The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-09-21
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC COURAGE.
A Story Showing That There Are More
Kinds Than One.


''There is vast deal of difference
between the private and public cour-
age of some men," observed a distin-
guished southerner who won general
ship at Gettysburg to a New York
full illustration of this fact was in the
course of the first days fight at the
battle of the Wilderness. l had two
Mississippi regiments in my command
and, being native of that state,
knew quite number of the soldiers
personally. One man I had known for
years as well-to-do painter in the
Delta. For the first two years of the
war he hired a substitute, but he was
free with his abundant means in con-
tributing to the scant exchequer of
the confederacy. Under the general
conscription act he was forced into
line. When he arrived at the camp he
came straight to my tent.
81 was glad to see him, for knew
him personally to be man of un-
questioned courage. He and my
brother had been at college together,
and afterwards, during political con-
test in which he was a candidate for
the state senate, he had fought duel
with his whig opponent and my brother
was his second. The men fought at
ten PAGES and he shot the whig down.
though not fatally. He was one of
those men who never gave no insult
and brooked none, and so successfully
had he come out of three or four un-
provoked personal encounters that in
his county he was looked upon as the
champion fighter when he had to fight.
Well, sir, when that man came to my
tent, just before the battle of the Will
derness, he seemed to be in a tremor,
and not enough self-possessed to
answer my cursory questions about
our former friends. He was simply q
man scared out of his wits.
ignoring my questions although,
he said to me: General, if go into a
battle I'll be killed. I know I will,
and have come to you to implore you
to find something else that I can do.
l don't care what the service is. I
will even hold horses, drive a wagon
anything, but | cannot go into battle
to be shot at, for l just know that l
will be killed at the first fire.
81 laughed at him and joked him for
his superstition, but frankly told him
that he must go to the front, for we
needed ten times more men than we
could get. | told him that we should
probably have battle the next day;
that had been in every battle since
the first Manassas and had not been
touched by ball or powder, and that
he should go along with me, and, of
course, that meant he had to fight.
As it turned out it was a fight at close
quarters before l got throught with it.
My friend knew A. p. Hill, and at his
request | went with him to Hills tent
10 my chagrin he repeated his request
to Hill to spare him the crucial test of
battle. Hill really seemed to be
amused, and jestingly said: i expect
you to kill at least ten yankees to-mor=
row, and then | will see to it that you
are raised to captaincy for bravery
on the field. Go right along and win
your spurs, for it looks now as if we
were to have great BATTLE
''Early next day we went into that
horrible death camp. My friend stayed
in my tent that night, but doubt very
much whether he slept a wink. I
know he did not take any breakfast.
except pretentiously to drink some
very inferior coffee that my cook served
hastily while our horses were being sad
died.
1--WE hurried into line and my men
seemed eager to get into the fight.
But, sir, my conscripted friend seemed
to have lost the power of speech. He
automaticaly followed me, and when
told him that if we made a charge on
the enemy he must be careful not to
let his horse throw him, he shuddered
and the tears rolled down his cheeks.
We were pushed right into the hottest
OF the fight at once, and. strange as it
may sound, do believe that the first
bullet aimed at us from the federal
lines struck my friend squarely in the