Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1905-03-04

SehulnS them IN, he hearNenS to tho
words OF their brilliant commander so
SAID veteran regulars at the time.
remember. general, | command the
last reserve of the Army of the Poto-
mac"
And so night settles down and Iee,s
little army. superbly led. has beaten
back in succession the scattered or
tacks OF McClellan's overwhelming
lorce. All through the hours of dark
ness the surgeons are at work with
the thousands of wounded All
through the following day Lee waits
Ior renewal of the battle. but McClel-
Ian has had enough With the COM
ing OF another night. therefore gath
erIng up his wounded and prisoners
sending his trains ahead. the great yir-
Sinian silently moves his columns down
to the fords of the Potomac and Inv
dawn OF the 18th all are safely across
Lee has slipped away.
There is significance in the greet
ing accorded the little soldier still i'm
supreme command when he rides his
lnes day after the battle. The corps
Oh Porter, held throughout the combat
In sale reserve. swings it's caps and
cheers with great enthusiasm. The
| corps OF Sumner shouts with modified
rejoicing. The men of Mansfield rise
and salute in silence The thinned hat
talions of the First corps make no sign
whatever.
Witnessing this sight. Fred Benton
contrasts it with another which if was
MS privilege to note the previous dav
lie and other officers had been sent nm
der flag of truce within the picket limos
| OF the southern army. to seek thu
wounded and TO render aid. All about
the barn and buildings of the Miller
farm, where the brigade had rallied and
hung so long, lay scores of stricken
men for whom the surgeons were do
| ing their best, but so very many
| eeemso past help. Along the pike the
GeorSlans, too. lay thick, and gray
uniformed officers moved to and fro
among them. or conversed in low tones
| curlouSly scanning from time to time
| me two or three staff officials in blue
who followed the surgeons. pencil and
notebook in hand. Suddenly the talk
| Ing ceased, for, issuing from a narrow
| roadway ;that trended westward from
the pike. there came a tall, command
| lng-loolng officer, gray bearded, yer
| aIert,. soldier who acknowledged
| Win grave courtesy the salutes that
| greeted him on every hand. Men
| sprang to. their feet and gazed at him
| almost ia alteration. Even the wound
ed strove to rise Some few hailed him
with feeble, childish voices. AS for
| Benton and his two associates. they
needed not the little group of staff and
orderlleS to confirm them in their be-
lief. They knew him at a glance-the
| great Virginia leader-and Benton, in
sIaatly, the others following, stepped
forward and stood at salute. Lee saw
IL, and turning SO as to half face the
northerners, with punctilious courtesy
lifted his hat, then quickly refined back
rs dust-covered, battle-Stained bat
terry came jinSling out from the lane
and, turning into the highway, pulled
YEARLY on to where the spires of the
| Maryland town pierced the blue be-
| yond the southwark wood Jaded and
worn were the horses, black and pow
der-stained the men, and of a sudden
QnG.ot the slender strip IS, jes,e
ging along beside his gun, caught sight
OF the group of horseman. darted from
his place to where the commanding
i general, the picture of the soldier and
the gentleman, sat in saddle at the
roadside, and there, with boyish laugh,
held forth grimy hand. IT'S Bob"
he cried. Don't you know me,
father" And Lee, the cavalier, bent
low and with love and tenderness. with
4 who Nuhp mi 10
clasped the hand of the private soldier
in the Rockridge artillery, his gallant
| younger son. In what other army
| would one see the like of that!
Then the general rode on toward the
| bunker church, where still the men OF
Jackson lay in readiness, and then up
| rose rank after rank with mighty shout
that marked his onward going adown
the weary yet intensely loyal line until
lost within the distant walls of Sharps-
burg. Despite the dire carnage of the
day of battle, there beat no soldier
heart in all the southern host that was
| not true to Lee.
| Presently, as the time accorded for
| their sad mission had well nigh eX-
| pired, Benton was aware of a young
officer in the uniform of the horse ar
| tillery, who had been chatting with
comrades across the way, and now, dis
mounting, stepped brisllly toward him,
| lifting iaunty forage cap.
| Your pardon, sir" he courteously
J spoke. is this Capt. Benton who
| visited Charlottesville not long ago?
| My name il Pelham" and there was
| just the suspicion of a smile in the
| keen young face.
| Captive, but not Captain" an
swered Benton, with responsive grin,
Though the mention of the name was
| something that put him on his guard.
What was it young Winston had said
| about Maud Pelham and Resale? This
must be the boy captain of the name,
of whom he had heard so much-Jeb
Stuart's crack light gunner.
Eyes, l have cousins there" con-
tinued Pelham as though reading Ben,
tons thoughts. But it is long since
Il