The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1901-08-03
He DIED BRAYELY
Confederate Captain Deserted
To See Dying Mother-Met
Doom Like a Hero.
INCIDENT OF CIVIL WAR
Strange Contrast In Men AS
Shown BY RESERVATIONS
IN Battle.
INCIDENT OF CIVIL WAR

In tue TOUR years served IN tue
army of northern Virginia, said the
old confederate, in a reminiscent
mood, II saw more menikilled than
I'd care to count. In the course OF
the war, three out Of the four men
who we're terminates with me were
killed. Each one went down within
ten feet OF me, one with his head torn
away by shell, the second with a
mimic ball that tore o great hole in
his jugular vein and the third from
an overdose of bayonet, when we
rot ut close quarters with the Yam
KEGS one afternoon at Seven Hines.
Ny command lost SO per cent in one,
battle, aud as we usually came pref
ty near evening things up with the
other fellows / have been witness
at pretty fair share OF violent
demises.
SIN battle, after man gets over
his first scare at going into the line
of fire, the brute in him makes him
forget that he is coward. When
he sees the fellow next to him fall,
he sorter feels sorry and has pretty
strong desire to come to close quar-
tiers with the man that did 1T and
let little daylight into him. Fight
ing as we had to, / got so that |
could see q man killed in battle with
as little worry as if he had been a
partridge.
"But there is one incident that
happened near the end of the war
that keeps coming back to memory
and every time l think of it wish
I had been somewhere else on the
morning it happened.
"You know, near the close of the
war, the poor, half-starved devils
got to DESERVING pretty frequently.
1t was war and there was but one
way to remedy it-a wooden cross,
the deserter and the firing squad.
Zone morning i left my command
and started over to talk to some old
friends in Mississippi regiment. |
got about half of the distance, when
/ ran into a little body of men. Two
of them had their eyes blindfolded
aud their arms tied behind them.
The first fellow couldn't have been
more than %. He was tall, straight
as an arrow, with dark, curling
brown hair, and his face was the
handsomest and the saddest l ever
saw. He was walking quietly and
steady. / couldn't see his eyes, but
not muscle of his face was witch
ing, and his feet were planted fairly
and squarely on the ground. no.
ticed that he wore the uniform of a
captain.
1.-THE second fellow had to be held
up by four men. Every few steps
he would fall to the ground perfect
ly limp and, it seemed, lifeless.
When the men would get him up he
would scream and cry like a scared
child. He was great, big, raw
boned North Carolinian, and his
terror would have been disgusting
If it hadn t been so pitiable.
81 followed the little procession
for hundred yards to where the
line of crosses stood. The captain
was to be shotfirst. AS they placed
him with his back to the cross he
said: Men, you know me. l have
led you in 30 fights, and you've
never seen me shy from gun muz-
zle yet, have you? I,just want you
to take this bandage off my eyes
and as long as I've got to die let me
die like man. I've given you the
order to fire many a time, and ID
like to give my last order, II you'll
let me- The lieutenant hesitated
aud then he said: Jack, I'll do it,
II get shot for it..
''They unbound his eyes. He
Strengthened himself for minute,
took long look all about him, and
then facing his men said in as steady
voice as / ever listened to,
Ready! Aiml Firel'
''They fred, and he pitched straight
forward his full length, dead before
he struck the ground. Then they
tried to bind the tar-heel to the
cross, but he writhed and moaned
and twisted away from it like
snake with broken back. They
gave it up, and he was shot while
heiwas crawling along the ground,
screaming out prayers for mercy.
81 heard afterward that the cap