The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1900-11-29
PICKET SHOTS
From Alert Comrades Along the Whole
Line.
DREAD DAYS"

TtOW hicIt Soih dues hiohB tuS WHoie
Line.
''pREAD DAYS"
A. e. Shearman, Co. A, 117th n. Y,
Lafayette, Ind, writes: Il have read
with interest Dread Days in Dixie"
Comrade S. W. Crocker's great prison
story. l was sent from Belle Island to
Salisbury, n. c., just one day in advance
Of Comrade Croker, with the first enlist
ed men who went into that rebel prison,
and was there from Oct. Z. 1864, until
Feb. %, 1865, the date it was evacuated
Ton account of the near approach of Sher-
mans army, as they did not want his
army to see our condition, Tor obvious
reasons), when all disabled Union soldiers
were taken to Richmond and placed in
hospitals, and all who could walk We're
taken across the country to our lines near
Wilmington, \. c., and paroled. L can
certify to the truthfulness Of C0mrade
Crocker's statements as to the horrible
treatment Union prisoners received while
in that den, and it is a wonder to me that
a single one survives to this day. | have
had the pleasure, since the war, of meet
ing only one comrade who was there with
me. The cemetery record itself shows
how our soldiers We're starved and shot
to death. Some $4,000 graves are there,
most of them filled within five months.
from Oct. l, 1864, to March l, 1865, and
all of them marked Unknown What
a record! Just think of it-one-half of the
Union soldiers who went into that prison
died and were buried there. No other
rebel prison has such horrible record.
Comrade Crocker's story is the only com
prehensive one that have ever seen pub
lished about Salisbury"
''RECoLLECTIoNs OF A REGULAR"
Do+r Ind
"E. j. Kilmer, Corpus Christi, Tex, is
rather incomprehensible in his statement
in the issue of Oct. IS as to the two hours
work of Sykes's Regulars. | suppose
after he read his own writing in print he
was dumbfounded to think that he should
have attempted to correct the author of
'RecOlections of Regular for that
which was expressed by Comrade Cutler.
To say the least, Comrade Kilmer's state
ments of the two days, Aug. % and 80,
are rather loosely put together, conse-
quently conflicting in the extreme. The
undersigned in 'Recollections of a Regular
aimed in combining himself to Groveton on
Aug. % to show that Porter did not sup
port Gen. Pope as he should have done on
that day."
AN EXPLOSION AT yICKSBURG.
Phil NJ. Wagner, Tyler, Tex, writes:
"An incident occurred just after the fall
of Ficksburg that has never been pub
lished, and perhaps there are some living
witnesses who can give a better account
of it than | can, for | know that there
were some closer to it than l was. The
incident | speak of was the blowing up
of the steamboat City of Madison at the
wharf at Vicksburg just at the end of
loading her with ammunition. There were
guards sitting on the steps between the
two holes where the ammunition was be
H.,
were from some Iowa regiment, but the
number | do not recoilect. Can't some
of them give us an idea of their feelings
for the time being? / know one of the
guards escaped with a few bruises, for
saw him in three minutes after the eX
plosion."
NEVER RETURN THE FLAG.
Amasa Deits, Co. l, 10th Pa, Hes
peria, Mich, writes: Il noticed in your
issue of Sept 20 an article by Comrade
S. ID. Evans, of Lima, O., on returning
rebel flags captured during the civil war.
l say most emphatically with Comrade
Evans, let the flags remain where they
are. l wish every survivor of the Union
army would send a bowling protest against
the return of any captured flags. If it is
the thing to do, why were they ever cap
tured? Why not given back when cap
tured? l don't believe in any such non
sense for minute. They are and should
always be considered as trophies of valor
in defense of the Union, and it would
stultify the very name of bravery to re-
turn such a flag captured in battle. Never
return q flag"
SCATTERING.
G. W. Haner, Co. l, 18th Ind, Monrovia,
Ind. writes: II remember on q hot Aug
ust day down in Virginia, while we We're
encamped at the edge of a big clover
field, Just before the battle of Cedar Noun
tain, seeing Serg't Harry Fisk, of Co. A
of our 7th Ind, with two or three others,
come over the ridge of the cloyer-feld,
with the 29th Ohio flag floating out ON a
long pole they had cut in the timber on
the other side of the field from where we
were camped. And well do | remember
the glad shouts of the boys in blue who
were with the flag when captured. l had
often thought of the incident, and wished
that someone would write of the captur-
ing of that flag and of Serg't Fisk's steal
ing it from the rebs and bringing it safely
through to our lines. When i first read
the account l thought it was a mistake, as
l knew it was Serg't Fisk who brought
the flag through. l have always looked
for something from some of the 9TH Ind.
boys. My health has been so bad l don't
get to attend the Reunions. l wish l
could meet all of my old comrades once
more. / did not get any notice of the Re
union at Franklin until | saw it had been
held. l have lived at my present home
for 10 years. | wish others would write
about the service of the It'll Ind"
NJ. Anderson, Co. G, 10Th Ohio Du-
mont, Colo, says: Il would like some of
Co. G, 10Th Ohio, and Co. u. 9th Ohio
Cav, to write something of their expert
enceS. | had a brother, Clarence, in the
latter regiment, and would he glad to
hear from any of the boys. Who were
the officers when the regiment was first
organiZcdT'
NJ Blodget, Co: G, 2O3d Pa, Sinnama-
hOning, Pa, has several hundred copies of
a poem relating to an incident in his COM
pany, written by himself and printed at
Raleigh, n. c., just after the war. Any
comrade can have copy by sending him
q two-cent stamp.
Miss Kate King, Girard, Kan. daugh- |
ter of Thos. King, Captain, Co. L, 18th
Iowa (deceased), has in her possession sew
eral discharges, mostly of the 9th Ill.,, left
with her father. The owners can have
them by paying postage.
Perez G. Hollister, Corporal Co. B, list
Mo-, Loda, ILL.,, wants to learn of the
of his old bunkmate Daniel
Spunaugle.
Jas. III. Quinlan, Louisville, Ky, who |
served in Co. c, 10th n. Y. Vol, Craw-
ford's Old Division, Warrens Fifth CORPS, |
would like to hear from some of his old |
w. Mathews, Moodyyille, Tenn, wants |
the song entitled ''The Drummer Boy"