Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-07-14
SolciierS' Dreams.

week previous 20 the D1ftle OF + a.
Oaks New York volunteer who pssse
the night in tent Of member Of the thir
Michigan infantry got up in the mOrnin
looking very glum and downhesrted, an
when rallied about his fsncied bomesicknes
he said:
/ Il have only a week to liyel had
dream last night which has settled the busi
ness for me and lots of Others A wee
from to-day battle will be fought an,
thousands will be slain My regiment vii
lose over hundred men, and | shall b.
killed while charging across a field"
The men laughed at his moody spirit, bu
he turned upon them and said:
''Y1ur regiment will also be in the fight
and when the roll is called after the BATH,
I you will have nothing to be merry over
/ The two sergeants who were in here las
night will be killed among the trees.
saw them lying dead as plainly as / now
see you. One will be sho. in the breast
and the other in the groin, and dead mel
will be thick around them"
[ The battle took place Just a week after.
The dTemer was killed in full sight of every
man IN the Sd before the fight was an hOur
cAN, oAN NAthii
two sergeants and six of their comrade.
were dead in the woods, hit exactly where
the dreamer sand they would be. More
than fifty men will bear witness to the truth
of this statement.
Jnst before the battle Of Cedar Creek a
camp sentinel, who was of duty temporarily
and trying to put in little sleep, dreamed
| that he went out on scout. \ mile 20
the right of our camp he came upon a log
barn, and as il began 10 rain Just then he
sought shelter, OF was about TO, when he
heard voices and discovered that the place
was already occupied. After a little III
vesigatiCn he ascertained that three cOnfed-
erate scouts had taken up their quarters for
the night in the place, and he therefore
moved away The sentinel awoke with
such a vivid remembrance of details that he
asked permission to go over and confer
with one of the scouts. When the log barn
Was described TO this man he located it at
once, having passed it dozen times The
dreamer described the highway exactly as
it was, giving every hill and turn and the
scout put such faith in the remainder Of the
dream that he took four soldiers, one of
whom was the dreamer, and set out for the
place Three confederate scouts were
asleep in the straw, and were taken with
out a shot being fired The dream and its
results were known TO hundreds of Sheri-
dams cavalry, and has been alluded to al
reunions.
Ihe night before the cavalry fight at
Brandy Station trooper who slept as his
horse logged along in column dreamed that
a certain captain in his regiment would be
unhOrsed in fight the next day, and while
rising from his fall would be wounded in
the left knee. ETerything was 50 clear to
the dreamer that he took opportunity to
find the captain and relate his dream.
Go to Texas with your croaking," was
all the thanks he received, but he had his
revenge. In the very first charge, next
day, the captain was unhOrsed by the break
ing of the girth. and was pitched head
over-heels into patch of bris,s. As he
struggled out a shell killed his horse and
two men, and one of the flying pieces of
iron mashedthe captaIn'sleft leg toa bloody
pulp. He is now a resident of Ohio, aad
his wooden leg Is indisputable evidence
that dreams sometimes come to pass.
While Mcclellan was besieging Yorktown
the fun was not all on one side. The con
federa,es had plenty OF shot and shell, and
they sent them out with intent 10 kill
One morning Michigan man who was liz
the trenches walked back to a spot on
which three officers were eating breakfast
and warned them that they were in great
peril. Onthe night previous he had dreamed
that he had looked at his watch and marked
that if was a quarter to seven, when shell
hit the ground behind him and tore up the
earth in terrible way. Ii was now twenty
minutes of seven, and he be ought the Off
Gers 10 leave the spot at once. His earnest
manner induced them to comply, and they
had only reached cover when a confederate
shell struck the earth where they had been
grouped and msde an excavation into
which a horse could have been rolled with
room to spare.
Three days before the affair at Kelly's
Ford corporal in the 9th Michigan caval-
ary dreamed that brother of his, who was
a sergeant in another company, would have
his horse killed in action. and would almost
Immediately mount dark bay horse with
a white nose. Within five minutes both
horse and rider would be killed by a shell.
This dream was related to more than
score OF comrades fully two days beforethe
fight. Early in the action the sergeant's
horse was struck square in the forehead by
"A bullet, and dropped dead in his tracks.
1t was scarcely three minutes before a
white borse. carrying blood-stained sad
die, galloped up to the sergeant and halted.
He remembered the dream, and refused to
mount the animal, and soon after picked
up a black horse. The white-nosed animal
was mounted by a second coporal IN an
other regiment, and horse and rider were
torn 20 fragments by shell in full sight of
four companies of the 9Th. These things
may seem very foolish now, but there was
a time when soldiers dream saved Gen.
kIlpatrick's life; when dream changed
Clusters plaLs for three days; when dream
prevented Gen. Tolbert's camp from a sur
prise and capture; and when dream gave
Gen. Sheridan more accurate knowledge of
Early's forces than ali Inc scouts.