ood, and many badly off for shoes; but we were told by
officers who saw the dead at Antietam that, though not so well shod as
our men, they were shod, and they had provisions in their haversacks.
The rebels have flour dealt out to them as rations on the march, and
they have to cook it. Our troops have hard biscuit, called 'tack;' it is
made in squares, and some which was fresh was very good; but it often
comes to the regiments with maggots. This is not so much objected to;
but when, in addition, it is mouldy, the men grumble. By the side of the
fresh tack were some Sandy Hook veteran biscuit, that had been through
the Peninsular campaign, and had come last from Harrison's Landing; the
outside of the boxes was enough to condemn them, and the commissary was
saying that he must get Uncle Sam's inspector-general to examine and
pass upon them. When we saw this hard, mouldy old tack, we appreciated
the joke of the Western boys, who declared they found the date of the
baking on their biscuit in the letters 'B. C.,' 'Before Christ.' The
luxury of soft bread is prized by the troops. Near Baltimore, where the
38th Massachusetts were stationed for some weeks, nice ovens were built,
after the fashion of the French army, and fresh bread, meats, and the
Yankee Sunday beans cooked. With the army in the field this cannot be
done, but the ovens could have been built during the weeks our soldiers
were resting on the banks of the Potomac. Our troops at this time were
fed on the hard tack and fresh beef; and some of the men in a camp near
Sharpsburg complained of the want of salt provisions. This seemed
unreasonable, until we heard that they had no salt, the long distance it
had to be teamed being the excuse given for the unpardonable want of it.
This hard tack is doing one good thing: it is giving the men white
teeth; you can tell an old soldier by his polished ivory; his teeth
approach the appearance of the Italian and Swiss peasantry, who also
chew hard bread. Reader, did you ever try to work your way through the
hard loaf of the peasant's fare? The army regulations require tooth
brushes for the men; it is supposed that the proper use keeps off ague
and disease; still many regiments were without one to a company.

But to return to our old woman at the little tavern of Sandy Hook. She
had tales, too, of our officers. That morning she had seen our
handsomest and our most splendid-looking general--in appearance the
ideal of the brigand of t