Moves to Cincinnati--Detailed to guard the forts--Meets a
secesh lady--First scout--Unexpected visit of the
Colonel--The drill--Bad report--The mischief
investigated--Attempts to discover the rogues--Innocent man
accused--The accusers skedaddle--Who got the chickens.
Shortly after I joined the regiment it moved to the city barracks in
Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the duty of the regiment at that time to guard
the fortifications that had been built to protect the cities of
Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport. Not long after we arrived at the
barracks, company "H," to which I belonged, was detailed for a three
days' tour at guarding the line of defenses. Lieutenant Downs, with a
squad consisting of three sergeants and twenty-seven men, were sent to
guard that part of the defenses known as the Three-mile Batteries. I was
one of the squad.
These batteries formed a chain of defenses running eastward from the
Licking River at a distance of two miles and a half south of the city of
Newport. Beginning near the Licking River, was situated Fort Shaler; a
mile and a half east was Fort Stuart, and a mile and a half east of that
was Beechwoods Battery.
The detail was divided into three squads, of a sergeant and nine men
each, for each of the three forts. I was one of the squad that went to
Fort Stuart. That fort being between the other two, was made
head-quarters of the officer commanding the detail.
We crossed the Ohio River on a ferry-boat to Newport, and then marched
out. When we had gone about half-way to the forts, we were met by a lady
in a carriage, who, as we passed, called out, "Hurrah for Jeff. Davis!"
We took it as a downright insult, but passed along without making any
disturbance. We soon overtook a young man, who told us where the lady
lived, who she was, and also that she was secesh, and that her
sentiments were well known in the neighborhood. She was a widow.
The next morning I asked Lieutenant Downs for the privilege of taking
three men with me to scout the neighborhood for information concerning
the secesh woman's disloyalty. He granted the request, with the
condition that we report back promptly by 2 o'clock in the afternoon. We
were allowed to take our arms with us.
We visited all the neighbors living in the immediate vicinity of the
lady's residence, and they all confirmed what we had heard of her
disloyalty. We then went to her house, but found that she was absent.
The members of her family said that she was not disloyal, but very
strongly sympathized with the secession movement. Her negroes said she
was secesh. We were treated courteously by the family, and urged to stay
to dinner, which we did. While the dinner was being prepared, we
enlivened the time by narrating our camp stories, very much to their
amusement. When we were about to take our departure, we were invited to
come the next day and bring our Lieutenant. The invitation was pressed
so hard that we promised to come.
At the hour specified, we reported to our Lieutenant, and gave him all
the information that we had gathered concerning the woman's disloyalty
and the feeling that existed against her among her neighbors. It was
determined, in consequence of the insult that we had received, and her
known sympathy with the enemy, to lay the matter before the Colonel on
our return to the regiment.
The next day was very rainy, so we did not repeat our visit as we had
promised to do. About the middle of the afternoon we were very much
surprised by the appearance at the fort of Colonel Force. Had he come in
the night it would not have surprised us, because he had become
proverbial for "making the rounds," especially in bad weather. At the
time of his arrival the Lieutenant was absent, inspecting the other
forts.
The manner of the Colonel seemed strange. He was very inquisitive about
our rations--whether they held out and whether we had had any other than
Government rations; he also inquired whether any of us had been absent
from the fort at any time. I then told him of our trip the day before.
He then inquired if we had any of us been there since, and we answered
in the negative. He then inspected our ration-boxes, and the grounds all
about the fort, examining carefully the wood-pile, fence-corners, and
bushes, evidently looking for something on the ground. After having
finished his search he did not seem satisfied, but acted as if he was
disappointed in something. We were all satisfied that "something was
up."
Having finished his inspection, he told me to get my gun and he would
drill me in the manual while he was waiting for the return of the
Lieutenant. I got along finely in all the movements until he gave the
command, "Charge--bayonet."
It being the most natural for me, I brought my piece down to my left
side, with a half-face to the left instead of to the right, as I ought
to have done.
"Not so, not so--the other way; there--fix it so," said the Colonel,
fixing it in its proper position.
"I can never charge bayonet that way."
"Hold it fast; let me try it," said he, putting his hand against the
muzzle of the piece.
"I will if I can." He pushed, and over I went to the ground. Springing
up and resuming my old position of half-face to the left, "You can't do
that again; now try."
The Colonel did try, but could not budge me. He then told me to put up
my gun. I had become extremely anxious to know what had brought him
over, and I resolved to give him a hint to that effect; so I said to
him, "Colonel, you must like the military profession _pretty well_."
"Why so? what makes you think that?"
"Because you came all the way over here from Cincinnati _just to drill
me_."
The Colonel smiled, but said nothing. By this time the Lieutenant made
his appearance. The Colonel took him out to one side and had some
private conversation, and then left. We learned from the Lieutenant that
complaint had been made at head-quarters that a squad of men from the
forts had been to Mrs. ----'s house the night before and taken
possession with fixed bayonets, and demanded meat, butter, chickens, and
potatoes, and threatened, if the articles demanded were not given them,
they would help themselves. The lady remonstrated, and finally begged of
them not to disturb her property, but all to no purpose. They then
helped themselves to such articles as they wanted, including about
thirty chickens.
The Lieutenant seemed surprised and grieved to hear such reports about
his men. He questioned us closely, as the Colonel had done, but all to
no purpose; every man denied knowing any thing about the outrage. He
searched the premises for any traces of chickens, such as offal, bones,
or feathers, but none could be found.
The lady had represented to the Colonel that the soldiers that committed
the outrage wore dark-blue blouses, and carried muskets with bayonets.
The soldiers of no other regiment about there wore that kind of uniform
or carried that kind of arms. When the Colonel left Fort Stuart, he went
over to the Beechwoods Battery, and there the same investigation was
made, but with no better result. Five of the men that accompanied me to
the lady's house were taken over to see if they would be identified as
having been there in the night, but the members of the family said they
were not among the number. It was then arranged that the members of the
family should go over to the barracks the day that we would return, and
see if they could identify the men that did the mischief, on dress
parade.
During the balance of our stay at the forts, the Lieutenant was very
strict with us, and watched narrowly every movement that we made, but
discovered no evidence of guilt. On our way back to the barracks, as we
passed through the streets of Newport and Cincinnati, we seemed to be
observed with more than usual interest, on account of the notoriety
given us by the report. Dress parade came, and with it two members of
the family, one a son of the lady, to point out the guilty soldiers.
When parade was over the companies were all dismissed but company "H."
The two persons then passed along the line, and succeeded in pointing
out _one man_. He was a man of unexceptional character, and the very
last man in the company that would have been guilty of such a thing; and
besides he had been on duty at the fort next to the river, which was
more than three miles distant from the lady's house.
Whatever suspicions the officers of the company might have had of men in
the company, they were then well convinced that an innocent man had been
wrongfully accused. The Colonel still believed that some of the men in
the company had done it. It was then arranged that the son should return
the next day and bring another member of the family--a young man that
was teaching there--and see if he would have any better success.
Passes were prohibited us for ten days. Each one of the men on detail at
the forts was examined separately, and I was called in for examination
several times. After he had questioned me over and over again about it,
I said to him, "Look here, Colonel, that would be a right smart trick
for new recruits to do, wouldn't it? Besides, they tell me, Colonel,
that you are like a comet; that you come when no man knoweth it.
Supposing that you had "made the rounds" that night, and found
Lieutenant Downs' men all gone. He would have been in a _pretty_ fix! By
and by the guard would call out, 'Halt! who comes there?' 'Chicken
thieves!' would have been the reply. _That would have been nice!_ You
would have sent _every man_ of us home in disgrace! I tell you, Colonel,
Lieutenant Downs aint so big a fool as to let his men get disgraced in
that way! He aint, indeed he aint."
The Colonel then walked his room back and forth, as if in a deep study,
and then stopped, and facing me, said: "Is this the first time you were
ever caught in a scrape of that kind?"
"You haven't caught me in _that yet_," I replied.
"That will do," said he; "you are either _innocent_ or _very well
drilled_! You can go to your quarters."
The next afternoon the two young men came over. When they arrived, the
battalion was on drill, except the new recruits. While watching the
drill, the son of the lady undertook to point out to the man that had
accompanied him the person that he had previously pointed out. That, I
thought, was not fair. I told the new recruits what was being done, and
they all began to gather around the two young men to frighten them off.
Some would cackle like hens; some crow like roosters; some pinned paper
on their coat-tails; others would slip pork rinds into their coat
pockets, and then accuse them of _stealing soap-grease from the poor
soldiers_!
It was a rougher reception than they had bargained for, and, as soon as
the crowd opened, they broke for the street and never came back again.
The "chicken scrape" is among the incidents of the past. Several of the
men of the detachment that were on the forts at that time have nobly
sacrificed their lives, and others their health, in the cause of their
country; and, however well they loved chickens, they have all since
proved themselves brave, heroic soldiers. In a future reckoning, the
depredations committed that night will vanish when weighed by the
"hurrahs for Jeff. Davis" by the lady in the carriage.
I leave the reader to draw his own conclusions, but I am inclined to
think that _somebody got the chickens_.