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chief signal officer, and In a few minutes had received permission to expend one-half my stock of signal rockets. Thcj' wore of beautifulthe Last Message Civil War.It was the 13th of April, 1*65. precisely four years to an hour from the capitulation of Fort Sumter. I had been a soldier of the union for four years, lacking seven days. At that itart | moment I found myself riding withigo. the 1 In able ung»igh-l»eenandtheslde--andHuttheHessVhatcm-ttta?(took-na-Bait e nixie.''holdtheir( not itty? loedsmall signal detachment in advance of the armies, which had swept from the valley of tho Mississippi to the sea npd were then turning from the sea toward the mountains. On the afternoon of that day, after a march of 21 miles, we entered Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, says Lieut. George C. Round, in the .Chicago Inter Ocean. Wo found that Kilpatrick's cavalry had been there before us and had passed through the city.Near tho center of the city was a square occupied by the two buildings of the Raleigh academy, now the loca-1 |(s lion of the governor’s mansion. I saw an old gentleman on the grounds, who proved to be Prof. Ixvejoy. the principal. Ho told me ho was a native of Vermont, had come to North Carolina a3 a teacher, and was concerned for the safety of his family.I had pitched quite a cosy encampment under the trees of tho academy,and had sent, with my complimentsa small package of genuine coffee to I of the groat stonc3 below mo and howcolors, some of them changing many tinn:; as they floated in inldheaven. I arranged them in such order as to announce the glad tidings which would l»o of great Joy to all people.’’ The watchman would bring the rocket and stand it in position on the edge of the platform, while I. standing on the dome, outside Rie circle of safety, and holding on with my right hand, would reaeli through the railing and touch off the rocket with my left. I would then walk backward along the railing, beyond tho reach of danger. After sputtering awhile the rocket, throwing downward a tremendous shower of sparks and smoke, would with a mighty rush speed away for the stars.We had spelled out the word P-K-A-C-K. 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. The next rocket was a pause signal, to denote the end of a word. It sputtered and went out —or so appeared. After some waiting I struck another match, walked carefully around the dome, and was put ting my left hand through the railing, when, with no premonition whatever. It exploded with terrific force, easting hellish blast or hot cinders and flame full into my upturned face.For the Instant 1 forgot everything. I only knew that the hot simoon was sweeping around me. instinctively 1 loosened my hold and sprang back Into apace. The next Instant I felt myself reeling and falling, as it seemed to me then, half way down the dome. In that terrible moment I fully realized my situation. I thoughtSt1000vcr.theloveandwanrive:T1of tlMoncstti fecti liste fillet long a st nesslikewrabileMrs. Love joy, and that estimable lady j would bound lifeless from them tohad just reciprocated with a few early the ground below.toner;oro.iraadWthatnot.Thefor*volegrcilipshaiipreget.Tcheulstvegetables for a supper then impend- i ing. when I received an order from the headquarters of Gen. Schofield. ' then commander of the Army of the Ohio, to establish a signal station at once on tho dome of the capitol, about two squares distant.I had fortunately sprang back in the same line that I approached the point of danger. My course was tangent to the circular stonework, and directly In my line of retreat stood my old friend the lightning rod. which by the light of tho ascending meteor 1 saw and grasped. It was all the work of an The watchman caught melivethiilCorailing, and on the platingwhloffaboncuthavundwillagaeved escapadeh theMy eyes wereright, but I wasvs, two ::etn of eye-lashes, a portilt;f my hair, and thedown I then t plus a face tlialio at ld whiskers. I was aore nearly rcsom-bled a boiled countenance, boy llsto me. Ilob.Wo:wasiter than n human rso than all. for a , not prt rentable tothe fair daugh eral days.lersof K ) ic gh for scv-When I clirf....... 1 nr.•bod1 back to the plat-o Mr... r-1 III ! 1 'iili ” ”othlt;rlbleaclinga utthet hit I. J wet lovlt; lirecelcat uin tnanI Grasped the Lightning Rod.It stood at the Junction of tho four main avenues of the city, was built of a light colored stone In the massive stylo usual for good public buildings, well proportioned, and surmounted by a beautiful dome. Its shape was that of a Greek cross, end In tlte center,were 1 from the ground floor to the dome, wasrlage,xcel-the rotunda, roof first InThe dome rose from the heavy stone abutmentsis in- or steps, and from tho upper tier of.anwan“ClareI age rhereis of spers have when sgow. with loors. : and icken i tale *n—a Ing. ilnvar reap-n the wreck inner even-.-statelocks, Imate re for rd to nd in latch-II the sandd and e had tured e lay butb baled tod up-him Jean.Lly de-t thatigony.tchedAlas:s too d ful-narryerted, , thethose, in a graceful curve, to a small circular stonework on top, above and around which ran a light iron railing.Lieut. Rounds then goes on to tell how, after a thrilling escape from death by being dashed through the glass skylight of the dome, tho station was established on the top of the dome, which was reached by means of a lightning rod.On the thirteenth night after we had entered Raleigh I sat at my station till a late hour. The myriad bands bad played with unwonted sweetness, closing, as if by common consent, with Homo, Sweet Home. The tattoo had rolled around the circle of my vision, and 100.000 men had answered to evening roil call. Taps had sounded, the* campfires burned low, and the lights In the homes of Raleigh had gone out. Still, though then with no apparent necessity, 1 watched over the silent hosts committed to my charge. My poet had a charm for me, and I had become attached to the citizens, who seemed in some vaguo manner to be my special care. As If lifted up from earth. In very presence of mysterious constellations, I mused over life and its problems, the unrolling present and the oncoming future. I was gazing westward. I knew that at some point toward where the sun had set five hours before the two great chieftains were In consultation under u flag o.* truce. I felt at that silent hour as cending to heaven the prayers of os- ( tranged millions that bloodshed might cease.Suddenly, far out to the front. I heard the sharp click of a horse's hoof. Some drunken cavalryman out of camp, I thought. Clearer and nearer It carce. 1 became Impressed with the j Idea that it was no ordinary messen- I ger, and sent word to the provost to look out for the intruder. Straight on towarJ us it came, nor did it stop until I reined up at the capitol. and when the ihad of flying to the moon. When 1 saw. after about three minutes, that my Injuries were all on the surface. 1 determined to have It out. and so It happened that after a pause not provided for in tv; manual of signals 1 renewed my rocket message extraordinary to the armies of the west aad the good people of the old north state.Everything now worked smoothly. Rocket after rocket sped away to the zenith. In the silence that Intervened I could hear the opening of windows below mo. and gentle household voices seemed to say: Watchman, what of the nljjht? and I knew that for them my answer meant The morning com-cth.” I thought 1 heard the distant murmur of the camps, as though the army was awakening from its slumber, and each soldier was with whisperings of joy pointing his comrade to the angel of peace hovering over them, and 1 know that one outpost of the Army of the Tennessee caught the full spirit of the vision.ben mo I s one *weintSJKpaihoieveIthrwllIthegllibleshefor, throwing the fear of army regulations to the winds, they sent up over field and forest a shout such as the shophords might have uttered when over the palms of Bethlehem they saw the angel convoy of the Prince of Peace; whlla those skilled In the cipher code of freedom thrilled a:; they read In the fiery heavens:Peace cn earth, good will to men.6 to hid am wh nglt; pr?'Ipie hci of 11 Hi petAFTER FORTY-TWO YEARS.VeteransResume Checker Contest Started in ’64.do'turantforbemi:boi1blntlonotnotsprthlt;tbsthrgetOne of the Washington veterans of the civil war who attended the recent national encampment of the G. A. It. at Minnea|K)lis relrtcs an Interesting Incident of the reunion of the old boys In blue. He said two comrades who began a game of checkers 42 years ago at Atlanta. Ga.. finished the game at Minneapolis several days ago. During tho civil war they were playing ou a homemade board with black and white trousers buttons for checkers when suddenly orders were received from Gen. Sherman to get in readiness fox his famous march to the sea. As thr buglers were sounding boots and sad dies and all was confusion, the game come to a sudden ending. The player* became separated on the march and the game was not concluded until their recent meeting at Minneapolis.The comrades were both member! of Company A, Thirty-first Wisconsin volunteer infantry. Tho loser of thr 1 j game that was begun in 1864 treated cai tho winner to a flrct-clasa dinner, and bln on the following day tho winner set noi up a fine supper for his bunkle who | become lost from him while marching through Georgia.”—Galveston News.iIncofabitmi'YoitoTeach Lacc-Making by Hand.In many girls’ public and normaliskcda;dailookout returned he shouted as he flew schools in France lace-making by up the lightning rod: . ha.iu is now taught by government In-•‘Hurrah! The War Is Over!” structors which attempt to revive theI vrctc at once tc Capt. Russell, my ; lmproving successful.
Newspaper Details
Defiance Express
Defiance, Ohio, US
Mon, Nov 26, 1906
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Ramona B.
NA, 06 Dec 2017
Other Publications Near Defiance, Ohio
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