At an early hour in the morning of September 10th, the familiar call of "assembly" sounded once more. Camp was quickly broken, and at eight o'clock the regiment was on the march for Tennessee. Having the head of the column we did not find the march a severe one, though the roads were rough; and at five o'clock P.M., after a tramp of eleven miles, we halted for the night at Mount Vernon. More than one hundred and fifty of the regiment were left at Crab Orchard on the sick list, too feeble to march, but most of them rapidly gaining strength; and if the regiment could have remained there a week longer many of them would have been in the ranks again, for active service.

September 11th reveillÉ was sounded at half-past three o'clock A.M., and we marched at five. The sun was hot and the roads rough; country mountainous, and thinly settled. We marched fifteen miles, and at night bivouacked on the bank of Little Rockcastle river. A courier from General Burnside brought stirring news from the front, of the capture of Cumberland Gap, and its garrison of over two thousand rebels.

September 12th the regiment marched eight miles, and went into camp at noon. A severe thunder-shower came up at night; the baggage being far behind, and the field and staff without any tents, Lieutenant Tuttle, in charge of the division ambulance corps, kindly provided a tent for the use of the head-quarters.

September 13th, Sunday, we lay quietly in camp,—a very welcome rest,—for the men were getting very footsore from the rough Kentucky roads. It would be hard to find worse ones even in rocky New England.

September 14th we were on the march at five A.M., and moving rapidly until after one P.M., a distance of fourteen miles. Between eleven and twelve o'clock the regiment halted by the roadside and witnessed the passage under guard of the rebel prisoners captured at Cumberland Gap. They numbered about twenty-two hundred, and consisted of the Sixty-second and Sixty-fourth North Carolina, Fifty-ninth Georgia, and a Virginia regiment of infantry and some artillery. It was generally conceded that they were a very forlorn-looking set, and would fare much better as prisoners than as fire-eaters. General Frazer, their commander, was with them, riding in an ambulance. It appeared that they had been led to believe that the Ninth Corps had surrounded them, and they were much disgusted to find they had surrendered to the Twenty-third Corps, which was composed of new troops.

Between sunrise and noon of the 15th we marched fourteen miles, and encamped at Barboursville, on the Cumberland river. Before marching this morning, a detail of three officers (Captain Holmes, Lieutenants Hodgkins and Davis), and six men left us, for the purpose of returning to Massachusetts, and bringing out the conscripts assigned to the Thirty-sixth Regiment, according to orders received at Nicholasville.

September 16th the regular order for some days had been reveillÉ at half-past three and move at five A.M., and this day was no exception to the rule. The march was slow and quite easy,—only ten miles. The regiment was in camp by ten o'clock A.M., and had a good long day to rest.

There is very little level ground in Eastern Kentucky, and the luck of the regiment seemed to be to camp on side-hills, where some care had to be exercised to avoid rolling off. To prevent sliding down hill endwise, a log or rail was laid at the foot of the tent and secured. This proved a very good foot-board. We remained at this place until the 19th, and the paymaster arrived. No person was more welcome in camp, or received such general attention. The adjutant gave checks, on the city banks of Worcester, for the large sum of $3,917.50. This fact is very creditable, and a good index of the solid, frugal character of the men, who, though their wants were numerous and our popular sutler was present with a good stock, did not forget the little family of loved ones at home; but in many cases, to the writer's knowledge, sent home their hard-earned pay to the last dollar.

September 18th it rained in torrents all day, and seemed very much like the equinoctial storm. The order to march at six this morning was countermanded, though the regiment was up at half-past four o'clock, and all ready.

September 19th, on the march at six A.M. The roads were badly washed by the storm, or rather the places where the roads were; for they could be called little better than cow-paths. We crossed the Cumberland river at Cumberland ford, and encamped at noon. The weather began to be cold and raw as we approached the high region of the Cumberland mountains.

Sunday, September 20th, as usual we were in line at six A.M., and marched until noon, much of the distance up hill, a rather toilsome march of nine miles. Passed through Cumberland Gap at half-past eleven A.M., and encamped in Tennessee at noon. The march was relieved of much of its tediousness by the grandeur of the scenery. As the regiment moved from one height to another of the ranges of hills the scene in every direction was magnificent; and when, at length, the Gap was reached, there was an universal expression of admiration. Standing in the Gap is a large, square, white stone, of the native limestone, which marks the corner boundaries of three States, and at this point the view is grand; the ranges of hills and the valleys of Tennessee stretching away as far as the eye could reach, the great Smoky range of North Carolina bounding the southern horizon. It seemed incredible to all that this place, a perfect Gibraltar, should have been surrendered as it was. Fortified extensively with bomb-proofs, having only a narrow, winding approach on either side, it seemed as if a few resolute men could hold it against an army. And so they could; but, alas for the South, Frazer was no Leonidas!

Between five A.M. and five P.M. of the 21st, with a rest of two hours at noon, the regiment marched nineteen miles, and camped near the Clinch river. We passed through Tazewell, a considerable town, but showing signs of its recent occupation by the rebel and Union troops alternately. The absence of the top rails in this region was especially remarked, now that the season for evening camp-fires had arrived.

A long march of twenty-two miles was made on the 22d (a mile for every day of the month), and during the day the Clinch and Holston rivers were forded. This was a very interesting sight, especially to those who had got safely over and looked back to see some luckless wader lose his footing and take an involuntary bath, which, the water being shallow, was attended with no great peril. The bare-legged "Highlanders" seemed to enjoy the temporary necessity for their native costume. The line of march this day was through the most attractive part of East Tennessee. No State in the Union can boast of more beautiful scenery, and the regiment must have been inspired by it; for though one of the longest day's marches on its record, up hill and down and across broad rivers, there was no straggling, and the entire command stacked arms at sunset at Morristown, Tennessee, on the line of the Virginia and East Tennessee Railroad.

On the 23d and 24th the regiment made an unnecessary march of twenty miles, owing to the blunder of a telegraph operator, and at ten A.M. of the 24th reËntered Morristown, where it was found that the division had gone to Knoxville, and the Thirty-sixth was ordered to remain and garrison the town in company with the Twelfth Michigan Battery, which it did until the afternoon of the 26th, when it was relieved by the Twelfth Kentucky.

At ten o'clock P.M. the regiment embarked in the cars, and, riding all night, arrived at Knoxville, marched a half mile, and encamped in a wood in the suburbs, where we remained until October 3d. Captain Smith, of Company K, rejoined the regiment here on the 28th of September, and was warmly received. Rumors prevailed of a severe battle at or near Chattanooga, and the defeat of Rosecrans; and it was also reported that a large force of rebels was concentrating at Greenville for an attack upon Burnside. The few days of rest here were enjoyed by all, and the men improved them in repairing their wardrobes and preparations for more hard work.

Before daylight, October 3d, orders were received to march at eight A.M., in "light marching order, with five days' rations and forty rounds of ammunition per man," the destination being "a point beyond Greenville." As this "point" was known to be the rebel force, the affair savored strongly of a fight. As the regiment passed through Knoxville on its way to the cars, with drums beating and colors flying, it passed the head-quarters of General Burnside, and gave him a marching salute.

We had a long day in the cars, going slowly, as the road was a pretty rickety affair in many places, and about sunset we arrived at Bull's Gap, sixty miles from Knoxville, where a small force was found, consisting of the One Hundred and Third Ohio Infantry and Second East Tennessee Regiment. Large numbers of men were constantly coming in from the east, many of them refugees, and some rebel deserters. The former were mostly anxious to enlist in the Union ranks, and seemed bitterly in earnest in their desire to drive the rebels from here. Their sufferings and privations since the war broke out had been terrible,—their homes destroyed, families scattered or forced to hide in caves in the hills. It is no wonder they welcomed the Union army as their saviors and liberators. Old men and women stood by the roadside and audibly thanked God and blessed the soldiers as they marched past. Little Union flags, made of the roughest material, but with the true colors, that had long been hidden sacredly away, were waved triumphantly, and were greeted with cheers by the Yankee boys, who no less proudly displayed the beloved silken standard that they had followed so long, and which, like them, was beginning to have a war-worn, veteran look.

A march of four miles, October 4th, brought the regiment to a place called "Lick Creek," where it remained until the 10th, awaiting the arrival of other troops and the Commanding General. The Eighth Tennessee Infantry, and the Ninth Michigan and Seventh Ohio Cavalry were already here, the enemy being in force at Blue Springs, about three miles from this place, closely watched by the cavalry pickets. Probably all who went into camp with the Thirty-sixth this day recall the amusing incident of the grand rabbit-hunt when the regiment broke ranks. The field seemed to be alive with the little animals, and the men, never averse to variety in their bill-of-fare, turned into Nimrods like magic. The bewildered rabbits, headed off in every direction, rushed upon their fate, and game suppers were "À la mode."

The Second Brigade of the First Division, and four large regiments and three batteries of new troops under General Willcox, arrived on the 8th, and on this day the cavalry captured a rebel foraging train of thirteen wagons and nine drivers. From them it was learned that a large force, under Generals Breckenridge, Jones, Crittenden, Courcy, and Ransom, was at Blue Springs, in a strong position, and meant fight. The regiment was now small in numbers, but tough and healthy, and certain to give a good account of itself whatever service it might be called on to perform.

The nature of the country about Blue Springs was such that it was easy to conceal a large force of troops, and difficult to reconnoitre. Strips of dense woodland, alternating with open and some hilly country, gave good opportunity for planting and masking artillery, and it was necessary to approach the rebel position cautiously, it being difficult to develop. Early on the morning of October 10th the entire force was on the march, Burnside being present in command, and as usual, when he showed himself to his boys, he was warmly and vociferously greeted. The regiment moved slowly until, at about noon, it appeared to be checked, and heavy firing of artillery showed that the engagement was opened. Until about 3 P.M. the fighting was left to the Twenty-third Corps, which, however, seemed to make little or no impression upon the enemy, and was meeting with considerable loss. Up to this hour the First Brigade, of which the Thirty-sixth was a part, was in reserve, within easy rifle-shot of the rebel line, awaiting orders. Not far from the left of the brigade a section of Osborn's New York battery was engaged in shelling a piece of wood at a distance of about one hundred and fifty yards in front, where the rebel soldiers were posted, and had all day very obstinately resisted the efforts of the artillery and Twenty-third Corps to dislodge them. Generals Burnside, Willcox, Ferrero, and other officers were near this section, watching the effect of the firing. About half-past three o'clock P.M., General Burnside ordered General Ferrero to advance with his division and clear out this wood at the point of the bayonet. The First Brigade was at once in motion, the Seventy-ninth New York on the right, Thirty-sixth Massachusetts in the centre, and Eighth Michigan on the left; the Forty-fifth Pennsylvania, as usual, was deployed as skirmishers. After moving a short distance by the right flank to get the shelter of a wood, the right of the brigade struck the rebel line, and received a heavy fire, from which the Seventy-ninth New York sustained some loss. The brigade then "changed front forward," which brought the Thirty-sixth and Eighth Michigan out into an open field, when the enemy opened a sharp fire of musketry from behind a fence that bordered the strip of wood. But no sooner did the brigade front their position than it dashed forward, and in less time than it takes to tell it drove back the rebel force, killing some and capturing fifteen men of a Georgia regiment. Their entire line broke, fled through the woods over a hill, and took shelter behind their artillery, which now opened fire at short range.

The brigade followed the retreating enemy until ordered to halt by General Ferrero and await further orders, having done all it was expected to do in a very short space of time. The halting of a charging line of infantry under a heavy fire is a delicate manoeuvre. The men, excited by the charge, can more easily be led forward than held steadily in the position taken. At such a moment the example of the officers is indispensable, and it was while in front of the colors, calling upon the regiment to keep the line "steady," that Lieutenant-Colonel Goodell fell, severely wounded by a piece of shell in the thigh. He was carried to the rear, and the command devolved upon Major Draper. There was much sorrow at the loss of the young and favorite colonel, and a desire was expressed to get at the battery that threw the shell.

The regiment lay quietly and coolly under the fire of the rebel guns until dark, and, being sheltered by the slight rise of ground along its front, did not suffer much loss. Lieutenants Holmes and Robinson were wounded, the latter in the head, and three men of Companies A, D, and H; only one severely,—Woodward, of Company H. Considering the severe fire to which the regiment was exposed for more than an hour, its escape from great loss was noteworthy. General Burnside sent an aid down to congratulate the brigade upon the manner in which it carried the wood and unmasked the rebel batteries.

It was thought that the rebels, being so strongly posted and in large force, would hold their ground. During the night earthworks were thrown up along the ridge held by the brigade, and before daylight two guns of Roemer's battery were brought up and trained. With the earliest morn the Eighth Michigan skirmished forward, and found that the rebels had retreated, evidently in haste. The pursuit was at once commenced and pushed rapidly; the regiment marched nineteen miles, and a little after dark halted at a place called Rheatown, eight miles beyond Greenville. All along the route were seen the evidences of the hasty retreat of the enemy, who abandoned their wounded and much baggage. Their rear was harassed by our cavalry, who killed and captured many.

All day, October 12th, orders were expected to continue the pursuit, and the regiment lay in line. But the cavalry reported the enemy so scattered and broken up that General Burnside concluded not to follow them further with infantry, and the corps was ordered back to Knoxville. The next day the regiment marched sixteen miles, passing through Greenville again,—a considerable town, which is noteworthy as the home of Andrew Johnson, and the place where he is now buried.

October 14th, the Seventy-ninth New York, Forty-fifth Pennsylvania, and Companies H and F of the Thirty-sixth, took cars for Knoxville at noon. The rest of the regiment, with the Eighth Michigan, marched to Bull's Gap to take the cars,—a march of fourteen miles,—and arrived at Knoxville late in the night. There was a general idea now prevalent that the corps would go into winter-quarters here; but, after a rest of five days, the regiment marched to Loudon, about thirty miles south-west of Knoxville, on the south bank of the Little Tennessee river, an attack by the enemy from this quarter being threatened.