The National tribune., 1907-01-31
Stories Emneny Worth Telling Of Experiences and Adventures
n the Great National Struggle
LONGEST MARCH IN THE WAR.

The 11th Kan. Cav. Claims that 1t Made
1t, and Suffered Intense from Cold and
Hunger.
Editor National Tribune: have been
reading Comrade R. w. Peck's story,
wagon Boss" and 1 have enjoyed il
very much; and as he has praised the
Colonel of my regiment, Thomas Moon
light, very highly, 1 will try to tell the
readers of The National Tribune the
part that the 18th Kan. Cav. took in
the Price raid, and If any regiment in
the civil war made longer trip (be-
fore We had a settled camp again) or
endured the pangs of hunger and cold
more than we did on this trip, would
like to hear from them. The 14th of
October, 1864, my company (C), 11th
Kan. Cav, then at Coldwater Grove, 80
miles or more south of Kansas City,
Mo-, got an order to march east to help
drive Price back south. In the after
noon of the 18th we We're at Sedalia,
100 miles east, very tired and sleepy.
AT Warrensburg We were Joined by 9TH
er companies of our regiment. until /
believe We had IL companies together.
We also met Gen. Jas. G. Blunt and
Col. Moonlight and other troops enough
to form one brigade, including some
Kansas and Missouri militia, command
ed by Gen. Jim Lane. At Sedalia we
fed our horses and ate our suppers,
thinking we would get to rest and sleep,
but after all was still Gen. Blunt re-
ceived word that Price had left the
railroad at California, and was then
between Boonville and lexington; so
the bugles sounded Boots and sad
dles!" and we took up the march on
the road to Lexington, 5 miles away
We reached Lexington a little before
noon the next day, the 18th, but the
town had already been surrendered to
Price. His troops withdrew in favor Of
us until 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon,
when Prices army came up in force.
Gen. Blunt's forces were in line of bat
tie south of town, in what 1 thought
was a strong position. My company
(C) was dismounted and dep1oyed as
skirmishers. Just at that time wild
Bilf' brought the word to Gen. Blunt
that division of Prices army was go
ing around to the south of us, to cut
off our retreat to Kansas City on the
west, so as soon as Blunt and Moon
light could form the troops in shape 20
retreat the column started. My COM
pany being dismounted and the rebels
coming on us in charge, some of the
men lost their nerve and made for the
rear, where the horses We're, in gallant
style. And right here l want to say n
word of praise for Col. Tom Moonlight
In his cool bravery in managing the
retreat. He kept back with the skir-
mish line, encouraging the men to stand
hrm. He formed a new line along the
front of a corn field with a wide
meadow in front. The rebels charged
about rs yards from us. In the first
volley they fired at us they killed Chas.
Y. Hyde, our Orderly Sergeant. Then
they ordered US to surrender. When /
looked around / discovered that / was
there in front of the rebel lines alone.
The only one of our command that I
could see was my first Lieutenant, w.
about 100 yards to my right, behind
some trees, waiting for me. Just why
the rebels did not shoot us is a mystery,
for they did not fire shot at us after
they ordered us to surrender, and /
walked my horse parallel along their
line until / came to a gap in the fence,
as much as rs yards from where I was
In the line, and all the time they were
telling me to surrender. AS soon as 1
got in the road I put my horse to
lope, and in about a half mile / came
to where Moonlight had formed a new
line in a deep cut close by the Fair
Ground.
The BOSS "Jayhnwker."
Mr. Peck in his story, "The Wagon
Boss" says that Gen. Blunt was the
boss "Jayhawker," but claim that Gen.
Jim Lane could beat him two to one at
that business, for here at Lexington,
between them, they had picked up quite
a number of horses and buggies and
put them in the Fair Grounds, but the
rebels came on us so fast that they
could not take them away with them.
The rebels killed some of the horses,
our men were in the Fair
Grounds, but we were in the cut, out
OF danger AS soon as the troops had
time TO form a new line in our rear we
took up the retreat Col. Moonlight
had formed a line on the Snia Hills.
southwest of Lexington. AS We got
under the brow of the hill a battery of
HowitZers threw some shells over our
heads among the rebels, for by this time
the whole plain in front was filled with
horses and men. ] could see them scat
ter as the shells fell in their midst Soon
after we reached the top of the hills the
battery was ordered on the retreat,
while a battalion of the regiment was
left to guard the hill. We soon found
the rebels would flank us on both sides
If we stood our ground. so we retreated
until we came up with the command,
jammed tight in a lane with hedge
fences on each side. Here the rebels
charged US aRalU- W men nedrN their
bugle sounding the charge and saw the
rebel line come sweeping down the hill
right on US, yelling like demons, my
hair almost lifted my hat off of my
head, and ] looked around to see wha.
the rest We're doing. There stood John
Baker, Al. Brandy and host of 9TH
ers. with their revolvers popping away
as fast as they could pull the trigger:
and, strange TO say, We only had one
man wounded in this charge tJames
Thomas), but we left him for dead in
the road. Here Moonlight was the one
10 help us out Of this scrape, by placing
q company in ambush that held the reb-
els back until we got out of the lane
and closed the gate. BY this time il
was so dark we could see but a few
steps. We hid in the timber close to
the end of the lane until the rebels
stopt to open the gate. when we fired
q volley into them at close range, and
we could hear the horses and men
drop in the road. We took down the
road at a gallop, until we reached the
bridge over the Snia on the wire road
from Lexington to Kansas City We
kept up the retreat all the night until
after sun up in the morning of the 18th
of October. when we crost over the
left a guard at the bridge with orders
10 burn it as soon as the rebels came in
sight. The army went in camp on the
hill on the west side of the river, think
Eng that we would have time TO get
some breakfast before the rebels would
be on US again. We had Travelled 40
miles during the night. The command
er at Kansas City had sent some wag-
ons loaded with hardtack, bacon and