ad been
grumbling for several weeks to his sergeant about putting him on
details so often, ignoring the fact that the numerous jobs to be
attended to, brought around often to each man, his time to go on
detail. One morning this private said something to the sergeant who was
at the time cutting up the detachment's cooked beef into equal
portions, that passed the sergeant's patience. He laid down his knife,
got up and faced the man, with the remark: "I've stood your jaw as long
as I intend to", and delivered him a blow with his fist between the
eyes. Of course things were lively for a while until Lt. Hargrove ran
up interfered forcibly between the combatants and ordered them back to
the duties on hand. Some nights after the sergeant was standing by the
Captain's fire and no one was near, but Capt. Lumsden, who said: "What
was the matter with you and ----, the other morning?" "Nothing much,
Captain, except he had been grumbling and fussing for some time,
whenever his time came to be detailed on a job, and just got so I could
not stand it any longer, and determined to put a stop to it." "Well,
you've no right to strike any of these men with your fist. If a man is
insubordinate, you have a right to shoot him, but not to strike him
with your fist." The sergeant laughed and replied: "But it was not bad
enough for that, and of course I was not going to shoot him, but I
don't think he will need any more." There was never anything more said
about it, and the soldier quit grumbling and did his part thereafter,
as well as anyone to the end of the war. Another case in point, just
after leaving Nashville, a non-commissioned officer had been affected
with boils, so that he could not ride horseback for a few days, and it
was against orders to ride in the wagons. His boots were split at the
counters, the soles were tied to the uppers by strings and he had no
socks. The turnpike gritty freezing slush worked into his feet until he
could hardly hobble, so he would watch his chance, when no officers eye
was on him, and crawl into a wagon and there stay until camp was
reached at night when he would crawl out. One night, when he crawled
out in a drizzling cold rain, and finding a fire in an old barn on the
opposite side of the road, with soldiers of another command, he
remained there in comparative comfort all night, and after daylight
turned up at the officers fire. Lieut. A. C. Hargrove said to him:
"Where were you last night, Sir, after we