The National tribune., 1899-08-24
"A PERSONAL Reconnaissance"
Quiet Unosentaious Daring Of One Of Gen. Warens Staff
Officers
By AUGUSTUS c. BUELL..

will fire upon me and stand their ground
Do you comprehend"
Eyes, sir"
'Then stay here and watch me while
ride down the road and develop them. !
they happen to hit me, and you see me fall
get back to the first general officer you cal
find as quick as your mare can carry you
and report in full. Report all you hav
heard me say"
| All this was said in perfectly business
like tone, and in the most everyday manner
Cope was simply accommodating
ing information for the General. II
do that to his own satisfaction it became
incidentally necessary for him to "draV
the fire" of the enemy. It was possible
| or even probable, that this operation nigh
result in his death at once. If so, he was
cold -bloodedly coaching" his Orderly a:
to what he must report to the General aftel
he had seen Maj Cope killed.
| This impressed me most profoundly, anG
| it also nettled me little bit. had beer
under fire a good many times, and haG
come to have that faith in my luck" which
every soldier feels who has beer in severa
battles without being hit, and 1 believed
implicitly that "the ore had not yet beer
mined to make the lead to mold the bullet
to kill mel"
COURAGE OF MAI. COPE.
So 1 said: Major, let me ride down the
road and draw their fire. They will shoot
at me as soon as at you"
20, no." he said, that sort of thing is
always an officers duty! Besides, I don't
want to expose you to a chance of getting
hurt, because, in a few minutes, / will want
you to carry a message to the General"
Then the Major rode quickly down to the
creek, and as he was crossing it they fired
three or four shots at him and then they
ran up over the ridge as fast as their legs
would carry them. He then rode on along
the Waugh road as far as the crossroads, and
1 could see him through my glass, ap-
parently in conversation with an old man
and two women who came out of the house
there as he rode up.
He stayed there few minutes, and then
rode back to where was. noticed that his
coat was torn out right where the left sleeve
was sewed to the top of the shoulder. !
said:
CLOSE CALL.
''They gave you close cali, Major"
"Fairly So" he said with a grim smile;
"but at that range they might have done
better. lam sure most of our own veterans
would have done better at that range
CThe shots were fired at range of about 100
rods, or, say, one-third of a mile.)
BY this time the head of column of Bart
let's B rigade was in sight. They came
rapidly to the top of the ridge east of the
creek and halted, while Maj. Cope and Gen.
Bartlett consulted together briefly.
In this conference Cope did not refer to
the incident already related, except to say,
incidentally, that he was satisfied that the
rebels he had seen were not pickets Of any
considerable force intending to dispute our
advance toward Dinwiddie, but simply out
post videts or flankers of a column moving
probably north towards the White Oak
road, or else retreating westward.
AT any rate" he told Bartlett, II ap-
preached them close enough to draw their
fire, and their subsequent behavior con-
firmed me in the opinion that they were not
backed by any considerable force of in
fantry intending to fight on this line of ad-
vance,"
The result of this conference between