The Portland daily press., 1863-11-16

Monday Morning. November 10, 1853.
Graphic Sketches OF Army Life.

The following spirited sketches are from
the pen Of B. F. Taylor, who writes from the
Army of the Cumberland TO the Chicago Jour
nal:
sELF-RELIANCE.oF WESTERN SOLDIERS.
If there are men IN the world gifted with the
most thorough self-reliance, western soldiers
are the men. To fight in the grand auger Of
battle seems to me to require less manly for
ttude, after all, than to bear without murmur-
ing the swarm of little troubles that vex camp
and march. No matter where or when you
halt, there they are at once at home. They
know precisely what to do first. and they do
it. have seen them march into a strange re-
gion at dark, and almost as soon as fires would
show well, they were twinkling all over the
field, The Sibley cones rising like the work of
enehantment everywhere, and the little dog
tents tying snug to the ground, as H. like the
mushrooms, they had grown there, and the
aroma of coffee and tortured bacon, suggest
ing creature comforts, and the whole economy
of q life in canvas cities moving as steadily
on as IL it had never intermitted. The move
ments of regiments, you know are as blind as
fate. Nobody can tell tonight where he will
be tomorrow, and yet with the first glimmer
of morning the camp is astlr, andi the prepar-
ations begin for staying there forever; cozy
little cabins of red cedar, neatly lifted. are 60
ing up, here boy is making fireplace, and
quite artisticaly plastering it with the ineyita-
bic red earth; he has found crane somewhere
and swung up thereon a twoIegged dinner
pot; there a fellow is finishing out chimney
with brick from an old kiln OF. secession pro-
clivities; yonder a bower-house closely woven
of evergreens is almost ready for the occu-
pants; tables, stools, bedsteads are tumbled
together by the toughest Of carpenters; the
avenues between the lines OF tents are cleared
and moothed-"policed," in camp phrase
little seats with cedar awnings in front of the
tents give a cottage look; while the interior.
In rude way, has o genuine home-like air,
The bit of a looking glass hangs against the
cotton wall; handkerchief OF carpet just
before the "bunk" mark the stepping of place
to the land OF dreams; violin-case is strung
up to a convenient hook, ianked by gor-
geous picture of some hero Of somewhere
mounted upon horse rampant and saltant,
"and what length of tail behind~
The business of living has fairly begun again.
But at five O'Clock some dingy morning,
obedient to sudden orders, the regiments
march away in good cheer; the army wagons
60 streaming and swearing after them; the
beat of the drum grows fainter; the last strag-
gler is out of sight, the canvas city has van
ished like a vision. On such morning and
amid such a scene have loitered till il seemed
as if a busy city had passed out OF sight, leav-
ing nothing behind for all that life and light
but empty desolation. viii you wonder much
if / tell you that have watched such van
ishing with pang of regret; that the tram
pied field looked dim to me, worn smooth and
beautiful by the touch of those brave feet
whose owners have trod upon thorns with song
feet, alas, how many, that shall never again
In all this coming and going world make mu-
sic upon the old thresholds. And how many
such sites OF perished cities this war has made,
and how many bonds of good fellowship have
been rent to be united no morel
RECoNNoIsANCE on "PRIyATE ACCOUNT"
Every wood, rayine. hill, field is explored
the productions, animal and vegetable, are in
ventoried, and one day renders these soldiers
as thoroughly conversant with the region
round about as though they had been dwelling
there life time. They have tasted water from
every spring and well, estimated the corn TO
the acre, tried the water melons, gagged the
peaches, knocked down the persinmons.
milked the cows, roasted the pigs, picked the
chickens; they know who lives here and there
and yonder, the whereabouts of the
native boys, the names Of the native girls.
II there is a curious cave, queer tree, a
strange rock anywhere about, they know it,
YOu can see them with the chisel. hammer
and haversack, tugging up the mountain or
scrambling down the ravine in a geological
passion that would have won the right hand
of fellowship from Hugh Miller, and home
they come laden with specimens that would en-
rich a cabinet have in my possession the
most exquisite fossil buds just ready to open.
beautiful shells, rare minerals, collected by
these rough and cashing naturalists. II YOU
think the rank and file have no taste for the
beautiful, 1t is time you remembered Of what
material our armies are made. Nothing will
catch soldiers eye quicker than patch of
velvet moss, or a fresh little flower, and many
q letter leaves the pnPieind will, faI IaJ
souvenirs OF these expeditions. / said that
nothing will catch an old campaigner's eye
quicker than flower; dirty, ragged baby
will. have seen a thirteen dollar man ex-
pend dollar for trinkets to hang about the
dingy neck OF an urchn that at home and
three years ago he would hardly have touched
with the tongs. Do you say it is for the
mothers sake? You have only TO see the
bedraggled, coarse, lank, tobacco-chewino
dam-is 1t wicked for me to use that word in
such fashion? to abandon that idea. like
founding, to the tender mercies of the first
doorstep.
COFFEE IN THE ARMY.
Some wise man proposed in Congress, YOU
remember, The substitution Of tea for coffee in
the army, and told the people that the SOL
dlers would welcome the change. tolera-
bly, fair specimen OF theoretical, stay-at-bome
wisdom, but not worth Sabbaih-day's iour
ney OF the Queen OF Sheba to look at Why.
coneee Is their true aqua rita: their solace
and mainstay. When boy cannot drink his
coffee you may be sure he has done drinking
altogether. On a march, no sooner is half
ordered than little fires begin TO twinkle along
the line; they make coffee in five minutes
drink 1t In three, take drill at hard cracker
and are refreshed. Onr comrades from "der
Rhine" will squat phlcgmatically anywhere.
even in line of battle. No sooner has the
storm swept to some other part of the field
than the kettles begin TO boil, and amid stray
bullets and shattered shell they take great
swallows OF heart and coffee together. II is
kline wine, the soul of Gambrinus. "Switzer,,
and "Limberg" in one. '''''e'
HOW THE SOLDIER SLEEPS.
You would, think, wonder tn SEQ mon l;s
right down in the dusty road under ,ha full
noon sun OF Tennessee and Alabama and fail
asleep IN minute. have seen hundreds Of
such sleepers. A dry spot is a good mattress
the flap of a blanket quite downv niilon,
You would wonder, | think, to see a whnIe
army corps, as / have, without shred of a
tent TO bless themselves with, lying anywbera
and everywhere in an all-night rain and not
growl nor grumble. | was curious to see
whether the pluck and good nature were
washed out Of them, and so / made nv way
out OF the snug, dry quarters l am ashamed tc
say occupied, at five in the morning, to sec
what water had done for them. Nothing
Each soaked blanket hatched out as ioly q
Fellow as you would wish to see - muddy
gripping, half floundered, forth they came
wringing themselves out as they went. with
afH IL,