The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1895-08-16

Cleburne had been promoted to lead q
division, but kept his Irishmen around
him, Arkansans and Tennesseeans as
we'll. His old brigade, under Lucius
Polk, made some of the bloodiest charges
of the day and always had the luck to
run against Union batteries. They took
them in, too, on the way. The Tennes-
see Irishmen alone ran through one,
without stopping to count guns or pris-
oners. This was at the hospital which
they carried by a grand rush. They like
wise fought in the famous cedar brakes
with the regulars. One incident of that
bloody spot is described by the Tennes-
See annalist, showing that rishmen APP
preciate valor for it's own sake. He
says: "Our regiment, having driven the
enemy from the bushes on our left, was
hotly engaged in front when a regiment
in blue, forced out on our right moved
by the left flank at double quick, right
shoulder shift, across our front, taking
our well directed fire at so PAGES with
out altering the step Of single man. L
called for cheer for those men as they
passed OUT OF range. '.'...
A thrilling description of the battery
capture is also given. The author led a
company in that charge and lost over
half his men. ''In our advance" he
says, 1--WE had driven line across a
cornfeld the other side of which stood a
four gun battery, still playing on us.
For moment we lay low from the rat
thing grape, but quick the order was
passed down the line, Fix bayonets as
you lier At once, with yell we were
on the run; the line of supports gave
way and two guns followed. The riders
of the other two cut their horses loose
and left their gunners, the last Of whom
was killed with the lanyard in his hand.
Among my killed was my first lieuten-
ant, all educated Irishman brave to q
would die that day-this was in answer
to my question as to why he had donned
bright new uniform and white kids
adding that he had saved them for the
occasion and meant to die like a gen
tleman.
The Tennessee captain lays stress upon
another popularity of his Irishmen.
The wounded never "hollered. In the
battery charge mentioned one of them
had leg badly shattered by bullet
A strong kind hearted prisoner, seeing
his cheerfulness offered to "tote" him
to the surgeons in the rear. AS he was
borne away upon the back Of the Fed
eral, his captain heard him whistling
"The Girl Left Behind Me. a."
The Fifth could not have been a fight
ing regiment Of the west nor Cleburne
regiment without a record at Chicka
manga, Atlanta and Franklin. In these
three desperate contests Cleburne turned
to his old command for last resource
as jackson often did to the "Stonewall
brigade In fact it was his habit to
fight a division until it was no longer
division, then take in the brigades sep
arately until they ceased to be brigades,
doing the same with the regiments and
end up with the scattered fragments.
The greatest war tragedy of the west
was closely connected with this band of
belligerent exiles. That was the mys-
terious killing of Mcpherson. At the
battle Of July %, in front of Atlanta,
the Fifth marched with Cleburne on his
flank attack, and in passing along the
Union front became entangled in some
woods. Three men. among them Cor
poral Robert Coleman, made short cut
to reach the column beyond the OBJ
struction and encountered Mcpherson,
with his aids, riding between the lines.
Coleman singled out the "shining
mark, and all unaware of what he was
doing shot down the commander Of the
Army of the Tennessee. Coleman was
taken prisoner soon after and in the
north learned who his victim was. 1t is
easy to accept the statement of the an
nalist that Coleman "always regretted
that shot, so fatally made ON the i'm
pulse Of the moment. He was as mod
est and unassuming as he was true and
brave.
No martial career ever had more lofty
climax than Cleburne's at Franklin. All
but few files of these men who had