Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1893-07-22

The canteen had just passed around.
For an instant there was one of those
momentous lr7lls that everyone remem-
bers who has experienced the operations
| of siege or n battle. The soldiers
raised their heads to glance along the
| trenches and take q survey of the silent
camps far in the distance to the rear.
| Men and officers moved hither and
l thither secure for the moment in the
silence Death in the air rested to
catch its breath. Then from gulch at
some distance came dull, muffled ex-
| plosion, and cloud of smoke and dust
rising showed that n mortar shell from
the siege batteries of the enemy had
fallen and exploded. That was all,
| and that was all anyone thought about
it. But it happened at that spot and ut
that moment a drum head court-martial
was sitting. A poor devil had somehow
impressed his commanding officer with
| the belief that he was q coward. | do not
remember, if | ever heard, the particu-
lars. AT any rate, he was being tried
by drumhead dcourt-martial IN this out
of-theway place on the charge of cow
ardice. OF course the the penalty, if
convicted was death. A few minutes
had passed since the explosion of the
artificial aerolite. 1t had been forgot
ten, il it had been made q matter of
even passing remark. The general was
debating to his adjutant general. Aids
and clerks were all busy, when sudden.
ly an apparition appeared before them.
1t was evidently soldier, but bare
headed, his hair and face begrimed
with powder and so covered with thick
dust that, saturated with reeking per-
spiration, it ran into mud and gave
him the appearance of wild Indian
The hue of his clothing had evidently
once been blue. but it was covered
with dirt and to all appearances fresh
ly torn into shreds. His audacity in
appearing in such a plight before the
general and his staff without even ask
ing permission was the first wonder,
but when he did so with the exclama-
ton: II am no coward, general. sur
prise gave way to the indulgent i'm
preston, another poor fellow gone
daft, perhaps affected by the heat"
"Well, who said you were? What do
you want here? Sec to him, adjutant,"
quickly spoke the general and again
turned to his work
What is the matter, sir? Don't you
know better than to intrude yourself
this way in the presence of the gen.
eral?" asked the aid. Speak up at
once, sir"
Il am no coward, don't want to be
shot for a coward" the poor fellow con-
~, ~ 7 i
he asked, wiping the trickling CRIME
and mud from his face and forehead
with the remnants of the sleeve of his
old wooden shirt. Then, more compos-
edly, he related how he was being tried
for cowardice by court-martial down
the gulch over there how tremen-
dous mortar shell had dropped, explod-
ing and interrupting the proceedings,
knocking him over, tearing his cloth
ing, mutilating his body to some extent,
and had left him half dead and half
buried; how he had come to, and, look
ing about, could see no one of the Off
GERS before whom he was ut the
time being tried for his life; and
so he had come to the general to ask
what he should do and to tell
him he was no coward. A hurried in
vestigation proved the truth of the poor
fellows story. The she'll had exploded
in close proximity to the court, but the
accused was the only one who had suf-
fered other inconvenience than a des-
perate shock of the nerves. Every MEM
Der of the court had excitedly taken
himself to a more secure place and be-
fore they had recovered their compla-
cency sufficiently to remember that they
had left the prisoner on the ground, the
latter had reported to the general by
whose order he was being tried. 1t was
a lucky fall for the soldier. The COM
mander thought he had shown more in
trepidity than the officers who We're try
ing him. He ordered him to report to
the captain OF his company for duty.
The hour that, had it not been for the
interposition of the enemy, might have
marked his death as craven saw him
restored to the confidence of his COM
rades. A few days afterwards he gave
proof that this confidence had not been
misplaced. He fell with his face to the
foe, in the assault that followed the
famous mine explosion, a hero.-Omaha
Bee.