Chapter 17 - Our First Quarters

CHAPTER XVII

OUR FIRST QUARTERS

After the Division returned, we were relieved and were glad to return to camp.  Serg’t Knight proved to be an important personage, he having been with the expedition.  From him we learned that the command had been within a short distance of Winchester, and that at Charlestown, a place made historic by the trial of John Brown, for his insurrectionary purposes against the sovereign Commonwealth of Virginia, the command had destroyed a large flouring mill, and a considerable quantity of flour which was intended for the Rebel Army.

The day before we were ordered out on picket we had been notified to erect winter quarters.  When we returned to the regiment we found a large quantity of wood suitable for that purpose and we proceeded at once to erect them.

The quarters were erected in the most primitive fashion, and consisted of logs notched and crossed.  The quarters were about 8x6ft, and built to the height of 4ft, and covered with shelter tents, and were large enough to accommodate six persons,  The space between the logs was filled up with chunks of wood and then plastered with mud, thus making them warm and comfortable.  The company was quartered in eighteen tents, arranged in two rows facing each other.  There was a company street fifteen feet wide and 100 feet deep.  The officers tents lined, facing the company streets with an avenue of twenty feet between them and the company quarters, whilst the regimental quarters were fully as far in the rear on an eminence near the center of the command.  Thus it will be observed that great care is taken in the arrangement of the camp of a regiment of men.  The quarters were all properly ditched, and every precaution taken to make them as comfortable as possible.

Having made our quarters as cozy as possible, we expected to remain in them for the winter and have a nice time generally.  The first night we occupied the quarters a fire occurred in the one occu­pied by M. S. Schroyer, J. P. Haas, Ed. Fisher, and several others, which caused considerable merriment.  Haas had gone to sleep, and thinking that the others wo’d soon follow, he allowed the tallow dip, which was fastened to the top log of the tent, by causing a sufficient portion of hot tallow to run on the log, and placing the candle an it.  During the absence of the rest and Mass going to sleep, the candle was consumed, burning down to the log, the blaze was communicated to the canvas and which soon look fire.  Haas was aroused from his sleep by the boys discovering the fire and not fully realizing the situation, he commenced battling the fire with his hands and finally succeeded, but not until he was rather severely burned about his hands.

After the quarters were all finished, which took place about the 8th of December, a number of the messes went to Bolivar and purchased small stoves, for which they paid $8.75.  The mess to which the writer belonged bought one, and the first night we had it, we were baking potato cakes on top of it, having DRAWN an extra allowance from the cook house and whilst busily engaged in preparing them Lieut. Byers put his head into our tent supposing that he had seen us draw the potatoes, we hastily scraped them off the top of the stove, greatly to the detriment of our fingers, which were more or less blistered.  The lieutenant wanted a box of pills of Jacob Swab, one of the mess, and who by the way was a traveling Doctor shop.