Page:Notes of the Mexican war 1846-47-48.djvu/406

400 Col. Childs is a regular officer and a great disciplinarian. This is enough to make any officer unpopular among the volunteers. The hair-cutting order made him very unpopular among the volunteers, but we soon got over that, and to-day he is one of the most popular officers now in our army.

In the evening we received orders from Gen. Patterson that we will continue on our march to-morrow for the city of Mexico, but I fear that I will not be able to go along on account of blistered feet and a bad cold contracted on our last march. So I suppose I will be handed over to the tender mercy of the diarrhœa blues until the arrival of the next coming train from Vera Cruz, which is now on its way up. Later, my friend Alburtus Welsh came to see me, and stated that he will not be able to march to-morrow, so I will have company.