Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1899-01-04

SNSz3 ~<n<~ we Dau come over
Lookout mountain by the old dirt road.
through Chattanooga, without resting.
and had hurried on toward Ringgold
By way of Graysville. The road, as we
neared Graysville. went through acres
and acres of high weeds, and here one
battalion of our regiment was surround
ed by Confederate cavalry and fifty
men captured.
THE others scattered TO the weeds.
made their way. on soldier instinct, to
a point on higher ground. reformed.
and proceeded on their way to Ring
gold. In those days 1t wasn't the
marching that troubled us. The discom-
forts and annoyancesc came from the fell
lows in gray. bent on preventing us
from doing what we were ordered to
do. We moved from Rnggold under or
ders that landed us finally at Lee aud
Gordon's Mills. on the Chickamauga.
but before we came to that point our
regiment had prowled through the
woods in so many directions that the
mills seemed hundred miles from
Chattanooga. The truth was, we were
nearer Chattanooga than when we left
Ringgold.
I'VE carried no knapsacks then and
had no company wagons. Each man
carried blanket, one-half of shelter
tent, well-filled haversack. sixty
rounds of cartridges forty in his car
trio ye box and two punches In his hay-
ersack), little tin bucket for coffee.
half of canteen used as frying-pan
and tin cup. The men were not divid-
ed into messes except for drawing ra-
tions. but trained In pairs. each couple
doing its own cooking. There was no
falling out of ranks. and no Struggling.
The boys didn't believe for minute
that there was going to be a battle, and
were greatly surprised TO learn that for
several days our corps hac been isolat-
ed and in danger of attack by the
whole Confederate army"
I'll go a quarter yon didn't throw
away any bareback" put in the Major.
''One of the queerest things about new
troops is the prejudice against army
crackers. They all get over 1t in time,
and come to understand that the sol
dier's stomach has no standby like
bareback. Our company had this ten
derfGot notion that fresh or dry bread
is better than crackers for soldiers on
the march. On one occasion we loaded
up with bread to last for three days
The second day most of it was sour,
and the third day it was worse. Before
we returned to camp we were crazy
for crackers, and we never went back
on them after that They are good
whole or In crumbs. wet or dry, ana are
just as good when they are three
months old as when fresh from the
oven.
I'VE learned to appreciate bareback
OIL the forced march from Southern
Tennessee to Louisville In 1862. Regu-
lar rations ran out and -four was issued
instead of crackers. This didn't seem
Objectionable at first. But when we
had to march all day and got our ra-
lions of -four at midnight, with orders
to move at 3 a. M. the heavy swearers
came into action. There was no time
to cook even flapjacks or sinkers, and
If you attempted to carry -four in the
rain you came out at night with "A bag
of paste. A cast-iron stomach could not
stand such messes as the soldiers made
of the -four. They made dough and
baked or half baked it in ashes, or on
dirty hot stones, and ale so-calied bis.
10 hal Cd tnp Sc
burning lips and throats. and after
they were swallowed resting like
Jumps of lead in not ovefstrong stom-
achs. The whole division cheeped like
wild men when we struck the cracker
line at West Point. on the Ohio.
Zone of our boys out foraging came
across a great pile Of cracker boxes
near West Point. and after eating his
fill decided to carry box to where he
supposed the regiment would 60 into
camp. He carried the heavy box about
two miles and came OH his company
reyeling In a landslide of crackers and
ham. When the boys whooped and
laughed Boney lowered his cracker box
with succeed remarks to the effect
that 1t was the most outrageous case
of ingratitude recorded In history.
William Sooy Smith, by the way. was
ia that cracker jubilee. He was then
commanding our division, and as the
half-starved men came up be simply
told them to take what they wanted"
"Did you ever ask General John NJ
Palmer" said the Captain, about his
hot weather operations in fresh pork :?
The bows of his old command tell the
story on him at every reunion, but so
far as know there never has been an
official report on Palmer's corner in
pork, On the hard marches of the
Tullahoma campaign the men foraged
more than Palmer thought was good
for the service, and he issued strict or
ders against struggling or firing at wild
game or hogs. One warm day. as the
division was going into camp, there
were heard musket shots In the woods.
Divinng that the men were shooting
hogs, Palmer ordered that every man
who came to the picket line with hog
or any part of one be brought under
guard to his headquarters.
This disturbed the officers and men
in all the regiments. because there had
been quiet und standing that forag
ers should be pass-d. On this Gay all
the men carrying hogs or parts of hogs
were sent to division headquarters.
Palmer was very angry when a dozen
sta,waft soldiers with six dressed hogs
lined up in front of his tent. He was
amazed when there We're twenty-five.
and began to be amused when the num-
Der reached fifty. By this time his staff
and other officers began to chaff him
about corn ring the pork market. FL
naiiy, the old General told the men to
clear out TO their quarters and take
their blamed pork with them. The
weather was too warm fer wholesale
operations.
The hottest march of ny experience
was in that same Tuiiahoma campaign.
On the Fourth of July we were In the
dense woods, where not 2 breeze could
reach us. | never found a hotter place.
The hardest march ever had was In
the mountains to the north and east of
Chattanooga. The usual order is a
march of forty minutes and a rest of
ten. In the mountains we bad to rest
every five minutes The pleasantest
march of my experience was n leisure
ly one along the summit of Walden's
~ Chatfounaoa That yras