Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1863-06-22
An Interesting Letter.

IAN A"SI w. "a II ~ ~ OliloIldu AufOC1I0' AA0
Dr. has been on a visit to the army of the Rappahan.
mock. When he reached the camps, he writes:
Gen Lees forces were on the wing. 1t is no pleas
ant matter to undertake. TO catch q moving force, es-
pecially when pains ard faken to conceal the direction
of the movement, as was the case in this instance.
Last THURSDAY morning / was at Hamilton'sc crossing.
Before reaching this station signs of movements were
every where manifest. Happening to fall IN with
officers who knew me, I gained some light, light that
was rather darkness to me, as it sent me back to
Guiney's, where / saw for the first time the ascent of
q Yankee balloon, after having looked on their white
tents shining on the opposite side of the river.
At Guiney's Col. Wood held "a council of war;,
with me, and we determined to shoulder our luggage
and take it afoot. The sun was hot and the carpet bags
grew heavy, but we trudged on, in what direction |
need not say, and by help of wagons now and then,
We pushed forward until his horses met US half a
mile from camp. We came upon Rhodes Division
Just early enough to see how to eat our supper, and
after dark Twas piloted by my son to Capt J. NJ.
Jones' quarters. Here found a friend indeed, and
through the whole of my stay, day and night, his at
tentions were SO. %assduous and so helpful, that [ shall
cherish forever the remembrance Of the noble heart
Ell Quarter Master of the 9Th n. G. Regt.
Sleeping on the ground is pleasant or otherwise,
according to Surroundings. Ny first night put me
right in. Against q wagon wheel, sheltered by fly,
with horses at my feet and mules at nv head, a cou-
pie of blankets under me, and a blanket and shawl
above, my son at my side and the cook at my feet, I
might have been worse OFT, as many ofour boys were.
As my head and face were all open to the air, there
was no complaint ofinsuffcient ventilation. Viewer
not compelled to lie long as we were obliged to ID up
before the stars faded. Twenty miles are not many
for a days travel, but if you are on the trudge from
5 a. m. to 6 =. m, it would seem a good long journey.
The spirit, the gayety, the determination with which
our men go through it, is really edifying to behold.
am not going to fatigue you with an itinerary, nor
tell you wN&re we halted and which way we had gone
each day. u rode and walked and ate and slept with
officers and men, always ready to rise in the morn
ing, always ready to eat, always ready to sleep, and
always ready to sing or pray, or read Holy Scripture
aloud, or preach.
Two things / Learned hereabouts, namely, how to
make ones self miserable and how to make ones self
happy and gay. For the benefit of yourselfand your
readers, if you choose to print this scrawl, | give you
the receipts. To be miserable, so home, take all the
newspapers published, read them carefully, believe
them all, and understand as much of them as you
cen. You will be a str?nge man if you do not come
to tte -runctAsfu -tr@t ait TTfngs are III an 1nexJTIca-
bic tangle, starvation is Imminent, the soldiers are
wretched, the people forlorn, the government a fool
and nine tenths of the people at home scoundrels.
To be happy, go into the camps and mingie
with the troops, and you will have enough to eat, for
get speculotors, put your trust in God, the Govern
ment and the Generals, meet your cid acquaintance,
hear more jokes, (the good, delicious and even the
poor tolerable) see more conteptment, hear more
singing. and behold more even kneeling on thu
ground PRAYING for salvation, and see more mer
marching right out before their regiment to join the
Church, than you will witness at home nsiX month S
1t is refreshing to witness the gayety of the n
Mid scorching suns, suffocating dust, and drenchin2
rains, the glee, of their spirits grow more %exuberant
Every one who passes by receives his yolley, Generals
Chapl&;nG, visitors, negroes, dogs and rabbits. Som
shots are s~tingingly sharp, but none poisonous, am
all are received pleasantly. The sight of a woman
brincs cheer upon cheer. | have seen a very homel,
girl receive the shouts Of ten Thousand men. Wha
belle in your cities ever received such homage in On
day? You may see a major general, a ~brigadier,
couple of majors and a plenty oScaptains in as excl
ted a condition about the destination of a boquet i
the hands.o some rustic beauty, as if they were a
running for the Presidency Of the Confederacy. 81
seems 70 me, General, that army life has demoraize
your appreciation of relative beauty" "Oh Doctor
we have been out here so long that any decent wo
man looks sweet, and it is not human nature to re
strain when ycusee a clean white pocket handkerchie
Sometimes after ten hours in the saddle, L hay
gone strolling the camps TO see how the men, WI
had marched, stood it. There was very little sulki
ness. little 6espondency, but very much life and spi
it. One day when l had been concerned for the me
as we had marched far and forded a river, no matt
which, L walked up to the camp of my. sons comp:
nv, and found that the men had divided themselv
into two bands and were waging a mock battle, Il
endowment of which seemed to me to require mu'
rested muscle. There were hardly any signs of fatigu
but great hiliarlty prevailed among participants al
spectators. u wish all of our people at home cou
see this" said one of the soldiers. $50 do NV
nv reply. "To-night the mothers and wives ofmal
of YOU will be signing through the midnight abo
YOU while YOU are sleeping soundly, and in tt
~ - - 4b;nl;on n 1o,, &c IN n go