Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1896-11-21
IN A HAIL oE LEAD.
Tho Thrilling War Experience of n Chi
cago Business Man.

cago Business Man.
w. j. Cooke, of Chicago, has war rec
crd of which any man should be proud.
He entered the service as private
when a mere boy, and by dint of heroic
deeds rose to high rank, holding at
The time of his retirement the rank of
.brigadier general. Having had the ad-
vantage of a military education, and
rejoicing in rare physical strength and
endurance, young Cooke joined the
northern army, determined to win rank
and honor by his valor. That he sue
ceeded is matter of record. Mr. Cooke
is not given to proclaiming his deeds
from the housetop, but occasionally to
some circle of friends he can be in
duced to talk of his experiences in the
army. Not long ago Mr.. Cooke was a
member of a dinner party in New Or
lct MS. 1t had been understood that the
post-prandial oratory was to be of q
purely business character, but one by one
the speakers claimed kinship with New
Orleans or the south. One man de-
o!ared that his wife's folks were Louis
ianians, another was born in Alabama
and third solemnly announced that if
he did not wed certain Crescent City
girl, life to him would not be worth
living.
When Mr.. Cookies turn came ne could
claim no such privileges.
"My only claim to southern connec-
| tions," he said, "relates to the late war,
and l guess the less l say about it the
better"
But the company would not have it
so, and Mr Cooke proceeded to tell re-
markable story. ut was in June, 1863" !"
| One Hundred and Twenty-seventh
Ohio volunteers, under Grant, and sta
toned above Vicksburg, Miss. Every
thing depended upon the coming of Adj
miral Porters feet of gunboats, the
arrival of which had been delayed, as
we afterward learned, by stormy
weather off Cape Hatteras. There was
every reason to believe, however, that
the fleet was a few miles below the
tpwn awaiting communications from
the army. Gen. Grant decided to at
tempt to reach Admiral Porter by wa
ter, and the task of bearing the dis.
patches fell on me. ] was an expert
swimmer, and in the hot weather the
thought of a cool bath in the Missis
sippi, combined with the excitement
and risk of capture, filled me with en-
thusiasm. The papers were duly
sewed up inside my flannel shirt, and
with my scanty clothing 1 plunged intr
,lc river. Supporting myself on a sea
tion of plank, 1 made the best of my
way down the stream past the fatet
city and between the double lines .
confederate batteries.
'It was dead of night, and the awf,i
stiffness of the air was almost unbroken
l could hear the voices of the sentr,
and their measured tread. The hum
ming of insects and the fierce attacks o
mosquitoes were about all that varied
the intense suspense of the lonely trip
managed to steer my craft along, push
ing it in front of me, without mucl
effort. Just below the town, however
1 had some little difficulty, and Will
treading water with my feet l splashet
somewhat, and the keen ears of the mel
on the shore heard me. At once blaz
of pine knots flashed out, and the chal
lenge: Who goes there?' reechoe
across the river.
II made no response, and in fey
seconds musllet shots began to splas
all around me. I supposed they saw me
/ know saw them, and l thought m