Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1913)
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JUNE 29,. 1913. " ' Tic Part Played by These Brave Lads, Who Carried Water to the Dying, Assisted the Wounded and Helped in the Burial of the Dead X DRUMMER boys played heroic roles at Gettysburg. They were the nurses of the battlefield, who brought In the wcuinded In face of the rain of bullets and flying- shells. Again and again the drummer boys faced the fire of the enemy to moisten the Hps of a dying man and to bring him to a place of safety. Many of the wounded owed their lives to the boys' timely aid. Through It all they re mained just boys, and their cheering words and jokes often brought a smile and made the wounded, forget, tem porarily, at least, their sufferings and miseries. Their hearts were young, and even the worst horrors of the battle could not daunt their high spirits. If there was any trace of a silver lining to the clouds of war's storm at Gettysburg, it did not escape the attention " of the drummer boys. One of them, who -perhaps saw more of Gettysburg's actual fighting, in cluding the famous struggle in which General Sickles nearly lost his life, also Pickett's charge, than any other, is Captain "William T. Simpson, former Police Chief of Scranton, Pa., and at present a state factory inspector In Pennsylvania, He was one of the famous wartime Simpson family, nearly all of whom, men and women, gave their services to their country. His grandmother, Anna Maria Simpson, a noted, nurse. Issued the family call, and her daughters and their husbands, her sons and their wives and their near kin, and her nephews and grandchildren all re sponded. Will Simpson was a 13-year-old schoolboy in Mauch Chunk when the first shot of the war was fired. He enlisted with the rest of the brood and was delegated as a drummer boy to Company A, Twenty-eighth Pennsyl vania Regiment. He remained In the ranks until peace was declared, but long before then he was promoted to the title of first musician. Boylike, 'Will Simpson wanted to see everything at the great Gettysburg battle; the events that piled on one an other so fast and furiously made a lasting Impression on him. "When seen at his home In Olyphant, near Scran ton. recently, he lived the battle over In a narrative filled with memories of its thrilling scenes. une army s discipline placed a strong object lesson before us while we were on our way to Gettysburg, Captain Simpson said. "If any of our men were cowardly enough to want to desert, the longing was soon wiped from their minds. When we reached Edwards' Ferry, after crossing the Po tomac. the entire Twelfth Corps was lined up to witness the execution of three men for desertion. "We arrived at Cemetery Ridge early In the afternoon of the first day. hav ing been detained during the morning at Two Taverns. We had the news of terrific fighting, but hearing wasn't enough for me. Kidlike, I wanted to see it, so I started on to find the First Corps, because my uncle was with it. "If I was stopped once, I was stopped a dozen times. I surely thought that 1 was in God's own land. I met so many familiar faces, among the first of them William Briggs, of the Sev. enty-flfth Regiment. I asked him where the Eleventh Regiment was, and he told me that it was on the left of his division. I started on. I was soon halted again and told that, if I didn't get further down the ridge, I would go down a-flylng. Everybody seemed to be worrying about me and warning me about getting more buttonholes let into my clothes than I needed. Many of those who stopped me were old friends, and I even met some Massa chusetts men who had fought with us at Bolllver Heights. They were good fellows, too, those Yanks. "I finally found Fighting Dick Coul ter's Eleventh Regiment hugging up against a wall. The first one I met was the chief bugler, Louis Berhard, who was an old pal of mine. He greet ed me with, HelIo, Billy! Sit down quick, or you'll get a buttonhole in you!' That was the first time I obeyed the warning. I sat against a tree and I heard the exciting story of the Elev enth's Important part in the first day's rignt. jMext tning i Knew, a ball struck the tree over my head. Well, you should have seen me move. I was listening to the news of the fighting wnen my uncle, William Simpson, came up to me and said: " "Bill, what are yon doing here 7 "I told him I came to see him. " Well,' he said, 'this Is a mighty poor place for visiting.' "And it was. Bullets were flying all about us. "I had my Fourth of July dinner with him. He cooked the coffee and a couple ol pieoes of pork oa a stick. Ha had a good supply of hardtack with him, so we had a first-rate meal. "My life was saved by a shoestring while I was on the knoll there. As I stopped to tie my shoe a bullet whizzed by me and struck a man named Gilllzin in the fleshy part of the thigh. He went over to a corner, had the wound tied up and went along as If nothing bothered him. He was grit, that fellow. "I had a good night's fun that even lng. Dr."William Altman, surgeon of the regiment, gathered the drummer boys together to establish a field hos pital. We went over to the Spangler house and camped in the barn all night. You can bet when a bunch of boys like that get together there is going to be some fun, especially when George Mo Fetrldge was around. "He acquired his lifelong nickname of 'Fish' McFetridge that night. The Spangler house was unoccupied and Mc Fetridge, nosing about, went down Into the cellar. He found a kit of mackerel. He passed It to me through the cellar window and we opened it. We were in for a feast, but we soon found that hard tack and salt mackerel didn't go well together. So Mac took the kit over to Company K. If any of those Company K boys are living today they will remember it, for they were all hungry and enjoyed it. 'I was in Gettysburg several years later at a reunion, and hunted up the Spangler house. McFetridge was with me. We met the old man at the house and asked him If he missed a Kit of mackerel during the battle. 'By jiminy, he says, was you the fellers who got the mackerel out of my house? Come in and see my wife.' All excited, he says to his wire: "Mom, this is the mens that got the mackerel we forgot.' Me and my wife, he continued, had just come from town with the groceries when Jim Steigerwald he belong to the militia company comes up the pike, and he says, "Quick, get out! They re coming. We thought we put put everything back In the wagon again, but, by jiminy, we didn't. On the way to Carlisle the old woman re membered that she forgot the mack erel. It was too late then to turn back, so we lost our mackerel.' "Mao and I offered to pay them for it, but they said that they had been reimbursed by the War Department They put in a claim for thta one kit of mackerel. "Getting back to that night, we drummer boys had a high old time, for we were a jolly lot. They were Freder Spoon, of Company A; George W. Gibbs, of Company B; Michael McCallister and Billy Laird, of Company E; Albert Kolter, of Company F; Aleck Graham, of Company G; John 'Woodpecker Craddlck and Henry Gage, of Company H; Michael H. Rahn and John Doyle and George McFetridge, of Company I. They weren't afraid of anything, al- tnougn mcvjamster, wnose proiaer, James, was killed at Kellysvllle short ly before, was always depressed and worried. During the battle the drum mer boy's place was to assist the phy sician, carry water to the wounded and help load the ambulances with tnose who were being taken to the hospitals. 'Our men didn't have any real fight ing on the first or second day, but they got all that was coming to them on the third. You see our regiment was in Candy's brigade of Geary's division, in Slocum's Twelfth corps. On the sec ond day our men were put to work bright and early digging Intrench ments at Culp's Hill, and they worked on till about noon, when they finished. "I wasn't with our boys all the time. I was generally in the thickest of the fighting and was only too glad when I was sent on an errand by the doc tor. I saw part of Sickles' fight, and those boys certainly did nobly. "Late in the afternoon Geary's di vision was given orders to move on to the left flank to strengthen that posi tion. But somehow or another we went the wrong way and started to march back toward the Two Taverns. It was not until 9 o'clock at night that the mistake was learned. Orders were given to countermarch, and we reached Culp's Hill around nightfall. We didn' go into our lntrenchments; instead we went into the woods in the rear. "while we were away Johnson's men got Into our lntrenchments. While our men were in their stronghold we had a number of skirmishers on the lookout and the enemy had skirmishers on the same line. When our men were with drawn and ordered into the ranks, the rebel skirmishers were quick to notice that something Important was happen lng. Report was made to Johnson an Ewell, with the result that Johnson' men took their places in our intrench maata during the night. Now, can, you Imagine anything like that? Think what the consequences would have been if we hadn't found it out. 'All that night our boys were drink ing at the same spring. Spanglers, with the Johnnie Rebs, and what's more they were helping one another to sip the water. Did they know it? Well, you can bet your shirt that they didn't. One or the other wodld have gone the voyage. There were times when we helped them with a drink, swapped tobacco, but we were after their scalps at Gettysburg, and weren't thinking of any Good Samaritan act. The first news that came that the Rebs were near us was when Sergeant Benny Hoff, of Company E, brought word that the Johnnies were thicker than bees around Spangler" s spring, and orders were given for none of our men to go there. "It was a flash of lightning that identified the rebels in our lntrench ments. Our men were Instructed to get ready to move on as quietly as pos sible. Even tin cans and canteens were muffled, and we started to advance about 2 o'clock in the morning. There was no loud talking, and every break ing stick sounded to us like an explod ing shell. We moved on stealthily until we could see the bats with the feath ers in them, and we knew darn well that they belonged to the Johnnies. I was ordered to find our company com manders and inform them of the pres ence of the enemy. I had a royal time of it. I trod on the hands and feet of the men in my way, and I was called all kinds of names in the most sincere whispers I ever heard. "The entire brigade advanced 100 yards and then waited until about 4 o'clock. The order was given: 'Atten tion fix bayonets." And the circus commenced. A more surprised lot of men were never seen than those John nies. They didn't know where In the world w-e came from. I asked one of them afterward a man we had cap tured what his Impressions were and he said: " 'Doggone if we didn't Just think you fellows come right out of the ground." "It didn't take us long to get into our stronghold, but a fierce fight raged about that position for a long time. "For seven hours there was an un remitting roar of rifles in front of the corps. As fast as the regiments ex pended their ammunition, they were re lieved and went to the rear; cleaned their rifles; refilled the cartridge boxes and, with loud cheers, resumed their place in the ranks. It was the longest continuous fight of any at Gettysburg. General Meade, after lis tening to the Incessant musketry around Culp's Hill, thought that Geary was expending ammunition unneces. I sarily, and notified Slocum to that ef fect. But Meade was satisfied when the situation was explained. "Some of the regiments fired 160 rounds of ammunition, and in no place on the field were the rebel dead thicker than in front of Geary's division. "In. the fight brother fought against brother in the literal sense of the word. The First Maryland regiment, of Stuarfs brigade, and the First Mary land regiment, of Lockwood's brigade, were directly opposed to each other, and many kinsmen were mingled among the dead strewn thickly over the ground. It was a battle of father against son, brother against brother, cousin against cousin, and friend against friend. (There were few men in those regiments who at least did not know one another. "Our men showed what they were worth in that fight. I saw many ex amples of pure courage. One of the first fellows I helped to remove to the ambulance was Sergeant Douglas Mc Claln. He was a tall fellow, who, when his men were retiring to refill their cartridge boxes, said: " 'I want to get one more shot.' "As he uttered the word 'shot, he got a bullet right in his -mouth. I went over to him and lifted his head to see whether he was dead. He asked me for a drink of water, and then I ' helped to lift him into the ambulance. He lived for many years, but he always had trouble with his throat. As we got him in the wagon two other men were brought up. They were Sergeant Sha dle and Corporal Shinkle. Both were badly wounded. Shinkle had been hit in the head and Shadle in the shoulder. But it didn't worry them. As soon as they met. Shadle held out his hand and said to Shinkle, 'Shake! We're good for Philadelphia.' An Old Soldier's Grief. "Many years later Shinkle had an X-ray operation performed on his head, and the bullet was extracted. He met me on the street one day and said: Walt a minute. I've got something to show you.' He put his hand down in his pocket and pulled'out the bullet. "When I returned after putting Mc Claln In the ambulance, I saw Captain Tourance. of Company E, of the 147th, following four boys with a man in a blanket who, I thought, was wounded. Captain Tourance formerly belonged to our regiment, and he was good to us drummer boys. We loved him. He was an old Mexican War fighter, had been in Geary's division, and was a drummer boy himself in earlier years. I went up to him with a laugh, for I was glad to see him and expected, a happy greeting r J9rtmme.r- in return. But he just looked at me and said: " 'My poor boy is dead." "I was thunderstruck. It took all the ginger out of me. It was Will Tour ance, who was the second lieutenant in his father's company. We boys were so accustomed to see the men about us killed and wounded that it hardly feazed us: but I did feel sorry for Cap tain Tourance. I felt as though I had met with a personal loss, and I stood and watched him following the body of his boy until he was out of sight. It was the last .1 saw of the dear old man. "We had another old-time warrior with us. He was General Thomas L. Kane, and he was the bravest little man that ever lived. He was the origi nal Colonel of the old Bucktalls. He had been wounded, and always accom panied his regiment in an ambulance, but, when the fight grew thickest, the old 'enthusiasm took a strong grip on the old man and he crawled out of his ambulance and urged his men on. They owed much to the encouraging words of Colonel Kane. He was' out of his ambu lance the greater part of the third day. They couldn't keep him in it. "While the fight was at its hottest. Doctor Smith, of the One Hundred and (Concluded on Fags 6.) jdh e S a'es kitchen Novelty, and y . Is Hired by the Rich to Run Things Sys- CALL in the visiting cook if you'd J minimize the danger of dyspeptic ills. That's what the rich and the near-rich are doing the country over. They are engaging these experts of the kitchen to install system in their culi nary departments, just as the business man who finds something awry with his establishment summons a "business doctor." Those cooking specialists are the physicians who can cure all the ailments of a kitchen in a minimum time if given the authority over cooks, pantry help and pastry makers. Food is the fuel of the human engine, and the cook Is the chief engineer. Of recent years the art of cooking has grown steadily in disfavor, until today the "jewel of a cook" is rarely found, unless among those of mature years. The younger generation nave come to look askance at the broiling, steaming, stuffy kitchen. They prefer- the fac tory, the shop or the counter. Despite the prevalence of the cooking schools, but little improvement has been noted in the conduct of kitchens in many of the best homes. Those ad vanced and elementary courses in the preparation of edibles generally are patronized by the mistress, and she, too, often forgets or lacks the initiative to put them into practice In her own home. "Clean Out" the Kitchen. Here is where the cooking specialist comes in. He or she is a post-graduate of culinary. But it is not to ckUlets. pots, pans and dishes that she confines her efforts. Give her carte blanche in your kitchen and she'll "turn it upside I down. Install system and apply modern methods of economy and instill a knowledge of the nutritious values of food in your regular chef. This kitchen expert in all probability first will ignore the methods of the person then presiding at the range or in the pantry. She'll concern herself with the sanitary defects of the kitchen. First of all she proposes to make the kitchen a wholesome and pleasant place of employment. That means sat isfied help employes who take an in terest in their work. Sink drainage may be defective; flour bins, dieh and pan closets and a host of other necessaries may be poorly ar ranged. These faults she Bets in to remedy and to minimize the number of steps required of the kitchen help in the preparation of a meal. "Cooking has been an unpopular pro fession for women because of the con ditions of domestic servility it has en tailed," says a New York woman expert. "Also because kitchens have been ugly places, and the whole process of cook ing has in consequence been an inele gant one. "There in oo earthly reason why It should be. A kitchen ought to be the I furniture, light hangings and lino most beautiful room in the house, as it leums, perhaps to match the crockery. is the most important. It ought to bo I "It ought to be well furnished with large, and. furnished with, solid, plain 1 cupboards, and be decorated only with. the few necessary burnished metal cov ers and canisters essential to kitchen service. And it is just as important for the cook to come daintily and suit ably dressed to her work as It is for the kitchen to be daintily and suitably dressed to receive her. "I do not mean to say that I expect every kitchen I am engaged to cook in to be a model culinary workshop. They should be, of course. I believe that if kitchens were beautiful and not the stuffy,' stodgy dungeons that they so often are, and that if women dressed for thir work in them with the care that they dress to go to a ball, cooking would no longer be regarded as drudg ery and a monotonous busines at the best of times. Morover, there would be fewer dyspeptics, ill-fed and anaemic men and women about. One has only to create interest to abolish drudgery. Cooking Requires Interest. Cooking in unlovely surroundings Is a monotonous and dreary task. Greasy sinks and disorderly cupboards produce mental irritability that invariably ends disastrously. But cooking becomes an operation full of beauty and inter est in a harmonious setting. One can have a really aesthetic thrill, for in stance, beating the golden yojks of eggs in a blue bowl. The most essential thing In connec tion with cooking, I think, however, is to concentrate one's Interest and at tention on the preparation of the dish on hand. Many cooks and most house wives who are forced by circumstances to cook their own meals imagine that if they throw certain vegetables and meat Into a pot, stir them occasionally and leave the fire do the rest, they will in due course have a soup or a ragout. There is, of course, the historic ex ample of the great French chef who committed suicide because an English man added a pinch of salt to the soup that he thought he had sent to table a masterpiece of flavoring. But the aver age housewife and her average jr'nyiiis seem to think there is something un dignified in being too interested in the make-up of a meal. In Australia, from which I come, it Is much more the fashion for girls to learn to be domesticated in their own homes than it is here. I began exper- menting in the kitchen at home. But my maiden efforts at pies, soups ana souffles were most prayerfully and carefully made. 'I acquired a reputation among my frlend3 for being 'a good cook,' and often when they gave luncheon and dinner parties I was asked to super intend the cooking arrangements or to make some special confection. When suddenly here in New York it became necessary for me to earn my own living I intended to learn type writing and shorthand and qualify for ' a business office. The salaries paid to women clerks and stenographers are so very slight that 'I did not know how I was going to live on what I was likely to earn when I had equipped myself for a situation. Fee for Preparing; Meal. "Some one suggested that I should specialize in the direction of my nat ural bent and act in a professional rather than honorary capacity as visit ing cook .or culinary adviser to my friends or any who might require my services. I determined to do so. "But before launching forth on what has proved a very successful enter prise I took a course of 'high art cookery under a distinguished con tinental chef and did some experi mental work in a well-known restau rant and a West End boarding-house. "Any girl with a working basis of sound domestic knowledge might do the same, and more particularly if she has a social connection, would find cooking more profitable and more con genial than many of the professions girls spend their time and strength in -for very small wages. "My system is to consult with the housewife or hotel manager charged with the arrangement of dinner, luncheon or supper parties to dis cover the scale of entertainment that Is desired, and then submit a menu. "The cost of the food itself is the affair of the employer. My fee is for the preparation of the meal, and varies according to the length and character of the menu. I also like to design the decoration of the table and room in which my dinners or luncheons are to be served, in order that the complete effect may be pleasing."
