The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-10-01


bridge, We threw ourselves down
; sleep. And soon in sound, sweet slee
ne forgot our hunger and trials. Befol
day we were aroused, and a detail part
:, soon fired High Bridge A similar d
tail attempted to burn the wagon bridg,
" but a rain had so dampened it as I
Is, make it impossible to burn. Will
be striving to destroy it Federal cavalr
ly appeared, and with artillery soon droy
OF off the detail. A second detail Jared n
t better, and then the attempt was abar
ir doned.
he This failure on our part to destro
es that wagon bridge was fraught wit
t. much evil to the struggling army. B
lg its destruction the Federals who wer
g hotly pursuing, would have been delaye
fe many hours, as the river was not ford
y able here. BY its destruction Lynch
g burg might have been reached, tn
4. mountains might have been defended
n and the ultimate end more fruitful fo
Is the South in its provisions.
t, We awaited the attack for some time
5 and were exposed to some remarkable
l. shots from the Federal artillery. Gen
e Malone came back to see what til,
IS rapid firing meant, and being mounted
on fierce animal had considerabl,
i trouble in keeping his seat. A shell
t passed under his horses belly, causing i
d to rear and plunge most frantically. i
t took half dozen of us to hold the ami
], NAL down, while he dismounted. The
D General ordered the line of battle tC
]. form under cover of the railroad fol
7 those t'd-d fellows shoot too close
said he. As the cavalry began the
) crossing we moved of, as by this time
: the division had marched several miles
ahead, and we were liable to be cut off.
) We were rear-guard that day and faced
/ about many times to check too rapid
pursuit. We cared nothing for the
cavalry; but rumors CLEANED from pris-
! oners told of infantry near. After some
vexatious delays that worried and
fretted every one, we were marched
briskly ahead, then halted faced to the
right skirmishers thrown out, we moved
forward, halted and awaited orders.
| After a while we found out that Gen.
Malone had by this manoeuvre captured
some three or four hundred prisoners.
The Federals had formed an ambuscade
for the purpose of capturing the wagon
train or intercepting some struggling
detachment. Gen. Malone getting in
| formation of their doings had surrounded
them, and captured the entire party,
breaking their guns and sabres, we fell
| in with them ahead of us and marched
on. 1t was thus all the whole route, and
when the surrender came, Gen. Mahone's
division turned over more prisoners than
he had men in rank and file.
Resuming our weary march, though
somewhat elated at this little advantage,
tottering feebly along, lighter equipped
| than ever, guns at a half-cock, ready to
face front or rear, ran afoul of an old
SOW in the road way. Being decidedly
vicious, it was deemed necessary for the
safety of the rear guard that she should
be shot, which was done in a twinkling.
The shot disturbed both Gen. Harris
and his horse "Yankee" from a fretful
repose as they moved along The horse |
reared, while the General cried out |
"fall in" This order did not suit the |
rayenous cravings of those hungry dep
redators, so they hastily gathered the
animal and fed into cover with it, where
it was soon disembowelled, the hair
scorched of, and in ten minutes theodor
of hog meat premeated the roadside, and |
astonished the rear guard as they filed |
wistfully by. A sack Of COW peas, found |
by the wayside, afforded some respite
for the cravings of nature half cooked |
without salt or meat to flavor, they were
speedily devoured, and many paid a |
severe penalty with collie. l reserved a
few for my commander to propitiate for
my surreptitious leave Of absence. |
found him and staff feeding their horses
at fodder stack. Just as we reached |
them sudden burst of cavalry came in |
sight, just missing us, and we only |
escaped by the head of our command |
coming in sight who soon dispersed the
raiders.
That night we camped on hilltop,
and built large fires in anticipation of |
wagons reaching us with ratiOns from |
Lynehburg. Vain hope, delusive dream,
for they never came, and in few hours |
we saw our train consumed by fire. We
dropped off to sleep. Such sleep as it |
vast afforded no rest nor brought !
strength, for the stomach was empty. |
After few restless hours we were
aroused by the call of our sergeants 'fall |
A4CA! w DIS LIE uIpdLQ Oh
rations to be fulfilled? Alas! No. we
hardly became aligned before we moved |
of rapidly, crossed the Simmons twist |
ings of the Appamattox for the third |
time, and then on the far hither side we |
gazed upon the magnificent sight of our
wagon trains of Ordinance Commissary |
and Quatermaster stores in full fame |
The Ordnance wagons would blow up |
with crash sending thousands of sparks |
and jets of fame skyward, while ever
and anon the shells would explode. We |
"gnashed our teeth in impotent rage"
for we were powerless to help the team |
sters. Gen. Harris lamented the loss
Of two thousand dollar uniform, while |
we poor privates mourned and grieved |
for the "grub," SO wantonly-to us de- |
stroyed. Slowly we moved away, and |
frightened our belts one hole tighter, the
third noticed since the retreat began. |
The next day little strip of fresh beef
was given US, strongly favored with
that abominable pest of the meadows Of /
Virginia, the wild onion. 1t was quick
ly spluttering over the fire, and enjoyed |
when rare done. This was the only /
ration issued to us since the night of |
the first of April, and this was on the
7th.. The allowance, small as it was,
caused us to move with willing spirits, |
buA tagging feet. Our clothing was in |
sad plight, foul with yermin and reeking
with the filth of wear and the roadsides. |
Ny captain presented sorry plight,
while lying beside fire, for the nights
were cool, his. hat brim burned off, and |
part of his uniform coat met the same
fate, half hatless and coatless, he was
laughable to look at. His hat had cost /
ninety dollars in Richmond, and he re
gretted its loss. Our company some /
twenty-eight strong had purchased a |
hat apiece, just after the battle of Cold |
Harbor in june 1854, for this amount
each. The hats were made of rabbit |
fur and were stifened with some sub |
stance that yielded its virtues of stiff
ness to every passing shower. Conse-
quently they tapped down over our eyes
and took a passing fancy for every |
strange shape imaginable. They were
indeed dry weather hats.
To BE CONTINUED.
He was a tramp, and when he had |
carefully scanned the back yard for |
4 L = - =