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forage, or baggage. From Jackson?s River the column had traveled "light", meaning there were no wagons and teamsters for tents and baggage, and they had to face the rain and sleet with no shelter. But soldiers in the field have traditionally improvised their way out of difficulties, and these soldiers from Mississippi soon proved they could do the same. Ramrods served as spits for the quartermaster beef. Dough from flour, salt, and water could be wrapped around these same ramrods. ; Thus meat and bread cooked over an open fire. And a single blanket (plus perhaps a piece of oilcloth) served as shelter of sorts.
The day before Baxter and the 20th arrived at Little Sewell Mountain, the Confederate Secretary of War relieved Gen. Wise of his command, thereby solving Lee?s problem of the two feuding generals. He still faced the main problem of stopping the Federal forces under Rosecrans and Cox, now occupying the Big Sewell Mountain in force. Lee concentrated all his troops at Little Sewell	Mountain where Wise?s command	had heavily
fortified	the	position,	and prepared to meet	an aggressive
advance by the Federals.
In	the	week that	followed, Private Baxter	saw plenty of
action in	the	daily skirmishes. Each army probed the other in
attempts to determine position and strength, and although no battles were fought, there were casualties and prisoners taken on both sides. Every indication pointed to an immediate Federal attack. On the night of October 5, when Confederate pickets reported creaking wheels on Big Sewell, Lee concluded it was artillery being moved up, and he prepared for battle. But next morning nothing happened, and a Confederate scouting party discovered the Federals had abandoned their position during the night.
Lee decided immediate pursuit was not practical. His supply lines were overextended, and the weather seemed to worsen daily. But he did produce a plan for Floyd to take his brigade (four Virginia regiments and the 20th Mississippi) to Cotton Hill near Gauley Bridge but on the opposite bank of the New River about where it flows into the Kanawha. Floyd?s object was to cut the Federals off from their supplies at Charleston. Then Lee could send another force against them from Little Sewell.
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