The National tribune., 1911-02-16
A GRAND OLD SONG.
1t Has Unusual Significance for Many
Old soldiers.


1t Has Unusual Significance for Many
Old soldiers.
/ Editor National Tribune:
John Broicn's body lies mouldering in the
grdue,
But his soul goes marching on"
The words of and tune to the above song
| were composed by member OF the "a
Mass, as it lay at Fort Warren, early in
| 1861, and soon became a national air,
played and sung by every band and every
school boy and girl in the land.
/ A little later the Battle Hymn of the
Republic was composed by Julia Ward
. Howe. Mrs. Howe was visiting the army
at Washington and in the evening she saw
thousand watch fires" from the thou
sand camp fires on the hillsides around
Washington, and it made deep lmpres-
sion on her mind. 1t was late when she
returned to her hotel. She could not
sleep, and near daybreak she arose and
composed the immortal hymn, the Battle
Hymn of the Republic" now so often sung
wherever the English language is spoken.
John Browns Body" has more than
ordinary significance to me, for 1 was
under him at OsawatOmie, in Kansas, in
/ that memorable battle 81 years ago. n
few months previously l went to Kansas
and took up a claim. 1t was at time
when John Brown and his men were hay-
: ing strenuous times and when it was
fearful thing to live where the Border
Free State men,"
! / shall never forget the 20tn and goth
days of August, 1856. AT the close of the
Doth, John Brown came with his little
band of twenty to thirty men and camped
at our house-a log house of one room.
They were a tired set of men. They had
marched all day under hot August sun,
and were too tired to get supper. so they
camped in the door-yard around the house.
But the next morning at daybreak we
were up for whatever might be in store for
us. Some got water and some got wood,
and soon we had breakfast going.
/ will digress here and say that John
Brown was a strong. earnest Christian
man. Before going to bed that night, he,
las his custom was" road his chapter IN
his Bible. After he had gone to bed q
gave him my bed, for he was then 56 years
old, and after all were asleep L looked
over the Bible and noticed that the Cos
pels and Psalms in particular were mark
ed and interlinej, and some portions were
hardly legible from being sc black with
powder-smoke from his begrimmed fingers.
While we were at breakfast We saw a
man coming in breathless haste.
For Gods sake, hurry up. The Border
Rufians are in sight" he shouted ex-
citedly.
Fall in, boys" said Brown. and saw
him strap his knapsack on his back and
take the head of the column. The force
that we were to meet was expected to be
large. They numbered some four hundred
men. They came on the other side of the
river. We were on the north side. We
crossed over and met them at the edge of
the woods. Half a mile on either side of
the stream was woods, and beyond was
open prairie.
Brown stationed his men in skirmish
live rn1 ~ and rrro1L nl nm, md
down the line telling the boys 1--WE were
indeed all boys them to fire low" and
speaking words of encouragement.
The battle lasted about half an hour,
when we broke and ran, for We could not
stand such odds. The enemy had two
Two of Browns men were killed in the
battle and four in the retreat Thirty of
the enemy were killed, besides many
wounded.
Most of us crossed the river from where
we started. but the enemy did not follow
us, returning the way they came. But
they burned the town, and l saw the
smoke from % houses. They burned all
but one house. There were four sick peo-
pie in this, and it was spared. 1t has
since been occupied as dwelling most of
the time, and / think it was the head
quarters of John Brown, for he was there
much of the time. 1t was the home of
was stationed there. Mrs Adair was a
sister of John Brown
1t was my privilege to be present at
the dedication of the John Brown Battle
field Park at Osawatomie on August 30,
1910, when Col. Roosevelt was there and
gave the dedicatory address, in which, it
will be recalled, he expounded for the first
time the new nationalism." Osawatomie
today is very pretty town of some 1000
people. monument has been erected in
memory of John Brown and of his follow
ers who died in battle. At the base lie the
six who fell in the memorable battle. Four
of us survivors of the Battle were there.
Luke F. Parsons, of Salina, Kansas, was
one. He is perhaps the best authority to-
day on the details of the fight of Aug. 20, |
1856.
The battle of Osawatomie was my
maiden battle. A little later l was in the |
battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellors- /
vile. the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold
Harbor, Petersburg. Sailors Greek. Get
tysburg. and at Appomattox Courthouse at
Lees surrender. Thus l had a taste of
army life with all its hardships and dan /
gers while with the 3Ith Mass.-E. 2. |
Bridsman. Madison, Wis.