Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-07-09

nited, though prompt SUGGEST II, might
have been built up into divisions and corps
But while we were actually on the march,
this was all cut very short, and whom the
companies were once in ranks no more time
wasted The leading comp ny was
marched by its captain straight to the road
were to follow in tours Tor, as we then
called it, "by the fiank'0 and the other COM
pnnes struck into i = wake, in order, by tho
shortest line and without wasting yard o
travel. The regiments swung into column
in the same easy and informal wav, the lead
ing regiment picking up the others without
a mitch and with no fuss.
But to-day we had not quite dropped our
camp manners, and rs we stood there in line
we were fair specimen OF Al American
| regiment. We stool about 300 rank and
file. Few regiments had anything like the
nominal strength which a regiment should
have. We were n very sun burned, hearty
| looking set of fellows; we looked as IL we
could eat square meal whenever we got
one. In fact. we were set Of boys. The
ages OF our company averaged "a, and
probably there were more men about %
than OF any other age. We werH not pune
tilious about the regulations rs to dress
Our regimental uniforms o. seniizN'jave
pat tern had been turned in ba ore Clan-
cellorsvle and we had frocl coats, blou-es
or jackets, just as it happened; anything
blue would do. In hats and caps there was
also much variety-the hideouS regular
army cloth cap, with slanting peak, which
some turned up and some turned down
each way it looked worse; or the more
nobby French shape, with Straight visor,
or The Mcclellan cap with top falling for
ward; these had been sent on from home or
purchased when on furloueh; or the army
black felt, which was generally worn with
the crown depressed in the confer; or other
varieties of black soft hats, which were
worn in spite of regulations. But everyone
had on his cap or hat red Maltese cross,
the badge of our division.
Some had leg 5ings, some had not; some
old hands were in favor Of stuffing the
trousers into the stocSin7s and tying them
there with strings The broad shoes given
ont by the government and usually styled
"gunboats" were the most fashionable foot
wear; this was the only part Of the uniform
which private enterprise did not much inn
prove upon. Only one thing about our
get-up would have pleased military critic:
our guns were clean and bright The loads
carried on our shoulders also varied, and
suited each mans idea of comfort Mt the
expense of exertion. Some chung to their
knapsacks--I think only one of those got to
Gettysburg in our company; some kept their
overcoats, but these were soon adjoining the
roadsides during that hot summer, and the
darkies have been wearing them ever since.
The canteen haversack and tin cup, it was
difficult to dispense with: then there was
difficulty in knowing which % throw away,
the rubber blanket, the wooden blanke: or
the piece Of shelter tent, These last, through
some accidental confusion, called 'pon-
chos;" most of us kept rs many as two
out of the last group of articles, and
rather think the rubber was the most
popular.
The Confederates greatly envied the
yankee gum blankets" and their officers
could always get them to charge very will
ngly il there were any likely to be had.
Some few fryn. pans were retained, not a
handy thing to carry, but mighty handy
implement to have at night. | know one
man who stuck to his pan, but never had
the trouble to carry it himself Tom would
carry it till noon every day for the privilege
of frying next after the owner at night; Dick
and Harry would take the burden the rest
of the day for similar concession. So the
owner of the frying pan reveled in its enjoy
ment in the sweat OF other fellows brows.
A perfect capitalist, but he had had the
nerve to 90 in on the ground floor and de-
velop the enterprise
In our own little partnership Eugene car
rid the most of the grub and most OF the
sheltr, and seldom serarated o her
syndicates were formed of three, four or five
IN n on similar terms.
We had orty rounds of cartridges be-
sides. ,nl these never used to throw
away. A man always kept his cartridges,
somehow. They were oil paper and 'hough
the tactics told us 10 bite them, we always
and poured in the powder. The days OF
breech loa lers had not yet fully come, and
we u.ed the clumsy ramrod. But II we felt
the ball slide down easily, We knew that a
smart bang of the butt on the ground would
do the ramming just as well.
When our colonel had called us to atten-
ton, he sat on his horse moment perfectly
STILL but with his eyes gravely scrutinizing
our ranks from right to left then, quickly
bracing himself, rang out in his clear tenor
voice the few commands which put US in
motion on journey Of which no one knew
the end
And now we swing along the rough Vir-
} ginia roads in route step. There is very
little nonsense, talk or skylarking. We
have long since got beyond that sage Of our
} education and don't waste any strength in
those ways. We keep approximately in our
Yours, buJ very loosely. Our guns SIAM
} over our right or left shoulder We NIGH,
sling them by the leather strap, but
have seldom seen that done. Apparently
; the weight is easiest carried on the shoulder
where a slight shifting the muscles.
The officers interfere very little with us and
command as little as possible. They wan
their breath, too, for other purposes and un
derstand that too much fussy meddlng
won't go down with us Not that we should
openly "kick," but the officer would fine
that he was thus losing his hold on the
men.
To-day our regiment leads the brigade anG
our brigade leads the division, Tomorrow
we drop back to the rear, and then grad
ually work up to the head again. This alter
nation cqualizes the difficulties of marching
The head of the column has the easiest tint
of 1t. When the roads are bad the column
gets "strung OUT The head of the column
is halted aid enjoys square rest of ffteer
minutes, while the rest are getting closed up