The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1907-05-15
MODEST OLD HERO
St. Paul Correspondent Discovers
Him and Digs Up Import
ant History.
A FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR

Visitors or guests lowering around
the lobby Of one Of the leading
hotels in st. Paul about seven o'clock
every evening will notice seated on
one Of the cushion chairs a little
man, with mustache and gray chin
whiskers, and hair that is rapidly
turning gray. The little man is
quiet, unassuming, and at that hour
lis generally putting away at his
evening cigar. He watches the pas
sing throng without any manifested
interest, and seldom speaks, unless
he is first spoken to, and then the
party who does the accosting will be
impressed with the careful and gen.
teel conversation, ever tinctured
with an air of kindness and courtesy
that will leaves lasting impression
on ones memory.
The little man is, the hero of
Corinth- Lucius F. Hubbard,
at one time governor of Minnesota,
and yet, when the pages of history
are scanned in the future by students
Of deeds of men, Gen. Hubbard's fig
ure will loom up larger as the hero
of Corinth, than as gov ernor of
Minnesota. or of any other political
office which he may have held.
Not only must he be pointed to
as the hero Of Corinth but it
must also be said that he was
the man, who, at the head of
the Fifth Minnesota regiment of
volunteers, turned the scale q
battle, and when the fortufte Of
war was moving against the Union
troops on the morning Of Oct. 4th,
1862. he and his troops threw them
selves into the breach, and snatched
victory from defeat, and caused one
turning point in the great struggle
known as the civil war.
1t is to be regretted that the play
ers on the human stage passing in
and out of the lobby of that hotel
on these various evenings cannot
stop and take notice Of the soldier
and general. In the modest char
acter there once was that spirit OF
martial bravery that called forth the
greatest commentator of "Old
Rosy" and | have no doubt that it
still remains there. But the match
for the latter does not exist, and
while yet you may hear those lips
utter the words that tell Of the
deeds of the old Fifth Minnesota at
| Corinth never once can you draw
from those lips the deeds that called
forth the most accurate judgment
and the bravery that became ne.
cessity in order to turn the fortunes
Of war on the public square of OLD
| Corinth.
1t was on one Monday evening
during the past or present winter
that | was a listener at monthly
meeting of the historical society. II
was an evening on which Gen. Hub.
bard was scheduled to tell of the
deeds of the Fifth Minnesota al
Corinth, and after the general read
| his paper narrating the deeds OF his
regiment, without even speaking OF
himself, two men. who happeued tc
be at Corinth during the critical
days, arose and spoke, saying that
Gen. Hubbard was too modest one
of them a personal courier for Gen
/ Rosecrans, and the other chaplain
of the regiment over which Gen.
Hubbard was then acting as colonel
The latter insisted that Gen. Hub
bard was too unbearably modest
for history, and after censuring his
old superior officer for modesty,
drifted into an eulogy of the old
hero that brought forth the plaudits
of the throng present on that occa-
sion. AS
The history of the Fifth. as re-
cited by Gen. Hubbard, is worthy Of
space much more than can be given
here. or has been given in daily