The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-07-27
Life In the Army.

Gun, YET tnere are lew things more
surprising than the readiness with
which the American volunteer ACCEPT.
ed the conditions of army life. One of
the first and also one of the hardest
lessons an enlisted man in volunteer
army has to learn lie that there is an
aristocracy of shoulder straps which is
contrary to all his democratic expert
ences and principles. In the last war,
as soon as Sumter was fred on, patri.
otto men got together in companies
and elected their own commissioned
officer without realizing all that COM
mission means. The men, in mapy
cases, had lived together on the same
social plane, often as intimate friends.
In choosing their officers they were in
fiuenced by the same amiable consider
atoms that determine elections in civil
life. A good fellow or a shrewd poll.
tician could easily obtain the support
OF majority of the company, whether
he was adapted to the office or not. In
time the private soldiers learned there
was between them and the commission
ed officer a gulf which no good will on
his part could bridge. He was COM
PEELED to assume an air of superiority
that only the utmost tact could save
from offensiveness. He was not al
lowed by the army regulations or ira
ditions to continue his intimate per-
sonel relations that existed in private
life.
SIT was sometimes CALLING to the en-
listed man, that, besides being better
paid, better clothed, fed and housed,
the commissioned officer enjoyed many
privileges that were of great impor-
lance to men used to the free life of
republic. Besides his larger pay, the
officer had an allowance of rations be-
You'd that of the private, which he COM
muted when in camp. This is, he
drew money equivalent instead of the
rations, and was able to buy provisions
OF a superior quality and of larger va
riety. The company officers formed
mess, had an expert cook and general
servant, complete outfit of dishes,
which were carried in a camp chest,
and go on; the private had his tin
plate, tin cup, tin spoon, his coffee
being made in a huge sheet-ron camp
kettle. The officers had wall tent
that was carried in wagon; the pri-
vate dog tent that was carried by him
self. AS rule, in active service the
private had the benefit only of what he
could carry, except the few cooking
utensils in charge of the company cook.
In ordinary times the commissioned
officer could leave camp virtually at
will. His duties were comparatively
light, while the private, in addition to
sentry duty, had sometimes to serve
with pick, shovel and axe in the con-
struction of Notifications, the digging
OF rifle pits, the making of corduroy
roads, and the like. The officer might
occasionally obtain leave of absence to
visit his home, while furlough was
rare thing for the homesick private. In
the last extremity, the officer could
leave the army by resignation, but
only expiration of his term of service,
incurable wounds, or disease or death
offered release to the soldier. The lat
ter envied not only the commissioned
officer, but also the negro servant, who
could come and go almost at will.
"The submission of the American
volunteer to the hard conditions of
army life is one of the marvels and
glories of American patriotism. The
pay was not enough to be alluring. At
first it was S11 and later S13 month.
The Government provided the cloth
ing, food, tobacco, ETC., but the pay
was small enough where there was
family dependent on the earnings of
the soldier The men did not always
send their money home. When a large
part of Sherman's army was paid off at
before starting on the march
dc 90
banks at which many of
the men lost the pay of months.
sit was particularly hard for the in
telligent private who had enlisted from
patriotic motives, as an immense num-
Der did, to endure the frequent blum
ders and culpable stupidity of commits.
stoned officers, by which the lives of
men were uselessly sacrificed. An un-
popular company officer or any other
had no easy time of it, as there were
many ways in which the soldiers could
tease and torment him. In spite of his
many advantages, the lot of the COM
missioned officer was not always happy.
He had his responsibilities common
surate with his privileges. Perhaps
his severest trial was at that point in
pdlIlo WuCIC tuc Mcu WcIc lOTCtu u
lie down under fire 10 await charge
or a forward movement. This is the
time when a panic is most liable to
occur. The officer cannot lie down
with the men, but must stand erect and
appear Indifferent to the ping of the
bullets. The chances of his escaping
injury or death are much fewer than
those of the men. At Allatoona Pass,
where every head that was raised above
the earthworks was certain to be hit,
it required the utmost courage, or the
fear OF ridicule that is often the substi.
tute for courage, for an officer to stand
to encourage the men. Every officer, |
from Gen. Corse to the regimental Off
GER, who finally assumed command,
was shot in the head.
"Before the Civil War there were
the most absurd ideas about the way in
which battles are fought. From old il
Illustrations the popular notion was that
soldiers fought in solid columns, like
the heavy cavalry of the Russians at
Sebastopo; that the men in front fred
and knelt to reload, and those in the
rear fired over their heads. The single
thin line Of battle formed by the Ameri-
can soldiers was inconceivable to the