The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1914-12-24

! CHRISTMAS DAY I'M 1854.

latter part or October, 1864, we were
doing picket duty on the Tennessee
and Florence. Ala. On the 30th day
Of October the confederate army under
General Hood commenced crossing the
river in his celebrated campaign,
usually called in military history.
Hoods Invasion Of Tennessee"
This was the most spectacular mill
tary movement of the whole civil war
and resulted in the 60 days campaign
with the utter rout and destruction Of
this army Of 10000 men.
me great battles of Franklin n
Nashville had been fought, and Hoods
demoralized army was fleeing back on
the Nashville and Pulaski stone turn
pike, protected as far as possible by
the organized force Of their rear
guard, which maintained q determined
front and were fighting for their ives
and for the remnant of the rebel army.
1t had rained almost necessarily since
the battle Of Nashville n the country
roads off the stone pike was a sea Of
bottomless mud, but in all this retreat
the cavalry Of the federal forces had
been pressing the fleeing enemy with
all the force possible.
Christmas day in 1854 found the rear
guard of Hoods army making their
last stand at Pulaski, Tenn. Just
south Of the town was a deep and rapid
unfordable stream-a river spanned by
a wooden, covered bridge. This Christ
mas morning pened clear and warm,
the sun shown brightly during the day
and In the forenoon we approached the
town. instead Of hearing the church
bells ringing out glad greeting, we
found the stage all set for one OF the
f~iercest little cavalry fights we had
during the retreat Of the confeder-
ates.
Today we were not following the pre-
cepts taught by the lowly Nazarene
who said, Peace on earth and good will
toward all mankind" but we were full
filling the teachings Of the bloody
Mosaic law which was An eye for an
eye and a tooth for a tooth"
The Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and
the Eighth Iowa cavalry regiments
were engaged in this campaign and this
morning the Fifth Iowa was in the ad-
vance and they promptly charged the
i~ntrenched rear guard of the confeder-
ates in the town Of Pulaski. After q
short but hot fight the rebels were
forced across the river and the bridge.
which was burning, was saved. But as
we moved up in upport OF the Fifth
Iowa, man of the boys In blue were
lying where they fell; to them it was
an eternal Peace on earth"
The fierce fighting continued all the
afternoon and near evening they made
q stand, supported by artillery and
hastily constructed works. 1t was the
last stand of this brave rear guard, but
~ bS wv 1"NS La III NStAAA
the works, and the next morning they
were gone. Only a scattered force OF
cavalry was found by us on our short
march to the Tennessee river, which
took to the woods on our approach.
Thus we, of the Iowa boys at the
front, celebrated Christmas in 1864.
But we were a jolly lot Of boys that
day for we knew that the war was
about over, this war that had cost Iowa
$4,000 boys of the very best blood OF
4 l. - w. @ H,a how ont Of fNa that had
gone to the front from Iowa never
came back, but were sleeping in the
far south land. Another $4,000 of the
boys came back manned n rippled
for life. On that day in far away
Iowa our mothers and sisters were
celebrating Christmas. Many, many or
the mothers were mourning for their
sons and husbands, many others We're
returning thanks because they had the
news that their boys were still alive
and had come out of these great battles
~unscathed.
The whole nation was giving thanks
that the great war was draw1nS 70 o
close. For four years we had fought I'D
this, the greatest war IN modern titnes
to determine whether or not a nation
conceived in liberty and dedicated to
the principles that all men are equal,
or whether any nation SO conceived
shall perish from the face of the earth
Now on this Christmas day 40 years
later again the Christian people assem-
bile to celebrate the birthday of the
Nazarene. In churches the pastors
will pray that the Deity will give US
willing hearts to contribute to ths
needs Of the destitute.
"Give us this day our daily bread"
is a sublime and noble prayer, in the
sense hat we supplicate God to give us
health and strength to earn our daily
bread and to send us the rain and
unshine to grow and produce our bread
by our own efforts. but it is sacrilege
to ask Diety to give US the bread pro-
huced by others. 1t is sacrilege to ask
Deity to give us material things which
we can produce for ourselves. All the
| sons of men pray, whether he be Chris
tan or Jew, Mormon or Mahomedan,
Infidel or Pagan. We are all super
B%titious. although we are getting
further away each generation from the
old slavish superstition that held the
world in bondage. All men realize that
there must be an overruling power tina
fixes and holds the countless world and
stars in their course and when some
great CONFUSION Of nature takes place
such as the mighty cyclone thai sweeps
through a great city leaving death and
destruction in its path, or when the
earthquake grinds and splits the solid
mountain in twain. maj i~nvoluntarily
and instinctively cries for mercy. Men
pray to the power that holds their mat
| erial destiny in it's hands. The trembling
| prisoner at the bar of justice prays
to the judge for mercy. Men don't pray
for justice, unless it be for justice upon
the other fellow, but their prayer is
for mercy, mercy in great generous
measures. Men pray to the president
for an office. Men pray to their mas
tiers for a job, for work that will en-
able them to provide for themselves and
family. Some added half baked idiots
are even today praying to the president
to declare war against our sister repub-
lie, because certain business interests
are endangered. They care nothing for
the human life that would be sacrificed
But all men, in this great nation, what
ever their creed or belief should pray
recognize to keep our rulers who can
cause war by a scratch of a pen to
carry out the trust delegated to them
by the people with all humanity and
Justice. 49,
The few veterans of the civil war who