The National tribune., 1901-07-04
CHlCKAMAUGA.
wflder's Brigade and the Fight at the Glenn
House.

house.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: 1t some
times strikes me as rather amusing as |
read over the Fighting Them Over"
column of the The National Tribune, and
see some old war SCARED hero, in whose
hair time has blown the SHOWS of age,
break cover, rush out into the open, un-
Timber his full battery of steel parrot guns,
and commence throwing hot shot into the
Notifications of some old comrade, who,
he thinks, has scattered, or overshot the
mark in some way. He fOrgets the fact
that 30 or 10 years can work a change in
the mind as well as i'll the physical man.
As regards myself, / find that my memory
of today and my diary of wartime days
vary considerably in some instances when
l refer to it to clear up some point of dis
pute between some comrade and myself
Another fact is, that when we went into
battle, private at the head Of the COM
pnny did not know what the front of the
regiment was doing, much less what the
brigade was doing. The brigade com
mander knew how his regiments were dis
posed, the Colonel knew how his com
panies were disposed, and the Captain
knew where his company was. This is
the extent of the knowledge of a battle
while the battle il being fought. But as
| started out cunning for Comrade Doyle,
L had better throw out my fankers. In
the issue of June Comrade DOYLE fires
a charge of canister full into the front of
Comrade Falls, of the Both Ind. Well.
he didn't hurt him any, and if there was
any damage done it was from the recoil of
his gun.
Comrade Doyle says that Wilder's Bri-
gade were the only troops engaged at the
Glenn House that day, except the skir-
mish line of Lytle's Brigade As 1 was
member OF Co. A, 39th Ind, and still
hpv -irII
on that particular day on that particular
spot of ground, know that the comrade
is mistaken. | will now give my obserya-
ton of that engagement.
When Longstreet moved his command
to flank Rosecrans's right, Gen Thruston,
of McCook's staff, dashed up to Col. Har-
rison (of 39th Ind.), and ordered him to
form line on the left of Wilders Brigade.
We dashed off ut a gallop, Thruston lead
ing the regiment in person and placing us
on Wildcr's left, joining on to the I'D Ind,
Wilder's left lay just to the right of the
Glenn House, so that when our regiment
took position, it threw our colOrs immedi-
ately in front of the house, with the ex-
treme of the regiment fanking the house
both to the right and the left, and, as
Comrade Doyle says, this was the only
fighting on that ground on the Goth of
September 1868. Now, If this is correct,
Fallis's claim regarding the movement is
just, and | would say that if Gen. Thrus-
ton IS living today q know not whether
he is), it would be hard matter for even
Gen. Wilder to make him believe ANYTHING
else.
If there were no other evidence to justi-
fy his claim, he might still be mistaken.
But let us take into consideration that the
Both Ind. has monument erected on that
ground. and that, too, nearer to the site
of the Glenn House than any of the posi-
tiOns occupied by any of Wilders regi-
ments, except the one that joined us on
our right. That one (the I'D Ind), has a
marker on the ground our cOlOrs occupied.
while our monument stands on the ground
covered by Co. h, of our regiment
The monument bears this inscription:
Indiana's Tribute
To Her
Thirty-ninth Reg't Mounted Init
afterwards Eighth Ind. Cav)
Colonel Thomas J. Harrison.
First Brigade (Wilich).
Second Division (Johnson)
Twentieth Corps OIcCook).
September Goth, 1863 - dis
in the line on ridge near the |
Widow Glenn's, west of Crawtish Springs |
Road, etc. But sufficient of the inscription. |
Comrade Doyle refers Falls to the re-
ports of Chickamauga. The comrade |
seems to forget that a report does not al
ways give full detail OF all the incl
dents of n battle, nor does it always give |
the facts in the case. Wilder knew the
relation that the 39th Ind. bore to his bfi-
gade, because he was placed there for
the same object and by the same order
that placed Harrison there. He also knew
that but for the 39th a gap would have
been left open on his left, through which
Longstreet would have passed, cutting
Wilder off, thereby changing the result of
hat engagement altogether.
l will further surprise the comrade and
also many others by saying, In the face of
al reports and all histories of that battle,
that the house above mentioned was not
The Widow Glenn's House, but was, In
stead, the house of John Glenn, who was
1T that time still living. The Widow
ilenn's House was in south and westerly
direction from John Glenn's, and about
wo and half miles distant, in bend
If the Chickamauga, fronting the stream,
which was but short distance west of
he house. On the 18th there was pretty
harp fight between Wheeler's and Nc
Jocks cavalry, in which artillery was used
N both sides. Mrs. Glenn's House was
'etwsen the two lines. She was absent
rom home, but her two children and a
ad named John Jones were in the house.
Two sOlid shots passed through the house. |
catering splinters in all directions, one
I which slightly wounded the boy Jones.
This was all the damage to the Widow :
ilenn's House, while that Of John Glenn's
vas literally torn to pieces and burned to '
shes. 2
Well, perhaps some comrade will ask
be question, "HoW did you come to know Z