USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 15
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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" We place them, our patriotic young men, under your charge, with the fullest confidence that they will find in you a friend and com- mander, under whose guidance and counsel they will have an oppor- tunity of giving unmistakable evidence of that patriotism which has prompted their offer of service to our country."
On arriving at Staten Island, near New York City, the Guard was assigned, as Co. C, to the 70th New York Infantry, one of the regiments of the Excelsior Brigade, and thenceforth it was no longer known as the Lafayette Light Guard, except among its old friends in Michigan. The regiment arrived at Washington on the day of the first battle of Bull Run. During the following autumn and winter the regiment was partly employed on the Maryland side of the Potomac, to guard against rebel incursions across
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MILITARY HISTORY.
that river. In the spring of 1862 it went with its brigade and the Army of the Potomac to the Virginia peninsula, and took part in the siege of Yorktown. After the sur. render of that stronghold the army advanced up the penin- sula, and on the 5th of May attacked the enemy at Wil- liamsburg. In this, its first battle, the Excelsior Brigade was in Gen. Hooker's division, which bore the brunt of the fight. A long, fierce, infantry conflict took place on ground covered with heavy timber and " slashing," and when the battle was won it was found that three hundred and sixty- five men had been killed and wounded in the 70th New York, out of eight hundred which went into the action.
At the battle of Fair Oaks, on the 31st of May, Casey's division was surprised and driven from its works, when Hooker's was ordered up to its assistance. The latter drove the enemy back and captured the works. The 70th was actively engaged, but not as severely as at Williamsburg.
The brigade was in nearly all the conflicts of the cele- brated " seven days' fight;" but previous to Malvern Hill the 70th was not in the heaviest part of any of the battles. At Malvern it was in the reserve until about dark, when it was brought up to strengthen the lines which were about to advance on the baffled foe. Through the darkness, lighted up only by the glare of artillery and musketry, the division fought its way slowly but steadily forward until nine o'clock, at length overcoming all resistance and occupying the ground piled thick with the enemy's slain.
In a short time the brigade was ordered to join Gen. Pope in Northern Virginia, and was warmly engaged in the battles at and near Bull Run during the last days of August, 1862, meeting with serious loss.
From this time the 70th New York was found engaged in nearly all of the long list of battles fought by the Army of the Potomac,-at South Mountain, at Antietam, at Fredericksburg, at Chancellorsville, at Gettysburg, in the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania Court-House, at Cold Harbor, and in the earlier struggles around Petersburg,-sometimes defeated, sometimes victorious, but always gallantly main- taining the honor of the flag. The regiment was mustered out in the summer of 1864, at the expiration of their three years' service, but there were but few of the Lafayette Light Guard returned at that time to their homes in Van Buren County.
VAN BUREN COUNTY SOLDIERS IN THE LAFAYETTE LIGHT GUARD.
Capt. Wm. H. Hugo, Paw Paw; com. April 22, 1861 ; pro. to maj., May 17, 1863; must. out as capt., July 1, 1864.
1st Lieut. Jas. M. Longwell, Paw Paw; com. April 22, 1861 ; pro. to capt., June 12, 1862; mustered out.
2d Lieut. Wm. H. Carroll, Decatur ; enl. May 1, 1861; res. Nov. 20, 1861.
2d Lieut. Don C. Rogers, Decatur ; enl. as sergt., May 1, 1861 ; pro. to 2d lient., Dec. 1, 1862; to 1st lieut., Feb. 23, 1864.
2d Lient. Wm. W. Killborn, Paw Paw; enl. as sergt., May 1, 1861 ; pro. to 2d lieut., Nov. 12, 1861 ; killed at Williamsburg, May 5, 1862.
Sergt. Henry Chamberlain, Decatur; enl. May 1, 1861 ; pro. to 2d lieut. of Co. E, Nov. 21, 1862.
Sergt. Jos. W. Craw, Hartford ; enl. April 26, 1861 ; died of wounds received at Williamsburg, May 5, 1862.
Corp. Herrick Hodges, Lawrence; enl. April 29, 1861; disch. for disability, Oct. 21, 1861.
Corp. Alex. M. Harrison, Paw Paw; enl. April 25, 1861 : disch. for disability, July 26, 1862.
Corp. Alvah H. Moor, Decatur; enl. April 26, 1861; killed in battle at Williams- burg.
Corp. Elam Branch, Lawrence ; enl. April 20, 1861 ; disch. for wounds, July 24, 1862.
Corp. Francis M. Swift, Decatur; enl. April 29, 1861 ; trans. to 16th U. S. Inf.
Corp. Henry B. Myers, Decatur; enl. April 30, 1861; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf. Corp. Wm. H. Ballard, Paw Paw; enl. April 22, 1861 ; trans to Invalid Corps. Corp. Adelbert W. Cummings, Paw Paw; enl. April 6, 1861; disch. for disabil- ity, Jan. 22, 1862.
Corp. Henry R. Brown, Decatur; enl. April 30, 1861.
Privates.
Justin A. Alden, Columbia ; enl. May 2, 1861; died of disease in Camp Scott, N. Y., June 29, 1861.
James Abrams, Paw Paw ; enl. May 29, 1861; trans. to 2d U. S. Cav., Oct. 28, 1862.
Alfred Barnum, Paw Paw; enl. May 29, 1861; died in action at Williamsburg, Va., May 5, 1862.
David Briggs, Hamilton ; enl. May 29, 1861 ; must. out July 1, 1864.
Horatio Burnham, Lawton ; enl. April 30, 1861 ; died of disease at Wooster, O., Aug. 15, 1863.
Cyrus H. Butler, Decatur ; enl. April 30, 1861 ; disch. for disability, March 15, 1862.
John H. Banners, Decatur; enl. Oct. 16, 1861; disch. for disability.
Steph. T. Brown, Waverly ; enl. Sept. 18, 1861 ; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf. John W. Barber.
Theodore Clark, Almena ; enl. Sept. 18, 1861; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf. Harvey Case, Decatur; enl. May 1, 1861 ; must. out July, 1864.
Amon D. Covey, Waverly ; enl. April 27, 1861; died of disease at Georgetown, D. C., Nov. 28, 1861.
Hiram F. Covey, Waverly ; enl. April 29, 1861 ; disch. for disability, Jan. 20, 1863.
Edward S. Crofoot, Paw Paw; enl. April 22, 1861 ; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf., June 22, 1864.
Carlton Coon, Paw Paw ; enl. April 22, 1861 ; disch. for disability, Jan. 5, 1862. James Clark, Almena; enl. Oct. 22, 1861 ; disch. for disability, Oct. 18, 1862.
Jolin F. Clavileer, sergt., Decatur ; enl. April 30, 1861 ; must. out July 1, 1864. Henry Crandall, Keeler ; enl. May 29, 1861; trans. to U. S. Cav., Oct. 28, 1862. Charles D. Crockett, Decatur; enl. May 20, 1861 ; pro. to com. sergt., N. C. S., Nov. 1, 1862.
Wmt. Constable, Paw Paw ; enl. May 29, 1861; disch. Dec. 31, 1862, for wounds received at Williamsburg, Va.
Philip C. Dedrick, Lawrence; enl. April 29, 1861 ; disch. for disability, Aug. 3, 1861.
Leonard Dutton, sergt., Decatur; enl. May 1, 1861 ; must. out July 1, 1864. John Emery, Paw Paw; enl. Oct. 16, 1861 ; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf.
Anthony Emerling, Paw Paw; enl. Oct. 28, 1861 ; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf.
Philip Fitzsimmons, Lawrence; enl. May 13, 1861 ; died in battle at Spottsyl- vania, Va., May 12, 1864.
Andrew H. Fertig, Lawrence ; enl. May 23, 1861 ; must. out July 1, 1864. Samuel Garver, Lawrence ; enl. May 27, 1861 ; trans. to 2d U. S. Cav. Allen Gorham, Almena; enl. Oct. 18, 1861 ; disch. for disability, Aug. 23, 1862. Richard Hayes, Paw Paw ; enl. April 22, 1861 ; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf., June 22, 1864.
Jeremiah Hartman, Hamilton ; enl. May 29, 1861 ; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf., June 22, 1864.
Gilman Hinckley, Antwerp; enl. Nov. 1, 1861; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf., June 22,1864.
Nathan Hulbert, Waverly ; enl. Oct. 18, 1861 ; trans. to 86tl N. Y. Inf., June 22, 1864.
Edward E. House, Paw Paw; enl. May 29, 1861; disch. for disability, July 20, 1861.
Benj. Holt, Paw Paw; enl. Oct. 28, 1861 ; disch. for disability, March 4, 1863. Edward Kearney, Decatur; enl. May 1, 1861.
Albert H. Lapman, Paw Paw; enl. May 1, 1861; died of disease in Maryland, Nov. 21, 1862.
William H. Lewis, Hartford; enl. May 1, 1861; detached at Harwood Hospital, Washington, D. C.
Charles W. Miner, Paw Paw ; enl. Aug. 25, 1861; died in battle at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.
Charles Moose, Paw Paw; enl. Aug. 22, 1861; must. out July 1, 1864.
Porter McGlan, Decatur ; enl. Aug. 29, 1861; disch. Jan. 23, 1863, for wounds received at Antietam.
Frederick Melvin, Bloomingdale; enl. Aug. 29, 1861 ; died in action at Fair Oaks, Va., June 25, 1862.
William McDonald, Decatur; enl. May 20, 1861 ; must. out July 1, 1864. Seth P. Newcomb, Almena; enl. Oct. 20, 1861 ; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf. Steplı. W. Perry, Decatur; enl. April 27, 1861; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf. Heman Parish, Lawton; enl. May 20, 1861 ; trans. to Invalid Corps.
Willard Place, Hamilton ; enl. May 20, 1861 ; must. out July 1, 1864.
Dexter D. Patrick, Almena ; enl. April 22, 1861; died June 3, 1862, of wounds received at Williamsburg.
William H. Price, Paw Paw ; enl. April 22, 1861 ; died May 22, 1863, of wounds. Albert Priest, Decatur ; enl. May 1, 1861 ; disch. for disability, March 15, 1862. Byron Parleman, Paw Paw ; enl. April 27, 1861; disch. for disability, Jan. 26, 1863.
Averill S. Roundy, Lawrence; enl. April 26, 1861 ; disch. Oct. 20, 1862, for wounds.
Lyman Robinson, Paw Paw ; enl. April 22, 1861 ; trans. to 2d U. S. Cav., Oct. 28, 1862.
Henry Reese, Porter ; enl. April 30, 1861 ; trans. to 2d U. S. Cav., Oct. 28, 1862. John Rickard, Paw Paw ; enl. Oct. 16, 1861 ; disch. for disability, Feb. 12, 1863.
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HISTORY OF BERRIEN AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES, MICHIGAN. .
Steph. Remalio, Almena; enl. Nov. 1, 1861 ; drowned at Harrison's Landing, Va., Aug. 8, 1862.
Michael Ryan, Decatur ; enl. May 22, 1861 ; died in battle at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863.
Daniel W. Rowe, Lawrence ; enl. May 29, 1861 ; died in battle at Williamsburg, May 5, 1862.
Elias Robb, Lawrence; enl. May 29, 1861; disch. for disability, Oct. 14, 1862. John Service, Paw Paw ; enl. April 25, 1861; trans. to 2d U. S. Cav.
Arthur Service, Paw Paw; enl. April 29, 1861 ; trans. to 2d U. S. Cav.
Walter Sherman. Decatur; enl. May 1, 1861 ; died of disease in Maryland, Jan. 2, 1862.
Silas Sanders, Paw Paw; enl. Oct. 30, 1861 ; died of disease at Falmouth, Va., Feb. 4, 1863.
Hiram Saxton, Paw Paw; enl. April 27, 1861 ; trans. to 86th N. Y. Inf. Lewis G. Timmins, Keeler ; enl. May 1, 1861 ; must, out July 1, 1864.
Augustus P. Tucker, Columbia ; enl. May 3, 1861 ; died in action at Willianis- burg Road.
Clare E. Van Astran, corp., Hartford ; enl. April 24, 1861 ; must. out July 1, 1864. William Van Fleet, Paw Paw; enl. April 22, 1861 ; disch. for disability, Sept. 29,1862.
Byron Walrath, Paw Paw ; enl. Oct. 17, 1861; died in action at Williamsburg, May 5, 1862.
John W. Williams, Paw Paw ; enl. April 22, 1861; must. out July 1, 1864.
CAPT. EDMUNDS' COMPANY.
One of the first companies raised in this part of the State assembled at St. Joseph in May, 1861, its one hundred and five members being enlisted by Hon. A. H. Morrison, of that village, mostly from the townships of St. Joseph, Ben- ton, Sodus, and Royalton, in Berrien County. It organized by the election of W. W. Edmunds, captain, first lieutenant, and Eugene Howe, second lieutenant.
The officers then requested Governor Blair to commission them and to assign the company to a Michigan regiment, but all the Michigan regiments then authorized were already full and "running over" with the patriotic sons of the Peninsular State. This company was supported over a month by the voluntary contributions of the citizens of St. Joseph and vicinity, in the hope that a place would yet be found for it in the ranks of the Michigan soldiers. Capt. Edmunds visited the Governor, at Lansing, in order, if possible, to bring about such a result, but in vain. On his return, the unfortunate young officer fell from a steamboat into the St. Joseph River, about half-way between Niles and Berrien, and was drowned.
Soon after that, as the company had no real organization, and as the members had abandoned all hope of securing a place in a Michigan regiment, they gave up their attempts in that direction, and most of them sought service in other States. About a third of them joined the 6th Wisconsin Infantry, some enlisted in the 7th Missouri Infantry, and the remainder united themselves with the Douglas brigade at Chicago. In these commands the fragments of the original company gallantly sustained the honor of their State, but, decimated again and again by disease and battle, there were but few of them who returned after the war to become citizens of Berrien County.
Jay J. Drake, a private in this company, now chief clerk in the general office of the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad, at Muskegon, became a captain in the 7th Mis- souri. H. C. Matraw, another private of the same com- pany, then of Bainbridge, now of Holland, Ottawa Co., became a captain in the 6th Wisconsin before he was nine- teen years old. He fought in every battle of the Army of the Potomac but one, and in each of three engagements his senior officers were killed and he commanded the regiment through the remainder of the fight. Doubtless many others
made gallant records, but in our country the fortunes of peace, scarcely less than those of war, scatter the people far and wide,-far beyond the notice of the most zealous and industrious historian.
SIXTH INFANTRY.
The 6th Regiment of Michigan Infantry was raised in the summer of 1861. The commissioned officers were selected by the Governor; these then selected the non- commissioned officers of their respective companies; and both commissioned and non-commissioned officers, together with those of the 5th and 7th Infantry, then went into a camp of instruction at Detroit, where they were thoroughly drilled for nearly two months. They then returned, and very speedily enlisted the necessary number of privates. Com- pany A, which was raised at Niles, was composed of men from the southeastern part of Berrien County ; while Com- pany B, raised at St. Joseph, was from the northwestern section. Company G was partly from Van Buren and partly from Berrien County. Company K was partly from Berrien and partly from Cass County.
The regiment rendezvoused at Kalamazoo, and left that place for the East, with nine hundred and forty-four men, on the 30th of August, 1861. Arriving at Baltimore, it was detained there on garrison duty about six months. - Being a well-behaved regiment of patriotic young men, re- markably free from the " bummer" element, the 6th became a great favorite with the citizens of Baltimore, who were very anxious for its retention. The Baltimoreans also treated the men with much generosity, and are still kindly remem- bered by them. The stay at Baltimore was only interrupted by an expedition down the eastern shore of Maryland, where nothing more exciting occurred than an event known as the " Turkey Review," when the whole brigade was ordered out for inspection by Gen. Lockwood, on account of a soli- tary turkey which had mysteriously disappeared from the premises of a neighboring farmer.
In February, 1862, the 6th proceeded to Newport News, near Norfolk, Va., and on the day before the celebrated battle of the " Merrimac" and " Monitor" it embarked with Gen. Butler's expedition, and set sail for the Gulf of Mexico. A terrific gale assailed the fleet as it passed that celebrated home of storms, Cape Hatteras, and for three days the great ships reeled and staggered under the blast until death seemed nearer to the soldiers packed below the decks than it would have appeared on a field of battle.
All the ships, however, escaped without serious damage, and in due time the expedition landed at Ship Island, Miss. From that point the 6th proceeded with the other troops to the mouth of the Mississippi River, and when the gal- lant Farragut forced his way past thundering forts and gun- boats, and rams and fire-ships, the land forces sailed up the river to New Orleans.
The 6th Michigan Infantry was the first Union regiment which occupied New Orleans in the day-time (a few had entered it during the previous night), and as it formed line on the dock, which was covered with sugar and molasses up to the ankles of the men, they began to think they had got a sweet thing, if nothing more, in the metropolis of the South west.
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MILITARY HISTORY.
On the 15th of May, the 6th, with a large number of other regiments, proceeded up the Mississippi, landing and taking formal possession of various places, but meeting with no opposition until they reached Warrenton, a short dis- tance below Vicksburg. The enemy was there fortified in force, and refused to surrender. The Union troops spent considerable time in the vicinity, trying to circumvent the rebels by digging canals, etc., but more than half of them fell sick, and on the 5th of June they returned to Baton Rouge, where the 6th was encamped during the greater part of the summer.
On the 5th of August, 1862, about four o'clock in the morning, the rebel Gen. Breckenridge, ex-Vice-President of the United States, attacked the Union lines with a heavy force. He had been expected for three days, but, either from lack of experience, or for some other reason, the Union commander, Gen. Williams, did not order the erection of any breastworks. Later in the war the men would have been likely to put up some kind of defensive works, even without orders. The enemy was warmly received, how- ever, and for two hours a severe battle raged, in which Gen. Williams was killed, but in which the Union troops steadily repulsed their assailants. The 6th Michigan was on the extreme left, and was not in the thickest part of the fight, yet its casualties numbered sixty-two killed and wounded, and six missing. At length some new regiments gave way, and the rest of the command was then ordered to fall back towards the river. In a short time the lines were again advanced, when it was found that the rebels had been so severely handled that they had all fled, leaving their dead and many of their wounded on the field of battle.
A heavy fog prevailed during the battle, and perhaps tended to prevent any very energetic movements on either side. Capt. David Bacon, of Company A, afterwards lieu- tenant-colonel of the 19th Infantry, was severely wounded, and was left on the ground when the Union troops fell back. The rebels found him when they advanced, and a soldier of the 4th Louisiana was posted to guard and take care of him. The fog was so heavy that he could not see what was going on, and when the firing ceased he supposed the Confeder- ates were victorious, and waited patiently to be relieved by one of his comrades. When the Unionists found them- selves in possession of the field, they sent out squads of men to bring in the wounded of both sides. A squad from Com- pany A, of the 6th, while moving through the fog on this duty, came upon a solitary Confederate standing by a tree.
" Hello, reb," cried the sergeant in command, as his men brought their pieces to a " ready," " come in out of the wet ; we want you."
" All right, Yank," replied the grayback ; " but here is one of you'uns officers you had better see to."
The squad advanced, and sure enough there was the wounded Capt. Bacon, the fog having prevented both guard and prisoner from learning that the supposed victors were in reality the vanquished.
On the 20th of August the 6th was ordered to New Or- leans, where it was stationed in the defenses on Metairie Ridge, near a piece of swampy ground a short distance out of the city. Here nearly the whole regiment became sick, and many a hardy son of Michigan was here laid beneath
the unfriendly soil of Louisiana. One hundred and thirty- eight men died of disease during the first year of the regi- ment's service, the greater part at this point. At length, on the 6th of December, 1862, when there were but one hundred and ninety-one men for duty out of seven hundred and fifty-five, the regiment was removed to Carrollton, a short distance above New Orleans, where its health was soon, to a great extent, restored.
The 6th remained in the vicinity of New Orleans through the ensuing winter and spring, being engaged during that time in an expedition to Ponchatoula in the latter part of February, 1863, where it drove out the rebels and captured a number of prisoners with slight loss ; also in a raid up the Jackson Railroad in the early part of May, when it burned a gun-carriage factory and a large amount of other property belonging to the rebels.
On the 23d of May, 1863, the regiment joined Gen. Banks' army before Port Hudson, where it was placed in one of the most exposed positions in front of the enemy's lines.
On the 27th of May came the celebrated and deadly as- sault on Port Hudson. The ground in front of the fortifi- cations was cut up by numerous ravines, and for a thousand yards the trees had mostly been cut down, forming an almost impenetrable " slashing." Still the 6th moved gallantly forward under a storm of cannon and rifle balls, followed with more or less closeness by the other regiments of the column. The killed and wounded fell fast at every step, but still the depleted regiment struggled on until it arrived within twelve rods of the rebel works. But the men were unable to go any farther, and those who were left sheltered themselves in a plantation ditch and kept up a sharp fire on the rebels whose heads appeared above the parapet. No other regiment advanced as far as this, and the assault was given up. But the 6th could not be with- drawn from its position, and remained until nightfall, when it moved quietly back to the Union lines, having had over a third of its number killed and wounded during the assault.
In front of Gen. T. W. Sherman's division (who must not be confounded with W. T. Sherman, the present general- in-chief ), however, there was a narrow, open field running up to the enemy's works. The division lay in column of regiments, the 6th Michigan, not over three hundred strong, in front. Three divisions had been successively repulsed during the forenoon, and about one o'clock P.M. an order came for Gen. Sherman's division to charge the works. Probably knowing it would be useless, after what had oc- curred, Gen. Sherman appeared very angry. Riding to the head of his column, where Gen. Dow, the leading brigadier, was attending to some matters on foot, he said, somewhat brusquely,-
" Gen. Dow, mount your horse !"
That officer hastened to his steed, and Sherman said to the commander of the regiment,-
" We are ordered to charge those works ; 6th Michigan, forward !" and then, attended by near twenty staff-officers and orderlies, he rode out into the open field already men- tioned, closely followed by the regiment. Twenty pieces of rebel artillery at once concentrated their fire on the head of the column. Ere long Gen. Sherman was brought to the ground by a wound which caused the loss of a leg.
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HISTORY OF BERRIEN AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES, MICHIGAN.
Then began the siege of Port Hudson. The Unionists steadily dug their way towards the defiant fortress, and the 6th Michigan, which was on the extreme left, took its full share in the hardships and dangers of that period. On the 5th of June it took part in another assault on the rebel intrenchments. This, too, was unsuccessful, so far as en- tering the works was concerned, but the Union lines were in some places advanced to within fifty yards of the forti- fications. The loss of the 6th in this affair was but slight.
By the 29th of June the regiment had worked its way up to within a short distance of a fortified bluff, known as " the citadel." On that day thirty-five men of the 6th, acting as a forlorn hope, attempted to storm the " citadel." They reached the ditch, but were driven back, after eight of them had been killed and nine wounded. Then the digging process was resumed. During this approach to- wards the citadel an incident occurred, which was related to us by Capt. Edwards, of Company A, and which is worthy of special notice. There was a small ravine in front of the pickets of the 6th Michigan, on the other side of which were the Confederate pickets. Col. Bailey, afterwards cel- ebrated in connection with the great dam across Red River, desired to get possession of the rebel picket-line, in order to set a body of negroes to digging on the other side of the ravine, and ordered Capt. Craig, of Company K, who commanded the pickets of the 6th during the following night, to make the effort. The captain knew that if he made an attack with his men the rebels would be quickly reinforced from the fortress, many lives would be lost, and perhaps the attempt would fail. So he determined to try strategy. Knowing when the rebels relieved pickets, he led about twenty men quietly through the ravine just before relief time, and gained a place near the beat of the sentry farthest from the " citadel." Gliding upon the beat be- tween him and the fortress with two or three men, he advanced to meet him. The sentry was naturally expecting the relief, and carelessly allowed him to approach until he was able to seize the luckless Confederate's musket and whisper a command to yield under penalty of instant death,-a command enforced by the leveled rifles of his comrades. In this way he relieved five posts in succession, placing one of his own men upon each of them. Then came the most difficult of all,-to capture the relieving corporal with his guard. The captain arranged his men close be- hind him, and himself took a rifle and occupied the post usually first approached by the corporal. Presently the tramp of half a dozen men was heard, and Craig called out,-
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