. Civil War stories . Our regiment was placed infront of one of the enemys most formidable for-tifications. At first we were some distance away,but we gradually worked up with our approachesuntil we were within speaking distance. We cameso near that we could pass the time o dayand talk in as friendly a way as you please. Oc-casionally our men would throw the poor, hungryfellows opposite a bit of bacon or a bite of hard-tack. We were fairly starving them out, and whenthey surrendered there was not a bit of flour orfresh beef in the city. They had long been livingon mule and horse meat and corn
. Civil War stories . Our regiment was placed infront of one of the enemys most formidable for-tifications. At first we were some distance away,but we gradually worked up with our approachesuntil we were within speaking distance. We cameso near that we could pass the time o dayand talk in as friendly a way as you please. Oc-casionally our men would throw the poor, hungryfellows opposite a bit of bacon or a bite of hard-tack. We were fairly starving them out, and whenthey surrendered there was not a bit of flour orfresh beef in the city. They had long been livingon mule and horse meat and corn meal. An ordercame at this time for a secret and dangerous ser-vice, and we learned that we were to underminea part of the fort and blow it up. The entranceto the tunnel was covered with a thick growthof underbrush, and secretly and silently our bravesappers and miners did their work. We made a long tunnel, with a gradual de-scent, flat at the bottom and arched men passed the dirt out one to the other in. HOW MOSES WAS EMANCIPATED 127 pails and baskets, and it was carefully distributedinside of our earthworks so as not to attract at-tention. The work progressed slowly but surely,until finally the day came when it was ready forthe mine. Our men carried in keg after keg ofpowder until there were about three thousandpounds in the end of the mine. Then fuses wereso placed as to connect the kegs, to make sureof an instantaneous explosion. When the minewas finished the tunnel was packed solidly withearth for some distance, the fuse being carriedthrough the barrier by means of a tube. When everything was ready our men came out,leaving one man, a plucky fellow with nerves likesteel and a sure hand, to light the fuse. It wasa critical moment when the men lying in the in-trenchments awaited the result. Our brave com-rade had scarcely joined us when the explosiontook place. We saw what looked like a volcano before , camp equipage, and clouds of dirt wereblown into th
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