Coit, Charles M. (1838-1878) to his family
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03603.105 Author/Creator: Coit, Charles M. (1838-1878) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 13 May 1862 Pagination: 4 p. Order a Copy
Writes that he is showing his new servant, "Napoleon," how to make baked beans with molasses. Discusses the difficulties he is having with his new position, particularly the Battalion drills. Written from "Camp on the Neuse."
Camp on the Neuse May 13, 1862 Dear All, I wrote last evening just a line saying that I was well &c and sent it over to the city by Capt. smith as I learned that the mail would go this A.M. & I did not like to miss any opportunity of communicating after my sickness as I knew you would be particularly anxious. I shall begin this to day & perhaps add a few lines each day. I am officer of the Day for the first time to day & have been busy all the morning (it is now 11 A.M.) attending to the cleaning of the camp, digging cess pools at the cook tents, &c. &c , and am now sitting in my new Sibley tent resting for a few moments and overseeing Napolean prepare the - beans - for - baking-. Napolean has been boiling them this forenoon & has just brought them in in a pan for baking & I have added the molassses & showed N. how to cut the rine of pork, he has hacked up a great chunk in getting it right but it will be used for frying -potatoes- &c. since we encamped here we have had fresh beef & fresh soft bread (real nice too) served to the Regt three times. I generally manage so as to keep supplied with the bread by buying several loaves at a time & I can always get a couple of days stock of meat which is about all that is best after living so much lately on -salt- meat. I omitted to state above that the Coln is to have part of my beans. I am afraid you will think I care for nothing but eating but I really write now that you may know just how comfortably I am living & what good hearty food I get. Have had apple sauce (dried apples) twice, paid 50 cents for 2 1/2 pounds. The beans I carry down to our hospital cook & he bakes them I paying him him for it in his stove. Had a -very nice- piece of -roast beef- last week which he cooked My regular supper is coffee tho' I prefer tea when I have it & toast - not very bad for soldier's fare. All my cooking is done at our open fire so my steaks &c have some cinders on them but are real nice for all that. I must leave off now & go make a detail for fatigue work this afternoon. we are getting our camp in fine order, laying out & turnpiking the streets. leveling the parade ground & cleaning up all underbrush &c all off to the river. I have not seen as clean & healthy looking camp in the Division as our own. All my Co. tents are nicely floored & it is quite general in the Regt. we tear down Rebel barracks a mile below us to get the boards, build rafts & float them up. - 11 o'clock P.M. I am sitting up to night to go the Grand Rounds. Have been Page looking up the "Regulations" to see how to -go them- & will now spend a part of the hour or more that I have yet to wait in finishing this letter as I have learned that the mail did not go yesterday as was expected but will go the morrow morning & I may have a chance to send this over in time to go in it. So here goes & first in respect to drills. In this I am getting on certainly as well as I expected although the Colonels to use his own exression is putting me through an "-ordeal of fire-" In co. drill I succeed pretty well & tho' I make some mistakes I can catch the co. oftener than they can catch me. Please remember that I have never before had the -least command- and I assure you he who -commands- is entirely on the opposite side of the fence from he who -obeys- simply. Battalion drills I find much more complicated. These are at present the toughest exercise of the mind that I ever experienced particularly as I am obliged in the absence of the ranking captain of the first division, to command two companies (that is the 1st division) in all division move- ments & these are what we drill most in. I make a great many "bulls" here but not often -very serious- ones. I am studying all the spare time I can get which is really very little for the Co. has formerly been so loosely managed that there seems to be every thing to do all at once & I am continually interrupted. We very much need our first Lieut. Mr Eaton. Shepard is invaluable for I can turn over a large portion of the -writing- for the Co. to him & know that it will be -well done- but he is terribly deficient in all -drill matters-. The great difficulty in division movements is that any formation is so quickly effected that one cannot stop to think he must know & this knowledge & -confidence- in it can only be gained by -practice- and study. I have been interrupted. It is half past twelve & I must go my "-Rounds".
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