Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1862-02-26

gold fringe. Upon presentingit, the Gen.
said: ave are about to advance upon the
enemy, and / have selected YOU as the
"bHeSt and most reliable defenders of the
Honor and glory of our arms. As a token
"of that confidence I present Won with
this nag, and having seen your bravery
tested upon the fields of death in the
campaign OF Western Virginia. l know
you will permit it to receive no dishon-
or, and that in the hour of greatest per-
ID, wherever it may be necessary TO storm
the rebel lines, l shall see this flag enter
ing the breach, pursuant to order. at
whatever hazard, NAV appear to confront
1T" responded
Sir, by the fortunes of war 1 I'M in
command of the 24th Ohio, and must re-
spond. Hitherto it has been the pride of
this Regiment, instilled by your precept
and enforced by your example, through
out the p~erilous exposure of the Virginia
campaign, to bear high on the forehead
of its spirit, the motto, 'Overpowered we
may be, but surprised neUer," and whilst
exposed to the tactics and strategy of Or
binary commanders, under your guidance
we have beer able to keep ourselves true
to the motto we had adopted. But to-day
IN the hands OF an inexperienced com
manuer, and exposed to your tactics and
strategy, the wary old 24th is at last sur
prlsed. Yet sir, lad my pickets give,
timely alarm, and my police gun--d baon
alert IN announcing your approach. The
nature OF TINS surpris%te is such That doubt
..u 81 l should have sustained
Pt--ets, or reinforced my guard. To
= Prssentedby ouwith this splendid flag,
= a welcome surprise, and&m at a loss
toE words, as a fitting response for these
gallant officers and brave men. They
mall furnish the response themselves.
heUoO SoLdierS, answer to g man; this
flag has come to US by a surprise from a
friend shall it ever leave US by a surprise
from an enemy? THE whole line answer
ed with a simultaneous No. Its giver, on
the cherries summit of the Virginia
mountains, set us the example, and on the
18th of September demonstrated the fact.
that eternal vigilance was not only the
price of liberty, but of life and honor
Beneath the shadow of this flag, in. the
campaign now before US, viii you swear
to emulate that exampleY THE whole
line now Numbered, Yes the music beat
and the arms ratified and the officers sa-
luted. At a motion of my hand all was
again silent, and / ~proceeded.) This flag
now bears but the national ensign and the
name of the Regiment; its silken wool is
waiting for you to Intervene an 'Inscrip-
ton of honor there The 32d Indiana, a
few days since, won the inscription of
'Rowletts Station and the 9th Ohio, at
Zollicoier's defeat, won the inscription of
Mill Spring for theirs, will you, in the
coming struggle, win for yours an inscrip-
ton of honor too, or failing, die beneath
1t? No pen can describe the enthusiastic
response to this-it was wild with deter
mination, and Numbered to the very skies.
AT length 1t was silent, and l turned to
Gen. Ammen, he was white as marble, and
said, Then sir, l will now receive it and
say that our conduct in the future shall
be the grand testimonial of our gratitude
for the unexpected and magnificent gift"
The second letter is dated, Steamer
Autocrat, Ohio River, Feb. Is, 1862"
We are now about 20 miles below Can.
melton, Indiana, on our Southern ''ad-
vance" We left our Camp near Green
River, the 18th and reached West Point,
KY, yesterday and embarked. Is large
size Steamboats, constitute Gen. Nelson's
Fleet-the diana" is the flag ship and
the "Autocrat' is No. 2, with the 9th o.
+ companies of 34th Ind, . companies of
Cavalry, Oil horses and mules, wagons,
&c. l am in command of the "Autocrat."
The 9th is in splendid condition, not one
fell out on the march to the River, |
whilst from so to 500 fell out of other reg
iments; she is enured to hardships and
proof against peril. The sight of an enc
my, or the sound to advance, empties the
Hospital and banishes disease.
At Cannellton, this morning, we got Of
fetal information of the fall of Fl. DON
elson-no tongue can describe the wild
hurrahs of the II thousand troops, then
rounded to, at that Port. The feet moves
together in column" a band on each
boat, and is the grandest spectacle ever
witnessed on inland waters.
Please give my highest regards to the
'old Patriots at home, and assure them
their honor shall never be furnished by
the quota they furnished to the 24th o.
If it is her fortune to get n more clip at
the rebels, a red path of rebel blood will
mark the line Of her advance. Then on
ward in the discharge of our high duty to
the cause of civil liberty. Some of us
will never return to receive their warm
congratulations, butwhilst receiving those
who do, we know they will remember,
with undying recollection, those who shall
have fallen beneath the ensign of our be-
loved country. My last hope in the hour
of dissolution, should it be mine to die,
would be that a patriotic people at home,
would teach my children to appreciate the
cause in which 1 fell. 1t is all 1 would
ask. To have lost a friend in this strug-
gle for the preservation of constitutional
liberty, Is legacy enough, and to have fall
en- as 8 soldier in the Western Army, a |