River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-12-17
MADISON CORRESPONDENCE.

Dec. 10, 1885.
1t may we'll be questioned whether
there is another State House in the
Union 50 we'll equipped to stand a
siege or withstand an assault as the
Capitol of the state of Wisconsin. 1t
has been the answering policy of the
present administration, in selecting
the force to man the various depart.
ments, other things being equal. to
appoint the men by whose sacrifices
and proves the Union is preserved
indivisable, and the state of WiscOn.
sin itself has gained a name which
will live in history as long AS the dar.
ing deeds of brave men are recorded
And thus it has come to pass that the
state house has become a miniature
garrison. and so far as soldiers are
concerned, it could be placed upon a
war footing in two hours, with a Gen.
eral Commanding, in the person of
the Chief Executive, and with a full
complement of colonies. majors, cap.
tains, lieutenants, adjutants, quar-
terma sters, ordnance officers, SER
geauts, corporals and privates, each
educated in his particular rank and all
seasoned by campaigns from the
James to the Rio Grande, and from
Eicksburg to Savannah.
A count of the veterans recently
made by curious observer, develop
ed the fact that there were over sew.
enty employees of the state who could
with pride point to an honorable rec
ord made III defense of our country.
al "A nf -
Secretary of State and one of his assist
ants, and the Asst Adjntant General
carry empty sleeves to show how dear
ly their hOnors were won. AS many
more wake the echoes of the rotnnda
with the sharp click of the wooden
substitutes for the good limbs which
are tnriching the soil of southern hat
tie fields, and many others, whose
limbs are intact, have been ploughed
and grooved with minnie balls to such
an extent that the wonder is that men
can be so torn and cut to pieces and
yet survive. Yet with all these
wounds and disabilities, the work of
the state in nowise suffers by being
ntrusted to these men, az the record
of the past four years. indispntably
proves.
Ii this garrison every branch of the
service is esented-Infantry Cav
airy, Artillery, Sharpshooters, and |
believe the Signal Corps, that very
important branch of the service, is
also represented, 50 that in case of a
call to arms, under direction of expert
enced officers, tie representatives of
the line would open up the boxes of
springfield rifles in the quartermaSter'
sloreI ooms, and filling their cartridge
boxes with 40 rounds, would take
position in the ample corridors, the ar
tillprymen would roll out the three
gun battery, hanked Ivy the beautiful
little "Gatling" and defend the four
wings of the Capitol, the signal corps
would mount to the dome and wave
the signal, seen from the Mississippi
to the lakes, that the cold vets
would Hold the fort till''-well, rs
long as the old original said he would
hold has fort, while che cavalrymen,
mounted upon master mechanic
Wright's saw horses would scOur the
neighboring country for rations, wet
and dry.
In this little army the state of Wis
consin is not alone represented, al
though great majority of the men
served this state. Other states are
represented by good men and true who
since the war have made this state
their home.
l. is not the art and practice of war
alone that gives character to these
men. In their ranks are men of rare
culture and ability. business men,
lawyers, editors, ministers, orators
and poets, men who take first rank
among the agriculturists of our state,
and even the railroad service boasts
of a number of fairly honorable repre-
sentatives. The mechanic arts are
fully represented, and there are men
who could build house, bridge, or
ii steamboat. and having built the lat.
ter. could man and run 1t, captain, pilot
and engineer stepping 20 the front at
the call of the general commanding,
just rs at Chattanooga the men in blue
turned a saW-mill into Il steamboat
and operated it successfully in the
transportation of men aud stores.
This letter is becoming somewhat
proliX, and it is possible that some of
your non military readers may observe
that there is a good deal of ''bugle"
mixed through it all, although there
has been nothing said about music,
martial or otherwise, 50 far. Well, the
Dugler played no unimportant part in
the field. and now that his services are
no longer required to call the boys
from the sleep of life to the sleep of
death as he did in many a midnight
fray, it may not be greatly amlss TO
call the people of our state from the
sleep of forgetfulness occasionally,
and keep alive the deeds of the men
whe in the days that tried mems
sous, were themselves tried in the
fercest of fiery furnaces, and were
not found wanting. | am not blowing
my own bugle. AS my own part was ill.,
significant and unherOic, but | am
proud to be associated with hundred
men whose personal records, if writ
ten out in full, would make an epic
grander than that of UIysSec.
g. B. NJ