The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1903-01-20
A WARTIME MEETING

hat, Washington doesn't look much like it
did when / saw it the last time-in May,
1855.
my dad brought me down here to Wash
ington from Detroit to enter me at George
town university in the year 1850. was then
bit more than 10 years old. liked the life
at the Georgetown university until the war
broke out Then there were too many roll
licking soldier boys camped around in the
neighborhood of Georgetown for me to pre-
serve my contentedness. They all looked to
me as if they were enjoying picnic, and
/ made up my mind that I'd have to get
one of those blue uniforms on myself or
shrivel up.
Shortly after the beginning of the war
wrote home to my dad in Detroit-he was
then organizing Michigan regiment, which
he took all through the war, and it was cut
to pieces several times, too-and told him
that / thought l would like to join the army,
The phrase wasn't in use then, but he wrote
back something to the general effect that l
had another think or two a-coming He
wrote that | didn't know when | was well
off, and sad that, as he was getting together
1000 men for the big conflict, he figured
that he could come pretty near doing all
the soldering necessary in our family.
remember thinking that this was pretty
selfish ON the old gentlemans part. re-
hected that he had been in the Mexican
war, and that therefore IN wishing to do all
of the soldering in the civil war, too, he GER
tainly was showing disposition to hog
things.
However, / studied my lessons and went
along all right at Georgetown university
until early in 1851, and then couldn't stand
it any longer So one afternoon just cut
out through the big gate, made for the rail
road station and established connections
with a freight car tackled on to a freight
train that found was booked to go to west
ern New York. Inside of three or four days
l was incontinentally dropped at Lockport
Ny.
ut didn't take me long there to fall into
the hands of a substitute broker, and two
days after / arrived at Lockport was duly
logged out in a government straight uni
form that, as / remember it, was the baldest
kind of joke as fit. Somehow | didn't
feel half 80 cheerful over the prospect oil
arollicking military career when, with about
100 other young gossocns, was herded in q
corner of an old storehouse, near the rail
road, and kept there under guard until the
train was ready to take us to the front.
Naturally enough, l was pretty curious
to find out to what part of the front We
were going, bus never line of informant
could get from anybody about it unit
we were well past Baltimore. don't sup
pose any of the others knew any more thar
did.
When we got beyond Baltimore, how
ever, found out, all right, whittier we were
bound, and the news made ME almost withei
up.
Were going TO Giesboro' Pointr one o
the young officers announced when the trar
got outside of Baltimore. Now, only few
days before I'd jumped the Georgetown uni
versity I'd received letter from my daC
in Detroit, saying that he'd be over to tn,
university to see me presently, as his regi
ment was going to be stationed only littl'
distance away from Washington-at Giles
boro' Point None of the terrors of battl,
or sudden death looked half SO fierce to m,
in prospect as my dads discovering me il
misit uniform, and right in his own camp
too. after he'd so expressly forbidden M
to have anything to do with soldering.
II well remember the night we wer,
dumped at Giesboro' Point, the little plac,
down the Potomac bit on the Maryland
side-I drove over there yesterday to hav,
look at the old grounds / made up m,
mind that the best thing for me to do woult
be to look up the old gentleman the yer,
first thing on the following morning ant
take my medicine-I was too tired to thinl
Of anything but rolling up in blanket OF
the first night we got in.
II found my dad in his tent along toward
10 o'clock on the next morning. He haC
no idea, OF course, that wasn't right oyel
the river at Georgetown conjugating Latir
verbs, and on that very day, in fact, h
was intending to cross over to Georgetown
to look me up.
"'Hello, pop said l, strolling into hi
tent and endeavoring TO look as rakish a.
/ could. How are they all at homer
well, the old gentleman looked at m,
steadily for good three minutes before h,
said word or before knew what was goins
to happen to me. / put in the time shifting
from one leg to the other. Then my dad
countenance broke into grin.
That's a queer-looking uniform, son,
he said You'll have to be looking up your
company tailor to have il whitfield down t.
your proportions
That was ALL He didn't roast me at all
and had been expecting him to swoop upor
me like thousand of bricks. Not a ques
| ton did he ask me as to why I'd disobeyeC
him and jumped the university. I'm not Ger
tain that the old gentleman wasn't just bi
tickled inwardly that one of his cubs haC
taken the bit in his teeth in that way.
We'll, pretty nigh four years after that
in the month of March, before Appomattox
was dumped, along with many scores o
others that had been pretty badly hit, int,
boat on the james river bound from Their,
to Washington hospital. had got min,
in skirmish and yet it was bad enough
| piece of work for a man to have got in tn,
biggest pitched battle of the war. Dow
the James and up the Potomac was tn
course Of the boat; and when came to
found myself on cot in an Institution Gale,
Campbell's hospital
II was still there when Lincoln was as
sassinated, and / can remember how
pitched and tossed around in hostile hume
because / wasn't in shape TO get up for tn
grand review of the army. My dad, who
been through the entire war with his Mich
gan outfit, came to see me at the hospital
hadn't clapped an eye on him since leay
ing Giesboro' Point, nearly four years be
fore-and he inquired of me which appeale
TO me the more-the life of a soldier or
student? He got me out of that place whei
l was just able to walk, and, with lot O
back pay and the like in my rags, back t
Detroit / went with him-and that's tn