Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1862-08-06
From the Second Cavalry.
CAMP OF 0. V.C. OK GRAND RIvEk,
IIDIAN TER. ii NILES NORTH OF FoRT
GIBSoN. July 10th 1862.

-IsSsrs. E8.t5yS To-day the mail reach
ed us from Fort Scott. bringing. with 9TH
er matter, Chronicle" of the 9th of
June. 1t was a welcome messenger to all
the Trumbull County boys, and as write,
! l. passing raP;dly from hand, to telling to
each much that cannot be learned other
wise. Even the advertisements are ca
gerly looked up, to note the changes, and
new firms. | hear them now. outside nv
tent. where few have collected together
listening while one of the boys reads
They comment on each item. Judge
Birchard got a new partner?" Moses. No
Ses, who's her" Hello, F. p. Reed
changed partners. What Adams is that,
| wonder?' Barnum taken Brooks in
IS partner, eh ?" Well, that's a good
| .dea, y ssys one. Brooks can run the
tsbaag icamp word not mentioned in
Webster) inside, while Barnum does the
hUning and shining outside" Another
ays, :" | believe Barnum used TO shin oc-
'asionally, just TO keep his hand in."-
And so on. ad ulinit,na..
| / notice also IN this issue, extracts from
I private letter written by me hastily
when weary, and without correction or re-
,ision. Ii was so trivial in matter and
ontemptable in manner, that resolved
sit down at once and try to write you
nd through you 10 the many friends of
ne Trumbull county boys in this regi-
nent, few words OF interest. Thus far l
ad written when my pen stops and my
cad droops-thinking where | shall be-
n. Il is eleven months to-day since
| commenced recruiting a company for this
eE;menI and SO much has been compress
FL into that space OF time; SO many lit
Le eVenus; 50 many important and un-
nyoTtsnt ones, that I ali seems a con-
lsed mass in my mind. Almost every
ay OF a soldiers life Is living romance. |
md how shall compress all these items |
slat know would be of interest to the |
.thers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives |
I'd children of the noble men who are 1
) faithfully doing their duty in the army
II the T. 5. IN this department, into the |
ompa-s Of one letter. know how ed
.ors despise long, prosy correspondence;
low unmilitary it is. And yet permit me
, say naturally what have TO saw, and |
her, II too long, throw i away.
The last your readers heard of the I'd /
Jhio probably was when at lola, Kansas,
al about TO start south on the celebra-
ed Indian Expedition The lst Brigade
minus I'd Reg. Indian Home Guards) con-
ls.ing of ID Ohio Cavalry, 9th Wis. In
-nlry and Rabbs' I'd Indiana Battery,
1T lola on the lst day of June.
Our regiment was in bad condition for
march, especially the horses; they were
Oorly shod; We're poor and weak, and
lany entirely disabled by sore backs and
.meness. We had already accomplished
ne or two ordinary campaigns through
southwestern Missouri and Northwest
IN Arkansas. We had been constantly
n the move from the latter part of April,
Eithout rest and very little grain for our
Iorses. Our march from lola was without
Incident OF particular interest. The reg
nent was under command of Lieut.. Col.
tathf, and was an easy, pleasant march
If twenty to twenty-five miles per day.
over beautiful, rolling prairie country,
lnterspersed with oak openings on the
lills, and timber lining the streams we
rossed every ten or fifteen miles. We
arrived at Baxter's Springs, Neutral Strip.
N the Spring river, on the evening of
June 4th. Here Col Doubleday had al
eady arrived with large commisary train
md some fragments of Kansas regiments
Is an escort. We passed, on our march,
l collection of old wooden buildings, which
learned was an old Catholic Mission, es- !
about 1886, among the Ossges.
Ii was a novel scene. these old priests in
heir long gowns, mingling with and teach
these naked savage the rudiments OF
n English education and the peculiar :
enents Of their religion. -5a. --t L
We rested on the 5th, and on the 9th, J
IS you learned before, We started for I
BOUND Grove, Cowskin Prairie, where
,ol. D. had learned the enemy were con-
,entrating. We were thousand or elev-
n hundred strong, cavalry, artillery and {
infantry, ell told. The result of the ex-
edition you know. They dispersed and
led without attempting resistance. and
ge started back with our spoils on the 8th; :
rriving at our camp on Spring river on c
ne afternoon of the 9th, with men and t
lorses very much fatigued. .
Col. D. had already sent in his resigna- I
ion, before starting for Round Grove, and I
oon after our return he left the Brigade '
n command of Col. Saloman, and started '
or Leavenworth, with the intention to in $
.ist on the acceptance of his resignation, T
Ir permission to act-to do something I
Che result you have learned through his |
etter to the St. Louis Republican, copied G
n the Cleveland papers. That letter tells I
he whole story; it was not the policy of !
he polite military leaders to act, but to $
iood Kansas with public money, and give I
o her political wire-pullers fat contracts. t
All the foreign troops were indignant c
It the treatment of Col. D. The "last
Gather" was his being superseded by
Iol. Weir. What experience has Shown I
,ol. W. to be since he has been the COM '
nander of our division, l am not permit e
ed to speak, for he is now my superior g
fhcer, and / am under his command t
Very many officers of the regiment were I
empted to hand in their designations at $
ne time the Colonel did his, but were re- I
trained by the hope that we might yet t
ee some kind of service beside bush o
and fighting guerrilla bands I
through the wilds Of Southwestern No.
We stayed at Btxter's Springs until d
June Esd. our days varied only by scout o
ng, forsging and hard picket service for b
,le whole Brigade. So we got but little u
est for our horses there. On the 23d, the I
d and Sd B4ttaliions, Lieut.. Col Ratlitf a
n command, were ordered to Neosho, l
10, twenty-five miles from Baxter :
springs The order was issued by Col. [
,aloman, on request OF Brig. Gen. Brown, {
II the No. State troops, stationed at Spring r
ield. 10. II was nescessary, ne said, for b
. force 10 occupy that place, as the enemy Q
we're in large numbers, under Gen. Rains, b
within twenty-five miles of Neosho. The U
Sd was an extremely hot, sultry day I
We started IN themorning about 8 o'clock r
\. NJ, and at 10, A. NJ, stopped to Craze, il
laving accomplished about 10 miles of our a
ourney While resting, a member of the a
til Kansas came dashing into our lines, g
aging that eight Of their regiment had, 1
hat morning, about sun up, brush with Il
he rear guard of three to five hundred d
ebels under command of one Jackmen,
n their way to CRANKY, seven miles from a
Jeosho, northeast, to get lead. Here was f
chance for a fight or chase, and i'm a
aediatefy made application to Col. Ratlif r
o give I50or 200 picked men to give them e
trial. He Immediately called a'consul &
alton of the officers, and they thought 1t {
ot advisable, as this would take nearly Il