Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1906-04-14
SOLDIERS AT HOME.
THEY TELL SOME INTERESTING
ANECDOTES OF THE WAR.
How the Boys of Both Armies WhiIed
Away Life in COMPROMISING Ex-
perieuces, Tiresome Mnrches-ThriI-
ling Scenes on the Battlefield.

haJof VINO would nave us 0elleVe that
American soldiers in the Philippines or
n Kansas or Arizona are beSotted. hru.
al creatures given to needless cruelty
n battle and having no respect for the
lights or the lives of those fighting
against them. Now. as 90 per cent of
he soldiers in the regular army are ma.
i've born they probably represent fair
" well the average American of this
lay. as the volunteer army OF the Civll
War represented the average American
IF that day.
Il never in all my army experience
saw Il downright merciless or brutal act
in skirmsh or battle. l have seen men
tight with the fury of demons. have
seen men carried away by the frenzy
of battle do idotic and unaccountable
things but whether they were moved
by passion or crazy with excitement
or stolid in the face of danger, | never
saw one Of our men commit an act of
wanton cruelty. There were coarse
men and men of low instincts in all
the companies probably, but as rule
it was the high spirited, decent fellows
who were on the firing line,
81 remember that on the third day
at Stone River our brigade charged at
a full run on a rebel regiment advanc-
ing on rs at a run. The crash as the
two lines came together was a fearful
thing. For five or ten minutes there
was the wild confusion Of striking,
thruSting, pushing. and pulling, of
fighting at close range, the men on
both sides yielding to the fury of the
moment But the second line of the
Confederates broke and our colonel
beating his way into the melee, swung
our own line to the rear of the fighters
and shouted Quit your hair pulling
there. Ask the Johnnes to surren-
der
"The Johnnies surrendered. throwing
down their guns and taking off their
cartridge boxes with cheerful accept
ance Of the situation. Our own men.
winded by the tussle, contemplated the
proceedings in silence, a grin oe good
humor gradually suppianting the look
of extreme passion on their faces. An
old fashioned fellow assisted one of
the rebs in untangling his belt, ana so
ciably said, BY gum, | am tuckered
out. | feel just about as | did when
my pillow team ran off and dragged me
across a ten-acre field TO which tlle
rebel responded, I knew there would
he something doing when we started.
The colonel banked on scarin you 'uus,
but l was bettin' even that you 'uns
wouldn't scare
"On the first day of heavy fighting
at Stone River one Of our men, who ia
now a preacher out in Kansas, was
slightly wounded, and while in Il dazed
condition, he was taken possession Of
by a wandering reh. The latter double
quicked his dazed prisoner across the
field, to his own citation, and INDUCED
IN a good many uncomplimcntary lie
marks. The rapid motion, however,
cleared the prisoners mind, and pre-
tending to be in great fear of the bayo-
net behind him, he increased his speed.
This was agreeable to the rebel. who
experienced all the delights of the chase,
Suddenly the prisoner yeered 10 one
side and. as his guard stumbled for
ward, jumped on him from behind. In
two minutes our man had the reb's
gun and was chaSiE, he fellow back
toward our lines at the point Of the
bayOnet. They were n tired pair when
they came within hailing distance Both
we're dirty and bloody, but they were
hungry also, and in few minutes were
eating bareback and drinking coffee
and badgering each other about the in
cdents of their unusual adventure"
THAT reminds me-" said the Cap
tain, "of the day the 202d Regiment,
New York State Volunteers, landed in
cuba to do police duty, just after the
Spanish war When the
transport bearing n battalion Of the
regiment commanded by Major Frank
f. Wood arrived in Havana the wharf
ut which she landed was crowded with
Spaniards, Cuhans, and negroes. The
Colonel Of the regiment was aboard,
and by his instructions Major Wood
ordered the people cleared off the
wharf, which was surrounded by a
high fence with several gates.
"A squad was sent ashore ana the
wharf was soon cleared Of all but one
man, who kept edging around and
lodging the blue coats. His mustache
was waxed up at the ends and he car
RED himself haughtly and a long
sword dangled about his feet. As he
refused the sergeant's personal order
20 'vamoose the latter called two hus-
Ky fellows, who took him by the nape
uf the neck and the seat Of the trOus-
ars and deposited him none too gently
on all tours In the street very angry
aud very much tangled mp with his