Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1862-01-10
Our ARMY CORRESPONDENCE
Seven Hundred Slaves Set Free by
the Kansas Brigade.
CAMP DEFIANCE,

Dear Journal: Judging from the newsp
per reports which reach us, the Kansas Br
gade has obtained something Of reputatio
throughout the country for ccnfiscating reb
property, especially that species ofpropert
which bears the human form.
We have few individuals in the Kansa
Sd cven,. whose feelings would doubtless lea
them to deny the truth of these charges.
we may so consider them. /, for one, Al
not of this class.
The Kansas Brigade, believe, is the onl
command in the army whose record is clea
Of the return Of fugitive slaves to their mas
tiers; not in one instance has this been done
The Union man and the rebel master hav
Jared alike in their applications for slaves tina
have sought protection within our lines, ex
cept that the Unionist has been Furnished
with receipt for his negro, which Gen. Lam
with chara. teristic bluffness would after
wards declare was not worth d-n.
Many good Union men at the North, per
haps some in Iowa, will cal it "nigger-steal
ing" to aid a man to gain his freedom, ever
if that man should be so unfortuna as t.
belong 20 a rebel. Let such individuals enjoy
the supreme sati-faclion ofwishing us hanged
and we will continue to 'tJay- Hawk" niggers
if they will call it so.
Our trip from Kansas City to Springfield
and thence to Fort Scott, was instrumental in
bringing from slavery to freedom, not less
than seven hundred negroes, many of them
as white as their masters. Of this number
about eighty came into camp in one night
This was the night before the brigade left
Springfield. They have taken up their abode
in Kansas. Who will say they ore not men
worthy of more consideration than their
masters?
When our tired regiment arrived at Fort
Scott. it was believed we would remain there
for the winter, and camping ground was
selected in the timbercd bottom bordering on
the Wasmoton River, well calculated for win
ter quarters, and the men were busily enga-
ged in fitting things up in as comfortable a
as possible, when we were ordered
northward. Unexpected as it was, we were
glad to get away from the vicinity Of the
Fort, fer various reasons A regiment of
Home Guards had been quartered there all
and they had allowed the place to
become SO filthy, that one would not wonder
that they were dying off daily. 1t was
God-send for them that the brigade came in,
or no sooner did we arrive than our guard
luties were doubled one half of which was
Used to guard the Home Guard.
AS was saying, we were ordered north
ward, and the impression gained ground that
We were going to Leavenworth. The man
who undertakes to say where regiment is
going and when and why should first become
amiliar with matters behind the curtain, or
EN- to one he will miss his guess. So we
ound it in this case, for our march was stop
bed at Ossawattamie, where we remained ten
lays encamped on the north bank of the
Nasie-de-Cygcnt.
While here, the pay rolls were made out
md the regiment mustered preparatory to be-
NJ paid off; that part of the ceremony, how
ever, yet remains to be performed. Many of
he men are sadly in need of their hard earn
ID wages; their families, in some cases at
east, are suffering for many of the necessaries
If life, particularly in the line cf clothing.
At Ossawa' annie, also, we learned that Brig
ldier General Denver was our commander
\ kind ef backward movement we could not
,ut feel when we remembered his course
While Governor of Kansas Territory. We
.ould console ourselves with the belief that
avs in the Senate might do as much in the
light direction as would likely be lost in
Winters campaign under pro-slavery leader,
especially if we remained in Kansas.
From Ossawatomie we returned to Mound
City, twenty-five miles south, the county scat
# Linn county. We were brought here for
he purpose, believe, of snppressing certain
Guerrilla bands that have been COMMITTEE g
Expectations upon the people along the line.
These bands belonged to Missouri, and after
he command returned to Mound City, one
# them came over and drove off ste OK, plum
Tered houses and finally killed man living
light miles east of the town.
An expedition into Missouri was determin-
ID upon and three companies of cavalry and
TX Of infantry, under Major Williams left
amp at dark on the 18th inst, which pene-
rated as far as Papinsvie and Butler in Bates
county, both of which places we're destroyed
~ fire, together with numerous houses, barns
Ind mills through The country.
These places being used as rendezvous
or the different marauding parties they had
become particularly obnoxious. The expcdi-
ion was absent three days and returned with
about one hundred head Of beef cattle, several
horses and some prisoners, one of whom ac-
to holding the rank of Lieutenant
in Prices army.
Expecting that such stirring up of the
hornets would bring them down along the
line more than ever, the regiment moved
down to our present camp on Mine Creek,
two miles from the line, where we have es
camp known as scamp Defiance
Several Union men have escaped with
their families since we came here. They rep
resent the state of affairs all along the border
as truly dcplorable.
Many of Prices men are returning to their
homes in most distressing plight; out Of
money, ragged, and half starved, they find
the miserable dupes of men who,
in their greatest need, have deserted them.