The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-10-21

reer of the famous fighter, and showed
what he considered necessary 10 pre-
] serve discipline in the absence OF spe-
| cific regulations.
One OF the worst punishments inflicted
upon the soldier is known as drum
ming him out Of the army" 1t implies
that he is not fit person TO be an as
sociate with the other soldiers. This was
the punishment inflicted upon private
| 1ams at the time OF the Homesead Strike
| Iams, VINO was in a PittSourg militia
regiment was overheard to declare that
the soldiers ought not to be used to pre-
serve order during a strike. This talk
was nothing more nor less than mutiny.
| and, coming 10 the knowledge Of Major
| General Snowden, who was in comma nd,
| he ordered that Iams be drummed from
| the regiment. One-half OF his head was
shaved and one-half of his beard re-
moved, and then to the tune Of Tine
| Rogue's March he was drummed from
| the camp.
The case brought so much notoriety 70
Iams that ne was forced TO leave his
home in Pittsburg. He brought suit
for damages against General Snowden,
but he did not recover any pecuniary
satisfaction for the way in which he had
been treated.
In his Personal Memories" General
Shernaid tells Of the drumming out of
camp of four officers who had been gull
ty OF cowardice at the Battle of Stone
River. He says: During the engage
ment there had been little stragnling.
and the list Of missing was small and
legitimate. Still it was known that a
few had shirked thir duty, and an ex-
ample was necessary. Among this small
number were four officers, who, it was
charged, had abandoned their colors and
regiments. When their guilt was clear.
ly established, and as soon as opportun-
ity occurred, caused the division TO be
formed in hollow square, closed in
mass, and had the four officers marched
10 the centre, where, telling them that
I would not fumiliate any officer or SOL
der by requiring him to touch their dis
gracei swords, l compelled them TO de-
liver theirs up 10 my colored servant
who also cut from their coats every in
sigma of rank. Then, after there mad
been read to- the command an order
from army headquarters dlsmissing the
four from Service, the scene was brought
to close by drumming the comards
out Of camp. II was a Notifying spec
tacle, but from that day no officer in
that division ever abandoned mis- colors."
DURING THE REBELLION.
.--.~-
during the rebellion TO enforce disci-
pline among the soldiers. On account OF
some the punishments common in the
Army Of the Potomac. in the winter OF
1864 is given by Frank Wilkeson in
his, 'Recollections OF a Private Soldier"
He says:
1.-The punishments inflicted on the en-
listed men were various, and some OF
them We're horribly brutal and needless
ly severe, but they apparently served
their purpose. and the times were cruel
and men had been hardened to bear the
suffering OF other men without wincing.
One punishment much affected in the
light artillery was called tying on the
spare wheel Springing upward and
rearward from the center rail of every
caisson was a fifth axle. and on it was
a spare weheel. A soldier who had been
insubordinate was taken 10 the spare
wheel and forced to step upon IT, His
legs were drawn apart until they SPAN
ned three spokes. His hands were
stretched until there We're three or four
spokes between his hands. Then feet
and hands were firmly bound TO the fell
11oe 10 81
be punished moderately ne was left
bound in an upright position on the
wheel for five or six hours. II the pun
ishment was 10 be severe the ponderous
wheel was given a quarter turn after the
soldier had been lashen 70 1t, which
changed the position Of the man being
punished from an upright position to a
horizontal one. Then the prisoner had
to exert all his strength to keep his
weight from pulling heavily and cutting
on the cords that bound his upper arm
and leg to the wheel. I have frequent
ly seen men feaint while undergoing the
punishment, and have known men to
endure il for hours without nurmuring.
but with white faces and set jaws and
blazing eyes. To cry out, 20 beg for
mercy, TO protest, insured additional dis
comfort in the shape OF a gag. a rough
stick being tied into the suffering mans
mouth. Tying on the spare wheel was
the usual punishment in the artillery
service for rather serious offenses, and
no man wanted ID be tied up but once.
TYING ON THE RACK.
There was another punishment which
was much more severe jlan the spare
wheel, and which, because Il was apt %
cripple the man physically. vas very
rarely used. This was known as Tying
on the rack Back OF every battery
wagon is heavy. strong rack on which
forage is carried II stands cut abou:
two feet behind the wheels. It's edge 1.
not over an inch thick The solder who
was TO suffer the ;o-,ures ot tie rack
was I'D 10 il. His hands were dragged
forward as ta- as they could be withou.
lifting his feet from ne ground, ana
there they were bound 70 the felloes o.
the wheel. Then one Zoo, vas lifted ana |
bound % the teiioe os one wheel. then
the other foo was bound 10 the feiloa I
oS the other weheL The whole weigh. /
% the soldier was thrown on his chest.
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