New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-02-10
to Government should never become an OBJ
ject of merchandise, because no power can
justly acquire property in it,
d Plea FOE THE PRIVATES IN THE ARMY

them to take exceptionally good care OF
their soldiers. All through the war we heard
of the neglects and ignorance in this regard
Of the volunteer officers, and of the attentive
care of the regulars. Now that members
having some regard for the Impoverished
| Treasury are striving to economic LII the
expenditures of the War Department, we are
warned that we must at any rate keep great
horde of useless officers in commission, because
| their training will make them especially vaiu-
able in taking charge of recruits whenever
necessity shall again require the enlargement
of the army. We demur. Such samples as We
have seen of the performance OF some OF these
officers leads to the belief that the service VIII
be benefited quite as much by wedding them
out as by any other reduction.
There lies before us the story of one soldiers
experience at the hands of regular army officers
Some of its features may be of special interest
Tn honorable members who think it lndlspensa-
BILE to the good of the army that we should
keep in service half more officers than we
want, because they are all so very good, and
faithful, and attentive, that in an emergency
we could not possibly fill their places.
This young man enlisted in one of the new
infantry regiments, some two years ago, ana
was sent to the rendezvous of recruits at Gov
ernors Island. Here came his first experience
of soldiers life: 81 was astonished at the
small amount Of food given to US. All we
"receved for dinner was about four ounces or
bread, half an ounce of pork, and half q pint
of SOUP. Sometimes we received far less
" than that For supper we got little
"bit of bread and coffee, and nothing else.
| ~ VI bolf otarvn1 and continually
| tempted to try to steal one anothers rations."
Yet the Government, whose soldier was thus
welcomed to its service, provides the most
liberal rations allowed in any army in Chrlsten-
dom! Abundant dinners were paid for at
| Governors Island-what reached the recruit
was "half an ounce of pork, half pint OF
"soup and four ounces of bread" The rest
was supposed to be saved by the cOnsiderate
officers for the benefit of the company fund
the theory Oh its face, being to starye the
soldiers in health that they might have
hospital delicacics when sick. The misfor-
tune in this particular regiment was
that the hospital deicacies never came
| in, while the starvation was uniform.
Finally the commander here got ready to start
West with recruits, and rations for the journey
were accordingly issued. These soldiers had
enjoyed the advantage of being under the COM
mand of regular officers to so full an extent
| that they were now half-starved and wholly
ravenous. Some gorged themselves at once on
the unwonted plenty, and were presently sick.
| All had lost the power of self-control to such
an extent that the rations were soon devoured;
and long before they reached Omaha, after
stealing from the sick and from the more proyi-
| A.. bot,v of ohSo-
| lutely destitute. With armed men moving
through rich and peaceful country, what fol-
lowed may be readily coniectured:
when the stopped, many Of us would to the
OF citizens beg something TO eat and often
| take IL by force In marching through the streets
| OF Chicago in broad daylight ono OF my comrades
| LETT the ranks and tore piece OF pic from the
| hands OF little grl about seven years OF age.
| In going through Iowa, at tho different sta
tons tho men would leave tho cars and rob the
houses close 10y o, whatever food they could
| lay their hands one evening twenty OF
| thirty Of went TO goodlookng house
| whose inhabitants were at their supper. On
knocking the opened and in the soldiers rushed
ike parcel OF famshed wolves. The table was pretty
well laden with provisions. but they relieved 1t OF
its burden. There large joint Of roast beef ON the
| table A Dutchman grabbed It, but 1t hot md
burned him, he dropped It, An Irshman, however
was equal TO the occasion Ho stripped of his blouse
wrapped around the beef and bore OF in triumph
Although stole nothing, was not hungry that night"
After a series of such exhibitions by U. S.
soldiers. our recruits got fairly started up the
Missouri. Here they Jared little better at first,
| but soon relapsed into the old condition:
"But what troubled us most the officers picked out the
best OF our raons sold the captain OF the
| steamboat. AS We little better than halfsaryed.
you may imagine the state of our feelings when we saw
barrels OF pork and bareback boxes full of our
| best biscuits taken from before our eyes
| and sold to put money IN the officers pockets.
one day our steamboat passed another laden with sol
diers Tho cooks OF the different steamboats, exchanged
compliments and almost the first words they said were,
How much did you make of the soldersP They then
stated tho number OF barrels OF pork and boxes OF hard
tack and pounds OF sugar coffee and beans they had
bought officers They spoke too, in tones which
showed that they little who heard them Owing to
the best Of our being picked out and sod what
We now got TO eat horrible. Biscuits green and
blue inside full OF dead maggots 1t was common
sight to SEQ as many 100 soldiers at time picking
tho dead vermn out OF their biscuits The pork We
| ceived was beyond description. 1t seemed to have
been kept long 1t would hold TO-
| gether Had We not been hungry
could never have eaten IT. Yet bad as they were,
the objections nearly all to quantity not to quality
Any ordinary could easily have eaten IL or II
OF tho biscuits in day; yet all were allowed was
three four in day Some days we got bean soup aud
tho got single bean IN their allow
OF soup Being thus starved, We used TO beg and
steal from the negro OF tho boat. Men who but
ow days ago violent in their denuncatlons OF mig
gers. Aboltionists Republicans, &c, now begged from
negroes a morse food keep themselves from starry
ing They did not always beg 1t. though Sometimes,
when the negroes sitting down TO dinner. 20 or 30
soldiers would rush in among tho astonished Africans
and make a dash at the dinner"