The Alleghanian, Ebensburg, Pa. Thursday, March 20, 1862 Volume 3, Number 26 Singular Accident The TRIBUNE says that Samuel Bracken, Esq., a citizen of Johnstown met with a painful accident a few days since. While engaged in bleeding a horse in a narrow stall in his stable, having unintentionally tied the halter around the horse’s neck so tightly as to choke him, the animal fell upon Mr. B, breaking his leg in two places - once at the ankle and again below the knee. To Our Patrons Owing to diverse and sundry reasons, all of which it is unnecessary to here enumerate, no paper will be issued from this office next week. Military Sergt. Robert M’Combie, of Co. A, Capt. Carroll, 55th P.V., Col. R. White, is now in this county on recruiting service. Col. White is a well known resident of this county and a large proportion of his command are Cambrians. The division to which he is attached was stationed at Port Royal for several months but is now at Fernandin, Florida. We would advise those who entertain a desire to don Uncle Sam’s livery to give Sergt. M’Combie a call forthwith. A branch recruiting office for the 14th regular infantry has been opened in this place in the room above E. Shoemaker’s store. Another Cambrian at Donaldson Mr. Jerry Powell, a son of Mr. David Powell, of Cambria township this county was present at and participated it the capture of Fort Donelson (sic). He enlisted in a Chicago battery and was captain of a gun during the engagement. He was not injured. Bully for Little Cambria! Her brave sons turn up in greater or less numbers in every battle of the campaign. Letter from the Silver Grays Camp Curtin, March 15, 1862 A wondrous change has come over the appearance of things since I last addressed you. The great body of troops then occupying Camp Curtin has left for the seat of war, having been ordered to the Potomac, leaving the “Silver Grays” almost solitary and alone in the occupancy of the camp. There are not at this time more than two hundred men in this situation, our company being the only full one here. The remainder is made up of skeleton companies and some recruits for the regiments in the field. Camp Curtin has passed from the immediate control of the authorities of the State to that of the General Government. Capt. Dodge, the gentlemanly mustering officer and Superintendent of the recruiting service in Pennsylvania represents the Government of the United States and has taken possession of the entire camp and its appurtenances in its name. He has issued an Order appointing Captain Palmer of the Grays, he being the senior Captain to take charge of the police and discipline of the camp. The Grays are “monarchs of all they survey,” and for the present, “to their right there is none to dispute.” The “fowl and the brute” being somewhat scare in these quarters, the title of “lordship” need not be set up. How long we may remain in our present position as the guardians of the public property in and around the Capitol, I can not predict. The business on hand now requires the services of every member of the company. He who thinks the duties imposed upon the Grays to be trivial and easily to be discharged is very much in error. Camp Curtin will hereafter be a depot for recruits for the army (Regulars and Volunteers). They will be forwarded to this point from the several stations in the State and then distributed to their respective regiments in the field. It will devolve upon our company to keep up the regular order of camp discipline as the other troops are only temporary sojourners, en route for their respective commands. The recent simultaneous movements of the several divisions of the army bearing down upon the lines of the enemy indicate a speedy crushing out of the rebel lion. The gradual development of the plans of the Federal Government which have been maturing for months gives promise that this war must be of short duration. Taking this as a stand point we may extend our view to the southeast, south and southwest and in each section, we distinguish the evidence that a mastermind has been at work, controlling all the operations of the army, directing its secret evolutions and by a system or scientific strategy, coercing the evacuations of the enemy’s strongest positions without shedding a drop of blood. While human life is only secondary to the maintenance of our glorious system of government, yet humanity must approve the measure which accomplishes the desired end by the least sanguinary means. Since the almost entire “evacuation” of Camp Curtin, your correspondent may consider his “occupation gone.” Surrounded by abandoned barracks he would be compelled to romance, to call to his aid all his limited powers of imagination that he might be enabled to produce an interesting letter. Well, Mr. Editor, this is out of the line of your humble servant. At the time High Private introduced himself to your readers, he professed only to be a chronicler of passing events, to detail facts and not fiction. Now, camp items, when called for, are like unto the “spirits of the vasty deep,” – they will not come. Up until something new “turns up” my visits must necessarily be “like Angel’s, few and far between.” [Signed] High Private >From the Cambria Regiment Camp Campbell, near Washington, D. C. March 13, 1862 Owing to the multifarious duties devolving upon the Adjutant of the 54th P.V. since we received orders to leave Camp Curtin and report ourselves at Washington, I have not had sufficient time to write you a note until now. In pursuance of the order received, we have at last cleared our skirts of Camp Curtin, and are now snugly ensconced in a quiet little camp on the Bladensburg road, near the National Capital. We are daily engaged in square company and battalion drills and otherwise perfecting ourselves in the art military. Ere long we hope to so perfect ourselves that we will not be either afraid or ashamed to measure our length with any regiment Pennsylvania has in the field. Even now, soldiers from other camps passing our lines and seeing our drills very frequently inquire whether we are not Regulars. The bad influences Camp Curtin discipline and Harrisburg dissipation has had upon our men is being rapidly effaced under the strict discipline Col. Campbell has instituted. Every man has his proper place here and every man must be in that place when the proper hour arrives. The game of “old soger” won’t win. For some purpose unknown to us we have been singled out from the rest of the regiments that were with us in Camp Curtin and ordered to encamp by ourselves some miles distant from where they have been quartered in a body. Perhaps this argues a forward movement for our Regiment, and perhaps it means something else. At all events we have been informed by Brig. Gen. S. Casey that when his Brigade moves over to Dixie, the 54th goes with him. There has been a constant stream of fresh troops coming in from the States to take the place of the old Regiments being moved out. But so quietly is all this done that unless you just happen to be on the street and see the passing body you would not know they were in motion. The mud in this vicinity has been completely dried up and the roads are in splendid trim. The only sign we have here of the terrible mud is the woeful appearance of the Government horses. If ever there was a set of abused animals, the poor brutes in the employ of Uncle Sam can have a claim to the renown of having served the hardest taskmasters the world ever produced. Poor horses! They certainly deserve a place in the Horse Heaven when their toils on earth are ended. Being somewhat used up with a very severe cold, we applied for leave of absence from camp duties yesterday in order to go and see the sights. Our request was readily granted, and in company with a brother officer we sallied forth. Bending our steps toward the city, we soon entered Pennsylvania Avenue, and following it, we suddenly found ourselves near the White House. Taking a peep at the premises and satisfying ourselves that all was in order there, we crossed the street and entered the beautiful park in which stands the bronzed statue of old Hickory seated on his rearing charger. There is a perfectness in this statue that strikes the beholder with a feeling of mixed reverence and awe – reverence for the man whose nerve preserved his county and awe because it seems that the hero is seated there in full life and vigor. So perfect is the statue that even the veins seem as though the blood was coursing merrily through them. After lounging for a time on one of the neat iron seats in the Park, we wended our way to the Smithsonian Institute. Here is food for the curious. For hours we wandered through the building, examining the thousands of specimens of every imaginable shapes, sizes and colors – animal, reptile, insect, fowl, &c. Here are curious specimens of fancy work from Siam, China, Japan, the Islands of the Pacific and the South Sea Islands – food enough to keep even a gormandizer in the curious feasting for days before he could possibly get through. The Gallery of Indian paintings is no small feature in this mammoth curiosity. We spent some time in it but our companion not being blessed with the same amount of appreciation for the fine art as we hastened us away. We would liked to have remained in the Library Rooms for some time, but our friend urged us on through the Statuary Rooms and out of the building, to hasten over and take a look at Congress. Arrived at the Capitol, we found a seat in the Senate gallery and listened to the remarks offered by various Senators on the Bill to tax us Government employees ten percentum, &c. Senator Clark’s remarks made us feel good but we have a very poor appreciation for what was said by Messrs. Wilson and Hale. Senator Hale is certainly an aristocrat. His idea of the distinction between the Volunteers and Regular army officers seems to us to point out the Regulars as a kind of aristocracy – something considerably superior to the Volunteers. But want of time will not permit me at present to pitch into the Senator as I would like. There is one thing sure, however, - here is one who can’t vote of Hale for President. Leaving the Senate we entered the apartment for the outsiders in the House. There was some gentleman from Kentucky just entering upon a discussion but his speech was so insipid that we soon found ourselves awaking from a sound sleep into which we had fallen. Finding we could not aid in Legislation and recollecting that we had some little duties to perform ere nightfall we took up our line of march for Camp. This place is full of rumors and as they are only rumors, I cannot at present say when we will leave; but I hope, when we do, I will find time to let you hear often from— [Signed] Horace War News Manassas, the “Gibraltar of the East” was taken possession of by the federal forces on Monday of last week. The Rebels had previously evacuated it, departing no one knows whither. A battle was fought at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, on the 6th inst., which, after a terrific fight of three days, resulted in a glorious Federal victory. Our loss was about 450 killed and wounded. The Rebels lost 1,000 killed, wounded and prisoners. Ben M’Culloch was killed. Our forces were commanded by Gen. Curtis. New Madrid, Mo., has been evacuated by the Rebels and taken possession of by our troops. We captured many guns, a large amount of ammunition, stores, etc., at this point. Gen. M’Clellan has published an address to the Army of the Potomac in which he says that the moment for his long looked for “advance” is at hand. Gen. Fremont has been restored to the command of a division of the army. Fighting is reported to be going on at Island No. 10. Gen. Pope has his batteries planted so as to command the river. Two or three little skirmishes have occurred along the Potomac. -------------------------------------------------------------------- MARRIAGES Married On Monday, 10th inst., at the Railroad House, Wilmore, by the Rev. J. F. Kuhlman, Mr. Harrison Ward to Miss Eliza Crew, both of No. 4, Washington township. -------------------------------------------------------------------- DEATHS A Cambrian Killed A battle was fought at Paris, Tennessee, on the 12th last between a battalion of Union troops assisted by a portion of the Curtis, Iowa, cavalry regiment and the Rebels, in which the latter were routed was a loss of one hundred killed, wounded and prisoners. Our loss was five men killed and four wounded. So runs the substance of a recent telegram from Gen. Halleck to the War Department. Subsequent information has developed the fact that among the number of federal troops who fell at this battle is William W. Ivory, formerly a resident of this county, but for a number of years past of Nebraska city. We have no definite particulars concerning the manner of his death other than that he fell in the performance of his duty. We extract the following truthful obituary of Sergeant Major (this being the position he held in his regiment) Ivory from the columns of the New York HERALD: “Sergeant Major Wm. W. Ivory, who fell on the 12th inst., at the battle of Paris, was a Pennsylvanian by birth and removed from Philadelphia to Nebraska City, Nebraska Territory in 1858, where he became one of the contracting surveyors of that Territory under the late John C. Calhoun, noted in the Kansas broils. Sergeant Ivory was appointed in 1861 Receiver of Public Moneys, United States Land Office at Dacotah, Nebraska Territory, by President Buchanan, which office he held at the beginning of the formation of his regiment in which he was appointed to the office of Sergeant Major, though being fully capable of holding a commission, having seen service in Mexico throughout that struggle. He was a fine spirited, chivalric, noble, impulsive man. His age was about twenty nine years.” All honor to the memory of the gallant spirit who laid down his life upon the altar of his country’s good! _________________________________________________________________ Access your email online and on the go with Windows Live Hotmail. http://windowslive.com/Explore/Hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_access_112008