Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1903-05-04
Madison, April so.

MadlSOns April 90.
Two old soldier lawmakers-Sena-
tor Harlan p. Bird and Assemblyman
E. w. Evans-presentedin the commit
tee on claims yesterday afternoon rea-
sons why the state of Wisconsin
should appropriate not less than
$4,000 for the building of mon
uments at the historic grounds
occupied by the Wisconsin
soldiers in the siege OF Vicksburg. The
bill calls for an appropriation OF $780,
900, but Senator Bird raised the
ante" as Senator Mosher put it, ana
said he would be satisfied with not a
cent less than $4,000.
The two old soldiers, having them
selves participated in the memorable
siege and campaign of many fights,
helping General Grant to make good
his famous declaration-'I will fight
it out on this line if it takes all sum-
mer"-viyidly told the committeeman
OF the merit of the work contemplated,
as ia a small and inadequate way a
recognition of the bravery and sell
sacrifice of the Wisconsin soldiers ia
the campaign in which the rebels were
starved out like rats. Senator Bird
said the Vicksburg work ought TO have
some $4,000 from Wisconsin, on the
basis of comparison with the Shiloh
fund. He said there were only three
commands from Wisconsin at the
battle of Shiloh and there were IL Wis
consin commands at Vicksburg. The
Wisconsin fund for the Shiloh monu-
ments is $4,000. He explained the
work of parking and preserving thai
is being carried on at the siege
ground and told how other states were
apprOpriating even more literally for
the purpose. than the state of Wiscon-
sin was being asked 10 do. The plan,
as he explained il, is to erect monu-
Inents where the wisconsin regiments
were stationed in the siege and en-
gagements and to erect one larger
monument at a central and command
| ing point. He said the southern
states were doing their part in the
work and the federal government was
also assisting in preserving the physI-
biographical features of the enyirons
of Vicksburg.
| Assemblyman Evans, VINO is a men,
Der of the committee on claims, said
he had made no particular effort TO
press the bill for passage. He wanted
the state to do its part with the other
states to build the Vicksburg park. he
felt that the merit of the bill woul /
appeal to all the members of the COM
mittee.
THE passage of this BILL" said Mr..
Evans, lis not particularly to satisfy
the ex-soldiers. We are getting old
and a comparatively few of us will
ever visit the ground. The erection of
the proposed monuments, in my opin-
ion, will be valuable from an educa-
tiOnal point of view, as showing the
sacrifice the nation made. l will say,
however, that all those who partici-
pated in the siege approve of the pro-
posed expenditure. There was no
other engagement of the war in which
so many Wisconsin troops took part,
nor in which the result was so import
ant"
Senator Bird said the battle Oh
Gettysburg was far less of a strategy
cal victory than the siege ana capture
OF Vicksburg. AT Gettysburg the bat
tie was force pitted against force, but
at Vicksburg force coupled with brains.
We'd with force and strong entrench-
ments. He said the bill should be
amended so as to increase the appro-
priation from $4,000 to $4,000 or
more. Senator Hagemeister at this
point exclaimed:
20, you gentlemen are asking for
altogether too much money"