Twelve Months with the Eighth Massachusetts Infantry in the Service of the United States

by Harry Endicott Webber

The Eighth Regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade, Third Division, First Army Corps. As Colonel William A. Pew, Jr. was the senior Colonel in the three regiments comprising this brigade, he was assigned to the command, pending the arrival of a Brigadier General, and the command of the Eighth Regiment devolved upon Lieutenant Colonel Edwin W. M. Bailey. Colonel Pew remained in command of the Brigade until June 29th, when he was succeeded by General Waites of Texas. Lieutenant Thomas D. Barroll, the Regimental Adjutant, and Lieutenant Charles F. Wonson, the Regimental Quartermaster, were detailed to Brigade Headquarters, and acted respectively as Adjutant General and Brigade Quartermaster. Their places in the regiment were filled by the detail of Lieutenant George W. Langdon, Acting Regimental Adjutant, and Lieutenant George I. Canfield, Acting Regimental Quartermaster, while Lieutenant Augustus G. Reynolds acted as Regimental Commissary.

The Third Division of the First Army Corps encamped on the Alexander Bridge road, near the southeastern corner of the Park, and about three miles from the railroad station. The camp of the Eighth was located in the woods, which were not dense, but more than sufficient for shade purposes. The tents of the Commanding Officer and his staff faced the west. Fifty paces in front of Headquarters were the tents of the line officers, and fifty paces in front of the quarters of the line officers were the heads of the Company streets. The tents of the men faced south, and were five paces apart. The Company streets were thirty paces wide. Thirty paces from the last tent in the Company street were the Company kitchens, and fifty paces in rear of the kitchens, were the Company sinks. The Eighth had the longest camp front of any Regiment in the Park, and later when sickness began to appear in the various camps, the wisdom of this arrangement was apparent.

Until May 23rd, when wagons and mules were issued to the Regiment, water was scarce. Every farm well in the vicinity was under guard, and had a line of details waiting for a turn at the pump handle. The wells were pumped dry many times daily. The details remained in line waiting for them to fill up. Chickamauga Creek was already contaminated by drainage, and long expeditions were made to obtain enough water for drinking and cooking purposes.

With the issuing of transportation, water was hauled for all purposes from the Blue Spring, some five miles from camp, until the Government constructed a pipe line and brought water to the vicinity of every camp. This pipe line water was never used in the Regiment for drinking, and during the whole stay of the Regiment at Chickamauga, all drinking water was daily brought from the Blue Spring.

The lack of water led to the circulation of many absurd rumors at home. It was reported that the wells had been poisoned by the Spanish spies, and that some had been detected in the act and shot. The water famine was much exaggerated in the reports from Chickamauga. The regiment undoubtedly suffered much inconvenience at first, but not greater than should have been expected from the hurried manner in which the troops were brought together.

For some time the army mule was a source of entertainment and worry to the regiment. The Government issued to each regiment twenty-seven wagons and one hundred and eight mules. Previous to this issue, these mules were assembled in a large corral near the railroad station. Usually, a detail of four men was sent to draw a wagon, four mules and harnesses. The mules were turned over to this detail, together with various parts of harnesses and a wagon, as they came from the factory. It was the duty of the detail to hold the mules and at the same time assemble harnesses and wagon. This was new work for most of the men, and the outfits were brought into camp after many sad experiences. It was not unusual for the detail to start from the corral driving in a careful manner, but after going a mile or two without mishap, the desire to speed a little overcame this caution, and the mules were urged to a trot or canter. As few of these animals had been broken, the first turn of a road presented an opportunity for a spill.

There was such a turn near the camp of the Eighth, and many of the men used to sit under the trees watching the details from other regiments navigate their mules around the bend. Often mules would continue on a straight course into the woods, and bid up when some tree separated the leaders and threw them down, with the wheel mules and wagon piled on top. This performance was at first a daily occurrence, and apparently resulted in no injury to the mules or men.

Another source of amusement was to hire the darkies who loafed about the camps, to break the mules. They were usually ridden bare back, and succeeded in throwing their riders several times before they would submit.

The mule quarters at first consisted of a cable stretched from tree to tree, to which the mules were fastened by halters. This was the practice in all the camps, and every night each regiment lost from ten to twelve mules. The mules usually wandered around the park until appropriated by some Quartermaster to make up his quota.

After submitting for a few nights to this loss, Lieutenant Colonel Bailey determined to construct a corral of rails, and for this purposes obtained permission to use the top rails of various fences along the Alexander road. This work of construction took place on a moonlight night, and in the morning it was discovered that the rail fences for a long distance had disappeared, and a large area in the camp of the Eighth was surrounded with a Virginia fence some 12 feet high. The detail charged with the work of construction stoutly maintained, when explanation was demanded, that none of them had taken anything but "top rails". With this improvised stable the Quartermaster of the Eighth was able to maintain his supply of mules.