Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-08-23

Captain Charles King, the we'll
known novelist, who was a fellow
graduate with Major William H. Up
ham, at West Point in 1866, relates
some pleasant and interesting remin-
iscences of the cadet days Of the next
governor of Wisconsin. The captain
contributes the following to the Mil
Waukee Sentinel:
L have known Upham ever since
early in June, 1862 | knew of him
before. Mr.. Lincoln told friends of
mine that he had ten thousand appli-
cants for the ten appointments he was
allowed to make of cadetships at West
Point and | thought myself lucky in
deed to be virtually promised one of
them in October, 1861. OF course il
would hardly do for the president to
give two of those precious ten to any
one state, but when Billy Upham came
from Libby prison, exchanged because
of his Bull Run wound Che and Tommy
Balding were about the only two men
| ever knew to get shot through the
lungs with mimic bullet and recover
it looked as though that was what he'd
have to do, for though he was willing
to appoint Upham lieutenant of reg
ulars at once Upham declined. He al
ways had more sense than years He
said he wanted the education first AMI
the rank afterwards. 1t was his last
chance for West Point, for he was then
nearly Il and unless admitted that
coming June he could not enter at all
1t took precious little time to settle
the problem. | was barely II and
could wait, and though it nearly broke
my heart, / knew it was right and
just-and as soon as / got to know Up
ham | was glad of it and have been
glad ever since. The odd part of the
thing was that at the last moment,
just at the first of June, 1862, one of
the presidents nominees proved to be
too young and | got telegraphic orders
TO hustle to the Point and report for
duty, and so Upham and l were class
mates after all
He was popular from the start, the
most unasSuming, modest, and kindly
of fellows. | doubt if any of the
corps would have known about his
fighting record or his severe wound if
| hadn't lold. We were the only two
Badgers to enter that year and both
presidential appointments. Billy had
TO flag hard like the rest of us, but
otherwise the old cadets did not bother
him much partly because of his war
service and partly because there's no
fun in trying to worry Il man who
won't be worried. Upham used to
laugh at their best efforts and ex-
asperate them mere than they could
annoy him.
lrom the start he was one of the
sturdy, reliable, staying sort. We
had lot of fine mathematicians and
scholars in the class-men who took
to science as duck does to water.
We had los names to start with and
with every examination they would be
sliced off, SO that at the end of the
four years only thirty-nine of the or
iginal number were graduated and
commissioned with us. Most of Mr.
Lincoln's ten fell by the wayside but
Upham and | pulled through and by
the time we were two years at the
Point every man in the corps seemed
to tie to him. We had some stormy.
exciting times in those days and many
a brilliant fellow near the top of the
class urged action and methods that
we afterwards regretted, but Upham
was always cool, clear-headed and
judicious, and when once he had
studied Il thing out he stood by it and
stuck to it, and with all his patience
with those who differed with him, was
rs StalWart fellow i'll maintaining his
views as ever | knew Some demo
cratic writer recently spoke of him
as a man of weak mind, and that will
tickle the risibilitles of the survivors
of the class of &c, if the rest of them
ever hear of it. If there is any weak
ness in Upham it springs from his char
lty. lie was forever helping some poor
devil who was down on his luck and
that trait bids fair to stick to him as
long as the others. Yes, | have known
him thirty-two years, and a squarer,
stauncher truer man doesn't live in all
Badgerdom, and we will elect him by
rousing majority and he will make
governor all Wisconsin will be
proud off,
Villas