Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-07

eyes, - said my friend the General, ''you
NAV boast of the forms and solemnities of
your civil tribunals, of your oaths and ati-
darits and rigid cross-examinationA What
are they but retrenchments which prove
that perjury is an active foe. Now, in the
army it is pride, not fear, that is the sale
guard. The word of an officer on his honor
as q soldier and gentleman is never
doubted"
''Yet an officer is human?"
''There are men and men, sir 1t is a
matter of education, which becomes an in
stinct A soldiers word is a sacrament.
and is SO recognized by the army regula-
tions"
'Oh, we'll, the Roman soldiers did some
times desert their standard, turn their back
on the enemy, and abandon their General
Cataline and Antony lived, as well as
BrutUs and Scipio. Come now, did you
never know an officer to break his word?"
HUMP The General looked serious and
even sad. 81 do remember one case; but it
was excusable. Sir, most excusable. Poor
young fellow! so handsome, SO gallant.
After all these years 1 can see him as he
sat erect and manful on his horse, his face
livid, his lips bitten, the drops of agony
streaming from his brow. He was tempted
beyond moral strength and he yielded-a
grievous fault, ior which he wofully
atoned."
Tell me about it, pray; not as it i'm
pressed you, but from the beginning?"
From the egg to the apple, eh? You
see, we old soldiers are not forgetful of our
Latinity. Well, will, though the task is
a melancholy one. During one of the later
~ . h., ID,lo I fafT raA in,
Soughtern Atlantic State and had command
of the outpost. On either side of us was
river; beyond these, dense morasses. In
front, about Ii miles distant, was q city,
held by the enemy and filled with military
stores. And % miles beyond was another
hostile town. A railway ran between the
rivers and furnished communication be-
tween these two places" "
'Does an outpost require any definite
force?''
NO That depends on the extent of the
country to be guarded. In this instance nv
front covered FIVE miles, and had a brig
Adc-two regiments of infantry, a regiment
of cavalry, and four pieces of artillery-a
fine command. l also had few men from
the engineer corps and one of these at the
peril OF his life, too, for he would have
been shot if captured-had drafted topo-
graphical map of the surrounding country.
From this planned an expedition on the
enemy's outpost
detailed an officer of tried intrepiditv,
Captain Brown, to make detour with his
company to the right flank and rear. All
night they marched through the swamp and
impenetrable ihicket, distance of over %
miles, and yet kept a reserve OF strength and
pluck for the morrow's fighting 1t was
most galiantly achieved. Meanwhile / set
out two hours before daybreak with !, 900
men, marching in three columns along the
three practicable roads. Everything trans
pired in accordance with my fondest antici-
nations. As soon as we engaged the enemy
Captain Brown seized the bridge in their
rear and advanced boldly, making a tre-
mendous noise.
"a la Chinese?"
''The Chinese are no fools with their ket-
tledrums, sir Warfare is q royal game, in
which fnesse often wins Captain Brown
left 4 portion of his scanty command in the
rear, which assumed the appearance of re-
serve to the bewildered foe. They believed
that they we're surrounded and by an over
whelming force, and so they yielded.
When the Captain joined me We found that
we had bagged Southern Brigadier Gen.
sral, with his staff, several pieces of artil-
lery, 30 horses, among which was famous
black stallion renowned from the James to
the Cult; at least hundred men, besides an