The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-03-09
SOLDIERS BUDGET.
81 Tucker, Coward and Hero.

81 was in command of Fort Lamkin,
mortar earthwork in rear of Gen.
Bushrod Johnson's lines at Petersburg
in 1884," says George Cary Eggleston
in his book of Southern soldier stories
that will be issued by the Macmillans
in few days. "The fort was named
for our immediate commander from
whose command we had been detached
for this service.
zone day Lamkin himself came to
me when ] was at his headquarters.
He was in trouble.
"'Ths boy, ST Tucker he said, lis
the son of one of the best friends
ever had in the world. The boy is
coward. He literally lives in rathole.
l have repeatedly pulled him out by the
legs, only to have him crawl back again
the moment let go of his ankles. l
don't know what to do. It's my duty,
of course, to prefer charges of coward.
ice against him; and if do he will GER
tainly be shot, and his father is my best
friend.'
HE paused, and then said with
eagerness in his voice: why can't
you take him2"
81 agreed at once. l told him l
would take the boy with me to my pits
and make EITHER soldier or a stiff out
of him within the next twenty-four
hours. was under no obligations to
his father; had never even met any
of his relatives, and l had seen too
many years of service to have much
patience with cowardice.
"The boy was sent for and ordered
to 90 with me. We walked down
toward Blandferd Church. At the
proper point we turned out OF the
Jerusalem plankroad across the fields
toward Fort Lamkin. Half way there,
and on top of little hill, which was
especially exposed to the gaze of the
sharpshooters, l made 81 Tucker sit
down by my side. There we came to
an understanding. told him he had
been assigned to me to be shot out of
cowardice, which, at that particular
juncture of the war, meant very near
the same thing. l explained to him
that he was about to join detachment
composed exclusively of men specially
selected for their courage-every one
of them volunteer for what was deem
ed peculiarly dangerous service. L
explained further that i should require
him to do his duty as they did theirs.
"'You have managed to make for
YOURSELF l said, "the reputation of a
coward. You have now one last chance
to redeem yourself. You must do that
or you must die"
"The sharpshooters were meanwhile
picking at US most uncomfOrtaby as we
sat there. My experience as an old
soldier strongly suggested to me that
we ought to move. The position was
of that kind that military men call un-
tenable. Nevertheless, thought it
best to keep 81 Tucker there minute
longer, for purposes of observation if
nothing else
CAT our pits,' said, I'VE have one
uniform rule of procedure. When a
bombardment begins the men 90 to
their guns. take my stand on top of
the magazine mound to watch the en-
emy's fire and direct our own. If see
that mortar shell is about to fall into
one of the gun pits call out the pit
number and the men run into the
bombproof until the explosion is over
No man ever gees into bombproof
till this order is given. You must do
as the rest do. If you run into bomb
proof before l have given the order it
will be my imperative duty to shoot
you then and there; and shall certain
ly discharge that duty. Do you fully
understand that, Si2
she thought he did, and as the sharp
shooters were by this time becoming
pestilently personal in their attentions,
we resumed out walk. Half an hour
after our arrival at Fort Lamkin bonn
bardment began. l didn't want to
shoot that boy. l distinctly preferred
to make a soldier rather than a stiff
out of him. So, instead of taking my
customary stand on the mound of earth
over the magazine, ordered Joe to
that post and placed myself in the gun
pit to which 81 Tucker had been as
signed, taking care to stand between
him and the mouth of the bombproof.
l spoke to him as l passed.
Remember what l told you. If
you forget it is instant DEATH
she remembered. For nearly two
hours he stood there, quaking and
quivering, but not daring to seek safety
by retreat into bombproof. BY the
time that the outburst was over, 81
Tucker had learned his first lesson in
war. He had learned to realize that q
man may endure lot of very savage
fire and yet come out of it alive. A
few hours later, when the guns were at
work again, 81 was steady enough in his
nerves to carry shells to the guns. The
next day he was even able, during a
bombardment, to cut fuses-a delicate
operation, requiring a steady hand.
Within two or three days he had be-
come as good soldier as we had in all
that band of men specially picked for
their unfiinching courage.
"When the great mine explosion &C.
Cured few weeks later had occasion
to rebuke 81 Tucker for fault quite
unrelated to cowardice. We had been
ordered to 60 with our mortars as near
as possible to the crater and to drop
continual rain of shells among the thou
sands of helpless fellows in that awful
pit. 1t was cruel, CHASTITY work. But
it was war. And poet has justly
characterized war as 'brain-spatter-
ing, windpipe-splitting art Or, as Gen.
eral Sherman once said, and he knew,
war is all HE'LL