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25 chapters
WM. L. SHEPPARD, Esq.
WM. L. SHEPPARD, Esq.
LIEUTENANT SECOND COMPANY RICHMOND HOWITZERS, A.N.V. RICHMOND CARLTON MCCARTHY AND COMPANY 1882 Copyright, 1882, By CARLTON McCARTHY. The Riverside Press, Cambridge : Printed by H.O. Houghton and Company. To THE MEMORY OF MY BROTHER, EDWARD STEVENS McCARTHY, CAPTAIN FIRST COMPANY RICHMOND HOWITZERS: WHO FELL AT COLD HARBOR, June 4, 1864 , A CONFEDERATE SOLDIER....
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
Comforts, Conveniences, and Consolations...
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A VOICE FROM THE RANKS.—INTRODUCTORY.
A VOICE FROM THE RANKS.—INTRODUCTORY.
We are familiar with the names and deeds of the "generals," from the commander-in-chief down to the almost innumerable brigadiers, and we are all more or less ignorant of the habits and characteristics of the individuals who composed the rank and file of the "grand armies" of 1861-65. As time rolls on, the historian, condensing matters, mentions "the men" by brigades, divisions, and corps. But here let us look at the individual soldier separated from the huge masses of men composing the armies,
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THE OUTFIT MODIFIED.
THE OUTFIT MODIFIED.
With the men who composed the Army of Northern Virginia will die the memory of those little things which made the Confederate soldier peculiarly what he was. The historian who essays to write the "grand movements" will hardly stop to tell how the hungry private fried his bacon, baked his biscuit, and smoked his pipe; how he was changed from time to time by the necessities of the service, until the gentleman, the student, the merchant, the mechanic, and the farmer were merged into a perfect, all-
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ROMANTIC IDEAS DISSIPATED.
ROMANTIC IDEAS DISSIPATED.
To offer a man promotion in the early part of the war was equivalent to an insult. The higher the social position, the greater the wealth, the more patriotic it would be to serve in the humble position of a private; and many men of education and ability in the various professions, refusing promotion, served under the command of men greatly their inferiors, mentally, morally, and as soldiers. It soon became apparent that the country wanted knowledge and ability, as well as muscle and endurance, a
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ON THE MARCH.
ON THE MARCH.
It is a common mistake of those who write on subjects familiar to themselves, to omit the details, which, to one not so conversant with the matters discussed, are necessary to a clear appreciation of the meaning of the writer. This mistake is fatal when the writer lives and writes in one age and his readers live in another. And so a soldier, writing for the information of the citizen, should forget his own familiarity with the every-day scenes of soldier life and strive to record even those thin
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COOKING AND EATING.
COOKING AND EATING.
Rations in the Army of Northern Virginia were alternately superabundant and altogether wanting. The quality, quantity, and frequency of them depended upon the amount of stores in the hands of the commissaries, the relative position of the troops and the wagon trains, and the many accidents and mishaps of the campaign. During the latter years and months of the war, so uncertain was the issue as to time, quantity, and composition, that the men became in large measure independent of this seeming ab
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COMFORTS, CONVENIENCES, AND CONSOLATIONS.
COMFORTS, CONVENIENCES, AND CONSOLATIONS.
Have you ever been a soldier? No? Then you do not know what comforts are! Conveniences you never had; animal consolations, never! You have not enjoyed the great exceptional luxuries which once in a century, perhaps, bless a limited number of men. How sad, that you have allowed your opportunity to pass unimproved! But you have been a soldier! Ah, then let us together recall with pleasure, the past! once more be hungry, and eat; once more tired, and rest; once more thirsty, and drink; once more, c
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FUN AND FURY ON THE FIELD.
FUN AND FURY ON THE FIELD.
A battle-field, when only a few thousands of men are engaged, is a more extensive area than most persons would suppose. When large bodies of men—twenty to fifty thousand on each side—are engaged, a mounted man, at liberty to gallop from place to place, could scarcely travel the field over during the continuance of the battle; and a private soldier, in the smallest affair, sees very little indeed of the field. What occurs in his own regiment, or probably in his own company, is about all, and is s
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IMPROVISED INFANTRY.
IMPROVISED INFANTRY.
Sunday, April 2, 1865, found Cutshaw's battalion of artillery occupying the earthworks at Fort Clifton on the Appomattox, about two miles below Petersburg, Virginia. The command was composed of the Second Company Richmond Howitzers, Captain Lorraine F. Jones, Garber's battery, Fry's battery, and remnants of five other batteries (saved from the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, May 12, 1864), and had present for duty nearly five hundred men, with a total muster-roll, including the men in priso
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"BRAVE SURVIVORS" HOMEWARD BOUND.
"BRAVE SURVIVORS" HOMEWARD BOUND.
Bitter grief for the past, which seemed to be forever lost, and present humiliation, could not long suppress the anxious thought and question, "What now?" The discussion of the question brought relief from the horrid feeling of vacuity which oppressed the soldier and introduced him to the new sensations of liberty of choice, freedom of action—full responsibility. For capital he had a clear conscience, a brave heart, health, strength, and a good record. With these he sought his home. Early in the
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SOLDIERS TRANSFORMED.
SOLDIERS TRANSFORMED.
Sunday night, April 16th, the two survivors sat down to a cozy supper at the farmer's house. Plentiful it was, and, to hungry travelers, sweet and satisfying. The presence of the farmer's wife and children, two lady refugees, and an old gentleman, who was also a refugee, added greatly to the novelty and pleasure of the meal. After supper the soldiers were plied with questions till they were almost overcome by fatigue and about to fall asleep in their chairs. At last the farmer, with many apologi
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CAMP-FIRES OF THE BOYS IN GRAY.
CAMP-FIRES OF THE BOYS IN GRAY.
The soldier may forget the long, weary march, with its dust, heat, and thirst, and he may forget the horrors and blood of the battle-field, or he may recall them sadly, as he thinks of the loved dead; but the cheerful, happy scenes of the camp-fire he will never forget. How willingly he closes his eyes to the present to dream of those happy, careless days and nights! Around the fire crystallize the memories of the soldier's life. It was his home, his place of rest, where he met with good compani
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THE CONFEDERATE BATTLE-FLAG.
THE CONFEDERATE BATTLE-FLAG.
This banner, the witness and inspiration of many victories, which was proudly borne on every field from Manassas to Appomattox, was conceived on the field of battle, lived on the field of battle, and on the last fatal field ceased to have place or meaning in the world. But the men who followed it, and the world which watched its proud advance or defiant stand, see in it still the unstained banner of a brave and generous people, whose deeds have outlived their country, and whose final defeat but
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