"We move up slowly, and as we go we fortify our camps by a continuous
line of breastworks of logs, brush, and earthwork. The newspaper
reporters have kept you unnecessarily alarmed about the battle '_which
could not be delayed a day longer_,' and yet it has been delayed for
a month. When it is to come off I do not know, or whether it is at
all. We have for more than a week past been right in the face of the
enemy's pickets, the men of our regiment fighting them all the time;
and whenever it becomes necessary for us to move our camp forward,
our pickets make a push on them and drive them back the required
distance, rather obstinately however. The pickets are now about a
mile in advance, and almost any time we can hear the rifles crack, and
frequently they go by volleys. If the enemy are going to fight we can't
go much farther.
"Zan is in good health and doing well. He is the most anxious man in
the regiment for a fight."
In a previous letter I noted that Colonel Veatch had received his
commission as brigadier-general, and that Governor Morton was on a
visit to the camps and we might expect our promotions soon. I had
also reported Governor Morton's visit to Fort Donelson after the
battle there. He was one of the most distinguished civilians which
the Civil War brought into public notice, and was especially esteemed
for his services toward the soldiers. Many years after the war one of
our Presidents, in a public address, said: "When history definitely
awards the credit for what was done in the Civil War, she will put the
services of no other civilian, save alone those of Lincoln, ahead of
the services of Governor Morton."