The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1862-07-09

the Confederate service. At this time, h
and his men were stationed at the Acqui
! Creek works, to do boat duty, get fish ant
other supplies for the artillerymen, anc
make himself generally useful, as the ad
vertisements say.
1t was favorite boats with this worthy
that he feared neither God, man, no
deviP' and really, he was plucky enough
where his vanity could be acted upon ant
he could'be placed in responsible situa
ton.
He listened to the ghost-stories with al
|incredulous sneer, and went out upon the
parapet to look for himself.
The result of his investigation was
that he made a requsition upon Colone
Bell for five large boats; one to contain {
six pound howitzer
! Though, from his soubriquet, one might
have expected something more dashine
than an onslaught of hundred men upon
five or six, it was evident that Daredevil
Grimes was afraid of some trap. He
himself did not quite know what he was
afraid of, but the action on the part of the
boats crew was so cool, and their persis-
tent immobility so strange, that he deemed
it best to be ON the safe side ofthe question
The five barges, each containing twenty
wellarmed men, and one with a small gun
astern, set off most valiantly from the Ian
ding, watched by large number of sol
diers on shore They made awilde detour,
some going up and some down stream, till
they quite surrounded the ghostly boat,
the crew of which still remained motion
less
Then, with simultaneous rush, the
five barges closed in, and in moment, the
shouts of those on board could be heard,
as they took possession of their prize with
out firing shot.
For the proper comprehension of this
singular episode, it is necessary for me to
add few words concerning the Spread -Ea-
gle Guards; company belonging to the
--th Regiment, Sickles' Brigade, encamp-
ed on rolling piece of land below A
lexandria, washed by the waters of the
Potomac.
This company, recruited in New York
city, was noted for an infinity of practical
jokes and odd doings of all sorts. It's
members were mostly young men, mechan
les, printers, and fellows of more or less
wit, who did not mind the hard work of
making Notifications, nor lose the national
esprit in the monotonous routine Of camp
life.
Five of them, having worn their first
suit of uniform for a number Of months,
on bet, found themselves, at the end OF
that time, exceedingly ragged and shah
by. On the day when their bet was de-
cided, then, they called for new clothing,
and appeared in gorgeous guise through
out.
Two of the number had been fishing,
the day before, and had found their boat
"a wretched batteau, picked up adrift on
the river-so leaky as to be no longer
serviceable.
An odd idea struck them; and, taking
the five cast-off uniforms of themselves
and comrades, they stuffed them with
straw, placed them in the batteau, with
the cuffs of the jackets firmly tied to some
rough paddles, stuck cheap little print
ed flag in the stern, and sent the craft
adrift, with the hope of astonishing the
Southerners down the river in exactly the
manner in which We have seen they were
astonished.
The boat went calmly down stream, in
the early morning, and landed upon a
fat.-being in a sinking condition-just
under the guns of Acquia Greek.
The cat is out of the bag; the milk in
the cocoanut is accounted for; but my
readers must imagine the jeers and jibes,
the chaff and laugh, bestowed upon Dare
devil Grimes, when he returned with his
hundred men and howitzer, after captur-
ing the ghostly boat.