Chapter 5 - First Foraging Expedition

CHAPTER V

FIRST FORAGING EXPEDITION

Camp life in Harrisburg, was somewhat monotonous, guard mounts in the morning our regular morning detail for city hospital duty, throngs of visitors, pie girls and venders of all kinds, with an occasional dress parade turned off by Adjutant General Russell, made up our every day existence, and we naturally longed for some other excitement to aid us in passing the time.  Never will we forget our first foraging expedition, it consisted of Serg’ts Stuck, Lloyd, Baker, Knight, Witmer, Corp. F. B. Ulrich, Lot Ulrich, W. E Fausnacht, Antes Ulrich and the writer.  Early in the morning we passed out of camp, under the pretext of going for wat­er, taking several camp kettles with us, and which we concealed at the stock-yard tavern near the canal west of the camp.  We crossed the canal and started for the Lunatic Asylum, passing through the ground connected with the Institution we met a number of the inmates, who were out taking their morning walk, under the surveillance of their keepers.  Reaching the building, we rang the door bell and were admitted.  We passed through the building and noticed a large number of unfortunate men and women, who bereft of reason, made their homes within its walls, and who were evidently as well taken care of as it was possible under the circumstances.

We were forcibly impressed with one of the men confined in the Asylum, and we shall never forget the advice given us by the “old General” as he delighted to style himself, owing to the strange hallucinations under which he labored, believing himself to be General Jackson.  He was a fine looking man, tall and of a military appearance, with a snow white beard and hair, his eyes sparkling with the luster of insanity, walking up to where we were grouped he addressed us as follows:

“Soldiers, when you have fought as many battles as the old General has, you will learn the importance of always carrying a bale of cotton with you, and above all, don’t forget to make good use of you bayonets,” and with a graceful military salute he passed into his room and close the door behind him.

After we had spent some time in examining everything in and about the Asylum, we decided to start out into the country to get a good dinner.

Unfortunately for us the citizens had been greatly annoyed by the soldiers, as great numbers had been encamped in the vicinity, from the first days of the war up to the present time, and they were consequently not as ready, and probably not as able as they once were, to minister to our wants.  We walked about three miles back of the Asylum and as it was about dinner time, Serg’t knight and the writer were detailed to go to a farm house and make arrangements for dinner.  We did not succeed at the first two places but at the third place we stopped the family was making preparations to seat themselves at the table, making our errand known, and were politely informed that they could not give us all dinner, but that if we would seat ourselves we should have our wants supplied.

Taking advantage of their hospitality we seated ourselves at the table, and had soon forgotten our less fortunate companions, who were out in the orchard near the house, anxiously awaiting a summons to dinner.

We ate heartily, and when the hostess handed the pie around, we informed her that we believed we would take pie our out to our hungry comrades: The ruse worked well, we were told to eat our pieces, and when we had finished our dinner, we were given two pies, a loaf of bread, about a pound of butter and a crook of milk, to be carried out to our other foragers.  We offered to pay for our dinners, as well as for the provisions given us for the boys in the orchard, but the kind and generous hearted farmer and his wife, positively refused to take any pay for the victuals given us.

Thanking them kindly we gathered up our rations and hastened to where we had left the rest of our comrades. When we came in sight with our arms ladened with the commissary stores, we were received with a hearty three times three.

The provisions were soon dispatched, after which we returned the dishes to the house and started out on our expedition again.  In the rear of the orchard we discovered a large brood of chickens, and at once made an onslaught upon them, capturing several of their number whose heads were soon severed by the aid of a large sheath-knife that Corporal Freddy Ulrich carried with him.  It was here that  Freddy received a name by which he is today best known by to the boys of the company, namely “Kevic.”  He had drawn the knife out of the sheath, to cut the head off of one of the fowls and had dropped it, Lot Ulrich picked it up.  As soon as Freddy missed it, he asked if any one had seen his “Kevic,” which is the German name for sheath.

The next farmhouse we struck there was no one at home, although the door was open.  We entered and at once struck for the pantry, in search of edibles to eat.  We scarcely found the edibles ere the man of the house arrived upon the scene, having been engaged in plowing in a field near the house.

We at once made our wants known and he kindly furnished us with an abundant supply of bread, butter, apple-butter and all the milk we could drink.  After our appetites had been appeased Serg’t Baker who had some of the company funds, realized from the sale of fat and other surplus rations, offered to pay the bill, but the man refused to take anything for it.  We passed through the barn-yard, which was filled with fowls of all kinds, but his kindness, and the fact that he went with us, prevented the boys from going for any of them.

We started for camp by another road, and entering a stable we passed in our tramp, W. E. Fausnacht grabbed an old rooster as did several others of the boys.  The captured fowls made considerable commotion, through which the man in the house was notified of our proceedings, he came running out with a shot gun, and we scampered down the hill taking the chickens with us.  He ordered us to drop the fowls which we refused to do, but one and all breathed much freer when out of reach of his old “fuzee.”  Nothing of any importance occurring we reached camp in due time.

The next question which presented itself was, “who will prepare the chickens?”— This question was answered by Sergeant Stuck. who by the way was a regular “pot rattler.”  Frank succeeded right well, only Captain Davis said that he had more hearts for the same number of fowls, than he had ever before seen. The chickens were at length prepared, and those who were fortunate to be in the crowd of foragers, succeeded in getting a number one supper, we however did not fail in making a clean job of it, even the kettle was licked out so clean that Pete Lauben­stine did not need wash it before he made coffee in it next morning for breakfast.

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