The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-06-01

on crutchcs, some 'impiug on wooden
pegs, some one aEmed-a motley host,
worn and battle SCARED, and uniform.
cd Only with gray hairs aud bald
heads. AS the procession went on l
noticed that my cid comrade became
restless and 6dgety and more and
more excited. He turned in his seat,
looked this way and that and By and
by, when the house was filed, gal
lery and all, and there was great sea
of wrinkled faces and sleek heads be-
fore him. he could restrain himself no
longer, and he sprsng from his seat
and exclaimed: By George! There
good many Of us ye.' A gleam of
triumph spread over his furrowed brow
and the fires Of the sixties glowed for
q moment in his faded eyes, and how
the picture reminded me of the true
Confederate sold;er--:he man whose
festive spirit led him to go in with
the chances heavily against him, and ,
by George, ito come out on top. In
his youth, no doubt, my old comrades
heart had often leaped with wild
triumph over the dangers of battle;
now it ieaped again to SEQ SO many
OF his comrades still holding the
ground after battle with forty years
of life.
God forbid that | should speak
lightly or irreverently or migrate
fully OF that mercy that has spared
the lives OF so many Confederate sol
diers. 1t is subject for the pro
foundest gratitude and deepest ap-
probation that ever stirred the depth 8
OF the human heart. But there is not
a tinge of irreverencc or ingratitude
in this spirit that l am trying to illus
trate.
ut is usual on such occasions as
this to speak of the trials and suffer
ings, the heroic endurance, the match
less courage and the lofty patriotism
OF the Confederate soldier. Iwant to
depart for few moments from the
beaten track and throw light on the
gentler side Of mis- nature. His ex-
perience was not all Of stern trial, of
suffering, of danger and sorrow.
There were many periods Of relaxation n
from the tension Of marches and bat
ties, and during one of these periods
the typical Confederate soldier was
one of the most happy 60 lucky, devil
may sort of fellows in the world
lie was unique in his whole make up
and there was nobody else 10 the
world like him. 1t was astounding
how quickly and how perfectly he
learned to take care Of himself, how
fastidious he became in his domestic
tastes and how resourceful he was
under circumstances that appeared to
shut him out from all resources. With
his bayonet for pick and tin cup
for shovel he would ctfectually in
trench himself against the enemy be
fore one hardly knew what he was
doing, and when the enemy opened
fire on him he would lie in his "hole,"
as he called it, and laugh at the
shricking Of shells and the whistling
Of bullets above him.
In camp, during period of mac
tivity, his instincts broadened beyond
the domain Of selfpreservation, and
his thoughts turned to projects that
promised conveniences, comforts and
luxuries. He usually had as his ow o
when he went into winter quarters in
Virginia "fly tent" or rubber cloth,
o blanket and United States over
coat, all captured from the enemy
during the previous campaign. He
also owned q pocket knife, and had
access to battered pole axe and on
army spade. With these implements
he began campaign offensive and de-
fensive against the rigora ee = Viz
ginia winter and usually came out
victorious. He dug him out neat
and commodious basement in the
ground, smoothed and polished the
walls until there was neither wrinkle
nor crease to be seen; out out a hand.
some fireplace in one end and shaped
it after the most fashionable models;
built wall two or three feet high
around the top Of the whole perpen.
dicularly to the walls of the base
ment with the afore. mentioned pole
axe; extended his chimney from the
top OF the ground with the same ma
terial; erected ridge pole over tho
centre. stretched his sly" over all,
pinning the edges down securely on
the side walls, and closing the gable
ends with whatsoever his good fortune
had thrown in hia uo, m ~,