Very pleasant weather. Our division was inspected this
forenoon by General Smith. Two regiments in the division did not pass inspection
and were sent back to their “ranches” with the order to get themselves up in
better style and come back at 4 o'clock for inspection. The Eleventh Iowa was
complimented for its neat appearance. We were ordered to come over to General
Smith's headquarters at 5 o'clock in the evening to hold our dress parade. The
officers of the two disgraced regiments were ordered to appear at his
headquarters to see our regiment go through the manual of arms on our dress
parade. We returned to our “ranches” much elated over the high compliments we
had received from our division commander. We set to work at once preparing for
our dress parade, not even taking time to cook our noon-day mess. A number of
the boys were sent down town to buy all the white gloves and white collars they
could find, besides shoe blacking and shoe brushes, and then we spent all the
time till the parade in fixing ourselves up. We went over to the general's
headquarters looking our best, and every move ordered by our colonel was nicely
executed in the presence of the line officers of the other two regiments.1
_______________
1 The next day when we started for Raleigh,
one of those two regiments having marched out on the road ahead of our
regiment, was ordered to halt while ours passed to the front. While we were
marching by they could not find words strong enough to express their contempt
for us. — A. G. D.
Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B.,
Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 266-7
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