The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1861-11-07
9crrpsbuve aonrnal.
virginia correspondence.
CANP ELKwArER, Va, Oct. 90, ls6

| ED' JoOhNAis Inc ucllanl uNtltuue OF lnc
rebels in this part of the Old Dominion has
been abandoned, and but few of the many
"seceshers" are left to trouble us. Our time
necessarily hangs heavily on our hands, and
to this fact you can attribute this feeble ef-
fort to aoquaint you with the whereabouts
Of one of Wood County's soldiers, and a
constant reader Of your valuable paper
when at hcmc. We are keeping a sharp
| lookout for the rebels, who are reported to
be in some strength at Big Spring, some
twenty miles southeast of this camp. Pick
ct duty here is vastly different from the
sham guards we used to keep at Camp Den
nison and elsewhere. Every faculty of the
sentinel 10 in constant use to detect the APP
proach Of an armed foe, or the presence of
stragcr, The penalty for negligence is a
bullet from the gun of concealed foe, or
the capture of whole company.
Grandly beautiful are all things that sur
round us here, How long for some magic
power to paint the beauties of the scene-
For weeks the flush that mantlcs the decay
ing year has been increasing; like the march
of mighty army, the gaudy colors have
day by day passed still further up the hills
until from mountain base to summit, banners
of every hue are hung out. The hozy at
mosphere peculiar to our Indian autumus in
the West, hangs eternally over these rocks
and crags, and with it now appear such rain
bow splendors as have never seen else.
where in nature. The emerald of the pine
and hemlock the golden maple, the crimson
of the ash, and the scarlet and purple of the
oak, interspcrsed with negative colors, give
to the hills the appearance of vast mosaics,
And then our sunset scenes-thcy assume
all phases Imaginable, and vary from the
soft, voluptuous beauty of an Italian sky to
the thunder-shaken tempests which at times
pail these mountain valleys with an Egyp-
tian darkness. All this is very pleasant and
agreeable, when connected by pleasing as
sociations or seen under ordinarily ngreea-
BILE circumstances but doubt very much
if the most enthusiastic lover of the bcaut;-
full would feal mach desire to describe the
lines of beauty that enters into the forma-
ton of these mountains, after tramp of
over two hundred miles through sunshine,
rain and storm, with haversack, knapsack
and gun, as the troops i'll this part of the
State have done.
Our present camp is located in delight
lul valley on the banks of The Tygarts Val
ley river, Is miles from Stanton, and % nom
Monterey, and is surrounded by picturesque
mountains from three to fve hundred ieet
in hight. The forces here in part consist OF
uowe's Battery, 6 pieces, Loomis' Michigan
Battery, Robinsau's Cavalry, Go. a, lst Ohio,
9TH Ohio, Lieut.. Col. Anderson commanding,
Sd Ohio, Col. Marrow, and the following In
diana regiments 7th, Col. Dumont; 9th,
Col. Melroy; 18th, Col. Sullivan; 18th, Col.
Waggoner and l7th, Col Hoskill Add to
these the oath, 18th, 32d Ohio regiments,
together with the l4th Indiana and q part of
the ID Virginia, at Camp Kimball, and you
have the entire Union force in this vicinity.
The health of the troops is excelent-in
fact the majority of tho men here are in bet
ter health than while at home. The 9th
regiment, Guthrie Grays) learn from Drs.
Loring and Ames, have only six sick in their
hospital; one of the number being private
of our regiment, who was shot throuuh the
top Of his head in tho engagement at Elk
water, when Capt. Bensc. with iifty-two men,
were taken prisoners, He cannot recover.
No intelligence has been receive from
nr of ln l,,;r
capture. The officers and men are doubtless
prisoners in the tobacco factories at Rich
mond.
Brig. Gen. j. j. Reynolds, commanding
this brigade, is from Lafayette, Ind, West
Pointer, and very efficient and skillful Of
ficer. His staff consists in part of Capt
Isaiah b. Mcdonald, CT Columbia City, Ind,
Adjt, Gen. S. Rose, Lafayette, Ind, Capt
John lowering, Lafayette, Brigade Quarter
master, Capt. Wm. G. Sankerton, Lafayette,
Brigade Commissary, DR.. Thompson, Of IL
dianapolis, Brigade Surgeon, and Capt. Hill
Anderson. Of our regiment (0hio 6th). ai
The gentlemen comprising the staff like
the Brigadier General, are all teetotallers--
something, will venture to say, that cannot
be said of any other brigade command. The
General is ever vigiiant. Only last week he
went The grand rounds outside of the pick
cts, making a reconnaissance within two
miles of the enemy. At Big Springs, the
enemy is entrenched $4,000 strong under
Generals Lee and Floyd, Andrew jackson,
Donaldson, Lowell and other noted rebel
leaders. An important forward movement
under the General himself, was aade on tire
first Of the month, resulting in an artillery
engagement at Green Brier mountain, the
particulars of which you have heard by tel
egraph. Also forced reconnaissance, Col.
Marrow commanding, with the Sd and 9th
Ohio, part of LOOMS battery and compa-
sy of cavalry, was made, l6 miles on the
Stanton pike, the enemy retreating before
us, after having burned all their wagons and
camp equipage. The column bivouaced for
the night and returned TO camp the next day.
| am convinced that this brigade, including
the Ohio Sd and 9th have seea as hard ser
vice as any other troops in the field. AL
ready we are greeted with snow in the noun
tains, the first having fallen some two weeks
since, on the summit of Cheat Mountain
| twelve miles distant from these headquar-
ters. Fire is quito acceptable nights and