GALESBURG, ILL.: Galesburg Printing and Publishing Company . 1889. Copyrighted 1889, By Galesburg Printing and Publishing Company . All rights reserved....

In adding this account of the finding of the "Lost Dispatch" to the war literature of our country, I do so without further preamble or preface than to say that all persons connected with this narrative appear on the following pages under strictly fictitious names. For purely personal reasons, reasons that seem to me right and proper, I still desire to remain unknown. There are not more than twenty-five persons now living, who, on reading this account, will be able to recognize the writer. These

The Union army lay impatiently waiting until the plans of the leader of the Rebel troops could be fathomed. His designs were shrouded in so much mystery that the anxious watchers could not determine whether the invasion of Maryland was only a feint to draw off the Union troops from the points they were protecting, or whether he really aimed to attack the Northern cities. It seemed absolutely impossible to obtain authentic information. The stories brought in by the stragglers and prisoners were w

From this point I will drop the cloak of an observer and narrate events as they followed fast upon each other. After leaving General Foster's tent I went to inquire after McClandish. I found him with his wounds dressed, and though weak from loss of blood and exhaustion, he had recovered enough to give me some pieces of information I wanted. My preparations were not extensive, but included the writing of some letters to be left with General Foster and sent by him to various friends in case I did

Another hour's riding, a ten minute's pause to reconnoiter, and I crossed to the other side of the Potomac by a rough and almost impassable ford. Making the top of the rocks which faced the river, I gave my horse time to get his breath, while I sat on a stone beside him. Night and darkness had almost shut in the view on every side. The moon was up but was obscured by clouds except for a moment or two at a time. I could hear the faint swish of the water as it flowed over the stones immediately be

Petterbridge's house stood in a small sheltered valley into which the sun had not yet made its way, when I drew rein at the rail fence at the side of his house. As I was not known by the family, and might have had trouble getting what I wanted from any of them, I was particularly glad when the old man himself appeared at the back door. In reply to his "What ere' want, stranger?" I dismounted and convinced him who I was. As there was only the family at home, it was safe for me to stop. Here I got

I was so weary and worn out by my constant riding and so in need of sleep that it was only by determined effort that I could keep my eyes open. Several times I roused to the unpleasant conviction that I had been asleep in my saddle. I knew that would not do, for I well knew that even in that seemingly quiet district constant watchfulness was needed and that later on fresh dangers would need freshened faculties and renewed energy to meet them. So I decided to allow myself an hour's rest. As quick

I was not in a very amiable frame of mind and passed a bad quarter of an hour while I sat down there on a stump, recovering myself and deciding what to do next. I still had over thirty miles to go and instead of reaching my destination before morning, as I had just decided I would be able to do, I was left without a horse and in very poor trim to make good speed on foot. However, I started on, determined to investigate every place along my road and get a horse if possible without leave or licens

Weary as I was I yet had something to do before I could take the needed rest, which every atom in my jaded frame was loudly demanding. The time had come to test the feasibility of the plan which had flashed into my mind as I sat in General Foster's tent, and which I had thought over and elaborated along the way. When the idea first entered my head that I could personate my cousin Salome, enter the enemy's lines, meet her Rebel lover, and from him learn what the enemy were going to do, and by my

I was conscious of nothing more until Ned's voice sounded in my ears. I had ordered him to waken me at ten o'clock, no matter how soundly I was sleeping or how much I might expostulate with him at the time. I guess the poor fellow did have a rather hard time awakening me. Being on a civilized bed seemed to have obliterated the feeling of caution which had kept me on the qui vive since the beginning of my trip, and his voice in my ears at first roused me only to a semi-consciousness and faint imp

It was nearly six o'clock when we finally reached the point where I thought I could safely commence my retrograde movement. As soon as I would turn to the right, the division of Luce's army I wanted to reach would lay directly between the place I would be then and the Potomac. During the last of our ride I had, by a bold move or two, managed to get very definite knowledge of the disposition of the Rebel troops in the vicinity, and by a lucky accident, during an enforced separation, Ned had disco

"Hi, Miss Salome, look dar," whispered Ned suddenly. We had been driving for some time at full speed when Ned's low tones roused me from an imaginary conversation with the Captain. "Where?" I asked. "Over dar," he returned, pointing toward his left, around the curve we were just making. A short distance ahead, in an open space between the road and the heavy timber beyond, I saw the light of camp fires and a few moving figures showing dark against the glow, while a dark mass at one side looked li

The encounter had one good result, however. It got us over our stage fright, as it were, and rather raised us up to the grand climax. We had driven nearly three miles farther before we ran into the Rebel camp again. When we finally found ourselves making our way under guard to General Dare's headquarters, we were far more composed than we could possibly have been had we not already had some experience. When stopped, I had insisted on being allowed to proceed, but as I expected and desired, the s

While conversing with Captain DeLacy, I had become as familiar with the interior of the tent as I could by the light of one inferior candle and the use of my eyes. There seemed nothing there to invite investigation. Even after Captain DeLacy had reluctantly left me, a closer inspection revealed nothing more promising. I sat on a camp stool, in a corner; near was a pile of blankets; a rough camp chair stood between me and the bed; a bayonet stuck in the ground did duty for a candlestick, and on a

Shaking off the dim sense of foreboding, I gave my thoughts entirely to the task before me. I had decided to make my way down the side of the river I was then on. From what I had learned of the position of the enemy, I knew the risk would be no greater than if I crossed to the opposite shore, and I hoped to save many weary miles of travel. Being well aware of the extreme caution shown on our side, I thought the chances were that our army would be yet in the neighborhood of the place where I left

I returned to where Ned was, and we began retracing our steps. Although we made frequent attempts to get news, it was not until nearly morning that I learned that our troops had advanced to a point, nearer the place where I had made my way into the enemy's camp, and, consequently, nearer where I was then, but to my left. We immediately changed our route. From the moment the order had fallen into my hands, my one desire and aim was to get it where the information it contained, together with what