March
2001 - Humor in the Civil War
We all know the horrors of the war, the disease, the wounds and the killing, so
this month I thought I'd share with you some of the humorous stories. Some
I'm sure are just that, stories. Stories that have been passed down
through the generations and others are said to be true. You be the judge
which is which.
One story sent to me recently involved some Union artillerymen from Co. D, of
the 3rd Rhode Island. They got $15 together and one soldier snuck past the
guards and headed for the nearest sutler. The only thing the sutler had
were some unmarked canned goods which the soldier bought and headed back to
camp. Their hopes for a great meal were quickly dashed as the cans were
found to contain asparagus, and that asparagus was rotten! So that it
would not be a total waste, the cans were put in the cannons and fired over the
enemy in an opening volley.
Then there is the story of the 154th NY, called the "hard tack
regiment." They traded coffee to the Germans of the 11th Corps
for hardtack. The only thing the Germans didn't realize was... the
coffee had already been used.
We've all heard stories about how much the soldiers "loved" the
sutlers (she says tongue in cheek). One of the sutlers was selling cider
to the men and had the barrel against the back of his tent. A couple of
the soldiers kept him busy "up front" while others were busily tapping
the keg from the back. There was free cider for all!
At http://www2.froggernet.com/Captain/cwhumor.html
I found many tidbits you might want to check out, but one of my favorite is
about the Bugle: "In the winter one of the favorite tricks that the
soldiers would play on the bugler was to put water in his bugle at night and let
it freeze. The next morning the bugler would be unable to blow reveille
until he thawed out his bugle."
Just a few days before the Battle of Fredricksburg it had snowed. The
soldiers formed regiments and had a huge snowball fight.
For St. Patrick's Day, the Irish Brigade had a huge party. They did all
kinds of crazy things. One of the activities included burying one end of a
long pole in the ground and putting a $20 gold piece on the top as a reward to
the successful climber. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? Well it
wasn't easy at all, a few feet from the top the pole was well greased. No
one ever got the coin, but it sure wasn't from a lack of trying.
There's also a story of some Confederate soldiers who were on the march and came
upon a stream where they stripped down and went for a swim. Soon a young
boy on horseback came riding up looking for the officer in charge. Asked
what the problem was, the boy said the lady who owns the farm house "over
yonder" can see them. The officer sees the house is off quite a
distance. Seems the lady must have had a pair of field glasses and was
watching them!
As we all know field hospitals were always marked. The Spangler family, of
Gettysburg, returning home after the battle, could see something flying from a
pole raised on the barn roof but weren't able to make out just what it was.
Apparently the doctor couldn't find their hospital flag and ordered a private to
go into the home to find something that could be used to mark the barn as a
hospital. Mrs. Spangler, the lady of the house, was a large German woman.
Can you see where this is going here? The private had found a pair of Mrs.
Spangler's bloomers and they are what was used as a flag. It's been told
they could be seen for miles around.
On the Confederates' march to Gettysburg, General Longstreet had issued orders
that no one was to take personal stuff. One soldier was taken before the
General for killing a pig. He asked why he had killed the pig, hadn't he
understood the order? The young soldier said he had understood and
proceeded to tell the General that they had been moving along and crossed into
the Yankee land when all of a sudden this pig started to oink and attacked some
of the men and "since we were under attack, I had no choice but to bayonet
the pig." Longstreet inquired as to the whereabouts of the pig.
The soldier said it depended on how one looked at it, and needless, to say was
asked to explain his answer. The soldier said "Well, sir, the men
were hungry, so we roasted him." "You roasted him?" said
Longstreet and the soldier replied "Yes sir, General Hill said it was the
best pork he had eaten in a long time." to which the General replied
"Dismissed private."
I saved my favorite story till last. It, too, is from the website I
mentioned above. "Biggest man; The tallest man in the Union's
Army was David Van Buskirk of the 27th Indiana Regiment who stood 6 feet 11
inches and weighed 380 pounds. He was captured in 1862 and was sent to a
Richmond Prison were a Confederate entrepreneur put him on exhibit. Eve
Confederate President Jeff Dave came to see him and was astounded when the
impish Van Buskirk claimed that back home in Bloomington, Indiana "When I
was at the train station with my company, my six sisters came to say goodbye.
As I was standing there, with my company, they all came up to me, leaned down,
and kissed me on the top of the head." True?? You decide.
I guess that's about it for now, I hear the bugler in the distance, so it's time
to post the pickets and blow out the candles
Links
Civil War Humor
http://home.valstar.net/~jcraig/humor.htm
Humor - Civil War Era
http://www2.froggernet.com/captain/cwhumor.html
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