Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-12-27
REFLECTIONS OF FORTY YEARS.
General Rogers Recalls Names of Old
Comrades and Their Deeds.

EDITOR CENSOR: am reminded to-
night, as the year 1905 is passing, Of a
meeting of Co. l. Wis., forty two years
ago, at Culpepper, Virginia, when less
than one half of the 101 who marched
away from Viroqua In June, 1861, two
and half years before, to defend the
nations capital. They were boys In
1861; Christmas ave, 1868, they were
still boys to wear veteran chevrons
The government wanted tried soldiers
for the coming campaign of 1854 through
the Wilderness, and offered thirty DAYS
furlough and an additional bounty to
those who would re-enlist Re-enlist-
ment seemed a serious question-mor
killed, more wounded, more unknown
graves FortY.two of the COMPANY who
ha5 marched two years and half,
fought many battles, biYouacked in
mud, in rain and sunshine, met in a ''lit-
tie round robin" to consider the ques-
tion of helping to end the war, though
II should take more lives, legs and arms.
We called the roll to see who were pre-
sent and who had passed over the silent
river and who had received wounds Of
those present recall few names-the
Wallars, Legrand Tongue, Lowrie, Ri
ley, Sweet, Hockabout, Cushing, Allen,
Everett, Hill, Jones, Markle, Moore.
briggs. Schreiber, Nichols and others,
including the writer. We call Gains.
vile aud its dead Didiot, Birnbaum,
Ellsworth and Robbins; the wounded:
Semerby. Wright, Burdick, Fern, Hill,
Wareham and Wyman. Ball RIM:
Wallar and Lowrie wounded. Chan
tilly: FIVE killed. We looked back TO.
wards South Mountain and there on the
mountain side Billie Lawrence and
Harding were killed Bohn, Nutting and
Fred Page wounded. And then we call.
ed Antietsm Atwood. Douglass and
Fox, killed; Barcus. Burchell earns,
Dayis, Hart, johnson, Lind, Mcclure,
Ruby, Stea1man and Williams, wound
ed The tredricksburg roll was next
called Conklin and Ruby, killed Stead
man. wounded. The Gettysburg roll
came next Eoughton. Harland, Miller,
Sutton and Steadman. killed; Goodwin,
Jones, Lind. Schneider, Sweet and
Thompson wounded. To that time sew
enteen had heen killed and thirty.four
wounded IL was near midnight the
boys sang f.vorite camp song, drapk
to the old year and to the memory of tbs
comrades who fell ON the field of battle
standing by the oolors, had gone march
ing en-. Everyone of those boys then re-
enlisted, returned to their homes for q
brief visit, then hack to the army, into
the Wilderness, Laurel Hill, Jericho
Ford. Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, all
along the line in front of Petersburg,
twice at Hatches Run, Five Forks, Grav-
ely Run, and saw the Confederate ban.
ners furled at Appomatox, the Union
army triumphant. Each battle had its
list of dead and wounded.
The forty and half years since the
grand review has still thinned the ranks
and tonight | call the roll of the dead
and the living. The dead are silently
reposing, some with the unknown, 9TH
ers in national cemeteries where, at each
mornings sunrise, the stars and stripes
are gracefully unfurled from the flag
staffs and proudly represent nation of
mighty force, union of states nowhere
or no time its equal-and those boys
fell that it should be. OF that nights
roll call the living who answered are
Allen of Minnesota; Billie Moore. Green
Bay; Waller South Dakota; Riley, Gen.
oa; Tongue, Hillsboro; Sweet Warrens
Mills; briggs, Alabama Hockabout,
California; Richardson, Rice Lake;
Goodwin, Eiroy, and Hill, Superior,
while Ed. Lind sends wireless from
.slaska, that he expects to take the old
flag to the farthest north over copper
mine. Also among the living of that
nights round robin is the writer, who,
looking back with feelings of sadness at
the awfulness OF four years of war, of
the ravages of forty years of peace, re-
calls memories of associates who we're
brave, who stood nobly in battle, faced
death heroically and to the writer were
as kind as they were brave in hattie.
The dead rest in peace the living your
heroism will never be forgotten by
BONA"
Viroaua. December 95. 1905.