St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-02-03

with an uncomfortable journey by rive
from Memphis, swellcring under Gu
coast sun, under orders to 90 farther an
farther from home when the war wa
over, and the one desire above all other
was TO be mustered out and released frol
Il service that became irksome and banc
lul when Il prospect of crushing the enc
my no longer cXisted-all these added f
the dlSnffcctlon among the officers, ren
drrrd thc situation truly deplorahlc. ]:
fact, the men of the whole division wcr
mnlc or less discontcntcd, and wuul,
have been Troublesome under any com
mandcr and any circumstances that KEEP
them III the service but to be thoi ough
ly organized and subjected to TIE diSci
pine necessary to the maintenance oi
good order, and he forced to treat will
consideration the very people whose coun
try they had acquired a chronic habit o
devastating-and that, too, by mal
whom they had called IL yellow haired
circus rider from the Shenandoah this
seemed to them to be almost beyond the
limit oi human endurance.
tents and kindlcd their camp fires before
the spirit Of reckless disregard for author
Ity began to manifest itself. The men
hatci tie commanding general and staff
on principle, without regard to what they
did. NO eastern man can put on style
over us bright buttons and spurs don't
make Il sohlier.' Its too late to teach us
! a .,I l,, ID '.
is over, why don't they send Us home,
instead OF sending the upSiart Major Cen
eral, with his first mou-tachc, TO lord it
over US : These were such speeches as
one could hear at almost any hour of the
day or evening, when wandering through
the camp; and they were delivered with
such emphasis and ill-supprc-sed bitter
ness that the effect was exceedingly ugly
Immediately the men, singly and in
squads, began to 90 on cNtemporancous
raids through the adjoining country, rob
bing and plundering indiscriminatcly in
every direction.
They seemed 10 have no idea that a
conquered and subducd people could pos
SlbIy have any rights that the conqucrors
were bound 10 respect, but such expcdi-
tons could not be- permitted indeed, the
General was under orders TO treat the
people kindly, and obcyed with the same
punctiliOusness with which he exactcd
Obedience from his command. Therefore,
the most rigorous and explicit orders
were issued against Jay hawking of every
kind, and the offenders were severely
punished But the ordinary punishments
were found to be utterly inadequate. The
guard-hOu>r, police duy, ETC., lad lost
their tcrrors; and punisEmcnts ha to be
devised that would reach class Of men
and Citcnscs unprovidcd for in the Reg
ulatiulis'
! The storm which had been brewing for
many months In the ranks of the Second
Cavalry, suddenly burst upon it. y paper
demanding the resignation of tie Lieu
tenant Colonel, had been largely signed
by officers and men, and pre- cntcd t. him.
| This was the flint that struck the fire. In
halt an hour the officers whose names ap-
/ pcarcd Oh the fatal list were deprived OF
/ their swords, and the catastrophe was no
/ longer to he avoided. Blood was in the
ewes of the soldiers, and none in the
checks ol the UiliccrS-vcngeanc was in
tie hearts of the men. and fear in the
souls of the commanders. There was Il
quick roll OF the drum-l few explosive
or,lers-a sudden ruslI-a sort OF dizzy
whirl; the Lieutenant Colonel narrowly
escaped, and by a quick movement Of the
guar, Il sergeant and several men whose
names were on the paper, were arrested
and lodged in the guard house. a double
force was posted to prevent the rescue oil
the prisoners-lnd the Immediate danger
WAS over.
After the storm, the calm. The anxi-
city of some men TO get into trouble Is
only excrclcd hy their solictude to get
ont OF it. 1t happened 50 with these
The violent and hcadIong ha-tc of the ac-
ton was cclip<cd only by the reaction.
To the swordless officers musin. in their
separate tents, and the imprisoned sold
icrS discussing the nilir between the bars,
there came in due time repentance and
regret.
Through the clcmency oI the man whom
afforded, on certain conditions, the op-
rortunity TO erase their names from the
black mustrr-roll, and secure restoration
TO duty. Some quickly, and others re-
luctanlly, bat finally all av.'iIel them
selves OF the absolution, except une-Ihe
sergeant, the leader, the prime mover and
champion of the affair.
lie scorned forgiveness; it implied an
acknowledgement of guilt. lie would
stand by the decd; whatever the law
called it, he held it jus; resistance to tyr
amy. lie had sought no mans life. lie
had felt We cannot live together;
therefore, do thou 20 thy way and | will
mine and he had simply said 50. If
that were a crime he could not help it.
No matter if a thousand men were cow
ards. he had not the blood of a poltroon
in his veins. He should never promise
touch his hat, and, bowling low, beg to
have his name blotted but of the list Ills
soul rcvoIlel at it, He would live and
die by that solemn protest against the
authority of Il dominccring coward and
an incompetent commander.
So the law took him and tried him be-
fore general court martial. found him
guilty and sentenced him 'to be shot to
death The General approved the find
= ing and sentence of the court ; and the
; day and hour of the execution were fixed
in an ord that was read, on certain
evening at dress parade, to each regiment
of the division. And with the words Of