The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1906-01-11


surrender without word. Instead
he blazed away with a revolver right
at his hand, and ran the three out of
the building. 1 dressed the wound Of
one of them and he said the p. NJ.
was the readiest man with a gun he
had ever tackled. The p. NJ. himself
made no remarks, but later he ad-
mitted to me that the scrap made him
disconnected. 1t reminded him Of old
Chicago Inter Ocean.
Captain Bankers Chicago Dragons.
II have been trying for year." said
} the Major, Ito trace and locate the
men Of Captain Bankers Chicago dra-
goons. The company. with full COM
plement Of commissioned and noncom-
missioned officers and an even hun.
dred privates, was organized here IN
Chicago a few days after Fort Sumter
was fred on, and was mustered into
the service April 10, 1861 There was
no regular call for dragons, but the
company was sent to Mcclellan In
West Virginia and saw service In the
Rich Mountain and other campaigns.
THE company, with the old Chicago
Light Dragons, organized In 1855 az
a nucleus, was ready for orders April
16. Most of the men were well drilled.
and the company was one Of the very
best that went out from Chicago. II
went with Mcclellan to Washington.
but. the men declining to re-enlist for
three years, they were sent to Chicago
at the end Of three months service.
and most of them on muster out en-
tered other military organizations.
"Privates George A. Forsyth, Lewis
Fl. Rucker, and others went to Farms
worth's Eighth Illinois Cavalry as
commissioned officers, Forsyth SANDY
and Rucker and three others Of Bar.
ker's old company becoming brigadier
generals. Sixty other dragons held
commissions later in the war in diff
ferent cavalry and infantry regiments
Because they made their army repu-
tations in other commands and be
cause their three months service un
der Captain Barker was lost sight Of.
it Is extremely difficult to trace the
members who left Chicago with Cap
tain Barker and Lieutenants Osband
and Weber in April, 1861.
There are still living in Chicago
Jonathan Slade, Benjamin F. Felix,
David w. Clark, and other members Of
Rortor,S dra Ooouc Ruct-or q flor For
ty years service In the regular army.
was retired with the rank of brigadier
general In 1908. Forsyth was retired
in 1890. A score of the old dragons
are dead, others are scattered in the
West and East One of them, Jerome
NJ. Foster. had n peculiar experience
When the company was ordered to
Washington he was on detached duty
at Grafton.
1.-The other members OF the company
came from Washington to Chicago for
muster out Foster. on duty as hos
pital steward. was not notified of the
movements Of the company or Of the
muster out. Believing that he had
been mustered in for the war, Foster
remained in the service one year after
the muster out of his company. Then
he was discharged, receiving pay for
the full time. But the question Of hi
exact military status was not settled
He is now at the Soldiers Home at
Danville, H., and anxious to hear
from any member OF Charley Bankers
dragons"
II knew Forsyth very WELL" said
the Old Timer. HE was with Sheri
dan on the Winchester ride. One day.
while he was with Sheridan here In
Chicago, the statuette 'Sheridan's
Ride was brought to headquarters for
inspection. 1t was an exquisite bit of
work In it's detail. and only Forsyth
had a cynical smile on his face as be
looked it over Seeing the smile. Sher
dan said: Out with it. What is your
objection to itY Still smiling. Forsyth
said, pointing to the dramatic sentence,
on the base: That isn't what you
said, General General Sheridan, look
ing Forsyth over quizzically, said
We'll, hang 1t, what did I sayY For
syth, chuckling to himself, replied
You said: Come on, you sons OF
blank. Come on There was q roa
Of laughter and Sheridan retreated."-