The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-06-11


good stories be brought out There is
not man who was at the front who
has not a page or more Of unwritten
history and a cluster of good STORIES
both of which the public would be glad
to be presented with.
| sat for an hour a few evenings ago,
with ,seyenty-five others, and listened
with absorbing interest to a paper
soldier had taken a year to get In
shape for presentation Up TO that
time no one in the society suspected
that he could hold, much less charm
that critical body OF men, Some OF
them knew how good a soldier lie had
been in regiment that escaped none
of the battles of the Army of the Cum
berland. but they did not think he could
turn himself into Chauncey Depew;
but he could, and did.
Let me tell something about this new
entertainer I heard from a member
of his company before giving a few of
the stories in his paper tom Ford
went into fight just as hustler goes
into the harvest field-to do the best
and all he could. Our first battle was
Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. Ford was
sick the day of the fight Going TO
the surgeon he said: Fix me up for
the fight, DOCTOR
Yes, III put you in an ambulance
No, I'm going with the regiment
and he did, allowing the ambulance to
carry his knapsack and coat. He was
too weak to carry them. He wore q
red shirt. We were ordered to charge
to rise of ground to support a bat
terry. When reaching the point we were
close to the enemy, who peppered us
right lively, and we were ordered 20
fall back. All but Tom Ford obeyed
In quick time. He stooo by himself,
In his red shirt and blue trousers, and
loaded and fired as if the republic de-
pended on his service. The colonel, at
the top of his voice called: You man
with the red shirt, fall back Tom
was too busy to hear. Then the adju-
tant was ordered to go out and bring
the fellow back to the line Without
q word he took his place In the front
rank and resumed firing He was that
kind of soldler--the best type in any
army"
In his paper Tom Ford told of a
young fellow who had been remembered
by friend with a S12 package of
choice fine cut tobacco. 1t was more
than he needed or could carry, so he
got chum to help him, and they put
1t up I'm small packages and sold It.
The paymaster was past due and most
Of the boys were out Of money. and
the tobacconist had to give time This
was on the eve of the battle of Stone
River. The slaughter In the tobacco
merchants company was great. At a
moment when the fight was the hottest
and four or five of his comrades who
had bought his tobacco on time were
lying dead or mortally wounded, the
young fellow rushed to the captain and
In an agony Of spirit exclaimed: "My
God, captain, who is going to pay me
for the tobacco those dead men got
trusted for?"
go to the devil with your tobacco:
get into line and go to shooting"
Tom Ford had two brothers i'm the
army, and his father was a member of
Bridges Chicago battery. He did not
know that two Of his boys were in the
Twenty-fourth Wisconsin until after
Stone River. When he learned where
they were the father lost no time i'm
visiting them. Going to Colonel LARA
bee he said: Colonel, have two bows
in your regiment L want them with
me In the Chicago battery. VIII You
allow them to be transferredY'
mo, sir; they are good boys, and 1
want them In my command"
..Rut, colonel, they are my boys
"They are not your boys, sir-they
are my boys, and you can't have them
until the war Is over
The father. had to go back without
his boys. His third son was I'm the
T~enty-fourth Massachusetts. At the
battle of Fredericksburg, when the col
or sergeant fell, young Ford seized the
flag and was in the act of planting it
on the enerny's breastwork when bull
let struck him dead. Colonel LARA
bee was right, the Fords were good
boys.
You may have heard about the Yer
monters who fed some Jersey boys on
roast dog. Here is a true enough dog
story. Among Tom Ford's chums were
several incorrigible foragers. When
General Lowell H. Rousseau, the gal
liant Kentuckian, commanded the divi.-
ION he had strict orders against foras-
ing. One day he saw Ford's chums
carrying dressed sheep to camp. An
aid was directed to arrest the foragers
and march them to his side. lyon
have been stealing sheep" said the GEN
eral.
1--WE killed this one in self defense
said a young butcher. HE was about
to collide with u.s."
Nonsense. Take that mutton to my
headquarters and go to your camp"
snapped the general.
One OF the crowd Of foragers hung
about Rousseau's cook tert that night
long enough TO learn that their mutton
was to go to the generals mess. The
next day the same batch of foragers
were again caught with a large, fat
sheep, well dressed. This time the gen
eral sc0lded them savagely and threat
ened them with dire trouble If they
killed another sheep. AS ON the pre-
vious occasion the mutton was sent to
the generals mess and eaten by him
and his staff. A few days later, when
Rousseau and some friends rode
through camp the men in Ford's COM
pany barked like so many Newround-
land dogs 1t nettled the Kentuckian,
and he demanded of the captain to
know what 1t meant.
II can't tell you, general"