The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1869-03-18
HOW PRIVATE HAWTHORN
CAPTURED THE 0UERIL-
LAS HORSE.

HOW PRIVATE Hawthorn
CAPTURED THE 0UERIL-
LAS HORSE. ..,
llh From Packards Monthly.
go by J. FRANKLIN FITS. sas
II should really like to. hear, Haw-
thorn" said, " the story of your ad-
ventures on that night when you left us
niysteriously and came back unexpect-
edly."
| was talking to Jack Hawthorn, late
4 private in one of the fighting infantry
regiments of the Nineteenth Army
Corps. Jack and were old friends in
the war-he belonged to the same regi-
ment that I was attached to before my
staff appointment came, and I liked
hiR 20 well that, after that occurrence,
| contFived to have him detailed for my
onal1aly. confess that liked Jack
thoroughly, and that there was rather
less distance between US than the strict
etiquette of military rule required. Up
on the present occasion l was riding
down the Valley Pike, on tour of duty,
with Jack following, when, feeling So
cially inclined, called to him to ri,le
/ up by my side, and asked him for the
particulars ofa certain military adven-
ture that I had heard much about.
Private Hawthorn was an intelligent
and educated man. as we'll as Il good sol
dier, and can do my friends of Pack
ord's Monthly no better service than by
giving them the narrative in his own
language:
ut was one night" he said, "in July,
1864, that our army, stopped short in
chasing Early away from Washington,
re crossed the Shenandoah river at
Snicker's Ferry and bivouacked at the
foot Of the Blue Ridge. We had hardly
begun to dozc in our rubber blankets
when that rascally sergeant major rout-
ed us up with the news that we We're to
take the road Immediately toward
Washington. 1t makes my bones ache
now to think of that moment. We had
marched at the rate Of twenty miles
day for three days, over those dusty,
stony Maryland hills; our poor brains
had we'll nigh boiled with the frightful
heat of the hottest July l ever knew;
we had marched early and marched late,
and as for sleep-God only knows how
we had suffered for want of it! Hunger
we could bear quite easily, even with
our scant supply of hard tack, but to be
called up in the dead of night after our
dreadful fatigues, and compelled to
march again
Well, being soldiers, we could bear
that, too; but l don't think there's any
thing in campaigning SO full of sold
misery as this. There was very little
consolation in the idea that we had
come out here on a wild goose chase,
and having lost the game, that we were
now to pump off, as the boys used to
say, for Washington again. Well, how
it was, why it was, none could tell, and
so we did what was better-we obeyed
orders, and sleepily got on our accoutre-
ments, picked up our muskets, fell in
for roll-caIl, faced 10y fours, and were
quickly part of IL long column ofdark fig
ures footing it weariIy, wearly up the
steep incline that led into that natural
wonder, Smokers Gap of the Blue
Ridge. The mountains lowered up Oh
either hand above US, and the Gap APP
pcaring like great ragged chasm torn
through them by some world old con-
vulsion, was dark and gloomy in the
,,;,rht ~ CT nd
then scintiI!ating along a bright musket
barrel to tighten the way.
Tramp, tramp, tramp went the dark
long column up into the Gap, over the
great boulders which lay thick!y along
the road, aud SO down the declivi,y on
the other side and into the starlight
again. We halted but few moments
and then pushed on-not Oh the road
to Whites Ford, but taking southeast
erly direction, which we understood
| would lead us to Leesburg.
You know the terrible march that
poor column had all that night, Captain,
and until ten o'clock the next morning,
| with very few rests ola very few mo-
ments each. 1t was dreadful. l often
| shudder now to think how we suffered,
| tired and foot-sore as we were,-thirsty,
Aa.a .ri,h ti,a ,ratar i.,- .,,n~ na,.Aaa,,a--il
used up the first hour. So hot and sui
try was the night, and SO sleepy most of
us, that we actually slept on the march,
keeping our feet only because of the
pressure of those around us enabled us
| to do 1t, and staggering on through the
| weary hours, grimly silent, grinding
our teeth in misery, in the true soldierIy
grin and bear it. way, aud sleeping
and waking by turns as we marched. l
declare upon my honor, Captain, that 1
slept at least halt the time on that
march between one o'clock and day
light!
Before we had passed the Gap, staff
officers were riding from the head to the
rear of the long column, enjoinlng every
company officer to keep his men from.
struggling.
"A troop of Mosby's men were hang
ing about the Ferry before we bivouack-
ed,' heard one of them say to my Cap