Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-01-28
THE BOOMING CANNON
REClTALS OF CAMP AND SAT.
TIE INCIDENTS.
Survivors of the Rebellion Relate
Many Amusing and Startling Incl
dents of Marches, Camp Life, ForaR-

'There is good story" said Colonel
| J A. WatrouS. about Professor Rob
! ert c. Spencer. president of the Com
/ mercial College Teachers Federation.
/ which met in Chicago recently. preSi
Z dent Spencer was In charge of 81 com
/ mercial college in st Louis In 1861.
/ his assistant being Virginian named
I stewart Spencer enlisted under the
1 cali for three months men, and served
] under General Lyon. AT the end OF
/ three months. with health much brok
( EN-, he left the army and returned TO
! his college. Three months before he
/ had left large number OF pupils The
morning he reported for duty he found
( Assistant Stewart in charge of less
than half as many.
THAT was depressing to the han
sick ex-soldier, but the next thing that
4 attracted his attention was very much
/ more depressing. Fastened 10 the
! desks of all but one Of the students
I was small Confederate flag. One
lusty young German displayed the
American flag. For minute or two
the professor did some fast thinking.
/ These are some of the thoughts: If
1 i remove those flags my ST. Louis en-
/ terprlse will collapse; l am poor, and
/ that would be hard blow. How
! ever, my duty Is plain He made a
short speech, in about these words:
1 am for the Union. This city Is for
/ the Union. This is Union, not Con
/ federate college Then he quickly
/ passed through the room and gathered
In the Confederate flags, called the
/ janitor, and told him to destroy them
"Whereupen the dignificd Virginia
assistant put on his hat and walked
/ ont, followed by all but the German
student. The Chamber of Commerce
1 and the loyal press Of the city made
/ much of the incident. and week later
Mr.. Spencer had more scholars than
when he followed Lyon to Wilson's
/ Greek
/ Professor Spencer Nas born at Ash
tabua, Ohio. June -. 1925 Ills faith
er and all of his brothers were teach
ers in commercial colleges THAT has
been his calling since 1851. when he
established college in Cincinnati He
J has been connected with the same
work In Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago.
st. Louis and Milwaukee. \ pupil Of
his in Chicago was Lyman j. Gage,
and another the late Captain Fred
/ Pabst"
BY the way" said n Thirtleth Iowa
man. did You know our chaplains He
YVES a lighter and was promoted from
the ranks to II chaplaincy under very
| notable circumstances. At Loyeioy's
i Station, Ga, in September, 1864 Hen
| ny Wnslnger of Company H. Thirtieth
Iowa. was shot through the body. Re
alizing that his wound was mortal he
asked the boys to carry him to Orderly
Sergeant Thomas W. Hyde, who
/ placed him In an ambulance and had
him taken along with the marching
regiment. During the flight Wusinger
sent message TO Hyde asking him to
I come TO the ambulance
when the orderly greeted the
wounded man Wusinger said: They
are sounding the revelle. Come into
the ambulance and pray for me Hyde
climbed in and began to pray. 1t was
clear moonlight night, almost like
day, and as the men Of the regiment
saw the ambulance and heard IIyde's
words they halted. and with Colonel
/ Roberts and the other regimental Off
GERS gathered about the ambulance
and stood with head uncovered.
Hyde, under the influence of love
and comradeship. prayed as few men
ever pray, and in the midst Of his fer
vent appeal General Peter J. Oster-
/ haus rode up halted, and uncovered
| Hyde's voice trembled and broke ana
/ the men knew Wusinger was dead.
/ For several minutes there was an i'm
! presslve Stiffness Then General Os-
/ terhaus called Colonel Roberts to him
/ and asked if he had Il chaplain IN his
regiment
The Colonel said he had not. and
I explained that the man who made the
/ prayer was one Of his sergcants Make
/ him a chaplain. Colonel. assign him
/ to duty right now SO II happened
that Orderly Sergeant Tom " Hyde
was commissioned In the field chap
/ lain of the Thirtieth Iowa Volunteer
/ Infantry by the bluff old General who
/ ON another occasion. said he would
make the rebels he'll schmeu. The
Rev. Tom is now living at Oskaloosa.
Iowa, with as good record ar chap
/ lain on the firing line as any regularly
I commissioned chaplain ever hadT'
There We're many Christian soldiers
/ in those days" said the Captain, mod.
est, undemonstrauve men who kept
the faith and did their duty. ! was
shown diary the other day in which
was this entry. under date Of Nov. "a.
1864: This is THANKSGIVING day up
in Gods country and there comes be.