Becoming convinced that the corps must be allowed to recuperate before attempting a march so full of difficulties as the crossing of the Cumberland Mountains, he ordered that they should rendezvous at Crab Orchard, and give the corps a much needed rest, but they had not had time to fully recuperate when Gen. Burnside's pressing need of more troops compelled him to order the corps to join him in East Tennessee as soon as possible.
On Sunday, Sept. 20th, the advance of the Ninth Corps passed through Cumberland Gap and bivouacked in Tennessee, and by long, difficult and continuous marches, reached Knoxville on the afternoon of the 26th.
It was the timely arrival of the Ninth which enabled Gen. Burnside to send the Twenty-third Corps to Loudon and below, making a demonstration of such strength that the rebel Gen. Forrest concluded not to hazard an attack, but fell back towards Chattanooga.
From Oct. 1st to the 5th our battery remained in the forts at Loudon. Each day details were made to accompany the three wagons upon forage trips, and many are the pleasant episodes recollected of those occasions. Seldom did those teams return to camp without the carcass of a slaughtered hog or a fine sheep underneath its load of corn on the ear. The citizens had kindly planted a liberal supply of that improvement upon the sweet potato—those golden yams—and any foraging trip which did not produce a large stock of them upon its return, was pronounced a failure.
Most of the boys will remember trips of this sort, when the distance from camp made it necessary that they should remain out over night. How gladly they accepted an invitation to spend the night with the people at whose house they happened to be—if they received such invitations—and how persistently they demanded such hospitality from those who did not extend the invitation.
It is well remembered by some of us how much we were embarrassed upon the occasion of our first experience in spending the night with those people. Most of their homes were log cabins, containing but one room, and as it most always happened that the family consisted of mother and from one to seven daughters, it became a vexed question with us as to how the act of retiring would be accomplished; and as the time for retiring approached, we became anxious. It was all unnecessary, however, for when the time came, the women arose, threw a straw bed upon the floor, with blankets, produced a curtain, which they hung across the centre of the room, bade us good night, and retired to their side, leaving us to go to bed at our leisure.
Oct. 5th our troops fell back from Athens, and crossed to the north side of the Tennessee River upon the pontoon bridge at Loudon.
Oct. 6th our battery received orders to report to our old division (First) Ninth Corps, at Blue Springs, distant about ninety-seven miles. It was reported that the enemy were advancing from Virginia, threatening our communications with Cumberland Gap, and on the 3d Gen. Burnside had ordered the Ninth Corps to oppose them. All the infantry were carried on the cars, and in order that the battery should reach the objective point as soon after the infantry as possible, they were hurried along at the rate of thirty miles a day.
Fortunately our horses were in a much better condition than they had been for some time. Since our long march to New Market and back, Sept. 15th to 21st, they had had but little work to do, and with liberal feeding on grain and much opportunity to graze, they had gotten into very good condition.
We left Loudon at noon on the 6th, and reached Bull's Gap about dark on the 9th. We found the roads in very good condition, the streams were low, lessening the difficulties of fording, in fact everything seemed to work favorably for the accomplishment of this long march.