Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1907-10-18

| began by saying: Captain, you eX-
ceeded your authority in allowing the
! men to go to the circus I guess not,
colonel. You and the rest of the field
officers were at the circus; the men
| were as anxious to see the show as the
officers, and l couldn't see any reason
why they should not, and 1 am willing
| to take the consequences 1 guess
| that was the first time a whole regi-
ment ever went to a circus. j. A
| Watrous in Chicago Times-Herald.
Board of Trade Battery.
eve are coming, Father Abraham,
three hundred thousand more so ran
the song, and it has an inspiring ring in
it even now. But when it was written,
in the anxious days of July, 1862, the
public situation was gloomy and full of
cause for alarm.
The ardor of the peoples first re-
spouse to the need Of the nation had
worn off. The grim realities of war
had become known to the people. There
was a lull in the whirlwind of patriot
ism, but it proved to be but the calm Of
gathering strength and force.
President Lincoln made his call for
100000 volunteers on the 9th of July,
1862. For ten days the enlistments fell
below expectation in all parts of the
| country. But the people were only
| thinking and planning.
Three hundred thousand men were
making up their minds to give up their
| lives for their country. For although
every soldier has many chances of liv-
| ing through his term of service, he has
to look death in the face on the day
when he signs the enlistment roll-to
look, and say, "Well, III take my
chances!"
| July Is ten members signed a request
| to the president of the Chicago Board
of Trade asking him to call meeting
of the board to pledge money and infiu-
ence to raise a battery to be known as
| the Chicago Board of Trade battery
Although his name was not signed to
| the call for the meeting Sylvanus II.
| Stevens was the prime mover of the en-
! terprise, the man who originated the
idea of the Board of Trade battery and
who circulated the call and made all
| arrangements for the meeting.
He was the first to sign the enlist
ment roll at the meeting held in the
| board rooms then on South Water
street, corner Of Wells, now 9Th avenue
on July q, 1862, $1,000 was pledged,
and at the adjourned meeting, on the
morning Of the 23d, the muster roll
was increased to siXty-three names, and
at p. m. on that day the vice president
| of the board and his committee tele-
graphed the President that the Chicago
Board of Trade had pledged $4,000
bounty money and raised a full COM
pany of artillery. This fund soon
reached $4,000.
| The whole country took fire at the eX-
ample of commercial Chicago. Recruits
| fOcked to the enlistment Offices and
| LincOln's 100000 were soon swinging
southwark armed and equipped for the
war. Illinois alone sent $4,000 troops
under this call.
4 liz 4pOtt1 u VI L CIV cAACIIAJ SSe 1IhIO
shape, drilled Nith horses for the first
time Sept. 8, and moved south to Louis
vile on the 10th.
It's first engagement was with a de-
tachment of FORESTS cavalry, in OctO-
Der, and then followed three years of
fighting in the Army of the Cumber-
| land.
The battery took part in many en-
gagements and fiercely fought battles
whose names are now famOus-Stone
River Elk River, Chickamauka, Farm
ingtOn. Dallas, Decatur, Atlanta, Love
Joy, MONDAY Creek, Nashville and Sell
ma. 1t participated in Wilson'S raid,
in the spring of 1865, ana came home
covered with glory at the end of the
war.
The total membership of the battery
counting recruits and all, was 24S
There are now living and known to the
! Chicago Board of Trade Battery Me-
mortal Association, sixtyfour members
| OF these twenty-five were present at the
! latest reunion in Chicago.-Ada c..
| Sweet. in Chicago Journal.