The National tribune., 1883-06-21
AN OVER TRUE TALE,
Simply a Leaf From the Experience
of a Private Soldier.
by George scoh.1

| ptsfs of smoke covers the front Of Hooker's adj
| vancing corps. At the edge of piece of woods
on the rebel left the fire of the enemy is we'll
directed over an open field but oursskirmish-
ers on the right throw themselves forward on
a run, and the rebels soon break and scatter to
| their rear.
A couple of men on horseback dash into the
woods on the right; in a moment they are out
again, and dash into the woods in front. They
act like brave fellows, but they carry no arms
in their hands. Perhaps they are rebels, per-
| ha?s they are citizens caught between two
armies and are now leaving their fresideS and
garden spots to the racket and ruin of war AS
| they dodge out of the woods again we make
sure of their loyalty and quickly recognize
| them as Union scouts, with their boot-legs
brimful of weapons. Their boot-legs are ar
senals, and the fingers of their right hands
nearly reach down to the handles of SO many
revolvers. As they move forward again and the
tails of their horses disappear among the trees,
! the right of our skirmish line changes diree-
tion and gradually passes over Culps' farm,
until it rests at the garden fence in front of
| Culps' house. A heavy woods covers our 'front.'
| and as soon as we advance into it a strong line
| of infantry brush us back to the fence again.
/ The rebels fall to advance; our skirmishers
wait in expectation; the leaves whisper in
/ the stiffness, while eighty rods in our rear a
! line OF Union blue stands motionless in the
calm of day, watching our movements. Less
than half of this distance in front, behind the
bushes and under the trees, the rebels unseen are
hastily forming their battalions for charge
| We now hear the tread of their new regiments
| as they arrive and are thrown into position ;
we catch the meaning of the suppressed COM
mands of their officers, yet we can see nothing
before US; but we know that we are powerless
and soon half of US kneel to escape a storm of
lead that sweeps over our heads and honey
combs Culps house.
| After This SaIicx proyv1 vva ay,daavar 70 hold
| the rebels in check until our main lines ad-
vance, but far off to the left Colonel Rogers has
/ thrown his skirmishers close up to the Confed-
crate lines of infantry, and we can hear the
uneven conflict waging on the left and center.
| Again on the right we hear the command
| forward" 1t is repeated along the garden
fence, steel shanks eilnk on the barrels of guns
and handful of men dash into the woods
| where Johnston's battle lines lie motionless
| with pointing guns. A tempest of destruction
| follows! trees are pitted with bullets while
the leaves, cut loose from the branches, sail
like feathers through the air. 1t is little
dash OF a feeble line into smoky atmosphere
of rebel front, and in three minutes the sur
vivors are back to the garden fence and the
dining-room of Culps' house is turned into
hospital.
Out little way in front, and in view of us,
| with his gun in his hand, brave Stewart sits
erect by stump, while the bullets still play
| about him. He had fallen at the first fire, and
died in that position.
Strong lines of rebel infantry soon emerge
from the woods, swing around the house and
drive US from our position, One of our num-
Der, too late on his retreat, attempts to crawl
into big oven in the garden, but the rebels
soon prick him out with their bayonets
Off on the left Oliver Smith falls into rebel
hands. To save ourselves from capture we fall
back to our main line and soon its thunders of
VfQpiP1 IN nd alIal he
| melt away, while one Confederate regiment
seemed to roll off its feet and leave its flag sus
pended where it was caught among the trees.
Sharpshooters both sides now guard that
flag, and the men who dare approach it meet
their death. In the night the rebels retreat
and Culps house is ours
One day after Atlanta had fallen I started
on freight train for the north. Having a
comfortable seat on haversack of bareback, 1
amused myself after crossing the Chattahoochee
III looking out upon the irregular lines of John
ston's deserted breastworks
all at once experienced q new sensation;
| suddenly inhaled Whit of a rebel breeze,
and in another moment Armstrong; division
of Wheeler's cavalry upset our train in the
ditch, then carried Goals from the engine and
burned 1t up, and / was started OFF on foot for
Andersonyille, to keep company with Smith.
Oliver had been sent from Andersonville to
biiilen, but followed him there and after
weeks search among the prisoners-whose
faces were painted black with smoke from lit
tie fires of pine splinters-I found him sitting
IN front of the hole of his dugOut, looking out
upon the turbulent sea of human beings that
surged more and more as the jaws of the prison
opened and new prisoners were filed in.
In this hole in the ground five unfortunate
skirmishers OF Culps' farm made their quarters,
and at night wedged lnyselfin, and 'spooned"
between them.
One day while sat with Oliver in front of
his dugout, he said to me:
When they took us out of Andersonyille
they SAID that We were going home l know
what it means now; we shall never CO."
tried to cheer him up. but three months of
starvation had laid him low, and sometimes he
seemed to realize that his future and present
time blended together in such way as to
make it impossible for him to anticipate any
change
Its no use," said he; "I'm wreck, and
will never earn livelihood again"
And then to cheer him up, Decker would say
to him that the Government was strong,
mighty strong, and that he would be entitled
to a pension.
Oliver had been one of the big, strong fell
lows of company d, and had successfully bat
tied his way from the brick house at Chancel-
lorsville to Culps' house in Georgia, but now
he was in place where the big and the strong
were the first to die. Not understanding the
eh~NN"' SOiiN4bloh VI OllhtT, one Gay requested
him to take little more exercise, but he an
swered:
mo; if do my teeth will all rattle out of
my head" The scurvy was at work in his
mouth, his teeth were all loose, and he began
to be afraid of his own careless footsteps.
News OF exchange was heralded through the
prison, but the old prisoners shook their heads
and said:
" It's Sherman moving to the sea-"
One evening we were flied out of the stock
ade Of Millen and bivouacked at the DEPOT to
await, as we were told, the arrival of q train to
take us TO the Union lines. But the old pris-
oners again shook their heads and said that
We were only making room for Sherman
AS new prisoner, heartily believed in the
rehei story of exchange" and was not slow
IN laying out a beautiful prospect for divers
consideration. lie had not my faith. and
would not believe, and when Luddy Durham.
ana Lambert, just half of our little mess ran
the guard that evening, with their noses point
ing directly to the North star, began to doubt
a little IN Confederate veracity-but still be-
heved. The next day the boodhounds gave
chase through the pines, until they were can
tured high up among the branches of the trees.
But we saw them no more: they were sent to
the prison pen at Florence, while Oliver.
Decker, and /, instead of being sent to Sayan-
nah for exchange, were sent back to Anderson
vile, where we arrived the night before Christ
mas.
One day in January, while Oliver was sitting
on ms old blanket on the ground (for we had
I no SUCKS TO make roof for dugout), he said