Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-06-28

upon or rear, and every hour almost we
heard Of heavy losses by capture. Many
gave up all hope and fell IN easy prey,
butt many, even when the bulk of their
commands were taken, marched on,
following the fortunes of Lee. As our
number of fighting men diminished, the
enemy became more and more daring.
remember that on the 18th we could see
Sheridan's cavalry on the hills to our
right, while on the left we were fiercely
attacked. TO show the vigor of Sheri.
dams pursuit the following incident is
added: ] had been invited to breakfast
on the roadside on the morning Of the
It'll. AS it was the only Square" meal
taken on tbatretreat, it is well remember
ed. The cook was slow in preparing the
meal, and, while waiting, my command
passed out of sight. This was enough to
make one impatient, especially as no
man felt safe then unless he was guarded
by at least q division. But there was
another sourse of uneasiness. Near the
spot the road forked; an examination of
the one leading to the right revealed the
fact that no trains or troops had passed
that way. A moments reflection con-
WINGED me that Sheridan's men would
come down that road in less than twenty
minutes My forebodings were commu-
nicate1 to the party. Imade q short but
solid meal and went off, without any
formal leave-taking. In less than TWEEN
ty minutes Sheridan did come down
that road, and laid hands on most of the
breakfast party. This information was
gotten from q negro who managed to
escape, and whose master could have
gotten away too, but he took advantage
of the occasion to desert to the enemy.
The noble son of Africa, upon being
asked why he had not deserted, proudly
replied: "When begin thing, l most
generally go through with it,
If, in those last days of the struggle,
there were some who yielded to despair
and disgraced themselves, there were
men whose loftiness of spirit dsdained
misfortune. One only will be mention
ed, Lieut.. James Thompson, of Chew's
Horse Artillery. He was a youth fair
to look upon, gay and dashing, the
knightliest Of the knightly, and the
bravest of the brave. l saw him on the
morning of the 9TH for the last time.
He had been wounded the day before.
His left arm lay in sling, and he was
pale from pain and loss of blood. Upon
being asked where he was going, he said
he was about to join the cavalry. "You
cannot fight" said L; you eau hardly
sit on your horse" For some moments
he seemed to be trying to conceal the
resolution he had then already formed.
At last he said "I have made up my
mind not to survive the Confederacy;
and rode away, as if ashamed OF seeming
to boast
Not long afterward, as I learned from
an eyewitness, he joined Rosser's brig
ade at the High Bridge, and plunged
into the thickest of the fight. With the
bridle.reins between his teeth, and
pistol in his right hand, he penetrated
deep into the masses of the enemy aud
fell covered with wounds.
AS we neared Appomattox the army
was forced to move in a more limited
space. As far as one could Judge, we
seemed to be marching forward in an If
regular rectangle, with the main body q
central line. The stragglers and unarm-
eli men apparently outnumbered the
central column. At times the road
seemed to be entirely occupied by them;
and yet there was not once anything like
panic. The stragglers did not seem
frightened at all; they pushed steadily
onward, looking toward the mountain.
Their only thought seemed to be to find
something to eat antlsomething to ride.
While stopping at well IN farm
yard by the wayside, ] witnessed a scene
that feebly illustrates the fatigue of the
foOt-sOre and weary men. The farmer
had brought into the road batch Of
mules for the purpose of running them
off from the Federals.
One mule refused to bulge past the
yard gate. The owner, after many vain
efforts to drag him by main force, called
for volunteer equestrians. Several at
once offered their services. The foremost
leaped npon the mules back and so
quickly was he thrown that his rising
motion wasin ameasure continuous. An
other victim and then another was called
for and each served in the same way.
Lrn, ,r,I,;1o +bn ornyvI rurrn1 resnnotfu1-