Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1862-05-14

| hood and had the dead buried, sending his
| own men to assist in doing so. "On Sunday
morning yesterday went out in search of
my brothers. grave. We found the trench,
and dug for the bodies below. They were
eighteen inches TO two feet below the surface,
and bad been hustled in in any way. In one
end of the trench we found, not more than
two or three inches below the surface, the
thigh bone of a man which had evidently been
dug up after the burial. At the other end Of
the trench we found the shnbone of man,
which had been struck by musket ball and
split. The bodies at the ends had been pried M.
While digging there, party of soldiers
came along and showed us a part of shin.
bone, five or six inches long, which had the
end sawed off. They SAID that tn ey had found
1t among many other pieces In one OF the cab
| ins the Rebels had deserted. From the APP
pearanee of il, pieces had been sawed off to
make hnger-rings. As soon as the negroes
noticed this, they said that the Rebels had
had rings made of the bones of our dead and
That they had them for sale in their camps.
when DR.. Swain saw the bone he said IL was a
part of the shin bone of man. The soldiers
| represented that there were lots Of these bones
scattered through the Rebel huts sawed Into
rings" etc. Mr. Lewis and his negroes all
spoke OF Colonel James Cameron's body and
knew that "lt had been stripped and also where
II had been buried" Mr.. Scholes in answer to
question OF one OF the committee, described
the different treatment extended TO the Union
soldiers and the Rebel dead. The latter had
little head boards placed at the head of their
respective graves and marked none of them
had the appearance Of having been disturbed.
The evidence Of that distinguished and pat
riotc citizen, Hon. William Sprapue, Cover.
nor OF the State Of Rhode Island, confirms and
fortihes some OF the most revolving statements
OF former witnesses. His object in visiting
the battle field was to recover the bodies of
Coionei Slocum and Major Ballou, of the
Rhode Island regiment. He took out with
him several of his own men TO identify the
graves. On reaching the place he states that
''we commenced digging for the bodies of
Colonel SIocum aud Major Ballou at the spot
pointed out to us 10y these men who had been
IN the action. While digging, some negro
women came up and asked whom we wereiook-
ing Tor, and, at the same time, said that Col
onei SloGun' had been dug up by the Rebels,
by some men Of Georgia regiment, his head
| cut OF, and his body taken TO a ravine thirty
or forty yards below, aud there burned. We
stopped digging and went to the spot designa-
ted, where we found Goals and ashes and bones
mingled together. little distance from
there, we found shirt (stil buttoned at the
neck) and blanket, with large quantities of
hair upon it, everything indicating the burn
ing of body there.
We returned and dug down at the spot indi-
Gated rs the grave OF Major Balou, but found
no body there; but at the place pointed out
as the grave where Colonel Slocum was buried
we found box, which, upon being raised aud
opened, was found to contain the body OF Col
onel Slocum. The soldiers who had bu-
ried the two bodies were satisfied that the
grave had been opened, the body taken out,
beheaded, and burned, was that OF Major Ball
on, because 1t was not in the spot where Col
onei Slocum was buried, but rather to the
right of it. They at once said that the Rebels
had made a mstlle, and had taken the body of
Major Ballou for that of Colonel Slocum. The
shirt found near the place where the body was
burned L recognized one belonging to Ma
lor Ballou, as | had been very intimate with
hlm We gathered up the ashes containing
the portion of his remains that left, and
put them in a coffin together with his shirt and
the blanket with the hair left uEon it. After
we had done this we went to that portion of
the field where the battle had first commenced.
and began to dig for the remains OF Capt ain
Tower. we brought soldier with us to des-
lgnate the place where he was buried. He
had been wounded in the battle, and had seen
from the window of the house where the Cap
tam was inferred. On opening the ditch or
trench we found it filled with soldiers, all bu-
rlcd with their faces downward. On taking up
some four or five I'VE discovered the remains
of Captain Tower, mingled with those of the
men. We took them, placed them in a coffin,
and brought them home.''
In reply to a question of a member of the
committee as to whether he was satisfied that
they were buried Intentionally with tier faces
downward, Governor Sprague's answer was,
''Undoubtedly Beyond all controversy - and
that sit was done mark of indignity.''
In answer to another question as to what their
odject could have been, especially in regard to
the body ofColonel Slocnm he e'replied:-ssSheer
brutality, and nothing else. They did it on
account of his courage and cbivilry in forcing
his regiment fearlesSly and bravely upon them.
de destroyed about one half of that regiment,
which was made up of their best citiZens.''
w hen the inquiry was put whether he thought
these barbarities were committed by that reg
iment. he responded: ssBy that same regiment.
as was told While their own dead were
buried with marble head and foot stones, aud
names upon them, ours were buried, as l have
stated, in trenches. This eminent witness
concludes his testimony follows ID have
published an order to my second regiment, to
which these officers were attached, that shall
not be satisfied with what they shall do unless
they give an account of one Rebel killed for
each one of their own number"
Belgium so famous for fhe Tulip Mania of
earlier years, is still celebrated for its Horti-
cultural successes. The capital now engaged
in the Nurseries of its principal cities is stat
cd at 8 ,360 900 francs and there are many
Establishments which annually sell the Bulbs
of various Towering plants to an amount ex-
ceeding $4,000. 10 the town of Noodwyck,
the trade in this single article is more than
$4,000 year.
The New Orleans Delta asks whether we
suppose that the United States troops can
live in the summer in the alligator swamps of
the South. No, but we mean to drive the
rebels into them.
The human race, like auctoneer's goods,