Camp Buckingham

                                                                                                Hartford Sept. 30^th 1861

 

Dear Parents

                        Since I wrote you last there has been little change, as there is little change in camp life the same thing day after day. Get up in the morning wash, and parade for roll call; then breakfast, lay by, until ten oclock. then drill until twelve when we are marched in and dismissed for dinner,--the camps are laid out streets running east and west; each street being as long as the width of five tents. one principle street running at right angles with the private streets, at the head of the private streets, are two tents occupied by the Capt. & first Lieu., Sec. Lieu. & Orderly. Well, as I was telling when we were marched into dinner, the fellows as the left foot comes down say grub grub &c. the officer says halt, and as he says dismissed; they all / clapp their hands together, then rush for their mess pans which is a large sheet iron pan, in which we get our beefsteak or bean soup or beaf soup or what ever is given us to eat. We fare first rate I think. we have beaf steak, boiled potatoes bean soup, beaf soup, mackerel we are going to have tomorrow morning. we have first rate bread. to night we had milk in our coffee; some of us contributed one cent apiece it was a great improvement, although I would not complain of any thing we have had yet; I have had enough every meal yet and good enough. Sunday W. N. Salter, Nathan L. Husted, Jared Finch, and myself went to Hartford to church. not knowing the churches nor the who preached in them, we went into one that came handy it proved to be the south Baptist. the minister, I forget his name preached from 1 Cor. 1^st 24. against the bigotry of churches; a pretty good sermon. At three o’clock we had services at the camp; in absence of a chaplain: Capt Pardee of the Winthrop Rifles opened the meeting by reading a hymn after the hymn was sung, the meeting was opened, for prayer, remarks or singing. It was contued for an hour when we returned to our tents, or went where we pleased.

 

Oct 1. Yesterday we were examined, preparatory to / being mustered in. all passed I believe. At 1 oclock recruits, twelve in number came in from Greenwich, which were received, with great cheering. Last night a new company came in from New Haven and occupied the next street below us, which make ten companies in our regiment the full number but the companies are not all of them full. We have not been on guard yet; but expect to go in this morning and to stay until eight to morrow. You wished to know how many tents there are on the ground. there are ten streets to a regiment, ten tents to a street, eight men to a tent, one hundred tents for privates. two tents for the officers of each company twenty two tents for quarter master, one for Lieu. Col. one for Col. one for Suttler, one hundred and fifteen in all, I believe, But I have not counted them. then there is the same number in the eighth I suppose I think we shall all get home before we go off. I received the things you sent, and am very much obliged

 

                                                            Your affectionate Son

                                                                                    W. L. Savage

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