The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1879-03-13

dead were brouEhs 10 The plcksl.Posl, ,sbd
! saw them. Mosbys men were terribly
inoeusod and bat Tor tho fear Of Gn attack
by our force, whose strength they did
not know, believe they would have
huug me up Ia their first rage.
I,wAsthe guerrilla ohiettain's last dash
iuto hls bssutiial valley. he was gath
ering forage and hurrying Il back 10 Lees
lines, aud many farmers were robbed Of
lbeir last ear OF corn 10 three days more
they would have been out Of tbe valley
entirely.
At the FIRST signs Of day light, aud when
The old church on the bill was hardly
visible through the gray OF the morning,
came . bullet which bored a soldier
through and through, and dropped him
dead 10 bic tracks. II wss from the car
blne Of jim Sbsnks. Hiding under the
steps, be bad only waited for daylight to
open the fight anew mot waiting TO be
hunted out aud captured, All was ex.
eiteInent In an instant, And as soon as
Jim's location was betrayed, The suerillAs
scattered aud formed a skirmish line.
The fire OF this line wss concentrated on
the steps, and was as rapid as il opposed
TO liue Of battle The firing bad just
begun, when one OF the skirmishers fell
awEy from a stump with bullet in his
head. In three minutes another was shot
through the chest Jim Shanks had forty
rounds OF ammunition, and he fred slow
ly and with precision. | could see spin.
ters hy from the .teps every time ball
struck, and knew that many OF the
bullets were driven through the boards.
For long twenty minutes Jim held that
skirmish line OF thirty-fve men at bay,
killing three aud wouuding two, count
ing his shots, and be fred Just twenty
one times.
A reinforcement Of about 20 mounted
men finally came up, and hitching their
horses under cover of the bill the men
took the skirmish line. Just rs the firing
began anew, Jim Shsnks suddenly left
bis cover aud ran for the horses down the
road Every skirnisher rose up, and
there must have been at least one hun
dred bullets fred st the running man in
the next minute. ! saw them blow up
the earth oil around him, aud one of them
sent his cap sailing into the air. AS be
got in line with the horses the fire slack
ened, while the men saw bis plan aud
rushed forward. Jim was In no hurry.
Resting his carbine over saddle be
wounded another of his pursuers, aud i
seemed full minute before be mounted
and rode off toward Leesburg There
was rush for the horses, aud away they
galIoped after the recruit, firing as they
rode.
The strange luck that had stood by Jim
Shanks in his eight might have aided him
to escape had be selected better horse.
After gallop OF half an hour, he found
his pursuers gaining, and in trying to get
into the 6eld his horse fell, rolled over
the poor fellow, and the pursuers ioand
him dead when they rode up. His
clothing was fairly riddled with bullets,
aud yst his flesh had not been scratched,
The church steps were as full of holes as
a coander, aud about the same distance
apart, and yet jim was not wounded.
spirited, obstinate and dogged as q
tent mate, be had the courage OF lion
aud the gallantry of knight, and the
frat and last grave ever dug for Union
soldier by Mosby's men was followed
out fer q recruit who had never been at
the front.