cut off from the regiment that they could not escape. I regret that I cannot say how many were killed or wounded of those who were captured; we had only 8 wounded in the gap.

The march of the corps was continued on the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th of October, passing through Alpine to Gadsden, Ala., crossing the State line on the 18th. We halted at Gadsden on the 21st, got our mails and drew the following: 21 blankets, 112 pairs of trousers, 74 pairs of shoes, 44 jackets, 82 pairs of socks, 37 shirts, and 46 pairs of drawers. This issue by no means supplied our necessities, but relieved the most needy. We had twenty men absolutely barefooted when we reached Gadsden. On the evening of the 21st the commanding general communicated to the army his purpose to cross the Tennessee and march into that State; accordingly, on the early morning of the 22nd, the march was resumed. Passing over Sand Mountain we arrived before Decatur, Ala., on the afternoon of the 26th and formed line of battle. The weather was wretched, the roads muddy, and the marching most trying on the troops. The 27th and 28th were equally as bad, and the regiment being kept in position and moved frequently as the line was moved to the right, and the enemy throwing some shell meanwhile, made our stay in front of Decatur most uncomfortable, especially as we expected to attack or to be attacked at any moment. The men had no chance to cook and suffered from hunger. We left this position at 3 o'clock on the afternoon of the 29th and marched nine miles on the Tuscumbia road, camping in Florence County. The march was continued on the 30th and 31st, passing through Courtland and arriving at Tuscumbia at 4 p. m. on the 31st. The beautiful valley of the Tennessee, through which we marched, was desolated by the enemy, and the commanding general published a field circular to the army, calling attention of the troops to the ruined homes on every hand, and exhorting every man and officer resolutely to vow the redemption of Tennessee from the grasp of the foe. The circular was received by the Twenty-fourth with a hearty cheer, though many of the gallant soldiers who cheered were absolutely suffering for clothing and shoes. Hardee's corps went into bivouac west of the town, and remained in bivouac until the 8th of November. The weather for most of the time was miserable and the camp most uncomfortable in consequence. The following issues were made to my regiment: 64 jackets, 16 pairs of trousers, 38 pairs of socks, 28 pairs of shoes, 24 blankets. This was a very inadequate supply. I applied for 113 pairs of shoes absolutely needed, twenty-three men being barefooted on reaching Tuscumbia. Up to this point we had marched 361 miles. On the 8th of November, in a storm of rain, the corps marched to within a mile of the river, and went into bivouac, waiting for the completion of the pontoon. On Sunday, the 13th, the weather being fine, we marched over the pontoon, the bands playing and the men and officers in high spirits. Marching through Florence we camped one mile west of the town. The 14th and 15th were employed by Hardee's corps fortifying a line designed, we were told, to defend the crossing of the river in case of disaster in front. The weather from the night of the 14th was miserably bad; cold, rain, and snow, and the bivouac wet and uncomfortable. Rations were short, seventy of my men had next to no blankets, and as many needed shoes. On the 16th we got 16 pairs of shoes, 45 pairs of trousers, 50 pairs of socks, 26 shirts, and 34 pairs of drawers. We had no forage for our horses and a ration of only fifteen ears of corn. In spite of this the men were cheerful and dutiful. The Twenty-fourth reported at Flor-