Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-11-15
FoE THE soLDIER BOYS.
act Observations from the Pittsburg

The question Is often asked. "What
does the Grand army doq' Tt does a
great deal, bat is done quietly and with
out flourish or trumpeJs. It's sick and
needy are cared for, its dead are buried
and the widows and orphans Of all sol
diers are looked after the soldiers or
phans' schools carefully supervised and
homes and positions provided for those
who finish their terms in schools.
The details OF the work do not con-
Germ the general public. therefore 1t is
not bulletined. Consequently the gen
eral public is curious to know what the
O. A. +. is fit for anyway. 1t is a close
corporation. so to speak, no one being
eligible as q member except he be an
hOnOrably discharged soldier. The Presi-
dent Of the United States cannot be q
member unless he has an honorable dis
charge from the Army. There are no
honorary members.
Among soldiers there is a sort of sa-
credness about the Grand Army. To
them it has no political significance, but
Is a reminder Of the days when they
marched with knapsack, box and gun
through sWamps and over mountain and
plain-nOt on parade, but surrounded
with the dread realities of war. Uni
forms were not so bright and faces so
clean, but they were not on exhibition.
They were just as jolly then as they
were yesterday while marching along
Fifth avenue. Some might have been
Cursing THEN hard lots on account of
/ sore foot or shOrtness of ratiOns, but that
would all pass away with big tin full of
strong coffee and pipe of tobacco.
In connection with the organization of
! the Grand Army there is a bit of history
not generally known, audit is as roman
tic as it is interesting. Whether a thor
Ough investigation of the facts viii bear
it out remains to be seen, but it is not at
all probable that as good soldiers as
those whose names are connected with
it would set up false claims, knowing
they must be found out.
The story Of the organization as told
by Capt. Alex Compiler, Company ID,
One Hundred and First Pennsylvania
Volunteers, may not be new to all, yet
but few have heard it as he tells it.
Captain Compiler and his company
at Plymouth, n. c., April 2, 1864, and re-
moved to AndersOnville, where the pri-
Yates were placed in the stOckades and
the officers sent on to Macon, Georgia,
and placed in Camp OglethOrpe, a stock
ade which had Just been finished. The
fall Of Atlanta necessitated their reno
val from there and they were shifted
from place to place until they landed at
COlumbia S. @.
While on the march from the depot to
the camp at Columbia, Captain II. S.
Benner, OF the One Hundred and First
Regiment, secured the recognition of
two fellow MasOns who slipped him
pair of shoes and some provisions. The
shoes being too small for him he gave
them to Captain Compiler, who IN turn
sold them for $50, Confederate money.
With this money he bought an axe, and
not an extra one either but as good as he
could get for that amount of money.
The first thing we did with the axe
was to slip out on two separate nights
and kill a bloodhound each time, thus
making escape that much easier. After
the dogs were killed the prisoners were
! taken out to the insane asylum. 1t was
| here that Captain AIcKage, assisted by
/ two other prisoners, composed the song,
| "Sherman's March to the Sea-" A Miss
/ BlOunt, of Columbia, kept the prisoners
/ posted as to Sherman's movements, but
/ the first that was known of his arrival at
/ Columbia was an order to run the
! prisoners to Charlotte, N. c., without de-
/ lay.
While camping in a cotton field, Cap
| tam Compiler amused himself by cutting
down a small maple tree with his $50
axe. Sitting on a stump he called a
number of men around him by yelling
"fresh fish" When the tumult caused
! by the false alarm Of fresh fish had died
| down, he proposed that they form the
/ organization of old soldiers that they
had been talking about during their cap
! tivity.
Captain Compiler was made chairman
of the meeting, and Major ID. w. Mullln,
of the 101st Regiment, and now a resi-
dent Of Bedford, was secretary. A com
mittee prepared q constitution, substan-
TALLY the same as that Of the G. A. R.,
which was signed by all the soldiers
| present, there being representatives
from every State in the Union except
South Carolina. The paper was signed
in the latter part Of February, 1865.
They held regular meetings until the
close Of the war, by which time they
had so perfected the organization that
every member was prepared to establish
lodge wherever he went.
In the fall Of 1865 Captain Compiler
went to Blair county, where, with Cap
tain MCKage and Captain Huff, a meet
ing was arranged. About fifty soldiers
were present, all Of whom joined the as
ISOLATION, which was then called the
Grand Army Of the Republic.
Captain Alex. Compiler is now a resi-
dent of Nebraska, having moved there
from Bedford some time after the war.
This interesting sketch Of the formation
Of the @. A. r. was given at a meeting OF
Iex-prisOners Of war, held at Bedford last
spring, which was attended by Captain
/ Compiler and others who figured in the
organization of the order, which now in
cludes in its memberships large major
ity Of the soldiers Of the late war. There
are posts In every State in the Union,
4 and in almost every town or city.
Throughout the North posts are scattered
through the country districts as well as in
the towns.
Shortly after the G.. A. G. cot under
full Roadway politicians took a hand In
running it, and it was only a short time
until it was run into the ground. Ohio
had been thoroughly organized, but one
campaign, In which the posts were per
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