The Sumter watchman. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1855-1881, 1870-01-26
AN INCIDENT OF IlKE WAR.

x,s ,.sidins 10 fredericksburg. Va,
~;,b nv mother, On old lady suffering
FINN u cou, pI,cated form Of spinal disr
e.se which had confined her to her bed
far a very long period. Tho doctors
nrouounced her case hopeless, and in,
d.rd. there were times when the slight.
~, mise IN the room, or the ieeblcst
siurt 10 move, brought upon her such
naroxy,n, Ut pain us were heart rending
to witness.
We lived completely lone, in small
PROTECTOR near US, for my father had long
been dead, and my two gallant brothers
had both fallen in the first battle Of
Manassas.
While thus unfortunately situated,
the nc,shborlood Of Fredericksburg be.
came tic scene of hos,ilitics. General
Burnside. with an immense force,
uru.rc,l uron The northern bank OF the
RapImlIannouk, aud eEdeavurcd to effect
| a crossing ol the river.
Some time before, the main part of
tlc population Of tho town had deserted
it; but my poor mother, more weak and
III than usual, could not be removed to
auy place oI safety.
Imagine our position, reader, If you
can Two feeble women, with small
key OF stale biscuits to support us, left
w;thuut the remotest prospect OF help,
ina city already under tho muzzlcs OF
nearly hundred aud fifty Federal can
uor. a dull lethnrgy, like that of
despair, overpowercd me. could only
listen, stupcicd, to the mornings of the
invalid, and to the frequent crashing
rolls Of pusketry lower down the river.
With the flight Of hope, every vestigc
Of apprehension and fear seemed to have
left me. l was absolutely certain we
should both perish, for, to abandon my
helpless parent, was u thought which
uevcrnnce entered my mind
Suddenly, on the morning ofthc II til
Of December, jnst as | was trying, after
asccplcss night, to prepare some ti,nl
Tor breakfast, the dreaded bombardmcnt
broke forth in all its fury.
"ih, i; has come at last, and NC shall
soon ',c o;t of all cur misery" said T.,
stepping quietly to the window, and
looking ont upon tho terrible scene. No
words could convey picture Of what l
then saw-lI,c air filled with fame, aud
Kissing with deadly missiles; the crash
Of buildings crushed by round shot, aud
torn open by bursting shells; houses
momcn,ly catching fire, in every dircc
ton and what was more horrible than
pll the rest, the frantic shricks OF the
women aud children who, too late, were
seeking safety in night.
AS | stood by the window TIcaveu
knows how long, for was drcalfully
fascinated by the spectacle Il witnessed
what, even now, as recall it, makes
me shudlcr.
A butchers cart drawn by au immense
grey horse, with man driving it. and
little boy holding fcarfully tu tho skir,s
OF the mans coat, had just come rattllng
into view. | had barely caught sight of
these figures. when shell burst directly
under the animals tcct-or possibly two
Of these missiles-for the horse, the
vehicle, and the human beings in it,
were literally torn to picccs! I could
see the mauglcd limbs of the poor boy
qnivering on the side walk
ut once, and utterly, lost all my
resolution. In fact, [ must have tainted.
since the next thing Of which I wa>
CONSCIOUS, was my mothers voice,
pllIiuily begging me to answer her, and
say whether had been wounded.
| staggered up from the seat on which
! had fallen, aud attempted to rc>assurc
her; but. as may bc supposed. unsucccss-
FULLY. For whole hour after this wo
remained motionless in our chamber,
while the firing appeared to increase in
violence The windows ratified like
skeleton bones, and the very foundations
Of the house trcmblcd and shook at
every discharge
was fast becoming calm agnin-
dcsparingiy caIm-whcn | beard some
body walking up stairs, and then Il
we'll Known yoicc shouting our names.
twas old Robin, our negro servant,
whom had sent, the day before, into
the conntry, to seek for provisions. My
fathers slave and my grandfathcr's
hoo'n' how seventy years Of age, but
more athletic than many young man,
HAD cIung with pathetic devotion to the
poor remnants "the family" as he
called us. My heart lcapcd up when
saw his honest black face, aud the
notion that we might be saved, after all,
brought back all my strength OF will a,,'
courage
Saved but how? People 10 times of
desperate danger, think quickly, and arc
APT to resort to singular cxpedicnts.
"lanclnS about the room. my eyes fell
upon larger, but exceedingly light
straw chair, which had procured for
my mothers convenience when she was
strong enough to sit up Ah, lucky y
conception Wo would wrap the in
valid carefully in double set Of blank.
ets' strap her gently to tho chair, and
u She could endure the pain Of removal,
hobin would take her on his back (she
was scarcely as heavy rs child,) and
.eayc the city for the first place Of safety
that offered.
iiurr'c''Iy proposed this plan to my
'uo'hrr' who to my incxprcssiblc relief,
accepted it eagerly. Her pale face
HnShcu n iittip and Shn oofuc !l,, I.,oL nj