The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-05-09
rpntaAS

ing we moved sOxward ut q brisk r,,.
the apparent pEpose ofoverfakfhr III NJ.
sible, party offebels under Col! FernnIpooss-
who were retreating before us. Al q sui
we reached Deor EEreek, consider.h1..
siream, which empties Into the Yazoo. iu.t
diately along >ths banks of this SHINE .ane-
down which we rapidly followed TN,
country along Deer Creek is very rich an ns
fertile. Plantations are numerons ain
stocked with negroes, and the mans;e en
houses, cotton gins, ETC., are bnIt ar
large and magnificent scale. There wo =.
aDunoance OF corn, cattle, sheep. mn1es
few evidences of the ravapes Of war ehted
the starvation so much talked of saerns aao
stranger, and likely to be. In fact th;s
said TO be the most productive 1911. ;,iI' Is
country in the State Of Mississipp; and yn a OF
OF the most fertile cotton districts il the
south. Since Farragut's arrival has cnt . nts
we we AeAas ana Louisiana supplies from
their supplies from this district and ing
upper Yazoo: And yet the country seemaS
1ull OF supplies. We passed on randi,
however, disturbing nothing save 3 ~,
chickens, and the necessary forage for the
On Tuesday, the It'll inst. wa s,.r.os
early from our camp in canebrake. re-
" osoL1.he ZIG TeDel force, which
according to the most reliable acconnts
numbered 1500swith five pieces of light ar,
tillery. On this day our regiment was
next to the advance. At 81 P. M. as orr
cavalry were emerging from canebrake
through which the road led, the rebels
opened fire upoa them simultaneously with
their entire battery, but without effect,
Our artillery was then ordered to the front.
and shelled them, while the infantry
formed line of battle in the edge of the
canebrake and facing large open field.
the position of the rebels being in strip Of
timber opposite. Soon the order was given
to advance, and as the long line of infantry,
in battle array, bore down upon the rebels.
panic seized them and they incontinently
skedaddled, occasionally firing at our Skin
mishers, but hurting no one. It was no
fight, merely a run, and we reached their
camp and at once occupied their quarters,
where we found plenty of corn bread, just
baked, fresh meat yet on the Goals, and ev-
cry evidence of q hasty departure. A Sec
ton of battery and . regiment Of infant
ry We're sent after the retreating rebels.
who drove them two or three miles and
then returned. On the following morning.
having collected all the mules and negroes
in the vicinity and burned the corn cribs.
we began to retrace our steps, having gone
as far as our orders permitted 1.-The object of
the expedition being to draw large
force rom Vicksburg after US, if possible.
Now commenced the work of injuring the
cause of secession little, the order being
to destroy all the corn and take all the ne
groes, mules horses, cattle, hogs, etc. This
was carried out to the letter, and on every
side, on our return, could be seen the smoke
and flame OF burning corn, and Il doubt if
such were the orders, however, the i'm
mense cotton gins also succumbed to the
fiery element. Mules and cattle came in
by droves, and negroes. men, women and
by the hundred. The negroes
brought in the mules and carried the blan-
kets and sometimes the guns of our tired
soldiers. Our regiment being now in the
soon had an immense reinforce
ment, which continually increased, and
when we arrived at the boats it was hard
10 tell which numbered the most, the Twen-
ty-fifth, the negroes or the mules. 1 ven.
ture to say that more actual harm has been
done to the rebel cause by this one trip into
the interior by the 1st Division, than has
been done by General Grants entire army
since, their arrival at Young's Point.
Il think that the visit of Adjutant-Gener-
al Thomas to this department has some-
thing to do with the change in the policy of
our commanders. r.
We were troubled somewhat by the re-
bells on our return, who followed for the
purpose of picking up stragglers, in which
hey succeeded. A number of men were
AIKEN, and it is reported that some of them
we're horribly murdered by the incensed
'ebels, one being burned to death. None
If our regiment were so taken, as care was
aiken to prevent struggling. s.gs
On Friday, the 10th, while awaiting the
passage of our now extensive train across
he rudely constructed bridge over Black
Rayou, the rebels came up and fired on our
rear guard, mortally wounding a cavalry
man. General Steele supposing the rebels
we're coming in force to attack us, formed
inc of battle in large open field, on the
adjacent plantation Of General French, now
N the rebel army, and formerly class
mate Of General Steele's at West Point
Here we awaited the expected attack for
,wo hours, but the rebels came notand we
crossed the bridge and took up our line of
march, arriving at Greenville in the eve
llng. A boat was at once loaded with
mules and forage and sent down to Young's
Point. Since that time we have remained
iere, occasionally making short trips into
he country. collecting negroes, mules and
orage. A large quantity of cotton has
llso been brought in.
The able-bodied negro men are now being
ormed into companies and being drilled
~ competent officers, and we will soon
lave enough material to form a half dozen
regiments, if we remain here few DAYS
onger. ---.z -,...- ~. -.
But my communication is already too
ong. l could relate many incidents of in
crest, connected with our trip, but defer
hem until some future time. The health
If the regiment is generally good, although
,ur late march of a hundred miles has
made some sick, this being our first march
If consequence, all our former travel hav-
ng been on board the transports.
So .Ez..,4-,... NELSON.
OoINGs OF THE BUTTERNUT DEMOCRACY
IN THE HAIRY NATION. HONESTLY
HARVEY ITINERATING FROM DIsENTER-
EsTED MOTIVES. : HE BRAYETH FOR
THREE HOURS AT MONTEREY AND RE-
PORTETH HIMSELF.
Editor Hawk-Eye:-The Copperheads of
his part of the country, have been "kindy
loled up'' during the winter, operating be-
aind barred doors and curtained windows,
WITH owaahd then peace meeting in open
daylight, as a sort of feeler of the public
pulse, under the patronage of the polite and
iffable Br9adier General Augustus Caesar
Dodge, and the uncoutl1 and immaculate
Henry Clay Dean, but their peace meetings
ell upon the public ear like snow in harvest
and proved great waste of the raw ma
erial, without any prospect of future sue