The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-10-16


York is a case in point. After the fiendish
massacres of Texan soldiers by the Mexi-
cans at the Alamo and at Goliad in 1886,
the officers Of Gen. Houston's Texas army,
so the story goes, made oath to kill on
sight the Mexican leader, Santa Anna, who
was judged responsible for those atrocities.
True to this oath, one of the officers, James
H. Perry, a volunteer from the north,
at the battle of San Jacinto attacked
and killed a Mexican general whom he
believed to be Santa Anna. After the
fight Santa Anna turned up as a prisoner
in Houston's camp and Perry learned that
he had killed a very estimable and gallant
man through his hasty mistake. He left
the field and returned north and shortly en-
tered the ministry in the Methodist church,
impelled by conscientious scrupIes.
When the civil war broke out Perry was
preaching to a Brooklyn congregation.
Having been educated at West Point, he
arose in his seat in the general conference,
which happeded to be in session, and said:
Il was educated by the government; it now
needs my services. shall resign my min
istry and take up my sword"
Perry's name was thereafter associated
with that of W. B. Barton, a Brooklyn re-
cruiting officer, and in a few weeks ten
companies, raised in Brooklyn and the Hud-
son river counties and in New Jersey, were
formed into regiment as the FoSty-eighth
New York volunteers. Barton was the
son of minister and became lieutenant
colonel. Under leadership SO orthodox
Christian parents gladly sent their sons to
war, and it needs no wild flight OF thought
to see how natural it was in the days when
"Railsplitter" and Honest Old Abe"
were common synonyms for the president,
that a regiment with such a reputation
should be called "Perry's Saints" to the
exclusion of their adopted title. "Conti-
mental Guards"
The members were not at all abashed by
their nickname; rather they gloried in it.
On the way to the front the regiment
halted at Annapolis and pastor of the
town invited Col Perry to occupy his pull
pit one evening. Oh" said the colonel
with smile, ''you can call on Maj Beard
or Capt. Knowles or Sergt. Irvine or some
of the enlisted men just as we'll"
The Forty-eiGhth was assigned to the
expedition to the south Atlantic coast in
the fall of 1861 and served in the Depart
ment of the South until the spring of 1864
The war was not brought TO an end in the
field where it expended it's best efforts,
nevertheless opportunity was had there to
win place in the list of forty-five Union
regiments that lost over 200 killed in bat
tie, and its place is the seventeenth from
the top of the roll. 1t was among the forces
that besieged Fort Pulaski, Ga, in April,
1862, and soon after the fall of that fortress
went into garrison there and remained
one year. During this time the regiment
was brought to high degree of discipline
by its soldierly commander and the officers
whom he had inspired with his military
spirit. Col. Perry was stricken with ap-
oplexy toward the end of June, 1862, and
suddenly expired. Lieut.. Col. Barton sue
ceeded him.
The first real fighting of the regiment
was on Morris island, July, 1863. 1t took
part in the assault on the outworks of
Fort Wagner, July 10, and on the 18th was
in the first line of the column of assault on
the main work that carried one bastion
after terrible slaughter. This column was
Strong's brigade of five regiments. Strong
and l colonel were mortally wounded, !
colonel was killed outright and Others
severely wounded, Barton, of the Forty
eighth, being one of the latter.
The assault was peculiarly desperate and
bloody. Fort Wagner was located on the