Year: 1877

He tells oil about it at banquet so


called.


Speech at the Putnom halanc Banquet


I wouldn't have missed this for a
great deal. I did not assemble at
the hotel parlors to>day to be re
ceivcd by tho committee as q mere
civilian guest. No. L assembled
at the headquarters of the Putnam
Phalanx and insisted upon my
right to be guarded to this place as
one of the military guests. For I,
too, am u soldier. I am Injured to
war. L have military history. T
have been through stirring cam
paign, and there is not even u
mention of it in any his tory Of tho
United States or Of the Southern
Confederacy TO such lengths can
tho envy and the malignity Of the
historian so. I will unbosom my
self here, where I cannot but find
sympathy. L will tell you about it.
and appeal through you to justice.
In carly summer days Of the war I
stepped out of Hannibal, Mo-, by
night with q friend, and joined Il
detachment of tho rebel General
Tom Harris army G find myself in
a great majority herc). Up IL gorge
behind an old barn in Rails county,
Colonel Rail swore us in. He
made us swear to uphold the flag
and constitution of the United
States, and to destroy any other
military organization that we caught
doing tho same thing. IGreat
laughter. In other words, we
we're to repol invasion. Well, you
see, this mixed us. We could not
really tell which side wo wore on
but VIC went into camp and left it
to the God of battles. which WIS
the custom in that day. I was
made second lieutenant and chief
mogrll of company Of eleven men.
who didn't know anything about
war-or anything. We had no
captain. My friend, who was nine~
teen years Old, six feet high, thyco
feet wide, and some distance
through, and jnst out of the infant
school, was made orderly sergeant


Ills name was Ben Tuppcr, and he
had II hard time. When lie was
mounted and on the march he usod
to so to sleep, and his horse would
turn around and bite his leg, and
then he would cry and curse and
want to go home. The other men
pestcrcd him good deal, too.
When they were dismounted they
SAID they couldn't march in double
file with him, because his feet took
up SO much room. One night, when
we were around the camp fire, a
fellow on the outside Of the circle
IN the cold, said, "Ben Tupper, put
down that newspaper; it casts n
shadow like a blanket" Ben said,
II amt got any newspaper" Then
that other follow said, son, I see,
it's your earl! We all slept in a.
corn crib on tho corn, and tho rats
were very thick. Ben Tupper had
been carefully and rigidly reared,
ani when he was ready for bed he
would start to pray, and rat
would bite him on tho heel, and
then he would sit up and swear all
night and keep everybody awake.
Hc was town bred, end did not
seem to have any correct idea of
military discipline. If I command
eel him to shut up he would say,
"Who was your nigger last year 2"
One evening [ ordered him to ride
out on picket duty about three
miles to the beginning of prairie.
Said he, "What, in the night! and
them blamed Union soldiers likely
to be prowlinS around there at any
time 2 So he would not go. Next
morning [ ordered him again. Said
he, "In the rain q He didn't 20
again. Next day 7 ordered him on
picket duty once moro. This tlme
ne looked hurt. Said he, "What
on Sunday? You must be burned
fool !" Picketing was impractica-
bic, so l dropped it from my mill
tary system. We had good