ngy and firm, his face was glowing
with health, and beaded with perspiration. I felt greatly relieved and
happy, and, inspired by the joy of the moment, called to him: "Hello,
Press! You seem to be all right!" He glanced up at me, and in a sort of
sheepish manner responded: "Ya-a-ss. As luck would have it, the trip
'greed with me." And from this time on, I had no more trouble with old
Press. He turned over a new leaf, cut out completely his old-time
malingering practices, and thenceforward was a good, faithful soldier.
We were in some close places afterwards, and he never flinched, but
stood up to the work like a man. He was mustered out with the rest of
us in September, 1865, and after some going and coming, settled down in
Peoria county, Illinois, where he died March 15, 1914, at the age of
nearly eighty-five years.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE REGIMENT GOES HOME ON VETERAN FURLOUGH. INTERVIEW WITH GEN. W. T.
SHERMAN AFTER THE WAR. A SHORT TOUR OF SOLDIERING AT CHESTER, ILLINOIS.
AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, 1864.

After our return from the Clarendon affair, we remained in camp at
Devall's Bluff, where nothing more important occurred than drilling,
reviews, inspections, and the like. The summer was rapidly passing
away, and still the regiment had not received the 30-day furlough
promised us when we veteranized. Nearly all the other regiments in the
department that had re-enlisted had received theirs, and it looked as
if the poor old 61st Illinois had been "lost in the shuffle." The boys
began to get a little impatient about this, and somewhat disposed to
grumble, which was only natural. But on August 8th the paymaster made
us a visit, paid us six months' pay and our veteran bounty, and then
the prospect for the furlough began to brighten, and we were assured by
our officers that we had not much longer to wait. And sure enough, on
August 14th we started home. We left the recruits and non-veterans at
Devall's Bluff, to which we expected to return on the expiration of our
furlough, but the Fates willed otherwise, as will be seen later. When
we filed on board the steamboat that August morning, the old regiment,
as an organization, was leaving Arkansas forever.

I will say here that I have always regretted, and shall regret as long
as I live, that after the capture of Vicksburg, the regiment happened
to get switched off into Arkansas. We thereby were taken away from the
big armies, and out of the main currents of the wa