The Mineral argus. [volume] (Maiden, Mont.) 1883-1886, 1885-07-23
Good War Sts nv.

met with "A gent lcman who was in the |
artillery service during almost the |
whole of the war, being Mt first i'm field |
service and then shut up in mortar
batteries at different places. When
/ Petersburg was invested he, a sergeant,
and his brother, "a lieutenant, were in
a tar battery situated near the old
BlanfOrd cemetery, his brother being
incharge. principal duty waste
| tire at the federal batteries and draw
their fire. When the confederates
made u demonstration they had
bomb-proofs to run into, OF course;
but one can't stay in bomb-proof
and fire the mortar at the same time.
and, as might be supposed. they, be-
came more familiar with pyrOtehnic
was one Union battery in particular
ever they fired at it. 1t was known as
| the '.railroad-irOn" battery, and was
very heavily armed. Moreover, the
g,,nncrs therein had the exact range of
! the Blan,lfOri battery, which was
twice too large, and it rarely required
more than ten minutes to run the
cOnfelerates into their bOmb-prOOf.
! II was i'm this BlandfOrd battery that
one of the most curious and at the
time mysterious events of the war &C.
cured.
/ lone night" says Sergt. EgglestOn,
1--WE were working there in the battery
firing away in different directions. but
/ taking care to keep our hands of the
railroad iron battery. and watching
/ the shells as they flew around, Occa-
siOnally jumping into the bomb proof
when one would light in our place, when
two tine-lOOking men, whom we all took
for general officers, suddenly walked
into the works. We could not tell
their exact rank, because they wore
white waistcoats and coats, but they
looked as though they were rank OIL
GERS. They walked up to George, adj
dressed him as lieutenant. us though
they knew him, and said that they had
come out to see some mortar firing,
and hoped that he would accommodate
them II it was not announcement.
George replied that he would he happy
to show them nything in that line, and
turning to me. said, Touch up the
railroad-iron battery, joe Well,
wished that those chaps had stayed in
their tents: but though that it would
not he very long before they would be
glad to get into the bOmb-prOof, and
that the rest of us could go in then also.
So commenced to touch up that rail
road-irOn place. In less than three
minutes we had walked mp the hornet =
nest, and they were raining shells into
us at terrific rate.
"ThOse fellows over there seemed to
know that the occasion was an unusual
one, and they were determined to give
us all that we could ask for. The shells
were dropped into our battery like
hailstOnes, bursting all around US, and
rolling around like footballs; but
there stood those two officers and
George, leaning up against piece OF
timber and talking as cOOlly as ii they
were leaning on a fence a thousand
miles away from a piece of artillery.
A shell came along and cut that piece
. of timber i'm two, and scattered splin-
. tiers all over t he place; but all that they
did was lean against II fresh place and
| 90 on talking. / don't believe that
! either one of the three even winked. !
, came to the conclusion that they liked
! that thing better than did, and told
one of the g,inners to shift his gun
? around and play on sOmething else. and
, pretty soon I shifted another, and the
fire gradually died down. | knew that
George would stand there and he shot
at till the crack of doom before he
!. would suggest anything about bomb
{ proofs, and the other chaps didn't
, want to say anything unless he did
Wall thav talEed on for on or fifteen
7 minutes after the fire died down, and
! then said that they would like to go OH
. to the skirmish line and see what was
i going on there, if he would show them
= the way. He told them to 60 out OF
n the battery on "A certain side and follow
i the path; they could not miss the skir
!. mish They left after expressing Their
!. thanks for our kindness, but they did
|. not say what their names were, and
George was too polite to ask them:
"NOw the funny part OF it comes in
y The next day George tried to find out
J, who they were, but none of our Officers
!. had been out there. The fact is,
don't believe that any OF our Officers
had any white clothes to wear, and ]
7. George had only thought a minute h
4 might have known that none OF then
"a would be roaming around at night t.
I. see mOrtar-tiring; they could stay j,
; camp and get enough OF that. But h
Il could not find out who those mel
a were, though every effort was made
\. as the thing began to get mysterious.
a About two years ago, or longer
n George was on an Ohio river steam
!, boat talking to man in the saloon
- when gentleman came up and said