The National tribune., 1900-01-11
FLOGGING IN THE ARMY.
The Last Occasion Upon Which It Was Zone
Was in 1861 at Clinton, Mo.

The Last Occasion Upon Which It Was Zone
| Was in 1861 at Clinton, Mo.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Some
time in the sos, as | remember, Congress
United States Army. Notwithstanding the
act abolishing fiogging, and without law,
court-martial or decency, Maj Samuel
d. Sturgis, of the Regular Army, July
8, 1861, at Clinton, Mo, had seven men
stripped to the waist, tied to a cannon wheel
called blacksnake, used for driving mules.
They received from 60 to so lashes each.
This is how it came about:
| The 1st and I'd Kan. were mustered into
the service of the United States the fore
part of June, 1861, and about the middle
Kansas City, and about the last of June were
put into brigade with battalion of Regu-
lar infantry, two companies of the I'd U: S.
Cav, and Totten's and Dubois's batteries,
| believe, OF the 4th u. S. L. A. The Regu-
lars were under Maj. Sturgis.
ing officer was Col. George w. Dietzler,
Colonel of 1st Kan, and who should have
been in command Of the brigade, but at
| that time in the war he was inexperi-
enced, and believing it for the good of
| the service, he turned the command of
Point graduate. who had no sympathy
with volunteer soldiers. Believing that the
soldiers from Kansas only enlisted for plum
der, he did not believe that the army should
live off or molest the enemy. He ordered a
chain of guards placed around each regi-
| there is will there is way" the guard
did not always keep, the boys in camp, as
you will see. 70
On July 3 we arrived at Clinton, No;
the next day celebrated the bsh within the
enemy's stamping groundi We were camp
- i
guards were around each command. On
the morning Of July 8 James Casterline
and /, both of Co. ID, list Kan, took a
camp-kettle from our meSs-fire to a spring
for water. The spring was outside OF the
chain of guards. When we got outside the
guards we hid the kettle in the long grass,
and started to find some rebels potato
patch, as the Quartermaster did not issue
full rationsto the volunteers, and some of us
did not get all we could eat, and thought to
make up the shortage in part from rebels
fields. But we were arrested by a squad of
the Regular cavalry, under command of
Capt Stanley, and put into the guardhouse
near the Regulars camp, and guarded by
Regular infantry. also guarding a Regu-
lar soldier charged with sleeping on duty
the night before.
We had not been in the guardhouse long
before another squad of cavalry under Lieut..
Plummer came up and put in the guard
house Nicholas Delarue, Joseph Gray,
Hardy Rasher., VIM. III. Earl and Silas
Pratt, all members Of Co. d, list Kans.,
charged with foraging. Shortly after
wards Richard E. Jones and another mem
Der Of Co + were brought under arrest and
placed in the guardhouSe with us. Soon
after that citizen named Hurdry, employed
by the Quartermaster as teamster, and
who drove one of the teams for Co. ID, was
put into the guardhouse. Up to noon or
little after some II or IA soldiers had been
arrested and placed in this guardhouse.
About 3 o'clock we were ordered to fall in,
and under guard We're marched down to
Maj. Sturgis's headquarters, where we were
halted and lined up before the Major, who
sat on a camp-stool in front of his tent He
called Casterline first and asked his name.
What are you in the guardhouse for?"
Jim replied: For being out of camp with
out pass. did not know it was necessary
TO have one, as did not meet any guard"
Sturgis ordered him to go to the right
side of his tent.
l was next what is-your name, and
what are you in the guardhouse for?"
CaSterline and had our stories fixed up
to agree. Sturgis cursed me, calling me
names, and in the most abusive lang uage
ordered me to go to the left side Of his tent,
saying he would make an example Of me-
The next was Nick Delarue. He called him
the worst kind Of names, declared he was
the leader. etc, and ordered him over where
/ was. Then came Gray, Earl, Rasher,
Pratt, the citizen teamster, and the soldier
charged with sleeping on post, each receiv-
ing the same abuse, filthy names and
curses, only increasing in volume II poSsl-
BILE, and each ordered to the left Of his tent
Jones and the others were sent to the right
of his tent.
This was our trial, and after he had sep
arated the sheep" from the goats" SturgiS
went into his tent. Capt. Gordon Granger
acting as Adjutant of the Brigade, came out
of the tent, called me to him and asked me
what had said | was in the guardhouse
for. / repeated my answers. He told me
to go to the other side OF the tent, which
did
A file of soldiers was placed between the
two squads and we were marched back to
the guarihOuse, but kept separated. About
an hour before sundOwn we were marched
down again, and when we got to the pa
rade ground of the Regulars the infantry
was formed on three angles of hollow
square, with two cannon unlimbered in
side, pointed toward and, elevated on the
two Kansas regiments.
We were marched inside the square below
the cannon, and the men who had been
tried, convicted and sent to the left of Stur-
gis' Is tent, except myself, were stripped to the
waist, and one after another lashed to one
of the guns and their feet tied to the wheel
at the ground. A bugler, over six feet tall,
belonging to the cavalry, with blacksnake |
whip, gave each of those men from 60 to 80
strokes on their bare backs.
The balance of us were obliged to look |
on. Although have been on the frontier |
most of the time since the war, and among |
the Indians, L never saw anything more |
brutal. We were then marched back to the |
guardhouse, formed in acircle and ordered |
to sit down or lie down, and the guards |
were instructed in our presence that if any
of us, attempted to get up on our feet to |
knock us down, andif they could not knock |
us to shoot us down. We did not attempt |
to get on our feet. Shortly after dark Capt.
Samuel Walker, Co. F, list Kan, and Capt.
Stanley, who had superintended at the fog
ing, took the two men of his company out |
of the guardhouse The others remained
in the circle until after guard-mount next
without food or water. Those be-
longing to the 1st Kan. were marched by
the old guard to our regimental headquar-
tiers, released, and sent to our companies.
Nothing was ever done about the matter,
for in a short time we got into battle at Viii
sons Creek, Mo-, where two of those brave
and much-abnsed boys. were killed, Aug.
10. Sturgis kept out of sight, but learned
that Kansas troops enlisted for something
other than plunder. Sturgis was promoted
I(Is rga.lI |