September 15, 1864
And fine day. & we clean up camp & fix things ok & about 3 P.M. we are ordered to fall in & stack arms which we done. & we were not allowed to leave camp & the rumor with it that the rebs was moving around to our left and might attack us &c and we must be ready. But dark came & nothing but some skirmishing in front. The cavelry & some infantry have been out all day & just now they are returning to camp. What they done I don’t know, but they didnt do much fighting. So soon after dark we took in our guns & the excitement was over. But there was a shot once & a while through the night.
I still keep up my practicing writing & am now studying arithmetic. Caroline sent me one. It is Rays intellectual. It is mental arithmetic and the hardest one. But I am progressing well in it & then I still read my Testament & the daily papers &c. I got my pen that I sent for to N.Y. & didnt suit me so I sold it for $ 1.60 & have now sent for some certificates. I sent $1.00 which will get 5.
September 16, 1864
And fine day. There is still some slight skirmishing in front of us. But nothing serious. There is a rumor in camp that the Reb cavelry come around our left so far that they took 2600 of our beef cattle & had got off with them. If this be true it is a good haul for them. It will do them three times the good that it will do us harm. & that is one reason why we should keep supplies from them. But there is great hope of them being captured back again.203 We live under a suspense all the while. We expect the rebs will attack us. We, I think, are ready for them. So let them come. The news is unimportant. All the main armies seem to be laying still & I think they need it. We get plenty of rations, plenty of beef & good beef too.
September 17, 1864
We had Regt Inspection and were in rather better order than yesterday. There was church today. A strange chaplain preached.
September 18, 1864
We made a general police of the camp and it look nice. Hereafter we have Co inspection evry day till we get in the best order and Co drill in forenoon & afternoon Regt drill except when we have Brigade drill. & that is ordered 2 times a week. I got a return from New York getting five certificates for my $ 1.00 & none of them calls for an article of less value than $4.00.
September 20, 1864
And fine day with the same drill as yesterday. We find that we have lost a good deal of our proficiency in drill. I had a little truble with one of the noncoms yesterday & in the scuffle got my foot scalded a little. He came to and did appropriate my fire or rather one I built to boil my pants which were in the kettle at the time, ready to set on the fire & I concluded that I would have it & I did have it too & he didnt get his dinner there. I gained my object. He is a fellow that makes a practice of running from fire to fire & never bring a stick of wood & now he will not truble me much more I hope. He abused me with his tongue shamefully & he is a fellow that I have accommodated with frying pan, hatchet &c like fixings till I was tired. Besides loaning him a pair of socks he has never returned & now he has money borrowed of me & more. That all he is a fellow that talks scandalous about me to my back. But some people are so stupidly ignorant that a person must take compassion on them.
We have good news from [Union General Phil] Sheridans Army. He has had a Big Battle with [Confederate General Jubal] Early & whipped him bad, taking some 2 thousand prisnors on the field & killing and wounding as many more & capturing 3000 sick in Winchester & killing a number of generals &c. Great Victory.204
September 21, 1864
And fine day. Brigade drill in forenoon & Co drill in afternoon. I got excused from drill in afternoon by the doctor. My ankle is too sore. I must halt.
We have review tomorrow. Our brigade will be reviewed by Gen Warren. I hardly think I shall be able to go, hope I shall though. We will have to put on style now as long as we lay in camp. The rumor about the Rebs capturing about 2500 of our cattle has proved to be true. They did get them & took them off with about 30 of the herders prisnors. I spoke to Cap today to let his cook (Perry Gilbert)205 to go to the commissarys & get me some flour & he said anything 1 wanted & Perry could get for me, he might. I thanked him for his kindness &c. Perry got the flour for me today, got about 3 pounds for 20 cents. It will make several messes of pancakes & gravy a number of times. I got it for the latter for mostly. It is verry kind in Cap to accommodate me so much. Privates are not allowed to buy. But in this way they don’t know but it is to be used by the officer. If privates were allowed to by promiscuity they would buy it all from the officers & the Quartermaster could’nt furnish so much. It would take too much transportation.
September 22, 1864
And fine day. But tried hard to rain early in the morning but cleared of so that we had a good time for the review which came of at 3 P.M. I am was excused by the Doctor, not able to walk much. & what little I do it is with pain to me. I could’nt even to go to see the review it being out on the plane towards Corps headquarters. They returned about 5 ½ P.M., saying they had a good drill. Gen Warren drilling them himself. There was only our Brigade. There was several Brigades on the field ahead of ours & gone home as only one could maneuver at a time so little was the space.
September 23, 1864
And fine day. Things as usual. The Drill &c, Co in forenoon & Battallion in afternoon. Good news from Sheridan. He has whipped the Rebs in 2 different Battles. The first day, the 19th inst, whipped them, took pieces of artillery & 2500 Prisnors & 3000 Sesh & wounded in Winchester [Virginia] & still pursuing them. & Was a splendid & decisive Victory. The Boys call it a ratification of the nomination of Abe &c. And I forgot to mention the 8 generals (Rebels) that was killed & wounded. 4 of them killed. Our loss not known as yet except Gen [David A.] Russell killed & two others wounded & of rank & file supposed 2000 killed & wounded.206
I wrote a letter to Henry today in answer to one I Rec’d yesterday. He giving me a full & interesting account of his trip to Madison and his buying a new home or farm rather near Mezamonia [Mazomonie] which is 22 miles west from Madison on the R.R. Isaac Lander went with him & bought a farm on the opposite side of the town or east rather, Henrys being on the west side. Each is half mile from the town. The town contains about 800 inhabitants & is improving verry fast. There is a sett of enterprising Capitalists in it. Good schools &c. The latter is a great item to both familys. There is lots of children in them. I think it will be a good place for Lu to sett up a shop in the way of millenery business &c. Henry has not got my money yet. But I think I must have forgotten to address it so as it would to Cassville & they have sent it in the Package that went to Lancaster.
September 24, 1864
And fine day. & the usual drill &c as yesterday. There is good news this morning by special order from the War Department announcing still another greater Victory in the Shenandoah Valley by Sheridan & the brave troops under his command. Whip the Rebs, took many prisnors, hadnt time to count them as yet & 16 pieces of artillery, Battle flags &c. This makes 21 pieces of Artillery & supposed about 10,000 Rebels placed hors de combat & this is a splendid Victory. Another grand satisfication meeting. The papers today gives a verry full and interesting account of the Battle of the 19th inst &c.207
September 25, 1864
A fine day & the paymaster has come & is paying the 6th [Wisconsin] Regt. He will hardly get to ours today. We have signed the payrolls. We get orders to pack up about 3 P.M. & to go over and relieve some of the 9th Corps about 1 ½ miles of to the Northward. So we come, found them packed up & in line. We went into their camps & they went off someplace. Rumor says that they as well as all the troops that have been in reserve are going up to the right to help Butler. He having whiped the Rebs & took the R.R. between Petersburg and Richmond &c. And another rumor is that they have whipped Butler & took part of the canal he was digging &c. If they have done the latter, it is bad for us. The Boys we relieved say the rumor here was that the Rebs was evacuating Petersburg so we cant tell much about how things stands. But we have heard some firing up there.208 There is something going on.
September
26, 1864
We got paid today. I didnt like to walk over to the Paymasters, it being half mile. So I told Cap to draw it for me & the Paymaster put it in an envelope with the other Boys money that went on Picket last night & Cap don’t care about opening it till they come in so I have not got mine yet. We know nothing more about what is transpiring than we did last night. I got a letter from Mother today bring the news of her being well &c and 25 cts worth of postage stamps.
September 27, 1864
Fine day. & we are about the same as yesterday to news &c. We cant get any papers. Why it is so I don’t know. We must arrange it some way so as to get one or more from the news store. There was some firing on Picket today & 1 negro surrendered.
September 28, 1864
And about the same as yesterday, some little picket firing. One negro killed & 3 wounded by the rebs. They don’t fire on our boys at all and they are right joining the negroes.
September 29, 1864
Pretty much the same as yesterday with the exceptions of a little fighting on the right. But I guess it didnt amount to anything. Perhaps wounding a few. We are expecting to move evry minute. We were packed up most all day. There is many rumors afloat. Just at dark there was an order read to some troops that are massed in rear of us that part of our Army on the right had crossed the river & took a lot of strong works on Chapins [Chaffin’s] farm & 15 pieces of Artillery & 300 Prisnors. This is a spendid victry. & the rumor is that they took the last line of works around Richmond &c. But I don’t put any confidence in the last. I could hear artillery going by to the left all night fast & the cars came in fast. There is something up more than usual.209
September 30, 1864
And fine day & we got up at 4 A.M., got breakfast & pack up & stay so till about 3 P.M. when we move up to where we were camped before & other troops took our place & all those troops that were here abouts last night & yesterday have gone to the left. We heard heavy firing last night away off to the left just about west of us [Peebles’ Farm] & then we supposed that some of our troops were out there & now, 5 P.M. the news is that the movement to the left is a perfect success & evrything is going all right. We are ordered to pitch tents thinking how lucky we are to not have to be in the fight although it was not verry severe. There was some wounded come in this afternoon. There was another little fight on the right last night.
October 1, 1864
And stormy, cold & disagreeable verry. Fall weather in earnest. We were awoke last night at 11 P.M., got up, packed up & after waiting a while for the order to march we got orders to rest till 3 A.M. I went to bed or rather laid down & put my oilcloth over me & had another nap. Was awoke about 4 A.M. to march. We are ordered out to the Von [Vaughn] road & build works & hold the road. We marched out, I being still lame. I trudged along taking my time. But the distance being short (only two miles) I didnt get far behind. The Boys reached the road about daylight & found some work that had been thrown up about enough to hold half the Brigade. This included all but 2 companies of our Rgt & all to the left had to build works. This was lucky for the 7th & those on the right of us. We built works &c sufficient to protect us. There is skirmishing all day in our front but nothing more. But away to the left there has been several hard little fights & rumor says that our forces are successfull evry time. & now tis night & we, the old man rumor says, have captured 3 lines of their works & all still glorious &c. We feel that we have been verry fortunate in this advance. We have had the best time of any of the corps that is our Brigade.
October 2, 1864
And rather cloudy, but at times the sun comes out verry warm & towards night cleared off. There has been about as much skirmishing as yesterday but not quite so much artillery firing. We do nothing today except there being a detail to work on some brestworks on the left of the Brigade. There being a space of % of a mile or more that there is no troops & that is why we are fortifying so that can stretch our line if need be if there is no troops comes to fill it up. I got a letter from Henry today & all is well &c. He said I might direct my next letter to his new home, Mezamonia. He is going to have a sale the 10th of October & would leave immediately for Mezamonia.
October 3, 1864
And fine day. We are quiet or tolerably so all along the lines. A shot occasionally from artillery & also from the skirmishers. There is a heavy detail from the Brigade today working on a large fort right in front of us. It will be a strong one when finished & it is to be finished as fast as possible. The Boys work with a will. Gen Warren told them that they might want to use it in the course of 24 hours.
My foot is still lame but improving fast. The papers bring good news from all quarters. Sheridan is still driving Early &c and our troops under Butler on Chapins farm still hold their position. But the Rebs have charged on them with 3 heavy lines of Battle & our Boys hurled them back in confusion & great loss to them &c. All good & glorious &c.
October 4, 1864
And fine day. Quite warm. We have nothing of importance today. There is a heavy detail to work on the fort. About 3 P.M. we get orders to pack up & move out of the works. There was some others from the first division come in. We waited here till dark for orders where to go. In the time had 3 or 4 horseraces. Gen [Edward] Bragg himself being the first. [Bragg had taken over brigade command on June 7, 1864.]
Well just at dark we started & came to our old camp near the railroad. Reaching here about 9 P.M., found our camp torn all to pieces, not a bunk left. I being still some lame, I did not [arrive] here for sometime afterwards & verry tired too was I. There is great speculation about where & what we are going to do. Evrything seems to be going on the same as usual, if any difference it is livelier.
October 5, 1864
And fine day. We lay in camp till 3 P.M. when we came over to the works & where we were prior to the advance & relieved the negros. We get the verry same camp as before and I the same bunk which I remodeled a little. I and Ben soon had up a table & are comfortably fixed &c. There is a heavy detail from our Regt for picket. We feel quite at home here & long to stay awhile. The campaign is over again I guess & we now hold a line 44 miles long & two thirds of the way around Richmond.210
October 6, 1864
Things going all right. Some firing on Picket line. But we are so used to that, it don’t make much excitement in camp. There is nothing unusual to chronicle unless it is that the Boys are going in on Sutler goods & living fat. I indulged a little today by the way of buying half package of flour. This flour is put up in 6 lbs packages & cost $ 1.00 & all we have to do is to mix it up with water & bake it. Ben & I made a nice mess of cakes. It is a great invention. The boys call it patent flour. I got a letter from Lu today. She & the relatives are well. I mailed one to Mother today also.
October 7, 1864
We lay in camp as yesterday except those on Picket. We have nothing to do. We drew clothing today. I got a pair of shoes & haversack & all the Boys that hadnt blankets drew them & also knapsacks & such things necessary for winter.
I got two pens today from New York that I sent after & sold them right away, making $2.80 clear on them. I shall send for some more & I have done so well. I get them on the certificates that I got some time since. They cost 20 cents apiece & I have to send $ 1.15 on each certificate & get the article called for, so I get them cheap.
October 8, 1864
And fine day & things about the same as yesterday. I sent for 3 more pens today. I wrote a letter to Lu today in answer to one I got sometime since. The picket line in our front was pushed out some half mile farther today & thereby gaining a much better position. Now the line is in the edge of a wood with an open field in front & on the top of the hill. & the Rebs fell back with little or no resistance to our advance. We in camp were under arms all day so as to be ready for what might possibly come. But the Rebs didnt try to regain the ground they lost.
October 9, 1864
And fine day after a verry cold night. I got a letter from Lu & Mother, also one from Florance. All is well, Lu exp
ected to be in Mezamonia the next letter she writes. It has been my luck for the past few weeks to get a letter from her a day or two after writing but I can remedy this by answering sooner the previous letters. There is a rumor that Hood has got in rear of Sherman. But the rumor is not credited here. The news is not of much importance otherwise. But all is well. The rebs has not yet tried to drive our picket line back.211
October 10, 1864
And fine day but cold nights of late making two blankets necessary for to sleep warm. We go on Picket today & find the line in a good place & things nice except that we have to go back to camp for water.
Four Years With the Iron Brigade Page 45