The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1878-05-31
ME BLUE AMI FHE eRAY.-

E .ftcy 8, s sSs.s sys ~ i.
81 H. 4Vl RHdEeld, who is one of the
lost careful and observant correspondents
sntlss country, has just contributed paper
20 tue Philadelphia Weekly Times, that
prod RecrliarS ateress and Specification.
IS q s & 9isErWnEN Two FIRES.
Ms Red6sld W. during the war a strict
non EoWbatant. He was Quaker like in his
p and pll5Aasd ~; 80 q
ssi6S 2de Day he was surrounded by
the yaakess,s and the next day his placid
md nprufHed face beamed like full moon,
from the hidst of an angry rebel host.
~ thus happened that Mr.. Redfeld, who
was chipping piece of non-explosive ealice,.
;or weighing pound of tea, would observe
ethings polosely out of the tail of his peace
Dfuf eye, hada capital opportunity of noting
hescharacteristics
Fiss OF TIE TWO ARMIES.
ssHis impressions, gained while engaged
in tho bloodless business of keeping store.
between lines, he has put into print The
epeints that he makes furnish many reasons
EiSt shQ Gefeatof the confederate arms.
The 6rst point of difference between the
armies was the disparity in. equipmer ts.-
|Ehe Nofthern soldiers had the very best of
alothiae- seat mnnoyAssaad- -bay se.sAhss.a
lets Of the world furnish. They had splen,
did double overcoats, oil-cloth coverings,
and perfect guns and accoutrcmcnts.-
Their wagons and ambulances were superb;
and remarkably adapted for rough campaign
ing. Their cavalry equipments were mag
nihcent. No army ever went to the field
better, equipped than the union army.
TIE coNFEDERATEs,
on the other hand, were shabbily and insuf.
ficiently dressed They wore homcspun
mostly, and it was of all colors. In one
regiment of cavalry, Mr.. Rcdfeld has seen
four or five kinds of rifles and shot guns,
all sorts of saddles, some with rope stirrups,
aud many of them without blankets
1t was really laughablc, he says. The
horses.yere poorly fed and poorly groomed,
la1fyx<he ,men-in a.haR freazing and half
SSSddfion =, }. -
And even greater difference was obscr-
vable in the supply Of food that was served
10 the two armies. The fcderals always
had full rations of beef, pork, coffee, salt,
bread and beans. Their articles were of
che best quality, and the regiments provided
with such convenient cooking utensils that
they were able to prepare it appetizingly
They never suffered from hunger or poor
rations.
The copfcdcrates on the other hand had
scanty and poor eating. They had virtually
no cooking utensils, and the poor food that
they had was miserably cooked. In the
spring of 1868 Mr.. Redfeld spent few
| days in the camp of confederate rcgi.
ment and found that they had nothing for
ratiens but beef and -four There was not
even an ounce of salt. The bread was
literally nothing but -four and water. 1,
| was baked in pans and the beef was
ROASTED ON A STICK.
| Mr.. Redfeld states seriously that the
abundance of coffee was worth thousand.
of soldiers to the union side. It,was q fine
recruiting power in the border States HI
tells of father and two sons who fought
for year or two with the confcderates.-
They were then captured aud paroled.-
One day the sons went down to the fedora
camp, and were treated to some fine coffee
They became so fond of it that they finally
joined the iederals, just to be able to gc
plenty of it. The father followed very soon
to get his sons. out of "thc dsgracefu
scrapc," and wound up by yielding his patri
otism captive to the coffee, just as they hat
dole.
i 1t is amazing that the Southern armies
4 composed for the most part of men used t.
bouutiful living and a warm climate, coulC
have fought and marched, and suffered, al
they did Tor five long years amid the noun
tains of Tennessee and Virginia. Thci
soldier life was heroism even if there haC
been no battles. 1t required more courag,
and patriotism to suffer, and endure, ant
starve, than it did to fight.
4 One of the most important difference
that our observant noted was the disciplin,
that was SO much more perfect in TIN
Il Northern than the Southern army. In tn
| former the discipline was perfect from tn
first The officers were supreme in the fcde
raj army. They were obeyed implicitly AM
with questioning promptncss. Tn
case was different with the southerncrs
Il There was more individuality among thcs