The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-07-04
A WAR DUEL.

| 1000 cavalrymcn sat In silence upon their
| horses on the extreme left of tho Confed-
crate battle line ut Gettysburg. The field
| in their front was curtuined with u heavy
| mist ms il kindly nature had sought to
veil the appalling traces of the tragedy
there enacted. 1t hud been sown with shot
md bladcd thick with steel on the prcvi-
GUS afternoon, and tho harvest of death
was ungathered lying in windows along
| tho ghastly burrows that had been cut by
! the red plowsharc of war. Tho infnntry
| line stretched far away to the right, and
| their gray uniforms blending with tho
hazy atmosphere gave them very shnd-
| owy appearance. Many of the regiments
were indeed but shadows Of what they had
been at noon on the preceding day. Some
were in line without even one commits
stoned officer, and others with but the nor
NAL strength of single company. For
example, rs nttestcd by tho official record,
| the Twenty sixth North Carolina entered
| the battlc with 800 rank and tilc and, III
| though mono WINS captured, but 80 an
| swercd to their names ut the close of the
day. Colonel Henry X. Burgwyn, Jr,
| who commanded it, and nll the field Off
GERS were killed. Captain ii. G. Albright,
! who had command of 1t after the battle,
was its only commissioned officer left I'M
wounded. Company II Of the same rcgi-
| mcnt went in with "a men and three Off
GERS and came out with but one man
standing upon his feet all the others hav-
| ing been killed or wounded. I knew the
sole unstricken survivor we'll. He was
Private John Sccrcst, robust young farm
CT of Mecklcnburgh county, n. c., and
1 regret to state that instead of being
grateful to Providence for having pluckcd
him as a brand from the burning he
grumbled loudly over the loss of one of his
Shoes torn from his foot by q grapcshot .
that struck the heel while he was falling
back in good order
The 30 squadrons Of horse that were
awaiting orders in Il dreamy half sleep
were commanded by Brigatlicr General
Wade Hampton. He was the beau ideal
of u cavalry commander, of tall, heroic
form, II superb horscman brave and en-
tcrprising without being rash, and with
daring always tempered by sound judg-
mcnt. He was unqucstionably the strong
est man i'll the Confederate service and
tho only one in either army who cnlisting
Us n private soldier, rose to the rank of lieu
tenant general But, although Judi
cious commander he was possessed of
knightly spirit of adventure, and rs advcn-
lures come Ia the adventurous his bril-
liant military career was marked by many
thrilling personal experiences.
But brave heart is no buckler against
| steel blade, rs General Hampton real
lied that morning Hearing u bullet hiss
just over his head, he turned his face to-
ward the belt of open woods OH his left In
timo to see the flash OF n gun at Il point
about 800 yards away, and then he heard
another lcadcn messenger cut the air near
him. He ut once rode ut u brisk trot in
the direction of the timber to find out the
| carly bird Of shnrpshooter who thus
broke upon the quiet of the morning with
his shrill note of bnttlc When he Ind
ridden about It's yards ut right obliquc,
he came to high stake and rider rail
fence. Looking to the front he saw,
standing on large stump, some or
feet i'll height, IL soldier whose blue coat
bound with orange colorcd braid, and pan
falcons with stripes of the same color on
the outer seams, indicated that he was u
United States cavalrymnn. He seemed to
be what the Scots term n Draw lad, Z" and
although not engaged in political cam
paign had taken the stump doubtless
that he might get II better view of the Con
fcdcratc troops on the elevated plateau
south of the woods
The contour Of the ground hid General
Hampton from his command when he
halted ut the fence As he drew his pis-
toll the quick eyed skrmishcr saw him, and
they both fired ut the same instant The
ball from the soldiers riflcd carbinc splin-
tered II rail near the horses head, and that
from Wade Hampton's A calibcr revolver
made the bark fly from the stump The
duel WAS clearly Irregular, us there were
no seconds, and the principals were about
1875 yards apart instead of IS or go pnces
as prescribed by the code of honor, and
they wcro unequally armed, although each
was within far range of the Others wcaD-
on. Hampton held his pistol muzZlc up
at ready and courteously waited on his
0nt4HOniSt hn
his carbinc, and flinging out the empty
shell put in fresh cartridge
Again the reports of the carbine and pis-
tol blended, and bullet passed through
HamptOn's gray cavalry cape, grazing his
right breast.
The soldier then inserted a third car
fridge, but could not close tho breach of
his rifle, the trouble evidently being that
the gun was foul, and hence the butt of
the metallic case did not go in flush with
the socket. He raised his right hand with
| the palm to the front, ms If to say to his
| adversary, Wait II bit, III soon be with
you," and then drew his wiping rod, and
after driving out the stuck cartridge took
! piece of rag from his pocket, and, wet
ting 1t with his tongue, attached 1t to tho
slit In the rod and deliberately cleaned
out his carbne. The delay sorely taxed
the patience of Hampton, as 1t would that
OF any gentleman who was kept waiting
to DO shot at. But he was as incapable of
taking an unfair advantage of his enemy
then rs he was at Brandy Station, where
during the flercest cavalry engagement of
the war, he dashed up to u Federal colonel
to cut him down, but seeing that his
sword arm was disabled salutcd him in
Btoad and passed on to seek another foe.
Tho high roasting cock of the woods
rnlt L. 4 L.,