White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1863-04-23
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I'd Ss1iseFElD. March 81, 1863.
Soi- MILLfa-S1:-I saw an editorial /,
your paper Of March l2sh. stating that you say
. petition which was sent 70 Gov. Carney, sign
I'd BY nearly the entire 18th Regiment Of Kan
sas Volunteers. Nov. in the petition whiei
We sent forth to Gov. Carney. there vas D,
such thing said - the regiment being eompos
ed of old men. eripples. persons blind Of an eye
and boys. Il vas Get forth In the petition. tia
II the men had been told by Jim Lane that thcy
we're to serve for three years. the old men thai
are wearing out their lives in the hospitals
would nov be With their families. Instead o.
that, Gen. Lane pledged his word Of honor that
Government would uphold him in saying that
we should be brought back to Kansas, and be
disbanded BY the 6nt of May, 1863. On those
conditions We eaIisted; therefore, We merely
ask Gen. Lane to do BY rs As he agreed to.
In your article Of the lath, you talk if We
we're set Of towards, had got tired Of the war
&c. Where win you hnd regiment that has
done more fighting and hard marching than
the 1917 The battles Of Cane Hill, Prairie
Grove and Van Buren, have proven to the sat-
isfaction Of traitors, also 70 Gen. Blunt. what
kind Of stuff the 18th il made Of. At the bat
tie of Prairie Grove, when the 10Th and llth
had retreated from the field, there stood the
bloody 18th, like a solid phalanx, keeping the
rebels at bay, until night put an end to the con.
fict; and not until We we're ordered from the
field three times, did We retire.
You state. towards the last Of your editorial,
that when men volunteer. they should do so
with the expectation Of going where they are
ordered. woui like to know If we have ever
refused to 60 where We we're orderedl There
never was happier set Of men in the world
than the 18th. until Col. Bowen commenced to
tyrannize over US. Then, and not till then, did
the men begin to show signs of dissatisfaction.
When Jim Lane patted Bowen on the head,
and told him to be careful OF his men, for he
had the finest regiment that had been raised in
Kansas, little did We then think he would turn
out to be the tyrant he is. On the march to
Van Buren,, we had to cross q stream about
thirty times. Instead Of having men to fell
trees across the stream. for US to walk over on.
he ordered us to wade through. The couse,
quence was. about one-third of the regiment
We're taken sick. and about one fourth Of them
died. The regiment, when it was in Atchison,
numbered $50 men; now We can scarcely num-
Der 300 1T for duty. Hard marches, and negli-
gence on the part of our Colonel to attend to
his duty, are the cause Of this brave regiment
being reduced to the number it now is.
As far as the destieution Of families is con-
cerned. that part cannot be denied; and on Jim
Lane will rest the blame Of all the suffering
which befalls those families; for If he had not
made those Promises, We should not have left
our families in the condition we did.
Submitting the facts to you as they are, l
hope you will give US justice accordingly. l
remain Your humble servant.
A SOLDIER.