The daily Alaskan., 1904-03-25

 THE 100000

couple of weeks, however, showed lne colonel to be an egodst and a drunk ard. and few of the company or regi- mental officers seemed anxious to give him credit for anything outside.
 One day the regiment came out to relieve the Fourth on outpost duty. At midafteuoon a undred Confeder- ate cavalry, divided into squads of twenty-five. attacked four full compa- nies of the Thirteenth at about the same moment One discharge of their carbines, followed by a grand yell, did the business in each instance. The same 100 cavalry then fell upon the reserve of GOO men and routed them at a dash. One thousand men were beaten, routed and disgraced by l0O
 The colonel called his officers to- gether and said they must give the men double drill and that in the next fight they must shoot down any man who tried to make a bolt for it. And the captains got their respective com panles out on the parude ground and looked savage and swelled out theiI chests and shouted:
 "You are a laughing stock in thls brigade. You have had two or three chances to win glory. but you have run away like beaten CUTS. In our next fight I will shoot the man who even turns pale"
 And yet every private in every com pauy remembered that when he ran away he followed his three officers and was not able to overtake them. A month later, at 9 o'clock one summer morning, our brigade swung into bat tie line on the left center. It stretched across a cotton field, with it's right and left connecting in the woods with oth- CT brlgades. The fight began far above us. That meant waiting, and 1t is the waiting that makes towards of brave men.
 Down the lines of the Fourth, Sey- enth and Eighth went the company officers to brace up the men who were not towards. but yet losing their nerve in the waiting, but over in the Ihir- teenth 1t was different. The officers were at the regulation distance in rear of the lines. and the men had nobody to brace them up. To talk to each other only made matters worse.
 We were quite prepared for what happened knew that it would happen. Of a sudden the enemy opened fire on our front with artillery, and as tue first shell exploded in the ranks of the Thirteenth the whole l,O9O men broke back like a flock of frightened sheep. A second shell completed the business, and there was a stampede which car rled them a mile to the rear. The gap was closed up. and the battle went on, but the Thirteenth could not be rallied again that day. Three days later the major general said to the officers and men on parade:
 "I know Che history of the Thirteenth since its first skirmish. You are dis grace to your state to the army and to yourselves. ] shall recommend that the regiment be wiped out of existence
 On the morning that the order Of lisbaudment arrived from Washing
 on the Thirteenth was In charge of a senior captain. and some of the com lanies were in charge of orderly ser soants. A Confederate column, which lad cut loose and marched by night
 trough the fields and woods, suddenly burst out of the woods upon the scat tered camps along the river. The sur prise was complete, and without a
 heck the enemy came sweeping down
 he stream. The Thirteenth turned out, but there were no officers to give them orders. They were towards and had always run away. A few had .lready started on this occasion, when
 here camc the sound of hoof beats rom the west. and a woman rode into lmn. SLc was hardly above twenty -rars old. fair haired and handsome nd probably the wife of some Union lHicer from the camps above. Every nan thrilled as she pulled up her horse md cried out:
 "Men. they are making a stand up .here by Che ford, and if you'll join
 hem the enemy can be checked anu driven back
 wen go-we'n gol Fall in-fall in.' shouted the men in chorus, after an in- stants silence. and five minutes later every man had his musket and car tridge box and companies were being formed up the road crowded with white faced fugitiyes, and yet never a man of the Thirteenth fell out There was no officer to lead them but the woman rode ahead and turned now and then to smile and beckon them on. A round shot plowed up the dirt near by but she gave DO heed. A shell burst against tree a few yards away and filled the air with splinters, but she did not turn her head. The bullets came thicker and thicker, but she held her way until a line of blue suddenly came into view and then waved her hand and said
 Right down there, comrades, is where they need you, and after today no man will call the Thirteenth a regi- ment of cowardsw
 "Hip-hip-hurrahw and a swinging of caps and a dash forward The blue fighting line was strengthened not a too soon. The enemy hurled shell and grape-he poured volley after volley-he charged again and again, but the line stood firm and cheered as