Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1904-09-05
ON THE BATTLE-GROUND.

n
Times Dispatch writing from Manassas
on Saturday last says:
The Virginia troops are snugly tuck
ed up for the night, and are sleeping the
sleep of those who have done good SER
vice. | left their camp at i O'Clock.
tonight. Although the Virginians only
reached it at o'clock, it looks as
though they had been in camp there for
weeks. The regiment reached Camp
No. at 4 o'clock and marched three
miles to the position where they are
stationed. There are 526 men and 90
officers strong, and officers Of the regu-
lar army who observed them on the
march spoke Of them in the highest
praise. Major Bossieux's battalion, the
First, was the first to reach camp.
Major King, the newly elected major of
the regiment, met the special train at
Alexandria and took command OF his
battalion on reaching Camp No. l. The
Virginians have the post of honor In
General Grants army, for they are the
farthest from headquarters and nearest
to the camp of the enemy. Next to
the Virginia regiment the Texans are
encamped, and below them the Sixteenth
United States Infantry. Colonel Geo.
Wayne Anderson, commanding, spoke
in high praise Of the behavior OF his
men, and he has no doubt but that they
will make an excellent showing during
the coming week. The officers and men
are well and in excellent condition.
1t may be of some interestto know the
preparations for this army game. When
the snow was still on the ground Colonel
l.. S. Brown, general agent for the
Southern Railway Company, in conjunc-
ton with army authorities, began to
plan for the maneuvers. There were
four hundred and fifty landowners to be
seen, and each of these had to be per-
suaded to grant right of way. These
land proprietors together owned 60, 900
acres, and it can readily be seen that
the undertaking was gigantic. The
government pays, for five days use OF
the area, a rent of twenty cents an acre,
and an additional rent of thirty-bve
cents an acre for 5000 acres of actual
camps, and so the farmers Of Fairfax and
Prince William counties will obtain for
the use of their lands more than $l4, 900.
The Southern Railway has installed
twenty-six miles of side and spur tracks
at Manassas, Gainesville and Thorough
fare. and will run within the week one
hundred and seventy special trains or
more than !, 700 passenger coaches. The
farmers are greatly pleased, / am told,
with the personnel of the board that
will fix damages. Captain w. II. Brown,
of Gainesville, an old Confederate
officer; Captain T. E. Grimsley, OF
the Virginia National Guard, Of Gull
peper, and Colonel John d. Hull, of the
regular army. The fact that two OF the
board are Virginians is especially pleas
ing to this section. The State militia
will return to their homes at the end OF
the week, laden down with government
currency, for all will be paid off before
breaking camp, and so that famous
million dollar appropriation will be a
pleasant thing of the past. =,
| heard rather an amusing story told
Saturday by an ancient but sprightly
Newspaper man from the evergreen hills
of Vermont. l had said to him that he
WAS far from his own bailiwick-"A
stranger in strange land" "Not
Bit" he told me, and it turned out that
he had been at the real Bull Run, and
had good cause to remember it. His
command lost 275 men in five minutes,
and his run from the battlefield to Wash
ington put 10 shame the historic sprint
of the hero of Marathon. He showed
me a photograph taken just before the
battle, in which picture a pair of new
shoes played a very prominent part, but
said he. "They did not look new when
| reached the banks of the Potomac.