Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1902-07-05
PRAYING SOLDIERS.
Specimens Of suppIirntions Made Tn
Time og Battle.

Specimens Of Supplicntions Made Tn
Time 0I Battle.
II was the sncrii,.:. ,ninlnrnt III Brit
| Revolutionary war ~ II the American
soldiers prayed h"f"e hattie. The in
stances were numerous during the 'iyil
war where bath C"nf,l"ratr> and Union
forces were halted hrfu," the strife for
M invention. Thomas. like jackson,
rode with his Bible.
Aside from my own slight experience
with the army which entered Cuba.
have been s"liritin. nurses and surgeons
for stories az the prayin. soldier. In
| the frontier land where ! was reared,
the "praying man was more feared as
| n fighter. when necessity demanded fight
than WAS the so called bad man. One
of Sibley's captains in that famous '63
pursuit after the Sioux always sent his
men into battle with the injunction:
pray and fight"
THIS story came ont during the Rough
Riders reunion at Las Vegas: One of
the regiment. nm Indian Territory man.
was slightly wounded at Las Guasimas.
On his way to the rear he was wounded
again aud came {" the sheltering bluff
OF creek feeling that death was near
at hand Try as he would his strength
was not sufficient to carry him under
the lee Of the bluff. To stay where he
was seemed at that moment an impos-
sibiity. In his struggles and endeavor
10 get over the bank there came to him
a dim recollection of something that had
been taught him when he was a boy
God bless me and help me to do
right. God make me a good boy. God
keep me-
A loosened bit Of earth gave way. and
down the bank into safety he went.
He lay on his back there. his feet in the
water of the stream. his eyes fixed on
the face of his adjutant. who through
fright had deserted his post and hidden.
The trooper appreciated the situation,
for his prayer ended:
"And kill that blasted maverick now"
One Of the Chicago Red Cross nurses
sent 10 Siboncy had in charge a Nebras-
ka boy who was wounded under the col
ors Of the Fourth infantry. One after
noon. when he was convalescent. he was
describing Ia her his sensations when
first under fire. She asked him:
did you feel like praying?"
His answer was:
firing commenced.
Much interested. the nurse asked him
the nature 81 his prayer. He replied.
with n laugh:
".all that I could say was. ooh. Lord.
Oh. Lordr over and over again. but I
guess he understood il. for il was meant
for prayer"
was i'm the cemetery at Montsuk. the
pitiful waste of sand where the soldier
dead were laid. searching for a trace OF
young Marshall. a Chicago boy who was
missing. when the burying squad brought
up the body of an unknown soldier for
interment. No minister was present. no
one Ia hold any kind of service over this
body that was going tn the grave without
the slightest mark ~ Identification. The
rough laborers charged with the duty Of
burial did not think this was quite right
Hardened AZ they were Ia their duties,
they still wished for a bit of prayer over
every body before the sand was shoveled
in upon IL. They appealed to a young
lieutenant who was crossing the ground.
To the surprise OF us all he came stood
by the rude box in which lay the dead
and. uncovering his head. prayed. As
prayers go IL was not much and could
not he under the circumstances. but the
act OF the unknown officer praying over
the unknown dead had SO much Of the
divine in il that not a man present hut
felt his eyes moisten and that tightcni
of the throat which comes when emotions
surge and rise.
Quite generally the character OF the
chaplains who entered Cuba with the
army was high. Here and there. though.
one would crop out VIII" did not under
stand men. Such n chaplain usually
found himself ostracized after the men
discovered his angles. A chaplain of an
Illinois regiment came upon the men
while they were cutting down one Of
the fin" trees near III" r-gin-ntal camp
In Florida. lie watched them Mt their
work for a moment and then exclaimed:
What pity 10 cut that tree down. 1t
will take u hundred years Ia replace il.
while won eau be- replaced NJ any time"
This same chaplain returning from
Santiago on transport with the regi-
ment looked over a rail into the hold
whore the horses were crowded and ex-
claimed:
Poor horses
As the condition ~ the men was worse
than that Of the horses and he had moth
ing to say for the former. the regiment
was furious and scorned him mnmerciful-
~. He was n we'll meaning chaplain,
but his prayers and Bible readings never
reached the men under him. because OF
his unfortunate comments on the tree
and the horses.-H. J. Cleveland in Chi
cago Times Herald.
nr.Hu