Tuesday, 6th–We had battalion drill this afternoon. News came that Yorktown has been taken. New troops are still arriving and our lines are being extended to the right and left. A second line is supporting the artillery in the front line and the second line’s flanks are supported by the cavalry.
May 6th. Issued five days’ rations, sugar and coffee. Started on the march southwest at one o’clock. Companies “L”, “M”, “G”, “D” and “A” under Major Purington, and two Dutch companies under Lt. Col. Orff. Marched eighteen miles to Redding Mills. Secesh galvanized. Found plenty of corn and sheaf oats. Occupied a house deserted a [...]
May 6th.–Mine is a painful, self-imposed task: but why write when I have nothing to chronicle but disaster ? ¹ So I read instead: First, Consuelo, then Columba, two ends of the pole certainly, and then a translated edition of Elective Affinities. Food enough for thought in every one of this odd assortment of books. [...]
6th.–It is ascertained to-day that although we were entirely successful yesterday in driving the enemy from the field, and from his entrenchments, we did it at great cost. The aggregate loss to both armies cannot be less than 15,000 in killed and wounded. As far as we can now judge, this loss is about equally [...]