Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1911-11-09
''WeT See About That He erOwfed."


one day with his resignation all writ
ten out.
I'm an old man. he told the gen.
eral, and want to go home
Don't think of it. Gen. Sherman
replied. You are in good condition.
and We can't spare you
but l want to go. want you to
accept my resignation the captain
pleaded.
Cant do it, said Gen. Sherman.
Capt. Wooster looked sad for a mo-
ment and then he pulled off his wig
and showed his head as bald as a bill
lard ball.
Now, won't you let me go?' he
asked.
THE general laughed, but Can't do
it. was all he would say.
Capt. Wooster hesitated a moment,
and then he pulled row of false teeth
from his upper jaw and another from
the lower and held them out with the
wig toward the general.
You can go home said Gen. Sher-
man. A man that hasn't any hair on
he top of his head or any teeth on
The inside Of it has a good excuse for
getting out Of the army and then he
accepted the resignation.
Gen. Sherman always was a queer
sort of stick. He was like the old
shotgun l used to have when I was a
ooy-always going of haIf-cocked-but
ne was popular with all the men.
after Shiloh and the evacuation of
Corinth we lay eight or ten days in
camp at Chewalla. Tenn, and then one
morning got orders from Gen. Sher-
man to take all our baggage down to
the station so that it could be sent up
to Columbus and from there down the
Mississippi to Memphis.
81 was sergeant-major then and Col
Dickey of the 4th Illinois said to me,
I don't like that order. Go down to
the station and see what shelter they
have there for our baggage l went
down and found that there was no
shelter OF any sort. l reported that
fact to Gen. Sherman and all he would
say was, Burn your baggage. then
| returned and reported to Col. Dickey.
We won't burn any baggage the col
onel said, and we won't leave it out
on the platform to get drenched. Well
take it with us But he told me to
issue the order to the regiment.
II did so, and the captains swarmed
about me to know what it meant I
told them that the baggage would be
exposed, and they asked what I was
going to do with mine Take it along,
1 said and suggested that they might
do the same So the next morning we
started out early with a long train of
baggage wagons, and there was never
a murmur from Gen. Sherman
He did object to another thing,
though. There were seYenty-one negro
contra bands with the regiment, though
we were forbidden to let the negroes
come with US. There were about an
equal number of led horses, and to
prevent trouble with the beasts we put
a contraband on each one. Along
came Gen. Sherman and looked at the
mounted darkies.
d" Whose horses are these?' he ask
ed.
They are the horses of the 4tb
Illinois cavalry
8" Whose negroes are these?'
They are refugees. l said. We
had to take them along with u.s.
"'We1l see about that he growled.
Black men riding and my men walk
ing!' and away ha rode.
When we reached camp that night
I told the captains to hide their con-
trabands, because the general would
probably send around a provost guard
to corral them. Then, sure enough,
there came the provost guard, but they
did not find any negroes. In the morn
ing We mounted the contrabands again
and Gen. Sherman came riding along.
He looked at them a moment. but he
did not say a word. He rode straight
on. That's the kind of man Gen. Sher-
man was"