No 26.            

Camp at Anderson Station Tenn.

Aug. 10^th 1863.

 

Dear Friends.

                        Again have we moved forward & this time over the old Cumberland mountains. this makes the fifth time that we have been over them we left Cowan Station on the 5 & marched over to the foot of the mountain on this side we came the same road that we went back on last year. I believe the letter I wrote to you giveing an account of our leaveing the Rail Road & marching to Bowling Green I never mailed as I left it in my knapsack & had to march before we I could finish it. we left the RR a year ago the last of this month. we got to Stevenson about 10 P.M. on the train & before we could get away the rebels pitched into us but we checked them so we could get off all of our baggage & Artillery & then we left our selves. we got to this station about mid night & found that our train had been run off from the track by the engineer well we had to wate untill morning & then we went to work & got the engin on the track again & started on. we marched to the foot of the mountain & camped as we could not get our artillery over that night. next morning we started early & got over all safe & when we got to Decherd Station we / that all of our troops had left long before, they believeing that we had been captured. we did not stop only a short time when we started on for Tullahoma which place we got to about 11 P.M. the distance we marched was 35 miles besides getting the artillery over the mountains. this was going up so it was quite interesting to come down over the same old road again that we went up on (the last of Uncle Sams troops) last year.

 

            Our brigade was the only ones to move, the other two brigades were stayed at Cowan Station. you see we are posted along the Rail Road again. I dont think we will stay long. we relieved the 24 Wis. Vol. we had not got our camp finished before we had orders to be ready to march at a moments notice we have not moved yet but expect we will have to in a day or too, as a dispatch came in this morning that the other two brigades had started for this place & when they come up it is expected we will go on with them to the Tennessee river. it is rumored around here that our Corps (the 14^th) was ordered on the south side of the river. if that is the case a forward movement will be made. we would have gone on a month ago, but "Rose" was ordered by the War Department to halt on the other side of the mountains. the day we started I was detailed with a lot of other boys to help drive some beef over the mountains. we had just got on top when it / commenced to rain. that night we had to guard them. it rained a little next morning was pleasant & we got to the station about noon. well about the time we got there my teeth commenced to ache & my face to swell up by night it was so bad that I could hardly see out of my left eye. I did not sleep much that night & the next morning I went up to the doctors. he gave me a large mustard poltice & put it on & I kept it on untill it raised a blister. then it did not stop my face from acheing. Yesterday he gave me a flax seed poltice which stoped the pain but not the swelling. the doctor says it will be a gum bile. it is a painfull thing & I hope I will get rid of it soon. yesterday I thought I would take a stroll on top of the mountain if I could get on top so I went out & followed the pump logs that carries the watter from the spring on top of the mountain to the water tank. it took me quite a while to get up to the spring as we had some climbing to do. it is said the spring is 1,000 feet above the level of the valley. then we had to go 3 or 4 hundred feet more before we got to the top. when up there we could see for miles way down the valley & over small hills way in some small cove. you could see some wealthy planters mansion & back a little ways a long row of little log cabins in which his negros lived & then way down / in some corner you could see some small miserable log hut owned by the planter in which some poor white lives. some times you come across one that owns a few acares of land & they think themselves bigger than all creation. you go with in 40 rods of their place & they will order you off as if they owned all the state. these are the most bitter class of rebels & most generally they get the worst of it from the boys. we are haveing some prety hot weather now, this month & September being considered the two hottest months of the year down south. fruit is very backward peaches are just getting ripe apples are ripe now but very scarce I have not seen any pears. black berries are all gone. all we have got now is apples & peaches they will hold out some time yet. there is a rumor in camp that we are going on the other road but I hardly think it. we dont have any thing to do now only guard the depot & an old tannery that the rebels left. we have plenty watter & a good chance to wash. a large stream runs through the valley down to the river. the 33 & 2 Ohio are below us & they have to do all of the picketing that way & the 94 Ohio & 38 Indiana are the other way. we are haveing to easy times to stay here long but we may stay for some time yet. I hope we will for a short while at any rate but I must close. give my respects to all who may enquire love to all at home. write soon. excuse this as my face aches so it is hard to write. I can hardly sit still long enough. Yours as ever Frank M Phelps

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