Our camp is almost
deserted. The tents of eight regiments dot the valley; but those of two
regiments and half only are occupied. The Hoosiers have all gone to Cheat
mountain summit. They propose to steal upon the enemy during the night, take
him by surprise, and thrash him thoroughly. I pray they may be successful, for
since Rich mountain our army has done nothing worthy of a paragraph. Rosecrans'
affair at Carnifex was a barren thing; certainly no battle and no victory, and
the operations in this vicinity have at no time risen to the dignity of a
skirmish.
Captain McDougal,
with nearly one hundred men and three days' provisions, started up the valley
this morning, with instructions to go in sight of the enemy, the object being
to lead the latter to suppose the advance guard of our army is before him. By
this device it is expected to keep the enemy in our front from going to the
assistance of the rebels now threatening Kimball.
SOURCE: John
Beatty, The Citizen-soldier: Or, Memoirs of a Volunteer, p. 72
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