The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-09-18

Doubtless, the result in the end would
have been the same, but how the gov
eminent at Washington would have
been hampered had not that sentinel
been at his postl But truce to the
past,-what of the present? Fortress
Monroe to-day, save in its armament,
is what it was in '61. Minor changes
and improvements have, of course, been
made, but it is substantially the same.
AS to its armament, the old Lincoln
gun, the Union gun, the Floyd gun,
and others of like calibre and forging,
are no longer to be seen upon its ram
parts. Instead, there are breech-load-
ing steel guns of the latest pattern and
highest efficiency. Those old Colum-
biads, as they were then called, now lie,
dismantled, upon the parade ground as
mere relics
Entering the sallyport, the civilian
sees the sentry walking his beat. The
civilian, if he was an old soldier and
has been musing upon the old days, is
brought to a realizing sense that these
are days of peace, and not of war. No
sharp challenge, 4" Who comes here?"
greets him, no password is required,
and he passes unchallenged inside.
Grouped about are the guard-clean,
straight, sodierly in appearance and
manners. Had you a micro scope and
should apply it to every inch of their
uniforms, you would scarce detect a
speck of dirt; as for their linen, it is
immaculate for Wilderness. And who
are lhese2 Are they major-generals
dressed for review o, no,-only pri-
Yates of the regular artillery. They are
young men, recruited not long since
from the ordinary walks of life, but now
80 transformed that they appear mere
automatons, so precise, regular, easy,
and clock-like is their every movement,
every gesture. So imbueG are they
with their drill that, see them-as you
may when they are off duty-clad in
the evening dress of civilian, you
would know them to be soldiers.
But we have entered the parade
ground. 1t is hot day, so take seat
on that bench beneath that tree.
Hither and thither march corporals and
sergeants with their squads for morn
ing drill Now we will see something
which will remind US of old days, we
say. Will we? O no. Their squad
drill of recruits, their manual of arms,
their everything, is all changed. Even
the words of command are unintelli-
gible to the soldier of the Rebellion.
You no longer hear Handle cartridge"
bite cartridge" ar cartridge" ram
cartridge" and you hear no jingle of
ramrods. Those breech. loading rifles,
too, are wonders. Soon comes along a
lieutenant, who watches one squad and
passes to another. Sometimes he cor
reefs the sergeant in some minor point
some one man in the squad does not
raise his piece at the right angle per-
haps. A sharp word of reprimand, and
he turns to explain to some civilian
standing by-and so easily, so court
eously.
1t is now quarter of nine. AT nine,
as we all know, comes inspection and
guard mounting. Let US move out
toward the quarters and use our eyes
and ears. There comes the drum
major--straight, prim and tall, twirling
carelesslv his baton. The clock strikes
nine. A few cabalistic passes of that
baton brings every bandman into his
proper place, the various details form
in line, the officer Of the day takes his
place, and-well, you know the rest
What you do not know is the perfection
with which everything is done by these
regulars as compared with the slipshod
ways of volunteers.
The immediate surroundings of the
fortress are the arsenal and houses &C.
cupied, by the most part, by the officers
of the garrison, not of thrilling inter-
est, so let US pass on toward
PHGBUs.
The old soldier of the First Vermont
will not recall this as the name of any
place in that region. There is no rea-
son why he should-it did not exist in
war days. A rich old fellow of that
name-and, by the way, he is, or was,
the owner of the Hygeia Hotel-con
ceived the idea of building up town
between East and Hampton Creeks
The result was failure. The place
I" died a bornin'." 1t is rapidly going
to decay, and is too far gone to be saved,
unless by beer power. l should say
that the principal industry of the place
is the dispensing of schoOners of beer.
If PE9bus is to fame unknown, Ger.
tainly
HAMPTON VILLAGE
is not. In many respects it recalls
Goldsmith's " Deserted Village" De-
serted it is not, but it has lost its former
grandeur. Hampton, in ante -bellum
days, was quiet village in which many
Virginia planters had residences anc
there passed the days of the heated
term. There is about it now the flavor
of mild decay, like that of prize cab
bAge after the county fair. Yet those
old moss-grown and UNCOVERED man
sions of an earlier day must have beer
scenes of revelry-after the Virgins
pattern To the traveller of to day i
possesses little interest, however it ma
, have been with the old Virginian, an
so we will take the electric cars for
NEWPORT NEWS.
So far have appealed to the imag
inatioh of those who are familiar witt
, Virginia as it was during the war
Now, as in the scratching of Aladdin
lamp, we are transported 10 scenes ik
those of the " wild and woody West
| Naupnrt NaUs-tha Nauport Nauo q,