OSHKOSH COURIER
June 7, 1861
Correspondence of the ‘Courier’
CAMP RANDALL,
MADISON, May 30, ‘61
FRIEND READ
: - The rain this evening ahs caused the dress parade to be postponed, and for that the boys feel bad. After five and a half hours of drill they of course feel bad when any part of the days work has to be omitted. When we first came into camp it was almost impossible to keep the boys in barracks, but now the scene is changed; at the first sprinkle the word is, "In boys out of the wet, we shall all catch colds," and in ten minutes you pass through the barracks and half of them you’ll find asleep, the rest part of soldiering they have about perfected. Today there were distributed through the barracks printed slips of paper, containing advice to volunteers, and part of one paragraph reads as follows: "Sleep as much as you can, and whenever you can." The boys allowed the author’s head was "level". If soldiering does not make sad havoc with what few industrial habits we may be possessed of, then I shall be mistaken.Several of our Oshkosh friends have visited us since we came into camp. It does us good to shake their hands once more, and learn about matters and things at home; and in the Northwestern’s correspondent "J.M." we recognize the features at once, but he made one grand mistake. That butter, it reads very well and looks well on paper. The facts are, as Sergeant RUBY says, not very "pretty for nice, but h—l for strong," (excuse the profanity), but tonight I am happy to state we had butter for supper. The Racine boys received two firkins yesterday as a present, from their friends at home.
Many amusing and ludicrous incidents occur from time to time. A few morning’s since one of the boys was reading his testament, the question was asked him if he was reading his morning lesson. "Yes," he replied, "my gal told me I must read a chapter every day, and by G-d I will." A few evenings since the Corporal of the guard was going the rounds with the relief. The word halt was given by the sentinel and the question asked, "Who comes there?" The answer was: "The Corporal and relief." The sentinel not very well posted but wishing to show is authority, replied promptly: "Advance Relief, and give up the Corporal." Another sentinel at the gate commanded an applicant for admittance to "advance and given the ensign!"
The Captain was caught reading his fine hand letter today, and the boys are in fine glee over it – he vows it’s a business matter entirely, we are not sure but he is half correct. The correspondence of the "Volunteers" is quite extensive. The clerk in the Post Office says the Oshkosh Co. send and receive a third more mail matter than any other Company on the ground, last Monday morning over one hundred letters were sent by our Company to the Post office. Just imagine what an amount of pretty things must have been said. Any time during Sunday, in passing through the barracks, the boys could be seen in every conceivable shape, in upper and lower bunks, on the floor, and with boards on their knees writing with pencils. The girls must not find fault if their notes are not upon perfumed paper, and the chirography is not as neat as usual for the boys labor under many disadvantages, and its all right as long as they don’t "forget" them.
The boys are now singing in the barracks "Do they miss us at home?" In the line of amusements the "Volunteers" do their share, but of that I will speak in my next, also will speak of our field officers.
Many thanks for the extra copies of the COURIER, they are distributed among the boys and read with interest.
The last recruits were today sworn in, we now number 101 but expect a few will be rejected as physically incapacitated by the U.S. mustering officer. As ever, &c.,
YOHAN.