, 1862-08-30
FRGM THE NINETEENTH TLL1-
N0IS&
Letter from one Of the Men-tVhat fs
thought of Buel1~.HoW to Deal
with the HebeIgs


From the Moline m-) 1ndependent.7
Fort MAEEuB, ALA, Aug. t8, 1864.
DEAR BROTHER. may close my series Of
letters TO you this mail, for in future, the dull
tuuline ot our lives in this fortress, shall not
elicit many daring feata, nor be the chauhel
through which bright ideas would be likely to
flow. When We were on the march, although
often fatigued. still the change Of place aud
secrecy occasionally tinged WITH an adventure,
Kept our blood in circulation and our spirits
buoyapt. Now We are cooped up here like
prisoners Of war, and can only go thres hun
d1ed yards from The to1tllca1ion. Every time
We do so, run the risk OF being shot from the
adjacent woods BY some cowardly, pro Ting
bushwhacher. The people pnt over us, could
rot have adopted better plan to crush our
spirite, snd it will do Us moEe haru1 than they
themselves anticipated. Siuce I wrote you
Last, eight more Of our boys have left for
home. We have now thirteen reported de-
Eerte1s from our company.
The ideas, or opinions, or politics, or what
ever you wish to call it Of the boys, relating
to e1aTery, has much changed lately. Some
| months ago, we we're al unanimous 10 letting
| th= Ut gro alone. A5ter seeing how they are
| used to raise crops for the rebels in arms, and
| take care of their wives and families, when
| they are gone to fight against US, we hare con-
Guided, not without 8 struggle in some miuds,
1tat in order to carry the war on eHectuaily,
our government should contiscate all the
slaves Of rebels, and purchase those Of loyal
| men, thus making onE country free in reality.
| He teou'd not feel hurt if Old 45rdha,n Mould
put arms il. their hazlsts, and let them loose
umong these monutaias TO trap the pro~ling
| murderer, once their n1aster-2 thing they
would be 1ery anxious to do, and on account
| Of their knowledge Of every path in the
I fear, though, that the president will no: al
low slaves to be armed He may take them
as leborere.
There has been nothing done here since
Gen. Mitchell left. Gen. Buell. is not the man
for the place. He is too much of q West
PoInter-too great an aris1ocrat. He loves tc
hear thes1eet voices Of the rebefhlghtinga gales,
and prefers feeding traitors to giving his OWE
men tul rations, tor it is well known, Wher
we were put on half fare, be sold -four an6
everything else the rebels wanted, out Of th'
storts At Huntsville, to them, charging 70
hcur fye dollars per b2rfel-not more thai
one-thiTd the value. THIS I hare from here
I say, but it is in every ones mouth. We hop
soon to see Gen. michel back, and think tb
president ought to send him again to this de
partment, and take Buell. somewhere else
+ Then you vii. hear Of things flying down here
and We will not be left to rot among thes
railroad bridges.
1 went to See Gen. Tu1ehin when 1 was Il
{ Huntsville few days ago. His quarters ar
out Of togn, and around his tent are the ten:
Of Col Stanly, Of the 18th Ohio, and Col
Mihaiotza, OF the 24th Illinois. told Col
61aD}y Was glad to see the brigade command
ers keep toge1her-it locked like We woul
be again oil in the brigade He said the
> were all under arrest there; but expecte
. q soon to be al right again. It WAS = shame,
: might almost say traitoroue act, to break u
= = the splendid brigade Of Turehin's. Il was S
!. well drilled, the regiments were well ~
;. quainted with each Other, and would light lii
/. Brothers The1e WAS not as good bsigade
= the department of the Ohio. am OF tt
!. opinion We could have whipped any two the
= . could have brought against Us. It was
, | heavy loss to this part Of our army. Since Il
:. left the advance, not another step has bee
. . taken forward. but retreat Of five miles VT
. accomplished without loss. Now we new
o learned how to retreat it was not in the y
- t cabn1ary Of our military education.
~ The man who first occasioned Col. tn
% chin's arrest, ought to be tried for treaat
- and shot, for JET. Davis could not hare dol
~ ~ more to try to ruin good brigade. We,
- - Since Mitchell left, the rebels have occuplt
u u forty miles On this side the river Of the 70;
T. - We passed over to reach Chattanooga with,
IN IN is said, $4,000 troops, and no effort seems
- : be made to rout them. They are in sight
"a the plckets on Battle Greek, and on the 9th
~ -, side Of the Tennessee River, can also be Sc
y y the rebel pickets, I would not be astonish
~ - to find the lost forces Of BeauFeKard turn
"a among the mountains around Battle Greek 81
80 Chattanooga, noT much afraid to prOpAec
- that If Buell. ls attacked by them, he will ]
So J
40 40 command before an attack is made either sic
- when We have waited so long. II is shar
y and an eternal disgrace On Bne1l to allow
~ many gueril1as to be armed. a ftW days g
1e one hundred Of our men we're taken pr3ss
,f ers only two miles from Decatur, right trs
"a "a the middle of Buell's grand army. Tt
eu could not do such thing when, with Q,
"a n 10000 men, Mitchell guarded ali the terrific
- now occupied By Buell., and more.
There was, about the same time, q train
~. ~ army wagons, with supplies, taken BY anotl
81 gang OF rebels, Within four miles Of Athen'
~ the town where the officers were all met t
IL u, ing to disgrace Gen. Turchin. To give an
~ ~ count OF all the petty depredations that h:
~ ~ been committed, like shooting one Of {
~. ~ toyE from al mbuscade, or firing into TIA
~ would fill up several sheets.
~ IL Night before last, O train was fired into h
~ Columbia, towards Nashville, and eigttt 4
~ EouEded. In fact, We arc told By the negf
y, today that We will be driven out Of or Xii
~ ~ in thi. fortifcation before two weeks.
be EThe writer OF the above is from Mol
Ill, and left home staunch Democrat.l
h. - Hon. 4. P. Stone, late state treast
or 1r- 1.nu n;,4%n {1r n$z~