he morning of September
21st) we started on the back track, and that day marched to Corinth. It
so happened that on this march our regiment was at the head of the
column. The proper place of my company, according to army regulations,
was the third from the right or head of the line, but from some
cause--I never knew what--on that day we were placed at the head. And,
as I was then acting as first sergeant of our company, that put me the
head man on foot. These details are mentioned for the reason that all
that day I marched pretty close to the tail of the horse that Gen. Ord
was riding, and with boyish curiosity, I scanned the old general
closely. He was a graduate of West Point, and an old regular. He had
served in the Florida and the Mexican wars, and he also had been in
much scrapping with hostile Indians in the vicinity of the Pacific
Coast. He looked old to me, but really he was, at this time, only about
forty-four years of age. He certainly was indifferent to his personal
appearance, as his garb was even plainer, and more careless, than
Grant's. He wore an old battered felt hat, with a flapping brim, and
his coat was one of the old-fashioned, long-tailed oil-cloth
"wrap-rascals" then in vogue. It was all splattered with mud, with
several big torn places in it. There was not a thing about him, that I
could see, to indicate his rank. Later he was transferred to the
eastern armies, eventually was assigned to the command of the Army of
the James, and took an active and prominent part in the operations that
culminated in the surrender of Lee at Appomattox.

We reached Corinth that evening, went into bivouac, and remained there
a couple of days. On the morning of September 24th we fell in, marched
down to the depot, climbed on cars, and were soon being whirled north
to Jackson, on the Mobile and Ohio railroad. We arrived there about
noon, and at once transferred to a train on the Mississippi Central
track and which forthwith started for Bolivar. I think the train we
came on to Jackson went right back to Corinth to bring up more troops.
We common soldiers could not imagine what this hurried rushing around
meant, and it was some time before we found out. But history shows that
Grant was much troubled about this time as to whether a threatened
Confederate attack would be delivered at Corinth or at Bolivar.
However, about the 22nd, the indications were that Bolivar would be
assailed, and troops were at once brought from Cori