Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-08-12
LAST c. A. R. man IN ARMY
Colonel Glen Is to BE Retired on
Next Friday.
Non ChevrOns of n Sergeant and Title
of drummer Roy of Chickamauga,
when n ChiId--Grnut Gave
Him Commission.

Friday of Colonel John L. Glenn, L. s
A., the only Civil War veteran now on
the active list. on Friday Colonel Glenn
will celebrate his 6ith anniversary. which
Is the age fixed by law when officers
Of the army must retire. Colonel Glenn,
who is famous throughout the service
as Johnny elem. the drummer boy of
ChiCkamauga," will be retired with the
rank Of hrigadier general, an honor ac-
corded by act of Congress to all Civil War
veterans who hold the rank Of colonel on
reaching the legal age of retirement
Than the dapper little officer. so long
on duty in the war department at Wash
ington and for many years a daily
visitor to the Army and Navy club in the
capital, there is no more popular officer
IN IN" army, says the Washington cor
respondent of the New York Times Like
wise there is no more capable officer
connected with the Quartormaster corps.
OF which he has long been the ranking
colonel.
Colonel Glenn is the son-in-law of a
confederate veteran, and this fact he
often cites in conversation with friends
as proof Of the fact that he is the most
united American cNtant. He is loyal
TO the core when it comes to his COM Il
Idh'H III llt vi ana ARMY, anu Vet tDero
is no southcrncr VINO can he more lavish i
IN his tribute to the Valor of the men.i
who followed Lee and Jackson
Glenn was just a little Ohio shaver" i
If 10 years when President Lincoln isl,
sued his first call for volunteers Thes
3rd Ohio infantry was recruited in the.
Newark (Ohio) district. In the regiment 4
was an officer, Captain McDoueal. al
friend pf Johnny 10.
Tor colonel of the quartermastcr cornsr.
was an orphan. and there was no near:
relative to stop him when he sought QUIT
his friend McDougal and begged pormis-.t
sion to accompany the 3rd Ohio to thep
front.
JOINS MICHIGAN REGIMENT.
Glenn told McDouEal that he could carryll
gun provided it was not too heavy, Il
and also that he could beat the drum "to
beat the band Captain McDougal. how.
ever could not see the proposition in the, |
same light as did his enthusiastic youngj
friend and told him point blank he was |
entirely too little and too young for such |
dangerous business as that of a soldier |
in wartime. All this happened in May !
1861
But Glenn did not lose hope. Early in |
June VI lildt year the Irl ONO started |
for the mobilization camp at Covington. !
Ky. A little boy smurglcd himself into !
one of the baggage cars and the follow |
ing day climbed out of the car very tired
very dirty and very hungry in CovinCton |
The lad was ''Johnny" Glenn
Also Mt Covington was the END Mictkr.n
infantry. Glenn decided that he would try
and get a berth In that regiment. and
q no bplIlN 81 ~
colonel and walked right in. Tho kid"
from Newark told the colonel that he
wanted to go to the front with the rcri-
ment. The colonel laughed and pat1ed
the boy on the back.
"You are a game little fellow, all right"
said the colonel but this is no place for
children like you. If you were foot
taller and some years older maybe I'd
take You along but as YOU are neither
Of those things am afraid you will have
to stay back here with the home folks"
But Glenn refused to he left behind
and was so persistent that the colonel
finally agreed to let him go along as
sort of combination regimental mascot
and emergency drummer boy.
CARRIED SAWED OFF MI-SKET
The soldiers rugged him out in a uni
form, they provided him with a drum
and also with musket, the barrel Of
the gun being sawed off short so as to
make it possible for the little fellow to
carry II.
One of the first battles in which the
regiment figured was that Of Shiloh.
where the confederate General Albert
Sidney Johnston was killed and where l.
the fame of Ulysses s. Grant, as a
soldier, may be said to have begun In
that battle elem got into the very hottest
of the fight He came very near losing
his life when shrapnel shell exploded
within a few feet of him. \ fragment of
the shell crashed through his drum and
the shock of the explosion hurled him
unconscious to the ground. where he was
subsequently, found and rescued by his
bigger comrades.
After the battle the soldiers ncknamed
Glenn Johnny Shiloh" and the name
stuck TO him until greater fame came
to him at the terrible battle of Chcka-
manga,
At Chickamauga the boy was again in
tho thickest Of the fight. He fired right
and left with his little sawed-off musket
General Thomas and General Rosecrans
both heard Of the heroism of the little 5
NtNdTh buN AT hlCKaina uga and he was
personally commended for his GOODNESS !
and bravery by both of them. It was :
General Rosccrans who then and there
made Glenn a sergeant, the youngest nom
commissioned officer who ever served in
the armies of this country.
SHOT A CONFEDERATE OFFICER. ,
Now comes the story of how elem won ,
the title Of drummer boy of Chicka- ,
manga. The brigade to which the 22nd Z
Michigan was attached had been ordered ,
to hold its position, which happened to /
he very dangerous one. The brigade 5
fought for all 1t was worth but the job t
could not be done, and finally the order I
came for it to fall back to n safer posi-
ton. As the brigade retrcated Johnny /
Glenn managed to get lost He got mixed
up with "a command that was almost sur |
rounded by confederatcs, and the dead I
and dying We're all about him u
The hoy realized his predicament and I
made up his mind he would not he can c
tured. and so he did what any healthy !
youngster of his years would do and t
started to run. He ran like a "scared t
ra hbit" and when he stopped running '
he was in a little clump of woods all by ]
himself. d
Cautiously he came out Of the woods
and he ran full tilt into a confederate
colonel The confederate officer looked
at the little boy with the little gun and