While at this work several of the boys froze their hands and feet and some of them had to have their fingers and toes amputated. These received discharges.
January 18th a detail of twenty men was called out to go with a foraging train after hay and corn. We went ten miles northwest. Here we found plenty of hay and corn. We camped in negro quarters. We killed a hog and had the negro cooks to get our supper and breakfast.
We loaded our train and gave the old farmer a due bill on Uncle Sam and started to camp with lots of good things, such as apples, honey and potatoes, hidden in the hay. The weather continued to turn colder, and we almost froze on our return to camp.
On the 12th another train composed of ox teams, was sent after corn and hay. Several of the guards of this train were badly frozen.
On the 15th we drew Sibly tents and stoves, but it wasn’t before we needed them. On the 27th we drew pay for two months. We also drew plenty of rations. We had bacon to spare. There was no wood to burn in our little sheet iron stoves and so we kept them red hot with bacon.
The citizens brought cakes, pies, apples, and cider into camp and sold them cheap. The boys ran some of them out and called them rebels, but we had not yet seen a real rebel.
At about this date we had one soldier in Company I who did not fill inspection. For this a detail carried him to the Lamine river, cut the ice and stripped and washed him all over. He was afterwards one of our best lieutenants.
After February 1st, 1862, our camp duty was lighter. A string guard which was composed of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Illinois, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-sixth Indiana, and Fryberger’s battery of six twelve-pound guns, was placed around the brigade at this fort.