The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-11-13
Entered at Richmond. Indiana, post
office as second class mall matter.
THE 'scUTcHEoN CLEARED.

great service to the good name OF In
diana. He has lately written and col
Iected book entitled Indiana in the
Mexican War which clears forever
the stigma which has attached itself
to the war record of our soldiers In
that struggle.
In brief the situation was that Hoo
sier soldiers were accused Of coward
ice on the field of battle. that they
had the position that was the key to
the whole engagement of Buena vista
and at the crucial part of the battle
they retreated. For many years this
opinion has been so current that In
dianians were forced to blush when
the subject was mentioned. Indeed
the reputation was so bad that we find
Morton referring to it in speech he
made on the return of the soldiers
from the civil war. In Mr.. Foulke's
life of the war governor there appears
this significant statement:
"At the commencement of the strug-
gle the reputation of the Hoosiers had
been little under par. They had been
ashamed of Indiana, and when they
had spoken of their nativity they had
made it convenient to be born in Ken
lucky. But now these men were all
born in Indiana They had been
born again.
What then has Col. Perry done?
An extract will show.
II wish to give the people of In
diana a few facts in order to vindi-
cate the Second Indiana from unmer-
tied disgrace. They began the bat
tie OF the ed in as fine style as any
body of troops on earth could, and
fought as bravely until II o'clock,
when they retreated in confusion and
a part of them could not be afterward
rallied They mustered on the field
much less than 400 men and were op-
posed at the time they gave way, to
ut least 1000 Mexican troops and ex-
posed to the fire Of one of the ene-
mics batteries at the same time. This
state of things would not have justi-
fed them in retreating, nor was it
the reason they did so.
They were manfully maintaining
their ground against all the immense
odds and Brigadier General Lane had
ordered the battery on their right to
take an advanced position with a
view to bringing the regiment closer
to the enemy that their fire might be
more effective before his abide
camp had time to return from deliver
ing the order to advance the battery
and while he was still waiting for his
return In order to give the necessary
order for advancing the troops, they
gave way on the right and in a few
minutes the whole line was in full
retreat. This unfortunate circum-
stance was very near losing us the
victory and costing the lives Of the
whole army. for 1t has since been as
certained that Santa Anna had given
orders to take no prisoners and it has
covered the state with disgrace. This
odium must be removed and the estab-
lishment of one fact is sufficient to do
it.
"They were ordered to retreat BY
their Colonel"
And who was this officer? he was
none other than Col. w. A. Bowles
This man was far from being a model
ofiicer as his subsequent actions at
the time of the civil war showed. He
later became major general in the
Sons of Liberty" and was arrested
and condemned for conspiracy against
the government in the sixties at Nor
toms instigation. Of his conduct un-
der fire it is said: He dismounted as
soon as the firing commenced and en-
deavored to shield himself by stay-
ing Immediately in the rear of his
troops, with his horse between him
and the enemy's battery, and while
his men were fighting as bravely as
ever men fought, and no one think
ing of retreating, he gave the order
to Cease firing and retreat"
Hence it comes that it has never
been rightly understood why it was
that Indiana apparently showed grave
cowardice on the field of Buena
Vista.
Indiana owes a debt of gratitude to
Col. Orran Perry for his valuable
work of compilation. Too often 1t is
that acknowledgement of the states
are in no way fitted for their office.