The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-11-11
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The. moment the. Flag was threat
ened, large bodies of men we're called
upon to rally in the defence. Being
a Iarge-bodicd man, I rallied, and
enrolled myselewitA the Home Guards.
The drill is. very severe. 1 am con
stahtly reminded that one of the first
requirements ola soldier is to throw out
his chest and draw IN his stomach.
Having been burned out several times
while occupying rooms in an attic,
[ have had considerable. practice
in throwing out my chesty butbEWhat
system Of practice couldI eveEohOpe
to draw in my stomach? IIean't dress
up'-it's no use. trying. If my vest
buttons are in line, l am far in the
rear, and if toe the mark, a fearful
bulge indicates my position. (fhere
is no room for an argument IN regard
to my sentiments, everybody can see
at a glance Just where / staud9 One
evening we hada new drill sergeant
who was near-sighted. Running his eye
down the line, he exclaimed, sharply:
What is that man doing in the rank
with bass drum?'r He pointed at
me, but / hadn't any drum-it was,
the surplus stomach that / couldn't
draw in. I am the butt of numberless
jokes, as you may suppose. They
have got a story in the Guards that
when [ first heard the command, Or
der arms 1 dropped my musket, and
taking out my notebook, began to
draw an order on the Government for
what arms I wanted. They say I Or
dered a Winans steam gun, with 4
pairlof Dahlgren hOwitzers- for side
arms.' Basefabricators. MyambitiOR
never extended beyond rifed 2 cannon,
and they knew it. Although in res
pect to size I belong to beEhsaEfes;;S-
my preference is-fer thelight infantry
service. My knaPsack is marked
I light infantry. One evening the spec,
tators seemed convulsed about some
thing, and my comrades Uttered by
platoons whenever my back was turn
ed. 1t was all a-mystery to me un-
til I laid off my knapsack. Some
wretch had erased the two final letters,
and l had been parading all the eve
ming labelled Iii ht Infantry The
aboveis one of the thousand anOyauces
to which 1 am subjected, and nothing
but my consuming patriotism could
eYeF'induce me1to submit to it. Iral-
lied at the call Of myq enuntfy, and
am MOTTO ReTput out to the rallylng
ofmy comrades. 1 overheard a spec
tator-inquire of the drill sergeant one
day: DO YOU drill the whole Of him
at once? No, he returned. IN an ayt-i
full whisper, -EdriH him by Squads.
I would have drilled. him if had had
a bayonet. Specifications have been
published in regard to my uniforms,
and contractors advertised for. The
making will be let out to the lowest
responsible bidder. In case the
Guards are ordered to take the
field, special commissary- vii be de-
tanned to supply my ratiOns. That
reminds me of narrowing incident.
On drill night, an old farmer, who
dropped in to see us drill took me
aside, he wanted to sell me a yoke Of
oxen. My ancient agricultrist, said
I; smiling at his simplicity, 4 have
no use for oxen Perhaps not at pres
ent,' quoth he, 'but if you 90 to the
war you will want them? For What!'
said I, considerably annoyed. want
'em to draw yourratiOns.' The Guard
paid me a delicate compliment at the
last meeting. They elected me Child
Of the regiment, with the rank Ofirst
Corpulent, with the pay Of chief
Blower / was about to return
thanks in neat and appropriate
speech, when a.reporterywhe was pres
ent, assured me it was no use-be
had got the whole thing in type,speech
and all, and 1 could read it in the
evening paper. He said they kept q
neat and appropriate speech stand~
ing in type continually. l. got his
views and held my peace. a
Yours for the Union, including the
Stars, also the Stripes-Clevland
Plaindealer. FAT Contributor.