Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1888-11-26
Personal Recollections of the War.
BY MAI. JOSIAH CIRCUIT.

come into prominence as q leader of
guerrilla bands. 1t was only a few
weeks before this that he had success
fully raided the headquarters of the
second Vermont brigade at Fair
/ fax Court House, capturing and car
rying away its commander, General
/ predatory ventures during the win
ter of 1868, with surprisingly annoy
ing results. Some of them had fall
en- quite severely upon Vermonters,
and so with our command he and his
operations had been frequently under
| consideration. We regarded him
| dangerous man, an outlaw rather
than a soldier, considered that he
was gaining too much distinction,
more than belonged to one in his bus
| mess, and that unless disposed of, he
would prematurely become notorious,
and we resolved at many a euchre board
I
warfare or be suppressed. We es-
teemed his marauding brilliancy and
daredevil venturesomeness for all
they seemed worth in the scale of
honorable soldiership, but we despis-
ed his midnight incursions, stealthy
capturings and cowardly assaults
upon lonely picket posts for the sake
of little newspaper notoriety, or
the doubtful honor such conduct
might confer. We held in contempt
the practice by which he was seeking
either personal elevation or to aid in
the establishment of the confedera-
cy, and thought that man caring
for an honorable standing in history,
as soldier, should abandon the II
regular methods of war, conducted by
this Culpepper knight, and resort to
more regular doings. These were
some of our army findings and judg
ments concerning the irregular Mos
by and his still more irregular con-
duct. We had done Mosby the hon
or to discuss him literally, and yet
without effect. His reduction to an
unknown factor, or to regular sol
der in regular command accom-
plished, and so work remained on the
tapiS for the VermoDter who faced
him April l 1868, in the corner near
Broad Run. On our way to this dan
ger spot we had been instructed to
use the saber. Capt. Flint believed
in cold steel for the rebels. 1t was
his notion that they would not stand
in fight where the saber was fore
most,so his orders were to use freely,
as opportunity offered, the saber
blades we had so carefully sharpened
about year before, on leaving An
napolis. From the gate into the field
up to the barn-vard the distance was
probably about fifty rods. / was or
dered while passing the gate to move
quickly up toward the yard and en-
gage the enemy with the carbineers
who were in front. With all posi-
BILE celebrity this order was obeyed.
In executing the movement, an eff
fort was made to create a new form
, alton as near in line as possible,
from the formation in column of
twos we had kept from the pike to
the field, without coming to a halt.
In travelling over the soft field and
e forming anew in this way, some con-
fusion showed itself, which, when in
e line, had brought us too near
n the enemy for the best results from
carbines against pistols, being within
t pistol range. Probably forty of the
: detail had obtained their position, anC
!. were giving the best fire possible, anC
). taking patiently a lively return. i
e was hot place. The enemy, us
d ing pistols, had at first more shot.
|, than we. We were in close proximi
n ty, separated not more than six o.
# eight rods fro IN each other. Our meI
= endeavored to tear down the barnyarC
l. fence, two falling dead in the at
W tempt. At this point Capt. Flint
Z, past me on his beautiful bay horse
1t crying out, ''tear down the fence
If boys, land get at them with the saber.
lie He did not know that we had just of
t, fered two lives in essaying to compl,
l. with his daring request, and that 9th
h ers had retired before the storm o
ID bullets and splinters in undertaken,
n the same thing. Capt. Flint rod
De probably ten feet nearer the enem
than the rest of us, swinging his sa
Der and crying, ''come on" when b
:. fell dead, pierced through neck an
body by five bullets. Up to this tim
> the men who went into the field an
~ took part in this desperate attack ,ha
behaved with a GOODNESS and delibeI
=. alton born of the dress parade rattle
- than the battle. Company G., undo
Lieut.. Holden, and company B, III
der Lieut.. Woodbury., had come OF
from the woods on their own accour
and joined the work at the from
:. Probably not more than one-half {
our detail came out of the woods int
the field where the fighting was dom
About the time Capt. Flint fell I'll
barnyard gate swung open, and Mo-
p 6y poured his whole force out there:
ID upon our right flank and into our rea
ro- The greatest possible effort was mac
is to change the position of our men
ar as to meet this new movement
~ the enemy. At first it seemed v
4 4 l.