USA > Virginia > Under the stars and bars ; a history of the Surry Light Artillery > Part 5
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Our four guns were put in positions to render it as warm for the enemy as could be contrived in the dark- ness, and sentries were posted to keep a sharp lookout for any advancing foe, including, of course, an advance picket, some distance to the front. The rest of us, not
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on the guard detail, spread the tarpaulins (tarred can- ras, one of which goes with each gun, to spread over it when a battery is in park), and then the cannoneers, each one wrapped in his blanket, lay down together on the canvas, by the guns to rest and sleep.
But, lo! before morning, for the night was cloudy . and stormy-looking, down thick and fast fell the fleecy snow, covering us all with a blanket of white, both warm and beautiful! It is needless to say that we slept soundly, despite the snow. A soldier can sleep any- where. No foe disturbed us, and the snow only served to keep us warm under another canvas that had been drawn over us, after all had laid down.
It fell out that the detachment at one of the guns had made their bed in a graveyard, and the boys of that gun slept that night literally among the dead. But they slept well, and perhaps had sweet dreams of home and loved ones. None of them would have laid awake if he had known that the dead were there.
The morrow dawned bright and beautiful. The grotesque figures of some of the men, as they crawled from under their robes of snow, evoked many a laugh and jest. The novelty and romance of the occasion dispelled all gloom and disposition to murmur, and good humor and jolity were in the ascendant. It was much better than fighting and bleeding would have been, for no enemy had come, and no one complained of the snow or the bitter cold.
"And mournfully over the frozen earth
The wind sobbed loud and shrill,"
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but, with the first blush of daylight, the men were allowed to build fires, and their petty sufferings from the cold were soon forgotten.
It turned out that no enemy was anywhere around. It was a false alarm. There had been a cavalry raid somewhere down about the railroad station at West Point, and the rumor had grown out of that. But the enemy, like sensible fellows, were, no doubt, quietly sleeping in their warm bunks, instead of trying to pierce the lines before Richmond on any such night as that had been.
Before noon, orders came for our return to winter quarters, and you may be sure the men lost no time in obeying it. We found that "Company Q" had kept the fires steadily burning during our absence, and-they had also consumed nearly all the available rations. But we put them on duty bringing in a fresh supply of wood, and soon all was peace again.
Peace be with you at home.
Your friend, B.
[This "Company Q" is nearly always present, in greater or less number, in every military company that goes out into service. It is a sort of unavailable part, composed of the men not quite sick enough for the hos- pital, but not effective for active service or hard duty. It is a difficult point sometimes to determine who should and who should not have a place in this "Company."]
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LETTER FIFTEENTH.
Snow and wind storm-Tents overturned-Rat venison-A new flag-Battalion drills-Note.
CAMP ROPER, VA., Feby. 6, 1863.
My Dear Friend :- Yesterday, February 5th, it snowed nearly all day, covering the ground by night several inches deep, with its fleecy ermine. As dark- ness came on, the wind rose higher and higher, till it became a terrific gale. In consequence thereof, several of the tents were overturned, and the boys put out of doors.
You may depend upon it that, amid the darkness and confusion, there was some lively scampering around for awhile, trying to put the tents up again. But it is no fool's job to set a tent upright before a hard wind, even in daylight. And at night-and such a night -- the task was almost a hopeless one. But, as Napoleon said to his engineer, when he asked him if the route was practicable: "Barely possible, Sire," said the en- gineer. "Let us go forward, then," replied the great commander. And so the boys of the S. L. A., though the task of erecting tents in a wind-storm at night was hardly possible, yet they determined to go forward, and finally they accomplished the job. The tents were re
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stored to their former places and positions again. And if some things were uttered now and then that the boys had not learned at Sunday school, would you blame them very much, under the circumstances ? But, despite a lapsus lingua, spoken now and then in an undertone, good humor and good sense prevailed, and no one refused the helping hand, that I have heard of.
To-day is damp and chilly enough, and not many songs enliven the passing hour. But the tents are up, and most of the men are snugly coiled within them. The discomforts of last night are almost forgotten, and the damp blankets are drying by the fires. Paths have been made in the snow throughout the whole camp, and to the hospital and officers' quarters.
Rations are not as varied and plentiful with us as once they were. We do not get meat every day now, and the little that we do get seems to have shrunken to twelve ounces to the pound by the time it has reached us. It is seldom that we get bacon, and first-class beef does not come our way. And so, to help out the shortage in meat, finding that several large, sleek rats had taken up their abode in the feed-house, and were making too free with the corn, one of the men con- ceived the idea of utilizing them to his own account. He captured some of them, and, after dressing them nicely, fried them to a crisp and inviting brown, using plenty of black pepper, to disguise any oddish flavor the venison might possess.
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He declared that the meat was as good and sweet as any chicken he ever ate. But I suspect it had been a long time since he had tasted chicken.
Some ladies of Richmond, becoming patriotically in- clined, made with their own hands, and presented to our Company recently a beautiful battle flag. The whole Company was turned out to receive it. W. Gor- don McCabe, the accomplished Adjutant of the Bat- talion, presented it in an eloquent speech, in which he referred to the glorious deeds of Henry of Navarre and the stainless honor of Sir Phillip Sidney-and Captain Hankins responded in a few appropriate re- marks. God bless the ladies, and bless our cause !
We are having Battalion drills nearly every fine day now. The three Batteries manœuvre together, going through all the movements laid down in the tactics with ease and celerity. Sometimes spectators come out from the city to witness the drilling, and the general testi- mony is, so I am told, that our is, not only the best drilled Company of this Battalion, but the best drilled in the whole Confederate service. As many of these spectators are high officials, military men, this is no slight or idle praise.
"Closing of a wintry day, Far from home and ease; Wailing voices murmur sad Through the icy trees."
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God bless and keep our homes from the rude in- vader's touch.
Your friend, B.
[The incident anent the venison of rat meat is no soldier's yarn, but an occurence that actually took place, as I had it from the man himself. He was one of those boys whom nothing could down, a capital soldier, and when he took the notion to do a thing, he did it, no matter who might laugh. Ridicule or banter cut no ice with him. The event will serve to show to what straits for food the soldier was sometimes driven.]
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LETTER SIXTEENTH.
Good health of the men-"Broom day"-Confederate stationery- Skulkers-A revival spirit-Songs in camp-An incident- Note.
CAMP ROPER, VA., Feby. 20, 1863.
My Dear Friend :- Notwithstanding the fact that we have been living in tents all winter, exposed to cold and dampness, I think the Company has never enjoyed better health at any period since the war began. We have very few sick, and those only mild cases. Indeed, we have had but one sick man in the hospital for quite a while. The worst ailments that have afflicted the men this winter are, short rations and this intolerable camp itch. The last, indeed, is extremely exasperating, and it prevails generally through the whole Company. As to short rations, that is a thing which a soldier is expected to get used to, and submit to uncomplainingly.
In fact, we are getting to endure both of these troubles very philosophically. We have learned that they are parts of the inevitable belongings of a soldier's life, and it is no use to fret about them. "What can't be cured, must be endured." Doctor Dunn doctors us for the one, and good Milton Gray-our Commissary Sergeant-does the very best he can, I suppose, for the other. If any of the men are not quite content with
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the treatment they receive in either case, they have no redress but to "grumble and endure it." Either malady serves to break a little the dull monotony of other things, such as the ever recurring roll calls, drills, guard duty . and sweeping the camp.
And this is "broom day," and our camp has to be swept again. On these occasions one man, at least, for each tent, has to fall in with his broom, and help to sweep the camp all over. These sweepings occur once a week, if the weather permits, and all debris has to be gathered up and burned. It is a sanitary regulation for which all can see the utility, and there is very little complaining about it. It becomes absolutely necessary when a body of men are camped long at one place. But some of the boys do not take to the task very kindly, but are disposed to shirk and shift about whenever they can. Some men will shirk at anything-but eating. And some of the prankish ones, when they are forced to take up the broom, contrive to raise all the dust they can, especially about the tents of the officers, or of any comrade they wish to tease a little, in which case they soon render themselves a general nuisance.
You will notice the quality of this paper that I am writing upon. It is coarse and inferior, and nothing in comparison with the nice paper we used to have before the war began. It is made at the paper mill in Richmond, and they have not the facilities for manu- facturing fine paper. But it is a product of our own
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country, and appeals to our patriotism. It should be dear, therefore, to every true son and daughter of the Sonth. Keep this sheet, and others like it, and in future years,
"As rolls time's furrowing course along,"
perehance some one will prize it, and preserve it as a sacred memento of these trying days. Note the Con- federate flag, with the thirteen stars, to represent the thirteen Confederate States, and the stirring stanza at the head of the page. They appeal loudly to our love for the South and her holy cause.
"Gather around your country's flag, Men of the South, the hour has come- None may falter, none may lag- March to the sound of the fife and drum."
And this reminds me to say that there are yet a few men left at home, who ought to be in the army doing their part for their country's independence. Shame that there are any such shirks and skulkers to be found among Southern born-any so lost to duty and true manhood, as thus to hide away at home, when their proper place is in the ranks! What will be the status of such men in society, when the war is over? A hundred times would I prefer to lie
"Beneath the hasty funeral mound,
Where Nature took me to her sleep,"
than to a scorn and lot like theirs.
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I hear that a great religious spirit and revival is spreading throughout Lee's army, and some of the other armies of the South, and there are some evidences of it here, and in other camps about Richmond. Old pro- fessors that had become lukewarm in their zeal, arc arousing to a sense of their duty, and many of the openly sinful are growing more temperate and reverent in their conversation and regard for religious things. There is less of cursing and profligacy, and much less of card-playing in our Company now than formerly. The voice of prayer is often heard in camp among the men, and many commands now have regular, or at least, occasional, preaching. Many ministers have gone out as evangelists to the armies, and some have gone into the ranks as private soldiers, or have become regu- lar chaplains in some command. Their example and teaching are exerting a wide-spread and salutary in- fluence. Rev. J. W. Ward, of Isle of Wight, has preached to our Company once recently, and other ministers hold meetings near us occasionally.
Almost nightly now, before the tattoo is sounded, we hear the voice of song in our camp, religious and re- vival songs and hymns. There are several men here who sing well, and these assemble together and pass an hour or two together at night very pleasantly. Sergeant N. B. Pond's tent is headquarters for these exercises, and doubtless, to some extent, this method of praise and prayer is doing good here, and toning down some of the rougher vices of the men. May it lead finally to a great
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outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all the armies, and all the people of all the South. A soldier may fight and be a religious and God-fearing man, too.
But let me tell you of a little incident that has really taken place in our camp lately-one of the little comedies, not altogether innocent, but not wholly harm- ful, that are occasionally happening, and which serve as safety-valves, to let off the superfluous steam en- gendered by the life of confinement and idleness in camp :
One of the songs that were being sung quite fre- quently, almost nightly in fact, by our religious choir was that somewhat eccentric refrain :
"Scotland's burning! Scotland's burning! Cast on water! cast on water!"
and so some of the prankish set among our boys con- ceived the idea of turning a little joke on the men in Sergeant Pond's tent. As a few of the tents had been fixed up with rude dirt chimneys for fireplaces, and Sergeant Pond's was one of these, it gave the boys a fine chance to play their game. And so, one night, one of the smallest among the men, with a bucket of water in hand, was lifted up by a big, strong fellow to the top of the little stick chimney. And just as the choir rang out the alarm,
"Scotland's burning! Cast on water!"
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the little fellow on the chimney cast his bucket of water down upon the fire inside, which deluged the whole fireplace, put out the fire, and scattered the em- bers in every direction !
Of course, too, it put a sudden stop to the song, and sent the men quickly out of the tent after the offenders. But not in time to discover who they were. Before they were fairly out of the tent, the boys had gained their own bunks, and were enjoying the fun at a distance.
The choir soon saw the joke, and, as they could do no more, submitted quietly. But it is presumed that nothing more will be heard of "Scotland's burning" for some time.
With a prayer for your continued safety and welfare at home, I remain,
Your friend, B.
[It was about this time, or a little previous to it, that all the leading denominations of Christians in Rich- mond, and other cities of the Confederacy, began an earnest and systematic effort to supply the armies with religious literature of a practical and serious nature. Tracts, pamphlets, religious papers, small books and testaments, songs for the camp, and other forms of pious reading matter for the soldiers of the Confederacy were printed and distributed on all sides, wherever there was a company or body of soldiers to be found. Each denomination had its depository of books and tracts for distribution among the soldiers, and every soldier who
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applied at any of the publishing houses, was supplied gratis with something of a religious nature to read. Every evangelist and chaplain who went into the army, carried along a supply of tracts, to give to the men. Even the women, in many instances, took upon them- selves the benevolent task of visiting the camps nearest the cities, that they might convey to the men the spir- itual food they so much needed, and, in most cases, de- sired and begged for.
It was a noble work, in which the women of the Con- federacy took a large, zealous and active part. And the amount of good that was accomplished by this agency was incalculable and lasting. The reader who may desire to see an extended account of this grand labor of love, will find it in Dr. William Jones's "Christ in the Camp." The religious literature of the Southern Con- federacy, that was called into being by the desire to supply the arinies with reading of a spiritual nature, if it could be collected together in one body, would form a most interesting library of practical and serious reading. Pity that some one did not think in time to collect and retain copies of it all.
But it was not alone in the distribution of good books and tracts that the women took a large and an active part. The future historian, in writing up the record of those times, should not fail to mention the zealous and self-denying labors of the mothers and daughters, and the wives and sisters, in ministering to the bodily comforts, as well as the spiritual benefit, of the soldiers.
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Their tender aid and encouragement were found every- where, by the cot of the sick or the wounded, at the home of the fatherless and widows, by the couch of the dying, at the grave of the dead. Whether it were the offering of flowers for the hospital, the little delicacy for the sick, the word of warning for the irreligious, the voice of entreaty in the prayer-meeting, or a song or a Bible text for the dying, the noble women of the South, in the days that tried men most, stood foremost and pre-eminent. Their record is bright in deeds of mercy for the men who wore the gray.]
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LETTER SEVENTEENTH.
Sabbath breaking-Inspections and parades-Government work- Conduct of officials-Sir Matthew Hale's Sabbath law- "Permits"-Note.
CAMP ROPER, VA., March 10, 1863.
My Dear Friend :- Sunday the 8th was a bright and beautiful day here, and we had inspection and Battalion drill, which occupied the whole of the forenoon, and it was 1 o'clock before our Battery returned to the park, and the men were dismissed, and permitted to go about cooking their dinners. As to the latter item, perhaps it mattered little, for there was not much to cook, and it did not require much time to get through with it. Yet, being Sunday, a day that should ever be set apart for rest and religious exercises, it seemed a needless dese- cration of the sacred law to keep holy that day. But. such has been the general practice with our higher officials from the beginning of the civil strife. If there is anything above the ordinary to be done, such as a dress parade, regimental inspection, or a drilling con- test, it has to take place on Sunday. Nearly all the big drills and reviews are ordered for Sunday. Sunday seems to be regarded as the great drill day.
Were this a necessary feature of the war, a matter which could not be attended to as well on any other day,
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there would be some excuse for the wholesale abuse of the day of rest. But such is not the case. The ex- igences of war do not require it, for these things are not essentials. In many cases they are no more than a display of vanity and pride on the part of officials who desire to show off their commands to their friends. Many a grand review has been ordered to please a few lady visitors to camp on Sunday.
In the case of the Government works, the manufac- ture of arms, ammunition, and war material, there may often be real necessity for Sunday labor. Supplies must be had, and if the need is great and pressing, the work may properly go on without intermission. But this urgency can hardly continue all the time, without ces- sation. It may well be feared that the pressure is often assumed to exist only as an excuse. I am told that work goes on at all the Government shops and works in Rich- mond constantly on Sunday. And I know they do not stop for Sunday down in the dock at Rocketts, but continue to hammer away on the ironclads on that day as earnestly as upon any other day.
There is reason to believe that many of our higher officials are not as pious and Sabbath-loving as they should be. I fear they care very little for God's holy day. I suspect some of them suppose that the private soldier has no need for a day of rest, and that he should work or drill on Sunday, in order to earn his wages and make a better soldier of him.
I do not believe that Sabbath-breaking pays, even in time of war. Sir Matthew Hale's law of the Sabbath
.
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comes to my mind very often, and I could wish that it were written in very large characters on every Govern- ment shop, and all the war material in our land. Here it is:
"A Sabbath well spent, Brings a week of content, And health for the toils of to-morrow; But a Sabbath profaned, Whatsoe'er may be gained, Is a sure forerunner of sorrow."
Could anything be more direct and pointed than that ? or more obviously true, when considered in the light of lifelong observation and experience ? The rule is just as applicable to nations as to individuals.
With me this Sabbath profanation is a serious mat- ter. I have my fears of what the final issue of this war will be, wholly on this account. I fear God will not continue to bless our cause, as evidently IIe has done hitherto, unless this sin is turned from by all in authority. If our cause fails, at last, I believe it will be due, in great part, if not entirely, to our own national mistakes and sins in regard to the law of the Sabbath day, and not because our fight is not just and upright. But enough of this.
Our men are allowed "permits" almost daily now. And they make use of them to attend the churches in the city. There is good preaching and religious exer- cises two or three times a week, and often nightly, at
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all the leading churches. Whole squads of the men go in town together, and the pastors and people welcome them, and invite them to come.
My friend, pray for the success of our cause. Pray for the spread of religion in the army. Pray for those in authority, that all of them may become pious and God-fearing men; and pray for the Sabbath to be re- speeted and honored by all, both high and law. Then our cause must prosper.
Your friend, B.
[After forty-five years of added experience and ob- servation in regard to the Sabbath since this letter was written, the writer is decidedly of the opinion, that it was on account of two sins especially-one of them national, or rather official, and the other individual- that God withdrew his favor from us as a people, and permitted the South to be defeated in the war of 1861-'65. One of these offenses, the official, was the . general and shameful violation of the Sabbath day, the needless secularizing of the sacred hour for rest and spiritual improvement; and the other, the individual sin, that of intemperance! I have no doubt but that many a battle was lost, and many a life, too, because some one in command had imbibed too freely of some form of intoxicant. General Stonewall Jackson had a horror of intoxicating liquors in the army. Could this evil have been banished entirely from the army, and had the Sunday hour been always and everywhere duly regarded, the South might have won her cause.]
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LETTER EIGHTEENTH.
The "everlasting" itch-Williams and his remedy-Bright hopes, but dark results-That, too, passes-Rumors of battle-Note.
CAMP ROPER, VA., March 30, 1863.
My Dear Friend :- In my letter of February 20th, I spoke incidentally of that trying malady denominated, in military phrase, the camp itch. Well, it does not abate. Far from it. It seems here to stay. Dr. Dunn's red precipitates, mercurial ointments and lotions, do not cure, and what the boys wanted was something that would cure, no matter how bad or bitter it might be. Anything that would effect a change for the better would be welcome. The boys did not wish to be af- flicted with the same disease all the time. They wanted a change, and this itch was perennial, it was everlasting.
And so a man was found equal to the occasion, one who knew of a "certain, safe and quick" cure-one of our own men. It was T. H. Williams, "Shoemaker" Williams, as we all call him. He knew of a plant, a decoction of which would cure any case of camp itch in the Confederacy. But the said plant grew nowhere else but in Surry county. Down there, not far from the home of the said Williams, were loads of it, and if-if he could only get down there for a short time, he
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would soon have in camp enough of the leaves to make tea for the whole Battalion, to say nothing of one Com- pany. But just at this time neither permit or furlough is granted to any one. But the boys have-or rather they had, faith in Williams's prescription, and they be- came urgent that he be sent home for the leaves. And Captain Hankins, he, too, listened tenderly to the story, and, after putting his wits together, for he likes to please the men, soon devised a plan. He would send Williams to Surry on a detail. The detail, being a matter of duty, and service for the army, would go through.
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