The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1890-04-12

A Brigade's first Experiences Mounted
During the Late War.

broke into Kentucky again on one OF
he numerous raids.
Some one had 10 he sent after him.
Our division-thc Fourth in the Four
teenth Army Corps WAS assigned TO
the duty. Our brigade had been sta
toned AZ Mnmforlsville. on the Green
River, from about the 2Olh OF October
until the latter part Of November. and
we had not been away from there
thirty DAYS. This trip sent us back 10
within three miles OF the same place.
to turn around again. after three on
four days. and march back TO Nash
willie and then on to Murfreesboro. thus
passing substantially over the same
route three times in less than forty
days; but In consequence missed the
heavy battle of Stone River.
When the order TO pursue Morgan
was received we were i'm camp ut or
near Bledsoe's Greek. We moved
rapidly. and came SO close TO Morgan
that he was beginning To shy off. and
was heading evidently for return i'm
10 Tennessee When near Cave City.
in Kentucky. one evening soon after
we bivouacked we received orders TO
send certain number of mules from
each regiment train 10 certain point
on the pike within our lines by .
o'clock. The strangcness OF the order
caused good deal OF curiosity; but
upon inquiry we soon found Col.
Wilder of an Indiana regiment and
commanding the First Brigade OF our
division had become possessed OF the
idea that If he could get his command
TO a certain point that night he could
hurt Morgan seriously, and perhaps
capture him. lie was SO full of en-
thusiasm over the project, and had SO
much faith in IT, that he finally pre-
vailed upon our division commander
TO issue the order for the mules TO be
furnished from the teams.
We had no cavalry of any amount
with us. and there was no way To get
Wilder's men 90 the point he wanted
10 go TO except TO use the mules.
When il was known what was 10 be
done the teamsters notified some Of
their friends that if they wanted TO see
good deal of fun in short time they
had better be at the place where the
mules were TO be taken.
Accordingly quite a little party of us
went. Ii was bright moonlight night.
1t should perhaps, be said that OF the
teams used in the army one mule was
ridden BY the driver, and the other
live may have been thoroughly broken
10 harness, tractable aud scryiceable.
but quite probably had never been rid
den, aud TO attempt 10 mount them
was much like attempting TO mount SO
many untamcd mules.
The men had no saddles, and all they
could do was 10 jump right on TO the
bare backs OF the animals. or simply
put their blankets on, with nothing to
keep them in place.
When we arrived there were several
hundred mules on hand, and the men
TO mount soon arrived. The pike was
so full that there was soon an overflow
into a plowcd field along its side, and
in a short time all took 10 the field for
obvious reasons.
As soon ms the command To mount
came things became active. In less
than five minutes good many men
had been thrown on to the stony pike
with such force and violence that they
were disabled from duty that night,
and quite number were seriously in
iured Ii soon became apparent that
the soft plowed field was much the
safer place, and all withdrew TO that.
There the mounting was going on ON
"A large scale. If a man was thrown of
he was not generally hurt much. MS the
ground was soft. 1t is not wide of the
mark 10 say that for some time the
air was full Of mules heels, blankets
and men. Considerably more than
half of the men were thrown of. Some
went of ON the end. over the mules
head, some on the rear end. Some
never firmly gained scat, hut were
pitched about and finally thrown OF
before getting entirely on.
The most common thing was for "A
man to jump on. think he was all
right, but before he was fully satisfied
he would find his mule prickiug up its
ears. getting under pretty lively mo-
ton. and the next thing he would
know hc would find himself suddenly
going over the mules head. The mule
would run "A short distance. and balk
or jump stiir-legged suddenly, aud
come TO dead halt The man always
went of over the mules head. Some
of the mules would rear. some kick.
Most OF them would give kind of
sqneal as they started. They ran in
any aud every direction. ran into each
other. and such general mix-up no
man ever saw before or since. IL was
so light that we could see distinctly.
Talk about sport nj circus nj seeing
one or even two trick mules performl
IInrn twa E....I....H al
forming ut once. II was circus COM
plete.
The men were plucky though, and II