A soldier’s life was a hard one. The daily routine of drill and manual labor ensured that a fighting man was given little opportunity to relax and enjoy the serenity of camp. And sometimes, he was called upon to perform some extremely unpleasant duty. This excerpt from John McGeachy’s letter of May 15, 1862 (written over several days), illustrates just such an occasion. It also underscores the unsanitary conditions of Civil War camps.
NOTE: The Scotch Tigers (Company D, 51st Regiment NCT) assembled with the rest of the regiment at Camp Holmes on Masonboro Sound in April 1862. A month later, the Fifty-First moved up the coast and joined the 11th North Carolina at Camp Davis.
“Camp Davis May 18th. Dear sister, on the 16th we were sent out to clear up a new campground. We shouldered axes and picks, marched three miles and then went to work. Now I don’t know that I ought to tell it as it is, sister. I reckon I will. We came in the rear of the 11th Regiment, and they told us to go to work, and you never saw so much Shit. It was there in long piles and short ones, high ones, flat ones, and very unpleasant to the smell. We worked about 3 hours, and we were ordered to quit, and we came around to the right of the 11th in a very nice place, all except Company D. It is in the latrines, and Captain McDonald charged around and swore a little bit. I have got to go on guard, and I feel tired now. I will stop for the present.”
NOTE: The excerpt above is heavily edited for readability. You can view a verbatim transcript of the letter HERE.
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