The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1901-09-19
THE BOOMING CANNON
REClTAtS OF CAMP AND BAT.
TIE INCIDENTS.
Survivors Of the Rebellion Relate
Many Amusing and Startling Incl.
dents OF Marches, Camp Life, Forag.
ing Experience and Battle Scenes.

ing Experiences and Battle Scenes.
"A good many stories were told said
the Sergeant about Kilpatrick's ride
III his night shirt March 10 1860. We
were then i'm North Carolina. between
Cheraw and Fayetteville. Fitzpatrick
knew that Hardee's infantry were re-
treating toward Fayetteville. in front
If him. and that Wade Hampton's cav
airy were behind him. and he posted
his three brigades on the evening of
March to intercept the latter. Hamp-
ton, finding Kilpatrick's division inter
posed between his own command and
Hardee's command. resolved 10 attack
fitzpatrick before daylight on the 10th.
surprise his camps, and disperse 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 house at the intersection of the
MorgantOwn road and another. with
his artillery parked near. Toward
morning he got up and stepped ont on
the front porch. While he was stand
ing there in his night shirt several
men in Union uniform rode up and in
quired for Kilpatrick's headquarters.
The General was suspicious and re-
piled. Down the road half mile The
cavalrymen turned without Il word and
gallOped 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 bee-line for the swamp near.
The rebels rode pell-mell through
the camp. drove the artillerymen from
their guns and scattered the cavalry
bivcuacked near headquarters. Mean
time Fitzpatrick caught horse, mount
ed him bareback and, riding back in
his night shirt, rallied his men. charged
the rebels. recaptured his artillery and
headquarters and drove HamptOn's'
men in disorder from his camp. He
told me that it looked like hopeless
case ut first. but when his met once be-
Sun w hSht thC piOuSht
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 never reached the post as
signed to 1t for that night. 1t was, in
fact. ten miles behind. because the guns
of one part Of the battery two Rod
mans of the Tenth Wisconsin and four
captured guns could not move as rap
idly as the cavalry. l had eight horses
to each gun, and yet the roads were
in such condition that we could not get
up to our 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 were pretty well
informed as to Kilpatrick's where
abouts and the plan was to capture
him. But it was Eilpatricks habit to
wake his escort and artillerymen every
morning and 1t 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 Oc-
cupied as headquarters by Fitzpatrick.
The house was surrounded at 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 one of the guns, load
ed it with canister, and turning it i'm
the direction of the exulting rebels let
drive. The effect was tremendous.
Our own men. hearing the gun. rallied
The rebels in range. believing that the
full battery was ready for business. got
into sort of panic. And then came
Fitzpatrick. riding bareback in his night
shirt. My recollection Is that he rode
a mule. not Il horse, and this made the
picture the more grOtesque. But his
ynen 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 few minutes before
demanded their surrender. and in a |
rough and tumble fight the camp |
cleared and everything taken by the |
rebels recaptured. except Kilpatrick's |
favOrite horses. This fight was one of |
the most dramatic of the war. and yet |
il was not regarded us OF much import |
ance ut the time. If Fitzpatrick had not |
gone into the fight in his night shirt |!
the men i'm the ranks would not have |
talked so much about it.
I'VE artillerymen had some queer cx.
periences during the war. At one time |
had E:y headquarters In a small house !!
on one side of Il road, and used rooms in |
a house on the other side of the road |
for kitchen and dining room. Some
years after the close of the war | met |
a lady of aristocratic antecedcnts in |
who recognized me and who
said she wanted to thank me for
great favor done her during the war. | |
had never seen the woman and was
greatly puzzled until she explained that
when occupied the house she referred
to she was refugee. with absolutely
no means of support. and that my cook
fed her for two or three months on ra-
tons drawn for my table supplies. and
said nothing about it. After that she
joined her own people and came north"
Chicago Inter Ocean.