Quiner Scrapbooks: Correspondence of the Wisconsin Volunteers, 1861-1865, Volume 2

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base of, and su:rounded by five tolerably good (^ized mountains. Tho arena upon which ilic village is built, and which embra¬ ces all the spnce between tho bills, docs nut oseecd u niilo in any direction. Tho mouii- tains are ono solid inas'S of iron ore, of re- lunrkable purity. Pilot Knob, the highest of the u)uuiilaiu:>, 1 ascended yesterday ; upon ^ lis highest, pct^ is planted a sinff, upon which fl )Uts tho flag of our bciovud country. 1 must euiilo!>s that from ihis piiiaclo the eight IS not inspiring, a inoro Uod forsaken region 1 never set eyes on; aside from the ore it is^, not wurth protecting.
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marched through Saint Louis, the people were'turnaoe in town that runs ott an immense quan- out to greet us with their smiles. Tbe little thy of/'U7* J»ily, so vera Winer* 1 think every dttrkies hutrahcd for the Union, and one old day. If a person dies and is in the ground a "wench" in particular Ishiili never forget,she month (tho soil is so full of iron) it becomes a laughed so he.irlily, showing her white pearly solid mass of iron, is run up into pigs and sent teeth and "big eyes," and crying out at the top off to market. I presume you can hardly credit of her voice, "(Jo in beys 1 Oo in ! God bress it, but you have it as good as it came to me. ye!" Evcrv one seemed to be for the Union, Loadstones are abundant. We are loading and the ladies especially were iu for iho Union our bayonets with loadstone for tho pnrpoae. of to a "maa." Wo had hardly got settled in Camp jdrawing the enemy into ambush. Benton and rested from our journey, when wo Vesierday a SQuad of us went up on the Pilot were ordered away. iKnob proper.    It is a hill of solid iron, 500 feet
1 win turn lo my journal, and give you a above the town, and on the suuimit is a rough more correct iiccouut of our travels, wilh pile of rock. A Union flag floats from a pole on diitcs   &o. i^he  top.    It   is a tedious tramp to  ascend the
Oot. leih. the left wing of tho regiment left Knob, and it takes "two men and a boy" to St. Louis for Pilot Knob, tho right having look to the top of it. It is from this peak (so moved  the  previous evening, by iho St. Louis said)  that Fremont once mado a speech   years
It rained a kind of drizzly rain all day, and ** and   Iron   Mountain  railroad,   und  formed as we  had no tents, and no  sheltor of atiyCjunction  with   tho right   wing  at   De  Sola.— , .   , , . ,      . ,        . This is a small town on the liuw of tho railroad,
kind, cur cooking, sleeping and cmiiig was ^,^^^^ iwenty-five miles from St. Louis. Here all done under tiic clioorless canopy of ti e^ vre encamped for the night—sleeping on the pouring houvens.     When nighteaine wc weiv''grf'und,   expecting  un attack any moment, as
loriuiiaie onou-h to crowd  into a   buildin- ^'''«.'-«''.«'''*"" "'"^^ "''""''"«'"'?"",'*'^'^''T^^
arrivrd, and tho town was nearly dcpopuliited
for fear ol being captured by thom. Our pick¬ ets captured secesh, aud wo bronght thuiu along tu this pbico.
Wo left De Sola Oct. 17lh, and at Big river, Co.'s K and II, were sent forward to Pilot Knob, the hu>lanco of tho regiment rcinuining to remove bagg-ig.- across the river, tho rail¬ road bridge haviug boon burned by the rebels on tho night ol Oct. 13th. During the uight ol (.lot. 17ih  the rent of tho   rogimenl arrived at
.leloii^ing to the Pilot Knob Iron Woik.-i, Willi ihu uuderst.Hiding that in case of an ut- t.iek, tho alarm sliould be givon by blowing tbe whi-tlo of the ongiuij belonging to the cstublishmoiit. About 11 o'clock, u Captain and Lieutenant wuro taken by our piciiucts, they raid it w.-\s the intention of the rebois to in^ike the attack before morning—but niorn-
iii-; has come, and we iis yot have smelt no   Pilot Kuob,   except Uo. O, which remained at
At   two o'clock, lliia  inorniii;.;, arrived  safe, in  charge of llio
gunpowder.
our biigj; igo
oilitr eoinpany, bringing in ton prisoners thoy
bad Captured on the way.
Our boys in the Slh Itogt., get a good deal of praise, and certainly make abetter appear anco than any troops iu .St. Louis.
llow long we shall stay here I know not, probably not mora than a day or two. Wo are hourly expecting a light. It is possible we may sue Arkansas in a fow days.
Our Address ia: Camp Fremont, Pilot JSrwb, Iron Couniu, Missouri,
L'roijx the Kiijlith Keglrn'oni"'"'"'
the burned bridge tu guard the baggage, ynid which joined the regtiueut at this place, Oct 19ih.
In the af;ernoon of Oct. 20th, tho whole regi
meut   marched   for   Frederlcktitowu,   24  miles ^
dibtant—murched all uight and arrived ut 8 aid
ui. tbe next morning.     We were accompauiei  .,
by three Illinois r>!giments of infantry, an Ic   ^
diuna regiment of cuvalry, a brave net a fpl)9wj)|)
and a battery of artillery from St. Louia.    At
Frederlokstown we formed a junction with two
other regiments of Illinois troops from Cape
Girardeau, and some cavalry.
At 2 p. m. the whole force moved south, and when the advance was about a mile south of F. it met a large force of rebels. An engagement ensued, which, after about three hours fighting,
ago.
Tbe ''Badger Boys" are all in good spirits, and thoy long for peace or a fight. I think they would be enough for any rebel force that dare show themselves. Col. Murphy is liked by his men. They would wade kncc-doep through blood for their commander. J. W. stiindsit like a Major. He makes a good and cflicient officer. Wo are getting somewhat used to the hardships of camp life. We cook, eat, drink and wash in the same dish, and if perohunce we should find in our coffee anything larger than a lizard, we do not grumble. We relish it bravely, and only wish we were permitted to dine at the old "American," just for a ohaogc. But that can not bo yet awhile. We only trust that we moy somo day return to the beautiful City of Lakes, "when the pain of absence will be banished by the pleasure of meeting" our "dear friends at home." Yours truly, G. W. D.
• PEOM THE EIGHTH BEGIMENT.
An Interestliic Account of the Bat¬ tle of Frederlektown.
nEADQUARTICRS 8th Reg, W. V., }
Camp Burnslde, Pilot Kui>b, Mo.,Nov. lut, '61. >
'We received last evening a private let¬ ter from Major Jbfferson, of the 8th Reg¬ iment, giving a very interesting account of the experiences *f the Begiment since It left Camp Randall, Most ot the faots have been already anlioipaled by other corres¬ pondents, but his deacriplion of the battle resulted in the total route of tho rebel fcrco.-^ j^^ Fredericktown, on   the Slst inst., is so
They run like  dogs,   leaving their killed and
woundod on the g-round.    Their loss was about
Editors J'atriof.—VroBumiDg that yon woult 400, and oars not to exceed 10.     Our regimeal
like to hear directly from the 8th Hegimeut,an< marched up like heroes, ready lo dash in, when having a few leisure moments to myself, 1 wil*n order came from Col. Carlin, who was in give you a few lines from my feeble pen, witlcommand of the Union ftrces, for the 8th tofal as graphic u description of our journey thus faiback to the Court House, a half a mile, as 8 as my limited ability will allow. We are com reserve. The boys did not like this move- fortaidy quartered in Camp Burnslde, in tht'hey wero anxlons to pitch in. On the 2id «Cj village of Pilot Knob. Mo., and a more hourly°>*"*'«^ about 12 mil^s south, and finding the and happy set of follows you never eaw oi^bel army was entirely broken up, we return hoard of in your life. ed the next day to  Frederlokstown, and on the
But I will now carry you back to tho time ol^'^ returned to this plftce, where we still re¬ cur arrival in Chicago, (where I joined the'"'^l°- ^^® expect, however, to leave this lo-. regiment) and describe our journey to thi»,°*h^y *o •* ^^^ days, and we will be heartily place.    We   started  from  the Central  Depot,8l*d of it.
Chicago, at 9 o'clock p m , Oct. 12th. and ar ^"*'' Knob, I believe is the last place on rived in St. Louis at 10 o'clock p. m., Oct. 13th, e*''** that the Lord created, and when he had (or on the opposite side of tho river) where fi°l*l>*d it he oould not have •'pronounced it we stayed hll night lu the cars, crossed the §°<><^-'' It is a place of about two hundred in- river the next morning in a Government steam-^^^It'^n^* including thq snakes and mules, of er, and marched four miles to Camp Uenton which it abounds. It U quite sickly in these Barracks. Our journey over the prairies of P'^'''"-'^"'^'"e'^" of all kinds prevail The a^u-< Illinois was one continual ovation, from Lake'' ^ regular heme institution 1 think every Michigan to the Mississippi. Every town we f'»m«ly has one or More cases of that disagreea- passed through, the people greeted the Sth.with ^'^ though not dangerous disease. The females rounds of cheers, and refreshments were poured (" h"^® "^^ two in town,) and one, I nm in- iu upon us. You can believe the boys did amplo justice to them—they did not, 1 can as¬ sure you, need a second invitation to pitch in and repleniHh the inner man. 1 never saw the Mississippi River before. It was a gay scene to behold the little stoamer as she  crossed the
formed, has three husbands in tbe rebel army, and their "better half" has come here to be protected by the yVisconsiu boys. I hare hoard said that the girls in this State vieTV aweet, be cause they are "Mo-lasses!!" but deliver me from such sweets !    There is no society here—
fresh and vivid .jat we lake the liberty oi extracting it. After describing the march from Pilot Knob to Frederick town, the junolion with Col. PtUMyKR's force, and the reception at that place of the state- ii.ent that Jkff. Thomson and his rebels had fallen back to Greenville, the letter proceeds:
At 8 o'clock, Iho united forces from Pi¬ lot Knob and Cape Girardeau were in readitiess to move towards Greenville, 60 miles distant, presuming that Jeff. Thomp son was near that place. The Oape Girardean forces had got under way, and were aboot Iialf a mile frona oar regiment, when we were somewhat astonished to hear a shot from a twelve pounder.
I met tb.a Major of the Twenty-first Il¬ linois, and asked, " Can we have come upon tho enemy?" He replied, " O, no sir; it is Impossible—Thompson is 25 miles distant." Then came another shot. I said : *'¦ That means fight, as snre as vou live." I had not finished speaking before the whole artillery force oommenwd fir¬ ing, and within three minutes more the sharp  sputter of musketry was heard.-
•iver, laden   down  with that'merrV'^b^nd "o? ^'^'^ •"««'«"»'°«»-''ti° <"*°»'>'«« ''»'o«"<> ^"c will The" most intense  exoitement and fright 'BadgerBoys."    ThrLndpaJinJIhe "Star <="^ "»»» «"' l"''"' ^•''"<^'* ^' prevailed among the   nhabltants ofthe
Spangled Banner," and the ladies waving their ,"<""*•
kerchiefs proudly at our approach, and as we
The county abounds in iron,
town.    Women and  ohildren   were ran- and there is a ning to,.and fro, seeking cellars and other