The Portland daily press., 1885-07-06
[Grand Army Gazette.]
E'UNITE D."
A "Reminiscences of the War.

away, WHO ldUer III the war, WQll6 we served
in the famous provisional Brigade" sealed
his devotion to the Union and the old flag
with his life's blood. While the subsequent
years brought us new and meritorious COM
manders, and the years themselves were so
pregnant with events, with battles lost and
won, with capture and prison life upon Belle
Isle, his memory was ever held sacred by the
men, who served under him, for they knew
and loved him as brave Christian soldier.
1t was in the yard surrounding the county
court house, where the mastering officer had
his quarters and where men were eagerly
enlisting to serve their country. Crowds of
people were tbronging that day to listen to
the speaking from the steps of the building
had concluded the oath my advanced
years entitled me to take. and as l stepped
back my place was filed by Slight, boyish
form with smooth face that did not seem
nearly so good passport to the oath without
question. / was struck by the clear-cut fea-
lures, and the honest, vigorous expression
of the boys eyes; eyes that were of calm,
determined blue. He was expostulated with
by the officers, and told that he was too
young, to stand back &c. The boy insisted
that notwithstanding his youth there was no
one to dispute his right to serve his country
in her hour of need.
After some questioning and ascertaining
that the boy was an orphan, with no one to
interpose objections, he was duly sworn in
S Richard Moss" and assigned to Co. II"
l walked beside him to the rendezvous,
and laying my hand upon his shoulder said
to him, Richard, we are destined to be COM
rades-in-arms, and l trust you fully under
stand the step you have taken" He expressed
gratitude that we were to be comrades, said
he only understood that his country needed
his services, and that he was willing to ac-
cord them, and that there never could be
myment's regret for the course he had taken.
Although the disparity in our ages would
imply that we were illy-mated, we thus be-
came mess-mates, and an affection sprang up
between US that only ended with the going
out of that young, devoted life upon the field
of carnage.
We were ordered 'front.'" and in the Buell.
Bragg campaign we were duly initiated in
the details OF a soldiers life, and into the
terrible sequence of an internecine war.
Around the. bivouac, and upon lonely
watches l learned the history of my boys
early life He was born in Tennessee, and
when - years old, his parents had died and
were buried near Nashville, leaving only him
self and an older brother, who still lived,
at the beginning of the war, in East Tennes-
see. At the death of his parents he had been
conided to the care of maiden aunt who
lived in New Hampshire, and with her he
had lived and been educated up to her death,
which occurred simultaneously with the
breaking out of the war,
Our campaign lay in the once beautiful
Tennessee Valley, so familiar with his early
life, before the devastating hand of war,
that subsequently laid waste this fair land,
before the dreadful civil strife with its hot
breath swept over it like the blighting 81
moon, leaving this beautiful valley a dreary
wilderness with great blackened chimneys
standing out here and there against the war
bronzed sky, like grim sentinels guarding the
ashes of once happy homes.
The army had camped for the night, and
as we stood in the fast reeeding sunlight, and
looked out over the valley, athwart which
the shadows were deepening, he pointed
away to where two large chimneys were Wis
ibie against the twilight sky, and while the
shadows that had crept up over the valley
seemed to have entered his own soul, he said,
THAT was once our home,' and the look of
unutterable anguish that came over the
sweet, blue eyes, ] can never forget | said,
Come away, Richard, you see the hour of
regret you once so confidently thought should
never come, is now here" 'No, no, he
said 81 do not mean that, you wrong me, but,
oh, it is SO desolate so desolate." / said no
more, but as we still sat there in the deeper
and darker shadows of night remembered
that "a sorrows crown Of sorrow is remem-
bering happier things and as L watched
the stars, one by one, assume their sphere
allotted them in space found myself ques-
tioning the wisdom, mercy and omnipotence
of the God who had spoken them into being,
and specializing as to whether in caring for
all these worlds he had not forgotten ours,
and found it in my heart, too to curse the
passion and prejudices of bad and ambitious
men, who through sectional hate and damna-
bic heresies had brought about the disinte-
grafton Of our happy country, and sorrow
and desolation to thousands Of happy homes.
The campaign, after some months of weary
marching and some fighting, eliminated at
last in the battle of ''Stone River" or Muir
freesboro, battle both lost and won upon
that ever memorable last day of the year, a
battle that left us victors, so far as the OBJ
jective point attained could make it, but at a
sacrifice that would scarcely entitle us to the
name of victory. With the going out of the
old year, amidst the smoke and fire of battle,
came sorrow and bitter desolation to many
hearthstones, to many households, whose
loved ones had laid down their lives in de-
Tense of the old flag.
Company H numbered more dead than liv-
ing that night Less than a score of us gath
cred around our little fire with sad hearts
and subdued voices, for out upon the field in
our front lay our comrades who had answered
to their last roll-call upon earth, and while
the pitiless rain fell tirelessly upon the up
turned face of the tenantless clay, their souls
had gone to await the final roll-call before
the great white throne in Heaven.
Our regiment was assigned here to the In
depent Provisional Brigade. and early in the
spring of that year we left the army still
quartered at Murfreeboro' and started upon
raid through the interior of Alabama and
Georgia to the rear of the rebel army.
We were captured near Rome, Ga, upon
the Sd of May, by Brigadier General For
rests cavalry, and were soon upon our way
to Richmond and Belle Isle. We were taken
bv way of East Tennessee, and as we ap-
preached Strawberry Plains, Richard told
me he had reason to believe he might hear
something of his brother, as he had lived in
that vicinity before the breaking out of the
war.
1t WAS beautiful morning, and we stood
in the door of the box ear as the train stopped
at a small station called Mossyside. Richard
clutched my arm conyulsively, and | can
never forget the look of JOY, mingled with
sorrow, as he cried in broken voice, MY