to read them.

On the second day of our advance from Rossville on the Atlanta campaign, after passing through Ringold Gap in the mountains, our cavalry was skirmishing with the Rebel cavalry, but as the infantry advanced the Rebel cavalry gradually fell back to the west foothills of Buzzard Roost mountain. We saw in advance of us what we supposed was an intrenched line, but owing to the lay of the surrounding country we advanced very cautiously. We also saw what we supposed to be a masked battery which made us all the more cautious. But as we neared the supposed line to our surprise the battery was nothing more than the front wheels of a wagon with a small log mounted on them to represent a piece of artillery, covered with bushes in order to disguise it. That and the fact we were looking for trouble and a strong picket force in near proximity made the deception more easy. We did not experience much difficulty in taking that particular piece of ordinance. But as we advanced a number of the Rebel rear guard threw down their guns and came running towards us with hands up and a white cloth indicating they wanted to surrender, and they were permitted to enter our lines.

There were many instances of this kind during our campaigning in east Tennessee, owing to the fact that there were a great many Union people in that section of Tennessee. Colonel Brownlow's 1st East Tennessee cavalry was made up of the loyal men of that district and joined the Union army, and they were a brave and fearless lot of men. They never allowed themselves to be taken prisoner from the fact that if they were detected as southern men they said there would be no mercy shown them, from the fact they thought they should be fighting for the South. During our advance on Chattanooga, Tenn., during the summer of 1863 there were several men from this Tennessee country joined Co. F of my regiment, one of whom was killed at Chickamauga and another wounded. The wounded man recovered and came back to us just before starting on the Atlanta campaign, and as stated before, there were many times when the two army lines were in close proximity, times when a man's head above ground was an inviting target. On one of these occasions the skirmishing fire became so annoying that one of these Tennessee recruits jumped up on the front of the works with his gun and told the rest of his comrades to load their guns and hand them to him. The boys begged him to come down as it was simply suicide for him to stay up there, but he stayed until wounded twice. The second wound proved quite severe and he was sent back to hospital, which was the last I ever knew of him.

Before closing I wish briefly to note something of camp life, camp equipment, both in the early part of our term of service and at the last end. When we went to Quincy there was no camp equipage and for a time we were placed around the city at the different hotels until such time as we could secure tents and other necessary articles which would enable us to take care of ourselves. We knew absolutely nothing about camp life. When we got our tents there was issued us what was called Sibley tents, five to the company. They were round with pole in the center to hold them up, and guy ropes to hold them from blowing over. When we lay down at night heads to the outside, feet to the center. It was some time before we got used to those guy ropes, for we were constantly getting too near and falling over them. What was said on those occasions would hardly bear repeating here. Each man drew a tin plate, tin cup, knife, fork and spoon. The company drew five camp kettles, all of different sizes, to be used in cooking different kinds of food. The greatest trouble we had for a time was how much rice to put in the kettle. The first time cooking before we had it cooked done we had everything around camp filled with rice. It kept swelling beyond what we had any conception of. At first the company was formed into one big mess and a couple of men did the cooking. It was some experience. When we left Quincy we went to Louisville, Ky., where we drew arms and accoutrements, also our quota of six mule teams, which was one mule team to each company, and three for headquarters, which made thirteen to transport regimental supplies, with the addition of two ambulances to our outfit of teams to transport regimental medical supplies and care for the sick and march worn. When we got to Louisville a detail of men was made to go to the stock yards and get the teams. I don't think there was one mule in ten in those yards that had ever had a halter on, and to see those men catch those mules, harness and hitch six of those unbroken mules to one wagon and start out of those yards was a sight long to be remembered. Most of the time was spent by those men in untangling those teams, all piled up and tangled to the extent of having to unhitch and unharness in order to get straightened out. But it was astonishing how soon those teams were brought into subjection. It was not long, however, before orders came for us to turn over our Sibley tents, and instead we were issued what we called dog tents. Each man drew a piece of canvas cloth 4×6 feet, buttons on one end, so that two men could button their respective pieces together and sleep together. At this particular time there was a general move toward a decrease along the line of things that had to be cared for in the way of forage and what it took to transport supplies for teams and what was considered unnecessary appurtenances for the use of the army, for each day we were getting further from our base of supplies and it became a necessity to do away with everything that could be dispensed with. So our regimental teams were reduced from thirteen to three for a time. Then all teams except one to a regiment and the ambulances were reduced in numbers and put into a brigade ambulance train.

On the march each man had to carry three days' rations, gun, accoutrements, forty rounds of ammunition, haversack, canteen, blanket, if in winter, overcoats and change of underwear. Of necessity our company messes were broken up and messes were composed of two to four men except in some instances some mean cuss no one cared to be with, then his mess was confined to one.

A few facts and figures clipped from the Blandinsville Star will not be out of place here and will enable the reader to form a better idea of what the Civil war meant to our nation.

Don't Belittle the Civil War.

Blandinsville Star: We think of the present war as the most terrible experience of humanity, and are apt to think of our present sacrifices as something unheard of before. But any of our old veterans who went through the civil war know that measured by any standpoint—cost, men engaged, casualties, property loss, or general awfulness the civil war was enormously more costly and terrible to America than this war was or could have become if it had lasted for several years.

In fact we have only had a mere taste, a faint suggestion of what the men and women of the '60s went through.

The world war has cost us eighteen billion dollars. The civil war cost us $5,160,000,000. The amount of wealth now in the country is fifteen times what it was in 1860. Had the cost mounted up to 77 billion we might begin to feel it pinch as they did. We should have to spend sixty billion more before we should make the money sacrifice they did.

The lives lost in the civil war was in round numbers 600,000. The population was then 27,400,000—about one-fourth of what it is now. Four times 600,000 is 2,400,000. If every soldier sent over seas were killed we should have a smaller proportion of gold stars by a quarter of a million than they did.

Out of a population of 27,400,000 there were mustered in during the '60s 3,730,000. Multiplying again by four we get 14,920,000. If we had kept on sending two million a year to France for six more years to come we would begin to feel the drain on our male population here at home as they did in 1865. And this takes no account of the billions of dollars' worth of