The National tribune., 1894-04-05
CHAMPIONS HILL.
Comrade Boring "Refurns the Fire" of
Comrade johnson.

Comrade Boring Returns the Fire" oil
Comrade Johnson.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: beg leave
| to return the fire of Comrade johnson, Co.
K, 10th Mo-, in the issue of Jan. II, by say
ing that / stand corrected on the capture OF
| Champions Hill battlefield by Joe Johnston,
and am glad to know that l pressed but
ton that gave me light on that subject. l
| knew that our wounded Captain was left on
| the field there among the other wounded
that he was taken prisoner and his leg am
putated by the enemy; that he died there
in their hands, and was buried by them.
But / have always been under the impress
sion that the battlefield was taken posses
| sion Of by the enemy ON the day following
the battle, instead of few days later, as
Comrade johnson states. l knew nothing
about any of our boys being left there to see
| after the dead and wounded, neither did
know of Pembertons sending men back from
Vicksburg to see after his unfortunates, as
stated by Comrade Johnson.
Now, this clears that matter up; but l
would like to take another whack at Com
| rade Johnson or some other alert comrade
who knows about the burying of the dead
at Champions Hin.
l would like to know whose dead it was,
and who buried them in the gulies on the
hillside along the road slOping south from
Champions Hill. This battle, you know,
was fought on the 10Th day of May. AS
said once before, as soon as the fOrmalities
| of the surrender at Vicksburg were over the
command to which my reg iment belonged
was sent back on the Jackson road after Joe
Johnston, and pushed him beyond Pearl
| River again. / think it was about the 9Th
day of July we passed along the road across
| the Champions Hill battlefield, and at the
mouth or lower end of these gullies lay heaps
of human bones that had been washed down
| there from the gullies, where the dead had
been thrown and buried instead of in graves
on the top of the hill. These bones were
entirely destitute of flesh and naked, except
the feet still had the shoes on. / remember
| noticing how oddly the bones looked with
shoes on, and how nicely the shoes were
still tied. Perhaps Comrade Johnson could
tell whose bones these were, and how they
| came to be there.
Comrade Johnson also says that he was
one of the fellows who helped do the fight
| ing along the Clinton road On the 14th.
But we blazed that road on the 18th, going
east from Edwards Station to Jackson, end
| then marched back west over it in peace on
the 18th, till we reached the vicinity OF
road on the l4th he must have been fight
ing Pemberton's men, and going west. We
| fought at Raymond on the 18th, and took
the town without the people, as we found it
deserted by both soldiers and citizens.
| / remember that we went into the un-
occupied houses and borrowed the bedding,
| stoves, cooking utensils, chairs, ETC., and
| took them out to camp and used them that
night, but got marching orders so early next
morning that we had not time to return
them, and marched away long before day
light, leaving beds, stoves, etc, where we
used them. We cooked ON stoves sat on
chairs, and slept on beds that night.
OF course we had little to cook, no time
for sitting, and didn't sleep late. We broke
camp at Hardtimes Landing, in Milliken's
Bend, on the Louisiana side of the river,
opposite Vicksburg on the night of April
| 80, while the gunbOats were running the
ten miles of batteries around the horseshoe
bend past Vicksburg. Our road down the
levee on the Louisiana side was lighted up
by the cannOnade, fre-rafts, etc, at Vicks-
burg. In the morning May 1, we found
ourselves at Grand Gulf, where we crossed
the river in face of Joe Johnston's army
whom we drove before us in series OF
battles to Jackson Miss As miles east, and
| then turned back west and pushed Pember-
ton into Vickshurg on the 18th of May
All this on five days rations, and without
having our belts or shoes off; so you can
see for yourself that We hadn't much to
cook nor long to stay at any one place.
3. r. BORING, Co. D, 30th Ill.