When the army fell back behind the Tallahatchie River, General Leggett's brigade remained at Abbeville, as advanced outpost of the army. It was while we were there on outpost duty, that the troops experienced the inconvenience of short rations, caused by General Van Dorn's cavalry raid into Holly Springs. While the scarcity of rations prevailed, the troops were under the necessity of frequently sending out foraging expeditions to obtain assistance for both men and animals. On one occasion, an expedition was sent out to the east of Abbeville after forage. After it had been gone a short time, I took a notion that I would go; so I mounted my mule and started out. Soon after passing the pickets, I overtook two men, who, I found, had run away from camp, and, by representing to the pickets that they belonged to the detail guarding the train, had succeeded in passing. They were going out on their "own hooks" to forage a fat sheep. About a mile from the pickets, the road forked; the left-hand road, or main road, led straight ahead to the east, and the right-hand road led to the south-east. The forage party had taken the left-hand road; the runaways took the right-hand road, and I followed them out a piece to see what I could find. About a mile from the forks, both roads pass through a belt of timber-land, several hundred yards in width, and then emerge into an open space of country, inclosed in fields. After passing through the timber, we halted and mounted the fence to look for the forage party on the other road. They had halted at a plantation-house, and were engaged in loading the train. While on the fence, the two runaways espied some fat sheep in the field near by us. They immediately gave chase, and I remained on the fence to watch the forage party. We had been discovered by the forage party while on the fence, and directly a man was seen dashing across the fields toward us, on horseback, to reconnoiter. In the brigade was a chaplain, not very brave, who sometimes undertook to perform the duties of a scout. As the man on horseback approached, it proved to be the chaplain scout. The field, on the side where we were, was covered with tall weeds, as high as a man's head, and for that reason the runaways did not see the chaplain until he was within fifty yards of them. The boys had not yet captured a sheep, but were trying to corner one, when they discovered him. "There comes our chaplain, as sure as h--ll!" said one. "We must frighten him back, or we'll both be arrested for running away." "I'll stop him," said the other, aiming his piece. "Snap!" went the cap, but the gun did not go. "Are you going to _shoot_ him?" said the first. "Yes, by G--d!" said the other. "Then I'll shoot," said the first. Bang! went his gun.