e Tennessee River at Florence, Ala.
The latter part of the campaign was done by us on short rations; three
days to last five were the orders. Our line of march was changed to
Huntsville, Ala., where we arrived January 7, 1865, and remained enjoying
a well-earned season of rest until March 15. Soon after arriving Captain
Ogan rejoined his company and Lieutenant Kelly was temporarily placed in
command of company F. This proved to be permanent. On February 28th he was
commissioned captain and assigned to said company after having served
three years and over eight months in company E, and, as it proved, after
all our fighting was over. In March we (the 4th army corps), moved to East
Tennessee by rail via Chattanooga and Knoxville to Bulls Gap, thence
marched repairing and rebuilding the railroad northeast toward Richmond,
Va. While at this work, near Greenville, Tenn., we received the news of
Lee's surrender. That night was spent hilariously cheering and singing
that old familiar piece, "Go Tell Aunt Rhoda the Old Gray Goose Is Dead."
The following morning I doubt if there was enough ammunition in the
cartridge boxes of the men in our division to have made a respectable
skirmish. Soon afterward Johnston surrendered to Sherman and the 4th corps
was ordered by rail to Nashville, where we expected to be mustered out.
May 9th the corps passed in review before General Thomas and received his
congratulatory order on the 10th. About the 1st of June it became the
talk of the camp that our corps would probably be sent to the Mexican
frontier on account of the Maximilian government which foreign powers were
trying to establish there. Strong protests were made by both officers and
men, feeling that we had fulfilled the terms of our enlistment, "three
years or during the war," but to no avail. June 16th the command started.
Just before starting all who had less than ninety day's to serve were
mustered out. The 97th Ohio infantry of our brigade came under this order.
Fifty-six of their men, who had more than the specified time yet to serve,
were transferred to the 26th, company E receiving her share of them. The
command moved by rail to Johnsonville, Tenn., thence, by steamboats down
the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans, La., by ocean
steamers to the Matagorda Bay, landing at Indianola, since destroyed by a
storm similar to the one a few years ago at Galveston. We marched about
thirty-five miles and camped on the Plasa