The Forrest City times., 1888-01-14
cb,okamauga.

Niles F. Cook. or fLihS EiN"'
 to the front during the rebellion m 'he Twent eth Ohio Battery, and had an experience at the battle ot ChieSa- mauga which he will ever remember He says:
 "On the first day of the fight our bat tery was charged time after time' put i ve repulsed the Confederates each f me unt about mil-afternoon. A raw regiment was then brought np to act as support for the battery, and at tne very first charge thev 1ed in Wild as order. We were left stark alone on on open ground and though we gave them double charges of canister tne Confederate lines swept right up 10 our oups and over us. was shot in the arm and leg, and was left lying on the Oround with scores of others when the guns were drawn off
 ..As soon as l could look around mo I found that the man on my right who
 was wounded in the hand. shoulder
 and thigh, was Confederate. He was
 a member of the Ninth Alabama h.
 fan,rv-one of the charging regiments and his name was 4. k Carter
 There were other Federal and Con f.derate wounded around us. and the
 ground was covered with dead men
 and horses. dressed Carter's wounds and he dressed mine. and with the roar of battle around us we became the best
 of friends. None of the wounded were removed that night, and early next
 day the ghouls began to appear. saw
 a number of Confederates robbing the dead and wounded. and by and by member of Hoods Texan Rangers ap- proached us. l had on pair ot new
 boot, of fancy make. and as he came
 m he ordered me to pull .hem oil I replied that l was wounded
 and could not do it. He remarked
 that he would have them off in q Jlily' and he seized mg foot and drew the boot in a rough manner. The other leg was the wounded one. and as he
 grabbed my foot 1 cried out with the pain. I was then braced up against a
 bank of earth in a sitt ng pos ton. and
 the wound had become very painful.
 Carter reproyed the Ranger for his
 want of feeling, an with an oath he dropped my foot and D cked up mus
 ket with bayonet attached.
 | Il believe he meant 10 kill nIe. but
 as he thrust at me the ayonet passed
 through my right hip and entered tue earth pinning me fast The merciless
 Ranger then picked up mY foot, braced
 one of his feet aga nst my bodt, and
 pulled off the boot. Everything turned dark to me, although 1 d not. lose
 consciousness. He was going away with the boots under his arm when
 Carter reached over and possessed 1 h mself of a revolver from cavalry man holster. and taking careful m across ng legs he sent a bullet nto the
 Rangers back anu dropped him dead in his tracks l expected we would both be murdered for this but the fel- l lows own comrades came mp and
 agreed that 1t served him right They
 raised me ID, cleaned the bavonet of
 all dirt, and then pulled it out as care- ful as possible.
 l Just below us was a bit of swamp l and Carter. myself and several others managed To crawl down to it. There was bed of soft, wet muck into which 1 we burrowed clear up to our chins, and we were there another twenty-fOur l hours before the Federals came to tako us off the field The mud-bath was ] doubtless inc means of saving our i lives. as it kept the flies away. stopped | the loss of bIooi. and acted as a dress l ing. When they came to wash me off l n hospital the flesh about my wounds
 was as wh te as chicken meat. and the
 soreness had nearly all sappeared. Carter WAS taken to the same hospital, | but never saw him after yards. But
 for him I should certainly have been i murdered b. the Ranger, and t was he i who revengel me. He may yet be
 living. and if so I would give more to
 receive word from him than l would to
 be appointed a member of the Presi- | dents Cabinet "-Free Press.