Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1910-05-20

ne puDilC Will never lose Its Keen
| appetite for Lincoln and Grant stories.
good ones, based on fact. l have such
story-a Grant story 1t is about the
officer in the regular army who will be
| the last to retire for age on Aug. 10,
| 1915, of all the men who served in the
civil War and later became regular
army officers. Before he was IL years
old he was a musician in the Twenty
/ second Michigan. AT the battle of
Chickamauga he threw away his drum,
picked up a wounded mans musket
! and was in the two days battle. doing
full duty as private soldier. He had
q narrow escape from capture. The
commander of a confederate regiment
demanded the childs surrender when
the Michigan regiment was flanked
The child replied with shot that
emptied saddle and gave the lieu
tenant colonel of the confederate regi-
ment promotion to the rank of colonel
For this act Of courage the ehildsol-
der was made a lance sergeant, and
as such served to the end of his term,
which Included the battles, under Gen
eral Grant, about Chattanooga in No
vember, 1868
The old commander heard OF the
child's conduct while at Chattanooga a
short time before he went to Wash
ington to accept his second commission
in the regular army from President
Lincoln. General Grant and President
Grant never forgot the child-soldter of
I Chickamauga and Mission Ridge.
The boys people were poor They
could not send him to school before
he was a soldier, they received most
of his pay while he was in the army
and when the war was over he had
to work at anything he could find to
do to help the family.
In 1871. when 20, he determined to
seek an appointment to West Point
His friends tried to dissuade him,
knowing that his lack or education
was so great as to make 1t certain that
he would not be accepted
Nobody would nominate you for a
cadet under the circumstances" said
one of his friends
well, / am going to try, anyway
President Grant knows something
about men, and guess he will send
me to West Point"
President Grants attention was re-
called to the child-soldier OF 1863 and
he was asked to nominate him for the
military academy. The nomination
was made at once but the boy was
found; or, to use a less technical
term he fell down" He was short in
mathematics, short in history and lit
erature, short in height and weight
and short in general information
In time the youngster appeared in
Washington with fixed purpose to see
his soldier eomrade and friend In the
White House, the President.
Whom do you wish to see?" asked
a doorkeeper
THE President"
you can't see him now
After waiting half an hour the boy
tapped the doorkeeper on the shoulder
and asked how much longer he wouil
have to wait
Il guess You can't see the President
to-day" was the reply.
II guess | can. You go in and tell
General Grant that John Glenn Of Com
pany G, Twenty-second Michigan,
wants to see nim.'
The message was conveyed to the
President A cabinet minister was
comforting with his chief at the time.
Directions were given to let the Wis
itor come right in" The great sol
der and the child-soldier shook hands
like pair of old friends
They thought they didn't need me
at West Point, General Grant" 3aid |
the boy.
The President, after a moment Of re-
Election, wrote a note, slipped it into !
an envelope, addressed it and told his |
caller to take it to General Belknap, |
the Secretary Of War. The secretary
read the Presidents note. looked the |
young fellow over carefully and asked |
him to be seated.
"Do you know what this note con |
tains?" asked the Iowa general, who |
also had heard about the boy at Chick |
amauga
81 do not. sir"
president Grant directs me to APP |
point you a second lieutenant in the
United States army"
That was done. He was made first !
lieutenant in 1874, d captain in 1882, |
a major in 1895. Iieutenant-colonel in |
1901 and a colonel IN 1903
Upon entering the regular army his |
education began For many years he |
has been thoroughly informed, we'll ed |
ucated. and has always stood nigh both |
with the army and the public BY vir- |
tue of MS civil war service he could |
now retire with the rank Of brigadier- |
general but it is thought that he will |
be the last to retire Of the thousands |
OF civil war soldiers who went to the /
regulars. Then We can address the
child-soldier Of 1863 and Chickamauga
as Gen. John l.. Glenn.
While this is more than a Grant
story, it surely is story that EN-