The National tribune., 1900-06-14
FIGHTING THEM OVER.
What the Veterans Have to Say
About Their Campaigns.
GRIPPING THE ENEMY.
A Renaissance of the Meridian Raid-An
Ex-Prisoner's Little Joke.

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: l was
in the 18th Wis, and wish to give few
incidents of my experience on the Meridian
expedition. Nothing happened of a serious
nature until we reached Meridian. The
rebels found out by some means that our
army was marching towards that place.
They had large arsenal there, where they
manufactured weapons, ETC., for the army.
After emptying the arsenal and loading
what they could on the cars they burned
the establishment. We found the store
houses full of corn ready to run out to the
rebel army. The rebels had destroyed the
railroad bridge behind them, so we could
not follow with train. But they left us
enough corn, more than we could carry
back to camp. We set fire to the store
houses and depot and also destroyed other
buildings.
What l want to note in particular was
what happened at a certain tavern in the
village before we burned it. An old soldier
was with us on that raid who had been
marched through Meridian as a prisoner by
the rebels while before. The guards who
watched him had stopped at this tavern,
and the landlady had come out to see the
Yankee prisoner with a pistol in her hand,
begging the guards to let her shoot the
Yank. The guards had refused, so she
had spit in the prisoners face to show her
contempt. The Yam kee had made his
escape later, and got into our lines again.
Now he was with us. He thought he would
go into the tavern to see if the same woman
kept it. Sure enough, she was still there,
and supper was being served, the woman
presiding at the table. Our commander
told the tavern folks that they would have
to get out of the place by morning, as he
J., h,ti in, a
village. The ex-prisoner, when he saw
the woman did not recognize him, did not
make himself known then, but went up into
the loft with kindling wood and set the
house on fire. Then he came down and
calmly told his enemy what he did it for.
The next day we went on the line OF the
railroad and tore up the track so the rebels
could not repair it, and while we were at
Enterprise set fire to the whole village.
The commander went into n large building
to stay over night, and some of our men,
as huge joke, set fire to the building, be
cause they thought he had no better right
to sleep soft under cover than they had.
1t was not long after this before we turned
our steps towards Natchez. In going
back we did not meet with much opposition.
We passed through a beautiful country,
and crossed stream called Pearl River.
The rebel cavalry followed us, and our
commander tried to draw tn m into an
ambush. He ordered our corinand to rest
awhile. We were on an elevation whence
we could see back two or three miles. Our
leader ordered up battery where it would
command the lower country. We could
see the rebels come out in squads and de
ploy out Of the woods. We found we could
not decoy them into trap, so the cavalry
drew aside and the battery opened on them.
The Johnnies soon disappeared, leaving
dead and wounded. We were ordered for
ward again and arrived safely at Natchez.
Later we found a rebel paper that described
how the Yankees were driven back.-F. j.
GROAT, Ironton, Wis.