RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF A 
 
 CHECKERED LIFE, 
 
 BY A GOOD TEMPLAR. 
 
 KArANEE: 
 ^ PUBLISHED BY 8. T. HAMMOND, 
 
 18G8. 
 
TOnONTO : PRINTED BY ROBERTSON & COOK, 
 DAILY TELEGRAPH OFFICE. 
 
 2.?. -3 .^5 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The follo^fing sketches were originally commenced with- 
 out any positive intention on the part of the writer to make 
 them public. An importunate friend, however, advised their 
 publication as likely to do good ; and, at some sacrifice of 
 feeling on the part of the writer, they were published in the 
 columns of the Montreal Witness. With the cr asent of 
 the proprietors of that useful and enterprising journal, they 
 are now published in book form, at the request of friends to 
 the temperance cause, and in the hope that some may take 
 warning and others encouragement from this remarkable 
 case. Beacons of warning are as necessary in the moral 
 world as examples for imitation. Mariners do not put light- 
 houses in the channels which should be followed, but on the 
 sunken reefs, headlands and sandbars which must be avoided. 
 Such a beacon these sketches are meant to furnish in a 
 moral sense. The writer, as the title page shows, is now a 
 staunch Templar, in a fine way to regain positi6n in the 
 world, which ought to be encouragement to the most des- 
 pondent 
 
 November 3, 1868. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 I. (ri,As(jow — New York ...., 5 
 
 II. On the Precipice 9 
 
 III. Down Hill I4 
 
 IV. Delirium Tremens 20 
 
 V. Other Cases of Ruin 26 
 
 VI. Efforts after Amendment 31 
 
 VII. Among the Breakers 36 
 
 VIII. The Story of Louis . An Episode 43 
 
 IX. Whiskey as a Recruiting Sergeant 47 
 
 X. Introduction to Military Life 52 
 
 XL Military Incident 57 
 
 XIL On the Move 62 
 
 XIII. Skirmishing gg 
 
 XIV. A Glimpse at Civil Life, and the Camp again 72 
 
 XV. Sherman's First Raid 77 
 
 XVI. The Siege of Atlanta 83 
 
 XVIL Sherman's March to the Sea 88 
 
 XVI 1 1. Arrival at and Capture of Savannah 94 
 
 XIX. The Campaign in the Caroli^jas 99 
 
 XX. The Conclusion IO4 
 
 Incidents of the Battle-Field 107 
 
RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 k CHECKERED LIFE. 
 
 ■V y "'.-/'•_/ 'yv ^ 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 OLAStJOW — NEW YORK. 
 
 The account of my early life in Glasgow would be unin- 
 teresting : sufficii! it to say, the examjile of my parents and 
 reUitions v-as up to the high standard pre\ailing among the 
 middh^ classes in )Scotland, and, through my training Avas 
 strict, it coukl not be said to be of tlie pharisaical kind, which 
 is supposed to lead young men to take license wlien they 
 become their own masters. Intended for mercantile pur- 
 suits, my education was as liberal as that usually bestowed 
 on the embryo \otaries of commerce, and this was afterwards 
 supplemented by years of study, for which, easy hours of 
 business gave me ample opportunity. Ere I had attained 
 my tweniy-first year, I occupied an honorable i)osition in an 
 
 extensive monetary concern. I was a member of a church 
 i ^ » 
 
 \ a Sabbath-school teacher, and a contributor to religious peri- 
 
 , odicals. The business i>osition referred to T retained for 
 
 four years wth credit to myself, and I on^y resigned it to 
 
 J embrace a favorable opportunity of enterijig into mei^eantila 
 
 { business in Glasgow, an<l as a partnei- in a ship]»ing and 
 
6 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 commission business ; the New York branch of which, I 
 came out to manage in 1850. As a business man I pros- 
 pered, and although I experienced some of the usual vicissi- 
 tudes of trade, I found myself, at the ago of thirty, as happy, 
 and, I believe, as much respected as most men of my years, 
 in the commercial metropolis of the United States. All 
 this time I had been in the habit of using all kinds of wine 
 and sj)irits freely ; but I do not believe that any one ever 
 saw me incapacitated for business or any other duty by their 
 use. The serpent, however, was slowly but surely winding 
 his coils aroimd me ; and soon, too soon, was I to feel the 
 fearful strain. 
 
 The system of drinking and tippling in the United States 
 is altogether different from that prevalent in the British 
 Islands; and, as the incidents I am about to relate, princi- 
 pally occurred in America, as well as for the benefit of those 
 who liave not visited the "^ Model Republic," I shall here 
 exjilain what I am forced to believe to be the greatest moral 
 evil in that great and good country. 
 
 When friends meet on the street or elsewhere, it is the 
 almost invariable habit for one to ask the other if "he will 
 take a drink "; and, if the answer be afiirmative, they im- 
 mediately adjourn to a bar-room, one of which is to be found 
 under every hotel, as well as within one hundred yards of 
 any given point, in every town and village thro\ighout the 
 country. If there be a party, the inviter then *' treats the 
 crowd," as it is called, although he may have only one friend 
 among the number. If they have not met for some time, 
 most likely there is a treat in return, and, if time does not 
 press, perhaps an hour is thus spent standing at the bar, 
 tjilkin^ over old times and the news of the day, with an 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 7 
 
 occjisional *' smile" between hands by way of lubricating the 
 colloquial maclnnory. This habit is not confined to tho 
 laboring or mechanical classes. Respectable traders and 
 dejxlers, and even merchants of the highest standing, are to 
 be found at the bars of the restaurants. Uf course, there is 
 a large class of teetotalers and temperance men who do iiOt 
 frequent such {)laces ; but it is principle that deters them, — 
 not that it would tarnish their respectability to appear there. 
 From morning till night these places are open, aflbrding 
 every opportunity to those who are so disposed to tipple 
 respectably. This mode of of drinking, like everything else 
 in the United States, is a matter of business, and is con- 
 ducted in the most democratic manner. The bars in some 
 of them are fitted up in the most ex[)ensive style, the walla 
 being literally covered with mirrors and paintings. Of course 
 some of them are of a plain character, and some of the most 
 filthy description. The ''Bar" is a long counter, behind 
 which are nnarranged decanters, containing almost every 
 conceivable kind of liquor, while from one to six, or even 
 more, " Bar-tenders " are ill readiness to administer wliat is 
 too often literally the poison; for it is a very diflicult mat- 
 ter to get pure liquor in America, from the almost universal 
 habit of mixing. Whatever you call for, the attendant 
 places before you in a decanter, with a tumbler, and you help 
 yourself liberally or sparingly as you feel inclined ; and in 
 each case the charge is the same, namely, that for a '* drink.'* 
 There are no private rooms in those bars, nor any accom- 
 modation for sitting down. The laborer in his shirt-sleeves, 
 and the senator and merchant in their broadcloth, standing 
 side by side, imbibing their respective liquids. The whole 
 system has its origin in a convivial habit of one friend or 
 
8 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 acqup'iitance wishing to treat another ; hut, to my think- 
 ing, observation, and experience, is most dangerous, as induc- 
 ing habits of intemperance. As might naturally be ei.^.ected 
 from such a system, it is generally the most liberal and kind- 
 heartefl that fall victims to the snare ; so much so, that I 
 have heard moie than one temperance man say that he 
 " never knew a mean man to be a drunkard." Alas ! the 
 " meAn man " has too often tJie advantage of his more gen- 
 erous fellow ; for the former, with temperance, will attain 
 worldly position and a certain kind of respect ; while the 
 latter, with intem})erance, in spite of his natural amiability, 
 soon gets beyond the pale of respectable society. 
 
 The evils of intemperance are greatly increased in the 
 United States, by the difficulty of procuring good liquor. 
 Formerly there was no excise duty, but a very heavy import 
 one ; and this system led to the production of the most noxi- 
 ous compounds, wlach passed for different kinds of liquors. 
 To my shame be it said, I for a time lent money to a man 
 woh mp.de the best French hrandy, in the very centre of New 
 York city. 'He had been educated' as a physician and was a 
 good chemist. His modus operandi I caniiot fully explain, 
 but his principal ingredients were corn whiskey, then selling 
 a\: 20c. or about lOd. per gal., and a liberal supply of water. 
 Those ho mixed with other compounds, so as to produce, in 
 strength, taste, smell, color, ttc, an excellent imitation of 
 pale brandy. The deception was still ii.rther carried out by 
 his purchasing empty French casks, which he filled ; and 
 lie was thus enabled to dispose of goods that cost him about 
 $1 per gallon for -^4 to §5. Of course, his was far above the 
 common mixtures, many of which, according to a current 
 joke, were, ** waiTantwl to kill at fifty yards." No wonder, 
 
A C'HFAKEKED LIFE. 
 
 then, that in New York the principal seat of this iniquitous 
 traffic, many deaths and crimes occur, while the poor jx)i8oned 
 drunkard is suftering under ihllrhnn tremens. I 'have little 
 doubt that many of the deaths which in summer are chari* 
 tably set down by the coroner's jury as owing to sunstroke, 
 are actually to be Recounted for by the use of ixul liipior. 
 
 ON THE PllECJPlCE. 
 
 All must be familiar with the phenomenon of movable 
 bodies descending an inclined plane. They may require a 
 slight impeiGus to start them at first, but their speed increases 
 by degrees, till, in proi>ortiou to their weight, they acquire 
 a momentum that can scarcely be impeded. So in the world 
 of habit, and particularly so in the domain of intemperance. 
 A man does not become a drunkard all at once, but when 
 once he has been inoculated with the poison of this vice, his 
 downward course is more or less rapid in proportion to the 
 susceptibility of his bodily and mental constitution. I have 
 noticed that phlegmatic organizations are slower in theii* 
 descent, and have more chance of recovering themselves, than 
 those of a nervous and sanguine temperament. When the 
 latter class break througli the recognized barriers of good 
 society and lose their self-respect, their journey o the lowest 
 level is usually at express railroad speed. 
 
 As far as I remember, my first great l)Ound in this dii'cc- 
 tion occurred at Baltimore, and the celebrated coupleti^ — 
 
 "A Sabbath well spent brings a week of content, 
 And health for the toils of to-morrow ; 
 But a Sahbitli profaned, whato'er may ])C gained. 
 Is a certain forerunner of sorrow," 
 
10 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 received a remarkable verification on that occasion. I had 
 two connnercial correspondents in Baltimore, — one of the 
 houses being a millionaire concern, and of the highest stand- 
 ^ ing ; the other a young house anxious for business, and using 
 conviviality and every other means to procure it. I had 
 made a large purchase of provisions, through the former of 
 these houses ; and, when the time of its delivery arrived, 
 markets had advanced so that the packers from whom my 
 friends had j)uroliased wished to pay the sum of $8,00() (over 
 £1,600) to be relieved of ity delivery. On a Saturday even- 
 ing, I left New York for Bifcltimore, accompanied by a con- 
 vivial friend, arriving early on Sabbath morning. We put 
 
 up at the House, one of the first-class hotels of the 
 
 "monumental city." It so happened that JNIr. B., one of the 
 partners of the young firm above referred to, stayed at this 
 hotel. He was a Southerner, and, like most of his country- 
 men, imimlsive, warm-hearted arid hospitable. When the 
 dinner hour came, a huge concourse of Mr. Ix's friends as. 
 8em bled to dinner ; and it soon became apparent that the 
 said gentleman had made up his mind to have "a day of it." 
 During dinner, my friend and I, as the strangers, were kept 
 busy taking wine with the numcroiis company to whom we 
 had been so lately introduced ; and when the cloth was 
 removed I believe we had almost every description of 
 after-dinner wines circulating. Songs and toasts were soon 
 introduced, Sabbath though it was, and a regular bacchan- 
 ftlian revel was inaugurated. To me this would have seemed 
 all right on a ^veek day ; l)ut my sense of propriety was 
 shocked ; yet I became passive and went with the tide. I 
 ■trove to drown reflection l>y deep potations, but could not 
 
A CHEtKERED LIFE. H 
 
 become drunk. In fact one of the company afterwards re- 
 marked that you might as well pour wine into a rp.t-)iole aa 
 into me for all the effect it produced. 
 
 Later in the even in"", we adjourned to the horse of one 
 of the company to enj vy a little music; but, though the 
 charms of the " divine art" are said to ** soothe the savage 
 bre?»stj" on this occasion they seemed to have lost their tran- 
 quilizing power. The heels were too much in sympathy >vith 
 the head, or the relative positions of these extremities had 
 got mixed up, for dancing was commenced ; but, for the 
 credit of the ladies present be it recorded that the gentlemen 
 had to choose partners of their own sex. vSmoking and drink- 
 ing were kept up till near daylight, and, when the business 
 hours of Monday ai)proached, sundry cocktails and eye- 
 openers had to be had recourse to before any one was up to 
 the mark for business. One poor gentleman, Avho showed 
 stubborn symptoms of unconsciousness, was taken by some 
 of the company in a mad frolic, put into a bath and packed 
 round with ice, to the imminent danger of extinguishing the 
 little spark of vitality that remained in him. This state of 
 inebriation was kept up for three days, during which time I 
 purchased two cargoes of Indian corn, through my young 
 friends, and saw the future in so ruby a light that I refused 
 to accept the handsome sum offered as compromise on the 
 provision contract. The corn transactions were unfortunate 
 from the beginning. There was delay in loading the vessels; 
 one of them went ashore going down the river, and had to 
 return for repairs. Both made long jmssages, and on their 
 arrival, the one at Cork and the other at Liverpool, the Rus- 
 sian war was about closing, markets had declined, and a lost 
 of about £3,000 was the result. Tlie provisions referred to 
 
12 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 were delivered and shipped to Liverpool, and instead of a 
 profit of £l,GOO, Avliich had been refused befoi-e delivery, a 
 loss of about £300 Avas incurred. Had I been sober and 
 cool-headed, most likely I should have accepted the com- 
 promise, and certainly would not have risked a purchase of 
 grain at the then high prices. Thus, between actual loss and 
 loss of an offered profit, this breach of the Sabbath and of 
 good morals may be said to have cost not less than £5,000. 
 But though money is more scarce with me now than then, 
 I regard this as a poor way of estimating the loss. By in- 
 troducing into the mind a disregard of public oi)inion «nd 
 rendering scenes of excess familiar, it was paving the way for 
 moral degradation and forgiiig the first links in the chain of 
 intemperance which ere long was to chain me to the earth 
 a heli)less inebriate. 
 
 Although there may be nothing particular in the foregoing^ 
 I have been thus minute in description, as this scene remains- 
 impressed on iny memory as the starting point on the road 
 where I parted company Avith regard to appearances, and to 
 take some of the bolder flights of the fast liver. Still, I had 
 some regard left for the opinions of Society, as a proof of 
 which I may mention an incident connected with the fore- 
 going transactions. When the provisions referred to were 
 sliipped, my friends drew a sight draft for the cost, amount- 
 ing to ^76,000, or about £12,000. I had removed to a new 
 office, and my friends did not know my precise address 
 although one of the partnera had been in the office. It was, 
 of course, necessary that the dmft should be what banker 
 call " domiciled," so they addressed it to me, '' opposite A 
 B. C," a celebrateil di'inking shop. The draft was duly pre- 
 sented and paid ; but, not relishing such an address, 1 wrote 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 13 
 
 requesting that in future tfiey would cease to associate me 
 
 with the hrti' opposite, and address me No. Blank street. 
 
 To this they replied, " that my wishes should be respected, 
 but that they considered the address they had given was, to 
 the full, more respectable than " AV'all Street," that abode of 
 publiciV s and sinneris." For the benefit of the uninitiated, 
 let me remark that Wall Street is the Lombard Street of 
 New York, most of the bankers or brokers having their offices 
 there or in the neighborhood. In this connection, though in 
 anticipation of the order of time, I may here mention that 
 the friend referred to as accompanying me to Baltimore had 
 been under many obligations to me, and we were as intimate 
 as brothers. He was not a great drinker ; that is to fsay, he 
 could stand a great deal. He was, therefore, all the more 
 dangerous, for.^ though a most agreeable companion in every 
 sense, he ultimately shewed himself to be a most unprincipled 
 man. We had numerous transactions together in which be 
 was the debtor ; and in about two years after the events 
 narrated in this chapter, he suddenly disappeared, leaving 
 due to me about £5,000, and as much more to another con- 
 cern. The last day I saw him I lent him £200. Those 
 sums he did not lose in trade, so he must have taken the 
 money with him, or lost it in some outside way ; for, to al 
 appearance he spent but little. Of course, a " teetotaller," 
 if unprincipled, might have cheated me as well, if he had had 
 the opportunity ; but it is not at all likely, unless there had 
 been })linding boon-companionshii>, that I would have allowed 
 an account to run on unsettled for over two years, as in this 
 case. 
 
14 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 CHAPTER IIT. 
 
 DOWNHILL. 
 
 I must here request the reader to banish from liis mind, 
 the idea that vanity, or any equally unworthy motive, has 
 led me into mentioning the ti*ansactions narrated in the last 
 chapter, or those to which I am about to refer in the present. 
 As I said before, these references are made solely for the 
 purpose of showing by contrast the position which a person 
 may occupy when temperate, or moderately so, and that to 
 which intemperance will bring him. As we progress, scenes 
 of the most degrading character wall be described ; but, 
 before descending into wdiat may be called those subter- 
 ranean horrors, let me, once for all, describe in plain language 
 the position which I held about this time. It will be seen 
 from what has already been said that it was no pettifogging 
 business in which I was engaged. I had a large correspon- 
 dence with different parts of the world, and have had at one 
 time as many as thirteen vessels loading or discharging in 
 New York harbor, whole or part of their cargoes on my 
 account. T conducted all t!ie correspondence, did the buying 
 and selling, and managed the finance of this large business 
 myself. I had a reputation for honor and integrity, which I 
 believe was deserved. I was at my business early and late ; 
 and, though constantly tii)pling, couh^ not be said ever to 
 have been put hors de combat by drink. But a crisis was 
 coming both in my affairs and in my iiabits. After having 
 allowed large sums to get "locked up," as it is called ; and, 
 having made heavy bad debts, I Avas obliged to stop payment; 
 or, in plain language, to fail. I thought I had enough to 
 
.* '^WKPKERED IFE. 15 
 
 >ay every one ; and makinj^* an assignment for the benefit of 
 my creditors, commenced business as a broker, without a 
 penny of capital, or before I was discharged from my old 
 debts. I had a large acquaintiince, and, being well liked, my 
 friends (among others my former creditors) stuck to me and 
 patronized me in my new business, in spite of my drinking 
 habits, which were now beginning to attract attention. In 
 less than a year, I was well up hill in business again, but far 
 •down hill in a moral sense. The mortification of having fail- 
 •ed led me to drink deeper, and it was no uncommon thing 
 for me to tipple all day while at business ; and, after heavy 
 libations during the evening, to go to bed in an almost insen- 
 4sible state. I became known as one ever willing to treat the 
 -crowd, — in fact to treat anybody who seemed willing to 
 <lrink. , 
 
 A rather curious, and what might have proved a serious 
 adventure, grew out of this peculiarity. I was in the habit 
 of patronizing a hair-dresser, a veiy decent man, who had 
 his pole displayed in the business part of the town. One 
 evening, having been late at business, I happened to pass hia 
 shop just as he was locking \ip, and I requested him to cross 
 the street and take a " drink," which is the invariable appel- 
 lation bestowed upon any choice you may make of the con- 
 tents of a bar in the United States. Before we left the bar, 
 we imbibed several times, and I found myself too late to 
 
 catch the boat which should take me to Island. There 
 
 was then n 3 hurry, so I set myself to the laudable occupa- 
 tion of making Mr. Irons, as Punch would call the hair- 
 dresser, drunk. I succeeded tolerably well, but had little 
 sobriety to boast of myself. Finally, I accompanied him to 
 his house, where I was introduced to more than I bargained 
 
16 REC'OLLKCTIONS OF 
 
 for. In the first place, I was made acquainted witli the 
 dining-room, Avhicli was well furnished, and upon the table of 
 whicli was a handsomely set dinner for four people. It had 
 the ap])earance of having been hot when set, perhaps three 
 iiours Ix^fore, and had not been touched. In the second jdace, 
 I was introduced to Mrs. Irons, wJio soon made her ai)pearance 
 and convinced me in a brief sptice that my [)Oor friend had a 
 second edition of Xantippe for a spo\ise. Her figure was of 
 the bean-stalk i)attern, being tall and slender. Her nose 
 somewhat resembled a thr(;e-d;n'-old moon, her eves of a 
 wickeil gray, her color was of the livid persuasion, and her 
 hair was a most energetic red. After giving Mr. Irons a 
 round of her artillery with considerable effect, she turned 
 about and gave me a discharge of grape and cannister in the 
 most ai)})roved style. Before lier husband or I could say 
 anything, she had exhausted all the opprobrious epithets 
 imaginable, accusing me of keeping her husband from home 
 and family every night ; and, to crown all, of having had the 
 audacity to show myself befoie her injured innocence in her 
 own house. I stammered out an ai)ology for the intrusion, 
 and ventured to hint that tliere must be some jnistake, as 
 this was the first occasion on which I had had the honor of 
 being social with her lord and master. Mr. Irons also came 
 to the rescue, by assuring her that I was not the young man 
 that she took me for. She, in turn, a})ologized, and left the 
 room ; I fear only for the purpose of "nursing her wrath to 
 keep it warm," until she should get poor Irons by himself. 
 In the meantime, he .fortified himself by producing a bottlr,^ 
 of excellent sherry, whicli we discussed between us, and I 
 took my leave. I remember getting on the street, and then 
 a blank occurs. When I canu; to myself, I was lying on the 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. ' 17 
 
 floor of wliat seemed to be a large room, with a iitool for a 
 pillow. Day-light was streaming through the sliutters, and, 
 on my getting up, a figure wliich the uncertain light and sur- 
 prise magnified into a colossus, a})proached me from a corner 
 of the room. Before I liad time to build many theories as to 
 my position, the shutters were opened, and the bright sun- 
 shine reduced my colossus to a man of usual dimensions, 
 dressed in shabby black clothes, with bleared eyes and a 
 decidedly rubicund nose. Evidently he was a toper, but he 
 proved to be a good-hearted and an honest man. I enquired 
 where I was, and before he had time to answer, asked for 
 something to drink ; for my throat felt as if I had swallowed 
 all the Egyptian mummies from the original Pharaoh down- 
 wards. He informed me that I was in his house in lirooklyn 
 a suburb of New York), and that if t^l would furnish the 
 needful cash, he would endeavor to i)rocure sometliing to 
 drink. This led me to feel my usual depositories^ and all 
 was safe. A bottle of rum having been produced, and 
 almost half of it drunk between us in silence, I at last learn- 
 ed that he was porter in a respectable hatter's in New Y"ork; 
 
 that this Avas his house which was situated in a lane off — 
 
 street ; and that, on coming home late the night before, he 
 found me, lying in the lane in a motionless condition, with 
 three or four young fellows round me "admiring" my watch. 
 He carried me into his house and laid me on the floor, where 
 I had remained motionless till a short time before. He had 
 evidently found me in time to save me from being robbed, 
 {)erhaps murdered, for it was not a very respectable locality. 
 How I had come there, or how I had become insensible 1 
 never learnecl ; hnt on getting a shower bath, after returning 
 home I was as was as well as ever. Of coui-se I did not forget 
 
18 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 my friend who liad sheltered me so opportunely. But, poor 
 fello\r, I soon found that if he had a great heart, he had, 
 like myself a weak head or had got a strong one weakened 
 by the infallible recipe for such a transaction, — that of 
 strong drink ; for I soon had a call from his wife in great 
 distress, her husband having been dismissed from his em- 
 ployment after repeated warnings. 
 
 About this tine, this fearful vice came near bringing my 
 career to a tragic conclusion. Many of my readers are 
 aware that New York is built on an island, Manhattan by 
 name. This island, and consequently the city, is almost 
 surrounded by piers for shipping. Those piers are of a very 
 simple construction, being formed by piles driven into the 
 mud and planked over by heavy timber. Of course the 
 tide ebbs and flows underneath. One evening, in the be- 
 ginning of winter, 1 started off for a pier up town, where I 
 ex})ected a friend to land by a steamer from Europe. On 
 the way up I had met several friends, and had imbibed 
 freely. The gas was lit along the streets before I got to my 
 dcsbination ; so that going out of the light on to the pier 
 which was not lighted, and not being very luminous my- 
 self, I walked clean over into the Hudson river. I am a 
 poor sAvimmer, the tide was low, and there was no vessel 
 in the neighborhood. Such a i)lunge soon sobered me, and 
 I had need of all my senses. The tide carried me under 
 the i)ier, Ijut the piles on w^hich it was built were wet and 
 slippery, so that I could neither climb up nor hold on. Add 
 to my other difficulties, it was freezing, and the wind was 
 blowing hard. At last I thought my time was come, but a 
 merciful Providence had decreed that I should not jjeiish in 
 this miserable manner. Aim' exhausted, I got on my 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. lft« 
 
 back and floated, and with every remaining energy shouted 
 for help. Fortunately I was heard, and before long twa 
 men came in a small boat and rescued nic. One of them^ 
 who was captain of a small vessel at the nearest pier, proved 
 indeed to be a good Samaritan. He took me on board his 
 vessel, gave some brandy, and put me to bed. When I 
 awoke in the morning my clothes were dried and cleaned, 
 my silk hat had been fished out, taken to the hatter's, and 
 blocked; my watch was wound up and set to the correct 
 time, and tiie paper money which I had in my pocket was 
 dried and fit for using. I had about «£4 or £5 of money, 
 yet would not this excellent man take a fraction of it, or 
 hear of any reward whatever. He had a little son with 
 him, however, to whom I managed to convey a small token 
 of my gratitude. Shortly after he left with his vessel, and 
 I never saw him agaiu. 
 
 Let those who are in the habit of associating Yankee* 
 with meanness and inordinate love of money modify their 
 opinions, and remember tliat, in more senses than one, "he 
 is not a Jew that is one outwardly," for this was a Yankee 
 and to the manor born, being a native of Massachusetts. In 
 my intercourse Adth men of difterent nations, I have ob- 
 served that though certain characteristics may predominate 
 in a race, yet the several virtues and vices are to be found 
 in individuals irrespective of clime or nationality. 
 
20 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 CITArTER IV. 
 
 D E L I R I U M -T U E M E N S . 
 
 I liad now become a confirmed tippler. My business 
 prospered, for I was indefatiga]>le in my attention to it. My 
 u«\ial course was to rise early, take a dram, then a shower- 
 bath, a slight breakfast, and start for my office. Most likely 
 I had another dram by tlie way, and, during an hour de- 
 voted to reading correspondence and the newspapers, it was 
 usual for me to tone myself up with another drink or two, 
 ;ind thereafter to keep myself up to a certain point of elas- 
 ticity by tippling all day. After business, heavy potations 
 followed, re(|uiring the shower-bath and the former routine 
 over again next morning. It was evident to myself that 1 
 was fairly in th« toils of intem})erance, and I became alarmed. 
 I had been foolish enough to believe that my habits were 
 not fully known among business peo})le, but this illusion 
 ■was dispelled ))y friends speaking to me on the subject. I 
 resolved to make an effort to stop, an<l that for altogether. 
 I had been drinking heavier than usual when I made ar. 
 mngements to be away from my business for a few days. I 
 went to my lodgings, and resolved to stay in doors till I 
 could do without drink. What an undertaking ! The first 
 day was bad enough ; the second was torture. My nerves 
 wei*e * 'nowhere," and I could scarcely lift a cup to my mouth 
 My mind was on the rack. I reflected on my past follies, 
 and intensified imagination aggravated them into mounta,ins 
 of infamy. There was also an in-esistible inclination to drink, 
 which I had resglvod not to gratify. I could not s'lCep, and 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 21 
 
 I believe no condemned criminal, on the eve of his execu- 
 tion, ever felt more real horror at his position. Tlie third 
 day was worse, and my mind wandered. I fancied I heard 
 strange sounds, and my eyes, wluch felt like balls of fire, 
 did more than their office, for I often started, thinking I 
 saw something alongside of me, which, upon investigation, 
 proved to be nothing. That night was fearful. Towards 
 morning I dozed a little ; and, when daylight came, I started 
 from a half-sleep with a choking sensation in my throat, and 
 fell on the floor in a kind of faint. With an efibrt I retained 
 consciousness, and, calling a young man from the adjoining 
 room, requested him to run for a friend of mine, not far off, 
 and request him to come with a doctor. Both soon arrived, 
 and the medical man at once comprehended the state of the 
 ease, for he had 'oeen in the navy, and had seen many cases 
 of the kind. Ho immediately ordered, some brandy to be 
 given me, instructing my friend to remain by me, and, in 
 ca,se of relapse, to adminster more brandy until his return 
 with medicines. He returned, and first gave me some 
 cathartic compound, and left instructions that I dioald be 
 given some other medicines, which I understood were of a 
 strong narcotic nsiture, every two hours. I got through the 
 day tolerably well, but towards morning my trou};les began 
 in earnest 1 shall describe them minutely as a warning to 
 others, as indeed all this narrative is meant to be. 
 
 It is a strange thing, but nevertheless tnie, that persons 
 suffering from this most horrible disease very iiirely see 
 anything that is agreeable in their delirium. Their visions 
 are of a painful kind, and, for the time being, are terrible 
 realities. Another still more remarkable tiling is, that, 
 after recovering, thej remember all those scenes through 
 3 
 
22 RECOLLECTIONS OP 
 
 which they have passed in imagination — a circumstance 
 which does not occur in the case of almost any other deli- 
 rium. Well, as I said, towards evening my troubles began 
 in earnest. I was alone in my room, my friend having left 
 for a short time to attend to some business. While walking 
 about the room, I saw an immense rat run across the floor 
 and get inside the grate, which was empty, it being summer 
 time. Now, if there :*s any animal which I abhor, it is a 
 rat. The rat having taken possession of the grate as a 
 rostrum, began to squeal, on which a whole family of the 
 race gathered round him, and commenced dancing in the 
 most harmonious manner. I rang the bell furiously, and 
 ordered the servant to send up the landlady. On her ap- 
 pearance, I began to upbraid her for not having previously 
 informed me that her house was so overrun with rats, to 
 which she replied that she had never seen one in the house. 
 I pointed to the fireplace, and asked her if she did not see 
 that patriarch of his race making faces at her. She smiled, 
 left the room, and in a short time my friend and the doctor 
 arrived. I complained to them of the rats; they looked 
 knowingly at each other, made me undress and go to bed. 
 But no sooner had my head touched the pillow than a rat 
 gave a most unearthly squeal and scrambled from below it. 
 The bed, in short, was swarming with rats, that ran over 
 me in all directions, their long file-like tails sticking out 
 everywhere. By and by the rats disappeared, and I heard 
 some of my most intimate friends in the next room talking 
 of me in the most disrespectful manner. I called on them 
 to prove their assertions, but was answered that I had for- 
 ever forfeited the position of a gentleman, and should enjoy 
 their friendship no longer. Then there came an infuriated 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 28 
 
 <jrowd to the street door, demanding that T should be deli- 
 vered up to th«m for an offence of which I knew I was 
 innocent. The police interfered to protect the house ; and, 
 firearms and swords being used, a great many were killed on 
 both sides. 
 
 My friend got me smuggled out of the house bj a back 
 door and taken to a hotel where I used to live, in another 
 part of the city. All the time I heard the cry of the in- 
 furiated rabble close at our heels, and heard the report of 
 the firearms that were being used in the riot. At last I got 
 to the hotel and was at once concealed between two feather 
 beds, where I was nearly suffocated, while every now and 
 then I got a stab from a sword or otl- ^r sharp instrument, 
 thrust through the bed. After having been hunted from 
 concealment to cr.'nce-\lment in this way for a long time, I 
 had a little relief. My friend came and told me that the 
 rabble had dispersed on his assuring them that I was dead, 
 and that he had armnged to have me buried immediately in 
 Greenwood Cemetery. Accordingly, I was put into a coffin 
 with a small breathing holo in it. I felt myself carried 
 down stairs; heard the execrations of some and the commis* 
 erations of others at my fate, felt my coffin shoved into a 
 hearse and the door banged to. 
 
 Presently, however, the lid of my coffin was removed, and 
 my friend smiled upon me. Never was siich a cheerful- 
 looking hearse before. There was plenty of light, and all 
 around were dishes of prairie chickens, grouse, quail, and all 
 kinds of game ; while bottles of claret, hock, champagne, and 
 every kind of wine, were lying in a pile at the far end of the 
 hearse. I made a bound for this wine cellar, but it eluded 
 me, and appeared at the other end of the hearse, while my 
 
24 BECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 friend, hitherto faithful, laughed at ipy disappointment^ 
 Again, ly some means, the crowd had leai-ned the trick 
 played upon them, and were in fall cry after us again. This 
 brought my friend once more to his allegiance, and tho 
 hearse went off at railroad speed. We reached the East 
 Biver, and, by some means, drove straight on board a large 
 ship lying at the pier. She was instantly cast off, and we 
 were carried without sail or steam up the riyer. But our 
 pursuers were not to be baffled. We saw the river swarm 
 with small boats full of excited enemies, who still kept about 
 the same distance behind us. After sailing in this way for 
 some distance, we came to a slip with rails running into the 
 river. Our vessel sailed up towards those rails. A steam- 
 engine was attached, and away she went like a railway car- 
 riage, at the rate of sixty miles per hour. The speed must 
 have been gi eater than this, for our trouble now was to get 
 breath. We seemed to be flying, and left our pursuers far 
 behind. Presentlv our ship was transformed into a sledge, 
 drawn by four black horses. An imp of a most diabolical 
 aspect was driver, and we v,^ere pursued by hundreds of 
 wolves in the true Siberian style. This agony lasted long,. 
 and was followed by an almost endless succession of others, 
 all of an equally painful character. In fact if I were able to 
 describe them properly, they might not inaptly be taken as 
 an imitation of Dante's "Inferno" in prose. 
 
 At last, one bright summer morning, I awoke vfith a great 
 joy at my heart, and a sense of escaped peril behind. I 
 began to speak to the nurse about those awful dangers 
 through which I had passed, when he kindly asked me not 
 to distress myself,^ as I had been very ill, and that ho would 
 explain everything to me bye and bye. That evening I was 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 28 
 
 quite well, but weak, and the doctor and my faithful friend, 
 who had been with me almost day and night, explained to 
 mo that I had been over nine days in delirium, during which 
 time I had neither ate nor slept. The night before, they 
 had given up my case as hopeless, and my friend with tear- 
 ful eyes, had gone home, as he s*"id he could not stay to see 
 me die, so the nurse told me; but after miduight I had fallen 
 into a quiet sleep, and after four hours awoke, saved. 
 
 From the remarks I made to the imaginary individuals 
 with whom I was conversing, those about me saw plainly 
 the horrid torture I suffered in mind, and the body, sym- 
 pathizing with its companion, was reduced almost to a skele- 
 ton. In a short time strength returned ; and the impression 
 made by this feai-ful sickness gradually faded from my mind. 
 One would have thought, after such a warning, I would 
 have abandoned drink altogether, but such was not the case. 
 Mv doctor advised me to take a <xlass or two of beer to din- 
 ner and s'-pper, and it was not long before I ventured fur- 
 ther. Let others beware, for, ia my case, it seems as if this 
 attack had permanently injured the constitution and the 
 brain, for, ever since then, a day's excess will destroy my ner- 
 vous system, and, so far as temperance is concerned, com- 
 pletely deprive me of self-control ; so that, once inebriated, 
 there is no cessation to indulgence till health or opportunitd 
 Is gone. Total abstinence is the only course for me ; any 
 for others, in similar circumstances, there can be no doubt it 
 must be the best also. Yet, with this mature conviction, I have 
 often been beguiled into the idea that I could control myself 
 and take a moderate glass like my neighbors. Vain thought ! 
 In every instance the experir 'esulted disastrously. 
 
 Let me earaestly say to all wno are struggling with this 
 
26 BECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 fearful i>.nd most enslaving habit, there is only one way of 
 returning to the proud manhood of former days, and that is 
 by total abstinence. 
 
 CHAPTER y. 
 
 OTHER CASES OF RUIN. 
 
 About this time I adopted a new mode of living that did 
 not mend matters. I had " kept house," as it is called in 
 America, where you have a houie and servants of your own. 
 I had tried the American system of boarding ; I had lived 
 in lodgings, after the Scotch fashion^ and now 1 tried hotel 
 life. I hired a room in a hotel, conducted on the European 
 plan, and got my meals at a restaurant, or wherever fancy 
 led me. Of course the bar and adjoining reading-room were 
 my principal haunts, and there I had no great difficulty in 
 meeting with others like myself, and in increasing my list of 
 boon companions. At this time I was intimate with six or 
 eight young men of bright abilities, and belonging to first 
 class families and firms, all of whom are now under the sod, 
 and several of them victims of delirium tremens. I might 
 mention some strange adventures which I have had in their 
 company, but I refrain, lest they should be recognized and 
 awaken painful feelings in the breast of the living. I will, 
 however, mention the case of two cidental acquaintances 
 who had come under the powers of the universal leveller, 
 strong drink, by way of showing what it did for them. On© 
 evening, about ten o'clock, I was taking a walk up Broad- 
 
A CHECKERSD LIFE. 27 
 
 way, when I heard some one following close behind ; and, on 
 looking round, a stranger accosted me in a most off-hand 
 manner and asked me how I did. He was a middle-aged 
 man, well dressed in black, and had a very gentlemanly ap- 
 pearance, but was evidently under the influence of liquor. 
 I assured him I was well, and requested to know his busi' 
 ness, as I was a stranger to him. He told me he had seen 
 me in a bar-room down the street ; and judging thai I was a 
 countryman of his, had followed me for the purpose of ex- 
 plaining his unfortunate position. He was hard-up and 
 wanted help. T took him into the first bar that appeared ; 
 and, after giving him something to drink, learned his his- 
 tory, which I would not here narrate if I had not afterwards 
 IJound it to be true. As he will appear aftt;rwards in this 
 narrative, I shall give him the name of James Blank. He 
 had held the position of chief clerk in one of the leading 
 mercantile concerns in Glasgow several years before. He 
 afterwards got an appointment of a similar kind in Canada, 
 with a salary of .£500 per annum. Thii he retained for 
 Bome years, and resigned on being, as he considered, slighted 
 about a partnership arrangement in the house. He then 
 removed to the United States with his family, where he had 
 held various positions ; always, ho\, ver, lessening in value 
 as he advanced in the worship of Bacchus, which he had 
 begun to practise. He had got so far with the habit at last* 
 that he and his family were in the greatest destitution. He 
 reformed for a time, and again got employment, this time as 
 clerk to some temperance association in Boston, with a 
 salary of $800. This he again lost, on refusing to hold forth 
 and narrate his experience at public meetings ; which surely 
 was somewhat tyranical on the part of the Society. The 
 
28 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 day before I Scaw Lim, he Ijad come to New York to look for 
 employment ; had got overcome with liquor, had lost what 
 little money and luggage he had, and was without shelter jr 
 the night. I took him to the hotel and provided him with 
 a room. It was next to mine ; and, as I was going up along 
 with him, I met an acquaintance who asked me (and as he 
 supposed) my friend, to go out and get a nightcap. I de- 
 clined ; but Blank intimated his willingness to go, and go 
 he did. This was the last I saw of him till I met him under 
 somewhat peculiar circum stances, as the reader will find 
 towards the close of these sketches. On another occasion, I 
 was addressed in a somewhat similar manner by a young 
 man, who, however, was sober, but badly dressed, and evi- 
 dently in great distress. He was an M. D., a graduate of 
 the University of Edinburgh ; had practised in Scotland, be- 
 came dissi[)ated, and had come to America to seek employ- 
 ment in any capacity. Having no relatives, or even acquaint- 
 ances, in the country, he had gone througli many hardships. 
 I provided for him that night and next day, got him some 
 good clothes from my own stock and that of my acquaint, 
 ances. He soon afterwards got employment in a druggist's 
 where he gave ^^'eat satisfaction till he again succumbed 
 to drink ; and from that he went down, till the last I 
 heard of him, he was working as a baker ; but that 
 again was a step or two upAvards. [ have met with 
 many more signal instances of ruin by intemperance ; and T 
 may mention some of them in the order in which they came 
 under my observation. JNIeantime I must continue my own 
 narrative. 
 
 This Quixotic habit of succoring " gentlemen under diffi- 
 culties," once led mo into a ridiculous position. It will be 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 29 
 
 seen from the foregoing that I was thoroughly ** democratic 
 in my cups." The truth is, I would as soon, under these cir- 
 cumstances, take up with a pedlar as with a " ^lerchant 
 Prince." One evening, I had been taking my usual stroll, 
 •when the following adventure befel me. A well-dressed 
 young man walking the same Avay, accosted me ; and we had 
 not proceeded far when I asked him to drink. This was 
 repeated at almost every bar-room we came to, till I, who 
 had been drinking before, got decidedly muddled. After 
 having gone a considerable distance, I proposed to return, 
 when my companion begged me to give him a little money, 
 as he was hard up. 1 declined, having only a few dollars in 
 my pocket. I had a suit of new clothes on, which my friend 
 began to r^dmire, remarking that if he had as good a coat, it 
 would soon visit his " Uncle's." Had I been nearly sober, 
 I should have resented this familiarity on the part of a 
 stranger ; but, being as I was, I volunteered to give him my 
 vest, as I had a large stock of them at home. He exjjressed 
 his gratitude, and I took off my coat, giving it to him to hold 
 till I got off the vest. No sooner had I handed him the vest 
 than he started like a deer with both coat and vest, and of 
 course he had the dollars also, as they were in tlie inside 
 pocket of the coat. Fortunately it was dark, and the time 
 summer. I was ashamed to be seen at the hotel in this half 
 plucked condition ; and, having a good supply of whiskey on 
 boPvrd, I walked into the first entry I saw, lay down on the 
 stones, and composed myself to sleep. The sound of running 
 water awoke me to the bright beams of day. Following the 
 sound, I reached a court where I found some mechanics wash- 
 ing themselves at a hydrant. I asked the loan of a cup to 
 take a drink, as I felt as arid as the desert. Not being very 
 
30 RECOLLECTION* OF 
 
 steady in my attempt at raising the water to my lips, one of 
 the men asked me to desist, started off, and presently return- 
 ed with a glass of brandy, remarking that, from appearances, 
 I would be the better of a *' hair of the dog that bit me." I 
 thanked him, remarking, if I had the animal present, I 
 would most likely handle his wool somewhat roughly, as I 
 had been bitten the night before by the meanest dog it hud 
 ever been my lot to meet with. I then explained my adven- 
 ture, and left. I found myself in a part of the city where 
 I had never been before, and had doubtless been led there 
 for a i^urpose which had been too fully attained. I soon 
 found my way, however, to a grog-shop where I was known 
 and instantly consoled myself with sundry drinks, and waited 
 till ten o'clock, when I sent for one of my clerks, and made 
 him fetch me some clothes from the hotel. Exposing myself, 
 as I did, at ail hours of the day and night, and often in the 
 worst localities, it is marvellous that in a city like New York, 
 I did not meet with many mishaps; but this is the only case 
 in which i am conscious of having been robbed, nor did I 
 ever meet with a case of insult or bodily harm, save one, 
 and it was a case of mistaken identity. I had wandered out 
 late one beautiful moonlight night, and took a fancy to see 
 the shipping on the North Kivor. In my way, I had to 
 cross some streets supposed to be dangerous even in day- 
 time. Right in my course, at a corner of a street, I saw 
 three or four men standing together; but I pursued my 
 journey, and, just as I was in the middle of them with my 
 hands in my pockets, I received a blow on the forehead that 
 laid me prostrate on the pavement. I gathered myself up, 
 and deemed it best to walk on gently as if nothing had 
 happened. The blow was repeated with a like result, and 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 
 
 31 
 
 now I thought it time to adopt different tactics. On gaining 
 my feet this time, I made a nimble leap to the middle of 
 the street and commenced a parly by asking what was the 
 meaning of the assault. No sooner had I spoken than one 
 of the fellows, without seeking to come near me, expressed 
 regret, and intimated that they had mistaken me for another 
 man that they considered themselves called upon to put 
 through a course of training, and, concluded with an advice 
 that I should go away home as that was neither a place nor 
 hour for a man like me. I thoujrht it best to "pocket " the 
 affront and to take the advice, and so I returned as I came, 
 and never knew whether the man that I had the misfortune 
 to resemble came to grief or not. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 EFFORTS AFTER AMENDMENT. 
 
 I was now getting fairly among the breakers. My busi- 
 ness was declining. Friends remonstrated: oije, thouf^h no 
 relation, making the handsome offer that, if I would only 
 say that I would make an honest effort to give up drink, he 
 would pay my expenses for a year, and let me go and travel 
 where I pleased. I gratefully declined, thinking I could con- 
 tinue my business and alter my habits at the same time. I was 
 honestly anxious to do so, and would sometimes, with a great 
 effort abstain for a considerable period. During such times 
 everything went well. Business revived, and friends who 
 had been shy openly expressed theii- satisfaction. But some 
 
32 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 fearful fatality seemed to drag me back again — the most 
 common temptation being the thought that I could safely 
 indulge in a little beer or a glass of wine. Excess immedi- 
 ately followed every such experiment. Another friend asked 
 me to put myself under his direction for a month or two, 
 and he would undertake to cure me. I consented, and was 
 placed by him in a Cold- Water- Cure establishment, near 
 New York. It was conducted by an intelligent German 
 physician, an allopathist by education, but a hydropathist 
 by practice. If it did not lie out of the scope of this narra- 
 tive, I should mention some of the wonderful cures that I 
 saw effected at this establishment. The system seems to be 
 peculiarly effective in all diseases of the skin or blood. In 
 rheumatic ailments, it also seems to be almost magical in its 
 effects. In my own case, I went in with my nervous system 
 completely shattered; and in two Aveeks my brain was clearer 
 and my body stronger than it had been for years. The phy- 
 sician asserted, that, in three or four months, he would 
 xindevtake to effect a permanent return to temperance habits. 
 But I felt strong, and too confident in myself, and went out 
 to biTsiuess at the end of six weeks. For a week or two I 
 abstained, and seriously meant to continue to do so. The temp- 
 tation, liowc ver, came in this wise. For a year or two. before, I 
 had been intimate with a lawyer, who at one time had had a 
 good practice, but who, like myself, had lately been travel- 
 ling by the express train on the Alcoholic Railroad, and, of 
 course, leaving all his practice behind. One forenoon I had 
 a message from this gentleman requesting me to call at his 
 office immediately. I went, and found about half a dozen 
 mutual acquaintances in his private room, indulging freely 
 in brandy and water. T was soon informed that Mrs. , 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 33 
 
 the lawyer's wife, had had a son the night before, and that 
 they wished me to join in "wetting the baby." I objected, 
 urging tliat they all knew my failing; that T had given up 
 drinking, and, in short, that it was cruel to insist on my 
 breaking throv.gh my good resolution. After a great deal of 
 talk, a compromise was effected by my agreeing to take a 
 glass of light wine. This had to be repeated several times, 
 and, before long, the drag was taken off, and my speed, if 
 anything, was greater than that of the others. I had $150 
 in my pocket when I went into that company, and when I 
 left them next morning I had |5, and I was in a state little 
 ^hort of despair. Of course 1 had "lent" the money and 
 would never hear of it again, but that was not the cause of 
 my trouble: it'wa« finding myself in the Slough of Despond 
 once more. To some monsters it may seem good fun thus 
 to make a man who is honestly striving to reform, fall 
 through his resolution and relapse; but I believe that if 
 angels could in reality weep, those denizens of a purer sphere 
 would shed tears at the sight. Refonflations and relapses 
 of this kind became now so common that my friends advised 
 me to give up business and take a trip home to Scotland for 
 a year or two. This was easily arranged, for I owed nothing, 
 and my business had been gradually leaving me. I had lost, 
 like most others, heavily during the crisis in 1857, and was 
 now in no way burdened with this world's treasures. Ac- 
 cordingly, I became passive in the hands of my friends, and 
 a passage was taken for me by a steamer for lilasgow. i. 
 went on board an hour or so before the time of sailing, and 
 soon found that, at the request of some well-meaning friends, 
 strict orders had been given that I should f/'t no drink during 
 the voyjige. T was in a state when I coidd not resj)ect such 
 
34 RECOLLECTIONS OP 
 
 orders, and soon found means to circumvent them. The 
 agent (a somewliat self-complacent individual) who had given 
 those orders must have been somewhat taken aback, on 
 coming into the saloon, to find me with one empty wine 
 bottle before me, and a second undergoing manipulation. 
 He stared, stormed, and wanted to know whether he had not 
 given such an^d such orders regarding me, but no one spoke, 
 
 aave the docto», who spoke somewhat aa follows : "Mr. , 
 
 I believe you are agent of this ship, and I believe I am 
 «urgoon; you may attend to your busim^ss and I will attend 
 to mine. This passenger did not get win>e by my ordei-s, but 
 if, at any time during the voyage, I think he requires spiritFt 
 he«shall have it no matte» what your orders may be." I 
 knew the doctor as well as the other officers before, but I 
 never thought &o much of him as on this occasion. I began 
 to think there was *'corn in Egypt" yet, for I have always 
 kad a great dread of being brought to an abrupt stop after 
 hard drinking. I would here take upon me to give advice 
 to those who may take an interest in any such case, never 
 to attempt immediate cessation after excess in drinking. 
 After excess, the system gets so depressed that a certain 
 amount of stimulant is necessary to prevent serious conse- 
 quences. If the debauch has beon heavy, two or three 
 glasses may be necessary the first day after, two the next, 
 and so on, according to the condition of the patient. I 
 believe most physicians who have had experience in such 
 cases will say that my advice is a sound one ; and it may 
 save the poor drunkard much suffering. The indignant 
 teetotaler, or those who have no weakness this way, and have 
 never known what it is, will say, "Let him suffer." Give 
 iuch an one a half hour's taste of what is vulgarly called 
 
A CHECK KRED LIFE. 35 
 
 "the horrors," and he would not wish his worst enemy to 
 endure it, if he be a man of any feeling whatever. Besides, 
 every man does not bring this suffering on himself volun- 
 tarily. From my own exj)ei'ience and observation, I will 
 maintain that there are men who are as little able to contro] 
 themselves in such matters as they would be in striving to 
 prevent the periodical return of an attack of fever and ague. 
 On this occasion, I had to have recourse to the doctor; and, 
 by such a course as that hinted at above, he had me quite 
 weU before the voyage was over. I did not long continue 
 80, however, for I had not been long in Glasgow before I 
 was drenched in liquor again. I did sometimes think ^ how- 
 ever, and when I did compare my then self with my former 
 self, and in that city, ten years before, I could scarcely 
 believe in my identity. I will not be particular in describ- 
 ing my stay in Scotland. It was of course a great mortifi- 
 cation and grief to my relations to find my habits so changed ; 
 and indeed I felt it most keenly myself. Most of the time 
 I stayed in the country, but every now and then, when I 
 got money in my hands and visited any of the larger towns, 
 I was sure to relapse into did habits and return home in a 
 shattered condition. 
 
 Let no one toss this paper aside with contempt, and say 
 that my course was wilful. I was to blame, of course, in 
 acquiring the habit; but I acquii'ed it unwittingly, as you 
 may be doing at this moment, reader, if you are a consumer 
 of liquor, however moderately. Now, when I would have 
 given an3rthing and everything just to atand divested of 
 all but the temperate manhood of former years, I was 
 in a manner powerless to help myself. Know ye who 
 never felt his power, that this is no common enemy, 
 
36 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 and lie .attacks men in diiferent ways. Somo men — for 
 exampie, the late eminent John Vine Hall — have periodical 
 longings for drink, which they cannot resist, and are 
 obliged to have a drinking Lout, as it were, in spite of 
 their judgment and wishes. In my case it is different, and 
 I will to some seem less excusable on that account. When 
 fairly sober, and when my nervo\is system is restored to its 
 normal condition, I have no longting for drink whatever, and 
 can even take a glass or two with impunity; but, if once 
 overcome, my brain and nerves become so effected that self- 
 control is completely gone, and moderation is impossible. 
 
 I remained in Scotland only about nine months, during 
 which time I was, on the main, very temperate; but as good 
 or ill luck would have it, on the voyage back to New York, 
 I had two old acquaintances as fellow-passengers, and, 
 though we did not go to any great excess, it Wiis enough to 
 set me going. The demon who had me in charge seemed to 
 have rcsohed to make me "serve with rigor," in considera- 
 tion of late temperance; and, on my arrival in New York, 
 he did so, as the following chapter will show. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AMONG THE BEEAKErvS. 
 
 On arrival in New York, though considerably " under the 
 influence" I had reflection enough left to know that it would 
 soarccly do to appear among my friends in a state of "abfus- 
 tificalioii." I therefore resolved upon keeping quiet for a 
 
A CHECKKRED LIFE. 37 
 
 "few days, and appearing in business-like slinpe after reg: in- 
 ing self-control. As the best metliod of uccon^plishing tliis 
 •desirable end, I resolved upon rpiartering myself with niv/ 
 
 foi'iner fri(>nd, Dr. , of b^'dropathic fame, and accordingly 
 
 made my way thither. The doctor, though Kon)e\vhat cha- 
 grined at seeing a relapse in the case of liis former patiinif^ 
 was not disconraged. He told me I nnist nndergo the 
 former process, and mnst on no account go o\it for a week or 
 two. In order to lea-v'-^- the latter condition as little in my 
 power as possible, he took i)Osscssion of my hat and bootf, 
 which he carried off, and I adjourned to the reading-room. 
 Tliis condition of imi)risonment was rather more than I bai- 
 gained for ; for, I had contemjilated taking a dram or two 
 now and then, by w,iy of letting myself "down easily" tn 
 the temperance platform. I felt restless and miserable a 1 
 day, and towards e^•ening the case became so urgent that it 
 was })lain sometliing must speedily l^e done. 
 
 It is said that madmen and imbeciles frecpiently sliow 
 great'^^cunning and ingenuity, and the imbecile or maniac, 
 from drink, is not much behind his rehitions in those par- 
 ticulars, when the question is the satisfying of his diseased 
 .-.ippetitc. In the sequel I shall gi-ve some rather amusing 
 instances of this. In tlie i)resent emergency, the question 
 ■was how to obtain possession of my hat and boots. I knew 
 that the Dr. would pro\e inexorable in the matter, so I 
 watclied my op| ortunity; and, when lie went out, I waited 
 on his wife and informed 1 er that I had neglected some im- 
 poi'ta,nt businef s, and I nmst attend to it innnediately, hinting 
 that, in m^ confusion, I thought I had left my hat and boots 
 in the Doctor's Vedroom. Ihis >vas a rar>dom shot; but it 
 liit the mark. Mi*<. soon leturn^l at t!i thy desired 
 
38 llECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 aj-ticleH ; nml I ])elievod I felt as much elated at my succes^fy 
 as a victorious general iniglit be supposed to feel, on dis- 
 covei-i]ig the retreat of his antagonist, or a defeated leader 
 on discovering a safe retreat for his scattered followers. I 
 was soon in one of my old liaunts, bringing up the nerAOUfi 
 fiysteni, b}' the old prescription of fire-water, as the In'dians 
 call strong drink. After sundry ^applications of this remedy, 
 I soon not only felt well, but "glorious/' as Bums repre- 
 sents Tarn O'^Shanter, to have felt on a memorable occasion 
 in his history. I resolved myself into a cominittee of the 
 whole, and decided that it Avas ridiculous for such a splendid 
 fellovv as I to relinguivsh my liberty; and, in short, that I 
 never was in better trim for seeing my friends, and at cnce 
 tiiking A\''all Street and the board of brokers under my per- 
 sonal protection. I accordingly took lodgings at a hotel, 
 with, of course, a commodious l)ar suitable for my carrying 
 on tlic li'juor business, "in all its branches " jMy own 
 foolish brain, or the being who gets so much laid to his 
 charge, suggested the bold idea of holding high carnival there 
 for a week ; after which, 1 wa-s to astonish my acquaintance«, 
 by suddenly turning teetotal, and of course, risiug in the 
 social scale immediately. The iirst part of the programme 
 was easily enough gone tlirough; but the convenient time 
 for the second part never seemed to arrive, so I had to con- 
 tinue the first piec«, for about 30 nights, "witli great suc- 
 cess." Notwithstanding this success, however, tlie treasurer's 
 ilepartmeiit began to show signs of decre})itude, and it be- 
 came necessary to take steps for restoring it to a more robust 
 condition. 
 
 My business acqriaintancea were both glad and sor^^' to 
 ace me; for I knew many who wished to see me in my old 
 
ACIIECKER?!D LIFE. 31> 
 
 busineBs again ; Liit, of course, tliey knovr that no\v when 
 fairly out of business, and my antecedents being so vrell 
 known, it was folly in me to attempt a re-organization » 
 without first re-orga,nizing myself. Tliufi, all the advice I 
 got was to cnltivato correct habits, and all would coniC rigjit. 
 In the meantime, when money was wanted, I liad no great 
 ciimculty in getting it. I had fome i^inall balances due- 
 me, which I collected from +ime to time; and, having been. 
 c<>nsidered a good tinanciar when a merchant and broker, I 
 turned my acciuirements in tha,t way to accoiint, in my tlien 
 limited requirements. "When '• short" I rarely Iiad diiiiculty 
 in borrowing, and sometimes I succeeded best v/lien " half 
 seas over," as it effectually destroyed p.ny delicacy vrhicli I 
 would otherwise have had, in approaching those with whom 
 I had formerlv held business relations. Tliis state of thinsfs 
 continued for sevei'al months. It v/as fortunate that my 
 supplies genercilly came in small sums; as no matter what the 
 amount mif^'ht be at night, there v>'as generally a total absence 
 of ihe smallest coins in the mornijig, unless a few had been 
 accidentally put into an unusual pocket. My former repu- 
 tation did me good service, hoM'ever; and I geiieraily h.ad no 
 dilHculty in getting m.y hitters^ as they are called, in any 
 part of the town, wliether I had money or not. I also 
 observed honor and punctuality in this species of traffic; as, 
 if a man trusted mo with a drink, especially if not muck 
 know]i, I Avas sure to return as soon as posriible, and square 
 the score. After two or thre© cases of this kind, my credit 
 would bo established, and I used to run up scores in this 
 way, which I regulated as carefully as a merchant would hia 
 accounts. If I got into discredit with one, I was sure to 
 rectify matters on the first occasion of profusion. I remember 
 
40 IIECOLLFXTIONS OF 
 
 ii somewhat curious case. I vrnH coming down town, after 
 money, v^iis shah/, and had not a coi)per in my pockets, when 
 a sudden necessity for a drink arose, and I was not near any 
 of my haunts. I made as bokl a dash as my nerves wouhl 
 let me into the lirst licjuor store I saw, and asked the man 
 to give me a drink, and I wouhl });vy him afterward. I was 
 shaking, almost as if I had had the ague. The man, a 
 stranger, looked at me a moment, and though not like a 
 fiympathetic individual, he remarked, "Yes, old fellow; I 
 will give yoii one, we will not he bothered long with you: 
 you are in for it." He no doubt had seen many cases of the 
 kind, and thought I was about to be carried off with ddirium 
 Ireiii^ns. I took a stiff pull at the decanter, and after getting 
 my exchequer replenished, toned iip to the requisite pit^h, 
 iind i)resented myself before the man who had given me the 
 drink. JNIy nerves were then steady, and I was collected 
 i\\\'\ fluent as an orator. The ni'tn was thunderstruck, and 
 I had actually dilliculty in persuading him that I was the 
 trembling object who had begged a drink from liim about 
 £W\ hour before. Tins c.mdition is wlrat creates in a irreit 
 measure the craving for drink. The nervous system is 
 shaken to the foundation, and the man feels miserable every 
 way. Strong drink will for the time remove the unpleasant 
 feeling, and restore the nervous system to a nornial condition. 
 "The man knows this from experience, and his misery is such 
 tluit he would almost go through fire and water to obtain the 
 means of relief I know of no better illustration of the case 
 of a man in drink, and what is commonly called the horrors, 
 tlran that of a vessel going along with a good breeze of wind. 
 All sail is set, and she bounds along "like a thing of life." 
 ♦Such is the man when braced up with Ii(pior to his normal 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 41 
 
 condition of "body. But the vessel lias to tack, mid nho 
 misses stays, as sailors call it — ^he foils to come round to the 
 wind so as to fill her sails on tlie other tack. Tlie propelling 
 impetus is removed, and as she lies heli)lessly on the water 
 buffeted and tossed, she literally trembles in every timber, 
 as if in mortal agony. Such is the drunkard, when his 
 debauch is over, and the liquor begins to die out. But the 
 vessel is at last brought round to the wind ; the sails are 
 filled; and she careers away over the blue waters as gaily as 
 ever. So does the drunkard feel, or least imagine he feels, 
 when, after the horrors, he has got two or three "horns," 
 as he usually calls his medicinal potations. The first excess 
 carries him above a natural level ; then comes an unnatural 
 depression ; and something is required to bring the abused 
 system back to something like a normal condition. 
 
 About this time I met with a curious case. One Sunday 
 inoniing, I got up at daybreak, and went out to walk ; for I 
 could not sleep, my nerves being somewhat In the state 
 described above. It was summer; and all nature looked so 
 lovely that I wondered how so much misery could exist in 
 so fair a world. Fancy led mo into one of the up-towu 
 parks, where I sat down on a bench, and began to ruminate 
 on painful subjects. After a short time I observed a young 
 man approach from the o})posite side of tlie park. He was 
 a man of imposing appearance in more ways than one; for 
 Lis features were good, and bespoke both intelligence and 
 manhood; but his clothes were in a very dila})idated con- 
 dition. AltogetJier, he looked like no ordinary man "under 
 the weather." He made some casual remark, and sat down 
 beside me. I was about to fill a pipe, when he asked me for 
 a chew; remarking that he was in the habit of eating tobacco. 
 
y 
 
 42 liECOLLECTIOXS OP 
 
 On this somewhat novel annunciation of his hjihils, I handed 
 liim the tobacco, -.vliich ho began to chew in a most ferocious 
 manner. Ol serving my nervous condition, he remarked 
 that I wouhl be the better of two or three inches of whisky. 
 I admitted the fiict, and returned the com2)liment. He con- 
 ceded as much, and we were .soon busy devising the ways 
 iind means for satisfying our cravings. The difficulties, how 
 ever, Avere great. In the first place it was Sabbath morning 
 when all the bars were closed; in tho next place it was yet 
 four o'clock ; and, in the third place, he had no monjpy, and my 
 depositories contained the munificent sum of two cents. My 
 friend, however, was equil to the occasion. lie consoled 
 me with the assurance that a coui)lc of hours would soon 
 pass, when some of the Dutch groceries, where they despised 
 Sunday restrictions, would be open; and that he woidd 
 guarantc'i that the two cents should i)roduce us two good 
 <lrinks. This showed more boldness in finance than I had • 
 €ver a 'red to, or dreamed of, and I was anxious to j;ee ny 
 friend develop his tactics. AVhile waiting, he gave me his 
 confidence; and his story was such as I Avould liaAe guessed 
 fr6m his ajjpea ranee. But why amidify] It is always the 
 fiame. Once wealtli, i)Osition, and friends. Now poverty, 
 rags, and the street. In the course of time, we saw a man 
 remove the shutter.; from his store. After giving him time 
 to collect his thoughts a little, we advanced to the attack ; 
 my friend carrying the specie and being master of ceremonies. 
 Ho went up to tlie counter with great gravity and importance, 
 caught tho man's attention, and then slapj^ed the cents down 
 on the counter remarking, '• I want two biy drinks for 
 two cents." Tho man looked astonished, but my friend 
 showed no appearance of jest in his counteira,nce. At last 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 43 
 
 the man seemed to conipi-eli(nul tlie joke, or the state of the 
 case, and, remarking that he Imd liad too much already, 
 filled Ji tumbler to the brim, aii 1 divided it between us, re- 
 t\irning my casual friend the two cents. He repeated the 
 experiment in another grocery where he was not quite so 
 gracefully received, however ; and I left him to pee him no 
 more, poor fellow. His talents fitted him for better tilings. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE STORY OF LOUIS . AN EPISODE. 
 
 In my devious wanderings among the rum-mills, I be- 
 came acquainted with Louis , and lejirned souie incidents 
 
 of his history, which, from early life, had been iufiuencod 
 by King Alcohol. He was, at the time I saw him, a man 
 of about 60 years, but showed evidence of having been a 
 man of imposing appearance. His manners were of tke 
 most agreeable kind, and he miglit with propriet}'^ have been 
 called the poor genthnnan. He was born in the; Southern 
 rro\'ince of France, and commenced the study of medicine ut 
 Paris, with the view of succeeding to the practice of his 
 ftither, who was a physician, and a man of considerable 
 means. He, like many other young men at college, had 
 learned irregular habits; and when his father died, and lie, 
 as only child, came into possession of a fine house, fine liorsep, 
 and a good bank account, no persuasion of friends could induce 
 liim to finish his studies, as had been intended. To his young 
 imagiuition, the money in bank seemed sullicient for a life- 
 
41- llLX'OLLECTIOys OF 
 
 time of extravagiince, and lie iminetliiitely set up as a fust 
 young man of fasliion. A few years dispersed Lis nioney^ 
 and left liini with nothing bnt his house and personal effects. 
 At the solicitation of a friend, he sold these, and joined in 
 the purchjise of a small vessel, lying at Havre, which they 
 loaded, and on which they both sailed on a trading voyage 
 ta South America. The vessel was not insured, and, when 
 simong the West India Ishuub, was lost ; and our friend 
 Louis, and some of the hands, were picked up by another 
 vessel and cari'ied into Ha'vaiia. There he was landed with- 
 out money, without a profession, and Avitliout friends. When 
 in the greatest distress, a Spanish barber took i)ity on him — 
 took him into his shop, boarded him, and learned him his 
 trade. He followed this profession for a few years, and, 
 after saving a little money, left Cuba for the United States, 
 He remained steady, and soon got into a }>rosperous business 
 in New Yo/k. This part of his history, though showing the 
 evils of intemi)erance, I merely narrate as introductory to 
 an incident tluit occurred in his exiierience, which will show 
 that if the traffic in licpior does not debaso human nature, 
 there must be some ready-made monsters engaged in it. 
 
 Louis, now comparatively well off, wished to A'isit Havana, 
 again, but, at that early day, there was little or no direct 
 tralEaJl)et\veen New York and Cuba. At all events he went 
 to Portland in ISIaine, for the jmrpose of getting passage by 
 a vessel thence to Havana. It was winter, and when he 
 arrived in Portland a severe snow-stoiin })revailed. One 
 night while walking along, he saw at a corner of a street, a 
 young girl standing shi\ering in the snow, and crying bitterly. 
 He asked her why she stood there, and what was the cause 
 of her distress. She told him that she was a stranger, hav- 
 
A CHKCKEIIED LIFF. 45 
 
 ing only been a few weeks in the coiintiy. She had l)een 
 employed since her arrival as servant in a small tavern ; and 
 that morning while dusting the bar, she had the misfortune 
 to break one of the decanters, for which oftence her em- 
 ployer turned her out of doors without a penny. She wa« 
 helpless and did not knovr where to go. She seemed timid 
 and modest, and Louis belie\es her story. He took her ta- 
 tlie place where he lodged, paid her board for a month, and 
 asked the lady of the house to do what she could to procure- 
 employment for the outcast. Fortune did not favor hi» 
 efforts after getting to Cuba, and he returned to New York. 
 About two years after this,he again returned to Portland to get 
 a vessel for Cuba. This time he was directed to call at the 
 
 house of a Captain P , who had a vessel about to sail, of 
 
 which lie was part owner. He followed the directions given, 
 and, on knocking at the door, it was opened by a nice-look- 
 ing young woman, with a baby in her arms. This was Mrs. 
 
 P . She looked attentively at him, turned pale, and 
 
 aske<l if he were not Mr. Louis who rescued a girl from 
 
 f.he snow two years before. Jle then recognized the object of 
 his former charity in the person of the cai)tain's wife. He 
 was inmiediately introduced to her husband, as the bene- 
 factor of whom she had so often sj)oken, and it is needless to 
 say that a passage was easily arranged. It remains to be- 
 
 told, however, that caj)tain P woaid not take a penny 
 
 of passage money — that he treated Louis like a prince, and 
 insisted on his staying on board the vessel while she lay in 
 the harbor of Havana. This surely was an instjxnce of one 
 casting liis bread upon the waters, and finding it in increased 
 dimensions after many days. 
 
 Louis told me another somewhat singular case of the- 
 
40 P.ECOLLFX'TIOXS OP 
 
 same Idiid, onl}' lie was the recipient of the kindness in 
 thifcs instance. After his return from Cn))a. lie got exten- 
 sively engaged in his line of business in New York, and pros- 
 pered until he got fsiirly coiiiirmed in drinking habits ; and 
 then, as a matter of course, he came to grief and })Overty. 
 He was once more reduced to a journeyman barber, and, at 
 tlie time of the incident I am about to narrate, was working 
 at Patterson, N. J. He Jiad got his pay on a Saturday 
 night, — had indulged more than usual, and was unable to 
 make his appearance at the usual hour on Monday. The 
 consequence was his dismissal. He resolved on starting for 
 New York ; Imt not having a copper left, he was under the 
 necessity of finding his wa,y on foot. While trudging along? 
 in 21 ver}'' disconsolate condition, he went into a tji>'ern on 
 the road to ask a drink of water. A well-dressed and stylish- 
 looking young man, who was drinking at the bar, noticing 
 liis shaky condition, offered him first one drink, then another, 
 which he eagerly accepted. Tiiis young man asked Louis his 
 story, and, on leaving, slipped a two dollar bill into his hand. 
 Louis again stopped drinking, and for a year or two pros- 
 pered once more in New York. One day, wliile in a restau- 
 rant taking his dinner, he observed a very seedy-looking 
 young Tuan sitting in the bar-room in a Aery disconsolate- 
 like condition. On a clos(;r examination he recognized 
 his benefactor of the Patterson road, and made for him 
 immediately. He recalled tlieir former meeting to the 
 .fitranijer's memory and asked the cause of his altered fortunes, 
 never doubting l)ut that the " universal kneller," drink, was 
 -at the bottom of the misfoi-tune. For once the surmise was 
 wrong ; for the young man explained that he was a profes- 
 tsional gamblei', that at times he was flush, as was the case 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 
 
 47 
 
 •when tlioy met last ; find tluit on other occasions, sucl siR 
 the present, he was " dead broke." Ill-hick had histed huigei* 
 than usual, and he Avas out at elhows, and unfit for proHtablo 
 company. Louis rigged liirii out, gave him a few dolIai*s, 
 and an advice to change his profession, wliich we may sur- 
 jaise in passing, vrould not be much heeded. 
 
 Poor Louis, when I was in tlie luilat of meeting him, "was 
 in sore straits, but was still possessed of the feelings of a 
 gentleman, though they had but poor opportunities of exer- 
 ■cising theins(;lves. 8till, on the whole, lie was philosophic 
 in his poverty, and' managed to preserve wonderful sei-enity 
 amidst his gloomy prospects — gloomy they were ; for ago ami 
 liard living Avere fast rendering the French medical student 
 unfit for the duties of barber ; and when that trade failed 
 him, wdiat was he to do ] " Aks, poor Yorick !" 
 
 CHArXKR IX. 
 
 WHISKEY AS A RECRUITINO SERGEANT. 
 
 Who is there that has read the current news of the [)eri'3d, 
 and does not I'emember the popuhir excitement and the fierce 
 political strife that preceded the late civil war in the United 
 States 1 And who is there who was then engaged in com- 
 merce in the States, or in connexion with them, that does 
 not remember the convidsive throes of the bodv-comnierehil 
 Ijofore and after the out-breaking of the war. If it "svero not 
 irreverent, I might compare the greatest politicians and the 
 most eminent mercliants, at tlitit time, to so many dying dol- 
 
48 
 
 KECOLLECTiaXS OF 
 
 2)hin.s, that chajigod color witli every gasp. The whole com- 
 munity was stirred ; and when the first gini was fired in 
 Charleston Harbor, its echoes seemed to leverberate through- 
 out the country, convulsing every department of tra«le, and 
 electrifying all classes of peojjle. I never was a politician, 
 and shall not now presume to enter into the merits of tliat 
 gigantic cpiarrel. I merely have to do with some small de- 
 tiiils and incidents of the (puirrel itself. 
 
 When volunteers were called for, it is scarcely necessary 
 to remind my readers that at the lirst there was little or no 
 difficulty in ])rocuring men. jMany volunteered from pure 
 motives of i)atriotism, — some for the romauce of the thing ; 
 and a good many of the " great unwashed," because they 
 thought it an easy way of getting a li^ ing, never dreaming 
 that they would be called upon to put their bodies in jeo- 
 jrnrdy in battle. Others, and I fear I must say a very con- 
 siderable number, volunteered when under the influence of 
 liquor, and did not know what they were doing. To this 
 class I belonged, for I , c*ime to my senses one morning in 
 June, 1861, and found myself in a camp on Staten Island, 
 surrounded by a lot of fellows in military garb, who, by 
 swearing and quarelling among themselves, looked more like 
 denizens of Pandemonium than patriotic volunteers. I 
 never doubted but that in one of my frolics I had accom- 
 pinied some of the vohmteers into camp on a " lark ;" but, 
 if so, why did I wear the]uniform 1 I began to think that I 
 had had " honors thrust upon me," and so it turned out; for, 
 on making inquiiies, I was informed that I was duly enrolled, 
 and had been in camp for about a week. I never really got 
 at the tiiith of this statement, and if it was a truth it 
 was stmnge that I should have lost all consciousness for such 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. . 49 
 
 41 period ; for T htul not tlie most remote recollection of moot- 
 ing any of those heroes, or of my trnnsformation from a 
 civilian to a son of ^Mars. I innuediately retired to a quiet 
 corner and held a council of ^var with myself. I first en- 
 quired what I had to do with the quarrel. I was not a 
 •citizen of the United States, and never meddled with politics*, 
 <iven in the Avay of expressing an opinion ; and, besides, 
 many of my best and most vahuHl friends ANere »Southerii 
 people. Why, therefore, slioidd I make war \q)on them, or 
 why should I give them a chance of ornamenting my l)ody 
 with bullet holes ? 1 knew that no contract, not even a 
 military one, such as I A\as accused of liaA ing made, would 
 stand good if made during a state of aberration of mind ; and, 
 having strong friends, I had no doubt of being able to com- 
 pel my release. On the other hand, if I had an o[>inion at 
 all on the subject, it was in favor of the justice of the Nor- 
 thern cause ; and I was forced to acknowledge that, for a 
 year or two preceding, I had been of little use to mysc^lf or 
 anybodj^ else ; and that supposing I " lost the mimber of my 
 mess." as getting killed is delicately termed, it would only be 
 a small unit of the sum of liunuin life ; and should I survive, 
 I might return a better and wiser man. I therefore resolved 
 to make the best of it and turn my most active attention to 
 military duties. Had I enlisted from choice, or with my 
 eyes open, however, I should have chosen a different regi- 
 ment. I was, I found, a member of the Gth New York, or 
 *'■ Billy Wilson's Zouaves," as they were termed, a regiment 
 that was professedly raised from among the roughs of New 
 York. It had originally had nearly 2,000 of this class on 
 its roll j but most of them, after being clothed smd feasted 
 for a few weeks, had "skedaddled;" and novv, when on the 
 
50 * RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 eve of leaving for the front, its roll did ii«>t contain more- 
 than 1,000 men, composed of ilic most hetorogciK'onsniuterial 
 imaginable. A fc\v of the roughs lemained ; some were 
 young hoys, and a groat numy were *• hrokcn-down sports," 
 and l)rok(•ll-^lo^vn traders. »Sonio months ago, there was a 
 •warm discu.ssion in the En'^lisli papers, as to wlio liad first 
 used the expression '• Athdlamitos" to the discontented party 
 in tlie House of Commons. It is an idea that wo\dd riatur- 
 ally occur to any one, and it occurred to nie on tlic occasion 
 of erilistment, and ^ is used hy me in a letter referring to 
 our regiiaent, in which I couii)ar(;d Col. Wilson to David in 
 the cave of Adullam, when " every one who was in debt" 
 everv one who was discontented, and every avIio had run 
 away from his master, gatiiered thcmsehes unto liim and he 
 became. a captain over them." As above described, I came 
 to my senses just a few days before the regiment was to 
 leave for the seao of war. Tiie few days 3' spent am oner 
 them in camp were among the most gloomy in my experi- 
 ence. I knew no one in c.imp, my system As^as almost in a 
 fitate of collai)se, and my mind was in a state whicli would 
 have made fair prospects appear discouraging. Besides, my 
 friends knew nothing of my Avhercabouts. I v/as bidding 
 farewell to civilization, and I considered my prospects of 
 filling an unknown grave as very encouraging. In all my 
 drinking scrapes, I had always some kind of romance in the 
 thing, and ever had a great abhorrence of coarse or quarrel- 
 some company. Jndge, then, of my feelings v/lien I found 
 ni3'self shut up in a narrow space, where drinking and quar- 
 relling went on from morning till night, in their jnost rej)nl- 
 sive form. The men were mostly unfit for the field, having 
 liad little or no drill, and I am sure some of them never had 
 
A CnrX'ICEKKD LIFS. 51 
 
 a gnn in their liaiids till suj)pli(Hl v/itli old government 
 smooth bores, a day or so before leaving. But fortur.e 
 favored this motley collection, and if they did not go out, 
 they at least returned good soldiei's. A faw days after iny 
 joining, orders ^vere received for the regiment to embark on 
 board the steamship Vanderhilt, for the seat of "svar. Such 
 an embarkation I never saw. After parading the streets of 
 New York, and receiving a i)resent of a stand of colors, drc, 
 from the ladies of .Kew York, most of the men vrere got on 
 board the ves.sel ; but there was an immediate and simultan- 
 eous rush of all hands, to procure leave of absence for the 
 night. I believe three-fourths of them got ashore by some 
 means or other, and those who i-emained on board vrere, gen- 
 erally s})eaking, in a dt^plorable condition. I sui)pose this 
 must have been the reason why I was i)ickod upon, as one of 
 about a dozen, who were i)laced on guard, about the vteoks^. 
 I had far from a distinct idea of what T had to guard ; but a 
 drink or two about relief time, made me somewhat compla- 
 cent over the duty. When mornin;^;' came, the men bei^an 
 to tumble on board in all kinds of s}ia})es. jMost of them 
 were ine])riated, and many of them carried off mementoes of 
 Nevv^ York, in the shape of black eyes and other facial adorn- 
 ments. Some of them were so helplessly drunk that they 
 were hoisted on board, by a block and taelcle, from the tender,. 
 like so much merchandise. At last all .rere on board that 
 could be found; and, as we steamed out of the harbor of New 
 York, I took many a regretful look attlie hills of Staten Island, 
 where T had spent so many happy days. A few year's before 
 I had entered that magnificent harbor, on a beautiful Sep- 
 tember morning, a young man full of hope and high impulses, 
 with the best introdi'ctions ; and in short, with every earthly 
 good in prospect of attainment, and now ''whither away?" 
 
52 RECOLLKCTIONS OF 
 
 Tliere wns nothing very re)nai'kal)le jiboiit tlie voyago. 
 When a few days out, we learned that our destination was 
 the Island of Santa Rosa, in the Gulf of Mexico, and that 
 we were meant as reinforcement for the f;imed Fort Pickens 
 on that Ishmd. In due course of time we arrived there, and 
 were hmded, as well as could be, by small boats, which only 
 reached within al)Out fifty yards of the shore, the men wading 
 the btilaiice of the distance through the water. Several days 
 Avere spent in landing stores in this way, and, at last, " Bill 
 Wilson's " were fairly encamped in the sand, about a mile 
 from the Fort. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO MILITARY LIFE. 
 
 ]\[y new home was not ^f tli;) most enclianting kind. The 
 Island of Santa Rosa is a long, narrow island, composed of 
 -wliite sand, a) . with scarce a blade of vei^etation. It stretches 
 .4dong tlie coast of Florida, about a mile from the mainland. 
 Fort Picken>i on the island, and Forts i>araneas, McRae, and 
 the navy-yard, in the mainland, connnand the entrance to the 
 harbor of Pensacola. The Fedcu'.ils had possession of Fort 
 Pickens, while the rebels, or confederates, held the fort on 
 tlie mainland. The confederates had a very strong force 
 there ; and it seems strange that thoy did not make an earlier 
 .attempt on Fort Pickens, in which there were already some 
 of their leaders prisoners, and which would have sc red 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 53 
 
 them complete possession of the Lest navy-yard in the So^uth. 
 It is scarcely possible that they could have been aware of 
 our position, or they would have attempted so desirable a 
 prize. It is an old 8j)anish fort I believe, but it has been 
 strengthened and improved of late years. 
 
 The sight of this stronghold suggested soukj ideas to mo 
 about the uiniaturalncss of the quarrel, and the different 
 governments the territory had been under, which ideas I 
 attempted to put into verse, and which T here transcribe with 
 the heading of 
 
 . "LIBERTY." 
 
 liberty, sweet liberty, 
 
 Tliou phantom of our raee. 
 What variou.s garbs we bid thee weai', 
 
 And should our nearest kin oppose, 
 Or say we've robed thee wrong. 
 
 In deadl}'- strife twin-l>rothers close, 
 Each with a patriot's song. 
 
 What stories could this fortress tell 
 
 Of those who've bled for thee ! 
 Each calling his opponent knave, 
 
 Because lie could not see 
 That thdu shouldst wear a certain form 
 
 Or j)erish midst the battle's storm. 
 
 O goddess of this sacred shrine, 
 
 Unveil our misty eye.*-*. 
 And l'.!t thy sicred })eauty shine * 
 
 From out thy ni.tive skies, 
 Till all man'ciiid ])ehold thei 
 
 In robes of lieaveni} lif,ht, 
 And ceftvSe for aye to mouhl thee 
 
 From visious dark as night. 
 
3-4 RE('OLLi:( TIONS OF 
 
 Jt is asto)>is]iiiig to tliiiik how ineii cun a(Li})t tliemselves 
 to circunistjincGs. Here were a l)0<ly of inon, riglit ftoin tlic 
 heart of a great city — where it is reasoniinle to suppose most 
 of tlieni had the comforts, at leant of common life — all of a 
 sudden, hrouglit to sleep on the ground; often drenched by 
 rain, tortured hy insects, and reduced to liAC on hard In'ead, 
 salt i)ork, and colfee as their umaiying fare ; and yet few of 
 them got sick o^.* v.eak in body. MaTiy, no doubt, were 
 Homesick ; but n.ost preserved good, if not gay, spirits. I 
 have often remarked it since, thoiigh contrary to what most 
 people would expect, that trooj^is raised^ in cities stand the 
 hardships of a cani});vign far better than those raised in 
 country district^ The only probable reason that I can 
 assign for this fact is, that most country people live a mucli 
 more regular life than towns-folks and, conse<iuently take 
 worse with irregular rest and meals, wjiioh are concomitants 
 of all campaigns. Drilling v/ent on Aigorously, under the 
 direction of oliieers from the fort, and in the course of six 
 )uonths the regiment presented a very creditable appearance. 
 "AVe had not been long on hi'anta llosti a\ hen the company to 
 which I belonged was sent to Key West, where we remained 
 for three or four nonths, living itn easy and agreeable life, 
 the climate being delightful, and the duties liglit. While 
 there we heard of our companions, on the island, having had 
 their first experience of actual warfare, the Confederates 
 having landed about Ij^OO men on the upper part of the 
 island, and attacked our camp in the night. Nearly all our 
 picket were killed, and the enemy "were on the camp before 
 the men could turn out. They did turn out, hcwever, and 
 iin irregular kind of skirmish was ke^>t up till day-light, 
 >vhen the '^confeds" retired to Heir boats, where a sad 
 
A ciip:ckerei) life. 55 
 
 aiiishap'ravaited them. Tlie boats wore aground, and could 
 not he got off ; and the men being crowded togetlier ou theni 
 like bees, they had no opportunity of retaliating. Our 
 fellows had about half an hour's peppering at them, at i)oint- 
 bljmk range, before they could get aAvay. They lost a great 
 many men in killed a,nd prisoners, and we lost about thirty 
 in the same manner, for they managed to carry oiT some of 
 our men. I Iciirned one incident of this light, which shows 
 the" spirit of the ^^outheiJi women in their cause. A nice 
 lookin.<^ yonng Southerner, a sergeant, was among tlie killed, 
 in whose pocket was found a letter in female hajid-wiiting, 
 ^ind, no doubt, from his sweet-lieart ; inAvhich she threatened 
 to discard him unless he killed her a "nice six-foot Yankee" 
 in the light, for which she understood ho was a volunteer. 
 Poor fellow, it likely was his first, and certainly was his 
 last, opportunity of gratifying her in that way, and Iioav 
 sadly v/ere her aspirations as wfdl as his ov/n rewardal I 
 Yv^liile our company were plai/iuy at soldiers, our less for- 
 tunate compraiions had an. other taste of service. Col. Brown, 
 who comman<lcd Fort Pickens, having got some large Parrot 
 f^uns mounted on sand batteries, attempted by them, and the 
 ir'uns of the fort, to drive th(; rebels out of the forts ou the 
 mainland. The bombardment lasted for two days v.ithout 
 much effect. A friend and countrymj-.n of mine made a 
 singular escape liere, which I shall narrate. He was orderly- 
 sergeant, and his company Avas in charge of one of the sand 
 batteries. At the end of the tirst day's bombardment, be 
 was sitting in his shaiiii/, behind the battery, making out a. 
 detail of men for the folloAving day, when a shell came tear- 
 ing along from Barrancas, cutting the book on wliich he was 
 writing, in two, digging a hole in the sand, blowing him and 
 
56 REC.'OLLECTIONS OF 
 
 the slianty several feet in tlie air, and bursting some distance^ 
 behind, wliere it carried away the leg of a man as a trophy; 
 but, singularly enough, doing the sergeant no harm. He 
 was found in the excavation made hy the shell, wdth nothing; 
 but his liead above the sand, and saluted liis friend with the- 
 only regret he was heard to express, in those emphatic 
 words, "Ah Jack, our shanty's gone!" He had not a scratch;, 
 vet the book on which he had been writinc:, which I after- 
 ward saw, was cut diagonally as clean as if divided by a 
 knife. He ]>reserved the book and a piece of the shell as^ 
 mementos of the narrow escape. Tliis artillery duel ended 
 without anv decisive advantatje to either side, and with little 
 loss of life on ours, and I suppose Avith as little on the side 
 of our opponents. Sei)arated as we were, by a mile or more 
 of water, we had little or no communication with the Con- 
 federates. After the battle of Bull's Run, in Virginia, they 
 adopted a somewhat novel method of conveying us the in- 
 telligence of their success. One day a large mongrel dog 
 was found on the island, with a ticket tied round his neck,, 
 on which was a written recpiest that we shoidd keep him 
 until the Confederates should meet us at Manassas Junction, 
 which was the name first given to the Bull Run field of 
 battle. Of course this message was all Chinese to us, as we 
 had no news from the North of so hite a date. The do^c 
 was taken good care of, but we never had the opportunity 
 ©f exchanging him as directed ; for, althougli, as my readers 
 are aware, there was a second Bull's Run, our regiment had 
 the good luck to be in better if not so active quarters. 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. b7 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MILITARY INCIDENT. 
 
 After spending two or three months at Key West, oiir 
 K'ompany was transferroJ to Fort Jefferson, or Dry Tortngius, 
 ^s it is called, to aid other two companies of the regiment 
 in the dnty of guarding prisoners and garrisoning the fort. 
 Tliis fort, mounting nearly .500 guns, is built on an island 
 of coral formation, in the Gulf of Mexico, about GO miles 
 from Cuba, and covers the whole island. Why it should be 
 called Dry Tortngas I could never divine, as the ocean laves 
 its walls, unless it be that there is no spring in the foi-t, or 
 from the scarcity of spirituous commodities. In the volun- 
 teer army and in the United States army generally, the 
 most rigid rules were enforced as to temperance ; and, at this 
 ]>lace, it was next to an impossibilty to get liquor for love 
 or money, as the saying is. A somewhat peculiar and bold 
 expedient was adopted by a member of our company in order 
 to obtain a supply. He was an old ship-captain — a veiy 
 thirsty soul — and was detailed to manage a small boat kept 
 for the benefit of the commanding officer. A vessel liad 
 :arrived with bricks for the completion of the fort, and . ^ 
 f?eems had some of the contraband article on board. W., as 
 I shall call the boat hand, had some spare moment managed 
 to get on board this vessel, and purchased a ten-gallon keg 
 of brandy, the money for which he raised among the men* 
 He bargained with the skipper that he should send a boat 
 to a certain point, under the walls of the fort, with the keg, 
 about midnight. He found out who was to be on guard at 
 
58 RECOLLECTIONS OV 
 
 this point, and managed to get him so far to forget military 
 duty as to take no notice of the transaction. W. and a 
 friend were at the spot, o* the top of the fort, with a vope 
 and, all being "lixcd,''* the}^ hoisted the keg over the rampart. 
 Thus a liheral supply of iire-water was procured, which 
 puzzled the officers sadly, as they could not dream of where 
 the men got the means of being so glorious. About thi 
 time, while a fatigue party were working in the com* 
 missary department, two young dare-deA'ils walked deliber- 
 ately off with two cases of braniiy, right under the nose of 
 the guard and commissary otiicers. The thing was done so 
 deliberately and coolly that it Avas not noticed. This supply 
 was distributed among a few of a certain class; and the result 
 ■was they became so outrageous that three or four of them 
 were arrested by the guard, and tied up l>y the thumbs* 
 This agreeable process consists in tying a cord round the two 
 thumbs, and fastening it to some object overhead, so that 
 the culprit has to sustain all but his own weight by those 
 two digits. From the effects produced, I should judge an 
 liour of this to be severe punishment. Be this as it may, oit 
 this occasion the prisoners were cut down and rescued by 
 their conu'ades. Some shots were fired by the ofHcers of the 
 guard without effect, which led to the mutineers loading 
 their pieces and turning the company quarters into a fort.. 
 The peaceably disposed, 1 o which number I belonged, had no 
 iiltsrnative but to escape and take up neutral ground for the 
 Jiight. Nothing serious, however, happened; but when the 
 rioters awoke in the morning they found a batteiy of field- 
 pieces surrounding the quarters, ready to ])low them to atoms 
 at the word of connnand. The consequence was, that the 
 whole company was disarmed; although, perhaps, not more 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 69 
 
 than ten liad liad anytliing to do with tlie disturhance. 
 TJndev those circumstances, I heini^ known as a pretty gooii 
 scribOj was requested to write a letter to the connuandiug 
 officer representing the state of the case, and re^iuesting tliat 
 clLscriniination shouhl be made, so tliat tlie innoctuit shouKl 
 not be punished with the guilty. Sucli a letter I wrote, and, 
 after its being signed by all the non-counnissioned officei'S, it 
 was sent through our company commander to the commander 
 of the post. The con.sequence was, that, next day, our arms 
 were returiied, and only three or four of the ringleaders "were 
 hehl for jninishment. They, too, got off very easily, for such 
 an offence, getting only a few mouths' imprisonment. This 
 3'umpus did me some good, as the letter, whicli had a slight 
 *'taste" of the spread eagle in it, attracted attention ; and,, 
 having been traced to my humble self, I was iin mediately 
 detailed as clerk, and in one department or ether I con- 
 tinned in that capacity throughout the war ; Avhich, although 
 it effectually precluded the possibility of rising in rank, 
 gave me easy times and good opportunities of seeing more, 
 and picking up a great variety of information on subjects 
 that would never had come under my observation had I con- 
 tinued to do military dut}'. In the spring of 18G2, our com- 
 pany left Tortugas, and again returned to San la Ilosa. Some 
 progress had been made in the South. The ll(;et had taken 
 the foi*ts, on the mouth of the Mississip2)i, and New Orleans 
 surrendered to Butler without a shot. Shortly after this, 
 unusual activity was obser^'ed in the Peusacola navy-yard. 
 A movement of some kind was evidently in progress. One 
 ev(ming, I had been sharing a bottle that luid, by favor, been 
 procured, with my friend the sergeant, of whose escape I 
 liave already spoken. It was after tattoo when I returned 
 
60 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 to my quarters, and all hands were asleep. Jiist as I was 
 about to enter n»y tent, T observed a very brilliant wliite 
 light on Foi-t McHae ; instantly a similar one appeared on 
 Barrancas, :<nd again at^the navy-yard. They were evidently 
 signals of some sort, and I immediately ran aiKl awoke our 
 company commander. The camp was presently alive, an«l 
 liad soon something to look at. Simultaneously, fire broke 
 out in the forts I have named, as well as in the Bfarine Hos- 
 pital, a large building on the Confederate side. The fire was 
 of the most brilliant kind, and was evidently helped l)y 
 supplied combustibles. The commander of the island soon 
 came to the conclusion that the rebels were evacuating their 
 strongholds ; and, to prevent the further destruction or 
 removal of property, the guns of the fort were opened on the 
 burning foi-ts. The spectacle then became one of tho grandest 
 imaginable. The flames shot fiercely up into the air, illu- 
 minating the whole heavens, while around hung a pall of 
 lurid clouds of smoke, amidst which the explosion of the 
 shells was now and then visible. Of course, most of my 
 readers are aware that shells are of two kinds — those fired 
 from cannon, and those fired from mortara. The latter shell 
 <1 escribes a parabola as it goes, the mortar being elevated 
 at a greater or less angle, according to the distance of the 
 object aimed at. The fuse is cut long or short, according to 
 the distance, and at night emits a twinkling light as the 
 shell progresses Avith a rotary motion. On the occasion re- 
 ferred to, it was a beautiful sight to watch their course and 
 see them burst over the flaming forts, or among the lurid 
 clouds of smoke that canopied them. The spectacle con- 
 tinued till day-break, and by mid-day a few companies of the 
 regiment, among which was ours, \s'ere got in readiness to 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 61 
 
 -cross and tako possession ; for it '';ras now definitely ascer- 
 tained that the Confederates Lad abandoned the forts, and 
 left for parts unknown, the opinion being that they luwl 
 made for Por^^ Hudson on the Mississippi, which was then 
 becoming known to the North as a second Vickslmrg. Our 
 lot fell to tiike i)ossession of Fort Barrancas, a very sti'ong old 
 ►Spanish Fort, and the sand batteries adjoining. Nearly all 
 the guns hud been left, but most of them were spiked. A 
 considerable quantity of munitions of war was also left avail- 
 able. Some wooden Ijuildings, outside the fort, were left 
 standing ; and we rejoiced in tlie prospect of again sleeping • 
 under a roof. Tired and sleepy, most of the men spent an 
 imconscions night; but, when morning came, I, for one» 
 began to feel as if I had been transported back to the time 
 iind place of Egyptian plagiu^s, although unconscious of 
 meriting such a fate ; for I found myself literally alive with 
 fleas and other nameless insects. I do not exaffj^erate when 
 I say that you could actually see the men's light-blue trowsera 
 sj)eckled with fleas of most respectable dimensions — fellows 
 that looked as if they enjoyed their focd and got plenty of 
 it. It is needless to say that those houses were no longer 
 occupied, and if the Confederates used them as dormitories* 
 1 can easily account for their being wakeful and vigilant. 
 
 In a day or two the whole regiment, along with the — — 
 New York, that had been with us for some time, took up 
 •our quarters in the town of Pensacola, Avliere we had good 
 houses to live in, intercourse with citizens ; and, in short, 
 had a fair opportunity of relapsing into civilization. A few 
 ?nontlis passed away very agreeably there, the only duty 
 being an occasional raid into the surrounding country, where 
 ^ve very rarely met with the enemy in any force. At thi» 
 
62 KEt'OLLECTIONS OF 
 
 time NculDoAv, of Maine-law faiite. got a General's commission 
 Hiid came as commander of the post. He wanted some men 
 detuilecl as orderlies, iVc, from our regiment, and Col. Wilson, 
 knowing his peculiarities, sent him two or three of the most 
 inveterate drinkers in the regiment. The very first night, 
 tbcy made tlie general's quarters hi<leous with bacchanalian 
 attenijtts at music and other recreations, and were didy 
 returned to the regiment next morning. 
 
 CHAPTEK XTI. 
 
 ON THE MOVE. 
 
 •The moiith ofDeoembar c,im3, and we had orders to move. 
 Although a change is generally hailed with pleasure by 
 soldiers, I believe there was very little rejoicing on this occa- 
 sion ; for we had fonnd Pensacola a Aery pleasant little town,, 
 and had met with much kindness from the citizens. The 
 ix3giment had got such a name in the North, and had been 
 I'epresented in the Southern newspapers as such cut-throat 
 blackguards, that even the sharks in the bay of Pensacola 
 liad forsaken their haunts on o\ir account. When, theie- 
 fore, the good people of Pensacola found that we were very 
 much like other people, and much more free with our money 
 than our neighbors, the regiment was received with open 
 ai-ms by all classes. On the whole, they showed that they 
 deserved this favor, and only had one break-out, that I re- 
 member of. This was on an occasion when a barrel of whiskey- 
 fell into the hands of a fatigue party. They were employed 
 
A CHKCKKHKD LIFE. G5 
 
 at the (lock, loading coinmisKiiry stores on carts, nud ilw 
 Pest Quai-termaster Lad do.si<i:n('d to Ljivo tlioni a treat before 
 they left his jurisdiction, and Ik; did it in a way .soniewliat 
 peculiar. There was among the stores a quantity of whiskey;- 
 so, calling the sergeant who was in ciiarge of the party, he 
 told him that, when such and such goods were loaded, lie- 
 wished the men to leaA'e off, and specially called his attention 
 to the fact that there were forff/ barrels of whiskey, making 
 Lim count them twice over. Now, the sergeant in so doing 
 found tliat there were 41 barrels ; but he said nothing, j bulg- 
 ing (as it was afterAvards found to be) that the odd one was 
 meant to fall into the hands of the men. ' When the work 
 was over, the head of the whiskey-barrel Avas taken out, and^ 
 a cup having been procured, hard drinking commenced. 
 What thev coidd not drink was carried off in canteens to the- 
 regimental quarters ; and, before night, the village, or town, 
 presented a somewhat lively appearance. Some held con- 
 cei-ts in corners ; and a few got on a warlike expedition- 
 against another regiment, with which they were not on the 
 most amicable terms. Something like a free fight took place, 
 without much damage being done, further than alarming the 
 citizens a little, and leaving some of our fellows with broken 
 faces as mementos of their farewell to Pensacola. We were- 
 then sent to New Orleans, where General Banks had just 
 assumed command, and >vas supposed to be preparing for 
 some great movement up the river. I shall take this o|)por- 
 timity of saying something about his predecessor, General, 
 or as he was familiarly called in the South and in Europe,. 
 " Beast Butler." I am by no means a2>artizan of his. I da- 
 not admire liis ])hysiognomy, which is none of the handsomest, 
 I do not claim that he was a great or even a good General 
 
'64 KECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 neitlier <lo T think lie is liki^lvirloriouKlv to immortalize himself 
 
 rs' 
 
 vas a legislator ; but common fairness leads me to say that, 
 from all I saw and heard, he was the right man in the right 
 place, in the great southern city, New Orleans. A.ny one 
 who has been in tlu; South, previous to the war, is aware 
 that the Crescent City was one of the most reckless 
 j)laces on this continent. The mighty Mississippi bore 
 •on its bosom, from its countless tributaries, as mixed and 
 recklcf^s a po})ulation as could well be imngined, to centre 
 in New Orleans, and to contrast in vice and immorality 
 with the wealth and retinement of that great Soutlieru 
 cajjital. Who has not read of the almost nightly assassi 
 nations and brawls that took place there ? When Butler 
 took possession of it, the intellectual and moral worth 
 liad disappeared, and little but the substratum of degrada- 
 -tion and moral impuiity remained. I suj)pose I am near the 
 truth when I say that about 20,000 women and children, 
 callir.g themselves families of confederate soldiers, were there 
 and had to be provided for. Butler found that several banks 
 and large mercantile firms had contributed largely in money 
 .to the rebel cause ; and, judging that they had thus been in- 
 strumental in bringing about the existing state of things, he 
 taxed them in the same mtio for the supi)ort of those help- 
 less families. This caused those parties to indulge in vitu- 
 peration ; and one or two cases of severe but deserved pun- 
 ishment of abandoned women gave occasion to those parties 
 to get up an outcry of ill-usage to the ladies of the South. 
 Females who would stand on the sidewalk and deliberately 
 spit on an officer's coffin, as his remains were being carrie<l 
 to the grave, could not, in my opinion, whatever their politi- 
 cal tendencies might be, put in much claim to ladyship. In 
 
A ClIKCKEHED LIFE. 65- 
 
 short, Ro far as I could learn (and I made special in<iuiry on 
 the subject), this man, wlio got so heartily execrated, did 
 nothing more than a police-magistrate would have done, oir 
 than is done, every day in well-regidated communities. 
 
 But this is a digression, and I must hasten on with my 
 narrative. After spending a mouth or so at a>. ow Orleans, 
 the regiment was brigaded and sent to Baton Rouge. This 
 looked like something active, Port Hudson evidently being 
 the objective point. Troops l)egan to concentrate, and at 
 last, General Banks arrived ; and with 30,000 men, advanced 
 on Port Hudson. We got within eight miles of it that even- 
 ing, and encamped for the night. About midnight I awoke 
 at the sound of heavy cannonading, and had no doubt the 
 confederates were on us. It soon appeai-ed that the tiring, 
 which was continued, was at Port Hudson. ]3y and by a 
 brilliant light illuminated the heavens, and a luminous body 
 seemed to be descending the river. Then a great explosion 
 took place, and the light was extinguished. The explanation 
 of all this was afterwards found to be, that Admiral Farragut 
 had succeeded in running some of his ships pa,st the forts,, 
 but that one (I think the Jfississippi) had grounded and 
 taken fire, ultimately floating off and down the river, and 
 then exi)loding. Next morning, to the chagrin of some and 
 the relief of others, the troops faced about and returned to 
 Baton Kouge ; and hence we concluded that the movement 
 lijul only been a rtise to aid the shij)s in passing up to the aid 
 of General Grant, at Yicksburg. After a few days delay^ 
 the troops were ordered on board transports, and landed at 
 Donaldsonville, on the western side of the river. But lest 
 I should forget the object of my sketches, the temperance 
 cause, I must here give another illustration of the evils of 
 
'^^0 RECOLLEC'TIOXS OF 
 
 mtcniperaiice. Just before Ieii\'iiig Baton Ivoiige, some of 
 •our 'Miardest cases" Jiad /-ot ji liberal Hii])p]y of fire-water 
 iini could KcuToely bo got into the ranks ; and wlien tlier« 
 tindmarcliing down tlio niaiii streets to tlie tranHi)ort.s coukl 
 not be vestra.ined from singing tJie SoiitLern song of the 
 '' Bonny Bine Fljig." Wjjen on board, tliey next directed 
 attention to some negroes that were tliere, one or two of 
 whom they threw into the river, at the imminejit risk of their 
 being drowned. To WM^nd np with, oiie of them watclied Iiis 
 0])portunity and liit the Brigade-General in the face with a 
 j)iece of raw pork. The oHender could not be found • tlic 
 officers t)f the regiment vrerc powerless to preserxe disci] )Iine 
 and ntter anarchy prevailed. The consequence Vv-as, that on 
 -arrival at Donaldsonville, our colors were takeji from us and 
 the regiment v.as disarmed. Next day tliree officers woiq 
 cashiered without a. trial, and about eiglity of the men were 
 picked out, and sent under g'lard to N ev.- ()rle;ins, as prison- 
 eis.^ for thebiilanc(^ of their term of enlistment. The cokmel 
 himself v/as put under arrest, and never did duty vv^ith the 
 ivigiment again ; the lieutemmt-culonel being in chame until 
 the expiry of our term of servic^?. From Doiialdsonviile we 
 liad a long and tiresome mnroh to Bras.hea.r citv on the Gulf 
 of Mexico. Trojps were here concentratiijg for some impor- 
 tant purpose. 
 
 While taking a walk here, one day, I mot a .';oldier belontv- 
 ing to another regiment whose foce seemed familiar. I looked, 
 and he looked, but passed on without recognition. The same 
 
 ^lay I met hiai again, and this time T addressed him. He 
 instantly called me by name, and pro\-ed to be Jaujes Blank, 
 whom I had found houseless, in the streets of New Yoik 
 
 ■«onie years before. Of course, I hail to hear his further his- 
 
A CHECKEllED LIFE. 67 
 
 tory, ftn<l it was sad enoiigli. Since last I liad seen liiin, lie 
 had l)eeii somewliat like myself, soiuetimes keeping so1>cr foi* 
 a time, Avlien tilings vrould go well with him, and again 
 relapsing into drunken habits and consequent mi.seiy. When 
 the war hrokc out, he joined in Virginia pre\ious to coming 
 to LouisinAia. lie h:id twice Leen promoted sergeant, but 
 ahvays " lost his stripes " by breaking out in drink, until 
 now he was a confirmed private ; biit, like myself, was detailed 
 to do regimental Avriting and other otld jobs. Some months 
 xifterwards, on the Ked Iliver, when our lime had expired, and 
 we weie leaving the brigade, 1 called to bid i>lank good-b^'-e, 
 and vv'as told that, on the marcli, a hundred miles or so back, he 
 had got drunk, and had straggled, and nothing further was 
 know]i of him. Perliai>s he was killed, and the best that could 
 be hoped was that he Avas a prisoner. Most likely he sleeps 
 by the bayou tributaries of the Missifisi})pi, a sad instance of 
 bi'iglit early days clouded and quenched by intemperance, 
 Farev.'ell ])oor Blank. After a week or two we were afmbi 
 put or transj'orfc:-], and sent \q> Bayou Le Bieuf, and landed 
 al)ont ten miles in tlic rear of Franklin. It was my foi'tune 
 to ])e on boartl the gun-Vioat WestJleU, in which I recognizeil 
 an old acfpiaiirtance, in the sha])e of an old, or rather new 
 ferry-boat, that used to run from New York to Staten 
 Island. Her upper works had been removed, and she carried 
 three or four guns of tlie heaviest calibi'e. She was the veiy 
 thing for na-vigjiting tlie bayous arid lakes, and I coidd not 
 help smiling at the idea of the boat, and citizen-passenger of 
 two years before, being thus! changed to warlike uses, and 
 navigating hostm waters, two tliousand miles away. 
 
68 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 CHAPTER XIIT. 
 
 SKIRMISHING. 
 
 I was now destined to smell powder for the first time, 
 Oen. Hanks, with the main body of the army, had for some 
 <lays been advancing on Franklin, a place of some strength, 
 and our division had been sent ronnd in the rear to cut oft* 
 rati oat. On landing, our brigade was in the advance, aud 
 our regiment was deployed as skirmishers. We passeil 
 through a wood in safety ; bnt, on coming out on an oi)en 
 expanse of country, we were saluted l)y a battery of artillery 
 planted among some trees about a mile or three quarters of 
 a mile distant. 1 had taken a rilie from choice, and now I 
 almost regretted it. Hound shot and shell were coming un- 
 comfortably near, and we had no opjiortunity of retaliatinfj. 
 We were ordered to lie down behind what shelter we coidd 
 iind till our artilhiry should come up. Our company iiad a 
 dog that always followeil it, — a big, good-natured mongrel, 
 and, on this occasion, he was sauntering about from one 
 recumbent figure to another. He had been paying me a visit, 
 and was a short distance on his departure when a twelve- 
 pounder struck the ground iu advance, ricochetted, rolled 
 along and struck my canine friend in the stomach, pitching 
 him unceremoniouslv into a ditch. I had not much time to 
 commisserate him, for the artillery not making its ai)pearance, 
 a few companies were brought into line and ordered to ad- 
 vance on the battery. AVe had not advanced far wlien to 
 our relief we saw the field battery limbc" up, and " ske- 
 daddle" aci-oss a bayou, the bridge being instantly destroyed, 
 for w^hich arrangements had been made before. This ended 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 69 
 
 the duties of the day, and my fthst skirmish, in which we 
 lost but one man killed and two or three wounded. Next 
 morning, however, we had Bomethmg resembling a ^'real 
 battle." We got over the bayou in the night, and by day- 
 light were on the road to Franklin. This day our place was 
 in the rear of the division, which was in accordance with our 
 usual good luck ; for we had not proceeded far when a 
 furious cannonading was opened upon the head of the column, 
 from several batterier planted in a wood, facing across the 
 road. A line of battle was immediately formed by the two 
 first brigades, and artillery and musketry went at it in right 
 good earnest. This lasted for an hour or more, our brigade 
 lying as reserve. The enemy were behind breast-works, in 
 the wood, and had made fearful havoc on one of our brigades, 
 some regiments of which wee almost annihilated. We were 
 then brought up and ordered to make a detour ^ and charge 
 the intrenchments with the bayonet. Whether the enemy 
 saw this, and were frightened, or whether they were " going 
 to leave any way," I knew not, but they instantly ceased firing ; 
 and when we reached the wood, we had nothing to do but 
 capture, or rather collect, prisoners, who were found in twos, 
 threes and .fifteens, scattered here and there. We then 
 learned that General Banks had taken Franklin the day be- 
 fore, and that we had been fighting the retreating aa-my, who 
 were only anxious to get away. That afternoon we joined 
 the main body of Bank's army, and, after burying the dead, 
 lay down to sleep in expectation of an early start. 1 have been 
 thus particular about this skirmish, which might be dignified 
 with the name of battle, and is known as "Indian Bend," 
 merely as it was my first experience of the "pomp and cir- 
 cumstance of glorious" war. I have since seen some impor- 
 G 
 
70 ' RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 tant affairs that will be known in history, but I have utterly- 
 failed to see the gloriousness of intelligent human beings— 
 Cvspeciftlly father and son, brother and In-other — trying to 
 blow each other's brains out, as in this war. There is no 
 fiction in the statement, that such relationship met on oppos- 
 ing sid«8 on more than one occasion. 
 
 A rapid and toil«ome march now commenced northward. 
 It was in the middle of summer, the heat was great, water 
 ■\ras sometimes scarce, and yet the daily distance marched 
 was twenty to twenty-five miles. We had almost daily 
 skirmishes, but no regular battl© ; and yet we were almost 
 every day losing men in these afliairs that the country never 
 heard of. Under these circumstances, it is not to be won- 
 dered at that the men gave out with fatigue, and were lost 
 by straggling. Strict orders were given against straggling 
 or pillaging; and, as rations were sometimes scarce, it is not 
 to be wondered at that a stray pig came to grief occasionally. 
 The orders against this irregularity were again promulgated, 
 and threats of punishment held •ut. One of the most pain- 
 ful sights I saw in the army was the fulfilling of this threat. 
 
 When beyond Opelousas, a poor fellow belonging to the ■ 
 
 New York volunteers, was complained of by 'a negro for 
 having entered his shanty and helped himself to a chicken 
 and a pair of drawers,''or trowsers — I forget which. At four 
 o'clock in the afternoon, ho was found by the guard, with the 
 articles in his possession. He was taken before the general 
 of brigade, wliom 1 shall not name, and was told that, that 
 evening at sun-set, he would bo shot. And such was the 
 case ; for at six o'clock the drum beat, the brigade was formed 
 on three sides of a square, and without a trial, this poor fellow 
 was marched out and shot oq two hoars' warning, merely, I 
 
A CHECKEllED LIFE. , 71 
 
 suppose, to make good a throat, or, as it was cailecl, to pre- 
 serve discipline. This mau had a wife and family de2">endent 
 upon him ; and, when one reflects upon his scase, and that 
 of the thousands who die more gloriously, it may be by war 
 he cannot fail to think of the reponsibilty that rests upon 
 those who, for slight or visionary reasons, would plunge a 
 nation into the horrors of war. At last we reached Alex- 
 andria, on the Red lliver, and got peaceful possession, the 
 rebels having cleared out on our approach. The two years 
 for which our regiment had volunteered had now expired, 
 and every one of our number was exultant at the prospect 
 of returning home. Perhaps no regiment had had Buch good 
 fortune during those tvro years. We had been stnt to what 
 was suj^posed to be the ''hottest" place, more ways than one, 
 and yet we had seen little or no fighting, and liad lost few 
 men, comparatively, by sickness, notwithstanding all this 
 immunity from hardship, almost every man asseverated his 
 determination to cut the profession of arms for ever ; and 
 yet, I believe, in less than a month after their discharge, fully 
 one-half of them were again under the flag ; and, I am sorry 
 to say, it was my lot to see many of them carried to their 
 rude though glorious resting-place, on the battle-fields of the 
 South. But I anticipate. 
 
 At last transportation was found, and we were sent by 
 steamboat over a narrow bayou, the name of which I forget, 
 to Brashear city, and thence by railroad to New Orleans. 
 While we lay there, waiting transportation to New York, 
 the wounded were ^riving, by hundreds, from Port Hudson. 
 Our luck had again been to escap© that slaughter-house, by 
 a week or so. At last we got shipped on a steamer, to New 
 
72 • EECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 York ; and all hearts were light and buoyant. Nothing re- 
 markable occurred on the voyage, all arriving in New York 
 in good health. And this ended my fimt two yeari of 
 soldiering. 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 A GLIMPSE OF CIVIL LIFE AND THB CAMP AOAIN. 
 
 Oa ,the whole, during those two years of militaTy life, I 
 had been temperate, and not altogether so by compulsion. 
 Detailed, as I had been, I had opportunities of getting liquor 
 which few had, yet it was only occasionally that I submitted 
 to its influence. I had j)lenty of time for reflection ; and when 
 I thought of my former enviable position in life, and reflected 
 that all my misfortunes and sufferings had been mainly 
 brought about by drink, it is not to bo wondered at that I 
 formed strong resolutions of abandoning so ruinous a course 
 and endeavoring to regain my position in society. I had 
 also been watching the course of trade, being well supplied 
 with newspa})ei-s, as I had contributed to several from time 
 to time. I had particularly noticed that with the issue of 
 greenbacks, and the continued suspension of specie payments 
 by the banks, exchange on Europe, or its equivalent gold, 
 was rapidly rising in value. I formed a theory which has 
 since been fulfllled to the k ter in e^^perience, that this 
 would go on with the increased issues and continued war, 
 and that a fall would take place when peace or return to 
 specie payments came in prospect. This opinion I formed 
 
▲ CHECKERED LIFE. 73 
 
 early in the war, wlien gold was at a i)romiuiu of only 10 or 
 15 per cent., and letters of mine are now in my hands of friends 
 hinting at the after probable course of monetary affairp. 
 My plan then was to endeavor to get into some business, by 
 which I could control some money for margins, and, when 
 exchange had reached a high figure, borrow as much money 
 as possible in England on security of stocks, and repay it 
 when ' be anticipated decline in exchange should take place. 
 Had i kept temperate, I should undoubtedly have managed 
 this to some extent myself, or at all events W3uld have got 
 some of my moneyed friends to do so ; for I had several who 
 had great confidence in my judgment. Some, I believe, did 
 act on my imperfect suggestions and made money, Never 
 was there such an opportunity, exchange having at one time 
 been as high as 300 per cent, and within a month or two 
 after, it was down to 150 per cent. But my enemy, drink, 
 was at hand, and I lost the opportunity of making a fortune, 
 which, in the eyes of some at least, would have atoned for all 
 my past irregularities ; for money is with some, what charity 
 is with the few, the cloak which *' covers a multitude of 
 sins. 
 
 On arrival in New York, I shulfled ofi" my military habili- 
 ments as quickly as possible, got " rigged out,** and took pri- 
 vate lodgings up town, for the express purpose of beiii;^ 
 quiet and out of the beats of my late military associates. The 
 very day I got installed in my new quarters, I went out for 
 a walk and, turning a corner, ran against two men who had 
 belongetl to the company, and with whom 1 had been some- 
 what intimate ; one of them having once occupied a firs*- 
 rate position in India and China. This latter — though, like 
 myself, he had been making resolutions of amendment — was 
 
74 RECOLLECTION! OP 
 
 already wallowing in tlio mire, and all my excuses were of 
 no avail. I agreed to take a glass of beer, then I had to 
 take another ; and at last with a bottle of wine in one pocket, 
 and a bottle of brandy in another, we adjourned to my 
 lodgings, where, after the drink was discussed, we began to 
 sing and dance at such a rate that my landlady appeared, on 
 behalf of the other inmates, to ask a discontinuance of the 
 entertainment. I adjourned with my friends to the Park- 
 Barracks, where they still lived, and at length fell asleep 
 "When 1 awoke in ^tlie morning, my hat was gone ; and, on 
 making inquiry, I was informed that all the good hats were 
 doubtless in Chatham street long before, as there were a 
 number of handy gentlemen about, who contrived to raise 
 their bitters every morning by this species of traffic. Bor- 
 rowing an old cap, I sallied forth to call on a friend for the 
 pui'pose of getting some money, the regiment not having yet 
 been paid. He gave me a scolding for being under the influ- 
 ence of drink ; told me that if I kept straight, it was his 
 intention, along witli others, to lend me a small capital for 
 the purpose of starting me in busines ; and wound up by 
 telling me that he would give me no money then, but that I 
 should go away to the country, where he would pay my board 
 until I got all right, when matters would be arranged. He 
 had no objection to Staten Island, so I went there, but soon 
 found that I had made a bad choice, as I was known there 
 as a former respectable resident, and could get not only drink, 
 but money in almost any grog-shop in the neighborhood. 
 Things went on badly, in this way, till I got paid ; and then 
 they continued to exhibit symptoms of improvement and 
 relapse for about six weeks, when, with a great effort, I got 
 sober and continued so for a day or two. I then started by 
 
A ClIECKEHED LIFE. 75 
 
 the boat one mornmg for the city to see what arrangements 
 I could make about business ; but, as ill luck would have it, 
 I encountered, in the boat, a man who was formerly sergeant 
 in the old regiment. We got talking about old matters ; and, 
 on landmg, 1 was foolish enough to be persuaded into taking 
 a drink or two. Then I was easily persuaded to accompany 
 hira up town to see the recruiting going on for the new ityle 
 of organizations, called veteran volunteers ; namely, regiments 
 composed of men who had served two years before. I went, and, 
 to be brief, under promises of almost certain preferment and 
 other inflaences, I found myself by four o'clock that after- 
 noon again in camp on Staten Island, as a private in the 17th^ 
 N. Y. veteran volunteers. Next day brought the usual use 
 less regrets and bitter feelings, one of the latter being caused 
 . by the reflection that the heartless fellow who had persuaded 
 me in to volunteering, and who was to join himself, not only 
 failed to do so, but as I afterwards found, had got money for 
 fetching me, and made a spoil of my new citizen clothes be- 
 sides. But regrets were unavailing. I managed to commu- 
 nicate with some of my friends, and, occasionally, they did 
 me the favor to visit me in my prison-home, and do what they 
 could to cheer an<l enliven me. I call it a prison-home, for the 
 camp was enclosed, and there was scarcely a po ssibility of get 
 ting a pass to go out. Shortly after I went, however, the houses 
 forming one side of the square took fire, accidentally or 
 otherwise, and were totally consumed ; and thereafter there 
 ■was only a guard placed along to keep the men in camp. 
 As might be expected, this guard was not very efficient, — 
 one man on post fa ing the exit of a friend to-day in exj^eo 
 tation of a return of ii same kindness on some future occa 
 fiion. Recruiting went on slowly for the regiment ; and dur- 
 
76 REC0LLECTI0N3 OJ 
 
 ing the time I remaiued in that camp (some three or four 
 months), I could get out almost any time I liked in the 
 above clandestine manner. Great circumspection required 
 to be exercised, when out, however, as cavalry and infantry 
 patrols were on all the roads on tlie Island, and on the ferry- 
 boats ; 80 that, unless you had a pass, you were in danger of 
 being brought in under guard, when punishment was sure to 
 follow. While in camp T formed an intimacy with Harry 
 
 . He had been a seafaring man, was very intellegent, 
 
 had seen a great deal of the world, and could sing an excel- 
 lent song but was very fond of his liquor. Moreover, Harry 
 had a somewhat romantic history which knit my heart to 
 him. We were inseparable, and were known throughout 
 the camp as the most daring blockade-runners, as the passing 
 of the guard was called. Not far from camp were several 
 houses where they sold the most misemble compounds under 
 the name of whiskey, at one of which Harry and I were 
 in tlie habit of paying our devotions pretty regularly. A 
 cavalry patrol was constantly on the road passing it ; and as 
 we had become obnoxious to them, on account of our expert- 
 ness, they had resolved on capturing us at all hazards. There 
 was a dense clump of trees not far from the house win re we 
 used to lie and reconnoitre the enemy till a favorable oppor- 
 tunity presented of making our descent on the rum-seller. 
 One day, we had just issued from the shop with two or three 
 full canteens, when our friends, the cavalry patrol, came full 
 tilt round the corner. We fled for our cover, and they 
 charged after us. But cavalry have little chance with 
 infantry among trees and so they found on this occasion. 
 The shrubbery was dense, and the horses could not penetrate. 
 They rode round and round, while we were busy concealing 
 
jk. CHECKERED LIFE. 77 
 
 ourselves among bnish and dried leaves ; and, when at last, 
 they tried the search on foot wo were nowhere to bs found. 
 Another way of procuring liquor was by stratagem. A can, 
 with a long i)i}>e, like a coffee-pot, was procured, but the 
 pipe had no communication with the pot itself. When the 
 blockade could not be safely run, leave was asked to go out 
 for milk, which was sometimes granted. On returning by 
 the gate, the officer of the guard would want to see the milk 
 which was accordingly proved from the pii>e, while the can 
 itself contained the unsuspected and much-prized corn- 
 whiskey. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 sherman'3 first raid. 
 
 On General Grant obtaining supreme control of the United 
 States army, the war assumed a different aspect almost imme- 
 diately. Without any of the bluster which characterized the 
 speeches and actions of some of his predecessors in Virginia, 
 the greatest activity prevailed ; and matters began to look 
 terribly in earnest. He himself was to direct matters at the 
 gi-eat centre of the war, while other trusty chiefs were to act 
 in concert with him, in other quarters, according to a regular 
 plan. One of those chiefs, and one who has earned laurels 
 perhaps as imperishable as those of his superior in command, 
 was General \V. T. Sherman commanding in the west and 
 south-west. It was my fortune to be, in an humble way, a 
 participant in those raids which have rendered Sherman's 
 
78 BECOLLECTIONS OP 
 
 name familiar throughout this continent and the world. The 
 regiment to which I belonged was lying at Arlington Heights, 
 near Washington, when we received marching, or rather 
 transportation orders, and going on board the cars at Wash- 
 ington, wo went forth like the patriarch of old, "not know- 
 ing whether we went." We knew that we had orders to 
 join General Sherman, but where we might find that migra- 
 tory genius was another affair altogether. After a dreary 
 ride, at far from exjiress speed, we reached Bellaire on the 
 Ohio river, where we crossed into Ohio, and had a good 
 night's rest, squatted on the muddy banks of the river, — every 
 man doing the best he could for himself. It was a relief, 
 bad as the accommodation was, after having been packed up 
 like cattle in the train. Some of the men who had been 
 accustomed, to the comfortable huts and tents of Virginia, 
 thought this a rough beginning ; but before the winter was 
 through, they could accommodate themselves to circum- 
 stances, and I verily believe could have slept on a perch 
 like winged bipeds. Next day we proceeded by railroad, 
 and about mid-day stopped at the handsome little town of 
 Xenia, where it was the intention of the inhabitants to 
 regale us with a dinner ; but time being inexorable, there 
 was a general turn out of the fair sex, with baskets contain- 
 ing cakes, sandwiches, fruit, <fec., and it must have surprised 
 the young ladies to see the zeal with which the " brave 
 defenders of their country" made war upon the eatables. 
 Some of those wingless angels were condescending enough 
 to distribute their cards, and doubtless afterwards were 
 enlivened with military despatches enough to furnish the 
 archives of a moderately ambitious war department. At 
 Cincinnati we got on steamboats and proceeded down the 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 79 
 
 Ohio to Paducah, Ky., thence up the Tennessee River, and 
 finally fetched up at a place glorying in the name of ** East 
 Port," consisting of an old barn on the banks of that stream. 
 On passing up we were within sight of the famous field of 
 Pittsburg Landing, where so many brave fellows fell in the 
 fight between Grant and Beauregard. After remaining hero 
 about a week, without finding our commander, we received 
 orders to embark again, and proceeded down the river to 
 Cairo, Illinois, and thence to Columbus, Ky. This is a 
 handsome little town, and could be made impregnable. The 
 situation resembles that of Quebec more than any other place 
 I remember of seeing in the South. On arriving here we were 
 sent to a place called Union city, about thirty miles from 
 Columbus, and here we at last met with other troops, and 
 began to prepare for active service. There were, in all, per- 
 haps 20,000 men here under General Smith, whose object 
 seemed to be to get a meeting with General Forrest, after- 
 wards of Fort Pillow notoriety. The confederate was too 
 wily, however ; and although Ave made raids for thirty or 
 forty miles into the surrounding country, we never encoun- 
 tered the object of our search, whose, force principally 
 consisted of cavalry, that could not bo found napping. 
 Winter was now fairly set in, it being about New Year's, 
 and the troops sufi'ered much from cold, having no other 
 protection against the elements than their shelter tents, as 
 they were called. Those tents are simply a piece of canvas 
 about the size of a small sheet, with buttons on one side and 
 button-holes on the other. Each soldier carries a piece > 
 when they encamp, two join, button the two pieces together, 
 and by means of crotches and cross-sticks, form a covering, 
 open at both ends, which will part.;- helter from the rain, 
 
80 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 but is totally useless as a protection against cold, de of 
 the most uncomfortable nights, I remember, was on our 
 leaving this place. We got orders to " strike tents" in 
 the morning, and had to stand till evening in a pelting rain* 
 On getting into the railway cars, it began to freeze ; and on 
 arriving at Columbus, the men's clothes were stiff with frost. 
 Our regiment considered themselves lucky in getting under 
 an open shed, at the railway terminus, and lay down, closely 
 packed together, to sleep. Snow fell heavily during the 
 night and drifted under the shod; so that when the drum 
 beat in the morning, the men started up from i^ Jer a cover* 
 ing of at least six inches of snow. Those who had taken off 
 their shoes had difficulty in getting them on, and many lost 
 toes, and some feet, by frost bites. At last we got again on. 
 transports and moved down the '* father of waters" to a more 
 genial climate. After two or three days' sail we arrived at 
 Vicksburg, and got fairly under the immediate command of 
 General Sherman, the chief with whom we were destined to 
 travel so many weary miles. A large body of troops were 
 concentrating here, but for what purpose no one could 
 imagine. The Mississippi was now clear; and, although the 
 confederates had in diflerent quarters i^aiding parties of con- 
 siderable force, it was not supposed that they had force suf- 
 ficient to call forth such a gathering on the part of General 
 Sherman. But a movement was impending, and we had 
 not long to examine the fallen strong!, old of the Mississippi, 
 wh'jn the army had marching orders. Everything was put 
 in the smallest compass, scarcely a tent was allowed to an 
 officer, and all superfluous baggage was left behind. The 
 ai'm^ took the road to Jackson, the former capital of Missis- 
 sippi. The roads were bad and the poor teamsters and 
 
JL CHECKERED LIFE. 81 
 
 artillerymen had hard work in getting along their respec- 
 tive charges. The infantry did })retty well, being reduced 
 to the lightest marching order. The weather was moderately 
 warm, and, when night came, and orders vmre given for 
 encamping, there was a simultaneous rush of all hands to the 
 nearest fence, which disappeared in the most miraculous short 
 period of time. In ten minutes immense fires were blazing in 
 all directions, pork frizzled, coffee boiled, and the men were 
 as contented as if they had the run of the St. Lawrence Hali 
 or any other first-class hotel. The sleeping arrangements were 
 of the simplest description. A little dry grass, if it could be 
 got ; a blanket on top of it, two men on the top of that, 
 another layer of blanket : the pile of unconscious humanity 
 was complete and the elements were defied. Neither rain, 
 the artillery of heaven, nor I may say any other agency, 
 could awake those sleepers till the accustomed bugle or 
 drum recaDed them to consciousness and activity. Reveille 
 generally sounded two hours before day, when the men pre- 
 pared their breakfast, packed their knapsacks, and were 
 ready for the march at the first streak of dawn. The cavalry 
 went first, then the different corps, subdivided into divisions 
 * and brigades, each division having a battery or two of field- 
 pieces following. I have been particular in this narration, 
 as it will give the reader an idea of how the celebrated 
 marches of Sherman, which I mean to describe, were con- 
 ducted. This was his first, and doubtless enabled him to 
 acquire that masterly ability for conducting such undertak- 
 ing on a grander scale. This one was not remarkable in 
 any way. We reached Jackson, found no enemy and pro- 
 ceeded on almost in a due easterly direction. We passed 
 through numerous small towns, v»'here the people regarded 
 
82 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 the hated Yankees with sullen indifference ; but neither 
 citizens nor their property were molested, nor did they, of 
 . course, offer any insult to the troops. Now and then small 
 bodies of confederate cavalry would be seen hovering round 
 the line of march, and once or twice they attacked the 
 wapfgon-train, firing among the teams, and making ofi' again. 
 Several of them lost their lives in this inglorious warfare. 
 At last we reached Selma, Alabama, a distance of 150 miles 
 from Vicksburg, having destroyed several sections of railroad, 
 and some goyernment factories for the production of mili- 
 tary stores. It was now generally supposed that our 
 objective point was Mobile, the only place of importance in 
 the extreme south which yet remained in the hands of the 
 confederates, in this wev were disappointed, for, after rest- 
 ing a fe-.v days, we retraced our steps, and without incidents 
 worth narrating, arrived at Vicksburg within thirty days 
 from the time we left, having travelled out and back, in all, 
 over tliree hundred miles. I believe this was more an 
 experiment than anything else, on the part of Sherman, to 
 see how large bodies of troops could be taken through an 
 enemy's country, and to see what supplies could be reckoned 
 on by the way. At all events, I could never see that we 
 nccompliahed anything that could have a permanently inju- 
 rious eifcct upon the enemy. It certainly startled them net 
 A little, and was characterized, in the southern papers as the 
 boldest thing of the war up to that time. While Sherman 
 was on this expedition, troops were arriving in large numbers 
 at Ohatanooga, in northern Tennessee ; and, on our arrival at 
 Vicksburg, he set off for that post, leaving us to follow in 
 the same direction. After a few days' rest we were again 
 on transport!, and moved up the Mississippi. 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 85 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 THE SIEGE OF ATLANTA. 
 
 Our bri<^ade stopped at Memphis, and the. misfortune of 
 getting a supply of greenbacks befel us there. We had now 
 been out four months and here got our first paj^ I had 
 plenty to occupy me, having been detailed as quartermaster's 
 clerk a month or two previously. No returns had been 
 made by the regimental quartermaster, and I had just begun 
 to bring something liko order out of the chaotic mass of 
 paper confided to my care, when the event referred to hap- 
 pened. I was in a manner my own master, and I am sorry 
 to say that, notwithstanding all my good resolutions, I 
 allowed my old enemy to get the better of me again, and to 
 lead me into a somewhat serious scrape. We stayed only a 
 short time at Memphis, and proceeded up the river to 
 Cairo where the brigade went into camp, about a mile from 
 the town. In those . Egyptian localities, I seemed to have 
 been overtaken by the plague of darkness so far as to 
 abandon myself almost entirely to the worship of Bacchus, 
 and got into some curious adventures ; but as I have already 
 dwelt long enough on that description of folly, I sliaH not 
 stop to describe them. I must, however, tell, tnat one day 
 I had been so occupied, from morning until night, and ths^ 
 on returning to camp 1 found nothing but camp-fires and 
 the usual debris of a broken encampment. On inquiry, I 
 was told that the brigade had unexpectedly received orders 
 to proceed to Paducah, by transports, li'orrest having made 
 an attack upon that place. I immediately reported to the 
 Adjutant of the post, and found that I was in a bad fix, as 
 
/ 
 
 84 RECOLLECTIONS OP 
 
 tlie brigade was not exj^ected to return, nor was there any 
 prospect of my being able to join them. I was requestea to 
 stay at the Soldiers' Home for further orders ; and they were 
 not long in coming, for that evening every soldier able to 
 bear arms was packed on board a steamer and Bent down to 
 Columbus, Kentucky, where they were expecting an attack 
 from the Confederates. Thi^ body of men wes the most 
 heterogeneous imaginable, consisting of stragglers from 
 cavalry, artillery, and infantry, and mostly, like myself, a 
 little shady from the effects of bad liquor. Men under such 
 circumstances, are generally afraid of their own shadows ; 
 and I for one, felt far from being in that state which is more 
 graphically than elegantly described, as " spoiling for a fight.'* 
 Fortune favored us, however ; for after waiting at Columbus 
 for two or three days, and no enemy appearing, we were 
 again all bundled off up tho river to Cairo. I now found 
 some of my o-vvn regiment, among others an intimate 
 acquaintance, holding a responsible position, like myself. 
 After waiting a few days longer at Cairo, we were told that 
 the brigade was at Nashville, Tennessee, and were furnivshad 
 with transportation thither. Nothing very remarkable 
 occurred on the journey, further than that when near Cave 
 city, a short distance from the famous mamm -ith cave, Ken- 
 tucky, the train, when going at the rate of thirty or forty 
 Iniles an hour, was thrown fro^n the track. It was 
 undoubtedly caused by obstructions placed on the rails, by 
 the rebels. The engine was smashed to pieces, two express 
 waggons met a similar fate, and the next passenger-car in 
 which I was, was badly broken. Several were severely 
 hurt, but none were killed. The post-commander, at Nash- 
 ville, knew nothing of our regiment or brigade, but Relieved 
 
A cnKCKERtD LIFK. 85 
 
 tlieiii to be at Columbus, Ky. ; aiul so, after waiting a day or 
 
 two, we were sent back to Cairo. Tliere we were as bad as 
 
 ever, and jifter another delay of a few days, were again sent 
 
 back to Nashville. This time we learned that our brigade 
 
 was at Decatur, Alabama, and we immediately arranged our 
 
 transportation and started for Decatur the following day 
 
 I felt very uneasy, never doubting but that I should be 
 
 court martialled and punished. J^'ortu]ie again favored me 
 
 however, for, on arriving at Decatur, we found them in the 
 
 expectation of an immediate attack from the Confederates ; 
 
 aui the quartermaster was so much in need of my services 
 
 that he })romised to procure a complete overlooking of the 
 
 irregularity, pro\ided I would immediately turn to in earnest 
 
 to his accounts. This I did with a will, and never heard more 
 
 about my absence of nearly two months from the regiment 
 
 during which time they had had some arduous marching in 
 
 pursuit of our old friend Forrest. The expected attack was not 
 
 made, and in a diiy or two quiet and confidence were restored. 
 
 Great defensive arrangements now began to be made, and. 
 
 during about three months that oui* brigade i-cmained here, 
 
 the place was rendered formidable by the erection of two or 
 
 three forts, and other defensive preparations. Tii« rebels 
 
 frequently presented themselves and exchanged shots, but 
 
 never made any regular attack. During the time we 
 
 remained here, Sherman had been doing gieat things in 
 
 southern Tennessee and noHhern Georgia. With hard 
 
 fighting and almost incredible perseverence, he had driven 
 
 the Confederates back till he was «at last thundering at the 
 
 gates of Atlanta, about three hundred miles from where they 
 
 first gave him battle. He had proceeded tliis distance, 
 
 through the enemy's country, and all hi* sipplies had to come 
 7 
 
8G recolle(;tions of 
 
 by tlisit distance of I'ailroad ; a large i)iiml)er of hi.s men 
 "being employed in guarding the line. Great pains had been 
 taken by the Confederates to fortify Atlanta, and they were 
 prepared for almost any sacrifice lathor than lose it. It 
 was one of the largest factories for munitions of war, and 
 was also the junction of several important lines of railroad. 
 General Hood, who had succeeded General J. Johnston in 
 the command of the Confederate aiiny, wr-^ now, after stub- 
 born resistance outside, shut into Atlanta, and Sherman's 
 army had invested the place. The public mind had been of 
 late, much directed to Sherman ; and, in the South especially, 
 the interest taken in tlie fate of Atlanta was intense. 
 Skould it fill, the effect would be immediately felt, in the 
 stoppage of supplies of men and materials, by Lee's army in 
 Virginia. Such was the position of affairs wlnm our brigade 
 was ordered on to join our great leader before Atlanta. We 
 arrived there about the beginning of August, and the next 
 day were assigned to a position on the line of attack, the 
 coi'ps to which we belonged, the 18th, was on the west of the 
 citj, Avhich was hid from A^ew by a thick forest of trees. 
 In moving to our position we were enlivened by the enemy's 
 shot and shell in profusion, and it was remarkable to see the 
 number of gigantic trees that were shivered and prostrated 
 by the missiles of war. The next day, our regiment was em- 
 ployed in advancing our lines. That is to say, they took up 
 a position considerably nearer the city than the old breast> 
 works, cut down trees, piled them up, and digging trenches 
 piled the earth up to form a means of defense. While ex- 
 posed at this work, we lost quite a number of men both by 
 shell and rifle-shot. But we soon got accustomed to those 
 contingencies, and diiring the month we lay around Atlanta* 
 
A ('HK<KEREr> LIFK. , 87 
 
 got SO accustomed to the roar of artiilciy and niuskotiy, that 
 some of us wera like the man wlio lodged over the black 
 smith's shop, who, when he mo^ed, could not sleep for want 
 of the music of the anvil, A somewluit curious escape 
 occurred to our colonel while here. His tent was just inside 
 the breast -works, and one morning, while he and the major 
 were about to sit down to breakfast, a conical shell came 
 along through the breast-works, and, without exploding, 
 struck between the logs, projectii.^ about half its length into 
 the tent. The concussion upset their table, and bespattered 
 them all over with rul>bish, without doing any further harm. 
 The uninitiated will be apt to think, that a person would 
 require a good appetite to enjoy his breakfast, aft -"such a 
 visitor. About the same time, another rather singular escape 
 occurred. Our regiment had l>een transferrjd from the 18th 
 to the 14th corj:>s, and in changing our position w^o became 
 visible and obnoxious to a rebel battery, which began to play 
 upon us. One of their round-shot, a twelve-pounder, struck 
 the knapsack of clo of the men, scattering his wardrobe to 
 the wind, and upsetting him without doing him a bit of 
 injury, further than shaking his nerves ;i litthj. Narrow 
 escapes were so common that so long as a person was not hit 
 he never minded. The cannonading had now been incessant 
 for a month, and we were gradually drawing nearer the city 
 The Confederate General Hood was hard pressed, and saw 
 that he must either withdi'aw from Atlanta, or be captured 
 with his army. The place was not completely invested 
 and he withdT'^^w towards Jonesboro. Sherman immediately 
 moved round a portion of his army i^ that direction. He 
 found Hood's army intrenched on a favorable position, and 
 immediately gave them battle. On the 1st of September 
 
88 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 there was fouglit tlio shoi-t but sharp battle of Jonesboro 
 whicli sealed the fate of Atlanta, Hood being completely 
 beaten, losing many men in killed and prisoners, and several 
 guns. Our regiment, now much reduced in number, lost 
 about 100 out of 300 who entered the light, and amongst 
 the killed was our gallant colonel, who fell several feet in 
 advance of his colors, while leading an attack on the enemy's 
 entrenchments. Hood's array scattered in all directions; and 
 loft Sherman in undisturbed possession of Atlanta, having 
 previously destroyed an immense quantity of munitions of 
 war, work-shops, railway-stock, and other property. The 
 troops immediately entered the town or encamped in the 
 Kul)url)s; and, while they were resting, their leader was 
 maturing his plans for the celebrated march which has made 
 him so famous, and which I shall endeavor to describe in the 
 following chapter. •>> . - ^ . r^iJ^^jba^^iy - > 
 
 ;/ 1 
 
 r CHAPTER XVIJ. : 
 
 Sherman's march to the sea. 
 
 After the taking of Atlanta, the army remained inactive 
 for about a month. Great activity prevailed in the quarter- 
 master's department, however. The road for Chattanooga 
 was completely covered with trains, carrying clothing, 
 provisions and munitions of war ; and a general order gave 
 token that some great project occupied the mind of the 
 general-in-chief. All the citizens of Atlanta were order d 
 to leave, getting the option of being sent, with their effects, 
 
A CHECKlSnED MFK. 89 
 
 within the Confederate lines, or of being transported north 
 to Chattanooga or Nashville. No reason was given for this 
 apparently harsh measure, and General Hood took up the 
 matter in a paper warfare with General Sherman, in which 
 the former fared about as badly as in the military contest. 
 Subsequent events showed that Sherman acted a liumane 
 part, in the course he pursued ; and, although it was un- 
 doubtedly a hardship for the citizens, yet a military 
 necessity left the general no alternative between this and a 
 greater evil. The fall of Atlanta had caused a great sensa- 
 tion in the south, and "President Jeff" himself had been 
 stum})ing on the subject, predicting that Atlanta was to 
 prove Sherman's Moscow. Most likely he was the oiiginator 
 of the attGm{)t which was made to make it so. While we 
 were lying inactive, General Hood had collected his army» 
 and, making a detour, crossed tlie Chatahoochie river, north 
 ward, and got between us and the source of our supplies. 
 The men began to wonder why Sherman did not jittempt to 
 prevent this, and were apprehensive of being cut off from 
 all communication with the north. By and by the army, or 
 at least the greater portion of it, v/as put in motion, in 
 pursuit of Hood, as if Sherman was afraid of his communica- 
 tion ; the Confed(3rates still proceeding noi'thward, closely 
 followed by our forces. They began at length to destroy the 
 railroad, which seemed to agree with Sherman's plan, for he 
 immediately retreated towards Atlanta, destroying the rai> 
 roads as he went ; so that between Hood's army going north 
 and Sherman's going south, the road soon ceased to be an} " 
 thing but a ruin. Things now developed themselves quickly* 
 All the sick and wounded had been sent to Chattanoo«:a 
 some time before ; and, immediately on the army returning 
 
90 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 to Atlanta, pre[)aratioiis for a long march were made. 
 Clotliing was distributed to the men ; the wagons were well 
 stored w itli coffee, sugar and other indispensable articles, but 
 very little provisions or bread; and on the 14tli November 
 all the military and public bviildings of .A.tlanta were blown 
 up or burned. The next day, the four corps, composing the 
 army, started by different roads, heading in a south-easterly 
 direction, and the great march was begun. Hood was com- 
 pletely hoodwinked. He was two or three hundred miles 
 farther north ; the railway was destroyed ; and we were 
 walking into the heart of the Confederacy, with scarcely a 
 man to op].)Ose us. Moreover, General Thomas was preparing 
 a warm reception for Hood at Nashville, should he venture 
 tliither, which he afterwards did, and had his army almost 
 annihilated. In the meantime we were proceeding south- 
 ward, as if on a pleasure excursion. The weather Avas mild 
 the roads good, and, saving a little skirmish now and then 
 between our cavalry, under Kilpatrick, and the confederate 
 cavalry, we heard nothing of any enemy. The distance 
 marched each day AN'as from fifteen to twenty miles ; and for 
 the first week or ho we were sup})lied with the usual government 
 rations. But, }>y and by, a different state of things obtained. 
 It seems the genci-al had reckoned on nuiking the enemy pay 
 for his men's board, Jind the immortal band of Sherman's 
 bummers was accordingly organized. The word bummer 
 "was originally applied, to stragglers or worthless characterrj 
 but latterly came to signify those who were sent out to forage 
 for the army. As I said already, each corps took a different 
 Voad. Those roads ran nearly parallel with each other, and 
 were, perhaps, on an average fifteen or twenty miles apart. 
 Each I'egiment or brigade sent out a certain number of men 
 
- A CUECKKRED LIFE. 91 
 
 every moriiingto forage and bring in food for the men 
 and horses. The foragers of the different corps frequently 
 met, and thus between the four corps a swathe of 
 about 60 miles was, I may say, completely swept of 
 everything eatable. The bummers were everywhere, 
 like locusts. It was no use trying to conceal any- 
 thing from them. The i)lanters and others tried every 
 conceivable p!an to conceal their goods, but it was no 
 use. Hogsheads of hams, burrels of ilQur, and othej 
 goods, were found in the woods, in swamps, and even under 
 the ground. Some of the bummers got so expert that they 
 would follow the track of a wagon through the woods, for 
 miles, in hopes of making a discovery of a pile, and frequently 
 were rewarded. It was also part of their business to bring 
 in horses and mules, which they found in large numbers hid 
 aAvay in the woods and elsewhere. These they would hitch 
 to wagons or any kind of a wheeled conveyance obtainable^ 
 and bring into camp the most lieterogenous mass of materials* 
 Anything that was " good for food or pleasant to the eye' 
 was sure to lind its way into the bummer's wagon. Pigs, 
 turkeys, geese, potatoes, flour, everything imaginable was 
 there. They made as much amusement as possible out of 
 their heartless occupation. Sometimes you would see one 
 come into camp dressed in the most fantastic fashion, 
 mounted on an asthmatic mule, the mide being all hung over 
 with the spoils of the day. But this business was not all 
 sport. It was always fatiguing and sometimes dangerous. 
 They would frequently lose themselves, and be surprised and 
 taken prisoners by the Confederate cavalry. In one or two 
 instances we found the bodies of whole parties of them, with 
 their throats cut or their bodies suspended from trees. As 
 
92 RKC0LLECTI0N8 OF 
 
 far ius possible, liowevei', they were kept in bodies under the 
 command of an oilicer, whose duty it was to see that they 
 took nothing but wliat was necessary. It must have been 
 a very disagreeable duty, however, and one unsuited to a 
 man of any delicacy of feeling. Those supplies when brought 
 into camj) were equally distributed among the difterent bri- 
 gades and regiments ; and, I belie^^e, I am safe in saying 
 that many of the men never lived better before nor since, 
 than they did wh^le on the march through Georgia. While on 
 the subject of the bummers, I must mention a somewhat amus- 
 ing incident that befel a party belongingto our regiment. They 
 were out foraging, and had made a seizure of a quantity of 
 wine or spirits. It immediately put the i)arty, six in number, 
 into high spirits, and they proceeded on, ahead of the advance 
 guard. They at last came in view of an entrenchment, over 
 v/hich the nuizzles of tv/o guns were visible. The men, or 
 leather " John Barleycorn"' within them, suggested that it 
 would be a glorious thing to cliarge and take the battery 
 without help. The captain in charge was not a drinking 
 man, but he was utterly fearless, and he agreed to lead them 
 He was on horseback, and led them along the road to the 
 attack. They had not proceeded far, however, when one of 
 the guns belched forth a charge of grape and down went the 
 captain's horse. Nothing daunted, they persevered, when 
 the other gun sent its contents among them.^ hitting one •of 
 the men in the fleshy part of the leg. They now began to 
 think " discretion the better part of \ alor," and beat a i)reci- 
 pitate retreat, taking their wounded comrade along with 
 them ; and making the Confederates, as we afterwards 
 learned, think that they were either domons or inadmen.. 
 The best of the joke was, that the poor fellow who got 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 93 
 
 wounded, instead of getting any praise for his valor, on 
 coming into camp, was immediately placed in charge of the 
 guard for being drunk. Thus the march went on, day after 
 day, almost without intermission, and with scarcely an 
 interruption of any kind. Sometimes a bridge would be 
 burned down, or a marshy road had to be "corduroyed," 
 which would necessitate <v half-day's delay, but nothing more* 
 ' This corduroying was a great feature of the march, and was 
 done with great rapidit^^ When a road was impassable for 
 wagons or artillery, a number of men were scattered along 
 it with axes, and by. cutting down trees and laying them 
 across, soon made a good }>assable road. The mules did their 
 duty nobly, and evinced little of the stubborne.ss usually 
 attributed to their progenitors. Almost never was there a 
 "stick in the mud," and' if by chance there was, the men 
 gathered round with a will, and literally lifted the team out 
 of the mire. The greatest good-hnnior prevailed, and the 
 General did everything in his power to encourage it. Stories 
 of his geniality passed round and helped to promote this. 
 One I think worth repeating. ' 
 
 On one occasion, he rode up to a planter's house, while 
 the boys wore taking an inventoiiy of the Confederate's 
 effects ; most of his household goods being on the road in 
 front of his house. Learning that ic was General Sherman 
 who approached, the sufferer remonstrated, remarking that 
 the men were carrying away all his effects. Considering 
 that the man deserved some punishment, the general replied ^ 
 " Well, why don't you take some ? you have as much right' 
 to them as they have." On this "Johnny lleb" wisely 
 concluded to abide the course of events, and be content with 
 what was left. On the whole, however, the planters and 
 
 
94 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 citizens generally submitted with a good grace to what was 
 inevitable, and, in many cases, seemed even anxious to con- 
 tribute to the comfort of the troops. In fact, it was a very 
 common thing for us to hear expressions of the greatest loyalty 
 to the United States Government from some of those 
 planters; but, of course, we knew, that under the then ex- 
 isting states of things, such expressions would stand a very 
 liberal discount. '' ■ ■■': ■■ <. ; . ■■ 
 
 ■•■ ■;•-'■■' '' - '•■- :■ ■ ' ' ■■'■■ ■• ''■ -^-,.M:i. :'.■.•■ '-h'^-'i-^ 
 
 , CHAPTER XYIIL ^ ^ ^ 
 
 ': ' AIWIVAL AT AND CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. 
 
 During the greater part of the march, the wildest surmises 
 were made as to our ultimate destination. Milledgeville 
 Macon, and the principal inland towns of Georgia, had been 
 visited by one or otRer of the corps, am'i all had fallen into 
 our hands, almost without resistance. Our corps passed 
 through Milledgeville, the capital of the State, but neither 
 Governor Brown nor his co-legislators stayed to welcome 
 us. The place was not molested, the corps passing through 
 it without even stopping. After passing this point, the 
 weather became agreeably vaim, though it was now the 
 end of November ; and no inconvenience was felt by the 
 men in sleeping on the ground Avithout tents or shelter of 
 any kind. Thoy lived well, and, unless in regard to cloth- 
 ing, were in better condition than when we left Atlanta. 
 The Government were at little or no cost for food, as the 
 only articles supplied by the quartermaster's department 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 95 
 
 were coffeo and sugar. The nniles were better, in fact Avere 
 different stock, as we took the planters' mules, and left our 
 old worn-out ones in their stead. It has been said that ''all 
 is fair in love and war ;" but, I dare say, it was rather dif- 
 ficult for some of the Georgians to subscribe to the state- 
 ment. About the middle of December, we were a})i)roaching 
 the sea-coast, and it was now generally known that we were 
 bound for Savannah. Although the march had more 
 the appearance of a pleasure excursion than that of an army 
 going througli a hostile country, all were pleased at the" 
 prospect of its termination. We had, of course, had no 
 news from the loyal portion of the country, and were anxious 
 to know what had been transpiring in Virginia and else- 
 where. From prisoners we occasionally heard rumours, but 
 they could not be relied on. In the north, great anxiety 
 had also been felt regarding us, as nothing but misapprehen- 
 sions, througli the rebel papers, had beeii heard of us since 
 we left Atlanta. Whatever mjiy be said to the contrary, 
 there can be no doubt that Southern eiitors, either by 
 coercion of the Confederate Gov^'rnment or choice, kept tlie 
 people very badly informed as to the true state of niattera 
 durin*: the war. I heard of a somewhat ludicrous illustra- 
 tion of this. A foraging party in advance of, or at least 
 away from, the main body of the army, went into a small 
 planter's barn-yard to take some fodder. The man was per- 
 fectly thunder-struck on seeing soldiers in the United States 
 uniform, and on being told that they belonged to Sherman's 
 army that was close by, exclaimed : " Well, I declare that 
 beats everything ! Here have T been reading every day 
 how Mr. Hood was whipping Mr. Sherman, and the first 
 thing I do know is that you arc here helping yourselves to 
 
96 " RECOLLECTIONS ' J' 
 
 my fodder. Thero must bo sometlimg wrong j:omewliere, 
 and I fear that it is not far from home." The fact that a 
 hostile army could Avalk with impunity through one of their 
 largest States, and sui)p]y itself with everything it required, 
 seemed to take thom all ahack, and did much to destroy 
 confidence in the cause. Anotlier very serious injury — in 
 fact, a fatal one — Avhich those raids inflicted on the South, 
 was the wholesale destruction of railroads which we prac- 
 tised. Expert men were detailed to superintend this, and 
 a brigade could destroy 20 miles of road in a day. Each 
 regiment got so much allotted to it, the rails Avere torn up 
 by crow])ars, the sleepers made into i)iles, with the rails 
 crosswise on toj), the sleepers were set on fire, and before 
 they burned out the rails were red-hot, and bent wdth their 
 own weight. Sometimes they were taken by the ends and 
 twisted round telegraph j)oles like wire, rendering them for- 
 ever useless as rails, until re-rolled in a mill. At last we 
 arrived at Savannah, having marched about three hundred 
 miles in a little over a month — the precise number of days I 
 forget. Without the least delay, each corps, as it came up, 
 was assigned a position along the rebel defences, which were 
 of a very fi)rmidable chaisicter. The northern and western 
 exposure of the city is very swampy ; a great portion of the 
 country being rice-lands, which, at certain seasons of the 
 year, like the ancient land of Egypt, is submerged. Natu- 
 rally, Savannah is a strong })lace, and everything had been 
 done to make it stronger. Earthworks had been thrown 
 up all around, and heavy guns were in position. General 
 Hardy commanded, and was supposed to have abundant 
 suppl:"'^:"!, and about 12,000 men. Had he thought best to 
 defend the i)lace, he might have held out for almost an 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 97 
 
 indefinite time ; but he thought othe^-wise, for after about a 
 week's show of resistance, and after Sherman, by a rapid 
 movement and a little sharp fighting, had got the forts 
 below the city on the river, Hardy, one night, got away 
 through the rice-fields, with nearly his. wliole army, leaving 
 us his guns and a city full of population and wealth. An 
 immense (piantity of cotton came int^^ Sherman's posession, 
 and was shipped off to New York on Government account. 
 I write these sketches from memory, and cannot be precise in 
 anything, but the value was several millions of dollars. The 
 citizens received the Union troops joyfully, and the greatest 
 order and quiet prevailed. The former Mayor and Town 
 Council immediately declared for the ol \ government, intimat- 
 ing that their secession proclivities had ceased; and Savannah 
 was "reconstructed" immediately. This easy acquiescence in 
 the new order of things, on the part of the people of 
 Savannah, procured them the hearty ill-will and abuse of 
 the Confederates generally, but more particularly that of the 
 chivalry of South Carolina. In fact, those fire-eaters de- 
 nounced the wliole State of Georgia as cowardly and luke- 
 warm, for not having eaten up Sherman and his army. The 
 Charleston and other South Carolina papers contained the 
 most furious articles imaginable. They were to ** strip to 
 the waist," and make their territoiy the arena of the war, 
 should Sherman venture thither. In short, there was no 
 end to the valiant things they were going to do, on the first 
 opportunity. Now, the poor Georgians ill deserved this 
 abuse, for the soldiers of that State had fought like heroes 
 at Atlanta ; and from the way in which Hood had been 
 beguiled, there were not men enough in the State to 
 offer any effectual refiistance to the seventy thouiciaud men 
 
98 • RECOLLECTIONS OP 
 
 wliicli Sliernmn commanded, cITuI tljerofore tliey acted wisely 
 in making no resistance at all. And, moreover, the South 
 Carolinians acted Aery foolisldy for tiieir own interests, for 
 they inflamed the minds of Sherman's men with bitter feel- 
 ings towards them, and brought down upon themselves, and 
 other innocent parties, the most sweeping decimation. The 
 ])eople of Georgia had been comparatively well treated. 
 Tlieir houses, excepting IhoF^e of a few leading secessionists, 
 wei'e all spared, and nothing was taken from them but what 
 was absolutely necessary. In fact, their own soldiers did 
 the same thing, only they gave receij>ts for the i)roperty 
 taken ; which receipts pui-ported to be a voucher" against the 
 Cofcderate Government, which of course were worthless at 
 the close of the ^var, and even then only j^ossessed a nominal 
 value. I often felt grieved to see the poor people pillaged 
 of everything by fiiends .on the one hand and enemies on 
 the other. It was also fearful to see the marks of ruin left 
 through one of the finest countries imaginable; — bridges 
 burned, fences (a considerable item of value to a planter) 
 torn down and reduced to ashes by camp-fires, and all the 
 other devastating marks of an army's progress. The negroes 
 too, left their masters by hundreds : but perhaps that was no 
 great loss, as some of the j)lanters must have been at a loss 
 for the means of feeding them, after having been visited by 
 the bummers. • r 
 
 To sum ap in a rough way, and in a few words, the result 
 of this march through Georgia, I may say that it cost the 
 State many millions of dollars, in loss of property and 
 slaves ; it cost the loss of nearly all the railroads through 
 the State, theieby curtailing supplies of erery kind to 
 Lee's army, besides hindering the transportation of men and 
 
A CHECKKUED LIFK. 99 
 
 materials of wai* ; and last, but not least, it gave a rude and 
 violent shock to confidence all through the South — so much 
 so that Georgia and Florida took into serious consideration 
 a voluntary returning to the Union. All this would have 
 been enough to render Sherman famous ; but he had other 
 laurels yet to win, and nobly he won them, as will be seen 
 in the succeeding chapters. ) •- 
 
 •^ ' ^ CHAPTER XIX. ' ' 
 
 ■ THE CAMPAIGN IN THE OAROLINAS. 
 
 When preparations began to be made for another cam- 
 paign, it was not very difficult to guess the scene of future 
 operations. Charleston still held out as vigorously as ever, 
 notwithstanding all that had been done by land and sea to 
 reduce it. The South CarolinianSj 'he originators of the 
 war, Avere as defiant as ever, and, as I have already hinted, 
 by their recent bravado had invited the invasion of their 
 territory. . If such really was their wish, they were not long 
 in being gratified, for Sherman soon had his preparations 
 made, and, with precisely the same army with which he had 
 marched through Georgia, prepared for the invasion of tho 
 land of Chivalry. As before, the different corps took dif- 
 ferent routes, but within supporting distance of each other, 
 and, about the beginng of February, all were in motion. 
 Our corps proceeded northward, on the Georgia side of the 
 
100 llECOLLECTIONB OF 
 
 SavaniiJih River, and crossed tliat stream on to the aacred 
 soil of South ( ■aroliiia, at a place called Sister's Ferry. We 
 proceeded northward without delay, and without interrup- 
 tion, till we reached a place called Branchville, on the 
 Charleston Railroad. The old process of destroying the 
 road had to be gone through, and it was generally supposed 
 that we were to follow np the road till we arrived at the 
 celebrated stronghold itself. In this we were disappointed, 
 liowever, for on marching we proceeded north, on the read 
 to Columbia, the capital of the State. Nor was our proceed- 
 ing to Charleston .iccessary, for we soon learned that Charles- 
 ton had been evacuated by the Confederates, without our 
 army being nearer it than a distance of sixty miles. Dis- 
 severed railroads, and the prospect of being completely shut 
 in, had intimidated the defenders of Charleston, and, at last, 
 it was in the hands of the Union troops. This marcR was 
 very different from that thi'ough Georgia. Whether the 
 General had given such orders, or whether the men could 
 not be restrained, I know not ; but the track of the army 
 was a perfect scene of desolation. Not a planter's place was 
 spared. If not Ijurned to the ground, the houses were pil- 
 laged and destroyed. In fact, you could scarcely see any- 
 thing of the wooden houses remaining but chimneys, stand- 
 ing ghost-like to mark where wealth and splendor had so 
 lately spread their allurements. As a general thing, the 
 houses were unoccupied, the inhabitants having left and 
 followed the retreating Confederate army, or sought shelter 
 in cities that lay out of the line of march. Plate and valu- 
 ables were generally hid away ; and great was the anxiety 
 of the men to find the depositories. The negroes very fre- 
 quently revealed these, and oftener than once were stores of 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. ' 101 
 
 jewellery ami money tliuH discovered. As soon as the army 
 ■went into camp, you would see men wandering in all direc- 
 tions iu search of spoil. The usual implement carried was 
 the iron ramrod of the rifle, which was sure to descend into 
 all mounds of newly-dug ejirth, or suspicious plots of garden 
 ground ; and, I am ashamed to say, not unfrequently into 
 newly-made graves, as one or two discoveries had been made, 
 through information of negroes, in the sacred ])recincts of 
 burial grounds. Newly-made graves Avere, therefore, objects 
 of special interest; and I remember a somewhat good joke, 
 at the expense of two men belonging to our regiment, who 
 got by it the appellation of the "the resurrectionists." One 
 evening, on going into camp, they discovered something 
 like a small grave, not far from camp, jind were sure that it 
 contained something w^orth digging for. Lest any one should 
 share their treasure, they resolved to wait till after dark 
 before commencing operations. When all was quiet, they 
 repaired with spade and mattock to the spot, and began to 
 unearth the valuables. One held a candle while the other 
 dug, all unconscious that a person lay in ambush watching 
 them. After they had both got a good sweat, they came to 
 something carefully wrapt uj) in a blanket, and with eager 
 haste pulled up — not a bag of gold, but the corpse of a young 
 negro. They had worked hard in digging the hole, but I 
 believe tLey use:l greater energy in filling it up again. 
 
 At last the army reached Columbia, the beautiful capital 
 of South Carolina. A feeble resistance was made, and it 
 fell into our ha.ids. Almost at the same instant, it was on 
 fire in several place , rnd, before the fire could be ex- 
 tinguised, the greater part of the city was in ashes. Tlie 
 Southerners blamed this upon the Union army, but there is 
 8 
 
102 RECOLLECTIONS Of 
 
 very good reason to believe that it was tlieir own act. At 
 any rate, there seems something meet in the order of things, 
 that tlio city where the plot of rebellion was hatched, and 
 the first ordinance of seceas' -^n was passed, leading so many 
 thousands into misery and death, should meet with some 
 signal chastisement. Oh ! how bitterly must those fiery 
 secessionists have felt, at seeing Union soldiers striving to 
 stay the flames that were reducing their onco protid and 
 beautiful city to a heap of ruins. 
 
 Next day, the army proceeded onits way northward, its course 
 as before, ))8ing marke<l by devastation and rain ; and, not- 
 withstanding all their boasting, the South Carolinians were 
 not a whit more valiant than the people of Georgia, in fact 
 not so much so. Here there was an army, as the garrisona 
 of Savannah and Charleston had been collected into a body, 
 and were retreating northward before us, without a show of 
 opposition. It is true the j)oor bummers suffered more 
 severely, many of them being taken prisoners ; ai>d not a 
 few were found barbarously murdered, with insulting in- 
 scriptions pinned to their bodies. This thing went so far 
 that Sherman threatened to retaliate, which had the effect of 
 somewhat checking it. At last we got into North Carolina, 
 and immediately a perceptible change took place in the con- 
 duct of the men ; scarcely a house was burned, and, as in 
 Georgia, there was very little wanton destruction. Spring 
 was advancing; and rich in blossom. The weather was 
 agreeable, and it was quite romantic to traverse those 
 gigantic pine forests during the day, and to see them illum- 
 inated by thousands of camp-fires at night. We had got 
 pretty well north in the State before we met with any 
 opposition, but eventually met with our old friend, General 
 
A CHECKERED IE. 103 
 
 J, Johnston, at the head of the concentrated Southern Army, 
 He was entrenched in the woods, near Bentonville, and 
 meant evidently to do mischief. The 14th and 20tli corps, 
 with whom General Slierman was, at the time, encountered 
 him, and a general battle immediately ensued. I saw only a 
 part of it, of course, and cannot i)retend to giv e a pjvrfcicular 
 description of the affair without being indebted to others ; but 
 this I can tell, that the Confederates fought as if everything 
 depended upon the result, which in a measure was the case, 
 as we were marching on GoMsboro' not far distant, where 
 General Sherman expected to bo reinforced by troo})S under 
 General Schotield. Thoy wero beliind breast- works, from 
 which, during the first day, we could do nothing to dislodge 
 them. The next day the fight was resumed, and raged with 
 great fury. Tlie two armies were so close together that 
 sometimes, in their evolutions they actually changed sides of 
 the breastworks. A rebel officer came running up to our 
 regiment with a box of amunition, and found he was in th» 
 wrong box, having mistaken us for his own regiment. Of 
 course, he was provided with board for the future. The 
 battle continued till dark on the second day ; but, when day 
 dawned again, the Confederate defence^ were forsaken, and 
 their army on quick march for Raleigh. We immediately 
 proceeded on, and reached Goldsboro, where we went into 
 camp ; the men being much worn out, both in body and 
 clothing, in fact their uniforms were now of a highly romantic 
 and varegated character, nn ay of the men more resembling 
 so many scarecrows, after a summer campaign, than 
 United States soldiers. The campaign had been a most 
 arduous one, not only on account of the distance travelled, 
 but on account of the physical difficulties overcome. In ita 
 
 .M 
 
104 RECOLLKOTIONS 07 
 
 course, we had crossed numerous rivers, including the Sa- 
 vannah, the Edisto, the Santee, the Pedee, the Combahee, 
 the Cape Fear, and others of less note, every ene of which 
 liad to be pontooned, as the rebels invariably destroyed the 
 bridges, and used every artifice to impede our progress. 
 But our arrangements for meeting such emergencies were 
 perfect, tlie pontoon train being under most efficient man- 
 agement. It was no unusual thing for us to encamp on the 
 bank of one of those rivers, several hundred yards wide, in 
 the evening, and before evening of tlie following day, a 
 pontoon bridge would be thrown across, and the army, with 
 artillery and waggon train, would be on the opposite side. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE CONCLUSION. 
 
 After having rested his army for a considerable time at 
 Ooldsboro', Sherman was again preparing for a movement, 
 when we received news of a very encouraging character from 
 Virginia. Grant was i)ressing Lee very hard, and every- 
 thing betokened a crisis was at liand. At last we started 
 after Johnston, who was supposed to be at Pvaleigh ; and 
 never did the army proceed on the march with greater spirit 
 almost every soldier being impressed with the idea that it 
 was to prove his last campaign. The communications with 
 the south and west were now completely dissevered, and the 
 war was reduced to a comparatively narrow compass. On 
 reaching Ilaleigh, we found that the Confederates had left 
 
A CHECKHREI) LIFK. • 105 
 
 making in the direction of Grccnboro. We iinuicUatoly 
 followed up, and had come almost \ip with Johiiston's army 
 when the — to us — glorious news of Lee's surrender reached 
 us. A truce was immediately made, and the negotiations 
 entered into between General Sherman and Johnston, for 
 the surrender of the Confederate army. I shall not attempt 
 to explain those negotiations, as all who read the newspapers 
 of th© period, will know more about them than I do. KSuflice 
 it to say, that the surrender was at last made, and the Union 
 Army immediately marched for Kichmond. After a few 
 days' delay there, which afforded but little ojiportunity of 
 viewing the scenes of the fierce struggle for which Richmond 
 will ever be memorable, we again staricnl for Washington, 
 where we at last arrived ; and our briijfado encamped on 
 almost the same ground where we had been previous to 
 Joining Sherman's army. In the interim we had travelled 
 several thousand miles, — at least 2,000 of it on foot, — and 
 were now here, the war over, and every one Jubilant at the 
 idea of returning to civil life. After spending a month or 
 two in the neighborhood of Washington, during which, 
 there was a grand review of the whole ai-niy, we were 
 mustered out, and sent home to our respective States, our 
 regiment arriving in New York, and there receiving the 
 arrears of pay and bounty due. This might .seem a fitting 
 opportunity for moralizing on the evils of war; but I. will 
 leave others more capable to indulge in the reflections which 
 such a theme suggests, contenting myself with having 
 narrated the bare and simple facts and incidents, as I remem- 
 ber to have seen them. 
 
 And now I must close these sketches, which have 
 assumed different dimensions and shape from what was 
 originally intended. They were begun with the intention 
 
106 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 of showing the curious phases in life through which intem- 
 perance will drag a man, and hoAv baneful it is in all 
 its influences. Much more might be quoted from my 
 dkperience, both painful and ludicrous ; but I Torbear, and 
 shall close by saying, that, after leaving the irmy with 
 several hundred dollars in money, I again relapsed into for- 
 mer habits, instead of embracing opportunities which oifered 
 of retrieving my fortune ; or, at least, of getting into a 
 respectable position. My experience was a series of good 
 resolutions, and temporary efforts after reformation, with 
 another plunge into the abyss of intemperance and disgrace. 
 I went home to Scotland, and remained two years, during 
 which I was heartily striving after a new line of life, and in 
 the main was successful. But the "Land of the West" 
 seems to liave irresistible charms for me ; and here I am in 
 Canada pledged to total abstinence, and hoping to become a 
 respectable citizen of the New Dominion. I have felt no 
 inconvenience in keeping my pledge, — in fact I never was 
 more comfortable or contented ; and my earnest and emphatic 
 advice to all who, like me, have suffered by this fearful 
 Boourge is, '*Go and do likewise." It is the only safety, the 
 only hope. Fallen brother, try it — surely you do not wish 
 to live in misery and disgrace, and at last to reel into the 
 presence of the Great Eternal, a drivelling drunkard! I 
 shall conclude with a lew lines, which have already appeared 
 in the Witness, but which I think may fitly close these 
 unpretending " Notes of a Checkered Life :" 
 
 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 Wliat ton^Tue ran tell tlio misery 
 
 That drink has caused to me ? — 
 Once happj'^ as the mountain riU 
 
 That seeks the flowery lea. 
 
A CHECK <SRED LIFE. 107 
 
 Now all my ninth is Imshctl and still, 
 
 As Arctic's frozen sea,— 
 The munncrs of the happy pant 
 
 Are all that's left to me. 
 
 I once had friends, a joyous heart ; 
 
 But neither now have I,— 
 Nor dare I hope again to have, 
 
 Until the day I die. 
 The loss of wealth I grieve not for, 
 
 Though gai?ied from many a sea ; 
 Yet that, and treasurers greater far, 
 
 Has strong drink snatched from me. 
 
 And, worse than all, though I have been 
 
 Whei'e fell the great and bi-ave, 
 And I for one would rather die 
 
 Than live to be a slave ; 
 And though I've fought the demon Drink 
 
 With all my might and main,— 
 Yet all believe that I'm content 
 
 To hug his frightful chain. 
 
 Great God, thy power is infinite ; 
 
 Whate'er my sins may be, — 
 Oh, see my helpless agony, 
 
 And set the prisoner free. 
 And then, ;,erdiance, when much forgiven, 
 
 In love I'll more abound. 
 And sing that, through thy heavenly love, 
 
 * * The farthest lost is found. " 
 
 INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE-FIELD. 
 
 In these days of military tastes and of Volunteer Associ- 
 ations, it may interest a few to hear a brief account of some 
 of the singular escapes which occur in battle, by an ex-volun- 
 teer who has liad some experience in the field. It was my 
 lot to belong to the United States Volunteer Army through- 
 out the late rebellion, and the position which I occupied 
 gave me opportunities of witnessing many singular deaths, 
 
108 llEUOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 and some still more singular escapes. In the following brief 
 puper, I shall relate some of the latter which came under my 
 own observation, or for the authenticity of which I can 
 vouch. But, first, let mo say a word about the different 
 methods employed in modern warfare for the destruction of 
 human life. Indeed, I may say that there is only one 
 method ; for fire-arms, in one shape or other, are almost ex- 
 clusively the weapons used, swords or bayonets being very 
 rarely brought into requisition. Still there are different 
 branches of the military service, each branch having ai*ms 
 , more or less different from the others. I have heard the 
 different departments of an army classified in the following 
 manner, cavalry for show, artillery for fright, and infantry 
 for execution. I will not say that this is correct ; but there 
 is a great degree of correctness in the classification, at least, 
 as regards the place assigned to infantry. Round shot, 
 commonly known as cannon balls, are rarely used save in 
 sieges, or in clearing away some obstacle to the advance of 
 an army. Shell, again, are generally employed in discover- 
 ing the j)osition of an enemy, or at the comuiencement of an 
 action ; but when the work begins in earnest, the rifle is the 
 weapon relied on , and ugly neighbours those rifle bullets 
 are, their peculiar " whiz zip," when they pass your ear and 
 strike some object near, having far from a soothing effect 
 upon people of a nervous disposition. The deaths from 
 round shot are comparatively rare, yet those missiles are 
 sometimes alarming enough. On one occasion a down-east 
 or Yankee regiment were employed as skirmishers ; as the 
 column neared the enemy s position, a round shot, from a 
 battery, struck in front of a tall, raw Yernionter, who had 
 heard that in such a case it was safest to take up a position 
 
A CHECKBRKD LIFE. 109 
 
 where the shot struc ., from the unlikelihood of two shots 
 «trikinsf the same S]^ >i. He adoptei this theory, but had 
 suareiy taken up uis position when a second shot dug up the 
 ground within a foot or two of him. Our liero speedily 
 evacuated his position, afterwards remarking that it did not 
 strike exactly the same spot but came so alarmingly near 
 that he thought he had better keep moving. On another 
 occasion, our regiment was employed as skirmishers, and 
 while one of the men was crossing a fence, the top rail, on 
 which he stood, was splintered to atoms by a round shot, 
 without his receiving any injury. At the siege of Atlanta, 
 while our brigade was moving from one position to another7\ ^, 
 it expoied itself to a rebel battery, which opened on us witli 
 shell and round shot. The men were in what is called 
 heavy marching order, that is, they carried all their effects 
 with them ; and a corporal of our regiment had his knap- 
 sack struck from his back by a round shot, a twelve-pounder, 
 and had all his wardrobe scattered to the winds, without 
 himself receiving any injury. The knapsack was old and 
 straps somewhat decayed, or he would not have escaped so 
 easily. * 
 
 Shell are much more deadly,'and when dropped among a 
 body of men usually do great damage, besides being very apt 
 to demoralize or cause panic among troops. The most re- 
 markable escape from a shell with which I am acquamted, 
 occurred in the experience of a Scotch sergeant belonging to 
 our regiment, at the time w© were stationed at Fort Pickens, 
 in Florida. The fort was on a small sandy island in the 
 Gulf of Mexico, about a mile from the mainland of Florida. 
 On the mainland, the confederates held Fort McXlae, Bar- 
 rancas, and the Navy Yard. Besides Fort Pickens, we had 
 
110 BECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Beverai sand batteries, arid the company to which our Scotch 
 sergeant belonged was in charge of one of these batteries. 
 On New dear's Day, 1862, a bombardment of these forts, 
 was commenced by General Brown, the Federal commander. 
 At the close of the first day's bombardment, the sergeant 
 was sitting in his hut behind the battery making out a 
 detail of men for the following day, when along came a rilled 
 shell from Fort Barrancas, knocking the book on which he 
 was writing out of his hand, demolishing the hut, digging an 
 immense hole in the sand, blowing the sergeant about ten 
 feet in the air, and taking the leg off a man who stood about 
 fifty feet behind the hut. The sergeant descended into the 
 excavation made by the shell, where nothing but his head 
 was visible, the loose sand having gathered round him. 
 Another Scotchman who lived with the sergeant in the hut 
 came up to gather up the remains of his comrade, and could 
 scarce preserve his gravity, when the supposed dead man 
 greeted him with the exclamation, '*I declare, Jock, our 
 shonty's gone !" Strange as it may seem, the sergeant had 
 not a scratch, yet the book on which he had been writing 
 was found cut in two diagonally, as if the operation had 
 been performed with a knife. 
 
 One of the grandest sights that I remember tn have seen 
 during the war, I witnessed at this station some months after 
 the occurrence of the incident above mentioned. The ser- 
 geant had got his hut rebuilt ; and, as he could tell a good 
 story, sing a good song, and was withal a genial kind of soul> 
 I was in the habit of spending an evening with him occasion- 
 ally j often, you may be sure, talking of bonny Scotland, and 
 the scenes of our earlier years. One evening I had been 
 with him pretty late, and returned to my quarters when tho 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. Ill 
 
 camp was still as the grave, all apparently being asleep save 
 tlie sentries on duty. It was a beautiful night in May, and 
 I was taking a farewell view of the heavens and the beauti- 
 nil ba.y before entering my tent, when I saw a most brilliant 
 white light on Fort Mcllae. Instantly a similar one ap- 
 peared on Barrancas, and thereafter at the Navy Yard. 
 Evidently, it was a signal of some kind, and the sentries, of 
 course, immediately reported it. Before many minutes, 
 these forts, along with the ^Navy Yard and Marine Hospital, 
 were enveloped in flames of the Hercest character. It soon 
 became evident that the Confederates were evacuating the 
 forts, and wished to destroy everything before doing so. The 
 forts must have been filled with combustibles, such as tar and 
 resin, for the llames literally illuminated the heavens as with 
 living gold. High in the heavens, clouds of lurid smoke 
 formed a canopy to the elemental war below, and soon an- 
 other element of grandeur was added to the scene. Our 
 commanding officer, rightly judging that the Confeder- 
 ates were destroying the goveriunent property^ opened on 
 them with shells from the fort. Mortar shell were princi- 
 pally used, and added a new feature to the scene. Mortars 
 are short, wide cannon, and the shell fired from them have a 
 fuse which igjiites when the mortar is fired, and is of the 
 length sufficient to burn till the shell reaches the object 
 aimed at. According to the distance of that object those 
 mortars are elevated ; so that at the distance of a mile the 
 elevation would perhaps be 45 or 50 degrees. The shell 
 therefore describes a parabola, and as it revolves through 
 the air at night, you can watch its course as I did on this 
 occasion : the fuse twinkling like a star of the first magni- 
 tude, till the shell burst among the clouds of lurid smoke, 
 
112 RECOLLECT lOKS OP 
 
 illuminating tlicm as you have seen slieot-ligiitniDg ilhmii- 
 nate a murky cloud on a summer evening. This grand 
 si^ectacle continued throughout the night, and I am sure can 
 never be forgotten by any one who witnessed it. The un- 
 naturahies.'j of the contest impressed me very powerfully 
 about this time. Here were two sections of a powerful 
 nation, lately united in the closest amity and j)rosperity, now 
 endeavoring to destroy the lives of each other as well as the 
 common property of both. Eacli faction was perfectly sin' 
 cere in their belief, that they were lighting for a pure prin- 
 ciple, and, p.bove all, for liberty. 
 
 But this is a digression, and I must return to my narration 
 of incidents. Another very singular escape from a shell 
 
 occurred at the siege of Atlanta, in Georgia. Colonel G 
 
 of our regiment was commanding the brigade, the regiment 
 being under command of the major. Gne morning, these 
 gentlemen were at breakfast togetlier in the major's tent, 
 immediately inside of the breast-works, which were com- 
 posed of large trees piled one on top of the other, and banked 
 up with earth. This breast-work formed one side of the 
 tent, and j ust as they were in the act of sitting down to their 
 repast, a rebel shell came along straight through the breast- 
 work into the tent. Most fortunately for the inmates it did 
 not explode ; but being a conical shell struck between the 
 logs forming the breast-work, projecting about four inches 
 directly in front of the colonel. The concussion upset the 
 table as well as the major and his man, scattering earth and 
 debris all around. The colonel, who was a remarkably cool 
 man, and afterwards lost his life at the battle of Jonesboro, 
 kept his seat, and when order was somewhat restored, ex- 
 claimed with considerable warmth, '^That stupid Johnny has 
 
A CHECKERED LIFK, 113 
 
 completely spoiled our ham and eggs!" I must here explain 
 that the Union or Federal soldiers always called the rebels, 
 or Confederates, Johnnies, and they in turn called all 
 Northern soldiers Yankees, although the tei*m properly 
 applies only to the people of the New England Stater-i ; the 
 term Yankee being a corruption or modification of an Indian 
 word, signifying English, as applied by tlio Indians to tho 
 orio"inal settlers in the Eastern States. 
 
 I shall now give a few instancs of escapes from rifle shot, 
 but they must be understood as modified escapes ; namely, 
 from death after the man had been wounded in what would 
 seem a fatal manner. I might give instances of men whose 
 lives had been saved, through a ball having been intercepted 
 by a book or other object in a pocket, by a canteen, a car- 
 tridge-box, or other ai)pendage ; but, in an engagement of 
 any consequence, almost everyone has had so many bullets near 
 him, if not through his clothes, that the escape is not con- 
 sidered wonderful unless he has lost some trifling convenience, 
 such as a toe, a finger, or even a piece of his scalp, admon- 
 ishing him that, had he been an inch taller, it would have 
 been all up with him. I know more than one, v/ho wear a 
 silver plate in the upper story, to keep the air from their 
 brain, and who yet enjoy toleralile health. 
 
 The first escape I shall notice was that of a sergeant at 
 the battle of Joncsboro, a very sharp afll^ir, and which, l)y 
 the by, decided the fate of Atlanta. A sergeant was cheer- 
 ing and gesticulating at a great yate, when a rebel bullet 
 litterally stopped his noise by entering his mouth, perform- 
 ing an extensive dental operation in its course, and coming 
 out at the back of his neck, narrowly escaping the vertebra?. 
 After having been some time in hospital, and his wound 
 
 h^ 
 
114 UlCCOLLECTIONS OP 
 
 being to all apj)eiirancc* almost liealod, it again became mncli 
 swollen, siipjHirated, nnii cliscliai'ged four or {i\e of his 
 grinders, after which, it very nensibly healed uj), and gave 
 him no further trouble. 
 
 Another very remarkable case was that of Captain C 
 
 at the fiame fight. He was struck by a rifle shot in the 
 stomach, the ball coming out at his back, yet he recovered, 
 and, when last I saw him, was as healthy looking; a man as you 
 could wish to meet with. But there is no use in particular- 
 izing. The wounds from rifle-shot are so numerous that yoii 
 can in an hospital, after a battle, see men who have been 
 shot in almost every part of the body, and yet recover. On 
 the other hand, many who seem to liav© very unimportant 
 wounds die. And here, although it be foreign to the subject 
 with which I commenced, I must say that, during the late 
 war, many of these poor wounded fellows got very poor 
 attendance. It cannot be denied that the Government, and 
 even the citizens — particularly the ladies — did everything 
 possible for their benefit ; but, after one of those large 
 slaughterings, the wounded were so numerous that it was 
 impossible to bestow proper attention upon all. But it can- 
 not be denied that there was a want of medical experience 
 among the army physicians. Too many medical students and 
 apothecaries, without a degree, were admitted through favor, 
 or through want of better, to the rank of army surgeon. I 
 remember of hearing a very good story as a hit at this class. 
 It may be true, though I do not vouch for its correctness. A. 
 poor Irishman had got wounded in the arm, and had sub- 
 mitted without a murmur to amputation. The surgeon, who 
 
A CHECKERED LIFE. 115 
 
 was noted for his roughness, complinientcd the poor fellow 
 upon his great nerve ; remarking that, on that account, he 
 would have made an excellent doctor. Pat replied, " An' 
 lure wasn't it myself that was next thing to a doctor afore 
 I joined the army." "Indeed," said the doctor, "you were 
 a druggist, then." "No," replied Pat, "but I was a 
 butcher." 
 
 Let me, in concluding this short paper, hope that our New 
 Dominion may long bo spared the miseries of war ; for, 
 though there may be considerable " pomp and circumstance 
 of glorious war " in a field-day or a review, there is precious 
 little of it in actual warfare, as many of our Crimean heroes 
 can tell. 
 
 I shall now conclude this rambling paper, with a few 
 verses on the subject of war. I consider them very beautiful, 
 but am unable to give the author's name: — 
 
 I looked on the field -where the battle was spread, 
 Where thousands stood forth in their glancing array, 
 
 And the "beam from the steel of the valiant was shed 
 
 Through the dim rolling clouds that o'ershadow the fray. 
 
 I 
 
 I saw the dark forest of lances appear ; 
 
 As the ears of the harvest unnumbered they stood ; 
 I heard the stern shout of the foeman draw near, 
 
 Like the stonn that lays low the proud i)ines of the wood. 
 
 Afar the harsh notes of the war-drum were rolled, 
 
 Uprising the wolf from the depth of his lair ; 
 On high, to the wind, streamed the banner's red fold, 
 
 O'er the death-close of hate and the scowl of despair. 
 
116 UECOLLECTIONS OF A CHECKERED LIFE. 
 
 I looked on tlio ficld'of eontontion again, 
 
 When t]i(i subre was skcatheil and tempest had passed : 
 
 The wild weed and thistle grew rank on the plain, 
 And the fern softly sighed in the low, wailing blast. 
 
 Unmoved lay the lake in its hours of repose. 
 
 And bright shone tht stars through the sky's deepened blue, 
 And sweetly the song of the night-bird arose 
 
 Where the fox-glove lay gemmed with its pe^irl-drops of dew. 
 
 But where swept the ranks of that dark, frowning host, 
 As the ocean in might, as the storm-eloud in speed? 
 
 Where now were the thunders of victory's boast, 
 The slayer's dread wratli, and the strength of the steed? 
 
 \ 
 
JUST PUBLISHED, 
 
 (Number One, First Series, fcap 8vo., 104 pp.) 
 
 OF 
 
 DIALOGUES, RECITATIONS, 
 
 AND READINGS, 
 
 BY SOME OF THE BEST AUTHORS, 
 
 For Readiii$i^ and Reeltiii<^ in Divisions of Sons, 
 
 Good Teinifiiir Lod<^es, Sections of 
 
 Cadets, Bands of Hope, 
 
 AND OTHER TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 
 
 A series of Seleetions lias long been desired by those who wish to 
 see t.'ir literary taste of the members of our various Temi)erance organi- 
 zations imi)roved and elevated. With the end in view of meeting this 
 necessity, the first part of the scries now presented was undertaken, 
 and is subjaitt.^d to the puldic, in the hope that it may supply the 
 long-felt wanl. and give satisfaetion to those for whose espeeial u.se it 
 is intended. 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 G. M. ROSE3 P.G.W.P., S. OF L, & S. T. HAMMOfJD. 
 
 P. D. G. W, C. T. 
 »-«4 
 
 Paper Cover, 25 cts. ; Post free, 29 cts. Cloth Embossed, 
 
 46 cts. ; Post free, 46 cts. 
 
 Orders addressed to 
 
 S. T. HAMMOND, 
 
 Lecturer, I.O.G.T., Napanee. 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 The T'.etotalrr's CoMPANroN. — Hunter, Rose & Co., Ottawa and Toronto, 1868. 
 
 — Tliis is a neatly pot up collection of pie^'es both of prose and poetry, for readings 
 
 and recitations at the nieetin'^.H of Teniperano.! Societies of all kinds. While it seems 
 
 calculated to sorvi; well Un purpo^'! c'lielv int<ind ^d, miny wli ) are mt total ab- 
 stainers miv Hnd its cont int^ b )th intercst'nj; an I instructive. It is a volume of a 
 
 hundred pages, and costs only a quarter. — Toronto Globe. 
 
 The Tretotallkr's Companion. — This is a series of selections in prose and verse, 
 compile<lbyG M. Rose, P.G.W.P., S. of T., and S. T. Hammond, P.D.G.W.C.T., 
 and issued by rfunter, Rose & Co., of Ottawa and Toronto. The work is designed 
 for reading and recitation at temperanc. meetings. Among=!t the nujnerons and 
 constantly-increasing temperance organizations over the country, the ue(v jsity fo'" 
 some such work as that before us has long been acknowledged. We trust that this 
 effoi't to supply this long-f dt want may meet with the encourag'Mnent it deserves. 
 The selections arc well adapted to instruct and amnse, while promoting the cause 
 of temperance. — Scottish American Joitrnal, New Vork. 
 
 The Teetotaler's Compaxion.— This is a neat little volume of 100 pages, con- 
 taining a judicious selection in prose and poetry. This volume will, no doubt 
 command a ready sale, as readings, recitations, &c., are becoming extremely fashion- 
 able, and are very healthy and instructive amusements. Messrs. Rose and Hatnn.ond 
 are the compilers, and the result of their labors proves the excellence of their taste. 
 — Ottawa Times, 8th October. 
 
 The Teetotaler's Ccmpanion. — This excellent work has been compiled by Mr. 
 G. M. Rose, P.G.W.P., S. of T., and S. T. Hammond, P.D.G.W.C.T., both old and 
 zealous laborers in the caus'» of total abstinence, and contains a carefully and judi- 
 ciously made collection of Dialogues, Recitations and Readings, suitable for reading 
 and Recitation in Divisions of Sons of Temperance, Good Templar Lodges, Sections 
 of Cadets, and other Tem])erance Societies. We commend the work to all our tem- 
 perance fri 'uds, who will not fail to apiireciate the care bestowed u])on it, and the 
 praiseworthy object of the ctnnpilers. — Ottawa Citizen, 8th October. 
 
 The Teetotaler's Companion.— This interesting book contains a selection from 
 the best of authors of i)ieces suitable for n'citati(m in Divsicms of Sons of Temi)er- 
 anco, Good Tem])lar Lodges, Sections of Cadets, Bands of Hope, and other Temperance 
 organizations. Tlie work has been got up with such care and taste as to reflect no 
 small credit upon its compilers, Messrs. G. M. Rose and S. T. Hamnnmd. Some of 
 the selections in the book, such as Carlyle's never to be forgotten euloginm upon 
 labor, and Coates' nu'inory haunting poem on the Gambler's Home, are not strictly 
 speaking Temperance pieces, and nuiy be read with prolit by those who do not agree 
 with the comiulers on the great moral and social movement for the benefit of which 
 work was specially designed. — Ottawa Daily News. 
 
 The Teetotaler's Companion.— This is the name of a very well comi)iled series 
 of recitations and other matter suitable for reading at Temperance meetings, which 
 we have just received. The object of the work is to supply our Lcnlgcs and Divisions 
 with such selections as would add interest to their weeicly meetings, and at the same 
 time cultivate a taste for the "beautiful and true." We need only mention that 
 J. B. Oough, Theo. L. Cuyler, W. Morley Punshon, and Dr. Todd are among the 
 principal contributors. We commend the work to ur numevous temperance friends 
 — London Evening AdvertiMr.