The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1862-03-08
4 Trip to Fort DoReison.

ried way, the inside matter for to day.
paper. Amid the multiplied small cares
that have assailed him OH re entering his
sanctum, consisting more particularly and
harrasslngly of cries for "copy," we have
found no time even to look at the notes
from which we had intended to prepare
an intensely interesting account of our
travels. About half a chapter could be
devoted to what we saw at Springfield, on
cur way down, in the Constitutional Con
vsntion, in Adjutant General Fuilers of
fee, and about the camps of secession
prisoners; whole chapter could be writ
ten about days experience among the
soldiers at Benton Barrack, and generally
in and around St Louis. so eloquent, at
every turn, of the system and energy OF
the mighty military genius that directs
the movements of the Western army from
his modest head quarters i'll that city +;
Cairo, Mound City, and Birds Point would
require two or three chapters to do justice
to the soldiers, the gun and mortar boats,
the hospitals, and the mighty fleet OF
transports, ard hustle and activity every
where apparent. Paducah, where we
spent another half day, would afford ma
terial for sad chapter made up from
walk through the hospitals. And thence
up the Cumberland, another melancholy
chapter on the dreary desolation apparent
on all sides from the unexampled freshet
By which that region is devastated. Few
houses indeed, along the river, showed
more than their upper stories above the
water, while farm after farm, village after
village were wholly inundated and de-
serted. Pigs, chickens, and rats were met
floating down on timbers, fences, and roofs,
while here and there some poor lone mule
o. jackass stood the picture of desolation
On son-e solitary mound amid the waste OF
waters around
The approach by the river to Fort Donel
son affords, at this time, sight worth GO
ing many weary miles to see. Our descrip-
tive powers are wholly inadequate to such
scene. Frowniug right in front of you
are those terrible water batteries" and
ing and enclosing 20 or 80 acres on the
apex of the hill are the huge earthworks
forming Fort Douelson proper. The hill
IS entirely bare of timbrr, so that the whole
view bursts upon you at once. Then this
hill and the other and higher hills beyond,
in front and to the right, as far as the eye
can reach, are covered with the ten thou
sand white tents of our soldiers, among
which are deserted the ever busy, moving
blue coats thick as ants in a thriving ant
village. The first thought however, that
strikes one in looking at the amazing
amount of labor that was expended on the
Fort, and this is confirmed by all subse-
quent examinations, is, the folly of so
much labor here when an enemy, by gail
ing the higher hills around it, would so
completely command the Fort, from which
half a dozen of howitzers could shell any
force in few hours.
But we have no time to describe. We
effected landing at Dover on Sunday
evening, and in an hour or more reported
at Gen. W. III. l.. VILLAGES head quarters
We found the General to our great JOY.
il excellent health, having been informed
at Cairo that he was sick In his quarters
We also found Col Ransom. nearly well
OF his wound, and on duty, as he had been
for several days. And there we met the
gallant and glorious Col Marsh, of whom
you have heard and will yet hear more.
And We saw-well, Everybody, and that
night, and next day and the next, we
kept on seeing and shaking hands and
talking with the heroes of the bloodiest
battle ever fought on the continent, and
the more we saw and found out about
them and the work they had done, the
more we felt like doing homage to them
But it was enough to open the fountain of
our tears TO walk down the slope few
rods into the encampment of the llth Ill
regiment What are these the tents of
q wi ole regiment? Alas on the sunny
sunny slope of the hill beyond there Is a
trench, and there, side by side are Il
graves; and down in the hospital registers
there are long lists of names with ''llth
Illinois opposite them and when you
see these you no longer wonder that thirty
or forty small tents afford ample accom-
modaticns for what remains of this glo-
rirus regiment. We found one of eur
former prentice boys, q lad of "a or %
summers, second Lieutenant and one,
too, whom his superior officers pronounced
I, off tho Dom ta
IIapeman-in command of two companies,
bein. the only commissioned officer left
in both, and thus consolidated, his COM
mand was less than forty men. And our
friend Weidlner, also ID Lieutenant. we
found in like manner commanding two
companies of 50 or 40 men. And so the
whole regiment has Jared Three Or four
Captains less than dozen Lieutenants.
and Just POI prirates and non commission
ell officers fit for duty, out Of a regiment
that mustered over 100 men before the
battle.
How we should love to linger and chat
with our readers for two or three columns
about these gallant men, the scenes
through which they passed, their many
hair breadth escapes, their heroism, suf-
fering and tolls during that memorable
week; but we must hasten TO a close
We babe farewell TO them on Tuesday
morning, as they filed out on the road to
Fort Henry, their tents struck and cuns
and knapsacks on, leaving for new scene,
of toll, danger and glory at the head
waters of the Tennessee, whittier General
Grants whole army is now moving