Greensborough Patriot

February 19, 1863

Page 1

At Sharpsburg, Gen. Lee hailed one of the many stragglers, and inquired:

“Where are you going sir?”

“Goin’ to the rear.”

“What are you going to the rear for?”

“Well, I’ve been stung by a bung, and I’m what they call demoralized.”

This was enough. Gen. Lee had not the heart to say more to an innocent who had been “stung by a bung”—meaning perhaps that he had been stunned by a bomb.

[Transcribed by Sharon Strout]