Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-09-21
Veteran Regret

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Is 1t the sights you saw Of the dead and
wounded on the battlefield, the homes
desolated or the exposure you suf-
fered?v
1t was all of these, my children, but
there was one incident that impressed
Itself upon me more than any of them.
After a battle is well OH a soldier comes
under the influence of brute passion
and Is not in a mood to be affected by
the barbarous scenes about him. But
let him see some minute happening
when he is calm and he reyAlts at war.
The incident l refer to was this:
Il was scouting In the Shenandoah
valley. We had been sent out to recon
hotter with n view to finding out the To-
cation of Stonewall Jackson, who was
here today, there tomorrow and nobody
knew where the next day. | was then
q private, and for what l did ON that
occasion l was made an officer, but for
more than forty years l have regretted
the act. We had dismounted on a high
bluff overlooking a bit of road that
wound around the mountain. Beneath
us was a house that snuggled under
some high trees and a rock back of it,
with a few flowers in the front yard.
1t reminded mi of the home l had left
where my mother and neay by the little
girl whom you have loved SO long as q
gray haired old woman lived. 1t made
ma hnmndinE IN lnOk of n lNhnn xx-n
were ordered to remount / noticed that
the knot of the girth holding my Nc
Clellan saddle was insecure and stop
ped to fasten 1t. While l was doing so
my comrades rode on. Just rs | was
about to mount l heard q clatter Of
hoofs on the road below and saw a
young Confederate soldier ride up to
the house, throw himself from his sad
die and dash inside.
There was one thing about him that
especially attracted my attention, q
paper In his belt. Courlers bearing dis
patches usually carried them in their
belts, and l knew that this young fell
low was a courier. If we could get
that dispatch it might tell us some
thing about the enemy's whereabouts.
My comrades were by this time out of
sight, and l did not dare ride after
them for fear of losing the messenger.
| remained where l was, resolved to
get his dispatch and If of value carry
it to the general myself.
The young man was In the house
only a few minutes when he emerged
with an old woman and n young girl.
The old woman kissed him again and
again as only n mother would kiss her
son, then went inside, leaving him
with the girl. Between these two was
a different parting. l recognized it, for
l had been through such partings my
self. They were lovers. 1t was plain
that the soldier had passed his home
In the line Of his duty and stopped to
see his mother and sweetheart. Twice
he left the girl and twice went back
for another kiss. The third time he
shot away, with a wave of his hand,
and disappeared around the base Of
the mountain.
Now, / knew the road zigzagged,
rising till it passed within half a mile
of where l was. If he kept 1t all / had
to do to head him off was to ride over
a comparatively level ground this half
mile. Mounting, l did so and conceal
ed myself in a clump of trees, leaving
my horse back in the woods lest he be-
tray me with some sound.
While waiting l fell to thinking of
the scene / had witnessed, and the
thought of being the instrument for
taking the youngster from his mother
and his sweetheart forever became re-
pulsive to me. l would try to capture,
not kill, him. But no. If l called on
him to surrender he would likely turn
and run. The fate of q whole army
might depend on my securing that pa
per. While l was thinking / heard
horses hoofs and felt sure my man
was coming. l had changed my reso-
luton several times with regard to Civ
ing him a chance for his life and when
he came in sight had decided to call
upon him to throw up his hands. Then
when l saw the paper In his belt and
ARCHAEOLOGICAL Nhut MiSht otPtuu ultOL
it changed my mind again.
"His horse was jaded, and the road
led up an angle of some thirty degrees;
therefore he walked. AS he came to
within the proper distance for me to
kill the rider l felt that / was about
to become u murderer. l saw his
old mother hanging about his neck; l
saw his sweetheart in his arms. l
could almost hear their sobs when he
would be brought home a corpse.
again the thought of the Importance
Of that dispatch, which l could now
see plainly In his belt, could almost
read the address, flashed before me,
and, taking deliberate aim at his fore
head, / fired.
"He reeled and fell backward into the
road, his horse dashing away up the
mountain. l seized the dispatch, feel
ing like n who having committed
murder now commits robbery. 1t was
from Stonewall himself to one Of his
subordinate commanders and dated
from a point not ten miles from our
army. Leaving the body In the road, 1