The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1864-01-30
Army Correspondence.
= CnXrrasooca. lFrxx. Jan, 18th, 1864.

Every IL tOUiiA W ~ ON''~''A'
| Of winter, except the rolling torrents of
| the broad Tennessee. Her pure waters,
fresh from the sparkling foun tains that
leap from the mountains side, or boil up
amid slvery sands in the valleys below,
spurn the chilling blasts, an,i glide on
smoothly, unclad with wintry ice, in
I smoking waves, through their mountain
defiles, bearing upon their bosom the ma
.jestic steamer freighted with stores and
| troops for the army
r. For the past few days the ground has
! been white with snow. The weather has
| been quite cold. I he thermometer sew
! eral times dropping as low zero. The
! frost has Penetrated the ground over a
foot in depth, and the ponds and sluggish
/ streams are covered with ice strong
| enough to bear a team. With our shabby
comforts We seem to feel the cold as keens
! ly as we would were we up north, where
the mercury has been playing about 30o
below zero. This is a very high country,
and although pretty well down in the
sunny south, the winters are quite severe
and deep SHOWS are not uncommon.
! What troops are ere are mostly in
comfortably fixed quarters and with an
! abundance of feed, they might get along
without suffering, were it not for two
| things: A lack of transportation. and
great deficiency in clothing. Wood Is
abundant bat it is a mile or two from
May of the camps, and as all the teams
are used in hauling supplies OR have
starved to death for tho want of forage.
the only way. The men have of getting
iuei Is by carrying it on their backs. Our
biiga1e, however, is more fortunate We
are encamped on the bank OF the river.
| Moccas;n Point, on the other side, is COW
cred with timber. BY means of few
pontoon boats we can keep OURSELVES sup
! Piled with but little labor Eut In cloth
| ing we are woe!,illy deficient particularly
| in shoes, shirts, and stockings. Many Of
! the men are without shirts, aud still NOR
/ are without socks. The shoes furn Shed
| by the government are often miserable
frauds. Probably in 10 article furnished
the soldiers Is inere more villainous ras-
caiIty rracticed by she contractors, than
IN SHOES. l have seen many pairs come
! 70 pieces after week wear While the
! department are at the work Of overhaul-
/ ing army swindlers, in the commIssary
ard quartermaster's departments, it is
! hoped they will, also, pay their respects
to the contractors There is scarcely q
! branch in which frauds are not practisel
| wish e.ery Congressman had served at
/ least one year in the amy: net as a gen
eral, or a colonel, but in the rank and
tile of the army There is the place TO
learn the real wants of the soldiers MIL
lions Of dollars would be saved by the
soldiers and the country, through the
knowledge thus obtained II would en-
able our legislators TO know wha. kind OF
laws are really necessary for the good of
the army, how 10 restrict contractors and
how to go about tracing out rasca!ity-
Men not familiar with the details Of army
! life, can never get at the real root OF the
wrongs which the private soldier suffers,
and herce hundreds of despicabIe villains
90 unwhipped where one receives his due
The system Of sutling in the army needs
overhaulIng. The present mode should
be entirely abolished, and the whole mat.
ter taken in hand by the government
/ The way sutiing is now Conducted it Is
nothing mere nor less than a species Of
robbery. They never appear unless where
there IS no chance Of competition. and
then only rs long as the men have money
Their wares are, generally, Of the mean
! tqua!lty-neyer better than those bought
at mock autions. The most exorbitant
prices are charged with Lrazen taceIness
that would make a statue blush Now
the government commissaries sell 20 off
GERS all they neei in the way Of subsis-
lance, and the Q N. department sells
them clothing at cost prices. BY adding
to the conln.issary departments full
stock OF such articles as an army needs,
| which are not included in its regular Is.
sues. and By charging q moderate profit,
say 20 per cent, on such goods, compe-
tent men, ut good salaries, might te eIn~
pioyed and the whole business conducted
OF n - H., i Z
revenue TO the government. This rcYc~
nue. might be appropriated for the suste-
nance Of the Soldiers Home, or for
hospital fund, The whole system Of
clio hing the army might be conducted
through this army store keeper, and thus
dispense with an immense amount Of la
Dor and red tape, besides much loss, vexa-
ton, and trouble. Under the present
system of clothing the army, Tiers no end
to tho labor required to keep track OF it
Every officer who touches an article of
clothing, has to make 4 monthly volumi:l-
Gus report TO the q II. Gen, of where he
got it, and what he did with it, and as
most Of the clothing, under the present
system, passes frequently through fifty
hands, in getting from the contractor to
the soldier, the amount paid for clerk hire
blanks, and paper, in making the vaCcus
transfers and reports, is immense he
mode of arming and feeding an army, is
much less complicated, but might, also,
be much improved. As a general thing.
the soldier would sooner buy his clothing
as he needs it, than draw it at stated times. !
He could then get just such as would fit
his person, instead of frequently beng
obliged to take articles that are either too
large or too small At the end Of every
two mouths his account, if not paid, could !
be entered upon the pay rolls, and at pay |
DAY al! squared up. This system would !
induce the soldier TO be more economical |
IN his clothing, as his attention would be |
more frequently drawn to his account, |
than under the present mode where IT |
only comes up at the end ofeach year
Last week our usual quiet.was little .
disturbed by n sudden dash of Wheclers !
cavalry upon our picket line | under /
stand he gobb,ed up some three or four ,
pickets, and half a dozer stragglers. Since I
the battle here, we have felt so secure /
from all danger that pickcting began to |
be locked upon by the men more as a ,
mere form than as an actual necessity. 1t |
is quite likely, therefore, that not the /
usual degree of vigilance was maintained. /
The town is, no doubt, infested with spies I
who, noticing this delinquency on the
part Of the pickats, must have given |
Wheeler tho necessary information to !
make 30 bod and successful raid
Precautions have, however, since been
taken which will cfIectualIy put a stop 20 |
any further attempts Of this kind.
Large numbers cf dcscrtcrs from the !
rebel army, still continue to come into !
our lines; and by the stories they tell, one |
il led to believe that the Confederate
army IS III woeful state of decentralization,
!! not n the actual process Of disintcgra-
tor. VI couFsc thcir tales Of suffering
are an more or less exaggerated for no
army could maintnin lie cuislnncn a I