I went on through Coffeeville, and to within a mile of Grenada, without being molested. Not liking to venture in on the direct road from Water Valley, I turned to my left when within a mile of the place, calculating to enter the town on some other road. I had proceeded but a short distance, when I met three soldiers, dressed exactly like rebel soldiers, who captured me and made me turn back.
When we came back to the Water Valley road, I was surprised to find that I was being taken toward Water Valley instead of Grenada. I then found that I had been captured by soldiers belonging to the 7th Kansas Cavalry. I tried to make them believe that I was a Federal soldier, and was scouting for the Government, but it was of no avail; they were not to be persuaded out of their prisoner.
We had traveled but a few hundred yards after taking the Water Valley road, when we met a negro, who was riding a splendid mule, with a nice saddle, bridle, and spurs, and was carrying on the mule, in front of him, a sack of corn-meal.
"Halt, you black devil!" said one of the soldiers. "Get off from that mule and let white folks ride!"
The negro dismounted and turned over his establishment to me, and then, shouldering his meal, he resumed his way. I mounted the mule with a somewhat lighter heart than I had had at the prospect of walking all the way back.
When we arrived at Water Valley, I was taken to Colonel Lee, who, on inquiring of the soldiers where they caught me, elicited the fact that they had ran away from camp and gone to Grenada without leave.
"Go to your quarters, men," said the Colonel; "I'll take care of your prisoner now, and take care of you in the morning."
The next morning I started again for Grenada, mounted on the mule taken from the negro the night before, with a letter to Captain Townsend, who had been sent to the vicinity of Coffeeville, during the night, with a detachment of cavalry, requesting him, if admissible, to pass me on. On reporting to the Captain, he informed me that he had men deployed all through the country about Coffeeville, watching for rebel scouts and stragglers, and that it would be hazardous for me to undertake to get through, and advised me to remain with him until his men came in before attempting to go on.
It was so late in the afternoon when the cavalry came in that I concluded to remain with the Captain all night. In the morning I resumed my journey, and at 1 o'clock, P. M., without having experienced any difficulty in passing the rebel pickets, I entered Grenada.
The first thing that attracted my attention, was the suffering and destitute condition of the infantry and artillery soldiers. Very many of them were lame and foot-sore. Hundreds of them were barefooted, and very many of them were bare-headed, and all of them more or less ragged and destitute of blankets. Sickness prevailed to a great extent. The soldiers were loud in pronouncing curses upon General Sherman, whom they represented as having brought on much of their suffering by attempting to execute a flank movement upon them while in their intrenchments at the Tallahatchie River, which caused them to make a precipitate retreat to Grenada.