Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-12-10
THANKSGIVING at Petersburg
FROM CAPT. bob" EDEN.

PREBLE's FARM, Va, Nov. &c, 1864
FRIEND LUTE;-"I have piped unto
you, but you have not danced;" / have
vritt en- letters unto you, but received an
ssers none.
We, the 37lh, tarry yet among stran-
rsrs in strange land; we dwelleth in
tents, even pup tents, after the mann er
Of the Ishmaelites; though l guess their
:ents were of the Sibley pattern, for
PUP tent would not have held all the
siyss of those days, and in SibIey tent
you can crowd in as many as you please,
anly taking the prscaution to tie the
IGOR, to keep them from stopping over"
On the 25th day of the current month
commissary wagon appeared in camp.
Gearing sundry barrels, which being safe
j. delIvered-at our camp, in their turn
bore turkeys, chickens, pickles, apples.
tobacco, &C., Especially the lattOr)-a
Thanksgiving Dinner. furnished to the
aLole Army Of the Potomac by kind
friends in the Eastern and Middle states.
We sat round, as the Commissary Ser
ant unpacked the barrels, with full
'sris and empty stomachs, the North
,inl, or some other tender feeling, ma
ny the water run from our eyes, and
be eataLles fetching it from our mouths.
Il vas solemn sight, and fell to
linking. Those lordIy turkeys strut,ed
family upon the rich farm. of Pemnsyl-
mia; those chickens perhaps repressn-
i (sex being appropriately the one little
ie lamb Of some poor but generous
,ul, AMI tender hearts were wrung as
III hands. twisted their necks; those
uick!es were, may DO, put up 10y the best
I'D fairest of her sex among the valleys
Connecticut, and as she peeled the
ions, an thought Of the soldiers, per-
venture she wept; those apples were
'led and strung amid much hugging
baxcm maidens, aud frolie and -
ssing, no doubt prevailed at their pre-
lratiOH, and my feelings here overcom-
g me, and seeking our smallest drum
81 boy, l cursed him bitterly, and the
i'll wept, and relieved me much.
at four P. ~, our festal board groan-
beneath the weight of delicacies as
9 shiuglc nails which held the hard
TEX boxes Of which it was made dropped
5lt on the floor, owing either to weight
the deliescies, or to the Assistant Sur
,eous insisting on sitting on it. sa
And we fell to and cat, and rs we eat,
Ne became filed heart ana body !;
4 leart with gratitude to the kind
trisads who furnished the feast, and in
toty with the good things they sent.
AID we sat down and eat, and as we
eat the sun set, and all the land was
darkened. and we retired 10 our hunks
and sleep that banishes care fell on us,
auI we dreamed Of our grandmothers.
On Thursday, / paid visit TO Gen.
BRAGG and the different Wis. regiments
in his command. Ifonnd many old ia
miliar faces, and some, alas l missed
This war. Lutte, sewers many Old ties;
ws see friend one day in the full enjoy
msnt of health and strength, careless aud
happy. We return after few days, and
lind that the dark shadow has fallen on
him, and that he has passed away from
US forever into the unknown land. Wari
cruel warI Homesteads deserted, fami-
ly circles broken up, wives widowed,
children orphaned, and aching hearts
everywhere, are its fruits.
But the country is worth this, and
more too, and the offerings of one gener-
alton will, let as hope, procure years of
happiness for those yet to come. A grand
future is yet before US, dim and indis-
tinct in The far hereafter, bat coming
surely aud certainly, with the blessing of
Peace ona united people, and those in
s1haustibIe resources which we now can
hardly picture even in imagination, will
become extended and developed. The
war has been a hard and bitter lesson,
but America will come forth out of the
struggle. purified by the fiery test, odd
decisions swept away, old errors ban
ished, and from the Atlantic to the Pa
ci6c, from Minnesota to the Gulf, the
sun viii rise aud set upon a people, hap
Ply. prosperous. free and united.
We may not live to see that day, but
but like an old lady with the rheuma-
tism, I ''fesl it in my bones;"-there's
going to be chsnge in the weather.