The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1864-02-18
Army O Correspondence.
LENoIR's SfATloS, TENN, |
January 90, 1864. 4

mothers, brothers, sisters, sweelbearts.
and friends of"poor old soldiers in
the field, 2are'aptuto look upon an ar
my as lying perfectlyidle, and as do
| ing nothing when they hear Of no
great battle fought, no orderly. retreat
made, nor no great victory Won. AL
low me to inform .all such that this is
not always the case, and that often
when there is no high encomipm to
pass upon Great Captain. that Cap
tain may possibly have had more mill
tary genius to exhibit, more magnif-i
cent strategy to display, than n'the'
very fire and heat Of wars sad havoc
and stern reality /; that although one of
our most worthy and eminent Army
Surgeons may take with him neither
saddlebags or piIl-box, convalcscent
mule, qpinine or Epson salts on the
march, he may nevertheless have
many cases ofiinhammatory rheuma-
( tism and chronic diarrhea to attend
to; that however much a "teteron" has
become accustomed to, and therefore
not orerranxious to participate in, act
ual engagements with the enemy, he
nevertheless can become somewhat
tired marching through 247 miles Of
sticky mud, knee7deep, of the brick
clay material. and can swear, when
necessary, in every key of the gamut.
but to particulari1e: /.
Gen. Granger, good man likely,
and a fine soldier possibly, originally
had command of the Reserve Corps of
the Army ofthe Cumberland, but after
the battle of Chicamauga, took the
place of Gen. McCook and Gen. Crit
tcndcn, either of whom, in my cstma-
tion, have done, and can do more tor
the country in a military and scien-
tifc point of view tlran GNnger's era
mum will permit him. Sorry as we
were to have Gen. McCook displaced,
who had risen from a Lieutenant of
Regulars to a Major General of the
best Corps in the Army, happiness
was felt at the thought that we, for
once, had a "soft thing" in Reserve
dom Afterthe series ofengagcments
commencing at Wauhatchie River and
ending on Mission Ridge, which cul-
minated in raising the siege of Chat.
tanooga, we were ordered to the De-
partment Of the Ohio, to raise the siege
of Knoxville. Burnside raised it at
Fort Saunders before we got there
But work wasto be done in front -
The 9th and Esd Corps werc inaand
around Knoxville, but which so well
iqualified to take the advance after
! Longstreet as Woods and Shcridan's
Divisions of the invincible, Army of
the Cumberland None. iaa.a ra vi p
We started December 16, 1868, at
6 P. NJ, from our camp near Knox
Eville, passed over Flat Creek about
noon, where we came in full view of
the Smoky Range of the Blue Ridge,
and after march Of Is miles, camp
ed at Blain's Cross Roads, near the
foot of Clinch Mounttin, and in close
| proximity to Sugar;Loaf or House
! Mountain" Here we threw up brchst-
works and awaited patiently the com
ing-not of the rag tag, lousy, bed bug
ridden, bob tailed and no-tailed latter
demalions of Longstreet, but of Jack
Hatfield Regimentaf Commissaryl-
| He came at last, and after issuing 40
minutes rations to last an hour and a
quarter, started out in pursuit ofan ear
of corn for Headquarter mules. oua 9
January 14th, 1864, we started for
cambridge, 26 miles distant, by way
of Strawberry Plains, AT the Plains
we were reinforeed7by about 300 con-
valescents, conscripts, and recruiting
officers, and the entire column moved
on toward the land Of Dixie Doodle.
crossing the Holston river and the
track of the East Tennessee & Virginia
| Railroad. We reached cambridge early
next morning, and found it a very
meat little village on the Northern
bank of the French Broad river, and
must have contained, when the war
first broke out, at least four men seven
women, and tbirtynine able bodied,
niggers and dogs. These, with the
exception of the latter, had flown to
where none knew but the dogs, and
they wouldn't tell. ''a71o4ni vi a9r :
We laid near town almost an entire
! day, and then four regiments Of our
brigadefwere put onpi ket, we being
oneli On the 18th we ewere attacked
whilst7oho picket, by a regular rebel
line Of battle, we're driven off one
ridge, rallied and formed on another;