The National tribune., 1894-08-02
OUR LAST BEANS.
Sketch of Starvation Campaign in the Spring
of '64.
Continued from last tceek)

Continued from last tCeeE)
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: We were
to rendezvous at the crossing of the railroad
and turnpike, seven or eight miles from
Lynchburg. We performed our task, and
arrived st the rendezvous three or four hours
before Hunter and Sullivan made their ap-
pearance. Gen. Crook sent a request to
| Hunter begging the privilege of advancing
at once on Lynchburg, as he had informa-
ton from some prisoners captured that there
was but small force of home-guards in the
| way, but his request was refused.
When Hunter finally did arrive we
marched on, finding no rebels in force until
il got so dark that we could see to 60 no
farther, and halted within a short distance
of the Notifications and rifle-pits that had
been thrown up around the city. If we had
had three hours more daylight we could
have easily taken the city, burned the
arsenal, foundries, and iron-works, crossed
| the James river and been on our way back
! by a shorter route toward the Shenandoah
Valley before daylight.
We camped so close 10 the rebel lines, that
when we commenced to build our fires to
cook supper, they commenced to pop away
at us, and we concluded to hunt a safer
| place to bivouac for the night and fell
back few hundred yards into a piece of
woods We could hear the locomotives
footing all night long, and we well knew
what it meant for in the morning we were
confronted with heavy reinforcements from
| Richmond.
All day long the battle ragged. and the
! fierce charges of the rebel veterans were
/ firmly resisted by our men in hasliy-con-
! sructed Tifle-pits, behind logs and trees, or
/ any obstacle that would stop a minie-ball
The rebs were compelled to retire each time
with heavy loss. But we were greatly out
numbered, and it soon became evident that
we could not long maintain the unequal con
| test, and as soon as darkness came we COM
| menced our weaTisOme, disastrous retreat.
| We had drawn our last ratiOns the morn
ing of the battle, and by night there was
| many an empty haversack; and although
We did not know it then, it was nearly $50
miles to the next eommissary rations, and
| for the greater portion of the distance
through a very sparsely settled mountain
region. 1t WAS but a slim chance for the
subsistence Of such an army.
The rebs followed us for four or five days,
until we got well into the mountains, but
would not give us battle, although we
offered them every opportunity. They had
thrown large force into the passes of the
Blue Ridge, forcing us to keep farther west,
cross the Allegheny Mountains, and make
for our base of supplies at Meadow Bluffs.
The artillery and cavalry horses and wagon
mules Jared as badly or worse than we and
as fast as they gave ont were shot and rolled
out of the road or down the mOuntain-side
To make matters more difficult and dis
couraging in my case l was afflicted with a
bad stone-bruise on the ball of my right
foot, and was compelled to march on that
heel all the way from Lynchburg. l could
not make very good racing time and was
consequently much of the time in the rear,
and often clear behind the rear-guard but
the thought of the horrible torture of the
rebel prison-pens kept me at least in sight
Of the rear-guard most of the time.
l shall never forget the magnanimous con-
duct of Billy Crump, a comrade of my com
pany, who was then Gen. Hayes's cook, and
afterward Steward at the White House,
l believe, during the Hayes aud Garfield Ad-
ministrations. He came across me one day
away back in the rear and kept me company
for some little distance, and when he left ne
to 90 forward 10 look up something for the
Generals supper he insisted on pouring the
contents Of his haversack into mine. 1t was
about double handful of crumbs of crack
ers, ground coffee and dirt mixed. He had
found comrade in worse straits than him
"
We arrived at Meadow Bluffs in nearly
famished condition, only 10 find our commits
sary stores heap of ashes and cinders. A
few bushwhackers had been in the vicinity
We were old veteran soldiers and had faced
death in many forms, but here was case
that tried the stoutest hearts and blanched
many swarthy cheek-a nearly-famished
army and 80 miles to the nearest rations,
aud, if possible, a wilder and more desoate
country yet 10 be traversed.
1t was now a desperate struggle for life
l Invested myself of every ounce of surplus
luggage. / threw away my blankets, car
tridge-box, bayonet, and haversack, retain
ing only my gun and six rounds of ammu-
milton, and started forward, using my gun
as support for my injured foot. That
night my brother came back TO see how /
was getting along. He had small handful
of beans and / had few grains Of coffee left
We sat down hy the roadside, cooked our
beans and coffee, and ate them, even to the
grounds OF the coffee, with saddened hearts.
We took hut little thought OF sleep now,
but struggled on, day and night, as our
strength would allow, having nothing to eat
but birch bark and wintergreens for more
than 20 long mountain miles. Many times
think, would have given up the contest
had 1t not been for the sight of men drop
ping down by the roadside in the agonies of
death, or wandering off into the brush crazed
with hunger. For three days / think |
suffered ali that man can suffer from star
Yatlon. Once i came across squad of men
who had killed a small razor-back hog, that
looked almost us lean and starved as its
captors. l begged for a piece of it as pit
eously as ever dog begged for bone, but
was refused. / even rushed up and tried to
cut off piece Of it, but was hustled away
with kicks and blows
But why dwell upon these horrors They
are no worse than the personal experience of
large portion of the comrades Of that war;
and yet Congressman Baldwin says "it was
nothing but prolonged picnic" If he had
been with MS that time he would never have
made use of such foolish expression.
ration train met us about IA miles from
Gauley Bridge, and threw out boxes of hard
tack and slabs of bacon along the roadside,
for everyone to help himself
The story was commonly reported
among the men that Gen. Hunter was
drunk for two or three days at the
time of the battle of Lynchburg. Whether
true l cannot say, as l did not see him.
He should have been at the rendezvous
eight miles from Lynchburg before US, as
he had only two miles further to 90 over
good turnpike road, while we were neces-
sarily somewhat detained in destroying the
railroads One thing is certain, the three or
| four precious hours we lost there lost us the
! battle, and caused a sacrifice by starvation
OF many as brave men as ever poured out