Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-04-10
FEMALE SHARPSHOOTER.
"Jin," q Rebel" Girl, Holds q Squad Of
Federal Infantry ut Bay.
TDetrolt Free Press.

As our brigade advanced, crossing pas
ture-land, sweeping through thickets, and
fording a creek which seemed to be all
turns and elbows, man about ten feet
from me on the left dropped dead. My
company was on the extreme left OF the
line, you see, and the man was tianker.
He had been shot from the window OF
humble-looking cabin which stood IN open
ground about rihe-shot away.
Sergeant, take ten men and clean those
bushwackers out and burn the house was
the order | got from my captain. ana
minute later had squad marching away.
There had been more or less fighting over
| this same ground all the forenoon. and the
| artillery and musketry fire had been pretty
| hot We were now driving the line, ana as
we advanced we found many OF the dead
| still living where they fell. 1t wasn't lawful
warfare for bushwhacker 10 hide away in
| afarrn-house and shoot soldier in the back.
| Even if a battle was raging such deed
smacked of murder. If he could shoot 1t
was his business 10 be in the lines opposed
| to us. Then. If his bullets found human
| target it was the chance Of war, and If he
| happened TO be captured byus he would DO
| treated as a prisoner OF war.
| We marched straight for the mousse, ex-
pecting that the bushwhacker had fed IA
| soon as be fred his shot, but we had not
| covered over half the distance when rifle
| cracked and one Of my men dropped with
| a bullet in his heart. The nearest cover TO
| the house was a stone fence 100 feet IN
| front of it and o shed-barn about the same
| distance from the back door. Dividing
nv squad, and now adopting all the pre-
| cautions we could. all of us finally gained
the shelters mentioned. II was log cabin,
a story and half high, with two windows
| in front, one on each side. and window
| in the rear. The two doors were front and
back.
| HAVOC WITH RIFLE.
How many men were in the house we
| could not say, but as soon IA in position
| we opened fire on the doors and windows.
| Not shot was fred in return for three or
four minutes, Then one OF my men at the
| wall, who had exposed himself, got bull
let in the shoulder. and crawled away to
hide under bank of earth. Our bullets
soon riddled doors and windows. and
must have searched every part OF the
house. We expected to see three or four
men dash out and make run for 1t, or a
white flag TO be displayed in token OF a
surrender, but all was grimly silent.
| About ten minutes after my man had
been shot one of the men at the shed got
his head out too far while shooting and re-
ceived bullet in return. 1t didn't kill
him, but carried away the right half Of his
upper lip and moustache, passed through
his cheek, carried away four teeth, and
split his ear, and after term in the hos
pital he was discharged and sent home.
That was two killed and two wounded,
and all apparently by the same weapon.
We knew it to be the ordinary rifle by the
whip-like crack Of its report. but there
might be three or four men in the house
for all we could determine. We kept
blazing away at the doors and windows on
the chance OF hitting some one, and from
the silence of the next ten minutes | felt
confident that we had disabled them.
Then gave the signal for q a rush at the
house. Ali Of Us were I'D and halfway
there, when a rife-barrel was -pOked
through n broken pane and flash follow
ed. The ball grazed my cheek and struck
the man behind me in the forehead and
dropped him dead. Next moment we were
at the doors. front and back, and they
were banged open with a crash.
"HER GAL, JIM"
This is what saw boy soldier lying
dead on the floor with an arm torn off by a
fragment of shell. On the bed was gray
haired woman with a bullet-wound in her
face. Standing in the corner of the room,
proud and defiant, with the unloaded rife
in her hands. was q girl of sixteen-a regu-
lar country belle in grace and beauty.
Il can do no more. Shoot US if you
will /" she said as she confronted US.
AYE, shoot" added the mother.
There lies my only boy, killed by your
guns this morning. 4 lie here wounded,
and my gal, jim. has dropped four or five
of you to get even! One gal to a dozen
soldiersl Come and finish your work."
But we simply took the rifle away and
left them with their dead, and we pitied
them even as We smarted with the sense OF
| our own loss