One hundred cavalry under command of Major Brown were detailed as an escort.

A train of sixteen wagons was provided to carry the baggage, supplies, and forage for the trip; and, besides these, there were three four-horse ambulances in which the guns were carried, and in which members of the party who became weary of the saddle might ride and rest.

At General Sheridan's request I was to accompany the expedition; he introduced me to all his friends, and gave me a good send-off.
During the afternoon and evening the gentlemen were all entertained at the post in a variety of ways, including dinner and supper parties, and music and dancing; at a late hour they retired to rest in their tents at the camp which they occupied outside the post--named Camp Rucker in honor of General Rucker.
At five o'clock next morning a cavalry bugle sounded the _reveille_, and soon all were astir in the camp, preparatory to pulling out for the first day's march.

I rose fresh and eager for the trip, and as it was a nobby and high-toned outfit which I was to accompany, I determined to put on a little style myself.

So I dressed in a new suit of light buckskin, trimmed along the seams with fringes of the same material; and I put on a crimson shirt handsomely ornamented on the bosom, while on my head I wore a broad _sombrero_.