Four Years a Scout and Spy: "General Bunker", One of Lieut. General Grant's Most Daring and Successful Scouts, Being a Narrative of ... the Experience of Corporal Ruggles During Four Years' Service as a Scout and Spy for the Federal ArmyDowns, E. C. (Edward C.)
History
Four Years a Scout and Spy: "General Bunker", One of Lieut. General Grant's Most Daring and Successful Scouts, Being a Narrative of ... the Experience of Corporal Ruggles During Four Years' Service as a Scout and Spy for the Federal Army
Downs, E. C. (Edward C.)
Ruggles, Lorain, 1823-1902; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
The next morning the march was resumed. Nothing of particular interest
occurred, save the usual skirmishing, foraging, and burning consequent
upon such expeditions, for several days. After we had crossed Pearl
River, I was kept constantly on the flanks, scouting and foraging. I
usually had a squad of men with me. At Jonesboro I was sent out on the
left flank, with a squad of eight men. A few miles out from Jonesboro,
the road leading to Hillsboro forks. The straight and most direct road
leads through seven miles of swamp, and is known as the "lower road."
The right-hand road leads to the south, around the swamp, and is called
the "upper road." The latter was the one taken by the army in its route
to Hillsboro. When I left the troops in the morning, I did not know that
there was more than one road leading to that place. The consequence was,
I kept to the left of the lower road, which carried me entirely too far
from the main force of the army for safety.
After traveling about eight miles, we came to a cross-road. Our course,
thus far, had not been confined to any road, but lay across the fields.
As we came to the cross-road we emerged from a piece of woodland. Half a
mile beyond us was a double log-house and several large rail-pens, which
we had learned were filled with Confederate corn. Three hundred yards to
the left of the corn we discovered a camp of two regiments of rebel
cavalry. These we tried to clear, by filing to the right and keeping
along in the timber to the west of the road. Less than a hundred yards
brought us to a small stream of water, whose banks were lined with a
dense growth of alders. The stream, after crossing the road, made its
way along to within fifty yards of the corn-crib. Taking advantage of
the cover afforded by the alders, one of my party waded down the shallow
stream until opposite the cribs, and then, under cover of the cribs,
made his way to them and set them on fire, and then retraced his steps.
Two miles further south, we came to a planter's house, where I found a
table spread for eighteen persons, and fried sausage figured
extensively in the meal, which was then nearly prepared.
"You've got the table set for some Johnnies, I reckon," said I to the
planter.
"No, sir; for none but our own family."
"I reckon you have; I'll go out and stand picket while my men come in
and eat." I went out and sent the men in to eat the sausage. As I was
about to step behind an ash-house that stood in the yard, the old man,
who had followed me out, stepped up to me and begged of me not to go
there. Said he, "If you do, you will surely get shot."
"You want to frighten the men away from that sausage," said I, still
determined to go there.
"No," said he, "I have never seen a man shot, and I don't want to see
you shot in my own yard; you will certainly get shot if you go there. If
you want to stand picket at all, go up into my garret and watch from the
window."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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