MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA AND THE CAROLINAS.
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A BIVOUAC
AJIOKG THE GEORGIA PINES.
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DESTROYING A RAILROAD.
stripped of live stock and eatables. The nativeswere accustomed to bury provisions, for they fearedtheir own soldiers quite as much as they fearedours. These subterranean stores were readilydiscovered by the practiced “Yankee” eye. Theappearance of the ground and a little probing witha ramrod or a bayonet soon decided whether todig. Teams were improvised; carts and vehiclesof all sorts were pressed into the service andloaded with provisions. If any antiquated militiauniforms were discovered, they were promptlydonned, and a comical procession escorted thevaluable train of booty to the point where thebrigade was expected to bivouac for the night.The regimentals of the past, even to those ofrevolutionary times, were often conspicuous.
On an occasion when our brigade hadthe advance, several parties of foragers,consolidating themselves, captured a townfrom the enemy’s cavalry, and occupiedthe neighboring plantations. Before thearrival of the main column hostilities hadceased; order had been restored, and mockarrangements were made to receive thearmy. Our regiment in the advance wasconfronted by a picket dressed in conti-nental uniform, who waved his plumed hatin response to the gibes of the men, andgalloped away on his bareback mule toapprise his comrades of our approach. Wemarched into the town and rested on eachside of the main street. Presently a fora-ger, in ancient militia uniform indicatinghigh rank, debouched from a side streetto do the honors of the occasion. He wasmounted on a raw-boned horse with a bitof carpet for a saddle. His old plumed chapeau inhand, he rode with gracious dignity through thestreet, as if reviewing the brigade. After himcame a family carriage laden with hams, sweet-potatoes, and other provisions, and drawn by twohorses, a mule, and a cow, the two latter riddenby postilions.
At Fayetteville, North Carolina , the foragers asusual had been over the ground several hours be-fore the heads of column arrived, and the partyfrom my regiment had found a broken-down grist-mill. Their commander, Captain Parker, an offi-cer of great spirit and efficiency, and an expertmachinist, had the old wheel hoisted into its placeand put the mill in working order. Several par-ties from other regiments had been admitted as