The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-01-09

Continued from LIST page.)

battery he told Stewart that he wanted him to
make u full report of that action. and to men
tion all the men who had distinguished them
selves
Whereupon tho Old Man replied: "In that
case General, will simply have to append to
my report tho
PREsENT-FoR.DUT ROLL OF THE BATTERY,
sIR!"
This amused Old Griffin, and afterward,
when | was his Orderly, he spoke of it more
than once, saying that Stewart and his boys
must have been on very good terms with each
other!"
[NoTE.-This affair, as related. was so re-
markable, that we have investigated it. Gen.
Wainwright, in his'oilicial report, says
"The enemy having pushed battery down
the Mechanicsvile road into position to seri-
ously annoy our advancing infnntry, Stewart
was ordered Hp to silence it. With his accus-
toned dnsh Stewart went in battery at gall
lOp, unlimbering his guns under heavy fire of
canister, which had checked tho infantry.
After brief but desperate conflict, Stewart
succeeded in destroying tho enemy's battery"
Recently we personally asked Gen, Joseph J.
Bartlett if he recolected the affair, calling his
attention to the details as given in the " Rem
iniscences." lie replied that There was no
event in the war that no remembered more
clearly. / never saw anything like it," he
said. 81 wouldn't have supposed that man or
HOTSe cOulu nave llVcu u minute WHcre SJeWATL
unlmbered his battery. But his boys proceed
ed to business in tho most methodical way,
and never saw anything like the devastation
they wrought in few minutes | would not
have believed that battery could fire as rapid
ly rs they did, and at the same time with such
precision. ."-EDIToR.
After it was all over Gems. Griffin. Bartlett
and Ayros came into the battery. and showered
congratulations aud compliments ON Stewart
and on tho men individually. Old Griffin and
Ayres, being veteran Regular artillerymen,
were particularly enthusiastic.
Gen. Griffin noticed piece of courtplaster
on my eyebrow, and that the middle finger on
my left hand was done up in rag. ('rhis was
from my fight with Paddy Harts man two or
three nights before, as already stated.) He said
" | SEQ you have been hit slightly" / replied:
"Oh, sir, that was in previous engagement !"
This made tho men laugh, but the General
thought it was all right, and did not take the
pains to tell him what kind Of an "engage-
ment" it was.
Gen. Bartlett said: "Boys, / have seen
good deal Of artillery practice but | never saw
one battery chaw up another as you did that
battery this afternoon"
Our losses here were two killed and 10 or IL
wounded, TWO or three oil them mortality but
IL was miracle that any escaped. Nearly all
the men at the guns and many of the drivers,
however were moro or less hit or scraped by
splintered up good deal, but don't recollect
that any of them were completely disabled.
We may have had TO replace wheel or two.
After the war | got acquainted with gentle
man who was in that Confederate battery. He
told me that they had eight men killed and
about 15 or 90 wounded and lost nearly 80
horses, and were so crippled that they could
not have hauled their guns off but for the help
of their Infantry. He would not believe me
when told him that il was
OUR FouR-GuN BATTERY ALONE
that did the business. He was sure we must
have had eight guns in position.
] suppose one reason why Stewart displayed
such unusual feeling in this affair was because
many of his hest men had their terms of enlist
mont expiring in few weeks, aud were about
TO leave him. and he was in hopes they would
re.onist up 10 the last moment. He hated TO
lose these men aud did everything TO persuade
them 90 re.onlst. Few of them did, however.
not because they disIiked him or the service of
tho battery, but simply because they had been
fighting ever since Bull Run. aud thought they
had done their share; besides, many OF them
had been wounded in previous battles. and the
horrible fatigues and privRtions of this cam
paign had made their old wounds troublesome.
This wRs really the last fight in which all tho
"Old. Old Veterans took part Their terms
of enlistment expired rapidly during the next
few weeks
hated TO see them go, but could not blame
them. They had enlisted in the Spring Of 1861.
aud had been in every battle oil the army up
10 June. 1864. Out of nearly $50 originally
detached ont of the Iron Brigade, and 80 or 40
out of Patrick's Brigade, there were not moro
than fj or 80 left now. aud no one could say
they had not done their whole duty. do not
suppose that one of them had had a furlOugh,
or hardly pass. to leave their command in
three years. except when they had been to hos
pital with wounds.
Sngularly enough, none of these veterans
whose times were about TO expire were killed
or crippled in this desperate encounter But
II the veterans did not re.cnlist, they wound
up their long, splendid careers in q perfect
blaze OF glory, and could well afford 10 retire
on such laurels. No wonder Stewards good
old heart ached 10 see them take their honor
able discharges and leave him. They were the
pride of his soul. 1t seemed TO that he
never took quite so much interest in the bat
terry after they were gone.
Under our system the artillery was thank
less service. aud tho conditions that prevailed
during the war made service in the Regular
batteries moro hopeless than ever in the volun-
teers. See the service that Stewart did from
the Fall OF 1861 to the Fall of 1864 1t took two
years aud eight battles TO raise him from Second
20 First Lieutenant. Aud when he reached
the latter rank he could get no further, because
Gibbon remained Captain of the battery In the
Regular Army List till the end. though vol.
uuteer Major. General of two years standing,
aud finally commanding the Twenty fourth
Corps, while still our Captain. The same was
true of GriHin's battery. He remained its
Captain even while MaiorGeneral command
ing the Fifth Corps. and blocked the promotion
Of Haziott Rittonhouse, Kingsbury, and other
Lieutenants who fought it-or diod among its
guns-to the end OF the war.
And IL was even worse with the detached
volunteers, who made up the rank and file.
When they first joined. in 1861, they found tho
non commissioned places filed with the old
Regulars naturally, because in the beginning
the latter were the best qualified; but AS tho
detached volunteers became veterans, they
were quite well fitted for the non. commits
stoned posts rs the old Regulars were In tho
case of our battery this was not So manifest
as in many others. There were no better men
| anywhere than our old Regular Sergeants-
Mitchell, Mcbride, Moore, Chaplin. and Maher,
or than Corporais Kelly Greene, Cahill, aud
| Armstrong.
| AT any time after Fredericksburg we had at
| least 20 men of the detached volunteers, Cor
| porals aud Cannoneers besides tho old Regu-
| lars any one of whom was perfectly capable of
commanding the battery, and who from every
| point of view would have done honor to the
| shOulder-straps of any army. But owing to
the faulty organization of our artillery service
| these mon had To serve on and on in battle
after battle as private Cannoneers, and the
only chance of promotion they had was when
II Sergeant or Corporal was killed outright; aud