The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1900-08-09
THE BATTLE-FIELDS.
OLD SOLDIERS TALK OVER
ARMY EXPERIENCES.

The Blue and the Gray Review Inci-
dents of tho Late War, and In .
Tell Of Camp, March and Rattle.
667 WOULD have done anything
our boy colonel told me to do.
so well did 1 like him." said
Lieutenant Patrick Dunn while talk
ing about Lieutenant Colonel Arthur
Macarthur Of the regular army, 'and
l guess that was about what any Of
the boys would have done.
AT one of the battles around Kene-
saw Mountain, when Uncle Billy Sher-
man was chOpping his way to Atlanta,
the young colonel sent myself and two
or three other men through a piece Of
forest on scout. We pushed into
bushes and crossed ravines until We
came upon a large force advancing in
three lines Of battle, and then we
moved to the rear ten times as fast as
We had advanced. When We came in
to the open field across which our regi-
ment was in line I was astonished to
see new regiment, an Indiana COM
mand, that had just come to the front.
The colonel and his adjutant were
busy placing them in line, and 1t look
ed to me more like getting ready for
dress parade than fierce battle. In
stead Of hurrying back to tell the boy
colonel what was coming rushed up
to the untried colonel Of a regiment,
which, like himself, had not yet had
its baptism Of fire. Giving him quick
salute, I bawled out: For Gods sake,
colonel, have your men lay down; the
JOhnnies are coming up In three lines
Of battle and will cut your men down
like grass II you remain standing two
minutes longer
THE colonel gave me a sneering look
and asked: Who are you, and what is
your commando
Patrick Dunn, sir, and relong to
the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin, over
yOnder. The colonel sent a party Of
us through the woods on a scout. The
enemy Is coming with rush, and right
away. too. Better let the boys hug the
ground alive instead Of waiting until
they are dead, colonel
You had better get back to your
own command. I didn't come down
here to take orders from a sergeant
Every well, sir; but it was my duty
to warn you
"As I left the tony Indiana colonel
to go back to my regiment I looked
over to the woods and saw the first
line Of the enemy just coming Into the
field. Within ten seconds they sent a
vOlley into the Indianians, and then an
other and another. killing and wound
ing more than half Of the large new
command. When the firing began 1
dropped on the ground behind q sap
ling that partially protected me. How
my heart ached for those new men,
and how mad was at their green col
Onel, who wasn't taking orders from q
sergeant.
"Some one went back and told Col
onel Macarthur that ] had been killed
or badly wounded. The boy colonel
always seemed to have liking for
me. He at once ordered sergeant and
file Of men to go out there and bring
In Sergeant Dunn. If he Is wounded,
see that he Is given into charge Of the
surgeon right away. II he Is dead we
will send his body home When the
boys told me what the little colonel
said / guess 1t didn't lessen my respect
for him.
But for a bundle Of letters and dOcu-
ments guess the little colonel would
have given some one else a chance to
command the Twenty-fourth. A bullet
struck him right over the heart In the
bundle of letters and papers was his
commission as lieutenant colonel, re-
celved q few days before. The COM
mission was marked by the bullet that
was steering for the boys heart.
Though 1t did not draw blood 1t made
bunch on his breast half as large as
my head. and 1t hurt, for a time, worse
than a bad flesh wound would have
DONE"
what makes you speak Of him as
the boy colonel and the little col
OnerY
because that Is what he was, a boy
aud little. Why. when the Governor
made him out adjutant he was only II,
and small for his age. His voice had
not fully changed. 1t sounded like the
growing Of young rooster In its first
efforts. We made all sorts Of fun Of
him at first, and we felt that we had
been imposed upon by the Governor.
We wanted man, not STRIPPING Of a
boy, for adjutant, an officer almost as
important as that Of colonel You
ought to have heard the boy ON dress
parade. His chicken voice couldn't be
heard half way down the line when he
pIped out: To the rear, open order,
march, and when he minced down to
the center Of the regiment, moved out
In front and said: First sergeants to
the front and center, marchr there was
a broad grin on the faces Of q thou
sand men and scowl ON the coloners.
The first colonel had seen some SER
vice and realized how important 1t was
that his new command have a thor
oughly competent man for adjutant.
That night, after the first dress parade.
the colonel said: I shall write the
Governor and ask him to send me a
wooden man for adjutant.'
THE boy heard some Of the cOloners
comments and he could see that the
men were guying him. 1t all cut him
to the quick.
"1'll show them that / can fight,
anyway. Then, maybe. they will come
to like me BETTER said the boy, as he
brushed away something damp on his
soft cheek.
''He was right. There was not q
braver man or a more efficient officer
at Perryville and Stone River. the first
hard battles we got into. There was
no more laughing at the boy adjutant