The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 74, July 1970 - April, 1971 Page: 538
616 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Southwestern Historical Quarterly
General Hindman' (in command at that time) issued orders dis-
mounting our brigade. So we were compelled to take it afoot from
then until the final close of the war.
Sometime in October we had orders to move to Ark. Post some
80 miles from the mouth of the Ark. River. We went into Winter
quarters and made ourselves comfortable, but in January '63, the
Vicksburg Fleet and Army came up the river and attacked us with
something over loo thousand infantry and some 1/2 dozen gun boats.
After three days fighting our little band surrendered on the i x th
January 1863. We had about four thousand effective men. After
disarming us we were marched to the river where the boats had
landed and all of the four thousand were huddled on two boats
and that night started down to the mouth of the river to the Mis-
sissippi, then up to St. Louis; had a rough trip, the weather turning
cold and snowing and sleeting. A great many of us had to sleep upon
the hurricane deck without any shelter. I slept there about two
nights. The third I found a room in the cabin among the smallpox
cases, there being 30o or 40 cases on each vessell [sic] (These were
Yankee soldiers). I am certain that it was the intention of the
Yanks to kill as many of us as possible by mixing us with the
smallpox. After a trip of about six days we anchored at St. Louis,
about 4 PM. About 7 PM the officers were transferred to another
boat and sent across the Mississippi river to the Railroad. We were
herded together on the banks of the river until about four next morn-
ing, it being the coldest night I ever passed through. We had no
fire and only a blanket to shield us from the North wind. Several
of our men froze to death, [and] the only means of keeping alive
was to stand in one place and stamp the ground all night. Yankee
guards were thick all around us and were relieved every half of an
hour. But we poor unfortunates had to endure it. About 4 AM
we were marched to the cars and 40 or 50 of us jammed into old
box cars and about eight started for Columbus, Ohio. Arriving there
about g PM we were ordered out of the cars and formed in line.
We had not had anything to eat for about 48 hours. One piece of
bakers bread and a slice of baloney [sic] sausage was given us to eat.
7Confederate General T. C. Hindman later commanded a division at Chickamauga.
Fletcher Pratt, Ordeal by Fire: An Informal History of the American Civil War (New
York, 1935), 977.538
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 74, July 1970 - April, 1971, periodical, 1971; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101200/m1/550/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.