  Comrades of Company K, a feeling of sadness steals over me, as now I am about to lay down my pen. About two years ago, upon your urgent request, yet with great reluctance, I undertook this work. During these two years four of our number have fallen out of ranks, never more to answer to roll call here. How forcibly this reminds us that we are all hastening to the last earthly roll call! By and by, and "soon 'twill be," the last one of us must fail to answer. It behooves us to be true and faithful to the end—to ever live and act that in the Grand Army above, through Jesus Christ our victorious leader, we may have comradeship unbroken and of ever increasing delight. And now, Comrades, I have exhausted my resources in endeavor to serve you in this work of placing in historic record your deeds of heroism and works of patriotic sacrifice in the War of the Rebellion. Possibly I have been too plain, conservative and modest in the language used. But my heart's desire in it all has been to be faithful and true to you—to each and all of you. If I had not been one of you, I might have indulged in superlatives often. Of one thing rest assured, the verdict of the reader will be, "Nothing is overstated." I feel that I have imperfectly sketched your part in the saving of the nation. Your children and theirs to the remotest time will ever be proud of it. We can ever emphasize one battle, in which as a Company we had our largest experience; and in which we registered our first and greatest loss in "killed in action." It was the decisive battle of that greatest of civil conflicts—"rebellion rising to its supremest effort and falling fatally wounded." Yes, we can ever point with pride to our "trial in the fire" at Gettysburg. And we can glory, too, in the magnificent victory won by the 2nd Corps at Spottsylvania. Certainly we cannot be charged with undue boasting if we do glory in such expressions as "brave old Co. K!" "The fighting 140th Regiment P.V.!" "The old reliable 2nd Corps!" We together followed the flag of our country in march and battle for almost three years in the Army of the Potomac, till "old glory" was triumphant. And we certainly share in the honor a grateful nation accords to its defenders. And, surviving comrades, in loving remembrances of our dead, with our hearts full of gratitude and praise, we do feel proud of what we did, inasmuch, while the years have come and gone since we laid down our arms and again took our places as citizens, we have seen our beloved country, more precious in the immense cost of its preservation, rise to an unparalleled degree of success and prosperity. And while we rejoice in this, let us, in taking leave of each other, in the end of this book of history, pledge ourselves and our posterity to continued faithfulness, to unflinching devotion to our nation, even unto death.
Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed. One paragraph on page 24 contains both duplicated and missing text. As printed, the text reads: … comforts, etc., and some essentials were lost. The fact is, when we were up in support battery on the 3rd, our knapsacks left by order, at trenches, were ransacked by camp followers. fact is, when we were up in support of battery on the 3rd, our knap- Wheeler, in arm; McCalmont, in foot; Briggs, in back; Chester, in leg; and J. W. Nickeson, thumb shot off. Corp'l W. L. Pry, in falling back to hospital, overcome with fatigue, accidentally shot himself in hand. An online search revealed one copy of the book with the following hand written correction: … comforts, etc., and some essentials were lost. The fact is, when we were up in support battery on the 3rd, our knapsacks left by order, at trenches, were ransacked by camp followers. The company had only a few slightly wounded. These were: Wheeler, in arm; McCalmont, in foot; Briggs, in back; Chester, in leg; and J. W. Nickeson, thumb shot off. Corp'l W. L. Pry, in falling back to hospital, overcome with fatigue, accidentally shot himself in hand. The book cover images was created by the transcriber and is hereby placed in the public domain. This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be renamed. 1.F. 1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem. 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate. International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org |
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