The day book. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1857-1867, 1866-02-20
True COurage-An Incident of the
War.
BY j. s. SEGAR.
To Miss Joa"e'


Let laurels drenched in pure Parnassian dews,
Reward HIS memory, dear to every muse,
! W no, with courage OF mistaken root,
In hoNoUh's helo advancing his firm loot,
Plants it upon the line that justice draws,
| And will prevail or perish in cause.
Twas calm, warm evening, the eleventh
day OF July eighteen hundred sixty-iour. A
party, or mess, | may say, of ragged corn
1edS," were seatsd i'll front of their log hut,
! near Chains Farm, on thu noble James. AL
t.ough, at this time, we were furnished with
colored cooks, many Of us preferred doing our
own cooking, taking it by turns" as We were
won't to express it. am sure, that my Mess
mates will confirm what l say, when tell
you, that it was my turn" rather ofteuer
than it was the turn" OF any of my comrades
in-arms, Perhaps, this may be accounted
for, from the fact thai | did not object at all
to cooking, believing my individual self to be
an expert, aud knowing that | would have the
opportunity, not of stealing, but OF taxing
ttle extras" which was certainly very I'M
portant consideration to confederate soldier
at that time.
You will not,be surprised, then, when I in
form you that it was my turn" to m0nuf0c-
ture the bread and cook it for the morning
banquet. l was already about my business;
the meal and water were at hand, and, it be-
ing near dark, did not require, as usual,
three A'ds-oe-cansp to keep OFT the flies, which
were more harrasSlng to us then than the enc
my. Having lived some in the country, I
had learned to love, what is called by couutry
DANES, lightened corn bread. l therefore al
ways made up my bread the "over-night,"
and not unfrequently did | have quarrel
with some member of the mess about It's be-
n TINS I did
attention to their grWnbltng, as could always
silence them by telling them that ''if they
could do any better to go to work and take
my place." but it was seldom that any volun-
teered so to do they did not aspire to that
honor.
You must not infer, from what have said,
that was graduate of the culinary art, or
that was regular cook in the army. l on
ly cooked in my turn" except when l vol
untsersd to take the place of some member of
the mess. Still, l flattered myself that l
knew something about it; and do know that
can make sour bread to perfection. More
over, | can say, that I could make "slap-
jack" turn sOmersauh as well as the next
man. But these were now 'played out" as
grease was none too plentiful i'll poor con-
federacyl
The huts in which we " lived, moved, and
had our being" were built and laid off in mil
itary style, by General Wise. Their appear
ance did credit to the General, and proved
conclusivey that he was not only military
man, but was, also, something of an architect.
They were built of logs, the interstices being
filled with the James river clay. Although
they might have been called comfortable by
our boys in wintry weather, they were not
pleasant in July. We much preferred sleep
ing in the open air, with no covering save the
broad canopy of heaven,
But will not tire you with a description of
camp that has SO many connecting links in
memory. Happy times have had there-aye,
happy times, with all their hardshps You,
too, reader, if you be of the fair SEX have expe-
rencsd some of the hardships, "tras, and tribu-
lations" OF war. Perhaps you were here under the
barbarous rule of Butler, and those who were
near and dear" to You in this life were hemmed
In by az overwhelming army, and you with
out the power of seeing or hearing from them.
Perhaps you have often rushed out in search of
some messenger, or glanced with eager eye
over the daily paper, IN vain, for some news
OF loved friend or relative.
1t was this that gave us courage even in the
darkest hour. The human heart is very sus-
ceptlbls OF sympathy, and to know that we
had the sympathy and prayers of the loved
ones at home, the fairest of Gods creatures,
was to give us courage, bid us hope for the
best, and keep our spirits free from the faint
Of dependency.
1t is all now numbered with the past
The great struggle is over, but not without
leaving upon the memories of many, events
which can never be eftaced Death has in
vadsd the quiet chambers of untold numbers,
left many vacant chair around the family
altar, and many mother and sister are
now mourning the loss of loved one~ land
like Rachel, "refuse to be comforted
But have depressed from my story. l, as
| have said, was "about my business" the
rest of my mess were singing merrily on the
inside of our abode. shall never forget the
words-itw was that old song, Father Grimes !"
do not think That any of us possessed much
musical talent, and know that we only knew
one verse of this. Whether it is correct or
not, am not certain 1t was as follows;
Old Father Grimes, that good old soul
ne'er shall him morej
He used to wear an old blue coat,
All butto4sd down before.
CHORUS.
All buttoned down before,
All buttoned down befo e;
He used to wear an old blue coat.