The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1899-08-10
THE BATTIlE-FIELDS.
OLD SOLDIERS TALK OVER
ARMY EXPERIENCES
The Blue and the Gray Review Incl
dents of the Late War, and in a
Tell of Camp, March and Battle.

great trials and tribulations. 1t CALI
for heroic efforts, mentally and physi
| cally. 1t places men under great stress
tests them to the quick. | do not lik,
swearing; no one does, | guess, no
| even those who indulge in it the easies
and the oftenest. Swearing entered, IL
one way or another, into the experience
of all soldiers on both sides. There wa:
Il seething ocean of it. 1t was not con
fined to. any particular nationality
branch of the service, rank or class.
heard n chaplain say "D-n them"
when shell cracked twenty feet ovel
his head. | heard Baptist deacon, 8
captain, when in battle, say, GIVE
them HI, boys" and saw him shed
tears of sorrow, after the battle, wheI
told that he had sworn. An old colonel
leading member of the church, had
prayers in his tent each morning. Ii
battle about every other word he ut
tered was "cusS' one. The pent UP
fury of men in battle made them cheer
or yell at the slightest provocatiOn, and
when they were not yelling, as the
Johnnies did, or cheering. as the Yam
KEGS did, they were swearing like our
army in Flanders" 1t is bad, but his
tory.
The worst swearing ever listened to
WAS INDUCED in by major general
commanding an army corps whose VIC
tim was 4 brevet major general COM
manding one of his divisions Generals
Both We're, in their way, interesting
war characters. Warren, with his
wavy black hair and swapping black
eyes; trim built, slight, wiry, alert, as
perfect a soldier as ever sat a saddle; n
graduate of West Point, lieutenant
when the war began; lieutenant of a
New York Zouave regiment who distin-
guished himself in McClellan's penin-
sula campaign; brigadier general In
1862; in 1863 4 major general, and at
Gettysburg chief engineer on General
Meade's staff, in which battle, without
orders from any one, guided by his
genius as Il military man, he seized a
passing brigade and rushed it to Round
Top just in time to prevent that STRAIT
egic point from falling into the hands
Of LOngstreet's faSt-advancing fighters,
nm act which made it possible for the
army of the Potomac to hold it's God
given line of battle and win the crown
ing victory of the war-virtually break
the back of the Confederacy; the Gen
eral Warren who, the winter of 1864,
was placed at the head of the consoli-
dated First and Fifth Army Corps,
bodies of men that had fought well on
every field upon which the army of the
Potomac had striven; history will never
tell of a more gallant corps commander
or better fighting corps than Warren
and his Fifth, from the opening of the
famous campaign, under the eyes Of
Grant, in May, 1864, up to Five Forks;
Warren, who seized his headquarters
colors and charged over the works at
Five Forks, the first horseman to do so.
Such is the soldier who gave me a
foundation for the story about swear
ing.
Warren's victim, General Crawford,
was an assistant surgeon with Major
Anderson at Fort Sumter during the
He was commanding q
brigade in 1862 and division in 1864.
He was brave man; like some others
IN all walks, he made mistakes. War
zen had talked to him plainly and
warned him to exercise more care.
General Grants closing campaign
about Petersburg began the morning of
March %, 1865. After long, tiresome
march Warron, just as 1t was getting
dark, was directed to camp for the
aight, but to be ready for action at
short notice. The line was near the
Boydton plank road, ten or twelve
miles to the left of Petersburg. Craw-
ford's was the middle division. The
enemy was known to be only short
distance away. and in force, watching
with all of his eyes for chances to trip
the Federal army. 1t was all import
ant that the line be connected. Imag-
me Warren's horror as he passed along
the line and found that Crawford had
left an exposed space of ten or twelve
rods unoccupied. Warren was mad
clear through. Correcting the mistake,
he rode to Kellogg's headquarters and
sent for Crawford. heard him say to
himself: "It was awful, awful, What
would General Grant think of such
wOrkf"
Crawford rode up and saluted. Both
were mounted. Warren began by
stating the condition in which he had
found the line. Crawford undertook to
explain. 1T can't be explained. 1t was
l crime; crime, SIR" and burst forth
with n torrent of profanity and hard
names, continuing several minutes.
never before, nor have l since, heard
,ne man talk to and swear at another
in so startling q manner.
You left space that the enemy
might have come through and doubled
ID the corps, n disaster that might have
made this whole campaign failure"
said the enraged general. Crawford
vas as white as death, and about as
still, through it all. While sorry for
Crawford, 10 enc was angry with War
.en. Great responsibilities rested upon
him that night; he realized it. His was
he left of the infantry force; he knew
what Grant expected of him. After all
If his watchful care, his directions,
after the day of intense
abor, mental and physical, he discov
red that ghastly, dangerous break in
his corps Who wonder that he was
lngry? Who could have refraiped
rom an outhurst? Who wouldn't have
sworn?
Three days later General Sheridan re
ieved General Warren from command
If the Fifth Corps because he had not
net Sheridan's expectations in Il GER
ain movement. Sheridan and Warren
lever agreed very well, and when the
losing campaign opened Sheridan eN-
PRESSED regret that Warren, instead of
ome other corps commander, was to
him in the attempt to turn
he enemy's right flank. Grant, who