Year: 1862

CAMP KELLY, Patterson's Greek, Va,l


January 81, 1862.


Ed. SENTINEL: "All is quiet on the Potomac"
and likely to remain so. There is but little talk
of fight, yet occasionally we are aroused by
report of battle fought, and victory won, by
some other brave men in some other place. Like
the milk sick, when you discover the TRUTH it is
little further on or not much of a "scrimage." |
am free to confess belong to the party who are
making most hurried preparations for visiting
Richmond. Whenever you hear wise men, eau
tious men, and owshly sedate men. who are ma
king war under their Gown vine and fig tree" in
peace, ease, and even luxury, saying we are only
training our army for greater battle and more
decisive victory by biding our time and suffering
the enemy to waste his strength by starvation and
disease, tell the gentlemen they are right-yes,
eminently right, as they always are-but does it
never occur to them that this, like some of the
most delightful games of life, is lone at which
two can play" While one of these lank, tan
ooze-complexioned Virginians or North Carolini-
ans can have the ague seven days in the week with
some measles and few reumatiz along with it,
and worry through it, barefooted and hungry,
that there is no statute to prevent Union
and gentleman from having any one or all of
these diseaseS-(those of the latter class are those
who always die;) and If they should fortunately
have constitutions sufficient to recover health,
they can not have such treatment as will insure
it, for they must go to the hospital, and an army
hospital is only the anti-chamber of the charnel
house The only wonder is, the sick are so few
in number, and any who are sick should ever re-
cover This camp is no doubt in much better
condition than most of them, where the entire
force has been so frequently moved. as this COM
mand under General Lander; and do assure you
they are all far from being comfortable. True,
they have plenty TO eat and enough TO wear; but
sleeping on the ground fifteen to twenty in
tent; an iron box called a stove, with but little
pipe, the smoke, when so disposed, going out at
the top OF the tent but generally not so disposed,
remaining in. The officers, many of them, for
the past ten days, have suffered even more than
the men, as they had no stores, and these con
tinual cold rains have made the mud Just as deep
as men and horses could tramp il in that time.
1t is heart rending to lie in a tent, between
the noon of night and dawn of day,
at a time when the camp, usually like the
city, is still, TO hear these sepulchral coughs,
from closely fastened colds, the very sounds
of which are premonitory of disease and death.
No true-hearted feeling man can but be made
nervously unhappy at the sight of SO many horses
standing uncovered, hitched to a stake, up to the
fettock in mud, shivering in the wet and cold; or
when worn out with much fatigue they com
pelled to lie in the mud for little while that
they NAV catch a moments sleep. / have often
thought Byron's lines to his dog would be equally
as applicable TO the faithful servant of man, the
horse; and certain am that, if he is also entitled
to his reward for sufferings endured in this war
fare either with Secessionists or in the great bat
tie of life, many will be the good bales of timo
thy hay and dainty feed of oats which he will
get that he has missed here.


Our camp here is thought by chose who should
be competent to Judge to be admirably adapted
for the purposes of defense, and have no doubt
it is but what do we need with such camp2 the
boys all want a camp which means advance.
While they are all cheerful and contented. with