The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-03-20
Captain Toms Fright.
from the Galaxy.l


ming home the tobacco with bit of
stick, excepting once" he added, re-
hectively
How was that, captain" said |,
detecting indications of yarn, lets
have it if its worth telling" The
captain lit cedar splint at the fire
and proceeded to ignite his pipe, the
fame of the dry stick bringing out his
strong, quiet features and grayish hair
and beard in relief against the black
woods behind him.
Cannot some modern Rembrandt
take for his subject the head of fine
looking soldier as he lights his pipe
at night? Hundreds of times has the
picturesque effect caught my eye and
made me wish that it could be fixed
on canvass Our fire had been suf-
fered to die out at sunset, save such
smouldering embers as would attract
no hostile eye, and only threw a dim,
red glow over the half-dozen officers
crouched around We were just be-
hind the crest of one of those passes
in the Virginia mountains, which
were taken and lost so many times
during the war for the Union. We
had a section of light artillery, five or
six companies of infantry, and a
mounted orderly or so, and were in
structed to hold the position fortwen-
ty-four hours at all hazards. Look
ing up the stony road from where we
sat under the cedars, one could just
see the outline of our two-feld pieces
where they stood pointing over the
crest of the hastily constructed para
pet, and about them the dim forms of
the gun squads waiting for the ex-
pected firing of the pickets some two
hundred yards down the slope beyond.
The cold mountain wind swept over
the ridge and down through the rus
thing cedars to the now empty and
blackened redoubt which we had car
ried the day before. CAPITA a Tom had
led the assault, and it was the story of
his experiences therein that he had
just finished with the remark as to
his comparative fright on that, and a
former occasion. The Captain had
the coolest way of talking about his
personal rights, way which we all
| understood perfectly, for most of us
had too often seen him in action to
believe his astounding accounts of his
own cowardice. [ actually believe
that to this day, many casual nearer
of his yarns thinks that Captain Tom
was the coward he painted himself,
for often would stranger ask, after
hearing him narrate some of his ex-
PLOTS, how such shameless sneak
could remain in service with honor.
This time, for instance, / had seen
the Captain with my own eyes
lead his men through the bed of the
stream under a CALLING spatter
of canistry and musketry, from them
under the bank-he standing the
while on rock exposed to the fire of
a hundred Rebel rifemen-then, with
a magnificent rush and scramble, take
them over the parapet and into the
redoubt, he being the first man over
kby at least six or eight PAGES, and
hauling down their bunting with his
own hands.
In his own account, the captain
figured somewhat as follows: 81
formed the men well back in the
woods, behind some big trees, feeling
all the while as a man does when he
is swimming in deep water and sharks
are around. | gave the word for
ward and marched at their head like
hero until the rebs began to pepper
us as we came out of cover. Then
away went the men with cheer into
the water [ got behind two of the
biggest men in the company
4 and made out to cross the
water without much exposure
except from wet feet The men form
ed somehow or another under the
bank, and l stood behind a big rock.
l suppose this to be the rock l saw
him standing on. "Then presently
they gave another cheer and up they
went My first sergeant prodded me
on with his bayonet-the fellow seem:
to like me and be jealous of my fail
fame-and somehow | got over the
parapet, and seeing that there was NJ
more fighting, | marched up to the
flagstaff and hauled down their color'
with all the dignity of sergeant-ma
jor I tell you, l never was so fright
ened in my life-excepting once.
This 9 excepting once, F" was an addi
ton to the captain s usual formula fol
closing his yarns, and checked by its
4 seriousness the laughter which com
monty followed. swell" said he, il
answer to my question and request
were all pretty good friends here
and l don t mind telling you now, al
though the yarn involves the reason
why my hair is gray, as you see it
But / haven't visited those confound.
ed outposts for the last two
hours or so. | say, Charley, would
you mind going with me? If there's
one thing I'm more afraid Of
than another, it is visiting outposts al
night, and I'll swear I've had more Of
it to do than any other man in the
corps"
l. of course. gladly accompanied