The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-05-27
A NIGHT IND A Day IN a RIFLE-pIT.

Incident of the Siege Of yicksburg Told by
Participant
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: In 1863, at
and hard by Vicksburg, during our enter
tainment of several weeks there, one of the
many events that occurred was one relate.
One night in June, about IL o'clock, our
Orderly called out:
Hello, Chris; get up; prepare for special
duty take one days rations, canteen full of
water, gun, and 40 rounds of ammunition
no blankets; report to the Colonel"
"How is this? was on duty last night"
ats special detail for the best marks
man in the company, and you wear the
belt"
Now one from each company lined up and
answered the Sergeant's roll-call.
take an empty cracker-box each, and
follow me-"
Led by the Colonel we marched to within
about 40 feet Of the Mississippi, north of
Vicksburg, and about 80 feet north of the
mouth of canyon coming down from the
east, and lying directly between us and the
Johnnies to rifle-pit that had been pre-
pared for us in the forepart of the night.
The space from the extreme right of our
regiment running west to the Mississippi
some $50 yards had not been occupied by
any of our troops in the daytim during the
siege.
On the north side of this canyon we stood
picket, and on the south the Johnnies were
on guard So close were we that consider
able traffic took place during the nights.
Boys" said our Colonel, Geo. A. Stone,
"you will occupy this pit until the coming
nightfall; you would lose your lives to I'M
dertake to get away'in daytime. Arrange
your portfolios with these empty cracker
boxes to suit yourselves. When daylight
comes you will see that tho mouth of this
CANYON makes off. III q low, fiat bar, all in
easy range Here the Johnnies come early
in the morning by the score for bath and
! water for camp use. It will be your duty
to see that they don't use any Of that water"
We flew to work making our portfolios,
and by the peep Of day they were completed.
Soon we saw the rebels coming. We took
out 90 rounds, bit of the paper ends, and
each laid his on cracker-box at hand. AS
the Johnnies came on the order was given:
" Fire by threes, one after another, 10 rounds
at them when on the bar; then the other 10
as they come outkof the water. We will
make them think there is thousand of u.s."
The order was well executed. The john
MES were piled in places on top OF each
other, some crying for mercy. Our leader,
Arthur Bridges, yelled to the Johnnies to
take in their dead and wounded, and no
harm should be done to them while on that
duty.
One hour later, and their dead and
wounded were all in the canyon. No
Johnnies attempted to water at that place
that day. The balance Of the day was put
in keeping two howitzers in their holes, SO
they could not fire on us.
About o'clock, when the sun was BEAM
ing down at furious rate, one of the boys
whom we called Shorty said: Look at
that red-shirted Johnny!" He had jumped
up the bank of the canyon, not over 80 feet
away. Looking through my portfolio, /
saw the fire from the Johnny's gun stream
out. and at the same time he threw up his
hands and pitched forward. But Shorty :"
fell against me, with bullet-hole just under
the lett eye, and died in less than two min
utes The Johnny lay there the rest of the
afternoon.-C. G. STANLEY, Go. K, 25th
Iowa, Elgin, Ore.