The words sent a wave of unexpected confusion over me. They didn't warn me about this, I thought. Vacating my place in the ranks, I marched clumsily to the front, facing the captain.
"Hand me your rifle," said the sergeant at his side.
Promptly, I handed it over.
The captain spoke again.
"Spit in your hands."
As I followed his orders, I could hear my fellow privates jokingly mock me by making snorting sounds with their throats.
"Ah, that ain't enough! Can we get a donation?!"
A couple of my fellow privates eagerly stepped out of rank and, bending over my cupped hands, spit in them.
"Now hand me a cartridge."
Reaching into my black leather cartridge box, I pulled out one of the paper tubes filled with black gunpowder and handed it over to the captain. He took it, ripped off the top, and emptied the contents into my hands.
"Now rub that around. Make a good paste."
I rubbed the concoction vigorously, watching my hands turning a slimy black as the men behind me stifled their snickers.
"Ah, yeah, that's good. Now rub that all over your face. Make yourself a nice beard."
I looked up and spotted the disgusted faces of the spectators who had been watching us form up as I rubbed the body fluid of three different people onto my face.
"Now wash the rest of that off."
The captain took his canteen and washed SOME of the powder off of my hands. The sergent handed back my borrowed 1861 Enfield musket.
"Right about face!"
I turned, and a cheer rose from the ranks - a rebel yell.
I am officially a member of the 7th Florida Infantry Volunteer Regiment, Company B of the Confederate States Army; also known as The Straw Hats.
8 comments:
Congrats!!! I am now officially an employee of MJ farms for the next four months as an intern. My first night I got turned loose completely on my own milking 80 cows with no help in a "deep end sink or swim". I think I would almost rather do what you did! Least it didn't involve busted fingers!
Congratulations to you, too!
...But you had to milk 80 cows BY HAND?! Can you say "carpal tunnel?"
no no thankfully they do have milking machines. I would have cried if it had been by hand. The busted fingers refers to the cow who made a valiant attempt to kick me to death.
Congrats HT. Lookin' good there
Eeeuuuuu.
Congrats tho.
*insert rebel yell here*
http://26nc.org/History/Rebel-Yell/Sound-Files/RebelYell_s.wav
I'm pretty sure I had a relative in the 7th/B. Just started researching this one, so I'm not yet sure of the exact relationship. Some of the handwritten notes in the pension files are hard to decipher.
paint - I'm sure it pinches when you put those things on her!
threecollie - Thanks!
FC - You should have seen those spectators' faces...ha ha.
sophie - Yeah, the pension files can be hard to read...Many of our cracker ancestors were not proficient writers. It's unfortunate because I wish my ancestors had written a journal like I am right now.
in the words of an Idol...Billy not the ones on Fox....Rebel Yell.
So Proud of you my young friend. Now look away Dixie Land.
Yours in the Bond
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