Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1918-07-10

der, was killed in the front Of battle.
The command went to Gen. Beaure-
gard who did not do so we'll. During
the night Gen. Buell. came up with
10000 achievements for the Union
arms and the next day a disaster was
turned into a partial victory. So
much for the battle.
The park contains numbers of steel
markers indicating the various points
Of battle and where the various di-
visions were located at different stag
es of the conflicts. Various states,
north and south, h=ve erected mon
uments in honor of their sons who
died on the field. The trip through
the park is made by wagon giving
plenty of time to see every point of in
terest.
Visitors to the park are much i'm
pressed with the artistic beauty of the
Wisconsin State Memorial. It is a
huge block of white granite surmount-
ed with an imposing categorical group
in brOnZe-a woman crowned with
laurel wreath supporting with one
arm the form of a dying soldier, her
right hand holding aloft a furled flag
which droops in soft folds about her.
The group typiies Death in the arms
of Victory"
The monument bears the inscrip-
ton:
dedicated by the State of Wiscon-
sin to her valiant sons who on April
9Th and 9TH, 1862, fought on this bat
tlefield for the preservation and per-
petuity of the Union" Erected A. D..
mdccccv.
The fact that this monument stands
near the Hornets Nest, where the bat
tie was fiercest, adds to it's impress
siveness.
Wisconsin also has a unique indi-
vidual memorial granite stump
which holds this legend: J. D. Put
nam, a Union soldier, was killed. His
comrades buried him and cut his name
on a stump. Afterward the stump
was removed by Wisconsin and a dup
licate in granite was set in the same
place. 1t stands at the roadside not
far from the state monument.
Perhaps the most interesting part
of the park is the burial ground along
the river. There above the stream lie
nearly 1000 soldier dead, most of
them unknown. Here is the grave of
''The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" i'm
mOrtalized by Will S.. Hays in a touch
ing song. A tall urn filled with flow
ers and trailing vines stands at the
burial spot and the grave is bordered
with violets. At the head is the SIM
pie inscription Henry Burke, Ohio,
No. $40" That is all. Many a sweet
voice has sung the ballad of the boy
who prayed before he died"
Facing the river is a large bronze
cannon spiked by the Yankees when
they saw it would fall into Confeder-
ate hands. The gun was sunk in the
river but later re~surrected and mount
ed where it now stands. The spike
is still there and inside the loaded
ball left where it was placed more
than fifty years ago.
Shiloh is a sacred and interesting
spot to every good American. It typ
iies to us today the spirit of Ameri-
ca of another time when the nation
was in danger. Old Glory wav over
those silent dead just as it waves Ov-
er our brave boys in France. Long
May 1t Wave"
Among the hundreds Of interesting
fitting tributes carved in stone or
stamped in steel and brass on this old
battle field one stands out in the writ
er's memory. 1t is:
"On Fame's eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread;
And glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac Of the dead.
i 4
The first stop below Shiloh is Saw
annah, Tenn, another old city that
seems to bask in the glory of another
day and likes it. Savannah is wealthy
and has many fine homes. The streets
and business houses, however, do not
reflect this condition.
The river front has not changed, we
wot, in sixty years-and maybe long
er. Up the hill is the old Cherry man
sion, a fine old place where Gen. U. S.
Grant stopped for two months dur
ing the civil war. The rooms are just
as they were then-furniture and all.
The visitor gives what he likes to the
American Red Cross to see this old
Southern home.
Down the river you drop picking
up freight at all sorts Of queer land
ing places. One place we load a
stack Of hickory cut inland and haul
ed down tt be shipped to Cairo. The
negro ~roustabouts work all evening.
in the oppressive heat under the
watchful eye of the chief mate. 1t
is exhausting to even watch those
boys work! Finally the last stick is
shot down the runway and the boat
drops down stream to pull in an hour
later for a big load Of dimension lum-
Der. The boards are 1x12X16 and
weigh about fifty pounds. Hour af-
ter hour the darkies trot down the
bank with board after board until the
pile is cleared away. The steamers
searchlight is used to light the shore
and Pickering oil lamps help out a
trife. This is a case where the crap
shooting roustabout earns his money
albeit he is paid we'll. They sweat
until they steam and sing "Oh-Whoa
= CANT wuk no moah!" But they