En route, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Called out at 3 A. M., and I thought it was no more than ten as I was very sleepy. At 5 A. M. we moved out, marched through the sleeping town with drum and fife playing, colors flying. Florence like most southern towns, is built with due regard to elegance and comfort, roomy sidewalks with spacious door yards filled with fine shrubbery and trees. Took a northerly course and marched twenty miles with no unnecessary delays and very fast. The infantry many of them falling back long before night; frequent rests were given of about twenty minutes in length. Crossed Shoal Creek at 10 A. M. A fine bridge over it built on stone piers and carefully enclosed, the stream about 100 yards wide, shallow but very swift, over a rocky bed. Passed some very fine country, but mostly inhabited by the poorer class and cultivated by white labor. Saw but very little cotton growing, and that of an inferior quality. Foraging done on a large scale by our boys. Sweet potatoes and chickens in plenty. Division commissary getting up beef cattle as we march. Came into camp near a very pretty creek with high rocky banks, the name of which I did not learn, at 1 P. M. As soon as we came in sight of camp, the infantry went out in squads in search of meat, with guns. The woods were full of hogs, and it soon sounded like heavy skirmishing, General Smith riding in great fury back and forth, endeavoring to punish the guilty parties and put a stop to it. He tied up several men by the limbs all night, but the boys got their hogs. He is getting unpopular very fast with his men. J. Wolf, S. Beaver and M. Dziewanowski detailed in the morning to go with E. W. E. in search of horses. They returned late, having found forty mules in all but no horses. We got twenty of them for the Battery and they will be put in the teams instead of the broken down horses.
This was election day for Wisconsin. The polls were opened by a commissioned officer about half an hour of sundown, and the electors soon deposited their votes with no fuss or talk as is usual on such occasions, more weighty matters being on hand. Lewis led Palmer (for governor).
