“Our eyes were fastened upon that terrible missile of death as by the fascination of a serpent, while we expected every moment that the terrific explosion would take place. I pressed my child closer to my heart and drew nearer the wall. Our fate seemed certain—our doom was sealed.
“Just at this dreadful moment, George, a negro boy, rushed forward, seized the shell, and threw it into the street, then ran swiftly in the opposite direction.
“Fortunately the fuse became extinguished and the shell fell harmless to the ground, and is still looked upon as a monument of terror.”
CHAPTER XXVIII.
WESTERN GIBRALTAR—THE “LEAD MINERS”—THE PALMETTO EXCHANGED FOR THE STARS AND STRIPES—ENTHUSIASM OF TROOPS—SUFFERINGS FORGOTTEN—I AM ATTACKED BY FEVER—UNFIT FOR DUTY—“VICKSBURG IS OURS”—SPIRIT YEARNINGS—“ROCK ME TO SLEEP MOTHER”—IMPOSITION OF STEAMBOAT OFFICERS—GRANT’S CARE FOR HIS MEN—BURSTING OF A SHELL IN CAMP—CONSEQUENCES—SPEECHLESS AGONY—I AM RELEASED FROM DUTY—MY TRIP TO CAIRO—MISS MARY SAFFORD—ARRIVAL AT WASHINGTON.
It was a proud day for the Union army when General U. S. Grant marched his victorious troops into the rebel Sebastopol—or “the western Gibraltar,” as the rebels were pleased to term it.
The troops marched in triumphantly, the Forty-fifth Illinois, the “lead miners,” leading the van, and as they halted in front of the fine white marble Court House, and flung out the National banner to the breeze, and planted the battle-worn flags bearing the dear old stars and stripes—where the “palmetto” had so recently floated—then went up tremendous shouts of triumphant and enthusiastic cheers, which were caught up and re-echoed by the advancing troops until all was one wild scene of joy; and the devastated city and its miserable inhabitants were forgotten in the triumph of the hour.
This excitement proved too much for me, as I had been suffering from fever for several days previous, and had risen from my cot and mounted my horse for the purpose of witnessing the crowning act of the campaign. Now it was over, and I was exhausted and weak as a child.
I was urged to go to a hospital, but refused; yet at length I was obliged to report myself unfit for duty, but still persisted in sitting up most of the time. Oh what dreary days and nights I passed in that dilapidated city! A slow fever had fastened itself upon me, and in spite of all my fortitude and determination to shake it off, I was each day becoming more surely its victim.