Chapter 16 - Our First Picket Duty

CHAPTER XVI

OUR FIRST PICKET DUTY

Matters progressed slowly with us, the company did its full share of all duty that could be performed without arms, and the men were becoming tired of playing work all the time, and were anxious to receive guns.

On the 1st of December the company officers were informed that the company couldn’t do the picket duty for the regiment, and General Geary intended making a reconnaissance in force towards Winchester.

In the morning the company was armed and equipped with guns, accouterments belonging to the men of the Division who were on the sick list, and were marched out on picket to relieve the men on duty.

Schroyer and Serg’t F. H. Knight accompanied the Division to Winchester the sergeant was detailed as an assistant to the regimental medical staff.

Capt. Davis was placed in command of the regimental camp.  The picket detail took two day’s rations with them, as they expected to remain out that long.  We presume that none of the boys have forgotten our first picket duty.  A snow to the depth of four or five inches had fallen the day previous, and the weather astonishingly cool.  The first countersign that we received was Winchester, and this sign was so indelibly stamped upon our minds, by a little incident that occurred to us and we will never forget it.  The company was divided in posts of three privates and a corporal.  Our post consisted of Corp. Eby, W. H. McFall, W. S. Keller and the writer.  In the early part of the evening, and whilst we were on guard, a man approached the post, and when within hailing distance, we halted the man in the usual manner, ordering: “Halt who comes there?”  The reply was “A friend with the countersign.”  We replied advance friend and give the countersign.  When the person who proved to be Lewis Millhoff of our company cried out at the top of his voice “W-i-n-c-h-e-s-t-e.r.”  We told him that was not the right password and ordered him to come into the line at once, or else put up with the penalty.  He came in and Corporal Eby gave him a good lecturing for thus heedlessly revealing the countersign.

The command made an arrangement amongst ourselves that if the one who was on post should see anything suspicious he should give notice to those on the reserve post by throwing a stone or stick back to where those not on post were lying around resting.

Everything passed off quietly until W. H. McFall got on post, when we were lying around the fire enjoying a snooze, it was after midnight, when suddenly into our midst a block came flying, quickly followed by another, when jumping up we seized our guns and hastened to where he was on post, when he informed us that he thought he saw something, but that he must have been mistaken.  We went back to the fire grumbling about the mean trick McFall had played us.

During the night several contrabands came into our lines and the next morning they were sent to camp under guard.

This was our first picket duty, and the novelty of the situation was really interesting.  We however made one mistake which we had cause to regret, having used the two days rations the first day, so that on the morning of the second day we were without rations.

A lieutenant of the 5^th Ohio, who had charge of the picket line, gave us permission to send one man from each post to procure rations.

It fell to our lot for our post, and in company with six or eight others we started for camp.  We had no sooner reached camp than we were met by Captain Davis who gave us just two minutes time to start back for the picket line, or he would place us under arrest for deserting our posts, and as we had drawn our two days rations, there were none for us in camp, and we were reluctantly compelled to return to the picket line, tired and hungrier than then we started for camp.

In an open field about a quarter of a mile from the line, there was a stalk of wheat, for this we started and brought several armfuls to the post, which we threshed out with our hands, and cooked it, adding pepper and sa1t thus securing tolerable good subsistence.  A number of our less fortunate comrades who did not get any of the wheat, were compelled to do one whole day and night without a particle of food.

Whilst on picket we could occasionally hear the boom of artillery, which we afterwards learned, was occasioned by Major Knap’s Battery shelling some rebel cavalry.

The weather was pretty severe and the snow made it very disagreeable to us.  We did not know enough to make good log fires, and as may well be imagined we suffered considerable in this our first experience on picket.  To add to our misery, the Division did not return until the third day, and we were compelled to remain on picket during this time.  Captain Davis however sent us out one day’s rations.