When our Colonel had formed us in line of battle and brought us to an "order arms," he said: "My brave soldiers, I am pleased with the coolness and courage that I see depicted upon every face. [I was glad he didn't see mine, for my knees were smiting each other, and I was pressing my 'bread-basket' with both hands.] We are not going to have a _skirmish_, nor an _engagement_, nor a _fight_, but a BATTLE! [I was done for then, sure, and my hands pressed the "bread-basket" harder than before.] Draw your cartridge-boxes well to the front, [I tell you, the command suited me, and I got mine round in a hurry!] and act yourselves like MEN!" I can't say that I acted like a man, but I would have given considerable to have got my "bread-basket" away from there! I am happy to add that when the battle was over the "bread-basket" was all right, and has given me but very little trouble since. I once came near getting into difficulty by not properly doing my duty while on picket. It was at Shiloh Church, a few weeks after the battle, and while the main part of the army was engaged in besieging Corinth. The entire regiment was more or less troubled with that terrible scourge of the army, camp diarrhea, and the men were constantly contriving some way to get through the picket line in search of chickens and fresh vegetables. One morning, soon after I had taken my post on picket duty, for the first time in my life--I was a corporal of the guard--a squad of men from my own company came down to my post, without passes, and said that they wanted to go out and get some vegetables, and, if I would pass them, they would divide with me when they came in, to which I assented. Toward night they came back to my post, and left, as my share of the proceeds of the trip, two very fat chickens, and a nice lot of onions, lettuce, and radishes. It so happened that just after the men left the post for camp, Captain R----s, of my regiment, who was in command of the guard, made his appearance to inspect the condition of his men, and, discovering the party who had just left, mistrusted that I had passed them in, and, of course, took me to task about it. "Did those men come through the lines here?" inquired the Captain. "Yes, sir," I answered. "Did they have passes?" "I don't know whether they did or not. I did not ask them." "Did they go out here this morning?" "Yes, sir." "Did you allow them to go out without passes?" "I didn't ask them for passes. I didn't know they needed them. They said that they were going after vegetables, and I know that they needed them bad enough, so I supposed it was all right." "What were you placed here for?" "To watch the enemy, I suppose. I did not know that I had to watch my friends." "Well, sir, if you don't know your duty better than that, you are not fit to be a Corporal. I'll report you to the Colonel, sir, and have you reduced."