Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1886-11-20
A WAR MEMORY.

Stirring mp a Cyclone at shitoh-Laugh-
able After-IiattIs Incident.
During the recent reunion Of the Army
of the Tennessee at Rock Island ILL.,,
many war memories were revived, and
this ore told by Gen. Martin BEEN, Of
Chicago, will doubtless be as amusing to
our readers as it was t. those who heard
it:
had little experience the night after
the fight had ended at Shiloh which Iu
never forget. You know it rained there
worse than it did at Waterloo, and very
soon after the battle was over it became
intensely dark. After tramping around
in the mud, under the lcafsless trees,
about four or five hours, 1 and another
young soldier determined to go around
the field and find a board for a seat, or a
blanket or something else from which to
make a bed or bivoUac, but after a long
search We could not find anything.
Everything that could possibly be used
for such purposes was already covering
either the sleeping, dead, or dying. We
had almost despairsd, when one Of us
struck a board with our feet, and, feeling
along in the dense darkness, found a sol
der lying crOssWise upon it. We could
tell by his breathing as we bent low over
him, that he was sleeping sOundly-evi-
IDENTIFY very tired-and as We could feel
some half dozen other boards under him,
we thought he could easily spare one.
So we resolved to quietly slip the long
est one cut and carry it away. The
right or wrong Of our purpose didn't
trouble US much. We Just wanted that
board, that was all, and tried repeatedly
to pull it from I'm Ter him, but couldn't.
The fact that the rain peltsd his face,
and that we jOgtled his body and yet
didn't awaken him encouraged us to
operate with greater bOldness. We
divided one going on the other side and
pushing while the other pulled, but it
was all In vain; we couldn't bulge it.
Yet the more We seemed to want it.
don't think I ever lOnged for anything
more intensely In ali my life. The winter
winds, bowling and Whistling around the
house gables, never made a warm bed
seem more luxurious to another than did
the thought to me Of having that board
that night for a protection from the
storm above or the mud below. Besides,
/ It seemed like our only chance, so We
A6htL l4DA8L4L D4lGo VI 4sl-u---5 "-------
it. Indeed, we felt that we couldn't pos
sibIy do without it. 1t was like the
case of the boy after the wOOdchuck
you know, We simply chad to have &C.
and when we found that we couldn't get
it quietly we formed the desperate re-
solve to give it a sudden Jerk, get IL
loose, and run with it. We knew this
would awaken the soldier, and thought
it possible also that he would shoot, but
one or two extra shots carried no terror
after the experience Of the two days past
besides, the darkness made the dan
ger still less. So, getting a good grip,
we gave a strong, sudden pull with our
combined strength and succeeded most
admirably in raising it upward and also
In jerking to his feet the sleeping sol
dier-Cfeu. Sherman
OF course he made some remarks
very like the army In Flanders. That's
how we knew him, recognized his voice
But We didn't stay to hear him With
out intending any disrespect, we left 10
a cooler and more cOngeniaI climate W
knew of, and that, too, just rs fast as "
could. No, you don't want us TO ts
you what he said. Nearly a quarter
a century has passed since then, and
couldn't give you his exact words nov
I would.