ut to all the blood and thunder stories of
his "sister's chile" Uncle Cage only shook his head and chuckled, "Dey
may kill me, but dey can't skeer dis nigger." Among the other stories
he had listened to was that of a negro having his head shot off by
a cannon ball. Sometime after Uncle Cage's installation as cook the
enemy made a demonstration as if to advance. A few shells came over
our camp, one bursting in the neighborhood of Uncle Cage, while he was
preparing the morning meal for his mess.

Some of the negroes and more prudent non-combattants began to hunt
for the wagon yard, but Uncle Cage remained at his post. He was just
saying:

"Dese yer young niggers ain't no account; dey's skeered of dere own
shad--"

"Boom, boom," a report, and a shell explodes right over his head,
throwing fragments all around.

Uncle Cage made for the rear, calling out as he ran, "Oh, dem cussed
Yankees! You want er kill er nudder nigger, don't you?" Seeing the men
laughing as he passed by in such haste, he yelled back defiantly, "You
can laff, if you want to, but ole mars ain't got no niggers to fling
away."

"Red tape" prevailed to an alarming extent in the War Department, and
occasionally a paroxysm of this disease would break out among some of
the officers of the army, especially among the staff, "West Pointers,"
or officers of temporary high command--Adjutant Pope gives his
experience, with one of those afflicted functionaries, "Where as
Adjutant of the Third South Carolina," says he, I had remained as such
from May, 1862, till about the 1st of September, 1864, an order came
from brigade headquarters, for me to enter upon the responsibilities
of acting Assistant Adjutant General of Kershaw's Brigade. When
General Connor was disabled soon after, and the Senior Colonel of the
brigade, present for duty, the gallant William D. Rutherford, received
his death-wound, General Kershaw, commanding division, sent the
Assistant Adjutant General of the division, (a staff officer), Major
James M. Goggans, to command the brigade. About the 17th of October
there came a delegation to brigade headquarters, to learn, if
possible, whether there could be obtained a leave of absence for
a soldier, whose wife was dead, leaving a family of children to be
provided for.

I was a sympathetic man, and appreciated the sad condition of the poor
soldier, who had left his all to serve his country, and now had at
home, a house full of motherless children. I