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Igna! officer, and in a few* mln-;ul received permission to ex*-halfThev mr - ii:i i i j»• » inil»'H III 1arranged them in □Ounce the gladsuch o tidings:ock of signal o of beautiful changing many ildheaven. I der as to an-whlch would oople. The e rocket andA SIGNAL OF PEACE.Story of the Last Meosage of the Civil War.i ago. of the j hed In j Jorablo ! young 1 r atari i i? high i 1 been • i and for the u Hide- | n—and ' But j ind the , PIldlOBS |What:ot ern-ilcutta?i shookog—na-a Ruing. It?et emit was the 13th of April. IS6S. precisely four years to an hour from the capitulation of Fort Sumter. I had beon a soldier of the union for four years, lacking seven days. At that moment I found myself riding with a small signal detachment In advance of the armies, which had swept from the valley of the Mississippi to the sea and were then turning from the sea toward the mountains. On the afternoon of that day, after a march of 21 miles, wo entered Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, says LleuL Goorgc C. Hound, in the Chicago Inter Ocean. Wo found that Kilpatrick's cavalry had been there before us and had passed through the city.Near the center of the city was a square occupied by tho two buildings of the Raleigh academy, now the location of the governor’s mansion. I saw an old gentleman on the grounds, who proved to be I'rof, IxveJoy, the principal. Ho told me ho was a native of Vermont, had come to North Carolina as a teacher, and was concerned for tho safety of his family.I had pitched quite a cozy encampment under the trees of the academy, and had sent, with my compliments, a small package of genuine coffee to Mrs. Love Joy, and that estimable lady had Just reciprocated with a few early vegetables for a supper then impending. when I received an order from the headquarters of Con. Schofield, then commander of the Army of the Ohio, to establish a signal station at once on the dome of the capitol, about two squares distant.stand it in position on the edge of the platform, while I. standing on tho dome, outside Jhe circle of safety, and holding on with ray right hand, would reach through the railing and touch off the rookf » with my left. I would then walk backward along the railing, beyond the reach of dinger. After sputtering awhile the rocket, throwing downward a tremendous shower of sparks nnd smoke, would with a mighty rush speed away for the stars.We had spoiled out the word P-E-A-C-B. when one of tho most serious events of my life occurred. It seemed as If some demon of war had determined to stop the proceedings and some kind angel was at hand for my deliverance. Tho next rocket was a pause signal, to denote the end of a word. It sputtered and went out —or so appeared. After some waiting 1 struck another match, w’alkcd carefully around the dome, and was put ting my left hand through the railing, when, with no premonition whatever, it exploded with terrific force, casting its hellish blast of hot cinders and flame full Into my upturned face.For tho Instant 1 forgot everything. I only knew that the hot simoon was sweeping around me. Instinctively I loosened my hold nnd sprang back into space. The next instant I felt myself reeling nnd falling, as U seemed to mo then, half way down the dome. In that terrible moment I fully realized my situation. I thought of the great stones below mo and how I would bound lifeless from them to the ground below.1 had fortunately sprang back in theroached the point .o was tangent to k, and directly In od my old friend the lightning rod. which by the light of the ascending inotoor I saw andsame line that I a of danger. My co the circular sionov my line of retreatIt w Theif anmosadplat-th the stock.I wa?Ita human nil. for a ent able to tk for stv-Im I bad n: marc id celebration than the moon. When Iad, atthree minutes, that my injuries weret in renin. and er mind d. kind.I Grasped the Lightning Rod.Preaby-honey-nod to•Wnht milt stood at the junction of the four main avenues of the city, was built of a light colored stone in the massive style usual for good public buildings, well proportioned, and surmounted by a beautiful dome. Its shape was that of a Greek cross, and In the center.St:theloveboncut1 the plat-continuingi boutall on the surface. 1 determined to have It out. and so it happened that after u pause not provided for in t\o “manual of signals I renewed my rocket message extraordinary to tho armies of the west and the good people of the ohl north state.Everything now worked smoothly. Rocket after rocket sped away to the zenith. In the silence that Intervened I could hear the nooning or windows below me. and gentle household voices seemed to say: WVchntan. what of the n'.ijht? and I know that for them my answer meant The morning com-eth.” I thought 1 hoard the distant murmur of the ramps, as though theft
Newspaper Details
Defiance Express
Defiance, Ohio, US
Mon, Nov 26, 1906
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Ramona B.
NA, 06 Dec 2017
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