The sun., 1896-08-02
DUMPEY.
An Incident of Army Life.
ny LIEUT.. THOMAS II. WILSON. u..,

of the United States artillery stationed a, W
of the harbor posts in the East. lls deSc,,.
tive list showed him feet inch high s,nr
complexion, brown hair, and 80 years ~ Nv
There were only two things he could rcar.a
we'll: drum and drink, 80 the junior llcutc,.
of the battery who was his good f.icndNa.
use Dumpey's own words) dubbed him y,
There were n number of boys in the r,s
son md we were all on intimate terms rS
Dumpcy. To us, In spite of his 30 year, a.,
the fact that he had served through the m.
years of the rebellion, he seemed but Ar
He was always good natured; ready ro,
swim or fish; ready to play ball, and son.
times when in particularly aminhle mooS
.eady TO give us a lesson on tie drum which /,
considered the liking of instruments"
"Fiddles are all right" he said once vN,.
the Colonel's son ventured To differ r,n
him, "nddles arc all right, but" with sun
rior smile, mot for soldiers. Did you er,, |
hear tell of a fiddler of Chickamaugay Com.
answer me thai"
OF course we sided with Dumpey; what "a,
boy wouldn't
I can see him now, with his drum sl,,.
from his neck. his little figure drawn up tn 4,
full height, proudly showing us how to mai.
the drum talk.
This is what we played at Mission Ridp,,
and then he would begin.
One heard the tramp of marching feet N.
thunder of cannon. the rattle of musketrv "A.
shouts and hurrahs Of the men, and above An
the rub-a a.dub-dub. the rub.adub.dub Of d,
drum. II sent the cold shivers down our bacl,
the blood jumping through our veins, and q,
boyish hearts thumped and thumprd unt;ls
thought they must surely burst; then he worl
change and in an instant all was different.
The slow and solemn beat of the mut'led drum,
the long, melancholy. almost human roll ana
we knew thai the battle was over, and that TIM
dead were being laid away TO their last rest
Tho tears were in our eyes. a choking in our
throats, and then
They dressed me up in sotcr slothe,
They treated me kindly,
And yet I never could forget
The girl left behind me.
And we'd fall in and march behind our friend
until we reache the battery quarters.
Sometimes when the Rrizzled first ser
geant of the battery was inclined 70 be pleas
ant we would stay to dinner with Dumpey,
bean soup, pork, bread. and coffee, with real
1.-Two cooks bully (soldier) to wait on us, Jus,
as II we were full-dedged battery men.
These were our happy times; there were sad
ones usually at pay day. when poor Dumpuy
would fall from grace and disappear from
among us for days at time. Sometimes hs
would be in the guard house. sometimes In
the hospital. We never spoke OF it, and when
tho fit was over te would be safe for a fev
more months.
ticularly for Dumpey, when the Junior Lieu.
tenant left our post by transfer. The very
next pay day Dumpey was in the guard hous
with general charges against him. Inter.
cesson proved of no avail; the Captain was de.
termined to make an example of him. but the
court was lenient, so after a months con.
fnement Dumpey came back 10 us. hut an al.
tered man. Not that his manner had changed
toward us: he WAS still our friend, but hli
boyishness and liRhtness OF heart seemed gone
He'll get me yet" was all he aid when
we asked him the trouble He" of course
meant tho Captain. who for some unsccount
able reason had taken a strong dislike the
lowly drummer. Things went from bad to
worse. Dumpey was In the guard house con
tinually; first for one thing and then another
which, though trivial enough In their way
were rapidly building up q bad reputation fo
him. which he did not really deserve.
The end came when thev found him drunk
on guard. The General Court, which tried
him, found him guilty and sentenced him to bs
drummed out of the service. The Colonel
wrote to the re viewine authority rather strong.
ly in his favor. but Dumpey was doomed.
Nothing could save him, and the sentence wa
duly confirmed.
Never did sun shine brighter: never were
skies bluer: never was nature more generous
than on that dreadful May morning almost
thirty years ago. We had all been TO see Dunn.
pey at the guard house the night before. We
had shaken hands with him, and carried him
no Se eoor m os
wept like child.
1t was the first and only time had ever seen
man drummed out. Of TIE service. can
never again see such shocking sight OF man 8
inhumanity to man.
boy then. still remember that the sun was
bright and that skies were blue: remember
that the flag. emblem of liberty and equality.
threw out the glory of its stars and stripes
straight and strong 10 the morning breeze;
waiting and-then 1t came.
First the drums and flies: then two platoona
nets flashing and sparkling in the sunlight.
and between them. Dumpey, with head closely
ce.Tn9pped; e.nrIpe =, and on his back board marked
And still-the sun shone. the skie. were blue,
and the flag Tapped gaily overhead.
the Rogues' March.
Poor old soldier: poor old soldier
Tarr'd and feathered and then drumm'd ous
Because he couldn't keep sober.
Our hearts were in our throats hut we
clenched our hands and held our places like
men.
There was no music in the march; II wac
simply wailinR and sobbing of the drums-tho
arums to drum Dumpey out OF the servicei
king.
But on they came
Poor old soldier; poor old soldier
ask:
What makes. him walk 80 queer He
seems TO be limping."
=. Every boy there could have told him that
II was the bullet he got at Mission Ridge, which
the doctors had never beenssabe to take out
And on they came
Tarr'd and feathered and then drumm'd out
At last they reached the sally port
Because he couldn't keep so Der,
shricked out tho hfcs. and n moment lat1s
Dunn ey stood outside the fort, n free man.
And then-this worthless outcast, this
drummed out drunkard. this limping. hating
wounded ex-soldier. who had played mans
part in the Interest war the world has ever
known, this drunken Dumpcy, halted. Gu.e,iy
took the board marked "drunkard" or from l,is
back, and. barring his close cropped head 90 ING
morning sun, locked up toward the fas ana
NFnlWr