Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1861-06-28
fcOrrespOndsacs Of the Delaware Gazet,e-l
,amp Dennisoa as it was and as it e.


Camp DennisOa as il was and as il Is,
DELAWARE, june 18th 1861.
Camp Dennison ia situated in Hamilton
county, fifteen miles north of Cincinnati. IN a
delightful valley; in extent consisting Of a thou
sand acres, lying far outstretehed on eithel
side Of the Little Miami railroad, surrounded
on e-ery side by gentle sloping hills; except Of
4 the extreme North and South, where the rail
4 road finds ingress aud egress. The Little Mi
ami river winds its rapid way around the north
ieastera side Of the ercampmeat in its onEarl
progress to the great Ohio. The valley is en-
tirely destitute Of slsdr, except one small
grove in front Of the cantonments Of the
Guthrie Grey Regiment, which is eneamped
on the extreme left as you come into camp
from the north The railroad divides the en-
eampment into two parts. There are four
! regiments Of Cincinnati troops on the east and
, right, "Ohio backbone regiments on the wesi
commencing from the North uumbersd as fol
] lows:-Thirteenth Seventh, Eleventh, Third
Eighth and Fourth. Each regiment 0ceupie;
/ from twenty 10 to thirty acres. At the time
! this valley was dedicated to camp purposes it
was under d high state of cultivation. Many
/
the lower and major portion had but lately
been plowed aud planted with corn. This
was the state Of Camp Dennison eight weeks
ago, and this the vale where our troops were to
be drilled into the service of9ths United Stdtes
1t is said that General Scott selected this
valley as Il favorable situation for a camp
| Acknowledging, as we do, his experience and
ability, it may be doubted whether he did so.
! Some parts Of the camp are low and sandy,
and now that the weather is warm, it is ex-
! tremely hot and sufFoeating, being seelnded
4 from refreshing breezes by the hills which are
on all sides. - sF
The Third Regiment was the first on the
encampment AS far as the eye could reach
not a canton was to be seen, nothing but a
/ plowed field. This was the reception of meu
who nobly sacrificed home and its comforts in
defence Of the Union they-loyed so WE'LL They
| were set to work carrying boards on their
! backs two and three hundred yards to build
canto to shelter them from rude April rains,
| and that TOO on half rations Of Camp Jaeksons
refused bread and fat pork. The Fourth reg
| iment arrived at dusk on the eve of the I'd of
May They were marched down the railroad
| to the southern extremity Of the camp and
/ filed into the county road alongside and COM
menccd to build camp fires in the centre Of
said road out Of railroad wood near by, bat ere
the last was half finished, the gentle rain fell
| in abundance eoolingly upon the ''brave soldier
| boys" Dark and stormy was the night nor
ceased the rains to fall. Pretty soon an old
engine came along with long train of pine
| lumber, it would hava done you good to have
seen the boys pitch into that lumber, and can
assure vour readers :hc Delaware Guards got
/ their share The boards were laid longside
/ oil the fence on either side of the fires, now
brightly burning, on the ground and covered
over with boards, one end resting on the fence
| the other ON terra frma. This done all crowded
/ in,' of course all were wet and cold. at 9
o'clock grub was passed around stale bread
and fat pork, and in the Inoriliug at pork AMI
stale bread had wa for breakfaS Then We
| laid US down 10 slumber on the ''solt side ol
The boards. During the night one of the boys
was awakened by The rain off the roof runing
! into his organ OF hearing. slowly aud soemny
Il. raised up, ond thus spoke:-"Ihe Lord sen
deth Ihc rain upon the righteous" Morning
came at last. as all mornings will, and still the
rain came down in torrents. Did the boys
complain? Not bit of it; cheertuliy they SGT
to work and carried boards on their backs
three hundred yards in mud three or four
inches deep in order to construct rude shel-
ter from the raging storm. Thus the two Deia-
ware companies labored all day, the rest OF the
regiment refusing to work Oh such day.
Aud yet l heard no word of complaint; our
noble troops were willing to pat up with any
| They did rot then know that the haplcsS aud
reckless condition of the camp arose from the
mismanagement Of the powers that be- Their
hearts were too dcep'y impressed With the idea
OF going into active service. Patriotism ran
away with their idgm mt. Seven regiments
were shipped there without making any pro
VISIONS for them al all, landed in 'he mud and
rain, without focd. cant0lm' mis- orany kind oi
comforts. The goyernmant has no resource,
no m ans OF colve lncei
/ Thee are some who in paliation Of the dis
/ graceful treatment Of our troops III nearly all
the camps Of Ohio, say did not our forefathers
endure More tkan we al Valley Fnrge?" Whils
the argument exposes their ignorance of the
circumstances of the two armies, it at the
same time brings into vivid contrast the vigor-
Gus and prompt action Of our then patriotic
armies led by men of ability and experience,
and our now patriotic army led by broken
down politicians, notorious for nothing bat
/ arrogance and imbecility. Gen Cox in ad-
d. ssing the Fourth Regiment on the long
term of enlistment said they hal been called
to endure hardships in the camp unequalled,
except iii two instances, one in the siege OF
! Sebastopol, and the other in one of the French
revolutions. Yet it was patiently endured,
and not word of complaint was heard for a
lorg time from our troops. 1t was not until
sufficient time had passed for things to be
righted, not until fTsAdS of all kinds had been
practiced upon them by contractors and neg
eeted by officers, who in too many cases were
wholly incompetent, and whose only care was
/ to run in debt for splendid uniforms, that Gen.
Complaint reigned over Camp Dennison, as he
has for the last four weeks.
The cantonments are constructed Of pine
boards, plank house style, II feet wide and q
long, covered with boards of the same kind
Six of these cautonments are allowed to each
company, making sixteen men to each canton.
The environments Of each company face each
other with street twenty feet wide running
east and west between them.
Each canton has a door in the end facing
the street, but no window. One part of the
canton is appropriated for kitchen purposes,
one to sleeping and the rest is used as sitting
and dining room. Each mess Is furnished by
the government with three small kettles and
one wooden bucket and eaeh man in a mess
with a tin plate, tiB cup, knife and fork and a
large spoon, that is all The cooking is all
done ont in the open air by some one Of each