Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1898-06-17
A CARD FROM COL. BERKELEY.
To the Editor ofthe Alexandria Gazette:
WATERFORD, Va June 49,

WATERFORD, Va June 10.
Gentlemen:-I read an article in the
Manassas Journal few days ego taken
from your valuable paper in which you
state that 1 had invented shield for
the protection of skirmishers, in the
form offs funnel, the principal objection
to which was the Inconvenience of car
rying it. Your criticism may be just
Que, but would like to give short
explanation. Having made an eXami-
nation of the different Inventions for
the protection of skirmishers,
found them all based upon the idea Of
DETECTING the ball from tie person of
the wearer of the shield and leaving it
to 90 on its course ard kill or wound
someone else. My idea was to capture
the ball and render it harmless by in
hectng it (if the word is permissible)
by four converging steel plates and
causing it to expend its force against o
steel obs,a cle or the earth. My shield
would capture aud hold ball as eff
fectually as a baseball catcher would
catch a baseball that came within his
range. The four steel plates compo5-
ing it are Joined together by hinges
and can be folded up and made
serviceable as covering or top for the
knapsack, the weight being trifing. In
nv opinion these protectors would be
especially serviceable in Indian war
fare on the plains where our soldiers
frequently have no protection. Had
Custar's command been provided with
them they could easily have held Sit
ting Bull at bay.
/ read an article in the last
I.eesburg Washingtonian, taken from
the Associated Press, stating that
the highly lauded hero of the
hour. Lieut.. Hobson came of great
fighting stock, his great great-grand-
father, Col. Joseph Williams, having
fought CALAMITY at the Cowpens and
Kings Mountain, and his great grand
father, Col. John Williams having
fought with Gen. Andrew Jackson in
the battle of New Orleans. AS the
former was my wife's grandfather and
the latter her uncle. am in position
to furnish some additional facts con-
corning the military record OF the latter,
who was considered the hero of the bat
tie of the Horseshoe. The Indians hav.
ing constructed high breastwork Of
timber across the neck of the bend of
the river, Gen. Jackson doubted the
expediency of attacking them in such
a strong position. Col. Williams
begging permission to made the attempt
with his Tennessee regiment and OBJ
tanning General Jackson's rather reluc.
tant consult, CALAMITY made the charge
and the astonished Indians completely
-'-1aa plunged into the river
panic STU. ,So; o.oons One Of them,
and made thelr escape - nile
however, crawled under brus-
with his gun, which was either acci
dentally or desgnedly discharged,
wounding Sam Houston in the leg. The
Williams family were equally distin-
guished in the national councils. Col.
John having served several terms in
the U. S. Senate, while brother, Lewis
Williams, represented his district in
North Carolina for nearly thirty years
in the House of Representatives and
was STYLED the father of the House. An
other brother, Judge Thomas L. Will
liams, my wife's father, was Chan
cellor of the Eastern District of
Tennessee and was offered the posi-
ton of U. S. S. Senator, which he de-
ci;ned. Had he accepted it the singu.
lar spectacle would have been seen of
two twins in Congress from different
States, each six feet in height, who at
their birth were such midgets that their
mothers wedding ring easily passed |
over their hands. After passing safely |
through the battles of New Orleans and
the Horseshoe, Col. John Williams was
killed by the bite or sting of spider or
some other venemous insect. Riding
from his home to Knoxville he stopped
to cut a switch from an apple tree and
after proceeding short distance he felt
something sting him on the leg, but on
dismounting failed to discover what it
was, although the bite or citing was
plainly observable. Whatever it may
have been it killed him.
EDMUND BERKELEY.