Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1865-02-28
A Soldiers Letter-No. So,
A TRIP TO THE FROM,
CITY POINT, Va, Feb. Sth, 1865.

10 SEQ the boys IN the brigade lhs 81 course
sa't transaction Of any very great importance,
but / thought perhaps soine OF the boys WHO fehd
the fuEENAN, bat are not old enough yet them-
selves to be solders, and some Of the little gir'
too, perhaps, who never can be soldiers, bat who
almost vi,h sometimes they had been born boys
20 that they could would be interested to read al
about the little efiirs in q soldiers common every
day life, and having nothing else to do to-day,
thought would write you about this visit to the
boys up in front Of the enemy. So il yeu will
give me your Imagination my It'll. friend, we'll
10 up there and see what we find ib,l ia vsrh
taking about there and on the way.
But in the frst place We Aust got pass Ihis
is an important prerequisite, as indispensable as
the first direction in that famous recipe for drsss-
ing and cCokng hare. First catch hare. We
must bear in mind tsat passes are lot always
given, and to everybody merely upon the asking
Some good reason muat be shown lor wanting
pass, aside from the simple pleasure Of making a
visit and having gsod time. But pay. day is
coming (sometime, We hope, 10 all conscience,)
and we want 70 make stme arrangements 10 have
our pay crlwn by somebsdy, II We are not there
ourselves when il does come, besides we have ssy-
eral little debts among the boys to pay, and sew
eraI to collect, all OF which business needs our
personal attention. these are our arguments, and
armed with these, We 60 to one Of the assiatant
surgeons and ask II pass can he granted u.s. lie
asks Us few questions, bu, bs.ng busy tells US TO
call al bis Office again. So at the appointed time
we are there, and finally get our pass written and
signed by him. Nov ii must 30 to the surgeon
in charge of our corrs hospital. After be has
approved il, it has still to 10 to the surgeon 10
charge Of oil the hospitals. We want 10 start
early Saturday morning. and we must hay. our
pass ready the night beforehand. 1t Is all righi
so far, and now We will take il up to DR.. Dllton's
office for bis approval. After knocking, being in
ytsd to snier, taking off our hats snd 50 forth,
we hand our pass 10 the first man We see. OF
course, It isn't the right one, but he tell, US who
The rgh, one is, and thsts what we want to know.
lie takes the pass, reads it, turns around to US
and wants 70 know shy i is EecsMary for US 10
g. up to the front, at tie same lime svisg US an
uacomionabiy searching look that would frsezs
our tongues still, If We had the least disposition
to equiyoclie. We attempt TO say something
about payday, debts, aud to explain the ma.tsr
more fully but he bresks Us of short and puts the
whole thing 10 a nutshell. Money mltters ia il,
sIf. We reply 10 the affirmative, and be makes
lew rapid marks on me paper with he pen,
which, we have no doubt, sssNsr. isr bis signs
turs, and now We are .ii right 90 far Bu' after
all, this only gives permission to DO absent irsaa
th, hospiia. that day and to apply 70 the Proves,
Marshal tor pass to 60 to the iron', SO there Is
still another chsnce 10 be cheated out Of our fun
yet. Bu. 10 ta- morning when the Provost Mar
shal reads our p4si and stamps it, we know VS.
are all right. We climb up to ths top Of a loaded
train and arc soon whirling through the bright
morning air on the old railroad bstween CITY
Point and Petersburg A little over fvs mi 81
from City Point, the railroad branshes oil TO ,h.
lsh, through piece Of woods and around tie city
Of Petersburg, I, ne; being considered ,afe sl
present for the Yankees to rvn their trains through
IT, The grade IS pretty steep where we frs, turn
oh, and seems more like q wood road than il
doe, Ike sanilroad. Presently ", get around op-
posits the city, We can see the rebel works, and
ours toe, from the top Of the train a, it move,
along. There is the great brick house where
army headquarters were when We first came 10
to Petersburg, calculating TO capture il the nex,
day, aud there is where our regimen, stopped
when the few lucky men who had served out their
folk three years, were told to fall ou, aud GO HOME
| could pom, out several familiar places, and it
didn't take long to make them familiar, as We
pass along shan nsed 10 call your attentios
70 the city Of Petersburg itself The hill partly
shats Il on! from view, bat the tall spires here and
thsrs are palu to be ssen, and occasionally you
get glimpse Of the buildings, They don't lsok
TO be mora thsa q mile and half i,om the rail !
road and you wonder II tha, can be the place .
where so many shells have been thrcan when (
Grant has celebrated his victories, anu Mt other I
times, and yet SO little damage is done How
pretty IL looks in the warm sangh, th, morning.
Everything i' 50 quiet and still that you will |
hardly believe thi; between you and that city, !
thersar, two hostile armies, who have been seek /
ing to destroy each other all they can for alnosi |
eight months. Awful tales Of desperate charging
sad bloody fighting, that lins along there By the
crater Fort Hell, and ,sose formdsbs works
could tell YOU ans We fear more ye, to come.
But we must hasten on. We shall fed now
city OF camps al along the way ill we 70, to
Patrick Staten, which !, a, the extreme end Of
the liue, aud abou fourteen miles from here.
Near this station We fnd the Vermont Brigade.
We hud them about as We lsit them, only they
have improved their camps and mad. them look
more nea, and comfortable. Old brush, logs and
rubbish has been cleared away aud the ground |
has been swept over and everything made to look
tidy, cheerful and pleasant. Tn, boys appear to
be enjoying themselves we'll, os well Tor anything
we can see, as the average Of human nature any.
where in this discontinued world. Everything is
"qn'eI as usual. They had been uudsr orders
u nave tier things packed up Gnd be ready to
move, aud Tor two days fatigue work and sy,n.
'''ng nO'po'IIively necessary to be done bad been
suspended but at that tim, everything wa, going
on As usual in winter quarters, with no sign, Of
move N'n were out in the woods after wood