The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-04-17


Company is from KcokuE and Osceola,
and is commanded by Captain james g.
Day and Lieut's. James NJ. Bird and r.
W. Hamilton.
Company is from 0skaloosa, and COM
handed by Captain James A. Sewers, and
Lients. John ID Shannon and E. Herbert.
Company II is from Council Bluffs. and
commanded by Captain D. B. Clark and
Lieut's King and Danielsoa.
Company is from West Point, and Keo
sauqua, and commanded by Captain r. w.
IIutchcroh and Lieut's. J. p. Craig and H.
Brown.
Company K is from Ottumwa, Knoxville
and Keosauqua, and is commanded by Cap
tain j. NJ Hedrick and Leut's r. n. Ed
ridge and Edwin Davis.
Company G is from Knoxville and Indi-
anola, and is commanded by Capt. w. T.
Cunningham and LicIts. Hanks and Feske.
Company B is from Des Moines, and is
commanded by Capt. Wilson I. Smith and
Lieuts. Studer and Laustram.
We have some 1850 men rank ana file,
and to the infinite delight Of all hands, re-
ceived marching orders and left Keokuk on
the 10Th, and arrived at st. Louis the Goth
of March, without any serious accident, and
took comfortable quarters at Benton Bar
racks, an immense cantonment, city of
itself a camp of instruction, conceived in
the fertile and economical brain of General
Fremont, and built under the immediate SUI.
pervision of General Curtis, the Hero Of
pea Ridge"
"-Zounds what name
fill the sounding trump Of fame"
say Bully for Curtis and more too.
We were kept very busy at St. Louis re.
ceiving our arms and equipments, and had
no time FOR drill. of any Importance. A few
days after our arrival, the 10th, COL Cham
bers, arrived, and after remaining at Benton
Barracks only ten days, we received march
ing orders, together with the 10th and three
other Infantry and one Cavalry Regiments,
and some 8 Batteries, to report to General
Grant, on the Tennessee. General Halleck
having slch high opinion of Iowa troops,
that he gave ours and the 10th Springfield
Rifles, the best weapon in TIE ward-anl
the only let in his department. You at
home can scarcely have an adequate idea Of
the magnitude of this war. Troops by the
thousands arrive daily at Benton Barracks,
and all the transportation at the command
Of the Government, employed transporting
them, as fast as armed and equipped, to need
ed points. mostly now up the Tennessee
The immense quantities of munitions ofwar,
artillery, cannon balls, bombs, Quartermas-
ter's supplies, horses, wagons, &C., &C., ao-
conspanying them.
These things give MN satisfactory evil
dence that Willie our Republican government
is the mildest and most beneicent under the
scn, in times of peace, it yet has an amount
ofresources and latent power when an emer.
gency occurs to require its exhibition, as the
world never witnessed before, and which
promises the speedy eStingnishment of this
most gigantic Rebellion at a very early day,
and to be terror to foreign, intermeddling
nations for all time to come.
We left st. Louis April 1st, on the steam
cr Minehaha. Onlian for laughing watcrs)
Col. Reid being the Senior officer, command
ing tie expedition consisting Of the afore-
mentioned regiments, on board some 8 or 6
large side wheel steamers, and onr vessel
the Flag ship, taking the lead, and without
anything transpring of Importance, we find
ourselves this morning, % miles above Fort
Henry, on the Tennessee, passing that point
before daylight.
am very much disappointed in the ap-
pearance Of the cohntry on either side Of
the Tennessee, both in the States of Ken.
lucky and Tennessee, and if the country
visible from the steamers deck is fair sam
pie Of the Interior, would say that it is not
worth fighting for, and I would end this war
very quick if I was in command, by deciding
it back to the Indians
find that am becoming tedious and
must close this letter. and in conclusion, al.
low me to say that whatever of bitterness OF
vindictiveness there may be in the above
letter, might have been, for the credit of the
writer, left off, perhaps but in extenuation
please remember that while our brave boys
have for great portion of the past winter
been dying at the rate of one per day with
a malignant disease, requiring great care
and attention, all that we have received has
been from the overtaxed charity Of the kind
hearted Ladies of Keokuk, and that all tht
sympathy of our friends at home seems t.
be given to those regiments that have beer
so extremely fortunate as to have partcipa
ted in the field of action and glory. But nc
more of this. We are rapidly improving ir
health. We are now in the Land Of Dixie
and viii soon have hands in an cngegc
ment at Corinth or vicinity. without thu
Rebels evacuate again, such as this continent
never Witnessed before. Beaurcgard anc
Bragg have at least 10000 men there, ant
one week ago our Quaftermaster ISSUED
1877, 900 rations per day, and they are rapid
ly concentrating there o, our side. at th'
rate Of 5000 per day at least. Ar
After relieving mysel' Of the spleen in tn
foregoing letter, feel much better; ant
now let me say to the people of Ottumwl
] and vicinity where dwell all that il nea