The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1864-01-30
ute. The inhabitants are fleeing in all

tutS iS VlC III all
directions to escape that most Formidable
4 of all enemies starvation Our army could
not find days subsistence between, here
and Dalton. We are, therefore, compelled
to tarry here until we can establish base
line TO do this requires time. And
/ while we are establishing a base line here,
the enemy has ample time to establish
one at Atlanta with his advance at Dalton
And although his army may become
decimated by desertions, by the time we
are ready to move, combination of Cir
cumstances may enable him to bring to
! gether all the armies in the Confederacy
again, as he did at Caickamauga, and
with superior numbers stop our progress.
! But should he do So even drive us back
again 10 Chattanooga, the reverse, would be
but temporary Other parts of the field
would require the enemy to Oxide up his
! force again and thus leave US another OPP
/ portunity 10 advance, and That too with
an absolute certainty of success. .W
! The stories Of assertions from Braeg's
army, after his evacuation OF Tullahoma,
were true. Thousands of his best soldiers
deserted him. His grand army, which so
stouiy struggled with Rosocrans' legions
at Stone River, gradually dlyindlei down
tc mere handful--co compelling him to
retreat from one stronghold to arofher
until fortunate lull in the field at large.
enabled him to cali to his aid large Access
/ sions from other parts, and by hurting
them quickly into the fray gave us Sc,
we're battle Pat the urgent demand for
those same troops in other regions
brought upon him q disaster ten thou.
sand times greater than the one sus.
tanned by the army of the Cumberland
at ChiceaEausa; and SO it VIII be again.
| BY the time Swe are ready to move, the
rebel army in thesouthwesu VIII be help
less, unless it can be strengthened from
other quarters. Georgia and Alabama
cannot furnish conscrpts enough to keep
pace with the desert;ons. And as the
Presidents proclamation becomes more
generally understood, the current into
our Zines i'acps swelling 10 volume. Those
that come in are irretrievably lost TO the
rebels; and, as their lives depend upon
the ultimate success OF the Federal army,
| their acq iSItIon is more valuable to US
and more disastrous to the rebels than so
many recruits IN cur ranks.
yesterday TIE whole army was thrown
into exstacies BY The arrival of tho cars
from Bridgeport Ii was their first trip
through, since our occupation Of the val
ley OF tae Tennessee. We are now in
railroad communication with Oitawa-just
think Of it with Chicago, Cincinnati,
Louisville in short, with all Ike world
except Richmond, and a.lcE other unim~
portant towns and villages in Dixie. 4
brief ride will now carry US Sack Ear be
yond the scenes of bloody strife. The dis
lance, which has required over two years
/ of incessant toll, and the sacrifice Of more
than 2DOQJ human lives to make, can now
be trayersed in q few short hours. But
such is life; years OF incessaHt toll are
, often squandered in q day.
! notice in the Ottawa papers that the
, generous people of L. Sale county ere
! quite lavish IN their contributions 10 the
Sanitary Commission. Their liberality,
certainly describes the applause Of those
. connected with that philaathrop:c institu-
t!au. would suggest, however, If the
/ good people of La sale county, are des-
/ rous OF brneiltiug their own sons ID the
army, they had better send their dona
tons direct TO them, instead of the Sani-
, tary Commission. Of course | do not
know how troops III other parts OF the
field are benefited by this highly re
| spectacle Institution; but one thing ,io
/ kaoY, and that's, that the sick wounded
/ or vel! soldiers Of this regiment, have not
/ received one cents benefit out Of every
| dollar : worth contributed by their friends
81 aJne W here these stores go 20. after
| leaving the Sanitary agency, IS hari to
. tell. AL the men that have ever been in
the hospitals, from the company to whieL
/ am attached. positively declare gaa. ,AeS
| have never had enough from Inesani,.ry
/ stores 10 make one day 5 ration. AGi
/ yea, immense quantities OF these torres are
I constantly ARRIVING, and being issued out
from the agencies. Is for the well .s
! the regiment, all that know Of
, their receiving were, two or three po.a.
toes, and about an equal number r on
lens : piece, ana some two or three shirts
and drawers % eIch company, and had it
/ not been for the personal attention of or
( surgeon Dr.. Dycr.) IN securing this pit-
/ tance, we would never have had even that
! much Now that we have the Il. X.
I through, let the good ladies' o! Ottawa and
/ the several towns Of the county contribute
! a couple hundred pairs OF good knit socks
| for the lO4th, and if possible some 81 or
hundred flannel shirts, and send them
/ 10 the q. u. OF the regiment. Let them
send 4 barrel or two of pick eIed onions,
! tomatoes, cabbage, DC, aad they will pre-
! vent more sickness Jy far than all they
have ever sent VIII cure. We want some 4
thing 20 prevent Inen from getting sick,
much more than what will cure them
after they have got sick. At present we
want ani;-s corJIt!cs, and if our friends
wish TO do u good let them send them
on direct to the regiment. If it does coat
half their donations 10 pay express charges,
they will still benefit the regiment more.
than 1t ten times the amount was sent to
the Sanitary Commission Don't send
luxUrles, or delicacies, but vegetables of
all kinds They are what we want.
the mast ninth u ac
been detailed on pioneer duty We are
erecting extensive water works 10 supply
the Notifications and hospitals from the
river. Also, building u grist mill and
cracker factory. Nearly the whole regis
ment Is OH duty every day, but the time
allotted to each man to work is only about
two and one fourth hours-an hour and
quarter IN the forenoon. and hour IN the
afternoon. The men prefer this TO picket
ing, though they would have to 20 out
but once week. The nights are very
cold and it is exceedingly unpleasant to
be out all night without shelter
The whole arnlyis exceedingly healthy,
considering the squalid condition of our
wardre5es. \ better day, In this respect,
however, is close at hand. Large quaint.
ties OF clothing are daily arriving, and
viii, no doubt, soon be issued TO the differ |
't'' -NS'.-iS"tS' ~ dit SIduuaiIy DeSin-
ing 10 see our way out OF the woods--wc
expect TO soon be in the cleariegs again. |
Then let the rebs look out NJ
The tone Of ,he rebel correspondence
recently picked up by our cruisers is not
always very happy For instance, ~. c.
Irowbridge writes from New York to bis
friend charlie Lamar III Paris:
GOOD ncd, Charlie, if you were here,
ana forced to listen TO the Lincoltes about
Mual llev inIenl L. IL. L.. L.; c |