Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1892-11-18
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC COURAGE.
A Story Showing That There Are Moro
Kinds Than One.

tween the private and public courage
of some men," observed distinguished
southerner who won a gencralship at
Gettysburg. ITO me the most painful
illustration of this fact was in the
course of the first days fight at the
battle of the Wilderness. had two
Mississippi regiments in my command,
and being native of that state, l
knew quite number Of the soldiers
personally. One man had known for
years as q well-to-do planter in the
Dalta. For tho first two years of the
war he hired substitute, but he was
free with his abundant means in con-
tributing to the scant exchequer of the
eonfederacy. Under the general con-
seription act he was forced into line.
When he arrived at the camp he came
straight to my tent.
II was glad to see him, for knew
him personally to be man of unques-
toned courage. He and my brother
had been at college together, and after
ward, during political contest 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
gave no insult and brooked none, and
SO successfully had he come out of three
or four unprovoked 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 Wilderness, he seemed to be in
tremor, and not enough self-possessed
to answer my cursory questions about
our former friends. He was simply a
man scared out Of his wits.
Ignoring my questions altogether,
he said to me: General, if | go into
battle I'll be killed. Iknow l will, and
| have come to you to implore you to
find something else that can do.
don't care what the service IS l will
even hold horses, drive wagon-any-
thing, but can not go into a battle to
be shot at, for ] just know that | will
be killed at the first fire.
81 laughed at him and joked him for
his superstition, but frankly told him
that he must 60 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 fight at close
quarters before / got through with it.
My friend knew A. P. Hill and at his
request went with him to Hills tent
To 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: Il expect
you to kill at least ten Yankees to-mor-
row, and then l will sec to it that you
are raised to captaipcy for bravery on
the field. Goright along and win your
spurs for it looks now as il we were to
have great battle
Early next day we went into that
horrible death camp. Mr.. Friend stayed
in my tent that night, but doubt very
much whether he slept a wink.
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
saddled.
1--WE hurried into line and my mer
seemed eager to get into the fight
But, sir, my conscripted friend seemed
to have lost the power OF speech. He
automatically followed me, and when
told him that If we made charge or
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 II
may sound, do believe that the frs
bullet aimed at US from the fedora
lines struck my friend squarely in the
forehead, and he toppled off his horse
a corpse. His premonition of sudder
death had come tragically true, and al
that day l was depressed with th'
thought that l might possibly have
saved that mans life
"The next morning, before he wa
buried in the long trench, l took from
his pocket daguerreotype of his wifi
and his two children, son and
daughter, and afterward sent it to hi
wife. 1t would be cruel to give tina
mans name; but his daughter, nov
dead, became the wife of congress
man, and was belle in her day. Th
son is talented lawyer in the west
and, singularly enough, has had hi
affairs Of honor, and at fifteen pace
wounded his man, but not seriously
Yes, sir, there are some men who vii
fght in crowd, and then there ar
men who won't
"Quits contrary case to this" con
tinued the general, "was one which
heard Gen. Braxton Bragg tell the las
time saw him here in New York yea
or two before he dropped dead on tn
street in Galveston, Tex He said tha
the thing happened in the Mexican wal
and, II recollect Alright in the battl
of Buena Vista The soldier he referre
TO was Georgian, and Gen. Bragg sal
that personally he was the most abjec
! coward he had ever known. He sal
that only few days before the battl
!, he saw another soldier slap this fellow
face, and the blow was not resented.
"'But that same man, that persona
coward said Gen. Bragg, immortalize
himself on the historic field of Buen
Vista The color bearer OF my regimen
, was shot down. and to my surpris'
having witnessed the face slappiug of
day or two before, saw this man, wh
did not have the grit to defend himsel
rush forward; snatch up the colors an'
) dashing to the front, calling on the me
to follow him.
Al. 81