On the lighter side in the 32nd Mississippi Infantry

In the retreat from Murfreesboro, the morale of the Confederate troops was very low. Many wondered about withdrawing from a battlefield where so much had been accomplished. A few men, though, like Jessee Cheeves of my Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes's 32nd Mississippi Regiment, remembered some of the march's lighter side:

Gen'l Bragg moved his army to Tullohoma [sic]; the 32nd left Murfreesboro about dark; it rained all night but we kept moving; the next day we reached Manchester where we drew rashions [sic]: corn meal and beef; it was about dark when we got there. We made our meal up on an oil cloth. The cook left the dish rag in the skillet and when the bread was done and turned out of the skillet there was the rag in the bread, but we eat it all the same. You could have heard some of the boys laughing half a mile.

Source: Corinth Information Database