Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-04-03
THE BOYS IN GRAY.
WHAT CoNFEDERATES HAD TO EAT
 WHILE IN VIRGINIA.

WI tu@. ssS sseO''''' - Cooking Beef in 2 Camp Kettie-An
 Over.Polite Soltlier-Bread Pudding.
 The Louisiana Tigers ct Malvern HILL
 A Yankees Testament.
 ssThar was CT heap O difference between the looks O Johnston's army and Lees" said Plunkett as he proceeded to fill his pipe with tobacco that Brown had clipped from plug elf thar was any gray erbout Lees army, never seed it, and CT man that didn't have CT blue Yankee overcoat and CT ankee can teen, and all these sort O things, was looked upon as a fresh fellow from home and as more'n apt to be CT conscrlpt.
 ssJohnston's army warn't that way. They didn't have much clothes, but what they did have was Confederate, out and out, and I've seed CT 200 pound fellow with CT coat and jacket on that looked like they mout CT been made for CT fellow weighing about 80 pounds, and CT little old gray cap that didn't look like it was more'n big enough for CT doll babay stuck onto CT fellow that had CT head as big as CT peck measure. It kinder looked like they took pains to give little fellows big clothes and big fellows short clothes.
 'tYou couldn't tell Lees army from the Yankees, to see them marching erlong; but they wore CT dadburned sight better clothes than ever Johnstons army got CT hold of-every old soldier knows this-and breve Lees army was eating flour bread CT many CT time when the other armies were knawing on old corn dodgers"
 ttThey didn't none O lem have anything to brag on," suggested Brown.
 s.No," resumed Plunkett, s'they didn't none 'o 'em have much to eat, and what they did have warn't fixed up much. The most com monest way for CT soldier to cook, though was to put his beef in CT camp kettle and set it by the fire and let it simmer erway there all night, and next morning it would be cooked all to pieces and Drowned with gravy at the bottom that was good enough for CT king to eat. But they'd have changes some times, and it's just as I've told you, whenever one fellow started any new way they'd all get at it, and they'd git plum disgusted fore they'd stop"
 1T knowed CT fellow" chimed in Brown, stthat was sich CT good cook that he liked to have starved himself to death lettin' fellows taste his vittels. But he soon got outen that He was one O these here polite kind O fellows that would invite you to eat with him if you happened up at his meals, and it was right into CT fellows hand to git CT meal often another fellows rations, till pretty soon it got so that jist before he'd ax you to have some he'd turn erround, so as you'd be sure to see him, and spit in his eating three or four times, and CT fellow had to be mighty hungry to eat any O it after that. He'd tell lem that it was jist CT habit he'd got into, and there was CT lots O em that took it up."
 s.Thats so," resumed Plunkett, ''whatever one got to doin', there were others that would follow. I never will forget the dish what they called bread pudding It was CT kind O softening of cold bread and putting molasses into it and then baking CT crust on to it; and then there was CT kind O weed that growed wild in Virginia that they gath cred and billed for vegetables-I forget the name O it now, but it was erbout as good as poke salad"
 "McClellan's army had better eatin' than most O folks at home," said Brown.
 ''You are right" agreed Plunkett, 'and our boys got CT heap O it, too. But thar was mighty hard times erround thar then, and CT fellow couldn't enjoy nothin' what he got That Chickahominy country was CT mighty bad place, and the weather was hot and the fields and woods got dusty from so much trampin' on 'em; but when it did rain thar was mud to pay for it. If live CT thousand years I'll never forget the last day O the seven days fight erround Richmond. The last fight was at night, or late in the after noon and night. It was Malvern Hill, and the fight went on till erbout 10 at night, and the rain was falling all the time. That was CT bad place, and you never seed the light ming come noways nigh lighting up the clouds like the Yankee cannons that were on top O that hill, and time after time, and regiment after regiment of our boys tried to get to the top O the hill and stop 'em; but they couldn't and thar was many good sol dier that gave up his life that night and died in darkness, with the rain falling down in his face, that there has never been CT word said erbout in books, and never will be.
 "What was called the Louisiana Tigers went closer to the guns on Malvern Hill than l any others, and they came mighty nigh be l ing all killed there. Maj Wheat, the officer what led lem, went nearer to the guns than l any other man, and was shot down, and as he fell he hollered out to em, Don't let lem get me, boysr and then there was rush made to secure the body, and there was a hand to hand fight till two men caught the dead officer by the legs and run down the hill with him. The next battle finished lem up and they were disbanded, only erbout twelve or thirteen of them being left, and have never heard of them since.
 ssBut thar hain't no use in my talking crbout things erway off wander in Virginia when can look right out the window here and see the ground where there was jist as
 hard fighting done as there was anywhere | was over in the field there today, and as the blow would go erlong and turn up tho dirt could find an old piece of Shefmana shells every now and then. It looks ikt
 we never will get the balls outen the ground
 for every time you blow it and jist wait til
 CT shower of rain comes and sorter settle il
 down, the dirt will wash offen the balls ane
 leave lem where you can see 'em. This i
 the way it's been ever since the war, and i
 looks to me like there has been more ball
 and pieces of shell picked up offen tha
 ground than it would take to run CT goot
 sized war, and they didn't fight there but on
 day either.
 1T used to save little things that I'd find
 but I've give lem all erway to strangers tha
 would tell me they wanted mementoes, bu
 I've got little book there on the table tha Two kept and I'm always going to keep til somebody claims it what has CT right to it. :" The old man stopped talking as Brow reached over to a little table in the corne
 and drew forth little soiled Testament { There was nothing that could be seen t , identify the owner, owing to its soiled COT
 dition. There was note sheet of pape