Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-02-23
The CannOn's Story.

My name? Well, I've had several.
When | was taken from the navy yard
long years ago and mounted in battery
on the Potomac they called me Pet" |
was the smallest gun in the battery, and
from the wav had of knocking the enemy
about the gunners came to love me. Then
| made the sixth gun in field battery,
and was with Mcclellan on his peninsula
campign was lucky gun from the
start. Would you believe that [ never
even lost wheel until my thirteenth
fight was almost ended2 Some cannon
are always in trouble. There were two
pieces in my battery which might better
have been left At home. They looked
handsome in review, but in action they
had hundred excuses for not standing up
to their work. The ammunition was poor,
the shells too large, the ground unftvora
BILE, the range mperfect-something was
the matter every time they were called to
the front.
As for me, l like to seq Il cannon stand
right up to its work. Ask any one who
knows me, and they will tell you that |
was fighter If had kept list of the
number of army wagons and ambulances
| have knocked to pieces and the number
of men and horses | have killed, you
would open your eyes in surprise. have
seen the time that | was the only gun left
in the battery fit for service, and when the
entire company rallied about me | felt a
bit proud. Let me see. have been Mt
tachcd to no less than six different brigades
of infantry, three different brigudes of
cavalry, and have been posted in two forts
and one earthwork. Ask any artillery
~, IL that ion 4 n nnnl raanrI ha va
been struck over one hundred times by
bullets, grape shot and pieces of shell, but
you see that am good for another cam
pagn. was personally acquainted with
Mcdowell, Richardson, Kearney. Burn
side, Mcclellan, Hooker. Custer, Kilpat-
rick, Sheridan. Grant and several others,
and believe that | have received words
of praise from all of them.
And yet have u stain ON my record
Sometimes am sorry about it and some
times Am glad. don't think any of the
men laid it up gainst me, but yet it was
break in my record. They had sent me
over into the Shenandoah valley to fight
with Sheridan, and joined him only five
days before the battle of Cedar Greek.
| When the men came to count my scars
and look me over they agreed among
themselves that was trusty piece, and
they re0iced that had come among them
Such talk as this naturally made me
anxious to prove true all they had predict
ed, and it was with feeling of deep sat
isfsction that | saw the battle of Cedar
| Creek commence. In ten minutes after
the fl st alarm was throwing shell among
the enemy, and the men around me were
shouting:
Give it to 'em, Beauty; you're shoot
ing us true rs "A rllcr'
don't care to tell you the part took in
that affair, but you can Judge that | was
at the front by the fact that | was hit by
bullets no less than twelve times, and
every spoke in my wheels had stain of
blood. AS the fight grew hol forgot my
self in my desire to MAIN and kill. In
my eagerneSs TO slay | almost jumped
clear of the earth, and felt II thrill Of de-
light when the shells were changed for
grape and cansler | saw the enemy
forming for Il charge, but lid not move
heard them saying how much depended
on me, and was too proud to give back a
| foot.
Just in front Of me, rs that regiment
came charging on, were three blue eyed
Dearuless boys. | knew they must be
brothers. knew that n good mother had
kissed them good-by at some farmhouse
gate, and that gray haired father had
felt his old hear ache as they marched
away. | was made to main and kill. |
had been called II trusty cannon. Aye!
had taken delight in wars horrd murders.
But rs the three ir.haired boys came
strudilv on, and saw that all would be
wiped out at once. | faltered and grew
weak for the only time in my life. felt
the tears of the mother. | heard her sObs
of anguish above the roar of battle.
could not take them all held my grape
against the pull OF the lanyard. They
pulled again and again, but the powder
refused to burn. AS the lines came near
the brothers bore away to the right, and
when they were out OF range | sent my
terrible missiles crushing into other faces
and tore II score of men into bloody frag
ments. Thus, though | look grim and
murderols,l have my weakness. Warriors
would not look for sentiment in black
mouthed cannon, but if you come closer
YOU will see that the birds have nestled
in my throat and reared their young
among the powder stains-Detroi Free
| Press