The Savannah morning news., 1904-08-07

Fort Hancock. to which Lieut.. D. Y.
Beckham of the artillery corps has
been ordered is desirable detail, be-
ing on the New Jersey coast, near to
Sandy Hook and Highland Beach.
1 notice that society editors
often speak of medical officers in the
army as Lieut. Jones or Capt. Smith or
Maj. Brown, giving the idea that they
are military men, instead of army sur
geons. School Commissioner
w. B. Merritt is reported to have in
vited Camp and Stanton to write new
words for America" something
worthy of the tuner There may be
Merritt in this movement, but it will
never be able to supplant the merit in
Rev. DR.. S. F. Smiths good old my
Country, tbs of Thee" The few
cranks who wish to improve Dixie"
and America" and yankee Doodle"
are perfectly harmless as to any dam
age they can do those time-honored
songs. Patent medicine lads"
can beat the world on giving men high
sounding titles. just think-we have
in our plain American Congress a
Prince; at least the delegate from Ha-
wall Territory signs a patent medi-
cine puff as prince Jonah Kalaniana-
ole" Well may we ask, whittier are
we drifting?" military dictator is
next in order. But then this Prince
may be a temporary and harmless rep
resentative. for the poet says:
Princes and Lords may flourish or
may fade:
A breath can make them, as a breath
But bold peasantry. their country's
pride
When once destroyed. can never be
supplied"
With my good friend Veteran NJ. r.
Tunno, of Savannah keeping a criti-
cal eye on my letters. there is not
much chance for errors to pass uncor-
rected. But | am glad of his watch
fulness. for he is a kind and gentle
manly critic, one who always comes
to me, and not to the public press.
and makes his corrections in a proper
spirit. Now, in my Bull Run or Ma
masses letter of July 21, briefly men
toned the sad case of Col. Marshall
T. Polk, C. S. A., who was wounded
at the battle of Perryville. Veteran
Tunno- wishes to know IL there were
two officers named Marsh" Polk in
the army. as he knew capt. Marsh
Polk, who commanded a battery.
And was wounded and captured at
Shiloh" and had his leg amputated
in a Union Hospital at Evansville.
Inc only error TO De corrected is IN the
name of the battle. which was Shiloh
and not Perryville. / was misled by
a Tennessee newspaper historian"
But there is no error i'm the title.
Capt Marsh Polk, as he was familiar
~ called. was first a captain of a
Tennessee battery. While in this serv-
ice he was wounded. as above stated.
on April l6 and June 80. 1862. Gen.
Thomas Jordan. c. S. A.. sought to
have him exchanged and returned to
the Confederate service. But on June
"a, Gen. John A. Rawlins, u. S. v,
as assistant adjutant general on
Grant STAFF. issued Special Orders
No. u.s." stating that a report was
out that "a Major Polk. of the Con-
federate Army" was on parole in
Memphis. and the provost marshal was
ordered to Immediately arrest and
conine said Polk" and report by whom
and on whose authority he was parol-
ed and permitted TO have the liberty
of the city. l do not know when or
how Capt. Polk got the title of major
II he had II, but do know that later on
Gin 1863 he was made liutenant colonel
and chief OF artillery TO Lieut. Gen.
Leonidas Polk, c. s. A.. and that IL
why I called him a "dashing colonel"
Veteran Tunno and agreed except as
TO Perryville and colonel But Polk
became a lieutenant colonel after
veteran Tunno knew him In the army.
Sidney Herbert.