The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1896-10-22
PICKET SHOTS
From Alert Comrades All Along the
Line.
Concerning "Ned Buntline."

Concerning "Ned Buntline."
A few weeks ago Comrade Fred Mather,
SO Linden street, Brooklyn, N. T., asked ior
information concerning the military service
of Edward q. c. Judson, better known as
"Ned Buntline" Comrade Mather now
writes:
"My little note has brought me such
flood of letters that l cannot reply to them
separately. l had no idea that every vet
eran read THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE, or II
they did, that they would respond IN sucn a
wholesale manner I now thank them all
in this same column.
"Yet, have not got what want. Ihat
he served in the LIST N. Y. MID rifles Is
affirmed by score, they ranking him from
private to First Lieutenant. His name IS
not on the rolls of the regiment when 1t was
mustered into the U. S. service, nor Is 1T
among the complete lists OF officers OF vol
unteers Of every regiment and State. rive
comrades say that he was transferred to the
Veteran Reserve Corps as First Lieutenant
/ have not access to the rolls OF that corps.
/ can and will get his record from the war
Department; but l am writing character
sketches of "Men / have fished with " for
Forest and Stream, and / wanted more than
mere dates of enlistment and discharge, II
could get it.
81 fished with him at Eagles Nest" in
the Adirondacks, and know all about his
part in the Astor Place Opera House riots In
New York, and his literary career from the
publication of the weekly called /" Ned
Buntline's own" to his amassing fortune
as writer of frontier romances for other
publications.
81 only lack incidents in his military life
4. l. L. ha nrA
by the records. That is, / want to be sure
of my facts. The sketch of him in Apple
toms Cyclopedia of American Biography is
not correct so far as the statement that
"durng the war he was Chief of Scouts With
the rank of Colonel" is concerned. He
was strange man, impulsive, passionate,
patriotic to a rare degree, with faults and
failings balanced by many good traits. A
most remarkable character"
His Claim just One.
George M. Hare, Co. M, Sd r. /. Fl. A., sc
Main street, Woonsocket, X. l., writes:
"When the war broke out threw up 500
per month to serve as a private soldier.
Soon after arriving at Hilton Head Gen.
Hunter discovered that / was a master me-
chanic, and just the man to superintend the
repairing OF several steamboats,, there not
being another man in the Department capa-
BILE of doing the work.
II was detailed under General Order as
Chief Ship Carpenter of the Harbor, and or
dered to Bufort, S. c., to raise sunken
steamboat, to dress her with new bottom,
cover her with metal armor and send her
adrift The work was done in the most sat-
isfactory manner. The boat was named the
S. Darlington, and was worth several hundred
~ oil fo ho Gnvprnmenf
1.-THE steamer Planter received the same
| treatment, and they proved the most useful
| boats at that time in the Department. To
| perform the work it was necessary to build
| a set of weighs / also superin ended re-
pairing the Mayfower, Cosmopolitan, Nep-
| tune Reindeer, and other boats. During all
| that service l received soldiers pay, while
| civilians working under ny orders received
| IS day and Government rations. For the
| truth of these assertions ] can refer to Col.
| G. E. Fuller, Boston; Capt. Lewis, Bangor,
| Me-; Capt. Elbridge, of the Planter; Gen.
/ Saxton, and many others.
"The work necessitated my standing in
mud and water day after day for IA months.
| Being young and enthusiastic, / followed it
| up for Uncle Sam and Old Glory until taken
down with a violent attack of rheumatism,
which assumed chronic form and holds me
down TO the present day. During the past
few years my sufferings have been augment
ed by gangrene and dropsy. The doctors
gave me up, and nothing short of the miracu-
lous enables me to pen these lines.
Il have bill before the Senate to grant
me as much pay as those who worked under
my instructions. Said bill was read twice
and ordered printed, and laid before the
Committee On Claims. Senator Sawyer en-
tered the bill, and it is now in the hands OF
Senator Aldricb."
| Knew Capt. De RudiO.
| ]. nj. Wertz Assistant Surgeon, I'd q. s.
! G.. r., Crestline, o., writes: In your issue
of Sept 10 1 perceive an allusiOn to Capt.
Chas. c. De Rudio, 7th U. S. Cav. It recalled
wildly to my memory "reminiscences Of my
army life l we'll remember De Rudio tell
| ing me of his hairbreadth escape from death
/ for his connection with the Orsini plot, one
dark, rainy day in 1865, at Fort Taylor, Key
West, Fla. De Rudio was not al officer OF
| the 10Th n. Y, as one would infer from
your article, but was promoted to Second
Lieutenant Of Co. d, I'd U. S. C. T., from
the 10Th N. Y. l would love to see the
| Captain again. He will perceive by this
that | am still on top of the earth. DE
Rudio, with 10 or II others, made his escape
from the French South American fort to i'm
prisonment for life; his death sentence had
been committed. Jonathan w. Childs, Major
4th Mich, was Captain of Co. D, I'd q. S. G. T..
of which De Rudio was Second Lieutenant
"Many of the officers of the old I'd U. S.
C. T. have joined the silent majority since
the war. Lieut.-Col. Wilder, Capts. Moore
and Barthoff, also Capt Ames and Lieut.
Hiltz, are gone Col. Townsend left my
place in February, 1892, for Alaska, first
going to Texas, since which nothing has
been heard of him."
Rebel Charge Repulsed.
Capt. S. T. Malehorn, 22d ILL.,, Langlois
Ore, writes: "The rebel press, both NORTH
and South, is constantly referring to thu
grand rally of the boys in blue around Maj
Mckinley as buns and Government pau
pers.' Allow me to say that, in response tt
my Picket Shot of July 16, have received
and answered II letters of inquiry abou
homesteads and properties in this County
Nine-tenths of them say they have from
$500 to $4,000, with which they want t.
buy homes in this mild climate. Two per
sons asked me to send them tickets to ena
BILE them to come and work for me. / an
glad to say neither of them had been Uniol
soldiers, but no doubt believe in Is to 1
NV correspondents are all men of families
and inquire about schools and church priv
leges; which goes to prove they are good citi
zens where they live, and will be blessing
to us when they cast their lot in this lane