Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1902-05-28


"a ness, and the soldiers, suffer-
Ing with camp ennui and hav-
ing growled out every subject that le-
ultimately or illegitimately comes I'M
der the soldiers province to growl, now
looked anxiously as spring approached
for everything that indicated activity.
Finally It came and eliminated in the
surrender at Appomattox.
General Sheridan, with about 10000
sabers, had been doing little raiding
and a good deal of heavy standing
around up In the Shenandoah valley,
where Early. with small force, made
feeble attempts to keep house occasion
ally-just enough to be nuisance and
not enough to keep Phil busy. and that
gentleman was mad accordingly.
1t was. then, with no little pleasure
that Sheridan received an order to
make break up the valley and pounce
on Lynchburg if possible. He was ly-
ing at Winchester when the order came,
and after waiting a few days for the
mud to become fordable he started
! with two divisions of cavalry, travel
ing as light as possible. Three days
after he was in Staunton, while Early
stepped back to Waynesboro and be-
gan to dig intrenchments. Sheridan
rode after him. looked at his new works
and rode over the top of them without
even the courtesy of a reconnaissance,
which wasn't complimentary to Early's
engineering. He also captured cou-
pie of full batteries, 1000 Confederate
prisoners, 200 wagons and II battle
flags, which made him feel so good that
he was put down as having remarked:
'T'll make Mr.. Early get up Early-er
than he ever did in his life before I'm
done with him, or else I'm not intimate
ly acquainted with myself"-which
atrocious pun is believed to have caused
the Confederate chieftain to toddle pre-
cipitately over to the James river coun-
try.
On the Sd Of March Sheridan was at
Charlottesville, where he organized
railroad strike and tore up the Lynch
burg and Richmond road shamefully.
Then he ciphered around the country
about Scottsville. New Market and
Duiquidsville, destroying canal locks,
burning bridges and making himself
generally interesting until the 10th,
when he brought up at Columbia, Flu
wanna county, where he made the dis
covery that the Confederacy had been
so liberal in making bonfires out of
bridges that he couldn't go chassez-ing
down south to join Sherman, as he
wanted to. and that his men and
horses didn't have any more to eat than
they wanted, and that there were only
two things that he could do. One of
these was to go back to Winchester,
whence he came, which he firmly de-
clined to do. upon the principle that he
would never return upon road he had
spoiled himself, and the other was to
slide around Richmond to the White
House on the Pamunkey, get foraged
and rationed up and then so across the
peninsula to join Grant.
This latter plan was excellent, but
there was nothing to meet him at the
White House but the bleakness of desc
lation.
And yet, singular as it may seem, this
did not shake the soul of Sheridan to
any serious extent. He simply remark
ed:
'Tt's internal cold. amt it? Where's
that man Hogan"
James Hogan was produced and stood
before the general.
"Who is here with you, Mr.. Hogan"
"Archie Morgan, sir"
well, if put you and Morgan across
the James river yonder, can you go
down to City Point and tell General
Grant | want forage and rations for
this command sent to White House in
side of week"
Eyes, sir"
''Then go and do it, and the quicker
you get to City Point the better it will
be for all of u.s."
This was on the afternoon of March
10. Columbia is in Fluvanna county,
on the outside of the horseshoes of the
James river. some forty miles as the
bird flies above Richmond and distant
from City Point by the nearest pract-
cable road not less. than seventy-fye
miles, and this through the enemy's
country and directly around General
Lees army at Petersburg.
As soon as dusk settled down pom
toon was showed into the water. and
the two men, with their horses, were
set across into Cumberland county in
piece of brushwood. They stripped Off
the big oyercoats they wore and stood
before the pontooners Confederate
major and his orderly with cavalry
straps on. Then the pontooners took
the overcoats and their establishment,
returned to camp and left Morgan and
Hogan to such fate as the gathering
darkness and the enemy's country
might have in store for them.
Striking the main road at Carriers
vile, they kept down through Cum
berland county to the Court House, then
ON into Amelia county, and 2 o'clock
the next morning found them on the
Richmond and Danville railroad at
Amelia Court House. At daylight they
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