Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1897-06-23
A SOLDIER OF TRUTH.
A Veterans Valuable Addition to War Lit
erature.


past the door of saloon he was meI
by an old soldier, who suggestivel,
tipped his hat.
IF you will tell me story" re-
marked the reporter, accepting the tip,
I'll pay for the potations. have a
thirst for story; you thirst for O
drink. Let us exchange.
The veteran was quick to respond
as the parched soil responds to the
grateful rain, aud, opening the door,
he bowed the reporter in and escorted
him to table in quiet corner, where
presently the potables were served.
II don't think could have earned
what am now so gratefully enjoy
ing, said the veteran, with glowing
cheek as he sat down his glass, after a
long swallow, had itauAt been that
today l met an old comrade from Ken.
lucky, State you will remember.
which had soldiers in both armies, and
good soldiers, | may add. This man.
who is now a merchant and comes to
New York to buy goods every year,
was in the Federal army, and he had a
nephew in the same regiment with
himself and another in the Confederate
army. The young chaps were brothers
and they were mighty fond of each
other, but they were fonder of their
principles or patriotism or politics, or
whatever you may call it, so thew
agreed to disagree, and each one 20 to
the side he thought was the right side.
1T was a sad parting, for they had
been closer together than most broth
ers, and before they separated they
fixed up kind of signal to linden.
tlfy themselves by, so that If one
was wounded and left on the field
he could notify the other if it happened
they were on the opposite sides in that
particular fight. 1t was boyish kind
OF lottery chance of one in million.
but it suited them, aud that's all they
cared for. The signal arrangement was
to be light chain with note fastened
to It, and the whole thing was to be
fastened to the bullet and dropped into
the old muskets they had in those days.
This was to be fired at random up into
the air to fall among the soldiers of the
opposite side to be pickek up as it
might and taken to the man whose ad-
dress was in the note, along with other
Instructions to be followed out by the
brother who might be in condition to
DO it. You can see how childish and
impossible it was, but there was lust
that chance in it that m.t a it attract
i've to the boys, and tfhs5 .o:d eacA !
other goodby and went their ways, the
one to the north, the other to the south.
each bearing with him his chain and
note of identification attached to the
bit OF lead that some day might bear
on its wings the message of death.n
The veteran was becoming poetic
and pathetic, and the reporter suggest
ed re6lling of the glasses, and the
suggestion met with immediate and
pleased approval.
For the first two years, ;" continued
the veteran, 1.-THE boys hadn L any oc-
casion to use tn ir signals, for they had
gone through unscathed, and, besides,
they were serving in sections of the
country widely separated, but in 1868,
in the fall, they were with the armies
lighting through Tennessee, though
they had lost track of each other ex-
cept in general way.
Just what they knew of each others
whereabouts don't know, but one
night in November there was a skir-
mish somew here in the neighborhood
Of Knoxville, in which 500 or 900 men
on side were engaged, without result,
and both sides had setted down for the
night to wait and fight it out by day.
light. Thers were lot of wounded
men, and dead ones, too, for that M at.
ter, scattered through the woods, W here
most of the fighting had been. There
vas cornfield about quarter of a
nile wide separating the woods, and
here had been some scrapping in this
'pen ground, though most of the fight
ng had been done from cover, as these
mail skirmish line fights generally are.
II was corporal of the guard that
light, and by six O'Clock there was
'nly an occasional shot, as if each side
vas quitting reluctantly and by inches.
am not positive, but it seems to me
hat heard the last two shots before
tillness settled over all. What the de-
ais OF the romance, or the tragedy, or
whatever you want to call it, are I
lont know. know, though, that
turing the night we had reinforce
nents, and when we began to cautious {
y peep around, as soon as the day be. s
AN to break, we discovered that the !
nemy had by some hook or crook
AIKEN alarm and departed in the night,
eaving their dead on the field, and /
nd among them, when we sent out !
ur burying party, we found one of q
hose boys with a bullet through his t
lng and another, bearing a chain and /
note, buried in his brain. On our :,
Ide we found the other nephew with n
9th legs broken by ball and bullet n
trough his heart, with chain and
ote attached to it."