A Romance Of The American War.

A ROMANCE OF THE AMERICAN WAR .

Among the many scenes of the Avar which have passed under my observation , my recollection enables me to give you an account of . one of the most mysterious and strange adventures Avhich I have ever heard of . During the month of August 1861 our

, , PoAva regiment was stationed at Eolls , in Missouri . Our company was detached from the regiment and sent to guard the railroad-bridge at the Mozeille Mills , which , it was rumoured , the guerillas of that town Avere preparing to destroy .

We had been upon the ground but a few days , Avhen there appeared in camp early one morning a very old , decrepit mule , which made direct for the door of _ .

stable that adjoined the Captain ' s quarters , from which it appeared it had been recently stolen by a guerilla , and carried aivay as a pack animal . Upon approaching the mule a letter Avas discovered secured to the throat latch of the bridle , which being addressed to the Captainwas immediatelhanded into

, y his quarters , Upon opening the letter , its contents ( written in the delicate hand-Avriting of a female ) , consisted in the following singular announcement , " The Temple of Jerusalem Avas destroyed on the first Friday before the full moon . " The Captain

professed to understand it and said , " The guerillas will attack the bridge to-night , " and immediately ordered the company to be mustered , and informed them of the imminence of an attack , which might be looked for at any moment . Ammunition was

ordered to be distributed , the guards were doubled , pickets thrown out , and every precaution taken to guard against surprise . At the close of the clay a drizzling rain set in , which continued until the foUmvincr

morning , causing the ni ght to be intensely dark . The picket stations had been thrown out into the country about half a mile from the opposite end of the bridge , Avhere the main guard Avas posted behind a pile of railroad * - It Avas our lot to be one of the six

that composed the midni ght guard at this station . We had been upon our post about an hour , Avhen one of the men observed , " I hear footsteps . " We listened ,

and presently heard the footsteps of several persons approaching Avith great caution through a dense undergrowth that skirted the opposite side of the road . The darkness of the night Avas so great that Ave could not see them , even Avhen they Avere Avithin forty feet of us , but Ave could distinctly

hear , in a petulant but suppressed tone , " Jim , hold up that gun of yours ; that ' s twice you have stuck that bayonet in me . " At this moment Ave opened upon them Avith all our guns . There Avas no gun fired in returnbut Ave could distinctly hear them

, for some time rushing , Avith receding steps , through the thicket , in the direction of a corn-field , in which stood a log cabin occupied by , a Avoman and two children , the husband and father of whom Avas a Union soldier in one of the Missouri

regiments . The firing of our guns , Avhich overshot the enemy , had aroused the entire command , and brought in the picket guard , Avhen the I 02 cabin alluded to Avas discovered to be

on fire . Believing it to be the incendiary Avork of the guerillas , the captain immediately ordered a command of twenty men to double quick through the house , and endeavour to rescue the family , if in danger . Upon reaching the vicinity of the opening that surrounded the cabinAve discovered

, that a quantity of hay had been placed against the door and fired , and near the building a party of eight or nine guerillas armed Avith guns , Avere found grouped together , apparently listening to a speaker . Our party , Avhich had divided at the edge

of the corn , Avith a view of surrounding the cabin , HOAV rushed in upon them , and succeeded in capturing three of their number . We had arrived too late to render any assistance to the inmates of the cabin ,

Avhich had already sank down into a smouldering heap , beneath Avhich the mother and her children had perished . After securing our prisoners , Avith a portion of a clothes line hanging from a branch of a tree , they Avere conducted to camp , Avhen the captain immediately summoned a drum-head

courtmartial to try them upon the charge of murder , assuring them that if they Avere found guilty , they Avould be shot at sunrise , as a Avarning to their guerilla comrades . One of the party , a short , thick fellow , Avith a bushy head of red hair , and bloated expression of countenance , when asked by the court martial if he had any-1 . 2