The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1863-05-16
Army Correspondence.
NASHVILLE, Tenn, April 2etb. 1863.

| ~ "e r'ee A'o"eT AosHay Is ouc ol to
most disagreeable days out doors, we hav
( had since leaving Chicago. 1t commenced
3 raining last night about one o'clock, ane
!; has kept it up ever since, g o'clock p m.
. The men are all in their tent. buried un,
der their blankets; for the shelter tent,
we have for summer use, are poor pro.
lection against heavy, dashing rain
The government, however, furnishes each
man with an excellent rubber blanket
which, it thrown over him, entirely PROS
tects him from what fine moisture sits
through the canvass of which the tents are
composed. When an army is in motion
these tetts arc much preferable to the
heavy-bulky Sibley or bell tent Hence
the government have discovered that, to
get these tents, which do not weigh over
4lbs piece, and let the men carry them
instead of their cumbersome wardrobe,
or as they are more commonly termed;
their knapsacks, An army con move with
much more celebrity, and great deal less
exposure. Heretofore whenever quick
movement was to be made, the corps de-
tailed for that purpose was sent out, with
out any tents at all, and in case of bad
weather, the men, as a matter of course,
were exposed 10 all its inciemency. Now,
two men car pick up their little strips Of
canvas, and throw it over their shoulders,
and when night comes can stick up their
guns for tent poles, use their bayonets for
| pins, and they have a shelter which
answers a very good purpose, in almost
any kind of weather. The rubber biakets
are light and in warm weather all the cover
men want They are cool, and dry. and
| in wet weather serve as a perfect shelter.
A perceptible improvement in the health
OF the army is visible since these tents and
rubber blankets have been introduced
| There is nothing which soldier di,likes
SO much as the "totin' OF his knapsack
He will submit to almost any hardship
without grumbling, but when il comes
to shoulder his knapsack he begins 10
swear. The morality Of the army will be
much improved if the plan now proposed
by Gen Rosecrans is adopted; that of
hauling mems krapsacEs
Yesterday part OF our company was
detailed as a guard uTon the passenger
train from here to Murfreesboro; and
wss placed in command of the guard
We left this city early in tho morning and
reached Murfreesboro, about the middle
Of the forenoon. In passing down the
Railroad we go through that portion OF the
ha.t tl.. field which hvS
+ dams division, during the great battles of
Stone River Thousands Of dead horses
st!l lie strewn over the field, and the
stencil rising from them, is almost intole-
rablc. Vast grave yards are visible from
the railroad where the dead were buried.
some oI them Goys1ns scrss uay ol hog gr9nna g. 1
quain,ed with the mode of interring the
,ieau after an engagement, l will state,
that IL Is the custom tG dig a trench about
/ ) feet wide, from , to ) feet deep, running
from north Ia south. In this trench the
dead are laId as close together as they can
be; each man is numbered in register,
and II his name can BE- aScertained 1t Is
placed opposite the number. The reei-
ment and Co to which he beion ged is also
given. There are often as many as 900
placed IN single trench OF this kind
The earth which is dug ont, is then thrown
back upon the bodies inferred and neat
Gi,cn dug on both sides of the trench to
irvcnt the water from running in. At
the head Of each body is stake or strip
of board firmly planted, upon which is in.
scribed the number of the person lying
there BY this precaution, persons wishing
to recover the bodies of friends can easily
find them
The whole number of persons burie'l
upon the field after the battle, embracing
the dead of both sides, is said to be over
$1,000 And nearly many More were
taken away by friends and died elsewhere
from wounds. Our loss, in killed, wound
ed, and missing, after the battle was II,
6sS of this number, however, we lost some
1000 as prisoners Leaving the number Of
killed ond wounded about 10, 600
Our dead upon the field did not number
over 5000 So that that of the rebels must
have exceeded 5000, and if the same pro
portion Of wounded held good in their
army as it did in ours, their loss must have
been 5000 in killed and wounded, and
with the 1000 prisoners taken by our
forces, swelled it to 1900 Quite an army
All along the road as far as the battle
field extends, wherever there are any
trees, they are literally riddled by bullets
Many are shattered and some entirely
, torn down by artillery shots Many OF
the marks | noticed were % to 80 feet
above tho ground. The greater portion
however, were from to feet up, and II
/, is astonishing that a man could have es
capped where such torrent OF lead must
have fallen.
As you near Marfrcesboro you come in
sight of the encampment of the grand
army of the Cumberland" 1t is one of
! = ho ,ts I heh old
Previous to the tattle, Murfreesboro wai
surrounded by heavy forest All this
has been felled for mile or two in every
direction, and the tim6ers used IN the con
struction of Notifications. stockades, ware
houses railroads, dams, dc For miles the
ground is white with tents The whole
c,mp is being enclosed with impr"gnabl:
earthworks OF the most .antic proper
tions, extending from hill to hill-acros:
valleys and up declivities. As you stand
on the summit of one of Il ose ridges, and
look over the scene, it resembles one vas,
ant lill-all is life Thousands and thou
sands of men and teams are in motion
steam engines are either rushing along
with their long trains, or propel'ing saw
mills, grist mills, machine shops, &c The
parade grounds are filled with infantry and
cavalry regiments drilling while here ano
there a ponderous battery whirls around
from one position into another training
. the horses and men in the art of handling
with alacrity the death dealing artillery
1t is astonishing to see the rapidity witt
which every thing moves Whole Plain'
are it one day converted into q series o
entertainments, stockades and ri1epits
In the centre of these works is locat et
: the Gu uartermaster. Commissary, and ord
nance departments, and the Magazines
These are utterly inapproachable. A gas
rison Of 10000 men could here hold q