The National tribune., 1909-05-06
PICKET SHOTS
From Alert Comrades Along the
Whole Line.
Gen. Hooker.

Thomas ]. Elder, 46th Pa, Newkirk.
Okla, regrets that at this late day any
one should try to take the laurels from
his beloved old commander, Gen. Jos.
Hooker. There was enough glory to go
around and Hooker's laurels should re-
main undisturbed. If Gen. Schofield
had been with the Twentieth Corps at
Kolb's Farm he would have seen the
dead and wounded of Hooker's COM
| mand lying fully a quarter of a mile
ahead of where the Twenty-third Corps
formed its front The night before
Comrade Elder was on picket, and the
next day the pickets had to do the skir
mishing. A sharpshooter gave them
much trouble. Comrade Elder went in
| to a smokehouse near by to see if he
could get the rebel. At last he saw him
| in a tree, and with five or six shots
stopped him. When he went into the
smOkehOuse one of his comrades said,
Look there; We are cut Off" and as he
| looked to the left near the cotton gin
ne saw the charge, which has been de-
scribed. on his brigade. They all ran
out of the building, and in getting over
the fence he was caught by nail and
was the last one to leave the yard.
When he jumped over there were moth
ling but rebels to the right and left, SO
| he used his legs the best he knew how.
j When he got near where Hooker gave
the first order to hold the road he saw
Schofeld's men behind breastworks. A
| man waved him to get out of the road,
and as he jumped out of range the can
non at which the man stood moved
down the Johnnies with canister. He
will never forget the sight He saw
one man cut in two, and the next day
| went to look for his remains. but found
nothing there but pool of blood.
| The 18th and 1O2d N. Y.
NJ J.. Olmsted, Baker City, Ore, says
| that it was an error to say that the
| 137th n. Y. was consolidated with the
| 102d n. Y The 18th and 102d N. Y.
were merged before Atlanta in 1864.
They We're called the twin regiments, as
\ they often rendered much needed as
sistance to each other in times of great
distress, particularly at Charlottesville.
There the 18th y. Y. withstOod for four
mortal hours a devastating artillery fire
i enfilading its lines. and was finally set
| upon and surrounded by brigade of
| Confederates. The 102d charged to its
| relief not waiting to fix bayonets nor to
| form in line of battle. but came on in a
| wild rush with club muskets. From this
| ii gained the sobrituet of the Blind
l102d." The old Third Brigade was COM
posed of the 60th. 18th, 1920, 137th
and 149th N. Y. The twin regiments"
were consolidated, but the brigade
closed the war with the four other or
ganiZations intact. The brigade, how
ever, came as near being one regiment
| as could we'll be. especially after Chan
| celiorsville. It's numbers rarely exceed.
ed what would constitute a full regi-
ment. Each regiment became as IL it
were one company, with its own stand
of colors and officers, but whatever was
accomplished. either i'm part or as
| whole. was considered as part of the
brigade's history and glory. The two
battle flags of the consolidated regi-
ments were carried side by side to the
I end of the war.
n. B. Seeley, Denver, Colo, also tes-
titles that the 18th N. Y. was not con-
lsolidated. but retained its organization
to the end of the war.
| .5 Dates Wanted.
James #. Camp, Laporte City, Iowa,
wants to know the date in September,
4 1862, when the Army of the Potomac
marched across the Long Bridge from
the second Bull Run. How long did it
lie in Washington before starting to-
ward Frederick? What was the date
!, (on Sunday when President Lincoln
reviewed the army in Pleasant Valley
after the battle of Antietam? Com
rade Camp belonged to the 51st N. Y,
and lost his diary in Pleasant Valley,
: so that he has lost some dates which
he very much desires to have.
Ward Master at Andersonville
Jerry Richardson, Box 222, Hastings,
Mimi, was IL months and IL days in
Andersonville; remembers John McEl-
roy very well. and was Ward Master of
, 1.-THE 18th and 18th wards in the hospi-
! tai. He still holds pass from Capt.
: Wirz to go out after wood. He had 90
men in the 18th ward and in one
month lost SO men by death, The ca
+ ipacity of the hospital was 5000, and in
one month $3.50 died. He has the
, dates of the deaths of all of them
Sheridan at Cedar Creek.
II A. A. Tyler, Birmingham, Ala, Is
much interested in the details of the
/ battle of Cedar Creek. He has written
to the Postmaster at Winchester to give
him the distance from Martinsburg ia
Winchester and from Winchester to
Middletown. The Postmaster replies
that 1t is % miles from Martinsburg to