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Anson R. Butler letters, 1861-1900

1862-11-14 Page 4

Eat Beans, Onions, rice, hominy, hard bread, flour, bacon, beef, sugar, tea, coffee & molasses come in their turn, and enough of them. Perhaps not enough of some things for some but enough to live very comfortably Yesterday Company H was sent as guard to a forage train & I went along. We had 100 wagons, 400 infantry 200 Cavalry with one Howitzer. It made a long train I tell you. The infantry ride in the wagons whip & hurrah & away they go. We went down the river 10 miles outside the Pickets. saw no rebel except 100 on the other side of the river at Friars Point Miss. Our Howitzer stopped and threw 3 shells among them scattering them like sheep. We passed 2 Union Plantations only on the road they have been untouched. The houses were large and fine with neat negro Quarters, one had 15 negro houses. log but whitewashed & neat. The other was a rich farmer splendid house & grounds, walks, shrubbery etc. and 22 neat frame houses for negro quarters with a large frame house in the [centre?] for the overseer. They were in two rows with a fine yard in front & between the rows a large cotton gin & saw mill nearby also but I tell you the destruction on rebel plantations is awful fences gone houses sacked windows & doors and boards, chimneys etc. in fact every thing that will answer any purpose carried away. We went into a cornfield at last and stripped it loading all the wagons pretty well. Then got chickens, pigs, etc.

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Eat Beans, Onions, rice, hominy, hard bread, flour, bacon, beef, sugar, tea, coffee & molasses come in their turn, and enough of them. Perhaps not enough of some things for some but enough to live very comfortably Yesterday Company H was sent as guard to a forage train & I went along. We had 100 wagons, 400 infantry 200 Cavalry with one Howitzer. It made a long train I tell you. The infantry ride in the wagons whip & hurrah & away they go. We went down the river 10 miles outside the Pickets. saw no rebel except 100 on the other side of the river at Friars Point Miss. Our Howitzer stopped and threw 3 shells among them scattering them like sheep. We passed 2 Union Plantations only on the road they have been untouched. The houses were large and fine with neat negro Quarters, one had 15 negro houses. log but whitewashed & neat. The other was a rich farmer splendid house & grounds, walks, shrubbery etc. and 22 neat frame houses for negro quarters with a large frame house in the [centre?] for the overseer. They were in two rows with a fine yard in front & between the rows a large cotton gin & saw mill nearby also but I tell you the destruction on rebel plantations is awful fences gone houses sacked windows & doors and boards, chimneys etc. in fact every thing that will answer any purpose carried away. We went into a cornfield at last and stripped it loading all the wagons pretty well. Then got chickens, pigs, etc.