Year: 1865

f''"N'iA' We noulu Inc CuhuRe urbt rate now
l9r year or 80, but we have imposed no cond-


lions upon the country for our services and we are
Jlst as patriotic to-day as we we're the day we en-
listed. We have got just enough of that quality
on hand to last US till our times are out if ". are
kept so long, and no more but if we are let Of
before that time we shall doubtless have some to
spare for future emergencies. Uncle Sam will


lease take the hint


The Sixth Corps Hospital is now hope lessIy de-


frnct. Almost all had been sent away before we
came to our regiment. We were about the ast
dregs Of the hospital, only few stewards and
doctors being left till the next day, with three or


four light duy men under a sergeant to see them


safely IT, Now there is nothing left there to
'how hardly that hospital had ever been there


We didn't stay long enough to collect very large


pile Of MATERIAL or do work sufficient to leave any


very last ng ruins. There was little Of the com
n'sary goods left which the negroes apprc priaied,
o herwse it would have been wasted. was pass


ing there day or two after We left, and just for
he fun Of it went on to the ground to take
farewell lcok at the spot. AT the place where


he commissary tent had stood, in which had
pr tended to oiliciate for little while, there was
an old negro filing bis bag with coffee from
barrel that had been left partly full. The old man
thought he had fund mine Of wealth. From
h.s appearance should Judge he had suffered
much from destltuon. lie had nobody 10 care
for m now, he said. His former master was
gone and government had taken possession Of bis
masters property. There was another young,
stout-lookrg fellow there. what had been at work
At the hospital all along, but now had nothing to
DO, and hardly knew which way TO turn for liv
iug. lie said his former master had asked him
70 come back and live with him but said he ="


would sooner starye to death right here than 20
back to him. lie said be bad worked enough
Tor lha, man, aud had suffered enough from him.
lie said he had worked for him day after DAY,
from earliest light till dark, with only fifteen min.
utes rest OF neon for dinner, and on several occa-
sicrs be had been whipped without mercy. 81
haven't forgotten tim," said be, "and if | ever
meet him again will have satisfaction, | am free
nan now, just as free as be Is and just as good,
aud It lie refuses me satisfaction v Ill take IT," lie
was ythemeDtly in earnest. When | noticed the
broad chest, fine physical development Of limb
add muscles, and the energy and apparent vgor-
Gus viii Of their pos'essor inspired BY bis wrong
thought should have felt iriAs i'll at ease II
had been the master in question at that time
His master had owned l30 slaves, and lived on the
York river. Nearly all his male slaves had left
nim--a that could. II Shareholders generally
mere n Virginia have gained the nntipahy Of their
slaves 10 thi' way, no wonder j, isa death blow to


them 10 abolish the system 1t must require the
most prudent legislation to prevent unhappy col
Isions n this new state Of things which has been


introduced. Though they may not in many in
stances resort TO violence, they will barely be in.
duced to 70 back to their former masters for EN-
ploymeot. But necessity will soon provide It's
own inexorabe laws, and master and slave will
find that as President Lincoln in bis "tils story"
TO the rebel commissioners said, they must "rooi
hog or die II they won't work for their former
masters they must work for some others. En-
poyment must be bad, and work must be done,
and these two wants must meet each other some
way. 10 The nature Of things it can't be otherwise.


Our camp here il about seven miles from Alex
sndria, and dye from Washington We are IS,
about opposite Georgetown, on the Loudon and
Alexandra railroad, and near Falls Church. We
arpear tn be simply cimped here without order or
system Just to stay till some proper disposal s
made ofus don't know which way the army
pretends to front, or whether it pretends to
have fIont There is no exciting done, and 20
watching for the enemy There is nothing what. /
ever going on except camp duty, and that Just
now, is quite enough. The whole brigade i, /
camped hero near together. From Gen. Grants .
lleldq arters you can see Washington, with its
snow white capitol aud lofty dome, towering in
It's majesty Of strength aad beauty far above all /
other buildings in the city. The view from this
height /, really delightful have been told that
on this tmnence, rebel cannon were planted in the
summer Of lS6l-the nearest they ever got to
Washington. How confident they we're OF 6na
success in their cause but how great has been
their failure They had no sort Of an idea what
kind of stuff Yankees we're made, of but they
have found out to their abundant satisfaction


The men whose term Of service would have
expired before the lst OF October, were mustered
out Of the service night before last, aud yesterday
they went home, There were believe, l6S men
discharged from this regiment in all lis Of them
being present 1t was just one year since the
original regiment went home aud as many went
this time as then. The veterans, drafted men,
aud substitutes are all that is leh and there is
hardly enough of them to call it regiment.
Less than hundred men for duty is all there is
now. 1t took twenty-iaur men yesterday for our
police guard, and the sergeant m jlr wanted one
or two more for supernumearies but he couldn't
get them. lie had detailed all that was detia-
ole.


The men tina, went home yesterday were a
happy lot Of fellows. They went over to Dvs-
on headquarters aud got mustered out the night
before hand. They considered themselves free
citizens when they got back. Nomore guarding,
no more pckeling, no more watching for them,
They we're free men, free to go home and stay as
ong as they pleased ard no dreaded penalty Of