The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-02

> conspicuous garment Oh ali oiuCS ohN III OLA
quarters yesterday. The men who carried mus
ket and sword on the weary marches and bloody
fields Of TIE great Rebellion gathered from all
directions, and every county in the State was
represented by its delegation of Boys in Blue. y
Everywhere the veterans INDUCED in reminis-
eences of bivouac and battle, and exchanged
recollections of the stirring days and exciting
scenes Of war times. Journal reporters, ming
ling with the old soldiers heard many of the
stories told. among them the following
Said Mai. Charles L. Holstein: zone of the
heroes Of the war about whom too little s said
is the army surgeon. His work not only re-
CURED the highest medical skill, but often times
required equal bravery with the soldiers on the
field of battle The army surgeon was appre-
ciated by the armies. The medical department
was one of the most important parts Of great
army. The duties of the surgeons were many
diverse, complicated, and not infrequently dam
gerous. They were often under fire, and many
wero taken prisoners. A good surgeon was as
valuable to a regiment as a good colonel D.
5. was our family physician before and after
the war. He a very learned man.
He spoke German. French and English.
f,,s comn lad Of English was good, but now and
then he got stuck o.. Eora. ne always "anse 81
10 be nicely accurate. He we." WIZ Sr nJ 70
the first Indiana regiments, and s.. thras
the war He was taken prisoner two 10
LINES, At Stone River one evening, after u.
tight OF the day over, he inadvertently
walked into the rebel lines. On one occasion he
was certifying the discharge of a soldier on ac-
count of disability Being uncertain as to a
word he asked his assistant whom he called
Doc If thence" was an elegant expression. Ger
tainly," said Doc. So he used it, and when the
division surgeon was shown the certificate 1t read
that 80 was discharged on account of an aneu-
Yism of the right arm received five years hence
He was mortified nearly to death when his at
tention was called to the mistake he had made,
and he forever held grudge against his assist
ant because he had imagined he had mlsled HIM
purposely, though he had not. OF couse, what
he meant to say was that the injury had been
received five years before. The army surgeon
was one of the hardest worked men in the army
and the medical profession covered itself with
glory during the war. The life of an active ply
S;c,an =, ,.n.-;o-s erc"ch .. home. t us ~ is
sasy to imagine how his iabors We're multiplied
h the field during the war.
sThe first view I got of General Sherman"
Esid Lieutenant Thomas Hough, twas at jack
son, Miss. was in the Forty-seventh Indiana,
General Stacks regiment, and on the day of the
battle was out on the skirmish line in command of
the company. We were in among the briars and
was not only ragged, but barefooted, having lost
my shoes and been unable to get apother pair.
Old Tecumseh rode up to me and wanted to know
why was barefooted. told him. AS looked
At him in his dingy uniform and with the ragged
straw hat his head, it occurred to me that
according to our relative ranks dlgnlhed my
position quite as much as he did his. Something
Of the kind must have come to his mind, for he
didn't press the matter but turned and rode
away
speaking of General Sherman" said Capt.
VIM. NJ Meredith, formerly of Company E,
Seventeen Indiana Regiment, now living at Chi
eago, II called on him at Washington about
three years ago. / was introduced to him by
Colonel Corbin as Captain Meredith, of the old
army The old hero gave me a warm clasp Of
the hand, and. probably 10 put me at ease acted
as If he knew me very well-~that l was in fact,
IN old acquaintance hope you haven't come
here for an Office, Captain he said, for don't
believe / could give you anything you would
Ike have.fwith twinkle in his eyel several
thousand places, but they only pay $l3 u month.
think it would be a good thing, in 1888" said
the Captain, ito nominate General Sherman for
the presidency. After his election he would
probably find a good many places for the old
boys, and the places would be worth more than
$lS q month, too"
fraud 80 far as any good they did was con-
cerned. They were a cowardly lot of cold
blooded murderers and it did the boys good to
pay them back in cold lead whenever an oppor-
tunity offered. l remember an incident that oc-
CURED at Spanish Fort back Of Mobile Three
or four of us were walking along on the side of
hill protected from the rebel rife-pits when we
met an Ohio soldier who had just drawn his ra-
tons and was walking along with his arm bent
60 hold the crackers. We spoke to him pleasant
" and passed with laugh at some camp joke.
The moment after we heard the ping of rifle
ball We ducked, and as we turned there lay
the Ohio soldier we had just spoken to, CULVER
ing in the last convulsive agony 1t was wan
ton, useless murder. The bullet that killed him
had come three quarters of mile, evidently
from some tall pine trees The next day light
battery was detailed to try those tree tops. The
pines were fairly riddled, and we had the salts
faction to see some of the murderers tumbled
out Of their covert in the top
Harry Adams was member Of my company
in the Twenty sixth Indiana said Captain Court
Whitsett He was a little fellow, lean but
tough, but in September, 1861, we came near
losing him. The regiment was ordered from St.
Louis to go up the Missouri river to the relief Of
Colonel Muligan, who was besieged by General
Price at Lexington. Company l was stationed
A line Of cracker barrels had been placed there
rs q temporary breastwork and protection from
the guerras. and above the barrels, to help out
bhe breastwork were nailed two-inch joists,
night inches wide and twelve or fourteen feet
long AS the boys had eaten the crackers the
barrels had been kicked out of the way. Late
pne afternoon the boys were eating their suppers
and Harry had placed his tin cup with the
Doffee, waiting for it to COOL on
top of one of these joists. About
that time big fellow leaned back against the
frail support, yawned and stretched. The ioist
same off, and Adams was in the river. The boys
ran and told me of the accident, and FASTENED
10 the pilot. But that functionary would not
stop the boat without an order from the captain
Of the boat. We found the captain after time,
and ne stopped the boat long enough to drop a
Eawl with number of men in it to go back
after Adams, who was by that time nearly three
miles away. We knew he was alive as, in the
dusk. we could see him waving his cap. He had,
by the greatest good fortune, caught the joist
that went oYerhoard. and il kent him afioat ntil