,--r'
"TO CARE FOR HIM WHO HAS BORNE THE BATTLE, AND FOR HIS WIDOW AND ORPHANS."
ESTABLISHED 1S77.-NEW SERIES.
WASHING-TON, D. C, THURSDAY, JULY 10, 18S4.
VOL. HI-KO. dS-WHOLE ifO. 152.
Saftmtal
W, I T. SHEip'S
kffism m the life and Sumoes of
to. E. &. Ransom.
A TRTJB PA.TBIQT'S SON.
A Volunteer of &1 HJs Rapid
Ativaaieement.
WOUKDE0 BOER TJMT3S.
Sincken Down With Dlsease
His Ijast "Words.
The following 5s the text of the eloquent
edflreps delivered by Gen. W. T. Sherman
boftre .Ransom Post, 2va. 131, St. Louis, Mo., of
whlcl Iiefe tauwbci, he evening of June 20 :
OohatATHOS: When in "November Inst I canio
from Washington to St. Louis to make this my
final home, 1 wits invited by several of the
Posts of tho Grand Army of the Ecpublic to
join titora, but learning that some of my
neighbors intended to-fona a new Post more
convenient lo my residence, I concluded to
n:iKo with it. The ;ime of this new Post had
not yet been determined, and having on the
walls of jay pr i rare office a portrait or likeness
of Brig.-Gon. T. E. G. Sanson), whose name
was vacant in the roster of this Department, I
suggested his name as an appropriate one. and
offered to present the portrait to typify the
man. The members adopted the name, and
have since concluded to enlarge the portrait so
as more conspicuously to display the features
of Mm who is patronyni of this Post; and it
is but right that I, who knew him in life and
have thus been instrumental in perpetuating
his name, should demonstrate the wisdom of
our choice.
THE EANSOJIS.
The "Ransoms are a Vermont family. The
ancestors wore of that racs called the "Green
Mountain Boys,' who were with Stark at
Ticoudaroga and with Montgomery at Quebec
in the old French war of 1756, and in our Bev
olutionary war of 1776 a hardy, bold race of
men, suited to the times in which they lived.
The father of our namesake was Truman B.
"Bansom, born at Woodstock, Yt., in 1503. Left
an orphan early in life, he bad to struggle for
the means of subsistence like most of the boys
of that period. Yet, h- industry and thrift, he'
managed to acquire a good education, and
started forth, to carve out his own career
in the world. He first taught mathematics
in a school at Middtefcown, Conn. ; then was
employed lo survey the Connecticut Biver,
and afterwards was engaged as a teacher
at a military school in 2few Jersey? again
at jSassfctavftlc. K. C. and at Washineton..
laVat YeSsicdla, Fla"., he was professor of
mathematics in the United States "Navy. He
was afterwards employed as chief engineer on
the public works of Hlinois, and finally drifted
back almost to the point whence he had started,
"Norwich, Yt., where he became the princi
pal of Gupt. Alden Partridge's Military School,
then, as mace, an academy of groat renown.
This military school at onetime almost rivaled
the National Military Academy at West Point,
and there many a man who afterwards became
famous in the Mexican war and civil war first
drank in the inspiration of . patriotism and
learned the lessons of the art of war, which
enabled him, out of unorganized masses of
men, to make compact companies, regiments
and brigades of soldiers, to act as a single body
in the great game of war. I have been at 2vor
widi, which is situated on the western bank of
the beautifel Connecticut Biver, directly oppo
site the venerable University of Dartmouth,
and believe that such picturesque surroundings
make an impress on the mind which puri
fies and imbues it with an exalted love of
nature and of one's country. It was here on
2ov. 29, 1S34, that our hero, Thomas Edwin
Greenfield Bansom, was born, and it was here
that he spent his boyhood. His father was at
the time principal of the military school, and
it was but natural that the child should catch
the spirit of the father and reflect the genius
of the place. The lather was universally re
garded as the best educated scholar in the mil
itary branches of knowledge in all New Eng
land, if not in the United States. His neigh
Wsaud associates record of him that he was
not only learned in books, but in form, bearing,
and manner was a knightly gentleman and
soldier.
THE 3IEXICAN WAB.
When in 1S46 the Mexican war occurred,
and the small Begular Army of that day was
found insufficient to invade Moxico and con
quer peace, the Congress of the United States
decreed an increase of the Begular Army by 10
new regiments in addition lo the volunteers
who had offered their services. The 9th Eegu
lars was assigned to New England, and by uni
versal consent Truman B. Bansom was pointed
out as the babt man to command it. He volun
teered at onoe, and was appointed its lieutenant-colonel,
the colonel being the Hon. Frank
Pierce, of Now Hampshire, a gentleman of
great political prominence, who in March,
1S47, was made brigadier-general, and became
aftewacdB President of the United States. Ban
som succeeded him in command ; was coxmnis
eiouefi eolenel April 9, 1S47, and on him devolved
allthelaboraud details of organization and prep
aration. This regiment was assembled at Fort
Adams, E. L; was there completely equipped,
and in due tame owbarkod and sailed for Yera
Orusito join the army then under command of
Gen. Scott. It participated in all the battles
of iSiat moat romantic aud captivating cam
pafenfrom PuoWa to the City of Mexico, but
on Sept. 1S.1S47, in the last assault on the Cas
tle of OhofHitoefioc. in eight of the city, Col.
Bansom was ktttofi at the head of his rogimcut
in his 45fch year of age. Of him Adj't-Gen.
Drum, of the Begular Army, writes mo from
Washington, under recent date: "I was sub
altern officer in Truman B. Hansom's regiment,
the 9th Iafautry, and was standing by his side
when he fell at Chopultopec He was by all
dds the most brilliant man under firo I have
ever seen." His body was sent to his beautiful
home at Norwich, Yt., where on the 22d of
February, 2bi3.it was buried with all the hon
ors due a gallant soldier and mnch-bclovcd
fellow-citizen, and there his body now remains.
GENERAL ransom's carbkr.
Such was the father of our Gon. Bansom, who
was at the time a mere lad of 11 3 cart, hardly
capable of appreciating the loss of such a
fathor. The mother was Irving, but was over
taxed with the care and maintenance of a largo
family. Who will do justice to the privations,
labor and distress of the poor women, who,
deprived of their natural guardians, had to
struggle with poverty to provide food, clothing
and education for lusty boys thus left by a
Government which took the lives of the
fathers and stopped their pay before thoir
bodies were fairly cold in death ! But this
poor, unselfish lady struggled on and gave to
the Begular Army another son, Dunbar, aud
to us of the Army of the West her youngest
and fairest and most beloved son Thomas,
whose portrait wo now see before us.
As soon as ho reached manhood he left his
beautiful New England home for the then far
off Chicago, where ho embarked in civil busi
ness, with varied fortune, till the grumbling
and Toaring of tho coming storm awakened in
him the early inspirations of his childhood.
Hearing that his country was in danger, he
waited for no draft or bounties, but enlisted on
the 30th of April, 1SG1, in Co. E, 11th 111. Inf.,
and was at once elected captain of his compauy.
As soon as the companies of the regiment had
assembled, on the 3d day of May of the same
year, he was elected major, and went with his
regiment to the capital of his State (Spring
field) and on to Cairo and Bird's Point. Here
on the 30th of July tho three months for which
tlic regiment had been enlisted expired, and it
re-enlisted for three years; Bansom was elected
lieutenant-colonel, and subsequently, on the
15th of Feb., 1S62, when his colonel W. H. L.
Wallace, was made brigadier-general, he (Ban
som) became the colonel of the 11th 111. Inf.
In November of the same year he was himself
made a brigadier, and was breveted a major
general in September, 1S64.
In command of that gallant, heroic regiment,
the 11th IU., Bansom shared in every engage
ment witn Gen. Grant about Cairo, at Forts
Henry and Donelsou, at Shiloh and Corintln
and, as brigadier-general, he was with its at
Oxford and Yicksburg. He was wounded in
Southeast Missouri on the 19th of Aug., 1SG1, at
Donelson Feb. 16, 1862, and again at Shiloh
April 6, 1S62. To follow his personal history,
I would have to record anew all the battles,
marches and labors of the armies of the Union
which resulted in the capture, of Vicksburg
and the opening of the Mississippi Biver to free
navigation, which I regard as the most import
ant and conclusive event of the whole civil
war.
WHERE GEN. SHERMAN FIRST JIET HIM.
It was during the siege of Yicksburg that I
first noticed this young man, who commanded
a brigade in McPherson's corps the Seven
teenth. His brigade was on the extreme right of
that corps, which brought him in contact with
the left of my own command the Fifteenth
Corps.11 His appearance was almost boyish, with
blonde hair, blue eyes, a fair complexion, and,
though of slender form, he had the bearing of
a gallant soldier. War is the supreme test of
manhood, and an hour a minute sometimes
reveals the spirit which is in the man; the
grasp of the hand, the flash of the eye, the un
spoken word which trembles onthc lip3 inthe
supreme moment of byttlo tell more than a
voluni caiSsvcbraT Lsaw Eaiisom during the
assault of the 22d of May, 1S63, sawhisbrigade
dash against thoie battlements to be hurled
back because the time was not yet ripe, and I
th en marked him as of the kind of whom heroes
were made.
WOUNDED FOE THE FOURTH TIME.
After the capture of Yicksburg, Bansom was
switched off to Louisiana aud Texas, carrying
with him the daih, courage and enthusiasm
which marked every action of his life. In the
Banks expedition np Bed Biver, early in 1SG1,
he commanded two divisions of tho Thirteenth
Corps, and at Sabine Cross-roads, April 8, on
the skirmish-line, he was again wounded for
the fourth time and so severely that he was
sent to the rear, and had to return to Chicago
for treatment. But so impatient was he to do
his full sharo of work that he applied for duty,
aud was ordered to report to mo in Georgia.
This was on the 3d day of August, in the mid
summer of 1661, when wo were pushing opera
tions with -vindictive earnestness against the
city of Atlanta.
. I hailed his coming as that of a kindred
spirit to assist us in the hard work yet to be
done, assigned him to duty with the Army of the
Tennessee, with which he had formerly been
connected, and he fell to the command of the
Fourth Division of the Sixteenth Corps, then
commanded by Gen. G. M. Dodge. Shortly
afterwards namely, on the 20th of Augusta
Gen. Dodgehiraself receiveda disabling wound,
which compelled him to leave, and tho com
mand of that corps devolved on the youthful
Gen. Bansom, who commanded it at the battle
of Jonesboro' and at the capture of tho city of
Atlanta.
Here occurred a pause in our operations, and
I began the changes incident to the last and
final campaign of the war. There were only
two divisions of the Sixteenth Corps with us at
Atlanta, and I determined to break up that
corps and to distribute its two divisions to tho
other corps of the Army of the Tennessee the
Fifteenth and Seventeenth. By this change
Bansom's division became the First of the
Seventeenth Corps, and, as Gen. Blair also took
a leave of absence, the command of the Seven
teenth Corps devolved on Gen. Bansom. Wo
were then lying in Atlanta, seemingly passive,
but really waiting for the enemy to take tho
initiative after the (to him) disastrous cam
paign of that year. Late in September Hood
began his movement. On the 1st of October
Gen. Bansom, though unwell, personally con
ducted a reconnaissance towards Fairtown to
observe tho movement of our antagonist, and
discovered that Hoods whole army had crossed
tho Chattahoochee westward, conclusive of his
intention to attack our lino of communications,
which compelled us to counter-work. Leaving
one corps 1 a Atlanta, 1 turned back with the
other four and rapidly marched to Marietta,
Kenesaw, Allafoona, Kingston, Bomo and
Eesaca, over tho very ground which wc had
fought for tho previous Summer, and did not
pause till Hood's whole army had carromed off
to the west towards Decatur and Florence. It
was day and night work. Wc had no tents or
tho ordinary comforts of even camp life. Gen
erals aud private soldiers alike slept on tho
bare ground and shared the same food. This
was no place for a sick man, but it was tho
crisis of the war, aud human life was accounted
as little in comparison with the mighty issues
at stake.
STRICKEN DOWN WITH DISEASE.
Pausing for a few days at Gaylesvillc, I
learned that Gen. Bansom was very sick, aud,
accompanied by my chief surgeon John 3Ibore,
of the Begular Army, and one of the most
kindly, gonial, intelligent, and skillful of phy
sioians), I xodp to tho camp of the Seventeenth
Corp-, and found Gen. Bansom in a negro-cabin.
Ho lay on a rude improvised bunk, tried to bo
chcei ful, and insisted that ho was " all right," or
would be in a day or so; but I noticed that his
hand was dry and feverish, his forehead cold and
clammy, and the pupils of his eyes distended,
just as I had noticed in my own son Willio
a few days before his death. Dr. Moore asked
a few questions of his attendants, and gave
some general directions when he left. Outside
the cabin I asked the Doctor what he thought.
He said little, but I read in his face that Han
som's time on earth was short. Time was then
so important that the movements already or
dered must go on: part of that army was or
dered back to Chattanooga and Nashville, and
part to Atlanta and Savannah. The Seven
teenth Corps formed an essential quota of the
latter column, and as Gen. Bansom could not
mount his horse, he was carried towards Borne,
the nearest point for a railroad, in a litter, ne
was attended by his personal staff; the litter
was carried by four men at a time, and these
four were relieved every hour by a fresh set.
This was on the 28th of October, 1861. and I
started from Gaylesvillc for Bomo the next
day, and overtook the cortege on tho road.
The men had constructed a sort of canopy to
screen his face from the sun, and as my party
approached they set the litter down in the
road. Dr. Moore and I alighted and again ex
amined Bansom. There was little change since
our previous visit. He certainly had a perfect
memory, aud full consciousness of all that was
passing. I remember to have joked him at
traveling in a style of Oriental luxury in his
palauqnin, whilst we had to jog along on tired
horses. He smiled and made some pleasant re
ply, and wc remounted and rode on.
HIS XAST WORDS.
The next morning the party reached Bome,
carrying the dead body of Gen. Bansom. They
reported that he had died shortly after we had
passed him in the afternoon of the 29th day of
October, 1864. Observing fatal symptoms, his
kind attendants carried him to a farm-house
by the roadside, aud there, lying on a bed, he
said: "As a soldier I have tried to do my duty.
I do not claim that all I have done was owing
to patriotism alone, though I believe I have as
much of that as most men. Patriotism and in
clination have led me the Earnc way to do all
in my power for my country."
Yes; Bansom! though yon had not reached
your 30th birthday, you had done a man's full
share of work on this earth. You might have
reached your ' three score years and ten" and
have done no more. I wish you could have
goue on with us to Savannah, to Goldsboro",
and Washington city; still more, that you could
have been with us at our many social meet
ings at Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis, for
which yon were eo brilliantly qualified; but it
was otherwise decreed that you, Dan. McCook,
Harker, McPherson, Joe Mower, and a host of
other young and gallant fellows should go
ahead to prepare the way for us who may lag
a few years, superfluous on the stage of life:
but when we do meet, the interval will seem
as hut a short day!
From Bome, Ga., we sent the body of Gen.
Bansom to his home at Chicago, where it is
now buried. The Society of the Ariny of the
Tennessee, rich in noble intentions, but poor
in purse, has decreed a monument, bufc I fear
that no marble marks the spot where his body
lies. For this I care not ; better let the dust
return to dust, and leave us who arc living
witnesses to testify, so that tho young and ris
ing generation may drink the inspiration of
patriotism from tho fountain of pnre sacrifice
of such a life as I have endeavored to portray.
WE CANNOT, WE EIIOULD NOT FORGET.
The civil war its alarms, toils, labors, bat
tles and sacrifices are fsist passing out of the
memories of the living ; it is to the interest of
some that they should be buried in oblivion
forever, and it may be wise that in public wo
should relegate the past to the province of his
tory, but among ourselves we cannot, we
should not forget. We know that in Bepublics
the greatest danger comes from within and not
from without, aud we who felt the pelting of
the pitiless storm, who endured the tribula
tions and anxieties of four long years of civil
war, and saw perish at our sides thousands of
bright, fair youth like our hero of to-night,
should so paint the hardships and cruelties of
war, that others may not be tempted by selfish
ambition, plausible pretense, and false issues to
create a pretext for another; but when war
does come there is only one way to meet it, aud
that is with the sword and tho musket, just as
Bansom did in 1861!
THE GRAND ARMY.
The Grand Army of the Bepublic proclaims
as its fundamental creed, "Fraternity, Charity
and Loyalty," malice toward none, charity
for all. Wc canonize no living man, but our
dead heroes are the jewels in our imperial
crown of glory, whose dazzling effulgence will
kindle the spark of patriotism in the hearts of
the next generation. We admire courage, man
liness and skill even if opposed to us, and to
such of our former enemies as have shown by
their deeds a willingness to embark with us
on the great ocean of the future, we concede
perfect equality, an ardent friendship, a wel
come to our camp-fires, and a share in the
charitable retreats established by Government
for distress occasioned by the war; but we are
huraau, and for one generation, at least, must
prefer our own heroes, of which we have an
abundance, and the privilege of retaining a
suspicion of those men who did not fight, but
from their places of safety stirred up sedition
and conspiracy and fanned the flames of bitter
discord which blinded the judgment of those
who had a right to look to their leaders for the
truth. Happily these are now nearly all gone,
and tho day seems near at hand when every
intelligent man in America will recognize the
holy cause for which we fought and for which
so many of our brightest and best youth so
fieely and so nobly gave their lives.
Of these I could name hundreds who fell
under my own personal observation, but my
office to-night is only to demonstrate that Gen.
T. E. G. Bansom, whoso name wo bear and
whose portrait is now exhibited before us, is a
conspicuous example. In his own language,
looking death in the face, far from home, he
was content to die, because ho had done a man's
full work on earth, and because every motive
and instinct of his nature had impelled, him to
tho duties of a soldier and patriot.
LET US KEEP TnE TAITH.
Our country has boundless plains and fertile
valleys. It has cities, towns, villages aud farms
teeming with a busy, industrious people intent
on their own schemes of life. It possesses
everything which is deemed necessary for a
great empire, and we claim that it can now
turn to a long array of heroes of which any
civilized people on earth would bo proud. We,
their living comrades who shared in their
dangers and privations, must sco that their
memories arc kept bright, and that tho cause
for which they so nobly gave their lives is not
obscured by false doctrine or perverted history.
Comrades of Bansom Post, No. 131, Depart
ment of Missouri, Grand Army of the Bepub
lic, I hope that I have made plain that we have
secured a name and title that do us honor, and
that we should make it our life's work to per
petuate tho fame of our patronym, Gen. Ban
feom, son of a knightly father who was killed in
battle, and who himself died of wounds and ex
posure in tho field of duty tho typo of a class
of youthful heroes that do honor to our coun
try aud to humanity.
m
"D
The Story of the Mar Retold for Our
Boys aad Girls.
BATTLE 03? CORIFTH.
Van Dorn's Plan, to Drive Rose-
t
crans out of West Tennessee.
HIS DISASTROUS- BOUT.
The Battle of the Hateliie and
fi
lls Results.
-
v
JBvJffrridon."
JcorYniciiTKn. au, mums keshuvkd.!
XXXII.
To Ihc Boys ami Girls of the United Slates:
You will remcmbeV. that Gen. Bragg, in
August, 1S62, began Ins march northward to
invade Kentucky, and that ho pushed on al
most to Louisville ; thai Gen. Kirby Smith at
the same time moved north from Knoxvflle,
marching through central Kentucky nearly
to Cincinnati, and that Gen. Buell had to raako
a rapid retreat across Tcunessco and Kentucky
to Louisville: aud, finally, that Gen. Grant was
left with 1 small army 'to hold western Ten
nessee. Wc mustkeepihis in mind if we would
understand tho battle jifluka, given in my last
letter, and the battle of Corinth, which will bo
described in this.
You will remember that Gen. Sterling Price,
after his defeat at luka, September 19, 1862,
stole away at night, leaving all the wounded
on the field of battle. Following him, we see
his troops,marching south ou the Fulton road
10 mile?, then turning. west and marching to
Bipley, 32 miles southwest of Corinth, joining
Gen. Van Dorn.
TAN dorr's plan.
Gen. Yan Dorn saw that Corinth must bo
captured. It was only a railroad junction, but
it was the key to allthe surrounding country.
If it could be captured, Gen. Grant would be
compelled to abandon the whole of west Ten
nessee ; so Van Dorn reasoned. He knew that
Corinth had been fortified by the Confederate
troops under Beauregard, and that Gen. Hal
leek, after the evacuation of Corinth by the
Confederates, had built; redoubts, but he had
38,000 troops while Gtur Eosecrans, who was
in command at Corinth, -iad only about twenty
thousand. He therefjnu ,aetcrinincd-"fo cap
ture it.
THE CONFEDERATE &y.
There was a ConfedX-j2o spy in Corinth a
Miss Burton who seHpa leer to Yan Dorn
which fell into the feg&ls of yGcn. Eosecrans'
detectives, jJjo-- cax-mitiulbi,, jt,;mw-
copy, a::d thcnxreseaieiran(t sllowediv to go
to Yan Dorn. Miss Be ton in her letter told
Yan Dorn how many Union Tegiments Eose
crans had, and also the number of cannon, and
informed him that the town could bo best at
tacked from tho northwest, between the two
railroads. Gen. Eosecrans did not have Miss
Burton arrested; he wr.'s too shrewd for that.
But the detectives had their eyes .on her so
sharply that she could not send a second letter
to let Yan Dorn know that the negroes and
soldiers were building other redoubts and
breastworks.
Xorth and cast of the town there are swamps
with knolls and thick woods not an easy
place to deploy troops in line of battle. On
the northwest, however, the ground is high
and rolling, with no natural obstructions. It
was over this plateau that Yan Dorn intended
to make his attack. The Memphis & Char
leston Bailroad comes into the town from the
northwest, the Mobile & Ohio from the north.
THE FORTS.
Walking out over the Memphis Bailroad,
we see Fort Williams on the south side of
the road. It is on a knoll, and tho three 20
pounder Parrot guns inside of it sweep all the
plateau. ITorth of the railroad, on another
knoll, is Forfc Eobinet, close by the county
road leading to Bolivar. Walking northeast,
and crossing the county road leading to Che
walla and the Mobile & Ohio Bailroad, we come
to tho county road leading to Purdy, and be
yond it we see Fort Powell. Beyond Powell
isFortBichardson. These are all tho points
we need to keep in mind.
UNION LINES OF BATTLE.
Gen. Eosecrans has his cavalry out on all
the roads north, east, south, and west. Tho
scouts bring word on tho 2d of October that
Yan Dorn is making a rapid march. Gen.
Eosecrans stations Hamilton's division on the
Purdy road its right extending to a swamp,
its left reaching to Fort Powell.
Gen. Davies' division is next in line, with
Gen. Stanley's division behind it in reserve,
while Gen. McKean's division holds the left
south of the Memphis Bailroad.
GEN. VAN DORN'S ADVANCE.
Gen. Powell led the advance of Yan Dorn in
the march to Corintli along a road south of tho
Memphis Bailroad, and came into position with
the brigades of Bust, Villepiquo, and Bowcn
in front his left touching tho Memphis Bail
road and Jackson's cavalry sweeping south
beyond the seminary, which you sco southwest
of tho town.
Gen. Price had two divisions Maury's and
Hebcrt's. Hcbert had succeeded Gen. Little,
who had been killed at luka. Maury's lino
began at the Memphis Bailroad, in front of
Fort Bobinett. Moore's and Phifcr's brigades
mado up the front liue, whilo Cabell's brigado
stood in reserve. Hebcrt's division extended
northeast, with Grsen's, Gates', and McLean's
brigades in front, aud Colbort'a in reserve
BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE.
Gen. Eosecrans thought it best to begin the
battle somo distance from tho town, beyond
the line of tho forts. By so doing ho would
develop tho plans of Yan Dorn. Gen. Davies'
division, in tho center, went out between the
railroads, while McArthur's brigado went out
on the southwest side of tho Memphis road.
Tho cavalry swinging out on tho left; flank,
encountered Yan Dorn's cavalry. Skirmishing
began, Yan Dorn's infantry following the
cavalry, andjbrcing back tho Union skirmish
ers. In front of Davies' position was an old
breastwork built by Beauregard. .Gen. Da
vies sent Col. Oliver's brigade to take possession
of it. f
It was half past ten "hen LoveTPs division
(Confederate) advancedand began the battle
SAYING-
POM.
by falliug upon Oliver. Gen. McKcan, on the
left, saw that Oliver was going to bo flanked,
and sent McArthur's brigade to his assistance.
It was two brigades against Loveli's division.
The Confederates outnumbered tho Union
troops three to one. After firing awhile, the
Confederates came on with a rush, charging
the breastwork, capturing two cannon, and
driving Oliver back toward Fort Bobinett,
which uncovered Davies' flauk. Gen. Maury
saw his opportunity, and advanced Moore's
brigade into the gap between Davies and Mc
Arthur, which compelled Davies' whole divi
sion to fall back.
10TH OHIO BATTERY.
Tho 10th Ohio battery is out on the Che
walla road. It has hurled shells and poured
canister upon tho Confederates, but tho timo
has como when it must go to tho rear, for thero
are no Tegiments at hand to support it. Tho
gunners limber up tho pieces and seizo the
sponges and rammers".
"Get bucket jSfo. 2," shouts a corporal. The
Confederates are not ouo hundred feet dis
tant, but G. S. Wright, a boy of IS, runs and
picks it up, with tho bullets whistling about
him, and brings it safely away.
Going up tho Purdy road wc see Hamilton's
troops on the knolls north of tho town. Tho
3.
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ETLATHROP'C-, ?
The plan represents the general position of the troops on the second dav. L Hamilton's division ;
2. JJtanlej-'s dj vision; 3. Davies' division; -L SIcKean's division; 5. Ohia Brigade.
Confederate troops under Hebcrt are in the
woods west of him. Yan Dorn has ordore&
Heborfe to keep out of sight until tho right
moment comes, thinking that Hamilton will
rush in Jo help Davies; butHamilton makes no
auca movement, jxis troops; jnsucroorcung
3. -.. :lc 11 1 ,. i. " ir -n.
Jiicuu inn iait:aii, uuu ho sees uiat van worn is
not going to attack from that quarter, and
while 'the battlo is raging west of him he is
changing his line, so that at noon it faces
northwest;. His skirmishers have discovered
the 7,000 Confederate troops under Hebert in
the woods.
AFTERNOON.
There has been a lull in the battle. The
Confederates, elated by the success of the
morning, are getting ready for a grand attack.
Yan Dorn plans to hurl his troops upon Da
vies' division and drive them on, brigade
after brigade, over the ground between the
two railroads.
EOSECRANS' PLAN.
In battle, a general must be quick to see
what the enemy intends to do, and be ready
to receive the blow and strike one in return.
Gen. Eosecrans comprehends Yan Dorn's
plan. Ho orders McKcan to fall back to
another ridge to join his right to Davies.
Stanley, who has been near the town, is ad
vanced, tobe close to Davies, ,whilc Hamilton
is to be ready to swing to the west and strike
the Confederates in flank.
It was nearly three o'clock before Yan Dorn
was ready. First the cannon opened, then the
brigades, one after another, fell upon Davies,
outnumbering, overpowering him, and pouring
in terrific volleys. Gen. Hackleman, com
manding a brigade, was mortally wounded.
Gen. Oglesby, commanding another brigade,
was wounded. Tho troops began to waver,
when up came Stanley's batteries, tho horses
upon the run. The gunners leaped from tho
limbers, wheeled tho cannon into position, and
poured canister into tho Confederate, ranks.
Gen. Mower's brigade came up on tho double
quick, and went into the thick of the fight.
THE WAR EAGLE OLD ABE.
Yon have heard about the eagle Old Abe
which the 8th Wis. carried through the war.
An Indian named Chief Sky captured the eaglet
on the banks of tho Flambeau Biver, a branch
of the Chippewa, in Wisconsin. Tho company
from Eau Claire brought the young eaglet with
them when they went into camp at Madison,
and Capt. Perkins named him "Old Abo" for
Abraham Lincoln. Tho soldiers became fond
of him and he of tho soldiers. He had a perch
on tho color staff, and always sat there in battlo,
flapping his wings, as if in ecstasy, when the
battle was wildest. The regiment is in Mower's
brigade, and Old Abe is on his perch, looking
out over tho scene. Cannon aro thundering
around him; there are long roUs of musketry;
the air is thick with buUets. From tho flank
comes a fearful volley, enfilading tho line,
mortally wounding kGen. Hackleman and
wounding Oglesby, cutting down scores of
men and severing tho cord which holds Old
Abe to tho staff. Ho flaps his wings; tho cord
no longer holds him. He rises above tho two
armies, circles out over the Confederates, then
back again to his friends and lights once more
on his perch. Tho regiment is in retreat, and
Old Abe goes with it, to bo in a score of battles
and to come out of them all unharmed.
EVENING.
Through tho afternoon tho battlo rages.
SuUi van's brigade of Hamilton's division comes
to tako part. At 6 o'clock tho uproar dies
away. Yan Dorn has driven, as it were, a
wedge almost through tho Union lines. To
morrow ho will finish tho work. Ho sends
this exultant telegram to Eichmond: "Our
troops have driven the onomy from their posi
tions. Wo are within three-fourths of a milo
of Corinth. Tho enemy arc huddled together
about tho town some on tho extreme left try
ing to hold their position.
So far all is glori-
ous;
jj
NIGHT WORK.
Night settles over tho scene, and Gon. Eose
crans prepares for tho morrow. There are
several hundred negroes in Corinth, and they
are set to work with axes, picks and shovels,
building breastworks of logs and stumps north
of Fort Powell. Gen. Eoecrans reforms his
line, Testing the left on Fort Bobinett, th&
center on the ridgo between the two railroads;
aud tho right on thohighgronndonthcPurdy
road. McKean's division still holds tho left.
Stanley stands next in line, then Davies, then
Hamilton ou tho right. Gen. Eosecrans calls
all these officers to his headquarters a white
cottage with a portico and the homo of Hamp
ton Mark aud explains hia plans. Tho oifieors
post their troops accordingly.
THE KEY TO THE POSITION.
Had you been on tho parapets of Forfe Eob
inet and Fort Williams, looking out over the.
field, ytfu would have seen that they wore what
military men call tho keys to. the position, so
situated that their cannon wonldswsop all tho
field. If Van Dormconld get possession of th
forts ho could turn their guns upon the Union
line reaching northeast to Forts Powell and
Eichardson. Being so important a position, we
may expect Yan Dorn to try his best to capture
them.
THE OHIO BRIGADE.
The First Brigade of the Second Division
(Gen. Stanley) is called the Ohio Brigade. Col.
OHiof.'
. COMreDEKATE.
Fuller commands if, and it i3 composed of the
27th, 39th, 43d and 63d Ohio regiments. About
10 o'clock at night the troops file into position.
The pickets hear noise in front of them, and
discoverdjhafc the. Confederates are plantin
a
r-2Hi"
walla road he comes suddenly upon a Con
federate officer Capt. Tobin, commanding a
Tennessee battery and take3 him and his
bugler prison ers.
At 4. o'clock in the morning Eosecrans
soldiers were astir. Some of them had kindled
fires tr make their coffee, when the Confederate
artillerymen, aiming at the light, opened fire
and sent a storm of shells into Corinth. Sut
lers, teamsters and negroes hastened to the rear,
but the soldiers did not mind the cannonade.
They ate their breakfast and were soon ready
for work. Capt. Williams waited till in the
drawning light he could see just where the
Confederate batteries were, and then opened
with his 30-poundcr Parrott guns. His aim
was sure, the shells destructive, and the Con
federate guns were quickly silenced. The
Confederate gunners made haste to get away,
taking all but one gun, which was captured by
the soldiers of the 63d. Ohio.
The skirmishers began as soon as it was day
light. The Confederate batteries joined in,
one shell crashing into the Tishomingo Hotel,
filled with Union wounded, and killing a sol
dier. The Union batteries replied, sending
their shells into the forests where the Con
federate troops were forming.
THE SECOND DAY'S BATTLE.
It was 9:30 before the Confederate troops
were ready to advance. Hebert's division be
gan the battle, coming out from the woods and
advancing against Davies. The long lines
came into the clearing. The Union cannon
flamed as Gates' brigade led the advance upon
Fort Eichardson. A storm beat in their faces,
men dropped, but the column pressed on up
the gentle ascent, and rushing at last up to the
line of breastworks, leaped over them. Capt.
Eichardson, for whom the fort was named,
goes down, and his gunners are shot. The in
fantry supporting the battery are driven. The
troops retreat towards the town, followed by
the Confederates. McLean's Confederate bri
gade captured Fort Powell. Gates' men rush
on into the town, charging up to Eosecrans'
headquarters. But they aro confronted by the
10th Ohio and 5th Minn, and Iramell's battery.
Mark Hampton's house is riddled with bullets.
Seven Confederates go down in front ofit. But
tho wave which has rolled so far and so tri
umphantly has spent its force. It can go no
farther. The Union troops are gaining strength,
besides, for a new force is coming to take part
in the struggle, not around Hampton's cottage,
but up north, on tho Purdy road.
Sullivan's brigade.
Going up tho Purdy road we come to Ham
ilton's division. His batteries aro sending
shells westward, making terrible havee, and
we see Sullivan's brigade advancing and falling
upon tho Confederat& left like a thunderbolt,
tho 56th 111. sweeping them out of Fort PoweU
and recapturing.it.
AROUND ROEINET.
Tho Confederates under Gen. Maury ad
vanced, against Forts Eobinet and Williams. It
was a brave advance. The 00-poundcr Par
rotts opened upon them, but stiU tho Texans
and Mississippians pressed on.
" Forward ! Charge ! "
It was Col. Bogers, of Texas, commanding
the Texas brigade, in advance, who gave tho
order. Ho had a battle-flag in his hand, and
led his men. A glittering lino of steel, tho
sun shining in tho men's faces and reflecting
its light from tho bayonets, on tamo the brave
men ! Canister mowed them down, but still
they advanced to the ditch in front of the fort.
They paused a moment to tako breath and a
view of tho fort. Just so, at the battlo of
Bueua Vista, tho Mexicans halted when they
should have advanced, and wero mercilessly cut
down. Thero aro times in battlo when mo-
IConiinued on 8th yoga.
x
T M. A. jRi.jV. 1 -fc M . . v T t
With Cos.-B'-itFCV Creeping along the Che- Tand calling her out again,, began to plyhsr
SHELL-jffill
I . tilt
i-tX X JL i-J.
n
A Touohing Mdent of the Atlanta
fajgaigii.
BORF I3SF BATTLE,
How Gen. Logun Became God
father to tite Fatherless.
fTHE
CTEBa:S!BS2ri2fa
A True Story that is, Strange
Than Fiction.
It was the .Snmraor of lSG-l, antt the army
under Sherman, bad fallen back from It post
tion before Atlanta and swept around to Hood's
roar, Gen. Losan Icadine the advance T .-
J member that tha country was densely weeded,
anu tnat magnificent forests of pine, oa& antl
chestnut towered en either side of tho road
over whioh .we marched. Wc were not ma
I lasted until wcr nearcd Flint Eiver. Thera
tho enemy had planted a masked batterr. and.
I as we japproached, it enfiladed our line. Yon
could scarce encounter more disagreeable trav
elers on a lonely read than shot and shell, and
the boys wero not long in taking to the shelter
of the timber. But Gen. Logan at once order
ed up a field battery of brass "Napoleon? and
presently accepted this challenge to an artil
lery duel. There was nothing to direct the firo
of our gunners save the white puffs of smoke
that could be seen rising above the foliage and
the conrso of the enemy's shota but they
nevertheless soon silenced the- rebel cannon,
andonce more cleared the way for the col
umn. Wc then rode forward again, the writer in
company with Dr. Woodward, the medical in
spector of Gen. Logan's staff; and until his
death, somo four years ago, the head of tha
Marina Hospital Service. Just as we tamed a
bend in the road we emerged suddenly into a
small clearing. A rude log cabin, surrounded,
by evergreen shrubbery, stood in the clearing
and hanging from one of the hushes we no
ticed a yellow cloth.
ONLY A CRACKER'S CABIN.
As medical officers, it naturally occurred t
us at once that this was an Improvised hospital
01 some sortand we rode up to-Inouire. At
the door of the cabin, as w& approached, an q14
woman, evidently of the famiBaz "cracker'
type, presented kcrseTi; but, on seeing thafcw
were- xanfiees," fceat a hastvrctrpafc. T4
with questions.
She told us ' there wa'n't no wounded men.
thar," and when asked why she had put out a
yellow flag there, she replied! "Waal, yer see,
my gal is sick, and I reckoned ef I put oat that
yerhosp't'l rag yon'ns wouldn't hepestenn.
round so much."
"What's the matter with your chQd2"safd
I; "we are medical officers, and perBapswa
can do something for her."
"Waal, now," she quickly responded, "ef
yon'ns is real doctors, just look in and see what
yon'ns all done with your shellin.'. Time my
gal was sickest, two of yourn sheHs come clar
through my cabin, and, I tell youit was right
skeery for a spell."
We accepted the old woman's invitation and
walked in. It was as she said. The cabin,
built of rough pino logs, afforded bat one room,
about twelve feet square. A smaB log meat
house (empty) was the only out-building, tha
cow-stable having been knocked to pieces by
our shells, except a small bark-thatched
"lean-to" at the rear in which, we found a
loom of the most primitiva sort and con
structed in the roughest fashion, containing a
partially -completed web of coarse-cottorx
"homespun." Aside from this loom, the only
household articles visible were an old skillet,
a rather dilapidated bed, two or three chairs,
without backs, and a queer collection of gourds.
The shells had Indeed played havoc with tha
Interior. The roof had been badly shattered,
and a stray shot had piecreed the walls.
A SAD SPECTACLE.
It had cut one of the logs entirely in firo,
and forcing one Jagged end out into the room
so far that it hung threateningly over tho hed
upon which, to our astonishment, we saw lying
a young girl, by whose side was a new-born
babe with, the prints of tho Creator's fingers
fresh upon it. It was a strange yet touching:
spectacle. Here, in this lonely cabin, stripped
by lawless stragglers of both armies of food and
clothing and shattered by the flying sheBs of
our artillery,itt thestorm and fury of the battle
had been born this sweet innocent. The
mother, wo learned, was the wife of a Confed
erate soldier whoso blood had stained tho
"sacred soil " of Virginia but a few months after
his marriage and conscription into the service,
aud the child was fatherless. The babe was
still clad only In its own innocence, but tho
writer with his handy jack-knife cut from
the unfinished web In the old loom a piece of
coarse homespun, in which, it was soon deftly
swaddled. Fortunately we had our hospital
knapsacks with us, and our orderlies carried a
little brandy, with a few medicines and a. can,
of beef extract, and we at once did all that our
limited stores permitted to relieve the wanta
of the young mother and child.
A CHRI3TKNING XN ORDER.
But by this time quite a numborof ofScersr
and men, attracted by the sight of the yeHow"
flag and our horses waiting at the door, had
gathered about the cabin, and, while we were
inside, they amused themselves by listening to
the old lady's account of this stirring incident.
One of tho officers had given bar some "stora
terbacker," with which she had filled a cob
pipe, and the fact that she was spitting through,
her teeth with snch accuracy as to hit a fly at
ten paces, nine times out of ten, showed that
she was enjoying herself after the truo.
"cracker" style. Presently some one suggest
ed that the baby ought to bo christened with,
full military honors, and it being duly ex
plained to her that to "christen" was all the
same as to "baptize," she replied, with alac
rity: '"Oh, yes" baptized, I reckon, If yoa'na
has got any preacher along."
This was all the boys wanted, and an or
derly was at once sent back to tho general com
manding, with the compliments" of the Surgso
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