The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-08-15
THE MAJORS STORY.
Ben Buffers Heroic Rsmedy for the BONN
ty Jumping Disease.

No,A VaouA you, oaAu VIC may
when offered a chance to witness the
execution of the murderer Brice. 1--WE
seen all that sort OF thing I want to;
one that I witnessed during the war
satisfied me for all time, and was n
that I shall never forget if I live to be
as old ss Gen. Harvey. In 1864 1 was
serving in the army Of the James, where
there had been an immense number of
cases Of assertions of bounty jumpers.
Those fellows used to play their game
this way: They would enlist up north
in some locality where big bounties or
big amounts for substitutes were paid,
and would get sometimes as much as
$1,000, or may be more. Well, they
would come down to the front, do every
duty right up to the handle, and until
the game was dropped to the officers
would be half tickeled to death at get
ting such splendid new material. Most of
them showed that they had handled gun,
saber, or rife before. These fellows
were always the c%leanest and neatest of
the troops for guard duty, and a. good
deal of the time took orderly duty on
the guard inspection.
"Well, he game was this: When they
had gained the confidence of officers
and mates, they would quietly wait until
the brigade or regiment went on picket
duty or got into q little skirmish line
circus; and then quietly skip across lots
to the %Johnnies, gun, accoutrements,
ammunition, and all, and tell, there a
story of being southern born, or, if Of
foreign birth chat was their safest gag),
that they were sympathizers with the
heroic southern cause, and had enlisted
in the id blue bellied Yankee ranks
just to get a chance to get through the
lines safely and Join the cause they had
so close at heart. They were received
with open arms, for the rebs., to en-
courage desertion, had a law Offering
800 cash to each deserter, and, besides,
used to pay in gold the value of the
munitions of war taken across the lines.
Besides this, they were not obliged to
enter the confederate service against
their wills but were given civilian en-
ployment somewhere by the govern
ment.
"Of course, they would be sent up to
Richmond when they came from the
Valley, and there were lionized in a
minor way for their brave devotion to
the cause What good did it do them?
Just this: After looking round long
enough to get posted and familiar with
matters they would enlist as substitute
for some rich banker or contractor or
government official, and get as much as
81, 800 to s 1000 in gold, and be sent to
the front, where they would play the
same racket, and come into our lines as
loyal, northernborn men, who had been
living south at the outbreak of the re-
b%ellion, unable to get north, forced into
the rebel ranks, watched and suspected
and abused for loyalty, and would not
escape from the cruel bondage until
now, when their id loyal hearts were
were streaming Town their lying faces
at the sight and embrace of the dear
old flag that it had broken their hearts
to fight against. Dern my buttons;
I've seer those loyal North C'liny' fell
lows feel so good over the flag that it
made me ashamed Of my own loyalty
and devotion to it. Same old game, all
through. Pay for their rebel arms and
equipments, transportation north, ex-
emption from draft, good work in the
quartermaster's or commissary's depart
nlent, until their id red-hot loyalty
made them go intothe army to help the
dear old flag and scoop in another big
bounty.
"Ben Butler wasn't very much of q
genaral, although he would go poking
in under fire every once in a while to
make himself believe he was, but he is
q keen one, and when any one picks him
up for fiat. they will ascertain that a
great mistake of judgment has been
made. After a while General Butler,
who was commanding the army of the
James in '64, dropped to the fact that a
great many very loyal men were COM
ing into our lines at n very late period
in the war, and to the whole game.
The next time rebel deserters came into
our lines he gathered them up at his
headquarters and had each ones story
reduced to writing by one of the lot of
lawyers he had on his staff, and then
Mr.. Johnny Reb Deserter was marched
off to every white regiment in the 10th
Or 18th corps and introduced. In many
cases they met whole regiments full of
old acquaintances, andin such cases the
smarty was introduced to court martial.
Court martial meant sentence of death,
and with Butler commanding that
meant firing party, q volley, and-no
moro desertion,
ST don't recollect exactly the date
this thing occurred that I am telling
you of, but it was either the latter part
OF December, '64, OF very early in jan
uary, '65, that it happened that fourteen
of these poor devils, who had come to
the end of their game, were collected in
the first division, 10th army crops, all
waiting action on their. court martial
sentences, when n day an order came
oyerfrom Buffers headquarters apprcv-
ing the sentence of death in each case,
and ordering the execution By shooting
the very next day. The necessary or
ders were at once issued by Gen. Alfred
H. Terry, then the division commander,
and next morning about 10 o'clock the
troops of the command were formed on
three sides of a square in a broad field
outside the line of breastworks, Gen.
(now senator) Hawley's brigade facing
north, and the others facing inward on
the right and left. About the center of
the field a row Of fourteen graves had.
been dug in the frozen ground, and all
was ready Cor the execution.
"The day was the most depressing
that I have ever seen. just before, it
had showed to the depth Of perhaps IF
teen inches, and then during all the
night before slow, cold rain had steadi-
~ fallen, and was still falling, which had
soaked the snow thoroughly without
melting it or softening the frozen ground