St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-09-26
Death of Little Jack" on the Bat.
tel Field Al tar a praya nood

Death of Little Jack" on the Bat.
tel Field After a Brave Deed.
One day Little Jack" wandered into
our camp on the plains of Manassas,
coming, no doubt, from Washington,
as no one knew him. lie was a street
gamin about ten years of age, ragged,
dirty and "tough," but the sole of good
humor, says the Detroit Free Press.
Company Dadopted him forthwith as it's
mascot, nut every company in the regi-
menT got to feel that it owned part of
him, as it were. We cut Jacks nair
ana made him keep his face and hands
partially clean, but l don't think his
morals, If he ever had any, improved
under the tuition he received. The
chaplain used to get hold of him now
and then and give him a fatherly talk
ing to, but the boy soon rubbed it off
against the rough and wicked men in
the regiment. When we were on the
march and he got tired out there was
always some teamSter ready to give him
lift, and when fight was imminent
Little Jack was sent to the rear to be
with the wagOn-train and in place Of
safety.
The boy had been with us a year
when Lee moved down on Pope and
brought on the second battle of Bull
Kun. Our division was at Chantilly,
and you will find it on record that wa
gave way grudgingly and demanded a
life for every foot we were pressed back.
We were holding our lines like grim
death when the enemy brought up re-
lntorcemeuts and redOubled his eX-
ertlons, and something like a panic
was observable for a few mintes. 1t
was then that the gallant Phil Kearney
met his death-dashing in where the
flre was hottest to inspire our lines with
confidence. Little Jack had been sent
to the rear, but as the-th regiment
Wayered and fell back, and Company D
became mob instead of a company, the
boy came dashing up on mule he had
taken possession of.
"hold on! Held onr' shouted Little
Jack in his shrill boyish voice. The
old-th has never got licked VT, and
Company ID hain't goin' TO run away
from this fight! Hip! Hurrah! On it,
about face! Go in and give .em l.!
! Come on-follow mep'
The mob heightened itself out and
became double line of men again, and
as We breasted forward we carried the
right and left companies and regained
the ground we had lost. Thirty feet in
front OF us was Little Jack waving an
olo SaDer DayoneG ana shouting at the
top of his voice. We saw him through
the smoke and cheered him and called
to him to fall back, but when we looked
again he had disappeared. Ten minutes
later there was a lull in the firing A
corporal crept forward in search of the
child and found him lying between two
cOrpses. He had been struck by three or
four bullets and was dying. The cor
pOral bent over him and called him by
name, and Little Jack opened his eyes
and family questioned:
rs de old-th all right, corp?"
"Yes.'
Did Company D rally?''
Eyes, we are holding the lines. You
rallied the company. Jack"
A great light shown in the fast-glaz-
ing eyes, and the little form was partly
raised as he gasped:
''Bully for de-th. Hurrahl Hu-p
We left him with our other dead for
the enemy to bury, and in our hearts
we hoped that some one might say as
they looked down on his little form:
"Why, this is no soldier-only little
child Lift him up tenderly, and let
some one breathe a prayer as we
cover him ill.,"