Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1905-03-17
CHHAPTER XVII.
LouNsBERRYs LAST STING.

Gettysburg had thinned the grand
old First corps into the proportions of
q small division. Consolidation be-
came the watch word, and, with Rey-
nolds dead and his successors devoid of
influence. it had none in power TO pre-
serve its autonomy. The Second, Fifth
and Sixth corps retained their badges
and their name The Eleventh and
Twelfth, sent to the west, were .ttele-
scoped'' and called the Twentieth. The
Third had lost its grip. with Sickles'
leg, ct Gettysburg-its way, with
Freneh's head, at Mine Run, and final
~ its place and name-being distributed
to fill the gaps in other organizations.
AS for what was left of the First, most
of it, under gray-headed Wadsworth,
went as the Fourth division to the
Fifth corps. our old friends of the Iron
Brigade ruefully shedding the blood-rei
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
ever 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 Ap-
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 bloody day, came
not homeward with the few survivors.
| A strange fortune. had been his after
| Wadsworth fell There had been many
a 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,
| and Benton could not be made to hate
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
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, land 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'll
Words were these to be well reuem-
bered in the light of later events :
No wonder Benton was af]ame with
indignation, and narrowly did he es-
cape court-martfal for the hot wrath
OF his reply. He demanded a court of
inquiry but to no purpose. There was
/ little evidence but his own. He con-
| unued to serve with Wadsworth, who,
| from having been more than half in
clined at one time to share Stanton
views: had now reasons Of his own for
differing radically with that tremen-
dous power, and took up the cudgels
for Fred IN his vehement fashion, ana
might have gotten into serious trouble
Of his own had it not been for the shot
that ended L all that bitter day IN
tbs WILDERNESS. Then Benton was
transferred for time to the headquar-
tiers OF the cavalry corps, and rode
with Sheridan to Yellow Tavern,
jsRhere the plumes OF Stuart Sest down
at last. and the brilliant Ie8der OF the
| southern horse was borne away to
die within the walls OF the weeping
city, and here It was. after Yellow Tav-
eFn, Fred Benton had one OF the odd
est, yet most opportune. meetings Of
the war.