Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1901-06-14

sons the matter was kept secret, al
though a story was published at the
time to the effect that Ohio had sent
out a regiment of jail birds, recruited
from the Ohio penitentiary, and there
was much unfavorable and venomous
comment in the democratic and south
ern papers. Only a few knew that the
foundation for the story was the en-
listment of 30 pardoned prisoners in
one of the very best regiments Ohio
sem to the field.
THE experiment was watched with
the greatest interest by the governor
n officers in the secret. With only
one exception, the ~convicts made splen-
die soldiers. They were chosen from
the best behaved of the prisoners, and
they were eager to enter the service
that they might escape from the pris-
on record and redeem themselves in
the eyes of their friends. They yield
ed readily to discipline, were more
than ordinarily scrupulous in the per-
Torrance of their duty, and were as
courageous and patriotic as any men
in the regiment. At Kenesaw | saw
three of them dead in Il group, and
others were wounded in the hottest
battle of my experience. In eight min
utes our regiment lost los men out of
$50 in action. To: one of the eN-con-
victs faltered, and all were in the
thickest of the fight.
Il had trouble with only one of the
convict squad. He was a large, unruly,
sullen fellow, and while the regiment
was unloading steamers at Nashville
In January, 1863, refused TO obey a
very reasonable order. l turned to
look the man in the eye, and caught
him in the act of making n menacing
movement. | dropped my hand TO my
revolver and quietly repeated the or
der. The fellow gave me Il surprised,
comprehending glance and sullenly
obeyed. After that he held himself to
the strictest line of soldierly duty.
The orderly reported that his conduct
was beyond criticism, and 1 watched
his course with sympathy and ap-
proval.
ION the evening of July is, 1864, the
night before the battle of Peach Tree
creek, | was walking on the outskirts
of camp, when L met my sullen mutt
neer of the Nashville wharf. He spoke
to me and said he would like to tell me
his story. He was the black sheep of a
good Ohio family, and had perversely
gone from waywardness and country
FOSTERING to crime, and had landed in
the penitentiary. He explained that
army discipline and my friendship had
made n new man of him, When l asked
him about the wharf scene at Nash
vile, he surprised me by saying that
was the turning point in his life.
"He said that when he turned on me
he saw shoot in my eye, and at the
same time saw something that made
him believe that / was disposed TO eX-
cuse him and treat him fairly. He real
lied hat while he was in the wrong
he was being treated for the first time
in his life like a man. The more he
thought about this the more he was
Impressed by my tirmness, and he de-
clared hat when he returned to Ohio
he proposed to lead a different life.
' But he never returned. 1t was my
privilege TO lead the charge in the
battle of Peach Tree creek the nsxt
day, and among the foremost in the
charge was the. mar who had told me
his life story the night before. He fell
mortally wounded and died on the
field"