| Show FACTS ABOUT ARMY LIFE the spaniards seem to think that americans lack the qualities of the soldier said a veteran of the civil war yet there are few things more surprising than the readiness with which the american volunteer accepted the conditions of army life one of the first and also one of the hardest lessons an enlisted man in a volunteer army has to learn to ia that there to hi an aristocracy of t shoulder straps which Is contrary to 4 his democratic experiences and principles in the lost last war as a soona croon sumpter was fired on patriotic men got gat together in companies and elected their own commissioned officers without realizing all that commission means the men in many cases had lived together on the same social plane often as intimate friends in choosing their officers they were influenced by the same amiable considerations that determine elections in civil life A good fellow or a shrewd politician could easily obtain the support of a majority of the company whether he was adapted to the office or not in time the private soldiers learned there was between them and the commissioned officer a gulf which no good will on his part could bridge he was compelled to assume an air of superiority that only the utmost tact could save from offensiveness he waa not allowed by the army regulations or traditions to continue the intimate personal relations that existed in private life it was sometimes galling to the enlisted man that besides being better paid better clothed fed and housed the commissioned officer enjoyed many privileges that were of great importance to men used to the free life of a republic besides his larger pay the officer had an allowance of rations beyond that of the private which he commuted when in camp that is he be drew a money equivalent instead of the rations and was able to buy provisions ot of a superior quality and larger variety the company officers formed a mess and an expert cook and general servant a complete outfit of dishes which were carried in a camp chest cheat and so on the private had his tin plate tin cup tin spoon his coffee being made in a huge sheet iron kettle the officers had a wall tent that was carried in wagon the private a dog tent that wao w carried by himself As a rule in active service the private had the benefit only of what he could carry except the few cooking utensils in charge of the company cook in ordinary times the commissioned officer would leave camp virtually at will his duties were comparatively light while the private in addition to sentry duty had sometimes to serve with pick shovel and ax in the of fortifications the digging of the rifle pits and making of corduroy roads and the like the officer might occasionally obtain leave of absence to visit his home while a furlough was a rare thing for a home homesick private in the last extremity the officer could leave the army by resigned nw tion but only expiration of his tern term of service incurable wounds or disease or death offered release to the soldier the latter envied not only the commissioned officer but also the negro servant who could come and go at will the submission of the american volunteers to 1 hard conditions ar army m y life is one of the marvels an and glories of American patriotism the pay was not enough to be alluring at first it was 11 and later it was 13 a month the government provided the clothing food tobacco etc but the pay waa small enough where there was a family dependent on the earnings of the soldier the men did not always send their money home when a large part of shermans Sher mans army was paid off at kingston before starting on the march to savannah there were hundreds or of chuch a luck banks at which many of the men lost the pay of months it was particularly hard for the in tell igent private who had enlisted from patriotic motives as an immense number did to endure the frequent blunders and culpable stupidity of commissioned officers by which the lives of men were uselessly sacrificed an unpopular company officer or any other had no easy time of it as aa there were many ways in which the soldiers could tease and torment him in spite of his many advantages the lot of the commissioned officer was not always happy he had his re oommen surat e with his privileges perhaps his severest trial was at that point in a battle where the men were forced to lie down under fire to await a charge or a forward movement ment this is the time when a panic la Is most liable to occur the officer can stand erect and appear indifferent to not lie down with the men but must the ping of the bullets the chances of life escaping injury or death axe are much fewer than those of the mel at aua toona pass where every head that was raised above the earthworks earthworms earth works was certain to be hit it required the utmost courage or the fear of ridicule that is often the substitute sube subs titue for courage for an officer to stand and encourage the men every officer from general corse to the regimental officer who finally assumed command was shot in the head before the civil war there were the most absurd ideas about the way in which battles are boughe from old illustrations the popular notion was that soldiers fought in solid columns like the heavy cavalry of the rus slams lans at sebastopol sevastopol Seba that the men in front fired and knealy to reload and those in the rear fired over their heads the single thin line of battle formed by the american soldiers was inconceivable to the uninitiated it seemed indeed a frail thread that could be easily broken and so it could but the break was not serious and could be casilly restored besides before the days of smokeless powder the men engaged in battle saw but little of the enemy after the first few volleys they simply fired into a cloud of smoke generally aiming too high to do any execution an examination of the trees after the battle showed that most of the shots were too high in spite of the constant warnings of the the equipment of the private soldier at the beginning of the wax war was well calculated to secure his comfort save when he was waa on a long march and had to carry his outfit besides his heavy musket he carried a knapsack on hla his back in which was a complete change of underwear and a blouse and in a roll on top was a blanket and perhaps an overcoat a haversack hover sack capable of holding ten days rations of hard tack and bacon a canteen holding a quart of water a belt with a bayonet and a cartridge box holding forty rounds a tin cup and sometimes a forage cap the me cartridge was of heavy paper the end of which had to be bitten off in loading the bullet being rammed down with the ramrod occasional infantry regiments armed themselves with the newly invented henri sixteen shooter rifles of the men who carried these a johnny reb said them berned yanks load all night and shoot all the next lay ay such regiments were usually mounted to serve as scouts and for akers agers the cavalry proper being armed with a lighter carbine and a sabre before the close of the war the infantry in constant active service dispensed dispense with the knapsack and carried the blanket in a long roll about the body A dog tent was added the canvas and votes poles for each being divided between two men it was a tent into which two lier persons sons could crawl on the march some attention was paid to order but bait the men were allowed to carry their guns as they chose it was wa found to be easier marching to keep step the men sang and chaffee chaffed one another and especially any unpopular officer who passed while they were embarrassing in their affectionate comments when a popular general was in an sight in ordinary circumstances twenty miles was a full days march the average was less leas than this thid on the march to the sea although the roads were fine and no enemy obstructed the way the fira to enlist in 1861 were members of the independent militia companies and the volunteer firemen the engine houses were centers of patriotism and on the first night after lin coans call for volunteers more than half the firemen were enrolled colonel Ell enlistment of a full regiment of fire laddies in new york was one of the remarkable incidents of the early days of the war new york sun |
