OPERATIONS OF 1861 ABOUT FORT MONROE.
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but particularly the rights of property-owners in our vicinity. Foragingand depredations of all kinds were forbidden, and as a rule the orders wereobeyed, yet cases of disobedience constantly came to light, for it was onlyby stern experience that officers and men were taught the peculiar dutiesof a soldier. Food was at times irregularly issued to the men, and again wasunwholesome and repellent, thus rendering the soldier doubly liable to fallunder the temptations of generous foraging.
Some of the clothing issued to the men during the early days of the civil warwas made of the vilest “ shoddy ” and literally fell from their bodies. I 11 Fort
Monroe men in the 2d New YorkVolunteers appeared on paradewith blankets wrapped about themto conceal a lack of proper gar-ments, and sometimes stood senti-nel with naked feet and almostnaked bodies. The only reason forship was the dishonesty of contrac-tile lack of experience and celerityordinates of the
I
this hard'tors, andin the sub-Quarter-departmentatAmong theencamped onour
Zouaves. Thedubbed thistheir baggyreckless bear-legged devils,”them with thethe Baslii-BazouksA private letter froma Confederate, read incamp, said: “We haveno fear of your New York,
Troy, Vermont, or Massachu-setts men, but I own that we do notwant to meet those red-legged devilsaround our houses or hen-coops.”It was a well-known fact that theZouaves’ rations included chicken,roast pig, ham, corn, and other first-class food. By the verdict of numer-ous squads in all the regiments,many articles of food near at handwere declared “ contraband of war,”
master- General’sWashington,liveliest soldiersany field werebors, Duryea’sConfederates hadregiment, fromred trousers anding, “ the red-and had investedcharacteristics of