Mountain and throw that gun into the Tennessee river. But, as time is a great soother, he got over his passion and laughed with the rest of us, and was thankful that no greater damage was done. The kettle came down with the smell of coffee yet lingering about its precious sides. As our communications between Nashville and Chattanooga at that time were often interrupted, our rations were very small, and soap was a luxury almost unknown. When general inspection was ordered, how to present clean faces and hands without soap was a problem hard to solve. At ten o'clock on one morning of inspection the boys fell into line with guns and equipments in splendid condition, but I cannot say as much of our clothes and faces. Comrade Claude Pritchard must have lovingly caressed the camp-kettle before falling in; for one side of his face was as black as possible, while the other side was comparatively clean. As the order was given, "Right dress!" Sergeant Bending said, "What nigger is that in our company?” And as he presented the black side of his face to the front, the captain said, "Pritchard, go and wash your face." Pritchard disappears with alacrity into his tent. In a very short space of time his head reappears from his tent with his face as black as ever, and very distinctly says, "Captain, have you got any soap?" The inspecting officer took one look and laughed aloud. The laugh was contagious, and we were soon all in a roar. The captain said, "Sergeant Bending, take that man to the guard-house!" and this ended the fun for that day. Pritchard was a faithful soldier, and I hope he fares now better than he did then. GREAT TURNING POINT. T JOHN E. COOKE (Confederate). HE long struggle culminating at Gettysburg ended as completely as if Lee had laid down his arms there. After the repulse at Cemetery Hill the event of the war was decided, and any commander of respectable ability might have achieved the results of 1864 and 1865. Gettysburg was the great turning point of the war, and the commander of the Federal forces there, General Meade, was a soldier indeed. GLOOMY DAYS. RAMP-Are you a Grand Army man? Gentleman-Yes. Tramp-Could you help a poor fellow who lost his leg during the war? Gentleman (giving him ten cents)— What regiment did you belong to? Tramp-Not any, sir. I was run down by a beer wagon a day or two after the battle of Fair Oaks. Those were gloomy days, sir. FISKING UP TORPEDOES PLANTED BY THE REBELS IN RED RIVER. Fearful Explosion which Hurled the Picker-Up Two Hundred Feet. By S. E. R. શી WAS among others detailed from the Federal steamer "Monongahela," to search the Red river between the Tensar and the Mississippi, for the torpedoes which had been planted by the Confederates. These torpedoes were of all makes, shapes, and sizes, from a pork barrel half-full of powder, to be fired by electricity from the shore, to a glass demijohn holding ten pounds, to be exploded by contact. Some were on the surface, some just under it, and some on the bottom. We went out in fours to hunt for these terrifiers, each boat being provided with grapnels, nets, boat-hooks, and whatever else was needed for fishing up the monsters. We had to exercise We had to exercise great caution, for the channel was tortuous and no one could guess at what point we would come across a torpedo. The woods were shelled two or three times a day by our gunboats, but the Confederate swamp-cats were by no means driven out. They had every chance to secrete themselves, and we realized that if we came upon an electric torpedo we ran every risk of being blown sky-high. We had been at work three or four days and had fished up seven or eight ugly-looking fellows, when we got into a part of the channel which ran within fifty feet of the right bank. A colored man who had been lying in the swamps for several weeks waiting for deliverance, informed us that he had observed men planting something in this bend two weeks before. He thought there were wires leading to the swamp, but we scouted about for a couple of hours without being able to find that such was the case. The bank was a dense jungle in which one thousand men could have concealed themselves. About an hour after dinner we moved up and began grappling in the bend. The boat turned her bow down stream, threw over her grapnels, and two men used the oars to give her headway. We had not pulled fifty feet when the irons took hold, and I drew the boat back to the spot by means of the rope. Then, standing on the seat in the stern, I lifted at the obstruction, and it came slowly up. It had just appeared sufficient for me to make out that it was a boiler-iron torpedo, when there came an awful explosion. The same instant our boat was lifted high in air and broken to pieces, and I scarcely comprehended what had occurred until I found myself in the water two hundred feet below the point of explosion. My hair, whiskers, and eyebrows were badly singed, and my clothing on fire, as I came down after the flight. While I had escaped, the other three were killed outright, and the wave created swamped a boat working a few hundred feet below us and drowned one of her crew. While swimming for this capsized boat, a man stood on the bank of the river and fired four shots at me from a revolver, and with the fifth he killed the colored man who had given the information. The victim stood upon the bank, about midway between the two boats, and was shot through the head. The torpedo was no doubt exploded by electricity, and the man who fired the shots was the operator who exploded it. A PREMONITION. KILLED AT SAVAGE'S STATION. NE day, while encamped near the Chickahominy river, a member of our company earnestly declared in the presence of several comrades that he would be killed in the next battle. I cannot recall his name, though I remember distinctly his countenance and general appearance. On this day, the 29th, we rested near Savage's Station, on the railroad by which we had received our army supplies. The day was clear and hot. Exposed to a scorching sun, we waited, ready to fall in at a moment's notice. Within a few feet of our company was a large pile of ammunition, burning and exploding. Some of the bullets and grape-shot were hurled within dangerous proximity to our regiment. As this pile was the property of our government, it was an unpleasant reminder of the fact that our army was retreating before an enemy eager to destroy us. On the other side of a cleared field in which we were resting were the tents of the general hospital, which were filled with our sick and wounded. Through a painful necessity, such of these as could not march would, in a few hours, fall into the hands of the enemy. Our division was left at Savage's Station to check the enemy. It was beginning to grow dark, when, according to orders, we fell in, faced to the rear, and advanced rapidly into a pine forest, and there formed line of battle. It was so dark that we could not see the rebel force which was approaching through the thick timber within musket range. Suddenly there burst upon our view a long line of bright flashes, followed by a terrible roar of musketry and a shower of bullets, which came pouring into our lines. Our brigade held its position firmly, and gave the rebels such a warm reception that they soon ceased firing, and fell back. Thus ended the battle of Savage's Station. In this battle a member of our company was killed, and he was the soldier who had said that he would be killed in the next battle. BATTLE OF IUKA AND CORINTH. Sept. 21, 1862. How Rosecrans met the Confederates.-A Storm of Cannon Balls and Bullets. By P. C. FERGUSON, LIEUT. Co. I, 43d OHIO. 寳C T HE 21st of September, 1862, found Rosecrans in camp at Clear Creek, near Corinth, Mississippi. We had been there some time, battling with yellow jaundice and typhoid fever, when the Confederate army, under Price, Van Dorn, and Lovell, made their appearance near Bear Creek. One bright Sabbath morning we struck tents, and started out on the Jacinto road, seven miles distant from Corinth and about the same distance from Iuka Springs. General Grant was in command on the Bernville road, about the same distance from Iuka. The order from General Grant was to move up to within three miles of luka and bivouac for the night, but the enemy would not allow us in such close proximity. We were not far out of Jacinto when we encountered the enemy's pickets, and where we thought to camp for the night, we found the ground bitterly disputed. Van Dorn threw his division against us with so much fury that we wavered and fell back for a short distance. We rallied, and the ball opened in good earnest, the enemy being in turn driven back. The battle became fierce. A brass battery of the 1st Ohio had hardly gotten into position before the Confederates charged it. The men stood by their guns. until they had not a horse and but few men left. At this instant the 11th Mo. Infantry came to their rescue and saved the battery. The possession of this battery seemed to be what both sides were fighting for, as it was taken and retaken several times. For unknown reasons Grant did not move up on the right and we stood our ground about three hours before night stopped the carnage. The loss was about equal on each side. The following morning the brigade moved in line of battle, momentarily expecting to be engaged, but the enemy had fled leaving tents, camp equipage, and all. The following Friday, they began to drive the Union forces in on Corinth. The latter now consisted of the 16th Army Corps, under Gen. W. S. Rosecrans. The enemy drove General Palmer's division all day Friday and Saturday, and gradually pushed us back towards our forts. Saturday, October 1, found the Union army disposed as follows: Palmer's division on the right, Stone's division on the left, with Davis in reserve, the Ohio brigade in support of Battery Robinet, a line of field guns, reaching almost from Battery Robinet to Fort Williams on the right, and still another small fort on the right of the railroad. Early on Sunday morning, before it was light, the enemy ran a battery up the road to within a short distance of Fort Robinet and began firing. I was on the picket line, a few rods in front of the fort. They made it warm for a short time, but when the sun came up clear and bright, the heavy artillery in the fort opened on the battery and disabled it in a twinkling. We went forward and pulled it in. All this time the enemy were evidently preparing for some bold move. About nine o'clock they emerged from the woods in solid column, and led by Colonel Rogers, of the 3d Texas Rangers, made a desperate charge on Fort Robinet. The artillery played havoc in their ranks, but on they came. By some mistake they were taken for our own men, and our brigade lay flat upon the ground until the enemy were actually within the fort, when the word was: "Fix bayonets, double quick, charge!" The Ohio brigade sprang to their feet and in a minute the fort was cleared and the enemy sent flying in all directions. Some few prisoners were taken and a great many more of the Confederates never returned to their comrades. The enemy next moved on our right and attacked Fort Williams. They made the grandest charge at that point that I ever witnessed, the charging column consisting of a brigade of Mississippi troops. They emerged from the roads in solid |