The National tribune., 1910-08-18

In HOt race.
s. b. Corey, First Sergeant, Co. F,
| 8Sth Ill, ElmwOOd, ILL.,, writes:
ION Nov 30, 1864, while the troops
under Gen. Thomas were falling back
toward Nashville before Hood, in start
ing out from Spring Hill, on the pike
leading to Franklin the First Brigade,
Second Division of the Fourth Corps,
acted as rear guard, with the SSth ILL.,
as skirmishers. We were kept tusy,
being closely pursued by them. Between
Spring Hill and Franklin the pike
passed thru a deep cut. A staff officer
came dashing back. He pointed to the
gap thru which we had just PASSED,
and said that it must be held If posi-
BILE, for rebel battery placed there
could sweep the road. The task was a
very dangerous one. He asked for vol
ulcers to go back and hold it. Some
100 or 25 men volunteered. Ten or II
were allowed to go, l being one of the
number. We succeeded in reaching the
cut before the Johnnies, whom we saw
coming forward with a battery. We
| began firing as rapidly as possible,
which caused them to stop. Presently
we heard shouts of our comrades to
get back, but before we realized what
1t meant from almost over our heads
came the command: Surrender, you
- Yanks' The rebels had gained
the ridge on both fianks, and were
ready TO fire on us If we did not obey
orders. w estarted to run, and, strange
to say, tho they sent volley after volley
after us, not a man was nit, tho their
bullets struck all about us. Perhaps
they could not shoot straight for laugh
ing at the way we Yanks- ram
No Beefsteak for Them.
John Albert, Co. C, 22d Ill, eIronton,
| Mo, writes
in the Fall Of 1862, at Nashville,
our company &C, 22d ILL., was On pick
ct on the Murfreesboro pike; our re-
serve was at the Toll House. That
evening Jim Young and 1 went out
| towards the front, and came across a
yearling steer. l got him by the tail.
and Jim ran up and got him by the
ears, and we killed him and skinned
and quartered him. Our company wag-
on happened to be out after load of
cedar rails, and we laid our catch on
the wagon and sent him into camp
with instructions to the cook. That
night we lay down to sleep and dream
| of savory roasts and fried beefstcak.
Next morning about 6 o'clock Forrest
drove in our pickets and charged the
reserve. We bounced out, and the
Captain ordered us to fall in, but we
did not have time, and the enemy sur
rounded and captured us. We went on
a double-quick to MurfreesbOrO, where
we arrived about o'clock that even
| ing. The rebels exchanged us in a few
days, and sent us under flag of truce
| back to Nashville. When we arrived
there we asked Jack about that beef
steak, and he said: 'Beefsteak nothing;
do you fellows think we wanted to let
| it lie here and spoiI?' And that is how
jim and l missed our beefsteak."
"NIcrry Christmas (?) 1864.
w. D. Houghtelin, Sergeant, Co. B,
! nth Pa, Oakmont, Pa, writes:
THE Fourth Corps, after defeating
Hood at Nashville, Dec. Is and 16,
1864 followed the Confederates. and
camped four miles from the battlefield
on the Franklin pike. We did not put
up any tents. 1t rained. We were a
sorry looking set of boys. On Dec. IT
we followed thru Brentwood. and
camped on the Harpeth River, opposite
Franklin. The next evening we camped
near Spring Hill, and on the 10th
reached Duck River, the same place
we camped in 1862. The weather was
now cold. We awaited pontoons to
cross Duck River at Columbia, and on
the 22d we crossed. On the 23d we
advanced to Lynnville, and skirmished
with the enemy all day. On the gloomy
| Christmas Day we moved to Pulaski,
Tenn. The enemy had abandoned and
partly destroyed an ammunition tram
on the ridge there, and they made a
stand in a cedar thicket and checked
our advance with some loss They were
finally driven away with severe loss,
leaving their dead for us to bury. AS
we were going into camp Gen. Grove
| ordered us to push on up the hill. We
| managed to get up somehow, and
camped in the woods near q cornfield.
We had plenty of the top rails for good
| fires, but we got too far ahead of our
/
bins of corn and parched them. We had
plenty of coffee. Thus ended our Merry
christmas of 1864. On the 26th our
wagon train came up, and we had
plenty of ratiOns Next day we were
on the go again.
| "The Confederates escaped across the
Tennessee River, and on Dec. 2S my
shoes gave out and 1 had to march
half a day barefooted, but by good luck
/ got pair of boots from one of my
company. On Jan. 3 we marched thru
Huntsville, Ala, and camped at the
foot of Mount Sinai, where we lay in
camp all Winter"
Forrest at JOhnsonyiIIe.
James Walton, Pittsburg, N. s.,
writes:
II was in the U. s. Construction
Corps at Nashville in the Fall and Win
ter of 1863, and was sent to Johnson
willie, 80 miles southwest of Nashville,
which place is now johnson City, with
a Soldiers Home located there. The
place at that time was made up of Gov
| ernment barracks, two or three old
houses and a garrison. The Govern
ment planted few portable saWmills
there to work up lumber for ware
houses. 1t was not long until Forrest S
gang paid us a visit. The commander
of the post asked the men of the Con-
struction Corps to take guns and help
defend the place. Very few complied
with his request, as many had come
down there to escape the draft and
their sympathies were with the South
They started on foot for Nashville l
Thought it was my duty to help defend
the place, so / took a gun. The rebels
planted battery opposite the Govern
Iment buildings, the two tinclad gun
boats, seven transports and the leVee
piled full of stores, and opened fire. In
20 minutes the gunboats were sunk and
| the transports took fire The fire COM
municated to the levee. One warehouse
which had recently been completed was
| filled with munitions of war. The build
ling that we were working on 600 by
100 feet was about completed with
machinery for hauling the goods into
| the warehouses to be loaded on cars
and sent to Nashville, made the total
loss to Uncle Sam about 100000.
was standing on the bank of the river
watching Forests men on the opposite
side. The ground was covered with
lunderbrush and big cypress trees grew
there. The burning of the warehouses,
1.-THE bursting of shells stored away, to-