August 21–Left at 4 A.M. and arrived in Richmond at 6 P.M. Marched to Camp Lee, two miles from the city, and put up any tent we could get hold of, as it was raining very hard and too dark to see. We are all O. K. now.
August 21–Left at 4 A.M. and arrived in Richmond at 6 P.M. Marched to Camp Lee, two miles from the city, and put up any tent we could get hold of, as it was raining very hard and too dark to see. We are all O. K. now.
June 26–We received marching orders this morning. The long roll beat at one in the night. We marched four miles on to Richmond, where we met some wounded of our army that had been injured at same bed that I had the last time–the sidewalk–and the wall for my pillow. Katz, Hugh Sample, “Bat” Harry, [...]
June 25–Reported fighting near Richmond.
June 24–We had a drill to-day, and went to town to see some friends.
June 23–Moved our camp two miles up the road toward Richmond. It is a very bad camp–low ground and muddy. But there is a factory here, and plenty of girls to make up for the damp ground.
June 22–Nothing new.
June 21–We reached Petersburg, Va., this morning at half-past two, and had barely laid down with a brick wall for my pillow when breakfast was announced in the shape of Mack Sample, who told us where we could get it. I ran the blockade with Katz, and went to see Mike Etlinger. He was not [...]
June 20–Up until this date there has been nothing worth recording, but to-day got orders to fall in line with two days’ rations cooked. Left at 12 M. in box cars. We knocked holes in them to get fresh air. We laid over six hours eight miles from Gerresburg in order to let the passenger [...]
June 8–I am very tired from our first night’s march.
June 7–At 11 o’clock to-night we were roused out of our sleep and marched to Weldon Bridge, as the river was so swift that it was thought the bridge would wash away. We went there to knock the sides off, so that the water could run over it, but we got there without tools. When [...]
June 5–We were marched to town and received our arms–Springfield muskets. Next day went off very quietly.
June 4–Still raining, and the roads are very muddy.
June 3–Raining all day, but have a good time with the ladies in this neighborhood. They treated my comrade and myself only as Southern ladies know how to treat their soldiers–with respect and something good to eat.
June 2–We received some visitors from home.
June 1–Arrived at Weldon, North Carolina, at 7 o’clock. We set up our tents at Gerresburg, a short march from Weldon. Our company is close to the railroad track. We collected broom straw and made a bed of down of it.
PREFACE This diary was commenced for the fun of writing down my experience as a soldier from the Old North State. I never thought for a moment that I would put it in print; but now that I am getting old and have read so many histories written by our officers, but have never [...]
November and December–Nothing, only bitter cold. We dance every night at some of our quarters. Some of the men put a white handkerchief around one of their arms, and these act as the ladies. We have a jolly good time.
October–We have got the smallpox in prison, and from six to twelve are taken out dead daily. We can buy from prisoners rats, 25 cents each, killed and dressed. Quite a number of our boys have gone into the rat business. On the 11th of this month there were 800 sick prisoners sent South on [...]
September–It is very cold, worse than I have seen it in the South in the dead of winter.
August–Nothing worth recording this month, except that the fare is the same as at Point Lookout.
July 29–There are at present some 3,000 prisoners here. I like this place better than Point Lookout. We are fenced in by a high fence, in, I judge, a 200acre lot. There is an observatory outside, and some Yankee is making money, as he charges ten cents for every one that wishes to see the [...]
July 28–We were treated very good on the road, and especially at Goshen, N. Y. The ladies gave us eatables and the men gave us tobacco.
July 27–We see the Jersey shore this morning. Our vessel was racing with another. We had too much steam up; the consequence was a fire on board, but we soon had it out. We landed at Jersey City at 12 M., and were immediately put in cars, and the officer that promised to send me [...]
July 26–To-day on the ocean a great many of our boys were seasick, but not I. I was promised a guard to take me to see my parents in New York for thirty minutes.
July 25–Left Point Lookout at 8 o’clock this evening in the frigate Victor for New York. There are 700 prisoners on board.