ailroad, waiting for a belated train,
with others in the same predicament. And it was comical to note the
irritation of some of these fellows and the fuss they made about the
train being late. The railroad, and all the officers, would be
condemned and abused in the most savage terms on account of this little
delay. And yet we were in a warm room, with benches to sit on, with
full stomachs, and physically just as comfortable as we possibly could
be. The thought would always occur to me, on such episodes, that if
those kickers had to sit down in a dirt road, in the mud, with a cold
rain pelting down on them, and just endure all this until a broken
bridge in front was fixed up so that the artillery and wagon train
could get along,--then a few incidents of that kind would be a benefit
to them. And instances like the foregoing might be multiplied
indefinitely. On the whole, life in the army in a time of war tended to
develop patience, contentment with the surroundings, and equanimity of
temper and mind in general. And, from the highest to the lowest,
differing only in degree, it would bring out energy, prompt decision,
intelligent action, and all the latent force of character a man
possessed.

I suppose, in reminiscences of this nature, one should give his
impressions, or views, in relation to that much talked about
subject,--"Courage in battle." Now, in what I have to say on that head,
I can speak advisedly mainly for myself only. I think that the
principal thing that held me to the work was simply pride; and am of
the opinion that it was the same thing with most of the common
soldiers. A prominent American functionary some years ago said
something about our people being "too proud to fight." With the
soldiers of the Civil War it was exactly the reverse,--they were "too
proud to run";--unless it was manifest that the situation was hopeless,
and that for the time being nothing else could be done. And, in the
latter case, when the whole line goes back, there is no personal odium
attaching to any one individual; they are all in the same boat. The
idea of the influence of pride is well illustrated by an old-time war
story, as follows: A soldier on the firing line happened to notice a
terribly affrighted rabbit running to the rear at the top of its speed.
"Go it, cotton-tail!" yelled the soldier. "I'd run too if I had no more
reputation to lose than you have."

It is true that in the first stages of the war the fighting qualit