The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-05-30
Generally Ignorant of
Details of Fighting
Even Leaders Often
Disagree on Impor-
tant Facts

uutn OF IL.
But do they3 Battle has long been
known to carry along with it's fighting
facts an attendant mass Of vagaries, de-
l~usions. whims, freaks and oddities not
at all apparent to the superficial ken.
Some Of these days a learned work on the
psychology Of the soldier and his con-
duct in conflict will dissect his antic
flights Of thought and deed and wonder
If it will be realized.
A soldier cannot be relied upon to give
n good account Of a battle in which he
fought. The soldier doesn't know where
he is, nor why he is where he is. He
knows in a general way that he is advanc-
ing toward or retreating from the enemy
although he Is often mistaken about
this too. As for the particular patch OF
earth on which he camps or fights. he fire.
quently doesn't know it's name and is
ton within twenty to fifty miles. And
some soldiers Of meagre memories even
forget they were there after the name is
brought to their attention.
These facts were emphasized in the ease
Of the dedication Of the monument on
Gettysburg battlefield to Gen. Alexander
Stewart Webb. This monument will be
unveiled next September or October.
It's location on the field has caused no
End Of discussion. All students Of the
great field know that Gen. Webb was very
much in action right at the focal point Of
battle-the "Bloody Angle"-on the
third day, when Pickett made his immor-
tai charge. Nobody disputes he was
there and right there. But where is the
location Of right there'
One set Of men who fought and shed
their blood within almost arms length Of
at a particular spot while the Con-
federates we're charging and after they
leaped the angle wall. Another set OF
men who also fought under Webb's eye
say their General was not at that particu-
lar spot at all. Yet both sets Of men have
told the story Of the fight repeatedly
and always tried to make the other set
OF men appear inexcusably and foolishly
mistaken.
Il seems almost unbelievable that q
man could actually forget he had been
in a battle, yet authentic "reminiscences
OF reliable men prove that one soldier
did. His name is, or was, George Col
officer Of the 1O2d New York Regiment
in the civil war. When he came home
his family got ready to listen to vivid
and thrilling accounts OF the many bat
ties he had fought in.
II was known that Golden's command
had been in the battles Of Antietam
and Gettysburg. One Of the throng
at Goldcn's house therefore asked the
veteran to relate something about the
march to the field and expand the incl
dents of the battle Of Antietani. Golden
knit his brows, pursed his lips, and said:
differentiation? Hanged II I
remember a thing about Antietam. Let
me see-was ! at Antietam? Blamed IL
I can tell for certain. l bee in a mess
Of them, you know. 1t might just az
well been Antietam though, for I was
there to fight in it IL my regiment fought
in it,"
And yet Golden was in the battle Of
Antietam without the slightest doubt.
Col. Lewis r. Stegman. now the chair
man of the New York State Monu-
ments Commission. was Golden's imme-
date commander and noticed that
Golden not only fought, but fought with
vim and daring.
George clean forgot he was at Antie-
TAM" aughed Col. Stegman the other
day in discussing the psychology Of the
soldier. when the folks began to joke
him about it he came to me rather sheep
ishly and said: Say, Colonel. was !
really in that battleT
sWhile Golden's is perhaps an ex-
treme case, it is a fact, nevertheless
that the boys often got mixed up as to
events that took place. They knew about
the event all right. but they were as
likely to say it formed part Of n bat
tie as another. Take the cas- Of the
battles of Lookout Mountain, Missionary
Ridge, Pea Vine Creek and Ringgold.
They were fought between November
"a and November 81, 1868. lot of things
were piled in these four days. An occur
renee in one days battle might easily be
ascribed to the fight OF another day.
We often got mixed up alluding to them.
1Why. since my connection with the
Monuments Commission / have had
occasion more than once to note how
faulty a soldiers memory can be. Take
in the fixing Of monuments O n the Chat
tanooga field. l went down there to
mark a certain spot for a monument
where I had been personally engaged
with my command, In my minds eye
had the place all mapped out on the
way down in the train. One Of the chief
things ! would remember it by would
be "a mill near a bridge, owe which
We had charged.
We'll, ! got very near to the spot. !
saw a bridge, but couldn't find the mill.
At last quite q distance of l saw a mill.
concluded it had beer moved. But, to
be sure, l inquired of a nearby resident.
He looked puzzled.
.'Move the mill?' said he. Why, my
father built that mill yonder and it's
where it has stood for the last seventy
five years. And it's the only mill that's
Aunr stn<,I arnttnl har,