i
R
I I I - I
1 xyflji 111 llu 1 I
Stories Eminently Worth Telling of Experiences and Adventures
in the Great National Struggle
A BAY WITH THE COLOUED
TKOOPS
The Test of Negro Mettle In the Vlght
of the Crater
Editor National Tribune July 30
1S64 was a red letter day in the life of
the writer of this reminiscence On
this day his regiment the 30th U S
Colored Troops led the charge of the
colored division at the battle of the
Mine Col Delevan Bates was shot
thru the head with a minic ball was
given a Medal of Honor for distin
guished services and on his return from
the hospital was made a Brigadier-General
of Volunteers by brevet and as
signed to duty according to his brevet
rank which position was honorably
filled until his muster out in December
18C5
The 30th U S C T was organized at
Camp Belger Baltimore in the early
part of the year 1864 from the colored
people and most of the recruits had
been slaves until the Emancipation
mulattos in arms against the Confed
erate States or who shall train orean
Ize or prepare negros or mulattos for
military service against the Confederate
States or who shall voluntarily aid ne
gros or mulattos in any military enter
prise attack or conflict In pucli service
snail De deemed as Inciting servile in
surrection and shall if captured be
put to death or be otherwise punished
at the discretion of the court Ve
laughed at such resolutions
When the mighty army of Gen Grant
crossed the Rapldan in May 1SC4 the
cplored troops at Baltimore were organ
ized Into the Fourth Division of the
Ninth Corps and were assigned the duty
of guarding the immense wagon train
4000 teams which if extended In a
single line would have reached from
Washington to Richmond 130 miles
These teams were busy many of them
by night as well as by day hauling
supplies from the nearest railroad to
the troops at the front and many were
the contentions and controversies be
tween Quartermasters and AVagonmas
ters in regard to the tight of way dur
ing the six weeks that passed while the
army was forcing Its way thru the
Wilderness beyond Spotsylvania across
the North Anna River and on the
bloody fields around Cold Harbor
One little episode in which the Quar
termaster of the 30 th U S C T was
Involved will rive an idea of th
right-of-way question was sometimes
eoivea Lieut Baldwin was one of the
best Quartermasters In the arm v nml
bis teams were generally among the first
to reach their destination when the
bivouac was ordered But one day he
was bluffed by a Quartermaster from
the Fifth Corps and thus delayed for
several nours The next day he asked
tor a Sergeant and idx men to accom
pany his train The detail was given
him and he held his way amongst the
wilderness of teams at the point of the
bayonet whenever the occasion demand
ed He had received his training in the
44th N Y one of the best regiment
the State- sent out and he understood
his business well feared nothing and
could always hold his own when he
had sullicient backing
On the Flrlnjr Line nt Pcterxhurg
When Petersburg was reached the
colored troops were placed on the fir
ing line in front of the rebel Army of
Northern Virginia the best troops the
Confederates had in the field during
the entire war rue distance from our
lines to the rebel Unas was but a few
hundred feet both lines were well In
trenched breastworks bomb proofs
covered ways and abatis as was best
suited for the surroundings were seen
on every side and an irregular but
continuous firing was kept up both
night and day for weeks and weeks
Each side was ever on the alert for
what the other might try to do Finally
a rebel battery was undermined blown
up and an assault made on the enemys
works This assault was the last against
the rebel lines of a long series com
mencing May 5 and all of them against
a strongly intrenched foe These
1
THE CHARGE OP THE NEGRO TROOPS AT THE CRATER
Proclamation of President Lincoln
made them free The commission of
the Colonel was dated March 1 1864
and was signed by C A Dana Assist
ant Secretary of War
The regiment was well officered
every one from the Colonel In command
to the Second Lieutenant of Co K hav
ing had experience in actual warfare
and passed a creditable examination as
to proficiency in the Army Regulations
the tactics and management of troops
In the field
They had come from regiments that
had fought under McClellan on the
Peninsula had helped charge the bights
of South Mountain they had been on
the bloody field of Antietam with Burn
aide at Fredericksburg Hooker at
Chancellorsvillo and Meade at Gettys
burg They understood well the duties
of the picket and the skirmish line
they had not only been In the advanc
ing column but had helped repel
charges such as no war ever saw sur
passed either in deeds of valor or in
decisive results They knew what suc
cess was and also what it meant to save
the rear of an army from the pursuit
of an enemy Hushed with victory
Ilcxjiormlblllllrii of Officer
The responsibilities of the officers In
the colored service were much greater
than those Incurred by the officers in
the command of white troops and also
were their chances for death much
greater The rebels had a special an
tipathy against the colored troops which
extended from the Confederate Con
gress down to the private soldier In the
ranks of the Confederate army In
1863 the following resolution was
passed at Richmond Va Resolved bv
the Congress of the Confederate States
or America In response to the message
of the President Sec 4 That every
white person being a commissioned
cer or acting as such who during the
present war shall command negros or
charges were all desperate and bloody
and including the one in which the
colored division participated on July 30
it Is safe to say the total loss lo the
Union army was at least 70000 men a
large army of killed and wounded and
yet with no decisive results
The mine was 510 feet in length and
at the terminus under the rebel works
had side galleries about 35 feet in
length In these galleries were placed
320 kegs of powder of 25 pounds each
8000 pounds strongly tamped and
connected together with wooden tubes
half filled with powder Three fuses
were run back about 100 feet and the
main gallery was filled with earth and
well tamped for about 30 feet The
original plan of attack was for the col
ored troops to advance immediately
after the explosion and when the Crater
was reached the leading regiment
should turn to the right and proceed as
far as possible down the enemys line
the second regiment turn to the left
and sweep down the line in that direc
tion the remaining regiments of the
division to advance rapidly thru the gap
In the rebel line toward the city of
Petersburg to be followed by the other
divisions of the army as soon as they
could be rushed In
Informed of the AjmmuM
The day before the assault the com
pany officers of the 30th U S C T
were assembled at regimental head
quarters and the following talk was
given them by the Colonel You have
all heard rumors of a mine thit i tn hr
exploded That mine Is now ready It
will be blown up at 3 oclock to-morrow
morning Gen Burnside has di
rected that the Colored Division lead
the charge which will be made imme
diately after the explosion Our regi
ment will lead the division and will be
formed in double column closed in
mass at our outer line of works oppo
site the mine As soon as the explosion
occurs we will rapidly advance lo the
rebel works and as soon as they are
entered the movement will be Right
companies right into line wheel left
companies on the right Into line and
we will go down the line as far as we
can and there remain I shall expect
every officer to do his full duty and
me ciosurs musi allow no soldier to
leave the ranks
As the officers returned to tliMr
panics a serious smile was noticed on
trie ffire if nmp Imt -all n rt nini
tle of the colored soldiers In the Army
01 tnc Potomac Tlie eomnanv nun
tnlnilru nivt InfnrMirnl iln nn
WllfLt WHS PfUninc n tlln oorh mnntni
and what was expected of them each
giving words or advice and encourage
ment according to his own Idea and
most of them closing with the admoni
tion to Remember Fort Pillow and
not to cive lin or fiiirrnnilnr tinli irr
circumstances for it would mean sure
ue uii as no quarter could be expected
from the rebel soldiers
All this was well understood by pri
vates as well as officers and the death
loss of the morrow showed the desper
ate valor with which the colored sol
diers fought on that disastrous day
Tlie Xun CouirulKxInnrd Officer
After the company officers had thoro
ly instructed the men in what thev
Miould do home of the more intelligent
of the non commissioned officers made
short but pointed remarks to the pri
vates One of the speakers a Sergeant
who had been a preacher on the East
ern Shore of
Chesapeake Bav was a
very good talker and being anxious to
know how the boys were taking the sit
uation I walked over to where he was
addressing the members of Co II His
remarks ran something like this My
deah bredern dls am gwine to beer
gret flte de gretes weuns hab eber
seen If weuns tek Petrsburtf nios llkly
wel tuk Richmun and derstroy Mars
Ginul Lees big ahmy and den cloz de
wah Eberv man hot nrtor lie n i i
sell In franer fur er strong hyart O
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Such speeches as these from men of
their own color were perhaps of more
practical value to the common soldier
than all that was said by the officers
But be this as it may every man in
the 30th U S C T both white and
colored felt that a great event for the
Fourth Division of the Ninth Army
Corps was near at hand and that the
results of the coming fight would cither
place the colored troops side by side
with their comrades of lighter hue or
else they would neter again be given
such responsibilities as were now be
fore them
A Clinniie In tlie Program
Morning came and with it a change
In tho program A consultation of the
leading Generals had been held during
the night and it was decided to let the
white troops take Initiative after the
explosion of the mine Senator Ben
jamin F Wade Chairman of the Com
mittee on the Conduct of the war did
not hesitate to say that this change was
the cause of the disastrous result His
words can be found upon page 10 of
tho official report of that committee
Gen Grant in his testimony before this
same committee Dec 20th 1864 uses
the following words viz Gen Bum
side wanted to put his division of col
ored trops in advance and I believe
if he had done so It would have been
a success The writer however has
no criticisms to make he is merely
telling the story of what his regiment
did on that eventful day
The explosion of the mine was a suc
cess The crater made by the explo
sion of 8000 i ounds of gun powder
was 135 feet Ion 97 feet broad and 30
feet deep Two hundred and seventy
eight men were buried in the ruins
To add to he terror of the scene the
Union forces commenced a bombard
ment with 170 cannon and mortars
Elliots rebel brigade near the crater
were panic stricken and fled in every
direction Now was the time for the
Union charge which must be well di
rected and well executed to obtain tho
desired results viz to make a gap in
the rebel lines thru which the reserve
troops could rush toward Peters
burg But tho white troops selected
did not appear to realize the situation
and 8 oclock found them huddled in
the crater having made no well advised
attempt to widen tho gap as was the
intention of the colored brigade
The ConfrilrrnteM Hecover
The Confederates had now entirely
recovered from their surprise and were
ready for any farther advance of tlie
Union army We thought all was over
but in response to repeated orders from
Gen Meade to send in more troops
Gen Uurnside now sent In the colored
division The 30th U S C T was next
to the Union breastworks and In tones
loud clear and in quick succession
came the commands of the Colonel
Attention battalion The men sprang
to their feet Fix bayonets There
was a sharp rattling of steel and
then came Trail arms Forward
March and the regiment led by tho
Colonel and Adjutant went over the
breastworks and thru the opening that
had previously beenmade In the abatis
In columns of four out onto tha fated
plain and toward the Crater The ap
pcaranco of the regimental colors seem
ed to be the signal for the enemys bat
teries and it was volley after volley of
canister and shrapnel they gave us
Every round they fired took a set of
fours and sometimes a double set
The brains of tho Color Sergeant were
spattered over the flag but a stalwart
Corporal seized the staff before the
silken emblem touched the ground
The line officers all shouted Forward
boys forward It was our only safely
to reach the rebel lines as soon as pos
sible Next came a volley of musketry
followed by the zip zip zip of
the firing at will and on every side
were men railing tailing tailing like
leaves in tlie forest in the gales of Au
tumn
As we neared tho rebel Intrench
ments a change of direction of the head
of the column to tho right brought us
directly in front of the enemys line and
then came the order By the left Hank
March and over the breastworks
clambered the dusky warriors officers
vicing with the men as to who should
first be inside of the rebel works The
abatis made but little impression even
the breastworks made but a short
pause and the negroes were in a hand
to hand fight with as good troops as
tno cjonteueracy nau ever mustered
The black faces assumed an ashy hue
the eyes glared like those of wild ani
mals tho lips were tightly drawn show
ing the white teeth and the expression
on every face was terrible to beheld
as over the works we went
renuer aurrenuers surrender was
heard on every side and those who de
fiantly refused were given the cold steel
without mercy For 18 months I had
served in Uptons Regulars in the
fighting Sixth Corps I had been at
South Mountain Antietam Fredericks
burg Salem Church and Gettysburg
but never had seen lovelier fighting
as Phil Kearny would say than this at
the battle of the Mine Well do I re
member the Confederate Captain who
while vainly trying to hold his com
mand to their work kept yelling Kill
em Shoot em Kill the damned
niggers but while endeavoring to help
ft-ft-
carry out his own commands a bayonet
in tho hands of a dusky opponent as
bravo as he pierced him thru and thru
Enjoyrnent to Kllllnir
It is the only battle I was ever in
where it appeared to be just pure en
joyment to klll an opponent Tho
Southern soldiers view this battlo in
the same light that the writer docs
for Col F W Mcilastcrs of the 17th
S C says In a newsnaner article Wo
slaughtered hundreds of whites and
blacks with decided preference to the
Ethiopians
The enemys works on this part of
the line was i refpct honeycomb of
bomb proofs trendies cnvercl w tvs
sleeping holesand jttlc alleys running
m every and in each nolo
there appeared one or more rebel sol
diers some ready to kill the niggers
wnen mey came in view and some
praying for mercy Such prayer as
mis were neard on every side while the
battle raged tho fiercest Lord have
mercy on me and keep them damned
niggers from killing me plentifully
Interspersed with ejaculations like
these Kill the niggers Shoot em
Kill em But such lighting as this
never lasts long and when it was over
the colored troops had accomplished a
work of which they might well be
proud Two hundred yards of the en
emys strongest line had been carried at
the point of tho bayonet and 250 pris
oners captured with a stand of colors
One would think this was enough to
ask of a single division on such an oc
casion while there were 40000 other
soldiers within gun shot that had not
been engaged but before our lines had
been reformed an Aid from the staff
of Gen Burnside appeared upon the
scene of action and accosted the writer
oi this sketch who was tho ranking
olllcer present as follows Well Col
onel what next The reply was This
is as far as my orders go Tlie offi
cer pointed to a white houso In tho
direction of Petersburg near which a
rebel battery was posted and said
inat win be your next objective point
advance at once
The Color Kuiheil to the Front
The colors were rushed to the front
an alignment attempted by the com
pany ollicers and an advance ordered
Wc went but a short distance for we
were met Dy tho First Brigade of Gen
Mahones Division of Confederates that
liad just formed a line of battle in a
ravine 200 yardsMn the rear of the lino
we had Just captured Gen Bushrod
Johnson was in command of the divi
sion that occupied the rebel line in
which the Crater was located but he
appears to have taken no part in the
rcestabllshment of tho broken line
Gen Robert E Lee was among the
first to realize the situation and imme
diately sent an order by Col Venable
to Gen Win Mahone whose division
Joined Gen Johnsons on the right to
send two brigades at once to tho field
of action Gen AVm Mahone was one
of the best officers in the rebel army
and his division containing his old bri
gade of Virginians Gen Wrights Geor
gians Gen Saunderss Alabamians
Gen Harriss Mississipplans and Gen
Finnegins Florldians were recognized
as the best division In Gen A P Hills
Corps
Gen Mahone said I cant send my
brigade to Gen Johnson but I will
go with them -myself so taking the
Virginia and Georgia brigades ho vfiit
to Gen Johnsons headquarters where
he found Gen Beauregard who was
in command of the defenses of Peeis
burg Gen Mahone was at once given
command of the line and had just got
his Virginia brigade ready for business
was forming the Georgia brigade and
had sent back to have the Alabama bri
gade brought up to the battlefield when
me peremptory order came for the col
ored troops tofadvanco
MrfllnB Mnhonrn Men
As mentioned before we started but
upon reaching the open plain Gen
Mahones troops advancing from the
ravine in which they were stationed
gave us a volley that decimated our
ranks and this was Immediately fol
lowed by the old rebel yell and a
charge such as veteran troops alone
knew how to make Officers as well as
men went down thick and fast Col
Bates fell shot thru the head
the Major was killed eight company
officers were killed or wounded and
every third man In the 30th U S C T
tasted rebel lead that day Manv a
dusky warrior had his brains knocked
out with the butt of a musket or was
run thru with a bayonet while vain
ly Imploring for mercy When we
came to bury the dead the next day
under flag of truce one of our Cap
tains was found with seven ugly
wounds on his body but there wore six
dead rebels lying near him and his
lifeless hand yet grasped his 44 caliber
revolver every barrel of which was
empty
Singly In couples and squads the sur
vivors of the Colored Division sought
refuge in the Union lines but tlat
night witnessed a sad roll call in every
regiment of tho Colored Division for
out of 4500 guns that were carried in
the fight in the morning only 2835
were present when the retreat was
sounded at night Sixteen hundred and
sixty five were numbered among the
killed wounded and missing
Altho tho days work as a whole was
not a success one thing has been prov
en viz the colored troops dared meet
not only in open field the best troops of
the Confederacy but they also dared at
tack them behind breastworks almost
impregnable and as to results the best
standard by which to test the qualities
of an army is tins Tlie number killed
on the battlefield
A writer well recognized as authority
on war statistics says This Is a harsh
standard but it is nevertheless true
that where tlie dead He the thickest
there is where the bullets flew the fast
est All of the witnesses before the
Congressional Investigating Committee
testified that the colored Division did
nobly while Gen Robert E Leo recog
nized their bravery by promoting Gen
Wm Mahone from a Brigadier to a full
Major General for the work he did that
day Mahones lighting was with the
colored troops tho fighting of our white
division being with Elliotts Brigade of
Bushrod Johnsons Division of rebels
and at an hour before Gen Mahones
troops were on tho ground
i
Dark as tho clouds of even
Banked in the western heaven
Waiting the breath that lifts
All the drcad mass and drifts
Tempest and falling brand
Over a ruined land
So still antf orderly
Arm to arm knee to knee
Waiting the- great event
Stand i tho Black Regiment
ii t
Down tho long dusky line
Teeth gleam and eyeballs shine
And tho bright bayonet
Bristling and firmly set
Flashed with arfpurposc grand
Long ere tlie sharp command
Of the fierce rdlljng drum
Told them their time had come
Told them what work was sent
For the Black Regiment
Now the brave Colonel cried
Tho death and hell betide
Let the whole Nation seo
If you aro fit to be
Free in this land or bound
Down like the whining hound
Bound with red stripes of pain
In your old chains again
Oil what a shout there went
From tho Black Regiment
Charge Trump and drum awoke
Onward the bondmen broke
Bayonet and saber stroke
Vainly opposed their rush
Thru the wild battles crush
With but one thought aflush
Driving their lords like chaff
In the guns mouths they laugh
Or at the sUppiry brands
o
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the shell struck him in the shoulder
Comrade Schultz helped put him into an
ambulance and he died soon after As
to the brigade commander he will say
that Gen Meagher led his brigade and
Caldwell the Second The Third Bri
gade was under command of Col Paul
Frank of the 52d N Y
At the Crater
J C Vanderslice 2d Pa II A Cam
den N J says that the comrade who
wrote of tho massacre in the Crater
was mistaken in saying that the Tenth
corps made the charge It was tho
First Division of the Ninth Corps that
charged after the fort went up The
frourth Division of the Ninth Corps the
colored troops supported the First Di
vision The matter was decider re
drawing lots as Burnside did not want
tne t lrst Division to mikn th phnn
since they were under the cover of the
uanvine Petersburg Railroad keep
ing up a constant skirmish firn tn imw
the attention of the Confederates They
uii iook 8u rounus or cartridges when
they went out on this duty and expend
ed them all
The Ex rrlsoners BUI
S G Burdick 85th N Y Cuba N
Y wants every effort mado to pass the
ex prisoners bill Of his regiment nine
companies were captured at Plymouth
N Y after four days of fighting There
were surrendered 447 men and 29 offi
cers oi wnom one onicer and an mn
died There are now living 10 officers
anu a men or wnom live are over 7fi
and 10 over 70 All the rest are be-
iween uj anu u yet out live in these
get enough under the McCumber bill to
keep them from suffering had they no
other resources The per diem bill is
the only just bill that has been advo
cated and will do more justice than any
Ei Prlsiners of War
James B Berkey Salem Ind wishes
mm every oenaior ana Representative
could be gotten to read the speech given
in Blaines Biography made by that
statesman on the occasion of the am
nesty bill in which Jefferson Davis was
arraigned for the sufferings of the pris
oners at Andersonville Comrade Berkey
favors the addition of 2 a month to
every ex prisoners pension
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I Williams 6th Wis Corning Kan
lovingly advances his mother for con
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She is now 93 years old and had two
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one of whom ia still alive One son and
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Leaping with open hands
Down they tear man and horse
Down In their awful course
Trampling with bloody heel
Over the crashing steel
All their eyes forward bent
Rushed the Black Regiment
Freedom their battle cry
Freedom or leave to die
Ah and they meant the word
Not as with us tis heard
Not a mere party shout
They gave their spirits out
Trusted the end to God
And on tho gory sod
Rolled in triumphant blood
Glad to strike one free blow
Whether for weal or woe
Glad to breathe one free breath
Tho on the lips of death
Praying alas in vain
That they might rNe again
So they could once more see
That light for liberty
This was what freedom lent
To the Black Regiment
Hundreds on hundreds fell
But they are resting well
Scourges and shackles strong
Never shall do them wrong
Companions bo Just and true
Oh to the living few
Hail them as comrades tried
Stand with them side by side
Never In field or tent
Shun the Black Regiment
Quotations have been freely made
from the writings of Capt Fred S Bow
ley of California and the poem is bv
Geo H Baker Delevan Bates Brevet
ungadler ueneral u S vols Aurora
Neb
-
JUSTICE TO McCLELLAN
V ComparlMon With en Grant Too Lit
tle 1ralnp for Gen Mendr
Editor National Tribune I am an old
soldier and a subscriber to The National
Tribune and generally am pleased with
it but sometimes see articles In it that
arc unjust narrow and partisan For
instance in The National Tribune of the
21st there is a short article under head
of the Peninsula which reads as fol
lows Findley W Munson of Stan
ford Fla was all thru the Peninsular
Campaign and quite agrees with what
The National Tribune historv has said
If Grant had been In McCIellans place
at Malvern Hill Richmond would have
been taken at once McClellan could
have been in Richmond within a month
from starting from Fortress Monroe if
he had had anything of the Grant spirit
in him Now I am not especially an
admirer of McClellan tho 1 served un
der him all tlie time he commanded the
Army of the Potomac but I believe in
doing justice to him Ho wen down to
the Peninsula with about 125000 men
but was very indifferently supported
from Washington Grant in the
ning of May 1864 started for Rich
mond with 250000 men mostly veter
ans and met Lee with barely 100000
With all that superiority of forces and
with immense reinforcements at call
Grant did not take Richmond in a
month nor for 11 months until April
1865 after losing more men in killed
wounded and prisoners than Lees en
tire army and when Lee surrendered at
Appomattox he had only 37000 men
left while Grant had nearly 200000 sol
diers around him At Cold Harbor be
fore Richmond Grant suffered perhaps
the most disastrous defeat of the war
These are historic facts Bo fair Your
columns should deal fairly with all sol
diers Grant was a great soldier but
so was Gen George G Meade and yet
very rarely In the columns of your pa
per do I see any praise or even mention
of Gen Meade and yet he was one of
the grandest noblest and most unsel
fish Generals of the civil war and
fought the battle of Gettysburg whicli
was the Waterloo of the rebellion Had
he been appointed Commander-in-Chief
as Grant was he would in all probabili
ty have taken Richmond as soon
Everard Bierer Colonel 171st Pa Hia
watha Kan
The 11th Ky
Editor National Tribune I would love
to see a short history of my old regi
ment tho 14th Ky J R Griffith
Rlchwood O
The 14th Ky was organized at Mount
Sterling and Irvin Ky from August
1862 to February 1863 and mustered
out by companies at different dates from
Sept 1G 1863 to March 24 1S64 It
was commanded by Col Henry C Lilly
belonged to Hascalls Dlvslon Twenty
third Corps and lost 54 killed and 147
from disease etc Editor National
Tribune
TIic 22d JT V Cnv
Editor National Tribune Please give
a short history of the 22d N Y Cav
Corpl Alfred Haywood Manhattan
Kan
The 22d N Y Cav was organized at
Rochester In February 1864 and mus
tered out Aug 1 1863 It was com
manded by Col Samuel J Crooks who
was discharged March 1 1865 succeed
ed by Col Horatio B Reed of the Reg
ular Army It belonged to Wilsons Di
vision Cavalry Corps and lost 23 killed
and 184 from disease etc Editor Na
tional Tribune
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PICKET SHOTS
From Alert Comrades Along tut Whole
Line
Wlint Compnny and Regiment i
M Luther Co C 13th 111 Cav White
Pigeon Mich referring to the story
about Quantreil by Charles D Field
says that he had a tentmate of that
name who was when last heard from
watchman in the Census Bureau at
Washington Why dont he give his
company and regiment as he is prob
ably Comrade Luthers old chum Com
rade Luther says that the regiment
left Bloomfleld Mo several days be
hind the division and were guarding
mail and sutler wagons all well loaded
and some ambulances Maj Lippert
was in command of about 280 men of
the regiment and others who did not
belong to the command They march
ed fast and there was a swarm of guer
rillas hanging around them all the time
During the march two sutler wagons
failed to get in one night and were
captured and robbed by the guerrillas
with the drivers taken prisoner One
sutler wagon was left because the team
was needed elsewhere and Co C which
was the rear guard got its contents and
reveled in canned fruit Catawba wine
cheese etc
Defenne of Gen McCIellnn
A B Dennis Cedar Rapids Iowa
says that we have fallen Into the fault
finding habit with regard to McClellan
and are unjust to a comrade who was
also one of the greatest military leaders
of the age He has been waiting for
some officers who served under that
lovable Commander-in-Chief to answer
tho strictures on McClellan but no one
has yet appeared He had three broth
ers who served under McClellan in all
his campaigns One fell badly wound
ed at Fredericksburg and another was
mortally wounded in tho Wilderness
Comrade Dennis himself served in the
7th Ohio and was surrendeded at Har
pers Ferry He holds Halleck and
Stanton entirely responsible for that
and Gen McClellan was not to blame
After his exchange he served two vears
and eight months in Co L 1st Ohio H
A in Kentucky Tennessee Georgia and
X--U Sin A1t - i - -
tiuitu viiuiijiti jiu lias voieu ior ail
the Republican candidates for Presi
dent therefore his sympathy with Mc
Clellan is not political but arises sim
ply from a desire to defend a man who
has been unjustly criticized
Gen Itlcbardson and Ills Division
George Schultz G2d N Y Gadshlll
Mo wants to make a correction in re
gard to Antietam Splendid old J B
Richardson of Michigan did not com
mand his division on the day of the
battle He was a grand old war horse
and his men all admired him to the
utmost Sept 16 the brigade to which
Comrade Schultz belonged the Third
of the First Division was about half a
mile in rear of Antietam Creek sup
porting some heavy artillery Gen
Richardson was with them and seated
under a walnut tree behind one of the
big 24 pound howitzers A 20 pound
rille shell came over from the enemy
burst above his head and a niece of
The Nine Month Men
J C Thomas 30 th Mo Webber Kan
disputes Comrade Dodges claim that
the nine months men were pushed to
the front and without them Port Hud
son and Vicksburg would not have been
taken Nine month men at the front
was the exception rather than the rule
and there was not a nine months man
at Vicksburg If the old Army of th3
Tennessee was not composed of sea
soned veterans no army was He would
not take any glory from the nine
months men but they must not claim
too much A claim was recently mado
for a certain regiment being the first to
enter Mobile This was not true as
the first to enter the city were four com
panies of the 30th Mo a regiment that
has furnished a Commander-in-Chief to
the Grand Army and who is held In
deserved honor by his comrades
Willows Pensions
Aunt Jane Plumville Pa who docs
not want her real name published 13
the widow of a soldier who served thru
the war and was sick five years beforo
he died He got a pension under tho
law of 1800 of J12 but that did not go
far toward keeping up family expenses
When he died everything was gone- She
applied for a pension and received 58
a month but that Is small to get along
on when she has to pay 10 cents a bush
el for coal By strict economy she can
make 250 bushels do her a year but
even that takes up 23 or 1 more than
the quarters pension After she payss
rent taxes etc she has scarcely any
thing to live on and is now in her 66tS
year so she cannot do much work She
wants The National Tribune to whisper
In every Congressmans ear somethins
about this and a strong admonition to
pass a bill giving more just allowances
Scattering
Comrade Elliott H See Co G 3StK
N Y Pleasantville N Y would ba
glad to hear from the comrade referred
to in The National Tribune of Sept 19-
as having marched at Saratoga wearing
tne uniform he wore in service and
who belonged to Comrade Sees com
pany Comrade See yet has his old
uniform cap knapsack haversack and
canteen
Comrade Bernard Brady Washing--ton
D C writes Who was tho
youngest Well I was born Nov 9
18o3 enlisted as drummer in Co D
58th Pa at Portsmouth Va Oct 15
1862 was discharged at Lynchburg
Oct 24 1865 Have read The National
Tribune for many years and would ba
glad to hear from any of my old com
rades
Comrade Jas H Kelley Albany JT
Y who was in the Signal Corp3 and on
duty on the Mound City June 18 1S62
would like to hear from comrades who
were In the crew of that vessel at that
time and helped fight tho battle of St
Charles also If bodies of soldiers In
terred June 19 off Island 87 on tho
Mississippi were ever removed and
where reinterred if removed
Bartlctt Lynch Co A 7th Mich
Carsonville Mich desire3 address of
John Dunlavy who served in a Wis
consin regiment
To aid widow will any comrade who
can send address of Sylvester Soah
Bailey an Indiana soldier if known to
be living or information that will lead
to discovery of hl3 whereabouts or his
death if he is not alive Address A T
Trogdon Paris 111
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