The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-09-03

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|. down 50 FAR IS that quarter was CON
cerned.
This daily fighting became nonot-
! oneus; the raftiiRg OF rifles. the snllen
boom Of artillery lest their attraction of
sound, interest ceased and a feeling Of
security aud contentment 70 4 certain
degree stole over Us. In the latter part
Of June, We assisted in heading Of Vii
sons Cavalry TIE fruits of victory
! weie as follows: sixteen guns. twelve
! hundred men and horses, and several
I colors. This waS at Reams Station.
Following in the wake of the prisoners,
and eommingling With them we're many
cOutrabandss / G., negroes-from the
toddiing infant clad IN bat one garment,
to the aged, tottering great grandfather,
they filed hv US They had followed
the Federal Cavalry in search Of their
4 freedom; they had been lared away to
an unknown fate, as thousands upon
thousands had been before them.
Every size, age and sex. represg nted the
hegira. The weak aad feeble, totgered
L sadly by perhaps Visions OF a reception"
At their master plantations, cowed their
otherwise glib tongues, for they spoke
not a word, as they passed BY ia sullen
rotation, with fixed, settled gaze upon
the dusty highway. As the rear was
brought up, to our delight, we noticed
that the prisoners had been made to
carry the weak, little pickaninieS in their
arms 10 rest them Some ''toted" them
on their shoulders; others across the
hips, straddling, or on the back. Many
of these prisoners scOwled and swore
| about such indignities as those being
| put upon them; while Others laughed
and relished the joke. Particularly
when some squalling brat refused to ac
cept the situation. One huge brawny
fellow had particularly fretful charge,
who was continually squalling; we began
TO suspect and sure enough the fellow
was having his fun by pinehing the
baby, provoking yells to the disgust of
many. We enjoyed this whole thing;
and 1t was about as humorous 4 joke as
l ever heard on Gen. Malone, whose
| dongs 1t was.
In our absence, our picket line had
been surprised and captured; new ones
nearer the main lines were formed; bat
very close to the enemy, so that conver
sation and traffic were easy. From
thence the guards were doubled. One
hundred rounds of ammunition each were
given out, and they had to be shot at
the enemy, with determination to his
| How fruitful of human marks we "wat
aot!" This new line of pickets was now
completely covered, and extended in an
unbroken line to the Appomattex river
to our left. They were almost as formi-
dable as the main works, and strong
| line of battle manned them, ever on the
alert. We finally built them higher
| than our heads, pierced them with four
inch lOop-holes, and thus felt more
secure from the aim Of our foes. The
tiringwas continuous, especially at night;
hop, step and a jump would at any
time cover the distance between the
posts. The heavy detail for pickets told
on the companies, thinned out by the
bullet and disease. The duties, when of
| picket, were arduous, as the works had
to be strengthened. Notwithstanding
heavy duties, we found time to occupy
the mind with reading novels. sLes
Miserables" appeared in camp, and was
| thenand here dubbed Lees Miserables
We experimental with our rifles onstlIe'
Yanks, with some luck. We would load
the rife with just the cavity of the ball
full of powder; run the ball down; set
| the gun on the butt, and calculate about
what course was necessary for it 10 des-
erice IN order FlF9psapeF Ola. .foenans
franks behind the piekets. OF course not
much damage could be done in this way;
but 1t offered amusement and created
plenty of worry to our neighbors \
half brick pitched over into the enemy's
line one day struck an officer on the
head, and hurt him badly. So the
piclets halloOed back to Us, and told us
''to fight fair." Early in the morning
each side was ON the alert to get a good
shot. All sorts of tricks were used to
draw the fire, and thus find the loop
holes, and drive ball through them. [
have seen the Federal sharpshooters put
4 ball right through loop-hole, fre-
quently with results. have also seen men
good, strong soldiers, made deathly sick
by the windage of a ball as it passed
their head within hairs breadth: and
, l knew of one man who was killed by
the windage of ball; the ball did not
so much as ebrase the skin, but passing
his temple, he fell dead in his tracks.
Perhaps many soldiers of both Grants
and Lees army may recall one bright
starlight night, that flock of wild
geese came flying overhead and what an
uproar followed this trivial matter. As
they wheeled in a circle overhead with
their peculiar, "Yank," "Yank,n some
me cried out, "Yank'' "shoot those
geese" "All right, Johnnie" came back,
and both sides biazed away. The
E startled geese added to the din BY their
E shrill screeching, and wbirled in circles
I close overhead. We yelled and shot
J, every man cut loose, not once, but twice
D and thrice; and whooped in chorus So
t rapid was the firing that the lines of
!. battle, in our rear were hastily ordered
+ into line; and artillery joined IN the up
| roar. From geese the rifles turned OF
b human game, and heavy fight now
t commenced; and mortar guns Joined in
+ the fray. Fort Sedgewick opened hel
e thnnders, and our guns replied: shot
i after shot raced and tore through the
d air in a straight line, or describing Z
r. dangerous curve would come whistlinS
i down. Huge mortar shells arose from
e Fort Sedgewick; and described magnifi
n cent arches of flaming fire in thl
IS heavens, and then when the altitude
D was reached would come rushing dow
Ie upon us, and exploding with a terrifi
d crash frequently with effect.
8 The sight of mortar shell explodin,
e. in the air is one worth a deal OF DANCE
d to see, and is a grand spectacle. !
(. shower of light and fame; parti-eolore,
it and intensely brilliant with fragment
le flying, humming, or whistling by i
1t every direction. The shells from howii
:. zers are also ereditable as fire works ans
look perfectly magnificent, as they rus
Of In zig gag way up and down across tn
n I Eli L T II
OF several inches behind, and then explC
W sion comes. Tins hubbub was kept u
ne until late hour, and inflicted some los
it upon us. Il gradually subsided, and SOC
N an occasional saell only disturbed th
ne scene A "bomb proof had been cor
re structed Of heavy timbers snd earth, an
th was pretty secure. In the melee BON
d. burst about the entrance and came nea
st suffocating the inmates before they coul
Is. get ont Another bomb fell into I'll
if generals sink and burst there; throw
er ing the filth in every direction an
es causing tremendous smell equal to ii
ne Chinese stink pots. These bombarl
I'd ments occurred nearly every night; an
TO we had frequent visitors from other rec
et ments, who were remote from scenes Ill
" these. One Of them, a Florida soldie
er while looking on 1t the sights, imagine
its that one particU lar shell meant bushes
z, still gazing at it, he walked backwards
It. get out Of danger, and unnoticed BY al
ed OF MS, stepped backward into a well '
ig- had sunk for water After the explosi,
a. his cries attracted attention, and be "
soon extricated. He was in a bad frig
rs and said that the Odd thing look,
it just like it was coming right into th
me well on him. That dose cured I
We curiosity.
q. ITo BE coSTTxUED.1
to --------
he i understand that you have fougl
rs duel with your old enemy SnarIey
rur a.Tns q a.ll-hat rr.n tInn r.n.e,,fts