nno. You ain't gwine take me back to de plantation, is
you?' Dey says, 'No. Does you want to fight for de North?' I says I
will, 'cause dey talks like northern men. Us walk night and day and gits
in Gen. Rosecran's camp and dey thunk I's de spy from de South. Dey asks
me all sorts of questions and says dey'll whip me if I didn't tell dem
what I's spyin' 'bout. Fin'ly dey 'lieves me and puts me to work helpin'
with de cannons. I feels 'portant den, but I didn't know what was in
front of me, or I 'spects I'd run off 'gain.

"I helps sot dem cannons on dis Chickamauga Mountain, in hidin' places.
I has to go with a man and wait on him and dat cannon. First thing I
knows, bang, bang, boom, things has started, and guns am shootin' faster
dan you can think, and I looks round for de way to run. But dem guns am
shootin' down de hill in front of me and shootin' at me, and over me and
on both sides of me. I tries to dig me a hole and git in it. All dis
happen right now, and first thing I knows, de man am kickin' me and
wantin' me to holp him keep dat cannon loaded. Man, I didn't want no
cannon, but I has to help anyway. We fit till dark and de Rebels got
more men dan us, so Gen. Rosecran sends de message to Gen. Woods to come
help us out. When de messenger slips off, I sho' wish it am me slippin'
off, but I didn't want to see no Gen. Woods. I jes' wants to git back to
dat old plantation and pick more cotton. I'd been willin' to do mos'
anything to git out that mess, but I done told Gen. Rosecran I wants to
fight de Rebels and he sho' was lettin' me do it. He wasn't jes' lettin'
me do it, he was makin' me do it. I done got in dere and he wouldn't let
me out.

"White folks, dere was men layin' wantin' help, wantin' water, with
blood runnin' out dem and de top or sides dere heads gone, great big
holes in dem. I jes' promises de good Lawd if he jes' let me git out dat
mess, I wouldn't run off no more, but I didn't know den he wasn't gwine
let me out with jes' dat battle. He gwine give me plenty more, but dat
battle ain't over yet, for nex' mornin' de Rebels 'gins shootin' and
killin' lots of our men, and Gen. Woods ain't come, so Gen. Rosecran
orders us to 'treat, and didn't have to tell me what he said, neither.
De Rebels comes after us, shootin', and we runs off and leaves dat
cannon what I was with settin' on de hill, and I didn't want dat thing
nohow.

"We kep' hotfootin' till we gits to Chattanooga and dere is where we
stops.