Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1864-02-05
10 3 = 49, q ~ 1t.- j -4s71 = - :
Letter from Alton. III.

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Letter from Alton, III. H.
Ssvers March Of the 1O'h Knnsas IN Md
ssinser--Ths Greydsards Greer Attempt
: Of t,oo Rebel P.isoners to f. cape. sgf
| ALTON, Ills, Jan. Is, 1864.
DEAR JOURNAL Once upon time dis
,irguished gen leman Of Missouri, Of copper.
head tendencies, declared that the proper
place for all Karsas soldiers was-the Peni-
tentiary. II this be true, then the 10th
Kansas has reache 4 its proper destination, for
sure enough. here We are at the Penitentiary.
1t is gratifying to us, however, to know that
some 1000 Ct our Missoui ian's particular
friends have also found their proper homes
inside tie walls of Bluff Castle, and that our
business here is to sec that they do themselves
no irjcry by too much outdoor exercise. =
Prison life to US is not Of the nature to which
the gentleman would have consigned us. 3.
The regiment left Kansas City on the I'd
Of the pres. mt month. Not bling present
upon the march, l can give you no adequate
account Of it from personal knowledge. The
following extracts from letter published in
che Alson Democrat will serve to give your
readers me ida of the march - ~
"O:1ers were received on or about the goth
Of December, for us 10 repair to Alton, II s.,
t, take charge of the Military Prison. We
were at st. Louis ON the 10th Of Jan. There
was a heavy snow and the weather 80 cold
that, Gen.. Ewing. Our District Commander
did n. t deem it prudent to taks the mn out
IF Writer quarters until The weather should
moderate. Several Communications passed
between Ewing and Schofsld upon the sub
1jecr, and final y on the first OF January a
nispatch was r. c:ived. p.remptor ly ord. ring
us to report at st. Louis on the 10Th of Janu-
ary. - C 81. 4. Z. .-.-.f...s
! ''On the 21 we commenced the march. the
msrcury standing at 10 .1pgaees be ow zero,
and proceeded to In ;ependsnc twelve u les.
and camps I'll fer The night. Ga the 81, We
marched welvs mi es, ard went into camp,
the boys laying on the snow." --ia
The writer gives detailed account Of each
days march, of wb ch the ab we VII serve to
show the comforts Of sold er,ng in md win
ter. The regiment reached Dresden, the
western tcrmi.us of the Pacific Railroad, on
the 9th, hsvirg marched nearly one hundred
miles on OF, between the LIST and 10th OF
January, expo ed to The most extreme cold OF
the winter, and forced to lie in the heaviest
cf the SNOW. Some rlacs on the read We
had to m.rci through SNOW three feet deep,
aud make the road for our tain to follow. =
Maoy Of the men lad taeir faces frozen, and
| t .eir feet ana hands shar ID like fate.
Tie regiment arrived ct Rsntcn Barracks
At noon January 18th, where they remained
= few days, during which time our boys were
hospitsLly entertained by the 9th Iowa Cav
airy, also in camp at that place. On Sunday,
the l7th, they came up to this place, and the
ssme evening relieved the 37th Iowa. who
next morning left for Rock Island. Those
brave old Iowa s'boys" have left hosts Of
friends behind IN this good city. TIE people
were badly scared when they learned that q
Kansas regiment was coming among them
They seemed TO think that '.jay hawkers" were
sort Of cross bstween an alligator and the
devil, that led en- little children, and could
steal the salsra.us from hot biscuit. Down
in Dixie We have been called somewhat
eccentric SCI, but We never steal, no never-at
least when we are in a free State.
| Col. Bill Weer, when ON little bender,
told tho citizens that one Of his men could
whip any Eve Of them, but neither soldiers
nor citizens were fools enough to believe it,
consequently we are on the best Of terms.
Some Of the prisoners seem very anxious
at times to get an outside view Of their home
Sew. raj int ffectusl attempts at escape have
been made. A few nights ago two men,who
had died in prison. were placed in their cof
GINS TO be buried the next morning. When
the time for burial came it was noticed tina,
the ccffins had been opened end some Of the
screws removed from the lids. They were
opened and b. hold, there lay two live "Con.
federnies quitely waiting tho resurrection.
They had removed the dead bodies and hid
them, a d had taken their places intending
Oh the way to the burial ground to Go some
thing ''heasy" in the way Of raising the dead
Unfortunately for them the age If milac.e,
has past. You~s, &c,
| @ II n