Bravo for Pea Ridge. three weeks previous on that stream, and Pea Ridge battle crowned with honor the two battles would be confounded. Mr. the military skill of General Curtis and Knox, correspondent of the New York his brave comrades in arms for the good Herald, suggested the name of "Ozark old Union flag. In the midst of the con- Mountain," because of the place being in flict, or during a cessation of the terrible the midst of that extensive range. The Climbing the Mountains. name had a rich sound, "This," said the man, "is Pea Ridge." "That," responded Curtis, "is the name I want. I like the name. It is something new." Some opposition was made to this christening, but the General cannonade, the question came regarding stood firm, and adhered to the name of Pea the name of the battlefield. Somebody Ridge. The next day, therefore, he sent proposed Sugar Creek, to which General a Major of the Third Iowa cavalry, through Curtis objected, because what he consid- to Kietsville, with a dispatch to Halleck, ered an important battle had been fought announcing the victory of "Pea Ridge," and it was not long before brave fellows | rode to Stannard's brigade, composed of the were making the welkin ring with "Bravo First Massachusetts and First Maine. for Pea Ridge!" New Federal Troops against Rebel Veterans. "The sons of Maine and Massachusetts are not cowards!" shouted the General. "No! No!" was the response. "Follow me, then!" On the 19th of May, 1864, the First Massachusetts and First Maine heavy ar- Away they went with a cheer. They tillery, which were armed as infantry, were came within musket range, and the contest lying in the woods west of Spottsylvania began. Ewell's old veterans on the one and Fredericksburg road, two miles in hand, and the troops who until the previous rear of the Federal front line, when they week had not handled a musket, on the were startled by the appearance of a body other. The heavy artillery knew little of rebels which were coming upon them about infantry tactics, of handling muskets, from the west. It was Rhodes's division of loading and firing, but they poured in of Ewell's corps, who had moved out from Spottsylvania up the Beach road to the north-west, starting at one P. M. Their advance was most unexpected to the Union forces. their volleys-or, rather, each man loaded a piece, irrespective of all orders. It was a continous roll. Meanwhile the rest of Tyler's division-four regiments-joined, and the contest became furious. The SecGeneral Tyler, who commanded the ond Corps, which was near at hand, was division of heavy artillery, called upon swung round to form a second line, but behis men to move against the enemy. The fore it could be brought into action, the troops never had been under fire. They heavy artillery had repulsed the rebels. had arrived, some of them only the day It was a short, sharp, decisive engagebefore. They hesitated. General Tyler ment. The result had a great effect on the army, raising its spirits to the highest on McPherson's staff, and Captain Buell, pitch. Chief Ordnance Officer of the Department and Army of Tennessee, who were anxiously inquiring for the General's body. Reynolds volunteered to pilot them to the spot where he had left the body, notwithstanding the Confederates were rapidly Devotion of a Private to General McPherson. There were thousands of instances of bravery displayed by the real heroes of this war-the gallant privates-that never found their way into print. Here is one advancing, and the bullets whistled through of this class which is happily, however, the branches of the trees. The entire rescued from oblivion, namely, the gallant party had a very narrow escape from death ry displayed by Private George D. Rey- or capture, for they had barely placed the nolds, Company D, of the Fifteenth Iowa body of their inanimate chieftain in an ambulance when a squad of rebels fired several shots after them. Maj Gen McPherson. Compliments of the Season. During a temporary lull in the conflict attending the rebel attack on Franklin, Tennessee, General Forrest, who had seen one of Lieutenant Hopkins' white signal flags working, sent a flag of truce to Colonel Baird. The flag was borne by what passed for an extremely courteous young rebel officer, whose first benign salutation was, "Ah! you've surrendered, have you, - you?" Colonel Baird's officer, under the influence of passion thus provoked, with more regard for strength than beauty or blandness in his reply, remarked to the rebel," Not much, you fool!" This ended the peaceful conference, and warlike operations were at once resumed. Query: How many and what kind of religious tracts were sent to that army? regiment, on the battlefield before Atlanta, in the summer of 1864. This tried and trusty veteran had been engaged in the savage contest for several hours, and at last was severely wounded in the arm, the bullet fracturing the bone so that amputation of the fore-arm seemed to be necessary to save his valuable life. This George Reynolds saw the noble McPherson when Fight for the Flag at Petersburg. he fell mortally wounded, and remained Among the many incidents of bravery with his General till the brave heart ceased and personal daring exhibited in storming to beat longer for the land he loved, and the enemy's intrenchments at Petersburg, the pulse, which ever throbbed with heroic under General Grant, the capture of a blood, grew silent. The storm of shot and rebel battle-flag by a private in the Third shell did not intimidate the soldier, but New York Regiment, in General Smith's growing faint from the loss of blood and corps, was one of the most notable. the pain of his wound, he was compelled While the contest was at its height, and to start for the hospital to get his wound the tide of battle swaying to and fro, he properly dressed. After marching nearly a espied the flag, borne by a rebel captain, mile in the hot sun and dust, he met Lieut- who picked it up as its former bearer fell enant-Colonel Strong, Inspector-General at his side. The gallant New Yorker singled him out for personal encounter, never received even a scratch. One Sunand, after a hard hand-to-hand fight, suc- day evening, or afternoon, he was sitting ceeded in capturing the flag and its bearer, upon his horse, just in the rear of our line and emerged from the dust and smoke of of batteries, when Captain Carson, the the conflict victoriously bearing the ban- scout who had reported to him a moment ner and driving the Captain before him. before, had fallen back, and was holding his horse by the bridle, about seven feet behind him-instantly a six-pound shot, which flew very near General Grant, carried away all of poor Carson's head, except a portion of the chin,-then passed just behind Lieutenant Graves, volunteer aid to General Wilson, tearing away the cantle of his saddle, cutting his clothing, but not injuring him, and then took clean off the legs of a soldier in one of General Nelson's regiments, which were just ascending the bluff. General Butler heard of this incident, sent for the daring man, ascertained that he was formerly a mechanic, but then a humble soldier in the ranks; obtained a specimen of his handwriting; found by conversation that he was sensible and intelligent, and commissioned him a lieutenant of volunteers on the spot. The battle-flag was of blue bunting, about four feet square, with white binding, two inches wide, around the edges; had a white diagonal cross, six inches wide, with thirteen blue stars on both arms, extending from corner to corner, and well mounted on a staff about ten feet in length-the whole presenting an elegant and well finished appearance, though somewhat soiled and worn. The banner was neatly folded around the staff and given in charge of Lieutenant-Colonel Babcock, of General Grant's staff, to convey to head-quarters. On the way from Petersburg, the soldiers he passed in the road were unusually demon strative and exultant, which occasionally broke out in vociferous cheering as he passed along the line. The Colonel was unable to account for his sudden popularity, until he discovered that his orderly had unfurled the rebel colors, and was explaining its capture to all the troops he passed, by grimaces and pantomine. About the same hour, further up to the right, General Sherman, who had been standing for a moment while Major Hammond, his chief of staff, was holding his bridle, remounted. By the prancing of his horse, as he mounted, General Sherman's reins were thrown over his neck, and he was leaning forward in the saddle, with his head lowered, while Major Hammond was bringing them back over his head, when a rifle ball struck the line in Major Hammond's hand, severing it within two inches of his fingers, and passing through the top and back of General Had he been sitting, as Sherman's hat. usual, upright, it would have taken his head clean off. At another time, a ball struck General Sherman on the shoulder, but his metallic shoulder-strap warded it off. With a third he was less fortunate, for it passed through his hand. General Sherman had three horses shot under him, General Grant afforded a remarkable two with three balls each, and the last illustration of the fortune through which with two. General Hurlbut had a sixsome men, in the thickest showers of bul- pound shot pass between his horse's head lets, always escape. He had participated and his arm; a bullet passed through his in two skirmishes and fourteen pitched horse's mane, and one of his horses was battles, up to the time of the Pittsburg killed under him. Our Generals among the Bullets. Landing conflict, and was universally pro nounced, by those who had seen him on Told the Truth at the Right Time. When General Sturgis went on his the field, daring even to rashness; but he great expedition at the southwest, the "Very well," said the officer, drawing and cocking a revolver, "I will send you there to wait for me." main body of his command halted at Sa- | region than Mississippi before he would lem, and a detachment of three hundred tell him any thing at all. men was sent out to reconnoitre the road to Ripley, a little town southwest of Corinth. When within a few miles of that place, the advance guard of the detachment came upon and captured a squad of half a dozen rebel cavalry without firing a gun. As is customary, the prisoners were closely examined, with a view to eliciting such in General Barksdale formation of the enemy's whereabouts and intentions as they might be able to give. A gaunt, stringy haired man, who seemed to be the leader of the rebel party, was conducted to the officer in command of our advance, who asked him, "What regiment do you belong to?" "I won't tell," was the pointed reply of the rebel. "You may shoot me if you want to," said the Confederate, "but you will be sorry for it." "Why?" "Because there are a hundred men over yonder in the woods, and if they hear you shoot they will come up and murder every man of you." "Well," said the officer, "since you have told me just what I wanted to find out I guess I won't shoot you." In thirty minutes the whole hundred men were prisoners. Kind o' wanted to be in the Front. Sergeant Hunter, of the Kentucky soldiery, exhibited the bravest soldierly qualities in the conflict at Springfield, Mo. His superb figure never failed to attract the eye in the ranks of the Guard. He had served in the regular cavalry, and the Body Guard (Fremont's noted men) had profited greatly from his skill as a drillmaster. He lost three horses killed under him in the fight. As soon as one was killed, he caught another from the rebels: the third horse taken by him in this way he rode into St. Louis. The Sergeant slew five men. Said he "I won't speak of those I shot-another may have hit them; but those I touched with my sabre I am sure of, because I felt "How far is it to Ripley?" was the next them." question. At the beginning of the charge he came "Don't know," answered the man, sul- to the entreme right and took position next lenly, with the true Barksdale grit. "Who is your commander?" "Won't tell." to Major Zagonyi, whom he followed closely through the battle. The Major, seeing him, said: "Why are you here, Sergeant? Your place is with your company on the left." "I kind o' wanted to be in front," was "How far off is the command to which you belong?" still inquired the persevering Federal, pretending not to notice the crusty demeanor of his prisoner. Here the answer. the rebel informed him in terms that "What could I say to such a man!" would not be altogether comely in print, exclaimed Zagonyi, speaking of the matthat he would see him in a much hotter ter afterwards. |