El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-05-27
stances to deprive them of their small


Kearney's Bravery.
On the union side there was no off,
Ger more recklessly brave than Gen.
Kearney, who, having only one arm,
would frequently charge into the timex
of the fight with his bride held ID his
teeth while he waved his sword. The
confederates called him the 'one-armed
devil" At the battle of Williamsburg
a southern colonel, it is said, ordered
his entire regiment to withdraw their
fire from everything else and center IL
upon that officer with one arm. Inc
entire regiment, which was the Fifth
Carolina, discharged volley at kearney,
yet he was unhurt.
A story is told of bugler, a french
man, who, in the big fight at Snringfleld,
Mo-, was ordered to sound signal. tie
failed to obey. but was seen few min
utes later fighting for all he was worth
in the front ranks. When the conflict
was over, the commanding officer said to
him: you disobeyed my order in the
midst of battle l dismiss you." Where
upon the man exhibited his bugle, the
mouthpiece of which had been shot away.
He said: "The mouth was shoot off. L
could not bugle wiz mon bugle, and so
l bugle1 wiz mon pistol and saber.
A gTiZzled old Tennesseean of union
ROJ Ills SODilQuCC vi
wether" Mcfarland from very remark
able performance. A little man, under
size and over age for a soldier, as he
used TO say of himself, he made his way
to a federal camp in Kentucky by wear
ing a Sleeps bell on his neck and bleat-
ing constantly as he stole over the
mountains, followed by a small flock
of men who initiated his example. They
passed by this means within a few feet
OF a party of scouts in mountain pass
Stories of Butler.
Probably more stories were told about
Butler than of any other man in the
war-unless. perhaps it was Grant. To
illustrate his habit of doing things
promptly and effectively, an incident is
mentioned where newspaper correspond
ent called to ask him for something that
had to be written. Possibly it was a
pass. At all events, there was no place
to write, because the only table in the
room was piled high with books and
great variety of other articles. Butler,
without saying word, simply tilted the
table. cleared it by the simple process of
spilling everything on the floor, and then
sat down to write while a nimble negro
servant picked up and removed the de-
bris
In sending a pilot, who said he knew
all about the location of torpedoes Of
the James river, to admiral Lee. he die
tated a letter in the mans presence, say
ing: "If he faithfully and truly per-
forms his duty. return him to me at
Bermuda Landing. If not, hang him to
the yard-arm." Then, turning TO the
pilot, he added: ''Now, my good man,
90; YOU have your life in your own
hands"
In the summer of 1861 a man employ
ed at the Washington navy yard was
caught in the act of filling bombshells
with sand. instead of gunpowder. He
was arrested. but escaped, and having
some knowledge of medicine, became a
surgeon in the confederate army. When
the union troops landed at Port Royal,
the hospital there was this man, seated
at a table with a case of instruments
before him. He did not move, and it
was only on getting close to him that
they discovered that he was stone dead.
The whole back of his head had been
carried away by a she'll
One of the Funniest happenings of the
war had to do with a fe-sized doll in
zouave uniform which corporal of zou-
aves received, with a lot of otiler things,
in box sent by some xomtn friends.
The corporal was taken sick, and some
of the boys started a rumor to the eff
feet that he was woman in disguise,
and he Tor she) had lust given birth TO
a boy-represented. of course, by the
doll in question. Hundreds flocked to
his tent to see the baby, but were ex-
cluded.
Lincoln's Pardoning Tendencies.
Abraham Lincoln could rarely resist
the temptation to pardon a soldier who
had been condemned to death If it
was a case of cowardice, he used to say
that it was probably a matter of lega
Not all men could control their legs I'M
der certain circumstanc He was not
sure that in a battle his own les might
not take a notion to run away With him.
Such leg cases. as he called them,
made a good deal of trouble, ne war
department insisting that the pardons
granted by the president injured discip-
line.
There were occasions, however, when
Lincoln showed that he could be very
stern and unyielding. One of them was
the case of a Baltimore merchant who
was arrested for engaging in contraband
trade 1t was discovered, also, that he
had given money TO help the confederate
cause. Quite a number of influential
citizens went to Mr.. Lincoln and APP
Deaied to him to release the man. But
he replied:
81 tell you, gentlemen, it will not do.
Already has the war department declar-
ed to me that it cannot stand by me if
every time theV catch rascal, let him
loose"
But, Mr.. President" urged the dele
cation, I'VE should esteem an exception
In this instance a great favor to our
selves. 1t Is not very much to ask. You
can do 1t so easily if you WISH
Certainly l can do it easil" replied
1ather Abraham; "and l can very easily
end this war, and let the secessionists
have their own way. But am not 90
ing to do it," And he didn't.
Rene Bache