Submitted to the Daily Reflector August, 2007

    For most soldiers, exposure in battle is a relatively rare occurrence.  The more common experience is the drudgery of camp life with its endless routines, reports, drills, parades and inspections.  This was as true for the soldiers of the Civil War as it is today for modern warriors today.  However, the modern soldier has the advantage of many electronic and communication devices as sources of amusement.   Union soldiers stationed in eastern North Carolina during the Civil War found that they frequently had to create their own entertainment.  One recent acquisition of the Verona Joyner Langford North Carolina Collection of ECU’s Joyner Library provides stunning evidence of just how far a group of bored young service men will go to relieve the tedium of their existence. 

      Il Recrutio: An Original Opera records the dramatic efforts “produced by a troupe of the Massachusetts 44^th Regiments, in barracks, at Newbern, N.C., on Wednesday evening, March 11, 1863, under the auspices of the Regimental Dramatic Club.”  The eight-page play was printed on a single folded sheet of lined paper similar to the type of paper used by army clerks to keep company rosters.  Joyner Library’s copy was apparently preserved in a scrapbook, and only five other copies are known to exist in American libraries. 

      The opera recounts the experiences of a fictional member of the regiment, from his recruitment in Harvard’s Boylston Hall to his surrender to the charms of a pretty “Secesh” maiden from Plymouth, by the name of Nancy Skittletop.  The play depicts the difficulties that the recruit encounters upon his introduction to military life, his sea voyage to North Carolina, and his valiant efforts in the “pursuit of personal safety and forage.”  Some scenes reference experiences specific to the 44^th Massachusetts, including their transportation on the new Merrimac and a hardtack throwing contest.  Changes of scenery were punctuated by songs or performances by the regimental band.  Over thirty soldiers participated in the production as actors, singers, orchestra members, scene painters, decorators, librettists, machinists, and even finance officers. 

      Recruited from Boston and eastern Massachusetts, the 44^th was a nine month regiment.  Arriving in Newbern in late October of 1862, the regiment erected its barracks on the west side of the Neuse River just north of town.  The green recruits were deployed almost immediately on Tarboro, where they received their baptism of fire near Rawle’s Mill, losing 2 killed and 10 wounded.  Their most serious engagement came in December near Kinston, where they lost 8 killed and 15 wounded at the battle of Whitehall.  After that, despite other expeditions to Goldsboro, Washington, Kinston and Plymouth, the most serious threat to their safety was disease.  Measles, meningitis, diphtheria, pneumonia and typhoid claimed 30 lives. 

      Il Recrutio was not the regiment’s only musical production.  Their first theatrical revue was a performance of songs, readings and “declamations” on Thanksgiving in 1862.  A New Year’s performance of scenes from A Merchant of Venice and “A Terrible Cat-ass-trophe on the North Atlantic Rail Road” was followed by a series of grand balls and masquerades.  At one, “ladies” dressed in skirts made from shelter tents and barrel hoops were “allowed to smoke.”  These activities were well documented in letters, memoirs and later histories by members of the regiment.  The North Carolina Collection has several volumes available for those wishing to glimpse the life of Union soldiers in North Carolina during the Civil War.

      Days after the debut of Il Recrutio, the regiment marched to the relief of little Washington, where five of their number were wounded in the Confederate attack on March 30, 1863.  April was a busy month for the regiment, with service in Washington, Newbern and Kinston.  On June 6, the regiment embarked for Boston.  Taking three days for the trip, the regiment was mustered out of service a week later.

Area residents and visitors as well as members of the university community are welcome to use the North Carolina Collection located on the third floor of Joyner Library.  Call 252-328-6601 or view the website at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/ncc/index.cfm.
 

John R.M. Lawrence is the head of the Verona Joyner Langford North Carolina Collection.