News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1897-05-26
PRAYING SOLDIERS.
SKETCHES ABOUT CHAPLAINS OF THE
UNION ARMY.

Inc llIe OF an army cnaplaln is peculiar
in many respects. In the days of active
service he touched the men of the ranks
on the plane of their deeper sentiments,
said Bishop Fallows to reporter of the
Chicago Evening Post But quite as fire.
quently he encountered incidents which
were the height of the ludicrous.
Sometimes a chaplain is tempted, I'M
der the extreme and peculiar excitement
of duty on the battlefield, to forget the
dignity of his sacred calling and give way
to language and emotions that would be
utterly foreign to him under normal cir
cumstances / never knew a better illus
tration of this tendency than an incident
which occurred just after the battle of
Pittsburg Landing. The chaplain of an
Ohio regiment son of one of the most dis
tinguished ministers of the Methodist
Episcopal church, was present at this en-
gagement. The first night there was
scarcely any help for the wounded and dy-
ing ON that terrible field. Men were every
where moaning and crying for water, and
this chaplain was one of the few who
worked all night on the field to relieve the
suffering soldiers.
early in the morning the chaplain of
another regiment appeared on the scene.
The weary Ohio chaplain had found some
straw with which he was constructing
rude beds for the wounded boys. No sooner
did he note the arrival of his fellow chap
lain than he informed the latter as to the
location of the straw stack and babe him
join in the work of improvising beds for
the wounded. Immediately after enlisting
the newcomer in this good work he was
called to another part of the field. Re
turning a few minutes later, he was aston
ished, not to say angered, to find the other
chaplain excitedly watching the distant
engagement and muttering:
There, that's our battery, know!
"The Ohio chaplain was utterly exhaust
ed and scarcely responsible for what he
said. Snatching from his pocket revolv-
er he aimed it at his dilatory and absent
minded brother and exclaimed:
Battery, hi I'll blow your head off
If you don't go after that straw-mighty
quick tool
cit is needless to say that the delinquent
chaplain was Immediately aroused to a
keen sense of duty and made a wild dash
in the direction of the straw stack. After
the tremendous excitement of the engage
ment was over and the Ohio chaplain had
opportunity w llDOh Ills udSUy COu-
duct he was utterly overcome with shame
and remOrse, and to this day he can scarce
ly relate the incident without tears of
penitence.
81 heard Colonel Granville Moody, one
of the most prominent Methodist minis
tiers of Ohio and colonel of a splendid regi-
ment from that state, relate an incident
much in the same line Just as his regi-
ment was going into action Colonel Moody
drew up before his men and shouted, in
tones that could be heard far down the
line, Now, boys, give them h-r
81 have Colonel Moodys own word for
it that the unfinished portion of the sem
tence was Hail Columbia, but the latter
fragment of his exclamation was drowned
by the roar of battle. After the, engage
ment was over he was requested to report
at division headquarters, where he en-
countered sedate and distinguished as
semblage of generals, colonies and other
officers.
Colonel Moody, said the general of
the division, L am sure that you under
stand that the regulations of this army
forbid swearing. l have learned that as
your regiment was about to go into action,
you made use of very emphatic language,
which might possibly come under that
clause of our regulations
"There were several moments of pro-
found silence before the general continued
But, colonel, your boys obeyed your
command so gloriously that l forgive you,
army regulations or no army regulations,
and congratulate you on having such a
splendid regiment
"But l must tell you story of Chaplain
Hagerty's first experience of soldier life.
1t is one which he never tires of repeating.
His regiment was from Missouri and was
stationed alongside the Thirty second Wis
consin, of which l was chaplain, while we
were in camp at Memphis. Both regi-
ments were new in service, but the Thirty
second was "a little the greener if anything.
The encampment contained at that time
nearly so, 900 troops, with General Sher-
man in command.
"For the first time the Thirty second
was called upon to furnish pickets along
Sherman's line. The boys managed to get
through the night all right but as they
were returning to camp they were ordered
to go into a ravine near at hand and dis
charge their muskets. Instead of firing
them simultaneously in single volley, as
they should have done, one soldier started
the discharge, another quickly followed
suit, and then the entire detail broke into
a haphazard fusillade.
Suddenly the long roll was sounded by
Hagerty's regiment, and was then taken
up in turn by every regiment in camp, I'M
til every corps was drumming for dear life
Next the alarm gun at Fort Pickering
Numbered out it's warning. General off
GERS with their stats began dashing hither
and thither in the hottest haste. General
Sherman was instantly ON the scene and
began to make disposition of the troops
CAN this time, however, the Thirty Sec
ond regiment was in blissful unconscious
ness of the excitement and trouble which
the discharge of the pickets' guns had
caused. After a time a general with "a
dozen aids rode at full speed into our
camp, drew rein and demanded:
Where's the colonel of this regiment?'
"Colonel James H. Howe, its command
or, afterward the well known general man
Rger of the Chicago, Minneapolis and St.
Paul railway, came from his tent, bare
headed and appearing the picture of aston
ishment.
What have you been doing, STRIP ex-
claimed the general. Who Is il that has
been firing in such furious mannerP'
Why, it is only our pockets who have
been discharging their guns before return
ing into camp was Colonel Howe's reply
Are you new regiments' inquired
the general. The colonel answered this
question in the affirmative, and the gem
oral couttp11