There was a sizeable gap of time in the notebook. The next note read: "Oct. 1, '61 - near Mobile, Alabama. Cold winds off the Gulf, rain, sand and hard work. The colonel has been trying to get us in shape. Called me in to his headquarters tent last week. The rest of the bunch of 'officers' are holed up at Battle House in Mobile, nice hotel. The colonel is out here in the pine barrows with the enlisted. Colonel asked me last week about my experience in old army. I tell him. He then said, 'Well, private, you're now a Regimental Ordinance Sergeant. Think you can handle it?'"
"Blew me over. I said I reckoned I'd try. Didn't take long for me to be suspicious of this promotion. We're a pretty poorly organized military! Colonel Wheeler has had us working our a_ _ off getting into the shape of a fighting infantry regiment. Guess who gets to try to show there Alabama Butternuts how to be soldiers? Here's our day: Out of the sack at 5:30 am, then, 6 - 7am: Officers Drill 8 - 9: Regimented drill 9:30 - 10:30: Officers Recitation / lecture on tactics 10:30 - 11:30: Sergeants and corporals recitation on tactics 11:30 - 12:30: Company drill 12:30: Noon Meal (Poor, even when ample which ain't often)
1 - 3pm: Police the camp 4 - 5:20: Regimental Drill Sunset: Dress Parade of command. Posting of Guards. (Insects eat us alive during the day especially at dusk.)"
The notebooks next entry was: "March 1, 1862 - Corinth, Miss. Ordered north last month to join Beauregard. We're to keep the Miss. River open and protect the Memphis and Charleston RR that runs across north Miss. and Ala. Generals think Savannah on Tenn. River will be point of Yankee's advance south from Fort Henry and Ft. Donelson. Lots of other of our units merging up here. A. S. Johnston commanding general. I knew him out west near 10 years ago. Good officer, maybe our best. He's got a mess to organize and get ready for Grant's push. No rest for the righteous, I guess."
Turning a page, then two, Solon read: "April 20, 1862 near Corinth, Miss - Hell of a battle at a place called Shiloh (after a Meth. Church, I think) April 6 - 7. We won first day, lost the second. Johnston killed. Beauregard in command. We stopped 'em, though. They bruised but not beaten.
19th Ala. and Colonel Wheeler did fine, lost too many, but fought as hard and as good as anybody on the field. The colonel proved he deserves those three stars on his collar. I'm thankful we were assigned to rear guard with Kentucky boys. Shows how we gained a little respect. General Breckinridge and his orphans from Kentucky, lead unit of reserve, given the job of keeping Grant and Sherman from our backsides as Beauregard and army moved south. We helped."