on it to make gravy; then with pepper and salt, which can be easily
carried, a magnificent meal can be made, if enough is issued to keep a
man cooking and eating half the night. Four or five pounds of fresh
beef, thus prepared, will be mightily relished by a hungry man, but as
it is easily digested he will soon become hungry again. It is the bread
about which there is the trouble. Cavalry, doing such service as
Morgan's did, can not carry hard tack about with them very well, nor was
bread ready cooked generally found in any neighborhood (south of the
Ohio) in sufficient quantities to supply a brigade of soldiers. Houses
were not always conveniently near to the camps where they could have
bread cooked, and as they would have it, or would not do without it many
days in succession, they were thrown upon their own resources, and
compelled to make it themselves, notwithstanding their lack of proper
utensils. I had often seen bread baked upon a flat rock, or a board, or
by twisting it around a ramrod or stick, and holding it to the fire, but
one method of baking corn bread was practiced successfully upon this
march which I had never witnessed before. It was invented, I believe, in
Breckinridge's battalion. The men would take meal dough and fit it into
a corn-shuck, tying the shucks tightly. It would then be placed among
the hot embers, and in a short time would come out beautifully browned.
This method was something like the Old Virginia way of making "ash
cake," but was far preferable, and the bread so made was much sweeter.
The trouble of making up bread (without a tray) was very readily gotten
over. Every man carried an oil-cloth (as they were issued to all of the
Federal cavalry), and wheaten bread was made up on one of these. Corn
meal was worked up into dough in the half of a pumpkin, thoroughly
scooped out. When we were in a country where meat, meal, and flour were
readily obtained, and we were not compelled to march at night, but could
go regularly into camp, we never had trouble in feeding the men,
although on our long marches and raids we never carried cooking
utensils.

At Hopkinsville, Colonel Woodward came to see Morgan; his command was
encamped not far off. He had been doing excellent service in this
section of the State for several months, and Colonel Morgan was very
anxious to have him attached to his brigade. We remained at Hopkinsville
three days, and then resumed our march.

At "Camp Coleman" we were the g