“Whenever I hear the fife and the drum And the bugles wildly play, My heart is stirred like a frightened bird, And struggles to break away: For the tramp of the volunteers I hear And the Captain’s sharp command, Left! left! left! he is near, And drilling his eager band.” Here we met brave, grand Mother Bickerdyke, who was such a tower of strength to her “boys,” and indeed, to all who came in touch with her. She had a large tent in the midst of the encampment, where she prepared nourishing food and dispensed hospital stores. When she learned our situation, that my mother prepared food with but a few poor cooking utensils, for ourselves, a nurse and the officers in our room, she immediately invited us to come to her tent for all the cooked food we needed. It fell upon me for the most part to carry it, not only for ourselves, but for some of the other inmates of the hospital. I made countless trips up and down the long, winding stairway, and many nights I could not sleep for tired and aching limbs, but I made no complaint. I was keeping my promise of being useful and was serving my country. My mother, however, saw that it was too much for me, and called a halt on it to some extent. We had a nurse, an artilleryman, whose name was Cole, but unlike “Old King Cole,” he was not a “jolly old soul.” He growled and grumbled constantly, and in these days we would call him a “kicker.” One day I started from the tent with more than I could carry, a glass of cherry preserves fell, the glass was broken and contents spilled. The next day, Cole was sent with me to assist in carrying our dinner. As we passed the cherries still lying in the dust, Cole growled out, “Just look at them good cherries; you ought to be made get down and lick ’em up.” I regretted the loss of the cherries as much as Cole, but I did not feel called upon to “get down and lick ’em up.” Cole meant well, however, and was a brave soldier, and if living I would like to know where he is today, for we took many walks together, from Mother B.’s tent up to the big brick house.