The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-26
THE CAREER OF COL. FONTAINE.
How He swOre to Kill a FedeSaI
Sergeant and Kept His Oath.


Sergeant and Kept His Oath.
From the Memphis Commercial-Appeai
A great deal of attention was attracted
in this city recently to the article in the
Commercial-Appeal, giving Col. Lamar
Fontaine's account of the fine time that
the ex-confederates had in the city or
Richmond, and also to the brief references
given to the colonel himself.
The colonel went into the army as a pri-
vate and he remained in that humble but
effective rank most of the time. He agreed
with Gen. Forrest In that war meant
lighting and that fighting meant killing.
He declared that he went into the ser
vice for the purpose Of killing yankees
and that he could do more of it as a pri-
vate than as an officer He was repeated
iy offered commissions, but refused all or
them. Finally, during one of the times
he was in prison wounded, commission
was made out giving him the rank of
colonel IN the provisional and major in the
regular army of the confederacy. The
colonel thought that he would accept II.
for If the new government should win its
independence he would have position in
the regular army that would give him
comparative ease with little hard WORK.
During one Of the campaigns into Ten
nessee he was severely wounded near Pu-
laski. The southern forces fell back, and
he fell into the hands Of the enemy. They
took him to Columbia, and there he was
lodged in the Maury county jail Both
legs were so badly shot that he could
scarcely get along on crutches, and in adj
dition TO this his left arm was shattered
Wnen the prikners were a bout 10 be NOV
ed TO the state penitentiary in Nashville
ne was brought out of the cell of the jail
In the corridor of the building there was
a German sergeant. He asked the guard
II he had searched the prisoner and an
affirmative reply was given. To use the
words of the colonel himself:
Il was wearing ring that nv mother
had given me just half an hour before her
death. 1t was her wedding ring The
sergeant spted 1t, and said: L takes me
dot and with that he started to take the
ring off my finger. | resisted. but It
was of no avail, and in the scramble my
hnger was badly torn by the sharp edges
OF the ring. In the scuffie for the ring
the sergeant had felt something under
my left arm. 1t was a small, oId-fashion-
ed likeness, ambrotype, of my mother
For number of years an in many clirnes
and countries l had worn that as a sa-
cred taltsman. / priced it above all else
in the world. The sergeant started To
take II from me. l told him l would
save him the trouble, and, running my
hand into my shirt bosom, l brought it
out. Just as he was reaching for II
dropped it and crushed it into smither
Gems on the floor, with the remark that
no id yankee should look upon the
face.
with that he whipped out a LITTLE %
calibre pocket pistol and fired at me. We
were but few feet apart, and I could not
jump, but he only grazed the skin of
my right side. In answer to the shot l
replied: That is a poor pistol and ID
poor shot He was about to give me an
other when the officer. extracted by the
noise, came in and stopped him. | then
sacredly promised the sergeant that [
would kill him. 1t was a terrible oath
that I took and I hU 2 he
of my mother"
Along with the other prisoners the col
onel was carried to Nashville and there
with the others, offered freedom II he
would take the oath of allegiance to the
federal government He refused in such
strong language that the officer in com
mand was impressed with his devotion 10
the cause for which he was suffering and
had him transferred to the Broadway
prison and hospital in Louisville. The
officer also gave him letter to the COM
mander of the prison, and that secured
the finest of treatment
When he had sufficiently recovered IN
be able to move with ease on crltcbes
some southern ladies brought him a fire
assortment of ice cream, pies cake
canned Strawberries etc. He declared
that he ate ali that was brought him. and
this produced a severe attack of colo
The pain brought him into contact with
non-commissioned federal officer. The
OFFICER died the most ignominious death
NAAelb was NNCA lllC lOl Ol mortal man. and
the colonel escaped. He walked ten miles
on his clutches before that time-2 o'clOcl,
a. m.-and O'clock Arriving at a house
outside the city, he saw a row of negro
quarters, and reasoned that the owners
OF 1t were southern sYmpath iZers He
was right. The lady of the house con-
ceal6d him, ne giving her his correct
name and not the nom de guerre which
had served to save his life in prison, and
hidden In the attic, a little boy and a
girl brought him food. He did not 81
the name of the people, but was given a.
morse and TWO pistols, and at nightfall
started back to the south
Years afterward he was SURVIVING n 6a1d
near the depot at Lyon. Mass and ar
the station there stood his family nhvsiS
clan, Dr. Alsup and the latter's sister
she had come down from Kentucky 10
Visit MIN. The sister asked of the hrotbs,.
who the surveyor was. and beino, toI6
that II was Col. Lamar Fontaine she -
membered the name The brother ana SIC
ter We're the little children that had fca
him in the Kentucky home.
This little piece of fortune had baan
thrown in as one of the chutes of the nar-
ratlVe of the capture and the hegipnfn,.
Of the end Of the German sergeant. After
the surrender the colonel had made ~
trips TO Columbia, endeavoring to oct =
lead upon the man so that he might lxeeq.
his vow, but none there could give him
any information as to the whereabouts Of
the sergeant.
During the days of reconstructio, az,
carpet-bag rule the sergeant along ex,-its
many of the higher officers of the sam
command had cone to the fertile Missis-
sippi delta and squatted upon plantations
The colonel had decided 10 make his way
to Texas, where there sere fewer fe-T,
erals in proportion to the southern ele-
mnt, and was passing through Mississirni
Out in the wilds of dense cane-6raii,.
he heard the chase of a pack of hounds
after q deer. A thorough SPORTSMAN h.,
bent his course so IS to head the deer
when whom should be encounter bur M
same German sergeant To use his ov-r
words again; IF the sergeant ever kilied
that deer IL was in hell"
Pressed for a description of the death
Of the officer, the colonel said: u k1eV,
my man as soon as / saw him hut he ala