The National tribune., 1909-03-18
THEY soLDIERED HIM SOME.
n Vermont Boy Oh Picket Before Peters
burg.

Editor National Tribune: After the
Shenandoah campaign, the Sixth Corps
was returned to the Petersburg lines
reaching there. about the middle of De
cember. We took possession of the. camp
vacated by the Fifth Corps, which was
moved to the left. We lay across the
! Weldon Railroad, between Forts OrmistOu
and Fisher, the latter a very large fort by
the way.
The first time l was sent on picket MAS
a day or two after the rebs had made one
| of their periodical raids on the Union
picket line. There was an abandoned
breastwork, captured from the rebs the
Summer before, which ran from our lines
to that of the enemy, and hundred or 50
Johnnies would creep up behind and in the
old breastwork. until within 100 yards or
so of the line, when, deplOying, they would
give the rebel yell and'>rush the yidets
back, gobble haversacks, knapsacks,
blankets and other 'plunder" and be gone
before the reserve could get into action
My station was on the top of this breast
work, some 80 yards in front of the reg
| ular videt line. Orders were to fire with
out challenge upon any one. coming from
the front. II was February, and warm
n;a e ~ a.. una ,,iS an occasional
the top of the work and roll down ON to
the ice in the ditch, making a noise-to my
alert senses-like men marching toward
me. Twenty times during my hour of
duty my rifle was cooked, for | was very
sure that they were coming. But they
| failed to come that time; perhaps they
| found out that l was to be on picket that
night.
Another experience on the picket line
came a little later. For the first and only
time l had the good fortune to be on the
reserve, which every old soldier will I'M
derstand, but had hardly got settled when
| ofTa 81, N..I,a
with an order for six more men, and as |
was near the left | was taken along. |
was taken to the extreme left of tine Sixth
| Corps picket and among men of another
regiment. The Sergeant divided the squad
into reliefs, and we made ourselves as
comfortable as possible. As on the pre-
| vious occasion, an outside videt was put
out at night, and as the videt line was
among thick bushes, where an enemy
could get close, the videt was put 100
yards in front of the usual videt line. As
soon as the first videts were posted one of
the men proposed to hire me to stand his
tour of the outside post, but / refused to
be hired. saying that j would stand my
own tour and he must do the same. But
| didn't know what was to happen. for
when at II o'clock / took my stand by
a large tree, | saw no more o. my com
rades" until daybreak, when according 10
instructions | walked back to the picket
post. Several times during my long hour
| heard videts being relieved on either side
of me. but no relief for me. When
reached the post the riot act was read 10
the Sergeant in charge. / informed him
that his Captain and Colonc, should be
made acquainted with his treatment of me /:
that his nervousness" should be detailed,
and we would see whether or not his
stripes would remain on his arms. The
Sergeant begged. he protested, he tried TO
bribc. but there was no mercy shown: he
offered his watch, and what money he had,
as | remember, not much. and swore by
all his gods that it was unntentional that
they all fell asleep; that he was very
sorry it happened, and so on. but re-
fused TO listen or argue the case: | would
report to the proper officer. and he knew
what would happen. But by the time |
got back TO camp my Indignation and anger
had subsided n little. and never made any
official report of the case. If there are
any of that detail living | would extremely
we'll like to hear from them or him.-Chas
/ Porter. Co. E., 11th Vt, Second Brigade
Second Division, Sixth Corps. Grinnell
Iowa.