66 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



"Hm! You are Col. Turner." 



"Yes, sir." 



Then he went on talking with h is officers. I waited four or five minutes 

 and then said: "Gen. Shafter have you any orders for me?" 



He replied: "Any orders for you?" and began to talk to another offi- 

 cer. I waited another five minutes, then another opportunity came for me 

 to speak: "Gen. Shafter, where shall I put my men into camp?" "Hm! 

 [Where put your men in camp?" and then went on talking again. I waited 

 a few minutes longer and then said: "If you have no orders for me I will 

 put my regiment into camp myself. Good day, sir." Then he turned to 

 me and said: "Where are your men?" "Down on the trains." "What 

 point?" "Fort Tampa City." "Put, them in camp there and report to me 

 for orders tomorrow." 



We were there on duty for three weeks at Tampa on Picnic Island in 

 full sight of the docks and transports; saw the loading and departure of 

 the first expedition under Gen. Shafter for Cuba. It was a very busy time 

 and a very confused time. We were "very much disheartened when it 

 sailed away and we did not go with it. Volunteers are more eager for 

 service than any others. We remained there a week or ten days when we 

 received our orders. After the first encounter in Cuba Gen. Shafter sent 

 for reinforcements. The First Illinois were among the first sent from 

 Tampa with six batteries of artillery under Gen. Randolph. 



It is a great undertaking to load 1329 men with their belongings; pull 

 them up in one place and put them down in another, like moving a vil- 

 lage with 1300 people; their horses, their tents, food enough to supply 

 them ten days or two weeks; then their ammunition, in our case 500,000 

 rounds, with all their horses feed, and their own clothing. 



But finally we got everything on board the two transports, the City of 

 Macon and Gates City. On the City of Macon were six companies, and 

 we finally sailed away. It was not a perfectly hilarious time, especially 

 for the colonel commanding. The last thing I saw was my wife waving her 

 handkerchief. I did not know whether we were going to Cuba, Porto Rico, 

 or Spain. We were sailing away to some unknown point; to some un- 

 known duty. 



