USA > Rhode Island > History of the Ninth and Tenth Regiments Rhode Island Volunteers, and the Tenth Rhode Island Battery, in the Union Army in 1862 > Part 6
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12. On Sunday squad and company drills only will be omitted. At 9 o'clock each company's quarters will be inspected by a field officer attended by the cap- tain, and all uncleanliness or want of attention to the requirements in which the quarters are to be kept, will be reported to the commanding officer.
13. Divine Service will be held every Sunday at II A. M. upon grounds to be designated, and each officer and soldier not on duty or on the sick report, is ex- pected to be present neatly dressed in uniform without arms.
14. The body-belt will be worn on all occasions when the officers or men are out of camp, and no article of dress other than the regular uniform prescribed for these regiments will be permitted to be worn at any time.
15. No salutes will be given between Retreat and Reveille. After Guard Mounting, the officer of the guard will see that the muskets of the old guard are discharged, and no pieces will be loaded in camp, unless by special order, and any soldier disturbing the camp by discharging his musket or pistol without orders, will be immediately reported to headquarters for punishment. Muskets when loaded will be carried at the half-cock.
16. No horses and wagons except the water-carts, and carts for the removal of slop barrels, will be allowed to pass through the company streets or between the company officers' and Field officers' quarters, and no horses will be permit- ted to stand in rear of the line of tents occupied by the Field and Staff.
By order,
CHARLES T. ROBBINS,
Acting Colonel 9th &. 10th R. I. Vols.
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General Orders Number One, just recited, lays out the pro- gramme of work for each day : Reveille is sounded at 4.30 A. M., when the roll is called and the quarters put in order. One of the boys thus described it : "Reveille at 4.30 A. M. is the ‘cock- crow' of the gallant Ninth. A single bugle call is heard, when instantly the proper officer, rouses the drum-corps; they then beat the reveille, the sound rolling in from every direction, far and near; the first sergeants are running down the company streets, parting the tent-openings, and shouting inside, 'Turn out here for roll-call!' The men turn out, in every imaginable state of dress and undress, answer to their names in the roll-call, in every tone and compass of which the human voice is capable, a perfect babel, and are assigned to their duties for the day. The whole noisy breeze is past in five minutes, and the day's work begins. But let us not overlook the poor little drummer boy in this noise of reveille, as he stands at his tent door, half awake, half asleep, 'mit nottings on sgarsly,' unkempt, shivering or half frozen, peddling around his rattling 'r-r-rap-a-tap-tap.' At half- past five we have 'squad drill' until half-past six, then 'peas on a trencher,' which means breakfast. At ten o'clock, company drill until half-past eleven. At one o'clock, 'roast beef,' which means dinner. At three o'clock, drill, until five o'clock. Supper at half-past six, and at sunset, roll-call for retreat. At nine o'clock P. M., ' tattoo and roll-call,' and at 9.30, ' taps,' which means all lights in camp must be extinguished and all noise must cease. This is the regular routine, but we have to take our turn for guard duty and for camp police. I was recently one of a detail of thirty men for police duty. Our business was not very pleasant, chiefly
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cleaning up the streets of the camp and carting off the dirt and waste. As soon as breakfast was over the orderly directed each man to provide himself with a small bundle of sticks or brush, three or four feet long, which was bound together, for 'police duty,' which meant cleaning up the camp, not a particularly pleasant occu- pation on a dry and dusty day, 'not much like policemen's duty,' one of the boys said.
--
Police Duty.
The weather is very hot, the mer- cury registering one hundred degrees in the shade. Tell Captain Hale that we are practicing ' double quick' every day so that we may not be too far behind when that foot-race comes off. When Richmond falls, as fall it must, we hope they will send us home to repose upon our laurels. Until then we must be men of war.
"Last night I was drawn in a crowd of fifty for picket duty and it promised to be no very delightful duty either, on a dark, rainy night. Soon we were ordered into line, armed and equipped with plenty of ball cartridges, and trudged out two or three miles into the country. Knowing that shooting pickets was a favorite amusement with the prowling secesh in the vicinity, we found the employment quite exciting, and as I filled the dignified position of corporal of the guard, I managed to keep my eyes open and the
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CAMP.FRIEZE Camp.of the 9"and. 10th Rhode Island.Volunteers ·June.1862 .
CAMP FRIEZE, TENNALLYTOWN, D. C.
.
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NINTH RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
Union safe through the night, and at daylight we splashed through the mud back to camp again, pretty well drenched, besides being tired and sleepy. As soon as dismissed we rolled into the straw as we were, and slept until ten this morning. We then turned out, and some of us bathed in a mud-puddle. I then breakfasted on hard-bread and cheese, and now I am ready for anything.
"June 18th. We have at last got our full equipments and cloth- ing, and, among other things, our pantaloons, for, dreadful to re- late, we have all had to wear our old ones that we brought from home, so that most of us might adopt the language of the military tactics, 'to the rear open order.' Some of them are misfits, and much too large for the boys. They remind us of the school boy's trousers, which didn't signify whether he was going to school or coming home. On Sundays we assemble at eleven o'clock for church, and again at six o'clock P. M., for dress parade.
"The men are allowed to go, now and then, to Chain Bridge, on the Potomac, for bathing. The other day a party of us went, and enjoyed it very much. It is a beautiful region, but completely studded with camps and forts. After getting back to camp it oc- curred to me as I kicked off my heavy army 'whangs,' as our shoes are called, that a nice, easy pair of slippers would be agree- able. Another towel, also, would be acceptable when you send the box. Even cake would not go amiss, as the boys of the mess will gladly share it with me.
"June 19th. Brcad. I have been to Washington to-day with an order for to-morrow's bread for the regiment. Brought out 900 loaves, baked in the basement of the capitol. They bake about 21,000 loaves per day."
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THE NINTH REGIMENT
C
The "rations" were rather hard to get used to, but the men of the Ninth soon learned that a soldier's life is no holiday, and his real wants necessarily simple and few, so that there was really little cause for complaint. It was all in getting used to it.
The regular army "ration," as estab- lished by the government, for each sol- dier, was composed as follows : Twelve Eating Rations. ounces of pork and bacon, or twelve ounces of salt or fresh beef ; twenty-two ounces of soft bread or flour, or one pound of hard bread (hard-tack), or twenty ounces of corn meal ; and to every one hundred men, fifteen pounds of beans or peas, ten pounds of rice, or hominy, eight pounds of roasted coffee, or twenty-four ounces of tea, fifteen pounds of sugar, four quarts of vinegar, twenty ounces of candles, four pounds of soap, four pounds of salt, four ounces of pepper, thirty pounds of potatoes and one quart of molasses. This was the "ration " the first year of the war. But to meet the wants of fellows with big appetites, Congress passed an act, increasing the allowance of several of the items, notably ; potatoes, of which each man was to have one pound three times a week, "when prac- ticable." But as the war wore on, most of the less important items disappeared, and during the last year it was mostly hard- tack, beans and coffee, with a little sugar and salt.
"The haversack was an indispensable part of our outfit. It consisted of a black canvass bag with a strap attached to the
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RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
opposite side to adjust it to the neck or the shoulder. To use the language of an old soldier, " Your haversack's to carry your grub in! Hold on to your haversack through thick and thin ! It'll be the best friend you'll find in the army !" When we left Providence our haversacks had neat white cotton linings, but after they had been in use a few weeks as receptacles for chunks of fat meat, damp sugar tied up in a rag, broken crackers and bread, with a lump of cheese or two, they took on the color of a printing-office towel. We were told that they were water-proof, but practically they were quite the reverse. Very likely you would have gone hungry a good while before eating anything out of them. Not so with the boys of the Ninth.
"The 'Camp-Kettle' was a good and useful article of furni- ture, made of heavy black sheet-iron, very tall, and of the same diameter from top to bottom. All were of the same height, but there were three or four sizes of them, so that they could be con- veniently ' nested' for transportation. They were chiefly used for making coffee and bean soup, and sometimes for laundry purposes.
" The 'Canteen' was another important feature of our outfit. It was a simple article made of tin and covered with cloth, shaped like the earth, except that it was a good deal more 'flattened at the poles,' and with a cloth strap running around it at the equator, by which it was suspended over one shoulder and carried against the opposite hip. It would hold about three pints. Its chief duty was for the transportation of water, although it was found equally adapted to carry some other things. It came handy to the forager for milk, cider or molasses. In very rare instances it was also used for liquids of a more vigorous and searching character.
الدوحة
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THE NINTH REGIMENT
The industrious Woodlick.
This portrait is many times larger than he really was, but not half as big as he often felt.
" The greatest, or at least the most trouble- some enemies we have to encounter here are the wood-ticks. As I never knew until I came here what they were, I will take it for granted that you don't, and will inform you in the words of the poet :
'De-fire-fly hab de golden wings. De lightnin' bug de flame,
De wood-tick he hab no wing at all, But he get dar all de same !'
They infest the trees, bushes, grass, and apparently everything else out of doors. We are seldom conscious of their presence, but the chief end and object of their existence seems to be to make their way by slow degrees under our skin, where, embedded in the flesh, they soon become very disagreeable. When they make up their mind to have a taste of Yankee blood, they find easy access to the body through the openings of the uniform. I have found several of them already, but only one that had made any progress through the skin, and he was discovered and executed before any harm was done. They generally put their work in at night, and neither slumber nor sleep. This country appears to abound in such creeping things, very much to my disgust. I am told the only sure way to exterminate them is to boil your clothing."
The wood-ticks and gray-backs were the great pests of the Union army from '61 to '65. One of the great problems of the war was how to get rid of them. They attacked all the soldiers, from the major-generals down to the privates.
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RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
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This system of works was so complete, that at no time after- ward, during the war, did the Confederates ever seriously attempt to assail them.
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THE NINTH REGIMENT
The month of June was spent in thorough attention to drill, and in the performance of picket duty. The regiment was expected to be ready for "inspection " every Sunday morning.
After getting thus comfortably settled down at Camp Frieze, the members of the Ninth were surprised to receive an order from Colonel Pitman to be ready to march at short notice. The news spread rapidly through the neighborhood, and our friends began to compliment us, supposing that we were likely to be sent towards "the front," but that seemed hardly probable unless Mcclellan should suffer an overwhelming defeat and the enemy make an ad- vance on Washington, in force. June 28th, the regiment was called at early dawn, broke up its camp, hurriedly partook of its morning meal of salt-junk, hard-tack and coffee, and started at sunrise for Washington. It was a beautiful morning, and the men started off in fine spirits, with a long train of sixty army wagons, loaded with tents and other camp equipage. A march of seven miles brought them to Long Bridge, a little before eight o'clock, with but two halts of five minutes each, in a tramp of seven miles. The contrabands in fantastic dress and head-gear swarmed about the men pressing them to buy their pies, gingerbread and hoe-cake. Said one of the men : "The sun's rays beat down fiercely on the perspiring volunteers of the Ninth Rhode Island as we went marching over Long Bridge and planted our 'whangs' squarely upon Virginia sacred soil, which appeared to rise indignant in our faces, completely enveloping us in a very fine dust, which stuck to us like wax, and entered our eyes, mouths and noses, adding greatly to the discomforts of the long march. It was a very hot day, if not the hottest we ever experienced, but we keep tramping
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RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
on in the cloud of dust with but two halts, the lat- ter of about one hour, to consult about our route of march. Then we started again, and at length reached Alexandria, said to be seven miles from Long Bridge. We then made a detour of two or three miles around the outskirts of the city, through marshy fields and rough roads un- til at length the drum gave A Hot Day for the Ninth Rhode Island. the welcome signal for the final halt, and the weary and dusty men dropped by the roadside all pretty well used up, -- and glad enough to ' call it a day's work,' and find needed rest. One of the privates of Company K, William Henry Harrison Swan, es- caped the long march, as follows : The day before we left Camp Frieze found him suffering with a severe and protracted attack of side-ache, and on recommendation of the 'orderly ser- geant ' he went to the doctor with a request for some mustard, for an external application. He was also warned to get a supply of the article for seasoning the 'orderly's' salt-horse or beef. He succeeded in getting a satisfactory amount of mustard, but igno- rantly made a direct application in full strength to his lame side. In a short time he was moving around lively in great distress, and when we left for Fairfax his side was badly blistered and
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THE NINTH REGIMENT
swollen. He was deposited in one of the wagons, and thus rode to Fairfax. He afterwards claimed to be the best 'mustered' re- cruit in the Ninth. After narrating the incident to Sergt. Charles P. Gay, of the Tenth, a few days ago, he added, 'singularly enough, I have never had the side-ache since, and never was "mus- tered out."' After the march, hard-tack and coffee were served, and I tell you it went good. As the first encampment was named 'Camp Frieze' the second was appropriately termed 'Camp Scorch,' or 'Camp Misery.' Not a tree is in sight, everything has been removed to clear the way before the guns of the forts. In the vicinity are Forts Ward, Worth, Lyon and Blenker ; the camp being upon an elevated site, we have a fine view of Washington and the Potomac. Fairfax Seminary is near by."
The regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade, Reserve Army Corps, south of the Potomac, commanded by Col. Zenas R. Bliss, of the Tenth Rhode Island Volunteers, Acting Brigadier-General. The brigade consisted of Battery L, Second New York; Battery C, First New York; Sixteenth Indiana Battery, Ninth and Tenth Rhode Island Volunteers, Thirty-Second Massachusetts Volun- teers, Second Excelsior Battery, and the Twelfth Pennsylvania Cavalry. The Tenth Rhode Island Battery, Captain Gallup, was stationed about a mile from camp, near Cloud's Mills. This for- ward movement of the forces around Washington was made to support the advance of General McDowell's Corps towards Rich- mond, to co-operate with the Army of the Potomac, under General McClellan, in the reduction of the confederate capital. But on June 26th, after the indecisive battle of Gaines's Mills, McClellan commenced his retreat to the James River. The campaign against
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RIIODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
Richmond had ended in failure, June 30th, and the Army of the Potomac had retired to a new base of operations at Harrison's Landing. McDowell's army was ordered back to Fredericksburg, and the Ninth and Tenth Rhode Island Volunteers with other organizations were ordered back to the neigh- borhood of the forts sur- rounding Washington. The Ninth Regiment re- turned by water to Wash- The Marshall House. ington by the way of Alexandria. It was an ancient and dilapi- dated looking place, trying to live on its old reputation in slave- holding days. "We marched," says a correspondent, "by the historic Marshall House where the youthful commander, Colonel Ellsworth, had been shot in 1861. Alexandria had been in quiet possession of the National troops since May of that year, but there were many violent secessionists there who would not submit. Among them was a man named Jackson, the proprietor of the Marshall House. The Confederate flag had been flying over his premises for many days, and had been plainly visible from the President's house in Washington. It was still there when Colonel Ellsworth went in person, with a few of his men, to
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THE NINTH REGIMENT
take it down. When descending an upper staircase with the flag, which he had lowered, he was shot by Jackson, who was waiting for him in a dark passage with a double-barreled gun loaded with buck-shot. Ells- worth fell dead, and his murderer met the same fate an instant after- wards at the hands of Francis E. Brownell, who with six others had Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth. accompanied his commander to the roof of the house. He shot Jackson through the heart with a bullet, and pierced his body several times with his sabre-bayonet. Ellsworth's body was borne in sadness to Washington, where funeral services were held in the East Room of the White House, with President Lincoln as chief mourner." Ellsworth was a very young and attractive officer, and greatly beloved for his bravery and patriotism. His death produced great excitement throughout the country. It was one of the first that had occurred in conse- quence of the National troubles.
"Leaving Alexandria the Ninth Regiment embarked on board ' the steamer Hero, for Washington.' After a splendid run of about an hour we landed near the Arsenal, and then marched a short distance till we came to a fine piece of turfed ground, where we rested about two hours, while the colonel departed for orders. Resuming our march we passed near the east front of the Capitol, by the Navy Yard, across the east branch of the Potomac, through a little place called Union Town, up and over some of
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the longest and steepest hills, until covered with dust, we halted at a fork in the roads, where the regiment was divided ; Captain McCloy's company, with three others passed on to the right, and the remaining ones, moved straight on, and soon reached their destination. The regiment is now distributed among ten or a dozen forts, extending around Washington, on the east side, and relieved the Ninety-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers who joined the army of General Mcclellan on the Peninsula. One of the forts, Wagner, mounts four thirty-two-pounders, which goes to show that our men are to learn to be artillerymen. Fort Wagner is finely situated, on an eminence overlooking the city and the Potomac, and commands an extensive view. There is an abun- dance of water, shade, and pure air. There is also a great supply of nothing to eat, as all we have is what was left of the rations we brought from Camp Misery, in our haversacks, yesterday morning.
"The distribution of the companies is as follows : Company A, Capt. Robert McCloy, at Fort Greble ; Company F, Capt. John M. Taylor, Fort Carroll; Company D, Capt. John McKinley, Fort Snyder; Company I, Capt. Samuel Pierce, Fort Stanton ; Company C, Capt. John A. Bowen, Fort Ricketts; Company H, Capt. Henry F. Jenks, Fort Wagner; Company E, Capt. Isaac Place, and Company K, Capt. James R. Holden, Fort Baker (regimental headquarters) ; Company G, Capt. Charles L. Watson, Fort Dupont ; Company B, Capt. Henry C. Card, Fort Meigs ; Company L, Capt. Benjamin L. Slocum, Fort Davis.
" We have neither tents, blankets, overcoats, or clothing, except what we marched in yesterday ; all are in the wagons, which have not as yet reached camp. But most of us had foraged plenty
Fort Wagner
Franco I've original vilketete mad. ty 1. 2. Parpodersin Itta
FORT WAGNER AND THE RICHARDSON HOUSE.
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NINTH RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
of cherries and blackberries, and some of the boys had found little difficulty in deluding some cows into the belief that they were their own calves, so that we became quite reconciled to the non-appearance of our baggage wagons. Soon Captain Jenks announced that he had made arrangements for hot coffee, and the use of the African Methodist Episcopal Church near by, for our company to lodge in. So we shouldered our muskets, and marched into the church, a small brick edifice, about the form and size of a New England country school-house. It was nearly new, and quite neat and clean, and we slept none the worse for its being a negro church. Some of the men were disappointed because they found no cushions on the seats, for myself I gladly stretched myself upon one of them near the pulpit, with my cartridge-box for a pillow and slept the sleep of the weary, while the boys were making the house ring with their vocal music, singing army songs mixed with hymns and psalms; yet I think I never slept more soundly.
"July 4th. To-day, at nine o'clock A. M., I commenced my duties as sergeant of the guard. The guard is divided into three 'reliefs,' each 'relief' being on duty two hours and four hours off duty. The officer of the guard, instead of pacing a beat, remains in the fort ready to attend to any call.
" July 9th. Yesterday I proposed to our mess that we have a blackberry pudding, they agreed at once, and by request I went to the store and bought five pounds of flour, some butter and sugar, and while I was gone the boys went out and picked three quarts of berries, and we soon had our pudding boiling in three bags. It was very fine, some of the boys pronouncing it almost as good as 'mother made at home.'
من الأسلحة
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THE NINTH REGIMENT
" Our washerwoman is a curious, good-na- tured old darkey, who is generally found at home among her pigs, chickens and "chill- uns." She lives in a very modest sort of a cabin, keeps her cow, sells some butter, and like most of the "cullud folks " around here appears to get on very well. The contra- bands are friendly, freely lend us any of their household utensils, and welcome us to their social gatherings. You should hear their singing. I can give you no adequate idea of their sweet rendering of the old plantation melodies and gospel choruses. Some of the boys have come to the conclusion that they are "the best society of the place." To-day Our Washerwcman. is washing day, and "auntie " has come for our clothes which she does up brown at the rate of fifty to seventy- five cents per dozen. All well-with prospect of a scorching day, as usual. Temperature way up among the nineties.
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