Raftmen’s Guard, Co.
D, 13th Pennsylvania Reserves.
Warren
Mail:
“Mr. Editor:- The many friends we left behind us may be glad to learn
something of the Raftmen’s Guard as soldiers. The duties of the
Camp, though constantly requiring our attention, cannot suppress the grateful
recollection of our homes and friends, now doubly dear to us in our separation
from them.
“Our
experience so far pertains only to garrison duty and our men adapt themselves
very readily to whatever is required of them. In fact, the conduct of the Raftmen’s Guard as soldiers and gentlemen, in and
out of camp, on duty and off is exemplary. Discipline is well maintained in the
company considering the promiscuous style of the camp, and the not very clearly
defined responsibility to Head Quarters.
“The
marked feature of
“Every
man among them is a Captain and of course obeys his own orders: but there
arises a conflict of authority that is embarrassing. The restraint of Camp upon
these free spirits of the backwoods is peculiarly burdensome. They must have
elbow room. As yet the regimental organization not being completed, their drill
has not progressed to the point of perfection. When asked by a stranger when
they drilled, ‘drill be
d____,’ was the reply, ‘we train:’ and
a grand train it is.
“Their
excess of vitality must find some outlet. The town is too much their
attraction, and a deal of valuable strength is expended in scuffling and
dissipation. The Buck-tail has a carte
blanche wheresoever his inclination prompts him
to go. The guard appreciates that confinement is not conducive to Buck-tail’s
happiness, and Buck-tail breathes the free air of heaven without restraint. If
his steps are arrested by a ‘who goes
there,’ ‘Buck-tail’ is sufficient to satisfy all scruples of the sentinel
and an ‘all right’ sends him on his
way rejoicing. In fact Buck-tail has earned this delicate consideration, for
when on duty himself his own generosity would not permit him to restrain his
comrades from demonstrating the principles of the Declaration of Independence,
Fourth of July and the Star Spangled Banner.
“If
the proprietor of a pasture field complains that his fresh cows are no better
than when they were farrow, the intimation that
Buck-tail has made a foraging excursion in that direction and returned with
sundry pails of milk to camp silences all complaint, and furthermore, which is
very satisfactory to the bovine proprietor if he happens to be a philosopher,
explains the phenomenon of a farrow herd!
“But
for all of this, Buck-tail is a trump and when he gets his regulation trousers
and has cultivated a little more of the soldier’s spirit du corps, he can’t be beat. You
may expect much from Buck-tail.
“A
rainy day in Camp is deplorable. The parade ground is unfit for the purposes of
drill. The men are either kept housed from the wet or are up to their ankles in
mud; as a consequence they make the barracks anything but desirable for a time
until ‘order reigns in
“The
freaks and pranks that are sure to follow a day of inactivity require a prudent
indulgence. They indicate a heavy head of steam on, which finds escape through
the safety valve of buffoonery and frolic incidental to a soldier’s life.
“Occasionally
when the propensity for fun is stronger than the inclination to sleep the
wild-cat serenade is given in character. The hideous charivari is indescribably ludicrous. The overture opens with a
solo mew from the grand maestro wild-cat.
A responsive y-e-ow
on the octave below comes from a remote corner of the quarters. These two
prominent performers serve the purpose of guides in a military movement right
and left. They give the key note: but without waiting to sound their A the whole feline chorus break in with
a screeching and spitting and scratching after the cross-cat method, till you
would imagine the whole neighborhood is Killkenny-catified!
“Imitative
voices scream through the whole vocabulary of the wild-cat dialect, and a scale
of more discordant modulation is inconceivable. A variation of the air consists
in a leading spirit introducing a ‘Bow-wow’
at the interval of a depressed seventh. From this point the performance
becomes somewhat heterogeneous, as all variations are. ‘Cock-a-doodle-doo’! effects an admirable
transition through two octaves. The cawing of crows next executes a chime
sufficiently dissonant to indicate great indignation in the breast of those
respectable birds. The melancholy hoot of the owl is heard during a momentary
pause, followed by the plaintive wail of the whippoorwill. A de capo movement returns the wandering
tune to the characteristic refrain of the wild-cat.
“I
have lain in my tent convulsed with laughter at the amateur precision with
which our men imitate these voices of nature, till the beat of tattoo with
difficulty terminated the serenade.
“This
is a little of the comical phase of our soldiers which their experience
occasionally assumes. In active duty they are diligent and faithful – earnest
to take the field and do their utmost for the cause they have espoused.
“I
am glad to report the health of the men almost without exception as very good.
Yours very truly,
“Forward March.”