The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-05-13
they HAVE FACED DEATH.
What Generals North and South Con-
slider Their Closest Calls.

another, a Groove Gut Through His
wbiskers by Rifle Ball, and An
o+ber His Ear Pierced.
Copyright.
Now York, May 12.-Adventures involv-
inca risk of life are always interesting,
-r5 when you know them to be real truth,
i,s,sad of fiction, they are doubly so.
The time l was nearest to DEATH" is
theme upon which old soldiers dwell;
and upon which they grow eloquent.
Tr,,t such things could have happened
and they be alive to tell about them is
wonderful
Cen :. d. Lee, one of the three Oldest
so5jers in the line of commissioned CON
4s5erate officers, had three escapes all
.,rarrow that it would take jury of
generals to decide which was the nearest
TO death
Gen. Lee says:
0E is dinicult for me to single out the
crosest situation in which l was found to
delth during the war. OF course in all
SqrtIss like any soldier, l ran great risks.
can recall, however, three occasions
when an individual sharpshooter of the
nanv took deliberate aim at me at not
Une of these occasions was at the battle
o.ChglppiOn Hills or Bakers creek, near
Tirk,burg. where l had three horses SHOT
roder NE in less than twenty minutes
and riding under the crest of hill, fed
oral sharpshOOter on the crest arose, took
dpIibssate aim, and shot at me- Another
occasion in the disastrous rOut of Hoods
army before Nashville, when the lines
gave way, rode to the left to see the ex-
qs,,,1 l.
milo within twenty steps of a federal
s}aiWshooter. He brought his gun down
onme. told him not to shoot, that |
was Gen. Lee, suppOsing him to be
oae of our own sharpshooters. He fired
and missed me and fired three more shots
nj me on horseback before | got out of
range On another occasion in Virginia
while in a cavalry charge in command Of
Fourth Virginia cavalry, federal cap
tain going through gate, shut it, and, as
talne against the gate on the opposite
side, he faced about and presented his
ristol within three feet of my breast,
and the cap snapped. This was on the
old battlefield Of Malvern Hill after the
battle in a cavalry charge. On another
occasion. during the assault made by
Gen Grant on the trenches Of Vicksburg
May % 1863, with Col. Wall, of Texas,
and hisadjutant | was directing the con
COL Walls adjutant was shot and killed
Twndays afterward during cessation of
hOstilitities for the burial of the fed
cral dead lying in front of the trenches
q captain IN the federal army came
UP to me and said: ''Were you not
one of the three men standing ut that
point during the assault two days ago and
one of the three was killed." | replied
Yes He said, Il congratulate you on
IL
were officers, | caused my company of
fifty men to take deliberate aim and fire
yolley at the group ana was astonished
when only one Of the three fell"
! merely mention these several in
stances though l might recall many
others. $. d. LEE.
Gen. Daniel Ruggles, the hero of
four great wars, the Seminole, the Mexi-
can the Mormon campaign and the great
Clyal war, had many narrow escapes, but
the closest was the time he crossed Sher-
ltan S raid on his way to deliver a mes
sage to Gen. Robert f. Lee at the
Suottsyvaula court house where Lee
was in the celebrated campaign against
Gen. Grant.
Gen. Ruggles says:
We obtained some broken-down horses
as mount and were on the eve of
proceeding toward Spottsylvania Court
House a distance of eight miles. when
we discovered an advancing cloud of dust
from a northerly direction which indi-
Cated rapid movement south of a large
body Of federal troops.
As my route to the Court House crossed
IAs me to the northwest, and as | was
dAAOuS TO proceed, | concluded to venture
rom the belief that the advance of the
leieral cavalry, which proved to be Gen.
sheridan raid, would be slow. On the
Presumption that l had time to cross Sher-
A4l line OF march in safety, | advanced
near II, but suddenly saw an advance
scouting party cross my path just TO the
proceed
Immediately took shelter in a forest of
some density where hoped TO remain un-
Uo5CfFeu and keep watch of Sheridan's
I 5JHeuts | and my men threw the
UuIe relnS of our horses heads and
selel them by the bit to prevent their
S-u"Ithg and stood perfectly still. When
uoo1V nan the enemys column hadpassed,
".I d numbering movement we were
S'o.'l startled to hear tramping in the
agar' anu turning to look we saw a body
uo'aIry numbering about 1900 bearing
down upon US 40
4Gituo9t stopping to think 1 threw my
t TI1"le rem over my horses head, seized
Ea'"I Slfrup with my right hand to
ar '1i SIeau}lng 1T to enter the right foot
%l1 Ieaplng into the saddle / spurred nv
sfo'Se, AS | did so ! heard a full vollev
I ri,u oy party of fifteen or twenty men,
""o could not have been more than forty
PAGES away. y
A. quickly got behind holly tree with
1glse foliage, and squirting nv horse
cr,.f crossed the dry he'd of a small
arN. Here my horse fell to his knees. 1
I' r'Nv throwing me out of the saddle
anJ WIN terrible jerk righted him
o o.u we both lief the spot without
my, ,'iy Two of my comparisons Joined
s,ro, minute later unhurt-m iraculouslv
F o' But, alas, Capt. Roy Mason
c,y. e' lhe fourth one of our party was
a1a d'1icu' That was one of my closest
~'u most exciting shaves.
Ma. j., DANIEL RUGGLEs.
bg S@@,ii,-ien. w. w. Allen, of Alabama. |
b l"g Dhe exciting experience of having ten
9'S MIed under him He saws.
b. "uulu say that, except wnen disabled !
8.tira" oUla5, was soldier in |
Nm. service from April 1861 until |
sarh surrender of General Jo- !
ofn',,.I,., aohnstOn's army Ca division |
snrin,,''I III which commandedl, in the |
b,r"E OF lS65 1 might add that / had |
then ShoJ under me ten times during |
crs,3..4i 'Ict, so YOU can infer that was in /
''- situations more than once.
Cnp g,- W. w. ALLEN. !
naye,l fo sore s Lee is soldier who has