The Log of the Empire State

drew G. Curtin, the "War Governor" of the State of Pennsylvania, who was regarded by the soldiers of his State with a patriotic enthu

nting often to a wild enthusiasm, with which volunteering went on in those days. Companies were often formed, and their muster-rolls filled, in a week, sometimes in a few days. The contagion of enlisting and "going to the war" was in the very atmosphere. You could scarcely accompany a friend to a way station on any of the main lines of travel, without seeing the future wearers of blue coats at the car-windows and on the platforms. Very fr

a journal, a combination knife, fork, and spoon, and so on to the end of the list. To our credit I have it to record that we turned a deaf ear to the

you goes into de battle. Ah, see dis knife,

some regiment marching down the street to the depot, weeping as if her heart w

from deir homes, and deir mutters, deir wives and deir sweethearts, all to b

killed in the wicked war, and "nefer any more coom back." The firm of Moses and wife struck us as a very strange combination of business and sentiment. I do not know how many knives and pistols Moses sold, nor how many tears his good wife shed, but if she wept whenever a regime

ylvania's sons. At first the tempting bait of large bounties was presented-county bounties, city bounties, State and United States bounties-some men towards the close of the war receiving as much as one thousand dollars, and never sm

ome down for the purpose of paying us each the magnificent sum of fifty dollars. At the same time, also, we learned that the United States Government would pay us each one hundred dollars additional, of which, however, only twenty-fi

ct which, to be a worthy act at all, asks not and needs not the guerdon of gold. We were all so anxious to enter the service, that, instead of lookin

ris naturalibus, in a large tent, where he sharply questioned us-"Teeth sound? Eyes good? Ever had this, that, and the other disease?"-and pitiable was the case of that unfort

an raised his right hand while an officer recited the oath. It took only a few minutes, but when it was over on

er and be drawn up in line again, almost on that identical spot, for the purpose of being muster

en to be uniformed, and so little time in which to do it, that the blue clothes were passed out to us almost regardless of the size and weight of the prospective wearer. Each man received a pair of pantaloons, a coat, cap, overcoat, shoes, blanket, and underwear, of which latter the shirt was-well, a revelation to most of us both a

ed an appearance, when they emerged from their tents, which was equalled only by that of the short men who had, of course, received the long pantaloons. One man's cap was perched away up on the top of his head, while another's rested on his ears. Andy, who was not very tall, waddled forth into the compa

in a pair of pantaloons that were little more than knee-breeches for him, and began to parade the street with a tent-pole for a musket. "How in the name of the

lly dresses in tights, y

er's uniform reminds on

but little

that lit

answered Pointer, "because I need more than a

street with shoes so big that they could scarcely be kept on his feet, while over yonder another tugged and pulled and kicked himself red in the face over a pair that

. The largest shoe furnished by the Government was quite too small. The giant tried his best to force his foot in,

that come to the army, do you? A man l

ling the company on the facings-Right-face, Left-face, Right-about-face-and of course watched his men's feet closely, to see that they went through the movements promptly. O

when I tell you? I'll have you put i

eant," said the

't I watch your feet? T

so big that they don't turn when I do. I g

hree months' service. Clothed in citizens' dress and armed with such sticks and poles as we could pick up, we must have presented a sorry appearance on parade. Perhaps the most comical figure in the line was that of old Simon Malehorn, who, clothed in a long linen duster, high silk hat, blue overalls, and loose s

alas! the poor fellow did not know his right foot from his left, and consequently could not follow the order, "Left! Left!" until the sergeant, driven almost to desperation, lit on the happy expedient of tying a wisp of straw on one foot and a similar wis

other as foreigners rather than as members of the same organization. In consequence of this, there was no little rivalry between company and company, together with no end of friendly chaffing and lively banter, especially about the time of roll-call in the evening. The names of the men who hailed from the west were quite strange, and a long-standing source of amusement to the boys from the east, and vice versa. When the Orderly-Sergeant of Company I called the roll, the men of Company B would pick out all the outlandish-sounding surnames and make all manner of puns on them, only to be paid back in their own coin by similar criticisms of their roll. Then there were certain forms of expression peculiar to the different

ent companies. Peculiarities of speech of course remained, and a generous and wholesome rivalry never disappeared; but these were a help rather than a hindrance. For in military