The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1904-04-07

which was wet with the blood of good,
brave Union soldiers | feel as if | was
| contaminated by his blood-gultiness."
IL guess he didn't leave anything there
that soap and water won't take off, re-
marked Annabel philosophicaly. lie
looks fairly clean and healthy"
I'D heap rather touched a poison
| yine," answered her sister-in-Iaw hotly.
The boys went outside and looked
| around. Manassas Junction had been
burned and torn up at nearly every change
OF the moon for about three years. and it
looked it. Around We're scattered the bent
and twisted rails and the irons of boxes,
wagons, buildings and equipments. all red
and rusted from of burnings and
distinctions from raids and retreats.
What the rebels didn't do TO this coin-
| try our folks did, remarked the Adjutant,
surveying the devastated landscape. a
hand played in mighty hard luck that was
| overrnn by both rebel and Yank as this
was from the first battle of Bull Run un-
| til Afosby's last raid, just before Appomat-
tox.''
YES. in the Fall after Gettysburg we
went back and forward so often along here
| that the Richmond papers got to calling it
| the weekly stage line between Alexandria
and Orange Court House. under the man
agement Of Messrs. Lee & Meade. They
said the extension Of the line up into Penn
sylvania had been discontinued on account
of an unfortunate collision ut Gettysburg.
You managed to have little fun oIt of
the situation, after ALL remarked the Adj
| iutant.
lies, but il was mighty little. tell YOU
| 1t was like the fellows gold mine, which
ran about 50 TO the County. One little
joke like that had to do a powerful sight
Of hard work. One of our fellows used
| to say that tho first three years Of the war
| it was foraging. fighting and footracing.
| After old Grant started in at us it was
nothing but starve. shovel and shoot"
Devil of country TO soldier in" com
mented Shorty. "Not fence rail nor a
chicken coop as far as the eye can see.
| No attractions here for me-"
"Is that the Blue Ridge we see out
| there?" inquired the Adjutant. pointing TO
the distant line of blue hills which bounded
| the western horizon
mo, that is the Bull Run Mountains"
said the ex-Johnny ''The Blue Ridge is
| beyond Great Heavens. the Yankees and
| rs padded over them often enough to wear
those gaps down even with the level. but
I never could see that they got any lower.
Right over there, about three miles, just
where you see that tallest row of pines. is
| the Henry House plateau. where the first
battle of Bull Run was fought For
greenieS! both sides fought awfully hard
| and we'll. There was one fancy regiment
| from Brooklyn, n. u, the 18th Brook
| lyn,' the prisoners we took said it was.
! that wore a very stylish uniform. with red
pantaloons that bucked up against us
like a red-legged whirlwind, and it didn't
| seem that we were ever going to stop them.
They came right up the road leading from
| the stone house to the junction, and acted
as If nothing would prevent them coming
| right on through here to the railroad. Our
whole brigade had to join in whipping
/ thns, hoo 1r nd ,irl,S
| stubborn and bulldogged. When they did
| 20 back at last that whole road was red
as poppy field with the dead and wounded
| they left behind. 1t was said that they
| were a lot of clerks and counter jumpers,
| fancy regiment for street parades. but we
| never struck harder-fighting crowd in our
| four years Of service"
| 81 guess if Joe Johnston's fresh troops
| hadn't come in on the flank. we would have
| won the BATTLE" said the Adjutant.
well, I don't know about that said
| ex-Johnny. II know it was nip and tuck
| and sometimes Tuck. | know l was
mighty glad to see Joe .Johnston's men
come up, and they weren't minute too
soon I tell you. The Richmond papers
made q great pow-wow because we didn't
follow up the Yankees and go right into
| Washington. but l know that everybody
| around where I was was nightly tickled
to have the Yankees quit and go off. We'd
all had our fill of fighting for that day, and
| il they'd only leave us alone we'd be very
| careful not to bother them. We had some
very pious boys in our company, and when
| they saw the Yankees disappear over the
| hill toward Centerville, where we sup
posed they'd stop, these boys got the Chap
| lain, and organized prayer-meeting, with
thanksgiving that the Yankees were gone.
and that their own lives were spared. l
was SO tired with the sir hours of fighting
| that was ready to drop, but Joined in
that meeting with more glad earnestness
than any services ever attended"
| Maria and Annabel. having repacked
| the hamper, had followed the men out.
They looked over the wide Manassas
plains, now basking under the rays Of the
genial Spring sun, but until their eyes
rested on the enclrcling rim of mountains
there were only fenceless fields, and CANT
chimnsys standing as grave-stones over