The National tribune., 1894-08-16
FIGHTING THEM OVER
What Our Veterans Have to Say About
Their Old Campaigns
STIRRED HIM UP.


Moves 1.-THE CannOneer" to Reminis-
cence.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: l notice
that Comrade Scott, of Griffin's Battery ID,
5tl o. S. J, in his admirable sketch entitled
"On Little Round Top" refers 10 Hazlett as
the successor of Griffin in command of that
excellent and famous battery. Remarking
that knew Battery ID and its officers aud
men almost as well as / did our own, beg
to call Comrade SCOTS attention to the fact
that he has omitted to mention one OF the
ablest and most distinguished commanders
that battery ever had, and the one who was
Griffin's successor and Hazlett's predecessor (;
namely, Capt. Kingsbury.
Immediately after the Peninsular cam
paign Capt. Kincsbury was promoted to be
Colonel of the 11th Conn. (if it was promo
tion for a Captain of Regular artillery to be
made Colonel of volunteer Infantry, and he
was killed soon afterward-at Antietam, l
think.
When Kingsbury left the battery to take
command Of his volunteer regiment he
offered Tom Broderick, then First Sergeant
of Battery D, a Lieutenants commission If
he would go with him, but Tom declined,
and served to the end of the war in his nom
commissioned rank.
vi course IDlS COITGCIlOu u6IlNGS MlIdl
little importance it may possess from the
fact that any historical sketch of Battery ID
which fails to mention the good and gallant
Kingsbury must be far from complete.
congratulate Comrade Scott both on his
subject and on his style of handling it. l
have always taken a great interest in that
performance of Griffin's Battery, because
have heard Gen. Griffin himself, and Gen.
Warren too, describe it in glowing terms !;
and, besides that, long afteTwaTd, when at
Grifin's headquarters as Mounted Orderly,
had little chum and bunkmate who was a
detached volunteer from the 18th or sd
Mass, l forget which. He was with that
battery at Gettysburg-No. on Serg't Tim
Grady's gun-and he never tired of describ-
ing how the men pulled and lifted the guns
up the steep hillside and over rocks and
powders where the horses could not 90, till
they got in position to bear on the enemy
coming up the other slope from the west.
/ have always considered it one of the
most noteworthy and creditable perform
ances of the Union artillery on record, but
have never seen anything like an adequate
description of it in print until l read Com
rade SCOTS article.
] now desire 10 communicate with Com
rade Scott in a vein somewhat more per-
sonal. When | returned 10 the Fifth Corps
from the Valley, in November, 1864, found
our old battery filled up with new men.
Among them, us well as can recollect with
out having access to my papers, were six
who had been trans erred from Battery ID TO
ours on the consolidation of the former with
Jake Rawles's Battery &c of the 5ih U. S. J.
These were as follows: Frank Ludlow, Joe
Bennett Eph Croker, Sam Brace, Billy
Watson, and Tom Scot. There may have
been one or two more, but these are all whom
/ remember row.
As well as / can remember, Croker, Ben
nett and Scott were detached volunteers
from The 44th \. Y, Watson was from the
32d Mass, and the others | cannot now
place. II the writer of the description Of
Round Top is the same Tom Scott WHO was
transferred to our battery while was up in
the Valley with the Sixth Corps October
OF November, 1864, desire to congratulate
him again.
Furthermore, suggest that, if he can
spare the time, he ought, while still in full
possession of his faculties. contribute to his
tory the story of Battery d as / did that OF
Battery b. Griiiias Battery has nothing to
lose by comparison of its record with that Of
any other in the Union army 1t had the
unique distinction OF being unlimbered both
at the first Bull Ran aud at AppomattOx
Courthouse. Ii was all through he PENN
sular campaign under command OF the brave
and nobe Kingsbury, aud was credited by
Gen. Porter in an ofic al memorandum with
the destruction of an Alabama regiment and
the capture of it's colors at Malvern Hill,
which memorandum was approved by Gen.
Mcclellan.
gnifcent sketch could be made of
the war record of Battery ID, and / judge
from reading his ar icle on Round Top that
Comrade Scott is The man to write it.
Tom BIZ derrick has often promised me
that lie would undertake his task, but do
not think he ever will. He has the ability
TO do it well, but ] am afraid he does not
relish hard work well enough to tackle such
a job. Perhaps | ought 10 say that leisure
agrees with Tom too well to permit him to
write sketch.
nish to ask COmrade Scott if he remem-
bers Billy Watson well. | do He was
originally sailor-a New Bedford whale
man. He was the "pzenest" lite devil in
any kind of fight / ever saw, and think
at the time knew him he could whip any
man of anything like his weight in the
Army Of the Potomac, which is a. good as
saying any man Of his weight in the world.
Ii did not take him long TO establish his
identity" among the Kellys Islanders
who filed up our old battery at that time
If he had joined il when Bill Bartholomew,
Tom Clark, Lon Priest, Bill Thornton, and
the rest of the Iron Brigade lumbermen
from The log camps and rafting rivers of
Wisconsin and Michigan were there, it
might have been different: but with the
men we had late in 1864, Billy Watson, lit
tie as he was, moved wide swath" in
Battery B.
i saw him about four years ago at the
Regular Soldiers Home in Washington.
Tom Broderick and | drove out there one
Sunday to see him. He was all crippled I'D
with rheumatism and wasted away, but
there was still plenty of fire in his badger
like gray eyes, and / have no doubt that
even then a couple Of drinks and an insult
would have limbered up mis- Joints again for
minute or two, at least, like cd times.
Well, well, ] see that am getting garrul-
Gus, like all old men when they 90 back 81
years.
But when see anything about the Regu-
lar artillery, like COmrade Scott's article. il
stIrs me mp. l want TO ], ad more from his
pen. And If he is the same Tom Scott who
was transferred to our battery in the Fall of
1864, along with Eph Croker, Billy Watson,
ct al, hope 10 have the pleasure of meeting
him AT the forthcoming Encampment at
Pittsburg at the Duquesne Hotel.-THE
CAHNoNEER.
EXPLAINS 1T.
An Eagle Regiment Man Supplements Lieut..
MooFefs fafa