The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1904-12-01
ing a leave Of absence under critical
conditions In the nations history.
]. FRAISE RICHARD,
Historian Army Of the Ohio.
AT a cannon,s Mouth.

Twenty-third Ohio made one of the
best long distance marches on record.
In August, 1862, it was ordered from
West Virginia to Washington and II
marched 104 miles in three days, arriv.
ing at the point at which 1t was to take
boats for Parkersburg on schedule
time, and after a journey on foot, by
boat, and by rail, reached Washington
in nine days from its remote station in
the mountains:
1.-THE Twenty-third, however, was q
good, all around regiment Its first
Colonel was w. s. Rosecrans, its sec.
ond z. p. Scammon, its third Ruther.
ford B. Hayes, and its fourth James
NJ. Comfy. Its First Lieutenant Colo
mel was Stanley Matthews, and among
the Captains were William Mckinley,
Jr., and Harrison Gray Otis. Rosecrans
became Major General, Scammon o
Brigadier General, Hayes and McKin-
ley Presidents Of the United States,
Matthews went to the United States
Senate and to the Supreme Court, and
Comfy and Otis became editors and
publishers.
There never was in any regiment OF
the war group of officers who In the
years after the war stood together as
did the field officers Of the Twenty.
third, and from Rosecrans down they
had many stories to tell Of the men OF
the regiment. On one occasion General
Hayes, while Governor Of Ohio, ex.
pressed preference for the appoint.
ment Of certain man. His political
advisers were at loss to account fol
this preference and pressed the Gov.
ernor for his reason. Well said the
Governor, conclusively. he was
Twenty third Ohio man, you know,
and that settled 1t.
Again, when Hayes was President
and there was a vacancy In the Su-
preme Court, he turned from other can.
didates strongly urged by his political
friends to Matthews, Twenty-third
Ohio man. The Senate at first refused
to confirm the appointment but Mat
thews went to the Supreme bench
thror gh the initiative of his old friend
Colonel of the Twenty third Ohio.
met Matthews In Washington during
the discussion over his appointment
and he was not disturbed as to the out
come.
General Comfy was student Of hu
man nature and he told many stories to
illustrate the peculiarities Of men un.
der fire. One of them related to q
young recruit named Kosht, who join.
ed Company G a short time before the
battle Of Cloyd Mountain, In May,
1864. Kosht was not more than Is
years old and in impulse and general
conduct was regular boy. The older
men wondered how he would act In
battle and he answered the question to
their satisfaction at Cloyd Mountain.
1.-The Twenty third Ohio was ordered
to charge battery, and went forward
at run. The rebel artillerymen stood
their ground, however, and, after blaz-
ing away at the charging line, began
to reload their pieces when the boys
of the Twenty-third were not ten steps
away. This quickened the steps Of the
men in the charging line to pellmell
rush on the gunners- Among the first
to reach the guns was Kosht, and his
first act was TO hang his hat on the
muzzle of one Of the cannon and give
a boyish whoop Of exultation. He was
as unconcerned as to what the rebels
might do as a school boy playing foot
ball, and not many men of Company G
ever forgot how his hat looked on the
lannon's mouth" = Chicago Inter
Ocean.