The National tribune., 1909-11-18

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Il accept the terms, believing further
resistance hopeless.
Sam Hymer, Captain, Co. D, 18th Ill.
. Commander
AS soon as the agreement was signed
lthey marched up company of soldiers
and formed in line in front of the block
house.
We filed our haversacks full of grut
and picked up some extra clothing. We
took a last look at the dead. They were
Nathan Jones. Fielden Loe. John Par
lish, Joseph Boyd and VIM. Dixon. Some
of the boys could not help crying, and
with tears in our eyes we marched out
land gave ourselves up to the Southern
iC6nfederacy.
When we stepped outside a scene
presented itself to Our view that we
were not looking for. There upon the
ground were hundred or more cannon
balls, glistening in the bright moon
light, that had struck the block house
and bounded back. One whole side and
| corner of the block house was torn into
splinters from top to bottom.
Soon a bowling mob of rebels came
f1ocking around us, and asking us all
sorts of. questions.
'Is this all there are of you?" When
We told them it was they seemed to be
terribly surprised. I'VE thought there
| was a whole regiment. What regiment
do yuuns bctong to-" When we told
them they said: "We'uns thought
yu'uns were Illinois boys. Yuuns just
| fit like --. If all the Yankees fit like
yu'uns do the Confcderacy wouldn't
last long"
Prisoners of Gen. Bate.
They marched us up near Gen.
Bates headquarters and showed US
where to sleep. We soon spread our
blankets down on the ground and lay
down, and, being tired and sleepy and
worn out with our days work, we were
soon sound asleep.
| 1t was Sunup when we awOke the next
morning, and as soon as we had eaten
our breakfast the rebels wanted four
men to bury the dead. They detailed
Pat Zimmerman, Alva Bond and an
other whose name 1 have forgotten and
myself to bury them. We went directly
| to the block house under guard, and
when we went in there lay the boys
| just as they fell the day before. We
passed around and took a look at each
| one. Nathan Jones was shot thru the
| forehead with musket ball which
came thru a portfolio; he was the first
man killed. Ficlden Loe had his head
shot off with cannon ball. Joseph
| Boyd had his left arm torn off at the
| shoulder with a cannon ball; he lived
| for some time after he was shot, and
| begged for some one to shoot him and
put him out of his misery. John Parish
| mad his left arm shot off between the
elbow and wrist; just enough skin was
| left on the under side to keep his hand
from dropping off; he was also bruised
on the left side by piece of timber.
When we came to VIM. Dixon he had
just died and his body was still warm;
| a cannon ball tore the flesh all off the
inside of his left leg above the knee.
We picked out a place just south of
! the road, in a nice bluegrass plot, dug
| a grave about six feet square and two
| feet deep, then carried them out and
laid them in it, side by side, wrapped
in their blankets, tSince the war they
were all taken up and removed to the
| National Cemetery at Chattanooga.)
As soon as we got thru filing up the
grave they marched us to our company,
and then the rebels set fire 10 the block
| house, and as soon as it got to burning
| right good they marched us all down
under heavy guard and halted us
right in front of it. facing towards the
| fort, and there we stood, not knowing
| what they intended to do with us
There were about so tons OF earth on
top Of the fort, and when the timber
burned out underneath it all fell down
into the hot Goals with terrible crash.
sending up dirt, smoke and ashes into
the air so feet high.
1t made an impression on our minds
| that time can scarcely cfface. When
the fire began to shoulder and die out
and they thought we had gazed at 1t
long enough the Captain of the guard
said, Company, attention, Right face,
Forward-March"' and off we went to
prison.
On Oct IS. 1864, e. w. Dace. a
member of Co. u and on detached duty
at Iunnel Hill at the time of the battle,
wrote a letter to the Schuyler Citizen,
and gave list of the killed, wounded
and captured in the battle as follows:
| Killed-Privates John Parish. Joseph
e. Boyd, Fielden Loe, VIM. Dixon, Ma
than Jones
Wounded-Corp'ls Andrew Jackson.
p. A. Zimmerman, George Masterson,
James Thompson, James C. Dupuy,
VIM. Harlow.
Captured-Capt Samuel Uymer.
Lieut.. Michael +. Jones' Serg'ts Andrew
Jacoby, Alva Bond and Robert Stewart.
Corpls Andrew Jackson, L. A. Zimmer-
man, James c. Dupuy, James Thomp-
son, Overton Parke, Garrett Lane and
| George MastersOn, Privates James NJ
Bryant, Squire Bechtol. Andrew J, Bar
ker, Joseph w. Campbell, George w.
Cross, Joseph Collister, Samuel Fads
Martin Goree, George Gregory, William
Heron, John ID. Jackson, Jesse Jack
son, Milton z. Julian, Charles Lamaster,
John Moreland, James w. Robertson,
Thomas Smedley, John Smith, John
NJ. Stevens, Elias Stevens, Andrew Ter
rill. William Tyson and Anson w. Un-
derhill.
Some time after the war Capt Hy-
ner made application for a Medal of
Honor Hon. r. III. Blue, OF Kansas.
then In Congress, managed the case for
him, and on March 2S, 1896, Congress
bestowed upon him Medal OF Honor.
Medal of Honor.
"The U. S. Congress to Samuel Hy-
mer. Captain, Co. d. 115th Ill.
Date of issue, March 2S. 1896.
place of action. Buzzard Roost GAP.
Ga, oct. 13, 1864.
Ground of award: with only Al
men under his command. defended and
held block house against the attack
of Hoods Division for nearly 10 hours,
thus checking the advance Of the enc
my and insuring the safety of the bal.
! ance of the regiment as we'll as that Of