By Michael D. Martin, E.C.P.D.
Retired
About the author...Michael Martin (pictured front row, far right in the 1981 photo) is a retired veteran of 25 years on the Eden City Police Department, and has penned a number of anecdotal writings recalling his experiences.
XXXV. The Death of Private Shmitt
As I have stated earlier, we in Eden have a rich
civil war heritage and many of out ancestors served with the 51st Virginia
Regiment. My hobby is geneology and Civil War History. Some years ago, I
came across this tale of battle. It is not funny...but it is too..
Sometimes in 1862 the 51st Virginia found itself in
some bitter fighting along Topowattomy Creek in Northern Virginia. Our boys
were in trenches at Topowattomy, barely hanging on by their fingernails, The
Yankees were shelling our boys unmercifully and no boy dared raise his head
above the trench, lest he be killed. Because of the heavy fire, the boys did
not get much to eat, the cook tent was set up several hundred yards to the
rear out of range of yankee artillery and when the shelling slowed a soldier
was selected to go back to the cook tents to bring foreward some gruel in
buckets.
One morning, Private Shmitt was selected to go
fetch the morning's breakfast and Private Shmitt must have been a fairly
brave soldier. He took the two empty buckets and dodged Yankee shell and
balls and made it to the cook tent. Pvt. Shmitt got two buckets of watery
gruel and ran back to the front lines, dodging federal balls and shells but
one Yankee shell landed between his feet and Pvt. Shmitt was no more.
The lads were getting about a half a cup of
gruel every two days and things soon became desperate, the sergeant soon
selected another brave lad to go see what had become of Shmitt. This boy
crawled out of the trenches and made his way back, but soon returned to
report.....Suh! I found him.......at durn Shmitt is all mixed with our
breakfast and haint none of it fit to eat!!!!!
Michael D. Martin