Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1907-01-04

Down at Springfield, Ohio" said
the Captain, II heard a new story of
Lincoln. This was at the reunion Of
the One Hundred and Tenth Ohio.
which went into the service with J.
Warren keifer as Colonel. Among
those present was Samuel Frank, who
was the long-armed man of the regi
ment. His arms were So much longer
than those of other men that the blous-
es made in army sizes were all too
short in the sleeve. Frank complained
to his company officers and the quar-
termaster about the blouse sleeves that
came only little below his elbow, but
was laughed at, and was advised by
the boys to saw off his arms.
FINALLY, Frank, in desperation,
wrote to President Lincoln, stating his
case, with good deal of emphasis,
and asking the President if he couldn't
order proper blouses for long armed
men. He marked this confidential, and
sent it on to Washington In few
DAYS a letter came from the President
to the proper officers, directing them to
| provide Samuel Frank with q proper
fitting blouse. If this could not be
done in the field, the officers were in
structed to send Franks measure to
the quartermaster's department at
Washington, where blouse to fit the
long arms would be made. The blouse
was made, and was worn through
months of hard service. Lincoln's or
der was given to Frank, and he has
kept it as the most precious of his war
relics. After that order Sam was new
er ashamed Of his long arms, but was
proud of them"
Il have no doubt" said the Major
that Frank was a character The
character of our regiment, the Fifty
second Ohio, was Jack Jeffers. When
the brigade came east to Richmond,
Va, 1t went into camp on the south
side Of the James River in the out
skirts of Manchester. 1 was then serv-
ing with the Twenty fourth army
corps, and l went over to see the boys
of my old company in the Fifty-sec-
ond. On reaching their camp I found
Jack LETTERS, Of company X, bucking
and gagging a mulatto boy he had
picked up at Frankfort, KY, in 1862.
The boy had followed Jack and his for
tunes from the Ohio to the Potomac,
but had his 'ornery' spells and then
Jack disciplined him under what he
called the rules of war.
"In the midst of the ceremony there
was a commOtiOn in the Eighty fifth
| Illinois, and it was the custom of the
Fifty second to join in when the Illi-
nois boys were in trouble Jack went
over. It appeared that fellow who
had been lounging about GONZALES
cent camp irritated because he had
been ordered to join his regiment in
front, said in the presence of the an
sympathetic Eighty-ffth Illinois boy
| that he would like to dance a jig on
Abe Lincoln's grave. The Illinois boy
who resented this was Of slight build,
and was getting the worst Of the scrap
when Jack came up at a run, caught
the copperhead by the shoulder and
proceeded to tan his hide after the
manner of a past master in a rough
and tumble fight.
when the job was finished Jack ex-
planned to the crowd that when any
fellow jumped on one of his partners
had to lick all of Dan McCook's fight
ing brigade, because the boys of the
| brigade were as one family, and the
man who struck one might as we'll
! strike all. Jack was not peculiar in
this respect. Men of regiments bri-
gaded together for long time became
very loyal to one another, and strong
men were always ready to 60 to the
front in the interest of men not given
to scrapping. In one case I remember
a gentlemanly fellow was being abused
by a hard swearer, when one Of the
! bows went into action with a quick
firing profanity that silenced the 9th
er's guns Then he saluted, smiled,
and walked away with the air Of a
man who had performed a pleasant
duty
"By Jinks," said the High Private,
"I wish / had thought of that scheme
of Franks when l was in the service.
I was the highest private in the COM
pany, and as the man coming next to
the orderly in line, ought to have been
the best dressed man in the company.
Instead of that, 1 was the worst, and
at my best looked more like a scare
crow than any other man in the regi-
ment.
1T had long legs, as we'll as long
arms, and everything in the clothing
line was too pesky short. The bottoms
of my trousers were always two or
three inches above my shoetops; my
blouse wouldn't meet my trousers; my
shirt was always working out between
blouse and trousers the ends of my
sleeves were nearer my elbows than
nv wrists, and l had the appearance
O. an overgrown boy squeezed into
| two ci1oS too email for him