The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1899-09-28
BLUE>AND THE GRAY
GRAVE MEN WHO MET ON THE
FIELD Of BATTLE.
Thrilling Stories Of tine Rebellion
Old Soldiers and Sailors Relate Remi.
niscences of Life in Camp and on
the Field incidents of the War.

nisccnces of Life in Camp and on
the Fie1d-Incidents of the War.
'B. F. Taylor, one of the best army |
correspondents of the war. had an ex- |
perience with Sherman which broke up |
his association with the army. Taylor |
wrote of camp life, of the march and
the battle in the vein of n poet. He
made living pictures for the people at
home which were as highly appreciated
by the soldiers. He put his heart in his
work, and of all the correspondents,
no man was more popular in the West
ern armies than Benjamin +. Taylor.
But in the Atlanta campaign he pub
iished news of n movement which
Sherman was taking the greatest pains
10 keep secret. Taylor heard of the
matter in way that led him to be-
lieve that it was legitimate news for
publication, and he sent it on to the
Chicago Journal.
when the paper containing the dis
patch or letter reached camp Sherman
ordered that Taylor be arrested and
put in irons and held for trial before
a court martial on the general charge
of giving aid and comfort to the en-
amy Taylor managed to evade the
provost guards until night, when some
Of the other correspondents procured
a horse for hiIa, and through conni-
vance on the part of officers, got him
out of camp. Taylor returned to Chi
cago, grieving over the mistake that
severed his pleasant relations with
Sherman's army. He didn't blame
Sherman so much as he did himself.
renewed his acquaintance with the
General under very pleasant circum-
stances
James GoOdsell, another Chicago
man, had trouble with Rosecrans.
| Goodsell represented the Chicago
Times, and in some report, possibly of
the battle of Chickamauga, he misrep-
resented the most important move
| ments and criticised the commanding
| General severely. When Rosecrans'
WAS Cdllcl " tAt lCttCA AC
said little, but the minute he had fin
\ ished the reading he turned 10 one of
| his staff officers and said quietly: "Or-
| der the arrest of Goodsell and put him
in irons. I'm going to make an ex-
ample of some one. and 1 may as well
begin with him.
"Some of the newspaper men heard
this remark, and while the staff officer
| went to carry out his orders, they
looked UP GoOdsell. There was no
time to lose, and the unfortunate cor
respondent climbed on an old wheezy
locomotive that was standing in camp
and prevailed upon the engineer to run
him outside the picket line. Then he
made his way North as speedily as
possible. He knew that Rosecrans
when aroused was very dangerous
man, and his experience had told him
that in a case of this kind a Major
General commanding a department
had large liberty of action.
'In another case General John M
Palmer of Illinois swore vengeance on
a correspondent who, in a long and
vivid description Of the battle OF
Chicamauga, represented that Pal
mer's division was broken into frag
ments and that it retreated from the
field in a panic. The truth was thai
Palmer's division did not break, anG
did not change it's position until or
dered to leave its line, in the evening
when the army retired to ROssville
General Palmer spent a full day il
searching for the guilty correspondent
aud found several other general officer.
looking for the same man. 1t is need
less to say that, informed of the raid
the correspondent escaped"
1.-The trouble with correspondents il
the old time was" said the Major
that too many of them received thei
impressions from stragglers in the rea
of the army, and they wrote the mos
distressing descriptions of defeat a
Shiloh most of the correspondents en-
iarged upon the panic-stricken soldier
who in the course of the first days bat
tie fell back to the river. The CORE
spondents and some of the officers o
Buelrs army assumed that these panic
stricken men were all that was left o
Grants army, and it was reported tn
country over that the Army of Ten
nessee was ut the end of the first day
fight little better than rabble.
THE truth was that the straggler
ON the river did not represent the arm
mt all. The divisions that made til
fight in one of the very bloodiest bat
Ties ON record were in line in front, an
they dids.'t know there was any panic
, Rut the correspondents had their way
and it required twenty years to put tn
Army of the Tennessee right before til
people. / remember when Geners
Prentiss came to Chicago, not NOR
than tea years ago, his story of til
fight iy the Hornets Nest was reyel;
tion to many men who believed the
had The story of the battle by heart.
Certain correspondents started OF
Mt the beginning of the civil war
write down men like Grant and She
. man. 1t seemed for a time that the
, would succeed, but after Vicksbur
, | most of the correspondents change
: front. In the first years of the wa
there were no army correspondent
, with knowledge of military affairs, an
e a great many mistakes were made.
e the last two years of the war thel
r were scores of correspondents in ii
4 field who had made 4 study of militar
: operations, and who We're well il
formed as to the political and gener;
: situation. In these years the letter
: of correspondents were the history {
battles and campaigns.
81 remember that in the summer I
l 1861 two correspondents approache
I the Brigadier General in command {
' division in West Virginia. and e,
, plained to him that if he did not p'
them on his staff and take them I'M
his mess, and give them certain pri
r ileges, they would proceed to destre
A his reputation and write down h