blue eyes, brown hair, as well as I remember, and beardless, and I think the sequal will show he did not deceive his appearance.

At this camp, we spent several weeks, learning the drill and guard duty, etc. Here we suffered from disease, incident to becoming inured to the hardships of soldier life. Many of our men died -- John Hart and a man named Thompson were among the number. There was scarcely an hour in the day, but what there could be heard plattoons firing over the dead.

In September I suppose, I do not remember the precise date, we took up line of march to Duvall's Bluff [De Valls Bluff], on White River -- the object I never knew precisely, but from the apparent anxiety of the officers, they must have expected the enemy, though we were poorly prepared to meet them, as we had not yet drawn arms, and our equipage then was real ludricous; and after we learned what real service was, we had many hearty laughs over our Duvall expedition. Our arms consisted of shot guns and squirrel rifles that we had carried from home. Some had locks, some none, some without any hammers. But we and our officers were brave enough, after giving each man a pocket full of bullets, and a canteen of powder to the company, to start to meet the foe. After encountering heavy rains, and miry roads, we arrived at the Bluff. Camped, stacked our arms after a fashion, but they soon fell down, whereupon Col. Culberson ordered them taken to a large gate fifty yards distant, and stacked against that, for fear some one might get shot. Here, for the first time, I was near Gen. McCullouch, and heard him talk, -- my former opinion was not in the least changed. From here, we went up the river to Desark [Des Ark, AR]; remained a few days and returned to old Camp Nelson. On this trip many of the men fell sick from exposure. Being unaccustomed to hardships, many died. A man named [W. F.] Baxter of our company died at Desark. On this expedition, Maj. [Wilburn Hill] King of our Regiment, rejoined us; he had been to Richmond, Virginia, to procure arms for the Regiment. At the old camp, we resumed our drill and guard duty.

Here, I met my cousin, B. P. Beaty, whom I had not seen in seven years. I recognized him instantly. He was a member of the Fourteenth Regiment commanded by Col. [Edward] Clark.

Here, although the country had every appearance of health, high, rolling, and the prettiest springs of water I ever saw, the men continued to fall sick and die. We lost three others, Bass, Styles, and Hathcox, all of typhoid fever. The two former, I assisted in nursing. Styles was sick 56 days, Bass 64 days. The former, we buried, together with two others from the Regiment, in one day. Dug three graves side by side. The ambulance returned for the third one.

Here, the guns above described, were replaced by the ones Maj. King had procured.

At this place, I was taken sick, and sent to the hospital camp, half a mile from the camp. We lost at this camp, William Sears and John Loyd, and more, no doubt, who have escaped my memory -- and other