Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1912-11-07
CTE9DEFG S
CArlPE7h Dz584
AND VAR u
TAKEN PRISONER BY A BOY
csGo, Relates Wild Exploit OF
His Younger Days.

4AiS incident, IOlQ Dy MAJ. L 4.
Bigelow, now resident of Chicago,
took place when the narrator was a
boy Of IL years in Sherman's army
on the march northward after the
march to the sea. At that time Maj.
B1gelow was an orderly, enlisted in
the 68th Ohio infantry regiment. The
story he tells is as follows:
The morning after our arrival at
Pocotelligo a negro came into our
/ headquarters quite early and inform
ed the general that there were sew
eral companies Of confederates camp
ed two or three miles out, and that
they were there to guard a herd Of
cattle which had been collected in
that locality. The general immediate
" ordered the 18th Ohio and the 18th
Wisconsin infantry to so out and get
those cattle and incidentally as many
confederates as possible.
4 was not on duty that day. but it
was a beautiful morning, and so I
! asked and received permission to go
with the foraging party. We soon
! started out with our negro guide.
/ had not heard anything about our be-
ing likely to met any confederates.
and it had not occurred to me to take
my reviewers. saber or any other
/ weapons of defense. Less than a mile
/ from camp We turned into a beautiful
/ level road, boTdered on each side by
large live oak trees, and I baDtered
/ one Of the orderIies for q race Off
we dashed. He was soon distanCed
/ or was called back; at any rate. I
plunged ahead, thinking of nothing
except the exhilaration Of the ride
The road / was on was bride
path screened on each side by heavy
underbrush; hence my movements
were unnoticed by cavalrymen com
/ ing down the turnpike that I was fast
| approaching. At the intersection
ran plump into three mounted con-
! federates. I was up against the real
/ thing and had to think, plan and act
/ on the instant I was then so far away
! from the command that any immediate
| relief from the source was impossible,
and so I decided I would go after them
| as If / had a company at my back.
/ Yelling with al my might, Forward,
men, forward I dashed up to them
and demanded their surrender.
1.-TWO of them had carbines swung
/ over their backs and the third one
/ had a gun lying over his arm ready for
action. I pushed my horse hard
/ against this man, calling out, Give
me that gun, and took it out of his
! hands. 1t was loaded Until I had
/ possession of it l was absolutely
/ helpless. I then had the drop On them,
but, Notwithstanding this, one Of them
! wheeled his horse, dashed down the
road and away. I made no effort to
/ stop him. In fact, l felt rather re-
/ Heved There was an uncertain guam
/ tity, but l was certain I could hold the
| other two until the trops came up
! This l did easily, but could not refrain
from joshing them for surrendering to
a 15-year-oId kid, who did not have as
much as a penknife to defend him
/ self. In due time the troops arrived
and I turned over my men, their horses
and equipment.
1.-The confederates did not propose
to give up their cattle without a fight
but it developed into nothing more
/ than a brisk skirmish After we struck
/ the enemy we formed in an open pine
forest, and two companies of Indians
/ from the 18th Wisconsin were deploy-
ed as skirmishers. They regarded it
as lark, and their lodging antics and
/ funny Indian calls created no end Of
merriment among the troops. The re-
suit was We succeeded in getting g
part of the cattle and returned to
Pocotelligo, but the only confederates
we brought in were the two who sur
rendered to a boy orderly out for a
lark. I did not stop to think at any
time that I was in great danger, yet
| they could have killed me at sight or
had me prisoner for the asking"