Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-08-12
A WAR "REMINISCENCES.
How the Presidents Brother was
Wounded at Cold HarbOr.


''There's all the difference in the world
between Chester A. Arthur and his
brother William,' said a veteran officer
of the Fourth New York Artillery. seDid
you ever see Maj. Arthur? No? Well,
if you ever do see him take notice of the
terrible scar that he carries on his cheek.
When the Fourth Heavies, as our regi-
ment was called, was organized in 1862,
William Arthur obtained the CaptaincY
of Company II through the influence of
his brother, who was then Quartermaster
General on the staff of Gov. Morgan
Even before he went to the front
of the army of the Potomac his
overbearlng disposition had made him
the reverse of a faYOrite among the
men. In one of the little sklrmishes in
the autumn Of 1868 there came into our
lines a young Lieutenant of the Tenth
tennessee Regiment of the Confederate
army. lie frankly avOwed himself a de-
serter from the COnfederates, and asked
to be permitted to enlist with us. His
name was Low Williams Roscoe, and he
was splendid, dashing, soIdierly fellow,
as brave as lion and as gentle as a
woman. Like good many other Young
fellows in the border States, he had sided
with the ConfedGracy in moment of i'm
pulse, and had become disguised with it
when the old Union sentiment was Juggling
at his heart. He was mustered into Can't,
Arthur's company, and it numbered no
more gallant man or better soldier. His
family was prominent and wealthy one
living near Memphis, and as soon as they
learned of his whereabouts they moved to
New York and took up their residence
there.
Everybody in the regiment liked ROs-
cOe Tor his sunny temper and gallantry
except his own Captain, who seemed
never to tire Of worrying him with all
those indignities which an officer can put
upon man in the ranks. The Tennes-
seean's folks were well off; he was an
only son, and his mother and sisters were
continually sending him little delicacies
and comforts. In this Capt. Arthur found
fresh cause of grievance, and ROscoe's
boxes were often cOntiscated or kept from
MN upon some preteXt invented by the
Captain. Under such treatment he grew
gloomy and m0rOse. His lively spirit was
broken, and he ceased to be the life of the
circle gathered around the camp fire of
an evening. We had fought our way
down from the Rapidan to the James,
and, acting as infantry, were In the thick
of the disastrous battle of Cold Harbor.
In the middle of the fight rifle ball
struck Capt. Arthur IN the right cheek
and passed out the left. The wound
never threatened his life except when
there were some symptoms OfblOOd poison
ing, but it was about as ugly disfigure-
ment' as any man ever received. Many
unpopular officers in our war as we'll as
In other wars have been shot by their own
men. In the heat and confusion of battle
it is impossible to tell where any particu-
lar bullet comes from. The men of Com
pany II, however, had more than a sus-
piciOn that Capt. Arthur was the victim
of his own harshness toward Roscoe, but
the Captain had no friend in the ranks
who cared to expose the culprit. The
suspicion became certainty not very
long afterward. Roscoe himself was ter
rlblv wounded in front of Petersburg and
taken to the hospital at HarrisOn's Land
ing. He knew as well as the surgeons
could tell him that his days were num-
bered, and as he grew weaker some dis
tressing secret appeared to rest upon his
mind. In the same ward of the hospital
were several other boys of the COM
pany who had been wounded in
the same engagement. They noticed
his uneasiness, and endeavored to soothe
his pathway to death in every way posi-
BILE. Then he let out the trouble that was
darkening his last days. He told the man
in the next bed to him that, while the bull
lets were raining fastest at Cold HarbOr,
he had been prompted by an irresistible
impulse to avenge his wrongs by shooting
at the officer who had inflicted them. He
had no sooner fired the shot and seen the
Captain fall, than he deeply regretted his.
rash act, his violation of his loyalty az a
soldier. Since he had lain in the hospital
its enermity had cast him into the deepest
despair, although it was some consolation
to him to know that the Captains wound
was not fatal. He died the happier for hav-
ing confessed the deed, and almost his last
words were hope that the Captain would
forgive him. Some of the boys of the regI-
ment were talking about the affair when
last saw them at Hampstead, Long Isl
and, and at Canandaigua."