The union Democrat., 1870-06-18
ON THE FRONT.
Eeaian Scenes aud xncidents.
burlington (vt.l Free Press, May e
SIGHTS AND SCENES or TnE RAID.

4
SIGHTS AND SCENES or Tng RAID.
! The point of interest in this region on We'd
nesday was the border town Of Franklin. and
we accordingly started thither: Reaching
| ST. AlbaRs At Ii o'clock we found everything
very quiet. There was no crowd on the
streets and no Fenians to be seen. but ru-
1 mors were flying busily from mouth to mouth
/ Among these were, that the railroad track
north had been torn up hy the Fenians, stop
ping oil the trains from Montreal that the
Fenians were we'll across the Canada line,
intrenched and with the green flag flying !;
that skirmish had already occurred. Sc.
For all this we discovered that the only foun-
dation was the fact that the morning train
out from Montreal had been stopped, the cars
being needed, as we Sfterward learned, 20
bring soldiers down to st. Johns and the
border.
i FIRST NAN FROM TIE POINT.
This was our friend Captain Albert Clarke,
of the St. Adams Messenger. OF course he
vas halted for news, aud in response TO ca
ger inquiries, informed US there had been q
sharp skirnish on the line; that with sever
al other reporters and citizens he had accon-
panied the Fenian column; that just before
reaching the Canada line they found thems
selves under sharp fire from body Of Do
rainion Militia; that there was a general
scattering of the nan-combatan,s, himself In
| cluded. snd that while falling back his hat
had been brushed from his head by British
bullet, after which hint that his presence vas
net needed, be 'stayed not upon the order
os bis going" but beat kasty retreat, leav-
ing his tile upon the field. He had supplied
the place of this accessory with hat of COM
mon straw. The Captain ftben First Lieut.
Of Co. of the Thirteenth Vernont), was at
Gettysburg, aud having shown his courage
there in the line of his duty, was not asham-
ed to own that on this occasion he was con-
siderably demoralized, and had no disposi-
ton to satisfy his curiosity further at the
risk of his life. He reported one killed and
several wounded among the Fenians, includ-
ing Capt. Cronan, of Burlington, before he
left, and the contending parties still confront
ing each other.
With this bit of stirring news we pushed
ahead. and soon met
TIE FIRST sTRAGGLERs.
These were five boys, all under twenty
without uniform or arms, who were making
good time to the south. We soon met anoth-
er similar party of seven, also boys with a
man or two among them, all evidently hav-
ing bad enough of soldering for this time.
Driving into the little village of Franklin
we found the street in front of the franklin
House filled with wagons and people on foot
and horseback, and scattered here and there
| among the crowd, we saw for the first time the
Fenian Uniform, green cavalry jacket, with
yellow lace and binding, and pantaloons OF
army blue. We here learned Of the arrest
of O'Neill by General Foster. and something
1 of the situation at ''the 'front.'" as everybody
still called it, though by this time the front
had in reality dwindled to party Of forty
men beleaguered in barn near tie Canada
line.
\ rIEsr BLOOD.
We were also informed that Captain Gro
nan, of Burlington. had been brought in, and
lay in room in the franklin House, wound
ed. Going to the room we found it to be not
Crcnan but good-looking young man, with
black mnstache, who proved TO be Lieut..
Hope of Bridgebort. Conn. He had been
shot through the left thigh, flesh wound
which had been roughly bandaged. He
thought be should get along With it without
serious trouble, and we left him in charge of
Two of bis men, who were just bringing in q
wounded comrsde. whom they laid upon q
settee in a lower room. He was a boy nine
teen or twenty, in green jacket and gray
trowsers. He gave US his name Frank Car
rigan, of Bridgeport, Conn. He was ghast-
ly pale. aud suffering much from a wound in
the abdomen, the ball having passed down
through the groin aud thigh. A doctor came
ion that the ball had gone through the blad-
| der, in which case the wound would be NOR
| tai.
/ on THE FRONT.
| There seemed to be little more to see at
| Franklin, and we started for the field. A
mile and half on the road due north from
/ Franklin Center, brought US to the Feniar
position. A corporaps guard was stationed
across the road, and it looked little as if we
might be debarred from passing. We left
the carriage and advancing to the sentinels
to inquire by what right they undertook TO
stop travel on the highway, were informed
by the officer in command that we could pass
| if we chose. We did choose, and found
about us curious scene for an attempt at
soldering in earnest. Perhaps hundred
and fifty men were scattered about, some
standing, some lying down by the roadside,
some with muskets and sabers, some without
arms some perhaps third-with some
| sort of uniform, the green jackets predomi-
mating mingled with blue army blouses and
army coats, the rest motley crowd in eiti-
zen's dress. Some were in their shirt sleeves,
and some had taken off their shoes and stock
| ings to reet their tired and blistered feet.
Boxes Of ammunition and cases Of muskets
lay open by the roadside, large tierces filed
| with the stocks of breech-loading rifles stood
open. the barrels 10 the same filing other
hogsheads. Boxes of hardtack and barrels
of crackers were plenty, some open, others
whole. A few cavalry saddles were scattered
about, bat no signs of horses; muskess and
breech-loading rifles were leaning against
fences or stacked here and there. A single
six-pound breech.loading rifed field piece.
with its caisson, stood BY the roadside. One
of the men who stood about ii removed fhe
covering of the break, and we saw that the
slide which closes toe bresch was missing.
To an inquiry why they bad mt used the
gun, one said that the breecE-piecs was lost,
and another that he believed that they only
had one or twn men that understood how to
load and fire il. This piece appeared to be
the sum total Of the park OF Fenian artillery,
heretofore variously stated at from focr 70