Iron County register., 1905-05-25
CHAPTER Nv.

WHAT WAS FOUND AT MANASSAS
Dark and dreary the winter OF the
first year OF the war closed in on the
camps about the capital. Between the
Long Bridge and the heights of Ar
lington lay sea of mud Dull REQ,
the Virginia roads were quilted deep
by the wheels of cannon, ambulance
and army wagon that sank now to the
very hubs in sticky mire, and time
and again stalled the needed supplies
almost within sight of their destina-
tion. In vain the darky drivers dou-
bled their teams and piled lash ard
blasphemy. Hour after hour the or
der would ring through the swarming
streets of the nearest camp: Turn
out, boys-more wagons stuck in the
mud!' and by whole companies, regu-
lars or volunteers, the men would
wade knee-deep to the scene, and with
fence rails as levers and drag ropes
over the brawny shoulders, prying,
pushing, hauling and shouting they
would "yank" the heavy rolling stock,
one by one, from the slough of their
despond and tide them over to the next
camp beyond, and so, from slough to
slough, pass them on their final desti-
nation.
But while the roads and flats were
quagmires, up along the wooded
heights the ground was fairly dry and
well drained, and there the four regi-
ments, three OF which had drilled
through August on the broad, level
plateau OF Kalorama, and much of the
early fall about Chain Bridge, were
now Kept from morn till night busily
at their soldier task. The general held
that the less time soldiers had to kill
the happier and heartier they were,
and determined was he that the splen-
did material confided to his charge
should be nodded into equally splen-
did, s0ldierly shape-that the one ex-
clusiyely western brigade of the now
well-organized army should be second
to none in point of instruction, disci,
pine and efficiency. To this end, drills
by squad company and battalion, all
three, were Of daily occurrence, fol-
lowed by dress parade at sundown,
and all this supplemented by long,
searching inspections every Sunday
morning. Presently, too he was able,
reach an open plain out toward Balls
cross roads, and there have brigade
evolutions twice a week, Then the full
uniform OF the regulars had been
drawn for the entire command, the In
diana boys shedding the semi-Zouave
garb Of gray in favor Of the army
blue, as had certain Of their Wiscon-
sin comrades at Chain Bridge as early
as September. One Badger regiment,
the Second, whose men lorded 1t some
what over their fellows because they
had been all through Bull Run and,
despite fairly heavy losses, retired in
good order-had even obtained the
q-.aint, stiff, Kossuth hat, looped up on
one side and garnished with cord and
brasses and feathers-the headgear of
the regulars at the time-and we're
dubbed the BLACK Hats" by envious
comrades Of other commands Their
original field officers had disappeared
somewhere about the time OF that ini-
tial battle, and in their place had come
a stocky little black-bearded West
Pointer as colonel, with a most SOL
djerly ex-captain of state militia as
his second, and then the whole brigade
had to be fitted out with white gloves,
and some nearby regulars were de-
tailed to show them how best to polish
their belts and boxes, and great was
the competition among the four regi-
ments to win the honor of headquar-
ters guard and orderlies.
Then, as freezing weathersset In with
December and it became possible for
carriages to come humping and sway
ing over the icy powders and ridges
into which the almost liquid mud had
been transformed, many generals Of
rank, and statesmen by the score, and
even the president himself, began pay
ing visits to Arlington and bringing
curious and distinguished foreigners
with them.
There was one visitor who could not
come too often. He came, however,
only twice or thrice. He never left
his carriage, but sat there lounaing
comfortably on the back seat, usually
with Secretary Seward by his side, just
- he used to come to nearer Kal0-