Dr. Crawford followed General Hood's army and established headquarters
at Corinth, Miss. I followed at once, as soon as I could locate him. I
bought what provisions I could along the stations. At Columbus, Miss.,
some Federals who came there to tear up the track fired in the train as
we passed; several of the passengers were wounded but General Forrest
appeared at that moment on the scene and routed the enemy, killing and
wounding quite a number of them, and thus preventing the wreckage of the
railroad track. The car I rode in was riddled with bullets, but I
escaped unhurt; several of the passengers had a close call.
While at Corinth I was deputized to carry a message to the front, this
side of Franklin, Tennessee. I arrived in time where General Beauford's
men had a brush with the enemy. A stray bullet hit me in the thigh, and
for a time I thought I was seriously hurt. I was close to a little
stream of water. I had my leg tied above the wound with my handkerchief
and put it in the running stream. A surgeon came to probe my wound, but
trembled like a man having the palsy, and I told him he must not touch
me any further; he could hardly put his probe in the hole made by the
bullet. After a while I was picked up and sent to the rear where I was
cared for by Dr. Crawford, who was very sorry and regretted having sent
me. My wound was doing so well and there was no inflammation taking
place, and by keeping cold applications on it I was able to be about in
less than two weeks. Dr. Crawford said I did the best thing that could
be done by keeping inflammation down by putting my leg in the stream.
The wound did so well that he would not bother it to extract the ball,
and so I still carry it as a memento of the war. While at Corinth the
ladies of Washington county sent me a box. The battle of Franklin was
fought and a victory dearly bought. Two weeks later the battle of
Nashville was fought, and General Hood's magnificent army nearly
annihilated. They came through Corinth the worst conditioned men I ever
laid my eyes upon. There I met Lieut. John T. Gross of this County and
Capt. Joe Polhill of Louisville, Ga., and about twenty of their command.
They were hungry and in rags; I said, "Boys, you are in a bad fix."
Capt. Polhill said, "Ike, can you tell me where I can get something to
eat; I am starved." I said I had just heard that there was a box in the
depot for me, let us see what is in it. I took the crowd up to the
hospital and all got something to eat. The hospital wagon went to the
depot and got the box. It was a large box, and was filled to the top
with clothes and eatables. Lieut. Gross, who was barefooted, I supplied
with a pair of broken shoes. Many of the provisions were cooked. I took
out some checked shirts and knit socks and a pair of pants and jacket
and divided the rest among the boys, who were all from Jefferson and
Washington counties, and even to this day Capt Polhill declares I saved
his life. He is still one of the Vets. and a useful and honored citizen
of Louisville, Ga.
Corinth at that time when I saw it, was only a railroad station with an
improvised station house or warehouse. A few chimneys here and there
indicated where had previously stood some houses. It is not far from the
Tennessee river, about ten miles from Shiloh, where Albert Sidney
Johnson, from Texas, was killed and General Beauregard saved the day.
During my convalescence I walked over some of the battle ground. Being
tired I sat down on a log. There were two logs touching each other
lengthways. They had been large trees, about two and a half to three
feet in diameter. Playing on the ground with my crutch I unearthed a
bullet; presently I scratched up another. I noted that the logs were
riddled with bullets. I picked up over one hundred pounds of musket
balls in a space not over twenty-five feet square. How any escaped such
a shower of lead in such a small place can't be possible. Undoubtedly
those logs had served as a protection behind which those brave fellows
sent forth in the ranks of their adversaries a similar amount of death
dealing missiles.