The National tribune., 1901-05-02


| holding our horses while we slept.
! The morning of the 10Th was heralded
| by the bugle sounding 'tO horse" We
| were soon in the saddle and moving off
without our breakfast. About 8 o'clock
| we came to Simpsons Factory, a plant
doing heavy business in the manufac-
! ture of cotton goods. This we burned.
We stopped for breakfast and rested until
p H., mounted, and moved out. We
struck the Talapoosa River at Stoves
Ferry at 10 p. m. As the ferry had been
destroyed or foated off in advance of our
coming, the General had to apply to that
source of all knowledge, "a negro" who,
!, in his dusky devotion to the Yankee cause,
guided us to fordable place in the river,
which we gained by filing off to the left
through a plantation, making our own
road as we went, and such another ford
as we found on reaching it-a high, steep
bank to go down, the river from belly
deep to midsides TO our largest horses;
the ford a very difficult one, ZigZaging in
such sharp turns that guides had to be
left at the angles TO direct the course. AS
we neared the opposite bank we were or
dered TO dismOunt and take our horse by
the tail, which we found to be very es-
sential in climbing the steep. slippery,
muddy bank, owing to the rapid current
and difficult ford. Daylight was near at
hand by the time the command had all
crossed, so we lay down and composed
ourselves to sleep as best We could. for we
were hungry, tired, wet and muddy, and
although the time was very short between
that and Sunday morning, we went to
sleep as though we had weeks time to
devote to the soothing spell.
The 11th.-This morning Sundays ser
vice was commenced early by the boys of
Go. ID, who were thrown out as "pickets"
after crossing the river. They were set
upon by some of the sacrilegious Sabbath
InI,, pI-,,. oh
followed, in which the rebel loss was three
killed and a Captain and Surgeon taken
prisoners, Co. ID suffering no loss. About
Sunup we were on the move, and passed
through Dadesville. We captured five sol
diers and a Lieutenant-Colonel. We
struck the West Point & Montgomery
Railroad at Loachapoka at sundOwn, cut
the telegraph wires and commenced tear
ing up the track and burning it. We
found Confederate stores in abundance,
and after supplying ourselves the rest
were burned and the town was lighted up
with one of the grandest bonfires ever seen
in that part of the country, railroad build
ings, warehouses, bacon and railroad ties
all adding fuel to the flames.
The command went into camp for the
night, Co. A, Sth Ind, picketing the roads
leading to the town from the north.
1Sth.-This morning just before we
were relieved my post was fired upon by
tue uOut SuOto
were fired so far as we were concerned.
The First Brigade moved out early to.
ward Montgomery, along the railroad,
tearing it up and burning it as we went.
A light iron T-railroad was laid on a
stringer, notched into cross-ties, and Sc
cured in place with a wedge or key. This
key we knocked out, ioosening one of the
stringers, which was rolled over against
its opposite and fred. The timbers, all
being of pine, burned readily, with suffi-
cient heat to make the iron rails red-hot,
and thereby made them worthless until
worked over at rOlling-mill. We kept
up our new enterprise until we reached
Notasulga, eight miles west of Loacha
polka. Here we burned what little there
was to burn. Still pressing on we reached
Chehaw Station, and again ran into Gen.
Clanton, who was put to fight after
sharp skirmish, in which the 9th Iowa lost
several, killed and wounded, while Clan
ton left 40 dead upon the field. (See
Harper's History Here, also in order to
keep up our good name, we burned all we
could find of Confederate value and the
railroad bridge over Ujaupee Creek, and
turned about to follow up the Second Bri-
gade on the eastern end of the works;
caught up with the rear just about dark,
and passed through Auburn, County Seat
of Auburn County, after night, heavy
rainstorm pouring down. The advance
having fred the principal buildings we
had view or the town by military light;
the flames from burning bacon and large
buildings. together with the raging storm,
made the scene grand and imposing one.
About II o'clock we halted fof the night
some four miles from Auburn, spread our
selves down on the rain-soaksd ground for
a little rest, which we all thought we
were fully entitled to as reward for our
labor of the past 1S hours.
The morning of the 19thNwe showed
our industry by going to work at daylight
without breakfast. BY noon we had
reached the town of Opelika. County Seat
OF Lee Countyi treated the good people
Of the place to the same tragic drama of
fame and holocaust, and stopped for
breakfast, and as the sun had already
reached its zenith we added the MONDAY
meal and enjoyed feast of the luxuries
accumulated in our haversacks. At about
o'clock we mounted and moved out, |
tearing up the railroad as we went; had
not gone far when the advance heard the
whistle of a locomotive, which they let
pass, and then tore up the track behind it. |
The train was a well-laden freight |
which Rousseau received as present |
from the Confederacy; but as it was too |
cumbersome to take along, he ordered it |
burned on the ground where he received |
it. Here we left the railroad, having de- |
stroyed about 80 or 40 miles Of it. We !