Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-05-26

| Jury anu drove NJ
him off. The ~ -
eaSie was ohec FLEW AT HIM WITH
tionate to his r,rpv
eepers and
seemed to know the men of his regi-
ment.
Old Abe went through the battles Of
Iuka and COrinth. BY this time he had
become famous in both armies, and the
Confederate General Price ordered his
| capture, saying that he would rather
| have him than dozen battletaGs.
| Southern prisoners taken i'll those bat
| ties said that their officers would have
been more pleased to take or kill the
eagle than to capture a whole brigade.
During one fight the troops were so
| close together that in Il lull in the fir
| ing several men in Company G heard Il
| Confederate officer shout: There is
| the blankety BANKED eagle! Capture
| him, boys
1t was at the battle of Corinth that
an incident occurred which has become
| celebrated i'll song and story. There
| the Eighth Wisconsin was in Il pecul-
iarly exposed position. The eagle was
on his perch, screaming and dancing in
the excitement of the charge. He was
Il conspicuous target, and many shots
went in his direction. One of these cut
the cord that held him. Screaming he
rose alOft, wheeled over the Confeder-
ate army once or twice, returned to his
own regiment and was replaced on the
perch This exciting incident has been
described by many eyewitnesses. The
bird seemed TO know his own regiment
from all the others. After this battle
it was found that the feathers of one
of his wings had been cut by bullet
Another time he was struck by q ball,
and some of his feathers We're cut, but
on neither occasion was blood drawn.
At Coldwater, Tenn, the eagle broke
his cord and flew to a distant treetop,
but was coaXed down by live chick
en-. On Il later occasion, while the
colonel was making n speech to the
regiment, the boys cheered loudly, and
Old Abe, wishing to share in the en-
thusiasm, jumped up and down with
such force that he again snapped his
cord and flew high into the blue. FL
nally he lit on n tree, and one of the
soldiers captured him without trouble.
This made four times that he had got
away, and the fact that he had per-
mitted himself to be rctaken on each |
occasion seems quite as remarkable as |
other stories told of the intelligent bird |
He was quick to give the alarm of the |
approaching enemy, and OH more than |
one instance he suddenly awoke to |
scream note of warning. No wonder |
the soldiers regarded their living en-
blem with Il feeling akin to supersti- |
tiouS reverence.
Upon the march to Memphis Old Abe
bit his cord I'm two, again escaping and !,
flying on ahead of the army. This time
he was captured by the bearer simply |
approaching cautiously ana holding the
perch at the right angle. The eagle
hoped on and was secured. At the
battle of Jackson n fierce thunderstorm
ragged, adding its clamor TO the roar of
the fighting The war eagle was now
in his element The 'lightning played
Oh his Iinions." Spreading his wings
he whistled and screeched like the true
bird of Jove.
While keenly enjoying any kind of
fight, Old Abe seemed to take most de-
light in the booming of artillery. He
showed no fear in the presence of the
great guns, but at every discharge
would spread his wings and scream, as
if animated by all the enthusiasm of
war. At the assault on NickSburg this
was especially in evidence Gripping
his perch, craning his neck to watch
the fight, his eyes blaZed, and he seem
ed almost in frenzy of rage. In this
charge the flag by the eagles side was
riddled, but the bird escaped unhurt.
This was tha nccn ii on which no yyal
hit the second time by ball, but with
Dut injury.
Vicksburg was the eagles last great
Dattle, although he served nearly to
he end of 1864, being part of the time
With Sherman and afterward going
with his regiment through the cam
,aigns in Louisiana and Arkansas. He
vas afterward given to the state of
Wisconsin with appropriate ceremo-
lies, the governor making speech in
lis honor. From that time till his
leath his home was in the basement
# the capitol building.
At one time Old Abe fought with
IN eagle called Andy Johnson and
Tiled him. He attended fairs all over
he northwest and was i'll constant de-
nand at soldiers reunions. At every
Joint he was, greeted like a conquer
ng hero. He was present at the snomi-
lation of General Grant for the presi-
lency, adding his screams to the
heers of the multitude. He was one
f the features at the Philadelphia
after which he was on ex-
ibition at Boston and other cities. He
led in 1881 from the smoke inhaled