Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1894-04-12

hlN IA " S}ilkSS - w ueSoLN0 Vlo
V(WtllMnMtlNlE stigma OF coward,
u'' A writes an old Off
Ger In the Detroit Free Press. l say
appeared to deserve, for it was curl
Gus case. He stepped out from his
place in line of battle and lay down in
a ditch, and though the Captain beat
him with the flat of his sword and his
brother and comrades argued and en-
treated, he continued to disgrace him
self, and later on was drummed out OF
the service as q coward.
L do not believe the man was lacking
in physical courage. He was a red
headed, hot-tempered man, and l could
recall half dozen of his fisticuif en-
counters, in most of which he proved
victorious. AS matter of fact, he was
ready to fight at the drop of the hat.
The explanation of his conduct on the
battle field was that he was suddenly
seized with the feeling that comes over
a man when he has received blow in
the pit Of the stomach, and he was not
morally resi- onsible for his action.
After being disgraced he hung around
Washington for several months, and it
is fact beyond dispute that he gave
three members of his late company,
all of whom We're handy with their
fists, first-class drubbing for refusing
to speak to him.
The case above sighted was an ag-
gravated one, inasmuch as we were
under fire, but if every man who lost
his nerve at times had been drummed
out of the Army of the Potomac there
wouldn't have been brigade left to
keep Lee out of Washington. A mans
physical condition had everything to
do with it, of course. Troops sent into
fight ON empty stomachs or after a
fatiguing march, were nervous and ex-
cited, and not to be implicitly relied
on. This was conclusively shown on
both sides at Gettysburg. Troops
were coming up and being put under
fire during the first two days, and
dozens of regiments were not given
rest nor time to make a cup of coffee
before being formed in battle line.
The consequence, or one of the conse-
quences, was an enormous wastage Of
ammunition by too high and too low
firing. Although the loss in killed
and wounded was frightful, it is com
puted that $50 bullets were wasted for
every one which hit. There were o.
900 Federal and Confederate muskets
gathered up after Lees retreat, and of
that number several thousand had not
been fired at all. The excited owners
had loaded them to the very muzzles,
but had not once pulled the trigger.
On the 3lst of May, 1862, when the
Confederates were all ready to strike
at Mcclellan at Seven Pines, we were
at work all the morning in front Of
Gen. Casey's division in digging rifle
pits and throwing up breastworks.
We had a picket line out, of course,
but Confederate line Of battle came
sweeping through the woods and cap
tured half the pickets before an alarm
was given. The men who came run
ming 10 us were by no means towards,
and yet some of them leaped into the
rife-plts and covered down, others al
most burrowed into the breastworks,
and others defed all efforts to stop
them, and kept on to the rear.
Just as we were throwing away our
working tools and grabbing for our
stacked muskets the Confederates be-
gan firing, and two or three pieces of
Their light artillery also began blazing
away. Five hundred men became
panic-stricken in an instant, and
each and every one Of them fell down
and got up at least twice before he
got headed for the rear, and started off
like lightning express train. About
the same number rallied, and l believe
l saw at least twenty of those who re-
manned trying to load and fire spades,
shovels and pick-axes, thinking they
had muskets in their hands. A Penn
sylvania regiment came rushing up to
our support, dashed over our works
and went in to clean out the enemy,
supposing that they had only a regi-
ment or so to deal with. The sight of
the battle lines and artillery coming
up took the fight out of them in ten
ticks of the clock, and back they came
like drove of sheep. Some of the
men were so badly ratified that they
cried, and big sergeant who lay
down on the ground at my feet re-
peated portion of the Lords Prayer.
Ten minutes later every man in this
same regiment had been rallied and
was fighting at red-hot pace. They
had acted like towards, but they were
fighting regiment. They had simp-
ly been knocked out for the moment.
The big sergeant fought for half an
hour within ten feet of me, and he was
as cool as ice. When we were forced
back he carried away five muskets in
his arms to save them from the Con-
federates.
At sunset on the 2d of July, 1868, at
Gettysburg, Green's Brigade of
Geary's Division was resting in the
rear of Culp's Hill, with no support
nearer than half a mile in the rear.
Nearly every man in the brigade was
eating cold bite from his haversack
or wandering around in search of
water, and no one had the least idea of
an attack. The Confederate general,
Johnson of Ewell's Corps, massed his
division in the woods in front of us,
and the first we knew of their presence
double-line of battle broke cover
within musket-shot. On this occasion
was one of the skedaddlers, though 1
had participated in seven previous