"CAMP SHAW, BEAUFORT, S. C.,
"February 7, 1864.
"Great are the uncertainties5 of military orders! Since our recall from Jacksonville we have had no such surprises as came to us on Wednesday night. It was our third day of a new tour of duty at the picket6 station. We had just got nicely settled,—men well tented, with good floors, and in high spirits, officers at out-stations all happy, Mrs. —— coming to stay with her husband, we at head-quarters just in order, house cleaned, moss-garlands up, camellias and jessamines in the tin wash-basins, baby in bliss;—our usual run of visitors had just set in, two Beaufort captains and a surgeon had just risen from a late dinner after a flag of truce7, General Saxton and his wife had driven away but an hour or two before, we were all sitting about busy, with a great fire blazing, Mrs. D. had just remarked triumphantly8, 'Last time I had but a mouthful here, and now I shall be here three weeks'—when—
"In dropped, like a bombshell, a despatch9 announcing that we were to be relieved by the Eighth Maine, the next morning, as General Gillmore had sent an order that we should be ready for departure from Beaufort at any moment.
"Conjectures10, orders, packing, sending couriers to out-stations, were the employments of the evening; the men received the news with cheers, and we all came in next morning."
"February 11, 1864.
"For three days we have watched the river, and every little steamboat that comes up for coal brings out spy-glasses and conjectures, and 'Dar's de Fourf New Hampshire,'—for when that comes, it is said, we go. Meanwhile we hear stirring news from Florida, and the men are very impatient to be off. It is remarkable11 how much more thoroughly12 they look at things as soldiers than last year, and how much less as home-bound men,—the South-Carolinians, I mean, for of course the Floridians would naturally wish to go to Florida.
"But in every way I see the gradual change in them, sometimes with a sigh, as parents watch their children growing up and miss the droll13 speeches and the confiding14 ignorance of childhood. Sometimes it comes over me with a pang15 that they are growing more like white men,—less naive16 and less grotesque17. Still, I think there is enough of it to last, and that their joyous18 buoyancy, at least, will hold out while life does.
"As for our destination, our greatest fear is of finding ourselves posted at Hilton Head and going no farther. As a dashing Irish officer remarked the other day, 'If we are ordered away anywhere, I hope it will be either to go to Florida or else stay here!'"
"After being ordered in from picket, under marching orders; after the subsequent ten days of uncertainty20; after watching every steamboat that came up the river, to see if the Fourth New Hampshire was on board,—at last the regiment came.
"Then followed another break; there was no transportation to take us. At last a boat was notified.
"Then General Saxton, as anxious to keep us as was the regiment to go, played his last card in small-pox, telegraphing to department head-quarters that we had it dangerously in the regiment. (N. B. All varioloid, light at that, and besides, we always have it.)
"Then the order came to leave behind the sick and those who had been peculiarly exposed, and embark21 the rest next day.
"Great was the jubilee22! The men were up, I verily believe, by three in the morning, and by eight the whole camp was demolished23 or put in wagons24, and we were on our way. The soldiers of the Fourth New Hampshire swarmed25 in; every board was swept away by them; there had been a time when colored boards (if I may delicately so express myself) were repudiated26 by white soldiers, but that epoch27 had long since passed. I gave my new tent-frame, even the latch28, to Colonel Bell; ditto Lieutenant29-Colonel to Lieutenant-Colonel.
"Down we marched, the men singing 'John Brown' and 'Marching Along' and 'Gwine in de Wilderness'; women in tears and smiles lined the way. We halted opposite the dear General's; we cheered, he speeched, I speeched, we all embraced symbolically31, and cheered some more. Then we went to work at the wharf32; vast wagon-loads of tents, rations33, ordnance34, and what-not disappeared in the capacious maw of the Delaware. In the midst of it all came riding down General Saxton with a despatch from Hilton Head:—
"'If you think the amount of small-pox in the First South Carolina Volunteers sufficient, the order will be countermanded36.'
"'What shall I say?' quoth the guilty General, perceiving how preposterously37 too late the negotiation38 was reopened.
"'Say, sir?' quoth I. 'Say that we are on board already and the small-pox left behind. Say we had only thirteen cases, chiefly varioloid, and ten almost well.'
"Our blood was up with a tremendous morning's work done, and, rather than turn back, we felt ready to hold down Major-General Gillmore, commanding department, and all his staff upon the wharf, and vaccinate39 them by main force.
"So General Saxton rode away, and we worked away. Just as the last wagon-load but one was being transferred to the omnivorous40 depths of the Delaware,—which I should think would have been filled ten times over with what we had put into it,—down rode the General with a fiendish joy in his bright eyes and held out a paper,—one of the familiar rescripts from headquarters.
"'The marching orders of the First South Carolina Volunteers are hereby countermanded.'
"'Major Trowbridge,' said I, 'will you give my compliments to Lieutenant Hooper, somewhere in the hold of that steamer, and direct him to set his men at work to bring out every individual article which they have carried hi.' And I sat down on a pile of boards.
"'You will return to your old camping-ground, Colonel,' said the General, placidly41. 'Now,' he added with serene42 satisfaction, 'we will have some brigade drills!'
"Brigade drills! Since Mr. Pickwick, with his heartless tomato-sauce and warming-pans, there had been nothing so aggravating43 as to try to solace44 us, who were as good as on board ship and under way,—nay, in imagination as far up the St. John's as Pilatka at least,—with brigade drills! It was very kind and flattering in him to wish to keep us. But unhappily we had made up our minds to go.
"Never did officer ride at the head of a battalion45 of more wobegone, spiritless wretches46 than I led back from Beaufort that day. 'When I march down to de landin',' said one of the men afterwards, 'my knapsack full of feathers. Comin' back, he lead!' And the lead, instead of the feathers, rested on the heart of every one.
"As if the disappointment itself were not sufficient, we had to return to our pretty camp, accustomed to its drawing-room order, and find it a desert. Every board gone from the floors, the screens torn down from the poles, all the little conveniences scattered47, and, to crown all, a cold breeze such as we had not known since New-Year's Day blowing across the camp and flooding everything with dust. I sincerely hope the regiment would never behave after a defeat as they behaved then. Every man seemed crushed, officers and soldiers alike; when they broke ranks, they went and lay down like sheep where their tents used to be, or wandered disconsolately48 about, looking for their stray belongings49. The scene was so infinitely51 dolorous52 that it gradually put me in the highest spirits; the ludicrousness of the whole affair was so complete, there was nothing to do but laugh. The horrible dust blew till every officer had some black spot on his nose which paralyzed pathos53. Of course the only way was to set them all at work as soon as possible; and work them we did,—I at the camp and the Major at the wharf,—loading and unloading wagons and just reversing all which the morning had done.
"The New Hampshire men were very considerate, and gave back most of what they had taken, though many of our men were really too delicate or proud to ask or even take what they had once given to soldiers or to the colored people. I had no such delicacy54 about my tent-frame, and by night things had resumed something of their old aspect, and cheerfulness was in part restored. Yet long after this I found one first sergeant55 absolutely in tears,—a Florida man, most of whose kindred were up the St. John's. It was very natural that the men from that region should feel thus bitterly, but it shows how much of the habit of soldiers they have all acquired, that the South Carolina men, who were leaving the neighborhood of their families for an indefinite time, were just as eager to go, and not one deserted56, though they knew it for a week beforehand. No doubt my precarious57 health makes it now easier for me personally to remain here—easier on reflection at least—than for the others. At the same time Florida is fascinating, and offers not only adventure, but the command of a brigade. Certainly at the last moment there was not a sacrifice I would not have made rather than wrench58 myself and others away from the expedition. We are, of course, thrown back into the old uncertainty, and if the small-pox subsides59 (and it is really diminishing decidedly) we may yet come in at the wrong end of the Florida affair."
"February 19.
"Not a bit of it! This morning the General has ridden up radiant, has seen General Gillmore, who has decided60 not to order us to Florida at all, nor withdraw any of this garrison61. Moreover, he says that all which is intended in Florida is done,—that there will be no advance to Tallahassee, and General Seymour will establish a camp of instruction in Jacksonville. Well, if that is all, it is a lucky escape."
We little dreamed that on that very day the march toward Olustee was beginning. The battle took place next day, and I add one more extract to show how the news reached Beaufort.
"February 23, 1864.
"There was the sound of revelry by night at a ball in Beaufort last night, in a new large building beautifully decorated. All the collected flags of the garrison hung round and over us, as if the stars and stripes were devised for an ornament63 alone. The array of uniforms was such that a civilian64 became a distinguished65 object, much more a lady. All would have gone according to the proverbial marriage-bell, I suppose, had there not been a slight palpable shadow over all of us from hearing vague stories of a lost battle in Florida, and from the thought that perhaps the very ambulances in which we rode to the ball were ours only until the wounded or the dead might tenant30 them.
"General Gillmore only came, I supposed, to put a good face upon the matter. He went away soon, and General Saxton went; then came a rumor66 that the Cosmopolitan67 had actually arrived with wounded, but still the dance went on. There was nothing unfeeling about it,—one gets used to things,—when suddenly, in the midst of the 'Lancers,' there came a perfect hush68, the music ceasing, a few surgeons went hastily to and fro, as if conscience-stricken (I should think they might have been),—then there 'waved a mighty69 shadow in,' as in Uhland's 'Black Knight,' and as we all stood wondering we were 'ware35 of General Saxton, who strode hastily down the hall, his pale face very resolute70, and looking almost sick with anxiety. He had just been on board the steamer; there were two hundred and fifty wounded men just arrived, and the ball must end. Not that there was anything for us to do; but the revel62 was mistimed, and must be ended; it was wicked to be dancing, with such a scene of suffering near by.
"Of course the ball was instantly broken up, though with some murmurings and some longings50 of appetite, on the part of some, toward the wasted supper.
"Later, I went on board the boat. Among the long lines of wounded, black and white intermingled, there was the wonderful quiet which usually prevails on such occasions. Not a sob71 nor a groan72, except from those undergoing removal. It is not self-control, but chiefly the shock to the system produced by severe wounds, especially gunshot wounds, and which usually keeps the patient stiller at first than any later time.
"A company from my regiment waited on the wharf, in their accustomed dusky silence, and I longed to ask them what they thought of our Florida disappointment now? In view of what they saw, did they still wish we had been there? I confess that in presence of all that human suffering, I could not wish it. But I would not have suggested any such thought to them.
"I found our kind-hearted ladies, Mrs. Chamberlin and Mrs. Dewhurst, on board the steamer, but there was nothing for them to do, and we walked back to camp in the radiant moonlight; Mrs. Chamberlin more than ever strengthened in her blushing woman's philosophy, 'I don't care who wins the laurels73, provided we don't!'"
"February 29.
"But for a few trivial cases of varioloid, we should certainly have been in that disastrous74 fight. We were confidently expected for several days at Jacksonville, and the commanding general told Colonel Hallowell that we, being the oldest colored regiment, would have the right of the line. This was certainly to miss danger and glory very closely."
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
revert
|
|
| v.恢复，复归，回到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
specimen
|
|
| n.样本，标本 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
regiment
|
|
| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
narrative
|
|
| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
uncertainties
|
|
| 无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
picket
|
|
| n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
truce
|
|
| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
triumphantly
|
|
| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
despatch
|
|
| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
conjectures
|
|
| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
droll
|
|
| adj.古怪的，好笑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
confiding
|
|
| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
pang
|
|
| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
naive
|
|
| adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
grotesque
|
|
| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
joyous
|
|
| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
sublime
|
|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
uncertainty
|
|
| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
embark
|
|
| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
jubilee
|
|
| n.周年纪念；欢乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
demolished
|
|
| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
wagons
|
|
| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
swarmed
|
|
| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
repudiated
|
|
| v.（正式地）否认( repudiate的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝接受；拒绝与…往来；拒不履行（法律义务） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
epoch
|
|
| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
latch
|
|
| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
lieutenant
|
|
| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
tenant
|
|
| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
symbolically
|
|
| ad.象征地，象征性地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
wharf
|
|
| n.码头，停泊处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
rations
|
|
| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
ordnance
|
|
| n.大炮，军械 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
ware
|
|
| n.(常用复数)商品，货物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
countermanded
|
|
| v.取消（命令），撤回( countermand的过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
37
preposterously
|
|
| adv.反常地；荒谬地；荒谬可笑地；不合理地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
negotiation
|
|
| n.谈判，协商 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
vaccinate
|
|
| vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
omnivorous
|
|
| adj.杂食的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
placidly
|
|
| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
serene
|
|
| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
aggravating
|
|
| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
solace
|
|
| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
battalion
|
|
| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
wretches
|
|
| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
disconsolately
|
|
| adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
belongings
|
|
| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
longings
|
|
| 渴望，盼望( longing的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
infinitely
|
|
| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
dolorous
|
|
| adj.悲伤的；忧愁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
pathos
|
|
| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
delicacy
|
|
| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
sergeant
|
|
| n.警官，中士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
deserted
|
|
| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
precarious
|
|
| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
wrench
|
|
| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
subsides
|
|
| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的第三人称单数 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
garrison
|
|
| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
revel
|
|
| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
ornament
|
|
| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
civilian
|
|
| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
rumor
|
|
| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
cosmopolitan
|
|
| adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
hush
|
|
| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
resolute
|
|
| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
sob
|
|
| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
groan
|
|
| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
laurels
|
|
| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
disastrous
|
|
| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |