Drum Taps in Dixie Part 7

"When Johnnie Comes Marching Home Again" was always a favorite in the ranks, but in the quiet of camp the songs were a little more sentimental and suggestive of home and the loved ones. Some of the old time favorites were:

"Sweet Alice Ben Bolt," "Hazel Dell," "Annie Laurie," "Kathleen Mavourneen," "Tenting Tonight," "The Faded Coat of Blue," "The Vacant Chair," "Just Before the Battle, Mother," "Write Me a Letter from Home,"

etc., etc., and an evening camp concert, with perhaps a hundred or more voices in the choruses would wind up with "The s.h.i.+ning Sh.o.r.e," "Jesus, Lover of My Soul," and "Nearer, My G.o.d, to Thee."

CHAPTER VI.

OUR FIGHTING COLONEL.

After the Bull Run campaign our regiment was detailed for garrison duty again and sent to some forts near Arlington where we remained for a long time.

Our colonel (with a foreign military experience?) was relieved of his command immediately after Bull Run and there came to us a commander who proceeded to jerk things straight in the regiment. His name was Jeremiah N. G. Whistler and he had been in the regular army since he was a day old, having been born in camp. He was all military, through and through, and a disciplinarian of disciplinarians.

He drilled the regiment six days in the week and then had a Sunday inspection, and succeeded in bringing the command to a high state of perfection. He was a man of fiery temper and when anything touched it off he could let out a string of oaths--of which he had a choice and inexhaustible selection--that would produce a sulphurous atmosphere.

One Sunday morning when our company was marching by the colonel's tent to go out for inspection he noticed one of the men swinging his left arm, and the next thing that the Co. H man knew the colonel had him by the coat collar and was shaking him. Then leading him back to his place in the ranks admonished him about repeating the arm swinging again.

But taken all in all he was a good officer and when we went to the front again, excited the admiration of the men by his bravery under fire.

At Petersburg he was wounded and later was breveted for gallant and distinguished service.

He re-entered the regular army after the war and at the time of his death was a colonel.

Judging by the experience we had with three or four colonels, I should pick out a regular army officer every time for a commander. They expect the men to obey orders and do their full duty, and on the other hand a man can depend on getting all that belongs to him and justice on all occasions.

ATE THE COLONEL'S DINNER.

Col. Whistler was fond of good feeding and one day his cook served up his dinner about the time that a staff officer from the brigade headquarters rode up with a message for him. While he was on the outside reading it one of the men happened along back of the tent and noticed the tempting eatables waiting for an eater, and, being hungry, he slipped in and proceeded to stow food away as only a hungry soldier can. He was so busy about it that he did not notice the officer peering in the front of the tent. The brazen effrontery of the man had rendered the officer speechless. Finally he recovered himself enough to exclaim: "Do you know, you d--d rascal, whose food you're eating?" The man looked up as he helped himself to another chicken wing, and said: "No, colonel, and I'm jiggered if I'm the leastways particular about such things when I'm hungry and rations are scarce." The colonel admired the cheek and coolness of the man and told him to eat his fill and if he ever heard of his telling of the affair he would have him courtmartialed.

LOVE AND WAR.

While we were doing duty at Arlington many of the fair s.e.x of Was.h.i.+ngton and Georgetown frequently honored us with their presence at our dress parades, and among them was the beautiful and charming daughter of Mrs. E.

D. E. N. Southworth, the gifted auth.o.r.ess, who resided in a pretty rose-embowered cottage that nestled among the trees and shrubbery on Georgetown heights, and just across the Potomac from our fort.

Adjt. Lawrence of the Second New York was about as slick a looking officer as ever walked out in front of a regiment on dress parade, and it is not strange that Miss Southworth fell in love with him, and an intimacy sprang up that resulted in the fair young southern girl changing her name to Mrs.

James V. Lawrence.

During the preliminaries the writer was the bearer of many presumably tender missives over to the Georgetown cottage, and as he had to wait for the sweet-scented replies he was entertained by Mrs. Southworth, who probably knew just how fond a young, growing boy is of lemonade, cakes and other sweet things, and the charming lady took it upon herself to make life very pleasant to the youngster during the brief visits at her home.

Soon after the marriage of the young couple Lieut. Lawrence was detailed on staff duty and was never returned to our regiment.

CHRISTMAS IN CAMP.

How well I remember my first Christmas in camp. Our company was at Fort Haggerty on the road leading from the Acqueduct bridge to Arlington. Capt.

Smith's home had been one of the handsomest in Carthage before the war and under his command the fort had been transformed into one of the slickest ones in the defences of Was.h.i.+ngton.

Christmas morning in 1862, after the calling of the roll our company formed in line and marched up in front of the captain's quarters. Several of the boys had provided themselves with some nice evergreen trees, and when the captain appeared the command was given "present arms" and the movement was executed with the trees. The fifer and drummer of the company then played "Hail to the Chief" and "The Girl I Left Behind Me."

The captain appeared mightily pleased and made us a nice little speech, and said that he wished that he could send us all home for the holidays but as that was an impossibility he had planned to make us as happy as circ.u.mstances would permit, and the quartermaster had been furnished money to get up a dinner in keeping with the occasion. Cheers and a tiger were given for our kind-hearted commander, and then the voice of one who has several times been mentioned by the writer spoke out: "Pardon me axin' the question, cap'n, but would there be a wee drop for anny so inclined?" The captain smiled and nodded affirmatively.

Our camp was near where there had been a brick yard, and with old bricks that had been dug out of the ground a tasty little house had been built for the captain and a brick oven for the cooks. In this turkeys had been roasted and rice puddings and potatoes baked. There was also oyster stew, oysters and clams on the half sh.e.l.l and mince pies that some soldier's wife had made for us. None of old Co. H will ever forget that Christmas.

After the feast pipes, tobacco and cigars were pa.s.sed, and then pails of milk punch went round for those "so inclined."

[Ill.u.s.tration: A GROUP OF CO. H. BOYS. Pat Devereaux and Author in Foreground.]

Ah, dear, brave old Co. H, what would I not give to see you line up once more as you did on that Christmas day in the long ago.

For more than twenty-five years I could, from memory, call the roll of the original company, just as I had heard our old orderly, Tom Murphy, call it so many times. Poor Tom earned his shoulder straps but sleeps in a southern grave.

Of the boys who made merry with us in old Virginia on the Christmas day of long ago, many gave up their lives on the battlefields of the south, Potter, Williamson, Zeigler, Clapsaddle and Lieut. Roff at Cold Harbor; Ed. Roland, Smith, Thurston, Slater, Crowner, Symonds at Petersburg; Billy Cook, Frank Farr, Tom Murphy and several others between there and Appomattox.

No, old Co. H will never again fall in for roll call on this side of the "deadline." The tents are folded, the implements of war are rusting, I find that the cords and snares on my drum are fraying with age, "All is quiet on the Potomac."

'Tis but a memory.

VETERAN VOLUNTEERS.

A grave problem confronted the government in 1863 for within a few months it would lose the services of most of its tried and seasoned soldiers by reason of expiration of service. A proposition was made to the three years men that if they would re-enlist they would receive $402.00 bounty and a thirty day furlough. The proposition was accepted by a majority of the old soldiers and the old organizations were retained with their officers.

The most of our company and regiment re-enlisted. They sent us home in squads, and when it came my turn I was laid up with the mumps and could not go with my father.

While I was north on my furlough Gen. Grant a.s.sumed command of the army confronting Gen. Lee and preparations were made for active operations.

My father wrote me that our regiment had received orders to be ready to go to the front at an hour's notice.

My furlough had several days to run but I took the first train for Was.h.i.+ngton and in twenty-four hours walked into camp.

I found our regiment all ready and awaiting orders. Field tents, rubber blankets and other things were issued to us which indicated that we were to take the field.

CHAPTER VII.

OFF FOR THE FRONT.

The next day we a.s.sembled at Fort Corcoran. The regiment had been filled up with recruits until there were about 1,800 men on the rolls. Probably 1,500 were present for duty when we left to join the Army of the Potomac.

We were ordered to "fall in" at noon and in a few moments we marched away with colors flying and the band playing a lively quickstep.

It was like leaving home to go away from the forts we had learned to love so well, the huge walls of which had been cemented with the sweat from the brows of most of the men.