Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1872-12-03
ICONTRlRuTED

j
THE OUARTERMAsTER s Scout, or "CAP :,
wHAR 1HE TRAIN ?'-i La the Fall Of 1862,
while Jacksons 2ld corps vas still repo,lng
along he line ct the She nandoah and O,.equon,
from Front r " al towards, aud below, WiLches-
ter, with headquarters near Nlneyeh and while
Lee, with L,Dgstreet' It corps, had crossed
The mOuntaIns to face the new ION TO Rich
mond' by Mcclellan, Gen Jackson sent an as
si>tant Quartermastcr and a Sergeant on what
was long Sn0wD 10 the army as abnve headed
These orders, through the Chiet Q NJ. were,
TO go by Front Ro,a al, Mark ham, Ltte Wash
iugton, Flint Hill, Sperryvie to Culpepper,
tc take an inventory" OF all the grain aud pro-
visions to be iound IN that region: As SeIgel' 8
Yankee corps was lying along the Rappahan-
mock, and our pickets along the mountalns,
across from Font Rpyal, daily encountered
those OF the enemy, ,hi- trip was not of the
bomb proof SORT Q NJ. .'s were generally said
to tancy by those unfortunate soldiers, doomed
to serve their untry In another line OF bus
iness.' Nevertheless this one and his Sergt
Ia brave and courteuu, gentleman OF Il he Stone
wall Brigade, VINO afterwards gave up his lite
at Berry Ferry, lu trying 10 escape The al
keesl gaiy starred our. glad OF anything to Ie-
lieve the monctcny Of camp life. Cauteens
were flied at Front Ro, al and pistols looked to,
but nothing suffered along the whole trip but
horse flesh, from the fatigue iuclden6 to refill
lDg the pid!y emptled canteeas, until, on their
return, when they spent the night at either
Elins Hill or Llttle Washington, they forgot
which, as will be readily seen, with good cause,
as We proceed.
Put log unat the tavern of the place, and
immediately repenishing their eaky cauteens,
this du,y, somehow had the effect of changing
that heretofore truthful gentleman, the Sergt Z,
iuto regular Baron Muuchausen. The bar
room wa, filled with the usual party. ~ho shirk-
ed out of the army and did their duty by curs-
ing QuartermasterS, the Government and SOL
dlers On sick leave or furiough; and as there
was to be ball or dance that night, given by
some cavalry on iurlough, our Serg,. thought
is would never do to tell who they were. 81
tippiug his superior the wllk, he joined the
chorus against Quartermasters, aud as when
he went eating, he scent cdtttng, such lying
as be Gld (peace TO ms ashes! we know the re-
cor,i.pg augel long ago bloted them out, aided
by the o III SUCH damnlng ot any man who
even louged at an army wagon or mule, except
to curse or capture 1t, was never heard siace
"our army swore terribly IL Flanders" As
pine Top and apple jack disappeared the
fuu grew fast and furious and The crowd grew
more enthusiastic in cheering the onslaughts on
q. VI. s, Comml,sarles, and the like, but, al
last, one bold individual OF loa!er, Inspired by
the devil, no doubt, asked what arm OF the
service they belonged To? The Sergt. gave an
appealing look 10 the @ NJ, VINO rallied bold
ly and swore they were ''scouts, independent
scouts for Stouewall Jackson, c!lnching the
nla,ter by showing "a pas, at will from A.
s. P.ndeton, A A. Geu" This, with moI e
pine Top and apple jack, got them an IN
vi,atlon to the ball aud the 'inderendent scouts
were all The toast. The common cavalry tel-
lows, who had gotten the bali up, and the few