new cloth tent and moved out and left
Uncle Tom and his Georgia cracker alone. After the canal was mended, and
we were running our boats, our cracker friend proposed to go up the river
with us to forage for turnips; said if we would give him transportation he
would divide the "catch" with us. After reaching the woodpile and while we
were loading he reconnoitered the neighborhood and said he had located a
healthy looking turnip patch; it was pretty close to the house, but
thought he could raid it all right after dark. After supper the old man
Baldwin, of the Twenty-fifth North Carolina, a rough-looking old
mountaineer, who looked like he might have had experience in such raids in
time of peace, said he would go with him, and they cheerfully set off.
After they had been gone about an hour old man Baldwin came pulling in,
puffing and blowing, and said "they put the dogs after us and shot at us.
I didn't git but a handful and I dropped them as I got over the fence."
Soon our cracker came in, looking like he was suffering a great
bereavement, and when we laughed, he said, "I didn't think they would be
so d----d particular about a few turnips this far out in the country." So
we were all disappointed about our turnip soup. It would have been so nice
with a few peppers. The navigation of the river was dangerous during high
water. One night, while we were up in the second canal, the river rose
several feet and was booming as we came out into it, and the strong
current carried our boat against a drift on a small overflowed island, and
came near sinking or capsizing it. Then the only way we could get off was
down over a rough, shoaly slough, where she went like a bucking broncho.
The next boat after us was manned by Alabamians, and they went over the
lower rock dam that turned the water into the canal; being good swimmers,
they got out, but lost their boat.

The 15th of March our Brigade was relieved from its position between the
Appomattox River and the Norfolk railroad, where it had stayed
continuously for nearly nine months, and moved about ten miles to the
right on Hatch's Run. We came back to Petersburg and were in battle of
Fort Steadman, in front of our old position, a sketch of which has been
given.

INCIDENTS ON THE LINES.

The Yankees always showed a disposition to be friendly and wanted to talk
to us, but our officers would not allow us to talk much, but had us to
keep up a sharpshooters' fire on them all the while.