Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1902-07-26
THE BATTLE-FIELDS.
OLD SOLDIERS TALK OVER
ARMY EXPERIENCES.
The Blue and the Gray Review Incl
dents of the Late War, and in a
Graphic and Interesting Manner
Tell of Camp, March and Battle.

Mark Twain" said the Colonel lin /
magazine article Slurring General |
Funston, declares that the latter when !
he accepted food from an enemy was /
barred by the customs and precepts of
ali nations and ages from lifting his !
hand against that enemy This would
be eXcusabie from girl who had just
finished reading 'When Knighthood
Was In Flower but it is wholly with
out excuse, coming from man OF
Mark Twain's age and experience
"A soldier in an enemy's country may
obtain supplies or horses or assistance
through any sort of stratagem or plan.
He may capture food he may take it
from houses, and to secure it he may
pmhuScade Il wagon train. Il railway
train, or he may send spies into an enc
my'S camp. In every act he is acting
for the army, not for himself He is
making war. not as an individual but
as part of an organized force. repre-
Senting Il government, and he is under
no personal obligations to the enemy
Inconsistent with his character as sol
der
During the Civil War there were
hundreds of cases in which soldiers ac-
cepted food from enemies and made
war on them in the same hour On the
picket lines in front of Chattanooga
after Chickamauga the beleagured
UnionistS exchanged coffee for corn
bread and other edibles of which the
Confederates had supply. The rule
was for Yankee to wave newspaper,
go forward toward a rebel line. meet
a reb who came forward waving
newspaper, and midway the two pick
cts exchanged commodities to their
mutual benefit
There was not one incident of this
kind. but scores Sometimes it was the
Confederate who was suffering and the
tnionist gave him what he most need
ed. Occasionally it was the Unionlst
who WAS suffering and the Confederate
shared with him the necessares of life.
but the minute the truce was at an end
| they were blazing away at each other
! forget their duties as soldiers In line
with their rifles in their hands they
were not individuals, but parts of
great machine of war, acting under or
d"rS, In no case did the comforting of
p personal favor change the attitude of
officer or soldier in relation to the
enemy.
General Grant when Buckner sur
| rendered at Fort Donelson, handed the
! latter his purse and opened his quar-
! tiers to him, but when Buckner return
ed to the Confederate lines he made
war just as he had made war before.
At Gettysburg, General Barlow was
carried from the field by direction of
! General Gordon and most tcnderly
| cared for. Gordon went 50 far as to
send into the Union lines for General
Barlow's wife, and when compelled TO
march away the next morning left Bar.
low without promise or parole. and
with all the resources of his own head
quarters at his command. This did not
bar General Barlow or any Of his com
rades from making war Oh General
Gordon and his command.
"A thousand times Union officers and
soldiers were fed or entertained by the
| relatives Of men prominent In the Con
| federate service. Sometimes this hos
pitality was offered from Interested
motives and sometimes because of old
acquaintance. as in the case Of General
sherman nj
ance of hospitality in no way bound
those accepting it to not fire on those
who fed them or to forhear military
operations Of any kind against them.
There were times when a good South
ern mother gave the best she had in her
house to divert the attention Of Union
officers from her son, hidden in some
upper room,
But the acceptance Of her hospital
ity did not prevent the officers or sol
diers entertained from capturing the
son If they could. There were cases in
which starving Confederates dressed
themselves In Union uniforms and Sc.
cured provisions by deceivlng the men
on guard against them. There were
times when the Unlonists acted in the
same way. No one thought Of accusing
either Of violating precepts and Gus
toms of all ages and nations. and the
spectacle of Mark Twain wringing his
hands like a hysterical girl ana shout.
ing out lamentations against General
Funston is simply ldicrous."
Speaking Of the ludlcrous." said the
Captain, did ever tell you the story
Of an freshman in my company who
hoped when he left the army to finish
ont his career TO suit himself? One day
the boys were talking about what they
would do when the war was over. Pat
said he knew what he would do. lie
wanted somebody to make him rich by
giving him say, four or five thousand
dollars, and he would build a little
house on a hill and ne would 1--we there
all alone and he would not do a blamed
thing. 1t ought to be explained that