Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1862-12-05

party goes out foraging, every thing eatable
such as apples, pork, chickens, honey, an
more particularly -four and meal, are seize
and help to fill out load Of hay or oats 70
the mules, and the whole load goes under tn
general name of forage. All the mills in tn
country are occupied, and are constantly run
ming, converting secesh grain into Fedora
grub. So you can readily see that some bod.
here must suffer.
Being, as I said, no prospect Of fight, ant
being on half rations Of bread, Col. Weer ha
ordered us on double rations Of drill. Ou
time table stands thus: Reviele at six o clock
breakfast call, half-past six; surgeons call
seven; company officers drill, half-past seven
police guard mounting, eight; grand guart
mounting, half-past eight; non-commissioned
officers drill, nine; squad drill, ten; compa
ny drill, eleven; dinner call, half-past twelve
battalion drill, two; dress parade, five; retreat
and roll call, halfpast five; tattoo and rol
call, nine; taps, halfpast nine. No time
being mentioned for supper, one would sup
pose the Colonel sends us to bed supperless
after such a days work as all that; but h.
don't; not if we know it.
The journal of Oct. 18th was received last
night. I see you had 3400 Kansas troops re-
treating before 700 secesh, and leaving the
field of Newtonia to their possession. This
is slight mistake of either yours or mine.-
The enemy's force at Newtonia was 1000 in
stead of 700; and with Col. Cloud or Col.
Weer in command, we would have went into
town, and through it, on that first days fight
without waiting for Gen. Brown, or any other
man. Prisoners that fell into our hands say
so; and we knew it before. As it was, that
evening, when Brown came up, we were equal
in force and could have routed them as easy
as it was done three days later. 1t was this
same force that Col. Cloud afterwards met at
Maysville, and with less than half their num-
bers completely routed them. Indian scouts
that followed their retreat say they never
halted until they reached Fort. Davis, on the
other side of the Arkansas River, opposite
Fort Gibson. The battery captured by Cloud
in that engagement is now manned by men
rom the bully old End Kansas, and forms a
part of the 3rd brigade, under Cloud. The
Indiana guns were not among these captured.
Another new Kansas regiment, the 18th,
has joined US recently. The 18th, and the
First Zouaves (African), are on guard duty
in Kansas. Yours as ever,
E. H. G.
CAIRO, Nov. ~, 1862.
MIR. EDITOR Our journey to this place
vas pleasant one. We could not have
chosen better time to leave our quarters at
Camp Strong, as we have not had drop of
ain since.
We are comfortably situated at this place,
With the prospect Of remaining here for a
ime. Our boys have "seen the elephant" in
he way of doing guard duty, since our ar
ival. We don't guard ourselves, as we did
It Camp Strong, but we guard everything
Use. l think if our old friends, the Gray
Boards, desire to do guard duty, they had
'etter come here. Company A, Capt. Keller,
S detailed to guard Mound City, seven miles
Ibove, on the Ohio river. Your readers will
emember there is General Hospital at that
,lace, in which there are several hundred
lick and wounded. Company A captured one
nan, supposed to be spy, and brought him
o Gen. Tuttle, Provost Marshal at this place.
Company B, Capt. John, has been detailed
o guard the Secesh prisoners which have
,een held at this point. They were sent
lown the river to-day, and company B has
,one into quarters here with the regiment
LAST night, after the prisoners left, the old
barracks in which they had been quartered
ook fire and burned to the ground. Some
hirty or more sick or wounded prisoners,
Who were unable to 60 with the party, were
n the buildings at the time, but were carried
'ut by the guards and saved from an awful
leath. Many of them were in a sad plight,
indeed, having but little to cover their naked
less. Many Of the prisoners were of the
last ditch" kind, while others we're ready to
'xclaim "It is enoughT
There have been in the neighborhood of
800 of the rebels sent from here to Mem
,his or Vicksburg, to be exchanged, since we
anne here, besides loads Of them which have
not stopped here on their way down. Union
roops, by the thousands, are passing down
laily, for the field. a'
In talking with the rebels, as they were
to and from the boats, I found sew
,ral Incidents worthy of notice. One of the
guards belonging to company B, while escort
ng party to the boat, was accosted by a
rebel in the ranks who recognized him as an
Did neighbor and friend. The rebel had been
\ Captain in the Southern army, and was cap
tured in Kentucky. The two had a friendly
chat, and parted hoping they might meet
under more favorable circumstances.
Another man, a Unionist, met his brother
among the prisoners. Another Of the prison
ers, who had been commissioned in the bogus
has in the army Of the true
blue" an uncle and two cousins. noticed a
good -natured "Pat'' in the ranks Of rebeldom,
who accosted son of the Emerald Isle, with
"Och now, and don't you wish ye were 60
ing to v icksburg with us ?" "Be jabers,"
said Pat, who had been in the hands Of the
rebels until he had well nigh starved -"be