The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1886-08-20

uus'' 100, was swful beyond description. Ere
quently the men were forced out Of the line to
get their breath. The road we fell back to
jackson on was not the same one that we trav-
eicd when VIC were going towards Vicksburg.
| The road along which we retreated was almost
without any water. Even the bad pond water
was scarce. 1t did seem as il life depended on
our drinking water from the mire to which the
SOW that was washed had returned. 1t wa. so
bad that We could feel the solution of dust lin
ing our throat as we drank it, and it tasted just
as the hog wsllow smells. We camped that
| night near Clinton and used water from one OF
those ponds that had b. ea so stirred up that fish
and frogs came to the surface to get their breath
on the morning Of the eth, just rs we were
about to resume our march, johnson had some
OF his poorest becrcs Il wonder if any one can
imagine how poor they were y driven into the
pond, shot and cut open, to retard the progress,
Of Grants army that was pursuingu US.
| When we reached Jack son that evening men
overcome with heat, had dropped out Of line
| in such numbers that brigades we're smaller
than regiments and regiments less than COM
| panies, and companies no larger than a corpo-
rails guard. saw more suffering among our
troops that day than did on any other march
during the war. Most Of the men revived as
soon as the shades of night came on and re.
ported to their commands before day.
The Macbeth crossed to the east side of
Pearl River and camFcd that night near q spring
| few hundred yards above the bridge: but we
were ordered back to the breastwork. on the
west side Of the river before day the next
morning.
Notwithstanding the scarcity Of water on the
road, and our effort to render it unfit for use,
the Federal army had followed us 20 cnerse,i
cally that we had not moro than taken our
position in line Of battle before their advance
came in sight. They began At once to intrenoh
and extend their line north east and south east
till they reached the river above and belog
Jackson. Then, day by day they inched their
way towards our line OF fortifcations. During
the nights they would advance their line and
intrench. Our ammunition was scarce, and
our orders were to save it, but the temptation
to fire into the bold Federals was sometimes
greater than we could resist and when one
gun violated the order it was kind Of signal
for general believing all along the line We
remember that q Federal battery opened OIL us
one morning from some works that had been
thrown up during the night, in some bushes, il
WAS splendid. The first shot fired at my Sec
tioa passed through the cmbrazure OF one Of
our guns and the next lodged between the dirt
and n bale of cotton top of the breastworks.
The other sections had like experience. We
concentrated our fire on that battery and soon
silenccd it.
Just after this artillery duel ended for some
purpose, never knew what. an armistce was
had and many Of the soldiers Of the two op-
posing armies met on halfway ground and
had pleasant interview, exchanging jokes and
crjticising each others shooting. The captain
Of the battery just mentioned said our practice
was excellent, and that VIC had killed and
wounded n number Of his men. Our last shot,
he said, killed one of his men and took off the
leg Of another. What a strange thing our war
was. One moment the opposing soldiers wcro
laughing and joking with each other and the
next were trying to take each others lifo.
What a power there was in a little white hand
kcrchicf. As long as it upliftcd all was
peace and it would have been death to the
soldier of either army who would have dared
| to ignore it. Its reno val was the signal for
drawing blood.
Water was so scarce that il was believed
| that the Federal soldiers would be hurled
against our works without much delay. The
| Fcderal,. however, showed by their works that
| an assault was not contemplated. Batteries
were being placcl in position and reinforce
| ,lnily Vi nd Iobn
| was in no condition to stand n siege, neither
was he strong enough to 60 out and attack the
| Fcderals. Johnson decided TO give up Jackson
as soon as he was satisfied that the enemy
| would not assault our works. During the six
| days that the troops were in the trenches they
| were supplied with water hauled in barrels at
night, from Pearl River Two nights previous
| to the one during which we left jackson, John
son kept wagons running all night, for the pur-
pose Of quictinS any suspicion the rumbling
Of our wagons might awaken when VIC began
retreat And the wagons did sound unusually
| loud those two nights. They must have been
| old wagons gotten up for the purpose and run
without oiling The night the army left. We
were ordered to muillc our guns and roll them
| from the brcastworks by hand. We made
much less noise that night than any Of the
nights during the siege. The onemy did not
suspect us, and it was late the next day before
they knew we hal gone. When Vick.burg fell
and Grant turned on johnson, it was reported
that an old citizen on Big Black told him that
Johnson was red fox that would not lie easily
run down, or so easily caught in a trap Penn
bcrton had been. lie pursued Johnson to
| Brandon and then abandoned the chase.