rs serving our country for duty's sake, and fear of
officers replaces badly a soldier's pride in his work. Each soldier
from that time feared Robertson. Had this soldier watched his chance
and murdered the officer, and then deserted to the enemy, the general
opinion would have been that such action was to have been expected.

That such did not happen, showed that the disgrace was not keenly felt,
by reason of the social state from which the soldier sprung, something
on the New Orleans "wharf rat", order. One morning between midnight and
day, one of my mess-mates was on guard at the stable lot, a mild spring
morning, and the moon shining. He got tired "walking his post" so he
climbed on top of the fence, under shadow of a tree and there took his
seat overlooking the lot. He expected to be able easily to see or hear
any inspecting officer first and to be able quietly to slide down and
resume "walking his post" from under the shadow without being caught,
"sitting down on a post," a disobedience of military orders always.

All at once a voice just behind him, outside the fence calls out,
"Where's the sentinel here?" and there stood the Major. "Here I am,
Sir!" "Get down and walk your post, Sir!" "All right, Sir!" But very
shortly after, the Corporal came from the guardhouse, with a
Supernumerary of the guard and relieved our friend, who was marched off
to guard quarters under arrest.

Next morning he was turned over a prisoner to the charge of the
succeeding guard, with a feeling of wonder hanging over him as to what
sort of punishment he might expect. But he did not have to wonder long.
The officer of the day came to guard quarters with instructions to give
this prisoner an axe and a pick and to set him to grubbing a big pine
stump in the battery park, i.e., the ground occupied by the gun
carriages and caissons in regulation order. My recollection is, that
the stump lasted our friend several days and that it took some little
help of his body servant, Rube, in the small hours of the night to get
that stump out of the ground.

The grubber was busy about it during the day, and slept around the
guard house fire of a night, until the stump got out of the ground.
Then he was sent for to Battalion Headquarters and our Major gave him
quite a gentlemanly admonition, as to such "lapse from duty," etc.,
which was thankfully received and duly noted. Now this offense against
military rules must needs have some punishment, and this p