The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1883-12-07
TFTE CAaIP FIRE.
The Man who Always Wanted to
shoot au officer.

! officers. Debarred from talking mack
when scoIded or abused, compelled TO
trudge through the mud fcr mile on
mile while his Communicated on horse
| back; ordered about and punished when
he d~isobeyed; this style Of soldier
worked himself INTO frenzy and balanced
accounts by threatening to shoot the
| particular officer in question IL the first
| battle. He never did, because he was
never in the first battle.
An irritable Irishman, called Sandy
Short, or Short Sandy by the boys, had
his eve on an officer to be shot in the
rext engagement. Sandy resented
every long march, every long watch on
picket guard, every hours work in the
Entertainments, and, holding the colonel
or general in command strictly respOn.
sible, swOre with redundancy OF prOlane
expression that be would shoot SAID Of
fCer in the next battle. Short ratlOns,
or the absence Of paymaster al the al
pointed time, or the failure to draw
clothing when Sandy needed a pair OF
socks, or a notice to quit camp when
Sandy had just his ''shehang" in order,
brought upon some unlucky officer the
prOyis1ry s ntenCe of death.
SANDY was violent in his anger and
was q bully. He had nearly killed two
or three men in the regiment, and was
held on all sides as a dangerous nan
There came a time when Sandy had
his opportunity to shoot somebody, a
whole regiment being in sympathy
with him, but he didn't shoot. A briga-
der quarter master shot a man down for
refusing 10 obey when ordered to take
bis place in the ranks with a squad
forming for fatigue duty. The killing Of
a man on such q slight prOVOCatiOn
aroused the regiment 70 q fury. The
man had been shot within q few feet OF
he ,duuarters. Gen. J. d. Cox, in COM
mand of the post, ordered the quar-.
termaster at once under arrest. Just as
this order was executed an orderly ran
up to say that the regiment Camped on
the ~! back of headquarters had mutt
MED, and the men were coming with
guns to kill the murderer. Gen. Cox,
standing bare-headed, and without
arms, started on a run for a break in a
high wall, through which the men must
Cume. He arrived at the opening just as
dozen furious men came up painting for
breath. They were the advance Of 500
who were pouring down the hill followed
by their officers, who were trying to con-
troll them.
Sandy led the way, in his hand q load
ed gun. He was as like a mad bull as a
man could be. Supported by the many
other men behind him, he was coura-
gcous and defiant. The spectacle of a
general stopping the way was new to
him. He raised his gun, and the boys
who feared his arm and believed his
threats expected to see the general in
command fall. The quiet decisive stop"
caused Sandy to look up, and to snarl
out, $50 h-li wild yer orders, man-git
out Of this, or yer a dead man" In re-
ply came, "Put down your guns, men2
/ am unarmed, you see. / come here
simply to save good soldiers from
doing a wrong thing. You may
shoot me, but that will only
the man guilty Of the murder, hut that
will not avail anything. l pledge you
that he shall have a fair trial and be
punished as he deserves to be-" AS
Sandy moved forward the general
pushed him back, saying, "No sir, not a
man passes here. Now you go to your
quarters" Whether the generals arms
was strong or whether his voice dis
turbed Sandy, something influenced the
fellow to do as he VAS ordered. 1t was
not ditiicult to reason with the more in
telligent men and the general remained
master of the situation.
When the boys returned to their quar-
tiers Sandy was smoking his pipe and
watching his coffee boil. "Why don't
you shoot you fool?" exclaimed irate
man. Sandy ground up some to hacco
between his two hands, deliberately re-
filed his pipe, and, after a puff or two
to light the fresh tobacco, drawled out:
ut was too easy a thing to do. | was
niver agoin to shoot a q like that whln
every spalpeen would know that l did
it. Thin sur, he IS a gintleman and a
scholar, be CAD. / am as wake as a kit
ten."
Sandy v shot an officer. He was
''wake as a kitten" whenever a battle
doomed up, and missed every en-
gagement in the earlier part of
the war. When Rosecrans moved out
of Nashville To attack Bragg, at Murfrees-
boro, Sandy was deceived, and in spite
of all his efforts to the contrary, was en-
gagged in the second days battle. When
the final charge routed the rebels and
the army moved forward in pursuit, on
the. afternoon of January q, Sandy was
in his element. The regiment ran Gu a
rebel battery III the dim light, that
opened upon them a furious fire. Down
went every man in the mud, but one
poor fellow passing in
the rear was struck by a
she'll and horribly mapgled. His
groans and signs drew the fire of the
enemy, Sandy. hugging the ground
closely, turned to belch out a terrible
oath at the wounded man, and after a
TRADE of abuse. ordered him to be
quiet. A great unwieldy German lying
alongside raised his arm withouta word
and struck Sandy a terrific blow in the
abuIlyn down the line. The next in
| slant the long expected order to charge
came and Sandy had an excuse TO re-
main where he was. He never figured