nois, 44th Missouri, and 33rd Wisconsin regiments, now composed the brigade, and embarking on steamers near the Fort Gaines Landing, proceeded to Cedar Point, accompanied by one section of artillery and two gunboats. Colonel Moore had instructions to effect a landing, advance in the direction of Mobile, and make such noise and demonstration as would convey the idea that the whole Union army was approaching by that route.

General Canby intended this as a feint merely, and during its execution he suddenly transferred the 13th and 16th Army Corps (except Colonel Moore's brigade) to a different point, and assembled them near Dauley's Landing, on the Fish river, on the east side of the bay. From this place the real and important advance was to be made against Forts Spanish and Blakely, the formidable outposts to Mobile, and the keys to the possession of the city itself. At the same time a strong column of white and colored troops, under General Steele, was moving from Pensacola, and sweeping around toward the same points.

The force sent over to Cedar Point landed without opposition, though on our approach mounted men were seen hastening away in the direction of Mobile. They belonged to a company of rebel cavalry, who were lurking in this vicinity, watching the movements of the Federal army.

Cedar Point was in plain sight of Dauphine island, had been formerly used as a place of encampment for rebel troops, and was still a point of military observation, where the enemy's scouts could watch from a look-out the Federal operations at the mouth of the bay, and whence they could quickly send intelligence to their authorities at Mobile. Important batteries had also been erected here in a former day by the rebels, intended to command Grant's Pass, but they had been evacuated since the great victory of Admiral Farragut, in Mobile bay, in the summer of 1864. There was no dirt soil in this locality, and these rebel forts were con.structed entirely with oyster shells, which abounded here in superfluous quantities. The oyster-shell fortifications displayed something of a Yankee ingenuity, and to us who were accustomed to a different material, presented a novel and interesting appearance. The Ninety-fifth finished unloading from the steamer "Groesbeck," at Cedar Point, in the afternoon of March 18th, meeting with some difficulty in getting ashore on the pier, which extended into the bay, and which had been partially destroyed by the enemy in anticipation of the present movement.

The Seventy-second Illinois was the first regiment to go ashore, and just as the head of the regiment was stepping from the wharf, several large torpedoes were

found concealed in good position for doing harm, but were discovered in time to prevent catastrophe to the command.

The Ninety-fifth camped that night on the point near the rebel look-out, and was ordered to be ready for a forward movement on the following day. The regiments were instructed to beat tattoo several times each, which would give the impression that a large Federal force had landed. The troops were now camped by the celebrated Cedar Point oyster-beds, and soon after landing here the surf was alive with wading soldiers, skirmishing not with rebels, but after oysters, of which they brought skiffs-full to the shore, and furnished the camps with large supplies of this luxurious article of food.

While the troops fared thus sumptuously on oysters during the brief halt made at Cedar Point, they also suffered greatly from the presence of annoying swarms of musquitoes. The soldiers had all seen musquitoes before, during the service, but never had they experienced such large-sized, ravenous insects of this nature, as these at Cedar Point. Oysters and musquitoes seemed to be the chief products of the locality, and the abundance and luxury of the one were equaled only by the multitudes and inflictions of the other. While the soldiers were satisfying their keen appetites

as to oysters, the musquitoes were busy satisfying theirs as to soldiers; and while the boys in blue were feasting upon, and filling themselves with, the delectable food, these pestiferous insects were being filled with the blood of the intruding Yankees. These favorable and unfavorable circumstances commingled, did not continue long, however, and at an early hour on the following day, March 19th, the brigade moved forward toward Mobile. The Ninety-fifth held the advance of the column, and after proceeding a short distance, encountered the company of rebel cavalry, who had been watching the movements at Cedar Point. Company "A," of the Ninety-fifth, in charge of Lieut. Boyington, were immediately deployed as skirmishers, and the enemy retreated hastily.

The march was continued until dusk, when the regiments camped, in line of battle, in the thick pine woods several miles from Cedar Point. Orders were here issued for the regimental bands to beat three tattoos each, that evening, as well as a corresponding number of reveilles on the following morning, varying the tunes each time, in order to accomplish the deception intended. If this piece of strategy availed anything, it must have convinced the enemy that a large force of twelve regiments was approaching Mobile, whereas there were only four. An incident occurred

here, however, which may have unwittingly carried information to the enemy of the real design of the expedition. The 44th Missouri had but recently formed a regimental drum corps, and the members composing it were unskilled in the art of blowing fifes and beating drums. On account of inexperience, their variety of tunes was necessarily small. Whenever

they attempted the musical feat of executing the various changes of reveille or tattoo, the invariable result was a monotonous, discordant production, little worthy of the name of music. If you listened to them once, you could afterward easily detect them among a thousand well-trained bands. For this reason the drum corps of the 44th was not the best possible instrument with which to deceive the enemy in the manner proposed. At the hour designated for beating tattoo all the regiments played it through once, the musicians of the 44th performing it in their characteristic style. The second and third times, the tunes were varied by the other regiments, and one would have supposed that there were really so many more regiments in the Federal encampment. When, however, the 44th struck up its second tattoo, and attempted by continued musical demonstrations to represent another regiment, the failure was complete, and the boys throughout the different camps, unable to restrain themselves, burst