Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1863-01-01
Belmnut Ghrnmihe.
sT. CbAIRSvILLE, OIIICS .
THURSDAY, JAN. 4, lsos.
Letter from the 98th Reg't.


COLUMBIA, KY, Dec. 2lst, 1867.
During the past few weeks our camp has
been visited by number OF the citiseus Of
Belmont and adjoining counties. These
visits are very encouraging to the soldiers,
who are always anxious to See any one from
their homes. and if they were more frequent
there is no doubt but they would have
good effect upon the health Of the army, as
they have tendency to revive AID keep up
the spirits OF the men, and there is no
doubt but much of the sickness in the army
is attributable to the loss Of spirit, to the
longing after friends, and the anxiety to see
or hear from them. When man has once
become discouraged, and commenced to
move about with his head down, without
energy, without life, without ambition, he is
but step from the hospital, and two from
the grave. Anything and everything,
therefore, that has the effect of preventing
this listless condition is of immense value in
preserving the health of the men.
There is considerable sickness in the
brigade, less, however, in the 9Sth than in
any other regiment in it. We have had b ut
two deaths since we came to Columbia,
whilst tho other regiments are burying some
one every day. The principal sickness is
Measles, some Typhoid, Mumps, &C., and
some cases Of general debility.
We have just been ordered to fall back to
Campbellsville, and hold ourselves in readi-
ness to move towards Munfordville. This
movement, it is thought, is induced by the
report that Morgan had left Lebanon,
Tennessee, with 5000 men to cut the rail-
road. We shall move in the morning, or
as soon as our transportation, which has
been some days on trip to Lebanon for
supplies, shall return. This change Of
position is only regretted because of the
labor expended in fitting up winter quarters
at this place. The men have been very in
dustrious in fitting up cabins or stockades
to live in, and are at present about as COM
fortaby fixed as the natives are. os.
Troy hare cut tinsbeEss sawed. itoff abosa
six feet long, split it into slabs or puncheons
of various widths, dug trenches in the
ground about l6 inches deep, of the shape
of their tents, set the puncheons on their
ends in the trenches, filed in the dirt, and
ramped it tight, plastered up the openings
between the puncheons with clay, and set
their tents on top, built chimney in one
end, and have door at the other. Most
Of them are foored and have hunks in them.
After having completed the work, under
the expectation OF enjoying it during the
winter, the order comes to fall back tc
Charlottesville, point beyond phich the bri.
gade neuer should hare been nored only tc
meet an advancing enemy, and beyond
which it was moved by the influence o.
Gen. Boyle, against the expressed wish o
Gen. Gilbert, who is opposed to the polio.
of dividing the forces destined for the pro
lection of Kentucky into small detachment
and placing them on the frontier to be pro
tected, instead of massing them at SOM
central point, convenient to supplies, from
whence they can be moved with equal facil
ity to any part Of the frontier where tn
enemy may attempt to enter. The polio
of dividing has been twice tried in thi
State, and has twice proved failure. w
are experimenting again, and perhaps afte
Gen. Morgan, D. some other dashiug rebe
shall "gobble" up few more one hors
, brigades and detached regiments, they wi
: conclude to place an available force at som
, suitable place, under some competent Officer
with discretionary power enough to NOV
beyond certain lines, without first telegraph
5 ing day or two through brigade, divisio
and corps headquarters to the officer j
:, command of the department, for permissio
E to 20 /; and until this is done these raid
will never be effectually stopped, for, undt
the present arrangement, these guerrilla
accomplish their work and are miles ava
: towards new field Of operation before an
one s authorized to jollo,o, and when Il
:. order does come, it directs that Genera
or Colonel SO and SO shall go to such a poi
in pursuit of the rebels, &C., and by Il
/ time the expedition gets there the rebc
are distant forty or fifty miles, and the pa
ty is without orders to proceed any furthe
If the Government wants to put stop
to Morgan and his raids, let it organize cor
nd Of four or FIVE thousand well drilled mour
: ed infantry-not cavalry, for tits of We
= little uss--and two or three we'll equipp
a light batteries, and place it under the col
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