The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-03-21
WITH TIE GOLD SIXTH"
EXPERIENCE or TINT REGIMENT
IN THE CIVIL VAR.

Captain Beers of Bridgeport Entertain
Large Audience Pampered by Ad
miring Citizens Of New Haven ant
Hungry In Hostile Maryland - For
Wagner, Petersburg, and Bermud;
Hundred.
An audience which filed the art de-
partment of the Bridgeport public Ii.
brary to its fullest capacity listened
with interest one evening recently ia
an illustrated talk on Army Reminis-
cences" by the Hon. A. b. Beers The
talk was in the nature of a description
of the life in the army led by the Sixth
Connecticut volunteers, of which regi-
ment the speaker was q member start
ing out in 81 as q private and return
ing a captain at the close of the war.
The address was full of humor while
at the same time the descriptions of
the storming of batteries and forts
and the exchange of prisoners which
took place on the Cape Fear river, We're
thrilling and elected frequent applause.
The illustrations were excellent.
Beginning, the speaker said that
there have been many attempts made
to gloss over the cause of the war; but
that such attempts must always be I'M
awaiting He said that there was one
side the North, which was eternally
right and the other side, which was
wrong. The North sought to prevent
the division of one great republic into
two small ones, or into one and a mon
archy File spoke of the early days Of
1861, when men were burning to enlist,
and when there We're SO many applica-
tons for enlistment that all could not
be accommodated AT that time all Of
the men who went to the front were
members of picked regiments Later
there was a great need for men, and
every one was taken.
Judge Beers, at the age of Is years,
enlisted under Major Boudren in Com
pany l of the Sixth Connecticut volun-
teers. He told Of the calls which were
made for volunteers, and said that in
all the years since then he has never
once been sorry he enlisted as SOL
der for the Union. He described the
calling together of recruits, and of the
first steps in drill and continuing, he
said
''It is necessary first, for an army to
be properly clothed. 1t has q nice
sound, but l want to say to the young
men present that clothing soldier
did not mean sending him into Wilson
& Rusling's to be measured for suit.
The clothing which was made for the
coJl 100
900 pieces at time The recruit went
to the quartermaster and said he
wanted a uniform The officer sized
him up and then tossed him pair of
shoes, trousers, blouse and cap: If the
uniform fitted, the soldier was fortu-
nate. More often there was no usch |
thing as fit in the clothing, and it |
would have been necessary for many
in. the army to grow much in girth |
and length to fill out the uniforms sup !
piled them.
s'The recruits of the Sixth went into
camp in New Haven and remained |
there, drilling until it was time to go |
tof the front. The regiment left New !
Haven on the night of September 10,
1861. taking q boat which was to carry
them to Jersey City, the first step in
their journey to Washington. The
night was a very rainy one. but there
is in this hall tonight a man who was
a boy then, and he has told me that
when the regiment started out from
New Haven he ran along the shore OF
the harbor, keeping pace as long as
he could with the Sixth Connecticut
going to the front
"The regiment went from Jersey
City on to Baltimore, and received
different reception from
that accorded the Sixth Massachusetts
You remember that that regiment
marched through the city without any
and the soldiers were at
the mercy of a band of rowdies, who
made the most Of the opportunity and
them f1ercely. Remembering
that episode, our colonel, John L. Chat
field Of Waterbury supplied us with
ball cartridges and bayonets before we
through the city. and know
ing that we were prepared to resent
any attack we received nothing more
harmful than sullen looks.
"Finally we reached Washington.
We had left New Haven on the night
of September 10, and reached Jersey
City on the morning of the following
lay. From Jersey City to Washington,
4 journey which at the present time
from five to five and half
hours it took us just "a hours, so slow
was army transportation. In New Ha-
ven we had good things to eat. The
people We'd with each other in treat
ng us we'll They gave us pies and
cake sandwiches and fruit in such
profusion that there was considerable
danger of the whole regiment being
rendered sick and useless from over
eating. After entering Maryland we
we're in no such danger, for all the
lime until we reached Washington no
me offered us so much as a drop of
water. And so it was a very hungry
regiment of healthy men that entered
Washington.
'Just opposite the railroad station
vas large building, over which We're
he words Soldiers Rest, and we We're
old that in there we would be given
good breakfast. We waited with
What patience we could muster, and
inally filed into the structure. Run
ling the entire length of the room were
,are wooden tables two boards wide.
IN the boards at convenient distances
nj 1ah If sal noTIE tho