Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 June 1885 — HE "SOT ON DER FENCE.” [ARTICLE]

HE "SOT ON DER FENCE.”

A STORY OF THE REBELLION. [The following humorous description . of the battle of Hanover —the first battle of the civil war fought on Pennsylvania soil—was written by J. C. Stevenson, of the 100th Pennsylvania (Roundhead) regiment. Hanover is a regtflar Pennsylvania Dutch settlement, so that the interview is not at all far fetched.] The reader will please picture to himself the cozy bar-room of the Central Hotel, occupied by about a dozen of the citizens of the town and neighboring farmers, dressed as suited their callings, in “hodden gray” or broadcloth, and talking among themselves in execrable Dutch, but to the stranger in exceUent English. An inquiry on our part elicited the information that the battle of Hanover was fought on June 30, 1863, between Stuart’s Confederate cavalry and the third division of. the cavalry under Gen. Kilpatrick. The 18th Pennsylvania cavalry was Kilpatrick’s rear guard, and while halting in the streets of Havover the regiment was suddenly attacked by the head of Stuart’s column, and at first driven through the town; but rallying with the sth New York, drove Stuart’s men back, when they opened an artillery site. This mUch had been related for our benefit by Dr. Stubbs, when one of the settlers remarked: “Hold on, here comes old Gotleib,” and in a few minutes we were made acquainted with Mr. Gotleib Meisenfelder, the man who “sot on der fence” and inspected the battle of Hanover. Mr. Meisenfelder went to the bar, took a drink sociably by himself, and as he returned to the porch, looked the crowd carefully over and remarked comprehensively: “Gentlemans, how you vas?”. A clear bill of health having been given, we ventured the remark: “Mr. Meisenfelder, you were in the battle of Hanover, I believe ?” “Yaw, I vas dere.” “In what capacity, may I ask ?” “Vas is dot?” “What were you doing there ?” “Ach! I does nodding at all; shoost sot on der fence?” “Sat bn the fence?” “Yrih, dot is what der peoples arount here dells me; I sot on der fence all troo der war.” “Was that so?”

“Veil, yah; I guess it vas; dot is undil dem battle mit Honofer. ” “How did the battle of Hanover contrive to decide your opinion ?” “Veil, dem rebble vellers make ma dot I don’t like dem at all any more.” “How so?” “Pecanse dey all der time vant to buy somedings mid noodings. So soon as •we hear dot Sheneral Stuart come dis •way we dook all the horses and a goot many of der gattle over cross der river into Lancaster gounty, but kept one pair of olt oxens to work mine corn. Veil, one day pretty soon I vos vorkin’ mit dem oxens in dot field shoos t outside der town. When I comes mit der end o’ de row I see a whole lot of vellers in dirty clothes cornin’ up der road on horseback, so I got up an’ sot on der fence too look at dem. Bretty soon a young veller he rides up to me and says: “ ‘Dutch wat you want for dem critters ?’ “ ‘Ein hundret unt sins dollars,’ I tole him. “ ‘All right he say; ‘shoost turn ’em out here; 11l take ’em.’ “ ‘But I don’t want to sell dese oxens till after harvest’ I say. “ ‘You turn them critters out here boody quick,’ he says, or I’ll blow you full of holes,’ and he pulls out a boss pistol an’ p’inted it at my head. Now, I don’t could stood dot; I got offul oxcited, an’ I schlapt him ober de gobb mit.der ox gad so dot he durables off his boss. Den der comes" up an officer unt say very nice: “ ‘Mine frient, you do shoost right Dot man don’t got no pizness mit your oxens.’ So he dell der man to git back mit hie company, and de man sneak off sayin’ a whole lot of cuss worts mit his mouth. - “Den dot officer calls up three or four mens, unt dey shoost take down der fence und drive dem oxens but in der road.' “Ven I holler, ‘vere is mine money for dem Oxens?’ dot officer shoostraise his hat so polite, like dis here, unt say: “ ‘l’ll make dot all right, my. frient;’ but he don’t all der same do it, and I vas mad mit dem reppel vellers ever since. x "I vas offul mad as could be now, unt I sot on dot fence unt tell efery one of dem reppel vellers dot come along he ▼as a* thief, but I guess dey know it pefore, for dey don’t mind me at all After a leetle while dey vas all gone, unt I sot dere wondering what becomes soon I hears a tuyful of a row down here in der town, unt dere

vas shooting and yellin’ and all der wimmin unt childrens comes runin’ up oer hill yonder vere I sot oh der fenae. “What is der drubbles ? I ask dem, but dey only schream, ‘Oh r de pine vellers unt dey gray vellers is a fightin’right in der street like shimeny gracious, unt dere is more as sins tousand deat men all ofer town gwick.’ “1 don’t pelieve dot, butall der same I sot on der fence pecause I sbme-‘ boddy might get hurt down dere, unt I didn’t vant it vas me. “Bretty soon dere comes up der road a plue officer mit six wagon loads of cannon after him. He drives into mine cornfield and yells somedings dpt ipakes dem cannons get in one row gwick as efej vas. Then he says to me: “ ‘Mide frient, what der tuyfel are you doing here ?’ —--- “ ‘I Vas shoost watchin’ my cornfield unt lookin’ at dose fight. Dose vas not some harm, did it?’ “Then he grinnet unt said: ‘Oh! no, dere is no harm in dot. But I dell you I am going to dake care of this field for a vhile, and if you don’t vant your fool heat blowt off you’d petter run a mile or two and crawl in somebody’s cellar.’ “I told him no. and he told me again I was a fool, unt 1 told him dot vas all right. Den he went over to der cannon unt began to shoot. Shimmeny gracious! he make so much noise dot I bretty near couldn’t hear myself think. Dose field and der other fields all around dere seemed to got full of-plue sogers all in a minute, unt dey vas all shootin’ unt yellin’ unt runnin’ some hoss races, unt I i ( was shoost thinkin’ swhat a pully goot place I had tjksee as I sot on dot fence. But shoost den dem repple vellers dey got some cannons too, und shoot at der plue vellers, unt bretty soon dot hill vas all full of smoke unt cussing unt cannon balls so dot I couldn’t see goot, so I raised up, youst so, on dat fence to look ofer dose smoke. Youst den somedings come along as big as a veelbarrow unt in a bigger hurry den a locomotive, unt dook dem fence avay, so dot I sot down so much gwick dot my head fiy t’rough my straw hat more as a foot.' I don’t like dot some pretty veil.

“Dose officer mit dem Union connons runs ofer unt picks me up. “ ‘There,’ he says, ‘I told you you’d get your tamn fool head plowed off.” “ ‘Nein’ mine frient,’ I say, ‘it don’t vas mine head at all; but I don’t can sot on dem fence some more mit out hurtin’.’ “Several dimes dose reppies came tidin’up to take dose cannon, but pefore dy get close enough dey alter deir minds unt go back pretty gwick right avay, unt dem plue vellers mit der cannons yell after dem. ‘Come on here, you infernal graybacks, unt get your wooden overcoats.’ “Veil, dey fight bretty much all day, and I sot on a leedle vagon by der cannons till I got tired, and I walk around some, but eferypody schouts at me to go avay, unt one veller ask me vereis mine coffin, so I walk over to the other side where dose reppies vas fightin’. Dere I climbed up unt sot on der fence some more again. “Here dey don’t let me alone, too. Some vellers say, ‘Vich side vas yoUns on?’ unt I dell him I vasn'ton no side; I vas on der fence. Den he wants to know if der fool catcher for dis country bad enlisted for a brigadier sheneral, unt I told him I guess he vas, unt lie told me to pull some hollow punkin offer mine head to keep mine prains in. “I don’t like dem repple vellers worse as effer, so I goes to mine house for somedings to eat. Himmel, what a sight vas dere! Der volks vas sins miles away, unt dem reppies vas shoost makin’ demselves right at home. Dey hat eat eferydings that vas cooked unt stole eferydings that vas not, unt dey vas killin’ der shiekens unt pigs unt havin’ a tuyfel of a times, so dot I don’t like dem reppies worse as efer. But when I dell dem dis vas all wrong dey shoost laugh at me, so I sot on der fence unt Schware some at dem, but dey could beat me at dot, too. “Veil, while I sot on der fence thinkin’, I hear a great cheerin’ like der Fourth of July, unt found der schootin’ had sthopped. Der next 1 know der vas nd Johnny reppies in mine house or yard, for dey vas runnin' right away gwick as never vas across der fields as if der constable vas after dem. Den in one more minute der place vas full of der plue poys, but they didn’t sthop runnin’ after der reppies. Directly dot officer mit der cannon vagons comes along and holler: “‘Hallo, young fellow! You’re not killed yet, eh ?’ “I said, ‘Nein, I vas shoost come down here unt sot on der fence to see what vas going on, ain’t it?’ “ ‘Well,’ he say, ‘all I’ve got to say is, it’s a beastly waste of iron unt lead to throw it around where you are.’ “Unt I told him, ‘Yaw, I guess it vas.’ “He den say, T’d like to have a lot of soldiers that scared as you do.’ Den he shook hand mit me unt rode awayc Dot vas a nice man; but I nefer see him again, unt der pattie of Hanofer don’t come back any more.”— Riverside Enterprise, Detroit.