The joke was a serious one, but, inasmuch as nobody was hurt, I concluded not to expose the roguery of the runaways, or the bravery of the chaplain.
While the army was on its march from the Tallahatchie to Lagrange, I had an amusing little adventure with a secesh lady. It was on the day that General Leggett's brigade left Holly Springs. I was riding along behind my regiment, in company with Levi Hood, of the 20th Ohio, when I observed, to the left of the road, and about half a mile back, a large, fine white house. I told Levi that, from the fine appearance of things about the house, I presumed we could get feed there for our mules; so we rode out to see.
The house was built with a porch extending across its entire front. As we approached, we saw a Federal guard standing on the porch, near the main entrance to the house, and two Federal officers, one of them a Captain and the other a Major. The officers were engaged in conversation with a lady belonging to the house. We halted in front of the steps leading on to the porch, when Levi, addressing the lady, said: "Madam, have you got any corn or fodder here?"
"Yes, I expect there is some out there," she replied, pointing to an outhouse; "go out and get it. Take it all, if you can; don't leave any. I shall be glad when it is gone; then you won't bother me."
We rode to the outhouse and procured what fodder we wanted, and, having fed our mules in a yard in front of the house, we repaired to the porch, where the officers and lady were still engaged in conversation. They were talking about the burning of Holly Springs, and as I came near, I heard the lady say:
"If General Van Dorn and General Price can't thrash you out of Mississippi, they can starve you out, or get you out in some way; you are going out, anyhow."
"Yes," said I, "that's one of General Van Dorn's capers; he is just the man to do such tricks as that."
The officers left as soon as I came up, and the lady turned her conversation to me:
"Do you know General Van Dorn?"