The officers had the privelege of retaining their horses, which pleased me greatly, as I was attached to my little mare. I got a member of my company to take my mount, and use her; as he was an orderly at headquarters, and had to make trips out into the country, he could find some forage for her. The fourth Ind calvary was also dismounted. We were not allowed to remain in camp but a few days till we got orders to march afoot, some 25 miles to relieve Wolford, who had again gotten into trouble. There is nothing that demoralizes a calveryman so much as that of being deprived of his horse. He enlisted as a calveryman, and he expects to serve as such. The carrying of side arms afoot is very cumbersom, and useless. Of course we had no such impediments; but having rode a horse for nearly a year we were not prepared for a forced march. We left camp in the afternoon, and marched late into the night, and was up at sunup, and kept up a quick step til late in the afternoon, when when we went into camp on a beautiful stream of water which proved to be the end of our forced march. Up to this time we had not been aware of the presence of an armed force of either army, but we could not get away from the impression that the enimy was not far away. We were ordered to police camps, which indicated that our stay was somewhat indefinite. The fact that we were ordered to use a liberal amount of fuel in our campfires awoke a feeling of aprehension amoung the rank and file. I think that it was about twelve oclock, when an orderly notified the officers to prepare to march, without the call of the bugle, but to move out as quietly as possible. This kind of a hint always commands the attention, and strict obedience of all old soldiers. This kind of an order indicated that there was an enimy very close to us, and that our safety lay in our ability to get as far away as possible, while the enimy slept. In a very short time we were in column, and marching with a quick step back on the road over which we had marched a few hours before. There is nothing that is more impressive, than a forced march in the solumn night, in close proximity to an agresive enimy. The vary air semed pregnient with iminant danger. There was no necesity for the officers to tell us in words that we were in a dangerous situation; we could read it in their action, and in their faces. All night long we marched, and there was no hesitatation about that march. We would have to put at least fifteen miles behind us before we should pass the line of the enimy on the other side of the river, and we must do that before daylight. On this occassion we needed no rear gard, as is usualy the case. The whole command had been in the army too long to take any chances in stragling strategy. About 8 oclock we were halted for a short time, to eat a lunch and get water. There was plenty of water, but the lunches were very small, if any. Demorilisation was now very apparent; especialy among the cavelry. Some of te boys broke their swords, and threw them away. We marched continuously til about 4 P M when we passed thrue a gap in the mountains, that surounded Knoxville, some 8 miles from the city; where the commanding officer gave the order, "in places rest." This order was obeyed with military promptness, and the entire command was soon down by the road side and nearely all were assleep, without any regard to the quality of the ground on which they lay. The fact that we had no rations inspired us to awake and move on in the direction of something to eat. Most of the command got into camp before dark, but those who tarry for a little more rest and sleep, did not get in till very late into the night. I do not remember just how long we remained here; but I do remember that we were hungry nearley all of the time. The little beef or pork that we drew from the commissary, was so poor that there was no nutriment in it. The pork would not fry itself; the animal having used up all of the oil in it to sustin life, there was nothing left but the fiber, and the same condition was true as to the beef. During this time I had managed to keep my little mare, of which I was very proud, and much attached. I remember that for seven days and nights I had no forage of any kind to give her, and I had to keep out of sight so that she would not whinney at me for something to eat. I would get some one of the boys to move her from place to place so that she could get frech brush to brouse upon. I finally got so desparate, that I went out about a half a mile to where there was a residence, and some outbuildings, with the hope that I might find some corn husks or fodder. I found the husks and a little corn, but I took a desperate chance, as there was a gard on the premises, and the onley reason that I was not arrested was that the gard was at supper; but he got out in time to arrest the sergeant Maj, whom he caught in the act. Had I been arrestedit would have gone hard with me, as I was an acting commissiond officer; and it is possible that my commission would have been held. We were finaly ordered to draw horses again, but not our old ones but if anything a worse lot than we turned over 30 days before. I was now prouder than ever of my mount. She was one of three left of the old set of horses. There was little cerimony, or choice in the horses that we drue. The boys took them because the officers told them to do so. Nor did we tary long after the drawing, but in 24 hours we were mounted and going south, in quest of forage for horses and men. It was now about the first week in March; and at that time of the year, in that country, weather conditions are very uncertain. I remember that we had not traveled more than four miles from the city, when one of those characteristic downpores set upon us; an increased till it semed as thogh the floodgates of heaven had been opened. The roads soon became regular quagmires, into which many of our old horses plunged, never to rise again. When a horse woould fall, his rider would strip saddle and accuterments from his back, and shoulder them and follow the column, if left behind the price of them would be taken out of his pay. Late in the evening we reached the river, and went into camp. The weather cleared up, and having a beautiful camping ground, and plenty of good water close by; we felt quite comfortable in spite of the distressinly short rations that the government afforded us. While here, the captain and I were made hapy by being able to buy 25 lbs of bacon from the comisary. The first that I had seen in more than three months. We got a good supper out of it, and that was all. When we went to bed we were very careful to put it under our heads; but in the morning there was no bacon there, not even the smell of it. We never got any trace of it; and I have an idea that it was cooked, and eat directly after the theft was accomplished. We soon found that there was no forage in this valley; and after campng here about 10 days, we got orders to march back to Knoxville. Nearly half of our men were dismounted, and many of them had to carrey their horse accuterments on their backs. Our command was now badly demoralized. Since our arrival into East Tenn we had been almost constantly in the saddle; marching much of the time day and night. It often occured that we were not given time to cook and eat the small rations that we were able to collect. Most of the time we had been on or near the battle line. We had moved up and down the valley; semingly to us to the behest of our enimy. We had sene large columns of our troops; who when we thought a battle should occur, would sudenly melt away and we would have to follow these, to us formidible columns, as rear guards. For miles around Knoxville, the stench of dead horses, and mules was ever present. The country was striped of forage for the starving horses and of food for the soldiers. It was no wonder that we were discouraged and disheartened. The second day we marched into Knoxville, as we had done many times during the winter, and went into camp for about two days. When we marched out of the city for the last time, in the direction of Loudon, which has been heretofore described several times. We were informed that we would be under eh immediate command of General Granger. We reached Loudon the evening of the second day, and crossed the river on the pontoon bridge, and camped near the village, and the next morning drew what was called a full ration, which was the first time that we had done so since leavig KY in August. We found that we could not consume our rations. The boys said that our stomachs had contracted too much to contain full rations and we would have to expand them by degrees, and I think that there was more truth than poetry in the proposition. We remained here about three days, when we marched to a station called Sweetwater on the railroad, and from there east into the country about 25 miles to an old town called Madisonville. The country around the town for miles is comparatively level, and evidently a good farming country. In a few days after our arrival our company (E) was detailed as provo guards, and quartered in the courthouse. Nothing of any great importance occured while we were here. The paymaster met us here for the first time in about six months, and of course we had plenty of money, for a time at least. On the 21st day of March I received my commission, and went to Knoxville for muster and procured my Lieut uniform. When the paymaster left us I was ordered to take 25 men and escort him to the railroad station at Sweetwater; which I considered to be a very important responsibility. On this trip my horse stumbled and turned a complete summerset, and landed in the corner of a fence with feet in the air, and my right leg under the saddle; from which the boys rescued me by raising the horse by the tail long enough foor me to withddraw my leg. I was not hurt, and mounted immediately, and rode on. to be continued next week. 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