was not then available to preserve them during the summer months.

At Fort Gaines, Lt. Cribbs was given charge of the Ordnance Department. In the early spring, the company received as recruits from Tuscaloosa many good men. Feb. 24, 1862 there arrived with Lt. Tarrant, James T. Searcy, John Chancellor, James Manly, Ed. King, Jno. Molette, T. Alex Dearing and ten or twelve others, E. R. Prince, Jas. F. Prince. It is from a personal diary kept by James T. Searcy that much of this first and second year's experience of the command has been culled and all of the dates.

On the trip down the boat "scraped the woods" considerably, butted out one tree by the roots, butted another that staggered the boat without injuring the tree, but left about twenty feet of the guards in the water as the tree's trophy in the encounter. Such incidents were in those days quite common in steamboat travel in low water.

Mumps, measles and kindred camp diseases made their usual inroads on the health of the command, and many of them had to spend a part of the time in the hospital in Mobile, George W. Smith and James L. Miller among them.

Major Hallonquist was in command of the Artillery at Ft. Gaines but on April 4th was ordered to join Gen. Bragg at Corinth, Tenn., and Col. Melanclhan Smith took command of the Fort. Officers and men were longing to meet the enemy in battle.

At Ft. Gaines, a few Yankee vessels blockading could be seen in the distance, but the monotony was wearing, and each commanding officer was pulling all possible ropes to secure orders to proceed to the front, in this case to Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston's army near Corinth. Capt. Lumsden got promises but by perhaps some political pull Gage's Mobile battery secured the deserved privilege to report at Corinth and in the battle of Shiloh got badly cut up and after the battle was ordered back to Mobile to recuperate and Lumsden's was ordered to Corinth and given the same guns and equipment.

On Sundays near Mobile Dr. Hill, a private, often officiated as a preacher so that during this first year, Sundays could be distinguished from the other days of the week. He was from near Columbus, Mississippi, and a practicing physician as well. Tuesday, April 15, 1862, three days after the battle of Shiloh, found the command at Corinth, having left Mobile on Monday and it took possession of Gage's guns, etc., on April 16th, got tents 4:00 p.m. April 17th, so for the first time for two nights, they slept on the ground in the open air, a new thing then, the general rule thereafter.

Several Tuscaloosa Doctors were near Corinth, assisting in caring for the wounded, amongst them Drs. Leland and Cochrane. Even to see so many gathered as in this first army was a new sight and experience to these raw troops.

On April 23rd the battery was attached to Chalmers Brigade, and marched twelve miles over awful roads of sticky mud and water to Monterey, where everything was next morning put in line of battle but the rifle and cannon firing was a mere reconnaissance of the enemy and all hands bivouaced in place on the wet ground.

Here much sickness prevailed and the rains were continuous. The hospital tent was soon filled and on one day Orderly Sergeant Little, out of a roll of 170 men took to a church in Corinth used as a hospital in charge of Dr. N. P. Marlowe, sixty men sick. They had measles, pneumonia, erysipelas, typhoid fever and chronic diarrhea. At this evacuation of Corinth, the battery had barely enough men to drive the horses and Gen. Chalmers made a detail from the 10th Mississippi infantry to fill out the company.

Want of vegetable food, drinking water from seep wells and exposure to cold rains caused the sickness. It was general in the army and probably made necessary the retreat to Tupelo when, with better water, the company and army quickly secured usual health. The evening of May 3, 1862 and that night found company under arms in line of battle with Chalmer's Brigade, but no enemy appeared. Within two weeks ending May 8th, five of the men died: Fulgham, Hall, Hyche, Sims and Lingler. They gave their lives to the cause.

To die in hospital was harder, much harder, than to die in the excitement of battle, on the field. J. T. Searcy was unable to walk from a carbuncle on his knee.

On Friday, May 9th, one section of two guns with their complement of men, having been sent forward on Monterey road, at noon opened fire on a considerable body of Yankee Infantry and a battery near Farmington. The battery replied and a considerable duel was fought. Lumsden had no causalities, but did fine shooting, as scouts reported, who passed over ground that had been occupied by the enemy, that quite a number of bodies were left by them on the field. This was the first time under fire and their action was commended by the General in command. The other section was on the Purdy road at the time, but did not get engaged.

On May 9th, Friday, two new scouts reached the battery from Tuscaloosa, Chas. J. Fiquet and John Little, the latter having given up a good position in a Mississippi College.

On the 8th a gentleman named Bozeman came to the command and proved up his son to be a minor, thus releasing him from service. The battery remained near Tupelo about two months. Lieutenant Vaughn left the battery here on sick furlough. On July 26th battery left Tupelo for Chattanooga, Tennessee marching through Columbus, Mississippi, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. On Sunday, Aug. 3rd, at Columbus many of the command were glad of the opportunity to attend church once more, in civilized fashion, with friends and relatives of many of the command. Nothing was too good to be lavished upon the soldier boys. Before reaching Columbus, Gen. Bragg in passing the column noticed Lt. Cribb's condition; inquired about him and ordered that he report at Headquarters on reaching Columbus. When Lt. Cribbs did so, Gen. Bragg furnished him one of his ambulances and ordered him to Tuscaloosa ahead, to stay until recovered. John A. Caldwell was sent with him. He was down with camp fever for some weeks and reached the battery again near Cumberland Gap, after the retreat from Kentucky.

On Friday, Aug. 8th, the Battery reached Tuscaloosa where it remained with the home people until Sunday, the 16th.

For one week, they had the freedom of the city and county, and were with their families at their own homes for the last time 'till the close of the war.

Leaving Tuscaloosa, Aug. 16th, for one week they were on the road to Chattanooga and all sorts of a time was experienced. Some "coon juice" "tangle-foot" was occasionally in evidence and caused some exhilaration and subsequent depression and some insubordination temporary. One good man, the Captain felt compelled to buck near Ringston, Ga., and some excitement was created among the men thereby. It is often hard for volunteers to submit to punishment of that sort even when deserved, but patriotism prevented any outbreak among the party's friends.

Sunday, August 31st, found the battery near a little town called Dunlap, the county seat of Sequatchie County, Tennessee, having been crossing the Cumberland mountains for two days. Thence to Sparta, White County, Tennessee on Sept. 6th on an air line 40 miles from Dunlap, but much more over the Cumberland mountain route. Friday, Sept. 19th, found the battery on a hill overlooking the Federal fort at Munfordville, Kentucky, having marched from Sparta some 120 miles during the 12 preceding days. Part of time in bivouac at Red Sulphur Springs, part of the time marching, drenched to the skin for 24 hours at a stretch, passing Glasgow and Cave City. At midnight of Tuesday the 16th, the Federal force in the front surrendered and the next day marched out and surrendered their arms, with due pomp and circumstances of war, 4200 men well clad in new uniforms of blue. Sergeant Little says, he had the night before one corn nubbin and that day a piece of pumpkin of the size of two fingers and sat on the fence eating it, while the prisoners stacked arms and thought of the 10th Satire of