Does it seem possible that a person can be so blind, and act
with such cruelty toward a son?
"When the war was fairly begun," he continued, "I kept the vow I had
made--that as long as the old flag needed defenders, I should be found
among them, by enlisting as fourth master, in what was then called
the 'Gun-boat Flotilla,' about to commence operations on the Western
waters. I participated in the battle of Island No. 10; was at the
taking of Memphis, and at St. Charles; when the 'Mound City' was blown
up, I barely escaped being scalded to death. I was on the 'Essex,'
when she ran the batteries at Vicksburg, and during the subsequent
fight, which resulted in the defeat of the 'Arkansas' ram. About a
month after that I was captured with a party of men, while on shore
on a foraging expedition. I fought as long as I could, for I knew that
death would be preferable to the treatment I should receive; but I was
overpowered, and finally surrendered to save the lives of my men. The
rebels, of course, immediately commenced crowding about us, and the
very first officer I saw was my brother Henry, who had risen to the
position of adjutant, in father's regiment.
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