Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1897-03-01
and nearly forty horses killed or dis


abled
Sept. 10 was not red-letter day i'll
the history of the battery. In fact, the
whole of us came near being wiped
out and we lost five of our ParrOtt six
Founders. It was at the battle Of Chick
amauga. We were attached 70 Gen.
Scribner's brigade and Lieut.. Van Pelt
was in command of the battery. About
10 a. N. the attack on the Confederates
was begun by Gen. Brannan on the
extreme left, with the view of driving
them over the creek. CroXton'S brig
ade had driven back Forests cavalry
when two infantry brigades We're sent
in to his support and Croxton was
forced to halt Then Gen. Thomas
sent up Bairds division and the Con-
federates were hurled back. Then an
other Confederate division came up,
making the odds against US two to
one, and Baird was in turn forced to
retire. Then the storm Of war broke
around our battery and the air seemed
alive with angry bullets and sArleking
shell. Horses and men fell every mo-
ment. But Van Pelt managed his
pieces with dexterity and GOODNESS and
the men that remained stood Loyalty
by him. Each discharge of our guns
moved great swaths through the ranks
Of the ConfederateS, but still the yell
ing mass rushed on. We could 90 no
more Our horses were shot down.
Many of our artillerists were killed OF
disabled, and the infantry supporting
us had been compelled to cut its way
out or be captured. Then the Confed-
crate hosts rushed up to the nnzzles
of our useless guns. Want Pelt being
shot down while heroically defending
4 the battery which had become terror
to the enemy.
''In the meantime the Confederat ties
had entered the space occupied by the
battery in considerable force and gain
ed possession of some of the guns, and
it was soon seen that we could not hold
the position or save all the pieces by
retreating. The attempt was made,
but as we had lost fifty horses the dis
abled cannon could not be taken away.
The cannoneers, however, ran one gun
back to the timber and brought It from
the field. Lieut.. Bachman hal charge
Of the section to which it belonged.
On the afternoon of the first days bat
tie one of the pieces was recaptured,a nd
on the next day it was ascertaIied that
two more had been retaken. The bat
tie of Missionary Ridge yielded up an
other, and after the fall Of Atlanta an
other was recovered, thus making up
the entire number captured at Cbiclla-
manga
There are three survivors of the IA
NOUS battery now living in Detroit
George t. Jack, who was sergeant Of
the section of one of the guns Tat was
captured at Chickamauga, and who
was shot through the breast and taken
prisoner in the charge; James I. Bea-
die. sergeant of the section OF the gun
that was saved; and Police Captain
Bachman now in charge Of the Trum-
bull avenue police station, in this city.
"The battery While in service fought
the Confederates at Rich Mountain. w.
Va, July II, 1861; Elkwater, W. Va,
Sept. II and II, 1861; Green Brian, w.
Va, Oct 3, 1861; Bowling Green, Ky,
Feb. II, 1862; Perryville, Ky. Oct. s,
1862: Bridgeport, Ala, April %, 1862;
Gunther's Landing, Ala. May 10, 1862;
Athens, Ala, May %, 1862; Whitesboro,
Ala. June, 1862; Stone River. Tenn,
Dee. 81, 1862; Jan. 1, 2, 3, 1868; Hoo
ver's Gap, Tenn, June %, 1868; Chick
amauga. Ga, Sept. 10, 20, 1863; Look
out Mountain, November, 1863; Mis-
sionary Ridge, Nov. %, 1868. Detroit
Free Press.