Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1891-11-29
THE LAST i~SoLL-CAi.L.

Just AZ even hundred mcn ANSWERED.
-iiere!" IS the Sergeant called The
roll On the mornin- Ne axoSe beside
she Potomac. There were yoanS men.
m!I,lie-ICsl nea. u!ea fr~u the ioSa
ard inen from the farm. Men Sto 80
10 var IN light and die BESIDE each
other form sIcOas attachments Com.
ponies and Regiments EoSolTe them
selves into communities which do no;
look vito :avo. upon iairudtES- There
Sss Al even hGndrv! a. se marched
a"dE-ZS We took rur iaSt turn -
picSet-aS Es irsI sighted he e2euy
AS we went iuIo hattie jYT Ihc first
tiCae- Alter the rs4: Of :ae Euas had
died away aa3 the ie%I had been
buried Only eIcrty-nine men Gnswerrd
III -c!" 10 the S~e1-e@u;'s lao-uin-
rol-cil'. Inc others wvre cuVcnd up
/. iIe !OC- trnca=S and their -
drew ihs Living c.ose- together.
) f-T we=k~ =Sat 10y. and we stood
-.o4idcs To- shoulder IN ba.i!e iiae
aGain. Q@c:e were charge and
counte- cS.r-r-uea screamed on;
a. they wvIS rounGcl-men fell dad
ana uttered 10 rry- II tie g!o-my
fOGesI. .! l-c ..1-I Ui E campfire, tie
Se.Gcaut cti!ei the ro!I, and nov Only
s+v~enly-tiSHt uea answered Here
Inc RED earth trenches had claimed
more victims. and the ties L-twern
the lIging scre drawn sill c.oS-.
When - nsu Rad bSrv~i u-,lh S!tn
you, thar eXcTssS a hundrsi short
cSninE' in camp OF on the march.
Then zane Cold Harbor and tAc
falling back - Malvern Hill. Caunoa
Ooomed aad :~nIskct:y cracked ii!
day long and far into the night.
Wounded n-1 cursed and croanel a.
they iimrei away or fell helpless
men pi;eSci forward with but "A
single cry aud died with their faces
hidden 10 tuv weels and gT.ss. After
Malvern Hi! the Sergeant. called the
rui! aElia--I.s he same Sergeant as
before, but another had taken MS
~p.-ce-~he was lying dead II the
thIc.eis ~ Fair Oak5-ani this time
only hfty-tISo uIen answered Here"
and - could you wonder that Whe..
recruits came down TO Us Ne loDkc 1!
upon them as intrudrrs, even though
they were good men and true AID h"a
come Ia help IL win victories: Wn4j
did they know OF our dead, OF c..
vesrisnme marches. of touching ell
bows with Us as We waited for tue
word t. charge the flaming guns:
Their nBme were called with oars.
aud wc heard them answer '~iIuTc."
Bat they were only with w.; they
could not be OF us. They had cour
too late.
And after South Mountain and
Antictam and Second Manassas and
Fredericksburg aud Chaacellorsyil.e
and GcttsDurg and the Wilderness
the roll was called and our dead were
covered mp aad other men were sent
down 10 take their places. We shook
hnGl5 with them and pretended 10 be
comrades, but va had no ties will,
them. They had not learned WIFI
with us. They could uut 90 back
to the OeEinning---to our first dead.
And at last came .AppUma;ox rHd the
surrender, and then peace and the re-.
turn II Washington. We We're almost
n full company again rs VIC turned
out on the meadows OF Arlington for
the last rOll-calI. Upward Of seventy
living men could have mastered
Here" 10 thor names.
"FaIl in, Company q! Attention TO
roll.rali!"
II was not the Sergeant who had
called the roll after Fredericksburg,
after Charlottesville, after Cicttys.
burg, after :hc awful grHprle ia the
thickcts and swainps of the Wilder.
ness. 1t was q new mran.-oHc who
had been promoted before his checks
had scarcely been burned by the
Southern sun. But he had heard Or
the ties which bound tho old Veterans
togcther--hc rcalizcd what this last
rO!l.call meant to the survivors,. And
from tho Tugty archives Of the rnst
he took tho roll Of the dead and "all.d:
"Ansnn"-AiuIstrOng. -ATmltage--
Algd"rf!' No one replied!
berry --Bloomiugdulc.-Bcn Benson
Observation-Disclosures"
No II roplIedl
"Cary.-C drtcr---Cnrnuhan-.Cum
mings.-.C omstock!"
No u replied!
And so lc called, nnl so tho silcnro
OF tho dcath-rolI grew Deeper add
deeper, until the living felt a cLili
Crccp over them.
"iunng--Eocm Yugcr!'
No @rp'iaI!
"Notl!"
"iIurCi"
AId so no -" all was ITO sole sur.
v,"o-~-th1 luatlivins inan u Company
G--thl OnIr one who had tho right to
stand th,rJ in that liun umd answer 10
tho lust fo,l.call. Tho uiI rfs"-niucty
and niuc.-wcre cripplcs at homU or
sleeping thoir last sleep on tho hill.
sidcs. IN the valleys. In the forests and
tho tbickcts OF Virg ma.
Tho liuo checrcd Inn M lIe stood
apaft--thc last survivor 81 n gloriJus
band which bad fuowrt la Il dozen
battlcs--bui he turncd away his head
...I ....s ar A.. l.