The National tribune., 1899-11-16
FIGHTING THEM OVER.
What the Veterans Have to Say
About Their Campaigns.
A TRIO OF ANECDOTES.
War Experiences as sketched by Member
of the 84th Ohio.

War Experiences as Sketched by a Member
of the s4th Ohio.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: | was n
member OF Co. II. S4th Ohio, In the Sum
mer of 1862 the regiment was stationed at
Cumberland. Md. In June Cos. II and ID
were sent out 20 miles east on the Baltimore
Il Ohio Il. h. 10 Little place called Old
Town 10 look after some guerrillaS who had
been burning bridges, destroying property
of and killing Union families living i'll that
vicinity, and nine miles south. near a town
called Romney. We went into camp just
south of the depot in an orchard, intending
to locate this band if possible
In the course of q week we did locate them.
The leader was a man named Wood. He
lived back of the main road and three miles
northeast of ROmney. The gang con-
sisted of Wood and IL others. They were
armed with double-barreled shotguns;
some of them had revolvers AS near as
we could find out they We're desperate set.
We got most of our information from
young, good-looking Union woman who
would come down to our camp once or twice
week in a One-horse wagon and sell our
boys pies and cakes, or trade for sugar and
coffee. This woman seemed very anxious
TO have this gang taken or killed. | think
her name was Mary Hall. She was a
widow, with one little girl. Mrs. Hall told
us where Wood and his gang made their
headquarters, and that their regular meet
ing IlOHIS were OH OuflldNS. Wlitu llltN
would make plans for the week s operations.
The meeting-place was in an old clubhouse
that stood in a lonesome part of Woods
farm. One of our boys, George WillistOn,
took it into his head to find out if Mrs. Hall
had told us the truth about this gang of
buShwhackerS. George hid himself and
watched this clubhouse for several nights
and got onto the lay OF the land" and then
on the next Sunday night, with 20 men
under Lieut.. Miller, of Co. II, crept TO the
Clubhouse and surrounded it and broke in
the door before the Johnnies knew any
Yankees were so near. The .JohnnieS Wee
sitting around a table drinking and playing
cards, and were completely taken by sur
prise. Three of them made a rush for their
guns standing in "A corner of the room, but
when being called on to surrender, with
score of cooked rifles aimed at their heads, |
they threw up their hands. They were
marched out. and the house. with the guns
i'll it, was set on fire. The next morning
the guerrllas We're taken on board the cars
TO Cumberland. After this | went out to |
Mrs. Halls several times and got good |
dinner and a hearty invitation to come back |
again.
want to tell Of little surprise gave my |
company-G, 10th Ohio Cav. Just after
the fall Of the city of Savannah my com
pany was detailed TO guard a fort captured |
from the ConfederateS several miles west of
Savannah, on the main road. 1forget what
the name of the fort was. There had been
plenty Of shot and shell thrown in and
around the fort before the surrender, and just
east of the fort, in strlpOf woods, where our
guns had been trained the ground was well
covered with shell, both large and small,
that had not exploded.
As we had nothing TO do in the way of
duty, time hanging heavy on our hands,
one day just after dinner / was out i'll the
woods strOlling around. Seeing the un-
exploded shells, the thought struck me To
h ylffant of
picked out a good place where some old
logs lay; then gathered up the big shells
and placed about 30 of them along length
wise end-to-end between these logs: then
gathered up dry bark and brush and COW
cred the shells. After this was done. lit
a match and set fire to the dry wood, and
the fire started with rush. Then | was in
a hurry to get back TO the fort unobscrved,
so that the officers would not find out who
had done the mischief. 1t was some so rods
to the fort, and | started off on the double
quick and by a roundabout way.
] entered from the opposite way. There
was a large shade tree standing in the
centerof the fort. and under this moStof the
company We're lOunging. / went to this
tree and laydown as quickly as could and
waited for the shells to go off. | did not
have to wait long, for all at once the battle
began, and it seemed as if they had 20 siege
guns upon us all at once and the air seemed
full of flying iron. IN 10 seconds it was all
over. The boys had jumped to their posts,
each looking at the other and trying to think
what had happened, but within few
minutes it all flashed through their minds,
and they knew W hat the trouble was, but
lid not know for six months afterWard who
caused all that uncalled-for noise.
Now wish to speak of a young man who
often visited our camp for some days before
the army reached Big Shanty. Ga. He was
about 22 years old, well built, black hair
and mustachc, and was a fine-looking,
penteel young man, and one could see by
his conversation that he did not belong To
the lower walks of life. He often came TO
our camp iii the evening. He claimed 10
be a L Mon man, and said that his father and
three brothers We're hung by Mosby's
guerrilla band; that their buildings We're
burned and everything destroyed, and that
his mother and one sister had gone to his
brother at Big Stone Gap, where his home
formerly was.
At first we looked on him with suspicion.
and our officers questioned him closely and
came 10 the conclusion that he was what he
himself to be. He said he was
trying 10 make his way back over into
West Virginia, where he would Join COM
pany Of Union home guards.
We finally reached Big Shanty, where
We had some pretty sharp fighting. One
lay after our skrmisli-line had been giving
he .Johnnies' skirmish-Iine hot stuff and
we had driven it back they left several OF
'iicll ucaib Nflelc llleN leli ana among lHtHl
was our good Union Young man, shot
through the forehead. That made it clear
10 us that he had been a rebel spy Capt
Brown, of Co II, cut his boots off. after
close and finding nothing of any
note except pocket memorandum book,
which gave his name as Walter Davis.
When his boots were searched there was
nap and some drawings III them, showing
hat he was employed as Il spy by Gen. Hood.
/ was his own fault that he was killed, for
le had no business on the skirmish-line.-
LEWIS HENNING, RaWSon, o.