Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1896-01-25
COLES CAVALRY
BY JAMES A. SCOTT.
[continued from last sceek.I

4
FIGHT OF COLES CAVALRY NEAR LEES
BURG AND COMMANDMENT AND SUR
RENDER OF HARPERs FERRY.
| returned to consciousness as the
sun was about setting, having been I'M
conscious some FIVE hours Movement
gave me great pain, especially the eff
toit to breathe, but tried to rise and
found l could not stand upright ]
heard moaning and sawa wounded man
lying near me- | saw indistinctly
in the gathering twilight. short
distance away, several men moving
about on foot, but they gave me DC
concern. l made my way to the
wounded man and found him terribly
injured by saber wound He could
barely speak. / told him l was my.
self wounded and in much pain, but
that l was going to make the attempt
to reach large house just across a
field from us, to see whether l could
not get help for us both He said he
wished / would / crawled to the
fence, and pushing the top rails down
l got across and started for the house
on all tours, as it was in that way
could get along with theleastdistress.
The field was covered with a smart
growth OF clover, which made it hard
for me to get along. l wondered
where the Rebels were; but / fully be-
lieved | would never see another day,
and the thought of being captured
did not trouble me- The house |
was aiming for was perhaps 500 yards
away and the way slightly uphill. 1t
was large Southern mansion. When
l came near it, woman spied me,
who quickly disappeared, but soon re-
turned in company with another
woman One WAS white and the
othercolored. They both assisted me in
to the house and seated me in a large
rocking chair; but / could not breathe
whersI sat upright, being wounded
in the lungs, and they fixed me in
an inclined position by tipping and
fastening back the chair. The white
lady who was mistress of the house,
said her husband was absent on the
battle-ground to do what he could for
the wounded, and that he would soon
return and might be able to do some
thing for my relief. While she was
speaking he came in l told him of
my wounded companion and describ-
ed his location He told me he had
seen him and that he was dead. He
removed my clothing and bathed my
wounds with cold water and removed
the coagulated blood which irritated
them. That was better, bat it did not
ease my breathing The colored
woman then came in and said soldiers
we're approaching The white lady
then said they must remove to another
part of the house, away from where
the soldiers would be-
II presume you are southern in
sentiment" said /, and don't wish
to give you any trouble or embarrass-
ment in trying to hide me from Con
federate soldiers. Besides, what does
it matter? l may not be alive at day
light"
my husband and 1 are Union peo-
ple' replied the lady; "but we dare
not let it be known, and we are not go
ing to let them make you prisoner
if we can help it-and perhaps your
case may not be as desperate as you
think She proceeded to tell me
that they were not the owners of the
mansion and farm-that it was only
in their care. Then they led me into
and through wide hall to room of
some magnitude and hid me on a set
tee, making me as comfortable as pos
sible with pillows. But Icould neither
sit up nor lie down without moaning.
and was in pretty bad way. The
only way / could gain any relief was
to sit with my body bent as much as
possible and breathe just as little and
as lightly as l could. The lady tried
to induce me to eat something, and
to please her l tried. but l could not
Later on she brought me some lovely
ripe peaches and begged me to eat of
them, but that was failure also. She
would have to leave me for time and
see about the soldiers who had come
and she hoped l would be as quiet as l
could so they would not hear me. She
took the candle leaving me in the
dark. l soon heard the rafting of
dishes and knives on plates in an adj
joining room. In about an hour the
the lady returned with the light, say
ing the Rebel officers were gone and
that she had given six of them supper.
| was quiet then, sort of drowsy stu
per having come upon me. Soon the
colored woman came to the room in
some trepidation and announced the
approach of, as she said, "a whole lot
of soldiers. l told the lady not to
involve herself in any trouble trying
to hide me. She again replied they
should not have me if she could pre-
vent it, and again withdrew, leaving
me alone. In short time heard the
heavy tread of steps in the hall conf
ing towards the room where l was.
The door opened and in walked half
dozen or more soldiers followed by
the lady with a candle. One of the
men asked me how l felt. / replied:
"Well, you can see you have pretty
well used me up; but don't you think
our little handful did very we'll against
such host as yourss"