Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-08-27

FederaIs.
And we Strule ON through the denS' dust
! clouds. with parChed threats, trut~or" and
weary. Not a grumhle did hear. But with
Snt Jaws We tUi,I on, intent on capturing
Petersburg before the Army Of Northern Nrr-
ginia got h-'hind the works II was march,
mar,.h, march No Struggling now. 1t i far
b.tter tn mar,'h tonight than tn assault earth
works defended 10y Ler'S men tomorrow.
Hurry along, Hurry, hurry, hurry, And
We marched our hsSt. We passed II group Of
soldiers who wore the distinctive hadS" Of the
S,Cond CORPS cooking 10y the roadside, th"ir
mu>kets Stack,sl 10y their fire. We asked h""
far il WAS Ia the hattie line Only a few hun
dred yarls they replied. Then "" asked what
Confederate truuIs were Hhcad ut us They
answered with "A ScOTnful laugh, Petersburg
militia" We asked what Union troops wer"
engaged, and they rcpled, Some of Butler :
men" With the dislike all soldiers have for
unknown TROOPS W. said heartily, "D-n But
lrr's men, We dc not know them We wish
the Fifth or Sixth curIS werr here instead of
them" Manv soldiers anNiOuSly inquired,
win Buffers men fiEhtr Then some private,
who was better informed than the most of IA,
told us that Buffers men had ht'cn lying at
Bermuda Hundreds and that there were many
negro troops among them. Th" noses OF che
Ss>cnnd corps men were cooked sharply III tn"
air at this information.
THE CuLORED TROOPS.
Word had IasSa~d among us that the negro
troops had had famous succeSS that day; that
they had wr,-,t,d a heavy line of carthworkS
from the ConfederatcS, and had captured
eighteen guns. TIE soldiers halted for an in
slant They examined their rifles and shifted
their cartridge hoXCS {" a position where they
could get at them easily, and they drank
deeply from their Cant.-'ns. Then belts were
,irhtan,pi blanket rolls shifted. the last bits
Of har tack that the men had been chewing
were swallowed. and their mouths again till'd
with water and r1nSsSi uut, aud then through
out the ranks murmurS arvse OF Now for II,
Put us into it. Hancock, my boy w" will
end this rebellion tonight" and We laughed
lnwlv and our hearts lcat high. Som VI
heard commands given {" the infantry, and
they marrt'd of Ny battery moved for
ward. twisted obliquely in and out among
the stumIs, and tfz.n the guns swung nltC lat
terv on Il CleapSl space.
And thrn-Goi how it angerS me even
now after an interval of twenty-five years.
and then We went Ia cooking. That night
was made to fight on. \ bright and almost
full moon shune above us. The Confcdcrat"
earthworks were in plain view before us
earthworks which We knew were bare of
soldiers There was a noisy fire from the
Confederate pIckets in front of us. 81 Un-
ner.ved and frightened were they that their
bullets sang high above us. We cooked and
ate and fopled the time away. This when
every Intelligent enlisted man in the Second
corrr knew that not many miles away the
columns of the army of northern Virginia
were marching furiously 10 save Petersburg
and Richmond and the Confederacy. We
could almost see thuse veteran truNpS-lean
soua6d. hungry and battle torn, with st
laws and anxious looking eyes-striding
rapidly through the dust, pouring over
bridges, crowding through the streets OF
villages, and ever hurrying on 10 face Us
And we knew that once they got behind the
earthworks in our front, We could not drive
them out. They did not surrender cannon
and intrpnchments TO diSorderly gangs ot
armed negroes They did not understand
how troops could lose earthworks when
asssiled by equal numbers of soldiers Still
we cooked and ate and sat idly looking into
one another's ewes, lneStioningly at first, then
impatientIy, and then angrily.
WERE NOT To FIGHT.
Gradually the fact that we were not to
fight that night impressed itself On US ]
walked over 10 the timber OF my gun, opened
NV knapSack and took out "A campaign map
and a pair of compaSses. Returning 10 the
fire, the map was spread on the ground As
| measured the distances n group of excited
soldiers gathered around and watched Il
work We had the less distance TO march,
about nine hours the start, and allowing for
the time lost at the crossing Of the james
river We WERE at II p. m, four or five hours
ahead of the Army Of Northern Virginia.
will they lie in the works by morning.
menF asked. and all answered: BY God,
they will Discouraged, | put away the
map loaded pipe, lighted it and Strolled off
down the line. stopping at almost every tlre
| came to 10 talk to the infantry soldiers
The rage Of the intelligent enlisted men was
deyilish. The most blood Curdling blaSphemy
ever listened TO heard that night, uttered
bv the men who knew they were u le sacri
feed on the morrow The whole corps was
anrrilv excited | returned to my battery
little after midnight. Seated on the ground
I rested nv hack against one of the ponder
Gus wheels of my gun. Resting there | slept
At early dawn | was awake and tried to
examine the Confederate line. noticed that
the noisy, wasteful picket firing Of the night
before had ceased, that the main line Of
earthworks, indistnctlv seen in the gray
light, WAS dead silent. Some of our infantry
came into our slight earthwork, ami we stood
gazing into the indlstinctnesS before us. All
of us were greatly depressed. II grew lighter
ri F,v1l
vealed, was a long, high line Of ntrenCh-
ments, with heavy redoubtS where cannon
were maSspd at the angles, silent. grim No
wasteful fire shot forth from that line Now
and then a man rose up out of the COnfeier-
ate rifle pits, and "A rifle hall flew close above
us, no longer singing high in the air Sadly
we looked at one another. We Enew that the
men who had fought us in the Wilderness. at
Spottsylyania, North Anna and Cold Harhor
were in the works sleeping. gaining strength
to repulSe our assault. while their piCketS
watched for them While We slept they had
marched. Years afterward, while crossing
northern Dakota in the service Of the North
ern Pacific Railroad company, | met Gen.
Hancock. and camped with his party. That
night, while talking around the camp fir. |
asked him why he did not take Petersburg
the night the Second corps arrived there. In
reply he told me that he had not been ordered
to take the town, and added: Mr. Grant
said he sent me the order. | never reviewed
it, No one has ever accused Gen. Ham"oC
of lying. Frank Wilkcson in Chicago Times.
Sending Mules by Express.
And now comes tale of Voc from Burden,
Cowlev county. which. if true, takes the pre-
MUM over all competitors. 4 man who got
mad at the country and longed Ia sell his farm
received an offer from a Missouri: man aud
accepted ii. The MiSsouriam offered him
seventeen mules for his farm, agreeing 10 ship
the mules as soon As the deed 10 the farm was
deposited with the mule mans banker Ac-
coriiuSlv the deed was forwarded. and the
purchaser loOke-d anXioUSlv for the mules lie
did not think Of the animals coming by tx
press until he received notice to call at the
office. Upon calling h" found seventeen china
multS-the price uf his farm He lost no linn.