The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-12-20
ment, and my clerk, who had come in,
handed me telegram:

|
men. | blew up the works. Wire me at
| Clinch's. BARTON
by Jove! he is brick. He will not
go through the Gap, and will only get
my first dispatch as it follows him, even
if they know where to send it. He is
going right through Lee county, Vir-
ginia, to strike the East Tennessee
railroad. Well, l thought it over a few
days, and then telegraphed to Clinch's:
"' COLONEL BARTON; Come back instantly
1 dare not risk loss Of brigade.
HoBBs Gen'l Com'd'g.'
WAh,' said l, always keep on the
safe side.' A week rolled away and /
got this:
&c BONNEVILLE, VA, 18th inst.
&c GENERAL: Changed my course again
Burned bridge at Chamberstown 100 feet
along 1t will do up the railway for six
months. Wire me at Union. BARTON
"By George! he had neither of my
dispatches, and / was glad of it. Bridge
gone at Chamberstown. The greatest
raid in the war. But l am old and
wise, and 80 l will order him to retire
into Kentucky and wait further Or
ders. In the mean time Mamie comes
into headquarters, and her cheeks are
hot and her eyes dance as she says,
holding out a copy of the Nashville
Banner (said Nashville Banner was on
wheels since leaving Nashville at Buell's
advent, and had large circulation, as
it circulated all over the South with its
fleeing army. This copy was evidently
printed at Knoxville, Temp
"'Read it pa. Your little man is
making big stir. Perhaps if you had
sent siX-foot beef-eater he would have
bagged the whole Confederacy by this
time. Read, right here:
Loss OF ROLLING STOCK BARTON
| THE RAIDER.
"' Barton who espoused the Union cause
and went out from us, is now a hireling
| Colonel and is raidng with about two thou
sand Yankee Scdtd1cdgS on our line of COM
munications. Contrary to usage of war, he
yesterday burned another railroad bridge,
| costing hdJ-muliOn of dollars, which can
not be replaced, and crippled all the loco
motives he found at stations, or tipped them
into the ditch. We understand he has pa
rolled about eight hundred prisoners. He
WW grace limb, if cdptured.'
"' Mamie said 1, solemnly, he is
brave man.
"' Oh, pa she said, and ran out of
the room with the paper in her hand
and a sob in her voice. When you
think woman is logical and sound she
will knock you silly with such actions
as that. l wish l had sent neither of
those dispatches, but l wonder where
the brave little rascal is. | have not
heard from him in a week. only through
this Nashville Banner. Well, here is
dispatch from General Halleck:
n ~
sc DEAR GENERAL: Who is this Barton?
| get no report from you, but the Southern
press gives him credit for being another
John Morgan. The president says he can
have captaincy in the regular army if he
comes out alive. L haye wired Gov. - of
kentucky to brevet him brigadier-general.
60 HALLECK.'
begin to have rather an emaciated
opinion of my sagacity. l never paid
much attention to the collection of au-
tographs, but l would give one thousand
dollars apiece for those dispatches,
which of course Barton has read by
this time and is, without doubt, congrat-
ulating himself ON his narrow escape
from being the son-in-law of such an
old ass as l am. Yes, and 1 ordered
him back, and he has paroled eight
hundred prisoners and done up East
Tennessee for all time. Well, he
must stand one more dispatch:
"' NASHVILLE, December 21st, 80.
=" BARTON | congratulate you. Work
back through Tennessee. Forrest is inter-
cepting you at Union. Get your men off
safely as possible.
HOBBS, Gen1 Comd'g.'
Hello! here is Mamie. What has
she in her hand? A letter, and she
says:
GO Can 1 read you few lines out of
my letter, pap
'' Here, let me take it and read the
whole letter, Mamie; and | reached
out my hand.
50 I'd rather not. 1t is from the lit
tie man, Barton; and she blushed.
"' Well, read away, them; aud I felt
somehow that my dignity was waning.
"' Just this paragraph, pa said
Mamie.
we struck Forrest on the pike near
Galloway's. He had about three thousand
men, and my command had dwindled to
fifteen hundred, but / told the men that
Western Union cavalry had become laugh
ing-stock for the world, and wanted them
TO stay by me and go in with our sabers
We were going by tours, but where the
pike widened out we wheeled into platoons
and my old regiment struck Forrest like
cyclone. My black horse is dead, and I
caught clip on the head which spoiled my
forage-cap, but we went right through For
rests men and charged back by company.
| send this letter with detachment bring
ing in seventy-five of Forests men,
"'Shall go on pap asked Mamie.
"' No, that will do l said; and /
was reminded how the climate was
using up my eyes, as they grew misty
and | had to get up and go nearer the
window.
3" Mamie was going to remain until
Christmas and then return north.
Barton left his command at their old
camp and happened to come down to
headquarters to report on Christmas
day. How would he receive the old fool
of general who had made mistake
in every dispatch he had sent. l knew
where Barton stood in the public estima-
ton, but would have given two months
pay to know where General Hobbs
stood in Barton's estimation. When
he came in / noticed that his brown
curls had been clipped by the surgeons
scissors and his white fore hi cad WAS dis.