Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1881-01-18
handing him the gun. "But, Tom,
don't disgrace that gun.'

body was on the alert; guards were sta
toned with particular care; all the troops
were drawn out to give the enemy a
warm reception as he came. Why we
supposed that they were coming down
into the Ferry in cars to deliver them
selves up is not exactly clear, unless they
had an instructive knowledge of what
would be our disposition to receive them
in which case the car ma9uvre would not
have been bad one. / recall that our
regiment had been drawn up on an en-
bankment. parallel with and but short
distance from the railroad SO that a
few men in the cars could have demol
ished us; that is, supposing we had
stood to be demolished. That night a
sentinel of the Casabianca order had
been placed on the track near where
the train usually blew up; presently
the scream of the locomotive was heard
echoing through the gorges of the grand
mountains around the Ferry as if all
the Yankees in creation had Joined in
one vindictive whistle. All was excite
ment. Casabianca planted himself
square in the middle of the track and
cooked his rifle. The brakes had been
\ put down and the train was coming
slowly in, when our sentinel sung out !:
Halt! Who is there?" which he rap
tidly repeated three time as the engine
| approached him. The conductor had
II ,ecome alive to the situation, and or
d, ared him to stand aside, or he would
be crushed, saying the train would stop
in I've seconds. But our sentinel was
mad of stern stuff, and with heroic
resoIL rion he leveled his gun at the
huge. lL,sulting, and glaring red light
and Wo,7id have shattered it had not his
gun mis- seA fire. He barely had time to
spring rom the track and the train
drew up at it's accustomed stopping
place. n lat was the story at the time.
The guard 8 boarded the train and found
full load of sleepy, yawning citizens,
who did no I seem to realize that there
was any " ar, or any occasion for
lot of unifo rrned men poking among
them. The whole thing was rather fiat
until FEEDER al general was discovered
by an immens W sword strapped to bis
valise. This aAsture relieved our feel
ings. Our dis, iaguished prisoner was
General Harne,v, OF the United States
Army, presuma bly, on his way from st.
Louis to offer his' services to the govern
ment at Washing ton. Having captured
General Harney. our militia generals
were very much SIT loss to know what
to do with him; tut being gentlemen,
if not greatly skilled in the art OF war,
they treated him with great courtesy
and distinction, and sent him. nuder an
escort of five officers as sort OF guard
of honor. to Richmond. d. not now
recollect the names of all the escort.
The writer was in command. and the
present honored Governor OF Virginia
was one of them. He had not tnen, OF
course, won his spurs in the field, put nls
empty sleeve tells the tale thai he dld win
them before long. It would be trenchlng
II n ,QslfH
4 teresting talk with General safney as to
views of matters in generalI but L can
4 say that never ira veled with = more
charming companion. I had met hin
in Mexico not long after his brilliant
fighting at Cerro Gordo.
AN ANECDoTE OF GENERAL AND ERsON.
| It will not be breach Of privacy.
,Atheugh, hey be, little .opt of place
here, to relate an anecdote which he
told me of General Anderson. Of Sum-
er memory, who never seems 70 nave
Il, ,st the sympathy and atipiratioE OF
eli ther side in the great struggle. Gen'
ers.l Harney said that once dunng the
Indian wars in Florida he was leading an
attacking party against body of In
dians posted on wooded hili"ck on the
other side of g deep, narrow stream.
General Anderson Il DO not recall what
his rank was at the time. captain L
ltbink) went with him as a volunteer.
When thew came to the stream General
Harvey plunged in to lead his men.
There had beed skirMish there day
or two before. When he reached the
opposite bank, which was very steep,
he saw little child sitting aud with Its
feet dangling in the water. The poor
> little creature looked emaciated ana nall
starved. On approaching it he dlscov-
cred that its arm was broken and near
by Law its mOther--the same ball that
wounded the child having passed
through her breast The child seized
and ate ravenously biscuit which ne
took from his haversack. tda TOOK 1t
up, but as firing commenced in rev
min utes he gave it to Anderson, WhO
went through the hot little fight with
the ch lid on his saddle boW, guarding 1t
all the time with the utmost tenderness.
For twenty years this story has touched
me very much when / have though1 OF
. it, but now when come to reflect upon
it it does seem as if it would have been
little tens1erer if the gallant captain
had slowed the child, like another lsh-
mael. under bush until the fight was
over. However that may be, 1t was TAX
en- to camp after the fight A0d cared 1or,
| but died in few days. The teellngs
expressed by General Harney. on tnls
Il occasion, did honor to his head; but ne
| had terrible reputation ss an indian
fighter. He denied the charge OF cru
!, eity. though l fear the facts are against
, him. When General Harvey got TO
, Richmond he was received courteousiy
, by Governor Letcher, who Informed
him that he was not prisoner q e
went on to Washington. bat 1T Will De
remembered that he took no paE: against
the South in the war.
, FIRST APPEARANCE OF STONEWALL
, JACKSON.
While enjoying the keyday ofJ~Qur
almost amateur soldering the singular
! unprecedented and outrageous an
nouncement spread through the Ferry
hat one major general and bis briga-
d iers had all been superseded by one
m ajor Jackson, a man who. until that
ii, ne had never been heard Of by ore
on of every hundred of the e. rrison
| Among the troops at the Ferry were
| number of the students Of the Virginia
i Military Institute, at Lexington, VINO
/ aoon gave the information that he was
| a nrofessor at that Institution. The &C
/ count thev gave of him was anything
| but fiatterine.. There is nc Doubt that
at the Virgin Military Institute ne m nau
/ been dubbed b.v the cadets, Fooi iohi
| Jackson" thou gh most Vlrginians' an1
| possibly most people of the Unlteo
| States, dislike to hear such ter!l
| coupled with his name. He was saio
to be mere martin ct, better Gunuay
school SUPERINTENDENT than soloier,
| bigoted teetotaler which was 10 haIsn
contrast with many OF our superseded
commanders; and, indeed. few had a
| good word to throw at the new man.
The men took it upon themselves to say
that General Joseph E. johnson should
have been sent by the authorizes 70
command so important post. IL was
not to be supposed that our gen erais suO,
mitted to decapitation in favor OF a new
colonel without word. AS wei AZ L
recollect, Jackson had been eonH.,s.
stoned colonel to take command AZ CIe
Ferry. I think they all, or nearly an'
went to Richmond, where tney io
!