The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1898-03-10
a LITTLE GIMP EXPERIENCE.
One OF "ButIer's Pets" Tells an Amusing
Weather Story.


Weather Story.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: At least
one of your readers can fully appreciate
the experiences of 1" the boys " as they are
fighting over their old battles again. We
have only to shut our eyes by day TO see the
events as they actually took place over 80
years ago, and oftentimes by night our vision
by dreams has photographed scenes we still
remember, and forms as they were then.
The grandchildren will probably know
more of our army life than did our children
As age grows on US we take greater pride
i'll telling them our experiences, and most of
us are passing to an age when we hope to
interest some one, and the children more
particularly, with what we did when we
were young men.
l was thinking of getting in an outside
line and giving our sleeping apartments an
airing, rs it were. How often We thought
and perhaps said on some occasions, "1f we
could only sleep i'll daddy's barn tonight. y
knowing that the cattle and horses were
being more carefully housed and bedded
down at the homes we left than we could
| possibly be. After long, weary marches
| through mud and water, and through cid,
| drilling rain and seet. lying upon the cold,
| wet ground for a few hours rest, has probably
hazarded more lives than actual warfare.
We were called Buffers Pets" and like
| Mary's little lamb" wherever Butler went
| we were sure TO 90 In the election riots in
| New York City, in November, 1864, Gen.
| Butler detailed two batteries and two COM
panies of infantry from the front, to protect
| the city, and we were transported to the seat
OF the expected riots, with orders TO land at
| any time and sweep the streets with grape
,i-fa l,I
would have been done with a will. as our
| boys always expressed desire to have an
| opportunity to turn our guns upon the rebels
of the North. However, all passed off very
| quiet and we never got the chance.
When we returned to the front we landed
| at Aiken's Landing at dark, Nov. 10, 1864, in
one of those cold, chilling rain-storms. in
which one felt the temperature greater than
| in the cold dry air at the North with a much
| lower temperature.
Having embarked and marched inland n
short distance, we camped for the remainder
OF the night; no fires were allowed and there
was not dry rag in the whole battery.
Eight Of us thought we would have things
more comfortable than some others, and threw
down large tarpaulin such as we covered
our glln-carriages and cassons with, and in a
deciyity Of ground lay down, drew the
other side over us and went to sleep.
1t ralncd IN torrents the remainder of the
night, and when We awoke in the morning
we found that our tarpauin had held ali the
water from the neighborhood. Strange TO
say, we had slept through il all.
| am the only Surviving member of the
eight who crawed out more dead than alive
the next morning, the sOthers having been
mustered out" in few years after the
war.
in two years of diligent research can only
find IL out OF 2S5 of The old 4th N. J. bat
terry b Us. They should write to THE Ma
TIoxAL TRIBUNE p. CRAYoN, Rocka-
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