Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-09-21

rnately or on French leave they
were likely to be found there, as the
proprietor was on the best of terms
with them, they being good custom.
lers. One day the captain discovered
that one of the men was out of camp
without leave He mounted and rode
] down town to find him and run him
| in, making direful threats as to what
he would do when he caught him
the reached the saloon spoken of,
disinounted, and went in. The man
was there at the time, but the saloon
man had given him warning, being
the first to see the officer, and told
| him to crawl up ladder in corner
into the lott, which he did. After
getting a drink the officer asked
whether the man had been there. He
was told that he had, but had left sud
denly The man, feeling safe, was
amusing himself lying prone on the
| floor looking out through the hole at
| the officer. When the latter got back
| to camp, he gave orders to have the
man put under arrest when he dia
come in Soon after, however, the
man walked in unmolested and when
passing this officers tent he looked
in and exclaimed, Captain, how did
Salty's whisky taste'" The officer
was compelled to laugh, and SO let
him slide.
We had another queer character.
He could drink more whisky, chew
more tobacco, and do more swearing
than any other man, and was nearly
always in some scrape. He was a
product of the mountains and had
about as much veneration for authori-
ties as bulldog for a tramp. He
would, however, perform his duties
conscientiously enough-when he was
sober-as he understood them. One
day he was placed at a gateway on
picket and instructed to allow none
but mounted men or camp wagons to
enter. He was soon heard to yell
Corporal of the guard" The cor
poral went to him and found him
holding up buggy in which gen
tleman in undress uniform was seated.
He said to the corporal in loud tone
of voice, "This little devil is trying
to get past me by passing himself of
as General Banks. I've got sense
enough to know General Banks is not
such an ornery looking little cuss as
that" The corporal knew it was
General Banks, and told the guard so.
"Well Pm id" said he. give
put my foot in it now" The general
passed in smilingly without word,
but threw the guard silver half dol
lar
Late one night number of US were
startled by blood-curdling screams
from the region of the horse sheds.
Rushing to the spot and striking
lights we found man up to the neck
in cesspool. He had been trying to
break guard by crawling through an
opening in the roof of shed just
over the pool, when he slipped and
fell. His condition may be imagined.
The first military duty done out
side of the camp by the writer of this
and a comrade was guarding corpse
at railroad station one night. A
soldier of Connecticut regiment had
been killed by the accidental discharge
of his gun, and his remains were en-
closed in a casket and placed in the
waiting room of the station to be
shipped the next day for his home,
Early in the evening a citizen of Fred
erick informed the military authori-
ties that plot was on foot among
some citizens to seize the casket dur
ing the night and break it up and
mutilate the remains. Nothing in
those times being too gross to be be-
lieved of disloyal persons, a guard
was solicited. My comrade and vol
unteerlng for the duty, about ten
O'Clock we proceeded fully armed to
the station. Soon after, the inform
ant brought us some refreshments and
then left US with the corpse for the
night. We slept and watched in
turn. Near morning we were startled
by some stealthy steps and subdued
voices outside. | was on watch at
the time. I walked my comrade as
quietly as l could, when we both
watched and listened, but no attempt
was made to enter, The parties may
have intended doing so, as men were
ready to perpetrate, under the deep
and bitter sectional feeling at the
time, almost any outrage, but finding
an armed guard at the station they
refrained
During our stay in this camp a
number of members of the secession
legislature of Maryland, which could
not meet in Annapolis, tried to meet
and organize i'll Frederick to carry the
State out of the Union. They were
arrested by the military and confined
for a night in the old Barracks build
ing, guarded by Coles Cavalry.
Whenever any of them made their ap-
pearance at any of the windows they
were hailed with various exclama-
tons, such as ''How does passing a
secession ordinance go in there p
''Have you got Maryland out yet,
boys?" "You can legislate now in
Fort McHenry," etc.
In September a detail of Is men
was made, of which the writer was
one, to march afoot to Washington,
D. c., to bring back 400 horses fol
the use OF our Battalion, as we had
only yet been drilled on foot. Major
4 Cole headed the detachment. A mum.