National Republican., 1883-03-15


as well rs obedience to the august mandates
which emanatcd from him as the commander.
We were backed up by the example Of the
first Napoleon, who thoroughly understood
the witchery Of personal attention by the
great TO the lowly. Indeed, it seems strange
that so few commanders appear TO have
thought il worth while TO become socially
acquainted with their soldiers.
This night was rendered memorable to the
members of the mess by the close Of discus
sion on that question through evidence
furnished by story about Grant which had
just got loose among the men. Its burden
was that sick soldier on furlough few
days before had started for Washington, and
being unable to find q seat in any of the for
ward cars had attempted to enter the rear
coach, which was decorated with a guard at
either end, and had both doors locked.
You can't get ON this car y said the guard,
with denomination of his bayonct toward
the corporation of the furloughed soldier
"this is Gen. Grants special CARP
AT that instant q square head, trimmed with
a brownish red beard and garnishod about the
center with tho butt end of u cigar was
thrust out Of one of the windows, and the
guard was squelched with the remark:
This Is Gen. Grants car, but he occupies
only one seat let him in "
And the poor convalesccnt, with his KNAPP
sack and what remained of his typhoid fever,
| passed and sat down on the cushions with the
general who commanded million or so of
men.
We had known Meade long time, and re-
spected him rs II general, but nobody mani
Tested any extraordinary enthusiasm for him
as a man. We knew Grant only from the
newspaper accounts of his campaigns in the
west and were not prepared to fall down and
worship him but this little incident showed
that he had heart hidden away somewhere
under his waistcoat, and at bound he took u
place in the affections of the soldiers only sec
ond to that which Mcclellan held in tho
bosoms of the old vets.
So, having demolished the captain, with
the bivouac fires throwing their red columns
up into the darkness, and surrounded by the
hum and clatter Of thousands of men settling
down to rest, we drew our ponchos about us
and sought the softest spots hndable on this
corrugated section of mother oarths bosom.
On paper the army of the Potomac num-
bercd about 10000 men, of all branches of
tho service, including tcamsters, hospital as
sistants, company cooks, and dog robbers,
the latter term being applied to the officers
servants. The ctymology of the word is some
what obscure. The term probably grew out
of the soldiers sense of fitness and their habit
of giving apt names to everything peculiar
that came under their notice,
OF the number above stated about 100000
were ctfcctive--that is, could be relied on to
| stand up in line of battle and hit confederate
head whenever they saw one in a convenient
position. The force was divided rs follows:
I'd corps, Gen. Hancock; 9th corps, Gen.
| Warren; 9Th corps, Gen. Sedgwick 9th corps,
Gen. Burnside; cavalry corps Gen sheridan.
At the opening of the campaign the 9th corps
was not technically part of the army Of the
! Potomac, but as IL acted in connection with
that army il may as well be included under
the general title. Opposed to this force, Gen.
Lee had about 10000 ehectives, the infantry
t,, nd
Ewel, A. p. Hill, and Longstroet, and the
cavalry under Gen. j. Il. b. Stuart.
Numerical superiority, however, Is not al
| ways guarantee of success. Leaving out the
question of the comparative courage Of the
two armies-and don't think even the most
enthusiastic fire-eater will claim that Lees
army possessed q greater amount Of brute
courage than their opponents-th were a
number of causes which operated to equalize
the effectiveness of the respective combatants.
The lighting was to be done on ground with
which the southern commanders were thor
oughly familiar, while our superior officers
were but slightly acquainted with its to-
pOgraphy and this in itself was an
immense advantage to the southern gen.
eral. Further, Lee was fighting u de-
fcnsive campaign, and any one who ever
| undertook to storm even q snow fort knows
how much moro difficult it is to force way
into position whore one can be on equal
terms with an adversary than it is to stand
ON chosen ground and drop rocks on an
cnemys head, In addition to these elements
entering into the problem there was the fact
that to majority of the southern soldiers
the success of the confederacy was personal
matter while with us many were laboring
for large bounty, and principle has always
proved u better fighting stimulus than q
bounty, no matter how large the latter may
be.
AZ doyhroal, tlo naxt N, orn IN ~ ,,o rosa fro m,
our hard couches, possibly a triae stiff and
creaky in the joints, in consequence of the
change from our comparatively luxurious
quarters of the winter to rough bivouac
bed; and as the mist cleared away countless
spirals of smoke could be seen curling up
ward into the fresh morning air, while from
far and near u thousand bugles and drums
sounded the reveille.
One more roll call in which every man re-
sponded to his name; ono more breakfast in
which we participated with undiminished
numbers, and then came the peremptory " fall
in" which told us the campaign had begun,
and in few moments we were on the march.
Thus it happened that on the fourth Of May
over every hot, yellow road and by every
shady forest path the army of the Potomac
came marching down to the Rapidan for the
deathgrip with its sinewy foe.
An army on the road, stripped for the cam
pagn, is not II very striking example of the
pOmp OF war; unless one steps on in imagina-
ti0n into the future and sees 1t in the throes
Of its actual work. AT one point on the march
; my brigade drew up in the edge of the timber
which skirted the highway, and we looked
out on the long column sweeping by to the
south. Compared with the great trees under
which they passed the men seemed mere
dwarfs, and 1t was difficult to realize that this
string of soldiers so low down on the ground
that at times they were hidden by the UNDER
growth, was the grand army upon whose puny
shoulders rested the very life of the nation.
Then, thinking Of its capacity for slaughter,
IL seemed to grow intoan enormous centipede,
each of whose hundred thousand claws was
charged with flaming death.
To and across the Rapidan horse foot, and
wheels moved the army; the jungle of the
Wilderness opened TO receive it, and then
closed, shutting it in from human sight. And
when it emerged on the farther side of this
gloomy labyrinth, its garments were ruddy in
the sun and its trail was slippery with fresh
blood.
With the appearance Of our cavalry scouts
on the shore Of the river Lees videttes sped
away to their commander with the moment.
ous news Of the advance of the army of the
Potomac. His orders were issued to his lieu.
tenants, and with the scent of blood in their
nostrils, the army of Northern Virginia came
hurrying forward to the red banquet.
My brigade passed over the Rapidan at
Ely's ford on u ponton bridge, and, mount.
ing the hills which border that historic
stream, pushed forward toward Chancellors.
ville which lay, dismantled wreck, but q
few miles in advance, We were now in the
enemy's country in the very cock pit of the
war. Within the limits of SDOttsylv vanin county