The National tribune., 1906-09-13
Stories Emineny Worth Telling Of Experiences and Adventures
in the Great National Struggle.

call to mount. AS we moved forward
to the front, Capt. A. K. Thorp, who
was riding by my side, remarked, as h.
heard the Sound of the firing, "They ar.
imaking more widows and orphans oyel
there" A few moments later he fe.
| headlong to the ground, a rebel bulle
| having struck him square in the fore.
head.
| The troopers were quickly formed fol
the charge, the men preserving the
alinement of their horses as CAREFUL,
as If on dress parade. The spectacle oi
5000 horsemen with drawn saberS gal.
Looping rapidly over the field was inde.
scribably grand. Even non-combatanl+
could not resist the impulse to attach
themselves to the moving column. The
Confederate infantry, who from dawr
of day had been engaged in bloody
conflict with the Sixth, Eighth and
Nineteenth Corps, were totally unpre-
| pared for this new element of terror
AS we bore down on them at a rapid
pace, they left off harassing our tired
Infantry and sought safety in ignobe
| flight. Some of them We're so prostrat-
| ed with over-eXertion that their lips
were covered with foam. Scores threw
themselves on their knees, and. hold
ing up their hands, piteously cried out:
Good Mr.. Yankee, spare our lives"
| Their prayer was granted. Sheridan's
brilliant victory at Winchester inspired
new hopes in the North of the ultimate
| success of the Union cause, and brought
about a speedy decline in the price of
gold, which was then at high-water
| mark.
(Note-Gen. Sheridan's successes IN
the Shenandoah Valley in the Autumn
of 1864 caused the price of gold to drop
from 260 in currency to 140.-Editor.)
Col. Sam Spear, commanding the
11th Pa. Cav, was a remarkable man,
as brave as a lion and as tender-heart-
ed as woman. Whenever a charge
his entire regiment, he always led 1t in
person. Although every inch born
soldier, he had a natural aversion 10
taking human life. When, during a
charge, he encountered a Confederate,
instead of splitting open his head with
a saber, he merely cut off one of his;
ears. By the time Spear got through
with him he was glad to surrender. At
the close of a fight near the Black
water, in southeastern Virginia. in 1863,
counted at least half dozen rebel
prisoners carrying Spears peculiar ea--
mark.
During the first days fight at Cold
Harbor, June, 1864, the writer had a
narrow escape from being trampled un-
der foot by panic-stricken horses. While
was moving across stretch of open
country in command Of a squad of dis
mounted skirmishers, along came Sher-
iGan with his staff and escort, at ter
rifle pace, when all at once a regiment
of Mississippians, which had been lying
on the ground, rose up and poured A
volley into the advancing cavalry. Sew
eral saddles were emptied, and the ter
rified horses sweeping sideways, made
directly for me. / thought my time had
come, but the sagacious animals. in
stead of trampling on me. opened out
on either side. and left me unharmed.
During the Spring Of 1863, at time
when Longstreet should have been at
hand to help Gen. Lee fight the battle
Of Charlottesville, he started off on Il
marauding, cattle and provision steal
ing expedition in southeastern Virginia.
taking with him two divisions OF his
army corps. He also expected to gath
er up the Federal forces stationed ct
Suffolk under command of Maj.-Gen.
Peck, and laid siege to the place for 10
days. During the night time his men
used to come down and dig rifle pits in
close proximity to the Federal fortifica-
tions. They kept up terrible fusilade
of musketry from sunrise till sunset,
blazing away at anyone showing his
head above the parapet OF fort. The
cords and muscles of our necks grew
stiff and sore from constant ducking.
1t was here we learned we could easily
dodge a bullet at 400 yards. II We
watched the man in the act Of firing.
Longstreet finding the place too strong
ly fortified for capture, raised the siege
and retreated to tie Rappahannock;
too late, however, to be Of any assist
ance at Charlottesville. AS showing
the kindly feeling of the Britishers to-
wards the United States during our
trouble. we may mention that many of
the unused cartridges left by the rebels
on the battlefields bore the stamp of
Birmingham or Manchester.
What strange vicissitudes In war;
Who would have dreamed that the gal
liant men of Early's command. led by
such soldiers as Gordon. Kershaw,
Rodes and Ramseur, after whipping
and putting to flight three corps of
Federal infantry in the morning at Ce-
dar Creek, Oct. 70. '64, should have
gone back, themselves, at night, in a
still more ignominious flight, abandon
ing their artillery and baggage wagons,
tangled up in ineXtricable confusion in
the narrow streets of Strasburg? The
remarkable outcome of that battle,
which gave Sheridan the two stars of
Major-General, produced, that night,
state of hilarious excitement in every
one on our side, from the Commanding
General down to the humblest private.
We had not had mouthful of food for
whole day, and our commissary
trains were far In the rear: yet, it did
not matter, the pangs of hunger being
entirely forgotten in the glories of a
battle won.
Mr.. Editor. your invaluable paper has
wide circulation throughout the
length and breadth of our broad land,
wherever Grand Army men abide. May
/ ask you to extend to my old friends
in the cavalry and the Army of the Po-
tomac a warm greeting? God bless
them!-J. N. Flint, Captain, 1st n. Y.
Dragons, U. S. Naval Office. San Fran
cisco, Cal.
Sheridnn's Ride.
Editor National Tribune: I will in
form ]. II. Barney, Clarksville. Pa, ms
1 was an eyewitness to the whole cir
cumstance. From Taylor's Hotel at
Irt-. X,, o