Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-08-12
THE FIELD OF BATTLE
INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES OF
THE WAR.
The Veterans of the Rebellion Tell of
Whistling Bullets, Bright Bayonets,
Bursting Bombs, Bloody Battles,
Camp Fire, Festive Bugs, Etc, Etc.

Near Centralia, Boone County, Mo.
is spot where nearly 200 Federal sol
diers shed their blood, Sept. 81, 1864.
With Major A. V. Il. johnson of the
Thrirty-ninth Missouri Infantry in
command, the little detachment of sol
diers met Captains Bill Anderson and
George Todd and their band of guer-
rillas. Scarcely a dozen Federal sol
dlers escaped alive, while only two of
the guerrillas We're killed Every
Union soldier on the line of battle Der
ished, and the ten men who got away
were those detailed TO hold the horses.
Frank James, who was in the mem
orable fight rode over the battlefield
few years ago for the second time in
his life.
There is the spot" he said to cor
respondent of the St Louis Republic.
there is the place where the Union
line went down. YOnder on the rise
near the hayrick the Federal troops
were drawn up. Just this side, to-
ward Centralia, stood the detachment
which held their horses On the edge
of the wood beyond our men formed"
His memory served him we'll He
had not been TO the field before nor
since the day of the fight. II can 60"
he said, Ito any battlefield where was
engaged and pick out almost instantly
the locations. / guess it's the close
ness of death which photographs the
scene on ones memory"
\ few moments later he came into
the field itself. Corn was growing rank
and herd of cattle calmly feeding on
the pasture land. Where the Federals
stood was the golden yellow of hay
field. Here James wandered around
for a few moments.
THE day before we had many n
small skirmish down in Goslins lane,
between Columbia and Rocheport.
don't know what day il was We could
scarcely keep account Of months at
that time, much less days We killed a
dozen Federal soldiers in Goslin's lane
and captured 4 wagon train of pro
visions aud stuff. Out in the Perche
hills that night we joined forces with
George Todd. one of the hardest fight
ers that ever lived, but less desperate
than Anderson"
James paused a moment-his CONVEX
sauon was in scraps all day and only
here put in a connected form-he
paused a moment ana continued: Bill
Anderson had much TO make him mer-
CHESS. You remember the treatment
his father and sisters received at the
hands of the Kansas Jayhawkers. That
night we camped on one of the
branches leading into Youngs creek
rot far from the home of Colonel NJ
G. Singleton. There were about 22J
men, all told. in our combined com
heard of at least 10000 men who
claimed TO be with Quantrell or his
lieutenants during the war, when the
truth is there We're never more than
$50 or 400 from one end OF the war 10
the other.
I'm the morning Anderson took
about thirty of his company and went
into Ceutraia. ! was not with him.
nor was any Of Todd's company. In
Centralia Anderson captured train.
carried off a lot of stuff shot down
some soldiers who were on the train,
and did other things about which |
know nothing except from hearsay,
and which Todd condemned when the
boys returned. In the afternoon Cap
tain Todd detailed a detachment of ten
men under Dave Pool to go out and
reconnOitcr We had heard there were
some Yankee troops In the neighbor-
hood. This squad was composed of
Dave Pool Wood and Tuck Hlll JEFF
Emery, Bill Stuart, John Pool Iayton
Long, Zach Sutherland and two others
whose names l don't remember They
were 10 find out If there were any Fed
erals around. how many. and If posi-
BILE, toll them down toward our camp.
Pool did his duty well He found
out the location Of the FederalS, role
close to them. and then gallopcd rap
idly away, as If surprised TO see them.
The Federalists followed. have never
found anybody who could tell how
many there were of them. Pool report
ed to us there were $50 ana he Was
usually very accurate. On they came
out from Centralia. Pool and his men
came up and reported Todd called
out. Mount mp. mount up"
THE Yankees stopped near the rise
Of the hill Both sides were IN fuli
view Of each other. though nearly
half-mile distant The Yankees dis
mounted, gave their horses into charge
of a detail Of men, and prepared f.
fight
John Roger, funny fellow In or
ranks, watched the Yankees get down
from their horses, and said: Why TIE
fools are going 10 fight MS gn foo."
And then added In seriousness. God