The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-09-29

The boys eyes sparkled and he slight
IL NODDED.
Come this way" said the fighting
colonel Il know what the feeling is
You might not think it, but 1 was a
/ boy once myself Pitch in anu fill up
30 the boy ate as hungry boys usualIy
/ do, the colonel leaving him TO himself,
and the veterans for .ne. moment quite
forgetting him They had been talking
/ OF certain nlShs attack upon a con-
! tederate position, and each man was
1 doing his best to recall the incidents of
1 the affair, because the historian of the
brigade was present and had reques, led
/ that all the details be given him.
Inere was one thing that always
puzzled me-" said the fighting col
onel, and that is the way those rebel
/ guns on the south hill happened 20 be
| spiked. You know we found them so
IN the early morning. That was --.e
/ very key OF the confederate position.
ana mere wasn't y smarzr battery ID
| the whole confederate service tBan
! Tomlinson's- If those guns had been
| in service that last charge of ours in
| the early dawn would have had diff
ferent ending. Some of our men stole
I up the hill in the night. in a wild spirit
| OF oravado and spiked those guns
| rlghe under the rebels noses. Sure.
| Did 1t without orders, of course, and
| then were afraid tell of 1t. Or else,
and this is still more likely, they were
| day.
All but one" said a very clear Voice
a. the coloneFs elbow.
! They turned and stared at the speaker.
1t was the boy. He had finished his
supper, and, drawn by the stirring
| stories that were passed around, he
| had sided up close to the leader.
All but one?"- repeated the colonel
grandfather"
| He hesitated ana looked up.
| Go on, my lad said the old fighter.
you have the floor. Tell US all you
know about it,
1t was my grandfather who told
| me, said the boy. "and he told it to
me many times And he told me about
| my other grandfathers, too. He liked
| TO talk about such things, and liked to
near about them. 1t was my grand
rather who planned to climb the hill
] ana spike the guns. He got a half
/ dozen other men into it. 1t was a
rainy night and very dark, and the
/ wind blew strong"
That's right" said the colonel
And my grandfa Their and the other
| soldiers sneaked through the ravine
ana up the hill, and it took them a
long time. The wind blew so hard and
the branches of the trees fell around
them and part of the way they had 10
crawl but after a while they reached
the little clear space where the guns
( were, and there was only one picker
there- And they pulled him down in
a minute and gagged him and tied him.
! The rest of the rebels were A connie of
hundred feet away under some shelter
/ tents that were backed by a stone wall
/ 80 grandfather and the men with him
| spiked the four guns, one BIZ one. TAX
ing on the canvas covers and vaitin'
tlH the wind blew the strongest and
tne branches were SWAPPING before they
3
all done they sneaked back the same
way and got into their tent. and no
body was the wiser"
The BOY pausedz again.
Go on" sai3 the colonel.
Then Gaze the charge early the nez-+
| morning, and my grandfather and ali
] o-S men who went with him the night
? before were in the front rank. and NV
grandfather had the flag. He was the
color sergeant, you know And thew
Jsot through the ravine all right and
theh began to climb the hill Right
away they got it hot. There was a
great lighting regiment in front of
! met before" -
true again" murmured the colonel.
And the fghtin -was awful. NV
grandfather, carrying the flag for1n5
hImselt next TO his colonel, and they
pushed ahead side by side. For a mo-
ment 1t looked like they would he
orlVen pack, and then they staggered
up over the edge of the slope. and the
colonel waved his sword at the men
Dehlnd him and pointed to the flag
ana they followed with a wild cheer
ana Just then something struck nv
/ grandfather an awful blow in the head
and he pushed the flag into tbe colo
mel hands and fell right down and
dldn know anything again for MANY
weeks. And when he came to himself
IN the hospital he had forgot who he
L Vfrh h,
ne was discharged he went and enlisted
again IN another regiment and after
while his memory began to come hack
/ 10 him. and when the war was over he
went back to the old farm where he
was born, it's only bout twenty miles
from here. and lived there until he
/ uled-that was last year. He grew
strong and worked hard, but his head
WASH Just right, and he talked about
lhe war TO nobody except to me. 1
And he always said he had disobeved
! orders that rainy night and nobody
must ever know it. But it can't hurt
him now he's dead. can it. STRIP
no, SAID the colonel slowly. 1T
cant hurt him now" He put out his
/ hand and rested it gently ON the bows
sh0ulder. What was your grand
| fathers name"
The boy fumbled in his pocket.
I've got his discharge paper here -
/ he said: his name was Sergeant
! Thomas Robbins
/ Tom Robbinsl" echoed a half dozen
voices.
4 Tom Robbins" repeated the grizzIed
/ colonel with a PARKWAY look.
! Color Sergeant Thomas Robbins.
| missing, said the historian can
you tell me, my lad" he added. the
names OF the men who went with your
grandfather up the hill that rainy
night?"
The boy nodded
Il know them all by heart" said the
| boy. I've heard them a hundred times
| My grandfather said he thought they
all must have been killed in that
| charge. There was Thomas Farrissey,
and Henry German, and William Pep
| pernell, and James Martin and Isaac
| Pettigrew and Clinton Brown
'Ail dead on the field of battle" said
the historian as he turned over the reg
mental rolls.
The boy looked up at the colonel
| My grandfather disobeyed orders -
| he said with pathetic information. ssbut
he was a splendid Fighter. wasn't hep"
| He was 5pler Sid fighter" said the
| colonel. He turned the boy half round,
Look, my lad Dczyou see that latter
ed old flag Standing in the corner?
That's the flag your grandfather
pushed into my hands when the bullet
/ struck him down"
! There was a little silence.
] Il think - said the Sav,. g. H.