THE OMAITA DATLT BEE : WEDNESDAY , SEPTEMBER G , 1301) ) . n
% % % % % % % % % % gfc % % § 3N t
? V ; V V * * ' ' V * - * * v r v tjf'jr < & ' 'sir'Utr * * r $8
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an illustrated , true and concise histon oi theo
o -d ® o
Special Pictures of the 1st Nebraska
"Old Olory" at I'ort Snnta Cruz , Xndrone Islands , including the late Colonel Stotsenberg , Camp Mesa , the Hospital
Reproduced from an UlniUatlon In " Ou to Manila
illustrations taken pital and the fighting line a complete roster of the regiment ,
at the time by showing promotions , etc.
Douglas White , the
war correspondent
all the to be
ent of the San
friends Francisco Examiner Pre
of the First Nebraska an opportunity of hav iner , served
ing a complete and correct history of the regi for
ment The Omaha Bee has at great expense placed this beautiful future
The Old Bell nt Snmnye , Indrone
book within their reach no coupon required order quick as we Islands. Cast In iGSo. refer
Reproduced from RTI Illustration la
.
have only a limited number. "in to Manila. " ence.
J3L l&A4 $ BfpM t > Jfe * l % $ ! x 28 $ & &
Sent prepaid to any address upon receipt of the price.
The First American Flag Raiaed Over Manila.
Address History Department Omaha Bee. .
,
Reduced from an illustration iu "On to Manila. "
TALES OF STIRRING TIMES
Thrilline Eeminiscences of Heroes of the
Wires During the Civil War.
WORMED OUT OF MANY WARM CORNERS
MiiKiilflccnt CournKc Under Fire nnd
llriive Deedd In Ijlnc of Duty
of the- Military Tele-
Corp * at IloNtou.
At Boston , on the IGth Inst. , the pioneer
operators of America will moot to swap
lories over the Juvenile days of the most
wonderful discovery of the century , the
electric telegraph. Said ono o ( tha old
guard of civil war operators still doing duty
at Western Union headquarters : "It will be
a notable gathering at Boston and I hope I
shall not bo taken In a spirit of rivalry nor
boastfuluess when I say that thu men of the
original Military Telegraph corps will bo
the llotis of the occasion. Why shouldn't
they ? Army heroes are having their In
nings once more and let me tell you that the
first tuon I saw killed at the fron , and I
got there , musket hi hand , about MI foon as
the next one , was an operator doing a piece
of rusU work out of purely voluntary enthu-
81 sunn. The affair took place at Yorktown
the 4th of May , 1802. When the confeder
ates evacuated Yorktown a bright Ohio boy
uamod D. 13. Lathrop and his comradn of
the corps , II. L. Smith , followed the federal
skirmish Una Into the works and dashed
for the confederate telegraph olllco to test
the wires toward Itlchmond. The wires hal
bcuu cut and were dangling from the pale.
the conll rule fairyland , by the mysterious
might of magic.
"Tho anelenis made use of swift runners
or of men with phenomenal voices to carry
battle news and orders , while Napoleon , Im
itating Caesar. brouEht to his aid carrier
pigeons. The very first method In our war
to come to my notice was primitive Indeed
simply a line of men stretched across the
Held passing messages and orders by word
of mouth. The theory of the Inventor of
this ss-Btpm was that the line could find
shelter In a ravine or under a low ridge ,
but It turned out In this case that our men
were hemmed In upon a broad coen plain
and the telegraphers made better targets
than did the armed combatants. They
stood the ordeal bravely.
AVItty IXliedlentN.
I Shortly after this skirmish , which was
near Yorktown , May 7 , 1SG2 , all enlisted men
\vlio could handle the key , I myself being of
that number , were put to work upon a Held
telegraph , and wires strung upon bayonets
or pointed saplings net In the earth came
Into use on every battlefield. Every risk
was taken "in order to get a line working as
qulokly us possible. The getting at wires
and establishing a circuit was the flrat
thought of an operator when the army ad
vanced. The bravery of young Lathrop , at
Yorktown , was only ono of the many In
stances of the same class which might bo
cited. In moving through the enemy's coun
try tflo old wires , poles and offices Tvera
looked after flrot. If they had been des
troyed or damaged , as was often the case ,
other means bad to bo Improvised , and the
wits of the operators were equal to the oc
casion. Operator Nichols , of our detach
ment , serving at General Sumner's head
quarters during the Sevan Days' battles on
the peninsula , found during the battle of
Savage Station that he had but three feet
of spare wlro to lay a line twelve feet from
I.V.lirop gave a leap , landed at the basu of , ,
the polo and came down with full forc > > I i
upon a percussion shell lying half hidden ry' '
omo light rubbish. The shell exploded and
was fatal.
"Yes , the war operators wore the real
pioneers of the bustling uiotuoda that put
dot and dash on tha skirmish line at Amer
ican procrois. The principle of telegraphy
\\iia In its Infancy when thu war broke out
forty years ago. Commerce was conservative
and not all given to the rapid pa" ot n.od-
rrn times. There was needed a ereat war
with Its fearful draft upon public patlunco ,
ix > pular Interest and universal sympathy.
Added to these , war's Int'mratlre demand
for lightning communleaU'tis between
armies served to develop thu voult-rful
s > t > twu oi rullne the world's destlulra as
the ground. The main wire of the army was
In constant use and could not be grounded ,
although Sumner was anxious to communi
cate with his chief , goni ; miles down the line.
With the aid of some commissary men
Nichols piled cracker boxes against the pole ,
climbed up and opened his olllce. It was just
dark and It was necessary to have a lantern
to do the work , The light made a good tar
get which the enemy shelled briskly , but
Nichols held hla perch until Sumner ordered
him donn This daring operator at that tlmo
was only IS.
"Another witty expedient wan adopted
by Operator Kullor of General Doyle'a com
mand during Morgan's raid , In 1862. Mor
gan's men captured Fuller's outfit while be
V.YU marching toward Columbia with
[ Uo > ! o's trocjis , trying to head off the raid
ers. AVhen the force reached Columbia the I
telegraph office was found dismantled.
General Doyle had some urgent messages to
send to distant posts asking for help for
the emergency and , threatened to shoot
Fuller If ho didn't get the wires In working
order. To vindicate his good intentions
he was n civilian employe as well as to
save his life , the unlucky operator seized
the ground wire In ono hand and the main
wlro in the other , using the ends as a key ,
and eent the message on its way. This was
not so difficult , but It was necessary to get
a return , which could only bo done by
reading the shocks on the wlro. This ho
managed to do by using the tip of his
touguo ns a receiver.
Crlt to the HncUlione.
"Sometimes more than the ordinary nerve
to bo expected In an operator when near
his key was demanded by the emergencies
of war , as WRS the case In the confederate
slego ot Knoxvllle In 18C3. Uurnslde was
sbut up in Knoxvllle by Lougetrect's corps
of Virginians , whllo Grant and Sherman
were hammering at Chattanooga , As soon
as Mission Ridge fell before Grant's attacks
Sherman set out to relieve Knoxville by
forced marches. Meanwhile a message
i cached Grant to the effect that Durnsldu
could not hold out against Longutreet
longer than December 1. Sherman was to
make the point by December 2 , nnd Grant ,
army headquarters and Washington were
all terribly excited over the crisis. Finally
It was arranged to wlro Burnslde , through
the four offices nearest Knoxvllle , to wait
for help until December 2. It was the dead
of night when the messages came to hand
and a telegraph corps man at each office
set out with the message secreted on his
person. All four , by hook or crook , stole
through the hostile lines and Knoxville was
saved. Army men have received medals for
services no more valuable nor dangerous
than that midnight Journey through the
Tennessee mountains.
"And operators were grit to the backbone
In sticking out through the dangers In
volved In extra hazardous work. Ono of our
beat men In the southwest was S. L. Robin
son , a cipher operator at the headquarters
of General A. J. Smith. Smith went on a
raiding expedition Into Mississippi In 1504
and In order to clear the country ahead of
him of Forrest's cavalry he dispatched his
own cavalry under the noted Grlerson to
the front , giving the column n day's start.
One day It became necessary for Smith to
communicate a warning to Grleraon , and
Robinson started out with two orderlies for
escort to overtake the advance guard. When
the party was well outside of the friendly
lines It fell Into an ambush and Robinson
received the full contents of a double-bar
reled shotgun loaded with slugs and buck
shot In his arm and shoulder , also bla right
leg and hip. He was stripped of bis instru
ments and dispatches , then set adrift In
the woods. In spite of his wounds the bravo
fellow struggled back to meet Smith's ad
vancing columns and fresh dispatches were
sent forward In time to save Grlerson from
danger ,
"Even under flre the operator was the
equal of any soldier and his case was even
more trying , for he was not prepared to
fight back , While Banks' army was evacu
ating Winchester , pursued by Stonewall
Jackson's troops , the federal operator ,
Frank Drummond , eat at the key until the
last bluecont was out of sight. The con
federate yell sounded nearer and nearer ,
llko the baying of bounds , and from all
sides came the rattle of musketry. Driun-
mend had secreted all bis dispatch coplos
on his person and was detaching the Instru
ment from the board to keep It out of the
enemy's bands , when a belated orderly
rushed In with a message for the com
mander of the reserves at Harper's Ferry ,
With one hand on the Key be managed to
draw out and burn his secreted dispatches.
His horse , standing loose at the door , began
to get nervous and he dropped the key long
enough to tie the frightened animal an !
glvo him an assuring caress. Going back to
the key Drummond again called Harper's
Ferry , but getting no reply ho took out the
Instrument and dashed It to pieces en the
stone pavement. The confederate were
then firing down the streets tn 'juriult ot
straggling or belated federals and Drum
mend ran the gauntlet of their bullets only
to fall Into the hands of Ashby's confederate
cavalry. A term In a war prison was the
re-ward this bravo fellow got for sticking to
his post.
"From the confederate side , through ono ,
of our corps mon , I have a story scarcely
paralleled in soldierly devotion to duty.
When the confederate army abandoned
Little Rock , in 1SC3 , one of the military op
erators , David O. Dodd. stayed behind and
lived some tlmo In the federal lines. Ho
was a lad of 17. Shortly after things had
quieted down under federal control young
Dodd loft Little Rock , ostensibly to go to
i Mississippi , but In n few days he returned
, and lingered a short tlmo In his old haunts.
A second time ho rxibscd out ol the lines
unrestrained until ho reached the outposts.
There the guards searched his person and
discovered eome curious pencil marks In n
memorandum book carried openly In his
pocket.
"The boy was detained and examined at
headquarters. The strange marks proved to
be telegraphic dots and dashes , which , when
written out , furnished a description of all
the new federal fortifications nnd the dis
tribution of the garrison troops around Little
Rock. This Information In the hands of the
enemy would be dangerous and the boy bad
forfeited his life In attempting to pass the
lines with It. When under examination
Dodd admitted that he had accomplices and
was offered pardon If ho would betray them.
He refused and even on the gallows , In spltu
of the appeals of friends and relatives , put
the temptation aside , himself signaling the
executioner to do his duty. The drop foil ,
carrying this bravo boy operator nnd his
wcret Into oternlty. My Informant , who
witnessed the execution , declared that the
lad mot his doom with the coolness of a
stoic , while the spectators , chiefly soldiers ,
wept like children.
"From the southern camps cornea , too , the
moat romantic piece of daredevil operating
on record. I mean tbo exploits of George
Ellsworth , the lltrbtnlnc manipulator whom
Morgan , thn great Kentucky raider , carried
along on his staff when he crnsnex ] the Ohio
into federal territory In 16C2. Ellsworth was
a clever Alabama boy , who had mustered all
the details of the art. He tapped wires and
took off messages from federal general ?
valuable to his chief. He had albo answered
messages In a way to mislead the enemy and
I throw the troops attempting to catch the
raiders off their route of operations. The
career of George Ellsworth on that one raid
will make a chapter for the future history
of old-time telegraphy. Ho Is btlll living
In Alabama , just where Morgan originally
picked him up , and attended the confederate
reunion at Nashville last year , much to the
surprise and joy of all of Morgan's men , for
there was a tradition among the survivors
that Ellsworth fell In the famous Ohio raid
of 1803 , or had died In captivity.
GEORGE L. KILMER.
A POLE FO It AN OFFICE.
SCIILEY OX UHMl.MSCHXCnS.
HJMV Kncli Mini ThlnlCN He IN the Cen
ter of " Ilnttle.
"Even ono man's part In this many-net
drama Is too long , too full of changes and
complications , too much entangled with the
lives nnd acts of others , too Intimately
Identified with the evolution of his own
character nnd soul , to bo Heen by hlmscrf
In Its true proportions , " writes Admiral
Schley In Leslie's Monthly. "Ho can only
plunge Into tbo sea of hU recollections nnd
bring up now and then a detached Incident
or name , perhaps trivial enough , perhaps
of a significance unporcelved at the time ,
yet destined eventually to bo woven Into
that vast fabric of realistic fiction known
as history. The real cum of his experience ,
or the memories of it , Is embodied in his
opinions. Opinions , ns wo know , are often
times variable ; or they may be as Ect as
tbo eternal hllfs , and yet erroneous.
"The Imagination sees much more than
the eye. The commander of one ship In a
certain naval action was Indignant at an
other commander because the Inttor'a re
port of the affair differed from his own-
'I could see him plainly enough , ' said the
agrleved captain , 'and how In It that he
couldn't see mo ? ' The matter seemed sim
ple enough to one who was not present at
the fight , but had learned all about It from
the accounts of others ; yet both the disput
ing captains were sincere and truthful In
relating what they thought they had Been ,
and that of which they wore really a part
Lifelong friendships , which nothing < -lso
could shake , are sometimes broken by differ
ences of this kind so Justly sensitive ar
men of war as to their personal records of
bravery and honor.
"When General Zachary Taylor , after the
Mexican war. l > ecame president of the United
States he was overwhelmed with applications
from veterans who had participated In the
battles of Huc-na Vista. Every one of these
old soldiers was able to give n Mailed de
scription of some Incident In the fight and
would attempt to recall to the general el'1-
cumstances which ho could net In the least
remember , but which he was obliged to
conclude he had known and perhaps forgot
ten. At last the old warrior exclaimed ono
day : 'Was it a dream ? Did I fight that
battle at all ? I thought Ias there onrp ,
but If all these accounts are straight then
my memory has tricked me. '
"General McClellau , twenty-four hours
after the battle of Antletam , requested the
commanders of his four divisions engaged
to report their respective positions on the
field. When these positions -ve.'e fixed on
the map of the field it was discovered that ,
taken altogether , the four rtlvlulons were
placed directly behind ono another at n sln-
glo point and that point directly opposite
the portion of the enemy's Unas where the
fighting had been thickest.
"That Is the way with soldiers an.l sail
ors. Each man thinks himself the center
of the action , with all the rest revolving
about him In secondary orbits. This fijnrit
Is right nnd proper enough and such per
sonal narratives are the raw material of
hlstorv , but they require careful editing. "
I.ONCM Nearly Half UN MeiulierN ,
MEMPHIS , Tcnn. , Sept. G. At today's ses
sion cf the convention of postolllce clerks
the secretary reported that 119 branches
failed to pay the regular per capita tax nnd
recommended that they be dropped. This
was favorablly acted upon , leaving only 165
branches In the national association. Civil
service reform was then discussed In secret
session.
SPANISH OFFICERS SET FREE
General 1'areda anil Captain Morou
Fun nil to lie IlliimeleNN In Tlielr
Conduct Off
MADRID , Sept. 6. The trial of Captain
Diaz Morou , who commanded the Spanish
crulsro Cristobal Colon at the battle of
Santiago do Cuba , and General Pareda , who
was on board the Colon , on charges arising
from the destruction of the Spanish fleet oft
Santiago on July 3 of last year , was con
cluded yesterday , both the accused officers
being acquitted.
Arrive * .
CAPE HENRY , Va. , Sept. 5. The Monon-
gahfla Is anchored Inside the capes ; signals
"Report mo all well. " The Mononguhela
was taken In tow by the tug Standlsh at
8 30 and started for Annapolis.
PJCTURKSQUB TUA-aOWN PROM IIAKI'KK'S I1AZA *
Picturesque tea gown made of flowered silk nnd pink mouwellno do sole Elbow
cleevcs , and the front of the waist of the mou-selino do oic
