The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1886-08-20
hoods light to save Atlanta. I have felt hot
weather, but remember the 9th day of July,
1868, 90 the hottest I syar axnsrisnned III.

| uust TOO, was awful beyond description Fro
.quently the men were forced out Of the limo 10
get their breath. The road We foil back TO
jackson on was not the same one that We tray.
cleo when we were going towards Vicksburg.
Inc road along which we retreated was almost
without any water. Even tho bad pond water
was scarce. 1t did seem as il life depended on
our drinking water from the mire to which tho
SOW thas was washed had returned. It was so
DAD that We could feel the solution of dust lin
ing our throat as we drank it, and It tasted Just
as the hog walow smells. We eamped that
night near Clinton and used water from one OF
those ponds that had been so stirred up that fish
and frogs csmo to the surface to get their breath.
on the morning Of the 7th. just as we were
ABOUT TO resume our march, johnson had some
OF has poorest beeves 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 pursuing us.
When We reached Jackson that evening men
overcome with heat, had dropped out of line
in such numbers that brigades were smaller
than regiments and regiments less than com.
panies, and companies no larger than corpo-
rafs guard. saw more suffering among our
troops that day than did on any other march
during the war. Most Of the men revived A.
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 camred that night near spring
few hundred yards above the bridge but we
were ordered back to the breastworks on the
west side Of the river before day the next
| morning..
| Notwithstanding the scarcity of water on tho
road, and our effort to render 1t unfit for use.
the Federal army had followed US 90 energsti-
cally that we had not more 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-ea
till they reached tho river above and below
jackson. Then, day BY day they inohed their
| way towards our line Of fortifeations. During
the nights they would advance their line and
intrench. Our ammunition was scarce, and
our orders were to save IL, but the temptation
to hre into tho bold Federals was sometimes
greater than We could resist and when one
gun violated the order II was kind of signal
for general believing all along the line. We
remember that Federal battery opened on us
one morning from some works that had been
thrown up during the night. in saps hgsAs..s hgsAs..sss
Was splendid. The first shot fired at my Sec
ton passed through tho embrazure Of one of
eur guns and the next lodged between the dirt
and bale Of cotton on top of the breastworks
The other sections had like experience. We
concentrated our fire on that battery md soon
| silenced it.
Just after this artillery duel ended, for some
purpose, 1 never knew what, an armstice was
| had and many Of the soldiers of tho two op-
posing armies met on halfway ground and
had pleasant interview, exchanging jokes and
criticising each others shooting. The captain
Of the battery just mentioned said our practice
was excellent, and that we had killed and
wounded number Of his men. Our last shot,
he said killed one Of his men and took off the
leg Of another. What strange thing our war
was. One moment the opposing soldiers were
laughing aud joking with each other and the
next were trying to take each others lfe
What power there was in little white hand
kerchief. AS long as it was uplifted oil 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 30 scarce that it was believed
that the Federal soldiers would 10 hurled
against our works without much delay. The
Federal,, however, showed by their works that
IN assault was not contemplated. batteries
were being placed in position and reinforce
ments were daily arriving, and Johnson's army
was in no condition to stand siege, neither
was he strong enough to 60 out and attack the
Federals. johnson decided to give up jackson
- soon as be was satisfied that the enemy
would not assault our works. During the six
days that tho troops were in the trenches they
were supplied with water hauled in barrels al
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 quieting any suspicion the rumbling
Of our wagons might awaken when we 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, VIC
were ordered to muffle our guns and roll them
from the breastworks by hand. We made
much less noise that night than any Of the
nights during the siege. The enemy did no
suspect us, and 1t was late tho next day befor,
, they knew we had gone. When Vicksburg fcl
and Grant turned on johnson, it was reported
that an old citizen on Big Black told him tha
Johnson was red fox that would not be oasil,
run down, or so easily caught in a trap as Penn
berton had been. He pursued johnson tc
Brandon and then abandoned the chase.
VIpI
Sam Jones says: There is something
J wrong when preacher gets S400 and