Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1863-06-19
FROM THE THIRTY.FIRsr IOWA.
Letter from Capt. Speer.
WALNUT HILLS, Mrss.,

WALNUT HILLS, MISS,
June 4th 1853.
Mr.. Editor I'm Chicago and st. Loui.
papers, notice that Grants army is occupy
ing the attention Of the country at the pres
ent time, and those who live at distance
from the rebel stronghold are more anxious
and excited over the probabilities of vicks
burg's being taken, than we who lie withir
from two to four hundred yards Of the enc
my's works. Since the 10th day Of May
shells, balls, grape and canister have beer
singing their own peculiar song over us near
ly every hour in the day; but like othe,
songs it is becoming old. We still hold oul
first position on the extreme right. We oc
cupy one hill and the enemy another-a val
ley, or in some places only hollow, from
two to eight hundred yards in width, sepa
rates US. On the side of the hill which We
occupy. heavy rains have cut numerous
bitches or cutters, which we have dug vide,
and deeper, and when not on duty each sol.
der hunts his hole" and is perfectly safe
Once in while a reckless or careless strag
gler gets a " short discharge" A large pro
portion Of our forces in front have been in.
trenchins. since the 23d Of May, every night
and building new forts, mounting heavy
guns, etc, while others perform picket duty
and lie in the rife pits on their arms
Last night our brigade mounted two Ga h.
Columbiads, and understand four more OF
the same kind are coming up. A few nights
ago we planted two 80 ID. rifed Parrots,
which have since destroyed or dismoun.ed
many pieces belonging to the enemy. And
so the work goes on every night from this
point to the extreme left Since we COM
menced the siege of Vicksburg the weather
has been unusually warm, flies very numer-
Gus, and the water which we are obliged to
use is almost at blood heat; and often
think of the spring left behind me- But
thank God! our neighbors on the opposite
hill are suffering much more than we are,
and we will not whine. They are obliged to
carry their water much farther than we do,
and its warmth is in proportion to the dis
lance it is carried. But in one respect they
have the advantage of US, to wit they are
thoroughly posted in. regard to all the good
and bad qualities Of the mule. CHE flesh
mean.) Undoubtedly they have been great
sinners, as they have been fasting for two
weeks and show no signs Of returning to reg
ular meals. In addition to " the mule" they
receive two rations of bread per day, made
of pea and corn meal, each about the size of
an ordinary two pound weight. Fast days
should be observed once in while, but it is
possible to run almost anything into the
ground, and we hope that their stomachs
may soon compel them to test our hospital
ity. ...
l cannot enjoy good thing so we'll as
when my friends are present to enjoy it with
me. Sometimes in the night all our guns
and mortars open on the rebels at the same
time, and play on them for half an hour as
fast they can be loaded. never witnessed
anything SO grand. The roaring of the guns,
burning fuse, like ropes Of fire crossing each
other in the air, and the loud kissing and
bursting of so many shells, make scene
which would have been invaluable to Ho-
mer before he painted the battle Of the gods.
At such times the rebels do not reply to
our guns, and am Of the opinion, that most
Of them 60 under ground. Our pickets and
those of the enemy do not fire on each other
during the night, and many dry joke is
cracked between them. The other evening
one of our guns was placed so near the rebel
works that the boys could easily converse
with each other. After some socable talk,
one Of our gunners sent them heavy charge
Of grape, with the following directions -
Take that you id sons of b--h's and
eat lit with you: mule-beef and pea-bread."
A few days ago cook in one of our Missouri
regiments was bringing breakfast to his
company and shot took his head off, when
one Of his comrades ran forward exclaiming
I" Der tihe ish der coffee spilt?"
Joe. Johnston is near jackson, recruiting
a force to attack our rear. If he comes witt,
fifty-thousand men he can have fight-but
he cannot save Vicksburg. We can take
the city any morning, should we resolve to
pay the price," lie is being closely watch.
ed by our cavalry. He cannot attack us be-
fore the 10Th of June, and before that time
Pemberton's peas will be exhausted. We
are intrenching our rear from Haines' Bluff
to the lower end Of Vicksburg, for the bene-
fit of friend Johnston. 4 E... ..u...t-,....
Gov. Kirkwood and Gen. Baker visited our
regiment to-day. The Governor says he hos
the name Of beirg dirty devil at home, but
that he shall give himself no farther trouble
about being clearly, after seeing us. Mrs.
Whittenmyer also gave us a call yesterday
AID promised that we should be better sup.
Piled hereafter with Sanitary Stores.
We are highly pleased to know that many
Of the most prominent coppe,heads o! the
North are receiving the punishment which
they deserve; but many things are going
wrong yet. The soldiers Of New York, and
other states, should not be deprived Of their