Читать книгу The 125th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry: Attention Batallion! - Robert M. Rogers - Страница 12

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That was the last we saw of Bragg's army for many a day. He had left Kentucky with what was left of his 60,000 followers who were with him when he entered the state, in disgust perhaps at the non-military manner in which our army was manœuvred, or perhaps in order to more easily obtain supplies; at any rate he was "gone from our gaze like a beautiful dream," and we went into camp at Crab Orchard. At this place the character of the country suddenly changes. It becomes rough and barren, affording scarcely enough corn for its spare population; and the road passes through defiles where a small force can resist, with great effect, a large one, where in fact the use of a large force is impracticable. The little forage there was in the country had been consumed by the enemy in his retreat, rendering it impossible to subsist any considerable number of animals. Here it was the measles broke out in the regiment, and we were in the worst possible condition for such a guest, a simple thing to manage when the surroundings are favorable, but a dreadful distemper in the condition we were at that time. The weather was chilly and cool, and the wind would blow all day long. It was a sad sight to see the boys who were afflicted with the disease, stretched out on the bare ground, with nothing over them but a blanket. We were thankful it did not rain, if it had the mortality would have been far greater than it was, many died however, and there were very few who were able for duty. We remember assembling for dress parade one evening, but as our number was so small, the colonel ordered us back to our quarters. We had had no tents issued to us yet, and the most of us had thrown away our overcoats, being unable to carry them. But now we felt the need of them, as the nights were cold, and none of us had more than one blanket apiece. There was grumbling and swearing, but at last some fellow solved the problem and restored us all to good humor. No one ever knew how "camp rumors" ever started, but start they would, and the better they suited our frame of mind, the faster they flew. So one morning the word went round "that the war was over, and we were all going to be discharged and sent home right away, this was the reason why new overcoats were not issued to us." This was the report and was swallowed as gospel truth. When we were ordered to pile our knapsacks, the morning of the battle of Perrysville, of course we complied with it, and when they were brought up to us again there was much of their contents missing; blankets were gone, had disappeared in some way, and all that many of us received was our empty knapsacks, they were not in so great demand, as they could not be utilized for any other purpose than that for which they had been intended, so every fellow got his knapsack but minus its contents, the writer got his, but the blanket which it had contained was gone, and we thought we would have much preferred keeping it than to have lost a dozen knapsacks. However we did not waste many tears over it but took the first opportunity to make the loss good by putting some other fellow to a like inconvenience. One morning while at Crab Orchard as we were passing around the company quarters trying to cheer up those who were sick, by sympathy and encouragement, we were hailed by a comrade to come and help him dust and fold his blankets. We went, of course, and when stooping over to gather up the corner of his blanket, lo and behold there was our private mark, which we had made by slitting the corner in three pieces. "Hello, Mac," we said, raising up, "where did you get this blanket?"

"Why, drew it from the quartermaster of course. Where did you suppose I got it?"—this with the blandest and most child-like air.

"Drew it from the quartermaster," we replied. "Yes I know how you drew it, you drew it from my knapsack at Perrysville, you rascal, that's how you drew it."

"What in thunder are you talking about," said Mack, "here help me shake it, and don't go to insinuating that I stole your old blanket."

But we knew the property was ours, and intended to hold on to it, not that we particularly needed it, for we had obtained another one, but we did not propose to be robbed, as we thought we were being, in that way. This was our blanket, there was the mark, and we were going to have it. Mack was getting riled a little.

"Are you going to help me shake that blanket?" he asked.

We replied "no," that we were going to keep that blanket ourself. We were in earnest and he saw it.

"I'd like to know what makes you think that its yours?" he said, in the most innocent manner.

We held up the corner to him. "Do you see that; that's our mark."

Mac's countenance fell, he had never noticed that before, and never another word did he say. He stooped over to pick up another one, for he was, or had been until I came to him by his invitation, the fortunate possessor of two. We were not mad nor out of humor the least bit, for as the saying is: "we had been there ourself," but we requested Mac to tell us where he got it. Seeing that we had doubled up the blanket and held it under our arm, and was not the least bit inclined to give it up, he said:

"Well, now, if you won't tell anybody, I'll tell you how I got it. I was coming along the other night past Doc. McElroy's quarters, and I was on the lookout for a blanket. I came right by where the doctor's darkey had made down his bed for him, so I just reached down, and gathered onto that blanket and scooted; hold on, I'll tell you the rest of it," he said, as he recovered from the fit of laughter into which the recollection of his theft had thrown him. "I made down my bed pretty close to the doctor's, to see what he would say to the darkey when he came. I did not have to wait long; here came the doctor. 'Boy, got my bed made yet?' 'Oh yes, doctor, all right sah, made you good bed to-night, doctor,' the darkey replied, and soon the doctor proceeded to test the assurance. There was the bed, sure enough, but when the doctor got down on his knees, and went to turn, as he supposed, the top blanket down, nothing was revealed to his astonished gaze but the bare ground. Then, said Mac, the trouble commenced. Calling the darkey he asked him if that was what he called a good bed, where's my other blanket? he yelled, and the air was blue with oaths.

"Deed, doctor, I lef him dar not more'n ten minutes ago, shuah, but he done gone now, das a fac," and the darkey gave a groan. "I spec's some of de sogers mus have stole him, doctor." And then Mac said he heard more oaths, and a noise as if some one was in distress, and then a sudden cracking of the bushes as of some one running, and he heard the doctor yell out: "Leave here, you lazy rascal, you'd loose your head if it was not fast to you," and gathering his only blanket, he saw him making off with it with the intention, as Mac supposed, of bunking with some body else who was blessed with more cover than himself.

Oh! said Mac, I thought I would die laughing. I could not hear all that was said for I was laying on my back almost ready to burst. I never laughed so in all my life, and as laughing is contagious, we were soon laughing with him at the remembrance of his stealing the doctor's blanket. But such was life in the army. Whenever we were in camp we could obtain from the quartermaster anything we needed in the shape of clothing or blankets, but on the march it was different, and if a fellow lost anything he generally managed in some way to make himself whole, by appropriating some other chap's property. But this was only done in case of necessity, there was too much sterling integrity and manhood in the regiment to allow of stealing maliciously and wantonly. The quiet appropriating from some other mess of a blanket, canteen, mess-pan or camp kettle, by a fellow who had lost his own, was thought nothing of, provided the purloiner was not caught by the real owner. In that case restitution was demanded, and if he could prove his case, the property would be restored.