May 1st, 1864.
Bivouac at Mud Creek. Up at daylight, and off on time. 6 a.
m. The camp was full of citizens early, all after our leavings. The way they
did snatch for old clothes was far from slow. They actually stole lots of trash
right under the noses of the soldier owners. Out “jayhawking” old jayhawk
himself. Started off in best of spirits — men cheering right from their hearts.
About two miles out on the road, General Harrow and staff passed us. The men
not having the fear of “guard house” in their minds, yelled at him, “Bring out
your Potomac horse,” “Fall back on your straw and fresh butter,” “Advance on
Washington,” etc., all of which counts as quite a serious offense, but he paid
no attention to it. You recollect he is from the Potomac Army. The first
expression comes from a punishment he inaugurated in our division. He put up a
wooden horse in front of his quarters, and mounted on it all the offenders against
discipline that he could “gobble.” Some waggish fellows wrote out some highly displayed
advertisements of the “Potomac horse” and posted them throughout the camp, and
finally one night the men took it down and sent it on the cars to Huntsville,
directed to McPherson, with a note tacked on it, telling him to furnish him
plenty of straw and use him carefully, as he was Potomac stock and unused to
hardships.
We only marched some ten miles to-day and have a splendid
camping ground. Have had a wash in a mill race near by.
SOURCE: Charles Wright Wills, Army Life of an
Illinois Soldier, p. 231-2
