The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1861-11-13
McGREG0R, IOWA, WEDNESDAY, NOV. l3, 1856
Army COrrespondenee.
Birds Po1Sr, NO.,
Nov, 1St 1861

Army Correspondence.
BIRDS POINT, Mo-,
| Nov. 1st, 1861.
Dear Times 1T is so long since we
have held converse with your readers that
it seems IAN age" and it is hard to tell
where our last left of, but no matter; for.
malities will not do nowadays, and we
venture on fire at the heap of "things''
each of which affords sufficient text for a
letter. You are aware Of our exit from
Potosi, Of our brief stay at Benton Bar.
ricks and of our arrival here. While at the
Barracks we enjoyed several cosy chats
with numerous friends in the ninth Iowa,
one Of the finest regiments the Hawkeye
State has sent to the field Having occa.
sion to visit several of the Hospitals at ST.
Louis We were much pleased to note the
air Of comfort and ncatness which seemed
10 pervafc them all. Several Of our boys
were there stretched upon beds Of sick
ness, and receiving all the care and atten-
ton that could be asked for. We were
peculiarly struck by the extraordinary ef.
forts made by the ladies' Of St. Louis to
render every aid to the suffering soldiers.
Every delicacy which kind heart could
think Of was freely offered. The Hospi-
tai in charge Of the Sisters of Mercy in
St. Louis, which we visited, was made the
home Of large number of sick soldiers
The spirit of Christian charity shown by
this institution is highly commendable.-
Many a poor soldier has abundant reason
for gratitude toward the Charitable insti-
tutions Of the Catholic Churches of St.
Louis. The Sisters Of Mercy have render
ed every attention to the sick, and but for
their kind attentions themortality reports
would be more gloomy than they now are,
for it was impossible to accommodate all
the sick from the army, in the other hos
pitals Of St. Louis.
Well, here we are at last, at that most
dreaded of all spots to Iowa Volunteers
Birds Point. There has been feeling per-
vadins Iowa troops averse to going to this
place. Send us to Texas, feed us boiled
owls on the plains. starve Us to shoe lsath.
cr diet in the Rocky Mountains, quuter US
on the blades Of South Carolina-srass,
send us to roast on Mason and nixon's
Line, and let us hang on the South Pole,
or dine on alligators in the swamps Of Lou
isinn t,,t tI,n nc ~
jackson, Zach Taylor and all the saints in
. frceman's calender, don't send us to
Birds Point! Such has seemed to be the
sentiment Of all Of the Iowa boys with
whom We have talked. If you mset one of
them who is so pale and thin that it takes
. platoon Of the kind to cast shadow,
and you enquire what's the matter, the re-
ply is-"Bird's Point" Here We are at
this focus Of all filth, this magazine Of all
disease, this wart, upon the face Of the
western continent, this point in our progress
which has proved period" final stop,
the last pause to many gallant heart, here
we-the Iowa Scvcnth-are squatted in the
sand, with our tents plump upon the
hanks of the Mississippi, the great, wide
gaping, frothy mouth of the Ohio just
above us, Missouri "botto,n" at our rear,
a forest below, and tents of Fort Holt in
Kentucky across the river, in front.
We have ''seen the clcphantr ~ this is
where he stops. We are here on this
much abused spot and-wc still live, cat,
drink and sleep here we have come as near
Icing here as soldier can. and we declare
upon the honor, the undoubtcd veracity of
a newspaper correspondent that Birds
Point is not only healthy, but it is per-
fectly delightful place to live in for wild
cats, rattlesnakes and hedgehogs! lfany-
body denies this assertion let him consider
himself challenged to fight it out with
"aRy other man." The soil here is excel
lent, indeed the finest we ever saw, SO fine
that much Of it is carried southwark, every
season. The composition seems to be-af:
ter a minute cxamination--ninety- mine one
hundredths sand, and the balance is
sandy. The natural products appear to be
soldiers, sick soldiers, strapped soldiers (this
is not hit at commissioned gcntlemen,)
mules, suffers, newSboys, Cairo measles,
teanstcrs, gingerbread pcddlars, grave dig.
gers-the most common class-ca,np fe-
vers, cold nights, orderly sergeants, roll
calls, and g"lloping aguc by the quantity.
So you see it is very rich country The
climate is salubrious, very. The sun rises
in the east soon after breakfast, and from
ten till three o'clock it is warm enough to
roast beans; from bed time until roll call it
is cold enough to make q man hunt his hole
in douhle.quick time.
The force here now consists of four Iii.
nois regiments, the seventh Iowa, four COM
panies Of Illinois Cavalry, and one battery
Of artillery. We are well fortified, a chain
Of carthworks surrounding US in such |
manner as to command the river and coun.
try around. At Cairo there are five rcgi-
ments and an abundance Of artillery; at
Fort Holt on the Kentucky shore, are three
regiments Of infantry, = well manned bate.
~, and squadron Of cavalry. Three sau-
cy looking gunboats are lying around loose
in the river here. and occasionally they are
thrusting themselves upon the attentions of
the good people along the Ohio, and then
again they show their ugly mugs in such
close proximity to the rebels at Columbus,
that Gen. Polk finds his Pllow very un-
easy one to rest on just now. The rebels
have only about ten thousand men at Co.
lumbus twenty miles below u.s. Since