How Private George W. Peck Put Down the Rebellion

by George W. Peck

  CHAPTER XXIV.

  Mingled Reminiscences-I Relate a Mississippi River Steamboat Experience.

  Long before this I should have related a little experience I had onmy first journey south, when I was a fresh recruit. After leavingWisconsin, in the winter, a lot of us recruits were corralled atBenton Barracks, St. Louis, and for six weeks we had a picnic. Therewere about fifty of us, that belonged to the cavalry, our regimentsbeing down the Mississippi river, and the commanding officer of thebarracks seemed to be waiting for a chance to send us to our regiments.I have often wondered what he waited six weeks for, when we were notdoing any duty in camp, and were making him trouble enough every dayand every night to turn his hair gray. He was a Colonel Bonneville, if Iremember right, a regular army officer of French extraction. Anyway, healways swore at us in French. The camp was run in a slack sort of a way,and it was easy for us to get out and go down town, or wander off intothe country, and, as we had plenty of money, and were dressed betterthan soldiers in active service, we were welcome to all the saloons,and painted old St. Louis all the colors of the rainbow, returned to thebarracks at unseasonable hours, crawled through the fence and went toour quarters howling, waking up the old general, who invariably orderedthe provost-guard to arrest us, which the provost-guard invariablydidn't do, for some reason or other. The old colonel was fast aging,in trying to lead a quiet life in the vicinity of "dose d-----d cavalryregruits," and he said he "would order them all shot if they didn'tbehave." Benton Barracks was the greatest place for the breeding of ratsthat I ever saw. In every house there were millions of them, and atnight they were out in full force. One night our crowd of recruits,about forty in number, had been down to St. Louis on a paintingexpedition, and it was midnight when camp was reached. Every recruit hada revolver, and it was decided that if the rats insulted us, as theyhad often done before, we would shoot them. It was a beautiful moonlightnight, as still as death, and we could almost hear the snoring of theexcitable colonel in his house across the parade ground. As we camenear our barrack, a few thousand rats crossed our path, and I drew myrevolver and fired at a large one that seemed unusually impudent, andthe rest of the crowd opened fire, and there was a battle in no time. Abugler got out and blowed some call that I did not know, a drum soundeda continuous roll, men rushed out and formed in line, and before wehad fired the six charges from our revolvers, the Invalid Corps camehobbling across the parade ground, the colonel behind them with hisshirt on, his pants in his hand, and swearing in French, and orderingthe troops to arrest the whole crowd of recruits. We went right in thebarrack, and retired, as soon as the troops showed up, and were snoring,with smoking revolvers under our pillows, when the guard entered.

  The colonel came in with the guard, and then put on his pants, afterwhich he woke up some of us, and asked what was the cause of the firing.Every recruit swore that he had not fired a shot, but that he had heardsome firing over the fence, on the outside, at a road-house and saloon,where bad men from St. Louis congregated and drank to excess. It seemedvery hard to thus lie to so estimable a gentleman as the colonel, butas he was only half-dressed, and sleepy, and excited, it didn't seem asthough the lies ought to count. But they did. The colonel apologized forwaking us up, when we were enjoying our much-needed rest, and he wentaway with the guard. Then we all got up and danced a can-can, in ourarmy underclothes, passed a series of resolutions endorsing the colonelas one of the ablest officers in the army, recommended that he bepromoted to brigadier-general at the first opportunity, gave threecheers and a tiger for the Union, and went to bed. That is one thingthat we recruits always come out strong in, i. e., three cheers for theUnion. We had enlisted to save the Union, and as there was no fightingthat we could do, during our stay at St. Louis, whenever we got a chancewe gave three cheers for the Union. Sometimes it was not appreciated,however. I remember one evening our crowd went into a saloon and orderedbeer all around, and after we had drank it, I proposed three cheers forthe Union, which we gave in a hearty manner, and went out without payingfor the beer. You would hardly credit it, but the saloonkeeper, anIrishman named Oppenheimer, became offended, and wanted us to pay cashfor the beer. The boys wanted me to reason with him, and I began byasking him if he was a loyal man, and he said he was. Then I asked himif he didn't believe in supporting the Union. He said he did, but hecouldn't pay the brewer for his beer by giving three cheers for theUnion. He had to put up cash. I confess that his remarks made quite animpression on me, as I had not thought of it in that light before. Iproposed that we give three cheers for Oppenheimer, which was done, andI thought that would settle it, but he insisted on having cash. I toldthe boys, and they said he was a rebel. I told Oppenheimer, and he gotout a wooden bung-starter, and said he could clean out the whole party.Finally we compromised, in this way. We had given two rounds of cheer,one for the Union and one for Oppenheimer, which were a total loss, soit was agreed that if Oppenheimer would give three cheers for the Unionand three for us we would pay him for the beer, if he would agree to set'em up for us, at his own expense. He agreed, and then we tried toget him to onset the beer he was going to give us, for the beer we haddrank, and not pay him for that we had consumed. That, to any businessman, we thought, would seem fair, but he wouldn't have it. So, afterhe had returned our cheers to us, we paid him, and then he treated.I mention this to show the hardships of a soldier's life, and thedifficulties of inculcating business methods into the minds of thesaloon-keepers. Oppenheimer meant well, but he did not appreciate cheersfor the Union. He got so, after that when we came in his saloon, in agang, he would say, "Poys, of you dondt gif any jeers fun dot Union, Iset'em oop," and we would swallow our cheers for the Union, and his beer.

  The next day after the battle of the rats, an order was issued for therecruits to board the steamer "City of Memphis," and go down the riverto join our several regiments, in the vicinity of New Orleans. In afew hours we had drawn rations to last a week, and were on board thesteamer, and had started down stream. I think every soldier that is nowalive will remember that when he took his first trip on a transport, asa recruit, during the war, he labored under the impression that he ownedthe boat, or at least a controlling interest in it. That was a verynatural feeling. The opinions of the steamboat officials, it willbe remembered, were different. I had never been on a large steamboatbefore, and after tying my knapsack and other baggage to a wood-pileon the lower deck, after I had vainly attempted to induce the properofficial to give me checks for my baggage, I began to climb up stairs,and soon found myself on top of the Texas, beside the smoke stack,viewing the ever changing scenery of the grand old Mississippi. I wasdrinking in the scenery, and the fresh air, and wondering if it couldbe possible that there could be war, and killing, anywhere in this broadland, when all was so peace-ful and beautiful on the river, when I feltsomething strike me on the pantaloons most powerfully, and I lookedaround and a gentleman was just removing a large sized boot from myperson. I was about to reprove him for kicking me, a total stranger, whohad not even presented letters of introduction to me, when he said, in avoice that was deep down in his chest, "get down below." I did not feellike arguing with a man of so violent a nature, and I went down thenarrow stairs, after he had said he would throw me overboard if I didnot hurry. I learned afterwards that he was the mate of the steamboat.I could see that he had mistaken me for a common soldier, which I wouldnot admit was the case, but I went down stairs, probably looking hurt.I was hurt. I went into the cabin and sat down on one of the sofas, tothink, when a colored person told me to get off the sofa. As he seemedto know what he was talking about I got on. I saw a bar, where officersof the army and passengers were drinking, and I went up and asked for awhisky sour, thinking that would relieve the pain and cause my injuredfeelings to improve. The bar tender told me to go out on deck and Icould get plain whisky through a window where the negro deck hands gottheir drinks, but I could not drink with gentlemen. That was the firstday that I realized that in becoming a soldier I had descended to alevel with negro deck
hands and roustabouts, and could not be allowedto associate with gentlemen. Soon the gong rung for supper, and I wentinto the cabin and sat down to the table for a square meal, the otherseats being filled with army officers and passengers. I was going togive my order to a waiter, when he called an officer of the boat, whotold me to get up from the table and go below, as the cabin was intendedfor gentlemen and not soldiers. My idea was to kick against being turnedout, but I thought of the mate's boot, and I went out, went down on thelower deck with the recruits, and eat some bread and meat. I was rapidlybecoming crushed. I talked my experience over with the boys, and theyall agreed with me that the way we were treated was an outrage onAmerican soldiers, which we would not stand. We began to wonder wherewe were going to sleep, when I remembered seeing state-rooms on the deckabove, with berths, and it seemed to me they must be intended for us,so we agreed to go up and go into the state-rooms from the doors thatopened out on deck, believing that those who got in first would beallowed to occupy them. About fifty of us got into state-rooms, whilethe officers and passengers were playing poker in the cabin. I wasasleep, when I heard a noise out on deck, and raising up in my berthI looked over the transom and saw about twenty of the recruits beingdriven along by officers of the boat, kicks and cuffs, and loud talkingbeing the order. "I'll teach you brutes to steal the beds of passengerson this boat. You dirty whelps, to presume to sleep in beds. Getdown stairs and sleep on the wood-pile with the niggers," shouted thecaptain.

  If there was going to be any fuss about it, I didn't want to stay in thestate-room. I didn't want to be broke of my rest, of course, but if itwas not customary for common soldiers to indulge in such luxuries, Iwould go out. Just then there was a knock at the door leading into thecabin, and I heard a female voice say, "Powtaw, I am afraid one of thosedirty soljaws has got into my state-room," and then I heard themate's voice say, "Wait till I get at him." Of course, under thosecircumstances I could not remain. No gentleman would occupy a lady'sbirth, and cause her to sit up all night. To be sure there were twoberths, and I could remain in the upper one, and she could turn inbelow, and I would turn my face to the wall and not look, but I doubtedif a lady, who was a perfect stranger, and whose opinion of soldierswas so pronounced, could compromise on such a basis, so when the mateknocked at the door I took my pants and shoes and went out the doorleading on deck, and went below, without being discovered. I found mycompanions, who had been routed out of their beds, dressing themselvesas best they could by the light from the furnace, when the stokers wouldput in wood, and they were about as mad as I was. The treatment we hadreceived was not what we had a right to expect when we enlisted. Wedecided to set up all night, and growl and discuss the situation.Several of the recruits made remarks that were very scathing, andthe officials of the boat were held up to scorn, and charged withinhumanity. We sat there till daylight, and then organized anindignation meeting, and appointed a committee to draft resolutionsindicative of the sense of the meeting. I had been lightning onresolutions before I enlisted, having attended several countyconventions, and I was appointed to draft the resolutions. As near as Ican remember the following were the words:

  "_Whereas_, The undersigned, members of the army of the union, in the course of our duty as soldiers, have been ordered to proceed to our several regiments down the Mississippi river, on board of the 'City of Memphis,' and,

  "_Whereas_, We have been treated by the officers of the aforesaid boat more like animals than human beings, in being deprived of luxuries to which we have been accustomed, have been driven from the public dining-table, driven from our beds at the dead hour of night, that shoulder-strapped officers might be made comfortable, and kicked down stairs, therefore, be it

  "_Resolved_, That we demand of the captain of the steamer 'City of Memphis,' that we be allowed the same privileges on this boat that others enjoy. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident,' that one man is just as good as another, no matter what his rank. We demand that we be allowed to eat at the table in the cabin, to sleep in the state-rooms, to drink at the bar if we so elect, and to go to any place on the boat that other passengers are allowed, and that we be treated like white men, which we, have not up to the adoption of these resolutions.

  "_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be presented to the captain of the boat, that a copy be sent to the secretary of war, and that the resolutions be published in the newspapers."

  When I read the resolutions to the boys they were passed unanimously,after a few amendments had been voted down. One of the boys wanted aresolution passed demanding that the mate be discharged, and one movedthe captain be requested to apologize. I argued that if the captainreceived the resolutions in the proper spirit, and acceded to ourdemand, that would be an apology in itself, and in that case the matewould probably resign. I was appointed one of a committee of three towait on the captain, and read the resolutions to him, after the boys hadall signed them. I had rather some one else had been appointed, as I hadbeen kicked once already, but the boys said it needed somebody thatwas equal to making a little speech, as it would be necessary to saysomething before reading the resolutions. They also said, it needed aman with plenty of gall, one that was not afraid to stand up be-fore theworld and ask for our rights. I felt flattered at being selected, but Itook the precaution to place a gunny-sack, nicely folded up, in the seatof my pants, because I didn't know what might happen. After breakfast, Itook the committee and the resolutions, and went up into the cabin,and told a colored man that he might tell the captain that a committeewished an audience with him. He was playing poker in the ladies' cabin,and I have always thought he had an idea there was a committee ofpassengers who wanted to present him with a gold headed cane, a thingthat was often done on the boats. Any way he came along smiling, andwhen the nigger pointed me out, and the captain noticed that I had alarge paper in my hand, he said, "What is it, gentlemen?" This was thefirst time I had been alluded to in that manner since I enlisted. Iasked him to be seated, and he sat down on a lounge, and I proceeded. Iforgot to make any speech, but went right at the _whereases_ at once.I say the captain smiled when he came up. Of course, reading theresolutions, as I was, I could not see his face change, but afterwardsone of the committee told me about it. I could not tell that a storm wascoming. I noticed that quite a number of people had collected aroundthe captain, from curiosity, I supposed. I had just got to the lastresolution where it spoke of sending a copy to the secretary of war,when there was a howl. The captain got up and grabbed me by the throat,while somebody else took me by the hind legs. As we went towards thedoor, I noticed other men were carrying the rest of the committee. Myidea was that they would throw us overboard, and as I could not swim, Iclosed my eyes and said, "Now I lay me." The stairs leading to the lowerdeck were covered with brass. I remember that distinctly, because I rodedown the stairs on the small of my back, and we had a committee meetingat the foot of the stairs. I brought up on top of the rest of thecommittee. We sat there a moment, and decided, unanimously, that we hadbeen unceremoniously chucked down stairs, resolutions and all, and wepicked ourselves up and limped back to where our companions were, andso reported. The expedition was a total failure, for in a short time anotice was tacked on the foot of the stairs, stating that all enlistedmen were forbidden from occupying any portion of the boat except thelower deck, and if one was found above that deck, he would be turnedover to the first army post, a prisoner. So we remained on the lowerdeck, and took it out abusing the officers, and hoping the boat wouldblow up. But the scenery was just as nice from the lower deck.