The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-10-29

see it rain in the South? thought ] had
many times, but all other rains j had wit
messed there were mere sprinkles of mist,
compared with that of the memorable 21st
of March. 1865. 1t poured down in torrents ;
it came down in sheets; it came crosswise
and lengthwise; it
OVERWHELMED AND ENGULFED
everything save the stately pines that tow
cred above us. The ground, which was wet
and miry at all times, was soon sea of
water, and still there was more to follow" !"
Marching under such circumstances was
difficult. We were soon wading in water
kneedeep and still deepening. As one
soldier facctiousIy remarked, we were
" "fording the woods The harder and faster
il raiBed the Iouder the boys yelled. 1t re-
ouired something more potential than storm
and mud to danlpen the hilarious spirits of
the American soldier. The woods were dot
ted here and there with deep ponds and mire-
holes Now and then you might have seen
a lnckless soldier, who thought he was sure
of his footing, without moments warning
plunge headGng into one of those ponds or
holes; as he emerged he would be greeted by
the heartiest cheers and the most hilarious
laughter il is possible TO imagine. A wagon
master came riding along with very I'M
portant air. The boys Scrutinized him
closely He remarked, as he rode along:
"A fellow don't know a second before
hand where he's goin' to land, does he?"
just at that moment horse and rider
plunyed iutO a pond and went down. A
wag Of a soldier watched the spot until the
wagonmaster emerged from the depths,
spouting water and snorting like porpoise,
when, in the most waggish manner, he an
swered:
"No, he don't"
Before noon it was impossible to get the
supply train forward by teams. The poor
gnaded and jaded mules refused to work, and
Law down in their harness, struggling with the
water and mud. Gen. Granger ordered that
themules be unhitchcd, rope cables attached
to the wagons and the train drawn by the SOL
diers-a hundred men to a wagon. This was
an Improvement on muie power; but the
wagons pulled hard, and sometimes a loaded
wagon would drop down TO the axles in the
mire and 100 men could not bulge it. When
a vehicle slipped off the corduroy, it required
brave "nuliing and Juggling" TO get it back.
In such cases it became necessary to double
team" Brig.-Gen. Benton, who commanded
our division noticed a wagon, heavily loaded,
standing stock STILL" axle-deep in the mud,
with hundred men, including the writer, tug
ging away at it and yelling like a hundred
with a smile grasped the rope as he shouted:
Here's your mule" At those words the Gen
eral gave wicked tug al the rope, when his
hold gave way and he went plunging headlong
into the mirc and water. To say that the boys
shouted would be expressing it very tamely,
indeed The General came up serenly, how
ever. and laughed heartily At his mishap, as he
wiped the nurky water from his face. Look
ing up he saw young Lieutenant (acting Quar-
termaster) mounted on horse, giving orders
to "move that train forward" " with all the
authority OF Major Gen. Benton
said TO him:
"Disrnount, you young upstart, and help TO
pull this wagon out; commissions are
NOT WORTH A D-N TODAY, SIR"
While our columns were moving upon Mobile
from Forts Morgan and Gaines and Gen. Steele
from Pensacola, Gen. James Ii. Wilson, with
an effective cavalry force of 1000 and six bat
teries of artillery, was moving from the north
to cooperate with U.S. He left the Tennessee
on March %, and executed series of rapid
marches. On the 31st he met the rebel Roddy
in force at MOntevallo and routed him. He
moved rapidly, destroying rebel property in
all directions. Longs and Upton's Divisions,
5000 strong, met Forrest with 5000 men in
trenched at Boyle's Creek. Wilson's men dis
mounted and charged Forrest vigorously, rout-
ing him and capturing two guns and 200 pris-
oners On April Gen. Wilson, with 5000 of
and carried the outer defenses. He was badly
wounded while leading the charge. The rebels
rallied OBJ new line but were soon driven
from that by Upton and the city captured, with
b guns. 200 prisoners, and large quantity
of military stores Forrest and Roddy, with
5000 troopers, escaped in the night. Wilson de-
stroyed the rebel arsenal, foundries, cotton and
other property here, and permitted his troopers
to sack the town. He reached Montgomery on
the 10Th. AID the city was promptly surrendered.
Wilson dcGated Buford at Columbus, and
the town. with 200 prisoners and 81 guns was
taken on the night of the 10th. The rebel ram
Jackson and large amount of other property
was here destroyed. On the same day La
grange, Of Wilson's force, reached West Point,
defended by Fort Tyler, which he assaulted
and captured, with its garrison of 26o men, and
Gen. Tyler, its commander, killed. On the
2l1 Wilson entered Macon, where he was
Joined on the 30th by Croxton, who had sur
prised Tuscaloosa on the 4th and had moved in
60 days 650 miles in an irregular route, destroy
ing much property. At Macon 200 militia
and FIVE general officers were surrendered 10
Wilson by Gen Howell Cobb. Meantime our
campaign from the South was progressing as
rapidly as the terrible condition of the roads
would admit.
As previousIy stated, we invested Spanish
Fort on the 9th Of March. Steele invested
Fort Blakcicy, abont II miles further up the
bay, soon aftcrward. Shortly before investing
Spanish Fort we struck bench of b CHER and
frmer ground than we had been plodding
through since leaving Fort Morgan. The feel
ing OF firm ground under foot, after seven
days of
FLoCSDERISG THROUGH TIE MUD
and water of the pine swamps, inspired the
troops with new courage, and they cheered
Justify. It was repetition of the march from
Bruinsburg TO Port Gibson, nearly two years
before, heretofore described by US in The Ma
TIoNAL TRIBUNE in our Vicksburg series The
pleasautcst remiuiscence of that dreary march
is the recollection of the cornet band OF the
77th III. How it checred our sad hearts and
enlivencd onr weary limbs with lis sweet
strains! II this should catch the eye Of any Of
the 77th band boys, they will please accept my
deep gratitude now. Col. Grier, of the nth,
commanded our brigade (Third) during that
campaign. | desire TO say, while speaking Of
the 18th, that Col. Grier was an honor to that
regiment. He a brave, courteous and able
officer. No better brigade commander could be
found in the Thirteenth Corps than he
From the 18th our advance 10 Spanish Fort
was disputed On the part of the enemy by sharp
skismishes. The roads leading to the fort aud
paths lealing TO springs of water were thickiy
beset with torpedoes which were very de-
structve 10 life and limb. The torped0es on
the land were mostly 6i-p0uhd shells, filed
with gunpOH der. with percussion caps attached
and planted with the caps slightly covered with
earth. 1t required very slight pressure to
explode the deadly implement. After invest