The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-05-01
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LrIo" 'he Thiia. Nortn American, April 2xth.1
1t is greatly to be feared that the raw troops
we are hurTying for ward to the seat of war are
not likely, from the condition they are in t,
reflect much credit upon their State or prove
very serviceable as soldiers At Camp Car
tin, near Harrisburg, we are told by n gen tie
man who had just returned from there, all is
disorganiZation, and the gathering has more
the appearance of mob than army II
the country companies and regiments which
have passed through Philadelphia may serve
as fair specimens, we should Judge this report
TO be true. After midnight on Monday they
fired off guns as they marched through the
nies. They had arrived in the city during the
night, and had nothing to eat since leaving
Harrisburg. When we saw them they were
discon tented, insubOrdinate, and swearing at
the city, their officers and every ything else.
They had each man q loaf of bread stuck on
his bayonet, that being the only way they
could carry their next meal. as they had no
knapsacks. blanket was slashed around
the body, and some had W lat seemed like n
satchel hung at The side, which we took TO be
either pouch for cartridges or a place to put
a ration of meat. Others had no cartridge
pouch at all, and on being asked pulled their
cartridges out of their pockets, which seemed
TO be stuffed full Of them. One man told us
that he had been furnished with no ration
since he left his home in Huntingdon
number of companies from Schuylkill
looked as though taken fresh from the mines
hands and faces being blacked with coal dust.
Indeed, all of them might be regarded fairly
ms the great unwashed, whether coming from
Schuylkiil or anywhere else. As for uniform
we did not see the slightest pretence at il
among any OF these men. One German COM
pany had not even arms. Several com mpanies
had no drummers, and there was one regim meut
so completely disorganZed that the men cou Id
not tell the names of any of their officers ex-
cept the Colonel. Inquiries for the quarter
master seemed to be fruitless, as there ap-
Peared TO be none, and yet there were over six
hundred men in this regiment, commanded,
too, by a member of the Legislature
This is the sort of material of which the re-
giments from the interor are formed In
most cases they are totally ignorant of the
organization of battalions, regiments and
brigades, and we fear very much that half of
them nave not proper regimen tai officers to
provide for their wants. We aware of the
dii1culties surrounding SO great q task as the
uniformng, armng and provisioning of such
masses but II Is surprising that no adaq uate
arrangements have been III ide here TO supply
lnese poor fellows with food or quarters. On
Monday night, company from the interior,
In famlsbed state, excited the commise sera-
tion of Lieut.. Paullen. of the Seventh Ward
Police, SO that he took up a subscription
among the spectators and raised about fortv
dollars, with which good meal was given to
every man. A regiment from Western Penn
sylvania, raw, rough, farnished, and clamor-
Gus, marched into the Continental Hotel at
midni ight and ordered supper The servants
were all abed, 10 food WAS cooked and no or
ders had been received to feed these men,
Nevertheless, the humane propriators of the
hotel hnrrlecly got together ham, bread, etc,
with view OF Sc lding it to the railroad de.
pot, whittier the men were to be mare he'd
Scarcely had these provisions made their ap-
pearance when they We're seized and divided
out among the starving multitude of soldiers,
eacn man taking q ham, n sausage, q loaf OF
bread, or whatever else he could lay hands on
When we saw the state of these men, we
could not help appreciating the W wsdom of the
decision OF Mayor General Patterson, when he
announced that the men of his di vision shoul Id
not march until they were properly provided
tor. Our men are stalwart fellows full of
fight; but Philadelphia will not take up the
line or march again 10 be helplesslv slaught-
ered Col Lewis regiment paraded yester-
DAY. II Is very strong in numbers, and the
men are generally stout, well made muscular
and soidieriy II they had uniforms and ac-
coutrements, they would be as formidable n
body Of soldiers as any regiment in the field
But no one .s@is rs much like Il soldier when
out Of uniform as IL does when in it, There
Is a pride in the cloth which is no .near ,,art
OF the spirit OF IN army. Pennsylvania owes
1t TO herself 10 have all her men uniformed
ana well armed and accoutred as well those
who have already gone those now here
we have abundance of money credit and
working capacity to do this, and we trust il
may be done promptly. The shocking want
OF organization OF regiments and brigades
ana the absence OF discipline aud competent
oHicers, we must confess, surprised us -ery
greatly Uniforms cannot supply such things
Onr city troops are being thoroughly Differed
aud trained, and in Generals Patterson and
CadWalader they have capable and expert
enced chiefs But what is the matter with
the field officers who have charge of the
troops from the interior? They have either
done nothing, or the work is too much for
them There is some thing more serious on
hand now than mere holiday prades The
task of moulding these raw bodies ITO per
fectly trained soldiers is one calculated to call
forth the energies of even the most experi-
ebced olncerS. we do not mean TO cpusure
any body at This time, but it is painfully eyi.
dent that there is I; great and grievous neg lect
somewhere. 1t is not too late To remedy it,
ana we therefore earnestly urge upon the
'fovernor OF the Common wealth TO ell the
Generals and Regimental officers to account
ior the lack OF discipline and organiz,tion
and the QuarterTuasters and Cornmisstry
Generals for the deficiency of clio othug, ac-
coutrenlents and provisions