Sunday, 14th—It is quite warm. We remained in bivouac until 1 p. m., when we started and covered ten miles before night. We crossed the Pamunky river at 2 o’clock, after which the army divided, in order to get better roads. The Fourteenth and Seventeenth Corps took a road on the left, while the Fifteenth and the Twentieth marched on a road to the right. The roads through the lowlands are fearfully muddy.

North Bank of Chickahominy River,
May 13, 1865.

We crossed the James river this a.m. Our division, the rear of the corps, paraded a little around Richmond, saw Libby Prison, Castle Thunder, the bronze statue of Washington, Lee’s and Davis’ residence, and a number of women. Some handkerchiefs flying. Two women told us they were Yankees and looked so sweet that I (in theory) lifted my hat to them. It always puts me out of humor to see Southern women cheer Yanks in public. We passed through the Rebel works where Kilpatrick made his bold dash in March, ’64. We are six or seven miles above Mechanicsville, and McClellan’s old battle ground.

Saturday, 13th—Started at 10 a. m. and marched twelve miles today. We went into bivouac for the night near Hanover Court House. It is quite swampy and the roads are very bad, on account of so much rain the last few days. The country through which we passed today is considerably cut up by fortifications and badly used up on account of the two armies passing back and forth so often over the same roads and fields. The citizens are back on their farms and are at work again. Details of our men are stationed all along the way, guarding their homes and property, to keep the army from destroying things. When the army gets past, the guards fall into line at the rear.

May 12, 1865.

The 17th Corps has the road to-day. Heavy thunder storm last night with a great deal of rain. Four men of our division were killed by lightning about 200 yards from our tent. One of them, William Hall, belonged to Company D of our regiment. Two men were killed in a tent in which were 15, and of the four lying side by side, two were killed.

Can’t hear yet for certain when we will be mustered out. We move towards Alexandria to-morrow.

May 11, 1865.

The 14th and 20th crossed the river and went as far as Hanover to-day.

May 11th. About midnight of last night, while I was in the Court House, I heard the cry of ?re. Looked out and saw a great blaze to the south. Ran to the ?re. It was a large barn on the Faulkner place. Watched it burn, as it could not damage other buildings. The Faulkners had many enemies in the neighborhood, whom he treated bad at the outbreak of the war. I heard Mr. Faulkner repeat “Poor revenge.” Sometimes revenge is sweet. The soldiers did not have any sympathy for the Faulkners. Looked upon as arch traitors. Soldiers were placed on guard over his property at the time of the ?re.

Thursday, 11th—The Fourteenth and Twentieth Army Corps started on their way for Washington City. Our corps remained in camp all day. The sick were all sent down to the wharf to go around by boat to Washington. The doctor had my name listed for that route, and I started to go, but got a release. I told the doctor that I should much prefer to march through with my company, if he would have my knapsack and accouterments carried for me in the wagons. He assured me that he would have them seen to and told me that I could rejoin my company, for which I am very thankful.

Manchester, Va., May 10, 1865.

The rain yesterday made the road, which is a splendid one fifty yards wide, just right for traveling. We passed through three lines of Drury’s Bluff and Fort Darling defenses, and are now at the second and inside line of works for the defense of Richmond. Hostile Yankees never saw either of these two lines at this point, or any other, I guess, this side of the James River. It is about 22 miles from Richmond to Petersburg. “Old Brains” (Halleck) issued his proclamation that no soldier or officer of this army should enter Richmond only when we pass through. Howard and Logan say they will pass around if they can. I hope they will.

We have a fine view of Richmond from here. It is situated much like Peoria and Columbia, S. C. The burned district shows very plainly from here and makes the resemblance to Columbia very striking. Several thousand men and officers of the corps made a raid on Logan last night and got a little talk from him. He was very careful not to say too much, all small talk. This got up a real elephant hunting mania, and I guess every regiment commanded in the corps was called out. Colonel Wright had to make a little talk. The 14th and 20th move out tomorrow.

May 10th. These are quiet days. Nothing special for the past few days. Getting all the pleasure we can when off duty. Take long walks out in the country. Detailed for duty in town. Report to the Provost Marshal. Guards posted on the principal streets continue. Must keep peace by preserving order. Headquarters in the Court House. Duty light and easy.

May 10.—Jeff Davis was captured to-day at Irwinsville, Ga., when he was attempting to escape in woman’s apparel. Mr. Green drew a picture of him, and Mr. Finley made photographs from it. We bought one as a souvenir of the war.

The big headlines in the papers this morning say, “The hunt is up. He brandisheth a bowie-knife but yieldeth to six solid arguments. At Irwinsville, Ga., about daylight on the 10th instant, Col. Prichard, commanding the 4th Michigan Cavalry, captured Jeff Davis, family and staff. They will be forwarded under strong guard without delay.” The ?ags have been ?ying all day, and every one is about as pleased over the manner of his capture as over the fact itself. Lieutenant Hathaway, one of the staff, is a friend of Mr. Manning Wells, and he was pretty sure he would follow Davis, so we were not surprised to see his name among the captured. Mr. Wells says he. is as ?ne a horseman as he ever saw.

May 10th.—A letter from a Pharisee who thanks the Lord she is not as other women are; she need not pray, as the Scotch parson did, for a good conceit of herself. She writes, “I feel that I will not be ruined. Come what may, God will provide for me.” But her husband had strengthened the Lord’s hands, and for the glory of God, doubtless, invested some thousands of dollars in New York, where Confederate moth did not corrupt nor Yankee bummers break through and steal. She went on to tell us: “I have had the good things of this world, and I have enjoyed them in their season. But I only held them as steward for God. My bread has been cast upon the waters and will return to me.”

E. M. Boykin said to-day: “We had a right to strike for our independence, and we did strike a bitter blow. They must be proud to have overcome such a foe. I dare look any man in the face. There is no humiliation in our position after such a struggle as we made for freedom from the Yankees.” He is sanguine. His main idea is joy that he has no negroes to support, and need hire only those he really wants.

Stephen Elliott told us that Sherman said to Joe Johnston, “Look out for yourself. This agreement only binds the military, not the civil, authorities.” Is our destruction to begin anew? For a few weeks we have had peace.

Sally Reynolds told a short story of a negro pet of Mrs. Kershaw’s. The little negro clung to Mrs. Kershaw and begged her to save him. The negro mother, stronger than Mrs. Kershaw, tore him away from her. Mrs. Kershaw wept bitterly. Sally said she saw the mother chasing the child before her as she ran after the Yankees, whipping him at every step. The child yelled like mad, a small rebel blackamoor.

Drury’s Bluff, Va., May 9, 1865.

We were reviewed by Howard, Logan and Hartsuff this morning as we passed through Petersburg. We lie tonight along the outer line of Drury’s Bluff defenses which Butler took a year ago this month. Signs of a good deal of fighting; good many roads, etc. The James river is about one mile to our right. I have been to some very fine forts. Fort Wagner and Fort Stevens (or Stephens) are the best, on the second and main line of Rebel works, which Butler was working against when the Rebels came out and whipped him. From one fort I saw the spires of Richmond, James river and Shipping, Fort Darling and Fort Harrison. Coming back toward camp we found one of our soldiers unburied in the bushes. His skull was brought in by our hospital steward.

Tuesday, 9th—We started at 3 o’clock this morning and marched fifteen miles, going into bivouac on the banks of the James river near Manchester. Sherman’s entire army is arriving at this place and will lie here three or four days, after which we are to start for Washington City to be mustered out of the service.

Petersburg, Va., May 8, 1865.

I’ll take back all I ever said against the Potomac Army. I have been down to Fort Steadman to-day and troops who will work up to an enemy as they did there, will do anything if handled right. There were some sad sights along that part of the line. Right in front of Steadman 40 or 50 of our men are lying with only a few shovelfuls of dirt thrown over them, their heads and feet exposed. I passed through the Rebel burying ground, quite a large and thickly settled village. Poor fellows. I wish the leaders who led or rather pushed them into these little clay hills were all beside them. This is a nice town, not very pretty though. Good deal of business done. Hundreds of Rebel officers, Lieutenant General Gordon among them, walk the streets in full uniform.

Monday, 8th—We started at 7 a. m., and while passing through Petersburg by platoons, were reviewed by General Ord, in command at Petersburg. The Fifteenth Corps had to pass through the city in our rear. We crossed the Appomattox river at 9 a. m. and went into bivouac six miles out from Petersburg, making a march of only eight miles for the day. Petersburg is a lively place; business is going on regularly. The people are at work repairing the damages done by the war, and are even erecting new buildings. It is a fine city with beautiful country around, although badly cut up with fortifications. The town was strongly fortified.

May 7, 1865.

Sunday evening. Had company every day last week, paroled soldiers returning to their homes. Last night a Mr. and Mrs. Adams, refugees from Alberta, who have been spending the time in Eatonton, called to stay all night. I felt as though I could not take them in. I had purposely kept in the back part of the house all the evening with my blinds down and door locked, to keep from being troubled by soldiers, and had just gone into my room with a light, when some one knocked at the door, and wanted shelter for himself and family. I could not turn away women and children, so I took them in. Found them very pleasant people. They had Government wagons along, and he had them guarded all night. I fear there was something in them which had been surrendered, and belonged to the United States, but he assured me that with the exception of the mules and wagon, all belonged to himself. He said that he left Jeff Davis at Washington in this State, on Thursday morning last. His enemies are in close pursuit of him, offering a hundred thousand reward to his captors.

Sunday, 7th—Started at the usual time and marched eighteen miles today. We bivouacked in some old camps which our men had built during the siege of Petersburg, within two miles of town. I rode all the way today with the wagon train. A part of the Fifteenth Corps came in ahead of the Seventeenth Corps, but our corps beat the Fifteenth into Petersburg after all their running to beat us. The two generals in command of the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps started out, after crossing the Roanoke river, to see which corps could reach Petersburg first. So while one brigade of the Fifteenth Corps came into Petersburg first, the entire Seventeenth Corps arrived in town ahead of the Fifteenth.

Petersburg, Va., May 7, 1865.

Twenty miles to-day, and the longest kind of miles. Had some bad road in the morning. We struck the Weldon railroad two or three miles below Ream’s Station, where the 6th Corps was whipped last June, and came right up to the city. Saw hardly any signs of fighting the whole way. Ours and the Rebel works where we came through are fully two and one half miles apart, and the skirmish line further from each other than we ever had ours when we pretended to be near the enemy. I think the whole army is up. Part of it got here last night. We lie here tomorrow. The 17th A. C. goes on to Richmond.

May 7.—Anna and I wore our new poke bonnets to church this morning and thought we looked quite “ scrumptious,” but Grandmother said after we got
home, if she had realized how unbecoming they were to us and to the house of the Lord, she could not have countenanced them enough to have sat in
the same pew. However, she tried to agree with Dr. Daggett in his text, “ It is good for us to be here.” It was the ?rst time in a month that he had not preached about the affairs of the Nation.

In the afternoon the Sacrament was administered and Rev. A. D. Eddy, D. D., who was pastor from 1823 to 1835, was present and of?ciated. Deacon Castle and Deacon Hayes passed the communion. Dr. Eddy concluded the services with some personal memories. He said that forty-two years ago last November, he presided upon a similar occasion for the ?rst time in his life and it was in this very church. He is now the only surviving male mem
ber who was present that day, but there are six women living, and Grandmother is one of the six.

The Monthly Concert of Prayer for Missions was held in the chapel in the evening. Dr. Daggett told us that the collection taken for missions during the
past year amounted to $500. He commended us and said it was the largest sum raised in one year for this purpose in the twenty years of his pastorate. Dr. Eddy then said that in contrast he would tell us that the collection for missions the ?rst year he was here, amounted to $5, and that he was advised
to touch very lightly upon the subject in his appeals as it was not a popular theme with the majority of the people. One member, he said, annexed three ciphers to his name when asked to subscribe to a missionary document which was circulated, and another man replied thus to an appeal for aid in evangelizing a portion of Asia: “ If you want to send a missionary to Jerusalem, Yates county, I will contribute, but not a cent to go to the other side of the world.”

Rev. C. H. A. Buckley was present also and gave an interesting talk. By way of illustration, he said he knew a small boy who had been earning twenty-?ve cents a week for the heathen by giving up eating butter. The other day he seemed to think that his generosity, as well as his self-denial, had reached
the utmost limit and exclaimed as he sat at the table, “ I think the heathen have had gospel enough, please pass the butter.”

Left bank of Stony Creek, Va., 20 miles from
Pittsburg,
May 6, 1865.

About 20 good miles to-day. No sign of war yet. Have not had a very good road to-day. Crossed the Nottaway river this morning. Small affair. During Kautz and Wilson’s disastrous raid last summer they threw their last piece of artillery into the Nottaway from the bridge on which we crossed. One of the officers says he noticed bullet marks on trees that indicated a pretty sharp skirmish having taken place where we stopped for dinner. We are fairly on classic ground. I hear that the 17th A. C. lost a number of men yesterday by a bridge falling.

May 6th. About 9 A. M. I was relieved from duty. Turned the prisoner over to the relief guard. The prisoner asked me to shake hands with him, and thanked me for my kindness. Said that he had been used very kindly by the boys of the 18th Connecticut. After being relieved returned to camp. I was excused from all duty except dress parade. Turned into my bunk, had a good sleep and a ?ne rest. Cleaned up and took part in our dress parade. A ?ne evening. Visited among the other companies.

Saturday, 6th—We started at 5 a. m. and soon struck the Boydton plank road, which was quite good except at places, where it was a poor makeshift of a road. We marched twenty-five miles and went into bivouac for the night. I was sick all day and in order to keep up with the command I had to have the doctor order my knapsack and accouterments carried for me. Weather fine.