Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 93, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 July 1898 — One From Sergeant Tharp. [ARTICLE]

One From Sergeant Tharp.

Camp Mount, July 25, 1898. Editor Republican: Another week has come and gone and we are still at the same old camp. It is rumored now that we are to go to. Chickamauga next week. The boys are all anxious to move but most of them would like to go to some place on the coast. Some time this week we are to draw tents and pitch them at once. We dread to move, because we are well located now in a large barn, having a good water supply and shade, but in the new place there will be no shade aud, as to water supply, I am not certain whether it will be good or not. The move is to give us drill in pitching tents I think. The health of the men is very good now, but there are two men from our company in the City Hospital with typhoid fever. They will both'recover. We drill from 6:30 to 7:30 and from 10:00 to 11:00 and then again from 4:30 to 5:30. Yesterday we had regimental formation for the first time. Our company receives many compliments on drill work and appearance. I tell you birth and education count for something, and Co. I is going to be the best company of the 161st Reg. Ind. Vol. We are left center company of the 2nd Battallion, Major Magrew commanding. We just received our leggings today. I have not received all my stripes yet and in fact none of the Ist Sergeants have. The equipment has gone on very slowly. The discipline is nothing extra yet. The raw men are hard to bring down to army life.

The guard house is usually about full though. It is kept full by those who stay out over time and the ones trying to run the guard line. Four of our men have been in but they are getting to respect the guards now. Life here seems like a prison life to many and you often hear men wishing they were out of it. But poor souls they belong to Uncle Sam for two years now. It has rained very hard here for over two hours aud some of the barns are flooded and the boys must move. We are all O. K. Wilbur Tharp, Ist Sergeant.