near the Barksdale House and said that he could whip the whole Yankee army. It was only a short while before he was in Nashville, and later in Fort Delaware. I remained with my companions (hogs and fleas, and the dust made a pretty soft bed) till late in the night, and then by the aid of the stars kept in the direction of Tullahoma, where I found the First Tennessee next day in a beautiful black-jack grove about one mile north of the town. In front of the grove an avenue some two hundred feet wide by one mile long had been cut out, and it was a splendid place to fight in the open; but the enemy chose not to fight there. General Rosecrans’s scouts came within three miles of us, our cavalry interposed, and General Starnes was mortally wounded. After a few days’ rest we commenced to retire toward Chattanooga, and it was a rough march over the mountains, but nothing in comparison with Cheat Mountain. Soon after reaching Chattanooga we were put to work building two immense forts—one near where the Stanton House is now, and the other near the city cemetery, in the eastern suburbs of the city. The only service that the forts rendered was to conceal in the dirt bacon stolen from the cars, and hid there until a favorable time to remove it to the camp. We had been in Chattanooga but a short time when General Rosecrans occupied Walden’s Ridge and Raccoon Mountain. About the 15th of August our army moved out of Chattanooga. I did not know where we were going. In fact, it is not the business of a private soldier to know anything except to obey orders. I did not like to leave the forts, upon which we had expended so much labor, knowing that in a short while the enemy would be enjoying the fruits of our labor. We moved down the valley via Rossville, McLemore’s Cove, and next day reached Lafayette, Ga., where we camped; the following day we faced again toward Chattanooga, and early next morning crossed Chickamauga River at Lee and Gordon’s Mill, and were soon drawn up in battle array, when General Maney stood up in his stirrups and made a speech to the Tennessee boys, saying: “We shall soon have an opportunity of striking again for our homes and firesides, and to acquit ourselves like men worthy of the old Volunteer State.” Soon the firing of pickets gave notice that the battle of Chickamauga was about to begin. As the First Tennessee Regiment moved in line through a thick wood of oak and pine, we struck the enemy, who were posted on a hill much higher than our position. General Cheatham rode in advance of the line with hat in hand, and said: “Come on, boys.” The First Tennessee charged gallantly amidst a terrible cannonade. A shell exploded in front of us, a piece striking the shoulder of Lieutenant W. H. Webster, of the Maury Grays, from which he soon bled to death. The enemy’s infantry retired before our charge, and we reached the crest of a ridge and were ordered to “lie down.” While in this position Ensign Joe Campbell raised up on his