[Diary of Private E.A. Wood, Co. C. 13th Mass Infantry, ]
[
[from the diary of Private E. A. Wood, Co. C, 13th Massachusetts]
Sunday June 29th 1862
Pleasant all day. also very warm.
We had some baked beans for Breakfast
which were very good. All we wanted to
make it a splendid Breakfast was
hard, brown bread, some thing that
I have not seen for a good while.
Inspection was at seven O clock.
At Dinner time, Mitchell and myself
bought a dozen eggs for twenty
five cents. (No dinner was given us,
except hard bread) I got a piece of pork,
and a spider and fried six of them.
Which made a very good dinner for us.
In the Afternoon I walked down to the
Run and took a bath. I crossed
the run and went to a house
about a mile from where I crossed;
up the creek was the Battle field.
I went into the House and asked
for a drink of water, which was
given me. I asked the man, that was
[p.2]
in the House, if he was there when the
Battle took place. He said his Family
was there, but he himself was at
Manassas, The Rebels had ordered him
there, to join the Secesh Army,
a few days before the Battle.
He had got rid some way or reather,
of going into the ranks, and the
Rebels had concluded to let him
return home. He was at Manassas
waiting for an opportunity to
return home when the Battle took
place. The woman that was in
the house said that she was
frightened most to death, and
never wanted to be so near
two Army’s again. I have never
been over all the Battle ground
yet, but think I shall some day.
The man said that he had never
been on to the field, and never
shall if he can help it. He went
to the edge of it the day after
[p.3]
the Battle He saw three dead
bodies laying on the ground,
which sickened him of going
any farther. The Chaplain
preached reather a curious Sermon
to us to day, but a very good
one, Where do you think he took
his text from. From Mark Tapley,
a Character in one of Dickens
Novels. The text is always be jolly
He went on to say that, if
person who was always jolly,
knew how to live. In what
ever circumstances he may be
placed if things had gone wrong
with him and every thing look
gloomy, be jolly under the circumstance.
He said [a word lined through] that there was no
class of people who ought to be more
jolly than Soldiers. He said if a
Soldier started on a March with a
Knapsack weighing from twenty to thirty
pounds, should grumble, complain and
weep, the Knapsack would weigh
[p.4]
one hundred and sixty pounds
before he had got ten miles, But if
a Soldiers starts off with a Knapsack
weighing thirty pounds, and is jolly
when he reaches the end of ten miles
his Knap would weigh thirty pounds
still, it might in some cases
weigh sixty but never over.
He did not mean by being jolly
to laugh at all the bad jokes that
some got off, or to made bad jokes,
but good innocent jokes, something
that our Concience approved off.
Mark Tapley was a man, that in
what ever circumstances he was placed
in to be always jolly.
I think our Chaplain he lives up to his doctrine
for he is always jolly. After services
we had dress Parade.
[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]
MSS 12021
