The National tribune., 1900-01-04

! in easy circumstances at home are here.
| working like slaves, digging trenches,
cutting timber. building roads, and various
other fatiguing duties. To witness the
spirit and determined energy displayed,
one can not doubt the result.
A GLIMPSE OF GRANT.
In returning to camp we avoided part
| of the dangerous road by going fur
| ther toward the hills The gums on the
point" on Lookout fired vigorously, but
none was hurt On the way back we
passed Hooker'S Headquarters, and /
| saw Gen. Grant. He hasn't very dash
| ing appearance, but he is the man OF the
| army now.
We crossed the pontoon bridge ard
arrived at our camp at sunset. and were
pretty well gone up" The Quartermaster
was ready with a few crackers. all he could
! get, and when divided it was but a cracker
| To a man, and we will have to do without
until more supplies come in, which we hope
will be soon, as boats can now come up To-
kely's Ferry. and it is but IL miles tu haul
supplies from there. Nothing can be bought
| from the Commissary. and the boys over
| in Chattanooga are as bad Off as we are.
| there not being half-day'S rationS in
Chattanooga So Hooker did not come any
too soon. The wagon-train TO Stevenson
| is PLAYED out, and the bridge across to
town was broken again last night by RATS
sent down the river by the rebels from
above.
Such is nv story for this week What
another may bring forth none can tell
We can't get along without Lookout Mount
ain. ard how it is 10 be taken can not tell;
| it is too high and steep for the Eastern
| troops to charge it. and too large for Grant
| to undermine and blow it up, so its future
| history is hard to penetrate
Now for the best part of my story. The
| mail brought me a deluge of papers and let
| ters from home; these had been delayed
| but came in finally. and on my, arrival
at camp the good things were showered
The tent contains the clerk at the desk,
| Morrison, the Orderly, Capt. Mitchell
| reading the Cincinnati Commercial, and
the postmaster, Mr.. Binn, who is in "to
see what Branum is getting"
OFF goes the paper, and behold-a new
hat. My, but it is gay, and suits me
| exactly. Then handkerchef-l lost
mine this week, and now I'll never know
l was without. Next, my little silk flag;
| when 1 made that flag it was my intention
| 10 take it to some distant cline; now
| I'll float it from Lookout one Of these days
| The next and most numerous articles were
newspapers. who the thunder sends you
so many newspapers" says one OF the
many who has crowded around to see
things. Il expect to read them when you
are through" says another.
Wei, / will close up for the night. Am
in good health, and never was i'll such
excellent spirits since | left home, and
don't expect to be until get home at the
close of the war;. NJ. BRANUM.
THE CAPTURE OF LOOKOUT.
Here is interpolated the story Of the
capture Of Lookout Mountain, as related
| by Erasmus Wilson, also of the 9Sth
Ohio one of RranCun's comrades.-EDI-
| TORI
Did you ever see Lookout Mountain?
| Possibly not. If you did, any description
that may be given. Of it will fall short of
your impressions, and probably be at
variance with them. because they, the i'm
pressions you received, depended largely
upon the angle from Which you looked at
it. If you never have seen it, your precon-
ceived notions may he so disturbed by an
attempted description, that you will have
no well-defned idea about it at all.
| The mountain as viewed from Stringer's
Ridge, where portion of the Reserve
Corps was camped, was much like our
Coal Hill, as seen from the mouth of
/ Wood street. 1t jutted out to the river
and ran up steep and rugged for about
oyerhanging, deep-fssured rocks COM
pleted the towering light of ! 1,45O feet at
the point. Tothe right it circled off around
| Kelly's Landing, Whteside's,, and what is
now Little Pittsbqrg, Until it blended in the
distance with the Big Raecoon. To the
| left it presented an al,fiost straight side as
| far as the White HouFe, which was situated
on a bench, where e vineyard had been
planted.
4 wagon road had been cut out of the
rock at the point where the base Of the
mountain jiitted into the river, and above
this was the railroad. On the lower side
of the railroad tracks lay rocks as large as
a meetiug-houSe, that had rolled down from
the cliff, nearly quarter Of a mile above.
From the base to the top these massive
L.I-. l., IEr Loco,
giant hand. The beard OF trees that
covered the base OF the mountain was
streaked here and there with furfOWS that
had been plowed by these huge rocks when
they broke loose from the cllf hundreds Cf
wears ago perhaps The base of the cliff
marked the timber line, but from crevasses
and projections grew vines and shrubs.
For the main part. however, the rocky face
rose perpendicularly, or overhanging, and
bare. -- o. ...
At the extreme point was Il projection,
separated into two prongs by tiSsure.
From one of these floated the Confederate
flag, and from the other "a "bac k-mouthed
dog of war" kept its Sullen, tireeSs watch
over Chattanooga and Moccasin Point.
1t was here the rebels had their principal
signal station, as it was visible from all
parts Of their line.
Gen. Bragg's headquarters We're just
across the valley 10 the east, while the
portion of his army. which was watch
ing the lower valley lay Immediately, to the
west The messages flashed across to
Bragg's headquarters passed directly over
the heads of the Union forces in the Chatta
nooga Valley. So carefully were these
signals studied by our Signal Corps that
the keys were frequently discovered and
the messages read.
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.
Could Lookout Mountain he taken?
That was the question that agitated the
army At first it was considered impreg-
nable, but after while the impression be-
gan to spread that the rocky face could
be scaled. A runor got out that a 'forlorn
hope" was wanted to make the attempt. and
nearly the whole army wanted to join it.
The only chance would have been to scale
it. by means of ladders, which was inn
practicable, yet thousands OF men were
ready to make the effort.
On Nov. %, 1863, three divisions of Union
troops went to kelly's Landing and began
putting down pontoon bridge. The
rebels came down from Lookout and up
from the lower valley to prevent crossing,
but the bridge was completed and the men
crossed over, but not without some sharp
fighting. Thus, lodgment was gained
on the south bank of the river, below the
mountain. II was then supposed that this
force would fight its way down to where
n road crosses the mountain, and go up that
way. The sharpfght on the extreme lett
while the crossing was being made indi-
Gated concerted actionIof the entire army.
On the morning. Ofothe 24th everything
was astir by a o'clock. The air was chill
with driZZlingr rain. About o'clock
Gov. pnu arl