Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1870-10-05

and regulations, will relate an occurrence
that actually transpirel At a certain camp
whore the Vermont Brigade was laying there
had been highway fenced out aud thickly
studded on one side with shade trees but in the
course Of time, by the occupancy Of the vi
cinity by the army, the road had become near
ly obliteratcd, and the fences were entirely
destroyed but this line Of shade trees stood
in an exact aud even row. Now
there had been an order in camp, that no per-
son should pass in front Of a parade while it
was going ou Well, some officers had occa-
sion to ride out Of camp and pass very near
this line Of trees As they did so, they OBJ
served a soldier who had on bis cap company
+ "a w., little inebriatcd aud standing
as nearly still as he could, yet little top
pling, and apparently closely observing those
trees. Not much was thought Of it, and the
officers rode along, but on returning that way
in about half an hour, they saw the same
fellow still standing there, balancing himself
as well as he could and still closely watching
the trees One Of the officers accosted him
and said Halo my fellow what are you
standing there for all this timo2 Why
don't you go along2' W.a.a-l, Captain,
do-u't You kn-o-w it's gin o-r-ders to pass
in fro-nt Of a pa-r-r-ade ?" and pointing at
the trees, he said, " I'm waiting for them fell
lors to dis-mi-ss" OF course the command
ing officer Of that company got complimcnted
for the exact discipline he had iuculcated
into bis men.
The fellows of the old second were not
easily out-done in tricks Of the camp, as a
New Jersey regiment once happened to find
out The Vermont boys had 5orroiced a fat
sheep and killed and dressed it, and hung it
in their mess room. The New Jersey boys
stole and ate it. The Vermont boys then
killed and dressed a fat Newfoundland dog,
aud hung the carcass in the same place. The
New Jersey boys stole tint, and the Vermont
boys watched aud saw them eat it, sending a
quarter to their Colonel. The Vermont boys
then carried the skin Of the dog to them, and
told them as they had eaten the carcass, they
had better have the skin, as it was said that
the hair of the same dog cures the bite"
They never stole meat from us afterwards.
have spoken Of the soldiery Of the reg
iment. With men of such mould and mate
rial, and every one fully understanding the
causes that led to the war, and the object and
aim Of prosecuting it-men whose education
and intelligence fitted nearly all of them tc
have been officers of respectable rank, men
who were fighting for principle, and whom nc
consideration Of pay could ever have induced
to become soldiers men who had been educat
ed to fully understand the principles Of thi'
government, and were capable Of comparing
its merits and demorits with the shelly fossils
called government, of the old world, and o
apprcciating the untold blessings it had il
store, not only for the present but for gener
ations yet unborn with men Of this stamp,
say we could have had nothing less than (
good regiment, if it had been organized with
out officers. But with such men, and officer
worthy to command them, which they had
they must have been, as they were, invincible
On the first organization Of the regiment i
was very properly supposed that some mill
tary knowledge in the officers were desirable
and especially in the commanding officer; AM
probably in the great zeal which was felt tina
such should be obtained out Of the State
they could not be found in it, other consid
erations that were important were ignored
and while we thus secured some militar
knowledge and experience, We obtained
large crop of material for jealousy and dis
cord While the hireling soldier obeys order
and asks no questions, marching in the dircc
tious ordered, without asking or caring to as
the reason why, the citizen soldier, the intel
igent freeman, (and especially if he be Of tn
Yankee persuasion) wants to know somethin
of the why's and whereiores, and regular arm
officers are not so acceptable to him. The
are also very likely to entertain somethin
of prejudice against any officer who is in
ported and that officer thus situated VIII
can escape these consequences is very luck
man. And causes like these, somewhat il
terlered with the early prosperity of the se'
ond regiment
Col, Whiting unfortunately was not We
mouter, and WHILE like most of US, he ha
some faults and shortcomings, and while "
to some degree deprecated his appoiuimeI
to the command of the regiment, justice d
mands that we should say that he, by his u
tiring zeal, did much for the regiment, al
that many ofhis notions and theories were Il
doubt received and practced upon by most
US to much advantage, both while with IN
regiment and after we had been transferred
other commands. Col, Whiting knew we
how to provide for regiment; and if
could not fight it successfully we had othe
that could, in the persons of LIEUTENANT Coz
MEL SrANNARD, the thorough soldier and Il
upright, conscientious gentleman, and in MAC
JoYcE, the Murat of the regiment, and the i
spring genius of the camp the march and Il
field.
may also be pardoned for saying of Il
limo officers those of the second regimen
mostly, sustained themselves most admirabl
and many Of them attained to high commar
in that or other organizations before the clio
of the war, Beside the great distinction VIC
by General Stannard, who wears more sta
than arms Captain Walbridge, the gre
stickler for a literal observance Of the ia
tics, became Colonel Of the regiment. Maj
Joyce attained to the rank Of Lieut., ,-Colon'
and had he remained in the regiment and Sc
vice, would have gained much higher honor