Page:Journal history of the Twenty-ninth Ohio veteran volunteers, 1861-1865.djvu/90

 CHAPTER XII.

Lookout Mountain—The Battle—The Regiment Re-enlist.

The line of General Geary's division now extends along the foot of Lookout mountain, parallel with the rebel line, and only separated from it by the creek along its base. For nearly ten days the commissary stores intended for us have been largely forwarded to Chattanooga, leaving us with scarcely anything to eat. When on the skirmish line we often sent our reserves around to the right of the mountain to secure corn from a field in that location, held by the rebels, and quite lively little fights would result. Our boys always returned with corn, however, which we parched to allay in part the bitter pangs of hunger. As with everything earthly our long fast ended, rations came, and life began to seem almost worth living, exchanges of coffee and tobacco were almost hourly made between the Union and rebel soldiers, each forgetting for the time the hate engendered over the fight for corn. Our main line was being strongly fortified, the rebels meanwhile keeping up an almost continuous bombardmennt of our line from their batteries on the heights of Lookout. Strong details were employed in cutting away the forest on our front to enable our artillery to cover an hourly expected attack. The situation remained the same until November 23d, when, toward night, the beat of the "long roll" called Geary's division to arms. It at once moved promptly forward, formed line of battle, facing Lookout heights, and advanced to its base along the creek. Osterhaus'