se old regiments was business,
indeed, for us. Could we do it and keep up our end? It was certainly
asking a great deal of a two weeks' old regiment. But it was the making
of us. We were now a part of the old Gibraltar brigade. Our full address
now was "One Hundred and Thirty-second Pennsylvania Volunteers, First
Brigade, Third Division, Second Army Corps, Army of the Potomac." Our
own reputation we were now to make. We were on probation in the
brigade, so to speak. These veterans were proud, and justly so, of
their reputation. What our relation to that reputation was to be, we
could see was a mooted question with them. They guyed us without measure
until the crucial test, the "baptism of fire," had been passed. This
occurred just ten days later, at the battle of Antietam, the greatest
battle of the war thus far, where for four bloody hours we held our
section of the brigade line as stanch as a rock. Here we earned our
footing. Henceforth we belonged to them. There was never another
syllable of guying, but in its place the fullest meed of such praise and
comradeship as is born only of brave and chivalrous men.

CHAPTER II

THE ORGANIZATION AND MAKE-UP OF THE FIGHTING MACHINE CALLED "THE ARMY."

We remained a day in bivouac after joining the Gibraltar brigade at
Rockville, during which rations of fresh beef, salt pork, and "hardtack"
(the boys' nickname for hard bread) were issued to the army, also
ammunition.

The method of issuing rations was as follows: Colonels of regiments were
directed to send in requisitions for so many days' rations, depending on
the movements on hand, of hard bread and pork, and usually one day's
rations of fresh beef. At brigade head-quarters these requisitions were
consolidated, making the brigade requisition, and forwarded to division
head-quarters. Here they were again consolidated into a division
requisition, and so on until the army head-quarters was reached. Then
the corps commissary received in bulk enough for his corps, and
distributed it to the divisions in bulk, thence to brigades in bulk,
thence to regiments, and finally from the regiment to the companies, and
to the men. A long string of red tape, surely; and it might have been
considerably shortened to the advantage of all, as it was later on.

[Illustration: REV. A. H. SCHOONMAKER CHAPLAIN]

[Illustration: J. W. ANAWALT MAJOR AND SURGEON]

[Illustration: G. K. THOMPSON FIRST LIEUT. AND ASS'T SURGEON]

An interesti