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A great little reminiscence by the Drum Major of the 12th NH. What's funny is that the little question mark in the parenthesis is in the original text!
While the Army of the Potomac was camped in front of Fredericksburg, in the Winter of 1862, reviews were being constantly held so that the boys would not get restless and uneasy (?). First there would be a brigade review, then a division review, then a corps review, and finally to wind up with a grand review by President Lincoln.
Now every time the boys were ordered out for these reviews, they were ordered to appear in “heavy marching order.” This toting around a whole stock of “gents furnishing goods” became a little monotonous after a while, so the drum corps of the Twelfth New Hampshire held a “council of war,” and decided that they had stood about enough of it, and as the other regimental drum corps were not compelled to wear theirs, they would leave the knapsack in camp at the next review.
A short time after we had come to this decision an order came that the army was to be reviewed by President Lincoln. We appeared without out knapsacks, took position at the right of the regiment, and marched to the parade ground in front of division headquarter, where other troops of the division were assembled, and the line of march was taken for the reviewing ground. All went well until we got about a mile from camp, when the colonel happened to notice we were without our knapsacks, and then came the inquiry:
“Where are your knapsacks?”
George Washington like, we would not tell a lie and replied, “In camp, sir; we cannot play with them on, or rather we cannot play as well.”
Nothing more was said, and we were congratulating ourselves we had gained a point. But judge of our surprise after we got back to our camp, just at sunset, after a hard day of it, to receive orders to “sling knapsacks,” heavy marching order, and report with our fifes and drums at headquarters.
After reporting at headquarters we were ordered to march up and down the parade ground, and keep step, as usual, to our own music. We took our position at the head of the grounds and started off, the whole regiment of course being out to “review” us. One or two of the boys did not take very kindly to this style of punishment, and while the most of the corps were playing some two-four time, they took it into their heads to play a six-eight or four-four time, and the result was that no one could tell what we were playing, for it was a perfect babel of sounds. This was kept up for fully half an hour, to the great delight of the boys in the regiment. Finally the colonel motioned for us to form in front of headquarters. We obeyed this order with greater alacrity than we were ever know to obey one before. The colonel addressed us thus:
“You have done well. I cannot see but what your playing is about the same whether you have knapsacks off or on. Go to your quarters, and the next time you get orders to appear in heavy marching order see that you obey!”
We returned to our quarters, but, considering the “devil of racket” we made, thought the colonel was either a little sarcastic in compliment, or had a bad ear for our kind of music.
A.W. Bartlett, History of the Twelfth Regiment New Hampshire in the War of the Rebellion (Concord: Ira C. Evans, 1897), 459-460.
Couldn’t Play With Knapsacks On.
By Drum Major Ira C. Evans
By Drum Major Ira C. Evans
While the Army of the Potomac was camped in front of Fredericksburg, in the Winter of 1862, reviews were being constantly held so that the boys would not get restless and uneasy (?). First there would be a brigade review, then a division review, then a corps review, and finally to wind up with a grand review by President Lincoln.
Now every time the boys were ordered out for these reviews, they were ordered to appear in “heavy marching order.” This toting around a whole stock of “gents furnishing goods” became a little monotonous after a while, so the drum corps of the Twelfth New Hampshire held a “council of war,” and decided that they had stood about enough of it, and as the other regimental drum corps were not compelled to wear theirs, they would leave the knapsack in camp at the next review.
A short time after we had come to this decision an order came that the army was to be reviewed by President Lincoln. We appeared without out knapsacks, took position at the right of the regiment, and marched to the parade ground in front of division headquarter, where other troops of the division were assembled, and the line of march was taken for the reviewing ground. All went well until we got about a mile from camp, when the colonel happened to notice we were without our knapsacks, and then came the inquiry:
“Where are your knapsacks?”
George Washington like, we would not tell a lie and replied, “In camp, sir; we cannot play with them on, or rather we cannot play as well.”
Nothing more was said, and we were congratulating ourselves we had gained a point. But judge of our surprise after we got back to our camp, just at sunset, after a hard day of it, to receive orders to “sling knapsacks,” heavy marching order, and report with our fifes and drums at headquarters.
After reporting at headquarters we were ordered to march up and down the parade ground, and keep step, as usual, to our own music. We took our position at the head of the grounds and started off, the whole regiment of course being out to “review” us. One or two of the boys did not take very kindly to this style of punishment, and while the most of the corps were playing some two-four time, they took it into their heads to play a six-eight or four-four time, and the result was that no one could tell what we were playing, for it was a perfect babel of sounds. This was kept up for fully half an hour, to the great delight of the boys in the regiment. Finally the colonel motioned for us to form in front of headquarters. We obeyed this order with greater alacrity than we were ever know to obey one before. The colonel addressed us thus:
“You have done well. I cannot see but what your playing is about the same whether you have knapsacks off or on. Go to your quarters, and the next time you get orders to appear in heavy marching order see that you obey!”
We returned to our quarters, but, considering the “devil of racket” we made, thought the colonel was either a little sarcastic in compliment, or had a bad ear for our kind of music.
A.W. Bartlett, History of the Twelfth Regiment New Hampshire in the War of the Rebellion (Concord: Ira C. Evans, 1897), 459-460.
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