The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1898-12-22

! rarely aggregated less than Sl,0Oo per
recruit, and a great many hard charac-
ters took advantage of this national.
state and municipal liberality by enlist
| ing, getting the money and deserting
at the first opportunity. 1t is on record
| that some CT these men jumped their
| bounties as many as twenty times, each
time clearing from $1,000 upward. Cen
| orally the desertions were effected at
the State camps. where recruits were
herded until called to the front. Some
times, however, the bounty jumpers
did not get away until they had been
sent to regiments in the field. Usually
the deserters left singly, as opportuni-
ties arose. but once in a while many
would make n simultaneous break.
Story of Ring.
The strangest of condolences seem
TO cluster around what are familiarly
termed war relics or reminders of great
national struggles. \ most remarkable
and interesting example of this oc.
Cured q few weeks since by which a
ring lost during the civil war was re-
turned to its owner and loser. Union
veteran. The Rev. w. p. Chrisman,
rector of the Church of the Epiphany,
on Barton Heights, upward of twenty.
five years ago, while quite a youth,
found a silver ring on the battlefield at
Martinsburg. w. Va. He thought little
of it, but kept the ring as a simple relic,
The ring. which was plain band one.
bore the imprint on the outside: st. NJ.
Williams. Thirteenth Regiment,
Maine" hut supposing that its owner
was dead. he never tried to return it.
Some time since, in turning over his
curios. he came across the ring and
showed it to H. Lee Lorraine. The lat.
ter suggested that some of Mr.. VIII.
iams' descendants might he living. even
if he were dead and he in turn sought
the assistance of Adjutant General
Charles J. Anderson. Together they in.
vestigated the war records at Wash
ington, with the result that Mr.. Will
Jams was located as a well-to-do wall.
paper merchant in Chicago. He was AT
once communicated with and identified
the ring. He explained how he was Oh
picket duty one night near where the
ring was found. and gave an account
which tallies in every respect with the
spot where Mr.. Chrisman picked it up.
He told how his line was surprised and
how all his comrades We're killed. and
how he escaped by climbing over a
wall, at which time he supposed he lost
the ring. The now historic band of
silver was returned 10 him. and in re-
ply Messrs. Chrisman. Lorraine and
Anderson received profuse letter of
thanks and promise of a hearty vel
come should they ever visit Chicago
Richmond State.
From Fighting to Fricudship.
Il never could make people under
stand'' said the Major, how it was
possible for men who were fighting
against each other furiously one hour
to fellowship with each other the next |
hour. Ir-ene Of the charges at Stone |
River th rirst line of the Confederates |
and the first line of Union troops struck |
each other with such force that full |
one half of the Confederate regiment |
came over our first line and turned |
back to mingle in a fierce handto-hand !
struggle Just then our second line |
caught them and they were compelled |
to surrender. When they realized the |
situation and when they heard the Or
der to drop their guns they were in the
very act of striking with dubbed
muskets or with bayonets.
Il can see now the change in the ex-
preston Of those faces es the men COM
pretended that they We're helpless and
must surrender. They lowered their
guns, turned toward the men who had
the drop on them, and with an air that |
was the very opposite from desperate,
threw down their guns, took off their
cartridge belts, and in five minutes
were chatting easily with the men who
had captured them. Among the prison
ers was one man who was very pale
and very quiet and l judged from his
appearance that he had been wounded
In answer to my question he said he
had been struck two or three times. but
it didn't matter. looked at the wounds
myself and. improvising bandages
managed to stop the bleeding, and
when the prisoners were turned over
to the guard to be taken to the rear l
explained to the officer in charge that
some consideration ought to be shown
the wounded man. l thought l would
remember the face but l didn't. Years
later the man did Inc great favor
and, in explaining his action, recalled
to my mind the incident of that day"
When Sherman bombarded Atlanta
for forty days and fired hundreds Of
shells into the city, comparatively few
citizens were killed. The fortiticatiO
of the city were common earth-worlis
of red clay, and it is said they were
about as good after the siege as they
were before the first gun was fred
The shot and shell poured into these
banks Of dirt seemed to make them
bigger and more indestructible. The
first shell fell in Atlanta July 20, 1864
and killed a little child. During the
first few days the shells terrified the
peopIe. but after a week or so even the
women became accustomed to them. \
number of casualties followed, one shell
exploding in funeral procession, scat
tering four coffins and dispensing the
mourners; another burst in The market
house. but did not injurc any Of the
thirty people present. During the BON
bardment hundreds of stores kept opeI
all the time, the newspapers came Out
as usual, and the streets were crowded
with people; yet in the entire six weeks
there were less than one hundred per
sons killed in the city.