Practical Jokes Are Played Among The U. S. Signal Corpsmen

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War-date Union soldier's letter, 5 2/3pp. 8vo., written by a certain "A. V. Hover", U. S. Signal Corps, Morris Island, S. C., Jan . 13, 1865, to his fellow signal corpsman Daniel D. Barrows, reading, in part: "…there is a double watch kept on the station and…we had more men detailed six from the 52nd P. A. We have in all 14 men…money is scarce now…we could not get up much for Christmas dinner. The boys all got drunk…the honorable Sergt Bee and two naval somethings were our honored guests at the table…Bee kept us laughing all the time…Dick let me have a pack of cards which you will get…give my respects to Carg and tell him not to look at the cards as they are not ment for boys to look at…[Johnny] Graham is tenting with me. He nearly plagues the life out of me…I would not have let him in…if I could have got a stove, anything rather than freeze…did you know that Lieut. intended that Johny go instead of Hover. I guess Duke did not know who he wanted, he drank so much punch anyway that…after you left Johny and the rest of us were working at the new workhouse when Lieut went to the B. k. and happening to look up he saw Johny. He stops short and sung out…why are [you] not with them. [Then] Ryan drops his shovel and commences looking at Duke…are gown to the dock to leave for the Head. Johny rams his hands to the bottom of his pockets, spits, kicks the sand and finely comes up standing on the sides of his feet. Tells the D that that was the first he had heard anything about leaving but says Johny I am all ready to go. Duke puts his hands in his coat pockets, draws it tight across his --, and wakes to the B. k. Johny then commenced running from his tent to the serge's' and from there to the place we were working…he would kick the sand and spit and kept saying he was ready…he wanted to go bad. We had him most crazy. Some would tell him to go and get ready and others would tell him not to go…without orders…he did not know what to do…A. V. Hover.". A copy of a war-date image of Hilton Head's signal corps station, taken by New Hampshire photographer Henry P. Moore, is included. VG 500-700 (Photocopy of Hilton Head's signal corps station is included). VG

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