"
Upon his return to Georgia, the war with England having broken out, he
procured the commission of a captain and entered the army. He was
transferred to the northern frontier--then the seat of active
operations--and soon distinguished himself amid that immortal band, all
of whom now sleep with their fathers--Miller, Brook, Jessup, McCrea,
Appling, Gaines, and Twiggs. Cumming, Appling, and Twiggs were
Georgians. At the battle of Lundy's Lane he was severely wounded and
borne from the field. He was placed in an adjoining room to General
Preston, who was also suffering from a wound. Cumming was a favorite of
Preston's, and both were full of prejudice toward the men of the North.
Late at night, Preston was aroused by a boisterous laugh in Cumming's
apartment. Such a laugh was so unusual with him that the general
supposed he had become delirious from pain. He was unable to go to him,
but called and inquired the cause of his mirth.
"I can't sleep," was the reply, "and I was thinking over the incidents
of the day, and just remembered that there had not in the conflict been
an officer wounded whose home was north of Mason and Dixon's line.
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