[DL] True story of a Civil War Harrowed (sort of)

[Sitting Duck <sittingduck_1313@yahoo.com>]

The following I found in Volume III of The Ghosts of
Virginia by L.B. Taylor. The date isn't specified, but
it involves a Confederate lieutenant who planned to
avoid going to a POW camp by pretending to be dead and
have his men bury him in a way so that he could still
breathe and get back out easily. So he plays possum
while his men tell the Union soldiers that he's dead.
Since Civil War soldiers were just as likely to die
from disease as from battle wounds, the Yanks didn't
examine him too closely, just kicking him in the ribs
a couple of times. Satified, they give the Rebs the OK
to bury him. However, there were two points that
messed things up for the lieutenant. First, the Union
troops hung about longer than he anticipated. Second,
his men didn't dig the grave long enough so he was
getting this really nasty cramp. So he gets out as
soon as he figures it's safe to do so. But at the time
he does so, there's a Union soldier sitting by his
grave having his supper. You can probably imagine his
reaction when he sees the fellow pop out of the
ground. And to add insult to injury, he gets
recaptured and sent to a POW camp anyway.

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I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and that three or more become a Congress.
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