Savannah daily herald. (Savannah, Ga.) 1865-1866, February 14, 1865, Image 1

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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*