Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-01-20
BROWN And LANG
Two Comrades of Co. u. 18th Regt.,
Reviewing the Battle
Ground of IS6I=5.
AN INTERESTING ARTICLE.

abled TO visit some of our old time
battlefields in company with my friend
and comrade, Geo L. Lang, now resid-
ing at Lexington, Kentucky. Leaving
Cincinnati on the Southern Ry, the
great route from the northwest to the
sunny south, we travel through the
famous Blue Grass region via road bed
laid with steel rails weighing 70 pounds
to the yard, perfectly ballasted with
crushed stone, crossing over bridges
substantially built of steel and iron, or
dashing through tunnels substantially
arched with masonry. In fact, bridge,
trestle. cut and tunnel alternate, there
being no less than u of the latter north
of Emorv's gap, where we leave the
mountain and enter wide valley at
the foot of Waldron's Ridge. The train
is crowded with Pennsylvania veterans
who are going to Chattanooga to dedi-
cate their monuments IN that vicinity.
They are busy fighting their battles over
again. Good natured contradictions,
vivid descriptions and personal anec-
dote, or the usual badinage as the vari-
Gus arms of the service, artillery, cav
airy and infantry lampoon each other.
The 7th Penn. Cavalry was in the ma
iority and seemed to have it all their
own way until ''1rsh" got in EayOnet
thrust, bad cess to yez, what are yez
prating about? Sure 1t was safer and
aisyer to 90 into the cavalry than to 90
to Canady-yez got paid for riding a
horse. | didn't blame yez, We couldn't
walk and yez had no stummick for
fighting, begorra yez were like the
frils on me grandmother's cap, more
ornamental than useful"
we were passing through fine roll
ing country, well farmed, very free
from cobble stone, with limeshell crop
ping out in the cuts and deeper ravines,
diversified crops, corn predomlnatlng,
with large acres of it cut and shocked
as in Michigan-an improvement on
the old southern method of swapping
the ears and husks from standing
stalks. AS we advanced further south
the rolling upland increases in height
and the ravines increase in depth, top
and bottom getting further apart like
men in a political argument. Crops
change also, tobacco, hemp and cotton
succeeding each other as we go further
south. Lots of cotton stands unpicked
but no one seems to be at it though the
first pickings must be in, for at all the
lower stations | see planters wagons in
the street loaded with unginned or
baled cotton. At Lexington my COM
rade came on board and it was hard
work to keep my eyes or mind on the
country after Lang got on the train.
Ny eyes may have seen, but my tongue
and mind were busy talking over old
for us, but | noticed the country was
getting tougher and tillage scarcer.
Lang had on his G. A. r. buttons and
told ME that the eX-confederates treated
him very kindly and that the people
did everything they could to make him
feel at home. | had many opportuni-
ties to verify this statement during my
short stay with them and ''hello John
ME" ''hello Yank," was the usual
greeting, followed by a hearty grasp of
the hand; then we drifted into pleas
ant chat on the "wah." Johnnie says,
ANY man who says the Yanks wouldn't
fight is liar" | go him one better,
ANY man who says the Johnnies didn't
fight is two liars"
As we enter the tunnel, Lang takes
me to the rear platform, as we will soon
pass over High Bridge, one of the
highest known. 2S2 feet, and only one
of the many natural obstacles which
engineering skill, indomitable perse-
verance and Il lavish outlay of capital
could overcome, as the very tunnels
themselves were curved. The engi-
neer afterwards lost fine position out
in Kansas because he could not build a
mile of straight road to save his life, so
Lang said.
The last seventy miles of our run was
along the foot of Waldron Ridge with
coke ovens at the foot and smelling
furnaces far up the hillside. After
dark the flames, smoke and sulphurous
fumes from the combination would fur
nlsh scene which Dore would have
painted to illustrate Dante's Inferno
Lang quoted some literary cuss as saw
ing, "it reminded him of hell with the
lid off" Ran into Chattanooga at p.
IN. and were fortunate to be able to find
quarters at the Read House, which
stands on the site of the old Crutch-
field House of '63. Being acquainted
with the proprietor, Lang secured
double bedroom, that we might be near
each other as much as possible. With
story, sleep and snoring, the night soon
passes and six o'clock finds us prepar-
ing for an early breakfast and 40 finds
us in the train. Soon we are passing
some of the most historic battlefelds
of the war, right close to where Sher-
man manfullv stroye to drive in Bragg's
right flank on those November days in
'65; after which we cross water so often
that | inquire of the trainman the
names of the various streams. "Chick-
amauga, sir, all Chickamauga, and you'll
pass or cross it fifty times before you
reach Dalton" No wonder the army of
the Cumberland has so much 10 say
about Cbiol. n,oIUa. tbara &c n lot Of II