The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1900-11-22
By THE LATE ]. NJ. BRANUM.

Camp near Louisville, Ky, Sunday,
Sept. While writing under tree
on the hill above our camp today we
all heard sharp firing on our right. We
thought il target practice at first. but soon
came regular rolls of musketry. The camp
was soon aroused and | heard our boys
yelling to fall in l ran down and
found everything in the greatest confu-
sion, officers yelling for the men TO fall i'll,
wagons being loaded up, etc. After get
ting into line, with nothing but our guns
and cartridge boxes. the Brigadicr-General
came along and told us we were ordered
out for battalion drill. The whole regi-
ment laughed at the joke, and made fun
of many who had fallen out, pretending to
be sick. Our brigade Uhe 18th. 93d, Oath
Ohio. and T3d lnd.l was put through a
great many maneuverS, marched back in
two hours, and got supper.
We are trying TO get things now We lost
in the retreat; don't know when we will
get blankets or tents, and we hardly de-
serve them for not saving our own. We
learn that Gen. jackson is under arrest
for striking man witha sword, and who
has since died. jackson is greatly blamed
for the whole disastrous retreat, for the
men would have preferred to have stayed
and fought it out | got a glass to-day
and looked at my face for the first time
for week, and it is as brown as bacon.
We have TO get up at 3 o'clock in the
morning. then fool around until daylight,
when we 20 on battalion drill until Z,
when we get breakfast. I'll close this let
ter, for fear you may think III never quit
writing. am going to get along all right
with the, rest, trying Ito put down the re-
beilion, at great expense to Uncle Sam.
BREAKING CAMP.
Camp two miles from Bloomfield, Ky,
Sunday afternoon, Oct. 3, 1S62-I last
TO hafnra ln1yipor I,OuiS-
vile. On Wednesday morning, Oct. /,
we were getting ready early to leave our
pleasant camp. to which we had become
quite attached. There was great difficulty
to get the men to believe we We're going,
as we have been fooled so often by orders
of this kind. and many did not draw ra
tons and cook them, as ordered, and some
companies had to go and get them just as
we started. We were ordered TO leave
all wagons but one to each company, in
which were put rationS and other things
necessary to a regiment. 1t was sight
TO see our camp as it was left. On all
sides were boxes, trunks, camp chests full
of knives, plates, cups, etc, and eatableS
of all kinds. The men would not take
them along, saying they could not carry
them. | put myself in marching order
by filling my canteen, making free with
crackers and taking a heayy-lined over
coat from a pile that was left. We bid
goodbye TO Mrs. Shane and Webster,
who were to follow if the regiment did not
get too far away. At s o'clock our bri-
gade fell into line and marched out the
pike, following the, immense army that
had been strung out ever since l o'clock
in the morning.
We marched slowly, stopping at inter
walls, and Miner and / went ahead and
passed regiment after regiment and many
batteries and men lying and sitting on the
sides of the road, eating crackers and ba-
con-. We went on for two miles to the |
head of our division, where were Gen.
Jackson and his officers. The pike here
ran through a dense birch woods, and we
spread our blankets down for rest and
slept for an hour, and on waking found
men, cannons, wagons and ambulances
still rumbling along.
At night our regiment camped in a.