The National tribune., 1890-12-18


On the fact Of its publication alone he must
/ have been dismissed.
The soldiers will be glad that honorable dis.
charge was subsequently, substituted for dis
honorable dismissal; and in your love FOR him,
comradc, and in our respect for his good fight
ing at Pleasant Hin let a vail drop there.
Not less than our comrades Of the Sixteenth
Corps must we stand by our own officers
! Emory. Dwight Mcmillan, with Grover Birge
aud Others OF our Second Division, aud Ran
som and his subordinates Of the Thirteenth
Corps; all are names that we shall not cease 10
honor They were not incompetent or
drunken imbeciles who led the corps that
never lost battle flag" through the carnage
of the Opequan and tho shifting charges Of
Cedar Creek. For them we claim place with,
not above other honored names
OF COmrade McMaken's hardtack" there
/ yet remains the fragment relating 10 certain
movements differently detailed by Greeley and
/ Admiral Porter, and another given by the 29th
Mes rcgimontal history. OF these know the
] latter 10 be correct as 90 the movement Of our
/ regiment For reasons that ] have already
! given, 40 such movement Of the Third Brigade
as Greeley relates could have taken place after
the fighting commenced. With regard 10 Adj
miTal P0rter's statement I viii say that his
narrative puts the hour Of $3.50 p, ~, or shortly
4 after, as the time when the Second Brigade
withdrew from the front TO support the First
aud Shaw's moved into the vacated place. lie
\ also fixes O'Clock as the time of 0peuingof the
/ main attack. In this case the expression
withdrew Ia good order" is necessarily aud
simply verbaEe aud does not signify that the
author meant that fighting was in progress;
certainly u never gave me such impression, rs
/ i had become accustomed TO the Admirdl's
ditfusc style and habitual use Of needless
/ phrases.
/ think no one can doubt the correctness Of
/ Comrade McMakcn aud Others, when they say
i that Shaws Brigade relieved the Second about
! 9 a. m, and that the Admiral is wrong about
/ the hour We did not see the Second Brigade
1 during the battle, and do not know where they
were. IL viii be noted that both the Admiral
Il and COmrade McMaken agree that Shaws men
/ relieved the Second Brigade. These two battles
were my first engagements / WAS among the
+ younger ones aud didn't like the dismal business
at Pleasant Hill of taking fire without returning
1 it. At Grand Ecore three DAYS later / was
swapping experiences about TINS battle with
some friends Of tho Both Nc. we didn't
/ get pop at them" dOlcfully remarked. " Ii
was all pop where were," rejoined Lieut..
/ J. X. Richardson, OF the 30th. who sat by, writ
/ ing letter. Ills regiment had suffered much,
but worse was ahead for il, and but few days
! later the sanguinary charge at MOnets Bluff
4 cost them fearful loss and the Lieutenant was
/ permanently crippled. The enemy had passed
a strong force around while we lay nj Grand
Ecore, and straddled oar road at the crossing Of
Cane River. Emory put our Third Brigade,
! with Birge's, Of our Second Division this bri-
gade having met us at Grand Ecore on the re-
! treat, across the river, while the rest Of his
/ command land suppose the Thirteenth Corps
! also) demonstrated TO the front and left. The
/ battle made by these two brgadcs was next in
severity 20 those OF Sabine Crossroads aud Pleas
ant Hill. Asat Pleasant Hill. so here didn't
7 get "A pop ut ihcm. but was on q skirmish-line,
hRafi half iau 9s.aF, in nod
1 forest where we couldn't even End an alligator.
4 The rchs across on the Bluff seemed 10 know
I that we were there, however, and hunted for
Z Us with artillery whose shots came fairly close.
1 Meanwhile Smith S boys were entertaining the
4 fellows from Texas who were anxiOusly inter
/ viewing the rear. We didn't worry about mis-
/ chief from that quarter. Serg't lllOtson, Co.
4 i, 9Th Wis., inquiries in THE NATIONAL TRIB-
UNE how IL would have been if smiths
! Guerrillas" had not been there on the retreat
! from Grand Ecore? About as with the
/ monkeys, Sergeant, that couldn't get over the
/ river The troop was small aud needed more
monkeys 10 enable them 20 form the usual live
/ bridge. But Smith and Emory so managed the
job that we al got over.
At Alexandria the 10Th Ne. with the Goth
4 Wis, Of the Thirteenth Corps, were detailed en-
tire foT the construction Of the dam which saved
4 the 1eet, This, j suppose, was a sort OF punish
ment for mailing from umbering States. Some
+ years later at the home OF a friend in Mime
/ sofa, i met casually cOmrade from the 29ih
/ Wis, whom ] remembered seeing down there
f The bond Of acquaintance was 4 catfish which
+ some Of our boys had pulled from the river aud
sold to this comrGde, our regiment being under
marching orders. Now catfish is good but
good things must not be OYeEdOue. aud the
/ cOmFade told me they had too much supper that
night. Other troops also worked on tic dam,
4 but j do not remember what Oucs. j wish TO
\ acknowledge correction from a conradc Of the
4 41th Pa, relating 10 the service of that rcgi-
ment, aud 10 return thanks 10 many for kind
words 10th written and published.
The Nineteenth Corps has so often been
mentioned Eastern troops that / wish TO
state that IN It's Second Division were three
Indiana aud three Iowa regiments, with an
4 Indiana light battery; all Of which were present
at the OpeqUan aud Cedar Creek.
sincerely hope that i have done no one in
justice in the articles I have WFitten.-J. T.
! CUTTER, Co. K 29th Me-
D. 4 4 -