The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-08-27
FOraging Under Difficulties.

To THE EDITOR: / have some very vivid
recollections connected with the experience of
foraging parties. After the Fourteenth Corps
reached the Cape Fear River the foragers were
obliged to fight for whatever they got, and
| owing to the competition between different
corps of Shermans army it was necessary to be
at the front i'll the small hours i'm the morning
if we expected TO get our share. My regiment
the 18th Mich.-with the 2lst Mich composed
the Third Brigade, First Division of the Four
teenth Corps.
On the evening of March Is. in company with
about 80 other men of the regiment, under
command of Lieut.. Town, i went forward to
our plcket-post III order TO get good start for
our breakfast and supplies for the regiment.
At the first streak of dawn we We're up, our
horses saddled, and away we went. / think
We had advanced about half mile when crack
went the guns of the rebel picket. We soon
came up with them, when lively skirmsh
commenced. We dismounted, left our horses,
and deployed as Skirmisli-line, and in con-
junction with other foraging parties we ad-
vanced and drove the Johnnies back slowly for
about mile should think. They stubbornly
contested the ground all the way. We were
suddenly brought to a stand at the edge of
swamp some 80 or 40 feet wide The rebs kept
up brisk musketry fire from the other side of
the swamp and we could see them quite plainly
through the trees. Three or four of our men
were wounded at this place. i think we held
the ground about an hour before the head of
the column arrived Oh the ground. Gen. Car
lin, who was then in command of our division,
rode up to an officer of one of the fOraging
parties and inquired about how much force he
thought was opposed to US. l think he said
there was two or three hundred, as near as he
could Judge.
Orders were Immediately given Gen. Buell.
who commanded our brigade, and the brigade
filed to the left and formed a line of battle
parallel with the swamp, while our squad was
ordered to remount our horses and move to
the lett as guard to the left flank. We had
scarcely reached our horses when heavy firing
told US that the regiment was holly engaged
with the enemy. We made our way to the left
as well as we could through the dense woods
and took position beyond our line. We could
tell by the firing that our forces were gradually
falling back. We kept our position until We
were left considerably in advance of our line of
battle, when we retired so as to make our rel
alive positions the same as before. This posi-
ton we held until sometime in the afternoon.
When We got orders to join the Regiments we
found it in line to the right of the road about
where We started the enemy's pickets in the
morning protected by heavy lineSof rail
breastwOrks, which they had hurriedly thrown
up. We had not seen a single Johnny since
we were relieved from the skirmisi-line in the
morning, but the regiment had Jared far differ
emily. After forming the line along the swamp
they were ordered to advance across the swamp
aud drive the enemy from their position. They
pressed forward through the swamp and on to
the crest beyond right up to the very line of
the enemy, who were protected by heavy lines
of rife-pits, and besides were vastly superior to
US in numbers, comprising the whole of john
ston's army. Here Major Eton Ia Drawer or
more gallant officer never wore the uniform of
our army was shot and instantly killed.
The loss of the regiment do not know, but
it must have been two hundred killed and
wounded.-FRANK HoPPIN, Co. K, 18th Mich,
Iroquois, ID. Z.