The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-03-24
SOLDIERS BUDGET.
Sufferings at the Front.


Campaigning with Grant," by Gen.
crel Horace Porter, running 90 a serial
in The Century, reaches The battle Of
| Cold Harbor in the March number.
General Porter says
The general-in-ch chief realized that he
was in a swampy and sicky portion of
the county. The malaria was highly
productive Of disease, and the Chick
ahominy fever was dreaded by all the
troops who had recollection of its
ravages when they campaigned in that
section of the country two years before
The operations had be en- 80 active that
precautions against sickness had neces-
sarily been much neglected, and the
general was anxious, while giving the
men some rest, to improve the sanitary
conditions. BY dint of extraordinary
exertions the camps were we'll policed,
and large quantities of fresh vegetables
were brought forward aud distributed.
Cattle were received in much better con-
dition than those which had made long
marches and had furnished beef which
was far from being wholesome. Greater
attention was demanded in the cook
ing of the food and the procuring of
better water. Dead animals and offal
were buried, and more stringent san
itary regulations were enforced through
out the entire command.
What was most distressing at this
time was the condition of aft ,irs at the
extreme front. No one who did not
witness the sights on those portions of
the line where the opposing troops
were in exceptionally cl ,se contact can
form an idea of the sufferings expe-
rienced. Staff officers used to work
their way on foot daily to the advanced
points, so as to be able to report with
accuracy these narrowing scenes. Some
of the sights were not unlike those of
the "bloody angle" at Spotsylvania.
Between the lines where the heavy as.
saults had bee made there was in som
places distance of thirty or forty
yards completely covered by the dead
and wounded of both sides. The
bodies of the dead were fostering in
the sun, while the wounded were dying
torturing death from starvation, thirst,
and loss of blood. In some places the
stencil became sickening. Every at
tempt to make change in the picket
line brought on heavy firing, as both
sides had become nervous from long
watchfulness, and the slightest move
ment on either front led to the belief
that it was the beginning of an assault.
In the night there was often heavy ar.
tillery firing, sometimes accompanied
by musketry, with view to lettering
the other side from attacking, or occa-
stoned by false rumors of an attempt to
assault. The men on the advanced
lines had to lie close to the ground in
narrow trenches, with little water for
drinking purposes, except that obtained
from surface drainage. They were
subjected to the broiling heat by day
and the chilling winds and fogs at
night, and had to eat the rations that
could be got to them under the grea est
imaginable discomfort.
GRANTS COMMENTS ON COLD HARBOR.
regret this assault more than any
one l have ever ordered. Regarded it
as stern necessity, and believed that
it would bring compensating results;
but, as it has proved, no advantages
have been gained sufficient to justify
the heavy losses suffered. The early
assault at Vicksburg, while it was not
successful, yet brought compromising
advantages; for it taught the men that
they could not seize the much-coveted
prize of that stronghold without siege,
and it was the means of making them
work cheerfully and patiently afterward
in the trenches, and of securing the
capture of the p ace with but little more
loss Of life; whereas if the assault had
not been made the men could not have
been convinced that they could not
have captured the city by making a
dash upon it which might have saved
them many months of arduous labor,
sickness and fatigue" The matter was
seldom referred to again in converse
ton, for General Grant, with his usual
habit of mind, bent all his energies
toward concentrating his plans for the
future.
A NOTABLE INSTANCE OF COURAGE.
In passing along on foot among the
troops at the extreme front that even
ing while transmitting some of the final
orders, observed an incident which
afforded practical illustration of the
deliberate and desperate courage o. the
men. AS came near one of the regi-
ments which was making preparations
for the next mornings assault, l no.
ticed that many of the soldiers had
taken off their coats, and seemed to be
engaged in sewing up rents in them.
This exhibition of tailoring seemed
rather peculiar at such a moment, but
upon closer examination it was found
that the men were calmly writing their
names and home addresses on slips OF
paper, and pinning them on the backs
of their coats, 80 that their dead bodies
might be recognized upon the field and
their fate made known to their families
at home. They were veterans who
knew well from terrible experience the
danger which awaited them, but theil
minds were occupied not with thoughts
of Sinking their duty, but with prep
aration for the desperate work of the
coming morning. Such courage il
more than heroic-it is sublime.
GENERAL GRANTS LAUNDERING"
There were critics who were severe
in their condemnation of what Gran
cal ed hammering and Sherman
called "pounding"; but they were
found principally among the stay-at
homes and especially the men who