D^r Flandeau

April 12, 1863

 

Dear Sir:

                        Your favor of the 7^th reached me yesterday & I at once wrote a line to give my indorsement of the Sanitary Commission which you are to use in any way you may think best. It was only yesterday I obtained from the Commission dried fruit, condensed milk, ½ doz woolen shirts & as many pair socks It is extremely convenient to have the chance of getting such articles when needed. I have been so amply supplied with most of the necessaries & delicacies by the liberality of the County that it has not been necessary / for me during the winter to call on the Commission to any extent, but now that my supplies are exhausted I fall back on it. In case of a fight & five or ten thousand wounded men being thrown en masse on the medical department & Hospitals, immense quantities of articles are immediately wanted & it is of great advantage to have them ready in the hands of a society managed by first rate men & now perfectly familiar with the means, through two years experience, of making them most useful. I have no doubt you will be successful in promoting their interests.

 

            Thinking Tibbie's geological tastes might not be highly developed yet, I sent to my wife for her a few days ago a rough sketch / of our camp made by one of my hospital attendants who has some skill with his pencil. It is a very accurate delineation of our winters home, but which will I suppose be soon deserted. The spring has fairly commenced with us. I sit to day in my tent without a fire & am if anything too warm. The slight snow storms & rains of the week before last have been dried away & the roads in this vicinity begin to be dusty. It is only at rare intervals that mud is to be formed in hollows. Still one swallow & one dry week does not make a summer & it is said by the residents here that the weather cannot be considered reliable for two or three weeks yet. I hardly think we will remain quiet much longer, though there is one point / which may influence our Generals The two years men all go out of the army in May & it is possible their loss may render changes necessary which will involve delay. As I have said for the past few days the weather has been delicious, bright, dry & with a soft south wind that is the perfection of the luxurious. Our regiment went out yesterday on pickett for three days. The Camp is deserted except by the guard & the sick. I was out with them the last time & so remained in Camp today.

 

Picketting in fine weather is very pleasant. The guard duty is one day of the three. The other two days are spent in bough houses, in comfortable idleness—which in such a delicious season as this is a most agreeable change from the drills & duties / of Camp.

 

We have had many reviews lately. First a grand Cavalry review of 10,000 men or thereabouts As the ground was muddy & the day cold, the effect was not as fine as it might have been Then the President reviewed us in Camp & on the next day we marched out in a large plain & some 50,000 men were marched past him, a most magnificent affair Bands playing, colors flying & cannon firing in all the pomp & pageantry of glorious war. Today a Swiss Major Gen^l inspects our Camp—and all men not on pickett are to be turned out to do him / honor.

 

            For a summer costume our men are to wear a handsome Zouave rig consisting of light blue Zouave jacket & very full pants, trimmed with yellow—dark blue shirt with yellow stripe down the front. Red fez or conical cap & white turban with long yellow tassel red & yellow sash round waist dark yellow leather leggins or jambiéres & white linen gaiters. This will I understand make a very handsome & tasteful uniform, a great improvement on the plain & now greatly soiled blue jacket & trousers with which we began. The costume of the officers will be about the same as now. It is not decided on but will probably / be merely pretty large pants of light blue & some little peculiarity in the cap, a gold braid or other ornament not very conspicuous. When we are filled up to a thousand by conscription & have perfected ourselves in drill unless badly injured in an early fight the Gérard Tigers will be a bully regiment. (You must put the accent strongly on the first syllable)

 

            The condition of the regiment is excellent. We have a number of convalescents from the service diseases of the winter, cases of chronic diarrhea chiefly (but there is very little serious disease in the Reg^t). There are not over four / five men whose cases are important & they have been sick for several months. The 140^th started from Rochester with 1000 men a week or two before us & have been with us in the same brigade during the whole fall. We reached Washington with 767 enlisted men, The 140^th exceeding us by about 250. We can to day turn out within twenty five efficient men of their number. We are improving steadily in discipline & the men are acquiring the knowledge necessary to make good soldiers.

 

& I think no camp in the army exceeds ours in cleanliness or good order.

 

            This is a fearfully long letter. You must lay it aside for a rainy day's work.

 

[margins]

 

Give my kind regards to your wife & to the young ladies I shall be glad to hear from you at any time Yrs Truly Flandeau

 

Tell M^rs H. that I have not yet opened her pickles, but have reserved them as they are so well packed. I will report on them

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