Ironton Register 26 July 1888 – This department has been omitted the past two-week solely because of the difficulty in getting subjects for interview. Eight-six “Narrow Escapes” have been taken a good deal of interviewing and the field is getting narrow.
So, in the future, we shall take them as they come not aiming to print a “Narrow Escape” each week as we have done for nearly two years past. We particularly invite old soldiers who know of comrades who have interesting experiences in the line of close calls to let us know or get their interviews and send them to us.
We drew out from our old friend Frank Fullerton a little talk this week by way of continuing these “Narrow Escapes.” Frank was a member of Company B 5th West Virginia Infantry and a fine soldier, too.
“Where was your ‘Narrow Escape?’ the Register man asked of him.
“Well,” said Frank Fullerton, “my narrowest escape was at Kernstown in the Shenandoah Valley, but you had so many connected with that fight that I had better tell you another. The one I will tell you of occurred at the Second Battle of Bull Run, on August 29, 1862. You see our boys had a pretty severe time there and many of them were killed or wounded.
Our company lost fifteen men. Well, our regiment was driven back, and it so happened that our Captain McCall, W.H. Harmon, and myself were left in the rear though, following the regiment in its retreat. They were going through the woods and we were about 75 yards behind the retreating line.
Frank Fullerton continued, “We three kept together and undertook to cross diagonally to the right and get out of the woods, the clearing being visible only a short distance.
But when we got to the edge of the woods there were the rebs within 30 steps of us. We fell behind a large tree and pondered what we had the best to do. Harmon and I had just ten cartridges apiece and he proposed we let the rebs have them and then skip. Capt. McCall at first refused to allow it but afterward consented and Harmon and I blazed away at the rebs.
“I don’t undertake to say what was the effects of my shots – I didn’t look to see but I know every time Harmon fired a reb fell. In fact, we became such an annoyance that the rebs opened out of us fiercely, but we were well protected and thus escaped. “When our ammunition was gone our true peril confronted us – how to get out of there.
While thus considering, Jake Lockwood crawled to our tree. His left leg had been shot off below the knee. As he crawled up, he said, ‘Give them – boys, they’ve fixed me.’ We administered to him such comfort and assertion as we could, but we knew every moment was making it harder for us to escape. It seemed to me a thousand muskets were turned on us and how we escaped was a marvel.
I may have been deceived but my impression at the time was that a hundred balls came within an inch of my head. But a miss is as good as a mile and I am here to be thankful that they all missed.”
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