| Show wm how history repeats cant itself you 11 say when you remember grant who in his boyhood day once ought throughout the lealon for can t lie could not find the word that day the earnest boy whose name was grant he never found it through long years alth all their power to disenchant no hostile host could give him pause rivers and mountains could not daunt he never found that hindering word the steadfast roan whose name was grant harriet prescott spofford in st nicho las soldiers early experience to the veteran every occurrence through which he passed Is dear especially so the little striking events of hi early soldier days writes an eastern veteran my regiment the fourteenth rhode island heavy arall lery was stationed at one time at fort jackson on the mississippi river 40 miles above its mouth I 1 recal that lully one third ot our battalion were schoolboys like myself all willing to grow beards and to become sturdy fighting men our officers too were new to the business of war having been made such after a hasty study of the first seventy pages of the army regulations making it plain that we must have training as well as pluck that we were all supposed to have in order tu escape the whipping and final said to be in store tor at the horny bands of our opponents the texas cowboys A little later 1 of thase cowboys were compelled to tether their mustangs and lay down their arms by us but this Is a dl gresslin gres slon A little episode of camp life while at fort jackson will serve to show how promptly we took our first degree in riding the goat through to parapet when a genuine soul stirring cause tor alarm came gal loping into camp in the majestic form a cra JA a 0 0 la 17 of our surgeon dr carpenter who brought the startling news that the rebel ram igaac webb was on the way down the river having passed new orleans flying the confederate flag the isaac webb was formerly one of new york s fastest ocean going tug boats her speed was 17 knots an hour we were mighty quickly formed in to lines and marched double quick up to the big harrotts Par overlooking the river we carried our which we loaded and stacked then the 11 inch guns and the par and trailed to point blank range every well known ship course of the river within our view then we ampa awaited the coming of the ram and while we waited toyed with our adam a apple screwed up our knock kneed courage that so woefully wab bled again to the fighting pitch and remained full of speechless wonder and surprise but where was the webb we stood up looked listened then looked again but the calm and peaceful riv er gave no sign of her approach the suspense was so great that it inter with our breathing we could hear nothing but the tap tap tap of an organ which seemed to have risen and to be lying near our tongues but where was the ram that our doughty doctor had told us was coming at every successive point on that part of the broad river in our view we looked fully expecting her to poke her nose around and come on defiant As the day wore on the oppressing became more clear we tood erect feeling quite jubilant when suddenly a startling exclamation aused all eyes to turn look look what Is that coming out of the westa glancing backward we saw something dust hidden riding swiftly and to our imaginative minds suspiciously toward the fort could it be possible that our rear was to be the point of attacks one more gulp of the adam s apple and a silent remembrance ot the mis demeanors and shortcomings of our career a hasty prayer then sudden ly out of the clouds of dust came our relief bringing intelligence that the ram had herself been rammed and sunk after having been driven ashore by the union gunboat richmond which had passed up the river the preceding night thus putting an end to the tearful risk that the webb took when attempting to pass our tort and blotting from our record a part ote glory that tradition would have added to the gallantry and valor afterward accorded the fourteenth rhoda island heavy artillery and which we are proud to write stopped forever the juggling with the guns that was said must be use 1 to goad us into action in historic we never en inhere 1 such memorable test of L I 1 hiis pens t 01 ful a in the hc of daring wartime deeds by the way said the captain sergeant sam grimshaw received the medal of honor for seizing an anex plodded shell and throwing it to a dis tance before it exploded in this way he saved the lives of several men george hunt prevented a fuse shell from exploding by crushing a handful ot mud into the hole where the fuse was sputtering lie received no medal patrick aimley a private in company G first new york light artillery n 1864 was caught between the lines when his command retreated lie siept back to the abandoned works put three charges of canister in one of the guns and blazed away at the enemy on the point of entering the works this led to the reoccupation of the works by the union troops and twenty six years later aimley received a medal of honor for that exploit samuel E eddy company D thir ty seventh massachusetts went beyond the firing line to bring in the regimental adjutant who had been wounded biddy was run through the body with a bainet and pinned to the ground but he shot his assailant and saved the adjutant he received a medal of honor two of our boys who went into the zone of alre after the charge at kenesaw and brought in a wounded comrade did not receive medals orion P howe a 14 year old drummer of the fifty fifth illinois went under heavy alre at vicksburg to report to gen sherman the need of more ammunition and was given a medal of honor aleut S G grubb and dan R anderson who put out the fire in sherman s great pile of reserve ammunition at resaca when it was struck by lightning have no medals nathaniel gwynne a 15 cearold recruit of the thirteenth ohio caa iry had not been mustered when the charge at petersburg was ordered but he went in and lost an arm lie was given a medal of honor in 1865 gen adelbert ames received a medal of honor for remaining on the field at bull run lie was then a lieutenant of the fifth artillery and although se verely wounded directed to the last the fire of a section of griffin s bat tery in all about 2 medals of honor have been issued of these going to officers and men of the thir ty seventh maine who volunteered when their time had expired to remain in service until after the battle of gettysburg chicago inter ocean on the field of bull run the autumn maneuvers of the army will be held on the battle field of bull that bloody square marked by on the east groveton and on the west sudley springs on the north and manassas on the south the changes that have come over that historic ground since the civil war are few the troops and there will be according to gen corbin that go down into that part of virginia might be guided through the pines woods cornfields and pastures of the bull run field by the topographic maps used by beau regard johnston and mcdowell in july 1861 or by the field maps used by jackson longstreet lee an pope ic august 1862 bull run rolls slug from bull run mountains to adula creek and catharpin creek youngs branch cub run all strat abic streams pour into it at various points in the ground A ma of the farms are owned by the came folk or the children of the same folk who tilled them in 61 and 62 claims largest G A R port gen lander post no A R ot lynn mass was tor many years the largest post numerically in the united states but it tell into second place tor a time george II 11 thomas post no chicago taking the lead recently however the massa Chu post has been making gains rather than the usual losses everywhere and with members at prea Is probably at the head of the list again A soldier stratagem an amusing story Is told of a 01 ol dier a virginian by birth when he was going on a marauding expedition he used to stop at a friendly black smith s to have his horse s re versed by this means his enemies seeing the track of the horse s hoots going in a certain direction would pursue him that nay whereas the sly old soldier and his horse would in reality be safely out of danger by an exactly opposite direction manual training in britain there are 12 boys and 4 1 IT te industrial of arr it v |
