Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1910-04-29
War Memories Revived.


said Nobody sees a battle" Explain
ing what he meant, he proceeded, The
common solder hreS away amid Il smoke
mist. or hurrIeS on to the charge Ill
crowd which hides everything from HIM.
The officer is too ANXIOUS about what
he is especially charged with TO heed
what others are doing. The command
er cannot be present everywhere, and
see every wood, Water-cOurse, or raylne,
Ill winch his orders are earned into eX
ecutiOn; he learns from reports how the
work goes on
This is all true. and it is because this
is true that the full and authentic his
tories of great engagements are not writ
ten till the lapse of time after they We're
fought. The persons best qualified to
write them would be the commanders,
but for the natural bias inherent in hu-
man nature which in most cases leads
each commander to see III too high re-
lief the elements of the encounter eX-
planning its results III terms most cred
ltable to himself. The best accounts are
those which are carefully colated by
impartial, competent Writer'S familiar
with the scene OF the engagement and
not too distant from 1t i'll time, yet not
SO close us to be borne along on tides of
prejudice. 1t took many years for Gen.
f'itz John Porter 10 get the justice Of
d reversal of a wartime cOurtmartiaI
which did him grlevous wrong.
Al All Garner date than that, but yet
at a distance OF twenty years from tie
War, the Century Magazine conducted
an interesting and useful enterprise by
enlistlng SURVIVORS on both sides to write
their recollections OF great engagements.
Several Old controversies as 10 matters
OF tace were revived; but the discus
sion increased the likelihood that ulti-
mate popular Judgment would reach
more closely the merits OF the matters III
dispute, and a large body of fresh i'll
formation contributing TO the understands
ing of the War was placed before new
generation.
Similar beneficial results are sure to
attend the work OF the WISCONSIN His
tory Commission, whose publications are
greatly appreciated by all classes OF
readers, and especially by the pupils of
the more advanced grades of the public
schools. The Commission 50 far has
confined itself to making available to
students personal documents which will
supplement formal histories of the war
period. Among the publications OF the
I Commission is the Narrative Of Frank
\. Haskell, who was first lieutenant OF
the Sixth Wisconsin Infantry and an
aide upon the staff of General John Glib
bon. Lieutenant Haskell was killed in
the advance of Gibbons Division at the
battle of Cold HarbOr. He was a brave
soldier and a writer whose intense earn
estness marks his literary style and gives
interest apart from the subject to ev-
erything coming from his pen His ac-
| count of the Battle of Gettysburg was
written a few days after that great en-
gagement, and sent to his brother, who
published the Narrative fifteen years lat
er for private circulation. In 1890 1t
! was published as part of the history OF
the Class of 1854 at Dartmouth College.
The Wisconsin History Commission has
printed 1t practically as 1t left the au-
thor hand. From the conditions under
which Lieutenant Haskelrs Narrative
originated 1t could not be free from err
ror. Some of its statements have been
shown to be fantastic and utterly I'M
rounded. But when due allowance IS
mace Tor errors that the author himself
no doubt would have corrected if he had
lived. the book is useful for the vivid
way IN which 1t brings out many things
relating TO the war. 1t belongs to the
class of materials that put life into the
dry bones Of formal history. Formal
histories can be trusted to counteract its
errors and prevent them from doing any
harm.
The Philadelphia Brigade Association
has published Il pamphlet sharply attack
ing the Haskell Narrative as foolish and
absurd because OF statements and crltl-
cisms which Haskell would probably
have modified il ne had lived to 90
over his hastily written manuscript. He
represents himself as having caught
Webb'S Brigade in the act of running
away like rabbits and as rallying them
and sending them back to their duty. The
pamphlet presents a duly authenticated
account of the work of the PhiladenI. a
Brigade at Gettysburg and ELSEWHERE
which fully attests its gallantry. EventTI-
ally the History Commission will pub
lIsh an account of the Eleventh Corps a
petersburg by staff officer who served
IN that corps There can he no fault
found with the survivors of the Philadel
Pima Brigade FOR defending their organ
Zat1on's splendid record. The Wisconsin
History Commission has not intended I"
attack it or any other body of American
who served iii the war for the Union.
has merely undertaken to enrich the Op-
portunltles of students for arriving NJ aT
understanding of the war by supp1yiD"
them with a variety of first-hand mater
al bearing on the subject some of which
from It's very nature, needs to be care
fully weighed