1 Bucks County Intelligencer, No
Title October 29, 1861 Page 3
Col. 1 1
The ball opened for the week on Monday afternoon, by
the presentation of a national flag to the regiment, by the
ladies of Bucks county, the ceremonies of which were wit-
nessed by thousands of spectators. A brief sketch of the
proceedings was given in our last issue, and the full par-
ticulars will be found elsewhere. The large crowd of vis-
itors did not all disperse before darkness shut out a fur-
ther view of the volunteers and camp life.
The same afternoon, immediately after dress parade, and
while the regiment was still in line, handsome swords, the
gifts of personal friends, were presented to Capt. Warren
W. Marple and Lieut. James M. Carver. Capt. Marple’s
sword was presented to him, on behalf of the donors, who
reside in the vicinity of Davisville, by Gen. Davis. The
Captain received it in a very neat speech, expressing a
determination to put it to good use. Lieut. Carver’s
sword, the present of a few of his Buckingham friends,
was presented by Richard Watson, Esq., and received by
Col. Davis, both gentlemen making highly patriotic
speeches.
On Tuesday afternoon the entire regiment, with the ex-
ception of the artillery company, marched into town and
paraded through our principal streets, making a fine ap-
pearance. The men marched remarkably well for raw re-
cruits. A stranger would have supposed they had been
drilling for months. This is the result of unremitting at-
tention to the training of the men on the part of the com-
pany officers.
Watson P. Magill and John S. Williams, of Solebury,
visited the camp on Thursday for the purpose of seeing
that each man from that township and the borough of
New Hope was provided with the necessary articles for a
soldier’s comfort. There are sixty-seven volunteers from
the two districts now in the ranks of the Ringgold Regi-
ment. Each one is provided with a water-proof blanket,
a pair of home-made stockings, two towels, and many of
them with water-proof covers for their caps. In addition
to the sixty-seven men now at Camp Lacey, Solebury and
New Hope have furnished as many more to various com-
panies formed in adjoining parts of New Jersey, and to
Capt. Craven’s cavalry company. They have done well
for their country.
Thursday evening last was the time selected by the old
Doylestown Guards, who had been out in the three months’
service, under Captain Davis, for presenting to their
commander the sword voted him upon the day of their re-
turn home. At half-past seven o’clock the Court House
was filled with a large audience, nearly or quite half of
them being ladies. Captain Edward L. Rogers, a ser-
geant of the Guards, was called to preside. The weapon
was presented on behalf of the Guards by Edward J. Fox,
of Easton, and was received by Colonel Davis himself, the
acceptance being accompanied by some timely and well-
expressed remarks upon the present war and its causes.
The sword was a very handsome one, and as a testimonial
of regard from those who shared with him the trials and
dangers of the campaign last spring, will be highly prized
by the recipient. Subsequently, a sword and belt was
presented to Lieut. Henry W. Haney of Company A, by
some of his friends in Doylestown. The address to Lieut.
Haney was made by H. P. Ross, and was responded to by
Richard Watson, for the Lieutenant. The events of the
evening were interspersed with the music of the Ring-
gold band.
On Saturday evening last fifteen or twenty recruits for
the artillery company arrived from Reading. There are
still about forty men needed to make the company full.—
Captain Duncan’s company, from Philadelphia, and Capt.
Walter’s company, from Reading, are both still lacking
twenty-five or thirty men. All the other companies are
full or will be in a few days, each having the maximum
number of men.—101
The men are still without overcoats, and they have suf-
fered considerably in consequence, from exposure to the
damp, cold and frosty weather of last week. The coats
are expected to arrive in a day or two, when the outfit of
the men will be complete. The health of the regiment is
remarkably good, there being only about a half dozen
cases of sickness in the whole camp. This is remarkable
in a body of over one thousand men.
The dress parade on Sunday afternoon as usual, was
largely attended by visitors. Drum-Major John Hargrave
for the first time appeared in full regalia, and seemed to
be the centre of attraction. His head was crowned with
a prodigious “bear-skin” hat, about three and a half
stories high, and in his hand he flourished a ponderous staff,
surmounted by a large brass ball. As he marched across
the field, just in advance of the regimental band, thus
strangely decorated, the women smiled and the men
laughed outright, while the boys shouted out, “ What a
hat !”
Yesterday afternoon the entire Regiment excepting the
artillery, again paraded through Doylestown, marching
by platoons. The men marched well, and attracted gen-
eral attention.