The Burlington weekly hawk-eye., 1863-03-21
HEADo'Rs 10TH REG Iowa Vol. IyY'Ry !
On BOARD STEAMER IATAS,
HELENA, Ark, March 9th, 1863


the earnest request of some OF your reguls,
subscribers and readers that ! should let them
hear from our Regiment occasionally through
the Hawk Eve. And Sd. Like the redoubtabIe
knight Of Hudbras, perhaps belong to tia.
unfortunate class who,
"-- in spite
OF nature and their stars, must write"
Soldering, with its everlasting ,edium, hss
also the alleviations of some variety. We have
certainly enjoyed some, at least, Of late. Olo
week ago last Saturday night, after we had re-
tired to our blankets, we received peremptory
orders from headquarters" that every man
should forthwith provide himself with three
days ra,ions OF cooked provisions, and be ready
to move Oh board transports BY Il O'Clock NJ.
the following day We we're then encaDped
about three miles back Of Memphis We did
not move, however, till Monday, when the
whole Division (Quinby's) moved or board
transport feet, consisting Of some ten or eleven
large steamers. We left Memphis On Tuesday
evening, our destination said to be Lake Provi-
dence, La. For some reason, however, kno#n
only at headquarters, the whole feet landed at
point on the river, about twenty miles above
Lake Providence; troops were disembatked,
tents pitched on Thursday afternoon, and on
Friday night again received orders to be resdy
to re-embark by daylight next morning, dssii-
nation said to be Noon Lake, near Helena The
mention of Moon Lake suggesting to your cor
respondent the possibility that the idea upon
which we were moving was somewhat moor
struck. But this evil suggestion was iumetiate>
ly dismissed when be remembered that hitherto
he bad Only been permitted to study strategy
through the newspapers.
But one little incident occurred during this
trip of interest enough to be noted down. At
Helena were the Path and 2s,h Iowa, in witch
regiments our "boys" had many relatives and
acauaintances. Our boat had TO turn in here
repair wheel, and such meetings and greet
ings had never witnessed before. The scene
was at once ludcrous and pathetic, as The
crowd on the boat and that on the shore heaved
and surged like billows driven together by two
adverse winds Guards were placed, with stem
but all in vain. Canute was about as successful
in stilling and rolling back the blows of the
ocean by word. Meet they would, aud meet
they did, il the widest tumu!t OF congratua-
ton. Poor fellows with how many of them
would it be the last meeting and the las parting
on earth. But fortunately no such thought
damped the joy of the present.
When l arrived at tie regiment the almost
simultaneous enquiry along the whole line,
from officers and privates was: "What do the
| people at home think Of the war; Are they
despairing and thinking of giving'it up?'-
You have not the most remote idea at least
had not, till came here, how anxiously the
army looks to the development of home senti>
ment. Yeu are told by the Copperheads at
home that the army is discouraged and anz.
ious to abandon the contest. Here the anxious
inquiry is: ''Are the people at home getting
discouraged I have heard but one sentiment
advanced in the army, an that is a determln.
alton to fight on till the last vestge Of this
rebellion is crushed out. But just at present,
there are more fears in the army Of the fire
in the rear"-divisions in the North-than Of
the rebel army heard lady remark before
left home that she believed there we're moth
ing but co,caras left at home, otherwise traitor
sympathizers would not be permitted to 60
about prating their treason in open day. Per-
haps there was ..more truth that poetry" in
the thought. In all conscience, the soldier in
the field has enough discouragements without
such untoward reports from home.
We receive but few newspapers IN camp
from the North, but occasionally all kinds OF
camp rumors, manufactures by rebels or rebel
sympathizeIs, for the express purpose, are
put IN circulation, which have full time TO Op-
crate before they can be reliably con,radicted
From Moon Lake it is said we are to 90 thrO'
a pass to the Yazoo river, and thence, down
that river, it is presumed, to Vicksburg. Per-
chance we only 60 to open up some new Get
ton-region to army spectators. As a MeIi-
can would say "Quien Sabe'-or as French
man would have it "Nous Vryons."
Yours &c. W. E. h.
). A PATRIOTIC USIoN-LovING WIFE.-Las'
I week, deserter from the 77th arrived at DIS
j, house in this city, after much doubling sDd S