The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1896-04-25
DISCIPLINE in THE NICK OF TIME.
A War Story with a Moral For the Sow
enth New York Heavy ARTILLERY.


A War Story with a Moral For the Sew
enth New York Heavy Artillery.
1T was the majors turn to make
q talk" He bit at the end of his
mustache for a few minutes while
the assembled company impatiently
murmured. Come, major" cried
one Of the younger officers. Some
thing about the war that came under
your own experience
"We were lying before Deep Bot.
tom, and the rain Ia <.lling in
torrents" said the major, in
all my campaigning experience l
never saw the equal Of that down
pour. And, what was the worst of it,
there was nc way of avoiding or
lodging it. We had to stand out in
the open and take it. Some of the
command, however, had procured in
the u known only to veteran
troops several shelter tents and had
rugged them in position by sticking
their muskets in the ground for
poles. / was then detached from the
regiment and was acting as assistant
adjutant general or the staff of the
brigade commander. I happened to
pass just about the time when the
troops we're making themselves
comfortable. The enemy was pretty
near us, and we at headquarters
were looking for n brush, so I made
bold to direct the attention of the
regiment commander to this serious
breach of discipline.
1t will never do to permit those
guns to remain III that position l
said. If the Johnnies make a dash,
they will gobble us all"
"'But,' observed the colonel,
there will be the devil to pay if I
order those guns taken up
"'It is in violation Of regulations
to permit them to remain where
they are I observed.
"'You are right declared the
colonel. He gave the command for
the regiment TO fall in-taking posi-
ton behind an old breast works. q
little to our left and front. The
d%renching rain was heavy enough,
but it was gentle compared with the
food of profanity that broke loose
as soon as the troops heard the colo
nel's order. AS they were forming I
went up to the men of my old CON-
pany and said that they ought to be
ashamed Of themselves, that they
did not know how soon they would
be summoned before their Maker,
that they knew perfectly we'll they
we're violating regulations, and that
they were in the presence of the
enemy.
"Well, gentlemen, my words OF
reprobation yer hardly out of my
mouth when we heard a few scatter.
ing shots directly in our front from
our pickets, and then, before the
command to load could be given, we
got as lively a volley from a Confed
crate regiment as ever 1 heard. The
Johnnies had expected that the rair
would drive us to shelter, and hat
arranged this dash across an ope1
field Immediately in our front in thu
expectation of catching us mapping
The forming of our regiment a
this most opportune time, however
upset their calculations, for before
thoy could get away we fred tw'
rafting volleys into them, whicl
drove them hack faster than the,
cana.
Had the muskrts of the regi
ment been stuck in the ground whe1
the Johnnies made their dash tn
entire command would have BEEF
I surprised and captured. AS it turne'
l out, no casualties occurred, as on
. troops were protected by the breast
works. But the lesson was not los
on the regiment. 1t carried a whole
some moral. for I seldom after tina
l heard profanity from the Sevent,
New York Heavy artillery."-Ne1
York Sun.