The Van Buren press., 1866-08-18

"
ArkansaS Infantry, Soon after th, or.
ganzation, the regiment was ordered to
the Missouri border by the State author
tiles and remained in that field of dut,
until September. Having voted To b,
transferred to the Confederate Service, il
was then ordered to report to General
Albert Sidney Johnson, at Bowling
Green who was cndeavoring to mass Il
force sufficient to be able 10 withstand
Gen. Buell. threatening Nashville from
the Ohio River, and Kentucky, with til,
most formidable army of the best troop
thssederal Government had put in tn
ficId. At Columbsls, on it, march, III,
regiment witnessed the attack OF naya
expedition against Columbus, which was
easily repulsed from the works by tn,
Contederates in occupation
At the crossing of the Tennessee Riv
er. Col. lyons was killed by the fall o
his horse with him, from Il precpitou,
bank of the river in the night upon tn,
event OF which untoward calamity, Lieut.
! Col. Hawthorne was promoted Colonel
and Capt. Pcay, of the Capital Guards
was elected Lieut. Colonel
Soon after the arrival of the Regimen
at Bowling Green, it was ordered on dut,
nthc front, forty miles, to Cave City
FEBRUARY the lIth 1862, while Pillow was
repeating assurances of his ability tC
hold Fort Doneson against Grants land
and naval assaults, Gen. johnson fcl
back rapidly to Nashville, where he arri
we'd the day Of the surrender Of Doncl
son, the 10Th. This retreat through muo
show and ice, was one that fully tried the
endurance of the men exposed 10 it, many
of whom did not survive it, but Of which
those who did will retain lasting rccolcc
tons From Nashville the army was i'm
modiately marched to Murfreesboro, and
remained until ordered to Corinth Miss
where it participated IN the bloody hattlC
of Shiloh, April 6, in which Private
Brookin was twice wounded slightly. lI'
was also in the battle Of Perryville, Ky
from which the army rctrcatcd to Knox
! vile. From Knoxville being ordered tt
Murircesboro the armies of Bragg an,
Roscncrantz met there in the dreadful
conflict of Dec 3ist, 1868, in whicl
Capt. Flctcherof the Capital Guards, wa'
seriously wounded, and Private Brookil
| slightly. Always in line when fghtin,
was to be done, Brooliin participated witt
lSs usual alGcriIy and GOOD humor OK
pressing surprise that he escaped bein,
wounded there rs he expected and dcsi
red, wanting, rs he said, a = notch 70
each battle, to count them by. In th
fight at Liberty Gap, 2jth and 26th o
April, 1853, two days fierce encounter
from which the army fell back to Chat
tanooga
lnthc great battle Of Chickamauga, l9t
and 10Th of September, Clcburne's Di
vision, in which Private Brookin serve
is thought to have turned the tide of hat
tic at Il critical moment in favor of tb
Coufcderatcs. Ii rendered equal scr,ic
Immediately aiterward at Mssionar
Ridge, where the Confederates sui
mittcd to Il causclcss defeat. Clcburn
occupying Tunnel Hill, Tennessee
with one Arkansas Brigade and two Reg
imcnts, in which Private Brookin occu
pied a place, holding his ground all da
against repeated assaults Of Sherman
whole Division never dreaming of dis
astcr to the rest of the army. On the re
treat that night to Ringold, Cleburne'
! Division covered the Confederate rear an,
laid the well known ambuscade by whicI
it came near retrieving the losses of tn
day, and held lIooker's Corps in checl
with ease and without support. Novcm
bor 18th, at Tunnel Hill, Georgia, i
again repulscd the cncmy's advance guar'
and fell back to Dalton. where the arm,
remained until May s, 1864.
While at Corinth, Private Brookil
Fmadc an unsuccessful attempt. throngl
the regular channel to obtain furlough
His Brigade and Division commanders
rs an indulgence he had mcrited by hi
unfaltcring devotion to duty, approved ,
second application and permitted him
contrary To rule, to take it in person {,
General Bragg, the severcst disciplinari
al and most unapproachablc officer in tn,
army. Brookin went boldly into Bragg
quarters, prepared for severe reception
and laid hisapplication before him. Brag;
looked at the paper and then ut the sol
dier and quietly remaIking, that it wa
no time to lose good soldiers" disappro
we'd the rurlough without the customar,
rcproor. But after the arrival of the ar
ny at Dalton, during the respite that fol
lowed, Brookin obtained the long covet
cd permission, and set out on his visit t
his wife and friends in Arkansas. lie m
rived at Camdcn just as she was leaving
for Little Rock, having waited in cXp"c
tation bnt despair Of seeing him. upQ,
Che expiration Of his hrough, ynon h,
was about to start to rQioi. mis- compan,
in Ecorgla, several citizens oflittle Roe
at |a;hdea, offered to present him with
,io"s2 but he declined the Gift, becaus
ne said that an infantry soldier who cx
pected to render future service had n
business on horseback. With his knar
sack on his shoulders, he turned his fac
to the trying duties awaiting him, an
J gf,,<x an. 4. 4. 4