asking them questions, and pumping them to find out all he could. I
went over and looked at them, and they were quite a nice looking lot
of fellows, some being officers, with plenty of gold lace on their gray
suits. They were home from the Confederate army on a leave of absence,
probably recruiting. After talking with a rebel officer for a time the
major turned to the adjutant and said, "send me a corporal and ten
men." The adjutant started, on, and I followed him. I used to know the
adjutant when he taught a district school, before the war, and I asked
him as a special favor to let me be the corporal. He said the detail
would be from my company, and if I could fix it with the orderly
sergeant of my company it was all right. I rushed to my company and
found the orderly, and got him to promise if there was a detail from the
company that day, I could go. Before the words were out of his mouth the
detail came, and in five minutes I reported to the major with ten men.
The major simply told me that a certain rebel captain, from Lee's army,
was reported to be at home, and his plantation was about four miles
east, and he described it to me. He told me to ride out there, surround
the house, capture the captain, and bring him into camp.

No general ever received his orders in regard to fighting a battle, with
a feeling of greater pride and responsibililty than I did my orders
to capture that rebel. We started out, and then for the first time I
noticed that there was another corporal in the squad with, me, and
at once it occurred to me that he might claim a part of the glory
of capturing the rebel. I had heard of the jealousy existing between
generals, and how the partisans of different generals filled the
newspapers, after a battle, with accounts of the part taken by their
favorites, and that the accounts got so mixed, up that the reader
couldn't tell to whom the credit of success was due, and I decided to
take prompt measure with this supernumerary corporal, who had evidently
got in by mistake, so I told him he might go back to the regiment. He
said he guessed not. He had been detailed to go on the scout, and he was
going, if he knew himself, and he thought he did. He said when it come
right down to rank, he was an older corporal than I was, and could take
command of the squad if he wanted to. I told him he was mistaken as to
his position. That if the major had wanted him to take charge of the
expedition, he would have given h