The Cook County herald., 1899-01-14
TILE BOY COLONEL.
GEN. M'ARTHUR'S SERVICE IN
THE CIVIL WAR. -,
Soon Changed Their Opinion-Qualfties
That Won for Him the Love of His
Soldiers-Impulse of the Lad and

as the hoy colonel" A veteran of
the oath Wisconsin said recently:
When the governor made him our
adjutant, in 1862, he was only II, and
small for his age. His voice had not
fully changed. It sounded like the
Growing of young rooster in its first
efforts. We made all sorts of fun of
him, and felt that we had been i'm
posed upon by the governor. We
wanted man, not a STRIPPING, for ad-
jutant-an Office almost as important
as that of a colonel
You ought to have heard the boy
on dress parade. His chicken voice
didn't reach halfway down the line
when he piped out: TO the rear; open
order; march, and when he minced to
the center of the regiment, moved out
in front and said, First sergeant to
the front and center, march, there
was broad grin on the faces of a
thousand men and a scowl on that of
the colonel. The first colonel had seen
service and wanted competent man
for adjutant. The night after the first
dress parade he said: I shall write to
the governor to send me a wooden man
for adjutant.' The boy heard some of
the colonels comments, and he could
see that the men were guying him. It
cut him to the quick.
I'll show them that I can fight,
anyway. Then maybe they'll come to
like me BETTER said the boy, as he
brushed away something damp from
his soft cheek
Another story from the same lips
brings out the qualities this boy had
for winning the love of his men. At
kenesaw the veteran who tells the
story was badly wounded and left be-
mind when the oath was ordered back
after the repulse. Young Macarthur
was in command, and when he learned
that sergt. Dunn was among the miss
ing in battle he sent a file of men to
| the front again to search for him Said
he: IF he is wounded and alive, see
that he is given in charge of the SUR
geon at once; if dead, bring his body
in and it shall be sent home.' The
| thought was the impulsive one Of a
boy, but the act that of a firm and
ready commander.
Macarthur won his eagle. He was
no accidental colonel At the first
great battle of the regiment, Stone
river, the colonel and lieutenant-col-
onel were both absent and the COM
| mand Of the Oath devolved upon the
major and the boy adjutant. The regi-
ment was in Sheridan's division,
| where it served all through the war.
At Stone River the three brigade COM
| manders of the division were shot
down early in the fight, and the regi-
ments were left to themselves. It was
a terrible struggle too well known to
be repeated here. The oath came out
with 200 men in the ranks, having lost
almost as many in the fight This
was in 1862, a few months after the
debut of the boy adjutant He was
not guyed any more, and after the next
battle, bloody Chickamauga, the regi-
ment looked up to him as feature it
couldn't do without and remain the
same.
Then at the battle of Missionary
Ridge he capped it all by a deed of
personal heroism and presence of mind
only to be expected of a true soldier.
The Oath, under Sheridan's lead start
ed on the signal to go up the slope at
double quick, for the emergency called
for rapid action on the line. They
carried the first of the enemy's de-
lenses, and after a short breathing
spell orders came to go ahead. It was
uphill work in the double sense. for
the men had to fight for right of way
and struggle up the steep and rugged
hillside under fire. Finally the color
bearer dropped down from physical ex-
haustion, while the line was strung out,
wavering as to which course to take
to avoid the anemy's fire and the OBJ
structions in the path. Macarthur,
still adjutant, was at the front, and,
seizing the flag in the hands of the
PROSTATE bearer, unfur1ed it and
rushed forward, the actual leader of
the whole line. .SssS.
For the deed of Missionary Ridge
the boy adjutant was promoted to the
rank of major, field officers position,
two grades below that of colonel. A
major commands battalion of the
regiment when in action, and often
when the regiment is small there are
but two field officers and the major is
second in command. The 24the had
become SO depleted that there were but
two field officers after Missionary
Ridge. During the Atlanta campaign
it was led by lieutenant colonel, and
at the storming OF Kenesaw that Office
was held by young Macarthur. He was
not yet - years old, for only one and
half years had passed since he piped
his feeble war notes at battalion dress
parade