"From the 43d Wisconsin." from the February 23, 1865 Door County Advocate
From the 43d Wisconsin.
DECHERD, Tenn., Feb. 10, 1865.
EDITOR ADVOCATE: As the 43d Regiment is proud to number in its ranks some of the sons of Door county, I thought a few Iines relative to the doings of the regiment since it has been stationed here would be acceptable to the people of your county.
Since the 2d of January companies A, F, D, C, G, and B, under command of Lieut. Col. Paine, have been stationed at this place, and companies I, II, E, and K, under command of Major Brightman, have been stationed at and near Elk River bridge. The men from Door county are in Co. I, which is stationed on the railroad about six miles from here.
The health of the regiment while at Johnsonville and Clarksville was very poor, in consequence of heavy duty and exposure; but since we came here it has improved greatly, and now the regiment is in a tolerably healthy condition. We have suffered and are suffering now for want of vegetables; we have had none, and some symptoms of scurvy have appeared in the regiment. Our life here has been the usual routine of a railroad guard, varied by an occasional raid into the mountains.
On the first of the month six companies of our regiment, with detachments from two other regiments, under command of Lt. Col. Stanber, of the 43d Missouri Infantry, took a trip into the mountains. Our object was to hunt guerrillas; we returned to camp yesterday, having succeeded very well in our object. These guerrillas are the offscourings of the country, noted in more peaceful times for their villainies and in nowise, by their conduct now, detracting from their former bad name. Rebel and Union families suffer equally from their depredations, with the exception of a few that support and guide them; for I am sorry to say that there are men, and women, too here that support this fiendish system of warfare. I believe we effected a reformation in the part of country traversed by us, that will in a short time remove this excresence of civil war from among us.
The people of this section are pretty well convinced of the futility of any further opposition to the government. The Provost Marshal's office is crowded with people taking the oath; the most substantial men of the country are giving in their adhesion to the good cause, and they are going to work in earnest to reconstruct their State Government. As it is now the state of the country is deplorable; outside of the military posts there is neither law nor order, and rapine reigns supreme. A meeting was held at Winchester a short time ago to nominate a candidate for the Legislature from this county. Speeches were made by Lt. Col. Paine and several citizens.
This was once a fine country and even now, spite of the ruin and desolation that has overtaken it, traces of its former beauty can be seen. The climate is excellent, the water good, and the soil tolerably rich. When the curse of slavery is removed, as it soon will be, and peace is once more restored, this will be one of the finest portions of the "Sunny South." H. HARRIS
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[Decherd is in southeastern Tennessee, between the cities of Nashville, Chattanooga, and Huntsville.
The spelling of "excresence" was common at the time; this is a possible allusion to removing a hemorrhoid.]
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