New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1890-03-26


"a MULE 81 IN OUNT BY EMooNLiCHT.s
"a Brirade.s FIRST E1nerien 3. s. an, Ia,
During the Late war.
In December, 1852 just before Rose
u Grams planned to start for Murfrees-
{ boro from Nashville John Morgan
/ broke into Kentucky again on one Of
his numerous raids.
Some one had to be sent after. him.
& Our division Fourth in the Four
teenth5 Army Corps was assigned to
1 the duty. Our brigade had been sta
toned at .Mumfordsville. on the Green
River, from about the Goth Of October
until the latter part Of November, and
we had not been away from there
thirty days. This trip sent us back to
/ within three miles of the same place,
to turn around again, after three or
3 four days, and march back to Nash
vile and then on to Murfreesboro, thus
passing substantially over the same
route three times in less than forty
days; but in consequence we missed the
heavy battle Of Stone River.
When the order to pursue Morgan
was received we were in camp at 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 a return IN
to Tennessee. When near Cave City,
in Kentucky, one evening soon after
we bivouacked, we received orders to
send a certain number OF mules from
49, = ,
on the pike within our lines by g
o'clock. The strangeness Of the order
caused q 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, certain point that night he could
hurt Morgan seriously, and perhaps
capture him. He 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 he
furnished from the teams.
We had no cavalry of any amount
with us, and there was no way to get
4 Wilder's men to the point he wanted
to 90 to except to use the mules.
When it was known what was to ha
done the teamsters notified some of
their friends that if they wanted to see
a good deal Of fun in a short time they
had better be at the place where the
mules were to be taken
Accordingly quite a little party Of l1s
went. It was bright moonlight night.
It should, perhaps, be said that Of the
teams used in the army one mule was
ridden by the driver, and> the other
five may have been thoroughly broken
to harness, tractable and serviceable,
but quite probably had never been rid
den, and to attempt to mount them
was much like attempting to mount SO
many untamed mules.
The men had no saddles, and all they
could do was to jump right on to the
bare backs of the animals, or simply
put their blankets on, with nothing to
ke 1sF, them IN place;
Wnel W. ailiYeu mere " = were $, several
Z nun''ieu in III l's Oh manu. ana the men
70 mount soon arrived. Inc PIKE was
SO 1ull that mere was soon an overflow
!hto PloWeu neia along us slde, ana
ol,,;,,,o 49,, #S&Ez5l4sI
OBVIOUS reasons.
As soon as tne command mar TO mount
g came thlngs became actlve. In less
tha a nVe minutes l1 a good many men
nau oeen tnloWn on 70 Ine stony PIKE
with s u 1orce ana violence that they
were oi IS a'lte IRON duty that night,
4 anu 9uli g. q NUMBER os were seriously IN
@ureu. u soon became apparent that
me so15 proved neld was much the
safer place. and all Withdrew to that.
mere the mounting was gong on on
8 large scale. y man was thrown of
ne was not generally hurt much, as the
ground was s'i SOFT. II IS not vide OF the
/. marx 70 say that Tor some time the
air was full q j mules heels, blankets,
ana men. # considerably lS'pt 'e more than
hall OF the men were thrown OF. Some
w, Wen !, OF on the END over the - mules
mead, some on the rear END. Some
never . nrnly gained q seat, but We're
pitched about, and finally thrown off
before getting entirely on.
Tho mnct non,,,o ~, fl;,o. 80, e..