Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-02-12
LINCOLN and The
UNION SOLDIERS
IDA M. TARBELL WRITES INTER.
ESTING STORIES ON THE
GREAT MARTYR.
TOLD BY BILLY BROWN.
Springfield (Ill) Druggist Was on the
Most Intimate Terms with TIE
Rail Splitter.
UNDERSTOOD NEEDS OF SOLDIERS

In the American Magazine Ida NJ
TarheI tells really great Lincoln
story. 1t is presented in the form
of recollections of Lincoln told by Billy
Brown. a Springfield, QlI) druggist who
knew Lincoln intimately. Following IS
an extract from a talk Lincoln once
gave his old friend Brown. 1t is pre-
sented just as Brown told it:
Believed in Pardoning.
Then there's that pardoning bust
ness Every now and then | have ia
fix it up with Stanton or some officer
for pardoning so many boys. | sup
pose it's pretty hard for them not ia
have all their rules lived up to. They've
worked out lot of laws to govern this
army, and l s'pose it's natural enough
for EN- to think the most important
thing in the world is havin' 'em obeyed,
They've got it fixed so the boys do
everything accordin' to regulations
They won't even let 'em die of some
thing that amt on the list-got to die
accordin' to the regulations! But bv
lingo, Billy, l amt goin' TO have boys
Shor accordin' to no dumb regulations
| amt goin' to have butchers dav
every Friday iii the army if | can HELM
it, Its so what they say about me.
that I'm alwas lookin' for an excuse 10
pardon somebody. l do it every time
| can find a reason. When they re
Young or when they're green or when
they've been worked on by Copperheads
or when they've got Disguised lyin' still
and come to think we amt dom our
job-When | see that l amt goin' TO
have 'em shot.
And then there's my leg cases. I've
gat drawerful They make Holt mad
dest-says he amt any use for towards.
Well, generally speakin', / amt, but it
amt sure what I'd do if / was stand
in in front of a gum and more'n that, as
| told Holt one day, if Almighty God
gives a man a cowardly pair of legs
how can he help their running away
with him?
Soldering Not a Business.
You can't make me believe it's good
policy to shoot these soldiers, anyhow.
Seems TO me one thing we've never taken
into account as we ought to is that this
Is a volunteer army. These men came
down here TO put an end to this rebel
lion and not to get trained as soldiers.
They Just dropped the work they was
dom right where it was-never stopped
TO fix things up to be away long. Why,
we've got a little minister at the head of
one company that was preachin' when he
heard the news of Bull Run. He shut
up his Bible, told the congregation what
had happened, and said: Brethren,
reckon it's time for us to adjourn this
meetln and 30 home and drill, and they
dld it, and now they're down with Grant.
When the wars over that man will 90
back and finish that sermon.
That's the way with most of 'em.
You can't treat such an army like You
would one that had been brought up to
soljerin' as Il business. They'll take dis.
cipline enough to fight but they don't
take any stock in it as a means of earn
IN a livin"
Knew Army Life Well.
Seemed as if hardly anybody at the
start had any idea of how important
twas 10 take good care of the boys and
keep EN- from gettin' sick or if they
did get sick to cure 'em. ! remember
Leonard SWEET was in here one day
long hack in 81 and he says: Billy,
Mr.. Lincoln knows more about how the
soldiers in the Army of the Potomac
COOK ilapjacks than you do about putin
up quinine. There amt blamed thing
they do in that army that he amt inter
eSted IN. | went down to camp with him
one day and | never see an old hunter
III the woods quicker to spot Il rabbit 5
rack than he was every little kink about
The housekeepin'. When we got back to
Town he just sat and talked and talked
about the way the soldiers was Twin,
seemed 10 know all about 'em every
ways; where they were short of shoes,
Where the r0tions war poor, where they
had camp fever worst; told me how hard
tack was made, what good thing qui-
hhe and onions are to have handy-best
cure for diarrhoea, sore feet. homesick-
ness, everything | never heard any
Thing like it."
One Soldiers Complaint.
\ while after Bull Run / met a boy
QUO on the street here on crutches, thin
ana white. and | stopped to ask him
ABOUT how he got hurt. Well, Billy, he
t2oked at me hard as nails, and he says:
be YOU Abe Lincoln?' And | said, Yes
Wen he says, all I've got to say Is
you don't know your job. | enlisted glad
enough TO do my part, and I've done 1t,
"ut you amt done yourn. You promised
70 iced me, and / marched three days
al The beginning of these troubles with
out anything to eat but bareback and
Two chunks of salt pork-no bread, no
{VHeemand what l did get wasn't regu-
ar 1hey got us up one mOrnin' and
marched US ten miles without breakfast.
10 You call that proyidin' for an army?
Ana they sent us down to fight the Rebs
do Bun Run, and when we were dom
guF best and holdin' 'em Il tell you,
aoldln' ,em-they told us to fall back.
E"ore l Wouldn't hadn't come down
mere for that. They made me-rode Re
Gown. | got struck-st1nck in the back.
.SlfHck IN the back and they left me
a2ere-neyer came for me, never gave
ne q drink, and l dyin' of thirst. l
E[5aEIed FIVE miles for water, and IA
y dead and rottin' in Virginia today
a t,eamster hadn't picked me up and
"a %5595Sht me to this town and found an
S 5. 9!arkey to take care of me. You amt
12'h yonr job, Abe Lincoln. v0a won't
via via ms war until you learn to take
care If the soldiers
r. couldn't say a thing. 1t was true.
9een true all the time. It's true to-
rral. We amt taking care of the sol
@4@ Ike we ought