The National tribune., 1900-04-05

1862. 1t passed OYER large t-:lat o: com.
try. through Scatt"rVill". Gair...Till"
Greensboro, Jouesbo-o. Harrisburg ana
Wittsburg to Madison, capturing many
prisoners and dnStro.ing stores hOar,iai bV
tn" rebels, reaching Aa'ison on July 22
where they captHred the steamer Carl.
From here Col. Daniels went across
country to Memphis, whore lie found orders
from the Department Commander at ST
Louis. asking by what authority he had
left his post and the district assigned to
him, and ordering the immediate return of
the regiment He returned to Madison,
and On July 2S, 1852 left for Helena on the
steamer Carl, and never rejoined the rcgi-
ment.
The regiment, under Maj Eggle3ton.
hampered with a heavy train Of baggage
wagons, started July 2S on the return
march, reaching La Angulle Ferry the
night Of Aug. =, where they were surprised
about daylight, by an overwhelming 70. C @
| of rebels. and were badly broken up and
scattered. The exhausted, sleeping men
were awakened by the report of arms.
bullets whistling through their tents, and
had time for nothing but to plunge into the
river and try to swim out of bad Gcrape.
Many were killed and more taken prisoners
The regimental train and papers were also
captured.
Getting as many Of the regiment to,
Gethcr as could be found, Leut.-Co. o. H.
La Grange started for Helena, where they
arrived on Aug. 6, and reported to Gen.
Curtis. ThiS digrcSsion is necessary for n
proper understanding of the situation at the
time our sluat jDinrl the regiment.
On the Wlv down the river our boat only
touched ut Cap Gr;.rd2au, but caught
sight OF. an! SPOKE 10, two OF my old school
| mates, Horny Ainsworth and f !gar Top
lift. members of the 1st Wis. Cav, and
with that p J-tion Of the conmani left at the
Cape. The fortunes of war play strange
praukS. Now, tho chief induc"ment which
Wis. Cay. was the presence in that body OF
these two comrades, schoolmatcs of mine
IN Waukesha County before | ever tncW
Byron, Jim or Tuck, who were agreed TO 20
whore | did. | say | saw and spoke tc
them rs We passed Cape Girardeau, and
that was the last and only time | have
seen them. When We went up the river
and .joinei the rest of the regiment they
| had gone, Siiccumbed TO the inevitable,
| and answered the last roll-call.
AT Helena we discnbarked, and or
command Of unassignel recruits was
marched out 10 camp, about three miles
! from the river, through dry dust nearly
knee-deep. Here the Rosendale con.
| tingcnt was assigned to Co. ]. Capt. w. w
| La Grange, more famiiarly known us
"Wad," commanding. Now we began tc
feel that we were soldiers indeed, having q
| local habitation and "a company name, ans
now clothed in the regulation uniform
Poor Tuck could not rally from tho
| effects OF his illness, and was soon taken
| to the hospital-tent. located in little hollow
nestled among the eternal hills abou,
| Helena. for better treatment than the Squad
could give him in company quarters.
SCENES or CAMP LIFE.
Camp was located on succession OF
| timbered ridges not unlike = gigantic
washboard, the ridges running diagOnaliy
| through the company streets in a decidedly
crazy manner. Military science deals
wholly with squares, levels. perpcndicu
I camp now, which possessed none of thcS,
| attributes, of military symmetry, | car
| only wonder how it came TO be so fearfully
and wonderfully made.
Another feature, probably intended to
give US recruits a pleasant Introduction Il
| the realities OF war, teach us that life was
uncertain, and familiarize ourselves with
our future resting place, was that this
camp was located in an old graveyard
whore struggling graveStoneS kept watch
and ward in ghoSuy silence. while hard
| by campfircS, around which numerous
squads and meSScS were wont to cook
their daily meals, cracked and blackened
them with heat and smoke. Probably il
| aided digestion for us TO sit or stand and
! deciphcr the names and inscriptions in tho
| ilickcring light Of the fire; while munching
our hardtack and drinking our coffee
Still further from the river. and close to
camp, was an open field sloping down to n
small creek bordcrcI with timber, near
which stood an old cotton-gin. This was
our battle-ground, and no tiller Of the soil or
! cotton-pickcr ever put in harder work
within its confines than was done by us
recruits during that hot and dry September
| OF '62. We could not get horses of our
| own, but borrowed them from the original
members, whose prior service made them
veterans in our eyes, in order TO acqlIaint
our anatomy with the intricacie5 of a Nc
! Clellan saddle-trec and learn to ride OF
arms as yet we had none, and our safety
| and protection rested upon our Madison
purchases. However, if there were any
rebels around we did not know it, and
continued to put in hard work in drill and
dealing telling blows upon our saddles
ii not upon the Southern Confedoracy.
The camp equipment, owing 10 the loss
of the regimental train at La Anguilc
was scant and somewhat mixed, shelter
consisting Of Sibley. wall and other tents
One Sunday, a terribly hot day, II of us
We're lying in a Sibley tent, heads out and
! feet toward center-pole. Some were