Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1863-12-23

Il 1
| Dec. 7th, 1868
Sixteenth Army Corps, 9th Div, lst Brig.
Editors Journal:
| Reckoning that your respected read
ers woald like communication from
this part of Dixie, i, having a little
leisure, and also the will, propose to
crafty them. AS you are perhaps
awarei your correspondent is member
OF the fth Indiana cavalry. The regi-
ment was organized at Indianapolis, and
left that city on the 9th of December, for
Cairo, reaching that place on the 9Th.
The weather was exceedingly propitious
when starting, but when we arrived at
Mattoon, Ills, it became; lowering and
drizzly, and grew worse as we aeared
Cairo, where it eliminated in a general
deluge. Cairo, you are aware, is a mass
ofmud always, or if not that, bed Of
dust; consequently we found its general
character to be of the first horn of the
above description. The buildings are of
q HlObShCo vi ldICfilScCbuTG, anu III
habited by grasping, unconscionable
community. The trade, of the place is
principally with men attached to either
the army or navy, and as the traders
cons der such persons fiji ls biects for rob
berry, they charge for everything the
most extortionate prices
& We were obliged to remain at Cairo,
to our great disgust and discomfort, from
Tuesday morning until Friday, the l1th,
when the last shipment was made, and
nil that belonged to the regiment, was
shipped to Columbus, Ky. This was in
consequence Of red-tapism. There was
no excuse for the delay, for at the wharf
there were many more boats in Govern
ment employment, Iyingidle, than would
have transported two such regiments in
twelve hours,-but the cfrcumlocution Of
fee knows how not to- do it, and they
take good eare7to indulge the practice to
the top of their bent We remained at
Columbus twenty four hours, and then
took up our route to this place, distant
20 miles from Columbus, sending our
baggage by the cars of the Mobile &
Ohio Railroad, twelve hours in advance
of US. p
Columbus has considerable notoriety
as slrategical point, and is cabable,
when properly fortified, of resisting the
most desperate assaults. The town its
fsd ssf 0f Ja Saats%PtRsa Saaattsa tsRaahHs RtH
deposit, of no very considerable extent,
and, With a few exceptions, the buildings
are mass of novels pitched in mud
puddle. The Inhabitants are such as are
chiefly in Government employ, and the
eolored element largely prevails. There
are quite number of troops sta
toned there to garrison the place
There is also the nucleus of color
ed regiment. The plateau on which
the town is built, is surrounded by the
elevated country beyond, the face of
whichsis pre- oipitous, andrises to consid-
cradle hight 1t is this peculiarity which
rendersit SO eminently capable of effectiv
fortifcation, and you may rely upon it,
its advantages have not been rejected.
The local history of the place is, so far
as this rebellion is concerned, well
known, and Ieshall therefore dismiss it,
as it is undeserving of any notes of ad-
| miration-that is in my opinion.
| We started on our march about A.
| NJ. and soon attained the summit of
the the elevated country in the rear of
| the town. The weather was not very
animating,-for the sky was lowering,
and slowly fell the fine globules of
mist, sometimes designated as Scotch, l
suppose, because of its penetrating
quality From our elevated position, we
had an excellent opportunity for making
| observations of the surrounding coun-
try, but we found that such labor would
be effort lost. everything to be seen be-
ing inattractige. There were abundant
evidences of the attempts the secesh had
made to render the position impregna-
BILE, and as this 'Eas the threshold, after
passing which, our adventures were to
commence. was struck with the des-
! olate aspect of everything above, be-
I yond and around. For miles '=on our
route, nothing animated:was to be seen,
no sound save the FLASHING of the fall
ing rain; the soughing of the wind
through the branches of the tall forest
trees, and the. slight noise of our on
ward march. Not even the cawing of
the carrion crow, was to be heard, nor
the fight of the soaring buzzard which
hovers over the abode of dessolation
was to be seen, and the impression on
our minds was correspondingly depress-
ing. Through such a country we passed
for hours, occasionally seeing solitary
habitation with scarcely living soul
about it. We passed through Clinton,
a place of small note, rendered still
smaller since the beginning of the re.
bellion-and on we went passing a con.
temptible place ycleped Moscow, situated
on the bank of a creek of difficult pas
sage, unbridged; and at length five
miles beyond Moscow, we halted in the
woods, in the tempest, without tents or
aught to shelter us for the night. Or
. Saturday at noon we arrived 1T Unior
City, and formed Camp. Tom Brown
: named so IN honor of our excellent Lit
Col. Tom Brown, of Randolph county
Union city, which is to fgure some
Z what largely in this contest forsa uniteC
|, or discovered republic of freemen, is stu
. ted 26 miles from Columbus, in Obiol
K county, oKy.,,A on the Ohio and Mobile
. railroad and is at present the terminus
: of the working part of the road, furnish
> ing us VIII Aiour!supPileSI anu FORMING I'd
: connecting link between use and Chris
:, tianized civilization. The town itsel
! wonld bs3uhdeservihg a1Khe, either o
! praise or blame, its very insigni6canc
being so excessive, were it not for th
fact that it has been selected as the poin
y to organize movement which will ur
Q doubtedly eyentuate in the exterminatio
. or dispersion Of the forces. of the enem
IS now infesting West Tennessee. 1t i
. well known to us that Faulkner and Fel
% rest are very near to us, in fact, so nea
!. that their audacity is amazing; but the
is will find, if their hardihood will but hol
y out, that sometimes boldness is suprem
q folly. s4s.. 1ee -" e,
s On Monday, the 18th inst, one hui
. dred men, under command of Maio
n I n a