The National tribune., 1885-01-01
FIGHTING THEM OVER
What Our Veterans Have to Say About
Their Old Campaigns.
THE GUN CAR.
Another Interesting Account Of The Operations o.
the Port on Wheels


Another Interesting Account of The Operations Of
the - Fort on Wheels
ToTuE EDITOR / was much delighted while
reading IN your issue of Dec. IL an article with
the above title signed Battery Schwartz" 4"
Weston, Kan, and was made glad TO hear that
even one of the old crew was yet alive. But
when lac asks why it was that nothing had
ever been printed IN your columns about Gen.
Logan's gun car" felt all over that perhaps
was the chap to blame for the omission of such
an important part OF the Fighting Them
Over column of your paper, and with your
permission will try to supply the missing his
terical link.
The car was built at Jackson, Tenn. in the
Fall of 1852, by BIssell's Engineers Missouri
volunteers upon a suggestion of Maj. VIM
Tweeddaie, of that regiment, TO Gen. Logan
Substantially as described and for the purpose
already mentioned" / cannot give its history
during the Winter. but hope "B. So will yet
do so. However, in the Spring of 1863 the first
battalion of my regiment was charged with the
duty OF repairing aud building bridges on that
part OF the Memphis & Charleston Railroad be-
tween Grand Junction, Tenn, and Corinth
Miss, and this gun Car was assigned to its sta
tion as vanguard TO the construction train
which had been placed a our disposal. 1t was
my fortune 10 have command OF this train and
the gun car daring its most active existence
The names of the crew were Sergt VIM. s.
Morgan, Corp J. Il. McFall, Privates John &.
Bell, Fred. Tinker, Ed. Il. Kelly, Sarn'l Moore,
all of the 18th Ill.,, and another whose name
do not recall {"B. s." suppose)
The train hands were 10 men of Co. T of my
regiment, al well armed with good rifles and
provided, besides the gun car with box-c ir
iron-pated on the top and sides. and q row of
loop-holes cut in the sides about twothirds of
the way up, for our rifles. A good supply of am
munition was kept on hand, and with buckets,
axes, bars. jack-screws, and other tools for duty
or emergencies; and thus, another "fort on
wheels" was added to the train. In this car
We ate. worked. slept or fought, as duty re-
quired.
The country was swarming with guerrillas
in several known hands; those of Capt Smith
and Col. Street being the most annoying to us.
However, We always kept sharp lookout and
managed to know their position the most OF
the time, and our cavalry scouts kept them
quite busy in keeping out of the way of car
bines and the forts on wheels"
Our train was not furnished with good loco
motives; they frequently gave out on the road,
and the guerrillas knew it and took every op-
portunity 10 obstruct the track in order to cap
ture us. The first disaster of this kind hap
pened to Lieut.. Goodrich of my regiment, who
was running in my place during my sickness
for few days. While the train hands were
loading gravel at Salisbury for road ballast,
the Lieutenant with engineer and fireman,
ran out towards Grand junction to pump water.
When less than mile from Salisbury man
appeared on the track ahead swinging dan
ger-sgnal: as socn as the engine was stopped,
Smiths band of guerrillas at once confronted
him, and treating him to yo.iey of carbine
music demanded his surrender, which was
complied with promptly. Smith took the men
from the locomotive and pulling open the
throttle-valye with a rope started lightning
express new system towards Memphis.
Luckily the switch to our accustomed siding
at Grand Junction was turned so that the run
away buried itself in a mudhole at the west
end of the side-track, tOlerably well used up.
Smith told Lieut.. Goodrich that he had watch
ed him at Salisbury, and guessing at his inten-
tions had :" hit him hard, and would have the
gun car next" But the cavalry scouts over
took Smith near Ripley. Miss, few days
after, and in the confusion of the battle Good
rich got away. A broken axle on the next
engine was supplied in few hours from the
ruins of a buried box-car near by and was run
into the repair shops in Memphis the next day
Here we were given a huge old iron mine,"
as the boys called it, named 81 Iowa," and four
or five cars loaded with stores for the troops at
Pocahontas. Having suspicion that our pom
derous Iowa would prove too much for some of
the old bridges on the road. put all the cars
in front OF the engine, and SO proceeded to a
bridge half mile east of Middleton, where
We left the Iowa bottom up, bridge ruined,
and had to push our train of seven cars by
hand, singly, up grade for more than half a
mile, keeping them close together and good
watch out for surprises. Coupled up at the
top of the grade and ran with our own impe-
tus about nine miles, or TO within two miles of
Pocabontas. We learned a few days afterward
that Street and his band had watched our
whole proceedings, but concluded it unsafe to
attack us. The next locomotive sent us was
the U. s. Grant, but it never reached us-burst-
ing fiue and killing four men while standing
Oh the track near the place of our last disaster
The fifth engine was a good one, and with it
we made regular daily trips with passengers
from Grand Junction to Pocahontas. Many of
the passengers looked upon our armed escort
with astonishment and curiosity, but consid-
cred themselves perfectly safe with the fcrts
Oh wheels"
On the 18th day of June I was ordered to
report with train and all hands to Mai. Gen.
r j. Oglesby, commanding at La Grange, for
tour of inspection on the Mobile & Ohio Rail-
road north from Grand Junction TO or beyond
Bolivar, over a portion of the road which had
not been used for about nine months, and to
provide for trip Of, possibly, three or four
Gays. Capt. Garretsons company of the GID
HI, about 80 men, was our escort, and a second
class passenger coach was attached for their
use. We were to go as far as possible, report
ing progress and prospects by wire, and for this
p1rpose an operator, named Eemphill, was
ssnt along, with pocket instruments and some
other necessary tools.
We were ready on the 18th, but did not get
orders. Early the next morning, being little
uneasy about our trip, wrote to friends at
home that deemed the expedition perilous
one and IL they did not hear from me again
within week to make inquiry of Col Henri
Fad, Bisseil's Engineers, Memphis, Tenn.
left the letter in the Adjutant-Genera Office
and, receiving final orders went towards my
train, meeting on the way Sergt Morgan, look
ing anxious and excited, saying that our loco
motive and engineer had been ordered away,
and stranger with poor machine had been
give US, which, be declared, meant disaster.
did not share his anxiety openly, but re-
turned TO headquarters 10 ascertain the truth,
where | was informed that the change had
been ordered TO get an engineer who knew
the road perfectly" i told Morgan the fact,
to which he replied that he guessed as much,
but was satisfied that il meant death to some
ofGs. We left Grand Junction at 10 o'clock a.
m, passed mile post No. II at 11:50 and ran
into a bridge at Coldwater Creek at just 12
o'clock n. The bridge had been prepared for
our destruction: the timbers had been cut
away and burned; the ties of sawed plank
were left hanging to the rails by the spike
heads, the boltcd fsh-bars, holding both in
the natural position, deceiving every one of us.
But we went down right there the gun car
first, the locomotive and tender next fort No.
2 next, then another car, and the coach on
top Of ali, In a confused, struggling roaring,
clar cf nd 4