eginning to
assemble when the sharp report of a musket near by was heard. Rushing to
the spot, we found the lieutenant lying on his back dying at the "dead
line." The sentinel on the fence, a mere boy, had fired upon him, and
was now reloading. One of our number, Captain William Cook, unable to
restrain his anger, hurled a large stone at him. But the hundreds of
Confederates in the camps just beyond the fence had sprung to arms at
the sound of the firing; the top of the fence was being lined with
soldiers; and the vigilant cannoneers at the angles were training their
artillery upon our dense mass of officers. We prisoners regarded the
shooting as a brutal murder. The religious exercises were turned into a
funeral service. Chaplain Emerson prayed, "O God! our only refuge in
this dark hour, avenge the atrocious murder of our beloved comrade;
protect that widow so cruelly robbed of one dearer to her than life; and
especially grant that this accursed Confederacy may speedily sink into
its native hell!" His text was from _Isaiah_ viii, 12: "Say ye not a
Confederacy!" Next day I asked the officer of the guard if any
punishment was to be inflicted upon the sentinel. He answered: "No; we
don't punish men for doing their duty."

So vitally important is the point of view in deciding upon the right or
wrong of an act.

CHAPTER V

At Salisbury--Great Plot to Escape--How Frustrated.

When we arrived at Salisbury early in October, we found there a brave
and sagacious officer, Lieut. Wm. C. Manning of the 2d Massachusetts
Cavalry. He told us he had been held as a hostage in solitary
confinement, and would have starved but for the rats he caught and ate.
He had been notified that his own life depended upon the fate of a
person held in federal hands as a spy. He determined to attempt an
escape. He was assigned to my house. Taking up a part of the floor, he
commenced digging a tunnel. He wrote a solemn pledge which all the
officers in the house signed, binding them not to divulge the scheme.
The tunnel would have had to be about eight rods long, and its outlet
would necessarily have been near a group of rebel tents. Of course it
would have been discovered on the morning after its completion, and not
all could hope to find egress that way. But he believed that his life
was still in special danger, and he at once began excavating. The house
had no cellar, but there was plenty of room under it for stowing away
the loose earth