The National tribune., 1907-01-10
THE GOTH OHIO.

Inc puDilCdtlOIlS given out from lHe
War Department in relation to the
muster-out of the seth Ohio do injus-
tice to that regiment, and do not help
the President in his Brownsville dispute.
The Goth Ohio was a good regiment,
made up of as excellent material ras
enlisted from the State. Like other
new regiments, it made some mistakes
in officers, and these mistakes devel-
oped, as they always do during the few
months of its actual service in the field.
number of incompetents as general Off
GERS. Among these was Col. Cluseret,
a Frenchman, and one of those foreign
adventurers to whom, at the early part
of the war, we gave high commands at
the outset. In those days we supposed
that man who could drill a company
was Napoleon CIuseret had a short
and not honorable career in the Shen-
andoah Valley, and then went back to
France, where he distinguished himself
as leader of the Commune. His mis-
management of the regiment caused it
a great deal of hardship and several
lives. Wherever the S0th Ohio was put
into line Of battle it behaved with the
greatest gallantry and won commenda-
tions from it's superiors. 1t was includ-
ed in the shameful surrender at Har-
per's Ferry, and naturally the men
when they went into parole camp were
mad and disgusted with pretty nearly
everybody. 1t seems that they were
ordered to stand guard, which they
naturally believed was a violation of
held it to be SO. All these things made
trouble in the regiment, and there
seems to have been no man either in
the regiment or in the post at Camp
Douglas who was competent for his
place. The men wanted to get away
from the outfit as soon as possible, and
we can readily understand their frame
of mind They claimed that they were
entitled to discharge at the end of a
year from the time they entered the
State service, while their officers wanted
to hold them for year after the regi-
iiiiHL tldu DttIi liluStcEcu tulO united
States service. AS this would have been
Feb. 27, 1863, there was little reason
for holding the regiment together, since
no service could be expected from It
during the Winter months. and the War
Department wisely ordered its discharge
in November. This saved the Govern
ment & great deal of money in fitting
out the regiment for the field again
and was an economical thing to do.
Nearly all of the meh re-enlisted in
other organizations or re-entered the
regiment when it was reorganized for
the three-years service. All of the
troops surrendered at Harper's Ferry
and subsequently sent to Chicago en-
tertained the same feelings of disgust
at the way they had been mismanaged
and were quite troublesome while in
parole camp. They were not managed
| with tact in the camp, and for time
| 1t seemed as If all the regiments had
| been ruined by their disastrous expert
ence in the Valley. 1t is a wonder that
they were not. Those of the Other
regiments which had been enlisted fol
three years were finally brought into
good shape, and rendered splendid ser.
vice during the rest of the war. This
was particularly the case with the 326
Ohio, whose Colonel had been guilty ot
abandoning Maryland Hights. When he
was gotten rid of and Col. Potts tool
command of the regiment it became a.
good a body of men as there was il
the Army of the Tennessee. There i:
no sort Of comparison between the cast
Of the 60th Ohio and that of the negro
companies. and the President hurts hi.
case by bringing the two into juxtapo
sition.
/ In spite of the adverse decision o
the corporation courts, the two-cen
rate is making progress in Virginia
The Pennsylvania, Norfolk & Western
and Chesapeake & Ohio have announc
Il ed that they will make a two-cent rat.
in the State, instead of carrying on tn,
fight against it, which they had at frs