The Portland daily press., 1862-10-01
PORTLAND, ME-, WEDNESDAY MORNING,

rains secesh lets it rain; when the sun comes
out he gets dry again. Some of the rebel sol.
diers assured me they had been on the march
forty days had been in seven fights; had lived
on roasted corn and hard-bread, and had slept
in the bushes or cornflelds without shelter
the whole time, and they never thought OF
complaining of the hardship, for their officers
shared every hardship with them. / could
well believe the story, for their shrunken eyes
and attenuated limbs bore witness to their
feeling. As body, the army is weary of the
war,-but they say they are in for the ,oar.
| asked several if they had ever been paid ?
They said no, not cent. We don't fight for
pay-we fight for victory. Patriotism, graded
all the way from $25 to $3.50 man, is unknown
among them; and they don't think of COM
planning if they don't get their full rations per
day.
sometimes wonder whether we don't do a
trifle too mnch for our soldiers We are so
tender of them and load them down with so
many things that they are really burdensome.
Secesh soldiers say they don't begin to get
the good things" the Union soldiers have,
but they always add, "we don't want them /;
they would hinder our travelling if we were
obliged to tote them"
The 10th Maine owe secesh debt / hope
they will sometime pay. The box of bundles
of sundries sent by various friends when l
was last at home, fell into their hands, except
the packages for Elias Wormrell of Saco and
Eli Webb Of Sacarrappa. The box was at the
depot ready to be sent on when | could learn
the Whereabouts of the regiment, and was
seized. / went and demanded it as personal
property, but secesh needed clean shirts, col
lars, socks, &C., and they took letters and all.
1t was useless to insist, SO / Just told Col.
Thomas and the Quartermaster we would re-
turn the compliment ,rhen ,ce found them the
owners Of equally udluable articles, Mouqh /
feared the day Of reckoning pouid in that
case be postponed Indefinitely.
am sorry for the mishap, but what could
do? The surrender was never dreamed OF.
and of course / could not hide a large case of
bundles after the town was full of soldiers
Had foreseen the result, i would have burned
every package before it could have failed into
their hands. As it is, the shirtless and stock
ingless of the 10th Maine must exact payrient
at the point of the hayonet, for the lucky DOS
SCISSORS of these articles will be readily distin-
guished among the shirtless and shoeless crew.
Sunday Noon, Sept. 2l.-Two of our sol
diers have called, and tell me it is Banks's d.
vision across the river and the 10th Maine are
with them. If that is so, the shirts win be
recovered before the rebels have worn "the
new of, for they are closely pursued and
probably in tight place, and consequently if
they slip through at all, it will be in state of
nature. Like the eel, they will cast their
skins, t. e., shirts, and flee. So please don't
lay this mischance too sorely to heart.
Ecening.-This has been an exciting day.
Our troops are crossing and some are already
eneamped on Bolivar Heights. Seeing them
go up so cheeriy reminded me of crcum-
stance that occurred on the same Heights last
Monday evening had been in the habit of
going up to the Notifications morning and
evening, for some tine past, and talking with
the guard, as well as visiting the sick in camp
One little fellow used to declare that he
would neuer surrender his gun. Monday put
his courage to the test. When ordered to
stack his gun, he said ''neverr' and struck it
furiously across stump; the gun was loaded
and as he broke it, it went off, the charge en-
tered his abdomen, and he died next day. If
that young martyrs "never" could be made to
ring in the ears of commanders, there would
be fewer surrenders.
One thing should be mentioned to the credit
of our soldiers. Many of them before they
stacked their guns, removed the spring from
the lock, thus rendering them useless; and
carloads of broken muskets lie about in every
encampment.
do not mean to bore you with long letters,
but knowing that a statement from an eye-wit-
ness is better than ''guess so' from an out
slider, have gone into details more closely
than would otherwise be endurable, or COM
mendable
For proof of cowardly treachery on the part
of Col. Miles, will refer TO the officers and
men of the 18th, 1llth and 10th New York
Volunteers, 32d and s7th Ohio, and sth N. Y.
Cavalry
For proof of sufficient supplies, ask any man,
woman, or child, made the mortified witness
of cart-load after cart-load taken through our
streets, or the Quartermaster of the post, Capt
Rutherford.
In proof, that, Notwithstanding have "seen
battle Il still live" witness my autograph.
Loyalty, though Indignantly, yours,
A. A. G..