The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-06-09
CHAPTER XVII.
AFTER THE SIEGE.

.
A. am told that General Longstree
gentleman OF fine sensibilitiss. m
very glad he did not hear the expires
sions OF delight with which the Thirty
eight received tho announcement that hs
had gone back to his old familiar hunt
ing grounds. Nobody meant to speas
unkindiy. but all were glad that he was
gone, and we said so with as much In
tensity as was In us. We took tho roac
at once, not TO delay his departure. b u
Just to see how he had left thinsS. We
did not ct all approve OF what wo saw;
neither did the natives. The woods and
Y fields were scarihed with miles upon
miles OF bitches and embankments.
Among the natives the conclusion
seemed TO be that II they were 10 have
their forests shorn and their land turned
upside down II didn't much matter who
might do it-Yank or Johnny.
Free colored people who lived outside
the lines had grievances too They had
been able TO hide some cows, pigs, chick
ems and turkeys from occasional Union
soldiers who prowled about alone, bat
against a few thousand hungry men who
were fully Informed on the secretNe
ways OF the African IL was useless 10
contend They followed us when no re-
turned 10 camp and became part OF the
colony or which PoSsum Ben was
bright and shining light.
For some weeks after Longstreets de-
parture we spent most OF our time In
the field The general commanding pre-
ferred that Longstreet should have as
few excuses as possible for coming back
again on the plea OF looking for forage, SO
he proceeded TO take up 20 miles OF rail-
road track on each of the two leading
from our post. 1t was a tedious job. but
-. had N N
on and occasionally be killed while re-
pellng inquisitive Johnnies we rather
enjoyed H. A large force OF infantry
and light artillery was with US. So were
hundreds OF contrabands. and while we
kept the enemy on the river too misera-
BILE TO come across In a body and visit us
the contra bands raised the rails. loaded
them on platform cars and burned TIE
ties. We worried General Lees over
burdened heart good deal for two or
three weeks. but that was one OF the
Jobs for which we had enlisted. We made
so many feints at attempting to cross
the stream and advance In force on
Richmond from the south that he ha,
20 send some OF HIS men down TO watch
us.
We worried tho natives too. Our
horses ate all the grass, hay and fodder
that Longstreet's men had left, and the
assurance that the owners would be paid
could they prove that they were good
Union men did not seem 10 comfort the
said owners a bit They did not doubt
that our officers told them the truth, but
there were some stubborn facts In the
way OF their getting their pay after peace
should be declared. one legged far
mer with a military look and pair Of
crrtches was n picture OF agony while
his barns were being emptied and his
stacks melted away. His wife went
stark crazy over what seemed the i'm
pending starvation OF her family.
Immediately after beholding such ex-
periences of hearing Of them man who
had any heart under his Jacket would
a little rather be shot than not so after
hearing that demented woman's raw
ings I was delighted TO be assdned TO
very dangerous duty. IL was TO carry
a Dispatch to the general commanding
a brigade on our extreme left. We felt
so secure in our superior strength that
the right. left and center were isolated
commands rather than parts OF a line.
started an hour or two after dark and
was told thot another man who had been
sent on the same errand returned with
the report that there was Confederate
cavalry in the woods. / had been Sc