Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1901-07-19

By this time we were used to the rebels,
and they had become accustomed to
BUR presence and pernicious activity.
This day they suddenly began to throw
tones, and the range was SO short they
aurt a good many of our men. Occa-
sionally a cold corn-lodger would come
Dver with the stones, and our boys
would shout: For Gods sake, John
MES, throw rocks, but don't throw any
more cornbread! And then some Of
men threw hard tack ut the rebels,
md the Johnnics called for more. All
this time there was a brisk rifle fire,
but the flying stones and cornbread and
hard tack gave to the scene the appear
ance Of a frolic, and there was consid-
cradle hilarlty and confusion.
"In the midst of the excitement a sol
der with a tin bucket in his hand
stepped over our works and marched
Straight owe to the rebel works. He
was u stranger in III regiment, and
none Of the men seemed to know where
he came from. Suspecting that he was
q spy, I ordered some of the men near
me to shoot him. But before they fred
he climbed up the rebel works and was
pulled inside. While we We're in a state
of wonderment over the strange affair
the rebels asked us what we sent such
4 blamed fool vel to them for. The
man,, who belonged to the Second brig
ade of our division, had become insane
during the battle, and he went into the
rebel works a raving maniac. We af-
terward found him in the hospital,
where the rebels in our front had hur-
ried him as soon as they discovered his
condition.
The strangest thing about the adven-
ture was that hundreds of men had
been trying for four days to do what
this crazy fellow did, and had been
killed or wounded, and yet this man
with mind astray walked deliberately
across the narrow zone Of fire, climbed
up their breastworks, and was not In
jured. On the day Of the charge and
the night after the rebels hauled q good
many of our boys over their fortifica-
lions, SO that part Of the business wa
not new. But that q man should leave
our works and march straight over to
theirs was a new experience to all of
us, and we could scarcely believe our
eyes. But for that matter the whole
experience of Kenesaw was new to us.
e had charged right up to the rebel
orks and had remained within TWEEN
ty-seven steps of their rilemen, and
dead and wounded lying between the
two lines.
II know it was just twenty-seven
steps because l counted them June %.
when the rebs and ourselves buried the
dead. The armistice was asked for by
,Ahe rebels, and General JEFF G. Davis
gent an officer half way to make terms.
Our officer went forward thirteen steps,
when he stood within a foot of the Con-
federate, who had taken just fourteen
steps from their line. The Co~nfederates
at this conference claimed the arms
that lay where our dead and wounded
had dropped. them. General Davis re-
piled that the arms were ours, and
would be ours as long us we could fight
for them. He would not consent to
nm armistice unless this point was con-
coded. The Confederate burial party
stood with their backs to our works
and our men stood with their backs to
the rebel works. Under this arrange
ment there could be no spying by either
party.
"The graves were dug on the top of
the ridge between the lines, officers and
: men in the works on either side watch
ing the details at work. During the
armistice I saw at short range Generals
Hardee, Cheatham, and others, and 1
fancied there was great curiosity on
their part to see the Yanks who had
stubbornly remained so close to an enc
my in overwhelming force. But 1 had
other things to think of. The orders
were not to remove any of the arms
dropped by the wounded on the 9th,
but Lieutenant Rodgers carried on that
day a sword sent to him from his home
Mt Ell Paso, Ill. When he was wounded
he dropped the sword and the bows
wanted to get it for him, 80 1 detailed
as one of the burying squad a man from
the Heutenant's own company. The lat
ter was instructed to wear q long coat
and, when opportunity afforded, to Sc
crete the sword under the cont and
bring it to me. He acted up to his in
structions and the sword was in due
time sent home to Lieutenant Rodgers.
"Just before the burying party start
ed from our works a man Of Company
"A came to me and said his comrade,
killed on the 9th and whose body was
to be buried, had a large roll Of money
secreted on his person. A man was
detailed to look after the money and he
brought 1t to me. And yet q strict
watch was kept on all our men by the
rebel officers. As soon as the dead
were under ground the two burying
squads marched each to its own lines,
officers on both sides saluted, ordered
'sheads down." and in two minutes the
battle was renewed in all its fury.
That night we started a tunnel to blow
up the rebel works and the Confeder-
ates opened on us with new batteries,
their shells passing over 10 because we