Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1906-10-03
The Deserter
fCopvrtgh1. i3a5. hv Homer Sprag,ie

lCopyr!ght. I325. by Homer Spraguei
 It was while General Lee wHs nak- ing b.s preparations for the invasion of Pennsylvania In eharSe If q pick, ct post uurb bcrtag sevcu.or. tight mon was Sergeant T0e W.sr. who was called the test Hatufed iHaa n Company of and who haa pf2veel lis bravery oa three or four battIetle!l, The sergeant was t1rtz fy1s Eeaav oid and Gamar- rled. bat back at home il Michigan q red checked farmers daughter had said that She would he his wife when he came marching home from the war.
 On tltis ni-ht. a@ tie sergeant sat 6% the fire with his men out on post, one of the company came along and hand cd him letter received at regimeDtai Headquarters two hours previously. u was opened to be read Ut the hjckeriu1 flames of the fire It was from stay at home man, one of those malicious minded gossips who delighted i'll telling all he knew and much more of affairs back home. According to his epiStle many things had occurred tn the little village in the last month, and one Of them was the engagement of Joe's sweetheart to merchant who had fur nished a substitute for the war. He put 1t strong to the sergeant that he had been made fool of,
 Half an hour later Joe was missed. An hour later word went back to the company that he must have been sur prised and captured by Confederate scouts.
 The deserter t1anked his command and rushed on to Washington. There he obtained q suit of civilians clothes. and as private citizen he set his face toward his home.
 Ten miles away he left the train for the woods. and, after hours of gliding and shulking he finally drew near the home of his betrothed Father. mother and daughter were sitting on the ve- randa and with them the sneak who had written the letter. Concealed be hind the Mae bushes growing close to the yeranda, the sergeant heard every word of the conversation for an hour The writer of the letter had lied to him, His feelings had been aroused to the pitch where be had sacrificed his honor and his good name without just req son=
 Through the man who sat there boasting of what he had written q sol dier with clean record had become sneak and skuik Should he reveal himself then and there he would be ] loaded with anathemas and reproaches. l i.ej jNi A1-% would have him for son-inla No girl who thought of honor and reputa> ton would welcome Aim
 The deserter groaned In agony as he realized the situation, and the people had withdrawn into the house to % to bed before he crawled away. That night he walked fifteen miles, lodging and skulkng and afraid of everything that moved by the roadside. In the morning he was headed for Pennsy,- vania. The papers told bm which way Lee was moving. He found confusion In Philadelphia. There was no provost guard to pick him up and ask ques- tions; no citizen to suspect him of be- ing a deserter He found a place where be could exchange his suit for uni form and was off for the front an hour later.
 The country was overrun by parties from either side, and ir was the ser geant's fortune to be gobbled up by Confederate cavalry. He was sent to the rear as a prisoner. He was held until the thunder of the three days bat. tie was hushed and Lee was falling slowly back on Falling Waters, and then he and hundreds more were head ed for the Potomac. The rest Is to be found in the history of his company and regiment That history reads:
 .'As Lee fell back, his retreat incum- bered with wounded men, prisoners and long baggage train. Custer press ed one division of it closely over the mountain roads There were constant attacks and the Confederates fought bravely to save what they had won. At point about ten miles from the river, where we made an unusually fierce attack and where the resistance 1 was proving too much for us sud den diversion gave us the victory. Federal sergeant belonging to a Michi- gan regiment and who was a prisoner l ln Confederate hands rallied about 400 of his fellow captives, rushed their guards and, with arms thus obtained. made flank movement and scattered the force opposed to us and came charging through to Us. The sergeant brought in the flag of Confederate regiment that he had captured, and there is no doubt of his promotion for l his brave conduct"
 A month later Sergeant Wise was Lieutenant Wise. The order read on dress parade spoke to the regiment of his being captured while on duty at picket post, of escape and recapture. and recorded his act of capturing the flag and turning on his captors as one or the bravest things in war. The ser- | geant had not lied or boasted He ! had left others to figure out as they | {ol ta IoI Irr <ho