48 HENRY HILL GOODELL 



marched on and left our regiment to unload the boats. 

 It was 2 a.m. before any of us lay down and at 4, May 22, 

 we marched breakfastless to overtake the brigade. The 

 colonel we left at a house with a guard, the major as- 

 suming command of the regiment. We marched one and 

 a half miles, and found the brigade encamped at St. Francis- 

 ville, which is set on a high hill, the first we have seen since 

 coming to Louisiana, and here we actually saw some stones. 

 The boys welcomed them as old friends, and picked them 

 up admiringly. Soon after 9 our column was set in motion, 

 the 2nd brigade in advance. As we passed through the 

 town of St. Francis ville the people thronged to the doors 

 and windows, some cursing and swearing, others welcoming 

 and others again passive. One woman in a very spiteful 

 tone calls out to a friend: " Come in, Mrs. Lewis, for God's 

 sake and don't stand there staring at those Yankee devils ! " 

 I could n't resist taking off my cap and making her a low 

 bow, which so exasperated her that, calling me some foul 

 name and kicking out her feet in a most indecent manner, 

 she vanished into the house. The manners of these Southern 

 women are truly astonishing. They will curse and revile 

 and call you foul names and call upon heaven to smile on 

 a just cause. We had a terrible march up and down hill, 

 between magnificent hedges of cape jessamine in bloom, 

 very beautiful but terribly oppressive, for not a particle of 

 air could reach us and the dust was stifling. We advanced 

 very slowly, for it was a terrible country for skirmishes. 

 We had a couple of men wounded but that was all the loss 

 we experienced that day. 



At 4 p.m. we halted and our regiment was ordered to 

 the front as an advance picket for the night. We deployed 



