The Portland daily press., 1892-01-19
MossYs CLOSE CALL"

Row the Guerrilla Chieftain Was Once
Captured, Shot and Left for Dead.
..It was one of the closest calls | ever
had, and was pronounced as good as a
dead man by the Federal surgeon who
made hasty examination OF me after
the shooting"
The speaker was the noted southern
raider, Colonel John S. Mosby, who now
resides in San Francisco, but was spend
ing few days in tho city. He and Isat
ogether on settee in the corridor of a
Broadway hotel and talked about war
times. The colonel-he was never
general pushed back his slouch hat and
his gray eyes gazed at the ceiling as it it
were 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, to a period when he was
known to the north as guerrilla raider.
had been talking to him about narrow
escapes, and the conversation led to the
following narrative by the colonel:
'sIt was in December, 1864, in Vir-
ginia, that I thought I had received a
fatal wound. I was captured, bat not
recognized, and left for dead by the Fed
erals. | have seen an account some
where Of this adventure of mine, but it
had no resemblance to the truth. That
verisimiIitude of detail was lacking to
rescue the story from pure fiction.
Son that evening i3 December l was
eating supper at farmhouse and not
suspecting the approach of Federal cav
airy. The farmer, his wife and daughter
were friends of mine, and son of the
family was under my command. l was
ravenously hungry, and by the aid of
tallow candle-gas and oil were not
used in Virginia then-I was eating
sausages and pone bread. Such luxuries
as sugar and coffee were not in the
menu. Suddenly the door was opened
and several Federal officers entered.
The house was entirely surrounded by
regiment of cavalry. I had on long
gray overcost, and ON the collar was the
insignia of my rank as colonel. Jump
ing up l raised both hands and care
lessly grasped my collar, hiding the in
sigma of my rank. They did not know
who | was, except that | was Con-
iederate.
81 looked down the barrels of several
Yevolyers and surrendered. Of course l
racked my brain to find out some avenue
of escape. It 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 firing created
confusion, and the officers rushed out to
avoid being shot by their own men. In
the haste of their departure the table
was overturned and the candle went out,
leaving the room in darkness. This was
my chance. l ran into an adjoining
room, s,oulled off my coat and tucked it
under 8 bureau. By that time was
growing weak from loss of blood, and I
fell
..The Federals came in and the surgeon
examined me hastily. I distinctly re-
member that he said I was shot in tho
heart, though how he managed to locate
the wound there is a mystery to me. !
was stripped of what clothing had and
left in almost nude condition. They
asked me my name and gave a fictitious
one. The farmer was interrogated, but
he did not tell them my name. AS they
did not suspect that l was Mosby they
soon departed.
although it rained in torrents and
the lightning was incessant | was car
ried away in an OK wagon. All the
mules and horses in the place had disap'
peared weeks before and only yoke Of
oxen remained. Two 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
conveyed me three miles to my men,
and when they unrolled me and ex-
amined my wound | said I was shot in
the identical spot that General Jeb
Stuart was, and thought I would die.
The ball went straight through Jeb
Stuart, but fortunately in my case it de-
flected and went upward. In six weeks
was strong enough to be in the saddle
again. I have been wounded six times"
New York Herald.