Henry County, Indiana - Chapter 4: Camp, March and Battle, 1906

On the Tented Field - Routine of Camp Life - A Soldier's Fare - Drills AND Inspection - Taps - On the Picket Line - Arrival of the Paymaster - Letters from Home - The Army Sutler - The Soldier at Play - The Hospital Service - Homesickness and Other Diseases of the Soldier - Malingering - Contrabands - Breaking Camp - On the March - Foraging - Stragglers - Around the Camp Fire - Developing the Enemy - In Time of Battle - Bayonet Charges - Behind the Breastworks - The Inspiring Motive in War - Skulkers and Constitutional Cowards - The Amenities of War.

In the general histories of the Civil War, and in the histories of great campaigns and battles, we get much information about noted generals, military strateg}', and tactical maneuvers, but we gain a very imperfect idea of a soldier's daily life. Some phases of it, as seen in camp, on the march, and in battle, deserve fuller attention before going further in this narrative.

When it was expected that a regiment would remain in one localit}- for a considerable period, camp was regularly laid out according to prescribed military regulations, with narrow lanes, on each side of which were the tents of the enlisted men. At the head of each lane were the tents of the line officers, the captains and lieutenants, and in rear of them were those of the regimental officers. In the first year of the war, tents in the shape of a letter A were furnished for the enlisted men, and wall tents for the line officers. The former were secured by ropes fastened to pegs driven into the ground. Small trenches were dug around them to keep out the water in rainy weather. If boards could be found they were floored ; otherwise beds were made on the ground. There was no way of heating them and in cold weather the fire was made in front, the men sleeping with their feet to the fire. The tents of the officers were provided with flies which were erected in the rear and were generally used as a sort of kitchen in which the officers ate their meals. The tents of the regimental officers were similar to those of the line officers but were larger and better. Later Sibley tents were issued to the men.

The enlisted men's tents were found to require too many wagons to haul them and, in 1862, what were familiarly known in the western army as "dog-tents" were introduced. Each man was furnished with a piece of canvas about five and one half feet square with buttons and button-holes so placed that three pieces could be buttoned together, two of them making the sides and one the back of the tent. They were held in place by being stretched over a ridge pole laid on top of two forked stakes, and fastened at the bottom with wooden pins. In an emergencv two muskets with fixed bayonets, stuck in the ground, served for temporary stake'^. When so put together these pieces of canvas made what were at once nicknamed "dog-tents." As they were not more than four feet high, a man could not stand in them nor could he sit in them with much comfort. But when lumber sufficient could be found, sides and rear walls were constructed of boards or logs and the dog-tent was used as a roof. Then the structure was dignified by the title '^shebang," and bunks were made similar in size and shape to those in the staterooms of vessels. Regiments which were fortunate enough to remain in winter quarters and to have access to timber, constructed miniature log houses, eight or ten feet square, in shape much like those of the early western pioneers, having stick chimneys - the interstices between the logs being filled with clay. These were palatial structures compared with the dog-tents. Into these contracted quarters five or six men could manage to stow themselves and all their baggage, arms, and cooking utensils and to live in them with a reasonable degree of comfort, incredible as this may seem to people in good circumstances who now w^ant houses of eight or ten or more rooms, and think they can not live comfortably with less.

The daily routine of camp life began with the sounding of the reveille. Then the men rose, dressed, and responded to company roll-call, at which the names of those assigned from the company for police, camp guard, picket, or other special duty were announced. Next came the drawing of rations, which were obtained from the regimental commissary sergeant by the company orderly sergeants and distributed by them to the men. When it was possible to furnish full supplies, they were generally abundant and good, consisting usually of side-meat, always in the army called "sow-belly," crackers, always called "hardtack," coffee, and sugar. To these were sometimes added beans, potatoes, and a vile compound knov/n as "desiccated vegetables." But such princely provisions were rarely distributed unless the regiment remained in camp for a considerable time and there was easy communication with the base of supplies.

Cooking in camp was sometimes done by a company cook, but usually the men were divided into messes of six or eight, and the labor of getting wood and water and preparing the meals was apportioned among them as they might agree. Occasionally a company officer messed with some of the men, but usually, when in camp, two or three officers united and employed a colored man to do the cooking. Those who could afford to pay the prices, which were usually very high, could at times buy of regimental sutlers canned peaches, jellies, and a few other delicacies. Boxes of dainties were sometimes sent from home and were generously shared by the recipients with their comrades. When the country people were allowed to approach the picket stations, these became trading posts for the purchase or exchange of pies, cakes, and other eatables.

It is needless to say that cooking in the army was not done according to the rules prescribed in approved cook books. Cooking utensils were scarce; the mess that had a camp kettle, a coffee-pot, a frying-pan, and a few tin plates and cups, was well provided. Occasionally we procured at some country house an oldfashioned "Dutch oven" - a large iron skillet with a lid - and the services of a "contraband" who knew how to bake beans and corn pone, and then we enjoyed a feast that could not be surpassed.

soldier that was in the vicinity of Pikeville, Tennessee, in the summer of 1863, will ever forget the delicious roasting ears and blackberry cobblers with which the memory of the place will always be associated. The recipe for making a blackberry cobbler was very simple. The six or eight men in a mess put all their blackberries, all their crackers, and all their sugar into a camp kettle, filled it with water, and let it come to a boil, then stirred the contents with a bayonet or stick, and it was ready to serve. I do not recall that any of it was ever left.

Drills and inspections occurred with more or less frequency, as the necessity for them required. Usually there was a company drill in the forenoon and a regimental drill in the afternoon. In the intervals between drills and inspections the men were required to put their arms and quarters in good condition. The chief military display during the day was the dress parade. This took place a little before sundown. The whole regiment was formed in line ; the buglers, or the regimental band, if there was one, marched up and down in front of the regiment plaving a lively tune, generally, ''The girl I left behind me." Then the adjutant gave the order, "Present arms" ; the colonel or commanding officer of the regiment acknowledged the salute and perhaps put the. regiment through a brief exercise in the manual of arms ; orders intended for the regiment, if there v/ere any, were read ; and then the regiment was dismissed and the companies marched back to their respective quarters.

After supper the men spent the time as they pleased, writing letters, playingcards, or telling stories, until tattoo was sounded, when they were required to go to their quarters and attend evening roll-call. The last bugle call was taps or "lights-out," after which every one, unless assigned to some special night duty, was expected to be in bed. Then the soldier lay down to sleep - "to sleep ! perchance to dream" of his home in the far distant North ; to dream that he was again one of the cheery circle gathered about the family fireside, or that he was again clasping in his arms the fond wife and the prattling children he had left ; to awake in the morning and find that it was all a dream and that he was far awav from the liome and the loved ones that he might never see again.

All did not sleep. The camp guards, under the command of an officer detailed as officer of the day, were stationed near the camp and divided into three reliefs, serving alternately four hours at a time, and these walked the beats assigned them and allowed none to pass without halting and giving the countersign over the point of a bayonet.

It was on the vigilance of the pickets, however, that the security of the army at night depended, especially when the enemy was in the near vicinity. They were posted far enough from camp to give timely warning in case of a sudden attack. They also were divided into three reUefs, each relief serving four hours at a time. Sometimes the picket walked over a beat varying in length, but if in close proximity to the enemy he was usually stationed by a tree or in some spot which would serve at once to conceal him from the view, and to shelter him from the bullets, of the enemy. However tired, he was not permitted to sleep. Next to desertion, the greatest offense of which a soldier could be guilty was that of sleeping on his post. No matter how cold it might be, no matter how pitiless the blast, no matter if the rain came down in torrents, he must stand at his post until relieved. To stand alone anywhere for four hours on a dark night, in a lonely spot, would try the nerves of most men, but to stand there in momentary expectation of being' fired on by an enemy known to be near by is an experience the full meaning of which none but soldiers can appreciate.

Pay-day was of course an important day in the army. In anticipation of it the muster-rolls were prepared, showing the amount due to each man, and when the paymaster arrived the money was speedily distributed. Most of it was sent home by the men for the use of their families, or to be invested or kept until their return. It was usually sent by some one going North on furlough, or by some visitor or sutler; but after the first year's service much of it was sent by what was known as the "^allotment roll" plan.

Next to the arrival of the paymaster, the event most eagerly anticipated was the arrival of the mail. When in camp for a considerable time the mails came with something like regularity. Occasionally some one who had been home on furlough returned, bringing letters and papers. The letters were, of course, read with the most eager interest, for they broug-ht news directly from home and from those nearest and dearest to the soldier. After the letters the papers were read and passed around. The local papers were of greatest interest to those from the town or county where they were published, and usually contained letters from soldiers in the various regiments having representatives from the place. Of the newspapers most highly appreciated in the Army of the Cumberland, composed largely, of troops from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, the Cincinnati Gazette and the Cincinnati Comuiercial were the most popular. Whitelaw Reid, now editor of the New York Tribune, was one of the war correspondents of the Gazette. He wrote under the nom de plume, "Agate." He was one of the best, if not the best, of the war correspondents during the Civil War. "Mack" (J. B. McCullagh), the correspondent of the Coiiuuercial, was also a popular writer.

One of the prominent characters of camp life was the army sutler. He took a great many risks and was obliged to charge high prices. It is doubtful if many sutlers in the Arm\' of the Cumberland made a fortune. The sutler carried in stock some clothing, combs and brushes, playing cards, some canned goods, and a general but small assortment of such articles as the soldiers would be likely to need most. Sometimes he kept wines and liquors, but the regulations were generally such as made it difficult for the enlisted men to purchase intoxicants.

It must not be supposed that the soldier's life in camp was an endless monotony of work and drill. When not on duty the men amused themselves in pitching quoits, playing ball or cards, in reading, in visiting their friends and acquaintances in other regiments, and in various other ways. There was considerable gambling in the arm}-, but not a great deal in the regiment to which the author belonged. There was also considerable drunkenness, but it prevailed to a greater extent, in proportion to the numbers, among the officers than among the men, because it was much more difficult for the latter to procure liquor. The "canteen," so much discussed in connection with the Spanish and Philippine wars, was unknown in the Civil War.

The hospital service in the army was as good as could have been expected under the circumstances, especially in the general hospitals such as those at Nashville, Louisville, and Washington. But even in these the accommodations for the sick and wounded would have been totally inadequate without the aid of the loyal people, and especially the loyal women, in the Xorth. In nearly every town and village in the Xorth there were local organizations of the Sanitary Commission or the Christian Commission, in which noble women met and prepared bedclothing and bandages for the sick and wounded and such delicacies as would tempt their appetites and forward them to the hospitals. Aloreover, great numbers of patriotic women volunteered their services as nurses, soothing with woman's gentle touch and cheering with woman's gentle presence the suffering soldier Iving helpless on his cot. One of these nurses, Mrs. Francena Howe Brock, of Lowell, Alass., recounting her three-months' experience in the Campbell Hospital at Washington, says :

"The heroic attempts of women to supplement the supplies of the government and afford kindly help to the sick and wounded, through the Christian and Sanitary Commissions, will ever stand out in history as one of the brightest pages of our Civil War.

"On many a hospital bed, the fever-scorched patient had on the clean, white garment, made by the loyal women of the North, while on the beds of the convalescents, quilts covered with mottoes and texts of Scripture gave comfort and w^ords of cheer."

Ever}' soldier will endorse the truth of this statement. Xor should we forget the noble work of the Catholic Sisters of ]\Iercy. In nearly every hospital their sweet faces were seen as they moved quietly about, ministering with equal fidelity to those of their own or of another faith. But in the field hospitals the facilities for taking care of the sick were limited, and a rugged constitution was the main dependence upon which the patients could rely for recovery.

Two diseases that at home rarely leave permanent bad results were, from the impossibility of proper diet and treatment, productive of dangerous consequences in the army. One was diarrhoea which, when it assumed a chronic form, as it frequently did, was almost as fatal and became as much dreaded as consumption. The other was measles, a simple disease under proper medical treatment, but one which in the army often left the victim with impaired eyesight or other permanent disability. Another disease, common in the army, was nostalgia or home-sickness. There it assumed a well-defined form and undoubtedly caused or greatly aggravated other diseases. Malingering, or the feigning of disease in order to shirk duty or to avoid danger, is common in all armies, and in the British army is severely punished. It w^as undoubtedly largely practiced in the Federal and Confederate armies.

In noting the features of life in camp, the "contrabands" must not be forgotten. This was the term always applied to the negroes. Some came from the Xorth but most of them were picked up in the South. They were generally employed as cooks and servants for the officers. In a subsequent chapter, the employment of negroes as soldiers will be considered.

Life in camp and life on the march were quite different. Generally the order to break camp and prepare to march came very unexpectedly to the line officers and enlisted men and there was not much time for preparation. If it came in the night it was usually to prepare to march the next morning at daybreak.

Sometimes the order came to break camp and prepare to march at once, and it was astonishing' liow soon a regiment could pack up and get into line readv to move.

If it was expected merely to go on some short expedition and to return to the same camp the tents were left standing in charge of a guard, and the men carried with them only such baggage as was indispensable. But when it was not expected to return to the same camp the preparations involved the abandonment of everything that could not be taken. The officers' valises, company kettles, extra ammunition, and whatever could be so disposed of were put into wagons.

The soldier on the march carried his arms and ammunition. These consisted of musket and bayonet, a belt to which was attached a leather ammunition-box, containing generally forty two rounds of cartridges, and a leather scabbard holding- his bayonet. His provisions were carried in a canvas or oil-cloth haversack suspended over his shoulder by straps ; in like manner he carried a canteen holding about three pints of water. Each soldier was provided with a piece of oil-cloth, a blanket, and, later on, a piece of dog-tent. Generally these were all rolled together and the ends tied, making a roll in the shape of a horse collar, and this was thrown over the neck in such a way as to be carried on one side. Into their knapsacks the men crowded all they felt able or inclined to carry. Those of new recruits were always stuffed with enough to start a small store, but soldiers speedily learned that they could do without much which at first, had been thought indispensable, and the contents of a veteran's knapsack were usually very scanty - a change of underclothing, a house-wife with some pins, needles, and buttons, a small supply of writing-paper and a photograph or two, being- about all that he carried.

In the last two years of the Civil War, the line officers on the march fared little better than the men. Every captain was obliged to carry his own oilcloth, blanket, piece of dog-tent, haversack, and canteen, and also his own knapsack if he wished to take any extras.

When everything was in readiness to move the bugle sounded the assembly and the regiment took its place in the column. In a long column consisting of several divisions, it was very much easier to march in front, and for this reason, on a march of several days' duration, the regiment at the head of the column dropped the next day to the rear. There are few more picturesque sights than a considerable body of troops - a corps or a division - on the march over a good road on a clear day. Stretched along the road you see a moving column, with waving banners and gleaming guns, the general and regimental officers in brilliant uniforms mounted on spirited steeds, the artillery rolling along, cavalrymen occasionally dashing by - all indicative of the strength and grandeur of the deathdealing powers of an army when loosed in battle.

The men always marched in columns of fours and no attempt was made to step in unison, but all speedily adopted what was known as the route step. The distance traveled was usually fifteen to twenty miles a day, according to the weather and the roads, but much long-er distances were covered on forced marches. The weather and the condition of the roads determined the character of the march, not only as to distance traveled, but as to the comfort of the men. When the weather was fine and the roads were good the men enjoved the march. To march all day in the rain over a mudd}- road and then to pass the night on the damp ground was not a pleasant experience. More than once has the soldier laid two rails together so as to make a sort of trough, elevating one end of the trough in order to keep it off the ground, and slept in it all night with an oil-cloth over him and his hat over his face to protect him from a drizzling rain.

One of the most common incidents of a march over a muddy road was the stalling of a baggage or an ammunition wagon. On such occasions the drivers were apt to indulge in profanity. Indeed, it was commonly believed that in a very bad case an expert swearer was absolutely indispensable to start an obstinate team of mules.

The monotony of a long march was relieved in various ways. New scenerywas opening at every step. No house was passed that did not excite some comment; no rustic appeared by the roadside that was not plied with questions or jocularly, though not unkindly, bantered. Often a song was started and taken up, company by company, until the whole regiment joined in it.

Foraging by individual soldiers on the march was strictly prohibited, but the prohibition was construed with more or less leniency, according to the disposition of the commanding officers, and there were usually some opportunities on the march for the men to replenish their scanty supply of provisions. Guards were generally stationed at the farmhouses along the line of march, but a friendly guard over a smoke-house rarely obser^^ed his comrades in the rear of it dexterously poking the shoulders and jowls off the hooks with their bayonets. The temptation to pick up a stray turkey or chicken was one too strong to be resisted by the most conscientious soldier. Moreover, the law of self-defense received a very liberal construction in the arm}- ; it was universally allowed to be lawful to kill a hog or a sheep that manifested a disposition to bite, and, strange to say, all the hogs and sheep in the South exhibited such a belligerent disposition.

The cavalr^'men and the artiller3aTien always had the advantage of the infantrymen in foraging. When, as often happened, nothing to eat could be picked up on the line of march, the soldier was reduced to the supplies in his haversack. It did not take long for him to cook a meal. There were no tedious courses. A pot of coffee was soon boiled, and a piece of sidemeat. stuck on the end of a ramrod and held over the coals, was soon broiled.

The stragglers were familiar figures on the march. Some were not strong enough to keep up, especially on a hard march, but most of them were men that purposely lagged behind to do a little foraging on their own account or for plunder. They were not all skulkers, but the skulkers were always among the stragglers if a battle was imminent. Straggling prevailed in all the armies. Federal and Confederate, but more in some regiments than in others. There was comparatively little in regiments whose officers enforced attendance at roll-call and other regulations designed to prevent it.

Care was usually taken to stop the day's march at some spot convenient to water and wood. Sometimes the commanding officers were so considerate as to halt the troops near a rail fence and then the command to stack arms and break ranks was hardly repeated before the entire fence around a twenty-acre field had disappeared as if by magic and almost in an instant thousands of camp-fires were brightly burning. Then was heard the sound, so familiar to all old soldiers, of pounding coffee. The coffee issued to the soldiers in the Army of the Cumberland was browned but not ground, and coffee-mills were unknown. So the coffee was put into tin cups, placed on a smooth stump or stone, and beaten with the butt end of a bayonet, as a druggist pulverizes drugs in a mortar. Supper being ready it was speedily dispatched and then the soldiers gathered about the camp-fires. These" were the real camp-fires. The incidents of the day were recalled; fomier battles and skirmishes were discussed ; story after story went round ; sometimes a song was started in which all joined ; and thus the tired soldiers tried to forget the hardships of the past and the dangers of the future. Is it cause for wonder that the friendships formed about these camp-fires knit together more strongly than iron bands those who have survived ?

Xo two battles of the Civil War were alike, yet there were many features common to all. Various circumstances combined to determine just when and where a general engagement should be brought on by one or the other of the opposing forces, and which should take the initiative.

L'sually for some days before a great battle there was considerable maneuvering for position, always conducted in such a way as to secure the most available positions for attack or defense, and, on the part of the attacking army, to deceive the enemy concerning the point where it was intended to strike the hardest blow. The duty of "developing the enemy," as it was called, fell chiefly upon the cavalry, but sometimes a reconnaissance in force was made by advancing considerable bodies of infantry until the position of the main body of the enemy could be ascertained. The character of the ground, and the disposition of troops during the night often made it difficult or impossible to ascertain the exact position of the enemy, or to determine when and where the first attack would be made. A striking illustration of this was seen in the battle of Chickamauga, each army on Friday night having been ignorant of the precise location of the other.

It would seem hardly possible for an army to be surprised by an attack from an enemy known to be in the vicinity, yet such surprises sometimes occurred, as at Shiloh. Night attacks were rare because in the dark there was so much danger that the attacking party would fire on troops of its own side or be fired on by them.

No troops will stand a flanking fire and, when exposed thereto, they must retreat or speedily change front. This is very apt to throw them into confusion, as it is difficult to make new formations under the galling fire of an advancing enemy; therefore it is the object of every general to post and maneuver his troops in such a way, if possible, as to turn the right or the left flank of the enemy.

When neither a surprise nor a flank movement is practicable, another device is to mass a heavy body of troops, make a sudden dash and break through some weak point in the enemy's lines, thus throwing them into confusion, at the same time concealing, as far as possible, the strength of the assaulting force and divertingattention from the point where the attack is to be made by feint movements in other quarters.

The private soldier had little to do to prepare for battle. He stripped himself of his knapsack and all superfluous baggage, saw that his gun was in order and that his ammunition-box was filled. The main attacking columns were generally preceded by a line of skirmishers posted a short distance in front. The skirmishers advanced, follo\\ed bv the men in the main columns, until thev were checked bv a

The army anticipating- an attack generally fortified its position as much as possible. The value of breastworks was speedily recognized. Those constructed by General Joseph E. Johnston to oppose the advance of General Sherman were so strong that the forces behind them would have been able to resist successfully a direct assault by four or five times their own number. Even temporary breastworks, such as could be erected in a night, composed of logs and rails two or three feet high, with a trench behind them one or two feet deep, or even without a trench, gave the troops behind them a great advantage, especially against a column compelled to travel a considerable distance over an open field in front in order to reach them. Behind such breastworks a line of men, armed with modern ]\Iauser rifles, could probably resist a direct attack in front by an army ten times their own in number.

When breastworks were to be charged, the charge was usually preceded by a brisk cannonading, followed by a rapid advance of the attacking force in such numbers as to exhaust the fire of those behind the works, before re-enforcements could reach them. Such charges were usually ver}- destructive to the attacking party, especially when exposed to the fire, at short range, of the men behind the breastworks and also to the fire of cannon loaded with grape-shot and canister.

Next to charging breastworks, the duty requiring the greatest bravery was that of charging a battery. If infantry could advance within musket range of the artillerymen and horses, the charge, especially if against a single battery, was usually successful in either capturing the battery or compelling it to retreat, because, unless well supported by infantry, the men and horses were soon killed or disabled. But dreadful loss of life usually resulted when a charging column was forced to advance over a considerable space before coming within musket range of the enemy's artillery. The general reader who sees accounts of men ''marching up to the cannon's mouth" is apt to believe that this is a poetic stretch of imagination. But it is not. Such scenes were often witnessed during the Civil War. Time and again there were charges by both Federal and Confederate troops in which men marched straight up to the cannon's mouth and bayoneted the artillerymen.

Perhaps the most trying position in which a soldier can be placed is to be exposed to artillery fire when so situated that he can neither advance nor fire in return. In a charge he is carried forward by the very momentum of the column and is inspired by the enthusiasm kindled by the charge itself; when he is firing in return he has at least something to divert his mind from dwelling solely on his own personal danger; but when he is compelled to stand or lie still and can do nothing but await the coming of a cannon ball, he is in a situation requiring the courage of the bravest man. General Sheridan in his Memoirs, describing his division in such a position at Stone's River, says that the '^torments of this trying situation were almost unbearable."

Bayonet charges were not uncommon nor were hand to hand contests, but there were comparatively few instances in which opposing forces fought each other solely with bayonets. The statistics collected by Colonel Fox show a very small percentage of bayonet wounds. What generally happened when a bayonet

" 'Do you mean to say,' asked a civilian of a veteran officer who had seen many fierce fights in Europe, 'that bayonets are never crossed in battle ?'

" "^Oh, no ! I don't say that. What I asserted was that I had heard of such but never saw it, and I have my doubts whether it ever occurred.'

In the pictures of battles the officers are usually depicted in full uniform, generally on prancing steeds, and always far in advance waving their swords aloft and beckoning their men forward. Now this would be a very ridiculous position for an officer to take, because it would expose him not only to the fire of the enemy but to the lire of his own men. The army regulations required the officers, on the formation of a line of battle, to take their places in the rear of the line. An officer whose bravery or vanity induced him to expose his rank to the enemy was certain to be made a special target.

The men particularly aimed at in battle were the officers, especially those of high rank, if they could be distinguished, the artillerymen, and those bearing the regimental colors; but most of the firing was at ranks or masses of men, just as one would shoot into a fllock of blackbirds. The old soldier, however, generally aimed at some particular person and with a view of hitting him. The difference in this respect between a veteran and a raw recruit is illustrated in the story told by General Schofield in '"Forty Six Years in the Army," p. 142, the substance of it being as follows : A new recruit after a battle was proudly exhibiting to a veteran his empty cartridge-box and boasting of how many rounds he had fired, but he could not tell how many he had hit. "And how many rounds did you fire?" asked the recruit. "About nineteen," was the reply. "And how many did you hit?" "I think," said the veteran, "'that I hit about nineteen."

The sensation of being under fire, under any circumstances, is not particularly agreeable, but when you know that the bullets are not aimed especially at you, you feel that the danger is being divided in some w?r: between yourself and your comrades; that it is a sort of lottery in which you may draw a bullet or you may escape and others may be hit. But it is altogether dififerent when you know that some one is taking aim at you individually. A Frenchman in describing a tiger hunt said : "It is great fun to hunt ze tigaire, but when ze tigaire hunt you it is fun for ze tigaire."

The last year of the war witnessed some radical changes in the method of fighting. The advance of Grant to Richmond as well as that of Sherman to Atlanta was through a thickly wooded country in which there was a dense growth of underbrush. This made it difficult to use in battle all the men on both sides, and also made it difficult for the artillery to do its most effective work. The result was the development of a style of warfare similar in some respects to that practiced in the early Indian wars. It became part of the education of every soldier, officer as well as private, to take advantage of every tree, log, rock, or other natural barrier, in order to protect himself as much as possible in an advance against the enemy.

armies of both Lee and Johnston were ahnost continuously on the defensive, this making it necessary for them to construct formidable fortified lines. When driven from one line they fell back to another. The fortifications encountered by the Federal troops in the Atlanta campaign were of far more elaborate character than any which they had previously met. They were constructed of earth, four or five feet high and thick enough to withstand a six pound cannon ball. Over the top of these was a head-log, so placed as to leave an open space of about six inches between the lower side of the log and the top of the ridge. Behind was a trench about a foot deep in which the men stood while loading, entirely concealed from view. \\'hen ready to fire they stepped out of the trench and fired through the opening under the log, thus exposing only a small portion of their persons. Often in front of the breastworks were driven stakes with sharpened ends, pointing outward, and sometimes trees were felled in front of them for the purpose of embarrassing the progress of a charging column.

Even with such weapons as were in use during the Civil War, one man behind such breastworks equaled at least five in a charging column. Experience proved that it was a useless sacrifice of life, in fact little short of butchery, to attempt to take such breastworks by direct assault. No troops in the world could hold out in a charge against them, if they were defended by troops one-fifth in number and of equal valor, especially if the assaulting columns were compelled, in order to reach the works, to advance over a considerable open space in front, exposed to both a direct and enfilading fire of musketry and artillery. Generally men would charge even against such works, when ordered to do so, for such was the high state of discipline in the last year of the war that soldiers would usually go whenever and wherever ordered, refusing only when it became evident that, if such assaults were persisted in. every man in the assaulting columns would be killed.

The futility of attempting to take strongly fortified lines by direct assault was clearly shown during the Virginia campaign in the assault at Cold Harbor. In his Memoirs Grant expressed regret that it was made. The uselessness of direct assault against such fortified lines was also shown, time and again, in the Atlanta campaign, as at Pickett's I\Iill, and especially in the bloody assault at Kenesaw Mountain, June 2/, 1864, which was disapproved by Sherman's subordinate generals and afterward admitted by him to have been a mistake. In his account of the assault at Pickett's Alill, General Jacob D. Cox says :

"The attack of Hooker at Xew Hope Church and this of Howard at Pickett's Mill were both made in column of brigades or demi-brigades. The result in both cases demonstrated that in a difficult and wooded country, and especiall}- against intrenched lines, the cohmin had little if any advantage over a single line of equal front. It could not charge with the ensemble which could give it momentum, and its depth was therefore a disadvantage, since it exposed masses of men to fire who were wholly unable to fire in return. Since the office of breastworks is to give the defense an advantage by holding the assailant under fire from which the defenders are covered, the relative strength of the two is so changed that it is within bounds to say that such works as were constantly built by the contending forces in Georgia made one man in the trench fully equal to three or four in the assault. Each party learned to act upon this, and in all the later operations of the campaign the commanders held their troops responsible for making it practically good. The boasts, on either side, that a brigade or division repulsed three or four that attacked it, must always be read with this understanding. The troops in the works would be proved to be inferior to the assailants if they did not repulse a force several times greater than their own."

General Schofield also gives very decided testimony on this point. He says : "In the days of the bayonet successful tactics consisted in massing a superior force upon some vital point and breaking the enemy's line. Now it is the fire of the musket, not the bayonet, that decides the battle. To mass troops against the fire of a covered line is simply to devote them to destruction. The greater the mass the greater the loss - that is all. A large mass has no more chance of success than a small one. That this is absolutely true since the introduction of breech-loaders is probably not doubted by any one ; and it was ver>- nearly true with the muzzleloading rifles used during our late war, as was abundantly demonstrated on manv occasions.''

There was only one way to take such works, and that was by flanking them. This required an attacking army largely superior in numbers to the enemy, so large that the attacking party could maintain its position in front of the works and still have enough to threaten the enemy's communication and thus force an evacuation. This was Grant's plan in the Virginia campaign, and Sherman's in the Atlanta campaign. This plan, however, while it largely avoided the inevitable and useless sacrifice of life in direct assaults, nevertheless required obstinate and bloody fighting for it M^as necessary continually to push the lines of the attacking army as near as possible up to those of the enemy. When, therefore, an advance was made against fortified lines, either for the purpose of carrying them, if a weak place could be found in them, or for the purpose of advancing the lines of the attacking army, it was necessary to provide for holding the ground gained, even if the attempt to take the enemy's works should fail.

Charging columns were often followed by men with entrenching tools with which defensive works could be speedily constructed, and it was not an unusual sight to see some of the men in a charging column carrying rails. These were thrown down as soon as a halt was made and then, if there were no picks and spades, the men would scoop out a trench behind the rail pile with their bayonets and their tin dinner plates, and thus construct rude breastworks even under a galling fire. This was not an uncommon occurrence in the Atlanta and A^irginia campaigns.

Of course there was grave danger that those engaged in battle might be either killed or wounded, and some regiments, as shown by Colonel Fox, suffered an appalling loss of life. The artillery in battle made the greatest noise, but comparatively few men were killed by cannon-balls. A single cannon-ball rarely hit more than one man ; most of them hit no one. The most deadly work of artillery was when it fired grape and canister at short range, especially at dense columns of men, or at a line exposed to an enfilading fire. The greatest danger in battle was that of being killed or wounded by a musket-ball. Considering the number of musket-balls fired in a great battle, the wonder, at first thought, is, not how many were killed or wounded by them, but how many escaped unhurt. It has been said, however, that it takes a man's weight in lead to kill him in battle, and.

though this is a rough guess, it is near the truth. Generally speaking, most of the bullets fired in battle overshoot the mark; many just miss; some go through the clothing only; of those which hit the person, many inflict only flesh wounds and do not touch a vital spot. The explosion of a mine, like that at Petersburg, causes great loss of life, but there were few such catastrophes in the Civil War.

In reading of battles and in considering the inspiring motives of those who fought them, there are many things to be taken into account. The personal bravery of the combatants is of course an important element. This has always been a distinguishing quality of the American soldier, and no troops in the world ever exhibited it in a higher degree than did the soldiers on both sides in the Civil War.

But there were motives and feelings other than mere personal courage that inspired the soldier. An honorable pride nerved many men to face death rather than to seek safety in dishonorable flight. Moreover, there was something in the highest degree inspiring in a great battle. Probably some of the inspiration was artificially created, or at least stimulated, as we see it created and stimulated in an exciting political campaign by great processions, fire-works, huzzas, and other artifices well known to politicians. The example of a general rallying his troops, as GeHeral Sheridan rallied his at Winchester, seemed to impart to all who saw him an enthusiasm that spread like wild-fire. There were hundreds of such instances, less noted but equally heroic and equally inspiring, in the Civil War.

It was characteristic of the Confederates that they charged with what came to be well known as the Confederate ''yell." It was apt to strike terror to the new recruit who heard it for the first time, but his veteran comrade waited until the advancing hosts came within range of his musket, well knowing that a musketball was far more eflfective than a yell.

In the author's opinion, the most inspiring motive was a conscientious sense of duty - the same feeling that in all ages has inspired martyrs at the stake or on the scaffold. We call it patriotism, but patriotism is only another name for that sense of duty to country which, next to the sense of duty to God, is the highest n'lotive that can excite men to heroic deeds. On a great battlefield everything is calculated to arouse heroic impulses in even the ordinary man. The most philosophic person catches some of the excitement created by a fire-engine tearing along the street. But such a sight is of trifling significance compared with that of a battery ploughing along a rough road, or through fields and woods, bouncingover rocks, logs and ditches, wheeling into position, and in the twinkling of an eye opening fire with deafening roar and sheets of flame mowing great swaths through the columns of an advancing enemy.

We see a great political procession go by with waving banners and loud huzzas and we can not help catching some of the enthusiasm. We see a regiment of militia marching with gleaming guns and martial step ; we hear the bugle notes ; and the sight inspires the ordinary spectator with something of military ardor. An audience is sometimes stirred to its depths by the mere waving of a flag. An old soldier at a regimental reunion, even after a third of a century has passed, can hardly repress the tears that come unbidden at the unfolding of a battle-rent flag, typical to him of so many hard-fought battles and desperate contests. Is it cause for wonder that, when it waves over him in battle, it makes him almost delirious with enthusiasm ^

But it is impossible to impart to one who never participated in a battle the feelings of the soldiers themselves, when, amidst the roar of cannon, the bursting of shells, and the flash of musketry, opposing hosts madly rush against each other in charge and counter-charge, "where men become iron with nerves of steel," and those who at home were esteemed the most quiet and orderly citizens, become, for the time, animated with almost supernatural courage that makes them utterly fearless of death.

In every battle were seen those known as "skulkers." Despite th*e utmost vigilance of the officers, they va^ouM succeed in getting to the rear, and to all who passed they would tell how their regiments had been cut to pieces and that they were the only survivors left to tell the doleful tale. They generally had a sneaking look and were easily recognized by the veteran soldier, who soon came to know them by sight and who paid little attention to their extravagant stories of carnage in front. These were the men who, after the war, were usually found on streetcorners loudly boasting of their prodigies of valor.

Besides the ordinary skulkers there were the constitutional cowards. It is as difficult to define the psychological distinction between an ordinary skulker and a constitutional coward as it is to define that between an ordinary thief and a kleptomaniac, for between the skulker and the constitutional coward there were innumerable gradations. But a well-defined type of the latter was easily recognized. He did not boast. His face in time of battle took on a look of abject terror pitiable to behold, betokening an inward unspeakable agony. Men of this type could be foimd in almost every regiment. No appeal to their sense of duty, their patriotism or pride could overcome the terror inspired by the sound of battle. The author saw men who, the moment the firing commenced, began to tremble like an aspen leaf, with the perspiration dripping from them in great drops. An~ officer in the Army of the Cumberland has told of a man of this type who, when situated so that he could not run away, would mechanically load his gun, shut his eyes, and fire into the air. The poor fellow was killed after all. The wise and humane officer soon acquired the experience enabling him to differentiate the constitutional coward from the ordinary skulker, and he endeavored, if possible, to assign the timid soldier to some duty where he could do better service than he was able to do on the firing line, and where his terror would not demoralize his comrades.

To speak of the "amenities of war" would seem to most persons like using a misnomer, and yet during the Civil War there were many illustrations of a fraternal feeling between the combatants such as probably never existed between the soldiers of opposing armies in any other war in the history of the world. Those who have heard the eloquent lecture of the Confederate General John B. Gordon, recounting some of his war reminiscences, will remember hearing him relate how the Confederate and Union soldiers fraternized in the eastern armies, and how on one occasion the Confederate soldiers in his command indignantly insisted that the laws of hospitality required the safe return of the Union soldier who had been surprised while making them a friendly visit. Subsequently the same fraternal feeling existed between the opposing pitckets during the siege of Chattanooga. It was a frequent occurrence for them to meet and exchange papers and have a friendly chat and the laws of hospitality were never abused by the soldiers of either side.

With the exception of the assault at Kenesaw Mountain, the bloodiest engagement of the Atlanta campaign, in proportion to the numbers engaged, was that at Pickett's Mill, May 2^, 1864, in which an unsuccessful assault was made on the Confederate fortified lines. In this assault Wood's division of the 4th corps suffered a very heavy loss. The 86th Indiana, one of the regiments in Wood's division, participated, and its colonel, George Dick, was severely wounded. It would naturally be supposed that these circumstances were not such as to inspire the most amicable feelings in the combatants, and yet in the History of the 86th hidiana. pp. 387-8. is recorded this singular incident which occurred the next day between a Confederate picket and one of the 86th Indiana :

"On the next day, the 28th, the boys of the Eighty Sixth and the Confederates formed a 'Board of Trade' on a small scale for the purpose of disposing of surplus coffee on the one hand and tobacco upon the other. An offer to 'dicker' coffee for tobacco always caught the 'Johnnies' and put them in good humor, if there were no officers around. On the other hand tobacco was in brisk demand in the Union ranks. When there was an official about they would signal not to come, but as soon as he was gone, traffic would be resumed. They seemed to be in excellent humor over their great success in repelling the assault of the previous day. They were quite willing to talk of the campaign, expressing themselves freely in regard to the probable success of it on the Union part, and 'lowed they had enough for another killing yet in ranks.'

"At one of these meetings an interesting discussion arose between Wat Baker, of Company H, and a Confederate. Snugly ensconced behind two logs hid from view of the rebel line, the discussion began. Baker was an oddity, over six feet in height, of a nervous disposition, jerkey in manner and emphatic in speech. The discussion, as related by Baker afterwards, ranged over the whole subject of contention between the North and the South - slavery pro and con was argued, secession and coercion, and the probable success of the northern armies finally. For nearly two hours these men chatted and argued every phase of the contest which suggested itself to their minds."