Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1886-11-20
WIPlNG or A STAIN,


that the humblest private soldier could
realize that nothing but some desper-
ate stroke of luck would save us. In
deed, most of us looked upon the
Cause" as hopelessly lost That feel
ing was the natural cause of home
sickness, and it was talked among
the men that it was no crime to get
out from under the impending blow in
The best way possible. / had no home
or friends to go to, but thousands of
Others had, and there were good many
assertions, and a good many other UNI
successful attempts. ss
One of Hoods fist moves was to
put check on this business. He issued
very stringent orders, and it soon came
to be known that desertion would be
punished in the severest manner. l
do not know that any one was shot
for this offenSe, but there were dozen
men waiting court martial, and but
for circumstances they would have
been tried, convicted, and, perhaps, led
out to disgraceful death.
One night, while was sergeant of
the relief guard around the camp, the
sentinels captured young private
from an Alabama regiment who was
plainly trying to desert He was sent
off under guard. and the next day he
was brought before our brigade COM
mander. | took him before the gen.
eral myself, and | heard most of the
conversation between them. 1t seemed
that the boy came from fighting
family, and had not only served for
year and "a half in the ranks, but had been
twice wounded. 1t was clearly nothing
but inconsistencies which had stirred
him up to play the part of deserter.
The general knew his father, and he
talked to him of the disgrace the
grief the old man would feel-of the
stain that would rest upon him after the
war-of the cowardice of leaving his
comrades to bear the brunt; and by
and-by he had the boy crying.
1t was clear case, and the prisoner
could have been reported to head
quarters, but the general was adverse
to this. He talked as kindly as a
woman, and he closed the matter by
saying:
Il want you to return to your regi-
ment and wipe out this stain. There
will be great battle soon, and you
will have opportunity to prove my
trust in you. Here is my hand. Go
back to duty, and when the hour comes
do not fail me-"
The boy uttered his thanks in
broken voice and went away. Only
his own captain knew of what had
happened, and he also knew of the
generals kindness.
1t wasn't many days after that before
we moved out to fight the battle of
Peachtree Creek. / had my eye on the
boy as soon as we got under fire, and l
knew by his looks and actions that he
meant to wipe away that STAIN Once
he turned and looked me in the eyes.
gave him friendly nod, but neither
of us spoke. He knew of. what was
thinking, ar' saw by the blaze of his
eyes that nothing would dismay him.
At one part of the line the Union
forces were unprepared for the sudden
assault, and were temporarily rolled
back. On our wing they had been
aroused, and were waiting for us. We
had pushed ahead in solid battle lines,
torn by their artillery, but closing up
again, and by-and-by we got the word
to charge
Then came the confusion, the smoke,
the hurrah, the whirl and turmoil of
battle. We kept crowding ahead, now
obliquely slightly to the left, now to
the right, and, as they would not give
way, we were finally among the guns
in battery. We drove beyond them,
were breasted back, fought over the
pieces, gained and lost them, and the
boy was watching was ever at the
front. .... ...a.
Men on either side of him went down,
but he was still unwounded. When we
got among the guns it was a hand-to-
hand fight with bayonet and dubbed
musket. l saw blood dripping from
his bayonet; l saw him raging up and
down with only the gun-barrel for a
weapon. Twice, as I gathered a few
men about me to drag off one of the
pieces, men in blue serged up, and the
| boy droveat them almost single-handed
and ragged among them like a lion.
We held our ground perhaps twenty
minutes, our poor old skeleton regi-
ment numbering hardly full company
as we gave ground. Wehad just begun
to retire, the boy standing exposed and
blazing away with a musket he had
picked up, when saw him fall. Two
or three of us picked him up and drew
him under the shelter of a bank, hoping
ha was only wounded Inf there was