from the diary of Harrison B. Jones, 4th Sergeant, 33rd Virginia Infantry]
Centerville. the weather
quite warm. but clear
there was a review to day
for this brigade. Generals
Johnston & Jackson favored
us with their presence
last night I heard a very
good prayer from the
Chaplain of the Regt.
MSS 14169
Special Orders No [5] [a draft written by Cary C. Cocke]
This Post shall be known by the name of
“Camp Dimmock” and its limits shall extend
on the North fifty yards from the line of tents
on that side, on the South fifty yards from the
line of tents on that side; on the East to the fence
in front of this Camp enclosing this field, and
on the West to the branch running from the spring
at which we get water
2 Reveille shall be sounded at 5 1/2 o’clock, when the
rolls of each company will be called; at which
time all men shall turn out on the parade ground
of their respective companies and answer to their
names–The roll will be called by the 1st
Sergeant, or in his absence, by the Senior Sergeant
present–The men are required to assemble promptly
and fall in, in Detachments, faced to the front
in two ranks–Strict attention must be paid, and
talking in the ranks is strictly prohibited–
No man will be allowed to offer an excuse for an
absentee–
3rdly Immediately after roll-call, the Sergeant
who calls the roll, shall visit each tent of his
Company, and take a list of those who are sick,
if there be any, and report to the Capt all absentees
from roll-call and the names of those sick-
4th Breakfast call shall be sounded at 7 o’clock-
5 Guard mounting shall take place at 8 o’clock, at
which time the drum shall be sounded
[page 2]
6th At half past eight (8 1/2) o’clock the drill of the
Detachments will commence and be continued
according to the lists of the Captains
7th Dinner Call shall be sounded at 1 o’clock.
8 A dress Parade of the Companies at this Post
shall take place daily at 6 o’clock P.M.
9 Tattoo will be sounded at 8 o’clock when the
rolls of each Company will be called as at
Reveille–At 9 o’clock the drum will be tapped
for the men to turn in for the night-, and lights
to be extinguished–
10 The men of the Companies at this Post are required
to assemble promptly on their respective Company
parades at rolls[sic]-calls, and failing to be in line
when their names are called, shall for the first
offence be punished by confinement in the
Guard Tent for 2 hours, and for the 2nd offence
8 hours.
11 Men shall not leave the limits of this
Camp without a written leave of absence, from
the Officer of the Day or the Commandant
of their Company–Any man violating this
Article shall be punished, for the 1st offence by
twelve hours of police duty–and for the second offence
by twenty four hours confinement–
12 Commandants of Companies will appoint weekly
an orderly to each tent whose business shall be
to keep the tents of his company clean and in good
[page 3]
order–He shall immediately after sun-rise roll call
remove the straw, knapsacks and other articles from
the tent, sweep it out, and raise the back of the tent
that it may be well aired–At retreat he shall
lower the back of the tent, and replace the straw,
knap-sacks and other things properly belonging to the tent-
13 The Prisoners in Confinement shall under the superin-
tendence of a Corporal of the Guard, Police the
Camp daily commencing immediately after Guard-
Mounting–Should there be no prisoners a
fatigue party shall be appointed from the
Companies of the Camp by the Commandants of
Companies.
14 Any man violating any of the foregoing rules
will be punished by the Commandant of his
Company as he may think fit-, except where the
punishment has been already specified–
Issued by order of Capt. C. C. Cocke
Commandant of “Camp Dimmock“
15 An Inspection of the companies will take place every
Sunday morning at half past 8 o’clock A.M.
When on dress Parade and inspection the men are
required to appear in full uniform
MSS 640
[from the diary of Wesley Hammond, of the Dixie Greys, Co. E of the 42nd Virginia]
Friday 13
Morning beautiful though
cool and foggy – We are al-
most facing the mouth of
the enemy’s cannon and
know not how soon we
may be called on, to go
into the battle field. Four
of our men wounded [a letter lined through]
to day and Col. Washington
killed – [-] very near being
taken – Read 8 chapters
in bible. A ballon thought to be
seen at night by some of our men
Colonel Washington was John Augustine Washington of Mount Vernon, a collateral descendant of President George Washington and an Aide-de-camp to Robert E. Lee.
The following undated poem composed after the war was found among the papers of the Washington family:
John Augustine Washington
OF
MOUNT VERNON
LT.-COL. AND AIDE-DE-CAMP TO
GENERAL ROBERT EDWARD LEE
D.S.A.
KILLED, VALLEY MOUNTAIN, SEPT. 13, 1861
No soldier of fortune, no seeker of pelf,
No lover of glory and fame;
But simply a man who was true to himself,
The home where he’d dwelt and his name.
He rode far away at the call of the land,
Unmindful of peril and fate;
A smile on his face and a wave of his hand,
For children who stood at the gate.
He rode by the side of the kingliest knight,
And deemed it a guerdon to share
His tent and the march, or the danger and fight–
To kneel by his chieftain in prayer.
He lay where he fell, with the light on his face,
Untouched by dishonor and shame,
Defeated–yet true to the pride of his race,
The home where he’d dwelt and his name.
The tears were like dew in the eyes of the chief,
Who gazed on the form of his friend,
And thought of the children at home and their grief,
The blossom of life and its end!
He sent, all entwined with his pity and love,
The flowers that grew where he fell–
And angels, who walked on the ramparts above,
Repeated their call, “It is well.”
‘Tis well, tho’ for years he has slept ‘neath the sod,
Uncrowned by the laurels of fame,
And simply a man who was true to his God,
The home where he’d dwelt and his name!
MSS 5526
[from the diary of Eugene M. Cox of the Albemarle Border Guards]
We were aroused this morning long before day to prepare to move from this place–cooked rations for three days–packed up, and were in readiness to march by sun up–but from some cause or other we did not get in motion until 8 o’clock–at that hour we bade farewell to “Dogwood Gap” to fall back in the direction of Lewisburg–This was done by order of Genl. Lee, commanding all of the Southern forces in western Virginia and it is doubtless very necessary to our safety for overwhelming forces of the enemy are around about us–provisions of all sorts are already very scarce–our hourses are getting weak for want of food, and but a little while longer would suffer to reduce their strength so that we would be obliged to lose all our teams and baggage–The two commands (Floyd’s and Wise’s) traveled very slowly and reached “Locust Lane” at about 5 P.M.–Here we encamped for the night—
MSS 38-211
Don’t be alarmed my darling at the caption
of my letter the camp is not changed only
the name–heretofore we have had no regu-
lar name, but by a sort of common consent
it has been called after the station by an or-
der published to day it has been named “Blair”
after a distinguished officer of that name. Our
regiment has at least begun to observe a
little the appearance of decency–the men
have received their pay and good clothes, all
grey begin to appear. I forgot in my let
ter mailed this morning to thank you for your
prompt attention to the bees –I would cer-
tainly appropriate a few frames out of the
old hive–but you must put empty ones
in their places–wish I was there to help
you take & eat them. You will all enjoy
it I know & I hope now the bees, in re-
membering that it is the result of my
own attention–I expect you will all have
a good word to say of me every time you
eat it. when you see Stephen I suppose
he will have a great deal to talk about
& many complaints, but it dont matter about
[page 2]
his complaints I dont expect him to do much
more than make both ends meet–He ought to
have abut 2000 feet of inch plank to make
pens & other conveniences at the farm–For in-
stance he must have a shed for his horses a
pen for the hogs–& a sort of temporary place
for his corn &c but you & he together can
best tell what he needs.
I promised to say something about your
coming down to see me–I want you to come
bad enough but not just now I mean
not for 10 days or two weeks yet to come
and I will tell you why–I am not very
much in the habit of saying much about
what is before us–but am now so well sat
isfied that a great movement is about to be
made that I will not hesitate to express
my opinion to you-what is to be done
or how we are to do it I cant say–but
it is true that our troops have nearly all
been advanced Beaureguard has taken up
his HdQuarters at the Court House, large
amounts of ammunition have been moved
down–The enimy too is active–the last
night in removal of “[ ? ]” they were
in motion a greater portion of the night
probably, our movement is only to meet
and oppose any movement he may make
[page 3]
and possibly the enimy is only moving to meet
an anticipated movement by us. Another thing I
dont understand why we are sent down so near
the Yankey lines with so small a force and
then put in a position where we can so very
easily be surrounded, unless it is to offer such
inducements as will lead them to make anoth
er attack on us out side of their intrenchments
and thereby bring on another grand engage-
ment–I dont know & dont understand it at all
I am only satisfied from what I have seen, that
inactivity is no longer either our policy or
that of the enimy–we have got to fight another
great battle before winter sets in –both sides
are after it & know it will come on–and both
are now maneuvering their troops to get the
advantage & such watching the other & by the
way we too have a great baloon here & I am
told everything ready to send it up when
we see proper. and in view of all this I think
you had better say nothing about a visit for
a fortnight at least, and if no movement
is made in that time then come down as soon
as I say ready for you–In view of the fact
that our brigade has since the battle of ma
nas[sas] occupied an advanced position and
have all the time been not only on the post
of danger but really made frequent forced marches
[page 4]
to get there and while there drew extra duty
of the most dangerous sort–I am inclined to
think we will not have much to do with
the next fight–Besides this place is not
now the most important depot for supplies
and will require no small force to guard
it & in being here will likely be left
to do the work we have been doing at this
point. If this be true & I will be able to
know whether it is or not in the next
ten days you will have a pleasant
time visiting me at this place.
I will send this up by Capt Kennys
boy Azak–If he can take it I will
also send an empty box with a bucket
in it–and you can send me on monday
by Azak a bucket of butter & a few to-
matoes in the bargain. Billy Madison
got to camp last night & called to see
me this morning. Billy is now pre-
paring a breakfast for him–He left
his wife & two children in Texas. He
showed me a likeness of his wife
I told him she was almost as pretty
as my wife, but looks much older
I did not tell him the last. write
soon. Love to all
affectionately
E T H Warren
Capt Kenny is James Kenney, Captain of Co. B, of the 10th Virginia Infantry [John P. Mann, IV]
MSS 7786-g
My Dear Richard
Within the lats few days, I have
written you two or three very hasty notes:
each time promising myself that I would
the next time, try to find leisure for
writing more deliberately, and giving
you some little account of what has
been going on at home since you left–
But the leisure hour will not come.
Let me scribble you another hasty line.
Your Ma has been quite busy with
your uniform, and has it done–Mr Coff
says your boots shall be done against
next Tuesday–doubtful–but I am
urging him very warmly.
You have heard no doubt of the
building of a hospital here? The
workmen are erecting barracks within
fifty yards of Cous T Ashby’s door–
We hear quite frequently from
Walter–but not by letter of course
[page 2]
William Boulding Mr Peyton &c are here
now–They report the health of the com-
pany & regiment good.
There is a rumor of the capture of
some of our militia at H Ferry–don’t
suppose it is true–
If you have not commenced your
military duties I hope you will
not do so ’til your system is suffi-
ciently hardened to bear the fatigue
of severe service–you will save time
by talking this advice.
I tried very hard to make
an arrangement to send you another box-
but all who come, assure me it is
useless to attempt it. Let me know
if you hear of an opportunity of get-
ting one through–
Our own sick are improving rapidly, and
I hope will soon be able to go home
Your Aunt L & Cousin Bet are spending the
week with us–You should be here
[page 3]
now to see the fine fruit. It is going
very rapidly; and I fear you will
not be able to enjoy it again du-
ring the season.
Your Coat has been brought from
Mrs E Kautz; and I am sorry to say it is
entirely too small for you–I will try
whether some arrangement can not be
made by which you can get another
in its stead. If not, I will send it
down to you. It is a pity this does not
fit, as it is well trimmed and made.
Frank buck has been ill with ty-
phoid fever; but has nearly recovered–
“Sam” Buck was brought home yester
day evening very sick–The other friends
& relatives well.
Remember me most cordially to
the various members of the Company whom
you know I especially like–Not forgetting
Cous Willie Harlie Mack Scott Amos &c &c
&c Perhaps I will drop a line to Amos
Keep your your[sic] heartpure your head cool
your body clean your tongue still, except when you
know you are about to speak trurhfull & properly Remember
your dependence on God–All send love yours affectionately M B B[uck]
Addressed to Mr Rich B Buck
Fairfax Ct House
Virginia
Capt Simpson’s Co
Warren Rifles
MSS 6670
Richard Bayly Buck, 1844-1888, of the Warren Rifles, Co. B. of the 17th Virginia Infantry.
[from the diary of Wesley Hammond of the Dixie Greys, Co. E of 42nd Virginia Infantry]
Daylight this morning found
us marching – eat our break-
fast on the bank of Elk
River 12 miles from our
former camp – Marched a
bout 3 miles further which
took us in a 1 ½ or 2 miles
of the enemy – 68 Yankee
prisoners passed us taken
near Cheat Mountain this
morning – Heard Cheat
Mountain [–] – also
read 6 chapters in the bible
MSS 5526
To Genl Beauregard
Comdg 1st Corps Ar[my] Pot[omac]
General
I acknowledge with
pleasure the receipt of your letter of the 11th
inst: as it is manifestly dictated in the
kindest spirit–But I regret to find still
a difference between my own recollection and
understanding of what passed between General
Johnston and myself and his recollection
and understanding of the same as stated in
your note–I had a short & hurried in=
terview with the General after calling at his
Head Quarters–finding him absent and after=
wards meeting him on the road late in the
afternoon–I send with this a copy of
a note addressed by me to the General through
Col Rhett his Adjt Genl–which will explain
my own view of the passage in my report to which
General Johnston objects–and the modifications
which I felt called upon to make in certain
forms of expression which the General objected
[page 2]
to and which appeared to have conveyed to his mind
a meaning far from any intended to be conveyed
by me–As to what passed between General
Johnston & myself I have stated in my report
according to the best of my recollection and
understanding of the circumstances–I had I have no recollection of but one
stated that
order given by hm My sole & intent object was
to seize the right moment for changing from the defensive
to the offensive with all that fraction of my command
not actually engaged–the circumstances were
critical– I pointed out to General Johnston
the positions & explained the main circumstances
affecting the position of my command in question
He determined to have the troops moved into
battle & to abandon
[Cocke’s draft ends at this point]
MSS 640
[from the diary of Eugene M. Cox of the Albemarle Border Guards]
8 A.M. Had an alarm last night, which proved false–slept well the balance of the night, were only interrupted for a while by one of the severest storms that we have had since in the service—it seems as though our tents would be level to the ground–however, they were well pitched and we were perfectly secure–morning dawned upon us and with it came rain which has just stopped–but the indications are that we shall have more. 9 P. M. Cleared off this fore noon and w had a find day–have been hourly expecting through the day to get orders to march and doubtless shall be aroused before morning–The whole of the forces of Genl. Wise & Floyd nw encamp here. Taps, etc.
MSS 38-221
Dear Mother, I thought I would answer the letter that you wrote to me tell Father I received A letter from him with A paper dated the 7th & i was glad to hear that John Shaw arrived home safe Day before Yesterday Colonel of the First regiment Adjutant Grafham & Quartermaster Manning arrived here to take command of t his Regiment & they took charge yesterday & such a awful voice for a officer the Ajutant has it is jest like an old Cat Last Saturday as the ompany was out on Picket there was three members of the company taken prisoners among them was Edmund Clarke that lives on Irving street as William knows who he is i want you to tell him to go & tell his Folks of it the names of the other two is Martin O’hair & David Patch of Brownfield they was three of the best men in the company the reason they was taken they strayed to far from the Picket Lines which they ought not to do we thought Mac Fearson was taken but he arrived all right back to camp he said that he had been in sight of the Rebels camp & that they fired at him, but we believe as Much of it as whe are A mint [mind?] to this Brigade has built A Fort to the left of Fort Elsworth which is to be three quarters of A mile Long i can see all that is going on down the potomac yesterday the tug Boat was towing down Towards Washington something that looked like A floating battery there is Two Gunboats that is stationed outside opposite the Camp Ground And since
i have been in Genl McLellans Brigade whe are having good rations now and to day he has given out orders that he will give no more passes to citizens that live this side of the Potomac to pass to Washington, I do not wish to come Home now til the regiment comes I Want you to send that Box to me When you get this & Send A Loaf of Brown bread and Cake do not send any Pies with it Because they will mould there was A Boy had some sent to him & they Moulded most of the cake we have signed the payroll to day & tomorrow they way they are agoing to pay us from you Son Joseph Leavitt
Joseph Leavitt of the 5th Maine
MSS 66
