Template:SWTSWVLetter22

Unknown Date - Rufus R. Dawes to (Sister)

Part I - Click for full-sized scanned image Part II - Click for full-sized scanned image A military life in camp is the most monotonous in the world. It is the same routine over and over every day. Occasionally we have a small excitement when on review. The other day an aristocratic old gentleman rode up in a splendid carriage, driven by a superb darkey in livery. It was William H. Seward. He is a particular friend of our Brigadier General, Rufus King. Caleb B. Smith, the Secretary of the Interior, has been in our camp several times. He visits Colonel Solomon Meredith. There was an inferior looking Frenchman at our review the other day, highly adorned with decorations, and gold lace, who is a mystery as yet. He is some sort of a foreign Prince. Our boys call him 'Slam Slam.' The finest looking military officer, McClellan not excepted, is our division commander, General Irvin McDowell. General King is a homely looking man, but he is a cultivated gentleman. General Blenker, who commands the division encamped upon our left, looks to me like a very common Dutchman. If you have stockings and blankets for the soldiers, send them where they are needed, not here. If you could hear our men complain about being pack horses to carry the clothing forced upon them, you would not think they were suffering. Every man in my company has one cloth uniform coat, one overcoat, some men two, three pairs of pants, three to five pairs of stockings, two woolen shirts, one undershirt, and most of them two pairs of shoes, and the regiment has been forced to send to Washington a large amount of good state clothing, (gray). Take the above mentioned articles in connection with two or three blankets, and pile them on to a man, in addition to his Belgian musket, cartridge box, and accoutrements, and you can appreciate the just cause for complaint of our knapsack drills. The plea is, that these drills make the men tough. Knapsack drills, reviews and inspections are the order of the day. General McDowell reviews us, then General McClellan, then General McClellan, and then McDowell. Every member of the Cabinet has been present on some of these occasions, but we have not yet had the President. How soon we will move, or what the plan of campaign will be, are subjects I have long ceased to bother my head about. We feel very sad over the battle of Balls Bluff. You may remember that the 15th Massachusetts was formerly brigaded with us. The officers were a fine set of men, and General Baker's brigade was for a long time encamped next to us at Chain Bridge. The most intelligent, best looking men I have seen in the service, belonged to the 15th Massachusetts. (To view the Source Category for Part I, click HERE) (To view the Source Category for Part II, click HERE)