The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-03

country ahead of him, Of Forests caval-
ry, he dispatched his own cavalry, under
the noted Grierson, to the front, giving
the column days start. One day It be-
came necessary for Smith to COMMUNE
cate warning 20 Grierson, and Robinson
started out with two orderlies for escort,
to overtake the advance guard. When the
party was well outside of the friendly
lines. 1t fell into an ambush and Robinson
received the fun contents Of a double-bar-
relied shotgun loaded with slugs and buck
shot in his arm aud shoulder, also his
right leg and hip. He was stripped OF
his instruments ard dispatches, then set
adrltt in the woods. In spite of his wounds
the brave fellow struggled back to meet
smiths advancing columns and fresh dis
patches were sent forward In time 90 save
Grierson from danger.
Even under fire the operator was the
equal of any soldier and his case was
even more trying, for he was not prepar-
ed to fight back While Banks army was
evacuating Winchester, pursued by Stone
wall Jackson's troops. the Federal oper-
ator, Frank Drummond, sat at the key
until the last bluecoat was out of sight.
The Confederate yell sounded nearer and
nearer, like the baying of hounds and
from all sides came the rattle of mus
kerry. Drummond had secreted all his dis
patch copies on his person and was de-
tachlng the instrument from the board
to keep 1t out of the enemy's hands, when
belated orderly rushed In with n mes
sage for the commander of the reserves
at Harper's Ferry. with one hand on the
key he managed to draw out and burn
his secreted dispatches. His horse, stand
ing loose az the door, began to get ner-
vous and he dropped the key long enough
TO tie the frightened animal and give him
an assuring caress. Going back to the
key Drummond again called Harper s
Ferry. but getting no reply he took out the
instrument and dashed II 10 pieces on the
stone pavement. The Confederates were
then firing down the streets in pursuit OF
struggling or bella led Federals and Drum
mond ran the gauntlet Of their bullets
only to fall into the hands Of Ashby's
Confederate Cavalry. A term IN a wal
prison was the reward this brave fellow
got for sticking to his post.
Some Confederate Heroes.
From the Confederate side, through
one of our corps men, l have story
scarcely paralleled In soldierly devotion
to duty. When the Confederate army
abandoned Little Rock, in 1853, one of the
military operators, David O. Dodd, stayed
behind and lived some time in the federal
lines. He was a lad of II. Shortly after
things had quieted down under fedora
! control young Dodd left Little Rock, os
teusibly to go to Mississippi but in q few
days he returned and fingered a short time
| In his old haunts. A second time he pass
ed out of the lines unrestrained until hC
reached the outpoSts. There the guard:
searched his person and discovered some
curious pencil marks in a memorandum
book carried openly in his pocket.
''The boy was detained and examined al
headquarters The strange marks PROVED
to be Geographic dots and dashes, which
when written out, furnished a description
of all the new federal Notifications anC
the distribution of the garrison troops
around Little Rock. This information II
the hands of the enemy would be dan
gerous and the boy had forfeited his life
in attempting to pass the lines with It
When under examination Dodd admitted
that he had accomplicrs and was Offered
pardon if he would betray them He re
fused and even on the gallows, IN spit,
of the appeals of friends and relatives
put the temptation aside, himself signal
ing the executioner TO do his duty. Tn,
drop fell. carrying this brave boy operator
ard his secret into eternity. My inform
ant, who witnessed the execution, declared
that the lad met his doom with the cool
ness of a stole, while the spectators, chief
ly soldiers wept like children.
"F'rom the Southern camps comes, too
! the most romantice piece of daredevil OPP
Grating on record. mean the exploits o
GtpiGt LIS HuiAliB inc AbAllllAlb ildilituiti
tor whom Morgan, the great Kentuckl
raider, carried along on his staff when h,
crossed the Ohio into federal territory. il
1862. Ellsworth was clever Alabama
boy, who had mastered all the details o
the art. He tapped wires and took of
| messages from Federal generals valuable
to his chief He also answered messages
in a way to mlslead the enemy and throw
the troops attempting to catch the raiders
of their route of operations. The career o
! George Ellsworth on that one raid vii
make a chapter for the future history o
old-time telegTaphy. He Is stll living II
Alabama, just where Morgan original!
| picked him up, and attended the Confed
crate reunion at Nashville last year. mucl
to the surprise and joy of all of Morgan
men, for there was tradition among tn
| survivors that Ellsworth fell IN the IA
nous Ohio raid of 1868, or had died in cap
| tivity." Capt. George L. Kilmer.