Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-05-01

Of q 1ed-marshal. He was an excellent tao
tician, much better than Meagher, whose chief
value value was In his fame and eloquence,Iandi
could In moment assume command, WELD 1T
with clear eye and sure grasp. Pat Kelly was
the most quiet gentle, kindly soul in exisf once,
modest nature was fired by the most i.eroic
courage and inspired by q single-hearted
patriotism and devotion to duty that modestly
recalled that noblest Roman, General George
H. Thomas.
Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Kelly, of the Sixty
third, belonged to the combative type OF Irish
man OF which Cavanagh was SO good an ex-
ample; one of the men with so many and such
sharply defined angles that it is not easy to
narrow and obstinate at times but frank and
warm-hearted, with q courage conspicuous
among this eminently brave race. At Antietam
he was shot through both cheeks, making a
CHASTITY wound; but still, with his speech SO
checked that he could not articulate, he tried
him of the field. The Sixty-th:rd was small
regiment, but not q whit behind the others
save In strength. At the close of the Seven
Days Retreat occurred little incident which
fastened the brigade to General summers
heart with hooks OF steel. Some muskets were
OF course lost and thrown away on that pro-
longed retreat, but astonshingly few, all things
considered. Every case that came to General
summers notice angered him beyond bounds.
W hen one morning officer of the Eighty
eighth came to him with a requisition tor
quite a number of muskets, Sumner broke out
violently, denounced bitterly men who would
lose or abandon their arms, and ended by say
ing, You shall not have those muskets, sir.
III take them all away from you and make
f sou Urine men dig trenches. such men are not nj
The officer listened calmly to this TRADE, and
then said, You're mistaken there, general
We've not lost them nor thrown them away"
~ mere are they, them? said Sumner.
"Outside, sir. l thought maybe you'd be
The general went out. and found a pile of
muskets with cracked and splintered stocks,
bent barrels, and twisted bayonets.
''HOW Is thiS?'' said he.
"Its the Eighty-eighth, sir,' said the officer
1.-The boys got in q scrimmage with the Tigers,
and when the bloody villains took to their
knives the boys mostly forgot their bayonets,
but went TO work in the style they were used TO,
and licked them WELL sir"
AS Sumner gaZed on these speaking witnesses
OF desperate pluck his rugged face sOftened,
and, generous as he was hastv, he said q few
words which warmed the hearts of every Irish
man in the army that heard of them. From that
time we used To say that the general thought he
could whip Lees army with the Irish Brigade
and Pettits battery.
AT Antietam came
THE GROWING GLORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADE.
When French's division, containing many new
troops, was so roughly handled the brigade was
sent in on the left of Dunker's Church, and
slowly forced the enemy back beyond the
famous sunken road which had been filled with
corpSes by an enfilading fire from one of
batteries. and presented the most CHASTITY spec
taeie OF the war. Using this lane as q breast
work they held 1t to the close OF the fight losing
not Il prisoner, having not one straggler, but at
u loss OF life which was appalling. One regi-
Ao.o hCt'ilS MY per CcHt, dIotutT ONcI
tnlrty. The rebels seemed to have special
spite against the green flag, and five color
bearers We're shot down successfully in Il short
time. AS the last man fell even these Irishmen
hesltateu "a moment to assume a task synony
nous with death. Big Gleason, captain of the
oNtE-thlrd, SIX feet seven, sprang forward and
snatched it up. In few minutes bullet
struck the stan, SCATTERING it to pieces; Gleo-
son tore the flag from the broken staff,
wrapped it around his body, putting his sword
nj over it, and went through the rest
OF that fight untouched. l met him day or
Two alter. We'll, Gleason" said /, "they didn't
hit You. "Divil welt" said he, "barring
what PADDY ONeale gives me when he kicks
me out of bed in the morning. Major O'Neae
Was his commanding officer and terminate, and
found 1t necessary To use strong means to set
such a mass i'll motion. Al Fredericksburg the
brigade had the honor of leading the attack on
their portion OF the line across the open plain
against the concave line, bristling with artil-
lery, OF which Maryes Heights was probably
the very strongest point. Their behavior on that
day can be best summed up by saying that
when they came together the corpses that
dotted that CHASTITY plain, the dead of the Irish
brigade lay IN line nearest to the fatal stone
wall of all that undertook that hopeless task,
from their own charge in the early forenoon TO
the last attempt OF sykes regular after sun
down. EDWARD FIELD,
Captain Fourth Artillery.