, 1861-04-30
CAMP UNION,
Life in Camp--A Missouri Convention
nelaEate..1nteFest !ReltGloUa Ex .
eEctses by DR.. CLARK h8oaaRe9nforce3
-E0nthern Refugees. efc.

..<,..> ?Clmo, April n 1s61., /
True to her nature, April has given Us many
glimpses Of her changefnl mood, now clear
aud sunny as the face Of innocent, happy
childhood; now: cloudy and overcast, a. 1iEe
This morning the sun rose under cloud, and
before noon big drops Of rain began to come
down, with occasional gusts Of wind that for
q time made guard duty neither pleasant nor
romantic, and walking, unless upon the plank
ed streets, decidedly Improbable for patent
feathers and pumps. Dreaxy. AZ it looked and :
really was, the boys, as + could plainly see
from my window, went about their usual du-
ties and occupations with the same zeal and
energy as though moody April had not come
to grief, weeping. great tearB Of rain In the
yexation other spirit. The officers, too, were
In no wise behind, and I am glad to say that
the kid glove soldier certainly has no repre-
sentative In the ranks at Cairo, though sleep:
legitimate matter for 8 Joke. In abiding to
this must not be understoodas asserting that
they were exposed to any serious inconVen-
ience. The tents were secure against rain
and the soldiers prevented from chance OF
Illness by thick blankets and plenty Of hay.
No doubt there are many among them who
never before in the whole course OF their lives
slept elsewhere than inside a four poster, In q
warm room and plenty Of nice blankets, ar
ranged every day by an aftectionate mother or
loving sister. I only speak Of It as IN instance
of the brave, determined spirit OF our gallant
volunteers. They have uttered no complaints,
and it would be hard to get them to do so. All
honor to. the brave hearts. On pleasant
nights, gathered together in squads, or fndls-
criu,inately, they make the air musical With
songs, patriotic, sentimental and War1ike. For
instance, last night fair Cynthia's beams were
unsullied by cloud or ausght to mar It's .clear
bright beauty, an unres1st1ng invitation tor
1yvato NJ HaTnT %a5
by these and choice cigar, Zone Of Dntfey'a
super extras). allowed myself to be led like
others away from my cosy seat on the ba1co~
nv, and wandered inside the camp passing
along the leVee. You can hardly imagine the
beauty Of the scene, the peaceful, swift How
ing river, the just heard buckets Of some pass.
Ing steamer striking the water, the bright
red lightnf the scattered camp fires, with here
!. ard there the silver looking white Of some
tent, and between the fres the groups Of
rough accontred soldiers singing. This group
nearest where stand, some dozen perhaps
Banner with three times three for additional
zest to their cheerful spirits. Another, little
further on, are less boisterous'y inclined, and
having lust finished Annie Laurie, are now at
work upon Home, Sweet Home, the render
ing Of which would not, think, be eatistacto-
ryto the critically inclined. But thereis aheart,
feeling, in it that assures you for the time
that they are thinking Of the loved ones there.
Yondsr, just against the stables, and I take it
from that locality, is agroup Of Capt ely
bcurne's Zouaves, You can hear some one
evidently making his first speech. The sub
ject Is q good one, let the ntyle Gifts giving be
what it viii. About its reception yon can be
easily satisfied. The shouts OF laughter snd
applause are sufficient guarantees Of that.
Less disposed to lose any time, even when
most fatigued, tAls group over here are busy
practicing the sword and bayonet drill. Ugly
things those are in the hands Of well drilled
soldfefs.
Sitting by the freside you imagine, reader,
th.t our boys are suffering unacconntable dis
than mine hosts Of the Richmond, Briggs or
fremont, allow their recruits to-. But camp
life il rough, yes, and ready one, too, and
military Life on duty In time Of var, neceEsi-
tates preparation, for sudden emergencies Of
all kinds;'' and this latter remark leads me to
request your readers to use their usual grains
Of allowance for flying reports Of an attack On
Camp Union There IL no doubtthat trouble,
immediate trouble, and. serious too, will en-
sue soon after an order arrives for the deteu-
tion Of ell boats whether going up u down,
for examination, but that probably will not
come Just yet Meantime, batteries Of several
guns each, are now planted, entrenched and
and sErmishers, at five different points, COM
manding the approaches to our territory fer q
distance OF several miles; ond these batteries,
all may be assured will be maintained. Capt
Hayden is at Big Muddy with large force
aud two guna, and Lieut.. Shepley Is at Cash
on the I. G. E. R., so that it is easy to be seen
no opposing force can reach Cairo, without
stumbling across come one Of our outposts
and getting some introduction cards By way
Of q courteous reception. Beside all this, the
boys are imbned with little Of Richard
Humpback's spirit and are "eager for the
fay.'
officers and men In the arduous work Of rem
dering the brigade organ!zation and drill as
| perfect as possible. Col Prentiss Is ably 49,
sisted by COTS Baldwin and Scott, Majors
| Webster, Mitchell, aad Commissaries Fowler
and Rutherford. The medical department;
ven and Everett, is in perfect order. The
'riledn up waters Of the Mississippi end
Ohio are rather unhealthy for the boys. but
care has been taken to remedy it as much as
Is possible to do.
| Reports continue to come in from people
bound up the river from the lower Mississip
| pi, in regard to the ontrages committed
against Union people in Memphis, Nashville
| aud other secession towns and cities, in most
| cases, however, they are so exaggerated as to
be beyond credeuce and it Is needless to re-
tail them again unless assurance be given oi
| their reliability.
In this town there Is constant npprehen
SIGN Of an attack by night. Though seldom
spoken Of by the residents, they nevertheless
live In constant fear, and are, it IL said, pre-
pared to evacuate st a very short notice.
There are some secessiopists here, but they
are, for the most part, dlscreetly SILENT having
/ discovered the wisdom Of the precaution
| opinion if he docs not accompany it witt
threats.
| Col. Prentiss was yesterday rendered com
pany Of eighty volunteers from this p'ace
which had been named after him, the "Pren
tiss Guards" They will probably act IS I
home guard for the present.
Curses not only deep, but very loud, hav.
been sprinkled over the devoted head Of th,
captain Of the steamer G. E. Hillman, who Dc
serted her with all his crew, frightening ths
passengers to doing likewise, and throwing
the boat On to the hands Of the Govern
ment.
Large quantities OF coal are here In flat
boats, Which the owners are striving hard Il
dispose Of, hut find it very difficult to f1ni
purchasers. They are afraid to 70 away ant
leave it; aud to take the boats farther up tn,
river, and moor them, would defeat al chan
ces Of sale.
Quite a number of Chicago people cam.
down Saturday morning to see the camp ant
bring some forgotten neeessaries, or else littl.
deIlcacies, to their friends, and deliver other!
for relatives and friends in Chicago. Rev. DR.
Clarkson, James Grant Wilson, Geo. stnrges
aud James Smith, Esqs., we. Q among them. 4
dinner the two latter entertained number o
/ their friends.
The Light Guard Band was looked for b,
the same train, aud great Was the dtsappoint
ment when 1t was found they had not arrived
| The music Of the band would do much tt
cheer the boys, and 1t Is to be hoped they vii
be ordered here, and not to Springfield,
Small boats arc constantly crossing the rive
above and below the town, as well as past here
It is impossible to stop them, or copjectur,
their mission, Fiat boats heavily laden ar,
to be seen all day long lazily floating with th,
tide down to the lower country.
No boats have been fnterfered With yet, IN
i less Epecial orders hare arrived to that purpose
Only munitions Of war were ordered seized
Provisions heye not been tonched.
Agood, large, strong magazine Is very uucl
i needed here- 1t will soon become an impera
tive necessity, which should be looked out fo
In time. It might be built large enough to &C
commodnte stores es well as Pertaining to bot!
tie Quartermaster and Commissariat Depart
| ments,
In very few days, learned this evening
good, substantial, permanent barracks VII
have been buiit, when our men can be quar-
tered, safe from the ecorching sun aud driving
rain. They will be needed before this plaet
Will be released from military occupancy
Major: j. D. Webster, Of your city, Of Mexl
can war notoriety, is an experienced engineer
as can be seen BY his disposition Of the TariouI
batteries that gnaru the approaches to Cairo
made honorable mention, has the rank OF Col
| onEl and is acting Adfutaut of fhe Bripa1e