The National tribune., 1903-06-25
THE PERSIMMON BRIGADE "KIDS."
The East TsnneSses Campaign-fhe VALLEY
Forge of the Civil War.


The East Tsnnesses Campaign-fhe Valley
Forge Of the Civil War.
EDITOR NATioNAL TRIBUNE: I wish to
briefly refer to Corp'l Il; w. Underwood s
article published in q late issue of The
National Tribune; not for the purpose of
criticism, but to correct errors in his
knowledge or memories of events of our
| campaigns in the VALLEY Forge" of East
Tennessee. TIE comrade starts out with
a compliment to Col. Allen and myself,
but soon changes to language quite un-
complimentary or the whole "Persimmon
Brigade" of which l was unit. / quote
from his article:p when our broken army.
no longer exhibiting the pomp and circnm-
stance of war,i wearily recrOSSed the for
nlidable mOuntiinS, returning to kentucky,
where were the kids of the Persimmon Bri-
gade?'
Comrade! that question is easily an
| swered they were gone before The kids
had gone to see their mammals
Again: MY understanding was that
while we were hungry and fighting in East
Tennessee, the Persimmon Brigade was
engaged in conveying supplies intended Tor
us, coming from kentucky"
Not much. We were too busy ransack-
ing and foraginE the country to get enough
to keep our own souls within our bodies,
and keeping the rebels from getting be-
tween you and Cumberland Gap.
l think what little grub Burnside got.
| or expected to get was by the way OF
Chattanooga. and not by Cumberland Gap.
1t was utterly ;mpracticable to haul provls-
ions $50 miles over mountainous, bottom
less roads for an army.
And. again: by the way, we never re-
ceiyed those supplies
OF course you didn't. Worse luck,
neither did we. If you or your officers
expected TO get provisions through our
starving ranks, before we were relieved OF
our wants, you were ignorant of the most
prominent characteristic of the American
volunteer. his ability and tact in looking
out for No. l. Many Of the "Perslmmon
knockers had not been in the service six
months, but they knew enough to look out
for No. /.
| Lastly: "The rebels in our front taunt
ingly declared that they were receiving
generous consignmcnts of sugar and cot
fee, forwarded from Kentucky by I'm
ion Commissaries 1t was intimated, how
truly l know not, that the rebels cap
tured the supply trains without being Sc
riously opposed by the Persimmon Brigade
However, knowing the kids were new re
lcruits and their term of service short, thu
veterans duly sympathiZed with them II
their trials and tribulatiOns. and were glat
to know that when they were not deliver
ling supplies to the rebels they were snusll
tucked away in comfortable Winter quar-
ters."
Shades of Macawber! To all of which
I will answer by first asking Comrad'
Underwood how, where, when? With reb
ell taunts and idle camp gossip for a base
he casts an ungraciOus reprOach on th'
entire body Of the Persimmon kids
many of whom were much older than he
had seen more service and made as goo,
records in war and peace. He should
have remembered that he was slurring Col
jackson, Maj Saylor, NJ. c.: Ex-Gov
Hanna. and host of other good men.
My former article plainly showed tha
we were constantly in the field during thu
severe Winter weather. but he seems t.
need other evidence of this fact, so vii
now quote FROM an interview with Capt
Layman by tfei Indiana Journal:
Capt. Layman, who had seen previou!
field service, In talking of the campaign
sf Wilcox's command, and particularly o.
the Persimmon Brigade. read from n stain
ed and worn Memorandum book. which HI
carried in hisIp0cket, the notes which IN
made at the time. If the bare facts which
he recited were to fall into the hands o
one who could clothe them with the Ian
suage which they would bear, they wOult
need no artificial cOlOIing to make a stOrI
as vivid as the priyations and sufferings in
cident to war could afford. From Octo
Der to February said Capt. Layman, 'th'
Brigade did not receive 30 days rations
1t was the severest Winter known in tha
region for yeHrs-much zero weather
with snow on the ground for severa
weeks. Beyond a few pairs of shoes issue,
to those barefooted at Cumberland Gap
no clothing was issued. The men bOunt
up their feet in pieces of blanket Th'
hides of cattle slaughtered were made int
moccasins. We were not in Winter quar-
ters, but were marching and conntermarch
ing over the country-continually WI
were in the presence of the enemy. Picke
duty was incessant, and skirmishes fire
quent. We were $50 miles from the near
est railroad that could be operated. A
that season of the year, over n broker
country, it was impossible to haul sup
plies. Even the cattle driven to us wer'
worn out. The roads were quagmires il
places. so that the mules used in packin,
goods became mired and were abandoned
by the drivers and left to die. Adjt
Fletcher and / shot number of miret
mules to put them out of their misery
One night when some scanty supplies cam
up so that we should have got them tn
rebels appeared in force, drove us bacl
! and captured them. On one occasion tn
rebels undertook to get in our rear ant
! seize the Gap at Clinch River. We march
ed all night over muddy and slipper.
loitS, anu just hiidt lht 'dp- hc II u
was cut off, but escaped by crawling owe
J a cone of the mountain. At that time w
had one ration Of beef, which was mad
to last five days. Several times have seel
Tom Hanna, who was First Sergeant o
my company, issue corn on the ear as TIL
only ration. On these marches men wer
so exhausted that they fell and literall
died in their tracks. We found two mel
who had crawled into fence corner an,
there were eaten by the hogs. | hav
seen the snow stained with blood from tn
feet of men. When l think of it now
seems Incredible that men could surviv
such hardship. Men died literally iron
lack Of food
'Among other things, Ex-United State
District Attorney -, who served to tn
end of the war, said: & do not think tha
men of mature yearscouldhave stood thos
hardships. 1t was the courage and elias
ticity of youth that carried them through
We rendezvoused at NicholasvilIe, Ky
= We marched to Cumberlan
Gap. The heat was intense and tn
drouth fearful We had to make marche
Of 80 miles n day to get water. In tina
} fearful march the boys threw away oveI
coats and blankets, as did older soldier
} when weighted down with heavy knaI
} sacks. The result was that they wer
} without Overcoats and blankets durin
that cold Winter l can give no adequat
= idea of the constant hardship and inces
D NJ