The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-12-24

Il H. r. who were there. Aapts
| IT. EgN Ill lthen First Lieuten-
| N/jEs n H anti Thos. Hobart, who
NJ a. " WAS promoted and put
81 E %@s in command of Co. L
after / resigned, has
| been at my house recently, and we have COM
pared notes. We Of 20. ] are all agreed, aud
| agreed 70 what we believe arc the facts in the
case; aud will endeavor TO state the case as
| we understand il.
And. first. permit personal explanation.
| Until / read Surgeon Beach's letter in THE
| NATIONAL TRIBUNE for July ? last had never
| heard Of any contention abuut the two cannon,
aud my two articles Of Oct. % 's9, and May z
! 81, were prepared without any thought Of such
| contention. Hence, ComTade Beach is alto
| gether too free in his filings at me- There is
/ no ground for them whatsoever, so far rs ! am
concerned. / wrote from the material had
gathered at the time, with some help from the
History Of the Sixtieth.'
in my pocket diary. made at the time, il is
! recorded that we reached the nose OF the
/ mountain at 1910 p. m. and that we were re-
| called aud Osterhaus's Division sent Go take
our place at 3 .. m. These are the facts. And
| up TO that hour no troops went ahead OF the
Goth. ! remember that when we reached the
nose OF the mountain there was brief attempt
made Go reform our line, and that the lines
| were much mingled But also remember that
as we descended towards the south we were the
front line; and when we ran against the snag
| Of a determined resisting fire of the enemy,
and were ordered 10 lie down and hold that pO-
| sitiou, our line was the eKtrepae front edge of
| the Union troops, and i lay IN that font line
all the time uRtil we were called back at p.
m. and Osterhaus's men put there in our stead.
| Then we fell back aud took position along the
nose.
Now, rs to Comrade Chafee's story. There
is no reason to doubt it. !, myself, little bo-
| fore we reached the nose OF the mountain saw
a large company Of soldiers with hats drawn
down over their faces, rs il they were facing a
pelting rain, rushing into our lines. IL Sur
ceon Beach will get my first article he will
/ learn the whole story. Comrade ChRHee Q
story is much like what ! myself saw.
Now let Us get at the facts about the
! skirmishers. They were not in front OF their
| respective regiments, but just where it hap
/ pened So Cbafee and his two comrades were
some rods TO the left OF their regiment, the Goth
/ N. Y, which was a good way up the mountain
/ from the CaTlin House to the right. Then, the
/ skirmishers being separate, men would not be
4 SO easily hit. The demand Of Surgeon Beach
/ 10 know how many Of the Goth n. Y. were
] killed about the Carlin House has no relevancy,
4 because the regiment was not there al all. Yet,
| three of its men were there because they hap
pened 60 be in that part of the skirmish- line.
Now, as to who were hit of the GOTH Maj.
/ Thomas was severely wounded in this part OF
j the charge: Lieut.. Hobart commanding Co.
4 X, was shot through the body, in tho vicinity
Of the Carlin House, as he Tecollects il, up hill
from il TO the right, and in front Of il towards
the enemy; Color Serg't Leahy, Of Co. j, was
/ wounded ia the same part Of the field. The
regiment lost 81 in killed and wounded in the
battle, most Of them after the nose OF the
mountain was turned
As 20 the cannon, Comrade T. n Murphy, OF
| my company, Informed me that few days after
4 the battle he was at Gen. Geary's headquarters.
1 and saw the two cannon parked there. This
| certainly seems 10 be conclusive 10 show that
/ whatever receipt an ordnance officer may have
given on Nov. %. when Gen. Geary WAS with
his command marching over to tho enemy's
4 camps at the foot Of Chattanooga flights,
I when he returned ne obtained them as his
4 right, because his command captured them.
C0mrade Chafee does not intimate that
the struggle about the Craven House was the
work Of a squad OF skirmishers," etc. All that
/ is implied in his account is this, that the skir-
mishers were ahead Of the main line; that they
were not necessarily in front Of their own com.
mands; that they being scattered and the main
line solid, the killed and wounded came mostly
4 from the main line; aud that the extreme right
1 of our line SO oyerlapped the rebel line that
the rebs could not bold the position they had
taken, and fell back rapidly.
Finally, il Whitaker's men were not so eager
1 equally deserving soldiers, the case might,
think, be settled without serious difficulty
was 80 far TO the right OF the road by the Car.
I lin House that j did not see the road or house
1 that day.-at least, not 10 remember them
though I marched over the road next day
Now, when we got 10 that part Of the field, re
1 member that TO the left Of where was theri
were troops strange 10 ns, but reported as from
Osterhaus,s Division, and forming our sup
porting division, which bad got a good dea
mixed up with ours. This being so, what Com
rade Chaliee tells may be strictly true, and no
conflict with what Surgeon Beach tells that 4
Of the doth Ohio fell dead in the grounds abou
the Craven House" ! have never heard a Coil
y. y. man want 10 take one honor from am
other soldier; though we do intend 10 main
tain our own.
As 10 what body Of troops FIRST went through
the Carlin House yard and Laid hands on tht
cannon. a judicial settlement seems now un
1 likely. Surgeon Beach does not claim TO hav,
been in that front line. nor does he quote an-
one who was. j have given the testimony 0
one OF my own company, personally aud elOsel,
/ known TO me- that he was one Of the first Ant
he named two others. This testimony, writer
when the fact Of any controversy was unknown
90 nae, and think TO him, Surgeon Beacl
scouts. though not one Of the facts he alleges 1
against it, Gen. Hooker should have made
such investigation &C the time. if need be, b.
/ court OF inquiry. i have heard that persona
| aims Of his prevented.
am convinced that the following Ia substan
TALLY the truth OF the case The White Sta
Division had the front line by order, aud, Il
fact ali the way around until three o'clock
The men who were away up the mountain sid
had as much 90 do with capturing the cannon
as those who were right before them and lAi,
. hands on them, for those above who had ~
enemy la theiT front were thanking the cnem,
below them out. The second line being Oster
, hans's men, had come up 30 and were mingled
with the first line by the time we lay down a
the extreme point Of advance, or before. 4
was the whole body Of the troops that in an,
! large sense captured the guns. or this Who'll
body, even at the last, the White Star Division
/ was the chief part, and was at the front Gil
o'clock. Now, ia the intermingling of line
| toward the last, the 10th Ohio and Others Q
Mhitaker's Brigade, OF OsteThRus's Division
\ may have been along with tho White Star ID
! vision ut the front. Or IL may have been tha
/. some were killed after O'Clock, when OsteI
! hans's men held the line alone after The Whit
!. Star Division had been withdrawn.
4 j do not think the temper which Surge0
Beach shows is called for or will help has cas-
We who were in the front line and still liv,
have no wish 10 pluck one leaf from the Laurel
OF the 40th Ohio or any other command. W
want our own aud that others have theirs, bt
: we DO not want them 20 try and take ours
JEssE ii. JosEs Captain, Co. i. Goth N. Y