"Reveillé at 4.30 a. m.; splendid morning and the distant bugles and drums over hill and vale proclaim that the army is awake," such was the entry in his diary of one of the Thirty-ninth whose day was given to guard duty, in an open field exposed to the fierce rays of an almost tropical sun, while many of his comrades devote much of their daylight to procuring and placing boughs around and over their tents to render less oppressive the August heat. One wonders whether it was piety or dislike of work which prompted the following item in another diary, "Other regiments have religious services; ours never does; had to keep at work all day"; that dress parade closed the day might be concluded without the saying. Owing to the nearness of other regiments, it is easy to compare their scanty numbers with the full ranks of the Thirty-ninth, while the Twelfth and Thirteenth turn out with scarcely a corporal's guard in numbers for several of the companies, the Thirty-ninth has five hundred men, this very day, on parade, though a shrinkage of one half is quite an item, especially when there has been no loss on the battlefield. The utility of constant drill, especially in these superheated days is not appreciated by the older regiments in the brigade, and means are usually found to sidetrack the orders of Colonel Davis, acting commander of the brigade, but the Thirty-ninth obeys them to the letter.
The round of guard and picket duty keeps everyone in active condition, particularly as there are drill and fatigue for any not otherwise employed. The picket line is across the Rappahannock, about two miles and a half towards Culpeper, not far from the early August camping ground. That there is every indication of a prolonged stay here is emphasized by the appearance of the sutler, on the 12th, who proceeds to establish his plant and to open out some luxuries, always appetizing to the average soldier, though Aug. 12, '63 forty-six cents a pound for cheese and one dollar a bottle for syrup and preserves make a man think twice before buying. The Medford men, Company C, are somewhat exultant over the fact that Captain Hutchins, on the 13th, is in command of the Regiment, since Lieut. Colonel Peirson is in command of the picket line and Major Tremlett is in Boston. During these days many drafted men arrive and are added to certain of the older regiments, though the permanent good derived from their coming is hardly commensurate with the trouble and expense incident to their presence. America never had much use for involuntary soldiering.
The 15th, Saturday, brought orders to be ready to march at a moment's notice but, as often happened, nothing came of it. The following day there was a movement of certain troops by train to Alexandria, for what purpose no one knew, though doubtless a part of the scheme to strengthen the Carolinas and the West which, eventually, will take a considerable number of men from Meade's Army. Everyone is learning the extremes of midday heat and midnight cold and many sigh for the material thrown away on the marches southward from Antietam. Those in authority are becoming alive to the fact that sleeping on the ground is conducive to summer ailments, and the consequent order goes forth that bunks shall be constructed and the tents correspondingly elevated. No one is permitted to get homesick on account of having nothing to do. Owing to the absence of Surgeon Page, the surgeon of the One Hundred and Seventh Pennsylvania has temporary charge of the sick in this regiment, and his diligence makes an exceedingly favorable impression. During this quiet period along the Rappahannock, the railroad bridge across the river is repaired or rebuilt, the pontoons are taken up and sent away and the men are realizing what regular mails and rations mean. The latter are so full and free that an excess of coffee especially forms an excellent medium of exchange with the rebel pickets.
On the 19th, more troops returned from the south side of the river, leaving scarcely more there than the Second Brigade of the Second Division; evidently some change of lines is in prospect. One man records his opinion that the construction of an oven for the baking of beans is a sure indication of a general move of the army, activity generally following any attempt at permanency. It is in these August days that the several companies are recalling the first anniversary of their muster-in and comparing notes between now and then. Though the Regiment has not been called to face the enemy on the field of battle, the time has by no means been wasted, since the drill and discipline that Colonel Davis and other officers have insisted on have made the organization ready for almost any test that may come in its way. The 28th of the month was marked by the return of Colonel Davis to the Regiment; Colonel Lyle having resumed his position at the head of the Brigade. As a consequence, all forms of drill received an immediate impetus. It was about this time (28th) that the Pennsylvania Reserves presented General Meade with a magnificent sword, the presentation taking place some three-fourths of a mile away, and Governor Curtin of the Keystone State, General Heintzelman and other distinguished men being present. Rumor says that the blade was originally intended for General John F. Reynolds, Commander of the First Corps, killed at Gettysburg.
It was in the last week of August that the knapsacks, left by orders at Funkstown, were received by their owners, but their contents, valuable or otherwise, had already been appropriated by others; much disappointment resulted, since many a soldier had reckoned on the material, supposed to be there, for relief in the cold nights along the Rappahannock. As Government allowance for clothing was only $42 a year and the securing of sufficient apparel seemed necessary, not a few boys in the Thirty-ninth found themselves in debt to Uncle Sam instead of being Aug. 29, '63 prospective recipients of two months' pay, one of the hardships that the men were obliged to undergo through no fault of their own. Over in the Fifth Army Corps, on the 29th, was enacted a play in real life, if such a scene could be called a play—the execution of deserters. The coming and going of recruits had become so common that examples must be made of some of the flagrant cases. Drafted men, unwilling to enter the service, had the privilege of purchasing exemption by the payment of a large sum of money, the men accepting the same and taking the place of the drafted men received the general name of substitutes. In quite too many cases these men, finding the occupation lucrative, deserted again and again, each time re-enlisting, gaining many dollars thereby, while the army received no increase. These five men, shot to death while sitting upon their coffins, afforded a salutary lesson for others, similarly inclined, to see and heed. General F. A. Walker, in his history of the Second Army Corps, says, "The shooting of a score of bad men in 1861 would literally have saved the lives of thousands of good men in 1862 and 1863." The best soldiers were those who, realizing the peril of their country, took their lives in their own hands and, as it were, offered them a willing sacrifice for the Nation's salvation; if they escaped death, that was their good fortune, their supreme devotion was nothing lessened thereby. The month ended with an inspection by Lieut. Colonel Peirson and muster for two months' pay.
In the concluding days of August, pains had been taken in rearranging the camp, resulting in well defined company streets, and thereafter much time was spent in securing boughs and placing them so as to lessen the burning heat of midday; it is an excellent trait of healthy, well meaning men that, following a brief rest, they always are disposed to enhance the possibilities of comfort. With the 3rd of September (Thursday) came a rigid inspection of equipments and clothing, conducted by General Robinson,[F] Division Commander, the event having a suspicion of greater military activity. The entire brigade with its six regiments numbers about two thousand men, of whom the Thirty-ninth constitutes more than one-fourth, our Regiment being the only one not yet exposed to the losses of battle. Another indication of aggression or apprehension is the building of defenses and the advance of the Union picket line; a like approach of the enemy brings the Blue and the Gray pretty near each other. Friday night, the 4th, was noteworthy in that boxes, which should have reached the Regiment in Washington, were announced. Of course the food, prepared by loving hands in the distant North, was long past the condition of use, but articles of apparel came in a most convenient season; had they come before leaving Washington or on the trip southward, they doubtless would have been thrown away or, at any rate, left behind in some of the cachés established on the march.
FIRST ANNIVERSARY.
Sunday, the 6th of September, set many a mind to thinking, for it was the first anniversary of the departure from Boxford, and a year before hardly an enlisted man thought the war would last so long, yet he beheld himself a mere atom in the immensity of the strife, at the moment taking breath before the next effort. One of the scribes writes in his book of innermost thoughts, "I see very few signs of Sept. 12, '63 the end as yet." Another laments the barbarity of men and boys who, gently born and reared, will destroy needlessly the property that comes in their way, instancing a beautiful house, across the river, out towards Culpeper, whose F.F.V. owner had followed the Confederates in their falling back, and not only had the furniture, elaborate and choice, been utterly broken to pieces, but the covering of the mansion had been torn off also, so that the bare framework of the structure remained, only one of hundreds of examples that might be narrated. On this day a cavalry force, under the lead of Generals Buford, Kilpatrick and Gregg advanced across the Rappahannock and, engaging the mounted force of General J. E. B. Stuart, drove it steadily back to and through Culpeper, capturing one hundred prisoners and some of the English light guns of the enemy. Dashing along to the Rapidan, Buford and his men, encamped on the banks of that already noted stream and then made their way back, not without difficulty, to the Union side of the Rappahannock.