Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1863-02-17

1t was with the greatest difficulty that We could
ind place here to lay our weary heads the COM
ng night. Every tent appeared to be foil. The
Sergeant took US the whole length Of the street in
vain. AT every tent he had inquired if there was
room for another, and had everywhere received
the same gruii reply in the negative lhings
were beginning to look exceedingly gloomy.
Something must be done. Probably not one Of
Us could survive a night Ike that without some
Kind fproection from the storm, accustomed as
we bad been FOR some time to hospital living.
Inc little A tents were hudded full Of men, and
thai they were exceedingly ayerse to receiving in
any more was quite evident One fellow remark
ed that he would give months wages for the
simple privilege Of lodging that night 10 one Of
the city hotels; but proceeding SO unmlIllary as
that was not to be thought Of BY dirt Of much
persuasion and some threatening the Sergeant got
Us odmitance one by one until our rumber was
reduced to three, including myself. Luckily for
us VIC found an old castof tent, which we got
permission to pitch for ourselves. Even this
could not be done without cacounierng dificll
tics inramenbIe. First, we had to dodge OIL
aJnl citing claims as to locality then the marer-
Us fJr pitching thete0t must Be found ghenther
Tere ro ach material, % be had thenlo set an
AZ vhen ooboly hl1 one to lend, gnd s,rlrcr
we're not regarded la mct worthy Of notice.
all thee, and many Ike prra.exaies, L.l 20 b.
met to begin With. " b., wbsfs ,aete i,4 viii
there is way --so our Ten, was duly p caed and
we cnved into il for The night. / haze 'peat
many disagreeabc nights in camp, bat if any OF
them were comparable to this the occurrence has
ESCAPED ny memory.
Just at dark, young soId.e', too young to be
here, came to ne and begged the privilege Of
stopping in my ~ till mdraing. lie WIS poor
and pale as death, and had evidently suffered
greatly from sickness and h, sufefngs seemed
aot likely to end soon. lie had no blankets nor
coats otany description. His thin blouse was
soaked with rain, and be sbivered anl rem bltd
10 the cld Ike Q sere lelfi tie autumn wind.
lie was Nermonter, too, be said, and he seemed
expect sympathy on that account. Most
gladly woua have accommodated lin, but my
lwo partners, who we're Nsw Hampshire men
1Ad sre3y gwen admaaucs to a fourth person,
md they tho ght there was no more room to
pare. vas obliged to iurn hin away, but
the look Of disappointment, he r4ys me, made ae
half wish was eccur,,d from the tent Tor his
sake. II he has a mo'her on earth, it was a
mercy that God spared her the know ledge Of
1er sons destlioron and s.fering, that bleak,
stormy night lie turned away, aid never
>new what became Of him, for never saw him
6icrwards.-Ihs next day ioin,d the guards
The duty was light ana BY doing SO, | secured
comparatively comfortable quarters.
Everything abollthe camp indicated the most
irevous neglect and m,managementi il fact
t'ere was no management atal There was no
wood to be found within radius Of mile and a
hil', and there WAS no means adapted to provide
any. The received heir rarious uocoosed
md each one had to prepare hi, own the best he
could. 10 tbs matter of wood the eonaleseenls
suffered immensely They must 60 this long di.-
lance to Tor il, or they must 20 without. Nothing
could be found nearer. Even the gnarly, grabbed
oak slumps were grabbed down the very roots
have seen men a mile from camp ,uggng along
With a chunk OF wood 10 one h nc, aud a cane in
The olher,-resiiog at intervals Of every few rods,
and then pushing forward again and exhibiting
4 degree Of perseverance worthy Of much
wider range Of usefulness. Aai lave seen them
obliged to de.s, from such efforts to get wood
from sheer exhaustion, and return 10 their tents
20 shI,er away the long hours Of the day utterly
Indifferent whether the results were life or death
How could men be expected to regain their
health under such Circumstances Not every
nvad can cook and prepare his food, even il the
means were furnished him, aud do it properly ;
nut when to this is added the discomfort and ex
posure to the cold, what wonder that men die of
so fast at the Convaesceul Camp.
If anan wants TO see human ,ulFgring and hu.
man depavily in tn rgrossest phases he need not
90 to the Kingdom Of D4homey, nor cross the
Arabian Desert to find it. Let him 70 to the
Convalesccn, Camp and he can see enough to
.cken his soul iorevermore, unless bis heart is
irder than adamant Imagine four or five men
in one Of these little A tents, strangers to each
other, and men who have suffered everything bu,
death ilsei. These suiTerings have soured their
dispositions aud Initiated their feelings, until they
are as morose and unsccl as men eln wei
become, They care nothing lor one another am
seem to care but little for themselves Once The,
we're robust and healthy, their u,rves al,hed FIRE
aud their chief glory was in their ply cal proves
and all hings were Joyous to them and full OF
hope but when hardships and exposure in the
field, had robbed them of their strength, life lost
its charms, and they became hardened 10 every
thing around them. Men have slept unheedng,
while their companions by their side has glspee
and died. was told of an occasion when a mai
vas thrust out OF a tent to die, bseause thos,
tentipg with him did not wish to be disturbed b,
his dying groaus.
If this account is rejecting upon the Authorities
here, the fault is not miue Col. Belknap uho
commanded the camp seems 10 be a umane man
and anxious to alleviate all the suffering in hi,
power but what could he do with ten thousand
men. There were half dozen, or more, doc
tors in camp, but they seldom visited their pa
tients; their patients had to visit them. AZ nine