Three Years in the Sixth Corps | Page 6

relate to each other the kindnesses received by them in the City of
Brotherly Love.
We were cordially welcomed in Delaware, the people waving banners
and handkerchiefs, and when those were not at hand, newspapers or
even articles from the clothes lines answered to show their good will;
and the negroes in the fields swung their hats and their hoes with great
spirit.
We reached Baltimore in the evening, where we were kindly received,
furnished with supper and sent on our way. After many delays we
reached Washington at four o'clock Sunday morning, and were
assigned to temporary quarters near the station. Who would have
suspected that it was the Sabbath? Now we began to see something of
the circumstance of war. Horsemen were galloping in every direction;
long trains of army wagons rattled over the pavements at every turn of
the eye; squads of soldiers marched here and there; all was hurry, bustle
and confusion.
It was night when we reached the ground for our encampment on
Meridian Hill. The men had suffered much from cold, and what at that
time was hardship. Not less than a hundred of them were sick. It was
not long before tents were up, and for the first time the regiment was

under canvas.
Our camp was pleasantly located, commanding a fine view of
Washington, the Potomac, Alexandria and other points of interest. We
were surrounded by the camps of other regiments, some arriving and
some departing almost daily. We had not been two days here when we
began to get a taste of camp rumors. One rumor declared that we were
to have barracks erected, and we were to go into winter quarters, while
another assured us that we were to have an immediate taste of actual
warfare. These proved quite as reliable as the thousands of rumors
which during all our years of service were afloat throughout the army,
and acquired the expressive appellation of "Camp Yarns."
CHAPTER II.
ARMY LIFE AT WASHINGTON.
Meridian Hill--Neighboring scenery--First Sunday in
camp--Drills--Sickness--The Hospital--General Casey--"Why don't the
army move?"--Washington blockaded--Burnside's heroes--Orders to
move--Something of a train--Smith's division--Our first
reconnoissance.
We encamped on Meridian Hill December 1st, 1861, with 960 men.
Meridian Hill is the most delightful locality in the vicinity of
Washington. The plain on which the city stands, extends northward
from the Potomac about two miles where it is abruptly terminated by a
line of hills. From the summit of these hills stretches back another plain,
at an elevation of one or two hundred feet above the first. Along the
margin of these eminences were some fine old suburban mansions. On
our right towards Georgetown, was Kalorama, a charming spot, once
the residence of Joel Barlow, the author of the famous poems "Hasty
Pudding" and "The Columbiad." Now the building was converted by
the government into a hospital. In close neighborhood to us was
Columbia College, also used as a hospital, and to the east was the fine
mansion of Colonel Stone, and other superb places, all of which, like
Kalorama and the college, were full of sick men.

Meridian Hill was in the center of this line of once beautiful country
residences, directly north of the President's house. It had been the
residence of Commodore Porter, and the house still bore the name of
"the Porter Mansion." The grounds had been elegantly laid out with
box and juniper, while the rich groves of oak and chestnut surrounding
lent additional charms to the locality. The hill was dotted with the
white tents of a dozen regiments, but none were so pleasantly located as
our own, under the shadow of those grand old trees.
The mansion itself became our hospital, and for a time also served as
our head-quarters. From its broad piazza we could look upon the busy
scenes of the city, and watch the vessels passing up and down upon the
river. A week had passed before we were fairly established in our
quarters, but we rapidly learned the mysteries of the soldier's life.
The weather was delightful; more like September than what we were
accustomed to experience in December. Although heavy mists hung
over us until nine or ten o'clock in the morning, they were dispelled by
the warm sunshine, and then all was bright as midsummer. This lovely
weather continued until about the first of January.
The country in rear of our encampment was charming. Fine groves,
traversed by streams of pure, sweet water, and fields surrounded by
hedges, stretched far to the northward. The dark green leaves of the
magnolia were to be seen here and there among trees of larger growth,
and the shining, ever-green laurel forming a dense undergrowth, gave
the woods a lively and spring-like appearance. On the open plain might
any day be seen a regiment of Lancers,