ericksburg, the color-bearer of the Twenty-first peal to the boys to volunteer: Massachusetts regiment fel! mortally wounded, when Serg. Plunkett seized the standard, bore it to the front, and there held his ground until both arms were shot away by a shell. He was carried to the hospital, and subsequently was taken to Washington, the whole regiment turning out to escort him to the station. So brave a man deserved so marked an honor.

quarters. Upon opening the letter, its contents the Captain immediately summoned a drum-head (written in the delicate handwriting of a female) court-martial to try them upon the charge of consisted of the following singular announce- murder, assuring them that if they were found ment: "The Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed guilty they would be shot at sunrise, as a warnon the first Friday before the full moon." The ing to their guerrilla comrades. One of the Captain professed to understand it, and said: "The guerrillas 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 day a drizzling rain set in, which continued until the next morn-ently the result of some bacchanalian brawl ing, causing the night to be intensely dark.

Three picket stations had been thrown out into the country about half a mile from the opposite end of the bridge, where the main guard was posted behind a pile of railroad ties. It was our lot to be one of the six that composed the midnight guard at this station. We had been upon our post about an hour, when one of the men observed, "I hear footsteps." We listened, and presently heard the footsteps of several persons approaching us, apparently with great caution, through a dense undergrowth that skirted the opposite side of the road. The darkness of the night was so great that we could not see them even when they were within forty feet of us; but we could distinctly hear one of them observe, in a petulant, but suppressed tone, "Jim, hold up that gun of yours; that's twice you've stuck that bayonet in me." At this moment we opened upon them with all our guns. There was no gun fired in return, but we could distinctly hear them for some time rushing with receding steps through the thicket, in the direction of a cornfield, in which stood a log cabin, occupied by a woman and two children, the husband and father of whom was a Union soldier in one of the Missouri regiments. The firing of our guns, which overshot the enemy, had aroused the entire command, and brought in the picket guard, when the log cabin alluded to was discovered to be on fire. Believing it to be the incendiary work of these guerrillas, the Captain immediately ordered a command of twenty men to double-quick through to the house, and endeavor to rescue the family if in danger. Upon reaching the vicinity of the opening that surrounded the cabin, we discovered that a quantity of hay had been placed against the door and fired; and near the building a party of eight or nine guerrillas, armed with guns, were grouped together, apparently listening to some speaker. Our party, which had divided at the edge of the cornfield, with the view of surrounding the cabin, now 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, which had already sunk down into a smouldering heap, beneath which the mother and her children had perished. After securing our prisoners with a portion of a clothes line, hanging from a branch of a tree, they were conducted to camp, where

party, a short, thick fellow, with a bushy head of red hair, and bloated expression of countenance, when asked by the court-martial "if he had anything to say," sneeringly turned away, refusing to make any answer. The second prisoner, a tall, slender person, of dark complexion, with one eye concealed beneath a handherchief that was tied diagonally around his head, while his face was scratched and scarred with fresh wounds, appar

with his comrades, observed, "This shooting a feller, arter he's a prisoner, for fighting for the freedom of Missouri, and ag'in the abolitioners, ain't accorden to law." Here a member of the court-martial asked him "if the murdering of a helpless woman and her children, at the midnight hour, by burning them to death while sleeping, was fighting for the freedom of Missouri." The fellow turned away from this question with a dejected look, muttering that "her husband was a damned abolitioner." The third person was a young man, or boy, apparently about sixteen years old. From his dialect, and the nationality of expression on his countenance, it was easy to discern that he was of Irish descent. He was well dressed, and appeared to be greatly distressed at his situation as a prisoner. He observed, with much alarm expressed on his countenance, that he was an Irish boy, and that he had been in the United States but ten weeks, and had taken no part in the war; that the man who had burned the house had called upon him that evening, and asked him to join them in a coon hunt, and it was not until they were fired upon at the bridge, that he was aware of the character and object of the party. He would have left them then, but the night was dark, and he did not know the way home.

Here one of the court arose, and informed him that his story partook of the character of all guerrilla pleas of innocence, and that it availed him nothing. He had been caught with others in the very act of committing this cruel and unfeeling murder, and it only remained for him to say that the court found all of them guilty of murder, and sentenced them to be shot at nine o'clock the next morning.

The prisoners were then ordered to the guardhouse a log dwelling-and placed in the cellar beneath the building. The remainder of the night was devoted to the making of the coffins and the digging of a grave of sufficient dimensions to hold them side by side. When the morning returned, the rain had ceased - the clouds had passed away, and soon the sun arose with a warm and genial glow. All nature seemed refreshed with the murky shower of the night — while all around, the blades of grass, the lilac bushes, and forest leaves, drooped under the sparkling rain-drops that glittered on their folds; and the birds carolled wild and loud their morn

ing matins. All felt that it was a day to live, and not to die in. The drum was beat at early dawn, mustering the company under arms, to witness the punishment; and a detail of twelve men was made, as executioners, under the command of a corporal. As the time drew near for the execution, it was discovered that two of the prisoners had made their escape by forcing a passage through the partition wall of the cellar, into the cellar of an adjoining house.

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we were surrounded by murderers and assassins. The hand that had received pay from the soldier for a draught of water had been known to strike him in the back with a dagger as he turned away; and our officers had determined to make an example of the first murderer that fell into our hands. The girl at length was ordered to be removed. When two soldiers advanced and unloosed her grasp upon her brother, her screams, her appeals to all for mercy, were terrible. They The boy, however, was still a prisoner, and all had dragged her but a short distance from him, were determined that he should be made an ex- when, looking back, and seeing a black handkerample of. Accordingly, about eight o'clock, he chief already tied over his eyes, with one wild, was brought out, to be conducted to the place of frantic scream, she flung the soldiers from her, execution. Upon seeing the soldiers drawn up and, bounding back to her brother, tore the to receive him, he commenced wringing his hands, handkerchief from his eyes, and again enfolded crying and calling to the Captain, saying, O, him in her arms. As the soldiers were again Captain, I am not guilty. Do not let them kill removing her, the coat sleeve of one of them was me. Don't, Captain; you can save me. I will torn during the struggles, and her eye fell upon give you my watch my sister will give you a breast-pin that he had fastened upon his shirt money. O God! O Holy Mother! O Captain, sleeve, perhaps for concealment and safety. In speak to them quick; they are taking me away!" an instant all her physical powers were relaxed, With a soldier upon each side of him, he was and in a calm, subdued, and confident tone of now led by the arms towards the place of execu- voice, she observed, as she pointed to the pin, tion, still calling upon the Captain to save him. “ Soldiers, let me make one more effort for my When he discovered the coffin and grave that brother." The soldiers, startled at the strangehad been prepared for him, he gave a wild, fran-ness of her manner, unloosed their grasp upon tic scream, and then for the first time seemed to realize that in a few minutes he would be no more among the living; for in a moment after he became calm, when, turning to the officer of the guard, he requested him to ask the Captain if he would give him time to write to his mother in Ireland. The Captain, who was standing upon one side of the hollow square of soldiers that surrounded the prisoner, hearing his request, immediately answered, Yes; let him have writing materials," which were immediately brought, when he kneeled down, placing the paper upon the coffin lid, and as his pen dashed off the words, "Dear Mother," tears fell upon the paper, which, in brushing away with his coat sleeve, erased the words he had written; when, springing to his feet, he commenced wringing his hands, saying: "I cannot write, I cannot write; O soldier, will you write for me?" addressing the Corporal of the guard.

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her, and in a moment she bounded away to her brother, shielding his body again with her person at the very moment that the guns were descending to receive the word "fire." Turning her back to her brother, and facing the file of soldiers, she stood forth a stately woman. There was no scream, no tear, no agonizing expression, but, calm and erect, she swept the field with her eye, and then advancing three steps, she gave the grand hailing signal of the Master Mason. None but Masons among those soldiers observed it, and there were many of them in that command, who now stood mute with astonishment at the strange and mysterious spectacle before them. There was a grouping of the officers for a few minutes, when the Captain came forward, and in a loud voice said, that "owing to the distress and interference of the young woman, the execution would be postponed until nine o'clock next day." The guard was then ordered to be doubled, and a strict watch kept over the prisoner during the night.

Notwithstanding this precaution, it was discovered in the morning, that both the boy and his sister had made their escape; in what way they accomplished it has been a mystery with the company from that time to this. During the early part of the evening, there was a meeting of the Masonic members of the company at the Captain's quarters, where the girl was examined, and found to have passed all the degrees in Masonry, to that of a Master Mason. Where or how she had acquired these degrees she declined to say.

At that moment, there arose upon the stillness of the scene the wild, piercing scream of a female, as she burst through the ranks of the soldiers, and swept out upon the hollow square, in the direction of the prisoner. It was an Irish girl, apparently about eighteen years old, without bonnet or shoes, her dress bespotted with mud, and her long, dark hair streaming in the wind, as she rushed forward with a wild, heart-rending scream, saying, "He is my brother; he is my brother." In a moment she had crossed the square, and clasping her brother in her arms, she continued, with an agonizing scream, "O soldiers! O Holy Mother! gentlemen! for the love of Jesus, do not kill him. He is innocent - he is my brother!" I never wish to look upon a scene like that again; and many a hardy hunter, from Iowa's border, while gazing on it, felt the involuntary tear course down his manly cheek. But thus writes:

INCIDENT OF FORT WAGNER. A correspondent of the Southern Presbyterian, in a narrative of the "last days of Battery Wagner,"

In one case, a squad of six men was ordered was an excellent marksman, and picked off to repair a parapet, which the enemy had cut seven of the enemy who had got between him down, and were still at work upon. They started and the river. One of them, he thinks, was an out, and almost instantly a shell burst among officer. The rest then briefly vacated the spot, them, killing one and wounding four; the re- and, with his comrades, Greenhall managed to maining man picked up his sand-bag, and walked make his way back to our lines. up to the breach without a moment's hesitation. The next squad was called, and went up to the work in just the same manner. A ten-inch columbiad, loaded, was dismounted by the enemy's shot, fell over, and pointed directly at a magazine, its carriage took fire, and the officers who ran up to it, tried in vain to extinguish the fire, by shovelling sand upon it. They called for volunteers, but the cannonade was too furious. Many shrank; it was not a command, but an invitation. At last, one gallant fellow rushed up, joined the officers in their work, got the fire under, and came down, thank God, in perfect safety.

"O, I count the men on the ground. It never deceives me. It is fire and fall back,' flat.

The number of those killed while recrossing in the boats must have been quite large. In one of the boats, a Philadelphian, name unknown, and two men of the Tammany regiment, were pulling at the oars. They were compelled to stand upright, and their shoulders were used as rests by their comrades, who kept up a continuous fire. Singular to say, the boat had reached the middle of the stream before one of the oarsmen was struck. They finally fell simultaneously. Their places were instantly supplied; the boat, however, turned with the current, drifted, as they thought, out of danger. In less than fifteen minutes, however, a terrific fire was poured into it from the skulking enemy, and, filling slowly, it began to sink. The scene then presented was fearful beyond conception. A shriek of horror went up from the crew. Men clutched each other in despair, and went down together. Voices that strove to shout for help were drowned in the rushing waters, and died away in gurgles.

Among the rebels was one prominent individual, who wore a red handkerchief tied round his head, but was utterly hatless, coatless, and reckless, standing out in advance of his line. He

"One of these Belgian muskets will kick like a mule, and burst with the greatest facility. Sev-loaded, and deliberately fired at our men for eral soldiers in our Illinois regiments have been killed in this way. The bayonet, too, is a novelty—a soft-iron affair, apparently designed to coil round the enemy, as it is introduced, thus taking him prisoner."

nearly an hour before he was struck down. He was shot by a member of the Tammany regiment, who, almost at the same moment, was pierced by a rebel musket ball.

Another rebel was observed to be ensconced on the top of a tree, and seldom fired without GRATITUDE ON THE BATTLE-FIELD. In the inflicting a death-wound. Capt. Keffer, of comterrible engagement at Fort Donelson, an Orderly pany K, directed one of his men to shoot him. Sergeant, seeing a rebel point a rifle at the Cap-An instant after, the rebel fell from his perch, tain of his company, threw himself before his and went crashing like a log through branch and beloved officer, received the bullet in his breast, foliage. Several other adjacent trees were oband fell dead in the arms of the man he had saved. served to be vacated before much time had The brave fellow had been reared and very gen- elapsed. erously treated by the Captain's father, and had After the battle, one of our men was found declared, when enlisting, that he would be happy stark dead in the hollow of a log! The manner to die to save the life of his benefactor's son. of his death is supposed to have been as follows: The affection shown each other by Damon and At the commencement of the battle, while a genPythias did not exceed that of this nameless sol-eral confusion prevailed, he probably crept into dier.

THE REV. DR. MOORE, of Richmond, Va., delivered a lecture in that city on the origin and meaning of words, in which many curious facts were developed, among which were that the word Davis means, "God with us," and that Lincoln, when subjected to etymological analysis, means, “On the verge of a precipice."

INCIDENTS OF BALL'S BLUFF. —A soldier, who was in this battle, relates the following incidents: A young man, named Greenhall, of the California regiment, missing, secreted himself, with three comrades, in some underbrush. Greenhall

the log (which lay near the bank) for the purpose of "picking off the enemy." This shelter was very much decayed and worm-eaten, and was speedily pierced by a rifle-ball. When dragged out, his musket was found to have been recently discharged. The rifle-ball had entered his breast, and passed through the left lung.

In the panic that ensued upon the discovery that the rebels had been reenforced, and could not be driven from their cover, many scenes, that might have seemed ludicrous in many other junctures, occurred upon the hill-side. It was not uncommon for frantic men to leap the whole distance of the bluff, and plant their feet on their comrades' backs. A lusty loyalist, who had pounced upon a prisoner, slipped at the top of