The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-02-10

Calico on 10 peTIOFiu
One Of The most annoying features Of the
times was the pert perkiness Of the smaller
officers of the army, who, because attached tc
the staff of general officer, imagined that the
whole Confederacy was theirs, and that they
could command a passenger coach to be
emptied for the benefit of their friends, or OBJ.
tain special car for q favorite horse at mo.
ment's notice. They were more annoying than
dangerous, more brass than braid. But the
rugged Confederate soldier, the rifed and
blanketted private was study in himself.
THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIER.
He was a curious compound-a bundle oi
virtue, frailty and old clothes. Nine-tenths oi
his character consisted Of what may be called
don't-care-a- a-damn-ativeness. This was his
marked individuality, and five years Of disci.
pline, hardship and danger did not tame the
unruly spirit in the least. In fact, the longer
the war continued, the worse it grew.
For dress or personal appearance the disre-
gard was supreme. Give him haversack full
Of corn bread and cold bacon, tobacco and a
pipe, and soldier on his travels was as con.
tented O being as ever descended from the
loins Of grandfather Adam. II without his ac-
customed "grub. however, somebody was sure
to suffer. We once saw in Virginia car load
Of these empty stomachs, on their way through
drove Of cattle. ''Boys, there's beef" cried
one; and in jlffy the coupling came out, the
breaks were put down, and the rest Of the
train rumbled on, leaving three or four score OF
hungry heroes behind. An OK was straightway
slaughtered, cut up and, by the time the en-
gineer discovered his cars In the vocative and
returned, doz IN fires we're musical with the
simmering OF roast beef, and no sort Of per-
suasion could induce the boys to give up that
coupling until they had filed their stomachs.
Human eyes mover rested on more motley
throng than many Of the troops as they ap-
peared when they left home during the first
year OF the war. And it was then that all the
railroad cars in tho South, and especially on
the South Carolina line, were hopelessly
ruined. Frequently, there was no mark to
designate the several regiments. The dress
was tangled compound Of slouch and stove
pipe hats, of frock coats, swallow tails, and
jackets, and Of pants of every hue and shape.
The outfit was completed By dingy blanket,
or in lieu thereof, patched bed-quilt, home
made knapsack, and canvas bag for rations
Sometimes a fiddle or ACCORDION was added to
the equipment, and we remember one old fel,
low who arted from homo with COW. BE
innocently proposed to milk it for the benefit
Of his company.
Of course, as the war progressed these
things were changed if not improved. But
LIFE IN THE CARS,
remained unaltered. In moving troops every
available inch Of space was occupied. The
seats were filled, the aisles crowded, and
fringe of legs dangled from the roofs. Bayonetf
were jammed rernorseless into the ceiling, 30
that in time it looked as if it had been subject
to severe attack of smallpox. The glasses
we're scratched over with ambitious names
penknives inscribed mottoes on the rosewood
back seats, and "bowies" fulfilled their most
dangerous mission i'll whiting up the side
arIuo UNA ui..do- Kinds
Itr1ai Itc 1tisuo - - e. T.
made its rounds, somewhat after the fouoWlne
style: "Haltl who goes thereT "a rlene
with a bottle" Advance bottle and draw
stopper" This was the fluid countersign.
For two or three hours after dark, when th'
soldiers could not SEQ each other, Jupiter To
nans! how they did talk Bedlam OF ParsoI
BroEnlow isn't circumstance to 1t. Every
body had something to say, aud with an ute
disregard Of Webster's Unabridged, they con
yerting air into sylables, syllabIes into words
and words into q hair disheyelling, coat-ta
agitating rhetoric that was excessively pyro
technic. It was orthoGraphy, etymology' syn
tax and prosody run riot.
When everybody became exhausted, excep
the one wre.ched man, who from time lmme
mortal, in every car of slcepers, vibrates lest
lessly from ono place to another, knocking
hats, punching heads, and disturbing dreams
our soldiers slumbered. The long-slab-side
man always put his legs out OF the window
His neighbor, if also ramrod-ahaped, hung HI
pedal extremities over the front seat. In
men sitting there divided them out in plloWi
Tho aisles afforded tho only luxury OF fu
length bed-chamber to be had, and, barrin
lust small sprinkle of tobacco juice, Werele'
cessiyeIy comfortable. So much SO indee
TINT the boys would agree to lilo spoon fashlo
throe deep, and when one wanted to turn owe
all that was required to secure perfect unal
unity of action, according to the arrangement
was simply to sing out "fop." Practice mad
them very perfect.
Soldiers il those days used to swear oaths
monstrous proportions, and We presume thel
is not conductor on the South Carolina hal
road who has not been thoroughly case-hsI'
ened by his experience III disturbing thei
somnolent crowds Indeed it is related
CAPTAIN James Meredith that his sensibiliti
wero so affected by the avalanche of e1pletlv
which he was obliged to encounter in his dai
career on tho road, that he requesteda iranst
to another department who're they didn't "cus
so much.
But we leave the sleepers in their tangl
shapes and pass to anotuer phase OF car Life:
THE RETURN OF TIE SICK AND WOUNDED.
Three wears have rolled away since the spe
tacle Of mon dying and dead by scores was
almost daily occurrence. And yet how VIVID
tho mere thought recalls scenes which, VIII
life lasts, will chang like pictures on tho va
of memorv." We still see the wan, emaclat
faces of men who but few weeks before we
sat the front" in all the pride OF strength; T.
cots and strctchcrs stained witn blood; t
surgeons busy in affording rene1'