United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Anecdotes
In a whisper the scout then outlined his plan. The men were to change
their uniforms and put on the butternut-colored clothes of the South
and to carry no arms except a revolver and bowie-knife. Then they were
to cross the country on foot until they got to Chattanooga and were
then to go back on their tracks by train and meet at a little town
called Marietta in the middle of Georgia. No one would, of course,
suspect men coming out of a Confederate city to be Union soldiers. If
questioned they were to say that they were Kentuckians on their way to
join the Southern army. At Marietta they were to take rooms at the
Marietta Hotel and meet at the scout's room on the following Saturday
morning at two o'clock.
Disguised as a quinine seller, Andrews reached Marietta ahead of the
others. At the time appointed, he sat fully dressed in the silent hotel
waiting for the arrival of his little company and wondering how many
would appear. Just as the town clock struck the hour from the
old-fashioned court house, there came a light tapping at the door and
one by one nineteen of the twenty-four glided in and reported for duty.
All had gone through various adventures and several had only escaped
capture by quick thinking and cool action. One of the missing ones had
been delayed by a wreck and did not reach Marietta in time, two others
were forced to enlist in the Southern army, and two more reached
Marietta but by some mistake did not join the others. The twenty who
were left, however, were the kind of men whose courage flares highest
when things seem most desperate and they were not at all discouraged by
the loss of a fifth of their force, and they all agreed with Brown, the
man whose foot had been asleep, when he drawled out in his comical way,
"The fewer fellows the more fun for those who are left."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account