148                                HISTORY OF THE SEVENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT O.V.V.I.

burning as we came to their camps. Broken wagons, dead horses and mules, and the thousand things that soldiers throw away when hard pressed, were to be found strewed along the road.

           Passing through Decatur, we finally reached the Little Chunkey river, and were in the neighborhood of Big Chunkey, where there was a splendid position and where it was expected the rebels would give us battle. Far from it – they destroyed the bridge, and felled trees across the road to obstruct us, and fell back, and we repaired the bridges, removed the obstructions and went on.

           The train of the two Army Corps was left at Chunkey river well guarded, and the army went to Meridian. The work of destroying the railroads and Confederate property, was pursued with diligence, north, south and east. We spent one day in Meridian, and then the Second Brigade was ordered to destroy the railroad from Meridian to Chunkey river, which was done most effectually. The track was torn up, and the ties, with the rails laid across them, were fired, several miles of trestle-work, the bridges across Okattibbee and Chunkey rivers, with three large mills, two locomotives, five cars, and quantities of cotton and cotton seed, were burned. The Thirty-Second Ohio went down the river about three miles to Chunkeyville, and destroyed much Confederate property there. Having completed our work, we marched to the Army Corps' camp and remained until morning.

           We then formed a foraging expedition, and went north about ten miles and captured a notorious rebel by the name of Davis – burned his mill, and brought off corn, meat, and forage enough to load the whole train, and were followed back by a number of families, refugees. From this point refugees and contrabands continued to pour in, in great numbers, until our train became immense. On our return we pursued the same route we had traveled to Hillsboro. We then took the route to Canton, and by the masterly manner in which the whole expedition was conducted, took the country by surprise. On our way down, a wag in the ranks put a placard on his hat, on which was inscribed "Mobile or hell," and the people along the road spread the news that the Yankees were coming in countless numbers, and that we were bound for Mobile, and such a panic was never known in Dixie.

           General Polk caught the alarm, and when Wirt Adams would have fought us (and got splendidly whipped,) ordered him to retreat, and kept the rebels retreating until he crossed the Tombigbee river before he showed signs of fight.

           At Canton we captured and destroyed twenty-one first class locomotives, hundreds of pairs of car wheels, many cars, and an immense amount of Confederate machinery and stores. The railroad was thoroughly destroyed from a point about midway between Grenada and Canton, to a distance of eight or ten miles, toward Jackson.

           At Canton the Thirty-Second Ohio and Thirtieth Illinois, with two other Illinois regiments, were detailed, and Colonel Potts, of the Thirty-Second, was assigned to the command of them, with orders to conduct the rebel prisoners (of which we had about two hundred,) the refugees and contrabands to Vicksburg. The train started and went but a few miles when we heard of the repulse of General Smith's cavalry, and that it had returned to Memphis; also that Forrest was sweeping down upon us. Colonel Wiles, of

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