Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1898-06-30
IN CAMP At CH|CKAMAUGA.
An Interesting Letter from Secretary
Guy l.. Grove, OF Company q,
South Carolina Volunteers.
CAMP GEORGE III. THOMAS,
CHICKAMAuGA NATIONAL PARK,

its charms, ,ascinations and attrac-
tions, when one is campcd beside
some quiet b ook or in some distant
mountain, where freedom is supreme.
There it means rest from the weary
cares and tolls of business. The
rose is brought back to tho cheek,
paled by constant strain of eleven
months in the year, a removed vigor
is instillcd into the system and the
step becomes firm and elastic. 1t is
grand and people travel hundreds of
miles to enjoy it's charms.
Army life has its charms, fascina-
tions and attractions. There arc
many drawbacks, however, to tho
raw recruit which he fails to apprc-
ciate, especially so to our woll-fed,
frcodom-loving, .easy-going South
Carolina youth, who has been used
to placing his feet Under his fathers
table three times a day the year
round and enjoying square meal.
Camp life in the army means a
strict observance of military disci-
pline. 1t means that you must be
up at o'clock in the morning and
in bed by $50 at night +; also, when
one ventures to go beyond the
bounds of his camp he is confronted
by stern sentinel and n Springfield
rifle. However,, hero at Chicka-
mauga we have radius of twelve
miles square tor n camp so we are
not crampcd. At o'clock VIC have
roll call; ate breakfast from G.2O to
7 we sweep the company streets
and police the camp generally; from
7.30 to $50 we drill; from 0.30 to
| any special detail service that arises
in the division. At we have dinner
from | until $3.50 we have holiday !;
from $50 until $50 we drill ut 6
we have retreat at 7 guard mount
at 7.30 supper at 9roll call at $50
taps.
Chickamauga is the ideal of
camp, its stately oaks furnishing a
cool shade throughout the day. 1t
is indeed beautiful place and the
men generally, not on duty, have
the privilege of the park. Visiting
among the different regiments is
one of the pleasing features of our
life, and we meet many people we
have known i'll earlier days. l met
a school-matc the other day who is
with Vermont regiment and an
old friend with one from Nebraska.
Thus in this conglomcration of
$4,000 mon We have reunion. of
friends c. days gone by. Here we
sec al classes and sections brought
together side by side. On one side
is Pennsylvania, on tho other Mime
sofa, in the center South Carolina.
"fcbs and Yanks" united under one
common brotherhood, fighting for
one common country and one COM
mon banner. Barring several I'M
pleasant incidents connected with
the "ncgro," several Pennsylvania
coal miners and somc Of our South
Carolina boys, everything shows
that both classes are glad to join
hands and bury the past. Here we
sec a Tillman and an Earle, COM
manding side by side under Penn
sylvanian and Indianaian. Surely
thirty-fvc years have wrought great
changes. Yet on this historic ground
we arc quits anyhow, for didn't the
COnfedcratcs pound the Yanks into
jelly and leave thousands Of their
dead here2 The little white marks
OF their resting place remind us both
alike that we may also go the same
way at the hands of our common foe.
1t was boomerang that rcboundcd
year later when Sherman pounded
Braggs so numerically, and thus
broke the backbone of the Confcdc-
racy. We arc on sacred ground.
There is no time for petty quarrcls,
but we, both North and South, here
unite our i'ands over the graves of
our beloved dead, and as VIC shed
tear forever brush away the past.
Who knows what the future holds
for us?
The South Carolina regiment is
well managed and is fast being
trained for the field. We arc being
equipped as rapidly as possible. We
have been instructed to make an
extra Tequisition for clothing, which
will be issued at once. This is for
campaign work, and from that it
looks as if our days here are few.
The commissary department has rush
orders To equip @s Immediately.
The regiment is rcjoiccd over Gen.
Lees request that we be placed under
his command
Tho health of the regiment is excel