The National tribune., 1899-11-16

Wolford tried in the beginning to tes cl
the boys to be honest, pointed out the effects,
and said if man stole in the army it would
stick to him as long as he lived. So the 1st
KY. Cav. never stole anything larger than
a hollow. After the battle of Wild Cat, in
Kentucky, an old farmer came to Wolford
and said:
Colonel, have lost some chickens, and
| guess your men have taken them"
No" replied Wolford, "my men mind me,
and | have told them not to steal. To show
you that they mind me, | told them at TIE
battle of Wild Cat to shoot the rebels in the
head. After the battle was over out of 50
killed 5S were shot in the eye. 1t was not
one of my men who took your chickens
When Bragg invaded Kentucky the list
KY. Cav. learned that the Sd Ga. Cav,
under Col. Crawford, was camped 20 miles
| from the main forces, at New Haven. Capt.
Adams was ordered to take part of the list
KY. Cav. over to the Georgia regiment and
take them i'll out of the damp. They were
getting too far North for their health.
| The command started out in a string
column. with Serg't Jim Humphrey ano
| five others as advance-guards. just before
/ daylight they came upon the pickets in "a
| field and took them in without firing gun.
! The way was clear to the reserve picket
post. They went on and captured the
| reserve, without firing. The way was then
clear to the camp Of the enemy, and they not
| being aware of our approach were sur
rounded, and surrendered to the 1st Ky.
Cav
We started back and every man of the 1st
had a nricnnpr hU hic GiIn and the ntherc
were huddled up. We got only a short
distance when we saw the well-drilled SOL
diers coming up in good order, but the 1st
had caught all the fish and strong column.
In the report of the Lieutenant-Colonel COM
manding he claimed the honor of capturing
the Sd Ga. with well-drilled men from the
Nortn, and left the 1st KY. Cav. out of the
| report. So it is easy to see that justice was
not always given the "critter-backs" from
Kentucky.
When Stoneman made the raid from At
lanta towards Andersonville to release the
prisoners confined there, after the failure We
started back TO Sherman. On the way we
met Wilson's cavalry. The rebels from
Andersonville fell in after us, and we soon
found ourselves surrounded.
man concluded to surrender, and ordered
Col. Adams, commanding the 1st and 18th
KY, to that effect Col Adams told Gen.
Stoneman it was not fair to surrender the
LIST, as their term of service had expired and
they were entitled TO be mustered out; that
the 18th KY. had been largely recruited
with deserters from the rebel army, and to
turn them over as prisoners it would likely
result in many being recognized and shot.
Therefore, he was going to take the two
regiments out and he did so.
In the battle that day the writer saw
Lieut.. Humphrey lift his shattered leg over
the pommel of his saddle, dismount from his
mule, lay down, and die. A cannon ball
had struck him in the knee, and the leg was
hanging by the skin. Capt. F. NJ. Wolford
saw him fall, wheeled round to the lcftof the
company, and asked for DIR. Brown. The
next shot from the battery struck him in
the head, severing it from his body. / saw
him standing in his stirrups without a
head. Two braver men than those dead
never drew sword or shouldered gun in
defense of our country. They, like many
others, did their duty. They have passed
to their reward.
vi. NdDIoIl, "til dS Spi- <hudHiS, Sot
out with part of his command; they dig
agreed as to rank and separated. On the
second morning, just before day, after the
separation, Col. Adams's brigade were
resting on their arms, when we heard a
battle begin apparently about three miles
west of us. We mounted our horses and
started in the direction of the firing, but long
before we arrived on the place where the
charge was made the firing ceased. There
We're dead men in the road and on both
sides of the road, and what men belonging
to Capron who were not dead or prisoners
were scattered out in the wOods. We
started down the road, met the rebels COM
ing back with the prisoners, and charged on
them in the woods; they never thought to
take a stump, but kept on going in the di-
rection of safety so there were two COM
mands scattered out in the same woods from
stump to stump, and Wolford's cavalry were
the only victors.
J. j. Elliott had been detailed with five
others to the 1st KY. Cav. to wear rebel
uniforms and take the advance about two
miles from where the parties referred to
We're scattered The advance-guard came
in sight of Col. Capron in the road ahead
They called to him to halt and go in with
Adams. But he either did not know the
boys or else preferred the woods, so he and
the two men with him got behind a big
stump, and that was the last seen of them
for seven days.
Adams, with his command, got back to |
Sherman on the day following in good |
shape, and the opinion of many of the 1st
KY. Cav. to this day is if they had been