Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-23
THE DEBATABLE GROUND.
Scenes and Incidents in Virginia Dur
ing the Late War.


Scenes and Incidents in Virginia Dur
ing the Late War.
During the fights, and the fears and
anxieties Attending life in the debStable
land that / wrote you about, the young
folks found some fun to enjoy in the midst
of the trouble around item. Often there
were sick or wounded soldiers at home on
| parole. enjoying convalescence; being the
heroes of the hour and receiving the most
subtle fattery from tender eyes and smil-
ing lips. For woman is ever ready tC
render homage to bravery; ever ready to
''see OthellO's visage in his mind" il be
tell of deeds of valOr and daring. l fear
some Of the poor fellows went Jack to
camp harder hit by Cupid'5 arrow than
they had been by the bullet of the enemy.
One cold winter night, when the moon
shOne clear and bright i'm a clOudless sky,
a party Of young people agreed to walk
across the unenclosed fields to house.
not FAR distant, where religious services
were being held by a visiting evangelist.
With laughter and talk they went merrily
! along, e~Xhilarated by the bracing air OF
the winter night and del1ghting in the
thought that there was not q Yankee
nearer than CattelFs, n station on the
Orange and Alexandria Railroad, about
II miles distant. where there was a Fed
eral encampment. Our party found the
farmhouse crowded with tee good mans
audience. While listening to his earnest
words, the quick ears of 4 soldier present
heard the sound Of horses feet, and it was
whispered around that cavalry was near,
but whether friend or foe we knew not.
All remained quietly seated, however, re-
specially listening to the preacher, while
the Federals, who were out on a scouting
..aF,aIV- d, n-I1.
ditiOn, completely surrounded the house
and soon made their presence known by a
loud and prolonged knocking in front and
rear. They had doubtless received intel
ligence of the meeting and thought to en-
trap some nwary Confederate; but for
~tunately there were nor present save
one who had recently lost his arm and
was consequently unfit for active service.
In revenge for their disappointment the
Yankees carried of with them a number
of boys between 10 and 16 years Of age.
Strong, stalwart country fellows they
were, wearing the hOme-spun grey and
looking stout enough to do service as
b~ushWhackers If nothing else. Thus evil
IDENTIFY thought the Yankees, who mounted
each boy behind a trooper, preparatory to
whisking them of to Cattell's station.
There were two plucky girls in u little
party, each of whom had a brother mount
LA bCnlnA q AAOOlCAH 4nCoC suns AANNtN
their way among the horses and men in
the yard calling out ''Where is JObn?"
''Where is TOm?" The query was taken
up by the troopers and ere long the an
swer came down the line, "Here's joint
Here's Toni and each sister provided
her brother with her shawl to protect him
in the long cold ride. Sadly we wended
way hOmeward across the fields. filled
with anxious thought Of our dear boys.
Put fhn fuwn hra va frsn1C I hove vanvFs~@AA
wasted no time in useless grief, but be-
fore they closed their eyes in sleep that
plight they had made their plan to rescue
the boys.
By daylight next morning they were
ready tor their adventure. An old
brOken-dOwn army horse was hitched to
a rickety buggy, and in this precarious
vehicle they started for the Yankee camp.
A noble philanthropic English gentle
man, well-knOwn in the South, accOmpa-
MED them, to assist in their mission Of
intercessiOn. They had to drive eleven
miles, over the worst road in that
region Of VIGOROUSLY bad roads.
Finally, however, they reached
their destination, and were kindly
invited into an officers nice warm tent,
where the boys were Immediately brought
to see them. The English gentleman, in
the meantime, held a private interview
with the commanding otncer, and sue
ceeded, without much difficulty, in having
the boys released. They had to walk home,
of course, and IN the face of a binding
snow storm, which had been threatening
all the morning; but it was a happy and
triumphant little party that reached home
at nightiall, although benum6ed with cold,
covered with mud and snow, and so tired
that they claimed to be almost dead. In
a few weeks every one of those boys,
though too young for the regular army,
enlisted under Mosby, and until the close
of the war they were among his most
faithful, as well as his favorite soldiers.
One of them met a tragic fate two years
after the close of the war. He was at
tending an election in a little village in
Fauquier, and saw there a man who had
been accused of being a spy for the YAM
KEGS during the war. He playfully ac-
costed him, saying 81 believe you are the
very fellow who led the Yankees to Lakes
to capture me-" For reply the rufian
drew a pistol out of his boot and shot the
youth through the heart, killing him in
stantly. ii.