The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1902-01-16
THE FIELD OF BATTLE
INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES OF
THE WAR.
The Veterans of the Rebellion Tell Of
Whistling Bullets, Bright Bayonets,
Bursting Bombs, Bloody Battles,
Camp Fire, Festive Bugs, Etc, Etc.

buTstihS BONDS, BLOODY Battle0y
Camp Fire, Festive Bugs, Etc, Etc.
Il departed from an established rule
the other morning." said the Major Il
ran to catch a cable car. There was a
time when ! could give the gripman n
fair start. Overtake the train. jump on
with ease, and not be winded ut all;
but some years ago, after opening an
old wound, l put myself under strict
orders to attempt nothing of the kind.
On this particular morning the frost
In the air and brisk walk had start
ed my blood to going in the old way,
and I really felt a good deal younger
than l was. The train stopped. but
decided not to get on. 1t started and
l saw there were a number of vacant
seats. and l Immediately decided to
take that train.
Either the train went faster than
usual or my legs did not come up to
the old standard. and l found myself
falling behind. The old spirit Of Pixies
SoA Va OuSt ONCi hhC, anu ui0
my best. came up on a line with the
rear platform, but felt that I was not
equal to the old-style running jump. At
this juncture l was startled by voice
I had not heard in a good many years
saying. Come on Johnny; good boy;
good boy Half q dozen hands were
reached out to me and I was helped on
the moving car as limp as a rag. l
could not have made that jump to save
my life.
THAT concerned me a good deal, be-
cause no one likes to admit that he is
not as agile at GO as he was at 21, but
rs l stood painting l looked into the
face Of one Of my old company, who
smiled down at me in a way that irri-
tated me. He had called me Johnny.
He had called me a good boy, and I
didn't like it. In the old war days
when We were close to the rebels there
were times when deserters would leave
the lines Of the enemy and come run
ming toward us under heavy fire. In
such cases one Of our boys would ex-
pose himself recklessly, wave his
hands to the deserters in encourage
ment, and shout, Come along. Johnny.
you are making good time and then
exultingly. Good boy. good boy treat
ing the whole matter as joke.
Il have seen this fellow leave our
own rife pits and rush forward to meet
a deserter coming in under rattling
fire and have known him to pull
Johnny over our own breastwOrks,
with an encouraging pat on the shOul-
der and a smile like that with which
he welcomed me to the rear platform
OF the cable car. 1t is astonishing how
The old intonations and peculiarities Of
speech come down from the firing line
Of thirty-six or more years ago to the
present time. but they do. The case
of the man who called me Johnny is
only one Of many experiences Of the
kind that have come to me.
"DrOllery Oh the firing line. however.
was not confined to our side. remem-
ber, when we w.ie on the ChattahOo-
chez River. that one Of the rebel pick
etc shouted out one day: Stop shoot
ing. Yanks. Did you know that we
had beel REINFORCED by two full corps.
and had a new commander No. re-
piled the Yankee picket Whose corps.
and who Is the new commander
'Schofield commands one corps replied
the rebe,. and Mcpherson the other.
and the new commander is Sherman.
He has thrown those two corps in po-
sition and ordered us to move, and we
are going to move. We always move
when REINFORCED in that way All Of
which was true, and the sally was
greatly enjoyed on our side Of the
line"
"Ry the way" said the Captain,
speaking Of Sherman. a good many
stories have been told Of his encount-
ers with officers and teamsters who did
not recognize him. All Of these stories
end in the discontinue Of the offend
ing officer or teamster. but there was
one case in which the tables were
turned on Sherman himself. On one
occasion he came upon a teamster
beating his mules numerically, and
stopped to protest. The teamster
swung around on the General and told
him to go to Halifax and mind his own
business. Sherman thereupon burst
out with: BE careful. sir: be careful.
sir; l am General Sherman He ex-
pected to see the teamster quail and
lpOlOgize.
"Instead of that, the offending team
ter gave the mules two or three more
igerous whacks. and then turned to
tie General and said insolently: Now,
tnat's played out. Every fellow who
comes along here wearing an old brown
coat and dirty slouch hat says he is
General Sherman. That games been
played until we are tired Of it. l saw
Uncle Billy the other day. and he isn't
your style Of man. So run along and
mind your own- business. and l will
look after the mules and he whacked
them again. Sherman, looking at the
smiling faces Of his staff officers, rode
away without saying a word"
The Negro and the Bees.
During the war brigade halted and
stacked arms in a lane. one day, the
Tenth Kentucky being directly in
front Of a farm house. and the Four
teenth Ohio next down the road. The