The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-06
THEY ENLISTED FOR FUN,
CIVIL WAR VETERANS view OF Tus
LATE VARS ToLUNTEERS.

ANAN AAsAA AA'NS vi III Nnhg
and Porto Rico Werc Those Insconrn,
Bile from War in nm Enemy's Conp,r,
Little Cause for Complaint, AnywoS
"At the risk OF seeming unpatriotic. said IN.
soldier who had fought for four years in IN.
civil war. I'm going to tell you n few thin,,
that l observed aboutthe men who volunteered
for our little SCRAP with Spain and were san,
to chase the Spaniards out OF Porto Rico. wn,
down there during the whole campaign, from
the day our troops were landed at Guauica uuti
the repatriation OF the Spanish army VIA -
under way, so that l know what I'm TAXING
about. I'm not going TO make many cam.ar.
sons, because they would not be very accom-.
able at this time. when the public is prone IN
look upon every man as a hero who wore IN,
uniform. no matter II he hadn't even seen tina
back of n Spanlard. Still I'd like 10 recount
little OF my experiences down there. temrered
with the knowledge of what war really is.
To begin will an expression OF opinion Ia
which almost every ono Is certain to agree. our
volunteer army had no conception OF what war
Is. The men who enlisted did so without tbs
impulse OF any great patriotism. There was no
great bitterness in their hearts toward Spain.
no such deep. enduring feeling as would haye
been aroused had n foreign army invaded our
shores. The whole purpose of the war was
humanitarian. the destruction OF the Mama
bcluE htItW V III NV buthklOulius anu villa
enlistment was in itself a badge OF honor, a most
creditable thing in fact. in the great majorityoi
cases. the moving spirit behind II was a love Of
adventure inherent In the American people.
Hero was a chance to see new phases of lie.
The Spaniards were going to be eaten up alive
in O very few weeks. The whole thing wa. IN
be done with q dash and a rush, and then tho
band would play and all the boys in blue
would be heroes. In anticipation the prospect
was most alluring. and 80 thousands upon
thousands Of young men rushed to the front
purely and solely for the fun they imagined
would be In IL.
Then came the long siege in the over.
crowded camps. with both men and officers
inexperienced in that manner Of living and
the sickness necessarily attendant thereto.
When the corps assigned to the task Of con.
quering Porto Rico arrived In that island they
found a still worse condition Of affairs from
their point Of view. The climate was I'm.
healthy. the rainy season being on, and. as a
natural concomitant Of war. their rations
often reached them ~irreRularly and often in a
more or less tainted condition. Sickness in.
creased. and the fun OF the thing vanished like
a SNOWFALL on a hot gridiron. Then began the
bowling about the hardships Of war. the trouble
not being with the government SO much asst
not Just as brave and hardy as any set OF men
that ever wore our uniform but lacking that
as the basis Of their presence there. they were
burdens which always fall to the lot OF the pri;
found work, and they didn't like it, As fuel
to their discomfort and unreasonable home.
The grievances Of the men assumed abnormal
RiFEfGie e fsh1inE IN w sRiiF S STs d syes' t fnd a Tas f sRe
ished the. anxiety to get back to this country
and out Of the service was such as to almost
my men are actually dying Of homesick-
ness said one Of the Generals. and a talk with
opinion was but little exaggerated.
A an illustration Of what some OF the men
esonsidered as a .hardship' let me ten you Of
ern volunteer regiments. He was a fine, strap
ping boy: With q face that besgoke bis Irish
toned courage. His father was a wealthy man.
prominent in the politics of his State, and very
30 great ' was RGsns alarm arm that E%Sui he "S foiiow gas ' the
s5nsEyns to the Port Spiq R = and an x5 Spent tb sey ynnnS weeks %Ga
concluded that his son was being badly treated
and through his influence he succeeded in get
young mans regiment was stationed at Guya.
ma. The father took him from there to Ponce
Tie Il 3 p SiarF,a aHdi kps Sst him him Here ap ct r sss Sess h0tsl td in
regiment In another carriage.
llage half way between Ponce and Guyana, we
came ACQUAINTED. and the first words from the
lips OF this pink,eheeked: healthy-lookking
yS%dT h %ad hnd to % do with sra hls he aSsrMorke Ih 4
Porto Rico. SO I asked him to particularize. Il
was the same old story OF the rain and the ra-
had expected In the enemy's country in time
OF war the young man had no answer. Then
Look at that march we had to make he
said. on the day the Jews OF the signing Of the
t RSsses W. pfES ad e 90 6e riSSs up pf The p @onnR ESi1 X En nv
would nave then had to fight il we had not Re.
G cedy d, the t,e' word from Washington just in the
How far did you have to march 2'I asked,
Three miles, he answered, as though it
Dear; DEAR 1 said. and right up the mill
tary road; TOO, where the heaviest baggage
trains. go Tor miles without having to breathe
"Thereupon the young man became angry.
Here was this road. which is one OF the finest
E II me a TTorld' Snd an he enduring mGnument to
miles 4 day over # nh On foot Gotta and think nothing {
the least difficulty:
Goamo. The lighting was still going on. what
little there was OF II. This particular day was
u uno one. Inc. sun was SHINING. but IL was
not as warm as It was often during the summer
ll New York city. On the steps Of a native
shack sat a young volunteer with q handful Of
bacon and bareback. which he was munchiGag
IN apparent, contentment. He was n trfs
dirty. for he had been In the field perhaps two
weeks, but his clothing and shoes were in good
condition, As yet he had not been under hrn.
for the Spaniards had been retiring steadily
before our mon.
81 tell you. war Is HE'LL he said to me, asI
approached him, and he shook his head soberly
as though he had been clear through to the end.
Whats, the matter now? 2" asked another
Look at this said the soldier. and he he'd
live on this and sleep ont here In the rain,
was hell
Hell nothing said the man who had asked
what the. trouble was. You don't know
whether it's he'll, or heaven. II you'd been ut
santiago, you might have likened IT TO puTgn-
tory. but this Is q picnic-a pudding Now
don't holler TIL you're hurt
The young volunteer looked at the other n
q pained way and ceased to descant upon the
'helllshness OF bareback
,There were innumerable cases like these,
and while II seems O little hard to ~eriticise men
who responded TO their country's call and rqt
themselves In q position where they were likely