Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-25


Francis E. Warren Of Wyoming was
soldier.
1T was the most wicked fight that l
experienced during the war;" said Sena-
tor Warren, in speaking of the part he
played in the capture of Port Hudson,
as a member of the division that as
saulted the well-nigh impregnable fort
ress. He tells in thrilling language OF
stunned for hours by a cannon ball. a
part of the iron hail that was poured
upon the intrepid federals.
Senator Warrens regiment had been
ordered TO make one of the charges upon
the Confederates. who were intrenched
in the side of the gigantic ox-bow made
by the Mississippi river at Port Hud-
son.. the village itself being at the tip
OF the bow. The men were to carry fas
cines, which are heavy bundles Of fag-
OTIS and straight limbs to be used in
filling the outer rifle pits. SO that the
charge Of the rest of the army over
them would not be impeded
The fire of the enemy had died down..
said Senator Warren. in discussing the
charge, "and our forces believed 1t was
due to our own heavy cannonading. but
in reality it was because they were pre-
pairing for the siege that they thought
morning Of May q. 1862. the advance. line
OF our regiment left the shelter Of the
woods in our lines 1t had not gotten
ten feet before d terrific flame Of powder
belched out, and the deadly missiles
crashed toward us.
THE sight of that wall Of flame.
nearly mile long. can never be erased
from my memory. As we approached the
the garrison from it's small pieces in
creased, and our men fell like grass. l
was advancing as rapidly as the fallen
trees would permit. when a roar like that
all was darkness for several hours"
The fascine carried by the senator had
been struck by a shell and he was
knocked down, but in falling 1t was his
fortune to drop within the range Of q gi-
gantic tree trunk. which shielded him from
the bullets; from there he was finally
carried of the field. Senator Warren
was voted a medal of honor by Congress
for the part he played in later storming
party. which was organized from thou
sand volunteers just before the Confed-
crate stronghold fell.
my most vivid recollection of battles In
the civil war is Of those In which I was
not allowed to participate on account OF
a stern parent. who considered fourteen
years a too immature age Tor a soldier.
said Senator William O'Connell Bradley
of Kentucky, who added. with q chuckle.
III never forget the two hckings my
father gave me for my three enlistments
in the Union army of Kentucky.
Eyes. my daddy was a strong-lunged.
strong armed man." he continued. my
first attempt to become soldier In the
Robinson. KY, afoot and alone. and bare
ly more than thirteen years old. had
skipped away from home, eluding my
father, and presented myself at the re-
drum corps The chief drummer Of the
Sd Kentucky Infantry had passed upon
me, but had no more than told me that
l was accepted than along came my
father.
IT would rather draw the curtain upon
the brief but energetic scene that fol-
lowed. Suffice 1t to say that arguments
upon my part awaited nothing with my
father and that handy harness strap
did effectual execution. That licking last
cd as deterrent for just about month.
Then once more / sought to wear the
blue, this time not rs modest drum
mer, but as a full-fedged cavalryman In
the 1st Kentucky Cavalry No sooner
had ] enlisted. however. than my father
again appeared. administering to his young
son such everlasting larruping that
the memory Of it has lasted with undi-
unfinished force to this day.
THAT settled my warlike desires for
awhile. but instead of going to school
went down to Louisville and became q
page in the Kentucky senate. In 1852.
Then along came Morgan with his raid
ers on one of his numerous trips into
Kentucky. and. following the suit OF
many Of the members Of the legislature. l
became one of the Refugee Guard OF
Louisville.
MY enlistment there came to little. but
I managed to refrain from enlisting again
until about the close Of the war. In 1859
7 was engaged In raising company IN
Louisville for W. p. Pierce. now IN the
d. In Warrington,
hut the surrender of the Confederates
pat an END 10 my endeavors.'
Senator John Downey Works OF Cali
fornia declares that picking his way. on
horseback through the pine woods near
Mobile, Ala. the woods being filled with
Confederate mines, was just about as
thrilling an experience as may we'll be
imagined. The mines were ingeniously
connected with triggers that were liable
to be struck at any moment.
Il was so young at the beginning OF
the war that they would not allow me
10 enlist at the earlier calls to arms.
ne said However, when ! was a trifie
more than sixteen years old. just
eighteen months before the war closed.
! enlisted with the 10th Indiana Cavalry.
The bay and harbor of Mobile had been
used by blockade runners since the souIh-
ern ports had been declared closed by
President Lincoln. Admiral Farragut
late in 1864. had effectually sealed the
mouth of the harbor after a desperate
naval engagement, but the city OF Mobile
itself had never been taken One OF the
real strongholds of the Confederacy, 1t
lay on the western shore, near the north
ern end OF the bay by the same name
Until the capture and effectual sealing up
Of the harbor the bay had been the rem
devious of the most powerful Confederate
navy
Just about the time Sherman was fin
ishing his march through the Carolinas.
and the siege Of Richmond by Grant was
becoming more and more deadly. my regi-