Captain Lyon to the Racine Advocate.
“Greenville, Wayne Co., Mo.
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 1861.
“Editor Advocate: By looking at the map you will see that this place is about 40 miles south of Pilot Knob, and nearly west of Cairo. In company with a detachment of some 300 of Col. Baker’s 1st Indiana Cavalry, a battery of artillery from Col. Blair’s 1st Missouri Regiment, under command of Capt. Manter, and the 21st Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, Col. Alexander, we left Pilot Knob on the 5th inst. for the purpose of paying our respects to a rebel force reported to have gathered at Bloomfield, the county seat of Stoddard county, distant from this place fifty miles in a southeast direction.
“We arrived here on the 7th, and on the 8th and 9th (Friday and Saturday) marched to the Indian Ford, 25 miles, in the northeast part of Butler county, on the St. Francis river. On Sunday morning we were ordered to turn back and retrace our steps, and we arrived at this place again at 10 o’clock this morning, having marched ninety miles in a week. It is understood that the commander of the expedition received reliable intelligence that the rebels had dispersed, which rendered it unnecessary to proceed to Bloomfield.
“On our arrival here we met the Illinois 38th, which had been ordered to follow us. We expect to remain here a few days and then return to Pilot Knob, from whence, it is generally believed, we shall soon go to Kentucky.
“Our first two days’ march was through a rugged, mountainous and sterile country; the last three was through a better country, yet we saw but few farms which a Wisconsin man would consider worth cultivating. The surface, except in a few narrow valleys, seems to be underlaid with rock and uncultivable. Timber of all kinds is plentiful.
“Everything is perfectly stagnant. The dwellings are the worst kind of log houses, except in the villages, and you see no barns, no carriages, no farming implements, even, of any account. I have seen but one barn worthy the name during the whole march. You may travel all day here, probably, without meeting a settler who can read or write.
“A resident here, a gentleman of intelligence, conversing on this subject, illustrated the ignorance of the masses by relating to me an anecdote of a member of the Legislature from this county who was asked to state the population of his county. He replied, ‘Coonskins and peltry.’ ‘I do not mean the products of your county,’ said his interrogator, ‘I want to know the census of it.’ ‘Oh, you mean the senses, do you?’ replied the Honorable Member, ‘why, they are mostly d—d fools!’
“Greenville is the county seat of Wayne county, and has been such for 35 years. It is very pleasantly situated on the St. Francis river, and contains buildings sufficient for a population of about 100. In common with all the villages in this county, however, it is nearly deserted. Hardee made it his headquarters for several weeks in the summer, when the Union men fled; and now that we occupy the place, ‘Secesh’ has to do the same thing.
“Most of the people, however, are passive. They are for the Union now, and doubtless when the rebels were here they were on the other side; and after seeing them we think it is of but little consequence which side they are on.
“Our troops respect the rights of property, taking comparatively little without compensation. The truth of history compels me to admit, however, that a process which the soldiers call ‘jerking’ has been indulged in to a trifling extent, when we were in the neighborhood of pigs and chickens, and rations were scarce.
“We are having the measles extensively in the 8th. We left three of our company at Pilot Knob just getting over this disease, and have several with us who were attacked after we left there. It is of a mild type, however. Those who have this disease, or have had it, are Mack, Olp, Lowe, Humphrey, McPherson, Dunham and Osterlough. Their relatives need not be uneasy about them, as they are well cared for and are not dangerously sick.
“The weather is very warm and dry. At Pilot Knob, which you know is amongst the mountains, the nights were invariably cold; but here in a lower region they are comfortably warm. Indeed, it seems more like September than November. We pitch our tents every night and sleep upon the ground, with nothing but our rubber cloth under us and our blankets over us, and our sleep is sound and refreshing. We eat our Pilot bread or hard tack and pork with a keen relish, and we give up the comforts and luxuries of our homes with much less of regret, and adapt ourselves to our new mode of life much more easily than we supposed possible.
“I neglected to mention that our camp at Pilot Knob and about 200 of our regiment are left under the command of Lieut. Bartlett during our absence.
“Dr. Murta takes this to Pilot Knob, where he goes to make arrangements for the accommodation of our sick men. The doctor labors day and night in the discharge of his duties, and his services are invaluable to the regiment.
Respectfully,
Wm. P. Lyon.”
