Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1862-07-25

who is in one Of the Lamoille county
companies, and formerly a resident Of
Emore, will be found Of interest to the
people in this vicinity :-ED.l
LAFROCHE, JUNE II, 1862.
DEAR MOTHER Again | take the
opportunity of informing you Of my
whereabouts aud health. AS usual, my
health is good as could be expected in this
warm climate but do not feel as well
90 1 sLouId ir oOuiI get Z. jrluk Of Vor-
mont spring water, and breathe some
of the air from the Green Mountains
We are quartered in an old depot by a
bridge the rebels burned some three
weeks since 1t is ffry-two miles from
Algiers, and twenty-eigbt miles nearer
Texas than any the rest Of our troops ;
consequently we are IN the midst of reb-
els. There are no villages Of fany amount.
but there are some splendid plantations
around here. l believe it is about eighty
miles from this place to the nearest point
in Texas. We are expecting an attack
every night. 1t they come, they will
find US ready for them, although our
party is small, We have only Co.'S A
and Z at this place. The boys live pret-
y well with what they get Of the mig
gers. They bring in chickens, eggs and
sweet potatoes and swap for our hard
crackers ard meat, which are as great a
rarity to them as theirs are to US.
We received a report from some Of
the citizens that the rail road track was
torn up below this place. The telegraph
officer tried tae wires bnt they would not
work. About the same time our Capt
received a line from Sergf. Goodrich,
who was on picket about four miles from
this place, on the rail road track, stating
that some negroes had told him that the
planters had sent for some rebel troops
70 attack US that night. Accordingly. .
Lieut.. Mcfarland with some men started |
down tue road with the engine to a'cer-
tain if the track was torn up. He re-
turned IN about an hour and a balt, find
ing seven tTenty-feet rails taken up and
gone. The telegraph wirs vas cut about
twelve miles below, thus cutting off all .
communication With our friends. The
engine returned immediate with
rails, wires and men for putting
them down, under command of Lieut.
Day, of Co. +. The men that were left (
made all preparations for an attack each
receiving forty rounds Of cartridges, load
ing their guns and laying them by their
sides. Capt. Grout vas in command.
About l / o'clock F. NJ, he sent Lieut.
Kellogg, of Co. E. with six men q was
one Of the six) down the road to see if
they were tearing up the track this side Of
the train. We passed along still going
on the grass, single file, about l-2 miles
when we heard something ahead Of Us,
then getting into the ditch We crept care
fully along forty rods, when we saw
some fifteen or twenty men on both sides
of the track below US. We stopped, still
lying in the grass, Lieut. Kellogg and
myself advancing in the ditch until with
in twenty rods of them then we crawled
up on the track, and saw them in squads
Of four or FIVE, with their guns. We
saw four Of them standing on the track.
The Lieut.. drew his revolver and |
raised my gun, and both fired at about
the same time. They dropped and we
started on the run, loading as we went,
until we came up with the rest of the
boys, then we all fired They fred at
US, the shot coming pretty close to me,
/ being behind the rest But a miss is
as good as a mile. We ran as fast as we
could, they having three times as many
as there were of us. When we arrived
at camp, the men were in line ready for
them, but they did not come.
JUNE 16.-This afternoon as some of ,
the boys were going out on picket, they |
saw some twenty of the gentlemen.- .
Calvin Smith and NJ. 2. Kent, of our ,
Co, made out to kill one Of them. In
The night we were called out and learned E
from some of the negroes that came up I
to tell US, that there were 100 cavalry, {
about three miles below, tearing up the {
track. Accordingly, Co.'S a and f vent 6
down on the cars to see them, (having t
been reinforced by Co.'S F, II and K.) {
When we came in sight of them, they t
ran for the woods, we firing at them. q
We then divided up in small parties, and q
went after them. The squad / was in, r
commanded by Capt. Grout, came to
where we could see them in the bushes f
he commanded us to fire; saw one man h
TALL We fired twice and they left We t
'hen returned, and took two planters n
Prisoners whose peorooe to-o ,,r tbo ro,J l.