Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1861-06-07
MISCELLANY Y.
Our March to Washington.

lBy Of the New York Seventh Bc.im,nt-C Condensed
from the Atlantic Montny.l
An enormous crowd OF both sexes, of
every age aad condition. The men offer
all kinds Of truculent and patriotic hopes /;
the women shed tears, and say, God bless
you, boys" |"
After a patient hour of this, the word is
given, we fail in, our two guns find other
places at the right ofthe line of march, we
move on through the lhickening crowd.
1t was worth life, that march. Only
one who passed. as we did, through that
tempest OF cheers, two miles long, can know
the terrible enthusiasm OF the occasion.
could hardly hear the rattle of our own gun
carriages, and only once or twice the music
of our band came TO me muflied and quelled
by the uproar. We knew now, if we had
not before OWNED it that our great city was
with us as one man, utterly nnited in the
great cause we were marching to sustain.
This grand fact | learned by two senses.
II hundreds Of thousands roared it into my
ears, thousands slapped it into my back
My tellJw citizens smote me on the KNAPP
sack, as | went by nj the gunrope, and
encouraged me each in his own dialect
Bully tor you z alternated with benedic-
tions, in the proportion Of two ''bullies' to
one blessing.
These were the comic incidents Of the
march, but underlying all was the tragic
sentiment that We might have tragic work
presently to do. The news of the rascal
attack in Baltimore on the Massachusetts
sixth had just came in. Ours might be the
same chance. Ii there were any Of us not
in earnest before, the story of the day would
steady US. SO we said goodbye TO Broad
way, moved down Cortlandt street under a
bower OF flags, and at half past six showed
off in the ferry boar. Everybody has heard
bow Jersey City turned out and illed up
the railroad station, Ike an opera house,
to give Godspeed to US as representative
body, a guaranty Of the unquestioning 10y
atty of the conservative" class in New
York. Every body has heard how the state
OF New Jersey, along the railroad line,
stood through the evening and the night to
shout their quota Of good wishes. At every
station the Jerseymen were there, uproar-
Gus as Jerseymen, to shake our hands and
wish US Il happy despatch. l think Gid
not see a rod of land without its man, from
dusk till dawn, from the Hudson to the
De!eware. Upon the train We made jol.
Iy night Of i. All knew that the more a
man sings, the better he is likely to fight
80 we sang more than we slept, aud, in
fact, thar has been our history ever since.
Al sunrise we are at the station in Phil
adelphia, and dismissed for an hour.
1t is a poor paIt of Philadelphia but
whatever they lad in the shops or the
houses seemed to be at our disposition. !
stopped at a corner shop to ask for pork
and was amicably assaiIed by an earnest
dame,--lrsh, | am pleased TO say. She
thrust her last loaf upon me, and sighed
that it was not baked tnat morning for INV
"honor's service" A little further on, iwc
kindly Quaker ladies compelled me to ster
in. What could they do z" they asked ca.
gerly. They had no meat in The house
but could we eat eggs! They had in The
house dozen and halt new laid" Sc
the pot to the fire, and The eggs boiled, and
basged by myself aud that tall Saxon, my
friend T., OF the sixth company. While
the eggs simmered the ladies thee-ed US
prayetfully and tearfully, hoping that God
would save our country from blood, miles.
blood must be shed To preserve law AM
liberty.
Al two o'clock came the word to "fall in.
We handled our howitzers again. and march
ed down Jefferson avenue to tile steamer
Boston TO embark. To embark for wha
pert? For Washington, of course. finally
but by what route z That was TO remain
in doubt to us privates for day or two.
At early dawn of Monday the 22d, after
feeling along slowly all night, we see tn,
harbor Of Annapolis. A frigate with sail.
unbent lies at anchor. She flies the star
aud stripes. Hurrahl A large steamboa
is aground farther in. As soon as we car
see anything, we catch the glitter Of bayo
nets on board. By-and-by boats come off
and we get news that the steamer is til,
Mary land" a fcrry-boat of the Philadel
phia and BALTIMORE railroad. The Massa
chusetts Eighth regiment had been just il
time 10 seize her on the north side of thu
Chesapeake. They learned that she wa
TO be carried off 10y the crew and lpav,
them blockaded. So they shot their Zou
aves ahead as skirmishers. The fine fel
lows ratified on board, and before the steam
boat had time to take turn or open valve
she was held by Massachusetts in trust 70
Uncle Sam. Hurrah for the most impor
tant prize thus far in the war II proba
bly saved the Constitution" sod Iron
sides" from capture by the traitors. |
probably saved. Annapolis, and kept Mary
land open without bloodshed. As soon a
the Massachusetts regiment had made priz
Of the ferry-bOat, a call was made for en-