Year: 1863

Correspondence of the Daily Journal.


From the Army of the Potomac.


CAMP NEAR FALMOUTH, March II, 1868.


have been on picket duty for severa
days since last wrote to you, and have beer
trying to make up for lost sleep, for the pas
few days. There is no duty which so wear
and tears the body and the spirits of sol
dier as that of being with the line of picket
in front of wary and vigilant enemy Tn
most intense watchfulness, alertness and car
are required for long hours at time, which
are unrelieved by conversation, except, ma,
be, whispered word to the commanding of
ficer, or the mute signals indicative of al
quiet, or of circumstances leading to the sus
picion of an attack. The eye is constantly
strained, to catch the least motion of a recon
noitering enemy, the ear ever intent upor
distinguishing every sound in such way as, il
possible, to learn what the enemy is about
Many trying hour have spent in the days
of my college life, in the calculation of eclpses
Of the heavenly bodies, and have thought
that no labor could be more exhaustive. But
in comparison to picket duty such work is
a mental recreation-a reading of novels after
an attempt to decipher the meaning of all the
elliptical sentences in Tacitus, at sitting
He who does not believe it, let him try it fo1
forty eight hours at a time. My word for il
he will say there is nothing so exhaustive Of
the whole nature of man. Stand in the rain
for hours, intent upon seeing or hearing every
movement-so intent that you are startled al
the falling of leaf; intent upon being un.
seen and unheard yourself; try it say, for
hours upon hours, aud confess that mauling
rails from the toughest oak which ever was
gnarled together, is passtime in the compar-
ison. Nor is it apt to put one in peaceful
frame of mind to know that, Notwithstanding
his utmost watchfulness, rebel bullet may
at any moment whiz through his head, and
killed on picket" be his camp elegy in the
morning


And so it happens that have not lately
troubled you with letter. ..a-


| The weather has been at its old tricks
again, see-sawing away in very sublime
and awful manner. One day it would be
beautiful overhead, the next the other end of
the tester would come down with as terrible a
kerchunk Of storm as there could be any rea-
sonable necessity for. Of course it would
spill all the good weather off the other end
of the machine so etfectually that it would
stay spilled for some time. And that is the
way it has been cutting capers all along
Army movements, consequently, have been
impossible, but not army improvements The
lines of discipline have been drawn tight :;
poor officers, whether poor on account of dis
loyalty or want of capacity, have been re-
moved; good many have been promoted
from the ranks; important reforms have been
successfully inaugurated in the commissary
and quartermaster's departments; the army
has geen generally, may be universally paid !;
1t has been improved in every respect and
may be justly considered one of the finest
armies the world ever saw.


The great difference between Hooker and
Mcclellan, so far as personal appearance and
habits are concerned, is in the want of show
and state on the part of the present COM
mander. Mcclellan was little demagogue,
it is true, and affected perfect contempt of
fnery, but he never went from one part of
the army to another, or reviewed any portion
OF it, without being accompanied by great
crowd of officers, aids, and orderlies, never
less than dozen, and have not seldom seen
him riding at full speed from one wing of
the army to the other, no engagement being
thought of, followed by tail of thirty men
on horseback. Upon the contrary, l have
seen Hooker come up to review division,
accompanied only by single orderly. He
affects no state whatever uses none of the
demagougical arts by which men of sense in
the army were so disguised with Mcclellan,
but gives US good soft bread and variety of
food for rations, has comfortable quarters for
the whole army, and inStills into all an earn
est love of country and personal interest in
the triumph of our glorious cause. Without
okc&so f,,cc ho hoc
from the verge of demoralization, and has
done for it more good than would have suf-
feed to make Little Mac splendid compound
of Hannibal, Alexander, Caesar, Frederic,
Napoleon, all in one-in the newspapers, and
no where else.


The Conscript Law passed at the last ses-
sion of Congress is immensely popular in
this army. 1t is praised by the soldiers with
out exception, so far as know, and I have
heard many conversations on the subject. 1t
is locked upon as an act of good cheer and
encouragement to the troops in the field, who
have done so much and suffered so much,
without having yet been able to conquer an
honorable and lasting peace. It is interpret
ed by the army as most significant utter
ance on the part of the supreme power of
the land, that the troops now in the field
shall never suffer for want of timely rein
forcement-that the whole power of the land
shall be exerted at once in their behalf and
in behalf of our jeopardized country. There
may be in this feeling of selfshness.-
Those who desire to dishonor the country
by slavish peace, may say so, if they
choose, but there is no more seiishness in
it than is common to humanity everywhere.
1t is not the dictate of reason, but of sense
less rhapsody, to reject any aid that can be
rendered to the armies now in camp toward
putting down this hell-born rebellion. If the
militia can aid us (and there is no doubt
they can aid the armies now in the field in
many ways, performing guard duties, garri-
son duties, and the like, and thus relieving
others prepared for active service) we are
not such stuck-up fools as to reject their
assistance, nor do we think so lightly of the
patriotism of most of our old friends and
neighbors as to suppose they would not will
ingly rush to the rescue of the armies of the
Union on short notice. a,ts
| There have been many citizens visiting
the army of late, both male and female
The consequence has been an unusual amount
of amusement at certain times, when disci-
pline might well enough slack up little
There was ball at the headquarters of Gen.
Sickles, but few evenings ago, and dare
say those who were there had a rice time.
Calico is rare spectacle to troops who have
even done their own washing for year and
half It is better to behold than the most
renowned works of art So we do not COM
plain of the intrusion of civilians" par.
ticularly if they happen to be passable look.
ing women. We are willing to salute them
as Brigadiers at least, anything in the Regu.
lations to the contrary Notwithstanding.


| u.tsa 1a tser.t NORTHwESTERNER.
H WHAT'S taken from you before you
oct itf YouY Portrait I'd E'fF - ~