Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1861-12-23
w. d. wALLACH.
WHY L LEFT rHE VOLUNTEERS.

taetA came 70 make 50 decided remark.
2t Is astonishing the soothing effect which
repeating grievance has on the sufferer, and
tnls must be my excuse for inhioting nv woes
on An unofsndfng reader.
First. then, to Introduce myself. Ny name
Codlings; am short, stout, and middle
aged and am, or rather (slss y was, O captain
An the Targstshire, or Death to the Invader
Volunteers And may add that no one GOULD
have been q more thorough volunteer than I
was: L was proud of the uniform, and liked
the exercise.
The 18th Of June had long been fixed az the
day on which grand review Of the corps was
to take place.
An NJ. for the county was to be present,
and bugle was to be presented by the N. P.'s
daughter, and altogether we felt that the eyes
OF Europe would bsupOn us, and we felt equal
to the occasion.
As the day approached, our drills were mul.
tiplied to such an extent that most Of US feared
that our uniform would hardly last 30 as to be
Mt to be seen at the review, 50 great was the
strain upon Ii.
However, practice makes perfect; and after
our last drill, on the evening of the 18th, we,
one and all; considered tn at we were 30 near
70 perfection that our talents would be alto
gether thrown away upon an ordinary field
day, and that nothing short Of . grand sham
night, on the exact model Of real one, would
at all do rs justice.
Il was in vain for our sdjutant "a half. pay
ofhcer Of the army, and who was dreadfully
Jealous OF our progress am sure) TO Object; a
sham battle We were determined upon.
The only dtHculty was to decide which bat
ue Of modern times should be honored by our
notice; Alma, lnkerman, Solferino, were all
discussed, but each presented seme objections,
and we were nearly giving up the idea, and
adiutant becoming triumphant, when W aterloo
was proposed, as being appropriate to the day,
and, moreover, 1t was added that there was
enSh eiump Of trees on our parade ground,
with COW shed in 1t, which would do sdmi.
Tsbly for Hugemont and its adjacent wood
The next question was to find leader for the
force to be driven back; no one was desirous
of appearing in the light Of a beaten general
on their nrst held, till at last /, Codlings was
selected to enact the part Of the great Napo-
3eon.
The somewhat secondary part of Blucher was
10 De taken oy our senior first lieutenant, Crab
trees by name.
Crabtrees had been originally in the Hus.
ssrs, out having been rather too fond of chick
en- buzzard, had sold out, end retirs5 10 hi,
sncestral acres. de Eas for some time INV
'front.' rank man, snS though generally sneak
ing ne was most expert at the "Man1aI,,' he
lnESrsoy crdered his rife on to my toes,
aPSiogr-sd, smiled at my sgonised contortions,
atCeruard
he IL was, too, who with malice aforethought
aostrsoted the detoAsting composition from nv
percussion caps on the eve of field day, there
oy covering me with confusion; and adding in
suit to injury by exposing the trick he played
on me, et tho very moment whom I was OK pa
uating on the utter uselessness Of the govern.
ment rife 70 q select circle Of friends and
stating my belief that it was impossible 10
make them 90 Of.
Again on the occasion of my firing Of my
ramrod by accident, Crabtrees was the man
who discovered Its absence, in spite of NV
trying 70 look innocent and unconscious and
presented II to me amid the jeers of my com
rsdss Altogether Crabtrees was a nuisance
and L hated him cordially.
Our colonel was TO command the supposed
BRUSH army, assisted by the Adiutsnt while I
was allowed to act ss a set-of to the latter
functlonary the drill sergeant of our corps
1ne night OF the 18th of June was a restless
one Tor me; tho thoughts Of tomorrow were
present. with me, and prevented my sleep
ang' ana even when / had cosxed myself at
last into sort Of sleep, / swoke with a start
EVe minutes afterward with the full conviction
tnst nad been omitted 10 be called, and tn
tne rsvie" was all over without me, the repre-
sentative OF Napoleon, the martial Codlings.
a second time avoke, In q fancied endesvor
TO draw my sword (being attacked by two
gigantic enemies); the handle twisted and
turned ike snake in my hands, and seemed
70 be ringing like bell, when to my surprise
found myself with the bell-rope In my grasp,
and the whole of the household rushing TO nv
room, 70 ascertain the cause of the sudden out
break. =
At last, after having locked at my watch q
hundred times, found it was six O'Clock, and
up got, rushed TO the window, and, fates be
praised, IL was q lovely morning.
How got dressed that day know not for
in the excitement Of the moment my buttons
Dew OF from my touch, like needles to q mag
net. At last my toilet was completed, but
with my feelings breakfast was not to be
thought Of; anything beyond q cup Of tea
would have choked me outright.
OuP nd 20 haf IL. sks
where We were 10 receive our M. p, who was
to arrive by the ten o'clock train, and from
thence We were to march to our various posi-.
tions.
Crabtree was TO remain at the White Hart
in the town until sent for, and was then 70
come mp with bis detschments to conduct the
pursuit.
The ten o'clock train arrived, and with Il
the II. p, who shook hands with sll the Of
foers, and complimented individually every
non-commissioned officer and private on his
soldier-like appearance.
The n. P.'s daughter, who was 10 present
the bugle, was lovely, and burned TO distin.
guish myself, and obtain, perhaps, an approx
Ing smile, or even crown Of lsurels which she
might-who knows 2-haye sesreted In her
pocket. The lsnrels, not the smile, mean.
We marched ofi our band playing one Of our
fsvorits airs. regret not being able to state
which II was; but, unfortunately, the hrst cor
net, who always played the melody, was Ill with
the toothsche, and was unable to attend pa
rsde, 90 We were obliged TO march with accom-
panimsnts only, bat the big drum did his duty
nobly, and We did not miss the first oornet %
much, after all.
At length We reached the parade ground.
stole glance st the NJ P.'s fair daughter as
marched my men OF to take up the position
of the attacking French army, and my heart
throbbsd sudibly through my uniform.
When We arrived, imagine my ohagrin at
being told by the drill sergeant who appeared
quite TO ignore me, that my position was TO be
. stationary one, and that, in imitation Of
Napoleon and his lookout tower, must climb
tree and from thence watch the proceedings.
I was never good st climbing; but, with q
little assistance, snd-I am sorry to say, for
the credit Of our diseipline-an occasional
reminder from some Of my mems bayoneo,
reached the second bough. Erf
Our fellows behaved splendidly. Hugemont
or the cow-shed-vss taken and retaken,
and at length the time arrived for the last
u ~ 1kA AwmA