The National tribune., 1904-07-07
compared to your nerve in saying that per


DRY. If you can recoilect that shot. your |
memory is better than the memory Of any !
of the rest of us odd liars of that war. !
HI venture that not man under Gran. |
or Sherman has such a memory as that. |
I think. hut am not sure. that the next /
article you write you will be justifable in |
signing: II. +. Maull. Principal Liar. of
3d and 10Th y. j.. You take the cake: |
you need not try again: your first shot rs |
only eqnalled by your first story. Your
picture should he in the Hall of Fame.
"Yon are entitled 10 a meda,-a gold |
one at that. | feel like writing to Presi- |
dent Roosevelt. recommending you for
position. Magma est veritas ct pre- vel
crit should he chiselcd in deep on your
monument. / did not think. years ago.
that musicians amounted TO much in the
army: but now--how changed God bless
you. my hoy: | hope you will be the last
survivor Of the army; that you may instill
such lessons into the rising generation.
am laid up with rheumatism. but was able
to walk around little: but now. since
reading your article. l have to be carried
from, one room to the other.
''GOOd-by. and may God i'm His infinite
goodness and mercy have mercy on your
soul"
PULLS OFT PAT Ellis PATERNAL LAURELs.
Comrade Maurice ii. Groomes. Troop
X, 9th L. s. Cav. Palmetto, Ga. demands
the championship badge claimed by Papa
Eli &. Merriam. thus: I'm issue Of The
National Tribune Dec "A. Comrade FIJI {.
Merriam says: Who can beat it" Now.
in Clinton County. Ohio. Enlisted July
II Sunday. 1861. in Troop h. 9th L. :.
Cay.-same company that Gen. Chaffee was
private. Corporal. Sergeant and First Ser
geant in:-was in Pennsular campaigns
was not 1G years of age until Nov. =. after
/ ,,1; toto -, T,.l, hn. far
disability at White House Landing; re-
enlisted in Battery ID. 1st Ohio III. A.
(l11th Inf mustered out as First Ser
geant of Battery at Knoxville. Tenn, july
%. 1860. Came back to Georgia; married
Lucinda y. ESkew, daughter Of Confed-
16, 1873. leaving me one child. daughter.
now married. l married again-Miss Flora
Ferguson. daughter of another Confed-
crate soldier. Ry this marriage we have
had II stout, healthy children. Now
claim that l can beat the comrade. by hav-
of the 1861 soldiers. My age will be 50
next November. Here they are Dewey.
born Aug. 5. 1898: Vernon. born. Jan, 20.
800: : Chaffee. born March %. 1903 So
you see the last too knocks Comrade
Merriam's chances for that badge of cham
pionship out.
Il am the only Union veteran in this
(Campbell) County, and l am obliged to
stay here with my big family to see that
there is not another rebellion. We will
nip it in the bud. All of my children by
my second wife are at home, except one
daughter dead. and another daughter, wife
of a railroad engineer. living in Atlanta.
Am sorry | cannot send you photos of the
three youngsters: but, you See [ have
three younger than the cOmrade claims for
himself.
Il joined Sedgwick Post, /, in 1867.
Nashville, Tenn.
Send your grand old paper along; we
love it; we love the name We love to read
it.
"Give every old vet $12 service pension.
Il have seven sons all at home not one
cigaret smoker nor tobacco user nor dram
of the cussing' when any is necessary
which l have not observed to be-
AS TO MEDALS AND PENSIONS
COmrade Alex. j. Hoffliger. Sergeant.
Co. u, 35th Pa. writes from Boise. Idaho:
Il notice in your issue of March IL an
article headed Medal OF Honor Pensions,
by J. &. Julius Langbien. The article
reads funny TO me. According to my
knowledge there are more men alive now
who do not possess Medal Of Honor vet
are entitled to them fully as much as are
any who wear them. We were out of luck.
III not being reported for our bravery. l.
for one, belong to that class Before the
! attack on Fort Fisher, March 81. 1865.
when Gen. EptOns Brigade was ordered
TO feel the enemy in an Offset of the picket
| line. my regiment (95th Pa was on the
| right Of the brigade. and at command for
ward, TO. ID. to which | belonged. started.
" hen got through 4 point of woods that
was full of brambles l was alone in the
| clearing. not more than 80 feet from the
| rebel rifle pits. carrying my rifle at a trail:
ana the way the rebels emptied their rifles
| at me at that close range was n caution
| Our Colorbearer, Brannan. was to NV
left. about 2oW feet in advance Of the regi-
| ment and the brigade He was down on
one knee waving Old Glory. | hailed him
and said: Get up and go for the cusses..
When got within about eight feet of
their picket line hat came mp on one of
the guns in token of surrender Then |
ordered them out. and % of them jumped
out of their pits. | ordered them to our
rear: they wanted to take their guns and
accouterments along. to get pay for them.
| but l ordered them to drop them.
which they did. l kept on forward and
| sent two more prisoners TO our rear Final
ly | was hit on my left hip by a piece of
shell. that knocked me out. and am now.
at GS years of age, suffering from that
| cause. l have had to give up work ever
| since 1854. There are others who did brave
deeds that were never reported. In "A
good night man has to look to his front:
| and he sees little else. Why should Medal
| Of Honor men get SO much more than 9th
ers who did their full duty? | cannot un-
derstand that. None of us get as much as
we should-especially those who were dis
abled. and there are legiOns of them Our
pension laws are not just. If man is at
all entitled TO pension it should not be
| less than 30 cents a day. There should be
| only about five grades Of pensions and An
officer should get no more for the same
injury than a private; but as the laws are
now, | say get all you can and ask for
| more; for the Government will never pay
us onr just dues according to results ac-
complished."
HIS SPINE INJURED.
Comrade ]. w. Layman. of Mt. Ver-
J non. Ohio. writes: Il was born i'm Fair
! field Co. Ohio, in 1S45. lived on the
! farm until Aug. %. 1862. when enlisted
J in Co. Z. 18th Ohio and went to Camp
| Chase. We We're in GAINESVILLE. Ohio:
Denison. Louisville (Ky.) and Elizabeth
town, Ky. Then we went from there to
Nashville. Tenn. and TO Franklin. Tenn
and helped build Fort Granger. Then the
regiment went to Triune Tenn and had