Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1906-05-25
THE BATTLE-FIELDS
OLD SOLDIERS TALK OVER
ARMY EXPERIENCES.
The BIue and the Gray Review Ihei
dents of the Late War ana III !"
Graphic and Interesting Manner
rc,, of e, nm. March and Battle.

eral Lees nag Of truce, just tti"iN ="
surrender, April 8. 1860. inns WIS
Major George =. Morgan, at that time
in command of the one Hundred anu
Fifty-ffth Pennsylvania i'll Gr1thn u-
vision of the Fifth Corps. The division
was on duty early that morning, MOT
gan being we'll to the front Win iii"S
near ApDomattox. A rebel battery went
into position to check the tnion ao-
vance, and became so troublesome that
General Griffin said to the commander
of the brigade: Tell Morgan to take
that battery
Griffin had at one time Coii!lInuel
the brigade, and he knew Morgan. y"
sooner was the order given than the
One Hundred and Fifty-hftE charged
! the battery. The guns were WhISkcu
! away, and the Alabama brigade sup
porting the battery swung 0rouNl the
flank OF Morgan's mon IL compel tie.F
withdrawal. Instead OF H!thi"EWlA-
the One Hundred and tifty-ifth pro
ceeded to cut the Alabanlais OF tro"A
tbeir main column. While .hiS move
ment was being executed II t3lirtcrit"
major came forward bearing Il tlA; o.
truce-a white pocket handkerchief tiel
to the twig of Il tree. Taken 10 &-aJoE
Morgan, he said 1T once: 70 God $
sake, Major. stop firing. General Ice
has decided to surrender
Morgan asked why in thunder his
command did not stop firing. lhe nag
of truce was sent back to General Grit
lin. the message to be forwarded 10
Sheridan or Grant, while Morgan MN
self pressed the AlabamanS to *urreA-
der Immediately. This they did, II
Morran's regiment had the honor of nr-
, ing the last volley Of that campaign
and of receiving the unconditloAAl sur
render of the first Confederate brigade
to lay down its arms ut AppoNlattoN.
Then Morgan. after sending his prison.
ers to the rear, r~earranged his lines so
as to include the Mclean and other
houses in AppomattoN.
HE was sitting on his horse i'll front
of the Mclean house when Lee and
! Babcock rode up, and his men were on
duty when Grant. Sheridan. and the
others came Up. Not only were Nor
gan's men closely associated with the
events Of that day, but they were ap-
pointed to receive the arms OF the Con-
federates, who turned over guns and
equipment in the next few days. 1t
4 will be remembered that Lee, after
writing his last note to Grant, was met
by Colonel Babcock. who escorted nm
to McLean's house TO await the coming
of Grant, to whom the note had been
forwarded. Meantime all was uncer-
tainty where the lines were in contact.
+, the officers arranging for only a tenn
! porary truce. But it so happened that
Major George f. Morgan, now of Chi
cago, was at the most interesting point
on the line and became a participant in
the dramatic scenes of the Appomattox
surrender"
Morgan was also at Gettysburg
said the Captain, land he had an d
adventure on the night of the second
day. His brigade was posted on Little
Round Top and at night he was chang
ing his pickets along Plum Creek, in
front, when he walked into a detach-
ment of rebs looking after their own
pickets. Morgan was taken a short
distance to the rear as a prisoner, but,
WutCulHS 4hS uhiits StpPSN
tween the videttes and worked his way
back to Little Round Top. He found
his lieutenant sound asleep, and, creep
ing under the blanket, went to sleep
himself.
...In the morning The lieutenant pinch
ed his captains arm to determine
whether he was a ghost or not, and
there was a great commotion, the men
being noisy with joy when they found
their captain again among them and
!, none the worse for his adventure. The
next night there was on Round Top a
quiet little game of poker under the
/ screen of a blanket. When Morgan in
timated that it was time to quit the
: lieutenant remarked, That's all right,
/ as you nave all the money (S3.50), but
, / will get it all tomorrow. You will be
shot and I will go through your peck
ets.' But Morgan was not shot and
) was kept in training for many a hard
r fight"
AT Five Forks Morgan was the senior
! captain in a provisional brigade i'll
. which no field officers We're present fol
. duty. When Sheridan and Griffin rode
! up at the turning point in the battle the
! situation was explained to them, Nor
gan expressing his willingness to as
). sumo responsibility. Thereupon Sheri
: dan gave his orders and said to Nor
! gan: 'If you do just as I tell you We
will double their lines back and breal
them all up" Morgan moved the bri
. gade forward. doubled the enemy's line
back on itself, and, as Sheridan said
, broke them all up.
Morgan is well known among the old
: or officers of the regular army. FL,
went out with Samuel NJ. B. Young i,
: 1861. The latter, who enlisted as a pri
= vate In the Twelfth Pennsylvania, be
came lieutenant general. and others o
: Morgan's old associates came to holt
high rank, but none OF them ever forge
: the quiet business man of Chicago VIII
won brevets at Five Forks and Apo
mattox and whose regiment fred tn
= last volley before Lees surrender
y Chicago Inter Ocean
le An Incident of Antfetam.
The most sayagely contested part O