Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-07-30

hVI hiOehcI bui AoE Nho WHuio lahlilSs
ON the Picket Line.
A good many of those picket line
adventures never found place In off,
cial reports or the letters Of army cor
respondents. They were In every case
violations of instructions and to have
spoken. OF them TO superior officers
would have been to invite punishment,
30 by a sort of free-masOnry of the
picket line some OF the most startling
adventures OF private soldiers never
went to record As for myself, / was
a little conscientious In the matter of
obeying orders, and only in one case
did l make any departure from the
strict line of a soldiers duty. It was
while we were In front OF Chattanooga
that it became fashionable along the
picket line to exchange papers. The
plan was for Confederate who want
ed q paper to come to the front, shake
Southern paper as flag of truce,
and in this way invite exchange.
The pickets on either side in that
immediate vicinity would cease firing,
the Union soldier would start from his
line and the Confederate from his line.
and they would meet half way, shake
hands exchange papers and If there
were no officers in sight, sit down and
have a chat. This had been kept mp
for several days when there came an
order from headquarters that no more
papers should be exchanged. But the
boys" choosing their own time for
exchange, continued the practice
against orders. There came week,
however, IN which no rebel responded
TO waving, or shaking. or fiuttering of
paper or handkerchief, and we knew
then that orders against exchange had
been issued on that side as well as on
ours
But one morning quite early my
partner discovered a man on the rebel
line frantically waving a large paper
He suggested that we slip away rom
the reserve and go out and see what
the man wanted He took a paper.
waved 1t, and we started toward the
rebel in front When we had pro-
ceeded about half way 10 the point OF
meeting the fellow ceased 30 wave his
paper We were puzzled at this, but
finally concluded that he was down In
a hollow and we would see him when
he came up on high ground so we
walked on and walked without warn
ing into a group of soldiers ut the
rebel picket line.
The men were Just ready to take
breakfast, and after the first furry
they joked us a good deal about our
extraordinary willingness to get into
their clutches at breakfast time When
we spoke OF the exchange of papers the
officer in charge informed us that or
ders were positive against exchange,
and that all his men understood 1t
AS this was the case he took the posi-.
ton that we had come willingly into
their lines. and that be could not al.
low us to return / saw at once that
his men disagreed with him, but the
away.
My partner, who bad been soldier
in Germany, exhibited tho greatest
nonchalance, and he Joined in the
Jokes at our expense and proposed that
he make the ''5oys" some coffee that
was coffee The Confe6erates had
very poor excuse for that article and
without more ado he proceeded to
make q little kettle OF coffee, the
aroma OF which seemed to fascinate
the coffee-hungry sharpshOoters When
he had poured the coffee into the cups
and had expatiated on the good It
would do the men. he took up his rife
and said TO me: Now let VS. start
for our own line" followed him,
and not a rebel soldier on that picket
post lowered the cup OF coffee from his
lips or looked In our direction.
never disobeyed orders after that
Chicago Inter Ocean.