Friday morning. We were ordered to march, we started & crossed the River to the East we went a few miles on the Pilot Knob road, some thought we were going there, then we turned to the right, then we were going to Pocahontas.  We went on about 12 ms S.E. & camped for the night. (well I had to quit & go out on picket & I am now sitting by a big pine tree.  I will not have to go on guard for 4 hours.  I am on the 3 relief so I will have a chance to write some,  I was telling you you about one of our marches, the next morning we were ordered back.  We all got up early & cooked our breakfasts & started before daylight, without understanding the countermanded order to go on S.E. so we filed to the right, & marched back over the same road that we went down on the day before, we came back on rather a forced march, & came into our old camp about 1 oclock P.M. rumers were current that the rebels were about to take Springfield, & that we were ordered there, we halted an hour or two & started west, there were three Regiments of us & 8 pieces of artilery on the S.E. march, so we all 3 started west after we had started there were two Regiments of Cavelry filed  or rather gallped past us.  We thought from appearances that we would likely be put on a forced march to Springfield.  I do not know the distance exactly the Buternuts say it is over 200 ms. & a rough country, & I see from maps that the Ozark Mts are on this side of it so it must be a rough country, for I see from the maps that there is no portion of Mo that we have marched over yet is marked as a mountainous country except about Pilot Knob. & we have generally been marching over a barren waste of rough hills & nots the whole country has the appearance of once having been a seething furnace, both hill & valley is a mass of burnt quarts & cinder, verry barren except the timber, which is generally good. there are thousands of acres of pine timber, that would be valuable if it was any where else than S.E. Mo.  The country is verry sparsely settled, indeed it is "my opinion. & the opinion of others of more experiences that one Reg & a Battery which is composed of about 30 or 40 men & six cannon could not march through this country & subsist. They might get feed for the horses & mules, but could not get it for the men.  Just think of the millions $ of money & the lives that are sacrificed to hold such a desert waste & what profit is it?
