The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-01-07
C0MRADELY TALK,
From One to Whom Years Have
Brought Charity

EDITOR NATIONAL Tribune. jelly
regular and rather thorough reader OF the
columns of the soldiers friend, The Ma
rIoNAL TRIBUNE, and greatly interested IN
the welfare of the Grand Army oil tue ne
public, am sometimes amused, ana at o'ncr
times panied, at the ideas advanced oy some
of the old comrades. It seems impossible
for some to realize what an innn'esi"n
part of the grand whole they or their organl-
cations were in the mighty operations OF the
Union armies from 1861 to 1860.
We. the survivors of those perilous days,
are getting old, and it is generally conceded
with advancing years we become more hrm
in our convictions, our prejudices are
stronger. and some even intimate that we
are becoming a set of cranks. lis 1t not
possible for us to recount our experience ana
fight our battles DER without INDUCING In
personal determinations and mean, hate1ui
filings at comrades or organizations! we
ought always to remember that we are COM
rades. and that that title should be more
endearing than that of any other fraternal
society on earth. From the very nature OF
things we could not all see the same action
in the same lights and shadows L nave
in mind notable example of this IN my
own experience At the first battle in which
NV regiment was engaged the Unlon forces
were outfianked, outnumbered, and quite
panic ensued. AS consequence the Medi-
cal Department of the brigade, OF which our
regimental Surgeon was the head, was
ordered to the rear, and were compelled
to make their exit rather unceremonl-
ously through broken and disorganlzed
bodies of troops. Our Surgeon, who was, by
the way, an eminently fair-minded and
truthful man, supposing that all parts oil
the line was in the same condition as IN ms
immediate vicinity, wrote home that the
regiment was swept from the held without
making any resistance" giving the impress
sion that their conduct was not soldieriy,
when the fact was that the regiment was In
line-of-battle, facing the enemy, and hero
ically contending with superior numbers,
while the old doctor was riding to the rear
with the stragglers, and no man in the army
was more surprised than he to learn later
on that his own regiment had had 81 men
shot down in attempting to hold their
position. and had received the thanks and
praise of the Commanding General for their
soldierly conduct under very trying circum-
stances. merely mention this incident to
show how easy it is to be mistaken, and
with what facility falee reports get clrcu-
lated.
want to extend the right hand Of fellow
ship to the comrade who signs himself Corp1
Brogan, of the 1st L. l., in your issue OF Dec
10. His article breathes the spirit of true
comrsdeship, and will be read and believed
by thousands where the egotistical bragga-
docia of those who can see nothing good, ex-
cept in their own commands, will fall Hat.
1t is strange that we poor mortals cannot
realize that the moment we endeavor to
haul down our brothers in order to build up
our own regulations, that moment we COM
mepce the manufacture of petard which
will surely react upon ourselves.
In your issues of Dec and 10 comrades
take exceptions to the issuing of the Con
gressional Medal of Honor" / do not agree
with the comrades. Nor do they make a
fair statement of the conditions under which
the medal is given. The Editor OF THE Ma
TIoNAL TRIBUNE, Dec 10, makes telling
point regarding the muddled condition of
those who mistake money for wealth. The
two comrades referred to above appear to be
muddled by mistaking what the medal is
given for. 1t is not given for general good
soldiership," but for some specified act of
rallantry, and does not indicate that another
comrade would not have performed the same
service under like conditions. It simply
means that this comfade was placed in GER
tain conditions wherein the chance to show
his mettle occurred, and that when the
chance came he proved equal to the occasion.
There is no more reason for their comrades
feeling insulied or jealous than there is for
ue who passed through the ordeal unecratched
feeling injured because many other CON-
rades got in the path of bullets, lost q leg OF
IN arn, and are now drawing pension for it.
1t is not fact that any so-called "politi-
cal pull can obtain for a man one of those
coveted bits Of bronze, unless his own CON-
rades who were eyewitness to the act
shall bear false witness; and if anyone
thinks they are issued for trivial causes, let
him try and obtain one on that basis.
For instance, that Corporal of the color
guard of the 124th Ohio. They had at
tempted to take line Of works down in
the Georgia woods, charging up to within O
few PAGES; but the pits were too heavily
manned; and they were forced to retire a
short distance. In this retrograde move
ment the Color-Sergeant was killed; and
as the regiment turned to face the foe in i,s
retired position their colors lay Is rods in
front. midway between their line and tina,
of the foe. Instantly one Of the color-guard
sprang forward, but ere he reached the faa
his body was literally riddled with rebe
lead. Another went forward, but wa.
killed like the first, and third essayed t.
rescue the sacred emblem. He reached it
but as he stopped to pick it up he, too
went down, never to rise again. Now, oul
Corporal, regardless of the fact that four O
his comrades had been stricken down. rushed
forward, caught up the colors, and brought
them back TO their place in the line. 1t il
said that the enemy, seeing his daring
beroism, ceased firing, and allowed him I,
return unframed. This was little &C,
only required a few brief moments in it
execution, yet who will say that he does no
deserve the medal, or that it was not fairl,
won?
Again, on that hot ID of July, at Gettys
burg, when in that whirlpool of deaf
around the Peach Orchard the gallant oil
Third Corps was forced back, after fghtin
one of the most deadly heroic battles of an
war, Maj. Baldwin, sorely wounded, dit
mounted, stretched upon the ground almos
in the grasp of the enemy, when private
his old company went back at the immner
peril of his life and brought his beloved con
rade off the field, and the gallant Majt
lived to tell the story. Surely every bras
and generous comrade would vote TO civ
that private the badge of courage
Just one more. At the battle of Peac
Tree Creek, when the serried lines in gra
pressing forward, battle-lipe after BATH
line, found an opening between the Fir
and Second Divisions Of the Twentiei
Corps, and pouring into the breach hs
almost turned the flank of tn WIN
Stars and created some disorder, liable