Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-10-25

pTOCeueu On my way TO CldrKSVllle
spending night in that city. Upon
inquiry, l was told that on the fol-
lowing day steamer would leave
Clarksville for down river, so I en-
gagged passage for Dover, which, af-
ter delightful run l reached in the
early eve$
My purp'O in making this diver
sion was to q over the old battle
field of Fort % 'lson, which was
close by Dover. upon landing
proceeded at once to a Nd hotel near
the river. determine,Sr enjoy a
day or two at that h ~ic place
which held so deep an l. est for
me. At Clarksville 1. had obtained
letter of introduction to a DIR.
Steger Of Dover, whom | met soon
after reaching there. I found in the
doctor a very pleasant gentleman
who took special pains to make
things pleasant for me.
The first time | went to the table
at the hotel, the proprietor, whose
father was managing it at the time
of the battle, said to me: Now /
will seat you at the exact spot where
General Grant sat when he received
from General Buckner the surrender
of Fort Donelson.'
Thank you; you are very kind,
| replied, "and now / will surrender
myself to these good things you have
set before me, which l am sure must
be far more palatable than those
upon which Grant and Buckner fed
when they were here
Reference to this visit to the old
battlefield, which ! copy from the
Decorah Republican. contains all
that need be said touching the mat
ter of that visit:
When DR.. Green returned home,
in referring to his visit to the Don
elson battlefield, he spoke in the
warmest terms of the unexpected
kindness and courtesy" of a gentle
man named Steger, the editor of the
local paper. This gentleman was a
surgeon in the rebel army, and. to-
gether DR.. Green and he rambled
over the field and picked out the
spots where the battle ragged the hot
est. In speaking of Mr.. Stegers cour-
tesy he remarks that a brother could
not have been more kind or more
hospitable. Not only was he in the
rebel army, but he has remained on
the spot, and the Elder regards it
great good fortune that he fell into
the hands OF so competent a guide.
Now comes copy of the Stewart
Courier. published at Dover, by DR..
Steger which says this of his visit:
I'VE had the pleasure last week
of forming the acquaintance of Capt.
Fl. II. Green of Decorah, Iowa. an old
federal veteran, who, for the first
time since the battle of Fort Donef-
son, visited this old battle-ground,
and even after the lapse of time and
changes consequent thereto, he rec
ognized the point at which he charg-
ed through the Confederate lines
with his regiment. We believe it
was the End Iowa-(Col. Tuttle of
this regiment, and others), who
drove Col. Hansen and his brave
Kentuckians from the entrenchment
on the extreme right of the Rebel
line. Gen. Buckner was away with
all OF his command, except three
regiments, which were in the
trenches from Indian to Hickman
creeks, a distance of a mile and a
half. Where Col. Hansen was, the
earth works are misunderstanding
In some places along the line a dis
tance of a hundred feet.
The Captain at the time of the
battle was sergeant in his COM
pany and afterwards was promoted
to the captaincy, and since the war
to the position of Presiding Elder in
the NJ. Il. church.
We obtained several nice hickory
walking sticks on the battlefield, and
visited the water battery, getting up
at various places, souvenirs OF this
historic conflict. He told us of a
funny incident that happened while
the battle was hottest. After getting
through the Rebel lines his company
fell back from an exposed position
and he undertook to assist wound
ed comrade. 1t soon became uncOm-
Portable, and in double-Quickening
back to his company. he got under
such a headway, that he failed to
halt in line and passed on to the
rear. There, after becoming a
little composed, he examined himself
and found he had nine bullet holes
through his clothes, one of which
was through his cap. Several of his
comrades rest in our cemetery. We
find brother Green quite companion
able indeed, and hope he will renew
his visit. We know of but one man
We would not show like courtesy,
and that is Commander Walker
The comrade referred to in this
incident was hit second time and
killed by bullet in the brain while
in the arms OF DR.. G.. He abandoned
him only after seeing the second
wound, which had cut the sleeve OF
DR.. Green's coat. was a fatal one.
Then the Elder admits he did run
as he never ran before"
At the expiration of my term of
service as Presiding Elder of Decorah
District, | was appointed pastor at
Iowa Falls. 1t was not an unwel-
ccme change. for af.er .ve,rc cc--