Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1861-12-13
|oUR ARMY CORRESPONDENCE
FoRT ScoTT, KANSAS, Nov. 10.

|
fl FoRr ScoTT, KANSAS, Nov. 10.
S DEAR JOURNAL: After silence of sever
Y weeks will attempt to giveyou some accou
o of our wanderings to and fro. We arrived
e this meanest Of all mean places last Frid;
e morning at 10 o'clock, after one of the harde
S marches on record. isr
Since my last communication we have ira
S eled over 400 miles, passing through portion
, of the counties of jackson, Cass, JOhnso
, Henry, St. Clair, Polk, Cedar, Dade, Gree
az Barton, and encounterng every variet
, of people from the full blood fire eating IS
cesh" to the pretended Union man, whinrr
over his mislol tunes like hound, as he gel
orally is. eF ...-7
) Several times we enc4mped upon the groun
where Price had built his fires before us, o
his retreat from Lexington, and that is jus
about as near as we could get to them; the
being ten days ahead of us. We crossed tn
Usage at Osceola, or rather the place wher
Osceola was, for it was then only mass G
Of ruins-the result of former visit. Thirt
kegs of powder, two hundred pigs of lea
and other items were found hurled in ra
vine near the town, and it was said that SO,
600 in gold was found among the ruins of tn
banking nOuSe.i tf ftt.. 35 rt t.G-
From Osceola our march was toward Spring
field to Hnmmansville, a small village twenty
five miles distant. Here our command wa
overtaken by that of Gen. Sturgis, who hat
followed in our rear from Kansas City. Som,
| misunderstanding had existed between Lam
and Sturgls previous to our leaving that place
and in consequence Lane was ordered to NOV,
toward Kansas, which he did, and after two
days march reached .Montevillo, in Cedar
county, where we were Overtaken by dis
patches from Fremont, and our course wa:
again turned toward Springfield. We were
now in the region of the Ozark Mountains, 9
wild and uninhabited waste Q2t cent lands
perhaps.) ..4
One morning, while passing a cabin squat
ted on the only level spot we had seen fo1
hours, our column was attacked by ''seccsh.' u
The forces consisted of q squad Of lop -eared
dogs, led on by woman with squalling baby
in her arms with tho old man posted behind
the half open door of the cabin, in reserve.
The old lady commenced the attack by a
loud "hurrah fer jeff. Davis, and the dogs
yelped and the reserve hid under the bed
One of our valiant corporals advanced to
the charge, but was finally driven back by
and bis ''nigger equality" and his ''nigger'
Vice President. l
All attempts to bring our forces to the
scratch" were useless, and the old lady con-
tinued her yelling until we fell off the tdge of
their plantation into the next ravine.
FromMontevillo to Greenfield was our next
move, where we found Sturgis again, and
where we had the promise of day or two OF
rest, and our mp was being comfortably ar
ranged with that expectation, when suddenly
at o clock, while everything was in full
headway for a good supper and good nights
sleep, "strike tents and prepare for night
march, was the order, and just as the sun
went down we moved out for Springfield,
distant forty miles.
At midnight we halted to allow the train
to come up with US. We had made most
miserable march; tumbling over rocks and
falling into bitches, h; If a dozen deep We
scrambled our way for fourteen miles without
hating.
At the first streak of day we were off
again travelled five miles to wood and water
got breakfast, and were moving again at ten
o'clock, and that evening at sunset, weary
foot-sore, and covered with dust, we entered
Springfield, where already several divisions
of the Grand Army of the West were as
sembled.
For several days division after di-
vision came in, until every nook and
corner about the town was occupied as a
camping ground, and along every roadway
troops of horse and parties of men were con-
tinually passing. Hen e was splendid op-
portunity for display of the ''pomp and Cir
cumstance of war" Behold yonder group of
officers, in all the glory of blue coats, gilt
buttons and flashing sabres. They 60 dash
ing by, with rowels buried in the fanks of
spawned horses, and bearing upon their bur-
dened shoulders the ensignia Of their rank
Here we see son of Italy, whose broken
English, irreproachable mustache, and excel
lent Judgment in the matter of brandy
smashes, have rendered him a fit object for
promotion to the staff. His organ and mon
kew are exchanged for the sword and spurs
Yonler is a person of more humble rank, an
American by birth. His blue coat, fastened
by single row of brass buttons, brass plates
upon his shoulders, and long, straight sword
swinging gracefully from buckskin belt,
proclaim his rank to be Sergeant of the
Guard" Sergeant Of the Guard: About
face Your sentimental nonsense in regard
to the poetry of war may we'll vanish, as you
discover that his immaculate blue coat, with
its buttons of brass, is not of sufficient length
in its neither extremity to conceal the fact
that our Sergeant is also color bearer, if a
bearer of flag Of truce can be so called
Alas for the pomp and circumstance of war
Why we did not fight at Springfield is a
question that puzzles many a man who
thought he was going there for no other pur-
pose Every division had come in on a forced
miles, in "a hours The enemy occupied the
field where Lyon fell Fremont was no long
er in the way, and has blunders could no long
er hinder our onward march. We had plenty
of men and plenty of guns, and the men
were ready for the work; but aOe did not
fght Eight days were lost in idleness-the
enemy were then gone-and the grand army
was divided.
Our brigade commenced its march for Kan
sas on the 9th instant, passing through
Greenfield to lamar, Benton county, from
which place about 1900 men, detailed from
the Sd and 9th cavalry, and accompanied by
Robb's battery of Indiana artillery (Which
Joined us at Sprngfeld) made a march of q
miles to the southeast, with the intention o.
surprising rebel camp at Bowers Mills
The infantry were placed in wagons, and &
night march was made, but the bird had fowr
before we reached him. Our horses ant
mules were fed on secession corn, and at day
break we turned toward our camp, which WI
found deserted, Lane having left orders fo1
the other regiments to move on toward For
Scott Nothing was left but for us to follow
on, and it was 10 o'clock at night before w
got into camp, having travelled about 30 mile
in 80 hours, on one meal. Our tents having
been slowed into the baggage wagons of tn
4th, we were obliged to bunk down on ou
blankets.
had made my he'd, and was lying in il
sound asleep, my head resting upon cart
ridge box, when was aroused by vigorou
shaking, and loud voice proclaimed, Let
ters for company e." A couple Of letter
from home, and copy Of the journal, wer
thrust into my hands, and straightway l re
turned to the arms of Morphey, or some othe