On the 23d we had battalion drill, and in the evening we were called in line by Major Grill. He took us to the brewery and said, “I am going to treat my mans if dey vill be good mans and stay in camp mit me.” We all marched past the beer kegs, cup in hand. Some of the boys, after drinking their beer, fell back in the rear and marched past the kegs again, getting another drink, and some got several cupfuls of the liquor.
After several kegs had been emptied the Major noticed that some had emptied several cups. He roared out. “Stop dat you mans! You haf done already had enough.” Some of them certainly had plenty.
After the Major had paid out ten or twelve dollars to treat the boys, to keep them in camp, about twenty-five of them slipped out that night and went home.
CHAPTER XIV.
On the morning of the 25th we were ordered on board the steamer “Joseph Pierce” and started down the river. We were hailed at Paducah the next morning. A force of rebels under General Forest had charged in and set fire to our commissary stores. The town was a cloud of smoke. They had charged on our fort, which was manned by a few guards, and the invalids. They were repulsed and had fallen back out of town, but they had had enough of it and failed to make the second attack. We lay here until eight o’clock, then ran on down the river.
At Cairo we met some veteran troops on their way home. Among them was the Eighth Iowa, or Eagle regiment. They were all rejoicing because of getting to go home. We ran down to Columbus. Here they were making preparations and looking for Forest’s army, but they did not come.
We ran on down to the mouth of White river in Arkansas. Here a squad of guerrillas fired into our boat. They killed one man in Company F. We arrived at New Orleans, April 3d, 1864.
On the 4th we got off of the boat and went into quarters in the First Louisiana Cotton Press. We were kept in under a heavy guard and the boys were angry, as they wanted to get out and run at large over the city.