This letter appeared in the Indianapolis Daily Journal on September 11, 1862 on page 2 column 3. The spelling and punctuation are unchanged from the original publication.

From the 79th Indiana.
Camp Yates, September 6th, 1862.

Dear Journal: The four companies of the 79th which left Indianapolis on the night of Tuesday last, arrived in Louisville about noon the next day. The same day the six companies which had preceded them received orders to break up their camp in the vicinity of the city of Louisville and move out to this place.

We are about five miles from the city, on the Shelbyville pike, in a good locality, and on the keen look out for rebels. There are in camp here, and constituting this brigade, the 73rd Illinois and the 79th, 81st and 88th Indiana. Col. Kirk of the 34th Illinois is acting brigadier.

We seem to be in the neighborhood of enemies, but how near they may be I am unable to state. All sorts of rumors reach our camp and are speedily circulated among the boys. Nothing serious has yet happened to the regiment. Our first dress parade was spoiled in this wise: Thursday afternoon a few minutes before five o’clock the “long roll” was furiously beaten at headquarters. In an incredible short time, for so young a regiment, the boys were under arms and in line. Ammunition was issued to them, and they started out toward Shelbyville in search of Kirby Smith. They marched about six miles, bivouacked for the night and returned to camp in the morning, “ without the loss of a man.” They were without anything to eat from noon of Thursday until nearly noon of Friday, besides the fatigue of twelve miles march, and sleeping without any blankets or other covering. Yet they all stood up to it manfully. With sufficient drill the 79th will make a splendid fighting regiment. The effect of the long roll was particularly observable in reference to our regimental officers. Each of them showed himself a true soldier and commanding officer—cool, brave and intrepid.

The alarm was given by fugitives from the Richmond fight. Many of them came into our camp on Friday tired and dispirited. They had been marching ever since Monday steadily. There seems to be a large force of rebels concentrating here. We are not able to learn much about it. The 100th Illinois and the 90th and 95th Ohio are near us, and how many more between here and Louisville I am unable to say. Many of the Kentuckians in this region are secessionists. The city of Louisville itself is thickly infested with them. It is high time that severe measures were resorted to with these scoundrels.

Our regiment is in good health and fine spirits. There are few men in the hospital or on the sick list. Our Colonel rigidly enforces the police of the camp. Cleaner or better kept quarters it would be hard to find. Col. Knefler is a model officer. In fact all our regimental officers are models in their respective places.

In the coming battles of the campaign in Kentucky you may expect to hear a good account of the 79th.

Respectfully yours, P. Hall,
Chaplain 79th Reg. Ind Vol.