The Iowa ‘Ten Dollars’ Brigade:
On a last night in town before we left Camp,
I ran up a bar bill of $9.87 at Madam Cheri Casque’s Fine Wine Emporium.
Unfortunately, having left my wallet in one
of my other jackets, the only money I had with me was a $100 dollar bill secured
in the back of my note book for use in emergencies. The cashier did not
recognise the newly issued government note and referred me to the owner. Appreciating from the cut of my uniform that I
am a man of substance, Madam Cheri was good enough to accept an I.O.U.
for $10.00. This I will send via mail just as soon as our march takes me
to a town large enough to have a functioning Bank.
I received so much leg pulling from the
rest of the Mess that I have adopted this name for my Brigade as a badge of
honour.
Of course, I had to exchange the original
note for smaller denominations at the first opportunity but a later example of the
same note is shown below as way of illustration.
Paul De Krackere
