Having placed myself at the rear of my command, I shouted, at the top of my voice, "ATTENTION BATTALION! COMPANY A, ON THE RIGHT, AND B, ON THE LEFT, DEPLOY AS SKIRMISHERS! FORWARD--DOUBLE-QUICK--MARCH!" Away the boys went. Then I shouted, "BATTALION--FORWARD--DOUBLE-QUICK--MARCH!" I was the battalion. I kept on giving commands, as we advanced, as loud as I could yell, as if I was commanding a full regiment of infantry. The strategy had its effect. The party did not wait to see who we were, but very unceremoniously "lit out." We only got sight of three persons; those were the two Confederate soldiers and nigger that I have mentioned, who remained behind for us to capture. We now found out that we had stampeded a party of Federal soldiers. They had left two yoke of oxen and a wagon, loaded with a barrel of sugar, a sack of flour, and nice hams. On top of the load was a roll of carpeting. The fleeing party had left along their line of flight great numbers of nice hams, that they had thrown away in their efforts to escape. The three persons that we had captured had hauled the stuff down into the woods that morning, to hide it from the Yankees. A party of Federal soldiers had discovered the track, and followed it up, and were in the act of appropriating the best of the hams to their own use, when we surprised them. We took possession of the property, and started on, keeping a plantation road that wound its way round to the main road, on which the army was encamped.
Shortly before coming out on the main road, I halted my party to give the oxen a chance to rest. While there, the 11th Illinois Cavalry and a brigade of infantry were seen coming out on the road that we were on, with battle-flags flying. Coming up to us, they halted. At the head of the command, with the Colonel of the 11th Illinois Cavalry, was the Lieutenant of the forage party and a private of the 23d Indiana Infantry. Said the private to me:
"Bunker, was there a carpet on that wagon?"
Turning to the Lieutenant, "Here is your wagon."
"Do you claim that wagon, Lieutenant?" I inquired.
"If it is, just say so; I don't know as one soldier is better than another. These supplies are for this noble army. If they are yours, just say so; then I'll tell how I came by them."