Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1897-05-08

fixed up kind of signal to identify
themselves by, so that if one was
wounded and left on the field he could
notify the otherif it happened they were
on the opposite sides in that particular
fight. 1t was a boyish kind of lottery
chance of one in million, but it suited
them, and 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 op-
posite side to be picked up as it might
and taken to the man whose address
was in the note, along with other in
structions to be followed out by the
brother who might be in condition to
do it. You can see how childish and al
most impossible it was, but there was
just that chance in it that made it at
tractive to the boys, and they told each
other good-by 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.
For the first two years." continued
the veteran, "the boys hadn't any oc-
casion to use their signals, for they lSRd
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
fighting through Tennessee, though
they had lost track of each other, eX-
cept in a general way. Just what they
knew of each others whereabouts l
don't know, but one night in November
there was a slirmish somewhere in the
neighborhood of Knoxville, in which
500 or 600 men op q side were engaged.
without result, and both sides had set
tied down for the night to wait and
fight it out by daylight. There were 4
lot of wounded men and dead ones, too,
for that matter. scattered through the
woods, where most OF the fighting had
been. There was u cornfield about n
quarter of mile wide, separating the
woods, and there had been some scrap
ping in this open ground, though most
of the fighting had been done from
cover, as these small skirmish line
fights generally are.
81 was corporal of the guard that
night, and by six o'clock there was
only an occasional shot, as if each side
was quitting reluctantly and by inches.
L am not posi live, but it seems to me
that heard the last two shots before
stiffness settled over oil. What the
details of the romance or the tragedy,
or whatever you want TO call it, are,
don't know. / know, though, that dur
ing the night we had reenforcements,
and when we began to cautiously peep
around, as soon as the day began to
break, we discovered that the epemy
had by some hook or crook taken
alarm and departed in the night, leay-
ing their dead on the field, and among
them, when we sent out our burying
party, we found one of those boys with
bullet through his lungs and another
bearing chain and a note, buried in
his brain. On our side we found the 9th
er nephew with both legs broken by
ball, and bullet through his heart with
q chain and note attached to it,"
The reporter threw up his hands in
amazement, not to say doubt
~ don't try to explain it," the vet
enn hastened TO say apologetically.
81 know it is hard to expiain; it is even
hard to believe, but what is man to DO
or to say when he sees such things
| with his own eyes pm. Y. SUN.