The National tribune., 1899-07-27
A


the love and confidence of his troops in
greater degree than George Fl. Thomas.
On the march from Atlanta Baird'S Di-
vision was on the extreme left of the infan-
try most OF the time, supporting I<ilpatriciiS S
Cavalry; enough fighting to make it eX-
citing but not serious enough to affect the
nerves, but there was more foraging than
fighting. The instructions We're to commit
no wanton destruction of property, but in
many cases soldiers not so well disciplined
committed acts not recognized in civilized
warfare. So far as the I'd Mimi. is con-
cerned they have no apologies to offer and
did nothing to prevent them from feeling
dignified by the title "Sherman's Bum
meTS.
A few days after starting we camped one
night close to what had once been a small
village that had been destroyed by fire by
troops in advance of us. If / remember
rightly it was called Louisville. While
| looking for water | found in little grove,
buried about two feet below the surface, a
tin box, and upon opening found it con-
| tained between 100000 and $500. 900 in
Confederate money; it was in large denom-
| nations and had never been in circulation,
crisp and new, very pretty to look at, but
| worthless.
| ! divided it up among the boys to play
poker with, and the reckless manner in
which they would raise Jack pot would
| have put to shame a noted and successful
| gambler in his palmiest days.
The Union troops entered Savannah on
| the morning of Dec. 21, and a few days
| later the ID MINI. was given duty inside
| malned until Jan. 20, when the start was
| made through the 'Carolinas equally as
noted and celebrated as the one already
made.
THE TRAINING OF A RUNNER"
&c 10,
to that had made successful the Georgia
campaign. Every body had by this time
mastered the art of foraging, so there never
was a time when there was scarcity of
ratlons far superior to those issued by
Uncle Sam and much more wholesome.
The same energy displayed by Sher-
mans "Buinners,' if. adhered to, would
have succeeded in any walks of life If a
man came in e;npty handed it showed CON
clusiveiy a lack of skill and Knowledge
and his future usefulness as a hummer
was gone, and he was reduced to the ranks.
On Feb. II we were within six miles of
Columbia, which was then in na neS There
has been good deal of contention over who
set that hot-hed Of secession on fire but il
mattered Little to us at the time who applied
the torch, so it was done | do not re-
member that anybody fiddled like Nero
when Rome was burning, probably owing
10 the fact that fiddles were not handy nj
there was regret in the hearts of one of
that 10000 when Columbia went I'D in
smoke. After leaving behind us a trail of
desolation, hundreds of miles in width.
from the Ohio to the coast, the inevitable
result Of war, TO have left this nest egg and
the originator of all the mischief without
getting her deserts, would look like bur
leSaue on justice.
We arrived at Bentonvlle, n. c., on
March 20, without noticeable adventure,
but the fighting was about over. We
were advanced TO the edge of an open field.
on the other side of which the enemy had
a quite formidable work, and over which a
head would occasionally appear scrutiniz-
ing us. We were too close and too quiet TO
remain inactive long, and it looked threat
ening.
Col. Van Deveer, commanding the bri-
gade, was sitting on his horse few PAGES
in my rear, when a staff officer rode up,
and in tones plain enough for me to hear
said:
Colonel, the orders are to charge those
works and go over them in spite of opposi-
ton"
A MOMENT OF SUSPENSE.
I shall never forget the uncomfortable
feeling ! experienced upon hearing this.
We had an open field tocross and my desire
was not very great to take chances just TO
see the JOhnnIeS Scamper. In the short
time allowed | imagined | was already
singled out for a target. The moment the
movement began, and when the clouds of
gloom that had been lowering over tie
country for four long years had com
menced to break away, / did not feel as
though | was of the stuff that martyrs
were made, or that | was a willing candi-
date for bright Immortality, and the
heavenly prospect did not appear to please
me. / always considered this the most
critical moment of my life, and that escaped
destruction by very narrow margin
But in a short time another officer rode up
delivered another message, and to my in-
finite relief we were ordered to the rear,