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FOLK-SONGS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 53
verses, and more singing than writing in the army and navy. There was not an absolute dearth, however, and the soldiers and sailors sometimes told their own stories or expressed their own feelings in verse. One of the best of these was written during the early days of the war by H. Millard, a member of Company A, Seventy-first Regiment, concerning the march from Annapolis to the Junction, and has the genuine flavor of soldiership as well as a fine spirit of camaraderie. It is entitled Only Nine Miles to the Junction : —
The Rhode Island boys were posted along
On the road from Annapolis station, As the Seventy-first Regiment, one thousand strong,
Went on in defense of the nation. We 'd been marching all day in the sun's scorching ray,
With two biscuits each as a ration, When we asked Gov. Sprague to show us the way, And " How many miles to the Junction ? " How many miles — how many miles,
And how many miles to the Junction ; When we asked Gov. Sprague to show us the way, And " How many miles to the Junction ? "
The Rhode Island boys cheered us on out of sight,
After giving the following injunction : 11 Just keep up your courage, you '11 come out all right,
For it's only nine miles to the Junction." They gave us hot coffee, a grasp of the hand,
Which cheered and refreshed our exhaustion ; |
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