The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-02

fully and lett at some place In the rear where we
/ might not set eyes on it for month. Both Of
fcers and men learned to do with little baggage.
Two officers were allowed a valise between them.
| The vigilant messes sometimes evaded the regu-
lation by stealing pack mule and a darby and
loading them both up. After time we gener-
ally found the darby. but seldom found the
mule and the baggage
| Ex-Mayor John L. McMaster: 'You ask about
my introduction to the intelligent contrabanda |
shall not soon forget the first time ever met
him at night I was in an Ohio cavalry regi-
inent, and had risen to the high rank of cor
| poral We had come from the Kanawha valley
under General Cox, in 1862. to try to strike and
| destroy the Tennessee railroad. We arrived at
place called Princeton, in Virginia, to find the
rebels had burned and abandoned the town. l
was put in charge of the videttes the first night,
| and corporal of the guard. The men were
worn ont, and took the place of vidette, they
/ going back a distance nearer the camp to sleep.
1t was a starlit night, and was looking down a
Virginia road lined on each side by worm
rail fence, when saw not fifty yards away a
| half-dozen men with what seemed to be
| muskets their shoulders, marching
| down this road toward me. My hair
| stood right up on end all over my head. as /
| thought it was the advance of a rebel column,
and that my time had come / managed to yell
| Halt! When the men lodged to the sides of the
road and took shelter in the fence-corners
was more frightened than before, expecting
them to shoot cried out, Who comes thereP
When an Enthusiastically African voice said
'We'se friends, boss, don't shoot" The voice Of
the colored man was always the voice of friend
to the Union soldier. We took them in and
passed them to the rear. and | hope they are
alive to-day, or. at least, lived long enough to
enjoy the blessing of liberty. All their worldly
possessions were tied up in bundles and swung
over their shoulders on sticks. These, in the
starlight had taken to be muskets'
William w. Swing: IT made the acquaint-
ance of the intelligent contraband in western
Virginia in the early days of the war. We saw
him blowing the corn-felds, raising crop for
the master who was in the field fighting US.
was of old Wing stock, and later on my family
aame to bepretty nearly full-fedged Abolition
;sts 18th all the term implied. There were
number O., Democratic boys in the company
with me, and the, were very prompt 70 declare
that thew would not ne In the service II
thew thought it was Il be an Adolf
ton war; One member of .@e coinpan!
was particularly violent on the question Oh Aoo-
litionists. and declared that we had no r. ShI 20
interfere with the slaves. as they were propelN'
But the war had not gone on long before all those
boys changed their views, and were found en-
couraging Sambo to come into camp. AS one of
them put it, he didn't see the sense while fight
ing the rebels to leave the colored men undis-
turbed to raise a crop for them. AS niger
stealers' the opprobious name they had applied
so freely to Abolitiorists, some of these young
Democrats soon took high rank. Then they
ceased to be Democrats"
~
Gen. George F. McGinnis: "You ask me about
the santaryq / don't suppose there was an Of
fcer in the army who knew less about it than
did. I remember the day after the battle of
Shiloh Chaplain Hibben, of our regiment came
to me and said. for chaplains will sometimes say
such things: Lets 90 down tothe sanitary boa.r'
asked what for He gave knowing look and
said. We can get glass of good ale there The
proposition struck me as pleasant one. 1t had
been three weeks since had had glass of any
thing and was certain that glass Of good ale
would be very comforting. So we went down
there with our mouths fixed for the beverage.
But we were very promptly and bluntly told
that the ale and other stores were not for the
we'll but the sick, and came away. That is
my only experience with the sanitary. 1t is In
the line of my usual good luck. l never was
sick day in the army never was shot, and
have never got pension because l am not en-
titled to one, and under those circumstances I
don't want one."
Alex. G. Jameson: General MeGinnis might
have told a number of anecdotes on his chap
lain. The chaplain was simple minded, good
man, little vain and fond of military pomp,
of which he never could, as chaplain, have any
thing more than the mere shadow. One story
that went through the regiment will illustrate
his harmless vanity. He wore an infantry Off
GERS cap, with bugle on its front-a decoration
he was not entitled to. He had an oiled silk
cover for this cap, which he pulled on to protect
it from the rain. One day he was riding along
in front of the regiment, with the oiled silk on
the cap but not drawn down closely, when he
hAov 70 h. Grln MoG.n
you see my buglep Yes said McGinnis what
of itp Oh, said the chaplain, satisfied with
the result of his inquiry, I only wanted to
know if the bugle showed
~
John B. Elan: II saw a military execution
once and I have never desired to see an execu-
ton since, whether by shooting or hanging. 1t
is an experience that will last a lifetime. 1t
took place in front of Petersburg, Va. The en-
tire division was formed three sides of a
hollow square, and the condemned man-hardly
a man, for he was only nineteen years old-was
brought into the square in a wagon, seated on
his coffin. The coffin was placed on the square,
beside a newly.dug grave. The poor fellow
with.a squad of men, was then marched around
in front of the entire line, to music, that all
might see him. He was then seated on his
| coffin his grave-a chaplain prayed with
| him-and the detail of twelve men, who had
III
and fred He fell back, dead, on his coffin. AS
! he lay there, the entire division was marched
! past him. that all might the dreadful penalty
| for desertion. The impression on all was the
deeper from the fact of his YOUTH and that it was
not really dessrtion. He was member of
Pennsylvania regiment, and had run away to see
his mother. 1t was his third offense and, as
assertions were becoming numerous, it was
deemed necessary to make an example. The
body was buried in the grave near where he fell.
and IL ia to be hoped that this terrible and cruel
act did all the good it was expected to do"
! -
Frank Sherry, son of the late Major W. H.
Sherry, of Greencastle yesterday showed the
reporter the signal flag that, from Kenesaws
| Heights, waved General Sherman's words of
cheer to brave General Corse at Allatoona Pass
''Hold the fort, for l am coming" Lieutenant
W. III. Sherry afterwards major) was in COM
mand of the signal station that sent this historic