Page 7 – Autobiography – Benjamin Lafayette Smith
 
 about his farm a little. I laid off and directed the making of some lot and water gates made
 of lathes split out of oak, and dressed with a drawing knife, by fathers yellow negro John
 who did such things on the place. He was also my fathers carriage driver and the foremen
 of his plow hands. As my whole regiment was captured at Fort Donaldson, and sent north to
 prison, and as it was uncertain when they would be exchanged, a good many of those not
 captured joined other commands. In May 1862 I reenlisted in a company that was organized
 at Columbus Miss., Lowndes Riflemen, with John H. Billups as captain, H. B. Whitfield 1st
 Lieut., McKinney Inioce 2nd Lieut. And W. H. Hargrove 3rd Lieut. My brother Sherman
 joined this company with me, and was soon ordered to Baldwin Miss. It with nine other
 companies that were there organized the 43rd Miss, regiment, with Wm Moore of Aberdeen
 as Ccl. Richard Lee of Columbus Lieut. Ccl. and Dr. Richard Harrison of Monroe county
 Maj. Wm Sykes of Monroe Adjt. and Paul Sale of Aberdeen Sergt. Maj. All the officers of
 the regiment were appointed and not elected by the soldiers, as was done at the beginning of
 the war. About the first of August, 1 joined the company at Baldwin. Our regiment was
 attached to Moores brigade, and soon after this the brigade, was ordered to Iuka. A part of
 our command had an engagement with the Federals, and drove them off. We turned and
 marched back to the R.R. at Guntown, remaining there only a few days, preparing to go to
 Corinth. We marched there by way of Ripley, and reached there about 18th of Oct., and
 attacked the enemy driving them in their fortifications. The next day under the command of
 Gen Sterling Price, the whole army stormed the enemy in their breastworks, and made a
 desperate effort to take the town, but failed. Gen Price then retreated with command to
 Waterford Miss., on the Miss Central R.R., now called the I.C.R.R. A good many of the
  13th Miss regiment (Col. Barry’s) was captured on the retreat at Hatchie Creek. We
 remained at Waterford and drilled until about the 1st December and then we were ordered to
 Chickasaw Bayou via Jackson and Vicksburg, the day that Gen Stephen D. Lee whipped the
 enemy so badly there. We reached Vicksburg about sunset and about dark, in a down pour
 of rain, started to march to Chickasaw Bayou, twelve miles distant. I never saw a darker
 night. The hills were very steep, and extremely slippery, so slippery that it was almost
 impossible to keep from falling to the ground occasionally. The whole brigade was muddy
 from head to foot, when it reached there about 12 o’clock at night. It rained on us the
 whole time. We expected the enemy to renew the attack, but they had enough, and had
 departed to parts unknown. We remained there all day and night and next morning marched
 a mile or two distant to a hill, called Snyders Bluff, and camped there all winter. As there
 was no suitable place we did no drilling. Men were detailed every day to go to Vicksburg
 and help fortify it. Our mess constructed a rude shelter of oak boards split out of a nearby
 tree, by our cook, old man Perry. We boarded up the sides which made it comfortable for
 the winter. About the first of May our division-Maurys-composed of ours-Adairs-brigade-
 French’s and others was ordered to Vicksburg to meet Grants army. We took our places in
 the trenches there. He surrounded us with a very large army, and soon began to make
 desperate charges attempting to take our breastworks, but in no instance did any of his troops
 enter our trenches. They made no effort to break our line, but charged the line on our left
 and in sight of us, but were signally defeated in several desperate charges, when our men
 killed a great many. They ceased their charges and left their dead on the field, and their
 bodies began to become so offensive, that we under a flag of truce asked them to remove
 them. Attempts to break our lines in various places, but made signal failures. Grant soon
 determined to stop this foolishness and lie still and starve Pemberton’s army out. While thus