Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-05-02

p letter Mr. Caldwell reviews =
I. some stirring war time Incl i
, + dents and opens some chap !
+ tiers Of local history that many !
= Ottumwans will read for the +
I. first time in this article. Pre- +
= vious letters in the series by +
Mr.. Caldwell appeared in the +
4 Courier on Dec. IA, 1910, Dec. +
= 20, 1910, February 25, 1911, +
= March IA, 1911 and March rs, +
= 1911. Mr.. .Caldwell's letter to- +
= day follows:
&*++++++++++*+*++**
In your issue Of Feb. 25th you made
me say that Capt. Cloutman's company
was In the goth Iowa infantry. 1t should
have read End Iowa infantry.
But getting up among the twenties,
ihave Z very lively recollection Of the
2Sth. They were In camp at Helena,
Ark, ensconced in ornfOrtable log
cabins. Col. Wilson was in command
when they we're ordered to the mouth
OF White river to rout rebel force.
They were hardly on board the steam
boat when our regiment (36th) cap.
tured their temporarily abandoned
camp, and upon their return we had a
lively scrimmage, they trying muscu-
lar custer proceedings, while we stood
on the .'nine points" Of law, possession,
and came OF victorious.
A few ye91B ago while was engaged
here n Topeka as clerk to the re-
ceivef q q 6ofunct loan trust company,
with Il w. Wilson (now a prominent
real. 1870 dealer In this city, VINO
was Dc cashier, was quite weir
pleaDad when his father from his home
In ChaaoDA Tama Co., Iowa, came here
to vl1at his son. I was little shy IN
meeting with Col. Wilson'S noted
and wUndAred at by his son-until
was satisfied that there was to be rs
attempt on the coloneps part to renew
hostilities We had real enjoyable
visit together. was sorry to learn Of
Col. Wilson'S death only recently. AS
usual, it would. crop out ithaH was a
ringleader in that Wholesale gobbling
.of#a regimeDta1a camp. as the colonel
saidfhe remembered me as the sauciest
defender of the barracks. 1t was very
etlose call to a sanguinary connict pc
tween two Iowa regiments.
This recalls to mind the, occasion
when in camp at Little Rock, Ark, thai
ours, the 36th, and the goth Iowa. were
mustered with arms to arrest the 4Oth
Iowa, which regiment, under the insti-
cation of Capt. Martin Van Buren, Ben.
nett, marched out on its parade ground
and stacked arms, refusing fufther
service when President lincoln issued
his famous emancipation proclamation.
Bennett was fluent, fiery orator. VINO
harangued the men Of that regiment,
melting them almost to mutiny IN
harping upon the theme that we
didn't enlist to fight the south to free
their niggers!" The fact is that It
looked q little squally in our own regi-
ment as passed along down the line
aiding our adjutant in forming the
companies, every now and then some
one would growl and swear he'd never
lire gun at the mutineers 1or aid IN
arresting them. MY recollection now Is
that Bennett was arrested and cash
Tered. We did not move from our pa
rade ground, for, in the course OF an
hour the 40th boys lined up, took their
arms, and mighty cheer rolled up
when the tension was over. The 40th
Iowa proved itself one Of the best that
Iowa sent to the war. In after years
this same Martin Van Buren, Bennett
published q paper in Ottumwa named
"The Copperhead," villainously rebel
sheet that cartooned President Lincoln
as an ape, and in another picture rep
resented him as in hell. The paper did
not live long. 1t would have been
dumped into the street had 1t not been
for two loyal soldiers home from the
war, who stood at the foot of the stair
way and persuaded the Infatuated pa
triots to desist. Those two are yet
alive-Mator Gus Hamilton and the
writer hereof Bennett turned up here
IN Kansas and made effective speeches
IN the cause Of prohibition have not
heard Of him In late years. Associated
with Bennett in the Copperhead was
Sam B. Evans, who was the commits
sary sergeant Of the 29th Iowa infan-
try. Sam was a good soldier, as I can
testify, because he and were detailed
to 70 from Little Rock to Davenport
to escort recruits back to the front. Be-
ing non-commissioned officers. we were
excluded from the cabin of the steam.
boat. The air was raw and chilly at the
time and It was an effort for US to keep
warm-could do so only by racing up
and down the length OF the boat hull.
we each had haversack full Of hard
tack and very thick and very fat raw
bacon, which was our only provender.
The firemen would not permit us to go
to the furnace to broil our bacon and
heat coffee. After three days and nights
OF this miserably good time Of voyag-
Ing and picnicking, and when was so
surfeited with that sort Of high living
that involuntarily contributed to the
fish from a disordered stomach. Sam
considerably offered to divide his last
hunk Of raw fat bacon just to fill nv
aching void! Doubtless you've read
thrilling Instances Of the unself1shness
of soldiers who, though starving, would
divide the last crust with each other;
but where have you ever read a more
heroic self-sacrificing incident than
this? Neither of us could look hog
sauarely in the face without yielding
up the overload of raw fat hog, and
yet my faithful comrade was anxious
to fill me up again and go without him
self!
Which reminds me Of an occurrence