charge;" and whenever a loud noise of
any kind was made, even by a mule, it was asked, with a serious
face, if that was equal to "the unearthly yells of the Yankees."
Indeed, for weeks, "the three hundred Yankees" was a by-word of
ridicule, in reply to any boast from one of Bennett's men.

Before we reached Shelbyville I met with my first wound,--though not
from the guns of the Federals. I had chosen a vicious but
noble-looking stallion for my Bucephalus, and in Rareyfying him into
submission to Rebel rule, he got the better of me, so far as to land
me about a rod over his head, and taking advantage of my being for
the moment _hors du combat_, ran over me, struck me with one of his
hind feet, and broke my kneepan. But so excited was I with the
contest, and smarting under my defeat, that unconscious of the
seriousness of my wound, I remounted, and rode four miles to camp at
a speed which cooled his ire and taught him some manners. He ever
behaved respectably after that, though I always doubted whether he
was at heart a true and willing fighter in the Secession ranks, any
more than his master. At the end of this race my knee had swollen to
twice its usual size, and was exceedingly painful. With difficulty I
dismounted, and for days was an invalid, for months lame, and even
now at times suffer from the old contusion. Like many another
disaster, this proved at length a blessing, as will yet be seen.

The state of society in Tennessee and Alabama, observed on our
retreat, calls for no special remarks, except as to its loyalty to
the Confederate usurpation. I am often asked respecting the Union
feeling in the seceded States, and can only answer, that while I was
there I did not see any. My position as an officer was not the most
favorable for finding it if it had existed, still I would have seen
the smallest evidences had they anywhere cropped out around me, as I
was on the lookout for this; and then my last months in the South
were spent among the citizens, where I must have seen any Union
sentiment if it showed itself at all. The truth is, and it should be
stated frankly: the whole people, men, women, and children, were a
unit, cemented together under a high heat in opposition to "the
invaders."

"But were there not many who if they had opportunity would have
proclaimed themselves for the United States Government?" That
question is answered in part by the conduct of most of the
inhabitants in the Southern cities and nei