Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-11-17
tcopyright, 1908. by c. L. KIlmer.1

WNROM the battle of Gettysburg,
 in July, 1863, to the battle of
 the Wilderness, in May, 1884,
 ensued long interval of blood less campaigning and abortive maneu- Nering on the Potomac-Rappahanno line. At Gettysburg 10000 blue and gray had mingled their blood and bones in common dust, so what booted the minor encounters, spirited though they were, between Jeb Stuart's Vir- gi11ia horsemen and the troopers of Kirkpatrick, Custer and Gregg, or the brilliant deeds of Warren's men at Bristoe Station, or Sedgwick's braves charging the Rappahannock redoubts? Tn those days of fruitless marches that led nowhere in particular and ended dn a chance camp of rest the soldiers of Lee and Meade lived in daily an- kicipation of desperate combats and dreamed nightly of fearful struggles on the bloody field. The contest they well knew had yet to be fought out somewhere along the Potomac or James, somewhere between Washing ton and Richmond.
 But war is not all fighting, and in those off days of shooting and saber-a Ing, with mellow autumn airs to soften the hardships of life in the open, the human side of the warrior came into play. Chasing after a fight and never catching up with in the end becomes amusing, and the American volunteer with nothing much to do and his sense of humor aroused is never at a loss for relaxation. For the only time in its his tory the Army of the Potomac had a chance during fighting months of the year to take a play spell. Being en- camped along the Rappahannock and Rapidan in November, there was little to tempt foraging, for the region had been scraped of its products by long occupation by armies. With Thanks giving approaching there was not in sight an apology for substitute for army rations to vary the menu. What little the natives had hidden away of the fruit and vegetable harvest was gathered in by the cavalry scouts who naturally got the first chance at the prizes. Wild grapes and persimmons were in season. but only the daring fellows who ventured between the hos tile lines reveled in thesei luxuries. Now and then a pile of buried cab bages was raided, and, although there was not enough to delight the palates of the whole camp, the air was laden with the odor sent up by the camp ket- ties of the lucky ones, fragrant re- hinder of home dishes. An instance of the thoroughness with which the boys In blue cleaned up the country is shown by an episode in the First Maine cav airy. The regiment rode out on a scout between the lines, and after travelling some distance the advance sighted a strange gathering of men on a distant elevation. The colonel looked through his field glass, unable to clear up the mystery. Said he: "There are some sheep there something that looks like a battery, at least one gun. Anyhow 1 don't think the enemy can be there, yet If they are our troops I don't under stand how it happens that those sheep are still alive and browsing" Live sheep and Yankees in proximity seemed incredible, especially at the Thanksgiv Ing season.
 One of the chief diversions of the troops was singing and spinning yarns around the mammoth camp fires kin jdled at night to drive away the au- kumn coolness Dull days were fol- lowed by n carnival of fun lasting through the, long evening hours Good humor not only softened the hard ships of war, but the sternness of the warrior. A truce existed between the outpost pickets, and the blue and the.