Thursday noon
The rabble , having made a good meal from the spoil of a sweet-potato patch , pushed forward through the fretwork of fern , rank morass , and verdure , toward security . But the march was a snail 's pace , as may be imagined . The men , worn to skeletons by months of captivity , insufficient food , and stinted exercise , were forced to halt often for rest in such toilsome marching as the half-aquatic surface of the swamp involved . By Thursday noon they were still far from the river . Foragers were detailed to procure food , and pending their return the wearied band sank to the earth to rest . In less than two hours the predatory platoon returned with a sybaritic store -- chickens , young lamb , green corn , onions . Only the stern command of the colonel suppressed a mighty cheer .