The National tribune., 1886-12-30


part of September. have the date at home.
j might say that my recollection of the whole
matter is based upon memoranda
WRITTEN ON THE SPOT
of every days proceedings, which now have
in books"
"Comrade Frankenberry, will you give
narrative as you recollect il of the passage OF
the Hold the fort signal?
"Gen. SheTman's army was in the city Of
Atlanta and in that vicinity Kenesaw Mount
ain is 81 miles northward in an air line from
Atlanta, and Allatoona is still northWard Is
miles from Kenesaw. Gen. Sherman, seeing
the impossibility Of getting the telegraph, used
this line of signals from Atlanta northward.
Our party erected the station at Kenesaw,
hauling the lumber up from the country be-
low. We planted post firmly in the ground
and built the station around il. On the post
we planted telescopes, from which we saw
the two stations at Atlanta and AllatOona.
The object Of building the house around the
telescopes was TO protect them from the wind.
We had torches 10 use at night and flags to
use in the daytime. / remember the difficulty
OF finding the station at Allatoona, and we
were more than day and a night in finding
it; bat we finally got the telescopes firmly
FIXED UPON THE SPOT,
and we did not lose it again while we remained
there.
When Gen. Hoods forces came around in
the rear was upon KeDesaw Mountain. Lieut..
Fish and party were also there, having arrived
several days before this time This was on the
4th Of October 1864. remained on the mount
ain part of the time during the night of the 4th,
and was also in Marietta, Ga, and on the
picket-lines.
Early on the morning of the 9Th Gen. Sher-
man and many other prominent officers came
upon the mountain, perhaps 30 or 90 in num-
Der. Gen. Sherman was very inpatient be-
cause We did not send signals 10 Allatoona.
We could not do SO on account of the fog and
the smoke
FROM THE REBEL CAMPs
which interviewed between us and the station
at AllatoOna. Continuously at short intervals
We sent the messages, not knowing whether
they were received or not. We got no reply.
j do not know of any such message rs Hold
the fort for am coming being sent 10 Ala
to0na. but / understood that message of this
kind had been sent TO Gen. Corse at Rome, Ga.
This message, as / understood il, was as fol-
lows:
CoRsE, Rome Ga:
Fly with your command 10 Allatoona Hold the
place, will help you.
This was by the direction of Gen Sherman.
He, in a letter 10 me, says he gave the sub
stance Of the dispatch, and the signal officer
reduced il 10 the fewest words possible to ex-
/ press the sense We transmitted this message
! from kenosaw 10 the signal officer at AlatOOna,
/ and lac had il tclcgraphed 10 Rome. There was
no signal officer with Gen. CoTse at Rome, and
no line Of signals from this point TO Alatoona
where the messages were telegraphed, thence
to Rome. The dispatch
REACHED CoEsE JUST ~ TINE.
! IN fact, the rebels could have thrown his train
OF the track and stopped him before he reached
/ Allat0Oua. His arrival there was fatal 10 thC
rebels The other command could not have
! held the place.
soon the battle began Ia all is fury From
/ the distant hight Of Kencsaw we witnessed Che
conflict our Gag told Corse THAT Sherman wa,
4 there. sherman was very impatient, exceed
/ inply so. Coming into the station he desired
] 10 look through the telescope aud see for him
4 self Has eyes Herc ultcrthan ours and Wc had
10 change the focus. 1t WAS an hour Of sus
/ pcn5c 10 him. / was looking through the tplC
/ scope On the afternoon of the 9Th, and saw tho
4 signal Gag 20 up 40 Allato0ua. i cried, Their,
goes our hag!" All was hustle and confusion
! The flag said
: Wounded Ia three places, but able to whip al
4 he'll.
THE dispatch was signed 'Corse.' Shcr
man was iubilant on the receipt Of this mes
sage. A!latooua was safe and he could 70 Q,
4 the SEA- lle could not have gone IL AliatOOu:
] had been taken II the supplies stored there
4 bad been destroyed be could not have repaired
the damage until too late TO have gone thai
/ FAIL
The Gag used al Kcnesaw in the transmits
sion Of this message is al the present time ia
mF possession. helped 10 patch D., and after
wand took il of the stat, replaced il with an
other, took possession Of IL, and have retained
/ ID ever since. did not steal it. None Of sacr
4 mans men
EVER STOLE ANYTHING.
The far is about six feet square. made o
white muslin. with "a rcd square center"
Comrade Eunkonhcrry, what did Won fni
20 criucise iu Cpmr.dc lishs agtIcict2 asked
/ IHE NATIONAL TRIBUNE
llc left Connolly and his party entirely on
Of the narrative. They were GA Kenesaw al
day Of tho 9th aud all that night !, myself
was on duty aud sipnaled that night Kencsau
was the central station there, through which
all messages TO the whole army were sent Tn,
station on kenCsaw was away up ia the air
and the army was far below Us. Eish's party
I AZ lr4frT Al. n