Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-11-15
CHHAPTER XVII.
LoUNsBERRY's LAST STING.

CHHAPTER XVII.
LoUNsBERRY'S LAST STING.
Gettysburg had thinned the grand
old First corps into the proportions of
small division. Consolidation be-
came the watchword, and, with Rey-
nolds dead and his successors devoid of
influence, it had none in power to pre-
serve It's autonomy. The Second, Fifth
and Sixth corps retained their badges
and their name. The Eleventh and
Twelfth, sent to the west, were .stele-
scoped" and called the Twentieth. The
Third had lost it's grip, with Sickles'
leg, at Gettysburg-its way, with
French's head, at Mine Run, and final
ly its place and name-being distributed
to I'LL the gaps in other organizations.
AS for what was left of the First, most
OF 1T, under gray-headed Wadsworth.
went as the Fourth division to the
Fifth corps, our old friends of the Iron
Brigade ruefully shedding the blood-red
disk and decking their caps with the
Maltese cross. And so, faithful to the
end, they hewed their way through the
wilderness, hard hit many a time, but
e.er landing, catlike, on their feet,
even though SO many of the old
leaders were gone. Brave, silver-haired
Wadsworth, after heroic effort against
Longstreet, died at their head in the
crash of the sixth of May-Cutler TAX
Ing the division, and Bragg, another
graduate of the Sixth, the brigade
and holding it longest of all. Few they
were when they reached the James,
mourning with all their hearts for
Haskell, killed in command of his new
Badger regiment in the awful attack
at Cold Harbor With Warren they
rounded the gray line at Five Forks
Hallon Richardson, heading the Sew
enth, receiving the shot meant for their
major general-and finally, bursting
from the southwark woods below APP
pomatox, they helped bar the last
gateway of Lees beaten army. Then
they marched back to droop their rid
died. crape-laden colors for the last
time before the head Of the nation in
the grand review at Washington and,
with final handclasp from Hoosiers and
Wolverines at the parting of the ways,
went home to lay those tattered flags
within the walls of their own white
capitol, with never a stain or shadow
on the record of their defenders
But the story of several who set forth
with them was still unfinished. Fred
Benton, who had ridden with their bat
Ting line on many a bloody day, came
not homeward with the few survivors.
A strange fortune had been his after
Wadsworth fell. There had been many
g. reason, as has been told. for believing
that the tall Virginian, Jennings, had
played double game from first to last
Benton's evidence had little helped the
prosecution, however, and when the
young officer was again summoned to
the war department and again ques-
toned as to his relations with the
Chiltons, he finally fired up and de-
clared the line of inquiry reflection on
his loyalty and integrity. Stanton so
hated the rebellion that he seemed to
hold no officer above suspicion who did
not hate everything connected with it,
aAio DOLlOil Soulu uOC NC 1l1duS W udtc
the Chiltons-any of them-or to look
with anything less than love on the
memory of Paul Ladue.
So he came back from Washington
in time for the Mine Run affair, boiling
over with wrath at the way he had
been badgered. Stanton as much as
intimated that Benton knew Jennings
to be false to his obligations, and was
shielding him as he had striven to de-
fend the Chiltons and Ladue. "No man
can serve two masters young sir said
the stern secretary, "and you can't
properly serve your country and shield
those in rebellion against it. I've seen
too much of this disposition on your
part and if see any more of it'll
break you."
CONTINUED in next issue.)