he rode along the line in an open carriage. The day was
exceedingly hot, the troops on our side of the river were reviewed on
low grounds where the air was stifling, we wore our jackets tightly
buttoned, and we all suffered fearfully from heat. One man in the line
near me went over with a crash, all in a pile, from sunstroke, and I
heard that there were several other such cases. Nine days later, (June
19th,) we had division grand review conducted by our division
commander, Gen. C. C. Andrews, and on July 11th another grand review by
the same officer. And interspersed with the reviews were several
brigade inspections of arms. But as those did not involve any marching,
they were not as fatiguing as the reviews. I will mention specifically
but one of these inspections, and do so for the reason that there were
some things connected with it I have always remembered with interest
and pleasure. It was held on July 4th, at Devall's Bluff, the
inspecting officer being Col. Randolph B. Marcy, Inspector-General U.S.
Army. He was a regular army officer, a graduate of West Point, and
at this time was about fifty-two years of age. He was over six feet
tall, straight as an arrow, and a splendid looking man in general. We
had very short notice of this inspection, and having returned only a
few days before from the Clarendon expedition, had not yet had time or
opportunity to wash our shirts, and were in quite a rough and tough
condition. And the fact that this inspection was to be conducted by the
Inspector-General of the United States Army, an old regular, and a West
Point graduate, made us nervous, and we apprehended all sorts of
trouble. So far as I ever knew, the volunteers had not much love for
the regular army officers. We regarded them as unreasonably strict and
technical, and were of the impression that they were inclined to "look
down" on volunteers. Whether this feeling was well founded, or not, I
cannot say, but there is no question that it existed. On this occasion
we went to work with a will, and soon had our muskets, bayonets,
belt-plates, and accouterments in general, bright and shining, and in
the very pink of condition. It was to be an inspection of arms only,
and did not include knapsacks. About 9 o'clock on the morning of July
4th, we fell in on the regimental parade ground, broke into columns of
companies, right in front, in open order, and the greatly feared
Inspector-General entered on his duty. As already stated, we