The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1895-10-04

press tIut lulll ou,UuO people NeIG
forced to walk back 10 the city from
Battlefield station. a distance of II
miles. because OF inadequate pro-
visions for moving the crowd.
The Chickamauga Park covers ter
ritory Of three and half by four and
a half miles in size. reaching from
Crawfish Spring on the south to the
Kelley farm on the north, and from
Rossville Gap on the west to the east
ern line of battle, three and a half
miles. The government has already
expended $750,000 in clearing up and
constructing drives in the Chickamau-
ga Park and Missionary Ridge Park.
the latter covering only a few hun
dred acres, although connected with
Chickamauga Park by series of mag
nificent drives lined with monuments
and tablets. These drives are the
home of the bicyclist. The grades
over the hills. ridges and into the hol-
lows and ravines have been made
easy by taking winding courses and
by grading and filling. The govern
ment work has practically just been
commenced, while the work of erect
Ing monuments and tablets by the diff
| fereut states is sill in it's infancy, as
is shown by numerous boards bearing
| inscriptions stating that monument
or tablet will be erected here, which
are met with on every hand.
One peculiarly pathetic incident
came under the writer's observation
Thursday at Chickamauga. An old
confederate veteran was stretched
upon n cot upon the Great of a large
| hill near SnOdgrass. His cot was I'M
der a large chestnut The old fellow
was warped out of all semblance 10
the human form divine" A tablet
upon his cot stated th..t he was
wounded by minnie ball under that
identical chestnut the first day of the
battle and lie there As hours uncared
for. His wound and subsequent eX-
posture had resulted in his deformity.
Many were the quarters, half-dollars,
1 dollars and even flve-dollar pieces
that were cast into the cup which lie
awaiting donations upon the old fell
lows pillow. 1t was observable that
there was nothing less than quarter
donated. An attendant removed the
contents Of the cup every few mo
ments, returning it to the pillow with
perhaps one fve-dollar. bill and two
silver dollars remaining in it as a
nest egg to induce more. 1t would
| have required considerable nerve fol
anyone to put less than quarter into
the cup with those larger pieces OF
money staring him in the face. Tn
doubtedly the old fellow had "cinch'
on the best thing on the ground. ii
is to he hoped he received enough TO
supply. well his temporal wants for
| the rest of his days, which cannot be
long drawn out If his physical all
ments can be taken as Il guide TO his
longevity.
When the government shall have
made all the improvements contcm-
plated in the park by the construction
of many new roads. the transformation
OF the several hundred acres of open
fields into immense lawns and flower
gardens, when the thousands of acres
OF woodlands have received their car
pct of blue grass, all the underbrush
removed, when the states have erected
all their monuments and tablets, when
all the old farm buildings have been
restored to their battle-time conditions
(thosc few In which changes have been
madc), then indeed will Chickamauga
A
world, TO say nothing Of the surround
ing parks of Missionary Ridge and
Lookout.
II will be Interesting to old soldiers
20 know that the government paid The
widow Glenn and farmer Dyer $4,000
each for their few miserably worthless
acres OF Georgia soil and their still
more worthless buildings; Slat Snod
grass and Kelley received $500 each
for their still more worthless farms
These are sums that are simply fab
ulous for Tennessee and Georgia
mountain farmers.
It was no uncommon thing the past
week TO sec "old vets and others dig
ging over the leaves in the park fol
relics of the war in the way of bullets
sabers, bayonets, gun locks, buckles
etc. And II was no uncommon thing
for their efforts TO be rewarded by the
finding of relics of considerable value
as such. IT did not require prolonged
search 10 locate q hundred trees shat
tered with shot and shell. Many OF
these could still be seen protrudinl
from the torn sides, partially grown
over by the lapse OF 80 years. A large
live oak tree in front of the Snodgrass
house, to which Gen. Thomas had his
horse tied during n greater portion OF
the engagement of September 20, '63
plainly shows four pieces Of shell
three minnie balls and two projectiles
from cannon. The pine tree upon the
top OF Snodgrass hill, in the top OF
which Gen. Thomas made his observa
tons, is riddled from top to bottom
with shot and shell. 1t is still alive
and is the center of much search.
Two months after the battle OF
Chickamauga the last stand for the
field having been made by tho federnls
near the crest of Snodgrass hill, on the
evening OF September 20, before re
treating to Chattanooga, n point
marked by the government by mag.
nificent granite monument. was fought
the battle OF Missionary Ridge. This
battle was notable more for the dar
ing Of its conception than for the
slaughter which accompanied It.
Gen. Grant, learning of the confed.
crate victory st Chickamauga, deter.
mined to render the victory only TEN
porary. He was then in Nashville and
centered his forces in Chattanooga.
| Gen. Hooker WAS oncamncd on Moe.