St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1864-03-10
ASfRAY AT R1frAHANNoCK.

WE talked again OF Brock Edmupds.-
His strange disappearshee had been the
theme Of the mess, since his departssS 16r
Rappahanueet, = week sbitofs 1RittH1ve,
and loys,, an who xnax him
we'll rejected Indignantly the imputation
That h, ,hsd" "sSne over to the enemy. He
was Virginian, it was said, and must for
sooth be false; his afhsnced WAS the dAIgh-
tor Of Confederate colonel, and to be true
in lave. de must forswear his country
Meaner men have superseded him in the
staff, and he had revenged himself by per-
jury and desertion. But though these pal
try libels had obtained general circulation
and acceptance, xeu his MS 's:ah compositions
who had known him in camp, in perilous
enterprise, and in the painful march, de-
Tended his honor as our own.
We were sitting beneath the canopy or
'ay' ;.oe. tiPe. 1pess4en<, reereating our.
selres with whisky and pipes. 1t Wis ms
eighth night since the departure Of our COM
rsde, and We missed his ready jest, hid
loud, Infectious laugh, his uniform courte.
y sad gensroei.y. The. Hef.h.d come At
last to warrenton Springs; and the encamp-
ments Of an immense army wh,tened' the
surrounding hills. Federal sentries paced
up and down The MASSIVE portioo Of the ho-
tel i cannon were planted n ~ the lanes
cs1alry horses trampled garden and Or
chard; and the Spring was become lava
tory for thousands Of wanton soldiers.
We had been fortnight at the Springs,
and the monotony Of our tenure had been
varied by a single incident-the loss Of
Brock Edmunds. The circumstances re.
lating to his departure were mysterious and
alarming. He had been called to the gen.
erals tent late in the afternoon, and in.
trusted with Z verbal order to one of the
brigade commanders, whose quarters were
at,Rapepahaanock. railway station on riv'
er' Of The same name, eighteen miles dis
tant. He had reached his destination u
mine " oeleek, delivered his instruction.
punctu.lly, and 'obtsiiiih;ed.'tAte coun.ersigu
ef:the day. Returning, he had passed ,
guard five miles from Rappahannock, and
had stopped to light.apiPe% IA 'picket-ire
still further on, complaining;ir the latte,
case. that his horse vas q trMe lame. H.
was, to all appearance, sober; and express
ed himself as resolved to get back to head
quarters by midnight. But subsequently
no mon in the army had encountered him
and traces Of neither rider nor horse hat
been discovered, though dilligent inquiries
were made far and wide. His capture bJ
the enemy was improbable, for our picket
posts were 80 close and continuous, tha
the1iaes were considered to be impsr,ious
No bodies Of Southern troops were contig
uous; and though the virginians With,
the lines were sullen and hostile, it was be
lieved that only few aged nd in6rm peo
pie remaisea, Is the young GHd abls-bodiet
hid departed to Join the Confederate armies
The only plausible alternative vas, tha
Brock Edmunds, knowing the location o
our pickets, had avoided them, and escap
ed il ne Aerkaess ~ 'Ais Soethern friends
The Richmond newspapers, however, whicl
our out-riders brought in daily, made NJ
mention Of Captain Edmunds, and no 10
cent prisoners had heard anything Of hi
desertion. :;r:,':: - =. g.. -.
The conversation beneath tho fy ha.
turned upon the absent ono, Thrice,
young fellows ws were, who had mfoxn u]
our several professions At the call to arms
and, unaequainted before, had met BY -
signment upon General BIS stan. Five Q
us were Yankees, two were from Nsw-York
four were foreiga adventurers who love,
war for ito own sake, and was . Pennsyl
vanian, ~ Quaker descent. .2s>sTs
.'Hsighrho!" said Wieklowe, turning Of
hi fourth 'A+.r5At. Of spirits, chow "
miss Broek'sj6sl9 laugh" ~. =
..Csmp has become 80 insuaerably dull,
said Bigswig, ''thst4 shall resume the ol,
'bi.,' and thro~'bpmy commission"
BisSviS had bsen1 junior partner in
dry.gosds house, but took to the sword q
naturally. % 70 scissors. ii =,
''if il isa't positive ,cuAcsft to .repsa
anything that Brock-poor old boy-ha
done 20 we'll before, I win sing his Chick
shominy song" said Chockmsr, ever snx
ious 10 exhibit bic vocal powers. -