The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-06-13

Today the Union Statesman prints
a paper on "a Boy at Shiloh written
by General Morton a dozen years ago
and read by him before the command
cry of the Loyal Legion in New York
city
| The story shows no reaching after
literary effects, but thrills the reader
| with its terrible realism. 1t is a
| chapter of mans life that was keen
presented in words that make the
| reader see and feel some of the awful
scenes of carnage. General Morton
was one of the defenders of the ia
nous Hornets Nest and he pre-
sents incidents that deserve place
n every history that pretends to tell
If Shiloh field
AS a trained soldier who has won
| the star Of br.gadier general, the
| author comments on the wonderful
| ignorance that characterized the mill
tary operations of the early days of
| he war, but he does it in the interest
| Of historic correctness. He says 81
| have no AK to grind, and l would de-
tract no iota from the name, fame or
| ;aurels of any man. My experience
| 4 as been that about all do their very
| BEST in battle; and l have no SYM
1athy with fireside military critics az
| ter the fact. l took the humble and
gnificant part of private soldier
in this great battle, and am content
with that honor, but l would like to
see a full and correct account of ii
recorded in history.
General Morton was a private sold
Ter in the Twenty fifth Missouri regi
ment and his three brothers were in
! The same regiment 1t reached Pitts
burg Landing just a week before the
battle of Shiloh and held the right of
| the first brigade of General Prentiss'
Sixth division. Colonel Peabody of
| the Twenty fifth Missouri commanded
| This brigade.
Thus it happened that General
Morton was at the front and w as with
the first line when the two armies
collided in that two days struggle
| He says:
(By General Morton.)
1t S generally understood that our
army was completely surprised, and
that the advance, or the Sixth divis-
| ION commanded by Benjamin M. Prem
| tiss, fed from their beds before the
enemy, and most of them were cap
tured This is entirely incorrect
On Wednesday, the End, a part of
the regiment was sent out one and
one-half or two miles in the direction
IF Corinth. on picket duty. Keeping
vigilance that night, l saw the heav-
ems Illuminated by the Confederate
campfires. We were astounded at the
proximity and apparently great num-
bers of the enemy. Our men, visiting
he farm houses nearby, were warned
tn at they ran great risk of capture,
that the Confederate cavalry was
securing the neighborhood. 1t was
thought at first that this was simply
said to keep them away; but they
were warned at every house.
That afternoon, Thursday we were
relieved by another detail, ,but the
men who returned to camp on Friday
afternoon reported that no detail had
relieved them, and that there was no
picket whatever on that road between
us and the enemy. If we were not
aware Of the dense ignorance Of all
at that time on military matters, par
ticularly of practical soldering, we
could attribute this neglect only to
traitorous design. There was consid-
cradle cavalry in the command-why
was it not screening our camp and
even feeling the enemy in his own?
Simply ignor ance. We had no gen.
erals in rank and authority. I say
this not in disparagement of any who
were there, but as a fact. When they
learned their business in the school
for generals the great practical
school of war-many of them won a
place among the very greatest gen.
erals the world has ever produced.
The Grant and Sherman of 1864 would
have relieved for utter inefficiency
generals of no more skill than the
! Grant and Sherman at Shiloh.
On Saturday afternoon the whole
Sixth division but the camp guard
was reviewed in a field near General
Prentiss' headquarte and the ru-
NOR. afterward confirmed, went
through the camp that night that a
detachment of Confederate cavalry
rode UP to the edge of the field ana
witnessed the review.