The National tribune., 1898-04-14
HIS WAR EXPERIENCES"
eomrade Bousman Had Many. but is Dubf.
Gus About Relating Them

A
Gus About Relating Them
| Error NATIONAL TRtRrsr. Ibar. o,,o,
felt impressed with the thought that onrbt
/ To write my personal "reminiscences of the
war; III fact, at times | have felt that IL was
DUTY owed TO posterity. But il
! should attempt to relate ali of my hair
/ breadth ESCAPES, both in and out of battle
while serving in Co II. S7tli and Co. X
iloth md, or Troop ID, 9Th L. S. Cav, from
/ July, 1852, TO May, 1855, | am sure some old
sooner OF veteran IN some of the afore-
| sara companies would bob uD +" serenelv
ana shout back: . Hold on there. George;
you Know you weren't W tn us in that bat
/ tie, or on that rad or on that foraeine ex-
/ peciIon. Don't you remember that sou
We're IN the hospital at that time /"
nat $ what knocks the romance all out
| OF ones war experience
But have had little actual experiences
along that line. rene mber reIating our
regiments posi- ion IN certain battle of he
| la'e war-Stone River, | believe IL was:
10" We held the center of our line OF battle
when the J0hnnies concentrated Their
forces against our particular position. and
ho'T we bravely w.thstood heir repeated
| charges, and how finally We repulsed them
with great loss.
What, remarked an old coffee cooler,
IN the crowd; why, our regiment was not
IN me center on that day, but o. the ex-
treme rigntl" tiled 10 argue the comrade
out OF his position, but without avail
On another occasion | heard com -ade
ieiate how he got shot on a given date dur
ng certain battle lust below the left
shoulder blade. Another veteran among
the listeners spoke up:
John, I have heard YOU relate that
story so often that I'd kind O. like for YOU to
show the boys the scar"
All Tight, replied John; if you don't
believe me, | VIII show you the scar"
Amid GREATNESS stiffness the old man
y doll nor toll
coat and vest, and after he had laid off his
suspenders he asked the comrade who had
questioned bis veracity to look Just below
his left shoulder blade, and there he would
discover the scar
After a minute and very thorough ex-
animation of the spot indicated, no scar
was found
!" WHAT" said John; no scarf Well,
III ceciare! 1t was my brother Charley
who was shot
:" have told the story on myself so often
that actually thought | had been wound
ed Yes, have often thought of applying
Tor pension on account of that wound"
IL IS to be presumed that the old Toy
never again told the story of how he got
shot 1t will only be few years at most
when the boys who participated in that
most gigantic struggle for human liberty
will have passed off the stage of action,
when the few stragglers who viii be left
can tell whopper with impunity and with
much less liability of being disputed
few years ago the writer, with his
family, spent inter- at and near Old
Point Comfort, Va, looking over the old
battletelds up and down the Peninsula of
Virginia, where " l. tile Macs" army
operated during the early years of the war.
After becoming well acquainted with
most OF the survivors of the Hampton
GrayS, a crack regiment of Confederates.
who were organized by Magruder. of Hamp-
ton, Va, tired of plodding around through
the sticky mud and over the shell roads
and under the floating sky of old Virginia."
so concluded in the Sping of 1887 to re-
turn to my home in :. Sunny Kansas"
applied to one of the aforesaid survivors
OF the Hampton Grays, for whom | had
formed quite an attactment-and who was,
by the way, one of the wealtfieSt ard most
influential citizens in the County of Eliza
beth Clty-for letter of INTRODUCED on to the
ticket agent of one of the railroads at the
city OF Richmond, that | might secure a
better rate back to my home in Kansas.
presented my letter to the agent, and
after he had read its contents he asked me
where had lost my leg. l told him j had
lost 1T at Winchester Va. which battle?''
said he there having heen four different
battles fought there during the war; | told
him the 18th day of September, 1Sii-the
last hattle.
Il have a notion to come out into the
waiting room and lick you! remarked ne.
On what account DO you want to lick
me?''
Because you shot my leg off,
"Oh, if that S all, we would better call it
even. for perhaps you may have shot my
leg Off.
"All right" said he, as he passed his
right hand out through the office window to
me, and we spl ced glad hands over the
bloody chasm that had separated US so
long.
During our subsequent conversation. it
developed that we had both fallen within
n very few feet OF each other during Sheri-
dams final charge on Earlys left. about
O'Clock p. M. when we broke the ,TohnnieS'
lines, and started them w!lirling up the
Valley through Winchester.
He belonged to- j. F. b. Stuart's Cav
airy and after having fallen from his horse,
was picked up by our men, carried on into
Win hester and placed among hundreds of
other wounded JohnnieS and ''YankS.''
among whom was the writer. This was in
a church build NO which was used as a
hospital, and there he remained after his
imputation until s'rch time a he could be
disposed OF according to the rules and
equations OF war IN vogue at that period
# The conflict.
Tie Ill me that he received only the
-ery best of treatment III the hands of his
;aptors while prisoner.
| shall never forget with what true,
many cCrliality he greeted me and wei
,omed me To the City Of Richmond. Geo.
Y. BOusman, Stafford, Kans