Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1901-09-27
THE BOOMING CANNON
REc,7ALs OF CAMP AND BAT
TILE INCIDENTS.

Survivors Of h Rebellion Relate
Many Amusing and Startling Incl.
dents of Marches. camp Life, Forag.
ing Experiences and Battle Scenes.
"a good many stories were told.' said
she Sergeant, ''about Kilpatrick's ride
in his night shirt March 10, 1865. We
were then in North Carolina, between
Jheraw and Fayetteville. Fitzpatrick
snew that Hardee's infantry were re-
treating toward Fayetteville, in front
Of him, and that Wade Hampton's cav
airy We're behind him, and he posted
his three brigades on the evening of
March 8 to intercept the latter. Hamp-
ton, finding Kilpatrick's division inter-
posed between his own command and
Hardee's command, resolved to attack
Fitzpatrick before daylight on the 10th,
surprise his camps, and dispense his
men. He made the attack and cap
tured Kilpatrick's headquarters, artil-
lery and many Of his men.
Fitzpatrick told me himself of his
part in the affair. He slept that night
in a house at the intersection of the
Morgantown road and another, with
his artillery parked neal Toward
morning he got up and stepped out on
the front porch. While he was stand
ing there in his night shirt several
men in Union uniform rode up and in
CURED for Kilpatrick's headquarters.
The General was suspicious and re-
piled. Down the road half a mile The
cavallymen turned without a word and
gallopcd down the road, and just then
Fitzpatrick saw the enemy charging in
force down on his sleeping camp. He
ran around the corner of the house and
made IL Decline for the swamp near.
"Tle rebels rode pell-mell through
the camp, drove the a~rtillerymen from
their guns and scattered the cavalry
bivouacked near headquarters. Mean
time Fitzpatrick caught Il horse, mount
ed him bareback and, riding back in
his night shirt, rallied his men, charged
the rebels, re%captured his artillery and
headquarters and drove Hampton's
men in disorder from his camp. lie
told ME that it looked like n hopeless
case at first, but when his men once be-
gan to fight the firing brought more,
and that when he ordered the charge he
never felt better in his life or surer of
victory"
Il was in that fight, myself" said an
old Tenth Wisconsin battery man, land
l remember some things better than
even Fitzpatrick himself. One of his
brigades lever reached the post as
signed to it for that night. 1t was, in
fact, ten miles behind, because the guns
of one part of the battery 1.-TWO Rod
ans of the Tenth Wisconsin and four
captured guns could not move as rap
idly as the cavalry. I had eight horses
to each gun, and yet the roads We're
in such condition that we could not get
up to Il place in line for the night and
the brigade camped SO far to the rear
as to leave open the road Fitzpatrick
had ordered covered. Hampton dis
covered this gap and so was able to
ride almost unmolested on Kilpatrick's
camp. &
"Hampton's scouts Nere pretty we'll
informed as to kilpatrick's where
abouts and the plan was to capture
him. But it was Kilpatrick's habit to
wake his escort and artillerymen every
morning and it was this habit that
saved him that morning. He had al
ready spoken to the sentinel on duty
to wake the men when the squad of
cavalrymen in Union uniforms rode up.
The rebel charge came like a whirl-
wind a moment later, and it seemed
that everything had been captured or
overwhelmed. Several other officers
were sleeping upstairs in the house &C.
cupied as headquarters by Fitzpatrick.
The house was surrounded ut once and
the officers were ordered to surrender,
but all except one refused to come
down.
while they were still in consultation
and wondering if Fitzpatrick was a
prisoner, and while Hampton's men
were scattering through the camp, in
tent on pillage, a Lieutenant of the bat
terry crept out to n of the guns, load
ed it with canister, and turning it in
the direction of the eXulting rebels let
drive. The effect was tremendous.
Our Owl men, hearing the gun, rallied.
The rebels in range, believing that the
full battery vas ready for business, got
into a sort of panic. And then came
Fitzpatrick, riding bareback in his night
shirt. My recollection is that he rode
a mule, not a horse, and this made the
picture the more grotesque. But his
men went in with bugle blasts and
shouts and soon were masters of the
situation.
"The officers in the house came down
stairs to join in the pursuit of the fel.
lows who had a few minutes before
demanded their surrender, and in a
rough and tumble fight the camr
cleared and everything taken by the
rebels recaptured, except Kilpatrick's
favorite horses. This fight was n OF