The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1913-05-02
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TALE BY HOSKINS BRlGADlER
Confederate Veteran C ''ts Interesting
"Reminiscences Of VII War
Wonders at Eebape. u

Interesting "reminiscences OF the civ.
II war from the point OF view OF the
confederate veteran were told in Chi
cago the other day by z. T. Hoskins.
i243 Michigan avenue, who enlisted
In the army OF the south when he
was only fourteen years OF age. de
served In what is known as Hoskins'
brigade. commanded by his brother,
Capt. James A. Hoskins. Stories OF
hardship related by Mr. Hoskins ri.
val the stirring conditions under
which the army OF the revolutionary
war labored In It's battle for indie
pendence.
ITS wonder to me, Mr.. Hoskins
explained, that there is a single one
of our soldiers alive to tell the story
Of those days OF hardship. It was at
the battle OF Nashville that | remem
Der incidents that make me wonder
how an OF us pulled through.
After the battle OF Franklin, In
which engagement We were badly
licked and 5000 OF our men killed
Gen. SchoGeld of the Yankees 70
treated to Nashville and Gen. Hood
established us around the city. For
fourteen days-from the lst TO the
18th of December, lS6i-we waited
for the attack OF the union men. Fi'
ually early in the morning OF Decem.
ber Is, Gen. Thomas ordered the ad
vance. The union army surrounded
us and IL seems to me that the blue
coats could have killed US, every one.
| don't understand TO this day how II
was that a single man escaped with
his life. Those OF us who did get
away suffered terrible hardship.
q have seen cold weather" Mr..
Hoskins continued, but / have yet to
find it as cold as it was during our
disastrous retreat. Snow had fallen
and then a crust had formed and prog.
ress it seemed was next to impos-
sible. Many OF the boys were bare
footed. BloodstaiLs on the snow were
plain as a blazed trail, for the jagged
edges of the thick snow crust cut like
the edges of a saw. The army was
DDDllg NiOLlNu anu NAlG buAFA AAAb "eAo
intense. have been in Chicago when
the thermometer registered IA de-
grees below zero, yet the day did not
seem as cold by half as those during
which we fed across Tennessee.
we all expected death by freezing.
The boys had lost heart and we're lit
orally staring death in the face when
a series of heavy rains fell The wa
ter, it seemed, was warm, and the
snow ana ice disappeared. II was
our salvation. But for those rains /
think we all would have frozen to
death"
The narrator also had an interest
ing story to tell of the manner in
which Gen. James B. Mcpherson met
his death. On this point history diff
fers slightly. Mr. Hoskins declares
that the following is the true account
of the manner in which the union
leader vas killed:
1T was what is called the battle
befor Atlanta, July %. 1864" he be-
gan. Gen. Mcpherson was in com.
mand of the army of the Tennessee
and Gen. Hood was leading US. Gen.
Hood and Mcpherson had been class
mates at West Point.
I'VE had just begun firing on the
Yankees when a general was seen
coming galloping down the road. head.
ed right for our forces. 1t was Gen.
He had fingered at the
Howard house talking with Gen. Sher
man, and hearing the firing he was
nurrying to join his men. He rode
directly into a group of our men be-
lore he saw that we were Of Gen.
Hoods army.
He wheeled his horse suddenly in
4 desperate effort to escape capture.
A low hanging limb of nearby scrub
oak brushed his cap from his head as
le fed He had scarcely gone a rod.
however, when a bullet from a cor
Jpral of our troops laid him low. We
regretted his death as much as the
lnion army did for he was once g
southern favorite. He was killed out
light.
Il was a confederate soldier" smil
ID Mr.. Hoskins. Il guess I'm pretty
nearly a 'Yank' now. I've been here
n Chicago long enough to get ac
,ustomed to northern ways. And
we're all under one flag together"