Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-04-11
SOLDIERS AT HOME.
THEY TELL SOME INTERESTING
ANECDOTES OF THE WAR.
How the Boys Of Both Armies WhfIed
Away Life I'm Camp-Foraging Ex-
periences, Tresome Marches-Thril-
ling Scanes ON the Battlefield.

| to the services and losses of the Thirty
| sixth Wisconsin, which reached Spott-
| sylyania for it's first experience under
| fire Just after Grant had said: we
| will fight it out ON this line If 1t takes
| all summer"
1 saw the large, newly uniformed
regiment with it's ample knapsacks as
| it marched up to the line and took its
place for business. It's first colonel,
| Frank A. Haskell, had been our adju-
| tant and was made adjutant general
Of the Iron Brigade when Gibbon took
command. He followed Gibbon to his
| division and was at Gettysburg. 1t
will be remembered that Hancock,
commander of the Second Corps, was
badly wounded at Gettysburg. Glib
bon took command of the corps and
was also seriously wounded, and right
| in the midst of one Of the most I'M
portant battles of the war, Frank A.
Haskell, captain, for short time
bravely and brilliantly performed the
duties of major general commanding
| an army corps. 1t is the only instance
on record where captain commanded
10000 or $4,000 men in battle.
The following winter Gov. Lewis
gave him a colonel's commission and
authorized him to recruit and organize
the Thirty-sixth Wisconsin.
Yes, he was q martinet-a soldier
from the foundation up-and had to be
known before he could be liked. The
farm and school boys, woodsmen,
clerks, railroad boys, printers, teachers
and preachers of the Thirty sixth Wis
consin did not like him. He was rigid.
He started in to make regulars of them,
as he had done with the Sixth Wis
consin three years before. They were
volunteers; they didn't want to be con-
yerted into regulars. They kicked and
thrashed but the harder they kicked
and thrashed the more thorough was
Haskell discipline.
Gen. Gibbon called him an ideal sol
der; so did Hancock; so did pretty
nearly every one who thoroughly I'M
derstood him, but he was killed before
the Thirty-sixth came to thoroughly
understand him; killed at Cold Harbor
at the head of a brigade, on the eve of
his appointment as brigadier gen
eral.
But l did not start to talk about this
ideal soldier more than incidentally,
but about his regiment composed of
late Corners. Within few days after
it left Camp Randall, at Madison, it
was part of Grants great army that
had taken the contract to pound the
flower Of the Southern army, COM
manded by it's chieftain, the idolized
Lee, into subsection. From the day it
joined until Appomattox that regiment
was not out of hearing of musketry
and artillery, and it was in score of
North Anna, Cold Harbor and series
of conflicts at Petersburg, Deep Bot
tom, Newmarket, Ream's Station,
Hatcher's Run and those of the clos
Ing campaign. Seventy-nine Of it's
members were killed in battle. forty
seven died from wounds, and 1853 died
from disease. Though they were late
comers there were dozen regiments
or SO in the State that went out early
whose combined loss in killed and
wounded was not as great as this late
comer's, with less than year Of SER
vice. Who wonders that member of
such regiment, with such a record.
should say: DO not forget the late
comers'
In this regiment there were hundreds
of boys who had wept as children in
1861 because they We're not large
enough to be received by the first regi-
ments that left the State More patri-
otfc. brave and worthy soldiers were
not found on either side than such late
corners. They were children in 1861.
and only boys in 1864. God bless all
such late corners!
No other regiment from the State had
SO many commanders shot in battle.
Frank A. Haskell was killed instantly.
His successor, John A. Savage. was
mortally wounded at Petersburg. Har
yey NJ. Brown was seriously wounded
June is at Petersburg and fingered
along great sufferer until two or
three years ago. Clement e. Warner
lost an arm. Lieut.. Col Hamilton was
Dadly wounded and died from that hurt
dozen years ago. All Of it's field Off
GERS who were not killed We're wound
ed. Only five regiments from Wiscon-
sin have a record of larger per cent
of killed and wounded. Those that
had larger per cent were in the SER
vice four years, and it had only year
of service.
A member of the regiment, in speak
ing of it's experiences in active service.
said: well, you see, we went down
there for business; we did it, too, but it
cost us a lot SO it did, you poor boy,
and that open wound of yours proves
that part Of the cost can easily be ac-
counted for by yourself.
Capt ) NJ. Aubrey, of Chicago, was
in the Thirty-sixth The Thirtv-siytb