Our expedition broke camp this morning and started for
Monroe, Louisiana, on the Washita river, seventy-five miles northwest of
Vicksburg. By 1 o'clock we had covered ten miles, in a burning hot sun,1
without water to drink, and through neglected fields of hemp standing from ten
to fifteen feet high. The cavalry went in front to break down the hemp, and
were followed by a six-gun battery and our army wagons, after which the hemp
was pretty well flattened for the infantry to pass over. The men and animals
suffered awfully. Many artillery horses gave out and some of the men were
sunstruck. Many of the boys fell out of the ranks during the trip and had to be
cared for by the doctor. Finally at the end of the ten-mile journey we reached
the banks of the Tensas river, and though the water was stagnant, in mere
pools, we threw ourselves down, brushed aside the green scum and drank that
hot, sickly water to quench our thirst.
__________________
1 Oh, that hot sun on our heads! It was
frightful! There was no air to stir even a leaf; It was like going through a
fiery furnace! But stopping in that God-forsaken country to hunt for water
would have been a greater punishment than going on without water — so we kept
straight on. — A. G. D.
Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B.,
Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 136-7
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