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R. M. (Richard Miller) Devens.

The pictorial book of anecdotes and incidents of the war of the rebellion, civil, military, naval and domestic ... from the time of the memorable toast of Andrew Jackson--The federal union; it must be preserved! ... to the assassination of President Lincoln, and the end of the war. With famous wor

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region than Mississippi before he would
tell him any thing at all.

** Very well," said the officer, drawing
and cocking a revolver, *' I will send you
there to wait for me."

" You may shoot me if you want to,**
said the Confederate, "but you will be
sorry for it."

"Why?**

"Because there are, a hundred men
over yonder in the woods, and if they hear
you shoot they will come up and murder
every man of you."

"Well," said the officer, "since you
have told me just what I wanted to find
out I guess I won't shoot you.**

In thirty minutes the whole hundred men
were prisoners.



Kind o' wanted to be in the Front.

Sergeant Hunter, of the Kentucky
soldieiy, exhibited the bravest soldierly
qualities in the conflict at Springfield, Mo.
His superb figure never failed to attract
the eye in the ranks of the Guard. He
had served in the regular cavalry, and the
Body Guard (Fremont's noted men) had
profited greatly from his skill as a drill-
master. He lost three horses killed under
him in the fight. As soon as one was
killed, he caught another from the rebels :
the third horse taken by him in this way
he rode into St. Louis. The Sergeant
slew five men. Said he—

"I won't speak of those I shot — another
may have hit them ; but those I touched
with my sabre I am sure of, because I felt
them."

At the beginning of the chai^ge he came
to the entreme right and took position next
to Major Zagonyi, whom he foUowed
doeely through the battle. The Miyor,
seeing him, said:

" Why are you here. Sergeant ? Your
place is with your company on the left.**

" I kind o' wanted to be in front," was
the answer.

" What could I say to such a man ! **
exclaimed Zagonyi, speaking of the mat-
ter afterwards.



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833



An HfiMrniaa's Tnstle with a '<lQMiMippi
Tltfer."

The dogged, obstinate, and bitter char-
acter of the rebel Gulf troops was one of
the familiar facts of the war, as the follow-
ing incident which happened near Mar-
tinsburg, Va., will show. A son of £rin
captured one of the famous < Mississippi
Tigers,' but while bringing him to the
Union camp, the * Tiger,' an immense fel-
low, managed to free himself and run.
The plucky Hibernian disdained to use
his musket, but chased him with the wild-
est speed. At last, seizing him, at it they
went, in the most logical style of rough-
and-tumble. The ^ Tiger,' maddened by
the stinging whacks which the lusty Hiber-
nian dealt, basely bit him, n^early severing
his thumb. The Celt dropped the soldier
then, and retaliated in the same way;
finally he conquered him after a tremen-
dous whaling, which dislocated his shoul-
der. The next day he visited the son of
the ^ Repudiation State," in the hospital,
went up to him, and shaking his well arm
with a hearty grip, observed, with his ^rich
Irish brogue,' " I haven't a bit of a grudge
agin ye ; be jabers I ye are almost as good
asmeseE"



** Old BoiT," and nof Old Pap."
General Rosecrans was one of those
wide-awake commanders who could not
be caught napping. He was accustomed to
visit all the camps and outposts, to see
that the soldiers under him were thoroughly
on the alert One night, the General, ac-
companied by Major Bond, mounted his
horse and galloped out to Gamp Sheridan,
the stamping ground of General Pike's
enrolled militia. It was midnight when
the two officers arrived at the camp, and
not being hailed, they dashed into the cen-
tre of the camp, and dismounted. A sol-
dier came forward from some place of ccm-
cealment and hailed the officers —
*< Who goes there?"
^ Friends," answered the General
«Friend8,heh? Well, what next?"



^ Nothing next ; but you are all pris-
oners."

The militiaman got his eyes open by
this time, and seeing the stars of a Major
General before him, supposed the veritable
old Pap Price had him in hand. He
dropped his gun by his side, folded his
arms, and appeared resided to his &te.
A German soldier now came up and asked
what was going on. He was told that the
camp had been captured, and he had to
surrender.

"We will see about that!" said the
German, tightening his belt and preparing
for a fight The two soldiers then escort-
ed the General ahd his aid to head-quar-
ters, and when they discovered that it was
"Old Rosy," and not " Old Pap," who had
captured the camp, they felt greatly reliev-
ed and made up their minds not to be
caught napping again.



Ifiirhty Biff Blak.
The Union pickets near the James river,
while one night quietly sitting around their
fires, were startled by the report of a sin-
gle rifie from the enemy's line, followed by
an irregular volley. Of course every man
sprang to his arms in an instant, ready to
repel any assault of the enemy. " Don't
fire, boys," was the order given in a low
tone by the Lieutenant in command, who
had received instructions not to fire unless
the Johnnies saw fit to thoroughly initiate
the barbarous practice. For a few sec-
onds the enemy's bullets continued to
whistle spitefully by, and the Lieutenant
was about giving the order returning the
fire, when three Johnnies came Spiling'
over the works into the Federal lines, and
with a fervent ' Tliank God ! ' sank down
behind the embankment This occurrence
accounted for the sudden outbreak of the
Confederate pickets, who upon discovering
the flight of their treacherous videttes, had
opened fire upon them. Out of eight who
attempted to run the perilous gauntlet,
only the three succeeded, the remaining
five being either killed or disabled by th«



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THE BOOK OF ANECDOTES OF THE REBELLION.



shots of their companioQS. 67 a precon-
certed arrangement, three cartridges were
elevated and successively flashed above
the Federal works by the lucky Johnnies,
to indicatei to their less fortunate friends
the number reaching the Union lines in
safety. On being invited to warm them-
selves at the picket fire, they refused,
fearing lest the light might reveal them to
their former companions, but a few yards
from the line. " We un's run a mighty
hig risk in getting to you un's, and now
we's safe, we don't care to run any more,"
was their reply, and so they remained
shivering under cover of the federal works,
until sent to head-quarters.



Delirious Br a very of a Boathem Hotspnr.
On the last day of the fight at Pea
Bidge, while the force under General
Sigel was gallantly charging the rebels,
and driving them from the heights they
had occupied, one rebel officer, Captain of
a Louisiana company, seemed resolved to
throw away his life. As his fellow soldiers
retreated, he advanced further towards our
troops until he was almost alone. He
waved his sword and cried in a loud ring-
ing voice for his men to follow him, de-
nouncing them as cowards if they retreated.
They heeded not his appeals, and seeing
himself deserted he ran towards our ad-
vance, shouting like a madman and saying
something that sounded like, " I am brave
as Ceesar. K we are whipped, I do not
want to live. Ckime on, you Yan-
kees ! " The Union in&ntry were anxious
to take this southern hotspur prisoner, and
would have done so had not one of their
batteries opened from the left, and in its
storm of iron swept down the single life
which, so full of fierceness, ebbed itself
away in the sodden and unpitying ground.
He was the son of a sugar planter living
up the Bayou La Fourche, and was given
to drunkenness — ^which perhaps accounts
for his delirious conduct



DeUverlntf up fheir Swords at Fort PulaakL
After a truly heroic defence, Fort Pu-
laski yielded to the superior prowei^s of its
assailants, and became again part of the
possessions, as well as of the property of
the glorious Union it was designed to pro-
tect and preserve.

First, an interview of one hour took
place between Colonel Olmsted, the rebel
commandant, and Greneral Gillmore on the
Union side. The terms of capitulation
having been settled. General Gillmore was
shown over the fort by the Colonel, and



Gen. DaTid Hunter.

took his leave, accompanied by Colonel
Rust. Messengers fix)m General Hunter
had meantime arrived. These^ together
with General GiUmore's aid, made the
rounds of the fort under the escort, of Colo-
nel Olmsted, who introduced them to his
officers, and comprised the only pers(Hi8
present when the swords were delivered.
Major Halpine, as the representative
of General Hunter, received the weapons.
The ceremony was performed in the
Colonel's head-quarters, all standing. It
was just at dark, and the candles gave only
a sombre half-light The weapons were
laid on the table, each officer advancing in
turn, according to his rank, and mentioning
his name and title ; nearly every one added
some remark, the Colonel's being defined:
^ I yield my sword, but I trust I have noC



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GREAT CONFLICTS, INDIVIDUAL HEROISM, ETC.



835



disgraced it," Major Alpine, in reply,
spoke gracefully of the painfulness of the
duty he had been called upon to perform
•^to receive the swords of men who had
shown by their bravery that they deserved
to wear them. As soon as the surrender
was complete, the Stars and Stripes once
more flapped their glorious folds in the
secession breezes of that famed region of
the 'Sunny South.* The officers invited
the Unionists to their quarters, where sev-
eral took supper, and some even slept with
the rebels whom they had been fighting
¥rith such bloody desperation only a few
hours before.



Picket Bepartee at Vioksburff .

The richness of rebel repartee and
fecundity of Federal fun during the long
and familiar vis a vis at Vicksburg is
pretty well illustrated in the following
verbatim colloquy :

Rebel Picket. — What are you men doing
over there?

Union Picket, — Guarding about twenty
to thirty thousand rebels in and about
Vicksburg. Guarding your army as pris-
oners, and making you board yourselves,

Reb. — Why, you -: fools, Pemberton

has a strong line of guards for the same
purpose.

Reb, — How's Hooker ? He had to re-
cross the river, did he not ?

Fed, — ^Yes, but he Was not as big a fbol
as your General was. He did not bum
the bridges before his men all got across !

Reb, — What do you think of the gun-
boat Cincinnati ?

Fed, — Gunboat ? Why, don't you know
the difference between a gunboat and a
hay-rack ?

Reb* — (just in the act of throwing a
hand-grenade) — ^Antn'y, over!

Fed, — (in the act of hurling it back)
—Look out for the skillets and camp-ket-
tlesl

Fed* — (addressudg a rebel lieutenant
of artillery) — ^Where's your gun ?

Reh, — ^Turned it over to Grant at the



Big Black, and I guess its now in active
service, by the way it plays into these
works.

Reb, — Why don't you come and take
Vicksbui^ ?



Union and Rebel Pickets.

Fed — Oh, we're in no particu^nr hurry.
General Grant is not yet ready to ti-ansfer
you North.

Reb, — (boastingly) — We've got a lot
of your old flags over here.

Fed, — Have you, though ? You'd bet-
ter make shirts of 'em, for they'd look
better'n that butternut.

Reb, — (in a husky voice) — I want to
trade some corn-meal for some coffee.

Fed, — What did you say ?

Reb, — (louder) — Won't you trade some
coffee for some corn-meal ?

Fed, — You'd better get some coffee, or
something el?e, for you've eat corn-meal
till you can't talk plain.

Reb, — When are you going to make a
change?

Fed, — Oh, in about two years. We are
in no hurry — are living fine over here —
have a pleasant place, and anununition to
last us the rest of the time.



Six Qenentla Waiting to Beoelve Battle.
Six Union Generals waiting upon Fleas-
ant Hill, for the second day's attack of the
enemy, formed a war picture of rare in-



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886



TUB BOOK OF ANECDOTES OF THE BEBELLION.



terest The plateau had the appearance
of a parade-ground on a holiday. Regi-
ments marching to the right, and regi-
ments marching to the lefl, batteries being
moved and shifted, cavalry squads moving
in single file through the brush, now and
tiien an aid galloping madly, or an orderly
at full speed, driving his spurs, and holding
an order or a dispatch between his teeth,
bugles {founding the different cavalry calU,
and drums repeating the orders of the
Captains, — all passed and re-passed, and
controlled the vi-^ion, muking very much
the impression that a spectator in the
theatre receives as he looks upon a melo-
drama.

In an enclosure near the roadside was a
small cluster of gentlemen, to whom all
this phantasmagoria had the meaning of
life and death, power and force.

General Banks, with his light-blue over-
coat buttoned closely around his chin, was
strolling up and down, occasionally con-
versing with one of his staff, or returning
with his accustomed suavity the salute of
a pa'^ing ^ubaltem. No one could possi-
bly forget Ranks aRer once seeing him.

Near Banks was General W. B. Fi-ank-
lin — ^his face as rough and rugged as when
he rode through the thick and furious
storms of the Peninsula, — the ideal of a
bold, daring, resolute, indomitable fighting
soldier.

There were few braver men in that
group, or elsewhere, than Major General
Charles 0*Malley. He had two horses
shot under him the day before. His face
was very calm that mommg, and occa-
sbnally he pulled hiti whiskers nervously,
as though he scented the battle afar off,
and wa<^ impatient to be in the midst of
the fray.

Greneral Charles P. Stone, the chief of
staff, a quiet, retiring man, and regarded
by the few that knew him as one of the
linest soldiers in the service, was sitting
on H rail smoking cigarettes, and apparent-
ly more interested in the pufis of smoke



that curled around him than in the noise
and bustle that filled the air.

There, too, was General Smith, with
his bushy, grayisb beard, and his eager
eye, as it appeared through spectaclest
giving him a strong resemblance to a
schoolmaster, as indeed he w&«, m the mil-
itary sense, to the enemies of his country.

General Arnold, the chief of artillery,
with his high boots, and slouched hat
thrown over his head, seemed the busiest

man of alL



Bnrnaide DirectiBg a B g fae at .
A wounded soldier who served in Bum-
side's expedition in North Carolina, men-
tions that at Newbem, on one ofcasion,
the Federal tixKi^is, on account of the nu-
merous batteries they had to enwuiilcr,



Gen A. E Bumiilda

became discouraged, and were falling buck ;
thereupon an officer rode up in hastu to
Bumside, and asked if he would order a
retreat. " Retreat ! " said Bumside^ ** y««,
right into the face of the enemy. Thai is
how I want you to retreat." A forward
movement was immediately ordered, and
by a forward retreat^ the Union troopst
carried all before them, driving the enemy
from their entrenchments, and capturing
all their stron^iolds.



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Three Soldiere Captured by a Boy with a
Ck»fB»e Pot.

An amusing instance of the value of a
ready wit and presence of mind occurred
during the advance of the Second Corps
of Federal troops, near Hatcher's Run.
A y6ung lad in the Fourteenth Connecti-
cut regiment, going with a coffee-pot to get
water from the stream, suddenly found
himself surrounded by three of the enemy.



BoUUen Cbptured hj a Boy

With all the fierceness of voice the little
fellow could muster, he commanded them to
throw down their arms and surrender.
Supposing that the brave youth had com-
panions near to enforce his command, they
complied, when he seized one of their
muskets and marched them into camp in
great triumph. This story was related in
his camp as the capture of three Johnnies
with a coffee-pot.



Oareer of the "Handeomeet Kan in tiie
Southweet."

Albert Pike is a name which will long
be remembered in the Southwest, as that
of one of the most remarkable men who
have lived in that region. It was not to,
be expected that he would be otherwise
than conspicuous in the great rebellion
which enveloped that section with the rest.
In the battle of Pea Ridge, he led
the Cherokee Indians, whom he had se-
duced from theur allegiance to the Govern-



ment of the United States. A noble look-
ing, white-haired man, of very imposing
appearance, he nevertheless proved an ut-
ter failure as a military leader, runn'ng
like a coward before the veterans of Cur-
tis and Sigel on that bloody day.



Albert Kke

It was in another sphere, and a totaUy
different one, that Pike was destined to
shine ; and shine he did. He was a man
of extraordinary genius,.and had pocketed
a hundred thousand dollars as the fees of
a single lawsuit He had been known,
during a term of court, to meet his brother
lawyers for an evening carousal, drink with
them till the stoutest was ^ laid out ' under
the table, and then seat himself, and, in
the midst of their convivial singing and
roaring, draw up a most intricate bill in
chancery, without an erasure or interlinea-
tion. He would do this same thing in
court, apparently undisturbed by the noise
of a trial in progress. But, with all his
genius and wonderful versatility of talent,
he was utterly and persistently wayward in
his habits, and half a dozen fortunes pass-
ed finom his hands — spent in reckless and
prodigal excesses. Once young, highly
educated, graced with personal accomplish-
ments and a physique which won for him
the distinction of being called the ^ hand-
I somest man in the Southwest," his magic
I touch had swept the lyre of the gods. corn-



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THE BOOK OF ANECDOTES OF THE REBELLION.



pelling a busy, din-resounding nation to
stop and listen in enraptured silence.

But from all this eminence, he became
an exile from his home, a traitor to his
country, the pusillanimous leader of red-
handed savages against the valiant defend-
ers of the Union and the noblest flag that
ever floated, and, to cap the climax, desert-
ed the savage victims of his own silver-
tongued eloquence, and ran like a coward
in the day of battle !



to be loaded with canister, and in a mo-
ment more would have given the intrepid
Howard and his little force the benefit of
it But the general who had successfully
deceived the enemy, found a way to make
himself known to his friends, and so es-
caped a reception of that kind.



General Howard on the Wronflr Side of the
Battle-field.

A short time subsequent to the magnifi-
cent charge made on the rebel breastworks,
in the midnight conflict at Lookout Valley,
by General Geary, Greneral Howard, tak-
ing with him a small escort of cavalry,
started for that part of the field where
Greneral Greary was supposed to be. He
had not gone far, when he came up \iith
a body of infantry. " What cavalry is
that?" was the hail. "All right," re-
sponded General Howard, at the same time
calling out, " What men are these ? "
' Longstreet's," was the reply. " All right
— come here," said General Howard.,
The men approached. " Have we whip-
ped those fellows?" asked the General, |
in a manner to keep up the deception.
"* No, — them, they were too much for
us, and drove us fix)m our rifle-pits, like
devils. We're whipped ourselves.'* By
this time the rebels had gathered nearer.
" Lay down your anns I " demanded Gren-
eral H., in a stem voice. The men sur-
rendered.

Taking his prisoners in charge, Greneral
Howard proceeded on his way. He had
4iOt gone far, before another party of rebel
infantry called out, "What cavalry is
that?" "All right," was the response
again, of General Howard, as he proceed-
ed. On approaching the position occupied
by Geary, that officer had observed the
advancing horsemen, and infantry, as he
supposed the prisoners to be, and taking
them to be rebels, he had ordered his guns



Intrepid Oondnot of Two Dmmmer Boys.

Two drummer boys of the Tenth Con-
necticut Volunteers, while off* duty, and
while Gillmore was pounding Fort Wag-
ner, determined to discover the effect made
upon the fort, and for this purpose bor-
rowed an opera glass and went out a dis-
tance from camp, to obtain a favorable site
to witness the operations. They had pro-
ceeded about three-quarters of a mile,
when they cajne suddenly upon a burly
i*ebel, who upon sight of the boys, snap-



Intrtpkl Condaet.

ped his gun at them, which however did
not explode, the piece not being capped.
One of the boys at that moment, thrusting
tiie glass into the case which hung at his
side, the rebel thought he was drawing a
revolver, and immediately threw down his
gun, crying out, "I surrender!" Tlie
boys immediately sprang forward, seized
his gun, and at a '* charge bayonet" drove
the big fellow into camp. When he difri
covered that the only appearance of a
weapon in the boys' possession was an
opera glass, he was much incensed, dedar-



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GREAT CONFLICTS, INDIVIDUAL HEROISM, ETC.



839



ing he could not be held as a prisoner of
war. The fact was witnessed by the
Cokmel of the regiment, who highly com-
mended the intrepid conduct of the boys.



Sob, the Spunky Dnmimer Bay,
The battle of Fredericksburg was at-
tended by many memorable instances of
individual heroism. It is known that, for
several days a curtain of thick fog rose up
firom the waters of the Rappahannock,
completely hiding from view the artillery
, that crowned the opposite hills, and the in-
fimtry that crowded the sheltering ravines.
But the preparation for the great %ht, so
hopeftilly commenced, was continued amid
the thunder of cannon and the eruptions of
exploding batteries.



Bob, the Drammer Boy

The hazardous work of laying the pon-
tijon bridges was frequenlly interrupted
by the murderous fire of Confederate
sharpshooters, concealed in the stores and
dwelling-houses on the bank of the river.
To dislodge these men, and drive them out
of their hiding-places, seemed an impossi-
ble task. At a given signal, the Union
batteries opened with a terrific fire upon
the dty, crashing through the walls of
bouses and public buildings. But in this
storm of shot and shell, which ploughed
the streets and set the buildings on fire,
the sharpshooters survived, like salam^-
ders in )he fiames, and continued to pour



a deadly fire upon the Federal engineers
and bridge-builders.

In this dilemma it became evident that
the bridges could not be laid except by a
bold dash. Volunteers were called for to
cross in small boats ; forthwith, hundreds
stepped forward and offered their servicesr
One hundred men were chosen, and at
once started for the boats. Robert Henry
Hendershot was then a member of the
Eighth Michigan — acting as drummer boy.
Seeing a part of the Michigan Seventh
preparing to cross the river, he ran ahead,
and leaped into the boat. One of the offi-
cers ordered him out, saying he would be
shot. The boy replied that he didn't care,
that he was willing to die for his country.
When the boy found that the Captain
would not permit him to remain in the
boat, he begged the privilege of pushing
the boat off, and the request was granted.
TNTiereupon, instead of remaining on shore,
he clung to the stem of the boat, and, sub-
merged to the waist in water, he crossed
the Rappahannock. Soon as he landed, a
fragment of a shell struck his old drum,
and knocked it to pieces. Picking up a
musket, he went in search of relics, and
obtained a secesh fiag, a clock, a knife, and
a bone ring. On opening a back door in
one of the enemy's houses, he found a
Confederate wounded in the hand, and
ordered him to surrender. He did so, and
was taken by the boy-soldier to the Seventh
Michigan. When the drummer boy re-
crossed the river from Fredericksburg,
General Bumsi^e said to him, in the pres-
ence of the army :

" Boy, I glory in your spunk ; if you
keep on this way a few more years, you
will be in my place."

Robert is a native of New York, but
moved with his parents to Michigan when
he was an infant His &ther died, leaving
the mother in destitute circumstances, and
with a fiunily of four children to support
and educate. Bob went from Jackson (Mich-
igan) to Detroit, with Captain Deland, in
the capacity of waiter in the Ninth Michi*



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THE BOOK OF ANECDOTES OF THE REBELLION.



gan. With that regiment he went to
Louitsville, West Point, Ky., and £liza-
bethtown, Ky., — at the last named place
being appointed drummer boy. Subse*
quently he was in six battles, namely,


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Using the text of ebook The pictorial book of anecdotes and incidents of the war of the rebellion, civil, military, naval and domestic ... from the time of the memorable toast of Andrew Jackson--The federal union; it must be preserved! ... to the assassination of President Lincoln, and the end of the war. With famous wor by R. M. (Richard Miller) Devens active link like:
read the ebook The pictorial book of anecdotes and incidents of the war of the rebellion, civil, military, naval and domestic ... from the time of the memorable toast of Andrew Jackson--The federal union; it must be preserved! ... to the assassination of President Lincoln, and the end of the war. With famous wor is obligatory.
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