The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-10
THE ARMY IN VIRGINIA
A SOLDIERS "REMINISCENCES OF LIFE
IN WINTER QUARTERS.
Their Superiority to Summer Cam
tected-DaiIy Routine-Army ShirIxs.

in the fall Of 1864 after a hard summer
and fall campaign. 1t was glad news, in
deed, for now we would have a permanent
place in which to sleep. 1t meant rest
from long marching and raiding: in fact, no
order could have been more welcome. 1t
was received with enthusiastic shouts and
cheers. These quarters could be made
somewhat comfortable, and, as we had
lived all summer with only a shelter tent
for protection from all sorts of weather,
and had slept on the ground almost every
night when we had slept at all, winter
quarters presented an attraction next to
that of home itself. Visions of a quiet tent
company street, regular rations and long
nights around the camp fire took the place
of the hurry and anxiety of the more active
duties of our summer and fall campaign.
Winter quarters were to us all like har-
Dor to the sailor like home to the wan
derer; they meant soft bread instead of
hard tack fresh beef in place of salt pork
and, instead of a cup of coffee-when good
luck enabled us to make it, often at inter-
walls of days-and the eating of our scant
rations while marching along a turnpike,
winter quarters meant that breakfast
CALI would sound out each morning, din
ner call" each noon, supper CALI each
night, and, further, that regular rations
would be issued. No need to go hungry
in winter quarters. Besides, we would be
comparatively safe from the dangers Incl
dent to the scouting and raiding we had
been doing. So, with three times three
cheers we bivouacked in the woods for the
last night that season. and early the fol-
lowing day took up the line of march for
Vienna, preparatory to establishing a per-
manent camp for the winter.
Ny quarters for two seasons in Virginia
consisted of pine logs split in the middle
set upright in the ground, with tent
stretched over the top for a roof; the
cracks in the logs plastered with mud, not
ordinary mud, but Virginia mud, and Nir-
ginia mud needs to be seen and felt to be
appreciated Inside I made a bunk by
using the same sort of split logs erected
thus comfortably housed and snugly quar-
tered for the winter. We cared Tor our
s sT1 eq them beneath it. The company
street extended the full length of the row
of tents and stables. Each company had
its line of tents, its company street ana
its stable.
SAFE FROM ATTACK.
Around the entire camp we built circle
of abattis This was done by cutting down
trees, trimming off the small branches,
sharpening the ends of the larger ones,
and then setting the trees at an angle of
about As degrees, with the sharpened ends
pointing outward, and then interlacing all
and piling UP to a height of twelve or fif-
teen feet. 1t was impossible for any one
to force an entrance through this abattis,
1t prevented any sudden dash by the en-
envy through our camp, and was especially
designed to prevent night attacks. Elk
tending all around the outside of this was
a line of guards who patrolled regularly
day and night At the gateway large
force of reserves was constantly on duty,
and farther out the inside line of plckets
was stationed, and still farther on was
the outside line Thus watched and guard
ed. we were comparatively safe from at,
tack, and could retire TO our hunks and
blankets at taps with as little concern as
we would have done had we been safe at
home in northern New York.
We soon settled down to the usual rou-
tine of camp life. "Reveille'' at daybreak;
then stable cali" when every man would
''fall in for roll call and then be dismissed
to feed and groom his horse. The care
of our horses formed a very important part
that in times of great emergency his safe
ty would largely depend upon his horse;
hence all were anxious TO nave good horses,
and, as a rule, took the very best care of
them. The poor and unsound animals had
nearly all been worn out during the sum-
mer campaign. and had beer, condemned
and shot. So now we had good horses
After stable CALI came breakfast CALL
and then the regular calls Is, of the day ;, in !,
guard mount" drill" water cali" ain
nler," drill" dress parade" stable cali"
would sound the men would often join in
and sing to the same tune as the musical
bugle call:
.'Come. come to the stable,
All we who are able,
Water your horses and get them some hay;
For if you don't do it
| The colonel will know it,
And hoi for the guardhouse
The very next day..
THE COMPANY COOK.
Our rations in winter quarters were
issued on a different plan than when on a
march. We had a company cook. who
drew the rations from the commissary and
prepared them in bulk for the entire com
pany, and then issued to each man his por-
ton, already cooked. This was a great
saving in labor, and much more satisfac-
tory than for each man to make his own
coffee and cook his own meat. as we were
obliged to do when in the field.
Coffee was the great beverage of the
army. Whisky was issued to us only upon
rare occasions, when we were in the low
lands of Virginia, and then COM
pletely mixed with quinine, to ward off
chills and fever. that the boys, and even
the veteran drinkers, cared very little for
it. 1t was not issued at all while we were
in winter quarters. The sutler always had
liquor for sale, but not allowed to sell
it except to commissioned officers or upon
their order. 1hiS rule Delng vigorously Ell
forced prevented drunkenness to a very
great extent. The sutler of the Sixteenth
New York Cavalry, upon three or four oc-
caSionS, had his wagons which brought his
supplies from Washington, captured ard
confscated by rebel guerillas, and upon
one memorable occasion after this had
happened and two of the suffers wagons
had been rifed by these bushw hackers. it
so happened that about the same number
of men that composed the attacking party
were found in our own ranks to be plenti-
fully supplied with rum and whisky, which
had formed the bulk of the loads of the
captured wagons. This strange coinci-
dence, together with the possession by
these same men of sundry articles that also
had been in those same wagons caused
many a wink when the subject was up for
discussion. Some of the knowing ones even
went so far as to say that Mosby's bush
WhackerS were unjuStly blamed in the mat
ter though one dared to suppose that
our own men would play at bushwhacking,
ler who charged exorbitant prices and took
every advantage of the soldiers.
STERN DISCIPLINE.
The commanding officer of our regiment
at this time was Brevet Brig. Gen. n. b.
Sweitzer, who also commanded the cavalry
brigade consisting of the Sixteenth ard
Thirteenth New York and Second Massa-
chusetts Volunteer Cavalry. General SWEET
ger was an officer of the regular army and
a strict disciplinarian. Woe TO the trooper
who transgTessed the rules and regulations
as laid down in the army code. A week in
the guardhOuse was ordinary event.
Extra duty was extra common, and great
was filled by the culprit A favorite mode
q punishment enforced by the officers IIfOn