River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-09-17
THOUGHT 1T WAS A SHELL.
An Incident at Charlottesville as Related
bya Connecticut OK sheer.

bya Connecticut OK sheer.
said William Plat, the Mianus OK sheer.
the other day as he drove the last nail
into the hoof OF particularly nervous
OK Then Mr.. Plat unloosed the big
swing by which the OK was suspended,
unfastened the chains that bound the
animals dangerous legs, opened the
neck pen, and with curious colloquial-
/ isms backed the newly shod ''critter
out. Then Mr.. Platt washed his grimy
hands in the big tub of water that so
often sizzled and steamed with the
suddenly developed energy of red hot
| iron thrust into it, took his dinner pail,
and sat down on a nail keg to eat his
frugal meal. But Mr. Plat did not eat.
He fell into a meditatiye mood, with
his eyes fixed abstractedly upon horse
shoe on the floor.
what are you dreaming about, I'm
Gle Bill?" asked one of the men.
mel HEIR said Mr.. Platt, appear
ing suddenly to awaken. ''Oh. was
thinking what narrow line it is that
les between us and glory. It's just
| twenty-five years since Joe Hooker
fought at Charlottesville, and some-
/ how or other il always seems to me
that if I'd had the chance | might have
won some glory there"
Here Mr. Platt seemed to have lost
his usual vivacity and rollicking good
nature, and to have become touched
with sadness.
II enlisted in the old Seventeenth
Connecticut Regiment, said he. NO
man was in such constant danger. Yet
| never was in battle, never fired a
gun in all the three years | served. If
| I'd been killed there would not have
been any glory in it. yet I'll warrant
there wasn't a man in the regiment
who went into battle that needed more
courage than | did, and if could have
| had a chance to show "a little mite of the
bravery on the field that | had to dis
play every day in another way, might
have won some shoulder straps for it.
But they d never let me 90 into battle,
never Here Mr.. Platt sadly shook
his head, and gazed mournfully upon
4 JIlt uOIcEohtH7
''What were YOU doing. Uncle Bill,
that required so much bravery"
'Doingp Shoeing army mules,
said he with look expressive of the
courage required for that occupation.
"When went into The service" he
continued, II enlisted for three years,
sooner shot or dead, and expected to
show them that had little grit in me.
/ hankered after a battle to let 'em see
that could fight. But as soon as we
got to the front it began to be whis-
pered about that Uncle Bill-that's me
was to be detailed to shoe mules. !
didn't enlist to shoe mules. But at
last it came. They detailed me at brig
ade headquarters to shoe mules.
Boys, park of artillery in front OF
you, and shells bristling about you, is
nothing to the risk of that business, l
had narrow escapes enough every
day, but three times there WASH a sol
der had closer call than ! did, and
never got any glory for it. The worst
was at Charlottesville. 1t made me
feel bad to see the boys going to the
front with chance to win glory with
out half so much risk as | was put to
to shoe mules back at the headquarters.
But | had to do it. There was com
pany stationed near by, perhaps twenty
yards rom the place where was shoe
ing. They were guarding the road
that way, and were taking it easy.
! The battle was going ON in front, but
we were out of reach of the bullets. |
had one solemn looking mule to tackel,
aud | knew from that calm look that
he was deceitful animal, and he had
powerful leg. Thinks | to myself, as !
| approached him, Uncle Bill, there's
more danger lurking in that air leg
than in the red hottest hand-tO-hand
fight out in front, but thee amt any
glory in the danger"
However, | tackled the job. | got
the shoe Oh all right, and, | suppose,
got little needless. All of n sudden |
thought there'd come flash of light
ming All knew was that laid some
where on my back, with a cold chill on
my breast, and | recollected hearing
sharp, whizzing noise. Then it occur
red to me that a stray shell from the
battle had landed 'twixt me and the
mule, and kinder laughed to think how
it must have scarf the animal. But |
raised up, and there, ten feet away, he
] vas rs tlCl1bIc dlS d uCdNOns lJhb a
heard noise over where the company
was stationed, and when | looked | see
that they had scattered and were run
ming as though pretty badly frightened
1 Thinks /, Uncle Bill, the rebs are COM
ing up that way, and you'll be a pris-
oner. Well, do you know what did it?
/ Twas that pesky mule. He'd kicked,
/ that 5 all. He didn't hit me. Oh, no.
If he had wouldn't have been here to
tell of it. Twas the wind from the
blow that fired me ten feet, and his
/ hoof just graZed my clothes in front,
cutting them off, as clean as though he d
used a razor. But the curiousest thing
about it was this, and it shows what
power a mules got in his hind leg. |
was just putting the nail into the shoe
when he kicked. Well, sir, the force
of that kick threw the shoe off clear
| across the field toward where that
company was. They heard it whirring
along in the air, and thought it was a
shell. They ducked The shoe struck
/ the door of an old shed, alongside of
which the company was, and fastened
/ itself onto the door as slick as sliclng
cucumbers. The company though the
shell had lodged there and was going
to burst right away, and didn't they
skeddadle! Some of the main line
saw EN- running, and thought zee was
coming up to flank 'em, and that
scarf EN- all the more so that was the
beginning of the whole trouble with
Joe Hooker's army. | don't know
about that. Now, that'll give you
some idea of what a mule can do, and
whether it needed any grit or not to
shoe EN-
Twice besides during the war got
so near to kingdom come by way of
mule hoof that it makes nue. draw my
breath to think of it now; on James
island and once in Virginia. But
what glory do | get for it? | begged
'em to let me go into fight They
wouldn't do it. So there | was. three
years in the army. in peril ten times
worse than | would have been IN battle
every single day, without any credit
for it if was killed. What glory it is
for mans name or credit to his family
to be reported kicked to death by
mule? | done my duty. done it well
too; but | always feel that if | hadn't
had name as good horseshoer |
might have won a commission in the
service All, well, what's the odds?
I We've only so LONG to live any way.