Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1901-07-26
AFTER THE BATTLE.
A VETERANS STORY OF A TAssELED
TURKISH FEE.

The Grewsome Incident In Which He
Participated ut the Second Battle
of Manassas-A Brave Boy and His
Dying Request.
Whenever l see n tasseled Turkish
fez," said Confederate veteran whose
attention had been attracted by a
smoking cap of that pattern in a Canal
street window. 81 am reminded of a
curious and rather grewsome incident
Of my campaigning days. 1t was on
the morning after the second battle of
Manassas" he continued in response to
request for the story. "and several of
us from my company had gone over to
few things that we badly needed and
for which the dead had no further use
-waterproofs, for instance, and sound
canteens.
During the previous days engage
ment you may remember that regi7
ment of freshly recruited New York
zouaves held the crest of hill and
were charged and almost annihilated
by Hoods brigade. They were moved
down like ripened grain and fell so
thickly that their corpses literally car
peted the earth. l dare say it was as
awful a. slaughter, considering the
number engaged, as occurred anywhere
in the course of the war.
well, we hadn't gone very far when
we came to this hill and began to get
among the dead men. The poor fellows
had been mustered into service less
than week before, and they were said
to be the most gorgeously uniformed
military troop ever organized. They
wore scarlet Turkish trousers, blue
jackets embroidered with gold bullion
braid and purple fezes with long pend
ent tassels.
Being just from the outfitters, all
this fine regalia was perfectly fresh
and new, and somehow or other it
added to the ghastliness of the specta-
Gle on the hillside. The corpses were
in all sorts of strange postures, and
their fantastic costumes gave them an
air of horrible grotesqueness that
couldn't begin to describe in words.
However, to come to my point.
had picked up fez to carry away as a
relic and was about to leave the spot
when / happened to notice a much
handsomer specimen on the head of a
little zouaye stretched out, stiff and
stark. few yards away. with hand
kerchief over his face. l stepped up to
make swap but had barely touched
the tassel when a low, sweet toned
voice under the handkerchief said,
Please don'tv
"For moment" continued the veter-
an, "that unpleasant protest. coming
from what | had supposed to be a
corpse, made my hair bristle on my
head. Then | lifted the handkerchief
and was shocked to see the delicate,
refined features of a boy not over Is.
He was pale as death aud evidently
desperately wounded. but he looked at
me calmly. MY Cod | exclaimed,
what a lad you are to be herep I'm
afraid I'm dying unless have help
he replied. DO you think the surgeons
will be around pretty soon? The Lord
Knows? ] groaned, for the boys cour-
age touched me to the heart. Your
surgeons have all run away, and we
only have few, with more wounded
than they can attend to- Then guess
all can do is to lie here quietly and
de- he said In the same gentle voice.
Can you get me little water before
you gof'
II took his canteen and buried down
TO branch at the foot of the hill.
where the first thing saw, by the
way. was the corpse Of zouave float
ing in a pool. l went up the stream far
enough to get out of the horrible death
zone, filed the canteen with pure wa
ter and was soon back at the boys side.
gave him drink. and he thanked me.
is there nothing else can dor asked
awkwardly. because | knew our COM
pany was under early marching orders
that morning and that it would be i'm
possible for me to linger much longer
Nothing at all, thank you,' he replied
No message to anybodyY No; moth
ing. thanks
Il turned away most reluctantly and
had gone only few yards when
heard his thin voice calling me back
Excuse me- he said, but | want you
TO accept this as a present. and he
handed me his fine purple fez. No, no.
| exclaimed. greatly embarrassed; I
couldn't think of taking it. When
started to little while ago, | thought
you-you'- Thought was dead, of
course he interrupted. We'll, soon
will be, and that other fez will do me
just as well. Please put It on my head
and take mine saw that he would
be hurt unless did as he desired, so
took the fez and went away.
''In less than half an hour our COM
pany was on the march, and, needless
to say, ] never heard anything more of
the little child zouave. He was badly
wounded and undoubtedly died where
left him. kept the fez long time"
added the veteran. 'but 1t was finally
lost, with other odds and ends, In the
general confusion following the war.
I'd give some money for it today
nr1@ ~