I am sure that the food furnished us by the Rebels would not, at present prices cost one-third that.

They pretended to give us one-third of pound of bacon and one and one-fourth pounds of corn meal.
A week's rations then would be two and one-third pounds of bacon--worth ten cents, and eight and three-fourths pounds of meal, worth, say, ten cents more.

As a matter of fact, I do not presume that at any time we got this full ration.

It would surprise me to learn that we averaged two-thirds of it.
The meal was ground very coarse and produced great irrition in the bowels.

We used to have the most frightful cramps that men ever suffered from.