The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-12-07
A MUSICIANS STORY.
How Two Michiganders Spent One Night
and Were Never Found Out.
ITO be continued

How Two Michiganders Spent One Night
and Were Never Found Out.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: l shall re-
late little incident which happened TO ME
and the fifer of my company in East Ten
nessee.
When the main part of the army left
Loudon for Knoxville, just before the siege
our division (the Second, Twenty-third
Corps,) did not 20 with them. bat went to
Kingston, so as to harass old LoDgstreet in
the rear.
By the way, it was scout from our regi-
ment who volunteered to start for Knoxville
with dispatch from Rosecrans to Burnside
or claimed to be SO; but This was only ruse
of Burnside. ROsecrans, according to this
dispatch, was but lew hours march OF
Knoxville, and he told Burnside to hold out
little longer and he would take Longstreet
by the seat of his pants las it were). This
was only ruse, as the scout was to be capt
ured, and was, and that is what made the
rebs get a move on, and they detailed the
rest men and forthwith charged on Fort
Saunders and all along the west line. The
scout had the promise of a furlough as soon
as he was exchanged, but think he died in
prison, as l have never heard of him since.
But to return to my story. While at
Kingston we were as hard up for grub as
they were at Knoxville. All we had was
corn in the ear, which we parched or ground
through the cOffee-mils
| think it was on the second morning
after we arrived there, just coming light,
that cow came rum NJ down through our
camp, and if there was one soldier after her
there were 25 Or course your humble
servant aud said fiier were two of that num-
Der. Well, We were pretty long-wnded
and we outwInded all others, aud at last
cornered the cow in fence-corner. / held
her by the horn and Oar Huff went to milk
ing into the only thing we had, which was
canteen grabbed up in hurry; but, woe is
me, we were so taken up with the cow that
we did not see a squad of home-guards COM
| ing along the road with fixed bay0nets until
they had US dead to rights" We begged
and plead for them to let US 90, as we were
| only taking little milk for our coffee, but
it was no use; we might as well try to
reason with stone as those ignorant guards;
aud will say right here that any good SOL
der who had reason, and knew our circum-
stances, would have let up on us.
Well, they took us down town to the
Provost, and he sent us TO Jail for 10 hours
without food, and we had had no break fast
either.
AT night we were released, and our regi-
ment had moved camp to the other side Of
the town. Our comrades asked as where
| we had been all day, and we told them that
when the COW got TO the road wagon train
came along going a-fOraging, so We went
along with them. well, but" asked they
where is your forage?" And we told then
that when out about ~ miles and near
nice piece Of corn, the rebs got after us, and
we had TO skedaddle and come in empty
| handed. We being very truthful did mo-
like TO tell this whopper, but we were 81
ashamed of being in Jail that we made VI
this story whilstsgong to camp, and W,
never told them anything different.
This is the only time that / was ever sen
to Jail IN my life, and it did us no harm
for we were the only two musicians of GU
regiment which stuck by through thick ant
thin and came home with the boys.
should like to hear from some of the 81
and 9th Tenn. boys. They were brigadet
with us all through the Georgia campaign
and left us and went home from Nortl
Carolina. We were together so long tina
we were almost like brothers. And Their
was the both Ind. (Persimmon Knockers,
I'd like to have them speak up. The.
would climb the tree for persmmons, an,
we would stay down below and the hes
fruit would fall TO US. 1t was long tim
before they caught on.-N. w. OGDEN
Drummer, Co. /, 25ih Mich.