Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-02-04

OLD SOLDIERS TALK OVER
ARMY EXPERIENCES.
The Blue and the Gray Review Tnci.
dents of the Late War, and In q
Graphic and Interesting Manner
Tell of Camp, March and Battle.


Tell of Camp, March and Battle.
'frhe stories of zlgzags, mines and
other things at Port Arthur" said Dan
r. Anderson. remind me OF incidents
preceding the fall of Spanish fort, Mo
bile Bay, In April, 1865. There we en-
countered mines and all sorts of cum
ningly devised distractions. Brush
with ends sharpened was piled in three
lines. sharp ends out. There were in
teryals every few yards paved with
torpedoes and percussion shells war
ranted &c explode under pressure.
Then there was a heval-de-frise--
something in the shape of sheep rack
coupled together with swivelS. and
all the points of the rack sharpened.
making it a very trying thing TO get
over. Volunteers from the Twenty
sixth Indiana Veteran Volunteers were
called to go out and fasten a rope to
the cheVal-dc-frise and 'hoss' her in.
Lieutenant John A. Whist Sergeants
james Greer, w. +. Craig, and Private
Daniel r. Anderson, all of Company |.
Twenty-sixth Indiana Veteran Volun-
teer Infantry, crawled to the rack and
succeeded in fastening a couple of
ropes TO the shaft of the rack, and it
was accomplished. too. notwthStand-
ing rebel sentinels were lying in ride
pits every few yards close up behind
the rack. 1t was managed 50 quietly
that the rebs found us out only when
the movement of the rack began
"The yenturcsome crew returned TO
our zigzag sap highly elated and began
pulling on the lines. making satisfac.
tory progress until die rack brought
up against a stump one rope broke
under the strain, but the other held,
and the rack was broken and enc end
reached our line of works, leaving 4
gap which we took advantage of later,
when Lieutenant John A. Whitsit,
with about forty of Company /. Tween
ty-siXth Indiana Veteran Volunteer In
fantry, made his entry through the en-
bracnre where 'Whistling Dick had
been dismounted by a tine shot from
the battery of big guns taken from
the ironclad Milwaukee that was
blown up by q topedo in Mobile Bay
The shot was fred oy Steve Phillips
of the Milwaukee When We jumped
into the rebel rifle pits we found them
well manned. but with men willing to
quit Inside the fort all was turmoil
and confusion. Three steamers were
at the wharf and everybody trying IL
get aboard That was IA mix-up, but
there was no fighting, and rs we Yam
KEGS were more intent on sampllng The
good things to be found in the officers
hastily vacated quarters than In taking
prisoners, only about 1000 forced
themselves on us The rest went out
on the excursion TO Mobile.
As we moved to invest the fort the
Twenty siXth Indiana was on the left
center and we moved up TO within 600
yards Of the field works Of the fort
and biyouacbed the FIRST night in gul-
lies and small hills which abounded IN
that locality. Company ! was in
very exposed position, as We soon dis
covered when one of the boys built
fire on pine stump to cook coffee.
Hardly was the fire lighted when n
stream Of bullets came our way. one
of which hit the coffee pot SO hard
that 1t was ont for all time We had
but one tent up and it was in line of
the fire, and was perforated with mimic
bills, as was Charlie Wilson. who was
lying on the ground with his head In.
side the tent looking on ut a game OF
poker which was going on there
Charlie picked up the bullet in his leg
and said things The tent came down
at once and was moved around behind
n hill and the card players newer
missed deal
During the night the battery uf our
brigade was advanced fully 300 Yards
and fertilization made for it's profec-
ton in front Early the next day we
We're treated to a display Of valor hy
n New York regiment charging. coming
from the left Of the line at right oh
lique, and between The Twcntv-sjyth
Indiana and the Thirty third Illinois
and dang me If they didn't capture
our battery right before our eyes and
before we tumbled To just what they
were driving at But enough Of tho
Twenty sixth went over and persuaded
the New Workers to lend the battery ia
US, as we had lost ours We had made
brcastworks Of pine logs backed with
sand to a width Of eighteen feet on
top. and had dug pits close NJ against
the breastworks large enough 10 hold
fifty men, covering each pit with pine
logs two or three feet deep. and the
logs with sand to the depth Of four
feet leaving an incline entrance Of
one end Our tents were pitched close
10 the bombprOofs, but were not occl-
pied. as the bombproofs offered a safer
retreat. And # was as the Irishman