The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1861-10-02
For The Star of the North
clMp MAfrHrws, Sept. 90. 1861.

4
My last letter was written from
Camp Tennaily, and this is the first oppor-
tnhity have had of sending successor
The intervening days have been all excite-
ment and activity, giving us better idea
OF soldiers lie Than we have heretofore
had. From our position in Camp TenDaIfy
we could hear the occasional cannonaciing
about the chain bridge and towards Manas-
sasJunc,on, besides seeing the smoke ari-
sing from tn guns. Orders would come TO
harness with all speed, and as soon as all
was in readiness The orders would be coun-
term anded, much 10 The disappointment of
the men. On Thursday of last week, sew
eral batteries of the Isl Reg Pa Art went
some distance from camp for the purpose
OF target shooting Gov. Curtin, Gen. Nc
Call and others wefe present 10 witness our
frs, efforts in this line. Several shells and
balls were fired By experienced officers and
gunners. Col. Camp6eii himself directing
some OF Ihem, but with no remarkable de-
gree of accuracy. 1t finally came the turn
OF our battery We labored under many
disadvantages. In the first place the most
of the company are young men whose av-
erage age is about 21 years. Our pieces
are brass, SIX FOUNDERS, and sighlless =
They stood on the side OF hill, which is a
gfeai difficulty, because the baiI tends 10
lte lowest side. Again, The elevation must
correspond to the distance, and the distance
is judged by the eye. No. / Piece sent
ills shot directly over the mark, which was
$50 yards distant, and made what is called
a hne shot-ihe direction being perfect
No. 2 shot whizzed within q feet of tie
target No. 3 came about as near No 4
struck in front, but in ,icochet passed imiIle-
diateIy under ii. Col. Campbell, al this
said: ''1hat will do, Capt. Mathews; yon
can take you battery out OF the field. Such
shooting ca1't be beat in the regular SER
vice; and if you only continue it, Pennsyl.
vania will have reason 10 be proud Of you"
The boys sifsiehieRed themselves mp
ike men, after that Though mauy shots
were afterwards fred by different batteries,
they failed 10 beat Us We had scarcely
reached our camp, when The orders reached
rs 10 strike tents and TO join Immediately
Gen. Banks column. This we proceeded
10 do, and travelled as fast "a the nature of
the country would permit, until o'clock in
the morning when we stopped to iced aud
rest the horses The next morning we were
early on the move Our route lay ihrough
The most beautiful and fertile part of May
land and parallel TO The Potomac We
passed through several pretty little villages
and from the demonstrations made, the peo.
pie are decidedly Tor the Union. Towards
noon we halted in order to let baggage
train, several miles in length, pass u.s.
Lafe in the afternoon we moved forward
agaiE, and hailed Tor the night near Gen
Bank 5 head quarters, and adjoining the
Rhode Island batteries. The next day we
found that onr raIions we're short, being re-
duced 10 sugarless coffee and hard crackers.
We were not in this condition long. BY
some mysterious means the men procured
fresh corn and fresh pork. while was start
ed out for forage The manner of getting it
as follows: When The forager discovers
what he is after he estimates the amount
gives the owner receiot for what ne takes,
and then returns travelled several miles,
and much against the wish of the owner got
my forage.
Alter an inspection we proceeded for
ward several miles and located our present
camp. Our lime is mostly employed in
maneuvering and firing at target To-day
we did exceedingly well at a target 1900
yards or hearty mile distant. The shPer.
icaI case or SchrapnelI burst in all directions
while the solid shot in une instance burst
ihrough stone wall near the target and
then went some 500 yards beyond.
In few days we expect 10 receive two
rihed steel guns called the Parrot Guns ];
one of which will be in my deiachment-
If we wish we can have howi,zers. My ad
dress now is Camp Union near Jamestown,
Maryland. Battery F. Isl Reg Pa. Art.
ARTlLEERlST.
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