The little town was then by some mishap or other burned

Autobiography and reminiscences by John W. Carroll.  

The little town was then by some mishap or other burned.  This being in April, 1861, we had not tents or other shelter.  During all these winters when it rained we protected ourselves as best we could with oilcloths captured from the federals; our head we pillowed on our saddles when we had time for a nap; our rations were poor; musty corn meal, and bacon and beef when we could get it.  Of this we did not complain.  It was the best the Confederacy could do for us.  Our currency was so much depreciated as to be almost worthless.  To give an idea of its purchasing power, I owned a good horse which would, in ordinary times, be worth a hundred dollars, which norse was valued into the service at eighteen hundred dollars.  Tobacco was worth five dollars for a single plug and, if fine, about twenty dollars; a large watermelon would bring from five to ten dollars.  I saw sixty dollars paid for one quart of whiskey.  Of this currency we did not have very much; we were not paid regularly.  I remember that at the time of the surrender the government owed me about twenty-seven hundred dollars.  The wages paid an officer of my rank was one hundred and thirty dollars per month; hence you will observe that I had not been paid in quite a while.  Of this we made no complaint, as one was about as well off without it as with it.  The success of the cause was our leading thought and, for the accomplishment of this end, we were willing to undergo anything that might befall us.