New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-12-11
NUMBER 239..
western Mnitary Correspondence


Excues of your Correspondents, Weather at ourabus
How the soldiers Stand r.--Taeir ronpd Houses or
Gopher Hoes-sovsl Appearance of the Camp on the
H1i-snowbslfng by yPireght-Undergro,nd Jouty-Ijfs
Under Groand-A Roaadsbout opnfsn sbsnt he Ssxt
Bate-Ths Mosquito FleeIts 4adacau. yssi. IL Fort
/ Hois-ThrteeDth Louisiana sna Third M;u,i,sini 1so
nents-Jea. Thompson and Picture Of HnArrgai II
| Camp jackson Prisopsrs-Fute Pilgrimage. Of Loving
L Husbsnd--Jef TIiornp.on,s Chat viii eo
I Asectohste partIng-And Another Exeuse Or yonr Cor
| respondent, = : sl,s g,.-E i7r.sTrss 4 = =
-, s.. --,,E.., ,y.s s..y
p''''' W '''' ''" "i'e@HA efesesn"i s'
r,,s sgr.lH - 1o.oshes Af'' pee- = ir"h 2
a1Hr. Edsaor-As this point appears just now
from all can hear, to be point Of unusual inter
est to the whole country and to the south in mar
ticular nresume II vvilI NJ, ho a;saaraa.h,s 70
uou - y, ~ ns' "
you and your feaaers 70 near again from your reg
ular but lately irregular, rather silent CORES
pondent NV transfer from the Continental
cnard. and ,be eleventh Reoiroent 10 INV r,rssent
...' anN o I,:s.t - 9Is.sss1 80
position In hennedys fl1th Louisiana Battanon,
brought with it an amount of military business
before which the old Inxury of nv leisure hours-
sa.;,, h,;.x o., ,,o rraaoant bod =, h atanaoro5
s'tiopHnS iei "e 1As'. " W -
But am getting fixed now, and hereafter, when
ever anything of interest turns up, I'll be able,
think IN writa Won something abontit. -
W 80, 80 - ~, ns,aa,a dr,r;r,, a.. ,o.o
iou EMO" I was IN NEW ofieahs uuiihg 1he iate
warm spell. You should have been with me when
reached Columbus, if for nothing more than to
experience the sudden climatic change. The even
ing arrived, wet and muddy spell was just Civ
ing way to freezing northern blast. The wind
howled over the hills and sang shrily amid the
leafless trees water coDgealed; mud ossifed for
three DAYS there was as bitter freezing speil as
ever visited this part of Kentucky Then came
few days Of thaw, followed by rain, more cold
wind sleet, and finally the first snow storm of the
season. Then another thaw, and mud and slush
BY the ocean, travel awful on level ground, and
perfectly terrific in the ascent and descent OF this
now bleak military hill on which we are encamped
Then another bitter freeze, and another snow
storm and again partial thaw, with oceans of
mud in the sunny places, and snow and frozen mud
still holding possession in the shady places tell
you we have had one good touch Of winter, and
have small fear of having to endure any WORSE
After all this, you will naturally ask, how
do the soldiers stand it? how are thew shell
tered? i can tell Won that. owing to a peneraIv
bountiful supply Of clothing, thew stand it first
rate; and, owing chiefly to their own exertions,
| many of them are yery comfortable and some of
| them even luxQriousy ouartered. Thonrh the
nature of things hereabout renders il stili uncer
| tain whether we are to winter here or not the
military authorities have been providing lumber
to the best Of their ahility an far the s1nnIu ha
not met one fourth the demand: lie batteries and
| the artillery companies had the call and have It
yet But the tide Of lumber il still nourir IN nv
river and by railroad, and the infantry viii soon
| have all they need
During the bitter cold smell Of which I have
spoken many of the regiments ceased waiting for
lumber and went to cntting timber. bnildns ia
cabins and digging eartb-houses in the hilI sides
or gopherhoIes, as many of the boys call them.
Others boarded up the ends or sides of their tents
with such plank as could be found without prard
over IT. and hosts Of the tents are decorated With
chimneys made OF mud. brick boards. barrels az
| anything handy The amount Of digging already
| done is predictions. and the earth.honse are =
| sight to see, inside and ont A more novel OF
stranpe.lookinp camn thar, fis Il at prasant hss
| certainly never been seen on the American CONT,
nent since the revolution The other night az the
camp-fires and the rays Of light from the chinnevs
or smoke-hoes Of the eartbhonses lii nm the fail.
ing snow with ruddy alare. showing tents. hoard
shanties, logcabins, earth and ali covered
alike with the white blanket of Boreas, the scene
called to mind what we have ali heard and read ii
| that terrible winter of old in VALLEY Forge. Bnt
here there was no sueh snffering. The Rei,mnf.
fled sentnels trod their beats With contented air
whilst many Of the soldiers, espeeially The Lonis.
| ianans indulped nipbt 40 it was in he most ~,
roarious bouts at snow. .balIing. Mnsic and other
| sounds of good cheer, besides were to he heard
| for all the snown-storm, I heard one sdelicians
chorus of manly voices, which seemed to issue
| from the air ahoye-nnvv bareno1y tbaro and
again nowhere in narticujar. Pnzzled T~inyasti.
| gated the mystery, til found that the sona
| was in one of the gopher-holes. the melody com.
ing out at the chimney with the smoke Of the
| blazing fire below + sbonla 1,nnnton tbe+ mo
Of these earth.houses are constructed mon scien.
| ti6c principles, with regard to the heath of the
occupants; especially those on the ravinea. which
| are rather dug into the hillside than dnwnvard
| into the earth, Many of them after he;ng dne
1 have been thoronphly baked with fire tbns ba r5
| ending and driving the bottom. ana sides ther
covered firmly with logs and other rafters in tbe;,
/ turn covered with earth font or more tbicie.
| big Fireplace and eycayated chimney are at The
| inner end; the mess table and cooRinp th;ngs
! come next the fire aud then. aronnd the onte,
end, or entrance, come the wooden sIeenino
banks, ranged one over another three tiers deen7
| steamboat fashion. Others, dug in level ground
| have only tents for covers with the cots Or he'd
level with the EARTH surface whilst the cooking
and eating is done deem in the earth beneath. NJ
this luxury, bear in mind, is enioyed oniy by 4
| portion of the army--those who are good d;euars
and underground architects, and have the luck te
| be posted where the ground slopes or where there
| is room for such improvements There are thon
1 sands who still have no better shelter than thei,
1 little flimsy tents which the wjntry gales fan anf
crack like Whip-lashes over them as thew lie smne
| gled together in their blankets at night. Thest
are all waiting patiently for the lumber and 1yhe1
1 it arrives, the barracks will 90 I'M like magic =
that is, should the enemy not rout us out of here
| as they lately thought Of doing
You will of course desire to know all that I know
in reference to the threatened attack here. on,
means of resisting it, and all that sort of thing
will not, like some high.falutin correspondent
| who have been here, merely rendering the dark
ness more visible set forth how breaEfasted viii
Cox This and dined with Gen. That and how al
My information is from the most highly reliabl
and severely respectable sources, and then launel
forth into labyrinth of possibilities and prohahil
tiles as to what we or the enemy may or NAV no