The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-12-26
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F. Williams, the other day. alt would frequently occur that A fellow came to a wire Supposing that he was day behind. only to discover that he had really biz beat in his hands. It sometimes hap pened that correspondent was able te describe battle without even having seen the engagement, and so distance his cem- pekitorS, This required judgment, how ever, for if any serious mistakes occurred they were certain to be discovered. ln 1864 General Lew Wallace was in com- maAd at Baltimore, while Hunter had the Shenandoah valley. When Early e. capped from Hunter and entered Maryland his command and met the enemy near l Ellery's mills, on the Monocacy river. l had just reached Baltimore that morn- ing, and found tt impossible to reach the scene, as travel vas entirely stopped by the government taking possession of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. At the tel. egraph office they were issuing the most abssTd bulletins, based on news from Frederick City, and you may imagine nay anxiety and disgus, at being compelled to stand idle. Becoming desperate, Il 6nAlly jumped on board train bound for Washington, and went as tar as the Re lay house, where the Baltimore and Ohio branches of. was here six miles nearer the battlefield, but apparently might as well have been in New York for all the good it did me. Yet managed to ges beat out of it, after all.
 reached the Relay house about two o'clock in the afternoon. and had decided to go back to Baltimore by the Washing. ton 5 p. m. traiS. lust before it arrived along came a military train from the scene of the fight, loaded with wounded 1 sprang aboard and ciAni6eTsd from box car to bex car until 1 had nearly two hundred names, many of them of course being officers. While thus engaged learned just what troops were engaged on both sides, for there were two or three Confederate officers among the number. On one of the cars was a countryman who lived near the scene of the engagement, he having volunteered to go with the wounded. He knew nothing of army movements, but had been lucky enough to witness the principal scenes of the day. took him to my hotel and got him talk ing. When he came to a charge that had occurred at a critical moment, asked him to describe the colors belong. ing to different generals, and being familiar with the ground, managed to glean atolerably correct idea ofthe whole battle.
 Putting all my information together. l gave the coun,ryman ten-dolla% bill for his trouble. and ran to the telegraph office. The 7fsfss the next day had column story of the description, and my | t;.R a( &aA L paper had anything more than the brief government report and so correct were my details that General Wallace after wards remarked that 1t was odd he did not notice me on the field, as mus, have been near him all that day.
 But such were not always successful. When Hunter was driven down the val. ley hS Early in 1864. HsvaM man was at HArPer's Ferry, and he gave his paper aglotiug account of an engagement, and so beat all the correspondents who were present a, the battle. But he fell into two bad errors. He said 1t occurred two days before the actual date, and placed | 1t some sixteen miles from the real scene That exploit cooked his goose, of course remember funny story about the same correspondent. When he first struck Hunters army he rode up to the gener- ais headquarters in gallant style He did not know Hunter from a side of sole leather, and he was net aware how care- less the general was about his dress. Dismounting in front of a row of tents, he noticed a man in rough blouse and an old hat, sitting at the foot of tree, quietly smoking a battered brierwoed pipe. Calling to the man, he coolly asked him to hold his horse until he could see General Hunter. The man got up very obediently and took the bridle, while the correspondent s,umps off in his long boots toward the adjutant generals tent.
 "'t want to see General Hunter said the newspaper man, after announcing who he was.
 "'The general is somewhere abou, . replied the chief of staff, at the same time going ts the door of the tent "Why, what the devil does that mean 2 There is General Hunter holding your horse
 "The correspondent simply gasped, and marched over to his animal, mounted and rode away in silence, leaving the entire staff in convulsions of laughter, the general, of course, enjoying the joke as well as the rest of us. The next we heard of the correspondent was when he got up his wonderful beat.
 "Aher Sheridan entered the valley we had sharp scrimmage at Mount Sum- init. The nineteenth army corps had come up from Louisiana, and the genes- ais did not know us valley correspond ents. On the left of the line there broke l out good deal of sharp muskstry; % l rode over, and leaving my horse with the | ambulance train, walked toward the front and unconsciously passed through . gap in the main line, only discovering the | fact by finding myself right up to the line | of skirmishers. The scene vas exciting l for moment, so l remained to sec t | mt wheo a xfa6 nff5rer vafinneA mn and |