The age-herald., 1898-08-17
HISTORY DID NOT
 REPEAT ITSELF In the Case of the HObSOlS as Re-
 gently Told. JUDGE ROBSON WRITES CARD Correcting Statements in the Shropshire Interview Published Sunday.
JUDGE ROBSON WRITES CARD
THERE WAS NO ESPECIAL BRAVERY
In the Act of Chasing the Color-Bearer According to the Characteristic Hobson Statement-Praises
 the Little Yankee"

Judge James M. Hobson, of Greensboro yesterday sent The Age-Herald the follow ing letter, explaining the detail of his chase of the little federal color bearer an account of which was given in a somewhat | different manner in The Sunday Age-Her- aid:
 To the Editor of The Age-Herald: In the issue of your paper of August 14, find an article headed History Does Re- | peat Itself" which surprised and upset me | not little. MT. Shropshire, for whom I l have the highest esteem, in attempting to compliment me, has placed me, am afraid, l in a ridiculous light. His recollection of | the talk between us is incorrect and the shortest way to get the matter straight is | to make plain statement of facts. In the beginning of the civil war I enlist ed on the confederate side in a North Caro- | lima regiment (the Second state troops, un- der Colonel Lew commanding, as a pri- vate and served in that capacity for nearly one year, when I was made a lieutenant. On the Sth day of May, 1864, at Spottsylva- mia Court House, which point my regiment and brigade reached late in the evening and went immediately into action. l was captured and sent as prisoner of war first to Point Lookout, Md, where I remained only a few weeks when I was transferred to Fort Delaware. In September of same year I was sent with the 600 officers to Nor ris Island. near Charleston, s. C., to be placed under fire of our guns, where we were placed in stockade between the
 federal batteries of Gregg and Wagner. In
 October we were sent to Fort Pulaski, at
 the mouth of the Savannah river, where
 we remained until the following March,
 when we were sent back to Fort Delaware.
 There I remained until after the close of
 the war; being liberated, I think, the lat
 ter part of June, having been in prison
 nearly fourteen months. The above is
 substantially the statement I made to Mir
 Shropshire.
 About the manner of my capture; the
 first federal line we engaged ,Y2an nCoken
 aand in the pursuit in passinsN nugh
 woods and pine thickets our formations
 were necessarily broken up and our men
 scattered, but for a time we kept on
 frequently picking up prisoners from te-
 hind trees. At last Captain Cobb who
 commanded the left company of the regi-
 ment, mine being the next and myself
 concluded it was best to stop, get our men
 together and try to get orders as to what to do. I left my sergeant to gather my men and form on Captain Cobb and told him I would go up to the right find Col onel w. R. Cox (then coloneD Colonel Tew having been killed at Sharpesburg, and re- port back.
 The Chase
 As I turned to the right-our men still keeping up desultory fire and occasional- ly shooting a fleeing enemy who took the risk of escaping by flight rather than sur render-I saw Git was then darlO dimly | outlined 300 or 400 yards in our front | line of battle lying flat on the ground. l | took it to be a line of our men thrown around there to intercept and capture the retreating Yankees, there was not shot coming from it. On proceeding to the right I came to a large pine tree, when suddenly a small color-bearer with beautiful flag jumped out and instead of surrendering when I summoned him Che had evidently made up his mind to take all risks rather than surrender his fag) he put out.
 My pistol as unloaded, but if every barrel had been loaded I would not have shot the brave and unarmed boy, and put out after | him. He had on a slick knapsack, and I raked down 1t once or twice, but at last we l both fell together in the line of battle which I have alluded to, and which turned out to my horror to be Yankee line. In the Enemy's Hands
 as struck upon the head by one or more muskets and stunned, but soon recovered l consciousness and found some considerable confusion around me and some apparent danger, as the men seemed very much en- ragged. But at that instant a captain came along and in gallant and gentlemanly way accepted my surrender and sent me to the rear in charge of two men,
 Praises the Color Bearer This was about in substance what told Mir Shropshire in our running conversa- tion. I was not sent to hospital did not get home until after the war. had no struggle
 with the gallant little color-bearer. am sure that I did not say that history does sometimes repeat itself. If the expression uas used 1t must have been injected by Mr Shropshire. fhe small mistakes as to
 my returning to service In the confederate
 army in the year 1863 instead of 1864 and the
 na rticular battle are natural and of minor
 ,nnnnrtance. I have given my recollection of the conversation, and, above all, what ever may have been the conversation, l
 o,ya above the absolute facts. I stated the manner of my capture rather as an anius ing incident, how 1t turned out that instead of capturing the brave color-oearer ana his flag he led me into trap that heio hie
 the balance of the war.
 No ESpeciaA braSery
 There was no especial bravery in what
 I did, Thousands of similar and more haz- ardous deeds were and are of almost daily occurrence during a campaign. In fact I
 thought had an easy thing of it; thinking the line of battle in front was our line,
 surrounded by my comrades scattered
 here and there and only brave little col- or-bearer much smaller than myself to con- tend with, hoped by the capture of him. self and his flag to win some praise at the price of very little danger. My pur- suit of him perhaps saved his life as our boys otherwise might have shot him down. If so, consideD my imprisonment a happy penalty. I hope the gallant and heroic little fellow survived the war and 1 Is now living. would like to shake his
 s'S1 { co. Pick Leaf Smoking eIo Tobacco ,s the s'best of the best" olnces and