The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-05-27

COLUMBUS, KY, May IA, 1864.
Editors of st. Paul Pioneer:
The Tenth Minnesota left st. Louis April
20th, and on the Path pitched our tents on the
hill, from which day the time was all i'm
proved by drilling and standing guard. On
Thursday. the 4th inst, we were ordered to
prepare for march, with 80 rounds of ammu-
nition three days rations, and each man carry
ing his half tent. At IL o'clock we were
ready Col Moore commanded the brigade
consisting of our Tenth. the Missouri Twenty
First (veterans), the Indiana Fjfty-Second (vet-
erans), and four guns of six-pounder battery.
The veterans had the advance, and our regi-
ment marched in the rear. 1t was a very hot
dav, and we had seventeen mics to march to
reach Clinton. The country is high and roll
ing. with many running streams, and was
thickly settled with fenced farms and good
houses, of which only few are now occupied
On most of these farms were fine apple Or
chards. The timber is very heavy.
We had not travelled far before we discov-
cred tobacco strewed all along the road The
veterans had taken the liberty to go into the
tobacco houses and seize the choice weed to
scatter it along the road We travelled this
day about an hour at q time, generally hating
five to ten minutes.
At 81 o'clock, we were halted ON the road
by house that was occupied by q woman and
several children. Here the veterans lad
asked for milk. The woman gave them all
they wanted and then they carried off her Ia
bic cloth and commenced kill ng her poultry,
and because she showed that she hated and de-
spise1 them for such con iuct, they took all
they could find to lay their hands on carrying
off her furniture ami rObbing the smoke house
of all IT'S contents This was all the robbery
saw the first day. tn ugh there were many
women with their families of children that
came down to the road side. crying Us we
learned because the Union soldiers had taken
their last horses. These veterans never stop
ped TO ask whether their victims were for the
UuiOn or not. The State is represented in
Congress as q part Of the loyal Union but
these veteran thieves took horses aud mules
from everybody that had them, making no diff
ference whether the owners were Union pcO-
pie or not 1t being Il very hot day they had
an excuse for falling out Of the ranks. and, eX-
cept few houses distant from the road, there
was no house from Columbus To Clinton they
did not enter.
We got into Clinton at ca o'clock, and start
ed very early next morning for Feliclana, %
miles distant, the Missouri regiment III adj
vance, The Tenth in the centre. This was also
q hot day. but we moved very fast.
The veterans could not pass house without
going in aud taking whatever they fancied
We passed Il LARGE field where q man was at
work at the farther side with yoke of oxen.
One of the veterans rode over on a horse,
seized the oxen, hitched them to a wagon that
stood by the side of the road. and drove on
with load Of lazy veterans.
Az mon the trim WAS halted for dinner. i
went to a house where good many Union sol
diers were assembled, and found that the bold
veterans had already been there They had
taken the quilts from Oft the bed. and even
broke open the. secretary and stolen all the
books. Tue floor Of the house looked as If
the people were Industrious. The old man
told me he had lived there twenty-one years,
had always paid his taxes promptly and owed
NO man cent. He was about 20 years old.
could plainly see the tears standing in his eyes:
He thought his enemies had been the cause OF
this robbing him. In an opposite room were
three women, crying, while another was dis
tractedly demanding justice and redress. This
whole family were, completely discouraged and
did mot know what to do.