The National tribune., 1898-05-19
FIGHTING THEM OVER
What the Veterans Have to Say
About Their Campaigns.
SWEERY'S FIGHTERS.
Plenty of Work for Them on July 22. 1864,
At Atlanta.

Plenty of Work for Them on July 22, 1864
| at Atlanta.
| EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: A recen
article reminded me of experiences July ~
1854, east of Atlanta, the day Gen. McPher
son was killed
| Our division, Gen Sweeny's, was on tn,
reserve two miles in the rear of the heavy
| fighting that was going on. Gen. Sweeny
| ordered the ID Iowa and the Goth Ind. to fal
| in Immediately. We fell in and marched
| right-oblique towards the rear in cuicl
| time
| We supposed that Sweeny was marching u.
| to position out of danger 1t was reported
| that Gen. Sweeny said the I'd Iowa and 7tf
Iowa were the two best regiments in the
service. We know that he said Battery III
| lst Mo-, was the best battery he ever saw
We looked back and saw Battery Ii fol
lowing the infantry, We marched about
i two miles We could hear an occasional
| shot 1t sounded as if our cavalry had been
| deplOyed in the timber and had discovered
some stumps in front and imagined they were
Confederate infantry.
Finally we came to halt. We found a
lot of cavalry behind breastworks of rails.
The breastwOrks were in an open field about
200 yards from the timber
There was hollow about 80 yards in front
of Us, running parallel with our works, so
deep that we could not depress our guns
enough to hit a man in the center of the
hollow
The I'd Iowa lay down behind the rails on
the left. the 66th Ind. on the right and bat
terry II. 1st Mo-, was placed to the left OF
the I'd Iowa. The 14th Ohio battery came up
to the right of the Goth Ind.
The cavalry skirmishers had Just reached
the works as we arrived, and reported that
the woods were full of rebel infantry Cen
Sweeny ordered one company of skirmishers
from the I'd and one from the 66th to de-
ploy Immediately and march to the timber
in front, double-quick They started ON a
slow trot. When the skirmishers got near
the timber they turned and ran toward the
works
Gen. Sweeny was little, ordinary man
with weak voice. He kept big, burly
Orderly with him, who had voice like q
big gray timber wolf Before the skirmishers
the woods in fine style. They made as fine
an appearance as any yellow butternuts i
ever saw.
When the skirmishers got near the hollow
Gen. Sweeny's Brigade Orderly beloved out
Iowa to file to the right up the hollow, and
66th to file to the left down the hollow, out of
range of the guns.
After the 5th Ky. emerged from the woods
the I'd KY. appeared; then the 9th KY. came
out of the timber. As soon as the skirmish-
ers were out of sight we opened on the
enemy.
The first shots were by Battery Fl, six at
once. The shells struck the ground about
four rods in front of the enemy and knocked
dirt in their eyes. The shells bounced over
the rebs and burst near the timber.
AT the second volley from the infantry the
Confederates turned and made for the timber
much faster than they had come toward us.
The Color-Sergeant of the 5th KY. (McDowelD
was shot, and another man man took the
colors. He, too, fell. The third man fell;
then they left their colors.
After the firing ceased J. A. Cease, of Co.
G, I'd Iowa, jumped over the works, ran out
to the colors of the 9Th KY, and brought them
in. The inscription on the flag was: 18th
KY. Ivy Mountain; Chickamauga; Prince
ton; Mill Creek"
While the hattie was in progress we learned