The Raymer enterprise., 1912-05-23

~ cidents they themselves wit
\ NJ messed. To them Memorial Da,
cNCN/ Is day Of recollections so vivit
ASS1/ that eternity alone can efiac,
them; q day when their dreaml
bark back to the old camp ground. the bugle,
call and the cannon's roar. And. as they fondl'
in memory the scenes through which they pass
ed. they pay tribute to the God Of battles wh,
spared them until their eyes could close on tn
hands Of the Confederate gray and the Yankee
blue clasped across the firing line In a Uniol
indivisible.
"I have never been able to forget an inc
dent that occurred on the battlefield Of Antie
TAM" said General A. W. Greeley. u. 8. A
when asked for his most vivid recollection Q
the Civil War. "And each Memorial Day. some
how. It presents Itself with Increased appeal
On my way back to the field surgeons bo.
pitaI for treatment-l had been wounded twic
II met one Of our doctors applying restora
tives to a wounded Confederate. He was ,
mere boy. not day over l5. was but is
and he also had been shot twice-so there were
things In common between US.
But It was his courage, his unainchlng. un.
yielding spirit that impressed me most As
he lay there. horribly mangled. his eyes were
as steady and his manner as cool as though
he were Idly lounging In his own home His
nerve was not broken; nor the fear OF death
on him. He seemed grateful for the attention,
but not In the least humble. Thank you gen.
temen.' he seemed to be thinking. but when
] get well I'll be at you again II there are
many more like him in the southern army.
thought. we are certainly In for long. hard
struggle I have wondered many times since
what became OF him-whether he pulled
through or died on the battlefield. | have
never been able to learn"
General Greedy made two attempts before
he was allowed to enlist. you get out OF
here we don't want babies. we want men!"
was the objection Of enlisting officers. Finally
he found one who passed him. He served
throughout the entire war and was the arst
enlisted man In the Union army to attain the
grade Of a general in the regular army.
Il recollect an extremely pathetic Incident
that occurred on board the U. S. s. Mononga
haia." said Admiral C. D. Sigsbee, U. s. ~
the hero OF the battleship Maine. sunk In Ha
vana harbor Just before the outbreak OF the
Spanish.American war. "The Monongahela
cruising along the Texas coast. had rammed
and sunk Confederate ironclad down near
the head Of the passes In the Mississippi river
and then steamed on to New Orleans for re-
pairs. On board was q brother officer. Lieu
tenant Roderick Prentice, to whom ! was par
ticuiarly attached He spoke to me frequently
Of premoniton OF impending disaster that he
simply could not shake of. In fact It marred
his joyous anticIpations OF meeting his young
wife. hardly more than n bride. at New Or.
leans. whittier she had hastened from the
North when she learned his vessel was to
touch that point. Their devotion was Ideal
istic.
rko,, shAr hut ha.
fore the call OF duty dragged them apart I
had been transferred to the Brooklyn at Nd
bile After a successful passage OF the forts
my first inquiry was for the welfare Of my old
shipmates on the Monongahea and especially
for Prentice His premonition had come true.
He had been standing In the gangway. which
had been raised somewhat above the level OF
the deck II seems. when n shot struck the
hammock netting next to him and the flying
fragments imbedded themselves In his leg
almost tearing II from his body. He died In
a few hours.
AT New Orleans we picked up a little boy
named Isaac Aiken. a tiny fellow. OF whom
Prentice was especially fond The lad was
simply hcartbroken as he sat by the berth Of
his dying friend Prentice urged him not to
cry and to brace up and be cheerful. Insisting
that he would soon be all right. though he
we'll knew all the while that his end had come
But the lads sorrow was nothing compared
to that OF the glrl.wfe She tainted dead
away when told the CHASTITY news aud never
afterward fully recovered"
Another incident that I remember quite
vvidly." continued Admiral Sigsbee hap
pened at the assault on Fort Fisher. The man
Just ahead Of me was killed and another on
my left, big red,hnred man. groanlng hor
ribly, suddenly clutched me.
LOOK he exclaimed. Lieutenant Bache
Is wounded''
"'why are you groaning7' asked. Are you
hurtr
Yes he answered slowly and without
even a trace Of concern for himself. 7 think
I'm dyng-but look at poor Bnche''
sand he fell to earth, s'!ll calling for aid
for his wounded officer He died shortly niter
I left him. so I was told"
Memorial Day to me suggests the aag."
said Corp" James Tanner. known to Grand
Army men from coast to coast
81 have listened to many eloquent apos
trophes 10 our national emblem. but never to
ONE that touched me more than that which
came from a hospital bed. In September