El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-07-11
VOLUNTEERING IN 1860.
The Way the Men and Women of
the South Formed the Confede-

rate Army.
New York Sun.
"This style of volunteerin' that's
goin' on now gets me-" remarked an
ex-confederate colonel, putting down
his glass and reliRhting his fsvorite
corncob pipe. He sat in the cafe OF q
downtown hotel and as usual had
crowd of young men about him.
"Why. old chap?'' asked a young
broker. .-sr -.,a.. -..~---ra - J..
:'Yes, why?p chimed in q naval re-
serve.
.sWell, the difference between the
volunteerin' of 1860 and 1898 is enough
to get anybody" answered the colonel.
.'Of course, Pm talkin' about the south;
but reckon you all understand that.
[ can't think about anything else but
the south, much less talk about it, since
this darned war broke out. 1t brings
happened yesterday-the civil war,
YOU know, when you bloomin' Yanks
got the best of U.s.
"But YOU were going to tell us some
thing about the volunteering In the
south in $780," suggested the broker.
$50 1 was,'' resumed the colonel,
land it's something that'n make you
understand mite about the stun that
Southern soldiers were made OF. AS
soon as South Carolina seeded of
course the organization of companies
began at once. was right there, and
I remember SO well just the kind OF day
it was. It was December 20, but the
air was as balmy IS one OF your late
| May days and summer was hght1n' on
winter mighty hard that year: Lord,
we didn't wait for formal call GO be
Young men tn sit back and wait for q
! formal call, but 1 reckon that was the
| wisest thing to do. AS Il was sayin' ,
before anybody thought of maxim
| formal call we began to hustle men to-
gether in companiessof from seventy
| five to 100. How they poured in the
| first year! Physical examination! l
should say not. We never thought OF
such q thing and we had no limit as
to age. Boys of 10 and less enlisted
side by side with men of 60 and more.
Then the drillin' began, and poor
enough drillin' it was. The old mill
tia was not good sshool in which to
train soldiers. At he beginnin' the
whole company was sn,awkward squad,
but there was the maxim OF colonies In
that mob. -
SIT wasn't many weeks before the
companies which we've ready were call
ed into service. There were no army
contractors in the south, and each
1
forms. In regiment0f ten companies
it was not at all uncommon to see ten
different styles of UNIFORM. But that's
neither here nor there. At first con-
federate gray was not used exclusive
Jly. All cOlOrs except United States
blue might be seen, and that color at
fected US very much Al red does mad
bull. Many of the volunteers went
without uniforms. The came diversity
| -
fteens. The best knapsacks were made
of leather, and many of them were
made of hides tanned With the hair on.
These we're waterproof The canteens
were all sorts and snaps.
| Another drink? Wei, just q small
toddy to mOisten up my tongue. Yes,
never did q mores collec-
ton of caps, hats, uniforms, canteens
and kuapsacks get tito one army.
from the home supply and you talk
about one Of these cr1y quilts that
the women make! Why, one of these
coverin's some of the alico comfor-
tables that the confederate soldiers
took into camp with then.
elbow the men volunteered, though!
They just poured in, andthey came a.
demand for Offices as the present time.
Professional men, college graduates,
literary men-all volunteered without
any understandin' as to Place. They
went in the ranks with he common
people. The recruits foRot at once
| that they were men and learned at
once tha4 they were things which must
develop into soldiers if We wouldwin.
The company officers, aptain and
three ieutenants, aud the iOn-commis-
stoned officers were eleced. Regi
ments were formed on the principle of
affinity, and that's one of he reasons
that we were able to stand Up to you
as we did. The company Ulcers in
camp of instruction would ret togeth-
er and select men for regilental offic-
ers, and thus form q regimet of ten
companies. Then they begin to drill
in earnest. We had no Wet Pointers
and lieutenants studied tactis day and
night. I know because WIS one of
| 'em, q lieutenant at the cart. We
didn't have any aid from eDerts, re-
member.
"When the companies reprted for
duty at the state Headquarters they
| were placed in warehouses or other
unoccupied buildings for afew days
until tents could be furnished. The
common soldiers used the A tent.
Two upright poles about 'eet long
|
pins were all that was NEEDED to
stretch these tents. When Stretched
! they we're about feet wide and six
men occupied q tent. 1t WIS close
quarter, and all had to turnover at
the same time. The captain md lieu
tenants had small tent. 1t was
about 10 feet square and bid fly
| stretched over it. That was tn grand
way in which the confederate started
OUT but he soon learned to do Without
tents and uniforms were not to 10 seen.
Knapsacks and canteens were frnish-
ed by our friends the enemy, an, many
a Johnny Reb kept out the vintry
winds with a Yankee overcoatwhich
generally changed from blue to black
by means of q little homemade Ge.
'Our clothing depots were the
homes of the southland. All sum-
mer long the mothers and sistes and
daughters in those homes sewa and
sewed and pricked their fingers and
dulled their sight, maxim what? Max
in cocks and underclothin' and bank
cts and quilts and even shoes fc the |
men in the southern army. The not
only had to make up the material too,
and through the long, hot davsand |
far into the sitting nights they york;