The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-09-11
CROSSING The BLUE RIDGE.


"There is mighty few folks who think abou
how hard it was for soldiers TO keep clothes
durin' O the war" said Plunkett as he fixed
himself TO begin his story.
"Therc was never knapsael in Lees army
after the seven days fight GROUND Richmond, D
continued the old man. "Soldiers found ou
mighty quick that it wouldn't do to try t.
carry a load an they soon learned that to roll
n shirt up in their blankets an swing it over
their necks was all that they could make the
long marches with, an so the knapsack went
out o use, an in consequence soldiers found
it mighty hard to get change often, and more
especially when they went over into Marylan'
! an Penusylvany."
81 bnowcd men TO wear one shirt eight
weeks, spoke mp Brown, 'an' I've knowed
'cm 10 20 eight weeks without any SHIRT at
! all, au' it'sno wonder they ali had 'graybacks'
! and the Itch
IF you hear a fellow say that he went
through tho war without gettin' "graybacks"
an without havin' the itch, j." resumed Punk
cit, "you may put him down for liar, or not
! much O. a soldier. These sort o. things is what
you don't learn by readin' books an lookin' at
/ picters, an that's what makes me say that you
can't learn nothin' about war till you get
into it.
"When the army was on a march, il you'd
stop 'em by stream the first thing was to jerk
off their shirts an 90 to washin EN-. l have
known it to be weeks, though, before they
"But it was mighty hard to get ahead o. n
| soldier, an whom it got 50 that they couldn't
! bile their clothes they found another way o
maxim it lively for pests that gotinto 'em. As
soon al the fires were kindled at night you'd
/ sec 'em skin off their shirts an hold 'em up
! over the blaze, an pretty soon they'd be a
/ putin out ike a balloon and then when the
! shirt was just as hot as it could stand without
! scorchn AN 'graybacks er changin' from one
! foot to the other at the rate o a mile a Isinit.
! the old soldier would give it quick shake, am
! into the fire would drop the "graybacks"
"Dick Jones burned up the last shirt he had
| at this one night near Winchester, an he had
| lost his iacllet u week before a crossin the
! Potomac river an so he was left without any
| thin9-to wear. Dick went over TO tho place
| where they killed the beeves an got HIM a
COW hide an worked on il till he got it fixed
on him for coat an then he came down into
camps on his all-iours PAWN dirt an bel
| l0Win' and some o. the big officers lowed he
| was going crazy an were about TO have him
put under arrest whom one o. them that hap
| pend TO have two shirts give Dick one of ON,
an this gat him stopped.
"Dick got crazy after that once. lie wanted
| to 20 home mighty bad, for he d been mighty
| sick an was IN the hospital, but they wouldn't
| give no furloughs. Dicl, ID lay on his bunk in
| the hospital an wouldn't notice nuthin'.
| They had 10 feed him with n spoon, he got so
bad, lie fixed hisself a pin for a hook an put
| q line TO it, an got him a little pole, an lay
| there an ished the same as if he was on the
| bank O a river Ho went on this way for
eight or ten days. till Mt last the doctors de-
| cided that his mind was plum gone am so
| they fixed him up Il discharge They give it
! to Dick where he lay on his bunk an told him
| what it was, Dick didn't let on Ho kept ON
| fshin' nu' n hshin' an took the DISCHARGE and
stuck his pin through it an had it holdn' it
out like fish. Dick kept his eye shin'd an
he read il after n day or two an seed it was all
right, an then he went on tishin' agin, till all
o a sudden he ierked It up, an lowed;
. IVA tab IN fnr
| d-n you, I've got you at last"
Lees army felt like they were starti n
| home when they left the valley to cross the
| Blue Ridge, But gittn' across that Blue
Ridge with an army, with the wagon trains in
| front, was no small thing.
| 'For'arlh An the soldiers would pick up
! one foot an step, an then they'd raise the
othor an here d come the line bumpin' back
agin EN-, an they d have TO tako three or four
| steps back ard darn sight faster than they
moved for ard. Then they'd Stand, first on
one foot an then t'other. an then they'd move
! off at trot an all o n sudden the line would
| stop an tho men would bump agin one mother
! the same s car boxes when the engine stops
"This was hard marchm harder n to 60
| right straight ahead but it was this way all
day while goin' up the Blue Ridge
but when the wagons got to the top an
started down, then came times to the wagon
trains. I'd rather 20 into battle than to be a
driver goin' down the Blue Ridge. The turns
IN the roads were mighty quick, but If you
didn't make IT, over preciplcc you'd 60
team, wagon am all, lumh'rm Down hundreds
o feet, startin rocks from then places and
| roaTin the same us thunaer as the mass tum-
| bled an bounced an rolled to the bottom
: never snail forget two little red mules
! that seed 90 over one tue preeipiees comm
! down the ridge inc drivers were mighty
| partic lar an theS take good strong rails or
| poles an run en- th.ensa tho snokes on each
| hind wheel o them WAGONS, an thus lock both
wheels, an woe TO The team that got unlocked
as they were goin down these placos.
81 watched one team o six mules s they
went mp the Ridge, an fell in love with the
! two little reds that worked in the load. They
| were fat little fellows an quick an so wilin'
/ to pull ovcry time the word was given. The
! big fellow that was drivin hadn't shaved since
! the war begun ! know an he looked like he
] could We picked one O. the little leaders up
! an held him ont ut arm length He rode two
! big Wheelers that d throw 'emselyes back
| when the word = given an would We let the
| wagon ruH over EN- before they a have went
lOr'ard. This driver had great confidence in
| the powers o his whcelers- one o. which he
rodo-an he had great confidence in the peart-
80 AZ 4g.. 9.,, 4 L.,