Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-01-22

/ n the winter of IS61-62, not long
after Jackson's demonstration be
fore Hancock, Maryland, in Janu.
airy. a part Of Coles Cavalry was
ordered into camp there, the principal
portion of the force being Company
&C. . for the purpose of picketing and
patrolling that region. Having no
tents, the men were quartered in
barns, stables, and deserted houses
The winter was unusually cold ard the
earth generally covered with snow.
Bitter winds swept the hills and turn
ed the streams in the ravines into
glaciers. When the men we're on
duty, they had to bear up against the
cold as we'll as they could, but off duty,
and especially at night, all the inven-
tive faculties Of the party were put in
to action to make themselves COM
Portable. or, rather, to avoid being
frozen. Sleeping arrangements were
varied almost as much as the taste or
fancy of each individual. In the
barns where hay was plentiful, some
burrowed in that Some time pre-
vious to our appearance on the stage
at Hancock, this same hay had fur
nished beds for others of Uncle Sam
boys, and in it copious treasure trove
such as pocket knives, tobacco boxes
and tobacco, articles of cheap jewelry,
sometimes locket with ''the girl
left behind me" inclosed, and now an
then piece of money--was found by
those who made diligent search.
AS / write / have in mind dear old
comrade who is yet able to answer TO
roll call here, and will be / trust for
years yet to come, who yet has, /
think, some OF the elegant penknives
he found in the hay in his barn hos
telry In stables and deserted houses,
where for warmth in sleep army
blankets had to be depended upon,
portable sheet iron stoves were used
in the early hours Of night to take the
vigor off the air; but later on, in the
small hours, when the stove had
closed business for the night, the fun
began for any who were awake and
not too cold for fun. Twisting and
turning and growing and expletives
were then in order, as men strove to
secure warmth enough to sleep. AS
each man had only one blanket, on
extremely cold nights as many as
could do so, or as blanket would ex-
tend over, would lie side by side, and
their accumulated blankets were piled
on top. The advantage of this was
that besides the increased covering
they had each others bodily warmth
Except the outside fellows, who
roasted and froze both at once. The
system was elegant, but the fun came
in when one or more wanted to turn.
Before that feat was accomplished, all
in hearing distance of that block OF
men were wide awake under the fire
of explosives and EXPLANATIONS and
groans launched on the frosty air
coupled with limitations of snarling
and fighting dogs, mioauing and spit
ting cats, aud Growing cccks. The
Suggest arrangement was that of two
still surviving comrades of Company
&C, and which perhaps, has helped
to keep them alive so long, who had
a deep wooden feed trough, just long
enough and of heavy construction,
into which they both at once exactly
fitted when stretched at full length,
and with their two blankets over them
they were nice and warm. The tug
of war came when one or other wanted
to turn; but they managed that. Each
took his turn in getting up and out
till the arrangement was consummat-
ed by the active one wedging In again
and fixing the blankets, the passive
one doing all the necessary growing.
There was headquarters parlor in
the second story OF this stable | have
in mind, where the captain run
stove of good size and famous heating
qualities, and other comforts. and had
a lovely cornstalk carpet, and things
to sit on, in which in the early hours
OF night the good fellows of the COM
pany gathered for mirth and jollity
and to sympathize with the poor pick
cts and patrolmen struggling with the
outer cold on the bleak roads and
posts, never taking into account that