The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1863-06-27
Army CORRESPONDENCE.
HEAD QRs LIST BRIG. Cd Div. l4th ARMY CoHPs
Encdmpcd ons mile s. f. of

ERcdUtpcu OpS mlte ~ H. OF
MURFREsBoRo, Tenn, June II, 1863.
s Since my last the 1O4th Reg. has been
quietly encamped along the edge Of a
beautiful grove which is almost entirely |
surrounded by camps South of us about |
100 yards distant by the 18th Ky. Reg |
IS and 42d, Ind, and ID Ky. Battery, |
while from the west, between US and |
Murfresboro, the whole face of the coun- |
try is white with tents. Thewhole of the
I'd Division, commanded by Gen. Negly, |
reposes quietly upon the PLAIN North OF
US and within but few hundred yards
commence the camps OF Rosseau $ d.
vision. Beyond these we come upon to
Cri.tenden's corps, which l believe forms
our extreme left and extends beyond
Readyv,lle and Cripple creek distance
Of over g miles. Our right wing now ex'
tends only to Franklin ard it is COM
manded 10y Maj Gen. McCool and is the
! theatre Of almost constant skirmlshes, IN
! which, almos. invariably we get the bet
ter of the butternuts About l O'Clock
| last Saturday body of Rebel cavalry
made dash on Franklin, driving in our
! pickets We had but small force there
| but they were well entrenched and held
| Forests forces back until reinforcements
came up, when they were entirely routed
On Tuesday last, Forests cavalry made
dash on our pickets near Triune, but were
held in check by the reserve until rein
forcemeuts reached them, when the reb-
els retired Since then there have been
! no serious disturbances. All indications
of hasty move from here have disap-
peared, and this VT army seems to be
! converted into one 4mmense camp of in
structIon. The most rigid discipline is
1 being enforced by Gen. Kosencrans, and
its good effects are cOnspicuOusly apparent.
/ The camps OF the different commands
! look as clean and neat as though they
were scrubbed. Where they are not sliad>
/ ed by the forest trees, the men have
erected awnings all along their tents,
which furnish I. cool aud delightful re-
treat for the soldier during the hot part OF
the day.
The main portion of drilling is done in
the ccol of the day In the morning from
1 to s o clock we have Brigade Drill, in
which Gen Beatty and staff otticiate,
and IN the afternoon from four to six, we
nave battalion drills Each Col drills his
own Reg. and twice a week we will here
after have division drills.
From the position | now hold, | have a
good opportunity of seeing rnanceuyerinya
OF the different reg meuts in the Brigade,
and am proud to say that the l04th is
inferior to none. Col. Moore certainly de
serves much credit for the skill and indus
try he has displayed since his return from
!. captivity. WiJh the assistance ofthe Il.
Col and Major, and 50 able corps OF
company commanders this regiment is
rapidly approaching that degree Of per.
fectlon IN drill and discipline which will
render II net only M honor 10 Illinois,
but iuviuc.b!e before the foe
Monday last We had division dill
This embraced the whole Of Gen. Nealey
r DIVISION b,igaGcs and three batteries
or Ii regiments. The day was pleasant
and the men got along quite well But
on Tuesday the brigade drill came off -
The whole of Mai. 1er. Thofnass army
corps was out - regiments, six batteries
and Cos of cavalry. The line Of battle
was formed about / clock, and although
but two changes OF position were gone
through Will. II Nsis lfdIlN = q C.bCh Dc'
fore parade was dismissed In nj! the in
tricate movements required in manicure
eriny an entire army corp>--througt
G and brush, no set o. men con iucted them
= selves more haaudsomly than did the boy;
/ of the 10th, and | felt proud as saw
their serred divisions whneii"s ~"d DE
= T1l..y ing iffru tine. NO one who has aevcl
4 sec,, 50 large n body of troops on parade
;. ! can form any idea OF the skill il require:
! TO maumusre men upon Z battle field sue.
: ccssfuIly without committing a blun,ler
! Bu. in the hands of such men as Gen
{ Thomas, Gen Necly and Gen. Beatty we
have 10 fears of b!unders Their cool,
ness and perfect knowledge of military
evoluti0ns dispel every doubt of the
soldiers, and who Will move with an in
ward cons ciousness that he is right y
, feeling which renders him Goubly as etfcc,
tive in battle as if lie entertained doubts
in reference 10 the skill and ability Of his
: commanders
, notice in late number of the Louis
Z vile Journal that the editor has taken
back all the abuse lie hcaped upon our
regiment last fall in reference TO the
Hartsvi.le affair lie has investigated the
matter and is now willing TO aword, not
only to the men Of the 10Th, unqualified
courage and bravery, but also to Col.
Moore The journal corrects all its for.
mer erroneous statements, and places Us
before its readers in our true lght-that
, of having done all that could have been
expected from the most experienced Off
GERS and men. Would that that blacklist
of all sheets the Chicago Tribune, had the
honesty to take back the deep died false
hoods il put forth in its musty issues
about the same time
The greatest curiosity that has ever
reached our camp, is the letter Of DR.
Freeman, Asst Surgeon Of this regiment
in the Ottawa Republican OF the 9th inst
! never had any faith in the DR.. as a sur
geon or physician and therefore never had
much to do with him Then, too, he has
been but little with the regiment, being
much of his time either sick or employed
elsewhere. But still | did not think the
Dr. was so much given to fiction as the
letter in the Republican indicates him to
be. ! have heard Of men who by using
big and unusual words, have received cred.
it from the ignorant for being much
learned in foreign languages. But | be-
lieve writers OF fiction never get their
names up as samples of varacity. What
particular point in his character the Dr.
wishes to establish in his Republican letter,
am Of course unable to say, as his whole
communication seems to be pointless-
Not surprising, at all, that the Dr. de-
signed to put forth a faLsehood, / have
come to the conclusion that his letter
must have been the aiispring of fit of
somnambulism For, it is notorious
fact, well understood by all who know
nything at all about the matter referred
to, that every word in the Dr.'s letter.
which refers to Lieut. Prescott, is without
a shadow of truth. Prescott was a full
half mile from camp, acting as officer of
the camp ground, during the whole fuss
with the negroes and never took any part.
IL, e. oil l.. or;Hnni fhnraforo &c