The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1906-01-04

Graphic and Interesting Manner
Tell sf Camp, March and Battle.
'.Thft story Of, lost identity" said
the Major. ION the part Of q soldier
who served some years in tns regular
army did not strike me es beiag nee
essarily untrue. There were not few
strange cases of the kind in the Civil
War. We found in the hospitals at
the close Of the war and among the
released prisoners many men who
could not satisfactorily explain them
selves. Their personality had shifted
to such an extent That some Of them
were sent to infirn1aries and insane
asylums, and in later years to the sol
diers' homes.
while we were stationed at
Bridgeport, Ala, after the battle Of
Missionary Ridge. a regiment Of vet
Grams came down from Chattanooga
with several hundred prisoners en-
route for Camp Chase. Ohio. The
guard was to go through with the
prisoners and the boys were counting
the trip as good as a furlough. When
the column Of gray, fringed on either
side by a line Of blue, started across
the pontoon bridge to take the train
waiting on the other side, prisoners
and guards were in high spirits and
there was a great deal of jollity.
Contrary to orders and custom, the
men of the marching column caught
step and went swinging across the
bridge to a lively air whistled by
those In advance. Warnings were
shouted by sentinels and officers, but
too late. The bridge parted and scores
of Unionists and Confederstes went
into the river. There was great con-
fusion. but boats were ct hand and
most Of the men were rescued. Many
Of the guards dropped their rifles and
SWAN to shore. But one large, fine
looking fellow went head first into
the mass Of floating timbers. He
went down with bis gun at. right
shoulder shift.
He came up shortly, but 1 was
startled to zee that he still carried
his gun at a right shoulder shift, and
that he made no motion with his feet
or hands He went down again in
Q swirl Of water, lurching to one side,
but making no struggle to save him
self. / ordered the men In the boats
to watch for him. One Of the watch
ers declared that the body came near
" to the surface with gun still at
right shoulder shift and then was car
fied down stream by the current.
"a few days later a soldier, with
clothing lone the worse for wear,
came trudging into camp with gun at
hight shoulder shift. ! was officer of
the day, and he was brought to me-
He was the man who went head first
into the river the day the pontoon
bridge parted. and who came up and
went down with gun at a. right shoul-
der shift He seemed to be uncanny
and ghostllke, but he was ready to
answer questions. He remembered
the breaking Of the bridge, but re-
membered nothing after his plunge
into the water.
when consciousness returned he
was in a negro cabin, some miles
below Bridgeport. The woman
washed and ironed his clothes, and
the man cared for him until he was
able to walk back to camp. This was
the story. He had evidently been
struck ON the head rs he went into
the water and he was not In his right
mind He insisted that he did not
belong to the regiment that was
guarding the prisoners. and declined
to talk on that point He was not
himself for several months. but l new
er knew until after the war that for
all those molths he thought be was
some other person"
That's rather tragic" said the Cap
tain. Some Of the boys will remem-
Der Peter Jackson. He came into the
company on the wing and nobody
knew much about him When we
struck the apple brandy or apple-jack
districts OF Kentucky Pete INDUCED
too freely, and while crazy drunk told
me that he had killed a man In a regi-
ment in another brigade, bad desert
ed, and had enlisted IN our company
to avoid arrest When he sobered I'D
told him what be had said, and he
reluctantly admitted that the story
was true aud that his real name was
Tim Jones.
Il notified the officers OF the distant
regiment that ! had a deserter from
Company I, and then sent over for
him. He went willingly, but two
days later sneaked into camp and
took mp his quarters with his old
mess. There never had been a Tim
Jones In the other company. There
had been no deSertion from the COM
pany, Every man was accounted for,
Not single man In the regimen. had
ever seen Tim Jones. Then it was re-
veaIed to Peter Jackson that he had
lost identity through the influence of
apple-jack. The boys thereafter called
Private Jackson Tim Peter. and the
name has always been q reminder of
old times"
speaking Of Old times" said the
sergeant, Il came across an old letter
the other day, written a. point near
Marietta, Ca. June %, 1864. In it is
this reference to the charge at Kene-
saw: We lost go men il our brigade,
Including our brave and loved Gen
eral. G. g. Harker. He was mortally
wounded and died last night, or rather