The National tribune., 1903-06-18
BRAYEST OF EN- ALL.
The Artillery Driver, WY w. Encountered
All the Danger, bat GotNeither Glory
Nor Promotion. IA.

to finish, and all charity ilfOr him who
might have been "fOrtifedFe upon occasion
when he should have ibeenat his gun, for
we have known such. Buarwhat of the
driver? He stood to horselwith no work
to divert him, except whed he took the
place of a disabled cannOneef, dropped out
wounded horse, or helped 0disabled cont
rade to the rear. If the fight was obsti-
nate he was sent to the rear to fill
sponge bucket and the canteens, and no one
ever charged that he fingered unnecessa-
rily behind the shelter Of the hill.
He rode first into the fight, turned broad
side in action front, and again in Timber
to the rear. under fire.
On the march he had to stick to the
saddle while the cannOneer fOraged the
country at will, and our able bodied Jos
kins" took everything possessing merit I'M
til the caisson was piled high. In camp
he cared for his team, took his regular
trick at guard and fatigue with the cannon
eer and many night on the march went
far afoot for bundle of forage or feed
of corn, while the cannoneer was rolled
snoozing in his blankets dreaming of Rlch-
| el. I've known him to wade river to
an island, of dark February night, to cut
a bundle of young cane for his team. But
from the first Bull Run to 'The Cannon
eer" who ever wrote word of praise for
the artillery driver? Disgruntled at some
recent promotions, when offered COrpo-
rails warrant. a cannoneer of the right OF
| the right in the old Battery, refused with
caustic remarks anent the paucity Of the
honor. but they never became cheap enough
to offer one to a driver. The 1st Wis.
Light, during its four varied years at the
front, had many commanders, but never
one who had the courage to attach the
chevrons to the sleeve of a driver. Words
of praise for him were few. From the day
the driver was hung to cavalry saber
and ordered to mount ut Louisville, to the
day he dismounted at Baton Rouge, in
July. 1865, he hade farewell to praise and
promotion. Sitting in the saddle, or stand
ing to horse, he often saw more and clearer
than cannOneer, nOn-cOm., or shoulder
strap The greatest peril the Battery ever
was in was at Chickasaw Bayou, when the
guns and caissOns were huddled in that
neck of woods. with broken shell, hurtling
overhead or striking among us, crashing
through trees and looping off branches. An
unlucky shot would have annihilated the
Battery. At the first battle of the Vicks-
burg campaign, the next Spring, all that
foolishness was stopped and the caissonS
left in q sag between hills. out of reach
of fire, at the earnest solicitation of a
gun driver. In a surprise one night the
same driver Clipped in his advice to the
commander and the Colonel of the regi
ment escortng us. and his suggestion was
promptly accepted.
| CdHIDHceTS hlleW tllTte CuIo"<ASstiiipis.
Grub Pile and Taps. Drivers knew all
bugle calls. and one of the unwritten duties
of lead driver was to translate them to
his chief of piece or SectioM If any driver
ever failed to mount or to- tide into any
place, under any fire, it has not been pub
lished. But drivers havesstOOd to horse
and seen a driver workingnoa' gun while
1.-The cannoneer whose place che took was
making blow snake" dffMimself many
lpaces in the rear. ne
| can recall a score of times when driv-
ers were sent out of harm'Sscay on duty,
and they went a-runnine andtreturned rum
ming. They had fewer vicesathan the can
: noneers, and contact with their horses
kept them more humaniZed' and nearer to
God. Although it must be admitted that
all wer1 not at all timest model Sunday
!, school scholars. But they will enter into
their reward for the va!ei iof humility
through which they passed m the service.
And when my ship comes in I'm going to
) build them the finest monument in the
world, and write upon it-but, as KiplinS
remarks, that is another story.
And now crave space to illustrate. Just
beyond an impossible arm of Chickasaw
Bayou on one OF those dark December days
in 1862, lay the 2Sth La. Inf, behind a
, low epaulement. Their bright Confederate
! flag Haunted in the faces of De COurcey
. and his staff. He called for a gun to cut
II uOWH, anu OURS went UP, lOliONeu Dy
our caisson. What the caissOn was sent
up for fail to see, for our gunner never
! needed a chest full Of ammunition to ami
, hiiate anything in the open. When we
went into battery upon the only feasible
! spot in that low alluvial soil, a small tree
, was observed in line of fire, and Gunner
5 Gabe Armstrong called for an AK. The
Johnnies We're trying to knock us out, and
the squad lay down and the 10Th Ky.
came up and lay down beside us. The
r passing bullets had a peculiarly vicious
, sound. L ran for an ak, but my search was
unsuccessful. Lead caisson driver, Frank
. Greene, slipped off his horse, got an aN
from his caisson, and when I returned was
telling the tree. He had passed to the
7 further side, thus presenting his back tc
+. the bullets, and Immediately became a tar.
{ get. Frank was my bunkie, and having a
J romantic desire not to see him shot in the
S back-for shot he surely would be-
called to shift to the near side, which he
did, and many bullets pattered into the
: tree before it fell. when he coolly walked
back and the cannOneers took their noses
out of the moist soil and sprang to theil
e places and cut down the flag. 1t was nc
, part of Franks duty to 90 into that peril
q and no one ever saw d finer exhibition OF
!, courage. But he got no medal of honor
no praise from an officer, no thanks from
a cannoneer for doing his work. He was
At Thompson's Hill, after we had emp
tied our timber chest, dismounted rebe
battery, and there was a lull, we driver:
went back to our casson. safely in tho
/ sag. down the hill, to fill the chest. Th'
D caisson drivers suggested that the tray b.
! shifted to their timber and they go up. Il
I was no desirable place into VIII ch to g
u just then, and was worse shortly there
after. Then Jim Burke and Green eacf
d urged me to change places and let then
!. go up. The Editor of The National Trib
a une has "been up against it," and knows i
n is not common for men to offer to chang,
L a post of duty in safety for one in peril.
0 Again. at Jackson, our section of wory
4 guns, which wouldn't send one shell il
II three where it was pointed. was run III
e ahead of our skirmishers and engaged eigh
: guns behind epaulements. We were in ou
/ shirts and the flying gravel and the burr
e oak bark and acOrns torn from the grOunt
Il and trees, stung like whipstfeI slipped of
). and acted as number 5. glad of action t.
u divert my attention. Swing Driver Muir
ray had a knee smashedIhhpd we neve
|; again saw him. Geo. Scott helped him t,
!, the rear. and then came pounding back il
three minutes. or less, into that "FireprOof
5, gilt-edged hell" L have Known men VIII,
J. would not have returned, jlisf then. I TAX
it that more nerve is required to walk int,
= such hell than to stay after its break