The National tribune., 1902-09-18

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The Fourteenth Corps at last got across
Catawba River Feb. %, 1865, and the
whole army swept, forward with front
age Of 40 miles, in an eager rush for Che
raw and Hardee's army.
They were all desperately anxious to
overtake and destroy Hardee's force before
he could escape to the westward and join
Beauregard.
Hardee had probably $4,000 men. If
they could be come up with in the neigh
borhood Of Cheraw, isolated and unsup-
ported, they would fall an easy prey TO
Sherman's army, and the campaign would
be brought far toward complete victory.
If, on the other hand, Hardee should be
able to unite with Beauregard, it would
make the forces approximately equal, with
the advantages of the country on the side
of the rebels, and add enormously to the
perpleXities and uncertainties OF the SIT
| uation.
Then there was the enormous quantity
| of cannon, arms and ammunition OF all
kinds, military supplies, and private stores
and property, which the sole remaining
railroad leading out of Charleston had been
industriously carrying, day and night for
weeks, up into the country as far as 1t ran.
Still farther, were the Union prisoners
confined in the stockade at Florence, some
30 miles from Cheraw.
So wrought up was the Fourteenth
Corps by its days of enforced tagging on
the banks of the Catawba, that rain, mud,
nor swollen streams could stop it in its
rush to take its place abreast Of its sister
| corps. In spite of the most terrible OBJ
stacles it made 20 or % miles day,
through creeks breast deep, over roads
the bottoms Of which seemed to have
fallen out, corduroying all day, building
bridges all night, the men dragging their
wagons after them by sheer force of hui
man muscle. Il went by way of Hanging
Rock, Horizons, and Mt. Croghan to
| strike 10 miles above Cheraw and inter
pose between Hardee and Beauregard.
81 had a sufficient share of the work
in providing rations for the rapidly
marching regiment. The country was
little better than near the Catawba, but
Wheelers cavalry had been through it
and taken what was readily in sight. As
usual, they had wasted far more than
they had eaten, and it was not unusual
to come across beef carcass with only
the choicest parts of the hind quarter gone,
and the rest Ieft for the crows and buZ-
yards.
| 81 was a keener and more provident
forager than the rebels, and found cattle
and grain where they would not take the
| trouble to search.
BY starting before daybreak each morn
| ing, he managed to get ahead of the other
foragers and gather up as much as he
needed before noon, when he would devote
the rest Of the day to overtaking the regi-
| ment He rarely incumbered himself
with Wheels either of the regimental
wagon or of such farm vehicles as could
be picked up, but relied upon packing his
| collections upon the backs of things that
had four feet. while other foragers
were struggling far into the night through
the morasses with buggies, carry-alls, and
wagons, 81 would come into camp before
dark with great loads of corn, stock-peas,
yams and fodder slung over the backs of
cows, steers and horses, in sacks and bed
| ticks, or lashed to them with the cord-like
| bittersweet vines which grow SO prOfusely
| all over the South.
| Arriving in camp ST would turn over
to the country people such of the stock as
mas not needed.
"You say that the men ahead of us
took your stock" he would say. You
can take these instead. You can settle
it as you please with the people from
whom we took them, if they find out where
they are. I'd advise all you people in this
neck of woods to come together in gen
eral swapping convention, after we pass
| on, and average up your losses. It's too
| bad, know, but we didn't begin this war.
You were crazy for it."
81 usually had a turkey in fair condition
| for the Coloners mess when he came in,
| and certainly always enough chickens for
his own squad, for his Captain and for
regimental headquarters.
Abednego, Petes mule, had a large as
sOrtment of prejudices and eccentricities.
| which he developed with gunpowdery sud
denness at most unexpected times. This
was one Of the charms he had for the boy.
| No one could tell just when he would take
to throw fit, nor what kind of a fit it
would be. He had even finer talent than
Pete himself for doing the unlOoked-fOr,
and when he started in he put his whole
mind into his job as thoroughly as a hor
net does.
! After 500 miles of silent but guilty con-
nivance in Pete's forays upon Southern
| hOmesteads, his conscience seemed to sud
| denly prick him one of the rarely bright
afternoons as they were approaching the
head of the Twentieth Corps on their way
| back to camp.
They had collected quite goodly guam
tity of stuff. A venerable COW, who had
long since passed her milking days, but
| Lad never succeeded in laying on flesh
enough to make her ''beef critter,"
sulked along with load of yams carried
| in a striped bed-tick, panier fashion,. and
securely held in place with double lash
| ing of bittersweet vines. She had not
|
beast of burden in her old age, but 81 was
noted for his success in handling cattle,
and he had succeeded in persuading her
that her comfort and peace of mind lay
in doing precisely as wanted. An old
horse, long her companion in the woods
pasture, helped reconcile her to this by
following after with a load of corn in
sacks. A couple of yoke-worn, patient
eyed steers laden with stock-peas came
next, and then stiff-hOcked mule with
burden of fodder. Behind all, Pete and
Sandy led a couple of sheep by hemp cords
fastened to their horns. The boys felt
particularly kindly toward the Adjutant
for the interest he had taken in saving
their rebel friends from being shot, and
every day they We're on the look out for
something that would be specially at
tractive addition to his mess. The daily
supply of turkeys and chickens was grow
| ing n trife mOn0tOnous, and they had
a hint that mutton chops would be n
welcome change.
| Pete and Sandy had been on the look
out for sheep all day, and their delight
was great when they came across these
two in the woods. where they had es-
capped the destruction Of the rest of the
flock. They had tethered and brought
them along with much trouble, having to
actually carry the kicking, struggling
wethers through places where the cows
and horses could wade. They had at last
gained n plateau; and were getting along
very well, comparatively, when Pete spied