St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-15
CLOSE CALL FOR MOsBY.
How the Guerrilla Chieftain Was
Shot and Left for Dead.

How the Guerrilla Chieftain Was
Shot and Left for Dead.
ut was one of the closest calls | ever
had, and was pronounced as good as Il
dead man by the Federnl Surgeon who
made hasty examination of me afte +
the shooting.''
The speaker was the noted Southern
raider, Col. John S. Mosby, who now
resides in San Francisco. but has
been spending few DAYS in the
city, says the New York Herald.
He and sat together OH a
Settee in the corridor of Broad
way hotel and talked about war times
The colOnel-he was never a general
pushed back his SLOUGH hat and his gray
eyes gaZed at the ceiling as if it were a
map of the war. He forgot that he had
ever been politician and spent seven
years of his life as consul to Hong Kong
His memory went back twenty-Seven
years 10 IA period when he was known to
the North as guerrilla raider. | had
been talking to him about narrow es-
capes, and the conversation led to the
following narrative by the colonel:
ut was in December, 1864, in Vir-
ginia, that | thought l had received a
fatal wound. l was captured, but not
recognized, and left for dead by the
Federals. l have seen an account
somewhere of this adventure of mine,
but 1t had no resemblance to the truth.
That yeri5imIlitude of detail was lack
ing to rescue the story from pure fic-
ton.
ION that evening in December was
eating supper at farm house and not
SuSpecting the approach OF Federal cav
airy. The farmer, his wife and daugh-
ter were friends OF mine, and son of
the family was under my command. |
was ravenOusly hungry, and by
the aid of a tallow candle = gas
and oil were not used in Virginia
then - was eating sausages
and pone bread. Such luxulies as SUI
gar and coffee were not in the menu.
Suddenly the door opened and several
Federal officers entered. The house
was entirely surrounded by a regiment
of cavalry. | had on long gray over
coat, and OH the collar was the insignia
OF my rank as colonel. Jumping up, l
raised both hands and carelessly grasped
my collar, hiding the insignia of my
rank. Theg did not know who | was,
except that | was Confederate.
81 looked down the barrels of several
revolvers and surrendered. Of course
racked my brain to find out some ave-
hue of escape. 1t came in a dangerous
way. The soldiers on the outside fired
through an open window at me, and
ball struck me in the left side. The fir
ing created confusion, and the officers
rushed out to avoid being shot by their
own men. In the haste of their depart
ure the table was overturned and the
candle went out, leaving this room in
darkness. This was my chance. | ran
into an adjoining room, pulled off my
coat and tucked it under a bureau. BY
that time | was growing weak from loss
of blood, and | fell.
1.-The FederalS came in and the sur
geon examined me hastily. | distinctly
remember that he said was shot in the
heart, though how lie managed to locate
the wound there is mystery to me. |
was stripped of what clothing had and
left in almost nude conditions. They
asked me my name and | gave fic-
tltiOuS one. The farmer was interrogat-
ell, but he did not tell them my name.
As they did not suspect that | was
Mosby they soon departed.
Although it rained in torrents and
the lightning was inceSSant | was car
rled away in an OK wauon. All the
mules and horses in the place had dis
appeared weeks before and only yoke
vi OHcH remained. L WO negro boys,
the farmer and his daughter drove the
wagon and acted as my escort. Before
they started L was rolled in several
blankets and made as comfortable as
possible under the circumstances. They
convey ed me three miles to my men,and
when they unrolled me and examined
my wound, said | was shot in the iden
tical spot that Gen. Jeb Stewart was
and L thought l would die. The ball
went straight through Jeb Stualt, but
fortunately i'll my case it DETECTED and
went upN ard. In six weeks was
strong enough to be in thesaddle again.
l have been wounded six times"
"Well, colonel" I asked, sswhat
caused that bullet to go upward when it
entered your side?''
Il do not know unless it was the
sausages ] had eaten. After all may
owe my life to sausages. | have the
lead in me yet. When those fellows
heard that they had captured me, and
had permitted me to escape l reckon
they uttered cuss words"