rom a false report, not even waiting for an attack.
While this order at the time caused no comment, it now, after our long
experience, looks very ridiculous, though not more so than many others, we
received at the beginning of the war.

It was not long before we were all on the march through and beyond
Springfield, Price and his Army being in full retreat, with a force, so
far as we could learn, of about ten thousand men. We followed him as
rapidly as possible, he leaving a strong rear guard under Colonel Little
to stop us at every stream. General Siegel had urged upon General Curtis a
detour by his two Divisions to head off Price or stop him, so that he
could attack him in front while we attacked his rear. Curtis had acceded
to this. I had the advance following up Price, and endeavored to hold him,
while Siegel moved by another road, expecting to catch him in flank or get
ahead of him.

I remember that about noon of each day at some good defensive point,
generally across a creek with a wide, open valley, Price would open out
with his artillery and cavalry and act as though he intended to give
battle. Our cavalry would fall back to give way to our infantry, and we
would go into line, put out our skirmishers, and lose half a day, and as
night came on Price would get out without our accomplishing anything. I
remember distinctly that my Regiment would go into line, strip themselves,
and throw down the chickens, potatoes, apples, and other eatables they had
foraged and taken during the day, and as they would go forward the troops
in our rear would come up and gobble what they had dropped. About the
third time the Regiment went into line I noticed the boys had left nothing
but their knapsacks, and were holding on to their chickens and provisions.
One of the boys saw me looking at them, and thinking I was going to order
them to drop what they had in their hands or on their backs, he appealed
to me, saying, "Colonel, we have fed that damned Thirty-sixth Illinois
Infantry every day and left ourselves without any supper. They put up this
game that is going on to get our chickens. There ain't any Price on that
side of the river, and they can't fool us any longer if they do you."

At Cane Creek, Flat Creek, Sugar Creek, etc., we had pretty sharp
skirmishes. I soon discovered the plan of Price. It was to leave a strong
rear-guard and make a great show while his trains and the rest of his Army
were pushing to the South as fast as p