Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-08-28

view, gave the fol-
loving account Of the massacre which
rendered the name Of Quantrell infa-
nous. None of the participants ever
attempted to excuse the raid. The
narrator related the story reluctantly:
just as we gained the edge Of town
we saw Gregg and his detail at rest.
and on reaching them we we're inform.
ed that camp of instruction filled
with Federals guarded the town, and
tnere was heavy force on the other
SIDE OF the river. Eve will ride
through that camp, then," said Guam
trell, and then the ball opened in
earnest. About 80 men rode down
Massachusetts, street, and some 80
more scattered in squads through the
town. Quantreu led the remainder of
the battalion, some 200 men, right on
to the camp, which we reached in loss
than five minutes. Then followed a
scene I hate even now to talk
of, though mind you I have
no scruples Of conscience about
it. We would have been served
the same way had we been
caught mapping" as they literally
were. 1t was war, and as such the
only difference between us and Lees
and Grants big armies was that we
seldom gave, seldom asked, and never
received quarter. The first thing I
knew we were right on the camp. It
was all still, and save the sentries and
stray man or so hanging around the
fires, there was not soul to be seen.
A sharp cry rang out from the sentry
nearest us. Discharging his piece
squarely at us, he shrieked out: aCor-
poral of the Guard! Post No. 81" and
fell riddled with dozen balls. That
brought them out like bees swarming
from an overturned hive. Right into
them we rode, dealing death at every
jump Of our horses. We crashed
through tents and among sleeping men.
We struck them with the deadly fury
of q cyclone. Nearly every man of us
had some real or fancied grievance to
revenge, and the slaughter was sick
ening. They tried to rally and form
square; we broke it and trampled
them under foot. Their officers be-
haved like heroes, but the deadly re-
volver cracked. cracked, cracked again
and again. Bayonets were no defense
against the sweep of the saber or the
quick work Of the six-shooter. Up and
down that camp we road; here would
be score of half-dressed desperate
men standing at bay around IN overset
tent, quick charge, ring
ing volley, and the riders would
spur over q pile of dead and
writhing bodies to a fresh attack.
What hurried and ill-organized defense
there was lasted but moment, and
then perfect panic seized the surviv-
ing Federals. We ran them down and
shot them remorselessly. There was
no cry for quarter. though. Three
times their number could not have re-
sisted the impetuosity of our attack,
surprising them as we did in their
sleep. Luck favored Quantrel here,
as on many other occasions, for of all
hours in the twenty-four to attack an
enemy by surprise it was just the hour
we arrived there, for men are harder to
wake, more stupid and weaker in mind
and body, at about sunrise than any
other time; life beats weakly then, as
every one knows. Well, in three min
utes it was over, and camp had been
turned into graveyard in that brief
space, and scores of brave men had
persisted as if by lightning. I don't
really think there was one of those
soldiers alive five minutes after we had
struck the camp. Quantrell immedi-
etely dashed off into Massachusetts
street with Gregg, and Tuck Hill, and
Woot Hill, and myself, and a crowd Of
others, and shooting every man who
had the hardihood to show himself,
while we were, in turn, subjected to a
desultory fire from the upper windows,
which, however, did little damage. We
we're annoyed, also, by the steady fir.
ing of body of infantry posted across
The Kaw River. We had one man
wounded severely by this firing
Lieut.. PUNK Bledsoe, of the regular
@. s. A. service-and we lost one man
killed, fellow named Skags, who got
drunk and remained behind, and they
filed him up with lead just as soon as
We left.
| Suicide in Battle.
49," A GROUP of old SOL