Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-09-19
COLD HARB0R.
A LITTLE PERSONAL INCIDENT OF THE
FOURTH DAYS FIGHT.
Startled BY a Summons u HeadqusrsH-Whsl
the Call Meant-A Newspaper Cores
pendent Made 10 Ride the
Battle Line.
E,apE Basasoa ia Ncr FORK Sur.

an order to Our captain. Tie reau II, anu
then calling me to him, handed me the or
der to read. With military breyity it COM
manded him to send Frank Wilkinson to
army headquarters at once to report to Ad-
utapt General Seth Williams. My heart
sank. had been stealing hayersaeks. l
had been exceedingly impudent to some
officers. | had been doing y lot OF things
which | should not have done, and now 1
was in for it." ''Adjutant-General, l
repeated thoughtlully to myself, that
sounds rather savage" The captain said:
Wash up and accompany the orderly
Get a horse from the chief caissons and re
turn promptly
Ignored the fist portion OF the order
but secured the horse aud rode OF, pants
in boots, ~slouch-hatted, ian~nel-shirted,
blouseless, a strap around my waist and
supremely dirty. l was tourtered with
the belief that | WAS to be punished A
certain sheep, which l had met in a field
near Bowling Green, weighed heavily ON
me Iransacked my memory and dragged
forth all NV military misdeedsand breaches
Of discipline and laid them one after the
other ON my saddle bow and ~thoughtiully
turued them over and over and looked at
them, regretfully AT inst, then desperately
and reckleSsly. knew that ought TO he
~court-martialed and that | deserved to he
shot. | talked to the orderly and asked
whatdutirs the acknowledgement performed
a had an idea that he shot nSuborulhate
Lriyatesl, and was immensely relieved ID
hear that he was the officer who ISSUED or
drrS, "A very superior order OF CHIEF CLERK,
As il We're. is NJ Sayaged tempered: l
asked Who. General Williams my
ouide exclaimed in questioning surprise.
Not he. he answered, he ~ the kind
,St hearted man in the army ! was
slightly reaSSurrd.
said. see here. what 10 YOU suppose
he wants of me? | 10 not know ham, ana
4 do not want tO know him. i have been
disObrying orders, been stealing haNerSacES
from infantry soldiers, and have been mn
DlluGuL 10 NpAllt AbA4 kNNNAA AANNA'
do not suppose that | have been reported
tn headquarters, 10 YOU
Loudly the orderly laughed ami roundly
be swore. and then he said: Not NJ all.
No one cares how many hayerSacSs you
have stolen, excepting the men who lost
them; and rs tor being %impudent to SOME
OF these officers, they deserve it d emil
Nuu need not be- troubled. When 4 prl-
vate is sent Tor ana guided Ia headquarters
he Is not GONG To he hurt.
We rode into a village OF tents, oue ol
which was pointed out to Iue aS General
Williams. S~eutinrlS paced To and irO;
NICE clean men they were, too. / dlSmount-
ed hItched my horse and walked To VIII
hams tent. / Vas halted, Srut IN my name
and was admitted. / strobe m defiant.
hat on head, expecting to be abused, and
resolved IL ''unlimber my chin and To
TAKE a hand in the abuse business myself.
BOY that MS. | vas really frightened
hall out nt my Srn>rS.
~aw a handsome, kind faced, middle
aged officer standing before Inc. lie smiled
kindly, and inquired, ~ he extended his
hand tu the, Have I the pleasure Of al
dressing Lieutenant Frank WilkrSonE
M hat came oil instantly; my heart went
out To Seth Williams, and | replied: No,
GENERAL; / am Private Frank WilkesOn.
lie smiled again aud hooked curiOuSly AT
me. How 1 did wish | had washed my
face and brushed the dirt oil uf my clothes.
Tie babe me tu he seated, and Skilltully
set NE to talking. Me asked me many
questions. and ! answered them II intelli-
yrntl, - | could. Growing confidential,
told him that ! had been dreadfully
frightened nv being summoned To head
uuaeter~. and confessed the matters OF the
sheen and the haYerSukS, and nv miScOn-
crption uf his duties. lie tried To look
srverly grave, but laughed instead, and
said pleasantly. You are nO 10 be shot.
The crimes yOu have committed hardly
deserves that punishment. | have called
Won 10 me To say that Secretary ut War
Stanton has ordered your ~dl~rhar@c, and
that yuu arr To be appointed \ second leu-
tenant in the Fourth Regiment of the
United States Artillery. When You van
Your discharge claim it from your captain.
he has the order To- discharge You. When
YOU get il, come To Inc, 10 yOu need money
10 travel Oh, and | will lend you sufficient
10 take you Ia Washington, and buy you
some clothing. When you arrive there,
report To the secretary Of war. and he will
tell YOU what To du.
Kind Seth Williams. 30 gracious and
sweet and Sympathetic WAS he To me, a
dirty private, that my eyes filled with
tears. and | could not talk, could not thank
him. rame within an ace 0f crying out
right. | returned To my battery and re-
- - ,,V..t ma tunp Hhnnrht
that the army Of the Potomac might win
the next battle andend the war. ltit did
preferred tn he a private Ia a volunteer
battery which Was serving At the front
rather than To be a lieutenant in the
United States Artillery, stationed at Camp
Berry. near Washington.
ON one of these six Cold HarbOr days,
when my battery MAS in action, | SAW u
party oil horsemen riding towards us from
the left. lSmiled aS the abSurdity of men
riding along hattie line for pleasure filled
my sense OF the ridiculous; but ~ | looked
ISaw that the party consisted OF n civilian
under escort. The patty passed close he
hind our guns, and in passing the civilian
exposed a large placard, which was faSten-
ell to his back, aud which bore the words,
''Libeler Of the Press" We all agreed
that he had been guilty of some dreadful
deed, and were pleased to see him ride the
battle lire. He WAS hOwled at, and the
wish to tear him limb from limb and strew
him over the ground was tiercely expressed.
This man escaped death from the shot and
shell and bullets that filed the air. l
aftcrward met him in Washington, and he
told me that he was a newspaper war cor
respondent, and that his OfenSe was in
writing, a. he thought, %truthtully, To his
journal, that General Meade had advised
General Grant to retreat to the north of the
Rapidan after the battle of the Wilderness.
Meade was greatly incenSed by this publ
cation, and Al, with Grants assent, tried
to take the truthful correspondents life by
sending him along the hattie line at Cold
HarbOT.
One night of these six Cold HarbOr
nights ! was ON guard in the battery. |
walked up and down behind the guns.
Voices whispering outside of our work
startled me. Then | heard men scrambling
up the face OF the eITthwOrk. In the in
distinct light ! made out four. They were
Tl--a