The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-28
COURAGE IN THE FACE OF DANGER.
Army Surgeon Tells of Cnses of bravery
In the Rebellion.

From the Detroit Free Press.
What. in your opinion. doctor. con-
stitutes true courage i'm a soldier" |
asked a g~ray-headed army surgeon,
who refuses to let me use his name In
print. and who has related to me many
thrilling episodes and adventures of the
great wal with the South.
True courage" said he in reply, Il
believe is founded on presence of mind.
The Officer or soldier who. in the face of
imminent peril. can hold up a watch
and count the seconds Is a brave, self
possessed. reliable. l ave seen an Off
Ger in battle fight on unflinchingly,
bleeding from many wounds. of which
he was needless. and later on have seen
the same man turn pale and almost
faint while holding the hand of another
that the surgeon might operate for some
trifing ailment. A great deal has been
written about the heroism of a soldier
when going into battle. There is no
heroism about it-simply a matter OF
pride and duty. The soldier while stand
ing under the CALLING fire of the enemy
looks at his ~neighbors on the Tight and
left. and. seeing them clutch their guns
firmly, although shaking with some
thing akin to fear. thinks he will be
Stunned IL he shows the white feather.
and so when the order to charge is Civ
en- he rushes forward with his COM
rades. who, perhaps. experienced the
same sensations as himself. once in
the fight there is no thought of fear,
and the oftener the soldier fights the
less reluctant he feels to being under
fire.
A incident came under my observa-
ton during the siege of Atlanta which.
/ think, exhibited a fine display of cour-
age. A federal battery was ordered
tn retire from the front line on account
of the great damage the horses were
receiving. 1t was just about to move
back when a shell from the enemy
struck one of the caissons. The shells
i'm il began to explode like a pack of
giant fire~crackers. ~ this point a
driver. who had always been rated more
or less a coward. coolly stepped up to
the caisson of exploding shells and
poured a bucket of water over them.
and as soon as the tow plugs became
wet the hanger was over. The who'll
thing had been done without the slight
est sign of excitement or indication that
the incident was anything out of the
ordinary.
Here are the cases of two boys which
show different degrees of courage. one
of them, on picket duty one day. was
charged by a squad of confederate raw
airy. He stood his ground firmly. wait
ing until they were within easy range,
and then shot one OF them. and the re-
mainder. assuming that he had support
neal by. quickly retreated. The other
boy was firmly convinced that he could
never be struck by a hostile bullet. At
Rock Face ridge there was a three days
assault on the fort in front of Dalton,
Ga and one day this young soldier, I'm
spite of warnings. took a position at the
edge Of some woods in front of the fort.
exposing himself openly to the enemy's
sharpshooters. He stood in full view of
A. .o.folor,to riAan,an and would mo-
ton on which side of him their bullets
struck. Finally he was hit ~squarely in
the head and instantly killed.
Il recall the feat Of a sergeant In the
Dist New York cavalry, which. for pluck
and cool calculation. was truly admir-
able. and entities the hero of II to praise
for his courage n presence of mind in
the face of danger. The sergeant, while
out scouting with a companion in the
London valley. visited a farmhouse for
the purpose OF getting supper. While
they were waiting for the meal Colonel
Mosby and his adjutant entered the
house. The sergeant's companion es-
capped through the kitchen. but The ser
geant himself was playing the piano in
the parlor. and having divested himself
of his arms. was easily made "A prisoner.
He was compelled to ride the greater
mart of the night with the Mosby party.
finally fording the Potomac al Ashleys
gap and dismounting at a house in the
village of Paris. Mosby called his ad-
jutant to him. which left the orderlies
with the horses of their officers and the
prisoner in charge. Peeping from the
holsters Of Mosby's saddle the sergeant
saw a pair of silver-mounted reviewers.
D~jsmounting. he snatched a weapon
from the holster nearest him. and with
two well-directed shots he disabled both
Of the orderlies. and. jumping into the
saddle on Mosby's horse. he was well
out of pistol range before the guerrilla
chief and his sdjutant opened the door.
He rode into Halltown the next morn