Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1900-09-05

Railroads" said the Major. "brag
| good deal about their baggage system.
! Compared with any other in the world
/ 1t Is certainly very satisfactory. But
| wher yer | hear boast of this kind
think OF the baggage system in the old
! Union army. In the summer after the
| battle OF Shiloh we were ordered to
store our knapsacks at Murfreesboro.
/ think. A few weeks later we started
! on the long march through Tennessee
! and Kentucky TO Louisville. Then we
We're hustled OFF TO Perryville and down
/ to the mountains after Bragg and then
across the country into Tennessee
/ again. We never expected to see the
! knapsacks again, but as soon as we
were in camp at Nashville they came
to us, and 50 far as we could see. not
/ one of them had been opened.
Just before the battle OF Stone River
opened in earnest. we dumped our
knapsacks in piles and left them under
/ guard, When one wing of the army
was driven back and the other Gear
! PEELED to change front, we supposed
of course that all ou. knapsacks had
! been captured. But week after the
| battle we were marched out to Cripple
! Creek, some miles in advance of Muir
/ freesboro, and our knapsacks came to
us in the condition in which we left
! them. In the campaigns of that sum
mer we stored them again. and didn't
see thsn until we were under tents In
front of Chattanooga
'Some weeks after the battle Of
! Chickamauga our division, in camp in
front OF Chattanooga, was ordered one
| night to leave tents standing. leave
knapsacks, and all company. baggage
and march quietly across the river. The
campaign that eliminated in the baiIle
of Missionary Ridge followed, and we
never expected to see tents or baggage.
After the battle we were shunted down
| the river 10 Bridgeport, and there our
knapsacks and other baggage found
us, l remember thar carried in my
/ knapsack, among other novels, SCOTS
! 'Ivanhoe' and Disraeli's Lord Byron
anu MS bduSANtts W ulN3l AtSiA anu
re-read. They came back to me every
time.
AT Resaca we dropped our KNAPP
| sacks in a most unexpected way and as
a heavy storm came on little later we
( jumped to the conclusion thar at last
the knapsacks were lost, but when we
returned to Resaea from the South to
take train for the North our KNAPP
sacks We're turned over TO us by the
quartermaster in good shape. Now all
THIS required system. watchfulness,
honesty Many times knapsacks We're
lost In battle. hut outside the storms of
battle the system of the quartermas-
ter's department worked perfectly
The same may be said Of the postal
system during the war. Letters were
addressed to the company and regiment
and often by people who were careless
number of the regiment but in some
way the letters came TO hand. Often
letters sent from Germany or England
or France were puzzle in direction,
but the army postal authorities made 1t
a point to have them reach their des-
tination The custom then was for the
soldiers letters Ia be franked and for
the postage TO be paid al the receiving
Office
Before this plan was generally I'M
dcrstood our sutler received letters
from the boys, each one paying the
pos &c and he guaranteeing that they
should go forward postage paid. Some
one discovered that tie suffer would
take every night thirty or forty letters
to tie Colonel's tent. have them
! franked and send them forward with
out stamps When this scheme was
exposed. the Colonel issued an order
asking the men of the regiment to send
! their letters 70 headquarters and not
| 10 the suffer ! have now scores Of the
| old envelopes bearing the signature of
/ the colonel or the regimental adjutant
I'VE didn't give much thought to the
! postal or baggage system while we
! were in the army. but accepted the
promptness and completeness as a mat
ter If course. Looking back al II now.
I ,vonder at the patience. energy and
! alertness Of those who organized the
plan aud carried Ii out. or course.
There were hundreds Of Thousands Of
men in the service and the very best
organizing talent employed. not only
10 supply them with food and clothing.
bur with all possible advantages.
honestly believe that the patriotic i'm
pulse and the wh0le-hearted sympathy
OF those lntrusfed with the manage
ment had much 10 do with the com
pletenessof the system. This was car
ried even 10 letters that were captured.
Just before the battle of Stone River
several comrades and myself sent home
money, each one inclosing 800. The
train carrying those letters was cap
TIRED by Gen John Morgan. and the
money was regarded as lost The day
after we were discharged, In 1864. at
Newport barracks, our colonel drove to
where We were quartered and asked
tile four or i've who had lost money to
20 with him We had no intimation as
10 what vas 10 follow, but we tumbled
into the carriage, because TO ride with
the colonel was a great honor. We
were taken to bank. where each one
received Oh order OF the government
s1o0. The colonel had forwarded our
claims, had explained the circun-
stances, and the government had re-
placed the money.