The National tribune., 1883-09-20
SAVED BY AN AK.
A Curious and Stirring Incident of the Battle OF
Nashville.
To the Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:

To the Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:
As a reader of THE TRIBUNE, and an ex-
soldier, | feel constrained to contribute occa-
sionally some little incidents of the late '.un-
pleasantness" While our brigade, the Third
OF the First division, Fourth Army Corps WAS
lying in camp at Pulaski, Tenn, in the month
Of November, 1864, watching and waiting for
the "on to Louisville movement" of Hood,
most of the boys, with tireless energy charac-
terstic of our northern soldiers, had pat up
wooden houses" The quarters of the Sew
enty-ffth Illinois regiment particularly struck
our mess as being very neat and cosy. The
men of that then skeleton regiment had riven
ont Eastwood and chestnut slabs of good width
and about five feet long, and setting them up
right, with about foot planted firmly in the
ground, and pup tent roof over that, made
very eommodious soldier residences-not the
equal of brown stone 'front.'" bur tiptop for
an old soldier. Our mess longed to put up such
a shanty, but we had no AK and could not bor-
row one until, late one rainy morning, mess
in the Seventy-fifth, after cutting frewood for
the night, unguardedly left nice little ak
leaning against the back of the cabin" and
thereupon Comrade Henry Whitney stroled
over there to admire their quarters and some
how that lonesome little ak, standing out there
In the wet, mysteriously crept under Henry's
overceat, and he tendery carried the little
thing 1t was a daisy AK over TO our tent, and
we put it TO bed with Us just underneath the
bottom blanket And in day or two, with the
assistance of this little helper, we erected nice
story and q half soldiers winter residence
We clung to our faithful AK through the
marches, skirmishes, and battles back to Nash
vile; and in going into battle on December 10
the writer, whose turn it was to carry the AK
was too reduced and weak to carry anything
more than gun and ammunition, few rations,
and poncho being sick with lung fever in first
I IL Il. L
give 1t TO the pioneers when Corporal Frank
Beeson, lusty and hearty young fellow of our
company, proposed to carry it if we would give
1t to him, and we did so, and accordingly strap
ped the ak transversely across his breast, the
pole well UP to the right shoulder and blade
resting but a few inches below the chin, while
the lower part of the handle was made fast to
the waistbelt just over the left hip And with
the AK made fast to him in this manner, ne went
into battle, and en- the 18th. about noon, should
think, while our regiment was double-quicking
into position on the right of the Franklin pike,
il the face of shower OF shot and shell at toll
erably short range, Beeson, myself, and several
other comrades a few feet in advance of the
companies of the right wing of our regiment
sprang across small brook just as the order
came to "Iie DOWN." We dropped on our
faces just in time to escape a withering fire of
canister and rifle bullets / remained in
this position, fattening myself as close to
mother earth as possible. CHANGING up side
wise at Frank, l saw he had turned upon his
back, and, as we were almost exhausted with our
long run, i'll order to rest himself more comfort
ably, had hunehed his knapsack under his neck.
Just then | noticed crash and heard Beeson
groan. He lay by my side entirely limp, and
at the same moment Sergeant Potter, OF COM
pany A, was struck q few feet to our right, and
thinking my turn was liable to be called next,
| buried my face in the wet grass, when / was
seized with fit of coughing brought on by my
hard run. In moment the corporal was car
ried back across the stream, and a few moments
later crawled back and lay down behind
rail barricade, Thrown up in few seconds
and soon my attention was attracted to the ak
the boys had unstrapped from Beeson's body,
and on examination found that ragged piece
of she'll had struck the helve of the AK about
ne-and-a -a-half inches below where it entered
the ak and shivered the timber and separated
the fbers of that tough hickory stick, making
it look as if it had been crushed between the
grinding teeth of huge monster. And the
shattered ax-helve mutely attested the saving
OF the life of gallant and faithful young SOL
dier, for the corporal (whose gold pen and some
other articles in his vest pocket had been fat
tened by the fierce blow recovered from the
shock, and in few weeks returned to his COM
pany. Had not the helve of our little AK pro-
tected his breast as it did fearful hole would