Lifestyles of the Rank & File

Lifestyles of the Rank and File. . You're standing in front of one of the five barracks at Fort Randall. Enlisted men were originally housed in log structures. These were replaced in the early 1870s with framed, two-story buildings., Captions: , Frame barracks at Fort Randall, about 1886. These buildings were much more comfortable than the original log barracks. The soldier in the foreground is airing his mattress on the parade ground., The interior of the barracks at Fort Robinson in northwest Nebraska. The barracks at Fort Randall probably looked similar., Book pages: , Our first winter at Fort Randall we were ill prepared for the rigors of so severe a climate as to clothing, food, quarters, and medical stores. Men died from exposure and from scurvy, and many animals succumbed to starvation. The miserable log barracks were unfit for stables. Medical science knew but little concerning the prevention or cure of cholera. It was up to each man to guard himself as his intelligence might dictate., I was frequently excused from guard duty in severe weather by being selected as commanding officer's orderly. There was great rivalry for this selection among the soldiers, for the orderly had an easy time. He could sit in a warm room in the commanding officer's quarters and carry a few messages during the day.