The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1863-04-11

began. A great blunder has teen made
| py some one, and it is not proper for me
70 70 make charges. All can say is that
Oen' Gilbert sent MS out to Springfield
with the understanding that he had posi-
i've information that the enemy had but
Two or three regiments, or at most but
one brigade north of Duck River. Such
force we would have easily whipped.
put the fact was, Van Dorn's whole force
had been at Spring Hill for three days
before we left Franklin, aud not know
ing that our brigade had left Brentwood.
were preparing to attack Franklin, and
had started the day before for that pur-
pose 1he result was, we went for wool.
and was shorn ourselves
PRISONERS of war! l had supposed
that soldiers taken in fair battle were
treated as gentlemen, at least.as human
ReApgSrseR@a6Heh i"w1ft Simply state the +
facts. We were taken in the afternoon,
after four hours fghtinr, and marched
fourteen miles to Columbia. On the way (
the men had to wade creek over knee
deep and to ferry across Duck River.
taking till after midnight to reach the
town, where they were crowded into the
courthouse so thick that they could
scarcely lay down The next day it
ralned all day The men were marched
out three miles from town and halted.
and kept until four o'clock, having had
nothing 10 eat since daylight before the
hight, nearly thirty-six hours time. Then
one pound and half of meat was issued.
without bread, for three days rations.
hey were then marched four miles far
ther, and encamped for the night without
tents, 1t raining all night Next day
they were again marched eighteen miles
on the road, had to cross stream waist
deep on foot-long that was spongy, and
as they were slow, and some poor devils
got on their hands and knees to keen
from falling, Confederate officers stood I
with stones IN THAR hands to make them
walk Next day we reached Shelbyville
at night. The mems rations had given
out the second day, and although they
knew we were coming, our men had TO j
stay in the courthouse yard, it raining -
al night, and they got nothing to eat till G
wo o'clock next afternoon. Here let
ne say, God bless the ladies of Shelby n
IIlle! for there are as good Union people cI
here as ever lived. They have been pl
ried by fire and blood They brought II
God and words of good cheer and hope. :
How they do scorn those Copperhead r,
,naves of the North S. S.
The fourth day they marched six miles CO
nd again slept in the open air, with a 0'
erriic rain storm all night The next t.
ay beggars all description 1t rained c,
ii day We crosse one stream. waist an
eep, by wading-some men swan il.
he road was up the bed Of a creek, and an
was from ankle to knee deep more un
40 hnlf H. .:---.--E~ rraUued lula
} stay all night on piece of ground :
lree inches deep in mud, with nothing
ut green oak wood to make fires, moth.
lg to eat but meat without vessels to
'ok it in, and it raining till midnight. n
then turned cold, and next l.orning "
ragg stripped US of our overcoats, blan, n
cts and canteens, and shipped us on v
'rs to Chattanooga, and we have froze AS
I'D starved our way here
The result is we have lost more Lol
en- by their devilish treatment than con
eir bullets, and Northern peniten- m mo
ary is a palace in comparison with this AZ
ace rat,
Yours, &c, JoHN P. BAIRD,
COL S3th Reg't Ind Vols. IsI