The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1885-04-29
EATING PIE UNDER ORDERS.
General Grants Way OF Furnishing
an lmposter.

II by jon thompson, nm incident oc-
CURED which Is thus described by one Of
his staff officers: "lhe distance from
the starting point Of the expedition to
the supposed rendezvous OF the Confed-
crates was about 40 miles. and the
greater portion Of the route lay through
n bowling wilderness. The imaginary
suffering that our soldiers endured dur
ing the first two days of their march
was enormous. II was impossible TO
steal or 'confiscate' unoultivated real es-
or an ear Of corn was any
where TO he seen. On the third
day, however, affairs looked more
hopeful. for few small specks
Of ground In II state OF partial
cultivation were here and there visible.
On that day Lieutenant Wickileld, Of an
Indiana cavalry regiment, commanded
the advance guard, consisting Of eight
mounted men. About noon he came up
TO n small farmhouse, from the outward
appearance Of which he judged there
might be something tit to eat inside
lie halted his command. dismounted,
and, with two second lieutenants. en-
tered the dwelling. lie knew that
Grants incipient fame had already gone
ont through all that country, and II
seemed to him by representing himself
to be General Grant he might obtain the
best the house Afforded. So, assuming n
very imperative demeanor. he accosted
the inmates Of the house and told them
that he must have something for him
self and staff to eat. They desired to
know who he was, and he told them
that he was Brigadier General Grant.
IL 81 ..F l. hav al IA
sround with alarming alacrity, and
erv ed up about all they had In the
house, taking great pains all the while
to make loud professions of loyalty.
The l.ieutenants ate as much ms they
could OF the not Over-sumptuOus meal,
but when was, nevertheless, good for
that country, and demanded what was
to pay. Nothing And they went on
their way rejoicing. In the meantime,
General Grant, who had halted his army
few miles farther back for a brief
resting spell, came In sight of this same
house, and was rather impressed by its
appearance. Riding up to the fence in
front of the door, he desired to know If
they would cook him meal. No.
said female, In grufi voice; General
Grant and his stan have Just been hero
and eaten everything In the house ex-
oept one pumpkin pie 'llumph,' NUT
tered Grant; what Is your nameY Sci
vidge,' replied the woman. Casting n
half-dollar in at the door, he asked If
she would keep that pie until he sent
an officer for ii, to which she re-
piled that she would. That even
ing. after the camping ground had
been secured, the various regiments
were notified that there would be
grand parade at $50, for orders. Officers
would see that all their men turned out,
etc. In five minutes the camp was in a
perfect upronr, and filed with all sorts
OF rumors. Some thought the enemy
were upon them, II being so unusual to
have pnrades when on the march. At
G:i0 the parade was formed, ten columns
deep, and nearly quarter of mile In
length. Both officers and men were
amazed at this unusual parade after
such long and weary march, and won
dered what it portended, when the AS
sistant Adiutant General rode in front
Of the lines, and in n grave, loud and
clear voice read the following order:
HEADQUARTERS, ARMY IN THE FIEIp,
Special Order No. 49,.
Lieutenant Wickfield, OF the Indi-
ana Cavalry, having on this day eaten
everything in Mrs. Selvidge's house. at
the crossing OF the Trenton and Poca-
honias and Black River and Cape Gil
rardeau reads, except one pumpkin PIE,
Lieutenant Wiokield il hereby ordered
to return with an escort OF 100 cavalry
and eat that pie also.
~. S. GRANT,
'Brigadier General COMMANDING
at is impossible to describe the effect
the reading OF this order had on the
troops. Everyone was expecting to
hear some momentous announcement,
and hence listened with eager attention,
and when 1t was finished looked at each
other in utter bewilderment, and asked,
what did 1t mean? The parade was
over, and the moment they dispersed
each one sought an explanation of the
strange affair. 1t soon leaked out. and
by the time the orestfallen Lieutenant
was ready with his escort to leave camp,
ii was in a perfect roar, and peals OF
laughter followed him as he deiiled along
the road on his way back to eat that
pie. Grant made no explanation of his
conduct, followed 1t by no reprimand.
The order carried its own lesson, admin
istered its own rebuke, and each one
knew that ii would not be n safe bust
ness to pass himself oil for General-in-
Chief, much less forage in his name
for his own benefit. When the Lieuten-
ant returned to camp, late in the even
ing. he was glad to escape to his tent to
avoid the numberless questions aud
| Jokes about the pumpkin pie"