Wilmington journal., 1876-03-03
sTg = S&cCEEM 3.

ITEI; 1IfDNIGHT RIDE-A THRILLING MAR
RATIvG OF WHAT \ HEROIC WOMAN
SAW AND HEARD AND DID ON THE
BATTLE Field.
M. Mary Slocumb was the wife of
lieutenant Ezeiliel SIocumb of Wavne
county, the gallant officer mentioned
IS having crossed the creek and at
lacked the enemy IN the rear. He
lived abou: a nile south of the p'aca
known a. y 1dlev on the w & W rail
70 "a. some 9 mi ies sonth of Gnldsboro,
md il was from this place that Mrs
Siorumh Ptartcd ont or her solitary
N m;duiEht ride. Hcr story is best told
II har own words. She says:
The men all left on Sunday morn
ing. More than eighty went from this
house with fnv husband. l. looked at
them well, and I could see that every
man had mischief in him. knew q
coward as soon as | set my eyes upon
him. The Tories more than once tried
to fr!gl1ten me, but they Away showed
c,wari at the bare insinuatiOn that onr
troops we're about Well, they got off
lis high SPIRITS. every man stepping
high and Light. and [ slept quietly aud
snUnd!y that night aud worked hard
aiI the nexu day; ont [ kept thinking
wherc they had got to. how far, where
and how many OF the regulars and
i'ories they would meet; and [ could
rot keep myself iron, that a;ulv. I
vent TO bed at the usual tima. hut
rnuld not sleep. As [ IaY-wheti,er
waking or sleeping | know not-'I
"ad dream" yet it was not all
droam." ISho used the words uncon-
~a.ousIy, of the poet, who was not then
il being [ saw distinctly a body
wrapped in my husbands guard-c oak,
blo..ly, dead, and others dead and
wounded on the ground about him. ]
saw them plainly and distinctly. I
uttered CRY and sprang to my feet on
the Il pOr; and SO strong was the i'm
preston on nay mind, that I rushed in
tho direction the vision appeared, and
came NJ against the side of the house
The fire in the room gave little light,
nni l gaz@d in every direction to catch
20other glimpse of the scene. [ raised
tue light; everything w.s still and
quiet. My Child was sleeping, bat my
woman was awakened bv my crying
out. or jumping OF the floor. If ever
I felt fear it was at that moment.
Scented on the bed, [ reflected few
,0oments and said aloud; i must go
10 him [ toll the wom,n { could
not sleep and would ride down the
road. Shs appeared 10 great alarm;
but [ merely tod her TO hlck the ,Dr
after me and look after the child [ went
tn the atabis, saddled my mare, as
fleet and easy nag aS ever trav, led,
and IN one moment ! was tearing down
the road i'll a full sweep. The cool
night seemed, after mile or two's
g;.;3op, to bring reh"c:iOn with it; and
I asked myself where [ was going, and
for what purpose. Again and again I
was tempted to turn back; but I was
soou tea miles from home. [ knew
the general route our little army ex-
pacted 20 take, aud at elaybreak L was
thirty miles from hOme, and had, fol
lowed then without hesitation About
sunr -, I came upon Il group of
W N n and children, standing ana sit
| ting by the roads, de, each one of them
showing the same anxiety OF mind L
felt. Stopping few minutes, [ in
qnired if tue battle had been fought
Ihey knew nothing, but wee assem-
! hled or the road to c4tch Intelligence
Thev ttionght Casweil had taken the
right of the Wilmington road and gone
! towards the Northwest (Cape Fear. }
! Again was / skimming over the ground,
| through a country thinty settled and
very poor and swampy; but neither
my own spirits nor my beautiful nag's
| failed in the least. We followed the
/ weli-marked trail of the troops The
sun must have been well up, say eight
or nine o'clock, when [ heard sound
ike thunder which L kn w must be
| cannon. L stopped still. Presently
the cannon thundered again; the battle
was then fighting. what a fool !
thought [, my husband could not be
dead last night, and the battle only
| fighting nowi Still, as I am SO near
L will go on and see how they come OIL
and see how they come out So away
we went, faster than ever, and soon
found by the noise of the g rs that
was near the fight. Again L stopped
[ could hear muskets, I could heal
| rifles, L could hear shouting I spoke
to my mare an dashed on in the di
rection of the firing and shouts, now
Louder than ever. The blind path
had been following brought me- into
the Wilmington road leading te