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280
term of service had expired. It was a supreme test of the fidelity of these men to their country, but the old Reserve never in its long and arduous service in the war, fought a better battle than they did upon this day. I ran the men through the dust and heat and formed them on the right of the Reserves in line of battle. In this movement I came upon a brass band belonging to one of our *Pennsylvania regiments. They were playing the air to which these words were sung during the war:
"McClellan is our leader, he is gallant and strong, For God and for freedom, we are marching along."
Before we had reached them, the Pennsylvania Reserves had repulsed the enemy. I formed my line in the woods on the right of the Reserves and was ordered to construct a breastwork. The men had been for days in the sun and dust, and they now came into a shady woods. I established the regiment upon the left and rode toward the right, completing the establishment of the line. I then rode back to the left to see how the men were pro¬ gressing in the construction of their breastwork. I found them stripped of coats and shirts, and engaged in killing "gray backs," pediculus vestimenti. They said it was the first shade they had been in for a week, and they must improve their opportunity. This pest was a grievous trial, and it was assuming serious pro¬ portions in the army. The only effective remedy was to boil the shirts. These garments being woolen shrunk under this process, so that the men could with difficulty get into them.
There was a law authorizing a field officer to frank letters for enlisted men thus: "Soldier's letter.—R. R. Dawes, Lieutenant Colonel sixth Wisconsin Veteran Volunteers." Once a man brought to me one of his shrunk up shirts in a package, to be franked by mail. He said he thought it would about fit the baby.
Cold Harbor Campaign. (To my wife.) Line of Battle, May 31st, 6 P. M.
"Alive and well. There has been heavy fighting along most of the line. Of the results we know nothing. There is a hot fire going on on our left as I write."
I |*It was the band of the eighth Pennsylvania Reserves and I suppose they played to encourage the men who were fighting.
Object Description
| Title | Service With the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers |
| Source Title | Rufus R. Dawes' Service With the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers |
| Regiment | 6th Infantry |
| Volume | 1 |
| Author/Creator | Dawes, Rufus R. (Rufus Robinson), 1838-1899 |
| Description | Rufus Dawes (1838-1899) was a 20-year-old recent college graduate when the war broke out. He quickly formed a company of lumberjacks and farmers from the vicinity of Mauston, in Juneau Co., and they were mustered in as Co. K of the 6th Infantry in the summer of 1861. Over the next three years, Dawes rose to be colonel of that regiment and a leader of the Iron Brigade. He wrote this memoir in 1890 using his original letters and journals from 1861-1865. He describes in vivid detail life in camp and on the march, encounters with famous generals, and the fighting at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse and Petersburg. His book pulls no punches, and reveals what it was like for a young man to be thrust into authority amid great challenges and horrors. After the war, Dawes became a prosperous merchant in Marietta, Ohio, and served a term in Congress before dying in 1899. |
| Subcollection | Personal Narratives |
| Source | Microfiche |
| Source Type | personal narrative |
| Place of Publication | Marietta, Ohio |
| Source Creation Date | 1890 |
| Source Publisher | E.R. Alderman & Sons |
| Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Publication Date-Electronic | 2011 |
| Rights | © Copyright 2011 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Digital Format | XML |
| Digital Identifier | CWPN003010000 |
Description
| Title | 280 |
| Source Title | Rufus R. Dawes' Service With the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers |
| Regiment | 6th Infantry |
| Volume | 1 |
| Source Type | personal narrative |
| Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Publication Date-Electronic | 2011 |
| Rights | © Copyright 2011 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Digital Format | JPG |
| Full text | 280 term of service had expired. It was a supreme test of the fidelity of these men to their country, but the old Reserve never in its long and arduous service in the war, fought a better battle than they did upon this day. I ran the men through the dust and heat and formed them on the right of the Reserves in line of battle. In this movement I came upon a brass band belonging to one of our *Pennsylvania regiments. They were playing the air to which these words were sung during the war: "McClellan is our leader, he is gallant and strong, For God and for freedom, we are marching along." Before we had reached them, the Pennsylvania Reserves had repulsed the enemy. I formed my line in the woods on the right of the Reserves and was ordered to construct a breastwork. The men had been for days in the sun and dust, and they now came into a shady woods. I established the regiment upon the left and rode toward the right, completing the establishment of the line. I then rode back to the left to see how the men were pro¬ gressing in the construction of their breastwork. I found them stripped of coats and shirts, and engaged in killing "gray backs" pediculus vestimenti. They said it was the first shade they had been in for a week, and they must improve their opportunity. This pest was a grievous trial, and it was assuming serious pro¬ portions in the army. The only effective remedy was to boil the shirts. These garments being woolen shrunk under this process, so that the men could with difficulty get into them. There was a law authorizing a field officer to frank letters for enlisted men thus: "Soldier's letter.—R. R. Dawes, Lieutenant Colonel sixth Wisconsin Veteran Volunteers." Once a man brought to me one of his shrunk up shirts in a package, to be franked by mail. He said he thought it would about fit the baby. Cold Harbor Campaign. (To my wife.) Line of Battle, May 31st, 6 P. M. "Alive and well. There has been heavy fighting along most of the line. Of the results we know nothing. There is a hot fire going on on our left as I write." I |*It was the band of the eighth Pennsylvania Reserves and I suppose they played to encourage the men who were fighting. |
| Digital Identifier | CWPN003010346 |