vacated house on a hill. Here we found a barrel partly full of seconds unbolted wheat flour and a skillet and we made up some biscuit and after the first batch was cooked, the order came to move and we wrapped up the dough in a cloth and that night after crossing Stone River and throwing up some breastworks we cooked the balance on the shovels we had used for ditching.

The battery was in an open field, in front of a large brick house on a high hill where Rosecrang had massed his batteries after his right had been driven back to a right angle with its first position. This was a pivotal position and the point where the General is said to have remarked after his first day's disaster, "Bragg is a good dog, but Holdfast is better." Breckenridge made an attack on this position and as he rode into the fight, I thought him the finest looking man I had ever seen on horseback. But the position was too strong to be taken, although Bragg was in person on the field not far from us. That night at mid-night, the order came to hitch up and leave. One of the drivers reported that the horses hitched to the pole of one of the caissons, had eaten off about three feet of the seasoned oak pole. I told him to tie an extra pole under the one gnawed to a point with the halters from the horses and we marched off in retreat. The horses were almost starved as well as the men. After going a little way on the pike, the column halted and the men marched by barefooted some of them on the frozen pike, while we built up a fire and Sergt. Hargrove, standing in front of it, had half the tail of his overcoat burned off before the warmth reached his skin.

Marching all night, we met Dr. Leland next morning, muddy as if he had been on a fox hunt in "Bear Heaven" and Jim Craddock, a noted dude, with his coat neatly buttoned and his collar clean. He was said to sleep lying on his back in a tent with ten or a dozen men, and never turned or moved lest he should disorder his clothing. But he was a brave soldier. Lt. Cribbs had his horse killed and several from the battery were lost here, the breastworks were nothing but rail piles from an old fence.

For three days after the two armies faced each other and on the night of Jan. 3, 1863, Bragg's army retreated.

On Jan. 4th Confederate scouts went six miles north of Murfreesboro beyond the battle field but found no enemy. Both armies had retreated. In the evening of the 4th Federals began to advance, slowly feeling their way. Corporal James T. Searcy remained a prisoner at Murfreesboro to attend to wants of his brother Reuben, fatally wounded and left in hospital. He was exchanged at City Point near Petersburg, Va., April 12, 1863, and reached the battery at Estelle Springs, Tenn., on April 20th.

The reserve artillery encamped here until spring under Major Felix H. Robertson. He kept all hands busy from early morn till dewy eve, policing camp when not engaged in drill. Evidently he believed that "Satin finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." Friends and acquaintances from Tuscaloosa were on hand often during spring and boxes of supplies had been frequent arrivals.

May 14, 1863, on Thursday night orders came for 2 day's rations to be cooked up and to be ready to move by 6:00 a.m. Friday.

We moved out through Tullahoma and Roseland and camped four miles from Shelbyville and ordered to clear ground for our pack of artillery. Remained till June 5th, ordered to report to Gen. Clayton's Brigade. Two days march in mud and rain toward Murfreesboro, was the sum total of our service with him for on Saturday night, June 6th, we were back with the Reserve Artillery again. Some of our men were great hunters and when Shuttlesworth caught an old coon with her litter of young ones, he gave a feast to his friends. Lt. Tarrant resigned, returned to Tuscaloosa and raised another Artillery company of which he became captain and Sette Shepherd as Lieutenant and Wm. Tarrant also.

On June 26th Battery marched to Tullahoma and was unlimbered in battery as if for a fight with 2nd section in a fort but on Tuesday, the 30th, took line of march for the Cumberland mountains through rain and mud through Alezonia to Decherd where guns and ammunition boxes were put on train wagons and carriages marched toward Sewanee or the University of the South. On July 5th, crossed Tennessee river on pontoon bridge after a weary march over hills and mountains through mud and rain. July 7th, Tuesday, Corp. Searcy was appointed Sergeant Major of Battalion thus removing him from the company.

Lt. Cribbs returned from Tuscaloosa on Friday night, July 10th, with a lot of supplies for the company, which he found at the foot of Lookout mountain near Chattanooga, we remained till Sept. 10th, and then were assigned to Breckenridge's Division for a week just arrived from Mississippi minus artillery. On Sept. 16th, again with Reserve near Lafayette. The two armies were on the move, maneuvering for position, culminated in battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863.

The whole army itching for a fight, while encamped at Tullahoma an examining board had been appointed for Artillery officers for service in the Ordnance Department consisting of Col. Wm. Leroy Brown of the Richmond Arsenal; Col. H. Oladowski, Chief of Ordnance of Bragg's army and Lt. Col. James H. Kennard, Chief of Ordnance Officer Hardee's Corps. Orderly Sergeant Little went before this Board on Wednesday for the Lieutenant's examination and on Friday for that of Captain and having made the highest average in either the army of Tennessee or that of Virginia was ordered to report for duty at the C. S. Central Laboratory at Macon, Ga., to Lt. Col. John William Mallett, Superintendent of Laboratories. He remained there until he knew the battle was imminent at Chickamauga and applied for and secured a four day's leave of absence to join Lumsden's Battery, which he learned at Gen. Bragg's headquarters was some twenty miles distance at Lafayette. Col. Hallonquist was then Chief of Artillery and offered him the command of Gaskin's Battery from Brookhaven, Mississippi, whose Captain was absent on sick leave. With the consent of the Lieutenants, he accepted this proposition and took charge of this Battery during the battle of Chickamauga under Major Gen. W. H. Walker who was killed at Atlanta on duty and was assigned to Gen. Bragg's staff as assistant to the chief of Ordnance and afterwards served as Ordnance Officer of Clayton's Brigade, then of the Division of Cleburne, Bate, Brown Chetham, and of the corps of D. H. Hill, Breckenridge and Hardee and after a temporary command of the University of Alabama section of artillery during Wilson's raid into Alabama, closed his service with Gen. Howell Cobb at Macon, Ga., having been in meantime assigned to duty as Chief of Ordnance Officer as Lt. Col. of Artillery, of Hardee's Corps army of Tennessee. During the battle of Chickamauga Lumsden had one private—Screniver—killed, several wounded, one gun dismounted and temporarily captured. Several men captured, among them Chas. Jerome Fiquet, Jr. The gun was recovered next day, but was replaced by a better one captured from the enemy, with which Sept. 25th they kept up a slow fire on the enemy's breastworks at Chattanooga.

The battery was soon withdrawn from the besieging lines and joined the camp of Robertson's Battalion at the foot of Lookout mountain, reporting to Gen. Longstreet. Here about Oct. 15, 1863, the battery received a recruit in the person of James R. Maxwell. He had since April 1, 1862, been serving as a cadet from University of Alabama Corps drill master with the 34th Alabama Regiment of Infantry, Col. J. C. B. Mitchell but on the rolls of company C. of said Regiment as a private. He obtained a transfer and reported for duty to Capt. Lumsden at this place. Prior to this date these reminiscences have been written up from a diary kept by Sergeant Major James T. Searcy, up to July 24, 1863, date of last entry, finishing up the Tullahoma campaign of the spring of 1863 and from a few of Mr. Searcy's letters home thereafter. The succeeding pages, covering