The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-01-02
WARNED OF THEIR DOOM.
SOLDIERS PREsEN TIMENTs Full
FILLED AND UNrULrILLED.
Queer Supersiitions About the Cotn-
cidence of "A birthday and n Hat
ue-A Sergeant's Queer Idea.

In reading tie personal experiences oil
participants in the battles and campaigns
one often comes across stories OF APP
parently we'll authenticated instances
where men seemingly had a forewarning
of their approaching doom, and who,
after making the arrangements naturally
attendant on such a f~oreknowledge, such
as disposition of property, messages to
relatives, and so on, met their loom &C
cordingly. Among soldiers and sailors
as q class a belief that such presentiments
do occur, and that the catastrophe fore
Swallowed is resultant is largely enter
tanned, though l don't know why it
should be so, unless it is that their trade
deals in " battle and murder and in sud
den death" In conversation on this
subject many a time | have been asked
If during my soldier life | had known in
stances where these So called premonitions
were fulfilled. l replied that had, and
then again l know of so-called present.
ments Just as vivid in the mind OF the
subject which had not been fulfilled.
AS far as my experience goes, it is six of
one and a half dozen of the other. In
fact, | have no belief in the efficacy of
p%remonitions and presentiments, and
honestly believe that they result from
circumstances-a disordered stomach,
nervous arrangement, or that tinge of
superstition as to good days, bad days,
etc, which seems to be inherent in the
great body of men, even the educated.
And yet once upon a time my heart
went down into my boots, so TO speak,
under the firm belief hat l was to be
killed before the setting of the sun-a
presentiment that didn't materialize,
however, as will doubtless be seen from
the fact that l am writing this letter. On
the 22d of July, 1868, when the army of
General Lee wvs retreating from Gettys-
burg behind the mountain wall of the
Blue Ridge, the Federal cavalry took
possession of the gaps, and were very
=" sassy in their repeated assaults upon
the long line of transportation. AS our
cavalry had been literally run off its legs
General Lee was forced to make use of
his infantry TO repel these assaults, and
so it happened that the writer's regi-
ment Seventeenth Virginia. was de.
tached and ordered into Manassas Gap,
opposite Fort Royal, to hold it while the
wagon trains were passing. Now, it
was a beautiful morning, and as we
trudged along in high spirits from the
ozone of the mountain air, some ill-bod-
ing raven of a comrade suddenly sug-
gested, "Why, this IS Murray's birth
day." and so it was, though l had for
gotten it for the time being. Instantly
the quip and jest were silenced, and the
fellows looked at me with plying sym
patty, for we expected to have a fight
before the day was ended. You see, it
was an old woman's tale with us that the
man who went into battle on his birth
day would inevitably lose his life. l
don't mind confessing that the cold
chills chased each other rapidly down
my spinal column, though | affected to
treat the matter lightly.
1t is not to the purpose to speak Of the
fight, which lasted till shutdown. Suffice
it to say hat men were Knocked down
to the right and left of me, and | came
scratch. None of our boys believed in
old women's tales after that. To show
how deeply this superstition had per-
meated the minds of the men of the
company, my captain told me that if he
had had the slightest excuse for putting
me on duty in the rear he would have
sent me there when the fight began, and
that while the battle was going on he
lOOhtu tNcIN mllult W StC luC Iull.
Perhaps my own feelings and those of
my comrades were influenced at this
time by an incident that happened at the
battle of Seven Pines, before Richmond,
in 1862. r. T. l.. and myself were the
only men in the company Warrenton
Rifles from Fairfax county. We had
been schoolmates, slept under the same
blankets and eat our lobscouse out of
the same frying pan As our brigade
was lying in reserve behind ID. H. Hills
lane, | noticed that "Bose " was pen
sive and preoccupied in mind, a thing
very unusual with him. Now, he was as
brave n man as ever drew breath, and |
k~newthathis llstlessness and did not
proceed from any fear of the combat into
which we expected to be shortly called,
but | forbore to question him because in
his W time he always made me his con-
ident. When, finally, We were ordered
into the field, as we were double-quick-
ing through the knee-deep loblolly of
mud to get into position, he suddenly
seized my hand and said; "Tom, | am
going under to-day. I've felt it all day.
If you can, take the things out of my
pocket when I'm dead and send them
home" thought nothing of this, as it
was about the time we had gotten under
fire, and as | was a sergeant (ile closer
had enough to do when the line OF bat
tie was hastily formed to occupy my
thoughts. We advanced under a heavy
fire, and l lost sight of ''Bose." Our
line, irregularly formed on account OF
huge wood piles, shelter tents, barns and
out houses, was broken and forced to fall
back a short distance to the captured
breastworks. These we held until the
enemy in front of us had been fanked
and routed by the Seventh regiment of
our brigade. Searching over the CORY
field / found my comrade literally rid
died with bullets, but still alive and con.
scious. He had fallen almost at the first
volley from the enemy. AS soon as he
saw me he said, 81 told you so. Dc what
asked you. Get the surgeon to give
me some opium and let me die easily
did what he asked, and the next morn
ing, wrapped in captured blankets, W,
buried him on the field of honor, thu