Just to whet your appetite a bit, a glimpse at how the Kentucky Campaign began for Leadbetter's Brigade of Heth's Division:
Jim Kuglar was a member of the 56th Georgia, another new regiment in the same brigade as the 57th Georgia. Kuglar later wrote of the beginning of the Kentucky Campaign:
Wright Vinson wrote of his introduction to hard marching:
One can almost sense the outrage of Vinson at being forced to lay in the woods to sleep! No tent? No camp chests? The indignity! The humiliation!
You, too, will be forced to leave the camp chests, tents and cooking utensils behind and sleep in the woods in all types of weather. That much, I can promise you.
Enjoy,
Jim Kuglar was a member of the 56th Georgia, another new regiment in the same brigade as the 57th Georgia. Kuglar later wrote of the beginning of the Kentucky Campaign:
Our regiment turned over its tents and most of its cooking utensils to the quartermaster at Knoxville, Tennessee, and began to march in the direction of Kentucky. The day was bright and clear and the rays of heat from the midday sun came down upon us with almost melting power. The dust rose around us like smoke from the burning praire; this, together with the cartridge box buckled around the waist, gun on the shoulder, and a heavy knapsack of clothing and a blanket on the back, proved to be very tiresome and disagreeable to the soldier, and especially to the members of our 56th regiment, many of whom were strangers to the hardships of the soldier's life. As we marched along numbers from every company fell out of ranks and little did we think that we had that day begun a campaign of three months almost incessant marching, day and night, part of the time with nothing to eat and no water to drink.
Dear, wee march 18 miles a foot and when wee got heare wee all was worn out. Wee had to toat all of out things. Dear wee have had to throw all of our things a way. Only what wee can toat. We have left our tent and have to ly in the woods rain or shine and wee have had to leave our camps chest two and ever thing else that wee have got.
You, too, will be forced to leave the camp chests, tents and cooking utensils behind and sleep in the woods in all types of weather. That much, I can promise you.
Enjoy,
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