The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1863-02-13
THE WRONG PATH.
A STORY OF THE WAR.

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pearance had been the theme oi oul
mess, since his departure from tht
RsppaDaunock, a week before, =
Brave, scrupulous, and lcyal. ell VIII
knew him, rejected indignantly the
imputation that he had gone over t
the enemy. lie was a Virgipjan
it was said. and must forsooth b,
false: his affianced. was the daugh
ter Of a Confederate Colonel, and tC
be true in love he must forswesl
his country. Meaner men had su-
perseded him in the staff, and he
had revenged himself by perjury and
desertion. But though these paltry
libels had obtained general circula-
tion and scceptancy, we--bis stat
companions who had known hiu
in camp, in perilous enterprise, aud
in the painful march, defended his
honor as our own. ..'....i
We were sitting beneath the can
opy or the fly" Of the mess tent, re
creating ourselves with whisky and
pipes. 1t was the eighth night since
the del Arturo Of our comrade, and we
missed his Uniform courtesy and
generosity. The war had come at
last to Warrenton Springs, and the
encampments OF ell immense army
whitened the surrounding bills
Federal sertries paced pend down
the massive porIico OF the hotel, can
non were planted in all the lanes
cavalry horses trampled garden and
orchards; and the Spring was be-
come lsvatory ofthousands OF wan
ton soldiers. ...r.
We had been fortnight at the
Springs, and the monotony of our
OF our tenure had been varied by but
a single incident--the loes OF Brock
E1munds. The circumstances re-
lating to his departure we're mys.
terious and: :slarming. He had been
called to the Generals tent late in
the afternoon, and intrusted with q
verbal order to one of the brigade
commanders, whose quarters were
at Rappahannock. a railway station
on the river of tho same name.
eighteen miles distant. lie bad
reached his destination at nine
o'clock, delivered kis instructions
punctually, and obtained the coun
tersign OF the day Returning. be
had passed guard five miles from
Rappahannock. and had stopped to
light a pipe at picket-fre, still
further on, complaining. in the latter
case, that bis horse was triile lame
He wac, to all appearances, sober,
and expressed himself as resolved to
get back TO headquarters by mid
uiPht. But subsequently. no man
in the army had encountered him
and traces Of neither rider nor horse
had been discover d, though dill! =
gent inquiries were made Tar aud
wide His capture by the enemy
was improbable, for our picket. posi- q
were 40 close and continuous, that
the lines were considered by all
to be impervious. No bodies OF
Southern troops were contiguous;
and though the Virginians within
the lines wera sullen snd hostile, il
was believed that only a few aged
and infirm people remained. as the
young and able bodied had depart
ed to jDin the Confederate armies
The only plausible alternative was
that Brock Edmunds knowing the
location of our pickets, had avoided
them, and escaped in the darkness
to his Southern friends. The Rich
mond newspapers, however, which
our out-riders brought in daily, had
made no mention OF f;Capt. Eimnnds
and no recent prisoners had heard
anything Of his desertion. H
The conversation beneath the fly
had turned upon the absent one
Thirteen young fellows were we
who had thrown up our professions
at the call to arms, and, unacquRin
ted before, had met by assignment
upon Gen. BE- staff Five of Ms
we're Yankees, two were from New
York, four were foreign adventurous
who loved war for it's own sake, and
| was a Pennsylvania of Quaker
descent.
"lleigh hv!" Wicklowe, tnrn
off his fourth drsught OF spirits
how we missed Brooks jolly laugh.
"Camp has become so ipsuflurabl, j.,
dull" said Bigswig, 'thst shal
resume the old biz, aud throw NJ
my commission" . .l'
Bigswig had been a junior partnet
in a dry goods house, tut took the
sword as natural "a the scissors.
III it isn't positive conceit to re
peat anything that Brock poor ole
boy has done so we'll before, | viii
sing his Chickahominy song" eait
Ch ockmer, ever anxious to exhibi
his vocal powers.
II pray ze," said Saint Pierre
with q suppIicatory grimsnce, sd
not, Monsieur Chockmare."
go on" said Wicklowe, drink
ing again; "any affliction ia prefer
able to this horrible silence. 4" '
As Chockmer's wheezy notes ran
on the night, l saw the glare OF cam
free redening tho woods and skies
| heard the clstter OF bsyonots as tn