Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1863-03-20
|oURARMY CORRESPONDENCE.
SCHoFIELD BARRACKS, }
ST. LOUIS, No., March 9th, 1868. {

| - ScHoFIELD BARRACKS,
ST. LOUIS, No., March 9th, 1868. { ,
Ed. JOURNAL 1T is now two months sine
we lett Camp Strong, near your city, to com
to st. Louis. Our trip was anything bu
pleasant, pent up as we were, for two day
and nights in the cars with little or no exer
else.
The duties we have had to perform sine
we came to this city, have been indeed labori
gus, principal among which is that of guard
lng secesh prisoners, about 1900 of whom ar
distributed in the different prisons through
out the city. We are now doing the worl
which employed two whole regiments before
our arrival. This keeps one-third of our eff
fectlve force on duty every other day, yet
notwithstanding this fatiguing labor, the
men stand up nobly to the work Some com
planning it is true, but it is generally patient
ly endured, as 1t was not expected when W,
enlisted enlisted th.t wa should spend our time il
idleness
st, Louis still contains q considerable mum
ber Of rebel sympathizers who give s'the off
Gel of the day and of the guard" great deal
of trouble. The most pestilent are the female
portion, who often spit out their most venom
GUS denunciations aga nst the Union and its
supporters. To such degree do they some
times carry their spite that they have to be
threatened with arrest before they can be qui-
eted. The different prisons are visited daily
by them and delicacies are furnished the
prisoners. We do not object to this or their
endeavors to render the situation of the pris
oners as comfortable as possible, but we do
object to their communicating with them, and
il they are not allowed this last privilege
they think themselves i'll treated, and some.
times go off in rage. But we have set our
faces as flint and our hearts as steel, against
all their entreaties. The Sisters of Charity,
too, are quite constant in their visits and a..
tentions to the secesh prisoners, but they new.
er make their appearance at our hospitals
This is pretty good evidence that all their
sympathies are with the rebels.
Our Colonel, Geo. W. Kinca'd, still enjoys
the respect and confidence of the regiment.
HIS patriotism is unquestioned, and his efforts
to render the regiment comfortable are still
unrelaxed. Nothing that he can do to &C.
compl:sh this end is omitted. He is often
surrounded with difficulties over which he
has no control, and which sometimes prevents
him from doing what he desires but we be-
lieve that his heart is in the right place, and
that he will omit no opportunity of rendering
any service in his power.
By-the-way, Mr.. Editor, I was shown a
copy of the Musoatine Courier, containing an
article purporting to have come from the
"Gray Beard regiment" signed "Oliver"-
This solver" has certainly misrepresented
the sentiments of the Gray Boards. His state
ments are entirely false, and without any
foundation in fact. As to the promise. the
Colonel is said to have made about the regi-
ment getting its pay on its arrival in St. Lou
is, "Oliver" has made gross misrepresent-
alton. believe heard all the Colonel said
on the subject. What he did say-and what
he was understood to say by two thirds of the
regiment-was : l have the greatest assur-
ance given me, that we shall receive our pay
as soon as we arrive in St. Louis, think
at fartherest by the Sth of January" Now
no man Of sense, of manliness of spirit, will
for moment doubt that the Colonel had
that assurance given him ; but from circum-
stances over which he, and perhaps Adjutant
General Baker and the Secretary Of War, had
no control, the regiment was not paid until
the first of February.
Equally malicious and unfounded are his
remarks on its taking "nine guards every
day to guard his the Colonel's] black horse. "
Now the facts in the case are these: The reg
iment was first stationed at Benton Barracks,
where it remained two Or three days, when it
was ordered to the city The stable in which
the Colonel and his staff officers kept their
horses, together with some horses belonging
to the Government, was without a lock, and
it being late before the regiment got into
quarters, and no sufficient time to procure
one and to attend to other repairs, guard of
three men was detailed to guard the stables
for one night only. A lock was procured the
next day, and since that time no guard for
that purpose has been called for. Now
"Oliver" has misrepresented the whole affair,
with the intention, as appears on the face ol
1t, of practicing base deception with the de.
sign of injuring the Colonel at home.
Our regiment has just adopted series OF
resolutions expressive of the sentiments Of
the members. All except two of the officers
present subscribed to the resolutions. This
"Oliver" is probably one of them. His pro-
clivities are clearly indicated. He exhibits
his cowardly spirit by concealing his name in
the article alluded to. When we have traitors
and maligners in our army, it will be we'll to
spot them, and have no friendship with them
H. NJ. ROBERTS.