Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-04-20
A SOLDIERS story.

Mr.. Frederic s. Cozzens contributes A
Story by an Old Soldier of the Army Of
the Potomac ;"
shall begin with portrait. 1t is my
own-at full length. Observe the ehinrO-
oscaTo
Imagine Sibley tent with its little
coniesI stove in the centre, and long
pop gun Of pipe running up beside the
tent-pole, until its head gets out Of the tent
hole at the top, where it puffs forth sleu-
der Whirl of blue smoke, like the Whit of
8 cigar; and from the opening around the
pipe q tender light, like halo, enters the
tent, descends, t)ucbes gently its CANVAS
sides, and falls in round disk Of sunlight
or the floor. Within that disk-Isntici-
pate.
The Sibley, with q few others and
whole brigade of shelter tents, stand upon
hillside; and in the valley below it ynH
see the half-dozen runhels Of brook wind
ing about until they are lost in a shaggy
raVine, from the teeth Of which tn ~
emerge through q fringe Of icicles the
waters break into mist, snd, falling sill
lower down into a rocky hollow, sweep
around the boles Of the few pine trees left
in the valley, and glide ont Of sight.
Around you on every side is sn open
waste Of what was once woodland; hill
side after hillside dotted with stumps Of
trees, yet white from the axe, and further
on, before you, on the edge Of the last de-
scending slope, you get momentsry Gimp
ses Of broad river, with the wicked out
works Of the enemy on the opposite side
thereof.
My company is on picket, many miles
away but the surgeon says can't report
for duty yet. Cause why Cause I've
had the typhoid
Within the dick Of sunlight on the tent
hcer is pair Of old shoes, with the toes
on the ground, and the heels pointing to
the place where the smoke goes out.
Them's mine. In continuation is 8 pair
of regulation army-blue trousers, rein
forced for cavalry, and the reinforcement
| looking, so to speak, at the same hole to
which my shoe heels are pointing. Them's
mine. Just above the hind buttonsis part
Of an old pair Of sutler suspenders, and
above these faded cavalry jacket,
trimmedwith tsttered yellow worsted braid
brace Of waist frogs to hold up the sword
belt, two round, Whitish spaces, where my
old shoulder-blsdes play like couple Of
broken steamboat paddles, and the whole
| embroidered with the shifting shadows Of
the smoke above in as many patterns as a
brigsdier's cloak sleeve. (Pn so sensi-
| tive now that l can feel them shadoWs.)
That's my jacket. And just peeping out
of the collar Of that jacket is the back Of
an old head, shesred as close as the shears
could clesve to the skull skin. That's my
/ L,n1 In fanf - 10 ao11saa - Ia
Army Of the Potomac, that's inside Of sll
these things-except my hesd-lying on
my-bed, made Of q couple Of feed bags
stuffed with quartermaster's hay, and wri =.
ting his communication with Jews ever
pointed silver lead pencil, on the top Of an
old candle-box.
But if you were to see me inside of my
old uniform you wouldn't think belonged
to it. II used to be too tight for me-but
now oh my 1 could crawl through one
Of my own regulation legs Amt | thin /
Why, when 1 look in my pocket glass, I
find Pm pretty much all ears. My face
has osved so with the typhoid; and as for
my eyes, why, they amt nothing but q
couple of holes.
Some people may think, when they read
this communication, that it is written by
person who never had any education,
except few scraps of poetry. They're
mistaken. l talk this way because I'm
not public man, but q private soldier
There was time when used as good
language IS anybody; but habit is second
nature, and now l talk as soldiers do.
once went to college; but fellsh finds
after he's been bucked and gagged, and
made q spresd-esgle Of on a cannon wheel
and stood up on o pork barrel, or made t.
carry log on his shoulder for twenty foul
hours at time, that his Greek and Lstir
slips out of his system like mercury out Of
broken barometer.
Why do say "them's miRe," instead O.
the appropriate way of doing things
Why, because I've learned, for over tw,
years, 8 new vocabulary. l prefer it Il
the old one. It's an easier way Of talking
and who cares y did not like it at first
when the boys used to say: I" How are you
white top?' thought they should be NOR,
respectful to few grey hairs. But nov
/ don't mind it; in fact, don't hear i
much. There is many a white top now &
keep me company. The army has groWI
grey very fast since 1 entered it.
1 can say what no man in the Army o
the Potomac can ssy-I entered it as
first lieutenant, and now am leaving
as q full private How did l get this Iris
hoist Principally by being in the wa,
of promotion-foF drinking. And VII
did 1 drink To keep away grief, N.
lads. entered the service when abou
, one half the regiments we're commando
by country sehoolmasters, small cOuntr
storekeepers, country lawyers, and Gel
man sdventurers. Ny colonel was Of
different type; he wss regular, out and
(, out old speoulstor. he had bought up
lot Of country horses most of them, frol
appearances, should say, were heantiqu
ties of some omnibus establishment, turn
. ed out to grass, for they Weere hoof ban
mered up to their knees and these wei
interspersed with q variety of shsgg
farm colts, with here and there hsrC
, looking trOtter good deal touched viii
the spawn. he had offered this choiC
collection to the Government (having
friend in former functionsry Of the WI
Department., but was told the Governmel
could not buy them, because there we're ]
men to ride them; but if he would raise
cavalry regiment, the horses would
tshen as fast as mounted. That was L
- vav ouF eolonaI 1ot his oomuiaaion-l