They made us an excellent supper; but whether the Colonel relished his own turkeys, and himself a prisoner, I am not so sure. The next day I was laid up with the ague, and was not able to scout any more during that expedition. In the month of December, 1863, the re-enlisting of soldiers as veterans commenced in my regiment. I at once re-enlisted, and set about using my influence to persuade others to do so. This I did, generally by private conversation. Once, however, Bunker was called upon to make a speech, of which the following is what he had to say: "_Fellow-soldiers and comrades in arms_: It is with feelings of pride that I attempt to address you--pride because it is not often that an occasion offers for one to address a body of men whose deeds of valor have called forth such praise and such rejoicings as yours have done. Aye! I am proud that I have been a comrade in arms with you in such struggles as Donelson, Shiloh, Champion Hills, and Vicksburg! Such victories attest that you have done your duty well, and the glory is yours. Your country appreciates the value of such men, and, because of it, she now asks that you and I stand by that tattered flag for three years more. We know how it came by those shreds, and, as we gaze upon it, our hearts swell big with emotion in the recollection of the scenes through which we have passed. It is _our blood_ that has spattered it, and our arms that have borne it and won for it glory. You know, by experience, the lot of the soldier. Your faces are bronzed in the service, and many of you bear scars from the battles that you've fought, mementoes of which your children and children's children will be proud to speak when you are laid away in the hero's grave. "Our regiment has already taken part in nine battles and several severe skirmishes. In addition to my services as a scout and spy, I have taken part in all of them but one, and that was missed because I was sick and unable for duty. But, as much privation and hardships as I have experienced, and as much danger as I have been exposed to, I can not turn a deaf ear to the call of my country. "Living and mingling, as I have, with the people of the South, and being with them at the time the war commenced, I was able to discern, with approximate correctness, the gigantic proportions of the rebellion. I well knew the feelings that had impelled them, and the obstinate and reckless determination with which they would hold out against the attempt of the Federal Government to bring them into subjection. "In responding to the call of my country to sustain her noble prestige and glory, I had well counted the cost of the sacrifice that I was about to make; and, contrary to the general expectation of a large proportion of those that volunteered, I had no idea that the rebellion would be put down in a few months, but expected that _years_ must elapse before our country would be restored to its former proportions, peace, and prosperity.