He was a type of the honest, honorable, self respecting American boy, who, as a soldier, the world has not equaled in the sixty centuries that war has been a profession.
I suggested to him that he was rather a youngster to be wearing veteran chevrons.

"Yes," said he, "I am not so old as some of the rest of the boys, but I have seen about as much service and been in the business about as long as any of them.

They call me 'Old Dad,' I suppose because I was the youngest boy in the Regiment, when we first entered the service, though our whole Company, officers and all, were only a lot of boys, and the Regiment to day, what's left of 'em, are about as young a lot of officers and men as there are in the service.

Why, our old Colonel ain't only twenty-four years old now, and he has been in command ever since we went into Vicksburg.

I have heard it said by our boys that since we veteranized the whole Regiment, officers, and men, average less than twenty-four years old.