The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-01-14

er; but lt always stood up to the work he
cut out for it. Gen. Benton afterward, in q
complimentary speech TO the brigade, called
him
"ROUGH-AND-READY no. 2'
Now, while accepting the heroism Of every
other officer in the Thirteenth Corps, / make
no bones Of declaring that / do not believe
there WIS one upon whom such words of
superior officer would be as much like fire
upon tiHdor. 1t was this man who had been
put upon bis mettle when reiniorcements
should arrive and it u,attered not in reality
whose command came mp, they would be
the support called for, and stir the Colo
nel's blood 20 ts hottest
Speaking of Benton'- order To take the
guns, and not 1T others get ahead Of him,
Col. Bailey write "And i 50 happened
that our regiment did take the battery,
and Capt John DinsmOre, Co. T., Lieut.
Sever, Go. G., and Lieut.. Richards (after-
ward Captain, Co. L, and one or two
Sergeants and half-dOzen privates, turned
the guns, for there were two, on the enc
my And here the Colonel adds bit
of information that is new. 1t is pOssi-
bic that it was true of only one gun, Of
course, but we have always rhetOrically de-
| scribed the men who took the guns as firing
| them upon the foe. In Patriotism of Illi-
nois," the writer gives the credit of doing
this to Capt. DiusmOre, Doth H., though
calling it Gen. Hovey's gallant charge"
However it may be explained, the Colonel,
| spelling much rhetoric even that Of Gen.
them for want OF the Ianyards. So Capt.
| Richards has often told me, and that he told
the boys to join in the charge, and so they
did. could have put a guard over the guns
before MeGinniSs's officers came up, but this
was my first fight, and supposed if we ran
the enemy away from those guns, that was
/ all that WAS necessary.
so WENT or PEfL. NELL
rs all the balance did. Twodays after, Gen.
Benton said to me: Col Bailey, thought
you captured those two guns at Magnolia
/ Church?' / said, So j did, bat this was
my first fight General and / wasn't aware
that we had to take charge of and bring of
the field all we captured"
There are two divisions to this dispute:
First, who was in the charge, and, second
who first touched the guns. As to the first
part, suppose there ought now to be none
to dispute that Hovey's men. chiefly the
| 34th Ind-though the 56th Ohio and 4Gth
and lth Ind. seemed to have some share
| were in it,
/ wish TO chronicle my belief in this fact
And ] am also persuaded that there can be
none now 90 deny that Carr's men had a
part in it-all of the First Brigade (BentOn)
in line, but as to the battery, the 18th Ind
and a part Of the 99th iii.
This must be taken on the positive testi-
mOBy Of the men who were there and moved
forward, and that of Gen. Benton himself
who generously, in the letter before quoted
says Of the reinforcement:
No sooner had they (the reinforcement
come upon the ground before 1 had fully
completed my arrangements, than some one
unknown to me, gave the order Charge
| Which was executed with the widest en-
thusiasm, the men Of my brigade vieing with
the men Of HOVey's Division as 20 who should
first reach the enemy. The result of this
splendid charge was the complete rout Oi
the enemy, the capture OF two 12-pOuuder
hOwitZers,
AND AT LEAST ONE FLAG.
This was not the work exclusively of Gen
Carr's Division nor Gen. HOvey's 10 was
the joint work of both; and in my humble
Judgment herein is glory enough and to spare
for both divisions"
Whether it was Gen. HOvey's word, rs ]
suppose some would claim, or the word Of the
fighting Colonel of the Doth Ill, who saw now
the condition fulfilled upon which he had
been ordered to take the battery, as Others
believe, one thing must be admitted as a
fact, Notwithstanding it's possible destruction
of favorite opinions, that the division OF
Gen. Carr, as represented by BentOn's Bri-
/ grade at least, swept upon the foe the mo-
ment the reinforcement came. Certainly, we
can explain mingling commands far better
than to deny the repeated declaration of the
men engaged. That the reinforcement lap
ped our line is certain. /, with another
knocked q gun of one Of these men aside
ready TO fire, whose muzzle was almost
against the head of one Of our brigade above
him.
IfGen. HOvey did not see these troops, or
some Colonel or private failed, that cannot
be allowed to extinqush us who were there.
| VIC KNOW We WtE6 lutIct anu we KNOW we
charged the enemy. And we know that our
brigade was somewhat mixed with ITSELF
and we may believe that this reinforcement
got mixed up with US. The effect OF a gen.
eral charge upon the foe must be taken into
consideration when we speak of these capt
ured guns.
We DO not claim that all our line went toward
the battery. A part of my own regiment. the
/ SD ILL.,, if in position, and the Sth Ind all TO
the right, charged directly on the foe in front
1t seems that this (OurJ line Outhanked the
battery greatly, and was already slightly in the
| position that q partial left wheel would bring
il. 10 Is hardly to be questioned that this line
on its flank helped the enemy at the battery
to let 20.
And here something ought to be said Of the
influence Of the gallant Second Brigade, Carr's
Division, upon the action. 1t will be remem-
bered that
GEN. BENTON WAS ALARMED
for his left flank, where ordinarily the Second
| Brigade would be. 10 is the interval here
which Gen. Carr asks TO be filed by troops from
Hovey. But just at the time that Col. Ray.
nOr's regiment halts on the first advance to the
charge, this Second Brigade breaks through its
difficulty and appears, hotly engaging the
troops in 'front.' Who will doubt that the ap-
pearance of this line made it easier for the
enemy 10 let go? And some might even sug,
gest that with the two brigades now united
something might have happened, even with
out reinfOrcements.
As it was at the time of the charge, Carr.
| II =. Al i