The Maine bugle ... campaign; 1-5 Jan. 1894-Oct. 1898 - Maine.gov

FIFTH NFW YORK CAVALRY AT CULPEPER. 243
captured was a letter foiiiul tlirectetl to a )'()un_i,'^ lady of Ciil-
l)ei)er written at Kichinoiid, statiiiL^ that he, the writer, would
be there that eveniiiLj (July I2th), giving the hour he would
arrive and the road he would conic in on. As the youni; lady
did not get the letter, she was not jjrepared to meet him on the
road anil warn him of the presence of the \'ankees in Culpeuer,
but another party was there ready to receive him. lie was at
once taken to the provost marsiial who learned from him that
he hail been in the battles before Richmond and followed
McClellan's retreating army to Harrison's landing. lb: proved
to be a scout sent from Richmond and had ridden from there
on that day—about seventy-five miles, h^vidently he rotle a
good horse, and was thus considered by C. W. Minor of the
b'ifth, who rode him through several battles and skirmishes till
the horse attracted the attention (if an officer of a Massachusetts
regiment about to go home, when a trade was made whicii
transferred to the Bay State the' rarer named "Old Secesh" by
the boys. Culpcjier being the home of this gentlemanly scout
he re(iuestetl to be allowed to \'isit his friends i)efore being sent
away as a prisoner of war. This recpiest was granted, ami the
writer of this article was detailetl as guard to escort him around
among his fiientls, who were all jubilant over the success of
their arn.y on the peninsula antl all souiuled the praise of
McClellan. One young lady so far forgot herself as to say in
my hearing that McClellan was worth 30.000 men to them.
Hut I am digressing from the general trend of operations in
and around CuIpe]K-r. I will return to the provost marshal,
who as before stated had a barrel of whiskey under guard in his
office. Now we had a few boys who U)ved that beverage above
menlionctl too dearl}' for an\-thing antl would think it without
the slightest provocation, and withal were cxceeilingly shrewd
in devising means to obtain it ; particularly one little Irishman
to avoid his right name we will call him Mike Maloney—whose
fertile brain soon discovered the means and the way of access
to the same in spite of the guard placed over the precious
stuff. Some of his pals raided the town for a gimlet or bit,