Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-10-26

COLONEL d. BAKER, z. S A, KILLED
BY A sHARPsHOOTER AT BAIL s BLUFF.
wooded hills beyond the ravine com
manded the whole so perfectly that
should they be occupied by the enemy
he would be destroyed, and l advised
an immediate advance or the whole
force TO occupy the hills, which were
not then occupied by the enemy. l
told him that the whole action must
be on our left and that we must oc-
cUpy those hills. No attention was
apparently paid to this advice. and
Colonel Baker ordered r1e TO take
charge of the artillery. but without
any definite instructions as TO its
service.
About twenty minutes afterward
the hills on the left 10 which l had
called attention We're occupied by the
euemy's sllirmishers. who immediate
" opened sharp fire on our left. l
Immediately directed the artillery to
open fire on those skirmishers.'
'Atrocious Military Murder"
Bakers death threw the troops into
confusion by depriving them Of a
head just ut a trying time. His con
duct in rushing into the enemy's fire
was brave or rash according to ones
ideas Of the duty of q commander 1t
is an axiom that one bad general is
better than two good ones. As soon
as Baker fell the other colonies for a
time acted each on his own hook with
out concert or action.
Baker was a United States senator
from California. He had declined
commission as brigadier general and
had one as major general under con
Sideration at the time Of his death.
Congress called upon PreSid dent Lin
coin to investigate the Balls Bluff
disaster. and when be declined 20 do
30 il appointed the famous joint com
mirtee on the conduct Of the war,
with instructions to investigate the
most atroCious military murder in his
tory" About this time General Stone
came under a cloud in a manner not
connected with the battle of Oct p,
but he was arrested by order Of the
secretary of war and confined in Fort
Lafayette. New York harbor. He was
examined before the committee on the
were preferred against him. He was
after seven months inprison-
ueut and subsequently restored TO ac-
tive service under General Banks in
the west. After the war he became
noted as "Stone Pasha" in the army
of the khedive.
The Judgment Of military men upon
Stones responsibility for Balls Bluff
was that he acted throughout The af
fair under misrepresentation He sup
posed another Federal division under
General G.. =. Mccall mar hing up the
Potomac o. the Virginia side. was
pushing the ConfeGerates back from
the river south Of Balls Bluff and Cor
mans camp at Edwards Ferry; that
the commander Of the army wished
him 70 take TeeShurC. z point four
miles inland from the battlefield OF
Balls Bluff. and thai there We're no
In any force IN that Vi
~irity. Is his scouts truthfulIy report
Ell But the CoUfederoteS could move
on shorter lines They deceived Stones
subordinate. German. al Edwards Fer
~. and ignorance or negligence. per
ha-S both. led 70 the disaster at Balls
Bluff Baker had discretion IN his or
7e-s from Stone TO call Deveas back (
from the Virginia shore or reinforce
him there and fight He chose 10 /
6-ht
Strangely enough. the Confederate .
leader ct Balls PiUT acted upon his .
7v-n discretion IT bringing on the bat /
.l0. lie took the fed without the .
s-o-,od-e Of lis sure-to-s for the .
purpose q covering Les burg from .
ederal attack.