The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1898-07-13
CHECKED BY A SIGN.
A True Story of the War In. Which
IL shown the Fellowship
of Masonry.

II saw a regiment Of Sheridan's cav,
airy halted once by an old Virginian,
who had no arms in his hands, ard who
didn't speak word" said Junius A.
Cosby, the giant sergeant of the Secord
district police force. ut was during
the retreat from Petersburg, in April.
1865, the day before Gen. Lee surren-
dered. / had been stationed here as a
military telegraph operator, but just
before Richmond was evacuated was
ordered to skedaddle and join the army.
1 was supposed to be close to Gen.
Lees headquarters on the retreat, but
considered myself mighty lucky to
get any place where l could keep a
whole skin and out of the reach Of
Sherldan's cavalry, that didn't give US
any peace for an hour at time. 1t
seems to me l was generally with the
wagon train, and there the trouble was
the hottest, for the bluecoats would
dash in, destroy portion of our
wagons, and would then have TO get out
to escape the fire our cavalry and in
fantry would pour into them.
"We were getting pretty well up the
country, marching ana fighting all the
way, when one day about noon l was
going it alone through piece of wood
land, and came on beautiful spring
just at the edge of field. had not
had mouthful to eat, except corn
sometimes parched and sometimes raw
for about four days, so followed the
path out into the open, thinking it
would lead to house. / wasn't mis-
taken, for when l got to the edge Of the
woods l saw a comfortable looking
farmhouse not far off. went up to the
front gate and into the yard. There
was an old gentleman on the porch, but
before 1 could speak his wife ran out
crying the Yankees were coming.
81 told them wasn't Yankee, but .
confederate soldier, without meal for
four days, and wanted something to
eat. / was at once invited in, but before
had chance to sit down hardly, the
old man came in off the porch, exclaim-
ing the Yankees were coming up to the
house. I saw through the front door
that what looked like regiment of
Yankees was coming along the road
and up the winding carriage road to
| the house.
"'You are my son. said the old man,
and I caught on in minute. l wasn':
anything more than boy, so ! thought
l could work something of a baby
racket. I ran out and hid under the
woodpile my telegraph instrument,
which carried slung over my shoulder,
and then came back and sat near the
old man on the front porch. The old
man started to give Inc some directions
about how l was to conduct myself,
when he saw the soldiers tearing down
the fence along the road and turning
their horses into his wheat field. The
wheat was eight or ten inches high,
and, of course, several hundred horses
with good appetites would ruin the
whole patch in a mighty little while.
"My God! 1 can't stand that the
i old fellow said, and he jumped up and
started down the steps. He trotted
down to the gate and climbed up and
sat on top of one of the posts. He didn't
speak word, but he did something
worth more to him then than all the
speeches ever made. He didn't have
anything to shoot with, but he had
something else that beat a cannon all
hollow. I didn't know then what he
did, but l know now that he made