Morning journal and courier., 1893-08-26
NOT A ROMANCE


Man Whom Officer Bill Nichols Met
-On to the Battlefield.
Following is the first installment of the
highly interesting paper read at the re-
union of the cid Fifteenth, @. ", in Mil
ford yesterday by Sheldon B. Thorpe of
North Haven, the regiments historian, and
whom the readers of the COURIER recollect
as the author of the series of North Haven
annals, which were published in this paper
in recent years:
1t Is said of the Rsv. DR.. Cooke, noted
Presbyterian preacher, when upon the occa-
sion of the dedication of small church in
the country he was asked to suggest
suitable inscription to be placed over the
main door, he advised the use of these
words: s'This is not barn"
In something of the same spirit think
may preface what shall say with the
declaration: This is not romsneel It
relates to the plain, mstter of fact visit
which Lieutenant s. F. Linaley and the
speaker paid to Fredericksburg, Va, last
September.
Wherever else the Fifteenth Connecticut
may have marched, and on whatever other
spots pitched its tents-or staid without
anywhere are two localities which belong
in the front rank. These are Fredericks-
burg and Kinston. We shall always asso-
ciate these towns where, in the first place,
we weren't gobbled and might have been,
and, in the second case, We were gobbled
and mightn't have been. That's the diff
ference. There were various other points
of dIssimilarity, but as 1t is Virginia to-
day, instead of North Carolina, let Us
drop the latter and turn to fredericksburg.
suppose at least one half, perhaps more
of you, visited Washington last September
and saw for the first time since December
1, 1852, Arlington heights and the adjacent
country. Some of you visited our old
camp ground-Camp Chase. 1t looked
familiar (although one comrade said he on
~ remembered whore the "guard house"
stood). As we wandered over the old site
and one and another spoke of gome Incl
dent Of those days, I noticed that some Of
the more gray headed ones became strange
ly quiet and thoughtful. Nearly half the
filed into that field that hot afternoon in
August, 1862. Who could help recalling
those days. Their experiences were new;
they made more foroible impressions than
many perhaps really more significant
which came later il our career.
Long Bridge looked like an old friend,
and 80 did the ''guard quarters" at the
west end, where We spent so many happyC
days and nights. Johnson. Fort Al.
bany, Fort jackson had disappeared, il
Is true, but when We were told that theil
heavy earth walls had been wrought into
millions of brick for homes for the people
We felt consoled. Truly "the sword hsd
gone to be ploughshare."
By the way, Jack Johnson of Company
K, when ne was alive, used to tell this in
cident of these 'Ruard quarters" He said
the day We were ordered to proceed t.
Fairfax seminary, Company K was OF
guard at Long Bridge end vicinity. The
order to return to camp came in the after
noon, and as the men fell in and marched
by the old house every rat came out anC
stood on the cutbstone on his hind legs q
attention" 80 great was the respect the.
held for this crack company and SO SORT,
to lose its society.
Fort Runyon, with its fever ridden sent
~ post, had also vanished in the march O
time, aud there was not even the smell o
commissary whisky in the air where
once stood. But men, the plain, that plsil
| over which We were go frequently trotte.
during the hottest days of tho fall, on bat
TALON or brigade drill or for review, To-
1 ehCAe as ScEeA0 aS SV6r. Ol, yebI LII
boys knew that field They could point GU
the identical spot where we stood the at
ternoon "Augustus' was sent for 18th
blue book" to dieentangle US from til
snarl into which we had fallen, and ais
that other place where we were SO passion
ately asked by our commander "Why Il
- the battalion didn't move"
| But we are not to 60 into camp this at
ternoon at this place. We must hurry Of
to the Rappahannock.
Linsley and myself did not move on thi
place over the same cold stormy rout
through "My Maryland" that we took i
1852, but in comfortable car rattlin
along the banks of the Potomac, until
sudden curve of the railroad swung U
away from the river and led throug
FalmoEth. We wanted to 20 via Acqui
Creek to see If We could find the axe til
| quartermastsr lost there, or Frank Moeher
ration of molasses, but could not find III
time. A few minutes later and We Wer
crossing the railroad bridge over the pier
we saw standing naked and BACKED in tn
river in 1862.
We passed tho battered old mill on tn
bank with Its water wheel exposed now q
then, and were landed at the depot jus
ACROSS Caroline street In which we lay o.
cur arms, Tor those did who didn't stes
beds from the houses) the first night "
crossed into the city.
No time was wasted in getting down t
business, and though fine rain was fall
| ing we started out. The city has but littl
changed. The old uneven sidewalks hav
not been graded, the streets are unpaved
yards, the houses are diDgy, the outbuild
ings have decrepit appearance Nobod
appeared at the front doors to welcome d
any more than in 1862, and so am unabl
to state whether changes have beer goin
on In the interiors of the houses or not. /
seems reasonable to conclude that some O
the citizens must have purchased ne7
furniture at least after we had got through
with the olG-or gone without any.
We saw number of the inhabitant
but none of them appeared to recognize
! us. We did learn, however, that Their
| was person living there hopelessly in
| sane who was made 80 at the time of on
| visit, and this was the man whom Bill
| Nichols met. 1t seems that Nichols, IL
| common with one or two others of tn
! regiment, had entered a house to borrow
| fne-tooth comb. Bill was rumaginj
| a dozen eggs, when suddenly man 9TH
| owner) appeared before him. Nichol
| rushed for him, caught his hand and bega,
| to shake heartily. "Glad to see you" say
| Bill, 'sglsd to see you. Your name ia per
fectiy familiar to me but I can't REGAL
/ your face. I am looking for hen to &c
these eggs under" 1t Is said that the maj
was 80 overcome by Bills cheek that h,
fed out of that house bowling idiot snt
has remained go ever since.
The Gas Works carry on business at tn
old site and the vacant lots in it's vicinit
indicate very little anxiety In the pas
thirty years to build upon them. It i
certain no real estate boom has yet strucl
that quarter of the city in which We wer
temporarily located. The narrow sunkel
road that led from the west end of tn
| pontoon bridge and up which we fled in
| to the city had not changed. The rive
bank where We lay and 'cursed" tn
Dutch gunners on the opposite heights be
| cause of their imperfect ammunition wa
as natural and attractive (D as when W
| were stretched cut upon 1t. The heighth
| on the Union eide showed in many place
| where the csnnons were planted whicl
l hammered the city SO relentlessly. Th
| old gunboat wreck had long ago made SOM
! junk man happy, and the river rolled alon,
swollen and yellow.
We looked diligently for traces of tn
! e'cracker boxes" in which companies I
| and carried eaad SO carefully upon tn
| pontoon bridge the night We retreated, bu
| none were found We thought We saw tn
spot where Captain Hubbard that nigh
when he told Major Crosby of Genera
| Wilcox's staff TO go that place which Chap
lain Miller WAS employed TO keep the mer
out Of, but 1t may be we were mistaken.
From this point We turned to the rear o
the city, or towards the 'front.'" as VI
| knew it in 1862 Here we were not 81