ympathy, and in their
comparatively comfortable quarters and abundant supplies, afforded a
vivid contrast to the treatment received by our boys at Libby and
Andersonville. Intimations were quite freely expressed by the
prisoners, that it would soon be their turn to guard us, and we were
cautioned by friends and from headquarters, to be on the alert against
a sudden attack.

In the evening of the day after our arrival, we were startled by a
steamer approaching the landing, all ablaze from stem to stern. The
entire heavens seemed illuminated, and it was light enough to read
with perfect distinctness. The vessel was loaded with some three
thousand bales of cotton, and in landing at a point above us, the
sparks from the torch--a wire basket filled with pine knots, and used
after dark to light the loading and unloading of the steamer,--had set
the cotton afire. The motion of the boat and the perfect draft from
her construction, peculiar to nearly all the river craft, of course
spread the fire with great rapidity, and only time sufficient to
rescue the passengers was permitted. The vessel had a large freight of
live stock, some of which escaped to the shore, but most of them
perished in the flames, filling the air with their piteous cries. Our
particular attention was devoted to our magazine, which was an
ordinary store-house and exposed to some danger. Its contents we could
ill afford to lose, and their explosion would have made a sensation
much more lively than even the destruction of the steamer.

At Plaquemine an earth work had been begun by our predecessors. It had
four bastions, one of which was assigned to each of our companies. The
work was in a very incomplete condition, and except for the protection
its parapets afforded, would have been of little service. In the
threatening aspect of affairs, it became necessary at once to
strengthen our defences, and under the direction of an engineer,
details of men were set to work, and rapid progress was made.

In April parties of guerillas and rebel cavalry began to operate
actively in our neighborhood. At Indian village, a few miles distant,
they burned a large quantity of cotton which had been sent in by
planters or collected by speculators and was awaiting transportation.
About the same time mysterious signals attracted our attention, and
soon afterwards, we learned that a body of two hundred cavalry had
crossed the Grand River for the purpose of attacking us. The men sl