The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1904-08-04

him? In the cavalry service the Com
pany Blacksmith is the man who puts the
man behind the gun into the night. be ne
ever SO clever, a cavalryman without
horse is of little value when 1t comes TO
the long raid, the rapid march. or the hot
fight, and the Company Blacksmith IS an
important factor in the game OF war, Tor
the horse without shoes soon puts the
trooper out of business
In the month of August, 1862. Co. ID of
The 9TH Ohio Cav. was recruited in Cler-
mont County Ohio, by Ira Ferguson, Les
ter G.. Moore and Samuel Murphey. who
were commissioned as the officers OF the
company in the order named. The COM
pany was soon filled to the maximum num-
Der of 100 men, recruited in Gen. Grants
home county. and went into rendezvous at
Camp Clay, now in the east end of the
City of Cincinnati. where the company
was organized with full number OF non
commissioned officers and Farrlers. by
the last named the writer means the Com
pany Blacksmiths, or the men VINO were
TO stand behind the men behind the guns.
"a full number of Blacksmiths for a regi-
ment of cavalry was then "A, or two for
each company. These men were required
TO constantly keep shod the 1.2oO horses OF
the regiment.
A person not familiar with the opera
lions of cavalry in active service may well
wonder how these men were to accom-
plish this great task, when cavalry are at
one place to-day and at another to-mor-
row, accomplishing the change of position
probably by an all-night march. 1t is APP
parent to all that while the change OF po-
sition is being made the Company Black
smith becomes the anxious care of the
company commander. more so possibly
than any other member of his command.
for the reason that it often happens that
he eho lnI OH nv
ing too close while marching in column. as
well as by other and natural incidents of
the service and at such times il is neces-
sary the Company Blacksmith should be
present to replace the shoe. for on the
campaign a soldier in the cavalry with
barefooted. lame horse is of no more value
TO his comrades than a dead soldier.
u THE CARTER RAID.
The writer remembers being one of the
number that made a march from Win
chester. Ky, which was made in Deem
Der. 1862, by the 1st Battalion of four
companies of the eth Ohio Cav, which
moved into and through the mountainous
country of Eastern Kentucky, Southwest
Virginia. and East Tennessee by way of
Irwin Red Bend Salt Works. thence
through an obscure gap of the Cumber-
Hand Mountains, then by way of Estill-
vile and Jonesville, Va. to Carriers Sta
ton, on the East Tennessee 4 Virginia
Railroad. At the Red Bend Salt Works
on Christmas morning these four compa-
MES were joined by two battalions of the
ID Mich. and one battalion of the 9th Pa.
Cav The object Of this long and haZ-
ardous march in Midwinter was to de-
stroy the bridges on the East Tennessee Il
Virginia Railroad, to prevent the transfer
of troops of the enemy from Gen. Lees
army in the East to Gen. Bragg in the
West at the great battle of Stone River.
which began late in December. 1862.
Great preparations were made the last
week before the starting of our command
on the raid across the Cumberland Noun
tains. and the Company Blacksmiths were
ordered to examine all the horses shoes
and to put all in frst-ciass order for the
march, and to prepare two shoes for each
horse. with nails, which the men must
carry with them as extras. The Black
smiths had become SO disabled by hard
work that three were all that accompanied
the four companies on this famous raid.
which is known as the Carter Raid. After
the third or fourth days march on the
mountain trails the blacksmith's troubles
began to multiply. as he must march with
the command. and at each halt his services
were in great demand: and when permit
ted to go into camp for a short time he
must see that all horses were shod. so as
y
constant work gave the Blacksmith little
or no rest, either day or night To drop
out and fall behind the column meant
either death or capture by the enemy. as
they seemed to be aware of our coming,
and were concealed and waiting for the
opportunity TO by any and every means
reduce the force of our then too small
command. so that it required the best eff
forts Of all to keep well together that our
force might accomplish the great object of
oUk undertaking.
If the Company Blacksmith had failed
TO do his whole duty he would not only
have weakened the command. but would
have placed the entire force in jeopardy,
as bridge-burning at that time was held to
be such a serious offense that no punish
ment. even to hanging. was considered too
great TO be inflicted upon the unfortunate
soldier who was so unlucky as TO fall into
the hands of the enemy. While that
march then made was eminently success
full no soldier could have contributed more
10 it's success than the Company Black
smiths, who kept shod the horses of his
comrades that they might be able to be in
line when the time came for the man that
carried the gun TO do the part of the work
assigned to him.
In his official report of this expedition.
Gen. Carter said: Notwithstanding the
inclemency of the weather. the severity of
Inc HarcneS IN MlQWlDtef, anu the scdnt
supply Of rations and scarcity of forage
for the horses. both officers and men bore
their hardships without a murmur Of com
plant. and they returned after a rapid
march of 40 miles over mountain roads. a
large part of the way in the enemy's coun-
Try. in high spirits. proud TO think that
they had accomplished feat which for
extreme hazard has no parallel in the his
tory Of war;
NO REST FOR THE BLACKSMITH.
As fair illustration of the hartships of
he march, it may be mentioned that while
the enemy's country for a period of
early six days, the men were in the sad
lie for about 20 hours each day. stopping
My for brief periods TO feed and allow
he horses a little reathing spell and re-
zpite from their hard labors, in climbing
he hundreds of miles of mountain roads.
'yhich for a larger part of the distance
rere not roads at all. but mere trails along
he beds Of the mountain streams, fairly
ned and paved with rocks varying in
roportions from the size of a mans head
monster masses as large as "a meeting
ouse" Indeed, the cavalry command un-
er Gen. Carter traversed successfully a
fountain fastness over which the enemy
onidently believed it was utterly impos-
lble for mounted troops to pass in Mid
-yinter, and which it was believed even a