On the 22nd Major General N. P. Banks received us into his army, and we had grand review. On the 29th we were again reviewed by General Banks.
September 4th, 1863, General Grant came down to see after the army and reviewed our corps, the 13th, and the 19th corps. Late in the evening, he was thrown from his horse. He struck a curb stone and was seriously injured.
We lay here until September 12th when we got marching orders for a general campaign under the command of General Banks. Our army here consisted of the fragments of the 13th corps, the 18th corps, and the 19th corps.
We got on boats, crossed over to Algiers, and boarded a train at night. We went to Brasier City which is on the edge of Berwick Bay, eighty-four miles from New Orleans. This is as far as the road is completed.
The boys had lots of fun on this trip, shooting at alligators in the railroad ditches. The water was full of them. We almost lived on crabs and oysters while we stayed at Brasier City. The water we had to drink at this place was terrible. The boys played several tricks at this place.
We went to work here and dug wells. We found plenty of water but it was so brackish that we could hardly drink the coffee that was made from the salty stuff.
Our pickets stood over across the bay one mile from our army. We had left our tents at New Orleans, but we had some comfortable shelters here. They were covered with the leaves of the palm trees which grew in abundance here.
On the morning of the 25th, our troops were all drawn up in two lines facing each other. A soldier that belonged to the 1st Missouri battery was to run the gauntlet. He was drummed out of service with a dishonorable discharge for stealing from his comrades. One side of his head and face was shaven. Our sheepskin band ran after him, playing the “Rogue’s March.” He looked horrible as he passed, with everyone taunting and kicking him.