The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1905-12-07
SOLDIERS STORIES.
ENTERTAINING "REMINISCENCES
OF THE WAR.
Graphic Account Of Stirring scenes
Witnessed ON the Battlefield and In
canp-vetsrans Of the RebeIlien Re-
eits Experiences Of ThriiiiSg Nature.

Aht OthCI Sull tnC huJOi,
went out to see the Sergeant, on an
invitation to take Sunday dinner with
him. / put in an appearance about
noon and found that Mrs. Sergeant
was Mt church and that the Sergeant
himself was cooking the dinner. I
went with him to the kitchen and
came upon the most appetlzing smells
that ever tantalized n hungry man.
"The roast beef was cooking just to
my taste; the potatoes were browning
in just the right way, and the other
vegetables were steaming alongside
slgnalizing odorously to my senses
The Sergeant had everything well In
hand, and when Mrs. Sergeant came
in we sat down to n well planned and
well cooked dinner. The Sergeant
incidentally remarked that his wife
was n very fine cook. The wife admit
ted this, but said she had learned all
She knew about cooking from her hus-
band.
"She went on to say that, unlike
most women, she recognized her nus
bands superiority us cook and had
never asked him to surrender the SUI
premacy lie had won during the war.
She wondered, however, If all soldiers
who believed they We're good cooks
| in the old days could really cook any
one thing as well as the Sergeant
could cook everything. This reminded
me of Captain A. \. Lee OF the
| Eighty-sixth Illinois, now living at
Harper, Kan. and told her the story.
| when Captain Lee was promoted
from Lieutenant to Captain he secret
~ planned to give his brother officers
surprise in the shape of n banquet
This was in the winter, after Stone
River, and we We're on outpost duty
below Nashville. The Captain bor-
rowed a Dutch oven, sent to Nash
Vile for flour and other things, and
wrote to his mother for a recipe for
making n pound cake. When the
time came he equipped himself for
work and set about preparing the re-
past for his invited guests.
captain Lee had learned to cook
while in the ranks, and he was proud
of the record he had made and had
great confidence in his ability to meet
every emergency. He mixed his -four
and other ingredients for the pound
cake with great care, because he was
ambitious to say to his shoulder
strapped guests that he had cooked
. everything himself. When his mix
] ture was too thin, although measured
according to his mothers recipe. he
: thickened it until, when rolled out, II
|. was st1ff enough TO stand alone.
!. ''Then he brought the dough to the
! desired thinness and put it, after def
!. manipulation, in the Dutch oven. For
/! time he relaxed his vigilance to re-
!. ceive his guests, Meantime he detail!
9 ell his faithful servant Bob to watch
the oven and to keep live Goals under
Il and on the lid. Soon the lid began
! to rise and Bob weighted it down
! with rock. But it would not stay
down. and Bob, as n last resort, tool,
musket and pounded the lid down
with the butt end thereof.
0 Later the Captain, ignorant OF
\ Bob's rough treatment of his rising
{ pound cake, ordered the dinner served
Everything was cooked to a turn and
- the Captain received many compli
ments. To make his triumph com
plete he ordered on the pound cake
I as n reminder of the homes and tho
/. mothers in the North. The guests
were generously helped, but not one
81 La, lr.t u, f,,i
The cake, having been overmixed ant
pounded at the wrong time, was q
failure. Captain Lee believed thai
pound cake ruined his social career
IN the army and he never boosted OF
his skill as Il cook in the presence oI
his wife"
bad cooking in the army said the
Doctor, KILLED thousands of men
. Therefore the soldiers who learned lc
be good cooks deserve the more
credit. Some men learned easily
, some came into the army with faiI
, knowledge of cooking, and others with
, the sportsman's training in roughing
but the majority We're as helpless as
kittens even in the matter of cooking
beans. In our regiment l discovered
half dozen hotel and steamboat
cooks, and had them detailed to
teach the men In the ranks how to
make soups, to cook meats, and to
bake bread. In this way our boys es
capped the troubles of the soldiers who
ate sinkers and half cooked food.
zone of my instructors In cooking
!, was hard case when it came to sol
diering, but l stood by him for sew
eral weeks One night, however, he
took advantage of my frlendlness to
ward him, rode through the lines OF
my own horse, and did not return. Al
active campaign followed, and little
thought was given to the deserter
My horse was brought to the picke
lines by country boy, and no ques
tons were asked Before the cam
palgn was over l was left In an isol
ated camp in charge of twenty ol
more sick and wounded men. hat
no cooks no nurses and Mt the las