The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-10-13

AA<t5 AA- AAA ~ ~ EhNN oE
soldier sees his commanding officer
ready to sacrifice his life there can be
no hanging back.
Yes, sab, | would place myself
where shot and shell rained the thick
est, and after allowing the men time to
steady themselves | wOuld wave my
sword and utter a few words of fervid
eloquence. Then l would wheel and
lead them. and it was seldom that VIC
tory did not perch upon our banners.
She had to perch. There was no get
ting III Of it. When you follow a fer
vid speech with Il dash and a yell
something has got to break. The one
noted exception was at the second bat
tie OF Manassas. My glorious old regi-
meut was paced in Il certain position
AM ordered to hold it until my juLS-
meat dictated IN advance. We had
fought for three hours when the oppor.
tune moment arrived. Placing myself
in front of the line, l went through the
usual waves and then said:
men, the enemy is in front of US!
Who will follow me until the last one
has died or surrendered?
81 Wilt shouted a hundred men,
and the next moment we were dashing
forward. After we had dashed about
eighty rods l began to look for the en-
envy, but he was not to be found. We
kept on for half a mile, but no enemy.
We were determined to do or die, sab
do or die-and we continued charging
ohnn1 anI thinlrino of nIlr f0rpf0thQrS
who died at Lexington and Bunker Hill
until we had gone two miles. 1t then
transpired that there was no enemy for
ten miles in that direction, n after a
rest we returned.
Il am sorry to say that our gallant
dash was ~miscOnstrued in certain quar-
ters. The brigadier, for instance, said
he couldn't make out why we shOsld
go charging all over the country after
an enemy that was close at hand. / re-
peated the words of my fervid address
to him, but it was no go. l told him Of
our wish to die for our country, but he
only smiled. At length, sab, at length
when he became sarcastic | remarked
that he was my superior officer and
outside Of any challenge from me, but
if we both lived to the III of the wah
he would be forced to meet me on the
field of honah. For my words I was
put under arrest for two weeks.
Colonel Johnson of my W brigade
was another who did not understand
the situation. 1t was just at the time
blackberries were ripe, and would you
believe, sab, that be had the impudence
to ask me if | had taken my regiment
on a little trip to gather the succulent
fruit? | had him challenged within five
seconds. but in going to the field Sc
lected l fell over a stone and injured
my back so that | was laid up for a
month. At the end of that time Colonel
Johnson was drafted into another req
ment, and we did not meet again until
all was over. Then he came up to me
one day with outstretched hand and
said:
Colonel Bunker. | have had almost
three years in which to think that thing
over, and I have come to the conclusion
that blackberr:es had nothing to do
with it. l think you We're inspired al
together by heroism and that If you
had found the enemy he would have
been slain to the last man. Forget the
words spoken years ago. sah--fDrget
them
Il had to forget them, sab. You can't
force a man TO fight you after he has
a~pologized. 1t was only a few weeks
later when / met the brigadier. The
wah was ever, and he had gone to
keeping a grocery. 1 walked in on him
n day, but before 1 could make a re-
mark he came busting forward to say:
"tColonei Bunker, / am glad to see
you, sah-mighty glad. When you
wanted to die for your country at Sec
.ond Manassas and made a dash OF
three miles in hopes to find some one
to kill you | did not exactly appreciate
the sentiment nor the situation. | have
given them much thought since. and I
have come to the conclusion that you
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