Table of Contents
Monday January 27th
This morning was pure and delightful - the sound waters were calm and placid - all forenoon there was but the slightest ripple - We were on deck most of the morning watching the gunboats practicing with their guns. Lt Col Bell came over from the Scout - He told us that yesterday a small rebel gunboat, bearing U.S. colors came into the inlet and lay within a hundred yards of the Scout. One of our gun-boats happening to go that way - she put up and off. That was real cute [They?] - much to be admired. Another part of the mail of the other day came in but no letters for me. Our life is so monotonous that slight things interest - & it is interesting to watch how at one time we gather in knots and how the conversation floats from one topic to another, & how the one group to another - Last night - Sunday - in the fore part of the evening [Gib?] & I talked of home and many things that happened in our early lives - Shorkley Charley [Kline?] & some other one got talking of Muncy, got around to [?town] Shirleysburg - Then at that town Capt Snyder floated in somehow - they got talking of stage coaches - that reminded the Capt of a story of [?] who got into a coach, with a woman with a baby - and [?] to put his hands in improper places - got his fingers daubed by mistaking the baby's posterior, for something else, exclaiming Coachman, stop this coach I am disgust - Then he told the story of a hair lipped fellow - which we recognized as the story of Chas McGregor & the cow - Blair floated in - Shorkly & I floated to bed - Blair wanted to know why we couldn't have roasted potatoes for breakfast & thought they might be roasted in the galleys of the men. Other officers opposed interfering in anyway with the cook house of the men, giving them a chance to growl - Interfere it won't interfere says Blair. "They don't use those roasting places Who cares if they do talk if we really don't interfere with them" but he [posts?] to ascertain. Capt [Shawl?] officer of the guard, said he wished he had known Blair was going out he would have slipped out and ordered the guard to allow no one to enter. Re-enter Blair "The cooks say that they will roast potatoes if they are taken out at five o'clock in the morning John" to John Smith Col's servant & head Monday Jan 27 continued. manager. "John did you hear" Shorkley, commisary general for the officers mess, from his berth above. "There'll be no roasted potatoes for breakfast in the morning. John" Blair, high tenor, "I was not saying there would be Lt. Shorkley, only ascertaining whether potatoes would be roasted" Blair 'high mad', and picks a quarrel with the adjutant, which was very comical at the time, but has faded out of my memory. Morning. John sounds the gong - Shorkley rises first: finds that the dog "general" has [cacapufied?] in front of my [berth?] has been tramped around - & his stockings are daubed - flings them incontinently out - Mr Blair's light blue pants discovered lying on the floor - Blair informed of danger, examines - finds the light blues daubed - By the time all are up in that region & the General receives a liberal cursing and sundry threats. Meanwhile Capt. Shawl is dressings is annoyed by our remarks - General is caught by the neck and summarily ejected - conversation and [objurgation continues until breakfast. Shorkley passes some severe remark about dogs in general & the general in particular - Capt. Shawl unable to justify, [espouses?] the roast potatoes [aside?] and sayd he'd rather have roast potatoes than that tough biscuit but Blair ain't on that side now - he's adverse on the dog question. Blair comes to the second table - & the dog question absorbs his attention - the only sharp remark amid all the filth, was that the dog would have to die a soldier's death if caught again, & if he would have only staid on his own side ([id est?] the side the Shawl berth was on) "but a dog always hunts a clean place." Blair appears in dark blue. The roast potatoes appeared at dinner - It is remarked that Blair, usually very talkative wherever he is, is silent. Now we get an explanation of how so many of our towels have disappeared. Every one complains of having lost towels, one two or three. We thought some one must be laying in a stock - but we are told that during the days of the sickness, the General was sick too - he wawsn't particular where he put his accounts [cast up?] - on the sofas, on the carpet, and elsewhere - most generally inconvenient for the rest of us - & the servant that cleaned them up generally seized on one of our towells, wiped it up & cast it into the sea - So it is with the general as with the rest of us - when once the general attention of the community is drawn to a criminal all faults, crimes and misfortunes are fished up. I tremble for the general if he commits any other bad deed. His faults are not his faults - but is rather his misfortune. There thats a dirty sheet - but one can't give a full description of our life without mentioning such incidents. Some two weeks ago I threw out my chewing tobacco - Thursday I quit smoking until I can get on