Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-04-26
THE BOYS IN GRAY.
WHAT coNFeDERATes HAD TO EAT
WHILE IN VIRGINIA.

a Yankees Testament.
"rhar was er 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.
'If thar was any gray erbout Lees army, L
never seed H., and er man that didn't have or
blue Yankee oyercoat and er Yankee can
teen, and all these sort o things, was looked
upon as fresh fellow from home and as
inore'n apt 10 be er conscript
"JohnstonS 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 or 200 pound fellow with or coat and
Jacket on that looked like they mout er been
made for err fellow weighing about 80
pounds, and or little old gray cap that didn't
look like it was mure'n big enough for er doll
bnbay stuck onto er fellow that had er head
as big as er peck measure 1t kinder looked
like they took pains to give little fellows big
clothes and big fellows short clothes.
"You couldn't tell Lees army from the
Yankees, to see them marching erlong;
but they wore er dadburned sight better
clothes than ever Johnstons army got er hold
of-eyery old soldier knows this-and b'Feve
Lees army was eating -four bread er many
er time when the other armies were knawinB
ON old corn dodgers
"They didn't none o 'em have anything TO
brag on" suggested Brown.
mo =" resumed Plunkett, "thcy didn't none
% 'em have much to eat, and what they did
have warut fixed up much. The most com
monest way for or soldier 10 COOK, though,
was to put his beef in or camp Kettle ana set
il by the fire and let it simmer erway there
all night, and next morning it would DO
cooked all to pieces and Drowned with gravy
at the botSom that was good enough for er
king toeat 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"
~ knowcd cr fellow" chimed in Brown,
THAT was SIGH er good cook that he liked to
have starved himself to death lettin' fellows
taste his vittels, But lie soon got outen that.
He was one o these here polite kind O. fellows
that would invite you to eat with him II 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 erruund, 50 us you'd be sure
to see him, and spit in his eating three or
four times, and er fellow had to be mighty
hungry to eat any o it after that. He'd tell
lem that it WINS jist er habit he'd got into, and
there was or lots o. EN- that took it up"
'sThats So resumed Plunkett, whatever
one got to dom, there were others that would
follow / never will forget the dish what
they called bread pudding 1t was er kind
o. softening of cold bread and putting
molasses into it and then baking err crust on
to it; and then there was en- kind o. weed
that growed wild in Virginia that they gath
cred and billed for vegetables 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, land
our boys got er heap o it, too. But thar was
mighty hard times erround thar then, and er
fellow couldn't enjoy nothin what lie got.
That ChickahOminy country was er mighty
bad place. and the weather was hot and the
fields and woods got dusty from so much
trampini on EN-; but when it did rain thar
was mud to pay for it. If live or thousand
years III 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. 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 uoways 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
ReI 10 lIt lDpO Iho mn anu opCP Gilt puN
they couldn't and thar was 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.
''Whnt was called the Louisiana Tigers
went closer to the guns on Malvern Hill imam
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 em
get me, boysn 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 can look right out the window here
and see the ground where there was jist as
hard fighting done as there was anywhere.
l was over in the field there today, and as
the pillow 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
er shower of rain comes and sorter settle it
down, the dirt will wash often the balls and
leave 'em where you can see 'em. 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 all erway to strangers that
would tell me they wanted mementoes, but
I've got little book there on the table that
I've kept and I'm always going to keep till
somebody claims it what has er right to it,"
The old man stopped talking as Brown
reached over to a 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 note sheet of paper
which had been pasted to the inside back of
the book, and there were three or four verses
and a name on it, but here is all that can be
read:
In this little book there's promise that's prec-
And but for that promise my poor heart would
break;
give it to you and l know you will keep it,
And read it and heed it, for dear mothers sake.
II got that little book over on the Yankee
line the day after the fight, and I'm pretty
certain that it belonged to er young Indiana
fellow what was killed and buried over there.
1t was muddy and wet when l got it, and
brought it home and dried it, and Pm going
to keep it.n-"Sarge" in Atlanta Constitu-
ton
THE HIGHLANDERS AT ALMA.
Q a.