Our
boys continue to drill on the field of their camp listening to every
command of the first sergeant and the instruction he henceforth
gives. Up and down the
drill fields in close ranks each man lazily in prefect step with the
other. This is our
grand army of Texans all proud, all making ready for the fight that
is sure to come. The
question remains, however, when will that day come?
How long would the brave men from Texas have to remain in
camp with nothing more to ponder, but the next day’s drill on the
field? An observer
could take note to the decline in discipline of once proud regiments
eager for battle with the blue clad invaders.
With their hopes made distant from lack of deployment from
the higher offices in Richmond, the boys from Texas have become
unruly and as lazy as a mule on a hot summer day. They appear in
good spirits amongst themselves, however, in spite of their apparent
tedium, laughing at jokes and idle conversation. There is also the
ever present lack of ranking officers anywhere in camp. This absence
of rank above sergeant is a continuance of concern.
The boys form up with their NCOs leading the long columns of
disgruntled troops and nowhere in sight is an officer present.
This concern has reached the floor of our Congress in
Richmond and the question there is, as it is in camp this day, who
will lead these men and when will these men be deployed?
The answers come with occasional statements from members of
the War Department that these men will be lead by a capable officer
and sent when they are ready and where they are most in need.
The possibility exists that Tennessee or Kentucky will be the
destined march of the Texas men, but constant bickering from
Generals with dispatches wired from the field keep these men in camp
losing the fire they once had.
The lack of officers to lead these men is of continued
concern that has reached the office of President Davis.
The President has refused comment of this issue and the top
men in the War Department continue to insist that the situation is
not to be taken as crises. The
First Sergeant of a Company of Texans commented that he had not seen
his Captain in some while, but is assured the Captain will be
forthcoming. The
First Sergeant, though popular with his boys, can’t keep the
battle eager Texans sharp as they drag through each drill unable or
unwilling to comply fully with his commands.
They carry a look of despair about their hopeless faces
fearful of being past over for glory.
Formations once solid and proud, now undisciplined, flow as a
stream that has had no rain to feed it.
Slowly forming dry flats with trickles of water filing past
in lazy small veins. Out
of step and out of hope dragging their feet in small lazy
formations. To the
observer these men must be deployed forthright or their usefulness
be spent.