The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-03-08
To breakfast Of ham and eggs, and
were eongrstulatIng ourselves on the

tn breakfast Of ham and esgs, and
were congrstulatlng ourselves on the
epjcurean dish. the roar OF small arms
commenced In the woods a half mile
east of the louse where our gun was
located Now, MS a boy I had heard
many sweat sounds. having been coon
and possun hunter In the deep Nir-
ginia woods and also having heard our
pack of foxhoutlds In full
TIT. had heard young ladies' sing and
play "Boraparte Crossing the Rhine
and the old plantation ditty of "Kittie
Wells but never heard anything yet.
comparable to the music of small arms
iii dense wood. II Just seemed TO lift
mn up and bear fine away from earth.
il In needless to say the tempting
breakfast was entirely forgotten. But
this state OF irapture an exhlaratlon
VAS short lived and transient. az soon
as our pickets were seen slowly falling
back. and the Yankee infantry were
seen spreading out over the broad ri,ter
bottom and taking the bitches In sin
gle file. Then the stern reality burst
upon us ;sitfl q stern sense of our
inty. and the illusory rapture was
gone. The battle continued ali day.
with an occasional pause. waxing
hercer and fiercer as the evening came
on. Though one OF the hottest days
'''si '''t, y uSdttl man complain OF
wanting water or anything to eat The
officers and men seemed to be in Ely
stun. with nothing to mar II but tl,.
occasional fall OF comrade, so COM
pletcly were they enrapt,ired with the
fight. About 10 o'clock there came
Yankee staff emerging from the woods.
and galloping In ALI the pride and cir
cumstance of war into Beaseley's
house. just n mile down the river. Cap
tain Sturdivant. who was In command
OF eight guns. ordered my lieutenant "
put a ball right into that staff. So as
soon as tho smoke cleared up we all
stood out to gee the effect Of the shot
but III any were killed we could not tell
but such scanperIng into Beaseley's
house you never saw. Then Captain
Sturdiyant says to Lieutenant Fergu-
son, Put a ball through, Beascley's
house" How far II 1t captain" "Just
one measured mile" was the response
We cut our fuse for that distance, but
owing to the dense grove surrounding
the house. we could not tclI,the effects
OF the, shot. But that evening, during
u i,il in the fight. Col. Jones. who was
In command north OF the river came
over TO see how we were holding out.
and among other things asked our
captain what gun II was that put the
ball through Beaseley's house. When
told 1t was Lieutenant Ferguson's. who
WAS himself soon afterwards shot down..
he remarked IL was the most bnautifls
shot he had ever seen: that the ball
passed right through tfe house, and
exploded in the backyard. where tn.
Yankees had been congregating all the
morning. Lieutenant Ferguson was
shot by a sharpshooter from treetop.
Captain Sturdfvant and myself were
standing on either side of him when
struck. and although OF a very rudy
complexion fweighing eco pounds, he
turned deadly pale In An instant. and
falling backward. we caught him In our
arms and cased him down. Our ambu-
lanres being under the hill. we carried
him down and placed him in one: and
lie and myself being warm personal
friends. he begged Of me to go on 10
the hospital with him and nurse him,
but having no orders. had to deny
him. Poor fellow. l afterwards learned
that he died in three days. Then and
there the South lost one OF It's truest
and best. a Trojan soul. To know him
was to love him. When reaching the
top of the hill on my return to the bat
terry. the bullets were flying 80 thick
and fast that I jumped behind big
yellow pine monarch OF its kind.
towering In solitary grandeur. stayed
there some little time, dreading to leave
my shelter. awaiting n cessation OF ths
flying minies, III / had had only one
comradc to say. Come ahead" finally
summed up the courage. and ran Ofac-
ing the bnllets) some sixty or seventy
yards into the battery. That was
time to try my soul. l have often
thought that if J knew the owner ]
would say to him, "Woodman, spare
that tree. for II hath sheltered me-
& n ho M oil I,ap L. -
fclied it. and that it may get wave.
many. many years. az a noble landmark
to the sourroundins country. AS said.
the fight intensified as the shades Of
night drew on, until, Just at dusk, the
Yankees brought up sixteen pieces OF
artillery to bear, right upon our posi-
ton. Then there was one OF the most
sublime sights witnessed during the
War. With bomb bursting overhead
every second. IT was as II ten thousand
lightning bugs We're in the air. with an
lncessant bum. bum, bum They were
shooting a little high. else there would
have been none left OF us. or OF theirs
Ga good many of whom had gotten in)
to tell the tale. Captain Sturdivant,
a second Marcus Brutus In the
voice Of stentor. says: Men, save
we are charged by negroes
our works are carried. ! shall stand
my ground He was Roman, ii there
have been any since the days of Julius
Caesar. We leaped to our gun with
file and sledgehammer. and drove IT.
into the touch hole fast and tight.
Then I. together with others, wanted to
get back to our main commands, SO we
took to our heels. young man by the
name of Strange preceding me By a
few steps. happened to be looking
at him when struck by a mimic. He
wriggled along like a quail shot In the
back. when down he came. Not realiz-
ing hisY condition. I remember--''nira-
hilc Misunderstanding out into biz;
ha. ha! But there was no time for
tarrying, SO on | went, when up ran a
dark-skinned white man. who said.
Surrender I should have made him
take me In charge, but instead, stopp-
ed. and he kept right on down the
steep hill. A minute later up come
"a big yellow negro. who said:
"Surrender," | remarked that | had
already surrendered. Gid d--n