The other son was in the Twenty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment, and at the Battle of Fredericksburg was shot through the heart while planting the Stars and Stripes on the rebels' breastworks. The color-bearer being shot down, he picked up the flag and both he and the flag lay on the rebels' breastworks, our side being repulsed.
There was a general order one time that our boys should not steal anything in a certain part of the country where we were located during Col. Larrabee's command over the regiment. The General ordered the Colonel that he should punish those two men that were caught as an example for the rest. I heard the Colonel pronounce the sentence in these words, as I was standing guard near his tent, "Now, boys, I have to punish you. I am so ordered by the General. I want you both to understand that I am not punishing you for stealing, but for getting caught at it, by God." This seemed to be a common byword of the Colonel.
General Rousseau had command of our division for a short time near a place in Tennessee that we addressed our letters from as Camp Starvation, near Cowan's Station. The citizens were nearly all loyal to the Union cause. It was a rough, stony and hilly country. They seemed to have only a few sheep for their meat. The General ordered that the men should not kill any of those sheep. Shortly after we broke ranks of course some went off foraging, as usual. They killed a sheep and dressed it and had it on their shoulders coming back to camp when they met the General and his staff out reconnoitering.
"Halt those men there," said the General to one of his orderlies, "and place them under arrest. Take that mutton up to my headquarters and have it cooked for supper." He released the men on the promise that they would not do it again. Next day about the same time the same four boys went out again. They knew where there was a large, fat Newfoundland dog. They killed him, cut off his head and legs, skinned and dressed him up nicely in the shape of a mutton. They met the General nearly in the same place as the day before.
"What, those same men disobeying my orders again? Place those men under arrest and report their commanding officer. Orderly, take that mutton to headquarters and tell the cook to hurry up with it for supper." They ate that mutton for supper, and all declared it sweeter and better mutton than the one eaten the night before.
Everyone in camp knew what had happened. We had those little dog tents at that time. The General and staff came galloping down our company streets the next morning, when every soldier, as if with one accord, thrust his head out of the little tents and commenced barking like so many dogs. The horses commenced prancing; the General's hat fell off; he stuck the spurs into his horse's side, and galloped off to Col. Larrabee's tent, just in front of him.
"I say, Colonel, what does this mean, your men barking at me like so many dogs?"
"Well, I don't know, General," said the Colonel, "unless you have some dog in you."