Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1897-06-24
4 SOLDIER OF TRUTp
A VETERANS VALUABLE Ann
TO WAR liTeRATuRr
How an odd Signal Agreed Upon !,
Brothers, Who Were on Opposi,.
Was Finally Used-A Mysteys
Soldier Didn't Try to Explain.

'S "a mystery tbs "a
Soldier Didn't Try to Explain
AS the reporter was rapidly burr,.
past the door Of "A saloon he was ~
an old soldier, who suggestivelv fin
his hat.
''If you will tell me story -
marked the reporter, accepting tho ;.
IN pay for the potations. b,r-
thirst for a story; you have thjrs,
a drink. Let us exchange"
The veteran was quick to resnons
the parched soil responds TO the prats.1
rain, and, opening the door. be bo,r
the reporter in and escorted him 10
bic III a quiet corner, where present.
the potables were served.
Il don't think / could have cam
what | am now so greatly and pro,,
fully enjoying" said the veteran v,s
a glowing cheek, as he set down h
glass, after "a long swallow, chad II y
been that today 1 met an old comr,3
from Kentucky, a state, you will :
member, which had soldiers in bcs
armies, and good soldiers, may ~
This man, who is now a merchant az,
comes to New York TO buy goods evsr
year, was in the Federal army, and
had nephew in the same regimes
with himself and another in the CopfAl
crate army. The young chaps We,
brothers, and they were mighty fond y
each other, but they were fonder Of tba,
principles or patriotism or politics Il
whatever you may call it, so they apre5
to disagree, and each one go to the 81.
he thought was the right side.
1T was sad parting, for they by|
been closer together than most brothen|
and before they separated they fixed II
kind of signal to identify themselys|
by, so that if one was wounded and I'D
on the field he could notify the other 4
it happened they were on the opposie
sides in that particular fight. l. was
boyish kind of Il lottery chance Of OIL
in million, but it suited them anil
that's all they cared for The signal al
rangement was TO be light chain witt
note fastened TO it, and the who'
| thing was TO be fastened TO the hulls
and dropped into the old muskets thr
had in those days This was to be find
at random up into the air to fall amog
| the soldiers Of the opposite side tod
| picked up as it might and taken to ID
| man whose address was in the note
| along with other instructions to be I'd.
lowed out by the brother who might d
III condition to do it. You can see hov
childish and almost impossible it w&
but there was just that chance nit tls
made it attractive to the boys, and thg
told each other goodby and went thei
ways, the one to the north, the other ID
the south, each bearing with him Nd
chain and note of identification attaChl
to the bit of lead that surr1e day n1IgT
bear on its wings the message Of death
The veteran was becoming poetic an.
pathetic, and the reporter suggested
refilling Of the glasses, and the suggs
ton met with immediate and please
approval
For the first two years continuo
the veteran, 1.-The boys hadu tany Occs
sion to use their signals, for they h4
gone through unscathed, and, besidc
they We're serving i'll sections OF th
country widely separated, but in 1866
in the fall, they were with the armle
had lost track of each other except in
general way.
Just what they knew of each other
whereabouts don't know, but one nigh
III November there was skirmish som5
/ where in the neighborhood of Knoxville
| in which 500 or 600 men ON a side wer
] engaged, without result, and both SIDE
had settled down for the night to wa
and fight it out by daylight Thef
/ were a lot Of wounded men, and dea
| ones, too, for that matter, scatter
/ through the woods, where most OF u
| fighting had been. There was cornileE
about quarter of a mile wide separai
ing the woods, and there had been som
scrapping i'll this open ground, thous
most Of the fighting had been done iron
cover, as these small skirmish line tgA'
generally are,
II was corporal of the guard t1i
night, and by O'Clock there was onl
an occasional shot, as if each side wa
quitting reluctantly and by inches
am not positive, but it seems to me us
| heard the last two shots before SUI
ness settled over all. What the detal4
of the romance, or the Tragedy, or VIVA.
ever You want to call it, are | doh
know. ! know, though, that during IA
night we had re-enforcements, and Whu
we began to cautiously peep around, z
soon as the day began to break, we o.
covered that the enemy had by som
hook or crook taken alarm and depaIi7
in the night, leaving their dead on "
field, and among them, when we sel
out our burying party, we found one
those boys with a bullet through n'
lung and another, bearing a cham dh"
note, buried i'll his brain On our '-u
we found the other nephew with p.-
legs broken by a ball and a oVAf
through his heart, with cham aD
note attached to it.
The reporter threw up his hands