{early June} 1862
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| LtCol James Pell, Lay’s cavalry |
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At 12 o'clock, May 30, after bridges had been burned {near
Corinth, Miss.}, it was the
impression that the men in charge of the trains had destroyed them.
We then heard that they had not been out. Lieutenant McCune was
sent, with a squad of men, with orders to go there, and order the
conductors to destroy the trains and aid him in doing so. |
| About 2 p.m. we heard of
immense stores at Cypress Bridge, of which some might be saved.
Colonel Claiborne sent me with orders to impress wagons and save all
the stores I could and destroy the trains and locomotives, &c. |
| On my arrival, just before
sunset, I found all the cars had been set on fire by Lieutenant
McCune, with the assistance of the country people, who had rolled
off many of the stores into the marshes on both sides. I found seven
locomotives---four badly and two slightly injured and one with no
injury. These three latter were not so badly injured as to render
them unfit for subsequent use. The others could be repaired in a
machine-shop. The engineers had taken off plungers, valves, and fine
work. I understood the engineers had gone off and refused to destroy
these three. The truth is, they and the country people all got
drunk, or most of them, from liquor on the trains. I detailed a
mechanic and men to destroy them all, as much as they could, with an
ax, &c.; but everything was on fire. There were 60 or 62 cars,
chiefly loaded with commissary stores, a few horseshoes and guns;
also a rifled piece (6-pounder) belonging to the "Appeal
Battery," which is reported to have been carried out and hid,
with some small-arms. I did not see them. I staid all night and
pressed all the wagons I could; could not get many, and the country
people carried off most of the stores. Most of the cars were heavily
laden, and mostly with commissary stores. |
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Thinks the railroad men knew nothing of the intention to burn the
bridges; hence great confusion. About 100 sick in cars, who ran off
in the swamps; do not know what became of them. |
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