Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-05-18
THE BOYS IN GRAY.
WHAT CoNFEDERATES HAD TO EAT
WHILE IN VIRGINIA.

| 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.
eff thar was any gray erbout Lees army, L
never seed it, and er man that didn't have er
| blue Yankee overcoat and er Yankee can
teen, and all these sort O things, was looked
upon as a fresh fellow from home and as
more'n apt to be er conscript.
"Johnston'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 er 200 pound fellow with er coat and
Jacket on that looked like they mout er been
made for er fellow weighing about 50
pounds, and er little old gray cap that didn't
| look like it was more'n big enough for er doll
| babay stuck onto er fellow that had er head
as big as er peck measure. 1t kinder looked
likethey took pains to give little fellows big
| clothes and big fellows short clothes.
'sYou couldn't tell Lees army from the
Yankees, to see them marching erlong;
but they wore er dadburied sight better
clothes than ever Johnston's army goter hold
| of-every old soldier knows this-and b'Feve
Lees army was eating -four bread er many
er time when the other armies were knawlng
on old corn dodgers"
| "They didn't none O 'em have anything to
| brag on" suggested Brown.
'1No," resumed Piunkett, "they didn't none
% 'em have much TO eat and what they did
have warn't fixed up much. The most com
monest way for er soldier to cook, though,
was to put his beef in er 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 er
| 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 disguised fore
| they'd stop"
"Iknowed er fellow" chirred in Brown,
| shat was SIGH er 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 er fellows hand to git er meal often
another fellows rations, till pretty soon it
got SO that jist before he'd ak you to have
| some he'd turn GROUND, SO as you'd be sure
to see him, and spit in mis- eating three or
| four times and er fellow had to be mighty
hungry to eat any o it after that. He'd tell
there was er lots O EN- that took it up"
'sThat's So" resumed Plunkett, whatever
one got to doin', there We're others that would
follow. 1 never will forget the dish what
they called bread pudding. 1t was er kind
o. softening of cold bread and putting
| nnolasses into it and then baking er crust on
to it: and then there was er kind o weed
that growed wild in Virginia that they gath
l., IoJ fob t1na
name O. it now, but it was erbout as good as
poke salad"
"McClellans army had better eatin' than
most O folks at home" said Brown.
'sYou are right agreed Plunkett, "and
our boys got er heap o it, too. But thar was
mighty hard times GROUND thar then, and er
fellow couldn't enjoy nothin' what he got.
That Chickahominy country was er mighty
bad place, and the weather was hot and the
fields and woods got dusty from so much
trampin' on 'en; but when it did rain thar
was mud to pay for it. If | live er thousand
years III never forget the last day O. the
seven days fight Ground Richmond. The
last fight was at night, or late in the after
noon and night 1t was Malvern Hill, and
the fight went on till erbout 10 at night, and
the rain was falling all the time That was
er 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 EN-; but
they couldn't and thar YVES many good sol
der that gave up his life that night and died
in darkness, with the rain falling down in his
face, that there has never been er word said
erbout in books, and never will be.
''AVhat was called the Louisiana Tigers
went closer to the guns on Malvern Hill than
any others, and they came mighty nigh be-
ing all killed there. Maj. Wheat, the officer
what led 'em, went nearer to the guns than
any other man, and was shot down, and as
he fell he hollered out to 'em, Don't let EN-
get me, boys! and then there was rush
made to secure the body, and there was
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 'em
up and they were disbanded, only erbout
twelve or thirteen of them being left, and
have never heard of them since.
''But thar hain't no use in my talking
erbout things erway off yander in Virginia,
when l 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 plow would go erlong and turn up the
dirt | could find an old piece of Sherman's
shells every now and then. 1t looks like
we never will get the balls outen the ground,
for every time you pillow it and jist wait till
err shower of rain comes and sorter settle it
down, the dirt will wash often the balls and
leave 'em where you can see ieIn. This is
the way it's been ever since the war, and it
looks to me like there has been more balls
and pieces of shell picked up often that
ground than it would take to run er good
sized war, and they didn't fight there but one
day either.
Il used. to save little things that I'd find,
but I've give 'em al erway 10 strangers that
would tell me they wanted nementoes, but
I've got little book there on the table that
I've kept and I'm always going to keep TIL
somebody claims it what has er right TO it,"
The old man stopped talking as Brown
reached over TO little table in the corner
and drew forth little soiled Testament
There was nothing that could be seen TO
identify the owner, owing to its soiled con-
dition. There was note sheet Of paper
which had been pasted to the inside back OF
the book, and there were three or four verses
and name on it, but here is all that can be
read:
II this little book there's promise that's prec-
ious,
And but foS tha. promise my poor heart would
break;
give it to you and know you vii keep it,
And resd il and heed IL for dear mothers sake
Il got that little book over on the Yankee
line the day after the fight, and I'm pretty
certain that II belonged TO sr young Indiana
fellow what was killed and buried over there