"From the 43d Regiment." from the March 16, 1865 Door County Advocate
From the 43d Regiment.
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DECHERD, Tenn., Feb. 25, 1865.
EDITOR ADVOCATE: Nothing very interesting to your readers has occurred at this place since the date of my last letter. The seat of war is so far removed from here that it leaves nothing for the soldiers who are stationed here, except the monotonous round of guard duty, with now and then a raid into the surrounding country in search of guerrillas.
This railroad (the Nashville and Chattanooga) has not been troubled by them since Hood's hurried exit from the State, and all this part of the State is becoming rid of them; some of the prominent ones have delivered themselves up to our authorities, while others have fled to some more "congenial clime" where "Yanks" are not so troublesome.
The ejection last Wednesday, for the ratification or rejection of the amendment to the State Constitution abolishing slavery, passed off very quietly. The vote was light to what it would have been if the weather had been favorable. The vote of this county (Franklin) was, I believe, about 800 or 1000, and almost unanimous for ratification. The vote of the State, from what I can learn, was between 50,000 and 60,000, with an overwhelming majority for ratification. That was a good day's work for Tennessee, one that she may well be proud of.
On the 13th inst. four companies of our regiment were ordered to Tullahoma, to go on a scout in Lincoln county. Accordingly companies B, F, G, and K started for that place on the cars, arriving there in the evening. We staid at Tullahoma the nest day and started for Lincoln the 15th. That county has been noted for the large number of guerrillas within its borders, and we were much surprised at finding so few of the gentlemen there.
It is one of the best portions of Tennessee I have been in. The land is good, and the farmers mostly intelligent and well off. I saw some very fine mansion on the pike between Tullahoma and Fayetteville. The latter place is the county-seat, and is, or was before the war, quite a flourishing town, with a population of about 800 people. It is the terminus of a railroad starting from Decherd, and running through the richest part of Lincoln county. We turned to camp last night, and were greeted by the welcome intelligence of the occupation of Charleston by our forces. We are jubilant here over the successes of Sherman's splendid army, and think that the war is rapidly approaching its close. The capture of Wilmington is of great use to Sherman as a new base of supplies, besides bringing to his aid the troops under Schofield engaged in the reduction of that place.
The health of the regiment is good; there are but few men in the hospital, and none seriously sick. The regiment is scattered along the railroad twelve or fourteen miles, in block houses, at Elk River and this place. The boys are keeping a bright lookout for the Paymaster, who has not visited us since the organization of the regiment. He wo'd be most heartily welcomed by all.
Col. Paine is winning the esteem and respect of the citizens here by the courteousness he manifests in the discharge of his duties as Post Commander. The Government has erected a round house and a number of other buildings here. It is designed to make this the half-way place between Nashville and Chattanooga, which will bring considerable business to this place.
We are enjoying, or rather enduring the capriciousness of a Southern winter, in all its extremes of cold and warmth, mud and frost, snow and rain. By the end of March we shall have a continuance of fine weather, and be rescued from the depths of mud that now envelope and at times almost overwhelm us.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[The spelling of "staid" was ordinary at the time; mansion is not written with an "s";
"mansion" may be short for the compound word "mansion-houses" which was in ordinary use at the time.]
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