Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-10-09
NO. a..

prisoner was sustained. The prisoner
was then told to introduce his wit
nesses. He replied, 81 ha7e no wit
nesses." Astonished at the calmness
with which he seemed to be submitting g
to what he regarded as inevitable fate,
| said to him, ''Have you no defence?
Is it possible that you abandoned your
comrades and deserted your colors in
| the presence of the enemy 9ritk02t 03l1y
reasOn?" Hereplied, "There was q rea-
son. butit willnotavailme before mill
tary court [ said: "Perhaps VOC,
are mistaken; you are charged with
the highest crime known to military
law, and it is your duty TO make
known the causes that influenced yOur
actions" For the first time his man
ly form trembled and his blue ewes
swan III tears. Approaching tie
President of the court he presented a
| letter, saying as he did So, 'sThere,
General, is what did it," [ opened
the letter, and in Il moment nv
eyes filled with tears. It was passed
from one to another OF the court until
all had seen it, and those stern war
rlors who had passed with Stonewall
jackson through a hundred battles
Weps like little children. Soon as l
| sufficiently recovered my self-posses-
sion, [ READ the letter as the
defence OF the prisoner. It was in
| these words:
My Dear EdwarW-I have always
| oeen proud OF you, and since your
connection with the Confederate army
L have been prouder OF YOU than ever
before. L would not have you do
anything wrong Tor the world; but
before God, Edward, unless you come
| homo we must die last night ] was
aroused by little Eddie's cryinn. T
| called and said, ''What's the matter,
Eddie p and he said, ooh, mamma,
I'm so hungry ~ And Lucy, Edward.
your darling Lucy; she never com
plains, but she is growing thinner and
thinner every day. And before God,
Edward. unless you come home We
must die. YoUR MARY
Turning to the prisoner, I asked,
what did you do when you received
| this letter? - He replied: 81 made
application for furlough and it was
rejected; again made application and
1t was rejected; third time [ made
application and it was rejected, and
that night as l wandered backward
and forward in the camp, thinking of
my home, with the mild eyes of lucy
looking up to me, and the burning
words of Mary sinking in my brain,
L was no longer the Confederate
soldier, but I was the father Of
Lucy and the husband Of Mary.
and would have passed those
lines If every gun in the battery
had fred upon me I went to nv
home. Mary ran out to meet me, her
l
whispered, 50! Edward, [ am so hap
py' am so glad You got your fur
Tough! She must have felt NE slud-
der, for she turned pale as death, and
catching her breath Of every word,
she said, have you come without your
furlough? 0, Edward, Edward, 90
back! go back. Let me and nv ehil-
dren go down together to the grave,
but o, for Heavens sake, save the
honor OF our name!' And here I am,
gentlemen, not brought here by mill
tary power, but in obedience to the
command of Mary, to abide the sen
tence of your court"
Every officer Of that eorvt-martiaI
felt the force CT the prisoners word.
Before them stood, in beatific vision,
the eloquent pleader for h3Isband'5 5
hilN& u "IouSS btlG tIttE 1GIIi
been trained by their great leader,
Robert E. Lee, to tread the path of
duty, though the hghtGings flash
scorcheG the ground beneath their
feet, and each in his turn pronounced
the verdict, Guilty. Fortunately for
humanity, fortunately for the Confed-
eracy, the proceedings OF the court
were reviewed by the Commanding
General and upon the record was
written:
HEADQUARTERS, i. n. !.
The finding of thecourt is approved.
The prisoner ia pardoned, and will re-
port to his company.
Il. E, LEE, General.
During the second battle Of Cold
HarEor, when shot and shell were
falling like torrents from the noun
tain cloud, my attention was directed
to the fact that one Of our batteries
was VIZ being s5lenced by the eo4centra-
ted fire of the enemy. When / reach
ed the battery every gun but one i1ad
been dismantled, and hy 1t stood
solitary Confederate soldier, with the
blood streaming from his side As he
recognized me, he elevated his voice
above the roar of the battle and sad
General, [ have one shell left tell
me have [ saved the homo. OF Mary
and Lucy L raised my hat. Once
more Confederate shell went crash
ing through the ranks OF the enc
my, and the hero sank y his gun 20
rise no more.
Heaven knows, my countrymcp, I
loved that lost cause, but this, in
which We are now engaged, Is no less
sacred. We viii DO our whole DUTY IN
this campaign, and. if need be, in the
moment of death, fire the last shot in
our battery for the honor Of Mary and
Lucy.