The National tribune., 1899-03-16
FIGHTING THEM OVER.
What the Veterans Have to Say
About Their Campaigns.
STONE RIVER.
And Something About Marching to Shiloh
in 1862.

And Something About Marching to Shiloh
| in 1862.
Ed TOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: If you have
space to spare me, | wish TO answer through
your grand paper, Comrade W. E. Doyle, of
the 18th Ind. | do not wish to give him
and his brave regiment all the praise OF saw
ing RoSccrans's army at Stone River.
think we lay out in the cottoniiell Dec.
| 81. 1862 when Gen RoSecrans and staff and
escort came IN q sweeping trot right up to
Us as we lay on the ground. They had
passed around our left down toward the river,
and near the enemy's Lines. They came up
in front of us We got up and fixed bayo-
nets to salute them They were very close
| 10 US We were Co. A, on the right of the
| regiment. While we were at present arms,
shells were blowing up the earth, and send
ing little of what we soldiers call hell "
| among Us. A rebel she'll just then a few
rods in rear OF the General burst, struck an
Orderly in the back, then passed us. An
other shell took the Generals AdjutaDt's
head Off; another took piece of Il boys leg
off
We moved forward and to the right into a
grove TO the lett of the railroad, just to the
eft of an Old cotton-Gin Three other boys
and | were detailed to 60 out along the rail-
io.ti 10 SlIoot III
who were trying to pick off our battery
men. / had made five shots and ha got the
sixth ball about half way down in the En-
fieldrtle barrel, when | concluded to crawl
back 4 ways and get another gun | saw sit
ting by a tree hear the left bank OF the
railroad.
The gun found all right, l loaded it.
saw brigade of Confederate soldiers
think were Breckinridse's, Gen. Long
streets Corps, coming for us. | turned
and looked Tor my regiment, the 10th Ind.
| saw it moving to the right. | think the
5.th Ind. was in our 'front.'. | hurried
past in rear of the reg ment. | took my
place in the rear rank. All had just Lain
down, rs most all inian;rymen do i'll time
of battle, except while maluyering to posi-
tons.
On the enemy came. The regiment in our
front got up, abo,t-iaced, and every other
man of us CrIwled back Of his right-hand
man, and they marched through and lack of
US. We took our places. The 10th Ind.
battery, | think, Capt. Cocks, just III oar
rear, poured grape and canister-stot over Us
into the Jolnnies. They came up to within
a couple of hundred yards OF u.s. We were
ordered to hold our fire until they got close,
but they ralted and opened Ire Gil us.
The bullets ratified among the cotton
stalks, killing my right-hand man. But the
18th Ind. saved us all
| will tell Comrade Doyle that | haven't
forgotten that terrible dark, rainy night, 10
miles east of Savannah, in April, 1862,
when old Col. q. ID. Wagner rode in front Oh
his big white horse He had intended t.
march us through to Shiloh that night, after
nine days hard marching. making about 80
miles that day; but, oh, 1t was 50 dark; when
it did lightning the Colonel would say
Come on, boys, and would spur up the old
tired horse; but when once he spurTed him,
instead Of going on to the bridge over the
creek, lie went over the bank into the water.
When the Colonel got across a camping place
was looked Tor, but before that time my
bunkmate, Travis, and l had noticed some
buildings off TO the left in our front When
the lightning flashed we crossed one of the
worst yellow clay, muddy; roads in West
Tennessee, and through pasture ard waded
the creek We found some log stables
the west bank, and plenty of hay to make us
comfortable. We crawled in and slept till
sunrise; got up and found rs many boys as
could had slept III that hay loft.
We remembered our direction, rs we had
watched how we came. We got 10 Shiloh,
and | think old Co A had about 6J out OF
102 who passed over to the beyond.-R. Il.
WILSON, Co. A, 10th Ind, OF Stockweil,
Ind, in 1861; Marvin, Kan.