Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1900-11-02
PRIVATE BURNS, BRAVERY.
A Deed ms Daring ms Colonel Tuns-
tons by n Soldier In the
Civil War.

When the newspaper correspond
ents in the Philippines wrote the
story of Col. Funston swimming
river in the face of hot fire from
the Filipinos. the whole world ad-
mired his bravery, and a grateful gov
ernment made him a general. There
is man in South Bend, Ind, says the
Indianapolis News, who, when but
lad, performed a more dangerous feat
and. showed greater bravery than
Funston did, who does not talk about
1T, and went unrewarded in proper
ton to what his deed deserved. The
man is State. Senator A. M. Burns,
who represents st, Joseph county in
the legislature ~s'as' a'''''S.'s'-
When the civil war broke out Mr..
Burns was bit of lad, 14years old,
living in a little town in Wisconsin.
On the call for volunteers he applied
to the nearest recruiting station, but
the officer in charge laughed, at him
and told him to go back home and
grow some. But this did not discour-
age him, and he applied to influential
friends, who secured him a place as
drummer boy with the Tenth Wis
consin, and he started out in the
greatest glee. For year he sounded
the drum with this regiment, and at
the end of that time he was dis
charged as drummer, but Burns
wanted to be a real soldier, and he
went into the ranks with musket on
his shoulder for three years term
of service. He was in all the battles
of the army of the Cumberland, in
Guiding pChickamauga,H and several
times had close call for his life.
On the afternoon of September 90,
1868, Private Burns, while in the van
of a charge. was shot through the
leg above the knee. He received his
wound about four o'clock in the aft
ernoon, and sall that night he lay on
the battlefield. surrounded by the
dead and dying, with shot and shell
hurdling over him. About nine
o'clock in the morning he was taken
to the field hospital and his wound
dressed. After weeks of pain he re-
covered and returned to his regiment,
and took part in the Atlanta cam
paign. AE.d Ftfff '.
1t was at the Chattahoochee river
that Private Burns performed the
deed alluded to. The bridge had been
destroyed, and the confederates had
pontoon bridge, but it was on their
side Of the river. The troops of the
two armies fired at each other from
opposite sides of the stream. and it
looked for awhile as if the march of
the federal forces would be stopped.
1t was left to the Tenth Wisconsin
to devise means for the crossing of
the troops, and the colonel suggest
ed that the pontoon bridge be cap
tured and called for volunteers to
swim the river with a rope to be fas-
tened to the bridge.
Private Burns was the first man to
step three PAGES to the front. Some
of the older soldiers thought it would
be n shame to send such bit of a
boy to almost certain death, and tried
to get him to stand aside and let an
older man take his place. But Burns
insisted that he was the first to vol
unteer and was entitled to the COM
mission of the task, and the colonel,
with tears in his eyes, told him to
go ahead. ..
As soon as it was dusk Private
Burns slipped down to the river, but
not until he had written farewell
letter to his home and intrusted it
to his captain, to be sent if he did
not come back. The rope was tied
about his body under the arms, and
he plunged into the deep, swift river.
The swimmer was soon lost sight of
in the darkness. and it was three
quarters of an hour before he re-
turned as silently as he had left. Z,