The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-12-18
HOW THE COLORS WERE SAVED.
(BY SAMUEL BLOOMER.
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South of it. The fire down this road
was such that nothing living could
stand it minute. Then occurred tenn
porary opening or gap, in the line
across the road. The colors and a por-
ton of the guard remaining on the right
of the left wing. Shortly after this a
regiment from the Vermont brigade
came up behind us, and were allowed to
pass through our line, and they formed
in front of us. The command forward
being given by the colonel of the Yer
mont regiment, Sergeant Burgess, think
ing the order meant us, with three of
his guards advanced with the Vermont
boys thus leaving out regiment without
its colors. This was about 1850 or 5
o'clock in the afternoon. We had ad-
vanced about fifty yards when his bur
gess0 attention was called to the fact
that we were not with our Regiment.
He then, for the first time noticed that
we were among strangers; instantly he
about faced and ran to the rear with
the intention of rejoining our own regi-
ment. Having arrived as he thought,
where the regiment ought to be, and not
finding it, it having changed position, he
again about faced intending to join the
Vermont regiment. In these retrogade
movements George L. Smith, company
IC, one of the three color guards was
either killed or wounded leaving only
George Burgess, Frank Walden and the
writer. On again arriving as we suppos-
ed where we had left the Vermont regi-
ment Burgess was killed almost instant
ly. 1t was then that Bloomer got the
colors. We then started on run under
a brisk fire, as we supposed after the
Vermont boys, but instead of finding
them, we found, and run direct into a
line of rebel infantry in a small open
place or small dry pond. To say we
were surprised, as also were the John
MES, would be putting it mild. Taking
in the situation at glance we made
quick tracks out of that unhealthy To-
caIty We did not stand ON the order
of going, but went, and as we went
through woods and brush we could hear
the rebel invitation for us to "surren-
i - bo b,,1
lets. l do not think that the tall run
ming Frank Walden and the writer did
ing the war. What puzzled us consider
ably was that the bullets were coming
some distance, we ran directly into the
face of the Vermont regiment we had
been looking for, and thought that we
were in rear of. We had evidently in our
confusion lost our bearing and passed
around their left flank and thus run
into the rebel line as above stated. We
found the colonel commanding, and to
him we stated who we were, and that
we desired to remain with his line until
after the battle, and requested of him
that if we were either killed or wounded
that he would see that the colors were
returned to the First Minnesota regi-
ment from which we had become separ-
ated. Having received the desired prom
Use and permission we stepped into their
line by the side of their colors, where
we remained until we thought the bat
tie was over, then we started to the
rear in hopes of finding our regiment
which we were told was in the rear in
reserve had just arrived at the second
line of Vermont boys, think it was the
Sixth, commanded that day by Captain
Spaulding an old Saltwater acquaint-
ance, when the firing again commenced
though it had become qnite dark. We
made the same request of Captain
Spaulding that we had of the colonel
commanding the first line. We then
again took our place in line where we re-
manned until the close of the battle, and
about 10 o'clock p. m. found our regl-
ment after an absence of five hours or