The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-11-09
A CONFEDERATE STORY.


ASAhteN the A1ntWAAH gupHANb pNSAf ~
the uourse Of his speech.
During the winter Of 1868 64 1t was
my fortune 10 be, President Of one OF
,he coHrts.mArtial Of the Army OF
Northern Virginia. One bleak Decem.
ber morning, while the snow covered
the ground and the winds howled
around our camp, left my biyouac FIRE
10 attend the session OF the court.
Winding for miles dlohg Uncertain
paths, / at length arrived at the court
ground at Round Oak church. Day
after day II had been our duty To try
the soldiers OF that army, charged with
violations Of military law; but never
had i on any previous occasion been
greeted by such anxious spectators as
on that morning awaited the opening of
the court. Case after case was dis.
posed Of, and at length the case Of
"The Confederate States vs.. Edward
Cooper" wss called-charge, deser.
tien. A low murmur rose spontane-
ously from the battle.scarred specta.
tors, MS o young artilleryman rose from
the prisoners bench, and, in response
10 the question, "Guilty, or not
guilty Z" answered, "Not guilty"
The Judge Advocate was proceeding
To open tho prosecution, when the
court, observing that the prisoner was
unattended by counsel, interposed and
inquired Of the accused, "Who Is your
counsel2n He replied, al have no
counsel" supposing that II was his
purpose to represent himself before the
court, the Judge Advocate was in.
structed 10 proSeed. Every charge
and specification against the prisoner
was sustained. The prisoner was then
told 10 introduce his witnesses. He
replied, 81 have no Witnesses" Aston.
ished at the calmness with which he
seemed 10 be submitting te what he re.
garded as inevitable fate, I said to him,
Have you no defense2 Is IL possible
that you abandoned your comrades and
deserted your colors in the presence OF
the enemy without any reason?" he
replied, "There was q reason, but IL
will not avail me before o military
court" I said {: Perhaps you are
mistaken; you are charged with the
highest crime known to military law,
and II is your duty TO make known the
causes that influenced your actions" "
For the first Tins his manly form trem-
bled, and his blue eyes swam In tears.
Approaching the President Of The
court he presented letter, saying as
he did so, "There, General, Is what
did it.r Iopened the letter, and in q
moment my eyes filled with tears. II
was passed from one TO another OF the
court until all had seen 1t, and those
stern warriors who had passed with
lStonewall jackson through 0 hundred
battles wept like little children. Soon
as / sufficiently recovered my self.pos.
session, I read the letter as the defense
Of the prisoner. II was in these
words: Uiitt
my DEAR EDWARD: I have always
been proud OF you, and since your con.
nection with the Confederate army I
have been prouder Of you than ever
before. [ would not have you do any
thing wrong for the world but before
God, Edward, unless you some home
we must die Last night I was aroused
by little Eddie,s crying. I called and
said Whats the matter, Eddie 2
and he said: soh, mamma, I'm so
hungryL And Lucy, Edward, your
darling Lucy, she never complains, but
she is growing thinner and thinner
every day. And before God, Edward,
unless you come home we must die.
~ sttlQ ''YouR MARY"
Turning to the prisoner, / asked :
nWhat did you do when you received
this letter?n He replied: ~ made
application for o furlough, and II was
rejected; again j made application
and II was rejected; third time l
made application, and It was rejected,
and that night, as I wandered backward
and forward In. the camp, thinking Of
my home, with the mild eyes Of Lucy
looking up TO me, aud the burning
words Of Mary sinking in my brain, ]
was no longer the Confederate soldier,
but I was the father OF Lucy and the
husband Of Mary, and 1 would have
passed those lines II every gun in the
battery had fired upon me. i went to
my home. Mary ran out TO meet nae,
her angel arms embraced mo and she
whispered, foi Edward, lam SO hap
py | am 30 glad you got your fur
ioughr She must have felt me shud.
der, for she turned pale rs death, and
catching her breath at every word, she
said, Have you come without your
furlough? OF Edward, go back go
back Let me and my children 60
down togetherjt to the grave, ibnt o, for
heavens sake, save the honor OF our
name r. And here ! am, gentlemen, not
brought here by military power, but in
obedience to the command OF Mary, TO
abide the sentence Of your court"
Every officer Of that court.martial
felt the force Of the prisoners words.
Before them stood, In beatific vision,
the eloquent pleader for q husbands
and o fathers wrongs; but they had
been trained by their great leader,
Robert u. Lee, to tread the path OF
duty, though the lightning's flash
scorched the ground beneath their feet,
aud each in his turn pronounced the
yerdict-guilty. Fortunately for hu.
mamity, fortunately for the Coniedera-
cy, the proceedings Of the court were
reviewed by the commanding general,
and upon the record was written:
HEADQUARTERS, A. N. v.
The finding Of the court Is approved.
The prisoner is pardoned and will re-
port to his company.
r. E. LEE, General.
Daring the second battle OF Cold
Harbor, when shot aud shell were fall
ing nlike torrents from the mountain