The National tribune., 1894-05-24
MEANT WHAT HE SAID.
Capt. Rankin Says Gen. Minty Misinterpreted
His Words.

Capt Rankin Says Gen. Minty Misinterpreted
His Words.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: wish to
enter my protest against Gen. Mintys &C
count of the capture of Columbus, Ga, on
the night of April Is, 1865. He says: "Three
hundred men from the Sd Iowa Cav, Will
sons regiment 1.-THE words Wilson's regi-
ment' were a typographical error, and not
mine; know better charged and took a
fort that protected another bridge, and when
the shout from the Iowa boys made the
heavens ring a charge was made by fours
across the bridge, battery captured, and so
on.
A little farther on he says: If it were
not for the charge No. Is Capt. Rankin
might be understood to mean that the
charge was made by any portion of Upton's
Division"
Now, Capt Rankin meant just what the
words imply. Had the eth Ohio made the
charge alone 1 would have emphatically
said so. Again, if the 7th Ohio had led the
charge and was first to cross the bridge,
Heaven knows that / would have been only
too happy TO have so recorded it; and as
the 18th did neither, the language used was
all that could be used to convey just what
did mean. And as l had been numbering
the charges made by the 18th, it was proper
to number this one. As the charge was
made by the entire division-the 7th being
a part of Upton's Division and participating
in that charge-and as none of UptOn's Di-
vision have complained of what have said,
it lily becomes an outsider who acknOwl-
edges himself not to have been there, to
kick.
The incentive that prompted me TO write
that sketch was, that the men who have
been writing war history seem to know little
or nothing of the services rendered by the
18th Ohio Cav. From what l can learn, the
record at Washington has the regiment Or
ganzed at Columbus, O., and mustered out
July B. 1865 of which neither is true. At
Columbus, O., the record shows that we
were mustered out June 80, 1865, but the
discharges the boys have hanging on the
walls are dated July a, 1865. So you will
see that quotations from records are of little
value so long as the participants live.
A word about that fort that protected
another bridge. The fort referred to pro-
tected the bridge that we charged and
crossed and there was no other bridge to
protect; all the others had been burned,
and no doubt this one would have been
consigned to the flames with the others bat
for supposed ability, with the aid of the
fort, to save it.
l will just say to the General that he is
in error when he says that the assault of
Columbus Ca, was made by Winslow's
Brigade 1t was made by Gen. Alexa1der's
Brigade, which had the advance that day,
and the 1st Ohio Cav. charge d the bridge
farthest to our right, and was almost into it
when the torch was applied. This was at
MONDAY. Then there was an artillery duel
kept up until after dark. If the General
means that the night assault was conducted
by Winslow's Brigade, he should have said
night assault; had he done So then my
statement that 300 men from the Sd Iowa
Cav. were selected to storm the fort should
become conclusive evidence hat I meant
that Winslow's Brigade was assigned to that
part of the work.
] will say that / wrote up every campaign
of the 18th Ohio al that time made, and they
were published in my town paper. When
the cne appeared giving description of
Hoods advance and retreat from Nashville,
Tenn, copies were sent to my Colonel. Israel
Garrard. After reading them be sent for
me- and said:
Captain, have Just read your letter TO
the Bee, giving an account of the part taken
ny TIC ITeliHc NdSUNIiic anu
down into Alabama. | did not know
that there was a man in the regiment that
could so accurately describe them as you
have done. They are simply statements of
facts just as they occurred and without ex-
This coming from my superior officer, and
from man who hated a coward and a liar
the worst of any man / ever knew, it sank
deep into my heart.
Col. Peters wrote long letter, nearly six
pages of large letter paper, from which will
make an extract. He said:
Dear Captain: One of my old soldiers
handed me a copy of THE NATIONAL TRIB-
UNE containing your description of the Will
son Raid. / bad long ago said that a true
history of the fighting regiment would never
be written, bat when | read your article I
began TO see that the actual participants in
the battles were coming to the front. Your
article is the only hing that have ever seen
in print that exactly comedies with the way
that / saw it; and there were so many Incl
dents you described in it that know to be
true, that l know you were on the ground
and wrote he truth as you believed it"-R.
C. RANKIN. 7th Ohio Cav, Ripley, o.