Harper's included an extensive description of this illustration: "Mr. Homer shows us the interior of a hut, in which a glowing fire is blazing, shedding light and warmth about. Stretched on the floor, bunks, and seats, are soldiers in every imaginable position--smoking, chatting, reading, playing cards, and sleeping. In nearly every company, there is one sharp-witted fellow who can tell a good story. . . . The scene, while the narrator is harrowing the imaginations of his rapt hearers, and the red glare of the fire lights up odd spots in the darkness, is very striking."