The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-11-03
Comrades. get yonr petoes ready!
GEN. MCDOWELL AGAIN
A Pennsylvania Comrade Always Though
He was a Patriotic Commander.

Pennsylvania Comrade Always Thought
He was a Patriotic Commander.
TOTICING several comments of COM
nj rades regarding Gen. Mcdowell in
late issues has made me quite eager
to have your attention. Not
outstanding all the diSparagng express
sons of some comrades against him, l
was always firmly impressed that he was
loyal man to our Republic. 1t would have
been perilous risk for him TO have been dis
loyal in the tenor implied by some comrades,
who have said that his mushroom shaped hat
was a signal to the rebels The General could
certainly have been more secretive than that to
exemplifya purpose. j saw the General many
times during the rebellion. / was in his COM
mand: Gen. Pope's too. saw Mcdowell under
his peculiar hat on the battlefield of Second
Bull Run. To me he did not seem to be any
way inclined TO the Southern cause. l heard
him say to another officer on the battlefield of
Bull Run, 40 The rebels are a terrible enemy"
This was uttered just before our battery had been
ordered to enfilade the railroad cut, about
o'clock that morning, and true, az Gen. Nc
Dowell said. We felt the terribieness OF the
rebels during that battle; we (our battery had
to retire from the " cut under terrible cross
fire. During the enflading our Captain James
Thompson, jumped fully three feet up from
the ground to let the rebel cannon shot 60 I'M
der him. was in the battery close behind the
Captain, as that vicious rebel came along. If
the Captain had stood still that terrible rebel
would have gone through him. The shot
plowed the ground close in rear of the Cap
tsin's position, and close TO my left foot. l
lodged little, too, to let the mad thing by but
the battle was too busy and fierce for me to say
where else the thing went in its furious run.
But, soon after we went the same way into
the center of the line of battle. In going /
noticed Mcdowell again. saying, ." Into line
men, and do your best" We were in line
fighting as hard as ever any soldiers fought for
right and life The rebels charged on our
batteries three times Twice they were driven
back, yelling, and leaving long line of dead
and wounded on the ground. Yet they came
third time, yelling madly. On on by the
thousands with cleaning bayouets they came
over dead and wounded. Our batteries failed
TO stop only part of their front line this time.
Our batteries somehow were not supported. and
we had to retire again. We were firing by
proong while retiring, and thus we got en-
tangled or scotched by the wheel of our gun
running to one side of big tree, and the gun
on the other side Of the tree. Oar horses, be-
ing badly wounded, were frightened, and pull
ing madly too made the prolong tenser. and
we could not back the gun to get ont of our
deplorable fix; and the screening screaming
rebels were firing and shouting, You
Yanks, surrender" ] was acting with
lanyard. Our stuck gun was loaded. pulled
into the charging rebels.
Al that critical moment our Captain came
TO the scene and said: Come. boys, pull ont
or we'll be captured" He had scarcely fin
ished his exclamation when the rebels dashed
right and left upon us, and / ran. In crossing
q fence hurriediy, and in smoke of battle,
tHmbled down and was nearly captured by a
rebel at my heels, but in the smoke aud din Of
battle many Of the charging rebels passed me
by IN pursuit of retreating comrades. / was
captured, though, before ! went half mile far.
ther. The next day Sunday the rebels took
us prisoners back over the ground on which
we fought, and the number Of dead and dying
soldiers was very great-a most narrowing and
awful scene. / saw not any sucCoring help
there for the wounded and dying men.
/ was one of LOO captured, aud we were
camped on a low bottom of Cub Run under
rebel guards and kept there four days without
a bit of anything to eat. On the fifth day two
small steers were butehered for us and given
to us next day-about half pound to each
prisoner. That was all got to eat while was
in rebel hands Eight days after the battle we
were paroled, which WAS quite q fortunate af-
fair for US. During the Pope campaign in Vir-
GINA some of our officers in Pope's command
must have been wofuly stupid or derelict es
pecially in the Second Bull Run affair, for it is
plain to all concerned that Gen. Pope was not
properly sustained.
j nollccd IN your issue OF some weeks ago
that some comrade claims the honor of having
saved Gen. Pope and his army IN Virginia from
humiliation. j know that Gen. Pope and his
army were smart enough 10 have saved them
selves and did SO, too, whatever cheek any in
dividual comrade may have to dispute it. Gen.
Pope and his command in the Southwest and
Mississippi Valley routed the rebels many
times and captured Island No. TO- won battles,
glory, and honorable fame at New Madrid and
ofk MIA ad h.-r ca 4
see how il was possible that such clever Gen
ersl and his army in Virginia depended or were
hazardously saved by any plan or strategic
scheme of any one individual To be sincere
and unassuming is honorable. A good soldier
will not aim even to belittle one iota of fame
in the data of his commanding officer.--Wu-
LIAM A. WILLIAMS, Independent Battery c,
Pa. L. a, FIippo's. Va.
Comrades, get yOur CetOes ready