(282) This movement was apparently made with a view to drawing troops from Richmond to protect Staunton, and as a diversion in favor of Gen. Stoneman, who started December 6th, from Knoxville, Tenn., with three mounted brigades, led by Burbridge and Gillem, and moved along the Virginia and East Tennessee railroad to Marion, Va., where Gillem struck the Rebel Gen. Vaughn, the Sixteenth chasing him 30 miles into Wytheville; capturing 200 men, eight guns and a large train; then moved on along the railroad as far as Max Meadows, Va. Our force and that of Stoneman would thus, in our movements tend toward each other. On this expedition Stoneman captured in all 500 prisoners, destroyed the lead works 15 miles east of Wytheville, destroyed on his way back to Knoxville the valuable and costly saltworks at Saltville, Va., and made other material captures, and destructions, including destruction to some extent of the railroad.
(283) At the appointed time the Tenth, our regiment marched from the Heights across to Harpers Ferry, where we joined the Thirty-fourth Massachusetts with four pieces of Indiana battery under command of Capt. Minor. The force moved early in the morning of this day under command of Col. Wells, he being the senior officer in the command. The route was through Charleston at which place we were joined by the First New York, the Fifth Maine, the Twenty-First Pennsylvania, and Cole's Maryland Battalion, which reinforcements were all cavalry. In addition to this, there were added to the artillery strength at this place, two 12-pound brass pieces.
(284) A rather short march was made that day, as the Thirty-fourth had started with heavy knapsacks of clothing, blankets, and etc., to keep them comfortable, as the command had neither tents nor shelter of any kind to protect the men.
(285) Camp was made that night between Charleston and Berryville. The next morning the advance was given to the Twelfth. They started off whistling "Yankee Doodle" and keeping step to the music at a lively gait. Berryville was passed through, and coming to the Opequon Creek beyond, Col. Wells ordered the command to halt until a temporary bridge should be made. The boys of the Twelfth, who had frequently had such obstacles to overcome, soon set the Thirty-fourth boys an example of how to get on the other side of a creek, by plunging into this one and wading across. Col. Wells exclaimed to Major Curtis, "What kind of men have you? They don't seem to care for water or anything else." The Major replied: "They are used to that kind of work."
(286) The Twelfth boys marched on rapidly, in order to give the Massachusetts regiment a lesson in marching and about 12 o'clock the wagon master came galloping up to the front and requested Col. Wells to slacken up the speed, as the men of the Thirty-fourth were all giving out, emptying their knapsacks of blankets and extra clothing, and climbing into the wagons and artillery carriages to ride. The order was given to proceed on a slower march, which was done.
(287) This plan of rather slow marching pursued by Col. Wells going as he did at the outset at the rate of about sixteen miles a day, is to be commended. It showed him to be considerate and careful of his men. Men ought not to be marched from twenty to thirty miles per day, unless there were some special urgency for so doing. But it often happened that the various commands to which our regiment belonged, would march considerably over twenty miles a day, when no apparent reason existed for so doing. Those responsible for this had marching being mounted did not seem to realize what a heavy drain it was on the energy of the men to carry about thirty pounds, including arms equipments and etc., all day on a hard march, or to appreciate how heavy this weight would become before the end of a day's long march.
(288) Surgeon F. H. Patton, in charge of the Soldiers' Home at Dayton, O., in a recent interview said that most of the inmates there were afflicted with heart trouble; and he attributed this fact to over exertion during the war. Assuming this to be true, it is believed that much if not most of this heart trouble is attributable to unnecessarily hard marching.
(289) On this second day's march—the command passed through Winchester from which place the regiment, being in Gen. Milroy's army, was routed in the preceding June, by Lee's army and camped two miles from town. While here some of the Twelfth boys took the opportunity of looking over the battle field, and saw where some of their comrades had fallen and been buried, with only a little earth thrown upon them. The third day the command marched to Strasburg and remained there four days.
(290) Some of the comrades tell of a trick one of the Twelfth boys played on a citizen at this town, during this stay here. He, the soldier, some how had got hold of a watch chain made of imitation gold dollars. The chain was formed by linking these dollars together. He separated them by removing the links. No doubt with a view to catching a victim, this soldier one day was carelessly toying with his gold dollars in the presence of a citizen, when the eye of the latter caught a sight of the seeming coin. The citizen immediately asked the soldier what he would take for it. The latter played the indifferent dodge—seemed like he did not care whether he sold his coin or not; but finally said that as he would spend his money anyhow, he would exchange it dollar for dollar, for "greenbacks." The citizen promptly handed over the required treasury notes, putting the bogus coin in his pocket with the remark that he would "salt that down." Very probably he would discover later that it was the man instead of the money that was "salted."
(291) Cheating tricks, such as this are not to be approved of course; but a faithful though imperfect record, demands that incidents of this character as well as those of a more creditable kind, should be given.