Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 100, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 August 1898 — The 159th’s Hard March. [ARTICLE]

The 159th’s Hard March.

Thoroughfare, Gap, Va., Aug. 14. Editor Republican: The last two weeks have been to the. soldiers of the 2nd Division 2nd Army Corps one not only of hardship but experience. When we left Camp Alger, on what we thought to be a two days trip we were happy and the night before was a busy one; everybody preparing for the next day’s tramp little thinking they would have to strain every nerve to keep from falling by the wayside. Our start was made at about ten o’clock on Wednesday, Aug. 3rd, and from then until noon we marched as good as anybody, but after the noon stop of one hour, they commenced to straggle until but few were left iu the column. Out of the twelve thousand men that made the start I think I am safe in saying one half of the men dropped out before the night stop at Burke’s station. All day Thursday we laid in camp waiting for orders which came about noon and they said “march on” so on Friday morning at five o’clock we started on. Our next stop was at Bull’s Run where we pitched tents at ten o’clock and by one o’clock our dinners were over and every one started to hunt relics on the battle field. The liberty given the soldiers proved to be rather expensive to Uncle Sam. We had been on short rations and the soldiers were hungry so they did a little foraging. Cattle seemed to suffer the worst. Five cows and eight calves were killed and disposed of. Besides which chickensand turkeys were known to disappear and also acres of corn and large orchards were robbed. Most of the foraging was! done on Saturday, and Sunday! morning we started on passing through Manasses in the morning and arriving at Bartoo, our next! camp at about one o’clock. Here! the worst of the journey commenced. All day Monday it rained making the roads almost impas-i sable and washing away the bridge that had been built over the creek, but that made no difference and at eight o’clock we started on the last days march. The first job was to wade the creek and get our clothes soaked. This made our load about twice as heavy as it ought to be but a three mile an hour pace was set and we kept it up at about eleven o’clock it commenced to rain but the faster the ram fell the faster we marched and for about three hours we never •topped, getting into camp here nt half past two soaked, tired, mid hungry. No guard lines could stop us then and for the woods we started on a dead run. Heje we ate the first bite since five o’clock in the morning. After eating wo

started to see if we could set our tents but it was little use, the grounds where we weie to camp was a swamp and every minute it was raining harder.'- Back to the woods we went and built a fire and stood in the rain until about ten ; o’clock and then laid down to sleep [ by the fife. That was the last, thing I remembered until the water j running down my neck woke me up and I found I had been sleep- ' ing in two inches of water. All■ day Wednesday it continued to! rain but we built us a bed by the side of the fire and raised from the ground enough to protect us from thesteadydownpour. On Saturday . we learned we were to move again i and this time to Middletown, Pa., ■ where we will stay for several , months. Of course the question arose were we to walk or ride that

! 120 miles and it was not settled until this morning when we learned we were tef ride and nobody is feeling bad about it. To J take it all in consideration the trip has been the only thing jn camp life that has shown what the soldiers were made of and their sticking to the march as they did certainly shows what they came for if nothing else does. Although the war is over we will not be discharged from the army until the middle of December and we may still serve our two years either in Cuba or Porto Rico.

E. M. MIDDLETON.