The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-02-07
TIE ! ]: BATTLE FIELDS.
OLD SOLDIERS TALK OVER
ARMY EXPERIENCES.
The Blue and the Gray Review Incl.
dents of the Late War, and in a
Graphic and Interesting Manner

ASAA OI ~a"Q) U1aTCn ana 6aCCles
Some of the boys" said the Colonel,
don't agree with me about the burial
party at Kenesaw, but still insist that
after the burial parties had moved to
the center the Confederates stood
with their backs to our works and the
Union soldiers with their backs to the
rebel works. AS soon as the men who
had been killed were put under the
ground, and the details had retired
each to its own line the word was
given, heads down. the truce was at
an end, and the fight was renewed.
while the armistice was on, a few
OF the SD Ohio boys mingled with the
rebels, among them being Corporal
Montgomery, nicknamed the infant be-
cause he was six feet four inches tall.
When the order was given, heads
down, Montgomery was dickering with
a rebel for a plug Of tobacco. He Of
fered knife in exchange for the to-
bacco, but the rebel wanted Montgom-
ery's canteen to boot. Each had hold
OF an end of the plug Of tobacco, and
the knife as well, when the pistol shot
rang out, which was the signal to open
fire.
montgomery, as the trade had not
been concluded, held on to his knife,
and also the tobacco. Ditto the rebel.
In the struggle Montgomery dragged
the rebel toward our line, the slope of
the mountain being in his favor. He
also had the advantage of being strong
er and taller than his opponent. In
their scuft1e they had come within ten
feet of our lines when Sergeant Sam
Pyle sang out, Hold on to him, in
FAINT and others shouted to the rebel
to lie down, to dig his toes into the
ground, to grab root, etc.
Montgomery urged his prisoner to
let go and cut out for his own lines,
and the rebel seeing that he was about
to be landed inside our lines, let go,
turned and made Decline over the
rebel works, and landed among his
friends. Montgomery mounted our
works, shouted to the boys not to
shoot, and called to the rebel, Go it,
Johnny waving the plug of tobacco,
and the rebel turned and waved his
hand as if bidding good-by. He still
held the knife, and seemed to signal
that he was satisfied with the trade,
although Montgomery still had his own
canteen. In two minutes after that
waving Of hands both men were blaz-
ing away with their rifles"
Zone story brings another" said the
Major. "Just after Perryville one of
the men in the Second Kentucky cav
airy named Richardson had for some
misdemeanor been sentenced to carry
a fence rail for given number of
hours in front of regimental head
quarters. Richardson made the best
of the situation and had not been
very long on duty when Gen. McCook
and staff rode by. AS the officer pass
ed Richardson came to a front face,
brought his rail down to present
arms, and stood like statue. Some
of the staff officers laughed, but Gen.
McC0ok wheeled his horse and rode
straight down on Richardson. Rein
ing his horse few feet from the rail-
name" Promptly came the answer,
Private Richardson, of the Second
Kentucky Cavalry
''The General directed him to call the
sergeant Of the guard. When the SER
geant came McCook asked how long
the man was to carry the rail. AS the
sergeant answered twenty-four hours,
Richardson was in great glee. He
imagined that the General was about
to order his release. But instead Me-
Cook said: Make it forty eight, blank
him. and rode away. That was Rich
ardson's punishment for his smartness,
but he really liked McCook better after
that than he had before, and certainly
he got no consolation from the other
boys"
''Spcaking of the Second Kentucky
cavalry" said Captain Blume, "brings
to my mind story of the Second
kentucky infantry and Rosecrans. In
the first year Of the war was in
charge Of the detachment guarding
Rosecrans' headquarters on Mt. Temp
kins, just beyond Gauley Bridge, West
Virginia. The Generals orders were
very strict, and I saw that they were
carried out to the letter. One evening
Rosecrans came to me and said, in
droll way: L wish you would take
me over and introduce me to that
Dutchman on guard at the farther
gate.
"'He stops me whenever attempt to
come in after dark, and when I ex-
plain that l am General Rosecrans he
always exclaims: Dot ish too thin.
Anybody can say dot to me. I vas not
been soldier for noting. If you vas
Rosecrans, W you hat not the counter
sign, hey?" I think ought to be intro
duced to him. After the matter was
explained, the Dutchman yielded the
point, but he insisted to me afterward
that Rosecrans was wrong.
SIN another case at Camp Gauley
To1nro1 E,.i1xo11 in OF irb