Downing’s Civil War Diary.–Alexander G. Downing.

Thursday, 8th–Although it is now quite warm, we are still waiting for our knapsacks containing our underwear which were stored at La Grange, but we were again disappointed in not getting them today as expected. Our boys have never been so bent on foraging as they have since going into camp here. Last night a squad of boys from Company K were out looking for whatever they could find, but apparently with little success, until returning to camp they passed by the camp of the Sixteenth Iowa, where they noticed two dressed hogs hanging up to cool during the night. What did they do but deliberately walk up and carry off one of the carcasses to their own camp! They immediately cut up the meat, put it into kettles over fires, cooked it, and divided it among the boys of their company, all before daylight. This morning when a squad of the boys of the Sixteenth Iowa walked along our regimental camp in quest of that missing hog, they did not see even a sign of meat, bone or campfire embers.