With Grant at Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Vicksburg / and an appreciation of General U. S. Grant

by Wilbur F. Crummer

“You bet we won’t” responds Will. “Grant has got something up his sleeve and we’ll be moving before long, take my word for it.”

Will was right. In a few days a large number of steamboats gathered at the wharf, and were being loaded with ammunition, commissary stores and all the needed accessories of an army, and then the day came to break camp and the boys marched on the boats, wondering which way the boats would head out in the river.

On February 4th, 1862, the boats are loaded to the guards and the order is given, and with Gen. Grant leading the way, the boats steam out into the Ohio and start upstream.

Will and Jim were packed on the upper deck of the steamer “City of Memphis” like a box of sardines with their comrades. While the day lasted the boys feasted their eyes on the scenery from either side and enjoyed the first steamboat ride of their lives.

At night they spread their blankets on the deck and laid down to dream of home, but before going to sleep, they had a “talk-fest,” as they called it, Jim thinking they must be going to Cincinnati. But Will thought different, and said: “I don’t know where we’ll land, but I’ll bet a hard tack it will be down south somewhere among the secesh.”

The next morning when they awoke they found themselves, not on the Ohio, but on the Tennessee river headed down South. “What did I tell you last night, Jim, that we were going to land somewhere in Dixie.”

“Say, Will, are you in close touch with Grant that you know what he’s going to do?”

“No, but what’s a feller got a ‘bean’ on top of his body, if it isn’t to think a little and reason things out somewhat?”

During the day our boat tied up at a landing for the purpose of loading up with cord wood for fuel. Permission was given to the boys to go ashore and stretch their legs. There was a large warehouse there, stored with merchandise. The owner at once secured a guard to be placed over some barrels of whiskey. In every company there were men who liked strong drinks, and in prowling around they spied these barrels of whiskey, and ways and means were at once started to get some of the fiery stuff. One of the soldiers was directed to go near one of the barrels and while talking with the guard to let his gun drop on the floor, the man underneath would note where the gun struck the floor by the dust loosened up, and the man who had let his gun drop came down and directed just where the end of the barrel of whiskey would be. An auger was procured and a hole was bored through the floor into the barrel of whiskey. The boys stood ready with their canteens and caught the precious stuff (?) as it came down. Not long after quite a number of the soldiers were making merry and showing certain signs of being under the influence of liquor. The officers were puzzled as to how the men secured the liquor and rushed to the guard, accusing him of his failure to properly guard his charge. He denied strenuously that he had permitted any one to touch the barrels. One of the officers leaned against one of the barrels and being empty it toppled over, and the cat was out of the bag. The guard was exonerated, but some of the soldiers who had taken too much of the stuff for their good were arrested and punished. The plotters, however, were not discovered. It is a strange fact that those who liked the fiery liquid, could smell out where it was located and use the most curious ways to obtain it.

On February 6, 1862, in the afternoon, we landed on the eastern bank of the river, and the soldiers were located in camps near by. This being our first camp in Dixie, it was called “Camp Halleck.” How it did rain that night and blow, leveling many of our tents.