The National tribune., 1909-06-24
PICKET SHOTS
From Alert Comrades Along the
Whole Line.
"Go to the Pooriiouse."

"GO to the PoOrhouse."
Comrade Chas. Bissell, Hannibal, N.
Y. writes: "A person recently gave me
this advice: Cancel your pension of $12
month and go to the poorhouse. II
you have no pension they will take you
in, and you can live better there than
you can on your pension. You will be
taken care of there; you can't employ
doctor, a nurse or houSekeeper or
any assistant and live on $12 a month
Now. how is that? 1 served in Cos. G.
and c, 3fst Mass.-not three years, but
three years, eight months, Is days. I
was no coffee cooler, either, for my
three discharges certify to honorable
service. faithfully rendered. when my
country needed help and faithful de-
tenders who had no mercenary mo-
tives- Now 1t takes, not evidence of
faithful service in the field. but a rec
ord of lost time. absence from the field
and helplessness in a hospital to get a
pension. The Government gives the
recruit who enlisted in 1865 and spent
90 days in hospital a pension on pre-
sentation of his hospital record, and
turns down the man who seryed from
April. 1851, to July, 1855, every day at
the front, on duty, fighting often, en-
during hardships always, suffering
thirst. hunger, sleepiess nights and
days, without rest. oh, Inconsistency!
Surely the man who entered the SER
vice and broke down forthwith under
its infections should not be denied PEN
sion for destruction of his health; yet
more surely should the man who en-
dured it all to the end. and broke only
in the years of his hastened age-and
never would have broken but for that
strain in his youth-surely he should
not be abandoned to the natural and
inevitable results of his patriotic SER
vice. His pension should be liberal,
and there should be no delay. no quib-
BILE about paying 1t. I am in my 72d
year"
Was 1t A. G. Lee?
Comrade John P. Hodgkins, Ser
geant, I'd Mass. Battery, Winthrop,
Mass, writes: II want to ask John H.
Wells few. He says Gen. A. C. Lee,
who commanded our cavalry, was re-
sponsible for our failure on Red River.
Was it? Was 1t Lees order that placed
% pieces of artillery from 20 to 30
yards from the woods at Sabine Cross
roads? A staff officer came running
| out of the woods near the little build
ing where Minis Battery was, and re-
ported-was it to Lee that he report
ed that the rebels were there, $4,000
to $4,000 strong strong enough to crush
us in 0 minutes. Was 1t Lee who gave
the order to hold the position at all
hazards? Was 1t Lee who, that order
given, then went to the rear? Was 1t
Lee who ordered 100 empty baggage
wagons to the front? Was it Lee who
ordered a retreat to Pleasant Hill? Was
it Lee who, after Gen. A. ]. Smith had
formed his line of battle, ordered him.
while the enemy was advancing, to
change his battle line? When Gen. A.
J. Smith had broken the rebel line and
was driving the broken enemy past
The old mill, was it Lee who ordered
Gen. Smith to cease his advance and
fall back-to retreat to Alexandria? If
Gen. A. c. Lee gave all those orders,
he is responsible for the Red River
failure: otherwise locate that RESPONSE
bility where it belongs
Memories OF Cold Harbor.
VIM. E. Hooper, SO S. Seventh street.
Philadelphia, writing under date Of
June 1, says that it was just As years
ago that his corps, Hancock's Second.
began the fight at Cold Harbor The hot
| test time the Second Corps ever had was
at Spotsylvania, where 1t captured 4.50O
Johnnies on a.dark morning before they
had gotten their coffee. His battery was
doing it's best in pumping shot and shell
/ into the enemy at that time. He would
| like to have some of The National Trib-
une readers tell the loss of the I'd N. Y.
| II. A, which had just come in fresh and
| We're put in front at the bloody charge.
He remembers the regiment rushing to
| the front at double-quick past his bat
terry in the darkness of the night. AS
| the day dawned the roar of musketry
and cannon was terrific. The cheers of
our men and the yells of the rebels
were really deafening. Comrade Hoop
er does not have the dates very distinct
in his mind, but he knows that his
corps grappled with the enemy May 5,
/ nn v-ith 10 NJ tho fnuOht
the conflict for nearly a week. He was
| first in the 9th Me-, then re-enlisted in
the 10th Mass. Battery, and was trans
ferred to Battery K. 4th U. s. L. A.
Merscy's Brigade.
| H. T. Musselman, 81st Ohio. Martins
vile, o., says that Maj. Landgraber's
statement of the recapture of DE Gress 5
Battery is incorrect. After the fight on
1.-THE left Gen. Logan came to Gen. Dodge,
and asked him for a brigade to support
his men in retaking the battery and
works. Gen. Dodge sent him to Sweeny' s
Division. and told him to ask for Mer-
seys Brigade, as they would stand by
him. The brigade was taken, and when
ii arrived on the ground Logan could
not rally his men, and wheeled this bri-
gade into line to charge, which it did,
retaking De Gress's Battery. The troops
which made the charge were the 18th
and 66th Ill. and S1st Ohio. They were
led by Col. August Mersey, 9th ILL.,
whose term had expired. and he had his
discharge papers in his pocket, but said
he would lead his men once more, and
his horse was shot under him.. On the
left it is said that Fuller's men charged
the enemy in front. The first troops to
charge were the S1st Ohio and 9Th Ill.
Officers Retirement.
Comrade S. NJ Tabor. Captain, Co
III, Sd Ill. Cav, writes from Chicago: 80
see in your valuable paper that one
Mai. Mclntosh-who was Drum Major
but has dropped the drum-takes ex-
ception to the volunteer retired list or
account of the private soldier. The
private soldier is worthy of anything
he can possibly get We might say
that the Major-General had a better
time than the line officers, but while
we were asleep the Major-General was
planning for the welfare of the army
and is entitled to all he can get from