Savannah daily herald. (Savannah, Ga.) 1865-1866, February 14, 1865, Image 1
VOLUME I.\
No. 30. ;
$e |jitiKtuuab Saflg^ecalb
IS FtrEßlSHin)
EVERY EVENING, SUNDAYS EXCEPTED.
• * ET J
B. W. MASOI & <^o.
At HI Bay Street, Savannah, Georgia,
teems:.
Per Ccipy .Five Cents.
Per Hundred L $3 50.
Per Year [ $lO 00.
advertising:
A limited number of Advettieemeets will be re
ceived at the rate of Twenty Cents per Line for
first insertion,and Fifteen Cents per Line for eaefy
snbeequen insertion; invariably in advance. Ad
vertisements should be haided in before noon of
each day.'
,J O B PRINTING
In every style, neatly anti promptly done.
THE WHITE HAT.
AN INCIDENT OF FORT DONELSON.
‘Yota see,’ said the sergeant, ‘the re
doubt nearest to us was on the hill to
the right, and in front of Fort Donelson.
It was only an earthwork, but pretty
well built, and protected by some toler
ably heavy guns on that side of the fort.
‘My regiment held a very good posi
tion in a sort of corner made by a hill
and a small wood. We could hide
among the trees somewhat, and pick off
the artillerymen in the redoubt whenever
they showed themselves. That’s why
we were stationed there; we were sharp
shooters, yen know, and had first-rate
rifles.
‘There was some pretty sharp shots on
t'other side, too. Some of those Missis
sippi and Arkansas fellows are regular
devils at shooting straight, and it wasn't
safe tor us to cut any capers in plain
sight of them.
‘My captain was killed by one of them.
He was a hair-brained chap; was Mor
rison, and. seemed to put himself in the
way of danger rather than not. The
gold stripes on his trowsers and cap
made him a good mark, and when he
went down the hill to a little clump of
bushes to see. about posting our two
howitzers there, so we could shell the re
doubt, I judged likely he wouldn’t come
back.
‘He didn't. Our First Lieutenant and
five men went down and brought his
body in when the enemy let up a bit; and
I noticed that he was hit in the head. It
was good shooting, sir, at long range.
There arn’t many who can hit a man a
quarter of .a mile much less hit his
bead ; and I don’t doubt the fellow aim
ed just where be 'hit.
‘We held that position through the
whole fight. The sortie that drove Mc-
Clernand back and* took Schwartz’s
Battery, was not in our direction. That
was on the other side along the road, to
our left. When re-enforcements came
and helped McClemaud, we joined in,
und followed the rebels as they retreated
till we took the redoubt.
‘Fighting so long from one position, we
got pretty well acquainted with the ene
my. There was only a few who dared
show themselves much on the outside of
the outwork toward us. They were the
crack shots, and only showed their heads
long enough to take aim and fire.
‘The best among tbem was a man
with a white hat—one of those tall white
felt hats, you know, that country fellows
wear. He had a red ribbon tied round
it, and it made a tip-top mark. But he
was cunning as a weasel. He’d set the
bat on his ramrod just over the edge of
the breast-work, and go off a few yards
from it to fire if one of our fellows went
out to shoot the hat, supposing the hat
had a head in it, and a bullet would come
whistling mighty close—close enough to
make a hole sometimes—and old white
hat would jump up, wave his arms and
yell so you could have'heard him a mile.
‘There was about twenty of us who I
SAVANNAH, GA., TUESDAY EVENING, FEB. 14, 1865.
were called the best riflemen of the regi
ment. I hope you won't think lam
bragging sir, when 1 say I was one of
them. I’ve done some deer and turkey
shooting in my time, down the Missis
sippi ; 1 have handled a rifle ever since I
was big enough to lift one.
‘Well, we all had a crack at this fel
low with the white hat, over and over
again, but somehow we couldn’t hit him.
We scared him though. I saw his hat
come up above the parapet, and knew it
was on the ramroad again; so says Ito
Janers, one of my men, ‘Janers, you
shoot at that,but keep covered, and when
he rises I’ll fetch him.’
%o Janers blazed away at the tile, but
like a tool he went right out on the hill
to do it. We could see a little whin Os
smoke about a rod from t the hat, and
up jumped the rascal, yelling and jump
ing like mad. I let drive at him, but
just as I was getting my sight, poor
Janers staggered back, shot through the
stomach, and fell over, right at fny feet.
That unsteadied my aim a little, and I
missed. But I reckon the pill must have
come mighty close, for white hat didn't
show himself so much afterwards.
“ I suppose he killed as many as eight
of our crack shots at one time and
another. It made us mad, I can tell
yeu, but he seemed to be bewitched,
somehow, so that we could not hit him.
“At last one of our lieutenants came
along and asked what we were doing,
all'huddled together in that way. X told
dirty the men were. He was only a
second heutenant, but was rich; and I
always thought he -wanted to put on
airs.
‘Yes,’ said he, ‘it is a good looking
shot, but some of you ought to make it
out. Now suppose I try it resell?—
Who’ll lend me his ghn ? ’
‘ Ifpicked up poor Janers’ rifle and
handed it*to him. ‘You can have this
to keep.’ says I, ‘if you want it. The
owner will never call*for it, sir.
‘He smiled, but looked sort of sor
rowful, and examined the sights like a
man who had seen a rifle betide any
him, and he laughed.
‘Cant hit him, hey!’ says he; ‘well
I don’t think much of your shooting.’—
Just then white hat showed himself a
second. ‘ There said the lieutenant,
‘why didn’t you fix him then?’
‘ It’s pretty long range, sir; said
I. I was a little nettled at the
way he spoke, for I thought I’d
made some pretty fair shots; and
then again, I never had liked him much
He was a dandified chap with curly hair,
and always had his chin shaved clean,
and .his moustaches waxed, and anew
uniform, and patent leather boots, and
clean gloves, no matter how ragged and
way.
‘ Shall I f load it for you, sir?’ says Ia
little impudently; you’ll soil your
gloves.’ ’
‘He didn’t answer me, but did better.
He pulled off his gloves—nice washed
leather ones, white and clean as they
could be—and handed them to me to
hold, like I’d been his servant, while he
loaded the rifle. That stopped my
mouth.
‘When he’d got the piece loaded and
capped very carefully he went right out
where Janers had stood wheb he was
hit. Thinks I, there’s a bad go for the
tailors and bootmakers ! A bullet kick
ed up the dust within three feet of him ;
but he kept stepping round so that no
body could have drawn a bead on him
to save his life: while he looked sharp
for the man with the white hat through
a fancy double barreled field-glass.
‘Directly he dropped on one knee, let
the glass swing on its strap, raised the
rifle, and fired. It took about two se
conds.
‘He came back to the place where I
stood between the trees, and looked for
some time through the glass again.
T didn't like to believe that he had
succeeded ;-but couldn’t judge very woll
then, for the rebels came pouring out of
the tort within a few moments, something
like tea thousand strong, and triad to
cut their way through our lines to the
left. Our troops were driven off as you
know, sir, nearly half a mile, and had to
be re-enforced before they could make a
stand. When, they did the rebels began
to retreat in their turn, and our troops to
follow. My regimeut was ordered to
join in this pursuit, and we hgd a place
near the head of the column. The rebels
fought mighty well hery ; but we fought
better, and after standing the ground,
falling back only an inch at a time for
about two hours, we got them fairly in
motion.
‘The further we drove them the faster
they, went ; and when their ranks broke
we gave them a.good dose, I tell you.
We took back Schwartz’s battery, and
turned it upon them. That started
them on a run, and it soon became a
route.
‘Some officers moje plucky than the
rest wanted to make a stand at the re- |
doubt, when they got to it; but we |
crowded them a little too hard, and they
didn't feel safe outside Donelson. It
was a bayonet charge that rushed them
from the outwork ; they didn’t like bay
onet charges. ,
‘As I was forward with my regiment
near the van I was among the first to
enter the redoubt. We ran up the Stars
and Stripes as quickly as we could, and
Lord! you ought to have heard the
cheering* that came from every body in
sight of the flag ?
‘The next thing, of course, was to
turn the guns of this outwork uponDon
elson, and I, went at it with a squad of
men. While I was overseeing the job
somebody touched me on the shoulder.
I looked around, ant saw my popinjay
lieq tenant, with a fine white ban kerchief
tied round his head, to cover a big ugly
ent in his forehead.
I ‘Hallo, sir !’ says I; ‘the scoundrels
have spoiled your face !’■
‘Bah !’ says he ‘you don’t think 111
ever be sorry to show that, do you ?
Come here a minute,’
‘He started off to the parapet, and I
followed him to an angle, where a poor
devil lay flat on his face.
•Do you see that ?’ asked the lieuten
ant.
I looked, and saw that the dead man
had a hole in his jacket just, back of his
shoulder; in* one hand he held a white
hat with a red band around it, and in the
other a ramrod. The lieutenant’s bullet
had taken him just where be said—un- 1
der the shoulder blade.
‘l’ll take that fora trophy,’ said the
lieutenant. He picked it up and count
ed the holes in it. There was thirty
eight. ‘We ail of us did some pretty
good shooting, sergeant,’ says he.
SAYIKQS OF JOSH BILLINGS.
V BILLINGS’ SEVEN PROVERBS.
1. That onions are good for a bad
breath. • - ' -
2. That clams are a good opening for
any young man.
8. That ships are called “she” because
they allers keep a man on a lookout.
4; That “turning water into wine” Iz
a miracle in these days worth at least
three hundred per cent. j
5. That boys aint apt to turn out well
who don t get up till ten o'clock in the
morning.' v
6. That if a man iz going to make a
business of serving the Lord, -he likes tu
see him do it when be measures onions
as well as when he hollers glory hail e
luyer*! -
7. That wisdom aint nothing more
than edikated kunniug. *
A Fowl Conundrum.— Why are most
pfeople who eat turkey like babies ? Be
cause they are fond of the breast.
— ——
A finished Central—Hood. t
Night in the Yfoos^.—You common
ly make your camp just at sundown, and,
are collecting wood, getting vour sup
per, or pitching your tent while the'
shades of night are gathering around and
adding to the already dense gloom of fie*
lores!. You have pot j one to explore or
look around you before it is dark. You.
may penetrate half a dozen rods farther
into that twilight wilderness after semd
dry bark to kindle your fire with,"and*
what mysteries lie hidden still deeper in
it, say at the end of a long day’s walk £
or you may run do wn to the shore tor a
dipper of water, and get a clearer view
for a short distance up or down thi>
stream, and while you stand there see
ing a fish leap or a duck alight in the
river, or hear a wood thrash or robin
sing in the woods. That is if you had
been to town or civilized parts. Hut
there is no- sauntering off to see the
country, and ten or fifteen rods seem a
great way from your companions, and
you come, back with the air of a much
travelled man, as from -a long journey*
with adventures to relate, though you
may have heard the cracking of the tire
all the while, and at a hundred rods yew*
may he lost past recovery, and have to
camp out. It is all mossy and moosey-
In some of those dense fir and spruce*,
woods there is hardly room for the smoka
to go up. The trees are a standing night, „
and every fir or spruce you fell is a
plume plucked from night's raven wing,. *
Then at night the general silliness is
more impressive than any other sound,
but occasionally you hear the note of an
owl farther or nearer in the woods, atid if
near a lake, the semi-human cry of the
loons at their unearth/y revels. — Ttlw'wv.* .
Plucky. —Fourteen weeks ago, Col.
El we 11, Post Quartermaster at Elmira,
was thrown from a wagon and had a leg
broken. He had then scarcely
from a similar injury received at Port*
Royal two years previously. In tifc?
course of six or seven weeks he was
able to get aoout a flttle on • eruUdiesi,
when he had the misfortune to. slip at the*
head of a flight of stairs leadfeg tan,his
pflice. He fell to the bottom, and to.
leg was again fractured. The Elmira
Advertiser reports the Colonel again able
to hobble about on his crutches, and.saya
that during all the time since lie was in
jured he has been in his office attending
to his duties with characteristic prompt -
ness and energy. He was taken there
instead of to a hotel, by his own orders,*
at the time he was thrown from- the,
wagon. . * -
Sharp Practice to Obtain a Wealth y
Wife. —The Cleveland Plaindealer
tlons the case of a well-dressed youii£
man, of good manners, who gave in ma,
income to the assessor at several thou -
sand dollars, paid the tax, and had the
pleasure of seeing his name in the lists*
among the nabob's of the country. Oa
the strength of this he courted a wealthy
man’s daughter, and married her. Them
it was found out that be had no money*
and had sold his mother’s watch to pay
the income tax. The government made
a good thing out of it; so did the young,
man. >- ; ■ . ,
The ‘‘Sanitary” Flour.—St. Louis*
Friday, Feb. A—The famous “Sanitary’ *
sack oi Hour, belonging to Mr. Grid ley,
which was sold and re-sold' at Nevada,
Cal., till it realized $105,000, for the
benefit of the Sanitary pomijaissioßfc
changed bauds twenty-one times by
public auction at the * Merchants’ Ex
change to-day, realizing $3,775 in behalf!"
of the Soldiers’ Orphan Home. The:
sale will be continued to-morrow, alter*
which the sack will be taken to New
York. *•" —
The sum of 10,425 has already beent
subscribed in Boston for a statute of the.
late Edward Everett.
*f i *■ » . »
}
(Flvb Cents*