The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-04-12
BY rHtl sklN OLE AIS rEETH.
A Narrow Escape from a Drumhead
Court-Martial and an Execution.

A Narrow Escape from Drumhead
Court Martial and an Execution.
After the gaud and tinsel and the noisy
bravado of the early days of 1861 in the second
year of our Civil War the volunteers had set
tied down to rigid discipline and the stern
realities that confronted them. After the
battles around Richmond many young fellows
of sentimental or romantic turn run the
blockade and made their way to the regiments
in front of the city. These youngsters usually
had all the romance and sentiment knocked out
of them when they were once inducted in the
prosaic life of the bivouac. A night or so ago
the writer, in conversation with number of
Confederate veterans anent the Italian war
rumpus, was asked "why the cavalrymen did
not pull off their boots'' aluding to an article
which ] wrote about the drowning of two
Federal cavalrymen who had come over to ex-
change coffee and so on with their opponents.
And thereupon Al Holland, secretary of the
Confederate Veteran Association and business
man of the city, said: "Well, had a pretty
close call myself, though it was not death, but
disgrace, that allude to. Just after the bat
tie of Fredericksburg the Purcell battery,
commanded by Willy Pegram was stationed
on the extreme. right of our line, at Moss's
Neck. We boys had become accustomed to
go over the river to exchange products with
the Yankees, and to that end we had hauled
over from house near by good-siZed boat,
in which we made the trips. One morning
young fellow who had come out from AleXan-
dria a few days before to join us asked me to
let him go over the river with me. You see
the cavalrymen on the other side had made signs
that the coast was clear of officers, and fool like,
consented The commanding officers on both
sides had sternly forbidden any such inter
changes. Well we got into the boat, loaded
down with plugs of tobacco and SO on, and
nt tpf fha nth do nd rnnl fne
coffee and so on. When got into the boat
to return the fellow that had come over with
me refused to return. felt that was in an
awful fix and didn't know whether | would
not be held as an accessory to a desertion in
front of the enemy. The fellow had no sand
in his craw, and would not enter the boat, in
spite of my pleadings. So / rowed back and
went straight to Capt. Pegram and stated the
case. was Immediately put under guard and
carried to the headquarters of Gen. A. P Hill,
the commander of the division. The General
questioned me closely, and then asked, Who
was the officer of the picket line?' The Of
f1cer was brought in after time and was
asked If L recognized him. | swore that did
not, although had seen him playing cards in
a dog-tent a quarter of an hour before went
over the river. / told lie, but | wanted to
save my skin and the careless officers also.
Finally Gen. Hill said: There is lie out
somewhere but the next case / have before
me of what Gen Lee has expressly forbidden
I'll try the effect of drum-head court-mar-
tial and an execution following.' You may
be sure,'' said AL, ''that broke up the Illicit
traffic on our part of the lines.'' 7. j. NJ.