The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-05-02
co. | AT CAMP RANDALL
THE FARMER LADS FROM VERNON
COUNTY.
An Awkward Lot of Men who Left Their
Flows and Planting to Fight for Their
Country.

Country.
Company I, fall in for roll CALI"
'Look at the gawks!"
| Well, for fact, it was a rather awk-
ward lot of men which fell in for roll
call on Company rs sheet, at Camp
Randall, that July morning in 1861. 1t
was made UP largely of farmer boys
from Vernon county. When it was de-
cided to raise the company a drummer
and fifer were put into a wagon and
| driven out among the farmers. AS the
| band played the farmer lads left their
plows and planting and sought the
cause of the demonstration. That day
at dinner and supper the question of
enlisting was discussed Two days
later the required hundred men and
boys had put down their names. Most
of them were under twenty many I'M
der eighteen, strapping, healthy fell
lows. They had been too busy clear
ing the land and making farms to get
out and rub against the world to any
great extent. They swung their arms
extravagantly, took long steps-walked
just as they did in following the plow
or carrying milk to the spring-house.
1t was hard to make them look to the
front while on duty; they We're staring
here and there, seeing the sights and
| AL MI OIL
GERS and the other companies. Tt was
laughed at for it's awkwardness. A
tony chap said: Look at the gawks!"
I am not going to say as the tony
fellow did, look at the gawks, but
am going to ask the readers of the
Times Herald to join me in looking at
Company I.
At that time it was necessary, in
choosing an adjutant, to take him from
the line. There was a young lawyer,
graduate of an eastern college, who
was wanted for adjutant. He was a
trim built, handsome fellow and looked
the soldier he proved to be. The resig-
nation of a lieutenant of I company
opened the way. He was commissioned
a lieutenant in that company and i'm
mediately assigned as adjutant. The
boys were all strangers to him, but he
gave them much attention. He liked
them rosy-cheeked awkward fellows
from farms, the rest of us thought,
better than he did the other companies.
He took particular pains to see that l
company was well drilled. Within
three months it had the military step
and bearing that gave it rank with the
best drilled companies in the brigade.
On review it's brasses, uniform, mus
kets and accoutrements were, as the
adjutant used to say, lin apple-pie or
der" Before the campaigning began
all of the original officers of Company
had resigned. Captain r. r. Dawes of
Company X, later General Dawes, faith
err of Charles g., the present comp
tro1er of the currency, was asked II he
was willing that his first lieutenant
should be transferred to Company l as
captain. He had fondness for the
happy faced, curly-haired lieutenant
and hesitated somewhat but he would
not stand in the way of his promotion.
so Lieutenant John A. Kellogg added a
bar to his shoulder straps and became
rs leader A couple of boys from Lib
erty Pole were made heutenants-Clay-
ton E. and Earl M. Rogers
While we have these three in mind
let me say a word about them. KEEL
logg served as adjutant general on
General Cutters staff for time; was
on such duty at Charlottesville and
Gettysburg, but was in command of
his company at the Wilderness when he
was wounded and made a prisoner.
He returned to the regiment the next
fall as lieutenant-colo and month
later was made colonel, and few
weeks later was placed in command of
the brigade, serving as such officer I'M
til the war ended. He was made
| Wisconsin senator and United States
pension agent. He died at Wausau in
1888 When General w. B. Franklin,
commander of the left wing of Burn
sides army at the battle of Fredericks-
burg, wanted a trusty officer to bring in
the picket line after the troops had
crossed the Rappahannock in the dark,
Lieutenant Clayton e. Rogers was Sc
| lected. He rode along the line and
whispered to each picket to make the
quickest time possible to the pontoon
bridge. The enemy was but a few
rods in front of the picket line, but the
wind was in the right direction, and,
thanks to the good judgment and ac-
tivity of Company rs first lieutenant,
the whole picket line was saved. From
that time until after Gettysburg Lieu
tenant Rogers served on brigade and
division staff. He was on General
| Wadsworth's staff at Gettysburg and
distinguished himself. 1t was Rogers
who, at Gettysburg, when he carried
an order to a division commander and
found him so drunk he could not per-
form his duty, placed him under arrest
and took him to headquarters. 1t was
the only case, l believe, during the war
in which a lieutenant arrested an act
ing major-general. Earl M. Rogers
was popular as a staff officer. He was
on the staff of General James Wads-
worth, commander of a division in the
Fifth corps in the Wilderness, when
| Wadsworth was killed, and was the
only officer who was with him when he
fell. At Petersburg Rogers was seri-
ously wounded. He was commissioned
captain and brevetted major. He
served four years as quartermaster-
general on Governor Rusks staff.
General Rogers in face so closely re-
sembles Napoleon that he is called
| Bona Rogers by all of the old COM