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Show EMERY COUNTY PROGRESS, CASTLE DALE, UTAH Order of the PURPLE The Prepare Stock Now for Coming Winter Inspection of Herds and Barns Will Repay Time Spent. HEART X' G eorq e "Wa shmq Photo f famous TheO; rder of By ELMO SCOTT WATSON HEN Gen. John J. Pershing, commander in chief of the A. K. F. In the World war, made repeated rec- ommendations for the creation of a special decoration for our fighting men to be awarded in exceptional cases which would not come within the scope of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service cross or the Distinguished Service medal, he did not know that authority for such a decoration was already In existence. In fact, had 4 been In existence for nearly 140 years. It was not until John C. Fltzpatrick, formerly assistant chief of the manuscript divi sion of the Library of Congress, now affiliated with the George Washington P.icentennial Celebration commission, revealed the result of researches which he had made several years ago, that the War department realized just such a decoration had been authorized way back In 1782 and, so far as It has been possible to learn, authority to award it has never been revoked either by congress or the President. While Gen. Charles P. Summerall was chief of staff, a study of the situation was made and a recommendation that the award of this decoration be resumed without additional authority from congress seemed probable, No definite action was taken at the time, however, but, with preparations for the nation-wid- e celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Washington nearing completion. It seems likely that this award may yet be For it was George Washington who established this award, the first military decoration ever conferred by this country and the second oldest reward for valor in existence, being antedated only by the Russian Cross of St. George. Known officially as the "Cadge of the Order of Military Merit," It ts also referred to as the "Order of the Purple Heart" because of the shape of the badge. It consists of a heart-shape- d piece of purple silk, fringed with lace, which was to be sewn on the left breast of the soldier's tunic. A poeuliar situation led Washington to establish the award. During the Revolution It was the custom for Washington and other generals to give commissions and promotions as rewards for valor. But congress decided that it alone had the power to Issue commissions to officers and took that power away from the generals. Money was scarce and Washington could not use it as a reward, so he conceived the idea of awarding a badge of merit. Accordingly on August 2, 17S2, he issued the following general order : "The general, ever desirous to cherish a virtuous ambition in his soldiers, as well as to foster and encourage every species of military merit, directs that whenever any singularly meritorius action Is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on the facings over his left breast, the figure of a heart In purple cloth or silk, edged with narrow lace or binding. "Not only instances of unusual gallantry, but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way shall meet with a due reward. Before this favor can be conferred on any man, the particular fact, or facts, on which It is to be grounded must be set forth to the com- mander in chief, accompanied with certificates from the commanding officers of the regiment and brigade to which the candidate for reward belonged, or other incontestable proofs, and upon granting it, the name and regiment of the person with the action so certified are to be enrolled In the book of merit which will be kept at the orderly office. "Men who have merited this last distinction to be suffered to pass all guards and sentinels which officers are permitted to do. "The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country Is thus open to all this order Is also to have retrospect to the earliest stages of the war, and to be considered as a permanent one." So far as it has been possible to learn, the only names ever written in the "book of merit" and the only men empowered to wear the Purple Heart badge were three sergeants In the Continental army all from the state of Connecticut. They were Sergt. Elijah Churchill of the Second Continental dragoons, Sergt. Daniel Brown of the Fifth Connecticut regiment and Sergt. Daniel Bissell of the Second Connecticut regiment. The original citation of Sergeant Churchill's exploits which won him this award is preserved in the Library of Congress and states that "Sergt. Churchill of the 2nd. Regiment of Light Dragoons, In the several enterprises against Fort St. George and Fort Slongo on Long Island acted a very conspicuous and singularly meritorius part, In that at the head of each body of attack he not only acquitted himself with great gallantry, firmness and address, but that, the surprise In one Instance and With the approach of winter II I """-S- uy, , Gen. John J. Pershing the success of the attaek In the other, proceeded in a considerable degree from his conduct and management." Acc'ing to the story, as It has been dug out of musty old records by Mr. Fitzgerald, Sergeant Churchill first attracted the attention of his superior officers for his daring In leading a dangerous raid inside the British lines before dawn on November 23, 1780. He again displayed outstanding valor In another hazardous raid right under the noses of the British' on October 3, 17S1. Both raids were planned and directed by MaJ. Benjamin Tallmadge of the Second Continental dragoons, chief of Washington's intelligence service. Major Tallmadge had received information concerning a huge supply of hay several hundred tons of it that had been stored for winter forage in a building at Coram, on the north shore of Long Island. Hay, In that day of cavalry supremacy, was one of the important supplies of warfare. Major Tallamdge relayed the information direct to General Washington, with an astounding plan for attempting not only to destroy the forage, but to storm a fortification which protected it. The intrepid major was authorized to make the attempt Late on the blustery afternoon of November 21, 17S0, a detachment of half a hundred dismounted dragoons of the Second Continental embarked in whaleboats at Fairfield, Conn., and headed across the sound toward Fort St. George, 20 miles away, with Major Tallmadge in command. They landed about eight o'clock in the evening and deciding that it was too late to attempt a march on the fort they pulled their boats out of sight and camped for the night. All the next day they huddled in the woods, trying to keep warm, and when night came they set out at a rapid pace for the fort. By three o'clock in the morning they arrived, undiscovered, within two miles of Fort St George. Here they halted for final orders. Major Tallmadge divided his force into three groups, each assigned to storm a particular blockhouse. Sixteen of the most daring members were picked for the assault on the main blockhouse and Sergeant Churchill was put in command of this group. Just bfrfore dawn the three detachments moved toward the fort, taking different routes to minimize the chances of discovery and to enable them to launch concerted attacks from three different points. The British sentinels seem to have been sleeping at their posts for they did not discover the attackers until Churchill and his men were less than 50 feet away and sprinting toward the walls. They immediately gave the alarm, but by this time the Americans had swarmed over the wall, crossed the ditch and were Inside the stockade, where they opened fire on the British soldiers as they came tumbling out of their barracks. "The other two attacking parties had expended their energies In getting inside the defenses and two blockhouses still remained to be taken," writes Mr. Fitzgerald in an account of this battle, which appeared In the magazine of the Daughters of the American Revolution several years ago. "A brisk fire was beginning to pour upon the Americans from these two houses, but battering parties beat in the doors and Inside of 10 more minutes Tallmadge's men had possession of the entire works. "The growing light now showed a British supply schooner at anchor close to the shore near the fort. A detachment captured her with ridiculous ease. The rapidity of the attack had protected the attackers and they had not lost a man, and only one of them was wounded. The British loss was several killed and wounded and most of the latter were mortally hurt. "The fort and the schooner were set on fire and the prisoners, over 50 In number, were started back toward the boats under a guard. Leaving a small force to see to it that the fort was completely destroyed, Tallmadge marched with the rest toward Coram. "The few sentries found there fled, and the hay was pulled loose and set on fire. Over 300 tons went up In rolling clouds of smoke and as soon as the fire was going beyond all hope of extinguishment, Tallmadge and his hay burners started back toward their boats. "The party of Americans reached their hidden boats late In the afternoon, after one or two brief skirmishes with the pursuers, and the force succeeded in getting away from shore without casualties. They arrived back at Fairfield before midnight." That was the first of the affairs which won for Churchill the Purplo Heart decoration. The next was In the following October when Washington made plans for destroying Fort Slongo, located on the north shore of Long Island, northeast of Brooklyn. Again Major Tallmadge secured the necessary exact Information which led to the attack on this post. The attacking party consisted of 100 men from the Fifth Connecticut regiment and the Second Continental JbSssf; 4yyy j Maj. Gen. C B. Summerall Maj. Lemuel Trescott, a Massachwr setts officer, volunteered to lead the party. "The expedition started across the sound at eight o'clock in the evening of October 2, 1781," writes Mr. Fitzpatrick, "and at three o'clock in dragoons. the morning the fort was in its hands. "Again Sergeant Churchill was in the van of j the first attacking party and again he acquitted himself with the utmost gallantry. The fort was so strong that Tallmadge had advised Trescott not to make a direct attack, but to try to draw off the defenders by a feint. This idea was not followed, the attacking force went at their job with such vigor that the fort was taken without the loss of a single man and only four of the British force were killed before the works surrendered. "The report of the affair shows 21 prisoners taken, and the destruction oX a goodly quantity of artillery and stores or arms, ammunition and clothing." Sergeant Brown was his Purple Heart 12 days later at Yorktown. The citation of the board of awards, dated April 24, 1783, is among the Washington papers In the Library of Congress. The board was composed of Brig. Gen. John Greaton, Col. Walter Stewart, Lieut. Col. Ebe-nezSprout and Majs. Nicholas Fish and Lemuel Trescott. The board declared that Sergeant Brown, "in the assault of the enemy's left redoubt at York-towin Virginia, on the evening of October 14, 1781, conducted a forlorn hope with great bravery, propriety and deliberate firmness and that his general character appears unexceptionable." Sergeant Brown was serving under Lieut. CoL Alexander Hamilton, who had been assigned the task of taking one of two British redoubts that were stubbornly resisting the siege of York-towThe other redoubt was to be attacked by allied French troops. The Americans volunteered to storm the outer redoubt, which was close to the river, and the French were to attaek the inner redoubt. The sergeant led his "forlorn hope" at the forefront of the attackers and refused even to await destruction of the abatis and other obstructions. Calling to his men to follow closely, he surmounted all the obstacles and led his men directly into the redoubt. A withering barrage failed to stop them, and the unbelievable courage of the little party so confounded the defenders that the redoubt surrendered in less than 15 minutes from the time Brown and his men launched the attack. The American losses were comparatively few. As for the exploit which won the Purple Heart decoration for Sergeant Bissell, the record is far from complete, due to the fact that it was in line of duty as a spy. In order to accomplish his mission he had to "desert" from the American army and in the faded Revolutionary records in the War department he is listed as a deserter. But the citation for the Purple Heart decoration, contained in Washington's General Orders for June 8, 178;?, while it does not contain the full story of Bissell's heroism, contains a hint of what It must have been and removes from his name the stigma attached to it by the notation In the official records. The citation reads, as follows: "Sergt. Bissell of the 2nd. Connecticut Regiment having performed some Important services within the immediate knowlIn which the edge of the Commander-in-Chiefidelity, perseverance and good sense of the said Sergt. Bissell were conspicuously manifested. It Is, therefore, ordered: That he be honored with the badge of merit; he will call at headquarters on Thursday next for the insignia and certificate to which he is hereby entitled." So far as It is possible to reconstruct the story, Bissell "deserted" from the army In August, 17S1, and made his way Into New York city. His mission was to obtain all the information he could about the plans of the British and to stay no longer than was necessary to accomplish his purpose. A year passed and nothing was heard from Bissell by his regimental officer, Lieut. Col. Robert Hanson Harrison, or his commander in chief. For all that they knew his mission may have been discovered by the British and he may have paid the usual penalty for being a spy. Then one day In September, 1782. Bissell reported at Washington's at Newburgh, N. Y., and made his verbal report which was taken down by Lieut. Col David Humphreys. n, f, head-qnarte- ( by Westers Newspaper Union.) Writer of the Most Tragic possible infectious diseases or parasites. Most progressive stockmen wash their stables at least once a year but frequent dustings with an old broom are needed to keep the cobwebs and dust down. Before the cat tle leave the pastures for the season it is good practice to Inspect the whole herd, and particularly the dry stock which may have been on some distaut pasturage, for possible skin disease or parasites. Noncontagious troubles such as warts, eczema, or wounds are easily looked after but ringworm, scab or mange, lice, or warbles are more daa gerous and each needs special treat ment It is often difficult for the average farmer to recognize the symp toms of an attack of the first two skin diseases mentioned, or to distinguish between them. Ringworm is doubly dangerous because humans may con tract it through handling or from cur rycombs and brushes. A simple meth od of finding whether scabs or skin rashes are caused by mange mites or ringworm is to scrape some of the scabs onto a piece of black paper. On warm ing this over a flame the mites can be seen to move, which is not the case with ringworm. Tincture of Iodine ap plied daily following washing with soap and water will cure the latter but scabies or mange need to be dipped in or sprayed with special solutions such as crude petroleum or equal parts of kerosene and cottonseed oil. which mixture Is also recommended for lice. No animal can give its best milk pro duction or put on flesh when feeding such parasites. iilLj:j Ill by Lieut. Frank E, Hagan farm- ers should make sure that the barns in which their stock are to pass the cold months are clean and free from the Purple Heart ton Houdon. Bust Arnw WORLD WAR YARNS St Louis Story tte home of the man who wrote the most tragic story of the World war. He was not a novel 1st nor a poet nor a war correspondent and his story was not written with.' pen or typewriter. It was tapped off in dots and dashes on a telegraph key. For Frank M. Murray, a sergeant in the Four Hundred and Twelfth telegraphic battalion Is the man who saC in a little telegraph office in London, day after day for more than tea months and from some unknown place In France received by telegraph the list of casualties of the A. E. F. and relayed them to the proper military authorities in the United States. When be first went on the Job his work was light. The casualties were comparatively few and three hours a day was all that the transmission required. But as the American force la France Increased and more Americans went into action during the summer uonths of 1918, the lists grew in size and his job called for 14 and sometimes 18 hours a day of the most exacting work where absolute accuracy was necessary. A wrong name or a wrong identification number meant a false death report and a crushing weight of sorrow for some one "back: home." It was a mysterious job which ha had, too. Each day he would open his instrument, give the call HF and immediately the report would start He had no Idea who waa coming. sending from the other end nor where the wire led to. For all that he knewj the man might be in the next room or( somewhere along the front in France. "There was no talking on the wire and the sender never suggested that1 he reveal his identity," says Murray.! "I'll admit that it was a sort of, The list was spooky arrangement beaded as coming from HAEF, which I figured meant Headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces. But one day a new operator came on duty, and before he realized what he was doing he Indicated that he was sending from a dugout near Chaumont' He soon realized bis mistake and begged me to say nothing about It and to forget the town. Curiously, I discovered after returning to St Louis that frequently the sender at the other end of the wire was a friend of mine. But I didn't know It at the time and he didn't either 1" Proper Nutrition Need of Young Growing Pigs Feeding trials indicate that It Is practical and easily possible to get as rapid gains through the winter on fall pigs as through the summer on spring pigs To do this, however, requires more skill in feeding. By skill In feeding we mean mainly supplying the right kinds of feed. A great many swine producers do not get as good gains on fall pigs as on spring pigs because they do not feed rations that are complete enough in protein, mineral, and vitamin sup ply. The result of this is that pigs become unthrifty and tend to develop rickets. Excellent results are had from grain and grass during the summer but there is no grass during the winter, and grain Is not enough for the complete nutrition of young growing pigs. Hence a good many farmers are disturbed about their fall pig shotes along about this time of year. Should these pigs, that have been unintentionally abused during the winter, survive until good grass is ready, they will usually curl up their tails and do their best to make up for lost time. Exchange. A "Necessity of War" for Him The truth might just as well be told. Yellow Blossom Clover Superior to the White? Some of the older soldiers of the regular army developed reprehensible habits of living from which they found It impossible to shake themselves, even, in France. One of these addicts was First Sergt Frank Moyer, "top" of H company, Sixtieth Infantry. He had an overwhelming passion for chewing gum! When his company came out of the e for replacements, Moyer was considerably disturbed. A touch of gas had sent him to a field dressing station, he was forced to hurry back to his company and prepare a complete report of casualties, and he had been without so much as a stick of chewing gum for many days. Moyer's agony increased as the list of dead grew upon report after report from his sergeants and corporals. It seemed he could stand no more, but just as he finished his report a consignment of mall for the company was dumped in his headquarters. Sergeant Moyer pawed through the piie of packages from the "States, searching feverishly. Finally he selected a fat bundle, which was not ad dressed to him, and opened it with, trembling hands. One of the first articles which tumbled out was a dozen packages of chewing gum. Shucking one complete package of the gum and stuffing it into his mouth, the "top" smiled wanly. , "That package was sent to he confessed sadly through clamping jaws. "I saw him get a direct hit not three days ago. Divide the rest of It among you, fellows. I'll keep the gum j myself." Meuse-Argonn- Eastgate brothers. Grand Forks county, N. D., prefer yellow blossom sweet clover to the white blossom variety. They say the yellow blossom clover stays green later in the fall and it makes a better hay because the stems are not so coarse. It also Itself better when pastured closely. "We use for pasture a mixture of seven pounds of sweet clover and four pounds of timothy," said Jake East-gat"If the pasture Is to be used for any length of time we add about six pounds of brome grass an acre to the mixture. The brome Is the first to get green in the spring. It also stays green late In the fall. Over a period of 17 years we have averaged making 158 pounds of beef an acre on pasture. The beef yield has varied from 80 to 300 pounds an acre." Capper's Farmer. e. Feed Mature Turkeys Same as Other Fowls Mature turkeys are fed upon the grains commonly given other poultry: Corn, wheat, oats and buckwheat, with corn the predominating grain. They are also given skimmilk and. It not on free range, tender green food of any kind that they like. The poultry mashes used in feeding young chicks are also suitable for growing turkeys. These may be kept dry in hoppers before the birds or fc" moistened. As early fall comes and It Is desired to fatten turkeys for market, 'the proportion of corn fed is increased. The birds .rill show by their appetites what are. amounts suitable Fattening should begin by October for the Thanksgiving market North Carolina Hay Crop The advice of the agricultural leaders to the farmers of North Carolina to live at home has been very successful. This year a large and fine crop of oat hay has been harvested by the farmers of the state. Both fall sown and spring sown oats made large yields. The weather conditions for curing were practically ideal. After harvesting the oats, the fields have been broken and soybeans and cow peas planted for hay or a crop. is He Didn't Say It! too bad about some of those epigrams which famous leaders in the World war are supposed to have utteredbut didn't Next to the historic phrase, "Lafayette, we are here!" which General Pershing didn't say, is one attributed to Admiral William S. Sims when he arrived with the first American naval forces in European waters and was asked when he would be ready for business. He Is supposed to have replied : "We can start at once. We made preparations on the way." Here is what Admiral Sims himself has to say about that: "I do not know how such a yarn could have arisen. As a matter of fact 1 was on duty in Paris when the destroyers arrived at Queenstown. They were In command of Commander Joseph K. Taussig, U. S. N. It is true that he was asked by Admiral Bayley, Immediately on arrival after a 3,000-mi- le transatlantic passage, when he would be ready for service, and he replied that he would be ready as goon as bis vessels could be refueled. "You see, therefore, that 1 can make no claim to having made use of anj such eplgrammatical expression.'' It's Just 1 (ffl. 1S31, Western Newspaper Union.! |