The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1898-11-17

, Our imaginations pictured every stump
Yankee and every dark place in the field
squad of cavalry, and while we stood in line
shivering, teeth chattering, we INDUCED il
much abuse of the Aboiiti0nists for waking u
that time of night We were not scared
oh no, but the change from warm beds to tn
cold, foggy air Of the river gave us tn
''rigors. +" and when the command was givel
to about-face and return to camps we wer
very willing postpone whipping the Yankee
till daylight.
GRANT IGNORES THE 9TH ALA.
Similar frauds were practiced on us after
forwards, but we soon "caught on" ant
came to consider night alarms as only par
of our regular drill and nuisance besides
But it was not long before we could discern
ominous clouds of smoke rising from th'
| river below The source of the smoke wa
hidden from view by bend in the river, bu
evidently it proceeded from gunboats, anC
reports came that the enemy was landing
troops on the Fort Henry side-and still For
Heiman was only fort in name. We haG
scarcely broken dirt, and not a cannon was
on our side of the river. We knew not
then how i'll prepared we were for battle,
and our acquaintance with Gen. Grant and
his ways was more limited than it was later
in the war. He wouldn't wait for Us to get
ready, but just kept moving on, ignoring
the 9th Ala. altogether, and landing troops
on the opposite side of the river, probably
considering our game too small to be worth
his attention.
On the night of February s. about mid
night, we had another night alarm, this time
not by the beating of the "long-roll," :" but
by the soft whisper OF the Captain:
ararvth1nr
except guns and cartridge-boxes. Fall in,
without making a bit of noise"
We had profted by our little training
previously, and had everything at hand so
it required but a short time to be in line,
marching towards the river, little dreaming
that we were leaving our comfortable
quarters never to see them again; Lat such
proved to be the case.
Boarding the boat which was lying at the
bank, with lights all covered, and with re-
newed caution to keep perfect silence, we
steered directly to Fort Henry. The gun
boats could not be seen on account of the
darkness of the night, but having observed
the smoke all the day before we felt sure
they could not be far off, and Judging from
our guarded movements and the silence
imposed upon US. it could not be doubted
that the land forces also were close by.
Once ashore we were marched out into the
bottom some distance III rear of the fort,
where we biyouacked, doing away the long
hours of the night propped up against trees,
roosting on logs and making all sorts Of
shifts to keep out of the mud.
/ had not felt very well for a day or two,
but supposing it was only slight cold, paid
but little attention to it. This morning,
however, my face felt swollen, my eyes
watery, and when daylight came every
fellow | met had something TO say about my
beautiful red complexion, look like a
boiled lobster" etc. Such remarks were re-
peated until it made me feelaill sure enough,
and when the Captain saw me he ordered
me to report at once to the Surgeon, who
after short examination pronounced it a
well-develOped case of measles 1t was not
a very encouraging prospect for case of
measles, bat there was no better provisions
for my needs and comfort than to remain
with the regiment; besides, if we were to
have scrap" that day. which all ex-
pected, / wanted to be in it.
PRECIOUS WEAPONS LOST.
From our position back in the timber we
could see nothing that was going on, either
at the fort or in the river, whe re the gun
boats were supposed to be. We brought no
rations with us, and consequently had no
breakfast and very poor showing for din
ner. The morning hours passed slowly;
couriers were constantly dashing in and out,
but we could get no information from them
more than that the country below us was
lust swarming with Yankees" So we were
soon to have an opportunity of testing our
double barreled guns and bowie-knive-an
inspection showed that we had left our knives
on the other side of the river. Not half
dozen eonld be found in the regiment Some