Telling it like it is

[NH Civil War Gal]

I'm currently reading "Letters From The Storm" the Civil War Letters of Lt. J.A.H. Foster, 155th Pennsylvania Volunteers

"Porter Marshall, one of them is as poor a puke as I ever saw. He is too lazy to live almost, and he is the second Sergeant. The two Lieutenants are mere toadstools. They do nothing at all. They will set in the Quarters all day and without it is obligatory on them to go out. I thought that Caldwell would have made something of an officer, but I have been sadly deceived. But still he is a good deal better than the First Lieutenant. [He] is the greatest mope of a man I ever saw and knows about as much of military matters as a goose does about singing Old Hundred…"

 

[Copperhead-mi]

I'm currently reading "Letters From The Storm" the Civil War Letters of Lt. J.A.H. Foster, 155th Pennsylvania Volunteers

"Porter Marshall, one of them is as poor a puke as I ever saw. He is too lazy to live almost, and he is the second Sergeant. The two Lieutenants are mere toadstools. They do nothing at all. They will set in the Quarters all day and without it is obligatory on them to go out. I thought that Caldwell would have made something of an officer, but I have been sadly deceived. But still he is a good deal better than the First Lieutenant. [He] is the greatest mope of a man I ever saw and knows about as much of military matters as a goose does about singing Old Hundred…"

Feel the love!

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

I read this part out to my husband and he burst out laughing!

 

[lupaglupa]

Man buddy, don't hold back! What great quotes. That's one of the things I love about private communications. You know that after the War the reminiscences were significantly polished up - especially if someone died. But on the ground, at the time - it was a lot less varnished.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Man buddy, don't hold back! What great quotes. That's one of the things I love about private communications. You know that after the War the reminiscences were significantly polished up - especially if someone died. But on the ground, at the time - it was a lot less varnished.

That's what my husband loved about it - the realism of the whole thing to his wife. I have a cousin who is a real puke (and I'm not the only one in the family who says so!) and we were just talking about him this morning, so when I came across this and read it to my husband, how could you help but not laugh!

 

[SeaTurtle]

as poor a puke as I ever saw. He is too lazy to live almost

I swear I've heard those words straight from my elders on more than one occasion when I was a nipper Glad to see folks back in the 1860s had the same straightforward way of laying things out for you

 

[johan_steele]

I suspect the sentiment towards officers is as old as the soldiers gripe.