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About The Ontario Argus. (Ontario, Or.) 1???-1947 | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1913)
I tntr h ltuili,v r pvlw ... "" I M P' .!!, ,Q Youthful Musicians Heroic Lads of the Civil War By Caption GEORGE L. KILMER. lkt U. S. V When bait I round ach warllk band And cam. loud liar tru,niot blaw Young Ed win left hla natlva land A drummer boy (or Waterloo. N otu thistandiv; th.tcruri- MH or tin- writ era art tim vth-s fnuti wlilfb tliw ubovti lliifs were inLcn liniiicdliUely boon me n flrMe clnHKlc. Tli'.v were given ii the iiiilic while Vutirlo TM freah In inlti.l n the gTMtttt but 1 .u of iDiMlern tltiiea. All the civ llljr.fi I world wua then Int. ..! in Waterloo. JllHt na the turtles mill llllllial) pl'in- tlce of the liviuli .in. I Mulish wero rilol tiy the reuulur aoMii't- of tin United gluten. Ml the Idea am! tradi tions ifcMMtaf aioiinil aoiue fiitnou name, at of tl Napoleon of Wcltllikt"". or a liattle IUm Antterlttic or Waterloo, wiriui'l iliv tn filiation of the Ameri can mils!' A dreuinltii; lxj of 1MH rtivnmod of Waterloo If hla Mtfe icrmitled he be en mo a noldler to Imitate the f'M (iliiii'il of N,., . I he- I!oal Scot of Wulliuutou. ill tender yeiira could not hold lihn hoc I; from the I vo ultlug camp, for, If not old enoiiKh to take i arm. tia a soldier, he could he 11 drummer icrliun '1". ere had lieen driiuiuier lo.v at Waterloo; why should uot the drummer-, lu the Auier liim rump also be hoya? ir the reorultJiiK aerueunt did not tli u no nud refuaed to enroll the lud 'J V $ 1 JL X. 7 f a m. V ' 1 UUUINU THK CUAHOB. of ten or twelve, the boy could atlll follow the army to the front aa a vol unteer and trust to luck. The sergeant inlpht relent whuu the boy allowed tho atutr thut was lu brtn by tMlBfl the bat tle as bravely as his settlor. TliH Ih the way It hgppOMd that In the rouian.e and poetry of the nhi may be fouud the nobrlqMti "The druuauner boj of Slilloh" and "The druuimer boy Of Oliickaiuaugu " They were the same boy. little Johnny Clew, who col. lu't be a aoldler because he was only eleven years of ago. But he could drum, and the kind hearted soldiers huuioied hla ambition and took him to the front. where he "made trood." first at Sullob and then at Cblckainautra. When ihe wai broke out In lSdl the rule eoneenuiiK luiiskians In ihe I oil ed States army was ubout the same as lu the BrltUl "" "flt'" ul'l,'l' il w" mod. 'led !.! me Crimean war adopted th slclnns us them Into ivH.1. hiiaa Hie nractlce of the regu lar unuv of the (felted State, and the volunteer I , Of course, to lowed the same cuatom. The regulations ere Una tllel UtflM ''y U,U8'" clana .muted for each company of In fantry. Daually oue wu a flfer and one a drummer. if a boy could abow himself very skillful at tbe rub-a-dub-dub or tootle- te-loot he would he tnken. even If he lacked a couple or years, a couple of Indies and a score or pounds to orlng hlm up to the regulation size, age and i weight. This accounts for Willie I Johnson, aged tblrteeu, who was j awarded a medal or honor for some I gallant act performed tbe second year of the war while be waa a drummer lu the Third Vermont; for tbe boy Mun- I son or the Tweuty-thlrd MnssacW setts, who was mortally wouuded at the battle ol itounoke while ouly thir teen; or (jnrdtier. the drummer or the Kighfh Mlchlgau, brought home to his auxlous, waiting motbar, dead from a wound received In battle when be was but little over thirteen. Hue or gray, it made no difference There were A. K. Clark, a dmmnier or the Firth tieorgia regiment, who went through tbe campaign weighing nut ninety -0 r pounds, and little i.iiien of Tentieasee, the hero of a classic war i.t h . who was nursed back to lire fi"in an iiwful wound only to go rorth Kgula to liattle aud never be beard from more. The tire aud drum corps or an in fin try regiment roruied a unit In It self The members were detached from the companies in which they lino enlisted and attached to reglinoutal headquarters, the same aa the colo. guurd. Under a chief they occupied separate iiiarlers and were sulij.-el to the directions of the colonels staff or fleers lu battle the lifers and drum mere. esieclally during the early dicya oi the war, assisted tbe surgeons in the cure of tbe wouuded. Often they wore with etraugers. adinlulstcrlug to the ralleu. aud errands ol mercy called them to distant parts or the field In ISiM the Federal ambulance corpa was organized, and the work or giving first aid aud removing the wounded was done thereafter by ambulance at tendants. This arrangement relieved th.- musicians of the duty of removing wouuded lu stretchers and left then free to roam the held lu search of Buffering victim. I nin.e the regimental band, the reg Inieutal tire and drum corps, which Includes the regimen la i bugler, bus a practical duty to perform lu the rou tine or .amp sud march Tho baud Is a luxury aud an ornament. Cou-gi.-ss discovered that eurly in im.j and legislated hundreds or huud util of existence The 100 then In aerMce employ eO 17.000 men uud had ulivud.i cost ,V o-i.m.i in addltlou to the pay or ihe men. their food aud the expense .t irnusp.il ting them it was plum at tn.d date that the war was to n- a long and costly one. The musician were regiilurl.v enlist ed soldiers, who could not he tor. .d to t ike up arms aud tight unless the chose. 1'he ouly wuy lo abolish the bunds was to muster them out ot aervlOft. Hut music waa not totally butilshud from the army campa Bri gade (..mils were formed, aud some regiments or their officers or patron at home paid the espouse aud retain ed the music. Tbe bugle and the flfo aud drum are essential lu au army to aouud tbe va rioua call, wblcb swiftly, a well u musically, signal tbe order of tbe co.umunder to tbe troop. These In clude tbe familiar oues of getting 'em up lu the mornln' " and "go to sleep, go to sleep, go to alMp," reveille and tap In camp certain call ara sounded periodically day In and day out, but on a cauipalgu many of them are atgnala to sudden change of ac tion. With tbe army strung out for miles, the bugle or drum at headquarter starta the lgual rolling. The nearest drums or bugle repeat U, the note often mingling. In amergeneiea the first elgual may be overtaken before it reaches tbe end of the line by another aent out to supersede It The "long roil' iieaten on the drum or me ou. Mil To arms1" aud To borsel" an- the sudden appearance or ui mm ' iTJ A Noble Sacrifice A Story For Memo rial Day By F. A. NITCHCL Copyright, 1911. by Amarloan Praia Aatociullon. o nouuee enemy. -M ...aa AM 11 II A 111! The armies or nuy " u....,i.wi I ...i....i.nU ,.r metsanhoiie and only au aoldic-s and then fonnln flag signal iiyateui 1 f,,'- hands "musical corps or bands the bugle or drum was au otti.ia! mouth order men ' Into of u schoolboy ,.i,. which tnlulit the jaws of death." al.o recall them in nick o' time "back from the mouth ol hell." Q in i in i Q Mi evening before Memorial day a remnant of a Grand Army post, a few old fellows whose hair and hen ids were while as anow. had got together to confer up-m the morrow's decoration or the grave or their comrades who hud gone before them to the eternal .'limping groutnls Having perreeted their arrangements, they tell to swap plug yarns about episodes that had oc curred hair a century before They had told their stories tunny a time, hut each listened to the other with much f the original Interest and a respect that had grown with years. This Is one or the stories that were told: Along about I'J or was It tUl? may is- It was '('.I (m. memory about those lays Is getting mixed). I commanded Ui'tieral It ' heailiunrtera escort, we being encamped Just back of tbe tents or the general and his staff. Oue morn Ing au officer of a picket post sent to headijitarters a OOttBtF) Lumpkin who hail driven his cow right up to our Hue The general asked hlm why he inn Led up against au army with no better support than a cow, and he said he had had his cow lu pasture down baton and didn't know our men were there He wu questioned about the Confederate forces lu the reglou from whence he bad come, but be waa so stupid that It was Impossible to get auythlug out of him. As to uumbers. It was always "a heap o' In use sogers," or "right smart o cauuous," or "a hull regiment o walklu' men." Tbe geueral soon gave over questioning hlm and Issued orders that he be permitted to drive his cow ou homeward. Two or three day later, while talk Ing with one of tbe aids, be told me that a circular order hud lieen sent out from geueral headquarters for all com mander to look out for a spy who bad first appeared drtvlug a cow. pretend Ing to have got confused without the picket Una A row hours Inter a man In Federal uniform had been picked up by the provost guard for being absent from hla command without a pas. While Inquiries were being made about hlm he had given tbe guard the slip and had disappeared. At our head quarters we wondered If the country man we had passed and this straggler were nut one and the same man. While we were talking about It a telegram came In from the left ot our command atatiug that a uiau who wa trying to steal through our picket line to go south hud been tired ou. but bud disappeared lu a wood thick with tau gled undergrowth The officer of the post sent u sergeaut with twelve men luto the wood, who deployed to cover the ground aud swept out every live thiug there. A mau was aeeu run ning to a small village, or, rather, a clump of houses, half a mile distant, and before he could be captured bad disappeared among a group of a few men, more women aud a lot of chil dren. When our men got there they couldn't tell which of tbe men they had chased. The sergeaut sent a pri vate to report the mutter to the oth cer of the picket (ost while the other urrouuded the people o that none of tluiu ebould get away. The officer re ported the situation to the geueral, aud the general seut for me. After going oer nil this that I've been telllug you the general told me to go over with part of tbe eacort aud exercise my ingenuity to discover tbe nisu who had tried to steal through the picket line, "A spy." he suld. "ha undoubtedly beeu moving about our camps eollectiug Information and la trying to get south with it I rely on you to nud out which one of these peo ple is tin nuin we want They are all probably devoted to the Confederate i cause and lll use every eimn 10 cou- ceal his identity I would suggest uiai you threaten to shoot every oue ot them unless they give up the py." Taking a couple of men. I rode over to th pluce where the supposed apj had been corralled and round the picket line stretched around the group. I ex amined all the men critically, but could i. ii n nothing trom any or them. Considering that It would be no use to question the women, I concluded to adopt the general's suggestion. 1 stood the men In line, ordered the sergeant j to draw lu his command nnd assemble them for a firing squad When the two lines raced each other I told tbe citizens that U they dldu't give up tbe man who had been chased In among them I would shoot every one ot them. Of course 1 only did It to effect my purpose, for 1 bad uo orders to carry out the threat and wouldn't have been o Inhuman n to do ao If I bad. They all turned white, but uot a man spoke I gave the word to the squad to aim. and yet no one flinched. I was about to give up my bluff game when a window sash in one or the houses went up nud a man put his bead out or the window. "Don't shoot, eap'n." be said. "I'm your man " Delighted at the result or my ex peilii-iit. I turned my tiring sipmd o r to the sergeant and sent the two men I hud brought with me to urrest the man who had confessed. He proved to be very young scarcely eighteen. I scanned his face with a view to die coxer ir he were the follow who hud driven the cow, but saw no reaetu bhuiee. though I did uot consider this of impoitaiice. for be had probably been made up for every character hu bad played. I searched him. but. finding no pak pcrs, dire, led the men to search every bouse In the pluce I wus not sur prised that they found nothing, for there bad beeu plenty of time to burn auy papers he might have carried. Not finding auy documentary evidence, I took hlm to headquarters He was the pluckiest young fellow I ever saw. The general questioned him and .cross questioned hlm, but could gut nothing out of hlm. Asked if he wa the man who drove tbe cow, be said "No." He also dented that be was tbe man lu Federal uniform wbo bud eluded the provost guurd All be would admit was that be wus tbe mun who had beeu chased by the pickets out of the wood and into the village. Well, the cuse was rejiorted to gen era i headquarters with the expectation that we would be ordered to aeud (he spy there. No such order came No geueral like hanging a spy. and they dldu't pi opose to do It further up when they could shove it ou to u be low. That' one ot the bcuctlta ot high rank. We were ordered to try the youngster by drumhead court martial and baug him at ouce He waa con victed and sentenced to be hanged tbe net morning at suurlse. That night the boj weakened and withdrew his confession. He said flint before I arrived on the ground the real fugitive hud goue into a bouse, dressed himself as a woman aud, com ing out with a bucket, started to a spring for water He passed oue or the guard, who railed to stop htm, and never returned. No one believed this story told by a man as a last resort to save bis life, and preparations were made for the evecuilou next morning. About mid ulght a te leg rn in came from geueral headquarters countermanding the or der for the spy's execution. W were further Informed that a man dressed lu woman's clothing had applied for a pas to go through the line south ward. Having a very coarse voice, be waa suspected, seat died and full In formation found upou him concerning the strength, equipment, etc., of our corp d'armee- He waa to be executed at once and bad confirmed the story of the youug man now lu our baud. I never saw a more relieved, a hup pler man thau our general at the out come or the uffulr. He culled for tbe prisoner aud. taking him by th hand. called hlm a uoble fellow. Then, put ting his owu hand In hi pocket, he took out the prlucipul part of hla laat pav and gave It to hlm. After the war 1 weut outh to And that youug man I leurued that be bad enlisted lu the Conrederute army and had beeu killed lu oue or the battle of i lie Wilderness I've lieeu down there since aud have found that ou every ,utliern Memorial duy the whole peo ple or thut region turn out to put flow ers on bis grave For a long while I and several others us.-d to club togeth er once a year and send a wreath to be put on his g:av with the other flower. 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