Meantime  arrangements  had  been  made  for  a
junction  of  Buell's  and  Halleck's  forces  to  be  made
near  the  great  bend  of  the  Tennessee  river ;  Savan-
nah, on  the  right  bank,  being  linalh^  designated  by
Gen.  Halleck  as  the  point.
On  the  16th  of  March,  McCook's  division  of
Buell's  army  commenced  the  march  towards  the
appointed  rendezvous,  followed  in  order,  one  day
apart,  by  those  of  Nelson,  Crittenden,  Wood  and
Thomas.  Our  division  (Thomas' )  having  had  a
battle  already,  was  in  this  new^  campaign  assigned
to  the  rear  of  the  column,  and  marched  on  the
20th,  passing  through  the  city  and  out  on  the
Franklin  pike  some  eight  or  ten  miles.  On  the
21st  we  passed  through  Franklin  and  camped  a
few  miles  south  of  the  village,  remaining  there  the
22nd.  On  the  23rd  we  moved  up  two  or  three
miles  to  Spring  Hill,  and  here  we  found  the  road
ahead  of  us  occupied  by  the  camps  and  trains  of
the  preceding  divisions.
The  bridge  over  Duck  River  at  Columbia  had
been  destroyed.  The  river  was  at  flood  height,
no  pontoons  or  other  bridge  material  was  avail-
able, and  we  all  waited  six  days  for  the  water  to
subside.
On  the  29th  a  bridge  was  improvised,  and  a
ford,   deep    and    rapid,   but    practicable  with    care,


52  The  Story  of  the  Second  Regiment.
was  found,  and  the  crossing  was  commenced.  It
was  slow  and  tedious  work,  and  it  was  not  until
the  2nd  of  April  that  ours,  the  rear  division,  had
a  clear  way  to  proceed.  On  the  4-th  the  road
ahead  of  us  was  so  obstructed  with  the  trains  of
the  other  divisions  that  we  remained  in  camp ;  it
was  raining  heavily  all  day  and  night.
