Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1862-09-05
lou R ARMY CORRESPONDENCE.
Fort SCOTT, KANSAS, Aug. "a.

udIcNeT We WeIc lIleIi, we have SiiiCc Iliat
time acted in an entirely different field The
journey over the sixty miles from Spring Riv-
er to this place was principally made by night
laying by for few hours rest at
very uncertain intervals.
That region of country has been very APP
christened by our boys, as the
'Long Hungry" But we hope we have done
with "Long Hungry" forever Nary man
among us would cross it again if he could
possibly avoid it.
will endeavor to give you some account of
our recent expedition into Missouri, which
has been by far the most exciting of all our
various movements
We reached this place at daylight on the
morning of the 18th, having marched that
night from Drywood, fourteen miles SOUTH
1t was already known that Col. Coffee, one of
the very rascals we were after in the Cherokee
country, was making his way northward, his
object being to effect a junction with Hughes
and Quantrell, in the neighborhood of LeXing-
ton and Kansas City, gather up recruits, make
dash upon those places, collect all the arms
and provisions possible, and return to their
Businesses in the Boston Mountains. Meas
ures were at once adopted to prevent the ac-
complishment of this object, and in accordance
with the plan of operations Gen. Blunt set
out with fifteen hundred men, aiming to get
ahead of Coffee, while Col Cloud, with eleven
hundred men, was to gain his rear, thus en-
closing him between them. Col Clouds
command consisted of 400 of the 10th, mount
ed IN 40 sir-mule wagons, 600 cavalry of the
9Th and 9th, and section of each from Rabb's
and Aliens batteries. With this force he left
Fl. Scott at 1 o'clock on the morning of the
18th. The first twenty fonr hours we passed
in feeling our way about the country to go in
their rear.
Having found their trail the pursuit COM
menced, which for eight days was kept up
with pertinacity only equaled by the rebels
themselves IN keeping ahead of us. Coffee
reached Lone Jack, twenty-five miles south of
Lexington, on the evening of the 18th, where
he attacked section of Capt. Cockefar's 1st
Indiana battery, captured it at the first dash,
killing Or wounding every man.
The guns were afterwards ret taken by some
Missouri State Militia and taken again from
them by the secesh. In this affair our whole
loss was about sixty killed. That of the reb-
els is put down at thirty three killed. Among
the gallant Hoosiers who lost their lives here
were some of my old school-mates, than whom
none better have responded to their country's
CALL
At this point they seem to have become
aware of the hot pursuit we had kept up, for
they suddenly turned and quietly slipped back
past all our forces and made off south faster
than they had come up. Their flight was
discovered at early dawn. Blunt had failed
to head them, and at the time of the fight was
some eight miles in their rear, while Cloud
was at Rose Hill, eight miles in the rear of
Blunt. Cloud, unaware of the escape of the
enemy, left his camp at 3 o'clock in the morn
ing and Joined Blunt The LIST Iowa Cavalry
and the remaining section of the 1st Indiana
Battery had also joined him, and our whole
force was thus concentrated at ay-light on
the 18th, at Kingsyille, eight miles from Lone
Jack, while Coffee had already passed Rose
Hill to the east of Clouds camp.
Pursuit was instantly commenced, Cloud in
the advance following right on their trail,
Blunt on the right, and the 1st Iowa on the
left. The first days pursuit led our forces
over country intersected by numerous
branches of Grand River, making our progress
necessarily slow, but we came so near them
that at one time their rear guard was in sight.
Twice the infantry was formed in line in pass
ing through timbered bottoms. At O'Clock,
P. NJ, pn the second day, Cloud, with the
cavalry in the advance, came up with the en-
envy in the heavy timber on the Usage
Three different times they formed and were
driven by him. The wagons were seven
miles back when the word came that Cloud
was fighting them. We thought we were on
the double-quicl1 then, hut it was snai's
pace to what we did those seven miles in
only to arrive too late They would not stand
for us to come up. We lay that night on the
south bank of the Usage, and again set for
ward before day, followed them right up, los
ing on them, however, until 3 o'clock, p. NJ,
when, Just below Montevallo, detachments of
the Missouri 9Th, and an Illinois regiment
with a battery of light artillery, numbering
500 men, took up the chase just ahead of us
and two hours behind the rebels. This force
came IN from Greenfield to the east of us.
we followed on IA miles farther that night,
camped at Rood's Point, and next morn ng
the never firing Cloud again took up the chase,
leaving us with our rundown mules and al
tillery horses to recruit for a day and return
to the Fort. The last we heard of the chase
was that the Missourians had caught them
at Carthage and were giving them particular
thunder. We also learned that as the rear
guard of the rebels passed through Lamar,
miles below Rood's Point, the citizens pitch
ed into them, killed 7, wounded 9, and took
10 prisoners. Bully for Lamar,
This trip has proved to dead certainty
that Missouri and Arkansas horses, when
mounted by scared secesh, can outrun the
devil-for that is what they called us. The
devils are after u.s." they said to every one
along the road.
In the three days from Kingsville to Roods
Point we travelled 1856 miles.
As near as we could ascertain, the rebels
numbered about 1000 when they started up,
but when they reached Lone Jack they had
increased to near 1000. Every house we
passed was inhabited by from one to three dis
consulate Union widows whose dead hus-
bands, we had every reason to believe, were
among the flying rascals before us.
The forces that took part in this most ex-
traordinary chase consisted of 400 Kansas
10th, 400 Wisconsin 9th, 400 Kansas 9Th,
$50 Kansas 9th, 200 Kansas I'd, 500 Iowa
LIST, $50 Missouri 1st, some portions of the
NJ III.
Der not known, 200 Ohio I'd, 1st and Sd In
diana, 1st Kansas battery, besides some State
Militia. We left here with four days rations,
and, as we were out ten days, it is reasonable
to suppose that Missouri suffered somewhat
@bo Co1Iiarc I'll