Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1903-12-30
THE BATTLE-FIELDS.
OLD SOLDIERS TALK OVER
ARMY EXPERIENCES.
The Blue and the Gray Review Incl.
dents of the Late War, and In n
Graphic and Interesting Manner

OutluS my ~ dNAhAA
hostilities, the aspect of everything APP
peared very serious, but it turned out
to be a farce Still there was a real
prospect of little bioodsbed in the
adventure, and the writer and fifty or
sixt.' ardent young soldiers in blue,
with and without shoulder straps, then
satisfied themselves that they were not
afraid TO go anywhere there was dan
ger of being shot Anyway, the story
Is worth telling.
1t happened about April or May,
1862 l had been in the military ser
vice of the United States since the pre-
vious September, and l had not yet
heard bullet fly. l was subaltern
in the Tenth New York Cavalry regi-
ment The government had quit re-
crufting before we became organized
and it looked late in the fall of 1861
as though we would never be regi-
ment Finally, IN the last days of De
cember, eight companies were muster
ed in, and we We're dispatched south
ward, from Elmira.
From that time clear up to the sec
ond battle of Bull Run, eight months
later. the government treated us very
much as though we were superduous
and no marnCr OF use First, we were
put in barracks al Gettysburg.
That now Worldwide famous town
had not been discovered at that time;
IT lay amid the hills of south Penn
sylvania, in all its original Dutch
sleepiness, and nobody dreamed of
such a thing as that the greatest battle
of the war was to be fought on that
very ground.
Surely, when we buried one Of our
comrades on. grand Cemetery hill one
lovely spring Sabbath-the very first
soldier ever inferred on that historic
spot-he would have been deemed in
sane who had predicted that in a little
more than year deadly tempest of
fire, lead and iron would rage about
this spot, and that little later on
thousands of soldiers graves would
dot these heights.
No; we never dreamed of such a
thing. We We're at Gettysburg until
the following March; the regiment was
not mounted until August. We had
an exceedingly good time. We had
some dismounted drill; we ate large
quantities of apple butter ana hominy,
the principal products of that region;
and those of us who were young and
frivolous las nearly all soldiers were
in those days, firted with the Dutch
girls.
l have always thought that if our
field officers had not continually stir
red up the War Department on the
subject of mounting and putting us into
the field. we would have been right
there when Gen. Lee invaded Pennsyl-
vania. But in March we were ordered
to get on the line of the railroad from
Baltimore to Havre-de-Grace at the
mouth of the Susquehanna. and guard
it. AS dull sabers We're very ineffi-
cient weapons TO guard anything, lot
of secondhand but still serviceable
muskets were issued to us. And then
the lively row that just fell short of
mutiny! The men protested and swore
that they Wore cavalry, not infantry,
and accused the officers of conspiracy
with the War Department to force
muskets upon them and thus change
their proud condition i'll the service
We were, in fact. up 10 that time about
as much cavalry as wooden hobby
horses are; but that made no difference
with what the men thought to be their
reserved rights. At last they were con-
WINGED that this was to be merely a
temporary service and the muskets
were accepted.
From the stern realities of war as
saw 1t in 1868 and 1864. my mind goes
back to the pleasant four months along
that railroad, and pronounces it de
lightful example of playing soldier"
The RECON is the same that was in
vaded by the fire-eating guerrilla, Har-
ry Gilmore, when, in July of 1864,
while Early was invading Maryland.
they rode around Baltimore, stopped a
railroad train at Gunpowder bridge,
captured Gen. Franklin ,on it, and put
everybody i'll terror by their capers.
But everything was peaceable about
It
ty or eighty miles this road runs
around the head OF the Chesapeake
bay, and at every few miles of that dis
lance wide inlet is crossed by n rail-
road bridge. We were SPLIT up into
,detachmeTts, and posted at these
bridges to prevent them from being
eaten up by the shad. i really could
not see that there was anything else
to do. The inhabitants of the country
were 20 loyal; but they were all
,pitahle, the Secessionists
lst sac Union folks. So we ate
40 I'll, faisi W., the citizens, made fire.
''Tt iSisH9 to Baltimore, read about
usWa campaign, and wondered
Cleliar didn't take Richmond.
-i.Ort. we had glorious. good
iI.g, and put on ali the airs of real
,r,ls aers,
, 0ae day the profound quiet Of this
situation at the Back River Station
six miles from Baltimore, was broken
by a furry of real excitement
A negro came to Captain Pratt lcom-
manning Company Al and told him
that a company OF Baltimore seees-
sionists we're aboard a schooner. just
of North Point. only four or FIVE miles
from Black River. and were about to
so south somewhere TO join the Con
federatC army.
l. q. II