The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1865-03-24
Incidents Of Army Life.
Sad Scenes in the Life of a Chaplain.
BEFORE RICHMOND, March !, 1865.

DEF tOkE hlCHMOND, MaTCH +, loOo-
TRIALS AND EXECUTIONS FOR DESERTION.
! Executions for desertion are common
nowadays in the armies of the Potomac
and the James. AS many as sixty of the
captured runaways have been confined at
one time in the provost marshars prison
camp of single division. The ''bull
pen," as this enclosure is universally call
ed. is collection of tents surrounded by
close stockade of pine logs twenty feet
high, guarded on all sides. Just at the
right of its entrance, outside of the walls,
is small log cabin used as the condemn
ed cell. The man who enters that goes
out only to execution. Sad stories of re-
morse and agony the walls of that low,
dark, gloomy cabin could tell. Soon as
convenient after deSerter is arrested on
his way to the enemy or to the rear. and
charges are preferred against him, he Is
tried before general court martial. If
the decision in his case is not promulgated
until it has received approval at depart
ment headquarters. If a man is sentenc-
ed to death he knows nothing of the YER
dict until the order comes for his speedy
execution. His suspense meantime is Of
ten terribly trying. Recently seven men
who had deserted together and against
whom the evidence was clear, were sud-
denly ordered back to their regiment when
they anticipated death. The command
ing general had noted fatal error in the
proceedings of the court, and had disap-
proved its findings. Then man who had
been caught actually outside of our lines
had his sentence of death commuted to
imprisonment for one year. These acts
of leniency gave encouragement TO many
a poor prisoner who had before been de-
spondent But the next move changed
the current of feeling. y soldier arrested
one day was tried the next, and shot the
third Again, two men who had been
tried four weeks before, and, from the
long delay, now felt quite easy as TO their
prospects. were taken to the condemned
cell, and thence TO the g;,llows. Two or
three days later, another, whose trial had
also been long previous, was out under
guard cutting wood in the forest when a
provost's deputy came and, putting hand
cuffs on him. led him back to that drcary
cabin. Then the remaining inmates OF
the pen trcmbled. As the new victim
was led out to be shot, the provost called
a bright faced lad from the gazing throng
at the entrance of the bull-pcn 10 enter
the condemned cell The lads face
blanchcd rs he obeyed the summons; but
he was only ordered to carry back the
blanket of the culprit leaving for the field
of death, and it was with 4 flushed face
of grateful joy that he bounded back IL
the guarded pen. saying. Us he drew Il
long breath, 81 tell you, thought they'd
got me then" lie was probably await
inc the PRONUNCIATION of his sentence.
THE EVIL WORK OF TIE BOUNTY BROKERS.
Although desertion is one of the gray
est crimes known TO military law, and
from It's recent frequency merits EXTREMIST
penalty, yet it does not follow that a sol
dier convicted of it is'a vile and abandon
ed wretch. There arc 50 many now at
the North to advise and encourage deSer-
tiOnS. and 50 many to entrap and swlndlc
the ignorant and the unfortunate. that
many an officer here ut the front wishes
that the broker or the home provost or
the state agent might be shot instead of
the deluded victim. Now and then man
is caught who richly deserves his punish
ment. One of the two hung as above
mentioned was professional bounty Jump
er. He confessed to having deserted twice
before, and TO the third attempt he had
planned the addition of robbery and if the
necessity arose. of murler On the other
hand, the lad shot so soon after his arrest
was green Irish boy of nineteen. but 4
few weeks in the country. His sister
came TO America several years since and
he had now followed TO find her 4 sub
stitute runner met him on the dock il
New York, and offering him work. hur-
ried him off to Bridgeport, enlisted hin
after getting him halt drunk, took mos,
of his money-the remainder being stoler
at New Haven; and the lad reached her,
penniless, homesick. bewildered. Hear
ing of his sisters whereabouts. he wa
told he could easily 60 and find her, ant
was advised TO start. His shrewder com
rades escaped. He WAS taken and hi
fife was the forfeit.
VERY SAD CASE.
But the saddest case was the latest \
boy not yet sixteen, born and brought W
in the upper part of New York city, wa.
met in the street by hellish broker, ant
enticed away to Connecticut, to be solc
as substitute. He was far from beins
a bright boy, seemingly not full witted
but his childish ways were touchingly at
tractive He said-and probably will
truth-that until the broker led him off h,
had never passed a night away from home
Like tired, homesick school-boy deter
, mined to play truant, ne started to rul
f home. Being arrested, he again slipped
off; but was once more caught, as he ex
ercised no shrewdness in his flight. Bein,
tried and sentenced to death, he was pu
e into the condemned cell in the evening f
e be shot the following morning. His boy
! ish grief when told he was to die wa
/ heartrending. With unaffected natural
e ness he sobbed out his lament over his owl
, hard lot, and for the dear ones at home
g Ne so vounp to uo outside the breast