Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-02-09
GREEN NOUN TAIN BOYS.
Comrade Wainwrlght's story of Their
Tent life in Virginia.
Written for the Bos Ton Journal

Comrade Wainwright's story of Their
Tent life in Virginia.
Written for the Boston Journal
MIR. Charles Wainwright tells Is the story
Of how the 18th Vermont lived st the front,
when tho winter snow storms swept down
across old Virginia. 'inother of preside nts'
the hearty Vermont boys enjoyed with
2eat the wild camp life, although they did
hate to leave their tents and WELD shovel
and pickaxe. They came to fight Mr..
Wainwright was 3 member OF Company G.
of the l2th Vermont volunteers lie was
born in Burlington, Vt. Since 1870 he has
been paymaster Mt the Arlington mills, Law
rence.l
To write of ona's personal experience in
army service TO bring to lie again recol-
lections almost effaced from memory by the
incidents of an entire generation, IS a diff
rult task. IL hopeless wero it not for
the letters and diaries that have pre-
served tho details that went TO make up the
essen tinls OF Il soldiers life. On these, writ
ten when u boy of 10, to whom hil sur
roundings from their novelty presented the
ksenast interest, | must depend in present.
ing these sketches OF camp life and picket
DUTY.
The occasion of my enlistment was tho
call for volunteers after the disaster Of the
Peninsula, and at that time SO grave APP
peared tho danger 10 the country that tho
five regiments of Vermont troops were
speedily filed Up, many now enlisting who had
hitherto felt that their duty constrained
then remain at home
C.c boys just attained the age Of mill
larry service, one the son Of a congregations
al deacon, who enliSts himself that his boy
may have the better care, newspaper men,
man n In
sons, all ranks and conditions were united
under one flag and with the comradesh,p
that came u result of commoa expert
enca OF toll and hardship.
Persona! character. individual merit
counted tor more with our soldiers i'll the
field than the accidental circumstances Of
wealth or social position The eagerness of
every boy to enlist in those days was illus
trated by the of the writer who, for
hidden by parental authority, and knowing
CT the preparations that We're being made
for the draft, slyly examined the lists of
persons liable to military duty, and, find
ing his name omitted had it inserted there
in, so that the alternative might bring about
favorable answer. II mad the desired re-
suit, as being tie choice Of the Lesser Of two
evils.
The CAPITOL NIL DRILL GROUND.
a sojourn of six weeks on Capitol Hill at
that time vast drill ground of $40 acres,
reduced our awkward squads to something
like uniformity and precision, and, when
ordered at last into Virginia, our solid col
umns, each regiment as large as a brigade
OF the older organizations, made good i'm
preston as they passed through the streets
OF Washington.
The general inquiry now was how many
milos interviewed before We should reach the
enemies lines and put them to flight. But
our Idea OF tie work OF the soldier, thong b
a common on, was far from the truth. As
matter Of fact, very small percentage CT
HE time Is spent in battle.
The long periods whom no military move
ment is possible, the necessary de- ails for
duties connected with the maintenance OF
any army, tho construction of Notifications
ard guard aud patrol duty absorb large
proportion OF its effective strength.
Wa were. therefore, disasrecably sur
| prised VIII : on reaching the sacred soil, -
we found the unfinished battsments OF
Fort Lyon were to cause the exchange OF
| guns for shovels and pickexes, and that
hands unfamiliar with these tools were eX-
,. Il to delye in the hard, red clay OF that
re- . under direction of our military en-
Iu'E DOWN THE SHOVEL AND THE HOE.
When, in addition to this task, and while
in our ordinary cloth tents, Vermont win
ter storm came swoopihg down upon us,
bringing lis icy blasts and four or five
inches Of snow, the story OF Valley Forge
suddenly grew real in its circumstances of
hardship end privation.
Our mess was uuder tho brother!y super
vision OF g. q. Benedict, editor of tho Bur.
lington FREE Press, who exercised his
versatile talents to our advantage in many
ways, one triumph of his skill being the
construction OF store from tin dinner
plate over u hole in tho ground, which an
swered its purpose very well.
Afterward, when settled in winter quar-.
ters we made more ambitious arrangement,
Cor comfort. OLD stove pipe was at pre-
MUM end the possession Of "a fow bricks or
other waste material from somo Of the de,
serted houses in the vicinity of the campo
where other regiments had been located
was esteemed most highly, the native in
genuity OF tho Yankee producing some