davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The National tribune., 1908-08-13
A WARTIME LETTER!
A Michigan BOY Hears That Things Gen.
orally Were Going Our way.

Editor National Tribune: ] am send
ing you a letter which perhaps you
would like to insert in The National
Tribune. I wrote it when Twas a boy
employed by Uncle Sam. Please return
the letter to me. and If II is Interesting
to the boys 1 can furnish you plenty
more written during the ware. A.
Davis, First Lieutenant, 9Th Mich. H. A.,
Albion, Mich.
Fort Gaines. Ala, April 9, 1865.
Dear Parents: This bright and beau
tiful evening brings to us the joyful It'd
ings of the downfall of the rebel capital
l wish you could see the pleasant coun-
tenances of our soldiers as they sit
around on the rau.parts singing the Star
Spangled Banner and other patriotic
songs. A happier set of men 1 think /
never saw.
The news from the front of our army.
near Mobile, Is cheering. Everything
seems TO go we'll for the Union cause,
but / cannot agree with the papers when
they say the war IL over, for there are
yet many lives TO be lost ere the Union
arms are victorious. No doubt but that
a few short months will see our Flag
floating over the whole country, but
there Is yet to be some fighting.
The Albion boys are all well. They
are seated out on the stoop while am
writing" singing and enjoying the
pleasant evening. They are ma king so
much noise that it is almost impossible
for me to write. 1 have not received
any mail in two weeks.
Part of our regiment has gone to the
front with mortars. They are now
within 800 yards of Spanish Fort lex
pect they will be the death of many a
poor Johnny tonight or the cause OF
their death. These 13-inch shells burst
ing around in fort full of men are
terrible things and somewhat disagree
able.
/ should not be surprised If some
the front by and by.
We are having a pleasant time here,
aitho we have plenty of work to do ]
suppose you are rejoicing over the fall
of Richmond and Petersburg in the
North. We rather doubted the report
here at first, but we have no doubts
about 1t now. The weather here seems
like Summer, everything is so greenland
pretty l expect you are having some
cool weather in the North Well, as il
is getting late 1 shall have to close
Give my regards to all. Good night.
From your son-Charles Davis.
p. S.-One o'clock at night. The news
has just come down from the front
that Spanish Fort was captured / see
lot of the prisoners on their way to
Ship Island.
Monday morning, April 10. It is re-
ported here that there has been 5000
more rebels captured near Mobile since
the-fort was captured / cannot voucf
for the truth of the report, butsI should
not wonder if il were not So =
The National tribune., 1908-08-13

they did at once We then exchanged
horses with our prisoners. Ny prison.
er's stirrup straps above the stirrups
were just long enough for me. I was
a small kid, five feet six, and I weighed
1z0 pounds. We had all We could
handle now, and started for the road
the troops were on at once. 1 asked
my prisoner what rank he bore, and
he said he was a Third Lieutenant and
his comrade was Sergeant in the same
company. / handed him my diary and
pencil, and he wrote "Chas. A. Baird,
Third Lieutenant, Co. A, 4th Reg't,
Tenn. Cav, G. S. A, HamptOn's Bril-
gade.' If this man or any of his friends
read this 1 hope to hear from them.
He told me he lived near Franklin,
Tenn. We came to the road the army
was on just at dark. The troops had
all passed except the stragglers. Then
my comrade asked me what / was go
ing to do with my prisoner. / replied
that 1 should take him to my Colonel.
Well said he, you may as well take
both of them, as they both belong to
! the same company, and ] will go on"
My comrade did not belong to the
same brigade that I did, and he feared
he would have to turn over his revolt
vers if he took in his prisoner. So this
| is the way, you see, that 1 got credit
for taking both OF them. When my
| friend ieft me / soon found ( had too
much to handle-two prisoners ahead
! of me, three darkies behind me and my
knapsack and forage.
According to the custom of the
slaves, they kept back, and was afraid
they would step one side in the bushes.
and I might lose all had. l dared not
look around for fear the Johnnies
would jump and run. Losing patience
with the darkies for tagging behind,
and seeing that it was getting dark, i
yelled at them, and swore I would
shoot them II they did not keep up. AT
| this an officer rode up to me whom 1
recognized as Capt. McWilliams, on
Gen. Harrison's staff and asked me
what was the matter. / soon explained
matters We'll" said he, Il guess
you've got your hands full, and I'll go
on with you till you find your regi-
ment." This he did.
| COLI Dutton went with me to Gen.
| Harrison's headquarters with the pris-
oners. On our return the Colonel scold-
ed me a little because L took so many
/ chances, and said, 1.-THE rebels will get
/ you some time
IF they do" said I, 'Pn run away
again as I did when Wheeler had me
at Dalton"
/ Well" said he. 'I want piece of
that butter" And he got it.
The second day after this Cen Har-
rison sent an Orderly for me, and / re-
manned at his headquarters as ''regL-
lar hummer" until the war was over
/ w. f. Jenkins, Co. I, I05th Ill, First
/ Brigade, Third Division, Twentieth
II Corps, Arcadia, Neb.
The National tribune., 1908-08-13
Color sergeant of the 15o.h Ohio.

Editor National Tribune: / received
sample copy of your most welcome
paper, but being yearly subscription
my paper don't expire until May 9,
1908. L shall surely subscribe in time
again, as / don't see how 1 can get
along without II. There is so much
information that interests an old sol
der, as / did over three years active
service, and Color Sergeant turnout the
whole time of enlistment in Co. A.
159th N. Y.-Thomas Berridge, Hud-
son, n. Z.
The National tribune., 1908-08-13
On the Right at Gettysbaurs.

Editor National Tribune: Capt. Long.
guide al a lecturer of Gettysburg, states
in his printed lecture How the Battle
was fought" and asserts during his
field discourse. descriptive of the Get
tysburg battle, July. 1863, that as the
right of the Eleventh Corps rfell back
before the impetuous atearbIof Doles
and Gordon, it did so only to be re-
ceived upon the bayonet points of the
brigades of Smith and HAYS. chat had.
unopposed, swept-by the right and had
intercepted the returning troops OF the
Eleventh Corps
We questioned as to whether Smiths
Brigade participated at this time. and
proposed that the Confederate troops
that stood between our right and the
town were composed of the brigades
of Hays and Holt This proposition
was emphatically disputed by the Iect-
urer. Is he correct?-W. d. Helmet,
Hamden, N. Y.
The National tribune., 1908-08-13

II JARED NOI LUX AROUND FOR
and squad of men came up and took
Possession of the whole business. SO
Shad to go on / saw the necessity of
being prepared to carry whatever l
found, so / conscripted three darkies.
They were all barefooted, and I prom
ised each a pair of shoes when we got
within our lines.
We soon came to a large plantation.
/ went into the house, leaving one
darky in the road, with orders to notify
me at once il he saw anyone coming
He soon ran in saying, "Massa, man
coming
Sure enough, there was another lone
forager doing business on his own hook.
He was riding an old horse and leading
another. He had the means of trans
portation, but had found nothing. He
very kindly gave me his led horse to
ride, and we concluded to go together
the rest of the day.
There were more good things to carry
here than we could carry. as my diary
shows I took all the darkies could
carry and two hams Oh my horse. MY
chum took two hams on his horse. /
found an old saddle with one stirrup
and no girth. This / soon rugged up,
and we went on again instead of re-
turning at once to the column.
Concluding to put in the day by our
were five or six miles to the left of
the road the army was On. We were
on the lookout for better horses. About
3 O'Clock we saw bunch of horses in
field, and told our darkies to keep
right along, but to go slow, and We
would soon overtake them. There was
nothing in the bunch we wanted, so
! we returned TO the road. We saw our
darl1ies off in a field one side OF the
road, 30 or 40 rods away. going slow
and parallel with the road. Ahead of
US, perhaps so to 100 rods off, were two
horsemen coming slowly towards US.
We saw at once that they were rebel
cavalrynen.
I had never seen my companion be-
fore that day, and did not know how
he would act. He looked "all o. k
and he proved equal to the emergency.
He spoke first. ''They are rebels -
he said.
YES" said I; 1--WE can't run: we must
face therny and take the chances
We rode very slowly. 1 asked my
companion If he had a revolver. He
replied that he had a Derringer pisto
IA dueling pistoD. His gun was hang
The National tribune., 1908-08-13

MURPHY-At South Woodstock, VT,
April 10, 1908, William Murphy. who
served in Co. L. 1880 n. Y. His wife
and daughter survive him.
EMERY-At Pomfret, VT. April. %.
1908, Elmer A. Emery, aged SO years
He served in Co. i, I'd VT. His wife, four
daughters and four sons survive him.
MERCER-At his home in Kansas
City, Kan. May 6. 1907, Joseph j. Mer-
Ger. aged II years. He first enlisted at
Vermont. Fulton Co. ILL.,, in Co. G..
18th ILL., Cav. and served in that COM
mand until Jan. 3, 1863, when he was
mustered into Co. B. Mississippi Ma
rine Brigade.
BOOTH.-Near Stanley. n. Y. July
10. 1908, j. Ansel Pooth. in the S1st
year of his age He enlisted August.
1852, in Co. ,, 140th N. Y, Monroe
County; was promoted to the rank OF
Second Lieutenant honorably dis
charged June 3. 1865. having particle
p3ted in 81 battles. He is survived By
a widow, three sons and a daughter.
The National tribune., 1908-08-13
Stories EminenIy WORTH Telling of Experiences and Adventures
in the Great National Struggle.

ing by the sling. I told him to let it
hang there, and take the pistol in his
hand ready to use. My Henry was in
the natural position, across my saddle
bow. We rode right up to the rebels
as tho we were their comrades keep
ing the road so that they would have
to turn out to pass. I noticed the one
in front of me make motion toward
his revolver, and that instant covered
him with my rife. ordering him to
halt and surrender" He was a large,
fine-1ooking man 30 to 35 years of age.
Il mean what l say said l. Il am
a 'Yank' and you are rebel. Now.
dismount and unbuckle your belt, lay
it down and march back until 1 can
safely get it,
He did so, and I picked it up and
buckled it on myself. together with two
loaded eight-inch revolvers.
During this time my comrade had
secured his man and six-inch and an
eight-inch revolver, both loaded.
Both rebels had fine horses and good
saddles, just what we wanted. All this
time our darkies were standing off in
the field watching us. / yelled and
motioned them to come to us, which
The National tribune., 1908-08-13

BURCH.-At Columbus. Ohio, May
II, 1908, Andrew j. Burch, aged "a
years. He served over three years in
Co. A. 73d (Ohio?) His second wife
and six children survive him.
STIMSON.-At Lodge Pole, Neb.,
March Is, 1908, Abner Beckwith Slim
SON He was born in Lorain County
Ohio, Aug. l, 1897; served in the I'd
Mich. He is survived by widow and
nine children.
MERRITT.-At Hastings. Mich. Aug
3, 1907, Henry NJ. Merritt, aged 20
years, seven months, three days. Serv-
ed as Sergeant, Co. e, Sd Mich. His
wife and three children survive him.
KNIGHT.-At Atlanta, Ga. May I,
1908, EIdorado Knight, aged &C years
He served in Co. II, 18th ILL.,, from May
"a. 1861, to- me is. 1864. He is sur
vived by three daughters and four sons.
HOLT.-At Bridgewater. VT. Feb. "a,
1908, Andrew j. Holt, aged 81 years.
Ee served in Co. c. 9th VT
The National tribune., 1908-08-13
THE LAST BATTLE OF THE WAR.
An Ex-Confedernte Writes of the Colors
Captured mt Palmetto Ranch.

Captured mt Palmetto Hnnch.
Editor National Tribune: On June 9,
1908, you published a letter l wrote
concerning the last battle of the war,
known as the battle at Palmetto Ranch,
May 10, 1865. in which l made mention
of the capture of the three last prison.
ers taken on May 1 4, just below Pal
metto Ranch. in the bend OF the Rio
Grande River. which was a thick body
of cane and chaparral. One of the men
being flag bearer. stated to us that the
flag was presented by the ladies of the
city They were from either Indiana
or Illinois.
Serg't Pickering, of oxford, Ind, has
been kind enough to send me. copies of
your paper of May 81 and June Is.
1908, containing letters from Corp'l w.
E. West, of Ozark, Mo-. and Col. N.
Headington. of Portland, Ind, to Capt.
l. p Dean, in which both write about
the color bearer of the 34th Ind. strip
ping the flag off the staff and swimming
the Rio Grande with it wrapped around
him. 1 know We captured a nag bear
err with his flag, and that flag was on
the staff Whether it was the flag of
the 34th or of the SD ColOred Infantry
] cannot say; but the flag was very
nice. and, if l mistake not, hac on it
nicely lettered q think in gilt) Nor
ton Rifles" but. of course, at this date
l cannot be sure.
The young man with it was rather
slender and not very stout looking: did
not look to be over rs or 2G years old.
The commissioned officer with him was
rather heavy. l think the reason for
their stopping in the thicket was that
they were unable to go farther. and the
reason for not trying to swim the river
was because they were not able. The
coIored trooper was also too heavy
Now, it appears to me that somebody,
either of the 34th or of the SID, ought
to remember something about which
regiment this flag belonged to. Some
young man came to us with the flag of
truce just after we found them. He
was met by Private d. III. Walch, of
Austin. Tex He came to see if arrange
ments could be made to get an escort
for some of the officers to go to Browns
Vile He talked several minutes with
us, and that evening Capt. Cor
rington, with an escort, went with them
to Brownsville. / have never been able
to hear the names of either one of the
white troopers, but the colored man was
named Clark. He died several years
ago near Bosnville, Mo. / also have
your account of Col. Barretts official
reports to the War Department, to Mr..
F. e. H. Marley. of Decatur. La, which
differs very much from Capt. CARING
tons report, written in 1889, earring
ton does not mention those last three
prisoners. Since you printed my letter
of 1904 / have received letters from
several members of the ?4th Ind, and
have correspondent regularly with two
of them-Capt b. S. Peary, Neodesha,
Kan, and Lieut.. b.. f. Harter. of Sala-
monia, Ind.-and have always answered
all letters written to me by any of
them. 1 am very thankful to- you for
courtesies and assure you am as you
reported, "a friendly enemy. w. S.
Holt, Sherman, Tex, r. G..,"Box 81.
The National tribune., 1908-08-13
THE NATIONAL wAsHNGToN

prison pen. and also the Cemetery.
which was enough to take away
healthy appetite, even had Been hun
CRY. 1 ate my lunch on the car re-
turning to Macon. AS for my stern
looks and silent demeafier. II would
have been remarkable If such Sights had
caused me to look pleasant and made
me affable. Henry E. Noy esq Formerly
of the staff of Gen. James HSNyilson.
commanding Cavalry Corps of5the Mil
itary Division of the Mississippi San
Diego CAL Nav (43 years later).
The National tribune., 1908-08-13

One od Sherman's Bummers Loose In
South Carolina.
Editor National Tribune: In looking
over one of my wartime diaries 1 find
the following, written in South Carolina,
Feb. 6. 1855. 1 copy 1t word for word,
just as it is in my diary:
81 am quite well. Weather fine. I
go out foraging, and capture one Third
Lieutenant and one Sergeant. 1 get
one-half bushel eggs, sausage, butter,
flour and hams. I-get into camp at
dark: march 10 miles"
After / had gone a short distance
with the squad of foragers in the morn
ing 1 concluded TO get away by myself
and take chances alone. cat this time
/ had a Henry rifle, a 16-shooter, the
best rifle in the world at that time.)
The troops were marching North. l
made off west. After going about two
miles l found a nice lot OF forage, and
was looking around for some means of
transportation for It, when an officer
The National tribune., 1908-08-13
The 18Th Ky. Cav.

Editor National Tribune: Please give
short history of my old regiment, The
18th Ky. Cav.-Jehn Finn, Hotchlliss,
Colo.
The 18th KY. Cav. was organized ut
Columbia Dec. %. 1888. and mustered
out Jan 10, 1865. 1t was commanded
by Col James w. Weatherford all thru
its service, and lost 10 killed and 81
from disease, etc.-Editor National
Tribune.
The National tribune., 1908-08-13
MUSTERED OUT.
cemrnae jaime. $. watson.

I James S. Watson. a leading citizen
of Monongalia County, w. Va, died at
his home in Ellington, Nov. 8. at the
age OF 81. He was raised on a farm.
and served in the 18th w. Va thru the
war. He then engaged in merchandise
ing. served as President of the Board
of Education 25 years. was member
of the West Virginia Legislature for
The National tribune., 1908-08-13

two terms, was Deputy Sheriff four
years Land Assessor to reyalue all the
land in the County, was agent for the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and ecrved
as Postmaster from 1873 until Cleve-
land came in. He was Commander OF
his Post and Senior Vice Commander
of the Department of West Virginia. q.
A. r. His neighbors held him in the
highets esteem, and his death was uni
versally mourned.
The National tribune., 1908-08-13
ONE OF MY BUSY DAYS.

One od Sherman's Bummers Loose Il
.sztzs South Carolina.
The National tribune., 1908-08-13

Apple and other fruit pies run over.
very easily. and thus the best part of
the pie is lost. To prevent this, leave
the undercrust extending about three
quarters of an inch beyond the edge Of
the pie tin. After you have put on me
top crust the edge of the lower is fold
ed back over the upper and pressed
down all around. BY this contriy ance
the pie retains all the juice.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-08
SOME APPETTZING LUNCHEON
DISHES.

An exclusive tea room which makes
a speciality of luncheon dishes serves
the following: Spanish salad, young
green vegetable cooked and served
cold with mayonnafse dressing. Eggs,
a Ia Benedictine, poached, lifted on top
of freshly Drowned pieces of toast, top
ped with thin slice of broiled ham and
served with cream sauce: filet Ia
Stanley. beef tenderloin fried in butter
and served with fried bananas and
horseradish sauce: French pancake.
batter Of two eggs, milk and flour,
fried a delicate brown, folded over
fruit jelly and covered with powdered
sugar. made caramel in a hot oven
or on a broiler: mullet, boned, cut
into halves, fried in butter over a slow
fire very thoroughly, served with
Drowned potatoes and bread and but
ter; Kaiser Schnitzel veal steak cut
thin, Dreaded and fried in butter,
garnished with sardelles and served
with lemon, capers and fried eggs.
This is a German dish.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-08
HEALTH AND BEAUTY.

Hip cireling can be done with good
results in the way of decreasing size if
the principle of resistance is employed.
Taking a standing position, hands on
hips. rotate the hips. bending the knees
and keeping chest and shoCl 9ers i'm
movable. Contract all the m"e1le used
in this exercise and resist. For a
variant: Bring the knee up to the
chest, remaining as nearly erect as pos
sihle. Practice in alternate motion.
Oeulists are blaming the excessive de-
votion to bridge and the practice of
taking long motor trips for great deal
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-08

OF their increased business lately. Both
these habits, they say. are responsible
for a growing condition of eve trouble
in the world devoted to pleasure. One
of the worst features of motoring is
the habitual squintin0 induced. In
deed, motor wrinkles keep the masseuse
busy these days. They are special
kind and require particular and earnest
treatment. Whether eyes afflicted by
motoritis and bridgitis require pecu-
liar kind of glasses the oeulist did not
say. What he did say was that no adj
vice to his patients seems to lessen their
indulgence in these pleasures, which is
to be expected so long as there are
beauty doctors and eve magieians to
set things right again.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-08
GREEN CORN cHowDER.

Two slices of fat pork. four potatoes
sliced thin. four small onions chopped
fine. eight ears of green corn, one quart
of milk, a piece of butter as large as
an egg, and plenty of salt and pepper
Cut the pork fine and fry, add the
potatoes and onions with water enough
to stew them: let them cook together
a few minutes. Cut the corn from he
cob. put it into the mixture and add
some split crackers on top. Stew gent
" for ten minutes then add the milk
and butter. rubbed with teaspoonful
of flour. Cook the whole together for
about ten minutes.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-08
Home Remedies

There are certain simple remedies for
ordinary illnesses that should be known
by everybody.
/ Those remedies are traditional, yet
all housekeepers and mothers do not
know when to apply them. For in
stance, turpentine has almost endless
uses. To pour it over an open cut is
! heroic treatment, but it has probably
prevented more than one case of lock-
! jaw. Not only is it a disinfectant, but
/ so strong an astringent as to hasten
the process of healing. An abrasion so
treated should be bandaged afterward.
Turpentine is also good for felons
and person who is afflicted with them
may stop their developing by covering
the spot with a soft linen drenched in
this liquid as soon as they appear.
The pain from boils and the swelling
are often relieved by applying spirits
of turpentine externally.
Rubbed over the feet night and morn
ing turpentine will prevent chilblains
if the tendency is not too fully develop
ed and for cold in the chest a thor
ough rubbing at night of that part of
the body with turpentine will usually
relieve the tightness and congestion.
An efffcacious gargle for sore throat
is made by mixing a quarter of a glass
each of vinegar and water and dissolv-
ing in it half teaspoonful of salt |
One-half teaspoonful every hour.
A soothing and not unpleasant RENE |
dy for a constant, hacking cough, is a |
thin bntterscotch. To half a cup of |
granulated sugar is put teaspoonful |
each of vinegar and butter. This is I
Iod oil oh mi
or until it is a thick syrup, and is
eaten while warm.
FLAVOR OILS WITH LEMON
JUICE.
When disagreeable medicines, such
as quinine or cod liver oil, are taken
they may be made less offensive to the
taste by a f1avoring of lemon juice
This should be taken at once while the
juice floats. In addition to this if a
slice of lemon, over which salt Is rather
thickly busted, is put on the tongue
after swallowing the oil
one will get no unpleasant taste, the
emon and salt being strong neutral
Izer.
The old idea of taking castor oil in
is not one that recon-
nends' itself strongly, for the sweet
rink is too apt to be nauseating. s
Quinine in powder is quite disguised |
~ using some waters made of such t
They are about the size of {
/ silver dollar. One is placed on a '
tablespoon and dipped into cold water {
or an instant. The spoon is quickly
lrawn out and the bath makes the
wafer pliable. Then the powder is put t
n the center, the edges are folded over t
nd the dose is taken without difficulty. f
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-08
CHICKEN SOUP.

Take one quart of strong chicken
jelly made from boiling chicken or
chicken bones; put over the fire, with
one onion and one small turnip cut
into small pieces, and add one table
spoonful Of rice. Add water, while it
is boiling When the rice and vege-
tables are tender. rub the soup
through a colander. Season with salt
and pepper and put in a cupful of
cream. If you have no cream, sub
stitute the same quantity of milk and
add a teaspoonfuI of butter with flour
rubbed into it. After the soup is in
the tureen. add two hard-boiled eggs
cut into slices.