The National tribune., 1907-03-14
THE CALL OF THE
BATTLEFIELD.
4 Delightful Trip From Cincinnati Thru
Central Kentucky to Chattanooga and
Chickamauga.
1By Theodore F. Allen, 7th Ohio Cav,

There are now but few veterans who
took part in the great tragedy of 1861
1866 who are under 60 years of age
and. indeed, there are some persons
who irreverently speak Of us as old
men. but to me the soldiers of our great
war will always remain the boys, as
/ first knew them. We have come tn
that part of the highway Of life where
there is more to be seen IN looking
backward over the road we have traV-
eled than we can expect to see in that
part of the road we have yet to ira
verse;
In looking backward many, indeed
may say all, the old soldiers feel the
call of the Battlefield" or. to be more
explicit, we all feel the constant desire
to revisit the scenes of our youth, and
again stand on the battlefelds where
we took our part in the stirring scenes
of yesterday Gt seems but yesterday,
altho the time I speak of is more than
20 years ago).
An Iowa soldier of Sherman's army,
after many years longing to revisit the
scene of battle where he was wound
ed. at last could resist the Call of the
l3attlefield' no longer, and SO made the
Journey all the way from his home in
Iowa to Resaca in Georgia. Being un-
certain of a cordial welcome from the
old Confederates, he removed the Grand
Army button from its accustomed place
on the lapel of his coat. At Resaca he
stopt at the hotel without making him
self or his errand known, and the next
day started to explore the region round
about, thinking he could ride to the
very spot where he fell. But the
changes wrought by the hand of time
as well as by the hand Of man had been
SO great in all the passing years that
- 81, do In N o. q
spot. and was not able to locate the
position held by his regiment when he
was wounded.
On his return to the hotel that night
he concluded to confide to the proprie-
tor of the hotel the fact that he was
a Federal soldier and why he was visit
ing Resaca. Having told all this to the
hotelkeeper, he asked the latter If he
could assist him in locating the posi-
ton for which he had searched in vai:E.
Now, 1t happened that the hotelkeeper
was an old Confederate soldier. In re-
ply to the Iowa soldiers inquiry the
hotelkeeper said: Sure. Be ready to
go with me early tomorrow morning,
and we will find the place" Bright
and early the next morning the Iowa
soldier, still without his Grand Army
button, was surprised to find before the
door the hotelkeeper's wagon, and seat
ed therein three ex-Confederate soldiers
Of Gen. Joe Johnston's army, each
wearing the Confederate button. who
during the night had been told of the
Yankee soldiers desire, and who had
volunteered to help to find the spot he
was searching for Between them they
accomplished what they had set out to
do, to the entire satisfaction of the
Iowa man, and Mr.. Iowa replaced his
Grand Army button on the lapel of his
coat and wore it proudly from then on.
nv,1x fl,- Of fhn
Ohio, answering the Call of the Bat
tlef1eld." left his home in northern Ohio
to revisit the scenes of the I1G-days
battle between Chattanooga and Atlan>
Ia. This member of the 10Sd Ohio
spent many days going over the old
battiefields, and upon this tour found
an important position on one Of the
battIefelds held by his regiment, which
had not been marked by any monument
or marking stone of any kind. Being
q man of abundant means, he had a
monument built, and only few days
ago returned to have this monument
erected, all at his own expense.
Chattanooga and vicinity, including
the battlefelds of Chickamauga, Mis-
eionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain
Is among the most interesting spots in
America from military poin. of view.
My regiment, the 7th Ohio Cav, did
not take part in either the battles Of
ChIckanauga or Missionary Ridge, be-
ing at that time with Burnside's army In
East Tennessee. and We were having
troubles Of our own, and these trou-
bles were most abundant. None the
less our regiment, on three separate oc-
casions during the four years OF the
war, found ourselves at Chattanooga,
and this locality has always been an
Interesting point for us. Answering the
"Call Of the Battlefield" we held our
Annual Reunion at Chattanooga on Oct.
1s last. On the morning of the 18th
of October two special cars were at
tached to the morning train leaving
Cincinnati over the Queen & Crescent
Route, and these two cars were well
filled by the veterans of the 7th Ohio
Cav, with their wives, sons, daughters
and friends, going to Chattanooga to
hold our Annual Reunion at this his
toric place.
From Cincinnati to Chattanooga is
nearly $50 miles, and as the trains are
run 1t requires nearly II hours to make
the trip, but to the two carloads of vet
erans and their friends on our train
the Journey was most interesting all
the way. We crost the Blue Grass re-
gion Of Kentucky, touching at George
town and Lexington, passed right thru
one Of our old camp grounds at Nicho-
lasville, swept along the gorges and
high bluffs of the Kentucky River.
CrUSSlnR IIllS IOIf1dHliG 6lTedIl at
Bridge, near Shaker Ferry, thence
skirting along the edge of the town Of
Danville, and thence to Somerset, where
we stopt for dinner. During the war we
had brisk little battle at Dutton Hill,
near Somerset, and In this battle the
members of our regiment captured 1--WE
battIefiags. We felt SO elated over bur
success in this early battle that we
walked On pink clouds for about five
days. Later in the war we had a camp
near the town of Somerset, which town
in those days was sleepy little hamlet
and exceedingly unattractive, but now
we found 1t a bustling little city of
nearly 1000 Inhabitants. Near by,
along the Cumberland River and at
Monticello, IN Wayne County, has been
developed an exceedingly rich petro-
leum field, and pipe line has been
built from Somerset, KY, to Parkers-
burg, w Va. Our train crost the Cum
berland River at Burnside Point. When
we first knew this place we stood picket
here, and there was not an inhabitant
where there is now a very thriving
town. From Burnside Point our train
1ourneyed across the Cumberland Noun
tains to Emory River, on the south
slope of the mountains, passing almost
in sight of the road over which we had
travelled twice on horseback during the
war Following down the Emory River
past lockwood and other interesting
l..,- t. 4 L. t,-z.. Y yy11rx