rmy on sick
leave, and he was going out to take him prisoner.

8. This afternoon the camp was greatly excited over a daring feat of a
body of cavalry under John Morgan. It succeeded in getting almost inside
the camps, and was five miles inside of our outposts. It came into the
main road between where Kennett's cavalry regiment is encamped and
Nashville; captured a wagon train, took the drivers, Captain Braden, of
Indiana, who was in charge of the train, and eighty-three horses, and
started on a by-road back for Murfreesboro. General Mitchell immediately
dispatched Kennett in pursuit. About fifteen miles out the rebels were
overtaken and our men and horses recaptured. Two rebels were killed and
two taken; Kennett is still in hot pursuit. Captain Braden says, as the
rebels were riding away they were exceedingly jubilant over the success
of their adventure, and promised to introduce him to General Hardee in
the evening. Without asking the Captain's permission they gave him a
very poor horse in exchange for a very good one, put him at the head of
the column and guarded him vigilantly; but when Kennett appeared and the
running fight occurred he dodged off at full speed, lay down on his
horse, and although fired at many times escaped unhurt.

Morgan's men know the country so well that all the by-roads and
cow-paths are familiar to them; the citizens keep them informed also as
to the location of our camps and picket posts, and if need be are ready
to serve them either as guides or spies, hence the success which
attended the earlier part of their enterprise does not indicate so great
a want of vigilance on the part of our troops, as might at first thought
be supposed.

9. The enemy made a descent on one of our outposts, killed one man and
wounded another.

16. Went to Nashville this morning to buy a few necessaries. While
awaiting dinner at the St. Cloud I took a seat outside the door. Quite a
number of Union officers were seated or standing in front of the hotel,
when two well, extremely well, dressed women, followed by a negro lady,
approached, and while passing us _held their noses_. What disagreeable
thing the atmosphere in our immediate vicinity contained that made it
necessary for these lovely women to so pinch their nasal protuberances,
I could not discover; certainly the officers looked cleanly, many of
them were young men of the "double-bullioned" kind, who had spared no
expense in decorating their persons with sho