The Lost Army

by Thomas Wallace Knox

But the rebels came near meeting another obstacle that they did not know of. General Sweeney, with the brigades of Generals Sigel and Saloman, marched from Rolla in the direction of Springfield, and so quickly did he move that Price had no knowledge of his advance. As soon as he reached Springfield General Sweeney sent General Sigel westward in the direction of Carthage to head off the rebels who were supposed to be under command of Price. The fact was the latter general had already gone south with his escort to meet Ben McCulloch; the state troops which General Sigel was trying to cut off were consequently headed by Governor Jackson in person.

The two forces met each other on the fifth of July not far from Carthage and fought a battle which was very much like the one of Booneville in the extent of its casualties, though less successful for the Union cause. Sigel's command was only about one-fourth the number of those opposed to him; nearly two thousand of the rebels were mounted men, although very few of them had any weapons whatever, a fact which was unknown to the union commander. When he saw this great force pressing on his flanks, he naturally supposed his column to be in danger, and prudently gave the order to retire from the field. The retirement was effected in good order, and though the rebels pursued a few miles they inflicted no damage. The collision delayed the movements of the rebels toward the southwest, though it did not prevent it, and the elation which they felt over the repulse of the enemy was more than an offset for the delay.

On the march from Booneville to Springfield strict orders were given that there should be no depredating on private property, the rights of every citizen being fully respected. The order was very well obeyed, but it was impossible to carry it out to its fullest extent. Chickens that did not roost high had a habit of disappearing at night and never turning up again except in the stewpans of some of the soldiers or possibly in those of the officers; pigs that strayed from their pens when the army was about did not readily get back again, but on the whole there was not much cause of remonstrance on the part of the inhabitants.

The most serious complaint was on the part of the union men, and certainly they had a right to say something on the subject. The situation was expressed in this way by one of them who was talking with an officer in the presence of Jack and Harry:

“Look a-here,” said the citizen “why don't you-'uns go and take Jones's corn and potatoes and anything else you want? He's a secesher of the worst sort, and you ought to make him sweat for it. When the state troops went through here they took my horses and corn and wagons and paid me with receipts that I can't sell anywhere for five cents on the dollar. I tried to get them to let me alone, but they said I'd been saying I was a union man, and if I was I'd got to help support the war, and they'd take everything I had. They did n't touch Jones, because he's on their side.

“The rebels come along and plunder the union men, but when you-'uns come you don't touch the seceshers nor anybody else, except to pay in clean cash for what you want. It's a one-sided business anyhow, and if it keeps on I 'll have to turn secesh to save myself.”

This was actually the case for some time in Missouri and other border-states, and there is no doubt that many men who were in favor of the Union at the start became rebels in course of time in order to save their property. After a while affairs were changed and the men who were on the side of the rebellion had to suffer when our armies came in their vicinity. The property of all was seized wherever wanted. A union man was compensated for his loss, while a pronounced rebel had great difficulty in securing compensation, and very often did not get anything whatever.

Later in the war Jack and Harry became known for their expertness in foraging, and many were the chickens and pigs that fell into their hands. They had splendid noses for scenting game, and when they could not find anything edible in a section of country it was pretty certain that the region had already been swept bare.

The skill acquired by our soldiers in catching “game” is well illustrated in the way they used to take pigs while marching at will along the road. A pig would make its appearance by the roadside along which a regiment was making its way. Some of the foremost men would throw out a few grains of corn, and, at the same time word would be passed along the line and several of the men in the rear would fix their bayonets on their guns. Piggy, all unsuspicious, would be tolled by the corn close to the roadside, and as the rear soldiers came along two of them transfixed the creature through the neck with a bayonet and swung him in the air. He was caught in the arms of two other soldiers, who speedily disemboweled him, and then cut up and distributed the meat. It was all done without breaking out of the line of march, and was characterized by the officers as a “wonderful triumph of mind over matter.”

Chickens were the favorite plunder of food-seeking soldiers, partly on account of their toothsome character and partly in view of their portability. Pigs and sheep came next in the line of desirable things, as they could be subdivided with ease and if necessary with great celerity.