HIS TRANSFORMATION FROM A RAW RECRUIT TO A VETERAN.
By John McElroy.
Book One
Title page ]
Frontispiece ]
PUBLISHED BY
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE CO.,
WASHINGTON, D. C
SECOND EDITION
COPYRIGHT 1910
Contents:
CHAPTER I. GOING TO WAR--SI KLEGG'S COMPLETE EQUIPMENTCHAPTER II. THE DEADLY BAYONETCHAPTER III. THE OLD CANTEENCHAPTER IV. THE AWFUL HARDTACKCHAPTER V. FAT PORK--INDISPENSABLE BODY TIMBER FOR PATRIOTISMCHAPTER VI. DETAILED AS COOK--SI FINDS RICE ANOTHER INNOCENTCHAPTER VII. IN THE AWKWARD SQUADCHAPTER VIII. ON COMPANY DRILLCHAPTER IX. SI GETS A LETTERCHAPTER X. SI AND THE DOCTORSCHAPTER XI. THE PLAGUE OF THE SOLDIERCHAPTER XII. A WET NIGHTCHAPTER XIII. SI "STRAGGLED"CHAPTER XIV. SI AND THE MULESCHAPTER XV. UNDER FIRE--SI HAS A FIGHT, CAPTURES A PRISONERCHAPTER XVI. ONE OF THE "NON-COMMISH"CHAPTER XVII. FORAGING ON THE WAYCHAPTER XVIII. A SUNDAY OFFCHAPTER XIX. A CLOSE CALLCHAPTER XX. "THE SWEET SABBATH"CHAPTER XXI. SI AND SHORTY WERE RAPIDLY LEARNINGCHAPTER XXII. A NIGHT OF SONG
PREFACE.
"Si Klegg, of the 200th Ind., and Shorty, his Partner," were born morethan 25 years ago in the brain of John McElroy, editor of The NationalTribune, who invented the names and characters, outlined the generalplan, and wrote a number of the chapters. Subsequently, the editor,having many other important things pressing upon his attention, calledin an assistant to help on the work, and this assistant, under thedirection and guidance of the editor, wrote some of these chapters.Subsequently, without the editor's knowledge or consent, the assistantadopted all the material as his own, and expanded it into a book whichhad a limited sale and then passed into the usual oblivion of shortlivedsubscription books.
The sketches in this first number are the original ones published in TheNational Tribune in 1885-6, revised and enlarged somewhat by the editor.
Those in the second and all following numbers appeared in The NationalTribune when the editor, John McElroy, resumed the story in 1897,12 years after the first publication, and continued it for theunprecedented period of seven years, with constantly growing interestand popularity. They gave "Si Klegg" a nation-wide and enduringcelebrity. Gen. Lew Wallace, the foremost literary man of his day,pronounced "Si Klegg" the "great idyll of the war."
How true they are to nature every veteran can abundantly testify fromhis own service. Really, only the name of the regiment was invented.There is no doubt that there were several men of the name of JosiahKlegg in the Union Army, and who did valiant service for the Government.They had experiences akin to, if not identical with, those narratedhere, and substantially every man who faithfully and bravely carried amusket in defense of the best Government on earth had sometimes, if notoften, experiences of with those of Si Klegg, Shorty and the boys arestrong reminders.
Many of the illustrations in this first number are by the late Geo. Y.Coffin, deceased, a talented artist, whose work embellished The NationalTribune for many years. He was the artist of The National Tribune untilhis lamented and premature death, and all his military work was doneby daily consultation, instruction and direction of the editor of TheNational Tribune.