404 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



Colonel Rice was brave beyond any man whom I have 

 ever known. He soon acquired the confidence of his 

 men. 



We organized at Camp Tuttle (fair grounds) at Oska- 

 loosa and there drilled daily until our muster in, October 

 1, 1862. From Camp Tuttle we went to Keokuk and 

 thence to St. Louis where we were assigned to duty 

 guarding Rebel prisoners. From St. Louis we were sent 

 to the field to meet Forrest at Columbus, Kentucky. We 

 spent a short time in service in Kentucky and Tennessee, 

 and then went by water from Columbus, Kentucky, to 

 Helena, Arkansas. Our camp life at Helena was pro- 

 ductive of much sickness. We took part in the remark- 

 able campaign by water from Helena through the Yazoo 

 Pass, trying to take Vicksburg by a back-door entrance. 



The Yazoo, Tallahatchie, Coldwater, and Mississippi 

 were once connected by a bayou known as the Yazoo 

 Pass. This pass had long been closed by a levee. We 

 cut this levee and entered in high water at the upper end 

 of the river and attempted to go to the rear of Vicks- 

 burg. The enemy hastily constructed earthworks at 

 Greenwood and here the enterprise came to a stand. The 

 country was inundated and we could not reach the forts 

 and an about face was ordered. 



The Yazoo and Tallahatchie had not seen the Yankee 

 forces before and this region was the granary of the 

 Confederates in Mississippi. A general exodus of the 

 negroes followed us and the region became a ruin. As 

 a war measure this was beneficial to the Union cause. 

 The pass had been closed for a generation and had never 

 been used for steamboats, so the coming of a vast fleet 

 of iron-clads and transports was looked on by the slaves 

 as marvelous or supernatural and we were received with 

 every expression of joy by these darky friends. 



