Direct J. Riley                                                                         Hoping to hear from you

            Anderson Troop                                                          soon I remain yours truly

                        Genl Buell’s Hd Qrs                                                               Jas Riley

                                    Corinth Miss

 

                                                                                                            Camp near Corinth

                                                                                                            May 12/62

 

My Esteemed Friend

                                    Your favor was recd in due time glad to hear from you all & if you knew how much pleasure your letters afford me you would let them be more frequent. please accept this gentle hit

 

            At the time I recd your last I was living on excitement or hope rather for I expected to be an actor in the battle of Corinth but what was our disapointment on friday morning May 31^st to learn that Corinth had been evacuated At our reveille which was at 4 oclock we heard a terrific sound & saw volumes of smoke arrising from Corinth we supposed it was an explosion & so it proved to be. Gen^l Nelson’s devision entered the town about six AM friday morning

 

I was along our breast works on wednesday & thursday previous to the evacuation. on wednesday only two of us were detailed to accompany the Gen^l I thought I sh would get in the battle sure Gen^l Buell asked of Gen^l Halleck to let him make the attack on wednesday but Gen^l Halleck refused saying that when he wanted him to/ to make the attack he would give the order, so Gen^l Buell is not to blame. On thursday while we were out with the Gen^l & advanced to within a mile of the reble breastworks the Gen^l halted the staff & escort & went into the woods alone. while we were waiting for him a ball was fired at us & struck a tree about twenty feet from me. some infantry that had been on picket & were taking their breakfast were near us when we were fired at & though the ball was nearest to me I had to laugh when they comenced to “skedadle” the same day while we were on a full galop we were fired at voley after folley, one ball struck a tree not thirty feet from us it was quite exciting & the nearest I have come to being in battle.

 

Saturday I visited Corinth it was a gratification to me to ride through their camps after all their boasting that they would bag us & all that sort of thing. When I arrived in Corinth I first went to the house that Bureguard used as his Hq Qrs tis a prety place three pieces of furniture were left piano clock & hat rack. from there I went to their hospitals. they had used all the churches for hospitals every house was deserted some had not left until the morning of the evacuation in one house where I found a large library & took there from the Lay of the last min/strel as a trophy I found a fresh boquet & on looking in the sideboard I found they had aparently been at breakfast & had not time to wash the dishes. the house was handsomely furnished & I could have got many things but had no room to carry them. several houses were burned by the shells thrown from our batteries The rebles colected all their comisary stores & camp equipage together at the depot & then blew up the building they retreated hastily left quantities of flour sugar corned beeff beans molasses tents wagons &c. their camp equipage that they couldn’t take with them & that they did not destroy burn they destroyed. every camp kettle in their camps and pans plates cups canteens &c had a hole cut in them & wagons that they did not burnt they broke they spokes. there was scarcely a thing but what was damaged. After diging amongst the rubish we found a few frying pans & dutch ovens that were sound. I got a frying pan & from the hospital I got a new Knapsack plate & tin cup. In one house they filled with amunition & then set fire to it they also burned their cassions & cartridge boxes. I found in the rubish several belt plates with C.S. on them This evacuation has greatly weakened them the people tell us they were almost starved as they passed on their way to Boonville/

 

Their breastworks in some places were much superior to ours but generally speaking theirs were not superior considering the time they had they should have been much better. They could have stood a good fight they had the advantage of high ground & they had a 120 000 thousand men & heavier artilery than we tis all folly talking they have no arms nor amunition nor rations they have more than we have at least they had here I regret we did not have a battle. we could have surrounded them that is what they feared tis reported here Bureguard has gone to Richmond it may true We are following them up Genl Wood of Genl Buells army h is doing good work in Alabama & I suppose will cooperate with Genl Mitchell. Gen^ls Nixson & Cullenden have gone toward Oakaloona. tis thought the rebles will make a stand there.

 

Last week Genl Buell & staff & a part of our company went to Boonville I with them the first night we bivouacked at a beautiful spot a good well on the right of the road a beautiful grove on the left I wish you could have been with us we had fresh beef with & never in my life did beef steak & coffee taste so good we staid there a day then went on to Boonville & selected a camp for us we moved the next day had a good camping ground but miserable water partially stagnant. Think of being thirsty & have such water to drink. we are going to get whisky from the government we cant stand the water plain./

 

Gen^l Buell was going on to Oakaloona but the programe is changed day before yesterday we returned to our old camp before Corinth made of a march of 32 miles in one day. all of us stood it well & oh how glad we were to get back here to get a good drink if water. Tomorrow we expect to leave for Decature Alabama, unless the programe be changed to day. so tomorrow you I expect to have a pleasant march down to Alabama the water is good there. we will stop at the springs at Juka. I want to hear from Richmond. I hope it is ours many of our soldiers will be killed I have a brother there We don’t get papers here until late.

 

Yesterdy was preserving day in camp near our camp there are quantities of wild plums that are nearly ripe & as we have no butter we thought to preserve them would be a good thing so we commenced it & in a short time every man in camp was preserving. all the tin cups old fruit cans kettles were soon in use. your humble servant made as good a can of preserves as my mother can as we leave tomorrow we only did a few as we cant take them/ along. blackberries will soon be ripe I had a few ripe ones yesterdy. there is an abundance of fruit here. we can get along very well as long as we have water. The water in corinth is very poor a few artesian wells but not enough to supply an army. Many of the rebles died there on account of water. they have a large grave yard at Corinth I was surprised to find so many buried there thousands of newly made graves many of the rebles deserted they are yet coming to us. The people here have been robed of nearly all they had. our army takes nearly as much from them as the reble. Where we bivouaced the first night lived a man by the name of Taylor, a good Union man. Genl Buell gave him his safeguard, the violation of which is death I was placed on guard at the house & my first prisoner was a fellow who killed a chicken I made him carry the chicken up to Gen^l Buell you would have laughed to see him luging along his bleeding victim. Gen^l looked at him for a few minutes & not for all the chickens that was ever hatched in Poland or the United States would I have been in that fellows boots. Gen^l made the fellow give up the chicken to the owner, pay him the value of it & tell him he was a mean scamp. My paper is nearly full must close/

 

[margins] Recd a letter from Brazier yesterdy will write him soon

 

Recd a letter paper from Banks a few days ago. tell him to write

 

I am thankful for papers. I hope you’ll write me soon. tell the boys to send me papers ocasionly My regards to Mr Caldwell also Mr Lewis & then

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