[Louisiana] Friday. Well, the order came this forenoon to strike tents & move to ground just north of our present location, & some hundred rods distant. We began packing up at once & got our tents pitched again about 2 o’clock. The new spot is better than that we left, as the ground slopes down & can thus be more easily drained. It appears to have been a kind of common, perhaps used to pasture city cows. Old rotten stumps stand here & there, & tall woods & thorn bushes abound. With a little labor, therefore, we can put the ground in tolerable condition for our purpose. It is doubtful whether we shall be permitted to stop here long, as this is the ninth complete remove we have made within about three months! After all it makes little difference, as “the nine months are going on,” as the boys say on almost every occasion. Some fresh beef reached our camp soon after we had got the tents pitched. Two hind quarters came to our cooks & were put under a tent cloth near the fire. A short time after the Quartermaster called me aside & said: “Capt. C., they are hunting for some fresh beef that has been killed today. I thought I would just mention it to you!” I lost no time in putting the boys on their guard, & it was soon disposed of—ways that I think the rebels are hardly “up to.” Small quantities were put under tent floors, & one quarter cut into several pieces & put in a pork barrel by the cooks fire & covered with salt pork! If the owners are keen enough of scent to find it there, & can identify it, of course they will get it.
Diary of Isaac Winslow Case [Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection]