Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-08-23
A WAR RELIC.
Curious Document from an ArI.ap
sas Battlefield.

/ Washington county, Arkansas. was
fought on Sunday, Dec, z, 1862. The
forces engaged in the bloody conflict
were commanded on the union side bv
Gen. Heron and Gen. Blunt. and on
the confederate side by Gen. Hindman.
The numerical strength of the armies
was about s, 900 on the union side and
"a, 900 on the side of the rebels. Our
townsman, Col. D. Wickersham, was
there with two batallions of the 10th
Illinois cavalry regiment, and he was
in command of all the cavalry on the
field that day.
The purpose Of this brief mention of
the battle of Prairie Grove is to intro
duce to notice relic of the dreadful
strife. This relic is associated with a
curious experience of the chaplain
present. He, sometimes afoot, and
then again mounted on his horse.
passed through our lines, surveying
the carnage until finding himself on
a slight rise of ground in the rear of
the cavalry and about half a mile
from battery of the enemy, a dis
charge of grape shot fell within twenty
feet of him. Not being much accus-
toned to that sort of business, he did
not think about getting out of the way,
but continued to survey the exciting
struggle of the armies. Very soon,
however, another shower of the dead
ly missiles was belched from the
enemy's cannon, and this time fell i'm
pressively just a little nearer the
chaplain. Get out of there? Of course
he did, and not too leisurely either.
But for all that the man of the Cos
pei had not persuaded himself that the
firing was meant for him. But late
that afternoon, when the field was
ours, and the foe had silently fallen
back into the shelter of the adjacent
forest, the following precious piece of
military literature was picked up in
the enemy's deserted position And
not until the chaplain read number
second" did he fully comprehend the
danger he had been IN, and the blum
der of the Gen. Hindman's artillerist
in thinking that he was trying to kill
a commanding officer, when he was
only aiming at a chaplain.
ADDRESS TO THE TROOPS.
HEADQUARTERS FIRST CORPS TRANS
MISSISSIPPI ARMY IN THE FIELD, Dec.
4, 1862. SOLDIERS; From the COM
mencement to the end of the battle
bear constantly in mind what [ now
urge upon you:
/. Never tire because your comrades
do, nor because you happen to see the
enemy, nor for the sake of firing rapid
ly. Always wait till you are certainly
within the range of your gun; then
single out your man, take deliberate
aim as low as the knee, and fire.
1. When occasion orders, be sure to
pick off the enemy's officers, especially
the mounted ones, and to kill his ar
tillery horses
3. Don't shout except when you
charge the enemy. AS a general thing
keep silent, that orders may be heard.
Obey the orders of your officers, but
pay no attention to idle rumors or to
words of unauthorized persons.
4. Don't stop with your wounded
comrade; the surgeons and infirmary
corps will take care of him. Do you
go forward and avenge him.
5. Don't break ranks to plumber; if
we whip the enemy all he has will be
ours; if not, the spoils will be of no
benefit to us. Plunderers and strag-
glers will be put to death on the spot.
File-closers are especially charged with
this duty. The cavalry in rear will
likewise attend to it.
Remember that the enemy you en-
gage has no feeling of mercy or kind
ness toward you. His ranks are made
up of Pin Indians, free negroes, south
ern tories, Kansas jawhawkers, and
hired Dutch cut-throats. These bloody
ruffians have invaded your country,
stolen and destroyed your property,
driven your children from their
homes, and defiled the graves of your
kindred.
If each man of you will do what I
have here urged upon you, we will
utterly destroy them. We can do this
we must do it; our country will be
ruined if we fail.
A just God will strengthen our
arms and give us glorious victory
t. @. HNDMAN,
Major General Commanding.
Official: r. @. NEWTON, A. A. Gen
eral.
The chaplain referred to above is
the well-known Francis Springer, of
this county. He has an original copy
of Gen. Hindman's address in his pos
session, possibly the only copy now in
existence. 1t is printed on a 1Ox4l
inch slip of fimsy paper, in coarse
BREWER type, and constitutes in its
tone and spirit one of the mostremark-
! q hle nroOfS of tho doSnnpoto obopo o+o,,