The National tribune., 1903-10-15
PICKET SHOTS
From Alert Comrades Along the Whole
Line.
"REMINISCENCES OF vIcKsBUnG.

Col. L. w. CraWIOru, VINO seTNeu Us 81
First Lieutenant in the Sd Iowa. is still n
resident of Dubuque, Iowa. and recently
gave the press there some interesting
"reminiscences of Fourth of July. 40 years
ago, which he helped celebrate in Nicks-
burg. Just before the surrender the reSl-
ment had visit from Gov. kirkwood.
Adj't-Gen. Baker. Congressman James Il.
Wilson and other Iowa men, who were
greatly interested in everything they saw.
Later the Sd Iowa advanced the lines and
erected battery, which they did by max
ing double row of gabions and filling
them Will: earth. These gabiOns were Il
sort of a long basket of small poles and
held together with grape vines. The boys
of the Sd Iowa became quite expert III
managing the negroes engaged IN the work
One beautiful moonlight night. just few
days before the surrender, they had all
been hard Mt work putting the gab;OnS in
place and filling them with earth, and stop
! ped to rest n while Suddenly, in front of
! them they heard 4 word of command the
gunlocks clicked, and the next instant Il
vOlley came. the whole regiment, diSarmed
as il was, rushed into the canebrake, to
get time to form. The guard came up and
replied to the volley. which, strangely, had
not hurt anyone. and then quiet was re-
stored. Ever afterwards there was a great
time joking about the time made into the
canebrakc. They mounted in the battery
one of the big guns taken from the gun
boat Utah when she was sunk at Grand
Gulf which was q 100 pound rifle, and the
boys of the regiment became quite ex-
pert in firing it. One day a Sergeant made
line shot of three miles Mt the Court
House. knocking one conner of the cupola
off. The men We're all ready for assault
when the surrender took place.
THE 57TH MASS.
North San Francisco St, Chicago, says
that he was one of the 1862 men who
formed the 51th Mass. and there was a
large proportion of the men who had
fought at Bull Ran, Antietam, Fredericks-
burg, etc. There We're more men killed
and wounded in 1864 than in any one year
of the war. He was with his regiment all
the time of its service. even when there
were only 81 present for duty. on Aug. Z.
when n shell struck them, killing one man
and wounding four others. He was I'M
der one of the best fighting Captains in the
whole army, Capt James DoheTty, who
died March 90. 1865. of wounds. and was
brevetted Lieutenant-C Colonel on his death
bed for special galantry. His First Lieu
tenant was Henry c. Ward. who was pro-
NOTED to Captain. He would like to hear
from him. if yet alive. He was later 4
Captain in the 18th e. s. After the bat
tie VI TIE STdleT- JuIN lS'rf, tutTc were
only five men left in his company go, and
one of these had been on picket duty and
was not in the fight, and Comrade Ham
lin was the only man in the company who
reached the mine and came back. He
thinks that lie saw more men killed with
in three feet of him than any other man
in the regiment. There was only one
Springfield rifle in Co. G that came out of
the State and was carried back. and he
haI In ttn hatf Of Dntn cLtrrf -,
July. there was hardly an hour but some
one was getting hurt. He would like to
hear from any of his old regiment.
THE OLD SCOTT TACTICS. ...,e
Comrade Albion Thurlow, Co. c., Sd
Wis. Marshall, Okla, writes that. seeing
Il communication from Comrade John r.
Merritt, I'd Mass. he is reminded very
much of war times. His regiment was
brigaded with the Cd Mass. and the 22d
lid, and they enjoyed the distinction of
being the only regiments in the service
that chung to the old Scott tactics, carrying
their muskets in the left hand. 1t seems
like meeting brother to hear from one of
those grand old regiments. Comrade
Thurlow is GO years old. has not been able
to work for several years. and is getting
so 4 month. He favors the service pen
sion to every honorably discharged soldier
AGAINST LIMITATIONS.
Mrs. Rebecca Sprague Dorp. L. l., begs
that there shall be no limitations in the
pension bill. Her husband enlisted for
three years, but q discharge for disability
was forced upon him after he had served
s. days, and it is expressly stated it was
without prejudice against the soldier She
is now II years old, and absolutely with
out means, being unable to get pension
uriar tho 4 of of limo 81 1900
a WIDOWS SACRIFICE.
W. T. Hunter. Sergeant. Co. A, list
Ohio, Rockford. o., writes: when at
Summer of 1865, W. III. Mcconnell, of the
18th Ohio who was my close friend, sud
denly died. His mother. a widow, gave
five sons to the Union cause. Three We're
killed in battle, one died as above, and the
remaining one came home q cripple for
life"
WHO HAS THE KNAPsACKS?
Comrade Levi Mott asks:
"Will some comrade please tell me what
became of our knapsacks in Snake Creek
Gap. on the Sherman campaign, when Col.
Phillips. of the 9th Ill. Cav. came back
to Us and told Col. Sheldon, of the 18th
No., 10 deplOy his men as skirmishers?
have never heard of mine since. There
We drove them into Resaca, and went I'M
der the fort in the valley and formed hol
low square to receive a cavalry charge, re-
pulsed them ont and marched across
Merz Ridge under the fire of the guns
from the fort. John Shaden was killed
at my side; La Casseldine fell on the other
side; l made the remark that both were
killed. Shaden was, but Cass was not.
He made the remark: Pretty - close,
Levin But Cass still lived. He died near
Holden, Mo. Please give this space in
your paper
PENSIONS NOT A BURDEN.
W. II. Mott. 10th Conn, Bristol. Conn.
denies that the pension payment has ever
been n burden upon the people of the
United States, but the service rendered by
the soldiers has been burden upon them
selves and wives ever since.
INJUSTICE UNREPAIREp.
William N. Anderson. LIST Kan. Bat
terry, was one of the young soldiers and
ham Lincoln which he did in 1864. He
was allowed a pension of Sc a month. but
LOchren cut him off. and he has been
waiting now for eight long years for JUS
tice to be done him.
IN THE SERE AND YELLOW LEAF.
Henry Caldwell, Soldiers Home. Leav-
enworth, Kan, writes: There are sew
eral comrades here who are over so years
old. One died recently in his Goth year
Joseph Derigh, Co. ID. 18th Pa. Cav, was
born March II, 1906; consequently he is
81. l am told that q comrade in one of
the hospitals has papers indicating his
age as los. The officers and nurses here
asa.ar y ,,1 oil 80