The Van Buren press., 1893-10-14
THE BOY BATTALION,
Why They DID Not End the Civil
War.

w 0ks
In those stirring days back in the six
lies the drums, flags and long lines OF
marching men took captive the hearts
and fired the imagination OF boys
Marbles, bats, tops and balls were ex-
changed for military implements and
Every urchin became sol
der; every squad of boys company or
battalion.
So eager were we, in our North Caro-
lima ncighborhood. to ill our ranks and
outdo the neighboring plantations, that
all manner of recruits were gladly re-
ccived and enlisted. including our ne
gro playfellows. and on pinch even
our sisters and girl cousins
After . time we grew tired OF drilling
and 1onged for more stirring service
The men had gone to the front and our
hearts had gone with them. Our mot
lev companies were disbanded one by
one, and the more enterprising boys OF
the neighborhood began TO discuss the
advisability Of forced march TO the
seat of war.
To such proceeding we were quite
sure our mothers would object But
had they not. in some cases, opposed
the enlistment of our fathers? We
heard the loud cry on all sides, that 1t
WAS every ones duty to do his utmost
70 end the war.
Just then we found in the garrcts OF
our homes several long-forgotten lots
OF military sccoutrements used by rel
atives in the Mexican war. or in mill
ia drills That decided the matter
Now we could equip ourselves
A marching eolann- comprised OF
Ned Tippet. Mark Laany. Tom NAlless
myself and several Smaller boys. WAS
instantly formed
We we're 10 Ezz4er n the Greek
Bridge xt dzFhr~Ak q eisurse ne
were too nseA ex<zs<ss sh,< nixhs bssfDre
10 deep We ux<x Al an hand h~t0re
the dzy broke. xsz the huT hassalh1a
was formed We .arx kaze H<hs-horse
helmets. made Of EsasA<x- dexked u1sh
trailing borsehAsr and zAaFed Iike the
helmet of Alexander the Great. beside
cutaway coats radiant with huf trin-
mings and brass buttons The coat
sleeves were rolled up 50 that we might
have the use Of our hands. and under
the lining Of the helmets leaves were
stuffed to keep them from dropping
down over our faces
We had an armament that we felt
must be decisive. Indeed. we wondered
how our elders could have overlooked
such irresistible weapons; and we
counted ourselves the most fortunate OF
beings in having discovered them
I bore a sword which no less an au-
thority than Uncle Primus. the car
riage-driver, declared TO be Bearly sharp
enough to shave with. Ned had q
pistol which discharged six shots with
out reloading. Mark had one which
required no cooking. but was fired by
the pulling of the trigger. and Tom
had a rifle that would kill at distance
of mile
The fact that had a sword of course
made me captain After inspecting the
guns to see if they were all loaded. and
ordering to their homes all recruits I'M
der nine years old was twelve-for
the reason that they were too small and
had no uniforms or weapons, shouted
the command:
Shoulder armsi Forward mar-rch,''
We trudged braveiy forward. As
soon as the friendly screen of the woods
was reached the command was halted,
or Father it halted itself, in order that
. line of march might be agreed upon,
For two reasons we decided to aban-
don the highway and strike across the
country. One reason was that We
wished to surprise the enemy and end
the s<ar with a volley. The other rea-
son, and the chief one. was that the
most formidable enemies of the expedi-
tion ia the persons of our mothers held
the rear and would doubtless give pur-
suit along the road
How far away the armed enemy was
we did not know. Our plan was to
march due northward. guided during
the dag by the sun and at night by the
north star, or, If it was cloudy. By feel
ing the moss on the tree-trunks, just as
Daniel Boone and the Indians did
So, ding OF by the left flank. we
struck out through the woods and
fields The thorns and briers seemed
thicker than we had ever before known
them and the gullies closer together
and deeper. But filed with enthusi-
asm, We pressed manfullv forward
The sun crept slowly up. becoming
hotter every moment Our WEAPONS
grew heavier, and our military coats
seemed to be larger and longer with
every step we made Hunger reminded
us that we had not only left home with
out breakfast, but that in organizing
we had also entirely overlooked the com
missary department..
To our m inds soldier was fighter,
pure and simple We had never for an
instant associated soldering with eat
ing. That the soldier might get killed
was likely; that he might get hungry we
had not dreamed of.
My men began to murmur. and now
and then to halt and look back. /
urged them on. reminding them that it
was q soldiers duty TO suffer and even
die for his country. and that the more he
did of both. the greater and truer
soldier he was. With many other cheer
ing words that had picked up. from
TO the grown people. ex-
horted my army to do its duty.
But in spite of all could do the COM
mand began TO straggle SO badly that !
was forced to detail Private Lanny as
q rear guard, with strict orders to keep
the men in line But as the rear guard
itself soon began to straggle. | was
forced to quit my place at the head of