St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-21
CHICKAMAUGA HEROES.
Their Praises Sung i'm Fervid Ad-
dresses by Orators.


Their Praises Sung in Fervid Ad-
dresses by Orators.
Speaking on his bill to provide mon
ument to the memory of Minnesota
troops who fell at Chickamauga and
Chattanooga, Mr.. Horton said 1t af-
forded him great pleasure to plead for
the passage of the bill. AS shown on
its face, il aimed to commemorate the
valor of Minnesota troops in one of the
DloOdiest battles of the world. NO bat
tie of all the campaigns of NAPOLEON
shows anything like the percentage
of slain to numbers engaged that this
fight does. Then reviewing at length
the history Of the battles ard comparing
the loss with great European battles,
showing that the average loss at Chlcka-
manga was SO per cent. while i'll the
bloody Franeo-Prussian war the loss
was only IL per cent. Nineteen states,
he said, had already commemorated the
positions occupied by their troops. Min
nesota had only the Second Minnesota
and the HotchkIss battery there. but
the Second Minnesota had successfully
assaulted LOngstreets position, with
loss of more than half their men.
Going further into comparisons Mr..
Horton said at the battle of Mars la Tour
the loss was only 49.4 per cent; at
Waterloo less than - per cent; at Wag-
ram Napoleon's loss was only 5 per cent;
at WurZburg the loss was 81 per cent;
cent; at Zurich MaSsena lost per cent;
at LatirZ Frederick lost 615 per cent: at
MaIpaquet Marlborough lost 10 per
cent; at Families per cent; at Lodi
Napoleon lost II per cent; at ControS
Henry Of Navarro lost 10 per cent; at
Valney Frederick lost 3 per cent. In
the battle Of Chickamauga, L0ngStreet
lost 45 per cent in less than
two hours; Rosecrans lost 1910:
Bragg'S loss IS amounted to 1854. Sew
enteen regiments in this battle lostover
81 per cent. Several of them lost from
70 to so per cent. Steadman'S and Bren-
mans divisions, which confronted pOr
ton of Longstreets assaultng line,
lost, the first, 40 per cent in four hours.
and the second an average of 50 per
cent, while Gen. Vanderveer's brigade
lost a fraction less than 80 per cent.
In conclusion, he hoped the Mime
sofa Legislature would not hesitate to
grant the small amount asked Tor so
commendable and patriotic purpose.
w
in an eloquent and earnest speech, of
which the following Is a synopsis. He
said:
am in favor of this bill, and it may
not be inappropriate for living COM
rade to plead for the fallen ones. |
enlisted from state that gave to this
country a trio of the grandeSt men that
ever lived-Lincoln, Grant and Logan
and sent 10 the front 10000 men--a
great shoWing-a grand state. What
Illinois did other states did likewise,
and Minnesota III Il pre-eminent degree.
Her war record is eQualled by few and
surpassed by none. One-seventh Of
her entire population enlisted. On an
average, one in every five is voter; so
tive out of seven of her Voters were
soldiers. During our great struggle for
human liberty the first regiment to
tender its services and to be accepted
by President Lincoln was from Mime
SOta-the youngest state, but the first
to respond to its cOuntry's call. Mime
sofa had no draft, and much more than
nlied he: quota.
The famous charge of the First Min
nesota at Gettysburg has become his
tOrical. The regiment suffered the
greatest loss, proportional to the number
engaged, of any regiment in any battle
! of the war. In fact, the world does not
furnish a parallel. The charge Of the
Light Brigade at Balaklava during the
Crimean war Into the Jaws of death,
into the mouth Of hell" did not equal
this charge. Think of it! Of 262 men
who made this charge, 215 were either
killed or wounded none missing. Forty
seven only left in line. These men did
not die IN vain. Gen. Hancock was
anxious to gain five minutes of time.
ReinforcementS were coming on the
double quick. The time was saved, but
al what a cost! VINO knows but what
the valor of these brave men saved the
day at Gettysburg? Thousands there
are who believe that they did. and |
share their belief.
What the gallant First Minnesota did
at Gettysburg her other regiments did
elsewhere, and notably at Chickamauga,
and on that terribly fought field the gal
laut Second regiment and Second bat
terry equally covered themselves with
everlasting glory, and the laurelS won
Oh that sangujnary field should never
fade from Off the face of the earth. Let
no parsimoniouS spirit direct US here
when we remember their brave deeds
there. | have seen Minnesota troops
stand the awful shock of battle, and
have stood with fear and trembling
awaiting the result, where disaster
meant annihilation. But. thank God,
the brave boys stood firm and the day
was ours: and, owing to this fact, some
of us are here to plead with you to erect
this monument. Let US erect this
granite shaft that will forever com
memorate their brave deeds. and thus
| show to the world that we fully appre-
ciate what these brave men have done
| for us. By this act we Will show to
| posterity that the great commonwealth
| of Minnesota never fOrgetS her brave
| sons.
Mr.. Abbott, also veteran of the war,
| joined in paying tribute to his dead
| comrades. In order to give the Union
armies and the Union generals the glory
they deserve, we must remember. he
said, that they faced and fought as brave
men and as great leaders as the world
ever saw. To properly appreciate the
| greatness of Grant and Hancock and
| Others, we must properly weigh the
ability and gallantry of Lee and his
| famous aids. No better or more faith
| full soldiers ever faced each other in
the clash of war anywhere or at amy
time in the history of the world. The
speaker regretted that the national
cemetery, when established, was not
made to include theidead soldiers of both
| armies, With the veterans the war is
| over, he maintained, ana i'll closing his
| plea for the bill he made an eloquent
and touching comparison between the
present times OF peace and the trying