Evening star., 1925-03-01
Soldiers Three, Still in US. Service,
On Last Line Of Reconstruction

greatest military commanders who
ever lived. He began speaking of the
battle of the Wilderness, where he
himself was sorely wounded. as an
example Of Gen. Lees military
acumen:
Il regard the Battle of the Wilder
ness as one OF the most hotly con-
tested fights Of the Civil War. The
scrubby forest upon which 1t was
fought was chosen by Gen. Lee as the
logical place to attack Gen. Grants
army because of the inferiority IN
numbers of his own contingent. Lee
recognized that continued formation
was virtually impossible on land
filled with underground of scrubby
oaks. In consequence of these nat
ural handicaps, Grant could not use
his great force to any advantage.
Crossing the waters of the Rapidan,
his men were landed in this dense
forest, and were attacked before camp
was made. In spite of the difficulty
of maintaining formation on the
were prepared for II, and under their
discipline managed to hold fairly
well together.
"As the smoke of battle grew more
dense, 1 jumped upon a stump to get
a better view of the Federal line of
battle. And that was when / got
this'-here Mr.. Stedman pointed to
an indenture slightly above his fore
head. THAT ball whizZed around
under my scalp and came out over
my right ear. Another cut me across
the chest, and still another went all
the way through my right thigh
Strange as it seems now, the wound
in my leg did not bother me as lay
Il hot 5f, onl
hurt. did not know, In my dazed
condition, that my leg was touched
until a colored boy who was devoted
to me followed and found me, telling
me that my boot was filled with
blood"
The casual observer would never
believe that this hale and hearty
gentleman of the Southland had ever
been scratched by a bullet. He has
only one pet boast In regard to
scratches, and that Is that he never
scratched q Democratic ticket In his
life. However, his friends and ad-
mirers at home often scratch their
tickets when he comes up for cleo
ton, for he draws, not the usual 1000
votes, but a majority Of nearly 10000.
Republicans and Democrats unite
their votes in his behalf, for he has
proved himself a true servant Of all
of them, working with a loyal will
under the nag which he once thought
had done his State a wrong.
The man who has grown out Of the
college boy, who was In such haste
to enlist in a cause he thought right,
has shown the same eagerness to un-
dertake other causes for his country
as he undertook that of his State.
AS president of the North Carolina
Railway he proved himself capable
of material construction as we'll as
legislative construction.
n Il 4
4 VOLUNTEER for dangerous duty
a was Senator Francis Emroy War
rem, who sits In the Senate of the
United States without single COM
rade at arms to keep him company.
although in the past there have been
with him not only men who wore the
Blue, but also those who wore the
Gray. The statesman and soldier sug-
gests by his well set up solidarity the
term survival OF the fttest." Like
his fellow veterans. he got an early
start, for the age of II found him
enlisted in the 4sth Massachusetts
Regiment of Infantry, and then he
continued at it, only laying down his
arms at the end of the Civil War to
take up civilian endeavor In the serv-
ice Of his country.
The physical hardships of Army
campaigning fitted him for the pie