Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-08-11

Second made the whole trip, and
were the first Union troops the rebels
down there had seen. As we came
to this little town, rebel flag was
streaming from a pole in a dooryard.
1t was the first rag of the Confedera-
cy my boys had seen, and they said
it must come down. Cheers.l l
anticipated no trouble, but after the
boys went up there, I heard some
shots, and then went up. A young
rebel had heard of our coming to the
town, and had raised the flag as a de-
fiance and menace, and he said it
should float if he had to protect it
with his life. He got chance. He
said, with his revolver drawn, as the
boys came up, that the first man who
laid hands on that flag he would
shoot dead. The boys proceeded to
take the thing down-and he got
killed. How he was killed, l don't
know exactly. Philo, there point
ing to Mr.. Case again, sitting near
by, holding the same old drum that
he drummed through the war can
tell you more about that than | can.
|. Mr.. Case-"The fellow said he
would shoot the first man who dared
even TO touch the flag or staff, and
the boys went for it. He tried to
shoot, swapping his revolver twice.
He didn't get a chance to snap 1t
again. His flag came down and so
did he." CHEERS.
The General--Well, that's the sto-
ry of it. l didn't see that part of it.
l saw the flag after 1t was down,
though, and saw the foolish young
rebel lying there dead. That's all I
know about it, and perhaps am re-
sponslble. If so, | have nothing to
take back. Our business down there
was to put down the rebel colors,
and of course we commenced as soon
as we saw where the work commenc.
ed. Cheers. The boys in taking
down the rebels flag had to shoot
the rebel to do it, and to save their
own lives to do it, and so l am
charged with numbering him.
SHOOTING REBEL BRIDGE-BURNERs.
AS to the shooting of men after
they surrendered, these are the facts:
The Rebels had been burning the
railroad bridges and tearing up the
track, to keep the Union troops from
getting to the front. They were try
ing to throw trains off the track, and
weaken bridges so as to let whole
regiments down into cuts, chasms,
and rivers, hoping thus to kill them.
Well, sent Lieut.. McKenney (now
Gen. McKenny, who was command
ing Company A of the second then,
as gallant a soldier and as noble
hearted man as ever lived, but who
always meant business as much as
any man 1 ever knew to stop those
murderous depredations. By little
strategy he managed to catch a lot
of them in the very act. Laughter
A gang of them were tarring rail
road bridge ready to burn 1t just be-
fore a train, coming with a large
number of soldiers on board, had
reached it. Well, in catching the
fellows at it, he hurt some of them.
Laughter and applause
The first reports l got of the affair
were from the Rebels. "Mac," af-
ter attending to this gang, had gone
on to catching others. The Rebels
came in whining, and complaining
that my detachment of troops had
murdered some of their friends, or
shot them after they had surrendered.
l told them to wait awhile and l
would inquire into it. Pretty soon
'Mac" and the boys came in. saw
that "Mac" had blood in his eye
Laughter. l asked him what he
had been doing. He said he had
caught some of the devils, and had
stopped 'em. Laughter He had
caught them tearing down and burn
ing the bridge, and they had got othurt.
l asked if he had killed them. He
said he guessed so-as they didn't
move any afterwards. l asked if it
was 50 that he had shot them after
they had surrendered. He said it
wasn't so, that he wouldn't let them
surrender. Cheers]. He said edo
you think l could let those fellows,
who had already murdered some Of
our Union troops, and were trying to
do it again, come up to me with their
hands all tarred over, in an attempt
to do it again, surrender? No, sir.
couldn't do it, and I didn't. One
lot of them have stopped their dew
iltry now that l know of, and more
of them will if l can catch them" -
Applause]. What did I say? Did
/ rebuke "Mac" and his gallant
squad? l said, "you have doneright;
and do it again, whenever and where
ever you catch any others at the
same sort of deviltry." Those we're
the fellows am charged of having
murdered after they had surrendered.
They didn't surrender. "Mac" would
not let them. Cheersl. There were
no more bridges burnt on that line
while l was in command of that road.
Soon after we left, they burned a
bridge, and threw train into the
water killing a number of women
and children. They thought they
were laying the trap for a soldiers
train. But the night passenger hap
pened to come first, and so the sol
diers escaped. I only wish that
"Mac" and his squad had been there,
and caught them setting it on fire.
ANONYMOUS LETTERS.
These, fellow-citizcns and neigh
bors, are some of the many charges
made against me, and sent to me
daily by the score, anonymous let
ters. l cannot refer to all of them.
They can prove up many like things
on me, and on any Union officer or
soldier who was IN the war and tried
to do his duty. We were down there
to make war-not merely like Ben
Hills rebels, to hug the Constltu-
ton.
In having done my duty as a sol.
dier, in my humble, and yet earnest
and well-meaning way, l am now
called, after l have left the Demo
cratic marty. 4 robber. 4 burner of