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chapter 8 In Camp and Beyond The soldier’s life was not always clouded by the storms of hardship, battle, and death. Months at a time were spent in camp during the winters of 1862– 1863 and 1863–1864, and even the hyperkinetic General Sherman allowed his army occasional periods of rest during his campaigns of 1864–1865. The regimental camp itself became an expression of esprit de corps. The activities the soldiers engaged in to amuse themselves in camp deepened their camaraderie . But not every aspect of camp life was all-inclusive. The practice of religion drew some men together, but distanced them from their skeptical comrades. Differing perspectives of morality pushed men apart instead of pulling them together. Looking beyond the regimental camp, the soldiers of the 154th New York sometimes did not like what they saw. Ethnic prejudice prevented the 154th from developing close relationships with the other regiments of its brigade during the early part of its service. Alienated from those natural allies, the men when possible turned elsewhere for outside companionship. Most often, they turned to soldiers from home who were serving in other regiments throughout the army. But the 154th was not entirely without pride in its brigade, division, and corps, and esprit for those larger organizations increased as time passed and affiliations changed. At the same time, the men found themselves drawn to certain of their generals and repelled by others. For almost three years the soldiers lived among the people of the South. Away from the battlefield, they met their Confederate enemy in largely friendly fraternization. They also had extensive encounters with the two civilian populations of the South: the whites and the blacks. Attitudes toward the whites varied from unconcern to pity, while encounters with civilians ranged from friendly to deadly. Although the regiment had its abolitionists, many of the men were hostile to African Americans. But as time passed and blacks became a common sight in camp, negative attitudes toward them lessened . Blacks even became recognized as unofficial members of the regiment —but esprit de corps only went so far in bridging the racial divide. 170 in camp and beyond From the beginning of their service, the soldiers took pride in their regimental camps, much as they did in their houses and villages back home. An example was provided by a Philadelphia engraver named Louis N. Rosenthal, who produced a series of gilt-bordered prints in 1862 depicting various regimental camps in the Washington area. Among them was an image of the 154th’s Camp Seward—named after Secretary of State William H. Seward, the former New York State governor and U.S. senator—on Arlington Heights, the regiment’s first camp in Virginia. In the foreground of the print members of the regiment were depicted standing guard and clustered in small groups, conversing and pointing out new sights. Behind them were their tents, arranged in neat rows along company streets. In the background loomed a barren hill, crowned by a fort. In a week’s time, the enterprising Rosenthal somehow managed to obtain a drawing of the camp, convert it into an engraving, publish a run in two formats—as a hand-tinted print and as stationery—and peddle them to members of the regiment. Sending them home to loved ones, some of the men made notes on the prints, identifying Fort Richardson, marking their company street, putting an X on their tent, and the like. Already homesick after only a week at the front, sixteen-yearold Devillo Wheeler sent his father a copy, on the back of which he inscribed , “Old Allegany is the place for me.”1 While living in tents, the men did what they could to make themselves more comfortable. After moving from Arlington Heights to Fairfax Court House, they dismantled the brickwork of a nearby mansion to construct fireplaces and chimneys for the regimental hospital and headquarters tents. “It was really surprising to see the assiduity and industry of the boys when they went into that house,” Surgeon Henry Van Aernam noted. “We were a summer encampment and in two days there was a good brick chimney to the hospital and to nearly all the large tents. In approaching [the camp] we look like a village.” But tents were generally deplored as poor shelter by the men, especially early in their service and in bad weather. A view expressed by Edgar Shannon on a warm day in April 1865 at Goldsboro...

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