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Where Sherman Lead
The following data is extracted from Thirteenth Michigan Infantry, February 1909.
Comrade Edson Woodman, the president of the regiment, also appreciates that song. He recently made a trip to the south and wandered o'er many of the old battle fields for old time's sake. "30,000 of Sherman's men were lost," said Comrade Woodman, and a cemetery full of soldiers can be found in almost every southern city through which Sherman led his command. And the worst part of it was that all this slaughter was among boys and young men. Statistics show that the war was fought and won by the young men under 21 years of age. And these young fellows gave everything they had. They gave their lives, homes, sweethearts ; they gave even their hope of heaven, for most of them were pretty tough little fellows. It was an awful price we paid for our victory and it is a sorrowful, sad thing to think of."
Comrade G. W. Edick, regimental bugler, narrated an amusing incident of Col. Eaton's method of handling his men. G. W. Edick enjoys the unique distinction of having gone through the entire war and never got a scratch. "With the rest of my regiment I had re-treated at Chickamauga. I fled from the battle field and ended up at Chattanooga, where I crawled into a warehouse and slept all night. The next morning a detail came out rounding up the boys and I went back to headquarters. I went to Major Eaton-this was before he had become Colonel-and he asked me where I had been and what I had been doing. I told him. 'George,' (he always called me George) 'George,' he said, 'don't you know that the penalty is death for running in the face of the enemy?' I told him that I didn't know about that, but that the rest of the regiment was stampeding and retreating and I wasn't going to stand there alone. 'Hereafter, in every engagement,' said Major Eaton, 'I want you to stand close by my side or you will get yourself into trouble.' During the rest of my service I stayed close by Major Eaton and was successful in avoiding trouble. At Bentonville Major Eaton was killed."
Source: Thirteenth Michigan Infantry, February 1909
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