Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1862-04-24
THE REPUBLICAN.
PLYMOUTH. md,
Thursday, April 24, 1862.
[. MATTINGLY. Editor.
Army Correspondence.
EDITOR REPUBLrcAS.


Dean Micawber- like. have been
waiting for something to turn up" be-
fere writing you again. until six weeks
have gone by since my last to you. and
still the 48th remains in statu quo. "All
quiet in Paducah. Amid the stirring e.
vents OF the past few weeks. when the al
most daily clash of arms. is followed fast
by the shout Of Victory to the Right. /
have hesitated to thrust upon the attention
Of your readers notice Of anything SO
comparatively tame as our stay here in
Paducah. We are very pleasantly. situa-
ted, our duties are not burdensome, yet
from the Colonel down, there is much i'm
patience, at what we cannot but cons ider
our confinement here, while others more
fortunate are permitted to meet the danger
and reap the glory. I may say without
doubling that there are few Regiments bet
ter prepared for active service than the
4Sth. We have been diligent in prepara-
ton. aud we now feel that we have a right
to strike for the honor of the "dear old
flag"-a right even to die in our country's
cause Oa the last day of March there
was general review by the commander of
the Post. (Col. S. Noble Of all the
troops stationed at this place. Besides the
Cavalry and Artillery. they are now here
three Regiments of Infantry. The 4Sth
Indiana, S0th Ohio and 56th Illinois,
OF these it was admitted on all hands.
that the 4Sth made much the best appear
ance. The superiority was manifest in the
marching. handling arms, and in the gen.
eral beariag and looks of the men. We
labor under some disadvantages. being still
split up. two companies in town and four
in Fort Anderson. The Colonel CON-
mands in Camp. Major Rpgg in the Fort.
Capt Mann. with his company. does duty
on the wharf boats. and Capt. Wools
company forms the Provost Guard. Capt.
Wool being Provost Marshall. You see
that as Regiment we are performing i'm
portant service. and the fact that II is well
done. only diminishes our chances Of being
called elsewhere The health Of the Re-
giment has materially improved since l
wrote yoa before. There are AZ at pres
en-, in the hospital. but few of them are Sc
rious cases There have been altogether
% .icaths in the regiment. Robert Wick
izer and Frank Hoke OF Capt. Crumpack-
er's Company. have been very sick, but are
now getting better. Andrew Wickizer
and Jonathan Fickcrel lhave also been
sick. They are now well. The Sanitary
regulations of the regiment are excellent.
and with the diligence of Col. Eddy. in re-
quiring the quarters to be kept thoroughly
c,eaased, and the ever -watchful attention
of Surgeon Ham to the sick IN Camp aud
Hospital. there is less to be apprehended
from disease. than the mortality in many
regiments would seem to indicate. Those
Of your citizens who have friends in the
regiment may be assured that no pains
will be spared to prevent, and to remove.
disease
An incident occurred here a few days
since which is worth mentioning. The
whole country around here is filled with
traitors at heart, even though ,hey have
not been active participants in the rebel
lion. They have talked treason and have
been very fond OF Boosting that they would
aot take the oath Of allegiance. Many OF
them have stayed away from Paducah ever
since the Union forces came here. in order
to avoid taking the oath. and it has been
their boast that they had never acknowl-
edged ..Lincoln's" rule. There was q
picket guard around the place. and every
person once inside the line could no. get
ont without pass from the Provost Mar
shall. on which the oath Of allegiance was
printed. which the bearer was required to
take and subscribe. After the evacuation
Of Columbus the picket guard was with
drawn. and then these gents jecred at their
neighbors who were so foolish as to be
"eaught." These things came to the no.
tice of Capt. Wood. and he determined to
"catch" them. There was large public
sale Of horses by the Government soon to
come of. and as was to be expected nearly
everybody came. good horses being very
scarce article hereabouts, except those
owned by the United States. After the
sale had commenced and the buyers had
all got in . picket Guard Was quietly post
ed st the outskirts Of the City. and every
man was required to show his pass. Then
there was some squirming. some little pro-
family was INDUCED in. but the oath was
taken to BE- and remain good and loyal cit
izens. They will keep the oath outward
". Fear is great promoter Of loyalty.
There are now here large numbers Of ref
ugses from Tennessee. These men have
bssu obliged to sbsadon their homes. to
avoid impressment into the rebel service.