Recollection of the Battle
While lying on the shore on a load of cotton, I thought I would improve the time by writing to you to inform you that I am well and enjoying myself all right. We left Pilot Knob on the 3rd of June and landed at Young’s Point six miles above Vicksburg on the La. side and marched across the peninsula and crossed the river to Warrenton and marched to the rear of Vicksburg.
We lay in the rifle pits 22 days. On the 3rd of July, we received orders not to shoot unless the rebels shot first. On the 4th, at 10 o’clock, the white flag was run up the masts in place of the Confederate rag. I presume you heard the particulars long ago.
We took possession, of course, and camped until the 11th when we started at this place and felt very careful along the way for torpedoes. When we arrived in sight of the city, the rebels opened on us with their siege guns. The three drumbeats replied briskly, and we sent out scouts on skirmishes and took two prisoners, one Captain and one ordinary Sergeant.
They said there were no obstructions in the river. The gunboats started up the river and one brigade of infantry planned to take the river, but the riverboat hull struck a torpedo that sunk her forever. They are taking their guns off. There was no one hurt by the explosion. She mounted 14 guns from six to ten inches in the base. There was a considerable amount of ammunition lost.
The boat was the shape of a Monitor with iron sides 2 ½ inches thick. She is the first iron clad we built on the western rivers, but we almost atoned for the loss by capturing the city. We got 7 siege guns, a six-gun battery of light artillery, about 20 thousand bushels of corn, an accountable amount of arms and ammunition, one boat and about 300 prisoners and all their government stores. We expect to go further up the river.
I do not know how far. Yazoo City has been a thriving town, very wealthy. It is a much finer place than I expected to see. Some of the folks appear to be very nice and aristocratic. There are a great many negroes moving away from their masters. We take some and let some go. Good water is scarce here. We land and take water out of the cisterns on plantations.
The river water is not fit to drink. Poisonous weeds grow into the bottom which is poisonous. That makes the water unfit for drinking. There is any amount of corn crowing in this country and there is plenty of old corn and everything else to eat that man could wish for. Some of the citizens are hot headed and others are calmer.
Don’t have much to say either way but look shaken like they were guilty of some awful crime. I think their confederacy is about played out. The soldiers and men are tired of the service. Everything is so high with them, and they get no pay. The price of tobacco is $5. From $25 to $100 for a hat at the same rate for boots and everything according. The river is more open from north to south. Their principal grounds and forts are taken, and their most simple posts are taken. Their army is almost destroyed. Their coast harbors are blockaded, and their country is invaded, and the Yankees are playing the devil, generally. And what are the rebels going to do?
They will soon have no hole to stick their head into, poor ignorant wretches. The effects of the country led on by hot headed fools of the south. We expect to clean out his country, more the same as we did Missouri, I already thought there would nothing done until the army of the Garantier came down.
We have met with success at every battle and at every front and we have been successful and hope we will always be lucky and put this rebellion down soon. The boat has now started up the river and I will stop for the present.
After a rapid march of 10 miles, we camped for the night in a fine grove where the rebels had just left. Water is very poor and scarce in this country. Everything else is fine a condition as I ever seen. The land is extremely rich, corn in abundance and in the right stage for roasting. So, we will be some for supper.
The quartermaster killed a beef, and we had a fine supper after making coffee in our tin cups. Reveille was at 4 o’clock and we marched at 5. The roads are good, but the weather is extremely warm, and the roads are so dusty that it is disagreeable.
We arrived at Big Black River at nightfall and cross the river in time to save the rebels from burning it. We captured their picket guards and laid them until the next evening and started back to the river. General Herron was in the service long enough to know that it was used to follow guerrillas with infantry.
We landed on the boat safe. Have been five days gone and capturing some three hundred men and twenty-five or thirty wagons, one piece of ordinance and several yoke of oxen, some animals and two hundred negroes, some bales of cotton, some meat and many other things that is not worth mentioning. A pleasant trip and we all enjoyed ourselves fine. We are now at Yazoo City on board the boat, Arag, bound for Vicksburg.
I will give you the names of the boats in our fleet. Twelve in all. Three are gun boats, the Prima Donna is the flag ship or General Herron’s quarters. The Dove is Brig Gen Vandever’s. The Arago, Meteor, Tecumseh, Satan, Anglo Saxon, Armenia, Moderator, Genifest, Des Arc. The morning of the 21st, we left Yazoo City to the mercy of the rebels again and moved down the river.
We landed at Vicksburg about twilight, all in good order. We await orders. We embark this eve at 4 o’clock, destination unknown, yet General Covey will be here to embark with his division also. We expect to go where times are more active and undergo more hardships. We are all ordered to have three days rations cooked in our haversack which is hard to do because we only have pilot bread and coffee to get ready.
The boys are spending their time in different ways. Some are writing, some playing cards, some are fishing, and some are reading. So, you see, the way the poor soldiers occupy their time, there is no chance of any kind of employment in the army.
Nothing but one thing to do over and over, day in and day out, it is not that the laboriousness of soldering is so hard that the soldier complains, but the one duty over and over without changing. We all get tired of one employment. We want something to task our memory, something to occupy our mind.
A soldier’s mind becomes dull and forgetful it if has no work to perform, no task that requires study. We all want arduous labor for both mind and body to enjoy life in its right sense or character. It is no wonder that private soldiers become stupid and dull of understanding because there is no employment for the mind in a soldier’s life. Soldiering is a drag on any man’s mind, his life is lost to himself.
He will not advance as far in five years soldiering in knowledge and literature as he will in one in civil life. It is the love of our country that I enlisted, to sacrifice all happiness, all pleasure to save my country. There is nothing too good to sacrifice for my country.
Two years now since I set my life at stake for my country and since that time, I have never enjoyed my life. One more long year yet to serve them. I hope this rebellion will not need me or my services to help destroy it and hope long eve that time it will be ended. All things look favorable. God send a speedy end____________