The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-11-21

Whom the half-minion gray-hairod men
who form the remnant of the TWO great
armies of the civil war sit down 10 tncT
Thankseiving dinner next Thursday
there will probably Doe few OF them whose
minds will not travel back 10 the days of
tent and field. r.
''rhore is no day said General }. !.
Atkinson recently. that pIlhts ny 't-
old memories as does ThankaglVlns. ~ rs
the contrast. 1 suppose. IhahksslNlls
depends for its ENJOYMENT upoh NOME
surroundinrq. and it's very mention suE-
gests fessting Now If there was any
thing more sadly lacking ma the camps 81
both the Union and Confederate armies
than these two items. / ant guess what
81 was ,orv
drearv and homesick day. ana TO guard
against hat the boys used TO set UP az
kinds of schemes 20 make It pass Oh
p%lcasantly and seem more IKE the ud.S
"a home. Those who were fortunate
enough to get boxes from home usu"sN
shared the good things with their l~llthua,
but when We had just been nm acton OF
were on the march 10 somellmes hdppvn-
cd that no boxes could reach MS, ana We
were thrown wholly upon our own re-
sources. Some OF The forms or ulN'ISivh
that were originated then seem very
laurhahle ass We look back upon them
from this distance.
- remember that on one Thanksgiving
gav when we had been ON the move Tor
several days. the men oifamzeu a
ThankeciVinC celebration beginning WIN
"a fantastic celebration and ending with
some imurOmptu tahleauN and the sing
ing Of army songs. Discipline was usual
lv relaxed q little on holidays. ana the OF
fccrs gave permission for the AFFAIR. CON
eidorinr the unshaven and tattercd con-
dition 0f the men and the acCumulatloh
~ virginia mud which adorned them. II
was not difficult 10 get up "a sulhcientiy
crotes0ue parade hv turning coats INSIDE
a- .NHHH.fu nmA Umnn nfnnT
articles OF camp furniture as coulu De
had. one OF the features or the enter
tainmont that followed was q carlcature
of our bin OF fare for the pfeceolhs W.
weeks which was announced as 'couee
and cracker FOR breakfast. salt horse Tor
Jinner ION supper crackers ~ colee'
A~rerwards the men an Joined IN TINS cN-
pressive song. which was one or 'helr Ia
Iris the song that is uttered
ln camp night and day
'Tis the wall that is mingled with eaoh
snOre.
IT'S the signing Of the soul
For spring chickens far away. ~
OH hard tack. come again no moiV'
" "Tis me sons and the sigh OF - hum
Hard tack. hard tack, come again no
Many DAYS have YOU fingered upon our
stomachs sore.
OH hard tack. come again no more
"In November. '62" said Judge Lang
Oein. who was "a drummer boy IN TIE Ia
nous Hawkins /ouavcs. we were IN
camp at Falmouth. directly opposite
Fredericksburg. where many Of our com
mand fell "a little later. We could get
nothing bat the ordinary rations. but we
had prepared for that by starting a COM
pany fund several months before for the
purpose of supplying a Thanksgiving din
ner. There must have been something
like forty dollars in the fund. and our
cook kept the disposal Of this fund a
nrofound secret. IL seems ridiculous
now hut / don't believe that any child
ever waited for the coming Of Christmas
morning with a kecner excitement than
We dld for that Thanksgiving dinner.
when n came al last. we found mat the
great dish was nothing more nor less
man a good. old-fashioned plum pud
dag rich and savorv IN never forget
maj pudding. but 80 was the only thing
we had. II had taken all the company
fund 10 buy the -four ana other irgre-
dients FOR the pudding I tell YOU
though. II seemed mighty good 10 our
sfonachS. which had endured a steady
d,et Of hard tack and coffee for weeks.
! don't believe that a band or street raga-
mullins ever tackled q feast with a Keen