The Elbert County tribune., 1912-05-24


Grand Army of the living and oi
Y V the dead-and to the stirring In
Ns cidents they themselves wit
~ h messed. To them Memorial Day
CCM( is a day of recollections SO vivit
SS>Sr/ that eternity alone can effacs
them; day when their dreams
bark back to the old camp ground. the buglei
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 wht
spared them until their eyes could close on thu
hands OF the Confederate gray and the Yanke'
blue clasped across the firing line In Unior
t,ndivisible.
'T have never been able to forget an incl
dent that occurred on the battlefield of Antie
TAM" said General A. W. Greeley, U. 8. A.
when asked for his most vivid recollection o
the Civil War. "And each Memorial Day, some
how 1t presents itself with Increased appeal
On my way back to the field surgeons hos
pital for treatment-I had been wounded twice
Il met of our doctors applying restora,
tves to a wounded Confederate. He was a
mere boy. not day 15. was but 49,
and he also had been shot twice-so there were
things in common between us.
But 1t was his courage. his unfinching un-
yielding spirit that impressed me most. AS
he lay there. horribly mangled. his eyes were
as steady and his manner 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, I
thought, certainly In for long, hard
struggle. I have wondered many times since
what became of him-whether he pulled
through or died the battlefield. I 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 want meni"
was the objection of enlisting officers. Finally
he found one who passed him. He served
throughout the entire and the first
enlisted man in the Union army to attain the
grade of a general In the regular army.
T recollect an extremely pathetic incident
that occurred on board the u. 8. s. Mononga-
hela," said Admiral G. D. Sigsbee. U. 8. N,
the hero of the battleship Maine sunk in Ha-
~ana 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 to New Orleans for
pairs. On board was a brother officer, Lieu
tenant Roderick Prentice. to whom par
tcularly attached He spoke to me frequently
of a premonition of impending disaster that he
simply could not shake of. In fact 1t marred
his joyous anticipations of meeting his young
wife, hardly than bride. ut New Or
leans whittier she had hastened from the
touch that point Their devotion IDEAL
fstic.
"They saw each other but there be-
fore the call of duty dragged them apart
had been transferred to the Brooklyn at Mo
bile. After a successful passage Of the forts
my first inquiry for the welfare of my old
shipmates on the Monongahela 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. 1t seems. when a shot struck the
hammock netting next to him and the flying
fragments imbedded themselves In his leg.
almost tearing 1t from his body. He died in
a few hours.
"At New Orleans picked up little boy
named Isaac Aiken. tiny fellow, of whom
Prentice was especially fond. The lad was
simply heartbroken 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
. well knew all the while that his end had come.
But the lads sorrow was nothing compared
to that of the girl-wife. She tainted dead
away when told the CHASTITY news and never
afterward fully recovered"
Another incident that I remember quite
wildly" continued Admiral Slgsbee, hap
pened at the assault on Fort Fisher. The
Just ahead of me was killed and another on
my left. big. red-haired man. groaning hor-
ribly suddenly cfutched me-.
"Looki' he exclaimed. Lieutenant Bache
is wounded
why are you groaning7' asked Are you
hurt?'
Yes he answered slowly and without
even a trace Of concern for himself think
I'm dying-but look at poor Bache!'
"And he fell to earth. still calling for aid
for his wounded officer He died shortly after
II left him. so was told"
Memorial Day to me suggests the Hag"
said Corp" James Tanner. known to Grand
Army men from coast to coast
"I have listened to many eloquent apos-
trophies TO our national emblem. but never to
bne that touched me more than that which
cana from a hospitaI bed. In September.