ndon my
intention. The demand for army surgeons at this time became very great;
and although not a graduate, I found no difficulty in getting the place
of assistant surgeon to the Tenth Indiana Volunteers. In the subsequent
Western campaigns this organization suffered so severely that before the
term of its service was over it was merged in the Twenty-first Indiana
Volunteers; and I, as an extra surgeon, ranked by the medical officers
of the latter regiment, was transferred to the Fifteenth Indiana
Cavalry. Like many physicians, I had contracted a strong taste for army
life, and, disliking cavalry service, sought and obtained the position
of first lieutenant in the Seventy-ninth Indiana Volunteers, an infantry
regiment of excellent character.

On the day after I assumed command of my company, which had no captain,
we were sent to garrison a part of a line of block-houses stretching
along the Cumberland River below Nashville, then occupied by a portion
of the command of General Rosecrans.

The life we led while on this duty was tedious and at the same time
dangerous in the extreme. Food was scarce and bad, the water horrible,
and we had no cavalry to forage for us. If, as infantry, we attempted to
levy supplies upon the scattered farms around us, the population
seemed suddenly to double, and in the shape of guerrillas "potted" us
industriously from behind distant trees, rocks, or fences. Under these
various and unpleasant influences, combined with a fair infusion of
malaria, our men rapidly lost health and spirits. Unfortunately, no
proper medical supplies had been forwarded with our small force
(two companies), and, as the fall advanced, the want of quinine and
stimulants became a serious annoyance. Moreover, our rations were
running low; we had been three weeks without a new supply; and our
commanding officer, Major Henry L. Terrill, began to be uneasy as to
the safety of his men. About this time it was supposed that a train with
rations would be due from the post twenty miles to the north of us; yet
it was quite possible that it would bring us food, but no medicines,
which were what we most needed. The command was too small to detach any
part of it, and the major therefore resolved to send an officer alone to
the post above us, where the rest of the Seventy-ninth lay, and whence
they could easily forward quinine and stimulants by the train, if it had
not left, or, if it had, by a small cavalry escort.

It so happen