Chapter 74

CHAPTER LXXIV

The weather was daily growing more spring like and we knew that time to commence the summer campaign would soon be on hand, and we shipped much of our surplus winter clothing and blankets home, by express.

Several negro regiments were encamped near us and small-pox having broke out among them, they died off like flies there were frequently five and six funerals daily.  The poor fellows were buried with military honors in the soldiers cemetery on the hill.  We frequently went on the hill to see the sable warriors plant their departed comrades, and we were then and there impressed with the fact that the grave is the final resting place of all that is mortal of man.  The king in his costly robes and the beggar in his rags, are engulfed alike within its silent portals and that after we have passed away the sun will shine as brightly, the birds will sing as sweetly, and flowers will bloom as fragrantly as they do at the present, and that we shall be missed but a few years at the very farthest by our most intimate friends, and then even they will cease to remember that we ever existed.

On the 30^th of April, we had a general muster, after which Colonel Pardee gave orders to our suttler, who had previously made the rations, to sell every man in his regiment, as much ale as he wanted provided no man wanted over five gallon of the teutonic beverage.

As soon as the ranks were broken, the men made a grand rush for the suttler’s tent with all manner of vessels, buckets, mess pans, camp-kettles, canteens, &c., and soon returned to their quarters bearing them full of the oh, be joyful.

The members of the company made sure to get a full portion of the ale but by common consent it was agreed not to drink any­thing until after dress-parade would be turned off.  As it happened the officers thought it was not necessary to have a dress-parade, this was occasioned by the tipsy condition of a great majority of the men.  As soon as the time was past, the boys brought forth the cans, and at once commenced to deal out the beer rather lively, and by the time the sun hid his head behind the clouds, quite a number of the boys were in a fair way, to feel upwards for the ground.  The doings of the that evening were rich in the extreme, and the didoes enacted by the members of the company would have been ample to cause a stoic to grin.

We will not attempt to describe the scene, to attempt would be to fail, and we shall rest satisfied with giving one of the many ludicrous incidents.  A large number of the boys assembled in and around Sweeny Tod’s quarters when it was determined to court-martial Keller, who was charged with the crime of wearing a cap rather than that prescribed by the regulations.  The writer was appointed Judge Advocate whilst Serg’ts. Stuck and Knight with Corporal Ulrich, C. E. Parks, Corp. VonNeida and several others of the company constituted the Tribunal.  As the trial proceeded Serg’t. Stuck became very eloquent and when the Judge Advocate arose to address the Court he was unceremoniously held down and informed that he had nothing to do but listen.  At this crisis, the ale having given out, one of the boys volunteered to go to the officers tent and confiscate more.  This was accomplished and everything moved off smoothly again unti1 Serg’t. Knight ordered that no one should speak to him without first saluting him.

The court-martial broke up in a row and such a getting out of a tent you never did see before.  Many of the officers and men had assembled at regimental head-quarters where similar scenes were enacted.  The Colonel attempted to make a speech, but finding it would not go, ordered the suttler to treat the men to cigars at his expense.  The worst footed fellow that we know of was the one who had his canteen of morning bitters confiscated by the members of the drum-head-court-martial.

On the following morning most of the boys discovered that their caps were too small to accommodate their swelled heads, and the popular song was:

“Oh, we’ll never get drunk any more.

The day being the Sabbath we had the day to ourselves and the head-ache and we were heartily glad that no extra duty was required of us, other than regular Sabbath duty.  No sooner had taps sounded than we doused the glimmer and retired for the night.

Monday, May 2^nd, a detail was taken from the regiment to go down the Tennessee River and bring up the pontoon bridge at Larkin’s Ferry to the post at Bridgeport.  Colonel Pardee had charge of the detail from the Division, numbering all told about 400 men.

In the evening we were thrown into a wild state of excite­ment by the orders to be ready to move towards the front on the following day.  Preparations were immediately made for the important move.  Letters were written home giving our friends the news of the move, and many little details we had put off for the last moment were attended to, after which we assembled in groups in our quarters and talked over the many pleasant memories that were connected with the winter spent in Bridgeport, and all agreed in the fact that it was with a dread that they prepared for the contemplated move.