The Calhoun Monitor – Pittsboro, Mississippi -- October 22, 1903

 

War Reminiscence by C. G. Bentley

 

Editor Monitor:--

I will give your readers a short war story, to give variety to your valuable paper. When Gen. R. E. Lee’s army was stationed on the south side of the Rappahannock river, our picket line extended along the bank overlooking this beautiful stream while the enemy’s pickets occupied the opposite bank. Now, as all the old veterans know, the soldiers from both sides would, when in sight and hailing of each other, sometimes get up an armistice of their own and meet to barter, exchange papers and talk.

 

Well one day while talking with the yankee pickets a big burly fellow, proposed to meet one of our men on a large rock, which was visible about midway the river, to trade. I asked him what he wanted to trade on, this reply was “Hardtack (crackers,) for tobacco,”  I told him that I would give him one pound of tobacco for four pounds of Hardtack.

 

He said “all right, the goods must be delivered dry.”  We were to start at the same time. I was an expert swimmer, having been raised principally, in my father’s mill pond. I reached the rock first. The rock was round on top and slick. The “yank” was a bad swimmer and before he got on the rock, his bread was thoroughly wet. I told him that I would not have his wet tack, that he had not complied with the contract. He replied that he would have the tobacco or give me a licking on that rock. I told him I would fight him if nothing else would do, to see who should have the pile He eyed me closely from head to foot and finally said: “you talk big for a little fellow.”

 

I knew if we began to scrap on that round rock we would soon be down in the water and I knew I could handle him there, for I have never met a man that I couldn’t hold my own with in the water, but he declined to “lick” me and said he would go back and bring some dry bread and swap me, but he didn’t come

 

I noticed it was a new man and a better swimmer coming. He also got his hardtack wet before he got to the rock. I told him that I was to have dry bread and that looked just like the lot the other fellow had “my tobacco is dry as you see.”  He said that they had sent him there to bring that tobacco back with him and he was going to do it in spite of h--- l and highwater. I told him that ‘twould be low water with him before he got the tobacco.

 

“What do you think you can do with me?” said he. “I will drown you in five minutes”, said I, “if you try to take that tobacco.”

 

“Well,” said he, “rather than fight a waterfowl in the middle of the river, you can take both the tobacco and the hardtack, but if I had you on land, I would have them or a fight and a foot race.”

 

I told him I would never run a foot race with him alone, I had been trying his men for two years and had never been able to catch one yet, only when I got them hemmed in some bend of the river.

 

He laughed, we shook hands and parted. All was quiet ‘till we gained our respective banks, when the desultory firing from both picket lines was resumed.

 

 

 

Copyright 2008 by Rose Diamond

Calhoun County MSGenweb

Special permission granted to transcribe Monitor items

 

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