The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1894-07-05
BALDWINS PICNIC.
God Grant That our Country may Never
Enjoy Another of Similar Character.

God Grant That our Country may Never I
Enjoy Another of Similar Character.
''Why. Mr.. Speaker, the late war was
nothing but grand, extended picnic.
Such was the remarkable sentiment ex-
pressed in the lower house of congress,
not long since, bya member Of that
body named Baldwin, and who, strange
ly enough is an old soldier, and also
halls from this grand State of Mime
sofa. We will have the charity to con-
cede that the sentiment came from the
head in the heat of debate, rather than
from a heart that in the very fact OF its
owner having been one of the old boys
in blue, should tend to make him SYM
pathize with, rather than make light OF
the hardships they endured. know
nothing, of course, of his record as a
soldier, but have heard it spoken of as
excellent, yet, have sometimes thought
that the Major must have had some
very soft snap to enable him to view
the war in the light he does. Surely he
was not with us at Port Hudson, where
we fingered for months working in the
trenches, and fighting almost daily be-
fore the final capitulation of that
stronghold. Your humble servant was
there. and if there was any of the pic
mic element iii that affair he failed to
} observe it. 1t is true that all of army
life was not made up of toll and priva-
ton. neither were the boys always
, under the spell of fear of sudden death.
There were times when every one was
iolly from the Commanding General
down to the company cooks. Such
time was the day when we VIGOROUSLY
| marched into Port Hudson upon its
| surrender. Although we had lost many
1 brave boy before this almost impreg-
y nable place. and notably on the 9th OF
t Nav and the 9th of June respectively,
4 when we made determined efforts TO
S carry the Notifications by stormlng,
n vet | can never forget some very ludl-
S crous things that occurred at these
l. storming parties, one of which l Will
,. relate. But right here let me digress
somewhat, by drawing your attention
to the fact, that you have perhaps heard
some grizzled old veteran remark that
:. he was 'never a burned bit skeereC
about going into a battle" Now if you
r. never have heard this assertion, yor
le probably will ere you die, and Wher
s. you do, let me just say to you that yot
,t can set the person down who makes i
v as belonging to one of three classes
,e The first are very rare indeed, and Wh'
n as our ancient primers told us OF tn
IT Turk, is born without fear. The secon'
d. class would come under the head of tn
50 old adage. they who know nothing fea
re- nothing" Thi! class is very much la1
h GER than the first but not nearly S
n. large as the third. The third class
ST which are, I am sorry to say, very nu
H. merOus. are direct descendants of Ana
- Mas and Sophia. But to my inciden
IS Just as we were forming into line, prt
"a paratory to making the second, or tn
n. assault of June 9th, a chap name
,d Shaughnessy las brave lad as eve
sh shouldered musket) turned to m
it, and with a preternaturally grave fa(
nd said, "Charlie, me boy, l wish L We
no locked safe ih jail some place out
he this" Of course everyone who hea1
he the remark shouted; all knowing th'
in poor Jim had greater horror OF a ia
nd than he had of all the rebels south
The Mason and Dixon line. Yet this OF
tch incident goes to show that the facul
VS.. of enjoying the humorous or ridlculo'
sv was present with us, in the face
tch death itself. | could relate numberle
the incidents. most of which came und
ow my own observation, and some
ich which were very pathetic. There w
IFS one incident of a hand to hand encou
to ter between two regiments, which
yer witnessed. Had 1 time to relate 1t,
and would in a great measure, tend to c(
hip roborate the historical statement OF
hat great slaughter in wars OF an early
no' tno riod.
NV That the war was such a glorious fr