Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1864-08-11

Our Army Correspondence.
NEAR ATLANTA, GAL
July 28th, 1854. !

NEAR ATLANTA, GA,
July 28th, 1854.
MEssRs. EDIToRs.-In your issue of July
l4th you condence and publish synopsis
Of letter from reliable correspondent"
in the 18th regimer.c, which is calculated
to infict great injury upon gallant officer,
Captain Wilson Of Co. c, particularly in the
following sentence :-"But Captain Wilson
is, if his statements be true, and we have
no reason to doubt them, highly disqraced,'
having imbibed so freely of the intoxicating
cup SO as to be wholly unfit to perform the
!, duties required of him, and while his COM
pany was engaged in the fight, he was lay
ing under tree, not aware that they had
been called out" Now, Mr. Editor, l
claim to be as well acquainted with the op-
erations of the 18th Wis. Regt. as your
correspondent is, and I cannot but look
upon the above charge as one calculated to
cause an inference to be drawn wholly with
out foundation, and which is calculated to
do harm and that only.
The impression sought to be made, is,
that if Captain Wilson had been sober, ne
would have been at the head of the compa-
N.Y. leading them on in the expedition
aforesaid. This impression would be a
false one, and few words of explanation is
requisite right here, to disabuse the minds
of your readers. First, then, the forces
employed on the 18th of June in the attack
referred to, consisted of detail of 25 men
from each of eight companies Of our Regt.,
beginning at the right. The officers who
were in charge Of these men were also de-
tailed, their names being Captain G. B.
Whelock Of Co H Lieut.. F. Hoyt, Co. I !;
and Lieut.. Reynolds, Co. A. The whole
under command of Captain Maxson of Co.
A, who volunteered to lead the expedition !:
thus you will see that Captain Wilson was
not detailed, and consequently had no 6usi-
ness with the expedition. Whether Capt
Wilson was drunk at that time or not, [
do not propose to decide but if he had
been as sober as rock, and as anxious to
90 out at the head of the boys, as you are,
to reach the head of your table when hun
cry, he had no right to go until others whose
names preceded his on the "duty roll, !"
had been called on, and had failed to re-
spond. That Captain Whelock and Ben
nett preceded him for duty know to be
true, and, as Captain Whelock responded,
there was no demand for Captain Bennetts,
let alone Captain Wilson's presence and
service.
Thirdly, wish you and your readers to
notice, that in consequence Of the forego-
ing facts, Captain Wilson's laying under
tree during the attack was not crime, and
the fact Of his being drunk at that pre-
else time, fact of which / have no know
ledge, was not crime either, so far as the
expedition was concerned
You further remark, "our correspondent
charges him with being coward and i'll
treating his men," Now, Mr.. Editor, when
the copy of your paper, to which refer,
came, where do you think found Captain
Wilson I will tell you. He was laying
wounded in our Division Hospital, having
been shot in the leg, during the 21st inst,
just after he had returned from leading his
company in that gallant charge which cost
the Regt. 152 men, and Co. G II, of which
four were killed outright, and one has died
SINCE
| have enquired Of many, both officers
and men, as to Captain Wilson's personal
bravery, and I find it almost universally
endorsed and approved.
1t used to be considered good policy for
people who lived in glass-houses not to
throw stones at their neighbors, and it
would look as well for those who accuse
others of cowardice, to charge in the same
direction that their officers do, when fight
ing and not writing is the order of the
day, charging others with drunkenness, to
quit indulging in such "disgraceful acts"
themselves.
Hoping you will publish this, written
without consulting, and entirely unknown
to Captain Wilson, SO that justice may be
done an efficient and gallant officer,
I remain yours truly,
HENRY j. WALKER,
Chaplain 18th Wis. Infantry.
A CHINESE TRICK.-The Custom