Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-10-22
Civil War Stories
The AToor~aaeId raid.


halcyon period. only productive Of
immense estates. shoulder-straps and
personal honor and glcry, are desired
to read the subjoined narrative. writ
ten by an eyewitness:
About 8 o'clock one night in Octo-
Der, 1864. not long after the battle
of Cedar Greek, We were startled by
the bugle at headquarters calling
boots and saddles" In twenty min
ntes from the sounding of the call
We were In our saddles and leaving
camp in a southeasterly direction,
without the least idea of where we
were going or what we were going to
do When ! say We mean the rank
and file; OF course the officers knew.
About mile from camp we halted,
aud after short delay were Joined by
the balance OF our brigade-the Eighth
New York and Twelfth Pennsylvania
Cavalry
All night we rode steadily forward,
not stopping until about an hour after
daylight when we halted long enough
TO give our horses 2 little corn and
boil coffee for ourselves; then into the
saddle and forward again. BY this
time we had learned that our destina-
ton was Moorefield, in the Luray val
ley, and our errand the surprise of
Rossers cavalry camp at that place.
About noon we came to Brooks Gap,
where we were to cross the Shenan-
doah mountains. Soon after reaching
the summit OF the pass our scouts en-
eountered half dozen bushwhackers,
one of whom escaped, thus destroying
nearly all hope of our being able to
surprise their camp; but we pushed
on the faster until about o'clock in
the afternoon, when We came in sight
OF Moorefleld, but only clouds OF smoke
showed where the rebel camp had
been. Not daring to delay to remove
their stores, they had set fire to them
and taken TO the mountains We drew
up on a level plain a short distance
from the town, and were informed
that we should remain a day or two
TO rest our horses after our forced
march. When regiment is halted
In the enemy's country the first
thought of the boys is of something
good to eat; something for a change
from salt pork and bareback.
1t was no wonder, therefore, when
a drove of hogs came strolling and
grunting past that our boys were
seized with strong desire to make
their more intimate acquaintance. AS
we were not allowed to use our am
munition for such purposes, we tried
q little saber exercise on our visit
ors. Now, imagine twenty-five or thir-
ty men In hot pursuit of hog. every
man doing his best to cripple the I'M
fortunate animal by blow from his
saber-the hogs grunting, squeallng,
lacking and turning-they were just
in good running order, those OF the
men not engaged in the pursuit cheer
ing on those who e-and you have
the scene. Sometimes a hog would
make short turn and dart between
the legs of his would-be captor, caus-
ing him to perform evolutions not laid
down in any tactics. remember that
one of the boys in my company caught
a hog by the hind leg, under the i'm.
preston that he could hold him; but
after being dragged full length through
the mud for several rods at the rate
OF forty miles an hour. concluded that
he didn't care for fresh pork in that
way.
The owner of the nogs was an old
lady of the extreme secession type, lfv-
ing just in the edge of the town, and
the next morning she came to our
Colonel boiling over with wrath
against the nasty Yankees who would
rob poor woman of her last hog"
and demanding pay for said hogs in
terms more forcible than elegant
Colonel Reed, of course, expressed his
deep sympathy for her loss. But. my
dear madam said he, 1T couldn't
have been my boys; they wouldn't do
such thing Ii must have been those
thievish Pennsylvauians over there;
you just go over and state your case
to their Colonel" In about twenty
minutes she came back again, madden
than before. She had been TO the Colo
mel Of the Pennsylvania regiment and
ne was positive that 1t couldn't have
been his men. and had sent her to
the Colonel of the Eighth New York,
and he had fatty denied that his men
would steal hogs. and had told her to
come back 10 the Twenty second New
York and make them pay for that
pork. And it's no use higglin round,
some OF you-nns has got TO pay me
twenty dollars for chem hogs" Colo
mel Reed finally sent her 10 the com.
missary, and | believe she got re-
eei2t for the hogs, with a promise to
pay when peace was declared
On the morning OF the second day
after our arrival at Moorefeld we
started on our return march. We had