The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-23

by waving handkerchiefs, but their tears revealed that they were without any hops of our success. We camped that night few miles beyond Florence. The next day we crossed the State Iine designated by a sign-board which we loudly cheered. The fourth day after leaving Florence, we came to a large creek with a narrow vai- ley walled in on both sides by high pre- cipitous hills. The regiment marched up this creek the whole day, crossing 1t four teen times on rude bridges hastily con- structed by our pioneer corps. Bush- whackers" hidden in the cliffs. would ire down upon us, and then escape through These bushwhackeRs in the mountains of Tennessee and other border States were Union men not from patriotism, but for plunder and robbery They were an tn- famous set from frat to the last of the war. murdering their neighbors and burn ing their property to a degree that put to shame the Tories of the Revolution. While on this march. quite A number of our stragglers captured by them were killed at once. or reached us with their ears or noses cut off. or other evidences of barbarous indigniities. The better class of Tennesseeans sympathIxsd with the South, but at the time of Hoods in- vasion had been compelled to take fhs oath of allegiance to the United states and didn't dare show us any favors. So in either case, we found no friends in Tennessee. s-
 At Henryvlle, we emerged from the wilderness into a better community and soon reached Mount Pleasant. the home of General Pillow. on the Columbia pike. November Z7th we arrived iA front of Co., lumbia, where we found the Federal army under Schofeld entrsnched. The march from Florence was made during very cold weather and over frozen ground. Our rations were corn and peas that we gathered along the way and bread and unbolted flour. Though we were in the land of plenty and were half starved. General Hood allowed no depre- dations, About p. Tn.s New 18th, an im- mense Ire in Columbia revealed that the enemy were evacuating the town. By daylight next morning our corps marched rapidly to the northwest and crossed Duck River on pontoons four miles above Co., lumbia. We then turned north parallel tothe Franklin pike, and about two or three miles east of it. As the firing all day along the Franklin pike indicated. the enemy's retreat was being hotly pressed by Forrest. and body of infantry Our corps was on forced march to pass the enemy and throw itself across the Frank lin pike in front, thus cutting off his retreat. A short spell of warm weather
  bottom or hills. we sank at every step in mud over our shoes. Our line of march was through a cultivated and open sec ton whose high hills in many places and dense corn-stalks covering the ground, offered serious impeachment to our pro- gress.- About D. m. we were halted one quarter of a mile from the Franklin pike north of Spring Hill, and in rear of Schofeld. who was then being hard press ed at Spring Hill by Forrest. This days march of 2S miles by the route we had travelled was the greatest the regiment had ever performed. Stacking our arms and lunching. we spread down our blan- kets upon the ground and were soon asleep. feeling sure that we had the ene- my bagged We supposed our corps ex- tended across the Franklin pike. The ex- treme right was within 200 yards of it as we saw next morning. Why were we halted just there leaving a way for the enemy to escape after all our hard march ing?
 Cro be Contipusd.l