Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1886-11-19
SOLDIERS DEPARTMENT.
PITTSBURGH LANDING.

following is an abstract:
General Wallace stated that he hac
selected as his subject the second day.
fight at Pittsburgh Landing. ut may
well be presumed" he continued, "tha
all of YOU, citizens as well as soldiers
will agree that it is perfectly proper fol
me to hoighten interest in my subject by
rcsorting to such accessory incidents n.
may be at hand for that purpose; par
ticulariy If, while min stering to your
pleasure, some service may at the same
time be done the cause of truth. The
battle itself-that of Sunday-is such an
accessory, but in spite of its opportuni-
ties for fine writing, will put 1t by, be-
cause was not there. Having learned
by personal experience how sweet JUS
tice is when one receives il, and also
how hard it is to endure injustice, | am
resolved to confinc myself to those mat
tcrs in this connection which lie in my
own knowledge and are admitted facts.
The accessory next to the battle is Cen
cral Grant, and here / would like my
veteran friends to look back on their
field memories and see how fixed and
vivid some of them are. Once, while
fighting was going on, l came upon n
Confederate sitting with his back TO n
stump. He was laughing, The sight
irritated me. | checked my horse and
was about 10 speak to him when | saw
he was dead. The awful iollity on his
face will stay with me for life. Another
time, from my place behind the line, |
caught n soldier running away and
stopped him. He looked Mt me once.
The diocy of that look is another of my
fadelcss daguerreotypcs; yet he was
only panic-strickcn.
"On another occasion l had TO pass a
long stretch of unsheltered road under
heavy fire of shells. My horse could
not he made TO 20 out of walk, yet |
recall nothing of the affair as graphic
ally as the little spurts of yellow dust
that shot up around me, telling where
the iron fragments fell. Again, riding
i'll front of reg mont advancing, arms
right shoulder ft, l heard n round
shot 20 past and strike behindme. The
peculiar sound of the blow made m3
turn, and | was in time to see the arm
of n man, cut clear from his body d
naked and ST n, its thumb and fingers
all wide spread, flying like n stick end
over end in the air. OF long nights,
slccpless though not all awake, that ap-
partition returns TO me rs clear to view
and horrible as in the moment of its oc-
currcnGc. So, doubtless. we all have
recol.cctans of pleasanter kind-of the
Colonel rs he went down the rear rank
galloping aud brandiShing his sword
and yelling to quicken on the file firing.
Now, as then, come to you after incon-
gru!tics of time and place for which
there is no accounting. One man in
particular comes to me. lo ! oks
always exactly the same. He rides u
tall bright bay horse with n Generals
trappngs. His figure, judged through
n full-capcd blue overcoat, is rather
low, but he keeps his sad lie easily and
well. III hands arc gauntleted and his
sword in the scabbord. A broad
br.mmcd, unpl1med black hat is drawn
down close upon his brow, yet | sec
beneath it Il ruddy.iaced man, with q
yellow tingcd, close-cropped beard.
The clear gray eyes look into my eyes.
The thunder of the guns is in the air,
blent with an under monotone, which
the uninitated would say was the noise
OF workmcn, riveting all at once the
boilers of thousand ocean steamers,
but having heard it often, you and
know it Tor what it is-thc infantry
plying each other at clo.e range, The
noise does not listurb my horseman.
He is slightly grim-a man appreciativc
and with Il vast interest at stake could
ha dly be othcrwlse-grim but calm,
deliberate, imperturable. A few
words said in the tone in which far
mers discuss the crops, pleasant good
day. and he rides away. 1t is the
vision in my heart photographed of
General Grant as he came to me in the
morning, then in the evening, of the
second day of Shiloh. So perfect in
every deta | $ the figure, SO distinct its
expression of face, not to mention the
sound of the voice, that do not need
portrait of him-or, rather, il is all the
portrait do need; and | cherish it rs
that,of the greatest soldier of the great
est war of the age, who, while he did
me the greatest possible injustice, had
afterwards TIE magnanimity to reverse
his opinion and do me the greatest pos
sible right by making the reversal en-
duringly uClic."
After an interesting narrative of the
prelminar,eS of the battle the lecturer
gave the following vivid description of
his first night in the field:
There was no light in the sky, and
upon the earth not even campfire.
Darkness was about us. An orderly
who had carried dispatches for us was
the only man in the command who was
in the least acquainted with the locality.
With him, the blind leading the blind,
al.
burgh Land ng. expected to be met
Mt the bridges by guide. Then the
heavens opened and deluged us with
rain. Finally. when to my best guess
the whole division had come upon the
high ground, called Il halt, and, as
alignment was impossible, directed the
ch cfs of brigades to draw their men to
the right hand S dc of the road and let
them rest along ii as best they could,
first p exciting on the other side.
rode then to find General Grant and
re- ort. We stumbled frequently upon
groups of stragglers and questioned
them. Where was General Grant?
They did not know. Sherman? They
did not know. McClernandP They
did not know. Or the divisions, any of
them? They did not know. Or their
regiments? They did not know. Or
the enemy? o, just over there! But
no two pointed in the same direction
From the moment of entrance into the
road between the landings the advanced
guard had been sometimes amused,
sonnet mes angered by stampcded men,
some hatess, some shocless, some naked,
having thrown oil Their clothes TO swim
the creek, and all, of course, without
arms. Where they were or where 60
ing they did not know or seemed to
care. To stop the command Halt had
been as effective rs TO powders leaping
down hill. TO questions they had one
reply; we've been cut to pieces. Then,
without knowing it, they translated
the cry of the French dying from Water
loo: Save yourselves! save yourselvesH
and plunged onr and now that we had
at last gained the field, here were strag-
glcrs singly and stragelers in groups,
but where was the army Fearing to
get separated from my command re-
turned tO il. resolved as Mcpherson