Soldiers' record, 1869-08-14

              ONE FLAQ, OFB LAND, ONE HEART, ONE HAND, ONE NATION, EVERMORE!
YOL. II. HARTEOKD, OON^^., SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 1860. NO. 6
i o r o a t i o m c .
A S O L D I E R ' S LIFE.
LIY AUGUSTUS U. FKNN.
Give mc tUo gallant soldior's life !
Tlicro's soiiio that say 'tis l>anl—
But the victory won in Frcodoiu's strife
Must bo a ftill revvarrl.
Give mo the patriot soldier's death,
'Midst the cannon's roar and rattle ;
Oh, where so well to yield our breath
As in our Country's battle !
Give me the s;allant soldier's life,
His tropines and his scars 1
Oh, who would fear, tho' death were rife,
Beneath those Stripes and fr^tars I
Thiit flag whicii waved o'er YorUtown's plain.
Where Victory's eagles Hew;
O'er r«rry's Fleet, o'er Lundy's Lane,
And 3ver Sutnpter too !
That flag, when tho last look was set,
Of veterans bronzed and brown,
WaA'od in ail lands, and "never yet
III a fair light went down !"
That flag, first in a patriot?s thoughts.
Its glory wiio shall tell!
'Neath it, Columltia's sons have fou,:?ht,
And 'noath it tlioy Have fell.
And when a traitor's liand would tear
That banner from tlie wall;
'Midst blarken'd ruin and despair
Bid our dissever'd Union Mi ;
Then for the gallant soldier's life !
Then for his latest breath !
Blest v/ere his part in Freedom's strife.
And dying, sweet his death.
A F U a m D WELCOMED.
The joy of meeting m.ikes us love farewell;
We i'-a'ther once again around tiie hearth,
And thou wilt tell,
All tliat thy keen .experience has been
Of pleasure, daii^'er, inisadventuie, mirth
And Unforeseen.
And all without an ani;ry word the while,
Or self compansoTi—iiaugiu dost thou recall
8ave for a su\ile;
Thou knowesi, how to lend good lortune grace.
And how to mock wUate'or ill luck iicfali
• Vfith lang-iiiiig face.
But friend, go not again so Tar away ;
In need of some s'.u.ill liclp 1 always .^taud
C'ome wiiat iso may.
I know nob whii hcr leads tliis path of mine,
But I can t!ire;id it i)errer when my iiaiul
Is clasped in ihine,
ALFUlil) Dli ilUSSKTT.
A PElilLOLTS A D V E N T i n i E.
Ooloucl I l o i n y W. Sawyer, who lias
l a t e l y been a p p o i n t e d Superiiitondent of | and secnrw
the lire-saving a|)pai'atns on tlie New j
at cach other with blanched faces, and a
silence like death prevailed for some min-utes
in the room. The Confederate offi-cer
then suggested that perhnps the bet-ter
way would be to place a number of
slips of paper, equal to the vvhole number
of officers from whom the victims were
to be selected, in a box, with the word
"death" written on two of them, and the
rest blank—the two who drew the fatal
slips to 1)0 the doomed men. This plan
was adopted, and a chaplain was appoint-ed
to prepare the slips. drawing
then commenced, the men advancing and.
taking out a slip, and if it proved a blank
taking' their places in another part of the
room
"•The drawing had [jroceedcd for some
time, and fully a third of the officers had
exchanged gloomy looks of apprehension,
ft)r a relieved aspect they could not a-void
showing, after escape from such t. r-rible
[icj-il, before a fatal death slip had
been drawn. A,t the end of about this
period, however, the first slip was; d."awn
and the name of Captain !(enry W. S.iw-yer,
of tho First New Jcsey cavalry,
was called out as the unfortunate man
The captain was, of course, deeply agi-tated,
but did not loose his self posses-sion.
He immediately began revolving
in his mind some plan for averting, or at
least postponing, tlio immediate ca,rryiiig
out of the sanguinary edict ol the j-ebel
government, and liy the time that he was
joined by his compimion in mis.^ortune,
who turned out to bo a Captain Flynn, of
an Indian 1 regiment, he had resolved u[)-
on his course The officers in comnnuid,
as soon as tlie drawing was compile ted,
ordered the two men to be taken out and
immediately executed.
Captain Sawyer, ]u)wever, demanded as
a request that no civilized nation could
lefnse under sucii circnmstauci^s, that ho
shonllliave permission to wiite to liis
wife to inlbrm her of the terrible fate
llmt awaited liim, and to lirive her come
and l)ul him an eternal fai-ewell. Re-spite
for a day or two was thus obtained,
and Sa,wyer subseiiuehtly obtained an in-terview
with the rebel' secretary of war
and secured permission to write to his
le did. Ilis object in writ-to
her was nrinciualiy for
Confederate government dete.vmined to ^ be carried out.
retaliate ill kind the _ execution of two j it turned out precisely as Sawyer hop-rebel
officers by one of our Western gen-j J , o n ^ . o^overnment: was
orals. Mr. Sawyer was at that time a ' idi^^j.im.d of the condition of al'faii's, and
captain in tho First New Jersey Cavalry, j ])i'omptly seized a. son of GeiKU'al Lee a.ud
and was of the grade of officers from whom ; one of some, otluu- |)rominent rebel, and
selections were to be made for the vie-! tiireateiu'd to lian^v them if the Union
tims to Confederate vengeance. Tho offi-! oilicers were executed. By this me:ins
cer who' was in charge of the prisoners tin. lives of two doomed men were save.!
a 1th1,aoft- tunc wa. akinu iieai t a i uiaa^icu , govtehrrnematesn. t dAidft enr oat,
jUde man and was regarded by hem wi h • ,,„a,nunent Captain
feehngs oi gratitude and aitection. On .vasoxclmnged. Cai.taiu b^lvnn,
the morning in question this olhcer enter-1 <;„iiipa.nion in misibrtune, came out
cd the room where tho prisoners vvero the ordeal with his Imiras white a«
conlincd and told all tho officers to walk , (.^now turned gray by the, mental suifer-out
into another room. : fugs he endured. Cai)tain Sa wyer in a
The order was obeyed with particular ' week or two was as "got)d as new," and
a l a c r i t v , as the prisoners wore daily ex- served through the war."
Dcctinii' to be exchanged, and it was sup- -
posed that tho order had arrived and TLIE ClIOOlvEl) TRl^E.
that they wero about to exchango their child, when asked why a cei'tain tree
prison quarters for homo and ti'cedom. ! (3: OQl-et^ replied: '-Somelmdy trod
Alter they had all gathered in the room, jt^ i suppose, when it was a little fel-their
countenances lighted up with this " jjo^y many, with aching hearts,
agreeable hope, tho officer came in among i-euunnber the days of their childhood,
them, and with a very grave face, took a they were tho victims of indiscreet
paper out of his pocket and told them repression, rather than the happy ol)jects
t h a t l i e h a d a very nujilancholy duty to of soino kind direction and culture !* The
p e r f o r m , tho purport of whic'li would bo eifects of such misguided discipline have
better understood by tho reading of tho jj^j^j^ apparent to their histoiy and char-o
r d e r he held in ids hand, which he had acter, and by no })rocess of human dovis-just
received from the War Department. the wrong be now reclilied. The
lie then proceeded to read to the amazed g^-aud error in their education consisted
and horrified group, an order for tlio im- ^ system of rigid restraints, witliout
mediate execution of two of their number, oorrespondino' olforts to develop, cultivate,
in retaliation for the hanging of two train in a right direction.
M C P H I 5 K S 0 K
BY "SERIOUS WILKINS."
Late Stalf Surgeon, U. S. A.
JuLY22d, 1864—To every surviviug
member of the old Army of the Tennessee
this is a date ai-ound wh;ch the most sol-emn
memoiies will gather while recol-lection
holds a seat or reason tho power
of recalling the past. We remember with
pride the brilliant and glorious victory of
that day ; we remember with sadness the
fearful price we paid for it. It was the
most brilliant and decisive victory record-ed
in the annals of this historic army, and
it cost us all it was worth. In addition
to the host of gallant spirits, who that
day paid with their lives the patriot's
debt, it cost us the life of James Birdsie
McPherson, tho loved, lamented, idolized
command*^.r of the Army of the Tennessee
I can never forget the gloom and the
crushing weight of sadness that bowed
our hearts and heads as silenily we gath-ered
around our camp-lire tlio night fol-lowing
the battle of Atlanta, on the 22d of
July. The full extent of our victory was
not then known, while we fully apprecia-ted
the fearful loss we had sustained. No
group of sorrowing orphans ever gath^'r-ed
around their lonely hearthstones with
more melancholy loneliness, after b'.ing
made desolate l)y the removal of a loved
and protecting father, than did we of his
military family who that night assembled
around our desolate camp tire. We hon-ored
him as our military chief; we gloried
in his genius, but we loved him as a l)roth-er.
lie v/as to us the embodiment of
everything that constitutes the thorough
soldier and the perfect gentlemafi. lie
was one that God made when he was at
leisure and had on hand an abund ance of
good ma-terial. And it was not alone t!;ose
of his own innnodiate friendsand our own
army who held him in this great regard,
even our country's foes, esteemed him as
one above reproach. They had great re-spect
for hi>: soldiei'ly qu;vlitius and his
iientlemanly accomplishments, and we
have often t)eon told by those who were in
tho rebel army that there was no feeling
of exultation in their lines when it was
known th it McPherson Was killed, ilis
humane treatment of those whom the for-tune
of war threw in his power will never
be forgotten by those who were then ar-rayed
as his and his country's enouiies. In
the whole history of our arnues there is
no record more brilliant than his. No
( Jeneral whoso rise was so ra.pid or so
well doserved. At the ooinmLMKioment of
Uie rebellion we iiud him but a Lieiitemint
of engineers stationed in California. In
less than two years be is Major (ieneral of
volunteers and Jk'igadier (General in the
regular army. Me arose stop 03' step
from rank to rank by merit alone, wholly
unassistetl by political influ'juce or parti-zan
p'U'tialit}'. There was noofliecrof
the sa,nnj rank in tho v/liole army who bet-tei'
ailornod the position than dames 1>.
McPherson. Ilis ra.nk lent m.) digidty to
him he did not I'epay with interest. ?iis
life was one of nnjst rare success, ami his
death glorious! lie died as he would
have wished had he bemi lionsulted ; in
full h irness, booted and sijurred. his lace
to the foe, and his death was |)ainless. It
has been said that he lost his lifo through
rashness on his part. This is a mistake.
His death was one of those u uivoidable
accidents of war wholly unforse. n and
could Dot bo guarded against. lie was
oil tho liehl ))l:iciug his troops in position
to remedy a mistake made by one of his
subordinate (Jeuerals, when a squad of the
enemy's sarmishers suddenly In'oke
through the thicket and seeing an officer
of rank (ired a volley at him and one ill-timed
messenger ()l death [)issod through
one of th.e noi)lcst hearts that ever beat l)e-neath
thci unil'orui of an xVmcrican soldier.
So died James IJirsie iMacPiiersoii.
Proudly lie reined Ills pettod yold black,"
Like n warrior chieftain of old ;
Alas ! in Jin hour tiioy hronixht him biick
To us silent, gory, and cold.
Far to tho front in victorious frsjlit
Me fell. In his young prime's fresh glow,
Belled, booted and spurred, like a gallant knight,
With his face toward the foe.
Ho fell in the zenith of glory.
One of the bright stars of tho age.
And in letters of gold shall his story
Find record on liistory's pngo..
Yfii hronght him bleeding to his "warrior chief"
Wliom in life ho had loved so well,
And with tremulous voices choked witli grief.
Told how McPherson fell.
Sh(;rnian, the while forgetting the dangers,
Tho iron hail ami raining lead.
Stood, while the tears tiiat to him wore strangers
Bedewed the cold face of the dead.
Bowinir his head o'er the corse before him
While yet tliere ebbed life's crimson tide.
He spread his couinry's banner o'er him,
Th<^ starry flag for which he died.
In lasting iron we siirouded his breast
And we emiialmed his sacred clay.
And then back to ins childiiood'.s hojne to rest
In sorrow we bore him awaj'.
Wiiere his inotiior can weop o'er tiio dust
That covers her slnmberiii'^ brave.
And another dear one whose.hopes are crushed.
Can tenderly watch o'er his grave.
And proud Columbia sfill is weeping.
For the laurel is witiiored now
She braided to crown him who is sleeping
With a martyr's wreath on his brow.
We n ;ed no bronze, nor ii.onumeut stone
To carry down to time his fame,
Graved nu oar hearts by affection alone
Is our JMcPlierson's mime.
A BiiAVE MA¥ DEAD.
David Wrigiit, a native of Scotland,
but long a resident of Ilyeg-at, A^t., died
a t . t h a t i)la(ie on Wediiesday. In his
youth he served six years iii the British
army. At the breaking out of the late
war, and when nearly lifty years of age,
he enlisted, and Ids throe sons witli him,
for tliree yea.rs'men. At his Avife,'s so-licitation
the adjutant g-eneral sent him
Ids discharge on the eve oftlie battle of
iMine Kun. Ilis comrades urged him to
go home and not risk his life, but the
true patriot replied—"Yes, l e a n ,gonow,
but every shot tells on tho enemy," and
into the light he went, coming- out un-scathed.
Soon after he returned to his
tainily, but news from tlio seat-of war
nnide him uneasy, ami he again enlisted,
this time into the 3d Vermont regiment,
wluue he continued until after tho ter-rible
campaign of I8fM. In tho Wilder-ness
fight his son Henry was mortally
wounded; he himself was suddenly at-tacked
with acute iirfla'mmatiori in his
eves, which made him nearly blind, yet
he continued fighting- his way down' to
Coal Harbor, wh()re he became detacluHl
from his regiment, Avandering- blindly
about f(n'three days, until brought iii
by a New York soldier. He was nearly
famished, his . su(lering-s were intense,
and in ids blistered l;ice and swollen,
eyes his comrades did not recogidze him.
Thence he was sent to Ilrattleboro hospi-tal
for nuidical treatment, Avhere he re-mained
until August 18(>a, when ho was
discharged and sent !n)me, witlihis sight
nothing inrprovod. During his service
ho was in 3(5 battles. Si nee that time ho
1ms suffered very many extremely ])ain-ful
operations upon his eyes, but all in
viiin, and his sulfering life (dosed a few
days ago, Me bore his pain as coming-from
a I'^ailier's hand. lOarth has claiiii-
(id the dust of another brave toldier,
who nobly did his part taward i)rotect-ing
us and our homes. "All honor to
tlio brave 1"
Men laugh at love. Men sneer at hu-man
alfection. Well, lot them liugh, let
I hem sneer. There are hours in the ex-perience
of every man wiieu ho longs
tlie infolding of a woman's arms, for the
kisses of a woman's lips, ibr the soothing
of a woman's voice, with imuttorable long-ings.
VViiit for that hour. Do not at-tempt
to argue with the poor fool of the
world, who, in his ignorance of bliss, de-nie-
i it oxistonco.
Confederate odicoi's.
As tho reader ceased, the men looked A favorite modern air—Million-aire.
VVi'.'ll ne'er lorn'ci lii-^ Wiird.s ih it moniiu^
Or the li.;hi ib;it Itishiid in Ins eye,
Or the smile that his lips w.-re adorning
As he roile oa the field to die.
The man who was wrapi>od in his
own thoughts, had a very tliiu covering
and took a violent cold in consequonce.