Taken from "Jacob's People" by the late Kenneth Lee that I now publish. "We fell back to where we first fired on the enemy, where we were ordered to wait the approach of the enemy. As we had no colors or flag to denote us from the enemy at a distance some of our artillery men mistook us for the enemy and opened their battery or two upon our regiment killing one man and wounding me if no more. I was lying behind a log sort of on my left side when I was struck, I suppose by a grape-shot or piece of a bombshell on my right hip and side which blasted a hole in my pants an inch long and skinned a place where it struck, not less than the size of a fifty cent piece. When I got wounded it was like some person gave me a hard punch in the side with the end of a stick, which gave me such a cramping pain or ketch in my side that at first it almost took my breath, I could not draw a long breath for two weeks or more because of a ketch in my side. "I did not get over the soreness of my wound for some length of time. William DEVASHER, one of my sergeants, helped me about a quarter of a mile from where I was wounded. Then he had to return by the order of an officer. He then left me by a log, but he soon returned to help me on to where they were carrying some of the wounded. Some of the generals stopped him from helping. Another man helped me to where I was taken by ambulance about a mile to the Seventh Iowa Regiment where I stayed until April 14. On Sunday morning of the fourteenth the wounded that had not been taken off from the hospital were taken to Pittsburgh Landing where they were put on boats and taken away. As I had gotten able with my wound to get ahead a little I thought it unnecessary for me to go down to the river so I had to shift for myself. "Although I was weak and hardly able to go and knew not where my regiment was, yet I started alone early Sunday morning to go to my regiment. I found it late in the evening camped on the far edge of the battlefield toward Corinth, Mississippi with no shelter except a few little dark shanties. Neither had they but little provisions. The weather had been very wet and disagreeable for some time. Our wagons were still back in Savannah and did not come up with the regiment for several days. "On Monday April 15 our division moved out about a quarter of a mile from where I found them, where we stayed eighteen days. From there the second day of May we marched a few miles and camped five days where JAMES and HENDERSON caught up with the regiment. That was where JAMES M SIMMONS, Our First Lieutenant Sergeant was promoted to Second Lieutenant. Our officers were then as follows: First Lieutenant B RODES, Second Lieutenant JAMES M SIMMONS, First Sergeant Major B McDUFFEY, Second William COLEMAN. From then on the seventh we marched a few miles to Corinth, passing through the edge of McNairy County into Tishmingo County where we stayed a few days. From there we went to within two miles of Farmington. On the eighteenth of May we marched to Farmington about four miles from Corinth where our men built several breastworks. "Wednesday the twenty first our regiment went out on picket toward Corinth and killed several of the Rebel pickets. We had but one man slightly wounded. Wednesday the 28th a general advance was made nearer the enemy, heavy cannon and musketry was the consequence. Our regiment was not engaged but supported a battery that fired several times upon the enemy which was said to have done execution in their lines. It was answered by a few shot and shells from the enemy but without effect. May the 29th Rebels evacuated Corinth destroying much property, provisions, etc. Friday morning the 30th Generals NELSON and POPE's men took possession of the town without opposition. Sunday morning June 1st our brigade went through Corinth on picket duty. I did not go with them because I was not well, so I did not get to see the much talked of place. Wednesday the 4th we again took up the line of march." To be continued next week. Sandi SCKY Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=south-central-kentucky Barren Co Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=kybarren Sandi's Puzzlers: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gensoup/gorin/puz.html