Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1890-06-07
CAMP FIRE STORIES.
A SOLDIERS ROMANCE.
His First Meeting with the Girl who Az
forwards Becnme His wife.

| not all touched with roseate hues, yet |
love to recall the scenes of camp-life
and valor of my comrades on the field.
| Memory alone can picture the days of
campaigning, for "the pen has no wing
to follow where sacrifice and devotion
sped their flight"
| Nearly thirty years have passed since,
as n young man, enlisted to fight for
the Union, yet my heart is thrilled with
sorrow when l recall the scenes on a
field of BATTLE though my comrades have
one by one gone down to the silence of
| the grave, until but few of us are left.
When first the sound of fife and drum
stirred the patriotism in my heart,
| left the farm where had been born and
| raised, donned my uniform and became
n soldier in the Tenth Illinois Cavalry.
With sobs and tears my mother bade me
farewell; l was her only son. But like
many others l looked forward to the
glory and pomp of war as something to
be attained with little effort, and my
| leaving home was matter of small
moment to me. | was not yet twenty
three whom l joined the army and was
full of life and vigor. Alas l soon be-
gan to learn some thing of the vicissi-
tudes of war. Raw recruit as | was, my
ardor was soon cooled when, for miles
and miles, we marched over rough roads,
or stood on guard in cold, pouring
rains. And when seasons of suffering
came from sickness or wounds, the stu
alton was changed completely. How Of
ten longed for my mothers presence
during those hours of pain. have seen
the time when | would have give every
thing / possessed in the world for a
touch of her gentle hand. Never in my
life did l realize mothers worth as
did during the war.
l served two years as a private and as
such was discharged.
In che winter of 1868 and 1864, our
command was stationed at Silver Rock,
Ark. Our brigade consisted of the First
and Second Iowa Cavalry, Third Mis-
souri, Cavalry and Tenth Illinois Cav
airy. During March, 1864, the whole
command, under General Steele, started
for Shreveport, La, to join General
Banks, but news being received that
Banks had been defeated in battle, we
turned about and reached Camden, Ark,
where we kept up continual skirmish-
ing with the enemy for some time. We
left Camden by night, crossing the river
on pontoon bridge, and on the second
day after leaving, we stopped at the Sa
line river, and divided the cavalry from
the infantry, the former going two miles
further on to Intercept the rebels at the
crossroads. We stood picket guard
there all night in q freezing rain, and
Wv do, On, pnorlv nv r..
ed. But we were soon livened up by
hearing the sounds of fighting in our
rear. The rebels had attacked the in
fantry across the river, and we were
soon in the midst of the battle. The
fight lasted about two hours, resulting
in victory for our side, and complete
rout for the enemy.
But the downpour of rain continued,
and most of us were nearly starved, hav-
ing eaten nothing since the day before.
Weary and worn from loss of sleep and
exposure to the rain and cold, we began
to forage through the neighborhood for
something to warm up the 'inner man."
A few of us started out on tramp
through the wet and cheerless woods to
find some signs of habitation. We soon
lIOll Ihc IItCo I'tIlc III Iull
view of q fine farm house, with all the
appearances of wealth and comfort sur
rounding it. There was no help for it;
we had either to beg or steal, and
most of the boys were in favor of the
latter. There were seven of us, and five
of the number skullled about the barn,
where a number of chickens were caok-
ling, with the intention of catching
some of them and filling their caps with
eggs. The other two concluded to go
boldly up to the door and ask for food.
am both sorry and glad to say that /
went with the crowd to the barn, and
was the first to enter the wide open door.
| was astonished, however to see a slen-
der, brown-eyed girl descending from
the hay-loft with her apron full of eggs.
l suppose my sudden appearance fright
ened her, for at sight of me, she slipped
from her hold, and fell several feet to
the floor of the barn. sprang forward,
and with many words of apology assisted
her to rise, while my comrades, with
true gen tlemanly instincts, held back
and awaited developments. The young
lady was not hurt, but the eggs were
hopelessly demolished. At sight of
them pouring from her apron, she broke
into merry laugh, which set us on good
terms with each other right away. She
did not seem at all frightened, and when
informed her of the strait we were in,
she invited us to the house, an invita-
tion we were not long in accepting
Our hostess expressed much sympathy
for us, and introduced us to her
father, by whom we were well re-
ceived. An excellent dinner was
placed before us, to which it is not nee
essary to say we did ample justice. AL
though our appearance was not at all
elegant, each being splashed with mud,
unkempt and rough, yet l am glad to
say the boys were one and all polite.
must admit that j could not keep my
eyes from wandering to the face of the
pretty girl who waited on us at table,
and whenever / caught her eye she
blushed. But the day was on the wane,