The National tribune., 1898-05-05
TROOPS IN TREFIELD.
A Breezy Letter from Chicka-
RCs AS
manga Rendezvous.
Capt. Godfrey Tells Incidents of tho Road
and the Camp-Enth usiasm for the Troops.
Uncle Sans Soldiers Ready to Fight.
CAMP G.. 81. THOMAS,

| CH1CkAMAUGA, IA, hpFli, 20 1880.
| I have arrived here and am finally set
tied. En- route / was the only officer OF
! tfe1train, and when we arrived at Ashville
N. c., had quite an ovation. went on
on the platform to catch a glimpse of tn.
famous health resort, and was promptly
engaged by a reporter, w no desired informa
| ton as to my name, rank and destination
| A few yards away a bevy OF girls, abou
| twenty in number, were making recon
noissance. Two Of them happened t
! know the reporter, and they cautiously
advanced as skirmishers. Supported by
/ one of the sweetest smiles ever saw, one
| of them asked the man of news If Gen
| Fitzhugh Lee was not on the train.
When assured to the contrary, she be-
gan rather TREMENDOUSLY and with appealing
glances in my dlrectlon 10 say thdt tue
Young ladies had expected him and had
come down to the train to see the famous
warrior. In the meantime, the main body
of girls had drawn near, and this pre-
liminary skirmish was the signal for q
general advance. l was soon surrounded,
and gallantly strove to keep up the un-
equal fire of conversation, but when the
train pulled out was forced to retire in
confusion. leaving the field in possession
of the fair Confederates. Thus ended the
battle of Ashville.
Having arrived at Chattanooga, started
on the following morning to reach the
camp at Chickamauga. l boarded cav
airy train bound for the battlefield, but we
were side-tracked and delayed several
hours. The result was that l wandered
back and fell into the arms of my old
chums of the 9Th Inf. They were Just be-
hind us. and, owing to the inadequate
railroad facilities, had been there, swear
ing almost as long as we had.
II was a railroad wreck, however, that
finally took away the tireSOme mOnOtOny OF
waiting During some OF the switching
manuvers the rear car OF the infantry
train jumped a frog, hoped over the
guard-rail, ran along on the tes for mum
tender of {. locomotive backing in the OPP
posite direction The hind trucks OF the
car were knocked from under it and the
coach was derailed, but not overturned.
If YOU have ever poked up an ant-hill or
a hornets nest you can imagine how the
soldiers came out of that car. Fortunately
no one was hurt, and in an hour the
wrecking- train had lacked up" the car
and placed il on its trucks.
About shutdown We started for camp, and
passed up the Beautiful valley OF Chlcka-
manga Everyone remarked on the mght
and steepness ofnLoekout Mountain. IL
certainly IS an everlasting MULTIPLICITY "
American valor.
OF course, it hadbt6 rain. 1t had been
raining at intervals all day, and the troop
had to go into cami, on the cold, wet
ground. They didh'to seem to mind it,
however, and soon, the campfres were
merrily twinkIing Through the gathering
darkness, and the pup tents appeared
as ii by magic. Ae.fe
comment on was the intense enthusiasm
North, East, South and West, with which
the different reginents We're greeted by the
peoole of the sections through which they
passed. One instahcell will serve to illus
trate both the h3tndrous and pathetic
sides of the question: A command was
passing through sbn1e Kansas town and
was met by highly. patriotic crowd at the
depot The delegation, headed Dy
Spokesman gifted with quite command OF
fowery speech. approached the Pullman
and announced his intention OF presenting
the troops with Cuban" flag. This he
did with a grand exhibition OF oratory.
young Lieutenant standing on the
platform was then asked to respond, but
wisely suggested that they call upon the
fat Captain on the rear platform. The
said Captain was never known to fall on
anv occasion and, appreciating the hui
morous side of the situation, responded In
a serio-comic strain calculated to BRING
tears OF laughter to a more highly-cultI-
waited but less patriotic audience.
This crowd, however, failed to appreciate
the hImor of the situation, and not till he
beheld the tears in a woman's eye did the
Cantain notice the effect OF his eloquent
words. This peor lady had lost son dur
ing the civil war, and her evident grief
soon brought the extempore Grafton TO
close. The fat Captain retired In olsHay,
bearing the Cuban" flag with him; but
one town, at least, believes the Regular
Army can whip the world
The old battlefield presents at once
picturesque and inspiring sight. All over
the beautiful hills and valleys are the
camps OF the different regiments and bat
teries. The cavalry and infantry are being
Organized into brigades and divisions. and
he eight batteries OF light artillery are en-
canned on their north. Officers are con-
tinually going the rounds looking up old
friends and making new ones. The ar
rival of reinforcementS is the sigma! iOr
renewing the conflict" and as each dele
cation arrives it is greeted W TIN the proffer
Of a bottle and cigars, while the time
hon0red army toast, How, is accompanied
by the time-honOred proceeding usual in
such cases.
Among the men, health and content
ment are apparent everywhere. Their
duties are light, their stomachs are full
and their digestion perfect. They are
ready and willing for anything:
Our camp at present is the center Of
attraction for all Chattanooga. On Sum
day last fully 10000 people visited tho
camp. The regimental bands, among
ton. 1.-THE Star Spangled Banner" and
Dixie" were the tunes which received tho
most tulmultuous applause, and the one
received quite as much as the other. Tho
colOred soldiers, alsOr are objects OF great
interest, and all the dusky bellies OF tho
neighbOrhood are happy in the great in
crease of colored beaux.
Several shooting ARRAYS have occurred,
and one or two men have been killed by
trains so far. The traffic over the road is
very heavy and every freight train IL
usually covered with soldiers going to town
or returning to camp. Supplies-forage
and rations-are continually arriving and
the QuartermasterfsS Department is kept
ground around the railroad station is COW
cred with bales OF hay and sacks of grain.
may also add thatftbe hay and grain are
covered by tarpau ltnst and krag -Jorgensen
car bineS. SIR n
The other night squad OF colOred SOL
diers, being in a playful mood, made raid
on a vender of lemonade and other harm
less varieties of soft drinks, but the vender
proved not so mild rs bis innocent drinks,
as he greeted the buffalo soldiers" with
the contents Of a wicked looking revolver
Two Of the soldiers were wounded-one
fatally SO. Il IS
In Chattanooga all is hustle and excite
ment. The Road House is the principal
paper reporters. On Tuesday over seven
hundred men enlisted for the volunteer
army. Everywhere in the streets you
could see young men with misfit uniforms
on, with their civilian clothes under their
arms, looking for a buyer of old clothes.
Very few of the militia have appeared In |
camp, however, most of our visitors being |