The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-08-27
STONES RIVER.
The 1Olst Ohio Claims All the Glory Of Capturing
the Guns.

To THE EDITOR: have been an interested
reader of Gen. Carln's Military Memoirs" as
had the honor of belonging to his command.
Noticing slight inaccuracy in his statement
in your issue of March 10, relative to the cap
tured guns at Knob Gap, Dec. 26, 1862, had
thought of correcting; but supposing that an
ADLER pen than mine would, no doubt, set mat
tiers in their proper light, retrained. In your
issue of July 80, a short communication from
Serg't Yost, Co. A, 2lst ILL.,, entitled The Cap
tured Cannon at Stones River" places the
1Olst Ohio under everlasting obligations to Co.
A, 21st H., who so kindly took that gun for u.s.
and dsdaining such small matters, fastened
afoot after Wharton's cavalry.
No doubt the recent effort of Wade Hamp-
ton, claiming to have turned the tide of battle
at first Bull Run, where, almost single handed
he withstood two divisions of Union troops,
has afforded our friend of Co. A an i'luStrlous
precedent. As lone who was there" L most
emphatically deny that the 10lst Ohio had any
assistance in capturing that gun either from
Coils. Alexander or Heg or from Co. \, 2lst Iii.
Allow me rs briefly AS possible to say that
the 101st Ohio, i'll common with other troops
raised about the same time, had committed the
objectionable crime of receiving $40 from
Uncle Sam as advance pay and bounty, aud
when we reached Louisville late in September,
at the time the army OF Buell. had reiterated from
Battle Creek hungry, weary, footSore and
TdSStu, our DElSub DcN dCtCu uiboh
them somewhat as a red rag is supposed to do
with Spanish bull and we were 90 mercenares,"
to whom the $40 was the chief attraction, while
they had enlisted solely from patriotism, and
they took especial pains to let us hear fire.
guently that we were g forty dollar men," who
would run at the first voley, etc.
Col Stem the soul of honor and courage and
wlthal as gentle as a woman, felt keeniy the i'm
putatlOn upon the character of his regiment and
when opportunity offered at Knob Gap, instead
OF waiting for the skirmishers of the 2lst H.
(who were on our right to go ahead, as ScrS
Yost says, had the audacity to order a charge
and as the result we captured a brass six
FOUNDER marked Shiloh" a caisson, FIVE good
horses and three or four prisoners. Now, in
conversation with those same prisoners they
also forgot to mention that they had been cap
tured by the 21st Ill.,, but said. having given us
the best they had OH hand until we were less than
hundred yards away, they tried their level
best to escape, and, perhaps, would have sue
ceeded had it not been for few scattering
shots which some of the boys, in defiance of
previous orders, sent in that direction, which
killed one of the horses and, while cutting
loose from the wreck, gave us time to reach
them. Try again, 2lst. We always liked you,
even ifyOu did abuse us when ''greenics" for you
afterwards made amends like men. When the
smoke of battle cleared away from Stones River,
where We left both of our Colonies and 212 Off
GERS and men out of total present of 400, you
acknowledged that we would fight, even if that
$40 was black mark against us. So we after
ward played drawpoker" with you on many
a well-contcsted field we "chuck -a-lucked ";
we drank from the same cantcen; we Skin
mished in glad fraternity along the seams of
our clothing for tho immortal graybs ok, and
with the same degree of freedom with which
you ruined our character by foraging on our
credit during that memorable march through
Kentucky in pursuit of Bragg, we afterwards
got more than even. Nothing would give us
more pleasure than to meet you in friendly
reunion and talk about days lang syne" If
memory serves me right, there were twO guns
captured at Knob Gap by Carlin's Brigade, but
this is the first intimatiOn / ever heard that
the 101st Ohio made a charge in rear of the
skirmish- line of the 2lst I'LL. A. STEWART,
Co. +, 101st Ohio, Nevada, o.