Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1898-09-17
Deeds by Which Its Title
Was Won i'm Our
Civil War.
Cheerfulness Shown Under Pri-
vatiOns and Courage i'm Face
of the Enemy.
Hardships Met With Jokes.
Irish Wit Displayed on the
Battlefield.
WON THE DAY FOR GEN. MCDOWELL

"The gallant Sixty-ninth" was the
army designation during the civil war of
the famous New York regiment. And
this title it won during its first service,
when it took the field in response to the
call of President Lincoln for three
months men. The people of Maryland
and Virginia, whom they were among,
held the men in high esteem. They
neither invaded any private house nor
looted any abandoned home, and these
latter were in plenty, as was discovered
on the march to Bull Run. Some showed
that they had been vacated in great haste,
the owners evidently dreading to be
caught within the Union lines or fearing
for the safety of their families in the
presence of the Yankee soldiery.
The first experience of the SiXty-ninth
regiment as soldiers was camping tent
less at Annapolis and again along the
line of the railroad leading to- Washing
ton, conjoined with all the inefficiency
for a commissariat that officers wholly
ignorant of the duties of their stations
could effect. officers and many of the
men were proficient in the school of
the soldier how to conduct themselves
in the camp or on the march was lesson
to be learned. The men proved apt
pupils. Meanwhile conditions were ac-
cepted as inevitably associated with
soldier life; criticism ard COMBINATIONS
of superiors were few, and generally in
the nature of an explosion of speech
which excited laughter all around.
On arriving at Washington the regi-
ment was camped in Georgetown College.
Here the men were expected to learn to
eat meat on Friday. Father Mooney, the
chaplain and the rector of st. Bridget's
church, New York City, was the mentor
The men we're hungry often, and when
told that it was all right for the soldier in
the field to eat meat on Friday the chap
lain was asked if it wasn't possible to
have the meat served on another day.
"Father Mooney" said one of the
soldiers, "our camp is just like an Irish
soup-house in famine time-plenty of
meat on Friday, but the devil bit on
any other day of the week" Of course
everybody laughed, including Father
Mooney.
"Father Mooney" cried another, now
that the humor was on, "many good
man in Ireland lives without meat for a
week; maybe we aristocrats could get
along without it for one day in the week. ="
And so it went on. The bread and coffee
disappeared-the meat remained un-
tasted by nearly the whole regiment, for,
truth to say, those of the men who were
not Catholics entered into the full spirit
of the fun and badinage.
"Why don't you eat your meat,
Jimmy" asked one, nudging his neigh
Dor
"Ah, sure you wouldn't be asking
Jimmy, with his fine taste. to be eating
the meat that's only intended for COM
mon soldiers" interposes another.
"How the devil do you think Jimmy
could ever run for Alderman if he eat
meat on friday" remarked third. And
thus went the pleasantly with ife-sus-
tanning variations of expression.
The commissariat was improved in Fort
Corcoran, as. any change could only be
improvement. But the cheeriness of the
men, no matter how gnawing the hunger.
never deserted them. While short COM
mons was the rule a company went out
one night on about. Returning to Fort
Corcoran in the morning, the men sat
down in front of the tents for a much
desired breakfast By and by piping
hot loaf was served to each man, coffee
to follow. Gen. Sherman, the brigade
commander, came along just then, got a
sniff of the newly made bread, and had
it all collected and carried back to the
bakery, to be redistributed to the men
when it was cooled. There was no audi
BILE protest. Everybody accepted the in
evitable. One genius remarked:
otis we'll man does not live by bread
alone. If he did we'd all be dead"
"Arrah," rebukingly put in another,
didn't ye hear the General say hot
bread would destroy our stomachs1 He
Just wants to save us from indigestion,
that we may enjoy the good things he's
going to give u.s." And so it ever was.
Everybody was made merry or was max
ing merriment in his misery.
A clerical friend of Father Mooney,
looking on at the men building Fort
Corcoran, remarked:
"a match for Southern chivalry is
Irish shovelry."
A correspondent of the Evening Ex-
press of New York of the time, private
of c Company, had already written that
paper: ''We are little better than an
armed mob; the other side doesn't differ.
On to Richmond has no fears for us"
Gayly the march was taken out of
Fort Corcoran to the music of "The Girl
Left Behind Me-" trilled and warbled