Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-08-14

have OWNED my message before spoke.
for her white face hushed and the
hunted expression ned her eyes- Cry
ing out: THANK God for the good newsl~
she threw her arms about my neck. and
our lips met in forgiveness and rejoic-
ing. ..a..s
At ten O'Clock that morning the troop
wagons were ready to draw out. and my
men stood by their horses impatient for
the order to mount. had bade Carrie
and her brother goodbye. and her last
words were still ringing like music In
my ears: what you have done for me
and mine, Harry Watts, can never be
forgotten"
Holding my hand, General Boyle said:
Find ont If Brent was in Powell's
Valley at the date he claims, and, II
you can get evidence to corroborate his
statement, send 1t through by one Of
your scouts ut onoe. II this "a not done.
the postponsment which ] have As-
sumed may turn out to be q great mis-
fortune to all concerned"
The old soldier knew the secret at
my interest. promised to do all that
lay in my power; then, with mutual
prayers for the success OF our common
cause, swung into the saddle, the
bugle sounded, and my troop rode out
Of Camp Dick Robinson.
On the crest Of the slope, winding to
the southeast, turned and lifted my
hat, and, through the mist and storm, I
saw the futter Of q white scarf, like Rp
angels wing, and felt that there was
one Union troop followed by the pray
ers of O Confederate woman.
This was my second visit to Camp
Dick Robinson. When here before We
were preparing under General Thomas
to advance against Zollicoffer, whose
host, unframed and boastful, was raid
ing the shores Of the Cumberland. War
seemed a grand thing to me in those
days, when nearly every regiment
marched to the stirCing strains Of its.
own brass band, and when every private
had more impediments than . Major
General carried now. Then the trap
pings of the horses were regal In their
splendoP and the officers were moving
pictures framed in blue and gold, and
shoulder-straps were so beautiful and
novel that 10 was said some Of the
younger men wore them when in bed.
The regimental banners, aside from
what they symbolized, were things Of
shimmertng, silkep beauty now they
were shredded and rtddled, and blood
stained, but those very rents had be-
como eloquent with memories that
thrilled us as the new hags never did.
Our officers carried no insignia to dis
tinguish them from the men. The trap
pings of the horses were rusty and
cracked, our uniforms were faded and
some of them rdely patched; our car
AA hA rrlnac ~ Anfchs
troop guidon was tattered, faded rag,
and the scabbards of our sabeFs were
denied and worn. The cheer, the song
were no longer heard in camp or on the
march. On the faces Of the youngest,
and the oldest man in that troop was
not twenty-seyen. there were set lines
that made them storm, lines
that had been burned deep In the fpr-
mace heat OF battle. But though not so
fair to the eye, each one OF these men
was worth ten of the volunteers Of the
early war.
Our march to Cumberland Gap was
over tho route taken by Bragg's army q
year before, when, after the fierce nght
at Perryvtlle, they fell leisurely back,
laden with the rich spoils of Central
Kentucky, while the tardy Union
legions made only q show OF pursuit..
Still, the track Of that unhurried retreat
was visible through every defile Of the
tempest-tossed Cumberland range
The log cabins. olinging IKE odd birds
nests to the mountain lodges, were
abandoned or inhabited only by women
and children. The fences that had in
closed their patches of potatoes and
corn were gone, and the men who had
built them were In the field or sleeping
on it. Along the hard, rutty trail lay
scattered the debris of wars food;
broken wagons, the skeletons Of mules
and horses, and ash spots, marking the
site of old camps; here and there q
grave; and over all the naked crests and
rain-washed valleys the spirit Of silence
and desolation.
Now and then we caught sight Of q
horseman far off from the line OF march,
and the fact that he kept out Of reach
convinced US that he was one Of the en-
emy's scouts. from whom we had moth
ing to fear. Now and then Q pug of
smoke could be seen squirting out from
some cliff, far overhead, and the crack
of abushwhacker's rife would follow. II
no harm was done, we passed on un-
bleeding; If a man was shot, we encircled
the mountain, and never returned with
q prisoner. And so for six days we
pushed our way through TO Cumberland
Gap.