THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



429 



insanitary, and no substitute has yet been 

 provided. Light and air are the features 

 of the sleeping quarters. About 50 men 

 sleep in the same room. 



THE COMPANY BUSINESS OFFICE 



Cutting off one corner of the squad 

 room is a small room, about ten feet 

 square, fitted with a desk, a stool, a table, 

 and pigeonholes. From this room the 

 business of the company is administrated. 

 It is the office of the first sergeant. 



The second story of the barracks is 

 given over entirely to sleeping quarters, 

 and is large enough to hold in comfort 

 one hundred cots, while in emergency 25 

 more could be accommodated. The up- 

 per story squad rooms in general appear- 

 ance are similar to large school dormi- 

 tories. 



Many of the men of these Virginia 

 regiments never before saw the luxury of 

 the lavatory conveniences that are built 

 in a small house flanking the barracks — 

 hot and cold shower-baths, wash-boards, 

 every item that modern plumbing pro- 

 vides. Many hotels in the country dis- 

 tricts do not boast the style of lavatory 

 here built for the soldiers. 



As this is a work army in every sense 

 of the word, in the barracks there is not 

 as much space devoted to recreation pur- 

 poses as otherwise might be expected. If 

 it were not for army traditions, the mess 

 hall could serve as a lounge, reading and 

 writing room for the new soldiers, and 

 some captains have so far broken with 

 tradition as to allow the men to use the 

 mess hall for these purposes when the 

 kitchen and cleaning work is done. But 

 what with the buildings erected at the 

 instance of the Young Men's Christian 

 Association and the Knights of Colum- 

 bus, the men of the National Army find 

 a club at the home door. 



Beyond the line of barracks is the 

 building for the regimental exchange, 

 which is a sort of village store in each 

 little community, and beyond this is the 

 regimental warehouse, where the clothing 

 and equipment of the soldiers are stored 

 before being distributed. 



With this summary of the streets and 

 houses of the soldier city, let us pass to 

 the story of the people living here. 



PURE AMERICAN BEOOD AT PETERSBURG 



Perhaps Camp Lee, and certainly the 

 159th Brigade, can claim in its enlisted 

 personnel the purest American blood of 

 any camp throughout the country. Most 

 of these Virginians trace their lineage 

 back to the days of the colonies, and the 

 only noticeable strain that in a few in- 

 stances colors the Anglo-Saxon is a trace 

 of the Indian. 



Should an Englishman read over the 

 localization order for this brigade he 

 might imagine it a call for his home 

 soldiers. Men from Middlesex, Surry, 

 and Kent are in one company ; in an- 

 other Westmoreland, Northumberland, 

 and Northampton have furnished quotas, 

 and scattered throughout the other bat- 

 talions are soldiers from the counties of 

 Lancaster, York, Warwick, Bedford, 

 Richmond, Sussex, Southampton, and 

 Isle of Wight. Company roll-calls sound 

 like a lesson in English history — Buck- 

 ingham, Brunswick, Cumberland, Bath, 

 and Halifax — or in literature, for one 

 company has a squad composed of Addi- 

 son, Arnold, Johnson, and Meredith. 



One given to philosophizing would have 

 had much to reflect upon could he have 

 seen these descendants of the first Royal 

 Virginia colonists gathered in a hollow 

 square around the division headquarters 

 flag on the anniversary of the composi- 

 tion of the national anthem and heard 

 them sing the "Star Spangled Banner." 

 That ceremony marked a cycle of civili- 

 zation. 



But this camp is a true cross-section of 

 our country, and it would not be fair to 

 allow partiality for our native stock to 

 blind us to the qualities of the Pennsyl- 

 vanians and West Virginia miners who 

 are selected for the other units of the 

 division. 



THE STORY OF THE SERGEANT WHO 

 SNEEZED 



These are the sediment of the melting 

 pot. The description is not meant as a 

 reflection on the quality of the men, but 

 rather for the aptitude of the classifica- 

 tion. Among them are found Poles, 

 Lithuanians, Greeks, Syrians, Italians, 

 and even Austrians, who have no place 

 here ; all the conglomerate mass of hu- 



