igade was more than a quarter of a mile from where the
guns were captured. It is very doubtful whether the history of the war
will record a similar capture of artillery supported by infantry,
disclosed suddenly by an advance-line of skirmishers who
unhesitatingly charged, took possession of, and carried to the rear
the guns. One would have supposed that Lieutenant Pierce, having
suffered amputation of a leg, might have rested upon laurels won so
gloriously. Ah, no! his gallant soul was yet undismayed. At the
earliest possible moment he returned to his command, there receiving a
rich recompense for past suffering. Imagine his great pride and
satisfaction when, following his comrades to the quarters of the
gallant Major Ned Austin, he was shown the battalion flag with its
"honored and honorable" cross-cannon liberally displayed.

The survivors of the Continental Guards, returning to New Orleans
after the war, have clung together like true brothers, retaining their
military organization and the name they bore so gallantly. Of the
veterans, not many remain; these are known and revered by all. Captain
Pierce is fondly beloved and highly respected by his former command,
as well as by the younger members of the company, who, having "fallen
in" to fill up the ranks which time and death have decimated, are
striving nobly to uphold the name and fame of the Continentals. Under
the command of a gallant gentleman and excellent executive officer,
the new Continentals have guarded and kept ever fresh the laurels won
by their predecessors, adding an exceptional record of their own, both
military and civic. Upon all patriotic occasions the _veterans_ appear
and march with the company. Our veteran companies are the pride and
glory of New Orleans. Citizens never tire of viewing the beautiful
uniform and the martial step of the Continental Guards. And who can
look upon Captain Pierce, bearing his trusty sword, keeping step
equally well, whether he wears a finely-formed cork leg or stumps
along on his favorite wooden one,--his bearing as proud as the
proudest, his heroic soul looking gloriously forth from its undimmed
windows,--and fail to remember proudly the young lieutenant who fell
under the enemy's gun at Chickamauga? Or who can listen unmoved to the
music of the cannon which so often woke the morning echoes upon the
bloodiest battle-field of the war? A parade of the Washington
Artillery is, indeed, a glorious and inspiriting sight. He