The National tribune., 1897-10-28
PICKET SHOTS
From Alert Comrades Along the
Whole Line.


II, 57th H., Manson, Iowa, writing OF the
draft near Springfield, H., lin 1864,
says: " remember one morning In Decem-
ber when 128 men from the Joliet Peniten-
tiary were received. fner-lOoking set OF
men l never saw. They were chained In
gangs of six. II was by permission OF Gov.
Dick Yates that these men took the oath OF
allegiance. After they had assumed the regu-
lation attire they were escorted to barracks
No. "A for further duties.
"In few days orders came to prepare for
the Journey to the 'front.' We left Camp
Butler in the morning and arrived at Lafay-
cite, Ind, in the night. One of the cars
was telescopsd, and we soon discovered that
our birds had flown to parts unknown. l
cannot forget the language of Capt Haight
and his men when they learned OF the
escape. One sentinel remarked that he was
to attend the door. Diyil a-bit was he in
structed TO watch the roof of the car
"Arriving at Nashville at o'clock On the
morning of Dec. Is, when roll was called
and we lined up at the Zolicoffer rendezvous,
and were received by Uncle Sans clerks,
out of 1913 / think about 40 answered.
As soon as daylight came the ball was
opened, and we took leave of our once
happy guests. they going into battle, while
signed to the 57th ILL.,, had orders to report
in New York Harbor.n
Tennessee Loyalfsts.
Charles r. Wilson, I'd Tenn. Cav, Dayton,
Tenn, writing of the loyalty of the people
of Tennessee says: We were forced TO de-
eide between the Union and the rebel causes.
In the later part of 1861 between 400 and
500 gathered at Sale Creek Campgrounds,
| vSd Iyc
recruiting officer from Cumberland Ford,
KY. The rebels partially surrounded us,
and We were forced to retreat. At Sc
quatchie Valley our pilot was killed and
many wounded. The night was dark; the
men became scattered, and nearly ali were
taken prisoners or killed. VIM. l.. Wilson,
James Rigsley, and / were in prison at
Knoxville with William L. Brownlow. We
escaped in July, 1862, and joined the ID
| Tenn. Cav. at Cumberland Gap. / served
| until the regiment was mustered out, and
was badly wounded in the head while On
cavalry raid in Mississippi. was never in
the hospital, as I would have been captured
had / not been tied to my horse. After IL
years. effort secured q pension of So, a very
small reward for three years service"
One of the Youngest.
James Mills, Buffalo, n. Y, has some
claim to being one of the youngest soldiers.
His father served in the u. s. Army 80
years, and was member of the TIN u. 5.
Inf when Comrade Mills was born, May 20,
1949. At the age Of II years and eight
months Comrade Mills enlisted as musi-
clan, and was assigned TO Co. II, I'd bat
TALON, 18th L. S. Inf. He was discharged,
and re-enlisted Dec. T. 1863 He partici-
pated in many battles. He was discharged
Dec. Z, 1868; re-enlisted at Newport Bar
racks, KY, and went TO Fort Wayns Mich,
where he was discharged June Is, 1877,
from the 22d U. s., to which he had been
transferred Dec. IA, 1877, saw him again
at the rscruiting-office at Governors Island,
N. Y. In 1873 he was transferred to Co. B,
22d u. S., and was honorably discharged
in May, 1879. He then entered the 74th
". Y. N. G. as Drum Major; re-enlsted in
the 65th n. Y. N. G. in 1884, and is now
serving the third year of his third enlist
ment.
"Fightins Regiments"
j. W. Homer, Co. C, 69,h Ohio, Louis
vile. Kan, writing of the 900 fighting
regiments" says: There was no difference
in the fighting qualities OF the Union SOL
diers by organized regiments. / claim that
the number lost by any particular command
was dependent entirely upon their position.
1t may have been in advancing or retreat
ing, in woods or open field, on the level
plain or behind a hill. In time of battle
one battalion may have fought under cover,
while another near by may have been in an
open field, both battaliOns doing their duty
as brave soldiers.
"Those who belonged to fighting regi-
ments should not feel honored above other
brave comrades who were not so unfor-
tunate as to be caught IN such exposed pO-
sitions l remember very distinctly how /
felt when we had orders to advance in an
open field. / knew we could not all es-
cape. But when we moved forward in
broken timber land always felt much bet
ter, as the danger was not near so great.
II never will forget what l saw at Jones'
boro, Ga. Our regiment lay down under
cover to the left about 300 yards from the
Regulars and the 17th N. Y. We saw these
regiments go over the enemy's works and
capture six-gun battery and whole bri-
gade of rebels Those battalions lost heavily,
| while our loss was light. They charged
through an open cornfield; we advanced in
the timber"
Defense OF McClernand.
Edmund Marsh, st. Louis, Mo-, writes to
| make defense of Gen. John A. McCler-
uanQ, OF ILLINOIS, VINO U0 says LAS 30 lOuS
rested under the implied censure of his
supsriors, without the possibility of appeal
| or virdication, that this generation is almost
| prepared to believe there was something
reprehensble in his military conduct. The
plain fact is there was not in the whole army
q moro patriotic, brave, or capable volunteer
soldier.
| "At Belmont, at Donelson and at Shiloh
his division stood as an impassable barrier
between the loyal States and the vindictive
hordes of the rebellion. No one showed
greater eagerness to do his full share of it,
on every field, than McClernand. But he
had learned to use the pen as well as the
sword. No, not quite as well, for his pen
soon made him enemies at Headquarters,
where until then his sword had made him
only friends
"Since that fatal 22d of May, 1863, with
the exception of an unavsiling demand for
official investigation, he has maintained o
digniisd silence, waiting calmly in the hope
that impartial history may some day do him
full justice. The noble army corps he had
organized and SO ably commanded until that
cruel day at Vicksburg had many gallant
leaders, and bore a famous part in the awful
struggle that lasted two years longer, though
none more jealous or watchful, or who took
greater pride in its achievements than he
who was thencsforth doomed to enforced
| idlsness in the North, while they in the