Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1912-11-15
AROUND, THE
IN
FIRE 4G&HA
BRAVERY SHOWN AT TUPEL0.
Two Mere Boys Display Pluck When
Ordered to Make Observations
of Movements Of Enemy.


After the Guntown affair and a. J..
Smiths Red River expedition the
army was consolidated and sent again
into Mississippi, where we found For
rest at Pontotoc. After a short Skin
lmish we drove him out, mt camped
for two nights and one day on the
lOkolona road. We started before day
light on the second day for Tupelo,
Miss, the First brigade (McMillen's)
in advance, with the Seventy-second
Ohio in the lead. We soon heard fir
ing in the rear, as Forrest saw we.
were stealing a march on him and
had engaged our rear guard.
. We marched fast until 200 p. m,
when we We're ordered to halt. We.
pulled out to one side of the road,
stacked arms and let the army pass.
We fell in at the e a to relieve the;
troops that had been fighting nearly
all day. In less than fifteen minutes
they attacked us on the flank, wound
ing one OF our men and killing n OF
the battery horses. We charged them
with the bayonet, and they let us
alone for the balance Of the day.
About ten o'clock hat night we ar
rived on the field, and the boys had
thrown up breastworks. We of the
First brigade marched in the center
as supports. Next morning o
three o'clock the ball was opened.
They threw shells among us, and II
of the shells exploded about ten feet
from our left and near the right of
the One Hundred and Fourteenth Hi
lnois, killing three men of the One
Hundred and Fourteenth. 1t gave me
a good scare, as l was only a few e
from the One Hundred and Four
teenth. The Sixth Indiana battery
opened up, and Q o put the rebel
guns out Of commission. The rebels
made a charge and were repulsed with
heavy loss. About 200 p. m. they
made another charge, n were also
repulsed with like results. During the
night they made a third attack on our
left, and were %repulsed for the third
time. On the morning Of the second
day they tried 1t again, but could
make no impression on u line, and
were again driven back. Abou eleven
O'Clock the First brigade was ordered
to the front to relieve some Of the
troops on the left front, expecting
they would make another charge, but
they failed to come.
About one o'clock the general or
dered our colonel to send a few men
to a cotton gin that stood midway be-
tween the two lines to see what the
rebels were doing. l and a boy OF
our company, named Fred Visher, un-
dertook the job, writes Michael Beck
ley of Tifin, Ohio, in the National
Tribune. They opened on us two boys
with their artillery, hen they saw us
coming, but we got to the gin all right,
and took shelter behind the large
beam that every cotton gin has, and
from there could see the whole rebel
army formed in line, expecting that
our army would make a charge. They
trained their artillery on the gin, and
knocked roof and rafters down upon
us, but luckily the upright post stood,
and it afforded us protection.
After the smoke had cleared away
we peeped out and saw the rebels
with two officers riding up and down
their lines, excitedly giving orders
They would stop occasionally and take
their field glasses and look us over as
If we were a whole army. l told my
partner that the man on the white
horse was Forrest, and that when
they made the charge / would attend
to him. He was to take the officer or
the black horse. We were waiting
and watching for them to come, ant
if they had don't believe that Forrest
would have lived to bother anyone
after that. We were in hat gin abour
two and a half hours before we could
venture out. We were reprimandet
lfo- not reporting sooner, but it simply
meant death to try to get back tc
u lines before.
The next day our army fell back
and the Seventy-second Ohio brough
up the rear. The march was a pretty
hot one for us, but we took care O.
Forrest all right after that.