ngest proofs, that between masters and
slaves of those old days, there were ties as strong as steel, in the
close personal relationship that neither forgot. It had its counterpart
in the love and service of the old "Mammy" to her master's family and
children. She loved them, and delighted to serve and care for them,
sometimes to the neglect of her own flesh and blood.

One morning in bivouac, near Tuka, at breakfast, around the officers
fire, there was served a fine skillet full of fried pigeons, with
gravey and biscuit, washed down with burnt corn coffee. Old "Ike," Lt.
Caldwell's darky had come in during the night from a forage, Lieut
Hargrove with the others of the mess, was enjoying the meal when all at
once, Hargrove says: "Ike, where did you get these pigeons?" "Oh! Marse
Cole, don't you bodded about dat. You eat your breakfast." "Ike, you
old rascal, I believe you stole these pigeons, and if I had anything
else to eat, I wouldn't eat them." "Dar now, Marse Cole, it's a blessed
thing, dat you'se got me and dese udder fellows to look atter dis mess,
kaze if it twant for us, you'd go hungry many a time, and dats a fac."
"Well," said another officer, "its a bully old breakfast any how, and
we don't know when we'll get such another." From Tuka, the command with
its wagons marched to Columbus, Mississippi, where it went into camp
near the outskirts of the town. Here, there came down from Corinth,
Aleck Dearing and John Bartee, who having been on sick furlough in
Tuscaloosa, had missed the Tennessee campaign, with them were some
others and also some conscripts among whom was Richard Maxwell, the
youngest of the old firm of T. J. R. & R. Maxwell, who had to at last
take the field, having served some time in Leach & Avery's hat factory
and thus exempt for that time from conscription. This squad of
returning men, had charge of boxes of clothing for most of the men in
the command and provisions furnished by friends and relatives in
Tuscaloosa, which they had gotton up to Corinth with it trying to reach
Hood's army, wherever it might be. At Corinth some quartermaster had
furnished them a wall tent with "fly" to protect the goods. When
ordered to move with the goods from Corinth, down to Columbus, by
train, they were ordered to return the tent and fly. But they were too
experienced old soldiers for that, so they hustled boxes, tent and all
to the train, and came on to Columbus, with the whole lay out. They
made a present of t