The Republican journal., 1882-04-06
Sketches of Army Life.
SECOND SERIES. NUMBER ONE.
RAPPAHANNOCK STATION.

RAPPAHANNOCK STATION.
The campaign of 1863 had closed, and once
more the old Army of the Potomac went into
winter quarters. On the 4th of December our
regiment encamped at Rappahannock Station
for the purpose of guarding the railroad bridge
at that place. Our camp was on the crest of
hill, upon the north bank of the river. The hill
overlooked for a long distance the blue river
that rolled swiftly at its base, the railroad
bridge, vast eXpanse of country, and the forti-
tications upon the opposite side of the river. 1t
was historic ground. The rebels had strongly
fortified this position, and it had been garrison
ed by the brigades of Generals Hoke and Hayes.
A detachment of eighty men from our regiment
under the command Of Captain w. G. Morrill,
had co-operated with portion of the Sixth
corps in its capture on the 7th of the previous
November. The assault was one Of the most
brilliant and successful of the war Maine was
we'll represented by several regiments and in
the little cemetery on the hillside we built a
wooden monument and dedicated it to the mem
DRY of the brave soldiers from Maine who fell in
that gallant charge In the trenches and among
their brave defense of the position. When we
returned and encamped the breaStworks were
torn down, and upon the rocky surface of the
ground we leyeled our parade ground, made
our streets and built our tents. 1t was a beau
tiful place for am encampment: healthy from its
elevated position, and picturesque in every sense
of the word. our tents, built of logs and coy
Il L.
Portable. Good water was plenty wood easily
obtained, the men We're healthy, and this Win
ter was the most pleasant experience we enjoy
ed while in the army. There was but little fa-
tigue duty, and only small section of picket
line to sustain. and large portion of our time
was devoted to such amusemcnts as we could
devise in camp The principal feature in these
We're the practical, good-natured Jokes we used
to practice upon each other In our company
there We're about thirty men, nearly all Of whom
We're less than thirty years of age. As | recall
the names of those brave fellows. and think of
the amuSements of that winter, | am almost
tempted to write that it was the happiest period
of my life Many recruits came to us that
winter, and of course they We're proper subjects
woods of Maine reached the regiment late in the
AFTERNOON. He soon revealed to 4 number Of
the boys that his only fear in becoming soldier
was that he would not be able to stand on '.a
picket ,o&t." He felt that it would require a
great deal of practice to do this in skiful man
ner, and since he had decided to enlist he had
not had a moments time to practice it. OF
course the boys had great deal of sympathy for
him. and kindly promised to assist him. for
which he was very thankful. They informed
him how difficult thing it was for them when
they first began. They accompanied him to the
lower end of the street. where a post some four
feet in height and six inches in diameter was
set upright in the ground. The upper end was
>harpened nearly to point; and with Il little
assistance the recruit succeeded in reaching its
Sharpened top. and in the evening twilight, for
nearly two long hours, he managed to maintain
his position, and received the compliments of
his comrades He then went to his tent. proud
If the fact that he had mastered difficult a
problem in so brief It time.
Another recruit, fresh from the schools and
refined society, but who had never seen much
saw at glance that hc was a glorious subject
for practical Joke, and anNiouSly waited for
an opportunity. It soon came. The Young man
was very confidential, and before he had been
with u a whole day. revealed all his plans
He had enlisted, knowing that his education and
polished manners would give him rapid promo
tion, of course he would be Il private but few
weeks he had brought an officers uniform
with him, and had the whole suit packed in his
knapSack Seeing that we We're deeply interested
i'll his plans he asked if we could advise him in
amy way that would assist in his promotion: he
would do anything To gain success in that line
Various things Were spoken of by his advisers.
which if done, might aid him in his commend
able ambition. one remarked that extravaganza
III the Use of Government stores was the great
evil of the army, and when the officers noticed
that a man was prudent, and looked Out for the
| interests of the Government. he was ALWAYS
rapidly promoted. We all took the hint only
the day before this conversation fresh ammuni-
tion had been issued to our regiment. and that
which we had carried long. having become
worthless by exposure to air and moisture. was
along the street and through our tents YES
that is So. continued another, Nov, there are
those cartridges: it is too bad to have them
wasted, and have no doubt the Colonel would
promote any man who would gather them ul
and carry them TO his tent, but won't do it =
"Neithcr will l. said speaker number three, Il
| enlisted to shoot rebels; am perfectly willing
wade, INF | ia, al, ,rl- 81.
that if | am never promoted" A fter this patri-
otc declaration he yawned and turned over in
his berth as if he would sleep. But the bait
had been swallowed. The recruit gided from
the little group of soldiers, went to the cook
house, borrowed two large camp kettles, ard
then through the tents and streets he Went, lm-
til the kettles We're nearly filled with cartridges
and he had all the load he could possibly carry
Then staggering along with kettle in each
hand. he walked to the Cooners tent. He pass
Ell the guard who was on duty there. and did
not halt until he had reached the doorway. He
then gave smart knock, with the assurance of
one who is confident of receiving warm well
come. One of the field officers answered the
summons. The eXpectant recruit made known
street and saw the laughing soldiers He took
in the whole situation at glance. There was
a scowl, an oath, Il vanishing officer, a door
closing with fearful slam, and Company II
yelled and howled with delight. The sounds of
merrment must have grated harshly upon the
ears of the poor fellow who had been the vic
tim. This episode crushed his expectations
and we never heard him utter the word promo
ton again.
These Jokes We're not confined to each other,
but the men in the ranks took great delight in
practicing them upon the officers whom they
did not like, when it could be done innocently.
At one time regiment in camp was living up
on very poor rationS. The bread was mouldy,
hard, and unfit to eat. There We're no rations
of meat and as for the coffee and sugar. the grip
of the Quartermaster could be detected in every
spoonful. There was Chaplain in the regiment
who was supposed to look after the interests of
the men, especially if they were sick; but the
boys thought that this one paid too much atten-
= Il