Annals of our ancestors; one hundred and fifty years of history in the ...

HOME BUILDING IN MINNESOTA 221
Zouaves were rushing to places of enlistment; officers mounted
on finely caparisoned horses passed through the streets with
waving plumes and martial music. On every side we felt the
thrill of war in the very air of our familiar city. I saw mothers
leaning on the arms of stalwart sons as they spoke their last
farewells, and among the hills the soldier boys each sought the
girl who was the dearest and best, just to reiterate the vows
spoken in brighter and happier days. I remember yet how
tense some of their young faces looked as they stood talking
most earnestly by the wayside. The excitement everywhere
was great.
Brother Joseph was driving the team of new horses father
had just bought, and it was well that the harness was also new
and strong and the wagon a stout army one, for when we got
into the tumult of that day they were quite fractious. The
sudden call of "Father Abraham" had brought a rush of
volunteers to the city. While waiting for suitable camps to
be selected the soldiers were drilling in the narrow streets,
which were ordinarily crowded thoroughfares. The booming
of the cannon over at the barracks, the noise of drums and
bagpipes, the bugle calls, and the great crowd, all united to
distract our new team. Brother Joe held on and father and
Alvah were ready to help as we drove into that surging mass
of omnibuses, hacks, coaches, and horse-cars. On the business
streets traffic became so congested as to demand the presence
of mounted police, who with clubs waving wildly in the air
would shout themselves hoarse calling for a break. The flash
of uniforms and arms, all so new and bright, is with me still.
How soon were those speckless accoutrements to be stained
and soiled on distant battlefields, although at the time it was
expected that in the space of three months peace would come
again!
The excitement in Cincinnati was the more intense because
of the proximity of the Kentucky line, and that state, in the
language of the times, was still "on the fence." All the
natural defenses there were seemed to be on the side of our
southern neighbor. We could scarcely find standing room in
the larger dry-goods stores, but we could hear the merchants