Rensselaer Republican, Volume 24, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 September 1891 — STONEWALL ESCAPED. [ARTICLE]

STONEWALL ESCAPED.

The Dashing Rebel General Cam* Near Being Captured at Ball Run. 4

Stonewall Jackson was Vhe worst! rider in either army, says a writer inJ the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Hal wobbled about in the saddle like at man in a state of profound intoxica-i tion,and seemed every moment about! to fall off his horse. He never Jell/ but kept the spectators betting odds! with themselves that he would before! he had gone another hundred yards-' His wonderfully bad riding was a» well known in the Federal as in the! Confederate army, and once nearly led to his capture by an outpost, lii was during his famous march on Bult Run that Jackson and several members of his staff undertook to do A little reconnoitering on their own ac-. count. The weather was bad, and it) was wet and rainy, and they had on long waterproof coats that completely concealed their uniforms. They* completed their examination of the country they were looking over, and! turned to go back to their own lines,' when they found on nearing a bridge over a small stream, that the ap-i proach to it was guarded by a de-1 tachment of federal troops, having a piece of artillery which they had! planted on the road in a position from which it could rake the bridge.! Jackson did not hesitate a moment.) Galloping s up behind the men, he shouted out to the officer ip command: j “Who directed you to put that gun on the road? Take it away and mount it in the woods on the hill yonder. I never saw such a piece of folly. Here in the open ground your, men will be shot down from thef brush on the other side." On he went, as though in a terrible passion,; berating the officer, who colored, sa J luted, apologized, and hastily gave the orders for removing the gun. Jackson, with his staff at his heels,, galloped off to the left as though to pass down the stream, made a sudden turn, thundered across the bridge and escaped. The; befuddled officer in command had not gone far; when ho suspected something wrong' especially when he saw Jackson ana his party cross the bridge toward the enemy’s lines, and, conjecturing the truth from Jackson’s riding, got his gun into position and sent a shot after them. It was not, however, till the next day that he learned from a prisoner that his guess had been correct, and that the officer who fell into such a passion about the gun Was no other than the famous Confederate General.