Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1891-06-27
TEMPEST AND SUNSHINE.
The Enlivening Effect of Clearing Weather
Upon New Soldiers.

Upon New Soldiers.
During the winter of 1S62-63 the
Eleventh Michigan infantry, regiment
which was among the first to go into
commission from the wolverine state
and which became badly cut to pieces
in the service, was being re- organized by
Col P. H. Keegan. 1t was some time
in February that the complement of
men was made up and the regiment
was sent south. New soldiers were, in
those days, called fresh fish," and the
new material sent down to stop south
ern bullets was about as fresh lot of
suckers as ever enlisted. Chattanooga
was the point to which the recruits
were sent there to join the old frag-
ments of "Stoughton's Fighting
Eleventh. We knew the "fresh fish"
were coming, and of course we were
anxious to see what they were like, and
we wanted to greet them and make
them feel at home. They were expect
ed on certain Saturday, but the day
went by and night came but no fresh
fish," What did come, was, however.
nothing nearly SO pleasant. 1t was a
cold, dreary, latter-part of February
storm; bowling wind and driving rain,
and we were only too gladto crawl into
our little dog tents and find such shell
ter as they afforded. Along about mid
night, though, there was commotion
and we became aware that the boys
had come, but it was still pouring rain
and with very few exceptions the old
veterans were not hospitable enough to
turn out and say 'howdy."
We had only been there day or two
ourselves, and were not greatly taken
with the site selected for our encamp-
ment. 1t was side hill of clay, nasty,
blue, sticky clay. There was not a
tree to be seen, and even had it been
midsummer it would not have been
possible for spear of grass to grow on
such soil; a drearier sight never met
mortal eye. No, that is wrong; drear-
ier sight diG meet mortal eye; it was
the morning following the arrival of
the fresh fish," At the foot of the
side hill, upon which we were en-
camped, was valley separating us
from Lookout mountain, which loomed
up darkly and frowning in the south.
To the west was solid, granite wall,
and on a ledge, some thirty feet wide,
lay the railroad track, which curved
around into the town of Chattanooga
For two hundred feet down below this
ledge there was the ragged, irregular
face of the rock until it was hidden by
the swiftly flowing waters of the Ten
nessee river Above the ledge for hun
dreds of feet arose the same solid wall
of stone, as rough and jagged as that
below.
The dawn of the morning display ed a
scene that was enought to make angels
weep for pity; while even tough old
vets, SCARED with wounds and hardened
with rough campaigning, could hardly
help groaning in despair such picture
of desolation can scarcely be imagined.
The new soldiers had had no expert
ence in pitching tents, and even if they
had, the stoIm of the night before
would put it to a severe test. OF all
the four hundred little white dog tents
which the boys had set up as best they
could in the darkness and with their
ignorance how to do it, not half dozen
remained. The rest lay fat in the mud
stretched out down toward the valley,
as they had been washed by the flood,
and were only saved from being carried
away completely by the ropes and pins
driven in the ground. All down the
muddy incline were scattered parts and
portions of the soldiers outfit, while in
the muddy lake which had formed in
the valley below were more of the same
traps, caps and canteens being the most
conspicuous, floating about on the dirty
water. This was desolate enough, to
be sure, but the dreary picture was
made more dreary by the appearance
of the poor fellows who were getting
SO early in their military career taste
of unusual hardship. One by one they
began to crawl to their feet. For many
this was difficult thing to do. They
had lain for hours in a bed of soggy
mud, wallowing like so many pigs, and
their bones were chilled and their flesh
was numb. Some with energy and the
will to fight hard fate were trampinp
up and down a muddy beach to keer
up circulation of blood; others were
trying to collect their scattered effects
in the hope that they could build pile
on which to sit and keep out of the wa
ter; others still there We're who, over
come by the scene of desolation and the
hopelessness of relief from distress, hat
flung themselves down again upor
their tents and gave themselves up Il
despair.
The rain had ceased, but the dull
Gaden clouds still hovered overhead