, 1862-05-06
From the Army Of the Ten
peSgGe,
AN EXPEDITION TO PuRDY.
ASPECTS OF TENNESSEE LIFE.

ASPECTS OF TENNESSEE LIFE.
Especial Correspondence Of the Chicago Tribune1
CAAr sMLou, April %, 1862.
I returned late lust night from an expedition
OF Gen Lew. Wal1ace's division to Purdy,
which Is about the same distance from Pitts
burg Landing aB Corinth, save that it lies in a
northWesterly, and Corinth In eouthwesterly
direction. The expedition or reconnaissance,
consisted Of nearly the entire Of Gen. Wal
1ace's division, consisting Of the Lat Brigade,
Col Morgan L. Smith; I'd Brigade, Col Thay-
er; and Sd Brigade, Col Whittelssy. Co. 4,
Chicago Light Artillery, with their siz pieces
under the command of Lieut.. P. P. Wood, The
should be captain) and an Ohio battery accom-
panied us. In the division are the celebrated
9Th Missouri, q crack fighting regiment, com-
Hlanded BY 1t. Col. Peckhau, the 11th In.
diana, no way behind them, commanded By Col.
McGinuis, . gentleman and q scholar, as well
us brave soldier, the 24th Indiana, Col
Hoyey, 23d Indiana, Col. Henderson, the LIST
Nebraska, Col Thayer, and several Ohio regl-
ments- We had also about in all, two regi-
ments Of cavalry, among them squadron from
Col Dickey's 4th Illinois, and company of
regulars,
We started shout the middle Of the after-
noon Of Monday, aud reached q place called
Stantonril1e, about five or six miles from Pur-
dy, about nightflL The main body biyou-
acked here for the night, end the cavalry, led
by the guides, were sent ont to raconnoitre
Strange to say, however, they returned about
midnight, having lost the road. In excuse for
this, it nnay be Eaid that the night was pitch
dark, and the road: here are merely wagon
tracks, leading In any and eyery direction
through thewoods. Seine five hundred Of the
cavalry. however, 'skulked" in the woods
behind Us, and did not 60 forward at all, at
which the General was indignant, and, an
informed, swore come when he discovered the
fact in the morning. took up my quarters
for the night, with relative in the army, un-
der q tree; but about twelve O'Clock
it began to rain heavily, and ny com
pauion rose and proposed an ad-
journment to dryer spot. I was SO
overcome with sleep, however, from hard rid
ing for the past four or five days, that weuld
llave lain there believe, in perfect ease, had
he told me that Bcaurcgard'k entire army had
attacked our position. We then turned In be-
meath our ambulance wagon, and I had the
satisfaction Of rising In the morning with the
weather side Of me thoroughly saturated with
water. In the meantime the cavalry had re.
turned and passed within few feet Of the
spot where slept without my knowing it.
at day-break We were awakened by the cav
airy again making forward movement, and
patiently awaited news from them till noon
In the meantime visited one or two houses
in the village Of Stantonyil1e. There was but
one house in the place Of any preteneion, a
rather NEAT one-story frame, and owned bEa
Hi. Beck, who Tas with the rebel army. Ts
Was occupied by the General and Staff. lite
rose trees in the door-yard were in full bloom
and were very fragrant. I looked in at one or
Two others, and generally found two families
in each, their husbands being mostly absent.
There were children in plenty, and they look
ed stout and we'll. The people live in
primitive style, III novels built of
logs, through which daylight peers in all di-
rectioDs, For breakfast they eat bread, ap-
partnuy without yeast or rising Of any kind,
od1f RO1 n AA4lA3 <AiA Tl~+At (VAGC H4HAUut 3u-
gar. saw no potatoes. Five hundred en-
terprisiDg Yankees to each county in the
State would be the making Of Tennessee.
Though the soil here appears to be fair, about
equal and almost similar in appearance to our
Illinois oak openings or barTenE, tho cu1tiva-
ton is most wretehed. They merely scratch
the ground over with ploughs drawn By L sin
gle horse Or mule, throw in the seed anl leave
the rest to nature. In one. Instance saw q
man, mine host with whom breakfasted in
the morning, ploughiug with an unfortunate
little marc with 4 colt by her side. The right
eye of the animal had just been knocked out,
aud was not jet healed. Altogether the sight
was melancholy and repulsive one. I tried
| to pump several Of the inhabitants as to tht
state Of their political feelings, but one and al
were non-committal. One would imagine
that they had never taken part in politics o
ofany description. They were in fact no pol
lticians Ind the most inveterate "knor
| LothlDgs ! ever met In my life. StAnton7iil
| boasts Of small lanyard, and I obserEed
| cotton press at q large farm 4 short distance
| from the place; but saw no negroes excep
in one instance, where found one ploughln!
| in T. field in company with a fl1e lookin!
young white lad, who appeared more franl
and open than any person I had met with
camc upon these persons q few hours sub.c
qurntly, however, when I had lost my wae
and the boy evidently took mt for : soldlt
| at the Southern 2raly, and Was extreln.l
anxious to give NE all necessary iufurma
tlun>
At noon news came In from the front tha
the cavalry bud occupied Purdy aud had ad
vanced even to Bethel, two Or three miles be
counts, in burning the bridges on the Coluu,
bus and New ORIGINS Raisroad- By this rol'
the rebels had been recrivny supplies fron
the country lying between the Tennessee au'
Mississippi Rivers, and US they are short 0
other means Of transportation, to dcpriy
them Of this route must tend to their futur
J embarrassment.
Before the cavalry had been ordered out il
, the morning, however, d squad Of some te7
OF adozen slEagglers arrived from the fr.,nt
some minns their hats, with handkerchief
tied round their heads, some minus sabrcs, 50
two minus horses. They stated that they ha
lost their regiment aud supposed it had u
been captured. Their appearance Was lud7
> c1ous in the extreme, aud they met with jeer
on Ill sides as they filed off through tue mai
body Of troops TO the rear: 1t appears th'
| the cavalry, when first sent for yard, got will
in mile or two Of Purdy. the enemy sent u
couple Of rockets. THIS caused the force t
! fall back, and doubt in the confusio
Sid darkness Of night tho squad WAS left be
hiGd, and most probably had narrow cscap
{ from being. "gobbled ~ by tho secesb.
Finding the expedition had probably don
al it lad been sent out to accomplish, pre-
POSED 10 gentleman, q correspondent Of a
Indians paper, whose acquaintance had mad
on the trip, to return. He had been kin
> enough to give me an introduction t
Central Waliace, and we rode dow
: to his qunrtcrs. The General md hi
I Chief Of artillery, Willard, advised us not
. 20 back without an escort, but Judging tbs
tie rebel pickets had been Compelled to reti1
hy our orduauce, and being anxious to rear
tie camp on account Of having heard heas
artillery firing 10 the left. probably at p
Ridge, upon which Geu. Pope was admitte
to be advancing, determined to return, sc
: did so. On the road VIC had the misfortune
= | lose our way in the woods, and before n
| knew it had strafed nine miles to the left
} cur proper ruute. Coming upon goo
c looking frame house, 1t struck me that b.
l. | not seen 1t before. I Immediately a!ghts
= and asked negro woman in the "quartert
where We EerB. To our intense disgust, st
told us We were five miles from the Purt
# road, on the direct road to Corinth! Anosh
8 mile might have taken us inside the enemy
a ptckete, OF we may have been +
side them at The. moment. We quick
" retraced our route, and after inqNirlng ut Val
!. ous houses along the road, mostly deserted |
II their male Inhabitants, got back to the PurG
track We had however, 30 sooner done
~ than while naSSircr thrnT,rh y very 1oE AZ