nds the South was
a great tyrant, and the Confederacy a fraud. They were deserting by
thousands. They had no love or respect for General Bragg. When men were
to be shot or whipped, the whole army was marched to the horrid scene to
see a poor trembling wretch tied to a post and a platoon of twelve men
drawn up in line to put him to death, and the hushed command of "Ready,
aim, fire!" would make the soldier, or conscript, I should say, loathe
the very name of Southern Confederacy. And when some miserable wretch
was to be whipped and branded for being absent ten days without leave,
we had to see him kneel down and have his head shaved smooth and slick as
a peeled onion, and then stripped to the naked skin. Then a strapping
fellow with a big rawhide would make the blood flow and spurt at every
lick, the wretch begging and howling like a hound, and then he was
branded with a red hot iron with the letter D on both hips, when he was
marched through the army to the music of the "Rogue's March." It was
enough. None of General Bragg's soldiers ever loved him. They had no
faith in his ability as a general. He was looked upon as a merciless
tyrant. The soldiers were very scantily fed. Bragg never was a good
feeder or commissary-general. Rations with us were always scarce.
No extra rations were ever allowed to the negroes who were with us as
servants. No coffee or whisky or tobacco were ever allowed to be issued
to the troops. If they obtained these luxuries, they were not from the
government. These luxuries were withheld in order to crush the very
heart and spirit of his troops. We were crushed. Bragg was the great
autocrat. In the mind of the soldier, his word was law. He loved to
crush the spirit of his men. The more of a hang-dog look they had about
them the better was General Bragg pleased. Not a single soldier in the
whole army ever loved or respected him. But he is dead now.

Peace to his ashes!

We became starved skeletons; naked and ragged rebels. The chronic
diarrhoea became the scourge of the army. Corinth became one vast
hospital. Almost the whole army attended the sick call every morning.
All the water courses went dry, and we used water out of filthy pools.

Halleck was advancing; we had to fortify Corinth. A vast army, Grant,
Buell, Halleck, Sherman, all were advancing on Corinth. Our troops
were in no condition to fight. In fact, they had seen enough of this
miserable yet tragic farce.