Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1904-01-27
SOLDIERS STORIES.
ENTERTAINING "REMINISCENCES
OF THE WAR.
Graphic Account OF Stirring Scenes
Witnessed on the Battlefield and in
Csmp--veterans of the Rebellion Re-


Il have often wondered" said the
Major, what became of the men Sc
yerely wounded in battle Nearly 1000
officers and enlisted men came out of
the Union service minus an arm or a
| leg. Where are they now? OF the
| 100000 men wounded in battle. $4,000
died in hospital and $4,000 went home
disabled How have the latter Jared
| in life's struggle? To what extent did
the wounds limit their activity In bush
ness, and in what degree were their
lives shortened by thC wounds that
gave them so much anxiety forty years
ago?
There are comparatively few one
legged or one-armed men pr )mment in
! public life. have in mind General
! Henderson, Of Iowa, who manages his
, artificial leg so well that few ever think
nf his disability. Congressman Castle,
| Of Wisconsin, has only one arm, and
| General Rice OF the Census Depart
ment lost an arm and leg, but in
! some way you forget that such active
| men must have been counted at one
! time among the seriously wounded.
| There are Beaver, of Pennsylvania;
| General Sickles, and General o. O.
! Howard, representatives of men who
were not put at any great disadvantage
| by the loss of leg or an arm. There
must be two or three thousand others
who suffered amputation, and l wonder
where they are?"
| They are nearly everywhere" said
che doctor. Il find them In every walk
of life. Not very many years ago an
empty sleeve or an empty trousers leg
opened the door to public office We
had several cases In Illinois, among
| them Swigart, who was nominated for
State office. and Brockway who was
nominated for county Office. All such
men, however, carried themselves so
| cheerfully that few people thought of
them as disabled men.
Il remember case in which a street
car conductor attempted to put Major
Brockway off the car. He laid yigor-
| Gus hold on the Majors collar to Jerk
him off, when he received a blow from
the Majors fist that sent him at full
length to the street. He was rushing
back in a fury when a young man
! jumped over two seats and came down
in front of him, saying; Shame on
you; don't you see you are striking a
stopped, looked the Major over, and
said, why didn't you say so before?
j didn't know it?'
Il find also men who lost q hand or
| two or three fingers or a foot employed
as teachers or active in business. They
never speak of their wounds. In the
larger list of dangerously wounded
find many in public life. At a banquet
not long ago General Black was appar-
emily the best preserved man in the
company. Only a few knew that he
was among the most dangerously
wounded Of the Union army. Governor
| Fifer bears his years well, but his
wounds hang over him like a sword
suspended by a single thread. In both
these cases the wounds limited the
| sphere of activity of the wounded, but
did not prevent that sort Of effort that
leads to success.
Not long ago 1 attended soldiers
reunion, and was surprised to see a
prominent business man come in on
crutches had met him scores Of times
without realizing that he had only one
leg. / knew that he limped little,
but not more than dozen of my
| friends who are troubled with rheuma-
tism. / had seen him go upstairs and
down and walk about his little office,
but | never would have known that he
had left leg at Chickamauga had he
not gone to the reunio., there, to
please his soldier friends, he appeared
without his cork leg"
THAT reference TO General Black"
said Comrade Parker, reminds me Of
a story of Captain J. F. Chase, who re-
ceived forty-eight wounds at the battle
of Gettysburg. Chase was struck by
a charge of grape shot, forty-eight Of
the shot going into the upper part Of
| the body. He was picked up on the
field and carried to the hospital, out
n.
Three or four days later the surgeons.
noticing that there was life in the
poor riddled body. exerted themselves
and saved Chase's life His right arm
was shot off, his left eye was destroyed,
several ribs We're cut in two. and rhe
surgeons did not pretend to count the
! bullet holes.
I'm addition to this record at Get
| tysburg, Chase distinguished himself
| on other occasions and received two
! medals for bravery He was given
pension of $40 a month. But on one
occasion he met a Congressman from
| his old district in Maine, who insisted
| that $40 a month was not enough aud
! promised to have 1t increased The
Congressman brought the case to the
attention Of the pension committee. and
| General Black, then a member Of the
committee, remarked: Well, | guess
we will Lave to raise his pension 10 $50
a month No" said the Maine Con
gresham. Why, Black, what are you
talking about? You are getting 800
a month and 5000 a year besidees. We
/ will give him the limit, $T2 a month,
and not a cent less.
"Bla,.k agreed that Chase was In
worse condition than himself, and the
tito, t.,ada "a unanimous tf.r,ort ir,