Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1901-08-06
A NIGHT ON PICKET.
Kirby smiths Cavalry Turns Out Tn
he Nothing More Than Three
Escaping slaves.

nave Dtcn a UlcihbcT VI tire Va
tional Tribune family since 1879, and
in that time have written few let
tiers of reminiscence. l viii now tell
the boys about my first experience
on picket guard" writes Charles M.
Castle, in that paper. 1T was about
two miles east of Frankfort, KY, on
the Versailles turnpike, where the
road TO Georgetown branches off. 1t
was early in October. 1862, when 1
had been but little over two
months in the service and a half
month in the field.
II had dreaded the duties of the
lonely picket in a hostile country,
or / thought that I would. and this
feeling had been somewhat intensi-
fed just before entering the service
by a villainous woodcut in one of the
illustrated papers of that time, en-
titled Rebel Prowler Shooting a
Union Picket There in the fore
ground was the union picket dressed
and equipped in all the paraphernalia
of war, his musket falling from his
grasp, and himself falling backward
in the agonies of death, and away in
the distance, in the deep woods, APP
peared the ugly face and SLOUGH hat
of a bushwhacller with blazing gun.
The picture made a deep impression
on my boyish mind, and it was with
some CONSERVATION that ! heard the
orderly about four p. m. one day
cali out my name as one of the de-
tails for picket.
'We had recently marched from
Louisville, where we had crossed the
Ohio, and our division, under Gen.
Ebenezer Dumont, had pushed back
some part of the confederate army
and captured Frankfort, just in time
to prevent the seating of n confeder-
ate governor. 1t was then known
that the confederate general, Kirby
Smith, was east and south of us, with
two divisions of Bragg's army, and
it was expected of him by his chief
that he would recapture the state
capital.
"The officer of the guard that
night was our first lieutenant, IL. IL.
Clay-afterwards our captain, and
later major, who led the regiment on
the famous march to the sea and
the stirring and eventful campaign
of the Carolinas.
"My companions on the picket post
at the road were two men of my
company, Ario w. Dawson and Rob
ert n. Lester, both of whom have
reached the long pontoon and
crossed over the river of death.
Peace to their ashes.
"Lieut. Clay gave us our orders or
instructions for the night, to-wit:
Watch for the approach of any
heavy bodies of troops, the usual
directions about challenging, and
added: If you shoot, shoot to kill
We began our weary vigil at sun
down. L caught FREELY and put it
under a tin cup, so as to have his
illuminated carcass to tell the time
by n watch one of the boys carried.
Lester went on at eight p. m, Dav-
ison at ten, and the writer at II, as
a result of getting the short straw
in draw for reliefs.
"The night was starlight and quite
still, and at about one a. IN. j was
wide awake and sitting on a fence
rail in the corner of a worm fence,
and under the shadow of big, wide
spreading birch tree, when / detect
ed the suppressed hum of voices, and
looking east up the left, or Versailles
road. / saw, as thought, little less
than a million of Kirby Smiths men,
who were coming right on. / sprang
into the center of the pike and COM
manded the supposed enemy to halt;
but on they came. The second chal-
lenge met with like results. / drew