Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1877-07-03
NEW SERIES, VOL. -XIIs.NO... 222E :

1t. > D sa3 10 3E5ISrGg sff CT USdI dtgW bsiafo
fu Lnpkine shrouglrt sI fortai holsW ias Vthe
trenches below Petersburg one day Saa suddeu
gust of wiod lifsed my haaof snd landedit
| bsnveeni III sItwo' iinessT Priyatess George
Iauer, of Company ID, hThiiaeenshi Virginia
? Regiment, lat ohce stepped upaand oferedito
get my hat for me! . lsperemptotily forbade
| his dung so, as / skueW tths5 great risk he
would run; - but the fearless fellow soonsdis>
appeared, and before long, retur6ed withthe
hat. J..How did you msuage 10 get itF'sI
asked. r"0hiI I.crswied down Ethe trench
leading to our picket iiues andsfshed it lin
with a spole.'s ''Did not the Yankees see
you ~ "oh, yes / they shot at me sightior
ten times; but that madeE no difference, so
| they did not hit me" Poor fellow, he was
aiterward killed bravely doing his duty.ai
frequently saw men in the trenches at Peters
burg watching the shell from the senemys
mortars ssas they came over, claiming some
particular one as ''my shell" 7and scarcely
waiting for the smoke from the tex plosion 20
clear away before eagerly rushing forward to
gather up tho scattered pieces, which were
sold to the ordnance officer for . few cents
Confederate money! per pound. They
called shells which went far to the rear,
"quartermaster hunters, I" and one day q gall
liant fellow (utterly reckless of personal dam
ger in his esgerness for Ijoke) mounted the
parapet, the target of many ssharpshooters,
aud pointing to shell that was flying over,
exclaimed: ga little further to the right.
Captain B. (the name Of a worthy quar-
tcrmaster) is down yonder under the hiil."
Upon another occasion 1 saw a good
follow frying some meat on the side of the
trench while the minnie balls Of the sharp
shooters whistIed all around him. At last
one struck in his fire, aud threw ashes in HE
frying pan, when he quietly moved to the
other side of the FIRE, as if TO avoid smoke,
and went on with his culinary operations,
coolly remarking: "Plague on those fellows
l expect they will spoil all my grease yet be-
fore they quit their foolishness.P erEu Dsh
1 have frequently seen men of that army
display tortitude uuder severe suffering,
calm resignation or ecstatic triumph in the
hour of'death such as history rarely records.
A noble fellow who fell at Gaines Mill on
the 9th of June 1862, said to comrades
who offered to bear him from the field: "No,
die. Tell my parents l die happy. On
on to victoryl Jesus is With me, and can
render all the help need'' Another, who
fell mortaly wounded at second Manassas,
said to me in reply to my question as toiwhat
message should send home for him: 7'fTell
father that it would be very hard to die here
on the roadside without seeing him or any
of the loved ones at home but / have fall
en- at the post of duty, and as have with
me the friend that stieketh closer than q
brother He maketh it all peace aud Joy"
\ Georgia soldier who was shot through the
m outIi,7 during the battleaof the Wilderness.
aud unable TO speak, wrote in my note book
this sentence : 81 am suffering very much
but ! trust in Christ aud am perfectly fe-
~ I stI1 a.
II i'm on earth, or to go up higher just as He
may see ft to direct Another who was
mortalIy wounded in the s'bloody angle" at
Spottsy Ivania Courts II House, said to me with
radiant smile: ''W ell, my hours on earth
are numbered But what care for that
Jesus says, Him TINT cometh unto me, |
will in no wise cast out.' Now I bdve gone
to i'm, and am hapry in the assurance
that He will not falsify, His word, but will
be true to His promise" t-'h7-" -'aa,l
AS the great cavalry chief, G=.iS:alJ. i.
Stuart, was quietly aud calmly breathing out
his noble lite, ho said 10 President Dayis, who
STOOD at his bedside al am ready and will
ing TO die # God and my country think that
have fulfilled my destiny and discharged
| my duty" 'Colouel Lewis Minor Coleman.
| Of the University Of Virginia. who felljmor-
tally wounded at first fredericksburg and
| fingered for some weeks in great agony, ut
tered many sentiments which would adorn
the brightest pages of Christian experience,
and, among other thugs, sent this rnessnge
to his loved and honored ebieftains -'"Tell
Generals Lee and Jackson that they know
how Christian soldier should Ire; l only
wish they were here TO see Christian SOL
dier die Not many months afterward jack
sou was called to "cross over the river and
rest under the shade of the trees, ;" and left
another bright illustration of how Christian
soldiers of that army were wont to die.
Colonel Willie Pegrsm, ''the boy artillerist."
as be was familiarly called, left the Uuiversi.
ty of Virginia at@the breaking out of the
war as a private soldier, rose TO the rank Of
colonel of artillery Che refused tender Of
promotion 10 the command of an infantry
brigsde) upon more than one occasion elfci<
ted high praise from A. p. Hill, Jackson
and Lee, and at the early age of twenty-five
fell on the Inflated field of Five Forks. GAL
antly resisting the overwhelming odds against
him. His last words were: III haze done
my duty and no0 fta,n TO my 7ISapiour."a
's And thus might FIJI columns with the
dying words of these noble men which sre
indeed "appIes Of gold in pictures Of silver"
and show that they were taught by Gods
spirit how to live and how to die. But I
have alresdy exceeded my allotted space and
must hasten to close. No il was not dis.
cjpGne alone which made the Army of
Northern Virginia what il vas-which gave
10 it that heroic eoursge, that patience tn>
der hardskips, that iudomitable nerve under
disaster, and that full confidence in its grand
old chief and IN itself, thst won. against fear
full odds, long series of splendid victories,
and which even in its defest wruDg from
II q ra,Ia- az, G.Tll .nf:..