The War Library: Phil, the Scout

Museum Catalog Note This issue of *The War Library* contains "A Story of Pittsburg Landing," a Civil War serial narrative featuring Phil Lamonte, a Union scout. The episode depicts a desperate chase sequence in which Lamonte, accompanied by St. Clair and a woman named Molly Grame, flees Confederate forces led by the antagonistic Oliver Oglethorpe. After being cornered, the trio takes refuge inside the hollow trunk of a massive forest tree. Lamonte draws pursuit away from their hiding place but is forced to leap across a stream to escape Oglethorpe's mounted cavalrymen. Believing Lamonte dead from the fall, Oglethorpe discovers the tree cavity—only to find it mysteriously empty, the fugitives having apparently escaped through an unfathomed abyss beneath. The narrative emphasizes action, narrow escapes, and military pursuit across varied terrain.