 
 marching to Belle Isle were, like myself, sick, and 
 hence the march was slow. 
 
 After crossing the long railroad bridge which 
 spans the river from the Manchester side to Belle 
 Isle, it began to rain ; and we were halted in an old 
 rolling-mill, where I lay down, thoroughly worn 
 out with fever and exhaustion, and my head racked 
 with pain. 
 
 At last we reached the Belle Isle prison camp, 
 where all my hopes of comfortable quarters were 
 dispelled. The ground of the camp was almost on 
 a level with the James River, and was wet, and in 
 places overflowed. 
 
 The guard who had carried my blanket here left 
 me, and I was without friends, or even shelter from 
 the pitiless storm. The few ragged tents were 
 crowded with men, and there was no room for me. 
 
160 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 The inky blackness of night came on, relieved 
 only by vivid lightning flashes. I became delirious 
 and unconscious by turns ; I could hear a voice 
 Avhich I sometimes recognized as my own, shriek- 
 ing with unnatural laughter, singing in discordant 
 strains, or muttering unmeaning phrases. 
 
 I remembered notliing more of what occurred for 
 days. One morning (which seemed but the next 
 morning after) I awoke, and, framed in the entrance 
 of the small tent in which I lay, saw Jed's face look- 
 ing in upon me with kindly interest. 
 
 A great rush of gladness came to my heart as I 
 feebly reached out my hand to him, and faintly, 
 but with the eagerness with which the thirsty ask 
 for drink, cried, " Jed ! Jed ! " 
 
 I feared at first that this was but a creature of 
 my fancy, like the many other imaginings of my 
 fevered brain, of which I retained a dim remem- 
 brance. When Jed came and sat beside me, hold- 
 ing my thin hands, I no longer felt pain or care. 
 Without uttering a word, I fell into a deep refresh- 
 ing sleep, from which I awoke to find Jed still 
 compassionately bending over me. I began to grow 
 strong from that hour. Should I ever be sick again 
 if Jed was with me ? I had not before realized how 
 my heart had hungered for him in all these months 
 of absence. I could not regard even captivity as a 
 misfortune when it brought Jed to my side once 
 more ; and even now, after a lapse of years, I can- 
 not recall the effect which his presence and sym- 
 
A PRISONER, 161 
 
 pa thy had upon me (so like a ministering angel), 
 without thanking God for bringing to me the bene- 
 diction of his presence. In a few days, when I had 
 grown stronger, Jed told me the story of his adven- 
 tures since our last meeting, which I must reserve 
 for another chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 jed's story. 
 
 " rriWENTY-FOUR hours," said Jed, "before 
 -*- coming into these lines as a spy, I had no 
 more thought of it than you had. The proposition 
 was made to me in the morning, and that evening 
 I accepted, and reached the rebel lines at Yorktown 
 the same night, as a deserter. Pretty quick work 
 that, even in the army, where a man decides and 
 acts promptly. 
 
 "About that time the information received 
 through the regular secret-service channels was not 
 satisfactory: it was contradictory, and these con- 
 tradictions, it was believed, could be explained only 
 by some one acting independently of, and with- 
 out the knowledge of, the Secret-Service Bureau. 
 The number of troops confronting us, whether it 
 consisted of a small force or of the entire rebel 
 army, as well as questions of minor information, 
 were, if possible, to be determined. 
 
 " To act independently of the regularly organized 
 Secret-Service Bureau was more agreeable to me, 
 from the fact that it appealed to my pride, and at 
 the same time seemed safer than to be one of many 
 in a similar service. 
 
 162 
 
JED'S STORY, 163 
 
 " It was about midnight when I was conducted 
 to our pickets, and turned loose between the oppos- 
 ing lines. You remember the night was dark, and 
 by an understanding with the officer of the picket, 
 when I escaped I was to be fired upon. 
 
 " The plan was carried out as arranged. I broke 
 from the officer with whom I had been conversing-, 
 and, running a few yards, threw myself face down- 
 ward on the ground. It was well for me that I 
 did, for the rifles of the picket-line were so well 
 directed, notwithstanding the darkness, that a bullet 
 struck the back of my head, and took a strip of hair 
 from it, right here," said Jed, directing my atten- 
 tion uo a place on his head where the bullet had 
 grazed his scalp. 
 
 " The picket-lines of our enemy at this point 
 were not more than two hundred yards from our 
 own, and I crawled in the mud on my hands and 
 knees nearly the whole of the remaining distance 
 to the rebel pickets. 
 
 " I was really angry that I had been hit by our 
 own men, and this fact, with the fire directed at me 
 while escaping, made it easy for me to assume the 
 role of a deserter. You will remember that when 
 I left I carried all my equipments, as well as my 
 knapsack. In the morning I was conducted to 
 General Magruder. The general Avas writing when 
 I entered his presence and stood at 'attention.' 
 He turned and looked at me in perfect silence for 
 a moment, with a steadiness that was trying to my 
 
164 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 nerves ; and then, with an indescribable lisp, which 
 did not, however, detract from his sternness, said, — 
 
 " ' Why did you come to our lines ? ' 
 
 " ' I'm sick of the service,' I replied. 
 
 " ' Want to join us ? ' he inquired. 
 
 " ' Yes, but don't care to be caught by the Yanks.' 
 
 " ' What service were you in ? ' 
 
 " I told him, and casually mentioned Captain 
 Gruff. 
 
 " ' Ah ! ' exclaimed he, ' is he there with the vol- 
 unteers ? ' 
 
 " ' Yes,' I replied, ' and men who know nothing 
 about military affairs are promoted over men like 
 Captain Gruff and myself.' 
 
 " ' Ah ! ' said he, with his curious lisj), and in a 
 sarcastic tone, 'your smartness was not appreciated, 
 then?' 
 
 " ' Put the word experience in place of smartness, 
 general, and you are correct,' I replied. 
 
 " ' What experience have you had more than 
 other volunteers ? ' he asked. 
 
 "'I was in the regular service before the war,' I 
 replied. 
 
 " The general now exhibited increased interest, 
 and when I told him the branch of service I had 
 been in, and the officers under whom I had served, 
 he turned to his desk, scribbled a note, sent it off 
 by an orderly, while I still stood at ' attention.' 
 
 " To clinch what I had already said, I remarked, 
 'I have always been accustomed to serve under 
 
JED'S STORY. 165 
 
 good officers and gentlemen, and not men who have 
 no title to either except their uniforms. I don't 
 like to submit to inferiors.' 
 
 " The general then began questioning me as to 
 the strength and composition of our forces. Ac- 
 cording to instructions received before leaving our 
 lines, I told him. Notwithstanding the apparent 
 straightforwardness of my replies, I thought I de- 
 tected a look of distrust in his face. I was getting 
 uneasy, and had begun to lose something of my 
 composure, when the general said, ' You may go 
 now.' As I turned, I confronted my old Captain 
 Doughty, under whom I served a short time on fhst 
 entering the service, as the reader will remember. 
 
 " The captain recognized me at once, and, extend- 
 ing his hand, said kindly, — 
 
 " ' Are you in our service ? ' 
 
 " ' No, but I expect to be,' I replied. 
 
 " He glanced curiously at my uniform, and said, 
 in pleasant tones, ' You may go now, and return in 
 a few minutes.' 
 
 "Thus commanded, I sauntered around York- 
 town for a while, and it was a novel experience to 
 be viewing our own lines from the rebel position. 
 In a few moments I was recalled by an orderly. 
 As I reached the door, I heard Doughty saying, 
 ' He's all right. I'll vouch for the boy ; ' and my 
 position was assured from that moment. 
 
 " I was placed on duty for a time with Doughty, 
 who was now a brigadier-general, and was kept 
 
166 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 busy drilling new men in artillery tactics. For a 
 time my escape to their lines was a constant theme 
 for comment among the rebels, whom I often heard 
 remarking, as I passed to my duties, ' There goes 
 that Yank ! ' 
 
 " Meanwhile I had eyes and ears open, and was 
 constantly gathering important information, though 
 I was careful not to excite suspicion by asking lead- 
 ing questions, or by too much curiosity. I had at 
 the time of my escape a bad cold, making me some- 
 what deaf for the time, which, together with the 
 absent-mindedness of one who is busy with his own 
 thoughts, and who speaks but seldom, gave me a 
 reputation for deafness which soon became useful 
 to me. For, although I heard as well as any one as 
 soon as I got rid of my cold, the reputation for 
 deafness stood by me, and the general would often 
 say to those who spoke to me, 'Speak a little 
 louder; he's quite deaf.' Thus, favored by acci- 
 dent, I was soon in possession of important infor- 
 mation, and formed a good idea of the composition 
 and strength of the rebel forces at Yorktown. 
 
 "The desire to communicate this information, 
 and get back to our lines, now weighed heavily on 
 my mind. I was stationed on the water battery 
 near the York River, opposite Gloucester Point. 
 One morning after roll call I was sauntering around 
 near the water battery, when I saw a small boat of 
 the dory pattern lying at the wharf. There was 
 a pair of oars in her, and she was kept there, as I 
 
jEb'S STORY, 167 
 
 afterwards learned, to communicate with the force 
 opposite at Gloucester Point. This boat I deter- 
 mined to use, at the first opportunity, for the pur- 
 pose of reaching our lines. 
 
 " With this design, one dark, rainy night I began 
 to put my plan in execution. Unfortunately, the 
 guards stationed along the water front had been 
 strengthened, and unusual vigilance was at that 
 time enjoined, as if in anticipation of a night attack. 
 I made my way to the wharf where the boat lay, 
 but found a sentinel walking his post across the 
 line of my approach to the wharf. As it was dark 
 and raining, I found bat little difficulty in reaching 
 the boat while the sentry was walking his post with 
 his back to me, but in attempting to unfasten her I 
 found she was held by a chain locked to the wharf. 
 
 " I was not prepared for this, and was about to 
 abandon my purpose ; but, feeling around in the 
 darkness, I ascertained that the chain was held to 
 the boat by means of a staple driven into the deck 
 of her prow. I wound the chain around one end 
 of an oar I found in her, and mth one wrench freed 
 her from the wharf. 
 
 '* The noise of the rattling chain must have been 
 heard by the sentry, for he called out as I pushed 
 off into the current, and drifted away on the out- 
 going tide. 
 
 "In less than an hour I had landed near the 
 Union Battery No. 1, on Wormley Creek, and 
 reached, as I thought, Captain Gruff's tent, which 
 
168 JED'S ADVENTUkn^. 
 
 was not far from the shore. I entered, and, with- 
 out awakening its inmate, struck a match, but in- 
 stead of Captain Gruff saw a strange officer asleep 
 in his blankets. I noiselessly got out of the tent, 
 and in returning encountered a camp sentinel, who 
 challenged me. Instead of answering his demand 
 for the countersign, I inquired for Captain Gruff 's 
 quarters. He pointed out a tent not far distant, 
 where a light was burning. In another moment I 
 gave the colonel and Captain Gruff a surprise. 
 
 "I was shivering with wet and cold; but, having 
 no time to lose, I communicated my information to 
 the captain, in order that he might get it to our 
 commanding general without 3xciting the suspicion 
 of his regular corps of secret-service men, some of 
 whom might be around his quarters. My informa- 
 tion of the arrival of re-enforcements from Rich- 
 mond, and also other facts, Avas deemed important. 
 After I had communicated all this to Captain Gruff 
 he looked at his watch, then at an almanac, and 
 said, ' By the time you reach your boat, the tide will 
 have turned, and the current will carry you back.' 
 I had not expected to return, and objected. The 
 captain briefly outlined the information which it 
 was still desirable should be obtained, and said, 
 ' You can probably reach their lines before daylight 
 without exciting sus]3icion, and such a chance will 
 not occur again in a lifetime.' I was easily per- 
 suaded, for I was not faint-hearted, and, with cloth- 
 ing still wet, in another hour was on my way back. 
 
JED'S STORY, 169 
 
 *' Reaching my little craft, I silently rowed up 
 the York River, until I perceived that I was not far 
 from Yorktown. The tide was low, and, as I thought 
 myself likely to be detected in running my boat up 
 to the wharf, I landed on a sand-flat, made bare by 
 the receding tide, and walked in the direction of 
 the water battery, which seemed to be but a few 
 hundred yards from my landing-place. 
 
 '' I soon discovered that I had made a mistake. 
 There was a deep channel between me and the 
 water battery, and it w^as so dark that if I turned 
 back there was but little chance of my finding the 
 boat again. 
 
 " I now went, as I thought, towards the shore, 
 so as to keep clear of the channel. As I walked 
 the water grew deeper and deeper every moment. 
 Each way I turned seemed worse than the other. 
 I started in the direction where I thought the shore 
 ought to lie, but found mj^self in still deeper water. 
 I now halted and considered. As the result of my 
 deliberation, I advanced twenty paces in either di- 
 rection, in order to determine where the shore was. 
 A fog had now so increased the darkness that it 
 seemed almost palpable to the touch. 
 
 " My experiment for reacliing the shore was a 
 failure. The water was continually growing deeper 
 and deeper, whichever way I moved. I was lost ! 
 
 " There was apparently left to me but one alter- 
 native, that of swimming in the direction in which 
 the current set. I had just determined on this when 
 
170 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 I felt something bump against me. I put out my 
 hand ; it was a boat. I clambered on board and 
 found it was my own skiff, which, liberated from 
 the sand-flat by the incoming tide, had drifted 
 down to me. 
 
 " To such an extent do conditions of mind de- 
 pend upon incidental contrasts, that in a moment it 
 was as if I had passed from gloom to light. With 
 senses all alert I now steered my boat with the 
 tide. It was not long before I felt the boat strike 
 against something which impeded her course. It 
 was a wharf. But where ? I listened, but could 
 hear no sound. I landed upon the wharf, but nearly 
 fell back into the water, so bewildered was I by the 
 events of the night. I now turned towards what I 
 knew to be the shore end ; listening at every step, 
 I passed along the hard sandy shore for a short dis- 
 tance, when I was halted by a sentinel. 
 
 "I was re-assured and confident when he said, 
 '• Been longer than usual, haven't you ? ' Though 
 I did not have the most distant idea to what he 
 referred, I assented by saying, ' Yes,' and passed 
 on without further notice. I now recognized my 
 surroundings ; reached my quarters, changed my 
 wet clothes for dry ones, and notwithstanding the 
 perilous adventures through which I had passed, 
 soon fell asleep. It was broad daylight w^hen I 
 awoke and learned that my absence from camp had 
 not been noticed or susjDected. The boat had been 
 found, but beyond some conjectures as to how the 
 
JED'S STORY, 171 
 
 chain became detached from her, I heard no com. 
 ments. 
 
 "During the weeks which followed, I was an in> 
 terested spectator of the occasional artillery firing 
 along the fortified lines. 
 
 "Fortune again favored me. As I could write, 
 and was considered too deaf for ordinary soldier's 
 duty, I was recommended, and became an orderly 
 for General Johnson. 
 
 " By this time the role of a deaf person came 
 very natural to me, and I practised showing anger 
 when it was alluded to, as deaf men usually do. 
 The habit of keeping my mouth shut grew upon 
 me just in proportion as I exercised it. I remem- 
 bered an old maxim, ' Least said, soonest mended,' 
 which to one in my circumstances seemed to contain 
 the essence of common sense. 
 
 " I was on duty at General Johnson's quarters 
 when he issued the order for the retreat from York- 
 town. But for being so closely tied to headquar- 
 ters, the bustle of preparation which now began on 
 every side would have given me a good opportunity 
 for escape, with information to our army of the in- 
 tended retreat. 
 
 " While the preparations were going on I went 
 into the general's tent, and saw spread on the table 
 a map showing the earthworks and roads at Wil- 
 liamsburg and other places between Yorktown and 
 the Pamunky River. Fortunately, I had some 
 tracing-paper with me. This I placed over the 
 
172 ♦ JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 drawings, and, with my face towards the door, 
 began rapidly to trace them. 
 
 " I had finished two of the most important ones, 
 when I heard ajDproaching footsteps, and concealing 
 my work I threw myself into a seat and was appar- 
 ently sleepy, listless, and indifferent, when the per- 
 son whose steps I had heard came in. 
 
 " I had to be spoken to twice before I under- 
 stood that he wished to see General Johnson. 
 * Can't you go for him ? ' said the visitor. ' No 
 sir ! ' I replied, ' I am attending to these quarters 
 during the general's absence ; ' whereui^on he sat 
 down to wait. 
 
 "A clerk who had been absent on duty or at 
 dinner, came in and seated himself at the table 
 and entered into earnest conversation with the 
 visitor. I took a seat outside, near the door, and 
 in a few minutes the clerk and visitor came out 
 conversing. 
 
 " As soon as they were out of sight I returned 
 to the general's quarters, made copies of several 
 important papers, concealing them in an inner 
 pocket. 
 
 " General Johnson soon came in, and with an 
 absent manner, as if much pre-occupied Avith his 
 thoughts, began writing. I could see by the mo- 
 tion of his pen that the communication was to Gen- 
 eral Magruder, and that it was not important. 
 
 " My rule was never to pry around for informa- 
 tion, or to tamper with letters, but to get possession 
 
JED'S STORY. 173 
 
 of such as seemed to come most readily to hand. 
 The intelligence thus gained was not strained to 
 fit theories, and hence was genuine. 
 
 " I now wished to reach our lines with the infor- 
 mation secured. It was only two days after this 
 that our retreat began. My riding up to the lines 
 of my regiment at Yorktown was simply accident 
 and not design. 
 
 " I had gone to the front during the battle, hop- 
 ing I might get a chance to reach our lines in safety. 
 During the advance a rebel officer had been shot 
 from his horse. I caught the horse, and, quickly 
 assuming the officer's uniform and equipments, 
 mounted, and had regained the advancing line, 
 when a volley from your brigade threw our col- 
 umns into confusion and gave me my opportunity. 
 
 '' Of course I ran great risks, but I took the 
 risk, for I felt I was in God's hands and was ren- 
 dering good service to my country." 
 
 In reply to the question of how he came on 
 Belle Isle he said, — 
 
 ''I was wounded at Fair Oaks, while on duty 
 with General Johnson, and was sent to the hospi- 
 tal at Richmond. Although I was not fit for duty, 
 I often went into the street, doing errands for our 
 hospital near Libby. It was on one of these errands 
 that I saw you. It almost broke my heart to walk 
 away without noticing your appeal, but it was the 
 only course I could pursue. 
 
 " I went back to the hospital at once, and asked 
 
174 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 the privilege of going to the front. It was granted, 
 and I was considered a patriot. 
 
 " That night I changed my clothes for a suit of 
 Union blue I had bought at Libby, and without 
 being noticed joined a group of prisoners that were 
 on their way to Belle Isle, where I knew you had 
 been sent." 
 
 "Ain't you afraid of being detected?" I in- 
 quired. 
 
 " There is always a possibility, but it is hardly 
 probable in this case," was Jed's reply. " I think 
 there will be a parole soon, and then I shall get 
 into the Union lines, with the rest of 3^ou, as a 
 prisoner of war I " 
 
 The plan was a good one, and Jed reasoned that 
 liis safety consisted in the fact that his former rebel 
 associates believed him to be in the hospital, Avhile 
 those in the hospital believed he had gone to re- 
 sume his old army duties. Such in substance 
 was Jed's story, though there were many other in- 
 teresting details which I might give did space 
 permit. 
 
" During the advance a rebel oflBcer had been shot from 
 his horse." — Page 173, 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 A convalescent's glimpse of belle isle 
 
 IN 1862. 
 
 /CONVALESCENT at last, I began, with feeble 
 ^-^ steps and slowly recovering strength, to 
 familiarize myself with the prison. 
 
 To rise enfeebled from a fever and its delirium 
 in this wretched place at first gave to all my sur- 
 roundings a tone of unreality. Nothing seemed 
 real but Jed. 
 
 The squalid wretchedness, which, under ordinary 
 circumstances, would have been met with cheerful- 
 ness or hopeful endurance, now seemed to me like 
 a part of my fevered dreams, — an oppressive night- 
 mare, from whose thraldom I was impatient to 
 break. I chafed with nervous expectancy, as if 
 its spell could be suddenly dissolved. The present 
 seemed interwoven with some intangible remem- 
 brances, which my mind was constantly attempting 
 to connect with its present surroundings, or with 
 the reality of a well-defined past. 
 
 From this semi-dream condition I was at times 
 fully awakened by the voracious demands of an 
 unsatisfied appetite, common to those recovering 
 
 175 
 
176 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 from a fever. ' This hunger was accompanied by a 
 craving for luxuries, which could not be satisfied. 
 The rations at this time on Belle Isle were very 
 meagre. A small half-loaf of baker's bread, sup- 
 plemented once or twice a week by thin and dirty 
 bean soup, from the top of which maggots could 
 be skimmed, constituted a day's rations for a pris- 
 oner. There were days, however, Avhen no food 
 was issued. Whether occasioned by neglect, acci- 
 dent, or design, it was nevertheless true that no 
 back rations, to make up this deficiency, were ever 
 issued. 
 
 No excuses, however ingenious, could satisfy 
 this lack of food, as my appetite was clamorous for 
 that, and not for apologies. When rations were 
 issued regularly, my appetite seemed to grow larger 
 as the size of my rations increased. 
 
 Jed had some money, perhaps a hundred dollars 
 in all, of Confederate money and local ''shinplas- 
 ters." As he thought it imprudent to come in fa- 
 miliar contact with the guard, for fear of recognition, 
 I did such trading or buying as was necessary. 
 
 Women sometimes came to camp with bitter dried- 
 peach pies, guiltless of sugar, and other doubtful 
 goodies. The most palatable food Avas obtained 
 from the guards, who were sometimes willing to sell 
 Indian corn cakes, wheat biscuit, or bacon. Once I 
 bought a dozen eggs and a quart of milk, and Jed 
 and I had a feast which made our boyish stomachs 
 glad for a whole day. But, as if the Confederacy 
 
A GLIMPSE OF BELLE ISLE. 177 
 
 was depleted by this output, the chance to purchase 
 these articles of food did not again occur in our 
 experience at Belle Isle. 
 
 The guards were forbidden to hold conversation 
 or to trade with their prisoners, but their great de- 
 sire to obtain " Yankee lixin's " opened a way to a 
 commerce Avhich was improved to its fullest extent 
 by both parties. I do not remember a single guard 
 on Belle Isle who did not inquire if I had a jack-knife 
 which I would sell or exchange. Thus it might be 
 said that the jack-knife opened trade, otherwise for- 
 bidden to Yankee enterprise, all along the rebel guard 
 line. At first I used the money I had to buy food, 
 but the prices were so high that money melted away 
 Hke ice in the tropics, and the traffic seemed likely 
 to culminate in our financial ruin. So, actuated by 
 thrifty sentiments, I bought jack-knives, watches, 
 and boots with our Confederate scrip, and with 
 these, instead of money, advanced confidently to 
 trade with the guard, who were supposed to be 
 controlled by inflexible rules, many of which, how- 
 ever, I was able to violate with impunity. The 
 prisoners occupied their leisure time (and their 
 time was mostly of this description) in manufac- 
 turing pipes of brier-root, napkin and finger rings 
 of bone, the engraved letters or designs being 
 filled with melted sealing-wax to resemble inlaid 
 work ; and these were also offered for sale, to enable 
 the hungry manufacturers to fUl what might almost 
 be called an acliing void, were not their stomachs 
 
178 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 so full of hunger. It was an obdurate guard indeed 
 who was not willing to trade for " Yankee traps," 
 when brought out in the shape of red-top Yankee 
 boots, watches, or first-class jack-knives. 
 
 The prison ground consisted of a low, sandy 
 point of land extending towards, and in sight of, 
 Richmond. Its area at this period was defined by a 
 low railing three feet or more in height, which the 
 prisoners were allowed to approach, but not to cross 
 without permission. This line was not a " dead 
 line," as that refinement of prison rules was reserved 
 for a different era of Confederate prisons. On 
 three sides of this flat area ran the coffee-colored 
 James River, dashing against the little, verdure-clad 
 islets and the rocks which stood in its path, as if in 
 wrath at such intrusion. 
 
 The railing mentioned was from twenty to thirty 
 yards from the river on the south and east, while 
 a much wider space intervened on the north. This 
 northern part was often completely inundated dur- 
 ing or after rainy weather. Thus, while three sides 
 might be said to be guarded by the river, a high 
 bluff or hill in the rear marked the western limit 
 of our prison. Here the guards had their camps, 
 " roosting high," as Jed remarked sarcastically, and 
 out of sight of the "Yanks." Jed informed me 
 that there was a fort on the hill, which guarded 
 the western approaches to the rebel capital. 
 
 The banks of the island opposite Richmond were 
 fringed with graceful foliage, with here and there 
 
A GLIMPSE OF BELLE ISLE. 179 
 
 a magnolia tree, overhanging the swift current, 
 the fragrance of whose blossoms (Occasionally came 
 to us, in marked contrast to the unsavory odors of 
 the prison. Opposite, on the Richmond side, were 
 iron-works where, in the afternoon, workmen could 
 be seen and heard testing cannon made for the 
 armies of the Confederacy. 
 
 Each day there came from the city to us, a huge 
 scow loaded with bread, and with unpainted wooden 
 boxes, to be used as coffins for the deceased pris- 
 oners. This uncouth ferry-boat, with its ominous 
 cargo, seemed like some ark on the waters of the 
 River of Death, freighted to show tlie possibilities 
 of our future. 
 
 One afternoon during the month of August I 
 sat watching the spires and roofs of the rebel capi- 
 tal, which were bathed in sunset hues, against a 
 background of beautiful clouds. From the city 
 came dimly the sounds of busy life. These sights 
 and sounds filled me with an inexpressible longing 
 for home. Whether these feelings were reflected 
 in my face, I do not know, but Jed sitting near me 
 inquired, — 
 
 " What are you thinking about ? " 
 
 "I was thinking," I replied wearily, "how 
 beautiful it looks over there in Richmond. It 
 must be a pleasant place to live in. I'd like to be 
 free to look it over." 
 
 " Inviting to the eye, but ashes to the touch," 
 said Jed musingly ; '' it might be called the City 
 
180 JED'S ADVENTURES, 
 
 of Sorrow. Many mothers there have lost their 
 sons ; and from all over the South those who have 
 fathers, brothers, husbands, or sons in the army 
 come with aching hearts searching for their miss- 
 ing ones. Arriving, they often learn that they 
 are sick, wounded, or dead. I have seen the 
 most terrible agony of dread on the faces of 
 women. 
 
 '' Almost all the public buildings, factories, and 
 warehouses, as well as many of the private resi- 
 dences, are either hospitals or prisons, in which are 
 confined not only Yankee prisoners, but many brave 
 Union men, or suspected citizens of the South. 
 The South is already destitute of luxuries, and, in 
 a great part, of necessities and comforts. In the 
 hospitals, pieces of carpeting, tablecloths, home- 
 made blankets and comforters made of cotton cloth 
 with wadding of cotton sandwiched between, are 
 used for blankets. Herbs have taken the place of 
 ordinary drugs. Quinine cannot be had, except 
 in very small quantities, at any price. In its houses 
 destitution is the rule, and comfort the exception. 
 The people have become distrustful of Confederate 
 money, and the fractional scrip of towns outside 
 of Richmond can hardly be forced upon them. It 
 already takes a hatful of money to purchase a 
 small basket of provisions. 
 
 "Any one having a printing-press can make 
 money of small denomination which passes cur- 
 rent as well as any, but a knowledge of this fact 
 
A GLIMPSE OF BELLE ISLE. 181 
 
 deepens the distrust prevalent on every side. A 
 Confederate dollar buys an ordinary loaf of wheat 
 bread which can be purchased for ten cents at the 
 North. Those who have specie hoard it." 
 
 " If that is true, I should think the South would 
 be tired of the war," I said. Jed shook his head, 
 and replied, — 
 
 " You don't understand these people ; I didn't at 
 first. Under much that is extravagant in state- 
 ment and sentiment, — under all their swagger, 
 there is a deep-set pride and determination. The 
 Southerners will suffer everything rather than yield 
 to the Yankees, whom they detest and hate. They 
 have the virtues of those who are comparatively 
 primitive in their habits of life. I cannot help re- 
 specting their soldiers, who stand up bravely and 
 take cold lead for what they believe to be right ; or 
 their citizens, who, when put to the test, suffer 
 every inconvenience of poverty and want, that the 
 army may be fed and clothed and kept in the field. 
 I sometimes feel that the Southerners are a braver 
 and more consistent people than we Northerners. 
 Our army couldn't be held together under such 
 conditions of pay and rations : they would revolt 
 and go home." 
 
 And then, as if ashamed of his earnestness, Jed 
 added with a change of face and tone, in droll imi- 
 tation of one of the Confederate guard whom he 
 sometimes mimicked, — 
 
 " We uns will be right glad when you'ns have 
 
182 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 been licked ! What do you'ns come down here to 
 fight we uns for ? " 
 
 It was an old characteristic of Jed to cover his 
 more earnest and thoughtful moods by a veil of 
 humor. 
 
 In the few months since Jed had come into the 
 enemy's lines, he had grown more earnest and 
 thoughtful ; every night I saw him kneel in prayer, 
 and on his bronzed face was stamped that compos- 
 ure by which an observer may recognize those who 
 have been constantly in places of peril. 
 
 " I shall be glad when I get away from this and 
 take my place in the army once more," I said after 
 a moment's pause. 
 
 Jed reflected a moment, and then said, " I too 
 shall be glad to get into our lines, but as yet I am 
 undecided what to do. I have probably been 
 missed by the rebels by this time. The only chance 
 I have of not being detected is in the slipshod man- 
 ner in which the business of the Confederate army 
 is managed." 
 
 " There must be a great deal of danger to you 
 here," I replied. 
 
 Jed's voice deepened with earnestness as he re- 
 plied, " Yes ! there is danger everywhere in the 
 army to men who do their duty, but a man's danger 
 is always increased by losing his nerve. If he 
 keeps his eyes open there are chances to escape 
 from the worst situations." 
 
 Shortly after the foregoing conversation I was 
 
A GLIMPSE OF BELLE ISLE. 18B 
 
 endeavoring to sell or trade a forage cap to the 
 Confederate guard. To secure the trade, as there 
 was some hesitation on the part of the young fel- 
 low to pay so much as twenty-five dollars, even in 
 Confederate money, I made a pencil sketch of him 
 with the cap on, and held the drawing up for him 
 to see how he looked with the new article of dress. 
 Though the di-awing was something of a carica- 
 ture of a portrait, the Confederate soldier was more 
 struck by the picture than by the cap. 
 
 " What'll ye take for that Yankee fixin' ? " he 
 inquired. 
 
 I replied unblushingly, " Five dollars." 
 
 After I had written his name, company, and regi- 
 ment on it he paid the ptice asked, and seemed 
 delighted with the picture. 
 
 After this I could afford to cheapen the cap ; 
 we speedily closed the trade, and I walked off twen- 
 ty-five dollars richer in Confederate money. 
 
 This little incident, seemingly so unimportant, 
 bore fruits out of proportion to the incident itself. 
 The Confederate guard showed his picture to his 
 comrades, and I soon found myself busy in making 
 alleged likenesses of Confederate soldiers of the 
 guard, at good prices. 
 
 The sergeant of the guard, whose picture I had 
 made, passed me in and out to the camp south of 
 the prison, and introduced me to the guard who 
 succeeded him. Pones of Indian cake, bacon, and 
 other delicacies, as well as Confederate money, 
 
184 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 were given me in exchange for my pictures. Under 
 these drawings I often scribbled verses from Moore 
 for those who wished to send them to their wives 
 and sweethearts, and by this means I got enough 
 to eat. 
 
 While at the guard-quarters one day a request 
 came from one of the men for a picture. I did not 
 then know the insignia of rank in the Confederate 
 army, and, as my subject had no shoulder-straps, I 
 supposed him to be a private, or, at most, a sergeant. 
 The insignificant stripes of gold braid on his collar 
 I supposed meant nothing more than an ambitious 
 attempt at ornament, so common among the Con- 
 federate soldiers I had met. The soldier was well 
 educated, and once, wh^ I wished to sharpen my 
 pencil, I said carelessly, "Let me take your knife." 
 He corrected my English by saying, " No, I will not 
 let you ' take my knife,' but I will loan you my 
 knife." By dint of care I really made a creditable 
 likeness of him, with which he appeared pleased. 
 
 As was my custom, upon finishing it I asked him 
 if I should put his name, rank, and company under 
 it. "No," said he, as he took my pencil from my 
 hand, writing his name in a beautiful round hand, 
 and adding " Captain of Company — , 22d Ala." 
 
 I asked him why he did not wear shoulder-straps, 
 whereupon he pointed out the difference between 
 the "old army," as he called it, and the Confederate 
 manner of designating rank. He was a manly fel- 
 low, with a certain dignity which he wore easily 
 
Belle Isle in 1802: Making the portrait. — Page 184. 
 
A GLIMPSE OF BELLE ISLE. 185 
 
 and. lightly, as if habituated to command. He 
 never spoke to his men above the ordinary tones 
 of conversation, and in this he was like West Point 
 officers I had encountered. This was so striking 
 that I mentioned it. 
 
 '' Very naturally,'' he replied ; " I was in West 
 Point, and but for this unfortunate war should 
 have graduated. You have the manners of a man 
 who has seen much service," said he, " though you 
 are but young." 
 
 I explained this by giving him an outline of my 
 service in the army previous to the war. 
 
 "I'd like to take you up to camp with me very 
 much," said he, making a gesture towards the hill 
 at the west of the prison camp. 
 
 '' I am afraid they woulcbi't like it up there," I 
 replied. 
 
 " Oh, yes, they would. I'd see to that," he re- 
 plied. 
 
 I did not then understand the bearing of his re- 
 marks, but the next day I was telling the incident 
 to Jed, when, noticing a quizzical expression on 
 his face, I said, "What is it? Out with it, Jed. 
 What are you laughing in your sleeve at me for?" 
 I was not prepared for Jed's reply. 
 
 " Didn't you understand he was trying to recruit 
 you for the Confederate army?" It flashed upon 
 me now for the first time, and, to put it mildly, I 
 was astonished at the officer's assurance. 
 
 "I know the man very well," said Jed, " and his 
 
186 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 estimate of a Yankee is so low that he will not 
 easily give over tiying to recrnit you for the Con- 
 federate service. If you go over to the camp he 
 will accept it as a token that you are considering 
 the matter, and if you keep away he will send into 
 camp for you, and my safety will be endangered. 
 If he remembers the story I told of my previous 
 service he may connect you with me ; and, even if 
 he does not, it is likely to be dangerous for me 
 here." 
 
 Seeing a shadow of chagrin come over my face, 
 Jed put his hand affectionately on my shoulder and 
 said, '' Don't put on that blue look, Dick. It is all 
 for the best, for had I not known of this regiment 
 being on guard I was likely to betray myself. 
 ' ForcAvarned, forearmed,' as your aunt used to say 
 when you first insisted on being friends with 
 me." 
 
 This little bit of reminiscence made me laugh, 
 as my aunt, at my first acquaintance with Jed, usu- 
 ally accompanied this saying Avith ominous pre- 
 dictions of his future career. 
 
 " It is fortunate," continued Jed, " that this fact 
 is known to me before I commit myself, for it 
 has been rumored for some days that there is to 
 be a parole of prisoners, and I intended, in that 
 event, to fall in and give my parole with the others 
 and run the risk ; but this puts it out of the ques- 
 tion. I must take some other course." 
 
 '' What will you do ? " I inquired, but Jed made 
 
A GLIMPSE OF BELLE ISLE. 187 
 
 no other reply than to smile and shake his head as 
 if he had not really made up his mind on that point. 
 
 As Jed had predicted, the captain did not give 
 up the plan he had formed to recruit me for the 
 Confederate service. He promised to obtain for me 
 a commission, and argued that the Confederac}^ 
 would soon be acknowledged by England and 
 France, if it was not already, ''and then every man 
 who fights for us will be made independent." My 
 decided but good-natured answers that "I was 
 born a Yank, and intended to die a Yank," made it 
 hard for him to urge me further. 
 
 I reported this conversation to Jed, who said, — 
 
 " That is the best way ; if you gave him any en- 
 couragement it would make it disagreeable for 
 you." 
 
 In a few days after this, the expected parole of 
 prisoners really began. I was called out to write on 
 the parole papers, and on returning in the evening 
 found that Jed had disappeared from camp. 
 
 He had left a note for me with a mutual ac- 
 quaintance ; I opened it, and read, — 
 
 Dear Dick, — Don't be uneasy or worried about me. The 
 less you inquire for me or look after me, the better. 
 
 Jed. 
 
 I turned away, heavy-hearted at thoughts of 
 marching to our lines on the morrow, leaving Jed 
 in the hands of the enemy. 
 
 The paroles were all completed by nine o'clock 
 
188 JED'S ADVENTURES, 
 
 the next morning. I was standing at the place 
 where I had been writing, near a one-stoiy building, 
 previous to the war a church, but now used for a 
 commissary office. I met the captain of the 22d 
 Alabama, who shook hands with me, and said, — 
 
 " Since you won't be a Confederate I am glad, 
 for your sake, you are going home." 
 
 Just then I heard what I thought was Jed's 
 voice, saying, '' Yes, we are going to our lines." 
 I turned, and near me stood a broad-shouldered, 
 dark-whiskered fellow with an empty sleeve, who, 
 in reply to a question I put to him, said in unmis- 
 takable Irish brogue, — 
 
 " Sure it's glad I am to be going to the Union ! " 
 
 AYe began our march ; passed through Man- 
 chester, where sad-faced women came out from 
 their homes, and gave us cakes, and filled our can- 
 teens, and spoke kind words ; passed through 
 Richmond, with its now silent and almost deserted 
 streets, and after a hard all-day's march reached 
 Aiken's Landing, in sight of the flag-of-truce boat, 
 from which floated the stars and stripes. 
 
 Though no rations had been issued to us during 
 the entire day, we here received a plentiful supply, 
 and were contented to look up to the dear old flag, 
 never so dear as now, while tears ran down faces 
 unused to tears, from simple joy at being delivered 
 from our prison. 
 
 On the afternoon of the next day we landed at 
 Annapolis, and were marched to parole camp. 
 
A GLIMPSE OF BELLE ISLE. 189 
 
 Here I took up my quarters near a sutler's shop. 
 I had but few acquaintances among the prisoners, 
 and by reason of my long imprisonment was desti- 
 tute of many necessities to make me comfortable. 
 
 As I stood doubtfully musing, a voice like Jed's 
 aroused me from my reverie. Looking up, I saw 
 the Irish soldier standing before me. 
 
 " It's a foine thing to be once more in the Union, 
 sor," said he. 
 
 "Yes, Pat," said I, "but"— and here I looked 
 around. " I could almost swear I heard a friend's 
 voice just now ! " 
 
 " And faith ye did, me bye ! " said the supposed 
 Irishman ; thi'owing back his coat-collar which he 
 had worn turned up, and coolly removing a false 
 beard, to my astonishment, Jed stood before me. I 
 held out my hand, when from under his coat, where 
 dangled an unfilled coat-sleeve, he extended his 
 hand to meet mine. 
 
 Our army at tliis time was at Antietam, and Jed, 
 who the next morning got an interview with the col- 
 onel commanding the camp, was soon on his way 
 to Washington, with important information which 
 he had gained within the rebel lines. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 IN THE PAROLE CAIVIP. 
 
 A T the time of m}- arrival at the parole camp 
 ^^-^ my clothing was very ragged and dirty; 
 the natural results of being in the Confederacy 
 nearly four months without change of garments. 
 An Irish comrade not inaptly described my cos- 
 tume as " principally composed of fresh air." 
 
 My chief ambition at that time was to expel cer- 
 tain familiar invaders from my clothing, and to 
 obtain an army blanket. 
 
 Here let me explain that a ragged soldier was 
 treated with as much discourtesy as a ragged citi- 
 zen. 
 
 If better dressed men listened to statements from 
 such at all, it was with incredulity, as if the fact of 
 their raggedness was discreditable beyond expla- 
 nation, and that the only acceptable apology for 
 such a condition Avas a speedy change to a new or 
 a better suit. Hence though the facts which led 
 • to my poverty Avere in no wise discreditable to me, 
 yet, as I could not conveniently convene a court 
 of inquiry to show that I was guiltless of malice 
 aforethought, that poverty brought me into dis- 
 credit. I visited the quarters of the colonel com- 
 
 190 
 
IN THE PAROLE CAMP. 191 
 
 manding the camp, and requested that I might be 
 supplied with clothing. The response was, that 
 no such supplies had been issued to that camp. 
 
 I had written to my aunt that I had reached our 
 lines from the rebel prisons, and needed money, 
 but received no reply for many days. At the 
 thought that my friends, even, had deserted me, I 
 became despondent. 
 
 The food provided for the parole camp was such 
 as is usually issued to soldiers, but the craving for 
 luxuries was now as great as hitherto the desire 
 had been for necessities. 
 
 The want of respect shown me, even by my 
 ragged associates, chagrined and angered me. I 
 could not understand why I was not entitled to 
 the same consideration among my fellows as when 
 my uniform was bright and clean, and my position 
 assured. 
 
 I was in this vexed and fretful mood when, on 
 my way to the commanding officer's quarters to 
 plead again for blankets and clothing, I noticed 
 before me a tall, ragged, angular soldier, whose 
 gait and manner seemed familiar. I was cudgel- 
 ling my brain to establish some connecting link of 
 acquaintance between this person and myself, 
 when he arrived at the colonel's office, and burst " 
 out in a roar of indignant inquiry, — 
 " See here, air you the colonel ? " 
 " Yes : what is it you wish, my man ? " said that 
 personage, in sharp and forbidding tones. 
 
192 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 " What do I want? Why, colonel, I want most 
 everything ! I've been kicked around in this place 
 nigh on to three weeks. I want some clothes and 
 a blanket, and I want to get home or go to my 
 regiment. I'll be blamed if I don't want every- 
 thing, from the foundation to the upper story, 
 and this is the wust place to ' git 'em ' I ever 
 see." 
 
 The manner of the speaker was so ludicrous and 
 impatient, and liis growl of complaint so thunder- 
 ous, that I could not help laughing heartily, not- 
 withstanding the sym^^athy I had felt on account 
 of the similarity of our errand and condition, and 
 more especially as I recognized him as Sonny, the 
 dismounted cavalryman, whom I have more than 
 once mentioned in this narrative. 
 
 There was no satisfaction to be had from the 
 colonel, as it was plain he could not give us what 
 he did not himself possess. He had been so much 
 annoyed by similar requests that he was not very 
 sweet in his replies to ragged applicants. 
 
 The government was at this time endeavoring 
 to supply the " Army of the Potomac " with cloth- 
 ing, of which they were sadly in need after the 
 battle of Antietam, and so but little heed was paid 
 to those who (like ourselves) were not in active 
 service. 
 
 Sonny recognized me at once, and as we turned 
 away he growled in his deepest bass, — 
 
 ^' This is Camp Destitution, this is ! '* 
 
IN THE PAROLE CAMP. iS§ 
 
 On my remarking that I thought there was 
 enough to eat, he assented, saying, — 
 
 " Yes, enough of common stuff, sich as hard-tack 
 and pork, but after a man has been in Libby Prison 
 he sort o' wants some fine grub to fill up the 
 chinks with. This is a tough place to get any- 
 thing. I can't git a letter from hum, and can't 
 git no clothes and no nuthin' ! " 
 
 I told Sonny that I had been unable to get any 
 money, or even replies to my letters. " I believe 
 some one up to the camp post-office steals the let- 
 ters that have money in them," said Sonny. 
 
 I had never thought of this before, but was half 
 inclined to believe that Sonny's view was correct, 
 and this suoforested a new idea to me. 
 
 " Why not write and have our letters addressed 
 to us at Annapolis, instead of the parole camp ? " 
 I said. 
 
 "Well, now, that's a good idea," said Sonny, 
 looking skyward, as if it had something to do with 
 the weather instead of the mails. 
 
 " I'll write right off." So as Sonny had a little 
 money, which he proposed to share with me in the 
 venture, we bought paper, envelopes, and postage 
 stamps at the sutler's ; we wrote our letters, and 
 mailed them at the camp post-office. 
 
 I was about to part with Sonny when he in- 
 quired, — 
 
 " Where are yer stoppin' ? " 
 
 I told him, and he accompanied me to my quar- 
 
194 JEb'S ADVMNftfM^^. 
 
 ters, which were in an A tent occupied in common 
 with several other ex-prisoners. 
 
 " Sho ! " said Sonny, contemptuously viewing 
 the premises, "I can beat this. I've got a tent, 
 an old overcoat, and a ragged blanket, and all to 
 myself." 
 
 I inquired how it happened that he occupied a 
 tent alone. 
 
 " Well, you see, my chums complained when they 
 was put into the same tent with me. I'd got to 
 double up like the letter Z, or leave my legs out- 
 doors in the cold ; and when I did double up like the 
 last of the A B C's, I lay sort of zig-zag acrost the 
 hull tent," said Sonny, with a wink and a grin which 
 suggested that he could have improved the situa- 
 tion if he had tried. 
 
 " I should have thought they would have kicked 
 you out," said I. 
 
 "Wall, they did try it," said Sonny, and then 
 relapsed into silence, as if he preferred to let the 
 fact of his possession of the tent tell its own story. 
 
 So I took up my quarters with Sonny, and a bet- 
 ter-hearted or more genial comrade I could not 
 have wished. 
 
 " I've got some sweet potatoes and chicken for 
 dinner," said Sonny, on the day I joined my for- 
 tunes with his. 
 
 "How did you buy them?" I inquired, amazed 
 at such wealth. 
 
 " Buy ! " exclaimed Sonny, in a tone of derision. 
 
IN THE PAROLE CAMP. 195 
 
 "Why, bunkie, there's splendid foraging 'mong 
 these ' secesh ' around here." 
 
 As I made no answer Sonny continued, "You 
 see, with most of our boys, every one who has got 
 chickens or such things is a 'secesh,' but I believe 
 in makin' some difference. I don't mean to touch a 
 thing that I know belongs to a Union man. I don't 
 sa}" I ain't liable to mistakes, though, when I am 
 awful hungry. But when I know a man is a rebel 
 I don't care a bit what I take from liis farm ; least- 
 wise," said Sonny (with a qualifying clause), "if 
 he don't use his shotgun too promiscuously. I 
 am going out to git some sweet 'taters to-night. 
 There's an old fellow out here that's the most out- 
 rageous ' secesh ' there is in the county, and he keeps 
 a shotgun, tew, and threatens to shoot the fust Yank 
 that dares dig a 'tater or touch a chicken on his 
 place. If you'll go out with me we'll have some 
 fun." 
 
 I confess I could not see much fun in the pro- 
 gramme outlined ; besides, I had conscientious 
 scruples against getting potatoes in this manner. 
 But hunger is a powerful incentive, and often fur- 
 nishes more arguments for evil-doing than it gets 
 credit for. So as night came on, half hesitating, I 
 started out with Sonny for the sweet-potato field. 
 I had one haversack, but Sonny had two. 
 
 It was evening when we arrived at the scene of 
 our adventures. The planter's house stood on a 
 hill, while in the intervale below, a short distance 
 
196 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 from the road, there were one or two acres of 
 sweet-potato vines. 
 
 It was quite dark as we began silently and 
 stealthily to fill our haversacks. I had almost for- 
 gotten my objections to this method of procuring 
 supplies, when my conscience was suddenly re- 
 stored by the report of a double-barrelled shot- 
 gun. 
 
 Not desiring any further statement of the owner's 
 wishes regarding his sweet potatoes, I at once took 
 to the road and travelled, but Sonny obstinately 
 refused to accompany me, saying he would meet 
 me on the cross-road. 
 
 The cross-road was about a mile from the scene 
 of the encounter, but the frequent reports of the 
 planter's shotgun assisted me to reach it in a very 
 short time. 
 
 On my arrival I kindled a fire, with rails for fuel, 
 and awaited anxiously the return of Sonny. 
 
 The soldiers of the army, while prompted by 
 hunger to forage in this manner, were in the habit 
 of reasoning that they were in an enemy's country, 
 and therefore had a right to confiscate provisions ; 
 while, if among friends, the soldiers considered 
 themselves their defenders, and thus entitled to as 
 much as they needed. 
 
 The loose joint in this iron-clad reasoning was, 
 that the exponents of these views preferred '' dark- 
 ness rather than light," while availing themselves 
 of their assumed rights. 
 
IN THE PAROLE CAMP. 1S7 
 
 I was in the midst of reflections of this char- 
 acter, and was in the act of depositing some sweet 
 potatoes in the ashes to cook, when Sonny came 
 up Avith his face covered with blood, but with both 
 haversacks bulging out with provender. 
 
 I uttered aloud exclamation at sight of his bloody 
 face, which Sonny calmly explained by saying, 
 ^' That old scamp filled me with pigeon-shot. I be- 
 lieve I should have run if I hadn't been under fire 
 before. I'll git even with him. I won't leave a 
 sweet potato nor a chicken on his place." 
 
 " Don't you think, Sonny, that we were really 
 stealing those potatoes ? " I inquired. 
 
 " Sho ! how you talk ! We were foraging, — 
 sort of informally, of course, — and if that ole feller 
 can prove a claim, and prove his loyalty alongside 
 of his claim, he can collect his bill of Uncle Sam 
 just as slick as grease." 
 
 " Well," argued I, " Uncle Sam provides us with 
 rations, and, according to your views, he is liable 
 to pay an additional bill for these potatoes. If we 
 have got justice on our side, why not go by day- 
 light and help ourselves ? " 
 
 '' Well," said Sonny, '' I usually go in the night 
 to save time, and because it isn't best to harrow up 
 these rebs' feelings needlessly. We air commanded 
 to love our enemies. I find it purty hard work to 
 do that, since I come out of Libby Prison, so I come 
 as near to it as possible, and love their chickens 
 and sweet potatoes. Yer can't expect a man who 
 
198 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 is just out of their miserable holes to do more than 
 that, can yer? " 
 
 This speech was followed by a low, hoarse 
 chuckle, not unlike distant thunder, which showed 
 that Sonny was arguing more for fun than from 
 conviction. 
 
 That night we slept under a haystack, and in 
 the morning Sonny was scarcely able to walk, be- 
 cause of a pigeon shot which had lodged under his 
 kneejDan. This prevented his getting around camp 
 much for several weeks. 
 
 There were about two thousand men in the 
 parole camp at Annapolis, at this time. Up to this 
 period, we had been allowed to visit the city, which 
 was not more than a mile and a half from camp. 
 
 Now, however, a new sutler with a large stock of 
 goods had built a long, low building, one part of 
 which was a dining-room, and the other a store or 
 salesroom. Whether by arrangement with the 
 colonel or by some strange coincidence, all passes 
 to go to town were then cut off; a strict guard 
 was established around the camp, and the prices at 
 the sutler's were made almost double those for- 
 merly asked; and as a consequence, the paroled 
 prisoners were as angry as hornets. 
 
 Sonny, who, cut off from foraging, was now op- 
 pressed with more than his usual hunger, hav- 
 ing in some unexplained way got a dollar, declared 
 his intention of having " one good square meal " at 
 the sutler's. 
 
In the parole camp. l9d 
 
 Some twenty minutes after Sonny entered the 
 sutler's, we saw him being forcibly ejected. He 
 was very angry, and excitedly explained that he 
 had sat down to eat after paying a dollar for his 
 dinner, and that some officers had come in and 
 seated themselves at the same table, and then he 
 had been told he could not eat at the same table 
 with officers. 
 
 " I said to that sutler man, ' Ain't that dollar a 
 good one ? ' he said, ' Yes.' ' Well then, I'm going 
 to have a dinner ! ' and," continued Sonny, roaring 
 oratorically, " I'm a son of Maine, a freeman, and 
 a soldier of the Union, and was choked off at that 
 ' shebang ' in the act of eating a chicken ! " 
 
 Sonny was hot and angry, and his anger was 
 contagious ; as he had been abused by a common 
 enemy, — the sutler, — he soon had many cham- 
 pions, and the sutler many enemies. One of the 
 former made a furious speech, telling the incident 
 of Sonny's ejection after paying for a dinner, and 
 before eating it. The crowd became furious, and, 
 turning upon the sutler's shop, tore it down, dis- 
 tributing its contents in less time than it has taken 
 me to write about it. 
 
 The Pennsylvania Reserves, who made up the 
 camp guard, w^ere brought out and ordered to fire, 
 but it did no good. They understood the situa- 
 tion, and were in sympathy with the ex-prisoners. 
 One of them would say in loud tones, to a prisoner 
 with a box of tobacco, " Drop that, you scoundrel, 
 
200 JED'S ADVENTURE^. 
 
 you! " and then in lower tones would add, " Put 
 some in my pocket." 
 
 Sonny got enough of these goods to appease any 
 ordinary anger, but he still bewailed his loss, that, 
 in the act of eating a chicken, he had been kicked 
 out of the sutler's dining-room. 
 
 He was going on in this way when I ventured 
 to suggest that perhaps he had already eaten a 
 dollar's worth before they invented an excuse to 
 choke him off. Sonny protested that he " Hadn't 
 scarcely eaten nuthin' wdien the rumpus begun ! 
 There w^as about half a pot of beans, and a loaf of 
 brown bread, and butter, and a few such things 
 that I had eaten, and had just got down to solid 
 work on that chicken when they choked me off." 
 And as Sonny showed symptoms of getting angry, 
 I dared not quiz him any more. 
 
 Thinking it was about time for the letters which 
 I had asked to have directed to Annapolis, to 
 arrive, I applied for a pass to go to the city. It 
 was refused. I was told that I could give orders 
 to have my letters sent to the camp post-office. 
 
 That night I '^ ran the guard," reached Annap- 
 olis, and slept under a shed near the wharf until 
 morning. I then went to the post-office, but found 
 it closed. I inquired of a soldier why the office 
 was not open. He laughed, and replied laconically, 
 "Sunday." So much had one day been like 
 another, in parole camp as well as in prison, that 
 I had lost my reckoning of the days of the week. 
 
IN THE PAROLE CAMP. 201 
 
 I was hungry, and not knowing where my break- 
 fast was coming from, I nervously w^alked the 
 streets, planning what to do next. 
 
 Thus meditating, I ran against an officer who 
 was hobbling up the street on crutches, and almost 
 knocked him off his feet. I turned to apologize, 
 when I found myself face to face with Captain 
 Gruff. I was so overjoyed at sight of him, that I 
 could only hold out my hands and cry like a 
 child. 
 
 He put liis hand into his pocket, and answered 
 my appeal by handing me some fractional cur- 
 rency, which was then in use. He did not 
 know me. 
 
 "Soldier, vat is the matter?" interrogated the 
 old soldier, in his stern, military tones. 
 
 "Don't you know me. Captain Gruff? Don't 
 you know Dick Nickerson?" I exclaimed.' 
 
 The captain recognized my voice, and his whole 
 manner changed ; something rose up in his throat 
 and choked his voice, while tears came to his eyes, 
 as he said, — 
 
 " My poor poy, my poor poy ! too pad, too pad ! 
 Vat have they done to you?" 
 
 I briefly told him my story and Jed's. 
 
 " Veil, Dick, you must have somethin' to vare 
 first, and then somethin' to eat," and with this he 
 hurried me around a corner where a Jew was keej)- 
 ing open shop, thrust a roll of bills into my hand, 
 and, giving me directions to find his quarters at 
 
202 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 the Naval Hospital, he started off to get me up a 
 spread, or, as he called it, a " goot tinner." 
 
 I bought a fine suit of citizen's clothes,, including 
 shirts, collar and neck-tie, boots, and a nice forage 
 cap, such as officers wear, — the only article of 
 military goods in his shop, — and with these in a 
 bundle I went to a hotel where a barber's shop and 
 bathroom were open. 
 
 I first got a shave, had my hair cut, and then in- 
 quired, " Can I get a bath ? " and received the 
 answer, " Yes, if you can pay in advance for it." 
 
 I think I never enjoyed anything more than that 
 bath. I rolled my old rags into a bundle, got into 
 my new suit, and was my old self again. How 
 glorious to be clean and well dressed ! 
 
 The clothes fitted me nicely, and as I once more 
 entered the main room to view myself in the glass, 
 the proprietor bowed to me respectfully, saying, 
 "The price of your bath, sir, if you please." 
 
 " I paid for it in advance, as you requested," I 
 replied. 
 
 " Good heavens ! " he exclaimed, amazed at my 
 transformation, " you are not the man who went 
 into No. 7, are you ? " 
 
 Bowing my acknowledgment of the fact, I went 
 on my way to Captain Gruff's quarters, impressed 
 for the first time at the power of dress among men. 
 
 Captain Gruff was pleased with my appearance, 
 and introduced me to his friends. After dinner I 
 narrated my experience and adventures, and the 
 
IN THE PAROLE CAMP. 203 
 
 noble part Jed had taken in my rescue from sick- 
 ness and death at Belle Isle. 
 
 Captain Gruff's eyes filled with tears, and his 
 ordinarily firm hand trembled as he filled his pipe, 
 while he exclaimed, '' Ah, dot Jed ! He's a fine 
 poy, a fine poy. He saves me from being one hog 
 of a trunkard. Shentlemen, I loves dot poy, and 
 dot's de reason I vill not trink mit you sometimes 
 ven you asks me. I feel as if I could not look into 
 dot poy's goot eyes if I tid." 
 
 There was not an officer at the table but that 
 respected him for this, for the silent tribute of a 
 tear was seen on their faces at the touch of nature 
 in the brave old soldier, who, even in the midst of 
 carnage, danger, and death, seldom showed emotion. 
 
 The captain now told me his experience at the 
 second battle of Bull Run. The regiments under 
 Hooker had attacked Jackson in the railroad cut, 
 and there he had been wounded. 
 
 He told me that my aunt had written to him at 
 different times to make inquiries for me, and that 
 her grief was very great at my being a prisoner. 
 "And, Dick, dot leetle voman has lost all her 
 money vich she invested mit dot Squire Weston," 
 said Gruff pathetically. 
 
 I was a different person, in my own estimation, 
 as I retraced my steps towards parole camp the 
 next morning. Walking up to the colonel's quar- 
 ters, I saluted that officer, who did not recognize 
 in me the ragged sup^^liant who had besieged his 
 
204 , JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 quarters for a month past. He arose, shook my 
 hand cordially, and invited me to take a seat in his 
 office. 
 
 " I am a paroled prisoner, colonel, but do not 
 wish to take up my quarters among the other dirty 
 prisoners." 
 
 He was kind enough to appreciate my feelings, 
 and invited me to accept a blanket in his own 
 tent. I not only accepted this offer, but also that 
 of a clerkship offered me in the office. 
 
 Not long after I had been installed as clerk, I 
 heard the familiar voice of Sonny, deep and vibrant 
 as thunder. '' Say, Cap, ain't I never goin' to git 
 a blanket nor nothin' ? " 
 
 Seeing that he did not recognize me, I could not 
 resist having some fun at his expense. So I re- 
 plied, " There's an old man about three miles from 
 here, up the Baltimore road, ^vllo says that a big 
 fellow with two haversacks has carried off a lot of 
 his sweet potatoes, and some of his pigeon shot." 
 
 Sonny's amazement can better be imagined than 
 described. His confusion was so great that he 
 could hardly speak, but he finally burst out with 
 the exclamation, ''It's a thunderin' lie. Cap. I 
 ain't touched a sweet potato belonging to no one, 
 — leastwise, none of any good Union man ; besides, 
 I'm lame, and couldn't git eout to a potato patch if 
 I tried." 
 
 " At what battle were you wounded? " I inquired. 
 
 ** During the Peninsula fights I was wounded 
 
IN THE PAROLE CAMP. 205 
 
 and tuck prisoner." All of which the reader knows 
 to be true. 
 
 " Was that where you got that pigeon shot under 
 your knee ? " I inquired gravely. 
 
 To see Sonny's mouth open, and eyes protrude, 
 in amazement was too much for my gravity. When 
 I could control my face again I said, " Don't mind 
 my teasing, Sonny. Here is an order for a suit of 
 clothes and a blanket. Some clothing came in this 
 morning, and this is the first order issued." 
 
 Sonny then recognized me, but could hardly be- 
 lieve his senses. " Gosh ! " he said, "how did you 
 'ring in' with the colonel and get your meetin' 
 clothes ? Say, Dick, put me up to it, and I'll git 
 some tu." 
 
 If I did not help Sonny in this way, I did in 
 others, such as giving his chronic hunger a chance at 
 the colonel's cook's quarters, and loaning him money. 
 
 On my visits to Captain Gruff at the Naval Hos- 
 pital he urged me to go home as soon as I could 
 get a furlough, and attend to my aunt's affairs. I 
 had written to her again shortly after meeting Cap- 
 tain Gruff, and had received a reply saying that she 
 had sent money to me at the parole camp after 
 receiving my fii^st letter, but that she had not sent 
 much, as she had but very little. She had in- 
 trusted all her money to Squire Weston, for which 
 she had taken no receipt, and since then the squire 
 had declared that she had not deposited a cent in 
 his hands for investment. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ON FURLOUGH AT HOME. 
 
 SOON after the incidents recorded in the fore- 
 going chapter, I received a letter from Jed, 
 informing me that he was in the parole camp near 
 Alexandria, Va. When, a little later, a large num- 
 ber of our prisoners were transferred to that camp, 
 I obtained permission to go with them, and was 
 soon with Jed again. 
 
 The parole camp at Alexandria Avas situated on 
 the level plain northwest of, and near, the city. It 
 was well kept, and was often visited by the women 
 of the " Sanitary Commission," who furnished the 
 newly arrived and ragged prisoners with needed 
 articles of clothing, and sometimes with luxuries 
 in the way of food. Jed was very enthusiastic in 
 his praise of these women, whose devotion to suf- 
 fering soldiers was so much in 'contrast with the 
 selfish sentiments of many he had encountered 
 around Washington. 
 
 " To be a Christian," said Jed thoughtfully, 
 when speaking of these women, " is to be Christ- 
 like ; and to be like Him is to forget one's self in 
 care and love for others. When we really love 
 20a 
 
ON FURLOUGH AT HOME. 207 
 
 Him it is natural to forget ourselves, because that 
 love is so great there is no room for any other 
 love ; " and as Jed continued speaking, his face 
 shone with the transfiguring light of the Master's 
 love. 
 
 I showed Jed my aunt's letter, and it was agreed 
 that if possible we would obtain furloughs and go 
 home to see our friends, and call Lawyer Weston to 
 an account for the loss of my aunt's money. 
 
 Aunt Tempy's letters gave us a confused and 
 what Jed termed a '^ mixed account " of her affairs, 
 as if she hardly understood in what manner or for 
 what purposes she had intrusted her money to 
 Squire Weston. 
 
 That very day we each made an application for 
 a thirty days' furlough, which was indorsed by the 
 colonel commanding, and forwarded to Washing- 
 ton, with the recommendation that it be granted. 
 
 We waited anxiously three weeks, when our ap- 
 plications came back to headquarters with various 
 indorsements in red and black ink across the folded 
 document, and looking, Jed laughingly declared, as 
 if the entire clerical force of the War Department 
 had been put at work upon it. 
 
 The principal indorsement on each, however, 
 was, ''The within application for a furlough can- 
 not be granted, as the within-named soldier is a 
 ' paroled prisoner of war.' " 
 
 We did not understand the significance of this 
 indorsement, except that our request was refused ; 
 
208 JED'S ADVENTURES, 
 
 and we were discussing the probable meaning of 
 the refusal, somewhat loudly, after the manner of 
 boy soldiers, when a rough-featured captain, whom 
 we recognized as being connected with the camp, 
 stopped and inquired in pleasant tones, — 
 
 " What is it, boys ? " 
 
 Jed showed him the document, and asked, — 
 
 " Does the fact of our being paroled prisoners 
 debar us from receiving a furlough ? " 
 
 '' Why, as near as I can understand the matter," 
 said Captain Jones, " the cartel or agreement now 
 in force between the Confederates and the United 
 States is, that no exchange of prisoners among 
 those paroled is to take place until the government 
 holding the smallest number has swapped all the 
 prisoners they have on hand ; the balance of the 
 prisoners in the hands of the other government are 
 paroled or turned over to the parties tliey belonged 
 to, and held, as it were, in trust, and to be fed and 
 cared for, until declared exchanged by both 
 parties. 
 
 " Our position is this ; the Confederates had more 
 prisoners than the United States, and the paroled 
 prisoners, here and elsewhere, represent that sur- 
 plus, for which the United States are responsible 
 to the so-called Confederate government." 
 
 " Then we've got to stay here until ' Uncle Sam ' 
 can catch enough rebs to swap for us ? " said Jed. 
 
 " Yes, that's exactly it ! " said the captain, 
 smiling. 
 
ON FURLOUGH AT HOME. 209 
 
 " What regiment do you belong to ? " inquired 
 the captain. 
 
 We told him, at which he said, " It was one of 
 the best regiments in the service." 
 
 "- 1 don't know that I want to go back to my 
 regiment anyway, if it is a crack regiment ! " said 
 Jed, exchanging a glance with me. 
 
 A frown came over the captain's face, as he 
 roughly responded, " I suppose you mean to shirk 
 or desert, then ? " 
 
 I explained to him Jed's situation, — that he had 
 been in the enemy's lines for information, and that 
 it had been debated between us whether it was best 
 for him to go back to his old regiment or get trans- 
 ferred to some other. 
 
 " Oh ! I see," said the captain, smiling once more, 
 " if he is captured while belonging to the same 
 regiment he might be identified as a spy and 
 hanged ! Come into my regiment, boys, if you can 
 get your transfer ; good regiment ! and I'm going 
 back to my company as soon as I'm exchanged."" 
 
 " I have not decided," replied Jed : " there's 
 danger to every one who does his duty in the army, 
 and it makes but little difference where we fall." 
 
 " Ah ! " said the captain, " a man never loves 
 his country so dearly as when he constantly puts 
 himself up to be shot for her ; and we seem to 
 love a cause just in proportion to what we give 
 to it." 
 
 " Greater love hath no man than this, that he 
 
210 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 giveth his life for another," softly repeated Jed with 
 that self-communing look, wliich at times seemed 
 to come from a light within, upon his face. 
 
 "Humph!" said the captain gruffly. "There 
 is no one I should like to fight as well as I do these 
 rebs; I'm not bloodthirsty, but I feel as if I were 
 fighting for the Union and in God's service," and 
 the captain turned away. 
 
 It was in December that we were declared ex- 
 changed, and ordered to report for duty with our 
 regiment, now lying at Falmouth, before Fred- 
 ericksburg. 
 
 "This won't do," said Jed; "there's not likely 
 to be any fighting during the winter months, and 
 we must get a furlough to see to your aunt's affairs." 
 
 " ' Must ' is a good word, but ' How,' armed with 
 an interrogation point, stands on guard," I re- 
 spbnded. 
 
 " I'm acquainted with Secretary Stanton ; he's 
 a first-rate man, and I think he will do something 
 for us if I ask him," said Jed simply. 
 
 I turned to Jed to see whether he was demented 
 or joking, for this was the first time he had men- 
 tioned the great Secretary of War. Jed then ex- 
 plained to me that, on leaving Annapolis, he had 
 had an interview with Secretary Stanton, who had 
 treated him very kindly, and, as Jed said, had asked 
 him more questions than Captain Gruff asked from 
 the manual in the " School of the Soldier." 
 
 We obtained a pass to go to Washington to get 
 
ON FURLOUGH AT HOME. 211 
 
 from the War Department, if possible, the required 
 furlough. A guard stood at the door of the War 
 Office, and halted us as we approached. 
 
 " No one allowed to pass here," crisply explained 
 the guard, in answer to our questions. 
 
 " I want to see the Secretary of War," said Jed. 
 
 " Rles of people been here saying the same thing," 
 replied the guard, as stiffly as his Western manners 
 would allow. 
 
 Just then a man rushed by us, who was halted 
 as peremptorily as we had been, by the sentry in- 
 terposing his musket in front of him. 
 
 " Let me pass," angrily roared the man, in a deep 
 voice. 
 
 The person thus brought to bay was a short, 
 stout old man, with a large head, and iron-gray 
 hair and beard which bristled out at many angles, 
 while every feature worked with irritable impa- 
 tience. 
 
 Jed touched this man on the shoulder, and said 
 respectfully, "I have come to see you again, 
 sir." 
 
 The person thus addressed turned slowly towards 
 Jed, as if in suppressed anger, but, to my surprise, 
 on seeing Jed the expression of his face softened, 
 as he extended his hand with a pleasant smile. 
 
 Turning to the sentinel, he said, in his deep 
 tones, " I am the Secretary of War : let me pass 
 with these gentlemen." The guard brought his 
 musket to a salute, and we passed into the office. 
 
212 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 The secretary turned to Jed, and im]3atiently, 
 but without anger, said, "Where did you go a 
 month ago, after leaving this office ? " 
 
 " I gave you my information, then reported to 
 the provost-marshal, who sent me to the parole 
 camp at Alexandria. I have now returned to ask 
 a favor for myself and friend," replied Jed grfv^ely. 
 
 *' Ask it," said the secretary pleasantly. 
 
 " We want a furlough." 
 
 Turning to me slowly, instead of replying to Jed, 
 he brusquely asked, " What are you doing in citi- 
 zen's clothes, sir? " 
 
 I explained to him my condition when I came 
 from Belle Isle, and the impossibility of obtain- 
 ing any clothing at the parole camp at An- 
 napolis. 
 
 Dashing his glasses from his eyes with a gesture 
 of impatience, he jerked at the bell-cord hanging 
 from the ceiling of the office, which rang a noisy 
 bell. An officer from an adjoining room answered 
 the call, and to him the secretary gave orders for 
 an inquiry to be made into the condition of pris- 
 oners at the parole camp at Annapolis. 
 
 The secretary then, without further notice of 
 me, turned to Jed, and, putting his hand on his 
 shoulder, said, " You are but a boy, but you have 
 acted a man's part, and a brave one at that. I can- 
 not do too much for brave boys like you. Your 
 furloughs will be made out and forwarded to the 
 parole camp at once." 
 
ON FURLOUGH AT HOME, 213 
 
 We were soon at home. How familiar the streets 
 looked as we passed on tlirough the village ! We 
 reached my aunt's house and knocked. No response. 
 We knocked still louder, but no answer came to 
 our summons. We went around by the back 
 veranda and peered into the kitchen windows. 
 The kitchen was deserted, and no furniture or 
 stove. 
 
 "She has moved," said Jed. 
 
 "• Let us go over to Silas Eaton's and inquire," I 
 suggested. 
 
 Here a stranger came to the door, and to all our 
 questions replied, " Don't know." 
 
 We then started for the village to make inquiries. 
 On our way a dog rushed out of a yard barking 
 furiously, but suddenly ceased, and began leaping 
 first on one and then on the other of us, with frantic 
 whines and yelps. It was Mink. After caressing 
 him with extravagant demonstrations, second only 
 to those of the dog, Jed said, '' If Mink came out of 
 that house your aunt is there, too ; " and we started 
 up the yard, but before we could reach the door my 
 aunt came rushing out of the house with her apron 
 over her head, and almost rivalled Mink in her 
 demonstrations of delig'ht. 
 
 " Why don't you live in your own house ? " I 
 inquired of my aunt. 
 
 Pausing in her joyful congratulations she burst 
 into tears, and began to " take on," as Jed called 
 it. 
 
214 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 It was some time before she could tell me her 
 troubles. 
 
 She had mortgaged her house to Lawyer Weston, 
 to get money to invest in bonds recommended b}^ 
 him. The mortgage had been foreclosed, and 
 Squire "Weston denied that he had ever received 
 any money from her. He had not turned her out 
 of her house, but had sent her word that she might 
 live there free of rent, but this she had angrily 
 refused to do. 
 
 " And," continued my aunt, " I took that check 
 you sent to me, and hired this little cottage. 
 I don't know what I should have done but for 
 that money." 
 
 Jed glanced inquiringly at me, because he knew 
 that I had not sent the check, as I had been paid 
 off only three days previous to leaving the parole 
 camp. 
 
 " How did the check come ? " I inquired. 
 
 " In an envelope," replied my aunt, not seeming 
 to notice the significance of my question, and she 
 continued, — 
 
 " Here's the envelope ; it wasn't nice in you, 
 Dick, not to write when you sent the money." 
 
 We looked at the envelope, which was post- 
 marked Annapolis. The writing, though like 
 mine, was unmistakably that of Captain Gruff. 
 
 The generous old captain had sent the money 
 which my aunt believed had come from me. We 
 did not undeceive her, and she was so overjoyed at 
 
ON FURLOUGH AT HOME. 215 
 
 our return that she did not notice the lameness of 
 my reply. 
 
 The sentiment with which soldiers were regarded 
 had changed since we were last in our little town. 
 Then it was fashionable to pet and compliment 
 them ; at this stage of the Avar, however, soldiers 
 had become too common to be looked upon as 
 heroes, especially by those who were not a little 
 ashamed that they had not illustrated their talka- 
 tive patriotism by going to the froiit. 
 
 As we passed on to the principal business street 
 of the village, a new shop with plate-glass windows 
 arrested our attention. Looking up to the sign 
 we read, '^ Silas Eaton, Ladies and Gents' Shoes." 
 We entered and accosted the proprietor, who now 
 wore a funereal suit of shining black clothes, and 
 a stiff, laundried collar. Though Silas had left the 
 shoe-bench, he was not changed for the better ; his 
 face had the same querulous snarled-up look — as 
 Jed called it, and his manner was as dogmatic as 
 usual. 
 
 "We didn't expect to find you at home, Silas ! " 
 I remarked. "• We thought to find you planning 
 campaigns and leading our soldiers at the front." 
 
 '' No," said Silas, " I ain't gone yet, 'cause, ye 
 see, I think I can do more good at home. I did 
 have a kmd o' notion of goin' out as an officer, 
 'cause the pay was good; but I got ter makin' 
 money here like smoke, and I'm more use here 
 than if I was fitin'." 
 
216 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 " Whatever else has occurred," said Jed tartly, 
 " you are neither an officer nor a [here he hesitated 
 as if he had started to say gentleman] private." 
 
 " Du you tliink this war will hold on till spring? " 
 inquired Silas. 
 
 I answered, " Yes." 
 
 " Well," said Silas, with a look of relief, " if it 
 duz I shall be quite forehanded. You see that 
 new house out there ? " pointing to a large, pre- 
 tentious residence. "Well, that house is mine, the 
 next one tu it is Lawyer Weston's, and the 'tother 
 one belongs to William Tucker, the shoe manu- 
 facturer. He's my partner, and we've got a 
 profitable contract for shoes, so you see we do our 
 part towards helpin' on the war." 
 
 "Yes," said Jed, "you combine profit with pa- 
 triotism." 
 
 We afterwards learned that the firm used paste- 
 board, ground leather, and other shoddy stock in 
 manufacturing soldiers' shoes, and in this manner 
 they had made a fortune. 
 
 " How did you make your money ? " inquired 
 Jed. 
 
 " Well, we've manufactured shoes and have got 
 tu or three other strings to our bow. Lawyer 
 Weston, did you say? he's a sharp one; mustn't 
 say nothin' against him, though ; he's a forehanded, 
 respectable man." 
 
 " He may be sharp," I replied, " but he does not 
 give very good advice to his clients. My aunt 
 
ON FURLOUGH AT HOME. 217 
 
 mortgaged her house and put the money into the 
 squire's hands, and now she has lost her house, and 
 the squire denies receiving her money." 
 
 "Wall, I heard somethin' about that; but the 
 squire has alius been accounted honest, though 
 he's sharp, and money will stick to his fingers. 
 Men don't change their natures in a day, and the 
 squire is lionest. Say, yeou, didn't your aunt git 
 a receipt from the squire ? " 
 
 We replied that she did not. 
 
 "Tlie only proof she's got is her own word, 
 then, — w^ell. Temperance Nickerson won't lie, and 
 the squire is honest — don't see how it is," solilo- 
 quized Silas. " But when a man makes mone}^ lots 
 of folks stand ready to declare he made it cheatin'," 
 he added, Avith a virtuous smirk on his querulous 
 face. 
 
 Uncle John Warren, of whom mention has been 
 made in a previous chapter, was esteemed a sound 
 counsellor, and an honest, God-fearing man. As 
 he was a former friend of my father I determined 
 to consult him. 
 
 We found the old man in his sitting-room, and 
 he welcomed us heartily. After hearing our story, 
 he said in his deep, measured tones, — 
 
 " I do not see that anything can be done in this 
 matter, until jow have proof that the squire re- 
 ceived your aunt's money, and then you must place 
 your case in the hands of an honest man. The 
 evidence is circumstantial, all except this direct 
 
218 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 testimony of your aunt's, that she gave the money 
 to Squire Weston. It is well known that she 
 mortgaged her house on his advice, and you say 
 you have her letter asking your opinion of the in- 
 vestment. My advice is for you to go to Squire 
 Weston himself and see what he says. He has 
 always been thought to be honest, though a hard 
 man, who looked out for his own. The prevail- 
 ing haste for wealth may have taken hold of the 
 squire ; for the Holy Writ says, ' a man can't serve 
 God and Mammon.' " 
 
 The old man heard the story of our army experi- 
 ence with wonder and intense interest. Turning 
 to Jed, he said, " So far as I can judge, you've been 
 a brave soldier and a good boy. Be careful of your 
 habits, and do not fall into evil ways. When you 
 left home I lioped that you might become a true 
 follower of Christ." 
 
 Jed gave briefly, in simple words, his religious 
 experience. 
 
 Before we left. Uncle Joliii stood and prayed, in 
 his stately, solemn language, for the widows and 
 orphans of soldiers, and for his afflicted country, 
 and that God might guide and bless Abraham Lin- 
 coln, whom he had raised up as an instrument for 
 its salvation. 
 
 How deep the words of a good man's prayer sink 
 into the heart ! . . . 
 
 On inquiring of my aunt, I learned that her two 
 calls at Squire Weston's office had been made iu 
 
ON FURLOUGH AT HOME. 219 
 
 the evening, becanse that time suited her conven- 
 ience, and gave the squire leisure to talk over 
 business. 
 
 The next day Jed and I called on Lawyer Wes- 
 ton. As I entered the door the lawyer looked up 
 from his desk, recognized us, and without the 
 slightest embarrassment advanced with extended 
 hand, saymg, " Glad to welcome home our brave 
 defenders, Mr. Nickerson. Ah I '' — 
 
 Here the squire frowned, for, gravely looking in 
 his face, I withheld my hand, saying, " What 
 have you done with my aunt's money, Mr. 
 Weston?" 
 
 The squire met my gaze unflinchingly, and with 
 his steel-gray eyes fixed on mine, replied, '^ I held 
 a mortgage on your aunt's house for money ad- 
 vanced by other parties. I foreclosed the mortgage, 
 as the interest on the loan had more than eaten up 
 the worth of the house. I have had no other money 
 transactions with your aunt, though she claims she 
 put money in my hands for investment at two dif- 
 ferent times. I never received the money. Your 
 aunt is flighty: something wrong here," and the 
 squire tapped his forehead significantly. 
 
 All this time Squire Weston met my eye like an 
 honest, fearless man, and this was more convincing 
 to me of his integrity than mere words. 
 
 Was my aunt really laboring under some mistake 
 or hallucination? Pondering on these things, I 
 visited Lawyer Robinson of the village, whose 
 
220 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 sharp, fox-like visage mirrored his acuteness and 
 sagacity. 
 
 After stating the case and answering all his ques- 
 tions, he dismissed me abruptly, saying, "Your 
 aunt has no case, because she has no evidence that 
 a court will consider. If Weston has acted the 
 scamp, he has not left the bars down : he has put 
 them all up behind him. I have always thought 
 him an honest man ; so does the community in 
 which he has lived for a lifetime. You've no case 
 against such a man with the evidence you now 
 have." 
 
 I could not but admit that the lawyer was right. 
 Squire Weston's well-known reputation for integ- 
 rity, and his manner of meeting m}^ inquiries, made 
 me hesitate to believe him guilty. Yet my aunt 
 had undoubtedly told the truth, " according to her 
 light," as Silas Eaton expressed it. 
 
 During my stay at home I made no progress in 
 clearing up the mystery. The squire's quiet denial 
 was, as Jed termed it, a "knock-down," — "And 
 you'll have to get evidence for crutches before you 
 go into court." 
 
 Though I had formerly believed in the squire's 
 guilt, I now began to surmise that under the whole 
 affair there was some mystery. 
 
 Our thirty days' furlough passed rapidly, and we 
 must leave once more for the army. The minister 
 of the village church, a good man, who exhibited 
 great interest in both Jed and myself, accompanied 
 
ON FURLOUGH A T HOME. 2^21 
 
 US to the station. Uncle John was also present 
 to see us off, as was also Squire Weston's pretty 
 daughter, who had lately looked with favoring eyes 
 upon the straight, manly, handsome Jed. 
 
 So with many " God bless you's," we were once 
 more on our way to the front. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 IN THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE. 
 
 "TN a few clays we reached our regiment, then 
 -^ lying at Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg. 
 Many changes had taken place during our absence. 
 The ranks had been thinned by disease and battle. 
 Our comrades had participated in the conflicts of 
 Malvern Hill, the 2d Bull Run, South Mountain, 
 Antietam, and the terrible struggle for Mayre's 
 Heights, at Fredericksburg. 
 
 Captain Gruff, Avho had now recovered from his 
 wound, had been advanced to the position of 
 lieutenant colonel in command of the regiment. 
 
 Our old division commander. General Hooker, 
 for whom I had been an orderly at the time of my 
 capture, now commanded the army of the Potomac. 
 
 Colonel Gruff, as he was now called, endeavored 
 to dissuade Jed from joining his own regiment, 
 thinking it more prudent for him to be with some 
 other, so that if taken prisoner he would be in less 
 danger of being identified by his captors. Jed, 
 however, respectfully declined to be transferred and 
 said, — 
 
 '' I ought to be allowed to do a little real fighting 
 with my own regiment, so as to show that the 
 
BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE. 223 
 
 rumor that I deserted was false. Secretary Stanton 
 offered me a commission and a transfer, but I 
 want to serve with my own townspeople." 
 
 " But, Jed, my tear poy, if the rebs get you, ve 
 all shall lose you. Deys not very careful vat dey 
 do." 
 
 "No," growled "Long John Haskell," "I'm 
 blanked if old Stonewall Jackson didn't fire chunks 
 of railroad iron at us at Bull Run ; they are awful 
 careless." 
 
 But no remonstrance availed with Jed, who, 
 like many amiable people, was very obstinate. 
 
 Shortly after his arrival, Jed was promoted to 
 be a sergeant ; my promotion to that rank had 
 previously taken place. Jed's long absence from 
 our ranks was now partly understood by the regi- 
 ment, yet there were envious members who hinted 
 that Jed was disloyal. Among these was Lieu- 
 tenant Weston. This was very hard for Jed to 
 bear, yet he made no denial by word or look, but 
 simply said, " My life as a soldier will disprove 
 these falsehoods." 
 
 An incident here occurred which illustrates the 
 generous character of the Union soldier. Near the 
 outposts there lived a crippled Confederate and 
 his wife, to whom Jed often carried food and 
 clothing. Osgood, Avho was now a corporal, and 
 who thought he should have been promoted instead 
 of Jed, insinuated that this was a method adopted 
 by Jed to communicate with the enemy. One 
 
224 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 day, however, Osgood stopped me as I was passing 
 him, and said, — 
 
 '' I want to make an ficknowledgment, as every 
 one should who has wronged a good man. I was 
 prejudiced against Jed, but I was wrong in sus- 
 pecting him." 
 
 "What has happened to change your opinion?" 
 I inquired curiously. 
 
 "Well," said he, "Sutherland and I saw Jed 
 going into that rebel's slianty, and we thought we 
 would listen so as to get a twist on him." 
 
 "What did you hear?" I inquired, for I knew 
 he could not have heard anything to Jed's dis- 
 credit. 
 
 " I heard Jed say to that rebel, ' Here, Johnnie, 
 here's all the money I've got; in a few days 
 the spring campaign will probably open, and 
 you'll have hard work to support yourself and 
 family.' " 
 
 " What did the Confederate sa}^ ? " I inquired, 
 still curious, as Jed had told me nothing of this, 
 although he had borrowed all my money. 
 
 " Why, that reb was all broke up ; I could look 
 through a chink of the logs and see the tears run- 
 ning down his face while he grasped Sergeant 
 Jed's hand, and said, ' I'll be doggoned if I didn't 
 believe Yanks had horns before you all come 
 down here to fight; but now I've got no other 
 friends.' — 'Don't say you have no other friends,' 
 said Jed, * Jesus is the friend of all who are heavy 
 
hATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE, 2^5 
 
 laden with sorrow ; ' and then, as I'm a sinner, if 
 he didn't get down on his knees and pray for that 
 reb and his family, until both the man and his 
 wife cried like children, and I was all choked up 
 too. I made up my mind I'd confess how mean 
 rd been, and I'm doing it as fast as I can." 
 
 Osgood told this incident everywhere, which, 
 together with Jed's constant goodness, made him 
 many friends. It also made friends for the crip- 
 pled Confederate. So contagious is an act of 
 kindness to an enemy, that every new picket 
 shared their rations with him, split and carried 
 wood to his hut, and heaped coals of fire on his 
 hearth, if not on his head. 
 
 Constant parades, drills, and inspections on the 
 plains of Falmouth soon heralded the a^^proach of 
 another campaign. The army under Hooker then 
 numbered one hundred and twenty thousand men, 
 and justified the boast of its commander that it 
 was " the finest army on the planet." 
 
 April 27th we broke camp, and supplied with salt 
 pork, hard-tack, sugar, and coffee for eight days' 
 rations, began our march to turn the flank of the 
 enemy. 
 
 Hooker had wisely determined not to repeat the 
 fault of Burnside, in attacking the heights on his 
 front. He left Sedgwick to occupy the enemy's 
 attention, and to mask his movement on their 
 flank. Making wide detours behind the hills, that 
 the marching columns might not be perceived by 
 
226 JED'S ADVENTURE^.' 
 
 the foe, we reached the upper fords of the Rap- 
 pahannock. 
 
 A small brigade of cavalry preceded us across 
 the river, to clear our front. The rear of this col- 
 umn was just crossing as we reached the river. As 
 we threw ourselves on the ground to rest, a tall 
 cavalryman on a small horse hesitated on the bank, 
 and soliloquized, — 
 
 " Well, old Joe Hooker remembered most 
 everything, but he forgot to give us swimming 
 lessons." 
 
 I at once recognized Sonny, the cavalryman, and, 
 thinking to tease him, shouted, "Are you after 
 more pigeon shot and sweet potatoes. Sonny ? " 
 
 Sonny turned and recognized me, and, after 
 shaking hands, rode into the rushing current, say- 
 ing, " I'll meet you on the field of glory, Nicker- 
 son." He little thought in what a grotesque man- 
 ner I should meet him before the campaign was 
 over. 
 
 It was, as Sonny remarked, no fool of a job to 
 cross this rapid river. Our men were, however, 
 equal to the task. They stripped, and, placing 
 their clothes and rations on their shoulders, with 
 their cartridge-boxes on their heads to keep their 
 ammunition dry, made the crossing with such 
 laughter and jokes as often season the rough work 
 of a soldier's life. 
 
 When darkness came on huge bonfires were 
 kindled on the oi:)posite banks, and all through 
 
BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE. 227 
 
 the night soldiers and pack-mules could be heard 
 splashing in the chill waters of the Rappahannock. 
 
 At this point I met some prisoners who had been 
 captured by our cavalry. One of them asked me, — 
 
 *' What are you'ns goin' to do with all of your 
 grub fixins ? " 
 
 " Going to Richmond," I replied. 
 
 " I reckon you'll need rations for a hundred years 
 before yer git there," replied the confident reb. 
 " We like to have you Yanks have a lot o' good 
 things, for when we git one of yous, we git watches, 
 and boots, and a heap of fixins. Now, when you 
 git a reb, yer don't git much o' anythin' else. 
 Uncle Robert will gobble the hull of ye, and make 
 yer march with them fixins to Richmond, I reckon." 
 
 Thus confident were the Confederate soldiers in 
 their great commander. 
 
 An army of fifty thousand men was soon at 
 Chancellors ville. Our army, heavy laden with 
 rations and ammunition, had crossed two rivers 
 and had marched forty miles in two days. We had 
 turned the flank of the Confederate army, and it 
 was no idle boast of General" Hooker, that he held 
 Richmond in one hand and Lee's army in the other, 
 for the situation at that time justified the assertion. 
 
 Chancellorsville was not a town, but a solitary 
 country house, surrounded by clustering negro 
 quarters, standing in the midst of a large clearing, 
 with dense thickets on every side, practically im- 
 penetrable for the manoeuvres of an army. 
 
228 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 It was not the original plan of our general to 
 give battle here, but it was a convenient point from 
 which to concentrate his troops four miles farther 
 southeast at the United States Ford. This last 
 position, if attained, would take the rebel lines in 
 reverse, and if they retreated expose their flank and 
 rear, while if they came out to attack us they would 
 be obliged to accept battle in the open field. 
 
 Our left column moved out on the river road 
 from Chancellors ville without encountering opposi- 
 tion until it came in sight of Banks's Ford. The 
 divisions of Sykes and Hancock advanced on the 
 turnpike, and had reached the first of a series of 
 hills, where the advancing enemy was driven back. 
 
 The position on these ridges practically uncov- 
 ered Banks's Foid, and shortened our communica- 
 tion with the force under Sedgwick (at Fredericks- 
 burg) by twelve miles. 
 
 It was expected that this advantageous position 
 would be held at all hazards, when an order was 
 received from General Hooker to fall back to Chan- 
 cellorsville. Here, in this confined sjDot at the 
 Chancellorsville clearing, we awaited the attack of 
 the enemy. 
 
 Our lines were now about five miles in extent, 
 reaching from a shoi-t distance east of Chancellors- 
 ville, to the westward in front of the Orange plank 
 road. 
 
 Thus it was that the auspicious opening of the 
 campaign was followed by a series of blunders, by 
 
BATTLE OF CHANCELLOliSVlLLE. ^20 
 
 which all that this first brilliant movement promised 
 was lost. 
 
 The position of Lee, meanwhile, was difficult, 
 but he proved equal to the situation. Although 
 his army was weakened by the absence of Long- 
 street's corps ; yet, in the face of our superior force 
 he divided his army, and sent Jackson around to 
 attack our right flank, now resting on the Orange 
 plank road. 
 
 Jackson reached the old turnpike, which runs 
 parallel witli, and north of, the plank road, from 
 which point he could see our i-ight (under com- 
 mand of Howard) in reverse. He now liad only 
 to advance to obtain a victory ; for a force attacked 
 in flank cannot fight, but are driven into huddles, 
 where the men can only fire into each other. 
 
 The men of the 11th Corps were cooking their 
 supper, when the blow fell upon them like light- 
 ning from a cloudless sky. 
 
 Our right wing was crushed and driven towards 
 Chancellorsville, and disaster threatened the whole 
 arm3\ During the night, however, the tide of dis- 
 aster was checked, and the bravest of the Confed- 
 erate leaders, Stonewall Jackson, was killed. 
 
 So much must be said in explanation of Avhat 
 follows in our narrative. 
 
 Colonel Gruff had been much disgusted with the 
 order to fall back, and growled out his displeasure. 
 
 We bivouacked that night near the Chancellor 
 house. 
 
^80 JEJrS ADVENTURES. 
 
 Saturday morning, May 2d, dawned with a cloud- 
 less sky ; but on our right and left the incessant 
 " Cracky crack.., crack^^ of the skirmishers, and the 
 inng of bullets, sounded tlirougli the woods. 
 
 We left our knapsacks piled up in the woods, and 
 advanced to support a battery planted across the 
 plank road, running from Fredericksburg to Orange 
 Court-House. 
 
 Oar colonel sat upon his horse, grim and silent 
 except for an occasional brief order. The first line 
 rested upon the breastworks, and the soldiers were 
 boiling their coffee in their tin cups for their break- 
 fast, under fire, unconcerned as only veterans can 
 be in such circumstances. 
 
 At half-past seven, with a terrible yell, the rebels 
 charged, and drove back our skirmishers. When 
 our regiment was deployed as skirmishers, the 
 enemy held out hats and blankets from behind 
 trees, to draw our fire. 
 
 An ominous lull succeeded, which led Colonel 
 Gruff to growl, — 
 
 "I vonders vat mischief dey is up to now?" 
 
 We did not remain long in doubt, for we soon 
 distinctly lieard the rebel order, — 
 
 " Forward I double-quick ! guide, left ! " followed 
 by a yell and the tramp of advancing men, accom- 
 panied by a storm of shot. 
 
 While we were battling with this force, an omi- 
 nous cry went down our lines, " We are out of 
 ammunition ! " 
 
MTTLE OF CMANCELLORSVILLE. ^3l 
 
 " Sergeant Nickerson, with some men, vill gather 
 cartridges from the dead and vounded," came the 
 order from Colonel Gruff. 
 
 But it was all in vain ; we were repulsed, and 
 fell back behind tlie breastworks' in our rear. 
 Here again the cry went down the line, " Out of 
 ammunition ! " 
 
 To add to our dismay, the fallen trees which 
 formed an abatis in our front were set on fire by 
 the enemy's shot. The suffocating smoke began 
 to choke and blind us. In this emergency, 
 while the enemy's bullets drummed a discordant 
 tattoo against our breastworks, Jed sprung over 
 the log parapet, and prevented the serious dis- 
 aster which threatened us by extinguishing the 
 flames. 
 
 Many who had not expected to see him return 
 alive, silently grasped his hand as he came back 
 unharmed. 
 
 Colonel Gruff simply said, "Veil done, ser- 
 geant ! " 
 
 Thus the fight went on through the day. 
 
 It was near sundown when on our right there 
 broke out a furious sound of battle. Nearer and 
 nearer and more clamorous came the uproar. It 
 was the attack of Jackson which had crushed and 
 driven back our right flank in confusion. That 
 night, as well as the next morning, the figlit was 
 continuous. The ceaseless patter of bullets did 
 its deadly work. We had changed our position 
 
232 JED'S ADVENTUnns. 
 
 several times, losing many men, and now the for- 
 ests around us were on fire. 
 
 " Where is Lieutenant Weston ? " came the cry. 
 
 " He's left behind, wounded, on our right," said 
 some one in the ranks. 
 
 Jed went to Colonel Gruff ; I saw him nod in 
 assent to some proposition made by Jed, then 
 beckoned to me. Together we went back to rescue 
 the wounded from the flames. The fire was 
 crackling among the underbrush and resinous 
 pines, as through the blinding smoke we groped 
 our way. Heavy masses of black smoke were illu- 
 minated here and there by the flames. We were 
 partly in this forest fire, when Jed clutched my 
 arm, saying hurriedly, " Look I " 
 
 A great tongue of flame pierced the smoke, and 
 with a roar like an advancing wave came sweeping 
 down upon us. We turned and ran ; when Jed 
 called out, " Right liere to the left ! "* and sprang 
 into the smoke where the flames seemed to be 
 stayed. '' Here are some of our men." 
 
 A small, almost stagnant, brook, which at one 
 time during the fight had divided our company into 
 platoons, held back the flames, which, -when en- 
 countering this brook, hissed like an angry serpent, 
 and darted fiery fangs to the dry stubble on the 
 other side, where some of our wounded lay, who 
 were trying to drag themselves from the reach of 
 the fire. We reached these wounded men and 
 began moving them to a little clearing near at hand, 
 
BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE. 233 
 
 where they would be comparatively safe. We 
 were thus engaged when some one exclaimed, — 
 
 '' Hello, old hoss, what yer doin' thar ? " 
 
 It was a rebel cavaliyman engaged in apparently 
 the same mission as ourselves. 
 
 " Lend us your blanket, and help us," said Jed 
 confidently. 
 
 The Confederate soldier hesitated a moment, 
 and then, as if unable to resist this appeal to his 
 better nature, unslung the blanket which hung on 
 his shoulders, and we fastened it to our muskets 
 for a stretcher. While the rebel and myself carried 
 the wounded to the clearing, Jed beat back the 
 fii'e and continued liis search for Weston. 
 
 We soon heard a shout from Jed, " I've found 
 
 him : " 
 
 We reached the spot, and found Weston, and 
 near him a wounded Confederate ; we took the 
 rebel soldier in our blanket, while Jed lifted Lieu- 
 tenant Weston in his arms and followed us. We 
 hurried, for the flames had'now crossed the little 
 brook. We were scorched and burned, but when on 
 reaching the clearing and looking back for Jed he 
 could not be seen. A whirlwind of fire was sweep- 
 ing over the field which we had just crossed. 
 We turned back, but everywhere encountered the 
 roaring, crackling flames ; while clouds of smoke, 
 driven by the rising wind, blinded us. We had 
 already advanced too far. We had turned when 
 we heard a feeble cry for help. It was Jed's voice. 
 
234 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 " Here ! " said the Confederate, dropping the 
 muskets, and trampling and beating down the fire 
 with his blanket, " Here he is I " 
 
 I imitated his example until we reached Jed 
 in a little cleared spot, not twenty feet broad, 
 nearly surrounded by the fire which roared and 
 crackled around him. In the centre of the clear- 
 ing he had placed the wounded lieutenant, and 
 was trying to beat back the fire. The flames mean- 
 while had closed around us, and for a few minutes 
 it seemed impossible for any of us to escape. We 
 threw ourselves on the ground with our faces 
 downward, and waited until at last the flames sub- 
 sided and opened up a path of safety to the larger 
 clearing beyond. 
 
 " That was a doggoned close call, stranger," said 
 the Confederate, as he got to his feet. 
 
 As we emerged Avith our burden into the cleared 
 field, we could hear the shrieks and cries of those 
 whom the fire had reached. We were all in a 
 pitiful plight. Jed fell fainting on the ground, 
 and I thouQfht him dead. The Confederate un- 
 slung liis canteen, and saying, " This is what he 
 needs," poured water down Jed's throat. My 
 eyebrows and hair were singed, and my face and 
 hands blistered. 
 
 After a while Jed revived, and feebly inquired, 
 " Is he safe ? " I nodded an assent. The lieutenant 
 was less burned than any of us. 
 
 The Confederate called our attention to infantry 
 
BATTLE OF CHANCELLORS VILLE. 235 
 
 firing, now ringing in the woods at our left, and 
 exclaimed, — 
 
 " For God's sake get out of this, or you will be 
 taken prisoners ! " 
 
 To give his admonition greater emphasis, he di- 
 rected us by what lie thought was the way to our 
 lines, and then grasping us in a final hand-shake, 
 as the bursting shell began to fall, said, " Good-by, 
 Yanks ! Good luck I "' 
 
 As we crossed a part of the plateau at Chancel- 
 lorsville, Ave saAv the house on fire, and found the 
 rear of our army just retiring. Here comrades 
 helped us remove Weston to an ambulance. 
 
 As we left him, Weston said to Jed, '' Hoskins, 
 you are a brave man ; I owe you my life. Come 
 to me to-morrow, and I will tell you something that 
 you ought to know; I am afraid I shall never get 
 over this wound in my side." 
 
 Understanding that our regiment had moved 
 into a new position, towards the river, we now 
 tried to unite our fortunes with them once more. 
 
 On our way we encountered some artillery men 
 dragging off a battery by hand, as all the horses 
 had been killed, and one of the wdieels of a gun 
 had also been shattered. This group began to 
 joke us on our blistered, singed appearance, when 
 our attention was arrested by a hoarse cry behind 
 us. We turned and saw a tall man, dressed in 
 nothing but a shirt, running towards us like mad. 
 
 *' Gosh all Whittaker I but they stole my clothes 
 
236 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 and most got me ! " he yelled. The voice had a 
 familiar ring, but the singed eyebrows and blistered 
 face and nose of the fugitive made him look more 
 like a painted clown in a circus than a soldier. It 
 was "Sonny." Soldiers who are always ready to 
 laugh at anything odd or grotesque, began to jeer 
 and laugh at him until they noticed that his shirt 
 was saturated with blood. 
 
 "Why," explained Sonny, "I got to bush-whack- 
 ing around out there, when the first thing I knew 
 I was senseless. Some of them rebs shot me, 
 stole my hoss, and then, Avhen I had fainted or 
 somethin', actually stripped my clothes off my 
 back ! The woods were all afire, Avhen I come tu, 
 and I had to step light, I tell you ! " 
 
 When Sonny recognized us he said, " I was never 
 made for a cavalryman, anyhow — plague take a 
 hoss ! My time Avill be out soon, and then I'll 
 never look at a hoss agin. I've got a thunderin' 
 great hole in my ham, and too much smoke for my 
 bacon, tu, I guess." 
 
 With varying fortune, humiliated by needless 
 defeat, in the course of a few days our army fell 
 back to its old position at Falmouth. 
 
 We visited Weston at the field hospital soon 
 after our arrival, as requested. 
 
 We found liim lying on a hospital cot, very pale 
 and feeble, for the surgeons had just extracted a 
 bullet from his leg. They had, however, decided 
 that a hip amputation was laot advisable. 
 
BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE. 237 
 
 On our entering, after a moment's pause, he said 
 to me, " It was I who took your aunt's money, which 
 she thought she placed in the hands of my father." 
 
 " But," said I, in surprise, " my aunt distinctly 
 remembered giving it to your father." 
 
 "It was not my father," said the lieutenant. 
 " I confess it with shame. I did not plan to take 
 the money at first. I Avas at home on recruiting 
 duty, and Ave were to have a theatrical entertain- 
 ment, in Avhich I was to take the part of an old 
 man. I had just 'made up,' as the theatre people 
 call it, with my father as a model. I put on an 
 old wig my father had discarded, and a suit of his 
 clothes. I Avas practising the part when your aunt 
 came in. The temptation to try my make-up on 
 her was irresistible. I Avas astonished when she 
 handed me the money, and asked me to invest it 
 for her, and said she would bring me the rest the 
 next evening. To prevent my father's knowing 
 that I had taken the fu-st, I had to be present in 
 my disguise to take the second instalment of cash. 
 At first I thought I Avould send it to your aunt by 
 express or mail. Before the theatricals came off I 
 AA^as on my way to the army, having first hid the 
 money, Avhich I had put in a tin box, in my straw 
 mattress at home." 
 
 As this explained a mystery involving a loss to 
 my aunt, and calling in question also the honesty of 
 Squire Weston, Ave were rejoiced to have the matter 
 cleared up. 
 
238 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 Before leaving him, Weston said, " Hoskins, I 
 owe my life to you, and I can never forget it. I 
 believe you are a good man ; can't you pray for 
 me?" 
 
 "I can't pray much," said Jed, "but the Lord's 
 Prayer is always sweet and precious. Let us re- 
 peat it together ; perhaps God will hear it and bless 
 us." And when in unison they repeated " deliver 
 us from evil," there were tears in the lieutenant's 
 eyes. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 MARCHING OX TO BATTLE. 
 
 A FTER the campaign of Chancellorsville, Lee 
 -^-^ determined to assume the offensive. The 
 confidence and pride of the South had been stimu- 
 lated by his successes, until the pressure of public 
 sentiment compelled him to an invasion of the 
 loyal States. 
 
 As early as May, our conversations Avith rebel 
 pickets showed us that some aggressive movement 
 was contemplated. 
 
 One day, while exchanging coffee for tobacco by 
 means of a board fitted up Avith a sail and rudder, 
 as a ferry of communication Avith the rebel pickets 
 on the other side of the Rappahannock River, one 
 of them sarcastically inquired, — 
 
 '' When are you 'ns coming over to see Ave uns ? " 
 
 " It's your turn next to come and see us. We 
 are tired of doing all the visiting," replied Osgood, 
 who Avas tending the ferry. 
 
 *' Reckon you 'ns Avon't have to Avait long, Yanks. 
 Uncle Robert is gittin' right ready to come over 
 and git some fixin's, and to lick yer out o' yer 
 boots," 
 
 239 
 
240 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 The rebel newspapers, received througli tlie same 
 source, showed the drift of Southern sentiment in 
 that direction. 
 
 Such, in fact, was the confident desire of the 
 South at this time, that on a requisition for rations 
 from Lee's army, there was said to have been in- 
 dorsed this laconic suggestion: "If General Lee 
 wants rations for his army, let him seek them in 
 Pennsylvania." 
 
 It was not long after this that it became evident 
 to General Hooker that the rebel army was in mo- 
 tion. Their cavahy, behind which the movements 
 of their infantry were masked, on the 9th of May 
 was attacked by Pleasonton, revealing the fact that 
 A. P. Hill's and Longstreet's corps of the rebel 
 army were in the vicinity of Culpeper. 
 
 Ewell soon appeared in the Shenandoah Valley, 
 and from there crossed into Maryland and Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 In an army the under generals usually know but 
 little of the intentions of the commander, except as 
 it is matured in orders received. The order '^ Pack 
 up," came on the 11th of June. Our brigade was 
 soon in motion on the south side of the Rappahan- 
 nock. 
 
 We began a series of long marches and counter- 
 marches, sometimes making thirty miles a day over 
 rough and dusty or muddy roads. 
 
 Marching thirty miles a day may seem a small 
 thing to mention ; but if any of my young readers, 
 
MARCHING ON TO BATTLE. 241 
 
 emulous of military glory, will equip themselves 
 witli a haversack containing three days' rations, a 
 knapsack weighing from eighteen to twenty-five 
 pounds, a canteen, and forty rounds of cartridges, 
 besides a Springfield i-ifle and bayonet, and will 
 march even one mile over the best of roads, they 
 will get a better idea of it. 
 
 If an officer does not understand marching men, 
 as happened to be the case in our brigade, he will 
 make them cover long distances without rest, and 
 such marching quickly breaks down the best of men. 
 
 An ignorant general, at this time, frequently 
 marched our column over difficult roads from ten 
 to twelve miles, without halting them. It resulted 
 in frequent sunstroke, and death from exhaustion. 
 Thereafter we were halted a few minutes every 
 hour, as the attention of an officer high in rank had 
 been called to this manner of marching. 
 
 We crossed the Potomac on a pontoon bridge, 
 built on sixty-four l)oats or pontoons, marched to 
 Monocacy, and at night bivouacked thirty miles 
 from our point of departure. 
 
 The transition from worn-out, battle-scarred Vir- 
 ginia to the fertile fields of Maryland and Penn- 
 sylvania, was, in effect, like passing from stormy 
 to sunlit skies. 
 
 It was at this time that we learned that General 
 Hooker had been deposed from command, and Gen- 
 eral Meade put in his place. 
 
 The novelty of being saluted by the smiles of 
 
242 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 women and children, instead of frowns, and of 
 marching through beautiful streets ; seeing the stars 
 and stripes floating from the houses, and even 
 churches ; of being among friends instead of ene- 
 mies, — was an agreeable contrast, which cannot be 
 expressed in words. 
 
 The usual sentiment of soldiers marching for 
 battle is, " Let us fight now, since we must fight, 
 and have it done with." In addition to this feel- 
 ing, there was here a new one. It was, '' If we do 
 not whip our enemies now, they will overrun these 
 fertile fields and devastate these comfortable homes 
 with their hungry hordes." 
 
 Our division reached Emmettsburg July 1, and 
 at ten o'clock in the morning heard the first faint 
 and almost inaudible rumble of cannonading at 
 Gettysburg, where the 1st and 12th Corps had 
 already encountered the enemy near Willoughby 
 Run. 
 
 It had not been the intention of Meade to fight 
 a battle at Gettysburg. The concentration of Bu- 
 ford's cavalry there was a mask to conceal his pro- 
 posed concentration of troops behind Pipe Creek, 
 where he expected to fight a decisive battle. But 
 '•'- man proposes, and God disposes." 
 
 The movement which Hooker had projected, was 
 a threat on the rebel commander's communications. 
 This threat caused Lee to recall his advance col- 
 umns from Harrisburg. Gettysburg, like the hub 
 of a wheel, with roads radiating from it like spokes, 
 
MARCHING ON TO BATTLE. 248 
 
 was the first point Lee could reach, and lay hold of 
 direct lines for retreat or communications South. 
 
 Neither of the commanders of the great armies 
 soon to meet in battle knew of the presence of the 
 other. It was a gigantic game of blind-man's buff. 
 
 So, while Lee was reaching forward to grasp a 
 safe line of retreat or advance, and Meade was 
 masking the contemplated concentration, blind fate 
 brought them together on the field of Gettysburg. 
 
 On the last day of June, General Buford, by 
 questioning prisoners, got information that led him 
 to believe that the enemy was concentrating at 
 Gettysburg. The temper of this great cavalry offi- 
 cer was too aggressive to leave to an enemy a field 
 that he was able to liold by fighting. He ambushed 
 his men on Willoughby Creek, which runs north 
 and south about a mile west of Gettysburg. 
 
 About nine o'clock on the morning of the 1st of 
 July the Confederate column, preceded by a line 
 6f skirmishers, descended the western slope of the 
 stream, and a desperate encounter at once took 
 place. 
 
 Buford, outnumbered by the enemy, anxiously 
 awaited the approach of the 1st Corps. The signal 
 officer, from the belfry of the Lutheran seminary 
 near by, soon signalled its approach. 
 
 Buford hastened to the belfry to confirm the glad 
 tidings with his own eyes. Coming from the bel- 
 fry, he met General Reynolds, who commanded the 
 1st Corps, and assured him that his men could hold 
 
244 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 on until the infantry arrived. On its arrival, Rey- 
 nolds rode forward to direct the attack. 
 
 The struggle was then for the possession of a 
 small piece of woods, which projects like a salient 
 down the slope east of Willoughhy Run. If the 
 Federals could only hold this position, it divided the 
 line of the rebel advance. If possessed, on the other 
 hand, by the rebels, it divided the Union line, and 
 would compel its retreat. 
 
 General Reynolds was directing his men, when 
 Cutler's men and the Iron Brigade arrived, and 
 went into action on the right and left of the Cham- 
 bersburg road. While the men were advancing to 
 the attack, Reynolds urged them to hold their 
 ground at all hazards, to which they proudly re- 
 plied, " If we can't hold it, where will you find the 
 men w^ho can ? " 
 
 As the Iron Brigade marched on to the field they 
 shouted, " We've come, and come to stay I " And 
 most of them did stay, leaving their dead bodies on 
 the field which they so bravely defended. 
 
 The Confederate Genera! Archer was rushing his 
 men into the triangular piece of woods, hitherto 
 mentioned, when they encountered Cutler's brigade, 
 and recognized them by their hats. 
 
 " It ain't no militia, it's the Army of the Poto- 
 mac," was the surprised exclamation of the Con- 
 federates. 
 
 While leading the attack to a point in the woods, 
 General Reynolds was shot, and fell dead in this hi^ 
 
MARCHING ON TO BATTLE. 245 
 
 first encounter Avitli the enemy on the soil of his 
 native State. By liis associates he was regarded as 
 the most remarkable man in the arm}^ and one 
 destined to the greatest measure of fame. 
 
 The command of the 1st Corps now devolved on 
 General Doubleday, who, it will be remembered, 
 fired the first shot from Sumter, a narrative of 
 which I have given elsewhere. 
 
 It was a task for a giant. His forces, outflanked, 
 stubbornly fell back. Howard arrived, and from 
 the belfry of the seminary viewed the field. He 
 saw the four weak brigades of the 1st Corps strug- 
 gling with six large Confederate brigades. The 
 11th Corps arrived at eleven o'clock, and Howard 
 took command of the field. He stretched his men 
 out around the town, leaving a gap between the 
 11th and 1st Corps. 
 
 Oak Hill commanded the right of the field. At 
 three o'clock the Confederates broke througfli the 
 right of the 1st Corps and the left of the 11th, 
 planted artillery on Oak Hill, and disrupted the 
 entire Union line. 
 
 The unfortunate 11th Corps fell back through the 
 town in disordered flight, impeding the retreat of 
 the 1st Corps, which met its disorganized crowds 
 while falling' back in good order. 
 
 The brave efforts of this corps has but few paral- 
 lels in the history of fighting. Nearly half of its 
 numbers were left dead or dying on the battle-field. 
 
 Eighteen thousand men had withstood the attack 
 
246 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 of twenty-five thousand, in the heroic attempt to 
 keep back the invaders. 
 
 At four o'clock that afternoon the defeated frag- 
 ments of the 1st and 11th Corps were climbing 
 Cemetery Hill, where Steinwehr\s two brigades, as 
 a reserve, were in a fortified position. 
 
 General Hancock, at this critical moment, arrived, 
 and witli his clear head and magnetic presence put 
 a new soul, as it were, into the fragments of the 
 army on Cemetery Hill. 
 
 Such was the scene being enacted at Gettysburg 
 while the blue columns of our army corps were 
 swinging over the dusty roads from Emmettsburg 
 to the field of battle. 
 
 At first we heard only the rumble of artillery, like 
 distant thunder ; but as we hurried on, the sound 
 of cannonading grew more and more distinct, and 
 the men needed no urging to hasten their march. 
 
 As we reached the boundaries of Pennsylvania 
 the regiments of our corps belonging to that State 
 gave enthusiastic cheers. 
 
 Colonel Gruff was seen to shake his head, and 
 was heard to say, " Ter teffel vill be to pay soon." 
 
 Late in the afternoon we met an occasional group 
 of stragglers. Some also passed us who had se- 
 cured teams, and were hurrying forward as if fear- 
 ing to be late for the fight ; others showed evident 
 dislike to marcliing towards the sound of the guns. 
 We also met several squads of prisoners being 
 marched to the rear ; and the usual salutations, 
 
MARCHING ON TO BATTLE. 247 
 
 " How are you, Yanks ? " — " How are you, John- 
 nies?" were exchanged. 
 
 A citizen whom we met said, "If you go any 
 farther you will have a fight in the night ; " while 
 a negro declared that " de roads ahead is full of 
 rebs." 
 
 Colonel Gruff sent these persons to the general, 
 but no orders to retrace our steps were given until 
 we picked up several of the rebel pickets, who were 
 out looking for water ; then a countermarch was 
 ordered. 
 
 The sound of battle had, meanwhile, died away 
 with the declining sun. We forded Willoughby 
 Run, south of the town, at nearly eleven o'clock 
 that moonlit night, and at half-past two o'clock in 
 the morning of the 2d of July stacked our arms, 
 and threw ourselves upon the ground to sleep the 
 sleep of tired men. We did not even heed the 
 picket shots on our front ; and a volley from the 
 enemy in the early morning hours, who were ad- 
 vancing by the same road over which we had so 
 recently marched, failed to awaken me. I was 
 rudely shaken by the shoulder before I realized 
 that I was on a battle-field, so sound is the sleep 
 of tired youth. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 ON THE BATTLE-FIELD OF GETTYSBUEG. 
 
 T^AURING the early morning hours the sky was 
 -^-^ cloudy, and a veil-like vapor overhung the 
 valley of Gettysburg. Before noon, however, the 
 sun dispelled the mists, and lit up the smiling sum- 
 mer fields. 
 
 Our line of battle was advanced to the Emmetts- 
 burg road, which ran obliquely across the plain, 
 and passed near the foot of Cemetery Ridge, into 
 the village on our right. 
 
 The line of hills on which a portion of the Union 
 lines now rested, and which formed its defence on 
 the 3d of July, resembled in form the letter f. 
 The dot at the top of the f stands for Cul^^'s Hill ; 
 the semicircular portion, the cemetery ; from thence 
 down to the cross. Cemetery Ridge ; the bottom 
 of the f, Roundtop ; the cross of the f represents 
 Ziegler's grove. Opposite, and a mile away, was 
 Seminary Ridge, whereon the Confederate army 
 was posted, its entire line resembling in form a 
 letter C, with its two wings almost encircling ours, 
 and over five miles in extent. 
 
 " What a magnificent sight," said Jed, pointing 
 to the long compact blue line of men advancing 
 
 248 
 
BATTLE-FIELD OF GETTYSBURG. 249 
 
 over the plain to the Emmettsburg road. With an 
 oscillating motion peculiar to keeping step, our 
 corps moved forward, its burnished Springfield 
 rifles flashing in the sun like the foam fringe of a 
 blue wave. On our right, the cemetery presented 
 the curious contrasts of polished brass field-pieces, 
 and infantry supports in line of battle, among the 
 wliite marble monuments. 
 
 It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and our 
 corps had moved forward to the Emmettsburg road. 
 We were moving into position, when Jed said to 
 me, — 
 
 "Colonel Gruff looks anxious and troubled to- 
 day." 
 
 " I heard him say last night," said Haskell, our 
 orderly sergeant, " that he had a feeling that he 
 should not come out of the battle alive ; the old 
 fellow is nervous, I guess." 
 
 Jed responded sharply, " Colonel Gruff is no 
 coward, and if he knew that he Avas to be shot in 
 another hour, it would not change his manner." 
 
 " He makes no display of his good qualities," 
 said another, " but there is no one in the army who 
 acts more from conviction of duty. All soldiers 
 become fatalists, and Colonel Gruff is no exception 
 to the rule ; he may have a premonition of evil, but 
 he knows that he cannot change fate." 
 
 At this instant the column had reached the Em- 
 mettsburg road, and the order was given, " Column 
 halt I In place, rest ! " The men threw them- 
 
250 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 selves on the ground in careless attitudes, but 
 ready for instant action. 
 
 The scene around us \Yas very peaceful; • a 
 treacherous contrast to the storm of battle about 
 to burst over these sunlit fields. 
 
 In front of our company, on the opposite side of 
 the road, were a farmhouse and its buildings. A 
 herd of cows was grazing near, tame pigeons cooed, 
 and bees hummed in the hives close at hand. 
 
 Jed and I left the ranks, to fill our canteens at 
 the Avell. A cat was asleep on the veranda, and 
 the mistress Avas bustling around the house with a 
 face as serene as the morning itself. She explained 
 to us that it was baking day. When we asked her 
 if she would sell us some bread, she gave us each 
 a loaf, with honey and butter enough to make it 
 very palatable. 
 
 Colonel Gruff, whom we had seen smoking in the 
 shade on the veranda, came into the kitchen, 
 attracted no doubt, like ordinary soldiers, by hear- 
 ing talk of bread and honey. 
 
 After buying some, he said kindly to the mis- 
 tress, — 
 
 "My goot voman, dere's going to be fighting 
 here, and you had petter get avay at vonce, or 
 you'll get hurt.'' 
 
 A voice was heard from some subterranean place 
 near at hand, saying, " I wish the soldiers would 
 keep away from my house ! " 
 
 *' Who's that ? " inquired the colonel sharply. 
 
BATTLE-FIELD OF GETTYSBURG. 251 
 
 " That's my man ; he's frightened and has gone 
 down cellar," said the woman, coolly removing, 
 with a long iron-shod hook, some brown loaves from 
 her capacious oven. 
 
 Just before we left the house, a report of artillery 
 was heard, and a shot came crashing through one 
 of the outbuildinofs. 
 
 " You'd petter go down cellar mit your hus- 
 band," said Colonel Gruff to the mistress. 
 
 The woman stood courageously by her oven and 
 refused to " budge," as Jed called it, and continued 
 to sell her bread, running her cooking apparatus 
 at full pressure, saying, "I'll never leave this 
 house ! " Anotlier shot crashed into the house, 
 causing a howl from the cellar, while we hurriedly 
 took our places in the ranks to repel a possible 
 charge. 
 
 And now a shell comes in curved lines, like a 
 rocket, spluttering and growling, like an ill-natured, 
 absent-minded man, and then, as if in sudden recog- 
 nition of our presence, explodes above our heads. 
 
 The ominous order comes, to " Take arms ! " as 
 another rebel battery opens fire on our left. Shot 
 crashes through the buildings from two different 
 directions. 
 
 " Dey's got us enfiladed, poys ! " coolly remarks 
 Colonel Gruff, who sits his horse at the right rear 
 of the line, smoking his pipe. In another moment 
 the veteran's manner changes ; with a quick move- 
 ment he puts aAvay his pipe, takes his field-glass 
 
252 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 from its case, hanging by his side, and peers 
 intently towards the enemy. He puts away his 
 glass, glances down the line, and gives a few 
 orders. " We shall catch it now," growls one of 
 the men in an undertone, observing these move- 
 ments of the veteran. 
 
 Colonel Gruff now rides along the front of our 
 line, addressing in an undertone a few words to 
 each captain. Then comes the order, " Attention 
 company ! Load at will ! Load ! " The polished 
 rammers ring in the muskets, the locks of the mus- 
 kets crackle as the caps are adjusted. Artillery 
 goes into position like whirling clock-work. A crash 
 of fast plunging shells comes from the enemy. The 
 woman runs from the house with her apron over 
 her head, as if for protection, exclaiming, " They've 
 shot my oven.'' 
 
 A terrible uproar of battle breaks out on our 
 left, beyond the elevation of the peach orchard. 
 Shot smite our ranks from our right and front, and 
 shriek over our heads. Long, dark masses of men 
 are forming in the fields in our front. We hear 
 the rattle of musketry and the roar of artillery 
 on the line beyond our left, which curves from 
 the peach orchard, Avhere it forms an angle and 
 sweeps back towards Roundtop. 
 
 Occasionally above the roar we hear the yell 
 and shout of the charge and repulse, and from the 
 bluish-white sulphur clouds wliich hang near the 
 ground, we see the flash of artillery. 
 
BATTLE-FIELD OF GETTYSBURG. 253 
 
 The storm of battle has reached us. Our skir- 
 mishers have fallen back to the main line, and the 
 whole front now lights up with the explosion of 
 muskets. There is a quick, incessant snap^ S7iap, 
 snap, of muskets fired at will, punctuated by less 
 rapid detonations of artillery. A kitten, mewing 
 piteously, runs from the house and climbs for pro- 
 tection upon one of our men's shoulders. Men, 
 wounded, drop their muskets and limp to the rear ; 
 they fall fast. The flagstaff is shot from the hands 
 of its bearer, and for an instant the flag touches the 
 ground. It is raised again. Bullets from the enemy 
 hiss and whisper death. Wounded and dying men 
 gasp out hurried or inarticulate words. The voice 
 of Colonel Gruff is heard in clear, commanding 
 tones, " Steady, men." 
 
 The horses and most of the men on the guns on 
 our left are shot. Our regimental front has closed 
 up its death-riddled ranks, until it occupies not half 
 its original space, and yet the line stands firm. 
 Will re-enforcements ever come ? 
 
 Time passes with leaden, sluggish wings, for 
 time is not measured by minutes, but by sensations. 
 The enemy have broken the Union line at the peach 
 orchard, and our position is being flanked. 
 
 We fall back reluctantly, for we do not under- 
 stand that this is necessary in order to connect with 
 our lines, which have been swept towards Round- 
 top by Longstreet's terrible ati^ck. 
 
 Re-enforcements come up and begin to form on 
 
254 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 our riglit, to bring us Avitliin supporting distance 
 of the 2(1 Corps. Our ranks, meanwhile, exposed 
 to volleys from three directions, grow thinner. A 
 bullet strikes my musket, glances off, and wounds 
 a man by my side. 
 
 The Confederate attack has expended its force. 
 Batteries from the hills back of us throAV plunging 
 shot into the ranks. 
 
 We had fallen back almost to the ridge, when 
 there came one of those outbursts often seen among 
 veteran soldiers. A cry went down the line as if 
 by some electric, spontaneous agreement, " Charge 
 them ! charge them! " and the five regiments of our 
 gallant brigade, so decimated that its lines scarcely 
 occupied a hundred feet of front, with a wild hurrah 
 went charging fiercely over the ground they had so 
 reluctantly abandoned. 
 
 We recaptured our abandoned batteries, and res- 
 cued and sent to the rear many wounded comrades ; 
 while in our rear, men, both enemies and friends, 
 who were thought to be dead, rose to their feet all 
 over the plain. 
 
 Near the house on the Emmettsburg road we cap- 
 tured a group of Confederates, who were attempt- 
 ing to get away Avith one of o"ur abandoned batteries. 
 The enemy had abandoned the main attack. 
 
 Longstreet's flank attack had failed. The fire 
 irom their artillery still struck our ranks. In obe- 
 dience to orders, in the gathering darkness we fell 
 back to the heights of Cemetery Ridge, where the 
 
BATTLE-FIELD OF GETTYSBURG. 255 
 
 arms stacked for the five regiments would scarcely 
 be sufficient for one full regiment. 
 
 We now began to have intelligence of the fight 
 from other parts of the line, — of the baffled attack 
 and heroic defence of Roundtop, and that General 
 Sickles had lost his leg. 
 
 Exhausted, Jed and I had lain down in our 
 blankets, when we heard some one inquiring for 
 Colonel Gruff. No one seemed to know anytliing 
 about him. He was missing. 
 
 " I saw him leading his horse," said some one ; 
 "the horse was wounded, and then I saw him 
 on foot giving orders, with his saddle on his 
 shoulders." 
 
 We aroused ourselves at once. Inquiry was 
 made at different parts of the line, but without re- 
 sult. '' We must go out and look for the colonel," 
 said Jed decisively. 
 
 Notwithstanding the terrible strain put upon 
 them by the day's battle, many men joined us in 
 the search for, and the relief of, their unfortunate 
 comrades who were missing. The weary privates 
 who had fought through the day volunteered to 
 carry water to the wounded, and with stretchers be- 
 gan to explore the moonlit plains where the battle 
 had raged. 
 
 Such a sight of death and suffering is seldom 
 seen by human eyes. The pale moonlight gave to 
 the dead a more ghastly look, and to the wounded 
 a more sickening pallor. 
 
256 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 We were giving water to the wounded, who 
 made constant outcry for it, and were putting 
 wounded men in more comfortable positions, when 
 we saw a man rise from a group. Challenged, it 
 proved to be a Confederate soldier, engaged in the 
 same mission of mercy as ourselves. 
 
 '' I have been giving water to both Yanks and 
 rebs, but I am a prisoner if you say so," he said. 
 
 We shook hands with him, in recognition of his 
 fraternal spirit, and bade him go on his Avay. At 
 one point in our search there was an isolated bowl- 
 der twenty feet broad, rounded towards the enemy 
 and flattened on the opposite side. There were 
 twenty dead men lying together here, and among 
 them we saw the shoulder-straps of an officer and 
 the chevrons of sergeants. In the attack which 
 had swept the field they had been cut off from the 
 main line, and, refusing to surrender, had fought 
 and died at their post. 
 
 We came to Colonel Gruff's dead horse, searched 
 the plains near the Emmettsburg road, and ventured 
 into the farmhouse where our line had at fii'st been 
 formed. The house was abandoned, with the ex- 
 ception of a few wounded men on the veranda. 
 The moonlight streamed through the irregular holes 
 in the buildings made by the shot, shell, and shower 
 of bullets. 
 
 We advanced beyond, when, " Halt ! Who goes 
 there ? " came the quick challenge of a picket. 
 
 We tln-ew ourselves on the ground, and on our 
 
MTTLE-FIELD OF GETTYSBURG. 25t 
 
 hands and knees crept towards the house again, 
 amid the hiss of bullets. 
 
 " A close call," whispered Jed. 
 
 "Yes,'* I responded, "but I am afraid Colonel 
 Gruff has had a still closer one." 
 
 We rejoined a group of our own men, and searched 
 the field towards the peach orchard. 
 
 "Don't go out there," said a wounded officer; 
 " my men are out there." 
 
 " We can take care of ourselves," said Jed. 
 
 We had not gone a hundred yards when ping^ 
 pimj, zip, zip! came the bullets of the enemy's 
 videttes. We went quickly back. 
 
 When returning, Ave halted near the rebel officer 
 who had given us the friendly warning, and asked 
 him if we could do anything for him. He replied 
 that he was in a very uncomfortable position, and 
 that if we could move him he would be grateful. 
 We gathered a few blankets from the dead, and 
 with these arranged him as comfortably as we could, 
 and gave him a canteen of water. " After the war 
 is over we may meet as friends, and not enemies," 
 said the officer. 
 
 Our search had been in vain : the colonel was 
 either dead or in the hands of the enemy. We 
 reached our lines, and sadly threw ourselves down 
 by our sleeping comrades. 
 
 At sunrise the Confederates were found to be in 
 possession of Culp's Hill, in the rear of the ceme- 
 tery. Had they advanced from that point in force 
 
jEi)'s AbvENfun^i^. 
 
 during the niglit they could have seized the Balti- 
 more road, and compelled our retreat. 
 
 We quickly drove them from Gulp's Hill with 
 our superior artillery. The Union lines were now 
 very compact, having assumed the position on the 
 line of hills, wliich in the beginning of this chapter 
 we mentioned as resembling the letter f. Our line 
 was a convex one, easy to re-enforce, while the rebel 
 lines were concave, and required a march of five 
 miles in communicating one wing with the other. 
 
 Silence fell upon the field. The sun was hot, and 
 our ranks reclined upon the ground, expecting an 
 attack. Two hours passed, and not a gun was 
 heard. At last on Seminary Hill a single gun was 
 fu-ed, then another. It was the signal for attack. 
 A most terrible cannonade began. Shell groaned, 
 hissed, and spluttered. Solid shot crushed the 
 fences and stone walls, ploughed the ground, or 
 exploded our caissons. A continuous succession 
 of crashing sounds ensued, as if heaven and earth 
 were rent asunder. The air was filled with burst- 
 ing shell, causing us to grow pale, and look into 
 each other's faces with awe and terror. 
 
 By a rapid and continuous circle of cross-firing 
 of artillery, Lee, with one hundred and fifty pieces 
 of artillery, was endeavoring to dismount our guns 
 and demoralize our troops. Had he succeeded he 
 could have broken through our left centre. 
 
 For two hours the terrible cannonade of death, 
 replied to by the Union batteries, continued. Hill 
 
BATTLE-FIELD OF GETTYSBURG. 259 
 
 and valley seemed a flame of fii-e, while a canopy of 
 smoke that came from the cannons' mouths and ob- 
 scured the sun, produced a blackened magnificence 
 that no pen can describe. 
 
 The Union guns were sent to the rear, and our 
 firing ceased, but that from the rebel guns continued 
 a while longer. But all things have an end, and at 
 last the carnival of death ceased. 
 
 Then we saw that the charge was coming. The 
 faces of the men around me were set in the rigid 
 tension of suspense. The Confederate columns 
 moved over the plain from different directions in 
 converging columns towards Cemetery Ridge as 
 a common centre of attack. This attack has been 
 erroneously termed Pickett's charge. It was more 
 properly Longstreet's assault, as Lee had placed it 
 under the direction and management of the latter 
 general. 
 
 The smoke lifts lazily and drifts away from the 
 valley, revealing the dense gray masses of Con- 
 federates advancing over the fields. They approach 
 with the steady tread of veterans, and with the con- 
 fidence of victors. 
 
 The Union artillery, hitherto silent from Round- 
 top to the cemetery, open mouths of destruction 
 upon their compact lines. As they come nearer, 
 grape and canister pass through and rake their 
 ranks like chariots of death. Great gaps are seen 
 in their ranks. They close up and come on. We 
 see them, like shadows through the smoke, align 
 
260 JED'S AbVE^TVnns. 
 
 their men and rush upon our lines with shrill, sharp 
 yells and cries. At the foot of the slope our men, 
 who are behind a stone wall, give way. '' My God ! 
 they've forced our lines, sergeant," says Lieutenant 
 O'Keif, clutching my arm. For a few moments we 
 hear a succession of terrible sounds, in which there 
 is the rattle of musketry, and shriek of human 
 voices. 
 
 The charge is repulsed. The proud array that 
 marched so bravely and gallantly on our lines are 
 dead, wounded, or scattered in flight. 
 
 All was excitement and exultation, but oh, Avhat a 
 frightful scene ! The whole slope was covered with 
 the dead, and with writhing, wounded men. The 
 Emmettsburg road, in front of the ridge, was liter- 
 ally choked with the dead and wounded victims of 
 the struggle. The cries of the wounded for water 
 mingled with the shi^ieks of agony, while thou- 
 sands of the enemy lay upon the ground extending 
 their arms in token of surrender. A victorious 
 field is second only in horror to a field of defeat. 
 
 The battle of Gettysburg was over, and the rebel 
 army gathered up its broken columns. 
 
 The next morning they were found occupying a 
 short but compact line in the fringe of woods on 
 Seminary Heights. 
 
 We were assisting to gather and help the 
 wounded, all that day. At one point in the field 
 we came to a group of men wounded on the 2d, 
 only one of whom was living. Jed rushed towards 
 
BATTLE-FIELD OF GETTYSBURG. 261 
 
 Mm with quick sympathy. The wounded man called 
 for water ; and then said, as if the scene had made 
 so great an impression on his mind that he could 
 speak of nothing else, pointing to the dead around 
 him, — 
 
 " That boy died crying for his mother. This 
 man crept up to me, and put his hand in mine, as 
 if for sympathy, and died. This man lasted until 
 most daylight." 
 
 " Did you see any one with a horse ? " said Jed, 
 wiping away the tears caused by the brief but pa- 
 thetic recital. 
 
 " An old fellow with a saddle stopped here last 
 night, and gave us water ! " 
 
 " That's Colonel Gruff," said Jed, " it's just like 
 him. His heart is as tender as a child's." 
 
 A new hope sprang up in our hearts. Colonel 
 Gruff might be alive and a prisoner. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 AFTER BATTLE. 
 
 ~[ TEAYY rainfalls follow a great battle, as if 
 -■ — L Mother Nature, more pitying than men, de- 
 sired to relieve the soreness of hurts and wounds, 
 and the thirst of those lying on ensanguined fields. 
 The grateful sense of relief thus afforded was often 
 expressed by those whom we assisted. 
 
 I was speaking of this to Jed as our division 
 marched over the muddy roads, in the rain, to 
 strike the flank of Lee's retreating army. 
 
 "Yes," said Jed, as he stopped to adjust the 
 strap of his heavy knapsack, made still heavier by 
 the soaking rain, and then, with his quaint grimace, 
 continued, "but I ain't hankering for any more of 
 it." Then, after a moment's thoughtful silence, he 
 said, " You remember the book we were reading 
 at Fredericksburg, Sterne's ' Sentimental Journey,' 
 and that passage which I said was as tender and 
 as beautiful as the Bible, ' The Lord tempers the 
 winds to the shorn lamb.' I have thought often 
 since, that if we are in the right frame of mind, — 
 that of cheerfulness and thankfulness for the good 
 we really have, — misery and discomfort roll from 
 us like rain from a rubber blanket. I sometimes 
 
 262 
 
After battle. 26^ 
 
 think a soldier's cheerfulness while marching to 
 battle for a good cause is a prayer, which our 
 good Father is more likely to hear than mere words 
 which have no fulfilment in self-sacrifice." 
 
 I repeat this conversation because it expresses 
 Jed's deeply blended patriotic and religious con- 
 victions, which, however, seldom took the form of 
 words. It was as if a grain of seed soAvn by Him 
 of Nazareth had found lodgement in his soul, and 
 Avas bearing the fruits of a beautiful life. 
 
 Jed would usually turn away my attempts at 
 theological controversy by saying, '' Wrangling 
 and controversy lead us away from Christ; not 
 to him. We can easily understand all that is es- 
 sential to make us like him ; love for him means 
 love for our fellow-men, and how can there be love 
 without charity and forbearance ? " 
 
 This is all of Jed's theories of religion, or of his 
 love for the Master, that I ever knew ; but I did 
 know that daily and secret prayer was giving to 
 his character a manly sweetness wliich impressed 
 all who knew him. 
 
 One character connected with this narrative I 
 have not yet mentioned. Colonel Gruff's servant, 
 a gentleman of extreme brevity and blackness 
 (with the whitest teeth and the most expansive 
 india-rubber-like mouth I ever saw), known to the 
 regiment as Smutty. He had come into our lines 
 while the regiinent was at Fredericksburg. Colo- 
 nel Gruff had employed him to cook and work 
 
264 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 around his quarters, until, being absent for a few 
 hours, he returned to find Smutty arrayed in a suit 
 of his clothes. The colonel thereupon indignantly 
 discharged him. But the next morning Smutty 
 was found at work as usual in the colonel's tent, 
 getting breakfast and brushing his clothes, as if 
 nothing had happened. The colonel then not only 
 discharged him, but " fired him out," with emphatic 
 emphasis. 
 
 In less than three hours Colonel Gruff was 
 awakened from his noonday nap by what Osgood 
 called " a rumpus." It was Smutty, engaged in a 
 stentorian conversation with a soldier who had 
 stumbled over the tent ropes. 
 
 " When yer toddles ober dem ropes, I speaks to 
 yer, and calls yer white trash ; when yer tumbles 
 ober hyer twice like yer dus now, dere's gwine to 
 be somebody hurt. Does yer har me ? " 
 
 The colonel ran from his tent to remonstrate 
 and to again discharge him, to wliich Smutty paid 
 not the slightest attention, but, like a miniature 
 cyclone, continued chastising the soldier. After 
 the affair was ended by the ejection of the cause 
 of the disturbance. Smutty, with his broadest grin, 
 bowed to the colonel, and said, — 
 
 '' Go into de tent, if yer please, Massa Kunnel, 
 I kin tend to de sturbances." 
 
 Whether Colonel Gruff was converted by his 
 usefulness, or conquered by his persistency, I do 
 not know, but from that time he gave up the task 
 
AFTER BATTLE. 265 
 
 of discharging Smutty, declaring he would have to 
 wait until Smatty discharged himself. 
 
 Smutty was a model servant in many ways, and 
 was devotedly attached to the interests of his mas- 
 ter ; but he still retained the inconvenient habit of 
 wearing the colonel's clothes, and never, to my 
 knowledge, paid the slightest heed to his remon- 
 strances, or any one's else, in the matter. 
 
 Smutty was not particularly fond of battle, and 
 absented himself from such " sturbances " as he 
 called them. 
 
 When Colonel Gruff failed to appear after the 
 third day's fighting, Smutty 's face had an injured 
 expression, as if he or the '^ Kunnel," or both, had 
 been improperly dealt with. He was silent and 
 uncommunicative ; and then, as if our society had 
 lost its charms for him, he disappeared. 
 
 Jed declared he had gone in pursuit of Colonel 
 Gruff, while others persisted that he had gone over 
 to the enemy to look up another master. 
 
 Our advance continued until, on the 12th, we 
 once more confronted the enemy at Williamsport. 
 Here the Confederates were separated from Vir- 
 ginia by a freshet, which made the Potomac impas- 
 sable, and there was no bridge over which they 
 could cross the river. 
 
 IVIuch was said in the newspapers during the 
 war, about soldiers being anxious to be led into 
 battle; but soldiers were not usually eager to 
 fight. 
 
266 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 At this time, however, they had but one desire, 
 and that was to take arms and charge. They be- 
 lieved they could capture all the material of the 
 rebel army, and end the war. 
 
 And here let me say, that, while there will always 
 be a difference of opinion as to the manner the 
 Confederate army should have been attacked, there 
 can be but little doubt that Meade should have 
 struck a blow at his antagonist before he crossed 
 the Potomac. 
 
 On the 17th our brigade crossed the river, and 
 marched along the base of the Blue Ridge Moun- 
 tains, which separated the two armies. There 
 were occasional skirmishes as the contestants came 
 in contact with each other, through the mountain 
 passes. 
 
 The rugged picturesqueness of these mountains, 
 with their overhanging cliffs, on which grew forest 
 trees and a dense undergrowth, impressed us with 
 their wild beauty. 
 
 At Manassas Gap our corps relieved the cavalry. 
 The rearguard of the Confederate army held pos- 
 session of a part of it, while their army made its 
 passage from the valley to Culpeper Court-House. 
 
 An unusual incident took place while a part of 
 our brigade Avas on picket here. A number of 
 Confederate soldiers came in, and delivered them- 
 selves up as prisoners, saying they were tired of 
 fighting. They expressed a desire to get some 
 Yankee coffee, and go to the rear. 
 
AFTER BATTLE. 267 
 
 We then learned that the Confederate army had 
 retreated, and that these men had purposely staid 
 behind to be taken prisoners. As the last of these 
 men came in, a scow-shaped Avagon with a ragged 
 white cover followed in their rear, as if under their 
 charge. The driver was a short, stout, black man, 
 who explained his mission by announcing that he 
 had something for the — th Mass. Jed and I, who 
 were just relieved from duty, were among the 
 crowd who gathered around the incoming '^ John- 
 nies." '^ What's up ? " we inquired. Just then, as 
 we pressed forward, the negro driver caught sight 
 of us, and exclaimed, — 
 
 '' Got suthin fur yo, sure nuff, sah ! " 
 
 The reader can imagine our astonishment when 
 in the sable driver we recognized Smutty. Added 
 to this surprise was another still greater. The 
 rough canvas of the wagon was pushed aside, and 
 the face of Colonel Gruff looked out. 
 
 There Avas great excitement in our regiment, 
 with whom the colonel was a great favorite. The 
 grizzly face of the colonel, unshaven for a long 
 time, was pale and haggard; but his joy, as well as 
 our own, at tliis meeting cannot be described. 
 
 There was one thing, however, that marred our 
 pleasure, — the dear, brave old colonel's arm had 
 been amputated below the elbow. 
 
 His story was soon told in brief. He had been 
 wounded at the time of our falling back from the 
 Emmettsburg road, while attempting to help some 
 
268 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 wounded men ; and, while endeavoring to find his 
 way back, he had fallen into the hands of the 
 enemy. 
 
 Before Lee's retreat, many prisoners had been pa- 
 roled by the Confederates; but for some reason 
 Colonel Gruff had not been included among them, 
 and had been hurried forward with the retreating 
 enemy. 
 
 How Smutty had reached the rebel lines was 
 never known, as that dignitary never condescended 
 to explain trifling matters ; but one day he had 
 mysteriously thrust his head into the wagon which 
 contained Colonel Gruff, and then for a time dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 '' At first," said the colonel, " I thought it an 
 hallucination, but soon after found Smutty driving 
 the team in the same unconcerned, matter-of-course 
 manner in which he achieves all his triumphs, and 
 one Avould have thought that he had always driven 
 that particular team." 
 
 When he was asked what had become of the 
 other driver, he replied, " Golly ! dun no ; 'spect he 
 drapped from dat yer mule ; " and that was the only 
 explanation he ever vouchsafed, to the colonel or any 
 one else. As Smutty wore a motley mass of rags 
 instead of one of the colonel's suits, it was guessed 
 that this exchange of clothing had been the price 
 of his position as driver, and in some way was con- 
 nected with the former driver's disappearance. 
 
 Colonel Gruff 's wounds were healing, but he did 
 
AFTER BATTLE. 269 
 
 not speak in especially complimentary terms of the 
 comforts he had enjoyed, and endeavored to convey 
 to us, by sundry rough metaphors, the jolting na- 
 ture of the wagon in which he had been conve3^ed. 
 As they had neared Manassas Gap, under various 
 pretences, the team had been delayed. At last a 
 wheel came off, and Smutty drove the team one 
 side to repair it ; and this delay, not being noticed, 
 gave them the opportunity to reach our lines with 
 the Confederate deserters, as narrated. 
 
 Colonel Gruff was tenderly cared for after his 
 arrival in our lines, and Smutty for a time fol- 
 lowed the ambulance on foot ; but when we got 
 into camp the next night, Smutty was driving that 
 ambulance, as serene and as cool as a sheet of ice. 
 
 August 1, the pursuit being over, found us in 
 camp at Beverly Ford. 
 
 Colonel Gruff was sent to the "Satterly Hos- 
 pital" in AVashington, where he remained until just 
 before the Wilderness campaign, under Grant, 
 began. 
 
 While at Beverty Ford I received a letter from 
 my aunt, — the first I had received since writing 
 from Fredericksburg, after the battle of Chancel- 
 lors ville. She had received the letter containing the 
 details of Weston's confession, and had communi- 
 cated its contents to the squire. On searching for 
 the tin box which contained the money, which had 
 been concealed by Weston in the straw mattress, 
 they had been unable to find it. 
 
270 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 In the campaign of manoeuvres, which followed, 
 we took part, but had little or no fighting. 
 
 At Rappahannock Station an incident occurred 
 which deserves a place in this narrative, as it con- 
 cerns one of the characters to whom the reader has 
 been introduced. 
 
 In falling back to this place, in one of the coun- 
 termarches which characterized this campaign, we 
 formed a part of the rearguard. 
 
 The engineers were destroying a long railroad 
 bridge which spanned a gorge on the steep banks 
 of the Rappahannock. They had destroyed the 
 south end, and only one plank connected the shore 
 with the bridge, twenty feet or so therefrom. The 
 structure was heaped with inflammable material, 
 ready to fire, when there appeared in sight, on the 
 south side of the Rappahannock, a single Union 
 horseman furiously pursued by rebel cavalrymen, 
 w^ho were shouting, and firing upon him. 
 
 The horseman, urging his horse to its utmost 
 speed, reached the shore, and, without a moment's 
 hesitation, coolly trotted his horse over the single 
 plank on to the bridge. As the fore-feet of the 
 horse struck the railroad ties of the bridge he 
 stumbled, the cavalryman slid over his neck, and 
 landed safely on his feet. Not so, however, the 
 faithful beast he had ridden. He reeled back and 
 was precipitated over the gorge, and lay mangled 
 and dead on the rocks, sixty feet below. 
 
 Coolly removing an envelope from his belt, the 
 
AFTER BATTLE. 271 
 
 orderly presented it to the engineer officer, simply 
 remarking on the loss of his horse, " I am sorry to 
 lose my horse and revolver." It was Henry Grace, 
 riding with orders from General Meade. 
 
 That winter we went into quarters at Brandy 
 Station. The ordinary camp life was unbroken, 
 save by court-martials and military punishments. 
 
 Our term of enlistment ended that winter, but 
 we felt it to be a patriotic duty to re-enlist ; and our 
 desire to do so was strengthened by the rumor that 
 General Grant would command the army in the 
 approaching campaign. 
 
 Shortly after re-enlisting for another term of ser- 
 vice, both Jed and I were recommended for promo- 
 tion as lieutenants in our own regiments. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 GRANT TAKES COMMAND. 
 
 TT was a spring day of unclouded splendor, in 
 -'- Virginia. The snow on the crests of the Blue 
 Ridge, so long visible from our quarters, had 
 disappeared. Frequent inspections and reviews 
 foreshadowed the speedy opening of the spring 
 campaign. Among the log huts roofed with A 
 tents, their rude chimneys of sticks and mud 
 capped by barrels, might be seen the glittering 
 muskets of moving sentinels ; while, here and there, 
 groups of soldiers swept the company streets, or 
 engaged in ordinary camp duties. Arches and 
 other decorations of evergreen showed the charac- 
 teristic pride of Union soldiers in their more j)er- 
 manent camps. 
 
 Under the fly of a large tent, at a rude table, our 
 company officers were at dinner. Colonel Gruff 
 had just returned from the Washington hospital, 
 and was the guest of the mess ; and Jed and myself, 
 as acting lieutenants, were also present. 
 
 After dinner Colonel Gruff had taken from his 
 
 pocket a Washington newspaper, and, calling for 
 
 attention, read the following : '' The rank of Lieu- 
 
 tenantrGeneral, revived by Act of Congress, passed 
 
 272 . - . 
 
GRANT TAKES COMMAND. 273 
 
 February 14th, has been conferred upon General 
 Grant, by the President. The general will, by 
 virtue of this office, take command of all the armies 
 in the field. It is also understood that he will 
 make his headquarters with the Army of the Poto- 
 mac, and direct its operations in person." 
 
 '' By me sowl I " exclaimed Captain O'Keif, 
 "byes, this means fighting, and plenty of it, 
 too ! " 
 
 "Yes," assented Colonel Gruff. "Shentlemen, 
 dot means ve shall move soon ; and ve shall soon 
 fight and keep on fighting until ve are vipped, or 
 the enemy is vipped," and he thumped the table 
 excitedly with the stump of his amputated arm. 
 
 A smile went around the table, for the old sol- 
 dier was seldom so demonstrative. The colonel, 
 having thus delivered his opinion, carefully filled 
 and lit his pipe, making rather awkward work of 
 it with his one hand, and then sat silently smoking, 
 as if ashamed of the emphasis of his remarks. 
 
 The prospect of fighting is not always dreaded 
 by soldiers, since, by the very nature of their pro- 
 fession, it must come , yet even on the youngest 
 soldier's face, the lines of care, which are common 
 to those who follow a perilous profession, had begun 
 to deepen, with thoughts of the coming campaign. 
 
 As we sat discussing the prospect of the army 
 under the new commander, a mounted officer, 
 dressed in a rusty uniform, came riding down the 
 company street, and dismounted in front of our 
 
274 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 tent, with the evident intention of tightening the 
 girth of his saddle. 
 
 Our party saluted ; and the officer of the guard 
 near at hand, seeing him to be a general of high 
 rank, commanded (as was customary), " Turn out 
 the guard." 
 
 " Never mind the guard," quietly responded the 
 officer. 
 
 Colonel Gruff now came forward, and with bluff 
 courtesy invited the general to a seat, sending his 
 own orderly to fasten the saddle-girth. 
 
 With a quick, penetrating glance at the colonel, 
 the general extended his hand, saying, '' Is this not 
 Gruff, whom I knew in the Mexican war? " 
 
 " Yes, general," said the colonel, with a flush of 
 pride at being thus recognized by his superior, " I 
 was Corporal Gruff of the — Artillery." 
 
 I noted that the general was rather below the 
 medium height, thin in person, but compactly 
 built. His eyes were gray, clear, and cold; his 
 features were regular, his forehead broad, and his 
 face flushed as if blushing ; while his mouth, seen 
 through his close-trimmed brown beard, was straight 
 cut, and, when he spoke, the thin, bloodless lips 
 came together with something like a snap. His 
 bearing was sim^^le, and his manner one of tranquil 
 firmness, as of conscious power in repose. Though 
 his face was almost stony in its immobility (as if 
 long trained to conceal any expression of thoughts), 
 yet his personal motions were so quick as to be 
 
GRANT TAKES COMMAND. 275 
 
 almost jerky ; as if the regular army drill masters' 
 constant command, " Make your motions quickly, 
 and then steady yourself for the next order," had 
 become thoroughly embedded in his habits. When 
 he removed his hat I noticed the shape of the back 
 of his head, ^Yhich formed neai'ly a right angle, the 
 vertical line of which ran straight down to his 
 collar. He remained seated but a moment, then 
 rose quickly, as if in haste. 
 
 Colonel Gruff introduced us collectively, saying, 
 " Shentlemen, this is Lieutenant-General Grant." 
 
 The general's horse now being ready he walked 
 quickly to it, with his head in advance of his body. 
 He vaulted to his saddle without use of the stirrup, 
 and rode away, leaning far forward on his horse, 
 with a concentrated look on his face. 
 
 " How did you know General Grant ? " we ex- 
 claimed, gathering around the old colonel, for we 
 had never heard the least expression from him, in- 
 dicating such an acquaintance. 
 
 " Vel, boys, I never knew Sheneral Grant, but I 
 knew a leetle Lieutenant Grant in de Mexican 
 var. I helped him vonce to get a howitzer to the 
 top of a church belfry in the city of Mexico, and 
 we pelted some Mexicans at the San Cosme Gate." 
 
 A short time after this, all was in a bustle of prep- 
 aration. The log huts were destroyed, and troops 
 bivouacked in the held, to prevent delay in march- 
 ing whenever the orders should come. At sunset 
 
276 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 on the 4th of May, orders were issued for our regi- 
 ments to move at half-past ten that night. All 
 unnecessary fires were prohibited, taps and tattoo 
 were beaten at the usual hours ; but instead of set- 
 tling to its rest, the army, with its long trains, was 
 marched to the fords of the Rapidan, to open the 
 cam23aign of 1864. 
 
 The soldiers, who, while in winter quarters, had 
 accumulated much extra baggage, in tliis rapid 
 march began throwing away their blankets and 
 clothing on all sides. Pack mules, loaded pictu- 
 resquely with pickaxes and shovels for intrench- 
 ing purposes, accompanied the divisions of the 
 army. 
 
 On the 5th of i\Iay, Griffin's division of the 5th 
 Corps, which had been thrown out to prevent an 
 irruption of the enemy into the roads upon which 
 Sedgwick's corps was yet to move, encountered the 
 van of Hill's corps, of the Confederate army, and 
 a fierce fight took place. 
 
 It was Grant's plan that, having turned the Con- 
 federate right by the successful passage of the 
 Rapidan, he would mask his march through the 
 Wilderness, and then, by a rapid advance towards 
 Gordonsville, plant himself between the Confede- 
 rate army and Richmond. 
 
 The centre of Lee's line at this time was at 
 Orange Court-House, from whence the Orange and 
 Fredericksburg plank road and turnpike ran in 
 parallel lines eastward. Down these roads Lee 
 
GRANT TAKES COMMAND. 277 
 
 hurled his troops upon the exposed flank of the 
 Union army. 
 
 The Confederate commander knew every road 
 and by-path of the Wilderness, while to the Union 
 leader it was an unknown region. 
 
 Artillery could not be used here because of the 
 thick undergrowth of jack oaks, pines, and entan- 
 gling vines. 
 
 The Confederates soon attacked Warren's corps, 
 whose naked flank was exposed, and thus showed 
 that general that the enemy was in force on his 
 front. 
 
 Information of the Confederate attack having 
 been conveyed to Grant, the forward movement of 
 troops by the flank was suspended, in order to meet 
 the attack now begun by the enemy, who were hop- 
 ing to entangle and insnare the Union army in this 
 labyrinth of woods. 
 
 Hancock's corps, to which we were now attached, 
 was at this time near Todd's Tavern. We at once 
 began a march up the Brock road, to its intersec- 
 tion with the Orange plank road, to take part 
 in the contest thus begun between the two 
 armies. 
 
 At three o'clock in the afternoon we reached the 
 scene of the battle, and began intrenching ourselves 
 by felling trees and heaping soil against their 
 trunks. Before these works were completed, how- 
 ever, we* were ordered to attack the enemy on the 
 plank road. The fight which now ensued baffles 
 
278 JED'S ADVENTURED. 
 
 description. The enemy fired at us from behind 
 trees, bushes, stumj)S, and from thickets. 
 
 In advancing through the tangled undergrowth 
 of creeping vines and low oaks and pines we could 
 not preserve our alignments, and the left of a bri- 
 gade could only determine the position of its right 
 by the smoke from its muskets. 
 
 The nature of the fighting vexed Colonel Gruff 
 very much. As he dismounted from his horse and 
 led liim through the bushes, in the rear of his regi- 
 ment, he was heard to growl at every step, " Bush- 
 vacking I bushvacking ! "' 
 
 Tlie firing, which was at first desultory, soon 
 became fierce and continuous. There were at this 
 time a large number of bounty men and recruits in 
 our regiment, who had never before smelled gun- 
 powder. This fact made our force less reliable in 
 holding its ground than in former actions, and re- 
 quired constant vigilance from the file closers, who 
 occupied a position a few steps in rear of the main 
 line. 
 
 Occasionally some man, appalled by the terrible 
 nature of the fighting, would break and attempt to 
 run. The men were falling fast when a strapping 
 Irish recruit came three times to the rear in this 
 attempt. 
 
 Captain O'Keif collared him in his third attempt, 
 and, whirling him around with his face to the enemy, 
 exclaimed, '' The enemy are not back here at all, 
 man. By the holy St. Patrick, they are thicker 
 
GRANT TAKES COMMAND. 279 
 
 than bees straight ahead, as I'm pointing 
 you." 
 
 " Over there is it, captain ? Divil a man knows 
 it better than myself. But just think of me being 
 kilt without a 2)raste ! " 
 
 " By me sowl ! " said Captain O'Keif, " an Irish- 
 man who would run wouldn't be worth a praste, 
 and if yez don't keep yer place in line, I'll blow yer 
 brains out." 
 
 The recruit, as he took his place in line, was 
 heard to exclaim to his comrades, " Let us die here 
 like men." At which O'Keif said droUy, "See 
 what a brave man I've made of him ! " 
 
 At another time, during the fiercest of the fight, 
 Sonny, the dismounted cavalryman, arrested the 
 flight of a foreign recruit, and addressed a few 
 words of remonstrance to him. The recruit 
 shook his head and said, "No understand Eng- 
 lesh." 
 
 At which Sonny turned the recruit with his face 
 to the enemy, and with repeated kicks from his No. 
 10 shoes forced the would-be runaway into line, re- 
 marking in an aside, " That's a language anybody 
 can understand." Such is often the by-play of 
 battle, at which a soldier laughs even in the midst 
 of danger. 
 
 The roar and crackle of musketry now became 
 terrible, even to veterans. A single piece of artil- 
 lery was heard beating time, as it were, to the 
 steady roar of musketry. 
 
280 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 While the wounded and dying were constantly 
 being borne to the rear, an occasional skulker or 
 coward sought to escape from peril by banda- 
 ging his arm, or with some other device, to reach 
 that safe retreat. The colonel rudely halted this 
 class of men, detaining them whether they be- 
 longed to his regiment or not. 
 
 The sun went down on this vast ensanguined 
 field, which was more like miles of disconnected 
 skirmisliing than a battle. The nature of the 
 combat was unparalleled in the history of fight- 
 ing, and fully justified by its nature the dissatis- 
 fied growls of Colonel Gruff, — 
 
 " Bushvacking — miles of bushvacking ! Yon 
 grand skirmish I " 
 
 As night came on, the firing died awa}^ along the 
 line as if by mutual consent of the combatants. 
 Men now boiled their coffee, smoked their pij^es, 
 or searched for missing comrades ; and then rolled 
 themselves in their blankets and slept under the 
 stars more soundly than men sleep in their beds 
 at home. 
 
 At five o'clock the next morning, when the sun's 
 light had illumined the tangled depths of this vast 
 forest, musket firing broke out afresh. The posi- 
 tion of the enemy could be guessed only by the 
 lines of Avhite, sulphurous smoke, which rose from 
 their muskets. 
 
 We soon, made an advance of half a mile through 
 the woods. In tliis advance the color bearer was 
 
GRANT TAKES COMMAND. 281 
 
 shot, and fell, exclaiming, " Don't let the flag go 
 down ! " 
 
 Sonny (whose real name was Joe Mayo) seized 
 the standard, and carried it proudly forward into 
 the storm of bullets. Colonel Gruff saw the act, 
 and shouted, — 
 
 " I makes you mine color sergeant, sir ! " Sonny, 
 promoted on the field of battle, might well be 
 proud. 
 
 During this advance through the maze of under- 
 brush, scrub pines, and oaks, the thickets were so 
 dense that we could not see a dozen yards right or 
 left, and had not been able to preserve our align- 
 ments. 
 
 Our course, which hitherto had been disputed 
 by sharpshooters and skirmishers, was now inter- 
 rupted by a roar of continuous musketry which 
 broke out from every thicket on our front. 
 
 To illustrate, let me say, to the uninitiated, that 
 this sounded, in miniature, as if bushels of lighted 
 fire-crackers had been thrown into miles of barrels 
 standing in a row. 
 
 Under this heavy firing we fell back, fighting 
 stubbornly at every step, and seeking shelter 
 behind stumps and trees from the angry bullets 
 that filled the air with ominous hissings. 
 
 In the smoke and confusion of this retreat, when 
 the fire was the hottest, we found ourselves 
 hemmed in on three sides by the enemy's infantry 
 fire. 
 
282 JED'S ADVENTUBES. 
 
 On examination it was found that about twenty 
 of our company had become separated from the 
 main line ; among whom was Sonny (still carrying 
 the flag), Jed, and myself. 
 
 In trying to get back from the encircling mus- 
 kets, we came to a little clearing in the heart of 
 this forest, where we encountered Colonel Gruff, 
 who was leading his horse to the clearing. 
 
 Exclaiming, "We are cut off from the main 
 line I Save yourselves ! Don't be taken prison- 
 ers ! " he vaulted into the saddle, and with his 
 bridle in his teeth, and a six-shooter in his hand, 
 dashed across the clearing. 
 
 We saw two rebel cavalrj^men dart from the 
 thicket and give chase. The veteran did not spur 
 his horse to greater speed, though the cavalrymen 
 were gaining on him. We saw him reach a fence, 
 jump his horse over it, then resuming the bridle 
 with his teeth once more, turn in his saddle and 
 fire at his nearest pursuer. The cavalryman rolled 
 from his saddle. 
 
 " Jerusalem, that was cool I " exclaimed Sonny. 
 
 We, meanwhile, were following at good speed in 
 the same direction, occasionally coming to an about 
 face to repel, or keep at a respectful distance, the 
 enemy in our rear. 
 
 We had nearly crossed the clearing and reached 
 the fence when a volley was fired from the woods 
 on our left. Fortunately, most of the shot passed 
 over our heads, though one struck the flagstaff 
 
GRANT TAKES COMMAND. 283 
 
 carried by Sonny, cutting it off above his head, 
 near the colors. 
 
 "Drop the flag, drop it!" exclaimed several of 
 our squad, " it draws the fire." But Sonny refused 
 to abandon his flag, which he fixed to the staff 
 again, saying, — 
 
 " It sha'n't be touched by a reb as long as I 
 live ! " 
 
 We had now reached a thick pine covert to the 
 left of the course our colonel had taken. Jed and 
 I, with the remaining members of our party, deter- 
 mined to make a stand here, and send out two men 
 to reconnoitre. 
 
 Sonny volunteered for this duty. He came back 
 to us after a few minutes and said he "guessed it 
 was safe for us to try and reach the Brock road," 
 where our main line was formed. \Ye noticed that 
 Sonny no longer carried the flag. 
 
 In advancing through the Avoods we met no 
 hinderances, though the roar of the conflict was 
 heard all around us. 
 
 We were still advancing through the woods 
 cautiously, keeping our alignments as far as possi- 
 ble, when, both on our light and on our left, there 
 came the order, — 
 
 " Halt ! Come in out of the cold, Yanks ! " 
 
 The order was decisive : and we had no alterna- 
 tive but to die or surrender, as the protruding mus- 
 kets on every side proclaimed. We had run 
 between two lines of Confederates formed at a,n 
 
284 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 angle in the woods. We were soon disarmed and 
 marched to the rear. 
 
 Jed had been in command of our squad during 
 the events narrated. He retained his composure, 
 though he knew his danger of being hanged as a 
 spy, should he be recognized by the Confederates 
 as one who for a time had worn their uniform. In 
 reply to my question of what he would do in such 
 a case, he said, — 
 
 '' Dick, I never think of it. When danger comes 
 it's time enough to face it. I am in God's hands 
 at all times. It makes but little difference when 
 we die, since, as Colonel Gruff says, ' We must all 
 die once ; ' but it does make a difference if we die 
 doing our duty, and with our trust in God undis- 
 turbed ; " and as Jed said this his face shone with 
 that inner light which is the reflection of a pure 
 soul. 
 
 I thought then, as I have often thought since, 
 " This is the faith of a Christian, and the courage 
 of a soldier." 
 
 We were kindly treated by our captors, as men 
 usually are by those they have been fighting against. 
 
 After wearisome marching we reached Richmond, 
 where we remained but a single day, and then, 
 without incident worthy of recital, were sent to 
 Lynchburg. 
 
 While here there was a little occurrence which 
 had so important a bearing upon our prison life as 
 to deserve mention. 
 
GRANT TAKES COMMAND. 285 
 
 During the march I observed a negro servant of 
 one of the officers of the guard carrying an ordinary 
 three-pint pail. 
 
 " What have you got in that pail, Sam ? " I in- 
 quired. 
 
 " Massa's dinner," replied the colored man. 
 
 '' Let me see it, will you? " I asked. 
 
 He removed the cover and disclosed a tempting 
 dish of fried fish and buttered biscuit, which, as 
 I was hungry, I at once felt that I must have. 
 I had a new army overcoat, which had been a 
 decided encumbrance to me since my capture, 
 and this I offered in exchange for the pail and 
 contents. 
 
 He glanced around to see that no one was look- 
 ing, and then made the trade. How he afterwards 
 made his peace with his master I do not know, but 
 the little pail was so great a convenience to me in 
 cooking, while I was a prisoner, that its value could 
 not be rated in money. Thus incidents can never be 
 said to be insignificant until we know their relation 
 to that wliich follows. 
 
 While at Lynchburg, Jed saw one or two Confed- 
 erates whom he knew, but none of them recognized 
 him, which may have been due to the fact that he 
 now wore a mustache and beard, which he had cul- 
 tivated since leaving their lines. 
 
 We were finally embarked, with several hundred 
 other prisoners, on box-cars, sixty or seventy men 
 to a car. In five days we arrived at Charleston, 
 
286 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 South Carolina, where, after being kept in the jail- 
 yard one clay and night, we were again put on board 
 cattle-cars, and, two days later, reached Anderson- 
 ville Station, Georgia, thirty-five miles south from 
 Macon. 
 
i;l:iffl|illk:;i!ll!;EI!ll!l!E!!:ll;ll;liilii:ii 1 J il 111 L J 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ANDERSONVELLE PRISON. 
 
 /^F Andersonville prison little was known by 
 ^-^ those outside of it at that period. It had been 
 opened for the reception of captives in February, 
 1864, and the first instalment of victims had been 
 transferred here from Belle Island prison at that 
 time. We had, therefore, no conception of the 
 place to which we were to be consigned. 
 
 The prison was used for enlisted men only ; and 
 as Jed and myself had not yet received our com- 
 missions, we still wore our sergeants' dress, and on 
 capture our rank was judged by our uniform. We 
 made no protest against this, as I thought Jed would 
 stand a better chance of not being recognized among 
 a multitude, than among the comparatively few in 
 an of!icers' prison, and so it proved. 
 
 The rain was pouring in torrents when, on the 
 23d of May, about sundown, we arrived at Ander- 
 son Station. We were formed in single ranks on 
 the long platform of the depot, and were there 
 formally turned over to the prison guard. 
 
 A Confederate sergeant in gray uniform, whose 
 neck was twisted towards one shoulder, gave the 
 order, "AH you 'ns Yanks that can write, take 
 287 
 
288 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 one step forward." At this order the whole line 
 advanced, for we were mostly New England sol- 
 diers ; and if there were those who could not write, 
 they would not acknowledge it. 
 
 Thinking we had misunderstood him, the sergeant 
 repeated the order, with the same result. 
 
 A few sergeants were finally selected to take the 
 names of ninety men each, that number, for con- 
 venience in issuing rations, composing a squad in 
 the prison. We were marched east a short dis- 
 tance, by a road running through a little valley 
 surrounded by thick pine woods, when there loomed 
 up before us, in the moist atmosphere and gather- 
 ing darkness, a long line of palisade, the sight of 
 which gave me a shiver of foreboding and dread. 
 The rainfall and the chill of evening oppressed 
 me Avith gloom. 
 
 While halted before these walls, a little man on 
 a horse rode up, and at some remark from a pris- 
 oner began cursing frightfully, and striking, with 
 a cavalry sabre, at the prisoners standing in line. 
 
 It was Henry Wirtz, who commanded the interior 
 of the prison. 
 
 " Better keep on good terms with the old man," 
 said one of the rebel guard suggestively. 
 
 The gates before us now swung inward, and we 
 were marched into the prison. 
 
 Many, oh, how many ! never passed through 
 those gates again, until they were carried to the 
 graveyard trenches beyond. 
 
ANdersonville prison: 28d 
 
 Gaunt creatures, with shrunken forms and black- 
 ened faces, clothed in cUrty, ragged shreds of blue, 
 thronged around us as we entered the prison. The 
 impress of suffering and famine was over all. Their 
 dirt-clotted countenances, dishevelled hair, half- 
 naked limbs, and grotesque habiliments, for a while 
 made it impossible for us to realize that they, like 
 ourselves, were Union soldiers. Exposure to rain 
 and sun, starvation and confinement within the 
 deadly embrace of these prison walls, had oblite- 
 rated almost all semblance of manhood from these 
 patriotic men. Some stared apathetically at us, as 
 if at visitants from another world, in which they 
 no longer had a part. From their faces all hope 
 and cheerfulness had faded out. 
 
 Others gathered around us, and in plaintive, 
 tremulous, but eager voices, inquired for news of 
 the outside world from whence we came, or invited 
 trade. '^ Where is Sherman ? " — " What is Grant 
 doing?" — "Got any hard-tack or coffee to trade 
 for corn bread ? " -_ " Do you know when we are to 
 be exchanged?" are samples of the interrogations 
 which came from faltering lips. The last question 
 was the most common one. This, coming from 
 wretched men, hollow-eyed, famine-pinched, and 
 with scurvied, swollen faces, blue and trembling 
 with cold, dampness, and the weakness of famine, 
 made the questionings almost an appeal. 
 
 Though this scene brought a shiver of creeping 
 horror over many a man among us accustomed to 
 
290 JEb'S ADVENfUMS. 
 
 face death in battle, yet we but feebly compre* 
 hended its full import then. 
 
 A revolting stench filled the moist atmosphere. 
 Our feet mired into a wallow of excrements at every 
 step. We constantly stumbled on squalid huts 
 scarcely high enough to creep under. These were 
 made of blankets, shirts, shreds of clothing, or were 
 built up with mud and roofed with brush or twigs 
 of pine. 
 
 Coming from ordinary scenes of war, this prison, 
 by contrast, was so horrible as to seem to be the 
 very jaws of death and the gates of hell. Within 
 its deadly maw all semblance of humanity was 
 crushed. 
 
 It appeared impossible that human beings could 
 exist in such a place. Our feet sunk in filth at 
 every step. We were conducted across a creek, 
 seemingly running with excrement instead of 
 water, which crept like a slimy, venomous serpent 
 through the centre of the prison. 
 
 The side hill beyond, we were told, was to be 
 our quarters. But where? The whole hillside 
 was so crowded with huts, and human forms lying 
 on the muddy ground, that at a first glance there 
 appeared to be no room for us. It was only by 
 scattering in groups of two and three at different 
 points that we finally found the needed space to 
 spread our blankets. 
 
 The ground selected by Jed, Sonny, and myself 
 for our lodging-place was filthy beyond belief ; but 
 
ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 291 
 
 we were too tired to find better, and it was already 
 too dark to remedy matters, even if there were 
 better accommodations elsewhere. 
 
 Sadly thinking of my far-off Northern home and 
 friends, and of the terrible contrasts here, I fell into 
 a troubled sleep. 
 
 The sun was shining brightly when I was awak- 
 ened by men stumbling against me. As I arose to 
 my feet the daylight revealed, for the first time, 
 the whole prison area to my sight. In form the 
 enclosure of stockade was a parallelogram, shown 
 by after measurements to be ten hundred and ten 
 feet in length, and seven hundred and seventy-nine 
 feet six inches wide. The sides of this parallelo- 
 gram ran north and south. It enclosed two oppo- 
 site hillsides, and the valleys and plateaus back of 
 them. 
 
 Near the centre, running from east to west, was 
 the brook, from eight to ten feet in width, of which 
 mention has before been made. On each side of 
 this creek was a swampy marsh reaching to the foot 
 of both the north and south hillsides. 
 
 There were two gates, both on the east line of 
 the stockade, one on the plateau of the north hill- 
 side, the other the south. The stockade was built 
 of pine logs set upright in the ground, scored slight- 
 ly on the sides, so as to fit them closely together. 
 These were firmly held together by means of a plank 
 or slab, spiked on the outside and across the face of 
 the logs near the top. 
 
292 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 Sentry boxes, tlnrty-five in number, were scaf- 
 folded outside, close up to tKe stockade, so that the 
 guard could overlook the area within. The little 
 platform on which the guard were stationed came 
 within four feet of the to23 of the stockade, and was 
 reached by a ladder from the outside. These guards 
 were protected from rain and sun by a shed roof, 
 five feet above, and sloping from, the stockade. 
 
 No vegetation was in this pen. The dense growth 
 of pines formerly covering the ground had been 
 cleared away when the stockade Avas built. 
 
 As I went down the hill to wash myself at the 
 brook, I saw, for the first time, a little railing three 
 feet high, running eighteen feet from, and parallel 
 with, the stockade, inside and all around it. It 
 was made by nailing a strip of board about three 
 inches wide to the top of posts set firmly in the 
 ground. 
 
 ''What is that for?" I asked an old prisoner. 
 
 "You'd better keep away from it if you don't 
 want to get shot," he replied. " That's the dead 
 line. I saw one of the guard shoot one of our old 
 men, the other day, while he was reaching over to 
 pick up a weed which was growing inside." 
 
 ''What did he want of the weed?" I inquired 
 wonderingly. 
 
 " Don't know. Guess he wanted it to eat ; good 
 for scurvy," was the reply. 
 
 On every side strange and terrible sights greeted 
 me. Men were cooking at little fires scarcely large 
 
ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 253 
 
 enough to make a blaze. Dead men, with unclosed 
 eyes, lay in the path by the side of the little huts. 
 
 Sick men with scurvied, bloated limbs were 
 endeavoring to eat while their teeth almost dropped 
 from their jaws. Wounded men, with festering, 
 unhealed wounds, were lying with naked limbs, 
 and with hair matted in the filth of their sur- 
 roundings. 
 
 With inarticulate, piteous whines, they looked 
 with their lustreless eyes or reached out their 
 withered, feeble hands in mute a2:)peal for help. 
 The}' were covered with vermin and maggots. 
 God in heaven I What horrors greeted every 
 step. 
 
 Finally, after trying to assist creatures to whom 
 no relief could come but death, I reached, through 
 festering corruption and filth, the brook of water 
 near the east side, bridged by tw^o logs. The 
 water was putrid with fecal matter, running from 
 the marsh. Where the brook crossed the dead 
 line and sluggishly passed out under the hindering 
 stockade, it was comparatively clear. Here the 
 dead line was undefined. 
 
 " Many a poor creature reaching for clear 
 water," said an old prisoner, " has been killed at 
 this spot, by a bullet from the guard." 
 
 I reached down from the logs, and, filling my 
 canteen, took a drink. The water w^as tepid and 
 had a boggy taste ; it was covered w^ith a greasy 
 scum, which, it was said, came from the cook-house 
 
294 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 on the margin of the branch, and just outside the 
 prison limits. 
 
 The sinks of the rebel guard were above on the 
 stream, and their filth came into the brook for 
 prisoners to drink. 
 
 After washing myself I attempted to make a 
 shorter cut through the marsh to the hillside. ' Its 
 passage was impossible ,• or in my repugnance to 
 the filth in which my feet deeply mired, I felt it to 
 be so. 
 
 The prisoners had used the marsh for sinks. 
 Here had accumulated tlie terrible filth of the 
 prison, mixed Avith the soil by the trampling of 
 many feet. The whole was a mass of festering 
 corruption. 
 
 The area of the quagmire was originally a boggy 
 swamp, ^jartially covered by stagnant water, over 
 which gathered a green, unhealthy scum. It was 
 now infested to the depth of twelve to thirty-six 
 inches by writhing maggots, bred from this filth, as 
 there was no drainage from this camp of twenty 
 thousand men. The stench which arose from 
 this marsh had in it alone the seeds of a 
 pestilence. 
 
 This is but a faint general picture of the scenes 
 which met our gaze that morning. 
 
 I returned to my comrades by the beaten path, 
 refreshed by my bath, notwithstanding all the 
 horrors I had encountered. 
 
 That day Jed, Sonny, and I formed a mess pre- 
 
ANbERSONVtLLE PRISOJ^. 295 
 
 paratory to building a hut, and making the best of 
 our surroundings. 
 
 We had had no food since the day previous, and 
 were very hungry. One of my comrades bought a 
 johnny-cake of one of the prisoners, and from it 
 four of us made a breakfast. It was poorly cooked, 
 and might be described as stuck together with 
 water and a slight heat. But hunger is a good 
 substitute for nice cooking, and we ate it greedily, 
 notwithstanding the miscellaneous filth we found 
 in it. 
 
 We now set to work to construct a hut to pro- 
 tect ourselves from the rain and sun. In this we 
 were very fortunate, as we possessed four woollen 
 blankets and one of rubber. 
 
 For some reason our party had not been searched 
 for valuables or robbed of their blankets, as was 
 commonly the case with those who came into the 
 prison. It is doubtful if three men in the entire 
 prison could be found so well provided as we 
 were. 
 
 Two were appointed to prepare the ground for 
 our habitation while Jed went in search of some 
 sticks to make a framework for the hut. After a 
 persistent search he finally bought a handful of 
 sticks, for which he had paid two dollars in green- 
 backs, from one of the prisoners. 
 
 The ground was levelled by digging into the 
 side hill, and the clean soil from beneath replaced 
 the filthy surface soil. This we tramped hard and 
 
2S6 JED'S ADVENTUkE^. 
 
 level. The embankment made by the cut in the 
 hillside was smoothed and sloped slightly back. 
 Two pieces of stick were set firmly in the ground 
 at each end of the level space, and across these 
 was lashed another for a ridge-pole. Two other 
 sticks, lower tlian the ridge-j^ole, with a stick 
 across fastened like it, Avere set for the front. Two 
 of our best blankets wei'e then pinned together 
 with wooden pins, and over this framework the 
 blankets were stretched, and pinned down to the 
 embankment in the rear and at the sides by means 
 of small sharp stakes driven into the ground. The 
 other side was then fastened to the lower ridge- 
 pole for the front. 
 
 We now had two blankets to sleep on, and the 
 poncho blanket mentioned, and which in case of 
 need might be hung up in front to protect us from 
 rain. 
 
 Such was the habitation that excited the envy 
 of our more miserable comrades. 
 
 During the day we bought some Indian meal and 
 cooked some mush in my little tin pail, for it was 
 not until four o'clock that afternoon that rations 
 were issued to us. 
 
 While engaged in cooking, an old prisoner, see- 
 ing my little tin pail, said, — 
 
 " If you want to sell that tin bucket, young feller, 
 I'll give you three dollars in greenbacks and a 
 piece of johnny-cake for it." 
 
 I declined to trade, whereupon he said, — 
 
ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 297 
 
 " Your head is level, young feller. Whatever 
 else you sell, don't part with tliat tin bucket or 
 your blanket. It will be worth more to you than 
 a hundred dollars, for you'll stand some chance to 
 live here if you hold on to them." 
 
 I thought at the time that his estimation of the 
 value of the things was exaggerated, but it proved 
 to be a just one, as shown by my subsequent expe- 
 rience. 
 
 It began raining that afternoon in a steady, per- 
 sistent manner, and continued with but little inter- 
 ruption during the remainder of the month. 
 
 About four o'clock on that first day we had 
 rations issued to us of Indian meal, which had, 
 however, a preponderance of cob in its composi- 
 tion; also a few small beans or cow peas. The 
 ration of Indian meal was equal to about an ordi- 
 nary teacupful to each man, and the beans could 
 be held in the half-closed palm of the hand. 
 
 Such was our introduction to the living death of 
 Andersonville, and thus it was that we settled down 
 to the common life of prisoners. As bitter and 
 terrible as was the opening scene described, it 
 afterwards became inexpressibly worse, month by 
 month, during our stay there. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 LIFE AND DEATH IN PRISON. 
 
 /^UR hut was very comfortable, and it was for- 
 ^-^ tunate for us that it was so, for during the 
 succeeding month, rain fell persistently for twenty- 
 three days. This, to men comfortably housed and 
 fed, would not have caused great suffering, but to 
 the squalid inmates of Andersonville it was prolific 
 of disease, suffering, and death. 
 
 The great mass of prisoners had no shelter ex- 
 cept such as they had made of their scanty gar- 
 ments or blankets ; while large numbers, especially 
 of those newly arrived, had none at all. This 
 crowd of men was also nearly destitute of fuel for 
 cooking, and of cooking utensils. 
 
 The difficulty of preparing their rations (even 
 when they had food) during this rainfall, together 
 with the cold and discomfort and filth produced 
 thereby, had a depressing effect, which strong men 
 could scarcely resist. 
 
 The last day of June there were twenty thousand 
 suffering men within the deadly embrace of these 
 prison walls, where all finer sensibilities were 
 crushed in the struggle for life. 
 
 The absence of soap, together with the soot from 
 298 
 
LIFE AND DEATH IN PRISON 299 
 
 fires made of pitch-pine roots or branches, soon be- 
 grimed our faces almost beyond recognition. Wash- 
 ing without soap simply distributed and rubbed in 
 the grime, so, to one not used to the sight, we ap- 
 peared to be black men. Habit, however, so accus- 
 tomed us to these disfigurements that they were 
 scarcely perceivable to ourselves. 
 
 Among these scenes Jed's high courage and al- 
 most womanly sympathy sustained and encouraged 
 all with whom he came in contact. 
 
 From our arrival in prison we had mingled but 
 little with other prisoners, and had attempted to 
 keep scrupulously clean. 
 
 Like most captives, we had only the clothing v/e 
 had worn into the prison, and an attempt to wash 
 these garments without soap destroyed without 
 cleansing them. We therefore abandoned all idea 
 of washing our clothes, and only practised daily 
 bathing our persons at the brook. 
 
 One day, thinking to make a shorter cut to the 
 stream, we came to the bottom of the north hillside, 
 where, in an attempt to cover the pestilential filth, 
 the quagmire had been filled in with soil excavated 
 from the hill. In this way an area of a hundred 
 square feet or more had been made habitable. Here 
 the prisoners had begun to erect little huts with 
 sides built of mud, and other shelter. 
 
 We found its unoccupied portions crowded with 
 dead and dying men, some lying with naked limbs 
 swollen and black with scurvy, others with hair 
 
300 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 matted in the surrounding filth, unable because of 
 weakness to escaxoe. They had come hither, and 
 had been unable to return. Some, too feeble to 
 articulate, held out their wasted hands with feeble 
 cries for help, looked at us appealingly with their 
 lustreless eyes, or pointed to their trembling, blood- 
 less lips, in mute entreaty for water or food. 
 
 We stopped and tried to help them, gave them 
 water, and attempted to wash the filth from their 
 persons. Some of these poor creatures had fester- 
 ing sores, in which were gathered maggots and 
 vermin. 
 
 Jed said but little, but tears ran down his face, 
 and his utterances were choked by sobs as he tried 
 to speak words of comfort to those to whom no 
 comfort could come. We could give them no food, 
 for which there was a common appeal : we had none. 
 
 Our sympathies were so aroused by the i^itiable 
 condition of these men, that their anguish seemed 
 more than we could bear. We had not then learned 
 the terrible truth, — that here we must resolutely 
 close the avenues of human sympathy, or quickly 
 be exterminated by its re-action on ourselves. 
 
 The best pliilosophy was to do all possible for 
 suffering comrades, keeping in mind the fact that 
 one could not really help them with sympathy. A 
 harsh sentiment, but the only one to adopt by such 
 as did not care to become in turn an object of pity, 
 or to be crowded out of existence by the pressure 
 of attendant miseries. 
 
LIFE AND DEATH IN PRISON 301 
 
 The mental is to the physical, in such scenes, as 
 three to one. That man who could direct the con- 
 dition of his mind by force of will, and not leave it 
 to be the plaything of circumstances, survived these 
 long and agonizing imprisonments , for minds that 
 are controlled by will are often superior to the 
 simple wants of the body. 
 
 While engaged in trying to relieve these poor 
 creatures, we came upon a middle-aged man lying 
 in the filth. After we had washed his face and 
 hands there was a look on liis face, or an expression 
 in his eyes, that reminded me of some one I had 
 known. I tried in vain to recall where I had seen 
 him before. We helped him to his feet, and in 
 answer to our question of where his friends were, 
 he told us that he had no acquaintances in the 
 prison. 
 
 This was not an isolated case. There were many 
 such. 
 
 " Why not take him in with us ? " said Jed. 
 " We've got room for another in our ' shebang.' " 
 
 I Avas about to resist this, but the appealing and 
 familiar look on the face of the man we had rescued, 
 decided me to do as Jed suggested. 
 
 "If Joe Mayo" — Sonny's real name — "don't 
 object, we'll take him into our mess," I replied. 
 So Robinson, for thus he called himself, became an 
 inmate of our hut, and with Iris new surroundings 
 gradually gained strength. 
 
 At the time of our coming into the prison there 
 
302 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 were about fifteen thousand men there, but into 
 this crowded tlieatre of deatli there flowed a con- 
 stant procession of new victims from the battle- 
 fields of Grant's and Sherman's armies. They 
 brought into the prison the buoyancy of hope and 
 youth ; they soon became sick and squalid, hope- 
 less and idiotic, or were destroyed by the intense 
 cruelty of their prison life. The stockade seemed 
 to take on personality. Like the vision the great 
 Florentine saw, 
 
 *' It seemed as if 'gainst me it were coming, 
 With head uplifted and with ravenous hunger 
 So that the very air was made afraid." 
 
 Its gates poured out a constant stream of death, 
 met by an incoming tide of living victims. 
 
 In July, 2,204 prisoners died ; in August, 3,081. 
 Scurvy, diarrhoea, and every disease caused by 
 starvation and overcrowding, intensified its horrors 
 and increased the death rates. 
 
 Yet starvation, singular as the statement may 
 seem, decreased as well as increased the prison 
 death rates. Fevers could not take hold of men 
 destitute of fatty tissues, and had the prisoners 
 been well fed while in its crowded condition, fever 
 would have swept the prison like the simoon of 
 the desert. 
 
 In July the density of human life inside the 
 stockade was so great that, after taking out the 
 dead line and the quagmire, there was left only 
 
LIFE AND DEATH IN PRISON. 303 
 
 about fifteen square feet of space to each person. 
 This would be a ratio of density equivalent to six 
 millions of people to the square mile. 
 
 It is a well-established fact that the death rates 
 of a city are in a direct ratio with the density of 
 its population, and hence the terrible mortality at 
 Andersonville. Want of proper and sufficient 
 food, and want of shelter from rain and sun, added 
 to this mortality. 
 
 On our arrival we had some money, with which 
 we bought wood of prisoners who had procured it 
 for sale in various ways. The scarcity of wood, 
 and the way in which it was sometimes procured, 
 is illustrated by the following incident. 
 
 I was on my way to the brook with Joe, to get 
 water, and at the same time was on the lookout 
 for wood at a reasonable price. As I went down 
 the little path that led to the brook, we came upon 
 a prisoner named John Moran, whose acquaintance 
 I had previously made, sitting patiently beside a 
 dead comrade. 
 
 " This is one of my chums who died last night," 
 he explained. " I've tried to be kind to poor Bob, 
 for he was a good, brave fellow ; you can't do 
 much for a chum here, though. This boy and I 
 have fought and marched and been prisoners 
 together, and now the poor fellow is dead." 
 
 Observing near him a pile of pine branches I 
 inquired, — 
 
 " Don't you want to sell some of your wood ? " 
 
304 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 " Tain't mine, it's my chum's," he replied. 
 
 " Where did you get it? " 
 
 " Swapped off a dead man for it." Seeing my 
 puzzled look he explained, — 
 
 " When one of our boys gets sick we take as 
 good care of him as we can , but after he is dead, 
 we keep a sharp lookout to see that no one steals 
 him to carry him outside to the dead-house. You 
 see, old chap, if we didn't keep our eyes peeled, 
 some other fellers around here would grab our 
 dead man and swap him off for a wood-pile." 
 
 Sonny gave a prolonged and characteristic 
 whistle, while my astonished look led to a further 
 explanation. 
 
 " Why, don't you understand ? me and my chum 
 are going to carry this man in our blanket to the 
 dead-house, just outside the gate, and when we are 
 returning we can pick up enough wood to last a 
 month. Why, that dead man is worth a ten-dol- 
 lar bill to me." 
 
 I soon found out the truth of this statement ; 
 and it was seldom that a prisoner was fastidious 
 enough to lose the " wood-pile," represented by a 
 dead comrade, for mere sentiment. Meanw^hile, 
 dry wood littered the ground outside the palisade, 
 and a pine forest was within a few rods of the 
 prison. 
 
 I had often noticed, as in this case, a small j^iece 
 of brown paper pinned upon the breast of the dead 
 man, with his name, company, regiment, State, 
 
LIFE AND DEATH IN PRISON. 805 
 
 and date of death written upon it. I inquired who 
 placed it there. 
 
 '' The sergeant of a squad," was the reply, " is 
 supposed to attend to that. He gets an extra 
 ration for labelling the dead and dealing out the 
 grub ; but if we didn't do it ourselves, like's not, 
 he'd claim our dead man." 
 
 The scene will, at a first glance, impress the 
 reader as unfeeling and brutal ; and yet this man 
 was brave and generous, as the reader will hereafter 
 learn. Death was so common, and often so happy 
 a release from suffering, the struggle for life was so 
 intense, that death lost its sacredness, and the 
 kindliest of comrades did not neglect to help him- 
 self in this manner. 
 
 It was common to see a man caring for a dying 
 comrade with great tenderness, and with an admi- 
 rable sacrifice of his own wants, and then show 
 fight if any one attempted, after death, to cheat 
 him out of his right to carry the corpse to the 
 dead-house. 
 
 Jed was soon elected sergeant of our squad of 
 ninety men. It was one of the duties of this officer 
 to draw rations and distribute them to his squad. 
 
 Our food was so meagre that men were queru- 
 lous over its distribution, and it was therefore 
 needful that the person who drew and •distributed 
 the rations should have the confidence of the men 
 to whom they were issued. Jed's mingled firmness 
 and good nature, with the confidence men instinc- 
 
306 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 tively had in his goodness, made this selection a 
 judicious one. 
 
 The sergeant of a squad was entitled to an extra 
 ration, but this Jed never took. The squads of 
 ninety were also divided into smaller squads of 
 ten or fifteen for convenience in dividing rations. 
 The new prisoners coming into the stockade were 
 put into the old detachments, which in this way 
 were kept full. 
 
 The teams with rations usually came in at the 
 north gate. These rations consisted of Indian meal 
 and sometimes of sides of bacon. As a whole 
 there was a large quantity, but when subdivided 
 among twenty or thirty thousand men it gave to 
 each one but a small quantity. 
 
 Shortly after Jed's appointment I attended the 
 drawing of rations at the main or northern gate. 
 The rations were brought in large wagons drawn by 
 mules, driven by colored men, and superintended, 
 in some cases, by prisoners detailed for this pur- 
 pose. 
 
 A street or path to which was given the name 
 of Broadway, led from the gate through the stock- 
 ade from east to west. Here, at ration time, was 
 gathered a motley crowd. With eager, hungry 
 eyes they watched each division of the food, the 
 sight of which seemed to have a strange fascination 
 for the hungry wretches, long unused to full 
 stomachs. They crowded to the wagons to get a 
 sight of each bag of meal or piece of meat. 
 
LIFE AND DEATH IN PRISON, 307 
 
 The attempt to grasp a morsel which sometimes 
 fell from the wagon, the j^iteous expression of dis- 
 appointment on their pinched and unwashed faces 
 if they failed, the involuntary exclamations, and 
 the wistful, hungry look, had in it a pathos not 
 easily described. 
 
 I once remarked to Jed that I thought it singu- 
 lar that men should aggravate themselves by con- 
 stantly looking at food which they could not get 
 to eat. 
 
 " God help them ! " said Jack Moran, who was 
 standing near, '' it means life or death to them and 
 to us all." 
 
 Jack, of whom I have before made mention, was 
 a large man, thin and somewhat bent, though not 
 by age. His head, on which bristled coarse black 
 hair, was large, his forehead broad and knotty, and 
 his mouth square cut. There was in his face and 
 manner an indescribable something which showed 
 nerve, will, and endurance. 
 
 While there was nothing in his dress to betoken 
 it, there was that in his manner which led me to 
 believe that he had been a sailor. 
 
 " This food," said he, '' draws men as money 
 does on 'change. It's like a magnet to them. 
 Look at that swarm of flies and gnats on the food : 
 they are bred from the festering marsh below. 
 We couldn't eat such food but for our terrible 
 famine. Most of the men here seem to have but 
 two ideas, — patriotism and hunger. You would 
 
808 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 think that any of these men would accept of an 
 offer to go out and work at their trades for the 
 sake of food, but they won't do it. Hungry as 
 they look, patriotism seems here to have survived 
 even a sense of decency. A few days ago I saw 
 men like these mob a Confederate officer, who 
 came in to get shoemakers. He offered them food, 
 rations of tobacco, clothes, and shelter. They 
 wouldn't go." 
 
 After the drawing of rations, a dense throng of 
 prisoners always gathered near the north gate to 
 trade. One with tobacco cut in little bits not 
 larger than dice might be seen trying to trade it 
 for rations. Another could be heard crying out, 
 " Who will trade a sou^) bone for Indian meal ? " 
 " Who'll trade cooked rations for raw? " " Who'll 
 trade beans for wood?" While others with small 
 pieces of dirty bacon an inch or two in size, held 
 on a sharpened stick, would diive a sharp trade 
 with some one whose mouth was watering for its 
 possession. But for its misery, the scene would 
 often have been intensely comical. 
 
 The dirty faces, anxious looks, and grotesque 
 garments (old prisoners sometimes wearing noth- 
 ing but a pair of drawers) and the loud cries, so 
 much in contrast with the usual value of the arti- 
 cle offered, had a humorous side not hard to appre- 
 ciate even by men as miserable as themselves. 
 The struggles of these thousands, all striving to 
 better their condition by barter and trade, was 
 
LIFE AND DEATH IN PRISON. 309 
 
 pathetic. How each hetterecl his condition by the 
 process of trade I could never learn. 
 
 " I usually eat what food I get as soon as I can 
 cook it," said Moran, " for if I attempt to divide 
 it into three meals, I suffer constantly from the 
 fear that I may lose it. The simplest way is to 
 eat all you get at once and so save yourself further 
 worry and aggravation." 
 
 I found this good philosophy, for if a prisoner 
 ate his entire day's rations at once, he did not 
 have too large a meal, as no one ever got enough 
 at any one time to satisfy hunger. And while 
 very few instances were known of prisoners steal- 
 ing food from acquaintances, there were many half- 
 demented, wandering tatterdemalions, who might 
 chance to come upon an unguarded ration, and eat 
 it in the most innocent and absent-minded manner 
 before its owner could rescue it. 
 
 "Moran's remedy," as Jed called it, was the 
 only real security for an unconsumed ration. 
 That there was good in the method, was shown by 
 the fact that Jed and myself, who adopted the 
 "remedy," retained our strength better than the 
 majority of prisoners. 
 
 Joe Mayo, or as we have more often called him, 
 " Sonny," suffered from perpetual hunger. 
 
 " I'm tightening my belt every day," said Joe. 
 "Heaven knows when I shall come together in 
 fatal collapse. I tell yer, fellers, we've got to go 
 into some kind of business. There's Jack Moran, 
 
810 JED'S ADVJENTUllES. 
 
 he sells ' sour beer,' with a little 'lasses and 
 ginger in it. I'm goin' into somethin' to fill 
 up on." 
 
 Here, it is needless to say. Sonny expressed a 
 thought that Jed and I had discussed many times. 
 We had not long been prisoners before we discov- 
 ered that men here, as in other conditions in life, 
 in order to " get on," and preserve life, must adopt 
 some trade or business. This necessity made men 
 ingenious. Some set up as bakers, and bought 
 flour and baked biscuits which they sold to such 
 as had money to buy. The ovens which were 
 built showed such ingenuity as to extort expres- 
 sions of surprise from the Confederates who occa- 
 sionally visited us. The soil contained a red pre- 
 cipitate of iron which was very adhesive. This 
 was made into rude bricks by mixing the earth 
 with water, and the oven was built of these over a 
 mould of sand. After being left to harden in the 
 sun for a few days the sand was removed, a fire 
 was kindled, and the oven was ready for use. 
 
 Others made wooden buckets to hold water, whit- 
 tling out the staves and making the hoops with a 
 jack-knife. Others purchased (of outside parties) 
 sheet tin, generally taken from the roofs of railway 
 cars, and with a railway spike and a stone for tools, 
 made small camp kettles, without solder, by bend- 
 ing the pieces ingeniously together. These were 
 eagerly purchased by those who had money. As 
 no cooking utensils were possessed by the prisoners, 
 
LIFE AND DEATH IN PRISON. Bll 
 
 except such as they had brought into prison with 
 them, these tinmen were benefactors. 
 
 Others tinkered broken-down watches, the object 
 of their owners being simply to make them " go " long 
 enough to effect a trade. The purchaser was usually 
 a Confederate, who found these watch owners easier 
 to interview before the trade than afterwards, when 
 he desired to bring them to an account for selling 
 watches that refused to go unless carried by the 
 purchaser. 
 
 Others fried flap-jacks of Indian meal, and sold 
 them hot from the griddle for ten cents each. 
 Among the professional men were brewers, who 
 vended around the camp, beer made of Indian meal 
 soured in water. This was sold for vinegar, and 
 proclaimed by the venders to be a cure for scurvy 
 and diarrhoea, but was principally used as a refresh- 
 ing drink. 
 
 Moran had added ginger and molasses to the 
 compound, and made, as he termed his success, a 
 " boom " by vending it. He became so rich as to 
 buy food, and so regained his health and strength. 
 
 Another occupation was cooking beans, and also 
 mush, and selling them. Broadway, near the gate, 
 was the scene of most of the trading done in camp. 
 
 Here also could be seen gamblers with dirty 
 "sweat boards," on which could be staked five or 
 ten cents. The eager throng which pressed around 
 the anxious, hungry vender of cooked beans was 
 duplicated often at the gamblers' board. 
 
812 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 Shortly after the foregoing conversation about 
 going into business, Joe absented himself from our 
 quarters most of the time, except at rations, for 
 several days. We noticed that he had cut the but- 
 tons off liis coat, and also that a watch-chain was 
 missing from his visible possessions. On noticing 
 these symptoms Jed said, " Joe has gone into busi- 
 ness, I guess." And so it proved. 
 
 I was on Broadway to assist Jed in drawing the 
 squad rations, when we heard some one roaring 
 out, " Stewed beans with vinegar on tew 'em." 
 
 Now vinegar was a much desired article among 
 scurvied men, and one which they naturally craved, 
 and consequently there was a great rush to see, if 
 not to taste, the unusual article proclaimed. 
 
 " That's Sonny's voice," said Jed. When we had 
 got through the crowd near enough to be heard, we 
 said, " Joe, Joe ! let us taste your vinegar." Jed 
 took the first taste, and made up a disgusted face. 
 It was nothing but sour beer. 
 
 Joe was having a rush of trade, and got " shut " 
 of his beans, as he exjDressed it, wonderfully 
 quick. 
 
 For a few days Sonny looked quite contented 
 and happy ; but all flowers fade, and so did Joejs 
 flower of prosperity. He came into the hut one 
 day with a most woe-begone air, and after some 
 questioning as to the cause of his melancholy, con- 
 fessed that during a spell of dull trade he had eaten 
 up his entire stock in trade, and had no means to 
 
LIFE AND DEATH IN PRISON, 313 
 
 begin again in the morning. He was " busted," as 
 he called it, by this one act of indiscretion. 
 
 " What made you such a doggoned fool as to eat 
 yer beans ? " queried Kentuck}^ who was present. 
 
 '' Well, plague it ! " confessed Sonny dubiously, 
 " just at that time my appetite was a blasted sight 
 bigger than my brains." 
 
 After this Sonny, naturally brave and courage- 
 ous, got the scurvy, lost heart, and gradually sick- 
 ened, like many others in the prison. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIT. 
 
 IN THE JAWS OF DEATH. 
 
 AFTER this shipwreck of his business, Joe be- 
 came despondent and hopeful by turns. He 
 had what old prisoners called " exchange on the 
 brain." He " took too much stock," as Moran ex- 
 pressed it, in the ill-defined rumors of an exchange, 
 with which the prisoners were constantly deluded. 
 The high hopes excited were followed by corre- 
 sponding depression. 
 
 Moran, who now often visited us, remonstrated 
 with Joe. " You will get out just as soon if you 
 don't believe everything you hear about such mat- 
 ters. Keep up a general hopefulness, but don't tie 
 to false hopes." 
 
 During July Joe complained of a sore foot. He 
 had several times been down to the quagmire, to 
 tread out, with his bare feet, pine knots and roots 
 for fuel to cook our food. Here let me explain that, 
 terrible as this swamp was, men could be seen at 
 all hours thus engaged, so great was the want of 
 fuel. Joe had a scratch on his foot, which had be- 
 come inoculated with the poison of the swamp. 
 
 One morning he came into the hut with the tears 
 coursing down his dirty face, crying in the most 
 
 314 
 
IN THE JAWS OF DEATH. 315 
 
 disconsolate tones, " I've got the darnedest sore toe 
 you ever saw." 
 
 All day Joe sat with his foot in his hands, crying 
 like a child, and repeating in dismal tones, " I've 
 got an awful sore toe." There certainly never was 
 such howling over a sore toe before. We ceased 
 to laugh or smile, however, when we found the poor 
 fellow's leg swollen to the hip. 
 
 The condition of low vitality among the pris- 
 oners made the poison of the swamp terrible when 
 it got into the sliglitest wound. 
 
 After some debate, at Joe's request we concluded 
 to take him to the south gate, where surgeons were 
 stationed each morning to determine who were fit 
 subjects for the hospital, which at our coming had 
 been inside the prison, but was now outside. As 
 the number who were admitted was determined by 
 the number who died, there was no certainty of 
 getting a patient admitted simply because he 
 needed treatment. 
 
 Scores died daily inside the stockade whom no 
 medical officer had ever seen, and if they had they 
 could not have attended them there. Some morn- 
 ings the surgeons did not come to the gates at all, 
 and the thi^ong of miserables turned hopelessly 
 away. 
 
 Jed and I assisted Joe to the south gate. The 
 sight here was one we had not before witnessed. 
 A packed mass of men, some carrying stretchers on 
 which were laid the dead, with unclosed eyes, dirt- 
 
316 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 clotted faces, and falling jaws, mingled with the 
 crowd. Here, also, awaited the sick and dying. 
 Those borne on stretchers were sometimes over- 
 turned in the crowd, those limping on crutches 
 were rudely jostled by the miserable throng. When 
 at last the gates were thrown open, those carrying 
 the dead jostled against the sick, and the whole 
 mass struggled and shrieked, clamored and surged, 
 in one terrible mass of suffering. Such was the scene 
 that met our gaze as we conducted Joe to the gate. 
 
 " Take me back, take me back ! " cried Joe, shud- 
 dering. "I'd rather die than attem^^t to pass 
 through the gate in this awful crowd." 
 
 That afternoon the quartermaster came to our 
 hut, and said that he understood that Joe was a 
 blacksmith, and if he would go out and work at his 
 trade they would have him doctored and well fed, 
 and he'd soon get well. 
 
 " You needn't take the oath," explained the Con- 
 federate officer. '' We want you to take the place 
 of a man that's to be sent to the front." 
 
 Joe at first had opened his eyes wide with delight 
 at the proposition, but now shook his head and 
 said, — 
 
 "No, sir! I'm pretty far gone, and I'm pretty 
 low down and dirty, but I won't work for a secesher. 
 No, sir ; not if I know Joe ! '* 
 
 " You are a doggoned fool to die in here when 
 you can get out and live," was the contemptuous 
 exclamation of the officer, as he turned away. 
 
IN THE J A WS OF DEA TH, S17 
 
 "Maybe I am," groaned Joe, "but I couldn't 
 look my old dad in the face again after playing 
 traitor." 
 
 Daily Joe grew thinner and thinner. Early one 
 morning, not long after, I was awakened by Jed, 
 who said, " I believe Joe is dying." 
 
 Joe, on my approach, looked up at me with some- 
 thing of his old brightness, saying, "Let me be 
 buried with the flag." 
 
 "His mind wanders, poor fellow," said Robinson. 
 
 " Pray for me, Jed," feebly ejaculated Joe, not 
 noticing Robinson's remark. And as we all knelt 
 by his side, wliile holding his hand, Jed repeated 
 that sweetest, simplest, and most comprehensive of 
 all prayers, " Our Father, who art in heaven." 
 
 The first few words the sufferer repeated feebly 
 after him, but when we arose from our knees poor 
 Joe's eyes had no answering look. He was dead. 
 
 Thus suddenly men died all over the prison. At 
 one moment I have seen a comrade eating, or try- 
 ing to eat, his rations, and the next found him dead. 
 It seemed that if the will failed a prisoner for a 
 moment only, it left him stranded on the shoals of 
 death. 
 
 We were preparing Joe's body for the grave that 
 day by washing his person. While removing his 
 clothing, Robinson gave a start of surprise and ex- 
 claimed, "What is this!" There was a heavy 
 cloth of some kind wrapped around the upper part 
 of Joe's body. When unrolled it proved to be our 
 
318 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 regimental flag. He had carried it in his last battle 
 folded around his body. 
 
 A crowd of prisoners collected around us, and 
 tears came to their eyes at sight of the dear old 
 flag. 
 
 '' Let it be buried with him. He was a common 
 man, but he was a hero," said Moran, when we told 
 him of the circumstances wliich the reader already 
 knows. 
 
 Tears ran down our faces as we once more 
 wrapped him in the flag he had carried so bravely 
 in the fight, — a fitting shroud for a soldier. 
 
 A member of the burial squad afterwards in- 
 formed us that Joe's wish had been complied with, 
 and that he had been buried in the graveyard 
 trench with the flag he loved folded about him. 
 
 Such Avere the heroes who died here by thou- 
 sands, that tills Republic might live. They could 
 starve and die, but they could not desert the cause 
 of their country, even to save their lives. 
 
 It was my custom since I had been a prisoner, to 
 visit the south gate when new prisoners came into 
 the stockade, to get news from our armies. In 
 this way I not only managed to keep very well in- 
 formed of the progress of our armies in the field, 
 but had also met a number of acquaintances. 
 
 One afternoon at the close of a hot day, I had 
 visited the gate to see this incoming tide, which 
 daily fed the prison. Among the new prisoners I 
 recognized Henry Grace. I spoke to him, but he 
 
IN THE JAWS OF DEATH. 319 
 
 did not know me, so changed was I by hunger, 
 scurvy, and filth. He finally remembered me, and 
 the first question he asked was the same that I 
 had put to old prisoners Avhen I first entered the 
 prison, — 
 
 " Why don't you keep yourselves clean here ? " 
 
 I tried to explain to him, but, like all other new 
 prisoners, he could not understand. 
 
 Jed was delighted to make the acquaintance of 
 a prisoner so bright and clean. Grace's coming 
 seemed to give new life to all of us for a while, 
 and he was invited to take poor Joe Mayo's place 
 in our mess. 
 
 Early the next morning, Grace awakened me by 
 saying, — 
 
 '' Where do you wash ? " 
 
 I explained that we washed at the brook, and 
 offered to accompany him thither. As we passed 
 on our way we could see the liill slopes crowded 
 with little huts. Scarcely a sign of life could be 
 seen at this early hour in camp. It was a corralled 
 army sleeping. Perhaps there was never seen so 
 much of human misery massed together and silent. 
 The stillness was gradually broken; here and 
 there little fires appeared, and soon the whole camp 
 was awakened, to battle for one more day with the 
 doom that overshadowed it. 
 
 The filthy stream and its surroundings excited 
 Grace's disgust, and at first he refused to bathe in 
 itt But he overcame his repugnance on being told 
 
320 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 that it was cleaner in the morning than at any 
 other time. 
 
 In July, when the news reached us of Stone- 
 man's raid, the expectations of the prisoners were 
 roused to the highest pitch. The rebels were so 
 alarmed that they began firing shell over our heads. 
 
 General Winder had the grounds staked off with 
 white flags for ranges, and issued an order to open 
 fire on the stockade Avith the artillery, if the Yankee 
 cavalrymen came within seven miles of it. This 
 we did not know at the time. 
 
 About the 7th of July, the captured cavalrymen 
 of Stoneman's command came in as prisoners, and 
 told us the news of his capture and the consequent 
 failure of the raid. This raiding column had 
 reached the outskirts of Macon. 
 
 Thus one by one perished the hopes of release, 
 except by death, of the miserables in " Camp Sum- 
 ter." 
 
 Our rations steadily . became worse and less. 
 The meal was principally of cob ground with the 
 corn, Avhile the beans were very wormy. They 
 soon began to issue cooked rations to about one- 
 third of the prisoners. These were brought into 
 the prison in wagons in Avhich the dead had been 
 carried to the trenches. 
 
 The foul marsh gave out its deadly stench, con- 
 taminating the air for miles around. The death 
 rates increased constantly. The long, terrible days 
 dragged slowly by, and yet there came no word of 
 
iN THE JAWS OF DEATH. 32l 
 
 hope, except the cheering news of a victory by 
 Sherman. 
 
 In July there were thirty-five thousand inmates 
 of the stockade. Then the prison was enlarged 
 by an addition on the north side, which made the 
 area sixteen hundred feet in length by ten hundred 
 and ten feet in width, and Ave got the timber which 
 separated the old from the new stockade for fuel. 
 
 Shortly after this an immense rainfall, accompa- 
 nied by thunder and lightning, caused a freshet 
 which swept away the stockade at the points where 
 the brook entered and left the prison. Before the 
 stockade was carried away, the quagmire was 
 flooded ; and when the lower stockade was broken 
 by this flood, the water poured out with such vol- 
 ume and strength as to remove the fecal filth and 
 maggots which had accumulated to the depth of 
 several feet. 
 
 If the prisoners had at this time made one gen- 
 eral rush they could have overpowered the guard 
 and escaped. What they could have done after 
 that is another question. Had they in such an 
 event kept together in large numbers, they could 
 not have been fed from the country, and if they 
 scattered they were liable to be captured or shot 
 down in detail. The chief cause of not making a 
 break at this time, however, was want of organi- 
 zation and the demoralization of hunger. 
 
 The Confederates soon had artillery and infantry 
 stationed at the broken portions of the stockade. 
 
322 JED'S ADVENTURE^. 
 
 After this storm a spring of pure water was dis- 
 covered inside the dead line, trickling down the 
 north hillside. It was about half-way between the 
 north gate and the brook which ran through the 
 prison. 
 
 As many marvels have been related of this so- 
 called " Providence Spring," it is well perhaps to 
 exj)lain its origin. The whole north hillside was 
 springy land. Quite a number of prisoners had 
 availed themselves of this fact by digging shallow 
 wells, and thus obtaining water. But these wells 
 soon became contaminated with filth, and the edges 
 trampled and muddy, so that they were but little 
 used. 
 
 After the discovery of "Providence Spring," 
 prisoners were allowed to construct a spout by 
 nailing two pieces of board together at right angles, 
 one end of which was thrust into the running 
 spring, in such a manner as to catch the water. 
 The spout was pointed slightly down hill and 
 nailed to the dead line. This conducted a stream 
 of pure water into the stockade. The prisoners 
 after this might have been seen formed in two and 
 four ranks, patiently waiting in the heat, by thou- 
 sands, to fill their canteens, cups, and buckets, 
 with its cool waters. 
 
 I was told that this spring had long been known 
 to the people of that region, but that during the 
 construction of the stockade it had been filled up. 
 
 The freshet had removed the soil again, and the 
 
m THE JA WS OF DEA TH. 32B 
 
 spring had burst out afresh, giving its pure waters 
 to the suffering Union soldiers. This is probably 
 the true solution of its sudden and salutary appear- 
 ance. In any case, it was not extraordinary, for a 
 gulley alone, made by the water running swiftly 
 down the hillside, was sufficient to account for its 
 existence in a place so springy. 
 
 Moran had noAV moved his quarters nearer us, 
 and often assisted us by his advice. 
 
 A big French Canadian, known in prison as " Big 
 Pete," and having a large capital of brute strength 
 and courage, had, about the time of our coming 
 into the prison, "set up" as Chief of Police. He 
 had gradually enlarged his sphere of action to that 
 of Judge ; and if his trials were comical to the spec- 
 tator, they were seldom so to the culprit. 
 
 One of my acquaintances described his fist (with 
 a vividness which showed intimate knowledge) as 
 being as " big as a teakettle." 
 
 Big Pete became a terror to evil-doers ; and to 
 strengthen his rule, he appointed policemen to 
 execute his commands. Moran was one of these 
 officials. 
 
 One night, shortly after Grace's arrival, we heard 
 a voice outside calling Grace by name. 
 
 "What is wanted?" inquired one of us. 
 
 " You keep still and none of you will be hurt. 
 Our business is with Grace," was the reply. 
 
 Grace had by this time got to his feet, stepped 
 outside the shelter, and confronted the intruders. 
 
324 JED'S ADVENTURED. 
 
 We soon heard a desperate struggle, and rushed to 
 the scene. Two or three men had Grace, who, 
 though small, was an athlete, in their grasp. We 
 attempted to assist liim, but were beaten back. 
 Others came to the assistance of the raiders. Sud- 
 denly a tall, dark form was seen to spring in among 
 the raiders and deal them terrible blows with a 
 club, until, groaning and shrieking, they scattered 
 in the darkness. 
 
 The man who had thus opportunely come to our 
 assistance was Moran. 
 
 " What is the meaning of all this ? " we inquired. 
 
 " The raiders were trying to rob the boy ! " ex- 
 plained Moran. Grace had been badly choked, but 
 was otherwise uninjured. 
 
 " How came they to pitch into you so soon ? " 
 asked Moran, who understood their methods. 
 
 " They asked me to hand out my watch and 
 mo'ney. I refused, and they went for me," said 
 Grace. 
 
 Here in explanation let me say that these raiders 
 were a band of thieves under the leadership of one 
 Bill Collins, better known to prisoners as " Mosby, 
 the raider." This band of ruffians, it was after- 
 wards ascertained, was largely made up of bounty 
 jumpers, who had at first deserted to the Confede- 
 rates. They, not pleased with their society, had 
 sent them to Andersonville, that they might be ex- 
 changed for their own men. 
 
 These rascals had fu-st begun their operations at 
 
IN niE J A WS OF DBA TIL 825 
 
 Belle Isle and Salisbury, where they were known 
 as the " Muggers." Their methods were to find 
 out during the day the name and stopping-place of 
 such as had money, and then at night call them 
 out and rob them. 
 
 Not long after this the gang became so bold that 
 they murdered men who refused to submit to being 
 robbed. About eighty of them were arrested by 
 Big Pete's prison police, with the assistance of the 
 Confederate quartermaster, Duncan, and a squad 
 of Confederate soldiers. A jury was empanelled, 
 counsel for the prosecution and for the accused se- 
 lected, and six of them were tried and found guilty 
 of theft and»murder. 
 
 On the eleventh day of July, 1864, these six 
 prisoners were hanged on a gallows inside the 
 stockade. Considering the crimes common to a 
 city of thirty thousand people, under the restraints 
 of law, it was wonderful that among men suffer- 
 ing so terribly, and where there were no restraints 
 except those imposed by themselves, that so little 
 violence occurred at Andersonville. 
 
 After this execution the camp was as orderly as 
 any military camp, and any one having authority 
 could keep order. 
 
 Moran one day introduced us to a prisoner known 
 as *' Kentucky." He was bent down and starved 
 to a shadow by long imprisonment, but he possessed 
 audacity and courage, and was a natural leader of 
 men. 
 
§S6 JED'S ADVENTURED, 
 
 One day lie remarked, "I say, stranger, look 
 a-hyer, we've got a right smart hole dug, out yon." 
 
 I did not comprehend, and exclaimed with some 
 surprise, "What?" 
 
 "A tunnel," responded he. "Don't you see? 
 our boys have got one a'most dug, and we are goin' 
 to open the hole, and git to God's country." 
 
 Moran, who had been listening, said, " Yes ; I 
 brought Kentucky up here, so that if he liked the 
 looks of you he could tell you about it." 
 
 About dark, in company with Jed and Moran, I 
 visited a hut near the dead line, where four of 
 Kentucky's chums lay on a blanket, smoking and 
 talking. I was introduced. ^ 
 
 "Where's the tunnel ? " I inquired. One of them 
 quickly rolled back the blanket on which they had 
 been lying, removed the earth from the back of the 
 hut, near the dead line, revealing a poncho blanket. 
 This was pulled away, showing a hole much like 
 a small well. This was covered by sticks. 
 
 " Here is the entrance," said Kentucky, clearing 
 away the sticks and getting into the hole. " Come 
 on ; " and with this brief command he disappeared, 
 and I followed. 
 
 At the mouth of the tunnel Kentucky had picked 
 up a couple of haversacks and half a canteen, which 
 he used as a scoop. " Don't rise your back up, or 
 the plaguy thing will cave in on us," said Ken- 
 tucky. 
 
 It was hot and uncomfortable in the tunnel, and 
 
IM THE J A WS OF DBA Til. 32? 
 
 before I had crawled very far I felt like backing 
 out; but as there was no room in which to turn 
 around, and as others were behind me, I could not 
 do so. 
 
 Kentucky soon scooped up a haversack full of 
 soil and passed it to me ; I passed it to Jed behind 
 me ; he passed it to Moran, and so on, until the 
 sack reached the mouth of the tunnel, where it 
 was taken out, carried to the swamp and dumped. 
 In this way we worked nearly two hours in the 
 intense darkness. 
 
 I did not have entire confidence in the tunnel, 
 and this feeling was increased by Kentucky's cool 
 remark that " if I rose my back like a cat the thing 
 mought cave." 
 
 I came out of the tunnel at eleven o'clock. I 
 knew the time by the guard calling from post to 
 post, " Eleven o'clock and all is well," as was their 
 custom at each hour of the night. 
 
 The next morning, Kentucky came to our hut 
 and said, — 
 
 " I've concluded to open the tunnel to-night. 
 Come up to our shebang 'bout noon, and we'll 
 talk it over." 
 
 As I was making my way to his quarters at the 
 appointed time, I was met by Kentucky, who said 
 in quiet tones, — 
 
 " Don't go up there, our fixin's are bust. That 
 doggoned old Duncan (the rebel quartermaster) 
 came along this morning with his durned iron 
 
S28 JED'S ADVENTURE^. 
 
 prod and slumped it into our tunnel. He has set a 
 lot of our boys at work filling it in." 
 
 It seems that it was the custom of that function- 
 ary, Duncan, every morning to prod around inside 
 the dead line with a long, sharpened iron bar to 
 discover tunnels. 
 
 The tunnels usually ran near the surface of the 
 ground, and were held up by the interlacing fibres 
 of roots inside the dead line. Fresh soil scattered 
 on the black prison ground usually excited sus- 
 picion, and the prod of the quartermaster did the 
 rest. In this manner scores of tunnels were de- 
 tected. 
 
 At one time the rebels discovered a tunnel over 
 a hundred feet long. At another time the stockade 
 was undermined in four places, for the purpose of 
 breaking it and liberating the prisoners. At the 
 time set for breaking the stockade the rebels 
 announced that they were aware of the plan, and 
 had the names of the ringleaders, and at the first 
 demonstration would take them out and punish 
 theni. 
 
 " There is no mistake but that the outside au- 
 thorities were terribly frightened, and justly so," 
 said Moran, when narrating the incident. 
 
 Although the tunnel had failed, it set us to 
 thinking up plans of escape, and led to results 
 shown in another chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 TUNNELLING OUT. 
 
 /^NE month after the scenes narrated in the 
 ^-^ foregoing chapter, a group had gathered 
 around our hut. 
 
 That terrible day was ahnost at its close. The 
 tall pines outside the western limit of the palisade, 
 now that its inmates no longer needed shade, 
 threw their lengthened shadows within the enclo- 
 sure. 
 
 The stench from the swamp, absorbed in part by 
 the heat during the day, polluted the air with pes- 
 tilential breath. 
 
 The prison rations had just been issued, and 
 thirty thousand men were for the hour intent on 
 cooking, eating, or clamoring to exchange their 
 scanty rations with each other in the vain hope of 
 getting more palatable food. 
 
 As the shadows lengthened, the discordant out- 
 cries softened into confused murmurs, and men 
 gathered in little groups around their squalid huts 
 to talk of home or food. 
 
 The ragged, famine-pinched group at our hut 
 were talking of exchange. They had previously 
 329 
 
330 JED'S ADVENTURES, 
 
 exhausted their ingenuity in discussing the manner 
 in which they would have food cooked when they 
 once more reached " God's Country," as they not 
 irreverently call the Union lines. 
 
 Moran, who had taken no part in the conversa- 
 tion, now impatiently exclaimed, — 
 
 " What is the use in talking ? Let us do some- 
 thing to get away from this awful place, where 
 men die like sheep, without a hand raised against 
 their enemies ! " 
 
 There was silence for a moment, as if the propo- 
 sition involved consequences too serious for unpre- 
 meditated talk. A voice, high-pitched and tremu- 
 lous with weakness, finally replied, — 
 
 " I'm in for any plan. Jack, that wdll give us a 
 reasonable chance for life." 
 
 The speaker, who had been sitting in a crouch- 
 ing position, here looked up and revealed the 
 almost girlish face of Henry Grace, now haggard 
 and pinched with famine and covered with dirt. 
 One would be slow now to see in that face 
 indications of the iron resolution and reckless 
 courage for Avhich he was known among soldiers 
 and prisoners. Jack Moran had also changed for 
 the worse. Jed was terribly thin and haggard. 
 
 "I think," said Kentucky, who was visiting us, 
 " my best chance to get out is to wait until I'm a 
 little thinner and then crawl through the cracks of 
 the stockade." 
 
 *'Yes," drawled Grace, "and then you'll only 
 
TUNNELLING OUT, 331 
 
 have to turn sideways to be invisible to the 
 enemy." 
 
 At this the group of ragged starvelings laughed 
 as other men laugh, for humor is the last sentiment 
 that dies out of the hearts of brave men. 
 
 "Well," said Jed, ''it isn't any use worrying 
 about chances, for our chances can be no worse 
 in trying to get out than in remaining here." 
 
 " That's bravely said," said Moran approvingly : 
 " there isn't one chance in thirty for us to live here 
 six months. There's over a hundred deaths each 
 day in this 'hell's ten-acre lot.' " 
 
 " Ain't that rather a rough name for a Confed- 
 erate boarding-house?" said Grace, with his old 
 humor twinkling in his eyes at Moran's explosive- 
 ness. 
 
 I agreed heartily with Moran's views, and so did 
 all of our party but Robinson, who, having a settled 
 repugnance to experiments, only said, — 
 
 " You'll get yourselves killed, when, if j^ou'd 
 wait, you might be exchanged." 
 
 "Haven't we been in this place waiting since 
 May ? " said Jed, " and aren't half our boys dead 
 already ? " 
 
 " That's a clincher," drawled Grace approvingly. 
 
 It was finally agreed, and even Robinson assented, 
 that we should unite in another effort to escape 
 from the prison. As we had but one chance in 
 ten for life in this horrible place, all felt that it 
 was better to condense the chances against us iu 
 
832 JED'S ADVENTURES, 
 
 one effort to avoid the doom which threatened the 
 hopeless inmates of Anderson ville. 
 
 Various places were talked over for the contem- 
 plated attempt. Moran thought a tunnel might be 
 successfully dug from one of the sheds Avhich had 
 been lately erected in the " new stockade." 
 
 It was, as he argued, farthest from the gate, and 
 consequently we could get warning if the quarter- 
 master should make one of his prying visits. 
 Again, the guard, being at a long distance from 
 their officers, would be less watchful at this point 
 than nearer. It was also near the woods. A plan 
 outlined by Jed was finally adopted. He proposed 
 digging a tunnel from an unfinished well at the 
 northeast part of the stockade. This had all the 
 advantages, and none of the hinderances, of the 
 other plans. 
 
 The place was less thickly inhabited here, and 
 the digging of the well gave us a plausible excuse 
 for being seen there, and for disposing of the soil 
 excavated from the tunnel under pretence of com- 
 pleting the well. It was a good plan, and was 
 adopted. 
 
 " I go for pushing it through at once, for I need 
 exercise to take down my fat," said Kentucky, who 
 never could resist presenting the ludicrous side even 
 of a serious subject. 
 
 " You are too full of nonsense," said Robinson 
 reproachfully. 
 
 ^' Well, I feel that it's better to laugh than to 
 
TUNNELLING OUT. 333 
 
 cry," said Kentucky, "and I am sure it pays 
 better." 
 
 " I don't think it pays to do either," said Moran. 
 " If a man's courage isn't good without whistling 
 to keep it up, it's not good for much." 
 
 " I've noticed, though, that men with some fun 
 in them have more earnestness and courage than 
 the solemn ones when the nip comes," drawled 
 Grace. 
 
 Everything favored our plan. There was great 
 need of a well at this part of the stockade, as it was 
 a long distance for weak men to walk either to 
 "Providence Spring" or to the "Branch" for 
 water. So Jed, Moran, Robinson; Grace, and my- 
 self all moved our belongings nearer to the well, 
 and here not only set up housekeeping, but sud- 
 denly exhibited great enthusiasm at well-digging. 
 
 The tunnel was begun in the well at about breast 
 height. Each night the soil removed from the 
 'tunnel was thrown into the well, to be removed 
 next day under pretence of deepening the well. 
 
 The prisoners who had projected the well had a 
 rope, which they loaned us for the purpose of diuw- 
 ing out soil in a wooden bucket, which was the 
 product of Jed's ingenuity. 
 
 We dug in the tunnel only at night, during which 
 time the well would be filled with the soil excavated 
 from our tunnel. Before getting out of the well 
 each morning, the entrance to the mouth of the 
 tunnel was concealed. 
 
334 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 We gradually added to the number interested in 
 our project those whom we knew to be trustworthy, 
 among others the men who owned the rope. There 
 were only fifteen in the secret, as it was not best to 
 trust too many with our plans. Each man was 
 pledged to secrecy. The tunnel was large enough 
 for a large man to crawl through on his hands and 
 knees. 
 
 After we had been at work a week, Moran meas- 
 ured our work, and declared that the hole extended 
 twenty feet beyond the stockade. All that Avas 
 now needed was to open our tunnel. 
 
 About this time we pretended to be hopeless of 
 ever reaching water, and began to throw the soil 
 back into the well in pretended disgust. This 
 answered the double purpose of concealing our 
 work and of filling up the well, so as to bring the 
 tunnel to a convenient heiglit for easy access, and 
 to direct attention from our real design while we 
 waited for a dark night in which to make our exit. 
 
 At last a dark, rainy night came, and we began 
 opening the tunnel by digging upward into the 
 outer air at its farthest extremity. The tunnel ran 
 under the palisade midway between two sentry- 
 boxes. 
 
 Turner, who had charge of the bloodhounds at 
 Andersonville, was in the habit of making a circuit 
 around the outside of the stockade every night be- 
 tween eleven and twelve o'clock, and we waited to 
 hear the dogs before " opening " our tunnel. W© 
 
TUNNELLING OUT, 335 
 
 had been digging for several nights on a gradually 
 ascending plane, in order to make our exit easier, 
 and were at this time within about five feet of the 
 surface at its farther end outside the stockade. At 
 a little after eleven o'clock the dogs were heard 
 making their usual ro7-inds. 
 
 We began our task, — ranged in the tunnel at 
 convenient distances, on our hands and knees, — of 
 passing the excavated soil to one another to be 
 thi'own into the well. 
 
 We worked vigorously and silently. It was 
 very hot at any time at this work, and through 
 excitement or some other cause it was at this time 
 hotter than usual. 
 
 I was next to Moran, who was opening the tun- 
 nel, when I felt a draught of cool air, and saw be- 
 fore me a strange yellow glimmer of light. The 
 tunnel had reached the outer air. 
 
 Suddenly the work ceased, and Moran came 
 towards me Avhispering, — 
 
 "We are in a scrape. We have opened our 
 hole just about ten feet beyond an outside picket- 
 fire." 
 
 All went back to the well to consult upon this 
 unexpected circumstance. Upon our return we 
 brought back the rope into the tunnel, so that by 
 each placing a hand upon it they could easily be 
 signalled. 
 
 We also brought with us all our property which 
 we intended to take. On this occasion I went 
 
336 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 first, Jed followed with Grace, Moran and the 
 others following us. 
 
 " New nerves for a new emergency ; mine are 
 all shaken up to-night, and I am not fit to lead,'' 
 said Moran. 
 
 One look, as I stuck my head through the hole, 
 gave me the situation. By standing up in the 
 mouth, or opening, of our tunnel, I could easily 
 step out. Fortunately for us, Moran had made no 
 noise in making the opening. It seemed almost 
 impossible to get out without being discovered, yet 
 every moment was precious, and the hourly cry, 
 ''Twelve o'clock, and all's well," from Post 22 
 had just been called. In a short time the guard 
 would be relieved, and the relief might stumble 
 right into the hole we had just opened. 
 
 The guard w^as sitting on a log by his fire with 
 his back toward us. While we were hesitating, the 
 question was solved in an unexpected manner. A 
 man approached the guard and proposed to him to 
 visit his quarters and get a di'ink of " prime apple 
 jack." As the guard at first hesitated, his friend 
 urged, " It won't take more than fifteen minutes," 
 and he consented. 
 
 He left his haversack and musket at the fu^e, 
 and came so perilously near our opening that it 
 seemed that he must stumble upon us. 
 
 After this I was in the very act of getting out 
 of the tunnel when I heard a step, and in a moment 
 the same guard returned. I saw him pick up his 
 
TUNNELLING OUT. 337 
 
 cotton haversack, take from it a pi^^e, and, lighting 
 it, sit down on the log. But soon, throwing a few . 
 sticks on his fire, he arose and disappeared in the 
 darkness. The cold sweat of suspense stood all 
 over me, and my nerves were in a tremor when I 
 pulled the rope for the others to advance as I got 
 out of the tunnel. In a short time we had all crept 
 on hands and knees into the sheltering woods near 
 at hand. 
 
 Grace had, however, stopped long enough to 
 possess himself of the musket and haversack 
 belonging to the guard. 
 
 It had previously been arranged that we should 
 make three parties of five each, and that each party 
 should pursue its plans of escape independent of 
 the other. 
 
 Our party consisted of Jed, Moran, Grace, Rob- 
 inson, and myself. 
 
 We silently separated from Kentucky and 
 other comrades, and, facing eastward, began our 
 journey through the dark woods, in the desperate 
 effort to reach our lines. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 TO THE RIVER. 
 
 /^UR plan was to reach the Flint River, which 
 ^-^ flows southward towards the Gulf, ten miles 
 from Andersonville. There we hoped to find either 
 a boat or the materials for constructing a raft, and 
 to elude the dogs by going down the river. 
 
 Our party possessed a small pocket compass and 
 a map of the count}^ with scale of miles, obtained 
 by tracing from a map owned by a comrade in prison. 
 We also had tAvo knives similar to those used by 
 sailors, and then used by our troops as eating-knives. 
 We had with us the well-rope, besides the rebel 
 musket and haversack which Grace had taken. 
 
 I had serious misgivings about the effects of this 
 act, but Grace argued that as the guard had lost his 
 musket by deserting his post, he would be likely to 
 falsify in a way that would call attention from our 
 escape, rather than to it. Besides, it was a positive 
 good to possess these things, while it was impossible 
 to foresee any evil that might result from their 
 possession. 
 
 A previous experience in attempting to escape 
 had taught me that when travelling in the woods, 
 with no paths or points in the landscape for guid- 
 338 
 
TO THE RIVER. BS9 
 
 ance, ong would be more likely to move in a curved 
 than in a direct line. So our first care, after leav- 
 ing the prison, was to take a direction east, and 
 keep it. 
 
 As we could not direct our way by means of the 
 compass because of darkness, we undertook to do 
 this by getting range from point to point by means 
 of trees. But even with these precautions we did 
 not keep our course, and when daylight came we 
 found ourselves travelling towards the north. We 
 at once changed our directions to east, and hurried 
 on towards the river, which we hoped to reach be- 
 fore the dogs were put on our track. 
 
 We passed through several immense cornfields, 
 where we gathered ears of corn, and no one who 
 has not had a similar experience of hunger can 
 imagine how ravenously we ate it, or how refreshed 
 we were by this food. 
 
 At daybreak it stopped raining, and the sun 
 came up glowing and hot. We had been very 
 thirsty for some time, and had no other thought, 
 when we came to a little stream in the woods, than 
 to satisfy our thirst. It was not until we had drank 
 that it occurred to us that following the stream 
 would lead us to the river, and at the same time 
 throw the dogs off our track, should they follow us. 
 
 We got into the stream and walked in Indian 
 file, with the water up to our knees, and had thus 
 journeyed for an hour, sometimes miring to our 
 waists, sometimes encountering interlacing, thorny 
 
340 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 vines across the creek, making it almost impassable, 
 when we came into swampy land. A deep fringe of 
 underbrush, taller than our heads, on either side, 
 gave us a refreshing shade. 
 
 Our advance was, however, here so difficult that 
 we debated retracing our steps, when Jed, who was 
 very quick of hearing, declared that the dogs were 
 on our track. We listened, and soon heard the 
 distant yelping of the hounds. They had struck 
 our track on the road near where we had taken to 
 the water. We debated the situation in whispers, 
 knowing they would be likely to follow on the 
 banks of the stream to regain our track. Tlie re- 
 sult of the debate was that we resolved to follow 
 the stream until we were obliged to abandon it. 
 
 Upon hearing the dogs, Grace loaded his musket, 
 saying, " They won't get me without getting some 
 of this." 
 
 The swamp had the advantage to us that it was 
 impassable to our mounted pursuers, and that they 
 could not get through its bogs to flank us. 
 
 We finally came to firmer ground, — an indica- 
 tion that we were getting out of the swamp. I 
 was in favor of going back into the heart of the 
 swamp again, when to the left of us we heard the 
 yelping of dogs and the shouts of the men. 
 
 "They are trying to frighten us into showing 
 ourselves, or into making some noise, so as to find 
 out where we are," said Moran. We were uncer- 
 tain what course to pursue, but finally, as there was 
 
TO THE RIVER. 841 
 
 then no means of their finding our track, we con- 
 cluded to continue on our course. We had kept 
 on some fifteen minutes in painful silence, making 
 as little noise as possible, when right before us we 
 again heard the dogs and men. 
 
 " They have gone around the swamp to see if 
 they can strike our track from below," said Grace, 
 " and I think Ave had better stay right where we 
 are for a while." 
 
 There was a big tree just below us in the SAvamp. 
 I suggested that by means of an overhanging branch 
 one of us might get into the tree, perhaps see what 
 was before us, or possibly discover what our pur- 
 suers were doino-. 
 
 Jed mounted on Moran's shoulders, grasped the 
 tip of the limbs, and soon clambered into the tree. 
 He reported that the swamp extended apparently a 
 quarter of a mile ahead of us, and beyond that 
 there appeared to be cleared land. Our pursuers 
 were, perhaps, on a road running beyond the swamp. 
 
 It was thought best to continue our advance. 
 This soon became very difficult, as rotten logs, 
 briers, and a miry bottom impeded our progress at 
 every step. We clung to the small twigs at the 
 sides to keep from miring, cutting away the briers 
 with our knives as we advanced. We soon came 
 to fu'nier footing, and for half an hour did not hear 
 a sound from our pursuers. 
 
 Still wading in the stream, we found a road with 
 a low, narrow bridge of logs crossing the stream. 
 
342 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 In order to remain concealed, and still keep to 
 the water, so as to give the bloodhounds no clew, 
 we were obliged to creep under the bridge on our 
 hands and knees. 
 
 Beyond this there was a continuation of the 
 swamp for quite a distance, and then, on both sides 
 of the brook, a large cornfield. We had no sooner 
 come out to this cornfield than we again heard 
 the barking of dogs, the blowing of horns, and the 
 shouting of men. 
 
 The creek 'here had a hard, sandy bottom, and 
 we made good speed until we reached a point 
 where the stream was broader and was once 
 more skirted by a tall fringe of undergrowth. 
 The creek grew broader and deeper until we 
 could no longer continue our course, except 
 by keeping to one side of it, where, by the assist- 
 ance of the underbrush, we could advance quite 
 rapidly. 
 
 All this time we could occasionally hear the 
 men and dogs. Suddenly Moran stopped, and, 
 seizing m}^ arm, said, — 
 
 " Hush I do you not hear them splashing in the 
 water ahead of us ? They are following up the 
 course of this creek." 
 
 We were for an instant pretty badly frightened. 
 Grace, who had been examining the priming of 
 his musket, here coolly said, — 
 
 " There's a swampy place back of us, where they 
 can't get in with their mules or horses ; let us go 
 
TO THE RIVER, S43 
 
 back and stay there, and fight them if they try to 
 capture us." 
 
 This seemed so good apian that we immediately 
 adopted it. Here there was a heavy growth of 
 brush and vines to shield us from sig^ht. We care- 
 fully cut away with our knives the brush on one side, 
 and sat down in the nook thus made, so that any 
 one in the stream below could not see us. Here 
 we waited in great suspense hearing the men and 
 dogs at times splashing in the water. 
 
 At another time we plainly heard the tramp of 
 their mules or horses, as they passed around the 
 swampy place where we were concealed. Finally 
 we heard one of them say, — 
 
 " They've got beyond this place, you can see that 
 by the broken twigs." 
 
 Here we remained, however, some two hours 
 without hearing any further sounds to indicate the 
 presence of men and dogs. We had apparently 
 outwitted and baffled them. 
 
 I had almost fallen asleep when I was aroused by 
 Moran, who said, referring to the hunters, — 
 
 " I guess they have given up trying to find us 
 by this time, and we must reach the river as soon 
 as we can." 
 
 Once more we began our journey through the 
 little stream, and soon came out upon cleared land 
 where there was no fringe of small trees to shelter 
 us from sight. 
 
 The creek continually broadened, and soon began 
 
344 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 to run almost due south, while its banks rose to 
 the height of our heads. For some distance we 
 walked on its banks until we came to a field of either 
 sorghum or sugar-cane. As we passed through it 
 we heard the voices of a party of negro laborers 
 only a short distance from us. 
 
 We overheard one of them saying, " Dey's all up 
 to massa's, di^inking whiskey, andmakin' a powerful 
 talk 'case dey carnt find dem Yankees." 
 
 AVe had little doubt but that " dem Yankees " 
 referred to us. 
 
 Reaching wooded portions of the country, after 
 two or three miles of travel, we were gladdened by 
 the sight of the Flint River. We agreed that if 
 we were pursued to this point, we would take to 
 the river, even if we had to swim. 
 
 Our fii-st care was to search for a boat, or for 
 some means of constructing a raft. This search 
 was for some time fruitless, but at last Jed found 
 a log and two or three slabs. 
 
 It was too late to construct a raft before night ; 
 and fearful lest the dogs might yet come on our 
 track, we waded up to our waists along the edge 
 of the river, towing the logs and slabs with us up 
 stream, for we believed that any one pui^uing us 
 would naturally follow the river banks down rather 
 than up the stream. 
 
 We must have walked a mile in tliis manner 
 when we came to a pine-wood, where we camped 
 during the night, one of us keeping watch while 
 
TO THE RIVER. 345 
 
 the rest slept. During the night no sound but the 
 murmur of the river or the shrill piping of crickets 
 could be heard. 
 
 Upon awaking we made a meal of green corn, 
 with a little bacon and corn cake which we found 
 in the rebel's haversack. 
 
 In the confiscated bag there were also a horn of 
 poAvder, some bullets and percussion caps, and a 
 flint and steel for kindling fires. 
 
 We now started out to find more material for 
 our raft. Moran discovered several men crossing 
 the river in a boat, and although he could plainly 
 hear their voices could not distinguish what 
 they were saying, or determine whether they 
 were in pursuit of us. He proposed, after the 
 party had landed, to swim across the river and 
 bring back the boat, thus gaining both the means 
 of going down the river and of preventing pur- 
 suit. The rest of us thought it doubtful if these 
 were the Anders on ville hunters ; and if they were 
 not, the stealing of their boat would give them a 
 strong motive to pursue us. Moran was, however, 
 so determined that we finally consented to his 
 plan. After swimming the river he could not find 
 the boat, which had been concealed, but he declared 
 that he had seen an alligator big enough to swallow 
 liim. 
 
 Grace poked fun at him, by suggesting that 
 possibly the alligator had swallowed the boat. 
 Grace and Jed w^re more successful in their search, 
 
346 JEL'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 and had found three large pine logs lodged with 
 other di^if twood in a bend of the river, — probably 
 brought to this point by the spring freshets from 
 some saw-mill up the stream. 
 
 With the aid of our rope we towed the logs to a 
 convenient point, and bringing up the otlier log 
 lashed them together, fastening them to the slabs 
 by means of withes, in such a manner as to make a 
 raft about eight feet wide. Moran whittled one of 
 the smaller slabs into a rude paddle to steer with. 
 
 We were very much relieved when at last the 
 raft was finished, and covered with limbs of pine- 
 trees securely lashed, and the whole strewn with a 
 layer of pine needles to make it dry and comfort- 
 able. It was late in the afternoon when we pushed 
 out into the stream and began a voyage the end of 
 which we hoped might bring us once more under 
 the old flag. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 DOWN THE RIVER. 
 
 WE floated down the river all night. Moran 
 would not intrust the steering of our raft 
 to any one but liimself, and, grim and watchful, he 
 sat silently at the helm. 
 
 Our situation was so novel, and our relief and 
 joy so great, now that we were beyond pursuit of 
 the Andersonville dogs, that we slept but little that 
 night. 
 
 The next morning it began raining, so we drew 
 our raft into a little creek, well sheltered from ob- 
 servation, on the east side of the river. 
 
 We made a meagre breakfast from the food still 
 remaining in our haversack, and then, leaving Rob- 
 inson and Moran to guard the raft, the rest of us 
 started out to obtain, if possible, some food. We 
 carried the compass with us, as without it there was 
 danger of our being unable to find the raft again. 
 
 " If we could only strike a smoke-house, and get 
 some ham or bacon ! " drawled Grace. 
 
 " Yes," said Jed, " but we should probably ' strike ' 
 some dogs and men at the same time, and that 
 might not be so pleasant." 
 
 We made our way through the pine woods for 
 347 
 
348 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 some distance, when we encountered a swamp of 
 tall reeds, among which briers were so completely 
 interwoven as to prevent our further advance. We 
 were compelled to go around it, and soon came out 
 into cultivated land, where there was an immense 
 cornfield, in every alternate row of which were 
 planted pease, which grew luxuriantly. 
 
 Here we gathered all the corn we could conven- 
 iently carry, and on our return each cut an arm- 
 ful of the tall reeds, thinking that when dried they 
 might be useful to spread on our raft. On reach- 
 ing the raft, as there did not appear to be much dan- 
 ger of our being discovered, we pushed once more 
 into the stream, and floated with the current. 
 
 Night came once more, and, though wet and 
 chilled, we continued our voyage. The dark for- 
 ests and bluffs on either side the river shut us in 
 like a wall, tlirough which the river made its way, 
 reflecting the sky above like a path of light. The 
 silence was meanwhile unbroken, except by the 
 rippling of the water, the monotonous piping of the 
 crickets, or the occasional liooting of an owl. 
 
 We were exultant at the thought that we had 
 left the dreadful prison far behind, and were on our 
 way to freedom. No incident of importance hap- 
 pened during the night, and as the light of a pleas- 
 ant morning came we drew our raft into a place 
 where it Avas well concealed, and, having appointed 
 Jed to watch, we laid ourselves down to sleep. 
 Jed, however, soon awakened us, making at the 
 
DOWN 7 HE RIVER. 349 
 
 same time a signal for silence. He had heard 
 voices and the yelping of a dog, and, creeping to 
 the top of the river bank, had seen a party of men 
 and boys passing near us along a cart road. It was 
 apparently a hunting party, but as they were not 
 mounted they evidently were not searching for us. 
 
 Fearing, however, that if this party were to re- 
 turn, some accident might lead to our discovery, we 
 moved our raft to the edge of a swamp which bor- 
 dered the stream, about half a mile below the bluff- 
 land, where we had halted. The sun was very hot, 
 and this compelled us to drop down stream once 
 more, that we might be protected by the shade of 
 trees. 
 
 Thus we floated by night, and foraged and slept 
 during the day. 
 
 It was about a week after this that we had tied 
 our raft to a tree in a sheltered bend of the river, 
 near where a large quantity of driftwood had lodged. 
 Two of our party had gone in search of food, 
 while Jed, Robinson, and myself had remained to 
 strengthen the raft, which each day needed some 
 repairs. 
 
 Jed, who had gone out to cut withes for this pur- 
 pose, returned in a short time, exclaiming, " I've 
 found a boat ! " 
 
 " Where ? " we asked in chorus. 
 
 " Bottom side up, among the jam of driftwood at 
 the bend of the river below us." 
 
 We were a little incredulous at first, thinking 
 
350 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 he had been deceived, but, accompanying him, 
 found a light, flat-bottomed scow boat, as he had 
 described. We removed our clothing, and, wading 
 into the water, succeeded after much labor in dis- 
 lodging it from the debris of logs and limbs. It 
 proved to be about twelve or thirteen feet long, 
 square at both ends, but rounded up from the bot- 
 tom fore and aft. Its sides were made of single 
 boards, with deck boards covering the stern and 
 bows. 
 
 To say that we were much elated would but 
 feebly describe our excitement ; for, though we had 
 seen boats on our route, we had been kept from 
 taking them by the fear of leaving traces of our 
 presence on the river. In one instance only had 
 we meddled with them, and that when Moran had 
 taken an extra paddle from one. 
 
 Upon the return of Grace and Moran we pulled 
 the boat up, and got the water out of her. She was 
 built of cypress boards about half an inch in thick- 
 ness, strengthened by knees of cypress inside. She 
 was unpainted, but her seams had originally been 
 calked, and covered with pitch. 
 
 We launched her into the water to test her carry- 
 ing powers, and were much chagrined to find that she 
 leaked so badly that we should be compelled either 
 to abandon her, or to spend much time in making 
 repairs. It was quickly decided to do the latter. 
 Moran and Grace, who had thoroughly scoured the 
 country for miles around us, declared tha,t we were 
 
,iiiL..;,.t ,t ..iiiii iiiiillil 
 
DOWN THE RIVER. 351 
 
 at least three miles from either habitations or roads ; 
 and, as there was a cypress swamp on the other side 
 of the river opposite our landing-place, it was pro- 
 nounced an unusually safe place in which to linger. 
 
 It was therefore arranged that Jed and Grace 
 should act as scouts and foragers, while Moran, 
 Robinson, and myself mended the boat. 
 
 The next morning we began the work. Our 
 first procedure was to wash the boat thoroughly, 
 inside and out, and to remove the old pitch and 
 cotton still adhering to its seams. We cut off a 
 piece of our precious rope and picked it into fine 
 pieces for the purpose of calking. 
 
 The next day we allowed our craft to dry in the 
 sun, while we gathered a large quantity of pitch 
 from the surrounding pine-trees. 
 
 Up to this time since we had left the prison, we 
 had neither built a fire nor discharged a gun. It 
 now became necessary for us to do both, as through 
 want of skill or knowledge Ave had been unable to 
 get a fire by means of flint and steel. 
 
 To do this we first removed the charge from our 
 musket, and replaced it with a charge of powder, 
 with some of the dry oakum or rope for wadding ; 
 then, sprinkling still more of it with powder, we 
 discharged the gun with its muzzle near this prep- 
 aration, and soon had the first fire that we had 
 seen since leaving the prison. 
 
 The little cove where we had pulled up our 
 boat was admirably adapted both for concealment 
 
352 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 and for work. Tliere was a little grassy spot a 
 dozen rods square in front of it, well shaded by tlie 
 arching limbs of trees, and gradually sloping to the 
 river. Jed and Grace had meanwhile seen neither 
 plantation, houses, nor people, in a scout of five 
 miles around us, though they had seen pigs run- 
 ning wild in the woods. It was agreed that they 
 should risk the effect of foing the musket in order 
 to kill one of these pigs for food. 
 
 Robinson, who proved very ingenious, had 
 whittled a piece of hard wood into a wedge to be 
 used for driving the oakum into the seams of the 
 boat. I melted the pitch in a half-canteen which 
 had been used by us for cooking in prison. I first, 
 however, fastened a split stick to the canteen for a 
 handle, and pinched one part of the edge so as to 
 form a nozzle or spout, for pouring the pitch more 
 directly into the seams. Our work progressed 
 slowly, and after working an entire day at calk- 
 ing and pitcliing we had not half finished the 
 work. 
 
 Our foragers came in that afternoon with a large 
 supply of turpentine for the boat, but without pro- 
 visions. They had seen but one pig, which, in 
 their attempt to capture without shooting, had 
 escaped them. They had, moreover, seen no signs 
 of houses or cultivated fields, and were, like our- 
 selves, tired and hungry. 
 
 We had now cooked all of our green corn, and 
 nearly all of our sweet potatoes. Early the next 
 
DOWN THE RIVER. SS3 
 
 morning we vigorously resumed our work, which 
 we nearly finished that day. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon when our scouts 
 came in, bringing a young pig which they had 
 killed and dressed ready to cut up. We had 
 tliat night, it is needless to say, a hearty meal of 
 the first animal food we had tasted for months. 
 
 The next day we all went to work on the boat, 
 and before noon had finished our task, and upon 
 launching it were delighted to find that it did 
 not leak. 
 
 We now had a very good outfit for our voyage. 
 There were two paddles, two strong poles (to one 
 of ^^'hich Moran proposed to fit our blanket for a 
 sail), and the articles hitherto mentioned. 
 
 We cooked pork enough to last us several days, 
 thinking it would keep better in that way. We 
 had tried to cure some of it by smoking, but 
 though we made a great smoke we did not succeed 
 in curing anything but ourselves, of a desire for 
 further experiment. 
 
 Once more we began our voyage, and floated all 
 night with the stream, which we trusted might 
 prove our highway to freedom. Moran estimated 
 that we had come sixty or a hundred miles since 
 we first started down the river. In less than a 
 week, therefore, we expected to arrive at the point 
 where the river unites with the Chattahoochee and 
 forms the Appalachicola. 
 
 The next morning we landed, and our whole 
 
S54 jED-s AbVENfunns. 
 
 party, with the exception of Moran (whom we left 
 in charge of the boat), started out to procure more 
 food. We got nearly a mile away from our land- 
 ing, before we discovered that we had left our 
 compass behind us. The night previous Moran 
 had used it, and we had forgotten to bring it. 
 Experience had taught us how easy it was to get 
 lost, and so we started back for the compass. We 
 travelled for upwards of an hour, when we found 
 that we had lost our way in the pine woods. We 
 finally came out near a large house, with its negro 
 quarters. If we had lost our way, we had at least 
 found a plantation. 
 
 Fearing to be discovered by its people we went 
 back to a piece of timber on some elevated land, 
 where Jed, being the keenest of sight, climbed a 
 tree to discover the direction of the river. 
 Although he could not see the river, yet he be- 
 lieved by certain indications that he had discov- 
 ered the direction in which it lay. We concluded 
 to fill our haversacks with green corn, a field of 
 which was near at hand, and to hurry back to 
 our landing-place. While thus engaged we heard 
 voices, and before we had time for concealing our- 
 selves, encountered a party of black laborers going 
 to their work. Making a virtue of the encounter, 
 I asked them to give us something to eat. They 
 gave us a few Indian cakes Avhich they called 
 " pones," in return for which Grace offered them 
 his knife, but it was refused. 
 
DOW^r THE UTVER. 355 
 
 " No," said an old negro, " God bless yer, massa! 
 We knows ye are Yanks by yer does. We was up 
 at Anderson working on the stockade, and see some 
 of you'ns there. I knows the Yanks, I does." 
 
 *' You must not let any one know you have seen 
 us," said I, "as we are escaping from prison." 
 
 '' If you will go up into them woods we'll bring 
 you some sweet potatoes and hoe-cake," said the 
 black man. 
 
 This we agreed to, but we kept a good lookout 
 to see that they did not betray us, for hard treat- 
 ment at Andersonville had taught us to distrust 
 every one. In a few minutes they came back, 
 bringing half a smoked ham, some Indian cakes, 
 and nearly half a bushel of potatoes. 
 
 They informed us that the only white people on 
 the plantation were women, and one old man. They 
 were very anxious to know our opinion of how the 
 war was going to end, and if the Yankees conquered 
 the rebels what they would do with the colored 
 people. 
 
 I explained the emancipation proclamation to 
 them, and told them that our government had 
 pledged itself to give all the slaves their freedom. 
 That this was not entirely new to them was evi- 
 dent, for the old negro uncovered his head, and, 
 reverently lifting his eyes to heaven, said, " I'se be- 
 lieve de Lord will lead our peo^^le out 'er bondage 
 to de promised land." 
 
 He told us we were in Decatur County, about 
 
S56 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 twenty miles from Bainbridge, which was " a right 
 smart town, on a bluff at the east side of the river." 
 He pointed out our way to the river, which we soon 
 reached, but had so much difficulty in finding the 
 boat that we resolved not to leave it again, for any 
 but short distances, without our compass. 
 
 At early twilight we resumed our voyage, and 
 by aid of the sail and a fair wind passed through 
 the bluff-land, around Bainbridge, before daylight 
 the next morning. Two days after, without acci- 
 dent, we reached the Appalachicola River. 
 
 The Chattahoochee, uniting with the Flint River, 
 here forms the Appalachicola, which is swift and 
 broad. 
 
 It was now about the 1st of September. The 
 health of the party was very good, and we borrowed 
 no trouble for the future, for, as Grace philosophi- 
 cally remarked, we were likely to have an ample 
 supply without borrowing before we reached our 
 lines, — a prophecy w^hich was fulfilled soonor than 
 we anticipated. 
 
 That morning we had brought our little craft into 
 a bend of the river where we were but partially 
 sheltered from sight ; and in addition to this we 
 soon found we were at a sort of ferry, where peojDle 
 were constantly passing from shore to shore in boats. 
 It therefore seemed equally dangerous for us to 
 remain where we were, or to change our position 
 until night. 
 
 Early in the morning a jDarty of men and boys 
 
DOWN THE RIVER. S57 
 
 had crossed to the opposite shore from a point near 
 our landing ; and another party, consisting of two 
 men and three women, landed within fifty feet of 
 us. 
 
 " It won't do to stay here," said Moran decidedly, 
 while his square jaw w^orked in suppressed excite- 
 ment. " I saw one of the men look in this direc- 
 tion, and ten chances to one he saw us." But 
 while this was likely, it did not appear equally evi- 
 dent that he had recognized us as escaped Yankee 
 prisoners. 
 
 After a moment's reflection, Moran started to- 
 wards the strange boat, saying, "I am going to 
 take the oars from their boat, so when they return 
 they can't follow us." While Jed expressed his 
 opinion that this w^as bad policy, the other members 
 of our party, except Robinson, sided wdth i\Ioran. 
 
 In addition to the oars he found two fishing-lines, 
 with hooks and sinkers. I agreed with Moran that 
 if the oars were taken, it was just as well to also 
 take these fish-lines, as they might prove of great 
 value to us ; but Jed did not believe it right or poli- 
 tic to provoke antagonism by an unprovoked, if not 
 a dishonest, act. 
 
 We had taken the things from the strange boat, 
 and were all ready to embark on our own, when 
 some one sharply said, " Whar ar yer going, stranger, 
 with my fixin's ? " 
 
 We turned, and on the bank above us stood a 
 man dressed in a well-worn butternut suit, coolly 
 
S6^ JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 sighting along the barrel of a rifle, which was aimed 
 at us. 
 
 Moran, with more presence of mincl than some 
 of us, replied, " We are going to visit some friends 
 up the river a ways, and have borrowed your 
 paddles. We will bring 'em back all right 
 soon." 
 
 • " Take them fixin's back to my boat, stranger," 
 said the butternut contestant, with an ominous and 
 rising inflection of voice. 
 
 His tones and manner were more emphatic of 
 anger and determination than his words, and we 
 were about to obey him when the crack of a rifle 
 from my rear rang out, wliile our enemy gave a yell 
 of pain, dropped his musket, and rushed into the 
 woods. Grace, who was the only one in the boat 
 at the time we were challenged, seeing that a crisis 
 in oui- affairs had arrived, with inconceivable quick- 
 ness had seized and fired the musket. Moran mean- 
 while rushed after the retreating rebel, crying, 
 " Stop him ! He'll raise the country if w^e don't." 
 
 The rest of us, who had been dazed by this inci- 
 dent, quickly followed him ; but Grace, being very 
 swift of foot, soon caught up with the citizen, 
 whereupon the latter, finding it impossible to out- 
 run him, clutched with Grace, and a hand-to-hand 
 struggle took place. Grace had liis antagonist on 
 the under side when we came up. 
 
 " We don't want to hurt you," said Moran. 
 
 " Look a yer," said the stranger, holding up a 
 
DOWN TtiE RIVER. S5S 
 
 bleeding hand and arm, as if that was a sufficient 
 contradiction of Moran's pacific statement. 
 
 Upon examination, after he had yielded himself 
 a prisoner, we found that Grace's bullet had pene- 
 trated his right hand, passed out and shattered the 
 arm near the elbow, and it Avas this wound which 
 had caused him to drop his musket so suddenly. 
 
 We were in great perplexity to determine what 
 to do with our captive, and could spare but little 
 time to debate the question, as his companions 
 were liable to return at any moment. 
 
 "The best Avay would be to kill him," said 
 Moran, chewing at his quid of tobacco grimly. 
 
 If there is anything which will dissipate anger 
 or evil intent against an enemy, it is to see him 
 wounded and helpless in your hands. We could 
 not injure this disarmed man who had so lately 
 been threatening us, and on whose disposal per- 
 haps even now our safety, if not our lives, de- 
 pended. Grace proposed to take him into the 
 boat with us and set him ashore at some point 
 below, where it would be safe to let him loose. 
 
 Jed, who had had some experience in dressing 
 wounds, had already begun to cut away his sleeve 
 and to dress the wound, which was bleeding pro- 
 fusely. We finally tied his legs together, and 
 the uninjured arm to his side, and left him in 
 the path to the river, near his boat. We then 
 took his ammunition and rifle, and, pushing his 
 boat adi'ift in the stream, embarked in our own 
 
§60 JED'S ADVElNfUMS. 
 
 boat, and paddled rapidly to the opposite side of 
 the river. 
 
 I had forgotten to say that the wounded man 
 had promised us that if we would not put a gag 
 in his mouth he would not call out; but we 
 had scarcely reached the opposite shore when he 
 began to yell at the top of his voice. 
 
 A moment later we heard a commotion on the 
 shore we had left, and saw two men running along 
 the bank, and in a short time a boat put out from 
 the shore, paddled apparently by the same two men. 
 We worked with all our might to keep out of gun- 
 shot range of them. P'or some reason, notwith- 
 standing they had but two men against our four 
 at the paddles, they began to gain on us in the 
 chase. 
 
 Moran, however, observing that a good breeze 
 had sprung up in the direction we were going, set 
 our sail and steered ; while Robinson and I worked 
 at the paddles, Jed and Grace loaded the muskets 
 for a possible fight. 
 
 Moran and Grace were for stopping to fight our 
 pursuers, but more temperate counsel prevailed. 
 In a short time our boat began gaining on our pur- 
 suers, who, seeing this, put back to the shore, 
 while we continued our voyage. We had misgiv- 
 ings that the country around us might be aroused, 
 for it was broad daylight, and we were likely to 
 have other encounters on the river. We had no 
 choice, however, except to make all speed possible, 
 
DOWN THE RIVER. 361 
 
 as the iDeople on the river below were liable to be 
 aroused to hunt and capture us. 
 
 We were so fortunate as not to be molested dur- 
 ing the day, though we passed near a small sailing 
 craft in the afternoon. We sailed and paddled all 
 the following night, but did not cover as long a dis- 
 tance as we ordinarily had done, as we had now 
 reached the tide waters of the Appalachicola, which 
 set against us part of the time. We estimated the 
 distance made when morning dawned, as thirty 
 miles. 
 
 As daylight came on we brought our boat into a 
 heavily wooded portion of the shore, where we 
 determined to wait and rest during the day. 
 
 On nearing the river coast we found ourselves 
 on the borders of a dense cypress swamp which 
 apparently extended for miles below and a long 
 distance above us. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 A NEST IN THE CYPRESS. 
 
 E slowly paddled along the borders of the 
 swamp, looking for a firm landing-place, but 
 
 w 
 
 for a time the ground was too boggy and uncertain 
 to make this practicable. As it became lighter, 
 however, we made our way into a sort of bayou 
 which cleft the swamp, and seemingly ran almost 
 parallel with the river, which, by following a short 
 distance, brought us finally to a good landing. 
 
 This landing proved to be a large hummock 
 forming a small island in the swamp, from which 
 grew several trees of the oak species. From this 
 island or hummock, an^ also from the smaller 
 hassocks of the swamp, on its sides, there clam- 
 bered a wilderness of luxuriant vines into the 
 interlinked and spreading cypress limbs above. 
 
 These trees, for even fifteen or twenty feet from 
 the ground upward, were bare of limbs, and then 
 spread out in a dense mass, through which the vines 
 were interwoven. 
 
 After exploring among the cypress-trees, which 
 
 were surrounded with water to the depth of several 
 
 feet, we landed on the island. Here we ate a hearty 
 
 breakfast from our almost exhausted stock of pro- 
 
 362 
 
A NEST IN THE CY'PRESS. 363 
 
 visions, and, having pulled up our boat, lay down 
 to sleep, for we were very tired. 
 
 It was nearly noon when I was awakened by a 
 horrified cry from one of our party, which brought 
 us to our feet. The cause of the alarm proved 
 to be the approach of several alligators, now 
 clumsily making their way back into the current of 
 the bayou, leaving behind them an unpleasant odor 
 not unlike musk. Though we had seen a number 
 of these repulsive reptiles since we had begun our 
 voyage, we had not before met them as neighbors. 
 
 This incident led us to explore still farther the 
 interior of the swamp, in our boat, in l^pes to find 
 a retreat more secure against these intruders, and 
 safer from any search which might possibly be made 
 for us. We paddled our way among the cypress- 
 trees whose branches overspread our heads, and 
 whose massive trunks formed, as it were, pillars 
 to the interwoven canoi:)y of branches and vines 
 above us. 
 
 We had advanced several hundred feet, when 
 our boat could go no farther on account of huge 
 cypress knees and roots ; while just beyond large 
 vines grew f^m the hassocks, of still greater size 
 and profusion, so as completely to shut out the sight 
 of the sky. Moran, with a sailor's instinct, climbed 
 up one of the smaller of the straight cypress-trees 
 to obtain an outlook. To do this he was obliged 
 to use his knife to cut aAvay the vines wlien he 
 reached the cypress limbs, sq as to admit his body. 
 
364 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 An exclamation of wonder escaped him when he 
 had reached the top. He explained to us below 
 that the vines and limbs together had formed a 
 thick, level mass, and from his outlook he could 
 see what appeared to be cultivated lands. This 
 excited our curiosity so much that all of us but 
 Robinson climbed to the tops of the trees to take 
 a look for ourselves. 
 
 We found, as Moran had said, a wonderful mass 
 of vines interwoven with the branches in such a 
 manner that they supported the weight of our 
 bodies, and enabled us with little difficulty to pass 
 from the top of one tree to that of another by 
 their aid. 
 
 As we were about to descend to the ground, Jed, 
 who had been climbing from tree to tree, called out 
 to us that he had found a place so densely plaited 
 that he believed we could live on the tops of the 
 trees. When we came to the spot we found it 
 indeed a wonderful plateau of branches and vines, 
 so level and compact that we could almost walk on 
 it. Moran looked the place over critically, and 
 said, — 
 
 " We are in search of a hiding-place, and we 
 have found it. Let us make this place still more 
 level and strong, and sleep and hide here until 
 the chance of our being waylaid on the river is 
 over." 
 
 We all agreed to this proposition, and began at 
 once the task. We interwoye still more closely 
 
A NEST IN THE CYPRESS. 365 
 
 the vines with the limbs of the cypress, cut them 
 away in places, and laid others from the crotch of 
 the cypress-trees in such a way as to make it quite 
 safe. The next day we resumed our work, and 
 continued it from day to day, until we had about 
 ten feet square very strong and level. This we 
 enclosed with a rude but strong railing of vines 
 and cypress limbs, and also covered the plateau 
 with a thick bed of Spanish moss gathered from 
 the trees, where it hung in heavy festoons. On 
 one side of this plateau, where a few limbs of a 
 tall cypress projected above the surrounding level, 
 we built a shelter from the sun with vines, covered 
 it with moss, using the branches of the trees for 
 framework. 
 
 We had now a secure retreat, where we could 
 sleep, and where it would be difficult for an enemy 
 to come at us, even had they known of our pres- 
 ence there. We then fastened our rope to the top 
 of the plateau, and Avith some of the longest vines 
 made a ladder for easy ascent, and v/hich might 
 also be di^awn up after us when we had reached 
 the top. 
 
 We now needed only some sure means of subsist- 
 ence to make this a safe dwelling-place as long as 
 we chose to remain. To make access to our habi- 
 tation more complete, we built a platform around 
 the roots of a huge cypress near this as a landing- 
 place for our boat. This was easy of construction, 
 as the cypress mounds and roots gave a foundation 
 
JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 on which to lash limbs. These we fastened with 
 small vines made pliable by beating, until they 
 were an excellent substitute for ropes. From this 
 wharf we constructed a passage-way for about 
 twenty feet over the slippery cypress knees and 
 roots to our ladder. This work was done from 
 time to time, and occupied several days. 
 
 With the exception of about two pounds of ham, 
 mostly fat, and a few potatoes, our provisions Avere 
 now exhausted, and hunger demanded a speedy 
 supply. 
 
 Early next morning we Avent up stream with 
 our boat, to forage for food. We did not find a 
 plantation, as we had been led to think we should 
 by seeing, from our nest, indications of cleared land 
 near at hand. Baffled in this, we returned and 
 paddled up the main stream, but finding nothing 
 but swamps for nearly two miles, came back, much 
 discouraged and very hungry, to the oak hummock 
 or island, where we had made our first landing, 
 and where we intended to do our cooking. On 
 returning we had at first missed the bayou, and this 
 delaj^ed us till nearly noon. Jed began to dig on the 
 hassock for worms, and finally succeeded in finding 
 some for bait, though not the kind we call angle- 
 worms. We tried fishing in the bayou, but did not 
 catch anything ; and finally cast our lines in the 
 river near the mouth of the bayou. Here we 
 caught a fish about fifteen inches in length, with 
 white belly, steel gray back, and lines of rosy 
 
A NEST IN THE CYPRESS. 367 
 
 brown on the sides, which Moran said was a 
 mullet ; also several smaller ones like perch. We 
 now returned to the island to cook our fish. We 
 kindled a blaze by firing our gun into some dry 
 leaves and oakum sprinkled with powder, and soon 
 had a good fire ; we then fried our fish in our half- 
 canteen. Hunger is the best of sauces, and the fish 
 seemed the most delicious of anything we ever ate. 
 Replenishing the fire with boughs, to prevent its 
 going out, we returned to the nest. 
 
 On ascending to our retreat in the cypress, 
 Moran ascertained by aid of our pocket compass 
 that the bayou, instead of running nearly parallel 
 with the river, as we had supposed, enclosed a tri- 
 angular-shaped peninsula, on the opposite side of 
 which were the cultivated fields to be seen from 
 our nest, and which we had tried to reach. These 
 fields were apparently surrounded with swamps, 
 and were not, as far as we could discern, approach- 
 able from the river. 
 
 The next day, Jed and Grace, after landing us 
 on a hummock on the river, went in search of food 
 with the boat. It was late when they returned 
 with the haversack and the lining of Jed's 
 jacket filled with sweet potatoes and a few ears of 
 hard and rather poor corn. They had obtained 
 this supply at a plantation on the opposite side of 
 the river two miles above us, but were of the opin- 
 ion that it would not be safe to return there, as 
 they had been seen by the negroes, and after reach- 
 
368 JED'S ADVENTURES, 
 
 ing the boat, had heard hounds yelping as if in 
 pursuit. That night we cooked an appetizing 
 meal, on the hummock, which we used as a kitchen, 
 and were well pleased, as a whole, with our day's 
 adventures. 
 
 A few days after this, while Grace was explor- 
 ing among the vine-matted cypress limbs, he dis- 
 covered beneath him a ridge of hassock land 
 running towards the clearing which we had 
 believed to be a plantation. He thought we might 
 be able, as he said, to "open up communication 
 with its sweet potatoes," and thus obtain a sure 
 supply of food. 
 
 Armed with our tAVO muskets, which we kept 
 with our blankets at our nest, we advanced some 
 hundreds of yards on the vine-covered plateau, 
 until below us was the line of hassocks or oak 
 hummocks which Jed had described. 
 
 The hassocks were mostly firm and dry. The 
 briers and vines were the worst impediment to our 
 advance, as they were so thick and tangled that we 
 were obliged to cut our way through them with 
 our knives. 
 
 A few hundred yards advance, with only occa- 
 sional swampy bottom, brought us out of the 
 swamp to fii'mer ground, whence we easily reached 
 the cleared land. At one point we had found 
 it convenient to turn over from our path, by 
 a device of Moran's, a tangled mass of vines, which 
 could be dropped into place again, if desirable, and 
 
A NEST IN THE CYPRESS, 369 
 
 thus shut off the patli. We found corn, though it 
 was not very good for roasting, and -plenty of 
 sweet potatoes. This was, fortunately, at a part 
 of the plantation remote from its buildings, and 
 where we were in no great danger of being discov- 
 ered. We were careful not to disturb the vines 
 when digging the potatoes, and broke down but 
 a few roasting ears in any one place. In returning 
 we had replaced the barricade of tangled vines in 
 its place in our path, and on ascending to the pla- 
 teau on the tree tops, pulled up the vines by which 
 we had ascended, having first cut them from the 
 roots. We also took the precaution of cutting 
 away all similar vines, so that, if we were ever 
 pursued, there would be no means of following us, 
 or clew to our escape, after we had reached the 
 plateau. We now viewed our position with much 
 satisfaction. If we liad had wings we could not 
 have more effectually shut off all means of pur- 
 suit. 
 
 During all this time we usually kept our boat at 
 the little platform at the foot of the cypress, and 
 in it went back and forth to cook our food, and eat 
 it on the island, where, since we first kindled our 
 fire, we had not allowed it to go out. 
 
 We passed our time in perfecting our nest in 
 the cypress ; also in fishing, and exploring the 
 swamp for wild limes and oranges. The alligators 
 which were seen in the bayous were, unless stirred 
 up too familiarly, more repulsive than dangerous, 
 
370 - jnD'S ADVtlNTURES. 
 
 and we became accustomed to their occasional 
 presence. We soon had a good stock of food, 
 consisting of 3'ams, potatoes, and fish, and a few 
 wild limes and sour oranges, which were sometimes 
 found on the hummocks. 
 
 For three weeks we passed our time in happy 
 content. Robinson, who seldom went on excursions 
 with us, thatched the roof, made for shade, so that 
 it became a protection against rain ; made a com- 
 fortable bed of moss, also seats and a rude table of 
 woven vines, where we often ate our food. 
 
 We should have been contented to remain 
 here for months had not an event occurred which 
 disturbed our tranquillity and safety. While Jed 
 and Grace were prospecting on the plantation, 
 armed with the guns, they fired at a pig which had 
 w^andered into the cypress swamp. The pig was 
 wounded, and ran squealing, with our boys in close 
 pursuit, in the direction of the plantation. They 
 were so eager in the chase that, as Grace tersely 
 said, they did not notice that they had gone too far 
 from their base before they ran into a white man, 
 who, while seemingly friendly, had followed and 
 questioned them as to where they belonged. 
 Grace, according to Jed's account, had put a stop 
 to his interrogation by a significant motion wdth 
 his musket, and by saying in his drawling tones, — 
 
 "I sa}^, old man, if jom don't go home right off, 
 yer folks'll get lonesome." 
 
 Upon hearing this mcident w^e all agreed that it 
 
A NEST 7iV THE CYPRESS. 371 
 
 would thereafter be uncomfortable if not danger- 
 ous to draw furtlier rations from the potato ridges 
 and cornfields of that plantation. 
 
 " They can't find us here, nor get at us if they 
 do," said IVIoran, ^' but they will make us uncom- 
 fortable." 
 
 It was not two hours after, that we heard the 
 baying of the bloodhounds outside the swamp. 
 They even came into the swamp for a considerable 
 distance with the dogs, and then turned back, appar- 
 ently baffled. 
 
 "We had no fears that they could reach us, but, 
 as our days of peace and contentment were at an 
 end here, we agreed that it was time to resume our 
 voyage down the river. We were, however, deter- 
 mined not to be hurried or driven. Moran sug- 
 gested that we return in a body to the plantation 
 once more to obtain potatoes and corn, in order to 
 be well provisioned for tlie journey. The plan 
 was opposed by Robinson, but was nevertheless 
 adopted. They had apparently abandoned the 
 search and pursuit for the day, and were possibly 
 rallying their neighbors to hunt us on the morrow. 
 We therefore concluded to make a strategic move- 
 ment on their potato patch that afternoon. Armed 
 with our muskets we boldly returned, gathered 
 corn and dug potatoes, and were on our way home. 
 Jed was carrpng the haversack full of potatoes, 
 while ]Moran and myself had a miscellaneous assort- 
 ment of potatoes, corn, beans, and other vegetables 
 
872 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 tied in a blanket, which we were carrying together. 
 Suddenly I heard a sound which made my heart 
 jump. 
 
 It Avas the deep bay of a bloodhound. On we 
 dashed towards the swamp, while Jed and Grace 
 with the muskets covered our retreat. We ran 
 towards a triangle formed by a fence, which was 
 one of our landmarks, but before scaling it we 
 looked back ; Jed and Grace were not in sight, and 
 the sound of dogs meanwhile came nearer and 
 nearer. Grasping once more our blanket of pota- 
 toes, we ran on, the dogs still following us. 
 
 A pack of dogs is usually made up of two or 
 three formidable savage dogs, while the others are 
 often fox dogs or any other keen-scented canines. 
 Any dog will follow a man if trained to it. What 
 were we to do? 
 
 " ril fight, but I won't run an}- farther," said 
 Moran, while his square, determined jaw came 
 together almost with a snap, and he dropped his 
 end of the blanket. The dogs were now close 
 upon us, and two mounted men were at the fence 
 following. They stopped to take it down. Just 
 then the dogs broke upon us in full cry, and lead- 
 ing them was the largest Cuban bloodhound I ever 
 saw. I turned to run. 
 
 " Stop ! " said Moran, and, catching hold of the 
 blanket of potatoes as the foremost dog came at 
 him, hurled it at him with prodigous force. It 
 struck the brute squarely, and turned him end over 
 
A NEST IN THE CYPRESS. 37B 
 
 end. The whole pack of clogs now slunk back. 
 Once more we turned to run, but not without our 
 potatoes. The mounted men catching sight of us 
 at this instant, rode up yelling furiously. 
 
 We had now reached the edge of the swamp ; 
 meanwhile, the dogs and the mounted men were in 
 such close pursuit that escape seemed impossible. 
 Just at this instant a musket shot was heard from 
 the swamp, and down went a rider and horse. 
 The dogs were, however, upon us again. I grasped 
 my hat from my head, and, muffling my hand, 
 thrust it out for a dog to snap at. He jumped 
 for my hand, when I struck full at his throat 
 with my knife, and the blood spurted out in my 
 face. 
 
 " Good I " said Moran, excitedly adopting the 
 same tactics, but the dogs had now cowardly slunk 
 away from further encounter. 
 
 A few steps more and we came to the barrier of 
 briers, where we found the other membei's of our 
 party. This barrier was passed and thrown back 
 into the path, and we were soon secure in the 
 cypress-trees ^vith all our plunder. We heard our 
 pursuers when they reached the barrier of briers 
 and vines, and heard theii' dogs beyond it in the 
 swamp, but we knew we were secure at least for a 
 season. 
 
 That afternoon, after cooking a large quantity of 
 food, Ave sorrowfully bade good-by to our nest in 
 the cypress, and with everything belonging to our 
 
B74 JET)'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 party securely packed in our boat, resumed our 
 voyage down the river. 
 
 Our boat was now well stocked with provisions ; 
 we had a large number of baked potatoes and about 
 a bushel of raw ones, over thirty ears of corn, as 
 well as a full half-bushel of peanuts, gathered that 
 day. 
 
 A voyage of two nights brought us to what 
 proved to be an island at the mouth of the river. 
 During the trip we had not been able to make a 
 landing, as cypress swamps extended on both sides 
 of us. Here, however, we landed, as the island was 
 high and sandy, and covered Avith pine woods, and 
 seemingly uninhabited. During the two days and 
 nights preceding, we had experienced some dis- 
 comfort for want of Avater, but here found a good 
 supply. 
 
 With the exception of Robinson, we were now 
 all in vigorous health. The vegetable diet and 
 wild limes and oranges had cured us of the scurvy, 
 which afflicted us while prisoners, and we now felt 
 strong in the resolution to bring our voyage to a 
 successful teiTuination. 
 
 A life of peril makes men brave, quick-witted, 
 and inclined to make the best of adverse fortune. 
 Discontent and worry, I have often thought since, 
 come only to those who move in the calm of life, 
 rather than in its troubled places. We borrowed 
 no trouble, but were content with what trouble we 
 had. 
 
A NEST m THE CYPRESS. 875 
 
 We remained here during the day, and then, de- 
 siring to come to the farther end of the island in 
 order to get a better outlook for any of our block- 
 ading squadron, which jNIoran thought might be 
 cruising in the bay, we resumed our voyage. Our 
 map showed us that the west fork of the river 
 would carry us perilously near the town of Appa- 
 lachicola. We did not think it prudent to seek the 
 acquaintance of its people, and therefore determined 
 to go down the east fork of the river. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 ON THE APPALACHICOLA BAY. 
 
 IT was a moonlight night when, with a favoring 
 breeze and an outgoing tide, we steered our 
 craft down the east fork of the AppaLachicola River. 
 We were borne so rapidly towards the southern 
 limit of the island that we had not prepared for 
 landing before we were swept away by the tide and 
 current, which here ran like a mill-race. Though 
 we worked hard at the paddles, we could not resist 
 the force that swept us on. Even Moran, accus- 
 tomed to boats, exclaimed in dismay, ''We are be- 
 ing carried out to sea I " So, breathless with hard 
 work and excitement, one by one we dropped our 
 paddles, and despondently watched the receding 
 shore. " If we had a good supply of water it would 
 not be so bad," said Moran. 
 
 This was a new cause for alarm, which the in- 
 creasing roughness of the sea did not diminish. 
 
 Jed, who had remained silent and thoughtful 
 during this time, here said, "We are in God's 
 hands, who has delivered us out of many perils. It 
 seems to me there is no cause for alarm. The map 
 shows there are islands off the mouth of this river, 
 
 376 
 
ON THE APPALACHICOLA BAY. 377 
 
 which in any case we shall have to reach, in order 
 to be near incoming vessels, and it is as good a time 
 for us to get there now as any." 
 
 '' I didn't think of that," said Moran. 
 
 It was astonishing what a revulsion of feeling 
 came with the uttering of these sensible words, 
 and it illustrates how the faith and hopeful courage 
 of one man will sometimes inspire his comrades in 
 trials. The sail was soon set, the points of the 
 compass ascertained, and the paddles resumed. 
 
 The height of the waves had at first alarmed us ; 
 but as Moran declared there was no danger, and 
 that the boat was of a build not easily upset or 
 swamped, we soon ceased to fear. 
 
 Several hours of paddling, sailing, and drifting 
 succeeded, until we could see no land on either 
 side of us. To add to our uncertainty, the moon 
 went down behind a western cloud, and we could 
 no longer steer by the points of the compass. A 
 heavy, chopping sea, meanwhile, made it impossible 
 to paddle to any practical purpose. The wind still 
 remained in our favor, though the tide set against 
 us, and produced the rough sea in which the boat 
 was laboring, and which kept us uncomfortably 
 wet. 
 
 When daylight came we had passed beyond this 
 sea, and saw before us a long stretch of low land, 
 about two miles away. We now took down our 
 sail, for fear it might attract attention, and by 
 paddling soon got out of the tide. 
 
378 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 We found the shore low, and, coasting along for 
 a favorable landing, came at last to a little creek. 
 Here Ave landed, and, while one of our j)arty was 
 left in charge of the boat, the others went in search 
 of fresh water, and also to see what kind of a 
 country Ave had landed in. The water was very 
 clear and inviting, and on our return from pros- 
 pecting we refreshed ourselves with a bath. 
 
 At one place, where there was a mass of the shell 
 rock peculiar to this coast, Ave discovered some 
 oysters, and gathered a large number, from Avhich 
 Ave made a luxurious breakfast. We found them 
 also in clumps of a dozen or so on the clay 
 bottom. 
 
 We noAV pulled up our boat, and, the sun being 
 quite hot, turned it three-quarters over and propped 
 it up for a slielter. We took the precaution, hoAV- 
 ever, to stick up bushes around the boat, for the 
 double purpose of concealment and of protec- 
 tion from the sun. As Ave Avere very tired Avith 
 our night of excitement and labor, Ave noAv Av^ent to 
 sleep under the shade of the boat. 
 
 The name of the country Ave had landed in Avas 
 unknoAvn to us, though we believed we Avere on 
 one of the several islands Avhicli here form a break- 
 Avater or harbor at the mouth of the Appalachicola 
 River. 
 
 Upon aAA^aking from our slumbers, aa^c started 
 out once more on a voyage of discover}^ Taking 
 a southerly direction Ave travelled about a mile, 
 
ON THE APPALACIIICOLA BAY. 379 
 
 which brought us to the open Gulf, where a low 
 surf was rolling in upon the shore, and Avhere 
 before us the sea extended as far as the eye could 
 reach. 
 
 As Moran gazed on this sea, he said, " Here is 
 where we ought to be with our boat. Our block- 
 ading squadron has vessels cruising along this 
 coast, and any sail may prove a friendly one." 
 
 We found the land mostly wooded with pine of 
 good growth, and, m returning, came in sight of a 
 cultivated field of corn, which we, howevei', did 
 not think it prudent to disturb at that time. 
 
 After considerable discussion it was agreed that 
 as the tide began to ebb at about seven o'clock in 
 the evening, and as the nights were moonlit, it 
 would be a good plan to make use of these advan- 
 tages to reach the gulf or ocean side of this cape 
 or island where we had landed. So, after a hearty 
 supper of delicious oysters, we once more launched 
 our little craft. The wind, as it came from the 
 northeast, was not very favorable for our voyage, 
 but, by paddling along the shore, w^e had made 
 satisfactory progress when daybreak came. As we 
 were not very tired, after a good nap we for an 
 anchor tied a piece of shell rock to our rope which 
 we used as a cable, and began fishing. We caught 
 several Spanish mackerel and also a mullet, which 
 proved to be delicious eating. 
 
 To make a fire we Avere obliged once more to 
 discharge our gun, and, needing fuel, collected it 
 
380 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 from a wooded knoll near by. We soon liad a 
 hearty meal of fish, oysters, and baked sweet pota- 
 toes. 
 
 After this there crept over us such a sense of 
 contentment that we agreed to remain here for 
 several days, keep our fire going, and eat, sleep, 
 and rest. 
 
 In furtherance of this purpose we revisited the 
 wooded knoll for dry limbs, when we encountered 
 a man who had apparently been watching us. 
 
 " Heard a gun, and thought I'd come out and 
 see what was going on," said the stranger, rising 
 from the ground where he had been seated. 
 
 We now saw that he had a wooden leg, and that 
 his clothing was composed in part of Confederate 
 gray. He was very communicative, had a good- 
 natured face, and informed us that Ave were on the 
 island of St. George, and that he had been a Con- 
 federate soldier. 
 
 " I lost that leg at Gettysburg where you'un 
 Yanks fought we'uns three days." Seeing me ex- 
 change looks with Moran, he said, '' I knew you'ns 
 was Yanks as soon as I saw you. I don't knoAV 
 what 3' ou are doing heie, and I ain't going to ask. 
 I might arrest ye if I was in the service, but I am 
 done soldiering." 
 
 We laughed at the idea of a one-legged man 
 without weapons, arresting five strapping, two- 
 legged soldiers, with good muskets. The ex-Con- 
 federate joined in the fun, laughing when Grace 
 
ON THE APPALACHICOLA BAY. 381 
 
 said that such an idea was enough to make a mule 
 laugh. 
 
 He told us that when he had been taken pris- 
 oner at Gettysburg he had been treated "right 
 well " by our men, who kindly took care of him 
 after his leg was amputated. That before the 
 war his father had kept the lighthouse on that 
 island. 
 
 " I don't bear you Yanks no grudge, noway ; 
 I've swapped corn bread for hard-tack, and tobacco 
 for coffee, with Yanks, and feel right brotherly 
 towards them." 
 
 This was said with such apparent good will that 
 we felt we could trust him when he inquired, — 
 
 " Where did you'ns all come from ? " 
 
 Moran must have seen this disposition in our 
 faces, for he said sharply, " Least said soonest 
 mended, boys." 
 
 " If 3^ou'll stay here a while I'll bring you some 
 corn bread and fixin's. You all used me well when 
 I was wounded, and I ain't the man to forget it," 
 said the ex-Confederate. 
 
 In a short time the ex-reb returned, bringing us 
 half a ham, a card of matches, some meal, and a 
 pint of salt. In return we offered him a knife, 
 and a twenty-dollar Confederate note. He would 
 not accept anything, and passed the note back 
 with a grim smile. As he left us he shook us 
 each kindly by the hand, and said significantly, 
 " I hope you'll get through, Yanks." 
 
382 JED'S ADVENTURES, 
 
 Many comments were passed on the occurrence 
 of the meeting, after the reb left. 
 
 "I tell you he is a square, honest fellow," said 
 Jed. 
 
 Moran shook his head ; while Robinson, as was 
 habitual with him, repeated gloomily, — 
 
 " Resky, resky ! " 
 
 " Robinson would say that to anything short of 
 a dead certainty," drawled Grace. It was agreed 
 by us all that a card of matches and some salt and 
 meal were desirable, and a certain good, while the 
 ills probable from the encounter might never come. 
 
 Jed thoughtfully emptied our powder into one 
 of the powder-horns, broke up the matches and put 
 them with the remaining percussion caps into the 
 other one, and stowed them away in the haversack 
 which he wore constantly about him. 
 
 That evening, acting on information received 
 from the ex-reb, — namely, that vessels of our 
 blockading squadron sometimes passed into the 
 harbor through the passage between Cape St. 
 George and the little island on the right, — we 
 again began a coasting voyage in that direction. 
 
 That night we passed outside the harbor, and, 
 perceiving an island on the opposite side of the 
 passage, we paddled across the channel and landed. 
 We remained here during the day, cooking the 
 oysters which remained of our store, and resting. 
 We had now become accustomed to rough seas, and 
 were so confident of the seaworthiness of our boat 
 
ox THE APPALACHICOLA BAY. 383 
 
 that when Moran proposed to continue our coast- 
 ing voyage on the Gulf side of the island, we at 
 once adopted the proposition. 
 
 By such a course, even if we did not fall in with 
 any of our coasting vessels, we should be constantly 
 nearing Santa Rosa Island, where a force of Federal 
 soldiers were stationed, and at the same time would 
 have as good a chance of encountering some vessel 
 of our blockading squadron as if we remained in 
 one place. 
 
 Our map embraced but a very small part of this 
 territory, but Grace sketched the remainder as he 
 remembered it. We coasted along as proposed for 
 several days, with no incident worthy of record. 
 
 Late one afternoon, after an unusual season of 
 calms, a sudden storm came up, which tossed our 
 boat with great violence, thi'owing us into con- 
 fusion and fear. Before we could unship our 
 mast or furl our sail, the mast was torn violently 
 from the boat. The wind increased in fury every 
 moment, and it soon became so dark that we could 
 not tell whither we were driving. At first Moran 
 had endeavored to keep our craft head on to the 
 seas, but finally, with set lips and frowning brow, 
 put her before the wind, which drove us on through 
 a seethingr- sea. 
 
 o 
 
 We were ordered to sit in the bottom of the boat, 
 and keep her clear of water by baling with some 
 large shells we had on board. Our boat was tossed 
 about like an eggshell, and every huge, white- 
 
384 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 capped wave threatened to ingulf us. Our voices 
 could scarcely be heard above the roaring of the 
 waves and the shrieking of the winds. At one 
 moment we were lifted on huge, mountainous bil- 
 lows, and at the next sunk deep down into the 
 trough between them. 
 
 In the midst of this peril Moran exclaimed, 
 " The breakers ! Breakers ahead ! " and above the 
 howling winds we heard a noise like a ceaseless can- 
 nonade. It was the roar of the breakers as they 
 dashed on the shore. We were now driven with 
 merciless force towards the coast, and the sound of 
 the breakers grew terribly near. The white caps 
 of the coast threatened to break over us as we 
 neared them. We were soon in their midst, and 
 saw their white froth as they curled and broke on 
 the shore, towards which we were being driven. 
 " Stick to the boat," shouted Moran, " until you 
 hear me shout, ' Jump ! ' " 
 
 A giant wave now caught up the boat, and hurled 
 it with great force towards the shore, while another 
 came hurrying in our rear, threatening to over- 
 whelm us as we receded. " Take the line and be 
 ready to jump with the next wave," shouted Moran. 
 
 A wave more threatening than any that had pre- 
 ceded it now came roaring astern, swept us inshore, 
 and as it was ready to recede we jumped and ran, 
 dragging the boat after us. Twice the waves struck 
 us after this. When we reached a place of safety 
 we turned, and found that Moran was missing. 
 
ON THE APPALACHICOLA BAY, 385 
 
 He had been swept away, though Robinson still 
 clung, half-drowned, to the boat, now filled with 
 water. I made a rush and pulled him from the 
 bows of the boat, where he was clinging, and car- 
 ried him to the shore. We still clung to the line 
 that held the boat, hoping to save her ; but before 
 we could drag her from the breakers the frail rope 
 broke, and she drifted away. 
 
 Poor Jack Moran ! brave Jack ! where was he ? 
 The answer seemed to come from the hungry, roar- 
 ing waves, " Drowned, drowned ! " Yes, he was 
 drowned in trying to save our lives. We had no 
 time for grief. We watched, and walked the shore 
 all night in the rain, hoping that Jack might be 
 found. 
 
 The morning came and the storm continued. 
 We found our boat, half filled with sand and nearly 
 full of water, cast on the beach about a mile to the 
 left of us. 
 
 On removing the sand we found one of our mus- 
 kets and a few sweet potatoes, but the oars and 
 everything else of value were gone. 
 
 We now had left a small drinking-cup, two 
 powder-horns, some matches and percussion caps 
 in good order, a rusty musket, our compass and 
 knife, a haversack, one-half a canteen, a small piece 
 of bacon and four sweet potatoes, and a boat with- 
 out paddles, oars, or sails. 
 
 We were on a sandy key of land (we knew not 
 where), without water or food other than that I have 
 
386 JED'S adv^ntuhes. 
 
 stated. We were very thirsty, and our first thought 
 was to look for fresh water. Travelling either north 
 or south brought us to salt water, while running east 
 and west was a long stretch of white sand as far 
 as the eye could reach, with a mossy growth over 
 the soil, and with here and there a stunted pal- 
 metto tree. We were now in great distress for 
 water, for although we explored on every side, there 
 was none to be found. To add to our misfortunes, 
 Robinson was much exhausted and very sick ; and, 
 as I had become much attached to him, I would not 
 abandon him to search for food or water. 
 
 Jed and Grace, however, set out on a journey 
 of exploration, leaving me to care for Robinson. 
 Soon after the boys were gone, the sun came out 
 very hot, while the nearest approach to a shade I 
 could find was under a scrubby palmetto-tree. Here 
 I carried Robinson, who was now so weak that he 
 could hardly speak, and when he did speak, to my 
 distress, the single word he uttered was, "Water." 
 
 "We have no water," I explained: "the boys 
 have gone in search of some." 
 
 After a wliile he feebly said, " Why didn't they 
 
 dig?"_ 
 
 " Dig where ? " I inquired. 
 
 " In the sand — anywhere." Seeing my incredu 
 lous look he explained, " If you dig down to the 
 level of the salt water you will come to water 
 which is filtered through the sand, and it will be 
 fresh." 
 
ON THE APPALACHICOLA BAY. 387 
 
 I at once began to dig vigorously, and soon had 
 the satisfaction of reaching water ; but I was still 
 incredulous, and dipped up some of the water and 
 doubtingly held it to my lips to test it. I was pre- 
 pared to find it salt. It was fresh ! 
 
 No one who has not passed through similar trials 
 can understand the relief and joy I felt. It was 
 indeed a rescue from despair. 
 
 In a few hours Jed and Grace returned, worn 
 out and anxious, bringing one of the boat pad- 
 dles they had found a mile below on the shore, but 
 without having found water. Their surprise and 
 joy was great when I gave them the cup, and, 
 pointing to the hollow, explained how I had 
 obtained it. The water, though slightly brackish, 
 was fairly good. That afternoon we found some 
 large shell -fish, which gave us a tough kind of 
 meat, made a fire and cooked them, and ended the 
 day with our hearts full of gloomy forebodings at 
 the prospect before us. 
 
 The next day we washed out the boat, but 
 found, on launching her, that she leaked badly. 
 She had been strained either by the surf, or by 
 the violent wrenching of the mast from her in 
 the storm. 
 
 We did the best we could in repairing her, for it 
 was imperative that we should get away from the 
 sand island or cape on which we had been cast, as 
 food was scarce, there was but little shade from the 
 intense heat of the sun, the mosquitoes were fierce, 
 
388 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 and, to complete our discomfort, the sand was 
 infested with an insect that bit and annoyed us. 
 
 It was agreed that while we miglit find a better 
 place, it was scarcely possible to find a worse one. 
 With a few shell-fish for food we once more 
 launched our craft into the now calm sea. We 
 had wrenched out the one remaining seat of our 
 boat, and had made it into a very poor substitute 
 for a paddle. 
 
 All day we took turns In laboring at the paddles 
 and in baling out water. Sometimes we were 
 carried out of our course by the tides, and some- 
 times assisted by them in the westerly direction 
 we still pursued. As we had no means of carrying 
 fresh water with us, we often landed to obtain it. 
 
 The long, barren island or cape seemed without 
 end ; and as we were weakened by hunger, and our 
 paddles were almost useless for our work, we made 
 but little headway in our cruise. Jed had cut a 
 short pole, which was, however, of but little use 
 to us. 
 
 It was nearly sundown one afternoon when we 
 had landed, very much discouraged, on the long 
 stretch of sand. We were cooking some of the 
 coarse shell-fish which had now for more than a 
 week been our only food. We had used our last 
 match, and were discussing the probabilities of the 
 future. Jed was busy attempting a new way of 
 cooking the shell-fish, when, suddenly dropping his 
 dish, he pointed out to the open sea. He was 
 
ON THE APPALACHICOLA BAY, 389 
 
 pale and trembling with excitement, and unable to 
 articulate. We looked, liowever, in the direction 
 in which he pointed, and saw a large vessel, south- 
 east from us, steaming along about a mile from the 
 shore. 
 
 It took us but a moment to jump into our boat 
 in the endeavor to reach her. We paddled with 
 all our strength, while Jed waved the remains of 
 his shirt on the pole he had cut a few days pre- 
 vious. 
 
 The waves ran high. Robinson protested that 
 it was " resky," and said, " She may be a rebel 
 craft, and Ave are likely to get so far away from 
 land as not to be able to get back." 
 
 We were deaf, liowever, to all his forebodings, 
 and determined, as Grace said, to " bunch all our 
 chances in an attempt to reach the craft ahead of 
 us." 
 
 We paddled with renewed vigor, and the steamer 
 came nearer and nearer. We could now hear the 
 throbbing of her engines, and see the men on her 
 decks. We waved our hats and shouted franti- 
 call}^, but our voices were weakened by hardships, 
 and as she still continued on her course, we appar- 
 ently had not been heard, though she was now 
 not over two-thirds of a mile from us and dead 
 ahead. She passed us ; " Great God ! could we 
 not attract her attention ? " Jed waved his shirt 
 frantically, but she still kept on her course. 
 
 Grace, who had taken no part hitherto in shout- 
 
390 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 • 
 
 ing, here dropped his paddle, stood up, inflated his 
 lungs, and uttered a piercing yell that startled us. 
 
 We now saw men hurrying on her deck. She 
 changed her course in our direction. She had 
 apparently heard Grace, and if so, we were rescued. 
 
 ''What craft is that?" hailed Grace, as she 
 came near us. 
 
 " The United States gunboat Mercedes. What 
 boat is that?" came the answer and question from 
 the steamer. 
 
 "A boat with escaping Union prisoners," was 
 our answer. 
 
 In a moment we were alongside, were on deck, 
 and thanked God that we were once more under the 
 protection of the '' Old Flag," for which we had 
 suffered so much. It was now the 24th of Novem- 
 ber, almost three months since we had begun our 
 escape from Anderson ville. . 
 
 The kind treatment received by us on board of 
 the Mei'cedes will never be forgotten. The cap- 
 tain told us that he had stopped at the island of 
 St. George to take in w^ater, and while there an 
 ex-rebel soldier had told him of meeting a party of 
 Union soldiers, and had earnestly urged him to 
 search for them. The captain, with this in view, 
 had steamed along the coast. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 UNDER THE OLD FLAG AGAIN. 
 
 TT had been a peculiarity of our Andersonville 
 life that prisoners manifested but little interest 
 in each other's previous history. They were not 
 generally curious regarding a man's past life, seem- 
 ingly not caring from whence he came, or what his 
 name was. They Avere content to take him as they 
 found him, without further inquiry. They often 
 invented names expressive of personality or char- 
 acter. Illustrative of this, two of Andersonville's 
 most prominent personages w^ere known as "Limber 
 Jim " and " Big Pete," and very few among the 
 prisoners knew their real names, or took pains to 
 inquire them. The hideous struggles and miseries 
 of this life crowded out, as non-essential, the minor 
 curiosity common to men. 
 
 In our little circle John Moran was apparently 
 an exception to this rule ; but as I have never been 
 able (though I have persistently made inquiries) 
 to learn anything of his parents or friends, I am in 
 doubt if this was really the name of my brave com- 
 rade. 
 
 Jed and I were known only as Jed and Dick. 
 391 
 
392 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 On our arrival on the Mercedes^ Robinson, who 
 was feeble, was placed under the surgeon's charge. 
 The morning after our arrival he sent for Jed and 
 myself. I found him lying on a cot in the mate's 
 cabin. He was dressed in clean linen, and a suit 
 lent him by the captain. Robinson had endeared 
 himself to us all by his conservative good sense, as 
 well as by his goodness and rugged honesty. As 
 I approached him under his new surroundings, the 
 same familiar look which I had so often noticed 
 now startled me. 
 
 The reader may, at some time in his life, have 
 seen a face, or an expression on a face, which, though 
 strangely familiar, he was unable to connect with 
 a former experience. So now, as several times 
 before, I found myself endeavoring to grasp the 
 clew to this striking but intangible remembrance. 
 
 On entering, Jed sat down by his side, and in 
 his sympathizing manner took his hand, saying, 
 "What's the matter, old fellow?" 
 
 Robinson shook his head, saying, " Don't know 
 as I shall pull through to get home, boys. Doubt- 
 ful, doubtful." 
 
 " Oh, yes, you will," said Jed. " It's enough to 
 make the dead alive, to know that we are under 
 the old flag ; isn't it, Dick ? " Then in lower, rev- 
 erent tones he said to Robinson, *' God has been so 
 good to us all ! Do you remember what he says in 
 one of his beautiful psalms ? ' For I said in my haste, 
 I am cut off before thine eyes ; nevertheless thou 
 
UNDER THE OLD FLAG AGAIN. 393 
 
 heardest the voice of my supplications when I 
 cried unto thee. ... Be of good courage, and he 
 shall strengthen your heart.' Don't that fit your 
 case ? " 
 
 I too sat down by Robinson's side to comfort 
 him. I asked liim, for the first time, to what regi- 
 ment he belonged. 
 
 '' The — th Minnesota," was his reply, " but I am 
 really a Massachusetts man. God bless the old 
 State ! " 
 
 " Why, that's our State ! " exclaimed Jed. 
 
 Robinson continued, " I have a son in Massachu- 
 setts, and if anything should happen to me before 
 we reach the North, I have written this letter, which 
 I wish you to give to him, with my blessing. I 
 have been in pursuit of fortune West, these long 
 years, and have neglected him." 
 
 I took the letter from his hands, glanced at the 
 superscription — it was directed to Richard Nick- 
 erson — it was for me. The man before me was 
 my father. I now understood the meaning of that 
 familiar look which I had so many times tried to 
 connect with my remembrance. It was a child's 
 remembrance of his long absent father's face. Rob- 
 inson was my father's middle name. 
 
 In a few days we were landed at Pensacola, 
 and from there were sent to New Orleans, 
 where we received clothing and transportation 
 North. 
 
 Upon our arrival in Washington we received a 
 
394 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 furlough of sixty days, and, accompanied by my 
 father, now much improved in health, we Avere in 
 a short time at our old home again. 
 
 A correspondent of a newspaper, to whom the 
 captain of the Mercedes had given an outline of 
 our escape from Anderson ville, had sent a long and 
 exaggerated account of our adventures to a New 
 York paper, under the caption of " Out of the 
 Clasp of Death." Included in tliis was an account 
 of my strange meeting with my father. Other 
 newspapers had copied this, and the Associated 
 Press had sent an abridged account l)roadcast over 
 the land. Thus it was that, although we had not 
 heard from home for many months, and knew 
 nothing of events that had taken place there since 
 we entered the Wilderness campaign, yet the home 
 people knew our adventures, and our coming was 
 not unexpected. 
 
 In our impatience to reach home, the way seemed 
 longer and the stations more numerous than they 
 ever were before. As we alighted from the cars at 
 the little station of Centerboro, the wdiole village 
 seemed to have turned out to w^elcome us. My 
 father was received as one from the dead by his old 
 neighbors and friends ; while Mink barked franti- 
 cally, and almost turned himself into a double knot 
 with delight. 
 
 Among the crowd on the platform, to our great 
 astonishment, w^as Colonel Gruff, with his servant 
 Smutty, who wore one of the colonel's best uni- 
 
UNDER THE OLD FLAG AGAIN. 395 
 
 forms for the occasion. The old veteran was glad 
 enough to see his " poys." 
 
 As we started for home I said, " Come up to the 
 house with us, colonel." Whereupon the old vete- 
 ran took my aunt by the hand, and with much 
 blushing on her part, cleared his throat and said, as 
 if giving orders on parade, " Shentlemen, dis is my 
 vife. Der nicest leetle voman dot ever vas ! " 
 
 It seems that after I was taken prisoner, the colo- 
 nel had written to my aunt. She had replied, and 
 was so inconsolable that he wrote again to quiet 
 her fears ; but, as she refused to be comforted, w^hen 
 the army had settled down to the siege of Peters- 
 burg, lie got a furlough and came North to try his 
 personal influence in soothing her. He finally 
 carried his ideas of consolation so far as to propose 
 marriage, and was accepted. 
 
 Covered with scars and honors, and with the 
 brevet rank of general, he shortly afterwards re- 
 signed his commission, and settled down to domes- 
 tic life, for my aunt had refused to be fully com- 
 forted on any other terms. 
 
 Lieutenant Weston was killed at Cold Harbor, 
 while bravely leading his compan}' into that mur- 
 derous charge. Previous to this he had been on a 
 furlough home, where, in the presence of my aunt 
 and others, he had fully confessed all the circum- 
 stances of receiving the money in the manner he 
 had previously narrated to us. 
 
 Although the money could not be found, the 
 
396 JEDS ADVENTURES. 
 
 squire paid my aunt, with interest, the full sum 
 received by his son. 
 
 Months afterwards a tin box containing the money 
 was discovered among some refuse mattress straw 
 in the squire's barn. 
 
 My father, being unfit for military duty, soon got 
 his discharge from the army, and settled down in 
 his native town. He wrote to pay the taxes on his 
 Western farm, and was informed that it had become 
 the centre of a growing town, and could be sold 
 for a large sum of money. 
 
 Uncle John Warren came to see us, and we had 
 many invitations from various quarters to make 
 visits. 
 
 Under General Grant the war was now assuming 
 such a phase that even Silas Eaton condescendingly 
 admitted that affairs were managed " a leetle " 
 better than he could do it himself. 
 
 The people of our village church arose to greet 
 us as we entered the church the next Sunday morn- 
 ing. The dear old pastor, with tears streaming 
 down his cheeks, thanked God for our great deliv- 
 erance from death. 
 
 I wish that I might here end my story, but truth 
 compels the addition of another chapter, where sor- 
 row clasps hands with triumph and victory. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE LAST DAYS OF THE WAR. 
 
 OUR furlough passed rapidly away. It was now 
 time for us to report for duty with our regi- 
 ment. Our commissions as first lieutenants had 
 reached us a few days after our arrival, and in 
 bright new uniforms we had visited at pai'ties and 
 receptions tendered us. Jed's noble face and manly 
 presence inspired respect wherever he went. 
 
 We were soon at the front, where we were re- 
 ceived by our old companions in arms with enthusi- 
 asm. The regiment was reduced to a mere skele- 
 ton, and we missed many familiar faces. 
 
 The last days of the Confederacy were drawing 
 near. The iron resolution of the brave men in 
 gray, who, half-starved, for so many months had 
 carried the standard of revolt, now began to weaken. 
 Grant drew his lines with a death-like grasp around 
 them. One by one he cut off the railroad lines by 
 which they received supplies. 
 
 The able Confederate commander, with the in- 
 tention of compelling the retirement of our left 
 flank, and relieving the pressure by breaking the 
 Union lines near where it rested on the Appomat- 
 
 397 
 
398 JED'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 tox, east of Petersburg, surprised and captured 
 Fort Stedman on the 25th of March. 
 
 Grant, having determined to open the campaign 
 of the year on the 29th of March, meanwhile with 
 inflexible tenacity went steadily forward, pushing 
 his preparations for a grand movement to be directed 
 against the Confederate right flank, to cut their 
 railroad communications. The movement, though 
 sudden, was anticipated by General Lee. 
 
 Breaking camp early on the morning of the 29th, 
 the force of Avhicli we now formed a part moved by 
 ihe rear and left, in order to make this flank move- 
 ment without observation. The day before Jed had 
 oeen slightly wounded by a minie ball in the hip, 
 and the surgeon declared he was not in condition 
 to endure a march. I, too, urged him to remain 
 l)ehiiid. Jed, however, was quietly persistent. 
 
 '' Whether I live or die," said he, " it shall never 
 be said that I willingly went to the rear when my 
 regiment was marching to the front." 
 
 It was of no use to remonstrate with him, for, 
 though very sweet-natured, he was also immovably 
 obstinate where he thought his duty was concerned. 
 
 As our line of battle advanced, it was compelled 
 to cross Hatch's Run before it could reach a fort 
 on the opposite side of the river. All but one man 
 of the Confederates had left this fort. This man 
 had gathered the muskets abandoned by his less 
 determined comrades, and single-handed attempted 
 to contest our advance. The stream was too deep 
 
THE LAST DAYS OF THE WAR. 399 
 
 for fording, but we found a tree fallen across the 
 run, which served the purpose of a foot-bridge. 
 ]\Ian after man fell dead from the fire of this 
 one Confederate, AA^hile attempting to cross the 
 log. 
 
 Seeing that one man was to delay an army, 
 O'Keif, who commanded our company, sent several 
 of our best marksmen to the tops of the trees, and 
 the brave Confederate, after killing seven of our 
 men, was in turn mortally wounded. 
 
 With swords and muskets in hand we went 
 over the enemy's works. The Confederate de- 
 fender wore the stripes of a major, and was not yet 
 dead. 
 
 " This man is a hero," said Jed, as he knelt by 
 his side to offer help and consolation. The rebel 
 smiled and said, — 
 
 " You boys were too much for one reb, but some 
 one must do the fighting when cowards run." 
 
 Something familiar in his voice arrested my 
 attention ; it was Walker, ^vhose acquaintance Ave 
 had made at Fort Monroe, when Ave Avere drum- 
 mers. He lived but a short time. We buried him 
 Avith the honors of war, and inscribed on the 
 Avooden slab above his grave, the story of his 
 heroic defence of the fort. His SAvord and Avatch 
 were afterwards sent to his friends. 
 
 On the clear, frosty morning of April 1st, Ave 
 moved toAvards Five Forks, Avhere Slieridan had 
 fought the day before. The Southside Railroad 
 
400 JED\S ADVENTURES. 
 
 might be termed the life line, that connected Lee 
 with his capital. 
 
 To guard this road, the rebel commander had 
 barricaded it with a long line of works, running 
 parallel with it, and it was defended by his bravest 
 troops. 
 
 Sheridan's plan was to attract their attention by 
 deploying cavalry in their front, while we were to 
 take them in the rear by surprise. Silently we 
 marched over this ravine-furrowed country. 
 
 At last we reached a hill where we looked down 
 through the trees on the defences of the enemy. 
 Our lines were formed, and then like an eagle 
 from some mountain crag, we descended on the 
 foe. Thus surprised in the rear they threw doAvn 
 their muskets, and surrendered in crowds. They 
 soon perceived, however, that they had been out- 
 manoeuvred but not outnumbered. A rebel officer, 
 seeing this, seized a musket, exclaiming, '' We will 
 whip you yet ! " and shot down one of our men. 
 A fight now took place which baffles description. 
 
 In the quick rush on the works, over rough 
 ground, our company had been broken into two 
 parts. Brave Captain O'Keif, on reaching the 
 works, saw a rebel flag leaning against a tree, and 
 shouted, — • 
 
 " Come on, men, we'll have that flag ! " and, fol- 
 lowed by a dozen men, sprang in among the enemy. 
 To reach the flag they were obliged to pass through 
 a crowd of rebels, until four or five luuidred men 
 
Ttin LAST DAYS 6F THE WAR. 401 
 
 separated them from their comrades. It was at 
 this moment that the enemy rallied, and Captain 
 O'Keif and his brave men found themselves cut 
 off and all hope of escape destroyed. A rebel 
 officer sprang at O'Keif's throat, calling upon him 
 to surrender, but the brave Irish captain had no 
 idea of surrendering. He seized the officer in his 
 muscular arms, and hurled him bodily into the 
 mass of foes confronting him. They were in such 
 close quarters that neither party could fire without 
 shooting their friends. Terrible blows were given 
 and received. The contest Avas desperate; our 
 own men advanced as they fought. At that 
 moment the baffled foe poured in a deadly volley, 
 and brave O'Keif fell dead, with his SAVord in his 
 hand. 
 
 This fight was at its height, when a bugle blast 
 sounded, and Sheridan's cavalry from a clump of 
 woods a fcAV rods distant came dashing in upon 
 them. 
 
 The enemy turned to run. It was too late. 
 Five thousand Confederates surrendered. 
 
 Sheridan rushed by me like a madman, shouting 
 as he swung his clinched fist, " Smash 'em, smash 
 'em, boys ! " 
 
 The Southside Railroad was in our hands. The 
 fight was over and it was nearly dark. Jed had led 
 the men of his company, broken from our ranks, 
 into another part of the enemy's lines. 
 
 Exhausted with marching and fighting, I had 
 
46S JED'S ADVENTURE^. 
 
 fallen asleep after the conflict. It was late that 
 night that word came to us that Jed Avas missing. 
 It was a lonely night search with the silence broken 
 by the groans of the wounded. 
 
 During the search we found O'Keif, with his 
 dead foes and his fallen comrades around him. 
 We dug a shallow trench and buried them under 
 a great oak, emblematic of their brave hearts. As 
 we advanced over the tangled abatis, where the 
 dead lay thickest, and the wounded feebly moaned, 
 I heard a voice clearly but feebly singing, — 
 
 " * Am I a soldier of the cross, 
 A follower of the Lamb,' " 
 
 and then as if gathering strength to testify for the 
 Master, after a pause, the voice rang out clearer 
 and louder, — 
 
 *' ' And shall I blush to own his cause, 
 Or fear to speak his name.' " 
 
 We found Jed where he had fallen in the charge. 
 The morning light was now breaking, and his face, 
 though pale, was lighted up with an indescribable 
 light, as if he had been communing with angels. 
 
 "Are you hurt badly, Jed?" I asked, while my 
 voice was choked with tears. 
 
 His blood-saturated clothing told the story, with- 
 out an answer. He put his hand in mine, and 
 with the same brave smile that was a joy to all 
 who knew him, said faintly, — 
 
The last days of tHjS war. 40S 
 
 " I'm awful glad to see you once more, Dick." 
 
 Other comrades who loved him gathered around 
 him (and who did not love dear Jed?) — and after 
 a moment's silence he said more feebly, — 
 
 " I'm dying, Dick ; God knows I'm not afraid, — 
 and I'm glad to die for my country. Give my love 
 to Aunt Tempy and Gruff and Mink." 
 
 " Can I do anything for you, Jed ? " I in- 
 quired. 
 
 "Yes; turn me over so I can see the sunrise." 
 
 I heard him whispering a prayer. The sun 
 came up, dispelling the morning mists and painting 
 with softened light the eastern clouds, until they 
 looked like the hills of a heavenly landscape far 
 beyond. In a camp near by the fife and drum 
 sounded the reveille, and the command was heard, 
 " Fall in, fall in ! " At this familiar sound, Jed, 
 who had been lying with closed eyes, and fast 
 ebbing strength, tried to rise, but fell back again 
 on my arm. 
 
 " Dick, I love you. Tell Gruff to meet me up 
 there." 
 
 He said no more after this, but fell asleep with 
 the sunlight kissing his pallid face, and with the 
 reveille still sounding. He awoke, I trust, to 
 answer to the more glorious roll-call of a Captain 
 whom he loved. 
 
 In the cemetery of his native town there may 
 be seen a plain headstone, ever crowned in summer 
 
404 mb'S ADVEMTUM^. 
 
 time with flowers, and which bears this inscrip- 
 tion : — 
 
 To THE Memory of 
 
 Lieutenant Jedediah Hoskins, 
 
 Who fell mortally wounded while leading a 
 
 CHARGE, at the SOUTHSIDE RaILROAD NEAR 
 
 Petersburg, April 2d, 18G5. 
 
 He was a soldier of the Union and a soldier op 
 THE Cross. 
 
 More than two decades have passed since these 
 events. I am now a man in middle life, Avith whit- 
 ening locks, but I can never forget this boy-soldier, 
 the friend of my youth, who illustrated the courage 
 of the American soldier and the devotion of a sim- 
 ple Christian. 
 
 That we have an undivided nation, with not a 
 star erased from our flag nor a slave beneath its 
 folds, is because of such men, who faced death to 
 secure "one country and one flag" for you and 
 yours. 
 
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RARE BOOK 
 COLLECTION 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
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 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
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 Wilmer 
 
 504 
 
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