The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-04-21
WHAT ONE REBEL DID.
A Thrilling Story of Actual Experience
Related by Federal Sharp.
shooter.

shooter.
Not long since small party Of men
were seated around fire in a store in
Maryland village, talking about the
war. Several good anecdotes had been
told, when suddenly one Of the party
who had been up to this point a quiet
listener, inquired somewhat abruptly,
"Did you ever hear how | killed reb
els?"
The speaker was man Of good
physique, with bronzed face, and he
had the appearance of a soluicrly
makeup. He was old enough to have
been in the war when young man.
The general expression of his counte
nance gave evidence Of candor, min
gled with O. palpable appreciation Of
the ludicrous. There was something
about him that instinctively left the
impression that he could enjoy a joke
to the uttermost, if it is at his own ex
pense.
"No, how was that?" exclaimed the
party in unison, as we'll as in marked
astonishment, for there seemed to be
pretty general conviction in the
crowd that Bill Wilson, despite his
appearance of candor, had not killed
any too many rebels. I shall call the
hero Of my story Bill Wilson, because
for matters Of delicacy, I do not care
to give his real name, but the story
shall be related just as Bill Wilson told
it.
"Well, you see," said Bill, as the
crowd seemed disposed to listen,
"when the war began did not 60 into
the army. When I read about the
different battles and the defeats sus-
tained by our troops it used to make
me awful mad. There was first and
second Bull Run and the battles
around Port Republic and Cross Keys,
and so on, and I could not understand
why our troops would let those blamed
rebels lick them. So I cussed the
rebels for licking our boys and Icuss-
ed our boys for letting the rebels lick
them. You see, I was very impartial
in my cussing, and had plenty of it to
do. Now, when I found fault with
our boys was fond Of telling the folks
what L do if I were in the army, and
how I'd kill rebels. I was known as a
crack shot the country around, and
people agreed with me generally that
I could kill many rebels, thousands Of
them if I had the opportunity
':Well, one night I went over to the
store at the cross roads, and there was
a big crowd around, reading and talk
ing about the news. 1t was the same
old story, another rebel victory. They
were all mad and [ was mad, too, and
l began telling what I would have
done if I had been there, when up
spoke one of the crowd who had been
in the army, and was home on fur.
Tough, recovering from a wound, and
says, pretty savagely: well, Bill,
why in HI don't you 60 and kill
some Of those d-n rebels, instead Of
loa6ng around here and cussing our
troops and Dragging about what you can
do?"
s'Thcn the crowd all laughed. The
fact was they were awful glad to find
something to laugh at just at that
time. left the room as mad as a
hornet, and as soon thereafter as pos
sible I enlisted.
"When T left for the army the folks
all guyed me; said to be sure and keep
account of all the rebels I killed, and
this I promised to do. I knew [ was
a good shot. and all I wanted was to
get shot at them. The fact was, gen
tlemen, now that I had started out to
kill rebels, I became very anxious to
meet them, and suddenly I was pos
sessed with great anxiety lest the war
might end somehow without my get
ting chance to kill any rebels.
"Wcll," continued Bill, as the par
ty showed interest in his story, II
finally got into the army and into the
sharpshooting corps, as had demon
strated that was good shot. I had
been in the army some four or five
months and still I had not killed any
rebels. All this time, too, / kept get
ting letters and messages from home
asking how many rebels 1 had killed,
and why I would not write and tell
them about it as had promised to do.
FINALLY, at Sharpsburg, my long
denied opportunity came. My com
pany was deploycd, and soon rebel
bullets were whistling all around me
and I was sending hot balls rebelward.
This kept up for some time and still l
had not killed any rebels that I knew
of. After while | noticed puff of
smoke from behind a log in the rebel
line and as often as that smoke arose
man in our ranks fell. There's my
REBEL" said I to myself. looked the
situation over very carefully and saw
tree that would make a good cover,
somewhat fanking the log, and a great
deal nearer than l could approach from
the position [ occupied. | made for
that tree. 1t took me over an hour to
reach it. had to lie down fiat on the
ground and crawl toward it by very
circuitous route, all the while keeping
my eye on that log, for I knew it
would never do to attract the atten-
tion of that aim that dropped man
at everv shot. FINALLY. after tOilsOmc
work in broiling sun, reached the
tree. After resting awhile | looked
for that log. The reb was still there.
for every now and then came the puff
of smoke and the inevitable man in
our ranks dropped. 1t was long time
before I could make out the reb, and
then was not sure, as his almost col
orless clothes were the hue of the sur
rounding parched herbage-a dull, un-
certain color. At last I thought l
spied him, and I said cxultingly to
myself, MIR. Reb, I got you. [ wait
ed until another puff of smoke show
cd his gun was empty and then |
blazed away at him. l waited; there
was anothcrpuf Of smoke from behind
that log and | knew that another one
of our men had fallen. | fired three
or four times cautiously, only when |
knew his gun was empty, but that rcb
was the hardest thing to hit that |
ever shot at. Yet L felt that | must
kill him and stop his slaughter of our
men. At the same time | could not